What's in a name?

I've been thinking a lot about names lately, especially last names. I have always loved the last name I was born with. And while it is in no way unique or unusual, I always felt that my last name was special and I was always proud to bear my father's name. I loved introducing myself to people who knew my parents; I was loved and accepted many places because of the good reputation of my wonderful dad and mom. Despite my adoration for my last name, I yearned for the day when it would change. I have always thought that getting married and taking my husband's name would be the ultimate in romance. I tried on many last names (which girl doesn't test the name of every guy she likes with hers?) and none seemed to fit very well with mine. I resigned myself to the fact that I would probably fall in love and have to wear an awful-sounding name that just didn't fit quite right for the rest of eternity. Lucky for me, I fell in love with the perfect guy with the most perfect name for me. From the day that I met him, I wanted his last name to be mine. After we were married though, I began to worry. I no longer had my parents' name to give me good graces everywhere I went and I didn't know if I would be able to make it on my own. But...I soon found that I had been given a name with the same honor of my previous name. My in-laws are great people and the reputation of my new last name precedes me in many circles; I love it! And the cool thing is, I still get to claim my maiden name and I haven't lost a thing. I know that I will always be my parents' daughter, no matter what last name I am wearing; I have only gained a new and wonderful layer of who I am. Taking my husband's name as my own has given me a sense of belonging to him and with him forever. I love feeling that while I am my own person and very capable of taking care of myself, I don't have to. I have someone to ride this rollercoaster of life with, to plan and dream and sometimes struggle, but to always love and cherish. Now, I know that most girls aren't as lucky as me to find such a cool name, but I still feel that no matter what name you inherit in marriage, it is still the ultimate in romance. And to my sister-in-law who will be changing her name next week, I know how much you love your last name now and it may be a little hard to let go, but I truly feel that embracing your new husband's name and making it yours will be a symbolic gesture of accepting him wholeheartedly into your life and soul. I love you and I know that you and your new name will live happily ever after.

Baby smiles, tumbling, and clean sheet day

Baby Cade has been smiling a lot more lately and I actually had a pretty good photo opportunity yesterday. He is such a pleasant baby and we really love having him around.

Madlyn went to her first tumbling class on Tuesday. She was a little worried (it was actually her first any kind of class) but she loved it. I didn't stay and watch because my little entourage (me and the boys) was a bit distracting for Madlyn and the other kids, but Suzy said she did great. When we got home, Madlyn showed me her 'donkey kicks', 'froggie jumps', and 'bridge falling down'. She was amazing. I'm so happy that she had fun and very excited to watch her learn more. Madlyn's big question after the class was this: "Why do boys do tumbling too?"

Aahh...Who doesn't love climbing into a cozy bed with cool, clean sheets? Yesterday was that wonderful day of days, Clean Sheet Day, and it felt so wonderful to climb into my bed after a long, tiring day of caring for children, cleaning, laundry, Achievement Days, and visiting teaching (note to reader: I didn't mention cooking - I can't be perfect). And since Cole has not been highlighted yet in this post, I will mention that he got to share in the joy of my fresh clean sheets when he woke up at 5:45 am and climbed into bed with me (I don't usually approve of co-sleeping, but since I had two boys awake and a husband leaving for work, I didn't have many options). It was definitely a treasure to have him cuddle with me this morning.

An evening away

Thank goodness for Relief Society and a wonderful husband! Tonight my ward celebrated the birthday of the Relief Society (165 years, I think) and my amazing husband was so supportive about my attendance, even though it meant a babysitting gig for him that involved our oldest 2, as well as the neighbor's 2 young boys. I felt a little guilty about leaving him with all that, but I was so grateful for the opportunity to go. I loved the adult female conversation (a rare commodity these days), the laughs, and the ice cream sundae at the end (but who wouldn't love that?). And while I was only there for just over an hour, it gave me the extra boost that I needed to keep pressing on. Thanks Jeff!

My simple pleasures

Although there have been some detours and unexpected twists along the way, my life to this point has been fairly predictable. I have always aspired to be a grown-up wife and mother and here I am, wife to a wonderful husband and mother to three darling children. While I am living my dream life, I have realized that the things that matter most to me are different than I thought they would be. As a young girl and teenager, I imagined a fairy tale existence with my over-the-top romantic husband who would bring me flowers on a regular basis and surprise me with candlelight dinners on special occasions. I knew that my children would always be perfectly dressed, well-behaved, and eternally charming (they would definitely never have runny noses and I would most definitely never wipe their noses with the bottom of my T-shirt).
My life as a wife and a mother has changed some of my views and reality has been settling in. But I have learned that I wouldn't trade my life for anything, and that while most of my pleasures could be called simple, they are treasures to me. Reality is that I have a wonderful, amazing, thoughtful, and practical husband who thinks that buying flowers is a waste of money and doesn't have any interest in candlelight. Instead, he lets me sleep in and never complains when I don't make him breakfast or lunch (which is, unfortunately, almost every day). He comes home from work and instead of eating and immediately leaving me again with 3 children while he goes home teaching, he invites the older 2 to go with him so that I can relax and put the baby to sleep. He surprises me on Saturday mornings with my kitchen table moved and him on his hands & knees mopping, just because he knows that I want to get it done but can't do it by myself. Reality is getting cozy with him on the couch after the kids have gone to bed and watching some episodes of Reba that we've been trying to watch for 2 weeks, only to barely get through 1/2 of the first episode before dozing off to sleep. I love you, honey.
With a brand new baby recently added to our family, my dreams of having spotless, well-behaved children is fading further into the sunset. Some days we barely get out of our pajamas and get our hair combed, but every day is special and sweet. Some of the simple pleasures I enjoy with my children are: watching my newborn baby drift off to sleep in his own bed, after nights of not sleeping anywhere but my arms; seeing the delight on my 20-month old son's eyes when I say, "sure do love ya" and listening to him say "Mommy...silly"; watching my almost-4 year old daughter do a somersault without hands (almost a front flip) and listening to her telling me that "Some mommies have jobs. Mom, you should get a job and Dad could stay home with us. What do you want to be? You could be a doctor...you could be a builder...Mom, what do you want to be?" Madlyn, the only job I ever want is to be your mom.
My life as a wife and mother is busy and hectic and sometimes very, very difficult. But I am right where I want to be and I hope you can enjoy reading about the pleasures that I experience every single day.