family

Wonderland

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This past weekend was quite honestly, bliss. The kids had Friday and Monday off and Craig had Monday off. We took advantage of the time we’d all get together. It was one of those weekends that fills your cup, rejuvenates your soul and energizes you for the coming week. Our family played lots of games on Friday and Saturday. Over the weekend Craig and I also introduced the kids to Shrek and then watched the second one, as well. Eventually we’ll get to the other two.

On Monday we went up the mountains to Craig’s families cabin to sled and spend some time with family up there. It was a really good time. I couldn’t get over just how beautiful everything was. Absolutely stunning. It was all just so white and sparkly. It was one of those moments where you sit and stare out at the snow covered trees, watching the snow fall and sitting in that beautiful stillness and silence where you could feel the spirit closer. There was more clarity in my mind. Things felt so good and pretty. I am grateful for those moments I was able to steal while we were up there sledding and laughing.

I also got the crude reminder that I’m getting older! We went sledding down the entire mountain and it was a bouncy, chaotic ride. I wanted to be the cool mom, so I grabbed a sled, one of my kids and we shot down. Now I’m so sore ha! We had fun though, so I thiiiiink that was worth it!

First Grade

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I’m in all kinds of denial about this, but somehow today my first baby started FIRST GRADE!! Where in the world does time go, friends?! Like, were we not just starting Kindergarten a couple of days ago? Goodness..

The Day I Found Out I’m Pregnant! – 1st Trimester of Pregnancy Log

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It still doesn’t feel real. This 100% feels like a very, very good dream. But it’s actually reality! Today (January 3, 2022) I took a pregnancy test in the middle of the day and the clear, bold + sign told me loud and clear that I am pregnant!!!

The Story

We have been trying to get pregnant since October (my second miscarriage was in September) and I’ve been trying so hard not to get too hung up on the whole process, no matter how hard that can be for me. But a couple days ago I realized my period was due in the next couple of days and I hadn’t felt a single normal period cramp – and I’m one of those lucky people who start getting them a whole week before I start. I also finally let myself ponder on what the reasons could be that I get so tired in the evenings and have felt mildly nauseous for the past few nights.

Could I be for real pregnant?

I wanted to take a test but of course I didn’t have any in my house. So I added a pack to my online grocery pickup order and vowed to wait the 2 more days.

The day all these thoughts were starting was the day I was supposed to start my period. But nothing. The next day? Nothing. But that same day, I had my grocery pickup order in the late afternoon. I know it’s typically best to take a pregnancy test in the morning when you first wake up and use the restroom, but I simply couldn’t wait. I needed to know either way.

So in the middle of the day while Harrison was at school, Craig was at work and Emmett and Flora were content watching a show and playing with toys, I hid myself in the bathroom and took a test. I finished up then I watched it. I didn’t set it down for two minutes and walk away. I kept my eye on it the whole time. And as I washed my hands and watched it closely, I was greeted with a vibrant, clear plus sign.

Pregnant!

Oogie Boogie’s Bash, 2021

~ ceeceesparkles ~ 2 Comments

You already know that Halloween time in Disneyland is my favorite thing. I’ve already given you a post about our trip but I saved the best for last. So here it is! Enjoy our pictures.

We went with being the Fab 5 this year (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald) and my sisters were Chip and Dale. Our costumes were relatively easy to make and came together so cute!!

Gosh, I love it all.

General Conference Weekend LOVE

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This weekend we went to Park City, Utah with my family to spend time together, but also to watch General Conference. In my church (hi, I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints), twice a year, our church leaders speak to us and truly, its one of my very favorite times of the year. Their words are so inspired and beautiful, and this year I felt a lot of hope and peace from the messages I listened to.

The message I seemed to walk away with was that I need to be looking outward a lot more. Yes, I am important and such, but I need to be looking at my fellowmen and see how I can help them. I can serve better, love more, accept more and help people feel loved and feel the light of Christ. I’ve always tried to be a good, kind person, this was just further motivation to do so more and with more intent.

I also cannot get over Camille N. Johnson’s talk where she invited us to let God be the author of our life story. She also talked quite a bit on letting worry and fear go and moving forward in faith. I felt like she might as well have stood at the pulpit and said, “Hey, Chelsea, this one is for you,” because it was quite truthfully something I desperately needed to hear and her lovely words hit me like a ton of bricks and I can’t stop thinking about them.

I also feel a real pull to strengthen my relationship with my Savior. I want to teach my kids more about Him, as well. I want to help build their little testimonies and make sure they know how much Christ loves them and wants them to be happy.

It was a beautiful weekend. I feel rejuvenated and excited to move forward on some new goals I’ve set for myself.

Memory Keeping

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Since having my first child five and a half years ago, I’ve been wondering just how I would store my kids important papers/documents/keepsakes. Everyone has their own method that they’re passionate about, and I listened to so many ideas, but ultimately I (finally) landed on this, my own, method. I’ve seen this same idea all over the internet, so I’m not at all claiming it as my own. I’m just super excited about it so I’m sharing it with you in case you’re on the hunt for a good storage idea too! And believe me, if I can do it, so can you. It was super simple and very satisfying.

I ordered file folder boxes and files. The boxes I ordered came in a pack of 4, so I even have one ready for my next baby! Then I ordered a pack of files for each box – the packs I ordered came with 25 (I think) and there are several extra folders in each box, should we decide we need them for something in the kids future. I put the folders in the box and labeled them (in this order):

Baby

Toddler

Preschool

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

4th Grade

5th Grade

6th Grade

7th Grade

8th Grade

9th Grade

10th Grade

11th Grade

12th Grade

Stats

Medical

Keepsakes

Documents

Then, with my cricut machine, I cut out their first initials in vinyl and applied them to the front and voila! Told you it was easy!

I don’t plan on keeping every single paper from school or piece of art they create (like adorable scribbles on scraps of paper, you know?) But I’m going to mindfully keep the papers that my kids worked extra hard on or are extra proud of. The papers that have a funny story behind them or are particularly adorable. The ones I think they’d be happy to see someday when they’re adults showing their own children their memories.

I have put the bracelets we wore in the hospitals for their births in the Baby folder, along with ultrasound pictures, etc. In the boys Toddler folders, I put the bag of clippings from their first haircuts. Things like that. I also knew I had to have a folder dedicated to their stats from doctors appointments. I’m obsessed with my kids stats so I wanted them readily available.

What else would you add?!

Powerful in a Sweatsuit

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Did you watch WandaVision? The series just finished on Disney+, but you can – and absolutely should – still watch it if you haven’t already. I give it all the stars and all the thumbs up. Wanda Maximoff, AKA, The Scarlet Witch, has always been one of my very favorite MCU (marvel cinematic universe) characters, but I think this show put her at #1 on my list.

Anyway, this post will have very small “spoilers,” if you’re worried about that. But mostly, I just want to talk about how…

MOMS ARE FREAKING POWERFUL

Here is why my brain is in this place, and here is how Wanda is also a part of this thought: In the last two episodes of WandaVision, Wanda is in a pretty intense ‘battle.’ She is kicking butt, defending herself and her sons and husband, protecting her loved ones and what she cares about, being super amazing and super powerful….ALL WHILE WEARING SWEATS!

I mean, let’s hear it for the queen!

It made me think of real life. I can’t speak for all of you, but I know I do a lot of my mommin’ while wearing a cozy sweat suit. I also know that sometimes it’s real easy for me to get down on myself because of not always getting ready or accomplishing everything on my to-do list. Or maybe I’m feeling a little guilty because I’m not the “perfect mom” I follow on Instagram. You know?

But then I watched Wanda, who was being awesome and so powerful. In sweats. I mean, will I ever shoot magic red orbs from my palms, be able to alter reality and control things with my mind? Unfortunately, no. But I CAN do amazing, awesome and powerful things in my sweats too!!

Toward the end of the final episode, Wanda turns into The Scarlet Witch, for real. It’s soooo cool – definitely still fan-girling about this. Then she dons her new superhero suit, which, might I add, is the best MCU costume I’ve yet to see. It’s an incredible scene, I won’t lie. But you know what? The new outfit isn’t what made her so cool. It was her and her actions. Sweatsuit Wanda is just as powerful as New Outfit Scarlet Witch.

The outfit, the situation, the location… that’s not what makes us powerful. We as moms, are doing powerful things every single day. And let’s be honest, we are probably in sweats. Our powers and things we balance, accomplish and work at are tremendous. We all have a little New-Outfit-Scarlet-Witch inside of us, we’re just doing it in our Wanda Sweats – and we are awesome! I hope you know that. I hope you believe that.

Not So Much the Room, But the People

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We moved into our new home in early October. We loved our old home so dearly – it was perfect for us and had been the birth place of so many of our most cherished memories. I remember when we made the decision to move, I was sure we were making the correct decision, but I was also so nervous about leaving this home that we’d made ours. One day I was sitting in one of my favorite spaces in our old home, Flora’s nursery. I looked around at this little room we spent so much of our time making perfect for our baby girl and I felt a bit devastated, fearing I’d never love a room again like I loved her room. What if I never felt the love or connection to our new home that I did to our old home? It actually scared me. How could we love a place like we loved our old home?

Now it is January and we have been in our new home for almost four months. We took the first couple weeks making some changes to the home to make it fit us. I took time to really consider the way I wanted to decorate and put a lot of thought behind what I purchased to put around our new home.

Funny enough, the room we just barely finished, and now, one of my very favorite rooms in the whole house is…Flora’s nursery.

The second her happy, pink room was all finished, I sat in the chair in her room and surveyed the space. It hit me like a ton of bricks that, yes, a home and a room can be really special and seem irreplaceable, but what actually matters is the people in that home. I mean, yeah, a nicely decorated room can sure help how you feel about the room for sure. But I was so powerfully reminded of all those cheesy quotes, “home is wherever I’m with you,” and so on. It’s not so much about the home, the walls and the decor, but the people that are within those walls. It’s the relationships you have with them, the memories made with them and the bond you have with them. That’s what makes a home so special.

Mom

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Yesterday was my moms birthday. She is all things wonderful, amazing, good, happy, peaceful and magic. She is the best of the best. I try so dang hard to emulate all that she is. Did you know I’ve never been embarrassed of my mom? Never. She’s always been my best friend and I’ve always been proud of that. I always wonder HOW she somehow managed to have that same relationship with all of her kids. We are all so close to her and tell her our deep secrets that I don’t know if its super common for kids to tell their mom. My mom knows everything about me and I know that all those things I tell her and pieces of me are safe with her. She has always been a safe space for me. She listens, understands and doesn’t make anyone feel bad for feeling or thinking what they do. She understands everyone is different. She doesn’t try to change people to fit her liking – she likes them for who they are. She is patient. She is the perfect balance of mom and friend.

I want to be her when it comes to mom. I hope and pray my kids love and adore and trust me in the ways that my sisters and I do with her. I want to be the kind of mom she is so I can have the same phenomenal relationship with my kids that she has with us.

She is the grandest. I adore her. I love her and I am so proud to be her oldest daughter.

Love you mom. Happy Birthday (yesterday)!

Big News!!

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Eeeeeeee!!!! I am so happy to be able to finally announce this! We moved!! We are in a different home!

It’s so crazy. Honestly, a few months ago if you would have asked us if we had moving on our radar, you would have for a big ol’ NOPE for us! We planned on staying in our home for several more years. We knew how we could make it work and we felt good about it. But then an opportunity came up with the new house. It was an opportunity that truly, we would have been absolutely idiotic to have turned down. We didn’t make the decision quickly, and we discussed the heck out of the pros and cons. We came to realize that both options were right. Staying in our old home would have been fine. So would moving to a new house. So ultimately we just had to just decide which was more right.

We knew we’d be silly not to do it. So we did. We chose to move. This new home has so much more room. It is a good home in a good area. We feel good about our decision. It’s exciting!

We are still in the phase of trying to get used to it all. Quite honestly, it feels like it happened really fast. So now that we are in our new home and slowly making it our own and personalizing it, it’s all starting to really set it.

We feel really fortunate. We feel blessed and excited. Our kids (and dogs) have transitioned into the new home really well and things are going great. Now if only I could figure out how to decorate my new living room!!

I’ll be sharing more about the house and some of the projects we are tackling as we go. Thanks for following along! I really do appreciate you being here.