My Blog Has Moved

I have decided to switch to a new blog address because while we have loved being the DESERT monsons, we won't be desert people forever (for instance we are most likely moving to Detroit this summer). Plus, I was just in the mood for something new :O)

Our new blog address is: http://monsonmamamemories.blogspot.com

We Like Free!

Students around here make free entertainment an art form . I have to say Provo is a pretty wonderful place for family friendly and pocket friendly. We really dig that! Here we are at a UVU basketball game because Thais got tickets at school and we figured it was something fun and free to do on a Saturday night. One of my New Years Resolutions is to stay true to the student budget. This basically means don't spend money. I am really big on family outings so I've decided to join the club and see what FREE adventures we can embark on during our time in good ole' Provo. I will keep you posted :)

Crazy Mom

Sometimes I wonder if this is how my children see me. I mean Skyler did pray the other night that mom and dad would not yell at him anymore (sad!) This picture just describes how I feel sometimes. When Thais was born I felt sorry for moms who expressed feelings of how hard motherhood was. I would listen to them politely but deep down I just felt bad for them because I knew I would adore motherhood every single step of the way. Almost six years later I still love being a mom but man oh man this is harder than I thought. Sometimes I watch 19 and Counting and I think, " Why can't I be like Michelle Dougar!" She has NINETEEN children and she is always perfectly calm and sweet at all times. Granted she has never met Skyler the Rhino Monson :), but still something tells me she could still do it. I just had a day the other day where I cleaned chocolate milk up on the carpet, chased a three year old who ran out of the store three times and later scolded the same three year old for scratching his baby sisters face. I mourned over a $140 dollar doll house that was broken by my five year old who could care less because in her mind money really does grow on trees. There were ear infections, grumpy kids, late appointments and never ending dishes and piles of laundry. In the chaos of it all I am afraid that my own face mirrored this crazy mom picture a few times. It was a little bitter sweet to hear Thais declare at the end of the day, "Mom I am going to be so good for you because you are sad a lot because you have to do really hard things!" Ouch right!

Today I think I am going to bury the "crazy mom" in me and slow down. I am going to let "cool mom" take over and soak in the time I get to spend with my kiddos. I have a baby on my lap with the best kissing cheeks in the world and a cute little boy in a spider man costume who is asking me to play "spider man" with him.

Okay so I just went into the living room and Skyler has colored all over my couches with green crayon....wish me luck!

Things I love about Grace...

I love her smiling eyes.

I love how her lashes tickle her chubby cheeks while she sleeps.

I love how she communicates affection for us all without speaking

I love that she can stay entertained for almost an hour on the floor while I work out

I love kissing her face

I love that she looks like my baby pictures

I love her chunka chunk legs

I love her "tired" sounds

I love that she is going to be tall

I love watching her watch her siblings

I love the way she looks at her daddy

I love waking up in the morning to one of her smiles

I love dressing her up in darlin' girly clothes.

I love that her name is Grace

I love to sing Amazing Grace to her night

I love her dark eyebrows

I love having her in my arms

I love watching her roll backwards and forwards on the floor and underneath our coffee table.

I love watching her discover new things

I love how excited she gets when I give her something squishy to chew on.

I love that her thighs barely fit through the bumbo

I love how she smiles and laughs at perfect strangers

I love her calm spirit

I love how when I think about this beautiful baby I feel a love so profound that my heart could burst. I love babies. I love this baby and I am sooooo grateful for our Gracie Girl.