A Little Behind

OK, I know, I'm a little behind. But in my defense, I'm SUPER conflicted about what to post on here and what to post on Facebook and how much you'll all hate or love the overlap. It's something I can't figure out. So my first question to you is,

How do you decide what to put on your blog and what to put on your Facebook?

I really want your answers.

Here's a quick little update on each of us:

Chris has spent the last few days enjoying the Homerun Derby and the Allstar game. I really love how big a baseball fan he is. He started a strict diet the other day; I was supposed to start it with him but I have about a third the amount of willpower he does. So. He's doing great, and I'm sitting here with some of my homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Olive is kinda starting to sit up. She stays put for several seconds before toppling over. She likes to play on the floor but she inevitably rolls over on to her belly and then starts whining. My first inclination is to pick her up or roll her back over, but I feel like she'll never crawl or solve the problem on her own if I do that. Which leads me to my second question for you people...

How long do I let her fuss on her tummy before I help her out?

Seriously, I want your answers.

She's also really good these days at holding things, picking things up, and putting them into her mouth. She's eating rice cereal, and we'll probably start her on vegetables before too long. She's way more vocal and even seems a little sassy sometimes. She giggles a ton, and I think I'm starting to see dimples in her lovely cheeks. Bottom line is we can't get enough of her.

As for me, I got to go out to Sunset last week (as you can tell from my Facebook photos). It was great to see everyone. The bain of my existence right now is trying to get Olive to sleep through the night, or at least for more than 3 hours at a time. It's tough. I've been having a lot of fun with Mary Kay. I'm constantly brainstorming about ways to earn and/or save a little more money for us. I have about a million projects and goals going on, none of which get my steady attention because of Olive and because it seems like I'm always cleaning this house! I've decided not to go to Henderson with Chris as much, just so I can get more done around here, get into more of a routine, and possibly even make some friends. And lastly, I'm wishing all the time that people would come visit us.

That's about it for now, Olive and I gotta run to the store.

7. He's as irreverent as I am at church. (We seriously gotta grab the reins on this one actually). We were sitting in the pew right behind where the deacons line up for the sacrament. One of the deacons farted right in front of Chris' face. We had a split second to look at each other before we erupted with laughter and had to leave the chapel. It was ridiculous. But I love laughing that hard with him.

5. He brought me sunflowers today.

6. And a smoothie.

3. He forgives and forgets really fast.

4. He goes with me to the doctor when I'm feeling scared of her, even if that means setting his particularly busy work day back an hour.

Why My Husband Sits on a Pedestal, a New Series by Brooke Barragan

1. Olive's been wide awake and ready to play at around 5 am lately. This morning Chris took her into the living room and kept her occupied. I got to sleep until 9:00!

2. I like a clean house. I don't like to do my house cleaning on Saturdays though, I'd rather do it while Chris is working during the week so we can all hang out together on Saturdays. But it got away from me this week. So this morning when I woke up I got right to work so as to hurry and finish before our Saturday fun. Chris gladly pitched in - he vaccumed the whole house, Windexed all the windows, and hung the laundry. Everyone has different things that just really ring their bell and make them feel loved (says Dr. Chapman), one of my huge ones is getting help with the house.

Stay tuned for more reasons why Chris is on a pedestal.

Barragans in Havasu

Oatsie and Papa and John and Anna came to see us for the weekend.

(We LOVE visitors!)

We ate like kings, we watched the Yankees lose to the Mets and then the Mets lose to the Yankees, we swam, we slept, we watched movies, and we played Scrabble thrice.

(I FINALLY beat those

brutal Barragan boys!)

They really are brutal. Well, I guess I shouldn't throw John in the mix. Nestor and Chris gloat like obnoxious little boys when they win, and when they lose they pout and make up a million excuses. Rosemary kept herself busy fussing over everyone, and Anna kept everyone on their toes. We had a really great time.

(Here's some proof):

The Deal Is Sealed

Chris and Olive are napping, and the house and my heart are warm and quiet. We just got home from our weekend in St. George with so many of the people we want to know forever. Even moving here in February in the wake of giving birth and having everything be different, this is the first time my heart has felt so heavy since Havasu became home. I hope the heaviness subsides soon, and I hope for more and richer exchanges with the family and friends in my life.

David's a popular guy, and fortunately for me our family and a lot of our friends are overlaps, so I got to see lots of people I like this weekend. Chris and I drove to Henderson on Thursday morning so he could get some work done while I spent the day with Amber and Tisha. I was glad for a little undivided time with them even though it was small. We had good talks and I gleaned some good mom advice from each of them.

That evening we picked up my mom from the airport in Vegas and spent the evening talking and doting on Olive together. My mom amazes me. She has 29 grandchildren and I still felt like Olive was the biggest deal in the world to her this weekend.

Friday we drove to St. George and met up with about 60% of my address book. We lunched at In-N-Out with some family. That's where Timmy got his first gander of Olive, and I loved him loving her. The Bryners showed up there too which I was thrilled about. They are some of my favorites. We got some good alone time with them.

Later at the temple, a few of us were commissioned to corral the children while everyone else was inside watching the wonder. I didn't have time to feel rotten about not being inside because of the chaos and comedy outside. Chris and Craig did a great job keeping the kids laughing and playing. The three 5 year-old boys came awfully close to having a throwdown, and we had a few wanderers, but all in all the chaos was fun. When everyone came out of the temple and all the children were safely returned to their parents, the sweetness of seeing David's family settled in on me. I'm so happy for them.

Dinner that night was at the Pasta Factory and I was wishing I had more one-on-one time with everyone there. We all went to the hotel after that and swam and talked until the hotel staff had had enough of us.

Saturday morning most of the family met at Brigham Young's winter home and took a tour. Then we headed to Zion National Park and went for a short hike. I got to talk with Ty and Leslie, and had a little alone time with Torrance. That was lovely. After a sleepy drive back to the hotel and a quick nap we grabbed dinner and then met up at Jimmy's timeshare place. We sat and talked there until we tired ourselves out.

A lot of goodbyes were exchanged there, and some were exchanged the next morning outside our hotel. I am so blessed with such rich family and friend relationships. And during our drive home yesterday I thought a lot about how much I loved the time I had with some of them this weekend and how much I hated not having more time with each of them. I can't say exactly why it was harder for me this time to say goodbye, but believe me when I say I'm planning lots of trips right now.