I was thinking today about a phenomenon I have noticed.

When I go out with my kids–all three of them–I get a lot of looks and a fair number of comments about my situation. I’m young to have three kids, I know, and I look even younger than I am, so I understand that I might stand out; but since we added the third actual person to the mix–as opposed to when I just had the two older ones and a baby bump–I feel like a lot of people don’t know what to do with me. People will, not infrequently, look at us and just stare for a while, before snapping out of their momentary stupor and moving on with their shopping or walking or whatever. And people say things to me like “Wow! You’ve got quite the crew there!” And it isn’t like the way you’d say “Wow! You just knocked out that awesome research paper in one weekend!” It’s more like the way you’d say “Wow! You just ate an entire pizza in 8 minutes!”

So, after our trip to the grocery store today, I got to thinking about why people don’t seem to know what to do with me and the kids. Those who have actually articulated opinions on the subject seem to think that somebody so young is not truly prepared for the responsibility and work of appropriately raising three children. Therefore–this is my assumption based on a few statements–it seems irresponsible for someone so young to choose to have said children, or rather choose not to prevent their births in one way or another.  But I thought of that principle–a very young person taking on large amounts of important work and responsibility–and applied it to another situation.

If I were to mention to somebody that I was currently working on my third graduate degree from Princeton University–this while I appear to be a teenager–I feel like the response would be very different.  I think they still might not know quite what to do with me, but it would be out of awe and respect rather than condescension and concern. Why is that? Graduate degrees from highly respected universities are a huge amount of work, and a big responsibility. Why could a 25 year old who looks like a 19 year old be able to do those things and be considered not just in her right mind, but apparently prodigious for doing it, while said 25 year old who has three Oxford quality children–or any other person who has more children than is expected–must be irresponsible?

I don’t really have the answer–though I’m quite certain that Satan is somewhere within it–but, in any case, I’ve decided to change the way I think about things just a little.

 

I would like to consider myself a prodigious mother. After all, not just anyone could handle three kids under the age of 5 at the age of 25 (as is evidenced by the great minority of people fitting that description)! And not just anyone can do it full time, day in, day out and not only remain sane, but even enjoy it most of the time! So anyone who does do those things, or similar things,· is prodigious in my book.

I’ll admit that somedays I’m more prodigious than others. Somedays I very greatly resemble that 19 year old people believe me to be in my whining and frustration. But other days, I even impress myself with just how well I manage things and even love them!

So here’s to all the prodigious mothers in the world! We are all raising Stanford, Harvard, Oxford quality children (because Heavenly Father doesn’t make anything less)! And even if nobody else knows what to do with us, we know we “are laying the foundation of a great work” that is far more important than all the graduate degrees the world could ever offer us!

This year, Josh’s birthday fell on Fathers’ Day. That meant that there was only one day to celebrate him as a person and as a father. Well, we couldn’t have that, now could we? 🙂

We started celebrating Josh’s birthday last Monday, June 13. My goal was to have a gift every day and some kind of party every day. (Yes, it was exhausting, but also fun, and totally worth it!)

Monday, Josh got a non-neutral/blue t-shirt because he keeps talking about how he doesn’t have any. He wanted it to say something cool on it.

Our party that night was a bbq with Josh’s favorite things–that means we had chips and donuts with our bbq.

Tuesday, we had his family over for cake and ice-cream, and he got a new tool he has been wanting for a while.

Wednesday, Josh got a gift in the morning, but since he had a church meeting in the evening, we did less of a party. I made the chicken and rice that he requested, and we put his candle in it to sing to him.

Thursday, gift in the morning, and fiesta for the party that evening! Josh picked everything he wanted for tacos for dinner, then we had a piñata with his favorite candies afterwards. There was even some mariachi music that night!

Friday’s “party” was a date! My sister Mary watched the kids (all three of them!!) while we went on a date! We were originally going to go get burgers at this famous place in SLC; but it turned out to be a bar, and I hadn’t brought any ID. So, instead, we went to a french cafe! It was totes delish!

Saturday was Josh’s little brother Aaron’s birthday, so we went to his party. It was fun!

For Fathers’ Day, Josh requested a special breakfast in lieu of lunch (we did dinner at his parents’ house). He picked home-made-biscuit, sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches! They were so good! Josh made the biscuits even though it was his day off, because he is the pro biscuitier. His request was, however, to be able to make them with no small helpers.

Josh asks for the same gift every year for Fathers’ Day. He wants an updated picture of me with the kids for his desk at work.

So, as of Sunday, Josh is officially 28 years old! I’m so glad that he has been mine for 5 of those years, and that he will be mine for infinity more!

Happy Birthday, Josh!

 

This past Sunday, Josh was able to give Portia an official name and blessing! It was so special to have him bless her–just like it always is. I am so grateful for a husband who worthily holds the Priesthood and uses it to bless our family and others! I am also grateful for Portia and for how she adds joy to our lives!

From the time Fay was only a few months old, I decided that if we ever had another girl, she was going to be blessed in a tutu. And I made sure it happened! I made everything she wore. I also made her some matching booties, but they were MIA during the picture. The onesie is a funny story. I didn’t think about the fact that she would need one until about a week before we blessed her, and then I couldn’t find one ANYWHERE! A white onesie would have been a cinch to locate; but the outfit is cream-colored, and nobody seems to think small babies should wear solid cream.  So, I dug through Fay’s baby clothes and found an old long-sleeved 24 month onesie that had stains on the collar. I decided that it would serve better as a blessing onesie than its original self, so I turned it into a flutter sleeve 3 month onesie with no stain on the collar. 🙂  And just like half of my sewing projects, it turned out WAY better than it should have! Divine Intervention!

Some fun facts about Portia include:

• She is a super happy baby. Josh, and others who were in the circle, mentioned how she just beamed through her entire blessing. She is especially smiley to new faces. So if you want your life totally made, just stop by and hold Portia for a while. She will smile at you like you are the best thing that ever happened!
• She has torticollis (left torticollis, to be exact), which means the muscles on the left side of her neck are shortened, forcing her to look to the right. This caused her to develop plagiocephally or a flat head. She is in physical therapy in an effort to correct the issue, and the torticollis is being corrected quite well. However, if her head doesn’t shape up (oh yes I did!), she may have to get a helmet.
• She has a giraffe tongue! Her tongue is seriously so long, and she sticks it out and chews on it all the time. It’s rather adorable.
• She loves tummy time. Both Fay and Carter detested being put on their tummies. But Portia thrives there! She can lift her head to fully forward (as opposed to looking at the ground), and turn it either side–though she prefers to turn right, believe it or not. She also loves to roll off her tummy and onto her back.

Portia and the siblings get along very well. She is a patient baby, and will let Fay hold her without fussing, and just coos at Carter when he sticks his face in hers. Both kids love her, too! Fay loves to call her “bebe” and cuddle up with her. Carter will frequently plop down next to her and just talk to her in his own little toddler way, saying her name over and over. It is so special to watch them be so good to her, and to see how they all three love each other so much!

I’ll be honest. Having three kids has thrown me for multiple loops in the past three months. I definitely feel less in-control than I did before Portia was born, and I often wonder what we were thinking having three kids so close together. But when I take a step back and think about this beautiful family that Heavenly Father has blessed me with, I can’t help but be grateful that we were insane enough to do it the way we did. Portia has helped our family grow closer together, and realize another level of what we can handle. And we are happy! Just don’t expect to ever find the dishes and the laundry done at the same time. 🙂