A Peek at the Poulsens

Ahh, Christmas. Here and gone again already, but I already have a fond place in my heart for this particular Christmas. Natalie is finally old enough to actually enjoy opening presents/the whole Christmas Experience : the Grinch, Christmas lights, staying up late on Christmas Eve, Christmas trees, love. It was so fun to share the traditions of the holiday with her and especially to teach her about the Nativity. She easily recognizes Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus, and loved watching videos about the first Christmas. We watched one on biblevideos.org where the angel visits Mary, and Natalie was absolutely glued - it was pretty magical to watch her soak it up. I'm so grateful we can mix the fun festivities of this time of year with the extra spirit that teaching about Jesus Christ brings. At first I wasn't looking forward to this Christmas quite as much since none of the Plumb family were really going to be together - Mom in Utah, Dad/Annie in California, Max in Austria, Sa...

It happened to be both rainy AND a Monday today, but it wasn't as bad as the Carpenters say. We had to go to the store in the morning and then we kind of hibernated. We had lots of cozies with blankies and hot chocolate and Monsters University (Stockton's favorite) and Grinch (Natalie's favorite).  funny yawns siblings Isn't it sweet that they wanted to sit together? I promise I didn't even pose them there. They gravitated towards each other and got all settled. Love : ) mommy cozies  Stockton had bonked his head and wanted loves so I was already cozy with him, but Natalie saw us and decided she needed in on the action. We stuffed ourselves into the chair and snuggled for a few lovely minutes. Warm, cozy, calm children are the best. first haircut! I was tired of the unruly rat tail on Natalie's neck, so one day I decided to just go for it and one snip later, VOILA! A drastic difference from just one cut! I was so proud of myself! It...

We like having people over for dinner and do it pretty often, but this season we wanted to raise the bar. Last month I read a random newspaper article about "Friendsgiving," basically Thanksgiving with friends. I thought it was such a fun idea and wanted to host one, minus the turkey. (I feel like you have to be married for ten+ years before even considering making your own turkey. No thanks.) Thanksgiving came and went and then we were into Christmasland, so we decided to combine both holidays into...  FRIENDSMASGIVING 2014  The table was set with effort and care (Look, do you see the cloth napkins there?) A single candle was lit and shon bright Lighting our friends and food, that night the table (i'm sad I didn't get a better picture, it really was pretty)  Willy and Natsby, excited to eat Wiggling their forks and kicking their feet There too were Renetta, Dan, Mabel Lou And Ross, Aly, Spencer, and Colt...woohoo! aren't they the c...

we're both looking AND smiling at the same time! renetta is a master photographer!  We have had random nice weather recently and the kids are glorying in it - Stockton is CONSTANTLY trying to escape out the door. When I took stuff to a friend's car earlier after the shower, Stockton was standing outside holding onto the railing in only a onesie, looking so thrilled with himself, ha. I wish I had a picture. LOVING the leaves in the backyard friends are fun. also, she still begs for a dress every morning. i use it as a potential reward/punishment now. ("was that a good choice? i guess you don't get to wear a dress anymore.")  Stockton naps for at least thirty minutes longer than Natalie, (although lately it's been more like an extra hour,) and I love that one-on-one time with my Natsby. She usually wants to be cozy for a little while and then do something fun, like wrapping "presents" or making cookies. I love that we are pals. (I also...

My high school mascot was the Monarchs (as in KINGS, not butterflies, thank you very much) and my little sister is on their swim team now. I took my Natsby to go watch her race last night and in the car on the way there I was teaching her how to cheer, etc. "Go Monarchs!" turned into "Go Monies!!" for some reason, but she was really good at saying "Go Annie!" with her arm raised in triumph. She also inserted a few "to infinity, and beyond!"s for good measure. My sister is an amazing swimmer and it is so fun to watch her race - Natalie liked all the splashing and said "so fast! so fast!" It was a fun little outing, especially since Mimi was there too! she was very into the race and didn't want to take time to take a picture Also about "monies," I'm not sure why I'm focused on spending money on my children for Christmas...a) you could give them a box of kleenex and they'd be thrilled and b) they don't h...

I feel like this joint shower for good friends (one expecting a boy and one expecting a girl) should really have been called a FREE FOR ALL TODDLERS Shower, ha. It was awesome! We did it during lunch time so all the non-school age kids came and it was cuh-razy, but so fun. It was a GIANT play date and the kids were alllllll over the place. I think in total we had 25 children and 14 adults, and some children even stayed home with daddies so we weren't even all represented. Nuts! We had pizza and cookies and salad (well, at least the adults had salad) and presents and diapers and balloons and fun. Congratulations, friends! It's always a happy occasion to celebrate new babies with our ward family : ) this is just the living room...the bedrooms and basement were taken over too! the gang : ) love you guys! p.s. with all the kid craziness etc the puppy chow went mostly unnoticed and i'm secretly glad muahahahaha, more for me! but i'm eating it with a spoon so that ...

I have two Public Service Announcements regarding getting pregnant, and yes, they resulted in a Mr. Stockton and a Baby #3, so I speak from experience.  PSA #1: you can (and, if you're me, will) get pregnant even if you're breastfeeding. So much for "natural birth control" for this mama. PSA #2: you can (and, again for me, will) get pregnant even if you are on your period. Surprise! (tmi?) "baby loading" We figured it's been what, almost a year since we had a baby? Probably time to boost our numbers. Ha actually no, we feel very much like Heavenly Father is in control...and also happen to get pregnant very easily (see above). It's kind of weird/exciting/new to think that with this third baby we could be close to being done having children. Or maybe not! I'll have 3 babes before I'm 25 - what?! I feel like this is both a blessing and a curse: blessing to be such a young, healthy, energetic mom, but "curse" because at ...

Last month we had a self-imposed Symphony Night at the Holland Center with the Omaha Symphony, and it was GLORIOUS. They did Mahler's "Resurrection" and of course it was stunning, but it was also so nice just to be in such a beautiful venue with other people who are all there experiencing the same musical joy and wonder that you are. I am so glad that classical music is alive and well! Live performances of incredible pieces from the composer giants are always ALWAYS worth it. There's nothing like feeling the music in your bones when it is loud and in your soul when it's quiet. (Thanks for babysitting so we could go, Poulsens! : ) ) Austin is showing off his fancy cuff-links in the picture with me, ha

My mom scored a racecar bed from a friend and we put it in Stockton's room for "later," but didn't realize how huge it was. It's just a twin box spring and mattress, but the racecar "shell" makes it so much bigger! The kids loved having it in there to play on for a couple weeks, but I was annoyed by how much space it took up, and Natalie had had a streak of difficult nights in the crib recently so I thought I'd move the mattress into her room so she could get used to the idea of a bed. Apparently, there was no "getting used to" necessary: she ran in, saw the bed, climbed in with blankie and kitty and asked me to close the door. I was like alllllllrighty then, let's see how this goes! And guess what? She did SO WELL! She didn't climb out once (except on the second night, and then she just stood by the door crack and asked me to come tuck her in (yes, sweet princess girl in cozy jammies with rosy cheeks, I will always tuck you in!...

The LDS Church released a new Christmas program to help us rediscover the true meaning of CHRISTmas and how we can focus more on Christ and become closer to Him during this joyful season and all others, called "He is the Gift." I love it. I love that it reminds me that Jesus was born to earthly parents and lived and breathed just like us (and still does). I love that after watching the video and studying more about Him I feel my money spending temptations slipping away. I love that it brings the spirit into my home and continues to reinforce the knowledge of the Gospel to my children, and my husband and I. I love that I feel loved and my self-worth grows as I ponder on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and I love that my missionary brothers and sister-in-law (and 80,000+ other missionaries) are spreading this good message around the world. He Is the Gift  - watch, even if you've already seen it The brief video is just the beginning - click on the links below the...

I've found myself using his first and middle name together more often recently for some reason. Stockton Luke. Has a nice ring to it. Can you get enough of those warm blue eyes and cheeks of perfection? Stockton continues to bring a very sweet presence in our lives. He's starting to get even more animated and has been very affectionate lately. Whereas silence when Natalie is involved is very suspicious, I never worry if I haven't heard from Stockty in a while. He's always just playing quietly with some toys in a corner. He loves exploring but at the same time is much more cautious than his sister. His walking record is six steps and it might be the cutest thing I've ever seen. Everything came so fast and easy with Natalie - Stockton takes things more slowly and in his own deliberate way. He'll walk when he decides he feels like it, or when he figures out that it is faster than crawling. He loves climbing up slides with his socks off and then sliding down o...

My life is a collage. The same themes (babes with toys, babes in carseats, babes at Target, babes being generally adorable...babes period) are spread around every day but in new and fun or still old but fun ways. We stick to the same types of things - playing, errands, friends, movies - but every day, every hour I laugh at something different, whether it's Natalie streaking by yelling "RUN KEVIN!" from Home Alone or Stockty chewing gleefully on the doll's hand. I'm glad I am not missing a single second of their sillies. I'm glad they want to share their excitement and joy with me, and that they come to me for comfort and love. Being a mom is overwhelming in its emotional depth, especially when you think about all the other millions, billions? of moms who feel the same way about their own but different children. Mwah, babes. I love you. does it get old watching your children interact (nicely)? i love the top left of natalie showing stockton how to climb up...

November 2014 so fashionable...for the last week she has refused to wear anything other than dresses (being nakie is an acceptable alternative.) someday I'll get rid of the bink...but look at that happy, cozy girl (notice Egg Friend on the left...he was a reject from my mom's kitchen that Natalie has totally become attached to lol) 2 things she loves: seeing the lobsters and carrying a bag of produce through the store the other day, she wanted to put the two together and "show pears lobsters." yup. show the lobsters to the pears. that's my natsby. my brown-eyed beauty scarves are one of her favorite accessories to play with. she wraps her head and says "nice and warm" over and over.  she loves riding the wrapping paper like a broomstick. she stayed in that position in the top right picture for like 20 seconds before we could move on in the store. then (bottom right) she was telling me she had to "catch the snitch." WE ...

To celebrate Internet Independence Day (aka WE FINALLY GOT INTERNET) I decided to write an ode. From an excerpt on the "ode" wikipedia page:  A n elaborately structured poem praising or glorifying an event or individual. First subject that came to mind was a dear, old friend. Ode to Target My heartbeat picks up and my breathing gets heavy My brain jumps around like a leaking levee My excitement I simply cannot keep contained When a big bullseye Target store comes into range The signature red makes me feel warm and fuzzy The lack of the gloom like at Wal-Mart (so scuzzy) The rotating entrance ceiling displays It all gives me joy for days upon days Each trip is a gift that just keeps on giving There's no end to browsing - it's the height of living The snacks and the office supplies, home decor The seasonal aisle and so much more Dear Target, Oh Target, you're so good to me You entertain my children mostly for free We'...