Nesting

Someone at our house is in nesting mode.

 And it's not me.

In regards to our new fluffy friends, you'll be pleased to know that Andrew's taking the role of Mother Hen quite seriously. He's been busy constructing a home for our little Easter chicks. Well after the sun has set, Andrew is outside working. The light of his head lamp is all that is there to keep him company. Meanwhile, his 'put a fork in me, I AM DONE' for the day, pregnant wife has collapsed somewhere into an exhausted heap. And while I feel the void of my best friend in the evening, I support his efforts as I to have succumbed to the sweetness of their soft "peep peeps." I want them to be safe and secure in their new living space well before our baby arrives. In return, I have faith that he'll channel all that Mother Hen-like energy to the tasks associated with taking care of a newborn baby, you know... of the human variety.

 The good news is, when the sun is out and the kids are awake, he is mindful to include them.


Watching them trail by his side, I feel thankful all over again for the experiences and quite lessons he's teaching them. There are just somethings a Dad can 'say' that a Mother can't. 
 
They're pretty crazy about him. As for me, I struck husband lottery gold. There's just no denying it. I'm one lucky 'chick' (ba-dum-CHING!). It's comforting to know that pregnancy hasn't numbed my ability to make a really horrible pun.

As it was stated in general conference today, 'little things lead to big things..." Thinking back on Andrew's hot glue gun/spaghetti noodle chicken coop masterpiece, it's been impressive to see him bring that vision to life. Also, for the sake of making him feel even more awesome; the materials he's used up to this point have all been FREE (... it's still his favorite word, you know).

With Farmer Andrew occupied with the coop, my week was filled with less exciting ventures. You'll never guess where we went AGAIN on Wednesday. What's that?  Did someone say just say,
'...to the dentist?' Thank goodness for stellar dental insurance. And no, contrary to public opinion, I do not brush my kid's teeth which chocolate syrup.

Tuesday, Henry and Lottie had their well child check ups. Monday night I went to bed with an anxious heart and teary eyes as I worried about the shots Henry would receive the following morning. I'm happy to say that from start to finish, Henry was nothing but brave. He knew the vaccines were coming, but remained a complete stud muffin through the entire appointment.

His doctor was impressed with how well Henry knows his letters, their sounds and shapes. He had Henry blend small words together. He's well on his way to reading. The real moment of parental pride came when the doctor said,

"Henry, what do you want to be when you grow up?" He paused a moment to carefully think through his options. Finally, in his sweet yet serious five year old way he replied,

"A farmer." Andrew was so pleased when I relayed that conversation to him.

Sweet Lottie... oh sweet Lottie...

Despite her brother's tame and brave responses at the doctor, she was a dramatic mess of fear and emotion. She didn't even need a shot. When it came time for her simple physical exam, she short circuited. That's Motherhood, right? You leave for the doctor mentally preparing yourself that one child is going to really need to rely on you that morning while the other will have the strength and calm, but it turns out your 'prediction' was backwards. If I ever claim maternal instinct, you have my permission to doubt me!

As for their stats, it's been a long while since I've posted an update of that nature:

Henry age 5
41-1/4 inches (50 %)
36 lbs (45%)

Lottie age 2.5 years
34-1/8 inches (20 %)
25 lbs, 2 oz (15%)

Thursday it was my turn to go to the doctor. At 33 weeks, I now visit the O.B. every two weeks. Each visit continues to include an ultrasound which I think is a great gift for any expectant Mother who is trying to stay upbeat and positive as the physical discomfort and challenges to daily living increase. Seeing my baby's sweet face motivates me to be better. Also, I feel thankful that my doctor stays late one night a week to meet with patients. Andrew can be home with the kids when I go. Our baby, he estimates, is five pounds and appears to be doing really well. :) 

For the kids, the chicks continue to be the center of attention when we're outside playing. Feeling brave, Mother Hen Andrew let them out of their box to explore on Friday. On Saturday, the kids were given the green light to carefully pick them up. 

Henry's favorite game with the chicks involves scavenging for worms on their behalf. When met with success, he brings the worm to the chicks, breaks it up into pieces (eww, boys are gross) and watches as the chicks fight for their fair share and/or chase the victor in crazed circles in hopes to steal the worm away. It's actually quite fun to watch.

We've also enjoyed introducing them to our neighbors and cousins. Tonight Nana Marie, Aunt Ami and her girls came up to see them. With Andrew at Priesthood, we were lucky to have them here for a visit.

 

And because I forgot to include this in our Easter post, the kids did dye eggs this year.

Embracing holidays everywhere, I have to laugh as I realize we pulled out the Valentine's table cloth to protect the table, used the Christmas mugs for the dye and wore bright green, lucky feeling, smocks!

Chickee-Babies, Egg Hunts and a Whoopie Cushion

*Peep peep*

An eager for Easter six year old found her way into our bed early Sunday morning. She brought with her feelings of excitement that quickly smothered her parent's want for sleep as they'd been subjected to rumors of an egg-specially fun Easter delivery. *peep peep peep*

It wasn't long until her counter-parts arrived at our door. However, unlike their sister, they'd forgotten that it was Easter morning. She shouted for joy when they appeared while Henry took sight of the large lumpy bodies in our bed and cried out,

"FAMILY SNUGGLE CUDDLE!"  In hopped Lottie and Henry. Eliza, who had jumped out of bed, was dancing around.

"Can we go downstairs, Mom?" Henry clued into what was going on which led to aborting the family snuggle cuddle. After meeting a few pregnant lady needs first, we were off.

I don't think the kids noticed that their Dad disappeared for a few minutes. Happily distracted with their baskets, they went to work giving themselves tummy aches.

In record time, Lottie had her big chocolate bunny unwrapped. It made me laugh and her cry as I quickly substituted it for something smaller.

"After breakfast, okay Lottie?!"

And then, Eliza noticed this:

 

 followed by this trail...

With her curiosity peaked, I told her to find a jacket. Meanwhile Daddy had reappeared. Following the eggs, we were led all the way to the front porch. *PEEP PEEP PEEP PEEP*

 They went wild with the discovery of baby chicks.

Their morning was spent studying their new pets, giving them names, commentating on their every move and being reminded over and over not to pick them up.

If you'd like to know who the Mother Hen of the group is, I'll tell you. Her name is Andrew Flegal. He dotes over those babies. This works out well because as awesome as adding more responsibility to a woman who is great with child sounds, it's his project. Speaking of projects, Andrew has been hard at work building our chicks a coop. I have failed at documenting his progress, but hope to do better this week. He is out late in the dark night working on it just about every night.

Breakfast with our new bunnies followed. 

 

 While on the topic of Easter eats, I tackled my first Easter ham last Sunday. The best part was I planned ahead and had a recipe on hand to use up the left overs. That's a win in the "Ali learns to cook" book.

 Henry and Lottie show how big their muscles are because eating Mom's food makes us strong. Or something like that.

I had to sneak away early for Church as I had the 'great opportunity' (as it was phrased to me) to teach the combined Relief Society/Priesthood meeting on Sunday. This left Andrew with the job of taking some shots of the kids before Church.

"Can we just take them after Church?" Am I the only Mom out there who thinks that's never a good plan? We either forget, someone is in a bad mood or there are chocolate egg stains all over their clothes. 

 He sure left his thumb print on his work that morning! :)

That afternoon we went to my Mom's for dinner (so good) and played some Easter games. With their cousins close at hand, the kids raced through her yard collecting eggs. Next, Nana Marie introduced them to a fun 'Roll the Egg ' game. Despite coming in last-ish, they still had smiles on their faces. And finally, they went to the front yard where they found a sparkling egg that corresponded with a mystery prize that she'd prepared for them.

 And as fate would have it... Henry's number assigned him to a most special prize.

It was a whoopie cushion. The joy and laughter this new experience brought to my child was quite possibly the best moment of my day.

What a guy.

And while we enjoy playing up the Easter bunny and fun traditions that go along with it, we made an effort to teach and remind the kids about the real meaning of Easter. Saturday morning, Eliza's art demonstrated that she's been paying attention.

I was so touched by this that we found a frame for it and placed it on our mantel. It also was the perfect 'display' for my lesson on Sunday. Saturday, at bedtime, the kids watched a video via LDS.org of the events leading up to the resurrection. Our sweet girl began to sob and continued to cry over the cruelty that Jesus suffered well past bedtime. And while I felt very sorry for causing her tears, it led to an important conversation that I know this Mom will always remember.

Spring Break 2013

"Hey Henry! Are you ready for a week of Spring Break fun?" 

 "Absolutely, Mom! I got dressed, just like you asked. I am ready to go!" 

Coming from the same child who occasionally hops into the shower with his underwear still on because he forgot to take them off, I wasn't totally surprised to see him "dressed" and ready to go with his pajama shirt still on. As he headed toward the car, oblivious to it all, I couldn't help but laugh.

32 weeks into this pregnancy, my days of total independence with the kids will soon be suspended. The week's agenda didn't spell out anything fancy, but I was determined that we'd have fun; dentist appointments and all.

The happiest development of the week was the beautiful warm weather. However, it didn't fully warm up until Wednesday. With a chill in the air on Monday we thought through our options carefully. It was decided that we'd explore our local mall for the first time ever. We've lived here almost two years and I'd never walked into the mall that's 10 minutes away from our house. 

We found the kids play area empty. I assumed they'd be bored within 10 minutes. I was happily proved wrong. Over an hour later, after Mom said it was time to eat, we left the play area.  It was a warm, easy, FREE activity (for Andrew's benefit, I thought it best to capitalize the word, 'free'). And the kids loved it.

*An Eliza Funny*

 We dined at the food court for lunch. Having settled near the restaurant, Chinese Gourmet, we were privy to the conversations the happy Asian server was having with her customers. From what I could observe, she was incredibly friendly. I could hear her explain to her current batch of customers how difficult it had been for her to learn English when she'd first come to America. Eliza and I could both detect her accent. After some prompting and encouragement from Mom, Eliza worked up the courage to go speak Chinese with her.

As Eliza begins the conversation, I notice the woman glance up at me. She looked sorry.

"Your daughter speaks Chinese?" She hollers. Nodding my head, I wait as she replies,

"Well I don't!" Thankfully, she was charmed by Eliza's bravery in initiating the conversation and kept asking her to say more in Chinese and commended her on her accent. By the time Eliza returned, I could tell that she was incredibly embarrassed.

"Why did you make me do that, Mom!?"

Returning to our Spring Break recap, Tuesday we went to the dentist again... YAY! FUN! SUPER AWESOME!

And while I'm pleased to report that Henry didn't break into song like last time, Lottie still managed to create an uncomfortable moment for her Mother.

Lately, when we're in public and a grown man makes eye contact with Lottie, she will point directly at him and LOUDLY inform me,

"Mom! That boy is looking at me!" It's like she wants me to do something about it. Last night at the store, we saw an older gentleman with a white beard and this time she points and shouts (with her pinky, because right now that's her pointer finger),

"Mom! Look, it's Santa Claus!"

Following the dentist, the girls put on dresses and danced together. It made my heart smile to see these sisters do that. I feel like Eliza's days are numbered before she grows out of dress ups entirely so I totally support this type of thing.

Wednesday, we drove to Salt Lake with some friends to spend the day at the Church History museum and City Creek mall. The weather was so lovely.

 

 The kids and I had a ball. That night, thanks to a group of young women who are earning money for girls camp, Andrew and I were able to go on a date with a fun couple from our ward. I was in the best mood that night. It made me realize how much I'd been in need of a social fix with my husband, sans kids.

Friday morning my Mom drove up to come play at the dinosaur park with us. The kids and I were so excited when she arrived. As much as we visit on the phone, it's that much better when she's sitting next to me in the car. Not to mention, having a helper to watch kids while you run in to use a bathroom is a real luxury these days. I'd like to think that we'll never take having Grandparent's nearby for granted after being away. Those feelings of saying 'goodbye' following a visit are still easily accessible. Anywho, thanks Mom for spending the morning with us!

It was our first visit of the year to the Dinosaur Park. Henry informed me when we came home that its one of his favorite places to be. Eliza had more of a 'been there, done that' attitude as she's been a lot with me and with her school. Lottie's reaction to our outings this week have been a lot of fun. She doesn't have a memory of being to these places before. Experiencing something 'for the first time' with your kids is a definite perk of the job.

 

I anticipated that Lottie would spend most of the morning on foot. That didn't stop me from bringing the stroller into the park with us. As I pushed the empty stroller around that morning, my excitement that there would soon be a special someone to occupy it swelled.

I love these kids of ours so much. It was a sweet taste of what's to come this summer. As I type this, I'm now realizing that when we're once again freed of school schedules and alarm clocks, our baby will be here. My due date, May 25, is the day after school ends. That's a weird thought!

We are in the final stretch: Easter, Kindergarten round-up for Henry (Ah! How did that happen!), a final getaway with our family of five, a birthday for Eliza and then baby! He'll be here soon!

My Happy BirTday

The arrival of my 29th year was ushered in with:

hugs from those I love,

happy facebook wishes, 

text messages from friends I need to see more of, 

birthday cards, 

food that tastes really good, 

 and giant, "Happy BirTday" signs.

My thoughtful husband wanted to make sure that I'd be feeling both lucky and loved the morning of my birthday. With the kids help, he went to work on making me that festive sign. Our astute six year old would be the one to point out that the allusive letter "h" was missing. She reacted as if she'd missed a word on a spelling test (something that hasn't happened in her real life yet).

"Uh. You guys! It doesn't even say, 'birthday!'" Andrew and I are still giggling about it.

Accompanying the happy birthday song and chocolate cakes were candles that Henry blew out on our behalf. Even though he was the one assigned to huff and puff and blow all those candles out, I made sure to make a wish. I sincerely love that my happy birthday songs are shared with him.

 

 Make A Wish! 

When you're a Flegal, birthday cake candles don't always make the cut. We like to celebrate birthdays bonfire style. It makes the wish that much more powerful! Or maybe the real truth is, if you're a Flegal, you embrace any reason to build a bonfire, even if it means frightening the neighbors! That dead Christmas tree lit up (pun intended) SO fast. It was both alarming and exciting. Thankfully, the blaze went out without the assistance of a fire department.

Celebrating your birthday on a weekend is great when you're a Mom. You have the help and special attention of your spouse and get to spend time with both sides of your family. Bubba and Nanna Teresa made our Saturday so special when they invited us all (with the exception of Miss Lottie who is too young) to see the production of, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" at Hale Center Theater.

The quality of Saturday's show was top notch. Eliza had a hard time sitting still, like always. Even with her wiggles, I could tell she was highly entertained. Henry quietly took it all in. In typical Henry fashion, he'd whisper his exclaims,

 "That is so awesome!" whenever that magical car began to fly and/or save the day.  They both waited in line to meet the cast at the end of the show. Henry bravely told them he recently turned five but was too shy to jump in for a picture. 

Cute Grandma and thoughtful Aunt Katie (and family!) joined us for lunch. It was delicious. Spending time visiting outside in the sunshine relaxed us all. Giving myself a present, I found a place to lay down for a nap of my own. Lottie was back with us by then and it would be rude if I didn't tell my Mom 'Thank You' again for watching her while we were at the play. Lucky Lottie got some great one on one time with her Nana Marie. Speaking of Nana, she had us over for dinner on Sunday. It was another birthday highlight.

Hold the phone. "What's that Andrew?"

Please friends, forgive me for neglecting to point out how 'awesome' Andrew's handlebar mustache looks! The arrival of Spring like weather motivated him to bid farewell to his beard. However, according to Andrew, having that beard disappear in stages is a lot more exciting than shaving it all off at once. It's kind of scary, but Andrew LOVED his handlebar mustache. It's his face. I try to 'support' his mood but will give my opinion when asked. However, regarding that mustache, I was not an enthusiastic supporter.

Henry, on the other hand, definitely was!! I made a joke on facebook (this is now Andrew's profile picture) that this is how we do a paternity test at our house. Look at those two! It's heartwarming to see their inner-redneck hearts shine! I wonder if you can get John Deere hats in a 0-3 month size. What do you think?

Both boys were pretty sad when Mom said they had to "shave" off their mustaches before Church on Sunday. Surprisingly, Andrew listened! I suspect the reason was that the request came from a birthday girl.

Sunday morning, I slept in, showered and ate green french toast (a triple win).
   

I look like a large white marshmallow, but three cheers for me because this may be the first sans make-up photo I've ever posted on my blog. I left my crew a bit early to go meet with the Bishop and my fellow Relief Society presidency sisters. When word spread it was my birthday, they asked the magic question.

"How old are you?"

"29." In unison they begin to laugh. I feel confused. Should this embarrass me? It appears that they're waiting for me to say something else. Not knowing what I'm missing, I stay quiet. A look of realization passes the Bishop's face.

"Oh!" he finally says. "You really are turning 29!"

It would seem this is the age that others perpetually repeat which is why they thought I was making a joke. I'll tell you what. Having other friends react similarly, as if I was trying to deceive them, actually did make me laugh. 

It's official. I'm 29. One more year and I say 'goodbye' to my twenties. As awkward, my specialty, as it would be to write myself a letter...I'll decline the temptation. I do, however, feel reflective (code for: stop reading now) and have a few thoughts to share as I think about my 20's so far. 

Soon after turning 20, I married my best friend; an experience that has been both beautiful, fun and challenging. Together we've welcomed three, soon to be four (!!!!), precious children to our family. The experience of learning to be a Mother while remembering to be a good wife at the same time is probably what will forever define my 20's for me. Finding that balance while spreading our wings and flying out of Utah for a serious slice of time is likewise important to note.

Many people are of the opinion that your 20's is a time to 'find yourself' and enjoy life. I absolutely admire those whose paths have taken them on world wide adventures and to those who have achieved academic and career related successes (I'm looking at you, Andrew). For this housewife, I can honestly say that for me the path of parenthood, that began at the age of 22, was absolutely the right thing. I am at peace with the life choices we've made up until now. More importantly, I feel a crazy measure of gratitude for it all.

And while my life lacks the personal time to really reflect and ponder the way I'd like, I think that being a Mom has facilitated the effort of 'finding myself' or whatever kids these days are calling it. I've learned that I can demand energy when I'm being pulled out of bed to attend to the needs of a child. Motherhood has helped me to find that extra grain of patience when I feel smothered by the rage of an upset child. It's taught me humility as I've learned to ask my kids to please forgive me when that grain of patience expired too soon. It's disciplining myself to stop what it is I'm doing so that I can really listen and communicate with one of my kids, even if that means that my plan to lose myself in that book has been foiled. It's teaching me that the standard of being a "good" Mom isn't set by the opinions of others or measured by the successful achievements born of pinterest. It's between me, the man I share this responsibility with and a loving Father in Heaven who most definitely will put me in my place when I'm not doing enough. I've learned that He will strengthen me when I remember to ask for His support and that His love for Eliza, Henry and Lottie exceeds my own.

I could be way off base with that theory. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I am. I think that journey of knowing who I really am comes from time spent on isolated beaches somewhere in the tropics. Let's make sure, honey, that we make time for that. :)   Chatting with a friend the other day, I joked that I'll worry about 'finding myself later...' after I've switched the laundry through, helped my kids with their homework and taken another piece of Lottie's potty reward treats for myself, etc.

In a matter of weeks, I'll be falling back into that physically exhausting, emotionally charged, out of this world love enveloping mist that accompanies the birth of a child. His safe arrival, God willing, will be a pinnacle point of my twenties. The admonition to, "savor this" is one my heart feels often - and surprisingly enough, I'm not automatically associating the word, 'savor' with food. :) 

The "look" of my twenties...

Baby bumps mingled with sweat pants...

and a couch full of kids... Lottie is here to thankfully remind parents everywhere that the appearance of total cooperation is false.

My twenties were traversed with a handsome, steady partner. 

And kids who love each other. Scenes like this are the reason we keep making babies. I hope they love each other always. But don't tell them I said that. We're supposed to keep those birthday wishes quiet, right?!