Maybe one day I will catch up and actually be thankful for the day that I am on. As for now, I am just proud of myself for continuning this. Usually I get this far in, realize that I am behind again and give up.
Day 6 - my right to vote.
Day 6 was election day. Justin has been a poll worker for three years now and everytime we go visit him and have lunch together. There was only one time that we couldn't stay for lunch and that was the presidential election of 2016. It was super crowded. They changed things up and Utah County started mailing the ballots out. Election day 2018 was just as bad as 2016 and we ended up not being able to stay for lunch. I am glad that I can vote, I just wish that people voted all the time, not just when they think it is important. You want to make a change, start small. Vote for the city council.
Day 7 - music
I have always been musical and I love it. I was in band and choir in high school. I have played organ/piano for my church since Justin and I have been married. I now teach piano and have been doing that for five years and I love it.
Day 8 - Food
Yes, I know that it is generic, but it's still true. I am grateful for food. The food that I can buy for my children and my favorite food that I can eat. Since I got my gallbladder out this summer, there are still some things that I can't eat as much of.
That's all for today! I am getting tired and need to try and put the twins to sleep.
Friday, November 9, 2018
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Day of Thanks 4 and 5
Well like most things in my life that are deemed not important, I am behind. I always have good intentions, but then life happens. Most of that life is making sure that my children are nice to each other (aka not killing each other)
Day 4 - Sleep
For some reason, someone who doesn't have kids said "Let's do daylight savings. In the fall we will go backward which means everyone can sleep in one hour!" It was great as a college student. However, as a parent, I don't do daylight savings at all. All three of my kids were up at five, laughing. Thankfully, I am a morning person, but still five is a little too early. I do treasure my sleep. The best thing though is that we were all asleep by 7:30 pm. Lately I have been going to sleep at about eight because I am up at 4:30 am for my job with VIPKid.
Day 5 - My body
I may not like my body somedays, but I am grateful for it. I am grateful for every heartbeat. I am grateful for all my scars. My body is amazing. I have to admit that for awhile when Justin and I were first married, I felt like my body was broken because I couldn't get pregnant. It took me long to time to grieve for my infertility because the only thing I ever wanted to be was a mom. My body wasn't working the right way and there was nothing I could do to help it. I finally realized that I can get help and that I am not alone. With my body, I can play tag with my children. I can tickle my kids to make them laugh and I can snuggle my three precious miracles all because of my body.
Stay tuned for the rest, I promise that is coming.
Day 4 - Sleep
For some reason, someone who doesn't have kids said "Let's do daylight savings. In the fall we will go backward which means everyone can sleep in one hour!" It was great as a college student. However, as a parent, I don't do daylight savings at all. All three of my kids were up at five, laughing. Thankfully, I am a morning person, but still five is a little too early. I do treasure my sleep. The best thing though is that we were all asleep by 7:30 pm. Lately I have been going to sleep at about eight because I am up at 4:30 am for my job with VIPKid.
Day 5 - My body
I may not like my body somedays, but I am grateful for it. I am grateful for every heartbeat. I am grateful for all my scars. My body is amazing. I have to admit that for awhile when Justin and I were first married, I felt like my body was broken because I couldn't get pregnant. It took me long to time to grieve for my infertility because the only thing I ever wanted to be was a mom. My body wasn't working the right way and there was nothing I could do to help it. I finally realized that I can get help and that I am not alone. With my body, I can play tag with my children. I can tickle my kids to make them laugh and I can snuggle my three precious miracles all because of my body.
Stay tuned for the rest, I promise that is coming.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Day of Thanks 2 and 3
My second day of thanks is laughter. Laughter is the best medicine, they say. They also say that you can either laugh or cry although most times, I do both.
I love a good laugh. The kind of laugh where your smile hurts because you've been laughing so hard. I sometimes have a musical laugh. (it goes up and down in a scale) Justin has a great secret laugh that I can't share or I may be killed that I adore. Natalie's laugh is long and loud. Mat's laugh is a guffaw. Libby's laugh is super contagious. Just last night she was laughing at herself in the mirror because she was making funny faces at herself.
I will admit that I don't laugh as much as I should because there is always something else that I need to do. Something always need to be cleaned or someone is always fighting with someone else. I wonder what would happen if we just had fun. I will play with my kids when we have more space. Right and then something else will come up. It is time to STOP and play. My children will only be children once.
This brings me to day of thanks number 3 = my family.
My family is my everything. Justin and I are going on almost 13 years of marriage and 18 years of knowing each other. I cannot imagine my life without Justin. He encourages me, believes in me and most of all, makes me laugh. For five long years, we tried to have kids on our own, but nothing worked. We had finally made the decision to adopt and were approved by LDS Family Services in Georgia. A few months later, we moved back to Utah and found a fertility doctor named Dr. Foulk with Utah Fertility Clinic to try a few last minute attempts. A miracle occured and our little Natalie was born.
Two years later, we went back to the same doctor and said we want to try again. After a failed attempt, we made the decision to do IVF. We got two more miracle babies, our beautiful twins, Mat and Libby. Our family is complete.
I love a good laugh. The kind of laugh where your smile hurts because you've been laughing so hard. I sometimes have a musical laugh. (it goes up and down in a scale) Justin has a great secret laugh that I can't share or I may be killed that I adore. Natalie's laugh is long and loud. Mat's laugh is a guffaw. Libby's laugh is super contagious. Just last night she was laughing at herself in the mirror because she was making funny faces at herself.
I will admit that I don't laugh as much as I should because there is always something else that I need to do. Something always need to be cleaned or someone is always fighting with someone else. I wonder what would happen if we just had fun. I will play with my kids when we have more space. Right and then something else will come up. It is time to STOP and play. My children will only be children once.
This brings me to day of thanks number 3 = my family.
My family is my everything. Justin and I are going on almost 13 years of marriage and 18 years of knowing each other. I cannot imagine my life without Justin. He encourages me, believes in me and most of all, makes me laugh. For five long years, we tried to have kids on our own, but nothing worked. We had finally made the decision to adopt and were approved by LDS Family Services in Georgia. A few months later, we moved back to Utah and found a fertility doctor named Dr. Foulk with Utah Fertility Clinic to try a few last minute attempts. A miracle occured and our little Natalie was born.
Two years later, we went back to the same doctor and said we want to try again. After a failed attempt, we made the decision to do IVF. We got two more miracle babies, our beautiful twins, Mat and Libby. Our family is complete.
Thursday, November 1, 2018
#MomLife = Day of Thanks:1
Yes, the title of this post is hashtag mom life or if you're musically inclined - sharp, mom life.
Mom life is hard, no joke. One of my friends just posted on Facebook that she is thinking of starting a blog for all those moms who know that life isn't perfect. It made me realize that the whole reason I started my blog is so that people would see how fun life is as a mom of twins + a toddler.
Now, my toddler is almost six and my twins are toddlers, and my blogging days are not a number for the record books. But that's how mom life is for me. It is filled with screams, changing diapers, potty training, hitting, fighting, kicking, hugging, snuggling, and I love yous.
Today is the first day of November which starts the month of Gratitude for most. Today I am grateful for my mom. Ten years ago to the date, our family was going to the funeral for my mother. She had passed away after a long battle with breast cancer. That is the only time that I have ever ridden in a limo.
I still miss my mom and this year has been especially hard. I don't know why, perhaps because I could really use her wisdom as I try to help my children learn and grow. When you get sick, who do you want, you mom. When you get hurt, who do you want, your mom. When you are sad, who do you want, your mom. And my mom isn't there.
But it hit me today, that I have three wonderful children who do want me when they get sick or hurt or scared. I am their mom. I am not perfect and will always make mistakes, but this is me.
Mom life is hard, no joke. One of my friends just posted on Facebook that she is thinking of starting a blog for all those moms who know that life isn't perfect. It made me realize that the whole reason I started my blog is so that people would see how fun life is as a mom of twins + a toddler.
Now, my toddler is almost six and my twins are toddlers, and my blogging days are not a number for the record books. But that's how mom life is for me. It is filled with screams, changing diapers, potty training, hitting, fighting, kicking, hugging, snuggling, and I love yous.
Today is the first day of November which starts the month of Gratitude for most. Today I am grateful for my mom. Ten years ago to the date, our family was going to the funeral for my mother. She had passed away after a long battle with breast cancer. That is the only time that I have ever ridden in a limo.
I still miss my mom and this year has been especially hard. I don't know why, perhaps because I could really use her wisdom as I try to help my children learn and grow. When you get sick, who do you want, you mom. When you get hurt, who do you want, your mom. When you are sad, who do you want, your mom. And my mom isn't there.
But it hit me today, that I have three wonderful children who do want me when they get sick or hurt or scared. I am their mom. I am not perfect and will always make mistakes, but this is me.
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
State of the Feral address 2018 vol.1
I have decided to address all my wonderful subjects and give them an update on how our year has been so far. Yes there will be more volumes to come.
The ferrell children have been absolutely wild (living up to their name, I guess.)
Libby - still our tiny one. The good news is that on March 25, we passed the six month mark. Six month mark of what you ask. Six months before that day, our little Libby had a seizure and wasn't breathing. All tests came back positive and so we were told to wait six months. Well six months has come and gone and no more siezures. I have noticed that our Libby is our peacemaker, she doesn't like it when people are fighting, and is always willing to give you a hug. She also will say hi to anyone that she meets.
Mat - 100% boy. He throws everything that he can and loves to pick on his sisters. We finally got his rat's nest of a hair cut and he was crying the whole time. Whenever he gets upset, he comes to me and says "Hold you." I say, "You want to hold me?" and he says yes. He has to follow me everywhere and will only go to sleep with his Lotso bear. He has the biggest brightest blue eyes ever that I absolutely adore and will always say sorry when I tell him ow. '
Natalie - Five turning fifteen. She likes doing her own things and is constantly asking to go outside and play with the dogs. At the same time however, she will always be in the mood for a good snuggle. Her favorite shows are Paw Patrol and My Little Pony.
Mom - I got a job teaching English online to Chinese kids with VIPKid and I love it. I teach early in the morning before the kids are up and I go to sleep at 9:00. I have been with them for a month and a half and so I am still trying to figure out my daily routine. Justin and I teach Natalie's primary class and we often get a friend to come with us, (his name is Mat). It gets pretty crazy in our class the last hour of church.
Dad - still going strong at UVU. He was able to get his certificate as a Gallup Strengths Coach. It means that he can tell you what your strengths are and how those strengths can help you be a better person. He loves to make the children laugh and is really good at finding all our ticklish spots.
In other news.......
My parents came home from their mission in the Marshall Islands. We went to the airport to greet them and Mat didn't want anything to do with them. Libby was willing to at least say hi, but that's as far as that went.
My nephew got his mission call to Toronto, Canada, French speaking. It makes sense in my mind that everyone is getting older, because I know I am.
P.S.~ It took Mom five years to realize that Dad is exactly 30 years older than Natalie.
The ferrell children have been absolutely wild (living up to their name, I guess.)Libby - still our tiny one. The good news is that on March 25, we passed the six month mark. Six month mark of what you ask. Six months before that day, our little Libby had a seizure and wasn't breathing. All tests came back positive and so we were told to wait six months. Well six months has come and gone and no more siezures. I have noticed that our Libby is our peacemaker, she doesn't like it when people are fighting, and is always willing to give you a hug. She also will say hi to anyone that she meets.
Mat - 100% boy. He throws everything that he can and loves to pick on his sisters. We finally got his rat's nest of a hair cut and he was crying the whole time. Whenever he gets upset, he comes to me and says "Hold you." I say, "You want to hold me?" and he says yes. He has to follow me everywhere and will only go to sleep with his Lotso bear. He has the biggest brightest blue eyes ever that I absolutely adore and will always say sorry when I tell him ow. '
Natalie - Five turning fifteen. She likes doing her own things and is constantly asking to go outside and play with the dogs. At the same time however, she will always be in the mood for a good snuggle. Her favorite shows are Paw Patrol and My Little Pony.
Mom - I got a job teaching English online to Chinese kids with VIPKid and I love it. I teach early in the morning before the kids are up and I go to sleep at 9:00. I have been with them for a month and a half and so I am still trying to figure out my daily routine. Justin and I teach Natalie's primary class and we often get a friend to come with us, (his name is Mat). It gets pretty crazy in our class the last hour of church.
Dad - still going strong at UVU. He was able to get his certificate as a Gallup Strengths Coach. It means that he can tell you what your strengths are and how those strengths can help you be a better person. He loves to make the children laugh and is really good at finding all our ticklish spots.
In other news.......
My parents came home from their mission in the Marshall Islands. We went to the airport to greet them and Mat didn't want anything to do with them. Libby was willing to at least say hi, but that's as far as that went.
My nephew got his mission call to Toronto, Canada, French speaking. It makes sense in my mind that everyone is getting older, because I know I am.
P.S.~ It took Mom five years to realize that Dad is exactly 30 years older than Natalie.
Saturday, December 30, 2017
12 years and counting
Happy Anniversary to us! Justin and I celebrate a whopping 12 years today and we celebrated in style. We gave our gifts to each other in the morning. Justin gave me pearls and I gave him chocolate covered cinnamon bears, but not just any chocolate covered cinnamon bears, BYU chocolate covered cinnamon bears.
Then we went to Utah Idaho Map World Supply because they are going out of business and got a lot of school supplies because everything was 50% off. Then we went to lunch. Natalie asked if we were going to Old MacDonald (what she calls McDonald's) and we said no. We went to Texas Roadhouse and Libby, our usual happy child had the biggest hangry tantrum that I have ever seen. We ended it by going to see the Spanish Fork Festival of Lights.
We spent the day with our children, why, because we are a family and right now they need us. One day we will go on exotic adventures. One day, we will actually be able to spend a night alone with the just the two of us and no interruptions but not right now. The past seven nights, we have had one of the children sleep with us in our bed because they have either been sick or will wake up their siblings with a death scream if we put them back in bed when we check on them (Mat). There were a few nights when Justin slept on the couch with a horrible cough just because other children needed rest and they always want Mom when they don't feel good.
We are right in the middle of our crazy month as I like to call it. We have Christmas (12/25), our Anniversary (12/29), twins birthday (1/6), Justin's birthday (1/9) and Natalie's birthday (1/25). Yes, everyone's birthday in our family except mine is in January.
I am not very good at sending Christmas cards, so here is our 2017 year in review:
January: The twins turned one, wahoo, and Natalie turned four. Libby had a helmet because she had a flat spot on her head. She had torticollis and so always leaned toward her right side. She got the helmet off and graduated from physical therapy.
February: Mat started walking and never looked back.
March: Libby had surgery to put tubes in her ears. The doctor told Justin when he was done that Libby's ears were just full of gunk. The funny thing is that she had never complained of ear pain, she was just generally cranky. Her balance increased 100% during the next few days. Justin also ran his first half marathon and Natalie ran the last little bit with him.
April: I had my first night away since the twins were born thanks to a relief society activity. It was amazing. We also went to go see a movie together as a family. The movie was Lego Batman and the only one who saw all of it was Natalie. She loved it, by the way.
May: Not much happened this month, but here is a picture showing off Natalie's fashion sense.
June: Justin's sister got married and so the whole family was in town. It was really good to see everyone. Natalie really liked playing with her cousins, and everyone liked holding Libby. Justin ran the Utah Valley Marathon with a time of 5:58:58 and Libby started walking.
July: Now this was our crazy month. Mat went to Urgent Care about three different times with breathing issues and was finally diagnosed with Restrictive Airway Disease. What that means is that he is either allergic to things or has asthma but is too young to be tested. He will probably have a bad cough whenever he has a cold because of his underdeveloped lungs at birth. Natalie got three stitches on her forehead when she slipped and hit the corner of the mailbox while helping me get the mail. The final nail in the coffin for this month is when Mat cut his foot on July 24th while Justin was out of town. He ended up needing 10-12 stitches.
August: We went on our vacation to Oklahoma and Arkansas to visit family and friends. While in Oklahoma, Natalie went out and played in the sandbox with our friend's the Rex's kids and when she came in, she was covered in welts. Looks like she has an allergic reaction to bug bites, we put cream and essential oils on her and she was fine. We brought back Justin's older brother to live with us for a few months.
September: Natalie started ballet and music class. She does preschool at home. September 25 is a day that I will never forget. It started out fairly simple. Justin stayed home until lunch because he was getting over a head cold. I had piano lessons starting soon and the twins were happily playing with Natalie. I happened to glance over at Libby right as she started to fall, she fell hard but didn't cry. Justin went to go get her and told me to call 911 because Libby wasn't breathing. Her lips were blue, basically, our little girl had a seizure. Every test they did came back normal and so now we wait for six months.
October: A bittersweet month for me because it is the anniversary of my mother's death. It has been nine years and I miss her every day. I found out that my aunt passed away on October 11. She was so fun to be around and always loved to laugh. Halloween, Natalie was excited to get candy and so were Mat and Libby. Natalie was a pirate, Mat was a buffalo, and Libby was a penguin.
November/December: Justin made our complete Thanksgiving meal and it was delicious.
I have survived one whole year with three kids and my house didn't blow up once.
Natalie had her first dance recital and loved every minute of it. She wanted to get on the big stage, but there wasn't enough room.
Mat carries his Lotso Bear with him everywhere, even to church because he doesn't like strangers at all.
Libby is tiny but lets her voice sing out in song whenever she can. Her laugh is super contagious.
Merry Late Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
From the Ferrell's
Justin, Katie, Natalie, Mat, Libby, and Lotso.
Then we went to Utah Idaho Map World Supply because they are going out of business and got a lot of school supplies because everything was 50% off. Then we went to lunch. Natalie asked if we were going to Old MacDonald (what she calls McDonald's) and we said no. We went to Texas Roadhouse and Libby, our usual happy child had the biggest hangry tantrum that I have ever seen. We ended it by going to see the Spanish Fork Festival of Lights.
We spent the day with our children, why, because we are a family and right now they need us. One day we will go on exotic adventures. One day, we will actually be able to spend a night alone with the just the two of us and no interruptions but not right now. The past seven nights, we have had one of the children sleep with us in our bed because they have either been sick or will wake up their siblings with a death scream if we put them back in bed when we check on them (Mat). There were a few nights when Justin slept on the couch with a horrible cough just because other children needed rest and they always want Mom when they don't feel good.
We are right in the middle of our crazy month as I like to call it. We have Christmas (12/25), our Anniversary (12/29), twins birthday (1/6), Justin's birthday (1/9) and Natalie's birthday (1/25). Yes, everyone's birthday in our family except mine is in January.
I am not very good at sending Christmas cards, so here is our 2017 year in review:
January: The twins turned one, wahoo, and Natalie turned four. Libby had a helmet because she had a flat spot on her head. She had torticollis and so always leaned toward her right side. She got the helmet off and graduated from physical therapy.
February: Mat started walking and never looked back.
March: Libby had surgery to put tubes in her ears. The doctor told Justin when he was done that Libby's ears were just full of gunk. The funny thing is that she had never complained of ear pain, she was just generally cranky. Her balance increased 100% during the next few days. Justin also ran his first half marathon and Natalie ran the last little bit with him.
April: I had my first night away since the twins were born thanks to a relief society activity. It was amazing. We also went to go see a movie together as a family. The movie was Lego Batman and the only one who saw all of it was Natalie. She loved it, by the way.
May: Not much happened this month, but here is a picture showing off Natalie's fashion sense.
June: Justin's sister got married and so the whole family was in town. It was really good to see everyone. Natalie really liked playing with her cousins, and everyone liked holding Libby. Justin ran the Utah Valley Marathon with a time of 5:58:58 and Libby started walking.
July: Now this was our crazy month. Mat went to Urgent Care about three different times with breathing issues and was finally diagnosed with Restrictive Airway Disease. What that means is that he is either allergic to things or has asthma but is too young to be tested. He will probably have a bad cough whenever he has a cold because of his underdeveloped lungs at birth. Natalie got three stitches on her forehead when she slipped and hit the corner of the mailbox while helping me get the mail. The final nail in the coffin for this month is when Mat cut his foot on July 24th while Justin was out of town. He ended up needing 10-12 stitches.
August: We went on our vacation to Oklahoma and Arkansas to visit family and friends. While in Oklahoma, Natalie went out and played in the sandbox with our friend's the Rex's kids and when she came in, she was covered in welts. Looks like she has an allergic reaction to bug bites, we put cream and essential oils on her and she was fine. We brought back Justin's older brother to live with us for a few months.
September: Natalie started ballet and music class. She does preschool at home. September 25 is a day that I will never forget. It started out fairly simple. Justin stayed home until lunch because he was getting over a head cold. I had piano lessons starting soon and the twins were happily playing with Natalie. I happened to glance over at Libby right as she started to fall, she fell hard but didn't cry. Justin went to go get her and told me to call 911 because Libby wasn't breathing. Her lips were blue, basically, our little girl had a seizure. Every test they did came back normal and so now we wait for six months.
November/December: Justin made our complete Thanksgiving meal and it was delicious.
I have survived one whole year with three kids and my house didn't blow up once.
Natalie had her first dance recital and loved every minute of it. She wanted to get on the big stage, but there wasn't enough room.
Mat carries his Lotso Bear with him everywhere, even to church because he doesn't like strangers at all.
Libby is tiny but lets her voice sing out in song whenever she can. Her laugh is super contagious.
Merry Late Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
From the Ferrell's
Justin, Katie, Natalie, Mat, Libby, and Lotso.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
2016: One Crazy Year
One of my friends told me that she was amazed that I was doing so well with the twins and a toddler. I told her "I go to bed every night thinking, well I survived the day and then I wake up every morning, thinking well I survived the night." Survival is the key and that's what my 2016 looked like.
2016 started with the the birth of the twins on January 6 with an emergency c-section. Even though it was an emergency, everything went great. They had to stay in the NICU for 11 days because they were both small, but they were ready to come home. (The twins birthday brings the total number of birthdays in our family to 4.) Natalie was excited to be a big sister and wanted to hold her baby brother and sister.
In March, the twins got RSV and Natalie got a really bad double earache. (We saw our doctor three times in one week). Natalie was doing well with the medicine. The day after it was finished, we gave her a health drink and she broke out in hives. I put her in the bathtub to help with the itching and noticed that her face was starting to swell. Justin took her to the InstaCare where she got shot with an epipen because her oxygen was to low. We went to the ER to wait it out and then later met with an allergist. We decided to not do the allergen test at that because what three year old would really sit still for that long. The only explanation is that it was a couple of allergic reactions that combined together to make one big reaction. It sure scared us to death.
We were able to go spend time with all my family in San Diego. Natalie kept calling it "Yan Diego." It was really cute. We went to Sea World as a family and also to San Diego Zoo. Natalie was even able to go to the beach for the first time. She was not a big fan of the water.
In September, Libby got a helmet for her head because she has a flat spot, we also started going to physical therapy for her. She was sleeping through the night and then as soon as she had to sleep with it on, that comfort went through the window. I had the chance to attend the Zija Summit. Zija is a health company that Justin and I have been with for the past two years and I finally was able to go the big event in Salt Lake and I loved it. If you want to know more about Zija, google the worlds most nutritional plant and it will bring up the Moringa oleifera tree.
My parents left on their mission to the Marshall Islands in October. They will be there until April of 2018.
Justin and I celebrated 11 years of marriage on December 29. We spent the day the with those we love most, our children.
Bring it on 2017, may it be another crazy year for the Ferrell's. (I wouldn't have it any other way)
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