Catch Up Randomness

So I've caught you up on most of the big things we have been up to but here are some pictures of other random little things going on around our neck of the woods.

Jocey loves playing with chalk.

 

Jocey is a climber.  She got stuck in her changing table.

 

Dave and Jocey love playing with her baby headbands.

 

Jocey helping daddy with the weeding.

 

We find Jocey in the weirdest sleep positions sometimes.  Now she has a big girl bed.

 

Again proof that Jocey loves to climb.

 

Stretching with daddy.

 

She wears my heels better than I do.

 

Jocey loves holding babies and has already told me that she will hold the baby in my belly.

 

Watching TV with daddy.

 

Look at this rat's nest.  No wonder she hates when I do her hair.

 

Jocey is so happy.  She did the puzzle behind her all by herself.

 

And look what we got.  Our very own washer and dryer.  We also have a dining table and chairs, entertainment center, and are working on getting shelves for the garage.  Hallelujah!

Easter Time

Again because of feeling like crap due to this pregnancy I didn't get into all the holidays like I usually do.  St. Patrick's Day was pretty much skipped.  We wore green and Dave died the batter for our french toast green but that was it.  Easter was also more low key than usual.  Jocelyn did do an egg hunt and actually grasped the concept this year.

Our group of friends at the egg hunt.  Jocey is 3rd from the right.

 

Finding eggs.

 

Jocey's best girl friends.

 

Easter morning.  Jocey got some new books, candy, and a doctor's kit (I gave that to her early because I just couldn't wait).

 

Jocey in her new Easter dress.  Don't worry, I have since bought Jocelyn new shoes that fit.

 

I got to give a talk on Easter Sunday, lucky me.  And Jocelyn is becoming quite the photographer.

 

And look at the beauties growing in our backyard, roses and calla lilies.

 

Valentine's Day Festivities

I was catching a cold so I didn't get into Valentine's as much as normal but we still had a great day.  I woke up early and made a fun breakfast for the family.

Pink scrambled eggs, heart shaped toast and bacon, and orange juice with red heart shaped ice cubes.

 

Our cute little cupid.

 

The lovely ladies.

 

That night Jocelyn hung out with Grandpa and Dave and I went and saw the movie "Warm Bodies."  It was good but I thought it was going to be more of a comedy but I still enjoyed it.

Before and After

We Dave finished painting the house a few months ago and I thought I would show you what a difference it makes.  If you saw pictures before, you know that the inside walls were bright yellow and red.

Now they are gray.  We kept a couple of rooms their original colors, like blue and tan, because they were livable.

We love the new color and have enjoyed making this house feel more like home.  But we still have alot to do.

Notice the red and yellow.  All gone!

 

Dave's dad and his friend helped alot too.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

This is the finished color and our cute little girl.

I'm 28!

I turned 28 in January and to celebrate we had friends over to our new place to play "Minute It to Win It" games.  I had never played and loved it!  We played girls against boys and it was very close but sadly we girls lost.  Next time though we will reign supreme. So here are some pictures to show you how the night went.

The point of this game is to get the Oreo from your forehead down into your mouth without hands, just using your facial muscles.  Very fun.

Put the cereal box front together first.

I can't believe how intense this gets.

Pull the tissues out of the box with one hand the fastest.

Bounce a ping pong ball into each of your three cups.

Stack the cups into a pyramid and then unstack them.

Carry pretzels stacked on a tongue depressor across the room and drop them in a cup.

 

It was such a fun birthday.  I'm trying to come up with other reasons to have another "Minute to Win It" party.

JaNEWary

There have been a lot of "NEW" things for the Ricks this month.

Jocey played dress up for the first time.

Jocey and I went to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time.

 

Jocey took her barbie swimming in the sink and tub for the first time.

 

And we got our first house! That's why I have been MIA. There is lots to be done before we have to be out of our apartment on February 11th. We got the keys on Jan. 18th and started painting a couple days later once I figured out what color I wanted. I knew I wanted a light gray and so six samples later, we found the perfect match. Silver Spoon is the winner! We have one room down and too many more to go. Not to mention, we still want to tile the dining room.

 

 

We chose the bottom left with the 'S' under it.

 

So if you don't hear from us for a few more weeks, that's why. Bye!

It's Okay to Be Me!

Yesterday, I read a blog post from a girl I went to college with.  It was a great post and I have been thinking a lot about it.  I related to it.  It basically talked about how she wanted to be okay with being herself.  To summarize, she talked about how she was always trying to be this super mom, comparing herself to other women who seemed to be able to do it all.  Not that she (or myself) have anything against these moms but it just wasn't her and it's not me.  And she would get depressed and find herself in a funk.  I have been there.....many times.

Well I've decided to adopt her philosophy.  So here's to a new me, who is okay with being just me. I hope this doesn't come across as me giving up or settling on being just a mediocre mom. And I'm not giving myself permission to be lazy.  That's not it at all.  And that's not the point my friend was making either.  It's just that I will do my best, and my best is good enough.  I want to be a great mom but just because someone else can do more or does things differently, doesn't mean I'm not a great mom.  It just means I'm me.  I will always try to be better and grow.  As long as we are moving in a forward direction, we are on the right path.  This is part of Heavenly Father's plan for us, to progress.  He doesn't expect us to get it all at once, so why should we or do we expect it?  This is so hard to put into words.  Is this even making any sense?

Anyway, here is a quote my friend used in her post that she got from Pinterest.

"Be okay with where you are, even if you know you want to change."

And with her permission, here is a link to her blog post.  I would recommend reading it.  She is better able to put into words, many of my same feelings.  Just click HERE.

And here is another awesome blog post I saw on Facebook.  Click HERE.