new phone, who dis?

as my sister so pointed out so kindly, I* have been greatly missed in the blogging sphere**. well no more tears my friends, I am still here; busier and fatter then ever! honestly, the reason I don't write anymore is because I only have a finite amount of computer time at night [after the kids are in bed, during our Netflix time, and before bedtime] and I'm usually writing lesson plans during that time. not fun stuff but it's necessary.

so what have I been up to? I honestly have no idea. living? breathing? surviving? that all seems quite right. here's a quick update on us [not the Christmas card edition; that business goes out to Justin's colleagues].

Justin was pretty sick the last few months of the year and took a lot of time off work [insert enthusiasm here]. because of that, a lot of house projects [aka my grass] has been on hold. however he still managed to make me a bookcases so I forgive him for being sick. he's been on a lego-craze along with my boys and bought a billion [no exaggeration] mini-figures from china so that's been fun.

Landon, my firstborn in the wilderness, has turned on me and become quite the little ....poop word... I just don't understand him sometimes. he wants my physical affection but when I give it him, he usually will bite/pinch/hit/tongue [yes, tongue] me. like, whats the dealio? when I was complaining to Justin about this, he said 'that's just boy love' and honestly that was the wisest thing Justin has ever said. I never realized that before but it's so true. he still needs me but like a typical boy, can't just give me a sweet hug. he's also been a bit of a brat with tablet time, homework, music classes. my friend said first grade is a growing year and her boys struggled then too. everything is just a fight! he used to be so obedient and helpful; now he lies and threatens to punch everyone.

porter is turning 4 next week and I'm hoping this will be the end of his growing year. that kid, he sure is exhausting. physically. he has some temper problems and can't control his emotions very well. that being said, he's also very physically needy and needs snuggles all. the. time. [which is wonderful and terrible at the same time]. I've been pleasantly surprised to see how much he's learned academically this year [he's better then some of the older kids in his class] but having me as a teacher has been rough on him. hopefully next year with a neutral teacher, he'll do better. sharing is not his strong suit. he's really taken to power like Darth Vader did. "the birthday boy gets to go first!" or "it's my special toy and I don't have to share" or "if you don't give me candy, I'll tell on you to daddy". dude, calm down.

griffin, my golden child, has gotten a bit tarnished in the past year. he's starting to realize he's spoiled more so... that's been great. it's been fun seeing his personality grow and how he interacts with his brothers and other people. he's a pretty easy kid right now [knock on wood]. I'm thinking I'll let him come to my preschool next year [to avoid babysitting charges to help him grow academically].

and me? last year was a hard year. I went off my crazy pills in anticipation of getting pregnant and despite my mother in laws rumors, I am not. that plus my school and Justin's medical needs, I've gained 30lbs. so I wear a lot of leggings and stretchy pants. I'm committed to changing my eating habits this year and I've done pretty good so far. I'm back on crazy pills [that I can take while I'm pregnant] but it's not my preferred drug so I've had some not fun side effects. I got called to young woman and I honestly don't know why. the president doesn't like me [like, openly critical of me in front of the girls] but at least the girls do. I don't feel like I'm the typical YWs leader because I don't want to lie. I am who I am. it took me long enough to accept that and I'm not going to change that for anyone. that doesn't mean I can't be an example to teenaged girls. still though, the constant meetings is a bit rough but I've survived. I cannot say the same thing about girls camp. let's just pray I'm pregnant by then and can get out of it. I still love school but it was nice having a break during Christmas. my only qualm about school is that I still don't have grass and dirt is just miserable in my house.

whew! are you sick of my complaining yet? the other day I saw something like this on instagram. that hit home. my life isn't perfect and nobodies life is. it's still pretty fantastic though. I married the man of my dreams. I have three healthy and handsome guys. I live in a giant house that I love [even if I don't have grass]. I have two jobs that make me feel fulfilled and busy. I am healthy. I have a relationship with my Heavenly Father. I have friends who'll workout with me then be up for donuts after. I have family who would do anything for me. that's pretty fan-freakin-tastic.

that being said, I really wouldn't turn down some grass***.

*I recently found out that young people turned off their auto-capitalization on their phone because it's the cool thing to do. so basically I started a trend.
**excuse some of the capitalization. I have a new computer and it automatically fixes those kinds of things. doesn't it know I have a reputation to uphold on my blog?
***real grass. like in the ground. not marijuana.