Ingrid

I've been spending a lot of my free time on YouTube these days. I stumbled upon Ingrid Nilsen's videos a few months ago and fell in love with her. I especially love her series "5MFU" (5 minutes for us) because they're short, meaningful videos that get straight to the point. So if you need a little pick me up/some encouragement/a friend, check her out! Here are a few of her videos that I can completely relate with.

Moody Weekend

Recently, I have been feeling a little down. I can't exactly pinpoint what has been bothering me. Maybe it's a combination of the new challenges that motherhood has presented, with a growing, sassy, 16 month old, and the uncertainty I feel about decisions that I need to make. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not ready to make said decisions or if I'm just over thinking things a bit. I know that prayer usually helps me in situations like this, so maybe I should look into that.
I love being a mom, but lately I have been getting a little annoyed with all the lovey dovey, gorgeous moms on Instagram, with their artistic photos and meaningful captions. And I'm sure they have the bad/annoying days with their kids, it's just that all they post about is the good, and even on the rare occasion when they post about the bad, it's still portrayed beautifully. Ha. Maybe I'm guilty of this too? You tell me.

Over this past weekend, my emotions were just a bit all over the place. Sundays have proven to be challenging. We started going to church from 11-2pm with the new year, and it has cut into Gwen's nap time. I know this is a very common complaint amongst LDS parents with small children, so it's nice to have friends to sympathize with. Anyway, it makes things a bit difficult and you end up with a cranky baby for the rest of the day, sometimes for 2 days. Oh, and I decided it would be a great idea to walk to church since we were actually ready 30 minutes before church started. I overestimated my cute boots, and my feet were killing me by the end of our (power) walk. Ryan made sure that I got a ride home with someone while he and Gwen walked home. It was kind of embarrassing, but it made me feel loved when Ryan kept insisting that I find a ride home.

What got me through this weekend was knowing that Ryan would have Monday off from work. I like parenting so much better with my partner. I think it motivates me to be a better mom when he's around. I dragged him to the Desert Botanical Gardens that I've been wanting to go to for so long, and we had a very nice time. It seemed to be just what we needed. Mostly what I needed to get out of my moody weekend funk.

Snow Day

Soooooooo. I mentioned that I would be making a video about our Christmas...but that did not happen because I didn't take out my DSLR once on Christmas. I was too busy enjoying family time and hanging out in my pajamas for most of the day.

A photo posted by Beverly Houpt (@bevhoupt) on Dec 25, 2015 at 12:59pm PST

A photo posted by Beverly Houpt (@bevhoupt) on Dec 25, 2015 at 11:18pm PST

I don't regret that I didn't take a video of Christmas day because I made sure to make a video the day after when it snowed! Snow is a pretty big deal in southern New Mexico, so it was such a treat. It happens maybe once every year/every other year, so everyone makes sure to go sledding or build a snowman. It's real cute.

A photo posted by Beverly Houpt (@bevhoupt) on Dec 27, 2015 at 9:45pm PST

As you can tell in the video, Gwen is a true Arizonan and doesn't care for snow. It was kind of a bummer, but she has plenty of time to change her mind.

Traveling with a one year old

Whoa!! I almost forgot to post this video before the new year.
Here is a video of some tidbits from our trip to Oregon in October. I realized that I never shared my crazy traveling experience from Oregon back home here on the blog. So... continue to read if you love drama.

I was very nervous traveling solo with Gwen. I was convinced that I'd get lost in the airport and that she would just be difficult on all the flights. I got butterflies in my stomach whenever I would think about it. Well, the trip to Portland from Phoenix was a breeze, despite Gwen being fussy on the first flight. The other passengers didn't act too bothered by it. And let me tell you something- people are extra nice to you when you're flying solo with a baby. This was my experience, anyway. Someone always offered to carry my bags. It was the best. Despite my Ergobaby carrier breaking after our first flight (that was so annoying and Gwen got pretty heavy as I carried her and two bags around the airport), I felt confident after a good day of travel.

We had a fun time in Portland, as you can tell in the video. :) The day we left, we had to wake up around 4:30am. (Ew.) Holly kindly let me borrow her Ergobaby carrier for the trip home, which was greatly appreciated! We boarded the plane and Gwen fell asleep (yay!). We were in the air for maybe half an hour when we started to feel some turbulence. And then the TVs started to flash on and off. The pilot announced that the right right engine was "not responding" and that we'd have to turn back to Portland. I was more annoyed than scared at this point. This meant that I'd miss my connecting flight! We got back to the airport in safety and the crew gave us complimentary breakfast sandwiches and other snacks. So that was nice.... I called Ryan and Holly to say what was up. I made a call to get a new flight, but it was hours away. I had to wait around 5 hours in the airport with Gwen for our next flight. If you're stuck alone with a one year old in an airport here's a tip- find one of those flat escalator things and walk along it for as long as you can. We must have walked like 30 laps on those things. It was especially entertaining to see Gwen walk the opposite direction on one of them. That gave some people a few laughs.

After what seemed like an eternity, our plane was finally here!

And then they made an announcement that there was some maintenance to be done and the flight would be delayed by 30 minutes.

Which meant that I'd miss another connecting flight and not be home until 11pm.

I didn't not hide my frustration around the other waiting passengers. While I was on the phone making new arrangements, the people around me were entertaining Gwen! See? Some people are angels. I decided to leave the next day because I've had enough of airports and planes for one day. I called Holly again and she made the drive back to the airport to rescue me! I bought them all dinner and we ate from a burger place that had an amazing veggie burger and good sweet potato fries. We also got pumpkin shakes. I cannot remember the name of the place! Someone help me out? We ended up staying an extra day in Portland, but it was probably my favorite day of the trip because we all just chilled since we didn't have any plans.
I hope to visit again!

Christmas Lights

A couple of weeks ago we went to see the Christmas light display at the Mesa temple. Ryan didn't think that Gwen would enjoy it/understand it, but boy I'm glad that he was wrong! She sat atop his shoulders nearly the entire visit and she kept squealing in delight. She was making such a commotion that Ryan kept asking me if she was okay.
Ryan: "She sounds like she's really upset! Are you sure she's okay?"
Me: "Yes!! She's smiling!"
I didn't get any of that in this video, unfortunately, because Ryan wanted to keep moving along in the large crowds. Next time I plan to have us walk through once to enjoy every aspect of the display and then walk through again to make a cuter video. Ah, the life of a blogger.....
This video isn't the greatest (hello, I'm not even in it (jk jk)), but I'm glad I took the time to make it.

Christmas Greetings

It's here! It's finally here! We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
I hope you are able to spoil the people you love with gifts (literal or figurative), food, hugs, and most importantly, your time. Eat lots of food together and pump up the Christmas music while you're still "allowed to." I know my husband must be sick of all the holiday music I've been playing recently. I may not post again until after the new year, so I'll be seeing ya! I'm hoping to film a lot tomorrow, so you can look forward to that video. Happy Holidays! 

Tiny Little Baby

I was showing Gwen this tiny nativity the other day and explaining who the people are in it. I'm 99% sure that she didn't understand a word of it, but it made me feel good to talk about Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas. It made me really happy to share the story with her, but it also made me feel kind of sad because I realized then that I should be teaching her things like this every chance I can get. I haven't made any cool traditions with Gwen simply because she won't comprehend or remember those things yet. This time next year I hope to incorporate Christmas stories, songs, and scriptures in our countdown to Christmas. 

What fun and/or religious traditions do you have for Christmas time? I'd really love to know!