A Season of Babies

I recently found out that my older sister, Ali, is having another baby. She is due November 30th which means Baby Griffeth will have two cousins born within three months of him! Not to mention that he is blessed with five other cousins that are excited for his arrival. It makes me so happy when I think about the growing Marz and Griffeth families. Congrats Ali & Tripp! We're excited for another one to join the Marz clan. Ali doesn't find out what she's having so we have another 6 long months to see if we have another niece or nephew.

So many of my close friends are pregnant as well which I'm really excited about. I'm due in August.....Mimi in September.....Laurel in October......Lillie in November......it must be baby season. Congrats everyone! Can't wait to meet your little ones. And thanks to those who are already moms....I've loved watching your kids grow up (even if it is through a computer) and I've loved your thoughts and advice.

I got my house back

Maybe this only happens to me.....but when I'm out of town for a while, my house suffers. I was gone for a full month of weekends as well as being in New York for over a week during that period of time. My house definitely took a beating.

It was a crazy month so I didn't necessarily take the time to make room for things or put them completely away. There were way too many piles waiting for things to be reorganized so they'd actually have somewhere to go. We managed to clean regularly but it was pretty cluttery with piles of stuff. Clutter drives me crazy after a while.

As of last weekend, I had about had it. I couldn't handle it anymore & it was like I had unlimited energy for over a week. I went a little crazy with the organizing and cleaning. I couldn't sit down! I re-organized most closets, cupboards, the pantry, drawers, the baby's closet, my scrapbook stuff, etc. There are still a few more things to re-organize but I got a great start. My Saturdays were filled with cleaning & my week nights were spent organizing. I looked forward to coming home after work to clean something else out. Usually I don't have a ton of energy when I get home but last week was an exception. I was on an organization rampage & I loved every minute of it.

I have plenty of things on this week's list but I have a little busier week so we'll see how much I get done. They say you get a nesting instinct when you get close to having a baby. That's the only thing I can think of that explains my recent behavior. :)

I'm glad to have my relatively organized house back!

NEVER.....

let a hungry pregnant lady go to costco alone.

Enough said.

Spontaneity

I love it when I have the ability to be spontaneous. This past weekend was perfect. Wes & I didn't have anywhere we had to be.

On Friday around 3pm we decided to go to dinner with our friends Ryan & Leslie. Ryan spends the summers in Utah so we went out with them one last time to one of our favorite restaurants...Lucilles. We had icecream at their house and then came home early and Wes & I watched a movie.
On Saturday morning, while Wes helped Sam paint her cabinets in her new house, I was able to work around the house which I truly love to do on a Saturday. I actually look forward to

Saturday mornings when I can get a few things done around the house. We drove across town to order our chair/glider for the nursery so we'd have it in time for his arrival. We had a casual lunch, ran a few errands, and then while I went swimming at my parents house Wes went to the driving range. While I was in the pool....Ali, Tripp & Abbie showed up to swim, too. We realized that none of us had plans for the evening so we decided to go to The Cheesecake Factory with them for dinner. We went grocery shopping on the way home & then enjoyed another evening at home with just the two of us.

Sunday was equally as nice. We had a leisurally morning since neither one of us had to teach & we tried a new recipe on Sunday night for dinner, watched some TV, & enjoyed time at home.

Every single thing we did was impulsive. We didn't have anything planned....we just did what we felt like doing at the time and it was perfect. I have a feeling we should take advantage of being impulsive before Baby Griffeth arrives.

Happy Mothers Day

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren

I want to wish all of you moms a Happy Mothers Day! I thought this quote was appropriate because a mom truly thinks of her children before herself. We had a wonderful sacrament meeting today on the role of mothers and one of the speakers pointed out that "others" is the majority of the word mothers. Isn't that what motherhood is all about? Others.

I especially want to say Happy Mothers Day to two special women in my life.

I'll start with my wonderful mom, Barbara.


If I had to sum her up in one word....it would be unselfish. She is constantly helping not only her own family and children but her friends, people in her ward who are in need, etc. Her thoughts are always consumed with others & how she can make their lives easier. She is so generous with her time and everything she has been blessed with and it's a true example to me. Not only is she a fabulous mom, but she's also an unbelievable daughter. She is so patient with my grandma and spends about a week of every month in Utah so she can spend time with my Grandma who turned 90 this year. I strive to be as good of a daughter to my mom as she is to her mom.

My mom is also full of spunk. She has a great personality and is always ready for a good time. One thing people always comment on is that she's always so put together. Unlike me, she looks great regardless of where she is! There is no such thing as rolling out of bed and going somewhere. She's always so fashionable!

I am so fortunate to live so close to my mom. I see her regularly which I consider a blessing! She shares her talents with me regularly and I can't wait for my kids to get to know & love her!

The second lady I'd like to talk about is my mother-in-law, Doreen.




I definitely lucked out with my in-laws. They are such wonderful people! Especially my mother-in-law. She is unbelievable. She is currently a principal of an elementary school in Marietta, Georgia & since she has been the principal, her school has been recognized as a National School of Excellence. She is the perfect example of how important education is....she received her doctorate a few years ago! She has had such a positive impact on thousands of children....including her own. I've known Wes for almost 5 years and I can honestly say that every single time I've seen or talked to her, she is always happy and positive. Regardless of how crazy her schedule is, she is always happy which I admire in her. Wes & I are so glad to have her as a resource for our children! She knows so much on child development & how we can teach them to do so many things at home. She is a wonderful mom and Grandma & I hope she had a wonderful day!

Happy Mothers Day! How lucky we are to be blessed with mothers.

Happy Birthday Alisha!

Happy 30th Birthday, Alisha! I had to put the 30 in there....it's a big day!

Alisha is my fabulous sister-in-law. She is the oldest of Wes' siblings and his only sister. She recently moved to Alabama with her cute family so she's enjoying the perks of having grandma & grandpa Griffeth only 1.5 hours away!

She's one of the best mom's you'll ever see....we all wonder how she does it. Her kids are so smart and well-behaved. She's extremely athletic and competitive, as are all of the Griffeths! She is a great friend and is always a joy to be around. We just wish we lived closer to them. Maybe they'll move to the west coast someday. :)

I feel very blessed to have such wonderful sister-in-laws! Happy Birthday Alisha!

Happy Birthday Lillie!

Happy Birthday Lillie! (It's today, right? Or did I miss it already?)

Lillie is one of my most favorite people. We met during our last semester at BYU....we were lucky enough to be in the same group for a huge advertising campaign we worked on before we graduated. It meant we got to spend quite a bit of time together and we became friends rather quickly.

Lillie is not only tall and beautiful, but she has such a wonderful personality....she's always thinking of other people, she makes you laugh, is a great wife, friend and a great mom to Sophia. I am so glad that we've kept in touch since our BYU days. I hope you have a wonderful day, Lillie!