Worn out

Our weekend was filled with fun but it definitely wore us all out. C and J both fell asleep on the living room floor reading books and I was ready for a nap early as well. It's so nice to have the beautiful weather to wear us all out though we're getting used to it too it seems. I can't believe tomorrow is the end of the month. I'm not counting Winter out quite yet since the last couple years we had snow in March but crossing my fingers the warm weather sticks around.

I am looking forward to March. We have lots of fun adventures planned and we will be celebrating hubby and my 8 year dating anniversary and 4 year wedding anniversary in March. Crazy to think that this means half of hubby and my relationship we have been married now. And I love the idea that after our anniversary every day to come will be a day we've been married longer than we dated lol. Silly I know but I'm still so head over heels in love and can't wait to see all the years to come have in store for us.

So anyway I'm sleepy and tomorrow starts a new week with lots more to do and more fun to be had, and I'm sure my little ones will be ready to go again bright and early tomorrow so I need to get some sleep.

Good night all! Enjoy the end of February tomorrow and hopefully Spring is here to stay!

Fun Saturday

It's funny to me how my idea of a fun weekend has changed over the years. I am no longer a fan of the clubs, drinking, shopping, or the 'night life' (other than my general mommy insomnia lol). Yet I have more fun with my more mommy and quieter activities than I ever did in my college years.

Today my 'Fun Saturday' began with attending a Birth Ball. This is a meeting hosted by the Georgia Birth Network and Baby Steps to talk with moms, moms to be, local birth professionals, and anyone interested in birth pretty much. They had several tables with baby and mom products, as well as lots of information on nutrition, fitness, chiropractors, and of course how these all apply to birth. Then they had a presentation later. As an Aspiring CBE and as a mom it was nice to attend. Though a bonus of attending was getting to see some of the awesome ICAN ladies, my amazing doula Talitha, and introducing E to Crystal, the CBE who taught hubby and I during E's pregnancy who is so incredible! She made such an impact on both of us in so many ways, and I'm forever grateful.

After returning home later I got to try some new recipes for lunch and play with hubby and the kids. Then he had a meeting for a couple hours.

When he got home we just had a lot of fun as a family the rest of the day. It was beautiful out again and Spring seems to be giving us all more energy and helping wear us all out too as we enjoy the weather and getting out of the house.

Later after dinner, I had some knitting time as well and even time to read. The only way I could have made the day better would be if I'd gotten in some of my woodworking and painting (maybe that will be tomorrow's plan).

I know my day may seem more quiet than the general excitement but it was my idea of a perfect Fun Saturday. Now to get some sleep because I'm a bit worn out too and looking forward to tomorrow!

Hope yall are having a great weekend too!

Beautiful Spring Days

Today was beautiful. It was so nice and warm out though C and J still had jackets with the cool breeze. E enjoyed exploring the grass with her fingers and toes too. Also C and J chose their own outfits thus C wanting to wear one of her "princess dresses" outside. It was nice to spend the time outside all together. Hopefully we'll get to go out again tomorrow and enjoy the Spring weather even more.

So blessed

I know I often say how blessed I am but I really can't thank God enough. Recently there have been many reminders to me of the challenges some people face and the hardships and I am so thankful my family is healthy and happy: That my children can scream at the top of their lungs even if I'm not quite awake yet, that they can run through the rooms of my houses making a mess and that I get to clean up with them later. That they are so smart that they question everything and anything even if I may have to occasionally scramble for the answers. It's easy to remember my thanks daily when the kids are on their best behavior which is more often than not luckily but I am still thankful in the tougher moments and challenges of Mommyhood for sure too. I love that my children can astound me, enlighten me, and challenge me each and every day.

Thank you God for the blessings of my family, my husband and our little ones, for giving me such amazing little minds to teach and guide and placing such precious beautiful souls in my care. I have the best job in the world and love my life even at the loudest craziest moments possible, my days are overflowing with joy.

And here's some pics of my sweet blessings today :)

Lil Sis Incoming
Ok I'll hug her
Sisters
Crawling

Spiral/Divine Hat

Realized I forgot to add pics of this last night. Hat I made for my mom yesterday. I love how it turned out and more importantly so does she :)

Here's the pattern link

And my pics with my beautiful Mom modeling

A Super Day

Today was wonderful. It started a bit hectically with hubby having an early meeting and C having an appointment with her ENT at a location we aren't used to.

I got a little lost on the way due to all the construction but C, E, and I made it there (only 5 minutes late) and got awesome news that C looks wonderful (as we knew but it's nice to hear confirmed by the professional) and that we don't need to come back for a year! What a blessing. (Before this we went every 6 months).

C was in an awesome mood and so sweet. She was really nice and helpful with the doctor opening her mouth, turning her ears, talking about how she felt even and how the doctor was at her birth, and then telling the doctor all about her little sis. It was definitely one of those, "my baby's so big" moments. When we left she asked to look out a window of the second floor office, and declared "I can't believe how beautiful it is, this must be a castle." So precious.

We went to the book store on the way back and C got books for J and E as well as herself. E kept trying to grab the books out of my hands but overall it was wonderful. J stayed home with Ami and was an awesome helper to her. He even loaded the washer and dryer with her help lol! She's definitely training the kids early.

When we got home we had more fun all together along with the pleasant surprise of hubby getting home for lunch! His meeting/presentation went great and E, him, and I got to go out for a rare lunch date. When we got back Ami, the kids, and I read, played, and just had fun.

Amidst all this I even found time to finish a crochet hat for Ami I'd started the night before another plus to the day. We both love how it came out!

Later since one of J's favorite games of late has been Super heroes, and C is still on her Princess kick Ami found them special pajamas for their roles of Superman and the Fairy Princess. They loved it and after a yummy dinner by Ami, soared around for a bit then flew off to bed.


It was definitely the perfect end to our Super Day!

A Good day but not really a holiday

Though nationally today was a holiday here it was pretty normal. Hubby had to go to school to meet with a group and work on some projects and papers. The kids and I went about our normal routine. The only real indicator it was holiday was no white mail truck (UPS still made deliveries).

It was a really nice day though and the main joy for the kids was counting down till Ami would get off work and come to see us. Seems that now that she's arrived tomorrow will be the real Holiday for us. The kids have already read lots of books with Ami, made play dough food and had various apple goodies. Tomorrow Ami has some other activities planned as well which should be very interesting.

Hubby has an important meeting in the morning and we have C's doctor's appointment so please send prayers both go wonderfully. Hopefully it will be as stress free as possible and C, J, E, and I can just enjoy the Ami Day and Wednesday will lead to a more relaxed rest of the week *fingers crossed*

Here's a couple pics from today. The kids were really sweet. C and J and I read with E and we played ball with them. E actually chased the ball a bit crawling after it. And C and J were awesome at cleaning up to get ready for Ami's arrival. It was an awesome day for sure despite not as much like a holiday, maybe everyday is a holiday for us lol.

C, J, and E reading E's favorite book "The Monster at the End of this book"
Sweet Siblings
Ami with J and E, C was 'reading' solo nearby

Is Ami here yet?

This is the constant question from C and J's lips the last couple days, "Is Ami here yet? Is Ami coming?" They rush to the window asking "Is that Ami's red car?"

Grami, or as my kids have nicknamed her "Ami" was going to come Saturday but we found out hubby had an appointment Tuesday at the same time I need to take C to the doctor so we rescheduled the visit for Monday night through Tuesday.

I'm looking forward to the joy and love Ami brings almost as much as the kids I think. Though I'm also trying to get my house in mother worthy condition. Though I'm sure no matter how spotless everything is and how many times I vacuum she'll still want to do it all again and will be cleaning behind our backs if we don't watch it lol.

I'll try anyway though to prepare. For the kids a visit from Ami is better than Santa (though she's pretty good about refraining from presents....Mom no matter what the kids tell you they don't need the play dough they mentioned last phone call lol). She did say she'd be bringing them some "red apples" from the Apple Capital of GA though which is okay lol.

Anyway I have to get back to making ready for the Ami holiday :) I'm so lucky to have such an amazing wonderful Mom, my kids to have such an awesome 'Ami', and hubby often mentions how wonderful his MIL is too (though he has to watch her to keep her from cleaning too lol) and we all wish we could see her more often. Hopefully we'll get to visit more in the next few months with the nicer weather and hopefully less busy schedules all around.

A couple pics of Amazing Ami :)

Saturday Shopping and One on One time

The big exciting part of today was C and J both got some one on one time with us. J got to go to Home Depot with Daddy and then when they got back C and I went to Hobby Lobby. They were both so excited about this they got up and dressed themselves (C even chose a matching bow in her favorite color red, while J came up with a combo. to express his own style lol).

They both had so much fun. Daddy is building a router table and said J was on his best behavior at the store even flirting with the cashier girl lol. C was amazing as well. She was patient and kept saying how beautiful everything was. She really loved the fake flowers but that wasn't on our craft supply list. Now I have to come up with some way to include them in a project for our next trip to the store so I can let her pick some out next time. Even though her and J had a little argument before we left she still wanted to pick up something special for him so they both have new special school pencil cases and workbooks to add to our daily lessons and fun routine.

We also got some Easter craft supplies (I have some ideas for St. Patrick's but those supplies we already have for the most part). C also got E a little board book of "There's a Monster at the End of this Book" one of C and J's favorites. E loves it....when she's not trying to eat it lol. And will actually turn the pages and laugh as I read to her, C, and J. I'll try and get it on video soon.

C was wonderful admiring things but realizing if we didn't know what to do with something we couldn't get it just because "It's beautiful" lol.

At the register she amazed the cashier because she wouldn't talk to her until I said it was okay, and she recognized our stranger precautions (which J and C both are pretty good on). The woman thought C was shy or couldn't talk and then when I said it was okay, C blew her away. She talked about the crafts, presents for her siblings, etc. all very articulately. Once we left though she still recognized that the woman was a stranger as well which impressed me even more.

The cashier mentioned how she had only one child and he was 6 but hadn't gotten the stranger concept yet. I mentioned how today was our pretend time that the kids were only children, because we were giving them their special one on one time (which E gets when big sis and big bro are in bed right now or playing together). I thought how nice the day had been but also how I really have the best of both worlds being able to give my kids the time to themselves occasionally but how happy I am they have each other. I love that they have siblings close in age, and one seems so easy at times out alone with them like today lol but having more than one multiplies the love and the fun.

I heard a quote once, love doesn't divide it multiplies and that's definitely the truth.

C and I talked about getting lunch after we left the store but we both wanted to get home and play with J, E, and Daddy so we saved that for another day.

And after several more hours of coloring, reading, and play I have ushered the babes to bed and hear them talking and giggling instead of sleeping lol. Not what they're supposed to be doing but still a perfect end to a wonderful day.

And here's a pic of C and J in their "going out outfits" which they chose themselves lol.

Thank you Hubby :)

It so easy to complain about men, but I definitely have one of the wonderful ones and today I've got to say he was even more wonderful than usual.

Last night he was tired and ready to go to bed but E wasn't and a migraine hit me making me miserable. He was so sweet. He took E without a single complaint. Let me have a nice bath. Brought me water with lime to sip. Sat with me later, rubbed my back, and even offered to go get me food in case it was my low BP causing it (an issue I've had since C's pregnancy till present).

This morning he fed the kids breakfast so E and I could sleep in. I took E to her doctor's appointment. And super dad cleaned house and vacuumed while we were gone! All went well with E, her shots are all worked out to get back on our schedule (Dr. Bob's) and she weighs 17lbs 11oz now!

When I got home hubby continued his awesome streak. He had to go work some but came home quickly and brought us Jim-n-nick's BBQ (and their awesome cheese biscuits and an ice box pie). He was so wonderful letting me have a calmer day, and I'm so thankful to him for it.

Tomorrow he and J are going to have a boy's trip to Home Depot and C and I may run to Hobby Lobby, but if it's as awesome as today was I may start to get a bit spoiled lol.

So thank you! Love of my life, "Mine," my husband, my soul mate, my first love, my last love, my partner in crime and best friend, Super dad, and father of the year!

I love you so much every day! And thanks for making today an extra sweet one!

Love Always,
Yours

Quick Post at the end of a Nice Day

Today was much better, than the days prior, as I predicted. Hubby got home a bit earlier. C and J were in better moods all day and were very content to play independently a lot so I got a lot done.

C and J created a table from toy drawers and had a picnic, got into a box of jackets and pretended to be grown ups (they did ask and it was very cute) and J chose his own ensemble dressed himself (a couple of the things didn't fit like a small jacket and daddy's socks but it was very cute none the less).

This along with cooking, coloring, reading, and our general daily activities inside and out plus everyone being in better moods made for a very nice day. C and J went to bed early and hopefully E's a bit worn out from playing with her big siblings and I a lot. I'm going to try to head to bed soon. Hope yall had an awesome day and are looking forward to the weekend as I am!

And here's a pic of J's outfit


And C and J's Picnic Spread on their makeshift table, funny they could have just used Daddy's side table but whatever works lol

Bring on the Rain

I wrote a long post but it was about me being upset and lonely the last couple days and the kids going stir crazy. I vented about missing people who've passed on and moved away. I wrote about feeling sad I'm not being social enough and I've not made the efforts to mend/reforge/start new friendships. But it was more annoying for me rereading it and I didn't feel it was worth it so I deleted it all. What's the use in complaining and focusing on the bad when it's making you lose sight of the good and you have so much you can do to make things even better.

Hubby has had a lot of work the last couple days and hasn't been home till late. Our car issues have been keeping us home. And C and J have been a bit more challenging (in between the good parts of the day, homeschooling and crafting). But tomorrow's going to be better and brighter.

I'm letting go of my disappointment in some things and people, and going to quit trying to change some things that aren't up to me, and to refocus on making the most of what and who I have and my many blessings (which are numerous. Thank you God!).

This means fixing our car issues soon and arranging more Meetups, MNOs, and playdates with some of the wonderful friends I have all over Atlanta (like the lovely Alpharetta mom who had us over a couple weeks ago and all the Awesome ICAN ladies). Also looking forward to hopefully seeing my sister when she's in town in few weeks. I'm going to try and find time tomorrow to paint, knit, and crochet, while the kids are doing their daily lessons and crafts with E nearby working on her crawling skills. Maybe I can come up with a yarn craft for them too to add to the routine.

I realize writing out my woes releases some stuff but if you go too much into the vent it just gives the annoyances more power than they deserve. This too shall pass, and I'm so incredibly blessed.

Friday hubby will be back to normal schedule and we'll have a break for a bit and Spring Break is right around the corner. Tomorrow I'm taking a moment and memory at a time.

Despite some stressful moments the last couple days we've still made some wonderful memories and they've reminded me to count our blessings.

So I end with a song. I write many of these entries as reminders to myself and my kids. Today's lesson, some days are tough but that doesn't make them bad and in every day if you want to you can see the good. We have so much to be thankful for and even our tough times I wouldn't change for the world. Always look for the good in each day and look forward. This too shall pass.

Jo Dee Messina's "Bring on the Rain"

E is 5 months today

Time is going by so fast. E is getting sweeter, smarter, and cuter every day. Her personality is so funny. She's definitely my bunny baby, a silly sweetheart and constantly on the go. This month has been about her getting more mobile and interacting with her big sis and big bro more and more. She's getting more and more fun. Can't wait to see what she has in store for us next.

At 5 months E is:

-Saying Mama, Nanna (J's nickname for C, and now E's too), and Hi, and babbling constantly while attempting other words at every other time
-Still Squealing with Delight whenever she can
-Laughing and Blowing Raspberries at Mommy still
-Army crawling and pushing up her knees attempting to crawl fully
-Sitting up with her hands on the floor, still working on the balance to be able to move her arms around and remain sitting though she can sit a few minutes solo she'll get excited and wave her arms and start wobbling again
-Able to go wherever she wants via scoot, roll, and army crawl. She's gone from her play mat in the living room to hallway, bathroom, and kitchen now
-Still loves snuggling with Mommy but developed a new bond with C too. She must know where her "Nanna" is.
-Loves playing with her big sister and big brother
-Will crawl to objects to grab them and of course everything goes straight to the mouth
-Still exclusively breastfeeding
-Wants to be involved in everything, and see everything
-Is still my most easy going child (knock on wood)
-Likes to sit with Mommy but if Mommy has to look away or she's not in a snuggly mood, wants down to move on her own again
-Favorite toys are C's dolls, links, play mat, and frog rattle

As of our Shot Visit 2/18/11 E weighs 17lbs 11oz

Some more pics of my Snuggle Bunny and her crawling efforts :)

Valentine's 2011

Hubby and I aren't too into Valentine's as I've mentioned before we're rescheduling the romantic date part of the holiday, but we still had a wonderful Valentine's day.

The kids had heart shaped food for breakfast and lunch and we painted wooden hearts, made cupcakes (which they iced too), and made stuffed felt hearts. The kids also got to open their Valentine's from Ami which included new Coloring books from her that they loved. C said her card was "The best gift she'd ever gotten." Yes, she really likes cards (and Ami even more of course).

We had lots of fun. And hubby surprised me with roses and is got us Red Lobster for dinner. It has been a wonderful day and I couldn't imagine a better way to celebrate.

Here's a few pics.

Rescheduling Valentine's Day

I'm not too crazy about Valentine's but I'm also not against a good excuse to make some cute heart stuff, eat sweets, and go out with hubby. So our plans for tomorrow are rescheduling the holiday this year.

With all the sickness going around I do not want to go to a restaurant on one of the busiest date nights of the year, plus it's a Monday so not the easiest night to schedule for anyway. So I've told hubby we can just have another wonderful day with our family. I may make cookies and do some heart crafts with the kids (I'll share whatever I come up with here). And that's all we need for tomorrow, plus hubby and I planning a date for later.

I feel lucky that I feel loved and special every day of the year, not just this particular holiday. And in honor of that love I'm including hubby and my song in this post. Every time we hear it we have to stop and dance :) Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's day, whenever you celebrate, and yall have a love worth celebrating all year long (as I do)!

Poem for Parents

This was shared on my ICAN group awhile ago and the title doesn't fit for us but it's still so sweet and felt perfect to share today. It made me tear up and I'm sure whether your a mom of 1 or 10, every mother can relate. :)

Song for a Fifth Child
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Lovely Long Days

Today was very busy and a bit tiring, but lovely for sure. It is a bit chilly outside again but this didn't keep the kids, Daddy, and I from having fun inside and out.

C and J were especially sweet playing with E and E was even trying to say C's nickname "Nanna." She's almost got it. E is already fascinated with her big sis and ready to take off after her. C, in turn, is constantly mothering and watching out for her little sis. J loves to play with both of them but gets bored with the baby stuff at times and C's motherly games lol.

I love to watch them all together. E is getting more mobile every day. She's almost got the army crawl but already will push up onto her hands and knees as well so I'm sure the full on crawling isn't too far off either.

J has taken up a new game of saying "Hold me Mommy!" Where I lift him up and pretend he's the baby, tickling him while cradling him and him laughing and saying "No I'm a big boy Mommy" and "I love you." So we played that a lot today.

My handy hubby fixed a step stool and some other random things around the house in between playing with us. And I got time to play with our newest tool, a Dremel. I am working on some new artistic wood projects I hope to share on here later this weekend.

No big plans for Valentine's other than getting carseats checked and spending the day with the love of my life and our beautiful babes :) I'm very happy to avoid going out with the crowded restaurants and all the viruses going around. Please pray healthy thoughts for us avoiding the germs that seem so rampant this season.

So nothing too exciting but a very nice day. It felt like more a Saturday than a Friday and I'm looking forward to the weekend. Now E's snuggling on my lap the kids are reading before bed. Hubby is planning another woodworking project for himself to build tomorrow. And I'm going to get a cup of tea and knit and crochet some. What a perfect end to a lovely long day :)

Before 30 Goals

I've been meaning to post this for a bit. These are a few of the goals I want to accomplish in the next 5 years, before I'm 30. I'm sure I will be adding to and adjusting this list in the future. I will also continue with my life goals of being the best mother, wife, Christian, and friend I can be. This list is just for the 5 year term stuff though for me to keep track and push myself to improve myself as a person and make the most of my amazing wonderful life :)

Before 30 I want to:

-Become a CBE
-Get CBE license and Doula license
-Buy a house
✔Buy an SUV or van
-Make a Family trip across or out of the country
-Sing in church and Do Karaoke (solos) in public
-Find our permanent family church
-Sell something on Etsy/Start Etsy shop
-Get back into painting
-Sell a painting/drawing
-Utilize my graphic design skills (not as a career, but for self or friends)
-Learn Quilting, and make a quilt/blanket for each child
-Learn new dances, Join Dance Classes (weekly course, continued involvement)
-Take a sewing class (workshop or short term course(s))
-Make my own clothing (out of fabric not yarn :P) and clothing for my kids as well
-Take a photography class(es)/workshop(s) (improve my photo skills)
-Improve/restart my poetry and song writing
-Start a playgroup after we get our house
✔Have my own vegetable and herb garden and maintain it
-Run a race with my mom
-Join a yoga class (continued involvement)
-Lose weight....Feel Beautiful, Know I am beautiful
-Do 3-5 day hike (climb 2000 feet?)
✔Learn to Crochet/Knit
✔Start Homeschooling my children

Edit 12/20/11:
I'm going to go ahead and add these as well (I wrote them originally when I wrote this but didn't add them in the blog post because some things hadn't been announced and the rest are more lifelong goals)-Raise my children in the best way I know how
-Have more children (did this one 10/22/11 :P)
-Love, teach, and appreciate each of my children
-Honor, respect, and love my Husband
-Let go of the past
-Quit comparing
-Be more thankful
-Remember how blessed I am and that Everything in life is a miracle
-Be a better housekeeper
-Cook more often
-Be more patient
-Be calmer

A Pic Post :)

I felt like with some of the adorable pics from today that tonight I would just do a pic post of my precious little ones. Enjoy :)