The Good Life

Rainy Days

2011-11-16T09:00:00.000-06:00

We LOVE rainy days around here. I mean really, really love them. Lately they have been few and far between, so when the girls requested to go outside to play in the rain, I agreed. We finally got a slow and steady rain that Texas has so desperately needed. Being the camera loving mama that I am, I couldn't resist snapping some pics of my baby girls having so much fun. Enjoy!

The Hubby's Birthday

2011-11-15T11:45:00.001-06:00

Friday the fourth was Hubby's actual birthday, so after we came home from our staycation we hung out at my parents house and spent the day with my fam. I was really excited to give him his gifts since usually we are both not very good secret keepers. This year I wanted to get him a really nice bike to replace the one he's been using. He has been really into fitness this year and is down about 45 lbs from where he was last year. I can't begin to say how proud I am of him for that. He's has unbelievable willpower and motivation when he puts his mind to something. Lately he's been putting twenty mile bike rides in the books, so I thought it'd be so nice for him to have a good bike to use.

My sister made chicken fried steak for him with all the fixings and we opened presents and did "cake". He got some sweet work out clothes, a heart rate monitor, new shoes, and of course the bike. I tried my best to keep it a secret, but he's too sneaky and knew he was getting it. Hmph.

I wish I had brought my nice camera with me, but alas all I have to show of his day are grainy iPhone photos. For his cake he requested cinnamon rolls, so my sister made a bunch and made a two layer cinnamon roll "cake" that disappeared in a flash. A couple of days later I snapped a couple of photos of him as he was about to leave for work. He looked so handsome that I felt the urge to photograph it and much to his dismay he obliged.

Doesn't he just look so handsome? I might be biased, but I think that 28 suits him very well. To me, he looks much different than this time last year. I think all those long bike rides agree with him :)

Happy Birthday Hubby! I love you!

A Date Night!

2011-11-14T10:50:00.001-06:00

A couple weeks ago was Hubby's birthday and I thought it'd be super fun for us to spend the day doing things around Austin that we've never been to do. We have lived here for almost four years and there is so much we have yet to see. Hubby is a history buff so I wanted to take him to some of the places he has mentioned wanting to go to. On the day before his birthday, my sis took the kids and we got to go on an OVERNIGHT date together!!! This never happens, so my excitement to spend a whole day and night alone with my hubby was through the roof!

First stop was to Ihop for some delicious pumpkin praline pancankes. Hubby loves breakfast, and I love love love me some pumpkin pancakes, or anything pumpkin for that matter. They were delish and we got our bellies full for some new shoe shopping.

Next up we ventured over to the G-town RunTex where hubby was fitted for some shoes. He's been having some major knee pain since he took up running and I figured it was high time for someone to tell him what kind of shoes he needs. He had an idea and wasn't that far off from what he thought he needed. He ended up with some Brooks adrenaline for a good price and seems to enjoy them so far.

After RunTex, we went to see if we could check into our hotel. We stayed at the Renaissance Marriot in Austin since the Hubby gets an employee discount. The hotel was beautiful and the nice clerk that checked us in hooked us up with a room that had a beautiful view of the hill country. What a nice treat!

After the hotel pit stop, we continued on our way to the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum. I wasn't super excited about this, but it turned out to be really cool. There were lots of cool things to check out and the museum even had some original artwork drawn by Dr. Seuss for The Lorax! That is my all time favorite Dr. Seuss book!

Next we drove down to Sixth Street and walked around checking everything out for a bit. Sixth Street is known for it's night life, bars, and such. We went during the day so there weren't as many people as typical for the area, but it was fun none the less. We were hungry at this point and Hubby has been wanting to check out IronWorks BBQ so we headed a few blocks over to grab lunch. It was good and had a great atmosphere. It was a little pricey for bbq, but that's to be expected for it's location. He had ribs and I had the brisket plate and we both thought it was delish.

After lunch we headed back a few blocks and went and checked out the Capitol. The place is beautiful with all it's architecture and history, and the grounds are perfect for hanging out on a warm day. We didn't stay terribly long, but had just enough time to check out some of the history the place has to offer.

At this point we decided to go back to our hotel and hang out for awhile before catching Moneyball at the Alamo Draft House. This place is cool because they serve a full menu of food and drinks while you watch your movie. It's pretty pricey altogether, but definitely worth the experience.

All in all we had a really great time. I'm so glad that everything worked out and we got to spend that time together. It's nice to have family close to be able to help out with the kids so we can have these little moments of sanity in our otherwise chaotic world!

Halloween 2011 Recap

2011-11-08T20:46:00.001-06:00

We had a really great Halloween this year! It fell on a Monday and fortunately Big E was off school that day, I didn't work, and Hubby was home by early evening. We got the kids all dressed up and headed over to my parents house for some trick-or treating.

We've always gone to my parents neighborhood because it tends to be a bit less congested than ours. All nine grandkids got costumed up and went walking all around. It's nice to have a built in party of your own :)

We had pizza and desserts and then headed out to walk around. The best part of the night was watching Baby E get the hang of it. I didn't think she'd walk at all, let alone partake in the activities, but boy was I wrong. She not only walked, she refused to be carried. She probably walked over a mile just enjoying the freedom. It was the sweetest thing ever.

We were lucky enough to score her and Little E's costumes at Goodwill for cheap. I couldn't find what Big E wanted so I shelled out a little more. I was in love with the care bear costume, complete with a little red heart right on her bottom. Super cute!

The night was so much fun and I'm glad I got to spend it with family, since this year I will be unlucky enough to be at work on Thanksgiving. Can't win them all, right?

My Own DIY Attempt

2011-10-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

I'm not generally a very crafty person. I'd like to be crafty, but it just doesn't seem like a trait that I was born with. But recently while perusing pinterest I came across this sweet DIY tutorial for a Mama bird's nest necklace. I had seen these on Etsy before and loved them but never dreamed how easy they would be. I decided to give it a try and see what I could come up with.

The supplies are pretty cheap, esp if you shop Hobby Lobby when their jewelry stuff is half off. I just needed glass pearls, jewelry wire, jump rings, and wire cutters. I think I spent less than 15 dollars on all this and could make many necklaces if I wished. I chose pink and blue glass pearls for my eggs but there are many colors to choose from. Here is my final creation :

Excuse the iPhone photo. I have been slacking at taking real pictures lately. I think it turned out really cute and I love to wear it. I don't do a lot of jewelry besides my wedding rings, so it's extra special to me to wear something that reminds me of my babies. I loved it so much I made one for a friend who has one more egg in her nest than I do. I'd like to find a little Mama bird charm to put on it as well but haven't found anything I like yet. All in all I think it's a pretty cute little DIY craft!

Baby A: 15 to Almost 18 Months

2011-10-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

The last three months have been pretty even keel in your life. You weighed 20lbs at your 15 month check-up, and you probably don't weigh that much more now. We'll know for sure at your 18 month appt here in a couple weeks. You are still as sweet as ever and are really coming out of your shell these last few weeks. You are more into playing with the other kids, which is pretty good for you. Normally you are the "baby snob" as we so lovingly refer to you. Always wanting to be held. Always giving people your "don't come any closer" look. Slowly but surely you are moving away from that and interacting more.

You still very much love your blanket and it goes nearly everywhere with you. You refuse to sleep without it and always have. You are also still an avid thumb sucker and I don't see that going away any time soon. You are a ridiculously picky eater and literally refuse to eat meat of any kind. I'm not sure when or how that happened but you just won't have it.

In September you and your cousins got sick with a viral rash and you refused to let me put you down. I eventually resorted to moby wrapping you to keep you happy. It lasted for about a week and you were completely miserable, as were your cousins. You've gotten sick more in this three months than I think you have in your whole life.

Another big change for you was moving upstairs to your big sister's room. I thought it'd be a rough transition as you are used to sleeping in our room, but you took it all in stride. Now you both love being with each other to fall asleep. I hope this creates a stronger bond between you two because you generally don't want much to do with your sister.

In the last month you have started talking up a storm. You say all kinds of names and will basically mimic anything we say. Your hair has really changed into that of a red head in the last few months and I think it might stick around. You are still sporting 12 months clothes and in size 3 diapers. What can we say? You're just a petite girl.

The past year and a half has just flown by and I can't wait to see what is still to come. You are such a sweetheart and we love you so much!

My Maggie Dog

2011-10-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

My heart is heavy to write this post. I knew I'd have to some day, but I never thought it'd be so soon. I came home Sunday the 23rd to find out that my sweet dog of six and a half years had passed away. I knew something was amiss when I drove up and hubby was waiting on the porch, minus the kids. My mom and brother-in-law's cars were there as well. I got out and hubby told me she had passed away and I broke down like a child. I never expected that news. Saturday she was perfectly fine and Sunday she was gone. We aren't sure what happened.

She was my graduation present when I graduated from college in 2005. My family surprised me with her at my graduation party and I cried when they gave her to me. I had researched the breed and wanted one for such a long time. She was a perfect ball of puppy. Her paws were way too big for her body and she was so clumsy. Of course I fell in love instantly.

She was such a smart girl. Trained so fast and could shake, sit, and lay down almost right away. She never had anything but love to give and she especially loved me, as I did her.

When Hubby was still in school and gone a lot, she'd sleep in the bed with me. I know not everyone agrees with pets in the bed, but I loved her cuddled up with me. The nights he would be in town and at home she'd still get in the bed and try to shove her big body between us. When he'd get up in the morning, she'd resume her normal spot in his place. She kept me company so many nights.

When Big E came along, we worried about her temperament with him. When we brought him home, she welcomed him right in. She's always been very good with the kids. They would follow her, lay on her, and snuggle her and she would never even bat an eye at them. They all loved her, but no one as much as her Mama did.

At some point, she's lived with everyone in my family. When my sister and mom first moved to Texas, they took her with them because of the constraints of our apartment. I remember crying in bed at night because I missed her so much. When we finally got here and bought our house, she came right along with us of course. When I found out unexpectedly that we would be welcoming a third baby, she went to live across the street with my sister while I had a momentary life freak out about having more living things to care for than I thought I could handle. Eventually she made her way back home where she belonged.

I have felt completely heartbroken since she passed. Hubby was very good with me and had already created a place to bury her in our back yard, in her favorite place to sleep. He let me say goodbye and my family came to offer support. My wish is to plant a tree in that spot and make it nice for her so we can look out and remember fondly of her. I hope that she wasn't in pain or didn't suffer any. I wish her last few years had been better for her and that she was able to spend more time inside. It's hard not to cry when I think of her. She was the best dog and although we may have another some day, it just won't be the same.

It's Never too Early to Start Spreading Cheer!

2011-10-25T21:56:00.000-05:00

Last year Shutterfly did a promotion for bloggers to get 50 free cards for the holidays. It was super generous of them and this year they are doing the same promotion for 25 of their super cute cards. I wrote this post last year about mine. I LOVED the way they turned out. I always try to do my own pictures because I think candid shots turn out way cuter than posed ones. I wish I had a picture of my card from last year but I sent them all! Here are some of the pictures I used of my cuties :

I just love looking back at these pictures to see how much they've changed. Last year I used a very similar version of this card and loved the way it turned out. This year I'm looking to do an entire family photo, so I think I might stick with a one photo card with all of us in it. I really like the whimsy of this card, but also the bright colors of this one. Maybe this year I'll even remember to save one for myself ;)

I can't wait to get these holidays rolling! This is my absolute most favorite time of the year! Here's to getting a good jump on all the holiday cheer!

Super Bad Blogger...The catch-up post.

2011-10-25T17:25:00.000-05:00

So I've been a total slacker lately on the blog front. These last few months we've been through some big changes and we are finally getting settled into a routine. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with the blogging as I use it do document our happenings around these parts. So here are some of the events of the past few months :

July was Big E's birthday. The big number five! He wanted to have a bowling party, so a bowling party he got. We started early with some games at the bowling alley and ended back at my parent's house for dinner, cake, presents, and a sweet bowling pinata that was made with the help of my crafty co-workers!

August brought two big changes for us. I had a pretty major surgery that was tougher than I expected to recover from, and Big E started school! I'll spare you the details of one of those events :) I was really nervous about the start of school, but we are a few months in and everything is going smoothly. He loves it and is doing very well. Our first parent teacher conference was yesterday and his teacher said that he was above average. That's great news for this Mama. I'm so proud of how well he has adjusted to his new schedule. Here's to many more successful years.

September was spent mostly getting adjusted to having to get a kid to school, picked up from school, balancing work, and keeping the family and house together. It was a big adjustment to us all, but I think we are doing well with it. Our nephew Baby A turned one, and we got the news that he will have a new baby sister in March! That will put us up to 10 kids between the three of us sisters. What can I say, we love the kids around here :)

October has been a full month as well. There has been lots of fun, and more recently lots of sadness. I'm excited to be off for Halloween this year and plan to do separate posts about these events. I'm ready for some fun times ahead and specifically for hubby's birthday where, thanks to my sister, we get an overnight date night!! I. Can. Not. Wait!!!!

Friday Randoms

2011-07-29T12:41:00.029-05:00

Texas is starting to look like this :

source

There has been little to no rain for weeks, the temp has been well over the hundreds, and most everything is drying up or already dead. The news says this is the next to worst drought Texas has ever had. Awesome. About this time every year I start cursing the idea of moving here and dreaming of fall and cooler weather.

Aah yes, that's much better. Cool, crisp fall air. It doesn't exist here but I know it does somewhere. It is generally only "cold" here from the end of November to the beginning of March. I knew when we moved here it would be hot, but I didn't expect the drought conditions that we are suffering through today. So because we can't beat the heat, we will stay inside and dream of fall. This morning we had pumpkin pie oatmeal and it was delish and healthy. I love anything pumpkin and this was no exception. Even my small people loved it!

Speaking of the small people...they took this group shot for me the other day. They are squinty because it's so flipping bright here in the desert. It only took about 20 of these pictures to get one of them all looking. Eventually we got it, and they are all super cute. It's amazing that they are all in one picture looking and smiling, and everyone is wearing clothes and Big E's hair isn't a hot mess. Most days the latter is true for us. And it's ok, because we stay inside most the time to beat the heat.

And if you are me, to dream about a place where fall isn't just a figment of the imagination...

Honest Blogging

2011-07-13T08:00:00.001-05:00

In the midst of all the crazy surrounding your life, do you ever stop and think about running away? Maybe not permanently. Maybe just for a day or two. But just for a brief second in your day does it cross your mind? It does mine, probably at least once a week. Don't get me wrong, I love my people. I love that they are small and silly. I love the cute things they do and say. I love watching the baby toddle around while she's learning to go further and further.

Now enters the thoughts of running away. We didn't plan on having three children. I had my first two 17 months apart because that was the plan. Two kids and we're done. Case closed. Even one half of the baby making factory closed...supposedly. Now I know better that our plans aren't God's plans for us, and here we sit with three kids under the age of five. It's a blessing that we have three beautiful, healthy kids. I work in a place that makes me NEVER take that for granted. But some days are tough. Hell, most days are tough. It's three kids in car seats, three kids at home full time, three kids to take to the store, post office, bank, etc. It's never easy. I know someday it will get easier and I'll miss the days when they were so little, but each day in the present is not easy. Three kids fighting, crying, and whining. Three kids underfoot when trying to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Three kids who thankfully don't have to go to daycare, but are at home with no breaks for weary parents who work full time and parent full time. Some days are smoother than others. I'd love to say I'm one of those parents who never yells and always parents rationally. I'm not. More often than not the fatigue and stress get to me, and mixed with the whining and crying the thoughts of running away start to creep in.

Now of course I would never really run away. I love these little people to the moon and back. Those thoughts are fleeting, and are usually replaced by slobbery baby kisses, hugs from a three year old, or the smile of a certain soon-to-be five year old who is super excited to show me a new thing. I know that running away would be silly because my heart will always be here with them. I also know that we will look back on these days and laugh, or look back and think how we had it easy then. I know that without these people I wouldn't be half of the person that I am. But today? Amidst the messes I've already cleaned up several times and the fighting/whining/crying I hear in the background, I'll just entertain the idea...

Months 13 and 14!

2011-07-12T15:22:00.000-05:00

Wow! That's all I can say about months 13 and 14 for this little girl...

Wow in that they have gone by so fast. Wow in all the changes the last two months have brought, both good and not so good. Shortly after you turned one you started walking a couple steps at a time. At 13 months you were getting a little better, and by now (14 months) you can go all the way across the living room! Slowly but surely you will be a walking pro.

You are still a small tyke, and I'd guess you weigh around 21 lbs but I'm not sure. You wear 12-18 months clothes and still wear a size 3 diaper. You have a strong disgust towards anything headband or bow related, meat of any kind, and not getting your way immediately. You have a screech that could make any sane person go crazy and you aren't afraid to use it. At the ripe age of 14 months, I think you are already encountering your terrible twos.

It's not all so bad though, you are still a sweet girl most of the time. You love Mommy or Daddy's phone and it's super cute watching you try to work it. You have six teeth, four on top and two on bottom. Those teeth aid you in getting anything sweet you can find in your mouth at a high rate of speed. You love mashed potatoes, bread, toast with jelly, pasta, and pretty much any side that goes with dinner. Any meat we put on your plate immediately gets tossed to the floor.

You love looking at books and playing in the toys upstairs. You sleep anywhere from 10-12 hours at night and take a good 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. You have started to mimic us and you love to clean when Mommy is cleaning. You get a wet wipe and wipe everything down for me :) You love giving kisses to anyone who will take them and you enjoy walking with your sister while she holds your hands. More often than not you can be found zooming across the floor on your zebra toy or sitting in your sister's minnie mouse chair with your blanket.

And the blanket...oh the pink blanket. You refuse to sleep without it. Literally refuse. I think you would stay up all night crying if you didn't have it. Once you get it, in goes the thumb and you are happy as can be. The thumb sucking drives. mommy. crazy. The pediatrician says that most kids stop by age five, but at the rate you and your sister are going, I'd say 25 is more likely. But since we aren't willing to do some of the crazy remedies out there to stop it, I'll just have to deal for the time being.

I feel a little like I'm losing my baby, but also so happy that you are growing into such a big girl! The last two months have been quite a ride, and I can't wait to see you grow into your own little person! We love you baby!

Our Biggest Girl

2011-06-06T18:06:00.001-05:00

A lesser mentioned but equally loved member of our family is our six year old English Mastiff.

This is Maggie Mastiff. She's a big girl, weighing in around 130 lbs. She was my baby before I had babies and she does not know how big she is.

She always sports this sad face, even when she's anything but sad. She can often be found lying along the fence basking in the shade or barking at passerby's.

When she comes inside she's often restless. She longs to go out into the front yard and explore that world. She can't because she doesn't do well on a leash and she is hard to control when she is on a mission. Sometimes I look at her and it's like having a lioness laying our house.

Before we had kids I was worried how she would react to them. She is mostly indifferent to them, but loves the fact that many small kids equals lots of good crumbs left around. See what I mean about her not knowing she's big? She doesn't. The kids love her and she lets them climb all over her. She's a gentle giant.

Some days I feel sad for her because her life is different now than before we had kids. She's outside often now due to allergies Little E and her dad share. But she is very much loved and when she passes, even though I will be devastated inside, I will know she lived a good life.

New and Exciting Things Here!

2011-05-27T23:16:00.001-05:00

So...My sister and I have taken on a new endeavor. We both have full time jobs and are both blessed to be Mama's. I'm lucky to enjoy a career in the field that I chose. Unfortunately for her, she is not. She has a "have to" job, not a career that she loves and aspired to do. When your love is Art History, jobs are scarce. Really in the economy we have now jobs are scarce period. Enter our new endeavor....

Lucky for us we both LOVE photography and each other :) Together we are starting a photography business based locally here in Texas. We will both be on location, shooting in different perspectives. We both love shooting babies, kids, maternity, and couples. We don't have the desire to do weddings so it'll be kept super easy. Shoots will be on location as we both love photo journalistic type photography. No posed or planned portraits here!

I'm really excited to see where this little adventure will lead. My hope for it is to provide extra income for our family while my husband attends school. Hopefully, coupled with my full time job, it will be enough to get us through. Plus, it will be awesome getting to work with my sister doing something we both love so much. I'm looking forward to growing in my skills and hopefully growing in business!

If you're ever bored, jump over to our facebook page here and check us out. If you want, like it to keep up with new things we are doing. You can also check out our photgraphy blog here. I'm so excited to see how this pans out for us!

My Little Girl Is Growing Up!

2011-05-26T08:00:00.008-05:00

This little girl is three and a half years old today!

Little E, you are every bit as sweet as I could have imagined a daughter could be. You are getting older, yet you have such a smallness to you. Your voice is small and you have nothing but good intentions with everything you do for the most part.

You adore your baby sister and you can hardly stand to be away from your big brother. You would rather sit and endure him driving you crazy than be apart and we love that about you. You are independent in some ways but not in others. You'd rather sleep by yourself but you love to be cuddled. You want to read your own books but never alone. You have a pillow that you keep with you most of the time you are home and you still suck your thumb when you are tired, even though you know it drives your mama crazy :)

You love to be outside and drawing with chalk is your favorite thing to do. You can draw monkeys like nobody's business. You are happy to be outdoors but you make sure both your brother and sister can be with you.

You have such a wonderful mothering quality about you. You are my helper always and you make sure the other kids have everything they need. If we are going to the car to leave you can be seen walking with your arms full of things for the baby. You always help her out of her carseat, and you are so proud of how you can buckle yourself in without any help.

You are an amazing daughter and our family would not be complete without your wonderful personality. You make us smile and laugh all the time with your silliness or your sweetness. You are the best big and little sister and your siblings are lucky to have you on their side. We can't wait to watch you grow in the future. Mama and Daddy love you baby girl!

Birthday Baby!

2011-05-25T08:00:00.039-05:00

The Birthday Girl!!

Baby A had such a good first birthday. We always keep birthdays low key since the kids are all still so young. Usually we just hang out with the fam and do cake, presents, and spend time playing. Baby A's first birthday was no different and it was just what I wanted for her.

I used to order all the kid's birthday decorations but lately I've taken it upon myself to make most of the stuff or enlist the help of my super crafty sisters. I made these pom poms and they are a ridiculously cheap and easy decoration. I love them!

My sister C made the cake and I loved the way it turned out! She has an amazing talent for baking and always does the cakes for the family. I showed her an idea of what I wanted and it turned out even better than I imagined. I'm in love with the owl theme and I think she did an incredible job!

She also helped me make this sweet banner for Ms. Baby A's birthday! I love the idea of doing months with corresponding pictures instead of the traditional happy birthday. It let everyone see how much she has changed over the past year and it was by far my favorite part of the birthday!

She of course had no problem digging into the cake after I showed her how delicious frosting could be. She was scared to be sitting on the table at first but those fears soon melted away when the sugary goodness made it's presence known :)

She got to enjoy plenty of cake, presents, and lots of love from everyone in the family! What a lucky little lady!

Happy First Birthday Sweet Baby A!! You are an amazing daughter and we are so lucky to have you in our lives!!

12 Months!

2011-05-24T22:23:00.000-05:00

Oh Baby! You are officially a year old!

You weighed 19 lbs 8 oz at your 12 month check up and you were 28 inches long. Take that 5th percentile for weight! You are now in the whopping 25th percentile!

You are walking along with things and started standing by yourself just before your first birthday, but you show no intention of walking any time soon. I believe that you can, but you much prefer the comfort of being on Mama's hip. For the first time with any of my babies, I'm totally ok with this. You walk when you are ready baby girl, Mama is in no hurry for you to grow up.

You are still generally our happy little baby, but in the last month you have taken on a major attitude. You spend most of the time crying at your big sister for not leaving you alone, and have been known to slap at her if she is refusing to stop. You also will yell no ma'am to her which is the cutest thing ever.

(Rare occasion of getting along)

Your favorite word is no, but you also say mama, dada, no, your name, your sister's name, help me, ouch, and uh oh. I'm sure there are some I am missing as well. You say a lot for just a year, but it doesn't surprise me with your little personality. You have always wanted to make your presence known.

You have four teeth now, two top and two bottom. You are wearing size 12 months clothes but can still fit into most of your 9 months stuff. You are still in a size three diaper and probably will be for awhile. You eat everything we eat and it's safe to say that you love carbs. Bread is by far your favorite thing to eat. You still suck your thumb and you are super attached to your pink blanket. You are the only one who has had to have a certain lovie and I think at this rate you will go to college with it.

I can't believe it has already been a whole year since you came into this world. Having you was a gift from God! I'll do your first birthday post soon! You had a blast!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T12:57:00.000-05:00

My kids love being outside. They love bubbles and love sidewalk chalk.

I love seeing them get so excited about little things. Big E's whole face lights up when he shows me how he wrote his name on the sidewalk in two colors.

The Easter Bunny just happened to bring them both a shiny new box of sidewalk chalk and a full bottle of bubbles this year. They also each recieved a book, but books around here are for snuggled in bed nighttime reading.

There are many moments that I miss since I work the weekends. Generally Easter is one of them. The last four years I have been at work while they enjoy the festivities at home with my family. I'm grateful that they can still enjoy things like this, rather than being stuck in daycare while we work. Still, it makes me sad to miss these events in their lives. Bills must be paid though, so we will keep on working.

I might not be able to enjoy Easter with them at this stage in our lives, but at least I can enjoy a calm and breezy Monday with my favorite little people and some brand new sidewalk chalk.

11 Months!

2011-04-12T11:35:00.001-05:00

Happy 11 months Little Lady!!

You are such a super sweet little baby. You are sleeping all night now, sometimes 12-14 hrs at a time. You take two naps usually, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. You weighed 17lbs 11oz at your last Dr's visit. You had to go because your sister tried to pick you up (when she knows better!) and dropped you and you have had trouble using your left leg. You are mostly better now, but we think that may have delayed your wanting to walk on your own. We will keep working with you though so your mobility gets better.

You are such a little talker lately. You say Mama, Dada, No No, Uh oh, Ba ba (bottle), your sister's name, and sometimes even your name. You and Daddy have this cute game where he takes your bottle and says Daddy's baba and you take it back and say that it's your baba. It's super cute. You love your Daddy, but you are still a Mama's girl through and through.

You finally moved into a big girl car seat! You are eating mostly food now and drinking only formula so you have packed on some pounds and finally feel big enough to sit in one. You drink 6 oz of formula three times a day and eat whatever we eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You have a sweet tooth for sure. Some of your favorite foods are bananas, cheerios, avacado, and anything sweet. You are a great eater and rarely turn anything down. You are wearing size three diapers now and wearing 6-9 months and some 12 months clothes! They are mostly too big for you right now but we make do.

You are getting to be such a big girl! I can't believe we will be celebrating your first birthday in just three short weeks! We love you baby girl!

10 Months!

2011-03-21T10:17:00.000-05:00

I'm 10 Months!!

I think I'll always remember your tenth month as you being the clingiest baby ever. You've spent the majority of your tenth month perched on your favorite place...my hip. You spent the first week of the month sick with a stomach virus and the other week with what has to be teething, although we've seen no new teeth yet.

You weigh 16lbs 12oz and are steadily gaining finally! You no longer eat baby food and usually just enjoy what the rest of the family is eating. You love bananas, cheerios, applesauce, sweet potatoes, and bread. You can wear 9 months clothes now and even fit into some of your sister's hand-me-down 12 months stuff. You still wear a size two diaper and your feet are mostly too small for shoes :)

You are still walking along holding on to things, but I don't foresee you walking anytime soon. You much prefer the view from above, so most the time you spend in Mommy's arms. This month you've shown that you are a little bit of a scaredy cat. You don't much like toys that move on their own and demand to be taken away from them.

Speaking of demanding, you have become much more vocal this month. You say Mama, Dada, Uh oh, No No, and sometimes your sister's name. You love to open your drawer of clothes and pull them all out, and then look up at me with the most ornery grin. We cut way back on nursing this month and you officially added formula to your diet with a pretty smooth transition. We now only nurse in the morning and night and you are sleeping all the way through the night now!

You are such a sweet Mama's girl and I can't believe how fast you keep growing!

A Year of Change

2011-02-28T11:13:00.001-06:00

My babies are growing up fast. On one hand it seems like we were just in the hospital with Big E, with all the excitement of having our first baby boy swirling around us, and on the other hand that seems like a million years ago. I love the rush that comes with a new baby. Labor, delivery, and seeing them for the first time is a feeling like no other. The emotion is overwhelming in such a wonderful way. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law just got to experience this feeling last week as they welcomed their second son into their lives. While I'm so very happy for them, it made me feel much more nostalgic than I had anticipated. I love everything about having a baby around the house. Their sweet little belly laughs. The milestones they complete and the way it makes your heart swell with pride to see them do it. I love all of it.

This year will come with a lot of changes for us. I realized as I looked at some pictures of our sweet new nephew that those times have come and gone for us. Not that I long for another baby, but as Baby A gets closer and closer to her first birthday, I realize that the time we have with a baby around the house is fleeting. I know stages end and new stages to enjoy come along, but I think I will always miss having a little baby around. Miss Baby A and I are coming to the end of our nursing relationship and that is a very bittersweet feeling to me. I am proud of how far we made it. It's been a struggle in some aspects and beyond rewarding to both of us. I'm ready to have my body back. Ready for that little bit of independence from the baby that I previously have not had. It's a happy/sad change, because while I'm welcoming the end, it just means that my baby is becoming a toddler.

I used to always say that I had two toddlers and a baby. Just the other day I realized that I will soon have two toddlers and a kindergartner. A big kid. One that no longer toddles, but plays t-ball and writes his name. One with complex thoughts and an understanding of things that we don't give him credit for knowing. It seems almost impossible that we could have a soon-to-be kindergartner living in our house. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were holding him in the hospital while our family came to admire our firstborn? Time has passed in the most terrifying way. A part of me can't wait to see him spread his wings and fly, the other part wanting to hold him close and keep him from growing up. I know it's our job as parents to see to their growing up and becoming responsible adults. How is one supposed to do that when all I want to do is keep them small forever? I know seasons come and go and that there will always be new ages and stages to look forward to. But today? Today we will just watch cartoons. Today I will relish in the fact that right at this very moment I still have two toddlers and a baby.

9 Months!

2011-02-09T12:05:00.000-06:00

My tiny tot is now 9 months old!

And boy do I mean tiny. I knew you were small, but at your 9 month appointment you weighed in at 15 lbs 10 oz. That's barely on the charts in the 5th percentile. You are 25th percentile for length at 27 inches, and 75th percentile for your head circumference. What can I say...you have your Daddy's head.

You are getting more and more vocal and now say Mama, Dada, and Uh Oh. You have this adorable way of throwing your hand out every time you say Mama or Dada like you have some dramatic point to make.

You are still nursing as much as you were and you eat twice as much as you have been eating in the past couple months. You have two bottom teeth and are pretty good at self feeding.

You are still in 6 months clothes and size two diapers. You are getting better and better about walking holding on to things and even stood by yourself for a brief second a week or so ago.

I can't believe that you are already 9 months old, and that in a few short months I'll be writing a first birthday post. Time flies when you are having fun! Happy 9 months baby girl!

Snow...Sort Of.

2011-02-04T11:14:00.000-06:00

These kids (and their Mama) are snow crazy.

It only barely snows here, once a year if that. It almost has as much hype as Christmas morning with my kiddos.

When it does make its appearance we dress them up in their ~~snow gear~~ clothing not really appropriate for snow (because in Texas you don't have snow gear) and let them outside.

There are snowballs to be thrown, fresh powder to be destroyed with little footprints, and holly berries covered in snow.

And twenty minutes later, when the snow has lost it's luster and the cold has crept in, we come inside for breakfast. All in all it's a pretty good snow day.

My boys...

2011-01-25T12:30:00.000-06:00

This little boy is like his daddy in so many ways.

From his handsome dark features...

To his love of the game.

Both of them a wonderful balance to our otherwise feminine brood!

8 Months!

2011-01-24T15:00:00.000-06:00

(I'm way behind on this because my laptop crapped out shortly after Christmas and at this point we are a week and a half away from 9 months old but...)

Happy 8 Months Old Baby Girl!

This month you have started crawling up on all fours instead of the army crawl you have been doing for the last three months, gotten a second tooth, and started walking along things that you are holding on to.

You are still nursing several times a day along with eating usually three meals a day. You love the steel cut oats with brown sugar and cinnamon that Mommy and Daddy have for breakfast. You also enjoy sweet potatoes, any fruits, most recently pancakes, and anything you can get your big sis to share with you. There really isn't anything you ever turn down.

You are still such a tiny thing weighing in at 15 lbs 2 oz at the beginning of the month. You wear 6 month clothes and are still on the same size cloth diapers. You wear a size two in disposables.

You absolutely adore your pink blankie. You won't sleep without it and most days it can soothe your crying. You have another blankie that will do, but it's not THE blankie. It's so sweet to watch you snuggle it up to your face and stick your thumb in and drift off to sleep.

Happy 8 months pretty girl!

My Resolutions

2010-12-31T16:02:00.000-06:00

This year I only have one New Year's Resolution.

Be kind to this girl.

I judge her on a daily basis. Most days I don't like the way she looks in the mirror. I critique her weight, looks, personality, mothering abilities, and what kind of wife she is.

I am mean to her even when she isn't deserving of it.

And sometimes when she is.

I give her little to no credit for the things she can or could do.

I make poor nutrition choices for her and then criticize her body.

BUT ...

This year I will be kind and forgiving.

I will make better choices for her so that she can learn to be happy with herself.

I will teach her how to be a better wife and mother, to enjoy the little things more and stress about the unimportant stuff less.

I will nourish her with healthier food choices and exercise so that the mirror becomes more of a friend than it's current enemy state.

I will stress the importance of healthier choices over numbers on a scale.

I will shape her into a role model for her daughters and son.

I will teach more love and less anger.

Here's to all the blessings of 2010 and many more in 2011!

Embrace the Camera

2010-12-23T08:23:00.000-06:00

My Embrace the Camera today is actually my sweet little boy embracing his camera.

An old Canon camera that my sister gave him to play with. He plays with it more than any toy he has right now, carrying it around behind me snapping pretend pictures. He requests that we both wear the camera straps around our neck. "I take pictures just like you, right Mom?" How can you not love when your four year old wants to do something to be just like you?

My cup runneth over ♥

Growing by Leaps and Bounds

2010-12-15T22:36:00.000-06:00

Oh baby love...you are seven months old and gaining by leaps and bounds. This has been a big month for you in terms of both milestones and weight!

You weight 14lbs 15oz at just over seven months old. You are now eating solids regularly along with nursing. You eat your oatmeal in the morning and a veggie and fruit for dinner. It took some time to get you eating but you are loving your food now.

This is where you spend the bulk of your time...hanging off your Mama. You have had a major case of seperation anxiety lately and cry anytime I leave the room. Most of the time you are in my lap or arms and I wouldn't have it any other way.

You have been pulling up on things for a few weeks now, but you officially learned to stand in your crib tonight. You've been working on getting there for a couple days now and were so excited and giggling when you finally made it. The problem now is that you only want to stand in your bed!

You are still in cloth diapers most of the time with some disposable here and there. And you finally broke your first tooth through...the bottom right! It seemed like you were teething FOREVER. You are also an expert raspberry blower.

Probably my most favorite milestone to date...your first word was Mama! You will repeat it most of the time I ask you to. It's the sweetest thing ever.

I'm continuously overjoyed that you are here because I couldn't imagine life any other way. Merry Christmas Baby Girl!

Befores and Afters

2010-12-14T23:42:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to do this post for awhile now, especially considering all the hard work my hubby went through to please his very pregnant, desperate for color on the walls wife. Normally painting would be no big deal but considering our very open floor plan and up to the sky ceilings it was quite a task. When we first moved into our house we had nothing but a few things collected here and there. Everything was a big mishmash of things and it drove me nuts for a long time. I wanted our house to feel more like a home, and while it's not quite done, it's a vast improvement.

The dining room before...drab builders paint. No color. Booo!

Now some apple green paint on the wall with accents of black and red. Not everyone's cup of tea but I love it! The ugly chandelier is gone and replaced with pendant lights and some damask curtains compliments of my Mama.

Oh the red microfiber couch. My most loathed possesion. Dirty from the abuse of two toddlers and coming apart at the seams. Yuck. And again...no color. I do so love that print from World Market though.

And now...black leather that's much more durable for three kids. Curtains and paper sack colored paint on the walls...a nice warm camel color. Excuse the lighting, I waited until dark to decide to do this. And it can't help but be prettier with all that Christmas cheer.

This picture doesn't show the wall properly, but it's basically the small hallway leading to the master bedroom that used to house these two chairs and a picture...

But now has a pretty black table my husband scored from work and a collage of pictures in matching frames. This is my favorite thing from the living room and I wish the picture could do it justice but it doesn't. I love love love having pictures up finally. I feel like something needs to go on the black table but I haven't made it that far yet.

My only beef with this is that I think I might be constantly straightening all the frames as the movement of people walking by will shift them. Weirdly enough they look straighter in person that they do in this picture. It's a small price to pay.

This is the wall the tv has to be on because of the cable placement. It's kind of weird to me that they'd put the wires for that on a stair wall, but what do I know. Our tv is small and so was our little table that held it. Looked a little comical if you ask me.

The tv is still small, but it's now atop an ikea bookshelf turned on its side...idea compliments of my big sis. Now I have cubby's filled with more pictures and some vases and a box to hold all the gaming stuff that lives in our house. The wall is actually much darker than it looks...again thanks to the flash I had to use.

I think I disliked this little wall the most. The picture frames didn't look right and the loveseat held the same fate as the big couch. I wasn't the least bit sad to see those couches go.

Now the wall holds my two red leather chairs from World Market that I got with motivation from a friend, and I'm so glad I did.

It also sports the best invention ever...floating shelves. These allow me to have even more pictures up to enjoy.

I think for the most part I have things the way that I want them with maybe a few small additions here and there. I'm so grateful to my hubby and brother in law for working so hard to get those walls painted for me before Baby A came...something I felt had to be done. I guess all that nesting pays off in the end!

Little E Turns Three!

2010-12-03T16:06:00.000-06:00

My sweet little girl turned three the day after Thanksgiving. Minnie Mouse is her current fav, so I decided that instead of getting the normal birthday stuff, I'd make her party favors and whatnot. For the most part it turned out super cute, but in retrospect it might have been cheaper just to order the Minnie Mouse party package. Next time I know what I can do to make it more cost effective. Besides, it turned out way cuter I think. The birthday girl was adorned in a sweet Minnie dress from Esty and she looked so sweet. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. It seems like she was just a baby toddling around and now she's a smart, sassy three year old!

I made her a birthday banner which is now residing in her room due to her inability to let go of the birthday-ness of the dining room. I hand cut out each Minnie head and tiny bow. It took awhile but was worth it to see how excited she was.

These tissue paper pom poms are the cheapest, easiest decoration to make ever. They added such a pretty touch to her birthday table and did I mention how cheap they are? Emily gives an easy tutorial here.

Aunt C made this adorable Minnie Mouse cake just for my birthday Princess. She is so talented and every cake we get for a birthday is completely awesome and made with tons of love. Thanks Aunt C!

She gots lots of goodies and had a great third birthday! Before we know it we'll be packing her up to go to college. Happy Birthday Baby Girl! We love you soo much!

Embrace the Camera

2010-12-02T21:23:00.000-06:00

Today's Embrace the Camera comes from my big girl's third birthday!

Where I was lucky enough to get a shot with each of my sweet babes.

I don't often get many chances with this guy to snag a pic, so I take what I get.

And this sweet baby, who's always up for grinning for the camera!

Happy Embrace the Camera Thursday!

Christmas cards!

2010-11-22T22:27:00.001-06:00

I love the holiday season. Everything from Halloween to New Years Day just seems magical. Cool weather, holidays, family, food...I love it all. One of my favorite things to do is our family Christmas card. I always take the pictures myself and I love using those candid shots of the kids. Rarely do we get a great photo of everyone sitting perfectly and looking at the camera smiling. But I always get some super cute pics when they are just being sweet. I've already taken about half of my pictures for this years card. I'm going to try out using Shutterfly for this years card because they are offering bloggers fifty free holiday cards here. That kind of freebie goodness just makes my heart melt! I love love love giving and receiving these kinds of cards, especially when everything seems so impersonal today with facebook and other social networking sites. I got some great pics of Big E and Baby A while Little E was napping yesterday. Here's a little preview...

They are so sweet when they are one on one together. I am deciding between this card, this card, or maybe this one. It's definitely hard to choose, although I do want one with lots of photo slots to show off my cuties. They might not be fancy professional pictures, but I think they portray all the love and blessings we have to be thankful for over this holiday season!

A Half Birthday!

2010-11-05T12:25:00.000-05:00

Happy Half Birthday Baby Girl!!

You are getting so big I can hardly stand it. And by big I only mean in age, because you are such a small little thing.

At 6 months old you weigh 13 lbs 10 oz. You are barely scraping by in the 15th percentile for your age group. The Dr. says even if you were formula fed you'd be a petite little girl.

You don't let being little slow you down in any way. You have been crawling for about a month now and you are perfecting sitting up on your own. You are still breastfeeding the majority of the time but are being introduced to solids more and more. You love sweet potatoes and bananas.

You are the happiest baby ever. You rarely fuss unless you are hungry or just needing to comfort nurse. You still get up in the middle of the night and Mommy is just fine with that. You won't always want to cuddle with me so I relish the times that you do.

You are still in cloth the majority of the time and I just recently had to adjust your diapers up a size bigger. When you do wear disposable diapers you are in a size two. You can also wear some 6 month stuff but right now it's all a little big on your tiny little frame.

You are so beautiful and we are all just so in love with you! Happy 6 month birthday Baby A...We love you so much!!

Embracing the Camera

2010-11-04T10:05:00.000-05:00

I hardly ever take pictures of myself. I don't like being in them or how they come out. I'm usually pretty self critical, but I do love that Emily from The Anderson Crew does this post every Thursday. So I've decided today that I'm going to be in more pictures with my kiddos. I know they'll love to have them when they are all grown up. There aren't tons of pictures of us when we were little, so I want my kids to have plenty of visual memories to reminisce through as adults. So this week...

Big E was adamant that we all take a group picture. Over and over and over. It's nice though because my "big kids" rarely want to be in photos anymore. It leaves the poor baby vulnerable to picture overload. I've often wondered if my kids think they are famous and followed by the paparazzi because of the amount of pictures they get. In my defense they are just so darn cute I can't help myself.

So here it is, my first Embrace The Camera post! Hopefully I'll live up to my word and get one of these posted each week!

Also a big shout out to my husband on his 27th Birthday today!! I love you babe!

Halloweekend

2010-11-02T15:10:00.000-05:00

I might be biased, but I think I have the cutest kids ever. Dress said kids up as sweet little monsters and it's cuteness overload. I spent the first half of Halloween working, but thanks to some sporting coworkers I got to leave at 5ish. We had a party at my parents house complete with sliders, mummy dogs, meatballs, desserts, and about seven kids begging to go trick-or-treating. We stuffed ourselves, grabbed up the kids, and headed out into the neighborhood for some ~~candy begging~~ trick-or-treats.

Miss Baby A and I bundled up in our Moby wrap ( aka my favorite baby thing ever) and headed out with all the kids. Lucky for me I have an awesome sister who just so happened to knit me a matching Mommy Monster hat :) Our group included a soldier, mummy, unicorn, fairy princess, three monsters, a pumpkin, and a lovely lady bug.

The best part of the whole deal was watching the little ones run house to house trying to keep up with the big ones. Nothing is cuter to watch than a furry little monster butt running after some candy ;) It was a great night and I'm so grateful I got to spend it with my favorite babes!

Fall Favorites!

2010-10-22T13:31:00.001-05:00

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love everything about it. We get a little gypped here in Texas because there isn't much of a fall season. It basically goes from incredibly hot to a little less hot, a couple of cold months, and then right back in to incredibly hot. Just because it's supposed to be almost 90 the next couple of days doesn't mean you can't enjoy fall stuff though, right? I'm in the spirit of Halloween. The big kids have had their costumes since the middle of September because they were on sale. Big E wanted all three of them to be monsters, so I obliged his wish because I thought the idea was cute and the costumes were cheap.

An online order later we have two cute, furry monsters. They only had sizes for the big kids so I still needed an idea for the baby. I refuse to pay a ridiculous amount for an infant costume, so I enlisted the help of my awesome knitting sister. In a few hours she had Miss Baby A a super cute fuzzy monster hat and tights whipped up. It's my favorite kid costume to date, and she looks crazy adorable in it.

The cuteness is almost unbearable. I might be biased, but I think I just might have the three sweetest little monsters on my hands.

Along with dressing my kids up as silly things, I also enjoy fall for food purposes. It's the best time to bake delicious desserts, especially ones filled with pumpkin. And when you have an awesome husband like mine who scored me this sweet present, how can you not bake up a storm?

The first thing I baked in my lovely new mixer was a recipe from The Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen Blog. It is a scrumptious recipe for pumpkin creme pies and they are delicious and super easy to bake. I mean super easy because I am definitely not a baker, and even I could make these. I suggest you make them ASAP, because they are just that good. Apparently they are also called whoopie pies and can be made with several different flavors of cookie. I just happen to be a big fan of pumpkin and cream cheese filling so I went with these....

Mmmmmmmm......Perfect for a cool fall day!

The Business of Cloth Diapers

2010-10-19T18:32:00.000-05:00

Baby A is my "green" baby. Maybe it is because where we live now is vastly different in attitude than where we lived when the big kids were babies. I never ever thought I would cloth diaper. I bounced back and forth with the idea when I was pregnant, but couldn't ever get the hubby sold on it. Then she was born and the feeling of wanting to do it just got stronger. I would cringe to see diapers piled up in our trash can. Something about seeing all those tiny newborn diapers sitting in the trash can made me feel so guilty. So I bugged Hubby about it, but to no avail. Starting your diaper collection is expensive in the beginning. Cloth diapers are not the old school type that I had envisioned. They are bright colored, sized or one size, have snaps and liners, and can cost you about 20 bucks a pop. Every site recommends at least 24 to get started. So selling the Hubby on something that might cost somewhere around 500 dollars was definitely a no go. Unless you are me, who can be very persistent. Eventually we agreed to start with six diapers and go from there. I researched cloth diapers until I couldn't read any more. The laundering seemed daunting, and there were so many different brands to choose from. I made my choice, started my stash, and haven't looked back since.

I stared with five Fuzzibunz and one Bummis with velcro. What I like about the fuzzibunz is that they are a one size diaper, meaning that they have adjustable elastic to grow with her. You just stuff the microfiber insert into the fleece liner, snap the diaper on and go. The bummis diaper has velcro which has proven to be much easier to get on a wiggly baby. However it does not have a fleece liner so when the microterry stuffer is wet, it's wet against the baby's skin. The fleece in the other diapers wicks moisture away from skin leaving Miss Baby A dry for longer periods of time. A few weeks later we added six more Charlie Banana diapers to total 12. These are like the fuzzibunz diapers but come in sizes. I got mediums for her and she barely meets the bottom weight requirement, leaving them a little big on her. She'll grow into them though and they will be a perfect fit.

Laundering seemed the most daunting task of cloth diapers. You need a wet bag or diaper pail to store the diapers between loads. We do diaper laundry about every other day, which works well for our 12 diapers. I do a full cycle on cold with no detergent, and then a 30 min hot soak followed by a normal cycle with two tablespoons of Rockin Green laundry soap. I'm a big fan of this all natural soap. It's made specifically for cloth diapers, but is good for all laundry. It can get the gross out of anything. Then I just toss them in the dryer on medium heat and they are good to go.

I think for us it's more of a cost thing. Diapers are expensive and we have been buying them for four years now. It's also much better for baby as far as having no chemicals against her skin, and we are not contributing as much to the landfills. I was concerned that it would be too much to deal with on top of having two toddlers and a baby, but it's working out splendidly for us. I really enjoy it, and there is nothing like seeing a cute baby butt in fluff.

5 months!

2010-10-03T23:41:00.000-05:00

Baby A, today you are five months old and I swear it was just yesterday I wrote that you were four months. Time seems to go by in warp speed lately and all I want to do is slow it down. You are doing so much in just a few short weeks since your last update. You are 12 lbs 9 oz and growing. You are a slobbery little lady but as of late you still have no teeth. You are starting to be able to sit up for short amounts of time before you tip over and you love it so much.

You are still such a sweet, happy baby girl. You are exclusively nursing but are seemingly more interested in people food. Next month we will introduce cereal and get you going on big girl food! You sleep most of the night in your crib but still wake up early to snuggle and eat.

You are scooting all over the place and can effectively get where you want to go. You are enamored with the laptop and will do whatever it takes to get to it. Just today I watched you climb over your boppy and wiggle across the bed just to get to Daddy and his laptop. The same applies to phones with you.

You are now cloth diapered through the entire day and night and only wear disposables sometimes with Grandma. It has become very apparent that you now associate Mommy and nursing together, as when you are with me you twist and wriggle your little body around to get into eating position. I think it is adorable.

No longer are the days of newborn cries around this house. You have found your big girl voice and are not afraid to use it. Your cries are much more vocal and you have no problem telling your big brother and sister that you have had enough. I think this newly adapted trait will benefit you often in the future :)

You and your siblings are such a gift from God and Mommy and Daddy could not be more thankful for having you all as our children. We love you Baby A. Happy five months!

What's In A Name?

2010-10-01T11:52:00.000-05:00

Recently I was faced with one of those really hard decisions. The kind where it's damned if you do, damned if you don't. One of those really awkward family situations where you know if you say anything you'll be the bad guy, but feel if you don't then you are not being honest about your true feelings. Is it better to be honest and risk being the one who makes an issue, than to not say anything at all?

The situation is touchy. Anything when family involved usually is, and in the case of this part of my family it's like I can never win. It was brought to my attention that one of my pretty immediate family wants to use the name I have always used for my daughter for their unborn baby if it is a girl. Now the name I call my first born daughter is her middle name. She answers to her first, or middle, or both together. My family refers to her by her first and middle, but I have always referred to her as her middle. When the name was said, I felt a twinge. Of what? The first five seconds I was ok with it. It's just a name, I understand this. Then a flood of emotions came on. In the end I decided to be honest and say that it did bother me. I was aware this would be a very unpopular decision on my part, but I felt I should say now rather than not say at all and let the emotions build. It might have been the last straw, as we don't have a strong relationship anyways. I knew this.

I spent the whole rest of the night thinking about this, and most of the next day and night. I wondered if I had the right to say anything at all. I never said they couldn't use the name, and never would. It's their baby and their right to name her whatever. However it's common knowledge that this is the name my daughter goes by. I realize that it's not her first name, but it is her middle name. A variation of her middle name though, and not a nickname. But it's the name I gave her, and the name I had intended to call her from the time she was born. So I spent the rest of the time thinking about why it bothered me, and why I can't just see a name as a name.

The name I refer to her by means God's favor. She was a blessing to us right from the beginning. While her big brother was a surprise, she was planned for and came to us in quick fashion. After only a month and a half of trying, she was there growing in my belly. I prayed for a healthy baby, but in my mind I prayed for a girl. A boy and a girl would be the perfect completion to our little family. When I found out she was a girl I didn't believe the ultrasound. I felt like it was too good to be true. Who get's a boy and a girl on their first try? I knew immediately what her name was going to be. While there were many debates about her older brother's name, hers was picked right away with no discussion. When she was born looking just like her Mama, I knew the name fit her perfectly. I'd call her by her first name of course, but always she would go by her middle name just to me. I go by my middle name, I wanted the same connection with her.

Flash forward to now and a million things have happened since then. She has a baby sister when I never imagined she would. She very abruptly was dethroned in her position as the baby and struggles with it daily. She's struggled with the emotions of being a big sister and not wanting to be a big sister. She's a middle child when none of us ever expected her to be. I see her having to compete for attention in her own immediate family, and I don't want that in her extended family. She already has another family member that shares her first name, and could potentially have a second that shares the name she goes by at home. The special name that her Mommy calls her would seem a little less special. I feel sad for her that she has to fight for attention in her own home, I don't want her to feel like that in other parts of her family too. I realize that both of her names are common and she'll meet several people on her journey that share both. But I also feel that within a family names shouldn't be re-used if they are not family names to begin with. Call me crazy, but I just feel protective of my baby girl and her namesake. I picked it out special for her. My baby that was born looking just like her Mama. My first born daughter. The blonde haired, blue-eyed toddler that fits her Mommy given name so perfectly.

I feel sick about the whole situation. I don't want to take any of the excitement away from them and their new blessing. I don't want to be the person that is protective over a name, but I find that I am. I'm protective over my daughter and her feelings. The struggles that she will deal with growing up. I can't say to not use the name, and like I said I never would. All I can do is say my side and hope that maybe they can be understanding of my feelings on the matter, even if they choose to go ahead with it. But after all, doesn't every baby deserve their own unique namesake?

Sweet Nephew

2010-09-23T21:44:00.000-05:00

I love a brand spankin' new baby.

And a sweet, fuzzy baby head.

And those brief moments of quiet alertness.

And getting to watch new parents fawn over their new baby boy.

Welcome to the family sweet nephew.

We love you from the top of your sweet, fuzzy head

All the way down to your itsy bitsy baby toes.

Another Baby A in the Fam

2010-09-20T14:14:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late in posting (what else is new right?) that we welcomed our newest addition to my side of the family last Wednesday. Baby boy A came in the morning as the 6th cousin to bless us, weighing in at 8lbs 15 oz and 21 inches long. I was so lucky to see him make his journey into the world about 36 hrs after his Mama and Daddy went to the hospital. This is the first time I've been on the opposite side of labor, and I was elated to be able to watch him be born. It was amazing and emotionally overwhelming to say the least. He is a big, healthy baby boy and to me looks just like his Mama. He already has them both wrapped around his little finger and has his Mom set up on a round the clock nursing schedule. You go Baby A! I can't wait till he gets a little more settled into his routine so that I can snuggle him some more. It's so fun to get to see my Sis love on him after waiting so long for him to make his appearance.

We are so happy you are finally here Baby A!! You are already loved so much!

Baby A is 4 months old!

2010-09-17T18:12:00.000-05:00

Happy 4 Months old Baby A!! Ok, so it's a couple weeks late, but I think you will find it in your sweet heart to forgive me. How sweet you are indeed! You rarely fuss unless you are hungry or a sibling is bugging you, which is often the case.

You weighed 12 lbs 1 oz at your check-up, which is a good two pounds lighter than both your siblings were at your age. That must be why you seem so tiny to Mama. You are only in the 25 percentile for you height and weight, but growing and gaining steadily.

You love to watch what everyone is doing and you are getting exceptionally good at grabbing things. You can scoot across the bed for whatever object catches your eye, and if you get it, straight into your mouth it goes.

You are wearing all 3-6 clothes now and probably could go up to six months if we wanted. You are still exclusively nursing six or more times a day, and doing great with it. You sleep in your crib till the early morning where you move over to our bed to eat your breakfast and doze off and on.

You still love to be in the wrap any time we go out and about. You are more alert about your surroundings and spend more time looking around and less time sleeping now.

You are wearing cloth diapers all day long now and a disposable just for bedtime, but we're looking to change that too. You wear a size one diaper when you do wear one. You are talking more and more, starting to laugh, and appear to be trying to pop your two bottom teeth through.

You are such a sweet girl and it seems like time is just going in fast forward. I love savoring the moments I have with you and your sweet brother and sister because I know in the blink of an eye you will all be grown with babies of your own!

DIY Babylegs

2010-09-06T20:28:00.000-05:00

I'm not really a crafty person, but I do love me some chunky baby thighs covered in babylegs. If you don't know what babylegs are, you should check em out. They are super cute legwarmers for little people that keep them warm with onesies and makes diaper changing a cinch. I love them, but not always at 10-12 dollars a pop. Enter my first Do It Yourself tutorial. I don't sew so my Mama came over to help me with the challenge. I found six pairs of adult knee socks at Target on clearance for 1.40 each. Can't beat that. We followed this tutorial here, but my mom already knew what to do since she has long been making these. What can I say, I'm a child of the eighties. After a few sewing challenges, we came up with these :

Five super cute pairs of Babylegs...plus one pair that baby A was already sporting. I love them! E has already called dibs on the pink ones. They even make cute sleeves to layer under a tee in the fall. I can't wait for cooler weather to get here so they can wear them out and about. Yay for learning a new craft!

I'm Going To Miss These Days

2010-08-31T19:12:00.000-05:00

I usually spend the mornings feeding the baby and catching up on my blog readings, email, facebook, etc. The other morning I read one of MckMama's blog posts where she decided one night during a long evening that she was going to always remind herself that she will miss the days when her babies are no longer this small. It is her tatic for getting through the particularly frustrating times with several small children. I started to think about what I would miss in reference to my own kids. There are MANY days when I think to myself that I wish they were past this stage or that. How it would be so much easier if there weren't car seats to buckle and unbuckle ten times a day, food messes to be cleaned up, butts to be wiped. Days when meltdowns are no longer lurking around the corner and jealousy over the newest member of the family ceases to be. While I know that many of these carry on into teenage life, the stress of having three very young children under one very hard to keep clean roof is sometimes too much. There is probably a tad too much yelling out of frustration, saying no when yes could be agreed upon instead, longing for toddler naptime and bedtime...

But Along with all the things I'm not proud of, there are many things that make me beam as the proud Mama of these three crazy little people. There is always laughter, always hugs and kisses, and always silliness in our house. I love you's are common and said by all. What will I miss when these three tiny people that are 100% dependent on their Mama and Daddy turn into snarly teenagers?

E, I'll miss your cuddles and how you always love to be touching someone. Your silly dreams you tell us in the mornings. The fact that you are a little less dependent than the rest because you are the first born. I'll miss you asking for someone to lay with you because you don't want to be alone in the dark. How you never turn down an opportunity for someone to hold your hand. Your excitement over the smallest things.

Little E, I'll miss your toddler sweetness. How you love to cuddle but only if you feel like it. The way you say your big brother's name. How you love to carry around a baby doll and pretend your the Mama. How you want so badly to help with everything your little sister does. How you love bubbles in your bath and get so excited when there are lots of them. How at the ripe young age of two and a half, you are already so strong willed and know exactly what you want.

Baby A, I'll miss your sweet coos. How you light up when you see your Mama come near. I'll miss how proud I feel of you for hitting each milestone. The fact that in four short months of being here you managed to change my thinking of not being able to handle three kids to not being able to live without three. I'll miss watching you watch your siblings in wide eyed wonder. How it feels to have you curled up next to me all warm and sleepy.

I know the days of endless frustration will never go away. Yelling will never cease even when we all know there are better solutions. But it does help to stop and remember that life is definitely short and not to be wasted on pointless arguing, and as cliche as it might sound...I am going to miss this.

The Purple Monster!

2010-08-17T11:06:00.000-05:00

I've decided that our house needs some changes when it comes to eating/grocery shopping. We don't do meal plans and end up buying aimlessly at the store. Nothing drives me more crazy than spending a hundred plus dollars and ending up with nothing. I've decided we are going to adopt meal planning for a week at a time. And since I like how my friend G blogs her recipes and finds, I decided to give it a shot too. Maybe it'll hold me more accountable with sticking to the plan. Maybe not, but we'll see. It's something I've wanted to do for quite some time. So without further adieu, here's what we enjoyed for breakfast this morning!

Purple Monster Smoothies

2 bananas frozen (although mine weren't and it was delish)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup fat free plain vanilla yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup crushed ice (probably less if you use frozen bananas)

I just threw the ice and frozen blueberries into the blender to crush them before adding the other ingredients because I didn't have crushed ice to start with. Then throw the rest in and blend. Of course it's not rocket science and can be made a million different ways, but the kiddos loved the purple color and it tasted great too. A healthier take on milk shakes, which my kids happen to love. Each batch yields about 3 cups and I made a serving 1 1/2 cups or 12 oz. A serving had 217 calories, 0g fat, 5g fiber, and 6g of protein. Not bad for a morning start. Paired with some natural cranberry vanilla peanut butter on a whole wheat english muffin made for a great breakfast!

One on One with the Eldest

2010-08-13T16:27:00.001-05:00

I just spent the last hour up in my big guy's bedroom having a very enlightening conversation about water tower workings. I went up to check on him to find him perched on his dresser, head stuck under the blinds checking out the local scenery. He likes to look around at all the buildings (neighbor houses) and see what is going on in their backyards. The neighbor backyard across from ours has an above ground pool and a trampoline much to his envy. He told me that they bounce from the trampoline into the pool which makes me wonder just how much time he spends people watching? He doesn't frequent his bedroom a lot, but after noticing he had been upstairs for awhile I thought I might go check it out. I pulled up the blinds for him and he promptly invited me onto his boat (dresser) where we discussed electricity, cats and dogs, birds, and the aforementioned water tower. I don't get much one on one time with this kid, but when I do I'm continuously amazed at all he knows. Things that I assume he has never thought of he proves to be very knowledgeable about. Just a week ago he explained to me that food goes into our mouths, into our tummy, travels all the way down our body, and comes out in poop. Well said E, well said. Now while this isn't the hardest thing to figure out, I don't know that we've ever taken the time to explain the inner workings of digestion. How he came into that knowledge is beyond me. Likewise, while driving to Grandma's house last weekend I asked him about the dark clouds growing in the distance and if he knew what dark clouds meant. I got the most unenthusiastic response. "Yeah...rain." Like duh Mom, what's your problem...you didn't know that? Maybe I'm just underestimating the knowledge a newly four year old should have. Still it tickles me to hear all these things he knows. Recently he seems to be more into imaginative play. Maybe it coincides with the decision to get rid of our cable, but I've noticed both big kids upstairs playing more. So after learning about the travels of water from the tower, we spent the rest of our time on his boat reeling in goldfish with his fishing pole (golf club) and putting the little ones in his imaginary bucket. Oh how I love this kid and his complex little mind.

A Milestone Moment

2010-08-10T22:35:00.000-05:00

I'll have a post sometime in the near future about the very fast, very stressful trip we took to see my beautiful sister-in-law get married. But that is in the near future. Right now I'm just going to make a little post to brag on my baby girl and her new found milestone that she learned this evening. Right amidst the ongoing family dinner at my house, little miss decides that she doesn't want to be on her back. I left her that way and a few minutes later my nephew said she had rolled over. Since it was unwitnessed and he is known to be sneaky about such things, we put her back on her back to see for ourselves. Sure enough, after about ten minutes of trying she rolled right on over. Now just six days into being a three month old, she's a rolling over fool. The rest of the night you couldn't even keep her on her back. I think she'll be an early crawler too. She's a strong little girl, and I couldn't be a more proud Mama!

Happy 3 Months Baby Girl!

2010-08-03T14:57:00.000-05:00

Happy 3 months old Miss Baby A!! Well, tomorrow that is. But since tomorrow brings a day full of working and a night full of packing for me your three month post will have to be a day early. I'll probably say this every time, but you are such a sweet, happy baby girl. You rank up there with your brother in the easiest baby category. You love to eat, sleep, and will tolerate bouts of your brother and sister trying to love on you. You weigh 11 lbs 9.5 oz now and are steadily gaining and growing. It seems to me you have gained a lot in length the last couple of weeks, as you now wrap around the side of the boppy when you are nursing.

Speaking of eating well...This week is the kickoff to National Breastfeeding Awareness month. This week also signifies the three month mark for our nursing relationship. I feel very proud of the fact that we have successfully made it this long and hope to continue on to at least a year. You do great and my supply has kept up even working 40 hrs a week. I pump at work two or three times depending on if I work my 8 or 12 hr shift that day and so far so good. On the days I'm home you exclusively nurse as often as you want or need to. I got kudos from your pediatrician at your two month appt for not supplementing even with a full time work schedule. Go us!! While I wish I could have had more successful attempts with the other two, I rest easy knowing that they were at least breastfed for a good amount of time. I'm just thankful for what I am able to provide for you.

I can't believe how big and strong you are at only three months. On your tummy you push your chest off the ground with your arms to look around, and if you are over my should your head is up and looking at everything. You're also getting very good at standing while being held and you love to push up with your legs and try to climb up everyone. You have been rolling from your tummy to your back for awhile now, but only when you feel like it. We still co-sleep some of the time, although you have been spending more nights in your crib and coming to bed to nurse early in the morning. You are out of your nb stuff and have moved into your bigger 0-3 or 3 months clothes. I LOVE when I wake you in the mornings to eat before I have to go to work and you give me the biggest, sweetest smile. It makes my whole day brighter. I can't wait to see all the other things you will do in the next few months. You make your Mama so proud!

More Photography Practice with a Sweet Girl!

2010-08-02T17:06:00.001-05:00

Today I took advantage of babysitting my nieces and nephews to take some pictures of another favorite K of mine. She just turned three years old in May and has more personality than you could ever imagine a three year old to have. She is so spunky and confident. She doesn't think twice to tell you exactly what she thinks and I love it. My big girl E and her are best pals and it's frightening to think of what they will be like as teenagers. Both are crafty and have that deceiving sweetness about them, but don't take your eye of them as they may have just conned you out of something. She's pretty as...well a picture I suppose. I love getting to have all these sweet kids to practice my photography hobby on!

Oh and don't think just because she looks mad that she really was. It's just one of the many faces of K!

Happy First Birthday Miss K!

2010-07-27T13:11:00.000-05:00

July is a massive birthday month for my family. There are four kid birthdays within two weeks of each other. Needless to say there is lots of present buying and lots of cake to be eaten. The last of the July birthdays was only just added this time last year. Making her debut into the world a tad early and very tiny was sweet baby K, the second youngest baby in the pack. It's taken her the course of a year to catch up in size, but her personality makes up for it. She's sweet, feisty, and can hold her own against her brothers and sisters. I decided for her birthday present that I'd like to try my hand at taking her first birthday pics for her Mom and Dad. I had some ideas in my head of what I wanted to do and finally got to make them happen on Sunday evening. She did great smiling for her Papa and we practically had to hold her back from her cake long enough for me to get set up. What can I say, the girl loves her cake. I'm no professional, but I'm overjoyed to be getting to take the special occasion pictures that I've done lately. Time goes by so fast and I'm so happy to be a part of seeing these little people grow. Happy First Birthday Baby K!!

Baby Belly...And This Time It's Not Mine!

2010-07-24T22:22:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I got the pleasure of shooting some maternity pics for my sister. She had some ideas in mind and we spent the evening playing around with different poses of my soon to be nephew. I think they turned out great and I was very happy to get to be a part of making them happen. I can't wait to meet the newest little boy to grace our family. It's been awhile since we've had a boy baby in this family full of girls! We'll see you in September sweet boy!

And Time Marches On

2010-07-20T16:30:00.001-05:00

My sweet little boy turned four years old yesterday. I can't believe how fast time goes. I know it sounds cliche, but time really does go by in the blink of an eye when you have kids. Next year at this time we'll be getting him ready to enter kindergarten. The thought of that makes a knot form in my stomach. I'm excited for him to go to school, but at the same time it just means that they are getting bigger and bigger all the time. My big girl can officially scale her crib and let herself out as she pleases now so soon she will have to move to a big girl bed. We are big advocates of keeping our babes in cribs for as long as we can. I'm sure lots of people have varying opinions on this but for us it works knowing that they are not up in the middle of the night without us knowing. For me it's a safety issue since the kids rooms are upstairs and ours is on the first floor. When they show signs of being ready, like say scaling the side of their crib and sneaking downstairs for a midnight piece of birthday cake, we will move them. And since my ~~baby~~ big girl is now doing such feats, she'll have to move out. Out of the crib that is. It's just one more thing that lets me know that my babies will not stay babies no matter how much I plead with them not to grow up. I was just telling my hubby this morning as baby A was cooing at me how this is the last time we'll hear our babies make this sweet sound. So since I can't stop them from growing I'll just takes lots of pictures and videos to help me remember these sweet faces.

My Birthday Boy!

My little escape artist :)

My sweet sleeping babe

Photo Friday

2010-07-16T23:04:00.000-05:00

I spent this Friday enjoying this sweet two and a half month old.

Snapping pictures of her as she made cute little faces.

Totally unknowing that Mommy was using her as practice for shooting in manual.

But with a subject this cute how could you go wrong??

Two Months Old...An Update

2010-07-06T14:18:00.000-05:00

Baby girl had her two month appt today, and boy was I off on her weight. I guess my scientific "standing on the scale with and without baby" approach might not be the most accurate. In the office she weighed 10 lbs and 15 oz, so almost 11 instead of what I thought would be almost 12 lbs. She got three intramuscular shots and one oral and was none too happy about any of them. Her head circumference was in the 90th percentile. All of my babies have had large heads and I solely give that credit to their Daddy. Big heads run on his side of the family for sure. She's happy and healthy and her pediatrician was very impressed that she is being exclusively breastfed with me working 40 hours a week. No supplementing for this girl for as long as I can help it. She did agree with my thinking that she is slightly tongue tied, or has a shortened frenulum. Since it doesn't appear to be affecting her feeding or weight gain we will reassess the situation when she moves onto solids and starts using a spoon. Apparently it's pretty common and some babies grow out of it with no intervention. If she doesn't we will see an ENT doctor who will just clip it.

Today I have officially breastfed for the longest amount of time! With the big kids I stopped at six and nine weeks for various reasons. While I wish I could have kept going much longer, it just wasn't in our cards. I'm proud to say that all my children were at least breastfed some of the time, and even more proud that Baby A and I have made it this far with no plans to stop anytime soon. Some days I feel like it's a second job in itself. Getting up early to feed her, pumping at work, making sure she has enough to eat when I'm away, coming home to spend most of my time nursing her because she's missed me all day. It's a lot to do on top of two other toddlers and a full time job, but I'm happy that I can provide for her and help her grow strong. All in all she had a good check up and everyone here is happy, healthy, and thriving. I couldn't feel more blessed!

Two Months Old!

2010-07-05T13:01:00.000-05:00

Dear Little Miss Baby A,

I am writing this letter to ask you to please stop growing so fast. You are already almost 12 lbs at least and seem to be growing by the day. You are cooing and talking a ton and are completely content when you are awake with a full belly. You adore your brother and sisters and smile anytime they come near. You give your big toothless grin to Mommy every time you realize that I am around you. It melts my heart and makes it very hard to ever leave you. You are in a size 1-2 diaper and will probably move to a two in a month or so. No longer do any of your newborn clothes fit. Twice you have rolled over from your tummy to your back, once at three weeks and the other at five weeks. You can hold your head up in the upright position and look around and are getting much stronger on your tummy. Speaking of your tummy, we found that you can sleep for 4+ hours on it in your crib. It appears that it's your favorite way to sleep, even though at night you still co-sleep with mommy. You are still nursing like a champ and will continue to do so for as long as you want. You squeal and smile whenever anyone tickles your belly. You are an absolute delight. I realize that as you get older I will forget the little things that I'm so in love with right now, but that there will be new things to love and adore about you. So for now I just ask that you please stop growing so fast.

Love You Always,
Mommy

TGIF

2010-07-02T16:06:00.001-05:00

I love Fridays. I used to dread Friday because it meant that I'd have to get up early the next morning to be at work for my 12+ hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday. Lately I'm starting to learn to embrace Fridays for what they really are. It's the day I get to hang out with my babies all day before handing them over to their grandparents for the weekend. The day I've given myself off from doing some of the housework. The day I get to hang out with just the hubby and baby for the last few hours before we tuck ourselves into bed. And on this particular rainy Friday I got to snap some pics of my big girl dressing up. She adores being fawned over. I primp her, dress her up, and snap some pictures of her. I show them to her after I've done the post processing and tell her how beautiful she is. She eats it up, and I love that she does. It's my little way of reminding her that she's my girl and she always will be. She's at a point where she needs some extra TLC in her life, and I'm just the Mama to give it to her. Here's a little bit of what we did on this humid, rainy Texas Friday.

She is so sweet I could just hug and squeeze her all day. I love that she is such a complex little person at only two and a half years old. She is so much like me it makes me laugh. I can't think of any other people I'd rather spend my Fridays with.

Summer Days

2010-06-22T13:43:00.000-05:00

I'm not a fan of the Texas heat.

But I am a fan of the pretty flowers it brings.

And of pretty garden things.

And for this pretty two and a half year old...

Who is so willing to oblige her Mama for some summer photos.

Thanks Baby Girl. Mama loves you!

Daddy's Day...A Day Late

2010-06-21T13:10:00.000-05:00

In light of Father's Day yesterday I thought I'd take a little time to brag about what an awesome hubby I have. He's the best thing we could have ever asked for. He works hard for us and takes care of all of us with no questions asked. He's happy when we are happy, and if we aren't happy he strives to make us that way. He takes care of our house inside and out, works full time, plays with the kids, and does it all without batting an eye. He is one of the smartest people I've met and can tell you more information than you'd want to know on most subjects. He's loving and gentle with our babies, but stern enough to help them grow in the right direction. He has successfully made both the big kids into daddy's babies, although I do think his girls have him wrapped around their fingers more than he'd admit. He takes any situation in stride, rarely getting upset about much. Rather he has this incredible ability to rationally handle any situation he finds himself in. I find this amazing and frustrating all at the same time. He's an exceptional employee and has been in whatever job he has held. He quickly earns the respect of those around him because he is committed to being the best at what he is doing. He is my best friend and still after seven years together I can't stand to be away from him. I admire him as a father and a human being and can't wait to celebrate him for many more Father's Days to come. We love you Daddy!

The One In Which I Just Ramble On

2010-06-14T18:50:00.000-05:00

First day back to work is over and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I have some good company at work that makes transitions like being pregnant and coming back to work post pregnancy much easier. Not to say that it wasn't hard to leave my tiny little love at only five and a half weeks to go back. I got my crying out the night before as we were cuddling in bed while she nursed and dozed off. The morning was too busy getting things ready to think much about it. The first couple hours were sketchy, then it got better from there. I enjoy the little amount of adult company I get. It's what makes me think that if I had the option to be a stay at home mom that I probably wouldn't do it. I'd love to drop to part time and just do weekends. While it'd be ideal for the kids, our bills won't agree to it. They demand to be paid, and in a timely fashion. I suppose it won't take long to get back into the swing of things and to get the baby on a schedule with bottle feeding pumped milk four days a week. We are working on getting the amount she needs from a bottle figured out since I have no idea how much she consumes when she's just with me. It'll get worked out eventually. Miss Baby A will be six weeks tomorrow. She has been smiling for us and is a very happy baby. You can tell that she can focus much better now. The big kids just eat her up. They love to hold and kiss on her and Big E gets so excited when she smiles at him. It's awesome to see. I'm glad I get to spend today and tomorrow with them before I have to be back at work!

Babies All Around

2010-06-02T14:51:00.001-05:00

This sweet baby girl is four weeks old. The time is flying by so fast. I have 11 more days before I have to leave her and the big kids and go back to work. The thought of leaving her makes me sad. She's addicted to her Mama. I'm seemingly the only one who can make her happy and I think that's just as it should be.

I love the sweet little faces she makes. She can give some serious worried looks when she's up and checking things out. It's like she hasn't figured out if she likes it out in the big wide world yet. She's getting more and more alert by the day. She spends longer awake times now quietly checking things out. She's cracked a smile for me a couple times and it's the cutest thing.

She'll be a month this Friday and I can't even believe she's been with us for that long. It seems like just yesterday we were checking into the hospital. Now she's here finding her place in the midst of our little family. I think she's fitting in just fine.

I have to mention this sweet girl too. She is such a good little mama to her baby doll. She dotes on her and tries to do everything that Mommy does with baby A. It's the most adorable thing I've seen in a long time. She feeds her baby like Mommy. She puts baby in the car seat, bouncer, swing, etc. We swaddle her baby and occasionally diaper her. She gives her tummy time. I'd say we spend about half as much time taking helping her take care of her baby doll as we do with our own baby. I don't mind because I know it's shaping her to be a great mama when her time comes. And watching it all take place is priceless.

Things To Pray For

2010-05-28T13:54:00.000-05:00

A quick update while my sweet baby is sleeping away. I'm hoping this is her long nap for the day but you can never tell. Hopefully I can manage to write a short blog, pump, finish folding the laundry, feed the big kids, and straighten up before she wakes up demanding her lunch. Sometimes I fit it all in, sometimes I don't. It really doesn't matter anyways, it'll eventually all get done. The laundry won't get depressed if it isn't folded right away. Three and a half weeks down and everything is going as smooth as could be expected. I'm getting more comfortable with nursing in public with my super cute nursing cover, so it is feeling less like I'm a prisoner of my own home. I still get a little anxiety to go anywhere though, but I'm working through it. I guess two toddlers and a newborn can do that to you. Despite that I'm very grateful to have her here and healthy. A family member of my husband had a new baby girl a few days ago who is absolutely beautiful, but sick and in the NICU. They lost another baby girl this time last year at a day old. My heart hurts for them because the new Daddy is away from Mom and baby, although is trying to make the trip to get there. I pray that she will get better and they can take her home and love her. I don't know them well, but I want so bad for them to get to be the parents they deserve to be. I can't imagine my life without my kids, even at its full blown craziest times. Baby A wasn't supposed to even be a part of our family and now I can't imagine her not being here. She really is a true blessing. A one in five thousand chance of being here and I thank God that she is. I'll continue to pray for this new baby girl and their family and thank God for the things I have been given in my life. Now off to my tasks of the day...Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!

Two Weeks and Counting

2010-05-19T14:14:00.000-05:00

Aaah two weeks have already gone by and what a crazy/wonderful time it's been. It's been crazy in the aspect of caring for a newborn and two toddlers. Who would of thought that might be a difficult task? Probably everyone who sees us try to make any sort of trip out of the house. While we've only ventured to the grocery store twice in the two weeks, both times have proved to be chaos. Hubby and I need to regroup and figure out a new plan for the grocery shopping disaster that is our family. On the other hand it's been wonderful because Miss Baby A is such a good sleeper, eater, and just an overall sweet baby. She is weighing in a 8 lbs 9 oz and has grown and inch since birth. She gives me a good three hour or so nap a day and a much needed break to round up the destruction that the other two have caused during her waking/feeding time. But on the bright side the big kids adore her and smother her with kisses and hugs. I have them all on my own most of the time with the exception of the two days the hubby has off. I long for those days just to have some adult company around. We are managing and making do for now, but I worry about the transition to me going back to work. I so want to keep breast feeding but it always throws a wrench in the plan when you work 40 plus hours a week. I'm going to keep trying though because she is such a good eater that I feel it would be terrible to give up on breast feeding her just for work. Legally they have to provide time for me to pump at work, and I plan to hold them to that. Otherwise everything is going as smoothly as it can for now and I'm trying to remember just to enjoy these little moments before they are all snarly teenagers :)

Week One At Home

2010-05-13T11:32:00.000-05:00

One week down as a Mama of three and things are going much smoother than I had originally anticipated...so far anyways. Little Miss Baby A is such a sweet girl. She rarely fusses other than being hungry and sleeps well through the night. Most nights she only gets up once before six or seven, I nurse her and she goes right back to sleep. She's a sweet girl and I'm so glad for that. Big E and ~~Baby~~ Little E are adjusting to the newest member of our family, although Little E shows some signs of jealousy and rightfully so. She loves to sit in the carseat and rock in it and wants to sit with me when I'm nursing the baby. Typical stuff for a toddler I think. Overall she's doing really well and will be a great little Mommy herself. She loves to help change the baby and get things for her. Big E doesn't do much of the care taking, but never fails to run over and kiss her and tell her he loves her. It's super sweet and makes my heart melt. Baby A is also doing very well. She's such a good breastfeeding baby and I'm so so grateful for that. The other two were ok with it but we had our struggles. I think that being in the womb that extra two and a half weeks did Baby A some good as far as being developmentally ready to come out and be a good eater. Whatever the case I'm so happy she is, even when she is cluster feeding all day long :) She's growing and changing so fast already. I watch the big kids run around and can't even believe that they are as big as they are. It seems like just yesterday I had Little E on my boppy feeding her while Big E toddled around. I guess time just flies when your having fun!

The Best Mothers Day Present I Could Ask For!

2010-05-09T12:34:00.000-05:00

Today I am eternally grateful to be a Mother.

I'm grateful this little girl came unexpectedly into our lives.

I'm grateful for those sweet chubby cheeks and her calm nature.

I'm grateful for her Daddy for taking care of us and loving us all so much.

I'm grateful for these ladies who have helped shaped me to become the Mother I am today.

And for these two kiddos for loving their new baby sister so much.

Happy Mothers Day!!

Before and After

2010-04-27T14:39:00.000-05:00

I heart re-doing things to make them prettier. I especially love the before and after pictures I get to enjoy after all the hard work. It's why I enjoy photo editing so much I suppose. Take something ok, make it prettier and viola...new and improved. Call it nesting, but I've been on a kick to get some stuff in and outside of my house redone. I've had a pretty big to do list and we are slowly working our way through it. And certainly by we I mean mostly my husband, brother in law, sister, mom, and whoever else gets trapped into helping. I don't think they mind too much though. A while back my mom and I attempted to recover the front landscaping that the builders put in. We did a good job with the exception of not getting it quite finished. We had every intention of going back to get the finishing supplies but i grew more and more pregnant and the weather grew more and more cold. Needless to say six months and one super motivated husband later, the job is finally done and it looks just as good as I intended it to look six months ago! Thanks hubby and brother in law, obviously we couldn't have done it without you.

Builders Landscaping Attempt

Aaahh....Much prettier!

38 Weeks and...

2010-04-26T10:47:00.000-05:00

~~Crying~~...counting I mean. I'm not a person who loves being pregnant. I loved it the first time. I was tolerable with it the second. The third time feels like I had no choice in the matter. Don't get me wrong, I'm over the top thrilled to meet my newest baby girl. I'm excited to see how the kids will react since they are somewhat old enough to understand that she's coming. But the pregnancy part I could do without. Maybe it was the lack of mental preparedness that I had for this baby. She definitely came out of nowhere. But pregnancy is rough on me and it only seems to get worse for each consecutive baby. I throw up the whole nine months. Every. Single. Time. I have high blood pressure and protein in my urine, both which cause an onslaught of extra tests. Oh and an overall general feeling of malaise that comes with elevated bp. But I'm not complaining. No just kidding...I really am. Because at this point I just feel over it. I want my body and it's normal functions back. I don't want to worry about what I'm eating incase I throw it up hours later. Pretty picture isn't it? It's not, I can assure you. I would love to fast forward to cuddling and loving her from the outside. So for now I'll just hold on to the fact that she'll be here soon and I'll just keep ~~crying~~ counting to pass the time :)

Frustration and Easter...

2010-04-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

Easter weekend has come and gone, and besides the remnants of Easter grass that are floating all over my floor, I basically missed it all. Working weekends has it's pros and cons, but it feels to me lately that there are a lot more cons. My kids get older and I continually miss the fun things they get to do. The majority of holidays this year fall on the weekend, along with the usual Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and most birthdays that I always spend at work. I don't get the option to quit weekends because of the shift differential that comes with it, hence the pro. But it is truly a bummer to send your kids off for a fun filled weekend and hope that maybe you get to at least see some pictures of them doing whatever it is they have planned. I'm grateful to have a job in this economy, but I'd be even more grateful to have less of the pressure of providing enough income, insurance, etc. I usually get my kids back when they are tired and cranky from all the excitement of the weekend, and we roll through the next couple days getting back on track until it's time for me to go back to work. I know many people do this day in and day out, but for some reason I'm especially feeling the impact of it on our own lives lately. I'll have another baby in a few weeks just to hurry back to work after only six weeks of time off with her because we can't afford for me to take any longer. What happened to the days when it wasn't so expensive to live? When moms got to stay home with the kids and one income was enough to sustain a household? I'm blessed to have a good career with great pay that I enjoy doing. I just wish I was able to have more options in moving around. Am I still going to be stuck working 12 hr shifts on weekends when my kids are in school, virtually never getting to see them? Even without all the frivolous things we have or want we'd still be hard pressed to make it with me not bringing in the income that I do. I can't seem to shake the feeling that we're just surviving to get through each day, spending more time at work than we do with our own spouses or children. I can't fix it, but at least I have the pictures to enjoy.

Randomness From A Tired Momma

2010-03-25T21:09:00.000-05:00

So...you think I'd have more time to blog what with my two small toddlers, being 8 1/2 months pregnant, taking care of a house, and working full time. Oh what's that you say? You're right, I must be out of my mind. I can barely find time to get any of those done over the bare minimum that is required of me. Thus explains the absence of blogging lately. Although when I do find time to I often find it therapeutic and wonder why I don't do it more often. And then someone spills, cries, makes messes, needs help wiping their butt, etc...

I've decided since I'm so far behind I'm just going to start giving random tidbits of information to catch up. The trip to Destin that I was so excited for was just so so. It is definitely not what I was expecting for a pre-baby getaway. It was lots of driving and lots of stopping. The weather was cold and windy making it nearly impossible to go to the beach, which was the whole point. We were permitted one sunny day out of four to spend on the beach. Thanks wind, I'd nearly forgotten just how terrible you are. There were a few good moments, albeit few and far in between. Big E loved the beach. I mean LOVED the beach. He could have cared less if it was windy and cold, he just wanted to play. It was awesome to see him having so much fun running around in the sand.

The day after we got home was my birthday, most of which was spent at work. The whole only just ok trip situation kind of made it a bummer to go spend the next day at work. I did get to hang out with the fam in the evening and scored a bedroom makeover, so that made up for a day of people asking how my trip was. I also got some super yummy treats compliments of my sister and her awesome baking skills. All in all it was a good 26th birthday for me.

And just because I haven't talked about it in a few weeks or so...here's a brief baby update. For the most part I am NOT prepared to have three children under the age of four. Maybe it's the fact that I came home to two very emotionally unstable toddlers tonight, but I'm feeling increasing anxiety about bringing a baby home. Some people say having two is hard but having a third is nothing at all. Although I hope this holds true, I'm not going to hold my breath. Most days the two I have are enough to send me packing to the looney bin. And although I love them dearly, I don't see transitioning a new baby into the mix as an easy thing. I'll just have to hold out hope that God will give me a very content baby so that my husband doesn't come home to find that Mommy flew the coop. Just kidding honey...kind of. ( Disclaimer...I'm pretty worn out and emotional today which results in excess anxiety. Tomorrow I'll probably feel like having three kids will be nothing out of the ordinary. Probably...)

In actual relevant pregnancy news, everything with baby number three seems to be going in the direction as my last pregnancy. My blood pressure is high, which usually leaves me with a headache, dizziness, and nausea. It's probable that I'll be put on bedrest again, but I'll keep fighting that week by week. It's an emotional and financial burden to be put on bedrest, and although I will listen to my Dr. and do what I'm told, I'm hoping to avoid that situation as long as possible. I have a baby shower at work this weekend and I'm super pumped about it. I think it'll be a happy little thing to enjoy in the midst of trying to manage all the craziness my life provides me.

So there you have it. Random information at it's best. Sorry if it seems disjointed, but I can barely think clearly over all the screaming. And then there's the kids to tend to.....

Happy Thursday :)

This Boy...

2010-02-26T10:56:00.000-06:00

This boy totally has his momma's heart. The polar opposite of his baby sis, he loves to have us help him whether he really needs it or not. He loves to be close to people and thrives on praises.

He's a total game junkie. Loves the Wii, PBSKids.org, and anything toddler related I find for my iPod. He amazes me with his ability to learn and understand. Whenever I think something will be over his head, he proves me wrong every time. He mastered his colors, numbers, and letters very early and I'm certain he has a memory stronger than most adults.

He is his mommy's little helper. Almost never hesitates when you ask him to help with something. Loves to put groceries in the shopping cart, help pick up around the house, and always wants to help cook.

He's a ham and loves to make us laugh. Loves to tell stories of nonsense. Loves to be rewarded with stickers...it's how the potty training process eventually moved from kind of to potty trained. He can go days barely eating and one day eat everything in sight. Loves fruits and vegetables, but is a total meat man.

He's sweet and cuddly where his sister is independent and strong willed. He loves her from a cautious distance. He'll be a great help to mommy and daddy when baby sis number two makes her debut. He's the sweet little balance in a house full of crazy girls and I think God gave him to us first for good reason. Momma loves you little bear.

Texas Snow!

2010-02-23T12:48:00.001-06:00

Snow!!! I can't believe I'm so excited to see it. It's been over two years since I've seen a real snow. When we moved to Texas when Baby E was two weeks old, we moved in 12 inches of snow. That was the last time I've seen it. There has been a dusting or two since in Texas but not ever what you could legitimately call snow. Today it is for real snowing and I couldn't be more thrilled. We bundled the babes up and shoved them out in it. Baby E said she was freezing cold and wanted to go inside but Big E loved it. He made a baby snowman with his daddy and played snowball fight. It was short lived as they are not used to the cold, but it's still snowing out and we are home together today as a family and I couldn't be more thrilled about it!

Don't mind the trash cans...it's trash day here :)

It may not look like much to those who are getting inches and inches of snow. Believe me, I know it's not much. But here in Texas it's our own special little snowday and it is beautiful!

She...

2010-02-16T16:03:00.001-06:00

I love this baby girl. She brings so many wonderful things to our family...the ying to her brother's yang.

She can melt your heart with those ridiculous blue eyes. She's by far my most independent child as of yet. She can make us laugh and drive us crazy all in one fail swoop.

She is our new resident banana peeler and the total opposite of her brother. She is fierce and independent. We hear "I wanna do it" more than anything else from her.

She's my adventurous food eater. There isn't much she won't give a shot. Too Spicy? Not for this girl. The spicier the better for her. Greek yogurt spinach dip and chips with Mommy for snacks? Don't mind if I do...

She looks like her Momma and has my attitude to boot. Don't tell her Daddy I said so. She answers to a slew of names and all get a prompt reply.

She varies from being sweet as candy to out of control OCD. She adores wearing her brother's hat and shoes. She's a little mommy and a tomboy all rolled into one little three foot package.

She is for the most part a good little sister, but will be a GREAT big sister. She loves babies, real and pretend. She has a mother's touch and will be a great help when baby sister A arrives in a couple months.

She is and probably will always be a true Daddy's girl. Given the option she will always choose him, and I think it's adorable that they share a special bond. I will always say he spoils her too much when she throws fits, but I'll secretly be happy they can connect in the same way that I feel Big E and I are bonded.

She is the girly, spunky, sassy, independent little apple of our eyes.

Ok Enough Already, This Momma Needs A Vacay...

2010-02-05T15:05:00.000-06:00

Ok, really rain...I'm a fan of you for helping my plants and grass grow but give a girl a break. It's been nothing but gray weather here for days and days. I'm not a fan of the heat, but I could definitely use some sunshine in my life. I think I'm one of those people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder because days and days of gray dull skies and rain do make me feel sad. I haven't even been able to take my fun new camera out to play because the days have been so crappy here. Fortunately for this family we'll all be heading to sunny Florida about two weeks into March. We plan to visit Destin, Fl for a few days to sit on the white sand and enjoy the beautiful blue waters. We are fairly close to beaches here, but anyone who has been to a Texas beach would understand why we want to travel a little further down the coastline. My babies love the beach and I can't wait to see them play in the pretty white sand. It's close enough that it's keeping me just barely floating above the gray dullness that is lurking outside my windows right now. I'll be 32 weeks pregnant when we make the 10-12 hr drive, and at this point I don't even care. I'm itching to take a vacation that is new and exciting.

I plan on sitting with my husband here...

watching over my kids playing here...

And maybe meeting this guy.

Ok, so maybe not meeting the dolphin, but the other two are top priority on my list. I'm also excited to be able to take my camera and catch some shots that I otherwise would never get living in the middle of Texas. It'll be a great little vacay and a great start to transitioning from our family of four to our soon to be family of five!

Photography Fun

2010-01-29T15:25:00.002-06:00

I heart photography. I'm nowhere even close to being a photographer nor will I ever be, but I love it. I love being able to take pictures and make them into something beautiful. I also heart Adobe Lightroom. It makes it super easy to get just the look you want out of your pictures. I used to take photos on an old film nikon camera in high school and I adored it. The ability to adjust your camera and get the photograph you wanted was awesome. When everything changed to digital I quit doing it because I just knew that I wouldn't be able to do what I wanted with digital photography. Fast forward ten years later and I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. The things you can do with digital these days astound me. I like the look of a washed out color photo or a high contrast black and white, and editing makes it so easy to get just that. I love to be able to take a great photo and make it into something spectacular, even if it's just me that thinks so. I'm a big believer of canon products, so I tend to stick with their cameras...just ask my husband. I've had several in the last few years and I've only ever disliked one of them, which turns out had white washing issues according to many other users. I use a canon digital elph now and I have a EOS Rebel arriving monday. I can barely stand the wait for it to get here. It was an expensive splurge, but something that I think will help my photography skills grow. I plan to enlist the help of my sister who has a degree in art history and a knack for photography and all things creative. I know she'll be able to teach me a lot that I don't know. I've been playing with Lightroom and Photoshop on my own just to see what I can figure out. I read a lot of blogs of photographers that always offer helpful hints or suggestions, be it with you camera or editing photographs. And I'm lucky enough to have two adorable models just waiting for me to snap up their pictures. Ok, maybe just Baby E. My highly energetic and very strong willed son doesn't usually allow for me to take pictures of him. He's over that stage I guess. In the mean time I have an adorable blue eyed beauty that is always willing to cheese it up for the camera, and another one on the way that will hopefully share that same love with her big sister. I don't even want to pretend that I know what I'm doing, but in the midst of my crazy busy life it makes my heart happy to have a hobby that I love to do.

Decorating or Nesting...whatever you want to call it

2010-01-26T14:15:00.000-06:00

I'm really feeling the need to re-decorate lately...or really to decorate at all. It took us so long to get into our own house so now I really want to make it our own. It looks nice now, but just isn't the way I want it. I LOVE photos and want to put tons of them up. I have a handful but don't really care for the arrangement of it all. Come April we will have been in this house for a year and it's minimally decorated. I have so many ideas that the thought of it all overwhelms me and I continue to ignore it. The two...soon to be three toddlers and full time job I have occupying my life right now probably don't help much either. The changes I have done are 100% due to my family that loves me enough to paint my walls for me. My mom and sis painted the kids rooms and our bedroom. Not only painted, but designed one wall for Baby E in a flower theme. My mom and dad surprised me after a trip with a freshly painted apple green kitchen...which I love. Now I want to revamp our living room. It's the first thing that you see when you walk in, and it's the most blah part of our house. I have ideas and a team of creative ladies on my side, but again with the overwhelming feeling! I want to paint the very neutral toasted almond walls a darker color. The problem with that is our very tall ceiling which leaves me having to hire someone to paint most of the walls. Ugh...why didn't I think about that? Probably because I was so glazed over with the thought of having my very first shiny new house. Yeah, that's it. Next comes the furniture issue. I want new couches. Leather couches to be more clear. I have had microfiber couches for about three and a half years now and I loathe them. They are in a constant state of dirty with two toddlers. I need something that can be easily wiped clean, and leather is what I want to go with. Turns out though, furniture is an expensive investment so that project is waiting for our glorious tax refund to come. I have a billion other wants and ideas, but I think I just need to focus on one room at a time and try not to lose my mind doing that. Oh and if anyone wants to adopt my kids for a week or so while I paint, that'd be great too ;)

Finally Getting Around to Announcing...

2010-01-05T10:43:00.003-06:00

It's a girl!!

But most of you who read this probably already knew that anyways. But I figured since it had been awhile since I had updated anything about my pregnancy, I'd throw this in too. We found out for sure that she was a girl on the 23rd. I had an inkling, as we had already peeked around 17 weeks. I was just waiting for confirmation from someone who for sure knows what they are looking at. Oh the benefits of being an x-ray tech. I've always known well before my "official" ultrasound what I was carrying. The downside is that now I work at a pediatric hospital that rarely if ever does OB cases, so I don't get scanned like I did at my old hospital. But either way, she is a she and is over halfway here already! I can't believe how fast it's gone, considering how surprised we were to even know she was coming. It seems like we've gone from complete and utter shock to over halfway there in the blink of an eye. I'm getting more and more excited as the days pass. I love this part of pregnancy where you can still do things reasonably without struggling to breathe or bend over. I've already heard the slew of comments that I've come to expect with pregnancy. "You're how far along...you're huge!" "How many kids do you have...and you are having another?" "Don't you know what causes that?" Oh people and their lack of thought when speaking. I don't understand why being pregnant makes you a walking target for unsolicited touching and rudeness. Being pregnant for the third time in four years, I'm learning to ignore this. If you don't have something nice to say...

So anyways, this pregnancy is going pretty smooth so far. My biggest complaint is definitely reflux this go around. I've had it worse this time, and my normal weapon of Tums are not doing the trick. I'll have to talk to my Dr. at my next appointment and see if there isn't anything else I can take. On a happier note, I'm regularly feeling her kick now, which I love. It makes it seem a lot more real to me, and helps my paranoia subside. Did I mention I'm a paranoid pregnant lady? I am, if you hadn't heard. I worry about everything under the sun. I think ignorance is bliss when you are pregnant, and working in a children's hospital strips that from you. All the terrible things we see makes me a crazy pregnant lady. I'm doing my best to work on that though, I swear. I'll leave you all with some pics of my ever expanding belly. Happy week 22 to me!

17 Weeks

19 Weeks

22 Weeks!

The 2009 Holiday Recap!

2010-01-05T10:11:00.000-06:00

Ahh the craziness that is December. Barely could I find time to breathe, much less blog. But here I am to recap the month in all it's hectic glory. Christmas Eve and Day were great for my family. We always do an appetizer dinner on Christmas Eve and do family presents that night. It is usually a good mix of fun and chaos at my sister's house. This year was no different, and it seems like every Christmas there is a new baby added to the mix. There are currently seven kids ages ten and under in my immediate family, and the number will expand by next Christmas. It makes the holidays all the more fun to see how excited all the kiddos get when everyone starts arriving and the presents start growing. This is the first year that my kids have officially gotten the idea of presents. Like moths to a flame they were stuck to the tree all evening dissecting each present and bow, wondering which of them they would get to tear into. I remember the feeling of torture waiting for the adults to get through talking and eating just so we could start tearing into presents. Now I get the feeling of annoyance those adults had when we wouldn't stop begging them, or snooping under the tree. All in all it was a great night with lots of paper, presents, and tired but happy babies.

Playing a game to distract from the presents :)

Christmas Day was equally exciting back home at our house. Santa came and dumped his loot, and boy somehow even though I...er...Santa is always asked not to get a ton of stuff, it always happens. Baby E was the first to get to see as we could not awake Big E from his slumber. He went to bed well after midnight and was not going to budge, and probably better for everyone's sake. Baby E was delighted to check out all the toys without her big brother yelling at her anyways. Her eyes lit up coming down the stairs and she approached all her goodies with caution. It was almost like she didn't know where to begin...until a few minutes later. Then she was exploring all the toys and having a great time. Big E finally awoke and came out to see that Santa did in fact come. He immediately went to give his new slide a whirl, and then moved on to his toys. I'd have to say that this year everything was actually a hit with both of them. Santa did a great job if I do say so myself. The rest of the day was spent playing in a huge pile of toys, laying around, and eating. The absolute best way to spend a Christmas Day.

I'll mention New Year's although I don't think it's much worth it. The kids hung our with their Grandparents while hubby and I worked right on through midnight. I was actually driving home, but still equally as lame. New year's Day was spent lounging around at my parent's house eating all day. We let hubby stay home and get some much needed sleep, as he worked overnight and into the next day. New year's has never really been a big deal to me, so I don't mind that we spent it this way. To me, the best part of it is getting all the decorations down and cleaning up after the chaos that was Christmas. I always want all the decorations to come down right after Christmas. I get this overwhelming feeling of being totally over the holidays usually around the evening time on the 25th. It just seems like so much build up just to be over so quickly. I guess that is what people refer to as the "Christmas hangover." It's the only hangover that I've had for a long, long time :) I'm not big into making resolutions, but I do look forward to a great new year filled with new additions, new journeys, and definately new challenges. Happy 2010!!

O Christmas Tree...

2009-12-04T15:09:00.000-06:00

It's the...

Most...

Wonderful...

Time...

Of The Year!!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby!

2009-12-02T11:00:00.000-06:00

So I'm yet again a little behind on the posting, but I figured with the kids at their Aunt C's house getting Christmas pictures taken I could catch up on some blogging about Baby E's second Birthday! The day started off just wonderful with a house full of family and some delicious cooking going on. It was of course Thanksgiving Day as well, so who would expect any less? We all got to hang out and cook and eat till we were stuffed. Baby E was especially fond of the turkey and snacked more while we were cooking than she ever sat down and ate. After a couple hours of laying around in a turkey coma, the birthday celebration began. Baby E tore through her presents with ease and celebrated her victory with a yummy piece of birthday cake made just for her by Aunt C!

All in all I think she had a pretty good birthday. She got lots of fun presents and ate lots and lots of food. Thanksgiving was an overall wonderful day spent with family and I'm sad that it went so quickly. Now we get to gear up for Christmas...my absolute most favorite time of the year!!

Let the Celebrations Begin!

2009-11-16T21:00:00.002-06:00

So it's been awhile since I've posted and it's mostly because despite my previous post, we've all still felt pretty bad. I felt better that one day and then it went downhill again. Hubby and I finally got put on antibiotics and now we are both feeling great! I hope I mean it this time. We've been pretty busy this last week or so and it's only going to get busier from here on out. I can hardly wait for this week to be over so we can move on to Thanksgiving/Birthday week! I just ordered Baby E's birthday supplies and a cute little birthday outfit, complete with tutu. I can't believe my baby girl is turning two already. How the time flies. The plan is to celebrate Thanksgiving with dinner, and then on to the birthday party. We are doing an Abby Cadabby theme to celebrate my baby girl's love of Sesame Street. If you don't know who Abby Cadabby is, then you are missing out. She is an adorable little fairy learning to use her magic and is perfect for a sweet girl's birthday.

This week we celebrated my Dad's 51st birthday. It was a good time had by all since all of the kids in our family love any birthday celebration. He'll be gone for his job from now until December 31st, so it made for a good send off. When he comes home he and my nephew get to go zip lining over Wimberley. Last year he skydived for his 50th birthday. While this year's present might be a little more tame, it should be equally as fun.

My dad and the youngest two babies on his birthday

Blowing out the candles with the kiddos!

This week is also my 15th week of pregnancy. I'm actually feeling much better than I previously had been. It's easier to feel better when you aren't sick on top of being pregnant. My biggest symptoms now are just feeling overall tired pretty quick and having some crazy pregnancy dreams. We go in next week for my 16 week appointment and will get another ultrasound to make sure that everything is going smoothly. I haven't had any more trouble lately and I'm so thankful for that. I'm also hoping they might catch a glimpse of the sex of this baby, but it'd be pretty early to tell. I'm happy either way and continue to keep praying everything goes well.

12 week ultrasound

Overall lately I can say that i'm finally a happy Momma once again. I truly believe we are on the downhill slide of all this sickness and I am feeling much better about my pregnancy. I can't wait for this next week to get here and all of the celebrations to begin. I may have said this before a time or two, but I love the holidays!!

Happy Second Trimester To Me!

2009-11-02T15:28:00.000-06:00

One day into my second trimester and I finally feel good. Today at least. My congestion and cough are slowly but surely winding down and I wasn't nauseous at all when I woke up today. It's a beautiful thing. I'm grateful for the start of a new month. We'll celebrate my sweet hubby's birthday this Wednesday, and although I have to work most of the day I'm still excited. Then just a few short weeks later we'll move on to my baby girl's second birthday and Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for this year and it is much easier to do so when I'm feeling at the top of my game. The day after Thanksgiving I would love to take the kids to the local christmas tree farm here in Austin and get a real tree. As a child we always had a real christmas tree and I loved everything about it. I'm having trouble convincing my husband that this is a good plan however. He seems to be anti real tree for whatever reason, but I can be very persuasive.

Despite the previous week that we had, the kids had a great halloween. We got to go trick or treating, which was a huge hit with them. Big E did it last year but Baby E was still too small. After one house, she had the idea and was the leader of the pack. I kept offering to hold her candy pail for her as it got heavier but she was not letting it out of her sight. Needless to say, we have a ton of candy and two sugar filled toddlers that couldn't be happier. I'm so glad things are finally looking up around here and we can go back to being healthy and happy for the upcoming celebrations. I love the holidays!!

Barely Surviving...

2009-10-30T13:06:00.001-05:00

Is how I've felt this week. Is how we've all felt here really. It's been a rough go of this week and sadly I'm ready to get Halloween over with and move on to a new, healthier holiday season. Hopefully there is such a thing in our near future. What was supposed to be a fun day to the pumpkin patch last Friday turned into a stay at home and take care of Baby E day. She woke up with a fever and congestion that morning and got worse throughout the day. A trip quick to the pediatrician confirmed what we already knew...the flu. We knew this of course because just two weeks earlier Big E and Dad were both down with the flu. The H1N1 flu to be exact. It's been much harder on Baby E because she's smaller and has less of an immunity to viruses. As of now she's feeling much better, just a little on the congested side.

Saturday was supposed to be an uneventful day of work for myself and hubby while the kids spent the weekend relaxing with Grandma and Papa. Fifteen minutes upon arriving to work I discovered I was bleeding. A couple phone calls later my hubby and I were on our way to the emergency room per the advice of my OB. An IV, pelvic exam, and ultrasound later I was diagnosed with a subchorionic hemorrhage in my placenta. Basically explained to us as a small bleed in the placenta that can either clear itself up and heal or can lead to miscarriage. The baby looked good on the ultrasound that day despite the bleed. We were sent home with some info on threatened miscarriages and told to wait it out. Several prayers and another ultrasound later, the baby is still looking in good shape and the bleeding has subsided for now. I will be considered slightly higher risk now and will get more frequent ultrasounds to check the baby and the area of concern in the placenta. I'm so grateful that it's healing rather than going in a much worse direction and so, so grateful to have such a wonderful and caring husband and family to take care of me when I needed it the most.

Now onto Monday and because the weekend wasn't emotionally stressful enough, I woke up with the...you guessed it. The flu. Monday was spent with fevers, bodyaches, coughing, congestion, and overall discomfort. My prince charming stayed home to take care of the babies and for that I am so thankful. I'm not sure I would have been able to do it without him. In fact, I know I wouldn't have. Monday and Tuesday were awful, Wednesday and Thursday were tolerable, and today is ok. I'm still very congested and agitated that I can't breathe, but it could always be much worse. I'm ready for this flu bug to leave us all alone for good. I got my H1N1 flu shot yesterday. Better too late than never right? They only just now became available to our hospital, and in very limited doses. I decided to go ahead and get it anyways because my dear hubby has had the flu twice in the last month. No thank you for me. I'm ready for it all to be gone, our lives to be back to normal, and to be able to enjoy the upcoming holidays healthy and happy.

Oh the simple pleasures in life

2009-10-21T12:49:00.003-05:00

Our house was brand new when we bought it. Brand spankin new. It was all pretty and clean and shiny. Then in moved the two messiest people I know and viola...pretty, clean, and shiny went to pretty dirty. Not to say everything was dirty, but the carpet. Oh the carpet. Our house was built with the lightest colored carpet you can imagine. A builder's tactic I'm sure, as new light carpet makes a house look clean and open. And that it did until the wrath of Big and Baby E met it head on....and won. Over the course of the last few months I've scrubbed a plethora of things out of the carpet. Some I'd be embarrassed to even mention. It's not for lack of trying to keep them out of the living room...see last post. It became somewhat of a game to Baby E to see what she could get away with bringing in. Big E even went as far as to tell people "carpet makes momma mad." He's not lying. That carpet drove me crazy. Luckily thanks to a bonus from work, a hard working set of boys, and Lowe's I now have beautiful cherry wood floors. Laminate cherry wood floors that is. We chose laminate because of it's seemingly indestructible qualities. Believe me, if it can be destructed my toddlers will get the job done. This might seem a silly thing to blog about, but I LOVE my new floors. I love that you can sweep, wipe, and clean them with ease. Even at their dirtiest, I know I can get them clean. I never have to worry about what's lurking in the depths of the fibers that my children are breathing in. It's a beautiful thing for a busy mom and dad of two toddlers. Now Big E says "floors make momma happy." And rightfully so. They make this momma oh so happy.

Baby E showing off our new clean house before they started toddler demolition on the carpet.

Ahh that's better :)

Not the prettiest of pictures, but so much nicer than before!

Every time I come in and see my floors, I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. No more scrubbing the carpet just to get dirty all over again. It really is the simple pleasures in life for this Momma.

Terrible Two's and Terrifying Three's...

2009-10-06T11:05:00.000-05:00

I read an article recently about a Mama who was surprised to learn that the terrible two's start so early and seemingly don't go away as two progresses into three. She referred to the toddler ages at the terrible two's, terrifying three's, and frightening fours. I thought that article was hilarious...until lately. I've met the terrible two's head on and to tell the truth, I'm not scared. Baby E is learning to push her limits, throw fits, make huge messes, and just be ornery in general. This Mama says bring it on Baby E, I've been there before. There's no mess big enough, fit loud enough, or limits pushed enough that I haven't seen before with Big E. He entered his terrible two's with a vengence about the same time as I entered my seventh month of pregnancy with Baby E. We survived. And now as Baby E stands before me, toes just over the line of tile in the kitchen, daring me to tell her to get back in the kitchen with her applesauce, I can't help but laugh. Where Big E's terrible two's came with head butting frustration that only little boy's can manage to muster up, Baby E's terrible two's still have a girlish sweetness to them. Out of the corner of my eye I can see her scooting further onto the carpet, armed with applesauce and a sly smile. Will Mama tell me to get back in the kitchen?? Of course I will. Will she listen? Absolutely not. I wouldn't expect any less from my sassy girl. I can't help but worry that this sweet feisty baby girl I have on my hands is going to turn into a drama filled devious teenager one day. But for now I'm just going to give her lots of hugs and kisses and keep telling her to get back in that kitchen with (insert various food product here).

Now the terrifying three's is something that really is terrifying to me. My usually mellow Big E is now finding himself in a fury of emotions. He's being mean to his baby sis, yelling that it was an accident and it's not his fault, and then going into a full blown crying fit. He gets put into time out, admittedly understands why he's there, and then will go through the same thing a few hours later. This is new to us because unlike limit testing and mess making, these are raw emotions that Big E seems to be full of as of late. I know this is part of a developmental milestone for kids, but it's scary and trying all the same. I try to help him understand that while it's ok to have these negative emotions, it's not ok to act on them. This is especially hard for me as I often find myself in the same type of situations. As my prince charming would say...I've got big emotions. He's quite the opposite of me, the ying to my yang. And usually the ying to Big E's yang. The two of us are lucky to have him as the reasoner in our lives.

Even though these terrible toddler moments have moved into our once calm house, I can't help but feel like I'm going to miss these trying times as the most of my problems. I know that there will be bigger, scarier hurdles in the distant future. Eventually these sweet babies will be snarly teenagers and I'll no longer be able to pick them up and hold them when they are sad, or put them in time out when they are being less than lovable. For now I'm just going to hold tight to my fit throwing, mess making, oh so sweet babies and know that this too shall pass.

Halloween is Just Around the Corner!!

2009-09-29T20:14:00.000-05:00

On a less feeling sad for myself note...I can't wait for Halloween!! I have the two cutest little characters ever. Big E decided he wanted to be Buzz Lightyear this year. Thank you Craigslist for this adorable 8 dollar costume in great shape! Baby E is sporting her version of Elmo, which is adorable by the way. It's too hot for the traditional Elmo costume that's fleece lined from head to toe, so we improvised with this adorable handmade Elmo costume courtesy of Etsy. If you've never heard of Etsy you have to check it out. It's a great website where people hand make and sell things. Adorable!!

Happy Halloween!!

Zero Motivation.

2009-09-29T20:06:00.000-05:00

Just as the title suggests, it seems as though lately I have zero motivation to do anything. Maybe it's the fact that I'm in the dreaded first trimester and am experiencing every glorious symptom that comes with that. Maybe it's that my whole family has been sick lately. Maybe it's the two toddlers I have at my feet every second. Either way there is no motivation here. Zip. Zap. Zero. I have lots of projects that I want to complete that I think about all the time. I'd like to re-landscape my front yard, measure my living room for wood flooring, get organized and super clean, finish decorating my house, straighten and organize the garage, etc....I have ideas for all of these things, but never can seem to accomplish them. As of late I have been so nauseous that I barely want to leave my couch for fear of what might happen. I'm being a bad parent and letting Noggin and Nick Jr entertain my kids for awhile until the wave passes. Hopefully this won't last much longer. Four more weeks will see me out of my first trimester and hopefully into smoother sailing. Maybe then I'll tackle some of these projects head on. Or maybe not. Either way I'm hoping it can only go up from here.

Beating the odds and making his/her debut....

2009-09-24T19:42:00.000-05:00

I announce Baby Hageman #3!! I say beating the odds because this special little baby came to us post vasectomy lol! It's a 1 in 5000 chance and somehow we managed to beat those odds. I've already been told by several people to go buy a lottery ticket! We were obviously surprised to find out this news the day we arrived home from our vacation to OKC, but are excited none the less. I'm still very early at seven and a half weeks, but looking good according to our first ob appt today. We did an ultrasound and were able to see the baby's heartbeat at 156 bpm, which is perfect. The baby is about the size of a blueberry, and although we are not out of the woods for the first trimester, I was too excited not to share the news. It's an unexpected blessing for sure! I can honestly say I NEVER in a million years expected it to be positive. And after the initial shock wore off, I think we can both say we are excited to take on this new adventure! Here's an early ultrasound pic at 6 weeks exactly.

Located between those two crosshares lies our tiny little unexpected bundle of joy. Of course a week and a half later he/she is looking much more like a little baby and less of a blip on a picture.

We couldn't be more surprised and excited with our third addition! Here's praying for a healthy and uneventful pregnacy for this family of four...soon to be five!

A Busy Fall Season

2009-09-17T10:09:00.000-05:00

Fall is my favorite season ever. I'm sure I've mentioned this already, and will probably again in the near future. I love the weather, but i also love that for our family fall means lots of upcoming events. My brother in law's birthday is this coming Friday. October houses Halloween of course, but also my sister in law's birthday. November is a big month for us. It's my husbands birthday, my dad's birthday, my parent's anniversary, Baby E's and our nephew Baby C's birthday's, and of course Thanksgiving. Whew. That's a lot of celebrating. December is my mom's birthday along with Christmas, my favorite holiday ever.

This year my Baby E's birthday falls on Thanksgiving. Normally I'd be fine with that, but this Thanksgiving so happens to be my holdiay to work 3-11:30. I'm still hoping for someone to pick that shift up, but odds are no one will. I hate the idea of working on my kid's birthdays. I try to make their entire day special. All the way from birthday breakfast and waking up to balloons to birthday kisses goodnight. For whatever reason, I also hate celebrating their birthdays on another day. I'm not sure why this is such a big deal to me, because I know they don't know the difference. But I do, and I don't like it one bit. Here's to hoping someone picks up the shift for me.

On the birthday note, I can't believe my baby girl will already be two. It seems like just yesterday we had her. It's hard to believe that it's been almost a year since we celebrated her first birthday. I have a huge array of mixed emotions thinking about how big she is now mentally, but how much of a baby she stills seems to me. She has such a sweetness about her. At this age Big E was an ornery little boy who loved to climb and get into everything he could. Baby E is much more a people person, and loves to play Mama to her baby or her Elmo. She's very sweet natured, but doesn't hesitate to show you some sass if she so feels like it. I love them both more than I ever thought possible.

Here's a pic of my birthday baby girl just shy of a year ago. I can't believe how much she's changed :(

Sharing her cake with Mama

My Baby E now. Tired from a car ride but looking oh so sweet to Mama

So needless to say, I do love the fall season. I can't wait to celebrate birthdays and holidays for the first time in our own house. I'm thrilled to decorate and be able to do all the things as a family that we haven't been able to do before now. I want to start our own traditions as our little family, and I'm so excited to make that happen!

Rain, Rain, Please Don't Go Away....

2009-09-11T09:57:00.001-05:00

I love waking up to the sound of rain! It's been pretty hard to come by this summer here in Texas. We went 60 plus straight days with triple digit temps and no rain. If you know me at all...you'd know I don't do hot. Seems kind of silly to live in Texas then right? Yeah...it is. I love being near my family. That's about all I can say for living in Texas. I swear it's a different kind of hot here. It's humid all the time and there are roughly no seasons at all. It's hot and less hot all year around. So needless to say...I love waking up to rain!!

Our mini vacay to OKC went about as I expected I would. It was a short trip, but good to see family we haven't seen in awhile. Big E and Baby E were just as crazy as I had pictured. Both were off schedule, whiny, and going on little sleep. All in all we had a good time. We also got to hang out with my nephew Baby C for a good amount of time. I don't think he was very comfortable with all of the new people, but slowly and surely started to warm up. He's very shy and timid, which is very different than what I'm used to with my own kids. Neither one are shy or quiet about anything on their minds. We took the kids to visit the OKC zoo on Sunday. It was fun, but pretty hot and humid for them. We didn't see everything, but enough to satisfy them and burn some energy. The trip ended well and we packed up for the six hour car ride home. It was a good time had by all. Incidentally we got home to discover some interesting news. More details on that later....

Just a few pics from our trip:

Baby C and Baby E. Baby C is three days older.

A very cranky Big E

A Great Pic of Baby E and her Grandpa

Pretty Zoo Flowers

Baby C

Holy Vacation!! And Not A Moment Too Soon...

2009-09-03T11:37:00.000-05:00

I can't begin to describe how excited I am to be taking a mini vacation. Tomorrow evening we will be packing the E's up and making our way to Oklahoma City to meet hubby's family. OKC is the meeting destination because it's roughly halfway for each traveling party. Now granted...this isn't the tropical getaway I daydream about, but I'm still equally excited to go. The kids will get to see their grandparents that they haven't seen in over a year, and we will get to see most of hubby's family including Baby C, our almost two year old nephew.

My job is a part weekend job, which requires me to sign a weekend plan. In addition to a nice little shift differential, I am also limited to taking 4 weekends or 96 hrs off in a year. Four weekends sounds like a lot, but it's not. Trust me. I haven't taken a full weekend off in almost a year to be exact. This leads to my ever growing excitement to be packing my two small people into a car and driving them six hours to Oklahoma City. Hey maybe it's not Disney World, but I take what I can get.

It promises to be a chaotic, stressful, incredibly short, kid crazy vacation. I can't wait for the fun to begin!

If I know what love is, it is because of you.

2009-09-03T01:15:00.001-05:00

So I decided to start a blog. Cute header...check. Layout set up...check. First blog post...no such luck. I've never been good at starting out any sort of writing, be it for school or anything else that has required me to put my thoughts all in a row. I always feel like I must start with some awkward introduction that will immediately bore my readers. Hello my name is Dani and I'm here to tell you about my blog. Well maybe not that boring, but I will tell why I decided to start this blog. I love to write, and I love my husband and kids. What better way to combine the things I love most? So here's a little starter info on me...

I'm the wife to an amazing guy. I'm not just saying that either, he really is amazing. He's the entire rock to our family's foundation. I think in some way we all rely on him just a little bit more than everyone else. He's a great daddy, and my love just grows more and more watching him care for our two babies. I could go on and on...but I'd hate to keep bragging. Next comes our two bouncing bundles of joy in the form of Big E and Baby E. Big E is my always feisty three year old son. He is our firstborn baby boy who's growing up too fast. He's smart beyond belief and never ceases to amaze me. Today as I was complaining to hubby about having to go to work, Big E promptly replies "it's not an option Mommy." Of all things to hear out of a three year old. I guess it's true that kids will always give it to you straight. Second on the list is my sweet Baby E, our second born baby girl. She's smart and sassy just the way her mama is. She's my blue eyed beauty. For every part of her that's sharp and feisty, she claims and equally soft and delicate side. She's sweet and strong and the perfect counter to her ornery older brother. The two E's coupled with my sweet hubby completes my beautiful family of four. I couldn't ask for any more blessings for God and I'm constantly thankful for that he has bestowed on us.

I work at a children's hospital here in Texas as a pediatric x-ray technologist. My job often leaves me on the verge of tears at the end of the night, but is rewarding in so many ways. It makes me aware that life is short and things can come and go so quickly from your life. Often I find myself hugging my babies tighter than I should because I've seen parents lose their chance to do the same for their own kids. If someone would have asked me two years ago if I'd ever want to work with peds, I'd have for sure said no. In fact, I dreaded taking on this job but felt I had to because it was one of the few offered to me. Looking back now I'm sure it was in God's plan for me to be given this opportunity. After almost two years of service to the hospital, I feel emotions deeper than I've ever felt. I find myself feeling heartbroken for a family that is experiencing pain a thousand times more than my own. I find myself praying more than ever. I find myself thinking what if that was my child. But with all the heartache that passes through, just as much happiness comes in return. I was recently able to share the first steps of a one year old with a mother. What an awesome thing to see a sweet toddling baby taking her first steps while waiting for her x-rays to be done. I thank God that those moments are there to counter the bad, and I continue to pray for everyone who passes through those walls. I feel for the first time like I'm doing the job I was meant to do.

So that's my life as it's unfolding right now. I'm continuously blessed, and continuously thankful for the things I've been given. I'm just your average everyday working wife, and a mom of two cute kids.