05-31-15 Cousins!!!

Tim and my brother-in-law Davey took a run up to Ikea this afternoon, and my sister-in-law Laura was at a party, so I got to spend a few hours with some wonderful kids! We watched movies, played with toys, built a sofa castle, and ate snacks. We had a lot of fun and it really was a joy to hang out with them! Aren't they all adorable?!!

05-30-15 Tired and rest

This is our current reality... A fussy screaming baby... Every night... 

Maybe it's the solids. Maybe it's growing pains. Whatever the cause the result is the same.... Late nights and sleepy parents. 

Before I had kids, I thought I understood tired. I was wrong. I had pulled all nighters in college. I had worked overnight shifts. But that was nothing compared to having kids. 

I went into labor with C at 11:30 pm on a Tuesday, having not fallen asleep that day. I labored all night and 13 hours later I had an emergency C-Section. Between all the visitors and the new mom excitement, I didn't sleep that day. That evening I had a nurse that made me feed C every two hours, despite the fact that newborns mostly sleep the first 24 hours. So that night, we didn't sleep. We were in the hospital a few more days. C was a fussy baby and by the time we had left the hospital I had had a grand total of 8 hours of sleep. 

That is when I began to understand tired. That tired that pervades every part of your body... The kind that foggies your mind and makes your body tremble. 

C was a horrible sleeper, and she had colic... So she screamed and screamed and screamed. And I cried. People would tell me stories of their children sleeping through the night and I would stare blankly at them through my tired zombie eyes. Should I hit them in the head with a book? No, that would use to much energy. Just smile and nod. 

I returned to work and she still got up 3-4 times a night, so the tired grew worse. After nine months, she finally slept through the night. But by that time I was pregnant again, and my growing belly wouldn't permit sleep either. When Big E was born, he was a much easier baby, and I began to get a little more sleep. Four hours at a time instead of three. But it helped. By the time he was sleeping though the night, C was dealing with night terrors and toddler fears. Again, no sleep. 

And then Baby E came along. He is the calmest of my babies, but he still isn't sleeping though the night and likely won't for at least three more months. Which means that for nearly five years we have been running on 3-4 hour stretches of sleep. 

That is tired. That is exhaustion. 

On those evenings when I am more tired than usual, when my bones ache and my eyes won't stay open, my mind wanders to the rest of heaven. I wonder what it will be like to feel completely rested. I imagine it will feel the exact opposite of what I feel now. Fatigue and exhaustion will be replaced with energy and excitement. And the thought of that always makes me smile. 

People tell me it is a temporary tired. One day rest will come easier. I hope this is true. 

But until then, if we are talking and you see my eyes glaze over, it isn't rudeness, it's sleepiness. Feel free to hand me a cup of coffee or point me toward the closest couch and please know, it isn't personal! :) 

05-29-15 A boy and a hat...

C thought she would be really nice this morning and let her baby brother wear her hat. Luckily for her, he is still too little to care!

05-28-15 Let's grow an alligator!

Tonight was a beautiful evening and we decided to sneak in a walk before the rain. It kind of backfired, because when we got half way through the walk (in other words, the furthest point we had planned to go) it started to rain. Fortunately we got home before getting completely drenched! 

This is the boardwalk that my children refer to as "the stinky bridge." 

The water has been unusually low lately, but thankfully not very stinky!

Goobs always likes going for walks! Such a happy boy!

A friend of ours gave the kids a little alligator that you put in water, and over the course of a few days it is supposed to grow. So when we got back to the house, the kids decided they wanted to grow their alligator.

We will check in tomorrow to see how he is doing. 

05-27-15 Night Person

It took him a few months to decide, but it would seem that Baby E has fallen squarely on the side of being a night owl. He has taken to fighting bedtime every night and tries to sleep in each morning. Considering the hours we keep, this is not a good thing. Tim gets up at 4 and I get up at 5, so by 9pm, we are pretty much spent. But here I am staring at a baby that has no interest in sleep, no matter how hard he rubs his eyes. 

Nope, no sleep here.

05-26-15 A Quiz and a Giveaway!

*updated with answers!*

Ok, so at least some of you have been following along for awhile, so I decided that today, we would have a little fun!

I'm going to post a series of photos, and I would like you to determine if it is a photo of C, Big E, or Baby E. Then post your answers on the Facebook link.

And to add a little excitement, there is going to be a little giveaway! The winner will be randomly chosen (by random, I mean, I will write down everyone's names that comment with their answers on the post and put them in a hat... or a jar... or a coffee cup and I will let Baby E reach his hand in and grab one out. Then I will pry it from his tiny little fist... and perhaps his mouth, and the slobbery name on that paper will be the winner!)

I will send the winner a surprise of my choosing!  (I have no idea what said surprise will be, but it should be fun... or tasty... or shiny!)

The actual drawing will take place tomorrow evening and I will contact the winner as soon as I have washed my slobbery hands.

1. Big E

2. C

3. Big E

4. C

5. Baby E

6. C

7. Baby E

8. Big E

9. Baby E

I'll be honest, I got kinda stuck on #'s 6 & 8! Sheesh! My kids' noses look nearly exactly the same!

Thank you to everyone that played! I'm going to try to do more things like this in the future! Stay Tuned! 

05-25-15 Opinions needed!

So, I finally finally finally cleaned up the nursery this evening, (like most of the rooms in the house right now, it was piled high with clothes.) You can actually move around in here now!

So now, I would like to finish decorating it. For behind the crib, I would like to get a scripture verse or text to put on the wall and would like some opinions! 

Option 1- obviously we would change the name...

Option 2

Option 3

Thoughts? 

Today was a busy day, we trekked up the road to a rather unique store called the Community Forklift.

We were on the hunt for items for the house, and I had come across this store while researching online. The store is a mix of vintage, antique, and surplus building materials. They have just about anything house related you could think of... Doors, beds, appliances, cabinets, countertops, bathtubs, etc. We didn't really find what we were looking for, but we enjoyed walking around and seeing the variety of merchandise. 

After that, we braved a trip to Ikea, during what should have been naptime. So, you can only imagine how that trip went with sleepy, cranky children. After numerous meltdowns in nearly every department, we were finally able to buy what we needed and headed home. We spent the evening with my sister-in-law's family and the kids got to play with their cousins. Quite the eventful day! It was nice to have a long weekend with my loves!

05-24-15 Cheeks

Know one of the things I love about this guy? 

His cheeks!

Seriously, how is such perfect cheekage even possible? They are the ideal combination of squishy and soggy. When he is happy, his cheeks rest properly on his face and defy even the sourest of persons to be unimpressed. But when he is resting, the cheeks go limp, evoking more of a basset hound appearance, begging to be poked or kissed. 

It is true, that in the presence of such outstanding cheekage, housework has been known to be disregarded and dinner has grown cold. For truly, is there any doubt which is more important?

So, should you find yourself in the presence of such a specimen of cheekage, feel free to compliment this dear fellow on the roundness of this face, and if time permits, steal a kiss or a snuggle! 

05-23-15 A nap with Goobs

This little fellow napped with me today. It was a good nap. The kind that starts out as just resting on a comfy chair and turns into an hour and a half of deep sleep and baby cuddles. His little head nuzzled up against me, his little hands curled up to his chest. His rhythmic breathing would venture into snoring as he drifted deeper to sleep. With a four year old and a three year old constantly vying for attention, it isn't often that I get some quality quiet time with this guy (that isn't 3 o'clock in the morning!) 

05-22-15 Mom's Morning Out

Mom's morning out has come to an end. I left work early today to go to the kids' closing ceremony. They were, of course, adorable. :) 

Here's a comparison of the kids from the start of the school year and today. Wow, they have grown!

05-21-15 With Style

C proudly displayed her drawing to me this evening when I got home from work. It is interesting to me to follow the evolution of her drawing skills. A few months ago I would not have been able to recognize her drawings as coffee. 

I asked her if I could take her picture with it.  So for the first one she smiled.

Then she asked me to take one of her *with style* and this is what I got. 

No, that's not creepy at all! 

Tomorrow is the kids' last day of Moms Morning Out. The next time C goes to school it will be kindergarten. I can't believe that time has passed this quickly. 

At least there is still one baby in the house!

05-20-15 These are my loves...

These are my loves. They make each day more beautiful than the last. I pray that as they grow, they grow closer to each other, that their friendship will be strong and weather through the challenges of adolescence. I pray their bond will carry through adulthood and that they will confide in each other, lean on each other, and look out for each other. 

And when we are gone, I pray they will think fondly of their childhood and know that they were loved. 

05-19-15 Trains and silly faces

This evening we broke out the Thomas train set. This is a rare occasion because it takes up a ton of space and the kids tend to be pretty rough with it. But while I was making dinner, Tim and the kids sat patiently in the living room and assembled it. (At least kind of patiently!)

Even Baby E enjoyed watching the trains go around! 

05-18-15 Some nights are just rough

Some nights are just rough, huh kid? Looks like you had quite the struggle last night. Hope tonight is easier for you!