Day 59: Crib time!

Today was another day that daddy decided to work from home which Eva and I looooove. We took the kiddos to school, went and had some breakfast (hers was on the go as you can see in the pic), toured a potential house and location we'd like to live in, and then came home to set up baby girls crib. Tear. Since it was a mini-crib, I thought that maybe it would be a little less confusing and something you could just pop together pretty quickly. But nope. It had daddy beat a couple of times. But he pushed on...or maybe I told him to stop whining and keep on?? :)

Either way, he was determined to get it finished because he's ready to have his own room back. I'd keep her in with us forever if I could but considering that she's been sleeping through the night so well and it would be nice to be able to watch TV, or use the restroom in the middle of the night without fear of waking the baby; it's probably time. So after we got this little beauty finished and arranged and rearranged Skylar's bedroom furniture a few hundred times, we finally got it in. And I literally had to fight back tears at the thought of my girls sharing a room; sisters - something I never had and am excited that they have each other.

There are still a gazillion things to be done in this room to make it complete such as a cute decal I found that has a tree with 2 owls (obsessed with owls) perched on a branch with the quote "Sisters are we. Friends we will always be." LOOOOOVE!!! So there's that, then I'm getting some pics done in a couple of weeks and would like to hang one up of the two of them. I need to order a canvas of one of her sweet infant pics to hang above her crib because while I do like the "princess" plaque, it scares me a bit if it were to fall since it's made of metal. Not too concerned if the canvas falls since it'll be so lightweight with no sharp corners. Other then that, she's all set and as you can see daddy even installed the video camera/monitor so I'd feel more comfortable. I'm stalling a bit on washing her covers because big sis seems to have a cold, so once I feel she's out of that gunky stage, I'll wash everything and put her in her new big girl bed. And then quickly grab her out and take her back to my room. Hahahahaha.

Day 58 (a.m. post): Big Girl bath...

Because I keep forgetting to post this pic, I figured I'd make a quick morning post of my little girl having her very first bath in the tub. We've moved past the sponge bath, outgrown the sink, and are now enjoying stretching our legs and relaxing in our bubbles. I can tell she really enjoys it because she just sits there, quiet as a mouse and doesn't move a single muscle. I told Matthew that all she needs is a glass of champagne and some Michale Buble and she'd be just like her mama!

And now a quick post for Nana...the other day she came by and visited for a bit before taking Skylar to have their nails done. Spoiled girl. Eva did so good letting someone else besides me hold her and Nana was very excited about it. Her little onesie says "Mommy, you're fired. Nana's here!" My sweet growing girl!!

Day 57: Girl day

While the kiddos were at school today, I took the opportunity to go get my hair done and run some errands. And thank the Lord, no orange hair this time. Eva did so good and I literally had 3 different people compliment me on what a beautiful and laid back baby I have. One lady even said "Does she even know how to cry?!" She really is such an angel and I'm so blessed to have her. After getting my hair pretty, we did some shopping which wasn't so bad. I really don't like shopping with my kids because it can be so stressful but Eva-cakes was so content to be in her stroller so we went with it. I had to feed her a couple of times in the dressing room but she did so good. I know this much, time flies when you're having fun. Once we got home I had to change, unload the car, feed the baby and head back out again. Both kids had a good day at school and I heard little Brycie asking "where's mama?" as I was coming down the hall. That's my favorite thing about picking him up. He's always so excited to see us and will fall all over himself to get to the door quickly! Skylar had a great day too and even Mrs. Cooper said "awesome! AWESOME day today!" WOOOHOO! After we got Bub and Sis we got to go visit with Papa. He watched ALL 3 babies while I ran a quick 2 miles. And I was booking it. I was so nervous about her crying or my dad getting stressed because I know firsthand how stressful 3 can be. So I ran it hard and ran it fast which definitely made me wanna puke at the end but it's done.

Once we got home, we played and wrestled a bit with daddy and then it was off to bed. For a brief moment all 3 of my babes were lying side-by-side talking with one another and even sweet Eva was giggling and trying to talk to Skylar. I did my best to grab a quick pic since they never stay in one place for long.

Of course bub isn't looking at the camera but when he is, then Skylar isn't. I love my sweet babies!!

Day 56: Monkeying Around...

We are finally over all the gunk that was plaguing us last week (knock on wood). We woke up bright and early and they were begging to go outside and play so off to bootcamp we went. On the drive there I noticed that it looked awfully cloudy and was just praying that the weather would hold up. Now normally I always keep Bryce in his stroller but today I decided to test the waters and see how he'd do out of the stroller. I told him to stay with Skylar and not to go to the playground. And those two things he did. However, the clouds opened up and the rain came down hard and fast so we all darted for the covered areas as quickly as possible. I told another mom that if you really want to see us workout, have it rain on her babies and she'll never move faster to keep them from getting wet. I literally darted across the field with THREE kids in my jogging stroller. Skylar was such a girl about it and looking for anyone who had a towel to dry off where Bryce on the other hand, well - he was your average boy! Every time I looked over at him he was pouncing away in some puddle or digging his hands in the mud. He looked very happy though so for a short while, I let him do it. The rain did not stop our workout and we pushed on. The kids all played and Bryce only ended up in his stroller once for not listening. After bbc was done, we all decided to take them to Pump It Up because the playground was soaked and it was clear they all had energy to burn. The kids had a blast and it was nice because it was really just us girls in our own area. Everyone played and jumped and played some more. Even Ms. Jamie jumped in on the fun and took the kids down the big slide a few times. Once it was clear that we succeeded in our tasks of wearing them down, it was off to bed. I often wonder what people must think when they look in my car and see me dancing around or waving my arms in the air. Well, if you're wondering - it's my way of keeping them awake! I'll put on some kind of silly song like the hokey-pokey (or as skylar says - pokey pokey), shake your silly's out, or the wheels on the bus so that they do NOT fall asleep in the car. Because if they do, even if it's for 5 minutes, they will NOT go back to bed. And this mama NEEDS them to go to bed. :)

It was a very fun but tiring day and I'm tarrrd (as bubba would say) so goodnight world!

Day 55: 6 days left

There are only 6 more days left until I'll have completed my 2nd half marathon! Eeek. I am actually getting pretty nervous about finishing it this year. It seems there are so many things standing in my way. The first being Eva's unwillingness to take a bottle. I'm worried that I'll have to jump off mid-course to get back to her and feed her. My other worries are that I haven't trained enough and my foot injury from last year seems to be bothering me again although, maybe it's all psychological. Next Saturday is going to be a very busy day and I just hope it goes smoothly. Friday night Eva will be spending the night with Nana and Papa (her first time from home) and I need to go wake her around 5:30-5:45 to feed her so I can be on the course at 6:30am. It's going to be hectic that's for sure. This year daddy is only going to the finish line rather then trying to drive to the halfway point, then fight traffic driving to the finish line. And now knowing what I know from last year, he'll be there bearing gifts; a banana and orange juice. I'm anxious, excited, and crossing my fingers for a good day. Wish me luck!

Day 54: Claw-fish!

Today was a very busy day! We woke up and decided that while it was still early, we wanted to try and make it to Sams to stock up on our household supplies and freezer foods. Getting out of the house is a challenge when we aren't prepared for it but we managed to get out in decent enough time. With 3 kids and a ton of groceries and supplies it means chaos. I really wish I would've taken a pic because it was quite comical and a few times I thought daddy was near having a heart attack. We started off with 2 carts since little miss takes up a whole one to herself with her infant car seat. By the end of the trip we had 2 fully loaded carts, Bryce and Skylar strapped in one with all of the food and me holding Eva while pulling her cart (also loaded down with groceries) all throughout the store. All of this while Bryce and Skylar were in some kind of sword fight with a pair of whisks. Like I said, comical. After daddy worked his magic in getting it all loaded into the car, we got home and put the kiddos to bed! I had a million things I needed to get done but after that trip, daddy and I decided to kick back and rest also which was a nice break.

When the babes got up, daddy had a craving for some crawfish so off we went. The kids were hilarious at first because they were not sure what to do with them and Skylar continued to call them "claw-fish." After much convincing that they were really dead and not going to come alive and pinch them, they finally decided to get close enough to touch and hold them....

Bryce actually enjoyed eating them too but Skylar was not the slightest bit interested. She enjoyed eating the corn and that's it. I love the pic of her and daddy because if you notice, Roxy is in the background ready to pounce if one of those weird looking things try to make a move.

It was a really fun Saturday but now its off to bed for the kiddos and time for a movie with my man! :)

Day 53: Moving Out

Our sweet little Eva has been sleeping through the night since about 5 1/2 weeks and now that she's almost 4 months, daddy and I are getting ready to transition her to big sisters room. I don't know why this is so hard for me. With Skylar, she was my firstborn and yet I was ready for her to be in her own room. Bryce was sleeping on his own at 2 months!! Eva will be 4 months and I'm terrified. At first I thought maybe it was because of Skylar but I think it's because I'm trying to hold on to this baby stage as long as possible. We've talked it over with Skylar and of course she's ecstatic but we've also explained what not to do. She knows not to give the baby any blankets or stuffed animals. She knows not to try and crawl in the crib to be with the baby or to try and get her out. And we recently told her about the baby monitor which allows mommy and daddy to not only hear her but see her too. So if she needs help, mommy will be right there. I think Skylar will do great. If anything, I'm worried about sleep-interruption for both of them but I'm sure it'll be fine.

Since they're sharing a room, we needed to buy a new "mini crib" since ours will not fit in the same room with all of Skylar's furniture. It would fit in B's room because he has bunk beds but I do NOT trust him to leave the baby alone. Plus he's a light sleeper so any little noise the baby makes will most definitely wake him up. Whereas Skylar could have a freight train cut right through her bedroom and she won't even budge. Seriously. Skylar has such pretty furniture so it was hard to match. I am hoping that we got close enough...here is the new crib. I'll post pics of the finished room once we get it all set up.

Cute huh?! So with this meant purchasing a new mattress, new blankets, and daddy got me the best of the best in baby monitors to make the transition a little bit easier on me. So the idea that the 3rd shouldn't really cost that much because she'll get a bunch of hand-me-downs...not true! Maybe if our 3rd was a boy that would be the case but this lil girl is SPOILED!!!

Speaking of our spoiled little angel, here she is in her excersaucer (which IS a hand-me-down but don't think I didn't try and convince daddy to let me get a new one that was pink)!

My sweet little cutie. So in a couple weeks time, she'll no longer be rooming-in with us but will be a big girl sharing a room with her "sissy" Sad day.

Day 52: Progress Report time...

Alrighty, so I already had a post about how much Skylar has grown and that she's beginning to read and solve simple math problems but just yesterday we got her quarterly report card and I'm over the moon. Here goes...

Identifies letters and sounds taught - S
Identifies short vowel blends taught - N
Sounds out one vowel words - N
Identifies numbers studied - E
Works neatly - E
Exercises self control - S
Listens and follows directions the first time - E
Kind and considerate to others - E
Controls talking (this is a biggy) - E
Memory Verse - E

Comments: "Skylar's never-ending love and those BIG brown eyes melt my heart. I just adore her!" Mrs. Cooper

So we still have some work to do but she has made great progress from when she first started. Matthew and I had the pleasure tonight of hearing her sing "It's A Wonderful World" in SIGN LANGUAGE! She's four! Matthew and I both were near tears watching her stand there proudly, showing us what she's learned. I've been so busy lately that I still haven't had the time to go get her some "learn to read" books. But tomorrow is "Go Texans" day for daddy so he'll be home early enough that we can go pick some new books out.

Today was kind of a slow but productive day. Both kids were in school so I used the time to get some things done around the house, run to the store, and prepare dinner early so all I had to do was pop it in the oven to reheat. Little Eva is still feeling crummy so she napped most of the day but I know her body needs the rest so she can get over this little cold. Poor dear also has her first diaper rash from all of the runny poo's she's had because of congestion. It's so sad. Looking forward to tomorrow being Friday. Night world.

Day 51: Lil Dude

Well its another Wednesday which means another fun-filled day with squish (aka - Brycen). It's always hard dropping Skylar off on Wednesday's because Bryce doesn't like to see her go and then realizes that he doesn't get to go to school either. So for a good 15 minutes, he'll cry and whine. Most times I can divert his attention to donuts but today didn't work. He was not happy about her leaving or maybe he was just not looking forward to spending the day with me. Ha. When we got home, he asked to watch Mickey Mouse which worked out great so that I could get a menu together for the week. As I was sitting at the desk writing out our menu and grocery list, I had that same panicked feeling I get most times he's here and the house is quiet. I went running out of the office to make sure he's okay and find him still watching TV, just with a few less articles of clothing...

This is how this kid is all the time now! Naked from the waist down. He's still potty training and I've learned to be patient with him and let him kind of take the reigns on this one otherwise he completely backs down. And for whatever reason, naked works. If I put him in a diaper, he pees. If I put him in undies, he pees. But naked?! He'll go hauling off to the bathroom on a mission and sits up on the toilet all by himself and goes. So whatever works, right? Because he's like me and doesn't much care for TV, he only watched about 20 minutes worth (which is pretty impressive) and then he was off to take care of his other mission in life - driving mama crazy! I still had to get the menu done because we still needed to go to the grocery store but this little turkey was desperate for mama's attention. So we both made the list together or "worked" as he called it.

Yep, still naked. We finally managed to make it to the grocery store (with clothes on), come home and put everything away, have lunch, and he went down for a nap (unwillingly). While he napped, this mama did some P90X because with the kiddos being sick, I've not been able to make it to bbc so gotta get a workout in somewhere. I finished just in time to wash my face off, grab a sandwich and go get Skylar. Poor squish was still half-sleeping when I put him in the car and asked "mama? where's beck-fist (breakfast)?" We got our little beauty and then came home to play before daddy got home. Lil dude might drive me crazy from time-to-time but man, I love this boy! My favorite part of today was him crawling up in my lap, giving me a huge hug, and in hearing him say "I wuv u mama" in his sweet voice. He's my sweet lil squish!!!

Day 50: Daddy-day!

Both Skylar and Bryce woke up feeling near 100% and acting like their normal crazy selves so off to school they went. Daddy decided that he'd work from home today since it would be quiet enough to do so. I was able to get a lot of cleaning and organizing done and then our cleaning lady (yes, I NEED her) came and took care of the rest. Since daddy got done with most of his work while the cleaning lady was still handling her job, we decided to go grab a quick bite to eat. So again, another impromptu date with him, Eva, and myself. We went to Shoguns and boy, was it yummy! Due to my incredibly long 2 weeks of sick kids, I ordered a peach bellini and Matthew asks "is that alcohol?" Ha. Well yes, yes it is. It was so good and just what I needed. After that we came home and rested a bit before heading out to get the kiddos. Since Bryce gets out early, we took him to the park and he was ECSTATIC to have his daddy there.

My sweet boys. This was the same park where he got bit last time so I think daddy was on the lookout. Bryce had so much fun going down the slides and swinging with daddy. It was such a beautiful afternoon that even Eva-cakes enjoyed some vitamin D as well...

After our fun at the park, it was time to get sissy and I told Matthew that I fear the day when Bryce is old enough to say "while you were at school, WE played at the park!" I know it won't go over well. But once we got home, Matthew took the two of them in the backyard to play and be silly so she still had some daddy-time too! It was a great day with my husband! We rarely get alone time anymore so it was so nice having that time with him...now back to the grind tomorrow!

Day 49: My growing girl!

A few weeks ago Skylar was given a project to build a time capsule and place different things inside that are her favorites! I also needed to write a letter (which I of course sobbed my way through) and place it inside this time capsule. After it's presented at school, we are to seal it and not open it until her 18th birthday! I think its a pretty cute idea to see what we've put inside and just like I said in my letter to her, it brings tears to my eyes to think that when she opens this box, she'll no longer be a little girl but now a young woman. Oh gosh...and now here come the tears again. I think it brings so much emotion because I know that time will be here before I know it and it's just a hard pill to swallow. I just want to freeze my time with her here and now! sigh. Back the capsule...I am not crafty by any means but she really helped it picking out what she wanted and I think it came out pretty cute.

We've placed pictures inside and a little stuffed animal that's one of her favorites and of course, my letter. They'll be adding things at school too so I can't wait to see what else goes in before we seal it all up! As I was working on my letter to her, she was right beside me doodling on a notepad. I really paid no attention because most days that's where she is, right beside me. At one point I glanced over and saw that she'd written out the letters "n" and "o" so I asked - what does that say? She began sounding it out and said "no. It says NO!" My jaw dropped. So then I wrote out the word "cat" again she sounded it out and said - cat! Same with "bat" and "top." My 4 year old is beginning to read!!! I just can't believe how quickly they grow. I mean one day she was this tiny baby (with loooong legs) crawling around everywhere and now she's this little person, with her own thoughts and personality and is reading!!! Once I saw this I gave her a huge hug and told her how proud I was of her and that we would go get some books that she could learn to read! So that's on the agenda for tomorrow. Here she is writing out her words and then sounding them out...

I love you Skylar Elizabeth! But please someone hit the pause button now so I can keep her this little and innocent FOREVER!!!!!

Day 48: No end in sight...

I always feel like we are taking one step forward and two steps back in pretty much ALL areas of our crazy life. I have never ending projects that just seem to keep adding up and each time I get one done, another rears it's ugly head. Currently my biggest issue is our home. We have stuff piled everywhere and it's really starting to get to me. You can't open a closet, cabinet, or drawer without being totally overwhelmed by how packed to the gills they each are. My garage is a mess. My closets are a mess. My attic is a mess. I need a good solid week to get it all cleaned up but that would mean WITHOUT kids because they let me accomplish absolutely NADA! Outside of cleaning and reorganizing...there's these colds. My kids just can't seem to catch a break and again I say, I feel like we are constantly taking one step forward only to go two steps back. Bryce is back on antibiotics but now the rest of us have been attacked by some bug which at this point, I'm praying is allergies! Skylar keeps talking about how her body hurts and she's cold so naturally, that concerns me! Looks like we'll be paying another visit to the doctor again soon! Sigh.

In other (happy) news, Matthew and I are in the planning stages of our upcoming Summer vacation. We originally wanted to take a cruise but for starters, that idea kind of scares me with 3 kids and since one just recently caught fire - I think I'm good on no cruise this year. Going someplace tropical would be tons of fun but there's no way we are ready to take 3 kids on a plane...no way jose! So instead we are planning a trip to South Padre (which is still tropical) and we can not only drive but keep our feet firmly planted on the ground! I'm very excited about this because Eva will probably just start crawling and Skylar and Bryce are both at an age where they would REALLY enjoy the beach so I anticipate nothing but fun, fun, FUN! Of course, there WILL be stress...that's inevitable BUT! We are determined to make the most of it! Hoping to convince the G-rents to also come so that maybe daddy and I can slip away for a romantic dinner cruise! So stay tuned for more deets to come...

Day 47: 3 months old!

So technically Eva was 3 months old yesterday! I can't believe how fast time is going and that my sweet little precious gift is now 3 months old. Right now it looks like she's battling another cold but she still gives mama her sweetest smiles! This pic reminds me of a pic my parents have hanging on their refrigerator. I was maybe 2 or 3 in the pic but I have the same mischievous little grin. I love this girl! So at 3 months she has really done a lot of growing. She's such a chunk but at TALL chunk which makes me think she'll be built just like Skylar. She's tracking objects from across the room, talking, playing (she sits in her play mat and reaches for the toys), she's chewing on her hands A LOT, and the best part ....wait for it.....she's ROLLING! That's right, my little Eva-cakes rolled over for the first time tonight! It's amazing. Of course now a whole new field of worry begins because that means she needs to be seat-belted in everything! No longer chilling on the bed...nope, she moves! And of course since she's my 3rd I know that sitting isn't too far off and then crawling! Waaaaaah! Someone make time stop - please!!  She'll go in next month for her next round of shots and then we will have official measurements but I'm pretty sure she's still hanging at the top, trying to break some records!

 

Today was also my running day and we were scheduled to run 11 miles. I only ran 10.2 because again, my sweet Eva-girl would NOT take a bottle so I had to "run like the wind" as my Aunt Susie always tells me before each run or race. I did too and one point my feedback said my pace was averaging 9:35/mi and that's faaaasssst for me! No wonder I felt like death. :) Once I got home and fed chubby, daddy took us to Denny's for some breakfast. That was pretty nice because it was just the 3 of us. She either sat in his lap or mine, looking around at everyone. After breakfast, we made a quick pit stop at Walmart and then went and got our other kiddos from Nana and Papa's.

 

My washer and dryer also arrived today along with the part for the old dryer. Much to Matthew's disappointment, the new part did NOT fix the dryer which meant mama got the new ones!! WOOOHOOO!!! Aren't they purrrty??

I'm not sure if I wanna use them now...just want to sit there and stare at them. And there's so many gadgets that I'm sure it's going to take some getting used to! But this mama is a happy girl and my day will be filled with catching up on 2 weeks worth of laundry! Fun. Fun. Adios...

 

Day 46: Friday Madness

Now either the antibiotic works super fast or my kid is just bent on giving me high blood pressure but today, Bryce was hell on wheels. He would not stop getting an to things, jumping off of things, breaking things, trashing things...you get the gist. This morning I was near an emotional breakdown and found myself doing nothing but screaming at him the entire time. "Brycen, STOP!" "No, no Bryce!" "AAAAH! Bryce, why did you do that?!" So finally I had enough. I set down the dishes, walked away from the piles of toys that needed to be put away and calmly said "who wants to go to bootcamp?" Both of them jumped up and raised their hands...MEEEEE!!! So off we went, me doing breathing exercises the whole way there. When we got there we noticed that there was no instructor so all of us just stood around, staring at one another. Lisa (sweet friend) took over and did an amazing job. Now, just because he was out of the house did  not mean he was over being a tyrant. Noooo. If he wasn't screaming to get out, he was crushing crackers, throwing wrappers, emptying water bottles, and raising and closing Eva's canopy - up/down, up/down. At one point I looked at her and you could almost see it on her face..."once I can get out of this thing, I'm kicking his @%S!!" Finally, bbc was over and I could let him out. I say "Bubba, mama will let you out but you MUST stay OUT of the water! Yes ma'am?" To which he sweetly says "yes, ma'am mama!" I bend down to put something beneath the stroller and look up to find him where?! In the water! Of course he's in the water in his only change of clothes and it's 60 degrees out! GRRRRR. Thankfully a friend of mine had an extra pair of pants that I could put on him and we got the heck out of dodge!

Later this afternoon as I was trying to recover from everything my son put me through, I was reminded of how sweet his heart is. I thought back to our doctors visit and  how the nurse gave him his sucker and he frowned. I asked what was wrong and he said "un, for ky-yar?" He was asking if he could have another sucker to give to his sister even though she wasn't there. And he held on to that thing so proudly all the way home! Or when he sees me crying (because yes, he sees me cry), he'll come up and wrap his chubby arms around me and say "it's okay mama. no crying." So although there are days that I think, how am I going to manage this kid - God gently reminds me of what a wonderful little guy he truly is!

I love you squish! No matter what!

Day 45: Happy Valentines Day

..or Happy New Year as Skylar continued to say throughout the whole day!

Okay, before I start in on our Valentines Day - a little update on bub is that it's NOT pneumonia but instead a severe ear infection. Phew. I mean it stinks that he's in pain but it's SO much better then pneumonia. I guess what they're thinking took place is that his last antibiotic failed him and so his already infected ears got worse, causing more drainage and then producing a wicked cough. Every since he had RSV as a little baby, his lungs have never been the same and any type of virus seems to turn to a cough and another ear infection. Sigh. So we are now on a different antibiotic and hoping to kick this nasty ear infection this time around!

Back to Valentines Day...
Am I the only one who really doesn't understand the point of this day? I mean sure, it's great to receive flowers and candy but really?! You need a whole day to remind you to do that?! When Matthew asked what I wanted for V-day this year, I simply said - nothing. I really think it's a thing for kids now. Or maybe if you're a working gal its nice to get flowers sent because every girl wants to show off how good her man is! So this year, we stuck to the basic cards with the basic "I love you's." Oh and I did manage to get a washing machine and dryer thrown in on the deal too sooooo, I'm not completely without! ;) Our babies all got something small because I really am trying to scale back on how much I give them. I tend to go a bit overboard and I've noticed that Skylar has come to expect certain things and that's just not the way it should be! But she still has a giving heart because although her candy heart only held 3 chocolates, she gave one to her brother and wanted to give another to her neighbor friend, Francesca. Anyway, my little loves woke up to this...

Each of them got a stuffed animal and Bryce and Skylar each got chocolate...which as you can see Bryce had a little for breakfast! ;) Skylar is all about naming her animals so her giraffe is "pokie - the giraffe," Brycen's gorilla is "monkey dude" and Eva's elephant is "ellie" which is something I helped her out with! Skylar looked around and said...well mama, what did Santa leave you for Valen-day?! I did my best to explain that this is not from Santa, this is from mommy and daddy. She kinda frowned for a second and said, well I didn't get you anything. How wrong she is! I told her that just like she has that baby giraffe, bubba has a gorilla, and Eva an elephant - I have each of them! She smiled big!

Now since I had to take B to the doctor and wasn't sure how sick he was, I kept Skylar home from school. Which meant no Valentines Day party and no opportunity to pass out her cards and goodies...

I'm still planning on taking them on Tuesday so her friends still get them! See her name?! I'm pretty proud of her. She can write it so much better then then but she REFUSED to write over Sponge Bob! On the right are little bags of goldfish that say "Valentine, you're a real catch!" Creative, right?! Totally stole it off of pinterest. So today was a LOVELY day and I'm so happy our little B is on the mend. Happy V-Day, everyone!

Day 44: Lil dude is sick!

As you will see in previous posts, Brycen has been battling allergy/cold stuff for quite some time and now it's really taken a turn for the worse. He was on suprax (a very pricey antibiotic) to knock out his ear infections and just when we started to see improvements, bam! Sick again! This morning he woke up with a terrible sounding cough, almost croup-like and throughout the day it just sounded worse. After consulting with a few friends and family members, we broke out the ole nebulizer to see if we could try and break some of the congestion up. He does really good with the neb as long as you let HIM have complete control...

My poor buddy. So we started using the neb every four hours and I tried to keep him calm as much as possible since I noticed that any time he overexerted himself he would get into bad coughing bouts again. Of course, trying to keep a 2 year old still is pretty much wasted effort but we did what we could. By late afternoon he had a huge spike in temp and was coughing REALLY bad. I called the nurse who kinda sighed when I told her what was going on. I asked - "what! Do you think it could be the flu?" To which she responded "lets HOPE that it's the flu!" I'm sorry, but WHAAAATTT?!!!! So the symptoms he is having is leading them to believe he has pneumonia and we're to take him in first thing in the morning so the doctor can see him! I just wanna cry! I feel so bad for my poor lil dude because he just can't seem to catch a break. You've heard me say it a thousand times but he really is my happy little baby so to see him so sick, it's heartbreaking. Prayers for a good doctors visit and that we can get this crud knocked out soon!

Day 43: Shout out to the G-rents!

Being an only child definitely has it's advantages sometimes. Like when you need a babysitter, you don't have to hear "well, we already agreed to watch your sisters kids." Or "we're meeting you brother for dinner." Nope. Being an only child means I hold their only grandbabies and since we've all heard "there's nothing like being a grandparent" most times I have an on-call babysitter. I haven't felt safe yet about hiring someone although Matthew and I talk about it frequently. I know my parents would like to have a weekend to themselves every now and then so it be nice to have someone I can call for just a quick babysitting job, like if I needed to run to the store. I just can't yet. The world we live in is a scary place and it's hard to trust a complete stranger with your babies. I get the chills thinking of all the possibilities. So for now we use good ole Nana and Papa and they really don't seem to mind.

My kids do have the BEST grandparents in the world too! My mom is Skylar's BFF because she allows Skylar to be the boss which is exactly what Skylar wants. Brycen loves his Papa and I love seeing them wrestle around together. It's cute since my dad never had a boy to see this relationship that he has with his grandson, his namesake. But the reason my kids love them as much as they do, it's not the spoiling (although my kids love that), it's the fact that when they're with my parents they know that they have their undivided attention and that their love is unconditional. Skylar knows that she doesn't have to do anything spectacular to get my moms attention. My mom hangs on to Skylar's every word and tunes every one else out. Same with my dad. I can't tell you how many times I'll be sitting there, talking with my dad when one of my kids come in to tell him something and he immediately turns to listen to them. He doesn't say - "go play!" Or "go watch TV." And kids are smart. They know when they're getting attention and when they're being valued. I am so blessed to have such wonderful parents that love my kids the way I do. I love them with everything I have and not a day passes that I don't wrap them up and tell them how much I love them - and that's the truth. I really try daily to ensure that they know how much they're loved so that they have the confidence they need to face this dark world without feeling rejection or searching for love in the wrong place. I know that when I drop my kids off with their grandparents, they are feeling that same amount of love (if not more) that they would get at home! So Nana and Papa (aka G-rents), we LOVE you!!!! Thank you for loving us back and being the BEST G-RENTS everrrrrr!

Day 42: To Papa's House We Go!

Because of the non-working dryer and the piles of laundry just continually growing, I needed to try and do something. I am so glad that my parents live just up the road because it's times like these that it's so nice to be able to fix our little problems with a short drive. When I woke up, I really did NOT want to haul 10 loads of laundry, 3 kids and all of their junk to my dads house in the rain. Not at all. I was really starting to talk myself out of it and instead go do something fun like bbc. See, even grown-ups like to dodge responsibilities sometimes. But nope, I just couldn't do it. It needed to be done and needed to be done today. So off we went. Of course it took us about an hour and a half to even get out of the house but we finally managed to get to Papa's and I quickly started a load. My dad was not there because he was stuck at Toyota getting my mom's car serviced so that was a relief! Again, my dad is a neat freak and I just knew I'd be stressed that he was stressed because my kids were destroying everything. And that's just how it is. We were there for less then 10 minutes when my kids had already pulled two toy boxes out, emptied their contents, spread it all over the living room floor, found markers, pulled things out of the pantry, and got into the trash. Dad, if you're reading this...uh, they get it from their dad! Here's B getting in trouble for coloring on himself...

Between doing laundry, separating fights, and trying to keep my dad's house from burning down - I was getting close to losing my mind. Thankfully sweet Eva would step in and need to be fed and that always calms me down. It wasn't all bad, all the time. I mean, we still had some sweet sibling moments like watching a movie together or Skylar trying to teach her brother how to play the game "Trouble"...

but mostly, it was chaos as usual. I did manage to get quite a bit of laundry done and then quickly made an exit! I think my dad was pretty relieved to see us go since right before we left Bryce pooped in his diaper then carried the diaper through the house saying "ew, gucky!" My poor dad. Anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new washer and dryer.

Day 41: Dryer Drama

A few months back our dryer began acting a little skittish but as long as it was working, I was not complaining. However, this weekend it has decided to go to dryer heaven. We are hoping that it's only a fuse and waiting for the part to come in and see but both of us have a feeling that she is on her way out. Well, good riddance. Because while we are also waiting for the part to come in - daddy let me purchase a new dryer AND washer that won't be here till Friday. So the plan is to get in the part and if we plug it in and it works, cancel the order on the new ones (boo!). But if it does not work then I will be doing cartwheels and celebrating the upcoming arrival of my new bff's! It's the little things. So if you see my driving over a UPS package in my driveway to crush it's contents, just turn and looks away - you saw nothing! I really wish though that things could be made the way the used to be made. You know, to last. My dad's washer and dryer is probably somewhere around 16 years old and still running strong. Granted, this is my dad we are talking about so everything of his lasts forever because everything of his gets pampered. He really takes such good care of his things. And I try. I really do. But with my schedule I'm usually having to get things done quickly so I'm usually slamming stuff around, throwing it here, throwing it there..its a nightmare. So as we wait for this part (or for my NEW set), my clothes are just building up and if you recall from a previous post, that is no bueno. I have to do laundry at least twice a week or it's insane! So tomorrow we'll me making trips back and forth to Papa's house to try and get some laundry done, with 3 kids, and 60% chance of rain - oh joy!

Later this afternoon, I did get some downtime with some great gals. It was my friend Tara's bridal shower and I just had to go! I couldn't wait to see everyone but most importantly, I am so ecstatic about her upcoming wedding that I just couldn't wait to celebrate her! So, I went to drop the girls off with my parents - nurse Eva to sleep so that she'll go with my mom and I was off! I surprised myself by showing up only 15 minutes late this time. That's a record! It was great seeing old friends and old teachers that I haven't seen in years. We had tea and a wonderful spread of food. It wasn't meant to last though because as we were getting ready for games, I got the 9-1-1 call from Nana. Little peach was awake and starting to realize that her mama wasn't there. I played two of the games then hugged some necks, kissed some cheeks, and apologized to the bride. Thankfully I wasn't too far away and by the time I got to her she had fallen asleep on her Nana, little stinker. I know people most think - how inconvenient that she won't be away from you, but I don't feel that way at all. I love that she needs me around because I have such an independent 4 year old that I know how quickly it all turns around. So I'm enjoying it for now.

Day 40: I Heart Running!

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."  Oprah Winfrey

Oh, how I've missed running. So this morning I decided that I was going to head out with my running group and just run a couple of miles just to see who I could pace with possibly during the race. They were all running 10 and I told each of them - no way jose! I wanted to *try* to run maybe 3 miles one direction and then loop back for a total of 6. Remember, I've only ran up to 5 miles at this point so I wasn't even sure how 13 would be attainable. We set out and immediately within 5 seconds of our run, my hair band breaks! And if you've ever seen my hair - there is NO running with it hanging down. I might as well throw a blanket over my head because it would distribute just as much heat. I wanted to stop there but instead called out to the crew asking if anyone had extra hair ties and thankfully one friend let me use her sweat band so I was saved! Because of that little episode it took me a while to find my rhythm and watching my old pace partners get further and further away was a little hard because your mind starts telling you - there they go, look how far back you are, you're never going to be able to finish this. Sad stuff. Just then, two new girls come up behind me and I ask if I can pace with them. I noticed that they were talking to each other and thought - great, they're going to expect me to talk and now I'm never going to make it. But you know what, talking works! I have feedback on my phone that counts miles down for me and before I knew it we were already at 6 miles and I was feeling good. By the time we got to 7 miles though, daddy was calling and asking me to hurry it up because Eva was definitely not having the bottle. So for the remaining 2 miles, I was booking it to get to the car so I could help him out and my heart was racing thinking she was scared that I wasn't there. In the end I ran 9.25 miles and I am so surprised because I never thought I would make it that far but here I am, running my heart out! Now granted, because I haven't ran this kind of distance in such a long time - my body did still take quite a beating and I was hobbling around here for the rest of the evening. I learned that I can't sit in one place for long or else my legs will completely stiffen up and I can't move. I did have my own personal massage from a very cute lil dude...

I told him that my feet hurt and he said "awwww. here mama!" and began rubbing my feet! So I got a little pampering plus a pretty cute view too! Love that boy! After I recovered a bit and assured sweet Eva-cakes that I was not going anywhere, we all left and got donuts to celebrate! I lost somewhere around 1100 calories so I was a-okay with trying to replenish with some sprinkley, sugary,goodness! Next week, the girls are running 11 miles and I may not run all of it but I'm just happy to be out there doing what I love! Till next time...

Day 39: Back yard picnics

My kids LOVE to picnic! And it doesn't even require going any place to do so. Nope, you can throw a blanket down just about anywhere and call it a picnic and they are over the moon. Today was another beautiful day! Perfect weather for playing at the park with friends and having a little picnic, maybe fly a kite. BUUUUTT since one little boy was up at 5:30am and bent on tearing up anything in his path, we decided to stay home and play at our own park. You know, the one in the back yard. I did another workout circuit while listening to some tunes and my babies "helping" me out of each move. Then we went and grabbed some Zoe's, brought it home and "picnic-ed." They were getting along so well and enjoyed running around while listening to some toddler tunes on Pandora. At one point, they were both jumping on the trampoline when "The Wheels On the Bus" song came on and they both stopped and started doing monkeys which is a baby boot camp thing. We have totally brain washed our kids that now simple kids songs have turned into workouts. Love it! And I love these kiddos...

I should add that after their naps since they were being so good, I did take them to a nearby park for some out of the house fun. We also took a long walk which was a sight since all 3 were sitting in the stroller. One lady passing by said "wow, you are dedicated!" You have NO idea...

Day 38: Hitting the open roads...

So as you know, last year I ran my first half marathon and found out two days later I was preggo with lil miss Eva. Well, around September of last year I decided to register for it again knowing full well that I'll have just had a baby but would just run/walk the looooong 13 miles. Right after registration a dear friend of mine announced her engagement and that she'll be having her bachelorette weekend the same as the half. No worries. I hadn't been training up to that point and a girls trip away would be nice so...cancel the half. Well, as mentioned in a previous post - Eva will NOT be away from me. No matter what I do or what I try she is only content for a short while before she wants her mama back. I'm sure she'd be okay but since this trip is so far away, I can't bring myself to do it. The last time Matthew and I went to dinner and had to rush back to the g-rents, her eyes were so swollen from all of the crying that it was just heartbreaking. I can't do it. So rewind...replay - now we are back in it and I've been attempting my open road runs to see what I can do. So far..it's only been 5 miles but I feel stronger on each run. So here goes nothing..St Lukes Half Marathon starts in T-minus 22 days 1 hour and 5 minutes! EEEEEK!

Day 37: What's a little rain??

First off a little rain can be a nightmare! It means no outside play time, no bootcamp (unless we brave the mall), and no errands to run because who in their right mind wants to drag kids in and out of the car?!! The title of this post has a different meaning...you see, since we were stuck inside I figured I'd get a lot of the to-do list items done. Problem was that I had little dude with me and well, he's a boy so he's always getting into something. As I was paying bills and trying to finalize our taxes (yuck) it became apparent that it was quiet, too quite. So mama went running! I found the backdoor wide opened and it's pouring outside and where's my son?! Standing in the middle of the yard with his mouth opened and palms facing the sky! I really wish I would've snapped a pic but instead, because I'm a mama (translation: bubble-burster), I yelled "Brycen Allen! Get in this house!" So here he comes, running full speed and saying "sorry mama, sorry mama" in his scratchy little voice. We get inside and then it hits him...mama just took his fun away!

Pretty sad, huh?! If you look closely enough you can see that he's soaking wet but that's not why he's upset! Nope. Mama is NO fun! I immediately felt guilt because isn't this what part of being a kid, never mind a boy, is for?! Granted, I would never let him run around if there were some kind of terrible storm but this was just a little rain and he was having so much fun...so, take 2!

I felt it was a pretty good lesson for us both. I need to stop being so strict and expecting him to sit in one place for longer then 5 minutes and he now knows that it IS okay to play in the rain...with the proper gear and mama's permission. Side note...the umbrella was tossed about 5 minutes into this but thankfully the rain slowed down so we only got a tad wet! But what's a little rain, eh?

And because I always have to include a little something about our newest love...Eva-cakes got a new hairbow or "bow-bow" as Brycie calls it!

Day 36: Cake for Breakfast

I forgot to mention in my post about the Superbowl that along with all of the fun, we had quite an array of food. We had everything from buffalo wings to thai food. But what everyone was waiting on what Gigi's chocolate cake. It looked sooooo good. Of course leave it to my husband to be first to cut into it but I wasn't complaining, so long as I had a piece. Problem was that Skylar really wanted a piece but it was already way past bedtime and I was not wanting to fight with her to go to bed once she was on another sugar-high. She had a bit of a sad face but handled it so very well so I told her "Skylar, mama is so proud of you for listening and acting like a big girl that I PROMISE you, you can have cake tomorrow. In fact, I'll let you have it for breakfast!" Her eyes lit up and she had a huge grin! The next morning Matthew and I were getting coffee and I was also trying to get breakfast together when out comes my sleeping beauty, half awake and asking "where's my cake?" She was NOT going to let me forget my promise so here she is at 6:30 in the morning enjoying cake for breakfast! Truth be known, had there been two slices I would've been chowing down right beside her. Gigi makes the BESSSSST chocolate cake. In fact I asked Matthew - what is it about Gramma's being able to throw-down on some cake? His response - they pour a lot of love into it. True dat.

Day 35: Mama's Girl

It goes without saying that I LOVE being a mama. From the moment I find out I'm pregnant, I am instantly in love. And when each of my babies were born, they seemed to be instantly in love with me also but then they start slowly becoming daddy's little buddies. They not only become best buds with dad but they also look just like him too! Of course we get a lot of mixed reviews with some saying "oh Sarah, Skylar looks just like you" or "wow, Brycen sure looks like his mama today." So it's iffy but I TOTALLY see their dad in them. So when I found out I was pregnant with Eva, I would often say - this baby is MINE. Skylar has Nana (her bff), Brycen has Daddy and Papa, she's mine! Now it's still too early to be placing any bets but wouldn't ya know - this baby LOOOOOVES me! So much so that if I leave her with someone and she wakes up to find me not there, watch out! She'll scream! Obviously this could pose a problem in the future but for now - I love that she loves me! As any mama knows - it's great to be needed. Especially by our babies. In this pic my dad asked, how did you get her to smile like that? I told him I was being silly but truth is, nothing. I look at her at she lights up which just melts my heart! I love my little Eva-cakes! Or "deep-dish" as her daddy calls her.

Day 33 AND Day 34

oops! I'm slippin here...the weekend is always a tough one to keep up with because I have my 3 babies and the man-child to chase after! ;)

Saturday was a good day. The weather was absolutely purrrrrfect and there was no way we were going to stay inside. However, because we have such a large crew there is no last minute planning anymore. We can't just say - hey! let's go to the park!..and head out. Nope. It takes getting everyone dressed, packing diapers, packing a change of clothes, snacks and waters, pacifiers and blankets. It's a lot. But we didn't want to waste away this beautiful day so we went with it. Since Skylar was already at her grandparents house, we decided to go to their park. We got there, changed her and headed out. Even Papa came with. Skylar rode her bike (verrrrrry slowly) while daddy carried Bryce on his shoulders (urging Skylar to go faster), and I pushed an empty stroller. It was a sight. We FINALLY made it to the park and the kids had fun. Daddy even found a football and he and Papa took turns passing the ball around...you know, to get in the superbowl spirit!

Speaking of Superbowl...now on to Sunday, my parents had their annual superbowl party and we all had loads of fun. Let's rewind a bit...first, I started my morning out with a long run so I was ready for a break. I always get a break at my parents house because they LOVE their grandbabies. After the run, we took Brycie to get his hair cut. His hair was looking lovely and flowy..all he needed was a hairbow to which he told me "no mama. no bow-bow!" He looks so cute with his hair trimmed and I would've snapped pics during his cut but my phone is full..imagine that. grrrrr. BUT! Auntie got some at the football party...she's always rescuing us when it comes to pics! Here are my BEAUTIFUL babes..

LOVE THEM! I just can't believe how much my little boy has grown up lately. I mean, he really is losing his baby features and becoming a little kid now. Tear. Of course Auntie got one of him acting silly too...

I am so blessed with these babies!!! After pics (we definitely did thesee first), the kids had fun chasing each other, eating food, chasing each other, drinking Papa's mountain dew, swinging from the ceiling fan, chasing each other, etc. It was nuts!!! Bryce took to calling his cousin, Jack - "Jacket" which we all thought was cute seeing how Skylar called him "Josh" for the longest time. And somehow Auntie has now become "chi-chi" which I'm not sure she's liking too much. As you can imagine, we didn't get to really watch too much of the game because there was a lot of taming the crazies going on but it was still a great Sunday. Skylar kissed me goodnight and said "mama, can I go to Jack's house next year pleeeeeease?" Still gotta work on the concept of time...she loves that boy!

Day 32: Showing our love...

In a previous post I mentioned a friend of mine who suffered a stroke and is now unable to move or speak. She's doing so much better thanks to prayers and an amazing support system but their bills are piling up and since I don't have free time to help out physically, I thought I could teach Skylar a lesson in helping out in other ways. A few of her friends have had shirts made while others have offered to send the proceeds from their business to the family. I went with both in order to help out and also it's a reminder for me to pray for her often. We bought shirts and a necklace that has now been called our "Holly" necklace. The actual name of the necklace is called "Soar" and we all thought it was fitting since it reminded us of the verse in Isaiah: "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." So now every time I wear my necklace, I think of her and pray for her.
The other thing my family opted to do was to purchase shirts and sweaters being made on her behalf and this is where I was able to involve Skylar. Since they make shirts in her size, I got us matching ones and tried my best to explain to her what the shirts represent. At this age she is more excited about the fact that we match but each time we wear it, I remind her too to pray for our sweet friends.