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.