Typical Conversations

Maybe it's because she is the middle child. Maybe it's because she is a girl. Maybe it's the red hair.

Who knows?

Lilly-Belle likes to have control. She is fiercely independent and tests me on the daily. I have no desire to squelch these dominant traits, but it certainly makes things interesting. Meal times are especially fun.

Here are a few typical conversations:

Me: What you like for lunch? You can choose between turkey slices and a cheese stick or ABCs with meatballs. (I try to give a choice so she has some input. Not sure if it helps.)
LB: Or a sandwich?
Me: Or a sandwich.
LB: Okay, I'll have turkey and cheese.

LB: Can I have something to drink?
Me: Water or milk?
LB: Or flavored water?
Me: Sure.
LB: Milk, please.

I see a pattern. Do you? This is how it usually goes. Unless it is something she really wants, but she knows I will not approve.

LB: Mommy, I'll just get me a snack, okay.
Me: Lilly, what are you getting?
LB: I'll show you in a minute. Okay.
Me: Show me now.
LB: I'm just going to eat a few of these sprinkles and then I'll eat my yogurt. Okay. See, I got my snack all by myself.

She really likes to get into the baking baskets and sniff out the sprinkles or chocolate chips. She gets exactly what she is after under the guise of "doing it by herself" so I don't have to get it.

I have to admire her skills. She likes to throw in a few "okays" which aren't used as questions, but rather reassurances that she's got it covered. I may have met my match!

Just A Thought

I've read several things lately that really stirred a response in me. There's no need to be too specific, but they were all about motherhood. And what it means to be a good mother. I guess these feelings are amplified around the holidays when there is so much going on and people feel the pressure to begin new traditions, continue old traditions, attend functions, etc.

Here's what I think. There are 24 hours in the day. Everyone has 24 hours. You can choose what you want to do with those 24 hours.

You want to decorate every room in your house in preparation for the holidays? Great! Do it!
You have no interest in decorating anything...well, maybe just the Christmas tree? Perfect! Do it!

You want to pick up a treat from the bakery or supermarket? Excellent! They're delicious!
You want to bake brownies and cookies and cakes and candies. Awesome! Please share!

You want to go spend a few hours in the gym or take a nap.
Put on makeup or not.
Cook a homemade dinner or grab takeout.
Buy a new outfit for yourself or the latest toy for your child.

These are all okay. There is no right choice among them.

We all have 24 hours. Choose what "you" want to do with it. Don't judge what others do with theirs...let's celebrate each other. Being a mother doesn't mean being a martyr. Find the balance that works for you and your family.

One of my favorite coffee mugs says it best, "Do what you love. Love what you do."

Being A Stay At Home Mom

These are a few things I need to remember for myself, but that others also need to know.

-Not every day is full of sunshine, craft projects, and trips to get icecream. Some days are, but many days are not.

-Some days are full of endless laundry and dishes, whiny children, dragging all three babes with you on every errand, parking lot nursing sessions, cleaning up disaster area bedrooms, interrupted naptimes, and if we're talking about yesterday then it also means helping the refrigerator repairman do his job with a baby on your hip, two inquisitive children and one crazy dog looking on.

-Some days are frustrating because your "clients" are often unreasonable. Let's just say it was a long day at the office yesterday.

-Thankfully I have great co-workers. Like a Mama who will meet me in the Walmart parking lot to sit with the children so I can run in alone turning a usual 30 minute trip into a 5 minute one. Or a cute husband who plays Fifa Soccer with the Monkey because that's just one thing Mommy can't do.

At the end of the day it is so worth it. When one falls asleep in your arms as you nurse him, one calls out for you during a thunderstorm and wraps her little arms around your neck for comfort, and one lets you tickle his back because he's having a hard time falling asleep (in anticipation of the tooth fairy's second visit this week).

Being a stay at home mom is hard work. But it is the job that I am most passionate about and feel most grateful to have!

Every Little Moment

I cherish every moment with this little guy. There are so many thing I love about him that my heart is full.

 The bow of his lips. The way his cheeks remind me of a full moon. How he digs his toes into me while he eats. The way his body curves into mine so perfectly. Sometimes I wish I could keep him little, but I know that's not possible so I'll just cherish every little moment.

Parenting (a redhead) is Hard Work!

I should start by saying that I love this little girl with every bone in my body, but heaven knows she tests the limits of my patience sometimes.

I've said it before...this poem perfectly describes my Lilly-Belle:
There once was a girl with a strawberry curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
And when she was good, she was very very good,
And when she was bad, she was horrid!

She can be the sweetest, most loving little doll but her independent spirit will just about drive you insane at times. She's not mean or violent or rude. She simply does what she wants. Period.

We've tried a multitude of things to try and correct her behavior, but none seem to have a lasting effect. At this point, I'd like to say that she is a sweet angel at school, so thank goodness for that, but we've got to change some things at home.

The teacher in me decided to implement a behavior chart.

 I'm thinking something visual and where she has to physically move her butterfly down will help her see and remember the choices she's made. If she stays on the first three steps then she will earn a sticker for the day. Three "happy days" (not necessarily in a row) and she can get a little treat like a piece of candy or and extra cartoon. I also want the time out to be a way to think about what she's doing rather than a punishment. The punishment begins when she loses tv time or has to go to bed early. No smileys on these days. We shall see how this works.

While I was in chart making mode, I crafted this little meal chart too.

My darling is a perpetual snacker. She will eat one thing after another if she isn't fully engaged by me (which is hard for me with an infant), so now she can see what our meals look like. After each meal or snack she moves her spoon. And this way we don't need to have a yogurt, then a banana, then an oatmeal cookie, and then what can I eat now?

Like I said, parenting is hard work...but it's my favorite job ever!

Sweet Baby!

Here are the photos from Samuel's newborn photo shoot. They just melt my heart!

A big Thank You to Melissa Sheets for such wonderful pictures. Visit her here: www.reallifephotography.org

Life With Three

Time for blogging is scarce these days as our family adjusts to having a new baby in the home. Simply keeping up with laundry is a full time job...I did four loads yesterday and there's one in the wash now. Enough excuses as to why I haven't written lately. Here are a few truths about life with three.

-Timing is everything. This is especially true when it comes to lunch and naps. It is like a carefully choreographed dance in order to get both fed and asleep so that they have a good nap before I wake them to go pick up Colson at school.

-#2 will not be like #1. Colson was always so patient while I had to feed Lilly if he needed something (snack, video put on, etc). Lilly is not so patient. If I'm unavailable, she'll simply do it herself...which usually results in her climbing on cabinets, turning on water, or some other dangerous/messy action.

-Going anywhere is like a three ring circus. First, we all have to pile into the car (careful to make sure the one in the middle gets in before the two in the outside seats. Get everyone buckled, find a place for the massive diaper bag, warn everyone not to touch each other, and off we go. Then, the second act occurs once we arrive. Adults out, stroller out, baby out, and then Colson and LB out (which has to occur last so we make sure LB doesn't take off across the parking lot). It makes me tired thinking about it!

-And then there are moments where I have Sam on my lap on the couch or in the bed and Colson and Lilly-Belle snuggle up beside me and talk to their little Sam-a-do, each trying to get a smile or for him to reach for their finger. These moments calm me from all of the crazy moments. They warm my heart and make me so thankful that I have a life with three. A busy, crazy, lovely life with three.

Welcome, Samuel George!

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. I was 34 weeks, 6 days in my last weekly pregnancy post. I took a picture at 35 weeks, 6 days, but was feeling pretty crummy so I just never got around to writing out my post. Here's the belly!

When I went to my weekly doctor's appointment that week, they were out of my 17p shot. So...I used a progesterone cream for one week and then I went back when I was 36 weeks, 1day and they were still out of the shots. We decided to just be done with them since I was out of any "danger" zone for preterm delivery. Then the waiting began.  I had several nights where I had contractions fairly consistently, but nothing that ever became stronger or closer together.  On Saturday (36weeks, 5days) I went with my Mama and my Mother-in-law to tour the Holiday House that the Charity League decorates each year and I answered lots of questions about "how much longer". I really felt like it could be any time, but I knew that I may still have several weeks yet.

That night I went to bed and awoke around 1:00am with contractions. Nothing new. I thought these were the same contractions that I had been having every night when I'd wake up. But then I couldn't get back to sleep...I tried eating a snack, walking around, and finally took a bath. And they never quit. We decided to call my Mama around 3:00am so I could go into the hospital and be checked. She came and stayed with Colson and Lilly-Belle and we headed to the hospital.

I went into the triage room about 3:30am and they hooked me up to the monitors and confirmed that I was contracting. They checked me and I was about 3cm dilated. They decided to keep me for about an hour and see if I was making any progress...an hour later I was 4cm. This was it!

Belly at 36weeks, 6days

At this point, Mama had called Nick's parents who came and stayed with the children so she could come to the hospital. Mama also called the massage therapist I'd been seeing so she could come in to help with my labor. They moved me to a labor and delivery room and I settled in. Tiffany, the massage therapist, came in about 5:30 and spent the next 4 hours working on my pressure points to help move my labor along. I was making good progress, and it was so neat to see how the reflexology really increased the intensity of my contractions. I opted to pass on the epidural (since I had Colson and Lilly-Belle without one, I felt like I would be fine).

About 9:30, Tiffany had to leave because her family was lighting the Advent candle at church that day. When she left, I was 6cm and I stayed there for a while. Since my contractions had slacked off a bit, Nick decided to make a quick run to get some breakfast and check on the children at his parents. Not long after that I started to have some painful contractions so I had Mama call him to come back. He was coming back into the hospital about 10:20am, just as the doctor was arriving. My midwife was in Texas visiting family, so another doctor from the practice was going to deliver ButterBean. He came in and checked me and I was at 7cm. At this point, he said he would break my water and I'd probably have a baby by early afternoon. Early afternoon!?! I was in quite a bit of pain, so the thought of several more hours sounded daunting. It must have shown on my face because he asked if I'd like a little something to "take the edge off". He said I'd still feel everything, but I would just relax. Yes, please.

Now my water has been broken and the nurse is just putting the medicine into my IV. As soon as this is done, I tell her I need to push. I can feel the medicine kicking in...which made me feel more drunk than relaxed. Nurse Nancy says not to push and she gets the Doctor to check me. I'm now at 10cm. I think I could have handled the 5 minutes it took me to go the last 3cm, but we had no idea how fast I would go.  Things get set up as I keep telling myself not to push and then I distinctly remember the doctor looking at me and saying "You're going to push the baby out now." I was thinking, "Why didn't anyone tell me I could push?" (thank you Stadol) Nick was in position to "catch" the baby and I pushed through two or three contractions and out came a precious little boy!

He was absolutely perfect and the moment he came out all I could think was, "It's you. It was you all along. My little boy!" We had some bonding time before they took him for a bath and to do all of his checks and such. I just kept thinking how perfect he was. My little Sam. He was born at 10:54am, weighing 6lb, 9oz, and 19.5inches long.

We stayed in the hospital until Monday evening and then we were released to go home. From day one he has been the sweetest little baby.

The first two weeks were definitely an adjustment...but not for any reason due to Sam. Nick and the kids were sick that entire time and when he was just a week old I got mastitis and some pretty bad baby blues. All I can say is thank goodness he is such a good baby. By Christmas things were getting better. I was so thankful we were all better and could enjoy the holidays.

The days have just flown by and now our little man is one month old. How is that even possible?!? Here is his One Month Stats:
Weight: 8lb 7oz
Length: 20.5inches
Sleep: About every 3 hours, but will sometimes have a 4 hour stretch.
Awake: Is very alert first thing in the morning and then for a good amount of time in the evening.

Sam looks a lot like his big brother Colson. He has the sweetest temperament and is showered with hugs and kisses from the entire family!

Looking Up

It just melts my heart to see the way she looks up to her big brother.

I love the way he is so gentle and loving (even if he aggravates the mess out of her other times).

I love how she is so fiercely independent, yet still looks up to her big brother.

Seeing them together makes my heart swell and I look forward to adding another stair step to our family.

True Story...How I found out I was pregnant

Finding out I was pregnant this time had to be the most bizarre experience ever. It wasn't that it came as a surprise (we has been trying for several months), it was just completely strange.

It was Easter Sunday and we went to bed, planning on a big trip to the zoo the following day with my mom and the kids. Then, in the middle of the night I woke up to the sound of coyotes howling in my backyard. Not off in the distance, but like right in my backyard. I sat straight up in bed and Nick woke up too and after listening to them and deciding that we weren't hallucinating, he got out of bed and turned on the flood light in the back. The howling stopped, but we were wide awake.

As Nick was looking on the internet to see if we did in fact have coyotes in our yard, I remembered a vivid dream I was having before I awoke. In my dream, I had taken a pregnancy test and I was looking at it...it was positive.

I am a big believer in dreams (it is the meaning behind my tattoo) so I went and promptly took a pregnancy test. Of course, it was positive! I made Nick look at it and nod yes that he saw the second line too, and then I attempted to go back to sleep.  I told my mom the next day so she too could verify that she saw the faint pink line, but then we waited a few weeks to tell others because I found out so very early (I was only 3 weeks along).

 It's been 10 weeks since that night and I am now entering my second trimester. So far, this pregnancy is different than either of my other two so no guesses as to if it's a boy or girl. I think we may let this one be a surprise! 

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Just Thinking...

I think spring fever (or something) has hit me full force. I had to get outside and eat lunch today because I felt like the walls were closing in around me. The day started with me being quite snippy and I think I can partly blame it on being forced to spend such a beautiful day indoors. All I wanted to do was go get my kiddos, grab a lemonade from the drug store, and head to the park.

Earlier in the week I was talking with a friend about someone she knew who was going to homeschool her children. I felt jealous. Yesterday I spoke with another mother who was homeschooling her son. Now that seed is planted. I asked Monkey if he'd like for me to be his teacher and he gave an enthusiastic, "Yes!" and said that a classmate doesn't come to school anymore because her mom is her teacher now.  I have to say that I'd never dream of pulling him out now (he has the MOST amazing teacher), and probably not next year for certain reasons, but maybe the following year...maybe. The RedHead is definitely not sold on it.

All I can do is pray that we have the wisdom to make the right choices for our children and family, but homeschooling sure would have made it easier to ditch the four walls and head out into this beautiful weather today! :)

That Little Voice

Right now I'm sitting on the couch with my sick little girl as she naps.

6:30am: She wakes up, feels a little warm, but temp is barely 99. A little voice says, "This isn't good" but a louder voice says, "You've got to get to work." 

9:30am: The little voice says, "Check on your baby." I call. No answer. I go back to teaching.

9:45am: Call comes through to my room. The sitter says her temp has suddenly spiked to 103 and she's thrown up several times.  That little voice is screaming at me now. "Why did you leave her? You knew something wasn't right."

I leave work and go to pick her up. I feel sick myself knowing that I wasn't there for her. I know that she was well cared for, but I feel like it's a battle I fight all the time. Keep that little voice quiet.  Ignore the feeling in my gut because I have other responsibilities to attend to.

That, my friends, is mommy guilt. And I don't want anyone to say that I shouldn't feel guilty. I want to listen to that voice and follow that gut feeling. Reality says work, because I actually do love my job, but that little voice says be with your babies.  Maybe one day my little voice and reality will align.

Nerdy Girl

Yesterday was just one of those days.  My mama and I took Bug to get her 2 year picture made and she lasted all of about 4 minutes.  We quickly picked the one decent photo that didn't have half deflated mylar balloons and crumpled gift bags in the picture and got out of there.

The Monkey was whiny and Bug ran around every place we went like a bull in a china shop. She even managed to throw a bag of goldfish across the restaurant and it landed on an elderly lady's table who was none to happy about Bug's antics.  However, we did end the day with some fun at the pool after the RedHead got home. (Oh, but then bedtime came to a nasty end at 10pm after a hour of struggle.)

This morning wasn't looking much better when the Bug said/screamed the words, "MILK MOMMY" about 100 times in the first 10 minutes I was awake. But then I remembered I got to go pick up my new glasses today! Many will hate on them, but I love them!

Today's ˈaʊtfɪt

The Bug photobombing my picture!

Dress: Mercer & Madison

Belt: Forever 21 (only $2.5!)
Shoes: Jack Rogers Navajo
Glasses: not the new ones :)

Here's the nerdy girl glasses

Happy Little Friday friends!