Fall

Fall is a favorite time in our house.  We look forward to it all year long :)  brown leaves, apple cider, hot chocolate, lots of baking, crock pot meals, scary movies and so much more!!!  We love it!
The older the kids get, the more fun we have making memories.  Last night we carved our pumpkin, roasted the seeds and baked cookies.  At one point all 5 of us were in the kitchen, and though baby boy was crying at our feet, the girls were helping us and it was such a sweet time.  It got crazy, and I got a bit overwhelmed as I often to do, but the girls had a blast and overall it was a nice time.

Sometimes making memories can be exhausting with 3 young kids.  Baby boy is still at the age that he can't help and often cries if no one is giving him attention.  So what starts out as something fun to do, leads to a stressful situation.  I get overwhelmed easily, but the girls always end up saying "it's the best day ever" which makes it all worth it.

Baking goods!

I have never enjoyed baking, it's messy and required a LOT of time... I love cooking, but I always "bake" boxed brownies and whatnot b/c it's fast. 

Last week daddy was out of town and I wanted the girls to do something fun.  We had all the supplies for making chocolate chips cookies from scratch.  So we did :)  I measured and prepared everything and put in bowls, and then the girls dumped it all in the bowl.  They really enjoyed it, and so did I.  And the best part, homemade cookies from scratch are SO good!!!!  We'll be making it again soon. 

Here's the recipe for the cookies.

 I also found another recipe on pinterest for donuts.  I was a bit skeptical because it's just frozen biscuits, fried, then dipped in butter and sugar/cinnamon mixture.  But OH MY WORD it is SO good.  It's a much requested item in this house now! 

Here's the recipe.

Pinterest has been a great source of recipes and many more ideas for me! I love finding something yummy and trying it out!  Hope you guys enjoy!

Be still my heart

It took him a while, but at 16 months, my sweet boy started walking, and it's the sweetest!  I love this picture of my guys, they are truly the best!!! 

Family Trip!

Last week we spent the week at Disney.  It is our favorite place to be :) 

It was so fun to visit the parks, but our favorite thing to do was relax by the pool.  It was also the girls favorite place! 

I already miss the pool and can't wait to go back next year. 

Last week while at Disney, baby sister finally took her floats off and learned to hold her breath under water.  She was so proud of herself!  And mommy is so proud :) 

Baby boy also hit a huge milestone!  At 15 months, he still doesn't walk.  He has been working so hard on standing on his own and walking.  He took his first unassisted steps at the Magic Kingdom.  Mommy was so happy.  He's been working so hard and has been taking steps a ton!  Still not walking, but we're making progress :)  I look forward to seeing him walking all over the place.  Though I'm a bit scared because he already creates havoc w/out walking. lol 

This election

This will be my first presidential election since becoming an American citizen.  I have been in this country through over 2 decades and 3 presidents.

Last night, my husband and I sat and watched the Republican debate.  Now, I don't usually keep up with politics mainly b/c I never got to vote.  My husband informed me that now that I'm a voter, I need to do my homework. :)
So I sat excitedly and watched.  After almost an hour, I was disillusioned... It was literally the Donald Trump show.  Now, everyone is entitled to their choice, their opinion.  I personally do NOT like Trump and still think of him running as a joke.  I feel like he knows how to talk to the people and get on their good sides with the issues.  He said a lot of things that I've thought myself.  BUT his ideas on executing those ideas, are horrid!  He does not sound like a president, not even a politician.
There were many great men on that stage.  And I'm sad that the lesser known names didn't get a big chance to introduce themselves and their ideas.  The "little guys" always get overlooked in these elections, and they're usually the ones that have great ideas on how to run the country and would make great leaders... So I sat and watched..

I went to bed thinking about it.  I started thinking about who I'd vote for.  Now, there's 1 guy I know I want in the white house.  Sadly, he is polling low, so I thought, well what's the point in voting for him if he won't win.  I'll vote for one of the bigger names who has a chance.  Then I thought, "how many people think that way"... How many people refuse to vote for the "little guy" b/c he won't win?!  If we all REALLY listened to them, most people would agree with the men who have no chance of winning.  And if we all actually voted for them, he'd actually HAVE a chance.

My hope for this election, is that people won't have stars in their eyes.  That people will do their homework and study each guy and learn their policies.  My hope is that people will vote for the guy they want, and not just a name.  This country was founded by amazing men who had so many great plans.  There are men out there, men who were on that stage last night, who share in those thoughts of our founders.  Let's vote for them!

I can't wait to vote.  I am not 100% sure yet who I'll vote for.  But there are at least 3 names that I know for a FACT I will NOT vote for!

sweet baby boy

I have the sweetest baby boy!  He is 14.5 months old and the longest "baby" I've ever had.  What I mean is this, at that age my girls were walking, running around and also talking.  They could speak several words and get their point across.  I look at pictures of them at that age and they look so "grown"...  Baby boy is NONE of that!
At 14.5 months old, he crawls, FAST, everywhere.  He has also recently learned to climb up our stairs and squeals in delight every time!  He knows 1 word, Dada, and knows very well who that is.  He knows by the chimes of the door opening when dada comes home, and does his military crawl at super speed to get to dada.  Don't be mistaken though, as much as he loves his dada, he is still a mama's boy!  Which shocks me that he won't say mama.  sigh  He doesn't walk, he cruises around the furniture, but he refuses to stand on his own and walk.  In fact, when we hold his hands to make him walk, he throws himself on the floor.  I have no idea why.  Part of me loves that he's still such a baby :)  I love holding him!  But part of me is ready to hear him say my name, to run towards me!  I know he'll do it all in his own time.

My boy LOVES his food!  At his 1 year well check, he had lost 2 pounds, and you could see the weight melting off him.  He was a super chunk and at that point, other than cheeks, he had no chunk! I stopped nursing and put him on milk, and after months of battling his eating issues, he finally started eating solid food without choking and puking it! And let me tell you, he gets hangry and it's so funny!  He is a true carnivore, his favorite is chicken! He loves sweets (we put a limit on that for sure), loves strawberries, goldfish, yogurt, mashed potatoes....

It's interesting to see the differences b/t him and the girls.  He is doing it all on his own time, his own way!  He is a true joy to our family and we can't get enough of our sweet baby boy!!!!

Back to school

I have been blessed with a wonderful gift and "job".  And although some days I complain, I am so beyond thankful that I get to stay at home with my 3 children and homeschool.  This week we started our school year.  This year, I get to officially school my 2 oldest!  Seems impossible!  I have a lot of plans for this school year, and hopefully with baby brother being a bit older, we can have an easier more flexible school year :)

This big girl is in 2nd grade!  Seeing all she's accomplished and learned makes my heart happy.  I love being the one that sees a smile on her face when she 'gets' something.  Or being the one to help her overcome her frustrations with something.  She grew so much last school year, I look forward to all she'll learn this year. :)  She's developing her "favorite" things to learn, dinosaurs and Egypt are some of her faves ;) I'm working on teaching her to study more about items that interest her.  She still loves drawing and creating her own books.  And she still wants to work with animals in some capacity when she's older.  

Although she's done school work for the past 2 years, this cutie is officially in PreK this year and excited to have her own curriculum.  This is our first year reusing our first set of books we ever bought with the Sonlight curriculum.  We had started big sis with Prek and now baby sis gets to use it.  She loves all the workbooks, and we're working on sitting still whenever mommy has to do the reading portion.  She's doing really well though!  So proud of her! 

She asked me what she could be when she grew up, I said since she loves to sit quietly, alone and do puzzles, she could be a diagnostician.  I proceeded to explain what that was, and she loved it b/c she wants to help people get better. ;)  Love it!!!! 

Watching my babies grow is bittersweet and I always struggle with it.  But I am so thankful for this new chapter and for having 2 sweet kids in school!  Praying for a great school year and that the Lord uses me to bring Him glory as I school my children! 

23!!!!!

23 years ago today, the cutest, chubbiest baby boy was born.  At 10 years old, I was indifferent to becoming a big sister, but over time, I grew into my role.  We celebrated his birthday this weekend, we went to a restaurant he'd been dying to try, just the grown ups, and it was a nice time.  This birthday is super special b/c we didn't know we'd even get to celebrate it 2 months ago.  We are all so thankful God answered our prayers and gave him back to us!  

Happy birthday baby brother!!!!! 

2 months later...

exactly 2 months ago, I was awoken at 3:20 am by a phone call from my mom.  She NEVER calls me, and of course, never in the middle of the night.  I immediately jumped up and answered the phone to hear the most horrific news.  "your brother is in critical condition in the icu, please come"  I didn't even care to ask what happened, I flew out of bed, got dressed, and left.  I live 15 minutes from the wonderful hospital he had been taken to.  LONGEST drive of my life.  I prayed and cried, but nothing could prepare me for the first time I walked into that room.  You know those scenes in movies where someone is hooked up to machines and dying.  Yeah, that is NOTHING like real life.  In real life, you see machines, a ton of them, doing the work for the dying person's body.  you see the lifeless form of someone you love, the smell of death over them.  You cry until your entire body hurts and just when you can't handle it anymore, you cry some more.  You can't eat b/c your stomach has a permanent knot.  Time slows down.  You are filled with hopelessness.  You hug your parents, your sister, your children, your spouse.. Your friends all call you, text you, fb you, constantly telling you they are praying.  You hold your dying brother's hand, you caress his hair, and you miss him.  I dreamed he'd get better.  I longed for it, I prayed for it.  I dreamed he'd wake up, get better, come home, meet the girl of his dreams, get married, become a dad.  Oh how I longed for his wedding day. I pictured it, me sobbing as his bride walked down the aisle.  I still long for that day.  

And in the midst of all that despair, you start feeling hopeful.  In the ICU, you live minute by minute. And with each passing one, he got better.  And after 8 days of being in a drug induced coma, they were able to wake him up.  And he was ours again.  And his journey had just begun.  One more week in the hospital, and they sent him home.  With a walker, and a cane b/c he could no longer hold his body weight.  He was so skinny, his shorts couldn't stay up without the aid of a belt.  Eating exhausted him.  His life became appointment after appointment and the future seemed bleak.  

And then 1 month later, it's almost as if nothing had ever happened.  ALMOST.  He could walk a bit better.  He could drive again.  But everything exhausted him.  Seeing your baby brother suffering is unbearable.  But he continued to improve.  

And here we are, 2 months later.  He is finally back to work, part time because he still gets very tired. But still, he is HERE.  With us.  And I'm thankful.  

Next week, we celebrate his 23rd birthday.  We are all looking forward to it.  One of our fears was celebrating this birthday without him.  And yet now we get to hug him, spoil him with gifts and just love on him.  And I cannot wait!  I PRAY we have many more birthdays together.  

I LOVE my baby brother, more than he'll ever know.  

2 months ago I almost lost him.  It devastated the entire family and I'll forever be haunted by the image of him lying there, lifeless.  I'm haunted by that phone call, by that first drive.  That whole event changed me and I still fear for him.  For now, I will focus on being thankful that I can go birthday gift shopping and get all his favorites. :) 

growing up is hard to do!

Lately it seems all of our kids have hit major growth spurts in one way or another.
Starting with Big Sis:
At 6.5 years old, she hit a HUGE growth spurt about 3 weeks ago.  She's always been tall, but man, she just shot up!  She has outgrown all her clothes and shoes.  She's always had long legs, but they seem to have gotten longer, and keeping them covered is quite a challenge!  She's also completed 1st grade, and is SUPER excited for 2nd grade.  We recently received our 2nd grade curriculum and reorganized and set up our school room.  She loves how we have everything set up and can't wait to start school again.  Though we haven't really taken a break from school in general.  She's been doing math through the summer and reading.  We've been trying to encourage her to read more chapter books, and finding stuff she likes is challenging.  But trying to teach her to love reading has reawakened my love for reading.  So that's fun :)
She also finally let go of her fears and let her Nona teach her to swim.  The girl is like a fish in the pool now!  It's bittersweet to see how grown up she is all of a sudden.

Then there's baby sis:
This girl will be 4 in 2 weeks!  She is excited to formally start PreK with mommy.  Her books came in the mail and she couldn't' wait till August.  So we've already started school with her. lol  She cannot wait to learn to read like her sister.  She is really coming out of her shell and it's neat to see her little personality.  She's still painfully shy, but she's less of an agoraphobic at least.  She is starting to claim her independence and wanting to do more and more on her own.  She also stepped in her role as big sister pretty well and loves to help with baby brother!

Baby brother:
Good grief, this boy is keeping me on my toes!  He is EVERYWHERE, though not walking yet.  He gets into everything and is ALL boy!  I'm not used to this.  He's still my sweetie and I love him SO much!  About 2 weeks ago we stopped nursing.  Definitely bittersweet for mommy.  I introduced milk into his diet, and once he got a taste for it, he no longer wanted to nurse.  It was a gradual process and neither of us realized that our last time would be our last.  But I know I wasn't producing enough for him anymore.  I still hold him while he drinks his milk and it's still a super sweet time, I just stare into his eyes and love on him while he drinks his milk. :)  He is still an excellent sleeper and I'm super thankful for that!  He loves playing in my tupperware cabinet and loves his cars.  I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast!

Watching my babies grow make me happy and sad.  It's so hard to see how FAST time flies.  But I am thankful I get to watch them grow into little people.  They are so fun and I'm so thankful I get to be their mom!

cleaning up...

I have been on a cleaning/purge mode the past few weeks.  I've gone through the kids closets, I have thoroughly organized and purged the entire kitchen, my cabinets look amazing, like, everything is organized like never before. :)  It feels good to get rid of all the JUNK and stuff we haven't used in a while.  Perhaps the biggest mess we had was the garage.  When we moved 2 years ago,  the garage was never fully unpacked b/c I didn't want to bring all that crap into the new house.  Then I got pregnant 2 months after that and pregnancy for me equals a lot of bedrest and moderation... SO it got out of control.  Time went by, newborn, 3 kids, more mess... SO last Friday, hubby had the day off and together we tackled the garage.  Our van was FULL from front to back of stuff to take to Goodwill.  Now, the garage still needs work, but we had to stop due to a full trashcan.. lol

This is the before... I still have no idea HOW it got out of control.

AFTER- like I said, still needs work, but it no longer looks like an obstacle course of crap lol

On top of getting the house back in shape, I cleaned out our van.  I LOVE cleaning our car. lol  Now I still need to vacuum it, but other than that it's clean.  I also looked up how to clean the headlights on pinterest.  Toothpaste, some scrubbing and BAM, shiny headlights :)  

1st Birthday

On June 6th we celebrated our little man's birthday.  It came on a Saturday, we kept it simple.  After naptime, we had lunch, then headed on to the zoo.  It was a HOT day, but we made the most of it.  Then we ended up at the kids favorite place, Barberitos where we had quesadilla.  Little man had his first quesadilla.  We came home for cupcake and gifts.  He gobbled his cupcake, he loves sweets. lol  It was just a simple day celebrating our sweet boy.

His birthday party with family was supposed to be that Sunday, the 7th.  But due to a huge family emergency, we postponed it till the end of the month.  We almost didn't do anything, but the family keeps asking for a party, so we'll do a small and simple one.  It's been such an emotional and busy month that I just don't even have it in me to plan a party... Alas, it'll be fun to celebrate our boy with the family this weekend! :) 

I can hardly believe this boy is 1!!!! This year FLEW by!  At 12 months:

-he wears size 12-18 months

-he wears size 3 shoes

-he wears size 3 diapers

-still takes 2 naps (lasting 3-4 hours)

-loves playing peekaboo

-is cruising and finally pulling up using furniture.  He's been my late bloomer but he's getting there

-is getting into EVERYTHING

-is a big mama's boy (and I love it)

We have his 1 year well check later this week.  I'm curious to know his stats :)

1 year ago- reminiscing

As I plan little man's 1st birthday, I start thinking about our past year.  It is crazy to think about life a year ago.  I was at the end of my pregnancy and beyond ready to meet my newest little love.  I couldn't even think about life with a son.  I was at my biggest and could barely get around anymore. lol  I was scared of gaining more weight and nervous about how life would be with 3 kids.  I also remember practically living at the doctor's, I think I was going 2x a week!  Each time I hoped my doctor would say "let's go ahead and take him out" but he never did...
All that seems like forever ago!  I miss being pregnant, I keep telling people that his pregnancy and birth all seems like it was a dream, this past year was a blur!  Baby boy turning 1 is bittersweet, he's my last baby and I'll always miss the baby stage.  But he's at such a fun age and now I get to watch him grow and become an active little boy.

I'm looking forward to all the new firsts with him and so excited to celebrate his first birthday with our family!!!

Mommy/daughter date

Baby boy is almost 1 and this year has been a busy one!  With 3 kids, it's hard to find any alone time.  I try to take the girls out here and there, but never 1 on 1 time.  Big sis is a big daddy's girl, where as the 2 younger ones are more attached to mama.  But lately big sis had been asking for alone time with me.  Weeks went by and we were busy, and then one Monday this past week I was finally able to take her out.  She was SO excited.  I told her we'd see every store in the mall (her dream).  I made the whole night about her.  We started off at Barnes and Noble for her favorite drink, then all the stores she asked to go into.  

Claire's is one of her favorite places to browse :)  We also tried out a new store, Justice.  There we bought a new dress that looks gorgeous on her! She also got some lipgloss and other girly things.  She was so excited to get some 1 on 1 shopping time with mommy.  And you know what, I LOVED our time together so much.  She was such a little lady and it's so different to spend time with just her instead of 3 kids together. 

Baby sis was so upset that she didn't get to go on a date on Monday.  She said she didn't want to stay at home with the boys. lol  And as much as it pained me to say no to her, I really needed that 1 on 1 time with each girl.  So she and I went out on Tuesday.  She requested Chick Fil A for dinner, and as much as I didn't want to eat out, I of course obliged her request.  Afterwards we went to Old Navy where she got to pick out a new dress.  It was so cute and she was adamant about getting the one she picked out, and it was on sale so I happily bought it for her.  We then went to Claire's and Justice b/c she asked to go :)  

This girl loves girly things :)  

2 days, 2 dates and I had a great time with both girls.  Being with them individually is so amazing and it's so needed!  I definitely want to have more dates with them and go on girly shopping trips.  They had fun and got to have me to themselves, but I had fun too and realized that I need that 1 on 1 time with them.

Mother's Day 2015

This year for Mother's day I had an epiphany.  Maybe I'm slower than most in this matter. lol  I remember my first Mother's Day after becoming a mom.  My firstborn was 6 months old, hubby took me to a quick breakfast at Panera's before church.  After church we met our families (at different times) to celebrate with them.  The following year, we spent the day at the zoo with my mother in law.  Then after dinner we went to Kilwin's for ice cream with my family.  It was an exhausting day, and I remember feeling like I didn't get to be celebrated at all the past 2 years... 

After that I honestly don't remember any other Mother's days... It's all a blur.  We didn't do anything those years, other than just relaxing, which is exactly what I always wanted.  I used to say that it was "my turn" to be mom and I wanted the day to be mine.  So hubby complied, and those Mother's Days we just went to church, then stayed home or ate out or went to the beach... 

So here's where my epiphany comes in.  This year I realized, yes, I am a mom.  I have 3 beautiful blessings that celebrate me.  But just because I'm a mom now, doesn't mean that my mom or my mother in law have stopped being our moms.  If anything, they should be celebrated more.  So this year I made sure to get them gifts (yeah I had stopped doing that), we went and hung out with nona at her house, poolside, we did lunch and cake.  Then we rushed out of there to meet my family and celebrate my mom. 

It was a long day, but at the end, it was both wonderful and actually relaxing.  And the kids loved getting to see their grandmothers.  I loved getting to teach the girls to appreciate not only their mom, but their grandmothers as well.  Every mom wants to be appreciated, which they should be everyday.  But especially on Mother's Day, we should take time to selflessly appreciate our moms, even if we want the day to be about "us"...  We're all moms, we can celebrate together :) 

May

Today I realized that tomorrow is May!  April just flew by and I never changed our calendar. lol I can't believe how fast this month went.  I barely even remember the month... Wow!
May should be interesting. Baby boy will be 11 months old on May 6th.  I can hardly believe it.  Definetely been experiencing lots of bittersweet emotions.  It doesn't seem possible that it's been a year. I remember 1 year ago feeling huge, miserable and SO ready to meet my sweet baby boy.  It just doesn't seem possible that he's almost one.  He's such a fun age and such a sweet boy. I am so thankful he's part of our family!

May will also bring the end of our homeschool year.  We are 7 weeks away from finishing our curriculum, I am trying to condense it all to be done by the last day of May.  I need a break! lol I didn't want to do any school in June or July, so we shall see!  We'll be ending 1st grade.  Very exciting!!!!!
Next school year will be doing 2nd grade and PreK4.  Sounds insane!

alone

I had a really rough Sunday morning, which left me super emotional.  So after having lunch, hubby sent me off to Starbucks, where I sat all alone sipping some yummy coffee!  It was such a nice time.  I spent some time in the Word and prayer.  And just enjoyed the peace and quiet.  I def want to try to do this more often.  My alone time is usually running errands. lol  

weight woes...

I gained the most weight w/ my last pregnancy.  I was at my heaviest I've ever been the week he was born.  It took me a little longer than with my other kids to lose the pregnancy weight.  As of now I am clinging onto the last 10-14 lbs from the pregnancy.  It yoyo's every week.  I've been trying to lose 15 pounds since September.  I just cannot drop it, drives me nuts!  It doesn't matter what I do, I've been counting calories, exercising, trying new excersises... I'll lose 3 pounds or so, then gain it right back.  I don't know what else to do!
I hate my body, I want to lose this weight and feel good about myself.  I know I've had 3 kids in 5 years, I know my body will never be the same.  But I also know that I can at least lose the weight and get fit.  And unless I'm just not doing it right, nothing works.

I started daily burn this week, which def feels like a work out.  I'm also trying a few other things to burn the calories.  We shall see.  If this doesn't work, I may have to cave and join one of those beachbody group things b/c I at least know that works! lol  I just don't trust myself enough to keep that going.  It feels like it'd be so much pressure.

no more babies...

About 8 years ago I got to a very low point.  I found it hard to trust God's timing and it was a constant struggle for me to give up control and my desires.  You see, what I wanted more than anything was to become a mom.  But it was not time yet.  I prayed a lot.  Anytime I started to feel a peace over waiting, someone I knew would "pop up" pregnant and send me down a horrible spiral of envy and bitterness.  It was BAD!  At 24 years old everyone I knew was having babies.  Then finally exactly 7 years ago it was our turn.  We were financially "ready" to start trying and thankfully got pregnant on our first try. We were so excited!  And now, 7 years later we have 3 beautiful children.  And we're done.  It's hard to say that.  It seemed like we'd NEVER enter parenthood, but it came and went to quick!  I mean, we're still parents obviously, and we have so many firsts ahead of us.  But the newness of it all is gone, and knowing I will never again be pregnant, plan for 9 months and then welcome a new life, it's HARD!  It's extremely bittersweet and I've really been struggling with it.

I don't want any more kids.  Most days I feel like I'm drowning with 3.  I LOVE motherhood, I love my babies and I love the stage we're in.  My baby is less than 3 months from turning 1 and that is hitting me very hard.  I love the newborn stage.  And I'll never have it again.  And part of me is ok with it.  But part of me is not.  I hear about all these newly pregnant moms and moms to be, and I'm happy for them, but my heart breaks a little b/c that will never be me again.  We're done.  I hate saying that.

So I sit here, sad that the baby stage in our lives will soon be over.  All the firsts we experience with our  son will be our last firsts for that stage.  And I need to be ok with it.  If I had a baby for every time I had baby fever, I'd never stop having babies! lol I seriously don't know how to be ok with it all, but I gotta trust God's plan.  For now I will continue enjoying the crazyness of life with a 6, 3 and 9 month old :)

sweet memories...

When I was growing up, both my grandmothers sewed.  I saw my maternal grandmother daily and my paternal grandmother lived w/ us for a year and after that I still saw her weekly. My childhood memories of them mainly involves them sewing.  My maternal grandmother used to make a ton of my dresses and I loved getting to help her "design" them.  They both taught me some things about sewing and it was always fun to hang out with them.

When I got pregnant with my first, I started working part time and decided I wanted to learn to sew with all my "free time". lol  Hubby surprised me for my birthday that year with a sewing machine, and I had 2 wonderful friends teach me.  Now, almost 7 years later, I am sewing and coming up with things I never thought I'd be capable of.  Whenever I sew, I think of my grandmothers.  I don't have a whole lot of memories of them so sewing and thinking of them is special to me :)

My dining room becomes a "bit" messy with sewing.  I love it and hate it.  The control freak in me HATES the mess, but the creative/crafty side of me loves it. lol 

I am currently making Easter dresses for the girls and they are anxiously awaiting for me to finish.  I love how excited they get to wear my creations.

chores

Before I had kids I had this vision that my house would always be clean, everything in it's proper place.  Alas 3 kids later and that's not always the case.  I have to admit, I've had weeks where I let the house go.  I get so overwhelmed with everything, that I tend to just "survive".  Then I have weeks where I get clean crazy and I snap off at the kids for messing stuff up.  

We've tried chore charts in the past, but it never worked.  This time I was determined to make it work.  4 weeks ago, hubby and I sat down and discussed how to get our kids excited about chores.  We came up with chore charts and a rewards system.  It's been 4 weeks, and the house has never been this clean for this long. lol  

So I made up a chore chart for each girl.  I printed a chart with a list of their chores and taped it to the kitchen cabinets.  I check off daily as they complete each chore. The 6 year old has more chores b/c, well, she's older.  Their chores include; making up beds (I help the little one with this one), feeding their fish, dusting, wiping the bathroom sinks, helping with laundry, cleaning the kitchen table and some others... I also added wiping baseboards and kitchen cabinets to their list, it's not a daily chore like the others, so they do it whenever I see fit.  They do get paid for chores.  We rounded it up at around $.10 per chore, which gets them $5 per week if they do all the chores.  If they argue about a certain chore, like cleaning up the playroom, they still have to do the chore, but they won't get paid.  

This system works for us, and it has been wonderful!  Big sister has been such a great help and does her chores so well.  Baby sister doesn't fully understand the concept of getting paid so she tends to whine more when it comes to certain chores.  So my goal with her is to get her to complete these chores w/out whining. 

I know families who refuse to pay their children for chores.  And I debated on it for a long time.  But hubby wanted to do it this way, and like I said it works for us.  The house stays clean, the girls are learning the lesson of hard work in keeping a clean house, they are learning responsibilities, value of money, and just an overall sense of pride in keeping a clean home.  I want them to know that we can have fun, play, make a mess, but then we also have to clean it up.  It's also been encouraging to me to keep up with my own chores and stay productive in my days.  

Next up I'm gonna work with big sister and teach her how to prepare their own lunches. :)  Should be fun! 

Baby dedication

This past Sunday (2/22) we had a baby dedication at church.  My sister and her family came, along with my dad and my mother in law aka nona.  It was such a sweet time.  I got baby boy a special outfit for his dedication.  I wish the dedication were a bit more personalized, but it's still a sweet time and we are so thankful for our family and church family who support us in raising our children.  

Some days I still can't believe I have a son.  I've had a lot of days this week of just feeling bittersweet.  These 8 months have flown by and I so miss the newness of a newborn babe.  But as we approach his first birthday, there are so many exciting things coming!  He is such a fun baby boy and I look forward to watching him grow! 

Look at this handsome fella!  He wouldn't stop crying b/c he wanted to be held.  So this is the best I could do. lol  Also he hates shoes so that didn't help. 

So thankful for our family of 5!  The Lord is good to us! 

Date night

For Valentine's day we never go on dates on the 14th, we always go a few days before.  I don't really care overall for Valentine's day, but I do enjoy having an excuse to go on a date.  :)  Nona came over and watched the kids and we went to Maggianos, one of my favorites!

The best part of dates is getting to dress up.  I really wanted to look nice for hubby and actually feel "sexy" (sorry but it's the truth).  As a mom of 3 who is fighting the "lose weight" battle and constantly feeling blah, I like getting dolled up and actually feeling pretty.

While I got ready, the girls sat in my room.  Baby sis loves make up and anytime I am getting ready, she wants make up too.  I put some on her, which you can barely see, but she gets so excited.  It makes me excited for the future when I help them learn to apply make up ;)  It's also sweet that anytime I do something the girls say "oh mommy you look so pretty".

The girls said I looked beautiful in my rollers and that I should go out like that lol

I think I looked way better afterwards ;)  I got some pretty new red lipstick and loved it!  I rarely EVER wear lipstick. 

 us on our date! This is our 11th Valentine's day together :)

sickie

There's something so sweet about baby wearing :)

Poor little guy has been sick for over a week and is feeling miserable.  He was enjoying being close to mommy, until he got sick all over the both of us... I enjoyed the extra cuddles, but I hope he starts feeling better soon... 

My boys

I can't get past how much I love this beautiful baby boy! And my boys are so cute together :) 

7 months...

I can't believe it's been 7 months since my sweet baby boy has been born.  It's CRAZY!  Hubby and I are making our annual plans for the next few months and it's crazy to think about them b/c I JUST did it... I was JUST pregnant with him. lol  These 7 months have flown by and it's bittersweet.  He is just getting more and more fun and such a little stud!

At 7 months he:

- sleeps through the night

-Loves to suck that little thumb

-has 2 bottom teeth 

-wears size 3 diapers

-wears 9-12 months

-hates shoes

-hates his car seat 

-is struggling to eat baby foods, but we shall keep trying

-loves his mama :)

-learning to kiss

I look at his sweet little face and his beautiful brown eyes and I'm so thankful for him!  He will always be the best surprise ever!  

2015

I can't believe it's another new year!  I love when the year begins, there's so much hope and excitement for all the new possibilities!

2014 was an amazing year!  2014 started with us in our new house.  Hubby has been working hard to fulfill his dreams.  He did several books shows this year, and has been working to promote/sell his book.  It's been so amazing to watch him living his dream. :)  He also started working on book 2 of his trilogy.  Which brings the excitement for 2015, book 2 should come out at the end of the year! :)  Doesn't seem like much to people, but it's a HUGE deal in this house!

2014 also brought us the biggest and most amazing surprise in our lives.  In January we found out we were having a sweet baby boy.  We spent a ton of time redoing several rooms of the house, preparing a nursery and more. When June arrived, we anxiously awaited his arrival.  With our due date being June 14th, we just played the waiting game.  On June 6th, I experienced labor for the first time (girls were scheduled c-sections).  I labored for over 10 hours and at 8:12 am on a Friday morning, my beautiful, amazing son was born!

2014 brought big sister's kindergarten graduation, her first time playing soccer, starting 1st grade, learning to read and her favorite, becoming a big sister again :) It brought baby sister, learning her letters and numbers, becoming a big sister, falling in love with making puzzles, coming out of her shell (a little bit), and more... Looking forward to what the new year will bring!

So now we begin a new year, with lots of plans!
I don't believe in New Year resolutions.  I think they're fun, but can be a bit overwhelming and depressing b/c planning something for 12 months is just ridiculous. lol  But I do have some plans/goals that I'd like to work towards.
1. Read my Bible daily. Sounds silly, but I still struggle with this, mainly finding the time.
2. Exercise/diet.  I'd still like to lose 15-20 lbs still.. And I LOVE food, so it makes it hard. lol
3. Hang out with friends more.  I am a huge introvert, I LOVE staying home.  So I want to make it a point to open up my home more and have friends over at least 2x a month.

So that's it.  Other than being a better wife/mom, which should always be a goal :)