My Mommy Challenges - #1

So as a mom....I feel as though I am faced with a handful of new challenges that I am learning how to tackle. One of these is what I will call the "Mother's circle of friends".

These are the mother's that I turn to to help bounce ideas off of, take comfort in when having a hard day and can share endless stories and pictures of my kiddos with without annoying the crap out of them! Because they are momma's too!

Some of these mother's we luck into...we have our close friends pregnant at the same time, therefore we all migrate to motherhood together. This is always fun...because you know them pre-mommy and they know you pre-mommy. To them...you are the girl who could go out and party until 2am and they get the chance now to hear stories about bottle feedings at 2am. Your kids can grow up friends and then you have someone to tease about those stories "back then" that we all promise to tell our kids to embarass the parent :)

Then you have family that are like friends. I am lucky that for two of my 3 pregnancies, I was pregnant at the same time as my sister-in-laws...this was fun...you are all apart of the same family and not only are they built in friends (this might not be true for all) but the kids are cousins and have a great support system and built in playmates at all family functions.

Then there are the new mommy friends...the ones that only know you with a belly or stretch marks. It is what brought you together as friends. Your kids are on the same team, dance class or school. This is where my challenge comes in...meeting new mom friends. All of a sudden I am back in Junior High scared to talk to the popular kids. Ridiculous I know...but making friends can be difficult...and I am not normally a shy person, but I find myself in situations that instead of introducing myself, I back off. This must be changed! Katelyn is in dance now...and I have a friend that takes her daughter to the same class. So I have one friend there...but I am pretty sure I have never reached out to say hello to other moms in the class. Also, I am looking at putting KK in soccer...again...this would be a great opportunity for Katelyn and myself to make friends.

So I am going to push myself....force myself into those awkward situations where there is no other choice than to say "Hello my name is...." I will update...hopefully before long I will have a few new mommy friends :)

As I write this post...I realize this sounds as though I am saying that moms are only friends with other moms...and that IS NOT where I am going with this...I find that my single friends as well as those friends that are married without children are very important in my friend group. First of all they accept me and my crazy mom stories without judgement and I am hoping that I haven't scared anyone from having children with some of my crazy stories!! I think I am really just saying that I hide behind my kids sometimes when making friends and even keeping up my current friendships. I need to realize, I have to have a life too and take the time away to let myself rejuvenate. Well...here is to friendships!

Tomorrow can't be Thursday...can it??

Okay...so this week has FLOWN BY!

I was out of town for a bachelorette party this past weekend and I can't believe I haven't even blogged about the fun we had...I will.

But since returning...I feel like someone pressed my "GO" button and it has not been turned off!! Monday always flies by and then I worked good ol' 8-5 yesterday and today....so by the time I get home and squeeze in playtime, dinner, bath and bedtime....then some laundry and cleaning....I am worn out...so I have been so lazy that I haven't even felt like getting online!! Crazy, I know :)

But I will resume regular duty tomorrow...the kids head to MDO and Austin and I are headed to Target, Hobby Lobby and I am getting my hair cut (yay yay yay....it is much needed!!!)

I must add in the best part of today though....when I got home and walked into our bedroom...I found a envelope with my name on it...and it said "just because"....and inside...a gift certificate to the spa for a mani & pedi!!! What a great hubs :) It has been 19 months since I have had either....so this will be a real treat!! Double points for him tonight!!

Well...until tomorrow!!

Conversations with a 3-year old

Well it is Sunday...and I am wigged ....I mean WORN out...I will explain tomorrow LOL...but anyway, I was out of town this weekend so she stayed with my parents and it was SOOOOO GOOOOOD to come home and see her smiling face and hear what she had to say. Kids will say anything...and I love it!

So I decided I would post some of the best things I hear from my precious KK...she makes me laugh on a daily basis.




Real life examples...

In the Car.....

KK: "Mom....Mom...MOM!!" (said all 3 in a matter of a second)
Me: "Yes KK..."
KK: "There is a GIANT bugger in my nose"
Me: "Really? Well..."
KK: "Don't worry mom...I got it out"

(minutes later while on the phone with her dad...I had told him what she had said...and so he asks her what she did with it...she laughs and tells him she wiped it on her carseat...NICE...)

Not much of a shopper...in a store at the mall

Sales Girl: "Everything ok in there..."
Me: "Yes, thank you" (door opens) "Do you have a necklace that would look good with this?"
Sales Girl: "Yes...I can grab you a few options to try on"
KK: (with a roll of the eye) "MMMMOOOOMMMM....are we going to have to close the store down??"

At home....

Me: "Bryce....come here....I have to wipe your nose"...."Bryce...Bryce...your nose!!!"
Bryce: nothing....just runs off
KK: "Mom...he FEARS the Kleenex"

About to leave the house...such a DIVA
KK: "Mom...I just need to pick out a few bracelets and then I will be there to get my hair done...just give me a few minutes"

Sitting in my bathroom....she had to go pee pee...
Dad standing there....waiting...

KK: "Dad...the bathroom needs to be green...."
Kev: "Well, the other bathroom is green..."
KK: "No Dad...THIS bathroom needs to be green...and you really need to decorate...it's so boring"

Really!?! She is refering to the masterbath...and it is true...it needs a makeover...but where does she get this stuff! But my favorite will always be..."I love you..." it just sounds so sweet with her little voice...love that girl!!

Good night!

Fashion Challenged....

So I will begin by saying, I do not think that I have always been challenged in the realm of fashion, however since I have pregnant for 27 of the last 36 months (not to mention the odd post pregnancy months), my fashion sense got lost somewhere between stretchy pants and nursing bras.

Normally, these days I don't particularly care. I probably should, but I don't. I am happy to be in something that is comfortable, easy to move in and has minimal spit up/snot/baby goo...whatever... on it. Sad huh!

After baby #1, I was still somewhat vain...ready to get that pre-baby body back. Look like that put together mom with a great stroller and cute diaper bag. In my mind I did pretty good...and as my daughter turned one, I hit the second trimester with twins. During the pregnancies I feel like I did a good job of looking my best. I was still working in an office, so obviously there was a dress code and I tried to get out when I could. Then when I found out with the boys being 8 months old and KK 2 years old that I was pregnant with number 4, vain went out the window.

Now I want to fit into my clothes, not because of any size, but because it would be so dang expensive to replace all my jeans :) However, I feel like all my clothes in my closet are COMPLETELY OUT OF STYLE. I have a few key pieces that can go from year to year, no problem, but the last thing you want to do 10 weeks post pregnancy is shop for skinny jeans...but this is exactly what I had to do last night.

A good friend from college is getting married in a month, so this weekend I will head to Dallas to celebrate her "last night" as a single lady! Needless to say, PJ's just wouldn't cut it at a bachelorette party...or around my super cute friends :) So last night Katelyn and I loaded up with a mission in mind to find momma an appropriate, body flattering outfit for the festivities.

After an hour of being defeated...I finally sucked it up and fessed up to how "uncool" I have become. I walked into a store...and when they said "HI! Welcome to _____ let me know if I can help you," I actually said, "YES!" I possibly was a little to excited to welcome the help of a trendy worker put an outfit together so I wouldn't have to think about what went together or didn't. So, in a matter of minutes, I was in the dressing room with my little helper...put on the outfit and BAM! We had a winner! Even Katelyn said..."Mom, your blouse is so pretty"....I love it...where does she get this stuff??? Anyway...I have an outfit to wear...YAY!

Ended up with a shirt that I feel like I will be able to wear for various occassions...a pair of skinny jeans (shocking...I know!) and a great necklace :) I am actually excited to get ready tomorrow!!

So I am off to enjoy 24 hours of no kiddos this weekend...which I feel is much needed. Funny thing is...after 5 minutes on the road, I know I will be calling just to see what they are doing :) Have a great weekend!!

Date Night On Demand

So with four kiddos, the hubs and I find it hard to still do a typical date night. You know...a shower, a cute outfit, makeup and loading up in the car to sit down to a meal that someone brings to me and then head to a movie with popcorn and twizzlers. Ahhh...the good ol' days....I kid, I kid....but reality is a babysitter for four is as expensive as the actual date night and grandparents are free but I find it hard to ask them to watch them because they do so much for us all the time.

So, Kev and I have found our alternate version...Movies on Demand :) On Friday night...and even some Saturdays, once we get the kids to bed, we get in our comfy jammies and add in snacks on occassion (I LOVE oreos and milk!!)and flip through all our options on our movies on demand feature with U Verse. Sometimes we pick a new release and other times we pick and oldie but a goodie. I typically fall asleep in his lap and finish watching the movie the next day:)

These are my favorite nights....and it truly is a "date" for us. We finally kick back and talk about our days and have actual conversation, instead of the quick back and forth regarding the kiddos. It is easy to get lost in those conversations...it's not like you don't talk...but when it is always "Is his diaper changed?" "when is his next bottle?" "Did she take a nap today?"...there is always conversation, but sometimes it is just short answers...so to actually still take time for each other to ask about their day and listen to the good and bad really has helpe us appreciate each other. I don't want to wake up in 10 years when the kids are too busy doing their own thing and realize I have no idea who my husband is....that is a big fear of mine. So I am truly trying to concentrate on God first, then my marriage and then my children.

It was sweet tonight though...on our way to eat dinner, Kev and I made a pact that after our kids are too busy for us (ha!) that he and I will go back to dating....makeup, dinner outside the house and movies that will probably be WAY to expensive :) Until then...we will be checking out movies on demand and enjoying being at home with our 4 munchkins!

I am.....

I Am...a mother of four children.


I Want...to get through all my laundry today....


I Have...been blessed with two amazing parents


I Wish...I knew what I was doing when it came to this parenting thing LOL....taking it a day at a time


I Hate...feeling insecure


I Fear...something bad happening to one of my children


I Hear...Dora, and the sweet sound of 4 stuffy noses :)


I Search...for clothes in my closet that will fit me right now...I usually settle with comfy pants :)


I Wonder...what life will be like in a year


I Regret...that I get caught up in chores at times and don't enjoy the small moments with my children


I Love...the Lord and the sweet family he has blessed me with


I Ache...when I hear of people hurting and dealing with sorrow


I Always...have a messy house!


I Usually...wear contacts, however I have been wearing my glasses alot more now


I Am Not...the best friend, child, sister, wife or mother...but I sure do try :)


I Dance...with my daughter :)


I Sing...ABC's, Itsy Bitsy spider, Old McDonald on a daily basis


I Never...have it all together.


I Rarely...get all dressed up anymore...I kinda miss it!


I Cry...at sports movies.


I Am Not Always...on time these days...and I always used to be early.


I Lose...jewelry my husband gives to me...REALLY bad habit I need to break!


I'm Confused...as to why cell phones cost so much!!


I Need...to be content with what I have and not have a "grass is greener" complex.


I Should...get out more.


Who Are You?
I borrowed this fun idea from a blog I follow, Sizzlin Savages! Thanks!

Baby Rogaine?

So this week has been relatively uneventful. I did venture out yesterday to take all four kids to the mall. Are you thinking I am crazy?? Well...I am...I did have my mom with me, however, it took us 27 minutes to load up...and then about 20 minutes to get us all unloaded.

We had 4 kids, 2 strollers, lots of toys, peanut butter crackers coming out of our ears, coats, hats and a huge diaper bag. It was interesting to say the least...3 of the 4 kids were angels...so 75% in my book is pretty much perfect. Carter was not in the mood for the mall and he decided to let everyone know. I am sure I was getting looks from everyone, luckily for me, I don't even notice it anymore LOL.

We got home and we were all tired and ready for bed. Too bad it was only 4pm...so I sucked it up and we ate a great dinner (Thanks Mom!) and played and laughed and everyone went to bed. As sweet lil' Austin fell asleep before his last bottle I noticed this...


(forgive it being sideways....uploading a pic on blogger tonight is frustrating me...arg)

But do you notice my poor child's balding head LOL....All of my kids went through this from laying on their backs before learning to roll over...however, Austin has this long hair under the bald spot. Cracks me up! Now I am wondering if he will end up losing it all...will it come back brown (please please please) or blonde? I have 2 blondes and a brunette now, although Carter has some serious highlights coming through...but come on...I would like once for someone to look at one of my children and say, "_______ looks JUST like you!". We will see!!

Alright...that's all I got...maybe tomorrow something crazy will happen :)

Ramblings from the weekend....

Well....It is Monday...well actually Monday is almost gone! We had a great weekend....the weather in January here in Oklahoma is a little all over the place. So on Saturday we finally broke the cabin fever and headed outside. We had a blast with all the kiddos (sans Austin...he decided he would rather nap!)

Making sure everything was ready to go


Helping a brother out...


I think someone is going the wrong way


Katelyn doing a little manual labor


Our little homemaker


Sweet Sutton girl enjoying the day


"No brother....don't eat dirt!"





My precious kiddos





So it was a wonderful Saturday...which led into a wonderful Sunday. Church with the kiddos and then home to hang out with Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Ronnie. Then of course KK headed down to Granny and Papa's house and we headed to Sam's. Once we got home and all the boys went to bed, I settled into the couch with one of these...

I have an obsession with these currently...


and turned on



I didn't make it through it...of course I fell asleep...but I did enjoy looking at all the pretty dresses. This post has been picture overload so I will refrain from showing all the beautiful stars that were on last night....you can catch it on pretty much any website right now...but I will leave you with my favorite...



How I love Carrie Underwood and she looked absolutely amazing...so pretty and sparkly!!

Until next time...

Book Time!

When Katelyn was a baby, I made a point to read to her every day. She has grown up (to all of 3 years old LOL) to LOVE books. She loves to listen, she has some memorized and at times she will sit and tell her own story based off pictures. She has such an amazing imagination. I love to overhear her when she is in her room by herself and "reading".

The boys, however, were a different story. When they were young, they just never really seemed interested. As babies, they really had no choice and I will be honest, we did not read every day, but as soon as they could move at all they would wiggle their way out of book time. They were so much more curious about physical activity than a book. It just seemed boring to them. This made me very sad because I LOVE reading. However, around a year old this all changed.

The boys finally would grab a book and bring it to me and actually want to hear the story. We would end each night (and still do) by putting each boy in their bed with their blankie and reading "Goodnight Moon". We even have the oversized version!

Bryce's favorite book is the ABC book and Carter's is "That's NOT my Pirate". Bryce loves to repeat words and Carter loves to feel books that have different textures, so the Touchy Feely series by Fiona Watt are amazing! Katelyn really likes them too.

I have already tried to make a habit with Austin to include him in any reading time I have with the 3 older kiddos. We start each day after breakfast with circle time and we usually grab a few books per child that they want to read. I think Austin will grow up loving his book time!

Here are Katelyn, Carter and Bryce enjoying their book time!





Have a great weekend!

Where's Bubba?

Ok...so the other night the boys were helping me sort laundry...kinda...more like play in the piles of clothes. They are to darn cute! Check out the video below...(don't judge the amount of dirty clothes...6 people equals ALOT of dirty clothes...and I am not a fan of laundry...so therefore, lots of piles!!!)



My favorite part is that Bryce really seems to be looking and genuinely excited to find Carter...and then Carter just giggles and takes off...they are so funny together and such good friends already. I love it!!

Yay for tomorrow!!

Wrong side of the bed & Parenting

That was me this morning....I was in such a bad mood when I rolled out of bed and it was ONLY 6:27 am....that can't be good...granted it had been a rough night due to lil' man. He thought it would be fun to take an hour and a half eating a bottle. Up side was that I caught up on some DVR.

However, it's not like I am up every night....Kev does alot of late night feedings. I usually pump before bedtime and leave a bottle on the counter ready to go for the middle of the night feeding, however, Kev had to be up early this morning for work, so I did the longest feeding ever. Then he decided to get up for good all of an 2 hours later.

So, granted I woke up exhausted, I also woke up feeling defeated. First thought, I do not have the energy to get through this day with the kiddos..... Sad, huh?

But it definitely takes a certain mindset to get through the physical and emotional ups and downs of a day home with 4 kiddos. With the ages of 3 (little Miss Independent, that feels that she is capable of making all decisions) 18 months x 2 (still working on communication, which is frustrating for both boys which ends in tears alot of times) and 9 weeks (nurse...nurse...nurse when we can fit it in and a few moments of bonding), a day at home can include many tantrums, tears and unknowns. Don't get me wrong, I love it, and I love each of them, and we are all learning our routine. I wouldn't change hanging out with my kiddos because they bring FAR MORE (AND MORE AND MORE) smiles and moments of bliss than anything....but it is definitely exhausting and when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed...well, that does not help!

Anyway...we started our usual routine of breakfast for the boys, nursing the munchkin...and then KK usually heads in and is ready for some cereal. We enjoy a little Mickey Mouse, and as all the kids are situated and happy, I sit down with a quick breakfast and my computer...I check my e-mail, my bank account, peruse my favorite blogs and of course, Facebook. On a friend's status update she had the following: Parenting: The Joyful Impossibility - thegospelcoalition.org.

Well, you had me at the name...and it is exactly what I needed today. It really moved me and helped put things in perspective for me. God is truly amazing. I have posting the link below:

Parenting: The Joyful Impossibility

So, needless to say, today has turned out to be a great day. Time to color, read and use moments of trial within the children to teach. It truly made me appreciate my kiddos more and my role as a parent.

Off to play with the kiddos some more :)

Monday Ramblings....

Well it is darn cold outside....



See?

So we stayed in our jammies and played all day long...and climbed on everything...I think Bryce is part monkey....



The boys also played with Austin's toy...well Bryce did...Carter played with our U-Verse box which was equally as fun....



They had a great day together with lots of smiles and laughs...they even held hands and walked around the house together....







And my favorite....so precious


It was a great and messy day...another resolution of mine is to let go of a clean house...it is just not going to happen everyday with 4 kids...6 people under one roof = mess...so I am trying not to be so type A about this...sorry, sidenote!

Of course, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt...



Poor lil' Austin...first bruise...top of his head...Carter got a little excited with a cup and whacked his brother in the head...lots of tears and a little time out and then we were back to good!!

Basically a wonderful day, although we did miss KK. She is at Granny and Papa's house hanging out in the cold but we will reunite tomorrow!!

Well...I am going to finish watching this crazy Oregon/Auburn game now! Good Night!

Date Night

Hope everyone is inside somewhere warm on this cold Sunday afternoon!! We went to church and to grab some lunch and now we are all home is warm fuzzy pants and intend on staying this way!

We have had a great weekend, which started out with a last minute date night on Friday. Kev and I rarely (as in once every 5-6 months or so) go out on dates. We know it is important so it is part of our resolutions as a couple to spend more one on one time together. Babysitters for 4 kids three years old and younger are hard to come by, so it ends up being my parents. We are thankful they will do this for us!!

We are old school date night people. Meaning, dinner and a movie is the best, and if we only have a couple hours to spare, we love a great (or even bad) movie to go hang out together with a large diet dr. pepper to share and sometimes even popcorn.

Before kids, we would go to the movies once a week. When I was pregnant with Katelyn, we went and walked the mall every Sunday and ended it with a movie. Then after the boys, it was much fewer and far between. What is sad, is that before last night I cannot even remember the last movie we saw in the theatre and I have been thinking and even asked Kevin to try to remember, and neither of us can!

Anyway, it was such a fun time to go and see a movie with my husband. We ended up seeing The Fighter.

It was a great movie! We really enjoyed it! I generally like movies based off true stories about sports. Always leave me with a feelgood feeling. Mark Wahlberg did a great job, and he was so dang buff!! When he was on Ellen he talked about the rigorous workout that he was put through to get a "fighter's" body....pretty intense! Then, I hardly even recognized Christian Bale in the movie because he looked so strung out and SKINNY!! He represented his character really well!! The most surprising performance to me was by Amy Adams...I really love her anyway, so I love seeing her in a movie!!

The movie is up for 5-6 Golden Globes and I am interested in seeing if they win any...I bet they snag a couple!!

Have a great Sunday and talk to you next week!!

I love me some reality TV....

One of my guilty pleasures is Teen Mom....and I am getting excited for Tuesday because the NEW season of Teen Mom begins!! See trailer below...

Teen Mom 2 - MTV Shows

Like, WHOA! I have been wanting to see what happened to Leah (she had twins girls) and Corey...I cannot imagine being a teen mom. It has been such a transition for me and I had my first at 26. So when I saw the episode of Leah being 17 years old and having twins....well, I certainly empathisized!!! The time, the money, the stress on a relationship that having multiples can do to a person...and then on top of that be 17....it would be so hard.

So, please don't judge me...I can be a reality TV junky...(glad no one can see my DVR). It is nice to have something to watching during those late night feedings :)

Well...I have many more reality shows that I love...but that is for another time...I do believe my 4 kiddos are getting up from naptime!!

2 months

Well Austin....you are 2 months old....



and you are precious.


You are calm in the storm right now. I spend most of my days chasing and playing and reading to two crazy 18 months old and a sweet lil' 3 year old. We, of course get our feeding times together...the quick 15 minute nurse in between the craziness but it is such a sweet time we have together. Then at night, after the 3 older kiddos have gone to bed, you hang out with dad and I in the living room and usually sleep before your last feeding but sometimes we get to hear your sweet coos, see your beautiful eyes and an occassional giggle.

First of all, you are so strong!!



You are a pro at tummy time and you have amazing head control.

You are not very fussy or demanding. You are happy to be fed and hang out in your chair and watch the kids run around you. They of course always stop and give you love pats (or slaps...Carter is a little rough...but no harm done of course!) and kisses. I think honestly though, you are at your happiest when you are on your belly laying down on my chest sleeping. This is one of my happiest times as well.

You eat about 4 oz. every 3 hours. At night, you do a couple of cluster feedings and then you go to bed around 9pm and wake up around 2-3am, eat and then sleep until about 6 or 7 am. Not bad at all...I will take it...the best part, good ol' dad takes care of most of the middle of the night feedings. You have a great dad...and I have a WONDERFUL husband.

I had no idea how things would change once you got here...and I still don't really know because I am to busy in the day to day to ever think of a day that you weren't with us. You fit perfectly into our "Guy" puzzle. I love holding you...and kissing your super soft little fuzzy head. I am much more at ease with you than any of the other kids. Katelyn was the first and I was a ball of nerves...having two at once and a toddler, well, that left my head spinning...and then you came and all of a sudden I trusted myself and God that He gave you to me and I can take care of all of you!

I can't wait to see how you grow and interact with your siblings. You are such a sweet boy and I love you so much!

My Tiny Dancer

Here she is....my tiny dancer....



Cute, huh? Here's another...a natural born performer....



Ready to go for her first day of dance...not even a littler nervous...just ready to dance!



Her precious lil' class...



Something I am really looking forward to in 2011 in KK's first dance recital. She started in September as the youngest in the class and she has received many compliments from her dance teacher at what a good listener she is and she is really enjoying it!

I am not going to lie....I think having a daughter is so much FUN!! From the time she was born I have played dress up with cute clothes and fun bows. One of my favorite things to do now is blow dry her hair. Crazy? I know...but nothing is better than the hair dryer, some product, and a round brush...for my 3 year old LOL. She loves it too! She is such a girly girl...but at the same time will sit down and watch a football game with her daddy (or any sport for that matter) which just brings a smile to his face.

I do, however, already see signs that her and I will butt heads as she gets older...the eye roll, the sassiness and her love for a good arguement are all reasons that she will be grounded and unhappy with mom in the future. I am ok with this...because the sweet smiles, the unexpected hugs and the willingness to help anytime are the things I will remember. I love having a daughter!

This is our first week back to dance in the new year and Katelyn couldn't be more excited. She has spent most of the evening dancing around the living room and practicing her first position. We also watched Paula Abdul's dance show, which she loved. She is a ballerina at heart right now and I love seeing her do something she loves. Countdown to her first recital in May...I can't wait to post pictures!!

Doctors = No fun....

So the beginning of my year has started with a trip to the doctor...followed by another appointment this week!

I will back track...I have had the honor to have 3 amazing pregnancies...healthy children....and have always been healthy myself. After the first pregnany (Katelyn) I had her the good ol' fashioned way...water broke, epidural, push and TADA! Baby!

The twins were a little tricky...since there were two it posed a few possible problems...mainly the position of the babies, so we scheduled a c-section for June 25th and that was the day they arrived. Healthy without having to worry about NICU (which was a huge fear of mine). So a couple of days in the hospital and then we would head home...or not. My blood pressure decided to go absoulte crazy on me...so after an additional 7 days in the hospital and lots of monitoring I was sent home with meds and lots of check-ups scheduled. After about 12 weeks I was off my medicine and went along my merry way.

Fast forward to pregnancy #3, I was anxious about the blood pressure being affected during the pregnancy but after 38 weeks of pregnancy and no problems I was happy to go in for a second c-section. The days after went well until the final day (or what I thought was the final day) in the hospital and AGAIN the blood pressure went crazy! Another week in the hospital, which I might add is much harder with 3 kids at home and a working husband, I finally went home with meds and check-ups scheduled. A month later everything seem to be back to normal and all meds were gone...until yesterday.

Lucky for me, I now know to listen to my body. Yesterday was a busy day and by the end of it, I knew I felt off. Kevin suggested we head to an Access Medical building to check my blood pressure. Sure enough it was elevated and after talking to the PA, who I might mention had horrible bedside manners...she pretty much had me scared out of mind, I was sent home and told to call my doctor this morning.

I will be headed back to the doctors and back on meds this week. Darn blood pressure!! Please say a prayer that my body will heal and I will be able to get ahold of the blood pressure problem, not too high and not too low...just right :)

On the upside, I have four healthy and smiling kids and we are getting back into our routine after the holidays. They will head back to MDO on Thursday, so they will have a day to go play, play, play!

Happy Monday!

Goodbye 2010 - Hello 2011

UPDATE!!

*****Finally got a picture of my lil' man from the NYE festivities!*****

So it is New Years Day! Full of family, football and laundry for me!

Had a perfect NYE evening with the hubs. Mexican food for dinner, a margarita and lots of good conversation. Nothing like laughing with your husband.

We both looked back at the past year....our marriage, our family of 5 and that in the year of 2010 we would become a family of 6....leaving old jobs and welcoming new jobs....then an even harder job, the decision to stay home with my kiddos. Financial struggle, emotional defeats and still coming out with a smile and each other. God is good and I feel that our relationship with him will be in the front seat of 2011.

It was a very low-key evening and I couldn't have asked for more. The kids brought in the New Year with my parents (excuse the terrible picture quality...from my father's phone)



Obviously party animals :) (note - Austin had turned in for the evening...so he is absent in our photo...he had already WAY too much milk LOL)

My lil' man....


Here is to 2011....a year full of life lessons to come!