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!