My first official day....

as a Stay at Home mom....so, I have had a crazy work life lately....I worked somewhere for 5 years...quit to move to another job that I thought would fit my schedule better...found out I was pregnant and then decided it would be best to stay home with 4 kids three and under and then have had the opportunity to help out my original job part-time and on an occassional basis...which I LOVE! So after all the craziness...this is my first full week of no work.

I started it out with my mom and the boys getting out to run errands to pick up all the goodies for the boys Pirate themed 1st birthday! So fun! We had a busy weekend so I didn't have the opportunity, but my mom and I had a blast looking today. We even stopped to have a fabulous lunch at Charleston's....love the baked potato soup! YUM!

I think we have all the decor we need, the cake is ordered and I am off to order their outfits tomorrow. I still CANNOT believe they will be a YEAR old in 18 days...and I can't believe that in 8 days we will know what baby #4 is...well, not us since we are not finding out, but the doctors and grandma's will.

We left the house at 10am and finally arrived back at 5:15 with two very hungry and very tired boys. The best part was pulling into the house and seeing my lil' girl playing in her new pool in the backyard and having the best time! Her happiness is contagious and instantly gave me energy to finish out the night with lots of playing. While we were out and about today, KK ended up getting new stickers, a new puzzle, and a princess headband. All necessary items of course :)

Now all the kiddos are sleeping...and so is my poor sick husband! I am off to make some more 1st birthday goodies and decorations!!

Well...this time I mean it

The purpose of this blog was to keep a timeline and journal of what was going on in my families life...however, life got the best of me and I have let myself down...I think, at least once a day, "I need to write this down so I don't forget..." but then I never do...so I have lost some time, but with a 2 1/2 year old and two 11 month olds I still have plenty of their lives to journal. (This is how I have rationalized this to myself).

So, here is my day today....it started at 6:30 am when my sweet little nephew arrived. My sister-in-law and brother had to work, so I agreed to hang out with the lil' man. So, we cuddled for a little bit and then I heard my little men wake up. Carter first...and then Bryce....they have been sleeping alot more lately since they have been getting over being sick, but once they saw their cousin playtime began! Carter started to crawl around like crazy (which is exciting news since he has been army crawling forever...he is now officially up on all fours and he is very proud of himself...cute stuff). Everyone was getting along beautifully....in the midst of the playing, KK woke up and joined all three boys....then the workout began. Breakfast for four, clean up after four, making sure all were sharing and then the crazy process of loading the car. What an amazing day for all the cousins to hang, and I enjoyed every minute....but this is why I am super sleepy now!

However, I did manage on talking my husband in a trip to Target. The initial reason was to get KK a pool to play in since the weather is ridiculously HOTT! He is a sucker for his little girl, what can I say? We walked out with a pool....and about 100 other things...darn Target, they get me EVERY TIME! We got home just in time for some dinner and the boys went down shortly after that and Daddy and KK headed out to put the pool in working order. She had a blast and we have already promised to be outside as soon as we are done eating breakfast in the morning.

Now I am ending the night next to my baby girl while she puts together her alphabet puzzle. It was a wonderful day!

Lessons learned from our children....

I love the sweet and kind nature of children....I think when I truly let myself put aside all the "to-do's" of the day and sit down with my kiddos...I am my happiest. They truly enjoy the moments...the smiles and the laughs. Nothing is better than the laughter of a child.

Katelyn does this big laugh, throws her head back and puts her hand over her mouth...also her eyes disappear. It is adorable.

Carter and Bryce are developing their own laughs as well.

Carter has a giggle...he is super ticklish and a huge smile comes over his face and he has the sweetest dimples.

Bryce's laugh is more like a grunt/laugh. It cracks me up....he is almost like a little hyena. His laughter is contagious.

Honesty is another amazing lesson from kiddos. Katelyn just tells it how it is....when my room is a mess...(more like, my room is a mess) and KK walks-in and tells me about it. Cooking...if she doesn't like it, I know it. Not rudely, of course, just so matter of fact.

One of the best habits she has gotten us in as a family is to eat dinner at the table. It randomly happened one night...I had been cooking dinner and usually we would turn on the tv and sit in the living room and eat. She would get in her high chair and we would absentmindedly eat dinner. Then one night she asked, "Eat at table?"...what was sad was I almost said, "no, let's just eat in the living room." WHAT!?! What a horrible mom...all she wanted to do was sit at the table with her family. So now every night we eat dinner at the table together and we hear about her day and tell her about ours. Such a wonderful tradition to start now.

I look forward to all the traditions that we will have with our family. My kiddos add so much to my life. I LOVE being a momma!

My life as a Mommy....

Becoming a Mommy changes everything....and yet nothing at all. Prior to having a baby, my life consisted of hubby, work and my friends. The hubs and I were quite social. We enjoyed going out and eating at a great steak (The Ranch...yummy!), going to have wings and beer to watch a good game and staying up late and sleeping in late whenever possible. I also cherished my girl time with my best friends. We spent each and everything Thursday at a biker bar listening to friends of ours play music while we ate chips & queso while having a beer.

I LOVED my time out...my plans, my time schedule, my way....until that Thursday night that I took the test....and it showed two lines instead of just one. I was pregnant....and from that point on it wasn't about me. I then dove into any .com that mentioned pregnancy and baby, books that contained millions of names, and shopped on-line for anything that was little and cute. I broke the news to my closest girlfriends by an e-mail letting them know that I would not be on our annual girls trip because I would be 7 1/2 months pregnant....this was followed by many congratulatory e-mails and excitement! It made my heart swell to have such love and support!

But of course life happens and the excitement wears off...well for everyone except me because this was my first pregnancy...I was having a BABY! At first I was sad when I heard all the girls were going out...and I wouldn't be going...I would get the invite and have the best intentions, but by the time I got off work, I was so sleepy....bedtime was 8pm to me....and then as I got bigger, I didn't want to be the prego girl in the bar :) But then I realized...that I really didn't care...not that I didn't miss my girl time, but I knew that I would rather be home or with family talking about plans for the baby. Sitting on the couch and feeling the movement of my baby girl (which I found out on my 26th birthday....that was followed with a surprise party from my hubs and BF). Kev and I would just stare at my stomach...it never got old...after I had KK, it still never got old. We spent hours watching her sleep and watching her breathe in and out. Then seeing her smiles, and her tummy time turn to crawl time...which quickly turned into pulling up and walking. Now she entertains me with stories of her day and a vivid imagination.

My second pregnancy, I knew what was to come...and two of my girlfriends were pregnant for the first time. It was fun to tell stories and lean on each other for questions and concerns. It funny how things changed...they looked to me for answers!

I now enjoy my time home and the short hours I have with my kiddos at night before cooking dinner, doing laundry and washing clothes takes over. Sometimes I just let the house go crazy because I would rather have fun with my smiling and giggly children then do chores....and I have to tell myself that it is okay. My big evening out that I look forward too is loading up the kiddos and walking the mall or heading outside to run in the backyard.

So all and all....I still get to do what I want...but this time I get to share it with my kids. It is funny how priorities change from one part of life to the next....I felt content and fulfilled prior to kids with a great husband and family and friends....and then I had children, which all of a sudden filled me up even more...and has challenged me in a way that keeps me learning everyday. I love being a mom....I never knew I would this much. I have a new found respect for my mom and the love she had for all of us. It is such a protective love. I am so blessed.

Bryce....and the dog bowl...

So just a short little story for today....as I have mentioned in the previous post, Mr. Bryce is quite the crawler...he is so quick....and as i have mentioned....mischevious. So, per normal, my mom was with my boys today (she lives with me Monday - Wednesday, still...she is a WONDERFUL women...well for this and many other reasons!) and both boys were sitting perfectly still playing contently, so she thinks to herself...I will run quickly to the little girls room. Well, she does, and approximately 2 minutes later, she hears something banging on the tile in the dining room/kitchen...so she quickly gets up and starts running to the kitchen.

And stops...and starts laughing...and then it all craziness breaks out...Carter is sitting on the floor and begins crying...a sure sign of a dirty diaper...but Granny had more important things to take care of...Bryce and his crazy mess. He is on all fours banging Sutton's water bowl on the tile and laughing...while being soaked with water from head to toe. Not to mention the dog food that is scattered about EVERYWHERE....good thing for me he hasn't mastered the art of picking up food and putting it in his mouth...however he is good at picking it up, which leaves doggie crumbs all over him. So (Carter still crying), my mom swoops up Bryce and starts mopping up and sweeping, stripping his clothes off and getting him changed, and then finally he was able to sit, nice and dry, and play, while Granny was able to get to Carter Man to change him and put a smile on his face.

So, this makes me laugh...and fear a little, of the day (that is just around the corner) where they are BOTH mobile and attacking the doggie food bowl...

Until tomorrow!

My March Resolutions....

So resolutions are supposed to happen in January...however, since I have fallen off the face of the earth since then (at least in blog world) I figured I would start now. My whole reason of starting a blog was to document my life....and become an famous blogger...okay...scratch that...:) Really....just to have a daily entry of what is going on, and how my kids and well, family are growing. With 8-month old twin boys and a 2 year old daughter....something new seems to happen each day. I have realized that I am horrible at keeping up a baby book (I want to apologize NOW to my kiddos) and although I take lots of photos...it is now only in spurts....I will take 100 pictures in a matter of two days....and then break for 1 month....so back to the resolution part....I am taking the vow to blog at least 3-4 times a week. This is actually very relaxing, banging on the keys of my laptop and letting my thoughts be put into print in the world wide web.

So, to make a long story short from last post to current.....here are a few things:

Carter - He is now weighing in at almost 20 pounds. He is my round lil' man and has so much dark hair!! He also has crazy hairy eyebrows (which I noticed tonight before bathtime) and I think we are going to have to attack him with wax as he gets older if he continues to grow hair as he does now. He has the best set of cheeks...they are big and kissable. He is, well, cotent to just sit in one spot and play with a toy forever. He can get to tummy position from sitting and roll to get anywhere, but he will not crawl. He started sitting up at a week past 7 months and has wonderful posture...but when it comes to moving, it just isn't happening. Cracks me up really....when he gets on his tummy he moves his arms and legs like crazy and smiles so big....I swear he is wondering to himself "Why am I not going anywhere?". At least this is what me and my mom think. He hates formula....I had nursed up to 8 months and due to circumstances, I had to quit nursing....so the switch has not been a good one for him. He eats three meals a day and refuses bottles. However, we have started sippy cups with milk (the real deal) and he really seems excited about that. He is such a little bear...I just love him! Oh, he did start clapping first and waving hello....it is not done on command yet, but he loves to talk and wave...and clap for himself! He still hasn't got down the art of self-feed, but he sure does like to grab lots of snacks in each hand and play with them. He is such a sweet kid, without a mischevious side to him. Just this honest, loving and kind-hearted face. Oh, and he has various names that we all refer to him....Carter Man, Carter Barter (said best by KK), lil' man....I am sure there will be more...

Bryce....oh my little Bryce....he is EVERYWHERE!! When he turned 7 months old he sat up on his own....3 days later, he leaned forward and started rocking on all fours....6 days later he started crawling and hasn't stopped....he is afraid of nothing. You can walk out of a room and he follows right behind...he will go down a dark hall by himself without a second thought. He loves to crawl to Sutton's (our dog) bowl. He won't self feed his yummy puffy snacks, however, a little kibble and bits go straight for the mouth. I don't get it :) He is now pulling up on various things and I give hime about another 6-8 weeks before he is walking...he is so determined to get somewhere, anywhere. He takes advantage of bubba not crawling too. He will go and steal a toy and just crawl off....you would think, "How mean?", but then you look at his sweet, little face with a huge smile and runny nose (always) and you just want to kiss him. He is my mischevious one....you can just see it, but then the eyes get you and you forget that he is up to something. He is weighing in at about 18 pounds....he is long and skinny....but he eats TWICE as much as his brother. Still haven't figured this out....he did not care at all when he was switched to formula...if it is in a bottle or on a spoon, he says "Yes, please!".

Both boys are so amazing together....they are so aware of each other....when they go to bed at night, first let me say, they are AMAZING sleepers...7:30p-7:00a....they know each other is there. They talk to each other and sooth each other from their own crib. Carter usually does most of the talking, and Bryce will lay there and pull the covers close and just listen and chime in on occassion. Bryce is usually the first to rise...and he will now greet you by sitting on his knees and holding on to the crib. They keep each other company as I am getting KK ready for bed. Carter is still my patient one and Bryce is more demanding. The personalities are so amazing to me. I love seeing how they come out more and more everyday.

Little Miss Katelyn....aka....KK....she is my princess. Perfect....no....huge heart and sweetest smile....yep! She has her days, like us all, and she acts her age at times, but for the most part, she really surprises me everyday with her love and understanding. She LOVES school....Fruit Loop Friday, all the art projects, the instruments and games. Her Montessori school is such a blessing. She is so self-sufficient in so many ways....and she is developing such great habits. She is also developing her brain. She loves letters, numbers and puzzles. She sings...but not only that, she performs. She has such confidence. I swear she is going to be on stage one day :) She tries to sound so grownup sometimes....I have to remind myself that she too is still so little. She loves clothes and shoes. We have fun every morning getting ready. She LOVES a pair of brown shoes she has from Striderite and she wants to wear them almost everyday. Sometimes I hide them from her when I want her to wear another pair...tehehehe. She is still a huge help with her brothers and never pitches a fit when it comes to me having to get the boys bathed and fed and ready for bed. She will just get a coloring book and hang out while I am taking care of things and she will show the boys and I what she is doing and then we make the most of our time together after the boys go down. The biggest thing in her life right now is.....the potty!! She has been doing great!! She is in panties during the day and pull ups at night. She rarely has accidents and is actually starting to tell me when she needs to go and not me ask her 1,000 times...This is crazy to me that my little girl is potty-training....this is such a HUGE step. I am so proud of her...she loves being a big girl! Not to mention the M&m she gets each time she goes. The best part of potty training that I hope I always remember is that instead of going #2 she tells me she needs to make a dinosaur....now that is a memory...that I can't wait to share with one of her boyfriends....okay...that would be cruel (but funny)...and I would never do that....but I can't say her father won't!

Baby #4....that's right...I said baby #4....we found out a week ago that I am expecting baby #4 (sorry, I have to keep writing it to believe it :) ) It is still so surreal.....I am so excited with the combination of so many other thoughts and feelings, but above all, so appreciative. Kev and I said that we wanted a big family, and 4 kiddos always felt right. I had no idea that they would all come so quickly, but what an amazing journey this will be. I am 6 weeks along and I am praying for a wonderful and healthy pregnancy and baby. We are not going to find out what we are having so we will be completely surprised. I have my first appt. March 30th. With my first two pregnancies I tried months to get pregnant without luck and then I had to take meds to have my sweet lil' kiddos....and this just happened. God is amazing! So as it is looking....I will have a 2 year old (turning 3 about a week and a half later), 2 16 month olds and a newborn....whoa! Good thing I have a wonderful hubby, a great family, a strong faith, amazing friends and my mom.

Well, that is what is going on....Kev and I are just trying to keep up :) Until tomorrow....

Nervous.....

Like a school girl...

Well, it is official...I start the new job tomorrow morning at 9am. I am excited, nervous...crazy tired (long day of cleaning and organizing in order to get ready for the new job)...

I can't wait until end of day tomorrow...just so I can say that I made it through the "first day" and the jitters.

My parents were amazing and offered to babysit ALL 3 kids for the night so I could get up and get ready in the morning and not have to worry about getting anyone but myself together in the morning. They are so great!! Love you very much!

So wish me luck and I will update you all...well, both of you :)