And we meet again....

So...it is that time a night again...3 am and I am up and pretty excited that HBO has on the movie "He Just not that into you". I love this movie and gives me something decent to watch instead of infomercials. I can sometimes be a sucker for infomercials and that is not good to mix insomnia with my bank account :)

I had a great/rough couple of days....on Thursday I was headed to my OB appointment to check on baby #4, only to get a phone call that my doctor had to cancel because she got called out to a delivery and wouldn't be in Friday and asked if I wouldn't mind coming Monday so she could see me instead of another doctor in her practice. Of course I agreed...and then immediately got off the phone and the tears begin to flow. I don't know why really...well, I am lying...I know why, however, it was mainly hormonal with no solid grounds. I was really wanting some kind of update and my doctor to say "You are ok...baby is ok...and you are going to make it!"

You see, as of lately, I feel as though my body and mind are at constant battle with one another. My mind wants to go go go with to-do list's and activities with my kiddos, however my body decides to start contracting, hurting and telling me to stop. This is definitely the hardest part of this pregnacy. So, after the phone call and the waterworks, my mom and husband devised a "Candace needs to rest" plan and arranged for the 3 kids to stay at Granny and PaPa's for a couple of days.

It ended up being exactly what I needed, however, it was bad for the hubs because he ended up running lots of fever, drinking lots of fluids and going to the doctor. He did get to sleep and I followed him around with Lysol so I wouldn't get sick and to try as hard as possible to keep the house as germ free as possible for when the kids came home.

So the entire family is under one roof again...the boys are sleeping like babies....Katelyn has made her way to our bed (still working on every night being an all nighter in her room...but we do have progress) and I am up watching TV and playing FreeCell. Even posting a blog :) All is right in the Guy household.

Until 3am again :)

Pregnancy Insomnia

Well...it is 2:30 am and I am UP UP UP....I slept for a couple of hours, however, between the various bathroom breaks and the 2 year old wandering in here...I am up. So I turn to HGTV and the computer.

Honestly, I think my mind is just racing....I CANNOT believe that in 3 1/2 weeks...or less there will be a new lil' "Guy" in our household. I am trying to picture it...the diapers, the sleepless nights (isn't that now?) LOL and the endless feedings....and the love, the smells, the tiny clothes and the memories of all the firsts. It is very exciting...and the best part is I have 3 other children to share it with and a wonderful husband! I cannot believe that I am going to be the mother of 4 kiddos!! First kid at 26...fourth kid at 29...now that crazy!!

Well...now kiddo #1 is in my room, so I am going to turn computer off...note to self...#4 will NEVER sleep in our bed....hard habit to break :)

Quick Update...

As usual I have been a terrible blogger...I honestly would say I don't have the time...I know it is there somewhere but when I do have a free moment (kids napping, in bed, etc) I would rather, or guess I should say, I need to do all the necessary things like laundry, dishes, prep for whatever we might me eating, clean, etc....with the ocassional veg on the couch and do a whole lot of nothing.

Baby #4 is starting to really wear me out...WAY WAY WAY earlier than the other pregnancies. I mean I still have 10 weeks left....with Katelyn I went strong until the end...wearing heels, getting ready EVERY SINGLE DAY, walking, dinners out, pretty much anything. We even hosted a football watch party the day I went into labor (which was 5 days AFTER my due date). The boys started slowing me down about 4 weeks prior to c-section date. This was, however, to be expected with twins, but even then we moved out of my parents, and moved into a new home, set up a new nursery, repainted our entire yellow house and put Katelyn together a semi-big girl room, even though I was on "bedrest". But Baby #4 cracks me up....it is super active and I swear it is HUGE! I can be on my feet trying to chase down one of the 3 kiddos, or work around the house and BOOM....tummy tightens and I am tired! My doctor said this is normal...3rd pregnancy in 3 years...this one just 8 months after the twins were born...apparently my body isn't exactly prepared to do it all...grow a baby and take care of a household...without a LOT of push. Please know that I am not complaining....just trying to journal my every thought of my last pregnancy. I am actually really kinda sad that it is my last pregnancy...the last little kicks (or jabs) in my belly...the last time for a nursery to plan...the last time truly enjoy the beautiful world of the pregnancy belly and the excitement that it brings me to know that God has trusted another beautiful little person in my care. I can't wait to find out if it is a boy or a girl...a truly surprise moment...and I am not surprised often. I am also sad to pack away my stretchy pants...I really REALLY like maternity clothes.

So as for the kiddos that are keeping me busy as I wait to find out about the next addition....Carter has been growing my leaps and bounds...as in physical development. It took him so long to crawl and become active and then all of a sudden...BAM!!! He is up and walking on everything, pulling himself up and trying so hard to take steps. You can just see it in his eyes!! He is super cute and has the best giggle. He is still pretty quiet but he loves to listen to books and listen to me (or anyone) talk about anything. He is still quite content to entertain himself or play with his brother. Not needy...unless not feeling good...but I am glad to report, since they got tubes last month, sickness has not been around! It has been 4 weeks since his last ear infection (Bryce too) and that is the longest they have ever gone without one.

Bryce is my talker....he repeats and listens. He is also walking...a little more like Frankenstein than a human, but he is trying to stay on his feet the majority of the time to get from point A to point B. He is getting better everyday!!

Katelyn just started back to "school" and she is in a new classroom. Montessori A, which is the 3 year old class. Her and 3 other 2 year olds got moved up. She LOVES LOVES LOVES it. Everyday she comes home everyday with a new story about her friends. She cracks me up with her imagination. Example....last week she told her dad that she, Adrian, Ava, Avery and Jovy were going to ride a bus to Mexico to eat lunch and play. That he could not go, but he could drive them. She told me yesterday that her, Olivia, Avery and Adrian were going to take the bus to the library, then the zoo then to eat and that she would be home later. She is a very busy gal :)

Well, that is the here and now. This pregnant mama is headed to a bachelorette party tonight...well, the slumber party of it :) Bring on the girl time!

Have a great weekend!

Favorite times of day...

Now that I am staying home with the kiddos (well, the boys, KK is still at her Montessori school that we love, she loves...and well, a habit we just can't break...the place is amazing!!), I have come up with a "daily" schedule to keep myself from going a tad crazy.

Obviously it doesn't always work out as scheduled...but that is okay...I am flexible. However, there are 3 things that happen everyday that I absolutely adore!

1.) Katelyn getting up for school....this girl is NOT a morning person...at all. I always have to wake her up...and end up tickling her tummy usually to make it happen. Most of the time, she giggles and grabs my next and we head to the potty. There is the occassional day that she looks at me and rolls her eyes, says "NO!" and turns over...this is actually very funny to watch a 2 year old do. I then send her to the couch so she can cuddle with a blanket and enjoy a little Dora and head off to grab her clothes, shoes, bow and hair supplies. I come back to the couch and she gets dressed and then lets me fix her hair. Actually insists upon it...she loves her bows, what can I say? Then...the favorite part (although I enjoy our routine in general) is when we are done and waiting on her sweet daddy to come pick her up to take her to school (thank you Hubs, so I don't have to load up 3 kiddos this early) her and I cuddle on the couch under a fuzzy blanket and she lays her head on my pregnant belly. It is precious....I can then hear her lightly sing the Dora songs and can see her smiling from the back of her head. It is this moment of silence that we geniunely just enjoy each other.

2.) The boys waking up...there is no general rule of who will wake up first. Some days it is Bryce...others it is Carter...and then sometimes they are both ready to go when I walk in. I normally will hear them around 8am-8:30am and they will begin their morning conversation with each other. It is as though they are catching each other up on their nightly dreams. I will peak in to see them standing in their cribs staring at one another and just babbling. Very cute stuff! Then I will walk in and the bouncing begins...they both get smiles on their face and are ready for the day! It is amazing to see 2 sets of eyes and 2 smiles stare at you and literally feel the love they have...sometimes they even clap. It is my very own standing ovation:)

After these two parts of the day....everything else seems like a blur...breakfast...playtime...naptime (clean, clean, clean)lunch...bath...sometimes nap again and the off to get sister, and then make dinner...and this brings us to the last favorite moment.

3.) The boys go down around 7:30-8pm. Kev is home all nights except one during the week and on the night that he is not, my mom is here so we improvise...but on our usual evenings, I pick up one boy, Kev picks up the other...we normally trade off...KK is in her jammies and we all 5 head to the boys room. Each boy gets in their own crib and grabs their blankie, KK sits in between the cribs and Kev and I stand in front of all the kiddos and read Goodnight Moon. The boys know this means...bedtime, and KK, who has listened to this book about a million times, will read along. When we are done we all give the boys kisses and the lamp goes off. This gives us 30 minutes with just KK to finish out the day before her bedtime.

When days get so crazy...it is nice to know that I can count on the 3 wonderful moments that I hope I will remember forever.

Brycers....

This is my Mr. Bryce....Baby B...here are his stats....

Age: 13 months 2 days

Weight: 19 lbs 11 oz

Likes: He likes to climb...on anything and everything. He loves to play with any and every toy and is really starting to like to read books. Bathtime is his favorite. He actually cries when he has to get out...even if he has been in there for 30 minutes!! He LOVES LOVES LOVES to eat...and he will eat anything that I put in front of him. He is definitely a growing boy.

Dislikes: Waiting....for anything...food, cup, or if you take anything away from him he absolutely pitches a fit...HUGE TANTRUM...let's just say this kid has no patience...I see us butting heads in the future :)

Physical activity: He is my mover and shaker...as I mentioned, he is a climber. He started crawling a 7 months and is super fast. He is almost there on walking...he will stand up on his own, bend over and pick up toys...and you can just see it in his eyes that he wants to move and take a step forward...but he hesitates and just sits back down and crawls. Any day now though...my world will be turned upside down with him walking everywhere!!

Communication: (Same as bubba) What is funny about the boys is that they are not saying alot of "words". He knows "Mom" and "Dad"....usually uses Dad...he is a daddy's boy. But otherwise he just seems to babble alot. The best is when the boys are in their rooms in their cribs and are going down or waking up they have a language all of their own. They laugh and babble and will have their own "conversations". I can't wait until they want to talk to us :)

Weird Habit/thing: His laugh.....he sounds like he should be on the movie Revenge of the Nerds...his laugh is a mixture of high pitch snort...makes me laugh...hard

Bryce just puts you at ease with his presence. He has a smile that will cause anyone to stop and smile back. Although impatient at times, about 95% of the time he is super happy!! He has an unstoppable amount of energy and has a love for life. He is a cuddler and a wonderful sleeper. He even has a smile when he is sick. He is definitely the mischevious one but his charm wins you over ever time. He just makes me happy.

Carter Barter

This is my lil' Carter man....Baby A...here are his stats....

Age: 13 months (well...tomorrow)

Weight: 18 lbs 11 oz

Likes: He loves to crawl everywhere and he is a "tinkerer". He is SOO interested in how everything works. He has a decent attention span...for a one year old...he can play with a specific toy without getting completely distracted. Bathtime is also a favorite of his...he gets in and the legs start bouncing and water starts going EVERYWHERE...he is super cute. He also loves to play ball. He can sit and roll it back and forth and he thinks this is hilarious and usually gets a belly laugh out of him.

Dislikes: Having his diaper changed...hates it...and ear drops. He just (and his brother) got tubes in and they have to have ear drops and it is like fighting a ninja.

Physical activity: He is crawling everywhere, and although it took him a long time to get up and go...at least with the conventional crawl, now he is pulling up on everything and walking from every piece of furniture he can get his hands on. I think it will be a little while before he takes his first actual steps, but it isn't slowing him down.

Communication: What is funny about the boys is that they are not saying alot of "words". He knows "Mom" and "Dad"....usually uses Dad...he is a daddy's boy. But otherwise he just seems to babble alot. The best is when the boys are in their rooms in their cribs and are going down or waking up they have a language all of their own. They laugh and babble and will have their own "conversations". I can't wait until they want to talk to us :)

Weird Habit/thing: The weirdest thing about Carter's habits is that he MUST have something in each hand...so funny...he likes to hold two crackers, two toys...two pacifiers or two cups. It is really funny....

Carter is such a sweet boy. He has really come into his own. He is a great eater and has a great attitude and unbelievable patience. He has gotten feisty when it comes to his brother taking a toy...but for the most part he is happy go lucky. When he was born he was so tiny...barely 5 pounds and when we headed home he was less...(losing the normal 8% of birth rate...but it came right back). He then went from being tiny to round. It was quite funny...he didn't grow in length but his belly sure did. Now that he is so active and has gotten a little bit of height he has become a little boy! He is absolutely adorable and I can't help but smile when I see him.

Ahh....Carter Barter (our name for him around the house)....you are such a special boy!!

Don't you fox me.....

Is one of the many lines you will hear in my household on a daily basis...let me explain...KK is 2 1/2 years old and has been developing quite a "diva-like" personality. She is testing waters and boundaries and we are quickly developing the rights and wrongs, while choosing our battles carefully.

She has begun to "talk back" at times, and usually we can nip it in the bud without much fuss, however, when she is feeling especially feisty she makes this odd noise (and face for that matter) in order to "talk back" without "talking about". The first time this happened...I wanted to giggle because it is quite funny, however, once you laugh as a parent you have lost all leverage. So I looked at her and asked what she was doing and as serious as can be, she told me she was being a fox. Still not really sure where this came from....but now it is apart of our lives.

However, now when she says it...I do not feel like laughing...it actually bothers me because I know she is trying to sass me, so therefore, out of my mouth comes "Don't you fox me...." as serious as can be. Ahh...parenting...cracks me up sometimes.