Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Mother's Day

It was my fourth Mother's Day, a day to celebrate the three most amazing gifts in my life. There is nothing I love more than being a mom. There is nothing I am more thankful for. It is clearly evident to me that I was born for this. To have these three beautiful babies.
Hudson was so excited to give me the present he made at school. He'd been hiding it in the house since Thursday. He brought it up several times a day; asking if I'd found it, making me guess what it is, telling me I had to be very careful with it and hold it with two hands, and that I was going to love it so much he was sure of it. I was in the shower Sunday morning and he came into the bathroom and said he wanted to finally give it to me, but he figured he should wait until I was out so it didn't get wet. Good thinking, bud! I barely had the chance to get dressed (just putting my pj's back on) and he handed me his precious gift, telling me he wrapped it in green tissue paper because that's my favorite color. Such a sweet, sentimental boy. It was a ceramic plate with his hand print. After I opened it, he decided it needed a little more color so he drew on it and made it into a "hand print Mommy" with a face and legs. To say he was proud is an understatement. Also, to say Harlow is jealous of her Mommy's attention is another understatement. (please excuse the messy bed in the background)
All of three of the kids (with Jamie's help) gave me a new charm for my Pandora bracelet. I love how each charm I have means something so special. But Paxton's greatest gift to me came in the middle of the night, when he woke me up (sleeping on the living room floor again), rubbed my face, and whispered, "Mommy, I just want to give you a good night kiss. I love you." I could have sobbed right there, on the living room floor, at 4 o'clock in the morning. We are raising good hearted kids.

I'm lucky enough to have a best friend in my mom. I hope and pray to have the same relationship with Harlow as I have with my mom. She is the center of our world, and the following quote fits perfectly...
"The only thing better than having you as a Mom, is my children having you as a Grandma."

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

harlow's 1st birthday

It was Harlow's big day, and per tradition in this house, she woke up to balloons!! Knowing my wild and crazy girl, I was anticipating her reaction to the balloons, and I was spot on....she exhaled, screamed, flailed her arms about, and wiggled out of my arms to get at those balloons. I knew she'd love it. I know my girl.
Look at that great hair, sticking straight up.
She was interested in her presents, enough to last about a minute and then she allowed her brothers to rip into them.

Her most favorite was this Radio Flyer wagon/rider. She immediately crawled on it and pushed herself around. She was so happy and made the cutest, smiling faces. She can't quite right reach the floor when she's sitting on top so she slid herself all the way to the front and giggled like she knew it was silly.

Let's not forget about these two rugrats even though it's sister's special day. They were just as excited about the balloons and presents. The picture below was supposed to be of all three of them together but sister wasn't having it. Would you want to sit next to these two? I don't blame her.
But her mama, she's always willing to snuggle in to her mama. And man, I can't squeeze this girl tight enough.
Kisses for Daddy. He had just put some lip stuff on and she could taste it. She couldn't take her lips off of him.
And that daddy took this picture and is very proud. As he should be, look at this precious face he caught.
She likes to fit in with the boys, playing with Daddy's phone and wearing his hat.
Because it was Wednesday, we went to Arnie and Sheri's for supper. They went all out and decorated with balloons and birthday decor. Thank you guys for making her day even more special.
Vicky gave her her first ever wax juice bottle. We were sure she'd know what to do, eat the wax versus drink the juice, but she's no dumby. She sucked that juice right out! And wanted more, and more, and another one, and just one more after that one.......
So after all that sugar, it was cake time! Ha, what a lucky girl. She kept looking at me, like she was waiting for me to tell her no. She had a grip on that cupcake and no one was taking it from her. Paxton liked watching her squish it up and shove it in. And he posed by her for other reason that just to be sweet and adorable. He patiently posed there for everyone to take his picture.



Happy Birthday sweet baby girl. Mama loves you, and everyday I am in awe of you.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

baby no more

My baby girl went to bed tonight an 11 month old, a baby. She will wake up tomorrow a 1 year old. I played with her, fed her, bathed her, kissed her, and put her to bed, all as a baby for the last time. It's hitting me hard. I can tell myself that tomorrow won't be any different than today. That she'll still be the same wild, spunky, drama filled, sweet little girl she was today. And I'm so excited for all of the fun and excitement that the next year will bring, but my heart still aches for that tiny baby she was a year ago. The baby I swaddled and snuggled into my arm. The baby that would much rather lay on me than go into her crib. Now, her crib is her haven. She loves going to bed. She puts in a do-do, grabs hold of a bumper tie  and lays right down. In minutes I check on her, and she's asleep, usually on her back. It's easy, very little work on my part, but I still long for the nights she fell asleep in my arms. When Jamie would tell me to put her down or she'll be spoiled. Oh baby girl, remember you need your mama, and remember your mama needs you. Good night. I'll see you on your birthday. I love you.



Monday, May 6, 2013

a day in the life: 5/5/2013

My confession: I am somewhat of a blog-aholic. I read many blogs everyday and several religously. Some I read just because they're interesting, some I read for parenting advice, some because they have families similar to mine, and some I have read since their beginnings. Many of them do a post called, "A Day in the Life", where they document their entire day. I thought I'd give it a try, if for nothing else, to look back at it years from now and remember what life was like when the kids were this age....so here we go (I realize I am likely the only one who will be interested in this, sorry to bore you, and warning- it's long)....

Sunday, May 5, 2013
Hudson is 4 1/2 years old (almost 5)
Paxton is 3 1/2 years old
Harlow is 11 months old

8:00am- I can feel little hands rubbing my face and I know that it's Paxton laying next to me. We had a slumber party in the living room, as we usually do on weekends. I pretend to sleep a little while longer because I love that he's rubbing my cheeks. I finally open my eyes and he immediately asks, "Where's my daddy?" as he looks toward the empty couch. I tell him daddy has to work again today but will be home later. He says back to me, "I like you too" and I know that means he's a little bit bummed that his daddy isn't home.
8:05am- Hudson wakes up and I feel another little hand on my face. His first words are, "I love you". What a great wake up call! I am immediately sad that tonight I'll be in my own bed and the weekend will be over. We just lie there awake for awhile. Hudson looks through pictures on my phone and asks why I take so many of Harlow. I tell him because she's a baby and doing everything for the first time. I feel guilty and think to myself that I should show him all of his photo albums with just pictures of him.
8:15am- I hear Harlow on the monitor and we all go upstairs to greet her. She isn't so sure about her brothers climbing in her crib when she's just woken up and starts to whine for me to save her. I notice the teeth marks on her crib. She has started biting the rail and is ruining her beautiful crib. Thankfully only the front piece that will come off when it turns to a toddler bed/full size bed. Stinker! I pull her out and feel that she's slightly damp. She must have peed through a little since she steals everyone's unattended drinks and gulps them down.
8:30am- I change Harlow and she's mad the whole time. Hudson is also bugging me about a spot on his monster pillow and he wants it cleaned up right now.
8:35am- I make myself a cup of coffee and get breakfast ready. The boys have requested toaster strudel. I'm happy they don't want cinnamon rolls again because I can already tell sister is not in the mood to wait around for her food. Hudson asks me, "Do you love me or you better?" I tell him that I love him better and he says he loves me more. I melt a little, and then hear Harlow still screaming at me for her breakfast. Earlier she was screaming because no one would help her do the sit n' spin. Clearly, she's not having a good morning.
8:45am- I give the boys their strudels and let them eat in the toy room while watching a movie. I stay in the kitchen to finish up and hear Hudson yelling that Harlow is trying to get their food. I start walking to the toy room and Hudson says, "It's too late, she got Paxton's and squished it." Sure enough, she has strudel all over her hands and arms and is shoving it in her mouth. Paxton starts to cry because he wants his strudel. I clean Harlow up and give Paxton a new strudel. Harlow gets in the fridge and starts climbing around but I let her because she's occupied.

9:00am- Finally sit down to feed Harlow and she's relieved to be eating. She chugs her milk and then say "aaaaaahhhhhhh". She eats two strudels, plus a smashed half of Paxton's! Girl loves to eat!
9:30am- I clean the spot on Hudson's monster pillow and while I'm doing that, Harlow grabs Paxton's strudel again! This time I save it before she can eat it and send Paxton to the couch where she can't reach him.
9:35am- I make myself another cup of coffee. I quickly go outside to fix the deck chairs because their moved all over the deck and it's bugging me as I look outside the kitchen window. It's cold and wet so I check the weather forecast on my phone hoping it'll warm up so we can go outside later.
9:40am- I sit on the couch with the boys to watch Wreck It Ralph. Paxton can recite all of the words because he's watched it about a hundred times and loves it. I hear Ralph say, "Sayonara sucker" and now know why Paxton has been saying that word (sucker). I text my mom to tell her it really does say it. Hudson told us it did but I found it hard to believe an animated movie would have that word in it, I was wrong. Harlow tries to put her teething necklace on herself and I take it as a sign that she either thinks it helps or she already wants to accessorize. Ha. I realize neither are true, but I put it on for her. Hudson asks me to snuggle with him while we watch the movie some more. I can't refuse, although I am now noticing other naughty words and phrases Ralph says and am wondering if the boys should be watching it. Ralph pretty much breaks anything and everything that gets in his way and I can totally see Paxton's recent behaviors mimicing this movie. Harlow is climbing all over her toys and being destructive. Maybe she's mimicing this movie too.
9:50am- Hudson asks me where our souls are. I'm taken back by this question and have no idea how to answer it. I tell him that it's hard to explain but that our souls are in our hearts and how we feel. I wonder if that's even close to right so I google it. I was close enough. This kid comes up with all sorts of questions.
10:00am- I realize the boys have both left the couch and now I'm watching Wreck It Ralph by myself. Harlow found her do-dos (pacifiers) and is sorting and grouping them, moving them from table to couch. I'm somewhat impressed with this type of play, I praise her and she puts one in her mouth and quits playing.
10:05am- Hudson comes back to snuggle with me and asks if I like him. I tell him yes and ask why he's asking. He says he just always wants to know that I like him. Part of me thinks he says these things because he knows it melts me. This boy knows what he's doing. Harlow has the remote and somehow freezes the TV. It takes me a minute to figure out how to fix it. Paxton tells me he doesn't fix things, he breaks things. Another wonderful quote from this darn movie. Then I hear the song "Shut Up and Drive" by Rihanna on the movie and think what an innappropriate song for a child's movie. Clearly there is another meaning to her lyrics rather than singing about driving.
10:15am- Harlow lays down on the floor and is getting tired so I take her up for a nap. She waves bye to her brothers and I swear she can say "love you" and does. I finish the movie with the boys. They know what's naughty and have pointed out the words and behavior and do seem to get the good moral of the story so I decide to let them watch it. The damage has already been done anyway.
10:50am- I finally clean up the blankets in the living room, reminding me again that it's Sunday and bums me out. I ask Paxton to take his pillow up to his bed but I accidentally said blanket so he tells me, "Nope, I'm not going to because you said blanket." Turd! I tackle him and tickle him until he says he'll help. Hudson is playing a game on the iPad and asks me how to spell "loading" because he thinks that's what it says. I ask him to spell the letters to me and he's right.

11:10am-The boys and myself aren't even dressed yet so I head upstairs and get clothes for everyone. I come back down and hear Paxton yelling from the bathroom that he's done pooping. At least he's telling me, sometimes he'll go and wipe by himself and we never know. Everyone gets dressed and I realize they haven't brushed their teeth yet since we were sleeping in the living room. We go up and everyone brushes and I wonder how old the boys were when we started brushing their teeth and think that I should get Harlow a toothbrush for her 6 teeth. I lick my finger to wipe Hudson's mouth and he yells at me that it's gross and to never do that to him again. For some reason this makes me sad. And I remember hating when my mom did that to me. I wonder if all mom's do this?
11:30am- I start making their lunch. Hudson requests a peanut butter sandwich, goldfish crackers, and an apple. I check Harlow on the monitor. She's still sleeping, on her back like usual. This is weird to me as the boys never slept on their backs. It gives her a terrible fuzzy hairdo when she wakes up.
11:35am- I give the boys their food. They pick to eat on the little table in the living room. Paxton says he doesn't like his sandwich, which he's said before so I offer him a hotdog instead and he's happy. Hudson bosses him around, telling him he should eat his sandwich and I remind him that he's not the boss and there is a lot of foods that he won't eat. I empty and refill the dishwasher. Usually a job Jamie does. Which reminds me that he text earlier and I never answered him.
11:45am- I check the weather again. Poor Paxton has been asking to go outside every 10 minutes. I overhear Paxton ask Hudson if he wants a bite of his hotdog and Hudson says "No, I don't like hotdogs" and I laugh since that is just what I reminded him of.
11:50am- I sit on the couch while the boys eat, check Instagram and Facebook. Hudson tells me again that he loves me more than I love him. We argue who loves who more. Jamie texts that he'll be home in about an hour. Much earlier than we thought so I'm excited. Paxton complains that his lip hurts. He has a kankersore and I've begged him to let me put medicine on it but he won't let me.
12:00pm- The boys finish lunch and start playing with their trucks and cars. I have to fix a wheel for Paxton. Hudson is driving a garbage truck and he tells me he's recycling old cars. I remind them to play quietly because their sister is sleeping, but it's mainly for my own sanity, sister sleeps pretty soundly. I clean up their lunch and decide to eat before Harlow wakes up. I'm having left over taco pizza and tell myself that I'll restart my diet tomorrow.....again.
12:30pm- I enjoyed my lunch in peace, something that rarely happens. The boys are now playing their trucks in the basement. Jamie texts asking if I want Mexican for supper and I feel like he's trying to butter me up because he knows I love Mexican and he doesn't. I'm suspicious, but tell him I had taco pizza for lunch and I'm not really in the mood. I throw in a load of laundry and clean up the living room toys. Paxton yells at me for picking up a blanket that was on his truck because apparently that truck was resting. I can't believe I didn't know. Ha.
12:45pm- The boys call me to come in the basement to show me tricks they can do on the little trampoline. I get nervous they're going to fly right off that thing. I tell them to be careful and Hudson tells me he already did flip over it and he's fine. 

1:05pm- Since Harlow is still napping I decide to do an ab workout and watch Ellen. Now that Jamie will get home earlier I'd have time to go to the gym but I know I won't so I'm feeling guilty. I only get about 5 minutes into the workout and Harlow is awake.
1:10pm- I go up and get Harlow, one of my favorite things to do. I love seeing her smile when I walk in. I change her diaper and make her a very late lunch, green beans and string cheese. She loves to eat but she likes the cheese better than the beans. Hudson comes up and asks if instead of a nap they could just rest in the basement and watch a movie. I tell him sure since it's Sunday and they'll be going to bed early tonight. He says thank you and heads downstairs to tell Paxton. I hear them turn the movie on and lights off.
1:20pm- Jamie gets home. He asks where the boys are and goes downstairs to see them. He comes right back up and tells me Hudson yelled at him because it's their rest time. He talks to Harlow instead and tells me she's the cutest girl ever, as if I didn't already know that. Harlow signs that she wants more milk. I ask Jamie how his heel feels because it's been hurting for awhile. He says it feels better and he's so relieved because he was getting nervous. He admits he saw a commercial about numbness in the heel being a symptom of some terrible disease. I laugh at him that he's finally admitting this to me and he tells me not to blog it. Too bad.
1:30pm- Paxton comes upstairs because he just needs to see his daddy. Both boys are now spinning on the sit n' spin, apparently their rest time is over. Hudson asks Jamie the same question he asked me about our souls. Jamie gives me a "help me out" look and I told him Hudson already asked me. Jamie tells him our souls are everywhere in our bodies and it's about what we think and feel. Hudson seems to kind of understand, and then tells us that he knows what our souls look like because he saw it on Spongebob. He says they're orange and yellow. Then he reminds me that I don't like Spongebob and I tell him he's right, I don't.
1:40pm- Hudson asks for dessert even though it's been 2 hours since they had lunch. I say okay and he picks fruit snacks. Him and Paxton each choose a different kind and switch and share. I'm sure I'm jinxing myself for thinking they've been getting along really well today.
1:50pm- Hudson sees a piece of hair on the kitchen floor and tells me I should sweep, so I do. I ask Jamie to keep the kids in the living room while I do.
1:55pm- Jamie yells from the living room that I should write down that Paxton just kissed him for no reason, he wants that on the blog. Then he yells, "Where's Toots?" (his name for Harlow). He looks everywhere for her thinking she's missing. I laugh because I can hear her in the toy room closet but I let him sweat it out for a bit. He finds her and smells that she's pooped. I love the rule that the one who smells it, changes it.
2:00pm- Hudson pushed Paxton off the couch and Jamie gives the first time out of the day. I jinxed it.
2:15pm- Jamie gets a call that he has to go unload a trailer. I'm bummed but he is taking the boys with him. I'm holding Harlow and Paxton asks me to bend down so he can kiss us both good bye. That starts a whole frenzy of kisses and I love you's between everyone. The 3 boys leave.
2:25pm- I start to vacuum with my little helper. She follows me around for awhile but is quickly distracted by her brothers' unsupervised toys. I finish up and give her yogurt for a snack.
3:15pm- We step outside to check the temperature and it's beautiful so we get ready for a walk. For the first time ever, when I went to put her shoes on, she lifted her feet for me. Little things like that make me proud, it's so silly. I put Harlow in the single stroller and we head to the park. Jamie calls to tell me the boys are on the four-wheeler with Grandpa and having a blast. We get to the park and Harlow loves swinging. She also walks in the rocks for the first time and I'm pretty sure she swallowed a pebble.
3:45pm- We leave the park and go on a little walk heading home. We got the mail and Harlow played with more rocks. She could've spent hours putting them in and out of her pocket. I get sad thinking about last summer when I was on maternity leave. I don't think I've been alone with Harlow since then.
4:30pm- We go inside and share an apple, change her diaper, and play toys for a bit.
4:45pm- I let the dog outside, hang her leash on the door leaving the door slightly open. I walk into the kitchen for a second and when I come back to the living room, Harlow isn't there. Knowing my daughter the way I do, I immediately check outside. Sure enough, she's standing on the front step, peeking in at me. She knows she's trouble!
5:00pm- The boys get home and we made a last minute decision to go eat at Applebee's with Grandpa. While everyone was getting ready, Harlow got in the food pantry and spilled an entire box of Fruit Loops on the floor. Jamie caught her red handed shoving some in her mouth. Paxton and Jamie joined in and ate some with her. Again, she's trouble!
5:30pm- We leave for Applebee's. While driving in the car, I can hear a jingling noise from the backseat. I look back and see Hudson has a guilty face. He tells me he stole all of my change from the cup holder earlier, and "finder keepers". We arrive at Applebee's and Hudson pulls himself up to the bar and makes friends with the bartender. He tells her all about his four-wheelers at Grandma and Grandpa's house. All three kids were really good at the restaurant which is somewhat amazing!! They all ate really well too.
7:00pm- Leave the restaurant and say our good byes to Grandpa and Uncle Arnie. Paxton thinks it's funny that he doesn't want to get in the car and I chase him around the parking lot. We're having fun but I can't imagine what it looked like to people inside the restaurant. We're on our way home and Jamie gets the idea to practice running the bases with the boys so we stop at the house to get a bat and ball and head to the field. I question if it's a good idea because everyone's tired but Jamie insists. The boys are excited of course. They each hit a bunch of times and ran the bases. Harlow thinks walking on the dirt field is hilarious, and playing in the sand is even better.
7:45pm- We get home and I get Harlow ready for bed. She blows kisses at Daddy and waves bye. I tell her I love her on the way upstairs and again swear she says love you back to me. She's excited to get into her crib and immediately grabs for a do-do and her bumper ties.
8:10pm- Jamie gets the boys ready for bed, jammies, and bathroom, and nighttime routine of vitamin, book, and prayer. I kiss them good night and get ready to take a shower. Jamie comes to tell me that I'm hot to which I ask him if he'll go get us ice cream from Dairy Queen. He says he will and I again remind myself that my diet starts tomorrow. Seconds later Jamie is back in the bathroom to get each boy a dixie cup of water which they usually ask for.
8:30pm- I check the monitor and all 3 babies are already asleep. I sit down, check Instagram, and wait for my ice cream.
8:40pm- Jamie arrives with my sundae. I eat it and immediately feel guilty but it was soooo good.
9:00pm- Jamie heads up to bed and leaves me his margarita to finish. May as well! I start this blog post.
9:30pm- I go upstairs to dry my hair. I go into each room and check on every baby and kiss them again because I'm still that mom that has to do that or I can't sleep.
9:40pm- I think I'm getting to bed early but I get caught up in the movie, Valentine's Day. I last see the clock at 10:35pm.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

teething troubles

Our poor baby girl is teething, and these teeth are monsters! She's struggling with a consistent fever, consistent pain, and consistent whininess. I took her to the doctor to rule out an ear infection, and thankfully she was clear, but......that meant that all of this was just because of teething, and who knows how long it will last. We're going on day 7 and there's no sign of a white tooth poking through, only red, swollen bulging bumps.
She was smiley at the doctor's office.
Running to the store for some pain relief medication (which we've been giving her round the clock!). A ride in a grocery cart always makes her happy.
Thankfully she's still been sleeping well. I just want to climb in and snuggle her.
 
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