Mirror, Mirror on the wall...

This little cupcake didn't want to go to sleep, which I've been okay with because I'm crossing my fingers that she will sleep longer tonight.  I sat her in front of this mirror tonight and she has loved to play with her new friend.  It made me think as I watched her squeal with excitement at herself;  When does that change? Seriously,  most of the time I dread looking at the tired reflection and dark circles I see.  I need to get back to loving the person I see rather than taking note of all the things I'm discontent with.  The lessons we learn from our children never cease to amaze me.

Bear Cave

Sunday afternoon we built a bear cave under our kitchen table; throw in a little popcorn and  it was hours of entertainment!

Modern Medicine

I am grateful for modern medicine.  Not that you would necessarily  remember, but with each of my pregnancies I have varicose veins that get increasingly worse each time.  A little fact that you may not know is that when you are pregnant your bodies' blood volume increases by 50% and when the extra blood in your body just sits there in your legs making them throb because the valves in the veins that are supposed to pump the blood back to the heart aren't working it becomes really uncomfortable. I compare it to when your leg falls asleep - like really bad and you start to get feeling back or like the throbbing you get when you put your entire leg in a bucket of ice water.  Try having that almost constantly unless I put my feet up, quite literally.  I wore compression hose for 2 pregnancies to help prevent it from worsening.  The reality is that they will still get worse because the crazy hormones of pregnancy also cause your blood vessels to dilate to accommodate the craziness that pregnancy causes to the body.  Don't get me wrong it is a miraculous and amazing process to grow a baby,  but the aftermath on a mommy's body is kinda crazy - at least for a while.    Honestly though, by the end of the last pregnancy, I would say the pain from the veins was far worse than the actual pain during delivery and it made it really difficult to do normal things like kneel to pray, bathe kids, and even stand (toward the very end).

Now - I am not announcing that we are trying to get pregnant or anything,  but yes we do want to have more children at some date in the future, so I talked with my doctor about what my options are for next time around.  He said yes, having another baby will make it worse whether I have the surgery or not - this I knew,  but our plan is this:  In hopes to eliminate the pain (for the most part)  they will do vein ablation on the main vein that is now 4+ times the size it should normally be.    By doing that they say it should stop the blood flow from there to all the little tributaries that branch from that main vein and hopefully alleviate the pain it causes.  Why am I sharing all this technical jargon with you?  They are doing the procedure this week,  and I'm just getting a little nervous about it, but I know it will be fine. I'm just grateful that there are such marvelous modern miracles.  So,  here is a couple of lovely before pictures and I'm hoping to say goodbye to the havoc the veins have caused.  Wish me luck.           

Blueberries

I've made my own baby food this time,  it really hasn't been too difficult now that I know how to. I know all babies are different, but she has hardly made a sour face at anything she has tried.  This was blueberries.  Mwwaah!  Couldn't you just kiss this face!   She is so much fun, except that suddenly she is wanting to nurse several times a night again - what is that about?  I'm hoping just a growth spurt, but last night I finally had to let her cry it out for a little while - I hate doing that, but every 2 hours was getting exhausting for mom. 

scrub-a-dub-dub

These three monkeys in the tub!  Cupcake is now sitting up and for 1/2 a second I let Miss Peanut hang onto her to snap a picture.  It has been a process, but I'm getting the hang of bathing 3 kids now, took me long enough.  :)

RIP

RIP - peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Pretty much everyday Handsome requests a PBJ for lunch and most of the time these are the remains left of the 1 1/2 - 2 whole sandwiches.  I'm just glad he's eating. 

A good day for couponing,

I've been couponing for a little while now, some weeks are better than others, but for the most part I'm so amazed that I can walk out of a store paying most times between 50-75% regular and sale prices.  There are plenty of times when I realize I actually could have gotten a better deal, but I'm still saving my family lots on groceries.  Today I thought I did quite well.  I paid 20.42 for everything pictured.  The coupons I had saved me $119.19, so I saved about 86% of the total retail price.  AMAZING!  I paid for my 6 month newspaper subscription in less than 1 shopping trip. Go me.

Settling in for the winter.

We have had this cough hanging around our house for about 6 weeks and I'm so over it already,  mommies are not supposed to get sick.  I even went and had a wheatgrass shot from a smoothie place hoping to kick this sooner, no such luck.  We have had too many sick days already this fall and not the fun kind where you play hookey.  I'm crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath that we'll ALL be healthy this week.    

It feels like we've been so busy, but we haven't done much other than Halloween.  We had the missionaries over for dinner on Tuesday night,  which was really fun for my kids. And we had Great-Grandpa over for dinner on Friday night which happened to be his 81st birthday!  The kids helped me make a birthday banner and we celebrated with yummy soup and homemade bread and cherry pie with a candle.  I don't know that my kids listened much, but it was fun to talk with him about his birthday memories.  

 I laughed when my grandpa asked how old Miss Peanut was.  5?, he asked.  No, 3, I replied. Then he laughed.  She will be 4 though soon, but all of my kids are getting so big already.  

Miss Peanut is practicing writing letters and reading simple words.  She loves to dance, she is learning how to use the computer and makes her own sandwiches now. She loves to help me with baby sister and  in the kitchen and even knows how to start a load of laundry (including sorting to starting it, very helpful for mommy).  She suddenly has the obsession with combing hair.  Anytime I sit down to change a bum or just sit she'll grab a brush and comb my hair.  It must be from Tangled.

Handsome is such a sweet snuggly boy, but he has also been a handful.  He loves to sing and has a great sense of rhythm with music.  We really need to get some kind of instrument in his hands soon  (I'm hoping for a piano, but...we'll see).  He loves to play cars and read books,  but every now and then while playing with big sister will come out with a tutu and say its a princess dress.  Poor dad panics of course, but he's just well rounded and plays well with 2 sisters.  He will come to Cupcake and say "I want to hold it"  and try to pick her up or sit with her.  That is how the following photo shoot started.     

Cupcake is now 6 months.  She's loving FOOD,  pretty much anything and everything thus far, except peas.  I've made my own baby food this time and it's been fun to try things with her.  We've done squash, sweet potatoes, pears, plums, blueberries, applesauce,  carrots, peas, and green beans.  She is now sitting up and then flops onto her belly to roll around and scoots in a circle, but I'm kind of hoping that she doesn't start crawling before Christmas.  She just adores big brother and sister and is all smiles to sit up with them.  Oh and she has found her voice - it is so not quiet.  She squeals when she's happy, giggly, mad, tired,  and she says ba ba ba alot. 

And finally I tried to get a pic with Miss Peanut and myself.  She was being such a goof, here is the result:

I know most people are not so excited about it,  but it snowed yesterday.  :)  And I love it!  I'm secretly hoping for lots  and lots more of it so that we can at the very minimum have a White Christmas. However, I shouldn't because Officer hates driving in it and I don't blame him... he had to work 5 extra hours last night because of it.  People were sliding off the roads all over the place.

Trick or Treat

I asked miss Peanut today Trick? or Treat?  She said trick.  I wasn't expecting that and didn't have anything witty or funny planned,  maybe tomorrow we'll try again.  Tonight was our annual Trunk or Treat at the church.  Since having kids,  Officer has worked 3 of 4 Halloweens, so its often a challenge for me to get the kids all ready and out the door.  We made it though, and it was really fun - the primary even had a "Monster Mash"  dance party for the kids and I'd say that was the highlight of the night for Handsome.  Miss Peanut was not interested in much other than the Trick or treating part and Little miss cupcake wanted nothing to do with her costume, so I have no picture of her in it yet - Monday,  she will wear it long enough to get a picture!  Mwahahaha! The low point - was when I caught an extension cord on the stroller and knocked an entire crock pot of soup onto the church carpet - I'm just that talented. I'll shoot for better pictures on Halloween, but this was all I got today.

My Pirate :)

My Princess (so glad she wanted to be Belle again.)

 

 Our Friends

  Our Pirate was smitten by cute Miss Rapunzel.  At our Monster Mash check out this video.  

Handsome is such a ladies man/gentleman already. :) You can see Rapunzel's cute dancing feet in the upper right corner or the video.  He totally heads straight for Rapunzel and offers his hand to dance with her,  you'll see it  if you watch close in the video.  My visiting teacher will kill me cause she is the mom in the foreground, but you have to watch my little pirate.

Picture Perfect

Officer had been working all weekend (he works nights you see); I saw him for about 10 minutes as he headed out to go hunting at midnight Sunday night for a few days.  I had a baby who had been up every 1-2 hours each night all weekend  and wouldn't go back to sleep without nursing (she's been sleeping 8-10 hours for a while now, so I had been a little spoiled :).  So needless to say this weekend was entirely exhausting.  By Tuesday morning I was fried.  After being up all night once again the other morning went a little something like this:

• 6:30am Cupcake is finally back asleep.
• 6:59 am Handsome wakes up
• 7:03  Handsome in front of PBS with some cocoa (carnation breakfast); mom crawls back in bed hoping PBS will keep him occupied long enough for me to catch a few more minutes of sleep before I tackle the day. 
• 7:08 Miss Peanut woke up and was now occupied by PBS as well
• 7:10 Handsome comes down the hall to find me followed by the aroma of his hind side.  
• 7:12 I drag myself out of bed to change him before his newly discovered skill of taking off his clothes creates a bigger problem 
• 7:13  Miss Peanut races to the potty 
• 7:14 Handsome back to PBS; Miss Peanut apologizing for peeing in her pants.  
• 7:15  Mom tells Miss Peanut that she is upset as she slips on chocolate milk barf in the hallway.
• 7:16  Mom crying while scrubbing barf from feet and the floor;  Miss Peanut whaling that she is so so sorry.  
• 7:17  Cupcake wakes up screaming due to Miss Peanut's whaling.  Handsome crying for me to hold him. 
• 7:18  Mommy  and 3 babies crying.  
• 7:19  Mommy calls her mommy crying.  
• 7:25  Deep breath,  Try starting the day again.
• 9:30  Cupcake asleep again,  Two kids dressed, fed, content with some PBS.  2nd attempt at a few minutes nap.
• 9:35  Handsome so thoughtfully brings me a tall glass of cold water from the fridge,  another recent new talent.  He tries to hand it to me and in the process spills the entire contents into my bed.  
• 9:36 So much for nap. 

With the exception of the crying while scrubbing barf and phone call to my mommy in my sleepless delirium,  I was then able to laugh my way through it.  I'm grateful that we didn't have anywhere we needed to be that day.  We spent most of it in our Jammies.  It was not a picture perfect day by any means and I was incredibly exhausted,  but I feel really blessed to able to be home with my little ones.

Ready, set, go

My little superman, after turning two just last week, has suddenly started to be interested in doing his business big-boy style.  I really had no intention of actually potty training him this early and I don't think I will really take the plunge for a while yet, but when he has asked me to, we have let him try.  Sure enough,  we have had at least one positive potty moment everyday this week,  #1 and #2 because he has said he wanted to use the potty.  There is hope on the horizon that one day we will only have one in diapers...

Fall

Knowing that colder weather is approaching all too fast we've been spending the afternoons in the sandbox,  on the swings, and in the garden.  We were able to have a couple fun playdates this week, but tonight it was just me and the kids.

 I can't believe she is big enough to hang out in the swing!?  How did that happen?  Handsome is trying to get the hang of the big swing now that "bister"  (he has combined baby and sister into bister) has taken the little swing.   His acrobatics were quite comical and he ended up on the ground a lot, but he loved it!  Miss Peanut was busy picking the few flowers that are left this year and building a "world" in the sandbox so I didn't get her pictured while I had the camera outside.

I'm hoping these beautiful fall days stick around a few more weeks, we're just not ready to hibernate for the winter yet.

Harriet Potter

Today I was shopping second hand at a thrift store near my house.  Even with my amazing lasik vision, I bent down to pick up an item off a low shelf and failed to notice a peg sticking out right in front of me. WHACK - it got me.  On the bright side, maybe I could pass for a Harriet Potter, for Halloween?  

Rain Delay

Our plans to go to the Farmstead for Handsome's Birthday had to be postponed because of rain, but only for a week.  The highlight of the affair for Miss Peanut was, of course, the pony ride.  She really surprised me, actually.  This was a first for her and she didn't even hesitate.  Her sweet pony's name was Cody. 

 Handsome on the other hand was terrified even just to sit on his pony Spice, he was perfectly content just to wave to big sister with dad from the fence.  He did love the bumpy PVC pipe; we watched him take off a couple times without a second thought for that slide and it wasn't until after he went down and looked up to find a crowd of strangers at the bottom of the slide that he got a little nervous and started looking for mom or dad.  Cupcake didn't get to participate too much in the activities, but was pretty darn cute hanging out in the stroller as long as she didn't have to have her hat on.       

Blog Makeover.

For a few months I've been struggling to keep up with the blog among other things.  Nothing too serious, it's just the normal after baby adjustment period and trying to get the hang of things adding another little set of hands to take care of.  I get overwhelmed sometimes if I think too much about the responsibility I have as a mother.  This summer I was insistent that I could help with something super important I'm sure, but one of my sister-in-laws said "It's just not your season." Of course I was capable of doing it, but my hands were busy tending to little hands.  I heard that again today actually, "It's just not your season," from another sister-in-law.  I love being a mother;  I'm just learning that even though I'm capable of doing a lot of things, it isn't really needful to (I'm kind of a perfectionist, and kind of stubborn like that; it takes me a while to figure some simple things like that out.).  Especially not right now while my little ones are little.  So for now, this is my season; to focus on my little family because that is what matters most and all too soon seasons change.
Love this  and this  
Keep scrolling for the other posts I finally finished.  

Old Soul

 There are wise words from an old soul contained within this little three year old. Today she shared a few with me; I just love her.

Happy Birthday

This handsome sweet boy turned 2.  To celebrate we were going to go to the Farmstead, but we got rained out.  Instead we had all of our family over for warm yummy soup and dump truck cupcakes. It was a fabulous affair!   This little boy was in heaven with all the cars, trucks, police cars, planes he got.  

When I leave this frail existence...

When I leave this frail existence,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high?
Then, at length, when I've completed
All you sent me forth to do,
With your mutual approbation
Let me come and dwell with you.

These are touching words in the final verse of the hymn O My Father, but more than that they were words to a hymn that my Grandma Izzy held dear.  Just a few weeks before she passed away I was able to take my little family down to visit her.  Although she was quite ill,  I was able spend a little while quietly sitting at her bedside.  I sat holding my baby in one hand and her hand in the other.  I will never forget those moments with her;  she was at peace in her life because she had lived it faithfully, she had been away from her husband for nearly 20 years, and she was at peace with what lay ahead for her both in this life and beyond.  I felt that peace from her; I wanted so much to just stay with her a little longer and listen to her.  It was just a matter of just a couple of weeks before she passed away and it wonderful see all of her Children, Grandchildren, and Great-grand children come together.  What an amazing influence one woman can have on so many.  She was so loved and will be greatly missed, but we know that it will not be for too long.           

Video Links

Here are some video links from this summer fun.  Enjoy.
1 - Cupcake finds her voice
2 - Dancing at the "Ninja Park"
3 - Handsome
4 - Miss Peanut as "The Mom"
5  - Miss Peanut - On "Where milk comes from"
6 - Miss Peanut - Teaching her cousin to ride a bike, except when he's down.

A little help please.

The other day I was busy with something and I asked Miss Peanut for a little help.  Cupcake had woken up and wanted some attention and I asked Miss Peanut to go in and sing her a song.  This is what I found a few minutes later.  Gratefully Cupcake was still in one piece and everyone was happy.