Happenings Lately

So much going on, people.  So much.  Obviously I haven't blogged in awhile.  The truth is... I can barely go to the bathroom, shower and/or eat with 2 hands {oh, the luxuries!}, so clearly blogging is going to take a back seat. But I'm now trying my best to get back into the swing of things. So here's what's been happening lately...
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I go back to work next week!  Ahhhh.  How did this happen!?!  Baby girl is 9 weeks old {today!} so I do feel lucky that I will have had 10 weeks at home with her before I go back.  I also have a nice transition back into the office over the next month, which I'm very grateful for as well!

But, I have to admit... I'm having serious mixed feelings about it. 

On one hand, I am super excited to get back to work. {Call me crazy!}  I just miss being in my work environment, having daily adult interaction and actually getting a designated lunch break where I'll be able to eat.  With 2 hands!  {It's the little things.}

On the other hand, I know I will miss my baby girl like whoa.  And my 3 other babies too, obviously.  But especially Emerson.  We've been attached at the hip {or she's been attached to my boob, rather} for 10 weeks straight... it will be a difficult adjustment to leave her for 8 hours a day while I'm at work.  But we'll get through it... I have 3 times before this, right?
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Speaking of going back to work... I've been having serious anxiety, to the point of having nightmares about it.  And not for any of the reasons mentioned above.  Here's the thing...

My very first day back in the office after my maternity leave with Reid?  My dad died.

The. very. first. day.

Imagine being overwhelmed with the thought of leaving your new baby for the first time as you head back to work. Running a little late, as you transition to your new morning routine.  Sitting down at the computer to hundreds of new emails.  Your desk flooded with all the changes made in the short time that you've been gone. You haven't yet said hello to all of your fellow coworkers, because you've been inundated with work. And just as you get a moment to breathe after a few overwhelming hours trying to get re-accustomed to your work environment, you get that fateful call that will change your life forever.

I never realized, until recently as I prepare to head back to work again, just how much it has impacted me.  The timing of it all.  Being with Reid for 12 weeks straight and then, leaving for work that day, and not seeing him for more than an hour in the week that followed.  Makes me cry just thinking about how difficult that time was for everyone.  It's hard enough losing a parent, but to have it happen just 2 hours into your very first day back from maternity leave when you're already an emotional mess, made it all that more difficult. {And let's not add to it, the fact that I came home late that night to a dog that could no longer walk and that we were told to put to sleep THAT SAME DAY.}

It was obviously the hardest day of my life.

So, as I prepare to go back to work next week, I can't help but have severe anxiety about it. Almost like... "what terrible thing is going to happen when I return to work this time?"
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Let's shift gears, shall we?

Carter is playing baseball!  Well, tee-ball, but still.  He's so excited about it {and so am I!}  Opening Day is this Saturday and I'm praying for nice weather.  The poor kid has only had 1 practice so far because the other 4 have been cancelled due to rain and SNOW. {Ugh!}  Would it be too much to ask to have spring-like weather in spring??  Anyway, here's my little cutie just before his first {and only, grrr} practice:

Love him!  I must also add that he is doing amazing in school.  I was so worried about how he was going to do with being so young {he has a July birthday!} and I was even more worried about how he would act in school, but I'm happy to report that he is doing SO WELL!!  We are so proud of him!  Go Carter Man!
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With April approaching, I am in the midst of planning Brynn's 4th {WTH!?!?!} birthday party.  Her birthday is on a Saturday this year {May 24th}, so that makes things easier.  Of course, that's Memorial Day weekend too, but whatever.  It is what it is.  Anyway, baby girl wants to have it at Build-A-Bear again, so that's what we'll do.  And, like every other child on the planet, it MUST be Frozen themed.  Because, what else is there right now!?!  Exactly. {And a Frozen/snowflake theme on Memorial Day weekend makes so much sense.  Obviously.}

I did design her Frozen birthday invitation a few days ago, and I'm still tweaking it to perfection, so I'll be sure to post it as soon as it's ready!  I will say that it's one of my favorite invitations that I've designed so far though... EEEKKK!

Here's a recent pic of Brynn and I on our little girls day out...

We only went to Target and Chicl-Fil-A, but hey! It was fun! It was so nice to just have some time with my first baby girl. :)
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Reid Joesph turned 18 months on March 10th. He is doing amazing... he's smart as a whip but equally as evil.  He is into everything, let me tell ya.  There's a reason he's so cute, ha! We have his 18 month well visit on the same day as Emerson's 2 month visit, so I'll include his stats in that post as well. Here's a pic of my sweet boy along with his cousin, BFF and birthday twin, Aubrey, last weekend at their cousin Ben's 7th {ahh!!} birthday party...

OMG, they're the best, aren't they!?!
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Emerson just turned 2 months old on March 27th.  Can you believe it!?!  I have a whole post planned for later this week, but here's my little sweet pea on her second monthaversary...

Still with the hair.  I LOVE IT.  She's the sweetest!

She has her 2 month well visit on Thursday with Reid, so I'll have stats and everything for you then!  But let me just say that she is a great baby.  She's been sleeping through the night for several weeks now, has been an awesome nurser {with no signs of reflux, woo hoo!} and is very go-with-the-flow {poor thing doesn't have a choice, but still.} She just adores her brothers and sister too.  She's all smiles when they're around! :)  I'll have more on Emmie Mae later this week...
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In other news, Bob and I are still alive after two months with 4 kids, so that's saying something, right??

More later.  Promise.

Happenings Lately

It's been a while since I did a "happenings" post, so let's get to it.  I literally have zero clue what I'm going to talk about today, but once I get going, I'm sure I'll end up talking about a lot. ;)

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We got Carter's kindergarten pictures back and totally love them! But I need your help... which background do you like better?  I dressed him in blue and grey thinking that I'd end up liking the grey background the best, but I don't know.  It looks kind of... warped to me. Or something.  Help me out...

Barn Door or Grey?

Had I known ahead of time that I would have even considered the barn door option, I would have dressed him a little more... um, fallish. Oh well.

Andplusalso?  HOW CUTE IS HE!?!

I'm so proud of him too.  He's doing awesome in school. And he loves it so much, which makes it even better. I just love talking to him about his day when he comes home {but trust me, sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get him to talk to us about it!} He just adores his teacher and his favorite class is library.  He gets very excited to pick out a new book and then we read it several times together before he has to return it the following week. 

We're still having a little trouble with our super picky eater, but we're working on it. I practically have to force him to buy lunch sometimes {I mean, come on kid, it's CHICKEN FINGERS.  Buy them. We're not packing cheddar slices and crackers for the 10th time this week.}  He'll get better. I hope.

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Reid is talking up a storm lately! He's like a parrot... he repeats everything he hears.  My mom gave him his lunch yesterday, and he looked up and said "Thank you, GG!"  Clear as day!  He also loves to say mommy, daddy, p-pop, ninny (Brynnie), grammy, bubba, ball, catch, ut oh, sweet dreams, most of the daycare kids names and several other words. {He's not saying Carter, Kacy or Kristi yet though... I think it's the hard C/K sound he's having "trouble" with.  He'll get it!}

But his favorite thing to say in the entire world?  The thing that we hear at least 1,000 times a day?

AUBREY!  AUBREY!  AUBREY!

All. day. long. It's so cute!  The birthday twins are BFF's for sure!

Also, besides the yelling of ALL THE NAMES, we get this adorable cheeser smile.  A lot.  I love it.

 
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Brynn is doing so well in GG's preschool.  She was having a little bit of trouble remembering her colors, but she is doing so well on everything else.  She's learning to write her name and is doing awesome on her shapes, numbers and letters.  We're also working on potty training. She gets it... sometimes.  I want her to be a PRO by the time this baby girl is born.  I can only handle 2 kids in diapers at a time, let me tell ya.

Also, for the first time since becoming pregnant, Brynn recognized that we have another baby on the way.  Every time I refer to the baby, she always says "Reid!" and I have to remind her that there is another baby in mommy's belly. {I get her confusion... trust me!} Even when I ask her what we should name the new baby, she'd always say "Reid, mommy" {like, duh!}  We also went through a period of time when she thought that getting a new baby meant that we'd have to send Reid back. Or something. Poor kid.

Anyway, there was a commercial on the other day with a baby crying and she said "Aww, why the baby crying mommy? We're getting a new baby too!" and I asked her what the new baby's name will be {fully expecting her to say Reid} and she said "Baby sister in mommy's belly!"

Melt my heart.

Reid is still her baby for now though...

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Let's talk Christmas. I know, I know... before Halloween.  I don't care. 

I've started shopping {or at least researching ideas} for the kids.  I'm trying not to buy a lot of toys for them this year, but instead get them a few things that they really need.  My main ideas are new wheely luggage and new sleeping bags for all their sleepover parties and family vacations.

But, is it weird that I also want to buy these two items for Emerson too?  I know she won't be here before Christmas {SHE BETTER NOT BE} but I still want her to have these items and it would be nice if all 4 kids matched, so to speak.  Here's what I'm thinking...

Luggage:

Sleeping Bags:

Cute, right?  We'll see! Still looking around...

Of course, I have to buy SOME toys and Carter and Brynn have certainly made it clear to me which toys they want from Santa this year.  More to come on this.

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Don't forget to check out my 25 week pregnancy update.  Can't believe that 3rd tri is just 2 short weeks away!  And with all the holiday's coming up, baby girl will be here before we know it! EEEKKK!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Happenings Lately...

Okay, so there is a lot going on and this is the easiest way to talk about it =)

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The house is officially on the market!  It's been up for a little over a week now and we're still waiting for our first call for a showing {not that I expected them to come right away, everyone seems to be crazy busy through Memorial Day!}  But let me just tell you?  Keeping the house "show ready" with 3 kids?  Exhausting.  Especially when they like to dump all their toys out again 3 minutes after you clean them up and are half out the door on the way to work. 

It's awesome.

But it's fine.  Bob and I have a pretty good system going.  Clean up after the kids go to bed and then just straighten up and make the beds before we leave the house every morning.  Although I'm so tired of it {already, sheesh!} I do really like that our house is always clean.  It makes me feel so much better and more organized!  I feel like my pre-kid self again ;)

So yeah, I'll keep you posted on that and I really AM going to blog about the before and after pictures of our house.  Really.

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So tomorrow is Brynn's birthday.  I mentioned that before and we are really excited about celebrating with her.  She is the sweetest ever and I love her so damn much.  I can't wait to spend the day with her tomorrow! Also... everyone in our family gets to pick their birthday dinner {my mom will make anything they want!} and Brynnie picked pancakes.  So, pancakes it is tomorrow night. =)

But what I haven't mentioned yet?  Saturday is my dad's birthday.

Yeah.  That's going to be tough. 

I cry just thinking about it.

We do have some special things planned to honor his birthday {I don't really want to use the word "celebrate"}.  Everyone will head over to my mom's house in the morning to get the day started.  As I mentioned before, we planted a tree in honor of my dad. Well we bought this gorgeous plaque to place beside it and we plan to put that in the ground around noon.  I'll be sure to post a picture of it on IG {and likely here next week} so stay tuned for that.  We didn't want anything sad... we wanted it to just be a sweet reminder of him and the lives that he's touched along the way. We searched high and low for the perfect plaque and the moment we saw it, we just knew.  I really can not wait to put that out next to his tree in my mom's backyard.  It will be very special.

After the plaque, we plan to have a little lunch BBQ.  My dad LOVED BBQ's and since his birthday always fell on/around Memorial Day, we had one for him every year. 

I remember last year, we had a BBQ for him and Brynn on the same day and it was so fun just celebrating the two of them, BBQing it up, sitting around the fire pit, as the kids rode their scooters and played on the new waterslide. My dad and I drove around from store to store on his actual birthday last year, just trying to get this waterslide for the kids.  We must have gone to 10 different stores for this thing because it was sold out everywhere.  And I remember thanking him for going with me and spending his birthday looking for something that would make the kids so happy.  He was the best! 

 

Sigh.  Yeah.  Saturday is going to be hard.

After our BBQ, we plan to visit the cemetery and then, later in the evening, head out to dinner at one of his favorite restaurants.  Although we know how difficult of a day it will be, we have some special things planned and we will be spending the day together.  There may be a lot of tears, but there will also be just as much laughter. My dad's girls are strong... we'll get through it.

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Sunday is Aubrey's Baptsim!  {We just go right from one thing to the next, don't we?}  My sister has been working so hard on getting everything ready for Auggleberry's special day and I just know that it's going to be lovely.  I'm excited and can't wait to spend the day celebrating such a special baby girl {and Reid's BFF, cousin, and birthday twin!}

It's okay, you can say it... she's the sweetest, right?

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Okay, so I kinda have some news. I kinda submitted a proposal for this big international conference for work.  And it kinda got accepted.  So I'm kinda going to the conference next month.  In... {wait for it}...

Hawaii.

Yep, I AM serious.

I am so excited that I can barely contain myself.  We leave just 3 weeks from Sunday!  There are a few of my coworkers going as well, but guess who else is coming along?  

Bob. =)

We've never been to Hawaii, so this is a dream for us. We're staying in Waikoloa, on the big island.  For those that have been there before, do you have any tips and/or must see things that we should look into?  I do actually have to attend/present at the conference {obviously;} but we do have a few days to ourselves and want to make the most of it!  So far, we plan to visit the volcanoes and go to a luau {my idea, but come on!  It's Hawaii!}  Anything else you can think of?  Any wonderful restaurants we should try?  Let me know!

And I must must MUST thank my wonderful mom and mother-in-law.  As soon as we mentioned the word Hawaii, they automatically told us not to worry about the kids.  We realize exactly how lucky we are to have not one, but TWO, wonderful mothers who are there for us always and who are willing to take our 3 crazy kids for a week.  You both are the best ever and we love you so very much.  MUAH!

And I must do it.  I must.  

Oh, ya know... just a shot of our hotel pool.  NBD.

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Yeah, so there's not much happening lately at all, huh? ;)

Google Reader is going away on July 1st, and I don't want to lose you in the shuffle!

Happenings Lately...

I feel like I have so many things I want to talk about here, but no time to actually talk about them.  At least in separate posts.  So, because it's been awhile since I did a 'Happenings' post {the last one was the morning before my dad died... man how things have changed since then} I figured now is as good a time as any to catch you up on our world lately.

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Carter.

Ya know, the baby that I feel like I just brought home from the hospital?

 {Erin Farrell Photography}

Yeah, him.

He registers for kindergarten tomorrow.  

Bob and I are taking him to school where he will meet the kindergarten teachers and visit a classroom while we complete the registration paperwork.

This boy.

 {Stephanie Glover Photography}

He's not a baby anymore.

And I just can't believe that he will be 5 in July and off to school for the very first time this fall.

I mean, I remember turning 5.  {Crap, guess we need to watch what we say/do now, huh?}

Now my first baby is old enough to have this memory too.

I just can't believe it.  I'm in shock.

Please hold me while I sob.

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Currently, I'm in the midst of planning Reid's Baptism.  Like Brynn's Baptism, we're going to have the ceremony at the church and then have the party at our house.

We're a little late in planning this, but I think everything has been a bit delayed since my dad died.  Just the thought of holding these events without him hurts my heart immensely.  But life goes on, and we're trying to get through these things together.  And, in the grand scheme of things, it's really not a big deal that Reid will be 7 months old at his Baptism.  I'm still glad we're doing it.

We had a bit of a hard time finding an outfit for the "little" guy though ;)  {18 month clothing just isn't normal for a 6 month old.  Well, I guess it's normal for my 6 month olds. Ahem.} But I think we picked a winner.

Adorable, right?

Okay, so because we're having about 50 people at our house for lunch on the last Sunday of April, the ol' to do list is too long to even write down.  Besides my nephew Ben's birthday party this Saturday, we've basically cleared our calendars for the entire month so that we can get the house ready for the party.

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Which leads me to the next point.

We're selling our house.

We hope to list it literally right after Reid' Baptism.  We got new siding a few weeks ago which now leaves us with only 1 big project left to do: our laundry room remodel.  I definetly have to take a "before" picture of this room and post it for you because it will give you a better idea of what the state of our entire house looked like when we moved in.

Disasterous.

I mean, there is drawer-lining contact paper on our walls.  Like, for wallpaper.

Yep.

We start that this weekend.

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Can we talk about the housing market real quick?  Great.

Since we've renovated every. single. room. in the house {most of which were complete gut jobs} we hoped that we would eventually be rewarded for our hard work by selling our house at a higher price than what we paid for it {or, ya know, be able to include the renovation costs in our listing price like in a normal market.}

But ya know, this isn't a normal market.

Since everything crashed, we'll be lucky if we can list our house for what we originally paid for it.  And, of course, also losing the 30-40k of money we put into the house on things like a new kitchen, bathrooms, windows, roof, etc over the last 7 years.

Awesome.

But, ya know.  These things happen.  My only saving grace is that we will be able to buy a nicer house at a cheaper price too.

Hopefully, right?

Oh, and our moving plans are pretty settled now.  We're going to move in with my mom for a few months.  This will allow us to do two things: (1) help her financially since things have been rough since my dad died and (2) save money while we build {or search for a >5 year old} new house. No more fixer-uppers for us, thankyouverymuch.  We plan to move into the same town as my mom anyway, so this also works out with Carter starting school in the fall.

More on our moving/new house plans later.

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Also on the planning agenda?  Brynn's birthday party.

She'll be 3 in May. {HOW?}

I'm trying to book the party this week so that I can design the invitations and get them out by mid-April.

She picked Build-A-Bear for her party location, by the way. Which, on one hand I find adorable and I know she loves it there, but on the other, I find annoying because now I have to figure out how the hell to also feed people.  I'm going to call the mall today about reserving tables in the food court and then I guess getting some pizzas and/or Chick-Fil-A trays and calling it a day.

Oy.

Anyone been to {or had} a Build-A-Bear party before?  What did you do for food?

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So yeah, as you can see, we're not busy at all.

Happenings Lately

First and foremost, I'd like to say thank you.  Thank you to each and every one of you for being so supportive over the past few months.  Not only with my pregnancy and the whole mass debacle, but also with my breastfeeding post.  You remind me everyday of exactly why I love blogging and I sincerely thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all of your kind words of support and encouragement.

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My OB called me on Friday with some amazing post-surgery news:

MY BIOPSY WAS NEGATIVE!!

 :::does happy dance:::

I feel like I can finally put this mass thing behind us.  She said they were just two highly complex nabothian cysts and we don't have to worry about them for a single second longer.  Considering that I've been worried about them since they found the stupid things in May, I will gladly not give them another thought!

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Reid is 12 weeks old today, which means that I'm officially back to work.  BOOOOO.  

{That was a tough click of the mouse.} 

 

However, I feel very {very} lucky to have spent the last 12 weeks with my new {and extremely handsome and lovable} little man. This is the longest maternity leave I've ever had {I had 7 weeks with Carter and 8 weeks with Brynn} and it still wasn't long enough.  {They never are!} But alas, I'm back to work and, although I will miss my kiddos immensely, I'm excited to be back. 

I'm also very lucky to have a bit of a transition phase back into working again.  I'm able to work from home 3 days/week in December, while being in the office for 2 days/week.  We also have the week off between Christmas and New Year's Day, so I will literally be in the office a total of 6 days in December. 

And, if I'm being completely honest, 4 of those 6 days are Christmas parties.  Ahem.

I picked a good month to return to work.

{Today's handsome coworker.  He's a little bossy.}

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We got our Christmas tree this weekend! I'm so excited =)  More to come on this, but let me just tell you.... it's perfect.

 

Told ya.

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I'm going to knock on wood as I say this, but Reid is officially sleeping through the night.  

And not the "sleeping through the night" that doctors tell you about {aka 5-6 straight hours of consistent sleep}... I'm talking for real sleeping through the night.  The kind parents tell you about {aka sleeping until it's time to wake up for the day.}

For the past 2 weeks or so, Mr. Man has been going to bed around 8:30 or 9pm and sleeping all the way until 6 or 7am.  This morning, he slept until almost 8am!

 Thank you my sweet, sweet boy.

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And, lastly, a few posts I have coming up...

• Adventures in Christmas tree shopping 
• This year's holiday card design
• My 2012 Holiday Shopping Guide
• And, finally, my thoughts on being team green {I want to get into this a little more.}

Happy Monday!