3 under 3...

In a week I'll be a mom of 3..all under the age of 3. I'm ready, I think.  Another baby to love, play with, teach,  pray for, take pictures of, kiss, worry about, check on in the middle of the night and lose sleep over.

Easton and Mel are growing so fast and getting so big, yet I still peek in their rooms if I wake up in the middle of the night, just to make sure they're sleeping cozily.  I've heard from other moms that this never stops. You'll forever be checking on your kids, no matter how big they get.  I can see that.

Melanie and I went shopping alone yesterday.  She made sure to bring her purse.  "Just girls" she said as we pulled out of the drive, "Easton's not a girl so he stays with daddy."  I love our trips together, just us girls.

While we were out we bought Easton some big boy undies.  She was so excited when we got home that she kept telling Darrell that Easton was awake and not napping anymore.  "Daddy, I hear Easton talking."  She said this at least 3 or 4 times before it was actually true.  She wanted to give him his new underwear so bad!  I'm pretty sure she was more excited about his new underwear than he was, although he thought they were "cool".

It's weird to think that pretty soon I'll be typing up little stories about another little girl.  A baby girl named Skyelynn Faith.  What will she be like?  Who will she look like?  All these questions and continuous prayers every night that she makes a safe arrival.  I can't wait!

Jot everything down...

Just so you know, Taylor Swift's new song does not say "jot everything down" in the chorus like I thought.  I'm glad I was mistaken though because it makes for a good blog topic. I want to "jot everything down" that my kids do so I won't forget, so they can look back and laugh at themselves.  That is part of the reason (well A LOT of the reason) I started this blog.  It is an archive of memories they can look back on.

Jot everything down..take pictures with friends during your mom's coffee date with her friend. :)

The actual lyrics say "drop everything now".  Still fitting for my life.  I'm working on dropping everything when my kids ask for my attention.  Paying bills, cleaning, cooking, these can all be dropped to read a little book, tickle a kid, or kiss a cheek.  I don't want to be the mom who, without turning their way, absent mindedly says "yes, honey, that's great" when my kids ask me to watch them do something.  I want them to remember the mommy who always celebrated their accomplishments, played with them, and taught them things.

Drop everything now and run in the sprinkler...and let them wear their helmet if they want..haha

Yesterday, I made the conscious effort to drop everything, leave behind a messy kitchen, and get the kids outside before noon.  We did it, but Guapo made another escape before I could get him on his stake leash.  I wasn't about to bail him out of jail again, so this made for an interesting situation, but the kids loved it! I grabbed both of their hands and we headed down the street to get him.  Literally down, because we live on a hill.  Luckily, he hadn't made it past the intersection to the other neighborhoods because at 8 1/2 months pregnant I was already sweating and not looking forward to the short walk to the end of our street.  So, after catching him, I carried Guapy-pop (our new nickname for him that the kids and I made up) on my right side and held both kids' hands in my left hand.  We walked back up the hill toward home and of course 2 of our 4 neighbors saw our crazy little circus going home.  I really wished I had a picture of that..because I wanted to see what we looked like!

Drop everything and meet the ice cream truck/van for the first time.  Jot everything down and make picture memories swimming at a friend's house.

After our early before noon play time outside, we went back inside to our messy house and ate lunch.  Then, as the kids napped, I got the things picked up and cleaned that we left behind earlier to make our memories.  The pool was all clean and filled with fresh water being warmed by the sun so when they woke up they could take a dip.  Dropping everything made the day much more fun! The only thing I'm sorry to report is that the camera didn't make it out of my purse to take any photos.

Speaking of jotting everything down, I had this entire blog written out last night, all I had to do was add the pictures and somehow this morning I pressed a button and everything was gone! Talk about a bummer, but I think I wrote it better the second time around. :)

A mess with a purpose...

This task I've been given...
It's hard...
Trying to turn the natural born bad instincts into good.

I naturally want to act bad and so do my kids..the only difference is that I know how I should act and my kids don't know all the time.  And they watch.  They imitate. They observe my actions and if I act out in ways that are inappropriate, they think it's ok.  I try to be on my best behavior, because actions are louder than words.

This isn't my junk drawer--just a pic from Google images.

We're all born like a messy junk drawer. We are constantly trying to be organized but never fail to stay unorganized.  But luckily we're all messes with a purpose.  A God given purpose.  I want to teach my kids to focus on their God given purpose so their junk drawers are more neat than messy.

Sometimes it feels like, so far, NOT so good.  I just ruined my kids' good behavior expectations by the way I reacted to a situation.  And other times I am thanking God for giving me patience for the 100th fit that was thrown that day.

As much as I can make life sound so perfect and fun by all the cute stories I write in this blog, it is no secret that there are those days where life feels way less than perfect and not fun at all!

Today is a good day.  As I write this blog entry, this is what I'm watching my kids do as they laugh hysterically!  Hoping they wear themselves out for bedtime!

No matter what, God is good and I'm lucky He gave all of us messes a purpose in life!
Oh ya, and the whole reason I'm talking about junk drawers is because I have 2 that need to be organized right now. And I'm not talking about figurative junk drawers.  They're the real deal! lol.

hugs and sleep fighting...

Both my kids are fighting naps.  I'm exactly one month away from bringing a newborn in our house and they have chosen that now is a good time to stop napping.  As annoying as it is, because I would like to nap today too, it all dissolves into happy thoughts when I think about the way they feel when they hug me.  Or the way they look when they hug someone else.
I've decided toddler hugs are one of the best things in the world.  They don't just hug, they do it with all their might and love and they mean it.
Melanie adds on a surprise last minute kiss after a hug that makes me forget the fits and meltdowns that happened two minutes before-hand. And Easton, my precious Easton, will hug me and in the sweetest, little, yet somewhat deep boy voice say, "wuv you mama, much".
If I could save these hugs in a bottle for future comfort and love, I would...and I'd make millions selling them. :)  So, I guess I don't truly care if they miss a nap or two..as long as they still love hugging me...but I'll keep trying for the naps too!