I'm BACK!!

Holy cow!  How has it been almost 2 years since I posted on my blog?  I think about it often, but I just haven't gotten around to doing it.  I have really missed sitting down and writing out my thoughts and feelings.

Here is what has been happening lately:

• We celebrated our third New Years Eve in Lubbock.  This is HUGE!  We have never stayed in one city this long, and we still love it!  Lubbock has been so good to our family, that we are not sure when (if ever) we will leave.
• Maddison is now 11, Gabriella 9, Brayden 5, and Paisley 2!
• Marco is about a week away from opening his new restaurant, Aspen Creek!  It is crunch time and he's feeling the pressure, but I am so incredibly proud of him!
• I love my job as a Parent's Day Out teacher, and couldn't be more blessed by the church I work for and the friendships I have made!
• We found a church home, for all of us!  Gabriella gave her life to Christ and was baptized last year, and Maddison gave her life to Christ this year and will be baptized soon!

Lubbock has really blessed us in many ways, a few we weren't ever expecting, and some are far better than we could have ever imagined!

So what have you been up to?

Being sick + a water overflow + a broken oven

Last week was a crazy week in our house!  If it wasn't one thing, it was another.  Let me quickly (hopefully) recap for you.

Valentine's Night, I had 2 of my girl friends and their kids over since all of our hubby's had to work.  Crappy right?  Well being a restaurant wife, I am very used to it.  This year, I decided to do something fun for me and the kids.  It was perfect.  We had wine, chocolate covered strawberries, the kids made a HUGE poster board card for the daddies, and they played.  Two of the big girls decided to spend the night with my big girls.  Saturday we went to make cookies, and our first batch burned and our second batch never really finished cooking.  Crazy right?  I wished I would have thought about that then.

Sunday I woke up with a major headache.  I toughed it out as long as I could before I decided to take a nap before the hubby went to work.  I slept close to 3 hours before I had to finally get up, and by then not only was my head still pounding, my throat was starting to hurt.  I made it through the night as best I could with all the kids, and I crawled in bed early.

Monday I got up to take the girls to school and I could hardly swallow.  My hubby sent me to the doctor before he had to go back to work for the day.  I ended up having strep.  BOO!!  The doctor gave me a shot and a prescription and sent me on my way.

I made it through the day with my two little ones, and went to pick up my meds and dinner before getting the older girls from school.  I figured pizza would be easy for me to make for the kids, and I got myself some tomato soup.  The big girls and Brayden hung out watching tv most of the afternoon, while Paisley and I napped.

I got up to "fix" dinner by throwing the pizza in the oven, and Maddi helped me by starting some laundry.  This is where things go majorly downhill for me.  The oven was not working (wished I would have thought about the cookies) and in return, not cooking the pizza.  I sent my hubby and text, and he offered to feed the kids BJ's pizza when he got off.  Life saver!!  I left the pizza in the oven to see how long it would take with the temperature reaching a staggering "warm" and it took well over 2 hrs!  Ugh!

In the mean time, Maddi went to go to my room, which is close to the laundry room and noticed water all over the floor.  I squished my way to the laundry room, and was greeted by a waterfall of water coming out of the washer.  The carpet was soaked and the laundry room was flooded with ice cold water.  I told the big girls to get towels to soak up the water on the carpet while I scooped water in the laundry room.  The girls took turns dumping out the water for me.  The towels didn't really help since there was so much water.

Luckily my hubby felt sorry for me being sick and all, and brought home the pizza for the kids, and went and picked up a shop vac from work and a carpet shampooer to help suck up the water.

The next day, I started feeling better, and we had a guy here to fix the washer (a tube came loose), a guy here to put out fans to dry out the carpet, and a guy here to fix the oven (a wire burned).  Our house was a mad house for a few days walking over fans, catching up on laundry, and having lots of workers come and go, but it all worked out, ya know $200 later.  But that's life I guess.

Slow Down Christmas

It amazes me at how early Christmas has come this year.  It seems no one really cares about Thanksgiving anymore.  The stores are putting out Christmas decorations in August it feels like.  What's the rush? 
Have you seen this photo?  It is so true!

Black Friday ads have become 30+ pages long and stores are opening SO early, 6 am on Thanksgiving for Kmart!  I loved shopping on black Friday; the getting up in the middle of the night, the thrill of hunting for great deals, but 6 am, what's wrong with people?  The bad thing is, there will be people there shopping just to save a few dollars. 

Christmas has just become so commercialized and so overdone, it is seriously stressing me out!  The commercials make you think you have to buy everything for your kids or they won't be happy and you are a bad parent.  Or at least that is how I see it.

We have taken God out of everything in this country and it seems that he is slowly being pushed out of Christmas too.  The whole reason for the season is the birth of Jesus!  I think a lot of people are forgetting that.  I know it has even happened in our house.  Santa has outweighed the true meaning of Christmas, a fact that I am not proud of.  My kids know why we celebrate Christmas, but the "give me's" are crazy out of control.  I hope that I can change that this year, but it will have to wait till after Thanksgiving. 

I am very much looking forward to Thanksgiving this year.  My dad and step mom are having Thanksgiving at their new house this year and we won't be able to leave town with Marco's work schedule, so they are coming here this weekend!  My mom will be coming in for Thanksgiving like she did last year.  Marco has also invited some of his coworkers over Thanksgiving lunch.  It should result in some great times all around!

What are your Thanksgiving plans?
What do you think about Christmas becoming so commercialized?

Terrific Tuesday #2

Time to recap my week with some things that made it terrific!

 

 

• Wednesday my friend and I took our boys to the Science Spectrum for their fall carnival.  The boys had a blast going through a maze, jumping in a mini bounce house, and playing carnival type games.  Afterwards, we went to lunch and our boys serenaded Chick-fil-a with their version of "Girl on Fire."  It was very entertaining.

 

• Wednesday night, I took the kids to a trunk or treat and to a church carnival.  They had fun seeing all the decorated trunks and playing games for candy.

 

• Halloween night was a blast!  We went to our friend's neighborhood for our 2nd annual Halloween block party!

There were 20+ kids on the trailer!

 

• Saturday the kids and I went out to Tech and tailgated for the first time this football season!  I forgot how fun it was to hang out in a parking lot!
• Sunday was a super lazy day!  Marco was off all day and we ordered pizza and watched football all day.
• Paisley has started smiling and cooing and it has to be the cutest thing ever!





Wordless Wednesday

Our past week in pictures, with as little words as possible ;)

 

Ella was sick on her actual birthday

 

Paisley has started smiling

 

Brayden got sick

 

Ella's late "birthday dinner"

Make a wish

 

Soccer Saturday

He is no longer Brayden, he is now "Super Reader"

Funk Funk Funk

I am in a funk!

I am in a stay at home, watch tv and cruise facebook all day kind of funk.

I am in a workout and eat right funk.

I am in a "I don't like my post baby body" funk.

I am in a mom funk.

I am in a wife funk.

I am in a find joy in the small things funk.

I am in a funk!

*The word funk is starting to look funky*

 

I have been in and out of this funk for about 10 months now, I guess it started around the time I found out I was pregnant with number 4.  I did not want a 4th baby, but there was nothing I could change at that point.  I never had a number in my mind of how many kids I wanted, but I felt overwhelmed and stressed the moment I heard I was going to have 4.  I thought I had it figured out with 3.  Two girls and one boy, that was perfect for me, that was my completed family, or so I thought.  God had other plans for me.  I couldn't (and still don't) understand why I am meant to have 4 kids.

Don't get me wrong, I love my kids with every ounce of my being, but lately I am finding it hard to find the joy.

 

I don't laugh like I used to.

I don't love on my older girls like I used to.

I don't engage with Brayden like I should.

I send my kids off to play away from me.

I yell, I am easy aggravated, I roll my eyes,

I am an unhappy mom.

 

I feel like a terrible mom and I feel sorry for my kids.  I find myself thinking that I would not want to have me as a mom.

 

There are good days, where I feel amazing, where I love being a mom to 4, where I find joy in the small things that we do together.  Those moments I try to take a picture of, those moments I put on Instagram and post to facebook, those moments are just a small glimpse into my life.  The funk moments, those don't make the posting cut.

 

I feel terrible knowing that their are women who struggle to get pregnant and want kids with every fiber of their being, and I was so disappointed and unhappy with my situation.  I have to realize that this is my journey and that is just how I felt.

 

I have to find a way to snap out of my funk, to find my zest for life again, to find joy in my kids and my husband, to figure out my destiny in life.

 

*This is a honest post with my honest feelings, please no bashing or being rude!*

 

Paisley's Birthday 9-12-13

With Paisley being 4 weeks old yesterday, and turning 1 month officially tomorrow, I thought I would finally upload photos from her birthday!

 

Paisley's due date wasn't till the 24th, but a sonogram on Sept 3rd showed that I had double the amniotic fluid that I was supposed to have.  Normal levels are up to 12 and I was at 24.5!  She was also measuring close to 9 pounds, so my dr. wanted to get her out as soon as we could.  We had the induction scheduled for Sept 12th.

 

My very last pregnant photo!!  I was huge since I had so much extra fluid.

I went in at 7 am to get my induction started.  We got back to my room around 8, and I had my water broken around 9:30. 

  

Waiting to get things going.

Paisley was so ready to meet us, because she was born 4 hours later at 1:36 pm.

 



8 lbs 14 oz and 22 in long



 

 

Chubby Cheeks

 

Proud Papa!

 



Big Bro!

 

 

Grani with the big sisters and brother!

*I will add photos of the girls holding Paisley, but first I need to get them from my hubby!

 

Paisley's Newborn Photos

 

This month has flown by and brought on lots of changes, but they have been worth it!

Happy 1 month sweet girl!

 

Maddi's 9th Birthday Luau

I have been pinning ideas for Ella's upcoming Halloween party for her 7th birthday, and I realized I never posted about Maddi's 9th birthday.  Bad mommy, I know!  But in my defense, I was VERY pregnant and then had a baby, so blogging hasn't been my top priority.

Maddi had decided she wanted to do a luau, and I had so much fun planning and shopping with her for her party.  99% of the decorations and party favors came from the Dollar Tree, with a few things coming from Party City and Garden Ridge.

Maddi invited girls from her school and her soccer team and we had about 13 show up!  That was A LOT of 9 year old girls in one small house!  My husband was a smart man, and stayed in the other room.  I, on the other hand, had to be in charge and deal with all the girls, even though I was 9 1/2 months pregnant.  But the HUGE smile that never left Maddi's face throughout the party, made it all worth it.

Warning* Picture Overload is Coming!!

Let's start with the décor.  We didn't go overboard with décor, just tiki type things and lots of flowers.

 

Flowers (from Dollar Tree) and a wooden monkey flip flop (from Garden Ridge) welcomed the girls on their way in.

 
 
 

 

This wooden tiki man (from Garden Ridge) guarded the kitchen.

 

 

I made Maddi's picture number, which is becoming one of my favorite birthday traditions.

 

 

We set up a table so all the girls could get Lei's when they first walked in.

 

 

We found a tiki man/flower streamer (Dollar Tree) that was 6 ft. long and it worked perfectly over the tv, sorry the picture is so bad.

 

 

Maddi loved this her super cute hula girl and tikis (all from Dollar Tree) that welcomed her guests as they arrived.

 

Apparently I only took one picture of the food table, and it was before I put the food out (pregnancy brain at its finest).  We found a cute flowery plastic table cloth (Party City) and had tiki plates and napkins (Dollar Tree).  For the drinks, I had juice boxes, and then I made Sweet TEA-ki and Tiffany Blue punch.  I made bacon wrapped pineapple (delicious!!) and pulled pork sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls (yummy!)  I also had a plate of mandarin oranges, pineapples and cherries.

 

Maddi decided she wanted cupcakes, and I found a super cute "beach" type cupcake, but then I couldn't find any of the tiny umbrellas.  I think the cupcakes turned out cute anyways.

 

 

These were so easy to execute.  I just made chocolate cupcakes with white icing mixed with blue food coloring.  I took some graham crackers and crushed them up to make the beach for the teddy graham to lay on.  The girls all loved them.

 

 

I had planned on doing a lot of games with the girls, but ran out of time finding the right objects for the games.  So we bought some cheap toilet paper and played Maddi and Ella's favorite party game, Wrap the Mummy (this will be a perfect game for Ella's Halloween party).

 

Here are some of the pictures of the girls wrapping each other.  They played this game so many times and used all 12 rolls of the toilet paper.  Each girl had a turn to wrap and be wrapped and then they had a toilet paper fight.  The best part was not feeling guilty about the toilet paper since it only cost $2!!  Best $2 spent EVER!

 

 

Brayden was lucky to have a friend over during the party, and they wrapped each other.

 

Of course she opened presents, and then one of her friends wrapped her.

 

 

On the way out, the girls were given a little goody bag that had a few things in it.  They had a shiny pencil, a flowery notepad, some stickers, a small thing of bubbles, and a few pieces of candy.

 

 

 

That smile, yeah it made it all worth it!!  Even at 9 1/2 months pregnant!

 

What we have been up to and baby update

Now that the girls are back in school, we are getting back into busy season.  This fall will be especially busy with a new baby added into the mix.  Both girls are in soccer, and they are very excited to be back playing the sport they both enjoy.  Brayden could have played in Tiny Tots, but I knew better than to push my luck having 3 in soccer with new baby.

The girls are loving school, and so far I am really liking both of their teachers, although I am not sure they can measure up to Ella's kindergarten teacher.  Mrs. Oliver was amazing!  I still try to talk to her several times a week.  I had a meeting with both teachers today, and of course the girls are doing awesome!  As if I expected any different.  I am one proud momma of my smart girls.

We took Brayden to Chuck E. Cheese's on his actual birthday (the girls first day of school), and of course he had a blast.  Even better, we were the only ones there for a very long time.  He loves guns, so his favorite games were Shoot the Monsters (with water) and Shoot the Spiders.  Then he found the game where you watch a screen and it takes you on a roller coaster ride, and he loved that as well.  Actually, I think he had a blast playing and doing just about everything in there.

7 days after Brayden's birthday, it was time to celebrate Maddi.  She turned 9 this year, and I cannot believe how quickly time has flown by.  I had a dr. appt. scheduled with a sonogram, so we got the girls out of school early, so they could be with us when we saw the baby.  Maddi had soccer practice that night, and we ended the day with a cookie cake and presents.

Things are about to get even more crazy in our house.  My due date isn't till September 24th but we are inducing this Thursday.  When we got the sono last week, the doctor noticed that I had a lot of extra fluid (double the amount I am supposed to have) and that baby girl is already big (measuring 8 lbs.) so she bumped up my induction date by a week.  I am nervous and not quite sure I am ready to go through everything, but it is happening whether I am ready or not.  Luckily my mom is still able to come in and help which will be a HUGE life saver while Marco and I are in the hospital.

The great thing is the kids are very ready to meet their baby sister.  Brayden has been loving on my belly and talking to it (more like yelling), and he wants to buy the baby something at every store we go to.  I have been loving on him all that I can before his "baby" card is handed over.  I know that once he gets used to her being here, he will be a great big brother!

38 weeks has crept and flown by, I have had many mixed emotions (some high and some very low), and one thing is for sure, by the end of the week, I will be a mom of 4!!