Another Monday



1. Time with Jack

Last week I worked every day.  This weekend I was able to spend some time with sweet baby Jack.  Last week I tried to do all the night feedings so I could hold and hug on him as much as possible.  He is usually a happy smiley baby.  Once he gets tired he stops smiling.  If he needs sleep he starts to whine.  If he is super exhausted he cries.  I am going to miss these days with him.  

2. Mike had a drink!
Usually Mike takes the back seat and lets me let loose and have fun.  This weekend I took one for the team.  We went to a cookout at Tony & Robin's house and it turned out to be a great evening.  We only made it a few hours because my boobs were going to explode and Jack was exhausted but I think that it was still a perfect break for our busy lives.

 3. Not having to water the plants
We have had an insane amount of rain.  There are a lot of negative things about the rain but one of the positives is that I have not had to water some of the newly planted stuff around the house.  On the other hand, the storms created a river in our backyard which eventually formed into a damn and then a lake.  Not so awesome.  Lots of mulch floated away.  Booooo. 

4. Organize the Tupperware
We have SO.MUCH.TUPPERWARE. that it was becoming a huge disaster.  Last week before work one morning I decided that I needed to organize and throw whatever doesn't have a match.  Then I moved half of the stock into a closet so that when I run low again I could pull some out.  But let's get real -- we always come home with leftovers from somewhere so doubtful we will ever run low.

5. Sunday Run
I went on a run Sunday evening all by myself.  It was a bit easier to run without the stroller and I actually ran for my entire goal.  Small victories but very exciting.

 

The boys have been at Greg's for awhile now.  I have been really missing them.  They are pretty awesome.  I feel so lucky to be their mom.  Looking forward to them coming back and getting some HUGE hugs. 

 



Summer Sunshine

1. Amber

She is back on the list!!  That means Jack is in daycare.  :( 

I am grateful that I have someone I can trust with my babies.  At the last minute I needed Amber three times this week because I picked up work and Mike has had lots of work with the cleaning business.  She had two kids on vacation and was able to get us in! 

 

She sent me this picture yesterday when he was outside enjoying some fresh air.  

2. Swim lessons
The boys are at Greg's for 2 weeks!  He has signed them up for swimming lessons every day and is keeping them BUSY.  They have been riding their bikes like crazy, Cameron mastered the monkey bars, and I am sure they are loving video games.  I miss them but grateful that they get to spend so much time with Greg and they love being there. 

3. I got SLEEP
Last night I hit a wall around 6pm.  I don't know if it is because I only had one cup of coffee all day, did a morning workout, picked up a day of work, or slept terribly ....or a combination of all... Regardless, I hit a wall.  Jack went down super easy and I was in bed by 8.  I slept hard.  I woke up to feed Jack at 1230 and then again at 5.  I feel super refreshed this morning. 

4. Learning about business
Mike and I are trying to start a cleaning business.  We are doing this while juggling our current, insanely busy lives.  He is doing all of the work.  I love watching him be passionate about something and get into his beast mode.  It's so sexy!!  It has also taken off a lot better than we anticipated.  I hope things continue to go smoothly.

5. Sunshine
It has been raining a LOT lately.  Grateful for a few days of sunshine. 

Father's Day

1. My dad

How can I not be grateful for this man.  Holy moly he is the silent strength that holds this family together.  And when I say silent, I literally mean silent. My dad doesn't talk much.  Unless you get him talking...then he doesn't stop.  He has millions of crazy stories that can go on for hours.  Actual HOURS.  He fixes everything in my house and watches the boys whenever we need.  He is always super worried about my moms health and watches over her like a hawk.  He is the best grandpa --all the kids flock to him.  He is the one who keeps his eyes on all the kids while the rest of us adults enjoy a glass of wine.   He is the best. 



2. Donuts with Dad
This year we started donuts with dad on Father's Day.  I woke up Jack early while Mike slept in and we stood in line for donuts.    I dropped some off to the Harris house and then we shared ours with my parents. They were amazing! It was a great morning.  Looking forward to it for years to come.

 3. Mike
I could not ask for a better dad for these three boys.  Daily he sacrifices his own needs for the family.  He fills our house with silliness, fun, and love.  I am so grateful that I get to do this parenting thing with him.  He is rockin' it out and I am always impressed. 

 4. Water baby
This weekend we got Jack into the pool.  We waited until most of the pool was covered in shade and then got him in.  He only smiled once BUT he never cried.  I think that means it was a success. 

5. The beach
I am excited to say that we have officially made plans to get to the BEACH.  We are headed to the Outerbanks in September.  Yay!!!!

Father's Day. Part I

1. A night to remember Erin

Last night we went to the IOPO office and took some time to remember Aunt Erin.  The boys both wore their team Erin shirts and they were on their best behavior.  On the way home Mike and I were talking about how we both wished Erin was here this week especially.  It is hard to lose someone so pivotal in our lives.  

2. Celebrating Father's Day
This morning the boys and I made Mike breakfast in bed.  It was supposed to be a surprise but I had to spill the beans to Mike last night because he wanted ME to sleep in.  Our plan was to make eggs AND cinnamon rolls.  Owen said, "It's a big day, so we need a big breakfast."  At 7am we were grinding coffee beans and searching for the cinnamon rolls.  We were OUT!!  We also didn't have many eggs left.  After burning some toast, we finally had our meal.  The boys and I had a picnic on the ground and Mike chilled in bed.  They presented them with homemade gifts and we enjoyed the morning celebrating Mike.

 Don't judge...our room is a contraction site and we sleep with a million pillows.

3. Spending time with JackJack

My mom has taken the boys to vacation bible school every morning this week.  This morning I was able to spend some time with just my sweet boy.  I can't believe how big he is getting!!

4. The business
We are starting a business.  So far it is going well.  Grateful for Mike working so hard!

5. Sticking to the budget
We have been trying to stick to a budget of $125 a week for food and alcohol.  The first week we didn't do so well but since then we have been UNDER budget.  We even had a party with over 20 people and didn't go over.  As long as we don't go crazy this weekend it should be another successful week.

holy moly....if you read to the end....you will realize how tired I am

1. Bongo Class

I signed all of us for a drum class today at the library but only Owen and I actually made it to the event.  Cameron stayed at my parents to play with Sawyer and Eloise and Mike stayed with Jack so his ears would not explode.  It was a fun 30 minutes with just Owen.  

2. Monday Night Yoga
Cameron did yoga on Monday night.  He was able to choose if he wanted to do a class with just me or if he wanted to invite Owen.  It was no surprise when he invited his brother along.  After I got home from work, we ate a fabulous dinner that Mike prepared, we dropped Jack off at the YMCA daycare and headed to yoga.  They both had fun but towards the end Cameron was fading. ....as you can see in the picture.  I was also fading.  ...it was a long day.

3. Jack's SECOND tooth
Holy moly he will not put on the breaks.  My ever so sweet baby boy has his second tooth.  My hope is that after these two teeth we will have a break and then he can go back to just being a sweet baby who doesn't grow up so fast.

4. Routine
I am a woman of routine and with Jack joining our bunch the routine with him as been especially hard.  He is such an easy, go with the flow baby so no routine has been easy to pull off.  I have absolutely NO schedule for him besides to sleep at night.  He never finishes a bottle and I have absolutely no idea when he ate last.  I know that a schedule makes things SO MUCH EASIER and I know that I will be kicking myself later..... but for now..... we just go with the flow.

5. Cameron's immune system is the WORST.
Cameron left the NICU on formula.  I had FREEZERS (note the plural) filled with breast milk but because of all of his troubles the doctors and nurses thought he should go on formula.  At the time I immediately agreed and never looked back.  4 months down the road we saw a Pulmonologist and found out his issues were NOT because of my breast milk but because of his weak voice box.  Not even batting an eye we plugged along.

Here we are, 5 years later, and the kid has the WORST immune system.  It actually makes me nervous that he will have cancer one day.  I know--I am a crazy, nurse mom. who digresses....

Now....I realize that he only got a bit less of breast milk than Owen.  But still....it was less.

So now, I am still exclusively breast feeding Jack and I am doing it only for his immune system.  And if Cameron's immune system was not so terrible I would probably throw in the towel.  Because right now I am miserable.

So.....you can work out that logic on your own.  I don't feel like explaining it anymore. Good luck.

Fishing

1. The blog

On Saturday while I was pumping I started reading old entries of my blog.  I started back when the twins were four months.  Holy moly I forgot how hard it was to juggle my life.  I was reading Mike some of it and he was shocked as well.  I am SO SO grateful that I started this journal.  I am looking forward to reading more and remembering how crazy the past five years have been.  I am also going to try and write more frequently.  For the month of June my goal has been twice a week but I think that I can do better.  

2. Rick's Visit
Rick made a quick visit on Friday night.  It was great to see him and catch up.  We spend so much time with my family I can only imagine how refreshing it is for Mike to spend time with his.  Rick brought the boys fishing poles and they have been using them ALL weekend.  It was a short visit but we already have the next one scheduled!

3. Mike

This morning Mike took the boys fishing.  Cameron caught a huge fish but Owen came up empty handed.  Owen took this gracefully and was happy for Cameron but like all five year old boys (especially the competitive ones) Mike had a feeling he needed to take Owen back out.  After naps (yes--be jealous--our 5 year olds take naps still) Mike and Owen went back out to fish.  They went to two different places and were determined to catch a fish.  It worked.  Success!  

This man is the best.  So grateful that he is apart of our family.

4. Jack slept through the night

The past few nights Jack has slept past 6 in the morning.  It has been insane.  Mike even went to check on him this morning because he was not up.  It has been pretty wonderful. 

 5. Summer Days
We are keeping our summer days full.  We read TONS of books, make new recipes, have friends & family over, enjoy the sunshine, fish, bike and spend amazing quality time together.  It has been exhausting.  We suck every moment out of the day.  Glad that we live this way but holy moly it is tiring.

Teeth

1. The angry man in the car

Before I start writing, I want to apologize to Mike.  He will probably not like some of the next sentence....

 

So this morning on my way to work I made another driver mad.  I must of cut out slowly in front of a speeding driver and he was PISSED.  He flicked me off and then proceeded to yell at me while he was in his car.  (I could see him in his mirror).  It was all very strange and way too intense.  To be honest, I didn't cut him off but he was going soo fast and clearly I was going too slow and this made him upset at 730 in the morning. 

The reason that I am grateful for him is because it reminded me that people get so worked up over such small things.  We were not even close to getting in an accident.  I was just not moving fast enough.  It really made him mad. 

 

I am grateful that I don't have road rage.  I am grateful that the boys don't live in a home where people are yelling and screaming.  I am grateful that I am not angry at 730 in the morning.  And I am grateful that I didn't get in an accident. 

 

PS...my husband is legit, the safest, slowest driver ever.  I am grateful he always keeps us safe.

 

2.  Tuesday Night Game

Last night the boys had their night game.  It was beautiful out.  An old friend from high school had her son playing on the opposite team so we were able to catch up and Jack eventually fell asleep in the stroller.  And the night overall went smoothly.  We also got their pictures (which cost an arm and a leg!!).

3. An hour alone.
Yesterday morning Jack and I made a quick trip to Starbucks.  (So I guess I wasn't officially ALONE.)  I sat down and wrote out letters to the boys.  I try to do this once a year and slip them into their birthday books.  At the end of the year the envelope in the book gets sealed.  Throughout the year I try to fill it with small memories which include these letters.  It was nice to sit down and tackle one of my goals for the month.

4. Jack is 4 months!!
Lots has happened with Jack's growth this month.  He is rolling everywhere and usually gets to the bottom of his bed during the night.  Two nights ago his first tooth popped through. 

He is my sweet baby Jack who needs to be held in order to fall asleep, takes forever to eat a bottle, and doesn't not like to sit still.  My favorite thing about his developing personality is his grump face.  LOVE his grump face.

 **We don't do much co-sleeping but this week with his new tooth it has been much easier to pull him into our bed in the morning.  I snapped this picture before I left for work Monday.**

5. New Ideas
I LOVE Mike being home.  He is the absolute best stay at home dad.  I wish that we could afford for him to just be home all of the time.  Right now that is not a possibility but I have been trying to figure out ways to make it happen.  I am constantly thinking of things, tossing around ideas, and figuring out ways to strech our dollars.  So this week I have been thinking about starting a cleaning business and just clean homes on the side.

 ...End game.... travel a lot, be happy, and raise happy and healthy children.  Wish us luck!!

Friday

1. Pool day

Yesterday Mike and I took all three boys to the pool.  I still miss Lifetime.  I loved how the boys could walk in and it was easier for them to play there.  This year they will have to figure out how to swim a bit better if they want to enjoy the pool as much.  Also, it was harder than we anticipated with all three boys.  Regardless, it was still successful.  (Hopefully tue next picture I post of the twins will be with a lot less hair!)

2. Friends
This week I feel like NOTHING is getting done.  There have been things on my TO DO list all week that are getting neglected.  I even got up early this morning to fold four loads of laundry before going to work.  Last night I was thinking about what I was spending all of my time doing.  I realized that it was spending time with friends and family!  Yesterday morning Laura made a quick stop by and then we had dinner at my parents house.  On Saturday the McCarthy family is coming in town.  Patrick and Amy also made a visit this week. On tuesday Mike had kickball and then went out for a drink.  All of this makes our lives super busy and super full.  It also makes it wonderful.  Glad that we have started to focus on the relationships and things that matter.

3. It Is Friday
Today at work almost everyone that I have asked, "how are you today?" They have replied , "hanging in there" or "glad it's Friday."  I am grateful that they have all made it to today.  I even had one of my coworkers say, "When I wake up in the morning I just look forward to the end of the day."  WHAT??!!! holy hell. 

4. Meditation
It has happened twice this week.  Hopefully getting back into the swing of things.

5. Pumping at work
I am over pumping.  It is miserable and time consuming.  BUT I am so happy for the built in breaks at work when I can escape.  Like right now! I am pumping and typing away.  Yay!!

Wanted to add in some pictures to show you how Jack sleeps.  It is a bit scary. 

 

Cheers and Happy Friday!