{Ahh..the little things}

shhh...

Meet my adorable niece Brianna :)

who is now peacefully asleep...

How sweet is she?

the little things

A big part of my life is made up of little things.

Finding joy in little things, enjoying them with my kids.  Not taking the little things for granted.

But the opposite of that I guess must be getting mad over little things (spills/messes), feeling overwhelmed with little things (have you ever thought of the # of socks/underwear/laundry for a family of six?), and my tendency to over-react to some little things.

Yesterday was Kaden's eye appt, and he does indeed need glasses.  Long story short, I ended up in tears over it (NOT in front of him though!).  I felt such a huge burden was placed on him, such a negative thing.  I started wearing glasses at about his same age, and even though I do not remember being made fun of, I worried about that.  I do not want anything to ruin my confident boy.  I did not want him to have to worry about his glasses while he roughhouses at recess, or outside after school, or plays sports, or swims...

Anyway, I felt awful.  I knew that there were MUCH MORE SERIOUS things than a child getting glasses, but it was the first time I had to deal with something with one of my kids being different/wrong/??? (insert better word here).

Today, I am seeing it like it really is.  A little thing. 

Something we will get through, something he will adjust to, something new.

whew...

What a day! 

I am completely exhausted tonight.  Worn out.

Deep breath.

Okay, a little better, but I need to get some sleep.  Some GOOD sleep.

I watched my niece (3mths) and nephew (2.5) last night and today, and let's just say it was tough.  I will not go into all of the exhausting details, but I have learned alot about myself today.

I have learned that even though I am a very laid back person that *thinks* she does not have (or need) much of a routine, I NEED my routine and so do my kids. They need to be to bed early, and they need a good night sleep.  Otherwise, I have whiny GROUCHY fighting kids. I desperately need my sleep too.  This does not mean getting up every hour (or two) through out the night to check on a baby that SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!  I was making myself half crazy over the fact that she was not getting up.  Argh! 

Today was tough.  Six kids is tough.  A baby that you are not familiar with is tough.  A toddler (yes, Ava is a toddler) that wants her Momma to hold her instead of the baby is tough.  Pair that with the fact that she had too short a nap, and you see where I am going with this...

A tough day.  But would I do it again?  Yes, if someone really needed me, and I hope that says alot about who I am too.

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On another note, my Nanny (grandma) sent an e-mail asking if Ellie was wearing glasses in those zoo pictures.  I reassured her, letting her know that she was wearing a pair of very light sunglasses.

BUT, I forgot to mention here (and obviously to my family) that Kaden failed his eye test at school a few weeks ago.  Tomorrow we see an eye doctor and I am really concerned about it.  I nearly cried when he brought the letter home, which makes it all the more strange that I had not mentioned it to many people other than the few friends I asked who had been there with their kids recently.  I was his age when I started wearing glasses, and I do not wish it upon anyone.  I do not want him to worry about not seeing well.  I have VERY bad eyes, in fact I am sure I am legally blind because I can not see things right in front of my face without my glasses or contacts.  Kaden is a VERY active boy, and glasses seem like they would be a huge pain to someone like him.  He first said he did not want glasses, but has recently started talking about some of his friends and what shape/style they have, as well as what he would get IF he has to get them.  I hope that if he has to get them tomorrow that they will just be for school & reading, and that we will not have to worry yet about sports and the swimming pool, etc.

We'll see tomorrow I guess.  For now, I need to get myself to bed, and wake up tomorrow and enjoy the "normal" of my day.  I see now how much tougher it could be  :)

zoo trip

This last one is funny to me because Ava & Zander are both too busy eating to get ANOTHER picture taken :)  I think Kaden is even trying to stick a cookie into his mouth really quick!

And you may notice that I tried something new this time...ME in the pictures.  Like most Moms, I am one taking most of the pics, so this time I made Daddy the photographer!

I cut my hair last week, and these pictures (as much as I love them) make me mad that I did not just leave it alone!  I think it looks almost the same as last years spring zoo pics, which means I am basically starting all over in growing it out  :( 

Look at how little Ava is, oh my goodness!

spring scraps

I had mentioned a few days ago that I had been doing some digi-scrapping and had some layouts to share.

But before that, I wanted to mention that I WON SOMETHING  :)

I decided to enter the Hawt Mamas Challenge about Spring, and my layout was chosen!  I won a gift certificate for Traci's stuff, and I was so flippin excited!  I love her stuff, and I chose her Be the Change kit, and these awesome acrylics!

Aren't they the cutest?  I started to play with them last night, and my laptop froze up on me mid-way through my layout  :(    UGH!  It is starting to act up again if it is in my lap, so I am assuming it gets too hot that way.  This morning I set up my scrap table again and will try it out while sitting at the table.  The sun is already shining though, so I am not sure that I will be inside scrapping.  Most likely the day will be outside enjoying the sunshine!

Here is another simple page I finished last week, and you can see a few more here.

Yesterday, we took the kids to the zoo!  It was an unplanned trip, and those are ALWAYS the best, if you ask me.  We just woke up & and decided to go.  I packed our lunches this time, as well as some snacks and water bottles of kool-aid and lemonade...and we bought NOTHING there.  It was great.  We've tried it before, but when the kids get there, they always ask for lots of things.  They are FINALLY getting used to "doing without" some things and it is making trips like that so much more fun.  We started out all wrong in the beginning, letting them get ice cream and other treats through out the day, and that was the norm instead of something special.  When you are only spending a few hours there (we're members) it gets way too costly buying lunch and snacks there for everyone every time.  This time, they did great!  Zander did ask for ice cream, but I pulled out my stash of fruit snacks instead :) 

I'll work on uploading the pictures to share!

we're still outside...

It is AMAZING weather here, this whole week has been sunny & 70's.  Today it is 80+ and we've been taking full advantage of it.  We've been outside each afternoon, and after getting the kids from school we've visited the parks.  It has been a great week, lots of fun times!

This morning, Ava had her 15mth ck up (yes, we are late ~ she'll be 18 months on the 8th)!  Anyway, things were great, she is still tiny (25%) but growing consistently.  After that we stopped at the dollar store for more bubbles.  We picked up some the other day, but they did not last long  :)  Today, we threw in a few more bubble toys too, and the kids had a blast blowing bubbles until lunch time.

Now, Ava is napping and I am trying to convince Zander that watching tv & having a quiet afternoon is not nearly as fun as Mommy sitting out in the sun, LOL!  I tried to talk him into the sprinkler, but he wants to wait for Ellie for that.  Such a sweet little brother (or lazy maybe?).

I've been exhausted at night, and have nearly fallen asleep on the couch after getting the kids bathed & ready for bed.  Harry has been walking them all down to the creek each night, and the bigger kids have been getting into the water now.  That is making for some DIRTY (but happy) kids each night.  They have such a great time with their Daddy & his special attention to them all each night.

I am loving a little quiet time after dinner.  The bad thing is that I usually need to clean up the kitchen, so I am not "enjoying" the extra time like I'd like to be.  It also makes for some messy laundry that needs done each night, but like the dirty kids ~ I'll take it, when I see how happy they are.

So, all is good here!  I hope you are all out enjoying some nice weather too :) 

I have some scrap layouts to share, some cute new pics of the kids, and I won a contest (YAY!) so I'll have to post about that soon ...

we're outside

busy playing

enjoying the warm weather

celebrating that everyone is on the mend (WOOHOO!)

this afternoon we are headed to the park for a picnic lunch

and it feels GREAT to be able to get out of the house  :)

now we just need to buy the bubbles & sidewalk chalk (how did the Easter Bunny forget these??) and our welcoming of Spring will be complete

Ahh...

refreshed

I am not watching my niece & nephew after all.  My sister's sitter was found, so I was thanked profusely, and let off the hook. 

That sounds just plain awful, but the timing was just bad.   

I really needed a little break today. 

I got it in the form of a little Walmart shopping with a friend, a brownie iced cappuccino, some "grown up" tv time tonight, and now being alone in the quiet of my sleeping house once again.  Ahhh....

Tomorrow is a new day, and the start of a brand new week. 

I am so happy I get to start it feeling refreshed!

Lord help me

I woke up this morning in a not-so-happy mood and complained my way (loudly, and I think I even threw in a bad word) through yet ANOTHER load of nasty laundry.

I'd had enough, and I wanted everyone to know it.

*stomp, stomp, stomp*

Then I realized that I don't want to be like that, really I don't. 

I"ve already stated (quite a few times...ahem) that I am sick of sick and all that comes with it, aka: nasty laundry.  But the kids can not help that they are sick, and I want them to remember a postive Mom, not one that whines her way through the tasks of taking care of them.

Taking CARE of them.  It is part of the job. 

Do I have to like?  Not always.  But should I make the entire house know that I am sick and flippin tired of it?  Probably not the best choice *winks*

I decided to change my attitude (at least  just a little) and have promised to be a little more positive, even though I really feel less than cheery about the state of my household at the moment.

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Fast forward a few hours, and I get a call from my sister who is in desperate need of someone to care for her two kids tonight while she works.  I let her know what has been going on (sick wise) for the last few days (or is it...weeks/months?) but tell her if she is okay with, I can help her.

Her sitter has just been avoiding her since Friday, and she NEEDS to keep her job.  She works 3rd shift, and will need to sleep some tomorrow too before she gets the kids. 

I'm already at the end of my rope.  Today when Harry gets home form work, I WILL be leaving the house just for a little while to refresh myself.  Maybe a frozen cappuchino, a trip to JoAnn's, something, anything to help me get myself together and ready for the next few days (and nights).

Her kids are 2  and 3 months, so it will be tough enough just having them and getting them used to me and my house and at bedtime, no less.  Brianna sleeps 6 hrs at night (at best) so I will be up with her through the night. 

I can do this, right? 

If you do not hear from me for a few days.... please send help :)

hilarious