Happy New Year!

I'm sitting here with a big ol bowl of popcorn and a coke, taking advantage of every second of 3 kids sleeping at the same time!  I suppose I can thank our kid friendly NYE party last night for this break I'm experiencing, for without it, I wouldn't have some exhausted kiddos! :)

We rang in the new year with Laurie, Liam, Chris & Sarah...we snacked and played board games, and enjoyed some beverages.  It was a great night!

I've been doing some thinking today about what my goals are for 2012, or really just life in general.  What I keep coming back to, is that I just want to be better.  A better mom, better wife, better person...  I want to say yes more, yell less, be more fun.  I see a cleaner, more organized home, special dates with my kids, and even with my husband.  I want to volunteer, and would love for Andrew to join that with me!

We have an amazing year ahead of us!  Andrew will be 6, and will move from Kindergarten to 1st grade!  Princess Evelyn will be 3 and starting preschool already!  And, my sweet little Ryan will have his 1st brithday...he will crawl, take his 1st steps, say his first words... 

So many amazing things to look forward to!  Bring it on 2012!!!

The inevitible

Well... it was bound to happen... my 12 weeks at home is coming to an end way too quickly, and I gotta be honest. I'm horribly sad!

I very clearly remember dropping Andrew off at his first babysitter 5 years ago. I drove away in tears and thought to myself that it was only temporary...some day I'd be able to be home. Two babies later and I'm in the same place, except this time I know it isn't temporary.

There are so many parts of my day I'm going to miss....

My snuggly Ryan so early in the morning when the whole house is sleeping...

Watching Andrew get on his bus & waving goodbye each morning...

Talking to Denise as we walk back home....

The sweet way Evie cuddles up in my lap as soon as she can so we can enjoy our coffee together & watch her 'doggie movie'....

Waiting on the front porch for Andrew to come home...

Hearing him be so excited for his day when he's first off the bus...

My one on one time with Andrew to help him with his homework with no distractions in the house (other than my happy cooing Ryan)...

Getting to spend 2 full days a week as a whole family with Mike home (when I go back, we are never home on the same day together)...

All the time we spend with friends, playdates, and having time to run errands at easy times of the day...

Nursing Ryan... I struggled with the time commitment, but I have to say, I'm incredibly proud of how big he has gotten while being 100% home grown!

Being just a housewife.... It makes me feel like I have purpose knowing my kids & house have been taken care of! Somehow it has all clicked... I like that Mike can come home to a picked up house & dinner...it gives me a good feeling!

My house just runs so smoothly right now. There is a beautiful balance for all 3 of my kids, and so many of those special moments that I am lucky enough to get every day! I'm nowhere near ready to give any of that up. I know there are benefits to going back to work too... adult conversation & a solid 6 hours or so with no crying...oh, and the paycheck is good too. Not quite sure my heart is going to value those benefits though, because it is here, at home, with my beautiful happy babies.

Of course it's not without bumps, and it's not all sunshine all the time, but there is definitely more good than bad and I think that's all I can ask for! I love my family, I love my life & I really hope I can figure out a way for work not to upset my balance!

A few days on my own...

I have been so very lucky with all my kids that Mike has been able to stay home with us for the first 2 weeks. Gives me a chance to get some rest, and help the kids adjust to our new schedule! Mike's officially been back to work for 4 days now. I wasn't nearly as nervous for him to leave me alone with 3 as I was for him to leave me with 2! Kind of funny how that works!

I've been trying to make sure I do something fun with Andrew & Evie, in a situation I can manage with Ryan. Soooo....to the splash park we went! 3 days in a row, only for about an hour at a time, but hey, we went, we got home, got fed & got napped! Pretty successful in my eyes! They've seemed to enjoy it, and Ryan's been just fine napping in his carseat while we've been there!

THe past couple days Ryan's been a touch fussy (nothing horrible by any means!), so today we finally started some tummy time, back time and kid skin time (I lay him down in his diaper & let the kids hold his hands, etc so he gets used to them). He's snoring on my shoulder now, so hopefully he just needed a little activity to really wipe him out!

While I've been home...

Most creative thing I learned how to do: Make PB&J with a spoon!

Most valuable lesson I've taught myself: Start each day with a schedule & stick to it! Makes everyone much happier!

Proudest moment: Actually getting everyone out of the house and entertained!

Hardest obstacle: Dealing with an almost 2 year old who doesn't quite listen from a couch while nursing a newborn! And, by the same token, dealing with a 5 year old who gets a little tired of helping out all the time, and expresses it with a flat out 'No' when asked. Neither of them is difficult all the time, but they definitely are some of the time & typically reach that moment at the same time!

Hardest emotional issue: Not getting to eat dinner with my family. As hard as I try, schedules only work so well & Ryan is always ready for dinner right when we are, so I eat on the couch while I feed him & everyone else is at the dinner table.

What I still need to learn: Not that I've ever been able to brag about my housekeeping skills, but it's definitely harder now! I'd give myself a C+/B- for keeping up with dishes. laundry and toys. What's most important to me is paying attention to the lot of them, which I think I'm doing, but I feel more put together when my house is picked up, so I need to keep up on that too for my own sanity!

I currently don't have any really guilty mom moments as a mom of 3, but I'm sure I'll get there!

Welcome Home!

Welcome home to my beautiful baby boy, Ryan Christopher Barrett! Born 6/15/11, weighing in at 7lbs 4oz, measuring 20.5in long at 9:02pm.

In the hospital, I was amazed at how calm Ryan was...barely crying at all & I would actually need to wake him up to eat! WHAT?! This is so completely different from Andrew & Evie who very quickly established an every 2 hour type of routine! He is most content just laying next to his mommy...he stole my heart instantly. He is so sweet and cuddly & warm and good baby smelling! :) By the time we got home, I had stopped telling people how much he was sleeping...I didn't want to jinx myself by bragging about getting 5-6 hours sleep in the hospital! He continued this trend at home too (and I'm still cautious to mention it out loud!) He was actually sleeping SO much that he wasn't gaining enough weight - I would wake him up to feed him, but if I tried any more frequently than 3 hour intervals he'd be too tired to eat! I let him sleep at night though & in just 2 1/2 short weeks have already enjoyed 2 full nights sleep! I fully expect him to wake up at some point, and then I will just totally appreciate all the rest he let me get in the beginning. He's just starting to have some brief periods of awakeness between feedings & naps, and I'm pleased to say that he stays relatively content. Such a difference from the first two! Andrew was always fine being held (until that point at night where the crying started!), and Evie just cried no matter what you did! So far, he hates to be cold & naked, which makes bathtime, diaper changes & clothing changes fun! He doesn't seem to mind chaos (it actually seems to calm him somehow!), or personal space invasion! He LOVES to be warm & cozy, so being swaddled up tight w/ way too many blankies is totally how he rolls! We even started to put a hot water bottle next to him at night to help him have that 'sleeping next to mommy' feeling that he loves! He is definitely the type of baby that makes you want to have more babies! Yes, this one stole my heart...my heart is full & content!

Meeting Andrew....

Andrew has been an absolutely AMAZING helper! He LOVES to hold the baby, and Ryan is so relaxed with him. Yesterday, while Andrew was holding him (so I could sweep & mop the floors) Ryan just about fell asleep in his arms. (insert 'awwww' here!). He has been just perfect helping to keep Evie entertained & even getting her dressed for me. He helps with the laundry, dishes and cleaning the floor...kinda makes me think something I've been doing is right! He's got such a soft tone when talking to his baby brother & Ryan really seems to respond to him. I feel so lucky to have him around!

Meeting Evie...

Oh, Evie -- she who is OBSESSED with her babies just doesn't quite know what to do with Ryan! She is such a sweetheart! When she first saw him in the hospital, she came running up yelling "baby! baby!", and when she went to hold him she reached out her arms and wrapped him in a big huge bear hug & pulled him to her! Then, she sits & stares at him...so careful not to move too much or be too loud...it is adorable. She is on constant baby patrol all day long, being such a big helper bringing me blankies, diapers, paci's, wipes, and always needing to know exactly where he is. She loves to 'help' his swing go back and forth, and help me get him out of bed, put the paci in his mouth, throw away dirty diapers... it's almost exhausting, but I LOVE how involved she wants to be & think it's adorable to watch her play 'little mama'! I am so lucky to have her around too!

Everyone is happy and healthy and right where they are supposed to be! The transition to my little family of 5 has been absolutely seemless, and I love how great all my kids are! My heart is complete and I couldn't ask for anything more...except maybe a minivan!

Spring Break 2011

Since we didn't make any official plans for Spring Break, Mike & I took an impromptu trip up to Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, WI. It's only 3 hours away, has the coolest rooms I've ever seen in a hotel, and an amazing indoor waterpark! It is right on Lake Michigan, and the views were beautiful! It has me thinking we're going to try to make it a summer trip as well, and rent a Villa right on the beach! The room we stayed in was the Kidaquarium room...it was BIG & clean! The kids had their own little sleeping cubby with bunk beds, a TV & enough room for Evie's pack n play. There was no door on the cubby, but it was seperated, which was nice. There was also a couch, fridge, microwave & coffee pot! We were able to pack lunches & breakfast & ate dinner at the resort. Both kids were excited & stir crazy by the time we got there Wednesday afternoon...a quick wardrobe change and we were off to the waterpark! Andrew was nervous walking in about how deep the water was going to be at the end of the water slides, but right off the bat, there were two water slides perfect for him that didn't drop him into a pool of water (they just slid flat after twisting). He immediately went down both those slides countless times! Then, it was off to explore all the different things that sprayed & dumped water, the lazy river & even the hot tub before going down the BIG twisty tube slide with Mike. He seemed to enjoy it, but didn't have much interest in going down it again -- everything else was just fine for him! The pool was too deep for him to stand in, so he'd run over & grab himself a life vest & off he went! It's amazing to me, that at 4 1/2, he basically could have been left alone to play there & been absoultely safe! The last day we were there, he made a friend and the two of them ran around & played all morning! He finally got up the courage to stand under the big ship bucket which dumped 1000 gallons of water on you! It knocked him down every time (and even about took his shorts once!), and he absoultely loved it! Evie continues to be my child with no fear! She didn't know what to do first, so we led her over to the small kids area with a pirate ship to climb on & lots of different water sprays. There was a little bucket you could fill up and dump on your head -- this was probably her least favorite of everything, but the 2 days we were there she kept getting braver & would dump it on her head! I guess if the rest of the kids thought it was so great, then it must be, right? There was a little baby waterslide area she loved! The first time down, it was nothing but a facefull of water -- I thought sure there was going to be crying, but she just marched back up the stairs & kept going down! By the end she was figuring out how to keep herself propped up a little! She LOVES jumping in the pool! I couldn't let her get too far away from me, because she'll jump in whether you're there to catch her or not! (kinda scary, actually!) Mike and I basically divided & conquered...one of us was following one kid the whole time! I was a bit envious of the parents with older kids who got to sit poolside with their drinks while their kids entertained themselves! In a few years, when my kids are that old, I wonder if I'll be sitting with a drink, envious of the parents with young kids who are able to still find joy in the smallest of water splashes.... I guess every age brings something special & I just have to make sure I treasure it all! :)

Sibling Love

This morning, we're getting ready to leave. I had to go to work & we were meeting my Dad & Karen so they could watch the kids today. Dad & Karen have a room upstairs (more for Andrew & Liam now, and eventually Evie) which has bunk beds, toys & a little TV. The boys LOVE to play up in 'their' room. So, this morning when we were leaving Andrew was asking if Liam was going with them, so he'd have someone to play with up there. Liam was not. Andrew thinks for a moment....

"Can Evie play up there with me?"

me: "not unless there's someone up there with her" (there are 2 sets of steep stairs)
Andrew: "I'll be up there!"
me: "an adult needs to be upstairs to keep her safe"
Andrew: (in the most sincere & loving tone) "I will try my hardest and do my best to keep her safe and protect her so she won't go down the stairs. I can do it, I know I can!"

Such a good & loving big brother!!!! :) :) :) I hope it stays that way!!

Happy Birthday Evie!!

My dearest baby Evelyn Jean,

I can’t believe a year has gone by since the words ‘It’s a Girl’ brought tears of joy to my eyes and forever changed my world!
We brought you home and you cried all the time, but Three little birds (last play count 304), a tight swaddle and bouncing helped calm you down.
You loved laying with Andrew and being held close, except when you didn’t and you sure let us know! (We learned quickly to undress you & leave you alone!)
You have always loved baths – you’d fall asleep while I washed you! You hate tight clothes & shoes (though they’re yummy to eat!), so I keep you in dresses, tank tops, leggings and bare feet.
You are stubborn and strong and know what you want, and I promise to do EVERYTHING I can to protect those core traits to give you the tools you need to go far!
You are happy as long as the day goes your way, and you have a whole houseful of people trained to make sure that happens!
You love music and dancing – your current favorites are Itsy Bitsy Spider, Delilah, and Beautiful Girls – basically anything that has a consistent and predictable beat!
I love your laugh, your ‘look’, your hugs and snuggles, and I’m SO proud to know your recipe.
You are the most amazing little girl, you taught me the infinite capacity of my own heart, you taught me how to ask for advice (and how to listen!) and you are more than I ever could have asked for.

And now you’re my whole life, now you’re my whole world…we’ve come so far since that day…and I thought I loved you then!