Sweet Relief!

Seems as though everyone is gearing up for Christmas. Trees are going up, decorations are being put all around the house, fires, hot cocoa. Oh hot cocoa! Oh how I wish I could have some right now. But I can't. Because....

I finally got this tooth pulled!

Yep, thanks to my mom. I was able to find a dentist make an appointment for today. Dropped the kids off at my dad and Judee's, thanks to them too. They took an x-ray, but as soon as the doctor looked in my mouth he knew it was a wisdom tooth that was causing me all the problems.

So he numbed me up, twice, I'm a big baby. And pulled that sucker out. I am not gonna lie, it hurt, and they said that it was an "easy" extraction! Although I would sit through that pain again to not have the severe toothache I was having.

I am hoping I will be back to normal in a few days!

OK so back to Christmas and decorations. The other day we were at my dad and Judee's The kids were mesmerized by the tree and other decorations. Especially this Santa who tells a story!

They were in heaven with the train that went around the tree. Timothy liked to just turn it on and off, or make it go forward, then backward. About a million times. Thank god we don't have one at our house!We then went outside to check out papa's new fire pit. The kids were not sure about this at all!


On Sunday my mom came out to help me put up the tree and all the decoration while Tim was at work. Thankfully we got most of it done while the kids were napping. They woke up in enough time to put a few ornaments on the tree. It was fun watching their excitement. Especially Timothy, he loved picking the perfect spot to put the ornaments.

Every time he sees a Christmas tree on TV he always tells me, "Look mom, a Christmas tree, we have to build one of them in our house"! This was the first year we put up a tree in this house. Last year I wasn't up to it. I was VERY pregnant, not feeling well. Not in the mood to try and keep Timothy a 2 year old, and Mason a 1 year old away from it. But I knew I had to build one this one!

I think it turned out pretty good. We have some spots on the bottom that look bare. The tree is a little broke and some of the branches hang down too much. Guess we may need a new one next year. The kids love it. The boys have been pretty good about not messing with it, and Taylor sometime rolls over to it and will try and play with it. I think she is more hypnotized by the lights.

So now that all the decorations and tree are up, most of the Christmas cards are addressed, I just need to get the Christmas shopping started. Yep, haven't even started yet. Thankfully we don't have much to buy.

Well I am off to take some more medicine. Figure out what I can eat. I am SO hungry, but can't eat much. Maybe another bowl of ice cream!

Hope you all had a great day.

Check It!

Megan, a friend of mine, is super talented when it comes to all things scrap booking. Digital scrap booking to be exact! She can create you a one of a kind custom order memory albumn for ANY occasion.

With Christmas just right around the corner, you can create an awesome albumn for the grandparents. Behind on that baby book, no time to catch up? How about preserving those wedding memories? Or maybe you need to scrap that vacation. Megan does it all!




Head on over to her blog to check out more of her work or to contact her to get started on your memories today!

Megan is also going to be hosting a GIVEAWAY on her Facebook page, when she reaches 50 "likes". So if you have a facebook, check it out. "Like" her page and be entered to win.

She is also hosting a Cyber Monday deal: Buy one holiday cookbook, get the second one 50% off. These would make awesome holiday gifts for that baker or cook in your family or even for yourself! They are super cute. Message Megan for more details.

Megan is so talented and her work is one of a kind. I am sure you will not be disappointed, so go check it!

Grandparents

I love to see the pure joy on the kids faces when they are with their grandparents. Oh man, there is nothing like it. Luckily the kids do have many grandparents. They have my mom, my dad and Judee, and they have Tim's parents. They are all so involved in their own way and it's great.

Our children see my mom, and my dad and Judee on a regular basis. Unfortunately they don't get to see Tim's parents enough due to them living in Texas. We do skype as much as we can, and the kids get all excited to see grandma and grandpa on the computer!

Timothy calls my mom Grandma, and he knows that she lives by the firetrucks. He also associates a certain playground with grandma because one time she had lunch with us there. It is even to the point that if we are by her house he knows, and don't even think about passing up the street that takes you to her house. He will have meltdown!!

He knows Tim's parents as Grandma and Grandpa. You have to say both. Grandma AND Grandpa. If you ask his where they live he will tell you one of two things. Either on the computer, or far from our house in Texas! The kids are looking forward to seeing them at Christmas!

Then there is my dad and Judee. Or Papa. My dad has always been papa. I remember Tim's dad asking Timothy one time if went swimming at grandpa's house. Timothy quickly corrected him saying " No it's papa, his name is papa". If we ever mention going to see papa he always talks about papa's blue truck, or in the summer swimming.

The other day Timothy asked me if Judee, my dad's girlfriend, was his aunt. I had a good laugh. I told him no.

Now I am not so sure where this post was going. Other than that I am so thankful for my parents and Tim's parents. I am so grateful that the kids have great grandparents in their life. And to see their faces light up when I say we are going to visit....whoever. That is just everything. Priceless!

We love you Grandma that lives by the fire trucks, Papa who drives a blue truck and "aunt" Judee, and Grandma and Grandma that live too far away Texas!

Our Thanksgiving in Pictures

We had a lovely day.






We hope your Thanksgiving was full of joy, family, food, laughter, memories, pumpkin pies, and COOKIES!

Just a tease BEFORE the Thanksgiving post

A few days before Thanksgiving, on Monday it was warm enough for this....

to be running around outside with no jacket or coat on. Timothy even wanted to play without shoes on and I said what the heck.

It was in the high 70s, and Taylor and Mason were napping. So Timothy and I went outside to get out of the house. It was beautiful out. But then just like that the clouds started rolling in, and the temperature started to drop.

Before we knew it, it was chilly and we had to go in. It was just a last minute teaser, before winter really set it.

Yesterday, on Thanksgiving, it rained and snowed. It was freezing out! Crazy weather! Despite our van not having heat, we had a great Thanksgiving. We spent time with family and enjoyed great food!

We have round 2 of Thanksgiving today with my mom. I will be back tomorrow with some pictures from our Thanksgiving. Hope you all had a great day!

Wordless Wednesday

I think I can say this now, probably wasn't thinking it at the time. But I am thankful for my failed IUD......

because without that I wouldn't have her in my life.

Head on over to The Snyder 5 and link up your wordless wednesday post. Or just jump over there to check out everyone else's posts!

SO Very Thankful

With Thanksgiving 2 days away, I have so much to be thankful for. Not just at Thanksgiving, but all year around.

I am so thankful that I had 3 fairly healthy pregnancies. I am thankful that I carried 3 children to full term. I am thankful that I gave birth to 3 beautiful and very healthy children. I know that not everyone can say that, and for that my heart breaks. I am blesses and so very thankful that I can.

I am so thankful that I have Tim by my side. I am thankful that it is because of him that I am able to stay at home with my children. I am thankful for all the good times and the bad. I am thankful that even in the bad times he is still here. Even when we fight, I know I am lucky. And deep down I know the kids are lucky to. I am thankful that he is here for his children. I am so blessed he is in our lives, and so very thankful

I am thankful for friends and family. I am thankful that we have family we can turn to in hard times. I am thankful that our family would drop everything to help us and be by our side. I am thankful that I have friends who are there for me to talk to and for support. I am thankful that I have friends to keep me sane. Without my friends and family we would be lost. I am so blessed that they are so supportive, and so very thankful.

I am thankful for all the relationships in our lives. Without these people I am not sure where I would be right now. They make my life better, and for that I am grateful. They make me smile, laugh, and cry. I am so blessed and so very thankful for my life.

And of course I am thankful for this blog. I am thankful I have a place to write down all my thought, fears, worries, joys. I am thankful that I have a place to write about all our ups and downs, because they are important. I am thankful for all my readers, who have offered support and advice. I am thankful for all the silent readers who have never left a comment, but who have listened. Thank you. I am so blessed, and so very thankful for all of you.

You know you live with a hunter...

1. If you find an alarm going off at 3am.

2. If your house smells of fresh dirt, AFTER washing clothes.

3. If you in your desperate state of not wanting to hear about how much he wants to go hunting, offer to watch his friends little girl at 4:30 in the morning so they can FINALLY go.

Oh yes, friends. I am just that nice.

4. If you have camo pants, shirts, coats, all over the house.

5. If when your significant other is home, hunting shows on on the TV a majority of the time.

Yep, it's been hunting season. That means I am going insane over here! Tim has been going most weekends for a little bit in the morning. I don't mind him going hunting, but it just makes for no breaks for me. That's why he tries to just go in the morning and not all day.

The other day Tim and his friend really wanted to get out Friday morning (they usually go on Saturday), and they needed to find a babysitter to watch Alyssa since Angie works. I don't know what came over me, but I offered to get up at 4:30 am to watch her so they could go.

Luckily for Alyssa, she is just so darn cute and I love her that I didn't mind. Chris dropped her off, and we layed around watching cartoons for about an hour trying to get her to go back to sleep. She was not having any of it, and about 5:30 the boys were up. So we just played instead.

We then had some breakfast, and before I knew it it was already 8:30 am and I could tell that no sleep was catching up to Alyssa. So I layed her down and she slept for 2 hours. She got up right before Tim and Chris got back.

She was such a good girl, we all had fun. The boys LOVE playing with her and were super excited to wake up and see her here. Taylor just didn't know what to think of her, and played next to her for the longest time. It was so cute!

Do you live with a hunter? Have something to add to the list?

Developmental Milestones

If you have been reading my blog for a while, or know me IRL, then you know that Taylor is mobile now. She can get ALL over by crawling. Not on all fours, yet, but by doing the army crawl. She is pretty darn good at it too.

But I am a smidge concerned that she is still not sitting up unassisted. I mean like not at all. The minute you sit her up she thrusts herself backwards. Refuses to sit up. I know that about 90% of babies can sit unassisted by 8 months, so I am hoping that nothing is wrong. I always remember the boys sitting up way before 8 months, and I know that all kids are different. I still can't help but be a little worried.

She is hitting all her other milestones. She rolls from front to back and vice versa. Crawling, babbling, just not sitting unless she is in your lap. I guess I could always talk to the doctor if I was really concerned. She will go for her 9 month check up at the beginning of the month, I guess I could give her until then, and if by that check up she isn't sitting say something.

Just a paranoid momma! At what age did your kids learn to sit unassisted?

It's A Hard Knock Life....

Ahh the rough life of a baby!

Headaches and Patience

The past few days my patience have really been tested. A lot of people have told me that once they had children they found that they became more patient. I have found that to be true of myself.

Except this week.

I have had a pounding headache, EVERY day ALl day. The debilitating kind, the kind that you just need to lay down with your eyes closed all day. Except there is one problem....

I am a stay at home mom, I have kids that have to be fed, changed, you know played with. I don't get sick day's, and it's not really feasible for me to lay on the couch all day with a 3 year old, 2 year old, and an 8 month old

This awful headache is due to my lack of caffeine, soda to be exact. I get excruciatingly painful headaches when I run out of soda. Yes I should probably just stop drinking so much soda, but that would be too easy! Instead I deal with this when we run out, and then my patience dwindles from dealing with a head that might explode.

I find myself wanting to scream STOP. YELLING. IN. THE. HOUSE! Or threatening to spank Mason if he hits his brother ONE. MORE. TIME! Or begging and pleading to please just stop whining and crying for 5 minutes. Or please go find your underwear, and STOP. TAKING. ALL YOUR. CLOTHES. OFF. I find myself desperate. Desperate for a soda. Desperate for just a few minutes of quite. Desperate for the kids to behave.

So what does a stay at home mom of three little kids do in a situation like this.

First I breathe.

Then I get some soda!

And finally we go outside. Because being outside solves everything, right?! The kids can yell, whine, and cry all they want. Outside it doesn't sound so FLIPPIN loud!

It are days like I have had this week that I have to dig deep to find my motherly patience. And for some reason being outside, watching the little ones play, the joy of getting to have PB sandwiches outside, makes it a whole lot easier to find. Their joy and happiness is contagious.

Thankfully I haven't gotten a headache today, yet. Knock on wood. If your a stay at home mom how do get through the day when your not feeling well?

They sure know how to brighten mommy's bad days!

FREE holiday cards from Shutterfly for Bloggers! (Edited to add a few of my favs)

I have seen a few other bloggers write about this awesome deal and so I just had to check it out.

The lovely people over at Shutterfly are offering bloggers 50 FREE holiday cards. Yep you read that right, 50 FREE cards. You can't pass up free can ya?! The only catch is that you blog about the awesomeness that is Shutterfly.

Seriously, I am lovin their holiday cards. There are so many fun choices that I am going to have a really hard time picking my cards. I have never sent out holiday cards before, well for many reasons. But the main one being money, and the fact that I procrastinate too long and before I know it it's already Christmas.

But thanks to the wonderful people at Shutterfly I will be able to send our family holiday cards. And they will be on time!

Here are a few of my favorites:




Which one do you like?

Shutterfly not only does holiday cards, they do all kinds of custome gifts. I am thinking of also making a photobook for the grandparents. Grandparents always love fun pictures of the kiddos. So hop on over today, and make a special gift! Shutterfly is fast, and so easy to use!

Wordless Wednesday!

One of my favorite pictures of Mason! He looks so little here, and he has hair!

Head on over to The Snyder 5 to link up your wordless Wednesday.

Raw(e)- One (5)

This weeks Raw(e) theme is to go to your first folder and pick the 5th picture in it. Here is mine!

This is my son Mason, playing outside on a beautiful April morning!

Head on over to Sailor & Company to see more pictures or participate in the fun.

NEW

Taylor has something new to share with you.

Can you guess what it is?
Ok I'll give you a hint, she got something pierced.
Yep, we got her ear's pierced yesterday. That's what you guessed right?

She did AWESOME too. We went to the Piercing Pagoda in the mall. I held her on my lap and it took all of about 2 minutes. She only cried for a few seconds, and was then all smiles.
See, here she is a few minutes after we were done.

She is such a trooper. I know that some people don't care for getting little ones ears pierced, but she did so great and I must say looks super cute! I am glad we did it while she was young. She doesn't touch or play with them either.

Do you have your little girl's ears pierced? If so at what age did you get them done at? If not do you plan to?

Timothy's Future

A conversation Tim had with Timothy last weekend in the van.

Timothy: "When I get bigger I am going to go hunting"!

Tim: "Oh yea. What do you want to go hunting for"?

Timothy: "Deer, I'm gonna go deer hunting".

Tim: "Well I am pretty sure we will start with something a little smaller, maybe squirrels. Otherwise you might give your mom a heart attack"!

Timothy: "NO. When I grow up I am going to be a deer hunter"!

Tim: " Oh OK, I guess you have this all planned out don't ya"?

Timothy: "YES I DO"!

He was dead serious too. There is no debating this, he knows what he wants!!

A Trip To The Zoo.....In NOVEMBER!

Oh yes, my friends. We went to the Zoo today. And it's November. But today was beautiful out, and we couldn't resist!

It was in the 70's, blue sky, a few clouds. PERFECT Zoo weather! And with it being you know November and all, I knew this would probably be the last Zoo trip of the year. Actually I really thought the last trip would have been the last one.

So this morning we strolled through the Zoo, taking our time. Enjoying the animals and weather. The boys were delighted with the animals, especially Mason. Mason wanted to stop at EVERY animal. And so we did!

We went around the whole Zoo, which we usually never do. There is always something we miss. Usually the elephants. But not today, we seen em all!

I think the Zoo has to be one of my favorite places to take the kids. The excitement and joy on their faces is priceless!

It was a fun, relaxed day. Making memories!

Where is your favorite place to go with your kids?

Hope you all had a great day!