Turning 30!

I turned 30 last Saturday. I have a lot of friends who were realllly dreading this age but I actually could not wait. When I look at my life I feel like I should be in my thirties. Don't get me wrong.....I enjoyed my twenties but I am just very excited about what my thirties will have to hold. For my birthday Cliff found a babysitter for Aidan and Ryla for the entire day and he stayed home with Noah so that I could have the day off from responsibility. I had some friends come over and we pigged out on junk food, watched TV and did a 1000 piece puzzle. ( I know I'm a nerd) It was the perfect day. Later in the evening Cliff had a larger group of friends join us and we enjoyed an fun kid free get together at the house.

If I could choose two words to describe what my life was like when I turned thirty it would be UTTER EXHAUSTION. I have never been so tired in my entire life. However, I will say that I if I am going to be this exhausted, I wouldn't want it to be for any other reason than taking care of my family. I am sure that just in about 6 months or so it will be totally different, but for right now utter exhaustion is what I will remember. I say a prayer every morning after Cliff leaves that I will make it through the day while being patient and an encouragement to my children. I try very hard to not look at nap time as the highlight of my day. My kiddos need me for everything right now so I make it through by telling myself that when I turn 40....they will most likely be beginning the life stage of not wanting me around so I need to take advantage of every opportunity.

When I was younger I never thought about what I wanted my life to look at by the age of 30 but I do feel like that there is not a whole lot I would change. I found a husband who treats me way better than I deserve. He makes me want to be a better Christian woman, wife and mother with every passing day. I know it is a cliche saying but I really don't know what i would do without him. I have 3 amazing healthy children who each make me laugh in their own unique ways. (On a side note I also like that I had them before I turned 30). I am thankful for my education. I enjoy my part part time job and love that I have a career that I feel is pleasing to our Lord. I am thankful that I am able to stay at home and not have to pay someone to raise my children as so many moms are forced to do. I am thankful to be a homeowner and to live in such a beautiful place like Washington.

This turned into a very cheesy post but as my blog is also my personal journal, I wanted to remember what I was feeling when I turned 30.

Here is a pic of how I feel on a day to day basis right now. I don't remember when this was taken but it had to have been a descent day as I see I am dressed. No makeup however. Finding time to put on make up has now become a luxury.

One Month Old!

My Noah turned one month old a couple of days ago. At first I thought.....wow that was fast. But then I also can look back at the last month and feel like we have been a family of five for much more than that. Noah is doing amazing. He continues to be such an easy baby and so fun to have around. He is such a big little guy. He looks much more like a 3 month old. He has been holding his head up since he was born. He continues to nurse well which is one of the reasons I contribute his size to. This has also helped tremendously with my weight loss which has been nice. He is wearing a size 1 diaper but also can still squeeze into his NB ones. He has a couple outfits that he still wears that are NB size but he is also wearing size 0-3 month and even some 3 month outfits. I don't know his exact stats but I am guessing he is around 10 pounds or so. His next appointment is at 2 months. He is just starting to get out of his NB sleep patterns so we get to see him awake a lot more now which has been fun. Right now he is taking a 3 hour nap in the afternoon with the other two which is such a blessing. Cliff and I get some one on one time with him in the evenings as he has been going to bed around ten. He hasn't smiled for us yet but I think that is coming soon. Aidan and Ryla, I would say, have fully adjusted to him being around. I think Ryla for sure understands now that he is here to stay. 10 months ago I could not picture life with him and now we can't picture life without him!!!!!





5 days old

one month
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A day in my Life part 2

A couple of weeks ago I posted a blog about a typical day in my life. Here is a minute and 24 second video of it in action!

Aidan's photo shoot

A little while back Aidan asked if he could take some pictures and also wanted me to take some pics of him....so we had a little photo shoot in the kitchen. Here was the result.

Nana and Papa's Visit

My parents just left yesterday after a week long visit. It was so nice to have them here. It's very hard having them so far away. They had a great time with the kids and were also a huge help to me. My dad did a lot of work on our house and my mom did some much needed deep cleaning for me. The kids were very sad to see them leave because they had such a great time with them. All three were totally spoiled and i wouldn't have it any other way. We look forward to seeing them again in June.

A Day in My Life!

My life seems very crazy right now and I wanted to document a typical day so that I could look back and remember the craziness of it all. I still don't feel that I have adjusted very well to having three kids but know that it will be better in a few years. Trying to appreciate the blessing of it all so that I don't look back with any regret. I have been praying that it will get easier and that I can have some peace with this new life that God has given me. So here we go....

6:00 A.M. Cliff's alarm goes off and he wakes up to shower and get ready for the day.
6:00 - 6:30 A.M Noah wakes up and Cliff changes him and brings him to me to nurse. While I am nursing Cliff brings me my morning coffee.
6:30- Noah either falls back asleep or I give him over to Cliff so that I can shower and get ready for the day.
7:00-9:00 A.M. Aidan and Ryla wake up. Cliff feeds them and gets them dressed. I make the beds, throw in a load of laundry, and try to do one deep cleaning task.
9:00- Cliff leaves for work.
9:00-9:20- Ryla has a screaming melt down because Cliff has left for work.
9:00-11:00- Noah typically is sleeping. I either take the other two downstairs to play or stay upstairs to do crafts, read books, and make forts....etc.
11:00- Lunch time. Noah is usually up by now but he really doesn't have a schedule yet.
11:30- Aidan watches a 30 minute cartoon while I give Ryla a bottle and rock her to sleep for her nap. Noah is usually on my bed either sleeping or starting to fuss and cry. (this had been hard because I typically have to choose which one is going to cry for a 20 minute period)
12:00- Aidan goes down for his nap.
12:15- I nurse Noah and try to put him down. I also typically think during this time that I don't know what I will do once Noah is out of his sleeping all the time period.
12:30- I do a quick pick up of the house and make myself some lunch.
12:30- 3:00 I eat and use the time to have one on one time with Noah. Switch over the laundry. Plan supper. I can usually watch some TV for about 45 minutes which is a nice break. Aidan and Ryla will wake up any time from 2-3.
3:00 ish- Aidan has the rest of his TV time for the day which typically consists of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Jake and the Neverland Pirate. Ryla will watch for a little while then wonders around starting to make messes. Noah is usually wakes up around this time as well.
3:30-5:00- This is the worst time of day for me. Aidan's show will end and he is in desperate need of some one on one attention. Ryla is always extremely crabby during this time and wants to be held all the time but this doesn't really seem to make her stop fussing. Noah is up and either wants to eat or be held as well.
5:00- Cliff gets home and takes the kids to the basement so that I can get dinner ready. This has been really easy the last two weeks because we received 6 gift cards from our small group to different fast food places and I also was able to freeze 14 meals in the month of January. It has been a nice break from cooking and all the dishes. So for right now I use this time to either go get us food or make sides for the frozen meal I have chosen and set the table.
6:00- Kids usually get baths or we go downstairs to play.
6:45-8:00 On Monday nights it is family movie night and we make popcorn and have a relaxing evening. On Wednesdays we go to church. Tuesday nights I go to work at 5:00 and Cliff has the kiddos. On the other nights we are just playing with the kids, cleaning up the house, and every once and awhile running some errands that can't wait for the weekend.
8:00- Bedtime for kids. This is very difficult to do without Cliff. Ryla still is being rocked, Aidan gets singing time, book time, prayers, and "Big Cuddles." Noah needs nursed and rocked to sleep.
8:30- Cliff and I finish putting the house back together and try to spend sometime just catching up on how our day has gone. Currently I am in bed by 9:00 maybe watch a little TV and lights out at 10:00 at the very latest. Cliff tries to squeeze some time in for himself and has been coming to bed around 10:15.
10:15-til morning. Noah wakes every 2-4 hours. Cliff changes his diaper and brings him to me to nurse. Cliff then takes him and puts him down while I, for the time being, have to pump.
6:00 A.M. Alarm goes off!

2 Weeks Old!

My little Noah was two weeks old on Tuesday. People say that it goes fast but it has definitely felt like 2 weeks. We took him in on Monday for his check up. He weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces which is 2 ounces over his birth weight, so he is doing very well. He had also grown a half an inch already. I am about to move him to 0-3 month clothes. Aidan and Ryla didn't move over to those until after they were a month old but Noah's sleepers are already coming over his shoulders because he is so tall.

He is a VERY easy baby. He only cries if he wants to be fed or changed. He has started waking up more on his own to eat at night. He is eating every 2-4 hours and then goes right back to bed. He is an excellent eater!!! Nursing has been a breeze!!!

Aidan has adjusted very well to Noah. If I am on the other side of the house and I can't hear Noah crying he will always come and tell me that I need to go get him. He doesn't seem to be jealous at all. He has become a very independent little guy which is nice and sad for me at the same time.

Ryla has not adjusted so well. She is EXTREMELY jealous. Any time I am holding or nursing Noah she starts to scream and wants to be held. I try to get to her as soon as I can but then when I pick her up she gets mad. So basically she only wants held if I am holding Noah. She is teething right now and has a bad cough so this doesn't make it any easier. Even though she is jealous she also seems to like Noah a lot to. She is constantly trying to shove a pacifier in his mouth and giving him kisses. I can't put Noah in his bouncer because she is always wanting to hug him which means she puts her full weight on him. The swing is a little better but if I turn my head for one second she is pushing the swing really hard. I have resorted to wearing Noah in a moby wrap a lot so that she can't get to him and that way I can hold the two of them at the same time.

Here are some pics of our little guy. I think he has already changed so much from his newborn pics!!!! He looks very different from the other two.