New word for the year: BALANCE (Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...)

Wow...wow...and wow...I cant believe 2013 is OVER.

Christmas went SO fast for me.  I worried about giving my children the magic I felt at this time of year when I was a child. But really if I think about it, I think the magic cant be created it is just natural and normal.

But we of course stayed busy trying to do it all and create that magic for the kids.  Either way I think we succeeded.

Gingerbread houses, Santa at Bass Pro Shop, Mission Inn with my sister April and the kids doing the robot, Decorations. The kids LOVE putting up decorations.  Even though they told mom and dad numerous times they could not believe we never got the star up this year. Yep it never made it up.  Sad.

But my favorite was usually in our own home, where I LOVED, loved seeing the magic through the eyes of a child and for the first time with Tate. He loved the lights, the ornaments, the Christmas music in the background.  Everything was just so magical for him and it helped me get into the holiday spirit better.

 

And I'm still getting asked by some people: "Did you get a dog?"  They saw this letter on my other social media sites.  The answer is: NO, we did not get a dog for Christmas. It was the closest I ever got to actually caving in, but I didn't. We will be waiting until the originally disclosed agreement (at least: Ella 10, Asher 8, Tate 4, Baby 2). ha ha  Call me a mean mom, but I call it my sanity.

So with all this being said LIFE is just so hard to BALANCE sometimes. Don't you agree?  So I decided that my new word for 2014 will be BALANCE.

This is something I just really struggle with.  I feel like I am always trying to do it all and so very often failing at most everything. I'm grateful for a very grounded husband who reminds me that we are doing great and only doing the best we can with everything we can.  So I thought this would be a great goal for me in the new year.

• I know I will be wanting to lose ALL that baby weight in 4 months (wont happen unless I sacrificed everything in my life). 
• I will want to cuddle ALL day with my newborn baby boy (wont happen with a 2 year old and 2 other older children).
• I will want to be the BEST wife.  Be so supportive of the hubbies new job, hot dinners on the table each night (not including taco bell), the house cleaned, laundry done, and everything organized (my husband already told me I am going to need to"mental" chill on this and not worry about it once the baby is born).
• I want to be the awesome (tiger) mom.  Practicing Ella's piano perfectly each day, sports, great grades, and actually enjoy doing homework with the kids (ugh, ugh, and triple UGH!).  But I know I will just need to do my best.

So the list could go ON and ON and ON but I am just going to do my best and try to get BALANCE in my life for 2014 and take everything in stride.

31 weeks (8.2 to go, but whose counting, right?)

The latest update...

How far along: 31 weeks

Gender: Still a nameless BOY!

Weight gain: I will just say for the FIRST time in my marriage (pregnancies included) I am more than my husband.  Enough said.  (This is when it really starts to show in my face).

Maternity clothes: Yeps.

Stretch marks: Luckily no.
.

Belly button in or out: OUT!

Sleep: OK. I am starting to feel like I cant breathe again, and my husband confirms that by periodic snoring (I do NOT snore usually). So I know it's getting cramped in there.

Best moment this week: Getting all the clothes sorted. From a boy that is 5, 21months, and baby on the way we have a TON of clothes new and hand me downs which was stressing me out. We have it sorted and ready.  (I keep a tub in the closet for Asher (5) and Tate (21 months) so as they grow out it goes in that tub so it will be organized and ready to store or to pass along.  It is hard getting sorted but worth it to use the clothes again.

Worst moment this week: Emotions.  Always the last few months of every pregnancy I started getting really irritable. It could be the lack of sleep I begin to get.  But the kids (especially my sweet little GIRL) who can push my buttons in just the right way.  I get cranky, irritable and short tempered...one of the main reasons I REALLY looked forward to the end!

Miss anything: Being fit. For the most part I love to exercise and eat well.  I don't feel fit or healthy at all!  I can hardly walk the kids to school without "everything hurting", so I drive, then I feel so BLAH doing nothing all day. Cant wait to work out again.

Movement: YEP! All of my kids are gymnasts.  They flip, kick and prod. I actually enjoy it (even the sharp ones) and it helps me know they are thriving.

Cravings: Still Miguel's Jr.  Frozen chocolate chip cookies (not a norm for me).  

Queasy or sick: Nope doing good on this end. Just EXHAUSTED!  Can I mention here how much I HATE big kid homework, hate it!  That makes me SICK!

Looking forward to: Another ultrasound next week.  And enjoying the Christmas holiday then beginning the 1 month countdown!

Still haven't gotten a new belly shot, I really will try to get on that.  But for now enjoy this, because THIS is how I feel...

Happy Thanksgiving

Although I am beyond excited to get out the Christmas decor, I also LOVE fall (my favorite season of the year).  And because we live in California it is not as vibrant as elsewhere, I have to make do with some of my favorite fall home decor.

I of course started the holiday with my chalkboard art.  My kids even said I was very creative and did a great job.  Coming from my kids I felt very proud because they usually mock my art skills (no I am NOT good, so they are totally justified in doing so).

I also let the kids create a little TURKEY craft this year to remember their little hands and feet.  I also saved a little space for baby #4 (yes he is still nameless).

So with preparing to take down my silly decor I am feeling VERY GRATEFUL for my HOME, for this time of year to celebrate FAMILY, FRIENDS, and this wonderful LIFE I have been given.  It really is a marvelous gift from GOD.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

EXCITED for another sweet little BOY!

Yep (back on Constitution Day) I was reminded of why I AM excited to have another sweet boy in our home come February...

South Carolina with the Fab 5 Girls (Joy's Wedding)

You have probably heard me talk about the Fab 5 before, but long story short, these girls and I have been BFF's (best friends) since 6th grade.  Amazing I know!  

You probably remember back HERE when it was Kati's wedding, well this time it was Joy's turn.  She moved to North Carolina after Junior High and we still would all go out in the summers to visit and she would come out to Cali to visit, so we have all stayed in contact.  And SO the FAB 5 were reunited....

Heather, Missy, Joy, me, and Kati (blurry iPhone pic, but all 5 of us were here)

So Kati, Heather and myself departed from LAX on a RED EYE midnight flight (I do NOT recommend this being prego, it was miserable, really!  But the flight delays back home were even worse)! I got pretty sick from the altitude and just exhaustion, I think.  So this was not my favorite part.

But at least I got bonding time with these 2!  And I must say Heather was the super "hubbie" on the trip, taking care of everything (including our rented mini-van, and I must say I will convert them ALL)!

The first night was so nice because we got to catch up with Joy.  

We went out to dinner and laughed a LOT.  

We then went and checked out the wedding site which was beyond GORGEOUS!  We stayed here at the The Cottages on Charleston Harbor one night, we were all in heaven.

The next day we went to get our nails done, and did other wedding necessities, before heading to the airport to get Missy and her sweet baby who were flying in from SLC.

So we finally were all together and had a great time at the rehearsal dinner downtown Charleston.  Everything was so quaint...I loved downtown Charleston, and my only regret was not having more time to sight see and hang out longer. And I didn't get any pictures, besides the lousy one below...

The reception and wedding went SO fast and we didn't have time to capture photos, we left that to the professional photographers. But it was so fun and so beautiful and Joy was a beyond stunning bride.

Here we are with Wes (the groom) at the top!  And then below with the beautiful bride Joy!

It was just fun to meet all the fun bridesmaids and catch up with Joy's family whom we hadn't seen in years  Here we are with Joy's brother Eric and his best friend Pablo and the 5!

And then of course I can NOT go without mentioning my AWESOME HUSBAND.  

He was originally planning to come with me, but things didn't work out, and it ended up just being all of us girls, which was SUPER fun.  But still he of course had to sacrifice a TON in order to make this awesome trip happen for me.  He of course waited up (even though I begged him not to) until 2am when I came home, and I even had this sweet welcome home note from Ella on the front door when I came up. It was nice break from the kids, but it is ALWAYS nice to get back home to them. I missed them a ton and was ready to see my little ones again!

Crafts, costumes and dead fish

So we did NOT carve pumpkins this year.

Am I the worst mom ever?

They never asked and I didn't care to remind them. Being super sick this week and pregnant is a good excuse right?  I don't think I would have reminded them even if I hadn't been sick or pregnant (but don't tell them that).

Now just because we didn't carve pumpkins didn't mean they did have fun FALL festive days. Because they did.


Just about EVERY day for the month they came home from school (did homework) then went to work on their "crafts" they LOVE coloring, drawing, creating (anything messy).

My favorite is probably Asher's creation on the yellow page. (Notice the arrow through his heart under the grave stone). Ha ha ha

They put out all the decorations this year and I let them choose where and everything. I added the new pumpkin craft as well. You can go HERE for the super easy tutorial. 

They of course dressed up for Trunk or Treat at the church, Halloween at Uncle Danny & Aunt Sarah's, and also attended the school Harvest Festival.

My mother in-law so kindly got their costumes this year at either Ross or TJ Maxx, which was nice because they were a different from the everyday costumes but I didn't have to make them...loved the no stress! 

Ella LOVED wearing makeup with her gypsy costume.

 

Asher was the best magician  (loved pulling his rabbit out of his hat).  

Tate was the cutest little sock monkey and made accompanying sounds.

Ned also took them to Bass Pro Shops (while I was gone at Joy's wedding, more on that later).  What a husband, he pulled out all the stops, I was so proud of him!

Asher decided he wanted to wear his cousins hand me down shark costume.

And pose in front of the fish.

They also did the pumpkin patch with Grammy! And you can tell from their faces how well they liked that.

Then my dad's birthday was celebrated up at Oak Glen.  

They did the SLEEPY HOLLOW DINNER at Riley's Farm.  Which was a huge hit. The kids loved it and it was such a fun Halloween/fall event. We would do it again.

It helps that I had just re-read the book: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in preparation and showed the kids the Disney video.

So we were well prepared.

We also went up a few hours early to walk around the Oak Tree Village to explore nature. 

Ned taught the kids how to crack open acorns and how to get the meat out (& told them they would still need to cook it). You know basic survival skills all kids need. 

 And we got our huge jug of apple cider.

No FALL is complete without APPLE CIDER. 

And then thought I'd leave you with a truly demented Halloween craft.

I don't know how this happened, honestly, but it did.

The kids were making bloody Halloween candles.

And we found Asher's fish had perished, "witch" ironically enough. And they begged and begged me to let them put it on the candle.

I finally let in and it took a lot of effort to get it out of the bowl, on the candle without anyone touching it.

I let them keep it on long enough to get a picture and then that was enough, they were laughing and I was gagging.
Poor witch.
RIP.

 Hope you all had a wonderful fall.

25 Week Pregnancy Update

So I haven't done a post about my pregnancy since, well, since I announced it. So thought it about time.

Here's the down low...

How far along: 25 weeks

Gender: A BOY! Which I did announce on other social media sites, but not here. (You can see the video below of our family as we were going to find out what we were having).  Ella was really sad and Asher said, "Ah shoot" to the ultrasound tech. But since then we have become use to the idea and are SO excited for boy #3 to join our humble abode.

Weight gain: Do I really need to disclose? My appt. is next week so I figure I will post before I get more bad news.  But estimating by the amount of cheap nachos and jalapeno I have succumbed to lately I would say somewhere right around probably at least 18-20lbs. by now.

Maternity clothes: At this point, and baby number 3, maternity clothes are a must, which I hate. But most days I wear my workout gear while getting kids to and from school (walking them) and usually have been changing straight into PJ's after my shower if I know we are in for the night.  So bad, I KNOW!

Stretch marks: None so far, and hoping to only get them in the one "unmentionable up top area" again like the previous pregnancy's.

Belly button in or out: It's out already, not completely. But this is one of the first signs for me that I am getting big.

Sleep: JUST going from good to OK. I know bad is around the corner so I am REALLY trying to enjoy these last few weeks in the honeymoon 2nd trimester, because the few bad nights I have had in the last few months reminds me of how yucky it gets that last trimester. 

Best moment this week: Returning home from my BF wedding in South Carolina and sleeping in my own bed and taking baths with all my special "stuff".  Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Stress Relief and Sleep Massage Oils and my Dr. Teals Epsom Salts and Dr. Teal's Milk Bath and my Bath pillow.  Can you tell I REALLY love my baths.

Worst moment this week: Headaches. I either have a dull constant headache or an intense migraine. So over it.  They gave me a hardcore narcotic to take for the bad migraines but I really, really don't like taking anything if I don't have to. I have only taken 1 the entire pregnancy and pray that they don't last.

Miss anything: Sushi.  And my will to eat healthy. I just really don't care when I am pregnant because it is just so hard for me.

Movement: YEP! He has been kicking like crazy. All my boys were early and hard kickers. Ned and Ella have even felt a few. But I feel them pretty constantly already and know I have a another wild one on my hands.

Cravings: Uh...everything. I have been in the "pig" stage where I could eat and eat and EAT!  But mostly junk.  Sourdough bread.  Above mentioned nachos.  Mexican food (particularly the tostada from Miguel's Jr).  Pizza.  Chocolate covered nuts (almonds, peanuts).  OK I better stop here or this could go on a while.

Queasy or sick: Luckily after my horrid 1st trimester of full constant sickness I usually feel GREAT 2nd trimester. If I push myself or get a migraine I usually will get "sick".  I did on the airplane home, but the travel, exhaustion, altitude and headache I am sure is what did me in which makes sense. Otherwise none and great.

Looking forward to: Getting to my 3rd trimester (November 11th).  Getting another ultrasound, I have slight placenta previa so they are monitoring that, but it gives me extra peeks at the baby.  And then letting the countdown officially begin.  The set due date for my c-section is currently scheduled for February 6th.

I haven't taken ANY (I know) belly pictures this pregnancy, but my friend Heather caught me at the wedding on my phone so I will post this as my belly shot.

Cruise on the Newport Harbor

So I don't even remember WHEN, that's how much a blur my life has been lately, but my parents took us on a cruise on Newport Harbor back in the summer...

It was for our Ella's birthday present, but we all got to tag along.  And we loved it! 

IT was a beautiful day, relaxing, well beside the kids running around like crazies and almost jumping out.  And then we saw a sea lion that almost jumped from a parked boat to ours.  I wish I had gotten pictures of that, but I thought Ella and my mom were going to die of fright, really. It was comical!

The skipper (dad) also navigated around the huge Virgin/Google Oceanic 160' catamaran. It really was a site to behold, we did a few loops.

Tate enjoyed it, but probably enjoyed the licorice even more...

Tate's First Haircut & First downward dog yoga pose & First Day of Nursery

I have done yoga, but whenever Tate sees my exercise mat out he does THIS. It is really cute. We tell him exercise and he will immediately go into downward dog yoga pose.

Asher the REAL mannequin VIDEO

This KID! He entertains us continually! But really this video, for some silly reason, just REALLY makes me laugh because it just captures our Asher. He has a personality and sense of humor of his own, and he loves it.  And we do too.

PS. Please note the sprinkles shooting from his mouth at the end.