Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Know any good shrinks?

I swear my kids are going to send me into therapy! And not because they drive my crazy ( . . . well that's not the only reason), but because they are super hard on me.

Example 1.

Ella - "Mom, how far along is Dana?"
Me - "She's about 18 weeks or so."
Ella - "So does she look more pregnant than you? Or do you look more pregnant than her?"
Me - "Ella, I'm not pregnant anymore."
Ella - "I know."

Example 2.

Claire - "Mommy! Your tummy looks little today!"
Me - "Er...thanks, Claire."
Claire - "Oh . . . never mind."

Example 3.

Jocie - "Mom, can I borrow these jeans?"
Me - "Yes, but you have to put them right back into my closet tonight."
Jocie - "Why?"
Me - "Because they are my favorite jeans, and once I can fit back into them, I want to be able to find them."
Jocie - "If you don't loose the weight, can I just have them?"


Seriously! Do I really look that big? (don't answer that)

Other than being emotionally abused by my children (Carl's being great about it . . . says he likes me "bigger" . . . ), life is going on as usual.  Jocie and Ella are busy with school and volleyball, and Claire, Carter and I continue to hang out at home. We've had some gorgeous fall weather!

 Carter's finally to the age where he can (kinda) sit in the swing
 
 
 




Maybe I should strat drinking more. It won't help the extra pounds come off, but at least it would numb my pain :)

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

couple things

First things first, Carter is now 2 months old! It's weird because I really don't remember what life was like without him, but at the same time, it seems as though he just got here and he's growing so fast (does that make sense? . . . brain still can't function all that well due to lack of sleep)

 
2 Month Facts:
-weighed in today at 11 lbs. 4 oz.
-no longer fits into his newborn clothes
-LOVES: to cry (especially in the evenings), being cuddled, sleeping in 2 hour intervals, and breast milk
-HATES: diaper changes, baths, gas pains, sleeping in his bassinet, his apnea monitor, shots at the doctor, and getting dressed
 
 . . . so I guess this photo is a little more accurate for a 2 month photo
 




Last weekend we went to the Apple Jacks Orchard in Delano, MN.  This isn't just any old orchard.  It's HUGE and has TONS of stuff to do! Here are just a few things we got to do:

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Pony Rides
 

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play at the playground in the haystack
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treat ourselves with the best carmel apples ever!
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pick our own raspberries
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try to find apples that were still on trees
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 . . . this just seems like a waste!
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ride the kiddie cow train
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We can't wait to go back next year!
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Saturday, September 15, 2012

Mom, are you going to wear make-up today?

I know I have said this many times on our blog, but I can't believe how fast time flies. It's crazy. It never slows down. It just continues to fly out of control.

Last weekend we took our first full family day trip over to Hudson, WI to spend some time with our college friends. It was a great day of visiting, laughing, hanging out, and watching our kids play together.  It doesn't feel like it's been 10 years since we graduated college! How can that be? We should still be hanging out in a bar somewhere slamming back beers and talking about finals. But for some reason, now we are now surrounded by kids, talking about breast milk.

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Carter was trying to impress Samantha . . . it didn't work.  :)

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look what they have created!!


We had a blast! Thanks, Verbouts for hosting at your gorgeous home!


The rest of the week was filled with the usual - getting kids homework done and off to school, and then hangin' with Clarie and Carter. It was another great week . . . however, Carter's been quite a bit more fussy lately . . . let's all cross our fingers and pray that it's just a short phase!


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when I do sleep, it's usually on the recliner . . . someone doesn't like to sleep by himself!


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(mornings at home with my coffee are my fav!)



Photobucket Claire loves to play dress up . . .



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and paint her nails . . .



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  and bake banana bread . . .

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  and jump on the bed . . .



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Photobucket and play kitchen . . .



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  and sing! . . .




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  and love on her brother. :)


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Carter is . . . watching us while sitting in his bouncy seat . . .


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  doing tummy time . . .




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  and napping . . .



  Photobucket  look who's starting to grow eye lashes . . . I hope they're just like Claire's!


Many of you are asking how I am feeling. To be honest, I feel pretty darn good compared to how I was feeling! I have even started to exercise a little . . . a walk here, a bike ride there, slowly but surely getting back into it.  But let me tell you, it's not like after I had the girls. With the last two, at the six week mark, I was back into my pre-baby jeans. (NOT with Joc . . . I was a HOUSE . . . gained like 60 lbs with that one . . . took about a year to be back to normal) Not this time! It has been 8 weeks and I am still rockin' the maternity jeans. And yes, I still have a little ponch in the lower gut area, but that's not what's keeping me away from my regular jeans. No. No. It's my thighs and a$$. So I have been trying pretty hard to eat really healthy . . . and it's still not coming off very well! And, BONUS, I always look a little disheveled. Hair up in a crack-head pony tail, dark circles under my eyes, pale face . . . you know what I mean. Ella asks me almost every day, "Mom, are you going to wear make-up today?  Because you just don't 'pop' without it." Thanks Ella. And then Claire told me the other day while we were watching TV that she wanted me to look like "that lady" - which was a young, beautiful, put together young actress that was playing a mom on TV - well Claire, it;s not gonna happen!

Ah, what we do to be mothers! We schlep our way through pregnancy while watching our bodies morph into something we don't recognize. Go through delivery. Recover. Breast feed. Try to be a mother to a newborn and all your other kids on two hours of sleep at a time, while still trying to keep up with house work and other things . . . and try to look good while it's all going on?! Like my dad says . . . , "Be careful for what you wish." . . . yeah, yeah dad.  I hear you.

Monday, September 10, 2012

a week buffer

 
Usually, in the world of blogging, a person attempts to keep their readers updated with the latest happenings. I am rapidly coming to the realization that I, however, am about a week late on all my posts.  So if I have talked to you in the last week, you know all of this already, so you may just want to skip all the text and just looks at the pics.  But, if I haven't talked to you . . . never mind what you just read! I am totally on schedule.
 
 
On the last night of summer, AKA Labor Day night, our neighbor Gary let us take a dip in his pool.  It was awesome to be able to do one last summer-type-activity before heading off to school the next day. 
 
 
  our number 3 has no fear! . . . someone once told me, "you know you're a redneck if you start referring to your kids as numbers instead of using their names" . . . plus we should probably stop call Ella, "number two" . . .






 Even Carter came over to see what all the excitement was about.  He got bored quickly, and went back to sleep.





The first day of school was a success.  When I picked up the girls from school they both commented on how nice/cool their teachers seemed, and how much fun it was to see friends again.  I think it's going to be a great year!





Claire, Carter and I have been having a good time hanging out at home. Claire is supposed to be going to daycare part-time so she can play with her friends and so I can get a little more sleep during the day since Carter still doesn't like sleeping soundly at night. But she has only been there once since school started . . . what!? She's fun to be around! And she always asks if she can stay with me . . . I feel it's a win/win situation :) Plus the fact that I only get a few months to be a "stay at home mom" so I want to take full advantage while I can.


 Carter doing his tummy-time
 
 
 
and checking out his crib (he still mainly sleeps in his bassinet)



Well, that's about all for now.  Next week I will update you on what we did last weekend :)

About Me

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...proud mother of Jocelyn, Ella, Claire and Carter, wife of Carl, daughter of Mike and Nancy, sister of Ali, John, and Jessie, Physical Education teacher to over 500 students, and friend to....many :)