Went to bed with a bump on his head...

It's been raining a lot lately. That seems weird for July.

I really do love the rain. I just don't love having bored children.

It's amazing that we were cooped up all winter long, but in the two months of warmth we've had, we've already forgotten how to entertain ourselves indoors.

It's making us a little crazy.

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home...

Dear Dad,

Come home.

They put wings on me.

Sincerely,

Pudman

As they walked and walked and walked...

I have mixed feelings about taking all three kids out to eat. We've pretty much learned to let them do whatever they want (without pestering other people) and then just leave a big tip.

When I asked Holynd what she wanted to do for Pioneer Day, she said she wanted to have lunch at "The Deer One". So off to Texas Roadhouse we went.

Holynd proceeded to open several sugar packets and eat the sugar. She also stole everyone's limes out of their drinks.

Sloane tends to be the child that refuses to stay in a certain seat. She climbs all over everyone and eats everyone else's food. I'm still not completely sure if Matt got to eat any of his steak.

Maddox ate an entire roll and a whole bowl of Macaroni and Cheese. Afterward, his tummy was so full, I had to loosen the straps on his carseat to buckle him in!

Still mixing drinks... ??????

I try my hardest not to let my kids have caffeine, but I was way hungry and this was the only way I could eat any of my food!

Ok, this picture. The waitress talked Matt into some kind of weird lemonade concoction. When it arrived, it was pink and way girly looking. If you see Matt, tease him about his girly drink. Lunch would have been even more perfect had this drink came with a hot pink umbrella!

Holynd eats limes and lemons. It's weird. She always makes really weird faces, but continues to eat them.

Luckily, no one was sitting next to us.

Still mixing drinks... I don't know. I give up. Holynd's face was really really sticky when we left.

Taking all three kids places usually requires two adults, but I'm getting more and more used to taking all three kids with just me. I've been brave enough to do grocery shopping (only a few groceries because there's only a tiny bit of room in the cart), the doctor, dance lessons, swim lessons, park visits, the swimming pool and the movies with all three kids BY MYSELF. But, I don't think the day will ever come where I will be willing to take them out to eat by myself.

Play Nice!

"Get me out of my crib Mom..."

"Get me out..."

"Mom! What are you doing!? Get me out of here!"

"Fine. If you won't get me out. Then I'm taking your camera."

"Give me the camera Mom!!!!!!!!"

******

Maddox is only 8 months old, but I can already see A LOT of differences between boys and girls. I spent the morning sewing the ties back on Maddox's crib bumper. At first I accused Sloane of ripping it off, but after seeing how Maddox treats his crib bumpers, I have no doubt it was him. Don't get me wrong, the girls ripped a few of theirs off too... They were just almost two years old by the time they did it.

The other day, I had put everyone down for naps (Holynd was having quiet time). The house was silent. All the sudden I could hear this loud "Thump thump thump!" I thought Sloane was kicking her wall. I ran downstairs and stood by her door.... Ya know, so I could catch her in the act.

Silence.

Hmmm......

I went back upstairs and... "Thump thump thump thump thump!" There it was again! So I grabbed my monitor.

Sloane was fast asleep.

"Thump thump thump thump!"

It must be Holynd.

Into the theater room I go, but Holynd has fallen asleep.

So, I went outside. Surely one of our gates was open and was hitting against the house.

Nope. Nothing.

I walked through the garage to come back in the house and I could hear it in the garage!

What is going on?!

So, I decide to check on Maddox. I expect to find my little angel baby sleeping peacefully....

Nope! He's kicking the side of his crib so hard that the crib is hitting against the wall.

And, he thinks it's hilarious!

Sometimes I can't believe the stuff he's able to accomplish. He throws toys across his room, tries to kick his crib rails out, pulls his sisters hair and LAUGHS, he's even managed to pull most of the stuffing out of a teddy bear and tear a diaper into pieces.

Boys are very destructive.

Gimme a Break!

We seem to have settled into a more consistent schedule, now that swim lessons are over with. (Thank goodness!) 

We're usually out of the house by 11 and then back home around 3 for naps. (There are days where naps are skipped completely, but I those days are hard and I tend to suppress those memories.)

I try my hardest to get the house in order and dinner at least (somewhat) planned/started before we leave to find something to do.

When my kids finally go down for naps, I'm exhausted.

I finally had to tell myself to take an hour to recuperate. Sometimes I read, sometimes I watch TV, sometimes I do yard work (I find it kinda soothing, OK!), yesterday I decided to finally try and learn to use my camera.

Ya know, the camera Matt got me on Mother's Day?? Yeah, I still have no clue how to use it.

When the kids woke up I experimented.

Maddox is the best one to take pictures of because he doesn't try to play with the camera. (Yet).

Conclusion: I still have so much to learn, but my kids are way cute.

Dearest husband,

I still want photoshop.

Much love,

Wife

So sunburned...

My kids love going to the Payson Pool. Maybe it's the slides, or maybe it has to do with the cotton candy G-Ma lets them have...

Dispite my valiant efforts to apply sunscreen every 15 minutes, I am really sunburned. What's sad is I just got over my last sunburn from our last pool trip! My kids however, are not. I'm not even sure I ever really got sunscreen on Sloane. She kept running away and telling me, "No no no Mommy!"

Holynd and Sloane are sporting some pretty awesome tan lines though.

I will probably be sporting some really not-awesome wrinkles really soon.

I Love Your Messy Face.

Maddox is loving regular food. Baby food is getting to be old news around here.

Before too long, I'm going to have to start doubling all of my recipes.

Wow, the grocery bill is going to be huge.

Just Keep Swimming, Swimming, Swimming....

Kaydence, Holynd and Sloane. Nicole and I woke up at 3am to make completely sure that the girls would be in the same class. Nicole, one of my favorite memories will be you saying, "Tanshyle! We do not have time for Matt to find your debit card! Just hurry up and register!" at 3am.

Matt and I have some things in common, but surprisingly, we differ in a lot of ways.

I hate to travel. Matt loves it.

I love to hit the snooze button. Matt hates the snooze button.

Matt loves to try new things. I don't.

... the list could go on.

With Matt and I's varying tastes, it's always fun to see what our kids end up liking.

Like swimming for instance. 

I HATE the water. Hate it. 

Matt loves it. 

Holynd and Sloane are my little fish. Maddox, however, cries the moment we put on his swimsuit. 

Holynd started swim lessons last week and to say that she loves it is an understatement. Holynd could spend hours in the pool, HOURS. Probably an entire day, if I let her.We go to swim lessons in the morning and then she spends the day begging to go back.

That was definitely not me. I remember having full-fledged freak outs about going in the "deep end" of the pool. I was sure that the water was cursed and that all human life should never go near it. I still don't love it, but apparently Maddox and I will have to get used to it. Swimmers outnumber non-Swimmers in this household. 

Sloane was so upset the first few days of swim lessons. She would take her shoes off and spend the half hour trying to get her clothes off. She wants so badly to go to swim lessons too. Lucky for her, she will get to start going next summer. Maybe Maddox and I will try to get over our fears at a Mommy-And-Me class... Or maybe we'll just sit on the deck and watch. 

A True Gentleman

This post is about my little man.

Pudee.

Pudee is now 8 months old. He sits up, babbles constantly, scoots around ON HIS TUMMY (something that I have very much looked forward to since he has hated his tummy since Day 1), loves both baby food and table food - especially Homemade Chicken and Dumplings, and hardly ever makes his mommy crazy.

Seriously, hardly ever.

I can't imagine having an easier baby. Maddox has seriously mastered the practice of "Ladies First". In this house, it's his sister's world and he in totally content just living in it.

My mom often said that her third child was raised in the backseat of a car. When Tevyn was little, Tierra and I had quite the schedules. My mom spent most afternoons running us from activity to activity.

When I found out I was pregnant with Maddox, I really thought that it wouldn't happen. My kids were so close in age that I figured we'd still be staying home most of the time.

Very much not.

This little boy has learned to pretty much go without a nap schedule because of his sisters. But better yet, he endures it without making much of a fuss.

This new rush rush rush lifestyle has given me new appreciation for feeding time. Maddox is pretty much exclusively nursed so I play a pretty big part in mealtime. Actually, I play a pretty big part in all mealtimes because you can see what happens when he's left alone with food. But, I'm especially grateful for the times when I can take him in my room and lock the door.

When I nursed the girls, I really didn't feel this way. It was always kind of a burden when it was time to eat. I would always think, "Ugh... It's really time to feed you again?!" It was hard to just stop what I was doing and focus on the baby for a few minutes.

But that was before my days were spent taking care of all three kids. I very rarely get time to have Maddox all to myself. It's sad to say, but most days I'm just trying to keep Maddox occupied with toys or books, so that I can take care of all the girls' needs.

Every morning I tell myself that I'm going to set aside a few minutes to just play on the floor with Maddox.

"I'm going to spend some time with just Maddox as soon as I....

run everyone to swim lessons,

clean the kitchen,

start a load of laundry,

make snacks for the girls'

start planning dinner,

do dishes,

fill sippy cups,

get out the pool, sidewalk chalk, bikes and slip 'n slide,

fold a load of laundry,

chase naked Sloane around because she's taken of her diaper for the 10th time today!,

put away pool, sidewalk chalk, bikes and slip 'n slide,

fill sippy cups AGAIN,

LUNCH! (oh yeah that's just before lunch)

quick visit to the park,

load two screaming girls into the car after playing at the park,

put Sloane down for a nap,

help Holynd find a movie for quiet time,

clean up dirty sippy cups and snack that is now mashed into playroom carpet,

tell Sloane to get back into bed,

fill Holynd's sippy cup,

water garden and plants,

tell Sloane to fall asleep or ELSE!,

start dinner,

help Holynd into a princess dress,

help Holynd into a different princess dress,

help Holynd into A THIRD princess dress,

fill another sippy cup,

clean up Holynd after princess dress ends up in the toilet during a potty break,

clean the bathroom now that it's covered in toilet water,

keep dinner from burning,

change Sloane's bedding after she EXPLODES through her diaper during her nap,

bath Sloane,

give girls otter pops and scoot them out the back door and onto the deck,

FINALLY get 10 minutes to just feed Maddox uninterrupted/get mad at self because there will be no playtime today,

feed everyone dinner,

make Sloane's bed,

bath everyone,

clean up tub and floor after Sloane empties an entire bottle of shampoo in the tub and it overflows with bubbles,

tuck Maddox in a apologize to his still-smiling face - tomorrow we'll get playtime Pudman,

help brush two sets of teeth,

help put on two sets of pj's,

help say two prayers,

read a story,

clean up kitchen AGAIN

There's no doubt that Maddox was meant to be a third child.

First, this happened.

First.

This happened.

Then, a little of this happened.

Followed by this.  

Then, this.  

A few of these.  

A touch of that.  

And it turned out like this  

There is no longer a baby girl room in this house.

I'm a little sad and if you must know, I cried just a little bit.

We started this experiment about a week ago.

When the beds first showed up at my door, I had Matt put them downstairs and just leave them in the boxes. Sloane needed to move out of her crib. She's way too big for it and we had never bought Holynd her own bed. When we moved, we put her on our spare/guest bed. It was a queen and worked out perfectly for Holynd because she's crazy when she sleeps.

A few days past and every time I went downstairs. they stared at me.

I had known for awhile that I wanted the two little girls in the same room. Holynd's room was huge and it would be so much easier to just take all the girls' laundry into one room to put away. Plus, it would be kinda nice to have an extra bedroom downstairs.

I kept telling myself that I was going to wait to put the bed up after I had everything else ready for their room. However, I realized that it might not work out. The girls might not be able to stand having to share. What would I do with matching bedding if they ended up in different rooms? I decided to have Matt put the beds up. I bought some cheap sheets and gathered all their favorite blankets. That's how they slept during the test-run.

The test-run started out AWFUL!

They would stay up playing until all hours of the night and then Sloane would wake up, upset because she wasn't in a crib, then she would wake Holynd up. It was a nightmare and there were several times that Matt and I wanted to call it quits! But, after about 4 nights of little sleep, something amazing happened.

They ended up completely exhausted.

The lack of sleep finally caught up to them and the newness of their new room wore-off.

They were going to bed at 8 and sleeping until morning.

Sloane did fall off once, but was so tired that she just curled up into a ball on the floor.

I finally decided to make it official.

The white crib is still downstairs. I can't bring myself to make Matt take it down. I've known for awhile that I was going to get rid of it once Sloane grew out of it. It's not in the greatest condition. It's lived through many many poop-painting parties courtesy of Holynd and I'm pretty sure that Sloane was trying to carve her name into several of the rails with her finger nail. But I'm still sad.

My mom and dad bought us that crib. It sat in the box forever because Holynd was such a stinker about sleeping flat on her back. Looking back on it, she probably had acid reflux and I was just too scared to say anything about it. I have lots of pictures of Holynd and chunky baby Sloane cuddled up together in that crib. Holynd used to sing Sloane songs in her cute little 19 month old language. When we got Holynd a toddler bed, she wouldn't sleep in it. When I go in and try to tuck her into the toddler bed, she would point at the crib and say, "Love you cib."

It's going to be hard to see it go.

But, now it's fun to hear the girls wake up at the same time and talk to each other. Holynd understands Sloane better then I can. It reminds me of when we would go stay at Grandma Faye's. Tevyn would talk and talk. Grandma would never know what she was saying so she'd ask Tierra and I to translate. Sometimes Holynd gets so frustrated with me when I'm trying to guess what Sloane wants. "Mom! She says she just wants Macaroni and Cheese! Can't you hear her!?"

I have two big girls now. I've even started a few potty training trial runs with Sloane. I'm not saying it's going to happen anytime soon, but at least I know she's open to it.