Trenches

Let’s get real here for a second: Life has been a whirlwind the past 8 months. So many things have happened in such a short period of time: new baby, new jobs, no jobs, more new jobs, school, growth, not much sleep, etc. etc. etc.

They say this season of life, the season with all the babies/toddlers/preschoolers/elementary school kids and any combination of the above, is “the trenches” and I’m here to say YES! YES IT IS!

I knew this, of course, but for some reason this particular season feels even more trench like. I would guess it has to do with all of the other life that’s happened along the way too.

It’s been crazy. Beautiful. Difficult. Crazier. Joyful. Sleepless. And usually all at the same time.

I’ve had to reallllllly tamper my expectations the past few weeks – because on top of the season of life that is keeping us hopping (seriously, I forgot how busy 7/8 month old crawling babies can be and I had no idea how busy 8 year olds can be!) the actual season is keeping us hopping! Work is busy, life is busy, the kids are busy, and everyone is crankier than normal which is making things a touch more difficult. I’ve had so many hard parenting moments/days that I question what in the world I am doing raising these 4 little humans.

After I posted a picture on Instagram yesterday, a bright moment in a particularly difficult day for no particular reason, a good friend mentioned that I was in the trenches and another good friend commented about how no matter what happened, it was enough. Both things resonated with me – because, they are both so right! Whatever gets accomplished in a day IS enough, and whatever doesn’t, it will be there tomorrow. I might not like that it didn’t get done, but that’s okay (right?!) and I also realized that I am most certainly not giving myself enough room to breathe.

What I mean is, I am doing essentially zero in the way of self-care. I need to practice what I preach to others in this area and figure out what will help me. I literally do not have enough hours in the day to do all the things I need or want to do, if I want to also sleep a little. One thing I do, but maybe not enough, is to pray/meditate and also to up my essential oil usage – because a little bit of frankincense or some orange on a diffuser bracelet honest to goodness DOES help me stay grounded and calm when I really need it.

Here’s what I want to know after all my rambling – how long were you “in the trenches” and what did you do to get yourself through it when it felt extra tough?

Related: Whoever “they” are that said having a 4th kiddo is no more difficult than having a 3rd – I challenge that thought because while he is fantastic and wonderful, it has been much harder than I thought adding this 4th one into the mix. Good thing he is so freaking adorable!

alright, and these three are pretty cute too!

Milestones and Catching Up (kind of)

I realized the other day (okay, many other days ago) that I hadn’t properly caught up on some big things that happened the past few (seven+) months and wanted to go back and catch up on a few things. These are all from my real camera, I still need a better system to get stuff from my phone!

Bringing Samuel Home! (04.10.2017)

Gianna is 8! (04.11.2017)

Easter 2017 (04.16.2017)

It’s always a busy, blessed day – so many little ones in our family make it so much fun! (and so loud!)

Gianna’s First Communion (05.06.2017)

We have made a decision to raise our children in the Catholic church and Gianna’s first communion was a beautiful day. She looked beautiful, she took communion with reverance and care, she showed us how much she’s grown through her PSR classes and we are so proud of her!

She had many friends and family celebrate with her as well, which was fantastic!

My children like to be hilarious in pictures!

Dance Recital 2017 (05.13.2017)

The girls danced beauifully this year – they again, continue to grow in their sport and their passion/love for dance grows with them! Their love for taking goofy pictures, well, that might never go away!

Sweet Summertime

I started this post so long ago and never even got past the title and first few sentences! I can’t easily (read: quickly) get some of my favorite iPhone pictures onto my computer and into my blog and it is so annoying! So we are just going to go with what we have – follow me on Instagram for pictures, it’s my favorite!

We’ve had a FAST summer – school starts here next week!! The girls made a “summer fun” list and they have accomplished 75% of what they wrote down – we’ve had to make a few tweaks due to timing and we’ll carry it over through labor day to get a few more things marked off. It’s been fun for all of us!

June mostly left us finishing up Gianna’s first softball season, which she enjoyed more than any of us thought she would. The three little siblings were excellent spectators as long as I provided them with enough snacks and grass to run in. We also did some swimming, dancing, threw a baby shower for my sister, more swimming and played with friends as much as possible.

July we spent a lot of time swimming, riding bikes and playing with friends – all the things summertime for a kid should be made of! We did spend the night in Columbus one weekend (6 people, 1 hotel room…. i’m glad it was only 1 night!) and had a good time exploring a bit down there. There was some more dancing too, of course!

August so far has been us trying to fit in as much fun as possible before school starts! The girls finished up their summer reading challenge at the library, we’ve gotten ice cream, more playing with friends and riding bikes. We explored some new local places we haven’t been before and we have a big neighborhood water balloon fight planned for this weekend!

I’ve tried really hard to let them a) dictate some of their own time more often and b) be as present as possible with them (which is a challenge with a new baby and when they all want to do something different at the same time!) – it’s been mostly successful.

I hope they’ve made as many great memories as I have this summer – it’s definitly been one to remember.

Survival Mode: Newborn + 3

I have written SO MANY blog posts since Samuel has been born, in my head. I really hate that I don’t have an efficent way to post from my phone because by the time I have 3 minutes to get on my computer I’ve forgotten the funny/sacrastic/deep thing I wanted to blog about!

Which brings us to where we are at currently: Survival Mode. The newborn period (honestly, for me it’s until somewhere between 4 and 6 months) is just survival – are all of the humans who live here dressed (defined as having some article of clothing covering their body, I’ve given up on matching)? Fed (defined as having consumed some amount of food for the day)? Bathed (on a somewhat regular basis) (you can define “somewhat regular” for yourself)? Obviously I knew having another baby would throw off our routine and force us all into a new normal but it is feeling like a very long journey to “normal” as we’ve had SO SO MUCH happening since Samuel was born I find it hard to belive it was less than 3 months ago that he joined us. I know lots happens on an ongonig basis in a big family but seriously, since he was born on April 9 the following have occurred:

• Gianna’s birthday
• Easter
• Gianna’s first communion
• Gianna’s softball season started and ended
• Gianna and Aleesia finished dance and had their recital
• Mother’s Day
• Mine and both of my sister’s birthdays
• School ended for Gianna and Aleesia
• Father’s Day
• Dance camps
• VBS
• Vivian’s half birthday (very important!)
• Mike got a new job
• Several different doctor, dentist and chiro appointments
• My sister’s baby shower
• I ran a race
• And more that I am sure I am forgetting!!

It’s been a little overwhelming just making sure the laundry is done and the dishes are clean in a timely manner let alone the other regular and irregular things that pop up. And I really did forget how demanding it is to basically live your live in 2-hour increments between nursing sessions. And those 2-hours really turn in to about 1-hour by the time he’s done nursing, burprd, diaper changed, I’ve gotten myself a drink or gone to the bathroom or something.

I have so many pictures to share, things to discuss and/or write down for memory keeping purposes, questions to ask and not enough brain power/energy/time to do all that I want. I am constantly reminded in a variety of ways to give myself grace, re-examine my expectations and re-evaluate my “needs” versus my “wants” in order to make the most out of our life/time/etc.

I haven’t even had time to make birth announcements of his seriously AMAZING newborn pictures (maybe some day I’ll share a few!) but I do intend to do it and send them out even if they are 3 months late!

Every single day is a new challange managing 4 different personalities/needs/wants/requirements. We are starting to really see some differences based on age (8 year olds do NOT like to do things that 4 year olds do, as I am regularly reminded as of late) which just adds a new challenge to overcome. The girls do SO GREAT with Samuel and they also do great with the chores/responsibilities they each have – they don’t always like when Samuel cries or helping aroudn the house, but they tolerate it and get things done (with many prompts at times, but still) which is a huge help to me even when they don’t do things “my” way.

Overall, I think we are doing ok with this whole family of 6 thing so far– my voice is louder and my patience is thinner than I want it to be more often than I’d like to admit but we do have a lot of good moments and we do our best. No day ends without apologies for whatever didn’t go right that day, hugs, kisses and I love you’s and prayers for a better day tomorrow.

This really IS the life I never knew I wanted, even when I’m barely hanging on!

Spring Fever!

Here in Ohio we’ve had a pretty mild winter that has most certainly had us forgetting all about snow and looking forward to consistently warmer temperatures.

Which means, of course, that as we approach the start of official spring in 10 days that it is going to be freezing and snowy! There is no question that I live in the wrong area of the country with as much as I (have always) despise winter and being cold.

Regardless, we are STILL looking forward to spring because it is sure to bring a lot of fun for our family! And with the fun, comes a totally crazy schedule. And you know, a new baby!

Gianna and Aleesia (& their cousin Luci) are preparing for their dance recital in May – they have 2 dances each this year and it is sure to be stinking adorable. Aleesia just started a once a week sports class, which she LOVES. Gianna will be starting softball in a couple of weeks, which should be interesting. I hope she enjoys it! On top of the kids stuff, Mike is back to being a head lacrosse coach so we have to take his practice/game schedule into consideration also.

Gianna will be turning 8 in April (which I can’t believe at all) and she is preparing for her First Communion in May as well.  We also have Easter approaching, my niece will turn 1 soon and the girls have spring break and Mike and I will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary (again, kind of unbelievable how fast that went by)!  Our weekends through June are pretty jam-packed with the exception of my recently instituted “no plans Sunday afternoons” so that we can get our house clean, laundry done, projects accomplished and try to fit in some snuggling and quality time before the total chaos of each week begins.

I feel like there are other things happening simultaneously as well, but I think they are mostly school related and some of what’s going on there requires a whole separate post. We wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves if there wasn’t 100 things happening at one time, right?! This new baby will fit right into our routine, at least that’s been one of my prayers lately – for a smooth adaptation and entry into our family.

Some things that have helped me to (attempt) remain calm amidst the chaos are to be diligent with keeping an organized schedule (in 3 different places!), meal planning, preparing all of Gianna’s lunches on Sunday nights so it’s one less thing to do during the week, keeping things picked up before I go to bed (it helps, even when I don’t want to do it) and honestly, giving the 2 older girls some responsibility to manage their own stuff/stay organized. As I tell them on the days when cooperation is lacking – most of what we do every day is FOR THEM, not me so when they don’t help out by listening and being ready when I need them to be, they suffer in the end.

It sometimes feels overwhelming, but then I remember that this is our season of life – the chaos, adventure, etc. won’t be here forever so I try to find the joy in it even when really I just want to pull my hair out and hide under the covers!

Talk to me about your spring – what is going on in your life? What are you looking forward to (or not!)? What helps you to stay organized and maintain a cooperative household?!

Pancakes & PJS Party

We celebrated Vivian adn Aleesia’s birthdays last month with a pancakes and pajama’s brunch party – it was such a fun party to plan and who doesn’t looooove pancakes and hanging out with friends in pjs?! It was an awesome party for a newly minted 2 and 4 year old.

We used some simple decorations in pink, blue, purple and gold that were left from one of the many parties we’ve had in the past as well as a few new ones from the dollar spot at Target – super simple.

I set up a little craft for the kiddos – just some cocloring sheets and fruit loop necklaces – they honestly just played in our playroom 90% of the time but a few fruit loop crafts were made.

We also had cereal as our thank you gift.

We served pancakes (obviously! and also thanks to my stepdad!), a vegetable egg bake, bacon, fruit and yogurt. We had cookies, cake and donuts for dessert!

Check out these awesome caks and cookies – so lucky to have such a talented local baker.

We took a break from the playing and sang to these pretty birthday girls

And the big(gest) sister was a total goofball the entire morning!

We are so lucky to have such awesome people in our lives, but there were 30 kids under 8 here (yes, really) and as much as I wanted to get a picture of all of them i knew better than to even attempt it!

The only part of hosting parties that is difficult is that I can’t also photograph the party – but suffice it to say this was a simple, effective, easy to pull together party that can be “themed” any other way you want.