Some things I want to remember

My kids are young. They are needy, whiny, naughty, very active, and pretty much all-consuming. Every day there are mountains to climb all day. It is hard to take care of them. Keeping track of their eating, safety, laundry, playing with them, educating them, teaching them about the things of God, disciplining them is exhausting.

However, the cute little things they do and say in a day are so rewarding and special. It keeps me going. It is so special to see how God designed them so differently and individually. It is fun to see them interact with one another.

It is amazing to me how much I don’t remember about when the kids were younger. I have a pretty good memory, but I am forgetting things. It makes me kind of sad. I want to be more deliberate about writing things down. I want to remember this really special, exhausting time of life. It really is so short! People say I will miss it. Right now I don’t feel like I will miss a lot of it, but they are probably correct.

Some things I want to remember:

• when Maggie and Parker get hurt, they immediately look for their blankies and run to be held
• Chase loves to count money
• Parker likes to have wooden gun with him when he watches Swiss Family Robinsons
• Helping me clean the fingerprints off the windows is a real treat. They like to spray the Windex.
• Maggie loves to smash her nose up against the shower door and smile. It shows her top 2 teeth and she looks like Mater from Cars
• The boys love for us too lay in bed with them at night and listen to music. They fight over who gets to lay with them.
• Maggie shows us her nose by crinkling and sniffing. Hilarious!
• Watering the plants and trees in the backyard is a huge treat
• They love chocolate milk
• Everything is a treasure-a rock, a nuts and bolts found on the ground, old soda bottles, etc.
• Chase loves to sort things by color or size
• Parker loves to change his clothes (I don’t think this is cute now, but someday I might )
• Maggie gives kisses and makes the “muah” sound. Abe takes her on the kissing tour at night where she gives each family member a kiss.
• The boys like to watch the same movie over and over.
• The boys like to wear just shorts and no shirts.
• Parker pronounces”th” as an “s” sound. Think sounds like “sink.”
• The boys think imaginary friends are called “ordinary” friends.
• Maggie loves to look at pictures.

I am sure there are more, but that is what I can remember now. My life is so blessed, even though my attitudes and thoughts don’t always show that. Thank you Lord!

Me and my loves!

Boy Subway Art

Here are some boy subway art printables that I created for some shower gifts. Happy printing!

This is the Navy/Green/Grey version. Please feel free to download here.

This is the Navy/Orange/Grey version. Please feel free to download here.

Last Day of School

Chase had his last day of school on Friday. They had a fun week which included some movie watching, school assembly, and a picnic. He is excited about Summer, but he told us that night that he misses school. He said he will miss his teacher and his friends. It is actually nice to hear that he enjoyed school.

Thankfully, some of his friends (especially his BFF Roberto Carlos) belong to the same gym. We are going to meet up for swimming and maybe some park dates. He really did enjoy meeting some new people, and I enjoyed getting to know their moms.

This year has brought about many changes in Chase. He is much more able to focus, he has learned some self control, and is just easier to be around in general. So grateful!

It was an emotional day for us-exciting and kind of sad. It is hard to have something come to an end. I went to thank Chase’s teacher and totally started crying. We both cried and hugged. She really was the perfect teacher for Chase. Strict and tender all at the same time. We are looking forward to wide open days that include lots of playing, movie watching, naps, swimming, crafts. That night we went to dinner and rented a movie in celebration of the beginning of Summer break.

Here are some pictures from the first and last day of school. Parker was being a punk, so I just used what we could get from him.

Comparison Pictures

The Big Boy

The kiddos with Daddy

Chase with Miss. H

Sick baby...

My view

I am writing this sitting in my recliner and snuggling my sick baby. After a great spin workout, I came home and heard Mags talking/complaining in her room. I opened the door and was smacked in the face with the awful, unmistakable smell of vomit.

That smell is something that I can't handle. I had to turn around and walk out of her room and go get my hubby. Abe is my hero when it comes to vomit clean up. He does an amazing job.
After he cleaned up her room, I started the laundry and got Chase ready for school. My mom called and offered to keep Parker for the morning. They picked him up from Abe's work. That left just me and Mags at home for the morning.

So I have been sitting in my gym clothes holding my sweet girl the whole morning. This is a rare treat because she is normally running around like a crazy woman, and I am usually very busy with the other kids and housework. Not how I planned my day, but I am grateful for my wonderful parents and husband who are bearing my burden with me. I am enjoying the peace and quiet and nursing my sweet girl back to health. So blessed!

Exercise and Fueling the Body

Exercise has been a priority in my life for a long time. It started with playing sports a young person. I loved the feeling of using my body and expending energy. A few knee injuries really limited my involvement in sports, and I had to find a new outlet. That is when I began to workout. I took some breaks, but overall I have pretty regularly included some sort of exercise in my schedule. I actually have some guilt when I don’t get it done. My mom thinks I am a nut, but it is the way I am made. I crave it!

With each child that we added to our family, it has been harder to maintain an exercise routine. I bounced back pretty quickly after Chase. It took a little long with Parker, but I was back at it in about 8 weeks. I tried after Maggie to get back into it, but it was really hit or miss during her first year. I did some home workouts when I could, but often a nap would trump a workout. I would try to go to the gym, but I would come home feeling fatigued and exhausted. Not ready and able to tackle the task of mothering 3 active kids. It was just too much for quite a while. It was hard for me to accept, but I gave my body time. I started up about 2 months ago making a concerted effort to exercise 4-5 days a week. I was able to stick to it, and cope for the rest of the day with my other responsibilities. So happy to be back into the routine. It is so exciting to see some changes in my body and feeling more like my younger self.

With my exercise and workouts, I have a few goals to accomplish. Make my body strong so I can be the best wife, mother, daughter, etc. It takes a lot of strength to lift kids, install car seats, fold and unfold strollers.

I want to have energy. Exercise energizes me for the day. The endorphins give me a boost and a feeling of well-being. I miss that so much when I skip a workout.

Lastly, I want to be able to wear my clothes, have them fit properly, and feel good about the way I look in the mirror. After going through the ups and downs of weight gain and weight loss with every baby, I am ready to just find my normal. I am realizing that my “normal” might have to be a “new normal.” It is not as easy to whip myself back into shape as it was 10 years ago or even just 5 years ago. It is hard!

I love group exercise classes. You don’t have to think. You just show up and follow along. Perfect for a tired mommy at 6:00 in the morning. The instructor of my Tuesday morning Group Strength Training (GST) class is 5 feet tall and ALL muscle. She is one strong lady. There is no jiggle anywhere near this lady, but she has maintained a feminine look. She is not too bulky but long and thin. She is in her forties, a mother of 4, and a grandmother. Quite the inspiration!

This morning she suggested drinking a muscle recovery drink within 30-60 minutes. She said it has helped her body definition and energy levels immensely. I think I might incorporate this into my diet and routine and see what happens. Hopefully, I will start to look a little my instructor

Knock Off Decor

I made my first submission to Knock Off Décor. It is a website where people submit their DIY versions of items from retailers such as Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel, etc. Often times the projects are completed for a much cheaper cost than what the retailer is selling them for.
People really can do some amazing things! It is fun and inspiring to see what other people are able to replicate. One of my friends encouraged me to submit my mason jar light fixture to the site. I forgot about it for a while, but I decided to give it a shot. We shall see if it actually gets posted

Giants Win!

We had a wonderful time on Friday at the Giant’s game. It was a little hectic getting ready to leave and coordinating with everyone’s schedules. There were 12 of us total at the game, and that can be a little complicated. It all worked out well!

We were able to get to SF by about 4:00. We ate dinner at our favorite burger joint-Holy Grill. We were able to park our car across the street from the restaurant, and walk to the ball park. It was about a mile walk, but well worth it. It can cost up to $30 to park near AT&T park.

It was a good game. The Giants scored early which was exciting! Madison Bumgarner pitched an excellent game. The score was 4-0 for most of the game. He got into trouble in the 8th inning, and the coach pulled him. The Cubs ended up hitting a 3 run homer. The Giants were able to hold them off and went on to win the game.

We enjoyed the walk back to the car after sitting for so long. We made a wrong turn, but our GPS on our phone got us back on course. It felt good to get back the car and turn on the heater. Some of snoozed on our way back to Sac. We pulled in around 12:00 AM.

My parents were troopers. They had 4 kids 5 and under their watch. The kids were thoroughly exhausted and slept in the next day! Thank you Mom and Dad.

Here are some pictures from our day:

Abe and Me

My brother and his wife

Ben and Tracey

Abe, Stacey, Nate, and Johnny

My friend in South Carolina was watching the game and posted this to my Facebook wall. Giants win!