I'm standing!

Well, I've been coming out of my funk a little, but the stressing over money weighs heavily still. With the holidays and everyone's birthdays quickly approaching, I need to find some way to bring in some extra money for a couple months. Any ideas? I'm contacting the workout places around the house to see if they need help in their daycares, because I figure then I could take the kids with me and still have time with them. That is the hard thing, I don't want to sacrifice our time together for $. But it will all work out it always does.

On to more important things....Austin is pulling up to things now. This table is his favorite at our house and Nany said he is pullin up to the walker at her house when the other baby is in it to Play with him. It is so adorable to watch Austin play with other kids right now. They jsut stare each other up and down, then start patting at them and babbling away. The other favorite thing is Austin in a bathtub. Man he LOVES to get in the bath. I can hardly keep him on my lap to fill the tub with water with him trying to crawl off and dive right in. We dont use anything in the bath anymore, he just crawls around and plays like a big kid. And he is getting big, and heavy. Whew, my arms get so tired holding him these days. But hey, I figure it is my muscle building activity these days!

This weekend not a whole lot planned. Soccer tomorrow morning, Sunday I think a friend of Aaron's and her boyfriend may come over to watch football and hang out. We may check out the new outlet mall that opened near us - but not sure how much fun that would be without any $$ to spend. need to do the normal gymnastics tonight, and grocery shopping at some point. I'm sure it will go too quickly. Hope you all have a good one.

What the Funk

Someone get out the funk-o-meter, I'm in overload. I don't know quite what it has been lately, I've been getting PLENTY of sleep, probably too much if you can think of that. I'm usually falling asleep with little able to keep me up by 9, and then I sleep til 5:45. That is plenty, way more than I'm use to. But yet I feel like I'm so much more tired now than I ever was when Austin was still getting up for a feeding in the middle of the night. I wake up every morning with a headache and groggy as can be. What gives? At least I have 3 beautiful smiles everyday.

Cameron did make it up this weekend and is living with us now. I have to say, it has been even better than I would have wished for (knocking on wood as I type!). We went around last night and picked up applications for him. Hopefully one of those jobs will come through soon. And he has mowed our yard (we told him that was his job until he got a job) and he cleaned the downstairs, and swept/mopped my kitchen floor today. It is GREAT! The kids love him, watch out "Aunts", Uncle Cameron is moving in on your territory! lol As soon as we get home, Turner wants to go downstairs to see "the boy". I'm just glad we've had the time together.

Last night Aaron got tickets to a Cardinals game (Thanks Aunt Joan), so he decided he would take Mackenzie. Then of course Turner wanted to go, and luckily he didn't need his own ticket, so he got to go along with them. They took the Choo Choo Train (Metrolink) downtown, and I think that might have even beaten the game! The kids had so much fun, and even though daddy didn't feel all that great, he had a good time too. Sure it was a late night, but well worth the special memory with daddy. So Mackenzie said that her favorite part was riding the train, eating popcorn, and DRINKING SODA. That's right....daddy got them a soda, not Sprite, but the kind like mommy and daddy drink (with Caffeine). After he told her that is the kind she could get, she told him, "it will be our secret!" Well, isn't that the way it's supposed to be?!!

Tonight it was just me and the kids and Cameron. Aaron had his last night of softball (Just a second while i just up and down). Not that I don't want him to have his own time, and I know it is only 1 night a week, but I'm really ready to have him home. I think just with soccer and gymnastics it is just one more night when we aren't all together. We didn't do much, the kids played outside, we went on a walk, baths and bedtime. Just a normal night in our lives. I do feel a little more refreshed tonight.

Home Safely

Children of the Corn! - They have a cornfield right behind thier house, so we had to take the opportunity to show Mackenzie how corn on the cob grows.


Next year they will love me for sure - but even if not, I'll steal my hugs and kisses again too.

Turner within 5 minutes of us leaving - SOOO tired.



At the zoo - what an awesome zoo they have, puts ours to shame.

This is a little blurry - but just have to take naked bath pictures to embarrase them when they are trying to be cool teenagers!

Awwww....Turner just loved Delana - cried when she wasn't coming home with us.

"Mommy, will you please tell this crazy lady to stop taking pictures of me!"

"Here ducky ducky"



We made it back from Iowa. It was a LONG drive, but well worth it. We had a great time. It was nice to spend some good ole quality time with such a good friend. It was weird for us to look at our 5 little kids and remember like it was yesterday when we were sneaking over to the nearby town to hang out! Oh Delana and Adelyn, just wait till I tell you ssome stories about your momma! lol No I would never do anything like that, I think she has more dirt on me than I could ever have on her! The kids had SOO much fun playing together. Delana (3) and Adelyn(1) are so adorable, and they have every toy you've ever seen in the stores so my kids were in hog heaven.

Last night I had to buy 4 new tires for the van, so that is kind of a big damper right now. Really only needed 2, but then they had a special for almost a free tire if you got 4, and my other two were on their last leg, just not all the way gone. Anyways, hate to have to throw out $400 unexpectedly. Not having money weighs so heavily on me. I want to be able to buy the kids winter clothes - not tires!

BUT at least I learned I needed tires before I headed out on the road today with all 3 kids by myself for the 5.5 hour drive to DesMoines on roads no one else is on with no cell phone coverage! Gotta see the good side. My babysitter took tomorrow and Friday off so the kids and I are heading to DesMoines to see my friend Pam – I’m really looking forward to it. I NEED it.

Aaron already has lots of plans for while we are gone so i'm sure he will fine. lol And i think I'll be coming home to a new houseguest. Seems that my brother Cameron is moving in with us. He's had some rough times, but we have always offered that he is welcome to get back on his feet with us. Hopefully it will work out. But I'm really looking forward to seeing Cameron - he is a really fun, cool guy and it will be nice to have my brother back.
Guess that is about all the updates I've got for now. Wish me luck on my drive with the kiddos. We are leaving after Mackenzie's soccer pictures at 6 tonight, so we'll be on the road late, but also hopefully that means they will be tired and fine sitting and watching a movie.

I just love this picture!

Last night at the Family party - yes that is Phil Vasser right behind us!!

Me at the end of the night with one of the LoCash Cowboys (on the right). I thought I was standing with both of them, but after looking at the picture today, I have no idea who the other person is! lol

Brothers in matching PJs.....LOVE it!

Ok, I know I haven't posted in forever it seems, but last week was busy at work, and this weekend we were out of town.....and blah blah blah - so no excuses.

So what has been going on? Austin now has 5 teeth!! He has had 2 pop through this week alone. His two front teeth, so it now has 3 on top, 2 on bottom. He'll be puling up any day now, he already gets to his knees and starts to try to get up on a foot.
Last night we had our annual family company party. This year we took Fran and Kevin down with us and I'm not sure about them, but Aaron and I had such a great night. The concerts were AMAZING. This year we had Locash Cowboys and Phil Vasser. They are both such awesome high energy performances. If you ever get a chance to see either, they are a MUST see.
The kids stayed at my Grandma's while we were there. They had a blast and we did too - a win win situation. It did rain pretty much the whole time, but we were under a pavilion, and hey, I wasn't going to let it "Rain on my parade" lol I love when we get to get out together like that in such a fun environment. It is like we get to fall in love all over again. Anyways, right now I'm so tired from my only 5 hours of sleep last night, so I'm gonna sign off, just wanted to give a short update so noone thought I'd forgotten about you!
PS Hi Elizabeth, love to see your comments!!!!

Sweet music to my ears

I know you think i'm crazy already, but oh how i love the sound of the newborn cry. it just melts my heart. (I do rememeber that it isn't so grand in the middle of the night or after the first 5 minutes!!) Trust me, it is one of those things you enjoy much more AFTER the fact. But I am glad that I'll have it here to listen to forever.

Happy 8 Month Birthday

All my babies is bed in the morning...doesn't that just make you want to crawl back in to bed!

This is his infamous tongue sticking out

Such a big boy playing in the bath and posing for the camera

See there is proof that he isn't ALWAYS smiling, but trust me - he is a big faker!

Wow, today Austin is 8 months. Unless you've met him in person, you can't begin to understand how awesome he is. He makes it so incredibly easy to love him. He loves to cuddle, with pretty much anyone who needs a hug, and gives out smiles to anyone who asks. And the smiles that he gives are the kind that make you smile back from all the way in your belly, he can make your toes smile!!


Little facts about right now:


1. He has 3 teeth, his 2 middle bottom ones and his upper left tooth that is next to the middle teeth


2. He can crawl all over now and is beginning to "explore" places on his own


3. He still says "Momma" and that is about it - (ha ha Daddy)


4. He is done breastfeeding, but still loves to cuddle with me while I feed him his bottle


5. He eats 1 sz 3 jar of "dinner" food and a jar of fruit for lunch and dinner and a full bowl of cereal with a jar of fruit for breakfast - he has started eating some table food when we have something suitable (last night he LOVED the mashed potatoes). And he loves all the little pick up snacks.


6. He loves Turner and Mackenzie so much. Turner makes him smile every morning when I'm he runs in saying "Good morning Whinwhin". And he just lets Mackenzie pull him up on her stomach on the floor to play around all the time - she drags him around like a newborn puppy! lol


7. He only cries when a) mommy hasn't paid him attention in the last 10 minutes, b) he is hungry, c) he is tired or d) he has a poopy diaper


8. Last night he discovered himself in the reflection on the stove and happily played with the new baby for almost an hour! lol


9. He loves bath time and playing in the water


10. He wakes up about 6:15 every morning, but will play in his crib for a good 30 minutes before he wants to be taken out. He has 1 nap during the day that is about 3 hours long, and then by 7:30 He is ready for bed.


11. He has stated sticking his tongue out all the time now - guess he just discovered that and will mimic you sticking your out.


12. He "fake" cries a lot now. Does the whole "keh keh" with his bottom lip pointing out, and as soon as he sees you making your way to him, it is all big smiles.

13. He is a MOMMA's boy!!!

Hard Times

I guess I'm having kind of a hard time right now. Nothing major, but last night it hit me really hard....but my baby is really growing up. I know you are probably like "Gees Jennifer, you'd think by now you would be over this" but it hits me like a train at full speed every now and then and just crushes me and makes my whole chest hurt holding in the gush of tears that threaten to break through. So I take my moment to just be sad and grieve the stage that has just passed and will never be a part of my life again - and then have to get it together and not dwell on the time that has passed but live in the present so that I can enjoy each and every moment before it too quickly passes. Why is motherhood like this, what a complex life it is. On one hand you are in constant grieving for what has past by and you'll never experience the same way again, on another you don't even have time to think about past or future and are only in the immediate present, and all at the same time that you are looking forward the next stage that tomorrow will bring. Just so happens that yesterday and today I'm a leaning a little more towards the grieving of what has passed. The bringing out the next stage of clothes always brings it on. The physical reminder that my children are growing. Last night I had to bring out the box of 12M boys clothes for Austin. It is especially hard because it is all the clothes that I specifically remember Turner wearing. And Turner was so big when he was wearing them. I can remember I had gone out to Target that day by myself to get him some clothes. I came home with about 2 bags full, had spent about $100 and that was his winter wardrobe. Aaron was sitting on the couch when i came home and I sat the bag on the floor and sat down so Turner could come crawl up on my lap and I removed each piece from the bag to show it to Aaron. I loved all of those clothes, they were his "big boy" clothes, they made him look like a real little boy. It is like it was just yesterday i remember it so vividly. Plus on top of it all I've stopped breastfeeding this week, so even more Austin seems grown.
Even in the midst of all of this though, it isn't make me want another baby right now. I do kind of look forward to having all of my kids being able to walk. I look at little babies with a sense of nostalgia, but not sense of needing one right now. Guess we'll see if that all changes down the road, but I can truly say that right now at this time I am happy with the family I have. Of course, how could I not having 3 of the most beautiful perfect children in the world.

Look-a-like contest!

Comparison of Mackenzie and Austin (unfortunately I don't have any of Turner's 8 month pics on my computer right now so can't post one of him at the same age.)

Pics from the weekend

My Gals: Kelly, Jennifer, Fran, Me

LABOR Day

Whew, I think we took the LABOR Day weekend was too literally. We worked our rears off around our house spending some long overdue time with out landscaping. But, about 12 hours of work, 30 bags of mulch, and bags full of weeds later - we have a great looking backyard! I'm still not done with the front, but that part shouldn't take as long. Just need to throw down a few more bags of mulch and have 2 small flowerbeds to weed out. This is the first time I've ever had to really take care of landscaping, and now that we've been in the house for 2 years I kind of know what everything is going to do year after year.
We did have fun too though. Friday- that seems soooo long ago - we went up to a High School nearby and met up with Fran and her family for a little Friday Night Lights. man I love high school football. I can't wait till Mackenzie is out there cheering and the boys playing football. There is just nothing like the feeling of Friday night football in the air. And I couldn't even tell you anything about the game, just love being there in the stands. And it is so great for people watching. Of course the hormones are so thick in the air that you can practically feel them. All those girls walking in twos trying to "casually" walk by the same boys over and over and having that -"Oh I'm just here to support my team" - Ha, I don't think I'll EVER let Mackenzie go to a HS football game without me!!! it is like a breeding ground!
Saturday we got up early and started working on the yard first thing. By the time I was done I had to take off my rings because my fingers were swollen like sausages (and yes I was wearing gloves) and had to drive with my wrists because my hands hurt too bad to grab the steering wheel. About 2 I left the house for Girl's Night. Kelly Fran and I rode over to Jen's house and we all just sat around drinking wine and chatting all night. It was AWESOME! Thanks Gals - it felt good to catch up with some of my dearest friends. I got home about 10:30 on Sunday and we packed up and headed to Super WalMart for some much needed grocery shopping. Got home, unloaded, ate lunch and back outside to work.
Yesterday was - you guessed it - more yard work, and then we went and had our family pictures taken. Here is the link to view them https://www.searsphotos.com/?shareid=S206400899l78JKBH5W4N . We ended up getting the first pose that is a horizontal pic of the family, the first pic of all 3 kids on their bellies, and the 2nd one of Austin sitting up to mark this stage that he is at. I think they turned out good, not great, but good. I try to get our family picture taken about ever 6 months or so. I know a lot of people that don't get family pics done very often, if at all, and I think it is mainly because they put too much pressure on it to be the "perfect" picture that is going to represent your family for the next decade. But when you get them taken more often it takes away that pressure. I just picked out a few things in our closets that went together, and off we went. And when you get them taken more often you don't feel the need to spend a lot of money. You just buy the 8x10 to hang on the wall for $8 if you are tight on money. We got there at 4 and were back in our van at 5. It wasn't a big time commitment. I strongly recommend getting a picture taken fairly often. It is so awesome to see our family grow through the pictures. Just take the pressure off of yourself and swing in the next time you have everyone in the car together.

I have some great pics on my camera with my Girls and of the kids, but don't have my cord today, so hopefully tomorrow I'll have them uploaded. Hope you had a great holiday!