It's Been a While....

Sitting down right now for half of a second. Thought I would update everyone on how the Petura Family is doing. Maeve and Cara have started school and they are both doing very well. Watching Maeve in her classroom gives me such joy. I know that she is a teacher pleaser type. She always listens and she follows directions well. Now if only she could do that at home too! She is making new friends but for right now enjoys hanging out with her teacher, Mrs. Garrity. Cara went to school and didn't look back! I never thought she would be THIS good at going. A little tear or two would have made me feel a little bit better. But not my Cara. She went and keeps asking me when she is going to go to "cool." There was a bit of an issue when Mrs. Law had to change her diaper in school but hey- wouldn't you be bothered if someone you didn't really know wanted to get into your pants? :) Cavan is already 4 and a half months old. I am not sure where the time has gone. He is so smiley all of the time! I got lucky with this one being such a happy baby. He loves to watch his sisters and is getting to the point of being a bit fussy if he isn't in the room with them. I must say though, he is sleeping like crap. I am lucky if I get a two hour stretch every night. I figured come 6 months I will cry it out with him and everyone will be a lot happier!

Life for me is hard. I feel as though sometimes I never have a moment to myself. I am up with the kids by 6:30 a.m. and have Cavan up until about 8/8:30. By 9 I want to pass out myself! I am struggling with the lack of "me" time. As a mom it is very easy to get lost in your kids and every day life. I have found myself resenting Kenyon or other people who can just get up and go to the bathroom without anyone coming in or screaming my name. Not to mention Cavan is attached to my boob every two hours if not more. I know that this is just where my life is right at the moment but it can seem awfully overwhelming sometimes. I must say, I am looking forward to school days where I might just get a moment to breathe- or clean up- or even shower!! Yes, I did choose my life. And I love my life. I wouldn't change it for anything. But right now, it is overwhelming. I am taking solace in the little moments like nap time or TV time (dare I say that?). Luckily, I have a great support system and it means the world to me. So I know that even though I am feeling like this now, in a matter of days, weeks or months it will get easier. It better. LOL. So, enough of all of this.... here are some pictures of the kids who fill my heart.

Life with Three

Life with three is interesting to say the least. A lot of things have been happening since we have taken Baby Cavan home. Lets start with Maeve. Maeve has regressed a lot. She has become very weepy and whiney and has resorted to crying again when we drop her off at school. She asks me to carry her or rock her when she is feeling sad. She uses baby talk now when trying to tell us something. It is exasperating! I try to ignore a lot of it because I know that she is craving attention. When she is not behaving this way, I will give her extra hugs and kisses to let her know that I still love her. The tantrums are killing me but I know that she is just trying to make sense of all of the changes. With Cavan, Maeve is wonderful!! She is my little helper. She loves on him and cares for him... the maternal instinct in her really came out in the past few weeks and it warms my heart! She really protects him from Cara (which is not always a good thing). I couldn't have asked her to love him anymore!
Now onto Cara. Man has she it the terrible twos in all of its glory! We have tantrums that consist of screaming, throwing herself onto the floor or just covering her face with her hands like something horrible has happened. It is kind of humorous to watch but Kenyon and I have to remind ourselves that she is not a baby anymore. To time out she goes. And she hates it! But let me tell you- it is working and the mention of it keeps her somewhat quiet. She is really really good with Cavan. She understands that he is smaller and is okay with me breastfeeding and loving on him. I thought she would be very jealous. But she isn't. I constantly hear, "oh no, where's baby?" Or.. "hi Cabin." She is worried about him a lot and has accepted him as part of our family.
Cavan has been challenging the past week or so. His gas is getting the bettr of him and we have been up from 2-5 on most nights. It is exhausting. But I wouldn't trade it for the world! He is pretty chill and is okay with the girls screaming around him. He is my little love.... Seeing Kenyon with him now is pretty cool. Many times they hang out on the couch watching sports and Kenyon tells him all about it. It was a rocky start with Kenyon and Cavan. I think Kenyon got used to taking care of the girls while I was in the hospital that it took a while to bond with Cavan. But now they are buddies!
Now as a whole. It is insane. I am not going to lie. Sometimes I wonder how I am getting through it. In the moment it doesn't seem to bad but then when I look at each minute- I am like, this is nuts. For example. I took all three kids outside to play. Cavn did not want to be in the bucket so I was holding him. Cara took off on me down the street so I threw Cavan in the stroller and ran after him. Maeve, who was trying to help ran after her and fell splat on her face. So I had one screaming in the stroller, one screaming face down and bloody on the ground and one still running away on me. Looking back on it, I can laugh but at the time I was going to cry. Life is all about moments and for the most part, my moments are filled with love, laughter and happiness. Now, there are moments that I would like to forget about- but all in all, we are managing and life is pretty damn good right now!

Cavan's Birth Story

This might be long and I will try not to be too graphic but I tend to be sometimes. :) Here is how Cavan came into the world.

April 25th (Monday) during the day I just didn't feel right. I was running to the bathroom. I realized that this could be the start of something but honestly, I thought that the week before so I wasn't ready to admit anything. By 5:00 I was still feeling sick. Kenyon came home and I told him that I was predicting going into labor within the next 24 hours... he was skeptical to say the least. He decided he was going to go outside and mow the lawn (something that infuriated me at the time) and I was to feed the kids. I was having regular contractions at this point but nothing too strong. They ranged anywhere from 4-8 minutes. So at about 6:00, they were getting stronger. After talking to my mom, I called the doc and he told me to come in after about an hour. Called my mom back and they came over...

We arrived at the hospital at about 7:30 and they admitted me in the room. I was worried thinking if this was false, I would feel so so stupid. I mean, I already did it once. They kept saying, oh no, this is your third child, you are probably right. Yeah, no pressure. So the nurse checked me and I was only about 1.5/2 cm dilated. 50 percent effaced. Really? Disappointed was hardly the word. I was sure they would send me home. But the monitor kept showing that I was in fact having contractions regularly. The doctor came in three and a half hours later (after we were told he would be there in an hour). He checked me and I only went up half a centimeter but was almost 70 percent effaced. He offered to give me sleeping pills for the night and break my water in the morning (as long as there was progression). I agreed. And to sleep I went.....

The next morning Dr. Petraske came in and told me that I hardly dilated any more than I already had and I was not contracting anymore. She offered to break my water or send me home. Um, yeah. Break my water. And so she did. There was no turning back now! She told me to walk around, get things moving. Kenyon, Colleen and I walked for about an hour (one can only do so many loops around the halls without going crazy!). About two hours later, they checked me again and I had only dilated one more cm. So so frustrating. I hung out for a bit and was starving!!! Around lunch time, I walked again and they checked me again. I was heartbroken to know that I had not dilated at all anymore but I was thinning a LOT! Okay, some good news. So, walking again we went. This was about two o'clock. Colleen took the stroll with me. Kenyon and Scott stayed in the room. First time around I had one strong contraction. Woo! That was a tough one. Next time around it stopped me dead in my tracks. I told Colleen, okay, that hurt. I didn't make it around the hallway the next time when I was in tears. Colleen almost died and I looked at the nurse and said one word. Epidural. About ten minutes later I had the lovely anestioligist in the room putting that wonderful medicine right into my back! Ten minutes later, I felt nothing. I slept a little, looked at the clock a little and was kind of, yes, I'll say it. Bored. Then at about 4:30 I told Kenyon I felt like peeing/pooping. I knew this feeling from Maeve. I knew I was fully dilated and ready. I called the nurse who told me that the doc was in delivering another lady. Really? Because I haven't waited all day? Um. this was getting strong. It felt like she finally came in.... She opened my legs and said yep, baby is here! Within like literally 30 seconds, I had 5 nurses and the whole sha bang in the room with me. I look at Kenyon and then Colleen and all I want to do is start pushing! I don't think it took very long. Maybe a couple of pushes? I was holding onto my legs but then they pulled up the handles and that helped a lot! I pushed even when I didn't have a contraction and the feeling was relief! I wanted to know what this baby was for so long and now we were so close!! The Dr. made jokes trying to take bets on what it was.... one last push....

The moment that the baby came out of me I will never ever forget. She held him up- with all his gook on him and yelled, IT'S A BOY! I can never truly explain the love and excitement and wonder that I felt. I had a boy. Our boy! We never thought we would have a boy!! I cried, Kenyon cried, Colleen cried and then I held him. Lacey (bestest nurse and FRIEND ever!!) put him on my chest and cleaned him off as I just looked at him. I loved him. Cavan William was already my baby boy.... and he was so little!!! After a little while they took him and weighed him. He was 7 lbs, 1 ounce and 20.5 inches long. My beautiful boy. Pictures were taken, I was sewn up (i tore because he came out the wrong way- he was sunny side up). But it didn't matter, he was there- and with a PENIS! LOL. I was so excited to tell everyone and most of all, show my girls their little brother. :)

38 weeks, 2 Days

This number means a lot to me. This is when my water broke with Maeve. I gave birth to her early the next morning. With Cara, I started having contractions at 8:00 in the morning- the morning of 38 weeks, 2 days. I gave birth to her in the evening. So today I am 38 weeks, 1 day. You can imagine my anticipation and excitement for tomorrow. Not that I think there is going to be some magical moment tomorrow that will set me into labor just like the girls. I know that every pregnancy is different, etc. But I am excited for tomorrow nonetheless. If it doesn't happen tomorrow, I am still holding onto the belief that I am going to give birth on Easter Sunday (since that has been my prediction all along). Now, if for some reason I don't give birth tomorrow or on Easter, then I am fully prepared to have a mental breakdown, lol. I won't know what to do with myself! It will be the longest I have ever been pregnant with all of my children. And it will make me realize even more that the child inside of me is the one who will be teaching me patience. So, as tomorrow rolls around, think about me- I will be home scrutinizing every little pang and twinge. And if I don't remember to let you all know, Have a wonderful Easter with your family!

Growing Up

It is kind of crazy to look at Cara and think that she is going to be two this summer. What happened to the time? I seriously feel like she was just born. Kenyon says that there are many times I "baby" her. Um, she is my baby. The girls are so different that it makes me laugh sometimes. Maeve is very independent in terms of affection. She isn't really a cuddler. She is a perfectionist and has to make sure everything is exactly right. She can't lie at all!! The girl would rather come clean than have it weighing on her mind. She never likes to upset anyone. She will apologize almost immediately after she has done something wrong. She loves to draw and color. Crafts are a must with this little girl! In terms of playing outside, she could take it or leave it... doesn't matter either way. She loves to read. Now Cara on the other hand is very very different. She loves to cuddle! She is a die hard romantic. When watching Disney movies she just adores the part where the prince and princess are dancing and loves to see them kiss. She sings and dances constantly! There are times when she asks to go into the other room just to listen to her music. Then we will hear her belting out the "words." She is definitely an athlete. If she goes outside, we can almost guarantee that she will be next door at their basketball hoop. Inside, she is constantly throwing balls up and down the hallway. She loves to be devious. We call her our little menace. She loves to steal things of Maeves and then run away laughing. She loves to explore (think putting things down the toilet!). The difference in the two girls makes me chuckle. But then it makes me wonder about this new baby. Will my girls change much because their birth order will change? Will Cara become the classic middle child? Will the baby be more like Maeve or Cara? Or maybe a combination of both? It is exciting to say the least! And IF this baby is a boy.... will he forever be in princess clothes having tea parties? Either way, we are ready. I want this baby out! I am 37 weeks this week and I am thinking it is about time. Maeve is so ready for her brother (yes, the girl SWEARS it is a boy). And we finally have Cara pointing at my belly saying baby. I hate the when is it going to happen feeling. I hate the where will we be? Will the girls be okay anxiety that comes with it. But, I guess God has His plans and there is no stopping it whenever Goy comes! Some come on Goy, we are ALL waiting for you!

I am Tired

It is to that point I think. I am starting to get tired. I realize that if I move around too much I get sore spots. Or if I am on my feet too long, I am swollen. I get winded very easily and the girls are getting harder to keep up with. That being said, I am 35 weeks this week. I am banking on (hoping for, really) the baby being here in about 3 weeks or so. 3 more weeks of only two! Three more weeks of no one stuck on my boobs, or crying for a reason I do not know. Three more weeks of just two beautiful little girls. I am trying to cherish every moment of it. I still go outside with the girls and go to play places. I am still trying to book small trips with Kenyon to the aquarium etc. I figure might as well do it while we can, right? I am excited. I long to know what this baby is- a boy or a girl. I have given up trying to figure it out. I have no idea. My instincts are always wrong anyway, lol. We do have some names picked out for both genders but aren't going in with a definite- not until we see his/her precious face! So, keep watching because in just a matter of weeks, there will be another little Petura making its way into this world!

I think this girl is such a wackadoodle! But I love her!

Getting Ready

I don't think anyone can be truly ready for a new baby. I think you can be pretty darned prepared but never 100 percent ready. With that being said, we are like 20 percent ready. LOL. We have the room straightened. We have a couple of names in the works but nothing definite (or anything we can agree on!). Some of the baby gear is set up. We have one pack of diapers. See what I mean? Nothing is done. Complete. But I figure, hey, who cares? Is this baby who is coming into the world really going to care if I have the room a perfect color the minute he/she gets into this world? No. I have been nesting in another ways. I am a stickler about laundry being done and about the kids toys being picked up at the end of the day. The baby's clothes are washed and put in drawers (if we have a girl that is). I am almost 34 weeks pregnant. I am as ready as I am going to be. Bring it on.

A True American Family

So, we now have a minivan. I have been fighting it for a long time. But now, with Baby Goy coming I don't think there is anyway we were able to get around it. Kenyon tried his best to fit three casrseats across in our Santa Fe but it just wasn't happening. So, minivan shopping we went. We weren't looking for something brand new. Something with some mileage on it. Just enough so that the price wouldn't be through the roof. There were plenty of options for us out there. I was even able to narrow it down by color. We went to the first dealership as many of you already know and I got the privilege of driving a brand new 2011 Toyota Sienna. Not a good way to start. Going down one or two years was hard after that. So we picked our heads up after that disaster of an evening and headed out again. We went to the dealership in Dayton. They were awesome. It also helps when you have exactly what you want and are willing to pay all printed out in front of you. We negotiated for *maybe* 30 minutes and then the car was ours- at the price we asked for! So, here it is. The car that finally helps us to fit into our neighborhood!

Appointments and Updates

Time is flying. I don't know how or when it happened but I woke up yesterday and realized that I am seven months pregnant. In just a couple of months time, we are going to have another crazy little Petura in the house! Now, this kind of makes me a bit nervous because my schedule and routine has become awesome with the girls! With Maeve going to nursery school and Cara taking great naps, things have just fallen into place. The house is clean most of the time (with exception of toys which I don't count). The girls are happy and I am sometimes think, what the hell have I done? LOL. But the greater part of me knows that everything will eventually fall back into place. It took almost two years for us to settle into this so I know that it won't be right away but it will come. I am feeling like Maeve will be the motherly type. She is constantly hugging my belly and talking to the baby. Cara on the other hand might need to be kept a great distance away from the baby. She thinks it is funny to do things she is not supposed to and she likes to get a rise out of us. Hitting the baby might be a common thing in our house. We will see. Maybe they will both surprise us!
I am going to the doctor now every two weeks. They just did the blood work for the gestational diabetes. I am anticipating that everything should be okay there. The doc did mention something about my weight gain going up the past two months. I tried to ignore him and just went to my happy place- peanut butter cups. LOL. Maybe that is why I have gained? Oh well. I will lose it after. And if I don't, Kenyon will love me anyway.
Maeve has finally fallen into a great routine with school. Her teacher lives across the street from us! That helps a lot. We are thinking that if I go in the middle of the night, we will call her and ask he to cover until someone can come over. Maeve knows her and trusts her. Now I just need her to say yes. :)
There is a lot of love in the house this weekend! We hope that everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day. Love everyone!

Here are some pictures of us finally getting outside the one day it hit 40!!

Baby Goy

That is what I am calling this baby. We have no names set and we don't know the sex of the baby so it will be Baby Goy for now (boy+girl=goy). I had my 25 week check up and all looks good with Goy! Maeve got to help out and pour the gel all over my belly and then the doctor gave her the doppler. She LOVED that and she found the heartbeat right away! Goy then decided to do laps inside of me and it was hard for the doc to find him/her again. Soccer player? Track star? Maybe. I gained a lot of weight but its all good. I have been really slow to gain this time around so I knew a big month was coming up soon. BAM! This was it. :) I go back to the doctor in three weeks for my glucose testing and then the doctor looked at me and said after that, EVERY.TWO.WEEKS. Um, really? Because I am kind of not ready. Can we just reverse time a teeny bit so I can get Maeve sleeping in her own bed for the whole night? Or maybe stop for a minute so I can relish in the fact that I just have two carseats in the car at the moment. Every two weeks??? Are you kidding me? Already? Okay, freak out for the moment over. But it scares me to think we are nearing the end. We really need to think of some names for Goy!

Our Little Misfit

Look how guilty she looks!



So, I find it amusing that I titled this post and in the same instant, Cara published it without me writing anything! This title suits her perfectly. This is all about Cara. Her little personality is shining through right now. Boy are we in trouble! She is the sweetest most snuggly little girl one could ever meet. That being said, she is also a little misfit (in the most loving way possible). She loves to steal her sisters lovey right out from under her and run for it. It gets Maeve so mad! But Cara just giggles and giggles thinking she is the funniest thing ever. She really does make us laugh. When she gets into talking, she has a whole conversation with us- half of which we have no idea what she is saying! She does love Maeve very much and just wants to play with her all day. This makes for a very hard and frustrating day because sometimes Maeve just likes to be alone. Cara loves to sing and dance! And her love of reading is coming through. Her favorite right now is Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Sometimes I just catch her sitting in the corner reading by herself and it makes me so happy! We love her!!

Shocked and Ecstatic!

So yesterday went a lot better than I thought it would! We got into the car and she was super excited! When we walked into the building, the director came up to say hello. She sctually responded so I knew we were off to somewhat of a good start! Maeve saw so many women walking through the hallway and with each person she asked me if it was her teacher. When I saw her, I pointed her out and she was so excited! She signaled for us to walk down and she let us into the room. Maeve immediately left me to walk around and check the place out. The teacher (Mrs. Law) showed her her cubby and also showed her her pictures around the room. At this point, Cara started losing it due to no nap. The teacher kind of gave me the signal that this might be a good time to leave. I told Maeve I needed to go and put Cara down for a nap. She said, "Mommy, I didn't know they had a crib here for Cara!" LOL. So I said good-bye and she said, "okay mommy, good-bye." I left while she was playing with princesses. Now, what I didn't expect was for Cara to SCREAM for Maeve the whole way home. I never thought about how Cara has had Maeve around her whole life. The two hours were golden. I am not going to lie, the phone was on me the whole time in case she needed me. But lets be honest, did we really think she would need me once she was actively engaged? No. I went to pick her up at 3:15. I peeked in the secret window and saw her doing puzzles at the table like every other kid. Made my heart proud that she was so brave! When it was time for release, they let Maeve out first and her face lit up as she saw me and Cara. Cara was also screaming in delight that Maeve was back!! She talked incessantly the whole way home (wonder where she gets that from??). She had chips and cheese and bananas for snack. She also picked milk and drank it out of a big girl cup! It spilled a little and that made her sad but then Mrs. Law (God bless this woman!) gave her a wipe and she was happy again. She did puzzles and pegboards and listened to a book. She went to music with teddies (I had no idea what that was about) and made them dance. But most of all, she got to ring the bell ALL day to signal clean up time. She loved it. And that makes me feel all sorts of things. Proud, sad, happy... all wrapped up into one. My little girl is growing up whether or not I like it and it makes me love her even more than yesterday.

Enjoy the pictures!!

Deep Breaths.

I knew this day would come. I always read other peoples posts about their kids going to school for the first time and while you can smile and say, that's nice, you just don't get it until you are taking your own. Maeve is starting preschool today. She was a bit apprehensive as I stated before this past weekend but since then, we have moved away from that. She is starting to tell me that she will be doing projects and playing with toys. I am nervous. I am scared. I am not sure why. I am so afraid that when I take her into that room she is going to burst into tears and I am going to want to pick her up hug her tight and run the hell out of there. I know this is not possible nor is it the best thing for her. She will be so much more independent when she goes. She needs friends her age. I am just going to have to hold onto that feeling- knowing we are doing the right thing. So honestly, why do I feel like I might throw up as I choke down my coffee? All the joys of parenting I guess. We are putting on her favorite Horton Hears a Who outfit, taking La La with us (teacher said its okay!), and strapping on her princess backpack and walking in together. I will post later on how she handles it (okay, okay, on how I handled it!).

Pics will also come in a later post. :)

School and Sickness

This week has been crazy! Between the ups and downs of thinking Maeve is going to school and then her getting sick- I have been a crazy person (although, I have tried to hide it well). Maeve had a bit of a breakdown on Sunday anytime we mentioned school. She would start crying and saying she didn't want to go- that she wanted to stay with mommy. Yeah, mommy is a little tired of the clingy/sobbing mess that Maeve becomes when she walks out the door. She did end up getting very very sick (stomach bug) that evening so I am praying that it had something to do with that! It has taken two days of laying on the couch, eating nothing, drinking plenty of water and I *think* it might be on its way out!
She was supposed to go to school today but for obvious reasons, that is not happening. She will be going on Thursday. The teacher called to talk to her and I had to explain that there was no way that was happening (especially after she puked five minutes before she called). So I ended up talking to her and let me tell you- she is awesome! I think Maeve is going to love her! She told me that Maeve IS allowed to bring La La (her lovey) to school with her! When I told Maeve this morning that La La was going to school, she was ECSTATIC! I seriously think she saw school in a whole different light. She wanted to know everything the teacher said to me. I am hoping that did the trick! I am to bring a 4X6 photo of her for her cubby, her epi-pen, forms etc. It was a lot to remember in between cleaning up puke! So that has been our story. Come back and read on Thursday. I am sure it will be interesting!


The Baby's room BEFORE Colleen got a hold of it.....


For those who wish to see the video, go to the actual blog page and view there! :)


My love being CRAZY!

Let's Talk About Sleeping

Sleeping is a funny thing. When you get a lot of it, all seems right in the world. When you don't have enough of it, things always seem to go wrong. For the past couple of months Maeve has been doing decently in her bed with the occasional wake up to come and visit us. A trip to the potty and back in bed always seemed to cure that. More recently however Cara has also been waking up. Now one kid is doable. But two kids? Brings out some pretty scary monsters in me and Kenyon. Let me give you and example of one of our nights.

7:00/7:20 p.m.- Kids go to bed.
All is well with the world until I decide to go to sleep (I swear they KNOW when I get into bed).
10:00 p.m.- Cara wakes up screaming.... takes about an hour or so to get her back to sleep (teething? wet? Who knows.)
11:15 p.m.- Maeve the visitor. "Mommy, you left me. Come lay with me." Me, "I will only stay for a little while."
12:00 p.m.- I leave and get into bed (now exhausted).
2:00 ish a.m.- Maeve again. She comes into our room with a pillow, blanket, and her lovey. "Okay mommy, I will sleep with you then."

Now, one of two things happens here. I either give in and have her sleep with us and it is the worst sleep ever or I bring her back to her room (with Kenyon) and he lays on the floor and I sneak out after tucking her in. Either way, it is a lose-lose situation.

4:00 a.m.- Cara wakes up screaming and won't go back to sleep. Kenyon rushes in there (half in a stupor) and picks her up to rock her. Takes an hour before she falls back to sleep. He crawls back into bed just to have Maeve kicking him in the back.

6:00 a.m.- WAKE UP! Now, you would think they would sleep in, right? No. Not exactly. They are wide awake acting like they got the best sleep in the world. Maybe they did (I mean, one is in our bed all warm and cozy and the other is in our arms half the night)!

We are exhausted. We have tried to let Cara cry it out in the middle of the night (she is so freaking stubborn- she yelled for an hour for us and Maeve slept through it but we didn't). We are in a very rough spot because they share a room. We don't want one waking the other up. And so we have to hope and pray that this is a phase and we will get through it. I noticed yesterday that Cara is cutting her sharp teeth. Maybe when they come through it will be better. I have learned some things though throughout this process that I would like to share. And by no means am I an expert! Take it or leave it:

-At three in the morning, it is NOT a good time to have a discussion on what to do about sleep management. Wait until morning.
-When you are the ones not getting sleep, all books and advice go out the window and you do what you have to in order to survive.
-There is no point in trying to figure out why they are getting up- especially if they can't talk! Just deal with it instead of analyzing why.
- And laugh about it in the morning....otherwise it will just make you crazy!

:)

Happy New Year Everyone!

This New Years, we were thinking about a lot of things that are going to happen this year! The most obvious is that we will be adding to our family. While it is super exciting, it is scary and a little nerve racking as well. Our family dynamics are going to change greatly and I am wondering how I am going to have three knees for all of the kids to sit on! I know that everything will probably be fine and it will all work out and we will get into a great routine in a couple of months but that doesn't mean I am not scared! :) Maeve will start school this year- which is also exciting and super scary. Um, wasn't she just the baby in my arms?? Our family is growing and growing up and I am not sure if it makes me want to smile or makes me want to cry. There are a lot of things that I would love to focus on this year. Obviously, with Dan and Mel's wedding coming up, I would love to lose all of this baby weight that I am packing on... But I would love to do some other things as well. I would love my family to get back to church. They are just so hard sometimes in there and it is a bit overwhelming. I know, I know. Excuses. Excuses. But we will work on it. I would love to spend more time with the man I married. That seems to get less and less the more kids we have. Definitely something we both need. I would also like to be more patient with my kids. I just seem to get at my wits end with them (especially now that Maeve and Cara "play" together now). Just a few things on my mind. I am sure 50,000 other things will come as the year progresses but these are on my mind now.... Here are some other resolutions for my kiddos!
Spend time with loved ones...


Be more active...



Safety!


Better hygiene....