What do you do all day? Longest Post EVER

When I first decided to stay home with Isabelle, I was asked the question, "what do you do ALL day?"  As if I was sitting around with my feet propped up eating bonbons and watching my stories instead of doing real work.  At the time, I felt pretty overwhelmed taking care of my one child and was pretty insulted that anyone would ask me what I do all day insinuating that I was not doing much since I wasn't working a traditional 8-5pm job.  For the record, taking care of one kid especially a baby isn't that much work after all.

After having Molly, I updated my post and again, felt overwhelmed taking care of two kiddos all day long.  Clearly I didn't realize how easy I had it with just two.

Well, now I have three kids to take care of.  And in case you forgot, the oldest is three.  So here you go, those of you who wonder what a stay at home mom does all. day. long.

6:30 am:  Jason attempts to wake me up.  I beg for 10 more minutes, but it does no good.  Lawson is awake and wants to eat, the girls are awake and Jason needs to get ready and leave for work.

6:35 am:  I drag myself out of bed, put on my "uniform" (pj pants and my robe) and go to the living room where I attempt to feed Lawson, hold both Isabelle and Molly while nursing and start a Yo Gabba Gabba episode.

7:00 am:  Get coffee from kitchen now that I am done nursing (wouldn't want to spill hot coffee on the baby), return to the living room and start another Gabba.  (I know, I know.  TV is bad for kids.)  Usually have to change Molly and Lawson as they are both pretty regular poopers.  I just love changing poop before I have had my coffee.  Take Isabelle to the bathroom.

7:25 am:  Girls are done with Gabba so I can turn on the regular news see what is happening and if it is going to be an outside kind of day or not.  I also catch a little Matt and Ann on NBC.


8:00-8:30 am:  Start breakfast for the girls.  And by start breakfast, I mean pour them a bowl of cereal or fix them some oatmeal.  After getting them their breakfast I usually start emptying the dishwasher and doing dishes.


8:30-9:00 am:  Clean up breakfast, clean up the girls, clean up the floor, eat my breakfast, check email, check facebook, look to see if my favorite bloggers have posted, start making mental list of what all I need to get done during the day.  Oh, and change Molly AGAIN (that girl is one serious pooper).  The girls are usually coloring or playing toys.


9:00 am:  Turn the TV to Sesame Street for Isabelle.  She does not usually watch it, but it is on nonetheless.  Sometimes I use this time to clean, sometimes I play with the girls, depends on the day really.


9:30 am:  Feed Lawson.  Again.  Feels like I just did this.  After I am done feeding Lawson I change his diaper.  And sometimes I have to change Molly.  AGAIN.  Luckily, Molly has usually done her three poops for the day before 10 am and I can count on being done with toddler poop.  Get the girls dressed.


10:00 am:  TV off for the remainder of the morning and most of the afternoon.  Girls play the game called "drag every toy from our room and the toy cabinet into the living room and kitchen and see if we can get mom to step on them."  If they don't feel like playing that they play, "get out every toy in our room and mix them all together so that it takes five hours to clean up."  I usually get some kind of housework done during their game.  Of course, I don't know why I bother because when I am done "cleaning" they have destroyed the house or their room, or both.  It is about this time when I realize I am burning up and take off my robe.  Still in pj pants though.


11:00  Realize that civilized people are out of their pj pants by now.  Laugh because I am still in mine.  Remember the time that my friend, Stephanie, stopped by for a visit and I was till in my pajamas.  Still don't get dressed.  Oh, and I start thinking about what the girls will want for lunch.  By this time whatever game they were playing together without any problems becomes incredibly boring and the new games, "hit, scratch, bite or pull my sister's hair," along with "scream, whine, cry," start.  I start the "stop, go to your room, right now, do you want a spanking game."    Then we clean up the messes (which takes a pretty good chunk of time) and I start making lunch.


12:00 noon:  Eat lunch.  The girls will almost always have peanut butter and jelly, mac n cheese, or leftovers from dinner the night before.  I eat while they are eating because in 30 minutes I have to feed Lawson.  After they are done eating I clean them, clean the table, clean the floor, change their clothes again and tell them they have a few minutes to play before nap time.


12:30 pm:  Feed Lawson.  Watch Downton Abbey while nursing.  Change Lawson.  Change Molly.  Put Molly to bed (sing two songs).  Take Isabelle to the bathroom.  Put Isabelle to bed (say prayer and sing a song).


1:00 pm:  Beg Lawson to take a nap.  Hold Lawson.  Swing Lawson.  Put Lawson in bouncy seat.  Decide Lawson isn't going to sleep and watch the last half of Downton Abbey.


1:30 pm:  Plead and beg and cry for Lawson to go to sleep.  Realize that if he falls asleep now I could still get an hour of sleep before the girls wake up.  Consider changing out of pj pants, but decide against it.  Check facebook and email.  Realize Lawson isn't going to go to sleep and think about how tired I am.


2:00 pm:  Convince myself that 30 minutes of sleep is better than nothing and pray that Lawson will fall asleep.  Come to grips with reality and get Lawson out of bed or out of the bouncy seat or out of the pack and play (where he is fussing) and hold him and tell him how tired I am.


2:30 pm:  Isabelle wakes up from her nap.  Lawson falls asleep.  Watch a Dora with Isabelle.  Explain to Isabelle that moms don't make chocolate milk, only regular milk. (obviously I don't have to tell her this everyday, but we usually have some sort of funny conversation when she first wakes up).


3:00 pm:  Molly wakes up.  When Molly wakes up she stays in her bed, so I go and hold her for a bit and then she gets up.  The girls and I will spend the next half and hour or so reading books or coloring or practicing numbers, shapes, letters, etc.

3:30 pm:  Lawson wakes up.  Feed Lawson.  Change Lawson.  Change Molly. Take Isabelle to the bathroom.

4:00 pm:  Depending on what is for dinner, I either start dinner or start some more housework.  There is a never ending supply of laundry at our house so usually I can always find something to do.  The girls play in their room, color in coloring books, or if it is nice, go outside.  Oh, and I may or may not be holding Lawson who refuses to be put down.  If I am not able to hold him because of making dinner then I listen to him cry while I fix dinner.


5:00 pm:  Jason calls.  I freak out.  The house is a mess and I am still in pj's.  The girls and I begin a mad dash to pick up the entire house in 15 minutes.  I may or may not find time to get out of my pajamas.  Today I managed to put on a shirt, but stayed in my pj pants.  Sometimes we get everything picked up, sometimes not.  If we get everything picked up and I get into regular clothes and J still isn't home I may put on some makeup as well.


5:30-6:30: (you didn't think my day ended at 5 pm did you?) Jason gets home and we eat dinner.  This is a pretty chaotic time at the house.  J and I make the girls' plates and drinks, work to get them to eat and not play with their food, eat our own dinner and then clean up the girls who have managed to get just as much dinner on them as in their mouths.    Luckily, I have a great husband who helps out a TON once he gets home.


6:30 pm:  Feed Lawson.  Change Lawson.  Watch the wheel.  Change Molly.  Take Isabelle to the bathroom.


6:30-8:00 pm:  Jason is usually playing with the girls while I clean up from dinner.  Bath time is sometime during this hour and a half.  Molly goes to bed right at 8 pm.  During the time we are waiting for Molly to fall asleep Isabelle will read books or practice writing her numbers/letters or if we are super good parents she is playing on the iphone.


8:30-9:00 pm:  Put Isabelle in bed.  Begin to try and relax.  Relaxing usually involves watching TV with J on the couch and eating something sweet. 


9:00-10:00 pm:  Tell Isabelle to go to sleep.  Tell Isabelle to be quiet.  Tell Isabelle she is getting a spanking if we have to come in her room.  J goes to spank Isabelle.  Wish that we didn't have to punish her every night right before bed.  Start the dishwasher.  Start another load of laundry.  Feed Lawson.  Change Lawson.  Get ready for bed.


10:30 pm ish:  Go to bed. 


3:30 am:  Feed Lawson.  Change Lawson.


For the record, not every day is exactly the same.  As an example, sometimes I shower!  Another example, sometimes we have to run errands which means that during the regular craziness there is another equally crazy period of running around trying to get everyone ready to go run errands (all diapers changed, Belle to the bathroom, regular clothes and shoes on everyone, diaper bag ready and drinks ready to take in the car).  Some days, okay most days, Lawson doesn't feel like napping and instead feels like crying, so I spend a good portion of my day holding a baby.  Holding a baby does not mean that the rest of my day changes, it just means I am doing it while holding a baby.  Tuesday nights I try to go to my weekly Mary Kay sales meeting so Jason is left taking care of three kids!  This is just a sample of what you could almost always find us doing at a given time during the day.

Also, in typical mom fashion, there are many things I do that I did not mention.  Things like finding a time to blog, or read, see a friend, go grocery shopping, or pay bills.  Things like the many times a day I kiss a boo-boo or give hugs and kisses or correct my children for disobeying.  I didn't add in the time I spend on the phone chatting with my sister or my husband or my mom.  This post would be even longer than it already is!!!!

Oh, and you should also know that there is a lot of time during the day that I have very sweet moments with my kids.  Not all of my day is routine and craziness.  Just most of it.  And I would not trade it for anything (usually).  When I take time to think big picture, I am so grateful to be home with my kids.

What is your day like?  Equally crazy or the total opposite?

Oh, March

I must tell you that I have hated this winter.  We have had no snow.  Okay, we have had some snow.  But not a day where it really snowed.  You know, the kind of snow that shuts down schools and roads and prevents people from getting out and about.  The kind of snow that keeps J home from work and we are forced to stay inside and have a family day.  I wanted just one of those snows.  I wanted to take pictures of the girls playing and making a snowman all bundled up in cute winter gear.  But, no.  No snow.

And now it is almost March and my hopes of the BIG ONE are pretty much destroyed.

But...........

Something exciting is happening in March.  March 13th to be exact.  It isn't one of the weddings I am attending, it isn't Molly's birthday or my sister's marathon.  Nope, none of that fun stuff I mentioned on Friday.

March 13th is the day I will be driving to the bookstore to grab my copy of this....

I am so excited I can hardly stand it.  And, to make it even better I am thinkin' I may head on over to her Tulsa book signing event to meet her in person!

If you haven't got her first cookbook, you should go get it.  Now.  For reals.  It is amazing.  A few of my fav's from that book....Comfort Meatballs, Enchiladas, Cinnamon Rolls, Blackberry Cobbler, Mashed Potatoes, Chicken Fried Steak, and Brisket.

I can't wait!

ps.  spell check seems to be on a break...so if I have misspelled words...I am sorry!

Friday Five-Updates

I really wish that I had been able to take a pic with Lawson yesterday for Embrace the Camera, but I didn't.  Seems like Thursday sneaks up on me every week and every week it is over before I know it and I have no picture.  Hopefully Lawson will forgive me for the lack of pictures when he is older.

Anywho....

Here is what is happening at our house these days....

1.  Molly's tongue is almost all the way healed.  It is amazing how quickly your mouth heals.  Also amazing was the fact that I did not pass out or vomit when it happened.  There is no way the picture showed how deep the hole was...but man was it gross. 

2.  Isabelle is doing great.  We can tell a MAJOR difference now that her adenoids are out.  Probably the biggest difference is her eating.  It is crazy to see how much she eats at dinner now.  Before we were struggling to get her to eat one or two bites of something that she had requested to eat.  She never ate what I had fixed for dinner and every night would ask for a quesadilla or bean burrito or mac and cheese and then would hardly eat a bite.  Now she eats whatever I have fixed, asks for seconds and says how yummy it was.  She has gone from eating no meat, to eating a whole chicken breast plus whatever else we are serving.  It is crazy.  Last night while I was tucking her in she said, "That chicken was yummy."  So crazy.  Also a major difference is her sleeping.  She has slept in her own bed without waking up for two solid weeks.  Jason is finally not having to give up his side of the bed!

3.  Lawson's gas seems to be improving.  He is sleeping better at night and seems to have an improved disposition during the day.  He is still not a fan of being put down, which makes the day hard, but we are working on it.

4.  I have lost weight.  So far a little over 5lbs.  Slow going, but I am pretty sure you aren't supposed to lose a rapid amount of weight quickly when you are nursing.  I weigh myself on Sundays, so maybe I will update again on Monday.  I also think that J and I are going to run a 5k in April (run being a very loose term), so training for that should help.

5.  March is going to be a crazy month for me.  Every weekend is full and every week has something going on during the week also.  I will go to my sister's marathon in Little Rock, go to a bachelorette party, host a wedding shower, work at Babyfest for Mary Kay, go to a rehearsal dinner and then the following day be in a wedding, and then the last weekend I will have Molly's bday.  Oh and did I mention that Jason is going out of town for two days????  I think that March might be a little stressful!  Wish me luck.

Hope you have a glorious weekend.

A Popscicle Kind of Day

Warning:  Gross, bloody, poor quality photo ahead.

Yesterday my girls ate an obscene amount of popscicles. 

This is why.......

Molly fell out of her chair while coloring. 

I. Freaked. Out.  I don't think I have ever seen so much blood coming out of one of my children.  I was losing my mind.  I called Jason and told him what was going on.  Then I told him, "I have no idea what to do."  And I didn't.  So I called the doctor.  Turns out there is nothing to be done for almost biting your tongue off.  NOTHING.  Just give her some tylenol or motrin.  That's it.  My kid's mouth is gushing blood, her tongue looks like she bit all the way through (she didn't) and all I can do is give her some tylenol.  Oh, and popscicles. 

So we have been eating popscicles.  Tons of popscicles. 

Oh, and I have been reminded why kids should not stand up in chairs.  No more standing in chairs at this house. 

One Month Old



making his tough face

Lawson is one month old today.  I don't even know where the time went.  Actually, I take that back.  I do know.  In the last month I have had a baby, Molly and Isabelle were both sick for two weeks, and then Isabelle had surgery and spent another week on the couch.  It has been a busy month.

Time flies when you're having fun, right? 

Anyway.......

Here are some fun things about Lawson at one month old.

Weight:  8lbs even
Height:  who knows...haven't measured

Eating/Sleeping habits:  Eats pretty much every three hours, then is up for a bit and then takes a nap.  I am not as regimented as I was with Isabelle or Molly, but I still follow the eat/wake/sleep pattern from Babywise.  At night, Lawson will sometimes sleep as long as five hours but usually more like four before waking up the first time.  After that he is back to a three hour routine.

Pooping:  All. The. Time. 

Likes:  The bouncy seat, being held, and looking at his sisters.
Dislikes:  The swing, being put down, his carseat, and pacifiers (he is not a huge fan of the paci).

Clothes: Newborn.  Unless he is in a cloth diaper and then 0-3 months will fit.
Diaper size:  Newborn or a cloth.

Other fun things to know:  Lawson has been out and about some, mostly to church and yesterday was his first trip to the newborn nursery.  He has also visited the library, doctor's office, Grandma Kathy's house, and of course the store.  Also fun to know...Lawson does not spit up.  His sisters were both spit up queens, but not Lawson.  It is pretty rare for him to spit up.  Not so fun is the fact that he is extremely gassy.  So far gas drops and gripe water seem to do nothing.  Gas drops worked at first but have stopped helping at all.

Having a boy has been pretty life changing.  He is such a blessing to our family.  There have been some things to get used to (like being sure to point the wiener down) but overall I think we are doing just great!

Valentine's Day Pinterest Fail

First, let me say, Happy Valentine's Day.  I love Valentine's Day for so many reasons, not just because I have a great hubby (love story here).  It is also a day to celebrate my love for my kiddos, my love for my family and friends, and also a day to celebrate the greatest love of all, my love for Jesus!  So, I hope you have a great Valentine's Day even if you don't have a sweetie to celebrate with.

Now, on to my attempt to have my girls make Jason some seriously cute cards.  I got the idea from pinterest.  I have recently been attempting several pinterest projects and so far, none of them have turned out the way I want.  Perhaps the problem is me....or the fact that my kids are not quite 2 and 3 and perhaps, just perhaps, the projects are too hard???  Or maybe my kids just didn't get the super gifted at crafts gene?  Either way, I think I am taking a break from pinterest projects for awhile.  They are hurting my self esteem.

Here's how it all went down.  First, I very carefully covered the kitchen table in paper as to not get it dirty.  I considered myself very smart for this first step.  Next, I got out the red finger paint that Isabelle got for Christmas.  Then, since I couldn't figure out any other way to get the paint onto their hands, I squirted a massive amount of paint out onto a plate for them to dip their hands in.  I secured some sheets of paper for them to use and then called them into the kitchen.

I started with Isabelle and after using all the paper I had prepared with not a single good hand print, much less two together in the shape of a heart, I got very discouraged.  I used my one hand that was not covered in red paint to get more paper out and continued to try again.  I finally got her to do a good one....on the middle of the paper...with no room for a second one.  That is when I gave up.  I decided to just do one per page and call it good.  Of course after we were done, she would go on to make several great hand prints on the paper over the table.....

this is the face she made when asked to smile....notice all the hand prints???

Molly's one single hand print proved to be much more difficult.  She would smear it around every time instead of just putting it down and picking it back up.  So again, I had to search for more paper and continue to try and try again.  Finally, I got one..kind of.  Molly did not really understand that the paint was just for the paper.

she sure is cute!

The cards look absolutely nothing like I wanted.  I have a feeling Jason will still like the ones we made.  He is pretty awesome like that.

And, for the record, it wasn't as big of a mess as I thought finger paints would be.  In fact, I may let them do it again sometime, with all the colors!

What are you doing to celebrate Valentine's Day?

iphone pics

I do not own an iphone.  I am so uncool.  So 2008.  However, my husband is cool.  He does have an iphone.  And what I have found is that once you own an iphone, or there is an iphone in the house, is all of a sudden you stop taking pictures with a regular camera.  Or is that just us?  Anyway, Jason no longer uses the camera.  And since I never remember to take pictures, the only photos we really have of our kids in the last few months are on the iphone.  I finally downloaded some to share.  Happy Friday!

molly at Christmas this year

molly making her funny face

lawson in the special care nursery

isabelle when we came home from hospital (she is looking at lawson)

molly moo

belle before surgery

my little osu cheerleaders

Bath Time!

Lawson had his first real bath on Tuesday night.  I forgot how slippery a little baby can be.   No worries, though, I didn't drop him or anything.  Unlike both Isabelle and Molly, Lawson loved his first bath.  No crying or anything.  I was amazed.   Here are some pictures!

Jason styled his hair for the last picture, but you can't really tell, which is a shame, because my little man looked pretty cute.

And fyi, today Lawson is three weeks old.  Doesn't seem possible.  We are still so far from any type of routine.  To be quite honest, we are far from anything that might resemble a routine at some distant point in the future.  Things are much, much, much different this time around.  Of course he is totally worth it!  Happy Thursday.

Isabelle's Adenoids

pre-surgery photo



Well, yesterday was the big day.  Isabelle had her adenoids removed.  After scouring the internet for information about the procedure and asking her doctor an absurd amount of questions here is what I think a parent would need to know if and when their child should need to have this surgery.

1.  The nurses will give your child something called "goofy juice" to help them calm down enough to make them not freak out about going back to the ER.  This "goofy juice" can make your kid goofy acting....I guess.  For Isabelle, it did not.  She did not say anything funny or act funny in any way.  Instead it was more like we drugged her.  I did not particularly like seeing my kid basically lose control of her limbs and having her eyes glaze over like she was stoned.  But, that is just me.  I would have preferred a goofy kid.  I even took my video camera just in case.  Luckily they gave it to her like 10 minutes before she went back and it probably took like 7 minutes to kick in, so I didn't have to see her like that for very long.

2.  The surgery lasts all of about 15 minutes.  The doctor was back and talking to us before 20 minutes had passed.  We had a great doctor, who I would highly recommend (if you are in the Tulsa area).  Dr. Vaidya was pretty great and was nice enough to not get frustrated with all of my endless questions.  And in case you were wondering.....He described Isabelle's adenoids as HUGE, and said they were growing into the back of her nose...which after looking on the internet (again), I have determined he meant the back of her nasal passageway, because the back of her nose (as I think of the back of my nose) would be impossible.

3.  After surgery, when your child wakes up, they will be freaking out.  I was told this multiple times by multiple people, so I felt pretty prepared.  Isabelle was not in a happy place when she woke up.  She was crying, yelling, and trying to get AWAY from everyone.  It took about an hour for her to completely settle down and stop crying.  Nothing we did seemed to help calm her down.  Once the anesthesia wore off, she was fine.  This was probably the hardest part of the whole deal.  Usually we can get Isabelle to calm down and stop crying.  However, that is when she is normal, not just out of surgery.

4.  Nausea.  Some kids, just like some adults can experience nausea from the anesthesia.  We had a lot of people praying that she would not be throwing up in addition to everything else and thankfully she didn't.  I can't imagine vomiting on top of everything else.

5.  Bad breath.  This is something we have been more than warned about, but hasn't totally set in for Belle yet.  Bacteria will grow on the scab and cause a very, very, very foul odor.  We have been told to expect breath like rotting meat for 7-10 days.  Joy.

6.  Medicate, medicate, medicate.  This is coming from a mom who generally HATES to give her kids any kind of medicine.  I try very hard not to rely on medicine when my kids don't feel good.  I would rather try a natural or homeopathic cure first.  However, not with something like this.  It was super obvious when the pain killer wore off for Isabelle.  Unfortunately, I think the whole surgery experience including the goofy juice has made her flat out refuse to take medicine.  We are hiding it in juice and let me tell you, it is making all the difference.  She is happy, smiling and playing after taking her medicine.  Without it she is constantly crying and very unhappy.  We will keep using it as long as she seems to need it.

There you have it.  What I think you would need to know if your kid was having the same procedure.  And, just for the record, here were Isabelle's symptoms prior to surgery that led us to our decision......

bad breath
dry, cracked and bleeding lips (like all the time)
dry mouth
constant mouth breathing
restlessness while sleeping (we suspect she had developed sleep apnea...she was up multiple times every night)
snoring (she was louder than someone else I know and love)
poor appetite

I am so excited to see what she is like when she is fully recovered.  We were told she should be good to go in just a few days.  I will keep you posted.

Have a great Wednesday.

Wishing to Embrace.....

Today is the day I (sometimes) post pics of me and the kiddos, or Jas and the kiddos, but not today!  I don't have a single new picture of one of us with the kids.  How did this happen?  When did taking pictures become so difficult.  I think I have 2.5 million pictures of Isabelle, and then like 100K of Molly and like 2 of Lawson.  Holy Toledo!  How pathetic is that?  Lawson and Molly might be scarred for life after they realize there are no pictures of them as babies.  Taking more pictures should have been on my goal list.  Come to think of it, I don't even remember what was on my list......uh oh.  Sleep deprivation is beginning to take a toll.

In other news, Lawson is two weeks old today.  We had to take sweet Isabelle to the Dr. (she is a little under the weather today) and we went ahead and had them weigh Lawson to try and avoid returning to the doctor AGAIN tomorrow....and WHOO HOO!!!!  he is back to his birth weight.  I was sooooo relieved.  I said, "Praise Jesus" really loud which may or may not have scared the nurse, but I didn't care.  And just in case you were wondering, Belle just has a cold.  Thankfully.  That means we don't have to cancel surgery on Tuesday.

Speaking of surgery....when we go in they give Isabelle what they refer to as "goofy juice."  It is basically valium for kids to make them relaxed enough to go back to the O.R. without their parents.  The nurse told me it makes kids a little loopy, like drunk kind of and real silly.  I asked her if perhaps there was something like that for the parents....to make me relaxed enough to let her go back to the room without me.  The nurse laughed.  I was being serious.  She never realized I was not kidding.  Even after I said, "I am not kidding."  Clearly, I am on my own.  Oh, and would it be funny to video Isabelle after the goofy juice and put it on my blog (or maybe not), but show it to friends and family????  Or is that like the worst parenting decision ever?  I can't decide....again I am sleep deprived.  So if you think I am horrible for suggesting that...just remember I only slept in 1.5 hr increments last night. 

Well, obviously I am rambling.  I should go take a nap now.  All the kids are asleep and I am blogging...what the what?  Toodles!