A little reflection..

I'm sitting here this morning in quiet reflection.  I woke up to tingling arms and a swollen body that was begging me to get up and move. That same body begs me to lay down at the end of the day.  It's just another sign the end is near. Yay!!!

But as I sit here in quiet with my coffee...I can honestly say...Monday was one of the worst days I've had in a long time.  There was a bloody lip (mine), a crashed iPhone (also mine), tears (Owen Cooper and mine) and just general mayhem...tantrums, fighting and disagreements.  Food strewn on my floors, poop in bathtubs and a big ol' mess of life's finest parenting moments you never really see coming until they are charging like a freight train through your day.  I joke a lot about chaotic days and craziness.  However, Monday she definitely took the cake. This morning though, I'm not going to go into it all in detail.  Because even amidst the chaos that was, there was good in it.  There were sweet moments and kisses and love.  Though I barely noticed those things they were there. They were there.  In the in between.  Regardless, yesterday was a fresh start.  And yesterday was so.much.better.  I mean a complete 180 from the day before.  This morning even two days later...I'm just so thankful for sleep, for new days and a chance to do it all over again.  Thankful Monday wasn't my last or the norm in our house...and that my family got to get up and try again the next day.  That I got a chance to do better. To be better.  Thankful that this day is one I can say we've survived.  And like anything else...how can you appreciate the perfectly wonderful days without a little reminder of how sweet they really are??

This blog has always been a way to chronicle my journey with my family.  What kind of archivist would I be if I didn't give a nod to the rough days we spend?  To have some kind of thoughts about them.  To appreciate them for what they are.

So anyway...the whole point of this post was a reminder to myself.  One day I'll look back on these days with my boys and ache for them back.  Bloody lips, crashed phones and all.  And I KNOW this.  Without a doubt.  Even the crazy days that leave me counting down bedtime to the second.  And while I doubt I'll ever forget that Cooper has now single-handedly crashed 3 electronic devices worth $500 or more a piece, I also don't want to forget our adventures.  Because boy oh boy is it an adventure some days.  But the most amazing part?  Surviving those days makes me love more fiercely.  Enjoy the everyday goodnesses more...and teaches me about my failures and imperfections.  It's ok to have those days.  I don't think I'd be human to admit otherwise.  And it's even sweeter when those days are followed up by the kind of days that remind you why you became a parent in the first place.  And oh by the way, your kids do love you and were not body snatched by Satan to take over the planet.

Sweet Momma am I glad Monday is over.  And Sweet Momma and I'm glad that I get to be these guys Momma.  They are amazing creatures...even when they dump phones in soda cups, whack me with swords, pour olive oil on kitchen rugs and leave poop in my bathtub....all in one day.

Holiday Crafting...take 2.

I mentioned a Thanksgiving holiday craft here.  Well recently we sat down to do a little winter/Christmas crafting...it was pretty hilarious!

This is what four year olds do when you sit them down and craft with them:

This is what two year olds do:

As a side note, he also ended with marshmallow everywhere.  His chair, his tush, his face, his hands.  We went for the bathtub right after this and he managed to slide his marshmallow butt in between the tub and toilet...the side of my toilet was coated with sticky marshmallow goo.

Ahhhh such is my life! I should know by now that crafting with kids is no neat affair.  Especially where Cooper is concerned.

Despite a little bit of a mess...the finished product was adorable and Owen asked us to put them up on the mantle to add to our decorations.  I couldn't think of a more perfect place to display them :)  I love his little holiday spirit.  It's clear he already has the same enthusiasm I do for the holidays!!  And Cooper begs to go see the Christmas trees at Target every time we are there!  Another holiday-love taking shape before my eyes!

Just one of the million reasons I love this time of year...and having kids to enjoy it with makes it all the more sweet!

Ho Ho Ho...the 2013 edition!!

In the past I have blogged about our trips to see Santa!  Here are some of our past visits!

2012
2011
2010 - for some reason I did not post about this trip and I could kick myself!
2009

Ahh we have some fun traditions...and I cherish as the holidays draw near, making new ones and having old ones to look forward to!

This year, the boys were both excited at the idea...Owen thought we were going to the North Pole.  Too cute!  When we arrived we were greeted with..."Oh boy the wild bunch is here."  I suspect I ought to just get used to this...we are a walking cyclone of crazy every where we go!!

When it was our turn to go back and see Santa the boys walked up with smiles...and some hesitation.  My favorite parts??  Santa asked Owen what he wanted...to which he rattled off a few of the items on his list.  And then he asked if we put up a tree...and what Owen helped with on the tree.  Owen told him the star and that it was his favorite part of the tree!  Insert photo of this Momma's heart melting into a giant puddle.  I LOVE that kid with every fiber of my being!

Isabel also joined in the fun!!  The boys couldn't exactly convince her to not be upset, but they did try!  And I think they were able to get a couple without any tears/no no noing.  I love that we share this tradition with family :)

Thanks again to Santa, Mrs. Claus and Karen Wilson's State Farm Office for inviting us into their place of business to enjoy a visit!  It was an awesome one.

A Greyson Checkup...week 34

This Friday brought another Greyson checkup.  I was 34 weeks and 2 days!

At this appointment we learned that I'm measuring 36 weeks and he guessed Greyson most likely weighs at least 5 pounds.  His heartbeat was a nice steady 130 (yay!).  We are doing great other than that the first blood pressure reading came out at 143/90.  So it was mildly high.  The nurse took it first.  Then after my appointment Dr. Talsky took it again.  When he took it was 118/80...so it was perfect.  He said had it read high again he would have had me come back in 4 days to check it again. Basically if I end up continuing to have that high of a blood pressure reading I will end up getting monitored on an NST and have labs drawn.  Then likely be put on bed rest to control it.  If it that were to not work and it would go into the extremely high ranges I should be prepared to deliver at any time.  Um GULP.  I know that any time after 36/37 weeks they allow labor to continue and if were to happen, I'd head in for a c section as soon as it did.  But with all 3 of my kids hearing be prepared for any time if...it always gets me.  Oh yeah.  We're having a baby....and we're way closer to the finish line that we were before!  again GULP!!

Anyway, because my blood pressure fixed itself...for the time being he said to look for headaches, dizziness, blurred vision and swelling in one foot or hand another vs both sides equally. My hope is that it was just the hustle and bustle of getting to my appointment that created the spike.  As long as everyone behaves themselves I shouldn't have to go back till December 20th.  At this appointment I will have my group B strep test done and make sure everything else still looks good.  All of this makes me a little nervous and the rub in that is that stress plays a huge roll in the rate of our blood pressure.  So I'm trying to take my best friends advice...think happy thoughts and relax!!

We are currently in the process of getting the boys moved into their new room and after that our goal is to finish rearranging their room for Greyson...and getting bags packed for the hospital.  There are a lot of things we need to do on our Get Ready for Greyson list...and after this appointment we just bumped the priority up a notch!  Life sure is interesting with remodels, two kids and the holidays to juggle!!  I have joked it would be our third child we are the least prepared to bring home!  That in itself makes me laugh!!  Hang in there Grey...we're trying to get ready for you!!  And if you could wait till January so you're nice and healthy...and we have everything all ready to go...we'd be ever grateful :)

 

Don't let this face fool you...

Behind those baby blues, kissable cheeks and curly locks...lies the heart of a wild man.

Today he accomplished the following...and this in a 12 hour span from about 7am to oh....7:45pm.

Attempted ornament removals (after Dad and I have slowly moved ALL ornaments to the north side of our tree) with use of his kids chair....duh because they are up too high to reach from the ground...4.  I should add...none were successful.

Attempted ornament removals using the bathroom sink stool designated for teeth brushing...2.  One was successful.

Ornaments found on the ground behind the tree...3

Magnetic Christmas tree removals from refrigerator....5 or 6.  On at least 4 of these occasions he was in charge of placing the tree back on the fridge door.

Puzzle assembled...one which was assembled one and a half times.  The second time through...which we started per his request...he got bored and started throwing pieces across the room.  When asked to clean it up he began screaming NEVER...and kicking and screaming on the ground.

Puzzles required to be cleaned up using hand over hand follow through...1

Clean up song he joined Mom in singing while she tried to convince him not to scream...0.

Couch jumping...lost count.

Attempts at throwing dog food into dog water bowl....3.  1 success was done in spite of Mom's presence and rather stern reminder that food stays in the food bowl and does not belong in water.

Pile drivers to older brother...2

Toys launched at older brother....2.

Cupcake request...5 or 6.

Cupcakes eaten...1/2 of a chocolate one.  The rest ended up on the table and him.

Meals at table where food was thrown on floor because he said "Deci is hungry Mom."...2.

Meals Mom and Dad sat and laughed to tears through....2.

Kisses given...10.

Funny things he said...countless.

Hugs....countless.

He's a ball of fire...but he's our ball of fire!  And my Dad reminded me last night...tenacity is a fabulous quality...once you're a little bit older!  Don't lose it Coop.  It'll serve you well in the real world!!   Mom and Dad are trying to keep up with you and your giant personality!!  Love to pieces little man.

Christmas Tree Getting - 2013

We took off on a family adventure to get a tree!  It was full of craziness from start to finish...and I will say I'm truly not sure I know how to do things any other way anymore!

These two yahoos, sang deck the halls and jingle bells while tossing my new jingle bell wreath holders around.  Cooper staged more than one escape attempt but most importantly, we had a blast and were able to pick out a couple awesome evergreen wreaths and a perfect tree for our living room!!  I love this time of year and the memories we are getting to make!

Owen could NOT wait to put the star on top...and the boys are starting to get the hang of the whole mess we make while decorating!! The lights, the special Christmas decor Mommy can't wait to dig out and put up. It was a up-past-bedtime festivity filled evening. And our living room is now beautiful and ready for the holidays!!

Something about this mantle filled with stockings made me get a little misty.  It's funny...you know you have grown a family...but it feels like it's almost complete.  Next year our middle spot will be filled and a whole wonderful new person to share this special time of year with! God is good!

This weekend we also threw together a gingerbread house...there was spilled candy, arguing over who got what candy to decorate with...and general chaos.  But hey people...we put a house together...and it's still standing!

We have more fun festivities to come...santa visiting, Christmas light seeing, at least one Christmas craft and some fun cookie baking decorating. We are making memories this holiday season folks...by the truck load!!

More Loft Updates!

Progress progress progress!!!

The boys room (minus the bathroom...which isn't too far behind) is almost complete!  The furniture is getting delivered in a matter of hours...but I wanted to post a few update pics before the furniture moves in :)  The boys have spent a few evenings running amuck in their new space and are super excited for the big move.  We are still working out the best time to move them up...if I were honest, Momma is a little nervous about the whole thing.  For almost 5 years the babies in this house were mere footsteps away from us. This changes things a bit...

Anyway...hormones and emotions aside...I'm super ecstatic at the results we're seeing.  Such a lovely new space in our home!  So without further ado...here are some pics!

First Official Christmas Festivity!!

As we were about to celebrate our first Thanksgiving gathering, we got an awesome invite to see Santa when he arrived at the mall the same day!!  Santa read the boys the story, If you Give a Mouse a Cookie. We met the Mouse from the book.  We took a train ride and wrapped up the whole event with a stop for cookies-on-a-stick from Cookie Factory!! Thank you Aunt April for a perfectly unexpected Saturday morning play date...much fun was had by this crew!!

32 Week Checkup, Christmas Lists, the loft and a few other updates!

I know I am amidst a lot of big things right now...so I figured a singular update was easier than trying to fit in several different posts!  Here comes some updates from the Linley Crew parts of the world!


Checkups!
The Tuesday before last, before Owen and I began ADAPT, I went to my 31/32 week checkup for Greyson.  Boy was this one WAY more relaxing than the last...thank you God for calming my nerves!  At this appointment we learned that my glucose test and blood work look wonderful.  He said my numbers look better than normal for a pregnant woman in the areas of glucose and iron and a few other things.  My blood pressure was slightly elevated from my normal, but he said not to worry too much about it at this point...b/c everything else looks so good.  Greyson's heartbeat was 129/130 and nice and steady (YAY!).  He is also guessing his weight between 3 and a half to 4 pounds...which makes him a big boy...and Dr. T said he could likely be our biggest!  We go back December 4 for another check in and he said I had another five weeks of not going into labor (they will stop it). After that they will just do a c-section!  I'm fine and dandy just waiting till his 40 week due date...so he is as healthy as possible!  Hang in there G.  We're doing good.  Let's keep it up!  Oh and here's a belly shot!!  2 months and counting folks.

Momma splurges

I took a trip to Target last week...and between the One Spot aisle and my love for hats and scarves I had quite an amazing trip.  I left with this new bad boy and could not be more excited! I think accessories are a pregnant girls best friend!!

I also happened to stop for this on my way.  Probably not a healthy, thoughtful splurge...but oh so delicious!!

More Cookie Stops!

What our first couple days of therapy looked like!!

We've gotten very used to our life with Mom at home.  So heading into a "gone all day" scenario was interesting!!  But we were prepared with some pre-made meals, laundry caught up etc.  Regardless I snapped a few pictures to help remind me where we were with these days.  Something tells me photos or not, I'll never forget my experience!

Owen crashed about 5 minutes after our second day!

One wiped Momma who wished she could have napped on the ride home!

I left Coop a note and snack in his Lightning McQueen backpack!  I am missing my little crazy one :)

Homework...there have been worksheets and homework to sit down to a few nights. I usually organized it and left it till the kids were in bed.  Boy did I feel like I was back in college!

Loft Reno Progress

HELLO!!!  Progress abounds!!!  Here are some updated photos of the space...with more to come!!  Also carpet installation and actual, colored paints have happened.  We still have a pretty good list of to do's...but considering how far we've come...it's serious progress folks.  Serious progress.  And I could not be happier!!!

Christmas List Making

The boys have been really into the toy catalogs that have come in the mail for Christmas this year!  Owen is getting so big and so mature...that this year we decided to start a real, honest to goodness Christmas list.  I titled it Owen's Santa Wish List...and we began cutting pictures he's seen out of magazine and glueing them to his list.  He is so visual it's a fun thing for him and it honestly is a great way to keep track of the things he's wishing for.  He even reminds us sometimes...Mom, I want to put that on my list.  We started one for Cooper too and it's funny b/c Owen thinks he needs to add to his as well!