Catch Up...post-holiday updates!

The day after Christmas we were laaazy.  I'll call it a Christmas hangover...because we managed to stay in our jammies, not leave the house and other than some present organizing...we were bums!  It was awesome.  We busted out a new game Owen got from Santa called Don't Rock the Boat.  You load it up with penguins and try not to tip it over.  He thoroughly enjoyed this game...especially when he won!!

The boys received a Disney Infinity from Grandma this year.  It is an awesome gift that I know they will enjoy growing into!!  Jeremy and Owen spent the better part of an afternoon learning the ropes. They were like two kids in a candy store!!

The weekend after Christmas we gathered our wits and headed out to make a few pre-baby purchases we knew we needed.  $300 later we wandered to the Mills mall for a carousel ride and some snacks!  I'm so glad we snuck this little outting in.  We had a fun afternoon and enjoyed a great day of family time!

 This kid LOVES to dress up.  Capes, slippers, hats, masks.  This particular day he wore this cape and mask for literally hours of the afternoon.   It was hilarious and too cute not to photograph!

This what 37 weeks looks like...and yes folks...I've just gotten bigger.  My back and shoulders are achy for some relief!!  

My attempt at apple dumplings using crescent rolls and Mountain Dew.  This was heading into the oven...they were delicious and I will make them again!!!

I am the mother to cheesballs.  Cute ones at that!!  They love their new towels they got for Christmas.  Proof below!  God do I love these two!!! 

Lasagna in one of my awesome Christmas presents...a new deep dish lasagna dish.  It cleaned up easily and didn't drip over into my oven.  LOVE it!!!

New Years Day we had some visitors in the form of our niece, nephew and their parents...after lots and lots and lots of playing these two asked to watch a movie and after getting them set up...I found them snuggled in like this:

This one was busy enjoying The Croods in 3D with his Daddy and Uncle Jonnie..and after lots of playing...crashed. Just like this!

After the New Years wrapped up it was d-day on all things Greyson.  If you ever wonder what the term back to square one feels like being smacked in your face...wash some bottles while your almost 5 year old is pottying on the potty like a big boy and dressing himself at the same time.  Oh Momma...here we go again!!!

There is something so darn appealing about baby laundry.  I do not like laundry whatsoever...but folding this stuff?  It's so cute and small...and precious.  And given that my biggest and middle boy once fit into many of these items...this time around it's super nostalgic. I love it!

We've been trying to teach him how to sing the lines from CeeLo's song Forget You.  It's starting to work.  It's adorable. Nuf said.

 In the middle of a foot deep snow storm...a day after I had a little bit of a scare with heading to the hospital early and we put a call into the doctor's emergency line and we're packing for the hospital...we got a snow storm that brought snow, bitter cold and blizzard like conditions for most of our area. Then...we lost our power.  The temps were due to drop to the lowest they had in 20 years and here goes our power.  Thankfully, after getting online...it showed the power would return. So we built a fire, hunkered down and waited. Our house got pretty brisk but we did get our power back as promised. Thank you Ameren!!

The morning after the big snow...we woke to this.  That would be a minus sign next to that 9.  Making the wind chills about -25 or 30.  Brrrr!!!!  Owen went on to have a week off of school due to snow and cold.  Hello January!!!

I have a problem with jealousy when it comes to anyone who owns one of these awesome cargo totes from 31.  I honestly have no earthly idea why I never just went out and bought myself one...BUT now I don't have to!!  Jonnie and April stopped over on a random evening to visit us saying they had something to drop off.  This beautiful-ness is what they dropped off!!  Covet no more!!! And just in time for Greyson's arrival...I can tote it on up to the hospital and it'll get it's first good use!  Woohoo!!

Holidays 2013

 Our holiday was pretty low key this year!  We had a wonderful get together at my Aunt Jenni and Uncle Doug's early in the month...and I didn't capture photos (I've been horrible about remembering!)...but I certainly look forward to getting together again next year!!  

Next up Christmas Eve.  Gigi came over to watch the boys open gifts from her.  It was mayhem from start to finish...almost bedtime and dinner time all in one. But we were able to enjoy ourselves and both boys were blessed with amazing presents!!

 This goes along with an actual tool bench.  Both kids got a tool belt and special tools.  They always want to be like Daddy when he gets out his drills and screw drivers.  So this was a great way to make it happen!!

Santa came!!

 Merry Christmas Morning :)

After we opened, we did a quick sweep of the house, Jer started a beautiful fire and we prepared for our Linley crew's arrival!  By 12:30pm our house was hustling and bustling and I wouldn't have had it any other way!! We had appetizers for lunch, opened a flurry of gifts and enjoy each others company.  It was so chaotic though that I was unable to get any photos of anything!!  Cost of being the host I suppose ;) Regardless it was a great celebration with all the wonderful people we love!

We headed off for Grandma and Grandpa's house that afternoon and it was much the same!  A flurry of opening, delicious food and wonderful loved ones all around. I did get a couple photos...though they do no justice!!

This about sums it up!!  Cooper crashed on his favorite chair at Grandpa's...and I think we all felt about the same!  We put the boys in PJ's, visited awhile longer and then headed home.  We capped off our night by popping in a movie on the couch as a foursome.  Both kiddos crashed and we were soon to follow!

Christmas 2013 was pretty awesome!!  We are so blessed to be loved by so many!!

Happy end of 2013 and welcome 2014!!  We're excited about what you have in store for us!!

Catch up...pre-holiday updates!

There has been lots happening around here these last couple weeks and not a lot of blogging to show for it...and I'm not a fan of starting a new year behind on things!

This little guy is just silly and makes me laugh.  That is all that this really is saying.  Photographic evidence of his silliness!

We purchased a TV on a black Friday sale that arrived to our house with a hole in the box.  After all day setting up wiring and running everything including installing a wall mount, we turned it on and this is what we saw!  One return to WalMart and a trip to Best Buy later, we came home $200 poorer, but with a better TV we are very happy with!!  Can we say happy accident??

My 31st birthday snuck on me...between the house renovations, Jer's busy work schedule and the pregnancy...there hasn't been much time to sit on my butt and reflect!!  That being said I was spoiled in the best way a pregnant girl can be. The day before my birthday Mom and Dad brought over Roma's for lunch and a delicious ice cream cake.  Ahhmazing!

As another amazing surprise, Steff, Bryan Peyton and Case sent me an Edible Arrangement on my birthday!  Such a marvelous "happy day" (as Peyton calls them!) surprise from some pretty awesome people we know!!  And it was every bit as delicious as it looks!

We have just about wrapped up the boys room!! I really would like to do a final post once all the decor and bathroom are completed.  But here is a look at the boys beds...just after we got them moved and sleeping up there!  

Bathtub painting!  These two had a whole lot of fun with this...especially Owen. :) 

Owen's ahhmazing teacher at Early Childhood put together the most awesome calendars for the kids to take home to their Mom and DAd for Christmas.  Each month has a cute little saying and somehow incorporates Owen's handprints. It's laminated and will be something I keep forever.   One of my favorite Christmas presents this year ;)

I spent an afternoon baking my booty off...and I sure had fun!!  Something about the holidays inspires me to make a big healthy mess out of my kitchen and dining room table...and get creative!  Here are a few snap shots of the end results!

There has been a lot of this type of activity going on around here.  Couch snuggles and movies and relaxing.  Being pregnant and wrangling my boys was no small feat and I am so excited to get back to being me and having my usual energy level return.  I am going to need it.  That being said...I so cherish the time I spent snuggling and cheek kissing.  I wouldn't trade it for the world...and I need to remember when all the energy returns to make sure this type of thing is happening all the same!!

This girl loves cooking...and being pregnant inspired me to try lots of new things.  This was a rigatoni dish I really enjoyed and it was an on the fly, use what I have, type of meal.  Shhh...don't tell anyone but the garlic bread may or may not have been my favorite part!

We have an annual dinner to celebrate my Dad's birthday every year.  Uncle Alex is my Dad's twin and it's become tradition to celebrate with an evening of delicious food, good drinks and wonderful conversation. This year...there were some stories let out that I cannot help but still laugh about. It was a great evening out and I'm hopeful we can get a few more of these in this year instead of waiting till next year!!

Jeremy and I had a few date nights on the books this winter so far.  Most of them landed us at Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart or a combination of them all as we finalized the boys room updates and got Greyson's room put back together.  One of our date nights though was courtesy of Hannah and Zack...we struck out to finish Christmas shopping and we even snuck in a dessert stop on the way home.  Pretty awesome!!

Santa Cookies!!  Even though by the week of Christmas...this Momma was about toast as far as energy and ability to keep up with anyone but herself, I knew I would regret looking back and not making cookies with the boys for Santa.  So on Christmas Eve that's just what we did.  They were out of a pre-made mix of sugar cookie dough and I'm pretty sure that Cooper abandon ship after realizing that this was the step before baking...but the boys and I made a memory and spent an afternoon together.  Perfection?  It's all in the eye of the beholder right???

That wraps up some pre-holiday updating.  More coming with holiday updates and some post holiday wrap up...before we go in tomorrow for the big day!!

Looking back...looking forward...a life jar account

I'm sitting in our rocking chair...looking around at the half-ready state of Greyson's room...contemplating a new baby.  Thinking about how we've brought two home to this very room.  As I fold baby clothes I'm in awe of the fact that some of these little jeans and hats and shirts once fit my now 46 pound almost 5 year old!!  As I'm day dreaming Owen wanders in and in true Owen fashion assembled a stack of blocks.  The boys picked these out one afternoon while shopping.  They asked specifically to pick toys for Greyson.  I loved this request so much we couldn't help but entertain it. So anyway, it's a new toy and I had just opened it up. Owen wandered over, unstacked and then re-stacked them up, waved a ta-da, threw me a high five and left the room.  He's four.  Ta-da's and high fives are like the most awesome thing you can do with him right now!  Well so in true Cooper fashion, he came right behind his big brother a few minutes later and promptly kicked his brother's handy work right onto the floor.  He continued to kick the pieces until they resembled the kind of mess he felt they needed to be in and then threw his head back in abandon laughing like it was the coolest new joke he just told!  I stifled a giggle, tried to ignore his infectious grinning and then he left the room...leaving me alone to my thoughts once again.  What was I thinking about??  Oh yeah.  We're having another baby.  I wonder if he'll be like Owen or Cooper...they are so different from each other! Or if he'll have a whole other set of stories for me to write me about.  And oh yeah...holy moses.  Ready or not we're having another baby!

With that I knew that I wanted to jot down some thoughts for our blog.  I remembered I tried to capture some of my feelings before my kids joined the world and I called them our life jars.   So first I took a look at what I wrote as we prepared for Cooper.  Here is my life jar account from then.  I also went back one more to re-read my life jar from before Owen.  That is here.  I'm so glad I have this to look back at.  So much has happened.  I have memories of those times....but those life jar posts help to freeze pictures and moments in my mind that are clear as day even now.  So this time around...marching towards a finish line...within a week of the big day...I have lots of things swirling on my mind!  A life jar account and some reflection are most definitely in order.

Looking backward we have learned SO much.  We are so much better parents than when we started.  So much better people in general.  Children teach us selflessness and humility.  Mine have also taught me patience.  Forgiveness.  To let go of the little things.  That laughter is contagious.  That without question I would do anything to make them better, happy or get a giggle out of them.  They have reignited my imagination and creativity. They have exhausted me and pushed me to my limits. They have amazed me and humbled me because God gave them to me.  And we're just getting started on this journey together.  It's all pretty amazing really.  So looking back...I'm grateful and humble for the experiences I've had so far.  I'm also thankful for the journey...including and especially the harder parts...because they make it all that much sweeter!

Looking forward?  We are getting ready to embark on another new journey.  One that takes us from parents of 2 to parents of 3.  From a family of 4 to a family of 5.  We will now have an oldest, middle and baby to our name.  We will have single-handly created 3 tiny humans.  Amazing little creatures who like things neatly stacked and who also like things a big ol' healthy mess.  Tiny humans who pull at my heart strings every time they get a fever and wind up on the couch or stub their toes and ask me to kiss it, confiming as soon as I do, "That's better already Mom!"  Tiny humans who call us Mom and Dad...who make us a family.  Who have taken over my world so completely that when I look back on life before them, while it was pretty great...this version of my life is so much better.

And now...to get to that good ol' life jar...it took me a few days thinking on this to be able to jot it all down and capture it correctly.  What I think made it so hard is thinking on my life right now...is gosh is it full.  There is so much to include to be sure it captures it all.  Gosh is it colorful.  Gosh its crazy.  But also so good!!  We also sprinkled a little sadness into this one as we remember losing Mike and Pap.  So maybe a little heartache is mixed into this one that wasn't in the ones before.  But it was part of our journey as the Linley 4.  We buried a father and grandpa. And we will carry them forward with us as important memories to share with our kids.  But as far as remembering this time as the four of us? This jar is a good one!  Our best yet ;)  It's full of laughter, boo-boos and band-aids, time-outs and I'm sorrys.  It's full of race cars.  Sweaty curls on summer days. Tricycle and Bike riding.  Park visits.  Popsicles shaped like crayons and fudge ones too. Bath times with glow sticks and bubbles.  Living room dance parties at the end of Wreck it Ralph.  There are triumphs (Owen and I survived a two week course surrounding Autism) and failures (learning to say sorry and move on from tough days).  There are traditions taking shape around the holidays.  Crafting and creating together.  Owen standing on a stool and helping me cook.  Christmas tree getting...trick or treating as Buzz Lightyear and Jake and the Neverland pirates.  There is dress up in general.  Overall silliness that never seems to find an end because I live with little boys. Nightly drag races around the circle in our house that envitibly end up with a crashed forehead.   There is dinner table farting...and also dinner table burping.  There is singing, dancing and general household mayhem that I can't even put into words but consumes my life on a daily basis.  This life jars holds a two year old who makes us laugh LONG after his head has hit the pillow.  A 5 year old who melts your heart with his lovable hugs and I love ya Mom's.  Brothers who hug in the morning and say....I so glad to see you and miss each other when they are apart.  There are big squeezes and kisses at bedtime.  There is the Sandra Boyton's "Going to Bed Story" every night...recited from memory by Jeremy or I.  There was our first family vacation to the beach.  The boys first taste of the ocean...swimming and adventuring with our family.  This life jar made us an uncle and aunt. We've been blessed with more little wonderful lives to love on and boy has that been a whole new world of fun!  In this life jar too if I think on my marriage?  Wow what a team we've become. There were lots of late working hours...a home renovation that made everything a little bit tougher on us...but we've come out of it so much stronger.  There was a trip to Gulf Shores just the two of us that I know I'll never forget.  That trip held exploring, drinking, relaxing and watching the big beautiful ocean roll in till dark.  Our life jar these last two and a half years has been good.  So very good!  Full of strong lessons.  Full of love.  Taught us about ourselves.  Just as before, I'm blessed for all the pieces that fill it up.   And I'm ready to shelf this beautiful one and start a whole new jar...carrying on everything from this point into a new space...one with Greyson's stories to include.  Another set of 10 fingers and 10 toes to include.  A new person to get to know and love.

Thank you God for this family's blessings and all the wonderful things we've gotten to experience.  And the promise of more of the same wonderful things ahead.  Help us as we prepare for Greyson's arrival.  Keep us safe and send love and thanks for all of those people supporting us and loving on us as we transition through this next chapter!!

January 15th...here we come!  Ready or not :)