I turned 32, Jeremiah turned 37....

Starting with Camryn's birthday we have 5 birthdays in a 5 week period. 4 of those are in September. 2 of those are Jeremiah and I. Obviously the kids care much more about getting older than we do so the majority of our celebrating revolves around them but since we did do a couple fun things this year I thought I'd just highlight them really quickly. I got a haircut, a new outfit and Jeremiah went out to the Starlight Theater to see Miss Saigon...which was totally depressing but amazing at the same time. 

 

Jeremiah loves Mumford & Sons and the week before his birthday I happened to score tickets from a friend like 2 hours before the concert!!  The best part is that they announced that it was their last concert for a long time because they were going to stop touring.  I feel so lucky that we got to see them because it was seriously the very best concert I have ever, ever been to.  We talked about it for days after. 

 

 

 

DARN FLASH! 

It took like 4 tries and Jeremiah was totally over the top cheesing it to keep his eyes open!

To celebrate Jeremiah's actual birthday we committed total gluttony for the second year in a row and went to Fogo De Chao which is a Brazilian Churrasco restaurant.  They bring you all the meat you can eat straight to your table.  I seriously need a 5 hour nap after eating there but OH MY! It's delicioso!

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!

Keeping it Real....the rest of the week...

I've decided my life is normal and boring. Lol. It's just day to day mothering and cleaning up messes and doing chores and trying to enjoy the journey. Who knew?! I guess I really don't sugar coat things. I'm just enjoying them as best I can.

It's nice to know that I really am keeping it real everyday.

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Keeping it Real: Day Two

Really not much to report today. It was a fairly normal day. I have about a quarter of a tank of gas in my 12 passenger van and that has to last me through the week. (budgets are tight and it's over $100 to fill that sucker up!). The big kids rode bikes to school and I walked with the little girls the almost mile to their school with Camryn in a front pack and the little boys in our broken double stroller. It's a double umbrella stroller and the frame is totally bent, so it collapsed on me about 5 times during the walk. A girl in our stake let me have her old double stroller but of course I didn't pick it up until this afternoon so I just had to deal.

After we came home from our walk I fed the boys some cereal which Aidan decided to carry into the living room and spill all over my beautiful rug that I just got for my birthday and paid a pretty penny for thus reminding me why I can't have anything nice. Ever.

I dressed Camryn in an adorable new outfit and she had it on no longer than 2 minutes when she promptly spit up all over it. It was cute while it lasted. I just put her back in some pjs for the rest of the day. *sigh* Luckily, the rest of the day was pretty much as normal as could be. However, I did pick up a take and bake pizza because I didn't feel like cooking. Jeremiah was at school tonight (and last night...and tomorrow night) so if I didn't have to make a fancy dinner, all the better.

After dinner I decided to take my new (to me) double stroller (it's actually at least 10 years old) out for a stroll around the block with all the kiddos. After our walk we held Family Home Evening. We did it tonight instead of last night because of the debate, horrible reason I know but I really wanted to watch it and the kids were busy with other things and really it's no excuse... It was a fun lesson about being kind to others even if they aren't so kind to you. Somehow it turned into a silly song dance party and the treat was marshmallows because Liam was in charge. Julianna whined because she wanted be in charge of the music and then she whined because she wanted to sit next me and then she whined because she wanted to say the prayer....seriously! She is 7 and whines more than Aidan. It's a girl thing...or a princess thing.

So lastly, Julianna has been trying so hard to learn how to ride a two wheeler. I have been helping her at night before bedtime when everyone else in the house is quiet and I can set the baby down for a minute. Well tonight Camryn was really clingy and Julianna was really pouty because we hadn't found the time all day to practice. I know how important it is to her so with the baby in one arm I helped her balance and ran with her up and down our street. At one point Camryn became fussy so somehow I nursed her and continued to run up and down the street helping Julianna balance on her bike. I really don't know how I did it but would you believe that after all that practice Julianna was able to ride by herself! She was so proud of herself. I was so proud.

So now everyone is asleep, Jeremiah just got home and is working on a paper for his class and I'm sitting in the recliner thinking about what an awesome day it was. Even with the 2 mile broken stroller walk, the spilled milk, the spit up, the pizza, the nights without my husband, the nursing while helping my kiddo ride a bike....it was an awesome day.

Wouldn't trade the craziness for anything.

Just keeping it real.

Keeping It Real: Day 1 follow up

Did 2 more loads.
Paid the oldest $1 to finish the folding....bribery works people.

Just keeping it real...

Keeping it real: Day One

I keep getting comments from friends about how amazing I am and I just keep thinking, Seriously?? Where am I amazing?!

This isn't a call for compliments or anything but I realize maybe I sugar coat things too much?? I don't know what it is but I decided that this week I'm going to dedicate every blog post to keeping it real.

You all know that I have 7 kids. 7 crazy, noisy, awesome, insane children that I love with every cell in my body. Most days I love it but some days HOLY.COW it's hard and I'm failing miserably. They have all been home for the last 5 days...I'm ready for them to go back to school tomorrow. Doesn't that sound awful??

So here is what i have going today: Laundry.

One of those loads sat in the washer for 3 days straight, the other sat in the dryer for the same amount of time. I kept forgetting to take the clothes out of the dryer so that I could move the other one over to dry...ok lets be real I didn't feel like doing the laundry last week...so instead of just doing it I ran the one in the washing machine like 4 times so it wouldn't get all yucky. Am I nuts or am I nuts?! I finally got it all dried but now i have to fold it all and I have like 4 more loads still waiting for me!! I hate laundry. It's never ending and I'm pretty sure every time I wash and finish one load about 12 new loads appear. It's Magic Multiplying laundry. Just Add Water. Yuck! Gag me!

And as I write this from the blogger app on my iPhone I'm sitting in front of the tv watching Project Runway reruns while the babies nap, Liam is plays on the iPad, Ashlynne is visiting a friend and the other kids are playing together somewhere in the house. Oh and that laundry? It's still sitting in the middle of the floor waiting for me to feel like folding it.

Just keeping it real.

One Month...

**I've had this post written since September 25th (the day Camryn tunred one month) but our computer quit working for a bit and this post just had to stay in drafts till I got it fixed.**

Camryn Aurora, aka: The Little Princess, turned one month old last Tuesday! At her one month appointment she weighed 9lbs, 8ozs and was 22.5 inches long.

The last month has been crazy/wonderful. It's been a little crazy trying to adjust to Camryn's schedule and trying to keep up with the rest of the family schedule. It's been wonderful to have her here as part of our family and to learn and grow as a mom.

The first week went really great because Jeremiah was off work and took care of everything including making lunches, school drop offs, dr appointments, baths, diapers, bedtime, everything! After a week doing my "job" he said he couldn't wait to get back to his. It's kind of nice to know he realizes that I don't sit around watching tv and eating ice cream all day.

Since then it's been a little bit of a crazy roller coaster. Some days I'm totally on top of things and some days I'm barely hanging on. Jeremiah is back in grad school with classes on Monday and Tuesday evenings meaning he leaves at 7am for work and doesn't get home until 10 at night. He's also still teaching at ITT Tech on Wednesday evenings so on those days he doesn't get home until 11:30ish. So basically I'm doing it alone 3 days a week.

Between 3 different school drop offs, Ashlynne's cheer schedule and play practice, Brinton's Cello lessons and near weekly doctor appointments, Elise's activity nights, Julianna's girl scouts and dance class, Liam and Aidan's antics and nursing a baby on demand, I pretty much pour myself into bed every night exhausted from the day. Did I mention Camryn is a gassy, colicky, fussy baby for about 2-3 hrs each night?? Fun times.

I will say though that even though she is colicky I feel pretty lucky because Camryn is a fantastic night sleeper. She eats around 10pm and then sleeps until 4:30am, she eats again and then falls back asleep until about 7:30! It allows me to get a nice chunk of sleep each night. hallelujah!

With all that the chaos of family life I can honestly say the last month has been sort of a blur. I'm super grateful for the time I have in the mornings while Liam is at preschool to cuddle and enjoy Camryn. Well, that is when I'm not trying to keep Aidan from smothering her or laying on top of her or hitting her with a duplo Lego or trying to pick her up or trying to bite her toes or poke her eyes or whack her on the head or take off her clothes or.......yeah Aidan LOVES Camryn (half to death). All in all it really has been a fun month and I'm just totally in love with my little princess. You know what? Even though some days are long and insane and I'm somewhat sleep deprived (more from going, going all day). Even if I get annoyed and sometimes even angry and I just wish I could go to the bathroom by myself. Even when I feel like I've spent more time in my car than at home. Even when I wish bedtime would come faster (and it's still only 4pm). I love my family and I enjoy my crazy life. (most days) Bring on the next month!

Should've Stayed in my Pajamas!!

The last couple days I've stayed in my pajamas for far to long so I decided to make sure I got dressed nice today. I remember reading once somewhere that just because you are a stay at home mom doesn't mean you shouldn't get dressed for your job every day and for goodness sakes, wear shoes! I bought some brand new jeans at Old Navy on the clearance rack the other day for 97 cents (total score) and I paired them with my very favorite green cardigan.




I was feeling pretty awesome about myself until...




....yes that's what you think it is. It kind of smells like popcorn. 

*I looked at the photo and what did I see?! Popcorn poopy up and down my jeans!*. (haha I crack myself up!)

OH and just so you know it was also all over the couch, one of the decorative pillows, and Camryn's pjs.
OH annnnnd at the same time this was happening Aidan decided to undress and take off HIS poopy diaper and run around the house.  Fun times at my house this morning.

Maybe that's a good case for staying in my pajamas all day?!

Happy Birthday to Me!!! (a week ago...)

Saturday Sept 15th was my 31st birthday and it was a fantastic day! I woke up in the morning to hugs and cuddles in bed from all my children. Ashlynne prepared me an omelet and two pieces of toast with a glass of apple juice for breakfast. Thanks to her creative foods class she is getting very good at cooking...thank goodness because it is not one of my talents at all!! After my breakfast in bed my family left me alone to rest and then take a shower while they cleaned up the main floor. Jeremiah bought me an AppleTV for our bedroom tv so I can watch Netflix and Hulu alone, in my room after the kids go to sleep at night. It's probably the best thing ever because I'm alone at night except for the baby and it keeps me company. I can watch tv cozy in my bed now instead of repeated falling asleep on the couch with the baby in her cradle. Silly but it's been a real comfort to me...funny where I find my peace sometimes.

So, anyway, back to my birthday. At around noon my dad came over to watch the kids so I could go out on a hot birthday lunch date with my hubby (and Camryn tagged along, too)

Our first stop was the Cheesecake Factory. I've gotten cheesecake to go a couple of times but I've never actually eaten there so I was really happy and the food was DELICIOUS!! It was such a nice meal and I loved having the time to chat with my husband.


After lunch we went over to the Nelson Atkins Museum to see some art work. I loved all the European Renaissance pieces, the beautiful religious artwork, Water Lilies by Monet (not pictured) and even a couple of Van Gogh pieces.



Maybe it's the little kid in me but I kind of loved the Mummy, too.

...and maybe it's the non-artist in me but I totally don't get modern contemporary art. You know where there is like one black square on a white canvas and it's called art? If my 7 year old can draw it....idk....I'm not hip apparently. I did think this piece was cool.

And the outside of the building is art in and of itself!!

And of course the shuttle cocks....again I don't get it but whatever.

And my favorite work of art...a cute picture of sleeping Camryn and her daddy...

After our birthday date we went home to gather up our kids for our family fun Birthday date...BOWLING!! Only my older 3 kids have ever been bowling so this was super exciting for our family. I was happy that they had bowling shoes for everyone in the family (except for Camryn of course). I just had to take a picture of all our rental shoes lined up. There were just so many of them!


The birthday girl...using a 9 lb because I'm a wimp!  My hair went all nuts from all my fierce bowling skills.

Liam basically just danced the whole time.  Here he is "break dancing"

Elise was so overdramatic every time she'd bowl. She'd hold her breath or grab her head or cover her eyes or lay down in the middle of the floor.

Julianna only wanted "posed" pictures. Such a diva!

Ashlynne is so much like her mom!

Brinton did a really good job bowling. He struggled at first but was bound and determine to hit some pins. In the end he came in 3rd place!! Not that we were keeping track but he definitely was! He gets that from his dad...




I told him I'd post this on the blog....lol!

Aidan needed lots of assistance

In the end Aidan was the high scorer of the night, with daddy trailing a close seocnd....hmmmm wonder why??

All in all it was a really, really fun birthday. It was nice to have time alone with Jeremiah and lots of fun to celebrate with my beautiful children. I still cant believe I'm 31. It's just strange because i remember thinking how old 31 seemed and I don't feel close to old! 80 is old!! 31?! Life is just beginning!!