Summer - Week ?

I'm not sure how far we are into summer, but I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of this stay at home mom thing! You know what that means, right? Something crazy will now happen to throw off my "chi." I've kept us pretty busy this week and the kids have done a good job rolling with it. When they don't roll, I've just adapted to the fussiness!

I started off the week at the doctor with precious Harpy. I knew she was sick over the weekend - runny nose, coughing, sneezing, and fever. She had a lot of trouble sleeping Sunday night and I was up with her often. Turns out she has a nasty ear infection :( Please take a moment and pray my sweet Harper Elle does not follow in her big sister's footsteps with back-to-back ear infections ending in tubes. I hope this is an isolated event! She had a couple of rough nights, but thankfully Major slept amazingly on Harper's roughest nights!

My sweet boy!

                                            

Hilarious picture of Harpy

My poor sick girl

I was able to take Major and Maddex to Mommy & Me at the mall on Monday while my mom loved on sick Harper. Maddex loves riding the carousel & nothing beats a free ride! Major seemed to enjoy his first carousel ride, also!

                                               

                                   

Tuesday we had a play date disaster and I actually slept super late after getting Harper back to bed early in the morning. We went out for a ride and had an easy afternoon while Harper was on the mend.

On Wednesday, I took Maddex to her first movie! We saw "Horton Hears a Who" and Mad did SO good! She loved her snack pack and was very attentive to the movie. She would talk to me throughout, but it wasn't a big deal because kids all over the theater were making noise. She was so cute sitting in that big ole chair! Before the movie was over she decided it was time to go home. So we were able to exit before the masses, which was super nice! I hope we'll make it to one or two more movies this summer!

Drinking her "Fruit cunch"

Riding on a snail

We finished our busy week today with a playdate with my friend from school and her daughters. Maddex seemed to have a good time running around their house and the twins were mostly well-behaved for a couple of tired babies! When we got home, I discovered BIG NEWS - Major Man has his first tooth!!! I tried to get a picture, but that sucker wouldn't cooperate! Despite some rough nights, I've enjoyed keeping busy this week. I'm hoping the rest of our summer continues in this manner...busy with fun days and long naps :)

Seven Months

I say it every month, but I can't believe my babies are seven months! They are so sweet and SO much fun (when they're not crabby and teething). Here are some general updates on the twinsies...

Both

-I expect a tooth to pop through any day on them! They are chewing on everything and somewhat crabby. Maddex didn't have her first tooth until 8 months, so we still may be in for a wait.
-Babies are sitting pretty well these days! I still keep a boppy behind them for when (not if) they fall over. We actually had both babies in high chairs at Canes tonight. This made me a little sad bc they looked so big! I wish I had taken a picture.
-The best news about the 7 month mark is that the babies are sleeping much better. They've been going down between 7:30 and 8 and sleeping (most nights) until at least 4ish. That's a dream for this mama! (Disclaimer: I started working on this post last night...of course they had the worst night we've had in a while! Go figure!)
-They love eating! We've been on purees for about a month. They have had bananas, avacado, sweet potatoes, green beans, pears, and carrots. I also give them teeny tiny pieces of regular food every once in a while. Oh, and they've had a few puffs!
-Both are still rocking their 6 month clothes and are in size 3 diapers. We are on our last few boxes of our stash!

Major

-This boy is so sweet. He always grins at me in the mornings. I must say, staying at home with these kiddos is wearing me down, but I do love getting them up in the mornings. Those first moments of well-rested happiness are my absolute favorite!
-Major thought carrots were hilarious tonight! He giggled every time I brought a bite close to his mouth!
-Another benefit to my beach trip was that Mitch got Major sleeping in the pack & play. We tried a couple of time to transition him from the rock & play, but it just wasn't working. Mitch decided it was time, and he was right! Major has slept great in the pack & play the last week! No worries - he'll move into a crib soon enough :)

Harper

-I love this sweet girl so much! She is the giggliest girl. My favorite is when she laughs at her aquarium when she goes to bed. She usually cries/whines for a bit when she's put down, but sometimes she giggles and it's so sweet to hear!
-Harpy always slurps down her food when she eats. Super cute.
-I'm considering making her a double named kid. I think Harper Elle has such a beautiful flow to it.
-One thing Harper does most nights is that she seems to have trouble going back to sleep after she eats in the early morning. The past few mornings (and many before), I can hear her talking or fussing in her bed after I put her back down. This makes me sad. I wish she could just settle back in to sleep with her full belly!

Maddex

-Why not give an update on my silly, cranky two-year-old?? She doesn't get enough face time on the blog!
-Maddex's two year molars are in full force. This has caused her to be cranky and a little clingy. We are definitely fighting some terrible two behavior, but I honestly think it's because she is being terrorized by those molars! I'm curious to see if some of her crazed behaviors scale back once her teeth are in.
-Mad is an interesting eater. Some nights she eats great and will say things like "More squash!" Other nights, she refuses to eat the food of the gods (pizza) and can only be appeased with ice cream for dinner!
-If Maddex is not making me reach deep down for patience, she is cracking me up. She is definitely in to the pretending phase and the wanting attention phase. I love when she goes, "Mama, watch me!" But then she has nothing planned and she'll do some little trick. It's just too precious. Her faces, actions, and questioning are so fun.
-We had such a sweet moment the other night...Maddex knows one bible verse - "God is love." I've been wanting to teach her the verse about having a gentle & quiet spirit. That one sounds pretty valuable for a two year old to know, right? (Let me interject that I just realized I hyphenated two year old earlier, but didn't this time. I don't know which way is right. That is shameful). I tried to teach the verse to her with some hand motions...we are only learning the phrase "gentle & quiet spirit" for now. She seems to want nothing to do with learning this new verse! But the other night I started talking about her new verse and she did the hand motions! It just melted my heart. I do hope my sweet girl strives to please the Lord through having a gentle & quiet spirit.
-I just had to fuss at Maddex with this phrase: "No ma'am! Do not hit mommy's computer with a hot dog!" I smiled when she turned around. Oh that child!


Before I include pictures of my cuties, I wanted to mention a blog that I ran across. You can find it here (please take a moment to read it!). I became convicted about my blog and afraid that I portray myself as a mom who always has it together. I do hope that my gravel in the hair entry proved that untrue! I want to say that we have our share of difficult days (almost daily it seems lately). I don't usually blog about those experiences because, to be honest, those are not the days and moments that I want to remember. One of the reasons I have this blog is so that I can one day reflect upon and remember this stage in my life. It's such a blur that I know I'm going to forget so much of it (I already have!), and I want to be able to return to my blog to remember this crazy life I'm currently living. I want to be reminded of all of the good that comes through during my difficult days and weeks and not the moments of impatience or frustration. So, if you ever think that I have it all put together - let me just assure you that I don't! I'm shaking gravel from my hair all day long!!!

Here are some 7 month pictures (with a special guest!)

Family visits

We followed up my trip to the beach with visits with some of our precious family. My great aunt Shirley and Uncle Jim were in town while I was at the beach, but thankfully I was back to see them on Sunday. We enjoyed a delicious Cane's dinner and a couple of hours of visiting. I haven't seen Aunt Shirley & Uncle Jim in several years - since I was pregnant with Maddex! I really loved getting to visit with them and having them love on my babies.

Monday and Tuesday we got to spend some time with Mitch's family. His brother & family came in town for a few days. Maddex looooooooooves getting to play with her cousins! We had a great time spending most of Monday and Tuesday at Mitch's parents' house swimming and playing. Amidst all of this, Maddex had a little sinus or respiratory infection, but she powered through it like a champ! I think she's actually become more difficult since she's been feeling better!

I'm so thankful for these days with family. It can be difficult to power through days where we are out of routine because it usually causes more fussiness, but it's worth it. Addison really loved her baby cousins. She loved holding them in her lap and making them smile. She's at such a sweet age to be interested in her cousins. She also loved playing with Maddex and really tried to keep Maddex happy and having fun. Noah loved the babies and Maddex, too! We were able to capture a few sweet pictures of the cousins...

Girl cousins

Maddex sitting on a pot to eat her ice cream :)

Big cousins

I am hoping that we will get to see some more family over the course of this summer. I'm not quite sure if we're ready to travel with our crew! I'm not sure if we will EVER be ready for that!!!

The Beach

Well, the Lord saw it fit for this mama to get some time away for a little R& R. My awesome friends set up a beach trip for us, and I actually anticipated the trip with a lot of anxiety. The timing just wasn't seeming right - the babies were waking up often at night and not napping well. They were generally more fussy between their mix of overtiredness and the beginning stages of teething. Thankfully, in the days before we left, their sleeping patterns got better and I became extremely eager to take a short break!

Our trip was great!! We ate, shopped, sat on the beach, slept, talked, and laughed. Those are just about all of my favorite things!! I enjoyed a couple of nights of uninterrupted sleep while my sweet husband got up with the babies at home. I felt like this trip was the perfect mix of too short and too long. I would have loved another day of nothingness on the beach, but I was so ready to be home snuggling my babies.

I walked away from the trip with a couple of good deals (an $11 romper, $3 sweater, and $2 sunglasses), an amazing airbrushed oversized tank top (not a good deal), a wicked sunburn (for the record, I hate being burned and applied sunscreen religiously...we figured out mine must have been bad bc I was so burned!), and a new hairdo! We found a random place on our last day and got my haircut in a new, short 'do. I'm sure y'all are dying to know how I treated my sunburn - well, I sprayed myself with breastmilk, of course! I did some googling about the miracles of breastmilk, and multiple sources said it would help a sunburn. Well, it didn't. Thankfully, I'm so tired that I still slept pretty good despite my burns!

I was so thankful for the break, but it's been a rough few days since we've been back! We are just in the midst of teething and I have three cranky babies in my house. I'm ready for another trip ;) Honestly, I have to say that one of the best parts of me going away is that the babies have begun to sleep longer! Without me here, the babies did a little crying at night & some early morning bottles w/ daddy. Their sleeping patterns have greatly improved (despite the teething) since then and I am surely enjoying the longer nights of sleep that I'm getting!!!

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip!

Just a little gravel in my hair: Our most recent trip to Target

Recently, I had a very humbling experience. I had my name put in for a different position within our school system - a position which I aspire to eventually fill. I truly felt that I am now at a place in my career where I'm ready to move outside of the classroom. I've reached milestones of accomplishments in professional growth - National Board Certification, a state finalist for teacher of the year, and my Master's degree - and I feel confident that I'm a great teacher and could help lead other teachers. Anyway, when I realized that I had not been chosen for any of the available positions, I was pretty crushed. I began to question my abilities and if I'd ever have the chance to do what I desire. I had feelings of insecurity and disappointment.

I spoke with a wise friend who loves me very much and she told me some very true, very humbling words. Not only have I been blessed in my family with three healthy babies over the past two years, but I've been blessed professionally as well. As another friend put it, 2012 was "the year of Amy," and I felt pretty darn great about myself. My wise, loving friend spoke truth into my life a few months ago - the Lord was humbling me. He was giving me a gentle reminder (even though it was almost crushing to me) that HE is in control of my life and that it's by His strength and my faith in Him that I should make decisions in my life. She paralleled her wisdom with this story: she recently had a moment where she was feeling great about herself - personally and professionally. She was walking in to work one day, feeling particularly haughty, when she took a mean tumble. The kind of fall where you get gravel in your hair. This was her reminder that she is not so great on her own and not too great to take a fall. This story applied to me too...not earning this new position was a reminder that I'm not so great on my own. Since that day, I've really tried to realign my perspective with the Lord's - a focus on things that are eternal and trusting in Him to guide my steps.

I share that story because I'm now constantly aware of small situations of humility (or gravel in my hair as I like to call it now, thanks to my wise, loving friend). Today's Target trip was one of those experiences. I had the kids in the "super buggy" (the one with the plastic part up front for kids to sit in - I'm not sure what to call it). Maddex was strapped in the plastic area, Harper was sitting in the front part, and Major was in the carseat in the large part of the buggy. All three kids were awesome during the whole trip. We had several people stop and ooh and aahh over the babies. All the kids smiled sweetly in response and made me feel like supermom. We finished the trip with a sweet family behind us in line where one woman commented that she needed to take lessons from me and another woman wished us love, joy, and sweet blessings. I walked out thinking, "Man, I got this mom thing down!"

Then came the gravel.

Harper started screaming. I then saw the poopy diaper that I left on my car from changing Harper before we headed inside (this still makes me LOL). I unloaded the groceries and Harper kept screaming. I put Maddex in the car; she was crying. Major had a huge poop, so I changed him in the front seat. Harper screaming, Maddex crying. Major started crying when I put him back in his carseat (he had gotten such a brief taste of freedom!). The air was blowing on high, but the liftgate was open. At this point, I couldn't help but think that sweet other mom might be taking her words back if she could see me now! I managed to get everyone strapped in, groceries loaded, poopy diaper properly disposed of, and the cart returned. We whisked through the Chick-fil-a drive through and headed home. Chaos continued with an overtired Harper while I bribed Maddex with treats to get her to eat her chicken. Eventually I got all kids down for what is proving to be a fantastic nap. I'm able to look back at those hectic moments and see the humbling gravel in my hair and laugh. I know being a mom of twins and an older sister just 21 months apart will bring plenty of humbling, gravel-filled moments. I am thankful for the feelings of confidence that comes with these moments and for the reminders that the Lord is in control of my life. After all, as I've continually said, I can't survive this life with Him! So, bring on the gravel!

Favorite day of summer so far

As the title says, today has been my favorite day of summer! The babies had a pretty good night and have napped well. It's amazing how much better a day can go when everyone is well-rested!

The day started off with Maddex and I attending a princess breakfast at the Mall of Louisiana. My friend Jennifer sent me the information a while back about this, and I was sure Maddex would love it! I signed myself, Maddex, Jennifer, Audra, and Carrie & Carly up to go. The event was AWESOME! The girls made little crowns and could take pictures with princesses (aka pageant queens). They could also get a princess makeover (hair done & make-up), but our girls weren't quite old enough for that. We sat down to eat and breakfast was delicious. I believe it was provided by Copeland's. We had bacon, potatoes, a muffin/scone thing, eggs, fruit, and cupcakes! Maddex's favorite was the bacon and fruit...and of course, the cupcake! The girls ran around and played for a while after they ate - such energy! The proceeds benefitted the Big Buddy program, so we were able to have a good time and help out a local cause. This is one of my favorite things I've been able to do with Maddex! Here are pictures from our morning:

Maddex and Carly

Maddex sporting her crown. She spelled her name all by herself ;)

Three best friends (this was about as good as we could get three two-year-olds to take a picture!)

BFFs

With a princess

Every princess eats bacon

And a cupcake!

Princess Maddex did not want to take a picture with Queen mommy :)

As good as we could get!

Sweaty from running around & crown dye on her forehead!

Maddex and I came home to some sleeping babies who took a GREAT nap! Soon after the babies woke up we headed back out so I could go pick up a book from the library. I loaded the babies in the double stroller and we made a quick trip inside. Maddex did so good walking by me in the parking lot and whispering inside of the library. I hope that we can go back for some story time this summer...we'll see!

We came home and it was time for lunch & naps. By 2:00 all three kids were down for a nap! Then, they all napped at least an hour!!! Major has not been a great napper lately, so for him to take two naps for over an hour in one day is AH-MAZING! I felt so accomplished in that hour - I was able to pay some bills, write a couple of cards, compose a letter to (hopefully) get out of jury duty next week, and place an order with Azure Standard (a company that delivers natural, organic, earth-friendly foods and products to various sites around the country).

Major man woke up first and helped me make some cupcakes. Look at this ADORABLE helper I had!!

My little helper

Cutest assistant!

Towel head

Mmmmmm Major makes yummy cupcakes

Once everyone woke up, Princess Maddex got to partake in a sucker from her goodie bag from this morning.

Princess sucker

The babies practiced sitting and rolling around. Major rolled over to Harper and just grinned and grinned at her :). She talked gibberish to him in return.

Sitting!!

We love each other

Maj is always grinning at his sister!

Overall, the babies have been less fussy and more content to play alone (and a little with each other) without being held. This makes for a MUCH happier mama!!!


We played outside for about thirty minutes, and now Major is down for a nap while the girls watch Cinderella. I just might survive this summer after all :)

Summer - Week 1

Y'all. Staying at home with 3 kids two and under AIN'T EASY!! I'm already counting down to when school starts again ;) (64 days FYI). The babies seem to have begun serious teething mode as soon as summer started! Night sleeping and naps have regressed, and I am pooped! To add to that, Maddex's 2 year molars are coming in! So we are teething x 3 in the Crain household...oh Lawd!!! I am definitely enjoying the sweet moments with all of my babies, but I could do with a little less fussiness/clinginess and a little more sleep!

I had grand plans for working with Maddex this summer, but so far, that's not happening. By the end of the day, I think, "What did we do today?" and it usually involves Maddex watching "Wheels on the Bus" like 5 times and playing with some of her toys. I think she colored once and did puzzles once. I know it's just the first week, so I'm hoping I can get the hang of things and do a little more with her as summer progresses.

I've been somewhat discouraged this week about how little was getting done around the house. I couldn't even see to keep up with the daily tasks of laundry & dishes and everything was just piling up! Nana to the rescue, though! My mom came over on Wednesday and helped entertain the kids while I was able to do some chores. Then she helped me do some chores while everyone napped. Since then I've felt a little more encouraged and caught up. I'm so used to large feelings of accomplishments - a successful lesson taught, students reaching goals, an assignment completed and turned in, that the simple daily tasks of a stay-at-home-mom left me feeling unfulfilled. I've really worked on changing my perspective these last few days and have tried to find fulfillment in just the smallest tasks - organizing the babies' clothes, putting away the laundry, or blogging :). This change in perspective IS helping my discouragement about staying at home and making me enjoy the days a bit more.

Ok, enough whining...here's a breakdown of our week...

• Even though Monday was a holiday, Mitch had work to do, so it was just a regular summer day around here. We stayed at home all morning, and I quickly realized that makes the day go by much slower! I've made it a point to get out daily since then. 
• We made a couple of trips to Target. I usually get a couple of "hands full" comments and quite a few stares. I've discovered there are many different ways to configure three kids when going to Target, and our set up has been different each time (pictures below).
• We had a couple of playdates - one at our house and one at Carrie's w/ Maddex's BFF's Carly & Audra. The girls had so much fun playing in the water together & only had one or two small tiffs over toys :) I haven't decided yet if I prefer a playdate here or away. It's nice to get out of the house, but it's also easier to be able to put the babies down for a nap at home.
• We did a little playing outside yesterday. The babies were pretty content and Maddex really enjoyed it. I tried to wait until the evening, but it was still SO hot!
• I did manage a nap one day for about an hour and a half. I was incredibly tired & put the kids down then lay down myself. I woke up to Major's fussing and have no idea how long he was fussing in there! I haven't gotten them to nap at the same time for that long since then!

Maddex is especially funny these days (when she's not whining or throwing a typical 2-year-old tantrum). My favorite Maddex moment of the week was Friday when she came to me with what I thought was a small piece of trash. I held my hand out and turns out, it was a booger! I hollered to Mitch for a cloth and he brought me a paper towel. Well, in the transfer, the booger got onto him! I laughed so much and still LOL when I think about it. She brought me another booger last night. This one made it on the paper towel. She has started to really love dancing and singing for us. I love the good parts of the two-year-old stage!

Here are a few pictures from our week...

Happy boy up from his nap during our walk.

Went for a walk after the babies woke up from a nap too early. This is how sweet sister fell back to sleep!

Memorial day stud to the MAX!

Target trip one - Maddex in the kid part, Maj stuffed in the top of the buggy, and Harpy in her carseat in the buggy.

Sis was fussing, so she snuggled with me in the sleepy wrap while I cooked dinner.

Target trip two - Maj & Maddex in the stroller & Harpy in the sleepy wrap. I piled what I could carry into a basket.

We LOVE Baby Einstein :)

Oh my word - angel baby. Harper's sporting one of Maddex's old shirts :)

Playing outside

Major laughing at his sister. They are really starting to notice each other!

Beautiful girl

Teething boy

Fun evening outside!!