All you need is LOVE!

Happy Love Day!

Just a day in the life of...

This is an honesty post.

{just so you are prepared}

The house as it stands right now, is terrorized.

My floors seem to have a constant amount of debris strewn on them.

No matter how many times I pick things up.

Food on the floor in the kitchen. With a sink full of dishes from a spontaneous Saturday night dinner with family. {yeah, I know it's Monday} But, I have run the dishwasher twice already...

Toys, puzzle pieces, pillows, blankets, and the occasional shoe on the floor in the living room.

Laundry on the floor in our room.

And, diapers on the floor in the bathroom.

{confession: I actually chuck the dirty ones in the middle of the night into the bathroom, just so I dont have to get up... I know, it's lazy, but in that moment when I am sitting up with my eyes closed nursing the baby in a warm bed, I am not going to get up and throw away a diaper when I can just throw it in the vicinity of the trash, to be picked up in the morning... it's kind of my system.}

And the basement... oh, the stories it could share.

Currently it resembles the space of a daycare after twenty five kids have played in it for the day.

Everything is out.

And I do mean ev.er.y.thing.

Not looking forward to cleaning it up before Nadie's baptism party this weekend... but I will.

Reluctantly.

And that schedule I thought I had before the baby arrived, well, that has been shattered.

My body is deteriorating people.

I wake up with one eye still closed most mornings!

Dragging my feet as I switch on the television for the kids, while I pour bowls of cereal and send the Hub off with merely a kiss goodbye.

Then it takes me nearly two hours to muster up the motivation to get my day started.

I veg in front of the computer looking over Pinterest and checking email, while the babe takes her first nap.

Next up! Lunch!

By 11:00am the kids are constantly coming into the kitchen and asking for food.

So I whip up an incredible batch of turkey sandwiches and usually Ramen noodles for Nolan... don't ask me why we EVER got started on those! Can't wait until the super pack we bought is finally gone.

After lunch, I decide I should probably do something.

So I will throw in a load of laundry and feel accomplished enough to sit down and feed the baby.

I tell the kids the television time is over and to go find something to do before nap time.

Ha! Nap?

That saying only actually becomes a reality about once a week. With bribes of a fruit snack afterwards...

should I even be spilling all these secrets? Geez!

By 3pm things have gone something like this:

Feed baby.

Pick up the living room of puzzles, and odds and ends toys.

Sweep the carpet.

 Clear the table from lunch.

Load the dishwasher.

Put that load of laundry I had in the washer, into the dryer, while I toss the dryer clothes from the day before onto my bed. Don't have time to fold it yet, I got to feed the baby. Again.

 Afterwards put baby in her swing.

Get the rowdy kids a snack.

Readjust Nadie in her swing since she has been screaming for the last three minutes, and now has real tears.

Ask the kids to pick up the magnets they have thrown all over the kitchen floor.

Start to think about what to make for dinner...

Finally, get the baby to sleep in her swing.

Get the kids in the shower, and out of their pajamas for the day.

Turn the television back on while I prepare a one course meal of pork loin and saurkraut over potatoes with a side of peas.

Baby gets up. And she pooped up the back of her onesie...

By now, the Hub is home.

I wash the baby and we eat dinner.

Time is escaping me.

What the heck have I done all day?

I had dreams of creating a Valentine's Day card for my lovelies...

Or some newborn hairbows for Nadie's fuzz.

I wanted to make cookies after dinner.

I wanted to play a fourth game of Hi Ho Cherry O, but it is almost 9pm and now the kids who are very cranky from refusing that nap earlier, need to get their teeth brushed.

Up the stairs we go, to read a book, say our prayers, and sing a very loud tune of Twinkle Twinkle before Nev starts pleading with me to sleep in my bed. I coax her to sleep by saying I'll stay up there until she falls asleep.

Meanwhile Nadie is downstairs giving her daddy hell. Crying out for her momma's milk.

I trickle down the stairs eight minutes later. Nurse Nadie on the couch next to the Hub.

Oh, hi. How was work dear?

Watch the eleven o'clock news before deciding I have to go to bed.

Toss that load of clean clothes to the floor and slide quietly under the covers.

I'll fold it tomorrow...

Smooch the Hub and drift quickly off to lalaland. For two hours.

Before it starts all over again.



One, Two, Three Strikes... You're Out!

Numbered, that is.

Yep.

That's how I feel since giving birth last Tuesday.

Simply... outnumbered.

But I am not overwhelmed by it. {Yet}

I should state that the Hub is a huge help, but that he also went back to work this past Tuesday.

 I finally got to discover what it really meant to be a mother of three.

Insert that song that sings...

All By Myself... Don't Want To Be... All By Myself...

{Just kidding.}

So.

Tuesday was also my birthday.

Yes, it's true. I am now officially, a 30 year old.

The start of a new decade...

{which reminds me of how terrible I was at completing those 30 tasks I so valiantly boasted about doing last March... whoopsie?}

Anyhow, plans for the day included...

Making the 10:30am one week checkup for Nadelyn.

{yes, I gave myself a 3 hour window to get ready to leave the house by 10am... and missed my target by a mere fifteen minutes. Yeah, I totally rocked it.}

Eating a lunch for my birthday with the Hub.

{which happened to be Taco Bell of all places, just to keep the peace between the younger babes. They don't dig much on authentic Mexican food... they are more into the cheap, processed kid friendly kind. Whatev.}

Then later dining out for dinner to celebrate with my family, to include my brother Isaiah {who turned 16 the same day as me}.

 

Insert feelings of being outnumbered here.

Nev had fallen asleep on the way to dinner. And I had to get her out, hold her along with the baby "bucket" as we refer to the car seat, the diaper bag, and my purse while corraling my dear boy into the restaurant.

{I may or may not have called the Hub a jackass upon entrance.}

In any case we made it. And dinner was delicious.

Including the bday cake they give you... which was the real reason I decided to eat there.

We took a few nursing breaks in the car, and managed to skathe through the parking lots unharmed.

So I would consider my first day... a success.

So much so that I feel like in a couple months I will have the confidence to make those trips to the zoo, and the grocery sans the Hub, when the opportunity presents itself. 

And in case anyone was wondering...

The littles love their new sissy.

With frequent requests to hold her, and watch her while she nurses or gets a spongebath. 

They have embraced her presence with gusto.

And have melted this heart of mine into a mush beyond the putty it already was.

Not to mention the Hub.

Our love is strengthened and grows deeper because of our children.

I know it is super cliche to proclaim this, but I am going to do it anyway.

Because we are. Completely blessed by God.

In the coming months you can expect posts about mishaps, funny findings, and maybe a tale or two of some memories I just had to share. Looking forward to a good year.

Nadelyn Ellery~ A Birth Story

Our sweet baby was born January 17th, 2012 at 10:43pm.

She weighed in at 7 pounds 14ounces.

And measured 21 1/4 inches.

She has dark hair.

Gray eyes.

And her daddy's nose and toes.

And her story goes something like this...

Tuesday morning we got Nolan and Nev up at 6:45am. Kept them in their pajamas and put on coats and shoes. The Hub loaded the car while I gathered last minute items and set them by the door.

The kids were still tired, so there was a low level of compliancy from them to do what we asked, making things go a bit slower.

But we left the house a little after 7am to drop them at his sister's house before heading up to the hospital as planned.

Insert hiccup numero uno.

Ten minutes from our house, I realize I don't have my purse.

Which had my insurance card, my ID and my phone charger inside...

so we raced back to the house, to retrieve it.

After a quick dash through the back country roads, we arrive at his sister's two minutes before they HAD to leave for school, and I kiss my littles goodbye.

Then we head up to the hospital and arrive just three minutes past our scheduled arrival time of 8am.

I get wheeled up to the L&D floor of the hospital and am greeted by a nurse who tosses me a gown and says to get undressed. I manage to throw my bags on the counter and take a potty break just before another nurse enters to insert my IV.

{All the while I am just thinking, "This is going incredibly fast!"}

She is busy finding the most viable vein, when the insurance attendant enters to get my picture ID and insurance cards. I sign some waivers for consent to treat. And we are off to the races, people!

The IV is started with some Normal Saline and an antibiotic, which is explained that it will have to be in my system for at least three hours before they will break my water in order for it to take effect.

So begins the waiting game...

The Hub and I chit chatted, and watched some TV between intervals of getting my Oxytocin started and upped every half hour.

Mind you, I have not been checked for dialation since arriving, so I had no idea where I sat at this point.

By 11:30 they came in to do the epidural since my water was going to be broke soon.

They explained that the epidural would be best to do before, since I was already receiving Pit., which would make my contractions stronger.

Insert big baby tears.

I am not really a person to get worked up over being in pain. I actually have a very high tolerance.

But every time I have had an epidural... I have cried like someone very close to me has just died.

No joke.

I hold the Hub's hand and bury my face in a pillow.

And come up with a soaked, red face. Every time.

Anyhow.

After insertion, my water is broke at noon.

I am checked and found to be 3cm.

3cm?!

I am full term with my third baby and I am only 3 cm?!

{Maybe that 1pm birth is not going to happen afterall...}

We made bets anyway.

The Hub predicted a 3:15 birth with a 6lb 10oz baby.

I predicted a 2:30 birth with a 7lb 4oz baby.

My mom predicted a 4:00 birth and a 7lb 2oz baby.

And my sister predicted a 3:50 birth and a 6lb 14oz baby.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

I progressed. But slowly.

Our predictions came and went.

By five o'clock I was still only 7cm and stalling fast.

Between phone calls to let everyone know we had not yet had the baby, and calls to check on the littles, the day was going relatively fast.

Insert hiccup numero dos.

My OB was leaving for the day and was passing the so called "wand" off to another doctor for the remainder of the evening. I was so disappointed. I had hoped she would deliver me.

But it was obviously not in the cards.

It was determined that I should be taken off the Pit for a bit and then resumed after a while to give my body a rest. I had been battling nausea from early on in the afternoon, and finally succumbed to some medication to treat that.

Then by 7pm I had to get a boost from my epidural because I was starting to feel my contractions rather intensely.

My pitocin was resumed by nearly 8pm.

By then, I had been "stuck" at 7cm for nearly 3 hours!

I was starting to get really frustrated.

And my epidural had started to completely pool in my legs, which left my abdomen free to feel every contraction from about 9pm on. {Ouch? Yes.}

But it also helped move the baby into a descending pattern.

By 10pm I was breathing through contractions in a zero station and 9-10cm.

But another momma down the hall beat me to the finish line first, so I labored until the doctor could come in.

10:30pm I gave my nurse a practice push and nearly gave her a heart attack because she did not want to be responsible for "catching" our princess.

{I can be described as a power pusher by physicians and nurses...}

Finally the doctor got around to us, snapped some gloves on and ordered me to give him a couple pushes before Nadelyn entered the world at 10:43pm.

She was a cool gray color upon entrance.

And her cord was tangled tightly around her lower body.

The Hub snipped it and she was whisked away to the warmer to be suctioned.

She had gotten a big drink on the way out and wasn't quite ready to give us that good healthy cry.

Her Apgars were 8 and 9.

She nuzzled up close to me shortly after delivery, and the nurses left our room so we could all bond.

We simply drank this baby in.

She was perfect.

In every way.

And she reminded us of her brother and sister.

We were all dead tired by the time they got us to the postpartum unit.

And my legs still didn't want to cooperate from having the epidural.

But we made phone calls and I nursed Nadelyn before nodding off around 1:30am anyway.

We thank God for our newest bundle.

And ask for His guidance in raising her for His glory.

Good Golly Miss Molly!!

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated my 30th birthday.



And what better way to end a fabulous decade, and to honor my twenties, than to host a party centered around the "roaring twenties".
After a couple months of planning, and some diligent scouring of sale items and decor I set the scene for a perfect night of mystery and intrigue.

I served cold beer and cocktails from coffee mugs.
Played 20's music over the speaker system.

And posted WANTED signs in various places.


All the invitees were assigned a character to which they had to dress and act the part for.
Some flappers, gangsters, dirty cops, actresses, waitresses, a scandalous Mayor, politicians, police chief and some molls later... and you had the perfect mix of people to play out a murder.

There was a whirlwind of scandal.
Lies.
Betrayal.
And jealousy.

The evening unraveled just like it was supposed to.
With an occasional cat fight between actresses and suspected adulterers, as well as some money laundering between reporters and the Chief of Police.

Since it was also my birthday, I decided that in order for the murder to occur, we would have to have the lights go out... but not be too obvious.
So I had the Hub make a speech, and thank everyone for coming. Then, we sang "happy birthday" and cut the lights.

{BANG!! BANG!!}

Insert screams, and gasps.

Nick {played by the Hub himself}, the Notorious Mob Boss of the North, had been shot and killed!
With Molly {played by yours truly} by his side to weep for him.

After evidence was collected, it was presented to the guests who then had to make a guess about who dunnit. And let me just say, it was not easy to decide who murdered Nick.
I myself, did not make the right guess.
Out of the fifty guests who attended, only six guessed the right killer!
Who in fact, turned out to be the Chief of Police of all people!



There were awards given for best dressed.
Best actor. Actress.
And an award for obtaining the most money throughout the evening.

After a span of four hours of some prohibition liquors, fake cigarettes, and hors d'oeurves... we concluded with a group shot.



It was the perfect ending to a most memorable evening.

Below are some pictures to highlight the hijinks.

Good friends. Good Family. Good Times.
And good golly, Miss Molly!
you huge.
{38 1/2 week belly pic}

Follow Up

My recent Pinterest project had a slight delay Wednesday.

The Hub "forgot" to bring the paint home for me to use that evening, so I didn't get to try it until last night.

{yes, I let him know how mad I was... since I only reminded him 5,483 times throughout the day}

But nonetheless, I got to try it last night and so far, I am liking what I see.

{Improv equals using barbeque skewers that were staked into an old box to allow them to dry upright without touching eachother... I am genius. Hear me roar.}

We bought the Rustoleum brand in an oil rubbed bronze metallic finish.

The thought was to first change these... from a beautiful silvery metallic sheen to the oil rubbed bronze.

Then we will see what other projects pop up if we are happy with the results.

I can see door handles, light fixtures, faucets and door hinges becoming very dark in the coming weeks.

Will update after these babies get a second coat tonight.



'What I'm Pinning Wednesday'

As if I need another thing to be accountable for...

right?

Anyhow, the thought behind this whole thing is to showcase to those of you who might be on Pinterest already, and to those who stalk from the sidelines for fear of falling head first into the virtual world of pinning, as I did a few months back....

some of the great ideas I have been scavenging as of late.
Of course, anyone can pin. It is using the pin that is going to be the challenge here.

Up first is my incessant desire to turn this baby body back into something... well, desirable again in the coming months. Mostly for myself... but lets be honest, this one is for the Hub too. {wink}

I have been pinning things such as firm butt workouts, lean leg workouts and amazing ab workouts for the past couple months.

Pictures like this make me want to start the minute this babe is out of my belly!

Sheesh!

source: weightloss.allwomenstalk.com

Next up. Valentine's Day.

No really it is.

Next up. Like in a month.

So I thought I should start thinking of cute little crafty things I want to make for my loves. Including yummy treats! And homemade cards.

Source: glorioustreats.blogspot.com

Is that not the cutest? With pink milk too!

 

Creatively, this pin is all about party ideas.

We love birthdays around here.

{Mine is in 13 days people!!! Insert shreaking as necessary.}

Which spawns an interest to where I am always looking for fun, playful, pretty, cheap, or ingenius ideas for a smooth, one of a kind party.

Source: realsimple.com 

This is one of those ingenius ideas. I mean, Hello!

Prescooped ice cream... you devils!

Lastly.

 My crafty side. Which is never at rest.

I just don't have the time to try all the things I pin in this catergory.

I want to. I just have other things I have to do too. Like make lunch for hungry kids, and wash loads of laundry with refusal to fold it. Run errands. You know. The normal time consuming activities of everyday life.

But that doesn't stop me from searching the web for things like sewing tutes, home improvement ideas, and just downright cute ideas to occupy the kids.

Source: thepennyparlor.com

This idea for revamping the brass door handles in my house got me so riled this morning that I immediately called the Hub and asked him to bring a can home today.

{I am going to try it on the kitchen cabinet drawer pulls and knobs while he plays basketball tonight}
Sha-wing!

I will try and post what the result is. Tomorrow. Respectively. Since I just decided to start this thing today.
But from here on out, I will try my darnedest {sp??} to showcase a replicated or inspired project from a pin. Each week.

So that is about all that is floating around in my recent lalaland of Pinterest boards.

If you haven't checked them out. You should.

They have just about anything on there.

But be warned. It is very addictive.

And super time consuming.

Oh and feel free to share your recent Pinterest pins if I am not already following you!