Celebrate good times! Come on!

It's still the month of May, so even though it seems like forever (FOREVER!) ago that we celebrated our anniversary and juC's birthday, I'm considering it totally legit that I'm just now posting about it.  I'm going to blame my lateness on cC.  I totally could have posted this last week, but, he has decided to not go down for naps.  The last time he took a nap was last Monday.  So that means we are 8 days in a row with no cC naps, which means no free time during the day for me, which means no time for organizing a post.  And also, very sadly, means that I haven't been able to get my normal naps.  And let me tell you folks, it's not a pretty situation.  Not pretty at all.

So now I'm just neglecting luC and cC so I can do this post.

But back to the point!


On May 5, all of Mexico celebrated the 7th anniversary of the day that juC and I were wedded.  It's always nice to know that we have so many people celebrating with us!

All I wanted to do for our anniversary was have the whole family go to the tulip festival so I could get some fabulous pictures of the kids with the fabulous colors of the flowers.  Unfortunately, cC wasn't having it, and the pictures of the kids were all some form of this:

 The good news was I got some super amazing maternity shots.  And by "super amazing" I mean this:

Oh, and it also started pouring rain while we were there.  So that was awesome, too.  My anniversary adventure was not going as I'd planned.

Then we went to Chili's for dinner.  What else would we eat on our Cinco de Mayoversary?  It was when we were dining on our anniversary with these crazy kids that it dawned on me...

..wedding anniversaries are something completely different when 3 small kids are involved.  

The good news is that a week and a half later, while juC's parents were here, we got to celebrate right.  And by "celebrate right" I mean go on an over nighter that pretty much revolved around what restaurants we'd eat at.  

For dinner we ate at a lovely Italian restaurant.  And for lunch the next day we ate at a place that was a shoot off of a chocolate candy store.  It was on our little anniversary trip that I learned that juC and I don't take pictures together anymore.

In between our family anniversary celebration, and our legit anniversary celebration, we had an awesomely legit birthday celebration for juC.

I decided to help him out and get him a real sized grill, instead of the tiny wittle travel grill he'd been using.  I know, I'm so nice.  We set it up in the backyard, and the kids were so excited to stand there and wait for juC to walk around back coming home from work and surprise him.

 Then it was time for perfectly handmade birthday cards, puuuurfectly store bought cards, and a present.  And by a "present" I mean a cover for the grill.  Because it was the only logical other thing to get him.

 And then, of course, it was cake time!

Though the highlight of juC's birthday, for me, was the following night when we dined at a Tex-Mex eating establishment.  During one of the kid bathroom trips, I made sure to tell our super-trying-to-get-a-good-tip-waiter that it was "Dad's" birthday, as the waiter so affectionately called him.

So the highlight was when the severs were all rounding the corner clapping their hands, preparing to sing "happy birthday" and juC started dancing, having no clue that they were headed to him!  When I started laughing his response was "What?...Wait...they aren't coming to me are they??  You didn't!!"

Oh, how I wish I could have captured a non-blurry picture of the events.

Lest I not write about our month of May celebrations, and not include Mother's Day.  juC knows how to celebrate me right.  I was awoken to little voices our room, and juC standing there with the kids and this fabulous breakfast.  I can't remember what he made me for dinner, but I know that was good, too.   And good food is all that really matters in my book.

I'm thankful for juC and that each May I get to celebrate our anniversary, his birthday, and Mother's Day with him...and our crazy kids.  

Spring is Springing!!

This winter has just felt miserable to me.  The cold, cold, cold temperatures.  The days, and days, and days of snow.  It's just more than this here southern girl cares to deal with.  Added to that the fact that I fell pregnant (I'm pretending to be British by saying that), and feeling horrible so much, it was just (for a lack of a better way to describe it) a bummer winter.

 Last week I got the kids the book "Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Suess.  I'd never read it before.  At least not that I can remember.  When I read this part, I felt it portrayed exactly how this winter has made me feel...
"All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.
And when you're alone there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak."

It is safe to say that I felt alone a lot...even though I was very, very rarely alone, thanks to 3 children.  And it's safe to say that when you feel alone, you have way too much time to think.  And when you think too much, you start to think things like "I'm going to have 4 kids!  FOUR!!!  I'm hanging on by a thread with 3, how will I do FOUR!?!"  And that scared my pants off, people!  Add to that the "I'm going to be massive and pregnant through the heat of summer." and "I won't get to go on any fun vacations." and I was all, "I don't want to go on."  Yet simultaneously thinking "WHEN WILL THIS WINTER END?!"

But, on I went.  And now I am starting to see beautiful glimpses of spring and it makes me oh so happy!

Yesterday was beautiful.  After jC got home from school and finished his homework (have I mentioned how much I hate kindergarten homework??)  we headed off to the park.  As we walked around the side of our house, we saw some of our spring flowers had begun to bloom.  jC said "Do you know what those are called?"  I assumed he meant what kind of flowers they were and I was trying to remember, when he said "Butts!  They're called butts!"  Then I realized he meant buds...of flowers just blooming.  And he started explaining that they were learning about flowers at school.  And I thought "This is going to be a great spring!"  (And I can't wait for more butts to bloom!!)

The kids played...

 and played....

 and played...

 and played...

in absolutely perfect weather.  And all was right in the world.  And I finally was feeling like the end of "Oh, the Places You'll Go", where it says,
"So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!"

I'm finally feeling like today (and the rest of the days) are my day!  And I'm thankful that my name isn't Buxbaum!  And I'm ready for some mountains!  I'm glad spring is finally here, and my fingers (and every other extremity I have) are crossed that it sticks around for a while.

We're Having Another Baby!

In case you missed it (how could you have missed it?)  the C Clan is having another baby.  Yes, ANOTHER baby.  (Believe it or not, there are people out there that have more children than us.  WAY more children than us.  Stop acting so surprised by us having our 4th.)

It's funny.  I hate making lists...like, to do lists.  HATE it.  If I had to choose between making a to-do list and digging a 4x4 foot deep hole with a kitchen spoon, I'd choose the latter.  But for some reason, when it comes to blogging, I'm all about the lists.  Which is something you've probably realized if you've read more than a few of my blog posts.

So of course, I have to make a list, for you, about why we are having another baby.  Not that I really think I owe an explanation.  But hey,  if it helps, why not.

--I gave our first reason on facebook, when announcing our pregnancy.  And I quote, "So here's the thing. I personally think it is important for all of the really good parents in the world that raise smart, nice, well behaved children to have lots of children so as to populate the world with. Conversely, I think it is equally important for all of the inadequate parents in the world that raise sassy, ill-behaved children to have lots of children to even things out. Which is why we are having another baby. Coming to even things out sometime around August."

--I love changing diapers!  Love it, love it, love it.  The more, the merrier.  It's right up there on my list of loves next to making to-do lists.

--juC looks super cute holding a newborn baby.  (And changing their diapers, when he begs me to let him have a turn.)

--When we moved into our house, I did pretty well get unpacked in an appropriate amount of time.  However, it wasn't very organized.  I had cC, at home, a little over a year after we moved into our house.  Those few months leading up to his birth, I was a machine.  I got the house cleaned and organized like never before.  It was awesome.  Then cC was born and it took approximately 3 days 14 hours and 27 minutes for all of the cleaning and organization I did to come undone and only decline since then.  Soooo, have another baby at home = motivation and energy to get the house cleaned and organized to the max.  It's a win-win.  Cute newborn baby AND an organized house.  (Even if it doesn't last very long.)

--Newborn babies smell like heaven. 

--little jC started asking for another baby when cC was like, a week old.  And I give my children everything they want, soooo...

--I wouldn't have said this when I was pregnant with little jC, but I LOVED my pregnancies with luC and cC.  No joke.  I was miserable with jC.  MISERABLE.  And I fear that this pregnancy will have the same outcome.  BUT, I really appreciated the next two pregnancies.  Feeling a growing baby inside of me...that is an amazing, AMAZING experience.  It is something I will forever, and ever be grateful I have been able to experience, and I am thankful for the opportunity to experience it again.  Being able to experience a tiny, growing babies movements is definitely a on the top of my list of why we are having another.  It's truly a huge blessing.

--juC and I love sleep deprivation.  There is nothing like being awake 27 times a night with a newborn baby.  Bring it on!

--Babies are just cute.  Even ugly ones.  How could we not want to stare at another one for hours on end?  Their tiny fingers, and tiny noses, and tiny lips, and tiny feet.  Oh my goodness!! 

--I touched on it already, but seriously, babies are such an amazing blessing.  How could we not want to take advantage of the blessings that we have been given?  People say we are crazy and that's fine (I guess).  Having children is definitely seen as a sacrifice by many, but we are willing to sacrifice for these amazing little humans that our Heavenly Father has so graciously blessed us with.    Although I'm not always as grateful as I should be, and don't always appreciate my children to their fullest, I love them more than I ever knew I could.  There was no denying it was time for another, and we are unbelievably grateful for the opportunity to have another sweet spirit join our family.

**It should be noted that having children has made me appreciate so much the struggle that others have in being able to have children.  Having children made me realize what an amazing miracle it is that not everyone gets to experience, and for those of you that have struggled or are struggling, my heart truly goes out to you!  And I know that you will be blessed beyond measure for your struggle.

The Ugly Truth

 This has become our kitchen more often than not.  Why is it so impossible to keep the kitchen clean?  It gets to the point that it is so much that I don't even want to deal with it.  So I don't.  That's kind of the way the rest of our house has gotten as well.  It's too overwhelming so I do nothing.  The last couple of months of my pregnancy with cC, I somehow found an enormous amount of energy to get some major cleaning and organizing done in our house.  So maybe the answer to this problem is to have another baby already?

hahahahaaaahahaaahaha.


Today I needed to go to Target for diapers.  What I got was yet another dose of reality that jC would be starting kindergarten soon and that it depresses me immensely.  He saw the backpacks and lunch boxes and wanted to pick his out.  He was excited, I was holding back tears.

I know a lot of people think that all day kindergarten is better than anything, EVER.  I am not one of those people.  jC has school from 8:20 to 3:35.  (That's not including travel time if he takes the bus)  Am I really one of the few people in this world that feel like my 5 year old being away from home almost as long as my 35 year old husband during the day is not even close to normal??  The thought alone makes me want to puke.  Don't get me wrong, I think school will be great for him, and I look forward to slightly more peace for a portion of the day.  But 4 hours or so would be plenty!  School starts September 4, and in my personal opinion, that day is coming way too soon.

hahahahahahaaahahaa.
(Sorry, still laughing about the having another baby now comment.)

Kitty Thursday--On a Tuesday Night

It's a sad, SAD day when you realize that all you ever post about is your cat. I swear, I'm not a crazy cat lady!!

I am quitting my "job" blogging for Milan Maternity at the end of the month. I think that will open things up again for me to blog on my personal blogs the way I used to. The only good thing about that is that I won't look like a crazy cat lady anymore to the 3 people that read this blog.

Now, on to my cat....

Not only is my belly a comfy space for the little babe inside, but apparently it's pretty comfy from the outside, too.

Our bay-bay

I think almost everyone is aware now that baby #3 is a wee wittle boy. Poor little jC...he kept saying it was a girl, and was completely and totally convinced. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that he was one with the baby, and knew it's gender. But, when I did the needle and thread test (holding it over my belly, circle motion means girl, back and forth means boy) it said it was a boy. And since it was right with luC, I couldn't help but believe the needle over little jC. And the needle was right!

Something not many people know, though, is that I'm planning to do a home birth (don't call me crazy!!!) with this little one. Which means that this was the first (and probably only) ultrasound I've gotten during pregnancy. So seeing him was so, so amazing! There is just something about seeing that there truly is a baby inside of you that just blows the mind.

And the good news is that little jC took the news of this new baby being a boy quite well. And I'm even more excited than I was before to have a sweet little newborn in our home come November(ish)

If I could freeze time...

I without a doubt would.

With another baby on the way, I'm trying so hard to savor luC's babyhood as much as I can. In 5ish months, she will no longer be the baby in the family, and there is a part of me that mourns that loss for her. I know this time will pass all too quickly.

I have been so easily frustrated with my children these last few weeks, but I know that this time won't last forever, and it's images and times like this that I want ingrained in my mind forever.

I put the "er" in expert

Did you know that I am an expert in all things maternity and motherhood related? You didn't? Oh. Probably because I'm not.

But for some crazy reason I've been given the opportunity over the next couple of months to post on the Milan Maternity blog. Milan Maternity is an online maternity clothing store. They also have stuff for nursing mothers, too. They started a blog about a year ago and post about all things pregnancy, baby, motherhood, and fashion related.

I will be posting there on Mondays and Thursdays, and have already done a couple posts! (entitled "kids clothes for less" and "documenting the baby bump"). If there's anything you think I should post about, feel free to let me know. And make sure to post comments on the blog, which you can find here:
http://milanmaternity.blogspot.com/
And I'll let you in on a little secret. They are doing a giveaway right now! So you better go and enter!