New Seasons

I've decided to work at the children's mother's day out.  I'm getting the chance to get back into some teaching and be near the kids, all while bringing in a little income.  I'm working with a fabulous teacher, Rebecca, who was Aubrie's teacher last year.  I was so impressed with the things she pushed Aubrie's class to do and I'm excited to work with her this year.  We will be working with older 3 year olds. 

Due to this new adventure I'm taking on, my head has been spinning.  Laundry piled up so quickly last week while I was at work every day, preparing for the school year.  And I was exhausted.  I'm totally out of practice.  Thankfully, Lana hasn't started school yet and she was here to watch the kids while I worked. The kids had a blast with her all week.  Luckily I'll only be working 2 days a week instead of 5 like I did last week.  Whew!

Making snicker doodles with the girls

And now that I'll be working while the kids are at school, there are more opportunities to haul them around everywhere with me.  As a matter of fact, I almost had a break down in Kroger in the yogurt isle.  I was doing a quick sweep through the store for some necessities and all the yogurt that I wanted wasn't in stock.  On top of that, I stopped to ask the man stocking the shelves if they had more buttermilk in the back and he said no.  You know, like, I don't like my job and don't know if there is some back there or not kind of no. 

Frustrated, I started looking into buying a box of yogurts instead of picking the kids' favorite flavors and because I was having to compare prices and search the box for an expiration date, the cart was in idle for too long.  I had one of those kiddy baskets.  There's a plastic car attached to the front of the cart that the girls ride in and pick at each other.  Kyle's in the front of the basket tearing the grocery list out of my hands and eating it at every chance he gets.  And folks, he's the third child.  There's no cart cover and toys brought along for his sanitation and entertainment.  Anyway, the cart was in idle too long and kids started hanging out and pouring out of all directions.  I had to just grab a box and herd kids back into the cart and when I threw the box in the cart, I finally found the expiration date and it was a week ago. 

That was it folks.  That right there is enough to send me to the moon.
But I didn't.  I took a deep breath.  Handed it to my friend who hates his job, and finished my shopping. 

Still love having Steve and Brit here.  Mostly because Adam will do something or say something stupid and we all call him on it.  Like this evening he told Steve at the dinner table shortly after stuffing himself that he could beat him in a race.  So we made them race right after dinner.  And he lost.  :)

We went ahead and had a couple of cul-de-sac olympic events.  One included a race with a kid on your shoulders.

We've also had some family water fights in the backyard.  Brittany tried to take cover on top of the playground but Steve still got her wet. 

We have had big accomplishments at our house.  Emilie and Aubrie both are potty trained through the night.  Emilie was ready as soon as she potty trained.  Aubrie was probably ready, but I don't think we did a good job of teaching her to get out of bed and go.  But we worked with both of them and I've got two big girls in big girl underwear and it's a pretty big deal.  My budget thanks them.

But now I think that the bathroom downstairs is the most crowded room in our house.  The girls are in there all the time washing their hands after feeding the dog, after a meal, before a meal, using the bathroom...ALL THE TIME.  Kyle has since become fascinated with that room and I caught him in there playing in the toilet water. 

Sigh.

So I've worked on having the girls shut the door after they've been in there.  Problem is, he goes in there while they are in there.  And he's sneaky.  As a matter of fact, Aubrie was in there and got down to come search me out for some assistance and he snuck in and started playing with the toilet water.  That too, my friends.  That will send me to the moon.

Breathe Kellie.

So once again, we were discussing on the importance on shutting the door or staying in the bathroom to protect the toilet is the best idea.  But Aubrie had a better idea.  She said, "Mom.  I think we need to get a new baby brother."
Nice try, but we are keeping him.


I love my kids.  All 3 of them.  Sometimes we refer to them as french fries.

We have small fry.

He likes beans.

 

Medium fry.

Medium fry has had some sleeping issues since we got back from TX.  I think she got so used to sleeping in a room with her sister that she doesn't like her own room.  She was getting up 3-5 times a night and coming down to our room.  We felt exhausted as if we had a newborn again.  We tried everything.  We even got the pack and play out and put her in their and told her she had to sleep in it now because she is acting like a baby.  Her response:  "Ok!" and she loved it.  AHHH!  So then we nix that because she was climbing out of it and that's dangerous.  So I don't know how we did it, but she now does a semi-better job of staying in bed.  At least through the night.  But she still gets up right when we put her down and she still has a hard time staying in her room until 7 am.  (House rule) She's a pistol!

 

And large fry.

Large fry is going to be in pre-k tomorrow.  TOMORROW.  How did this happen?  I'm in shock.  I've actually been crying a lot lately for this reason and also because I have stopped nursing Kyle.  My little man is turning one on Saturday and I can't believe I won't have a baby any more.  Having babies made me feel young and now that we are officially done (and I'm now 32), I felt really old these last couple of weeks.  I absolutely loved having my kids and breastfeeding them.  It's quite an accomplishment and privilege in my eyes.  But I'm done. 

Celebrating my birthday.  Check out Kyle's face!  Adam didn't get a picture of it, but he grabbed a huge chunk of cake.  He's going to be fun on his birthday!

We are now entering a new valley.  A valley filled with Pre-K, ballet lessons, 3 kids who are walking to the car by themselves, sitting through a movie at the theatre, no spoon feeding someone (I hope), and soon we will have nobody in diapers.  My kids are growing up and that's why we had them, I guess. 

In church this past weekend, some lyrics from Matt Redman's 'Never Once' song really hit the spot with how I've felt.

Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we've come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did you leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

And speaking of God's faithfulness, I'm so happy to spread the joy and let you know that....

Steve and Brittany are having a baby!  We're expecting this little blessing in February.  (I say we as if I had some part in it) So I may be done, but now I get to watch our dear friends grow their family and I can't wait to love on this baby!  They are fun like us and not finding out what they are having.  I'll keep you informed when the time comes.  :)

I hope everyone is doing well! 
Love to all!

I'll leave you with some pictures of my visitors right outside our bedroom window.  They love my zinnias!

Pin It Now!

Headlocks at Princess Camp

Leave it to my two darlings to get in trouble at Princess Dance Camp.  A place where they have been learning about etiquette and manners.  To curtsy and be graceful...

Aubrie went to dance camp last year and Emilie was quite jealous.  Aubrie talked about it all year and when they both found out they would be going this summer, it was the talk of the town.  They were so excited and anticipated it greatly.  

So, on the first day, I go to pick them up and they said Emilie cried a little because she missed me.  Aww, that's sweet.  That evening we talk and I tell her that I will be there to pick her up every day and she doesn't need to cry.  Aubrie assures her that she will take care of her and she doesn't need to worry.
Day 1 - Cinderella

On the second day, I pick them up and they are both jazzed and Emilie is shouting, "Mommy!  I didn't cry for you!  I'm a big girl!" It turns out my perfect angels were perfect.
Day 2 - Belle

On Wednesday it all turned south.  FAR SOUTH.  I get to dance camp and find out that Emilie went to hug Aubrie from behind while she was coloring.  But her gentle hug then turned into a tight grip headlock that wouldn't stop.  So Aubrie got mad and started yelling and fighting her off and the teachers had to pry Emilie off of Aubrie.  Emilie didn't know why she was in trouble.  She was JUST hugging her sister, so she started crying.  Loudly.  A lot.  We had a big talk that night about not hugging our sister on the neck and how it would be wise if she just didn't touch each other anymore.  Ever.
Day 3 - Ariel

The next day was a lot better.  Emilie was well behaved and when she started to get sad and miss mommy, Aubrie hugged her and held her hand to make her feel better.  I'm learning that sisters love hard and fight hard.
Day 4 - Aurora (didn't catch her in time for a picture)

On the last day of dance camp, they can dress up and sure enough, our final princess was Snow White and that is what Emilie dressed up as.  She was super jazzed.  Adam took the girls to camp with me on Friday and as we turned to walk out, we hear a teacher say, "Emilie honey, we don't stand on chairs."
Sigh.

Day 5 - Snow White

I highly recommend this dance camp if anyone is interested.  This was the last week of it.  But look into it for next year.  The girls have a blast.  It's at Nashville Dance Center in Green Hills.  

During the short time that the girls were at dance camp, Kyle and I got to enjoy some alone time.  My large almost one year old is now facing forward in the car.  We had the kids weighed the other day and Emilie, who is 3 in October, is only 4 pounds heavier than Kyle, who will be 1 in two weeks.  He's not petite.

THIGHS

Here he is with hummus all over his face.  If we are feeding him something and he's not a fan, we go get the hummus and use it as a dip and he loves it.  But really, there's not much he won't eat.

Pin It Now!