Brother to brother

The other night, Thomas and John Paul were finishing up their baths (much needed after the muddy, muddy day on the farm and some little kid messes).  I was in the kitchen cleaning up dinner and was listening to them talk in the bathroom.

Most of it was Thomas, with John Paul responding a little.

It was one of those moments that I immediately wrote down because I never wanted to forget it.  I love having boys together, so close in age.

Thomas: "Did you know that you will need to work hard in preschool and pre-k? You will need to focus on getting green and blue stickers because red and yellow are not ok. You might have a sticker chart and get prizes!  You will have a new teacher and you can ask them their name and they will tell you.  And they will be happy to see you and be nice to you at school.  And you can tell me about it at the end of the day.  THEY WILL HAVE PUZZLES!"

John Paul: "WOW! I DID NOT KNOW THAT, THOMAS! I LOVE PUZZLES!!"

Thomas: "You will have your own cubby and it will have your plant and it will be yours and you will love it.  You will make friends.  Don't worry about that.  I was afraid when I started because I didn't know my new friends but now I know them and they are my bestest friends in the world besides you and Alexander. And you will make new friends too.  You don't have to be scared.  I will protect you."

An oldie but a goodie... December Daily 2011

In November, I reminded myself just how much I love seeing how much the boys have grown...in something tangible, not on Facebook or online...so I committed to doing the December Daily for our second December together.  As last year's December was a bit more "exciting" than anticipated with Alexander's early arrival...I was excited to refocus and spend a few minutes each day documenting what is happening.

My last full December Daily was in 2010...when we had just one Wee Ski (here are a bunch of pages from it).  I looked at my 2011 files on my hard drive, and realized that I had about 10 pages to finish...and I decided to do just that.  I took my first "free" evening in weeks (since my time at my computer has been nonstop editing and designing for Finian Road)...and made this just for me.

I sent it to Shutterfly, and last night the familiar orange box showed up on my doorstep.

AND I LOVE IT.

They offer lay-flat pages and I upgraded again to the padded cover, and the boys were thrilled to go through things, page by page.  They were pretty confused by how it was John Paul as the baby and not Alexander...so maybe by 2015, I will have last year's done too.  :)  I had read the quote "perfection is the enemy of completion"...and it couldn't be more true than here.  I chose to not worry about missing a day or detail. I just wanted to have it in hand.  I AM SO GLAD I DID. 

This should be a link to the full album. 

It's now a little "blast from the past"!  :)

Quick Takes: The First Day of November Edition

Seven snippets of life right now.

1. Thomas went indoor skydiving.
   His buddy Mic turned four, and so Mic, Thomas, Zac and Alicen headed north to iFly at Southcenter.   I was flying home from Atlanta at the time...so I LOVE LOVE LOVED touching down and opening this video that Amy shot for us.  He loved being Peter Pan and did even better the second time. 
2. I think fall will always be intense.
   Even with a relative few travel dates for me (just Anchorage and Atlanta this fall), the entire season flew by.  Thrilled to have nearly a dozen major design projects all finished up and sent to the printer, and working like mad to get my latest shoots out before a full day of mini sessions tomorrow.  Things are crazy until Thanksgiving, and then the day after Thanksgiving, our tree farm opens for business through Christmas.  I LOVE IT.
3. I've lost ten pounds in the last two weeks.
   Apparently, there is something to the "eat less, move more" theory.  Who knew?  What also helped?  Jonathan bought me new boxing gloves for our gym in the mancave.  Autumn came over and we had an incredible hour with the speedbag and punching bags...and even headed out into the night for a starlight walk (which you need a lantern for on the farm).   It's helped balance out the crazy office hours I have right now (yesterday, they were 3:15 - 9:30 am and then switching gears to 'mommy mode').
4. Love fall cooking.
   We've had lots of soups (chicken & rice or turkey & rice are my faves right now), fresh italian baguettes, and I made an awesome turkey, swiss and apple panini. 
5. Love my Silhouette cutter.
   Working on wooden projects for the tree farm, awesome vinyl lettering for cars, made sweet mustaches for The Mauss Group's hilarious Christmas shoot for Dad's last official ML Christmas card before retirement, a sweet skull & crossbones eye patch for the Wee Ski 1.0's pirate costume, and cool custom pumpkins for the farm and Relay.  This thing is ridiculously addictive.
6. Clutter.
   The bane of my existence.  Working on getting rid of things and touching things only once.  So incredibly tough. 
7. Alexander hit 17 pounds!
   An awesome milestone.  Yesterday, he ate two eggs, a banana, and half cup of cheerios for breakfast.  He's got cheeks and giggles and babbles and LOVES his older brothers.  I will upload some photos soon.  He is ridiculously awesome.

I'm a Pre-K-er!

We welcomed with open arms the first day of Pre-K. A return to routines, getting up early, and schedules from the crazy laid-back theme of summer.  But the beautiful summer weather changed the first day of school, and this is what we started with:

Ridiculous amounts of pouring rain.  So we held off for a bit for this "school picture". 

Thomas is so proud to be in Pre-Kindergarten.  There's a lot of structure this year, lots of new friends, and two fantastic teachers whom he adores (Mrs. Lembke and Miss Meghann). 

And this is the classic image of his face right now:

And his first day "record" of the important things right now:

Quick Takes: The Quiet Saturday Edition

Seven snippets of life right now.  Seems like my blog posts of late resemble the length of time of the Wee Skis' attention spans.  :)

• John Paul is becoming a crazy hoarder.  He can now find anything on top of the fridge and no shelf is too high to discover treats.  He has been banned from eating from the big containers because I find the insides EVERYWHERE.  I couldn't help but take this photo of the visual evidence that he broke this rule...he was sound asleep with his hand right inside the container of white cheddar baked cheetos.  And he is still in the 40th percentile...seems like keeping up with Thomas keeps him little!
• The Art of Saying No.  This was an excellent and timely read for me.
• A beautiful story about a priest who died from cancer, just two days after ordination.
• Our local school is on the cutting-edge of technology with an app (the first of its kind in the nation) that can lockdown the school within seconds.  Seriously love the forward thinking of our school district!  From the Olympian
• It's Christmas in August.  I have been crazy busy with the Sprouffske Trees farm marketing as we gear up for the fall and Christmas season.  We launched our first formal wholesale sales campaign, and are gearing up for increasing our nonprofit sales.  And while feeding the Wee Ski 3.0, I began our Pinterest boards for the farm.  You should follow them for great Christmas ideas!!
• We are all looking forward to school starting.  Thomas will be going five days a week, three and a half hours a day.  John Paul is starting a tumbling class, and Alexander is working on keeping up.  :)  I'm looking forward to the return of routines and schedules and cooler days.  
• The last one is this photo.  I just love it.  This was the conversation just before it:
  Thomas: I am going to sleep on the floor tonight.
  Me: Are you sure? It's not as comfy as your top bunk.
  Thomas: John Paul was scared last night. I think the kids want me to "ratect" (protect) them. I'll just sleep in the middle of them. Pope Francis will watch out for monsters for us.
  
  I just love how he calls his brothers "the kids".

Seven Quick Takes: The Alexander Edition

In no particular order.

• Alexander is eight months old now.  His hair is fine and blonde...and gets curly on occasion.  When that happens, I hold him up like the "Lion King" and let him know that he's definitely my son.
• He's 13 pounds -- still on the "little peanut" side, but a crazy big eater like his older brothers.  The other morning, he had half a cup of peaches and pears and an entire banana.  Right now, he eats: bananas, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, green beans, avocados, yogurt, apples, chicken, fish, and butter.  Gotta add some poundage somewhere!  I am still making all his baby food, and the Vitamix is amazing for doing it in bulk.  I usually make a week's worth over the weekend and just take what we need throughout. 
• He sleeps through the night better than his older brothers.  No kidding.  Every morning around 4, I hear Thomas going to get a drink of water in the kitchen before coming to check on us.  Alexander sleeps through everything.
• They are all sleeping in the same room.  Thomas on the top bunk, John Paul on the bottom bunk, and Alexander in the crib.  It actually works really well. 
• We found amazing sleep again.  Last Saturday night, we all got home from Gig Harbor around 10:00.  When Jonathan and I woke up the next morning without a single Wee Ski in our bed and neither of us woke up the entire night...we both agreed we hadn't slept that well in 5 years.  IT WAS HEAVENLY.
• My little peanut is still in 0-3 and 3-6 month clothing.  We definitely got incredible use out of the newborn clothes and the tiny 0-3 ones.  His 6 month size "Sprouffske Trees" sweatshirt should fit just in time for tree season.
• He popped two teeth within a week of each other.  His sweet little smile has two tiny little teeth rising from his gums. 
• A bonus one:  He is such a chill baby.  I thought John Paul was laid back.  This kid is crazy calm.  I took all the boys to see Planes last Friday, and as long as Alexander was fed, he was happy and content to sleep and watch the movie.  He plays with his brothers, giggles at what they do, doesn't mind when Thomas drags "the kid" all over the house (as Thomas calls him), and is happiest in the backseat of the car right next to 1.0 and 2.0.  It makes the craziness of 3 boys under 5 so much easier.  I love it.

Sweet little baby Alexander

Dear Alexander,

Over the past two days, you have skyrocketed to the place of favorite Wee Ski, in a world where no such title had existed before.

You weren't the Wee Ski that hid my car keys in a tub of toys and tucked it away on a shelf and caused Mommy to tear apart the house for two and a half hours.

You weren't the Wee Ski who drank the only remaining Diet Coke in the house when the aforementioned car keys were missing.

You weren't the Wee Ski who clogged the toilet and caused it to overflow while yelling "WOW! WOW! WOW!" the whole time.

You weren't the Wee Ski who took off his diaper and put it in the garbage to be "helpful", only for Mommy to realize it 20 minutes later by following a trail of "breadcrumbs" around the house.  You were really lucky you weren't that particular Wee Ski.  Really lucky.

You weren't the Wee Ski who dug out Mommy's lavender plants (again).

You are the Wee Ski who only wanted to cuddle today.

You are the Wee Ski who has started cooing with a hint of a giggle.

You are the Wee Ski who put up with your older brother smothering you with attention, playdoh puckies, and baby carrots. 

You are the Wee Ski who has finally started nursing on his own, nearly all the time.  Heavenly.

You are the Wee Ski who took good naps today and gave Mommy a rest from the older Wee Skis.

Sweet child, you are four months old now and the time is flying by.  You've meshed right into our family and we cannot imagine it without you.

We love you, Alexander Xavier, more than you can possibly imagine.

Just please don't ever take off a heavy, dark diaper on your own. 

A few images of life right now.

I'm sorry that blogging has been a little light! :)

It's not been for lack of activity, that's for sure.  We've had a busy three months since Alexander was born.  I'm winding down maternity leave from Finian Road and finally finding a bit of time to go through photos of OUR family...instead of everyone else's...and I love it. 

Wanted to share some of my favorite of the boys over the past month or so.
All three boys together:


I love how John Paul always "talks" with his hands.


Jonathan and Alexander.


A major milestone for my 5 pound, 13 ounce newborn: this photo was of the day he hit 10 pounds!!  (February 7th)


John Paul on a hike on the farm.  We've been blessed with a relatively mild winter (good thing we have Zeus the Generator -- of COURSE Murphy's Law says that we'll have a mild winter after we finally got the monster generator hard wired into the house!).  The boys have LOVED going on hikes. I have loved hikes more when it hasn't been raining and we aren't trudging through mud.  So much more fun to run through the grass instead.

Doesn't John Paul look old here?


This is when Thomas is just being calm, relaxed Thomas.  A rare moment, indeed.  And no photoshopping on his eyes -- they are simply that clear blue. 


In getting ready for the Blarney Blast, we did welcome placecards at each of the 200 seats.  I was on the eternal hunt for a leprechaun costume...and we couldn't find one in toddler size.  So I hunted for pieces -- found the hat and mustaches at Old Navy (mustaches lasted all of 30 seconds), the bow ties and suspenders at Claire's, and the green sweats from Gymboree.  The cute little leprechaun white shirt?  It's John Paul's -- 2T on my 4T boy.


These were the welcome cards.  I sliced just above and just below his fist, and slid a green and white lollipop in there.  It looks really cute when it's all done...and they were a hit!


On the election day of Pope Francis.  My sweet little innocent Wee Pope Alexander.  His brothers were axed from the photo when one Wee Pope strangled the other Wee Pope. 


Sheesh.


Grumpy Wee Pope.


After the Blarney Blast, the next morning when the boys woke up to find Grandma and Grandpa had stayed the night:


And my wee cow herder. 


The first day I let the boys go get the mail on their own.  You can imagine their incredible joy to not only get a package in the mailbox, but to find it filled with marshmallows.  They do love their "Auntie Uff Da"!!

Project Life: Week Seven

Out of order, but fresh in my mind and I want to share!  Last week was a pretty emotional week from a faith perspective...starting with Pope Benedict's announcement, leading through Ash Wednesday and Stations of the Cross and then to the first Sunday of Lent.
I loved saving Thomas's Valentine from his teacher, Mrs. Johnson, the Valentines from Grandma Sandi, and John Paul's reaction when he saw my mom's latest obnoxious singing plush, the Cupig Shuffle.  It was as cute as the song is annoying.  So incredibly cute.  :)





// RESOURCES //
Digital templates  |  AC Digitals  (some pages modified)
Digital kit  |  bonus love kit from AC Digitals order last week, journaling cards designed by me
Font  |  PMN Caecilia 

Project Life: Weeks 3 and 4

Out of the 7 weeks of the year so far, I'm only behind by two weeks!  I can't even begin to describe how much I am loving this project, even if it's been hard to carve out time each week. So very thankful for the apps on my phone which make it easier -- Dropbox to transfer photos and Day One to keep random notes on specific days...as we all know that pregnancy brain translates into newborn brain that becomes preschooler+toddler+infant brain. None of those include good memory skills.

And since my memory sucks right now, I am loving looking back on these weeks...especially since it reminds me how far we've come as a five-some with three kids that are four and under.  :)

I am also totally loving saving photos of Thomas and his art projects from preschool...with his proud smile and date of when he did it.  He's starting to write the letters in his name, and I LOVE seeing them.  Will be saving the current version in week 8.  

A very full two weeks, finishing with the Mega Event Experience in Seattle.  It is the only training that was on the books for 2013 for the Relay For Life...as the "transformation" of the Society is changing things up pretty dramatically.  We truly had the "who's who" present:  Pat Flynn, Dr. Gordy Klatt (the founder of Relay), Jeff Ross, Adam Schwartz, Marty Coehlo, and the CEO of the American Cancer Society, Dr. John Seffrin.  You will notice that the Wee Ski 3.0 and I did get a self-portrait with him...figuring it was the one time that was possible!  He also mentioned us in his keynote on Saturday evening, a sweet moment that brought tears to my eyes and made me snuggle my little boy that much tighter.

Enough words.  Check out the pages below!









// RESOURCES //
Digital templates  |  AC Digitals
Digital kit  |  Bridgeport Edition Childhood Mini Kit
Font  |  PMN Caecilia  & Slapjack

Project Life: Week Two

Our second week in January. 

I love being able to change up things each week -- adding bits of life from the kids or things that make me laugh (see the nursing comic on the lower left side).  Feeding Alexander has been an adventure, to say the least, and I am extremely grateful for my husband the fact that I have so much flexibility with my schedule, so if I don't get much sleep one night, I can work around it the next day.  And I'm amazed that even with as many struggles as we've had with it, Alexander continues to grow and gain strength and size and is a sweet little boy.

We celebrated Thomas's birthday on the 8th -- he received a phone call from Grandma (just for him!) where she sang to him...had a fun party at preschool (see his hat!), and dinner at Infernos with our good friend Autumn and her nephews Jack & Owen. 

Learned a valuable lesson about self-portraits taken with my iPhone facing me...the resolution is TINY with that camera!  Either way, FINALLY got my hair cut + colored (should have happened 5 weeks earlier, the day Alexander was born) and I felt like a new woman. IT. WAS. AWESOME.

Used about half of one page for the boys' joint doctor's appointment.  Hilarious about what goes into bringing the three of them somewhere.  And some day, when they are grown and aren't dependent like they are now...it will be bittersweet to look back on it. 

// PAGE ONE //


// PAGE TWO //


// RESOURCES //
Digital templates  |  AC Digitals
Digital kit  |  Bridgeport Edition Childhood Mini Kit
Font  |  PMN Caecilia 
Brushes  |  Ali Edwards' Bible Quotes No. 01

Project Life: Week One

Finally getting started with uploading the pages...I am all caught up through week 3 and am looking for a bit of downtime to pull together week 4. 

I am loving this style of scrapbooking. 

Keeping things very organized and simple (using dropbox to sync up my iPhone and my Dell) has made it a breeze.  And I am loving an hour or two to myself to look back over the week and save those memories...since clearly, newborn brain is nearly as bad a pregnancy brain for memories!

This is our first week of the year.  Snippets of our life.

I am letting my type-A-ness of perfect images all the time go, because right now, it's most important for me to REMEMBER this stuff...even if an image is blurry from my iPhone.  And I'm finding that doing that works for me right now...since I am treasuring seeing our lives all in one spot. 

PAGE ONE  //



PAGE TWO  //



// RESOURCES //
Digital templates  |  AC Digitals
Digital kit  |  Bridgeport Edition Childhood Mini Kit
Font  |  PMN Caecilia

See?  Super simple.  

One Little Word: Discipline

Much of this functioning with a newborn, toddler, and preschooler comes down to discipline.  For me, the key pieces of keeping life sane right now are these:

• Keep the main thing, the main thing.
  Do not get wrapped up in things that are not the primary focus of our lives right now.  Mounting laundry, shoes in the middle of the floor, and a clutter-free entrance to the house?  Not important.
• Accept that I cannot do it all.
  This is definitely harder in practice...especially when I am used to balancing a number of different projects at the same time.  Jonathan and I sat down for our annual "family year-ahead planning meeting", and went through all of our commitments.  We discussed each one, discussed the balance of time, energy, and joy we find in it...and made decisions about what was most important.  It wasn't easy, but it was necessary.  The key part of it?  Finding humility in that there are many people who can serve in the roles we are in...all but the ones of "mom" and "dad" or "husband" and "wife".  Those are the ones that only we can fill...and our decisions need to wrap around those. 
  
• Know that right now is a season.
  And it will pass.  There are sweet treasured moments in right now, along with the challenges.  It's often the treasured moments that make the challenges bearable and worth it.  A good lesson?  If you are attached to a breast pump while feeding your newborn, you might just have to accept that the toddler and preschooler are going to have a water war in the bathroom with the diaper sprayer, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.

You may know that the day that Alexander was born, I developed a severe case of preeclampsia.  By the grace of God, I happened to have a doctor's appointment that day, where they caught the developing stages.  One week earlier, I had a full blood panel run and there was no impending sign of any problems.

The biggest challenge of the recovery from his birth?  The fact that preeclampsia has no cure and doesn't go away immediately following the birth.  It was the reason I stayed a week in the hospital.  It was a huge lesson in the fact that there are things in life that you cannot control, you can only control your reaction to them.  The nights were particularly difficult in that I am NOT a night owl and that's when my blood pressure tended to have the biggest swings.  I was so grateful to Fr. Raftis who would respond to late night emails and Fr. Wichert who gave both Alexander and me the anointing of the sick the night before he went into the NICU and my health got worse. 

With Alexander's challenges in the first few weeks:  time in the NICU, thrush from the antibiotics in the NICU, and catching his brothers' colds, I've been pumping and bottle-feeding him breastmilk for 6 weeks instead of nursing.  It's not been easy, but it's definitely been worth the time and effort. And we're slowly moving toward nursing instead of pumping, a little each day. 

I have made major progress in the things I can control following his birth -- lowering my stress level dramatically (see my key pieces of life above), making healthy, consistent choices in what we eat (no stress-induced fast food since December 3rd-- the only trip to McDonalds was at Thomas's request on his birthday), and working to lose the baby weight (and then some) -- down almost 40 pounds since his birth...without sacrificing the nutrition needed for breastfeeding and chasing the two older brothers.

Each day brings progress in the steps to be off blood pressure medication entirely...as well as finding our new normal in our family.  My amazing husband has been patient beyond all human expectations. 

What I have been finding is that it's the little steps every day that count right now.  Finding the discipline to rest when I'm exhausted, to plan ahead for traveling with three little ones (or even day trips with three little ones), to keeping up with what I can around the house, and most importantly, asking for help when I've needed it.  That last one, by far, has been the hardest for me...but the most impactful.  Last week, Sandy came down for four days to help with the boys...and it gave me the chance to put Alexander into my 4 day intensive Nursing Boot Camp, and rest.  The week before, one of the sweet moms of Thomas's preschool friends offered to take all three boys after a rough night dealing with clogged milk ducts, and it was just what I needed to find the solution to the duct problems.  Asking for help wasn't a sign of weakness, but one of finding strength.  That was a huge lesson for me.  I am so grateful to both of them for forcing me out of my comfort zone. 

So for the year, looking ahead, discipline will be key in continuing to heal from Alexander's birth.  To make the right decisions regarding my time, to serving those I love with joy, and to soak in every moment of these Wee Skis right where they are at.

This is my life right now.  And this is the opening page to our Project Life scrapbook this year.  Choosing to make one family album instead of stressing over three individual ones...and being able to track our growth week after week as the year goes on.  I am three weeks into this project, and it's given me a little creative downtime, peace, and the chance to relish in the incredible blessings that I've been given in my family.

I couldn't ask for anything more. 

Quick Takes: The "Where Did December Go?" Edition

Seven snippets of life, in no particular order.

1. This month disappeared.
   Literally disappeared.  I suppose an unplanned week in the hospital can do that to you, along with a newborn and a Christmas tree farm and being up every 3 hours for the last four weeks to feed the tiny human that just entered the world.   
2. We loved Fleeht this year.
   Fleeht, our Elf on the Shelf, had a low key year.  Fleeht is "The Elf" spelled backwards.  In Alexander's newborn shoot, we added Fleeht for a few...and the image above made me laugh.  It did not make my husband laugh. He has fears of what Fleeht may be actually doing at night...and he thinks this image he found on the internet confirms it:
   
   I cannot confirm nor deny that.  But I do know we won't be watching The Shining again next year during Scary Movie Month on the farm.
3. I am ready for everyone to be 100%.
   Jonathan, after working literally every day since before Thanksgiving, finally came down with the flu last Sunday.  The boys worked through most of their colds before Christmas, though Alexander's tear ducts have been clogged (not pretty) and for the past few days, I have been dealing with remnants of the blood pressure issues from the hospital.  Most of today has been spent in bed.  Not the ideal way to spend your 5th anniversary...but I AM surrounded with all of my favorite guys, so I really can't complain. But it's an excellent lesson in not doing too much, and working slowly back into normal life.
4. We had a date night last night (Friday).
   It was so much fun.  Jonathan, Alexander and I went to The Rock and hit my favorite place, Costco, right afterwards. "Auntie Mo" came down for some time with her favorite little ninjas (Thomas and John Paul) and they had a great night watching movies, drinking cocoa, and learning Packers cheers, much to the chagrin of the boys' Seahawks-loving parents. Alexander slept for most of the time, and we had a quiet dinner, nearly 100% free from the iPhone.  :)
5. Everything takes so. much. longer.
   As evidenced by the fact that I started this blog post on Saturday and am picking it up right now on Tuesday, New Year's Day.  I am finding that I need to be laser-sharp in focus to get things done, as the three Wee Skis tend to draw my focus away consistently from anything else.  The need to compartmentalize and not waste time has never felt more important when I am up early to get things done or when everyone is down for a nap (and the angels are singing "hallelujah"!).  
6. Had my last newborn shoot of the year yesterday!
   So much fun to meet sweet Mr. Samuel, who was due two days after Alexander.  Perfect timing as his grandparents arrived the day before from the east coast, and while it was snowing like mad on the farm, it was crystal clear and beautiful in Gig Harbor, where we shot.  Cannot wait to unveil my favorites from the shoot!
7. Been re-focusing on some scrapbooking over the past few weeks.
   Doing my best to pull together a December Daily album (as I LOVED the one from 2010 and so regret missing 2011) and looking ahead to options to capture daily life in 2013 with the three boys.  At the same time -- keeping things very, very simple for my sanity.  :)

Life right now.

We have been home since Sunday, December 9th.

Each day has been an adventure.  Watching the boys form their new bonds has been one of the best parts.  Funniest quotes from the boys over the past week?

"Mom, but I'm just petting him!  He's still asleep!  I'm not waking him up!"
"Thomas, don't pet your brother while he's sleeping.  Can you just leave him alone for a little while?"
"Fine. But then I'll come back and I'll pet him again as soon as you're gone.  You can't stop me! That's what brothers do!"

It should be noted that petting = patting Alexander's tummy and saying, "Hey buddy. You're safe now and you don't need to cry. I'm here and John Paul's here and it's okay buddy.  Go sleepy buddy."

John Paul climbs up the side of the bassinet, holds on for dear life, and looks in on him.  And all he says for 10 minutes straight to his new little brother, "Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi."

I have been slowly navigating the new waters of three boys under 4.  It's been a new challenge for me since I'm forced to stay "slowed down" as I recover from the blood pressure issues in the hospital...one day at at time, sometimes one hour or one moment at a time.

The first night at home ended with Thomas throwing up in our bed not once, but twice,  and Alexander being diagnosed with thrush (thanks to the antibiotics in the hospital)...and Jonathan and I musing at 5 am on Monday morning, "Well, God, that was a good induction to 3 kids at home. Should that be considered our hazing?"

On the whole, Alexander's been gaining weight like a boss: an ounce and a half a day. He had his little boy surgery earlier this week and he is cleared from doctors until his one month check. We're starting to head back to nursing from pumping (thanks, thrush).


There's an insane amount of diapers being changed and multiple loads of laundry every day.  And there's laughter and giggles and chasing and basketball in the living room and yelling and fighting and tears and snuggles and consoling and timeouts and mud and snow and rain and life on the farm.

And in the midst of the occasional insanity of three tiny humans...it all feels just like home. 

37 Weeks.

• How Far Along:  37 weeks
• Size of baby:  Just over 6 pounds.
• What the Wee Ski 3.0 has right now:  Two crazy big brothers who are in love with him already.  This was at our doc appt yesterday...and they are smiling at my incredible doc, Dr. McMahon.  She has taught Thomas to play soccer in the office, how to cheer "YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!" and won him over when she said she would bring him something back from Cars Land at Disneyland.   John Paul adores her, well, because she's the one who first held him when she brought him into this world.   We heart her. 
• Total Weight Gain/Loss:  Gained 15 pounds.
• Maternity Clothes:  Addicted to the Liz Lange maternity/yoga pants from Target.  Pretty sure I've lived in them every single day for the last two weeks.  My feet have had some crazy swelling in the last week or so, and it's finally subsiding.  Which is awesome, since croc flip flops are not what one would call "crazy attractive" on a 9 month pregnant mama in the middle of the muddy northwest fall.
• Movement:  All the time. Especially when I first get up or lay down.
• Sleep:  HILARIOUS -- this quote is from my 40 weeks post w/John Paul.  It's still true now.  Over the weekend, the first weekend of tree season, I was asleep by 7 each night and it was HEAVEN.  On Sunday evening, I even woke up, thinking it had to be my 1 am waking...and it was only 9:17 pm.  It was the best bonus sleep I've had in a long while!
  
  "Mostly two hours at a time...so waking up every three hours to feed him outside the womb sounds like a DREAM COME TRUE.  Most mornings, I wake up anywhere from 2-4 am, and I'm up for the day.  So I crash around 7:30, just after the Wee Ski 1.0, and try to nap for at least an hour when he goes down in the afternoon."
  
• What I miss:  Nothing.This pregnancy has been an awesome combination of peace and calmness, even in the midst of a toddler and a preschooler and a very busy fall.  I'll be honest, I was incredibly tired last night, and I was not at my finest with my husband.  When I woke up this morning, I apologized and explained that I was pretty awful the night before and I was sorry.  His response?  "It really wasn't that bad, since it's hardly ever happened this pregnancy and it made me realize just how different this round is!"
• Cravings:  Quesadillas with sharp cheddar cheese and sour cream.  Egg nog.  Banana milkshakes.  But not all at the same time.
• Symptoms:  Giant hobbit feet.  Mastering the waddle of a full term pregnant mama.  Forgetting that I'm much rounder in front now and burn my belly on occasion when I am standing too close to the oven.
• Best moment this week:  There have been so many.  A great weekend on the farm with all the Skis.  Feeling very lucky to truly love my in-laws and look forward to tree season where we are all around each other nonstop.  A huge blessing when Dawn, her sister and her kids came out to the farm and were amazing helper elves with wreaths, the boys, lunch, life in general.  It gave me the chance to sit down so much more and take it easy.  Honestly -- you really do meet amazing, amazing people through Relay.  She is a huge blessing to me, our family and our team. 
• Second best moment this week:  When my mom came down today.  After I shot the preschoolers in Thomas's class for one of my last pre-baby shoots, I met Mom in Lacey and we swapped cars.  She took John Paul to the grocery store, picked up Thomas, and then wore them both out at Charlie's Safari.  When they came home, the boys went right down. While they were gone, I went through a dozen full boxes of boys' clothes, sorted their closets and dressers, put away five baskets of clothes in my room, prepped 3.0's dresser in our room, and started laying out clothes to vacuum seal for storage.  It would have taken me 2 days to do the same with the boys at home.  Such a big weight off my shoulders. 

And life keeps speeding up...

We are on so many countdowns right now:

• 31 days to Christmas  |  Today is the first day of tree season!
• 21 days to the Wee Ski 3.0's due date  |   Still cannot believe it.  He's measuring more than 6 pounds right now!
• 8 days to the first day of Advent  |  Cannot wait for this year's Advent season with the boys.  
• 0 days to Christmas Tree Season!  |  Today's opening day!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind...it's been a constant battle to stay ahead of things and not get behind.  Most mornings, I have been out of bed by 4 or 4:30, with the occasional sleeping in until 5 am.  :)  I seriously do love being a morning riser.  And after nearly 5 years of marriage, Jonathan's learned how to sleep through my alarm and not wake too much while I'm getting up.

Things that I am loving right now:

• 14 Finian Road shoots in the past 8 weeks.  Nearly done with the edits and turnarounds for Christmas...just a few left!  Praying that the rain gives us some reprieve this weekend for a few scheduled shoots on the farm!  It's been in the back of my mind that the baby's coming early...so I'm trying to keep up on everything JUST IN CASE.
• A very fun Thanksgiving dinner yesterday on the farm.  My parents, Mike, Kristine and the kids came down for an early-ish dinner and finding Mom and Dad's tree.  I haven't cooked much (let alone big feasts) in the past few months with the pregnancy, so it was so fun to be back in the kitchen.  We had an awesome 20 pound turkey, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, gorgonzola & walnut toasts, baked brie with apricots & pineapple & crushed almonds, roasted broccolini, crazy delish gravy, and my first two ventures into pie: pumpkin pie and mini berry pies with homemade vanilla ice cream.  I cannot begin to describe how excited I am, at nearly 37 weeks along, for leftovers.  IT WILL BE EPIC.
• Cousins.  Thomas & John Paul had so much fun with their cousins yesterday, that when everyone was heading out to go home, I found Thomas laying down in the dirt crying.  I assumed that he had tripped, but no, he was crying that he couldn't go up there for a sleepover.  "MOMMY I WANT TO GO THERE WITH THEM WHY CAN I NOT GO I WANT TO SLEEPOVER PLEASE PLEASE SOB SOB SOB".
• Tree season.  I am so lucky to have extended family on Jonathan's side that I adore.  Even though we all live within a mile of each other, everyone's schedules are so crazy that it takes tree season to get everyone in the same room at the same time.  And I'll be honest -- some of my favorite moments come with the aunties and uncles when you're on hour 8 and everyone's a little stir crazy when it's raining cats & dogs.  We have special surprises for them this morning to celebrate the opening of tree season, can't wait to give them!!

Speaking of...I need to get up and going and into the shower...the farm opens for 2012 business in one hour, 55 minutes!  Cheers!

Checking in...

It's been a heck of a fall so far!!  Thankfully, Thomas has finally come out of the worst of the sickies (12 days with a 102° temp!) and is back to his 10,203,089,378 per day word limit and eating up a storm.  Yesterday, he woke up early around 5:30 am and came out to me in the kitchen.  He was thrilled to find lots of food being prepared for Jonathan's poker night, and asked, "Mommy, do you know that the boys LOVE breadsticks?  Because we do.  Do you know that?"

He ended the evening, curled up next to me, saying, "Mommy, do you think I talk too much?"

It was surreal to see him day after day fall asleep wherever he was at.  The sofa, the car, the bathroom, the floor in the living room.  It was a very tough virus that thankfully, wasn't e. coli. 5 naps a day for a little boy who doesn't like napping anymore. 


Over the last weekend in September, I was facilitating a planning retreat for the Grays Harbor Relay For Life, so we had planned a night out at Ocean Shores afterwards.  When the day finally came and the boys were sick, Jonathan and I decided to go ahead anyway...for a change of pace.  As luck would have it, that Saturday was the last day that Thomas's temp was over 102°.

I got kicked out of the bed when the Wee Skis decided to make their own arrangement and take up the whole thing. 


Thomas loved the shark out front, and we had a good little "Skis as a Fam of Four Getaway". 


The glorious day came when Thomas headed back to school after being gone for 2 weeks...that same morning, John Paul climbed into the tub in his pajamas.  Both boys thought it was the funnest bath ever.


And my sweet boys at Ocean Shores...



It's been incredibly busy since then -- very little downtime and the clock is definitely ticking to 3.0's arrival!  The mantra right now -- one day at a time.

And lots of snuggle time with all of the Skis.  

Life right now.

This photo, taken from naptime on the boys' webcam, pretty much sums up life right now.

Just when we thought we were getting back on track, the sickies reared their ugly heads again.  Thomas hasn't been to preschool in more than a week, John Paul's got the same sickies now, and I'm feeling the effects as well.  Until last night, I hadn't left the house for anything other than a quick grocery store run or doctor's appointment in more than a week. 

The last two nights have been particularly brutal - Jonathan and I have had to divide and conquer with fevers and vomiting from the boys.  Tuesday night, he slept in the boys' room w/John Paul, and Thomas slept in our room with me.  Last night, John Paul stayed with me and Thomas slept with Jonathan in the living room on the recliners, so Thomas could stay upright and let his sinuses drain and reduce his coughing. 

It's been a year and a half since the sickies have hit this bad -- ironically, also when I nearing the end of a pregnancy.  

It's not pretty.  Sleep is found an hour or two at a time right now, and the faint scent of bleach is now permeating everywhere I go. Bleach is my friend and I love it.  The washer and dryer have been running nonstop to keep towels, sheets and blankets clean. 

If I owe you a call or an email, have patience with me.  We're pretty much in "survival mode" with the pregnancy right now...which will hopefully be "recovery mode" sooner rather than later. 


And if you have any brilliant words of advice, I'm all ears.  :)

Oh no, not in my new hat!

I am so glad that last week is OVER.

OVER.  OVER.  OVER.

It was my last week of Relay travel w/flying...two weekends in a row, and this one with four breakouts and a keynote to 1300 Relayers, which I was super pumped to give because it was based on Brian's final challenge from the National Summit in July. 

And then Thomas didn't want to get out of bed on Wednesday morning.

Usually, my morning annoying song to get the boys up, "Good morning, my Thomas, my sweet little stinky Thomas!" works by the third or fourth round...but then Thomas stayed asleep. He had a temperature of 100°, so I kept him home knowing that I was leaving the following day and wanted him to be well enough to stay around other kids.

HE TOOK FIVE NAPS THAT DAY.   We washed a lot of blankets and towels and clothes after he got sick all over me and him...but seriously, he is such a good, sick little boy.  Sweet and kind and not all that whiny.  Way less whiny than I would be!

Jonathan was up at the Palisades for the first three day intensive for the Tribunal Advocate training for the Archdiocese, and since it's a training usually offered just one a year, he was free from the sickies on the farm.

Thomas's fever rose to 103° and finally broke later in the day.  We missed preschool, Mass, a doctor's appointment (for 3.0) and a meeting.  We just hunkered down at home.  When I put him to bed, it was around 99°.  I finished packing for Nashville, packed up the car with my stuff and the boys' stuff, and climbed into bed.  At one in the morning, a little tiny voice said, "I don't feel good, Mommy."  His body was roasting and his fever had risen to 104°. We immediately moved him into cool water in the tub.

By two a.m., when it was showing no signs of slowing down, I decided to cancel my trip to the Mid-South Summit, and got on the ball to cancel my flight leaving 7 hours later.  Mid-South was amazingly supportive and took care of the details and five hours later...the Wee Skis and I found ourselves walking into the pediatrician to get checked out.  

Long story short -- after some crazy weird questions which make sense now -- Dr. Lindgren sent him for bloodwork to rule out E. Coli.  His rapid temp rising, the fact that he is rarely sick, our demographics of living on the farm and that the fever wasn't breaking meant that Thomas was fighting something.  Dr. L's fear, with a one-year-old and a pregnant mommy, was that our immune systems weren't as strong and we needed to be on the safe side to protect all of us.  

So we packed up the boys and headed over to the lab.  Thomas was very brave with his blood being drawn, given that he was exhausted.  What did thrill him was his new hat (read: toilet hat for collecting #1 and #2) and he wanted to wear it for the rest of the day.  Owning a new hat meant he also had no desire to do #1 or #2 in it, because then he couldn't wear it. 

Trying to negotiate with a sick preschooler is a little like dealing with a tiny terrorist. 

There was no way he was going to do his business.

Auntie Stella came down to give me some reprieve (which was so incredibly helpful!!) on Friday.  We loaded up Thomas with juice, fruit leathers, and Netflix on the iPad, and left him for 84 minutes on the potty.  After 30 hours since we began waiting for samples, we finally got both samples. Cheering ensued and five minutes later, we were on the road to the lab. 

The best news came later in the day when E. Coli was ruled out.  There were some abnormalities in some of the tests which haven't been explained yet, but should be when the final tests are finished this week. 

When Jonathan got home late Friday afternoon, there was nothing more exciting than a hot shower and early to bed.  It was so good to sleep more than 3 hours at a time. 

We took everything slowly over the weekend, giving both boys lots of time for naps and cuddling.  We stayed close to home and only left for Mass on Sunday morning.  We had some of the first home cooked meals in a while -- steaks, baked sweet potatoes, and fresh peach scones. 

We were able to sell our Seahawks tickets for tonight's Monday Night Football -- because none of us were up to it after that weekend.  We will be cozy on the sofa with the boys, watching the game from inside.  :)

Feeling incredibly blessed by my Nationwide Leadership Training Team family, who called early Saturday morning to check in and let me know that everything was covered and not to worry.  So love those I Relay with!  And also feeling very blessed right now for a child who is starting to run around again, a smaller child who didn't catch anything (YEA!!) and a healthy 3.0 who is finally making his way to the doc this afternoon.

Life may be messy sometimes, but it is good.