What's Your Because...(Part 2)

It’s so easy to look at the negatives. It’s human nature to feel sorry for yourself and to always look towards greener pastures. What if instead of always looking for something better we were satisfied with what we have. We are so abundantly blessed that we have no right ever complaining. We have our bad days--sure. Our good days are so good though. Recognizing that we need God is a huge step and those hard times help us need Him.

So I took all the negative "because statements" from the other day and I turned them into positives. I can’t say that this is how I always look at my life, but doing this little exercise has reminded me that I should think about the negatives in the positive before I feel sorry for myself. You should try it.

　

Because the way my 20 month old communicates is pretty darn funny.

Because my 3 year old hasn’t pooped in her pants in 2 days.

Because my 3 year old does things at meal time that amaze me to the point of smiling and shaking my head when I should just spank her.

Because when I was grocery shopping without any children.

Because I just turned around and the box of Lucky Charms is all over the floor, but both kids just dove right in and started eating all the marshmallows. That’s one way to get it cleaned up.

Because pinterest does have some pretty cool ideas for me, my family, and my house.

Because I have no privacy--bathroom time for me is either party time or story time depending on what the kids decide. Not everyone can say they get to party every day.

Because I didn’t vacuum at all today.

Because my family has enough clothes to have piles of laundry to do.

Because everywhere I go I have multiple people “reminding” me that I have my hands full and that reminds me how blessed I am to have such great kids.

Because my kids are smart enough to push a chair over to reach anything that’s supposed to be out of their reach, which means they can grab some chocolate for me while I’m stuck breastfeeding the baby.

Because Eliza is rambunctious and full of energy all the time.

Because my husband might not do a great job rinsing his plate, but he works so hard every day to provide for our family.

Because gummy vitamins all over the floor make for a fun keep away game with my 20 month old.

Because we are blessed enough to have a new van that fits all the kids.

Because sleep is overrated when you have bonding to do.

Because not everyone can brag that they can squirt milk across the room from their boobs.

Because the preschool teacher tells me that my 3 year old is always good at school.

Because my 3 year old likes to “paint” herself with sidewalk chalk and water and therefore my 20 month old thinks it’s a wonderful idea to follow suit. Hilarious sight.

Because some days I get lucky enough to enjoy some quiet time during the middle of the day while the kids are napping.

Because my 3 year olds’ nap time has turned into puzzle time, Candyland time, and coloring time -- bonding time!

Because certain people don’t know how else to communicate other than asking for some help, and I’m lucky to be able to lend some advice.

Because when we do see grandparents it’s always super special and for multiple days at a time.

Because my house is messy with children’s art work and those fingerprints are the most beautiful artwork I could think of to decorate my house with.

Because we can afford to buy good food and I learned how to make that good food into a healthy meal for my family every night.

Because the majority of nights I get to battle with my 3 year old to eat that home-cooked meal and she is healthy and happy because of it.

Because it is NEVER quiet in my house. Noise is so comforting to me now and chaos is weirdly calming.

Because bad things happen to the good people in my life and I do my best to be there for them along their journey.

Because I’m tired. I’m tired because I get to spend all day and night with my children.

Because communication through tantrums is the only way sometimes.

Because most days I work more than 24 hours. And I love most parts of it.

Because I’m so blessed to be a mom.

Because we can afford to buy new kitchen appliances.

Because my children learn so much because they always ask why.

Because my 20 month old chucks his pacifier at the door to let me know he’s up from his nap, and then in his growl language points at it when I open the door like he has no idea how it flew across the room. I laugh every time I get him out of his bed and so does he.

Because little kids need a lot of things repeated.

Because I love nursing my baby and I’m so blessed to be able to stay home and take care of him.

Because sometimes you just gotta take a break from working out.

Because I’m so lucky to have enough milk to provide my baby with nourishment.

Because when my husband doesn’t get home until after 6:30 it means he was working hard yet again.

Because some days we laugh and play and eat ice cream before dinner.

Because having everyone remind you of things is nice.

Because I don’t really care what I look like most mornings. At least I have a working and healthy body.

Because not completing a thought has become the norm and it can make for some very funny conversations.

Because I could probably write 3 more pages of these if I spent all day tomorrow working on this.

　

　
　

Because the truth is that my cup is over flowing-- it’s no where near half full or half empty.

What's Your Because... (Part 1)

The thing about life is that there are 2 sides of it. Both are very real. There is the optimistic, glass half full, sunshine every day, glorious side and then there is the pessimistic, glass half empty, dreary, grey side. Normally I'm on the sunshine team...today we're going to dissect the dreary side.

The following is a list of why life stinks, why I should be crazy, why I need a whole lot of prayers to get me through the day, just why. (I'm sure a lot of you will understand)


Because the way my 20 month old communicates is through a series of growls.

Because my 3 year old has decided it’s a good idea to poop in her pants during “nap time”.

Because my 3 year old managed to not only spill her milk all over herself, but she managed to rip a huge hole in her shirt as well.

Because when I was grocery shopping without any children I was asked when I was due.

Because I just turned around and the box of Lucky Charms is all over the floor.

Because pinterest doesn’t have a pin to give me extra arms, extra legs, or extra energy.

Because I have no privacy--bathroom time for me is either party time or story time depending on what the kids decide.

Because I could vacuum my house 4 times every day and it would still need a 5^th vacuuming.

Because there is always laundry to do, in fact, there is always laundry in the washer and dryer.

Because everywhere I go I have multiple people “reminding” me that I have my hands full.

Because my kids are smart enough to push a chair over to reach anything that’s supposed to be out of their reach.



Because my husband still doesn’t know how to rinse his plate before putting it in the sink.

Because while I was changing the baby’s diaper my 21 month old got to the gummy vitamins, somehow opened the bottle, and was making a mad dash to eat as many as he could before I got to him.

Because when I got in the car to buckle all the kids into their car-seats my hair got stuck on the clothes hanger of the car ceiling.

Because I haven’t slept more than 2 straight hours in months.

Because breast feeding truly makes you feel like a cow--a cow that can squirt milk across the room on any given day.

Because the preschool teacher tells me that my 3 year old is really good at getting messy--as if I didn’t already know.

Because my 3 year old likes to “paint” herself with sidewalk chalk and water and therefore my 20 month old thinks it’s a wonderful idea to follow suit.

Because “is it nap time yet?” is something I say multiple times a day.

Because my 3 year olds’ nap time has turned into puzzle time, Candyland time, and coloring time yet again today.

Because certain people only call/text me when they need something from me.

　

Because I don’t have the option to drop the kids off at the Grandparents house and run to the store real quick.

Because, not only is the world my children’s canvas, the inside of my house seems to be their canvas as well.

Because the majority of nights I make a home-cooked meal that is actually healthy for my family.

Because the majority of nights I battle with my 3 year old to eat that home-cooked meal.

Because it is NEVER quiet in my house.

Because no matter how desperately I want to fix the problems of the people I love sometimes there is absolutely nothing I can do.

Because I’m tired.

Because I secretly understand why little kids throw tantrums--and some days I want to do the exact same thing.

Because most days I work more than 24 hours.

Because only 1 out of 3 of my children speaks actual words and I still want to change my name from “mom” to anything else.

Because multiple kitchen appliances decided to break on the exact same day.

Because why? Why does it matter?

Because my 20 month old chucks his pacifier at the door to let me know he’s up from his nap, and then in his growl language points at it when I open the door like he has no idea how it flew across the room.

Because I’m tired of repeating myself.

Because as I was burping the baby today he spit up and it cascaded right down my cleavage.

Because I had a c-section 3 ½ weeks ago and I already feel guilty for not working out yet even though I’m not allowed to for 3 more weeks.

Because of that feeling you get when your milk comes in.

Because when my husband doesn’t get home until after 6:30 it makes for a really long day.

Because some days it feels like all I do is correct and spank my children.

Because having children really does kill your memory.

Because some mornings brushing my teeth and throwing my hair up is about all the energy I have for me.

Because not completing a thought has become the norm.

Because I could probably write 3 more pages of these if I spent all day tomorrow working on this.


What's your beacause??

God Will Provide

"God will provide."

We’ve all heard this magic phrase. It’s one of those comfort phrases that people say to you when you are going through a tough time. They might as well just say “hang in there, He will take care of you”. It’s a phrase that is hard to believe unless you’ve truly experienced it, and then it’s pretty amazing.

Brian and I were fortunate enough to experience this first hand yesterday. The day had come to take our 3 little munchkins to Mass for the first time. To say that we were dreading it is a HUGE understatement. Even as we were getting ready in the morning Brian looked at me and said “I may never go to Mass again!” On the way to church I led our family in a little prayer. I felt that it was the only way that I could calm my nerves about taking three small children to Mass. It was a simple prayer and a prayer asking for help--and you know what… it actually worked. I saw this little cry for help prayer answered before my eyes!

As we pulled in the parking lot I took a deep breath-- not to calm myself, but because I smelled something gross. I thought to myself, how are we going to make it through mass when I have to change a poopy diaper before we even make it through the door! Well, apparently all my children are on the same bathroom schedule, and after 2 dirty diaper changes,1 run to the bathroom followed by nursing Gavin in the Narthex we had made it through our first Mass as a family of 5. The crazy thing is that it was one of the best church experiences we’ve had in years. Both Eliza and Jackson were really well behaved and except for a little cry of hunger Gavin was awake and checking stuff out the whole time without another sound.

It would have been easy to put off going to Mass. Shoot, it would be easy to put off going to Mass for a few more years until the craziness has passed. Fortunately, we’re not in this for the easy. We’re in this to glorify God in all that we do each and every day. Amazingly, God provided us with a wonderful experience of enjoying heaven on earth with our family during mass on Sunday. That one Mass is going to give me something to look to for hope while I go through my days of craziness this week.

Mondays, Meltdowns, and Mischief

I’ve been told by multiple people that having 3 kids is the hardest. I was even told that by my aunt who has 11 children. How is 3 possibly harder than 11?

We’re on our third day by ourselves. Grandma and Mimi are back in Indiana and back to their regular routines. As for our routine…ha! We’re not there yet. I keep telling myself that once we get into routine we’ll be ok, now I just have to survive until that routine is set. I keep praying it won’t take long!

I’m trying to take advantage of the 10 minutes I have while Eliza is at school, Gavin is fed and happy, and Jackson is happily playing to write a bit. As I’m typing Jackson is now climbing over my legs and begging for attention. J (So much for finishing this in one sitting!)

I’ve learned just a few things already about having 3 children that I thought were worthy of sharing. First of all having 3 children 3 years old and under is hard work! I know I’m going to love the age gap between them soon--but for now it’s just flat out exhausting. The exhaustion is one of the reasons for the title of this blog post. So far every day has felt like a Monday. You know what I mean. You wake up in sort of a daze, not quite sure what day it is and then when you realize you have to get up and get to work you grumpily drag yourself out of bed. My dragging has kind of turned into a hop at the sound of Gavin wanting his early morning feeding. I keep thinking maybe I can squeeze in a few minutes of sleep after he’s done, but so far the house is up and hopping by the time that morning feeding is done. Maybe I’ll become a morning person??

Have you ever seen a 27 year old have a meltdown? Imagine a 3 year old’s tantrum and just replace the 3 year old with a 27 year old.

　

Haha.

　

I’m just kidding.

　

I haven’t had a meltdown yet, but we sure have had our share of meltdowns from each of the kids. I anticipated this would happen though. You don’t just throw a newborn and sleep deprived mom into the mix of every day normalcy and expect that it will remain normal. Luckily, the meltdowns have been limited and they seem to correct themselves rather quickly. Maybe it’s the prayer I send up every time we’re on the verge or maybe I’ve just gotten really good at distraction? Whatever the case is we’ve had our daily meltdowns and as crazy as it sounds when only 2 kids are crying it’s pretty manageable--it’s when all three have lost it that my sanity starts to waiver. I’ve learned to just sing my way through it. Eliza started singing “I’m not Perfect” at the end of a long day and it seemed like the perfect theme song for us, so I just belt it out when I feel a little on edge. (See the link below)

I’m convinced that breast feeding is the perfect time for toddlers to get into as much trouble as they possibly can. I remember the mischief from Eliza when Jackson was a newborn and now the trouble has doubled or tripled!! It makes perfect sense. I think Gavin is going to learn how to hold on for dear life as I nurse him with one arm while doing all sorts of things with the other. It’s actually quite comical if you think about it. Let’s just call it the modern housewife. Running around the house half topless with a newborn attached to one boob, hair a wild mess, chasing two toddlers who are smart enough to understand the limitations of their mother. Great picture huh?

Through all of this I’ve been reminded by some very good veteran mothers to smile and keep a good sense of humor. Laughing and smiling has helped me through so far, let’s hope the comedy continues. J




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uoKvs5a-fQ (Fast forward video a bit to get to the song)

Gavin Michael

Gavin Michael was born August 31, 2012 at 8:52am. He weighed in at 9lbs. 2oz. and was 20.5 inches long. (BIG BOY!!)

Life sure has changed since this little guy was born. We had the honeymoon phase for about 2 weeks while Grandma and Mimi took care of us.

Everyone was well taken care of and doing great. We even managed to sneak in some fun indoor time during the crazy rainy days we experienced.

Today marked the first day for me to do it all on my own though. Honestly, it has gone pretty well. There's not much alone time and it seems like one of the 3 is always needing something, but so far I'm lovin' it. It's pretty hard not to love it when you're blessed with 3 beautiful kids!

Thank you for all the thoughts, prayers, and love! Stay tuned for an updated blog with new pictures. (If I ever have time to get around to changing it all) :)