This too shall pass.

Eloise is afraid to go into any room alone, insisting that her sister or myself go to the bathroom with her each and everytime. This is in addition to her non-stop arguing on every point. Yes, apparently 4 year old girls object to each and every thing their mother attempts to do, not limited to the drive-thru at the bank. Yep, she vehemently objected to my decision to use the most fantastic and perfect invention for mother's -- the drive-thru. What in the world could she possibly object to about the bank?

Lily is biting her sister when she's frustrated. Today Eloise took one to the forehead. Add to this fun, spitting. She enjoys gargling her water and spitting it out on whatever piece of furniture is within reach. This also has included the floor and her brother.

Sam, well, he's just easy. He lets me know when he's hungry and when he's tired. Falls asleep when it works for mom and looks just as cute as can be hanging out underneath his mobile.

It's been a crazy ride these past couple of weeks but we are remembering that His mercies are new every morning (and this doesn't just apply to me) and that I am being molded and shaped right along with my children. As I wonder when they will get it, I'm sure God is wondering the same thing about me sometimes. So I'm taking one day at a time, listening/reading His Word and trying my best to show them that I love them. And to remember, as many a seasoned mom has told me, this phase is so short in the grand scheme of it all, enjoy it!

pictures

Our sweet photographer friend, Becky, came and took the kid's pictures last weekend. I was so excited to get this years pics because of Sam's arrival. The girls had so much fun and the pictures of Sam alone are so precious. Have a look here for some sampling.

Autumn

It's officially my favorite time of year. Now if we could just drop below the 90's it would really feel like fall.

What do I love so dearly about Fall?

*the leaves turning from green to yellow to red. October is the most beautiful month and it just happens to be my birthday on the 1st.

*the air turning crisp in the morning and a sweet warmth in the afternoon

*the decorations, like these.

*the excitement of new clothes. Like this cute dress. It's the one on the right that I should have ordered yesterday when it was in stock :(

*Pumpkin Spice Americano's (yum)

*that it means it's time to start curling up on the couch and getting cozy.

*it's time to cook soup and make bread and use the oven without heating the house up to 85 degrees like I did tonight.

*all the school kids walking through the neighborhood every morning and afternoon.

I simply love everything about this time of year. I haven't met an Autumn I didn't like.

Ahhh....it even smells like Fall.

photo by Sandi Saunders

Favorite Link Friday

I love linking. Hope you do to!

*It's almost Fall. My favorite time of year. To me, it's like a deep breath. And with that deep breath comes baking. Baking all things pumpkin. If you love Starbucks pumpkin scones, here you go. You can thank me while your drinking your morning coffee with these delicious and easy babies. They are super easy to make.

*Cute idea for a child's name using Ikea frames. Love Ikea!

*It's been a while since I've checked out Simple Mom. I forgot how much I love all of their ideas.

*For my friends who don't want summer to end. Here's a S'more Popsicle idea. Looks good.

*This little mobile was given to me by my dear friend Willow when I had Eloise. It is baby cr@ck. It is awesome and is saving my life. It doesn't match any of the cute nursery decor but for any first time mom, you need to get yourself one of these. It will guarantee you an extra 20 minutes of sleep in the morning. (now that I just said that, it won't)

Have a great last weekend of Summer! Autumn here we come!

Dodgey Bloggy

I'm not much of a blogger these days except for noteworthy occasions and Favorite Link Friday (which I love b/c it gives me an excuse to be online when Dave really wants the computer - thanks for loving it ladies).

We've started a new normal around here. Not just baby, but Dave has a job. Yay! He's doing some construction for a friend. But with that new job comes a new schedule that none of us are used to.

Dave's old job allowed him to be home all day and leave for work at 4 p.m. and home at 1 a.m. He wasn't a huge fan of this b/c he rarely got to see his friends and had to look forward to working instead of coming home and staying home for the evening. But me, I LOVED it. I had him all day and the girls did too. I had the best of him. No tired husband and daddy. And when he got home from work he was able to decompress on his own. Now, not so much.

This has been a big change for all of us. I'm actually a real stay at home mom now. Before I was kinda one. I liked to call myself a "fake" stay at home mom. I could go to coffee with friends, make appointments during the day without having to think about babysitting, run to the store or shop without kids. Oh man, it was the life. And I knew it was. I knew I had a good thing going and I knew all those other moms out there with husbands gone during the day had it MUCH tougher than me and I had huge respect for them.

So all this to say, blogging is going to be a bit sparse these days as I adjust to managing the 3 little ones. I realized just how much work the girls were when my mom had them for the last 3 days. It was so quiet around here and it gave me the chance to take a deep breath and prepare for the crazy, fun times as a stay at home mom. I'm sure this experience is going to teach me more about myself and the grace of God. I look forward to it.

Four

At 1:30 a.m. this morning my youngest will wake for a feed. (He's pretty predictable these days.)

At 1:30 a.m., 4 years ago, my water broke starting labor for my oldest. I was a week overdue, had PUPP rash (which is awful) and the heat was unbearable (similar to this summer). I was ready to meet this new little baby and find out what the sex of my first born would be.

It was an intense labor. I was already a 4 by the time my water broke. I progressed fast and without a break in between contractions. I counted to 100 for every contraction, at times missing a few numbers.

When it came time to push it was incredibly difficult. As a first time mom I didn't really know how to do it or what to feel. After 3 hours of INTENSE pain and pushing a baby arrived.

"What is it? What is it?", I yelled.

"It's a girl!" everyone said in unison.

"What's her name?" Ellie said. "It's Eloise Caroline", I stated proudly.


Our tiny little 7lb 13oz girl has become a beautiful little 4 year old. She is full of life, helpful and extremely loving. She is gracious, sensitive, and has a zeal for life that is unmatchable. She talks a mile a minute and non-stop. She is eager to learn and soaks up all knowledge. She loves order (like her mama) and has to make sure that every task is complete and finished. And she makes sure that all cabinet and hallway doors are completely closed, there is no half way with this girl.


I am so blessed to be her mama. We thank God for the little first-born girl He gave to us. We look forward to many more years to come.

it's friday!

Oh my word, I almost forgot. I don't have much this week except a few things I've read along the way and sites I thought were great.

*I love Rocks in my Dryer. I was privileged enough to post about home birth on her site. I regularly keep up with her and love that she is one stage ahead of me in parenting. It helps keep perspective. This post was very encouraging and humorous.

*The organization in this art studio makes my heart skip a beat. Please let me one day have something that organized and cute.

*I actually thought this week about if I could make homemade gummies. Look what we have here - You can!

That's it! Enjoy the weekend!

Big girl!

My super big girl Eloise decided it was time to cut her hair. After all, she is turning 4 next week!

She took forever to actually grow hair so her mama was a little reluctant. But after watching Sam get drenched in her long locks and pulling it a few times, I decided we were going to head on down to the salon.

Our trip to the salon was a family affair. Dave wanted to go b/c he always takes the girls with him on his cuts and Eloise wanted her sister there to watch. Sam, of course, just hung out. I'm sure he'll be sitting through a few more of these in his lifetime.

Here's before, cheesy grin

waiting like big girls (good thing she can't read Teen Vogue yet)
Cloudy, the cat next to Eloise, came along for a hair cut too

waiting for the gum treat at the end

almost finished

done! She loves it!

Small Edition of Favorite Link Friday

So I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. I really want to post about an exciting event we had today in the family but I need to get a final picture before the reveal. Until then, here's a few posts I've enjoyed.

*Love this 7 quick takes and her comments about Bare minimum mode in their family. That's where we are at and I appreciate that someone else is there too.

*Looking for a nursing cover - here's a great deal for a gift or for yourself.

*Great site for parties - particularly this lemon party

Have a great weekend!