Back to work...

Yesterday was my first day back at work after 13 weeks off with my babies. I always have a pit in my stomach the morning of the first day back. It's just so hard to walk out the door and leave the sweet faces you have spent every hour of the day with for weeks on end. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the occasional break from the chaos, just like every other mom in the world, but the initial heartache kind of stinks. It will get easier though...I can say that with confidence...been there, done that. I'm only working 24 hours a week now, so I really don't have it too bad (and I love my co-workers)!! I'm just very relieved that Andy took his bottle (and didn't starve!), Nattie took her nap, and Ben got to and from pre-K without a hitch! I came home to three happy kids and lots of hugs. :)

I am so deeply grateful to the great-grandmas (Granny and Mamaw) who, for five and half years now, have driven down to my house (40 minute drive!), sometimes in treacherous conditions, to love on my babies, so I could go to work. I also really appreciate Papa, who watches my kids every Friday. There are not a lot of grandpas who are willing to manage three little kids at once...and we aren't just talking play time here. He has mastered the art of changing diapers, cleaning up blowouts (you know what I'm talking about!), feeding little ones, and the list goes on! These grandparents are such a blessing to me and my family and make it much easier for me to go to work. The biggest blessing in my whole childcare situation is the fact that my kids are truly LOVED by the people who are caring for them each week...that makes me feel so good.

This weekend we made one of our first attempts at going out to dinner with all three kids in tow. We've taken one or two at a time over the last several weeks, but never all three. It actually went pretty well. Mike and I didn't really talk because he was busy playing tic-tac-toe with Ben and I was trying to keep Nattie from dumping her water all over the table and herself. Luckily, Andy slept the whole time!

I tried to get Ben to take a nap one day this last week and he just wasn't in the mood. I heard some thumping going on up in his room, so I went up to investigate. Upon entering, I was told that I was not allowed to come inside the "secret clubhouse fort" he'd built on the floor next to his bed (he's really into secret clubs lately??). Buzz, Woody, his puppy, a monster truck, and his Pillow Pet were all club members, but apparently Mom wasn't cool enough. :)

Nattie's hair has really been growing lately (finally!) and it's really cute and curly when she's just out of the tub. However, when she wakes up from her nap each day it has transformed into a rat's nest and requires a little fixing. I usually just splash some water in it and she's good to go. The other day I gave her a mini-mohawk and she thought she was so cool. :) She is Ms. Independent these days...doesn't want our help with anything. I really wish it would rub off on her much older brother! Oh and as we were walking through the mall on Saturday evening, she kept randomly shouting from the stroller "awesome" and "cool!" I love my funny, little munchkin.

Here's Andy sporting Ben's old winter coat and hat. It's a little big on him, but will work for this winter. He is getting some cute chipmunk cheeks.

I love the moments when these two are being nice to each other (kind of rare these days). :) Here they are watching some cartoon together. Last night I was reading both of them books in Nattie's bed and Ben asked if he could sleep with her. I asked her if she wanted Benny to sleep in her bed with her and she said "uh huh" and nodded her head (she never says "yes"..it's always "uh huh"). So, I decided I would let them try and see how it went (fully expecting them to bug each other and/or talk and not fall asleep). I was wrong. I went to check on them about 20 minutes after I had turned out the lights and Nattie was sound asleep hugging her blankie and doll and Ben was humming some song that was, apparently, stuck in his head. :) I took him to his bed, so he wouldn't wake her, but I was impressed that Nattie fell asleep so quickly!

Here's Nattie's latest antic. I think she's a budding artist...don't you? :) Anyone know how to get crayon off a painted wall without actually repainting?

Finally, if you're my friend on Facebook, you've likely already heard this story, but I have to share it here for my family. As I was grabbing my pizza from the pizza man at our front door the other night, he said "good luck" with a strange look on his face. Maybe it was the fact that Nattie was completely naked and yelling "peetsee, peetsee" (that's pizza in Nattie speak), Andy was screaming bloody murder because I had to take him out of the tub to answer the door, and Ben was doing wind sprints around the kitchen table?? Life is never dull around here. :)

A thankful heart...

I know there are likely people who read this blog and think that I'm all ooey gooey and lovey dovey about my life. If I'm being honest, there are times in the past when I've worried that people might think I'm being fake or trying to make my life appear to be all sunshine and lollipops. I actually found myself, at times, trying to think of things that happened during the day that were "bad" or "unhappy"...just so people wouldn't think I was fake. After thinking about it for awhile, I decided that I really shouldn't care what people think (at least I should try not to!). I decided that I would just be who I was and I would post what I really, truly felt and thought about my life and my family. If people thought I was too ooey gooey and lovey dovey, well then, so be it!

The truth is, I am blessed and most of the time I do feel like life is sunshine and lollipops...I can't help it...I'm an optimist. :) Don't get me wrong, I have my share of bad days, but I thank God for giving me all that is good in my life... a cute, loving and funny husband, three unique and adorable babies, friends who share my ups and downs, and family (on both sides) who we could not love more and who love us in return. God is good and I have a thankful heart.

We spent the day with the Moser clan at Papa and Nana's house...

Everybody loves a baby...

Benny LOVES his cousin Ellie. They have so much fun together. They took all of the toys in Nana and Papa's basement into their "secret clubhouse" in the bathroom. Sorry to anyone who had to pee. :)

My kiddos love Granny and Angy too...and I'm pretty sure Granny and Angy love my kiddos.

Finally, some random shots from turkey day. I especially like the awesome tattoos Christina and Michelle are sporting...very classy. By they way, anyone looking for a fun and funny game to play with family...try this one. It's great for a crowd (even the kids can join in...if you keep it G rated) and doesn't require too much brain power...my kind of game!

Happy Thanksgiving from sunshine and lollipop land! :)

It's not even Thanksgiving yet...

and we've already celebrated Christmas with my family, but it sure was fun! With Mike being a high school basketball coach, it's always been challenging for us to get home to Missouri in December (because of his practice and game schedule). Since we have three kiddos now, it was virtually impossible for me to find a way to make it work this year without his help. I couldn't picture myself flying (do they let you fly with two lap children...ha?!) or driving (10-12 hrs) with three kids by myself...especially considering the ages they are right now (maybe I'll be brave enough in a year or two). Anyway, it was so nice to have my whole fam make the trek here to Ohio to celebrate...even if it was a little early! There were eight extra bodies in our house, but the chaos was fun.

Last week, in preparation for their arrival, we put up our Christmas tree. Ben LOVES helping with the tree, so I let him stay up extra late with me to help put on all of the ornaments. Nattie is not quite as helpful as her big brother, even though she thinks she is! My mom and dad shipped all their presents to me in advance, so it was fun to immediately have lots of pretty packages to put beneath the tree (especially since I didn't have to do the wrapping!).

I asked my mom if she would make us some new stockings this year, since I didn't have any that matched for Nat or Andy. I sent her some links to different ones I liked online and she made me the ones below. She is amazingly talented and I LOVE them. She even kept extra material in case we decide to have more babies someday (always thinking!).

Present time! Natalie got a kitchen from my parents and some play food and Ben got a cash register, so now they can play store together. Emma got a medical kit and my mom made her a pair of scrubs to go along with it (her mom, Jenny, is a nurse). Audrey and Andy were little enough to not really give a hoot about presents, which was a good thing (you can only deal with so many kids opening gifts at once!).

Mom also made aprons and chef hats for Nattie and Emma to wear while they "cook" in their kitchens (Emma has her own kitchen at home). I thought they were so cute...even Ben liked the hat.

I love my family...

An attempt at getting a picture of all the kids in their Christmas jammies...I took about 50 other pictures that were hilariously awful just to get this "not even that good" shot...oh well! Grammy had to make her way into the picture to try to control things a bit. After this, I'm pretty sure Ben, Nattie and Emma got naked and chased each other around the house (don't ask?!). :)

Just hanging out...

The big kids. We got out of the house on Sunday evening and went to Winking Lizard. What's a trip to Ohio without going there, right?

Ben got a box full of old costumes that my brothers wore for Halloween over the years. He tried them on one time while we were visiting my parents and has talked about them ever since. Grammy cleaned them up and VOILA...they made a fun and special Christmas present. The glasses and "stache" below came in the box. Looking good, Benny!

This just makes me smile...

Finally, here are a few pictures of my boys from yesterday afternoon. Andy is 12 weeks old already...crazy! Ben got some MagnaTiles as one of his gifts and loves them already (so do Nattie and Mike...cool toy!). He asked me to come check out his church and all of its "steebles." Hey, at least he knows what a steeple is, right? :) I was kind of impressed.

Mom, Dad, Adam, Jenny, Emma, Audrey, Eric and Erin...thanks for coming! We loved celebrating with you! Love you and miss you already! (Surprisingly, my house actually seems quiet now (kind of)). :)

What I am...

Lately, Nattie, Ben and I have been addicted to watching Sesame Street songs/episodes/clips on YouTube. I ran across this song that will.i.am recorded with all of the characters and I can't stop listening to it. I've even been listening to it when the kids are asleep. It's just happy and catchy and the message is awesome. Those people over at Sesame Street are geniuses.

Impromptu family photo with my camera timer...not too terrible for the end of the day...at least we're all looking!

Ben has been watching all of our Christmas movies lately. The other afternoon he watched Elf and afterwards, he turned a big cardboard box into his sleigh. He piled some toys and books on the back and "flew" around the kitchen shouting "Merry Christmas!"

I really like the fact that our middle baby is also our only girl. I just think she'll always be something special. This age is so fun and she has the funniest little personality.

Look at my big boy! He does a great job of holding his head up and he has rolled from tummy to back three times now. I keep thinking it's a fluke, but then he does it again.

Nattie and Ben glued to Sesame Street on YouTube. A couple of times I've heard a foreign language coming from the computer, only to find that they are watching SS clips made for other countries. Apparently, they are just as entertaining when you don't understand a word Big Bird is saying. :)

Finally, a little story time with Dad (I like how Nattie has her arm around Andy)...

I'm putting up the tree this week...crazy, I know...but my WHOLE family is coming to visit this weekend and we are celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas...so, the holidays have officially arrived at our house. Woohoo!

Our Hoosier friends...

Our very good friends (from our college days at Taylor) came to visit this weekend. It went too fast, but it was fun just to hang out, talk, and eat (a lot).

Ben and Will...great buddies! They had so much fun together...watching Scooby Doo, having a sleepover in their Lightning McQueen sleeping bags, making a disaster of the basement and going on imaginary adventures together. It is neat to watch the start of what, I hope, will be a lifelong friendship for the two of them.

Mike and Josh went to watch a Malone football game yesterday afternoon and to visit with their old TU coach...Coach Wilt...who is now one of the assistant coaches for MU. Last night, the guys grilled out in the dark...I'm sure the headlamp was super helpful?! :)

Me and Karrie after an entire day of lounging on the couch...

We love you guys! Thanks so much for coming to visit.

Same faces....

and more of the same stuff from our days at home. This week has been a super lazy one...but that's ok with me, becuase the next three are going to fly by.

Me and my girl this morning...

I know these pictures of Benny aren't really anything to write home about, but I just love his face. I love his droopy eyelids, long eyelashes, pouty lips, turned up nose and sticky-outie ears. I can hardly believe he is five and half years old. He is still a big ol' baby in a lot of ways, but amazes me everyday with the grown-up words and thoughts that come out of his mouth. We've had many discussions lately about why God does what he does. It seems like he is constantly asking us questions like...Why does God make bad people? Why did God make mosquitos? Why do I sin?...etc. On the way to pre-K last week we somehow got on the topic of Heaven and having a new body/new life. I looked in the rearview mirror and he had big tears rolling down his face. I asked him what was wrong and he said "Mom, I don't want a new life. I like my old life. What is wrong with this life?" It's so hard to explain this stuff to him, when I barely get it myself. Oh...it makes my brain hurt just thinking about it.

My daily outdoor photoshoot with Nat...

When I went into her bedroom this morning to get her, she had her boots on. I've always liked the boots with pj's look. :)

A close up of A-Dub...I've never called him that until now, but I think I kinda like it (you know, for Andrew Walter).

I just had to post this picture. I love when I walk into the bathroom to find the toliet paper roll looking like this. I'm pretty sure Nattie unrolled the whole thing while Ben was going to the bathroom (she likes to hang out with us while we "go") and he tried to fix it. Lovely.

Finally, here is little man's video debut. This is as much action as I could get out of my 2 month old (I love the smiles!). Oh and please try to ignore my really annoying baby talk. I can't help it. :)

Hourglass...

I'm in love with a song I recently heard by Mindy Gledhill called "Hourglass" (love her song "Whole Wide World" too!). It's kind of sad, but so sweet. It's a reminder of how life is like an hourglass and how we should cherish the moments we are experiencing right now. I feel that way about my kids and wish I could just stop the sand some days....makes me so thankful to have had these weeks at home with my babies.

On that note, my maternity leave and time as a full-time stay-at-home mom is flying by at record speed. I technically only have two weeks until I'm supposed to be back at work. I decided to take some vacation hours and head back the week after Thanksgiving instead...giving me one extra week at home. I'm only going to be working 24 hours a week (reduced from 30) when I return, with a half day from home each Friday, so I am still looking forward to spending lots of time each week with my kiddos. The part-time schedule really makes it easier for me to go back, so I'm thankful for that!

Last week, Papa and Nana took the week off from work and asked if they could take Ben and Nattie to Great Wolf Lodge (a really cool indoor waterpark) for a little getaway. They were only gone for a little over 24 hours, but I think they had a blast. It was SO quiet in my house without them here, but Andy and I lived it up by spending many hours at the mall shopping in peace. :)

A few pictures from their camera...

I was watching Nattie play one morning last week and was pretty amused. She was treating Buzz and Woody like she would her baby dolls. I guess she thought they'd like a little ride in the bouncy seat.

I can't believe this little guy is 10 weeks old already. He is an angel (except in his carseat...hates the darn thing). He sleeps a ton...feels like way more than my other kids, or maybe I've finally figured out how to do a sleep routine right?? He is just precious and we could not love our littlest buddy more.

"Um, hello!? Mom, can you not see that I am slowly sliding off this chair?"

Snuggle time with Daddy on Sunday afternoon...

Ben has a wide variety of interests...one minute he is playing with Duplo blocks and the next he's watching a little Dukes of Hazzard. I know my parenting skills are being questioned right now. What can I say? He likes whatever Daddy likes! He even went and found his car that looks like "The General Lee". :)

Little sunshine girl...

I've titled this one..."Glowing Ears"

Just had to showcase her cute leggings and boots...

Some random snuggle shots. We love pajamas at our house and would stay in them 24/7 if we could.

A Benny prayer... "Dear Jesus, I pray for the little girl with the hurt brain. Please heal her and help her to be healthy. (Kate McRae for those of you who follow her) Thank you for Mommy and Daddy and Natalie and Andy and everyone in the world. (So nice of you to be thankful for everyone in the world...wish I could say the same!) Thank you for all the wonderful food we have to eat. (Interesting, considering you LOATHE and DESPISE meal time.) Please help me to not have anymore nightmares and to only think good thoughts. In Jesus name we pray. Amen."

On the nightmare note, if anyone has any advice on helping to eliminate nightmares, I'd appreciate it. He has all of a sudden become very afraid at night and I'm at a loss. We are praying about it together, but he has such an imagination and it results in some pretty elaborate dreams. He was sobbing the other evening when I put him to bed because he knew he was going to have a nightmare and kept saying "Mom, why am I such a scaredy cat? I don't want to be a scaredy cat." It made me so sad. I told him that we all have bad dreams sometimes, but that they are not real and just in our heads. Poor buddy...I'm hoping they end soon!

Blue sky...

Yesterday was one of the lazy days at home where I only left the house to take Benny to pre-K. I looked outside at about 2:30 pm and the tree in our backyard looked so pretty against the bright blue fall sky. Since Natalie and Andy were both sleeping soundly, Benny and I went out in the yard to play in the yellow leaves for a little while...and who am I kidding...I thought it was a good photo opportunity too!

It was a little chilly, so I told him he had to wear a coat. He wanted to wear his new OshKosh coat that we bought this past weekend (at Sam's Club, of all places) because Daddy told him it looked like something an Ice Road Trucker would wear. He thinks he's pretty cool now.

I never get tired of leaf throwing pictures. :)

When Nattie woke up from her nap, Ben and I showed her the pictures from the backyard and she kept saying "tree, side, shoes, tree, side, shoes." Meaning, "Mom, I want to play by the the tree outside. Go get my shoes." I have mastered the art of understanding baby speak. :) Well, she didn't really need shoes because she still had on her jammies (remember, it was a lazy day!). So, I let her go outside in her pj's. :)

Apparently it's supposed to snow this weekend, so we will enjoy playing in the leaves, in our pajamas, while we still can. :)

On another note, Mike ran in the "Run with Scissors" trail marathon with his buddy, Brandon, on Sunday and did a great job. Due to his recent surgery, he hadn't been as dedicated to keeping up with his running the last few weeks, but he ended up finishing only three minutes slower than his time last year (and he didn't get sick this time!). Way to go, Mick! (Oh..and he normally doesn't wear two hats at once. He's wearing the one he ran in, and the one he got for running the race. I'm not sure why...guess he needed a place to put it!?)