Category: Living the Life

Just Good

Published by dee on September 29, 2011

I have so very little to say here these days. I think it is a mix of being completely busy, but also? Completely content. I am just so happy in this little life I have built for myself right now. That’s not to say that there isn’t room for improvement. There are plenty of things that could be better, but I think I’ve just come to accept those things for what they are. You know, if a million dollars suddenly fell into my lap I’d be thrilled, but I’m not going to sit around and be mad because there isn’t a money tree growing in my back yard. In the grand scheme of things, this life I’ve got is just pretty darn good.

Speaking of good, my newest little nephew, Carter, made his way into the world on September 13th. He’s such a sweet little guy and if I had it my way, I’d sit around snuggling on him every day. Evie would be happy to do the same. She absolutely loves her new little cousin!

My oldest nephew, Dylan, has been kicking some butt out on the football field with his 5th-6th grade team. I’ve managed to make it out to three of his games so far and they are so fun to watch. It throws me back to my jr. high and high school days when I really loved watching football. Of course, back then it might have been a little more about watching the hot boys in tight pants run around the field. It’s a little different now. Still, I’m so proud of him.

Everything else is just good right now. My belly is growing and I’m anxiously awaiting my gender ultrasound next month. I’m ready to start digging out either the girl stuff or the boy stuff. I’m only 18 weeks along, but I’m already starting to have the urge to get things ready. If it weren’t ridiculously early for it, I’d have the crib set up already. Unfortunately, I have a lot of re-organizing to do before I can get to that point.

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Scattered

Published by dee on June 30, 2011

I’m finally getting used to the idea that there is actually a teeny tiny baby forming in my belly. Even though I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and spilled the news to everyone already, the whole thing still feels a bit surreal. I keep trying to explain away the signs, but it is hard to explain away the big plus sign on the pee stick. I’d really like to know the odds of getting pregnant with only one ovary while on birth control pills. Whatever they are, we apparently beat them. Perhaps I should go buy a lottery ticket?

I haven’t been to the doctor yet, but there’s no denying the positive test and the nausea. I go in for the official test and due date calculation next Friday, just before we leave for vacation. I am already extremely anxious to find out if we’re having a boy or girl. Zach wants it to be a boy and Evie would very much like for it to be a girl. I’m happy either way, although I do lean a little toward wanting it to be a girl. Plus, as ridiculous as it may be, I’m already stressing about names. I have always had baby names in the back of my mind for future use, but this time, I’ve got nothing. We do have a possible middle name if it ends up being a boy, but that’s it. Why do I care about that so much this early in the pregnancy? I have no idea, but it is driving me nuts.

The fun part of this all, is that we’ll have another “pair” of babies in our family. My brother and his wife are expecting a little boy in September so the two will be about 5-6 months apart. That means each one of my kids will have a cousin within 6 months of their age that lives nearby. It has been really fun watching them all grow up together so far and I look forward to seeing two more added to the group.

My mind is just all over the place right now. So many things to do, to get ready, to prepare for. I know I have so much time, but everything suddenly seems very urgent to me for some reason. I didn’t feel this way with the other two, but maybe that is because I was mentally preparing for years before they were a reality. It’s crazy how different it feels this time.

Holy cow, you guys, we’re having a(nother) baby!

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Summertime

Published by dee on June 23, 2011

I haven’t had a lot to say lately, as you can see. This space has been very quiet. Summer has started and with that, a change in our schedule. It also seems to have changed my mindset a little. I’ve felt more relaxed than I have in some time. I’ve been taking more time to just sit, not forcing myself to do anything if I don’t feel like it (aside from an occasional load of laundry and bathing the children).

Zach is spending a couple days each week with my sister and her family, just as we did last summer. I gave up on the idea of a summer camp because it just didn’t feel like the right thing for him this year. He was thrilled with this decision because it means he gets to see his cousins more. Evie, however, is not so happy about it because she does not like her big brother being gone. The entire time he’s gone she asks about him and begs me to go get him.

One thing I really wanted to do this summer was to plan some fun family activities (away from the tv and video games). The kids are old enough now that we don’t have to tote a diaper bag and a million things with us, so I figured it would be little bit easier to get out and actually go do stuff. Thanks to a new car purchase (finally!) and summer day care costs, we have very limited funds to do this with. The biggest problem though, is that I want to do outside activities (because I’m stuck in an office all week) and Hubby wants to do inside activities (because he’s out in the heat all week). This makes it a bit difficult to agree on pretty much anything.

This past weekend, I convinced him to get out of the house and we decided that going fishing would be a fun (cheap) activity. After we renewed our fishing licenses, picked up a new Dora fishing pole for Evie, and grabbed some cold drinks to take along, we were in for $50. So much for cheap (but it will be next time). By the time we got to the lake, found a spot, and got all set up, the kids were hot and tired. Zach lasted about 15 minutes, and Evie about 30 minutes before they were ready to go. So much for the quality family time! Our next outing will most likely be to see Cars 2, and I have a feeling that will go a little smoother.

This weekend we’ll be celebrating Zach’s birthday. His party is Saturday, and his actual birthday is on Sunday. I still can’t believe he’s turning 6 already!

Summer seems like it is going by so fast and we’ve barely gotten to enjoy it. In a couple weeks we’ll be heading to Alabama for a much needed vacation and to spend some time with Hubby’s side of the family. The kids are so excited that we’re finally going to go to Granny and Papa’s house! They’ve been looking forward to it for months. They may change their minds when they realize just how long it takes to get there though!

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Obligatory After Christmas Post

Published by dee on December 30, 2010

I’ve been trying to write something, anything, for days. But the words just won’t come. I want to write about what a special, amazing, yet simple, Christmas we had, but I don’t think words can convey the feelings in my heart this time around. All I really can say is that it was filled with fun, good food, and people that I love dearly. I didn’t feel stressed, even though I rushed to get everything done. The kids were so excited and so much fun. We had Hubby’s parents here again this year, which makes it even more special. It was just a perfect day all around.

Zach was thrilled that Santa did indeed bring him a DSi. He was convinced he was getting it, so I’m glad it turned out that way or we would have had a very unhappy little boy.

Evie was pretty happy with everything she got, but she especially loves the little trampoline. She’d be much happier if she didn’t have to share it with her brother though. She really got into opening the gifts this year and it was so much fun to watch her.

After the gifts were all opened and the kids had some time to play, we headed over to Grandma’s house where Hubby was more than happy to try out his new turkey fryer. Zach had an extra surprise at Grandma’s when he bit into an olive and out came a tooth! It was his first one to lose and he was so excited!

(apologies for the bloody picture, but I haven’t managed to get a better one yet!)

We had a delicious dinner and opened gifts with the family, visited, played, and finally came back home when we were completely exhausted from the day.

Then we got up the next day, headed to my Dad’s house, and did it all over again! The kids enjoyed having another day of Christmas and it was nice to spend some time with my Dad and his wife since we don’t see them often anymore.

We even managed to get a picture of all six grandkids together again. They may not be smiling or looking in the same direction, but they are all in the picture.

And that was our Christmas. It may seem a bit hectic, but to be perfectly honest, it was one of the best (and most relaxed) Christmases I have had in a while.

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‘Tis The Season

Published by dee on December 2, 2010

In between photo shoots, editing photos, Christmas shopping, two Thanksgiving dinners, a birthday party, laundry, bill paying, and just generally putting out fires in every direction I turn, we somehow managed to get the Christmas Tree up and decorated. To be perfectly honest, I put the tree together, strung the lights and garland, and then pretty much let the kids go crazy with the ornaments. I put a few up toward the top where they couldn’t reach, but mostly just let them go with it. They were thrilled, and continue to re-arrange it on a daily basis. We have yet to find the time to hang the lights they begged for on the house, but we’ve still got a couple weeks for that.

Every year I swear I’m going to not let things get so hectic this time of year, and every year it does. As I scanned through the few snapshots I took of the kids while they were decorating the tree it struck me just how much they have grown over the last few months. They both required new shoes again last weekend as their feet just keep getting bigger and bigger. My babies are not babies anymore. Even Evie, who is still only two for a few more months, talks and acts well beyond her age at times. They just look so big sitting there next to the tree.

I also realized, as I was uploading photos to Flickr, that I took very few photos of my kids over the last month or so. Very few compared to what I normally take anyway, and it makes me a bit sad. I know I overdo it on the photos most of the time, but I absolutely love looking back at all those captured moments when – on days like today – I realize just how fast they are growing and changing.

December is certainly not slowing down. I have so many things I want to write and post here, but there is so very little time to accomplish that. This weekend I’m doing two photo shoots for friends/family, have a birthday party to attend, and then hopefully can squeeze in some time for my own family’s photos. Next week we have our first appointment to start evaluations on Zach for his sensory issues, then my cousin’s wedding that weekend where I am also helping take photographs. The next weekend is my nephew’s birthday, and then my in-laws are coming to town and suddenly we’re at Christmas.

Somewhere in there I need to finish buying /making Christmas gifts, edit all those photos I’m going to be taking, AND try to find time to hang out and have some fun with my own family. The kids are so excited about Christmas this year and I really want to enjoy that with them, including fun things like making cookies, watching Christmas movies, writing out their wish lists, as well as reading and talking about the story of Christmas and helping them to understand what it is really all about. I wish I had a giant Pause button so that I could get all of the things finished that I need to do, then catch back up with my family.

Whew! I’m not sure how that all reads, but I’m talking a mile a minute in my head as I’m writing. That is how rushed I am feeling with everything right now.

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Too Tired To Come Up With A Witty Title

Published by dee on November 16, 2010

Well, there’s nothing quite like launching a brand new site and then not adding any new content, eh? Blame it on the plague that has taken over my chest. The coughing and hacking is lots of fun, let me tell you. I have a whole new appreciation for just breathing.

In between all of that, I’ve been doping myself up to keep the fever down and working my butt off. Zach has been really needing to have his own space for a while now. He’s actually been sleeping in our office/guitar/guest/craft/shove everything room for several weeks now, so this weekend we started moving him into that room and moving my stuff out. I have a LOT of stuff. So much that I haven’t figured out where in the heck I’m going to put it all so there’s still an extra pile of junk in the middle of his room.

What was previously the playroom is now the office/guitar/craft room. I’m doing my best to keep it nice and clean looking and not junk it up, so the pile of junk has no where to go. Which means that I probably need to get rid of most of it, right? As soon as I can find the time to sort, most of it will probably be trashed but there are still some things that need to find a new home somewhere. Sadly, looking at that pile just makes me want to go crawl in my bed and sleep for a week.

In other news, I did my first family photo shoot that did not include anyone related to me this weekend. I had the chance to shoot a friend and her family and even though the location I had carefully chosen was closed when I got there, everything turned out just fine. I got some great photos of the family together, and all four boys individually so I’m putting it in the win column. I’m still sorting/editing but can’t wait to share them with the family.

I have a few more photography-related opportunities coming up in the next couple of months and I’m really excited about it. My family is getting a bit tired of me always having a camera lens in their faces, so it is really fun to have other people to shoot for a change!

I feel like I’ve been playing a huge game of catch-up lately in every aspect of my life. There are just so many things going on and I can barely keep up. What I would really like is for someone to come take over all of the un-fun stuff so I could just hang out with my hubby and kids, blog, and take pictures. Any takers?

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