so thankful for...

matt & his humor, his good looks, his patience, his hard work, his love & the way he loves our children.

quincy & her wittiness, her love for her siblings, her help, her love for animals, her soft heart & her love for her mom.

beckam & his sound affects, his playful attitude, his facial expressions, his hugs & kisses & his love for all things buzz lightyear.

piper & her arrival, her silly smiles, her "frasier" perma-hair do, her warm snugglie body at night.

my mom & her support, her love for my kids, her willingness to do anything for us, her company & her friendship.

my dad & his personality, his love for his wife and daughters, his new "adventurous" side & his love he shares with me of fountain drinks.

my sisters & their friendship, their support, their personalities, their strengths & their talents.

i'm a happy, lucky, blessed girl. i know this. really, how much better can this life get?

crazy crafting...all for this...

for some instant giggles...

got a forward from brooke today. usually don't love mass emails but i can always count on her to send on the good ones. today was no different. so if your having a day or 3 weeks like me (of fussy babyness) watch on.

before i forget...

i know, i know. 2 posts in 24 hours. don't pass out. i just wanted to document this little piece of information quincy, the big sister of 2 now, just told me.

for the past couple of days she has been asking me when we are going to have a boy one (baby). i told her the other day that we are probably going to have to wait till they are all three in school. she laughed, cause the thought of piper trying to go to school (thinking i meant as she is now) was pretty silly to her.

well, today. this is what she said,

q: mom, when are we going to have a boy one?

me: honey, it's going to be a while.

q: well, what are we going to name him?

(i told her our choice for a boy name to which she shot back a couple of her suggestions)

me: how do you know we are going to have a boy baby, what if it's another girl?

q: cause last night, when i got in my bed, i had a dream. and next year (she's crazy) when we have him, he's going to be a part of our family. then, it will be all of us. this was my wish.

(at this point, chills shoot down my back and arms...and i get a little sick to my stomach....ha!)

me: well, honey, i don't think it will be next year. remember what we talked about the other day?

holy moly...i hope this was only a wish...and not the VERY (too soon, would have to be a totally too soon accident)too near future for our rapidly growing family.

introducing...

piper jane


born: october 3rd

3:44pm

6lbs 3oz 18in

eliminating distorted images

i'm seriously laughing as i write this post. i think it's funny how we (bloggers) somewhat edit our lives for our blog. leaving out the spankings, arguments, messy houses, loss of jobs, weight gain, we know the list goes on and on. why do we do this? i know some is because we don't want to remember/document the bad times, sound too depressing to others and our future generations. so instead we read others blogs and drool over how clean their kitchens are, their kids always look and do such cute things, and does she really cook like that every night? her husband must be perfect, how did i end up with so few talents and why can't i get it together and look great everyday, be super skinny, have a clean house, cute kids that i play with all day and enjoy and still have dinner on the table at 5:00 (and charm my husband shortly after)?

(i am exaggerating a little)

isn't it funny how we do this?

don't you think the "horrible" everyday moments, some even life changing can happen in such an instant but actually mold us and our families into the people we are and will become. (i'm sure that was a run-on, i was never good with those). so why do we tend to be embarrassed by these milestones and sweep them under the rug (with the cereal crumbs and backyard sand).

we shouldn't...

(come on....you didn't think i would blow these up?)

so today, i'm putting it all out there. messy kitchen, children with stained black feet and all. mainly because:

a) i want to make you feel better about your lives

b) i'm a super jealous person and want you all to stop making me feel like crap

c) my kids have been napping since 10:00am and i have nothing else to do

d) these moments i want to remember forever and learn and grow from them

and i'm thinking these things:

even though we are loosing my dream home and lost nice car we are still so blessed. i have healthy kids. dirty but healthy and they are able to run barefoot outside, make a mess of my house and leave chocolate (i hope that's chocolate) on my white stair rail and doors

we both have family that support us. i have a mom that my kids love more than me, he has a dad that is by his side daily and the rest of them do and do lots of dirty work for us without even being asked

our friends love us, not for what we have but who we are

i have a husband that loves me and our kids so much. he works his butt (and what a fine butt it is) off everyday. he deals with stress i couldn't handle but walks into our world every evening with a smile on his face and a happy attitude. he puts up with my faults and bad habits patiently (thanks babe). he is so smart and knows what is best for our family

i have a healthy baby growing inside of me. i am enjoying these last moments i have with her so physically attached. i love to feel her kick and punch my insides and i really think i will miss this part when she is out in the world. i am not ready for her to come just yet, this one i think i will let occupy my belly for as long as she wants (or until we are moved and situated and her bedding is finished).

what a lucky girl i am! i have so much to be thankful for and i'm pretty dang happy. not all the time, but most of the time.

p.s. i'm a crappy blogger. i know this, it has been two months since my last post. i hope my kids will forgive me for the past events that have not been documented. but on a more positive note...there are some super excited things coming up that will be posted about: a dance class, a new baby, new house (to my kids). so much fun!

the greatest show on earth...

every year for father's day, matt's mom takes us to the circus. it's always a nice time but as my kids are getting older (we started going when quincy was a newbie, scratch that, we didn't even have kids yet) it's more and more fun!

as we were walking with the kids into the orleans (for a little pre-dinner at the buffet) i was noticing people looking at these two and smiling. it happened at least ten times. i know why, they are very easy to smile about. don't you think:

(some pre-show photos)

my favorite part of the circus is always the elephants. if they weren't so big, i would head right to the pet store and get us one for our own backyard. this year, the stinking dogs (not a fan of them usually) won over my heart. they were so funny! not going to be getting one, in the near future, or ever.

some pictures from the night.