Thankful for...

Well, it's that time of year again....the Holidays. My favorite time of the year. 

I have been super busy and haven't had the time to update every other day like I have wanted to. Just because I am a Stay at Home Mom does not mean I have all these extra hours that I can just sit down. Actually, as I type this, I am sitting at home with all 3 of my kids here in front of me asking me 50 million questions so, instead of it taking me 20 minutes to do this one post, it will take me an hour. I'm not a "working" mom who can sit in their office or sit over lunch break (where they have peace and quiet) and update my sites, nor do I want to be.

Anyway, just a little rambling before I get to the point. 

This day is just like any other day. I am saying that because this is the one (and only) day that everyone says what they are thankful for....that should not be the case. We should consider what we are thankful for each and every day, not just a day that is set aside for family and friends to get together and chat about thankfulness. Just like Mother's Day, it's the only day that mothers are observed. There shouldn't be a specific day to tell your mother that you love her. You should let her know somehow every single day. 

Okay, I think I'm done with the rambling... I think. 

Here it goes... What I think about every day. I am thankful today as well as each and every day for...

You guessed it! My kids! As most of you know, I am a stay at home mom. It is a very stressful and rewarding job. I sometimes get jealous of my husband because he has sick time, vacation time, Holiday time, and personal days off of WORK. I consider what I do a job or work (what SAHM doesn't?). Where are is my sick time, vacation time, Holiday time or personal days off of my job? 

Yes, I said stressful. Sometimes the kids don't listen, in fact, the cats listen better than they do sometimes ;) but I still wouldn't trade being a stay at home mom for anything. No, my kids aren't perfect like I would like them to be and try to raise them to be, but they are kids and there is plenty of time for them to be perfect later in life ;)

The kids are getting older and more independent. The girls are playing with each other more and more and Aden is starting to do more boy stuff ;) 

Keira- Keira has grown up to be such a talented, smart young lady. She teaches me new stuff every day. She is a great influence on her brother and sister and keeps them in line most of the time ;)

Aden- Aden is such a handsome little man. He is so sweet and innocent. One time he burped. I said, "Did you burp, Aden?" He said, "I don't know, it came out of my mouth." Then he said, "what is it called when it comes out of my bottom." I said, "that is a toot." He loves to help his sisters when ever they need him. 

Taygen- Taygen is a whole other story. She is only 2 1/2 (will be 3 in March), but has the mind of a 5 year old! She is too smart for her age. Some of the things she says, just makes me laugh. She's getting into playing by herself. She will go into Keira's room, shut the door and start playing pretend with her strawberry short cake and ponies (gotta get her some of that stuff for Christmas.) 

They all have their good and bad moments, but I want to be the one that sees all those moments and for that I am also very thankful that I am able to be a SAHM. 

I am also thankful for the hubby. He gives me the time that I need when I am having a bad day or just need to get away for a couple of hours. He is the one person that is there for me when my friends shit on me! He always know when I need my bubble baths ;)

All for now...gotta run.

Hair Style on the go

If you are like me, you have to get 3 kids and yourself ready for school in the mornings then you appreciate all the help you can get. So, I will share a hair tip that I learned and I have to say I am pretty surprised.

I have to have my hair done before I leave the house, if this means combing out my hair and putting a barrette in to make it look cute. I cannot just put it in a pony tail and leave the house (that is just not me). I have long (just got 2 inches cut off Tuesday), straight, fine, stringy hair that goes flat no matter what I do.

I came across this quick hair style in a magazine while watching my son at swimming lessons. I thought I would give it a try.

Right before bed, wash your hair (or just wet it really good), put it up in a bun and sleep on it. In the morning take out the bun, put mouse or whatever hair product you use in you hair and you will have curly hair all day.

If you need to refresh your hair, just wet your hands and scrunch your hair.

After. Makes it look more full 

Before: My hair is stringy and straight

Aden's 4 year well child check

Well, Aden had his 4th birthday on September 9th. He's such a big boy and has really matured into a fine young man in the last 6 months.

His height is 38 1/8 inches tall and in the 11th percentile. His weight is 32.4 and in the 19th percentile. His blood pressure was good.

He had to have four shots today. He is actually in a controlled research group for his shots. I could have chosen to give him all 4 shots separately or 3 shots with 2 of the shots in a single syringe (so he had to have 3 shots instead of 4.) I decided to do the 3 shots and put him into the research group. The problem is I have to keep a diary of his activities, any reactions, his temp. every day, if his arm swells or if there is any red marks or welts by the shot area. Even if he has no reactions to these meds, I still have to keep this diary. They will call me 8 days from the shots and see how he is doing. He has to go back in 4 weeks and they will check his diary and do another check of his body. They will keep this going for 6 months to see how the shots are reacting together in his body. He seems to be doing pretty good. He hasn't had any fevers or swelling. I was a little hesitant at first, like I'm going to just put my son in a research group that I have never heard of. His doctor, who I really trust, if I didn't trust her, my kids wouldn't have been going there for 5 years (since Keira was born.) said I would recommend it.  I asked the nurse if there had any bad reactions to the drugs, she said no. I asked for the other diaries, unfortunately, those are private and not just anyone can see them. I then asked Aden's pedi to come back into the room and told her to give me all the facts and side affects again and she gave me some of the statistics. I felt pretty good about it. She knows how I feel about flu shots and she said this procedure was safer than the flu shots were!!!

I talked to the doc about Aden's stuttering and she said that is pretty common in children between the ages of 2-5. Which, I agree with because Keira had a stutter just like Aden and she out grew hers. I am not too worried about his little stutter. On the other hand, he does have to see a speech therapist. He talks great, he has good vocabulary, he just can't articulate the words correctly. His socks are cocks, not funny, he's just a boy and doesn't even know what that means. When he says talk or talking it's cocking. His L's sound like Y's. When he says alligator it sounds like ayyagator. When he says mask it sounds like macks. When he says I am, it's Im am. He doesn't separate the I and am part. That I am trying to work on him with. If we stop him and tell him s...o...ck...s then he can say it, but if he says it fast then he can't do it right.

He is doing great in school. We haven't had his parent/teacher conferences yet, but I will definitely do a post about that.

Morning Face!

I have been hearing and seeing a lot of celebrities and just "normal" people taking pictures of themselves in the morning as they wake up so everyone can see their natural side.

I love seeing women with hardly any make up on or none at all. If they can do it, good for them.  I like the confidence that they have and at the same time I am jealous. I cannot go out of the house with out make up on. I don't know why, it's just the way I have always been. Even when I am working out, I will put mascara on.

So, hearing and seeing all these people taking pictures of themselves in the morning while they are still laying in bed gave me an idea to take a picture of myself so I can see what I look like as a morning person. I think I can get used to this look. If I am going to go out of the house without any make up on (foundation, eyeshadow, etc.) I have to at least put on mascara. My eye lashes are so blonde that it looks funny if I don't have any mascara on.

A letter to Keira on her first day of Kindergarten

A Letter to Keira on her first day of kindergarten-

Hi Keira,

Today is the first day of kindergarten for you! I am so proud of you! You are my big girl and have made me very proud. I'm tearing up as I'm writing this for you. I am hoping that on your first day of college, we will look back at this and read this together. 

You have turned out to be such a bright, beautiful big girl! It's going to be hard letting you go to school everyday. You have been in my life for 5/6 years now, so it's going to be hard for me to let someone else take care of  you for 7/8 hours of the day. This will just make us stronger and make us cherish the family time that we have from 4 p.m- 8p.m. 

You will not have to worry though, you will make lots of friends. You have a big, beautiful, funny, caring personality, so everyone will like you! I won't be worried about you because I know you can take care of yourself. Just remember the book that aunt Jackie gave you...The Kissing Hand. Remember that mommy will kiss your hand every day and when you get sad or scared you can press your hand up to your cheek or your heart and remember that mommy, daddy and God (because God knows everything that happens and He can guide you through your tough times) will be right there beside you. 

There are a lot of things I will worry about today as I leave you for 7 hours. I wonder if the kids are being nice to you. I hope you are not scared. I wonder how you are doing today by yourself. I hope the teacher is being good to you. I wonder if you are having fun. I hope your day is going fast. I will not be able to watch over you all day anymore, but I know God is watching you for me and he will keep you safe!

I love you baby girl...I guess I can't call you baby girl anymore, huh? So, I will say, I love you big girl! I hope you have a good day at your first day of kindergarten.

Remember to use kind words and use your manners (Keira wouldn't want me to leave that out ;) ) I love you, big girl! Have a good day at school!