Choices

Lately we have been talking to Zeke about making the right choice. Unfortunately he has been deciding to make the wrong choices lately.

Like when he decides to try on a whole package of Sofia's swim diapers and wear them around. I woke him up Monday and he was wearing a swim diaper again.

Like when he dumps out 6 tubs of toys in order to stack the tubs up and get stuff down from the top of the closet. He fell on his head.

Like when he decides to take a blue crayon and write all over the black couch and wood dresser.

Like when he cuts my shirt up to use the ribbon for one of his "projects"

Like when he gets the tamborine out and bangs on it while Sofia and Moses are napping.

Like when he somehow gets to the top of his closet and opens up presents that are not for him and plays with them during his rest time.

Like when he uses my razor to cut his hair

Like when he gets into Dan's drawer and comes out smelling like a whole bottle of after shave.

This has been in the last week or so that all of these things have happened!
It is just so weird, maybe it is his rebellion and his way of getting used to having a new baby, but it has been crazy, we never know what is going to happen next!

pictures

These are in no order!
Sofia and I before the baby, even she has changed in 6 weeks!
Zeke hanging out with Papa
Moses and I caught up in the Twilight saga! So addiciting!


My family, Grammy and Grampy with the grandkids



Today I downloaded all the pictures off of Dan's camera and I realized I had not even looked at the pictures from Moses' birth! It has been so crazy these last 6 weeks and life is finally starting to fall into a routine and it was so fun to see pictures I had never knew existed!
So i thought I would share a few with you from the last few weeks!

EZ-E, wouldn't it be cute if we called him that!

I just found this old pic of Zeke 2 years ago, so cute!!!

Just wanted to share some funny things that Zeke has done in the last couple of days.

First of all a couple of months back Zeke decided he was going to get into Dan's tools and take the training wheels off of his bike. But then he wouldn't let us help him learn to ride. So it has been months of not riding his bike. This past week he hops on Davey's bike and takes off! He is literally jumping his bike off the curb and off the speed bumps. Amazing

This week he goes into the trash can in our bathroom and digs out the blade off of my razor. He cuts his bangs and his forehead! We thought it was from a fall off his bike but then I discovered hair all over the bathroom floor and my razor sitting on the counter. He cut his bangs in the spring as well with his kid scissors.
Why he thinks he is qualified to cut his own hair every few months is beyond me!!!
I guess I need to keep up with haircuts or he is going to take things into his own hands!

Also this week he has been quoting America's Funniest Videos. We have one on tape courtesy of the Osbornes and he loves it, watching people crash into others and little boys hitting a ball at their dad's crotch is always good laughs! Anyway there is one where a hampster gets his behind caught in his spinning wheel.
Well as we are driving home from church on Sunday Zeke asks me in between giggles if I have junk in my trunk!
I start cracking up and then realize later it is from the video, I just hope he is not asking his teacher if she has junk in her trunk!
It seems like all of our kids are about keeping us on our toes lately, no sleeping on the job for us!
As soon as we relax one of them does something crazy!
I guess that is the joy of parenthood, and really it is pretty fun!

yippee for colder weather!

So I can't call it cold weather yet because I think next week it is supposed to get back into the 90's but for now I am loving this 70 and 80 degree weather! We have been opening our windows at night and then we come downstairs in the morning and it is sooo cold! I love it, today when I came down with the kids I had to go back up and get my sweats!!!
The thing I love the most is making a hot cup of tea or coffee! There is something about holding a hot cup of tea when it is cold outside, I love that!
I love fall weather, wearing a scarf, getting a pumpkin spice latte,wearing a comfy sweater!
I am so looking forward to when it is actually going to stay cold!
For now I am just enjoying my tea and snuggling up in a blanket with the kids on the couch!

The moby wrap

I have been wearing Moses in my Moby warp lately, it is so much better on my back than my sling. I find myself slouching and leaning forward when I have my sling on, and it kills my neck. The moby puts Moses right in front of me and this morning I was emptying the dishwasher, loading it up again, doing the laundry! It was amazing, and all the while he was snoozing away!
Now if only we could get him to snooze away the night!
Last night he just wanted to be awake! I watched some Jimmy Kimmel from midnight to 1am. Kobe Bryant was on, snooze...
He was up from 3am to 4am. Then Dan was up from 4am to 5am downstairs trying to get him to sleep. Thankfully my body is adjusting to having less sleep and I feel like I can at least function even if I have had little sleep the night before. My house is a constant wreck but I figure as long as the kids are getting fed and are surviving I am doing ok!
I really need to blog about something other than my lack of sleep.
I will work on that!

It's gonna be a long night!

So I am typing with one hand trying to keep Moses awake. He has been sleeping all day today which means he will be up all night! Every time I get him calmed down, he falls asleep then I have to wake him up again and the crying begins again. It is a vicious cycle!!!
I think i will try a bath to get him really happy with me!!
This is life right now, get the 2 older kids in bed and then the night begins! There is no more sitting on the couch with my husband talking!
Although I shouldn't complain we went on our first date alone in over 5 weeks!!!
Yay!!!
ok gotta go it is getting loud!!!

Master Zeke

If you don't know my son, (the older one) then you might not know how creative he is. He loves to take things apart and put them back together. Or take things apart and make new things out of the parts. We have gotten used to this and know that many things in our house are in pieces, but for the most part it is Zeke's toys and things that see the wrath of his imagination.
A couple of days ago he informs me that he made something and he wanted me to see it. I was nursing Moses so I said I would in a minute, I said but why don't you tell me about it until I can see it. So he explains that he found some ribbon, cut it up and taped it to his little table fan and when he turns it on the ribbons blow and it looks so cool!
So the day went on and we forgot to go check it out, until it was bed time.
I happen to see his cool invention and think to myself those ribbons look familiar what are they from?
It just so happens he cut up one of my shirts to use the ribbons! The ribbons were literally part of my shirt and tied in the back. He found scissors and just started cutting my shirt up for his creation!
I was so dumbfounded, thinking how could he have thought that it was ok to cut up an actual piece of clothing!!!! His response was oh sorry mama I didn't know!
Anyway I had to throw the shirt away since it was cut up!
I guess that is the price I pay for a little mind that wants to create!

I forgot!

It is funny the things you can forget.
I forgot how hard this baby stage is, it has been so long since we have gone through it. Zeke is almost 5 now and he was such a hard baby!
Moses is following in his footsteps! Here it is almost 4 weeks since his birth and he still has not mastered the day and night difference. It is 2 am and Moses is wide awake!
The evenings are so hard if he is not sleeping or eating he is crying. Zeke was the same way I literally sat in front of the TV watching Friends episodes because Zeke would only sleep if someone was holding him!!!
I never thought I would get so much use out of seasons of Friends again but here I am about to start season 3 at 2am!
I know I will miss this baby stage but right now I want to skip ahead to where I am feeling somewhat normal and healthy and can sleep for longer than a 2 hour stretch!
Nursing is such a huge task of giving up your self and time for your baby, I love that i get to do it and am grateful for it, I just never realized what a sacrifice it is!
Anyway keep praying for us, I am hopefully on my way to recovering from the mastitis. Wow did that hit me hard!!
Well off to watch the antics of those crazy Friends!
Sleep tight all you lucky people!

shout out

Just wanted to give a shout out to all the people who have been bringing us food.
Thank you so much it has been so amazing.
By the end of the day I am wiped out (let's get serious I start the day that way!)
anyway it has been so great not having to think about cooking a meal.
Thank you Stirring family for blessing us.
The food has been yummy!!

still alive

I am still alive, barely it feels like sometimes.
Things are so crazy at our house and with church. Dan and I are only getting a few hours of sleep at night, this has been 2 and a half weeks of lack of sleep. It starts to catch up with you. Dan said he fell asleep at the stop light tonight coming home. That's safe.
There are few moments of quiet in the house, even when Zeke and Sofia go to bed, that is when Moses is up and loud. It is hard not to feel stressed and exhausted.
I feel like all I do is feed the kids, and nurse moses.
I got a clogged milk duct and I hear it is from stress and lack of sleep. My lactation consultant said I need to sleep more. I told her I would love that but it is probably not gonna happen!
Today I feel better, and I am thankful for that. Although I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I think I look 5 years older all of the sudden. Bummer.
Anyway just wanted to let everyone know I am still alive and we are surviving.
It has to get easier, right!

My sweet Sofia

This last week and a half has been so many things. Wonderful, exciting, relief, exhausting, emotional, TIRING!!!
Our family adjusting to a baby has been anything but easy.
Moses does not sleep at night, and with 2 kids that means I don't sleep during the day either!
Zeke started school which was a really hard transition for him.
Sofia , my sweet easy girl has turned into the demolition queen! In this first week I will just highlight a few things Sofia has been up to, all usually while I am nursing and can't get to her in time!
Sofia has been playing in the toilet
eating dog food
emptying my entire recipe box
sitting in the pantry eating a bag of chips
pulling all of Zeke's books off the shelf
feeding the dog her entire p.b sandwich
pushing the buttons on the printer and jamming it.
Throwing multiple fits of rolling around on the ground and screaming
I am sure there is more but this is just a small list of what she likes to fill her time with.
So we are trying to give her love and attention as we teach her to obey. Not easy when you have a week old baby!
One day I will look back and tell her the stories of her with her new baby brother and we will laugh. I look forward to that day!!

Big Brother

I didn't have my camera handy but I couldn't pass up this photo opportunity! Thank goodness for the Mac and the photo booth! This is Zeke reading a story to Moses on the couch. So sweet.
Zeke informed me that Moses loved the book.
Sofia on the other hand is not making the transition of a baby brother as smoothly as Zeke.
I will save that for another post!

What I have been doing!

Before baby (thanks emily for the pics!!)

After. Moses coming home!
( I don't know how to flip the picture and I am too tired to figure it out!)

So as most of you know Moses came into this world one week ago today!
What an experience!!!
So so so thankful I got to experience giving birth, but as of now I do not want to do it again!
My water broke last Sunday afternoon, Dan raced home and we took off for the hospital.
It was a long 12 hours, which I hear is not too bad for a first birth.
Had pitocin to help push my labor along, which make the contractions really hard!
The pain was unreal, and just when we were ready to give in and get the epidural I was finally at 8 centimeters! I was really out of it because I got some Demoral which did nothing for the pain but put me into a state of deliriousness (is that a word?)
I would feel like I was in a drugged out dream state for the one minute in between contractions, then the pain would start again and I was completely aware of everything. It was the weirdest thing I have ever been through.
Finally After pushing for about 45 minutes or an hour Moses flew into this crazy world!
I am thankful I got to do a natural birth and everything went well since this will most likely be my one and only time giving birth!
So far we are surviving, on little to no sleep and the energy of the kids.
They are adjusting to having a baby, I would not call it a smooth transition but it will get there! My mom stayed for a week and a half and literally cleaned my house top to bottom and took care of the kids the whole time!
My dad, sister and nephews came up this weekend and helped us cope with a family of 3! Thanks for everything you guys, the house feels quiet (if that is possible) without you!
I remember feeling overwhelmed when Zeke came home from the hospital, and now I think oh how nice it would be to recover with just one! Just the exhaustion of giving birth and recovery is crazy, plus trying to nurse and sleep and take care of 2 kids, and bills and a house to clean. I applaud my friends with 3 or more kids!
So this has been my life for the last week, luckily Dan is good at keeping everyone up to date since I can barely stay awake to type this!
Thanks for all the love and support!

The waiting game

I always heard the end of the pregnancy is so hard, you get tired and uncomfortable and just want to be done. I feel those things but even more so I am just ready to meet my baby!!!
It has been about 2 days of contractions and they never progress into anything. It gets frustrating, but I know this is part of the process of having a baby!
Went to the Dr. today, she wanted me to have a non-stress test to check on the baby.
Everything was great, Moses is doing terrific, I am so thankful for this!!
Some of the circumstances made her want to possibly induce me today, but we decided against it. I really want to go into labor naturally if possible.
My contractions are 2 to 4 minutes apart but mild, so we are waiting it out and hoping that in the next day or two he will be ready to make his entrance!
So until then we wait...
My mom comes into town tonight, which I am so thankful for, I will feel so much better knowing she is here with the kids, the less trauma for them the better!
Anyway if you think of us pray for us! We will keep you posted!

Aren't my kids cute?

Dan already posted one of these, but I took some pictures of the kids a few days ago while we were playing at a ball field. It is really hard to capture anything from them, they are constantly on the move! Soon I will have to try to capture 3 kids in a picture!! At least Moses will stay in one place for a little while!
The count down is on, we want to get through Wednesday, then Moses can join us out here in this crazy world! But if he decides to come early I think we can make it work!

Is it nap time yet?????

So tired today.
We went to take the dog to the groomers and Target and I was dragging myself through Target, both kids crabby and crying. I kind of wanted to just find a chair and sit down for awhile, hoping when I returned the kids would be done whining and crying. Of course I did not do this but man my energy is low today.
We made it home and I am being #1 mom by putting on a little Einstein video so that I can sit on the couch for 20 minutes and not have to think for these few precious minutes! I really have felt so good through this whole pregnancy, which I am SO thankful for. But man if I am going to have 2 weeks of this my kids are going to be very unhappy! Zeke's like let's go to the park, let's go swimming, let's take a walk again, let's go to gymnastics! I 'm like let's take a family nap!!
He is used to getting out and doing something everyday!
That is all really, just tired today.

The picture is for all my Riverside friends who wanted to see how huge I am, there are very few clothes still fitting me, every once in awhile I sport the ghetto belly hanging out of the bottom of my shirts! Good times!

The moby Wrap

So as I await the arrival of Moses one of the things I am working on is making a Moby Wrap. I am a lover of slings for my babies. Each one I have tried a different sling and I absolutely love carrying my babies around close to me. With Zeke my dear friend Jess told me about over the shoulder baby holders, which at the time was one of the only slings out there. Funny what has changed in 5 years, now there are like 50 different types of slings, which is great! Anyway Zeke did SO well in a sling, he was a preemie so he needed extra time to adjust to this crazy world, and I think being bundled up tight and close to us was so good for him. He was a colicky, crying baby and when he was in the sling life was good!
Sofia got jipped out of time in the sling since we didn't get her until she was 6 months, but that didn't stop me from using the sling all the time as soon as we got her from the orphanage! My friends went in together and got me a sloomb, which is like the sling I had for Zeke but cuter fabric! It is an easy one to wear your kid on your hip too. Which if I was not pregnant I would still do, I did it until my belly got in the way.
So tonight I worked on my Moby wrap, which you can easily buy online, but I opted to buy fabric and cut the dimensions. Jess constantly wore her daughter in it, and when we moved up to Redding Leah Caldwell had made herself one and was loving it, so I thought sure I will do that too!
But let me just say it is annoying laying that much fabric out to cut the dimensions!!
But I finished it and it is cute, I tried it out and it was not looking quite like the picture online, then I realized oh yeah, I still have this huge belly, maybe it will fit better when the baby is here!!
Anyway it made me excited to finally have him here and hold him!!
Hopefully it is soon!!!

What a year

In the orphanage

At home this week


My friend Kara left me a message the other day saying can you believe it was a year ago that we got our daughters! Her and her husband Wei were in Kyrgyzstan the same time as we were adopting their little girl. They were not with our agency or anything we just saw them at the orphange and we connected, obviously, we were going through craziness together!
I was just thinking about the things Sofia has been through, seen and done in her little life already! She lived in an orphanage for the first 6 months of her life, traveled across the whole world to a new family, moved to a new home after 6 more months, and now she is getting a baby brother! So much in a year and she is so easy going and sweet!
When I think back to a year ago the stress and anxiety of bringing her home is hardly memorable. I remember thinking if we can just make it home I will be able to breathe again! Those 10 days trying to bring her home were absolutely the most stressful days of my life. It felt like everything that could go wrong did, and I was just so worried we would not make it out of there with our daughter! One of the days that papers were missing, out hotel reservation was lost and it was 2am and I was crying in this scary motel room with no a/c and it was 90 degrees outside, Dan said you know we didn't sign up for some easy trip to pick her up, we knew it would be hard. It was so true, I just needed to be reminded that adoption is not an easy road, but God was so faithful in providing everything we needed, often at the very last second!
I just love the way God has put our family together, none of it has been easy, but all of it has been so worth it and I am so grateful to have our little Sofia. To look at then and now and see how much she has changed and grown in amazing to me!

Backfire

I bribed Zeke today and it has majorly backfired on me.
His fingernails and toenails were ridiculously long, they were like some of my girlfriends who grow their toenails long and paint them, they were freaking me out!
So I said I would put batteries in this hummer of his if he let me cut them!
I have been trying to cut them for the last 2 days and this bribe seemed like a good idea at the time.
So we got the nails cut but there was a very good reason why I had never before replaced these batteries!
It is a fire hummer and when you put new batteries in not only do lights flash (if only that were all!), but also this lady yells out All unites code 469, Avenue 63, then the siren goes off for like 10 seconds. And a guy yells back were on our way!!! Then the siren again!!!
And it is LOUD, and in the last 20 minutes I have heard that over and over again at least 100 times.
What was I thinking, that is what I get for bribing my kids!

my crazy week, so far...

This week has been anything but uneventful!
I think "oh Zeke is gone, it will be quiet", which it was in the noise sense, but otherwise it has been crazy.
We put our name in on a list for some apartments that usually take 6 months to a year, and not even a week later we get a call that one is available to us. We get all our paper work etc. in, it looks great and we start to freak out about moving. (at least I freaked out)
Then Monday evening I got really sick, I think I did it to myself. I drank some sweet tea from McDonald's that I am sure has 1 gallon of sugar in it! I did water it down, but when you also eat almost a half of a watermelon by yourself it is a bad combo.
So I was up all night cursing the indigestion and stomach ache that was haunting me.
All day Tuesday I felt horrible, thank you McDonalds.
Tuesday evening I had a bit of a break down, anxiety and stress over moving, missing my son, missing my family etc etc. Had a good cry, felt better.
Wednesday Dan and I sit down go over the pros and cons of moving, we come to the conclusion it is totally worth it to move, the money we will save alone is great! We feel good about the decision and start going through things in house doing a clean sweep.
Thursday I pack a few boxes not much, but continue to go through the house down sizing.
Thursday night we get home from our staff BBq and I am walking out the front door to take Scarlet for a potty trip and I bite it hard. I guess I tripped I don't know, I slid across the pavement on my side. I at least had a little bit of time to turn on my side and not fall on my stomach! Luckily Dan was there and he is so great under stress. I was starting to freak out and he is like your fine, you were close to the ground, you didn't fall too hard, everything is totally fine. I have a few scrapes up my arms, legs and booty but all in all I am ok. Moses was moving right after so that made me feel so much better.
Friday today, Dan gets a call that we did not get the apartment. He was so bummed, as was I. It is hard when you start planning and getting ready for something and then things change. So I guess God wants us to stay where we are for now and be content in that.
Needless to say this week has not been low on stress, anxiety or action.
I think I might take a nap today!