on a walk

We are loving where we live here in Georgia. Our house is in a older and poorer area of town which means GREAT rent and it also means we live close to a few fun places, like the library. Hooray! The library is literally around the block from us. Here we are on a late walk to return a few books. Sakina is always happy when she gets to join us. Lullaby was up past her bedtime and looked surprised the whole time.

Typical Hawken, stopping to find the perfect stick. He tells us all the time that he is "fighting all the bad guys!" He is really into bad guys lately.

Matix and I had fun making faces while we waited for the others to catch up.

I am so in love with life right now. It is challenging, for sure, but oh so amazing. These kids learn and grow so much everyday, and I am loving every minute of it.

cute baby

Lullaby LOVES her bath, she loves getting her diaper changed, she loves getting dressed, she loves any time she gets ALONE with momma, which doesn't happen too often... :) After her bath, we make faces and give kisses in the mirror. She loves to see herself and will coo and giggle at that cute baby she sees every time. :)

long day

We miss you Paul.

Because when Paul DOES have a day off or an afternoon free, we soak up every ounce of him we can... That's why days without him, like today, go so slow. Paul is currently doing his peds rotation and we are all loving his relaxed schedule. Today he was gone all day though (no fun). I swear this day has lasted for at least 41 hours already... I am SO wiped out. These boys kept me on my toes all day long. They had a few wonderful moments when they were playing outside in the backyard together, and Lullaby and I were inside skyping with my mom... But things went downhill soon after naps. I had a million errands to run and quite a few places to stop. Thanks to google maps, one of the addresses was wrong, and took me 10 minutes out of my way, for a store that wasn't there. Great. 10 minutes without 3 kids in the back isn't a big deal, but with 3 kids, it's a colossal waste of time. In one of the stores, Hawken ran into the "employee only" areas (giggling the whole time), and I had to convince the worker to let me back there to get him. Lullaby wasn't all angel either... She decided that the check out line was the right place to demand to be fed (where I was currently waiting to talk to a manager - long story there too, ps, I hate Walgreens' customer service). Matix threw a fit when I told him he could only have 1 sample of the all natural ice cream at Whole Foods. What a terrible mom, right? "No Matix, it's almost dinner, and you already had some ice cream." To which he screamed, "I LOVE ICE CREAM! I NEED MOOOOOORE!" Cute. Anyway, we are home now, all 3 are sleeping, and I am seriously considering calling it a night (it's currently 7:21pm) I know... I'm THAT cool. Good night. :)

Updates

The latest and the greatest:

Paul: Currently doing his pediatric rotation with an AMAZING doctor. She is wonderful, the schedule she gives the students s wonderful, everything. Paul (and I) love her. Let me know if you want her information, if you are doing a rotation in Atlanta. Paul also finished building a HUGE play set for the kids in the backyard. It has 2 towers, 1 slide, 1 bridge, 3 swings, monkey bars, ladders, ropes, you name it. It is super fun and the kids are in love. He also helps a TON with the chores around the house because of all the extra time he has been given (and because he is a rockstar of a husband). Oh, and he is studying for STEP 2, which he has scheduled for next month.

Jessie: Trying to catch up on this blog, wash dry and fold the endless amounts of laundry, do all the grocery shopping, organize the playroom and all the other rooms in the house, clean the bathrooms, change dirty diapers, cook healthy meals for the family, teach 2 boys how to behave, listen, follow directions, numbers, colors, letters, writing, manners, etc. I am also trying to convince Lullaby to slow down on this whole growing up thing. She is going way too fast for me to keep up.

Matix: Has been testing his limits a lot lately. Saying no, talking back, and not responding when talked to. This drives me CRAZY, but he is learning and I am staying consistent, so I am sure he will outgrow it. On a good note, he can write his name without any prompts now, and is learning how to write Hawken name, so far "H" is the only letter in Hawken's name that he remembers and can do alone. He has also been into telling stories, about when Paul and I were little, or silly stories about everyone breaking their bones and getting casts, or about Jesus getting nails in his hands (he is very concerned about Jesus after we talk about this and always prays that night for "Jesus' hand ouchies to be all better" cute.)

Hawken: Is very into faking getting hurt, so he can ask for a blessing. At night he will say he can't sleep and really needs a special blessing because his head, or eyes, or armpits hurt. He has also been caught "giving blessings" to Sakina after he accidentally steps on her paw. He says "Be still Kina, I give you bwesswings now, and you feel all better!" He is such a sweetheart. He also likes to hear stories and will throw in his requests before you are allowed to start, "Tell about when I broke my eyes, and dis finger and dis finger and dis finger. Tell that story!" So then we have to be sure to incorporate that somehow into the story. After being asked to do something, he often responds like this, "Okay mommy, I will do it. I pomise!" Where he got the I promise thing from, I have no idea, but it's SO cute to hear.

Lullaby: Still spits up, but only occasionally, which is GREAT. That really is her only flaw. She is a dream baby. She takes three naps a day and sleeps at night from 6pm until 7 or 8am, only waking to nurse, then right back to sleep. She started wiggling around more when she is on her tummy, trying to get to a toy, but no real movement forward or backward. This was a nice surprise since at this age, Hawken was already on all fours and starting to crawl. Lullaby talks and coos when she wakes up from a nap. Such a pleasant, happy, smily little girl. I love her to pieces and really only have to give her a bath each night to wash off all the kisses she was covered in by all of us throughout the day.

busy Hawken

This child never slows down. Upon looking through some pictures of a day at the park, I realized EVERY picture of Hawken was of the back of him. He was running or climbing or skipping or hopping in every direction except mine. :) He is so busy.

I love his little tiny waist that can never seem to keep his pants up, and his underpants peeking out. Adorable, for now... And this is his standard outfit: His "Cars" shoes and his "Cars" coat. He will not leave the house in anything else.

money

Since we are trying to budget our family of 5 (plus 1 dog) on 1 student's loan money, it can get TIGHT. Money is always an issue. I have looked into several ways to make it work better with a little more wiggle room in case we would like to buy something frivolous, like, new shoes for Matix... I know, we live on the wild side! Well, it started with craigslist. There is a section on there for FREE things. Items people are just giving away. Because of that we got 2 backyard play sets (Paul has built a fortress, pictures to come), a little tykes slide, 2 plastic kid chairs, a little kid plastic picnic table, TONS of Thomas the train stuff, mega bloks, cars, a couch, a highchair, and more... crazy, I know. All the things we have received have been in good condition too. It has been wonderful.

My next biggest problem was our grocery bill. Although we hardly ever eat out, and I was shopping mostly sale items, our groceries were too high. So I looked into couponing, like real, is this lady serious with her 30 coupons?, couponing. I don't have all the lingo figured out yet, but I have been able to find a few great deals, not only on our groceries, which have been cut in almost half, but on other items too like toothpaste, dog food, dog treats, toys, and games. Who knew you could watch sales and match them with high dollar coupons for steals? This was my first FREE trip. Literally I paid NOTHING. I have done many trips since then, all with great results.

And now I am addicted. I watch the sales and match my coupons and I am in the process of making a binder with all the coupons. I love it. I really am addicted, but what better thing to be addicted to than saving money? Right? :)

experiment

The boys have been really excited about science-y stuff lately. I found this experiment on pintrest. By the way, I hate pintrest. Well, really I love it, but I hate the crazy amount of time that is sucked out of me whenever I go on there. There are way too many cool things to see and try out. So here it is, our experiment. We started with milk, dish soap, food coloring, bowls and spoons. All things we already had in our house.

Pour milk into bowl, add drops of food coloring. Matix was so excited he could hardly contain himself. He thought this was the whole experiment. :)

Then put a drop of soap on the end of the spoon. You can use toothpicks if you want, or your finger maybe...? Then touch that soapy spoon on the color drops and watch them spread away from the soap. It is a really cool reaction.

Eventually both boys ended up just stirring it all up into a solid color. Hawken wanted to paint with it, so then I let them "paint" their paper towels. Simple fun.

We did it a couple times before I decided that we wasted enough milk for one day. Here is the end result of one of Matix's. Cool, right?

baby doll

Lullaby got this baby doll for Christmas, and another baby doll just because, and she LOVES them. They are some of her favorite things to chew on. :) Lately, she chews on everything. These dollies though, she sometimes just snuggles. Adorable.

worms

It's when we are outside that I see the boys' creativity and curiosity come to life. One day we spent HOURS digging up worms. Tiny little worms were hiding under the leaves, and the boys, especially Matix, were fascinated. After finding one, pulling it up, and laying it on the slide for closer inspection, Matix would talk to the worm, telling him all kinds of secrets. Those lucky worms. He watched them wriggle and move so carefully, like he was taking notes. He would gently put them back on the ground and start the search for another. I loved watching him this day.

Lullaby's book

Lullaby's book is coming along nicely... Considering I only have to take 1 posed picture per month, it's the perfect project for me right now. I feel like I am so busy all day everyday, and have very little to show for it. :) I guess that's life with three wild kiddos. Here is the photo for 4 months (January 10th)... Even though it doesn't usually snow here, most places in January, it does, so I stuck to the norm. Which photo is better?

My new dilemma... my favorite editing site picnik.com is closing in another couple months, and I am super bummed. Supposedly they are linking up with google+, but not with all the features. Sigh.

river park

We call this park, "river park" because it has a river than runs along one side. You actually have to cross the river to get to the play area from the parking lot. The boys thought that was pretty much the best part of the whole day. :) Plus, there are trees here in Georgia that drop these crazy looking seed pods. They are hard to walk on, but super fun to toss over the rails of the bridge to the fish below.

The boys enjoyed yet another really well kept and EMPTY play ground. As soon as the schools started letting out, a few more kids came, but until then, it was just us.

Also, they have a baseball diamond, tennis courts, basketball courts and there is this new (?) game. It is called "the NEOS wall" and it says it's a "light catching game"... What? Has anyone ever seen this before? Is it fun? After I took a picture of Matix in front of it, he asked to take my picture in front of it too. This is what Lullaby and I look like these days. You never see one without the other. :)

dress up

These boys love to play dress up. The favorite costumes are Sully and Batman (or any of the other capes and masks). These boys are too fun. Sometimes they are in character all day (Batman only eats mac and cheese for lunch - for example), other times they want to wear their costumes just as their clothes...

Matix asked that I take a picture of him in this pose. Silly.

bath time baby

Since Lullaby can sit up by herself now (fairly well), she thinks she needs to do it all the time. In the car seat she is always straining to sit up, and never lets her head rest back. In the tub, she does the same thing. She can't just have a relaxing bath, she is working those muscles the entire time. Silly girl. Can you tell from the pictures how much she is straining? :) And the rolls. I love how chunky she is.

Plus, check it out! She is getting some HAIR on her head (other than the little mullet thing she has going on in the back)... HOORAY!

So far it pops up right on the top like a Kewpie doll, adorable. I can hardly wait for the piggy tail days! I can't really tell what color it will be though. It looks like it might be a reddish-brown? But who knows really, Hawken came out with black hair and now he's a blondy...

Lullaby

Little miss Lullaby Loo... Oh you are so sweet. You are the world's most perfect baby. I can hardly believe how lucky I am to have you. Lullaby is almost 5 months old already. She is growing by leaps and bounds and has been following in her brothers' footsteps in reaching many milestones on the early side. She is sitting alone, although still a bit wobbly. Lullaby smiles and coos and "talks" all the time. She is rediculously ticklish and her laugh is just edible.

She eats rice cereal now, even though I am pretty sure she hates the taste of it, smiles the whole time because she likes the social aspect of it all. She takes 3 naps a day, and the middle one coincides with the boys' nap (hooray!). She doesn't sleep through the night, but with all the growing she has been doing, it makes sense that she would need to refuel more often. :) When she gets upset, it is very easy to calm her down. Her brothers are always ready to help. They hold her hands and kiss her face and sing her songs.

Lullaby, you are the sweetest little thing. I love you like crazy and I am so proud to be your mommy.

Matix

Matix, where do I start with this kid? He has such a BIG personality. He knows exactly what he wants and has his entire day planned out the minute his eyes pop open. He is more sensitive and emotional than any child I have ever met too. If things don't go his way, even if they slightly deviate from his plan, he loses it.

He has great ideas and will help anyone that needs it. He shares very well, even when we don't prompt him to (most of the time). He loves life and being the biggest brother. He loves to role play and will tell you exactly what you're supposed to say and do for your part. He says he is going to marry Anna when he grows up, and Emmy, and me. He loves to watch movies with bad guys in them, so he can fight them and save the princess (and usually ends up kissing them...).

Matix loves to watch over Lullaby, and takes such sweet care of her. I love you Matix man. You are one of a kind and I love every minute of being your mommy.

Hawken

This little Hawken man has my heart wrapped up in his little fingers. He has been growing by leaps and bounds and is always amazing me.

I love that he still wants me to hold him and carry him, while Matix tells me, "Mommy, I'm hurting your muscles. I'm getting too bigger for you to hold me." Hawken comes in every morning and loves on me and tells me he missed me. When he goes to play outside in the yard, he tells me, "Don't be sad mommy, I'll be home soon. I love you mommy.", to which I answer, "No, I love you baby." and he says back "No, mommy, I love YOU." which we play back and forth and back and forth.

He is such a crazy little boy too. With a great imagination and no fear. He loves to climb up on anything and everything and jump off, just to do it all over again. He tells stories about lions and monsters and breaking all his bones and then tells me in a comforting voice, "It's okay mommy, I just pretending." I love you Hawkers. You are too much fun and I love being your mommy.

time out nap

Matix has begun to question nap time... HOW CAN THIS BE HAPPENING?! I am not ready for him to not nap, plus the 2 times he didn't nap, he was very cranky that afternoon and evening, so I know he still needs them, whether he wants them or not. The other day he kept talking in his bed, and since he shares his room with a very sleepy Hawken, I had to take him out. I told him he was on "time out nap" on the couch. He had to lay there and be quiet while I watched him, since he was being too naughty to sleep in the big boy room. Well, it took all of 10 minutes and he was SOUND asleep. Hooray! I knew he was tired. Such a stinker!

Since this time out nap incident, he has been really good about naps, although he stills tries to barter for 5 more minutes playing... Plus Matix is so smart, I can reason with him when he is cranky later on. "You're getting upset now because your body needed more sleep. You need to take nice long naps so you will feel happy when you play." I know he understands because he will tell me later on after a good nap, "mommy, my body feeling really good." Or after a shorter nap and he is cranky, "I didn't get enough nap. My body's feeling really bad. I should go lay down more."