Getting into a groove

So sorry for the lack of blog posts recently. But taking care of a husband, three kids under three, two pets, and a 987 sq. ft. house can be a teensy bit time-consuming. However, praise God and knock on wood, I have finally found a groove! It's not perfect by any means and things still get left by the wayside, but I seem to have figured out how to take care of almost everything without leaving kids hungry, laundry unwashed, or an unhappy husband. So may I say again, praise God!

Unfortunately this week we're all sick. Shiphrah started with a runny nose on Monday and despite hoping it was just allergies it turned into a full-blown cold a day later. Then my throat started hurting Tuesday evening and Kirk's nose started running on Wednesday. Now the three of us are a mess of snotty noses, congested sinuses, and yucky coughs. Thankfully little Ronnie seems okay so far and Daddy has mostly avoided the cold as well. I'm hoping we'll be feeling much better by Sunday because we have a friend's birthday party that I'd hate to miss.

Let's see...a few weeks ago I stepped waaay out of my comfort zone and gave a presentation for a local MOPS group. I talked for about half an hour about honoring God and family through frugal living and it went really well. The ladies were all really sweet and some seemed very interested in what I was saying. It was also a great MOPS group and if it weren't across town during rush hour traffic, I'd love to join. I still might because I really need to get plugged in somewhere, but we'll see.

I also turned 27 (gasp!) a week ago. Avery surprised me by taking a half day from work and making reservations at a nice restaurant down on the Riverwalk. His family watched the munchkins and we had a really nice evening to ourselves. He also rode his bike to Wal-Mart that morning to pick me up a dozen roses, which is what he had done for another special occasion about five years ago...the first time he said "I love you." My birthday gift was a very nice set of kitchen knives (since I constantly complain about how fast mine go dull) and my in-laws bought me a set of Corelle dishes. It was a wonderful birthday!

And now it's on to other celebrations. Shiphrah turns THREE (I can't believe it!) on the day after Thanksgiving and we're having a pancake breakfast with some friends and family to celebrate. And of course we have Thanksgiving and then a ski trip with my family for Christmas (so excited about that!).

Well, all three kids are miraculously down for a nap so I'm going to fold some laundry and then read my Bible. Have a great Friday, everyone! ♥

Kirk Turns One!

Kirk Micah's big day! (We had about 40 friends and family gather at the park around the corner from our house for some pizza, fried chicken, and cupcakes.)

The rainbow cupcakes, before icing.

Swinging at the park with Grandad.

The rainbow cupcakes!

My baby boy is all grown up!

Another Tuesday!

Thankfully, this one Avery is not working, although he worked at overnight security shift last night so he's still in bed right now. But I'll be waking him up in an hour or two and forcing him to spend time with me. After all, our anniversary is tomorrow, so I need some hubby-time.

I know most people talk about how they can't believe they've been married for so many years and how the time flies and all that jazz, but for me it's slightly different. You see, I have two kids and one on the way...and this is only our third anniversary. (That's what happens when you have a honeymoon pregnancy and then another one 15 months later and then another one 15 months after that!) So Avery and I are technically still newlyweds, although because we started our family so quickly, it feels like we've been married FOREVER. But yes, Saturday, March 10th, 2007 we started our lives as husband and wife...and it's been one of the best things that has ever happened to me!

(And I'm trying really hard not to be too excited about tomorrow, but Avery informed me that he had a few things up his sleeve and y'all, my husband never plans anything!! So I can't help but be excited! I couldn't really think of anything I wanted for an anniversary present, so I told Avery I just wanted a pedicure. Can you believe I've never ever had a professional pedicure before? Manicures, yes, but never my feet! I'm excited. )

Ugh, right now my son is fighting his nap and is SCREAMING bloody murder. I hate that he does this every other day or so!

Speaking of Kirk, he will be turning ONE on Sunday! I cannot believe how fast the past year has gone by. I still think of him as my baby and am constantly surprised when he starts acting like a little boy. With you first baby, you're always looking forward to the next milestone, so you kind of miss the excitement of it all. But with your second (and consecutive) you forget exactly what comes next and every new thing is a surprise. I love it. I really didn't want a big ordeal for Kirk's birthday, but I felt like I was slighting him (second child syndrome) if we didn't at least celebrate. So we're praying that the weather is nice and we've invited friends and family to the park around the corner from our house and we'll order pizza and fried chicken. (Our house isn't conducive to having more than a few people over and unfortunately the backyard doesn't have grass in it yet.) I really didn't want the stress of decorating a cake this year, so I'm just going to make a bunch of rainbow cupcakes and put sprinkles on them. They look fun and festive, don't you think?

And they're relatively easy, which I'm excited about. I just need to make sure to remember to make them on Saturday so I don't have to worry about getting a bunch of stuff done before church on Sunday.

Well, my son is still screaming, so I'd better go check on him one more time. Kid just can't understand that he's tired and needs to sleep!

Picture Update

Blogging has gotten pushed way down on my to-do list, but here's a quick picture update:

My little boy is 9 months old now!

My beautiful daughter turned 2 on Thanksgiving Day!

I love that my kids like playing together!

So, a belated Happy Thanksgiving and an early Merry Christmas to y'all!

Unexpected Blessings

I know I'm overdue for an update, but life has been crazy, so snippet will have to do.

On the morning of my birthday (October 29th) I received a very unexpected birthday surprise...a positive pregnancy test!!! Since I am still breastfeeding Kirk at least six times a day, it was definitely a surprise, but a happy one!

Since that discovery, I have been cooking up a storm so that my husband won't starve (or gain 50 pounds from eating fast food) when my morning sickness kicks in, and we've been rearranging the house to make it more conducive for three kids. Obviously we have 8 months or so to fix the house, but we wanted to sleep train Kirk so that he would be sleeping through the night by the time I started getting sick and we couldn't do that with he and Shiphrah sharing a room. So we moved him into the master bedroom and moved the master bedroom into our "new" divided living room. It's going to take some getting used to, but I'm grateful the house came with the option to section off the living room into an extra bedroom if we needed it.

The pregnancy was confirmed by a blood test at my doctor's office and I have my first OB appointment and sonogram on December 1st. My morning sickness kicked in on Friday and I'm praising God that it's not that bad yet. As long as I eat everything in sight (especially protein) every hour or so, I can ward off the worst of the nausea. :)

So that's what we've been up to! I promise I'll post a longer update when things settle down a bit.