A beautiful day o' birth...

St. Patrick’s Day really doesn’t get any better than this year.  Trust me. 

Just when it seems like there is no good news and I’m ultra-stressed and overwhelmed with life, an unexpected phone call leads to something incredibly beautiful.  I was spending this past weekend at my mom’s with the kids as Trav was working on finishing our basement.  I woke up Sunday morning to a text from my brother, Zak, saying that Samantha’s water had broke and that they’d be going to the hospital shortly.  About a month prior, Samantha had asked my sister and I to be in the room with her when she gave birth.  What an honor.  So, with that news, Uncle Andy assumed daddy daycare (5 kids is no easy feat)…and my sister and I made the journey to Methodist Hospital in Rochester to await the birth of our newest niece or nephew! 

This isn’t MY birth story, so I will only say that it was simply beautiful.  I can’t even describe the “feeling” in the room.  I had always thought that labor/delivery was a private moment to be shared by husband and wife.  So many unknowns and maybe it was easier to be alone……?????  But Samantha proved me wrong.  If I could have a vaginal birth, that is how I’d want it to be.  It was magical.  A room full of people that LOVE them.  Five women (my sister and I, Zak’s mom, Sam’s mom, and Sam’s sister).  All mommies ourselves.  The hours passed.  We laughed and joked around and distracted Samantha from some of the pain…and though some moments were tougher than others for Sam, it just flowed and before we knew it we were witnessing a MIRACLE!!!  Samantha.  Rock Star.  This sweet girl that has been a part of our family since she and Zak started dating in what seems like middle school, like seriously, forever ago!  She became this rock star mommy!  She made it look easy.  The tears flowed and the room was THICK with love…so much love.  For Zak and Sam and for the new baby they had just welcomed into the world.  A perfect little girl that we will all love with all of our hearts for as long as we live.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  Amazing.  What a gift!!! 

It goes without saying that yesterday was my HIGH of the year.  Thank you to Zak and Samantha for letting all of us be a part of such a beautiful day.  I’m so proud of both of you!!  I won’t forget this St. Patrick’s Day…and I love that little Miss B to pieces!!!

Happy Friday!

Happy 2013…it’s February…already.  Where does the time go?  I mean, am I the only one that still feels like I’m 20??  Well, except for the house and kids and job and husband and all that other “grown-up” stuff.  Seems like yesterday that I was sitting at college with friends, deciding which happy hour we should hit up for free dinner.  Oh Lord, I do not miss those days.  The freedom, maybe.  But not all that unknown.  Not all the mistakes I made.  It’s good to be grounded.  To have roots.  To realize that everything in life worth living for requires time and attention and love.  And to realize too, that life is often hard.  Relationships are hard.  But that life is oh so much more fun when you’ve filled your “space” with family and good friends and keeping them close is WORTH the work, every ounce of it!

Ok, that is my rant for the day.  Just thinking about how life gets busy and schedules get hectic and people see each other less frequently.  It’s easy to have guilt over that.  I’m trying to let go of that guilt…..and to realize that however/whenever/wherever my girlfriends and I can squeeze in some time, it’ll be good and we’ll pick up where we left off.  Sounds cheesy, but it literally makes my heart happy just to see their faces!  Most of them have babies now, or are pregnant….and they “get it”.  This busy mom thing.  And as much as I love my babies, I do enjoy a night away with the girls, laughing over our stupid husbands (ok, they’re not stupid…but any woman with a husband knows what I’m talking about), mindless chit chat about kids, yoga pants, GOSSIP…all that good stuff!  So, cheers to friends!!!  And lots of love to my gal pals…I love you all!

Anyhoo, not really sure what my “point” was.  I write to write.  And today is Friday and I’m happy and I’ve had 2 cups of coffee.  AND I get a date night with my husband.  So it’s a good day!  And yeah, that mess my kids made last night in the living room.  The dust storm of soot and ashes (picture below)…

...well, I got it all picked up and we’re back in business.  When I say “I” got it all picked up, I mean that I put the kids to bed and poured myself a big glass of wine and stood looking at the mess and before long, Travis came home from work and cleaned up the mess with the shop-vac.  It is HIS shop-vac after all.  Our carpet was already gross.  I’d like to rip it out and start over.  But for now, I’ll just take a deep breath, smooch my babies and not care about my stained carpet because they don’t know it’s not perfect!  And if you happen to come to my house, don’t judge me.  It’s not clean like it used to be.  We have messy floors, smudges on all the appliances, crusted chunks of soggy cracker stuck on cupboard doors, crayon artwork on the walls, and a dining room table that has been well-loved by many a banging fork and spoon.  The laundry is often in piles on the floor and the windows are filled with tiny hand-prints.  And wet nose prints from Sasha.  Yeah, because this is how they all wait for daddy to come home each night...

  

We also have endless laughter, the sound of feet pounding through the kitchen, our own steel-drum band courtesy of some old pots and pans, booty shaking dance parties, wet kisses from babies that need us for everything.  The trade off is good.  Very good, indeed.  Because I get to see these faces each day. 

Can you believe they made that mess???

And so……a VERY HAPPY WEEKEND to all of you!  We have a fun one planned.  Date night tonight!  Skating with the kiddos tomorrow and lunch at Pizza Lola.  Super Bowl!  Then maybe I’ll work at cleaning up the house a bit.  Maybe… :)

3 Sweet Years!

The sweetest 3 years...

My sister took a few pictures of Marley today! We made the trip to her studio (it's amazing) and she captured the little miss just as she is...here is a peek!

21 Day Sugar Detox--Success!!!

I never thought I would actually be typing these words, but I DID IT!!!  I completed my first round (more on that later) of the 21 Day Sugar Detox.  And as Tony the Tiger said, “I feel grrrrrr-eat!”  Except he probably didn’t after eating those frosted flakes…just sayin’!

My journey with this whole gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, Paleo lifestyle began shortly after my second baby was born.  He was having some issues with acid reflux and so I brought him to my chiropractor to see if we could “fix him”.  She suggested that I remove all gluten and dairy from my diet in an effort to heal my gut, in turn healing him (since I was breastfeeding).  At the time, I didn’t know enough about those lifestyle changes to even consider them.  And so I gave him the baby zantac that my doctor had prescribed.  Long story short, he grew out of his reflux and I kept researching/reading about gluten-free diets, Paleo, etc.  I read the Primal Blue Print, and what finally pushed me over the edge was a Christmas gift…a box with the most beautiful book ever, Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo.  I read that book cover to cover over the next couple days.  I had post-its all over the pages.  It moved from my coffee table, to my kitchen counter, to my nightstand.  Never out of sight.  Gosh, I love that book!

After linking up with the Balanced Bites facebook page, I heard of the 21 Day Sugar Detox and my sister and I decided to dive in on January 1^st.  I wasn’t so much looking for weight loss, but rather I wanted to feel better!  I was blaming my lack of energy on having 2 kids and a full-time job and a husband and a house to keep up.  I was eating like crap or not eating at all because it was “all I had time for”.  And I could feel it.  I felt lousy.  Tired.  Bloated.  Blah.

Five days in and I felt amazing.  Refreshed.  Energized.  And I stuck with it.  My sister and I gushed about how “easy” the recipes were because they involved so few ingredients.  For me, the success was due to careful planning as well.  Which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I’ve been quite guilty of having “poor meal planning skills” ever since my life got so busy with babies!  I prepped each Sunday for the week ahead.  Made a meal plan, went to the grocery store, cut the veggies.  Not only did the 21 Days make my BODY feel great, my life feels less cluttered.  I have a grip on “feeding my family”, and that has been equally as satisfying. 

Other results…I began the 21 days already below my pre-pregnancy weight.  But I was “soft”…you know, the kind of soft that comes with the territory when you’ve had 2 kids.  The weight had come off, but I was a softer version of my old self.  And so I was happy to see that I lost about 4lbs on the detox.  More importantly, I lost 2 ½ inches off my waist, 3 ½ inches off my tummy (measured at my most problematic area, right below my belly button), and 3 inches off my hips.  What an added bonus!

So, thank you to the entire 21 Day Sugar Detox community!  I’m on my way to a healthier way of life (and my family too) and I couldn’t be happier!  And thank you to my sister for sticking to it with me...for being my motivation and for being someone that I had to be accountable to!  We did it!!!    

Donut Shoppe Success!

Marley's party was a hit! Thank you to my sister for grabbing some pics of the birthday girl in all her glory! She was a happy little sugar crazed miss...and she LOVED her donut earrings! Oh, Claire's. You think of everything "cheesy"...

Happy Birthday, Mars!

My Marley Jean…
Today is your 3rd birthday and what a completely awesome 3 years these have been. Never before would I have thought that I would love a little human being as much as I love you. I have had more fun these last 3 years, watching you grow and learn and explore, than I have ever had in my whole life. I wonder where the time has gone…not all that long ago you were so small. Just a chubby little miss with a very bald head and a big ol’ smile! And suddenly you stretched out. You grew into a string bean, actually! That smile remained, complete with the most adorable dimple! As for your hair, we’re still waiting on that, aren’t we?!

But besides growing up physically, you have become this little person that I just wouldn’t in a million years have imagined. You are so outgoing. You have a personality as big as Texas! You know what you want, and you know the rules, and what you want is more important than those silly rules! So brave, and stubborn, and strong-willed. And FUNNY!! You are a true comedienne in the making! A spotlight seeker and one who loves to “put on a show” and entertain a group! The little lady with a million facial expressions. You earned your nickname girl……MARLEY MONSTER! Some days you are more than I can handle. But beneath all that sass lies a sweet girl. My baby girl. The one who still wants me to sing rock-a-bye baby before bed at night. The one who yells out her door, “I love you soooooo much.” The one that gives the best kisses and hugs and takes care of her Bella baby as if she were real. The one that is constantly asking me if we can do something and always follows it up by saying, “Won’t that be fun?” I love laying on our bellies in the big bed, talking about plans, listening to your stories, hearing you tell me about your friends and new things you learned. You are so smart, kiddo.

I love you for many reasons….because you make me smile, because you make me laugh, because you are MINE. But I also love you because I know you are growing into an independent brave young lady, and that’s what I want you to be. I know that you’ll stick up for people and speak your mind and blaze a trail. And I want that for you. I want you to go after all your dreams, no matter how big or small. And to do it will all of your heart. Keep being your inquisitive, silly, frog-chasing, dirt loving little self and you’ll go places, my dear. I love everything about you, exactly how you are at this very moment.

Happy Birthday, doll face! We’re going to have fun today! And this is going to be a great YEAR!! I just know it!

XO,
Mama

Happy Birthday Jax Thomas!!

My dearest Jax,

One whole year has passed since we first met.  A whole year…can you believe it?  I’m often left wondering where the days went.  Time sure does go fast.  I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday.  All 9lb 6oz of your chubby little self….you were such a handsome baby.  Mama was not prepared to fall SO IN LOVE with this new little boy!  But you turned me into mush and melted my heart from the moment I saw you.  I have never been so in love as I am with you and your sister, and your daddy too.  And I thank God EVERY DAY that you are mine…that somehow, out of that miracle that is pregnancy I got YOU!!!  Just so perfectly sweet my heart aches.  How blessed we are... 

You'll have to excuse me because, you see, your birthday is a hard thing for me to wrap my head around.  Not that I want you to stay little forever, but I get a little emotional thinking that, with each passing day, you are growing away from me.  Gaining independence.  Learning new tricks.  Living life through your eyes is the BEST and I don't ever want to lose that.  I have loved every minute of watching you grow this year.  You have thrown mama a few curve balls…no doubt.  Crawling before you could sit up?  Now what was that all about??  I never had a moment to let you just SIT on a blanket and play because you were already off and crawling, chasing that crazy sister of yours.  And soon after, you were walking…sigh!  You know, watching her is going to make you learn things so much more quickly…like I can’t believe when I hand you daddy’s keys and tell you to bring them to him, you walk down the hall and do it.  Amazing.  You are amazing.  It has been a JOY to watch you, cuddle you, feed you, soothe you…taking note of your discoveries and seeing your face light up with that HUGE smile!  You make me so happy, I just want you to know that!

Which brings me to now, on the eve of your 1st birthday...I wish you the happiest of birthdays little man.  You are one of my everythings...and I don't ever want you to be anything other than happy.  Happy with who you are, with how you treat people, with your life.  And I'm going to tell you this a million times as you grow older...but you can be ANYTHING you want to be and I will never love you any less.  I promise I will always have your back.  Always.  You can always and forever count on your mama, so please don't ever forget about me as you get bigger and less interested in being my sweet mama's boy.  

 

Jax Thomas, I love you little buddy!!  Thank you for making my heart so full!!!!  Here's to the first of a lifetime of birthdays we will get to celebrate with you!!

XO!

Mama