This Mommy is Taking It Back!

We all know as moms we make many sacrifices for our children. Some very noble and necessary and some petty and rather unimportant, but we do it anyway.

I was going to tell you about my biggest sacrifice but I don't think biggest is the right word. Maybe most prominent is better. Then I pulled up the thesaurus and entered 'petty' and 'prominent' because I didn't think those quite fit this particular sacrifice either. So I came up with my own definition.

We'll call it the train sacrifice.

The train sacrifice: The most in my face, everyday, in the way, constantly reminding me my living room is three minutes from full service day care forfeiture of space. I can barely clean the crumbs and sticky juice/fruit cup spillage/cereal gunk from underneath. It's getting bigger all the time b/c we're getting so good at track engineering. It's played with four minutes a day but I have to leave it up to prevent a meltdown because I'm weak and would rather cave than make a stand.

As you can tell I feel pretty passionately about this. The thing is...it's on my coffee table right smack in the middle of the living room. When we got the train from our cousins who out grew it, I was pretty excited because "Hey, lots of people have those big train tables made for these wooden tracks, and while that's great because they have the space in their house, and they are really super cute, I've got this perfect coffee table that's is just the same size and will work great!"



Famous last words. That was about a year or so ago and the other day it occurred to me that I want my coffee table back. Empty, clean and taking up perfectly good train space. I know I should share my coffee table with my sweet, poor, train loving little baby boy...but maybe another time.

Is it fair? Probably not. I get a whole craft room devoted to my hobbies and Joseph doesn't even get a small spot to run his trains? Well, I'm the mommy and resident home manager and he is two and I say it is fair. And because I say so! (Can't wait until he's older so I can say that and he stomps off pouting knowing I won.)

Maybe it's the crisp fall air and change of seasons that has me inspired. Maybe it's the new baby causing me to clean and nest. Either way it feels good! And looks fantastic! And I love our compromise - his new train spot worked out great. (On the floor tucked in a corner.)

This mama is taking back her coffee table!

Everyone Smile!

Welcoming Jenna Reese!

A few friends and I had a super get together for Alicia's baby who is due in October! I just love a get together that involve good food, laughs, and presents! Sky did a ridiculously cute job of hosting and we had a wonderful time. Plus with a soon to be mama that beams like that, who wouldn't want to celebrate?



Sky's super delish homemade strawberry cake and strawberry icing won my heart and my taste buds. We're doing ice cream cup cakes for Joseph next birthday!


We've all been friends since middle school and have grown up sharing our love of pickles (and Ramen Noodles). So Sky found pickle flavored popcorn for each of us to take home. The verdict: the first bite kinda gets ya, but the after taste is rather nice and the following bites are surprisingly pleasant! Two thumbs up!


Carmen is ready to welcome baby sister Jenna to the household!


I have to brag on the munchkins. They were so well behaved and played together SO nicely that I almost couldn't believe it. Is this what it's like with a girl? I think we need to find MORE girlfriends to play with!


And how's this for a super dork...I decided to make this onesie dress. I've been dying to make one for a year now but it was pretty intimidating. I hit the craft room and got after it one afternoon. I was pretty darn proud of it...so here's the dork part. When Alicia open the present from me and pulled it out, I actually "awwwwwed" like it was the first time I was seeing it. Yeah, it was pretty darn cute apparently. (And clipped on the neck is my attempt at a sweet little pink hair bow to match!)


Not sure when I'll have the stomach to tackle another dress like this. I keep telling myself practice makes perfect, but maybe I'll stick to appliques and hair bows for now.

Welcome Baby Girl Jenna! Hurry so I can meet you and see that pretty little dress on you!

I Guess It's For Real...

...no turning back now. Although I may have thought about for a few seconds in the beginning. Or maybe a few minutes. Like, yesterday. And the verdict is in...we'll keep it!

Look at the camera, please Sweetie!

As you might know, the first trimester of a pregnancy is the most hormonally hormone laden months of a woman's life. The raging hormones in combination with almost-three-year-old children cause both interesting and horrifying actions, thoughts, moods and verbal (and/or written) diarrhea. The following excerpt is an example of what one might see written on a hormonally hormonal pregnant woman's blogs after days of irritability and self loathing...mind you, she will undoubtedly be rainbows-and-butterflies-wonderful tomorrow as the cycle of hormonal abuse of pregnancy wanes.

We're having Baby Blachly #2! But in a way YOU'RE having a baby too; because it takes a village. And I am going to need a little more help than normal. I can feel it. That line about "God never gives you more than you can handle", not buying it sister. I'm a little scared...a lot anxious...a good amount excited...but mostly I'm already tired. I'm too much of a sissy for this parenting business. Someone just give me the manual already!

So if anyone wants to throw me a shower, can you make it a Pity Party instead? That's more my speed these days.

Joseph won't quit acting like a wild child and we have ANOTHER one of these on the way?

...bedtime is a nightmare, had to leave the room to breathe before something or someone went out the window...
...he wants daddy to change his diaper but daddy is mowing the lawn right now, can't mommy just do it already?! omg he is writhing on the floor naked screaming...
...he wanted me to kick that ball not this ball, ok let me kick that ball then, that's not right either, omg he is writhing on the lawn screaming...
...he wanted to put the ice in Daddy's travel mug of coffee, oops sorry, maybe next time, Daddy really needs to go, please stop crying, ok then let's walk Daddy out, omg he is writhing on the driveway screaming, at 7:00 in the morning, good morning neighborhood...
...shall I go on?!

Stop that! Just look at me and smile!

Like I said before, these are all things that could possibly be happening to a hormonally hormonal pregnant lady. These could be the things that an already irritable mom has to deal with and at the same time try to be happy and positive about the new little bundle of joy that is coming to join the family. She might make mental list like the one below:

• buck up and suck it up already! aren't moms supposed to be really good at that?
  
• finish chapter in Momology on "turning the frown upside down"
• learn from your very own flesh and blood first child on the amazing personality trait of resiliency
• leave the guilt behind...you can't take back that you just yelled at him but you can NOT yell at him tomorrow
• I thought "laid back" and "go with the flow" best described me about two years ago. Goal: let that describe me again!
  
• My favorite: keep your expectations low in the first place and you won't be disappointed, right?
• would you rather go back to working the reception desk downtown?! That'll shut you up.

Aghh! Joseph! Hold the sonogram picture AND smile. Please!

So maybe the first trimester was a little hard on me. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel though. And a beautiful rainbow. With a little baby bundled in a sweet soft little blanket cooing up at me. I think the problem is that I'm not used to being in such a learning state of life. So I need to readjust to that and get ready for round two at the same time!

JOSEPH! If you hold it up, look at the CAMERA and smile at the same time I'll give you some m&ms!!!

Now if one were a wonderfully balanced, loving, and non-hormonal type of gal (and I AM feeling the love, light and happiness as we speak) then I think the following would be what you might possibly see on her blog, for instance.

Josh, Joseph and I are so excited to be having another baby!! I wanted a baby so badly that only getting pregnant yesterday would do. When the pregnancy test stripe popped up my head kinda spun for a moment! It was very surreal. I sent Joseph in to tell Josh he was a big brother and we all smiled and hugged and it was wonderful!

Unlike with Joseph, we decided to wait until after our first doctor's appointment to tell close friend's and family we were pregnant. I didn't announce it to the general public (i.e. FaceBook/Blog) until now...the end of my first trimester. On Friday I'll be 13 weeks. The appt was long but easy and went fine. I got my first sono which showed the yoke sack and not much else but it was still so sweet!

Yes! Geez, thank you, son!

So I got out my pregnancy journal from Joseph and have been reading/writing along with the info and entries from last time. I've been SO sick and tired and it's been really trying but it's getting better with each week. The other day I caught myself doing a whole mess of laundry and cleaning and it clicked that I wasn't exhausted and laid up on the couch!

I have found myself to be a little more neurotic this time around. Like over thinking things, over analyzing, making a lot of drama, creating crazy blog posts...that sort of thing. Hopefully it won't last much longer and the 2nd and 3rd trimesters will be a little better!

Now off to pick out some names! For me, that's almost as hard as the child rearing.

Bouncin' the Day Away...

We bounced the morning away, anyway. But darn it, until that pesky nap time got in the way Joseph played as hard as any other kid in that bounce house place! I can't even say for sure what his favorite part was because he enjoyed it all so much.


He loved the slide!


He loved playing basketball!


He loved the air hockey!


He loved his playmates! (Con and Cayden were there too, but every picture I have of them is a bluuurrrr...)


And did I mention, he LOVED the slide!

Now the only thing about this place is (unlike some of the other bounce house chains) is that they allow big people on the slides and houses. All this means for me is that my nice relaxing morning letting Joseph run around with his friends and cousins went down the drain since Mommy had to play too.

There were a few tight squeezes that aren't necessarily meant for a big person, but I do generally have a darn good time on those slides. ;)

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Thirsty fun in the summertime...


Sprayed in the face fun in the summertime...


Squeals of fun in the summertime...


Wet kickball fun in the summertime...


Sweet baby fun in the summertime!