The latest sleeping pattern...

Happy St.Patty's day to all!

Cause & Effect

Totally productive but late night = Completely unproductive day

Putting Landon in timeout while I talk to my dad = Landon getting into upstairs toilet (with Conner's stale pee) and scooping it out with a fake ice cream cone ALL over the bathroom tile. It looked as though the bathroom was flooded.

Landon's bathroom mess = Bath for all 3 boys = splashing and more water on the floor

One batch of rice krispy treats = 3 lbs of fat on my mid section after eating 3/4 of them in 6 hours.

Biruk pooping on potty unattended (for 10 seconds) = Biruk walking out of bathroom with a shit trail following him while looking for me (even though I stressed DO NOT get off the toilet)

30 degree camping trip this coming week with my family = hair up my *ss and pretend shopping for a popup camper (instead of the tent)

Fake fantasy = need to get back to reality

Decided to set up my tent to get me excited = knocked the beautiful light fixture (with 4 globes and a dozen light bulbs) with the tent while putting in a pole

tiny little bump on the light = 25 lb light crashing to the floor = SHATTERED GLASS EVERYWHERE (at 10:00 at night no less)

And all I could think was 'thank god I bumped the tent with this light'. Could you imagine if one of the kids had thrown a football or toy at the fixture? I was almost relieved it happened. And I was able to clean it up while the kids slept. It sounds crazy but I think it was a blessing in disguise.

Weird, crazy, day = weird, crazy, blog post that makes absolutely no sense (with all sorts of grammatical errors)

Paperwork Procrastination

I hate paperwork. Hate it! Paying bills, keeping everything balanced, filing, etc. It all gives me a headache and I procrastinate as long as I possibly can. However, I had several things hanging over me that are all due within the next month. It includes a post placement report for Biruk, taxes, reimbursement on several medical bills (that require filling out forms and faxing them in with appropriate documentation), a care package and the typical monthly bills. Well they have all been lingering in my brain the past couple weeks and since I have some exciting plans over the next week I knew I MUST get these tasks accomplished. Last night I made this very long list of impending paperwork and my dear readers - guess what? I woke up this morning and have not stopped working on it until 15 minutes ago (2 a.m. I might add) and I am happy to report - I'M FINISHED!! I feel like a HUGE weight has been lifted off my shoulders. One trip to the post office and a fax and it will be completed. I'm happy to report the post placement will actually arrive ON TIME! This is a first for me, but hopefully not the last. And because of all this hardwork the little peeps will surely sleep in tomorrow, wouldn't you think? Do you hear me boys - PLEASE sleep in past 7:00. Oh, who am I kidding- I will be greeted by one of their faces in a little over 4 hours.... bring on the coffee!

Slip, sliding away...

For the past week I've either been wiping snot of the kids faces or blowing my nose (thank you irritating allergies). Thankfully we are seeing improvements in the kids after a week of very little sleep for all of us. We crashed at 9 p.m. last night. A Friday night and we couldn't even make it through one movie.

After spending the day at my computer doing taxes and Nathan entertainting the kids we decided to head down to the park. The fresh air was good for all of us and tomorrow is supposed to be even better. I'm hoping to get our raised beds in the ground followed by soil & heirloom starts this week. Wish me luck :)

Don't forget to turn back your clocks in the morning.

I've fallen...

Dear local grocery chain,
Why oh why must you throw all that junk food at me when I walk in the front door of your store? You see, I'm trying REALLY hard to eat healthy and you are not helping at all. Today I made the mistake of coming to the grocery store hungry and b/c of your bargains I left with fixins for rice krispie treats, oreo's (AGAIN), animal crackers, cheezits and ice cream. I have officially fallen off the wagon and hope to get back on. I will remember next time to visit with a full stomach. I really do love you local grocer so please don't let this happen again.

Sincerely,

your loyal shopper,
Chatter

Longing for more of this...

One of those (bad) days...

Life can't always be easy. If it were, I would not appreciate the "good" days nearly to the extent I do now. Today is one of those days that I'm certain the boys really are trying to make me crazy. The 4 year old is definitely testing his limits verbally, the 2.5 year old is perfecting his dramatic squeal after he is told "no" and the almost 2 year old thinks he needs to be attached to my hip all over again. No means yes in their ears and my angry face is a smile in their eyes. It's days like today that I try to be thankful for our health, warm home and running water. It's good to keep things in perspective :). That doesn't take away the screams, fighting and messes. So I'm shoving my mouth full of warm chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and dreaming about a getaway with my hubby that will not likely happen. No harm in pretending right? May tomorrow bring us sunshine and smiling faces...

Mr.Cool

Landon has been putting his arms up behind his head like this for a couple months now. He does it when I change his diaper, when he's lying on the floor watching tv, and even when he sleeps. It's one of those things that I never want to forget because it cracks Nathan and I up everytime he does it.

These are all photo's I had downsized and had planned on blogging about and it never happened. And since it's late and my brain shut down a couple hours ago I will let the picture speak for themselves. I will say one more thing, I'm loving these boys of mine!

It's one of those days...

where I am doing a whole lot of nothing and loving it!

I slept until 8:00 even though the boys were up and needed diapers changed and breakfast fed.

I snacked on oreos and drank coffee all morning.

I watched my boys play and took pictures.

I got the courage to call a blogger friend and I'm so thankful I did. Who knew I'd have so much in common with someone halfway across the country?

I read books to the boys while they ate lunch and made animal sounds with them just so they'd finish their meal without a fuss.

I skipped lunch and ate a big bowl of ice cream, topped with crushed oreos instead.

I am reading blogs.

I made the 2 bigs boys lay down for naps even though they probably won't sleep.

I'm daydreaming about a trip back to Ethiopia.

I'm enjoying the view out my bedroom windows.

The only housework I've accomplished is doing dishes and washing diapers. I felt the need to take the day off.

I have no intentions of changing the mood, it's just too perfect.

I am hoping the evening includes a warm bath, a good book and glass of wine.

How do you like to enjoy your lazy days?

The baby of the family...

Biruk seems all boy these days so I'm going to have to hold onto the fact that Landon is still a baby. Thankfully he still has all his little arm rolls and baby fat. And of course his cheeks. I could gobble this one up when he lies on the floor like this.

Tuhtdown...

I started my day hoping for the Colts to win but after the pregame show I was secretly rooting for the Saints. And seeing Drew Brees with his little boy afterwards made me even happier. Way to go New Orleans! Little Landon, the "ootball" fan in the house, stayed up late to finish the game with dad. Here is a clip of him cheering for a "touchdown".

Beauty...

I am not at all gifted in the cooking department. I've made potato soup a few dozen times and yet it always turns into mashed potatos. My cookies are usually doughy or burnt. I always forget to use salt and the simplest of recipes I manage to screw up. Yet I continue to cook and bake. Nathan's mom has made this beef roll for us several times and finally I attempted it myself since I'm always craving it. Here is proof of my sad, pitiful attempt at cooking. You cut the dough and braid it. Isn't she lovely...

Ethiopia on my mind...

A gift we recieved from our agency is a dvd for Biruk that documents his time in Ethiopia while in their care. It has photo's, beautiful video of us meeting him for the first time, him playing, sleeping, bathing, eating, soaking the sun and being lathered up with lotion by his nannies, our goodbye ceremony and more. It's honestly priceless and one of the many reasons we chose the agency we did. We do not watch it nearly as much as we should so tonight Nathan and I curled up with the boys to watch it. Conner couldn't stop rubbing Biruk's arm, holding his hand and saying over and over "I missed you sooooo much while you were in Ethiopia". He even said "I'm sorry I'm cranky with you Biruk, I'll never let anything happen to you" and at that point (Biruk was in my lap, Conner curled up next to him) Biruk reached over, rubbed Conner's face with his hand and said "Yeah". I think it reminded Conner, as much as Nathan and I, how truly blessed we are to have Biruk in our family. And the look on Biruk's face when he saw Nathan and I on the video, meeting him for the first time, made my heart want to burst! He couldn't stop smiling and him and Landon just kept saying "mom, dad, mom, dad". And of course everytime Biruk saw himself he'd say "me, me". Conner usually likes crawling into bed by himself but tonight he requested Biruk sleep with him. I started by rocking Biruk and finally I took him over to Conner's bed, asked him if he'd like to sleep with him and he gave me an enthusiastic yes. The pair curled up together like 2 peas in a pod, Conner with a gratious smile on his face. Such a big understanding for such a little boy!

Triple the Tricks

I know I have some family that is anxiously awaiting photos but I'm hoping to satisfy you with some afternoon footage of the rambunctious trio.

Food, Inc

Have you seen this movie yet? If not, PLEASE get to the store and rent it as soon as you can. Or if you are a netflix member, get online and watch it instantly. You won't regret it (or maybe you will because of how disturbing it is). There is so much to take in that I will definitely be watching it again. I learned of this movie from my moms group so tonight some of the gals came over and we sat down to watch it together. And throughout the movie I chanted "compound, compound, compound". And since my family lives hundreds of miles away, I want to start a compound with my new mom friends that I'm enjoying SO much! I love the idea of our own little community where we have a huge garden, cattle grazing, chickens running around, well water, possible solar/wind power yet the burden is shared by all. Is that too much to ask???? I think it's a splendid idea.

Carrie, an amazing mom and fellow blogger, is doing whole food for a whole year. I am not at all surprised by this and I'm sure she'll succeed. But it's made me realize how much more I need to improve my diet. I try to read labels, buy organic, buy local, eat less sugar and white flour, etc.. But I have such a long way to go. So this past month I've been reflecting on how I can improve and this movie is just the push I needed. NO more meat from the grocery store. I've found a local source for our chicken (I pick it up Thursday - yeah) and hopefully I can find someone for the beef once our current supply runs out. The farmers are out there, I just need to find them. But the biggest challenge is a GARDEN! I grew up with a garden but I've been so intimidated at the thought of actually having my own. And I know I want to start soon so I'm going to have to do a crash course on gardening asap. If anyone out there (ehem, Carrie, Tarah, Sarah, Amber) has some good tips please send them my way. And remember I'm a total beginner without a green thumb. I know I want to do the raised beds but that's about it... (aren't I off to such a great start?).

Anyway, please watch the movie if you haven't yet. There is so much more to be learned then just the food industry aspect. And please share your thoughts if you have seen it.

It can't get better than this...

There is so much I want to say but my brain is usually too excited to put it into words so I'll bullet point and post some pictures today.

- I woke this morning, rolled over to look out the window and I was greeted by massive snowflakes falling from the sky. It hasn't stopped snowing yet. Combine that with happy kids equaling one happy mama :)

- Biruk has been peeing/pooping on potty for months now. Today he brought me underwear and wanted to put them on. He wore them all morning without an accident. We are ready to get the potty show on the road! I'm hoping with both of our determination we'll be full on potty trained very quickly.

- Landon wanted to try as well (see pictures below). He was not as successful.

- Landon has now picked up on Biruk's phrases and now says "No onner, No biruuu or bad Biruuuu, bad onnner". His vocabularly is increasing very rapidly and I think he's trying very hard to keep up with his big brother.

- We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new house and especially the view out all our windows. I've been meaning to blog about the house just haven't gotten around it. We fell in love with this home because of the back yard. There is green belt space behind us full of pine trees and some hardwoods. We'll be doing lots of exploring out there this spring and we love the privacy it offers. We are so, so, so grateful!!

- I'd love to blog about Haiti but getting my emotions into words is very hard for me. It's been on my mind a lot and I'm amazed by the kindness, dedication and determination of so many people. Please keep them in your thoughts!

- Biruk has been a snuggling fool lately and it's been making my heart burst with joy. He's always been good about wanting held, hesitant around other people and very clingy but he's not one to offer real intimate affection. But he's really letting go of that side of him and I couldn't be more thankful!! I love ya B!!

- Conner has to be one of the easiest 4 year olds around. He doesn't give Nathan and I much grief, he's easily adjusted to yet another bedroom and is immensely helpful with his little brothers. Thank you Conner :)

- And little Lando. He's definitely the babe of the family and knows it. Just one look at his cheeks and it's all over with him. He is loving his dad these days and watching "ootball" with him.

- After 4 years of parenting I'm finally feeling like I've got the knack for it. Maybe it's moving, maybe it's time and patience or not having 2 infants anymore. Maybe it's getting 7 hours of sleep a night. Maybe it's life slowing down to where I can enjoy all the wonderful moments with my boys. Or, most likely, a combination of all of them. Whatever the case, I couldn't be happier to feel like my old self again. I've missed me. It's good to be back!

- I plan on staring out the window the rest of the day and watching these beautiful flakes fall from the sky. And hopefully I'll get bundled up with the boys after their naps for some "snow time". Have a great weekend, enjoy the pictures and leave a comment to say hello!! Best to you and yours!
sincerely, chatter

- p.s. I LOVE SNOW!!! Currently 8 hours of watching it fall and the excitement isn't fading. Yeah :)
- p.p.s. I wrote this post about 8 hours ago and still haven't added the pictures. I will do a picture post another time. We ended up getting at least 5 or 6 inches of snow today. We played outside with the boys tonight and hope to spend more time out there tomorrow. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect day.

6 years ago...

It's almost midnight here in Oklahoma and I've been listening to thunderstorms all night and watching the lightning brighten the sky. I even let out a couple gasps as I witnessed the biggest and clearest bolts of lightning I've ever seen. For those of you who don't know me, thunderstorms are one of my FAVORITE things in the whole world. I love listening to the rain hit the windows, the sound of the thunder crackling and seeing the sky turn black as the storm rolls in and the blue sky disappears behind the dark clouds. This isn't typical weather this time of year and it's just one more thing that made today even more perfect.

We officially bought our 4th home (we closed on it yesterday), and we have begun our 6th move in six years. It was Jan of 2004 when Nathan and I bid Indiana farewell, packed up a truck and moved over 600 miles into our cute, 2 bed apt in Springfield. Onto a life that revolved around the 2 of us and included; happy hours, movies, riding motorcycles, late nights staying up talking with Nater, exercising, camping and sleeping in on the weekends. If someone would have told me back then that I would move 5 more times, completely overhaul a farm house with Nathan *and a 1 year old in tow*, become a mom to 3 children in less than 3 years, have 2 homebirths and travel to Ethiopia while 6 months pregnant, I would have spit my beer out of my mouth and said "you've got to be shitting me".

But, here we are are, those 6 years later, the motorcycle a minivan, happy hour no longer a drink at a bar but any peaceful hour out of my day (or 10 minutes), late night talks have become late night feedings, a body that's lost most of it's shape (MEN OR WOMEN THAT ARE EASILY GROSSED OUT SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH) and a va-jayjay that's seen better days.

That being said, there's also been the pleasure of; sticky kisses filled with love from our 3 beautiful children, hearing their laughter every. single. day., watching them embrace each other, wiping away their tears, reading them books, tucking them in each night, and the daily hugs with Nathan amid all the chaos (usually while getting smacked on the butt by Biruk and Landon trying his best to squeeze in between us).

If someone had told me 6 years ago how challenging this path was going to be, I may not have taken it. But all the sweat, tears and heartache have been worth the rewards, laughter, and love. Sometimes, it's what we don't know, that takes us the furthest.

The cool kid

After I noticed Conner had switched from long pants and a long-sleeved shirt to mesh shorts and a Colt's jersey I asked him if he was cold.
His response "I feel cool but I'm not cold".