: )

So..... I am a slacker. I blame the enormous amounts of photo editing I have piling upon me. Not complaining. Just saying... I am busy. I haven't even really touched Pinterest for over a week or two. And that is saying a lot. But today I post glad tidings of sidewalk chalk and paper airplanes. Daniel is 4 month old as of Sunday. Growing like a weed. Don't know his stats; waiting for Lucas to turn 2 and Joel to turn 3. Group trip to the doctor! And all three will be receiving shots. *Warm fuzzies*. And today is exactly 75 days before I take flight. Checked in on the ticket; it is not bogus. Definitely an irrational fear I have had for the last four weeks. Because it would have been the worst thing ever to find out when trying to board the plane.

I run. Well, try to at least. Building up day by day. Little by little. But when I run (and walk), I often have random thoughts pop into my head.
*I wonder if Ty still hearts Christy (someone wrote in the pavement).
*I can fit 3 kids in a double stroller. What the heck am I going to do when we have 4?
*Will my thighs ALWAYS rub together ever-so-slightly when I run?
*That man walking toward me on the sidewalk will either try to kill me or smile & nod.
*How long do I have to do this to have a killer bod?
*What makes someone want to sell RVs for a living?
*It always seems to be hotter on the days that I exercise.
*People must laugh in their cars at my weak attempts at running.
*What shade of yellow should I paint my future laundry room?
*When will I have a nicer neighborhood to run through?
And some days I have much, much weirder thoughts. If anyone knows the answer to any of my questions, let me know. My mind obsessively wonders, so rest would be nice. :)

truth

Lately, it feels like the weight of the world is crushing me. Not anything big. Just a bunch of little, inconsequential things. But by the end of the day, I often look like this. Completely worn. Utterly exhausted. And not because of my children, either (though Lucas + terrible twos = hell). On the contrary. Daniel's smiles bring so much light into my life. His smiles touch his eyes. Anyway. Not sure why I feel this way. Just overly emotional, I guess. Been walking/jogging/running to help kick these blues. Praying the exercise and sun will help. Don't worry. I'm okay! Just..... yeah.

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Some days, I conquer the world as a mother of three. Field trips. Activities. Sewing. Cooking. Cleaning. Organizing. Singing. Teaching. There are days when I can accomplish all of the above... and more. Then there are other days. Days when we do nothing but lay around on the floor and watch way too many movies. Today is one of those days. But that's okay. I like today.

countdown

I like looking forward to things. And I definitely have something in the near[ish] future to look forward to. 100 days. Exactly one hundred days from this moment and I am gone. Flying far, far away. Just me. Traveling over 6,000 miles. And [if I use Google Maps for directions] I am suppose to kayak across the ocean. I think I'd rather take a plane and save 33 days of traveling...This picture in no way indicates which direction I will be traveling. And for the few that may know where I am going, PLEASE don't spoil the surprise. It's a secret. For now, at least.
But, in the mean time, we are just learning many, many things and doing fun crafts to pass the time. And if the rain [from this useless excuse of a monsoon season] wont come to us, we will make our own. Now we have a little bit of rain every day. And a rainbow of color.

Not much new. Just... you know. Living. And stuff. Since Daniel is getting bored with doing nothing, we pulled out the exersaucer. Not sure what to think of it yet. But you can bet Joel and Lucas are totally into it. We also pulled out the infant toys. Daniel doesn't care too much. Joel and Lucas... fighting over who gets to play with what. Typical. "Preschool" is flying by. Which is good for me. Because I am exhausted with putting our little lessons and activities together. But I thought I would share two of the things I have recently made for "preschool". Sometimes I get more excited about things I make for my children than they do. Go figure.

So. Last post. Told you I was addicted to Pinterest. Which I am. Love it. Check it a dozen times daily. Good CAN come from it. Take "preschool". I have been working on daily alphabet activities with the boys for the last 8 weeks straight. 16 letters down, 10 to go (each letter gets 2 days). I PLAN on posting about everything we have covered. Just not motivated enough to delve into that right now. BUT. I will post about the Pinterest challenge I took part in. My friend's cousin decided that a Pinterest challenge was needed for those who waste away their day with pinning, not doing. So, in honor of the doing, I share with you some of the things I have done.
This morning I painted my nails. Toe nails, mind you. I do not do finger nail polish. Saw a bunch of fun ideas floating around on Pinterest but chose this one. Glitter tips. You can bet the hubby LOVED the combo of loose glitter and nail polish. Needless to say, our bathroom floor looks like the aftermath of a pixie accident.
At the very beginning of the week, I revamped some shoes. An idea that is EVERYWHERE on Pinterest. Took some old black strappy shoes with rhinestone buckles and turned them into something I would wear. Cut off the ankle straps, removed the buckles, and added a simple leather flower. And have received a BUNCH of compliments on them.
For the boys, I have used Pinterest regularly for "preschool". One of our letters this week was "O". Found a craft site that taught us how to turn toilet paper rolls into octopi. Found another pin for the most ridiculously adorable lunch idea - owl sandwich. The boys loved eating baby owls. Maybe we should make lunch fun more often...
I could do wonders with Pinterest. But trying to do much outside of our normal "preschool" pins is just an exhausting thought. For now, I will pin. And pretend that every idea that I pin will happen...

tres meses

Daniel is 3 months old today. More and more smiles. More and more babbles. Even a laugh or two. He LOVES to watch his brothers. Smiles at Lucas regularly in the bath. And the boys love him (though I literally JUST had to yell at Lucas to get the pillow off Daniel's head). Help put his binky in. Help burp him. Even make sure to give kisses EVERY night. Have no clue how much he weighs. Probably around 15 lbs. Which is small in our family...

stuff

HI! I am still here, despite my lack of posts. Main culprit? Pinterest. Addicted. But using it for the good: I have been doing "preschool" with my boys for the last seven weeks. Half way through the alphabet. And I INTEND to blog about it. Just not yet. I am learning why people say the third child is the hardest. I still believe one was the most difficult [for me], but having three means NO TIME. So many things I want to get done in the day, but half of them never happen. I am grateful I have been doing "preschool" daily! But that means projects are put on the back burner. The biggest thing I have been working on is POTTY TRAINING. I was terrified to start. Didn't want to think about all the work that would go into it. Didn't want to deal with accidents and messes. But I did it. Just took off Joel's diaper [and pants] Monday morning and told him no more (out side of nap and bedtime). AND HE HAS DONE WONDERFUL. Only two accidents in the last week. Both were when he was away from home with shorts on (he spends his days naked - from the waist down - while at home to help prevent accidents). It seriously has been easy peasy. I don't have to tell him to go sit on the potty every 30 minutes. He just goes when he needs to. Soon (hopefully) he will be wearing his ridiculously cute underwear. Eek! Lucas has been, well... exhausting. Screaming fits at night still. Gets distraught when Joel falls asleep before he does. Goes out into the upstairs hall and cries at the railing. Tonight we found him passed out on the floor outside his room. Poor guy. Daniel is coming around. Not as unhappy as he spent his first couple months of life. Smiling a lot more. "Talking" a lot more. Even laughing a little. We know he is REALLY happy when both of his dimples are showing. Robert and I... meh. Nothing new. Our life basically revolves around our children. We spend our nights talking about our little ones and the pathetic monsoon season. The latter of which is SO depressing this year. Like 3 or 4 good storms in the last 2 months. Luckily, I always have my camera at the ready. So when a rare storm DOES blow in, I get some awesome shots. Oh my boring, boring life. Ha!