My Alex

Yep that's my Alex....my soon to be 7 year old! SCARY!!!! This kid can melt my heart and drive me insane all in a 30 second time span. He is as stubborn as they come ( wonder where he gets that from) but he is also so smart. Sometimes I think he is too smart for his own good. This is the kid that at 18 months when we would spell out words he would know what we were spelling.

Alex and I butt heads A LOT! Probably because we are a lot alike which at times is great but also at times can be HORRIBLE! Sometimes it seems like he is a 30 year old trapped in the body of a 6 year old. He holds adult conversations with no problems and is quick to tell you how it is and why. He is also very lovable. He loves to just lay in bed with me and watch a movie or a show, or cuddle next to me at night and fall asleep. He would spend every minute hanging out with me or rob if he had the chance. I know moments like that wouldn't last much longer. Soon he will just want to be with his friends and he will be too cool for his parents.And even though there are moments where I swear he will drive me to go insane I can't help but love the kid.

rough days

We all have them as parents. They suck. Everyone hates them. We have had a lot of them lately. Between kids being sick, schedules changing, lack of sleep, and being ultra busy the last couple of weeks have had some rough days.
Addie has gotten the brunt of the illness that has swept through our house. Between puking last week and now having a ear infection and bad cough her mood swings make her seem bi-polar. And that mixed with the terrible twos has made for many unpleasant moments. She has been taking extra long baths because I feel like that is the only time I know she will be happyfor a extended period.
Alex has been busy with school, gymnastics, friends, and of course snowboarding ( when we had snow) and I think he is just getting worn out. Usually by Wednesday or Thursday he is over tired and a crab. Which means he will be a grouch and no one will want to be around him. It also means more fights between the boys. Which means more headaches for me!
I had rough days. I hate when I stare at the clock praying for bedtime to come. I think about all the people who can not have kids and would love to be in my shoes....to have rough days to complain about. I think about people who have lost kids and would take a million rough days to have them back. It makes me feel like I am selfish. Here I have 3 amazing kids, I had 3 easy pregnancies, and some days I just can not wait for that ME time.
I dont think I should feel like that because I think it is only natural as a parent. I think we all hit the wall sometimes and just need out space. I think my kids are like that too. I think there are times that they want and need to be away from me and either playing by themselves or hanging out with someone else.
Today has been a semi-rough day with addie being sick. And since it is Wednesday we will see how alex is when he gets home from school. For now I plan on relaxing a little, and then baking some cupcakes and making dinner.

Yay for Parties!

On Saturday we had the little ones birthday party. I love that I can combine their parties although I know as they get older I am going to have to start planning 2 different ones and probably spending more money!
We went to Phillies, our usual, since we do get a nice discount! Always a bonus when feed a lot of people. The kids had a blast. They had some of their friends their to run around with and play trains and cars. And of course there were presents, and lots of them! Addie opened her first one and then decided that was the only one she wanted to open, where Zach could not wait to see what he got. Overall it was a great day...minus Addie splitting open her head on the table! Here are a few pictures!

Parenthood..the good, the bad, the ugly

Ahhh what a journey motherhood and parenthood can be. When people think about having kids most of them just see a cute little baby. They don't think about what happens when that baby turns into a toddler, a 4 year old, a 6 year old and so on. I hear so many people talk about how they just can not wait until they can take their kid to the park, or play catch with them, or go swimming etc....I do not think that they realize it isn't just throw the kid in the stroller or car and go.
You have diapers, and wipes and sippy cups and sand toys or bathing suits and snacks and maybe nap times to plan around.Its not all rainbows and butterflies. Being a parent is hard, no matter how many kids you have. Sure the more you have the more of a juggling act it is but most of us have had only one kid at some point and even then there were days that were hard and days that we just wanted to pull our hair out. Or we would stare at the clock praying that bedtime would come faster.
There are days when all my kids are in great moods and are getting along and are just great to be around. And there are days ( like yesterday) when the boys can not do anything but fight and addie is being a terrorist and i just can not wait for rob to get home so i can RUN out of the house and do my errands kid free. Luckily the bad days do not happen as often as the good days ( knock on wood) but they happen. And those are the days that remind you just how hard it can be to be a parent sometimes. Are my kids perfect, of course not, and am I the perfect mother, yeah right... but then again i just have to remind myself that NO kids are perfect ( yep even yours aren't perfect) and no parent is perfect. We grow and we learn. We change some things we do as we have more kids and we keep some the same. We learn that with parenthood the good, the bad and the ugly all come together.
There will be days when kids are puking or crabby or just tired and there will be days when they are well rested and in great moods. But we make it trough the rough times to get to the good times. They wouldn't be little for long ( some days I can not wait for them to grow up) so we have to cherish the moments we have while they still call us mommy and daddy and tell us they love us and we are their best friends. Because soon enough they will be teenagers and want nothing to do with us. They will think they know everything ( didn't we all) and that we know nothing and we will once again wish they were little and fighting over Thomas the train.

Happy 2nd Birthday Addie

Dear Addie,

Today you are 2! I can not believe it! You were our tiny little peanut weighing only 6lbs12oz when you were born and now...well now you are not our peanut!

You are very spunky and very opinionated. You are very very much a daddy's girl but you have your moms personality for sure. You know what you want and you will fight for it. I feel bad for anyone who ever tries to pick a fight with you. You are tough and at times you are a little mean to your bothers.
They however are the apple of your eye. You get very excited every morning when we have Zach go in your room to say good morning. And when Alex gets home from school you scream his name and hug him. It is quite adorable.
You are in love with Thomas the train, much like Zach, and of course you are obsessed with monkeys. You carry your 3 big ones around everywhere and anytime we say monkey or show you monkey you get a silly smile and laugh. You are growing like a weed...almost as tall as Zach. I can not believe how fast these past 2 years have gone by. You are our last baby and now you are no longer a baby. I love you and hope you the very best birthday!

Happy 4th birthday Zachary!

Dear Zach,

Today you turn 4!!!! Its hard to believe that at one point you were a 7lb 1 oz little bundle!

Yep that was you! We use to call you our Buddha baby because you were so calm and so happy about anything and everything. But as the years have flown by you have become a very matter of fact type of kid. You know what you want and you will tell us. And if you do not agree with something you will let us know in a very loud way.
You love Thomas the train and I am pretty sure you can name every train and let us know if they should have a coal tender or not.
One of you nicknames is Mr. Manners because you ALWAYS say please and thank you. You are one of the sweetest kids ever. Always telling us that you love us and that we are your best friend. You are also very protective over Addie and Alex. You make sure that no one upsets Addie and that no one touches Alexs toys. ( Including Addie)You are so happy and bubbly. Always giving kisses and hugs and you just love to cuddle.
I can not believe how fast the last 4 years have flown by. You are loving preschool and learning so much and it amazing to hear all your stories about what happened at school. I can not wait to see what this year brings you and all the changes that come with being four. I love you very much and no matter how old you are you will always be my little Zachy Zachs!Happy birthday buddy!

We did it!!!

Today we signed some papers, put some money down and secured our lot for our new house. Otherwise known as lot 621. We also have our new address but I will only give that out to people I want to know it :) I am so excited!!! We are hopefully breaking ground in march and will be moving into the house in late July or early August. For now here are a few pictures of our lot!

Let it snow

Winter FINALLY came to Chicago! I however am ready for it to leave. The boys are the other hand are excited beyond words to finally get to play in the snow, go sledding and snowboarding!

Moving!!!

Looks like we will be packing our bags and moving to Oswego. We will be going on Sunday to put our down payment down and secure our lot and hopefully have a brand new house built and ready to move in by August!!! To say we need more space is a understatement! We currently own a 3 bdrm, 1 bath th that is about 12 sq ft. We will be renting it out when we move because really why sell and lose money????
Currently the boys share a room which I hate. Alex is at the age where he really needs his own room and really want him to have his own room. And soon Addie will be in a "real" bed and not in a crib so it will be nice for her to have some space and a room decorated just for her. And have I mentioned the one bath??? It sucks!!! Especially when my parents are in town or we have a bunch of people over!
The new house will have 4 bedrooms plus a good size loft upstairs. Rob and I will have a AWESOME master bath, I will have a walk in closet and Rob will also have his own closet and the kids will have their own bathroom upstairs. And the laundry is also on the second floor which is the greatest thing ever.
And since we will have a full basement all the kids toys will be down there. Which means I wouldn't be tripping over or stepping on toys all day everyday! I can not wait!!!

so much going on....

We have been BUSY lately. Between the kids school, gymnastics and playdates plus Rob and I working, and all the holidays and birthdays I feel like we have been on the go for the last 2 months. And we still have Zach and Addies birthdays next week and their birthday parties.
I have taken over the early childhood program at foxvalley park district for gymnastics. I love it. I love the sport...watching it, doing it and coaching it. And I love that I am in control and get to run my classes how I want to. ( according to rob i am a little bit of a control freak) Its great to know that I get to teach the kids the basic fundamentals of the sport which are very important.
Rob is also back at work after having most of December off ( which was great) We both had a few weeks off so it was great to be able to spend so much time with eachother and also as a family, but as of last week we were back to the hustle and bustle of working and dropping the kids off and picking them off.
We are still trying to figure out where we are moving to. Who knows how long that will take to figure out. We might know today we might know in a month. It sucks to have to sit and wait and wonder how things are going to turn out. I am excited for the possibility to move to South Carolina. We have both lived in Illinois our WHOLE lives ( minus the 4 months I lives in Colorado) and I think it would be a good experience for all of us. I will of course miss all our friends and families but I know we can always make more friends and fly back here to visit.
I am hoping after the little ones birthdays things calm down for awhile around here. Rob will be done with his Masters next month and then we have Alexs birthday in March. Which is scary to think that he will be 7. Even scarier to think that since Addie is going to be 2 we will never have a baby in this house again. For now that is all... once we know where we might be living I will let everyone know!

Birthday!

Happy 31st birthday to me!

2012

Well its the New year which means everyone is making resolutions and most people will give them up within a month. We spent new years eve with Aaron and Sarah..its our tradition for the last few years. We order some take out, have some drinks, and just hang out. Sarah and I decided to have a impromtu bonfire and make some smores. It was about 4 degrees out ( which never happens in December in Illinois) so it was prefect.
We have a lot that may be going on in 2012. We are possibly building a new house that will be about double the size that we live in now. We desperately need more space! That will all depend on if Rob gets transferred or not. There is a possibility he may be sent to Charleston, South Carolina. He has asked me many times how I feel about that and I am willing to move if it mean furthering his career. Although it will be hard to be away from all our friends and family but I think it could be exciting. And it will be nice to live somewhere other than Illinois!
We should know soon if we are staying here or packing up and moving... but for now it is a waiting game!
Hope everyone had a good New years!