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January 29, 2008

Home sweet home

Yay, we survived and we're back at home after 5 days in MA!
I am up to my eyeballs in suitcases and backpacks but am slowly getting unpacked. I've finished Andy's and my suitcase, if by finishing that means the suitcase is empty and the clothes are stacked on our bed. LOL
The girls had a great time at their Mema and Papa's and we had a great time playing in the snow. They got suited up every morning and stayed out roughly 30-45 minutes every morning. It was very cold, 18 degrees or colder on most days.

Lizzie eating snow!

The girls and I getting ready to go down. We went so fast one time I had to put the brakes on (dig my heals into the ground) and I sprayed snow in Julia's face and each time we went up after that she warned me- don't spray snow in my face mommy!

Traveling with 3 little kids is hard! There is no other way around it, it stunk! Part of me doesn't even want to write that because then it means I wasn't this supermom who could handle everything with ease and an easy going spirit but I'm turning over a new leaf and admitting- I am not that person. The reality is that I like to be at home, I am my best at home and I'm tired of beating myself up over trying to be someone I'm not. I still don't like to nurse in public, I'm not as relaxed and I'm sick of chanting in my head- just relax, just relax, JUST RELAX!! I want to be one of those moms who can just take her baby everywhere and whip it out whenever (why I don't know) but I'm not and she is certainly not that baby. Caroline likes being at home better as well. So from now on, I'm going to really think about situations and make decisions that are best for me and my family. Best for who I am at that moment and not who I think I can or should be so that I just end up giving myself a hard time when I haven't met my own expectations.

The flights themselves went fairly well. It was our morning in Atlanta flying out that was the worst. We stayed in Atlanta after a GREAT evening with the Goseys. We got to meet Truett which was so much fun!

(thank you for the new wooden play food, its helping me make it through this day!!)

That next morning after a horrible night sleep in the nastiest hotel I have ever stayed in, (lesson one- you get what you pay for. $69 for one night and parking for the week may sound good on paper but don't plan on sleep or walking around with bare foot!!) we shuttled to the airport at 7am. The girls had barely slept and were a bit out of sorts. We had SO MUCH STUFF (lesson two- take only what you absolutely need on the plane, because if you pack a cute little bag for each girl guess who ends up carrying it!). Before we went through security we tried to explain about taking shoes off and coats and Julia threw a fit over giving up her coat. So I bribed her with fruit snacks (lots of bribing went on that day). Going through security was crazy. Atlanta is super crowded and you know those tubs you put your stuff in- we must have filled almost 10 of them- no joke!! So they are rushing us through and Andy and I are quickly putting our shoes back on, while passing the baby back and forth. We're trying to get belts on, the girls coats back in the double stroller, their shoes on and a lap top put away and the security lady is saying, "let's go, move it along!" As stressed as this moment was, I did feel a sense of calm and tried to encourage Andy that we were doing the best we could and people could go around if they wanted. Did I mention how many stares we were getting and we got lots of "wow, you have your hands full" the whole trip! I placed Julia in the front of the stroller which is not where she wanted to be and she proceeded to throw a huge fit. I buckled her in and ignored her for the most part as she arched her back and loudly cried. I was sort of at the point where I was thinking, well she's lost it and we have to get out of the way and there is nothing more I can do. Lizzie just stood back and watched with her little back pack on trying to be a big help. Going through the airport and the noise and all that chaos has got to be a lot for little kids. It happens so fast and you have these parents dragging you from place to place doing things really quickly and telling you not to ask questions. lol UGH! I don't want to repeat it anytime soon. The flight wasn't so bad, luckily I had a row to myself which was nice and Caroline did well. Then we had a drive from Boston to Lenox, 2.5 more hours (lesson three- even though tickets are way cheaper when you fly from big cities to big cities, its worth it sometimes not to have a drive on both ends!)

It's our year to fly to WA for thanksgiving and I think I'll be doing things a little differently for that trip. The first being, flying out of Chattanooga or flying into our final destination city. And the second being to really think through the time a day our flights are. When we go on trip I base how long we stay on the fact that we rarely get to see those family members and I'm going to really try to remember to consider what all my kids and myself can handle. It's stressful for me to travel with them while they are so young, and hopefully it won't always be that way but for now it is. I'm not going to continue to give myself a hard time for being something that I'm not. I'm a stressed out, controlling, scheduled mother and its serves my kids well and sometimes has its disadvantages but that is who I am!

Unfortunately awaiting me at home is a ton of freelance and lots of cleaning (see how by blogging I'm making such good use of my time), but for today I will just try to unpack and check in with friends who I've missed talking to and face my freelance and cleaning another day. :)

For all the chaos and craziness, it was a great to be with family and we had many fun evenings bowling and playing tennis. . .on the wii of course!!

Posted by JennR at 12:08 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

January 16, 2008

How long has it been?

How long has it been since I mopped the kitchen floor (I know you're all wondering)? Well I just moved the trash can and there was a piece of Christmas wrapping paper behind it. LOL!
This has been a crazy busy week. I have so many projects going, hopefully if I have finished them by Friday I'll post some pictures. Some are presents so I won't mention what they are, but my sewing machine has been working over time!! I also finished 8 calendars, I make them every year and this years are a bit late. But better late than never I guess. I'm still working on the imovie for Andy's parents. It's all their visits with the kids over the past 4 yrs and it has taken me many hours of sorting and arranging. Right now I'm trying to put music to it which is proving to be very difficult since they definitely have particular tastes when it comes to music. But its quite possible that I'm making it harder than it is.
We are gearing up for our trip to MA (hence all the late Christmas gifts). I'm very exhausted and a bit overwhelmed by all that I need to pack and all the logistics of flying with 3. I won't lie, I'm a little nervous. And Julia has a nasty cough- so we're going to be THAT family, an infant, one child hacking and another in toe talking up a storm. LOL
I did take Julia to the Dr on Monday to get rid of this cough and luckily it isn't in her lungs yet so it should pass quickly (we hope). She's perfectly happy, my motivation in going to the Dr was my fear that we wouldn't be able to meet little Truett while in Atlanta the night before our flight. I will try with all my might to avoid in the future a visit to the Dr with all three kids. It was like being stuck in a closet with wild monkeys! It was not a good day monday, but we survived.
I ordered my felt cuisine pattern books last night. I've heard of someone who is having difficulty with their purchase and in case anyone else wants to get them, I ordered mine off of her ebay store and it went really smooth.
Andy is printing them off at work (since they are ebooks) and when we get back from our trip I hope to get started on some play food. Also, a few friends have said they thought they were really cute and are interested in making them so I think I might have a sewing night sometime in Feb and have people over who want to make play food. Sounds nerdy I know, but I love having folks over and being crafty. It's like the best of both worlds!! (ok, that was nerdy for sure!)
Leave a comment or email me if you want to come and play. It will be an evening, sans kids (except nursing ones). I ordered the cakes, tarts and new italian patterns (did it for the pizza!). Apparently in each book is 14 patterns.
I downloaded her free pattern for strawberries just to see if it was easy to follow and simple and it totally was. All you need is to know how to make a running stitch. So there you go, if you know me or know someone who knows me you are welcome to come on over for our felt fest. : )

And here are some picts to end the post . . .

Posted by JennR at 11:48 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 8, 2008

I couldn't help myself

Those who know me really well, knew this was bound to happen.
LOL

I barely spent any time on this at all, just wanted to see how annoying the hand sewing would be and it wasn't that bad. There was an anxious 4 yr old staring over my shoulder the whole time too waiting for me to finish. It's a little big for a petit four but there is currently a tea party going on downstairs so I guess it did its job. Now if I could only find my brown felt, there is a request for a chocolate cake with a yellow flower. . .

LOL

Posted by JennR at 11:04 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Felt cuteness!!!

I was goofing around on craftster this morning and saw some felt food and decided to google felt food for ideas (to copy and create myself of course) and I found this site- Felt Cuisine
These things are so cute. If I wasn't two weeks away from a trip I would already be experimenting!! I was going to just copy the pictures but she is running a deal right now and I might actually buy the patterns. Silly ebooks aren't mac compatible or they would already be purchased!!
How cute are these!!! Man too bad I am super busy and have SEVERAL homemade gifts to finish before we leave for our trip to MA. . .

With 3 little girls in our house I can just about justify purchasing these.

Posted by JennR at 10:11 AM | TrackBack

January 2, 2008

productive year, so far

We added one to our clan in 2007.

So 2008 has been a productive year. LOL! We managed to take down the tree and all decorations on the 1st which I think is earlier than usual but I was so ready. I had only taken out about half my decorations and left the rubbermaids in my office which was getting on my nerves.
Today I played a lot with my kids and did some laundry, general cleaning, exercising (more on this later) and even made dinner. LOL- This is a lot compared to what I've been up to lately. I feel like I'm almost hitting my stride. Caroline is eating less and napping more regularly and I almost feel half way normal again. That's the amazing thing about newborns, each month is an incredible improvement on the last. She is responding with smiles and coos and is way more fun for the girls to interact with. Especially Lizzie, who reads to her and sings to her all the time.
I'm not one for resolutions but it does seem like a good time to give your daily life a good look. I was toying with the idea of switching Lizzie to a two day mothers day out program since she seems so bored, I could either do that or step it up. So I am stepping it up, or at least I did today. I want to try to remember that we are making the sacrifice for me to stay home so I can parent them. It's the days that I have intentions of getting my own stuff done that are the most stressful. Now I know there is a balance to these two things- being with my kids and taking care of me- I'm just hoping to find that balance and have everyone benefit. I actually taught Lizzie how to clean the bathroom today. LOL Why this took so long to dawn on me I have no idea!! Seriously, I tried to remember a principle I have read several times, why not bring her along side me to work with me instead of sending her off to play by herself. Which she HATES. I'm also challenging myself to bake one thing with her each week. I know this seems lame but it is very challenging for me to cook with her so I am starting small. I'll keep you posted on how thats going.
As for exercising, I am really surprised at how easy going I am about it. I'm used to being so athletic and I have become so slack about it. Not a bad thing at this stage in life but I want a little activity. So while at Walmart a few weeks ago I bought this video, called Dance it off. LOL Go ahead and laugh, its pretty funny. I bought it because it is 5 separate workouts that are 10 minutes each. You can do as many as you want. I have only done the first 10 minute segment so far. I started the ab workout but the baby woke up (thanks Caroline, no I really mean it)!! If someone ever saw me do this video, I think they might need to change their drawers. It is hilarious. I feel so uncoordinated and even laugh at myself. But it sure does get my heart rate up, in fact I am feeling a little soreness. How sad!!!
I'm also back to work and finished a project over the weekend (thanks Val)! My main motivation for accepting more freelance is to be able to pay someone to clean my house every once in a while. (anyone have a friend who cleans houses?) heehee I have two more weeks before a meeting where we'll map out the next few months. Kind of exciting and also a bit nerve racking. But its still nice to keep my foot in the door.
Almost time for Project Runway, I only have to endure 15 more minutes of the UNC game- UGH!

Posted by JennR at 9:21 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack