Total Randoms...

I so love the cold winter days... especially the days that begin with fog. Something about the mist in the air makes me feel alive! After a morning of errands, the kids and I spent a good two hours after lunch hanging outside and playing at the school behind us. Just riding their bikes and taking their jeep out for a spin and I took some pictures of them having fun, being kids.

We have been in our new house for a little over a month and a half. It is awesome! I love that everything is so spread out. More to clean, yes, but so worth it to be in our own place. Duncan and Maxwell are still adjusting to the huge space. Still don't want to be left alone for too long by themselves. Laurel is doing fantastic in her bed at night... a few occasional spills off the bed, but she loves having her own space too. The office/stringing/craft room needs some work. Erghe and I have so much stuff that shelves are desperately needed. He is in the market for a saw of some sort so that he can build a workbench, so that he can build us shelves, so that we can put stuff away properly... but man, those tools are pricey! Our list of home improvement projects is very long, but in time we will get them checked off.

Oh I am super excited... last night I braved my sewing machine and hemmed a pair of Erghe's pants. Although it wasn't the prettiest of hems, I did it! Maybe now I can start some of the many sewing projects I want to do. Practice, practice, practice.

Recently we have been doing some research on schools for Duncan to attend when he starts Kindergarten next fall. OMG! I cannot believe he will be turning 5 in just three short months! Ok... so we had high hopes of me homeschooling the kids. I so wish I could be that mom... but I have to be realistic... I just don't think I have the patience to do it. There will be a new baby here soon and Laurel will be two and Maxwell is in that 3 year old mindset of whining and not listening to anyone and add on all the housework that needs to be done daily... yep... no homeschooling for me at this point in motherhood. So anyways, we have this great school behind us which is so convenient to have him go to. Yet, something just doesn't sit right with me sending him there. I really would like to get Duncan into the CA Montessori Project. Erghe looked into it too and he was very impressed and likes the academic program. The downside is that the closest campus is a 20 minute drive.... We will take a tour of a few of the campuses and get a first hand look at the school. If all goes well we will send in a few applications and hope that Duncan's name gets selected from the one of the lotteries in April 2010.

WOW... I am super excited to have Duncan start school next fall. He will be able to meet new kids and make some friends his own age. Hopefully I can befriend some moms too! So much to look forward to in 2010!

A bad day...

the good that comes out of the bad stuff... hoping that more journaling will help me stay sane.

yesterday, i had a meltdown. i am sure my pregnancy hormones are mostly to blame along with the fact i was living on only 2 hours of sleep. it was so bad that i asked erghe to leave work early so that i could vent to him. it started when i couldn't fit a bookshelf into my car that i so wanted from someone off craigslist. i paid the lady and tried for 20 minutes to get it into my car. then i tried to call a few friends to help me and they didn't answer their phones... so i had to go back up to the ladies house and tell her i had to give it back. from there i spiraled... i started sobbing, thinking about how much time i wasted driving to get the bookshelf, how i could have been at home taking advantage of the kids sleeping, thinking about how i have drifted from my friendships and how much i desperately want to have a close friend to share my motherhood woes with, thinking about how i shouldn't be feeling sorry for myself.... i was feeling really pathetic, crying over such nonsense. but i couldn't stop. i cried the whole way to pick up erghe from work. thank goodness for him. he talked some sense into me and i ended up feeling not so pathetic.

oh yeah, the 2 hours sleep thing... monday night i was in the hospital visiting my grandma who had a cardiac arrest and was hanging on by a thread. whew... she knows how to stir us up. we thought we were going to loose her that night, the doctors had nothing good to say. she is a fighter... on a ventilator and heavily sedated, her vital signs improved so much! later today they are going to remove the breathing tube. the numbers aren't good, and she has a big fight ahead of her, but we are hopeful that she can pull through this.

things on the home front are going good... i am looking forward to having our first christmas in our new home. it is so nice to be able to have space to be alone, for the kids to play, for us to have dinner together as a family and the list could go on forever. there is a lot of things to be done to the house, in time we will get them done. i am so grateful for erghe's mom who through all of the bad times has stuck with us and gave us such a wonderful gift and made it possible for us to get this house! she has such a big heart.

whew... i feel better. yesterday is behind me and i am ready for now! kids playing, better hop to getting some gifts done...

free time... oh my!

All of the kids are asleep and Erghe is playing tennis. Deciding between doing the dishes, picking up the the hundreds of toys thrown about, catching up on sleep or dedicating time to type up a long overdue post for my my blog was tough. The blog won this time.

Where to start... oh yes, our lovely little lady Laurel turned one in May. Whew - she is so much fun! She wakes up every morning with a huge smile on her face and wants to give everyone kisses. "Duncan" is her latest word... although "Duh" is all that comes out of her mouth.

Maxwell decided that today was the day that he wanted to start potty training. Only one little accident... way to go Max! This boy is so darn cute and can be so sweet... but boy... is he a two year old. My mom tells me it is paypack for the way I treated her when I was a little girl... whew.. so sorry mom!

Duncan is great at recalling things from months and months back... he even remembers what gifts he got from his third birthday (his bling ring from holly is one he loves to talk about). Today he was telling me about a birthday party he went to last October and how someone took his helmet and wore it and chased him around with a sword... crazy stuff this kid comes up with. These stories never fail to put a smile on my face.

Erghe is playing a lot of tennis and stringing a lot of tennis raquets. I wish I were able to watch him play more. Taking the kids to see him on Saturdays is nice and all... but I can't get any watching in and so I never know what the score is. But even if I just catch a glimpse of him smashing the ball... I am in love all over again.

And as for me, I am enjoying being a wife and mom. Wish there were more time in the day... there is always some project on my to-do list or some chores that don't get finished. At the end of the day, those tasks aren't important... it is the love and joys we share that keeps me going. (on that note... I did take 10 mintues - or more - in between writing to clean up the kitchen a little.... I HATE waking up to a dirty kitchen)

29 isn't so bad when you have AWESOME friends!

What great friends I have! Holly called me on Saturday morning and told me to drop off the boys with her and Summer so that I could get away and get some time to myself for my birthday. How awesome are they? So I took full advantage and went shopping! Got some new shoes, a storage thingy for my scrapbook paper and then Kim took me out to lunch!

I should mention that Erghe made me a yummy breakfast – that guy can make some mean scrambled eggs with cheese! Thanks, babe.

Oh my - I am so blessed to have met some wonderful gals these last couple of years (and of course to have the friends in my life that I have known for over 15 years now - wow I sound OLD!). I am very much looking forward to growing into little old ladies together and sharing stories along the way.

Where did November go?

Geez, November flew right by me

Maxwell turned two on November 12th and I spent a lot of time planning his hoedown. The internet is a wonderful thing … I was searching for ideas for the party and came across this really cool site for party themes BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS. After spending way too much time on the site, I got some cool ideas on favors and decorations. I made stick horses for all of the kids out of paper bags and yarn. My friend Summer found some awesome cowboy hats at the Dollar Tree and with the help of Holly, my mom and sister, we added some color to them and gave them to the kids as well. I made each kid a WANTED poster with their picture on it. They turned out really cute! After all the hard work and crafting, the party turned out great and the kids had a fun time!

I love the fall!

I am so glad that my favorite season is here!!! It is beautiful outside - the trees, the pretty fallen leaves and the fresh crisp air. Here is what we have been doing in the past few weeks...

We visited the pumpkin patch . . .

The kids got dressed up for trick-or-treating

Who knew...

Each day I am faced with choices to make. Some aren't difficult to decide - like what to make for dinner or choosing which park I should take the kids to play at. There are some choices I make that are entertaining and make me giggle - when I try explaining to my two year old son that he can't have candy for breakfast. Yet there are some choices I have to make which are much more important - that can shape how my children learn and can influence them and who they grow up to be.

Being a mother has changed my perspective on life. Never before have I thought so much about morals and kindness. My oldest son, Duncan, amazes me every day with his manners and how caring he is with his baby sister and others around him. His innocence makes me melt. I need to take a moment and look at things through his eyes. What does he see? More often than not, it isn't pretty. It is the little things he picks up on - whether or not mommy said please. Why did mom raise her voice at brother? Why are mommy and daddy arguing?

I started listening to Dr. Laura years ago, before I had my kids. This is when I truly gave thought to how I wanted to raise my future children. Her radio program has been a great resource for me as a mother and wife. She is a great advocate for doing what is right, not doing what is easiest and makes people feel better. Telling moms that their kids should be the number one priority, not some job or some guy she is dating. I feel very blessed to be albe to listen to her when I have the free time (which with three kids aged 3, 2 and 5 months, is a rare commodity).

With all the attention on the elections coming up and the decisions that have to be made about what to vote yes on and which candidate to vote into office - I decided to check out her blog - http://www.drlaurablog.com/ and see what her perspective was on certain moral issues.

I went to her blog tonight and read her first two pages worth of entries. So much valuable information and insight. I might not agree with her on every issue but reading what she has to say makes me more aware of the importance of being an active role my children's life and in society. It seems today that more and more people have little or no morals and are making poor choices and children are being put in harms way. It makes me worry about my children and the negative influence that is all around them. A look at the bigger picture in life puts things into perspective for me... I will continue to teach my children morals, kindness and give them my love and encourage them to laugh and be happy. They are percious and grow up so fast.

Being a mom is the hardest yet most rewarding job ever!