"I don't know how you do it."

That is the easiest question for me to give an answer to, and should be obvious....umm hello, I'm SUPER MOM! No really, I have a cute little curl and everything! ;-)

Oh goodness, after today I should really win an award or something. A $100 certificate? Ok, a pedicure? A bookmark? Anything?! A sweet smile from my children would even be enough! *sigh*

My day consisted of.....(brace yourself, are you ready for this?)...
3:30am, finally going to bed.
6:30am - Layton "downstairs eat" = a granola bar and then to mommys bed
9:30am - Layton " Buzz, woody" = Toy Story 2 while I remain in bed with all 3 kids, 2 still asleep. What time did they get there? Haha. I have no idea.
10:30 - the rest of the clan awakens and it's time for some grub.
10:35 - oh crudola! I forgot we are out of milk. :/ Ok, who wants a granola bar (another for L) and a yogurt? Thankfully no one disagreed.
11:00 - Mommy needs to drink her smoothie and my coffee. "You guys wanna sit on the porch with me while I drink?" (again, it's just coffee and a strawana smoothie)
11:30 - ok, let's get ready I've got a number of errands to run.
1:00pm - What!? It's 1pm!! That took forever!
1:15 - finally leave home....

The rest of my day is pretty much like this...Stop 1. "Layton, stop hitting your sister. Please bring back my phone. Gabriella, keep your hands out of your sisters face. Layton, I said a game. Don't delete my pictures! Ana, it's ok baby. Layton, sit down. Gabriella, put your shoes back on. Layton, come here where I can see you. Ana, where did your binky go? Gabriella, get your hands off your brother. No, Gabriella let your brother have my phone for awhile. Gabriella, what did I just say? Layton, put your shoes back on. Layton, Layton!? Gabriella, let go of your brothers shirt please. I said LET go. Layton, do not even think about biting your sister. Oh, Gabriella, ok that's it; no park today. Layton, please get back over here and sit down. Ok, Gabriella, you can have my phone in the car.
Stop 2. Both of you sit and watch Super Why. No, Layton we don't need that. I said, no. Put that down! Layton, look at my face. I said, NO. Yes, Gabriella that's for your party. Layton, that's sissys. Gabriella, please be sweet. and the saga continued....

No. I'm not exaggerating. It was actually much worse as far as constantly repeating myself and sounding like a raging lunatic. Actually, I found myself breathing normally and still calm throughout stop 2; which was Walmart. The other stops were just drive through, so no one except the ladies at the windows could here the insanity seeping from the van.

This evening it was the same thing..eat your dinner, Layton what do you need honey? Gabriella, I asked you to eat. ....repeat about 50times. :/ I managed to SOMEHOW keep it together all day/night without blowing an eye socket. I was really pretty patient considering my crazy, cute kids had lost their minds. Which, honestly was sadly an achievement for me. One of the many things I'm working on, breathing and remaining calm and soft spoken. I have a LONG way to go.

Ok so, maybe I'm not "supermom", But I am getting really daring in how often I venture into public alone with my 3 kids. :-)

I know, that doesn't leave you feeling anymore intelligent or spiritual; but at least you now know that you're not the only one with wacko kids! Haha. Or maybe it just makes me feel better to think y'all have a little insanity in your homes too.

Here's 2 of my lovelys during our crazy day.

Twins?!??!!

Pregnant? I know the Lord is humorous, but that would just be cruel!

I often, as in everyday, get asked if Gabriella and Layton are twins. Gabriella will be 4 on July 15th and Layton turned 2 on March 1st. They are 19.5 months apart, to the day. However; Gabriella is so dainty and has been since birth. While Layton, on the other hand, has always been very big. She weighed 6lbs 6ozs and was 2 weeks early. He weighed 7lbs 6ozs and was 3 weeks early. You see the pattern? Gabriella was in preemie clothes for a month and and half, and always grew at a very slow rate. Mr. Big stuff, Layton, was a very very fast growing, chunky baby boy.

Last year I said to myself several times, "he's going to pass her up if he keeps growing like this"; and he soon did. I believe it was close to his second birthday when he took the 2lb step in front of Gabriella. I thought it was so funny that my 2 year old was/is bigger than my near 4 year old.

It never fails that I hear the question "awww are they twins?" when I take them in public. I just smile and say "no". :-) I used to tell my husband all time when I was asked this question. Now I don't have to. We went out to dinner last Friday evening and the server asked "the" question. He chuckled as he heard it asked for the first time.

They are both so different....Gabriella is a sassy, yet sweet, totally in control, girly sponge that soaks up everything she can! While Layton is a tender hearted, big and strong, hilarious messy monster!

They fight like cats and dogs and drive me bonkers, but oh I love them both something ferocious!!

Just this morning they were playing together and getting along and I wondered if they weren't ill. This continued on into the afternoon. That's when I began to get used to it. BAM! Just like an earthquake that comes without warning, the fights started through til bedtime. Nope, no sickness here. :-)

Have I mentioned how much I love them?! <3

Here they are together at the zoo checking out the zebras.

Almost forgot!

My Craft Weekend finds from the antique barn and shop...Bearly Makin' It.

TGIF

Ok, so really the only change the weekend brings to me is that Daddy is home with us. Which, for me, is good enough. <3

I've really been trying to give the kids 2 hours a day of uninterrupted Mommy time. I want to enjoy the summer to its fullest and I want the kids to remember all the time we spent together. I don't want their memories to be that Mommy kept our house so clean and we did fun things on the holidays, or whatever. I've really had to stop and think about what's important. Is my house spotless? Um no. Is my laundry all finished and put away? Um ya, that's another no. I used to stress about it, but now, for me; there's no room for self induced stress.

Could my house be a little cleaner? Probably. Although right now, I'm learning to let things slide. My focus is my babies and their happiness and well being. I had always longed to me a Mommy and then when the reality hit me that may never be, I grieved. Thank God that He saw the desires of my heart and now I have 3 beautiful babies! I want to cherish this time with them and make memories that they can tell their own babies of.

All that to say, it's catching up with me!! Aahhhhh! My plan back fired today. Was supposed to go something like this....arise and shine, eat a nutritious breakfast of cereal ;), get everyone ready and head out for a few hours of fun, be back in enough time to effectively make a dent in the house chores, and then relax when the hubs got in. Bahaha ya right! I let the kids sleep in and had a late breakfast, then to the mall and then to play. We didn't get home til late and then I was so tired from being in the sun, I couldn't find the energy. I NEED A MAID! Any takers?

Ok, so wasn't I just saying that some things are gonna have to slide? Yup, sliding....they are. :-) Ah, there's always tomorrow.

Here's some of the fun we've already had this summer.

Back home: breathing and thinking a little more clearly

It's Wednesday and I've been back for longer than I was gone. I took the kiddos to the "water" park this afternoon after picking up the house a little. It's a new city park that has lots of water spouts and sprays. :-) Kids love it and it's free; so I do too.

This past weekend was fantastic. Very relaxing and laid back. We arrived Friday evening around 5:45 and everyone made their introductions. All the ladies were kind and we all got along quite well. Kimberlee made a nice (spicy) meal ad then we got our craft on!!! I won't give you a play by play, I'll just say that it was great and I'd gladly do it again!!

I bought a pair of antique kiddie chairs at the antique barn as well as a lovely white queen size chenille throw at the Sunflower. (pics to follow)

Meg Duerksen is a great host and with Kimberlee's help pulled off Craft Weekend #6 without a hitch!

Was def thrown back into the SAHM role bright and early Monday morning, but I was well prepared and refreshed. :-)

Thanks to my great hubby for keeping all 3 babies for me and taking good care of them (daddy style).

~ Craft Weekend !!!! ~

Here we are! Newton, KS for CRAFT WEEKEND! I'm having SUCH a great time. So nice to be spending this fun filled weekend doing what I love; and what's even better is spending it with a great friend. All the women are so nice and we've all just about finished our aprons! Ugh, that reminds me...I didn't snap a pic of mine before coming up. In the am. I do miss my hubby and babies, but Daddy is taking good care of them. I believe the kids were pretty excited about their trip to Chuck E Cheese! Here's a few pics I've managed to snap. More to come as the weekend continues! Tomorrow we are headed to the antique shop (featured on American Pickers)! So excited about that! G'nite

Yay! I figured out photos! Well ok, all I did was download the blogger app. :-) Either way, photos will now be shared!

Hi there. It's been awhile since I've gotten to sit down and type. Thought I'd take a few moments while the kids are behaving (gotta hurry that is most likely short lived)! This morning started out to be quite the thrill. I was privileged enough to clean up diarrhea that oozed out the back on my 2 year olds diaper when I laid him on the floor. The best part....that it was soaked up by the wool pottery barn rug. *sigh* Now, I've never had to clean poop out of a wool rug; but I'm hoping the vinegar water and a touch of sunlight will do the trick. I'm praying that is the most eventful part of my day. I'm leaving my hubby with all 3 kids this weekend so mommy can go to timeout. Timeout is the only way it seemed logical to Gabriella, so timeout it is! Headed to CRAFT WEEKEND! So excited! I am, however; nervous/anxious about leaving my 3 little monkeys. I've never left them overnight before. Well, with the exception of my hospital stay after delivery and when I stayed with the 2 youngest while they were in NICU. Timeout is a good idea for all mommies. I know it's time for this mommy because my patience stick looks like a piece of rice! YIKES ! DID I MENTION I AM ÜBER EXCITED?!?!?!?On a side note... Ana is growing way too fast! I do love this stage she's in though. The smiles and giggles accompanied with lots of drool and hand batting. She's just too sweet for words! I still am not 100% sure if she's my last. I'm so torn. BUT for the time being I'm just going to enjoy Ana and every sweet little toothless grin she throws my way. I may try to blog from Craft Weekend, ok who am I kidding?! I'll be having way to much fun creating and interacting with the other ladies. I'll touch base when I get home!