Thoughts

Once upon a time, I was a mother of two kids. As this mother,  I often wondered why other mom's seemed to struggle with getting things done. For the most part, my house was cleaned on a regular basis, dishes were done every night, and the laundry was pretty much put away. I got up and showered and put on makeup and actually got dressed. Grocery shopping was done on a consistent basis, I exercised somewhat regularly, and I usually had time to fit in a couple of crafts here and there.

 

And then,

I had a third kid. 

 

The past three months have been a beautiful whirlwind of mass chaos. I now understand constant fatigue and constant mayhem. I am learning, ever so slowly learning, how to pick my battles and what battles to pick.

 

So for now, my battle is the downstairs of our home. It's picked up every night, and the dishes are done. The upstairs, however, is a different story. It maybe gets a thorough cleaning once a week....

oh well... that's life, huh?

 

There are days when I am sinking. I feel overwhelmed when I look around me and see all that there is to do. I'm not complaining, because being overwhelmed means I have responsibility. It means that I have 3 children who depend on me, a calling to serve in, a house that needs taking care of, meals that need to be cooked, laundry to be folded, and tears to be wiped.

 

But there are days where I am happily swimming. Days where I look around me and see how blessed I am, where I can laugh with my girlies, days where I have endless snuggles with my favorite baby, and days where I actually get stuff done. :)

 

Speaking of getting things done, Nate and I have been refinishing a table. When we moved up here, we bought a pretty cheap table, one to just get us by for awhile, and I've been on the hunt for a table to refinish since buying a whole new set is just way too pricey for me.

 

My friend, who is a genius at refinishing furniture, found a table at Goodwill for $15. The best part? It comes with a leaf... even better is it didn't have any chairs. I have wanted mismatched chairs forever!

 

We started by sanding the top of the table. It was a lot of work, but fun!

We stained the top a deep brown color and distressed it somewhat, and it turned out beautifully (pictures to come later).

 

 

I decided to spray paint the bottom an offwhite color. I have way too much black and red in my house, so I'm trying to brighten things up a little bit.

The chairs will be painted the same offwhite color, but I want to stencil numbers on the chairs in light blue, light green, and yellow.

 

 

 We have all been sick... not all at the same time, but one right after the other, so we have spent lots of time in bed. First Nate got it, then I got it, then Ava had a little bit of it, and I think poor Halle got the worst of it...

 

But through it all, Ava has been a tremendous helper to me.

She is very proud that she can hold Colbie without help, and I love it because I can get things done without feeling like I'm totally neglecting Colbie. 

 

Speaking of Colbie, I've felt a little guilty not being able to hold her as often as I want to. She is such a fantastic baby, and hardly cries, so it's easy to just let her lay there...

but I have stuff I've got to do. Anyone else feel like this?

 

I love this girl we call Halle. She has officially entered the thundering three's. Whoever said it was the terrible two's obviously didn't have a three year old. Halle has picked up on Ava's whining habits, and can wail like the best of them... she's stubbornly independent, and has a curiosity about life that cannot be satisfied. However, she has a vivid imagination, and when she's happy, she has the purest look of joy. She is pretty much a happy-go-lucky kind of girl, and she is so much fun.

 





Ava is growing up a little too fast for me. She already has had her first love (our neighbor named Kadin). She loves to give bunny ears to people when I'm taking pictures of them... she thinks it's the greatest thing on the earth. We recently registered her for kindergarten, and she talks all day about going to school and eating lunch there. I've had to explain to her that she won't be eating lunch at school until she's in first grade, but she still likes to talk about it. Ava is a little afraid of riding the bus. She is worried that she'll get on the wrong bus, and won't know how to get home. I've explained to her that the teachers will help her get on the right bus, and she knows our phone number, so she can tell the bus driver to call if she is lost. She is also worried that she is going to miss me when she's at school, so we are going to make matching Mom and Ava bracelets to wear. When we are missing each other, we can look at the bracelet and know that everything will be alright.

 



Ava is pretty creative, and she has been expanding on that creativeness by making food art. Most recently, she has made bats out of Oreos. My friend bought me some MEGA Stuff Oreos, which were absolutely delicious! So much better than crappy single stuff ones.

 



The girls play with each other all day long. They set up elaborate games of Littlest Pet Shop, Barbies, Princess, and Ponies.



I just love seeing what they come up with.

 



 

I have been getting oodles of smiles and giggles from this little girl.

Our world revolves around her, and we are just fine with that.

 

 Life may be chaotic right now, but it's a good life.

I wouldn't have it any other way, and I am preparing myself for an increase in chaos, especially when Ava starts school. :)