random December ...

here's all the random, daily photos that I had up on instagram in December!!! 

(along with what I wrote with it)

in random order ...

 

"lunch time fun"

it should have said sauce fun - lol!  the kid is crazy for "sauce" - almost any standard type!!!

"he looks so small out there!!  #basketball #kids #sports #practice "

"teacher & school office gift time!!!  between four kids we have 11 teachers!!!  and we have to include the principal and 'office ladies', too !!!  #latenight "

"all done!!!  #teachergifts #christmas #seasonofgiving "

between the four kids, this is the breakdown:

Annicka has a "st" (I think that's what we call her - basically she helps us make

sure we're on track with the homeschooling); Jericho has his 3rd grade teacher and then

also has his reading teacher; Liam has his teacher and "para" (not sure what she

is technically called either, but she's a second teacher with the main teacher - I guess); the boys 

have their principal and two "office ladies"; Zoey has her lead teacher, two paras, two 

speech therapists, and an occupational therapist - plus she has her two bus drivers!!!

so that was fifteen "teacher" gifts in all!  phewf!!!

this one wasn't on instagram ... and I think it was taken in November - can't remember for sure!

it's Zoey's preschool photo ... I love her smile!  I was disappointed they took off her glasses

though - still a pretty adorable pic though!!!

"love the views we get waiting for the bus!!!  blurry moon - but in real life it's awesome!!"

"our bigger ghost shrimp didn't last long :(  our little one has found a spot he likes!!! 

 He's on there all the time!!"

*note: the other ghost shrimp, pictured here, disappeared a couple weeks later ... and the snails have

since died!  what are we doing wrong?  lol*

"making lunches!  I just can't resist making food cute - lol!!  #christmas #lunch 

#schoollunch #christmasfood "

"look!!!  it's the gnome mobile!!! #gnomemobile "

"I'm really getting a kick out of this ... our little Zoey still loves Caillou!  She has a few 'routines' for getting all comfy and enjoying her show - this is one of them!  On the floor with Bubby's kindle, covered with mama's blanket and munching on potato chips!  Living in the lap of luxury - my little princess!!!!"

"ha ha!  This is how I feel!!!  We came in here, then realized we don't have time to sit and eat ... Bummer!  Food to go it is!!!!  #applebees "

"Caillou time ... again!!!  lol #caillou #kindle #tinyfeet #hiding "

"snacky picnic lunch & #christmas #classic #movies #classicmovies #oldmovies #christmasmovies "

"... hoping my daughter will appreciate that I turned her story into a book!"

"nothing can compare to #fultanos #canby "

"my little artist"

"always love when the littles get so enthralled with a special Christmas decoration!!  #christmas #littlekids #decorations #treasurethemoments #dontblink "

four years old.

so, yes ... it's been a while.  what's new?

Zoey is four today!!!!

as we see here, she was thrilled about the mini photo session I had planned!

really I just wanted to get some adorable pics of her on her birthday, in her birthday outfit ...

before she went to school and potentially destroyed it (the outfit, that is)!

she has this little morning routine ~ it includes a diaper change, getting dressed,

having her "med milk" (that's her milk with her prevacid & allergy medicine in it - because

there's no way she'll take the medicines alone!), being offered a bit of something to 

nibble on - offered being the key word, getting socks & shoes on, and then watching one of

her favorite shows (Caillou or, her new fave, Mickey Mouse Club House) - all cozy in her chair - until it's time to get her coat on and go wait for the bus ...

no where in that routine does "mini photo session with mama" fit in!!!

in my opinion, I still got adorable pics of her ...

because to me the way she was so passionate with her cry was, honestly,

sort of hilarious!  doesn't she just look like a little princess on her throne, having a little hissy fit!!

yep, our princess!!

anyway, I could go on and on and on about how I can't believe she is four years old.

four years old?

NO.

she's my baby, how can she be a four year old?

I've even had a touch of baby fever as I look at my kids and how big they're all getting,

and it really sinks in that we are done with babies and have only years left of

even having little kids in the house.  it's weird.  right now I don't like thinking about it.

but - it is what it is.  I'm trying to focus on these four and fill in some of 

the gaps I see, as far as behavior ... all I can say is ... pray for me!!  LOL!!!

and now, a word about my lack of blogging ...

honestly, as far as this blog goes, I'm trying to remember that the whole purpose

is that we have these memories to treasure - ideally in book form, though so far I've only

afforded to get books printed through 2009!  that means I really need to find a way

to get 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 printed by the end of this year - that way I'll be "caught up"

and will be able to just print each year as it ends!  but I must remind myself that I

do not blog for readers ... I just happen to have a few people who seem to enjoy reading

this blog.  don't get me wrong, I'm totally cool with that - and I do blog for our family and friends

who like to keep up with us a bit ... but, as I was saying, I have to remind myself

that the point is to capture memories that we can treasure as a family!  that means that it doesn't

matter if everything makes it onto this blog ... it doesn't matter if the photos are

the best ... it doesn't matter if it's all in chronological order (ahem: Christmas, New Years, and

Jericho's birthday are yet to come - but today I blogged about TODAY!) ... none of it

matters ... I must repeat this to myself, often!  and so, there is my incredibly long "spout" on 

nothing in particular!  lol!  but, again, it's because I know I'll go back and read this

all one day - and will need the reminder, again!!!

in a nutshell...

ok - let's pretend I know how to put anything "in a nutshell" ... stay with me here! Life is crazy right now, between Gary and my mom my three oldest children are taken care of at least 90% of the time - yet, I still feel like I'm going all day, most days! There's the diaper changes, the feedings, the medicines, the gagging, the spit ups (she does that more now, with the gags), the changes of clothes, the occasional sponge bath (can't yet give her a full bath), the pumping (don't forget to pump - seriously, don't - I did one day for twelve hours and let's just say desperate times called for desperate measures in the restroom at the dentist ... "liquid gold" down the sink anyone?!), the photo sessions (after all, I want to be able to look back and remember my tiny baby when these precious days are behind me), the phone calls to make, the appointments to get to, oh crap I forgot you were supposed to have that done for school - TODAY!, the errands, the occasional shower - or even rarer, hot bath (you know you're a mom when a hot bath or shower feels like a vacation, thanks to my hubby I've been enjoying hot baths fairly often), the laundry (I only do Zoey's currently, thanks mom), the dishes (again, I'm only doing Zoey's), the clutter (I've been tackling some trouble spots here recently), the chaos (yes, at times it feels a little chaotic), the cuddles, the smiles (she's been smiling here lately, not to mention the smiles of my other my beautiful children), the bickering (that would be the aforementioned "other beautiful children"), the company (I've enjoyed EVERYONE who has visited, I only feel bad to them that I'm not much fun to be around), the late night chats (that would be me and Zoey, oh how sweet it is to hear her discovering her voice) ... and at the end of each day I hope to remember to thank God for all of it! He has richly blessed us here and I wouldn't want life any other way!

We're preparing a bit for surgery, it will be some time next month - so let's be in prayer together for all of that to go well! Also, please join me in praying that we will not start getting astronomical medical bills ... when I see our insurance statements and see how much they were billed vs how much they paid out, it's scary! I don't know how the hospitals/doctors could "loose" so much $$$!!!

Blessings to all - I hope to have more time to blog and such soon! I have some fabulous photos to come!

Did I ever mention ...

that my issue with pumping completely resolved??? Remember those days right after Zoey's birth and how I was pumping nothing??? Well, the day I came home it began to improve and soon I was a dairy queen! In those early days I was joking that we were going to need to purchase another freezer ... but now it doesn't seem so much like a joke - ha ha! I thought it'd be a neat memory so today I took some photos of our current supply - this is all the milk Zoey hasn't consumed! My milk has gone down just a bit, I was pumping a good ten (or more) ounces and now it's usually eight ... but I'm happy with that and pray it stays that much to keep up with her as she grows! check it out ...