pretty lights and me crying about something.

not too many weeks ago we all bundled up to go see the local Christmas Parade! We were motivated by the unseasonably warm weather: early December...mid 40's. Practically summer around these parts;) 

we were quite the over-achievers...aka: I forgot to confirm the time and so we were 1-1/2 hours early for the parade. SOOOOOO instead of going home and undressing for an hour - which is how long it took to get out of the house in the first place - we headed for 'The Lights' in Marshfield - Rotary Winter Wonderland!

this was our first time visiting The Lights and I have to say...it did not disappoint:) I, honestly, don't think I've ever seen Homer more genuinely...happy? excited? He had a huge smile on his face from start to finish:) Watching him enjoy something that much is something I will not soon or ever forget!

i never doubted that seeing my children happy would be my greatest joy but now I'm certain that there are going to be soooooo SO many years of me being that mom across the table as they blow-out their birthday candles, sitting in the stands as they make their first basket, on the other end of the line for their calls from college, front row at their wedding, in the waiting room for the birth of their children...LOSING MY SHITTTTTTTTT;''''') 

All.The.Tears

None.Of.The.Self.Control

anyways. It was really pretty!;)

when the UPS truck makes your heart skip a beat:)

source

i live in an area of town with a mass amount of online shoppers...I know this because of how often I see the UPS/FedEx trucks flying by...or even worse...approaching my home slowly and then realizing they have the wrong address and speeding off to deliver goodies to some other lucky bastard;) It's heartbreaking;(

because I'm choosing to be unemployed and the only thing that stands between me being home full-time and having to go back to work is ME and my wee shopping habit, this time of year especially - see DEALS/SALES/40% OFF/FREE SHIPPING/FESTIVE STORE DECOR (I'm a sucker for the festiveness that is the Mall around this time of year...I just want to BE THERE!!!;) - I've had to implement a few simple rules:

avoid in-store trips...I try not to 'run to Target' or head to the Mall or encourage Jacob to take a day off work for a Date Day. All things that end with us saying: Had we not left the house we'd still have $XXX...arg:/

SO I've done a bit of online shopping but I have a list. A specific list and I stick to it when making purchases.

thrift...buying used/2nd hand/thrifting has always been in my blood so this is nothing new. We always check Goodwill first.

be useful...if Homer needs a pair of sneakers, we aim to make that happen as a Christmas gift. Or socks and undies as stocking stuffers. - no worries...they get a few 'fun' things as well:)

all this being saiddddd...I still slip up from time to time;)

most recently: a trip to St. Vincent's ended with these 2 gems:)

$15 lamp

thinking of painting the wood portion, white...thoughts??

$4 shoes

i kinda love these with all my heart! Those laces...those chunky heels???:):)

happy shopping, my friends!!!!

month 1: rocky peyton

little man is ONE MONTH - wasssss...a few days ago already:) - but he doesn't have his appointment until tomorrow, so I'll report back with a weight cause that's always fun to find out!:) He seems like such a chunk already so I'm excited to see how much he comes in at!

this month has seriously flown. That's not going to be news to any of you seasoned moms out there. With each child, the speed of the passing time has picked up. SO.DEPRESSING!!!:( 

i have to admit...knowing that I don't have to go back to work, that there's no looming deadline, it has made EVERY part of this 'mom' gig, MUCHHHHHHHHH more awesome. 

STILL HARD. But awesome:)

i feel a lot less rushed. Being interrupted doesn't bring out the monster in me;) I know that I have the clear schedule to get to it...eventually...hopefully;) It makes nursing better. I'm enjoying having to slow down much more than I had with the other 2:)

three really is great...like a friend of mine has said: it's the 3rd child bliss!

Rocky Peyton...it's been an absolute pleasurrrrreeeeee!!!!:):)

all festive photos courtesy of: Courtney Smith Photography

month 20: theo daisy:)

you can't really tell from these photos...cause they're not showing her throwing herself on the floor or banging her head against a wall or trying to punch me in the back or hitting John or Will or Homer or ANYONE in the face...but this situation is.a.handful;)

theo daisy is TWENTY MONTHS! I can hardly believe she's a year old - I actually forgot that she was the other day:/ - let alone going on TWO!!!

despite her inability to control her anger - which I TOTALLY GET!!!;) - I love her as hard as ever:)

she's still the biggest cuddle bug and as I've mentioned before, Rocky is a saint, which has allowed Theo to get all the cuddles she still so desperately needs:)

if I remember correctly, Theo was 22lbs at her most recent weigh-in:) 

she still sleeps through the night. YAYYYYYYY!!!:) 

a lot more talking! She's saying Please and Thank You and Rocky and Mal Mal:) All in her own ridiculously adorable version;)

now that Theo is outnumbered by brothers...I really can't imagine ever having another girl! Theo seems too damn special to ever have to share that spotlight with a sister;)

love you, baby girl:)

and because these photos were all too freaking adorable not to share...and THOSE TEETH!!!;)

yes...I'm aware her hair is a HOT MESS;) no...I have not given any thought to what I should do about it. ;)

mindless chatter/photos.

what is this LIFEEEEEE!?!??!?! 

instead of swamping your Instagram feed with all things ROCKY and life and randomness...I'll do it here?! That made more sense in my head. Most things do;)

but here we are. 2-1/2 weeks in, as a family of 5 and it's pretttyyyyyyy neat:) Not gonna lie. I'm not sure I'm getting any sleep cause I don't keep track of Rocky's nightly feeding's and such. But knowing that I don't have that lingering - Back To Work Deadline - is really helping my overall attitude:) 

Don't get me wrong...there are harddddd days. The last 2 days had been a bit sketchy. My attitude was in the shitter and then Jacob coming home to my 'Fuck Everything, Including You For No Reason' attitude only made HIS attitude shitty and then thatttttt was causing us to lose patience with the kids - not that they didn't deserve it entirely cause THEIR attitudes/sassiness was crap as well!!! - BUT good lord...as you can see...that vicious circle of shittiness needed to be stopped and so we stopped it. Last night. After the kids went to bed we talked and we went to bed ready to take on today...together...better:)

good gawdddddd we've come a long way:)

so what's been up? 

rocky's been fantastic. Wow. Theo was such a crazy baby...like she didn't sleep for the first 7 weeks of her life. For.Real. So maybe that had me setting the bar SO incredibly low that Rocky could really do NO wrong, unless he didn't sleep for the first 8 weeks of his life?;) But he's so good and so that has helped buffer some of the craziness that comes with the attitudes of a 3-1/2 and 1-1/2 year old;)

we had a Play Date and a little shopping trip and Thanksgiving - thank you Liz & Swade for hostingggggg! Always such a blast and we look forward to it EVERY year:):), all within the last week and we've had a blast and also forgotten the diaper bag for 2 of those outtings. Which turned into a shit show - literally. Cause you forget the diaper bag and you're GUARANTEED to have your baby, who hasn't had a blow-out in 3 days, have a blow-out THAT DAY!!! So even though 3 has been SO SO awesome...it's definitely slowed my mental game. UhhhhhLOT;)

left: play date at Cody's:) 

right: rocky and Evy - BFF's forevaaaaa;)

TARGETTTTTTT w/ Rocky:) - also...no diaper bag;)

peyton and Homer 'gaming':)

 

slowly but surely feeling like my old self again:)

hello, old friend;)

when only you will do...NO ONE ELSE WILL DO!!!;) 

my favorites:) - only missing mom cause she's always behindddd the damn camera! 

life is good:)