Growing

Vegas summer is definitely here! 109 degrees and climbing on some days with ozone warnings in effect and all.

We recently returned from a much needed family vacation to visit the Colorado Rosenbergs and with all the photo taking it is more and more apparent that our little brood is growing up. The toddlers are (FINALLY!!!) potty trained and Kaity is officially a high school student and Genesee and Hannah are officially middle schoolers. This is so crazy, even as I type it I have to let it sink in for a minute. Weren’t we just here??

The last time we were a family of 5

 

And now look at them! Eli turns 4 in a matter of days and Genesee turns 11, Savannah will be THREE in September and on Hannah’s next birthday she will turn 12. And, it’s time to start teaching Ms. Kaity how to DRIVE. OH. EM. GEE. This is happening, they’re all growing up. Sniffle, sniffle.

And, of course this means the adults are growing up too haha. I cannot get over the fact that my sister in law and myself are 32 this year. Al is now only a couple years away from his 40’s.

But, life is good. It’s bitter sweet to no longer be purchasing pull ups, to participate in the end of “babydom” in a tangible, finite way. Of course we still have a long way to go, but I can see college in the distance now and the end of “little” kids not far behind.

Bittersweet indeed.

New House

Thank goodness I followed that sign! Obviously there was a better home for us waiting just around the corner…

From the house that almost was that I *thought* I was in love with, to a better home that is so much more perfect for our family. We recently moved after months of searching. it’s cheaper than the other house, zoned for better schools, is in a better location – pretty much just better in every way. I already feel more at home than I have in 18 months and we’re not even unpacked. As a matter of fact, we never did “pack” at least not in the traditional sense, like with boxes and a moving truck…… But, by now I’m sure you’ve realized we aren’t traditional and nothing we do is “normal”.  The Move is a whole ‘nother story… But, the point is that even with the entire downstairs still a staging area full of piles of stuff that needs to be organized and put away, no couch (shopping this weekend heyo!), the dining room table still in the garage, etc…it still feels more like home than our last house ever did.

And let me tell you, it feels good to finally be home.

House Pictures below!

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Genesee is now an Eagle and Kaity is now a Patriot. They both like their new schools. Genesee is out of the dreaded 12 mo zoning so she can finish out her 5th grade year and attend her elementary school graduation on a normal schedule and have a full summer before starting middle school. Kaity was apprehensive about starting a new school mid-year but was able to get into advanced art at her new school and even got the P.E. schedule she wanted so she won’t have to run in the heat near the end of the year and will instead be safely indoors in health class for h er last quarter of 8th grade. She was given the choice to stay at her old school until the quarter ended but in the end she chose to start her new school right away and jump in headfirst. She is now pretty excited about the change and is looking forward to all the different extracurricular options at her new school.

New school pics below!

Now, to plan the Housewarming party; I can’t wait to show off my 12 person in-ground hot tub in my beautiful backyard!

 

Hi-Yah!

Genesee earned her first Karate belt last night! 

Seasons

In a way it feels like summer has been here for months. It’s been 80+ degrees since February or March I think? I’m not sure, all the sun blends together here. It’s now over a hundred every day and surprisingly that feels ok. After a year, we’ve pretty much acclimated I think….as long as there’s air conditioning….and not too much time spent outdoors…if that counts.

The seasons have always represented change for our family. The oldest two girls have always spent more time with their mother but at least we used to have them on the weekends. But with our big move, it is even more pronounced because this summer there are no weekends. They’re gone for a few weeks- and, for the first time, so is Genesee, with her beloved grandparents.

So, this week, we go from being 7 to being 4…for a few weeks. It’s a reset of sorts, we all appreciate each other more upon our reunion in the fall.  Being a blended family is never easy but for the most part we forget about the blended and we are just a family. Times like this we feel it though.

Until the fall my dears, until the fall.

What to do

What do you do when another child says something very hurtful and totally “below the belt” to one of your children? It’s difficult to deal with, maybe complicated because the mother is my friend. She repremanded her, that’s not the issue, but now I don’t even want her kid around, it was just totally mean and uncalled for. I don’t even know how to address it with the child; she knows what she did was wrong and mean and that’s why she did it- just to be mean. I hate when kids are so mean to eachother. 😦

Arriving at the greener grass

After many months of wondering and planning for change, the beginning has begun. I am a stay at home mom and we are expecting another addition to the family in October! Still no idea where we’re moving and big changes still coming but I feel so much better about everything!

Moving On

And so it begins. After months of stress, wondering if I was going to get paid at the end of each month, being in a state of “limbo” as far as planning, it happened. I have been laid off. For most people this is a depressing, sad day, not for me though. I am relieved and excited to finally be able to move on. And I do mean possibly quite literally *move* on- we are considering moving out of state, so that is definitely exciting. We’ve both wanted to move out of our small home town for so long and now it is a realy possibility.

It is the first day of spring and it is beautiful!

In other news, we are expecting again! It was a slight shock and definitely not planned like Eli, but we are very excited. I am three months along and due at the end of the summer. Squeee! I love being pregnant – the sickness, the bloating, the big belly, all of it, positive and negative. The fact that (we’re fairly certain) this will be the last time, is rather sad, but I plan to enjoy every minute of it!

The New Normal

So life after baby as a parent has been a breeze, sometimes I wonder if adding a fifth wouldn’t even be a big deal because with Eli it doesn’t feel like any more work than before and isn’t overwhelming at all. It’s been simply fabulous. He is a delightful child and his little oo’s and coo’s and smiles are the most delicious thing ever. Not to say that he is any more adorable than our other children, I wasn’t in the two oldest’s lives at that age so I have no comparison, and with my own daughter, I don’t remember things clearly. I blocked out so much from that time in my life, it’s like remembering through a haze. And it was the first time so you don’t realize how precious each moment is until it’s gone. With Eli I try to imprint every second with him on the deepest part of my memory because I now know how fleeting childhood is in a way I couldn’t fully appreciate with my first.

Over the course of my pregnancy and since Eli’s birth I have fallen in love with Al in a whole new way, he is amazing with him and I love watching them together, the way each of their faces light up, there is nothing quite like the father/son bond when it’s done right. And it is being done so right with those two.

Unfortunately the relationship between Al and I has suffered. It’s stressful. We had kids before but they are older and more self sufficient. And they don’t sleep with us. We had our space and now we don’t, we share it with Eli. It’s not optimal and at times it is very frustrating because we’re trying so hard to find our new “normal”. There is less sex. There is less sex drive (on my end). There is less kid-free time for us (virtually none). It’s no cake walk, but we are getting there. Eli is turning four months in a few days (man time flies!) and I feel like we’re on the upward swing. Of course there are other factors too. We have both been under a lot of stress. Al has been unemployed for most of the year, I don’t know when my next paycheck is my last and it’s been that way for months (project funding gahh!!). That stresses a marriage also! So… new baby, check- job loss, extreme money problems, check- we’ve been through a lot this year but we’re still here and stronger I like to think.

So as we come up on six years together, I look forward to many more. We are stronger each day than the last and I love him forever and always and I know he feels the same way about me and that’s special. I might have challenges but I am a lucky woman.

Newlyweds!

Family Pregnancy Photo Shoot