Flashback Friday

This flashback Friday takes me to my freshman year of college. I was living in the dorm at Columbus College of Art & Design. I was so nervous about having to live with well... people. Girls I didn't know. What if they were mean girls? What if I couldn't sleep at night? What if I hated them, or worse yet, they hated me?

From the moment I met Mary, my roommate, those fears were put to rest! She was fun and had a happy energy about her that i had never seen. Growing up in Cleveland, I have to say optimism is almost a four letter word. I loved living with her and we had the best times together. Sadly about seven-eight years ago we fell out of touch after a silly argument. I always wondered if she had moved back to Texas [her home state], was married, or ever had children.

I credit Mary to being the person who taught me "how" to mother! She took care of me when I was sick, brought me breakfast from the cafeteria knowing I never, ever woke up in time to eat otherwise, and listened whenever I needed to talk. She was a great person and taught me lots about compassion & friendship. I actually called her "Mama Mary".

The picture on the right was taken after we were living in the dorm for a few months. It's been on my fridge all these years. I am 18 years old there-crazy young! I thought I knew it all, boy was I naive!

I had just recently given up thinking I would ever run into Mary, or find her online. After looking for so long, I figured it wasn't ever going to happen. Last Wednesday I am sitting in the local Whole Foods for kids club night. I get all my kids situated, and look up to see... Mary sitting directly in front of me! Craziest thing! She married the man she was dating when we lived together [I introduced them] and has two gorgeous little daughters with the blondest hair I have ever seen.

Moral of the story: never say never.

Times they are a changing!

It's strange to image my independent two year old, currently racing through the house, climbing the walls and jumping on the cats, was this sweet, chubby footed toddler only last summer! [Although to be honest he was never very mellow]. It just seems like this one has grown so fast! Just yesterday HE was the baby of the house, and now he goes potty alone, dresses himself and needs his mama much less!

The past year had some up & downs for Little {L} and his mother! I got pregnant with Baby Unicorn last September and once October-ish hit, my sweet faced little mama's boy became a little, sweet faced monster! Lots of yelling, breaking things, napless l-o-n-g days and a sickly mama trying not to throw up on herself for a few months [quickly followed by a giant mama too tired & big to move].

I was worried about my little devil feeling replaced when Baby Unicorn arrived. I imaged even more tantrums, fights and rebellion. I was actually dreading the backlash that I was sure to arrive-at the worst moment possible, of course. The hospital visit passed without incident, a few days home-still good. My husband went back to work [oh, no here it comes!], and still nothing. It's been a little over a month since Little Julian joined the family and I feel like it's safe to say that we've made it through...in better condition than before.

In all honestly, Lucian has actually gotten closer to that sweet faced little doll I remember & really missed! I think he was missing his fun, patient mama, who had been replaced by the ever expanding, impatient, tired one that lived here the past 9 months. I had not realized how much I had changed, just focused on his behavior growing worse. The past weeks have been so wonderful! That said, he is still a two year old, with the "typical" two year old tantrums and such! So if you see me in Target with a screaming toddler, don't think..."Hmmm, I knew she was a liar!" haha!

How you know...

This is how a baby tells you, enough with the camera already lady!! Haha.

One month

Baby {J} turned one month old, over the weekend. I cannot believe that a month has passed already. On one hand, I feel like he's been a part of the family forever and it's hard to imagine when he wasn't here. On the other hand, it seems like a month could not possibly have passed this fast. His little legs are getting chubbier by the day, he starting to get very interested in looking at things, and he's never one to pass up a meal. If his eyes are open, he'll be happy to eat!

He's such a sweet little soul. Sometimes just looking at him overwhelms me with happiness and I start to laugh, cause I am just so happy he's here. He receives a million+ kisses a day from his happy mama, dad,brothers & sister. I am looking forward to getting to know his personality better as the months and then years pass. It's so exciting & rewarding watching them grow!

Summer Solstice

The summer solstice has arrived-yay! We are so ready for summer here.

Summer means bike riding, vegetable picking, water fights, flowers blooming, sunshine and best of all free time! Time to for the kids to do what they like best...whatever it may be that day.

Happy Solstice!

Family Portrait

Just your average family photo--if your the Adams Family! Haha! The funniest thing is this is the only photo we have of our entire family together since we've added Baby {J}.

Gotta love summer, grandma's and face paint together!

Baby Unicorn

If you remember my post from a few months back, the kids started calling Baby {J}, Baby Unicorn while I was pregnant[check back a few posts for the story]. Well he's now arrived and his biggest brother is STILL calling him "Baby Unicorn". I embroidered this onesie while I was pregnant to match with their knickname. I was thinking they baby would only wear it, if it turned out to be a girl, which didn't happen. The othger day while packing up some of the girl things I had made, I stopped holding this. While unicorns are extremly girlie, I had chosen blue & brown thread.... so, I decided that just ONE set of photo's had to be taken in honor of his nickname!

Mr. {D} and Little Miss {M} chose the name Julian for the baby. When the baby arrived, my husband and I had not settled on a name-girl or boy. We thought it would be pretty cool & special to tell him that his oldest siblings chose his name, so we selected their latest choice. Mr. {D} is now telling me that he is having a hard time calling him by his name because when he looks at him, all he thinks is "Baby Unicorn". I found it so sweet, that they needed these pic's together to mark the occasion.

New Beginnings

It's great to think of all the new things we'll do with the baby. I love watching the relationships between the four children grow. They change and evolve each and everyday. The baby is flowing into those relationships seamlessly. Miss {M} loves to watch him sleep and tell him stories. Mr. {D} can't stop kissing him-ever! Little {L} wants nothing more than to spend hours holding him and helping change diapers. Yes, he actually wants to change diapers with me!

I look forward to watching these relationships grow through the years. Babies becoming siblings and friends.

The little things

It's the little things, the simple things, in life that really matter!

Sibling Love

The kids were so excited to meet their new little brother. Mr. {D} still insists on calling him "Baby Unicorn". For Julian's sake, I hope it doesn't last too long, as it would have made a better nickname for a little girl, lol. I know he'll be a happy little boy with all the other kids in the house to play with and teach him-both good & bad things.

It seems like only yesterday I was becoming a mother, holding Mr. {D} for the very first time. It amazes me to watch him holding baby #4!! How quickly the time passes. I want to savor every moment with this babe. I learned after my first, not to look forward so much to the "when's", but to pay attention to the "nows"! No saying, "I can't wait until...." I want to enjoy every stage as it's happening. Right now I'm loving having a newborn in the house again, all the strange squeaks & cries, tons of feeding a day, and the little changes that happen so fast. Already the baby is filling out, getting chubby and changing little by little.

Baby is Here!

It's a boy!

Julian Caius joined the family 2 weeks ago. He's a BIG, healthy boy. He weighed 9lbs 8oz at birth!! Everyone is thrilled with their new baby brother, he seemed to mix right into the family from the start.

It was a speedy labor-fast & furious. I was happy to make it through all natural, with no drugs. This was my hope from the beginning, so it was rewarding to see it accomplished.

We are enjoying getting to know our sweet, brand new son!