3 babies in 3 years

I am 6 months pregnant with baby #3. 
It's kinda fun to see how the pregnancies varied. I actually don't see to much difference in my belly. I might be a tiny bit thinner on this last one than I was the first two but very, very similar. When this new baby pops out I will have had 3 babies in 3 years and 2 months. I suppose we are pretty busy. 
This week the big kids are getting new twin size beds and we are redecorating their new room a little bit and then I can move on to getting the new babies nursery in order. It is fun to redecorate. The big kids are really excited to be in new big kid beds too.
Sorry I have been MIA but I have been so behind since last week I was so sick for 2 days. Anyhow, I will update soon with pics of the kids new room.  Happy weekend. Pin It

I missed

*2 doctors visits *a shopping trip for toddler beds *food for 2 days * 5 million errands
I had a great weekend and then Sunday night after dinner, I started to feel pretty yucky so I went to bed. Only to wake to multiple trips to the bathroom and serious nausea and vomiting. I think Monday may have been the sickest I have felt throughout this entire pregnancy. Usually it will hang around for a few hours and then I will feel better but not this time. I am just now on day 2 of recovery able to sit up and function. Of course my hubby has been at work so I have been hap hazardly trying to care for toddlers and honestly my poor husband had to do all the cooking and cleaning for 2 days too. I'm just so grateful I am feeling a tiny bit better. I have work the next 2 days and I would be so happy if I didn't have to call out sick AGAIN! 

Also, you know how under my comment form it says something like, " please feel free to share your opinions." Well turns out that only applies when I am not pregnant, hormonal, emotional wreck. 
One of my readers and a dear friend tried to leave a lovely comment with a slightly different view point on one of my posts from last week and I decided to just bite her head off. 
SO. SORRY. 
I guess I am just a tiny bit overly sensitive when I'm pregnant. So don't say I didn't warn you:)
I PROMISE I will be back refreshed with an uplifting post!!! PROMISE!!!!!!
Here are the blogs I've been stalking while I've been horizontal..................Jenna from The Life of a Wife, Janae from Hungry Runner Girl, Sarah from Skinny Runner, Lindsay from Lee La La, Stephanie from Love.Life.Babies, Lisa from Yo Momma Runsand Casey from The Wiegand's
Anyhow, just wanted to check in.........off to work tomorrow I hope. Pin It

On Facebook

You know I have a very tumultuous relationship with facebook, right?
I think facebook for a lot of people isn't troublesome because they don't obsessively look at it and really don't use it much but I have a compulsive personality and it drives me crazy!! I obsess about everything; just my personality I suppose.
Back in the early spring I did away with my person account for a few months and it felt great. Then of course I got curious and decided to get back on and see what everyone was up to and immediately got addicted again. Then after much deliberation decided again about a week or so ago to get rid of my personal account again. I have been trying to pin point exactly what it is that bothers me about it so much.
It's a Waste of Time: Obviously, this is a no brainer,we are all busy with important things to attend to and jobs to get done. It's a waste of time.
It's Gossipy: My friend Christy pointed this one out and it;s totally true. Facebook is like one giant gossip session and lets face it gossip never gets us anywhere positive.
It Creates Chaos and Anxiety: The first benefit I have noticed about NOT having facebook is that I feel calmer. I don't feel the need to be checking and checking and checking every 5 min to see what;s happening. I don't know why we all seem to be so fascinated with what other people who we hardly know half the time are doing every 5 seconds but it really isn't important and doesn't pertain to our own lives. I instantly feel more at ease.
It's Negative: I can't pin point EXACTLY what it is about facebook that gives me the negative vibe but there is something about that seems wrong or like a lie. It's like a disgusting form of entertainment at it's best; worse than a reality show and the sad thing is..........That's why I love it!!!! But then of course I hate it again! UGH!!!!! 
I've decided I think it's best to leave it out of my personal life if possible. However, I think facebook is an EXCELLENT marketing tool for any business. Whoever it was who thought of it is one smart cookie.
What are your thoughts on Facebook? Pin It

On Parenting

It's ALWAYS love and NEVER perfect
Or anywhere even close.
My husband and I talked about getting pregnant for the third time about 8 months before we actually started to try. 
Our only reservation, MONEY!!!!!! 
Otherwise we knew we wanted a big , warm, squishy, delicious family to gobble on daily. WE wanted our home to be a REAL home! One that full of music and laughter and chaos and clutter!!!!  Because THAT is the stuff life is really made of.  Because those are the people who often experience the most and love the greatest. They may also loose the greatest too. It's a gamble but one that's well worth it in my opinion.
I can remember when we were trying to get pregnant for the very first time with Milton, we were so naive. We were not young but most certainly naive when it came to children. We had LIVED and I mean REALLY LIVED.............One day maybe I will fill you in a little more and just how much we lived but the point is we were SO. READY. FOR. A. BABY. 
I got pregnant instantly and we were ecstatic. My pregnancy was fine was for most part. I worked in the ICU on the night shift until I was 8 months and then we moved across the country and had Milton.  But boy was I in for the shock of my life. Having a baby, even just one baby was the hardest thing mentally and physically I had EVER done in my entire life and I had lived a lot by 30 years old. I was blown away at how hard it was to care for a baby with colic or any new born really. I felt like I was a walking exposed nerve. I had never felt instinct in such a raw, powerful form like that. It's amazing really. I think my poor husband was just in shock over the entire thing.
But you live and you learn and you realize that that little miracle brought more love and joy into your life than you ever knew was possible to experience. God brought us Ginger a little earlier than we would have planned but isn't that what God's here for anyway? So when Milton was just 4 months old we found out we were expecting another little bundle. 
 So we welcomed her with open arms. I spent the first 6 weeks on the floor crying with both them in my lap thinking I might just die any moment and of course I didn't. Most days I would pray so hard I thought my brain would explode. I would pray to make it through the day, the hour, the minuet , the second. I prayed and prayed and prayed. It's all I could do to not completely loose my mind.

So when Ginger was 1 and Milton was 2 we started to brew on the idea of a third baby knowing it was now or never. So we decided YES!!! Lets go for it. 
Always easier said than done. So now approaching my 6th month of pregnancy with my third baby I find myself scared. Milton and Ginger have decided to do the terrible toddler phase at the exact same time, while I am sick and pregnant and trying to financially support us. 
It's not too fun. I know once baby number #3 arrives we will adjust and I know I will be on the floor crying for 6 weeks praying every second for mercy but that's okay because it's all worth it eventually. 
Forget martial arts, ballet, marathon running, triathlons; nothing can compare to being parents to multiple small humans at the same time. 
NOTHING!!!! 
Not even natural childbirth over and over again can compare because eventually that is over and relatively quickly compared to years of unrelentless parenting.
I can run 20 miles in the blink of an eye and enjoy it. Being a parent, especially of several small children makes you the toughest human on the planet. 

You HAVE TO HAVE THE STRENGTH OF A WARRIOR and the HEART of a LION and the GRACE of Audrey or you might not survive Parenthood. 
All parents deserve some sort of award for strength of character in  my opinion. 
So for now I have the utmost respect for all you parents out there struggling along with our hearts on our sleeves, praying every second we will all survive the next 5 minuets. 

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Happy Halloween from our Family

Happy Halloween  My Friends! 

This year was a more special and meaningful for our family as the kids are finally getting old enough to understand the fun of it.
Ginger was mickey mouse and Milton was the Gold Power Ranger! 

First off we went to a local place called Body where they were having a small Halloween party for little kids and it  was fun. Here was part of the layout!

Trick or treating at the party!

With Dad!

From here we went to Grandma's house to trick or treat briefly and then back to our own neighborhood where we popped the kids in the wagon and hit about 10 houses before we were totally pooped. I was too tired to take any more photos by that point! 
My blood pressure had been VERY low. I stayed in bed ALL. DAY. TODAY hoping to make it out tonight with the kids but I have to get up at 5am and work 13 hours tomorrow so I am saying a prayer tonight I will be okay.
The good news is my 20 week anatomy ultra sound came out totally normal per my doc today 
My husband had an important interview again tomorrow so please say a prayer. We really need the support now. More than ever!
Happy Halloween. I hope yours was safe! Pin It

Pumpkin Carving

Yesterday was Milton's birthday as well as the day before Halloween so every year it;s a little crazy.
My husband decided to do the honors and carve the pumpkin. Milton was amused to say the least.

But DID NOT like the feeling of the guts!!! YUCK! SLIME!

We added a carrot as a nose and some lettuce as hair

ALL DONE!

SPOOKY!!!!

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Little Milton is Three

Last night at 4:03am three years ago my precious Milton was born. I will never forget that night as long as I live. Every moment is burned in my mind. There is nothing like your first born child. 

Milton has a very gentle and sensitive spirit. He is extremely aware and pays great attention to the world around him.  He is very friendly and loves to make friends with other children. He has a very gentle spirit can can get his feelings hurt easily.  He has a good sense of humor and a very good vocabulary. He is VERY loving. He says good morning and good night to his sister every morning as well as I love you quiet often. He gives kisses to mommy and daddy at least a few times a day. 
He has a very playful relationship with our cat Gris, although he gets scratched on occasion.  He loves his Grandma more than anything in this world. His time with her is like GOLD. I think they will close for a long, long time. 
I remember when Milton was just a few weeks old and had colic. I would hold him 24 hours a day. He slept on top of me for 6 months before he ever slept on any other surface even in my bed.  Milton to me was the most precious commodity I had ever laid eyes on. I would have done ANYTHING to keep him content and happy and I did. 

I can remember I used to put Milton my Moby wrap and walk circles around the fireplace for HOURS and HOURS because it was the only was I could get him to stop crying and sleep but if I stopped he would wake up. He was by far my hardest baby and he worth every singe effort and more.  Today he is a happy, well adjusted little boy. 
He tells me everyday, "It's a beautiful day mommy"
Happy Birthday to the most precious little boy I know. I love you more that I could have ever imagined! 

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Realizations of Pregnancy

Ever since I saw our soon to be baby number 3 on the ultrasound something happened to me.

With ALL of  my pregnancies I never felt particularly attached to the baby until the entire time It was inside me but I had a major realization after that ultrasound. THIS WILL BE MY LAST BABY, MY LAST PREGNANCY.  Like I've mentioned before, I am the worst guesser of baby sex on the face of the earth. 
I was totally and completely wrong with Milton and with Ginger I didn't even attempt to guess. So this one is no different in that way. I have no clue what the sex is. 
I've heard many mothers say that they always know right away what the sex would be but not me; totally out of touch.
So not only do I not usually feel very unattached while they are inside me, I am always totally and completely SHOCKED to meet them. I always think they will look TOTALLY different when they come out. Both Milton and Ginger upon arrival stunned me with their little personalities and faces.  I immediately thought................Hmmmmm, who are you? Like I was expecting someone different
Funny Isn't it?
Well, back to my point, After I had the ultra sound last Friday I have felt a greater connection with this baby. AS you know this baby was completely planned. We tried for all of about a month and voila. I am lucky and blessed that I am able to conceive so easily. 

I think because this is my last baby, I am starting to realize that this really is my last pregnancy. Yes, the pregnancy has been less than ideal to say the least; the worst of all three but its finally starting to sink in that this is it, the end, never going to be pregnant again. Oh my gosh.....that's overwhelming and makes me so sad in a way yet we will already be totally overwhelmed with 3.  A wise woman, one of my patient's at work, told me, "every woman will have one more child than she can handle." 
I liked that A LOT! 
Never again will I feel those butterfly kicks in my belly and even though I know 3 is definitely our limit, It still makes me sad to some degree to know I Will never get to experience this again. The creation of a baby is so amazing, astounding really. I cannot fathom how I could MAKE an entire perfect human inside me; it still blows me away.
So, My feelings are a bit different this time around knowing this is our last. I plan to have my tubes tied ASAP after the baby is Born which I'm sure will bring even more unexpected emotions. 
For now, I am trying to slow down, relax, and enjoy this because it's my last chance. I have been so stressed lately I almost forgot I was  pregnant. Seeing that little face on the ultra sound really woke me up.
I am really exited to meet this little baby and see how they fit into our family. To be very honest, I am pretty nervous too. 3 babies in 3 years is A LOT to handle but I know my husband and I love our children and each other so much we will go through the hard times and come out stronger on the other side. 
That Being said I also know that the jump from 2 to 3 is HUGE! and I thought having two 13 months apart was hard but I have a feeling this is going to just be mind numbly CRAZY madhouse, circus land for a while. I am sure there will be many episodes of me on the floor crying with all three of them in my lap crying too but you know what, that's okay. 
If there is one thing I have learned from being a mother is that your children have the ability to teach you everything. I mean honestly the ability to teach you GREAT, GREAT patience in times you never thought possible. They have taught be how to love  on a MUCH , MUCH larger, deeper scale than I ever knew my heart was capable of loving. They have taught me how to be a better person. 
Because little Milton already is very aware of what is right and wrong he often has to now remind me when I am out of line. Children are amazing. They are wonderful teachers. More wise than we are in so, so many ways. Their little minds can open and experience so much more joy, excitment, wonder and love than we can. We as adults have often become jaded by society, the stress of our jobs, out finances, our weight, whatever it might be, as a culture we are incredibly stressed. Not our children, they are full of nothing but love and wonder. 

Yesterday on our way out the door for our 5 mile walk I said, "oh wait, let me run in and get a few diapers, I'm worried one of might need a change while we're out." I came back with the diapers ready to set out and Milton said to me in a very calming, loving voice, "mommy you don't have to worry."  He does this often when he knows I am stressed. He amazes me EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
Anyhow I am just a teensy bit scared this time around. If any of you mom's of 3+ kids have advice for, I'm all ears!!!!!! 
Other mom's can you relate to feeling disconnected to your baby while it's still growing inside you? 
I feel like even though they grew inside your belly for 9 months, they are still a perfect stranger, you've never met them so it takes time and that's the fun part. Pin It

Sunday Adventures

This morning the kids were  OUT.OF.CONTROL.
Because my husband has found a part time job and is now gone 2 days a week as well as myself, the kids have not yet adjusted to the routine and have been REALLY acting out.
In fact I can barley stand to have them in the house at all. After 30 min of waking up they are both screaming, fighting, tantruming, you name it. Honestly, I'm starting to get a little scared, okay A LOT scared, about how we are going to handle a new born with these two in the terrible toddler phase. I will take any advice from mom's of 3 close in age I can get.
HELP!!!!
SO the only way to cure this problem is leave the house and distract them. So this morning We went on a 5 mile walk including to a park and 2 separate grocery stores. We were gone for about 2.5 hours. 
Wow, I hadn't realized how out of shape I had gotten. That was a lot for me and I was exhausted when we got home.

They put up these cute little mock street signs on our exercise trail system here in Santa Fe and I think it's so cute.

Anyway, back to my story. The moment we got home I went to pull that cord you see to your left of the gate to open it and it snapped before the gate opened. This is the ONLY way into our house. We have a mini fortress around our house. 

UGH OHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So now the only option is to scale this fence on the other side of the house. It appears as if it opens but doesn't because it had a board going across the back of it so you can only open it from the INSIDE of the yard. 

So at 5 months pregnant after walking for 2.5 hours I got to scale this wall and traipse through knee high weds and trees to get around to the gate and fix the cord. 

Eiyy.....Yeiiiiii.........Yeiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So then we managed lunch and pretty good naps. Thankfully and then we were off to a special church service being held in the evening.
One of my Supervisors at the Hospital who I love and adore has a son who teaches and works in our church and he is being ordained tonight with a special ceremony so we are going with the kids. 
My hubby is always playing in the band so I am just praying the kids behave as I will have them both on my own and they have not been making it easy lately. 
So this what we wore

We lasted 20 minuets in the actual sermon which I thought was pretty good and spent the rest of the time in the lobby and playing outside. 

So that about wraps it up. I am totally EXHAUSTED and my poor hubby is at the urgent care having MAJOR tooth problems so it's been a LOOOONG day for all of us! 
GOOD NIGHT. SLEEP TIGHT!!!!!
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More Than Half Way There

I am officially past the half way mark. WOW!!!! As of today I am  21 weeks!!!! 

How far along? 21 weeks

Baby’s Size: 14 ounces as of yesterday

Weight Gain: No clue. I stopped weighing myself. It wasn't helping my obsession

Bellybutton: in

Stretchmarks: just a million old ones

Maternity Clothes: Yes......I can still wear some non maternity stuff but majority is maternity.

Names: If it's a boy we will name him after my bother, if it's a girl we finally have one name kinda picked out and no I won't tell until he/'she is born.

Gender: Surprise baby........but I will say that yesterday at the Ultra sound I was trying not to look at the screen too much because I was worried I would see something. And of course now I THINK I might know what it is but with my luck it will be the exact opposite so still a surprise baby.

Movement: YUP.........Moving more and more all the time

Sleep: Not too bad. I get at least a few 2 hours stretches a night. I'm grateful.

Symptoms: Some new round ligamnet pains in my lower pelvis and the usual, Nausea and Vomiting come an go along with dizziness and migraines. I'm stating to get pretty tired a lot too. Still praying and hoping this gets better. I would like to be able to go to work every week.

Food Aversions: Naaaaaaaa

Food Cravings: Ice cream with milk dumped over the top.......makes an ice cream slushie

Best Moments this week: Being with my family! 

What I miss: RUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

What I am Looking forward to: Halloween and my Milton's 3rd Birthday

Milestones: A healthy baby via ultrasound:) AND I actually managed to clean out 2 whole dresser drawers of MIlton's. It so hard keeping up with the constant clothes rotation when the kids are growing so fast. I am always behind.

Jeans: Joe's Maternity Sweater: Isabella Oliver Tank: forever 21  Shoes: Dansko Pin It