Random

I have to admit the last two weeks have been some what of a blur. As you can imagine my days have been filled with feeding and changing as well as staying up with Alyssa and Brandon and the demands of keeping a clean house and attempting to get a hold of the never ending mountains of dirty laundry. Gabriella seems to pick and choose what nights she wants to sleep and what nights she wants to stay up half the night...but we are working on that now.
Alyssa and Brandon are on track break now, they will go back the Monday after Thanksgiving. I have to admit...I'm glad to have them home, it does take off some of the pressure of getting them up and off to school on just 4 hours of broken sleep.
Jeff went back to work last week, it was tough on me at first but it has also helped me establish some what of a routine and Lord knows he had to go back at some point.
I'm dealing with the ups and downs of hormones that are way out of control...but have learned to rely on prayer to help me through...other than that everything is great. Enjoy these random pictures...and if your wondering why Brandon is not wearing a shirt in the one...well, he said Gabriella wanted to see his muscles!

Pumpkin Patch

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch. The kids had a lot of fun even though we only had about 30 pumpkins to chose from.

What's wrong with this picture?!

Everyone is sleeping (or would really like to be sleeping) now...except for Gabriella...she has gotten her days and nights mixed up...to bad she can't just flip on some cartoons and let me grap a quick nap!

Gotta give him some credit...

You will often hear me talk about Jeff and how lucky I feel to have him as my husband. Now, don't get me wrong I have my complaints cause believe it or not he is not perfect...but he is a great guy.
Jeff has (for the most part) catered to my wants and needs for the last 10 years...he has provided us with everything we could ask for and still has the ability to make my heart skip a beat. I'm not sure how many girls are as lucky as I am.
Jeff taxis my kids to dance classes, Dr's & dentist appts., is a parent helper for all of Alyssa's field trips, and is the best homework helper for both the kids. He does this all on just a few hours of sleep and rarely does he complain. I just wanted him to know how much I appreciate him, how lucky I feel to be his wife and how thankful I am for the family the two of us are blessed enough to share.

Staring over...

If I had a penny for how many times someone has commented to me about starting over I would be a rich woman. I am very much aware that having a baby when your kids are older may seem like an insane idea...but it really is a blessing. Do I feel totally overwhelmed? You bet ya...but Gabriella is only 10 days old, I still need to find a routine, get in a groove and then everything will fall into place, Hell...let me just clean my house and catch up on the laundry and I'm sure that will make a difference. Anyways...here are some more pictures of my monsters...enjoy!

Trunk or Treat

Tonight was the Trunk or Treat Celebration at the church. Julie, my mom the kids and I all went. It was a lot of fun and really busy! LOTS of kids this year. Brandon chose to be a ninja and Alyssa is a midnight fairy, Gabriella just wore a orange sleeper and a spider hat. The weather was perfect...nothing like the mid 70's for an October evening!

more pictures from fishing...

Gone Fishing

Jeff and his dad took Alyssa and Brandon fishing today. They left at 5am...yes, I said 5am and headed out to Echo Canyon which is about a 3 1/2 hour drive. They caught a total of 5 fish. Everyone had a great time...I can't wait until Gabriella is old enough to go and then I can have the entire day to myself.

Just because...

Just a couple of pictures that I love.

More pictures

Today was our first official day home as a family of five. To be honest, Gabriella fits in like she has always been around, so besides being a little more tired than usual the day was perfect. I have even managed to live off minimal pain killers for the day (though I sure feel the need for them now) As we were all doing our family snuggle time tonight...Brandon in my lap, Alyssa with daddy and Gabriella in her bouncy seat I felt this total feeling of happiness. My house is a mess...laundry is once again piled up...but finally I see the big picture and I feel blessed.

She's here

Of course you all already knew this...
We just got home from the hospital but I wanted to get some pictures up so everyone cans see (again) how beautiful she is.
For the most part I feel pretty good...gotta love some good pain meds! Gabriella is adjusting well and Alyssa and Brandon are over the moon excited to have us home. I'll pop on tomorrow when I have more time...but for now I better get some rest.

Feeling blessed.

I still can't believe in about 10 hours we will be holding our new baby daughter. It seems like yesterday we found out she was coming. I know her tiny days are numbered and it won't be long until shes Alyssa's age..so I vow this time around (no matter how tired and stressed I feel) to slow down and really enjoy every moment of her.
I never could have guessed 10 years ago how incredibly blessed my life would be...I feel like God hand picked each of my kids to teach me something about life and paired me with a husband who truly is my best friend (yes, even when he's being a PITA) So...my last thoughts before welcoming Gabriella is just a feeling of total happiness and completeness.

Say a prayer for us this week...not just for the safe arrival of Gabriella...but for Jeff's sanity as well, I have a feeling he's going to need it!

From red to green...

After staying up until 10:30 last night and waking at a lovely 6am Brandon found his energy in the red...this is his way of describing how he was feeling.As you can see he is in the process of changing it back to the green...and I...well, I'm enjoying a quite house...who knows when it will be like this again!

Miss Smarty Pants...

Alyssa received an award today at school for academic excellence. She gets this same award every year...I'm telling you...I'm not sure where this kid came from but she is one smart kid and a huge blessing in our lives!

Lucky me...

I'm having one of those moments...Ya know...where in the midst of a crazy and hectic day you just feel incredibly blessed! I say it all the time but it's one of those things that no matter how many times you say it...well, the point just can't come over strong enough. I have no idea why God has given me the chance to parent these amazing kids... Lord knows I'm not a perfect mom...thank God he was able to mask my flaws with perfect children!

Almost Done...

Here are two pictures of Gabriella's room. It's done for the most part...we just need to put up the border and window treatments. Oh, and set up the crib as well...but she will be sleeping in our room for the first month or so, so we're not in a huge rush to do that. I FINALLY feel like I'm ready for her...and let me tell you...if you would have asked me last week if I was ready the answer was NO! Now...less than a week to go...and I can't wait!

Check out this shirt...

This is the shirt we ordered for Alyssa to wear to the hospital on the big day...sure hope it makes it here on time! I just thought it was so cute and had to share!

Feeling prepared...

For the most part. Her room is still not done...but I do have all the things that I needed to have and of course A LOT of stuff that I wanted to have. Tomorrow we are going to square away some details in her room and finish up what we wanted to before she arrives. The border won't be going up until after, but as long as the walls are painted and the dresser is in place...well than I'll be one happy lady.
Jeff and the kids took me shopping for my birthday today...it was a free for all at Babies R Us and then off to the mall where I finally got my robe and slippers for the hospital. I finally feel prepared and I have to say...that is a GREAT feeling!
Now...just 8 more days and we will welcome our newest blessing...Lord I hope God has prepared her for this life of insanity she is about to enter!

Inconsistent...

That is the word of the week...well, at least the last few days!! I've been having contractions on and off since the middle of the night on Wednesday, however they are not consistent...soooo not much they will do for me. The Dr. did tell me yesterday that if they were consistently coming for 30 minutes at 5 minutes apart to head to the hospital and he would come deliver. So...here I sit...waiting...

The kids have no school today so they are heading out to do some birthday shopping...yup, today is my birthday...29! Man...where did the time go? I remember turning 18 like it was yesterday...the rest is all a blur. Nothing special planned, they are letting us out of work early today (2:30) so I have cleaning and dance lessons on the agenda for the afternoon. Exciting...I know!

That's about it...

Surprise...again

My office surprised me with another baby shower yesterday. Again, I was left with no camera...so this is the only picture I have of the entire event (taken courtesy of Cindy's Blackberry) They took me to one of my favorite restaurants and spoiled me with yummy food and tons of great gifts! It's been a great few days with friends and family helping to celebrate this wonderful time, it makes me realize that I am special and people really do appreciate me.

I need a nap!!!

It's only 10 minutes to 9 in the morning and I'm already exhausted! I just need a nap. When I planned out my leave I was thinking about getting the end of the month work closed out and at least get a handle on the beginning of the month before heading out for 12 weeks...man, do I wish I would have taken at least a week before the birth off!

On a happier note the both the kids are still doing great in school. Brandon has gotten over his shy faze and as the teacher put it "he's very social". However he continues to make all happy faces so he's not outta control...well not yet at least.
Alyssa is also doing well. She made the choir (I'm sure I have already mentioned that) so she has been busy with that and dance...as well as keeping a social calendar that any college sorority girl would find impressive.

Not sure how I got so lucky...but I know I am!

I feel so loved....

I was surprised today by a group of my friends with a baby shower. It was so special and I felt so loved. We got alot of things...all very much needed and appreciated! We have pictures but since it was a surprise I have to rely on mom and Sheila to email them to me, once I have them I'll post a few.
I always say I would rather have a small group of friends that are really my friends than a large group that I just have no connection with...today proved that I have great friends (of course I had no doubts before)
Thanks guys for helping to make Gabriella's arrival into this world so special...I love you all and value your friendships more than you will ever know!