Author name: hill

today felt like a monday.
although, today was the very last monday of hibernation.
can you believe it?

gotta love that drool.

i had the big kids clean all of their bath toys in the kitchen sink today. with a couple of toothbrushes and some vinegar, the toys were clean and boredom had been avoided. phew.

Auntie B had the brilliant idea of heading out to the beach today.
i could not have done it without her help or
the travel potty we brought along for K.
but if i had to pick one, it would have been Auntie B.

as you can see, it was simply lovely outside today. the moment we touched the sand, D was covered in it from head to toe. it was as if he had been at home for nearly fifty-two days or something.

mountains were created and then quickly destroyed,

the kids did some watercoloring (with a bit of sand mixed in),

and L and i snuggled up the entire time.

i read on an incredible blog about the importance of purposeful mothering. it’s so easy for me to think about all of the things i must do each and every day (laundry, nursing, picking up, cooking, feeding, reading, cleaning, wiping, dishes – although, B does most of those, thinking, planning, wondering, hoping, praying…) and forget about why i am doing all of this and for whom. i lose my focus. it’s like when i don’t look through the viewfinder of my camera and to no surprise, end up with horrible photos.

that’s how today started out. i felt like garfield as i just wanted to climb back into bed. but then, something changed and i remembered that it’s those small teensy tiny almost missable moments that it’s really all about. it’s about being faithful and not perfect. and much too often i focus on the perfect part
(which i am not and cannot be) and forget about just being faithful. i’d love to say that i’ve mastered all of this during this time away from the world but i haven’t. and i probably never will. it will always be a daily struggle. but being conscious of it and being faithful to Him are where i need to be focused.

“Be still, and know that I am God”
Psalm 46:10

out of all the stencils, from sea animals to farm animals to shapes he chose to do this one. D is a little letter obsessed lately.

love.
those.
eyes.

D laughed so hard after doing this to L. i was working in the kitchen and had no idea what the fuss was all about until i turned around. could have been worse. it could have been a tutu.

checking to see which direction the wind is blowing.

pretty in pink.

we had the pleasure of having Grammy visit tonight on her way home from a fun trip. L was already asleep when she arrived, but she did get to see him on the video monitor! that kind of counts, right? not really. both D and K ate up every second with her though and delayed bedtime as much as humanly possible. a good time was had by all.

i should have called in sick today. no, i wasn’t sick. just exhausted. little L was up for over two hours last night and then once he finally did fall asleep… i couldn’t. but, i did get somewhat of a nap this afternoon. it helped a teensy tiny bit. okay, it didn’t really help that much but i’m hoping to be in bed earlier than ever.
i didn’t even take a photo until it was well past 4:30pm.
that’s the kind of day i was having.

our beautiful tree which is looking quite wintry these days.

while K was napping (a.k.a. using the potty) she was admiring my wedding ring. she said that she needs to get married. maybe after rest time. i told her that she would grow up and hopefully find that perfect boy to marry. she said “i cannot see his eyes” and i told her that i couldn’t see his eyes either but that i was praying for him.

looking kind of suspicious. he can’t be thinking of being a stinker again tonight, i hope.

playing some good tunes with his daddy.

a rare shot of me since i have not allowed D or K to use my camera after i sent it in for servicing. (photo thanks to B)

on and off all day long i have had the hiccups.
in other, more interesting news,
we have nine days left of hibernation.
i’m scared.
and i’m tired of hiccuping.

i thought he was building a race track for all of his cars but it was actually a place for them “to watch tv.”
creative or sad?

what a sweetie (when she wants to be).

still a little groggy from his nap. but that’s what lambie is for.

“mommy, i look like you.”
i just have to wonder, is it really that big?

i spent the kids’ rest/nap time reading all about baby brain development. i am inspired, and oh so overwhelmed as to how to help L the very most that i can.

the big kids and i made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
from this month’s issue of everyday food.
hugely successful. hugely.
and it seriously took like eight minutes
until they were ready to go in the oven.

what a cute little pout.

right now, B and i are sitting on the couch after finishing an incredible dinner. we are both updating our blogs.
how nerdy are we.
very.

has it really been forty-nine days? man, that’s a lot. feels like a lot too. i am so ready for this hibernation thing to be over. i can’t wait to be amongst the real world again with my three babes.
and i’m so tired of hearing “what’s next, mom” from D.

the kiddos picnicking with their Papa
(photo thanks to my mom)

wow. lots of (pretend) boo boos. Ah, babydoll and K
all adorning bandaids.

once i got all three kids down for their naps, this lovely piece of ice cream cake was waiting for me on the couch.

while i was bathing L, the big kids and B found Woody using the potty while reading a toy story book. how embarrassing.

it was a long day. and i was in my pajamas before D even got into bed: 7:06pm. yep. who says having kids has changed me?

this is how i found the little man two minutes
after putting him on the floor. apparently he wanted to
watch the olympics like his siblings.

K collecting dandelions for our celebration today.

and doing a little gardening back at home.

we celebrated Auntie B’s half birthday today.
presents and cake and singing!
and yes, her hair always looks that good.

K mesmerizing L with her kazoo playing.

was the sun ever shining today! wow.
i was about to feed L solids when i saw this shot from
the kitchen window and ran outside to capture it.

and of course, she followed me.

and here she is happy as a lark swinging with her daddy.
(photo thanks to B)

what a joyful kiddo. sitting right next to the running dishwasher. he was so calm! i now have a reason to actually
do the dishes that are always sitting on the counter.
and fyi the pink bumbo is not his. we’re borrowing it from our PT.

L had his first occupational therapy (OT) visit today.
it’s amazing how your outlook can completely change with just a few short words. his therapist said “i think he’s doing really great.” what a difference from what we’ve often heard from medical professionals.
wow. i was on cloud nine the rest of the day.

the sweet little heart from her oatmeal that K left for me by accident at the kitchen table.

handsome boy

the brilliant jet stream we spotted on our afternoon walk.

the children and

the beautiful old fence we’ve recently discovered.

my new art wall! my sis got these for me for Christmas and B installed them this week! before, we would just randomly tape all the kids’ artwork up on the wall. oh, how i love being organized.

while K was delaying falling asleep for her nap, i went into her room and she proceeded to tell me that babydoll was pretending to ice skate. i told her to tell babydoll that it was naptime.
worked like a charm.

my sister then replied:

why did today seem so long?
maybe because it was such a lovely day and
we should have been at the beach.
all day long.
instead, we were at home all day long.

we made homemade bubbles. it took about 10 minutes to get it set up. D was done before i could even snatch a photo of him. then he said, “what are we doing next?” apparently, he wasn’t impressed. luckily, K was!

we played in the backyard almost the entire day.
we had a picnic table as well as a picnic blanket set up.
the kids did art on the easel, washed all of their little vehicles, watered the plants, and we (i.e. me)
even managed to clean it up a little bit.

my happy little kitchen helper.

peanut butter face.

leaving for our long walk which took nearly an hour
(and yes, we only went two blocks).

we didn’t quite make it home in time for his nap.
he didn’t seem to mind.

the aircraft carrier that K purposely destroyed
the moment D went in his room.