Busy and Blessed

The heading on my blog says, "Blog of a Super Mom."  I didn't put that there--my best friend did. Apparently she thinks I am a super mom (or have the potential to be a super mom) or I don't think she would have put that.  Every time I come to my blog to update it or just look at it I see that heading and it makes me smile.  The one thing I want to be in this life is a good mom.  I want my children to come first and I want to do all I can to give them all they need and keep them healthy and happy.  THAT is my job and its one I take very seriously.

We are usually pretty busy but the busyness factor has been increased a few notches recently. Going from two children to three children didn't really add a lot of stress, but it did make us busier.  We are all trying to get used to new routines and I have less free time than I once did--we wouldn't trade it for the world though.  The boys have been awesome!   They think Kaitlyn is the best thing in the world and they are so helpful with her.
We are getting ready for Christmas, working on Alex's birthday party, trying to find a pediatrician for all three of our children in the Edmond area, Kaitlyn has to have an ultrasound to check her kidneys, and Alex will have surgery in just a matter of weeks.

There is a lot going on and we are very thankful for all the encouragement, help, and support we have received from family and friends--help with Kaitlyn, friends bringing us breakfast and coffee, friends offering to help after Alex's surgery.  We are very blessed and I thank God for each and every one of you!

Christmastime is Here!

What did we do before we had children?  Last night we loaded up all three kiddos in the van and drove around looking at Christmas lights.  Kaitlyn slept through it all, of course, but the boys LOVED it.  I enjoyed their reactions.  "There's some!  Look, there's some more!  Look at those!"  They really enjoyed it, which makes Jacob and me enjoy it.  I remember going and looking at Christmas lights when I was little. Its one of those special things you only get to do around Christmas time--part of the magic of Christmas that children love.  I'm so glad we are able to share these things with our children. We grabbed McDonald's on the way home and let the boys stay up a little late.  I can't believe its already Christmas.  We have gifts to make,  gifts to buy, cookies to bake, parties, and numerous other activities going on.  Its nice to stop and enjoy doing things with your children and try to see the magic through their eyes.  I love this time of year and can't wait to do more fun things with them!

Kaitlyn snuggling with Jacob

The boys enjoying their McDonald's Happy Meals after looking at Christmas lights.  It was a fun evening!

Kaitlyn bundled up to take Alex to speech at Sensational Kids.

Thankful

It is Thanksgiving day.  Kaitlyn is a little over a week old and we didn't want to drag her out to be passed around by people.  Her pediatrician even told us that we should try to keep her away from groups of people until spring because there are too many illnesses going around right now.  Everyone has been understanding about it because Kaitlyn is so little.  We decided to let the boys go with Jacob's parents to Thanksgiving with the Astleys and then meet my parents so the boys could do Thanksgiving dinner with the Pearsons.  The boys are supposed to stay with my parents until Sunday.  The boys have stayed with their grandparents many times before and I have been fine with it--but today, it took a lot of effort to not just call everyone and cancel.  Sunday seems so far away and I missed them the second they walked out the door.  I found myself crying after they left--which is something I haven't done before.

We had Kaitlyn and I didn't get to see the boys much while I was in the hospital.  One night my friend, Sunshine, had the boys and she called and said they missed me and wanted to talk to me. I missed them too and hearing their little voices made me miss them more.  When I  got off the phone with them, I cried.  Poor Jacob has had to put up with a lot.  We got home from the hospital on a Wednesday night, the boys had school the next couple of days and then went to stay with their grandparents.  Having them leave again so soon after being gone (and knowing they will be gone for 3 or 4 days) wasn't something I was looking forward to this morning.

Having the boys gone so much and not getting to spend as much time with them as I am used to has really made me appreciate all the things I get to do with them and all the time I get to spend with them. I am thankful for that time!

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving and being thankful I would like to say that I'm not only thankful for my three beautiful kiddos, but also for a husband who is understanding, encouraging, and puts up with me being emotional a lot lately.  I don't know what I would do without any of them.

Now We Are Five

It has been a big week in the Astley house.  We went from a family of four to a family of five.  It is funny how slowly pregnancy seemed to DRAG by and then BOOM . . . baby is here. Kaitlyn came into our lives on November 14th, wrapped her little fingers around Jacob's thumb, and has had our hearts ever since.

We will have plenty of stories to tell about the day Kaitlyn came into our lives.  We had to be at the hospital at 5:30 for a C-Section scheduled at 7:30.  7:30 came and the nurses had me ready to go--they were ready to go--and they kept coming in the room and saying,  "We're still waiting on the doctor."  The doctor finally showed up 30 minutes late and apologized--informing us that he had forgotten.  Let me just say that Jacob was more than a little angry.  

We finally went back to the OR to have the C-Section and the doctor told me that every time he hears my last name he thinks of Rick Astley.  The doctor then started singing, "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down . . . " Everyone else in the OR started singing with him.  Ever have a moment where you wonder if you're living in a sitcom?  Yup--this was that moment for me!  Jacob was finally led to the OR and we began.  I laid there, thankful for all the drugs, while Jacob rubbed my head and held my hand.  Eventually, we heard some one say, "Wow!  Look at all that hair!"  Then, the doctor said, "Happy birthday, little one," and we heard Kaitlyn cry for the very first time.  She continued to cry and scream for about 30 minutes and I thought, "Oh no!  She's going to be a screamer!"  I figured she would NOT be an easy baby to take care of with all the screaming she was doing.  

She proved me wrong! She only cries if she is hungry or poopy and will just sit and stare at you--we have even gotten a few smiles.  She will sleep for four hours at a time at night which seems like a good amount of time to me.  I'll take it!  LOL  Her big brothers adore her and I know that our family wasn't complete without her.  She is a sweet baby.  

Alex is always eager to help with anything Kaitlyn needs or I need (for Kaitlyn).  Logan is never far from Kaitlyn and constantly comes to check on her.  They have been great big brothers! It has been fun for Jacob and me to watch them react to their new sister and see them, especially Logan, fall into that roll of the big brother. 

I know we have many adventures ahead of us . . . I can't wait!

Fun-Filled Fall

The boys wearing their sweaters inside out for inside out shirt day at school.

There is a lot going on in our house--these two little guys keep us pretty busy.  Yesterday Logan's class went to Chitwood Park (known as the Rocket Park around here).  Logan ran around with his friends playing Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros.  Logan had a blast!

Friday they get to dress as rock stars for school.  This is challenging because we have to follow the school dress code--it gives Jacob and me a chance to be creative.  Ha. Yes, there will be pictures!  Friday evening is the fall carnival at the school.  We haven't decided if we are going to go to the carnival or take the boys to Story Book Forest.  It will be the only evening we can take them and they keep asking us when we're going.  It just isn't Halloween around here without going to Story Book Forest!  Saturday evening the boys are going to a costume party for their friend, Tristin. They are excited about that!  Sunday, my parents are coming up to bring the boys' Halloween goodies and then Monday evening we plan to order the Jack-O-Lantern pizza for dinner and Jacob is going to take the boys trick-or-treating with a little help from my cousin, Matt.  We are so thankful that he offered to take off work and go with Jacob to help with the boys--I just didn't know how much walking and trick-or-treating I would be able to do. We have parent/teacher conferences coming up, another baby shower next week, and then Nov. 14th is the day we will get to meet miss Kaitlyn.  The boys are excited about her--for now.  I don't know if this will change once we get her here and she is screaming and giving us dirty diapers.  Ha. The boys have been helpful--they help me with laundry and setting the table.  They help clean up and help make their beds--they even clean floors for me!  They can be rowdy and loud and there are days when I want to pull my hair out, but overall, I know I have been blessed with good boys.
I think they are two of the most amazing people I have ever known and I'm so glad that I get to be their mother.  I can't imagine life without either of them. Here's to many more years of fun and craziness with two awesome little guys!

Saving Humpty Dumpty

Last week Alex's class received a letter telling the students that Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall and even the King's men couldn't figure out how to put the pieces of Humpty back together again. Each first grader was asked to build a container or contraption that would hold Humpty and keep him from breaking if he fell again.

Here is Alex (it was pajama day at school) holding the beginnings of his container for Humpty.

We did some research online before deciding what kind of container to make.  Most of the information we found stated that people who had made a container out of a tennis ball container or Prinkles container kept the egg from breaking.  We decided to try it. We kept two of the tennis balls in the container to add a little bit of weight to the bottom of the container.

It was a family project so we all helped. Logan held the container while Alex filled it with shaving cream.  It was a huge mess and the boys had a blast doing it!  LOL  Alex put as much shaving cream in the container as it would hold.  Then, he placed the egg (hard boiled) into the shaving cream padding and put on the lid.

Alex then held it over his head and dropped it--this was our first test.  The egg didn't crack so we tried it again with Alex standing on a chair.  It still didn't break.  We figured it was good to go so I asked Alex if he wanted to paint or decorate the container.

Jacob helping decorate the container.

Logan helped Alex paint the container--they had a lot of fun with this.

I didn't get a picture of the finished product, but it was ready for Alex to take to school on Friday.  He said they used a ladder and dropped the containers from the top of the ladder.  I asked how it went and he said, "Not good.  Mine broke."  I said, "I bet a lot of others broke too?"  He said, "Yeah, a lot of them broke.  It was fun, though."

We had a lot of fun making the container with Alex for his class. We didn't save Humpty Dumpty but Alex learned something and had a lot of fun in the process!

Never A Dull Moment!

Alex and Logan with their paintings for baby Arthur's room.

Things have been crazy here in the Astley house.  I wanted to share some pictures and share all the exciting stuff we have going on.  Before all the fun started the boys made some paintings as a gift.  A friend of mine had a baby a couple of months ago and instead of getting a baby gift she asked if Alex and Logan could paint something for Arthur's room.  I bought paints in the colors of his room and the boys made their own creations for him. it was a fun gift to make and it was nice to involve them--they really enjoyed it.

Then, the craziness started.  First the A/C messed up.  Our landlord came over and thought he had fixed it, but . . . nope.  He came back over and fixed it again . . . and it messed up again.  He finally figured out the problem and said it was a BIG job and gave us some window units.  He put one in our room and one in the baby's room (because the boys' room window is blocked by their arcade game).  So, the boys stayed in the baby's room.  We have a futon in there and a TV so they grabbed a few toys and moved to the baby's room for a few days.  Let me just say that they loved this.  It was like a mini adventure for them.

The boys playing in the baby's room.  We had to move stuff around to get the window units in so the room was kind of a mess, but they didn't mind.  They had a lot of fun and were very comfortable at night.

Playing a game on our bed the first day we got the window units--it was fairly warm in the rest of the house so we gathered on our king sized bed and enjoyed the cool air (and each other).

Jacob's car wouldn't start around the same time all of this started happening.  Our internet started acting up as well.  At first we were frustrated but after a while we just got used to it, I guess.  We were happy to have the window units.  They kept the house pretty comfortable and at night we all got to sleep in nice cool rooms with loud humming sounds.  I will actually miss the window units when they are gone.  Our landlord and his helper have been in our garage all day working on the A/C.  There has been drilling and banging so even thought I don't know what they're doing, I know they're doing something.  Ha. If they don't have it fixed today they should have it fixed tomorrow.  Now, we just wait.

Until our next adventure . . .