sweet words from the hills

. thankful, even though .

it's thanksgiving time.  i can hardly believe it.  last year i this time i couldn't see my feet and the world around me was sure i was having twins.  i didn't eat for two, but i was still so thankful for the blessings God has given me.

our family is still young.  with an almost 3 year old and a 10 month old, traditions are still up-and-coming.  we haven't really figured out fun and meaningful traditions we want to start, but we'll get there.  i think karsyn will start picking up on things rather quickly and i want to start traditions that she will remember and look forward to year to year.

thanksgiving is coming.  we do give thanks every day, but now is that season.  the season when the people who normally don't give thanks actually do.  the season when people go around the table and say what they are thankful for. 

today, i am thankful for these two sweet girls that God has purposefully and prayerfully given to us.  they are a huge blessing in my life and i'm simply thankful God chose me to be their mommy.

 

especially today.  when karsyn has swine flu and mykah busted an ear drum.  they hurt.  they are sad.  and i'm the one they turn to.  i'm so thankful, not for them being sick, but that they know that i'm comforting and that i love them.  always.
 

. we have a baby brother! .

the hill house has expanded.  it happened fast.  we didn't have to wait 9 months and now we have a mix of both genders.  not equally, but there is at least a boy and a girl now.  this was very unexpected, but we are delighted to have him around.  i'm not sure exactly how much he weighs, but he wears premie clothes.  i know this because i just bought him an outfit today.  "baby brother" must wear blue, ya know.  all we have is pink 'round here.

the new additions name, you ask?  well, it's "baby brother", of course.  karsyn and i discussed names today and i think we may have settled on "max", but soon after we reached a decision, she went back to calling him "baby brother". 

luckily, he doesn't seem to mind.  he's pretty calm.  very laid back and patient.  he has to be.  he doesn't get a word in all day and big sister is insistent that he does everything with her.  although it may not be safe, he does sleep with her in her bed.  on her pillow.  she loves "baby brother" so much, but not enough to share her blankie though.  seems as though no one gets that privilege.

here's "baby brother's" first picture ...

 

and here's his first jump on the trampoline ... he actually seemed to enjoy it, although his expression never changed.

 

and, yes, "baby brother" has already had a visit to target.  and walmart.  and is always safely buckled in the car.  he's only been dropped a handful of times, but dr. mom is always on top of it, however, our bandaids are running low now.

{a quick side note about the trampoline ... ours has a net around it that zips up and locks from the outside.  all three of my bundles played on there for about an hour today.  i must say, the trampoline is my new favorite!}

and back to the story.  we are happy to have "baby brother" join us, even if we can't decide on a name.  when we do, you'll be the first to know.
 
tonight ... "baby brother" gets to meet mimi and pop and go to the farm.

.10 on tuesday .

because this week has already been an adventure, here are 10 things i have learned recently ...

1.  this time change isn't all it's cracked up to be.  someone forgot to tell small children that they are still supposed to sleep.  both of my sweet girls have been up before 6am each day.

2.  i {heart} frappuccinos.  my neighbor gave me a recipe and it's so yummy.  it's definitely a treat, but i want to find a treat that my child doesn't like too.  i don't want to share EVERYTHING. 

3.  i don't put any time into my friendships.  i have so richly been blessed with fabulous friends.  whether they live states away, across town, or next door.  friends are important and i want to be a better friend to those i have.

4.  i really do like chocolate.  all these years i have said i don't like chocolate.  so why did i indulge in half of karsyn's trick or treat stash?  i'll have to clarify.  i don't like chocolate cake.  chocolate pudding.  chocolate ice cream.  or dark chocolate.  but those yummy little candy bars rock my world right now.  hence the reason i sent them to school with my favorite man.

5.  i really do like to cook.  i would so much enjoy it more if i didn't have someone tugging on my pants leg or one screaming that she's hungry.

6.  speaking of, toddlers really are bottomless pits.  my sweet girl wants to eat all.the.time.  seriously.  i have to tell her no, especially after she's just eaten a banana, a package of crackers, and a cookie just after she's eaten a hardy lunch.

7.  i do not enjoy working out.  ok, i already knew this.  it's no surprise.  but i WANT to enjoy it.  just like i WANT to enjoy coffee.  surely the love for working out will come way before the love for coffee.

8.  teaching mother's day out every week makes me want to be a better mom.  it sounds weird.  but seeing those little ones that are so stinkin' cute make me think of my own two children.  i see what these kids wear, what they eat, what's in their diaper bags and it makes me wonder what people think of how i treat my own children, how i dress them, what i put in their lunches.

9.  eating too much chocolate can make your face break out no matter what your age.  'nough said.

10. i feel so very blessed to live here.  we have tried for 3 years to move back to san antonio and, for some reason, the Lord keeps us here.  for what reason we may never know, but we are happy to be in aggieland.  i love it. 

. happy halloweenie .

yesterday, all day, at our house my sweet girl said it was "happy halloweenie" and while halloween is by far my least favorite holiday, having cute kids makes it a little more fun.  valentine's is my other least favorite, but we won't get into that.  so, for the sake of my children, and because i'm no scrooge, i am trying to make these celebrated holidays a little more exciting for them. 

halloween this year was a little more intense than last year.  karsyn still doesn't get it.  she doesn't know how to wait in lines for her turn at the fall festivals.  she doesn't know that we have to carefully inspect her candy before she can eat it.  she certainly didn't know that we had to wait until we got home for her to indulge in 2 bags of m&m's at bedtime.  she didn't know that she was supposed to dress up.  she didn't know that we'd walk door to door down our non-lit neighborhood where more halloween scrooges evidently live. 

she had fun though.  and i think she got it by the end.  she's still wearing her costume and it's the next day.  she wore it to bed and all morning here.  so she still doesn't know that, even though she got frito pie on her little ballerina skirt, mama has to wash it sometime.  i'll convince her of that soon.  but she so enjoys being a ballerina and i'll let her for a while longer.

 

sweet baby?  she was my little bunny rabbit.  although she didn't keep her ears on, she did have a little white tail, made out of a bath scrubbie thing, of course.  our little bunny pooped out before trick or treating though. 

 

because my sweet girl is very uncooperative when it comes to picture-taking and posing, i have no pictures of her in her ballerina outfit other than when she's sliding or stuffing her face with frito pie.  seriously.  

 

the end.

 
 

. thankful thursday .

i hate thursdays.  i'm tired.  it's usually been a long week.  it's the day before friday.  my house is a wreck.  and my list could go on.  but it's faces like these that make me smile bigger than ever before, even when i see them on thursdays.

today, i'm thankful i saw this face all day long.

 

 

 

 

i just {heart} this sweet baby.

. wordless wednesday .

 

 

. 10 on tuesday .

here is my list of 10 things i need to do or think about before the new year.  (yes, i am already thinking about that time.  it's coming quick, people.)

1.  what.  when.  where.  how will i pull off 2 birthday parties or just one big one.  karsyn's birthday is december 22nd.  mykah's is january 10th.  for us this is no big deal.  but if we would like any guests at our party/parties we have to strategically plan around Christmas and new year's celebrations. 

2.  what will we get the girls for their birthdays and for Christmas.

3.  prepare my house for a small walker.  a child that is.  mykah will be one in january and will soon be walking.  i need to prepare.  it is big walker proof, but not small walker proof.

4.  a new job.  details to come later. 

5.  decide what i will make/contribute to thanksgiving dinner.  i usually bring paper goods or something non-perishable as we travel the farthest out of everyone that attends.  last year, i believe, my family was 60 strong for that gathering.

6.  clean our back yard and prepare for 2 children to play come spring time.  maybe when it's not mosquito infested we can enjoy it again.

7.  call and get karsyn in on gymnastics.  why do i put this off every week?

8.  keep my house clean.  that truly should take up all 10 spaces.  seriously.

9.  figure out a new entertainment center arrangement for our living room.  our tv will not survive 2 children and 20 little fingers if it is not up higher. 

10.  try to relax.  try to enjoy this time.  this truly should be my #1, but for the lack of time to rearrange everything, i'll keep it right here.  maybe ending on a positive, inspirational something will make me happy.  my girls are growing up so fast.  by the end of the year and start of the next, i'll have a 3 year old and a 1 year old.  i get very much caught up in everyday life and cleaning and organizing that i find myself not taking the time to sit and enjoy life.  so, here's to it.  off to do sidewalk chalk on this beautiful day.

. my pumpkins .

i think i'll write fall a love letter.  it is because of this favorite time of year that i can capture pictures like this of my sweet girl ...

 

unfortunately, sweet baby is not a big fan of those big orange pumpkins.  she cries everytime.  but her smile is so sweet that any other picture we get is super duper cute.

 

this past weekend we went to a new pumpkin patch in lavernia with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and my nephew.  karsyn had a blast.  mykah had fun being held.  she knows how to work it, folks. 

and my non-poser actually posed for me.   

we had a great weekend and would do it again every weekend if we could.  maybe next time the tables will turn and i can get some pumpkin pictures of sweet baby.

 
 

. bad, bad blogger .

i have my moments.  sometimes i do really good keeping up.  other times, well, i slack off a little.  ok, maybe a lot.  this whole mommy of two thing is tough.  these days my mind is drifting in between what-do-i-feed-this-kid-who-can't-really-eat-finger-foods-but-wants-to ... how-do-i-get-this-baby-who-always-has-been-easy-to-get-to-sleep-but-now-screams-for-an-hour-back-to-sleep ... to why-does-my-almost-three-year-old-have-the-attitude-of-a-teenager?

oh the joys of mommyhood.  i'm glad no one claimed it was easy.  right now, this is what we are dealing with, struggling with, living through, and still loving ...

*mykah is 9 months old.  she has always been the easiest baby.  always happy.  always ready to sleep.  in every way possible, complete opposite from what karsyn was.  karsyn did sleep good, did eat good, and was typically happy ... until she turned 2. 

*but mykah has now decided that, because she has 4 teeth, she can eat whatever she wants.  she either chews her baby food and makes it squeeze out of her cheeks or she screams until i give her whatever karsyn is eating.

*she has also decided that she wants to scream and fight us for an hour to go to sleep.  i think it might be almost time to not have that morning nap, but i'm not quite sure yet. 

*karsyn is plain sassy, and sometimes i catch myself calling her "sassy" instead of "sissy".  she likes it.  she knows it's true.  and more times than i would prefer, she says things that i have told her before.  for example ... to our neighbor friend, "you are not being nice.  i think you need to go sit in time out for a bit."

i get frustrated.  i get worn down.  i get fed up.  but i'm lovin' every minute of it. 

should i mention that just today i had to clean up a puddle of pee from the mall floor, only to come home and have to clean poop out of the bathtub.  while i was cleaning off pee-girl, sweet baby pooped.  nice.  and right now i'm washing sheets from said pee-girl because she then peed her bed at naptime.

so that, my friends, is why i have been a bad blogger this week.

. fall favorites .

of course my favorite color is orange.  it's obvious.  so fall being my favorite time of year comes as no surprise.  the only thing that could top it would be cool weather every day instead of once a month.  right now, however, another favorite color is coming up in the ranks around my house.  that color? 

aqua.  it's my new love.  my kitchen is now orange and aqua.  it makes me happy.  so this is my new fall favorite decor.  it's home is on top of my entertainment center in the living room and it's perfect.

 

isn't this adorable.  those candle holder things were brown and i painted them and added antiquing glaze.  an orange pumpkin on top and it's the perfect fall decoration for me.  cute and simple. 

 

and if pumpkins weren't such a fall-thing, they'd for sure be up year round at my house.  yes, just because they are orange.

what's your favorite fall decoration?