Our Story - 4.15.11

One of the two main reasons I keep this blog and allow myself to spend time on it is because I want my children to have something to look back on when they are grown and to remember these sweet days we had together. I want to be able to look back and remember too. So, this week I came up with an idea I am pretty excited about.

A little over a year ago Ron bought me a real fancy phone and since then it has been not only my phone but my go to camera. Any given day there are anywhere from 10 to 150 pictures on it. It is handy because my phone is usually with me and my actual camera usually is not. Anytime something precious or unbelievable happens I can quickly grab my phone and immortalize the moment. I have noticed that the pictures on my phone tend be a pretty good portrayal of exactly what is going on around here at a given moment. Those pictures tell our story quite well.

I have decided to take a little time and the end of every week or so and let the pictures on my phone do just that. Tell our story. The parts of story that I know I will forget unless I find a way to make sure I remember.

So here we go:

I have been pretty concerned about whether or not Rose is growing enough. She is such a scrawny little thing and anyone who knows our other girls knows we don't make scrawny babies. At her one year check up the doctor said she is doing fine. She is just 25 percentile weight and 75 percentile height. So no worries as long as she is eating and growing which she is. He said "You can always fatten em up later, but once the fat is there it is had to get rid of it." Don't I know it.

Speaking of Rose there's a new kid in town. Look who is too big for her britches standing up and snacking like her sisters!

She is still our little Baby Rose though too.

The Babingtons upgraded to the seven quart crock pot this week. We have five real eaters now!

My nine months pregnant sister in law graciously did a photo shoot of my girls last weekend. The pictures are glorious! I am going to cheat and post one here so you get the idea. This picture is obviously not from my phone but is just to prove the point. She is really quite talented.

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What is even more remarkable than how adorable Afton looks in those flowers is the lengths Judy Kay was willing to go to get shots like that from her three...shall we say... spirited models. Yes, at one point you see her pregnant belly (housing a full grown baby who could live outside the womb) practically resting on the sidewalk. And it wasn't all that cool outside that day, people. We often get strange looks when we say that we moved here for no good reason other than to be near Ron's sister and her family. Maybe if the people who think that is odd could see the pictures below the would begin to understand.

My mom stitched this picture when I was about 12 years old. She recently asked me if I wanted one of her old cross stitching pieces. Of course I did! I have such fond memories of watching my mom work through many such pictures. I finally got it hung in my bedroom and it warms my heart every time I see it.

Things have been moving at a pretty break neck pace for us since late February with no sign of stopping until the end of summer. I get overwhelmed easily. I am not an especially neat person but chaos really gets to me. Ron recently took all three girls to Afton's ballet class (no small feat) and then kept them out on errands for an additional two hours so I could catch up around here. I would thoroughly clean one room and then sit down and read a chapter of my book and repeat. It was so relaxing and rejuvenating. Not sure what this says about me but I enjoyed it about as much as I would have enjoyed a day at the spa. And I missed my girls. There is something good for your soul about having the opportunity to miss your children. By end of the evening I remember thinking someday (someday too soon) my house will be this clean all the time and then, oh, I will long for the days with my sweet baby girls.

My sweet baby girls (well, the two biggest ones) played an actual board game by themselves for the first time this week. They had a lot of fun and actually followed the rules of them game instead of just messing with the pieces. May seem like a small thing to you but it's quite huge really.

Oh and this little big girl had her first raisins this week. She was fan!

Goal Post

I went on a date once in college and my date asked me what are your goals, after a pretty long silence I said, "I don't have any."

My Goals For September

1. Reach my pre-pregnancy weight.

2. Get up by 6:00 on 80% of weekday mornings.

3. Exercise at least 20 times.

4. Pray for my children everyday.

5. Brush my children's teeth at least 5 days a week. Don't judge.

6. Make an action plan for my yard.

7. Get a SC driver's license.

8. Get a library card.

Like A Glove.

I May Not Know Everything, But I Know Myself

1. Today for lunch my kinds had provolone and whole wheat tortillas.

2. Not sure about dinner again. My menu system is in a tailspin right now. I hope to regain control of it tomorrow after a nice trip to the grocery store.

3. I do know that tonight my new treadmill is arriving. Many who have been to my apartment have expressed concerns about where I am going to put it. No worries, friends! Ron and I are both very good at Tetris and we have a plan. I will post pictures when it is all set up. The fact of the matter is that exercising outdoors with three little ones is not very likely to happen. (At least not for me. I may not know everything, but I know myself.) A bigger concern than how I am going to fit the treadmill in here is how I am going to fit in here without one!

I Think It Is Finally Sinking In.

1. Today for lunch my kids had bananas and peas and milk.

2. Not totally sure what we are having for dinner tonight. I am leaning toward black bean stoup. Here is the recipe. It is really, really good. I never have tried the Monte Cristos in the recipe, but I am sure they are probably good too.

3. The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the best books I have ever read half of. If it is so good why don't I read the rest? Not sure. Its moment kinda passed. It may have another moment again someday.

4. I can't wait to have this baby. Somehow I lost weight from this week to last. (Let me assure you it was not from not eating whatever I want or doing any physical activity beyond that which sustains my life and preserves the lives of my children.) I read that weight loss can be a sign of impending labor. "A loss or leveling off of weight may occur in the last few days before labor starts..." I think was the exact quote. My question is what is meant by the last few days? Like 3 days.....awesome. Like 20 days.....no duh. It's the last month of pregnancy. In that sense, of course, it is the last few days. I have been googling everything else I feel to see if it is a sign of impending labor as well. Pretty much it is all just symptoms of pregnancy. Yep, I am pregnant alright. Anyway, I am thankful that this pregnancy has been smooth and that all signs point to a healthy baby girl. I can't wait to meet her. I feel more ready to mother this child than I have with any of my other pregnancies. I have gotten a chance to see twice now how fast babydom slips away, so I plan on savoring this infancy rather than being eager for the next milestone or my first chance to sleep all night. One of the (many) things that makes baby-ness so precious is how quickly it is gone. "Enjoy them. They grow up so fast." I can't go to the store with my kids without an old lady coming up and telling me that. I think it is finally sinking in.

Spice Is my Favorite.

I mentioned earlier I wanted to to do a lot of baking this holiday season. I did as much as I possibly could but I didn't really do much in the end. Still it was lots of fun and very yummy. I think I want to make it a tradition every year. Much more convenient when I am pregnant and all those extra calories don't matter as much, but hey, that is what my new treadmill is for, right? Anyway I didn't fall in love with any new recipes during my experience, but I re fell in love with one that I learned last fall. I love it for two reasons -- because it is ridiculously easy and amazingly delicious. Easiness is a feature I appreciate in my extra curricular activities at this time in my life. So here is my go to pumpkin muffin recipe (if you are indiginified by the use of box mixes read no further) :

Take any box cake or muffin mix (I have used yellow, chocolate, and spice. Spice is my favorite.) Follow the directions on the box replacing the oil with a can of pumpkin. How easy is that. And it is SO yummy and SO moist. Love it. Also good with chocolate chips! Yum!

I Probably Won't Bake Something New Everyday

1. I don't have time to have a fancy blog with long double proof read posts, but I do miss having a way to remember my thoughts as my days pass me by, open my life to my friends and acquaintances, and leave a record for my children of their infancy and childhood, so I am back, but keeping it simple.

2. I have decided to bake my brains out this holiday season and I can't wait! I have always loved the idea of holiday goodies everywhere all season long. That was how it was at my Nana's house growing up. There was never a day without a pie or some candies or special bread or something yummy! It made everything so special. I have been wanting to make the holiday season a celebration everyday all season long and I can't really think of an easier or better way to celebrate than with food. My only drawback has been all those calories. How could I make festive goodies everyday and not end up as fat as a Christmas goose myself. This unanswered question has been what has kept me from ever embarking on my holiday baking mission. But I got thinking....what with me pregnant and all and not really supposed to be worried about calories and not really supposed to be too worried about my weight this will be the perfect season to try my experiment.  So here we go!  Well, beginning November 1st (Ron's birthday and my official start of holiday season) pumpkin muffins and pumpkin pie will start things off and will give way to Christmas candies, cookies, and ciders as our thoughts turn from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  It is going to be yummy around here!  I probably won't bake something new everyday, but when the last treat runs out I will know it is time to start something up!  I think it is gonna be a fun way to keep all that we have to celebrate in the forefront of our minds.  If it turns out awesome I will keep doing it in years when I am not pregnant.  Fattening up for winter is good right? Plus I will never be wanting for a New Year's Resolution!

3.  Afton and Ponder went to Chuck E. Cheese's for the first time in her life yesterday.  That place is so fun!  I had forgotten.  We were on a fifteen hour ride home from Florida and we wanted pizza for lunch.  The only pizza place at our exit was Chuck E. Cheese, not really the kind of place you want to stop on a fifteen hour trip.  We really wanted pizza though and I told Ron the kids don't even know what it is so they won't ask to play unless we bring it up.  We could just eat there like it was a regular pizza place and they would be none the wiser.  Good enough plan, but once we got inside the fun took over.  It started with me!  As soon as I saw the skeet ball machines I told Afton me'n Daddy were about to get nasty on some skeet ball.  She had know idea what that even was.    Then there were the tradional singing animals, (Afton adored them of course.) , the blue screen kids could dance in front of and then be put up on huge TV screens so everybody in the restaurant could see them, the five free tokens that came with our food that we just has to use!  We were sunk.  Fun was going to be had.  The trip would have wait.  Our pizza was disgusting, but we left thinking there was no where better we could have stopped!  After a couple of rides on cars and horses and merry go rounds Afton was a new kid, totally renewed for the trip.   Just getting to see the singing animals and watch her sister dancing on a big TV screen was enough to lift Ponder's spirits.  Ron and I did try our hand at the skeet ball.  Let's just say together we didn't make enough tickets to buy even the cheapest toy.  There is always next time though, and there certainly will be a next time!