All Inclusive

It's been a while again. It seems when I have a break from posting it always ends up being information overload. There is really no good way to organize my thoughts and my writing is filled with lots of facts and little creativity. It becomes overwhelming thinking about all the things I want to include, so I throw it all into one big run-on post. I have a feeling that is what is happening here, so thanks in advance for hanging with me through a scatter brain of a post.

So here's the ugly truth. Having three little ones is so fun, but has also been proven to be very challenging. We are now over a month and a half in and while I still like to look at things with much optimism, when people ask how things have been going, my answer is becoming a little more honest than just "oh, great!!" I mean things are great, but it would be a lie to say it's not at times hard.

First off, after seven weeks of middle of the night feedings it is starting to catch up with me. But, thankfully, Sadie has started to sleep a little longer (up to 6-7 hours some nights!!) since we have been giving her a bottle of formula before bed at night. I have a feeling I may be weaning her all together in the near future. Honestly, I am happy I have made it nursing her as long as I have with all these other little ones to take care of. I mean the other day while I was nursing, the kids (lucky for them I will never know who was the real culprit) filled their toilet up with the remaining half a roll of toilet paper that was in there. It's tough to sit and nurse a baby with other trouble makers on the loose, especially once they have learned how tied down you are!

The other big struggle I have had the last couple of weeks is my housework. As laid back as I am (or so people tell me I am) I really do like to keep a picked up and somewhat tidy house. I think sometimes it is my biggest way of not losing my mind. Don't get me wrong- I never aim for perfection in this area- I just need to feel like things are somewhat pulled together to maintain my sanity. Well when it comes to getting things done around the house the best way to put it is that I feel like I am drowning and can't fully get my head above water! It is never ending and I just haven't been able to fully keep up which is one of the few things that can totally stress me out. Another way to put it is that I feel like I am ALWAYS busy, but never getting anything done! This is a hard adjustment for me to accept, but last night I just forgot about what the house looked like and hung out with the kids and relaxed with them for a good while, and it was just what the stress doctor ordered. It was just what I needed to get me ready for waking up to this this morning after an entire weekend of not touching the laundry--

Five loaded baskets plus two additional piles- and that doesn't include the fours beds worth of sheets. As I sit here tonight I only have one basketful left, so in my book today was productive! =)

In my mind it always seems I have at least five things I need to do and five things I want to do and it feels like I will never get to all of them. Speaking of things I want to do, that list has been growing- especially since when my parents came in town they brought me my grandmother's sewing machine and I have been so eager to learn to sew! My 1st project was John Deere pajama pants I made for Hannah and Bennett. They turned out cute and I will try to get a pic of them in them next time they wear them. I also just made a table skirt for in Sadie's room, which brings me to the next thing I have been up to that I wanted to share!

I wasn't going to do anything really in her room, just use Hannah's old stuff and hold off until her big girl room like we did with the others. But then something changed. My mom's dear sweet elderly lady friend who is an amazing quilter and has made me little quilts for the others, made an incredible quilt for Sadie that I was so excited about. My mom had built it up and when she brought it, I was not disappointed. I just love it and love the someone took all that time and thoughtfulness to put into making it. So when we got this, I of course had to get some stuff to do the room up. Here is a close up of the quilt-

Sorry the pictures aren't the clearest, I didn't use the flash because I hate the coloring it gives in room shots, but the trade off is they are kind of blurry.

I got the 3D wall butterflies from Target. They were all white and I painted them to match.

I also got a little rug from Target in front of the crib that you can't see in these pics.

I have done painted letters in all the kids rooms and wasn't necessarily going to do them this time around. But when I saw them at Wal-Mart and remembered that they are $1.97 a letter, I couldn't pass it up. Fifty cents for some bottles of paint and you're all set! Instead of hanging them on ribbon like I have in the past I just set them over the changing table on that shelf.

Then while Hannah Grace was at school Friday and Ryan's mom was kind enough to take Bennett off my hands for a while, Sadie and I headed off to Hobby Lobby to find the finishing touches. I fell in love with this lamp and it was half off- sweet! I needed a table to set it on but didn't want to spend lots of money on a piece of furniture, so I yet again used a three legged table and "made" this cover to go over it. The picture on the wall says "Always kiss me goodnight" and was a whopping $7.

The picture frames still have some old pictures of Hannah and Bennett as babies in them. I need to get some more of Sadie developed, but I joked with Ryan I could probably leave the other ones in there and honestly, no one would ever know the difference! Seriously all our babies look so much alike!

So there you have my room do up on a budget of less than $100. I was so excited about it and glad we did it because now it officially feels like Sadie's room!

And I never did post pics of Bennett's big boy room because it really still isn't fully finished, but it may be a while before it's completely done, so I will go ahead and share-

I still have to order pillow cases to match the duvet cover.

Excuse the horrible bed making job- I should have gotten a pic before putting the pesky bed rails on, but of course I didn't.

And there is the lamp of Ryan's that started it all with my favorite thing- the picture that is a game program cover from a 1970's Nebraska game. There is still a corner of the room that has an old TV that we must get rid of in it. Once that is gone I have some more Nebraska things and a clock to hang over there and am keeping my eye out for something like a toy chest/ bench- not sure what yet, but once we do that, then it will be complete. So there you have the room tours!

And lately I can't pull out the camera without some eager kids wanting me to take pictures of them...

Thankfully, Ryan's mom let us borrow their camera for a little while until we get our new lens- hopefully we will get it soon, because I miss my camera terribly!!!

And of course- she is just begging to get her picture taken too =)

This morning I had Sadie up in our bed and when she started waking up I went in there and laid on my stomach next to her. Hannah then climbed up and laid right up next to me on her stomach with her hand under her chin and her other arm around my shoulder.She smiled at Sadie and then back at me, while Sadie smiled back at us. It was such a sweet thing I just wanted to box that moment up and be able to go back and open it up and relive it any time I wanted for years to come. 'Cause see even through the rough moments and the triple work load- there are triple the hugs, kisses, smiles, laughs and wonderful memories.

One night when Ryan was at class (those are usually the hardest times for me -at the end of the day when he is gone- as hard as I am on him sometimes, he keeps me sane) and things were going hog wild and I just wanted to break down and cry, I had such a reality check. A friend who was kind enough to bring us a meal in the middle of a busy week for her as one of her friends lost their 3 year old to cancer, she said "I was just so happy to bring a meal to celebrate life...". And I thought here I am about to have a break down over this when someone else is shedding tears of grief that I truly cannot begin to imagine. So I am trying to get through those rough patches, knowing that it won't always be this hard, and that I am so blessed to have a house so filled with life, lots of life =).

Besides, if that doesn't make it all worthwhile, I don't know what does!