A day in the life...

Haven't done one of these in a while...so I thought I'd give yall a look inside the day in the life of a stay-at-home momma to 3 kids aged 2 and under!

Crawl out of bed at 8 AM (lucky, yes!!) hear Jack stirring. Before I know it, I hear Paige burst into their room proclaiming, "good morning, bubbas!" I get my contacts in and brush my teeth and listen to her climbing into Jack's crib and play peek-a-boo with him, while Braley laughs watching.

Go get them about 8:15, breakfast straight away. Make breakfast - bananas, sausage, cheese, and english muffin for the boys, cheerios and milk, and 1/2 banana for Paige. Clean up kitchen while they eat. Clean them up, set the boys down with some toys in the kitchen, Paige goes upstairs to the playroom.

I walk back to my room and get dressed.

Bring boys upstairs with me, now - for about an hour.

Come downstairs, feed the boys some yogurt, clean diapers, clean faces, in their cribs for a nap.

Sit down to pay bills, turn Barney on for Paige.

Boys wake up, get everyone in the car - go run a few errands (bank, dry cleaners, post office).

Come home, head upstairs for 30 minutes to play.

Come back down, lunch time! Make quesadillas, cut up grapes, blueberries, and goldfish for everyone. Clean up kitchen while they eat. Get everyone cleaned up and in the stroller! Time for the playground! It was gorgeous out.

Take a nice walk and the boys swing and take turns riding down the slide with me. Paige runs around, swings, slides, climbs the rock wall - everyone has fun!

Time to head home around 2 PM for naps. Walk home, new diapers for the boys, Paige goes potty, in beds for nap time! Around 2:30. Praise the Lord!!

I head upstairs and do the elliptical for 30 minutes, clean the playroom, empty the dishwasher, shower, change, sit down for about 30 minutes of TV time. About 4 PM, Jack and Braley wake, so I decide to get all 3 up (Paige won't go to sleep at night if I let her nap too long).

We play in the boys room for almost an hour! Singing, chasing each other, hide and go seek, etc. At 5, we make our way to the kitchen to get dinner going!

It is refrigerator clean-out night! I heat up mac n cheese, green beans, and make a frozen pizza! LOL! Get the kids started eating, and daddy comes in the door at 5:15! Early! What a treat!

After dinner, we get the kids cleaned up and get in the stroller for a walk to my grandparents house. We like to visit them in the evenings.

Come home at 7:15 - bathtime! David does the bath, I lay out towels, jammies, lotion, get the beds ready for the kids, nightlights on, humidifiers full, get water warming to warm the boys milk. Once that is all done and kids are dressed for bed, Paige gets to play games on the iPad while David rocks and feeds one boy and I the other.

Once they are asleep, we bring Paige back and rock and kiss her goodnight! All said and done by 8:30!

David heads to the couch to relax and I hit the pavement for a run!

I ran for an hour - 6.13 miles! Yay, me!!!

I relax in the bath, David comes back, we chat a little, watch the news, and the day is done : )

Christmas '11

We started off the festivities with a visit from our best friends and their little boy, Ethan. It is funny to me how excited Paige is to play with Ethan and help feed him when he is just 8 weeks younger than her brothers. It's not like its anything new to her...but she loves playing with him!

Singing a little for us...

So the Griffith family/extended family must have been pretty dang good this year:

We are undeserving of all these gifts, and are mostly thankful for time spent with family and friends, and of course, the birth of Jesus Christ.

My attempt to get a Christmas pic of all three kids together. FAIL.

Our Christmas Eve was wonderful! I got a 7 mile run in, then we did dinner with my family down the street at my grandmother's house. We came back here for presents and cocktails/dessert, then headed to church for the 8:30 service.

Some of Paige's favorite presents: diaper bag and changing accessories, grocery cart, cash register, new accessories for her kitchen, a new ski suit for our upcoming vacation to Colorado, and 5 months of gymnastics lessons!

My aunt got my niece, Ava, and Paige matching dress-up jasmine outfits! A belly-baring outfit isn't my choice for my almost 3 year old...but I guess it's fine for play : )

Jack and Braley got 5 months of gymboree from my parents, which is great, because I want to take them but wasn't willing to shell out the $$$$ for twins. We start mid-January and I'm excited!

Paige also got a stroller, pack n play, high chair, bumbo, and monitors for her baby! Little mommy in training!

Paige got a very special treat from her daddy for Christmas! He took her to her very first Thunder game! Miss thang was not happy to be woken up from her nap and forced to take a picture (duh).
But when she got to come back inside and play with her new ukulele, she was good to go.

Little man wanted to go to the game, but we told him maybe next year!

Paige had so much fun: popcorn, Rumble the Bison, up past bedtime, and funnel cakes: what's not to love!?!

We had some of David's family visit us for a few days on the 25th, so things have been hectic and are just settling back down. Thank goodness.

Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!!!

xoxo

Hello, winter!

It has suddenly gotten very cold here! 30s and 40s. 'tis the season...

First, here is our Christmas card from this year. I loved the way they turned out!

Second: uggh - Paige being out of school for the holidays means I am trying my best to keep these kiddos entertained inside! It is cold, sometimes rainy, the stores are too crowded, restaurants are too busy for me to take them, no nanny in the month of December...and I am learning that I am really not that entertaining to the kids! I sing, and Paige yells, "DON'T SAY THAT!!!"

This little chipmunk puts a smile on my face!

And Paige is becoming more of a child and losing the toddler in her.

TV on demand is helpful, as are games on the iPad. I am learning just how thankful I am for MDO to let Paige play. She craves that interaction and structure.

We have done some crafts, but it is hard with 2 curious little boys!

And Paige is very sweet and lets them play with all her toys.

Sweet Jack's hair is out of control!

Braley proudly waves his OU flag, despite our 9-3 season (yes, OU fans are spoiled that we are bummed by a 9-3 year!).

David is off for a few days starting in just a few hours!! YAY!!!

Weekend recap

We had "very little plans" this weekend, so I thought it would be relaxing. Umm - not happening in a family of 5!

Friday, my mom had a little procedure done (she is totally fine) and needed to sleep all evening, so my dad met us for dinner. The boys are actually doing really well at restaurants right now because they love to eat! They love feeding themselves and even if they fuss, they are very content to sit in our laps and bang on the table. We obvs have to go to kid-friendly places, but that is fine and we make it work! But yes, it is tiring.

Saturday, David ran 16 miles (he is marathon training, running in Austin in February) and then I ran 6! I felt like a slacker compared to him but that was good for me : ) We had our friends/neighbors come up for pizza that evening. We gave ALL the kids a bath (pics below!). And yes, that was tiring.

Today, David played a little golf and we had our huge family Christmas party from my dad's side. 50 people all playing one big game of crazy santa. 2 boys who hate being in loud places with lots of people. 2 boys who skipped their afternoon nap. It was fun catching up with my cousins I don't get to see that often, and I won a $25 gift card to Cheesecake Factory! But very, very tiring.

We are now home relaxing, all the wee ones are sleeping, I've got chips and salsa out, and the Thunder are back on TV : ) Great life : )

I feel like Jack knows he can walk, he just doesn't want to. He is hell-bent on crawling everywhere just to annoy me, I think : ) We are starting Gymboree in January, and I think (if he isn't already) that will push him to really do it.

Bath time is hectic and very stressful if I am alone, but for the most part, it is one of my favorite parts of the day. These 3 LOVE the bath. Our routine is - David gets it started while I lay out towels, jammies, get the boys cribs ready, night light on, fill the humidifier, etc., and all while this is going on, I get to hear my children giggling, splashing, playing with each other, and hear their daddy talk to them, blow bubbles, count, teach body parts, play with letters - melts my heart every single night!

Precious baby Samuel (our neighbors baby)! I love love love getting to hold this little guy! He is a snuggle bug if I ever saw one! And I seriously love his mommy, daddy, and big sister. We are blessed to have made some great friends in our neighbors.

Their sweet girl, Bailey! Paige, Bailey, Jack, and Braley all got in my tub on Saturday night! It was crazy! My bathroom was a mess, everyone was up late - but you know what...that is what life is all about! Little moments with family and friends.

The week before Christmas should be pretty low-key here. I have a few gifts left to get. My 19 year old cousin, David's 8th grade sister (ugggh - she is tough. She changes things she likes every 30 seconds or so...), and both of my nieces. So I'll be dragging the kids out with me to the stores. Wish me luck!!