Finally!

Turns out it wasnt YouTube, it was our PC that wasn't allowing me to post the videos. Luckily we have a FABULOUS MacBook Pro. Seriously, PC people.... come to the Mac side of life!! 

Crafts, homemade yummies and fun!

So after we picked out the perfect pumpkins it was time to decorate them on Saturday. I bought Halloween stickers, stick on eyes, felt sheets which I cut out Jack O latern parts, glue, and glitter for a toddler friendly activity. The girls loved it! So did mom.

 

Our fun stickers, ect!

 

Face shapes.

 

Mommy helping.

 

They had so much fun doing this project.

 

Abbi helping Mia, such a sweet helper.

 

Finished product.

 

Admiring our beautiful pumpkins.

 

 Next it was time to make our cotton ball ghosts. With a little Elmer's glue and free handed drawing from mommy, we had some sticky fun.

 

 

 Nattie hard at work.

 

Finished products!

 

Our next project was tracing some fun Halloween pictures that I drew (amaturely) with mini marshmellows. Good clean fun! Except Abbi just wanted to eat the marshmellows... HA! We ended up coloring the pictures after the hmmm supplies were all gone.

 Daddy helping his baby girls.

 

  Mia and Charli working hard, and Abbi.... eating the supplies... HA!

 

 Isnt that a gorgeous child!!

I think she had a good time! I hope so! Love you Nattie Boo!

I also made some yummy homemade donuts (from biscuits) which were a huge hit with everyone! YEAH! I made cinnamon sugar ones and glazed. The girls loved the donut holes. I loved my weekend with my sweet neice and awesome weather and my wonderful family. I have four videos to post but youtube is being a punk right now and wont let me. So that's to be continued! Happy Fall everyone!!

A Morning On the Ranch

Our wonderful trip to Oil Ranch. I went there expecting a huge pumpkin orchard type place but I was wrong. It had a fairly small pumpkin patch with small pumpkins (but they were free with admission to the Ranch) and a few larger ones you could buy. But there was so many other things to do there like pony rides, hay rides, train rides, barn with animals, ect. The girls and Nattie had a great time and it was quite an adventure. I wish I had been more prepared but it turned out just fine.

 

 Nattie on her pony

 

 Abbi rode like a pro twice around the circle. She loved it. I was so surprised! I just knew she would be too scared to ride, but turns out it was Mia who was too scared to ride or even pet the ponies.

 Abbi loved it!

 

 Charli did great as well! She rode twice around and was as calm as anything.

 Look at her holding the saddle horn like a pro! So proud of my cowgirl!

 

 Time to take a picture on a really big tractor. Again, I was so surprised Abbi was freaking out about the huge tractor and even scarier scare crow in the background.

 

 Mia loved the big tractor. So proud of her!

 

 Charli was running over the whole place with that tractor in her mind I bet ya!

 

 This is Charli's "happy face"I asked her to make for the camera. BAHAHA! Im noticing that Im NEVER in any of my babies pictures and Im trying to remedy that as of now. How funny that Charli and I matched that day!

 

 We are ready for our train ride! Mia sat with Nattie, Abbi with daddy and Charli with momma.

 

 Hang on Abbi!

Charli lookin for a good pumpkin.

 

 Nattie found hers!

 

Daddy helping Abbi find a good one.

 

 Success!

 

 Mommy posing with Mia!

 

And of course my beautiful Abbi with momma.

I love love LOVE Fall!

Last Friday we had quite the excitement going on at our house. My Charli Bean started showing signs of Hand Foot and Mouth which she contracted from nursery on Sunday. I had heard that it was going around in our church so I was very hestitant about sending my girls in there. However, I was assured that everything had been cleaned and sanitized so we braved it. Mistake. By Tuesday all the girls were sniffling and getting fussy. By thursday Charlotte was pretty darn sick poor girl. In fact, Thursday night she was up almost every hour. By 3 am Friday morning she was weezing pretty hard. When the others woke up around 8, she was laboring to catch her breath so I immediately called the doctor and got her in first thing. Turns out she had strep, broccilotis, AND Hand foot and mouth. COME ON! She had to be nebulized and given steriods to open up her lungs at the doctor's office and every four hours for about four days. Not to mention antibiotics for the strep for ten days. My goodness we had some sick sad girls. Jared and I decided to nix nursery for a few weeks, at least until the sicknesses got under control.

Well with all that I wasn't sure if my neice was going to be able to spend the next weekend with us as planned. Luckily, by then Charli wasn't contagious and they were all feeling much better. Thank goodness. And we had a great weekend with her! The weather was absolutely fabulous. Cold even! I got so excited that I played Christmas music for two days! HA! I had things planned for every day to make the most of our time together. She got here late Thursday and so first thing Friday morning we went to Oil Ranch Farms to pick out some pumpkins and a slew of other fun activities. (pictures, ect coming soon). Saturday was full of Halloween crafts and the park as well as Sunday.

That brings us up to today when my sweet Nattie boo is back home and the weather is getting hot again (Houston weather stinks).BUMMER! I will be posting pictures and videos very soon with details about our wonderful weekend!

Daddy moment

So I wanted to take a minute and share the sweetest moment there is in parenthood really that Jared had recently with our sweet Abbi. You know Abbi is a total daddy's girl. She loves snuggling up to him so much. Well anyway, Jared was able to be home during the mornings last week due to work schedule changes and the girls loved this. I was upstairs getting dressed and Jared was downstairs with the girls. (He told me this story later that night while we were watching TV.)

He said he turned on the Presidental Debate that he had recorded and sat on the couch to watch it. Abbi ran and jumped on his lap (of course) and just snuggled right into him. He said after a few minutes she looked up at him and just smiled so big. "And when I grinned back at her she grinned from ear to ear and snuggled even deeper into my chest. It was as if she was saying I'll watch this boring debate with you daddy.... as long as I get to sit with you."

As Jared told me this story his eyes welled up and he actually had tears coming down his face. He said he was the sweetest most heart warming moment. I know this was a precious and rare moment he had with one of our girls and I am so grateful he was able to experience it. I am so blessed to have such a wonderfully loving father to my girls. I am one extremely blessed lady.

Girlies

 Charli Bean.

 Mama Mia

 Abbi and Poppy (since she wouldnt walk with us)

Abbi and Mia asleep on the way home from Alabama. LOVE this van!

Charli asleep too!

 Abbi and Poppy

 Charli and Mia

Mia and Abbi

Lazy day

Charli hearts Mia

Mia likes Charli too!

 Gorgeous Girls! Abbi Mia Charli

 Mia being lazy

I could get lost in the love and beauty Im surrounded by every day all day. This job is one that changes daily for me. Some days I dont know what I did WRONG to deserve it and other days I dont know what I did so RIGHT to deserve it. It has made me realize more than ever how crucial it is to be close to my Father in Heaven and to do my hardest every day to make sure the Spirit is in my home. Otherwise I would probably end up naked running down the street pulling out my hair or something less dramatic. 

I would consider myself the ultimate Momma Bear. I live breathe and sleep these girls everyday and it takes almost everything out of me. I figure Heavenly Father entrusted me with three angels, I better not disappoint. When I see them spontaneously give hugs and kisses to each other or share a toy without a dramatic scene or say Thank You Momma without being reminded, I glow. And when I have to diffuse fight after bite after throw down after slap after push after hair pull after scream after melt downs.... well I just say "only 3 more hours till bedtime Ashlee. Hang in there three more hours and THEN break down." Which I do. 

I do love this stage they are in though. When they want to snuggle and give me tons of kisses all the time. And when they sing songs over and over and over. And when they tell me "Mommy silly" because I keep making fish faces at them. Or when I change their diapers and they say "Poop yucky! Bobo crying." HA! They make me laugh and cry at the same time. What a triple blessing Ive been given. Thank goodness for an amazingly loving and patient husband. And the amazing friend I have just down the street so willing to help me. 

Charli

My little bean. She is such a clown. She loves to say "____ is funny." Fill in the blank with anything from "Daddy" to "Water" to "TV." She is by far my best eater. She will try anything at least once and she loves her meat. My other two will eat chicken but thats it for meat. Last night Charlotte put away a ton of BBQ pulled pork I made and I was so proud!

 I have to say though she is my highest maintence child. She likes to do most things in a certain way. She requires a little more TLC than the others. HA! Her skin is more sensitive so I have to use a special soap and lotion for her, ect. Things like that. But when she looks at me and smiles ear to ear and says "Hi Mommy!" it melts my heart. She loves to sing and dance and laugh but will not be a performing monkey. If I try to get her to do stuff for other people, she knows it and refuses. HA! Little stink.

 

 Even though the other two girls resort to biting to get what they want, Charlotte has never bitten her sisters, (but Ive seen her pack a punch with pushing and throwing things.) She has the biggest heart for her sisters. I watch her go off on her own and play with a toy for a bit. But then she sorta realizes "Oh this is Abbi's favorite toy" and will walk over and hand it to her. Sweetest thing. Charlotte's favorite thing in the whole world is to be tickled. She will lay still like an old hound dog so that you will tickle her arm, legs, feet, hair, back, tummy, ANYTHING! HA! I dont understand it! But I love it.

Her hair baffles me. It is straight as a board and has two cowlicks in the back. Even if I wet it, redry it, clip it... it still just goes everywhere and nowhere at the same time. HA! Bless it. She is my little adventurer. She is afraid of nothing. Climbing, jumping, bouncing, sliding, she wants it all. She is also a little tomboy. Whenever we go over to my friend's house who has two boys, Charlotte is in heaven with all the "different" toys. Cars, big trucks, ect... HA! She loves it. Im so proud of all this little girl has accomplished and can do. She is super smart and is the sweetest thing. I love her to pieces!

Abbi

Oh my Abigail! She is definitely my most sensitive child. As I explained already with our trip to Alabama, she just has the hardest time adjusting to new surroundings. And I think she has an extra special imagination which is wonderful but can also scare her when things arent really there. This child is all heart and soul. Her laugh just is heaven to me. She loves to dance. The hot dog dance from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is her favorite. And the girl has rhythm too! 

She loves to give lots kisses and hugs. And just as she has been since birth, she is a true blue daddy's girl. I got to say this has broken my heart a few times here and there but I cant be upset for too long. Im glad she loves her daddy so. All my girls are super smart, but Abbi is my book worm I think. She just absorbs so much and is curious about so much. She isnt really an outside girl. Everytime I say "Lets go outside and play!"she says "It hot?!" haha and she's right, its always hot here in Houston.

 

 She is so expressive with her face. It is hilarious! She can squint those eyes or bulge them out and she just loves to make different expressions. She likes to walk on her tippy toes alot and its too cute. She is also my squealer. Sometimes its just random but other times its provoked by a sister but she will just let out this high pitch hair raising squeal. Then she'll just look at you and grin ear to ear. Though she has been the victim of biting her entire life it seems, she is now picking up the habit herself. AGH! However,  I just think she is the sweetest kid and will blow this world away with her beauty and brains combination. I adore her!

Mia

My drama queen, my superstar, my heart. This girl makes me laugh everyday with something or another. She is so funny. And she has the most beautiful little dimples when she laughs. She is by far the best talker of the three. She even helps me understand what the other two are trying to tell me sometimes. Precious! I kind of think of her as the leader of the group. Her personality is just so much more take charge and sassy. (Plus she's got a killer bite which keeps those other two on their toes.)

 

You would think being a little more theatrical she would be my more difficult child, but she's really not. I mean, when she wants my attention she gets it but rarely do I need to diffuse her like the others. For example, the trip to Alabama. She did beautifully. She rode in her carseat just fine while the other two were acting like they were being tortured. She handled her new surroundings the best, ect.

Speaking of getting my attention, if she wants me to look at her when she tells me something, she will put both her hands on my cheeks and move my face to look at her. HILARIOUS! She loves building with blocks and being a little momma to her baby animals. She will sing "Rock the baby, in the treetop, when the wind blows, the cradle will rock." She knows most of the words to "Im a child of God." Loves to sing like Annie from Little Einsteins. She gives to tightest hugs and squeezes and loves to snuggle.

She's just a little doll with the sweetest, purest spirit. Its an honor to see her smiling face every day!

Hiatus

Im sorry to all my faithful readers out there. I had to take a hiatus from this blog. I just got in a funk with all the major failures we've endured around here. The potty training fiasco really brought me down. I gained about ten pounds just from stress eating. And I just felt like the whole thing was a colossal mistake. Then to top off our sundae with a cherry was the trip we recently took to my parents house.... THIRTEEN hours away. Yeah.... Our very first adventure away from home with my girls was a living nightmare.

It started out just me, the girls, and my parents. Jared stayed behind and was just going to come pick us all up after about a week and a half. The ride there was brutal. My poor mom ending up having to sit on the floor board in the back seat of my dad's truck so she could have easy access to the girls. Yep. Just a preview into our trip. The girls would drop stuff or scratch their sister, ect and we were constantly having to get out of our seats to attend to them and this just made it "easier." Then, on day 2 of the drive there, Abigail had some sort of a terrifying experience that completely took the trip on a downward spiral.

We were at a park and she was walking around in the dirt with sticks around and she just went crazy. Screaming bloody murder, froze up and shaking. We still have no idea what happened (she didn't get bit by anything; that was the first thing I checked for.) I think she thought a stick was a snake and it brushed her leg and viola. Anyway, for the next WEEK that child would NOT walk on the floor, any floor or grass, ect. Im not kidding. I literally had to carry her EVERYWHERE! Can you imagine?? With two other ones to tend to as well. She wouldn't sleep in the crib only her pack n play which is tiny, she wouldnt play on the floor with toys, nothing. A light just went off inside her and it was horrifying to see. My poor sweet parents did all they could to help me but at the end of the day, there was nothing anyone could do. The girls all wanted me to hold them and help them adjust to new surroundings and I just couldnt do it for everyone at the same time. It was a horrible emotional nightmare.  After I had had enough, Jared  made an emergency flight out to Alabama. Abbi wasn't healed immediately but she made tremedous progress once he was there with her.

Anyway, by that point I just wanted to get home in familiar territory and I think the girls did too. I was totally bummed that the trip wasn't more of a pleasant experience for them and me. Next time I know that we go NOWHERE without Jared with us. Its hard not to let it make you feel like a disaster of a mother. Again, I found myself in a situation where Im outnumbered and overmatched. It shouldn't be this way. My sweet mother was in tears with me at the end of one horrific day and she said "I dont know how in the world you do this everyday, Ashlee. Its just not supposed to be this hard, sweetie." I just sobbed and had a little pity moment and said "Its not fair." Sometimes I really feel like its not fair this is going to be my experience as a mother. Thankfully those moments are just my low points talking and most of my days are good ones where I can plainly see how very blessed I am.

Well the drive back was only semi better. We rented a van (which opened my eyes to wonders!! We will be getting a van ASAP!) Even though Jared was now with us, it was just Jared and me against three. So it was tricky. We stopped at chick fila for about 2 hours and I literally changed 6 poopy diapers in that time... We checked into the only available hotel in the area and found out it was a dump so we turned around and loaded everything back in the van and drove all night to get home. We got home around 3 am. The girls, needless to say, were completely beside themselves. We all were.

All in all, it will be a while before I venture out again. And this is why I haven't felt like blogging. Im almost as tired of seeing these kinds of posts on my blog as much as you all are. I am happy to say my Abbi is back to her normal perfect self and I think they have all forgiven me for putting them through that travesty. Well no one can say I didnt try right?