Happy Spring Happy Birthday

Every year, while the world celebrates the 1st day of spring, my family & I have the privilege of celebrating my Daddy's birthday. What an awesome day to have a baby :) My grandma was a lucky lady :) 

Photo credit: http://inhisgracephotography.com

I shared this photo because for me, it was such a proud moment as a daughter. If you don't know what this is, it is my Daddy passing the family "mantle" so to speak on to my new husband. To have my father place such value on my life and well-being spoke volumes to me & my new husband. He set the standard for how a Daddy should look at his daughter and care for his children. It meant the world to me that he would take the time during my wedding ceremony to make a public proclamation that he was passing his daughter to this young man. THAT is what every daughter needs. To know that her daddy loves her so much, that he cares so much that he would do anything and everything to protect & love her. That not just any man will do but that when it is the right one, he will love him, respect him and honor him. 

I love my Daddy and today I have spent many moments reflecting on how grateful I am to have been given such a wonderful man to set the standard. Today, I say, Happy Birthday & thank you, God for giving my dad breath.

Love you, Daddy!

xoxoxoxo

Be Green or Don't be Seen :)

Spent a fun day with friends & family (although they're one in the same with these great people). We rode through town on a float in the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade :)

Favorite quote of the even:
"Mommy, I'm so happy to be on a float!"
oh and...
"I had fun but I thought we were going to be playing drums & cymbals & stuff."
-MalakaiCain

Leaving you today with an Irish Prayer...

May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow...
For every tear, a smile...
For every care, a promise...
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share.
For every sigh, a sweet song, 
And an answer for each prayer.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!! 

Sister Friend

Happy Birthday Big Sister

Dorothy is the one wrapped in the pink blanket :)

Dorothy is my older sister. She'll always be a year older- thanks mama for that line :) 30 years ago, my parents were blessed by their first child. As a newborn she received a special place in the hearts of our grandparents as the very first granddaughter. 

She is special and wonderful and more loved than she knows.

Allow me to take a few minutes to share with you a few things about my big sister...

Anticipation :)

Most of my life was spent NOT appreciating all of Dorothy's wonderful attributes. Fortunately, I can spend the remainder of it redeeming what I always took for granted. 

Big sister holding chunky little sibling... is this Sam?

She is one of the most caring, sensitive people you'll ever meet. She's funny- especially when she isn't trying to be and even more so (according to her husband) when she is mad :) 

wuv, twrue wuv

She is a people pleaser. She'd do anything for anyone if they ask and she is able. She cooks, cleans and works hard for her family. 

A-Dorbs!

Something I had a hard time understanding (and I still don't fully) is she has always been my biggest fan. Even when she acted like she hated me (sisterly love/hate) she was always supportive of everything I've done. I guess it confuses me because she has SO much going for her and I wasn't the nicest person to her- I don't know why she would cheer me on. She is smarter than I could ever hope to be. 

"The Girls"

She is beautiful inside & out. 

She inspires me to be a better person.

Looking beautiful & inspiring

She loves & is loved by children but especially my children. Hey, they love her so much they even blame her for breaking their toy from 2 hours away, hehe :) But seriously they love their Aunt Doty or is it Dorfy... or maybe it's Dothy... depends on the day/minute but either way, she is loved and thought of often.

Aunt Doty with "Turtle" (Malakai)

oh my gosh... they really were that little once!

She's a reader & a writer... creative & grifted. 

looking all pretty & such

 When I look at my sister today, I know she has SO much to be proud of for her 30 years of life. The best part is, she's just getting started. This isn't the time for over-the-hill, grave stones and black veils because she's never had more to live for than she does right now. 

awww :)

Time is such a funny thing. I remember when Aunt Lorie turned 30 thinking how far away that age seemed to me- like we'd never get there. Well Dorothy, we're here you're there. :)

I'm so proud to call you my sister. 

You are beautiful, smart and older errr...

 wiser... 

Little Dorothy & Little Sarah

The best is yet to come!

Happy Birthday!!! I love you!!!

On this day...

On this day... four years ago, I was holding the sweet boy that made me a mama. All 8lbs 16oz (yes, that is what his birth certificate says), 21.5 inches of little baby boy! How in the world do I now have a preschooler???

When a child enters the world and is handed to you, time seems to stop for a moment and then all of a sudden it starts back up at lightening speed. I remember thinking of the future and it looking so far away. By now, we've surpassed quite a few milestones which came and went all too quickly. Today, I look at this once baby and he's suddenly a boy. Not a baby but not yet grown. Independent but still needing his mama's reassurance. He pours his own milk, picks out his clothes (when he feels like it), goes potty, works the Kindle, eats with a fork, makes pb&j, writes m's, draws smily faces and speaks like a 10 year old :) He's Dennis the Menace but sweet & cuddly. He likes power rangers and super heros and dirt and trucks. His favorite heros are real though... like firemen, policemen & Daddy. He fights and yells and throws temper tantrums. He wiggles his way into our bed and always asks for extra hugs. His sisters are his friends. He has awesome hair. His smile is contagious and his sarcasm is inherited. He starts t-ball next week. And best (or worst) of all, he's growing up right before my eyes. 

I love him more than I knew I could love.

Before I leave you all with a slideshow of photos from his very first birth day, allow me to share a funny story about it... 

Malakai walked over while I was making some tweaks to the slideshow and asked me why the music was so sad (it was just a quiet instrumental). I tried to tell him it wasn't sad- he wasn't convinced. Then he asked why he was so bloody and why he was crying... I tried to explain that is just what babies look like when they are born- apparently, he was not only NOT convinced but extremely scarred- he burst into tears and I had to call Michael to have him talk Malakai down. It was pitiful hysterical! SO... without further ado, I give you Malakai's Birth Day slideshow (with a not so "sad" song)... 

(Photography by, "Grauntie Laura" (aka- Laura Olson, In His Grace Photography)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MALAKAI CAIN!

Friday Favorite Things: Not feelin' it

Friday Favorite Things

BECAUSE

when I'm not feeling it...

why not?

Friends. I'm especially thankful for friends this week. Those times when they show up at just the right time and don't even realize how much you needed them to. And they say just the right things. 

Bed time. My children's bedtime in particular. Absolutely keeps me sane. 

My husband. He's always a favorite. But I'm especially thankful for his willingness to serve our family & his country and sacrifice so much for them both. 

Social networking. Because even when your phone falls into the porcelain throne, you still have communication with the outside world. And have friends offering to replace said phone if needed. 

Deep breaths. Because sometimes, you just need to take a deep breath and realize that even nights like this are only part of a season. A season that will all too soon pass. Also, realize that it could be worse. And really, it isn't all that bad. 

So, if you're sitting there wishing for a glass of wine because you just.aren't.feeling.it., take a deep breath and think about all the good things. Sometimes they're tiny and try to hide but if you take a moment & look around, you're sure to find them. 

Potty Training Twins v.4

Potty Training Twins

An Update

Potty training twins... it kinda sucks... especially when you're being kind of lazy. There is twice the mess, twice the laundry, twice the time spent in the bathroom. Due to lack of motivation (and before mentioned overall laziness), I had kind of backed off a bit and not been very intentional about working with them. That was until, I found out that my friend's little boy (the girls' age) was potty trained over Christmas break- it just sparked that motivation again.  We've been working this thing for a while now and they should totally be finished with this "training" thing by now. That being said, we've been doing pretty well for the past couple of weeks.

Can I just say...? Taking potty training twins out in public is ridiculous and thus my main reason for resorting to pull-ups. Just the shear amount of time it requires to potty-break with these 2 little monsters angels is enough to make me crazy. But it can't be helped and is the means to an end so we just continue truckin' along. The pull-up thing mainly comes into play because accidents usually come in 2's and it is a lot of work and a lot of laundry to have an accident when you are at Target or worse- in the car. The nice thing is, when we are out, a lot of the time, they ask to go potty. They know they are covered but the public bathroom novelty hasn't quite worn off :) (EW.) As a matter of fact, when I was working the child watch at our gym his a.m., Lilly decided she would take care of this potty thing on her own & stripped right down & headed off to the bathroom. Definitely one of those moments when you're not sure whether to be proud or embarrassed. haha

At home, pull-ups = diapers so they go without when we're in the house. I believe their preference would be to hang out all nakey all the time but usually, they have something on their hiney & it stays dry much of the time these days :)

Overall, we are seeing progress and I think we will be all undies before too long :) It's almost time to rent that carpet steamer... almost.

And moments like this make it all worth it!

(Of course, eliminating those diaper purchases from our budget helps too)

Lillian & Ava
Christmas Day

btw- did anyone besides my dad notice that I posted a wordless-ish wednesday on TUESDAY??? Where is my brain?! Oh right, consumed by 3 brain sucking children- I kid. kind of.

Wordless-ish Wednesday: A boy & his snow

Since the beginning of December, Malakai has been asking, praying, begging for snow to cover Maryland. Actually, who am I kidding? He only cared if it would snow in our yard. You can imagine his disappointment when I told him that Aunt Dorothy wouldn't make it for Christmas Eve because it was snowing where she lives... "Why isn't it snowing here, Mommy? It needs to snow at my house!"

So of course when the clouds finally left a white blanket in our front yard, we bundled up for the bitter cold and ventured outside for some icy fun!  

Is his hat not the most adorable thing? (Thanks, Aunt B!)

Love that cold little face- runny nose & all! :) I'm really wishing I had nailed this focal point... those snowflakes on his eyelashes- adorable!

Truly a beautiful day even though our fingers were becoming icicles!

Loving this shot- except that I cut the trees off but the color in the pond was so pretty.

This was Malakai being "excited" haha

I really love this boy. 

I had to bribe him to even come over for this photo and then there was snow on my lens so he looks like he's glowing, lol. I will share more photos my little snow angel girls another day :)

So Malakai spent most of the winter praying for snow. This was the only time it snowed enough to play in it and now that it is March, Mother Nature is looking to unload a nor'easter on us tomorrow.... lovely. just lovely.

May You Live a Long Life

Of course I missed day 2 of my nablopomo. of course. Now ask me if I care... :)

So today is my Daddum's birthday!!! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDUMS!!!

We'll be heading to his house in a bit when the girls wake up. Glad to be close enough to celebrate with him in person :) 

Proud Papa w/ his son & oldest Great Grandson

Daddums with 2 of his namesakes :)

Daddums with the sweetest little Great Granddaughters

At Daddums house for Christmas this year :)

I'll leave you with a little Irish Birthday Blessing:

May you live a long life

Full of gladness and health

With a pocket full of gold

As the least of your wealth

May the dreams you hold dearest

Be those which come true

May the kindness you spread,

Keep returning to you.

Love you so very much, Daddums!!!

Hope your day is wonderful and blessed!

March: It's Gonna Be Good

First off- I feel the need to point out that my little baby will be 4- FOUR years old in 11 days!!! How does this happen?! I also feel the need to mention that my eldest sister will be thirty. And my dad & daddums will be ... some other #'s... we quit counting. #notreally  Anyway- this is a big birthday month... so I'm dedicating this month of blogging to them. nabloplomo for the birthday people <3 (If you don't know what that is you can find out here) Expect a little bit of whatever I decide to write about including a lot about Malakai and some stuff about the special people I mentioned and everything in between :) 

my belly 4 years ago

literally about to pop!

Completely unrelated to birthdays but a significant happening in March- I was working out this morning & got my very first double under!!! And actually, I got two :) Most of you probably won't find that very impressive & maybe you don't even know what a "double under" is and that's okay :) I'm proud of this moment and the fitness progress I've made in the past few months. Remember this is the girl that was never athletic and avoided anything requiring strength and physical endurance at all cost, haha. So, it was a good moment and then when I was finished- I drove home in daylight- HEELLOOOO, SPRING IS COMING!