Updates

Wow.  The days just fly by.  This is the first time I have had a moment to myself all week.  I am writing this blog and watching the finale of X-Factor, which by the way has turned out to be a great show.  

We have been so busy the past few weeks. We had Oma and Opa in town this past weekend and celebrated an early Christmas.  The boys got lots of wonderful gifts, which I have tons of pictures below.  We also went to breakfast with Santa at the Missouri Athletic Club.  It was our first experience and it was clear that this is a big traditional breakfast with a lot of families.  I know we will go back for many years because it was a lot of fun, but  I was a little stressed out because I never know how long the boys will behave themselves.  This year Samuel was so excited to see Santa and tell him what he wanted.  Joseph on the other hand, freak the f-out.  He screamed so much and would not let go of me.  We weren't planning on having a family picture, but that is what we got.  There was no way Joseph was letting me put him down, plus Simone was fast asleep.  Oh well, maybe next year.  

Not only did we have a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with Oma and Opa, but they were also so amazingly helpful in watching the kids that I got to go to Bikrum Yoga twice and Dave went with me one time.  I think I am obsessed.  I love the way it makes me feel.  I sweat like crazy and I smell so absolutely disgusting afterwards, but it is such an awesome workout.  Since I started last Wednesday night, I have lost 3 pounds.  I thought at first it was water weight, but it hasn't come back.  I am just feeling great and Dave loves it too.  

Simone is getting so big.  She is smiling all the time and is such a happy baby.  Today when we went over to Justin and Charisa's new house we were walking down into their basement and Simone laughed out loud for the first time.  I have no idea what she found funny, but it was so cute to hear.  Then I put her down on the floor to change her diaper and she started to roll over from her back to her stomach.  She almost made it completely over, but her left arm got stuck underneath her and she couldn't figure out how to kick herself over.  Anyway, I could not believe it.  She must love the McFarland's new house because she had two huge milestones over there.  

On Tuesday morning Samuel woke up and his eyes were super red and crusty.  I thought for sure he had pink eye in both of his eyes, so I put drops in them and kept him home from school.  In the afternoon, I put Joseph in the tub and Samuel in the shower.  After Samuel got out of the shower he started complaining that his ear was killing him.  He got a really high fever and was grabbing his right ear.  I called the doctor and luckily they had late office hours that night, so Dave was able to take him in.  It turns out, he had a double ear infection and his right ear was super infected.  The infection caused his red blood shot eyes.  As soon as he had one dose of the medicine his eyes completely cleared up.  I have never heard of such a thing, but thank goodness he didn't have pink eye.  I hate having to hold him down to put the drops in.  

This morning Samuel woke up and had splotches all over his body.  I thought for sure he had an allergic reaction to the medicine, but within 30 minutes the spots went away, so then I thought it was just a heat rash or something.  It was gone all day until about 2:30 in the afternoon and then all of the sudden it came back again.  I called the doctor and he wanted to see us right away to see what was going one.  Turns out he really is allergic to the medication.  His ears had completely cleared up, so the doctor said to not give him anymore medicine and see what happens.  Samuel has never had a reaction to any medicine so this was a whole new experience for me.  He is feeling fine now and hopefully our house is done with sickness.

Tuesday night was the beginning of Hanukkah.  Since Samuel felt terrible he wasn't in a great mood.  We lit the candles and didn't do much else.  On Wednesday night we lit the candles and the boys got rain boots.  Samuel was so excited about his Batman boots, but Joseph was freaking out about putting on his Thomas the Train boots.  He wants nothing to do with them and screams anytime we try to put them on his feet.  I hope he gets over that soon, but that will be a waste of money if he won't wear them.  Tonight I made a nice dinner and the boys each got a dollar.  It has been such a nice holiday season so far.  I am looking forward to having a nice family weekend with all the kids and Dave.  

More pictures to come, but for now here you go:

Making the gingerbread house.  Joseph wasn't too happy that he wasn't able to help out with the frosting.

Simone starting to smile

Another smiling picture

The other night the boys put their shirts over their heads and ran around, they were having so much fun.  I love to hear their laughter together.

Just look at the Samuel's face, pure joy.  I love it!

Another funny picture

Oma holding Simone in the back in her cute dress.  She is looking at her big brother.  

My handsome Joseph.  Such a cutie pie.

This is such a great picture of Oma and Opa with the kids.  The kids did such a great job of sitting for the picture.  

Here we are with Santa.  You can see how absolutely crazy it was.  Simone sleeping, Samuel smiling and so happy and Joseph screaming.  It was quite a scene. 

Samuel enjoying the cool airplane that Opa made for him.  That plane is made completely by hand out of wood.  It is really cool.  Obviously you can tell, Samuel loved it.  

Whatever Samuel has, Joseph has to have too.  Luckily Oma and Opa were smart enough to get Joseph a plane too.  

The boys got flashlights to play in their new tents.  Joseph is imitating the Statue of Liberty here.

Opa made Joseph handmade block to build with.  

Here is Samuel playing in his new tent. 

A rare photo of me with Oma and Simone.  

Simone in her holiday dress with Opa.

I just love this picture because every time I look at it I laugh because Simone's face just cracks me up.  Hilarious.

This is a much better picture of them all.  Love it.

Fist night of Hanukkah.  

Although Samuel felt terrible, he still smiled for the camera.

Rain makes me tired

It rained yesterday and stormed today.  I get in such a funk when it rains.  It is just so dark and nasty and depressing.

To make it even better, Joseph has had a stomach bug for a few weeks now.  He was just having tons of bowel movements, but starting Sunday it turned to diarrhea.  I know too much information, but it is disgusting and I have to share how disgusting it is.  Yesterday he pooped through two pairs of pants.  He hasn't had a fever during the day or any other problems.  I debated whether or not I should send him to school because I don't send the kids to school when I am worried they are going to pass something along to another student.  Joseph has been acting completely normal and fine, but is just having diarrhea, so I sent him to school today.  They said he was fine, but had one yucky diaper.  Well when I was loading him into the car, I smelled another load in his pants.  As soon as we got home I went to change his diaper and it wasn't a pretty sight.  I immediately put him in the tub for a good cleansing and then started gagging at how disgusting it was.

Samuel luckily is healthy and happy.  He is starting to speak so much more Spanish.  Today when he finished his snack after school, he looked at me and said "mas por favor".  It is really exciting that he is learning and speaking Spanish.

Simone had a rough day today.  She also started pooping a bunch today, which worries me because I really don't want her to get sick.  She has a little runny nose, but nothing else.  This morning when I dropped Joseph off at school, I went in the back seat to get Simone and she had blood coming out of one of her nostrils.  I freaked.  It wasn't a lot of blood, but none of my kids have ever had a nose bleed before and it was just scary to see.  I get nose bleeds when I am stressed out, pregnant or the house is really dry.  I called the doctor and they said that she may just be effected by the dryness in the house too.  I need to watch it and then call them back if she gets anymore.

Life is super busy.  I feel like I don't have much time at all for myself.  But I have to admit, having three isn't much more difficult then two.  I think we got really lucky with Simone.  She is an awesome baby.  I was always jealous of people that said they had easy babies that barely cried and slept great.  Really I thought most of them had to be over exaggerating and just acting like their babies were great when in reality they were going nuts behind closed doors.  Now I can say that happy easy babies really do exist.  Simone is normally awesome.  She naps, barely cries and sleeps from 9pm to 4/5am every day.  Sometimes she will throw in a 6 or 7am wake up, which is absolutely amazing.  She is truly a gift.  Thank goodness she is my last and I can go out on a positive note.

In order to find time for myself I am going to start Bikrum Yoga.  On Monday and Wednesday nights there is a class at 8:45 pm.  The classes are 90 minutes long and I won't get home until 10:30, but that is the best time for me to get in a workout.  The boys would be asleep and Dave can easily put Simone to bed.  Hopefully I will start it soon and I will let you know how it goes.  I am super excited to try something new, get in a good workout and have some alone time.  I am really trying to get rid of this baby weight.  I have lost about 20 pounds and I would like to lose 25 more to reach my goal weight.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Wow!

I can't believe how fast the time is flying.  It is already December 7th.  Anyone else feel like they are going 100 miles per hour?! I feel like there is just so much to do.  I can't believe I am already trying to put together a holiday card, 2012 calendar, baking for Samuel and Joseph's school and preparing for the holidays.  I have noticed more now how quickly the time is flying because Simone is growing so fast.  

On Sunday she turned 2 months old.  Already!!!  My baby girl.  We went to the doctor on Monday and she is growing like crazy.  

Here are her statistics:

Height: 22.5 inches (56%)

Weight: 11 lbs 5.5 oz (61%)

Head: 15.20 (46%)

Here were the boys:

Samuel:

Height: 24 inches
Weight: 13 lbs 14.5 oz

Joseph:
Height: 23.25 in (64%)
Weight: 14 lbs 4 oz (95%)
Head Cir: 40.4 (62%)

Although her percentages seem like she is smaller then Joseph, she is already wearing 3 month clothes.  She is growing like a weed and is such a wonderful baby.  I was telling her pediatrician how lucky I feel that my third is just so easy to deal with considering I have two crazy boys at home.  He said that we are only given what we can handle and I couldn't agree more.  She is still sleeping through the night, taking awesome naps and only cries when she is hungry, sleepy, pooped in her pants or she is hot.  I feel so lucky.

Here is her two month picture:

I have been trying to get pictures for our holiday cards.  It so so difficult to get all the kids to look at the camera at the same time.  I am about to give up and just get the cards done and in the mail.  That is one things I need to cross off our list and it is stressing me out.  Here are some attempts at pictures.

Everyday I look at Samuel and I can't believe how big he is getting.  He comes up to my boobs.  Pretty soon he is going to be taller then me and I am going to freak out.  

If only I could get a really cute picture of Joseph.  He will only take a picture on his terms.  One of these days I am going to snap a good one.

So much for a cute picture of all three.  It is a work in progress.

So easy to get a picture of Samuel and Simone because Samuel loves to hold her.  

Another picture attempt.

Early Resolutions

I have decided that I am going to start my list of New Year's resolutions now.  It isn't too early right.  I started to make a long list yesterday and I will hopefully work my way down them.  A lot on my list are little goals for myself, like little projects I need to complete (finishing the boys photo albums, organize baby clothes, etc.)  Others are things like running a half marathon in 2012 and losing all my baby weight.

Speaking of baby weight I am so discouraged about my weight.  I need to lose 25 more pounds to get to my goal weight and nothing is coming off.  I haven't lost a pound in about 4 weeks.  This week I have made some changes.  Dave and I have been talking for a while about eating vegetarian, with an occasional fish or chicken dish.  One of his goals is to eat some fish (if you know him, you know he has always hated fish).  We went out to dinner the other night and he actually ordered and ate fish.  It was delicious and we are trying to make an effort to eat some fish at least once or twice a month.  We don't typically eat a lot of meat, but when we force ourselves to eat more vegetarian meals our whole diet changes.  We eat less junk food and make better food choices.  This morning I ate greek yogart with blueberries, strawberries, almonds and agave nectar.  I am going to make a huge salad tonight with lots of veggies.

I worked out on Monday and Tuesday.  Monday I did spinning for about 30 minutes and it killed me.  I am in no shape to take a class at this point.  I am going to keep spinning by myself until I feel like I am in better shape for an actual class.  Yesterday I ran on the treadmill for a little while, but my left arch started killing me.  I can always tell when I have a lot of extra weight on my body because it really puts pressure on my arches in my feet.  I had a difficult time running even a mile.  Because I wasn't having fun running I tried out a different machine that was similar to an elliptical machine and it killed me.  When I got off 20 minutes later my legs were complete noodles.  It was a good feeling to get in a workout like that.  Today I plan to do some weights and sit ups when both boys are at school.  I am also going to sign up for Bikrum Yoga.  Has anyone done that?  I am really excited to try it out.  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will go.  I need to get some yoga clothes though.  They want you to wear really tight clothes, like leotards and bike shorts, so they can see you body and so that it soaks up all your sweat.

I am hoping that my hormones will start going back to normal soon.  I am somewhat of a mess.  After Simone,  I decided that I would get back on birth control for a limited time.  We are done with having kids and we didn't want any more accidents.  I know after having Simone our family is totally complete.  Anyway, I got on the mini-pill when Simone was almost 5 weeks old.  She just turned 8 weeks yesterday.  After 4 days on the pill I started my period and it was super heavy and disgusting.  I called the doctor because I have never had a period while breastfeeding until the boys were about 9 months old.  She said that some people on this pill have a period and then they have spotting often.  She said that if I continue to bleed then I might consider getting off of it because it just might not work well with my body.  Well after I had the "period" I continued to spot almost every other day and then at 7 and a half weeks I started bleeding again really heavily.  My hormones were going crazy and I was feeling terrible.  I decided that I was going to quit the pill.  It isn't worth all the bleeding and hormone issues.  I got off on Sunday and I already stopped bleeding and I am beginning to feel so much better mentally.  I guess I wasn't meant to take the pill.  I am hoping that getting off will help me lose weight too.  We will see.

Life with three kids is so busy.  Simone is so wonderful.  She is getting cuter and cuter each day.  Her baby acne is clearing up finally. She is such a happy easy baby.  She smiles so much and loves to see her brothers.  I look at her and feel so grateful that I have such a beautiful little princess and one that is a much easier baby then her brothers.  My life really feels complete.

I'm off to drink coffee and relax a bit before the crazy day gets going.

Giving Thanks

There is so much to be thankful for.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break.  My parents came in town and we were able to get a lot done.  Dave and I were able to go out one night for dinner just the two of us, which was a really nice treat.  It is always so nice when our parents come in town because Dave and I take advantage of them and go out on much needed dates.  

Here are a lot of pictures from the week and weekend.  

The boys attacked my dad every night.  

My dad made Gingerbread men with the boys.  They looked absolutely perfect and then they were eaten up right away.

Here is Joseph with his gingerbread man.

Savta with the kids

Joseph and Haidyn matched.  They were so cute on Thanksgiving.   

Joseph gave Haidyn a little kiss.  She should feel super lucky because he doesn't give those out that often.

The boys love giving hugs.  

Samuel loves giving kisses.

The beautiful table at Jonathan and Laura's house.  

All the yummy food.

Simone's first thanksgiving.  She was so excited for all the food!

The boys didn't eat that much, but they loved the rolls

Although they didn't eat much dinner, they were pretty excited about the dessert

Samuel and Jonathan.  This is such a cute picture of the two of them.  Samuel was really cold outside so he had his arms in his shirt.

Savta and Papa attempting to get a picture with the grand kids.  I wasn't able to get any good pictures.  This was about the best one.

Also an attempt at the cousins picture, but again it is just hard to get pictures of them all right now.  We did the best we could

My mom got the boys holiday pajama's and they loved them.  Joseph has this new thing where he tries to attack Samuel from behind.  He grabs onto him and won't let go.  It is pretty cute, but Samuel isn't too much of a fan.

Another day of eating the gingerbread men.

These two pictures of the boys are just too funny.

They both have the same crazy look on their faces.

This is what is looks like most nights in our house.  I'm feeding Simone and Joseph is on top of me and Samuel is next to me.  I know I will miss this when they get older.

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We actually put up a Christmas tree this year.  We have had this tree in the box for the last 6 or 7 years and have never taken it out.  We figured it was probably a good year to do it.  The boys are older and we are in our new house.  The boys loved it.  

Here it is all lit up with the ornaments.  I am actually really excited about the holidays this year.  The boys are going to have so much fun.