Mother's Day 2015

I had a wonderful Mother’s day weekend and am so thankful to be mommy to these 3 crazy and sweet boys that are all so full of life and hard to believe in a few short weeks it will soon be 4 little ones!  Saturday was a beautiful day and I was able to get away for a little pampering with a manicure and pedicure which was amazing.  I can’t even tell you the last time I had one of those and then I was able to run a few errands and pick up some supplies for the baby.  Then after Lincoln’s nap the boys really wanted to go fishing so we headed over to a pond in Urbandale and they had a fun time casting their poles and we did finally end up catching one fish before needing to head home.  Lincoln loved getting to watch all the ducks, geese and squirrels while the older boys fished.  

On Sunday we had lunch over at Jen’s house and got to spend some time with family and celebrate with my mom and grandma.  I just love the gifts the boys made me from school.  Gavin’s questionnaire cracked me up and Wyatt is so silly.  I have a book that Ryan has the boys color in and answer 5 things that they love about mom each year and Wyatt’s was 1. Her hugs, 2. Her kisses, 3. I want her to buy me a darth vader costume.  Can you tell he’s a little obsessed right now with darth vader lol. 

Gavin's Kindergarten Music Concert

Last week Gavin had his kindergarten music concert.  The split the kindergarten classes up into two groups and Gavin's was the last group with 2 other classes.  The kids did such a great job and it was so fun to watch.  They sang 8 different songs and then did a movement number to a classical song.  Lincoln was so cute during the concert because he was so excited to see Gavin up on stage.  Below are some pictures and short clips of a few of the songs.

Weekend Festivities

Friday night Gavin has his first t-ball game.  I didn’t get any pictures of him ahead of time (will for sure next time) and wasn’t able to go since I was sick but sounds like he did a great job and I’m excited to see him play at his next game.

Saturday we got to go see the Lion King at the Civic Center.  Both boys did pretty good during the show considering it was 2.5 hours and we all enjoyed it.  We even got to do a tour backstage after the show which was amazing getting to see all the props and costumes etc.

Sunday we had a fun bbq over at the Brandstad’s with all the Reynolds and Brandstad kids.  The weather was amazing and all the kids had fun running around and playing with each other.  

Overwhelmed

I have been feeling really overwhelmed and stressed lately.  Work has been insane.  We are going through tons of changes and I’m trying to keep up with that as well as get everything completed before I go out on maternity leave but there’s never enough time in the day.  Our house is a disaster and even on the off chance that we do get a few hours on a weekend without kids to clean/organize we never really get caught up or it just gets destroyed an hour later once they get home and I’m always so tired by the end of the day that it’s hard to get motivated to do housework or all of the tasks that need to get done.  Gavin’s going through a funk right now where he really likes to push buttons, throw fits and talk back and Lincoln is in a difficult stage right now where he wants to do everything himself but really can’t so it seems like I lose my patience way too quickly and all I do is yell and punish which is not very fun for anyone involved.  

On top of that we have major behavioral issues with Lincoln at school again.  More to come on this but we were a little blindsided the other day with some information that was not being shared so we didn’t fully understand how bad the situation is and lots of tears ensued on my part and I just can’t get that heavy feeling out of my heart knowing that he is such a sweet little boy at home but they aren’t seeing that side at school.  We have a meeting with his teachers, the director and a social worker next week to talk through some strategies but it’s a major stressor not really knowing what the future holds for him and what we do next if this doesn’t work and we have to pull him out of his current school.  

I’m sure there are other mom’s out there that feel this way occasionally but I definitely feel like I’m failing in all aspects of my life right now.  I don’t have enough time for work, feel like I’m failing in the mom department and I’m nervous about welcoming a new baby, the upcoming summer and potentially being home with all four kids and just not really knowing what the future holds.  Anyways there is a blog I follow by a mom that has 4 boys and although her boys are older than mine I really register with a lot that she writes and it helps me to know that I’m not alone in these feelings or aren’t the only one dealing with these issues.  She’s great at expressing how she feels and there are two posts that she’s written lately that I’ve really related two that I thought I would share below in case they also can help anyone else.

http://www.my4mistersandtheirsister.com/2015/04/goodnight-my-loves.html

http://www.my4mistersandtheirsister.com/2015/04/that-kid.html

Easter 2015

We had such a wonderful Easter weekend.  Friday night I attended the Good Friday service at Hope and then we headed to dinner with my family to celebrate Jess’s birthday and my parents anniversary.  Saturday morning we headed over to Keith and Jan’s for breakfast and they boys had a blast playing outside that morning and enjoying the nice weather.  Then we headed to Easter service at 3.  We lucked out and picked the least crowded service and the boys actually did really well considering how long it was.  I think getting to play games and go on an easter egg hunt beforehand helped because then they had lots of special treats to snack on during church.  We also let them play in the bounce houses for a little bit after church which was of course their favorite part.

Sunday the boys woke up and got to check out all the goodies that the Easter bunny brought.  They were very excited about their new Ninjago books, chalk and bubbles.  They also both got new puzzles which they promptly put together all by themselves. 

Gavin’s 200 piece puzzle:

Wyatt’s 100 piece puzzle:

Brotherly love and Lincoln being silly 

Then we headed to my parents for a yummy dinner, and Easter egg hunt outside.  We really lucked out and had gorgeous weather all weekend.  Especially since it’s been rainy and cold so far this week. 

The other fun event that happened on Sunday is that Gavin lost his second tooth!  It’s been really loose and basically just hanging on by one root in the front but he was a little more sensitive about pulling this one even though we kept trying.  He finally made up his mind that he would lose his tooth on Easter and would let Grandma Kim pull it since she’s known as the tooth pulling expert J.  Well we got through dinner and the easter egg hunt without much mention of his tooth and were all just hanging outside with all of the sudden I look over and it looks like she’s trying to pull his tooth.  I took 2 tries and she got it out.  Gavin didn’t even realize it was out already and was getting ready for her to try again when he noticed it was in her hand so no crying this round either.  It’s funny because as long as it’s his idea to do something he’ll usually follow through and get it done without fussing.  So he got a fun visit from the tooth fairy that night as well.  

Everyone taking a turn earlier in the week:

Tooth #2 officially gone

Baby #4 - 31 weeks

Thought i should finally post a belly pictures on here even though it's not the most flattering picture :).  It's hard to believe that I was 31 weeks on Wednesday.  This pregnancy is flying by and its crazy to think that this baby is going to be here before we know it.  As you can see my belly has grown quite a bit and the baby has been super active lately.  Overall i've been feeling pretty good just have the usually aches and pains that get worse when trying to sleep but being able to get out and walk and doing yoga seems to help so i've been trying to be more active lately.  I'll be seeing the doctor every two weeks now and we will plan to have another ultrasound probably around 38 weeks to check the size of the baby.  It seems like i'm carrying this one more like Gavin and Wyatt so i'm a little nervous that this one is going to be another big baby.

Enjoying the warmer weather

We have all been loving this warmer weather that we are finally having (minus today which is cold and windy)!  It has been so nice to get the boys out of the house.  They love being able to play in the backyard and go on walks to nearby parks and it has been so nice for me to finally be able to get out and get some exercise as well.  We also took our first trip to the zoo for the year.  I didn't take many pictures but Lincoln loved it and we are looking forward to going again soon.  Here's to hoping that this warm weather is finally here to stay!