Perpetual Winter.

With three boys and northeast winters, we are so ready for spring by the time March comes. To say that we have cabin fever is an understatement. Here it is mid-march and its still snowing, adding to what's already on the ground. I mean, we get excited about 40 degree days, it's that bad.  I went to school near Philadelphia and their spring seemed to come on time. By the end of March, there were signs of life everywhere! Here, it's not until May that we even get to see leaves on the trees.  That's the price we pay for not having to deal with hurricanes, or poisonous snakes/spiders, or tornadoes. I guess we'll survive.

Even though we do have cabin fever, the company couldn't be better. And if you take three seconds to top and start listing the things we're grateful for, the complaining over the weather ceases almost instantly. It's pathetic, really. What do I lack? Sure, sunshine may seem brighter and more joyful, but I have four little sunshines in my house right now, full of life and brightness! And we're cozied up in our small but warm and comfy home, and my morning coffee is still (mostly) warm.  I even have a bunch of songbirds hanging at my feeder lately, including a bright cardinal couple that makes makes me go awwwww.  Long story short, I'm not going to complain!! Life is wonderful. God has heaped his blessings on me and I've got too many to worry about what the weather is doing.

We have a mini-vacation coming up this weekend, though! Two days at an indoor water park will definitely be a pick-me-up! I think I'm more excited than the kiddos. We went last year just for one night and had an absolute blast. The boys are older and will be more independent this year so it should be awesome! Hopefully Hadley will cooperate a little bit. I'm thinking maybe the sound of rushing water will help her pass out when it's nap time. We'll make it work either way. Both sets of grandparents are coming with us and a few Aunts/Uncles so we'll have lots of help!

Other than that, our schedule is pretty light for the next few weeks/months. I like to spend these last few weeks of spring making plans for warmer weather.  I'm excited to get in my gardens and clean up the yard. I had to start my gardens from scratch when we bought the house (5 years ago) and I had no clue what I was doing (still don't!) so I like to add a few new perennials every year.  I've had bad luck with bulbs from Walmart so last year I got a few more mature plants from home depot. I think I'll go someplace local this year and get a few new perennials and a bunch of annuals. I don't ever fertilize them and still somehow my annuals end up really taking off.

Wow, birds, gardens... when did I get so old? This fall I turn 30 so I guess it's okay to have more mature hobbies. I'm not sure that I care, though!! Flowers make me happy. Joanna Gaines likes plants so it must be cool. (She is the standard of cool). And if I don't dream of spring than I start to go crazy with all this gray.

So today, I'm going to plan for our little get-a-way, maybe look at a plant catalog, and fire up the grill in the snow for dinner. Spring is coming!

It's March!

It's March already, how did that happen? I'm not complaining here. These long, gray winters are slowly killing any mojo I have to do anything. We had a few nice days this week and it got me very excited about the spring!

It's been a while since I've updated. My sweet girl is now 7 months old! She's crawling like a pro, eating food, and sleeping in her crib like a big girl. At her 6 month appointment she weighed 17.5 pounds so she's a chunker!! I love it. These cheeks are the best:

She's my little bestie and I absolutely adore her.  She's a total momma's girl (like I usually can't get away for an hour to grocery shop because she has meltdowns). She has the sweetest personality and laughs so easily. She ADORES her brothers and they make her laugh harder than anyone else. She loves toys and is so content on the living room floor watching her brothers play. 

We started solids with her at 6 months but she wanted nothing to do with it. She's doing so much better as of this week. Loving those orange veggies, carrots and sweet potatoes! But let's be honest, she's baby number 4 so she's tried lots of things that aren't exactly on the "list". She is definitely a fan of whatever ice cream mom is having (like a drip, ok? don't judge.)

We coslept for the first 6.5 months but as she was becoming mobile we new that had to change. We transferred her to a crib a few weeks ago and it's going ok, not great. I think she was up like 4 times last night... (insert eyeroll emoji).  Buutttt it's a big change, so I'm trying to be patient. 

Well, I could gush about her for forever but I do have three other kids. 

Easton is 4.5 now and I'm dreading the fall when I have to send him to kindergarten.  He's so smart and sweet. He can write his name now and he loves practicing letters and doing "school work." I hope he loves school.  He's still my biggest helper.  He lets me know when his brothers are being naughty and he goes and comforts his sister if she starts fussing. The bond between him and her is sooooo cute. They love each other so much. 

My heart bursts watching those two!

Then there are the twins. I love these two boys so much. But they are two. And there is two of them. So they definitely make my life a bit more difficult. And exciting. And hilarious. 

They both are such opposites. Mav is loud and always fired up. He talks like a grown up and picks up on everything. He's the first one up in the morning and takes no time to wake up. Tucker is quiet, gentle, and a bit dramatic. He's also strong as a horse and climbs everything he can (and has since he could walk). Lately he's been coming up to me all dramatically and saying "hug" with arms open wide. He loves music and says firetruck the funny way 😉.  They are a blast even if they are tiring. They are still doing great on the potty, but lately they have to go at the same time, one on the big potty and one on the little one. Then they both "wash" their hands which results in my entire bathroom soaked (and whatever isn't soaked in water is probably wet from pee...) Boys are fun. Ish.

There's not much going on in our family right now. We did our taxes, that's pretty exciting (four dependents, woohoo). We booked two nights at an indoor splash park and that's coming up soon. Jer is working tons of overtime. We're working on paying off debt in hopes of adding on to our cozy-but-tiny house in a few years. I've been trying to keep up with the kids and lose this baby weight. I started a 90 day challenge January 1st and as of yesterday I'm down 16 pounds and almost 10 inches. It feels great, but I still have some work to do. I'm ready to do some outside exercise. And by that I don't mean shoveling snow, which I had to do today since we got like 10 inches dumped on us last night.  I'm gonna go ahead and count that as cardio for the day. Anyway, life is good. It's chaos, but so good.   

I'm loving this stage of parenthood. 💚