You Might Want to (Watch) This: Dog Sees Dad After Being Gone Over 6 Months

(*cue the happy tears*)


Props to Caitlin, Etc for the source link

Hiatus..es..sss

Sometimes life just gets too busy to "be". 

There's not much time left to dedicate to blogging or tweeting or facebook-ing. With four kids, there's rarely time for any of it, let alone all of it. And that's OK. Life ebbs and flows, and sometimes the stars align and things get done when they're supposed to, the way they're supposed to. And sometimes they don't.

Sometimes all I have are grainy iPad photos of our "moments" -- and sure, I could just give up on it all and walk away from my blog. But I freaking love this space. 

I would have forgotten *so* much without these stories here. And maybe that means I'm supposed to forget. Not every day needs documenting. 

But why not? Who says they don't need to be? Aren't worth the time/effort? 

These are the only days I get, this is my life, one and only.

All of these boring, grainy, miniscule little moments will pass me by, and one day, I'll be left with nothing but my memories. And I want to remember as many as I can; and if I need help, have a little place to help jostle those memories back into my mind. 

So even if the breaks are long, the spaces between grow wider, the days roll by in silence. I'm still here. Still living. Still making memories. Of my own, precious to me. And as always, this space is mine 'til the end of time, and I'll never regret putting a memory here. Never.

Baby-ness

There are times I get psychically shaken that Toby is our last baby (when am I going to shutup about this topic, I know, insert your eyeroll here) -- after babies, babies, babies non-stop for nearly seven years, it feels so strange to be in a "last" place with Toby. 

His first time rolling over is the last time one of our children will do that. His first time smiling was the last time. First > last. Over and done. 

And that's bittersweet. Our children are babies, and there's so, so much more to experience with them. Life is good, great, awesome now. I expect it to be 100x more good, great, awesome as the kids grow. I can't wait to see personalities develop and talents bloom. Justin and I both look forward to getting to "know" our kids as they grow. There is so much to look forward to. 

But still, Toby is my last little baby and just a constant reminder that he's it. He's the end. And the beginning, if that makes any sense. He's the end of the babies but the beginning of so much more for our family. It all starts and stops with him.

And if I'm being perfectly honest here, I am looking forward to being without a baby in the future, too. No more two-hour-interval feedings. No more crying without explanation or understanding. No more formula or diapers. There's quite a few things that I look forward to when the time comes that we don't have a baby in the house. 

But mostly, I know I'm going to miss this. I'm going to miss gummy, slobber-covered grins. I'm going to miss that smooth, perfect baby skin. And the midnight snuggles. And the joy of a baby on my hip. 

I'm just doing my best to soak up and appreciate Toby in his baby-ness every moment. 

(Someone promise to let me hold your baby when mine are all grown!) 

"Three" on Friday

Today out little Nugget, miss Rhealen Jo, is three years old!!

You can read her birth story here...

And instead of "Five on Friday", in the spirit of celebrating RJ, here are three of my favorite (random) posts about our dear little daughter.

"Getting up with Rhealen has been fairly easy so far, and dare I say it: enjoyable. Of course, that will probably all change once it comes time for me to go back to work (oh, if only I didn't have to go back to work). I love our time together, while Justin and Sidney are snoozing away in bed together, Rhealen and I have free reign of the house. To do what we please, to listen to music and dance, or watch bad late night TV together or just sit and stare at each other if we want. It's our time, our incredibly special time together. And it's nice to have these precious hours to bond, to really get to know each other and trust each other and love one another better." - The Secret Life of Mothers and Babies Who Don't Sleep Through The Night...Yet

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"In those moments, I know she is happy - she is at peace with the storm within her. I thank my lucky stars she is mine. I feel so honored to be guiding her and to be guided by her. I do my best to mold and teach her daily, but in the usual way, it is she who teaches me.

My sleeping tornado. My Rhealen Jo" - *****

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"Sitting on the couch, Rhealen snuggled up against my chest, and the house barely lit in the early morning. I had just finished getting us ready for the day, and the little gal was still trying to wake herself up - moments of cuddling and sweetness don't happen often, so I try to soak them up as much as I can.

And that's when I lost it for a minute.

I made myself stop and be grateful for her, to remind myself that I am so happy I am her mother and appreciate the magnitude of what it means to be someone's mother. I have felt such guilt lately, such total mom guilt, because I'm making my sweet baby girl a middle child in just a few weeks, and she has no idea what's about to happen." - Good Dose of Mom-Guilt

Today, she is three...

Happiest of birthdays, my little one -- even though you always look a little sour on the outside, I know you're the sweetest of the sweet on the inside! 

You May Want to (Read) This: How YouTube and Internet Journalism Destroyed Tom Cruise, Our Last Real Movie Star

"Cruise's present-day, crowd-pleasing action crutch hasn't been bad. He's given every film his all, and some of them have been quite good.

His latest, Edge of Tomorrow, is ambitious fun. Cruise plays Lt. Col. Bill Cage, a smooth-talking, cowardly Army recruiter forced to fight on the front lines of mankind's make-or-break battle against alien species the Mimics. No one expects him to live more than a few minutes. And he doesn't.

But Edge of Tomorrow's high-concept twist is that, to his surprise, every time Cruise is killed, time resets and he wakes up the day before the battle, alive and eager to try again until he gets it right. It's an energetic blockbuster that balances Wile E. Coyote cartoon hijinks with his painful, unending martyrdom. It's also a nifty parallel to Cruise himself: the last great screen hero who refuses to die."

(source)

You can read the full piece HERE<<

Toby - Month 5

At five months old, our little Toby has really turned on the charm!

He's a smiling, laughing, funny little dove full of life and pure sweetness.

He's weighing in at 17.5 lbs, hitting the 75%, 85%, and 95% percentiles. 

He's got those bright blue eyes our babies are known for. His hair is dark like his biggest sister's. He's got chunky thighs and long toes. 

Toby has rolled over in the past month, discovered his toes, and fallen in love with a few toys.

So far, Justin and Sidney are the funniest people to him, and he loves to sleep in our bed snuggled next to me. He keeps an eye out for Jaxon, ever watchful and waiting for some "tough love". 

He's definitely the "baby" of the family, and as such, gets the best and worst of us as parents. But he doesn't seem to mind so far, he's a content little dude just doing his own thing.

We've only had one rough night where nothing soothed him. I even drove him around for an hour to no avail. But finally, I realized he just needed some momma-closeness, and after five months, one rough night isn't too shabby!

I love my little toadstool. I am constantly in awe of my second son, the biggest little surprise of my life, my little Toby Fields.