Enjoying my life today

I like days like today; with a cool breeze coming in through the open windows, fall candle making the whole house smell wonderful, dinner already cooking away in the crockpot, laundry going and kids that are all enjoying the day as well and just hanging out. It seems like we don't get many of these days anymore, with Abigail in Kindergarten every afternoon and Mitchell in preschool 2 days a week and then our time at the YMCA almost every morning for Mommy to get her exercise in for the day, it seems like we are always on the go. I know that it will only get more chaotic from here, with 3 kids that are all going to be getting into different activities and sports, but I am going to enjoy the days like today for as long as I have them. It's days like this that really refuel me and make me appreciate my life as a SAHM. I know there is a stigmatism out there that SAHMs just sit around all day watching soaps & eating bonbons, but that could not be farther from the truth! Most of my days are hectic between getting us all to different places for whatever reason and then keeping up a house and making sure that I get to spend some QT with the kids. There are very few days like this one where we don't really have anything on our agenda (although Abigail does still have to go to school!) and we can just be in our little cocoon of home and enjoy being with each other. And although there are still things that I have to get done around the house, they don't seem quite so pressing when I know I have the day ahead of me to accomplish them and even if they don't get done, there is always tomorrow! Right now, I am going to make sure I relish every minute of the life I have today and the chance I have at being home with my kids and make sure I do my best to make the most of it!

I told you I was not good at this!

So, it has been an entire year since my last blog entry! I really was trying the last time around, but in my defense we did add a new member to our family and being a mommy of 3 consumes all of my time!! So, I am going to give this another go around. I was going to go back & date everything starting with Hayden's birth, but that would just be confusing and time consuming, so I will just start fresh today and give an update on our past year and then take it from there.

Obviously, the biggest news to come out of this past year was the birth of our 3rd child! Hayden Thomas Wright was born on September 25, 2009 at 4:40pm. He was 7 lbs 14 oz and 20.5 inches long. We had decided to keep his gender a surprise and were we ever surprised!! I was so sure it was a girl and when Steve looked at me and said "It's a boy!", I almost didn't believe him! But, I wouldn't have it any other way. Hayden has been the perfect addition to our family. From the beginning, he has been a very easy-going, laid-back baby, that is content with just taking all the excitement of his big sister & brother in. He loves each of them so much and it shows over his entire face every time he looks at them. And I can already see the difference in their relationships forming; Abigail is his protector & 2nd mother & Mitchell is his best buddy & playmate. I can't wait to see how these relationships continue to evolve and grow as the years go on!

Abigail & Mitchell have adjusted so well to having a new brother and love him so much. We never had one bit of jealousy and they both love helping us out any chance they get. We all enjoyed a fun-filled spring & summer that was full of new events for our little family. Both Abigail & Mitchell joined their first organized sports team and played soccer in the spring and then Abigail went on to play T-Ball this summer. Abigail had a blast in both of her sports and really caught on to playing a team sport. Mitchell wasn't as enthused with his soccer attempts and was much more fond of playing in the grass and picking flowers during his games, but he had fun and that was the most important part! We also enjoyed a family vacation to Hilton Head Island in May and as always loved playing on the beach & splashing in the pool! We weren't sure how it was going to be vacationing with 3 kids 5 & under, but they all did great and we had a truly amazing time!

The end of summer brought a few more firsts in our family. Abigail started kindergarten on August 18 and now attends school for a 1/2 day every day and also rides the school bus to & from school. The bus ride is her favorite part of her day by far, but she is also loving her new school & all that entails. She has really matured so much over the past year and it is so awesome to watch a young girl emerging from the baby we welcomed into our lives almost 5 1/2 years ago. She is a compassionate and sweet little girl that brings a smile to everyone's face and we love her so much! Mitchell also started preschool on September 7. He attends 2 afternoons a week and so far is loving it! He has always been such a Mommy's boy, so we were concerned how he would handle being away from me for that time, but he has done great! I think it helps him to have something that is just his and it makes him very proud and excited when he gets home from school. He is our comedian and is always trying to make someone laugh. He is also the most affectionate child and is always the first to pass out a hug or kiss and I love that about him because the other part of him is a little mischievous stinker and can really try Mommy & Daddy's patience!

As for Steve & I, we are just enjoying raising our little family and trying to soak it all in. We both started working out at a gym in January and have been very successful in our weight loss goals (yes, Steve also gained weight during my pregnancy!) and are feeling better than ever physically, which is really good since I also turned 30 last Oct! We have set a goal for ourselves to run our 1st half marathon, which is 13.1 miles, on October 23 and are training for that and very excited to take on that challenge together.

I think that about wraps up the past year, in order to catch up our blog. Now, I will vow again to keep this updated and post much more frequently. Again, my reason for the blog and why I started it, was to have a place to capture those everyday moments within our life that can sometimes go by and not be noticed. In such a hectic & crazy life, I want to make sure I take time to reflect and enjoy even the smallest things!

Back to School for Abigail!

Abigail started back to school today! She was so excited & has been counting down for almost 2 weeks now. She is in her final year of preschool & goes 3 days/week for 3 hrs and is loves it! She has some friends in her class from last year, which she was very happy about! Mitchell is trying to adjust to having his "GaGa" not with him all day, but it does make him even more excited to see her when we pick her up!
We are so proud of our little girl, she is so brave & so independent! It's bittersweet though, I can see her needing us less & less, but hope that she always knows that we are here for her!

Bedrest as a SAHM is no fun!

So, things have been fairly easy throughout the majority of this pregnancy, but the past month or so has been rough. We have been dealing with pre-term contractions/labor, something that we are all too familiar with, as we also dealt with it when I was pregnant with Abigail. Fortunately, this time around it started later in the pregnancy and has been manageable without complete bedrest & medication. However, this past week that all changed & I am now on a modified bedrest, modified only because I am the only caregiver for the kids during the day! The kids & I have been doing a lot of vegging in bed & taking it easy during the days because anytime Mommy is up that is when my problems start. The goal at this point is to make it to 37 weeks, which is Sept 18, and of course anything beyond that is just bonus.

Steve has also been affected by this new development, as he has to work all day & then come home & take care of all the things that I usually do. He has been amazing to me & the kids, which I am not surprised by, because he always puts our needs above his own! I don't know what I would do without him & his support!

We are so excited to meet this new baby, but want he/she to be completely healthy, so the longer he/she stays in the better it will be. We just have a little bit longer left until our lives can return to normal, or as normal as it will be with 3 kids!!

Mitchell is potty training!!

There is some major excitement in our house...Mitchell has decided that he is ready to start going pee-pee on the big boy potty!! We have been trying to get him interested over the past few months, but he wasn't showing any enthusiasm about it. Two nights ago, Steve sat him on the potty & he actually went for the first time. We didn't have any success during the day yesterday, but then again last night he went before bath time and then woke up this morning with a dry diaper. So, he said he needed to go pee-pee on the big boy potty this morning and he went!! He is so proud of himself & we are so proud of him! Today he is wearing his first pull-up, so we are all anxious to see how he will do during the day. What a wonderful gift for his mommy, if he gets this down before the new baby arrives!

Okay, maybe I should give this blog thing another go!

As stated before, I am not very good at keeping up with things like this and of course that is very apparent in the fact that I have not posted a new blog entry since the end of January!! However, I would like to try again because I do enjoy reading other people's blogs & find it a great way to capture those day to day moments that would otherwise just be forgotten all too easily.

To catch up, we found out the end of January that we are expecting another baby! As I type, we are 34 weeks pregnant with baby #3!! We chose not to find out the gender of this baby, which was hard for me as the impatient one, but fun nonetheless! The kids were thrilled to hear the news that they were getting a new sibling & have really enjoyed watching the baby grow in Mommy's tummy. Although the pregnancy has been difficult on me physically (just the every day aches & pains & trying to keep up with 2 very energetic kiddos!) it has been a relatively event-free pregnancy. We are so very excited to meet this new addition to our family in just a few short weeks & can't wait to watch our family continue to grow!

Steve also had a big career move in February, when he moved from Merrill Lynch to Morgan Stanley. The move has been a good one for our family, but has been very stressful & hard on Steve, as he has had to move all his clients over, which is never an easy feat. He has been working so hard for our family & we are so fortunate that he loves us all enough to do this!

Abigail & Mitchell continue to grow & change every day! They can be challenging at times (what pre-schooler & toddler aren't?) but they are also lots of fun! We love the joy that they bring to our lives.

Most of our summer has been surrounded my Mommy's ever-growing tummy & the anticipation of the arrival of our new baby, but we were able to get away for a week on vacation as a familiy. The four or us spent a week in South Haven, MI in July & had a blast!! It was an awesome vacation & one that we will not forget! We didn't do much, but just spent time as a family on the beach of Lake Michigan & in the swimming pool. Perfect vacation in our book!

Abigail will be starting 4 yr old preschool after Labor Day and she is very excited to get back to her class. Mitchell will be home being Mommy's big boy helper with the baby, let's hope that all works out!!

Hopefully, now I can get back to blogging & trying to capture these momemts in our family's life! I vow to try much harder at taking the time!!

Trying to get caught up

Okay, so I underestimated my ability to keep up with a blog. I probably should have take a clue from the fact that I have never been able to keep a diary or journal of any kind! But, I am attempting to get our blog up to date and want to keep everything in order, since I do want to use this as a journal for our life with our children. So, bare with me. I am working on it! I hope to get more caught up over the next few days!! You will just have to scroll down to see the posts that I am adding in the appropriate dates!