traditions.

there are only a few things im a freak about.

1. fevers over 104.
2. picking up the house after the kids are in bed.
3. traditions.

(ok truth be told, im a freak about more stuff, but lets move on...)

besides the fact that i just dealt with sawyer's 104+ fever *and* my nesting is kicking in ;) its the holiday season - and also aidan's birthday is coming up. and both of those things are full of traditions.

here's a few of the things that i hold dear :)

waking you up with singing on your birthday. and video taping it :) if you go to TYLWL and click on some birthday posts, youll hear a lot of my horrible singing voice :) and some cranky kids who i woke up with that voice. i just love it. i want to do it forever. then laugh when they are 16 and want to throw something at me.

putting up a christmas tree. this is non-negotiable. we wont just *not* have one. ever. plus, i have such a sweet spot for it by the stairs in the front lol

taking pics of my kids on their first bdays in the cloud PJs.



EJ put reese down to bed the night before her first bday. and i FREAKED OUT. i woke her up and put the cloud PJs on her. the comparison is worth it no matter what.

opening a present before xmas. growing up we always opened up stocking presents the night before -- since the kids are too young to get the difference, for now, they can get a big gift early ;)

going to a christmas tree lighting. we have been to the downtown mck one since aidan was 1 :) its 10 seconds of magical :) and worth the crowds.

buying a pretty dress for pics and your birthday party. we go out, you can pick which one you like (or pick a dress we have that you love), and have a heyday. today, for instance, aidan and i were online shopping for her dress for the big 5!! (sigh). they love that stuff.

hmmmm... i'll add to this later :) but for now....

red light.

so i figured since i babbled all over my facebook about it, i should explain our new added "crunch".

first, let me start with what happened a week ago at sawyer's school. that sort of kick started this whole thing.

so sawyer is overall.... apathetic to punishment. like, you could tell her "get upstairs or ill throw your lovey in the trash" and she'd tell you to toss it. in school, they have colors on how theyre doing that day and she doesn't give 2 shits. like "cool. i got a yellow". or the threat of it doesnt phase her. sawyer had a bad week last week at school - but i mainly attributed it to A and S moving into the same bedroom that wkend before (pics on my TYLWL blog). and, well, they are re-learning how to fall asleep on their own LOL so i gave the teacher some ideas on what *i* would do with sawyer in those situations (hey, she asked!). and waited for the change.

now, is this 3 year old behavior? sure. but at the same time, i read about red dye in foods, on another board. hmmmm. so i looked up some more info.

http://www.red40.com/

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/adhd/2010/09/the-red-dye-diet-the-concept/

http://reddyefree.blogspot.com/

the last blog was interesting, mainly bc of the comments on some of the entries. so many people had behavioral changes as well as other changes in their children.

so i figured, well, sometimes sawyer's a nut case ;) sometimes aidan is. lol more like "over-reactive flip outs for no reason" which usually are from overtired kids, but sometimes.... i wonder... ;)

anyway. so sunday of this week. my mom and i went grocery shopping.

if you eat pretty "clean", most of your food, likely, doesnt have red dye. but its the "treat" foods that are bad - the crap cereal, fruit snacks, etc. and sneaky things.

for instance:
*eggo cinnamon waffles do not have dye. but the blueberry does (didnt check others).
*regular chocolate syrup has red dye. sugar free does not. that works for us already lol
*lots of fun cereals do not have red dye (like kix! or chex!) but some "good" ones do - like special k with red berries.
*most of the fruit snacks have red dye, but there was one we found that didnt.
*some things that are meant to look "golden" have red and yellow dye - like pillsbury croissants. (which sucks. bc i can sneak anything into a croissant and get them to eat it - veggies, meat... gah. and i am uncertain to how easy that is to just whip up lol)

etc etc.

so you just have to be careful. keep an eye out.

as for behavior changes, i dunno. ill watch. she did have a fabulous week at school. which makes me smile. but the biggest change has been HER SKIN.

sawyer's entire mid-section was rough, scaly, patchy.. the dr always said eczema. so we'd put creams, oils, we put on some food oil that she told us to do lol sigh.

but less than 1 week without red dye and POOF! her skin is glorious. is it as soft has her sweet little face? not yet. but the eczema is barely there. its amazing. really.

and fyi, this stuff is normally "not me". but since sawyer is already sensitive to so many things, and we've rotated so many level 2s and 3s back (with good results! as she has gained so much weight in the past year!)

so anyway. check into it, maybe? if you have any questions, i may not be able to answer them but ill try :)

bedroom name signs.

so just thought id share this :) im gonna be printing them separately at 20x30 size and then put into THIN black frames (even a poster frame would do).

im super excited.

this also kinda gives a "theme" for miller's room (which is sawyer's room now). since its thats bright green, i already have THIS BANNER that im likely going to put into her room. so i thought that id do the letters in orange. keep a bit of a theme. that with gray will look super fun, i think. very "citrus" ish.




anyway, it was so easy to do. letters, with spaces, copy/paste. pick a color, la dee da!! :)

your perfect family.

so we found out yesterday that baby 4 is a GIRL!!! :)

pics posted: http://www.thisyearslovewilllast.com/2011/08/its.html

since then, the comments on wanting a girl have been super interesting. its fascinating to see how people's own views of a "perfect" family are projected on others.

the minute i found out i was pregnant, i wanted another girl. i told my mom a couple of weeks ago that if they said boy, id have that few mins of "oh. hmm." and would need a pick me up. that boys are loud and rough. and that when i go to the chickfila play area, i pray that i'd have a boy different than all other boys. she reminded me about babygap boys clothes and i felt a bit better lol but not totally convinced.

i looked at aidan and sawyer and saw how they are together. remembering that aidan goes to kindy in 2012 and sawyer the year after, how i would love a sister still at the house for reese. swoon. and aidan, ohhhh aidan. yesterday on the way to the u/s we said "well it could be a brother!!!!" all excited that the option was there for her!! and she actually cried ::dies:: "but i want another sister...." well good. God knew :)

i smiled when moms of boys said "you neeeeeed a boy. nothing is like a momma's boy!!" but inside, i knew our house. i know are dynamics. i know we love putting on princess dresses and painting nails (which, of course, a boy could do if he wanted, but from what friends say -- most arent in the mood for that lol) i have 2 friends who are pregnant with their 4th girl and people have actually said *condolences* to them. like "oh man im sorry....". wtf. its insane what comes out of people's mouths sometimes.

when we heard girl yesterday, EJ had that minute of "oh. hmm." by the time we got in the car, we were making jokes and chatting about it and by yesterday afternoon, he was just as excited as me. its okay to be slightly disappointed. i know he thought just maybe, itd be a boy :) but God knows what our family is supposed to be.

ive always said, if i had 3 boys, i would craaaave a girl for the 4th. hell - if i had ONE boy only, id think id want a girl. but now i wonder if thats true. i have friends with boys and they have no interest for a girl, really. i think thats insane - how could you not want a GIRL!? but thats how they look at us and boys :) that reminds me how different everyone is.

we have 4 kids bc we want them. if we were TRYING for a gender, i would have done things to actually try for one or the other lol - like chart, or temp, and have sex on O day only instead of all of the days leading up. there are "methods" for boy and girl making and you'd think if a boy was on our mind we would have, oh, thought about trying those things for fun? lol

4 kids isnt the measure of how many it took to try to get a certain gender. a perfect family is not always a mix. a complete family is different for everyone. this is my family - what i had prayed for. what i had hoped for. there's no reason to believe otherwise. i said up above that EJ had that pang of disappointment ::shrug:: why wouldnt i say the same thing about myself if it were true? haha

so get ready, my friends, for this girl house. ive been reminded that ill need a few more closets and bathrooms, and a lot more patience as they get older ;) we'll see. either way. im excited for whats to come.

dear sawyer.

you are 3 now. wow.



lets recap a bit.

you are sassy. thats for sure. you have your own way of doing things and dont care what anyone else says.

you are sensitive. while so so tough, you can burst into tears over something small.

you are demanding. dear lord. your screams could pop an ear drum. and when you have your mind set on something, almost NOTHING will calm you down except for what you want.

you are funny. a silly silly girl all of the time. people love to know you. they love to have you around.





you dont let anyone mess with you. or your sisters. we were at target recently and some 2 year old (ish) boy was looking or talking to reese. all we heard you say was "dont talk to my sister" LOL you will go up to older kids at a playplace and tell them "be nice to my sister!!" if aidan is feeling a little sad. when another kid is rude to you, or pushes you, you get this look on your face like "are you for real?" hahaha oh man, im laughing thinking about it.

its so fun to watch how different you are from aidan. so opposite in so many things, but you are a copy cat to almost everything she does. you two fight like no one else could, but in the same breath, you are best friends - aidan can fix you right up in 2 seconds. she can change your mind, she can make you happy, she is sometimes the ONLY person you want to do anything with or for you. sometimes, you two will just say that you miss the other one at bedtime. it makes my heart swell.



you have gained weight this past year (thank heavens) and your hair is so much longer now. your vocabulary is above and beyond, but i am not surprised considering how well you could talk 18 months ago. you sleep extremely well - from about 730pm til 830am. lazy face. and still take a hefty 2-3 hr nap during the afternoon. :)

i dont know how much more i can say except that i love you.


you have such a piece of my heart and i melt every time you say "i love you mommy" and give me a kiss. i smile every time you randomly come up and say "i so happy!!"

so let me just say, sassy pants, that i love you and can't wait to watch you grow every day. youre my soul and light up my day constantly.


love, mommy.

i should catch up!

so a few updates in the PV3 household --- first one is that i'll be having to update my header (and blog name??) next February to v4!! :) we are due feb 9th!

i went to the dr for the first time on july 5 at 8w5d and got this pretty pic.







and then more sister shirts ;)


CLICK HERE TO SEE LARGER!

i tried to get a pic of all 3 - no such luck lol


i went to the dr again last week at almost 11 weeks to hear the HB on the doppler :) swoon. i took aidan with me to the appt and she heard "the baby talk to her" :) it really was so much fun.

my 11wk belly shot


i look plump. but i havent gained any weight and i didnt look this plump 11 weeks ago so whatever.

as for the girls - A and S (who know whats going on) are so excited. aidan is SUPER excited bc she "gets" it a bit more. she wants another sister, of course. but who knows ;)

i'll be back soon to ask your opinions on things like room sharing and swapping, etc :)

crib to bed.

so we all know (well some of you may) that i dont transition from a crib to a bed for a while. if they can get out, i tent. (well, being fully honest, i tent BEFORE they can get out lol i started with aidan bc the cat would sneak into her room. it worked so well, i did it with sawyer, too).

aren't you glad i figured out white balance and focus the past few years? geesh.






and this is what sawyer's room looked like a little over a year ago - soon after we took the glider out, got her a new white dresser, etc.


anyway, when they get a little closer to 3, i give it a chance. basically, when a few months before aidan turned 3, we moved into this house. so we got her this bed



and then let her choose between crib and bed for a while. until she said bed - then we replaced her crb with the dollhouse. then it was fine :)

well, sawyer began to cause, um, trouble with her crib tent. she'd lean on it too much, and uhhh try to SIT up on the ledge of her crib and relax on the crib tent itself LOL so it was time.

sawyer's room is smaller than aidan's so i couldnt fit both a bed and a crib in (like i did with A). we just took the front off of her crib and converted it down.



we put some of her toys in here


and she was happy.


....at first.

she crawled into bed with her blankie and cuddled up. until the storm we're having tonight got louder. she burst into tears (which she'd do even if in her crib) and so i went back in. i read her a book and then tried to leave. nope. "i waaaant you" through the tears. so i brought some toys down from her fun area and tried to get her to play. within mins, she was so scared of the storm, that we had the best/worst idea EVER.

move her to aidan's room.

so now, i have my 4.5 year old and my almost 3 year old in aidan's bed watching madagascar 2. giggling. tattling through the monitor (we swapped the video one in there tonight). and laying in bed <3

we'll they SLEEP there? who knows. but aidan told sawyer not to be scared. that they are best friends. and that "i will 'atect you, sister" (protect. obvs.) so we'll see.

eventually we'd move them together, im sure. and aidan's room is big enough to put sawyer's crib/now toddler bed in so..... ::shrug::

song challenge.

ok this is supposed to be over 30 days. but since im a numbnuts and cant even finish my OTHER 30 day challenge that ive been randomly adding to since november -- im doing it in 2 sections. 1-14 and then 15-30 :)

so get ready to jam. get ready to clap and squuueee out of excitement for songs you forgot. yahooooo!!

day 01 - your favorite song

ok this is hard for me bc i am a super music freak. but this has been one of my favorites FOREVER!

fuel - shimmer (there was no embedded vid for this one)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0QMfK9hzgA

my newest favorite song is parachute - she is love.


i also love howie day - collide (thats where my SN "wrongwordsrhyme" comes from


the kid's favorite song is train - hey soul sister.


and also they love the rascal flatt version life is a highway



and also - this is a HUGE one for all of us. we GET DOOOWN to this at home. no joke.

lmfao - party rock.


day 02 - your least favorite song

i hate a lot of songs. LOL but one that people love that i hate -

sir mix a lot.


day 03 - a song that makes you happy

this can brighten my day at any moment in time.

mighty mighty bosstones - the impression that i get


day 04 - a song that makes you sad

rascal flatts - broken road. it just makes me swoon. and i usually end up crying. i guess it doesnt make me saaaad per se - just teary (a happy teary, though)



day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone

EJ and my wedding song <3 its the name of my other blog, its the tattoo on my back, its my heart.


day 06 - a song that reminds you of somewhere

ahhhh the bar. treff's. where i met EJ. where i had the best year's of college. on monday nights, one of the bartenders and i would act this out - it was poker night, i was cocktail, it was slow, this was like the routine. man, good times.

LFO - girl on TV


day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event

well this one is not an "event", but (and don't laugh) justin timberlake's sexy back always reminds me of being pregnant with aidan. it was so popular and i would shake my pregnant bump in the car and it'd make aidan mooooove.



day 08 - a song that you know all the words to

every song LOL im not kidding. its my talent. there's not one song on the radio that i couldnt sing all the words to. sorry. no vid for this one. there's simply too many.

day 09 - a song that you can dance to

hahahaha ::dies:: i dance to EVERY song that comes on the radio. lol our car is like a never ending dance party.

day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep

john mayer, dreaming with a broken heart. i just adore it.


day 11 - a song from your favorite band

motion city soundtrack - attractive today


im kind of emo. get over it.

day 12 - a song from a band you hate

sorry, EJ. this is his all-time fave band.

metallica.



day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure

anything by ke$ha. we're going to the concert (with LMFAO - see vid above) in august. i CANNOT WAIT!!!


fwiw, i have a zillion guilty pleasures. like, my CD case is filled with broadway musicals, hanson (uh yes. they are hot now, yo!!), and other random crap that youd want to flip by quickly.

day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love

like i stated above - im totally emo when it comes to some music.

ive seen new found glory in concert before. and i have been known to rock out in my car LOL


ok, well i hope you enjoyed my personal music party for the day :) more to come soon!!

when we have company.

i thought id add a little tidbit of "fun" from a few of the past weekends. i wrote a whole post on discipline back late last summer - and for the most part, it holds 99% true now. but, kids change. and kids also change in different situations.

that brings us to aidan. when company is here. ::twitch::

my fabulous friend pam came into town a few wkends ago. i was so excited to show off my adorable, well-behaved children. bc, for the most part, thats what they are. all 3 are great at the store, they walk nicely in parking lots, i could take them all to a sit down restaurant by myself and be totally fine (ok, unless one has to use the bathroom - then its gets a bit tricky). but these are not the things i had to deal with when pam was here... ohhhh no.

i had to deal with attitude. aidan wanted to show pam who rules the roost. or, let me rephrase - who aidan THINKS rules the roost. most of the wkend, she looked like this:


now. let me give examples. she straight up would talk back, ignore me, do exactly the opposite of what i asked, try to go out to the backyard after i said no (which was solved quickly thanks to a nice top flip lock), and even tried to kick me. wtf. but the funny part of that was that our friend catherine was here too and just laughed at her and said "nope. not impressed." bc she knows what aidan was trying to do.

disclaimer: and i want to say -- its not with any company, yeah yeah her age def makes for a kid who wants to show off. we had a friend come over the other day and over and over, aidan would try to get him to watch her "tricks". like "hey! hey! watch me! i can do a somersault!!" or "look!! i put a hat on the dog!!" which is fine -- bc that is 4.5, but thats not the same as out of towners who they dont know or dont see often.

but at night time, when id lay with her in bed, she was my sweet angel again. we'd talk about how she acted was ridic and blah blah blah, then we'd hug and kiss goodnight and that'd be over. by sunday, i cried to my mom telling her how aidan had never acted like the devil incarnate that she had acted like those few days.

then, within mins of dropping off pam at the airport, sound asleep in the car, aidan was back to this:


ahhhh a nice week with my sweet 4.5 year old back. cuddling, crafts, running errands, and being friends.

til we had more company ::twitch:: EJ's fam came into town for reese's bday party (yay! so much fun btw!) and it started all over. but, i had luckily taken a few things from the wkend before, to heart. and learned a few ideas.

1. i had to take her from the situation completely for her to even realize i existed again. id carry her to the other room, talk to her there, and then she'd realize "oh. mom's talking." as opposed to before when she'd look at me and go back to "impressing" guests. this helped focus and relax her.

2. keep the schedule the same. wake up, nap, bed routine --- everything the same. dont skip baths and expect bed just as easy. dont think you cant read a book or lay in her bed for a few mins bc you have guests. just keep it the same.

3. know that its going to end soon lol i was much more "fine. whatevs." the 2nd wkend bc, well, i knew itd be over and aidan would be back to my little sweet girl.

i only write this post to say "we've all been there!!" we've all been embarrassed by the actions of our kids - that kid thats screaming at dinner in the middle of a crowded restaurant, the mom that is chasing her kid in the parking lot, the kid at playgroup that comes up and hit his mom out of no where - the rest of us aren't (usually) judging you... i usually want to laugh and tell a worse story or at least give you a high 5 and say "kids are great, huh?" because, well, they are -- most of the time.


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sisters.

i am truly blessed to have 3 girls. i, myself, only have 2 brothers. i never had that "sister relationship" that some girls talk about.

i know that it consists, later, of fighting over clothes, slamming doors, possible hair pulling, etc but for now....

the girls were taking a nap. sawyer starts crying so I grab some diapers to go grab them all and play in the gameroom. a few seconds after sawyer wakes up in tears, aidan yells from her room "its okay sawyer!!"

by then im up the stairs and grab aidan and head to sawyer's room. sawyer gets out of bed and tells aidan: "i need you. i need my sister"

swoon.

i about melt. aidan gives her a hug and sawyer continues: "i missed you aidan. i need a kiss." aidan kisses her and we grab reese and run off to the gameroom.

they may make each other nuts sometimes, but man.... hearing them talk to each other that way makes my heart pitter patter every time.

sawyer's hair.

a year ago, this was sawyer.




sweet, sweet baby. but... not a lot of hair. in august when we found out about her allergies/sensitivities to the MAIN liquid we were giving her (soy) and other things (you can read about it HERE), she started to get those vitamins in her system and grow those curly locks!!

this was the day we let her eat cheese without worrying that she'd smell like a barnyard


but now?! holy hair ::swoon::

a little bedhead :)


brushing it out (cell pic)


sweaty and wet.


windblown.


perfectly curly with a clip.


and today.... drumroll.....

PIGTAILS!!!




she has also gained at LEAST 5-6lbs since last late summer :) YAY!!



eta: i should probably note that 1. that stripey hoodie is her fave shirt. and 2. that tan/greenish dress is her fave dress. so dont fear if you seem them often LOL

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day 16.

Day 16-Dream house

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ok this is easier than some of the others. these are all from realtor.com pics from my own city. i'll combine them into one great house :)

the front would look like this



or



then you come through the doors



kitchen



living room


some sort of guest bathroom


some place nice with natural light for me to shoot in


then id need an office, of course.


and my own library. cmon - i was a lit major after all ;)


i couldnt decide on my master BR, but this is for sure my closet.


and the baby room ;)


media room


outside with a nice sized yard


but nice for entertaining


ya know. something simple. obviously.