Lorelai Piper

My fourth and last pregnancy is over and our sweet baby girl has arrived and is doing great!

Here are some pics from the hospital...

Oh my word, almost a mom of four!

Clearly had not hit the hard part of labor... did I mention my epidural didn't work? Yeah, that story coming soon...

Hair is a mess, make-up gone, and my sweet Lorelai in my arms.

Auntie Julie made it just in time.

 So incredibly tiny. The amazing thing about the fourth baby is just how calm I was. Everything felt natural and people couldn't believe how laid back Shane and I were. It felt so good to soak in every moment.

There she is... we thought we would end up with a huge chunky monkey because of the gestational diabetes, but instead got a 7 lb 10 oz little thing.

Finally bathed and changed into her sweet little pajamas. I can not stop kissing those cheeks. We are in baby heaven over here. She is a month old today. Having a hard time thinking that, it's already going too quickly!

LORELAI PIPER 

7 LB 10 OZ

21 INCHES LONG

MAY 31 11:29 A.M.

Reece's 6th birthday

Easter 2013 and Avery's 8th birthday

Woke up Sunday morning ready to dive in. Please excuse the mess! Still working on this remodel.

Pretty Ellie. Those eyes are dangerous!

Handsome Reece who sported his tie with pride. Especially after seeing his best friend wearing one.

Pretty Avery the birthday girl. And who is that handsome man standing there?

Loved that our church had a family worship hour before "big" church this year. We heard the gospel, worshipped together, made "stained" glass crosses, and fellowshipped with other families.

And the inevitable shot that you attempt to get with all three kids. Only to get one child to cooperate.

Avery coloring in her cross picture.

Daddy and Ellie making their cross.

Reece finished!

This was an action shot of the girls twirling in their pretty dresses.

And then off to celebrate the birthday girl. Really is she 8 already?

We had an amazing time celebrating with Shane's brother's family. Is it just me or do Reece and Caroline look alike in this picture? Which is something I have never noticed before. But both kids are replicas of their dads and since their dads are brothers I guess this is possible.

It was a really busy day that was just completely awesome. Great fellowship at church and fun with family. So incredibly thankful for it.

*And if you are wondering why there are no pictures of me, well, lets just say that this pregnancy has not been kind to me. I will show up again when Lorelai does! ha!

On My Identity Crisis

A year ago I went to a blogging conference and it was awesome and horrible all in one. I met amazing women, made some incredible professional connections, and was completely devastated at the same time. Because suddenly something that I loved was becoming a formula: full of statistics and numbers. And that awkward thing of promoting one's self. I came home excited and completely overwhelmed. Because blogging no longer was blogging. It was a business- that had demands.

And I fell into the trap and ended up having an identity crisis. Now don't get me wrong. Some of those "professional" blogs are great. But I just kept missing what blogging use to be. Back in 2007 I was one of those weirdos that was blogging when most people thought we were just really weird. And maybe we were/are. But it was so pure then. That's what the appeal was wasn't it? A peak into every day lives. Seeing yourself in someone else. Gaining new ideas. Challenged in my faith.

So over the last year I have tried to find my "niche" as I was told to find at this conference. And guess what? I couldn't find it! And then this week I read this:

http://allume.com/2013/03/when-you-struggle-to-find-your-niche/

...and suddenly I remembered who I was and why I blogged in the first place. Just a normal girl who wanted somewhere to say something and along the way maybe someone might get a chuckle or learn something.

Because she is right. My favorite bloggers break all the rules. The ones that have a ton of followers and comments aren't in a niche. They are just themselves, in the every day. And that's who I am too (without all the followers tho, ha!).

And now that my little crisis is over I can move on and just be me. Writing what's on my mind instead of trying to write to fit into one little box.

Clean Sink

One unknown to getting a new kitchen sink is that I want to keep it clean. The kitchen is already so much brighter (and the lighting isn't even in yet!) that I have been getting the sink cleaned out first thing in the morning. Before being preggo I would do it after dinner, but when your hubby can't get home until 7pm and your exhausted, well, those dishes sit overnight and before I didn't even care. Now I wake up and it drives me crazy unless I get it done right away.

It's been helping me focus my morning back with the Lord first thing too. I light a candle, turn on Selah's hymn album, and get to cleaning. There's something about singing those old hymns with a modern twist that seems to calm and quiet my soul.

I just finished my cup of tea and peanut butter toast so that means it is time to get the dishwasher running.

BTW: I did a poll on facebook about a double or single basin sink. Not one person said a single basin sink was a good idea. But when we were at the store I made a very hasty decision and went with the single basin. Got to love a husband that will give into a pregnant woman's whims on an unchangeable expensive decision.

The verdict...... SINGLE BASIN IS AMAZING! I will never go back to double. I love having only one drain to clean, I can wash all the big pots and cookie sheets very easily. It is seriously awesome.

The Backseat

So pretty much everything took a backseat to my pregnancy since September. It's hard to write that. Knowing that I pretty much failed at everything. From basics like laundry and clean bathrooms, to hot meals for hubby, and being a parent. I don't have guilt about it anymore. I let it go. It truly was survival that most people don't understand. My friend LINDSAY and I joke that besides Kate Middleton no one actually understands what severe nausea and vomiting is like. But thankfully the intensity of that is mostly gone. I am down to one Zofran a day and have now reached the three week mark since throwing up. Praise the Lord! I no longer feel like I am drowning. But now I have a whole other issue I am working through.

Dealing with every single thing that was thrown into the backseat.

I know that eventually all the laundry will get done and put away, I am cooking vegetarians meals so that at least there is food on the table, and we are even getting a kitchen renovation finished.

But the thing that I feel like I can't get back are all the moments with my kids. There were days I couldn't lift my head up or I would throw up and Avery was making lunches and helping Ellie go to the bathroom.

Another thing thrown to the backseat was school. We did the basics. Not all these elaborate awesomely fun lessons I had planned through the summer. But instead workbook pages. The antithesis of the "school" I want my kids to be a part of. And during that I lost Reece a little bit. For months I couldn't figure it out. He wasn't interested in learning to read. He loved doing math, but fought me on his lessons. But then he would turn around and make these elaborate engineering projects on his own.

It wasn't until one day a couple of weeks ago that I was looking on Pinterest- trying to find the right faucet- that I noticed a homeschool pin about gifted kids. I clicked on it out of curiosity and was FLOORED! Reece had all but two of the gifted qualities.

And then it dawned on me. The Backseat. If I hadn't been forced to throw my whole life into the backseat during the fall I would have caught it. I have a DEGREE in EDUCATION. I took GRADUATE courses on the GIFTED CHILD. And I missed ALL OF THE SIGNS.

So I did the first thing I could think of- spent money. Ha! I ordered new math curriculum and reorganized his workbox cart. But the biggest thing is just seeing him through different eyes. And what a difference it has made. Now I listen in amazement when he tells me about all of these designs he is creating. I watch him completely fascinated. Like there's this whole other little man before me and I finally have a glimpse into him as a person.

There are still a few things in the backseat that need to be moved up and dealt with, but for this moment I am enjoying my little man. I am so thankful for him. He has no idea how much I love him and how happy it makes me to have a son.

Key lime bars

I love pinterest. I found a recipe for lemon bars but switched out the lemon filling for key line because that is Shane's favorite!
These were really yummy!

Mix the two ingredients gently. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

This Week

The remodeling has begun this week. Which just means that my house is a disaster! Huge boxes of cabinets everywhere, no microwave, dust flying.

I am so incredibly grateful for what this kitchen is going to be. But like any mom, the huge disruption and mess  is definitely making me a little cranky. Throw in some pregnancy hormones and I have cried over my kitchen sink every morning this week.

One of those weeks where everything is overwhelming. I have a writing deadline looming, Shane has had to work three weeks straight with only one day off, weather has been yuck so we are stuck inside a lot. Not the best recipe for a happy attitude.

Last night Reece woke us up choking and coughing. I shot out of bed so fast I slammed my hip on the door. That's going to leave a mark! I am so thankful for modern medicine sometimes. And also that he is old enough now to tell us when he needs a breathing treatment. So at 3 am while he breathed on "froggy" (his nebulizer), I cleaned up his room a little bit. Then I curled up with him for an hour or two until I was sure the treatment was working. Thankfully he slept the rest of the night, but then woke up with it all starting again. Back on froggy at 8 am. I love how kids just go with the flow. Right now he's eating cereal as if nothing happened. While I have huge bags under my eyes that no nap or amount of caffeine is going to cure.

So it is definitely a stay in pajamas day. It is also a run through the Panera drive- thru day. I love how those two things go together.

This kitchen is getting a makeover! Finally!

When we moved into our new home we knew the kitchen would be an issue. Not many cabinets and very little counter space. Great for a growing family who likes to make things from scratch? ha! We debated about how to spend our tax refund this year. It wasn't enough to finish the basement, but we could get it started. Save it towards a new car for Shane? Dream vacation to Europe? Ok, no on that one for sure. But once we really got talking about it. We knew it was time for the kitchen to get a facelift.
Over the years this kitchen has become really brown. In an effort to eradicate the hideous vanilla color from the builder we went with a really pretty color called natural brown from BEHR. And I still love the color. But then we added in hardwood floors (and you all know when I say WE I mean Shane right?) and things started getting really brown then. Brown floors, brown walls, maple cabinets, dark counter top.
All this to say. The kitchen is one dreary place to spend the majority of my day. The struggle for me was this discontentment. Couldn't I be more thankful for what I had? But it ultimately came down to hubs being tired of the lack of function and having small appliances every where and even he agreed it was time.
So how do we remodel the kitchen with as little waste as possible (that was important to us to not be wasteful with materials only 5 years old)? Instead of ripping everything out we opted to take the attitude that we are just "adding on". There is only one material going to waste and that is the counter tops. For all the bread making and homeschool science projects it made sense to switch to a stone surface.
Ok, finally we are getting to the fun part!

This picture is the new cabinet design. We have basically added a second row of cabinets to what is already existing. It goes all the way up to our 9' ceilings. I will need an extension on my step stool I think! Two of the cabinets flanking the microwave will be open for display. And we added cabinetry above the window. The biggest change is the island! woohoo! Lots of counter space and storage there.

So what you don't see is all the work that my hubs put into this. I am talking measuring and measuring and measuring. Pouring over catalogs, trips to the design lady (awesome Shelly at Home Depot), and making my ideas a reality. He added so many things I never thought of. See how the cabinets stick out above the fridge? GENIUS! To that he added a side panel so that it looks like the fridge is in a cabinet. So pretty. There are pieces of trim, end panels and corbels, and a valance above the sink. Seriously that man is amazing. So that's the "bones" of the kitchen. Now let's get to all the pretties.

This tile? I almost made out with it as soon as I saw it. I had wanted subway tile, but Shane wasn't liking that look. Thankfully he was right. The second I saw it I knew I had met my dream. She is so pretty and I can't help but stare at her often through the day.
The sample on top is the countertop. I had picked out a different sample a year ago but it was granite. Shane was convinced we were not going to be able to keep up with the maintenance of granite and really wanted me to find something in quartz. Wait, so you want me to pick out something that is more expensive? When does THAT ever happen? So I lamented for two weeks over my beloved granite, but made that decision that I would just have to find something in quartz. Lo and behold, HD had changed out their display on Saturday and this sample was now available! What!!! It is almost exactly the same as the granite one I loved. But now I think this is even better! It's hard to tell in the pic, but it has the white, grey, black, and brown in it too pull all the colors from the "bones" of the kitchen. And doesn't it look like my tile and countertops are soulmates? ***sigh***

Just in case you wanted to see the pretty girl again.

Here is all the materials together.

Now I just have to find a faucet and a paint color for the walls. (anyone want to come help paint an open concept first floor? Yep! All 1000 square has to be painted all because I am changing color schemes. ugh!

The materials don't come in until the end of february and first of march. So now all I can do is drool....

Will update when there is actually progress!

This week

I found this yarn bowl awhile ago and would love to find one to purchase. How delicious is it?

The book Desperate by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson arrived this week. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime! Now if I can just get a few minutes to sit and read it where I don't fall asleep.

My latest and greatest purchase is this electric kettle. This thing rocks! Kids want hot chocolate? Sure give me 1 one minute. It is so fast and you can adjust the temperature. It lets you know when it's done. It shuts off on its own so I won't burn the house down. And the cord stores inside the base. Can't say enough good things about it. I have made tea, oatmeal, hot chocolate, etc. This week and it saved me lots of steps and dirty pots. Which anyway to have less dishes to wash is a winner!!!!

Here's the packaging. At Target for $39.99

I am starting the Dig with the kids and while browsing through one of my new favorite blogs: http://www.se7en.org.za ....I found these awesome sticker books.

They are cheap enough $6 or so and free shipping with Amazon Prime, that I got one for Avery and one for Reece. Trying to do some more hands on fun things after plowing through monotony during the fall and my constant morning sickness. I have extreme mommy guilt over all the workbook type school they did and am attempting to make up for it.

And just because what is a post without one of the munchkins? Ellie is obsessed with bandaids. One day last week she had a bandaid on every finger of one hand. And if one fell off she had to have another one replace it or it was full on meltdown. This is a battle I don't fight. Girlfriend, if you want bandaids on your hand all day, go for it! Besides when you have big blue eyes and killer lashes, how can anyone say no?

Winter activities

Lots of snow days.

My basket of my favorite yarn... Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. Lots left after the blanket I made.

These have been on the needles since Avery was a baby. Ummm, yeah, she is going to be eight!

So many tails to tie in. Was a little overwhelming at first. But then....

I realized I hadn't caught up with the last episode of the Bachelor! And it was finished in no time! Now I have to convince Avery to give it to her new baby sister coming in four months.

Reece has been a snow bunny. He heads out while it is still snowing and comes in and out of it all day long. This guy has been a huge help! He got the mail and garbage can in the snow.

Some random dog prints on our porch.... hmmmmmmm......

Watching an episode of a winter survivor show. My kids are obsessed with these shows.

And even Avery ventured out for a little bit. And the birds are finally eating from the new feeder that was put up at my birthday from my parents.