Grateful

This was a good year. I have three amazing, beautiful, healthy, and adorable children.  What more could I ask for?

I love my babies.  I love my life.  I am eagerly looking forward to spending 2012 in the company of my wonderful family.  I am a very lucky girl.

Jumperoo? Jumperiffic!

Guppy is loving his jumperoo (yes, Santa gave him a toy perviously used by his siblings - cheap old bastard).  Porgie and Izzy also love the jumperoo.  I am fairly convinced that they would climb in and give it a try if I wasn't such a mean mom.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

This is a strawberry rhubarb pie.  OH MY GOD - I love this pie.  I am not good with a camera, so my picture really doesn't do it justice.  But trust me, this pie tastes like a little slice of heaven right here on earth.  Here is a link to the the recipe, because you'll definitely want to make one pronto.

Loving Guppy

My baby is growing!  At Guppy's 4 month check-up, he weighed in at 16lbs 14oz.  My big, healthy boy!  His little personality has changed so much in the last month.  Guppy is a happy, smiley, giggly little guy.  I love kissing his chubby cheeks, rubbing his fuzzy little head, and staring into his beautiful blue eyes.  I am so glad that Guppy is a part of our lives.  I love him to pieces.

Santa. FINALLY.

I took the kids to the mall to see Santa this morning.  My lack luster parenting skills are very evident in the picture.  Porgie insisted on wearing her Christmas dress.  Izzy insisted on wearing regular clothes.  The baby insisted on wearing 3 month clothes that are clearly getting too small.  My daughter's hair looked wild and disheveled (by the way, it always looks wild and disheveled).  She also has several half washed off tattoos on both arms.  And Izzy was desperately holding on to my hand, because Santa Claus is some scary shit.  BUT, we did it!  We got to tell Santa what we wanted for Christmas!  Go me!

P.S. This is a picture of a picture, because I am much too lazy to scan in a copy of the actual photo.  

Mmmmm...pie

Okay, so my children look nothing alike.  Every single person guessed correctly.  I think Guppy and Porgie both look like John.  Izzy resembles my side of the family.  None of my children actually look like me, although they all have my nose, which is kind of fun.  It is the one feature that unites all three of them - cute little pudgy noses!

Guppy and Izzy have a doctor appointment in the morning (4 month and 4 year check-up).  I am not looking forward it.  I am always convinced that my kids are going to get sick whenever we enter the doctor's office. That place is germ central.  Ugh.

I bought a new cookbook!  I am super excited about making new pies!  So, be expecting lots of fun pie pictures.  To get the party started, here is my first pie...

Pumpkin Pie Brownies

Name that baby!

#1

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#3

Tired, sick, stupid, etc.

I finally got my braces off.  I know I should be more excited, but I am not.  Everything was fine until I got my retainers on Monday.  OH MY GOD, retainers are horrible.  I cannot speak.  I literally sound like I am mentally retarded.  Why didn't anyone tell me that retainers are way worse than braces?  Ugh.
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My baby boy is sick. He has a fever, and his tummy is very upset. He vomited three times yesterday. It is incredibly sad to see his tired little eyes and to hear his desperate little cry. Poor baby boy.
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My husband has been working tons of overtime.  I am trying to be thankful for all the extra money we'll have this Christmas, but usually I am just mad that John is never here to help out with the kids.  I love my children to death, but sometimes I need a break.
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My cousin flew to New Jersey last weekend to visit.  It was fun getting to chat and catch-up, but houseguests are hardwork when you have a newborn.  I felt like I ran my baby ragged, yet my cousin still seemed bored with all of the down time spent in the house while the baby napped and whatnot.  But I am still glad she came to visit.  I really miss seeing her.
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My brain is officially useless.  I guess it is all the sleep deprivation catching up with me.  I can't remember ANYTHING.  I forgot to take the kids to see Santa at the library last Friday.  We have gone every year since Porgie was born.  I was heartbroken when I realized that we had missed the whole event. 
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I have been trying to send out Christmas cards for about a week now.  Since Guppy only naps in 30 minute increments, it is really hard to get anything done.  So, my Christmas cards should probably make it out by Valentine's day.

A gift

Some anonymous asshole left this comment...
"So, I'm curious...why do you exploit your kids by posting pictures of them, but you won't post pictures of you or your husband?! Seems kind of off, doesn't it??"

How in the hell am I exploiting my kids?  I don't make a profit off of my blog.  I thought I was just writing and communicating and connecting with other moms.  I post pictures of my kids because they are lovely and adorable, and I wanted to share their cuteness with you.

So anonymous commenter, here is a picture of me...

And here is a picture of John...

 You're welcome!

Confessions of a cosleeping mama

Co-sleeping can be great.  Some nights Guppy and I snuggle up together in bed and happily drift off to sleep.  It is lovely and cozy and so incredibly sweet.  I love to brush my lips across his fuzzy little head.  I love to listen to his little sleep noises.  I love knowing that he is safe.  There is comfort in having my baby sleeping in my bed.  I know that Guppy won't be this little for long, and I just want to savor these precious moments with him.

But sometimes, co-sleeping is a real bitch.  Sometimes I just can't get comfortable with Guppy sleeping so close to me.  Where is my arm supposed to go?  It feels oddly out of place no matter how I position it around him.  Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, and I just really REALLY want to roll over.  But the baby is in a light stage of sleep, and I fear that my movement will wake him up.  I will literally stay awake for 30 minutes debating whether or not I should roll over.

Last week I was finally going to move Guppy to his own room. John was taking a week off of work, so I knew that he could help me rock the baby back to sleep if he woke excessively during the night.  I had the whole process planned out in my head.  I was going to have my bed back!  But then, out of nowhere, my baby boy started sleeping for long stretches.  He was only waking once at night.  He was going to bed at 8:30 and not waking up to eat until 4am or 5am.  I was absolutely amazed!  I didn't want to rock the boat, so I pushed off the move to the crib until next month (when John is taking another week of vacation time).

Tune back in three weeks when I write a duplicate of this post.  Who am I kidding?  My baby boy is going to be in my bed until he is 23.