Currently...

Feeling...
Unorganized! Oh hey, blog. Forgot about you for a bit. Sorry about that. My house is in disarray - I haven't stepped foot into the playroom but if I peek around the corner all I can see are toys, toys and more toys. The toy closet literally threw up in there. The basement is a disaster, too. I started moving things out of the baby's room (our current guest room) but got distracted so now things are just sitting in random places.

It'll be clean again, someday.

We did clean out the garage last weekend and can now park both vehicles in the big, main stall of the garage. All the toys, shelves, lawn tools and extras are over in the 3rd stall and it just makes more sense. I'll call that one a win!

Watching...
Disney Junior, what else!? It's Wednesday morning and G basically rules the TV until about 10AM when I can get my act together.

Drinking...
Hot coffee. Quickly, so I finish it before Leighton gets up and it gets cold.

Reading...
Work emails. Snooze alert!

Packing....
Well, I need to start packing for our weekend up in Sioux Falls. We leave tomorrow night after work to drive up for my sweet cousin's baby shower and to finally celebrate little Maggie! So excited to see my cousins and all their kiddos. Three of my girl cousins and I are pretty close and so far there are S E V E N little girls between us. The little man in my belly won't know what to do with all these ladies! My side of the family is pretty girl-heavy in general so it'll be nice to mix it up come August.

Buying...
I bought swimsuits for the girls at Old Navy on clearance the other day. $6 and $7 each so a total score! I might need to swing by and see if they have any left so they're all set for summer. I found this one for Leighton and about died when she put it on. Gracyn's is similar to this one, I couldn't find the exact on online. But! I made sure to get her a two-piece now that she's been potty trained for quite some time. I made the mistake of a one-piece for her last summer and trying to get a wet swimsuit up and down when she's jumping around trying not to pee her pants is basically my nightmare. Lesson learned! Ha!

I also have a package being delivered today with a few extra maternity tops. Turns out, people start noticing if you wear the same 3 shirts over and over again... ;)

Making...
Frozen mini pancakes for Gracyn. Only the fanciest of breakfasts around these parts! She loves them. Like, really loves them. Like, loves them so much she ate F I F T E E N for breakfast the other morning. Plus a pop tart. It's gross, actually.

But what kind of four-year-old can pound 15 pancakes!?!

Writing...
A list for a Wal-Mart run later today. We have big plans for this Wednesday! ;)

Happy Hump Day!

Easter Weekend 2017

We had a nice long weekend with family and friends celebrating Easter. My parents came down and we spent the first half of the weekend dying eggs, running errands and playing outside. We hit up Deanna Rose on Saturday playing with the baby goats and enjoying the nice weather. The babies were "full" so we weren't able to feed them bottles of milk this time but Gracyn did love her first ride on the ponies!

Justin and I had a little date night on Saturday night while my parents stayed with the kids. It had been awhile since we snuck away for dinner and it was so nice meeting up with friends for some BBQ and live music. We had fun, even though we all complained of being tired and old!

The Easter Bunny came in time for Sunday morning and lets just say that next year, I'm going to leave a note for that old bunny to bring something other than candy. Stickers, small annoying toys, money. ANYTHING other than 34240293412 jelly beans. ;) The girls were high by 10 am..

We had a small egg hunt in our family room that morning followed by a neighborhood hunt in our cul-de-sac for all the kiddos. The bunny surprised everyone, too, by showing up and taking some pictures with the kids and their families. We hosted my parents and my aunt and uncle for a later-afternoon dinner, more time outside with neighbors and tried to get the girls to bed at a decent hour.

The girls were a straight-up hot mess come Monday morning - the Easter hangover is real - but we had a great little weekend!

Sunday also marked our SIXTH wedding anniversary! Justin and I met 10 years ago this August, which just seems crazy, and I can't believe we've been married 6 years now and are getting ready to welcome our third child. It's been a wild ride but I love having him as my partner in crime! Cheers to many more years ahead!

Easter 2016 | Easter 2015

Five on Friday | Easter Things

Happy Friday and Happy Easter Weekend!

{ONE}

We kicked off the Easter weekend early by dying some eggs yesterday afternoon. I remember doing this as a kid and love watching the girls {and Papa, apparently!} get into it. The eggs all survived, minus the one that broke open when I was trying to boil them, and Leighton's fingertips were stained only a little blue by the time we were done...

{TWO}

We've only know baby boy was a B O Y for a few days but he's already accumulated some goodies compliments of Grandma Sarah!

{THREE}

I'm slowly starting to pin some ideas for his nursery but I have to admit, it's a little hard to shift my focus from all things pink and girly to this whole new boy-mom world! I don't necessarily want to have a "theme" like woodland creatures or sports so I'm not sure how it'll turn out quite yet. 

I definitely LOVE this little DIY project and think it'd be easy enough to incorporate. I also just started following The Trendy Timber on Instagram and am swooning over their wooden signs. Once we decide on a name, I won't be able to order it fast enough!

via

{FOUR}

Gracyn had her little Easter program at school yesterday. The kids did such a good job getting up on stage and singing along to their songs. She also whipped out this pose when I asked if we could take a picture for Daddy since he couldn't make it. I said maybe she should leave her dress down but she insisted on hiking it up "just a lil' bit, k?" In a church. After singing about Jesus. #trouble

{FIVE}

In between G's Easter program and the end of her school day, we had some time to kill so we ran a few errands and stopped at a nearby park. It was a beautiful morning and it was so nice to be outside. The weather is supposed to be amazing all weekend long so bring on the egg hunts!

Have a great weekend!

It's a...

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!

We still can't really believe it but we'll be welcoming a sweet baby BOY into our family this summer. WHAT?! So crazy but we are beyond thrilled.

Our sonogram went smoothly - he was SO active and at the tech had a hard time getting a few measurements but she snagged a few good pictures for us! He's measuring a tad behind my 20w4d date so we'll go in for a growth scan again in 4 weeks just to make sure everything is on track. 

Due to his position, the very first item of business was confirming gender. Let's just say there is NO denying that he is, in fact, a boy... ;) Little man was not shy!

Gracyn is so glad - we seriously had a long chat about being happy either way but she kept saying how happy she was during our appointment. She and Leighton will love on this sweet boy so much and I can't wait to see them all together. 

Justin actually felt him move for the first time last night which is so fun - and cool that it happened right before seeing him today. The girls were actually quite grumpy the whole day which threw a wrench in all of my cute "gender reveal" photo ideas. We always planned to find out right in the room but I still wanted to take some pictures to help announce it to our friends and family.

I decided it'd be fun to go get some pink and blue balloons to help us celebrate - I had three of each to make a nice little arrangement. The girls conned me into buying separate balloons (plus one for G's bestie that lives down the street...) for them to play with right away (as opposed to waiting until after our appointment) so here I was leaving the store with NINE balloons. 

It was windy, my hands were full, Leighton was walking freely in a parking lot and before I knew it, L's green balloon had popped, G's pink polka-dot balloon blew away and everyone's life was in shambles. Straight up sobbing that their balloons were lost.

I shoved the remaining balloons into the van, buckled them up and bribed apologized with suckers. The tears eventually stopped but they were still so sad. 

After our appointment, I left the pink balloons in the car and tried taking some pictures of the girls and our bunch of blue balloons in a field near the doctor's office. People were staring, the lawn crew was trying to mow and the kids refused to cooperate so back to the van we went. Do you know what happens when you open the trunk and the sliding doors at this same time? It creates a goddamn wind tunnel, that's what. The 3 pink balloons didn't stand a chance; Justin attempted to save them and managed to pop two of the three blue balloons in the process. Cue more screaming and tears and swear words (from me, not the kids...).

Any way, $15 and EIGHT balloons later, here we are. We made it home with our lonely balloon and managed to snap a few mediocre pictures in our playroom! It was a cluster, but we made it work. Ha!

Here's the little guy's profile, kissing his knee and throwing his legs above his head. We have a few other profile shots along with his feet and one where it looks like he's giving us a thumbs up. Can't wait to meet this sweet boy and sooooo thankful he is healthy.

Side note: we've been talking with Leighton about giving up her pacifier (her "tee-tee") leading up to today. We told her that we were going to see the baby and now that she's a big girl, she doesn't need her tee-tee any more. We asked if she could give her paci to the baby and she agreed. She gave them to me last night before bed, we clapped made it a big deal - she was so proud! Well, proud for like a minute. She quickly realized that she wasn't getting them back and cried/screamed for a good hour and half before she finally fell asleep.

To say she has a strong personality would be an understatement so I knew this would be a challenge but I'm hoping she comes around sooner rather than later! Wish us luck!

Five on Friday | Gender Predictions

Ahead of our sonogram on Monday, my cousin gave me the idea to do a few of the old wives' tales to see if they predicted a boy or a girl. I'm taking these with a grain of salt, obviously, but it's still fun to see what they say!

{ONE}

The Chinese Gender Chart is.... confusing worthless! The one on The Bump said I was having a girl. The one on Baby Center said it was a boy.

{TWO}

If craving sweets it's rumored to be a girl; if craving salty, protein-rich foods, it could be a boy. I'm a big fan of candy (gummy worms and laffy taffy, ya'll..) on a normal day and even more so when pregnant. This time around, though, I haven't had aversions to meat like I did with the girls. Steak and brats in particular have been mighty tasty these last few weeks so I'm gonna go with a boy on this one...

{THREE}

Is the baby's heart rate over (girl) or under (boy) 140? At our last appointment it was in the mid 130s which apparently screams BOY. I even asked my doctor, thinking she'd be the one to have an educated guess, and she did say it was typically a "boy" heart rate. We'll see!

{FOUR}

Carrying high (girl) versus low (boy)? I'd say I'm carrying low but it may just be that I feel bigger at this point in the game.

{FIVE}

We did the infamous ring test last night! We hung my wedding ring on a piece of string and Justin held it above my belly. If it moved in a circle, that apparently indicates girl; if it moves back and forth, it's a boy.

Justin SWEARS he wasn't moving his hand and the ring moved back and forth so this one is BOY, too. Ha!

We didn't do any of these silly things when I was pregnant with the girls except for looking up the gender chart. I'm pretty sure whatever Chinese Gender Chart I used at the time indicated they both were boys. I also thought they were both boys so that goes to show you how wrong my "motherly intuition" is!

4 out of 5 of the things we did above - or all 5 if you count the iffy gender chart! - indicate boy but all that means is that we'll have to wait until Monday to find out for sure!

For the record: it's probably another girl... ;)

Bumpdate :: 20 Weeks

HALFWAY.

I can't get over the fact that we are halfway to meeting this baby. It blows my mind, really. We're so busy with everyday life and the other two kids that time is flying by. That being said, I owe this babe an update on all things pregnancy related so I figured I'd jot some things down.

I borrowed some of these prompts from a couple of my fave bloggers (Courtney + Laura). These mamas are also expecting their third babies (and due end of summer-ish) and it's been so much fun following along with them!

Size of Baby: a banana; a very large banana.

Total Weight Gain: uh..... I don't even care. Which will get me in trouble later on, I'm sure, but ice cream is life, OKAY?!

Symptoms: I have a nice round belly, obviously. I'm waiting for hip pain to start, which is something I experienced with both girls at night while trying to sleep. Leg cramps at night. If I wear shoes all day, I notice them feeling very tight by late afternoon and I'm a tad uncomfortable sitting in the chair I use at my desk while working. It's a small wooden thing that offers exactly zero support/cushion so I should definitely look into another option...

Cravings: Greek yogurt. The kind with the fruit on the bottom. I'd forgotten how good it was! And I've eaten approximately 57 halo oranges this last week. That all sounds healthy and great but at the same time, I basically binged on a bag of Doritos a few days ago. #noshame

Aversions: I'd still say pasta-based dishes are a no go. In addition to spaghetti (yuck), I no longer care for stroganoff. Although, the shells & cheese we made the other night with brats was pretty yummy. So random.

Sleep: Still sleeping OK for the most part. Gracyn normally sneaks in to our bed at some point during the night, which we'll have to put an end to before too long. The belly and all of my pillows are slowing taking over my side of the bed and an extra body in the way is not doing me any favors!

Gender: Ah! We find out on Monday! Praying this child cooperates and we're able to get a good look at the goods (or lack thereof...) and make sure he/she is growing properly. I'm leaning towards BOY.

Name: Nothing final either way but we have a decent list started!

Nursery: Sorry, kid. Nothing yet but as soon as we find out boy or girl we'll be able to start planning something.

Gracyn's Thoughts: She's so in love with the baby - and desperately wants a brother. I'm 100% sure she'll be devastated if she hears "it's a girl" during our appointment. She very well may break down in the ultrasound room. Ha! She'll recover, I know, but it's kind of cute to hear her talk about the possibility of having a brother. Either way, the baby will fit right in. :)

Leighton's Thoughts: She'll tell you the baby is a girl. She rubs my belly. She even gave it a kiss once! She's learning she can't gut-check me or slam her body on my stomach. Lots of talks about being gentle. She's a wild one but I know she'll be a great big sister.

The girls have been trying to feel the baby move; every night after dinner they'll put their hands on my stomach trying to get the baby to jump around. And every time, the baby is completely still, only to move the second they run off to play or do something else. Granted, the girls are usually yelling and poking and prodding my tummy so the kid is probably lying still for it's own safety. ;)

I thought my big ol' belly was evening out compared to the other babies but I saw this picture and started laughing. Still bigger this time around but that's ok.

Wan't wait until Monday! Boy or girl, what's your vote?!

20 weeks with Leighton

Gracyn Says...

While getting ready for bed on a day she happened to take a nap...
Gracyn: ugh, i just can't handle this.
Mackenzie: handle what?
Gracyn: all this napping!

While walking...
Gracyn: ah! i have a booty wedge!
Mackenzie: you mean a wedgie?
Gracyn: yeah, it went up my butt!

Randomly...
Gracyn: i have ten fingers and ten toes.
Mackenzie: me, too.
Gracyn: are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Mackenzie: what?
Gracyn: that's ten cool!

Sitting at the counter while coloring...
Gracyn: ahhh. i love being naked.

After getting a fork full of birthday cake...
Gracyn: oh come here, you!

Discussing baby names...
Gracyn: mom, the baby's name should be Prince. Prince Oakley. And he'll be my big brother when he grows up.
Mackenzie: but we don't know it's a boy or girl yet.
Gracyn: IT'S A BOY, OK!?

Randomly one afternoon:
Gracyn: mom, can you sign me up for singing lessons?
Mackenzie: yeah sure!
Gracyn: that way I can play the trumpet and guitar.

We woke up to her singing one Saturday morning to the tune of Moana...
Gracyn: i wish i could be the perfect daughter. everyone needs to wake up now. i'm ready to be awake.

While driving up I-29 through Missouri...
Gracyn: mom, is this Missouri?
Mackenzie: yes
Gracyn: how big is Missouri anyway?
Mackenzie: oh it's pretty big
Gracyn: is there anything in Missouri?
Mackenzie: yes but not really where we are right now
Gracyn: well is there at least somewhere we can go pee?!

Out of the blue one day...
Gracyn: mom, you know that word you say when you're frustrated?
Mackenzie: yeah...
Gracyn: can i say that word when i'm 62?
Mackenzie: you can say anything when you're 62...
Gracyn: k, good.

For the record, that word is "dammit".... ;)