3.5

If you're 3.5, you may...

-refuse to sleep in your bed so you fall asleep on the floor next to your bed

or half on half off...

-throw your floatie in the middle of the pool after everyone is all dried off. Why? Why not? 

-"help" with dinner so you can have some free samples

-step in mud then rinse your feet off in the dog bowl, then tell the dogs to take a drink.

-sit next to your sister and say, "She's touching me Mom!"

-tell Mommy to let go of the baby while she's holding her in the pool just to see what happens.

If you're 3.5, your mommy may seem a little batty... It's not her fault.

sistalove

I was disappointed when the doctor told me Winter was a girl. I wanted a boy so I could have a girl and boy like my little bro and I who grew up pretty close and played barbie and GI Joe together. I'm so glad God knew better. Sister love is a love like no other. 

patterns

We get all of our girls' clothes from the Andersons. They are pattern people. They love stripes, polka dots, animal print etc. They have triplets who are 6, two girls and a boy. That works out great for us since Mya and Winter are wearing the same size. It's like having twins. One problem I've run into with Mya is that while Cameron and Morgan kind of knew what to pair with pokadots or hearts, Mya is a tiny bit challenged in that area. 

I haven't yet figured out how to blow up a picture on this blog... not sure I can. So I'll just explain her ensemble: We have a Minnie Mouse heart hoodie over a yellow animal print tank with purple and grey striped leggings, striped hot pink socks and sparkly Hello Kitty shoes. And she did her own hair. 

Mya: Do I look so pretty Mommy?

Me: Oh my! So pretty. 

What else does one say to that? 

mom rules

These are my general mommy rules. 

1. Go to God first. I need to be in the Word and in prayer constantly. He created my kids and he created me to be their mom. Why would I consult anyone else when challenged? This doesn't mean I'm reading the bible daily like I should but I am always trying to be better about it.

2. Never compare. Never ever compare. Every mom, kid, husband and family are unique. Admire but don't envy. I don't know what is going on behind closed doors. Things may look perfect on the outside but they rarely are. No mom has it easier. No mom does it better. We're all different. We all have our faults. We all have our insecurities. We all need Jesus. All the time.

3. Go with my gut. I am the boss of my kids. Not the doctor, not the popular parenting books, not my family or my friends. I am the one who knows my kids best. I spend every waking minute with them. I know when something is off and when they are just fine. It has taken a while to realize that everyone has an opinion and that's cool but my mommy instincts are better than any piece of advice I'll ever get. The fact that those instincts are so razor sharp leads me to believe that it's probably the Holy Spirit whispering in my ear and I should probably listen.

4. I need help. No, I don't need a shrink. I need friends, family and Hubby in order to raise these kids. (This includes my church family) It takes a village! I have been so blessed with all three. I don't know how anyone does it alone. I wouldn't dare to try. As far as I'm concerned, it is impossible. And it doesn't make me tougher or more awesome if I handle so much that I start to lose it. That just makes me stubborn and stupid. 

5. I need an outlet, something that is fun for me. Right now, it is this blog. Usually it is running or some kind of exercise. Too tired these days. I need something that makes me feel like I am more than just a mommy. And while being a mommy is a huge part of who I am, I'm still Amie. I need to grow in other ways while I'm growing as a mom.

6. I can't take this mom thing too seriously. Kids don't take life seriously. Why should I? Yes, I'm shaping them but why does everything have to be such a serious topic? How is my baby sleeping, eating, walking, talking, behaving, learning, reading, writing and on and on. That child will grow at her own pace and I don't have as much to do with it as I once thought. If I just step back and let her be, I can actually enjoy seeing her blossom into a little lady. I need to let the small things go like matching outfits and tidy hair. If they want to wear their pj's to the store, who cares? If they fall in that giant puddle at the park, it's all good, I have extra clothes in the car. Kids need room to breathe and grow. Have fun!

7. Those older people were actually right when they said that time would fly by with my little ones. It started out like a slow rolling ball but that ball has picked up speed over the last few years and it is not slowing down. Seeing the time fly by makes the little things like being woken up at 3:00AM to a hungry 7 month old not as annoying as it was with the first one. In fact, I don't mind so much waking up to that smile. I'm going to blink and she'll be sleeping in a big girl bed telling me she doesn't wanna get up and go to preschool.

4th pics

Here's Addie in her 4th of July dress... I swear I've seen this pic before.

Oh yeah, July 2010 :) (Mya 11 months)

Sparklers! Always the kids' fav.

summer stuff

The girls graduated to big girl bunk beds. We still find Winter asleep on the floor but she says she likes her new bed.

If you would have asked me if I planned to be a Sunday-school teacher 10 years ago, I would have said, not a chance. But here I am teaching Sunday School for the first grade class. I'm just a summer fill-in. Nothing serious. The hardest part of the job is finding a way to get them to stop talking and listen to the teacher! I used to be that chatty-kathy. Pay back's a... ;)

We went to the beach with our bible study group and a few others. 

This is Mya's "smore." She just likes the graham cracker. Winter just eats the chocolate :)

The little girls got together and started a fire in a near-by fire pit. I think the previous party left some smoke but they stirred it up and made a full on fire. They chanted over and over, "We made a fiiiya! We made a fiiiiya!" It was kind of scary but amusing.

man o man

Yesterday was one of my worst stoned mama mornings yet. Warning: This may bore you.

I was supposed to meet Mya's BFF and her mom at Sante Fe Dam at 10:00. I pushed it till 11:00 because the baby (who hasn't taken longer than a 30 minute nap in the last two weeks) decided to take a 2 hour nap of course. I actually woke her up. I hate doing that. I didn't feed her because I was already running late. 

So off we went to Sante Fe Dam. It's $10 to get in so I stopped by the credit union to make a deposit and get cash out. Well I forgot my ATM card in another purse at home so I panicked for a moment and realized I could probably use my ID to do my banking. Yes. Good. On my way to the dam I realized I forgot to get cash. I just made a deposit. I prayed that they would take a credit card because it's 2014. I got there and handed the guy my credit card. He gave it back and said it was cash only. Ugh. I asked if they took IOU's. They did not.  

Soooooo, I had to turn around and go back home to get my ATM card so I could go BACK to the credit union where I was just 20 minutes prior. As I was looking for the ATM card, I realized it was actually in the car all along. Ugh. Sooooo, back to the credit union and back to Sante Fe Dam, baby screaming from hunger pangs, mama super frazzled. Mya and Winter kept asking when they were going to be able to feed the ducks. Soon guys! Mommy forgot cash. Mya said, "Mommy you're kind of crazy this morning." Thanks Mya. Mya would never forget cash. She reminds me not to forget my phone on a daily basis. It's usually when we're in the car and half of the time I have forgotten it in the house. Ayayay.

We spent 3 hours feeding the geese and playing at the park. I did not get any pics because I was still too frazzled from the trip there.