first- thank you for the stay at home mom well wishes. i do know it's going to be a tough transition, but the more i think about it the more excited i get.

i don't feel like i've "missed out" on a lot of alex & brynn's every day lives, not at all. in fact, i feel like i've had a pretty nice balance of seeing things for myself & i've enjoyed hearing about things they accomplish when i'm not around- but, i am very muchly looking forward to this new phase.
of being present 24/7 (ok, maybe 22/5 because, hello, Pinterest). of providing breakfast, lunch & dinner 7 days a week. of reaching inside my brain & pulling out ideas, things to do that will fill 12+ hours a day. of needing to STOP & think before i say & do. of working on my patience. of etc etc etc.

it'll be nice. i'm sure of it.

moving on- i tried to pick up my camera more these past couple weeks. i think i managed to take all of 6 pictures. stellar, right? but i tried.

above is a pretty accurate depiction of saturday mornings. although i think this was a random monday that i had off from work. regardless- wake up (early!!!), take off clothes (why?!), eat breakfast, drink water, watch Dora. toss in a few time outs & that's a wrap.

a few hours later 1 child crashes while the other is sent to her room for "quiet time"- otherwise known as "make the biggest mess ever" & "let me blow wicked loud on this whistle that i found" time.

during these precious hours, the "crashed child" is my favorite. that's honesty people.

...& that's when i stopped taking pictures. because i'm lazy like that. so you'll just have to image the rest of a day filled with toys, books, princess costumes, more Dora, lunch, messes, timeouts, potty breaks, diaper changes, a trip to Target (yay!), me counting down the minutes until the husband gets home, realizing that those minutes are few & i should probably think about dinner, throwing dirty girls in the bathtub, combing wet hair, counting out vitamins, demanding a better toothbrushing job, books red, snuggles given, bedtime happening (oh joyous time!), showers taken, dinner finally eaten, collapsing on the couch, passing out. the end.

i'll bet you have a pretty good idea of what that looks like already.

back to pictures.
this sunday was Palm Sunday. it was also 30 degrees & windy. & there was snow & mud on the ground. & i'd picked out some lovely spring dresses that would have paired wonderfully with sandals. but those things don't really go together.

so spring dresses + fall boots + tights  came into play:

me: dress (Target), belt (Target), cardigan (Old Navy), boots (Born)
alex: dress (Old Navy), sweater (Target), boots (Aster)

brynn: dress (Old Navy), sweater (Target), boots (Next)

don't we look so springy? don't the girls look thrilled? don't you want to live in NH?

regardless, i had fun making us look matchy, matchy, matchy. we got so many compliments (at church) on our attire & i just hope they allow me to do this for a little while longer...like the next 10 years.

immediately after the husband took this picture, we carried tired girls into the house, stripped, threw on our jammies & spent the rest of the day at home. couching it, playing, eating, watching movies- it was wonderful.

& now i focus on this last week of normalcy before my new schedule starts, while the girls focus on trying to locate their Easter baskets before Easter. because, why not?

this is what's up

first off- it's march 19th & Easter is in less than 2 weeks. so like any normal human being, my mind is focused on flowers, new grass, warmer weather & possibly skipping the tights when donning our Easter dresses.

but no. today march decided that it has a love affair with snow & dumped a good 6-8 more inches off in our yard. lovingly, like it's a gift that we should thank the 3rd month of the year for. "what's this? more snow?! oh my! you shouldn't have!"

so now, saying the word "spring" feels like i'm saying a dirty word. in trying to educate the girls about the seasons (& justify buying more flip flops) i say, "yes! spring is coming soon...." & then i stand there all twitchy & bitter because i'm clearly a liar.
look at me- wearing wool socks, sweatpants & my bathrobe while uttering the words "spring is coming."
look outside- at the layer of white, frozen ground & freezing temperatures.
look at our propane bill-  dear God, look at it!

i could go on, but i think you catch my drift.

secondly- in 2 weeks my current working full time working mom status will change to a part time status in preparation for a...full time stay at home status. damn. i'm all kinds of excited/worried/freaking out/pumped/what have i done...
this is going to be completely new for me. i have ALWAYS had a job. always. i've never really seriously entertained the idea of staying home (at least not full time) & outside of maternity leave, the longest i've ever been at home with the girls (without a "reprieve") is a week. tops.

but adding a 3rd child completely changes the dynamic of our lives. there is also the fact that KB (nanny) will be leaving us at the end of this month to prepare for her own new addition (in may) & 3 toddlers + 2 newborns just wasn't going to be a viable option for any 1 person to handle. add onto that the random schedule of Pre-K that will start in Sept & the mind blowing cost of 3 children in daycare...well, that made our decision for me to stay home almost a no brainer.

thankfully, i'll be able to transition into this new role by cutting back my workweek to 3 days. i'll be working part time through april & may & wrapping up in june. that'll give me a few more weeks to get "used" to staying home 24/7 before baby bird #3 arrives. it also gives me a few extra weeks with my girls. just us- before we introduce a game changer.

wish me luck. or rather, give me ideas on what to do all day, how to stay sane, how not to go to Target every day, etc etc.

thirdly- i wish i had pictures to share. real pictures that have been taken with my real camera that cost me real money & that i should spend more real time using. but alas. i do not.

my iPhone has become my go to & even then, i don't take nearly as many pictures as i could/should. i'm actually going to be attending a photography workshop in May in TX & i'm really hoping it inspires me to pick up my camera more. besides being my part time business, it's also the tool i should be using to capture memories of my own family & i am failing. so hard. because i'm so tired & burnt out. & just...just.

but for now, a few iPhone captures.

moccasin day, dora coma, belly, Pre-K sign up day, judging cat, brynn snuggles, playday, naptime, fresh baked bread, happy st. patrick's day