Pioneer Woman...take 2

So today Ree Drummond was signing books again in Ponca City. So as a "thank you" to my mom for all her help I gave her Food From My Frontier Cookbook and invited her up for the day. So we met this morning at the bookstore to get a number, and we were #40, at 9:04 am. So, from my previous experience I figured we'd leave the house between 4-4:30 and probably wait 30 minutes to an hour for her to sign our books.

We enjoyed time playing, lunch at Stagecoach BBQ (one of Newkirk's finest eating establishments), then headed to Brace Books at 4:15. Well, Maddie fell asleep on the way, so I thought well I'll just wait in the car with the girls, while my mom goes in to see what number they are at. So she and Cooper went in, they then called me to inform me we were next.....perfect cause now I've got to get a sleeping baby in a carrier, and an almost 2 year old sleeping girl into the bookstore. I did this, after maybe bumping a few people out of the way, not on purpose of course. But made it in, got our books signed, and a quick pic with the lady. Where I should've held up Kellyn's car seat, or taken her out, but Pioneer Woman had already told me what a beautiful baby I had, and loved Maddie's big brown eyes, and told me that I just needed to leave cause my baby was making her want to have another. (Okay mostly I just felt rushed and didn't want all the people behind us to wait for me to take Kellyn out of the car seat, she was sleeping, so probably best to leave her, right?)

Amazing that this picture is actually decent, cause literally I had just ran in holding Maddie and Kellyn (in her car seat) to make it in. You should get the cookbook if you don't have it, the cherry limeade is yummy, the Peach Whiskey Chicken is great, and tonight we shall have the Tequila Lime Chicken.(That lineup almost makes me sound like an alcoholic...but I'm not, I promise)

 I grabbed a number on our way out for a friend in Newkirk, she was 183, so that makes for a busy signing for Pioneer Woman.

I month

Kellyn....I can't believe you are already 4 weeks old! As much as we thought you'd be a little boy, I can't possibly imagine you any other way. You are the best baby, sleeping a lot, in your crib, mamaroo, bouncer, wherever we lay you. You tolerate your older brother and sister holding you, talking right up in your face, and loving you. They do really love you! Basically right now, you enjoy looking at lights, eating, and sleeping. You are a healthy girl and you give us little smiles in your sleep that just melt my heart. I tell everyone that you are the best baby, don't make me eat those words!

Kid's Room....

I've been meaning to blog about the kid's room for a while. We planned to move Maddie and Cooper into the same room after the baby was born. My parents came up, helped me clean out the "storage" room and bought the kids beds. It took me a while to find some comforters that I liked and round everything else up to make their room clean. But it was all ready for them before Kellyn was born. When we went back home after Spring Break, we started the transition of them both sleeping in the twin beds there. Which we are still working on, but we've only been home 2 weeks, and they are doing pretty good. The timing worked out perfectly becuase Maddie climbed out of her pack in play the Friday before Kellyn was born at my parents house. I don't know if that's really perfect timing, but we knew she was ready for a "big girl" bed. So we didn't paint the room, so it's nice and red, which isn't my favorite, but we haven't had the time, or the desire that bad to paint it. All I have left is to find some curtains or find material to make them. But you can at least see everything else. I think it's a kid's dream room, but what do I know, I'm over 30....

So this is the North view of their room, with their beds and their mass of toys they have

One of the boy's moms came over

and drilled the holes to make my bucket toy space complete. I got the inspiration

for this on Pinterest, it took me a long time to find pink and blue buckets, they are feed buckets.

This is the South West view of their room. So their closet,

train table, and Maddie's kitchen. The closet doors need a piece to

be able to go back on. I may just leave them off so no one

gets shut in the closet.

Here is their reading corner on the South East side.

I do love when I find them here reading their books. I tried to

clean out their books, but they like too many of them.

Guess it's probably not a bad thing!

This is Cooper's main attraction. The train track of the day, there

is more track in the drawers, and under the table is the take-and-play track for Thomas the train.

You wouldn't believe how jealous the high school boys are of this track, they love to come play....

This is the puzzle storage, plain old plastic bags on a shelf in the closet.

I'm totally open to a better/different way to store these if you have one.

So that's where Maddie and Cooper sleep, lots of toys, no decor as of yet, but maybe in June I'll

have some time to work on that. Who am I kidding? I've got 2 basketball camps to help Jeremy with (okay maybe just 1 cause for the 2nd I'll be in full on wedding week mode for my bff Jenny), and then he'll be taking kids to 3, which means, I'll have my hands full!

Girl's Night!

We have been spending this week at my parents, we being the kids and I. Because April, Zane, and Grant are in town from Brazil during their furlough. They like to come stay with my parents for a while, and it gives me an excuse to come hang out. (So I can have a little break too!) For those that don't know, April and I knew each other my Freshman year of college, her Sophomore year. Lived in adjoining dorms, had biology together, were in club together (cause I was in Gamma before I transferred to Theta....another story, another time!) So she needed a free place to live for the summer, and we were going on Vienna Studies together, so I told her if she didn't mind sharing a bed with me, she could live at my house. I did this without ever checking with my parents; I knew they wouldn't mind. Well, it worked out great, because I house sat so much that summer I was never home, and then I spent 2 weeks counseling at OC Camps with April because she was the children's intern at Edmond. That summer turned into she lived at my house in my room every summer after that until we graduated. We roomed together at OC my last year. She's the sister I never had, so it all worked out. She and her husband even lived at my parents house for  a while before they went to Brazil. All this to say Tuesday we had a nice night out with other Vienna Friend's and her past roommates. I think we were all excited to go out, sans kids. We talked for a couple of hours and enjoyed some good food from here, you should go, the pizza is excellent!

I was glad for the Girl's Night Out, because I may not live in another country, but sometimes I might as well. It's so nice we all have remained fairly close, even after college. I love hanging out with these girls when I get to! Maybe I'll be able to save up enough money, or not be pregnant where I can go visit her in Brazil before they move back! Bets on which will happen first?

Kellyn's First Bath

Kellyn had her first bath the other night, I believe the pictures speak for themselves about how she liked it.....

Mostly she's happier when its over!

Maddie's First Hair Cut

So today I took my bigger baby girl to get her hair cut. She had one super long curl in the back, and apparently it's only cool to pull all your bows down and hold them instead of wear them. So her little bangs just hung in her face. So it was time for a cut. I was expecting the worst, lots of crying, lots of "no, no, no...." and putting her hands over her hair. However, surprise to me, Katie told her she could have a piece of chocolate after she was done and she set super still in the chair and did everything Katie told her to. So maybe I should try that at home....a piece of chocolate if you (fill in the blank) just kidding, I don't need to start that. I do have her precious long curl for her little baby book, she's not totally neglected!

Easter.....

I don't think you realize how commercialized Easter is until you have 3 kids, try to make a special breakfast, lunch, Easter Egg hunt and attmept to take a picture of your 3, 4 and under kids in their Easter best. It does make me appreicate my parents and grandparents for doing this when we were younger. I'm sure we went to Mama Jo's to dye Easter Eggs and for Easter dinner and egg hunt cause it's easier on the rents. (Just kidding mom and dad; I know it's cause she loves to do it and wouldn't have it any other way!)

So here was our Easter in pictures.....

Friday, Jeremy didn't have school, so while he rested the kids and I went to the playground (no pic), then after dinner they played outside while he mowed. Then it was in to dye eggs....

Kellyn was super helpful in dying Easter Eggs (sleeping for her is super helpful)

Then there were brownies.....

So that was Good Friday, it was good if I do say so myself. We had these for dinner, or a version of them, make them, they are delicious!

So Sunday, I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast; all because Cooper asked for them. It's either my fault or this lady's fault that he only likes real cinnamon rolls. Sorry Phillsbury, the ones in the cans just don't cut it here. We went to church then headed home so Dad could "hide" eggs and I could work on lunch. Here are a few pics.....it's not easy to get a good one of them all, I even put Dad in one to try.

So how am I doing......

I actually get asked this time to time, how am I doing adjusting to life with 3, after the c-section.....


Well.....today I showered, washed and dryed my hair (the drying may have happened about 4 hours later), brushed my teeth, took bathroom trash out, and worked.....so I guess all in all pretty well. My living room needs to be vacuumed and my laundry is piling up to a point where I almost can't take it anymore, but other then that I feel great.

The most frustrating thing is the whole can't do laundry thing, can't clean a whole lot, doesn't my doctor know my husband is never home....used to be basketball, now thanks to baseball. That's really the worst part, is everything has to be on his time, but luckily he needs clean clothes more then the rest of us because he actually leaves this house on a daily basis, so it works out okay. (Funny thing is my doctor does know this, Jeremy coached his daughter at Deer Creek 5 years ago.)

My body may let me know I'm over doing it time to time, but I just back off for a few days and everything goes back to normal. I'm hoping to get released next Thursday, so that will be great!

Oh and yes, I did say work, luckily we haven't been slammed so I've been keeping up with work for my "co-workers"....."co-contractors" might be a better word. I really can't tell you how lucky I am to have the best part time job ever.....I may have to pay my own taxes (why I couldn't take a few weeks off), but at least it's not too stressful and I can do it on my time! So that in a nut shell is how I'm doing. Next week we'll be in Edmond, hanging with the McGee's from Brazil, so that'll be busy, plus work, plus 2 photoshoots, so things are starting to pick up quickly!