Austin the Cat - etc ...

He's driving me crazy.

All I want to do is throw that cat outside as far as I can throw. He has food and water, but jumps on the counter to get into trouble, pulls down the garbage can and occasionally poops where he wants. He stays up all night playing with any small toy he can find, usually in William's room - driving me utterly insane. Spring better hurry up because this cat's life depends on it. The only thing keeping this cat alive ... is the fact that he LOVES Amélie. He follows her everywhere and wants to sleep right beside her at all times.

Scentsy :

I'm planning a Scentsy relaunch. In February I will be attending a big Spring Sprint and hope to have some great ideas. :)

27 weeks :

I have no idea how I got to be 27 weeks pregnant. Seriously, it's like I blinked and then here I am ... I think I might be rather big for how many weeks I am but it's like I'm petite with a huge belly and some wider hips ... it's weird ... 0_o.

Baby N :

Amélie loves this baby already. I hope it sticks. I'm not even a little bit worried about juggling three kids because I am secure and confident enough to say no to things I think will be too much. There is no reason to spread myself thin to please other people and I trust that they will consider that when I say no instead of flipping out. The people in our family and friends are pretty considerate.

Maternity Leave :

Holy Hannah I'm so looking forward to it. I like to take at least a month ahead of time to get the house ready, to spend time with kids, to be able to sleep on a schedule that my body wants instead of what work needs. I have some sick days as well so I am going to use some and be done in March. I have a day in mind but still juggling it around.

Spring :

Usually I don't get antsy about spring until February but, is it just me, or is winter extra long this year?

Morning musings

I'm really not a morning person. Really not. But there's something about waking up to pick a baby out of a crib and help a toddler out of her 'dirty clothes' that makes it all worth it. I wasn't a breakfast person either, but watching Will chomp on some homemade toast while Amélie sucks back about 3 yogurts makes me smile. I even manage to sneak some food myself. Today it was cereal and cheese.

I don't even mind the one hour of cleaning that I do before computer time (although when Corey works nights it becomes one hour of cleaning whenever I get to it).

I've also been cleaning up my facebook profile page, deleting old posts, when I came across one from Enjoying the Small things about her daughter Nella's birth. I cry no matter how many times I've read it. She really makes it easy to just be happy to be myself and actually enjoy the things that make me 'unique', like my Star Trek fascination, and my sporadic creative moments.

I don't feel guilty about not cleaning my house all the time either. I never used to buy anything nice for Amelie because I knew she'd get it dirty, now ... if I see a dress on sale (has to be pretty awesome sale) that I know she'll enjoy, I'll buy it if we can afford it. In fact, I recently purchased an adorable black dress (for next year) but Amelie spotted it amongst my groceries and whipped it out, gasping as if she'd just found buried treasure! By the time I'd come in with a second helping of groceries she was wearing it, pleased as punch. I'm pretty sure that if I'd paid 30$ for that dress (original price) it would already be stained, but since I only paid 7$ ...

I'm looking forward to spring. Amélie already picked out a pair of rubber boots, but unfortunately the shipping cost didn't make it feasible, so hopefully I can find them somewhere else! There's something about spring that makes me feel ... good. I don't know how to describe it and even when I try to think about it ... all that comes to mind is me standing outside in rubber boots, surrounded by melting snow, being very pregnant and inhaling that spring air. Amélie running through puddles and playing in the 'moat' Devon made to keep water away from our house. I imagine me walking in to work wearing sandals, because I really like wearing sandals! I'm excited for spring.

But, I'll enjoy winter at home with my two little spring babies. I'll be grateful for every second that I get to spend with them, and with my niece.

We all know that kids grow up to fast. Wasn't it yesterday that I was begging my mom to buy me anything other than a sweatsuit for my first day of school? Or to go out on a date? Where did this walking baby come from? And this self-proclaimed 'big girl'?

Sigh.

Is it possible to be this happy, even with laundry constantly piled on the couch, toys strewn across everywhere, dishes in the sink and kids running around half naked?

Turns out it is!