Another Year, Another Photo Disaster

Well, it's that time of year for the dreaded family picture where my children don't cooperate; I want to wring their little necks; and I am ridiculously furious at my husband, mainly because he acts like it's not a big deal that we just went through all this trouble to get them dressed, lug them to the park and they just.won't.cooperate! I know I have said it before, but all I want is a picture of all three of my children…looking at the camera…and smiling.  Is that really too much to ask for?  Apparently, this year again...yes, yes it is!

Here's a few of the out-takes from our photo shoot this past weekend.  Honestly, Kahn and Olivia are coming out of the uncooperative stages and actually responded pretty well to the bribes.  :-)  Madeline, on the other hand, was terrible!  That may be the first time I have ever said anything negative about our previously perfect 3rd child…but she wanted nothing to do with pictures! I have to admit though…she still looked pretty cute hysterically crying.

And our attempt at all of them together…disaster!

Let's just say that the perfect picture of all three of my kids that I desperately hope for will not be on our annual family Christmas card this year (and probably not anytime soon)!

Our Disney Dream!

Earlier this month, we went on our first Disney cruise.  And it was amazing!

I know, I know, I'm an Orlando girl so of course, I was going to like anything Disney.  But the cruise surpassed any of my expectations.  Kahn and I say it was one of our best family vacations yet...and if you know me, we've been on a lot of vacations!

Kahn loved the kids club.  Olivia loved the princesses.  Madeline loved the buffets.
Kahn loved the pirate party.  Olivia loved the splash pad.  Madeline loved the buffets.
Kahn loved the slides.  Olivia loved the movie theater.  And yes, Madeline loved the buffets.

And I just loved watching the wonder and amazement on their faces.

From the sail away party to meeting the princesses to the pirate party and kids club, it was great.  Speaking of kids club, that might be one of the most genius things ever.  My kids literally begged and cried to go to kid's club.  There were activities in there all day long for them and they LOVED it! And our kids in kids club meant alone time for mom and dad. Score!  Disney actually has a pretty nice adults-only area on the ship so we totally took advantage.  Disney also allows you to take your own alcohol on the ship...as much as you can fit in your carry-on.  Let's just say, we had more carry-ons than normal on this particular trip!

Honestly, the only drawback of the whole trip was that it was too short!

Everything about the trip was fabulous! So much so that we already re-booked for next year.  We'll be sailing August 31st out of Port Canaveral if anyone is interested.

I have a feeling we'll be doing Disney cruises for many years to come.  You just can't beat it!  Disney just does it right.  It truly is magical.

First Day of School

The kids had their first day of school last week.  And for Kahn and Olivia, it was fine.  They loved it.  Madeline...not so much!  Apparently she cried the whole time.  Every teacher I passed on the way to pick her up mentioned something to me about 'how rough her day was'.  And she was definitely hysterical when I picked her up.  But she calmed down quickly, took a fantastic nap that afternoon and had a much better day on Monday!  She'll be fine.  I mean, it was her first day.  She was allowed to be upset.

While the kids were in school, I had 3 hours of freedom!  And it was glorious!  I danced my way out of their school and honestly contemplated celebrating with mimosas at 9am...hell, maybe even tequila shots were in order.  I decided to keep my  40-hour work week in 4 days so that I could have a day off with the kids still AND so that I could have 3 hours to myself on Fridays while they are in school.  It's only 3 hours, but it is such a nice break and I really NEED it. According to my husband, it will also be our most expensive 3 hours each week.  For those of you that didn't know, I like to shop and I have a feeling my 3 hours each week will be spent in a mall, Target or some cute boutique in Buckhead.  So basically their expensive Buckhead preschool is even going to be more expensive as I do some damage at the mall!

But here's a few pictures of the kids from the first day of school.  Kahn actually started on Thursday since he is in pre-K and they all went on Friday.  There are definitely no Pinterest inspired signs, nothing remotely creative about these pictures.  Honestly, I was lucky enough to even be able to pull out my camera and to get them to sit still.  And yes, Madeline is barefoot in these pictures.  And yes, that's how she went to school.  But I promise, her shoes were in her bag!  It was just a crazy morning and I'm just lucky I remembered to throw them in her bag at all and that I didn't forget a kid on the driveway!

So here's to the 2013-2014 school year!  I hope all of your kids had a better first day than Madeline and that they have a fantastic school year!

Just one picture!

Well, I tried for yet another picture of the kids while we were at the beach last month and it was a complete failure.  I am not even sure why I try anymore.  All I want is ONE picture of all 3 of my kids together, looking at the camera AND smiling!  Is that really asking too much??? Apparently, it is.

Any sort of photo session with my kids is a complete disaster.  Bribing doesn't work. Threats of privileges being taken away doesn't work. They won't cooperate, I get beyond upset and Kahn and I always end up in some kind of argument because we are both completely frustrated and we want to throw all of them into the ocean.  But for some reason, I keep trying for that perfect picture whenever I can.  I just need to give it up.

But here's the latest from our recent photo shoot.  We actually tried two separate days as I was not happy with what I got the first time around, but day two was even more of a disaster and I'm pretty sure I ended up in tears and yet again questioned why we don't beat our children.  I got some cute ones of them individually, but I have a ton of those and wanted one of all three of them together.  Oh well...maybe in a few years when they are not so young...

Yes, I will admit, some of those are really cute, but here's the best we could get of all 3 of them! Ugh!

Good thing I love them so much because they almost ended up in the ocean!

Loving the beach!

We just got back from 7 days at the beach with our family and some friends.  And it was a blast!  When we booked our beach week, we thought 7 days was going to be enough, but literally, I wanted to cry when we headed home.  We had such an amazing week down exploring and enjoying 30A!

The kids LOVED the beach and the waves and the pool.  Madeline definitely LOVED (eating) the sand. And Kahn and I loved the company of some of our best friends, fantastic dinners, lots of cocktails and endless laughs.

It was a perfect week!  We are already looking forward to beach week 2014!

Missed Moments

Many people know this, but we rarely allow our kids in bed with us.  We like our sleep, we need our sleep and our kids just sleep better in their own rooms anyways. 

But this morning as I was leaving for work at 5:30, little Kahn came out of his room to go to the bathroom. I don’t normally see the kids in the morning, because, well—it’s ridiculously early.  So it was kind of fun to see him on my way out of the house.  He was being so super sweet, told me how much he loved me and how nice I looked and he gave me a kiss.  When I told him to go back to his room when he finished going potty, he said he really wanted to snuggle with me.  Being that I work at 6am, I offered him the next best thing--“Do you want to snuggle with daddy?” He climbed up in bed, got under the covers and snuggled up as close as he could to Kahn.  I was supremely jealous. And I went on my way… to work. 

See, here’s the problem with being a working mom…I wasn’t able to snuggle with him this morning and I thought about it all day today and how much I wished I could have just laid there in bed with him and cuddled and maybe watched a cartoon or two.  I thought about all of the mornings I am not there with my kids and I hate missing out on these little moments, as mundane as they may be. He is not always going to want to snuggle with his mom and dad.  They grow too fast.

I try not to comment too much on what it’s like being a working mom, because I am really torn about it, I like it and I hate it. There are definitely benefits to working.  But for every benefit, I feel like there are at least 2 drawbacks.  To be honest, staying in bed with Kahn this morning probably doesn’t equate to important enough to use vacation time at work, but it is symbolic of all of those little moments that I miss with my kids—their first steps, their first words, their first swimming lessons…and the list goes on.  It makes me really sad some days that I miss so much of my kids growing up. 

And then bizarrely, as all this was going through my head today, my boss emailed about noon and said she had to go home, her 25-year-old son needed her.  I love that.  Not that her son is going through a hard time right now, but I love that her son still needs her at 25 and that her family is her priority and that she will drop everything to be there when one of her kids needs her.  Her leaving work today validated everything for me--that being a working mom sucks, but I can be a full-time working mom and STILL be there for my kids because I am lucky enough to work for a woman (and organization) that values hard work and also the balancing act of being a working mom and being there for my kids.

I have never been made to feel guilty when I take time off work for kid-related things, but I place guilt upon myself and I need to get over that. Quite honestly, if I would have come in late this morning and she would have asked why, she would have totally understood my reasoning—little Kahn wanted to snuggle. 

I can only hope my kids are still going to need me when they are 25, but until then, I am going to make every attempt to make sure that I am there for them for as many little moments as I can be as they grow up. I'm not going to stay in bed with them every morning, but I will stop feeling guilty when I need to take time off for one of them. My family will always be my priority. 

Enjoy all of those little moments with your kids!

Sweet Madeline is One!

Eek...it's been 2 months since I have posted something on my blog!  That's embarrassing.  All I can say is life is busy.  In that two months, we have visited Orlando and went to Disney, went on a beach trip to Amelia Island, been to a couple weddings, had visits from Kahn's family, and the kids learned how to swim! And just this past weekend, our little sweet Madeline turned one!!!

I know every parent says it, but the time really does fly.  I can't believe Madeline is one.  And honest to God, she is still as sweet as she was on the day we brought her home from the hospital.  I know that will change, probably sooner than I want it to, but we are just really enjoying our sweet little number 3. She has been the PERFECT (in every way) addition to our family.

I'm pretty sure I didn't say it about my other two, but Madeline is just perfect.  She's probably a typical third child that just goes with the flow, but from day one she has been such a perfect, laid back baby.  She eats well, she sleeps well, she barely ever cries, she plays on her own, she has some pretty good dance moves and she loves to smile.  She is always happy and she makes us so happy.  We are absolutely in love with her.

She didn't quite have the 1st birthday celebrations that the other two had, but we were able to have some cake with her and a few friends this past weekend.  And as you can see, she loved her cake!

Happy 1st Birthday, Madeline!   

Please, please, please stay our perfect, sweet baby girl forever!  

Do not let your sister, Olivia, rub off on you anytime soon or me and your Dad may not survive. 

We love you so, so much!

Where to Next?

As most people know, I love to plan and Kahn and I love to travel.  We traveled a lot before kids (although I really wish we would have traveled more) and we actually travel quite a bit with kids.  I'm pretty sure Olivia had flown over 12 times in her first year!  And little Kahn has quite the collection of frequent flyer miles already!  We did take a 'break' in 2012 as Madeline was arriving and we overdid ourselves in the previous years, but this year we have a pretty full schedule again.  And I love it.

What's really awesome is Kahn and I have gotten to travel sans kids on a couple trips this year so far and I've also already done a girls trip (more of those to come :-)).  I think it is super, super important for moms and dads to get away every once in a while, either together or with friends. Parents deserve it.  It doesn't have to be an elaborate vacation, it can just be dinner or drinks or brunch or shopping without nagging kids--whatever it is, it's great to have some adult time and to enjoy and relax. And we've done just that!

In February we went to Vail, Colorado for 3 days of skiing.  We love skiing and minus a few years here and there, I've gone skiing almost every winter since I was about 5.  It's the best vacation ever and something we will keep up as the kids get older.  Since the kids are still a little young, we took advantage and snuck in what will probably be our last year of an adults only ski trip.  So we headed to the mountains with some of our best friends.  It was super fun...the skiing was great and the company was even better...just an all around good time!

In March, I actually snuck away on a girl's weekend to Seacrest Beach.  It was so awesome to just relax and do nothing and shop and eat and ride bikes and enjoy cocktails and lay on the beach.  We had a great time and it was really nice to just recharge and have a little girl time.





And last weekend, Kahn and I headed to Nashville for a honky-tonk time with some friends.  We had never been to Nashville and it did not disappoint!  It truly is a party town and since Kahn and I love a good time, Nashville was the city for us! I'm pretty sure we danced (and drank) the weekend away!  It was awesome!  Yeehaw!

We have quite a bit more travel planned already for 2013 and I promise, the kids are involved in all of those trips!  We are actually heading to Orlando tomorrow, then Amelia Island in June, Seaside Beach in July, just me and the kids to Orlando again in August, Chattanooga in the fall and then our Disney cruise in September!  We are definitely looking forward to our adventures this year and hmmm...maybe Kahn and I can sneak in another 'adult' trip later this year...November is looking a little bare in the vacation department AND it is our anniversary month...I need to get planning!

And I couldn't blog about our travels if it wasn't for my mom.  KatieNana, as my kids call her, loves to come up and watch the kids while we travel. I mean, she may not love it-love it...it's a ton of work, I completely understand, but it's awesome she's willing to come up whenever we need her and the kids love when she is here.  So really, it's a win-win for all of us.  Right, mom?

Happy Travels to all in 2013!

The Breast Pump...Hanging it Up!

Minus 2 months, I have been pregnant or breastfeeding since May 2008.  Yes, that's basically 5 years straight!  I've loved being pregnant and I loved breastfeeding.

I breastfed Kahn and Olivia for 12 months.  When I got pregnant with Kahn, I said I would breastfeed for a year.  And I succeeded.  When I got pregnant with Liv, I only said I would nurse for 6 months since I knew how hard it was so I was pleasantly surprised and super proud of myself for sticking it out for a year.  But with baby #3, I just couldn't make it to 12 months.

Like I said, I loved breastfeeding but I HATED pumping.  And when you are a full-time working mom and exclusively providing breast milk to your child, you have to pump.  I had this love-hate relationship with my pump.  I loved it because it allowed me to provide milk for my daughter even though I couldn't physically nurse her every feeding, but I seriously HATED that pump.  I hated every single minute I was hooked up to that machine. I literally wanted to tell my pump to 'F off' every time I used it.  I used to ask myself every single day, 'why do I do something that I hate so much'? But the answer was always easy--it was for Madeline. She deserved it.  I did it for Kahn and Liv, I can do it for Madeline.  So I hung on as long as I could.

Madeline is 10 months now and she received her first bottle with formula last Thursday.  She is my first child to ever get formula.  She drank the bottle, loved it and I cried.  I didn't cry because she was getting formula, but I cried because a part of me feels like I am letting her down, that I didn't succeed.  I was able to produce and provide breast milk for the other two until they were a year, and I just didn't have it in me for baby #3.

Stopping breastfeeding is liberating yet depressing.  It's very emotional.  Sometimes it is referred to as the 'booby blues'.  I experienced the same emotions when I quit with Kahn and Olivia.  I am so excited to have my body back and no longer having to stop throughout the day to hook up to that stupid pump, but I'm also sad about weaning and that Madeline doesn't need me anymore for her nourishment. Yes, she needs me for other things and she will never really know I didn't make it to 12 months with her, but it is just hard--it's hard to explain. But I'll get over it, just like I did for the other two. I just need to celebrate the 10 months I was able to provide her with milk and pat myself on the back for sticking it out for as long as I did. Breastfeeing ain't easy! Especially when you have a 2 and 4 year old!  And as much as I hated that pump, I am so thankful for being able to provide her (and the others) with breast milk as long as I did.

So goodbye (for now) to the pump that I hate so much, and on to enjoying my freedom from that damn pump!

This body is taking a break from babies and breastfeeding.  My body is mine again, at least for a little bit. :-)
 

An Impromptu Spring Break!

It's been months since I last posted on this blog.  I'll admit, I'm terrible at keeping up!  This is hard work. :-)

But just writing to share a few photos from our quick trip down to Orlando last week!  As many of you know, my sister Erica adopted twin baby girls last month.  It was KILLING me that I wasn't able to see them right away, so since the kids were out for spring break, we decided to head to Orlando so we all could enjoy the new members of our family.

When we decided to go to Orlando, we had no plans...we were just going to hang at my parent's house and snuggle with Lanie and Drew, my new nieces.  However, our trip ended up being jammed packed and the kids are still talking about how much fun it was.  Here's a few pictures from the weekend...Universal, swimming, Wet n Wild and breakfast with the characters at the Grand Floridian!

It is so great being from Orlando and now having kids.  It is the best vacation (when you have kids)!  There is so much to do!  It doesn't hurt that we have a free place to stay and friends in high places at most of the parks.  :-)  I don't think my kids quite understand how spoiled they are that they get to go to Orlando a few times/year to do theme parks that most kids only get to visit once in their lives.  They definitely love it there though and we will continue to spoil them and bring them a few times/year.  We love seeing the pure joy on their faces when they are there!

We hope everyone had a fabulous spring break!!  We definitely did!

What happened to January?!?!

Seriously...January flew by!!!  

I can barely remember all the fun we had in January.  But I do know that we did do some fun 'firsts' in this 1st month of 2013.  

...First of which was bowling!  I am not sure why we had never thought of taking the kids before, but we finally took them and it was super fun!  Kahn loved it!  

And not that it comes as a surprise to anyone, but I totally kicked everyone's ass! We'll definitely be bowling with the kids more often as it was a great family outing!

We also took the kids to the Georgia aquarium last month which was a 1st for Olivia and also basically a 1st for Kahn as he was super young the first time we took him.  The kids really loved it!  The Georgia Aquarium is touted as the world's largest aquarium which probably sounds impressive to many, but for a girl who grew up with Sea World in her backyard and has sat on Shamu and fed dolphins and whales, the aquarium is just kind of OK.  But the kids did love it and we'll definitely be taking them more often!

Another big 1st in January was the Falcons first NFC Championship game here in Atlanta.  I guess I could be wrong about this being a first so please don't throw stones if this is incorrect, but what I do know is that it was a big deal for Atlanta and Falcon fans and even though the Falcons lost (which was super devastating), we had an awesome season and the final tailgate of the season did not disappoint.  As many of you know, I love day drinking which naturally means I love 10am tailgates...and in recent years I've also grown to love the Falcons and actually going to the game (although if we are really being honest here...I love tailgating more and could sit in that parking lot (kid-free) sipping on cocktails and yummy snacks all day)!  It was such a bummer that we lost that final game of the season, but it was awesome being in the dome that Sunday, and all in all, it was definitely a memorable season!!

And last but certainly not least was Kahn's 4th Birthday!  I guess technically this is a 4th, but we are fitting it into this post anyways!  Kahn definitely had an amazing 4th birthday!  We hosted a party for him and all of his friends (27 of them!!!) at Catch Air.  The kids ran and played and danced and ran some more...they all had a blast!!  And because me and my friends are sometimes slightly crazy, we then continued the party at a Mexican restaurant across the street.  Because, well...that's what you do for a 4 year olds party!  The 'after party' consisted of a group of 28 or so with 15 of them 5 and under!!  We totally invaded the restaurant....there was eating and drinking and dancing and mariachi bands and balloons and magicians.  I don't know about little Kahn but I thought it was one of the most fun days filled with good friends and lots of laughs!

Here's a picture of him and all of his friends...

And another of Kahn and all the formula that was donated for Brighton Their World (charity) in lieu of presents!  

There were lots of other firsts for us...first time on a big boy bike, Olivia's first time on her scooter, the kid's first time to Chuck E Cheese and lots and lots of firsts for little Miss Madeline!  January was definitely a month full of fun activities and big celebrations!!!  2013 is going to be a great year!!  Now on to February...