Christmas as a family of four

It is the day after Christmas and we are EXHAUSTED! I took Ella to daycare today so she could get her wiggles out and mommy can recover.

Ella got a bike, which is what she asked for, and Charlotte got lots of clothes and baby toys, which I'm assuming if she could talk she would have also asked for!

When I was little Christmas was sort of a rush running from place to place, but since we live far away from family it is much more calm with the four of us. We woke up somewhat early thanks to Ella. We told her Santa was coming so when she woke up she ran to do the door thinking he was actually going to be here when she woke up! She got through all of her presents really quickly and then decided she was done so she went and played downstairs. Such a goof!

I made her an apron for Christmas so she can wear it when we bake since she loves to help with the "BIIIG mixer". I'm sure once the excitement of her bike wears off she will love it...I hope.

One of the traditions I started when my husband and I first moved far away was to make cinnamon rolls. My Grandma Rita would make cinnamon rolls for every family. She would wrap them in foil and you got to take them home and eat them on Christmas morning. They were a sticky bun with maple syrup, the recipe of which has been lost forever now. I opt for making cream cheese frosting, but the rolls are still part of our Christmas morning. The recipe is one I got from Mrs. Pringle-Jones in my High School home economics class. It isn't the recipe my Grandmother actually used, but it is really good and to be honest much easier than a normal bun recipe. I want to share it here and also document it so that just incase it happens to go missing I still have it (it is still on the purple printer paper from my notebook from that class...not super safe with a toddler in the house). So here are my Christmas Cinnamon Rolls:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cinnamon Rolls (Cool Rise Method)

2 3/4 - 3 1/4 cups Flour
1 package Yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm tap water

1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons melted butter

Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Stir well to blend. Then add butter.

Add tap water to ingredients in bowl. (water should be slightly warmer than room temperature)

Beat with electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape bowl occasionally.

Add 1/2 cup more flour. Beat with electric mixer at high speed for 1 minute or until thick and elastic.

Gradually stir in just enough of the remaining flour with wooden spoon to make soft dough which leaves sides of bowl. Turn out onto lightly floured board (or if using a KitchenAid mixer attach the dough hook)

Kneed 5-10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Let rest 20 minutes on board (or in bowl if using the mixer). Punch down dough.

Roll dough out into 9x12 inch rectangle.

Spread with 1/4 cup softened butter.

Mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over butter.

Roll up tightly, like a jelly roll.

Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces (use thread or bread knife)

Place in greased pan.

Brush lightly with melted butter or margarine.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2-24 hours. When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and uncover.

Let stand for 10 minutes while oven preheats to 400 degrees.

Bake for 15-20  minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from oven. Rolls can be drizzled with powder sugar and milk icing or cream cheese frosting when slightly cooled.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
These are easy and extremely delicious. You can cut them smaller and get more small rolls or bigger to get larger rolls depending on your style. I go back and forth with size but just adjust the cooking time based on the size. You can tell if they are done but checking the middle rolls to make sure they aren't too gooey.

Sticky Rolls: Before putting the rolls in the greased pan, mix together brown sugar, maple syrup, and a tablespoon of corn starch until smooth. I usually do a cup of brown sugar and enough maple syrup to make it runny. Pour into the pan and place the rolls on top. Omit the melted butter and cook like normal. Let cool once out of the oven about 20 minutes and then turn out onto a platter. They will be VERY sticky but yummers!

Hooray for Christmas!

Tis' the Season!

This is Charlotte's first Christmas which means I have to go absolutely crazy buying "First Christmas" things like ornaments, dresses, pj's, and t-shirts. Assuming this is my last baby I just *HAVE* to have these things!

I also forced my adorable children to get photos taken at JC Penney when they very clearly would have much rather cried in the quiet and non-eye prying public. Oh well, a mother must do what a mother must do!

So I put them in their first of I'm sure many matching dresses and drove to our local mall and wheeled in a screaming one month old and fidgety toddler through the very breakable home crystal department and arrived red faced at the photo counter. I checked in and sat down to nurse my screaming child while the other one I convinced to run back and forth down the hallway "as fast as you can". People gave me looks of pity or annoyance depending on if they had/have children and I tried to keep it together. Yes there were tears in the bathroom when I changed the baby's diaper for the second time and my happy toddler declared extremely loud that she was going to "open all the doors".

Over an hour, two nursing sessions, and about one hundred "faster, faster, run faster"s we finally made it to the tiny little photo room. One child slept through the whole thing while the other decided it was best to stick her tongue out and smile with "all my teef".

Here is the "best" photo we got:

Yes, my baby has a Mohawk. Yes, Ella's hair is messy but hey they aren't screaming!

I declared it a very successful endeavor full of many memories so to reward my toddler (i.e. myself) we went to the Top Pot Donuts. Then we went home and both children passed out in the car and I sat and finished my coffee.

Tis' the season!

My First Day Out Numbered!

Yesterday was my first day alone with the girls as Brad went back to work. I was nervous and to be honest a little overwhelmed at the idea of not only being alone but being outnumbered!

Instead of giving a play by play I thought I would give a list of things that did and did not happen yesterday:

THINGS THAT DID HAPPEN
1. We woke up nice and early - okay early but nice, eh...
2. Breakfast was made and consumed by all
3. Tummy time
4. A shower
5. Kitchen and dishes were cleaned
6. A little too much Mickey Mouse was watched
7. Two Band-Aids we used
8. An icepack was also used
9. Four toddler tantrums
10. One time out
11. More diapers were changed than I would care to mention
12. Floor was swept, twice
13. Floor was mopped, by mommy and then also by Ella
14. Two waffles may have been consumed by one toddler for lunch
15. The phrase "gentle with baby!" became the phrase of the day

THINGS THAT DID NOT HAPPEN
1. Make up
2. Shower BEFORE noon
3. Dinner made
4. Laundry put away
5. Leaving the house during daylight hours
6. Tears from mommy - now the other two had plenty of tears for all three of us
7. Educational learning (ha!)
8. Toys picked up
9. Hair brushed and dried after late in the day shower
10. Lunch that did not include syrup
11. Christmas shopping started
12. Baby book started and photos ordered
13. Grocery shopping for Thanksgiving meal
14. Vacuuming or dusting
15. Mommy running out of the house because she went bonkers

So there you go. Some good things, some not so good things. The life of being a mom of two will take adjustment. So far it isn't too hard because one of us sleeps most of the day and can't move much. Thank goodness! The other one is a little crazy ball of energy that is having some mommy issues where she also wants to be rocked like baby and when baby cries she also feels the need to cry. Hooray!

I am on day #2 so we'll see how today goes...so far I did get a shower before noon so that is a win in my book!

Newborn Photos!

I can't say thank you enough to our friend Charlotte Lewis for taking these beautiful photos of our little Charlotte. Her photography is beautiful and she captured so many sweet poses that I know we will cherish them for years to come - especially once we forget how exhausted and overwhelmed we were during the time these were taken.

I wanted to share them with all of you! If you are looking for a photographer please contact Charlotte Lewis at her website www.charlottelewisphotography.com!

Who needs sleep anyway?!

Wait...I need sleep! It has been a rough couple of weeks. Charlotte goes to bed very late (often after 4am) and Ella wakes up very early (sometimes 6:30am) so needless to say we are very tired in this house. It is getting easier with the constant feedings and diapers that you sort of forget by the time you have a toddler, but poor Ella is having some mommy issues because she wants to be close to me also. So here are a few things I've learned about having two children:

1. People will tell you that you should have waiting until the older one was older. Thanks for that one. I honestly don't believe there is a right time for having kids, you just do it and it works because it is life. Back in the day I doubt people told families that they had too many children or had children too close together so it kind of blows my mind that anyone thinks they get to have a say on these choices now. Just saying...it is rude people. Just rude.

2. When one is eating, the other will ultimately want to eat. It is better to just feed them at the same time, especially if a toddler claims they are not hungry because they will wait until you can't move to decide they are starving to death.

3. Carve out time for just you and one of the kids. It is hard, but worth it.

4. Meltdowns will ensue. Just deal with it and try to move on...or leave the house. Leaving helps...as does sleeping.

5. Commiserate with your significant other. This is a big one. Thank God for my sweet husband!

So there are my top 5 tips or at least things that you need to keep in mind. Love every second of it. Ha! Or just survive. Isn't that all we can do?

And then there were four...

Welcome to the world, Charlotte Jean!

We became a family of four on November 5, 2013 at 12:21am when our sweet Charlotte Jean was born. She was 7lbs 10oz and 20 inches, also known as a big baby! We were told my whole pregnancy that she would be small but she proved them wrong! She is anything but small, she is a big and beautiful personality that has the lungs to let you know what she wants.

Here is Charlotte's birth story for those of you who like birth stories (because I love them!):

I had a doctor's appointment the morning of November 4th and the doctor had said I was only 4 cms and probably wouldn't go another week, but scheduled my induction for 11/12/2013 just "in case" which scared me because that meant a whole other week of being pregnant. I had been very uncomfortable and still was battling feeling nauseous and having major pain from a split pelvis. We came home and decided to call my mom to come over since she had several days off in a row and that way we would have someone here to watch Ella. My mom left work early and made the drive from Spokane.

I had a few pains and contractions, but nothing too exciting the rest of the day. Then my mom got here and things started to get more painful. After the contractions became closer together we decided to head in to the hospital. It was about 8pm and I was watching the Monday Night Football game of the Giants and Packers and was a little upset that I couldn't finish he game. Especially because Aaron Rogers got hurt so it was an interesting game!

We got the hospital and they admitted me. The contractions got stronger and I requested to sit in the bathtub the same as I did with Ella. I didn't want drugs and just wanted to go as natural as possible. It got harder and harder and I finally told Brad that I couldn't do it anymore. I felt like no one was listening to me as I was saying I couldn't do it...and then I started pushing without me even knowing it. The nurse semi-freaked out because I was still in the tub and they didn't want me to give birth in the tub so they pulled me out and I basically threw myself on the bed and started pushing. The doctor on call was Dr Fure. He is a very no-nonsense man and was taking his time. The nurses kept making me stop pushing because he wasn't ready. Finally after 15 minutes of pushing and stopping out came Charlotte perfectly red and screaming. She came out with her hand up by her head so it wasn't the most pleasant experience, but she was healthy and perfect! They have a new policy where the mom is the only one allowed to hold the baby for the first hour, so for an hour I sat holding my sweet baby as she cried and wiggled. I fed her and then they came in to give her a bath. She hated the bath. Poor thing!

We were then taken to the recovery room and it was very late/early in the morning I guess at this point! Not much sleep happened that first day. Brad went home about 5am and Charlotte and I were alone in the room. She didn't like to be put down so I held her all night. The nurses would come in and comment how perfect she was, that she was a great eater and had the most wonderful hair!

Finally the next day Ella came to meet her sister. She immediately knew it was her baby sister and wanted to hold her. Ella yelled at the nurse when she came in to take the baby's vitals and told her it was "my baby!". She held her and kissed her and then was ready to run around and get into everything in the room. Oh the life of a toddler!

We came home that Wednesday and had a nice quiet day with my mom here and Ella at daycare. When Ella got home she cuddled with me and her sister and wanted to touch and look at Charlotte. She shared her stuffed puppy and also shared her ability to cry like a baby too. Apparently when Charlotte cries Ella also needs to cry.

Well we are over a week as a family of four and it has been difficult but worth it. Charlotte is a sweet baby that is apparently a night owl who likes to make sure everyone else is awake too. Ella is having some jealousy issues but overall has been very good with her sister and with adjusting to not being an only child. So the new adventure begins!

Here are a few photos of our first week together:

Getting Ready for Baby #2

So...hi! I haven't written in a long time and life has gotten away from me. We are expecting baby #2 any day now. Like literally, any moment she can make her magical appearance and I'd be very happy to meet her! This pregnancy has been less than blissful which is why the very long and much overdue blogging break.

First off, I had Hyperemesis Gravidarum, or extreme morning sickness. I couldn't keep anything down including water or as everyone who thinks it is just an upset tummy would suggest saltine crackers. Nope. My body hated all things and I think I threw up about 100 times a day. I had to go in twice a week for fluid infusions and my arms looked like a drug addict. I also looked like hell as I was reminded on a daily basis by people. It got so extreme that my lovely daughter would go to her little potty and pretend to barf. She also would barf in her play bowls, and sinks. Yes. Daycare I'm sure thought it was lovely.

I had HG for about four months with nausea for the rest of the pregnancy. I still gained weight because if I was hungry I had to eat RIGHT AWAY or risk gagging for hours. It was awesome.

So getting past that, I am officially due on Halloween which is less than a week away. Hooray for maybe being almost done with this pregnancy! I haven't been able to use most shampoos, lotions, soaps, or deodorants with scents because they make me gag. Poor husband also has had to change his choice of fragranced items. I'm sure he is excited to finally use his giant bag of reject soaps that now lives on our back porch because I can smell them through the bag.

We are expecting another sweet little girl! Ella will be a sister and I can't be more excited for her! I always wanted a sister so I can't wait for her to have a built in friend for the rest of her life, or at least I hope so! Ella is a bit bossy so her little sister will need to fall in line quickly or else Ella will tell her what is up...poor thing!

We had photos done by Coates Photographer so here are a few of my favorites:

 

We also moved to a new house during all of this lovely barfing, so we are in a bigger house with more rooms and a lovely backyard! Very excited and exhausting for this pregnant lady. I feel blessed to have a lovely home and almost two lovely little girls!

 

So that's the update so far...more to come and hopefully some photos of a sweet little baby girl to be joining the family soon!