tulip festival glee!

If you read my last post, you'll remember my blogging struggle. But today I am forcing myself to do it because we had such a wonderful day at the tulip fields and I really don't want to leave it out :)

Every spring we look forward to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival thats about 30 minutes away. It never disappoints! The tulips were beautiful and the weather was satisfactory minus a bit of a windchill in those big, open fields. :)

I couldn't get enough of these two girlies. How sweet are they?!

After exploring the tulip varieties the kids played on their giant playground. It was the perfect afternoon! I LOVE SPRING!

bleh, blogging.

It's pretty obvious that I just don't blog as much as I used to. There are a few reasons for this...

1. My blog design. URG. I can never get it right. I change it like I change my clothes- over & over agin until it feels right...which takes a few dozen tries. I'm still working on it. I really want to get our family out into the mountains to take some fun pictures for the blog layout. We will see if this actually happens or not. Anyways...every time I login to blogger my stomach churns looking at my current "look". *sigh*
I know it's a stupid reason to not blog, but there it is.

2. Motherhood. Being a mom to three very demanding kiddos has taken most of my time & energy. Um, I mean ALL of my time & energy. I decided I needed to take time out for me for at least 30 minutes a day, and is that thing blogging? Nope. Sorry, blog. It's usually working out or baking. And yes I realize those two things are contradictory...

3. What to say, what to say...most of the time I just don't know WHAT to write about. It's not that we're boring. I mean- we DO go out and do stuff, but I often wonder who actually cares... I like to think of this blog as a sort of family journal, so in the past I've blogged about EVERYthing. From the adorable/funny things my kids would say to festive craft projects to what the weather was like. It was fun and all, but if I kept that up I would literally be at my computer blogging constantly. I'm realizing more now than ever just how precious my time is, and I'd rather be spending that time doing other things. I still like to put up a post every now and then, but certainly not as much as I used to.

I greatly admire those mommas that can whip out a blog post like *that* and not have to neglect their kids doing it. But when I start to write a post, it takes me a long while to get it done. I put a lot of work into editing and re-sizing pictures and getting my words out in just the right way. It's difficult to find a time frame long enough for me to do this without ignoring the demands of a child (or all children!). Basically, blogging is exhausting.

4. This last reason need only be explained in ONE word. CHATBOOKS.
You guys, the Chatbooks app has transformed my life. I used to blog most of my Instagram pictures because I didn't want them on my phone only. I wanted to somehow document all those sweet memories onto a physical platform, and since I thought I'd be publishing my blog someday I would dump them into a blog post. Then I discovered Chatbooks and it has eliminated the need to for this because it makes books out of my pictures all by itself! I have to do nothing- it does it for me. One less reason to blog all the stinking time. :)

So, I find myself in a blogging funk. Do I wish I did it more? Maybe. Do I feel guilty over not doing it as much? Not really. Will I keep my blog going? Absolutely...but don't expect frequent posts. This old thing is pretty low on my list of priorities these days. Maybe that will change, maybe not. All I know is- life is GOOD. Even with three sick kids at home right now, my heart is full of gratitude for my family. The Lord is GOOD, yall. My Savior knows me and hears me and loves me. What more could I want out of life?

Happy blogging, friends! I still enjoy reading all your posts and keeping up with your families, I promise :)

Penelope at 4 months

4 months! Yipee!

Penelope has a few new talents...she rolls over both ways (we work on this a LOT), can kinda sorta sit up on her own for about 5 seconds (we work on this almost never), laughs at the drop of a hat, actually enjoys her tubby time (meaning: she now smiles during her bath, ha), grabs her toes and holds on, squeezes her toys when you pull them away from her, and imitates our expressions with bubbles from her mouth. So yeah, she's pretty darn cute.

A few not so fun things:
She is a light sleeper during the day. Kids wake her up constantly. Those people that tell me that babies adjust to the noise and she'll be fine, blah blah blah...she hasn't adjusted and it's been FOUR months, people.

Add to that the fact that she now gets "night terrors". They may not be terrors, exactly...but some unholy thing wakes her up from her DEEP sleep and out of nowhere she is screaming at us. Not fussing or whining, but screaming. She does this about 5 times each night before settling in completely...some nights her last round of screaming ends at 2 or 3. So we often get only a few hours of sleep.

When I daydream about baby #4, I need only remember the exhaustion and frustration we feel when these screaming bouts occur. And just like that, I'm ready to have my tubes tied. Not really...but maybe...

Because of those long nights, I tend to "sleep in" after Jonathan leaves for work. Well it's more like I lie in bed, eyes wide open, forcing myself to get more shut-eye before facing the day. We made a Good Morning chart for the two older kids. When they behave and don't destroy the house while I'm "sleeping", they get a smiley face for that day. Ten days of smileys means they draw a prize. And these prizes are legit. We're talking trips to the zoo, movies, new toys, etc. That's how desperate I am for a few hours of peace. This system is working nicely for now :)

Anyways- back to baby! Last night I dug out all of Charlotte's 3-6 month size clothing for Penelope. Hand-me-downs from myself are the best. I love remembering all the fun outfits I bought for my first daughter.

I was secretly really happy that P's four month sticker was green- perfect for March! And then I stole Charlotte's gold bow. I love having two girlies who can swap stuff.

That last one is my favorite. Gosh how I love her.