MUCH harder than it looks!

I've been wanting a DSLR for a long time. The pictures you can take vs. a point and shoot just can't be compared. Especially with kids! You just need that faster shutter speed to snap away and capture that perfect shot!


I've been complaining since the baby was born that I'm missing all these great photo ops with him because my camera is just too slow. So Matt ran out and got me a Canon Rebel with all sorts of goodies. He knows in the long run that this is MUCH cheaper than the other option....keep having more babies so I can get those perfect shots! haha

So I plopped the kids out in the yard and got this great shot right on the first try....ha! Out of the 50 or so that I took...this is the only one that is somewhat decent. The lighting is way off because the sun is behind them. Joey isn't looking straight on and I hate that I didn't notice my neighbors ugly swingset in the background. But believe me...it was by far the best!



This shot wouldn't have been too bad except Brooke looks like she needs to poop and Joey's doing what he does best...sitting there like a blob staring at nothing.




So then I decided I would have them face the other direction. At which point all 3 of them proclaimed that I was trying to blind them for life by making them face the sun. Just shut up, smile and open your eyes damnit! Do you see the baby there...he doesn't look real secure huh?



And here we have the very last shot...







Yep! They faceplanted the baby! At this point I declared them all brats, grabbed the baby and stomped inside. As I'm stomping away I hear Brooke simply say, "Mom's having a mood swing."

How do you freeze time?





Do you see that....he's growing! Stop it already! There has to be a way to keep this sweet baby little forever! Usually by this point I'm exhausted and ready to hand them over to whoever is willing! But little Joey continues to be my dream baby. Seriously this kid is down right perfect. Sure he still gets up at night but I don't mind the opportunity to cuddle and stare at him even more than I already do. In fact...if I put him in his own bed he would probably sleep longer. But see...he misses me too much and insists on sleeping within 2 inches of me all night long. Matt doesn't even say a word about it anymore. He just pulls down the covers, lays Joey's blankets in the middle, then goes to sleep facing the wall. He understands there's a new man in my life.

I don't really like to share him much either. Yes..I am FULLY aware that I am creating a monster. And in a year from now when I'm at my wits end because this kid ONLY wants mommy you can say " I told you so". But I don't care. I want to spend every possible moment soaking in that baby sweetness because it just doesn't last long. I would have 5 more babies if they were all like him! But just a quick trip down memory lane quickly reminds me that I only have a 1 in 4 chance of having another just like him...and those are odds I'm not willing to risk. Well that and I hate being pregnant and I would have to find another husband because Matt would leave me.




Do you see that smile? This is the smile that I got this morning when I realized he's cutting a tooth! Yep...at 3 1/2 months he's already getting a tooth. Of course...wouldn't you know it that the one baby I choose to nurse past 6 weeks is the one that gets teeth early. The others were all close to a year! I calmly explained to him that he needs to be nice and not bite or I'll take his boobies away. He really likes boobies so hopefully he continues to be nice to me. But seriously...look at that picture! What baby is full of smiles when they're cutting teeth? See why he's the perfect baby?

I promise I dote on the other 3 all the time too! Hannah continues to amaze me with her self-driven motivation in absolutely everything she does! Brooke does something to make me laugh every.single.day! And Drew is really doing well with leaving me for preschool and is so excited for kindergarten. For some reason he doesn't like to be away from me much. For some reason he seems to be a bit of a momma's boy...in which I have absolutely nothing to do with. ;)

slackity slack slack

Yep...that's me. Major blog slacker here. I WILL catch up...just not right now. Hands are full/overflowing as usual. ;)

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Today is Grandma's birthday. She would've been 106 this year. Hard to believe she lived to be 102....but I know we would've all loved it if she had lived to be 150!

Makes me sad that she will never hold Joey like she did all my other babies. But I know she sees him and is up there chuckling to herself that I have 2 boys now. :)

Happy Birthday Grandma!! Marions and a draft beer will be had in your honor this weekend. :)

2 weeks already!!!

Why is it that when you're pregnant the time just crawls.... but the minute they're born it just flies! Joey is 2 weeks old already! It's just going by so fast! I'm trying to enjoy every single minute of it since he's the last.... seriously he is I promise!!

He is by far my easiest baby! The others were all hollerin... as Grandma Rie always called it :).. by this point. But this baby is just as content as can be. I think he knows with the chaos of the other 3 there's just no point in hollerin because he'll never be heard. ;) Poor little thing is being man handled by Drew ALL the time but never makes a peep!

Having a 4th has definitely changed my ways a bit. Since he's up every hour on the hour I'm a wee bit tired and many of my OCD's are flying right out the window! lol The other night Joey peed through his sleeper onto my bed. Jennymomof3 wouldve stripped the entire bed immediately. Jennymomof4 grabbed a towel, laid it on the wet spot and went back to bed! Brooke has been packing her own lunch for a week now. I have NO idea what she's putting in there... for all I know she's been eating Rice Krispy treats and Twizzlers! Drew has been jumping in the shower with whoever is taking one at the moment. I just don't have the energy to fill the tub, sit there while he plays in the tub for 30 minutes, and then cleaning out the mess of the entire bottle of soap he always dumps while he's in there! Hannah is loving my lack of attention to detail right now. She has trashed her bathroom and she knows I'm much too tired to even notice! I figure once her feet start sticking to the floor from all the hairspray and makeup then she might actually clean it. ;) And we've eaten pizza so many times in the last 2 weeks that I think they're about to just put us on auto delivery! We did have some very nice meals made for us by Jess and Julie ( thanks again!) but the rest of those nights it's pretty much been pizza!

We've also taken this baby all over the place already too! Cabin fever is in full force here! With temps a high in the 20's and snow, wind,etc. I can't even send the kids outide to play. So we've taken him to the mall, Dave&Busters and this week the museum. He doesn't really care where he goes...as long as his boobies are nearby. ;)

Inctroducing baby Joe :)

I am beyond thrilled to announce that Joseph Matthew arrived on Jan. 12 at 11:30 am. He was 6 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. And he was determined to outdo his brother and sisters by taking the longest to enter the world.....a full 36 hours of labor before he finally arrived....and only the last 3 were with drugs! =P

We are all so in love with our newest and LAST addition to our family! :) He looks exactly like Drew did as a newborn. If I have another Drew in the works I'm really in for it! lol

Happy Birthday Brooke! And a quick baby update.

Brooke turns 11 today....wow that went fast! We celebrated this weekend since she had school today and with me being due anyday we fit things in when we can.

She was really hoping that I would have the baby today and they would share a birthday. But with only 7 hours to go in the day....that's not going to happen. Some people say you never know...but my babies take ridicuously obnoxiously long to arrive so like I said...not going to happen. ;)

There's a snowstorm forecasted for Thursday so we all predict he'll arrive then....because my kids always have to have a grand entrance. Hannah and Brooke were both born during MAJOR snow/ice storms. And Drew was born on Easter...disrupting everyone's plans for the day. ;)

I feel fine for the most part. Can't sleep for shit but I think that's just prepping me for the next year ( or two!). Baby is still measuring small for 39 weeks but healthy.

And if you've tried to call me in the last 2 days and gotten a disconnected message...it's because I've ripped the damn thing out of the wall. ;)