Category Archives: THREE

It’s a fine line.

Personalities are a funny thing. Each kid definitely has their own distinct personality. Lincoln has always been a bit of a curmudgeon old man that is very honest with how he is feeling and doesn’t care much for change… He constantly tells me he is not going to get big because he likes being small. He was downright pissed for months after we gave away his crib and moved him into a toddler bed. Imagine now a similar conversation we are having as we talk about transitioning to a twin size bed.

He likes what he likes. Who can fault him for that, right?

Of course, there are times where his grumpiness leans a little more on the side of downright mean. Case in point? Daycare. He called a kid stupid for whatever reason. His teacher says, “Lincoln, we don’t call our friends stupid.” Lincoln’s response? “He’s not my friend.”

Yes, that really happened. 

Last weekend, we were on our way home from running some errands when I looked in the backseat and saw him zoning out while looking out the window.

“Lincoln, you look tired bud. Are you going to fall asleep?”

Matter-of-factly, without breaking his gaze out the window he replies, “No. I’m just not interested in talking to anyone right now.”

Well OK then, Sir. 

The kid has the makings of being just a brutally honest introvert or an asshole. At this point, it’s really still up in the air. And we know as adults, it really is a fine line, isn’t it?

Life Update

I think it’s time to get back to the basics. When I first started this blog (over SIX years ago!) the whole point was to keep friends and family, near and far, up to date on the life and times of Little Miss Rylee. Then people other than friends and family started reading the blog, I started posting 3-5 times a week, making a little money and somewhere along the way I lost touch with why I started blogging. Between that and life getting more and more busy I just got overwhelmed with this space and the unrealistic expectations I’d set for myself.

And so here we are.

Getting back to the basics I figured I’d start by trying to give some life updates on the family. On a semi-regular basis maybe?

Rylee continues to kick serious booty at school. Sure, she is smart, but she also works really hard. I love that about her. She’s reading at almost a third grade level. Her math skills are just about off the charts. Like, literally. Her 2nd quarter state math tests put her in the 98th percentile. Yes, in the state. She continues to blow me away and at the rate she’s going she’ll be better than me at math by the time she’s out of elementary school. Other than school, she still loves art, Taylor Swift, board games, playing mine craft on her ipod, and tacos. She tells me her favorite colors are no longer orange and pink. Well, she “still likes, them, but just like not super bright pink or anything.” Her sense of humor is on point. She doesn’t have a boyfriend. She’s lost 5 teeth so far.

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Reese is so full of life! A typical 2.5 year old, she is opinionated as all get out. She makes us laugh all the time. And once she knows she’s being funny she is relentless. She will definitely be the class clown. She also gives some killer dirty looks. (Gets that from her mama.) She’s thoughtful and polite and loves to be a helper. I feel like I need to add more here to make her update more even with the other two, alas I can’t think of anything else to report, Sorry future Reese, I’m definitely not helping with that middle child complex.

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Andy and I have talked about getting Ry back into gymnastics and trying it with Reese too. I just keep forgetting to look up class times.

Oh and I just remembered something else about Reese. We transitioned her to a toddler bed over Christmas break.

Lincoln is actually asleep on me as I’m typing this. Weekends are for snuggle naps, right? He just had his 4 month well-baby check earlier this week. He’s quite the little peanut – just breaking 14 lbs (19th percentile) and 22.5″ long (34th percentile).  He’s generally a happy guy. His blond fuzzy hair cracks me up. His lashes are to die for. He found his toes! He’s also kind of a jerk. He figured out last week how to knock the binkie out of his mouth and replace it with his thumb. Intentionally. Then he’d smile. He’s rolling over from back to stomach. He’s occasionally sleeping through the night. He definitely favors me over Andy and even though I feel kind of bad for Andy, I’m not going to lie, I kind of love it.

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Andy is busy with work and the property, as usual. We had some broken pipes in our pump house last month and like most things with this place, it took way longer to fix than it should have because once he got in there to fix what he thought was the problem, he discovered a bunch of other stuff wrong. It’s exhausting. And expensive! He also cracked a rib or two while he was dealing with all of that so that’s been fun.

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As for me? Being back at work full time has been a pretty easy adjustment. My new role is going well. It’s a bit of an adjustment to go from my old role of pretty much just copy writing to managing a team and keeping track of multiple moving pieces. It’s something I used to do at all my other jobs and it’s coming back to me, but there are definitely times where I feel like I have ADHD or something. One of the first things I had to do was plan a marketing retreat. Overall it went well and it felt pretty good to kind of knock it out of the park. I finally figured out how to french braid! I’m losing hair in disturbing amounts. Meal planning is still my sanity keeper. I’ve started taking a Barre style work out class on Saturday mornings. It’s amazing and I love it and if you live in my area, you really should try it out.

And at this point, that’s all I’ve got. As always, I have so many things I want to blog about. Maybe someday.

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Oh boy!

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The day Rylee found out we were going to have another baby she was clear she wanted a brother. This whole time I’ve been sure that this will would be another girl.

The other night Rylee was trying to convince me to let her skip school and come with us to the ultrasound. We stuck to our guns and told her we would think of a fun way to tell her tonight before her tball game.

It was all a little rushed and not exactly pinterest-worthy but so indicative of where we are at as a family right now. And so…

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So yep. We’re having a boy!

I have no words. We are over the moon. Today was an amazing day. And Andy’s birthday to boot.

Yep. A good day indeed.

Climbing out of the darkness: The Plan

I knew I couldn’t stay in the dark place for the duration of this pregnancy. That wouldn’t be healthy for me, my family, or the little nugget growing inside of me. I needed to get over the guilt/fear/anger I was feeling.

Once the idea settled in my brain that this pregnancy wasn’t going  anywhere, I decided it was time for my attitude to change. But how?

Some of the reasons we had previously stated we were done with two had to do with finances, space, vehicles, and the fact that we got rid of all our baby stuff. So that’s where I turned first.

Finances: Would we have to sell our property? Could we afford it all? We don’t live extravagantly by any means. After crunching the numbers, adding in daycare costs, higher incidentals like diapers, gas, etc, we realized that based on what we were currently making we weren’t going to end up in the hole every month. Sure, we wouldn’t be putting as much money into savings as we had originally hoped/planned for, but we wouldn’t be going backwards. And of course, we won’t be making the same amount forever, so that was a nice thing to remember as well.

No bankruptcy…phew.

Space: One of the big reasons for thinking we’d stop at two kiddos was lack of space. Of course we have “space”…we live on 12 acres, but to us, our house is a bit on the small side for a family of five. And one bedroom short. Andy and I both grew up having to share bedrooms and while I don’t see anything wrong with that, he was dead.set.against.it. But we are still left with one bedroom short in our house. I reasoned with Andy that the reason he hates the idea of the kids sharing rooms is because he had to do it all through high school. He agreed. To be honest, if I would have had to share a room through those years I would hate the idea of it for our children too.

Right now, our kids are in prime room-sharing time. So what we will do is move Reese in to Rylee’s room. We will have to do some furniture rearranging, but our toddler bed will work out perfectly in there. Then, by the time Reese grows out of the toddler bed, I figure Rylee will be at the age that she’s over the whole room sharing thing so Reese will move back into the baby’s room. Of course the baby won’t really be a baby by that point. From there, we will build out our office/den into a 4th bedroom and boom, by the time the kids all need their own rooms, they will have them. That also gives us time to save money for the project.

Ok, this is totally doable.

Vehicles: Three kids means three car seats in some form or another. We don’t currently have a vehicle that will fit our current car seat configuration 3 across the back. (DO NOT TELL ME I SHOULD DRIVE THE SUBURBAN!) So of course initially we went to worst-case scenario and figured we’d automatically have to get a new car, one with a 3rd row seat option. And no, not a minivan. Could we even afford a new car? After more number crunching and research we realized that, worst-case scenario we would be able to afford a new car, we’d just need to trade in the Venza to do so. But what about a different set of car seats? No matter what the Jeep wouldn’t be wide enough, but the Venza could be. Of course this means more research…this time for widths of various car seat options. We found a combo of seats, (infant seat for the baby, convertible seat for Reese, and a booster for Reese) that should fit.

So the plan as it stands right now is an entire new set of car seats to go in the Venza. Since I’m the one that does 99.9% of pick-up and drop off I will start driving the Venza and the Jeep will become Andy’s daily driver. Obviously a new set of car seats will be cheaper in the long run that a new car.

Wow, this is all making me feel so much better.

Baby Stuff: I gave all of my maternity clothes away while I was still pregnant. That was how sure I was I wouldn’t need them anymore. As Reese outgrew clothing and gear we gave nearly all of it away. Thankfully, I will be able to “borrow” some of it back from family members I had passed it along to. Hopefully, by the time they do end up needing it for their own little ones, we will be done with it all and be able to pass it back. There will be some holes to fill in, but having to buy a few things is much more palatable than dropping a bunch of money on an entirely new wardrobe and baby gear.

And seriously…my first two kids had way more clothes than they were ever able to wear.

Slowly but surely, I started seeing that silver lining I’m always talking about. Soon enough it was clear to see that none of our plans were ruined. They were just…changed.

Changed plans I can do.

Oh by the way…

I’m pregnant.

Yup. It’s true.

And I know you’ve got all sorts of questions (everyone has) so to save on time, and since I’m clearly lacking any sort of creativity with this announcement, I thought I’d lay it all out there in FAQ form.

But wait…I thought you said you guys were done after two. Yup. We did. Funny how those things work out, hey? With the utmost respect for my husband, our uh bedroom life, and my friends struggling with infertility I will not go into details on how it happened but just know that yes, an “accidental third pregnancy” is a thing that can happen.

When are you due? October 4th.

But isn’t that like…a week after my sisters wedding? Yes. Please refer to FAQ number one.

So that means you’re how far along already? 15 weeks. Insane I know. I’m having a hard time keeping track of it myself…probably because I mostly just keep forgetting I’m pregnant in the first place. Thank goodness for my phone lighting up and telling me every time we start a new week.

Geez already!? So are you going to find out it it’s a boy or a girl? Duh! I’ll make that appt during my 16 week appt next week. Early to mid May maybe? {Update: Ultrasound appointment has been made for Monday, May 12!!}

Oh I bet you’re hoping for a boy! First off, sure yes, a boy would be great. But girls are pretty awesome too…I would know I already have two of them. And with our track record I’m assuming number three will be a girl as well and I won’t be any more or less disappointed one way or the other.

Well at least you still have all of your baby stuff... Ha. Ha ha. Hahahahahah…once again please refer to FAQ number one. We do have some stuff. And a lot of the other stuff I gave to family members and I’m able to temporarily borrow it back. But we will have some holes to fill in.

So are you excited? Well I won’t sit here and tell you I was jumping up and down the day I found out…my reaction was more that of somethings a truck driver or sailor would say followed by wanting to burst into tears and/or laugh hysterically and/or barf…and not from morning sickness. Once the initial shock wore off and we crunched our budget numbers and we got more used to the idea of…gulpthree kids we came to realize that it’s all good. Excited? I don’t know…maybe that’s not quite the right word. But it will be an adventure for sure!

I’m pretty sure we need to start buying lottery tickets.