Potential (HUGE) NCF Roadtrip

Some may call us crazy. Some have tried to keep a straight face when we've told them about it. Some have laughed a, "Good luck with that," laugh. ;)

We call it: ADVENTURE!

Hubby and I have always LOVED finding little or big adventures to go on together (I'll have to post some sometime :)). And we want to continue with fun adventures with our littles too!

Hubby has business trips every few months or so and the babies and I have been able to tag along with him, a few hours away to the beach or eight hours away to Charleston, South Carolina!

With a family beach trip with Hubby's family, a couple business trips, and hope to visit my Aunt, Dad (who is actually coming to visit next month), and family and let them see the babies and meet Littlest, we may have one long trip! My Aunt and fam mean so much to us. We usually save up and fly out a couple/few times a year. And one of those times is usually when the babies turn 3 months old. We keep debating flying versus driving with three littles... :)...

This is the potential plan... ;)

1. Vacay to Emerald Isle, NC - 5 1/2 hours - probably 1 week stay

2. Business trip to Charleston, SC - 5 hours - approx. 3 days

3. Business trip to Huntsville, AL - 8 hours - approx. 3 days

4. Visiting family in a suburb just outside of Phoenix, AZ - 24 hours - - 3 to 4 days drive & 1 to 1 /2 weeks stay

ahhhh! :) So we'd be going through Atlanta, Little Rock AR, Oklahoma City OK, the tip of Texas, Albu"coi"que and have talked with several Oklahoma friends so far about visiting :)

And here is the trip back home... - 33 hours ;) - 3 to 4 days drive

We figure we'll stop a couple times to visit friends on the way there and/or a couple on the way back. On the way back our route will be a little different and looks like we'll be going by Nashville TN. :)

Total trip = ~4 weeks

We drove the route back when I was 30 weeks pregnant (ETA: with Little and BabyBoy almost 2 yrs old :)) and we moved back to the east coast, and we zigzagged to visit friends along the way!

We have been talking about this for months and really want to make it work because family is so important to us and it would be an adventure. :)

I've told a couple friends how the babies, when they were younger, always slept pretty well on travel, but now that they've gotten a little older and more aware, I'm afraid they won't sleep as well and they'd be little maniacs when we visit friends along the way ;). (you know they are normally very sweet and well behaved overall :) and they do, do a good job :))

We'll still have to figure out accommodations, besides the business trips (paid for! :)), along the way, if anyone has suggestions of good towns or places to stay, eat, or things to do, when we stop, we would love it!

4 Months Old!

Look who is 4 months old! I cannot believe it!

Littlest turned 4 months (17 weeks!) on May 15th. I stand by something I tweeted that day, that I really want to keep going by weeks until she is... 30 years old, so I don't age her... or myself. ;) She sounds so much older when we use months. :)

She is so big, so sweet, and has the most kissable and nibble-able cheeks! See??

Littlest, HM, Na-Na, Sweet Love, Baby Girl, The Na, My Love, Lovebug, and more ;)...

You are such a laid back sweet girl

You have such a fun playful personality

You love Eskimo kisses and talking :)

You love going for walks

You love to smile and laugh

You are rockin' tummy time, love talking and playing (grabbing, shaking, and bringing them to your mouth) with your toys on your mat, and have mastered rolling from your back to your tummy! You even get your little knees underneath you and scoot forward. :)

You love chewing and sucking on your fingers and I sure hope it's just because you're still discovering them and getting better and better at using them and not because you're teething as some people have asked! :)

We love all of your fun and sweet expressions

We love you more than words.

So much love and big cuddle hugs,

Mommy

Weight: around 15 lbs

Height: TBD this week :)

Diaper Size: 2 ready to go to 3s when we finish out the 2s we have left :)

Clothes: 3-6 and 6-9 months some 6-12

Sleeping: 12 hours at night (you're finally back to your good sleeping ways :)) We just stopped swaddling you last week because you were rolling so much!

Love and Hugs

Hi Fam and Friends! I hope y'all are doing so well!

I have come to say that I am sorry. Life has been a liiiittle busy and my energy and time has been soaking up this fantastic fam of mine. (and some resting for mama ;))

I appreciate every single one of you who reads our 'lil life as an NCF (caveated: some artificial caffeine for mama required ;)) and I love and am SO thankful for every comment you leave! True statement!

I feel so badly that I have not been able to keep up with y'all for a little while now. I wanted to let you know that I haven't been reading or commenting solely because there are not 33 1/2 hours in a day, NOT because of anything personal at all.

{Mother's Day (self-timer!) oh I love ALL of their smiles! :)}

We have been getting into a great routine, and then have been pushed out of it with different activities and adventures, getting back to it again, working through times of extra discipline and testing, great sleeping gone awry, working to get it back, going to MOPs, Hubby's softball games (so glad he's getting to play again), tagging along with Hubby on a business trip (to the beach :)), events, playdates/groups, Hubby leading and us hosting small group each week, silly stresses that drain. energy. fast., trying to stave off my insecurity of feelings of rejection in real life and blog/twitterland (silly but real :)), wonderful and tiring non-stop days, striving/attempting to keep the house (how do we use so many dishes and so much laundry? ;))... and more (including the fact that I have been losing my mind - oh boy, blog post to come!). :)

Thank you for sticking with me even though I have not been able to reciprocate lately. I'm coming to you soon! And if you see a comment from me on someone's blog and not on yours yet, it just means I haven't gotten to you yet.

Lots of love and hugs!

Mommy Fears. Overprotective or Highly Cautious?

I admit it is a liiiittle long but this is a very honest post about being a mommy (and daddy) and always wanting our babies (3 1/2, 1 1/2, and 14 weeks old) to be safe. Understanding that God is in control while also wanting to protect these sweet lil' littles ourselves. And I feel like this is a subject that people don't really talk about.

Little Preface

There is a fine line, to me/us, of protecting our babies and trusting God. We have said this before about making big decisions too. There is a fine line of using logic to plan and trusting God with the outcome. There needs to be both, but where is the line drawn?

Hubby and I are both, admittedly, control freaks. We're not sure how we got this way. :) Maybe because we had to partially take care of ourselves, in different ways, starting from a young age. I started working in high school, paid my way (racked up some loans ;) and my fab Mom helped when she could) through college, bought my 1st couple cars ('83 Nissan Sentra followed by a '91 Ford Probe... silver... pop up lights... some kick... loved that car ;)), insurance, etc. Hubby taught himself *a lot.* He is an amazing Hubby and Daddy, and has taught himself how to do home projects (plumbing, lighting, some carpentry, and more), finances/budgeting/being fiscally conservative, dealings with real estate and so much more.

My Mom also made the point the other night that one reason she thinks it is, is because I don't want to make a mistake. True true as well. I don't like to make mistakes. I don't like to fail at things, especially in front of other people. :) Not saying it doesn't happen, but I hate it when it does. :)

I have always been a bit of a worrier, some times less than others (something I've been working on for years), but mommyhood has amplified the worrying and crazy thoughts that go through my head (Hubby too) in an effort to want and make sure that the babies are always safe.

Concerns* for the littles

Climbing. Spotting them when they climb, especially early on. A foot or a hand could slip.

(Especially being boys?) Being unaware of their surroundings/edges when playing.

Playgrounds (there may be an entire post on this at some point!)... all of the openings. Being pushed off the playground or other kids running by, and in an effort not to get pushed or run over they step back and not realize there is an opening.

Riding bikes or running down hills/driveway and running/turning too quickly and falling/getting hurt.

Sleeping in a bed in another place. Worried they could fall out of bed and bonk on a side table (although we've been known to rearrange hotel rooms ;)) or if in another house (beach house, etc) they could open the door to their room, and we wouldn't hear it (or see in video monitor), and get hurt in the house/fall down stairs or make it out of the house and get very hurt.

People carrying the babies or holding them on decks or by ledges. So many think that because they are a certain age or think they are certain age that they'll never try to dive or get down and what if they're not holding tight enough. I am sweating just thinking about it.

Going to school and learning or hearing bad language/concepts that we'll have to reteach each time. (we work so hard to instill good manners/obedience/etc. they're not perfect but we try to work from their hearts)

Standing up and slipping and bonking in the bathtub.

Making sure that when we/I get them out of the car to go in a store, I always have a hand on them. So many people let their little ones walk and walk far away from them, and what if that one time, they decide to run after something (even if usually well behaved) or you are dependent on other drivers to be safe (yikes).

Strangers. They are such sweet social little bugs. (ETA: not that they're ever very far from us ;))

Bleachers. Sharp edges, potential to fall back/off.

Coffee tables. We don't have any since we had BabyBoy but playing/visiting at someone else's house, falling and hitting the corner in a bad place (eye, head...). (Ottomans work great!)

Partial Conclusion

I know it is terrible to think about these things. But they are all thoughts that have made their way through my (and Hubby's) head. And there maaaaay be more ;). I know a lot of times it is the devil poking a tender spot but they are also very real worries. I never want our babies to get hurt. We all get little bonks, I'm talking about more than a little bonk or situation.

I have recently thought about most of the worries and, especially for BabyBoy (3 1/2), most of the everyday circumstance worries he really wouldn't get that hurt.

And then I think, our babies are God's babies to us on loan to do His work and spread His word. Shouldn't we then fully trust Him all the time that He has our babies' safety in His hands. But on the other hand, as flesh, I (we) want to be in complete control, to take precautions and make sure they are safe, that they don't get hurt, or get their little hearts broken. (control freak much?) There should be a healthy ;) balance of both. I fall a little more on the unhealthy than Hubby but he is very close to my location on the protective train :).

Does any of this sound at all familiar to you or completely crazy?

*My (our) aim is to never show them or display the worry but to give them confidence in everything they attempt and do (within reason ;-)). And they are such good boys but all littles have the potential to be unpredictable and they can all have times of disobedience.