so far...

so not good! One of my goals for the new year was to BLOG MORE (or, I'd take BLOG AT ALL!) as there are so many moments in each week I think - I should write this down, I might like to remember this, and yet finding the time (and motivation) is the most difficult thing for me.

It has been yet another busy and chaotic two weeks, with the three littles getting sick yet again. This time, Holden and Beckett shared what seemed to be a somewhat gentle flu (I use "gentle" loosely - as my four wardrobe changes each day due to puke did get old pretty quickly) and Dawson luckily, so far (*KNOCK ON WOOD*) only has a cold. I know I say it everytime, with every child, but Beckett really and truly is the Most Miserable Sick Baby. His sleeping issues have already been so awful since his birth day - screaming for 3 hours straight before finally succumbing - but when he's sick, he literally will not sleep anywhere but in my arms. I have been trying so hard not to continue this habit, as it leaves me completely nonfunctional around the house, but when he's sick lack of sleep seems to worsen everything. Today he spent a good 2 hours sleeping on my chest while I tried to play with Dawson at the same time. Holden, Dream Baby that he still is, had climbed into his crib and put himself down for a nap. :)



Despite Beckett's difficulties, he is a total sweetheart momma's boy and when he follows after me (because he's almost running, you know) with arms outstretched and a butter-churning "Mama, Mama..." falling from his lips, you just can't help but sweep him up in a hug and carry him to wherever he wishes to go.





Classes start up again for me on Thursday - I feel just as nervous as last semester! Hopefully with a lighter load I find a groove faster this time. Still, Chemistry, Biology... not my faves.

I did complete one of my various self-assigned house projects recently - painting the bedroom that Macy has been moved into, after she decided she wanted to room with her upcoming baby brother, Finn. I found some cute girly bedding that had a boyish pattern within it, got Finn coordinating crib bedding in that pattern (green gingham), and then set out to get the walls to match. There probably were easier routes to painting gingham on walls, but in the end I went with good ol' eyeballing, taping and rolling. I lost track of the number of hours I spent - always late at night after my potential art assistants were in bed - doing those stripes, but I'm really happy with how it turned out and even happier to be done! Next up of course is the big boys new room and the little boys new room. Ugh...



And if those projects aren't enough to fill my endless supply of free time after hours (>insert eyeroll) then obsessive vacation planning should fill up the rest. After agonizing for weeks over what to do, where to go, whether to go anywhere at all, we made a decision and reservations within a matter of hours. We have not taken a "real" vacation since The Trip That Shall Not Be Named in the summer of 2007 (re: Captiva Island, FL, 3 little kids, 1 pregnant belly, millions of no-see-um bugs). So the last week of February (yes, only 38 days away!!!!) we are jumping back into the Crazy Pool head first!

from scratch

I have so many excuses reasons for failing to blog for the past oh, 8 months or so. They all involve children, school, chaos, life in general.

It felt like time for a fresh start though, and I miss having a creative outlet. I have enjoyed reading a few blogs that have provided a lot of inspiration - this wonderful one in particular - and I feel like I too should somehow be able to scrape together the time to document our daily happenings. I used to feel like those that blogged pretty faithfully, complete with pictures of their everyday activities, must spend so much time capturing and uploading and typing up their life that they couldn't possibly have time to actually live it.

And yet the blur of the past year has shown me that maybe that's the only way to force myself to slow down and digest and evaluate and remember.

I also really like the idea of setting specific (or, at least somewhat-in-the-ballpark-of-specific) goals for myself in managing our family and life in general that will hopefully make this coming year much less stressful than the last. The biggest curve ball we've dealt with is that I made the huge decision to go back to school. The truth is I could have waited. I have no intention of rejoining the work force until our youngest child is at least in preK and seeing as we have a new baby (BOY!) coming this May, and we will most likely complete our family on an even number with #8 hopefully late next year, that's a few years away. But I felt like I needed to get started, to dive in before I got cold feet. I love staying home with my kids, but once they're all in school all day, I think I will need some outside activity and well, we are eager to be a two-income family once more. I've been toying with nursing or psychology; I may settle for nursing in the mental health field. I am proud of myself for surviving the first semester with a full credit load and all As, but it was the most stress I've endured in a very long time and I'm hoping with a few less credits this semester and a better plan for time management (ha!) things feel more under control this coming semester.

On top of all that, we lost our minivan in a flash flood in the spring (which turned out to be a blessing as it meant a new Suburban to fit our future growing family!), had 2 tonsillectomy/adenoidectomies and oral surgery for 2 kiddos in the summer, had our entire first floor destroyed in an area-encompassing flooding in September, saw Dawson in PICU with severe croup for 3 days and have been so sick with every virus in existence that we surely should be immune to everything by now but somehow, are not.

Ultimately, I recognize this is all an incredibly crazy venture. But then again, most people would say that so too is raising 6-going-on-7 little kids! Hence, the title of the blog - on the outside, it surely looks like we are partaking in a circus; on the inside, we affectionately agree! Here's hoping 2012 proves to be the best year yet for our own special Greatest Show on Earth! ^_^