Time does not stand still in this house

Time does not stand still in this house. We are always on the go either just around the house after the little ones or actually on the go running errands, playing Army, hanging out with friends, the list goes on. The only time we rest is bed time, which every day can never come soon enough, lol!

This past week has been some what of a blur. Last blog I really enjoyed sharing our week with everyone in photos so I tried it again this week. Friday we enjoyed a lovely lunch date with our dear friend Andrea and my cousin who is in town from England. We then went to Cabela's to show D there giant fish tank.

We were informed that we are able to move on in the adoption process, we can not wait until its final. I plan on flooding the world with pictures of this adorable girl that has stolen our hearts!

Saturday was a pretty relaxed day, we stayed at home as a family doing this & that and just relaxing. Always a wonderful Saturday when there is nothing on the calendar! We went for a really long walk with my Dad & Step Mom D cant get enough of "Papa" which is what she called both of them cause she cant say Grandma. She gets extremely overwhelmed with excitement whenever they come over its so cute to see. It was Saint Patrick's Day, so Norah got to wear an adorable outfit we got from Shawn's Aunt & cousin.

Sunday was church. Sometimes Drill or the kids prevent us from going, not this Sunday. Norah actually woke up a bit earlier than usual so we went to the 9 am service instead of 10:30. It was kind of nice I felt like I still had a lot of day left when we got home instead of feeling like its 1/2 over. All week I had been looking forward to going to my friend Tabetha's for a candle party... until my Husband decided he needed to go do some work in his classroom & told me I had to take the Girls with me. I don't dread going out with my kids but would love a mini break every once in a while lol! What Mom doesn't. Luckily D is live entertainment and steals everyones hearts so she had plenty of people to hold her and give her attention. Norah slept thru most of it. It was a cloudy rainy day in AZ. Snapped a photo on the way to Tabetha's and then on the way home.

Giant rain clouds!

A FULL rainbow! I couldn't get it all in 1 shot.

Monday was my typical chores at home stayin pjs all day kind of day! While the rest of the world dreads Mondays I love them! I think the kids do too, laying around in pjs all day!

Tuesday I took the Girls for a run. I am LOVING my BOB stroller it is so awesome! I bundled up the Girls cause it was slightly chilly Tuesday morning, I crank up Pandora on my iphone and were off. Ran for a 1/2 hour felt sore when I got home but a good sore. The Girls apparently were worn out from the run too, which was good cause they take a power nap every morning for 45 min - 1 hour. We got back just in time for them to sleep it was perfect, I was able to take a shower undisturbed!!

 Tuesday, Miss Norah turned 2 months old. The time seems to be flying by, but we are enjoying every minute of it! Here is her Dr trip in pictures and videos.

Loving the paper on the table, she would actually get fussy if I picked her up she liked the paper so much, lol!

Top left is in the waiting room. Top right & lower left is waiting for the Dr. Lower right is Dr gave us a thumbs up now were waiting for shots.

Warning: the video is sad so be careful. I had to document the shot reaction for Shawn he wanted to see it. She took it like a champ because she stopped crying as they were putting Band-Aids on then zonked right out.

Shots during & after

shots video

She did really well when we got home too, she pretty much just slept the shots off. Not really fussy and no temp at all. Such a tough Girl!

Wednesday was just a typical day. Our morning routine is pretty much the same I try not to vary if I can help it. All the parenting classes we have taken for Foster Care and my weird obsession with reading Parenting books. Kids thrive off of structure and my kids know the schedule and behave accordingly, it makes my life so much easier and puts us all at ease 95% of the time. Since Shawn isnt here during the day during the week if I ever leave him at home with the kids he would just kinda do whatever which is fine but when hes calling and asking why 1 or more of the kids is fussy... So, I typed out the kids schedules by the hour so he or a babysitter/Grandparents can follow it. Its been really great. No more calls from Shawn while I am out. I have conceded that I am OCD about a lot of things but it works for us and the kids so for now we stick with my anal retentiveness lol!! 

Fo is becoming more and more tolerant of the kids. He still has his old fart moments where he just wants to be left alone. But this was a super sweet moment I was able to capture!

The Girls LOVE each other already. Norah is constantly looking at D watching her closely and cooing at her. D is obsessed with kissing her, helping burp her and today even wiped her mouth with the burp rag. Its utterly adorable to watch these two. We are hoping they grow up to be best friends!

Wednesday night I went out to dinner with my Step Mom for company (My Dad was out of town & Shawn had to work late) and she cant get enough of the Girls. 

Getting ready to go to dinner with Grandma. D seriously gives Norah a kiss at least once every 15 min.

While we were at dinner I got a call asking to take a 2 year old little boy. This was the 5th call in 5 days, we had turned down the others because of my cousin visiting. But we went ahead and said ok to this guy. He was dropped off late Wednesday night. He is adorable, smart, kinda shy but very well behaved. He's struggling a little with nap time and bed time but each time is getting a little easier. I say give him a week and he will be adjusted. We found out he has an 8 mo. old brother so we are trying to get him too, he's currently at another Foster home. Hopefully they will bring him here this weekend and the boys can be together and the 2 year old might feel a little more settled with his brother here. Will keep you posted. Yes, we may seem crazy but if the Dugar's can do it well then so can we and we are giving a good home to kids who are victims and desperately need a safe, loving home. 

Yesterday, My childhood friend Laura was brave enough to watch all 3 of our kids with her own daughter here at our home while I went to volunteer at Shawns field day. She did great, the kids had fun and were all tired after a long play date. Field day was fun, I got sunburned and almost lost my voice and today my allergies are now kicking my butt :-)

Squeezed in a little snugging time before I went to field day.

Zonked after her play date!

I came home with an awesome sunburn, this picture does it no justice. In person its just about as red as the shirt I am wearing. 

Its finally Friday and were hanging out in our pjs good way to end the week. Norah is asleep in her swing, D is at the tail end of her power nap and the little guy is watching Cat In The Hat cartoon on PBS. Which allowed me to blog and have a cup of coffee I cant ask for more. Hopefully later my Sister will come over while the kids are napping and be here to respond if they stir so I can tackle some serious homework. We are anxious to see our friends Alaina & JD this weekend who are in town and had a baby Girl 4 months ago. Alaina & I went to High School together and its going to be so cool for our Girls to meet!! Hope everyone enjoys the weekend ahead.

Full steam ahead.

Didn't March just start yesterday? I could have sworn it did. Its already the 15th I cant believe it. We have been enjoying Spring Break this week (Shawn from teaching and myself from school). We were even adventurous enough to start a little Spring cleaning. We cleaned up the whole backyard the other day then spent the night on the patio enjoying a fire in the fire pit, well deserved, very enjoyable. My 2nd cousin Paul who lives in England came in last Friday and we have been spending lots of time with him. Shawn took him shooting for the first time just yesterday, they had a great time! Even though we have company in town, have been doing some Spring cleaning and I have still been working on school work... we have managed to have plenty of relaxing down time together.

Just yesterday little Norah started cooing and slightly audibly laughing... I have experienced firsts with Jessica and D and was worried it would not be as exciting with my own... not the case. Its just as memorable. It was even more awesome to see Shawn experience it since with the other 2 girls he was deployed. I am certain now it will never loose its appeal, it will be an unmistakeable moment every time. I have noted with each child Im more and more relaxed. D falls down all the time and is always getting hurt while horse playing with Daddy. I get less upset at him, and less concerned that she is injured and I just react with an ice cube for her to suck on and a kiss or two lol. I have no doubt Norah will be nice and tough, D is well on her way. I see D fall and simply ask "are you ok?" and she just gets up and laughs. If they fall and you freak, they will freak. If you have that shake it off attitude with them thats how they will respond to. Kids feed off of our emotions and are constantly taking mental notes of our behavior and reactions to things. Shawn keeps saying lets have all Girls but I am not so sure he understands... my theory is Girls get harder as they grow up and boys get easier. His theory is boys are punks, funny cause he is one and has an 18 year old son both of whom drive me bananas, always have so not so sure on his theory. I think we will just take it one day at a time and see what's in store.

We are on the list to accept more Foster Kids and in the last 4 days I have received a call everyday being begged to take a kiddo. It breaks my heart to say no but with company in town and Shawn and I actual able to spend some time together this week, we decided to not accept any this week. Its so sad to think that there are that many kids being displaced from there homes. I wish with all my heart more people would open there homes to Foster care. I think to many don't really fully understand what it means and how it all works and are afraid to ask questions thus forming there own wrong opinion as why not to do it. (If anyone is interested or even just wants to ask questions feel free to ask away I would love to share with you.) I cant see my life without it. We have touched the lives of 8 children in almost 3 years now. About to adopt our 1st one and she is the Sunshine in my life I cant imagine my life without her I love her as much as I love my own biological child, there is no difference and there never will be. We actually found out this week we are another step closer to making the adoption of D finalized... I can not wait for that day to come. Should be no later than August, so everyone say a little prayer for us that we encounter no speed bumps and can have this little Girl forever in our home.

Some how with Shawn working Mon-Fri, Me going to school full time, running around after the Girls, keeping up with the house and Army for us both I have still managed to do a few more little projects around the house. I hope to share those soon, more of my OCD organizing and my obsession with seeing things online and re creating. The Girls room is all done we just need to get them a bunk bed. The one I am in love with is from Pottery Barn and will probably take a year to save for but it will be the icing on the cake as far as there room goes, and well worth the wait I am sure.

Not a ton new going on mostly same old same old, but we are full steam ahead with life. I am trying to do a weekly post if I can so that you can at least hear how the Girls are growing. Hope everyone enjoys there weekend. I am looking forward to ours, we have nothing planned which is always nice. Last weekend I had to play Army so it didn't seem like a weekend. 1st one away from the Girls in a while and I missed them a TON. Thank goodness for apple and facetime. I actually got to see D say Mama for the 1st time!! It was A-dorable! Have a great weekend everyone!

A few pics of our week... lots of napping going on.

Norah taking a late afternoon nap.

This picture is worth millions... Shawn is not a fan of manual labor. But, we got some Spring cleaning done, the whole backyard is ready for Summer use!

After all that Spring cleaning a nap was in order. Napping seems to be the pass time of choice in our house right now.

We had dinner on the cleaned up patio with my Dad, Step Mom, the Girls and my Cousin. Then we enjoyed a nice fire in the fire pit, poolside. It was an awesome day!

It was Norah's 1st fire. I cant wait until we take the Girls camping for the 1st time.

Two peas in a pod, they both love to sleep, and they both sleep soundly.

Sleeping thru errands.

Busy is an understatement

Now 3 weeks into school and I am already behind. My kids seem to have this weird sensor... every time they nap and I do house work they keep sleeping, I try to do homework and they wake up lol! Yesterday I had my sister come over and sit around to respond to the girls if they stirred so I could get some serious school work done. It went really well so its going to be a weekly thing now every Wednesday! Not exactly my idea of Me time but it will do for now. Have to keep the finish line in mind which is that MA degree!!

This past week we had a 6 month old little boy in our care for Foster. He had such a sad back story I couldn't say no when they called to ask if I would take him. He had an infectious smile and a great disposition all things considered. It was kind of nice having a little boy around too. D loved having another baby around and he was mesmerized by her. After I said yes and hung up the phone I doubted myself for a little bit but it turned out better than I expected. So grateful for family, my Dad and Step Mom came over the night he was dropped off with homemade dinner in hand and extra helping hands. Which was perfect... My Dad took Norah, my Step Mom took the new little guy and Shawn had D. Which freed me to run to the store for formula, some boy clothes, and drop of a prescription for the little guy. The 1st day or 2 of his stay was a bit crazy but I soon got him on the same schedule as the girls and it worked out great. 1 hour power nap in the morning and a 2-3 hour nap in the after noon. I was able to work on homework in pieces and maintain the kitchen and laundry. We were sad to see him go but are now confident that we can take on a 3rd easily when they call again... cause they will call again. The need for Foster homes is so great. Its now near and dear to my heart. I have brought the topic to my church and they are going to give me the chance to bring the topic to the congregation, I am so excited. Good quality Foster homes are few and far between. These kids are the innocent victims in all this. The system may struggle at times but it does work. We raised Jessica for a year while her parents stepped up to the plate and did an amazing 360 with there lives, we are so proud and happy to be a part of that success story. We have seen other kids go live with loving family members, and children become adopted. I just wish more people would open there homes to these kids.

Shawn continues to be busy with school and will soon start playing Army again. I am actually going to play Army this weekend for the 1st time in 2 months. Anxious and not excited all at once. It will be nice to get out of the house and be with adults and I know Shawn can handle things at home. I am more not excited about the early wake time and the long day on my feet. Good thing its only 1 weekend a month.

I am so grateful every day that we are blessed for me to stay home with the girls, all while doing my part to help others doing Foster care, and serving my country. I hope my girls grow up knowing that they can do anything they put there minds to, it takes a lot of hard work but its all well worth it. Going to bed every night with a smile on my face is priceless. Shawn is always telling me that I have such a big heart and that I am on a mission to save the world... I don't know if I can save the world but I am sure going to try!!

Both Girls are growing right before our eyes. D LOVES to dance, every day she dances with or without music. She recently learned to spin circles she discovered it all on her own, last night she did a solid 4 or 5 circles before becoming dizzy. I am hoping to put her into dance next year and seeing where she goes with it. I don't want to be the Mom who forces my kids to do anything, if she loves it I will of course be on cloud 9 since I grew up with dance being 75% of my life. But if she doesn't I look forward to seeing what she does pursue.  Norah is a happy content baby she usually only cries when she is hungry. We are lucky to have such a well behaved newborn... well shes almost 7 weeks now. Shes smiling more, more alert and is trying to coo when we interact with her. D loves her "sissy" and showers her with kisses, literally cause her kiss is more like a lick lol! I know that they are going to grow up being best friends! D's adoption should be finalized by summer time and I cant wait to shower the world with pictures of BOTH girls. They are the sunshine of my life right now, making me laugh and smile daily. They have Daddy wrapped around there little fingers. When Shawn comes home from work every day D goes running to him while laughing it never gets old. I just hope she still does that when she gets older
;-)

Well the girls will be waking up from there power nap soon and it will be time for us to watch Kathy Lee and Hoda on the Today show while playing with toys... my living room looks like Toys R Us threw up in it. I used to clean it up every night but now only if people are coming over. Good thing our house floor plan is conducive to this, its in the back of the house out of eye sight! Cant imagine it any other way though.

Here are some pictures of Norah at 1 month old. Enjoy your Thursday and upcoming weekend!