Tired

I writing this on Tuesday during nap (but not uploading until night because that's my routine and I feel the need to stick to it. No real reason). All 3 boys are sleeping, which I am extremely grateful for and it is raining and cold out. What I should be doing is napping too cleaning the bathrooms, but I have a few bullet points for you first:

*I finally finished my Year 6 photobook and am amazed by how much it made me miss Monterey. I love being 'home' and near family, but we had such an amazing group of friends out there who we all within 10 minutes of us. One pain about living in this area is that it takes serious coordination to get together with anyone because we are so spread out, and while we love our neighborhood and have met some friends, it is not the same as living with several families all in the same boat.

Weekend wineries in Monterey

*Speaking of nostalgia for Monterey, I miss our weekend adventures. And the ocean. 

Right before we moved. Hard to believe Wells was in my belly still!

*I don't miss the 14 hour trip home for holidays. This year, we are just going down to my mom's on Thursday and Kev's sister's on Friday. But it is weird too because part of the excitement about seeing each other is not there because we see them all the time. Ironically, I am itching to go out of town. The grass is always greener, right? (Hi Family, can't wait to see you in two days, don't worry.)

*I have holiday anxiety (see above).

*Every Tuesday, B, W and I go to Barnes and Noble to play trains and today, there were two other moms sitting there while their toddlers were chugging. Mom A was explain to Mom B that she wanted to move out of the area because her parents were nearby and their parenting techniques were too 'experienced based' and were not conducive to her whatever-she-read-in-a-book-style. 

I almost smacked her on the back of the head. 

The only and the best parenting technique is experience, even then, we are all lucky not to screw it up. 

Go call your mother and apologize Mom A.

*While the boys are doing me a favor and seeing all at once at the moment, they are NOT doing it at night. Have you ever seen Jim Gaffigen's Mr. Universe? If you are a parent and haven't, go HERE and watch the beginning now (skip to 5:22 for the bedtime part, but the whole thing is hilarious). Kids and bedtime...W goes down at 6:30, sleeps til 2 or 3, nurses for 15 minutes and goes back to bed until 6. This would not be so bad if I had a 4 year old who didn't try to sneak into our bed every night around midnight and take up an inordinate amount of space and/or a sick toddler who has been up several times a night the past few days with coughing fits. 

Y'all, I am tired. 

Give me 3 hours straight, that's all I'm asking. 

*And my internet just randomly went out, so that must be the universe encouraging me to go rest for a minute. 

Evening update: about two seconds after I wrote that W woke up, but I convinced him to snuggle with me and we both napped until the big boys woke up. Bliss.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I am so grateful for all of you who stop by this space and the support you give me. 

Thank you!

(I won't blog again until next week, but be sure to follow me on instagram @katedaffodils if you want to see what we are up to! 

If you are not following me, then you are missing pictures like this:

And no one wants to miss pictures like that.)

I Mustache You A Question

Want to know what Kev has been working on for the past 25 days?
This very dirty looking blonde mustache:

Not his best look, but it is worth it as he is part of a Mo-vember team honoring our friend Nick's Dad who passed away a few years ago. Several of Kev's high school friends have Mustached across the country for the past few weeks in order to raise money and awareness for Men's Health. 

Our steadfast leader in California, Nick, and his one of a kind t-shirts.

In Florida, Benji and Kris are growing their Mos

Jorly keeping it classy in DC

You can donate to Kev's space, and the overall cause, by CLICKING HERE. 

Truth Be Told

... I am hating this dark early/cold weather thing.

...I bought a fur vest yesterday. It looks lovely with my Baby Bjorn. You'll be seeing it soon.

...If you want to see what chaos looks like, visit my house between 8:30-9am and 12:20-1pm. No matter how early we get up and how many kids I have dressed before it is time to the leave house for school, inevitably, at 8:31, Wells will poop-plode through his outfit, C can't find one shoe, B will melt down about a wheel missing off an obscure matchbox car and I'll have one eye of mascara on. Every. Time. 

Then fast forward to 12:20. I pick the boys up from school at 12, we play on the playground for a while, load everyone up in the car at 12:20 and at 12:21, all 3 will decide that they are hungry and tired and need me to hold them. If you have any suggestions for how to nurse a baby while making a grilled cheese and a peanutbutter sandwich (because God forbid we like the same lunch items), I am all ears.

...I had 3 Oreos for breakfast the other day (see above).

...I love the blogging community because of all the friends I have 'met' over the years. Two women who have been on my mind recently are Stefanie and Shannon. I have been following and reading their blogs for over a long time and in the past year, we have all gone through pregnancy together with our little boys. However, these two amazing strong women have welcomed their new family members with some complications and are taking life's curve ball with an incredible amount of Grace. Stefaine's son Liam, her 4th child, was born with down syndrome (4 days after Wells) and Shannon just shared yesterday that her sweet Alex (born 3 weeks after Wells) has been diagnosed with severe hearing loss in both ears, so in other words is deaf. If you have a minute, please visit these wonderful women and offer your uplifting words. The best part about blogging is the support you get, so even if you are not a blogging but want to send them a note, let me know and I will pass it along!

...Nail polish makes me happy (terrible transition). I change mine 2-3 times a week. In fact, when we first moved to Monterey and I was miserable, telling my mom that my nail were unpainted for 3 days is what really convinced her to book a flight to come offer me some relief. I started painting them in college and now always have polish on. My new favorite collection are these little Elf sample sizes from Walgreens. It is $10 for 12 colors and a great way to get the new season's looks without spending $8 a bottle on OPI and Essie.

...sometimes I don't know that my left shoulder has spit up on it until I am standing in the hallway at school pickup and realize that I am in the stinky mom in line. 

...Our fireplace also makes me happy. As do my boy hanging out together.

And those are my confessions for the weekend. 

Any Truths to be Told on your part?

You All Are An Opinionated Bunch

Thank you, thank you, thank you for every comment, facebook post, text and email about our school debate with Cullen and Kindergarten. While I realize that this is a personal family decision, I chose to share the struggle I am having with it because I was curious what you all had to say and you didn't disappoint. I loved hearing your stories, choices and perspective, and appreciate each and every one of you who took the time to share your thoughts with us. 

We don't need to make a decision until the Spring, so until then, we will continue to do our research, visit the public school, pray on it and ultimately decide what it best for our family. I will keep you updated for sure.

In the meantime, you can see some sneak peeks of two photography shoots I did over the weekend HERE and remember, that you can always hire me to capture your family's moments. All the money I earn will be donated to The Boy's Scholarship Fund, or future vacations, depending on what we decide for school.

The rest of our weekend was busy, but we didn't take a lot of pictures. We visited the Air and Space Museum on Saturday morning and watched a miraculous Auburn win on Saturday night.

My mom even got in on the celebration by gifting me this wine yesterday:

 Sunday we went to Mass and the open house in the morning. Then had Jess, Zach and Sawyer, and our friends Matt and Shawn and their 3 boys, as well as my inlaws and sister in law over for a Sunday afternoon tailgate. 

We had all planned on going to the Army soccer game in Annapolis, but because they lost Friday, they didn't play and we decided to tailgate at home.

And now it is already Wednesday and I might be itching a little bit to get the Christmas decorations out...anyone else?

 Thank you again for all your support and insight earlier this week!

A Little Debate (That Is Consuming My Every Thought)

Next Fall, Cullen is off to Kindergarten 

(Let's let that sink in for a minute.... ok, moving forward) 

and our plan has always been to send him to public school. In fact, we localized on the neighborhood that we are in because it was in a great school district and and we knew when the time came, C would be able to attend one of the better elementary schools in the area. 

***

For weeks, C had been begging me to stay the extra hour after Pre-K for 'lunch bunch' and two weeks ago, we finally found a day when it would work out. He talked for days about exactly what he wanted me to pack for his lunch and how excited he was to stay. Then at 12:20 on that day, I got a phone call from school that Cullen was in the office crying and I would need to come get him. He got totally overwhelmed at LB because there were a lot of kids he didn't know, it was very loud, he didn't know where to sit and he didn't know the teacher who was over-seeing it. He started to cry and luckily one of his teachers came in and saw him, but he was too upset at that point and just wanted to come home. 

***

A few days after that, I found out that the elementary school we are assigned to has 900 students (900!) and all the sudden my thoughts were consumed with the fact that I can't send me sweet, sensitive boy into a school that big. 

***

Yesterday, we attended the open house for the local Catholic school and I, of course, fell in love with it. I am a product of Catholic schools and taught in Catholic high school and Pre-K back in my teacher days, so going into this school immediately gave me great comfort (it doesn't hurt either that my best friend's sister in the assistant principal and her mom is the Kindergarten teacher). The size, the atmosphere, and most importantly, the fact that God is present and the virtues we teach at home are reinforced at school turn out to be very important to me. I had no idea how much so until I thought about it not being part of Cullen's school day.

(Side note: Kev is a military child and went to several public schools all over the world and is a good, smart, god loving man, so we do see the benefits of both sides.)

***

BUT it's not free. It would take some sacrifice on our part to write the check every month. And when we think about not writing the check at all, it is a great deal of money we could save. Plus our elementary school is not a bad or unsafe school. I just like the values and size of the Catholic school better.

Am I crazy for obsessing over this? Anyone else having the same debate? What would you do?

I'm curious to hear your take!

(Cullen could clearly rock a uniform, just in case you were wondering)

Things I Never Expected To Say/Hear, Part 9

Believe it or not, it has been since April that I posted about some of the funnies said and heard around these parts. Unfortunately, I didn't write anything down over the summer until we moved in to our new house and I unpacked my trusty kitchen journal where I keep these thoughts when the moments are fleeting. And this time, we have a talking toddler, so I am just going to give them to you in sections so you know who is talking. 

Welcome to our life. Enjoy!

Mom Phrases:

I promise this is the last curtain rod I'll ask you to hang. (lie.)

Is it bad that I don't feel guilty about leaving the boys with my mom for the night? Because it is kind of awesome.

Stop telling me not to move things. I'm trying to induce labor, remember? 

The newborn part is the easy part. I'm making fun of First Time Mom Kate in my head right now.

Don't poke your brother in the eye. 

No jumping toward the fireplace.

You have to put pants on if you are going to play football.

Okay, well out the bad guy in jail and then it is time for nap.

I can't believe he chipped another tooth and we didn't notice for 3 days.

You know when school starts, you have to wear undies, okay?

Cullen's Corner:

I think the baby brother is going to have stinky feet just like us.

Are you going to use your milk muscles to feed the baby again?

Mommy, you should come down here, Bennett is playing with Daddy's drill.

I was going to sleep in my bed all night, but then my brain was thinking that I like your bed better.

I need a stool because my arm isn't reachy enough.

Mommy, don't look at me for 6 minutes. {Why?} Because I'm picking my nose and I don't want you to tell me to stop.

Me: How was school today?

Cullen: Good, I pooped so big after snack time, I had to flush 3 times.

I was thinking that we could go to the aquarium, the bowling ally or just read this nature book.

Hey! I just figured it out! Underpants....cuz they go UNDER your PANTS!

How old do I have to be when I go to Ranger School? Cuz I am really good at not going to bed.

Do I get a toy for telling Bennett he did a good poop on the potty?

Were these pictures of you when you were 15 taken so long ago it was like the Ice Age?

Bennett Babble:

There's a bookstore. No....that's a tree.

A, B, C, D... Firetruck!

(Slaps me on the back) Burp Baby, Burp Baby.

(When he wants to be picked up) I hold you?

Guy at the end of Mass: And don't forget the speghetti dinner on Saturday night.

Bennett (loud enough for everyone to hear): Ooooooo I like that!

Panpakes! I want pan-pakes!

I help Daddy.

Kev: We are going to a party

B: No, beach!

Kev: You want to go to the beach? We can't right now.

B: Whhhhyyyyyy?

I give Baby Walls lemonade. 

Me: Do you want to go potty?

B: No, a diaper.

Me: How about undies?

B: No, I neeeeeeeeeeeed a diaper.

Bennett school day. Cull-a school day. Daddy school day. No Mommy school day...awwww.

Me: What should we do today?
B: Play police guys in the dirt.

And the grande finale...What I saw posted on the wall outside Cullen's class:

Sing Us a Song, You're the Piano Man

After the shower was the after party, and what a party it was. 

When we started planning Kate's Bachelorette, we knew there had to be more of an event than just going to a bar, so we started the night with margaritas and a lingerie shower 

(sorry, you just get the reactions, not the specifics... we keep some things private around here).

And then headed over to National Harbor to Bobby McKey's Dueling Piano Bar for our night out. 

And y'all, it was the best night ever. 

The L sisters

We booked ahead of time for a VIP table, complete with glow sticks and wait service (worth it), plus a spot front and center.

 We danced, we sang, we drank, we ordered (more than one) beer tower, we got Katie on stage...

we. had. a. blast. 

The pianists were truly talented and we were thoroughly entertained all night. 

 An awkward older sisterish moment...I am SO grateful for Kate's friends. 

These 3 girls were amazing and I was incredibly happy to see that she has such positive and supportive people in her life. 

Thank you Carli, Sam and Cat for being those people.

 Kate, I am so proud of you and so excited for you life with Evan. 

You are an amazing woman, and I am beyond grateful to have been part of your childhood and to now be a part of your transition into a wife. 

We can't wait for December and to witness the union of your love. 

Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this special time of preparation. 

(And I can't wait to find an excuse to go to the Piano Bar again.)

Showered

My beautiful little sister in law Kate is getting married in December and this weekend, we had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate her upcoming nuptials. You might remember from Kev and my 'how we met' story that I actually knew his family first because I was Kate and Mike's babysitter. It was such my honor, 12 years later, to be able to help our other sisters Kyle and Beth host the shower and bachelorette party at my house. 

We've improved with age a bit, agreed? (2002, 2013)

Our theme was 'around the clock', where each guest was given a time of day to inspire their gift and we also tried to incorporate the idea into our food and drink as well.

Our drinks were for morning (mimosas with Army champagne since Kate is marrying an amazing Army officer and setting off on their military adventure), noon (apple cider) and night (wine).

And the food was split the same way: Morning (muffins and fruit), Noon (salad and sandwiches), Night (a variety of appetizers).

I love any excuse to break out my china, but selfishly, a great moment for me during the day was when one of my mother in law's good friends came to get a cup of coffee and I served her the and saucer in the back right of the picture below. Years ago, when Mrs. Greenwood found out I was collecting different patterns, she gifted me a place setting that had belonged to her grandmother because she loved the idea that it might be used. Not only had she already seen it proudly in its place in my china cabinet, but then to be served from it too, really touched her.  It was so special and only gave that setting more meaning to me. 

 Kev, being the amazing husband that he is, had taken the big boys down to my inlaws on Friday night so I could get the house clean without worrying about them and their inevitable dirt. Wells got to hang out through the shower then went home with Deb so we could have the bachelorette party later that night. He was definitely the life of the party for a few grandma-aged women without grandchildren. 

 Our 'game' was to leave advice for Katie for the morning and night (keeping with the theme) for her marriage. This was actually one of my favorite parts, as Kate was reading the sappy advice (Always kiss good morning), totally unplanned, the women in the room would blurt out real advice (kick him out of bed to take out the dog).

 The rest of the shower was spent mixing and mingling, while ooh-ing over all Katie's amazing gifts (can I get an 'Amen' for how much we all need bridal showers roughly 7 years into marriage? For real.) 

Kate with her future Mother in Law and sister, Hannah.

 Friends and family

 Our sweet bride

 The L ladies: Kyle, Deb, Kate and Beth (who flew in from Washington State for the weekend)

 Having no real sisters of my own, I can't tell you how grateful I am to have all these amazing women in my life. 

All in all, it was a beautiful and fun afternoon of celebration. 

And when the shower ended, the bachelorette party started and we quickly dumped that apple cider and filled the drink dispenser up with margaritas...but the rest of that post is for Tuesday.

****

Happy Veteran's Day to my hero of a husband, and all those who serve and have served in our Armed Forces!