Sleeping Schedule

Hey everyone, a lot of you have been commenting asking about how the babies are doing, sleep wise! I am so happy to say that I have good news! I nurse Emery to sleep every night, but Nolan just goes right down after eating! I feed him before bed, but he doesn't fall asleep while breastfeeding like Emery does. Around 10 they go down for the night. Emery usually wakes up around 4am to nurse, but Nolan just started to sleep through the night! I feel so lucky that they sleep so well at only 2 months old. With all of my other kids I was up 5 times throughout the night until at least they were 6 months old. I am so thankful that I am getting almost 7 hours of sleep every night when I have 6 kids! I credit everything to having them on a solid schedule. They have naps during the day, but I don't just let them sleep all day like some newborns. Of course, if they are tired I won't force them to stay awake, but I try my best that they sleep during naps mostly! Since they don't sleep all day, I feel like they are more tired at night and don't need to wake up to nurse. It has happened twice that they both have slept through the night, but most commonly Emery wakes up once to nurse. That first time I kind of freaked out, thinking something happened because they hadn't cried at all! I was so scared that they had suffocated or something equally horrible. I was so surprised and relieved to finally realize that I had babies that were sleeping through the night!

Daily Summer Routine

Now that we've been back from Seattle for a few days and our summer at home has begun, I thought I'd let you all know our daily summer routine! Now, all days are different but this is just an average day for us in the summer :)

6:00am- I wake up and go for my morning run! Since I've been cleared to exercise by my doctor a few weeks ago, I have been working hard to get my pre-babies belly back.
7:00am- I make breakfast for myself and get some work done on my computer before the kids get up.
8:00am- Emery and Nolan wake up at 8am 99% of the time. So, I feed them and then they lay in their swings in the kitchen while I make breakfast.
8:30am- Jamie usually wakes up around 8:30! I feel so lucky to have a 4 year old that loves to sleep. He gets a full 12 hours of sleep every night! So, I get Jamie breakfast and usually soon after Gage and Braylie come down stairs and I get them breakfast.
9:30am- All of the kids but Adrian are up and done with breakfast. Usually, I clean the kitchen and start some laundry during this time. Jamie watches his cartoons every morning, and Gage watches with him. Braylie loves entertaining the twins, which is so helpful to me!
10:30am- Adrian wakes up and gets herself breakfast. Around this time Emery and Nolan are hungry again so I feed them and put them down for their early morning nap.
12pm- After a morning of playing with the kids, I get them lunch. Then, Adrian reads to Jamie. Jamie only wants Adrian to read to him and put him down for his nap! He usually is asleep by 12:30 and sleeps until 3.
1pm- The babies are up for their morning nap and I feed them. During the summer Jeff has an early morning shift 4am-12am. He communicates with people from other countries in his part of the office and has to go with their time zone. He is usually home by 1 and stays at the house while Jamie is napping! I drive Adrian to work, this summer she is working at a local clothing store from 1-6 weekdays.
2pm- Once I'm back home, I take the dogs on a walk with Gage and Braylie! They love walking the dogs, and Jeff enjoys having alone time with Emery and Nolan.
3pm- I come home to feed the twins and I play with them until their nap around 4. I usually just spend time with Jamie when he wakes up, because sometimes I feel like he doesn't get enough attention.
5pm- I begin preparing dinner while Jeff heads off to pick up Adrian from work. The babies are in their swings in the kitchen with me and the kids are playing in the playroom or watching TV.
6pm- Jeff is home with Adrian and we all have dinner as a family together. It's really important for me to have dinner together as much as possible, because I think it's a great way to bond as a family.
6:30pm- After dinner, it is chore time for the kids! I have a list of chores for each of the kids, and usually after dinner they help out. If you would like a post on chores, leave a comment below! During this time I feed the babies (again). Sometimes I feel like all I do is breastfeed!
7:30pm- We all spend time as a family together until the kids go to bed. Sometimes we play board games, watch a movie, or do a craft.
8:30pm- Bath time for Jamie! Either Jeff, Adrian, or I give Jamie a bath and read to him and put him down by 9. Gage and Braylie take their showers and then go up to bed around 9:30.
10:00pm- The babies get their last feeding for the night and I put them down. Update on their sleeping schedule coming soon! Also, Jeff goes to bed because he has to get up early.
10:30pm- Adrian goes back to her room.
11:30pm- I go back to my room, tired from the long day.

Fun in Seattle!

We have finally arrived home from Seattle, Washington, visiting Jeff's family! It was an amazing trip filled with fun with the fam.

We flew out Monday, June 16th at 1:20pm. We were in Seattle by 4pm, so it wasn't that long of a flight compared to other flights we have taken! The kids were really good on the flight, everyone was happy and excited to see their cousins so there wasn't much complaining! Nolan slept the whole flight with Jeff, and Emery didn't sleep at all! She was fussy, but wasn't screaming, which I was thankful for. It's embarrassing to have a screaming baby on an airplane, trust me, I've been there! We rented a car and drove the 40 minutes from the airport to Jeff's brother Gale's house, where we are staying. Gale and Evelyn have a 3 year old girl Ginny and are expecting a boy this winter! They have a very big house with 3 guest rooms. They are planning on 6 kids and wanted to start out with a big house. Jeff and I were in the master guest room with Emery and Nolan. Gage and Jamie were together, while Adrian and Braylie were together.

Monday we had dinner with Gale, Evelyn, and Ginny. I was busy unpacking and getting the kids situated! Tuesday we went to Jeff's brother Emmett's house with their 2 kids. My kids had a lot of fun playing with their cousins! We went swimming for the afternoon with them and it was a blast, relaxing by the pool and catching up with Emmett's wife, Rosalie. Wednesday Gale took us to a local aquarium since it was raining, and the kids love animals! Thursday was our big family get-together at Jeff's aunt's house! His 2 aunts, 3 uncles, 3 brothers, and their families were all present. The only people missing were his parents, who live in California with us and weren't able to get away to come along.

Our plan was to leave Saturday at noon and get home by dinner. Sadly, Friday morning the kids all kept throwing up and throwing up. Apparently the chicken they fed us at the get-together was rotten. Thankfully I didn't have chicken, but Jeff and the kids did. Food poisoning sucks, but it's usually over quickly. By dinner the kids stopped throwing up, but it was a long rough day and the kids wanted to go home. We changed our flight to 7pm Friday and arrived home around 11 last night. I am so glad that we came home a little bit early, because we have the weekend to relax before the kids start up their summer activities this coming week! Stay tuned for a post about that. :)

Adrian's 16th Birthday | Start of Summer!

Hey everyone, I know I'm a little late but I promised you I would tell you about Adrian's 16th birthday! Her birthday was May 28. We had her family party Sunday, June 1st. My siblings, my parents, and Jeff's in-laws were able to come! It was so much fun! We started out with swimming in our pool, and then had cake/ice cream and opened presents! Adrian mostly got gift cards/small things because she's at the age where she, of course, doesn't want toys and appreciates cash/gift cards more. Adrian said she had a lot of fun at this, but she had even more fun with her friends! Adrian had a slumber party June 6-June 7. Her and her friends went to see the Fault in Our Stars, and loved it! I thought it was a great movie, too. Then, they just did slumber party things! I decorated the house with streamers and sweet 16 party decorations, and they did each others nails and stayed up all night long! Saturday we went out to lunch at Pasta Heaven, her favorite restaurant! Adrian's friends are Ally, Elysa, Jackie, and Marissa. Even though I love hosting parties, it is very stressful, and I'm glad it's over!

This weekend, to kick off the start of summer, we went to the beach! The beach on the California coast is about an hour and a half away from us. Saturday morning we packed up the kids and headed off to the beach! We checked in at our hotel and immediately the kids begged to go on the beach. So, we got a packed up and dressed and went out onto the sand! I love the first time on the beach of the season, it just feels amazing. Gage, Braylie, and Jeff went into the deep waves for what seemed like forever, while I played with Jamie in the sand and Adrian laid out. Thankfully, Emery and Nolan slept for most of the afternoon in the shade of the umbrella! After the beach, we went out to dinner at Super Salad, and after eating we went swimming. Our hotel has a swimming pool, and the kids love to swim! Sunday morning we went out to the beach bright and early, and stayed out for a lunch on the beach. After lunch we showered and checked out of our hotel and headed home. Even though our vacation was spontaneous and quick, it was still a ton of fun! :)

Pool Party Fun | 7 Week Update

Hey everyone, today was a great day! The kids woke up excited because it was their last day of school! Jamie and Gage had a half day and got out at 10:30. Sadly, Braylee had a full day and didn't get out of school until 2:45. Adrian didn't even have school, she was done Wednesday! To celebrate the start of summer, my good friend Steph and I organized a little pool party for us at their house! Gage, Jamie, Adrian, Emery, Nolan and I went over to Steph's house at 11:30. The kids had so much fun swimming with Steph's 7 kids! Gage is getting better and better at swimming every year, he just learned how to tread water! Jamie still wears his swimmies, and will be until I feel comfortable enough with him in the water without them. Emery was really into the water, surprisingly! Adrian was in the water holding her for a long time, she was just so calm and relaxed! Nolan, on the other hand, hated it. I dipped his toes in and he started screaming! He ended up sitting on the side of the pool with me :) We had a yummy lunch of all different sorts of pasta! The kids loved it, because they are obsessed with pasta. Jeff also got out of work early and picked Braylie up from school and brought her around 3 so she could come in on the fun for a little bit! We left their house around 4:40, after 5 hours of fun! :) Hope to do it again soon!

Today is also the day the twins are 7 weeks old! They are almost 2 months old in a week or two, I can't believe it! I don't have much to update on this week, because nothing really has changed much in the last week. But, we have started putting them to bed earlier because they have been cranky lately and refusing to take naps! Now, bath time is 7:30 and bedtime is 8. Ever since they were a month old they have woken up from 8-9 in the morning for the day. What's even better is that they have only been waking up once! They have been sleeping for 6 hours, feeding at 2, and then sleeping until 8-9! Jeff and I have been getting so much sleep this week and I definitely feel a difference during the day! :)

Potty Training Mishap | Allowances

Hey everyone! So far, our week has been pretty good, except for a slight potty training mishap.

Jamie has been potty trained since 2 1/2, so I don't ever worry about him having accidents. He wears underwear all throughout the day, but he wears a pull-up during the night because he sometimes wets his bed. But, this week was crazy! It started Monday morning before I sent him to school. He was eating breakfast, and when I came back from getting dressed his pants were soaking wet. I asked him what happened, and he said he didn't feel like getting up to use the potty! I, of course, told him that's not the right thing to do and since he has a on big boy underwear he needs to use the potty. I thought he understood, until I got a call from his Pre-K telling me that he wet his pants! It was getting ridiculous.
Monday night I went in his room to check on him, and he was sitting on the floor, his pull-up off, with a puddle of pee around him! I got Jeff and Jeff cleaned it up and had a talk with him. Jeff said he was just talking to him about accidents and how they weren't a good thing and such, and apparently it worked! Jamie has not had an accident since. I just wanted to share this story to let you mom's out there struggling with potty accidents that you aren't alone, and even kids who have been potty trained for 2 years still have accidents! Also, I am planning to start getting rid of the pull-up during the night soon, so stay tuned for how that goes!

Everyone has been commenting on my beliefs on allowances and if so, how much my kids get a week. First of all, I do believe in allowances. I feel like getting a weekly allowance is a great way to teach kids how to handle money at a young age and to be smart with your spending. Each of the kids have a chore list that they must complete each week. We have a chart in the kitchen to help keep track! They are chores such as helping with laundry, setting or clearing the table, dusting, vacuuming, etc. Braylie, and Gage get 6 dollars a week, while Jamie gets 3. Adrian decided herself that she wanted to stop getting an allowance from me, just because she works now and doesn't really need it. I also require the kids to give 1/3 of their earnings per week to church. I would love to hear your input below! :)

Day in the Life! | June 1 2014

I did a day in the life last month and since everyone loved it, I decided to do a day in the life the first of every month! :)

Today we did not go to church, because everyone was exhausted from getting back from Blogger Fair! Since our plane landed at midnight, we weren't home and asleep until almost 2 so the kids all slept in. I woke up at 6am to feed the babies, and slept until 8am when I decided to get up for the day. I unpacked and did some laundry while the kids were still sleeping. Around 9am I prepared breakfast (pancakes with blueberries, bananas, sausage, and orange juice) and woke the kids up at 9:30. I want to keep them on a schedule and if they sleep too late, they won't be able to fall asleep later! While the kids were eating, I fed the babies. Adrian watched them while I got the younger kids dressed and ready for the day!

Jeff now works every other Sunday, and today was his day to work. He left at noon and worked until 7. I cleaned all morning/unpacked while Braylie and Gage played with Emery and Nolan slept! Then, I made lunch for everyone and fed the babies again. After lunch, we were heading to the park to meet up with our friend, Jamie! My kids love playing with their kids, and I love talking to Jamie. We also went for ice cream with them after playing at the park! For dinner, I made beef and rice cheese casserole. The kids absolutely love this, so I make it once or twice a week! We also had salad, fruit, and nuts. After dinner Jamie was exhausted, so I gave him and bath and he went to bed early as soon as Jeff got home. Then, Gage and Braylie showered and went to bed at 8. Adrian stayed up with us, and still is. We had an amazing day recovering from Blogger Fair!