Over at Marie's

September had arrived!

Our baby Jane was packing on the pounds and she was smiling up a storm! Don't mind Jon and his shirtlessness - it was still hot outside! Bahaha! Sorry, Jon. ;)

The kids swam... (surprised?)

And I took 198,375,821,357,123 pictures of Jane.

And go..................

Another tooth had emerged...

Jane's new favorite toy, Nubs the cat...

I couldn't get enough of this girl...

Henry and Eliza did their kid thing. Yes, yes - Eliza's riding a wagon down a hill. Was I terrified? Yup. Did she fall? Not this time... *puts hands over eyes*

Jane and I ventured out and got in some early Christmas shopping...

Another new toy for Janie Jo...

This walker.

She could only move backwards at first and this is where she ended up.

It was pretty darn funny.

Nobody puts Janie in the corner!!! Bahahahaha!

Great success!

These two cuties before school...

Warren-love (our neighbor boy). He'd always walk in and say, "Hi, baby Jane." I love him so very much.

It was around this time, a few days into September, that I started to feel overwhelmed, utterly exhausted and in over my head. This was about the time my baby blues were settling in.

I expressed my thoughts and feelings to Jon. I told him I needed help. I was very close to going to see a therapist and/or consider medication...and that's TOTALLY okay. I'm not saying it now to reassure myself, I was proud of myself for acknowledging that I needed to do something and that "something" was out there to help in whatever form it may be.

I told Jon that I needed to start taking care of myself and I needed some "me time." There were many tears shed and I WAS NOT liking who I was becoming. I'm sure to everyone else I seemed completely fine, but I was really, REALLY struggling while at home.

Jon had purchased me a massage way back on my birthday and it was set to expire in September.

I called the very next day and set up my appointment.

Honestly, it was the start of the self care that was so desperately needed. To get out and breathe and pamper myself... It was the baby step to feeling better, both mentally and physically.

An amazing friend of mine had me over to her house for coffee and I just talked and talked and talked...I cried a little too. I considered that part of my self care, as well. Just to be raw and emotional and a complete hot mess. My conversation was all over the place, but I'm so grateful for that day and I left feeling like I cleared my head of clutter.

I went for a run here and a run there...and before I knew it I was back to exercising on a somewhat regular basis. Jon would quite literally force me out the door. I love him. Endorphins were making me feel normal and energized and happy...

I tell ya', motherhood/parenthood is a tough one.

The days since have become easier. Boring and lonely at times, sure, but I'm feeling happy again. My emotions are just about back on track.

I share this just in case there's one person who reads it...in the very middle of this blog post, who needs to hear that the days can...well, they can suck, but they can be magical too. Motherhood is awesome. Joyful. I love these little beings more that words can express, but I was losing myself in the process. I now feel like I'm 80% back to whatever "normal" was for me before. I also share this as a reminder to myself of how far I've/we've come. I wouldn't change a thing...crazy, suck-y, happy days and all...

So there you have it...

Aaaaand back to it...

Eliza loved being in the bath with Jane...

A run with Henry...

A Cabbage Patch baby...

Homecoming goodness for the older kiddos...

Hunting for Mums with Daddy...

Wellness Check Up!

AppleFest with one of my best friends!

My Uncle came to visit!!!

We tried out a new restaurant...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand that's where I'll stop!

Phew!!!

Okay, I think that just about does it. I'll have an October recap coming up, too, but as for Jane's posts I'd say the recaps are back to what we're all up to nowadays. WooHoo!

Thanks for hanging out and scrolling through!

Marie :)

We made it to August. Phew. I promise one more month - September - and then I'll be back to blogging about other stuff!

Here's what we were up to in August...

Swimming, swimming and more swimming...

I took the kids to an amazing friends' campsite for lunch and...you guessed it...more swimming...

Snuggles...

Then off to our hometowns for some visits with the grandparents and my cousin's wedding...

Isn't this magic?

Jon and I went on a running date on the path near my in-law's house. It was really nice to get out together for an hour...

I had to stop my run, but Jon went on without me. It felt awesome to be outside...

We were getting ready for my cousins wedding at my in-laws when I happened to look downstairs and I saw this.

Henry was brushing Eliza's hair. He's such a good boy. Oh. My. Heart.

Wedding time in my hometown!!!

Of course I got out there and danced my heart out!

...and I hung out with these little people - cousins included!

More dancing - because that's my jam! It was so fun to be silly and work up a sweat with Henry and Eliza! I hope they always want to be the first ones out on the dance floor!

I mean...I absolutely loooove this picture with my favorite little guy!

More dancing with my partner in crime, my sister - Kimmy!!! Sorry, Kim - I had to. ;)

Jane was there too, as you can see!

More dancing. Because I love to dance! This time with my girl, Eliza!

Next up - swimming at my parents' house!

Snuggles...

Jane was sooooo close to being able to sit up unassisted.

Girlfriend was officially 4 months old!

She was also starting to do more while on her belly, too!

Her first carwash!

I was expecting more of a reaction, but this was about the extent of it...

We headed up north, to the gorgeous Walloon Lake, to visit with some awesome friends. I was nervous since Jane was still not a fan of car rides. This trip would take about five hours to arrive. We planned accordingly and left during her first nap. We stopped for lunch once she woke up, she blew out (of course) and then we let her play for a bit. She took her second nap and woke up with 40 minutes left in the trip. Phew!

Almost there.

Boom. We made it. Good friends, good food, sun, fun, surf and sand!

We went on a hike. Silly Marie was packing and forgot tennis shoes, luckily the kids didn't mind.

Oh my goodness, I loved this place!

There was a little place to write a message and put it in the "tin man." Others can come along and read of adventures. It was like a dream...

Henry learned to wake surf!!!!!

Oh man, he loved this! He kept trying and wouldn't give up! We were super proud of him!

Enjoy this photo dump of our vacation. Ha!

We went on two scavenger hunts while up north. We drove around a Ranger and a golf cart to find our next clues, we drank White Claw and visited the farm stand and the farm animals. It was a marvelous vacation! I wish I had blogged about it back in August because it was so much fun and there was so much that we did. It was lovely; everything about it was relaxing and immensely enjoyable.

We came home and the kids received their letters from their new teachers!

Jane was happy for them and for her new outfit from our friend, Miss. Katy! So cute.

Also, look at her hair, it was almost all gone... Boo!

No worries though - there's a filter for that! Bahahaha!

Next up - school open houses.

Jon was gone at a concert, so I was alone for this night. I also had to volunteer for the school Boosters, so add that into the mix ...and let's not forget about Jane's blow out in the midst of it all. It's quite the story. Let's just say - three kids, a blow out, an open house, volunteering and, get this - no wipes on hand (majoooor facepalm) had left this Mama feeling a tad overwhelmed.

Solution: Grin and bare it...and cry about it later, which is exactly what I did.

The kids were happy and that's all that mattered...

After all the chaos I invited my sister, her kids and my mom over for pizza. My sister had JUST moved to our area (WOOHOO!!!) and my mom was down watching my sister's kids while she was at work. Jon was still gone, so why not have company?!

Jon arrived home late and we got ready to have a family lake day with my in-laws!

Jane and I stayed inside for parts of the fun since everyone was out by the lake or on the boat. I think she was okay with it though, she had her toes...

Love!

My father-in-law had set up an obstacle course for us to play. OMG! He's so clever when it comes to this stuff. It was so much fun!

A much needed Mexican night with just our little unit. Whew! We'd been busy.

These two had us cracking up - I hope I NEVER forget their sweet giggles!

Our local farmer's market...

A much needed walk...

Some Bumbo time...

More snuggles...

...and just like that - the first day of school!

My sister had to work on the first day so I got to watch my niece, Marian, for a couple of hours.

Baby cuteness just because...

Those cheeks, those wrists, those thighs and toes!!! Also - she loooooved that yellow puppy!

Jane's first breakfast out with Jon and myself. We try to go to breakfast every Friday morning - we consider it our date morning. We're also trying hard to become regulars. I think we're getting pretty close because they now know that Jon doesn't like brown sugar in his oatmeal. Bahahahaha!

More cuteness...

That chin dimple!!!!!!!!

Jon was gone again visiting friends in Chicago. I took the kids to this farm stand. So fun!

Our neighbor boy/ neighbor brother (Ha), Warren, always says, "Hi, baby Jane." He loves her so very much!

We watched Daddy on the tv...okay, okay, he wasn't actually on tv, but he was somewhere at the Cubs game!

Jane's nursery looked like this.

Oh man. Soooooo embarrassing to show, but this was real life for me. Don't worry, after many, maaaany hours, I finally got through it all and it no longer looks like this. Every baby should come with a person who assists a mother with chores and all-things-life.

Eliza lost a tooth while Jon was gone, too!

It happened while we were on the road...LOL! Of all places!

Soooo exciting!!!

Jane's first time in the play fort!

Jane loving on her Mama. We went and had four month pictures taken. She did great!

Eliza was the first out of all the kids to run into the brick wall inside our house.

#notsurprised

A calm moment...

Jane loved touching the water in our bathroom. She liked the way it felt on her toes, too.

We decided to take the kids camping. We picked them up from school, the car had been packed and told them where we were going while on the way.

They couldn't wait!

Jane was a happy camper!

The trip was...well, one to remember - there was a raccoon that wouldn't leave us alone, some very obnoxious and LOUD campers watching a movie on a huge screen of some sort and then a craaaaaazy storm that had come through around midnight.

Jon and I made the decision to wake up all three kids and pack up the entire site minutes before the storm arrived...at midnight. As we were packing up we could here the roar of thunder in the distance and see the lightning over the trees.

Our hearts were racing.

We left and within moments it started to sprinkle. We were questioning if we had made a smart move or not. We got on the expressway and then it started to DOWNPOUR and I mean DOWNPOUR!

You guys, it became soooo bad outside that we had to get off the roads and go sit at a gas station. We were covered, thank goodness, and there were other cars there, too.

It. Was. NUTS.

The kids were concerned, but good little car riders and extremely patient.

By the time we had arrived home and got into bed it was about 1 a.m.

I didn't fall asleep until around 2 a.m.

It was one for the books - a camping trip to remember, that's for sure!

We woke up and took the kids out to breakfast, just as we had promised.