around here

This was my view for most of the second half of my day. Katy endlessly creating and drawing, Will turning up the charm for the camera (even though I'm trying to be sneaky and take a candid shot).

I spent the night downtown with my mom and sisters for our annual girls trip getaway (something we have done for my mom the last 7 years). We usually give it to her for Christmas and go in the spring. Truth be told, we already went on a getaway earlier this year, but with upcoming babies we decided the best thing to do would be to go early.

It's always nice to take some time out for yourself. Steve is a great husband in letting me do this every year, and happily reported that the kids (for the most part) were really well behaved while I was gone.

My mom, sisters and I had a lot of time to talk and catch up. My little sister is due next spring with her first and was conveying her fears of becoming a mom and having that responsibility. It's crazy when you have your own kids how you just figure it out...perhaps because there is no other way than to just dive right in (what other option do you have anyway?).

Pregnancy for me is hard in a sense that I feel a bit out of control with my emotions. I am usually a very level headed easy going (at least in my mind *wink*) kind of person. I seem to loose my patients with the littlest of things when I have a bun in the oven. I have yelled more that I would like to admit, with this pregnancy, at my kids (insert sad face). The thing is, at the end of the night they always willingly throw their arms around my neck, kiss my face and tell me they love me. Which of course melts my heart and makes me want to try even that much harder the next day to just be better.

Being away from my family doesn't make me appreciate them more, I don't need to leave them for that. Being aways from my family just makes me realize how blessed I am to get to deal with the occasional (sometimes not so occasional it feels like) fight between siblings, that Will is a kid with so much energy it seems to be bursting out of him 24 hours a day (which can be really exhausting), that Katy is the very most sweetest sibling anyone could ask for (she teaches me so much every day), and that Steve is pretty much the grandest thing to be invented since sliced bread!

I am grateful for everyday moments, around here, that I get to spend with my family. They are some of the very best people I know.

On a side note our painted leaf project was another success this year. Will even got in on the action with us.