Making a comeback... Hopefully!

Wow, life has been crazier than I ever could have imagined.  Being a mom to four is no joke!

Everyday is a challenge in one way or another.  I let this blog go because I was convinced that no one cared about my trials and tribulations of being the mom of a large family.  I felt like all I did was vent about my misbehaving kids, or my dirty house or my husband that works too much.  It became just one more thing that I had to do.  One more thing that I was failing at.  But,  as the time went on I missed it.  I missed sharing our ups and downs.  I missed sharing my journey through motherhood, the good, the bad and the ugly.  I missed having a place to share my photography.

So, here we go.  

This is what any given day looks like at our house.  Pure chaos.  Fun chaos, but nonetheless, chaos.  The boys are growing up and keeping us busy with sports, practices, homework and everything else that comes with having 3 boys.  Evie, she is another story.  She loves mommy, her bobo and dolls.  Oh, and anything that her brothers may have that she wants (ie. backpacks, lunch boxes, candy, balls, ect.).  She is gaining such the personality and I am starting to realize she is not going to be the docile little girl that I thought she was.  She can hold her own with these three boys.

This summer was spent celebrating my wonderful parents and the family that they have created in their 50 years of marriage.  Hawaii was everything that we could have dreamed it would be with four kids.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and no one was quite ready to come home.  To this day, the boys are asking when we can go back.  

Tyler got to play in his first traveling baseball tournament.  While they may not have won any games, I am pretty sure the boys still had fun.  Going from a winning season to a losing tournament was mentally tough for them, but I think they took it as a learning experience.  There is always next year. 

The boys may have lost but Evie was in for a win.  She finally took her first steps!!

The rest of the summer was spent jumping off the high dive, bar-b-queing with friends, tubing and riding the boat, going to Suncadia and Lake Chelan with friends, and soaking up the not so relaxing days before the chaos of school began.

So there we are.  

The first of what will hopefully be many more posts to come!

Spring Recap

I have just spent the better part of my day cleaning up my picture library, editing the pictures I wanted to keep and getting rid of those I don't.   These pictures document the ups and downs, ins and outs of our lives, yet they just sit here... on my computer.  It made me sad.  Life has been so busy I have neglected the things that I enjoy.  Because that's what you do as a mom, right?  

So here goes nothing...

A little catching up.

 This little one had her one year photo shoot... finally!

She is growing up so fast.  She can now be found at any staircase in a 1 mile radius around her.  It's as if the stairs are magnets sucking her in, which wouldn't be so bad if she actually knew how to get down them. 

We are still working on walking.  She has been seen standing for a few seconds on her own, but heaven forbid she ever actually do it when we want her to.  

Miss Evie makes her presence known, while not so much with words but rather ear curdling screams. I wonder where she learned that from... Graham.  She has acquired some words like Momma, Da Da, Aaa for Alex and Da for dog.  Her new favorite thing is reading.  If you even think about putting her in her crib before bed without reading a book, she will let you know.  

Graham the Man is finishing up his first year of preschool.  Between him and his brother I really am surprised they are still alive.  Alex is in quite the attitude phase and Graham does everything Alex does... making him in an attitude phase too.  Ugh, kill me know.  He may... or may not... make it to his third birthday.  

He had a follow up appointment with craniofacial this last week.  It was weird to be back there.  While they were such a huge part of our lives for the first year, it felt unfamiliar to be back.  While everything looked great they were a little concerned about his speech.  I would have never noticed because I understand almost 100% of what he says.  But once they pointed it out I did realize that those that don't know his frequently have to ask him to repeat.  So now we embark on a little speech therapy.  

Graham is a feisty guy these days who never ceases to keep me on my toes.  I often times take a "rest" when he does so I can recharge for the rest of the day.  Thank goodness for nap time!  

He is my little chatter box in the car, telling me everything he knows.  He will talk to anyone that will listen, the next door neighbor, the clerk at the grocery store... the lady driving down the street with her window down.   

    

Alexander is a whole other story.  I am confident that he is the reason for the 3 white hairs I pulled out of my head yesterday.  Every single request is met with resistance.  The house is always a little on edge when he wakes up until we know what Alex we are going to get.  The happy go lucky Alex or the whiney, I don't want to do anything Alex.  It's a real joy, let me tell you.  Not sure if this is a phase he is going through, the middle child syndrome coming out, or just who he is but no amount of discipline has seemed to help.  It's a challenging phase for us.  I keep hoping that this too shall pass.

On the happier note, he is entering the final weeks of pre-K at OLL.  We feel so lucky to have had another year with Mrs.  Clayton.  My heart hurts just thinking about saying goodbye to her.  I am pretty sure she is the only reason that Alex actually goes to school, while it may be a challenge some days.  

Alex finished up his T-ball season with a fun root beer float party with his team.  In true Alex fashion, getting him to games was not always fun and often met with resistance, however, he had a blast once he was there.  I am looking forward to all the camps we have scheduled for the summer, although he may not be. 

  

 

I love when I get to see this smiling face.

   

He was so proud of his very first trophy.  Priceless!

   

Last but certainly not least Tyler.  Not quite sure how I have a 9 year old!  

Almost a third grade graduate, Tyler is so ready for summer.  He had his big third grade sleepover, of which I vividly remember doing as a third grader at ASB.  So fun to see him experiencing all the things that I loved so much as a child.  

Tyler is deep into baseball season with the playoff approaching quickly.  It has been a learning experience for Tyler this year as he is very emotionally involved in sports.  He has grown so much as a teammate and a athlete this season.  He is pitching and has found a love for it.  As a mom, while I love watching him "do his thing" I hate to see how hard he is on himself when the game depends on the pitcher.  Go BroncoHawks!

Tyler has been my saving grace with having 4 kids.  He is a tremendous help with his siblings and I couldn't be more thankful.  

That mom

Yep, that's me...  that mom. 

 You know, the one that you see at the Gap with her kids running circle through the rounders.  The one whose child gets lost at the grocery store and who I am constantly telling them not to touch and look only with their eyes.  

That's me because it has to be.  

There are days where I wonder what the he** I am doing taking my kids out.  Why would I subject myself to such mayhem?  The answer is two fold.  One is simply selfish, because it is what I need.  I spend my days driving kids to and from school, soccer practice, baseball games and T ball, is it too much to ask them to do one thing I want/need to do.  Unfortunately, the answer is always yes after the fact.  I leave feeling defeated.  They win, they always do.

Secondly, I feel as though it is my job as a parent to teach them good behavior in public.  I go in with good intentions.  I go in thinking, this one time they are going to be good.  WRONG.  Nope, instead there is Graham, pulling the retractable line divider out and letting it go only to smack another kid in the face (yep, he totally did that), and there is Alex tipping over the entire stroller, baby and all, because he is too busy whining to pay attention to what he is doing.  

Awesome. 

Now, not only am I defeated because I haven't gotten to do the things that I wanted to do, but also because apparently I am failing as a parent, completely unable to control my kids for a mere 10 minute jaunt through the store.   Thank goodness for Evie.  She is very good at distracting fellow shopper with her big blue eyes and toothy little grin, so they don't notice the menaces dodging in and out all around us.

This too shall pass, they all say.

I suppose it's true.

Trouble 1 and Trouble 2

Pretty in Pink

Well, we did it.  We celebrated our very last first birthday in the Bugbee house.  Goll, almost makes me cry when I put it that way.  

Anyhow, it was an even to remember, that's for darn sure.  Evie and 50 of her closest friends rang in her first birthday in a bash so pink you would have thought we painted the house with Pepto Bismol.  Oh, and a little gold, since she is a princess you know.

It was so much fun decorating for a little girl's birthday, I may have went a little over board.  

One of my favorite parts was the photo time line.  Really makes me realize how very fast it went.

We were all about pink and hearts!

The birthday girl was a touch overwhelmed to say the least.

But, when it came time for cake she was all about it.

Evie and her God-Momma, and my God Daughter, Abby.

Eloise giving loves.

As planning and anxiety that went in to making this day perfect, I would do it all again.  I can't believe my little girl is ONE!