Easter 2019

I have to say that our Easter this year was the most laid back and relaxing ever! It was so nice to just have a quiet day with the girls. :)

My sister and I were up early, and we were greeted at the crack of dawn by Baylee. (Of course!) She was so excited to see that the Easter Bunny had left baskets for her, her sister and cousin. We made her wait for the little ones to wake up, so she spent an hour staring at the three baskets and telling us what she saw. It was too funny! Once everyone was awake we let them go through their baskets. They were so excited!

 

 

After baskets, we all hopped in the car to drive through Starbucks. I had given it up for Lent, so you better believe I was going to start my morning with a machiatto after not having one for almost 7 weeks! When we got in to the front yard, Baylee was so excited to see Easter eggs all over our lawn. "I thought the Easter Bunny forgot to hide eggs this year!" she said. He usually hides them inside the house, but this year thought our front lawn would be a beautiful location. ;)

When we got back from Starbucks, Brian was just getting home from the station, so he got to help us with the egg hunt! It was so much fun, and even Natalie and Kennedy got the hang of it right from the start! 

 

After the egg hunt, we made french toast bunnies for breakfast, and then let the girls play with all their new goodies from their baskets. 

 

We had a quiet afternoon while Natalie took her nap, and my sister and Kennedy left to go visit her husband's family. Once Natty woke up, we all got dressed, and went out to dinner.

The girls behaved so well at the restaurant, and it was the perfect way to end our relaxing day!

 

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Hallelujah! He is risen! 

 

 

 

 

To Three Or Not To Three

"When are you trying for baby #3?" is a question I get a lot now that Natalie is a year old. It's a completely innocent question, everyone knows that Brian and I adore our girls and used to always say that we wanted 3-4 kids...but now that we are actually living the life of having more than one kid, the answer is not so easy. 

While still laying on the operating table after my c-section with Natalie, I asked my doctor if I was a candidate for VBAC. Even in that moment, I thought for sure I would keep having more kids. Then I was thrown in to the world of taking care of two kids while having a firefighter husband who is gone more often than he is home, and wow...what an eye opener the last 14 months have been. I have had to be honest with myself; I don't know for sure if I can handle having another one.

When Natalie was around 5 months old, I realized I was battling some post-partum anxiety/depression and it was terrifying. I managed to get it mostly under control through using essential oils and expressing my need for help to friends and family, but I am so scared that it will happen again if I have another baby. It is so hard to take care of children when you're tired all the time and feel like the walls are closing in around you. I definitely worry about what adding another baby will do to my quality of parenting.

I also worry about being able to actually juggle three kiddos during Brian's 72-96 hour shifts. That's a long time to be alone with two kids, so the idea of adding a baby to the mix makes me sweat a little. I think we would be okay once we adjusted, but the "during" definitely has me concerned.

From a selfish standpoint, it's been kind of nice to have my body back. I spent so long not only being pregnant and breastfeeding, but also going through daily shots and fertility treatments, so it's been nice to do and eat whatever I want. Also, I have about 10 pounds from each girl that I am in the process of losing, so adding more baby weight to that doesn't sound fun. I'm just not too sure that I'm comfortable with the idea of starting from scratch again, and since we would be doing another frozen embryo transfer, daily shots would be back in my routine. Also, FETs are not free and not covered by our insurance, so we would be looking at spending another $5,000. Bottom line is we don't have it right now, because we are still paying off the IVF and FET we did to have Natalie.

On the other hand, the idea of not having another baby definitely makes me sad. We are so blessed that we got 15 embryos from our first (and only) round of IVF. We have 13 left and 2 of them are the highest grade possible. The thought of not transferring at least one of them is almost depressing. I don't want to regret not having another one and always wondering if I should have and who they would be. So many people have told me "You will never look at that child and think 'Oh, I regret having you...'" and it's so, so true. 

I am trying me best to let go and let God decide on the matter, but with it being an IVF situation and the fact that I would like to be done having kids before I turn 35 (I turned 33 in March), we definitely have to figure it out soon.

 

No matter what we decide, I am one blessed mama to have my two little beauties!  

 

 

 So, what do you guys think? 

I would love to hear your thoughts on why you did or did not keep having kids after you had two!

Summer Themed Easter Baskets

One of my goals for 2019 has been to minimize the clutter at home, and while that's not going as well as I originally hoped, I have made a solid effort to not add to it. So, with that in mind, I decided to go with a more practical approach this year for Easter baskets and do a summer theme. I am going to stuff them with things that the girls will need for summer that I would have had to buy anyway! Here are some of the main things going in their baskets:

 

1//2//3//4//5//6//7//8//9

Also, they're not pictured, but the girls are each getting a pair of Freshly Picked sandals. They are, by far, the best quality sandals for kids we have ever owned, so I highly recommend them! Other ideas would be floaties, sunscreen, pool floats/rafts for big kids, pool toys, goggles, and cute summer outfits or jammies! :)

I am going to put in one toy and one treat for each of the girls, but other than that they are getting all the necessities and I am one excited mama! 

Do you have any other ideas for a summer themed basket? Also, what do you guys stuff in your kids' Easter eggs besides candy and money?