Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving 2015 at the Nullmeyer house was great! It was our first year officially hosting a small group of people, and I think we did a fine job. We started off with this turkey, which was a big hit with the kids. Adam cooked two turkeys this year....one in the oven and one on the BBQ. I think we all decided the BBQ'd turkey was the best. Dad, I guess you knew what you were doing all these years!

We had my sister's family over, as well as Adam's Mom who was visiting for the week. I failed to get a lot of good photos this year. Because when you combine cooking Thanksgiving dinner and 8 kids running around, things get a little crazy.

Kids table:

 We fit everyone in our dining room!

 2015 was officially the year Ryan decided he likes pumpkin pie! Of course Jenna loved it as well.

Hope your Thanksgiving was as delicious as ours!

Jenna: 1 Year

Happy 1st Birthday Jenna Mae Nullmeyer!

It is hard to believe you are already 1 year old! This past year has gone by so quickly. I have had many moments when I wanted to hit "pause" and remember you at that exact phase and age. You are growing up and changing so quickly these days.

You took your first steps last week! It was a tiny little dainty step at first, but you've gradually been getting faster and braver. You are up to 5 steps at a time now! You also finally started crawling the correct way this month, and you are fast! I turn my back on you and next thing I know, you're in another room. Just yesterday you started climbing our stairs. Guess it's time to put up a baby gate!

You adore your big brother Ryan. Your absolute favorite thing to do is to have crawling races with Ryan. When he gets down on the floor next to you and crawls around, you giggle uncontrollably. You chase after him, laughing the whole way. Is it so stinkin' cute!

Your feelings toward Lucas are still mixed. Sometimes when he's being goofy from a distance you love watching him. But when he gets too close and starts dragging you around, you will scrunch up your face and growl at him, and even try to push him away. I am constantly telling him to leave you alone!

You still take a morning nap every day for about 1.5 hours. About half the time you will take an afternoon nap, but sometimes you really fight it. Nights are either really great or really bad. You typically get nursed to sleep by 8pm, and on a good night you will sleep until around 6:30am. On a bad night you're up every couple hours.

I still nurse you a few times per day, although you seem to be getting less and less interested. There is just too much going on to distract you!

I am happy to report that you are still an amazing eater! The only food you consistently reject is avocado, and you still don't like being spoon-fed. Favorite foods include shredded cheese, peas, raspberries, and any kind of meat.

For the most part you have a really easygoing personality. You are fairly content most of the time, although you do let us know when you aren't happy. You will screech and scream if you want to be picked up, or if you are contained in your pack n play. But you really are an easy baby. Thank you!

You've still got 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom. Your skin is very fair and your hair is a strawberry blond color. Ryan's hair was lighter at this age and Lucas' was darker. You're pretty petite overall, and you seem to have a good mix of features from both sides of our families.

We had a little birthday party today for you with our families.

Your Grandma Jan made you a beautiful princess cake! It was a white cake with a pink raspberry filling.

When it was time to try your cake you were pretty cautious. You licked your fingers a few times but then decided you didn't like the feel of the cake on your hands.

 Present time! Can you spot the baby in her new hat?

I love you so much my sweet Jenna Mae. You are such a gift from God and I am so blessed to have you as my daughter. Happy Birthday sweet girl!

List Maker

I've always been the type of person who makes lists. I remember being little and watching my Mom make all sorts of lists, even for things like which days to wash certain loads of laundry. It's no wonder I love making lists now!

Lately, I am finding my brain really full. I think it's a combination of adding a 3rd child to the mix, Ryan starting school and playing sports, and the holiday season approaching. I just feel like there are SO many things to remember.

There are the bigger everyday things, like writing a grocery list or keeping track of what Christmas gifts I have already bought. Then there are the million other small things that won't get done unless I remember to do them. Making sure Ryan's soccer clothes are clean for his game. Bringing Jenna back for her 2nd round of the flu shot. Filing away Lucas' preschool artwork. Updating my credit card information for a bill online so that we aren't charged a late fee. Shopping for snacks to bring to Ryan's class party. Returning that item to Costco. Writing a thank you note to one of Adam's kind clients. Ordering Jenna's shoes to wear for family photos. Writing an email to Lucas' doctor. Scheduling an oil change for my car. Shopping for Thanksgiving!! I could go on and on and on.

Writing things down on paper feels like it clears up space in my brain to think of other things. Otherwise my brain is like a spinning wheel, trying to remember all the things I need to remember. And I really really hate forgetting things. I feel like I'm a pretty responsible, disciplined person. Forgetting to do something, even if it isn't too significant, feels like I have failed. Like I'm lazy or irresponsible. Sometimes I feel like it's hard to relax. Because if I do, I might forget to do something!

So I write lots and lots of lists. There's my general "To Do" list that I keep near me in the kitchen. There's my grocery list. There's my excel files on my laptop where I keep track of our budgets, Christmas lists, and a few other things. There's my wall calendar that I consult every day for appointments and events. I even keep a list of topics that I want to blog about!

 So tell me, are you a list maker? If not, how do you remember all of the things you need to get done?

Day In The Life 11/12/15

6:05 - I hit snooze on my phone alarm twice. I was up a LOT last night with Jenna.

6:20 - Adam wakes me up with a steaming cup of coffee. Love that guy! I lay in bed for a minute and try to read my "First 5" bible devotional, but I doze off again. Oops!

I get myself dressed and put on a little makeup as quickly as possible. I also make our bed right away because I hate seeing a messy bed. I was reading a blog yesterday about wearing white jeans in the winter, and I realized I could replicate the exact outfit the girl was wearing. White jeans, blue flannel, mustard cardigan and tan booties. Adam tells me I look like a picnic table that got peanut butter spilled on it. Gee thanks.

6:45 - I make oatmeal for Adam and I, and Adam comes downstairs with our favorite little girl.

Normally Adam leaves for work at 7am but he is working locally today so he has an extra 30 minutes to spend at home. I love having an extra set of hands in the morning! Adam wakes up Ryan while I nurse Jenna.

7:15 - I race upstairs to get Ryan's clothes, change the baby, and wake up Lucas. Ryan is wearing his new lined camo pants today. It is 32 degrees outside!

7:45 - After eating a couple bites of cheerios, Ryan is ready to go. We're running late! I put Lucas and Jenna in the double stroller and bundle them up tightly with a big blanket. We wave bye to Daddy and I pray Lucas cooperates in the stroller so we can get to school on time. We run all the way and make it just as the bell rings! I've got to start getting Ryan and myself up earlier.

8:00 - I microwave my now-cold oatmeal and portion out some for Jenna. I top both of ours with this new peanut butter from Trader Joe's that has chia and flax seeds. It's just okay....I prefer their regular PB. We also share a couple persimmons. I'm still not sure if I like them.

Lucas opts for applesauce, a waffle, and a smoothie. (milk, kefir, peanut butter, banana).

8:30 - Time to get cleaning! Lucas watches a cartoon while I clean up the kitchen and Jenna crawls around making a mess. It takes me an hour because I am constantly pulling Lucas off of his sister, but I get the dishwasher unloaded and reloaded, the floors swept, and the counters wiped down. The yucky grimy stovetop will have to wait! I also pop a garnet yam into the oven to eat for lunch later.

9:30 - I turn on another cartoon for Lucas so I can put Jenna down for her nap. Once she's asleep I sort through laundry and start a load. Looks like I have 4 loads to do today!

10:00 - Lucas throws a tantrum when I turn off the TV, but I get him upstairs for some play time while I put away 2 loads of laundry from a few days ago. I play a little bit with Lucas in the playroom.

And then get to work straightening up Ryan and Lucas' room. Before and after:

10:45 - Lucas and I head downstairs to have a snack. I eat a boiled egg and he nibbles on a carrot applesauce muffin. I tell him today is a preschool day and he says he doesn't want to go. He's pretty naughty, ripping up one of my magazines and trying to hit me. We sit down and talk about why he doesn't want to go to school and why he's mad. He says he's too shy.

11:00 - Jenna is awake! I try nursing her but she isn't interested. For the next 25 minutes I try to convince Lucas to go potty and get his shoes on. He finally does just in time to walk down to preschool. It's officially girl time for the next hour and a half!

11:45 - I throw another load of laundry in and Jenna and I head out to Target. We pass by Ryan's playground on the way out and I see him playing. I have a few things to return at Target and I really need to find shoes for the boys to wear in our upcoming family photos. The shoes I find are way too expensive, but I do find a few items I need for some homemade Christmas presents I plan on making. Oh my gosh, Christmas stuff everywhere!

12:45 - Jenna and I arrive home and unload our things. We sit down for a quick lunch of random foods. Yam topped with butter and salt, cottage cheese, and cucumber. We're doing our best to stick to our $600 grocery budget for this month, so that means using up what we have instead of buying more food. Jenna eats the same thing as me, plus some cheese and grapes. She was starving! I know I'll be hungry again soon but it's time to get Ryan from school.

1:30 - Once we're home Ryan gets to choose 1 piece of Halloween candy for his treat. He chooses M and M's.

I love this time with him before we pick up Lucas because I can actually hear what he has to say. We look through everything Ryan brought home and play a little bit. Jenna loves her big brother!

2:00 - Time to put Jenna back in the stroller and walk to get Lucas. Unfortunately he had a little accident in his pants today at school. We arrive home and look at everything Lucas made at school.  He's so proud of his work! I start a 3rd load of laundry. The boys eat a snack and I sip some warm tea. It's cold today!

2:45 - I turn on Inspector Gadget for the boys and take Jenna up for her 2nd nap. Lately her afternoon nap has been hit or miss, but she falls asleep today. I come downstairs to find the boys literally pummeling each other. One gets punched in the face and the other gets kicked in the stomach before I break things up.

3:15 - I eat a quick snack:

And then I decide the boys need time outside. So we head out front and play some soccer with the new goal Adam built for them. Then they ride their truck around.

4:00 - Jenna is awake so we head inside. I try to nurse Jenna but the boys start fighting again. There is a lot of screaming and punching and Lucas is really riled up. He hits me, knocks over Jenna's things in her room and starts to trash his room. It's not fun.We're going to my sister's house tonight to celebrate my niece's 8th birthday! I planned on making pizza for the boys for dinner, so I go ahead and make it anyways to eat before we go. However, Lucas is being awful. He takes a swing at me and almost hits Jenna. Then he starts knocking over furniture and I can't calm him down. He won't stay in a timeout so I have to put Jenna in a safe spot and let her scream while I restrain Lucas for a while until his rage goes away. I hate when he's like this.

5:00 - Party time! My niece is super excited that it's her birthday. We eat homemade mac and cheese, and homemade marble cake made by my niece Emma. Lots of carbs. Yum!

The boys play pretty nicely but when Lucas throws a foam roller at his 2 yr old cousin's head, I know it's time to pack up and leave.

7:15 - We're home and Ryan is hungry so I let him have a bowl of brown rice cereal. While he eats I quiz him on his sight words for school. Upstairs we do jammies, teeth brushing, praying and book reading. Which is really difficult when your 3 yr old throws a fit over everything and your baby wants to climb all over you. But we make it through and lights are out by 8pm. I rock and nurse Jenna and she's asleep by 8:30. Whew! Praise God all 3 kids went to sleep easily tonight.

8:30 - I change into my pajamas. I really want to lay down because my head is hurting and I'm so tired. But I head downstairs to clean up the kitchen, switch laundry, pack lunches, and sweep the floor. This is also the time of day when I try to walk through the house and pick up all the random toys and stuff and put it all back where it goes.

9:15 - I sit down to write this blog post and wait for Adam to get home from work. I look down and remember Adam lent me his Garmin Vivo Fit to wear today. I walked 11049 steps today, which is a little over 5 miles. Sounds pretty average I guess. And today was a pretty average Thursday for me!

THE END