7 weeks down.

Since you've been gone...

Charlotte: Oh this girl and her one liners... she cracks me up. She's definitely finding joy amidst all the crazy lately (is now laughing over the fact that she bathed in a tub filled with Marley's poop this week)... and I love her so much for that. She really embraces the crazy. She's been the most helpful little girl this week, and continues to just amaze me. When we're getting ready to leave the house, she turns off all the lights, makes sure all the doors are locked, packs snacks, lays my shoes out so I just have to slip them right on, helps Marley into her jacket and shoes, etc. Completely floored by her helpfulness. I don't think I could do life without her. She's super excited about no schoolwork this week, and says she's going to "wake up, play all day, and then fall asleep."

Marley: This little nugget... has been just that, a nugget. Everyday is a battle with her, teaching her how to "share" and "don't unbuckle your carseat" (yeah, she's THAT good... little Houdini) and "don't play in the toilet water"... I think you get the picture. Every day though, she surprises me with the amount of love that she shows all of us. Hugging us, smooching us, and just wanting to be near each and everyone of us. We love that side of her. She's dancing ALL THE TIME, and singing ALL THE TIME, and will talk your ear off (mostly gibberish still) ALL THE TIME. She definitely fights for attention, because she wants to be the center of it.

Finn: This little guy has figured out the system. When I put him down, he cries... when no one is around to play with him (but stuffed animals) he cries... Except when he's in the truck... man, the kid is the BEST truck rider in the history of ever. I can run most of my errands without having to think about his schedule... it's Marley that I usually have to take into consideration. He had a couple of hiccups this week with not wanting to nap, since he's learning and seeing so much, he's too excited to sleep. But all in all, just a happy little guy. He'll be 5 months old in a little over a week, and I'm going to start trying to see if he'll do some "baby led feeding" with some avocados and cereal, the same way we started with Marley.

Me: I was SO sick for 24 hours this week... oh it was the worst, but you already know that. There was one moment where I was at the toilet puking, Mars was crying because she was hungry for dinner (oh that hangry beast), Finn was crying because he needed a diaper change, and Charlotte was right beside me in the bathroom going, "Mommy, that's gross..." It was THE WORST... so happy it didn't last too long. Felt like a million bucks the day after, and have been on the go ever since. I've been preparing the house and packages for Christmas... and trying to get things in order. I've been telling myself to keep it simple this year, and I think that it's working. I'm not stressed out... and it's exactly how I want all holidays to go from this point on. We'll be making some salt dough ornaments this week to finish up our Christmas tasks... so that on Christmas Day, we'll head into the nearby nursing home, and spend some time with the folks that won't have much company this Christmas. I figured there's no better bunch, than our bunch of kiddos, to cheer them up, and love on them.

Story of the Week: This week I surprised the kids with a movie outing, to see "Penguins of Madagascar." It was a 2 o'clock showing, and so I made sure that Marley napped before we left, so she'd actually enjoy the movie, and that others around us would enjoy it as well. We get to the theatre, Charlotte is ecstatic that we're there... after all, Frozen was the last movie we saw in the theatre. It's been awhile. We get into the theatre, sit down, and have 5 minutes to spare before the movie starts. As we were settling in, I plopped Marley down on her seat, turned to my other side to get Finn out of his carseat to hold him (since he was awake). By the time I was done grabbing him out of seat... I look over to my right, and all I see is Marley's little feet kicking up in the air, the chair "ate her"... you know how they collapse upward? Well, because she's so light the chair ate her right up, like an alligator... Charlotte and I were able to grab her out, but oh my word, we couldn't stop laughing. Thankful that Marley was laughing right along with us.