SO far we are loving being in Madison. I know it's too early to tell but it is nice being so close to everything...shopping....zoo....parks....trails....lake!!! We have barely been here a week and a half and already have made a couple trips to the zoo. We might be going again tomorrow because they have a new baby lion cub there but he is only out for a couple hours a day and we missed him both times :(

Yesterday was a sunny day though it was not too warm but we packed a picnic and headed for the park and zoo. It's so nice to be outside again!!!

Neal and I had these for our treat and the kids had some chocolate chip cookies I baked earlier in the week.

Christopher all snuggled up and sleeping.

This is Conners Zoo outfit!!! He always wants to wear it when we go to the zoo but it is getting a little small. These glasses are silly but he got them with a kids meal at Arbys and he loves to wear them.

We also went for a walk along the lake

 

 I love that there is a park, the zoo, a beach, the lake all in one spot. I think we will be spending a lot of time there this summer.

A nice visit.....

Neal is going back to work and we are trying to get some visits in before he does. This week we headed to Iowa to visit his G'pa Ben and then we headed to Alissa and Lorens.

All of us at Bens place

Meeting baby Christopher

Aunt Alissa (uncle Loren was gone at work so we did not get to see him) treated us to Chuckee Cheese. Believe it or not this was my first trip EVER to a Cuckee Cheese. It was a lot of fun!!!

 reading books with aunt Alissa....shes a natural and will make a great mommy one day!!!

 A very proud big brother

One of very few moments baby Christopher was happy!!! I hope we did not change Alissa's mind about one day having kids...hehe!!! They are not all as fussy as ours and usually it does not last too long if they are this fussy (fingers crossed)!! AND you start with one not 3 :)

Conner the sore looser....playing games with this kid is IMPOSSIBLE!!! He is SO competitive (know anyone else like that) if he is not winning he either quits or throws a screaming kid. We have some work to do with this one.

My sweet baby Ethan....this little man is just too easy going sometimes. He was content playing with uncle Lorens tractors!!

We played some Wii games for a while which was a lot of fun. Even more fun to watch Neal and Alissa be silly!!!

Conner was a natural...

Alissa trying some gentle motion moves.....

I really got into the canoeing game!!!

Thanks for having us Alissa it was super nice!!!

I may be in trouble!!!

We are literally 5-10 min away from 4 different Target stores......that just spells trouble. The Fitchburg store is the closest to us and it's a super Target. I forgot how much I LOVED shopping at Target and now we can save a little money getting our groceries there.

 I absolutely love Archer Farms products. They really do a nice job. I just tried the scones this morning for breakfast and they were delicious. The kids loved them too!!! Neal made a face like they were the worst thing in the world....he's not a fan of scones.

I was so excited when I saw these there yesterday!!! Not as good as fresh home made or from a bakery but still delicious. These are not easy to find.

Is this really my Conner. He seems all grown up now. He is still wearing his patch though mom and dad have been kind of bad about making him wear it lately. He just hates it so much :(

He is absolutely LOVING having daddy home. He will be one sad little boy next week when dad has to go back to work.

"I like to see mothers love their children and not just put up with them" - Ben Colson

Since I heard that the other day it just keeps coming back to me. I am truly trying to enjoy every moment of my kids because I am so often reminded by those older than me who have grown children that "it goes so quick" and "one day you will miss this" I LOVE my babies so much and they are my whole world. I am really struggling with dividing my attention right now between all 4 of my boys and I know it will get easier once Christopher figures out that crying all the time is not that fun but for now I am just struggling to give all 4 of them the attention they need and deserve.

3 weeks old already....

 I'm not sure how it's happened but this little guy is over 3 weeks old already!!! He is still SUPER fussy most of the day and nights are not fun at all but we will make it. It's just so hard to listen to him cry sometimes :( Poor little guy!!!

Growing just like his brothers LONG and THIN. A lot of the 0-3 month things are already too short for him. I just can't believe that I am already putting away clothes.

 Most of the pictures I take of Christopher he is either sleeping or screaming. Conner is trying to make baby feel better in this picture. Look at his foot :)) it looks like it could be Conners....haha.

Ahhhh

I was able to get some exercise in today and it felt so good!!!  I was planing on going to the gym today for my first run but it's still being remodeled and it's not opened yet (though it was suppose to be Friday) so instead I did the 30 day shred with Jillian Michaels. I was surprised how easy it came though I did only do that stage 1. I guess I do have some abs left under all that baby flab :)

Neal goes back to work in less than a week now :((( I am so sad about that he is such a huge help. So tonight I plan on soaking my feet and giving myself a pedicure while he watches the Bulls game. I need to take advantage of him being home. Kids are all in bed including Christopher. Not at all a good sign for the night considering that he slept A LOT today.

Christopher is a VERY crabby little man when he's not sleeping he is SCREAMING and there is no making him happy. We will get through it though it wont be like this for long and soon I will be wishing for snuggles and baby toes again :))) I just feel bad for the neighbors....last night they were banging on the floor when he was crying but what am I going to do.

I have tons of pictures to share but since Neal is home I try not to spend too much time on the computer they will be coming soon though :) next week sometime for sure!!!

yay

NO MORE pumping and dumping milk. I'm oping that we have a happier little guy now :)

grrrrrr

i really do not have time or energy for this. an hour after i take my meds i have to pump and dump my milk......ughh what a waste!!! not to mention that the little man is usually hungry around that time and i have nothing for him so then i have to listen to him scream as well!!! well hes hungry every hour so its hard to work around that :) ohh well we will get through this.

Neal has his Lasik today i am so excited for him. by friday he will have perfect vision and no need for glasses or contacts. that is just amazing. he has been wanting this for a very long time so he is very excited as well.

we are now completely moved into the new place and just about unpacked.we handed over our keys yesterday after a thorough cleaning :( because we put so much stuff in storage the new appt is not too cramped and we were able to get our kitchen table in (the little one) so that is good. still have a big mess going on but it wont go anywhere so we are in no rush to get things done now. i really want to just snuggle baby Christopher. he is just SO big already :( he has been super fussy and does not go to bed till midnight and wants to eat literally every hour. i think a lot of it has to do with everything we have been going through and me being sick (really sick) 3 more days of me taking meds and hoping then things will start to get better. we sure do not make babies that sleep all day....hehe. just like the other 2 he only naps twice a day one longer one and one shorter one and is awake most of the day now i just need to work on getting him to sleep at night better.

i do have pictures to share i just don't have enough energy to do all that yet. we took a break on tuesday from all the moving (which with 3 kids takes 10 times as long especially with a newborn) and decided to take the kids to the zoo but by the time we got there they were already closed so instead we took the kids to the park and then out for mexican and ice cream. i think the kids needed a break too this was stressful for them too.

i think for our next move we will have to do things a little differently.

Influenza SUCKS!!!!!! It could not have come at a worst time and my poor husband!!! I feel human again today and actually did some unpacking instead of sleeping all day!!!! I REALLY hope my babies do not get this stuff!!!

sigh....

So sad that this is the last night here :( but looking forward to having things organized again. My hubby is amazing by the way he has been incredible. With three kids and one being only a week old and nursing every 1-3 hours I have not been much help not to mention that he wont let me lift anything other than a few light things. He has moved the majority of the house into the garage already so tomorrow once the help arrives it's just the big stuff and loading up the truck and we will be off...sniff sniff. Then I just have to come back to clean patch a few holes and touch up some paint.

On with the next stage of our lives and hopefully this will bring us closer to a home and settling down and NEVER EVER EVER moving again!!! I am DONE!!! We have been married for 9 years and have moved 7 times this will be the 8th!!!!

Busy

 Sorting and trying to decide what to take with and what to stick in storage

 giving baths

 Busy growing....seriously this SWEET little boy is getting bigger every minute!!! Every time I look at him he seems just a little bigger.

 

Busy giving Christopher as much love as time will allow right now. 

 Busy changing diapers....we have a seriously poopy little guy on our hands!!!

And in between the business trying to have a little fun!!!

Seriously.....

I really wish foodgawker could be erased from my memory!!!!

I have completely failed in my attempt to stay away from sweets :) I just can't do it so I'm back to my all time favorite diet plan MODERATION. I have done well in controlling the amount that does go in. I have lost 10 pounds in the 1st week so I am doing well. I probably have another 5 pounds before I hit a stopping point and will need to do some hard work for the rest of the weight to come off. Nothing fits yet and that is most frustrating to me but I refuse to spend money on cloths I really hope I will not need :)

Photo courtesy Collaborative Curry

Chocolate cake in a mug ready in a minute

Seriously people this is dangerous stuff!!! I can have cake ANY TIME I want!!! I'm scared to try it because if it's yummy I will be making cake for myself on a daily basis!!!!

Gpa Drozd

 

My dad got to meet the baby this weekend!!! 

I am TIRED this morning. Last night I was having one of those moments....one of those blissfully happy moments that led to all three kids sleeping with us. BIG mistake as always......not sure if we slept very much at all. Christopher probably got the most sleep of us all :) 

Neal is in Milwaukee this morning for an eye exam. He is getting LASIK surgery!!! I am a little jealous but SO excited for him. Hopefully he can get it before he has to go back to work. 

We kinda lucked out on the apartment front. I have continued to look at subleases and one came up for the apartment that we were going to anyway. They are giving us the first month free, we will not have to pay extra for the short term lease now and they are taking $50 off each months rent.....yay. We were going there anyway so this works out really well for us. Plus NO DEPOSIT and ALL the utilities are included. We will be able to save some money for the big move this fall. 

I am feeling SO much better about the move now. Like I can actually do this.....it seemed like an impossible task just two weeks ago!!!Now I just need to start packing!!!!

I am ignoring all messes this morning and just enjoying holding my sweet baby before the madness of the move starts so I will leave this post at that and get back to the snuggles.

For G'ma....

Thanks for coming to see us guys!!! What a beautiful looking family!!!

This one is for G'ma and G'pa Sherman!!! All your babies!!! I love how our kids are looking at Angie and their kids are looking at me :)

Picture overload :)

Keep it up.....

Baby Christopher only woke up once last night................keep it up little man.  I give credit to the bassinet and daddy's super powerful wrapping skills :)

I'm enjoying my first cup of coffee this morning since having Christopher. It tastes good again......while I was pregnant I could barely get half a cup down and here I am almost finished with my 1st cup....yay. How I've misses you my precious cup of Jo :)