bring joy

pregnancy anxieties + thoughts on big families

motherhood, pregnancy

At a recent get together, I had a conversation with a friend.

I voiced my anxiety about having a baby, adding another little body to our brood.

“Why? You already have four. What’s one more?”

I was taken a back. A bit flabbergasted.

Oh boy.

“What’s one more?!” I thought, a bit defensively. “I’ll TELL you what’s one more.”

Then I thought, well, what is one more?

First off, it’s not like just throwing another potato in the pot.

It’s another human being.

It’s true, in many ways, more kids=less work, but there’s also the undeniable fact that each child has their own unique set of needs & wants that must be addressed individually.

A little person that will need to be fed, clothed, loved–and who, for the first years of it’s life will rely nearly 100% on me for all those needs to be me...

thick & creamy candy cane milkshake

ice cream, holiday foods

You know what I love during the Christmas season?

Candy cane milkshakes.

Also, I love how ambitious kids get.

Like, take a look at my 7 & 8 year old’s letter to Santa.

A Wii? An x-box? (I laughed out loud when I read that.)

I know for a fact they’ve never played an X-box before, it’s just something they’ve heard kids at school talk about. And I think they played the Wii once or twice at a cousin’s house.

2,000(!) red, blue & dark green long Lego pieces? 40 Lego goblets, 20 Lego chickens, 30 Lego pics, 4 big Lego trolls? And the list goes on.

My boys know what they want & they’re not afraid to ask for it.

I remember writing letters to Santa as a kid & then never getting what I asked & being severely disappointed. Though now, as I parent I understand why “Santa” didn’t always deliver...

Frugal Holidays: 5 Christmas Traditions We LOVE

frugal life, family, frugal holidays

Christmas traditions.

Do you have any?

This is one of my kid’s favorite traditions & we can get them to do just about anything if I bribe them with: “We need to clean up first if you want to do the advent calendar later.” (Bribery totally works.)

This advent calender is for the girls. We bought the boys a Lego advent calender–which even I think is sooo cool.

I made this advent calendar out of toilet paper rolls (thanks pinterest!). I hot glued (can I say how much I HATE hot glue guns? I have half a dozen burn marks all over each hand) the empty rolls to cardboard cut in the shape of a tree, filled them with various little gifts I purchased from the dollar section at Target (I spent about $20 on treats/gifts to fill it with)–Hello Kitty bracelets & necklaces, Christmas themed erasers...