From First to Third...

Not a baseball reference ;)

This has everything to do with how drastically life has changed in the last 4 years. From having our first baby, a miscarriage, our second sweet babe (a girl) and now, our third (and final) bundle of joy. It's been a busy four years, but I have a feeling "busy" is just life.

I used to be able to pound out a blog post in a day. Those days are gone ;) Now, I let them brew for a while first (in my mind) and then it takes me several short and always interrupted 'sessions' before I'm ready to post. It's okay. It's my new creative process :)


Sleep is a 'thing' of the past.

I remember feeling SO frustrated with a baby Jett as I would rock him back to sleep for the fifth time in one night. Actually, my very first blog post was birthed while I was "sleep training" my 10 month old baby boy. Four years, many baby books, sleep programs and two more babies later, I'm over it. ;) I now realize that I am not entitled to a full night's sleep. Maybe some day... Don't get me wrong, we do have "good" nights in the Schultz house. I didn't spend nearly as much time rocking, bouncing and coddling Kalena and she was a much better sleeper for it. Zavi is coming around, too. I feed him, give him a good snuggle, then lay him down before he's asleep so he can put himself to sleep. He's up a time or two in the night, but I'm okay with that. As we've been adjusting to a new house/sleeping arrangement and fighting colds, I've been up once or twice with the oldest two several nights. Mitch gets up some, too. (with the kids, I mean. ;) I don't have to get up with Mitch in the night)

Coffee.
I have been a lover of a good cup of jo for many many years now. The time I spent employed by Starbucks secured that relationship. In the last few years, though, that relationship has evolved into a lifeline.

I know that the following pics are meant to be funny... I wish they didn't ring so true...

In these baby/toddler years, I've been amazed at how easily I'm awakened in the night. There are nights I swear I can hear my child roll over in bed two rooms away. A couple of weeks ago, though, I woke up in the middle of the night (not sure why) and my arm was stretched out with a blue eyed boy (the older one-- not Mitch) using it as a pillow, nestled in beside me. I was taken aback. "When did Jett get here?" I wondered. It was a bit of an unsettling feeling because I was sure that I heard every noise during the night. What else have I been missing? Are the kids having their way with our house in the night without me knowing???? I suppose I should have become worried when caffeine ceased to affect me at night...

We hosted some friends for lunch after church one Sunday. When we had gotten home from church, Zavi was sleeping in his carseat, so I had just tucked him into our bedroom so he could keep napping a while. It took me a short time to get the food ready to serve and we had everyone sitting, eating and halfway through the meal before I thought, "Zavi!!" I had completely forgotten about him and not even checked on him once since we'd gotten home. I rushed to our bedroom to find that he was still in dreamland. I'm sure I would have heard him and remembered if he'd woke up and was crying, right? Right???  Poor forgotten little guy.

I can remember (before becoming a parent) seeing toddlers running around with a soother hanging out of their mouth and thinking, "Those kids are too old to have a soother." (My non-expert opinion). It's funny how those views can change. ;) With Jett, we casually used a soother for a short time, but by 6 months, he was done with it and wouldn't even take it if we gave it to him. We pushed the soother on Lena and, as a result, she LOVES her soother, or should I say "sucky". She calls it her "Yah-yi." She started biting holes in them a few months ago, but it was right before Zavi was born and I couldn't bring myself to take it away from her just yet. She just turned 2 a few days ago and she now only gets it when she goes for a nap or to sleep at night. I'm okay with that. We'll "ween" her off it in the next few months. Kalena will try to nab Zavi's "Yah-yi" if no one is looking. She thinks she's hilarious. For now, we keep Zavi's Wubbanub (Small stuffed monkey with a pacifier coming out of its mouth) close to him so he can have it whenever he likes.

I remember how "cozy" life was for a time after Jett was born. With one baby, you can snuggle the day away; especially when your fridge/freezer are full of meals that people have brought you. There also seems to be a grace period (home, church, community) where people really don't expect much from you. You really can hold your baby for most of the day! It's funny how as you have more children, you are less entitled to that grace period and you receive less help. I suppose it's because you're supposed to be less intimidated by a new baby; "been there, done that." I often find my self longing to just sit and hold my baby, but there's just so much more to DO! Poor Zavi. I try to take time everyday to hold each of my children separately, even if it's just a few minutes. I haul Zavi around the house with me and try to keep him close to eye level (usually in his bouncy chair) so I can lock eyes with him and get him "talking" (cooing) to me lots. I am thankful that breastfeeding has worked out for us because it provides time for me to sit with my baby. We snuggle for more concentrated periods of time while his older siblings are napping/sleeping, but he doesn't get nearly the snuggle time that J had.

It was a few weeks ago now I suppose (time flies) that Lena and I were having a really good cuddle. It was a rare morning where both of her brothers were still sleeping, but she was ready to start the day, so we started it off right by snuggling on the couch. All of my kids are really good at cuddling. I love it. Lena leaned in and looked me right in the eye. "I yuv you, mommy." she said to me, and I melted. That was the first time she had expressed her emotions so clearly without being prompted. ***Sigh :)

Having those sweet moments with children are what remind me that this is ALL worth it. (as if I need reminding) What I mean is, there have been more changes than just daily routine. My body has taken a major hit. I really don't know how some women can have so many children and walk away with bodies that look relatively unscathed. Four pregnancies in as many years is not a good look for me, but I know that I am one blessed mama. My midsection will likely never be the same, but it's okay. I think I'm through the belly-shirt stage anyway ;)  I do aspire to lose a good 50 lbs (which seems incredibly daunting) ...tomorrow.

I remember feeling overwhelmed trying to get ready with ONE baby around my ankles. :) (Playing Defense) Oh, how perspective changes... ;) I remember when I used to be able to shower whenever I wanted (barely). I confess, three children has impacted my personal hygiene. Showers have to be carefully planned into a day and often involve a bouncy chair IN the bathroom with me (I stick my head out from behind the curtain every other minute or so to make a silly face, reassuring noises etc.) and several interruptions by my other two munchkins. Forget being able to straighten my hair. I suppose I could do it in the evening, but that's my only time to connect with my hubs and coo at my baby. ...not to mention get the remaining dishes in the dishwasher, sweep the floor, tidy up toys, etc. I have thought about how great it would be to shave my head, but I'm far too self conscious for that.

My "at home" attire is not nearly so fashionable as it used to be (maybe.. I've always doubted my fashion sense). When I look in the laundry basket at my own clothes, there are a lot of oversized shirts and stretchy pants...

As my kiddos get older, we certainly face many more disciplinary issues which is a challenge and test of patience, to be sure. Currently, I am trying to figure out how to "catch," appropriately discipline and teach a young little mister who I am fairly sure is telling me lies quite often. How do you teach him that it's better to tell the truth when he receives punishment for lying when he comes clean. Any words of wisdom from parental veterans is appreciated ;)

I am thankful to live in a techno-era where I can document pictures and aspects of the lives of my children electronically rather than on paper. If I had to write it out by hand, it likely wouldn't happen. Several of my friends make beautiful scrapbooks of family memories and I can definitely appreciate their handiwork, but I know that my own talent-set doesn't allow for that. Iphone, digital cameras and my Macbook serve me well as I make momentos for my crew (okay, they're likely mostly for me). I love photobooks. I make them on my Mac, or through other sites such as Picaboo or Photobook Canada when I can get deals through Groupon.

I thought I was keeping up well and taking lots of pictures of my second and third child to have pictoral memories for them to look back on. As I unpacked my photobooks into our new house though, I saw, "Welcome to the World, Jett," "Jett's First Year Volume 1," "Jett's First Year Volume 2," "Jett's First Birthday"... you get the point. I only had 1 book of Lena, and Zavi is too fresh to have joined that arena. ;) I think I set an unreasonable photobook pace with Jett, but I have some work to do to adequately document the lives of my kiddos. I do really enjoy it, it's just finding the time...

All previous comments and musings aside, I TRULY love being a mom and wouldn't trade away this time of my life. There are moments when I have wished my children would hurry up and grow up, but that's not really what I want. Daily, I try to appreciate the hilarious conversations I find myself engaged in and cherish the snuggles.

Baby Jett

Baby Kalena

Baby Zavier

We are HERE. Here we are.

Ahhhh.....

After a week of temps reaching as low as -50....
After worrying this past week for my boy, his nasty cough and ear infection and then watching the rest of my family drop like flies...
After a winter that has been spent 95% indoors...
After adding to our crazy with a third babe... (albeit very sweet babe)
After a month long move  ;)
After a long flight with 2 toddlers and a baby...

We are here.

Hallelujah

 We ARE rejoicing.

For a long time, my parents (mom especially) have wanted to do a family vacation in Hawaii. We had no objections! Back in August, we found this house that is only two blocks from the Kailua beach access, and quickly booked it.

I have been looking at pictures of this area for the past half a year and dreaming of 'living' in the tropics (especially as this winter has dragged on and on) Now that we're here.... ahhhhhhh. It feels good. The pics of 'our' house that I had seen online were definitely a little nicer than what the actual house is like. Things seem dated, but it kind of fits the laid back lifestyle of the area.

Our flights to get here went well. Our kids have flown quite a bit (except for Zav, of course. This was his first time), so I wasn't too worried, but the 6 1/2 hr flight from Vancouver to Honolulu did get long. My parents were on the same flight as us, which at this stage of the game for us, was a God-send. That long flight didn't have any in-flight entertainment (TV) either, so we relied on our own"stuff." Grandma had packed lots of little activity books and games for the kids, which was great. We made sure that all of our seats were together when we checked in online 24 hrs before the flight.

We were tired, but excited when we landed in Honolulu. The warm tropical air is the most wonderful greeting. My mood was dampened, though, when we collected our checked luggage and found that one of our suitcases hadn't made it. I've never actually had that happen. Of all the suitcases to lose, of course it was the one with ALL of Zavi's stuff. I spoke with a West Jet rep and expressed my frustration over not having what I needed to adequately care for my baby. I was promised $100 compensation and they did find the suitcase and send it on the next flight. They even sent it with a courier directly to our house and we had it the following morning. All in all, not so bad.

On our way home, we are taking the "red eye." We've never tried it, but our hope is that our children all sleep through it... we'll see how that goes. ;)

I found some pics and maps of the area. Kailua Bay is much smaller than Honolulu and the beaches are much less crowded than Waikiki.

The island is gorgeous. I love the contrast of the mountains against the ocean/beaches. On our drive to Kailua (You can see on the map the airport) we took hwy 63 and that H3 interstate. Parts of the hwy drive went right through mountains and had these beautiful tunnels. I will try to get some pics of them later. ;)

It is a nice two-block walk from our house to the beach. There are mountains at our backs, ocean in the front. :)

That two-block walk culminates in the most beautiful beach that deepens very gradually and is PERFECT for kids. My little hooligans are in their glory.

Before we left, I had really wanted to find a good beach tent that packed up nice and small to take to Hawaii. Mitch and I found this gem at Target only two days before we left! We stumbled upon it on the clearance rack for $34.99, which we were thrilled about. When it was rung through at the till, it came up for $20.99! It was definitely meant to be. The tent is perfect for our littlest beach bum, Zav, to enjoy the fresh air off the ocean while kicking happily out of the direct rays of the sun.

Jett and Kalena LOVE the ocean water/waves and they also love to play in the sand. It doesn't even bother them that every so often a larger wave comes and flattens the castles they're building. Jett loves what he calls "gooey" sand and both J & K cake their whole bodies in it. I'm sure it's good for their skin. ;)

Both Jett and Kalena love to "swim." We talked with them about how it is actually their life preservers holding them up and stressed the importance of them wearing them. They have no fear and swat your hands away so they can float independently. "I do it myself!" is Kalena's proclamation for many things these days.

A few of these pictures, like the one above, are taken at a different beach we found when driving around. It is in Waimanalo, which is not very far from Kailua, our home base. It was a nice beach (they all are) but we really love and prefer 'our' beach that is so close to where we're staying.

The best frenemies you could find ;)

Sweet Bella Mae 

(and Tim & Sherry- My brother and sister-in-law) ;)

Fun on the beach with Papa and Gramma.

It has been so great to spend time with uncle Greg and aunty Karmen, too! They just finished their teaching contract in S Korea and are on their way home... with a Hawaiian pit stop. ;)

Beach bums

We've been using the pool at our house everyday, too! It is a great (non sandy) way to cool off and it can entertain the kids while meals are prepared. 

 We are very thankful to be able to do this trip. Without the help and support of family, this is not something we'd be able to do right now, but we LOVE it. The colds that have plagued us since last week linger on. Jett is pretty much better, but Kalena's cold is taking it's time. Mitch is feeling better, but it finally caught up with me and I'm in the thick of it; this stinkin' cold. We really haven't been sick all year. Crazy that it came on now. The tropical air helps and so does our relaxed non-schedule. We're still loving it, just with alot of mucus...

The biggest and most obvious void in this family trip is the absence of Braden, Carrie and Lucy. When we booked this trip, we never considered there would be an issue for my sister travelling while pregnant. We now know that there is NO insurance that will cover you past 31 weeks pregnant. We found insurance for Carrie through a European company, but they wouldn't cover the baby. It's just too big of a risk when you think of how hospital bills for a Canadian in the States can accumulate by $10,000 per day or more. We learned this first hand with Mitch's emergency appendectomy in Galveston, Texas a year and a half ago. (You can read about it HERE, if you like) Insurance is important, but we sure wish that Braden, Carrie and Lucy could be here with us. I was snuggling Kalena the other day and she looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, "I yuv Carrie." (That one's for you, sis) I decided not to be offended that she didn't say she loved ME in that moment we spent snuggling ;)


Anyhoo, time to close up my computer and head outside. I have enjoyed this time I had to relax and blog while my family napped. That's another perk from being in the warm tropical climate. My kids play hard for hours outside, then they ASK to go down for a nap! That never happens at home! LOVE it!