Summer's come to an end

It's official. Today is the last day of summer vacation. For all of us! To say that I am miserable would be an understatement! I feel like I could cry at the drop of a pin yet I am trying to stay upbeat around the kids. We are keeping it low key today and just spending quality time reading, being silly and giving loves. I would do anything for this not to end. Unfortunately, time keeps on going and waits for no one and we must embark on this next phase in our lives. Hannah is about to be a first grader! As sad as I am about her growing up on me, I am so excited for her as well. I just know she is going to do a fantastic job. The babies will be heading to work with me tomorrow and I am sure we will figure it all out. I will be glad when all of the anxiety is done and over with.

So goodbye care free days of summer. I am going to miss you tremendously. You have brought me many, many wonderful memories with my 3 children and I will be forever grateful for this time that I was able to share with them. Goodbye maternity leave. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was begging for that precious baby to make their arrival? Thank you for giving me this time to spend with my darling baby boy. You have come and gone so quickly, but I know that there are still so many more good times yet to be had. As long as I have these gorgeous children, my family and their health, I know all will be okay.

Just gonna forge on forward and get through these next couple of days.

I love you Hannah, Layla-Grayce and baby Cameron!!! I LOVE YOU!

Time

What I wouldn't do to turn back the hands of time and be at the beginning of the summer again. I can't believe how quickly this time has flown by and my one summer home with my three children is closing in on an end. Sigh. In a mere 5 days, Miss Hannah will be entering the 1st grade and I am heading back to work with two small children. Double Sigh. I know how fortunate I was to have this time off with them and I know all good things must come to an end.. I just can't help being depressed about how I have been able to spend so much TIME with them this summer and how quickly it is all going to end. Hockey and dance will be starting for Hannah as well as CCD. Layla will also be taking dance. Our schedule is about to get insane and I am having severe anxiety about how I am going to manage it all and still get that QUALITY time in with them without blinking.. since it seems like when I blink.. they grow at magnificent speed!

There is always a bright side to things however as well. I know this. I truly LOVE the FALL! I love apple picking and baking apple pie. I LOVE my beloved Patriots and Football Sundays. (Side Note: How stinking classy is Wes Welker? Did anyone see him last night shake the hand of the player on the opposite team who most likely tore his knee the same way Wes did last year?) I LOVE Halloween and taking the kids in the wagon to trick or treat. So yes, there is so much to LOVE about the Fall and it's festivities. I just pray that I am able to manage it all and still feel complete with the kids.

Another exciting event will be Cameron's Baptism scheduled for the end of the month. It is all coming together. I ordered his outfit off of Etsy and it is currently being made. Father Najim will be Baptising him and I am sooooo very thankful for that. He will have Baptized all three of my babies and that means the world to me. The celebration afterwards is scheduled at Via Roma and I am thrilled about that as well. It is going to be an entirely Italian affair for my little man. Complete with Sinatra and Bennett playing at the celebration! LOL I just have to order the cake and get some Italian centerpieces and we are good to go! Mom Murphy cordially offered to make the favors for us and she is making chocolate crosses. I am sure they will be darling. Nothing but the best for my little Prince on the day he is to be Baptized!

Speaking of my Prince, we have successfully transferred him to the crib this week! Hooray! I cant believe it! I really cant. Layla NEVER did this. She would scream for hours! I kid you not that one night we let it go on for 2 hours before Billy and I looked at each other and said, NO MORE! We couldn't do it. The most Cam cried was 20 minutes and it was not even a serious cry. He is doing great! He usually does a 5 hour stretch and then a 2 to 3 hour stretch. I cant complain about that! He is such a little sweetie! He melts me when he laughs and smiles at me. I still am in awe that I have this gorgeous little boy to hold and love!

Last but not least we are at the end of 4 weeks at the gym and on the diet. I am proud to say that I am 14lbs lighter. I am happy and proud of myself. It is so not easy to be doing this all after 8pm when I would much rather be resting and getting a good night's sleep. I have worked hard and I am determined to work even harder to get it all off! I will do this. I know I will.

Heading to the studio to do a shoot with the kids and to visit my Shannon. Will hopefully have some great pics to post when I get back!

A Case of the Sickies!

It looks like all of our good times have caught up with us and the Murphy clan has been stuck in the house since last Friday! I woke up Friday morning feeling fine but around 3pm I started feeling funky. We had spent the gorgeous day in Newport walking around and even finding a Farmer's Market! We bought some tomatoes and some all natural olive oil cream for Cam's skin. When we got home, I fell asleep on the chair and woke up knowing I had a fever as my skin was on fire but I was shivering with chills. Sure enough, this Mama had caught a virus. A yucky summer virus that contained a high fever, chills, aches and a nasty sore throat. It wasnt long before the banana got it and she ended up with 105.2 fever on Sunday evening. Then the two little ones followed suit and so we have been stuck inside during all this gorgeous weather this week! I think Cameron is on the mend and his fever is now only low grade, but it is lingering a bit in Miss Layla. We had plans to be in Mystic today with Ant Denise and the kids but unfortunately we had to reschedule. Hoping to get the visit in before school starts as I would love to see those little darlings.

We did get a trip to the American Girl Doll Store in on Sunday before Hannah's fever spiked. Auntie Jill had made these reservations at the Bistro for Hannah for her birthday a few months ago. We surprised Hannah and she was so excited once she found out what her special treat was all about. Auntie Jill and Uncle Dave were so generous to the girls and to us and the lunch was phenomenal! The entire day was adorable with the little chairs for the dolls complete with teacups and saucers. The girls had a blast and Cam was an angel. Alexis even got her hair done at the AG Doll Salon and the day was made complete with some new matching pj's for both Hannah and Alexis. Layla LOOKED like a little doll walking around the place with the American Girl Doll bag on her shoulder. She had purchased a new Fall outfit for her Bitty Baby, Emily. (Yes, my girls named these dolls on their own). I was glad we were able to fit this in with everyone being sick! Hoping we didnt pass our germs on to anyone!

The rest of the week has just been a lot of resting. Which, isnt such a bad thing since I swear no matter how many hours I sleep, I still cant catch up and I feel so tired lately. I did manage to get a few shots of Cameron yesterday in between his naps. Poor little buddy had such a fever and still he smiled at me and the camera. He is just such a lovey and even when he is fussy from feeling yucky, I could still just eat him up! I snapped a great one of his tiny toes which I decided to use for his Baptism invitation. Hoping to get to the studio sometime in the next week or so to get some really nice ones of all the kids and some to display at his Baptism Celebration.

I did cancel my gym appointment last Friday with my trainer since I could hardly walk never mind lift weights. But I kept this week's and have battled through. I am getting stronger by the day. I am quite proud of myself and my accomplishments thus far. This is my 3rd week in and I am down 8+ pounds. I have gone faithfully with the exception of last Friday and I have pushed through when I thought I couldnt do any more. I know I have to do this for myself. I know that the payoff will feel great. I have been there before and I can do it again. I just have to stay focused and determined and I am praying that as the months go by, I will feel more and more comfortable in my skin.

Summer 2010

Oh my gosh! Where has the time gone this summer? We have been so busy that I can barely find 5 minutes to sit and type updates! Yet, this is exactly how I wanted it to be! A fun filled crazy happy summer! I can say I fulfilled that desire for sure.

The girls are doing real well and enjoying our gallivants to New Hampshire, Matunuck, blueberry picking, Newport etc..etc.., I still cant believe that in a mere 3 weeks Hannah will be a first grader! AH.. I am tucking that thought away until I am strong enough to deal with it. She is growing like a weed and aside from her occasional bouts with freshiness, she is having a great summer. My darling Layla.. oh my Layla.. she has truly comprised the role of the "family klutz" this summer. I tell ya that the poor little thing has fallen too many times to count and Tuesday was the worst by far when she went down 14 hardwood stairs and crashed onto the tile floor. I knew it was going to happen, I knew it. I drill her 80 million times a day to be careful on the stairs, dont play around and pay attention. She had snuck up a pair of plastic play shoes and I heard her clonking in them while I was showering, but for sure I thought she would never attempt the stairs in them. WRONG! I ran to her just as she slid down the first step and I literally saw her forward roll down the rest. HORRIBLE! Thankfully Billy was home and he ran to her as I screamed to him. She came up a bloody mess but thankfully she was easily soothed and she didnt cry for too long. We were able to stop the bleeding and realized that it was her nose that took the brunt of it. After a trip to the doctor and some x-rays, we deemed it not broken and she is healing well. In all honesty, I thought it was going to be so much worse. The way she fell and how she hit, UGH.. I keep getting the vision. Yet, I am thankful that she walked away with only minor injuries!

My sweet Chubba Luv has been doing wonderfully as well. He is SUCH a sweet little baby! I can't even handle it. Half the time I am unaware that he is even there. He loves to sleep and when he is awake, he is smiling.. all the time. He loves to talk to me and coo and laugh. I could just eat him up forever. He too, is growing like a weed and I cant believe that we have already past the 2 month mark! He loves his baths and kicks like an Olympic swimmer as soon as I put him in his baby tub. He goes down for me in the bassinet without a problem at night and will sleep sometimes for 5 hours straight! I couldn't ask for anything more! I do know that the time is nearing for me to switch him to the crib and I am surely dreading that. I love having him right there beside me and it is so much easier when you are nursing. At the same time, I want him to continue his good sleep habits and I know the crib is probably best to do that with.

Last but not least, I have committed myself to this losing weight battle. I intend to win it by all means necessary! I started last week with a trainer at the gym and slowly but surely it is coming off. I have been working so very hard! The only time I have to exercise is after 8:00pm at night. This can be tough as this is the time of night that I usually just want to crash on the couch. Yet, I have mustered up the will power to go to the gym every night at this time. It is the ONLY way I can do this and I am as determined as ever to plug on through until I am where I want to be. After almost 2 weeks, I can see and feel a difference already. The weight is slowly coming off. I am trying to have patience with the fact that it is a slow process. It is difficult since I am really really working so very hard at it. The diet too has been crucial. From eating whatever I wanted to 6 small meals of vegetables and protein around a family who is constantly eating cookies and cheese and pizza and fries.. yet I have stayed strong. I will do this.. I know I can!

Off to go see Toy Story 3 and then have Mom & Dad for dinner!