baby bumps

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Showing some love today to my ever changing and growing body!

 2007 with Rylee, my first baby who came 3 weeks early and gave me major back pain!

2011 with my Reese who was right on time and made me look rounder all over by the day!

2015 with baby #3 and not even halfway there yet but already growing!

Love to all my children: big hugs that wrap around them that squeeze them so tight they will always remember.

And, happy birthday to their wonderful daddy, Mike today! Turning 36 never looked so good! 🙂

Reese starts gymnastics..

 
Our little pumpkin started gymnastics at Tumblebees and she just looks way too grown up! To our surprise, our little hype girl is a natural at it. 
For her first class, Rylee stayed by her side the whole time. Coaching her along and making sure she followed directions. After that, Reese was on her own and had it down. 

Reese is such a free spirited girl. She loves being outdoors and being active. 

hokey pokey…

Happy Monday folks!

We spent our weekend by the pool, at the gym, and eating icecream.
 
The weekends go by much too fast!
 
Rylee and I talked about ways to show respect to others and the
1st Commandment, “Honor your Father and Mother” in our devotions last night.
She is such a smart girl and is still learning how to be mindful of manners and respectful to all.
 
Reese loves to dance::  The funniest moment of the weekend was our tradition of dancing in Reese’s room before bed…She’s obsessed with the hokey pokey.. so we all sing it and when it gets to “you do the hokey pokey, and you turn yourself around, that’s what it’s all about…”,
we all point at Reese and pause to let her scream “HOKEY POKEY”.
She laughs hysterically everytime.
 
Laughter is medicine for the soul.
 
 


busy life

Ever get so wrapped up in the tasks of the day that you forget to slow down and enjoy it?

I’ll admit it, we do.

Our mornings and evenings always seem like such a hectic time of fast pace, nonstop, go go go!

A typical morning with kids is:
I’m up at 5am, workout. Everyone else is up at 6:30am.
Dressed.
Breakfast.
Lunches packed.
Teeth brushed.
Hair fixed – neatly.
Shoes on.
Feed animals.
Load car.
Then, we’re off.

A typical evening with kids is:
Home by 5:30.
Dinner at the table.
Chat about the day.
Dishes.
Laundry.
Tend to animals.
Bath time.
Story time.
Songs.
Dance.
Bed.

That’s it. Sounds simple and probably like most households. But busy.
We maintain organization within our family because let’s face it, my middle name is organization.

I’m a planner. Always.

Our lives have became much more organized:: I lay out the kid’s clothes for the week. We prepare meals ahead of time. We pack lunches the night before. We have a chalk board of daily tasks. We have a calendar in the kitchen of events. We squeeze in fun things in the evenings like dinners out, icecream, pool time…

It’s easy to always feel rushed. Like there isn’t enough time in the day. Especially when both parents work 1st shift.

We have learned that our entire household is much happier and manageable when everyone slows down and gets to do the things they enjoy.

So… Stop. Breathe. Enjoy the beauty of your everyday life. Enjoy the sounds of children’s laughter. Don’t get caught up in the 5,000 requests at bedtime for more water, bathroom trips, and one more song. Let it be. Live life to the fullest and soak in every momemt. For one day, those moments will only be a memory.

Mackey Pack is Back!

That was the longest break ever in blog posting, right? So the last time I posted was August of 2012… well, things have certainly changed!
Many people that know us think we should open a zoo. Our family loves animals. We have a turtle (Elizabeth), a geiko (Olivia), a ball python (Guiness), a hermit crab (Shelly), a hamster (Cheddar), 2 dogs (Dixie & Sammy), and a fish (Sebastian).
 
The kids have grown~  Rylee is 7 and Reese is 3!
I’m.. not going to say my age and Mike’s in his mid-thirties.
 
 
There’s Rylee, our first born: who is completing 1st grade and so intelligent. Rylee is our witty, serious, and giving child. She reads more than I do, loves journaling and drawing, helping in the kitchen, enjoys playing with friends, and gets excited for manicures and pedicures. She loves dresses and high heels. She’s basically 7 going on 17. She is very mature and energetic. Very set in her ways and time/detail oriented. She loves animals of all kinds especially her pet hamster and geiko. Swimming would be her favorite sport; however, she plays soccer for her 3rd year now – 6 seasons.. 4 of them undefeated. She loves to make things for people and has a big heart.
Definitely a Momma’s girl.
 
 

And then, there’s Reese. Reese is our funny, spunky, never a dull moment child. She is in preschool. Reese loves bubbles, outdoors, dresses, dogs, and testing her parent’s patience. She loves singing and making people laugh. She loves to cuddle and give hugs. She is full of energy and the girl loves food. Reese is into baby dolls, Dora and Frozen. She knows the lyrics to every Frozen song. She’s a thumb sucker and a “nap anywhere” kinda girl. She’s sweet and caring.
This one is her Daddy’s girl.
 

Often, I am asked: “do your girls get along?”
Well, you would think being 4 years and 3 months apart, yes – however, it’s a slightly different story here. Don’t get me wrong, as with every family, there are good days and bad days. They get along for the most part but they bicker.. It’s little things like “she’s looking at me”, “she has my tablet”, “that’s mine”, “no it isn’t, it’s mine”, “shes’s not sharing”, “why do I have to share”…
You catch my drift.
 
They do love playing together: baby dolls, dancing, singing, watching movies together. Reese will do about anything Rylee says because well, she wants to be just like her (for now anyway).
 
Regardless of the good and bad, I’ll take them and I am blessed to call them both mine. 

Mike and I are going on year 8 of marriage and 11 years together. Marriage is a wonderful thing. I can’t and don’t ever want to imagine life without him. Has it been rocky? Duh, no marriage is perfect, unless you’re the Duggar family. I’m certainly no marriage expert. I’m not even close. But I can tell you what makes ours work: respect and communication.
 
I once read that marriage is made up of:
 
* 2 people believing good wins over bad
* 2 people walking in each other’s shoes
* 2 people living the love they promise

 Our new found hobbies are working out and running. We have ran some 5ks this year together and plan to do a half marathon before the end of the year.
I love journaling, eating healthy, and crafting. Mike loves playing golf, grilling, and pinterest. Ha!
 
 
 Life is pretty grand. Our family has a tons to be thankful for. We are beyond blessed.
We hope you will continue to follow our journey.

  


Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten {Tuesday}

Linking up with Top Ten Tuesdays to bring you the Top 10 things I need ….

1. I need an i-phone.
I need it because its cute. That’s it. It’s an adorable phone.
My mother in law recently purchased one. And I must say I’m so jealous.
But we are devising a plan to convince my husband that I need one…we’ll butter him up with chocolate, chicken casserole and notre dame apparel. Done.

2. I need 8 hours of consistent sleep.
zzzzzzzz, you know how it is…

man oh man, it would feel amazing to sleep for 8 solid hours straight.
My dearest hubs goes to bed at 10pm sharp every night and awakens every morning at 6:30.
He’s got such a good routine.
And not a sign of bags under his eyes. at. all. And for this, I am jealous.

3. I need a peppermint mocha from Starbucks every. single. day.
If only they made house deliveries….I’d be in total heaven. And be totally broke.

4. I need to freeze time because my children….are. growing. up. WAY TOO FAST!

5. I need to hug the owner of this store…

You ever been? To Charming Charlies? O, Em, Gee!!
It’s eye candy for sure, for those of you obesessed with accessories, like moi. It will make your toes curl.

6. I need to call my family more.
Working in a hospital sure does make you thankful for what you have. And I’m very thankful for my family.
I miss them. I think of each of them daily.
The fun times with cousins like singing “Cotton Eyed Joe” (pure silliness) , spending the nights with Aunts because they’d let us eat junk food and stay up late, eating momma’s spaghetti that I can still smell when I close my eyes, and the list could seriously go on.
{Goal: call a family member this week and tell them how much I miss them}

7. I need to purchase a pair of these for each of my children
 

Umm, seriously, who invented baby heels? love them.

side note: let’s explore some odd inventions for a moment….

is it butter or chapstick?

oh, I’d so wear this. all winter long.

because you know you love to sing in the shower….

ok, enough of that.

8. I need to wear sunscreen more often.

9. I need to stop chewing my nails!
Can’t they make a pill or something special to make you stop? I’ve chewed mine since I was 4!
And now my oldest daughter chews hers 😦  I try and tell her what a disgusting, unhealthy, little bad habit it is but I Need to set by example, right?
It’s not even a nervous habit, it’s a “eww, my nails are getting long and I don’t have the clippers around, let me handle this…” kind of habit.
But hey, don’t judge.

10. I need to tell you…..that I’M ALMOST FINISHED CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!! (Wahhooooooo!!!)

no, no, I didn’t say wrapped…just almost finished shopping.
xoxo,
Christi

Fill In The Blank Friday!

linking up with the little things we do to bring you “Fill in the Blank Friday”

1. Something popular that I can’t stand/just don’t “get” is:  alcohol. I mean it’s cool if you drink, whatevs. but I don’t, and I can’t stand drunken people who act a fool. You know who I’m talking about.
That girl that falls all over the place and expects you to pick up all her crap that is falling all out of her purse…diiiisgusting or the guy whose only pick up line is “hey girl, you’re real pretty, where you live?”. Eww, sick, back away you jerk and notice my bling bling (aka wedding ring) and if you breathe in my face one more time, expect a slap in yo mouf. (like this guy…bahahaha)
 
Oh and another thing that is so popular yet I just ain’t diggin’: wearing “business shorts”..I’m just not feeling it.

2. Something unpopular that I secretly love is: RAISIN BRAN cereal. Oh honeys, I do could eat a box every week. For reals, since I was pregnant with Reese, I’ve been addicted to it.
 
3. When I’ve had a bad day I: clean the house like a mad woman, odd I know. But man oh man, it makes me feel better.

4. I’d prefer Starbucks peppermint mocha (mmm it just screams “jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way) over white chocolate mocha anyday!

5. Something that makes me nervous is: that Britney Spears’ career may be almost over.

No, seriously, I get nervous just thinking about my babies going to Kindergarten, getting their driver’s licenses, leaving for college…my heart just can’t stand thinking about it

6. Something worth fighting for is: marriage. It’s the best thing that I ever said yes to. Sure it has it’s ups and downs…but it’s worth it. Having someone next to you that has your back no matter what…someone that will fight to the end for you, someone that you can lean on, cry on their shoulder, kiss whenever you want, snuggle up to when you’re cold…someone that knows your every desire, thought and can finish your sentence…marriage is definetly worth it

7. When people think of me, I hope they think: that’s one thoughtful gal who loves her family

our lovely environment…

I love to explore different things outside…bugs, spiders, flowers, birds, etc..etc… I just love outdoorsy things.. 🙂


This is our pet spider…yes I said pet…evidently, Doug, yes I know, this is getting weirder by the minute…But anyway, our pet spider, Doug, has been living outside the corner of our garage for about 2 weeks now. He works so hard to build his perfectly round web each night in the same spot. Mommy has wanted to “destroy” Doug for many nights now, but Daddy says “we can’t just get rid of Doug, he takes care of the mosquitos that fly around”….again…this is sounding weird…then what’s even weirder…Mommy and Daddy took a picture of Doug and his web (see above)…but it does show how amazing mother nature and her little creatures are…how a spider, eh-em, I mean Doug, can do such spectacular work is just astounding!

Check out these beautiful flowers we picked from our flower garden out front! We absolutely love looking at them!

This is a little praying mantis we found out front, you can’t really see here…but he’s missing a leg… I think he’s so cute…and no, we didn’t name him…ha!