wild hair.

We have been eating out lunch and dinner for quite some time. The accident happened, and we cut back to just one meal out a day. I was pretty proud of this, but we were still spending a ridiculous amount of money on food. I also have a bad habit of going to the gas station in our neighborhood daily, and when you have 3 kids and myself to buy a drink/treat for...it can be expensive.

I started making a huge grocery list, and presented the idea to Paul we should try to not eat out for an entire week. This also included gas station runs. I thought that if we could do this {and make it a habit}, it may just help me lose a little weight in the process...without saying I was on a diet.

This started last Wednesday.

The first 3 days were pretty hard on me, I'll be honest. My kids love my cooking {weirdo's}, and don't complain {thankfully!}. I really don't mind the cooking if I plan ahead, but what I missed was the unlimited refills of Coke. I noticed that I wasn't feeling that full even after eating, probably because I wasn't full of 32 oz of Coke.

What I didn't expect to feel {6 days in to this challenge} was how good it feels to feed my kids something I know is so much better than what they are use to. I have found Bina eating an apple, Devin opening the fridge for another strawberry, and all my kids sneaking another pinch of feta cheese. As odd as it sounds it makes me feel like a better Mom.

My only complaint, because there has to be one or two, right?

So. Many. Dishes. If I thought I was always cleaning before, I had no idea how many dishes we could dirty. I am cleaning the kitchen 3 times more a day, but I finally got smart and busted out the paper plates.

I can't wait to see how much easier this gets when we make it a habit. I may even bust out a few cookbooks. 

4.

Today our Devi turned 4. 

I have been trying to come up with something about that boy, but have had a couple of hard days being a Mom. You know when you feel like you aren't doing much right in raising these humans you have been put in charge of? Just me. Oh, okay...we shall pretend you know what I am talking about then.

***

Devin is unpredictable, always keeping us on our toes. You just never know if you are going to get the super friendly, happy, helpful Devin. Or you might get to see the shy, clingy, and sensitive Devin. He can be really excited to go and do something, talk about it all morning, and get there and clam up.

Devin loves to fight with Savannah as much as he loves to play with her. He feels more confident with her by his side when he goes to play lands, or a friends house. I am glad that he feels protected by her. 

Devin has been awesome at teaching Sabrina everything he knows. Those 2 are partners in crime, and can be found eating pickles from the jar at the table. If you can't find them, you know where to look now.

He will gladly open the front door in his underwear for the boy collecting Fast Offerings, and is confident in telling people his favorite color is pink. He hates to wash his hair, loves to pick his nose, and still sucks his thumb.

The past year Devin has decided that fitted sheets {known as Cheetos to him} are better than anything on the entire planet. He carries them around everywhere we go, and won't go to sleep without at least 4 of them. And yes, he still takes a nap, which helps my sanity.

I hope that he never learns how to properly say words like noodles, that are nerdles in our house now. I hope he always wants to 'nuggle with me. I can't say that I mind waking up in the middle of the night holding hands with him.

He makes me cry, and yell more than I thought was even possible. He also has a way of charming Paul and I, and manages to get way more presents than he probably deserves.

We are lucky we have such spunky kid around, and he is lucky to be so cute to get him out of so much trouble. People keep telling me boys are easier, I have yet to see it. Maybe this will be the year he will decide to make his 180, and it will become smooth sailin' from here on out.

being the mom.

I have always wanted to stay home when we had babies. It was a long wait until that happened, Savannah was almost 8. Paul had to hear a lot of complaints in those 8 years. Poor guy. 

Then, it happened. I quit my job of 15 years.

And I still complained. Staying home wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. Some days feeling like what I was doing was a thankless job, and I didn't even get a pay check from all my hard work. 

I found my groove, and I can now say I like staying home.

When Paul had his accident almost 12 weeks ago, I was thrown back in to the working world. I found myself enjoying the alone time, loving the sense of accomplishment after working, and liking the feeling of providing for our family again. Yes, it was stressful for it all to be so unexpected, but I can't say it was all bad. 

The past couple of weeks Paul has been working on his own again, leaving me to stay home with our babies. I can't even begin to explain the changes I have seen in our children, Devin and Sabrina especially. It has been a strong confirmation that I am where I need to be, although not always easy for me. I feel lucky that the timing worked out as such that I am staying home when I am needed the most.

I will forever be thankful for all of our friends and family that gladly stepped in to watch our children so that I could work. They were well taken care of.

We are on the road back to our old routine, and that my friends feels really good.