Family of 6 coming right up….

Heather Lafser Photography 

In just a few weeks (4 to be exact) , we’ll welcome baby number 4 into the crew and I’m super anxious. I’m a little concerned about having two kiddos under 2 years of age, as my 19-month-old is still pretty attached to his mommas hip. 

I’m a little nervous that my chaotic home will become the hell on wheels house on the block, heck I’m nervous that I’m gonna be a straight up zombie trying to manage two kiddos, while breastfeeding and having the job of school pick up of the older two.

I’m doing this all while preparing to begin grad school in October……

Yea, I know, I’m crazy. 

With lots of prayer, moments in my locked bathroom and a few quick sips of wine I’m hoping to get through the “first few months” with the struggle, but yet with a straight face as always. 

What are some ways you get relaxation with multiple kids?
🤞🏽Fingers crossed! 

Tifyip

Another one (in my best Biggie voice)

• 

I can’t seem to catch a break. After getting baby number 3 to sleep through the night, getting Z and Jp in the school groove (along with dance and everything else) we finally had a little groove  going.

Just to find out I’m pregnant again…

😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

Currently I’m 18 weeks and some change. It’s been a few months and the shock has worn off and we’re excited to add one last kiddo to the bunch ( magic word — last). Having a 15-month-old and being pregnant is NOT easy! He’s into EVERYTHING and if I say NO one more time my head may explode, but I’m actually happy he’ll have a partner his age to play with in the next year. 

I’m a little concerned as to how I’m going to balance life with four. Giving each little person attention as well as keeping myself sane and happy (I see no ME time in my near future). Living away from majority of my friends and family is extremely taxing on me and my husband , but that’s life I guess. Maybe life and careers will take us back north one day, but for now North Florida is home. 
Well if you think my house is chaotic now it’ll surly be lit with four!! I’m focused more than ever to blog more and create content to share with mommies and daddies. Creating a space for open dialogue and sharing ideas may benefit all of us right? 
What do you do to balance life with multiple kids? 
🤰🏽tifyip 

 

Juggling Act Hiatus

With my head buried in my hands as I sat in the car in the parking lot , I  was super shocked  at the events that took place just moments before. I had just rushed my 6-month-old son at the time  home to my mother, dropped my daughter and her bff off to dance class and was off to pick up a few items from Publix when on the way home an idiot flys out her subdivision while I had the right away and caused a pretty bad accident. 

“What if I had the kids,” I thought? 

“If I didn’t work, I probably wouldn’t even be in this predicament.” 

It was just two days before my birthday and the accident pretty much totaled my husbands car. 

Aside from pain in my wrist, the other driver and myself were ok, just startled. When I finally got home I immediately began to look around, my home was a mess! It had been a mess pretty much since I had my youngest months ago, but I guess the anxiety from the accident and the fact that I was all out TIRED made it really get to me. 

It was pretty much then that I knew my family life needed an intervention lol. I decided to begin making the transition to be at home majority of the time. I’ve officially went to part time as needed at my job.  So in a way I sort of control when I work that’s pretty sweet right?!

The thought of living in dismay and having all these emotions due to being unhappy with making my family life second priority had to stop. 

Well who’s gonna pay those bills,bills, bills you ask!?

Now my husband is not rich by any means!  We’ve tried the stay at home thing before and it was stressful financially. Especially when we were dealing with Jp’s heart issues and the bills that come along with it. 

So coming up with a plan to make sure we  could stay afloat was key. 

Cable

Grocery  and meal planning 

My “necessities” (hair, nails… you know how I stay pretty)

My brand new truck

Yup, all these things went under evaluation. I had to convince my husband how important it was to make our home less stressful all while keeping our heads above water. 

My job is awesome! I work with a great place!  It was very helpful that they were leaineit and sometimes flexible with scheduling, but with my son starting Pre-K it was gonna costs me $200.00 a month to keep my son and daughter for a measely hour lapse from when they are dismissed from school to when I get off work (not to mention pre-k is tuition based for the year and I’d be paying for childcare for an infant). It’s cheaper for me to be home right now than it is to work. 

So, I’m winging it at home. We’ve conquered the first week of school and I’ve got my project list ready. We’re all still trying to get in a routine but that comes with time. 

What are some innovative ways you make living off one income work? 

Tiffy ✌🏽️ 
 

It’s about time!

  
Unless baby number 3 arrives on its own I’m just 16 days away from induction and you better believe I cannot wait to see my lil bundle of joy! Here’s to a safe and healthy delivery!
Tifyip

What people don’t seem to understand about my son.

It’s no secret that my son has issues with his heart. He’s had a surgery at 8 months old, he has had two strokes, but overall he has surpassed all milestones and you can barely tell he has any issues….

Yes he’s very guarded, a little possessive, is scared of a lot of things and he can be a little to a “t” or better yet borderline ocd. 

So when friends and family make the comment “we gotta toughen you up,” it really makes me feel some type of way. 

See, my son is tough. He’s been through more than me, my husband and our parents. He’s been in intensive care units, emergency rooms, had heart catherizations, chest x-rays and has had tubes in his body and to come out of all of that and still play, still smile and be a typical 3 1/2 year old. I think that’s pretty awesome. 

He’s a friggin inspiration. Hell, he may even be a mutant.

This coming week little Jp will be having his final surgery. The Fontan procedure will complete his process and give him a new set of blood flow throughout his body. He was SO young during his previous hospital stays, now he’s communicating more and I’m so nervous he’s gonna express his pain and his disire to go home. 

I know this time will be different. 

The great part about it, it’s the final step however the bad part , he’ll be in a lot of pain and his stay can be longer depending on certain complications. But I’m hopeful he’ll pull through like a champ as always. 

  

When he was first diagnosed with his condition while I was pregnant I constantly worried about his well being and his quality of life. We want our kids to be healthy, smart and happy.  Once he was born and I began to learn about him and see his personality, I came to the conclusion that there are some things in life that make you who you are. There ate things that make your character. I believe as Jp gets older and he begins to learn about what he has and who he is, it’ll definitely help mold that. 

To learn more about trucuspid artresia and the Fontan procedure check out these links.

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/t/tricuspid/

http://www.fontanregistry.com/fontan-procedure/what-is-a-fontan-procedure.aspx

 ** update**

Jp’s surgery was September 1, and it was a successful procedure. He’s still in the hospital with chest tubes, lots of meds and has a long way to recovery but he’s doing so well. My husband and I are so proud of him for being such a big boy. He’s definitely going to Disney in the coming months! 

For parents who are hard on themselves….

I check out this link whenever I feel I’m being too hard on myself…

http://www.foreverymom.com/this-is-what-happens-when-satan-steals-your-motherhood/

Pepsi Mimosa?!

Well it’s official folks…. 

 That was a few weeks ago. This week I’ll be entering week 9 of my pregnancy. Yes, baby number 3 is due in late November. I’ve been so use to having my Pepsi on the weekends and my usual weekend mimosas, it’s evident that I had to nickname the little flutter just that. My daughter and son gave me no problems. However “Pepsi Mimosa” has sucked ALL the life out of me! I’m actually nauseous, super-de- duper tired and I’m experiencing food aversions. I never had these problems with the other two. 

  I am taking it day by day. Until about 2 weeks ago I was still working out and doing Zumba before life hit me lol. I’m still teaching Zumba once a week, but working out is on hiatus until this sick feeling is under control. I’m looking into prenatal yoga classes in my area as well. Hopefully as I move into the second trimester in May it will all subside and I’ll gain some energy back.

So get ready to help me prep for baby number 3! We are so excited and nervous I think I’ll need a drink after all this! Three kiddos is going to be a ride.

What are some fun ways you prepared your kiddos for your “special addition”?

Tifyip

What dreams are made of…



Family, we may not have it all together, but together we have everything. Even through all the chaos.

😘tifyip 

Pantry revamp!

Since building my home in 2009, we’ve gotten pretty used to a settled. There’s tons of stuff with the kids around and we’ve accumulated a lot. I hide a lot of my homes craziness, but the pantry has been driving me insane.

Take a look:

Oh, you see the bottom shelves down there? Well, you see how my life is set up lol! I wash my hair in the kitchen and sit under the dryer in the kitchen as well. Also, it’s more easier to keep the broom in the kitchen especially with Bonnie and Clyde always dropping stuff. The boxes is because I’m pretty set on finding a bigger home in the next year I’ve actually started to pack ha!

What I did:
I got off my butt and headed to my fav cheapie spot- the Dollar Tree ! I decided to grab a few baskets, clean out all the old junk in there and revamp! There was SO much trash. I’d show a pic of that but umm, yea I’m too ashamed. I promise to go in there at least every 4-6 months and check dates and if anything isn’t closed properly.

After taking everything out trashing and reorganizing here’s my result:

Nice huh? I put a few baskets in and even put snacks at a level where the kiddos could grab them. I’m not gonna worry about those bottom shelves. I’ll figure that part out soon😩 Look at how much I spent though:

It may not be Home and Garden worthy but For $12.84 I’d say it was a great job. I feel so much better with a little organization.

What are some cheap and easy ways you keep your home organized?

☺️ tifyip

Wordless Wednesday