2014... the to-do list grows...

1. I am going to grow plants this summer.  I'd like to grow a lot, but I'll settle for a few.  Tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, carrots, squash, and zucchini, to start with.  I'm researching methods via Pinterest right now and will start seedlings as directed once the time is right.  I suppose I'll need to do this on the back porch or in the garage for the meantime.  I plan to use the small area by the garage to grow my veggies in large planters or raised beds.  Who wants to build me those?
2. Run races.  As in, plural.  I have run my pregnancy races and I have one more to go.  I'd really like to be able to run a few more races after the baby comes.  I know I'll need time to heal since I will be having a child via surgery in April... I'm hoping I can schedule some races in June/July.
3. Buy the dang minivan.  This is a lingering 2013 goal... I wonder if I knew that my husband was going to let me have another baby AND we were going to and that's why I made that goal in 2013?  Either way, I cannot wait to be the proud owner of a minivan.  I see this happening in March.
4. Build my business.  I suppose this means I need to work on the business.  I have several of them I could work on, but none that I really focus on.  I love Advocare products.  I use them regularly.  I also love Mary Kay products, they are lovely.  I have a great love for my sewing machine and should use it more often.  I would like to be able to grow one or all of those into something successful that generates income so that I could stay home with my babies one day.  Yep, another goal for another year, but I'll work on it in 2014.
5. Paint and decorate the kid's rooms.  We have to move Libby to the bigger room and put Hayes in the smaller room since we will be housing two girls.  This project was on my agenda for Christmas break, but it is not likely to happen this week.  I have to buy Libby bunk beds and then we can make the move.  Hoping for February?
6. Plant flowers in the yard this spring and summer.  I love seeing my neighbors lovely yards and I'd like to have my own this year.
7. Develop a budget/plan to save for future Disney trips and eventually yearly passes.  I love going to see The Mouse.  I love that my kids want to go there often as well.  I want nothing more than to take them there all the time.  As a matter of fact, we could just move there and I'd be thrilled.  I'm working on this part.
8. I would love to be able to use my blog as a venue to make some extra income for my family as well.  I am going to investigate that and look for income via my blog while on maternity leave.
9. Purge.  Clean out the closets, rooms, drawers, cabinets, and garage and rid this house of unnecessary objects, clutter, junk, and excess.  We need to learn to live with less and be happy with that.
10.  Wake up earlier during the week and make time for myself.  Enjoy coffee, or a book, or the quiet.  I could make breakfast for myself or the littles, or just put on my makeup like a normal person.

I am going to spend some time working on these and I will likely add to them as I go.  

2013... lovely year....

2013.

It was a long year.

We celebrated a 3 year old in January.

You can read my summary here.

It was the year we took our littles to see The Mouse in February.

February wrap ups consist of several birthdays, here.

March brought me a 'I'm too old to play soccer' injury.

I wrote about Disney and how I broke my leg here.

April came and we had a cousin play date.

I also talk about being a mom and getting ready in the mornings.

Toughest job EVER.

May=The Treuman Show.

There aren't enough words.

It was epic.

June brought me a 40 year old husband.  

And the summer of the princess and the pirate.

I love summer.

Clearly, July was busy.

I wrote 3 blog entries.

But I painted my bedroom and my bathroom.

That counts?

August brought us Baby #3.

We were thrilled, elated, terrified, scared...

And we celebrated my baby girl turning 2.

TWO.

The kids started school in September.

Hayes and Libby are at the ELC and love it!

We also had a holiday.

October held a big secret for us.

We learned if baby #3 was a boy or a girl.

Pink it is!

November brought us a new ALX season.

I ended my 'cheer coaching' career.

And we went to see The Mouse on Ice.

We had a few sick days in December.

We had cookies for dinner.

And we had a fabulous Christmas with family.

Tomorrow I'll post my 2014 To-Do list.

I cannot wait to share my goals with you guys!

Recap of 2013 Goals.... 2014 to come next week.

I vow to complete at LEAST 13 tasks.

Errrrrrrr, I think I managed to 'complete' about 6.

Crumbs and biscuits....

1.  Run one race a month.  Half marathon, 5k, 10k, something.  Every month.

I'm going to need a small loan to finance all those races.

I ran about 3 races this year?

Clearly I need to step up my game.

2.  Pay off all the medical bills.

Between the summer of ear infections and Daryk's gall bladder... we have a handful.

Thankfully, we also have jobs to pay for them.

And auto pay through our bank which is all set up and should be done paying in August.

I have accomplished this task, but then we got pregnant and got a new set of bills!

3.  Pay off Daryk's truck.... and buy a minivan.

There, I said it.

We're buying a minivan.

Daniel says I should make Daryk drive it.

I think he would do it with pride.

And he would rock it.

We paid off the truck!

We will buy a minivan in February or March of 2014.

I had hoped the minivan would come in December of 2013, but I can wait.

I will continue to snowball that truck payment towards our credit cards or medical bills.

4.  Learn to focus on the task at hand.

Stop spending time trying to accomplish 14 things at once, do one thing.

Finish that task and move to the next one.

This will be the biggest struggle for me.

I feel like this will be something I struggle with until I die.

I have learned to spend time with my children and just be their mother.

I've learned to put down my phone and just be with them.

5.  Grow a summer garden consisting of tomatoes and herbs.

I love tomatoes in the summer.

And I'd LOVE to be able to cook with fresh herbs all summer.

No garden in 2013.

This is going to be my 2014 goal.

I really want some of my own veggies and herbs!

6.  Create or craft something new every month.

Doesn't have to be a HUGE craft or creation, but something,  nonetheless.

I made a lot of hairbows.

And I used my sewing machine a lot...

That totally counts right?

7.  Play soccer with grown ups.

And have fun.

This should start around spring-ish.

This was one of the best things I've ever done for myself...

EVER.

I had a blast.

I might not be the worlds best defender, but I had so much fun.

I cannot wait to play again.

8.  Read one book every month for fun.

Grand total of 12 books.

If I read MORE than that, I'll make myself cupcakes.

I read a lot of books.

I read 3 on summer vacation.

I read a handful of them throughout the rest of the year and enjoyed them.

9.  Use my food dehydrator for fruit and such.

New adventures for healthy snacks for me and the kiddos.

Yeah, didn't happen.

That thing is a pain to get out and deal with and clean.

Maybe this year?

10.  Blog at least four times a week.

I think I did pretty well with this goal!

I blogged more often this year, 133 blog entries to date.

After I recap Christmas, I'll have a few more.

I had 193 entries for 2012, so I missed my mark a bit...

11.  Print pictures of my kids every month to give or mail to my family.

Epic fail here.

No pictures printed.

None sent to anyone.

Maybe I can just make everyone a calendar for 2015?

12.  Paint and decorate.  this.  house.  

Starting with the kitchen.  

Like, yesterday.

Ohhhhhhhhh, I got this one!

I did the kitchen, master bedroom AND bathroom.

That's 3 rooms in 1 year.

Granted, I've 8 more to go....

I should be finished by 2020?

13.  Organize the bleeping garage.

Will be the death of me and a never ending task, but alas, it must be done.

We do this at least once a month.

Why do we have SO MUCH STUFF!?

I feel like the never ending yard sale people... 

Eventually once my little people are not so little we will have less garage stuff...

I think.

And these are the others that are floating in my head....

clean out the closets and storage areas of my home

I do this often as well.

reward my fitness efforts with yoga pants, not for yoga, just lounging because I love those pants.

I buy too many pairs of yoga pants.

potty train Libby James late summer

Potty training in progress over Christmas break.

It is going VERY well!

I shall update you all every month on how the list is coming along and what I get done, or not...

Obviously, some of these things will not get done until later in the year.

They are my goals.

My tasks to complete.

I believe I only updated this list once this year, clearly that should be a 2014 goal.

Hubs, Coach, Daddy

He made himself some granola.

Trying to mix it with a spoon proved to be too difficult, so he changed the plan.

And then sometimes he just gets bored and well, you see what happens.

I do think he'd make a nice blonde.

Oh, how she grows.

Merry Christmas from the Cochran babies and their mommy.

We are all so blessed to have you in our lives.

So thankful for each and every person who loves our babies....

the ones here and the ones to come!

Spencer Brynne Cochran

22 weeks

Holidays in full swing

December makes me thankful for my returning students....

The ones who are more like family and friends than the norm.

They show up when you need help and entertain the preschool crew after hours.

See above photo.

Jordan is our favorite person, ever.

We call her the other sister often.

I am beyond thankful for her help and the love she shows my babies.

Plus, she taught them to make these awesome faces.

How can I NOT love that?

Weeknight Tree Decor

Daddy is in the middle of wrestling season.

I am a solo parent most nights until about 6:30-7 p.m.

Most of the time I don't mind it.

Last week as I was recovering from the sick I wasn't a fan.

Every night was hard and I was already tired.

I think my Publix bakery knew my struggles.

They had these amazing cookies out for display.

I bought two.

The children spent at LEAST one hour decorating them.

And then they ATE them for dinner.

Judge me.

Go ahead.

I was so thankful for them to have a break and some down time.

I saved all the extra icing for another cookie decorating time later.

Braun Therms

Influenster is a great thing.

I love filling out information and getting new things to try!

I received this just as we were all getting sick and I was THRILLED to try it!

Normally I stick with the standard 'thermometer in the armpit' for the kids.

I compared this to that temp reading and was so happy to see that it was accurate!

This is SO much less invasive and it takes about 5-7 seconds instead of a minute.

Have you ever tried to hold a thermometer still in a toddler's armpit?  

I am so thankful to have this product, especially since we are about to welcome another little one!

I even tested it on myself when I was sick, works so well!

Libby is sick too.

Last weekend we spent all weekend at home.

We were all sick!

Hayes and Libby had strep throat and I had a cold.

They are much better and I'm still battling my snot.

I am so thankful that I have a snuggly girl who loves me.

She cuddles so well and is so sweet!

I feel so bad when they are sick.

I hate having to fight them to take their meds as well.

Pretty sure we could call this the Disney Daze....

We watched 900 princess movies last weekend.

I not feeling too good

So, this little guy wasn't feeling so great last week.

I took the day off work on Friday to tend to his sickies.

Thankfully I listened to my village and took them BOTH to the doctor.

Both had strep.

YAY for sick babies!

Except not.

Ever.

We managed to log 900 games of Candyland in our pajamas while on sick leave.

He's really good at that game or I don't pay attention...

He won most of the games we actually finished.

And when we finally got to an 'I finally feel better point' I got this cheese ball face.

He says, 'Take my picture Mommy.'

And then demands to see it and take at least 60 more.

He's been hanging out with Aunt LeighLeigh toooooo much lately.

Thanksgiving Races and Pregnancy

My goal with this pregnancy was to NOT gain 700 lbs.

I haven't done well with weight gain prior to this pregnancy, but I'm proud of myself this go round.

I wish I had more time and energy to be active, but I just don't.

Kudos to you people who do just that!

I am trying to be more mindful of my eating habits and my body.

I eat when I'm hungry and try to be healthy...

don't we all!?

I decided that I wanted to complete some 5k races during this pregnancy.

My goal was one rave per trimester.

So far, so good.

I've got one more trimester to go and I'll have it done!

The pregnancy and the races...

First race was in August.

Run or Dye with the jogging stroller and the husband.

It was awesome.

I was barely pregnant and ran the majority of it.

Daryk and I decided a loooooooong time ago in 2013 we wanted to do the Turkey Day 5k.

So Thanksgiving morning long before the actual sun came up, we got up.

It. was. freezing.

I had on my favorite Old Navy running tights and multiple layers on top!

The race started & ended at Turner Field.

The porta potties closest to our car had ZERO toilet paper.

Um, gross and cold.

We arrived on time, parked the car, and sat inside until we absolutely HAD to go start.

Of course, you have to take pictures of it or it doesn't count, right!?

Selfie number 1.

After this Daryk says, 'hurry up and take another facie already.'

I burst out laughing because he said facie and not selfie...

I was dying laughing at his attempt at the cool vocab.

So I got this picture....

The race began.

We froze while running.

I wish that I could have felt my fingers.

The pictures available that day would have been hilarious.

There were people dressed as pilgrims, turkeys, and other food items.

Some people had hats that looked like turkeys as well.

I wanted to run as much of the race that I could.

Mind you, I didn't train and I'm out of shape.

As well as 5 months pregnant...

So I ran as much as I could.

The hardest part of running while pregnant wasn't being out of shape or being pregnant.

It was the bladder!

Thankfully somewhere between mile 1.5-2.5 there was a BP station open!

A very kind man let me use the facilities and I was able to run again.

As we were finishing our 5k there were people running across the finish like for the 

HALF marathon as well.

Insanity.

I was just proud to FINISH and not pee my pants or die.

Thankfully some sweet girl took our photos afterwards.

We got yummy snacks and some great race day goodies from the Verizon booth!

So proud to finish that race WITH my baby belly and hubby.

Planning a 5k in January and hoping for another in March!

After that, I'll be on light duty until August because of the baby girl!

I wash my hands!

I wash my hands!

I do it by myself.

Those are two sentences I hear often....

Usually followed by, 'Elizabeth, where are your pants!?'

See?

Chefs in training

Thanksgiving Brunch Prep consisted of a few helpers.

I made them strip down nekkid (well mostly nekkid) to help.

Flour, sugar, and some homemade chex mix helped us make some lovely treats.

We had a blast!

Thankfully Leigh Anne and Hope were there to help me wrangle the chefs.

Leigh Anne took this photo and I'm SO thankful she did!

I'm only sad that I didn't get a picture with them.

They had so much fun and it wasn't a huge mess....

Maybe we shall bake more often!

20 weeks and waiting

For the life of me, I will never understand why we bother to make doctor's appointments.

I feel like it would be more effective for us to say,

'Show up and it is a first come, first serve basis.'

We made a doctor's appointment and ultrasound appointment for last Monday.

We waited for 1700 hours to see them both.

Thankfully Apple has created a small technical device that keeps my children busy.

They even shared.

It was madness.

Madness for 2 hours of waiting on the doctor.

And they were perfectly behaved....

Seriously.

Our ultrasound was perfect!

Baby girl in my belly is still a baby girl.

Thank goodness....

I'd had a few dreams or two that she wasn't a girl anymore...

I was a little bit scared!

She is measuring about a week ahead on every measurement!

I will update about her in a few days.

She deserves her OWN update.

Gators

The week before Thanksgiving Papa was really sick.

BeBe was in charge for a few days.

Hayes got to do new artwork while BeBe was in charge!

Gators are coloring.

Deep concentration is required

See, the strategically placed tongue?

He loves to color and draw and write.

Especially if his sister is busily doing something else and he's not guarding his paper.

If he's guarding and creating artwork he gets angry.

As long as it is just Hayes, he's a happy little artist.

The babies

Last weekend my baby sister came to visit for the day.

My baby girl climbed all over her....

I see a trend of 'no personal space' for visitors....

Libby loved the attention and spent a lot of close and personal time with Leigh Anne.

They are two of my favorite babies.

So much love there.

I'm so blessed with my sisters.

They love my littles and take such good care of them.

Newest addition, Buddy.

Mid November this good looking guy proposed to my baby sister at the airport.

I actually kept it a secret!  

BAM!

We are so thrilled that he wants to join our family.

I cannot wait for their wedding next spring.  

Clearly, my children share the same love for Buddy as the rest of us.

I hope Buddy doesn't anticipate any personal space while he's visiting.

Senior week

This is Sean and Daryk....

Or at least their look alikes during senior week at AHS.

I have never laughed so hard at a group of kids who had a blast.

They loved dressing up like our staff and did a great job!

You can hardly tell that they aren't male coaches...

Its just a fireplace...

Its just a fireplace.

That's what I say to myself while I'm sitting in front of it....

But as I sit perched here letting my hair dry, I think of every fireplace.

I love my faux fireplace and fire here.

I remember back to making a fire by myself in my very own grow up house.

I remember teaching my husband how to use egg cartons, newspaper, and dryer lint for starters.

I reflect back to Girl Scouts and how my mom taught me all those things.

I remember begging Daryk to go out into the rain and snow and get more wood.

I loved the fire.

I hated the gathering and transporting of the wood.

I think back to sitting in front of a fireplace with my grandparents.

They would sit in their recliners and we would all watch Wheel of Fortune.

If we went to fetch the hair dryer, Grandma would dry our hair for us.

If not, we roasted our backs and let the fireplace dry our hair.

I remember marveling at Grandma Ouida and her vast vocabulary.

She never missed a phrase and she would have won Jeopardy too.

Any day of the week...

I remember way far back to a tiny house in Powder Springs.

I remember sitting in front of a fireplace there too.

I recall sitting in itchy, scratchy, pajamas there.

I know I shared that hearth with Kathryn.

I know we had matching pajamas.

I feel bad for a minute because I know I'm the reason she crashed face first into the hearth...

Sorry Sissy!

I know that we sat there during the coldest nights while our hair dried.

That probably took hours, because it takes forever now.

We have always had ridiculously thick hair!

Hayes asked me tonight about our fireplace.

He asked me if it was real.

Yes, it is.

It is a real fireplace.

It makes heat and flames.

It keeps our toes toasty and it could help dry our hair.

As the seasons drag us deeper into the winter I know our fireplace will become more real to us.

I am hoping that Hayes and Libby will remember the fireplace as I do.

A place of comfort with lovely memories.

Fuzzy pictures

I enjoy football season once it gets cold enough to be football season.

I have enjoyed coaching cheerleading for the past 7 years.

I will miss the relationships I am able to build with the girls during that time.

I will not miss the time away from my family.

I will not miss the scramble of finding childcare.

But I will miss being able to spend those Friday nights with Daryk and his boys.

I love that man.

Super Hayes

He goes from a regular boy who watches tv with his mouth open...

tooooooooooooo..........

The goggles, mask, cape look.

He is my SuperHero...

Pink cape... blue goggles...

He also demanded that I take his picture.

He is something else....

Baby bit my nose!!!

Tonight while I had a successful mom/wife night, I heard a familiar screech from upstairs.

I managed to make dinner for tonight AND tomorrow night.

Record breaking success here!

Hayes yelled down, 'Baby bit me!'

I know he is usually telling me the truth, so off I went to investigate.

I discovered that, Baby did, indeed bite his nose.

Thankfully this time she did not leave teeth marks.

Or break his skin.

Off to the bath she goes....

She didn't get a nap today, so bedtime at 6:57 p.m. is nothing short of necessary.

And yes, she will sleep until tomorrow morning.

She will likely sleep later than I would like her to on a school day.

That is also part of our normal routine...

Sleeping late on school days and rising early on those days when I just want to wake when the sun rises.

But, the reason I wanted to blog tonight was to write Hayes a note.

I was thinking about all the little things that I love about him...

and I'm afraid that one day in my Mom Brain I'll forget.

And I never want to forget.

Hayes,

You wake much earlier than I even dreamed to be awake most days.  I wish I could bounce out of bed the way you do, with more excitement and curiosity than most.  You greet each day with an eager attitude and a heart to seek fun each hour.  You bounce (literally) from your bed to the potty on your toes.  Your calf muscles are something to be envied by all people!  I think part of that is genetics (thank your mommy, daddy, and PawPaw for that) but part of it is also the fact that you have used your toes as your mode of transport since you discovered that you could walk and run instead of crawling.  You didn't toddle for long, you ran.  I often tell people you have two speeds, asleep and wide ass open.  Forgive me, there is not a better way to say it.  You bounce from your potty break to the designated location.  Sometimes I let you play downstairs while I snooze/watch tv upstairs until your sister wakes.  You have always liked to play by yourself and I'm grateful for that.  I am very thankful that God blessed me with a child who can entertain himself, most of the time.  You greet me each day with the same phrase, 'Mommy, I'm hungry/thirsty.  Can I have milk and a brown poptart?'  As long as I provide both of those and a tv or some toys you will happily let me enjoy some more quiet until at least 8 am.  Praise Jesus.  This past summer you learned to dress yourself, but you still have a hard time putting things on the right way.  Occasionally you will complain that your underwear isn't right, it is usually backwards.  You also hate to sleep in underwear, naptime or bedtime.  Most people don't get that, but I do.  You also love to go 'mando' as you say.  I have a battle each day to keep socks and shoes on you, but not like your sister.  You just don't want to put your socks/shoes on until we are 'about to weave the house right now.'

You will happily eat poptarts all day every day if we allowed it.  You enjoy anything that is processed food and I'm sad that I created such a picky child.  Oops.  One day... You are a bit like Rain Man/Sheldon Cooper when it comes to routine.  If something is different with your day or different than you anticipate it to be, you get upset.  Today BeBe had to take you to school because PaPa was sick and we thought you might have a bit of a hissy fit, turns out you were fine.  You like to eat food bars (granola bars dipped in chocolate) and gummies.  You drink almond milk and you love it.  You also like watered down apple juice.  And lemonade from chick fil a.

When you hope to avoid any activity that you know is necessary you say, 'I not feeling too good.'  I silently laugh at you.  You have just learned to sniffle and you do it a lot.  If your Aunt LeLe was near by she might cause you physical harm.  She doesn't like sniffles, just ask Buddy.  Speaking of, you love your aunts and uncles.  You enjoy being able to see them often via FaceTime and I'm very glad Apple has the technology for us to do so.  You like to 'see' them when you talk to them and you tend to think that any conversation without an iPhone is useless.  You say your prayers each night and thank God for every single person you love.  I'm glad to say that they all make the cut.  You also thank God for Walker at school and for your favorite color red.

Hayes, you are so sweet to your sister about 95% of the time.  The other 5% you are trying to wrestle her to her death or roll her over with your head.  For some reason, this is fun for you... not so much the rest of us.  This is usually why she bites you... back to the beginning...  You and Libby love to watch Charlie Brown, any holiday movie will do and that makes me a little bit crazy.   I'm over watching 'spooky Charlie Brown' and I'd like to watch the Thanksgiving or Christmas episodes, but I've learned it is not all about me.  You and Libby also love to watch Disney movies.  I am beyond thrilled that you love to sing along with every song you have learned.  It makes me happy to think that you love music as much as I do.  You know words to songs that I don't even know!  You are meticulous and play for hours with puzzles, blocks, and your mens.  Yes, mens.  You will also sit in front of the tv with your mouth hanging open just like your Daddy.  You don't like to take naps in your 'real clothes', you prefer your pajamas.  Can't blame you there.

You think that anything edible is better with yellow sauce (chick fil a sauce) and you would dip any food in that if I would let you.  You don't like to be bothered with a nap or the potty or a meal because you are too busy playing.  If I could feed you while you played you would be thrilled.  Your manners are getting better and you have turned into a snuggly little boy here lately.  I spent 2-3 years wondering why you didn't like to snuggle, but now you are quite a lovebird.  You like to share your affections and snuggle with me.  It makes my heart so happy.

Hayesface, I love you so.  You are growing up too fast and I'm not happy that you will be 4 in about a month-ish.  You are going to be a great help with Spencer Brynne in April.  I apologize that this is random, but I had a lot to share.  PK would say this is a 'thought thread'... mostly I think its scattered MomBrain.

Love you lots,
Mommy

18 weeks baby #3

There she is.

My sweet baby girl, Spencer Brynne Cochran.

We are 18 weeks along and we aren't having a rough time.

I love being pregnant.

I get that most people hate it, but it suits me and I love it.

I've only gained 10 lbs at this point, and I'm thrilled with that.

I am wearing maternity clothes and have been since about 12 weeks along.

Thankfully, I have a pretty extensive collection that spans a few seasons...

I have been feeling movement since week 15-16.

Just a few flutters initially, but now she's bigger and moving a lot.

I have distinct cravings for hot wings and celery, which isn't a normal food choice for me.

I don't dislike them, I just don't eat them often.

I eat normal amounts of food and try to avoid sweets and junk.

I wish I had more energy to be more active, but keeping up with double trouble at home is enough!

Between laundry, cooking, and cleaning AFTER that pesky full time job...

Energy for myself and exercise isn't there.

The kiddos and I are about to start gymnastics again since I'm done with cheerleading, finally!