Just because

These two make me laugh....

I think they're gonna be best buds one day.

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

It's been a strange week.

Mark had to work Saturday, which means he's off today, so my day-o-meter is all messed up.

Everyone we know is sick, except for us (for a change).

And I got asked if Stella was from China. By an ASIAN woman. When I said no she's not, the woman said, "Grandma Chinese?" Ummm.....still no.

To compensate for all the strangeness. I baked. Mark says that whenever I'm stressed or anxious or upset I end up in the kitchen cooking or baking something.

These muffins are a great alternative to my whole wheat applesauce muffins if you want more texture and less fat, as these have no butter. I got the recipe from Taste of Home, and didn't change anything other than using using healthier versions of flour, milk, and oil.


Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins (makes 12)

1 1/2 cup oats (recipe calls for quick cooking, but I used old fashioned and it works fine)
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)
3 TB oil (I used coconut oil)
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a smaller bowl. Add wet to dry,  mix until combined.

Place into greased muffin tin. You have to fill them almost full as these muffins don't rise much. I am obsessed with these silicone muffin pans. I have yet to have anything stick to them.

Bake at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes or until slightly golden brown on top. My oven takes about 17 minutes for these.

These also freeze and reheat well, so make a big batch and pull one out of the freezer as you need them! 

The Truth About Three

Ever since Stella was born, the most popular question people ask me is, "are you done?" Which I will not be addressing in this post.....sorry.

The SECOND most popular question is, "so what's three like?"

Usually I respond with something vague like "busy" or any word that closely resembles, depending on just how "busy" of a day it's been.

In an effort to keep it real, because you know that's how I roll, today I'm gonna lay it all out there for you. What our day looks like with three kids, things I've learned so far, and what the differences have been from 2 to 3. Keep in mind, my kids are young, I've only been at this 3 kid thing for 7 months now so my wisdom bank is pretty much empty. It may not be entertaining or informative, but I don't have anything else to write about right now so take what you can get and hopefully there will be a few cute pictures of the kids for you to enjoy.

Honestly, the jump from 2 to 3 was not as difficult as the transition from 1 to 2. Part of that may be because Annie as a newborn and Stella as a newborn were complete and polar opposites. Annie had reflux, was fussy all the time (although very laid back and happy when she wasn't refluxing...), was very resistant to a schedule, and was a very light/unpredictable napper. I think a lot of her newborn issues can be attributed to reflux because now she is my best sleeper and eater. And probably the happiest kid you've ever seen.

So after her, Stella has been a dream baby. She sleeps all the time and is a champion nurser. As long as she is in the same room with us, she is happy to be in a bouncy seat or jumper. This makes things a lot easier on me. Although I've talked to other moms with 3, and some say the transition from 2 to 3 was harder. What DOES seem to be consistent however, is that somewhere....whether its from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 kids, you're gonna have a come to Jesus moment (or month) as a mom. 

One thing that has been difficult for me about 3 kids however, is the lack of privacy. I don't get a lot of me time. Heck, I don't get any me time. I shower, get dressed, go to the bathroom, cook, clean, and everything else a person does in a day, with an audience of AT LEAST one child. Usually 2. Annie is absolutely always present. If Stella is awake then she is present too. Lucy is by my side if whatever I'm doing is interesting enough that she wants to help. My personality is definitely that of a loner, but I have learned to love my little companions. As long as I get a little alone time in at some point in the day, I'm good to go.

Not to use that vague word again, but having 3 truly is, busy. Just to give you a glimpse of what a completely and totally normal moment in the day can look like for me:

 One morning I was trying to get everyone bathed, groomed, and dressed for the day. I started the bath for Annie and Stella and went to tell Lucy to get in the shower while the babies bathed. She was on the toilet, dealing with...umm....something she deals with frequently, so I told her to come into my bathroom to shower whenever she finished. Meanwhile, Annie is wreaking havoc on the house and has every toy that we have ever owned out, open, on and spread throughout every room. I put Stella in the bath and washed her super quick because she was getting fussy and ready for her morning nap. I put her down for a nap then chased Annie around the house 6 times until I finally caught her and put her in the bath. I washed her and then let her stay in the bath and play so I could take a shower (RELAX. The bath and shower are right next to each other and I can see her so don't freak out and tell me I left my child unattended in the bathtub.) About 5 minutes into my gloriously hot shower, Annie starts screaming bloody murder that she wants to get out of the bath. I jump out (with the water still running) drain the tub, pull her out, dry her off, and slap a diaper on her. Then jump back in. Five minutes after that, Lucy comes in and says she's ready to shower. Not gonna lie.....I had kind of forgotten about her at that point. She then gets in with me and my hot shower is now lukewarm. And there's a kid in it with me. Finally I get out and get everyone dressed and glance at the clock. It's 10am. Yeah.....that was a long day.

But for every chaotic moment, there is a moment filled with love and peace. Not like, actual PEACE, because that would be a miracle....but my heart is at peace. The kids playing quietly together while I nurse Stella, or pushing all three of them on the swing. These moments keep me going, and are a great reminder that motherhood isn't all instant gratification. Raising children takes time and it's hard, messy work. Some moments will be ultimate fails and some moments I swear I hear angels singing in the background.

One thing I've learned about having 3, that I didn't learn with 2, is that I have to let some things go. Usually, this means the house. I love to clean. I was born to clean. I was raised to clean (just ask my  mom). But if you walked into my house right now you would swear we were auditioning for the next episode of Hoarders. I know I can't keep my house clean and my kids happy at the same time. So I opt for the latter. I've read several times in different places, that when your kids are young, the days are long but the years are short. I don't want to miss these years because I was mopping the floor. 

Recently Mark came home from work and the house was in complete chaos. We had been back and forth from playing outside and then back in, so there were shoes and tracks and toys everywhere. I hadn't started dinner yet, and I needed to nurse Stella. I usually try and have the house somewhat calm and collected when he comes home because I don't want him walking into chaos straight from work, so later that night I apologized for it being so crazy. He smiled and said, "Sweety, I don't care about the house. The kids were playing and you had a smile on your face and I could tell you weren't stressed and you had a good day. That's all I care about." He gives me more grace than I give myself. I think I'll keep him.

Since I'm very type A, I serve my family best if I have a plan. Because of this, we try to stick to a schedule. That does NOT mean that at 9:05 am we have a planned activity that ends promptly at 9:25 am. It does mean that I keep a general flow to our day so that my kids, and I, know what to expect next. We also have fairly strict bedtimes and naptimes (see below).

Another thing that keeps me sane, is I'm a sleep nazi. I honestly don't understand how people function when they have kids who don't sleep. SERIOUSLY. Sleep is huge for me. Maybe it's genetic, maybe it's because I started good sleep habits from birth, maybe it's because I prayed for good sleepers, but for whatever reason, all three of my kids are great sleepers for naps and at night. The only break I get is when the girls are all sleeping. I know this will change as they get older and stay up later and don't nap, but when they are this little and so dependent on me in the daily moments, I rely on nap and nighttime to recharge and rest. Because of this, I have all three girls take a nap in the afternoon. Even Lucy is required to lay down. Whether she sleeps or not is up to her :)

Along with sleep, I've realized that I need to get up early. This seems counterintuitive. But I am more rested, more patient, and more willing to serve my kids when I wake up before them and have some me time and some Jesus time. The mornings that I decide to sleep in and then hit the ground running because the kids wake me up, I'm cranky, snappy, and I get a lot less done. I didn't do this when it was just Lucy and Annie. But in order to juggle all three of them first thing in the morning I need to be fully awake. I am NOT a morning person, so it's not like I'm waking at the crack of dawn and scrubbing the house and making breakfast and putting on make up. I just need a good 30 minutes to wake up, drink my coffee, read my Bible, and spend some time alone. I'm hoping to learn to get up earlier and earlier so that I actually CAN get some of those aforementioned things done as well, but for now I'm proud of myself for those extra 30 minutes.

I'm not super mom. Most days all that gets checked off my list is feeding and bathing all three of them. I'm slowly learning to be okay with that. This is life with three girls born in 4 years. Its busy, chaotic, and absolutely beautiful. 

Catch Up!

It's been a crazy week!

Actually it's been a couple of crazy weeks. We have been nonstop with family visiting, sicknesses, birthdays, random activities, a zoo trip....and I don't even know what else because I'm trying to block it all from my memory....but I'm ready for some down time.

I have a lot on my mind, and have had trouble sleeping lately so might as well catch up on the blog postings since the house is quiet!

Every now and then I get in the mood to be productive. It's like a combination of a sudden surge of energy and an intense need to clean takes over...and I end up starting something that I don't necessarily have the capacity to finish. Sometimes Mark will come home and find me doing some project and he knows immediately to run away or I'll enlist his help.

This week he didn't get the chance to run away. We tackled our garage, and I'm so glad we did!

I cleaned out the highchair so Stella can start using it. Now that she's 6 months old I thought I should probably start trying to feed her some baby food...

Initially Lucy was really excited about helping out with the garage. I guess she gets that from me. But then after about 30 minutes she decided she had better things to do. I guess she gets that from me too. She headed over to the neighbor's house and picked some flowers (with our sweet neighbor's permission). Our neighbor has a serious green thumb, and always has beautiful flowers. No matter that they are surrounded by garden gnomes and various other redneck yard decorations. She let Lucy take some to make a bouquet, that is now gracing our kitchen table.

Finished garage! Ahh.....isn't that better? I feel like I should clean something else now...

Zoo

This will be the first of many zoo posts...my fabulous mom got us a family season pass to the zoo for Annie's birthday! I'm so excited....

Annie has never been to the zoo before so we decided for her birthday we wanted to take her. The week of her birthday the weather was horrible so we ended up waiting, and I'm glad we did because it was a perfect day! Mark took the day off and his mom babysat Stella so we could just have some time with our big girls.

The petting zoo was a big hit. The girls loved all the animals. The Giraffes and Zebras were the favorites though I think.

Pandas are mommy's favorite!

Apparently it was national field trip day, because there were about 20 different schools there. That's not an exaggeration at all. Seriously. I didn't get to take as many pictures as I would have liked because we were navigating around the classes and trying to avoid them, which was near impossible.

Is it just me, or are gorillas really scary?!

Lesson learned....pack a lunch and eat it in the zoo. I did pack a lunch for all of us, but we left it in the car in a cooler because we figured we would just eat when we left. The girls were STARVING for some reason and got really cranky towards the end. I'm not sure why, because usually we don't eat lunch early at all. Must have been all those school kids eating at 11 am!

Still a fun and successful trip!

Stella's Half Birthday

Ok I wasn't sad about Stella turning 6 months old until just now when I typed the title....and realized that we are half way to her birthday! How is that even possible? She's still a newborn, right? (cuz if she's not, then what's my excuse for living in pjs and my house being a mess?)

Like it or not, Stella is definitely not a newborn anymore. She is a babbling, bouncing, hair grabbing, finger biting 6 month old.

She is still VERY laid back, and is definitely the least active of the Campbell girls. I'm not sure if that's because she likes it that way, or because she doesn't really have a choice since I'm usually chasing her older sisters (one in particular....) around the house all day.

She has this little vein in between her eyes just like Lucy. I used to think she looked just like Lucy but lately she is resembling Annie more.

She is wearing size 3 diapers but I doubt for much longer...which means she and Annie will both be in size 4.

6 month clothes are getting a little tight but still fit for now.

She still sleeps on her back! Both the other girls were on their tummies for sleep by this point, but Stella really hates rolling over. She has gotten better about playtime on her tummy, but it is definitely her least favorite position to be in.

I promise she really does hate it. 

She is really starting to prefer me to anyone else. Before I don't think she noticed, but now if Mark (or anyone else) is holding her she will look around the room until she finds me. And if she hears my voice she whips her head in my direction so fast you'd think I have some sort of baby feeding device attached to my body. 

Oh wait, I do.

Speaking of feeding, she still nurses 5 times a day, although I'm sure she would go down to 4 if I pushed it...I just like how relaxed her schedule is when she's on 5 feedings. Plus she really isn't that great at eating food yet. I've only given her some mashed up bananas and sweet potatoes a handful of times and she tolerates it at best. She just really doesn't seem hungry or interested in it. She does look cute and tiny in that highchair though.

Annie cheese grin photo bomb.

She still spits up A LOT. There is a constant bib and burp cloth shortage in our house. And the past week or so she has been drooling like crazy so add that to the mix and the kid is basically soaking wet all the time. I don't think she's teething.....but for some reason the drooling has started out of nowhere.

Stella is very easily entertained, and in classic third child fashion, just likes to be looked at and talked to. That pretty much keeps her happy. You don't even have to do anything funny....just look at her and she will give you a big smile.

She has gotten pretty good at sitting for short periods of time. If she is slightly propped up she can sit for a long time, but alone she doesn't last very long.

Blurry picture because she is about to tip over...

She loves her sisters so much, especially Lucy. Lucy can make her smile and laugh probably more than anyone. 

She is so very chill and I know I'm spoiled rotten by how easy of a baby she is and by how much she still sleeps. I have been blessed with good sleepers, so for Stella to sleep even more than Lucy and Annie is certainly saying something. She still takes 3 naps a day and I almost always have to wake her from every single one. She's a champ. 

It's funny because in the late afternoon when Stella is awake and the big girls are napping, she talks and YELLS so much. She barely makes a peep the rest of the day but when they are asleep and it's just her and I, it's like she knows she has the floor. She certainly speaks her mind during that little window. 

I know it's not common now to have more than 2 kids. Things start to get complicated after two. But what joy and sweetness and pure love we would have missed if we had not been blessed with Stella. I am so glad the Lord laid it on our hearts to have another child (although it was a little earlier than we had imagined...but proof that His plans are always better than ours)

OH how I love this little girl.

A Day for Annie

My crazy Annie girl turned 2 on Thursday! The fact that she is already two years old is almost as amazing as the fact that she has made it to her second birthday without stitches or a broken limb.

All who know Annie know that she is fun, wild, charming, and a teeny bit bipolar.

We started off her second birthday by waking the girls up throwing/kicking balloons into their room. Lucy loved it and jumped right up, but Annie was a bit cranky...

She perked right up when we told her we were having pancakes for breakfast. Fortunately Mark didn't have to be at work until 8 that day so we woke the girls up early so he could have a quick breakfast with the birthday girl.

My 4 (almost 5!) years of mommy wisdom has taught me that birthday parties are a few things: stressful, expensive, and almost never worth it. Especially when they are young enough to not care or understand. So I decided to forgo the party for Annie this year. She's 2, she doesn't care, and I'm sure we will get the chance to throw her plenty of birthday parties in the future. 

In lieu of a party, I decided to just make the whole day about Annie. Do whatever she wanted to do.....so we ate pancakes for breakfast, and spent the rest of the day doing fun Annie things.

We played with Play Doh, and I didn't freak out once when they mixed the colors all up...

I made her a special birthday lunch including her favorite fruit smoothie

I let her help me make cupcakes and I didn't freak out when she made a mess (noticing a theme here?)

We had her favorite for dinner. She would seriously eat Chick fil A chicken nuggets for every meal every day if I would let her. In fact, Lucy would too. I'm thinking they put drugs in their food...

She put her own sprinkles on her cupcake (and I didn't freak out!) and we sang Happy Birthday to her.

It's funny because although I'm pretty sure she had no clue it was her birthday, she definitely understood that the day was all about her. I could tell that she loved the special attention and she was all smiles and grins the whole day.

My mom and Michael (Grandpa) came over for dinner and cupcakes because Michael knew he wasn't going to be able to see her on Sunday, which is when we all went out to eat and had cookie cake. (Ever since we told Annie her birthday was coming up, she says "Burpday, cookie cake!!" over and over and over)

She opened a few presents

And she ended the day by doing her absolute favorite thing: jumping on/from/into furniture

To try and explain with words how much I love this little girl would be an extreme injustice.

She brings life and laughter into every moment. She has brought me hope, joy, and fear. She is a constant reminder of God's grace and favor to our family. She is my crazy girl whom I love with all my heart!

Happy Birthday Annie Faith! You are more of a blessing than you will ever know!