Hands Full. Heart Full.

When you have three girls it's like there's a flashing sign above your head that reads:

***Make a comment about my family***

Because these phrases are said to me on the daily:

"You trying for a boy next?"

"You sure have your hands full"

"Oh, what a beautiful baby....oh, wow....and you have two more kids!"

"You know what causes those right?"

etc.etc.etc.

I'm 100% sure moms of four or more kids get these types of comments, and moms with three boys, and moms with both boys and girls. Heck, I got the "you trying for a boy next" comment all the time when I had two kids.

Basically, people like to point out the obvious.

 Apparently they think I don't know I have my hands full 

and the drama from 3 teenage girls will age me 10 years?

Trust me, I know my hands are full. I feel the fact that I have 2 hands and 3 kids every.single.day.

But I also know that all that makes me crazy also makes me happy beyond measure.

Those three little ladies make my heart burst on the daily.

So join me in celebrating the craziness that is having your hands full with children.

 Because it's also what makes my heart the happiest.

Click here to download this free, hand drawn "Hands Full, Heart Full" 8 x 10 print

Can be printed at any size desired

P.S. This is my 100th post! Only took me 6 years of blogging very irregularly to get there.

Linking Up To:

Strawberry Mommycakes

The Chaos of It All

In the shower today I was soaking up the silence, the heat, the peacefulness of the moment. Don't get me wrong, I had about 5 minutes to get in out and move on with my day while the big girls played playdoh and the baby napped. But it was 5 minutes of relaxation in a typical day full of chaos. I closed my eyes and thought.....

                               "This is the best part of my day"

I quickly opened my eyes as my conscience reprimanded itself. Yes, it's true that this may be the most PEACEFUL part of my day- a day filled with fevers, teething babies, sisters fighting and the inevitable clean up of all that playdoh.- but it was far from the BEST part of my day.

The best part of my day could very well be the snuggles I get from that toddler with a fever, the happy giggles I get when I play peek a boo with the baby, or the sweet whispers of "you're the best mom ever!" by my kindergartner as I tuck her in tonight.

It truthfully is all of those things and so many more. The small moments of beauty, love, and happiness- after all isn't that what we are all doing this game of life for?

When I look back at this time in my life 10 years from now- when I don't have a baby under foot and all my kids are rushed to school every morning. I know I won't remember that 5 minute shower and how good it felt to my body, that shower will still be there as part of my day. It's true that we all need those peaceful moments to be a better mom, wife, friend, etc. But sometimes it's the moments in between the peace, the real life bumps and quirks, that really become the best part of our days.

I will definitely remember those moments of beauty in the chaos that is parenting.

I'll miss helping them tie their shoes and zip their coats a million times a day.

The baby cuddles at midnight will be long in the past, but a tiny part of my heart will pang to cherish them just one more time.

I'll miss cutting their food into little pieces, even the pizza and pancakes. I'll miss the spills and piles of dirty clothes waiting to be washed.

The sisters will still fight, but it will likely be over ipads, clothes or who gets to ride shotgun, not who can run faster or who gets to be which ninja turtle.

So this day, filled with chaos....I'm going to soak it ALL up. The BEST part of my day will always be watching my children grow. No matter how crazy they make me.

Valentines in the Mod Ink shop- Coupon Code!

Valentines is just around the corner....I'm counting down the days. Mostly because that means the two week stretch of my hubby being out of town will be over, but candy and cards and a love filled day is a very nice way to welcome him home!

Bee Mine

My oldest daughter wanted Frozen themed Valentines this year, and instead of going the store bought route I made up some treat bag toppers! They are available in my shop, Mod Ink Design, with free customization and a 24 hour or less turn around time.

Frozen Olaf

Frozen Heart

Warm Hugs

I've also got some favorites from years past in the shop again. 

Princesses, Penguins, Rainbows and Superheros will always be popular with the kiddos.

  At just $4.00 these are a great option for a custom valentine! Print, cut, fold and staple onto your ziploc bag of treats, toys, stickers, etc. You can even buy the pre-bagged goldfish, pretzels, etc and staple the toppers right onto them!

Use coupon code LOVETREATS for 10% off your order through 2/13!

Mod Ink Design on Etsy

Diaper Bag Dump

With my first baby 6 years ago I carried it all. In a huge, sorta ugly brown corduroy diaper bag (thankfully not one with Winnie-the-Pooh-I still had a small amount of fashion sense in me!)

Why do they made diaper bags so ugly anyway? 

 "I have a little baby and so now I would really prefer to carry a giant bag with cartoons and pastels that screams DIAPER BAG" - said no mom ever.

Part of the reason for the huge bag was the dilemma of what to put inside.

I was a little clueless on what exactly I really needed on my person at all times to run errands. 

Because really, to run to the grocery store you totally need 3 burp cloths, 2 swaddle blankets, a bottle of tylenol, 3 changes of clothes + one shirt for yourself, 5 toys for a baby that can't hold anything yet and a nursing cover even though you will hide in your car should baby have to nurse in the 45 minutes you are away from home.

3 kids later all I really need is this: wallet, keys, phone (duh), 2 diapers and wipes.

These days I carry a large purse, lately a crossover is my favorite. I try to keep it organized to be efficient, but let's face it- most of the time this is what it looks like.

Exhibit A: the contents of my purse this morning after approximately 3 weeks since the last cleaning.

(no old rotten food or nasty sippy cups! I'd call this pretty tidy)  

I do carry some other items on a day to day basis including- 

a change of clothes for the baby (explosive diapers happen people!), 

wet ones for wiping nasty tables or shopping carts,

 a hairtie (someone ALWAYS needs a hairtie when you have 3 girls!) 

It's helpful to have some snacks- 

mostly for my 3 and 6 year old because they are eternally hungry at the most inappropriate times. Typically as soon as you are pulling away from lunch at Chick-fil-A 

they began clamoring from the back seat for a snack. 

It's like the humming of the engine makes them hungry. 

Here we are cleaned up and ready to pack it all in again.

Usually there's always a bright lipstick (for a quick put together look), EOS lip balm (#addicted),

 and mints (these work double duty as breath freshening + kid bribery)

bathroom selfie of my target clearance purse

Obviously trips to the zoo, or long days spent entirely out of the house require a bit more loot. Typically I keep a tote in my car with a change for the 3 year old (accidents happen) and some extra diapers, snacks and sunscreen. 

Today I'm linking up with these fine blogs in order to hopefully win a luxurious Lily Jade bag! 

Coconut Robot

Mom Diggity

Cedars and Tiny Flowers

and Babies don't Keep

Paw Patrol 3rd Birthday

This party happened just over 6 months ago, in late July,  but I still wanted to document it here since this is a bit of a virtual scrapbook for myself and our family (albeit a very, very, out of date one!)

Makayla has been obsessed with Paw Patrol (a Nickelodeon cartoon for those of you who may not know it) since it first started airing in the late summer of 2013. All she wanted for Christmas in 2013 was 'Paw Patrol toys', which, of course, were no where to be found because the show was too new. 

Mama to the rescue with a collection of stuffed animals 

similar to the pups in the show.

 It was a huge hit!

Grandma and Grandpa jumped in on the action and improvised their own Paw Patrol gift that Christmas- a hand drawn Zuma shirt! She was smitten.

So when we started talking birthday party themes in the late spring she had no trouble deciding

 it was going to be Paw Patrol all the way! 

I had big plans to get everything done before Savannah arrived...but that didn't happen at all. 

Let's face it, I barely got her nursery cleaned up and put together and her newborn clothes washed before she was born. 

So with a one week old baby I created her invitations-

 I 'girlied' them up a bit with the rainbow chevron.

Available customized invitations here in my Etsy Shop, Mod Ink Design.

We kept the party simple, 

because simple is the name of the game with a newborn and 2 other kiddos!

I made a quick 'Skye' t-shirt for Makayla

 with a little photoshop work and an iron on transfer + white t-shirt.

The treat table included 'scooby snacks'

 aka. dog bone shaped graham crackers and cheese ball treats

 in dollar store dog bowls.

The cupcake toppers were a mix of free printables from Nick Jr's website and my own rainbow chevron 'M' and '3' designs.

A super easy and budget friendly way to decorate cupcakes!

The rest of the house got very simple decorations, 

including a banner and some fun paper pinwheels on the mantel

 and a quick happy Birthday sign on our kitchen chalkboard!

Aunt Felisa helping hold newborn Savannah- she was 4 weeks old here!

Some of the party guests enjoying a coloring table with Paw Patrol coloring pages printed from various free online sources (just google!)

'Doggy Bag' treats for all the kiddos to take home- 

which included a simple mix of candy, rainbow bracelets and silly putty eggs.

You can purchase the treat bag toppers here, in my Etsy shop as an instant download!

My sweet girl being shy while we sang 'Happy Birthday'- love her!

Cupcakes and ice cream....yum!

Cousin Ellie, who celebrated her 3rd birthday the very next weekend!

Of course, there were plenty of awesome presents! 

Thanks (6 months late) to everyone who came to help us celebrate our curly haired sweetheart turning 3!