The fog is lifting!! I'm beginning to see the light (some days), so I finally am getting the chance to update.  Lots has changed- we are officially in our new house, thanks to lots of family and friends.  We are in the process (the looooong process) of settling in.

In the weeks leading up to our move, I was super stressed.  It seemed we would never get everything done.  So many people came to our rescue and helped along the way, and I couldn't be more grateful.  And the kids learned some survival skills along the way, too-
Like how to make OJ by squeezing clementines into a cup (my resourceful little Ellie came up with that on her own)- haha!  Yes that was during my "eat-all-of-our-remaining-food-so-we-don't-have-to-move-it" phase, superimposed on my "can't-go-shopping (or leave the house for that matter)-with-3-kids-and-an-infant" stage.  Yep, slim pickins.

I did have one breath of fresh air when Dan watched the kids so I could go to Costco, kid-free.  We were desperate for some TP and essentials, so I got to go!! Woot! So, instead of holding a kid in each arm I was walking around double-fisting Starbucks samples.  (Why, yes, I'll take one of each flavor, please!!) It was glorious.

Then came the day when I got locked out of my house with a tired 3 year old and a hungry newborn.  hmm.  yep, that happened. The garage door broke and I discovered I didn't even have a key to the front door (we never used it, so why would i?).  So my neighbors got to see me breastfeeding Tessa in the front seat of the Mountaineer, while William was out of his seat and wildly swinging the ice scraper pretending it was a sword.  Oh and all the while I had to pee so bad I was trying to devise a plan to go behind the bushes unnoticed.  Luckily it didn't take too long for the locksmith to get there (we paid for the "express" service), and Jeni showed up for moral support! So finally we got back in, and Will and I enjoyed an extra nutritious lunch of goldfish and Sun Chips, and then took a rest.

Oh and then there was the day when our realtors, Group O'Dell, came over and PACKED OUR ENTIRE KITCHEN.  Yes, you read that right. They are amazing, the best, the very best. If you are moving, you need to call them.  For sure.

Then there was that one day when William threw a mega fit, had two time outs, a spanking, poopy diaper (we used to be potty trained), and fed our one remaining fish half the container of food (apparently this was his idea of just one tiny pinch)....all before 8am.  I'm sad to say that Dottie the guppy did not live to see our new house.  She got the water burial along with the other 5 that bit the dust last month.  Whelp, being fish owners was fun while it lasted. 

Oh then the day when my sweet friend Leslie (who watches Tessa when I'm at work) came to the door because I'd asked her if she could watch Will and Tessa while I went up to the elementary school for a Dr. Seuss party.  Well, between the time I'd asked her about it and that moment, I'd completely forgotten.  So I was standing at the door in my sweats with a blank look on my face, like, "Oh crap what did I forget?".  She's like "remember how you asked me to come over today?"......oh. 

But needless to say, moving day came, and off we went!!  
As you can see, William was a huge helper that day, tools and all!

We could not have done it without our amazing family and community group and friends!! 

**I  had some super cute pics of the kids on moving day- they were SO excited!!  But my phone broke a few days ago and I lost all of them :(  sigh. 

I am happy to report that we now have a fully stocked and organized pantry (thanks to my friends Brenda and Jessie who came all the way from Lawrence to spend a whole day with me organizing my kitchen!), and are eating fruits and veggies again :)  We had a few hiccups along the way, but we are LOVING our new house. The space is great, and what's even better is our neighborhood! I really think God answered my prayers because this was my biggest fear- what if we don't make friends? What if the kids hate it? What if we don't feel at home? I tell you, our neighbors are the absolute best!!!  Turns out we have friends that live right.across.the.street. and we had no idea when we bought the house!  Which was so great when we pulled in with our trucks full of stuff at the time we agreed upon, and the sellers were still in the house....um, hmm.....and they continued to move out for the next 2.5 hours.  Awkward to say the least, but at least I had a friend who let me come over and feed Tessa in her house while we waited for them to move the rest of their stuff out.  By the end of the weekend, we had already met so many neighbors and the kids were off playing with their new friends. Dream come true!  Some brought meals, helped clean, move boxes, and one of my neighbors actually came over and pooper-scooped our lawn! And I'm hoping she'll still want to be friends! haha.  In fact, she was sitting behind us at church on Sunday and said, "Hi! I'm the pooper scooper!" LOL!!!!! I guess that's one way to make friends.  Well, all in all we are super blessed to have such amazing neighbors and friends.  Whew what a relief.

 Here are a few action photos- we love to take walks around the neighborhood and visit and play at the park by our house :)

 They found a "stage" on our walk last night-

 

They are still building quite a few houses on our street, so that provides us with HUGE dirt piles to climb on, too.

Oh and this.  Breaking the house in -

I went back to work a few weeks ago. Though it has been nice to see my coworkers and our patients again, it has taken some adjusting to get everyone where they need to be (on time) in the morning.  I'm happy to report we've only received one tardy slip from school so far! Not too bad! Things are a little different at work as Dr. Peck has retired.  I sure do miss him! Caleb chose to write his "Kindest Kansas Citian" essay about Dr. Peck (they are pretty good buddies!).  Here was his planning sheet:

(says, Dr. Peck: 
-got out my baby sister
-really nice
-keeps moms and babies safe
-he sky dives
-he eats lunch with us)

Baby girl is almost 3 months old! Love her to pieces.

We still have our moments of this:

But we are getting lots of smiles these days, too! 

Here's her newborn pic, with Ellie's newborn pic on the right. Definitely sisters! 

Sweet sisters, sporting their matching bling-

There's lots of love coming her way- it makes my heart so happy to know she will grow up with such amazing women in her life (including her lovely Grandmas!).

Tessa is really turning a corner with her sleeping, too, which is life changing. Lets hope that continues!

Caleb and I snuck out while everyone was sleeping and went on a little date to his favorite (IHOP).  

While digging into his unlimited pancakes, our conversation went something like this:

Me: Those pancakes look good!
Caleb:Yep, but not as good as yours.
Me: What makes mine so good?
Caleb: There's lots of love in 'em!

Melts my heart! 

Caleb finished up another successful basketball season! Coach Dad and Coach Phil are the best!!

The big boys also went to Monster Truck Rally, too.  Nothin' better than loud trucks driving around destroying things...haha

 

 I'm convinced being a mom is the funnest ever.  You get to see your kids dressed up for school programs- Caleb the hobo spider. love it!

Daddy's girl!

William just cracks us up sometimes.  Always full of jokes and tricks, and never a dull moment with that kid.  Ornery as can be too!  The other day we were dressing for church and he decided he wanted to wear his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle slippers.  

  

"But moooooooooooommmmmmyyyyyy! I have to wear my slippers, so I can show all my ladies!!" 

Oh, boy!

 

We are trying to convince him that it's cool to be a big boy, so now he is taking care of his baby-

 

Anyone with tips on re-potty training, or convincing a 3 year old that it's much more fun to be a big boy, let me know!!

We had a family basketball-watching party last week.  Wish it would have turned out differently but we sure had fun cheering on our Jayhawks!!

 You can't see it very well in the picture but Ellie fell off the train at the Emporia zoo last weekend and did a complete faceplant.  Scraped up her forehead, nose, lip, and chin.  Poor thing.  They said she did pretty well until she saw herself in the mirror!

So needless to say, our life is wild, with an extra sprinkle of crazy.  Wouldn't have it any other way.