Holy Cow!

Life has been crazy!  Good way crazy but crazy none the less.  I have so much to catch up on.  So many fun stories I want to write down and pictures to share.  It's been difficult to blog because we have added another person to our family.  Nolan was born three weeks ago on September 14th.  It was an amazing day and he has been an awesome addition to our family.  I'm committing right now to getting all the awesome things from summer blogged by the end of the week.  If for no one else then for me.  So stay tuned for more to come.

Do not shop at Target!!!

I'm so frustrated by an experience I had at Target yesterday that I'm taking to my blot to share.  This is the letter that I posted on their Facebook wall and sent to their customer service.  It pretty much sums up my experience...
 

I was VERY disappointed with an experience I had a Target yesterday. Primarily because I have now learned that Target does not value their customer and that even though their motto is "expect more, pay less" that is far from the experience I had. I was shopping at my local Target store yesterday and came across a crib that was marked down on clearance. Being 9 months pregnant I was very excited by this find as it's one of the things we still desperately need for our little one. When I got to the register I was told that my store was out of stock. I was sent over to guest services where I asked them to check other stores to see if they had the crib in stock. I was told that two other stores in the area had it. I proceeded to call both stores (which in my opinion is something that guest services should have offered to do) and was informed that both stores were out of stock as well. I decided to check online to see if the crib was available ...there. It was, but not at the clearance price. Since Target price matches with other stores I assumed that price matching an online price with an in store price would not be a problem. Not only was I met with less then stellar customer service but I was also told that they would not price match on the crib. The service representatives I spoke to were rude and very obviously reading off a script of "what to say when..." Additionally I emailed the customer service email address and was met with the same canned response. Needless to say this entire experience has soured me on Target and I WILL NOT shop there again. I will be more careful about shopping at stores that actually value my patronage and are willing to go the extra mile for their customers. Target has proven to me that they are NOT that store.

 

I'm frustrated that we are back as square one with finding a crib for Nolan, I thought for sure this was "it".  Anyway we will just keep looking.  After all we have a few more weeks before he gets here.

feeling inadequate

I, for the most part am an upbeat person.  I can usually take any challenge, trial, trouble head on.  I'm optimistic for the most part and would consider myself to be a very happy person.  That being said, lately I have been feeling so inadequate!  I feeling like I am letting people down in every aspect of my life as a mother, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a neighbor, you name it.  I'm not sure where these feelings are coming from.  Part of it could just be hormones I suppose.  It could also be that I have very high expectations for myself and when I don't meet those expectations I'm hard on myself.  I think it's hard sometimes when you are a stay at home mother and home all day with your kids, you lose perspective of how important the work you are doing actually is.  It also does not help that we live in a society that tends to look down upon stay at home moms.  Women are expected to be all things to all people in the work force and at home.  You should be able to work 60 hours a week and keep a perfect house and have perfect children.  The reality is, that's not possible!  I have chosen what I think is the better part.  I have chosen to be home with my children, to be there for them, to teach them, love them, show them how to behave.  I know it's not the most glamorous occupation.  It's stressful!  I feel the weight of my "job" everyday.  I do feel very blessed to have the opportunity to be home with them though.  I just with I was better at it.  I wish I could have that beautifully clean house.  I wish I was fantastic at cooking meals and staying within a budget.  I'm trying!  I guess the only thing I can do is keep trying.  I can't let myself get discouraged.  I know I am doing the most important thing I can be doing.  

Nolan Dale Keenan

I don't think I have updated on here yet...baby Keenan number four is a BOY!  I can not believe I am going to be the mother of FOUR boys!  It's enough to make you want to laugh, cry, dance, scream and pull my hair out.  I'm so excited for the adventures that we are going to have as a big, loud, silly, family.  I feel very blessed!  I was a little sad when we first found out that he was a boy but only because I had to let go of that dream of ever having a little girl.  There was a little bit of a mourning period that I went through for a day or so.  It was especially hard because all of the people I know who are pregnant right now are having girls.  But who does not love the idea of having four boys!  We have our own sports team for anything!  I see lots of camping trips and sporting events in my future.  I also see four boys who will look out for each other and grow up best friends.  I see four future missionaries and four future fathers who, if they are lucky, will be as amazing as their Daddy.  I cannot complain, I feel very, very blessed!

As far as my pregnancy, it's going well.  I have not had any complications since my scare at 13 weeks.  I am having contractions more often then I would like but I don't think they are doing anything.  Nolan is growing and kicking and moving like crazy.  I'm trying to relish and enjoy every moment because I know I will never get to feel these little flutters and kicks again.  With my other pregnancies I could not wait for the baby to get here.  This time I am totally content with him staying put for a while.  Pregnancy is hard but I know once it's over, it's over for good.  That's kind of a bitter sweet thought for me.  I'm looking forward to the next phase for our family and watching my four boys grow but there is a piece of me that will miss this part.

Nolan Dale

Tyson!

This little man has grown and changed so much in the last couple of months.  He is definitely not a baby anymore.  He runs around and keeps up with his brothers.  He is talking a lot more recently.  He sleeps like a champ.  Eats even better.  Does not take a bottle or really a cup anymore.  Mostly just drinks out of regular cups.  He is such a happy kid!  He really is just content to be one of the boys.  He's a big boy and is very quickly growing out of his 18 month clothes.  I am going to need to buy him 24 month clothes because we don't have any.  I must have given them away at some point.  Oh well, who doesn't love going shopping :).

Corey at the Dentist

This has been an ongoing battle for me over the last three years.  Corey absolutely HATES the dentist.  He had a really bad experience when he was little and since then he has been really scared to go.  He has a lot of work that needs to be done on his teeth so I had to find on that worked.  This time I tried one in Monroe.  We finally had a successful dental visit!  He was able to get his teeth cleaned, x-rayed, and he did it all very calmly.  He sat in the chair like a champ and was not scared or squirmy at all!  Just another example of how he is growing up I guess.  He still has a lot of work that needs to be done.  He has cavities in most of his teeth and will need at least four appointments to get all the work done.  I'm confident that he will be able to handle it now.  He will have a prescription for Valium for before the appointment and nitrous once he is there.  I am hoping between those two things he will be OK.  Unfortunately, being pregnant, I can't take him to those appointments.  I can't be in the room with the nitrous so Terence will have to do it.  I am sure he will be fine with Terence there but it makes me worry.  I want to be there for him.  At least I know he will be in good hands with his Daddy.

happy camper after his teeth cleaning

How does your garden grow?

Mine has been doing pretty darn amazing, if I do say so myself.  We have pumpkin plants growing like crazy, huge tomato plants, onions, lots of strawberries and most recently our peas have been getting ripe.  Not that I would know how any of it tastes, the kids eat it as soon as we can pick it!  The other day we picked tons of peas and strawberries out of the garden and before I could get any of it, it was gone.  I can't complain.  I feel like if the kids want to eat the fruit and veggies right out of the garden they are welcome to :).  It teaches them the value of growing your own food, it's healthy and it tastes so much better! 

our first bowl of strawberries for the year.  We have since gotten about 3 more bowls twice this size.