My Method to the Madness

Oh sweet goodness, I LOVE this time of year! I never get sick of the squealing from the back seat when we drive by a house with Christmas lights or the continual excuse to bake cookies. Devan adores the Christmas tree and will stare at it and be totally content. Oh, I love celebrating the birth of my King and teaching my children about it, oh, I just love it all! So, in the next 11 days, I've got quite a bit to do, because in a few days, we're loading up our Honda Odyssey and heading North for Christmas! I can't wait, I just can't wait!

Oh, life is so beautiful. Having an amazing husband that adores me and still finds me beautiful and three adorable, healthy children is a blessing that I do not take for granted. Life has changed drastically in the last 3 weeks. A "full nights sleep" is now about 6 hours. Getting out the door in "record time" now takes about and hour and a half.  Taking time to "look nice" now means brushing my teeth and wearing contacts instead of my glasses. Oh yes, things are different, but I adore this new chapter. Bailey and Caden have done well with the new little one in the house. Caden has some trouble getting used to the idea and had some jealousy issue, but things are looking up and Caden even told me "I love Devan" just out of the blue. It made me tear up. It's been a rough 3 weeks for poor Caden, but he's a trooper and is really starting to get interested in Devan and wants to help him out, which I adore.  Another beautiful part of my

Charles Devan Clark Born at 3:53pm on 11/16/11 7lb 15oz 21 inches long Perfection.

Bailey is adorable. She's funny and sweet and makes life fun. She is now four, and for some reason, the last 3 months, that adorable, sweet girl has lost all self control. She knows that she shouldn't do things. She's bright. But she just can't tell herself no. In the last 3 months she has... 1. Smeared toothpaste all over her walls and herself. 2. Drawn all over her brother and room with a marker. 3. Painted Dana's futon and Caden with fingernail polish. 4. Snuck scissors into her bed and cut her hair off, cut up her new swing and new blinds. 5. Poured Gold Bond all over the master bathroom including on the toilet paper... 6. Hid a tube of my acrylic paint under her bed until nap time when she smeared it all over her freshly painted walls, new bed set and herself. 7. Wrote all over her bed, walls, floor with chalk. So, I know it sounds like I just sit around and let her run around unsupervised to be able to pull all this off, but she's so fast! We'll spen

 Well, it's finally November. November is the month I've been waiting for since February when we discovered we would be a family of five. I love being a mother, being pregnant, however, is not quite so much fun. Bailey and Caden's pregnancies were both relatively easy, this one has been completely different. More sickness, more blood pressure problems, I was put on restricted activity and have had lots of pain, especially in my hips and shooting down my legs. It's not been an easy road. But there is one thing that I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it will be worth it. Holding Devan will be one of the sweetest moments in my life because it was such a long road. I am currently 39 weeks along and have a planned induction on November 17th but I am hoping and praying (and praying and praying) that I go naturally before then. Besides being very pregnant, we have also been very busy. I've never been a huge fan of Halloween, I don't like dark spooky things or

My list to get done before Fall is over! I'm really, really excited about this idea. I've already gone on one date and I've had a fancy coffee drink! I'm doing great! Now, I'm off to research an apple orchard we can visit!

 So... I am now 27. It was a wonderful birthday, we had cake and presents and revealed the sex of our baby! It was very fun. Above is the cake that Dana ordered from my friend Michelle. The theme of the party was owls. Yes, I'm 27 and had a theme to my birthday party. I like owls. Below is how we revealed the sex of the baby. We wrapped up a framed picture of the name we chose. We let Chuck and Dana open it.  Chuck was really excited. Boy or girl? Boy or girl?  It's a boy and his name is Charles Devan Clark. He'll go by Devan. Jason's full name is Charles Jason Clark, his dad's name is Charles Walter Clark and his dad's name is Charles Jasper Clark. We were excited to pass on the family name.  Chuck was excited too!  After the reveal we set up a little "It's a Boy" table with little outfits we had for him, Caden's coming home outfit to show how cute boy's clothes can be, etc. And there was a picture frame full of pictures of

I love flowers. I love Autumn weather. I love the color yellow. I love lots of things. One thing you will never find on my "I Love" list is Dentists. They are not bad people, they just chose a profession that makes me cry. I'm pretty sure that most dentists were bullies in elementary school. They made me cringe then... they make me cringe now. Yesterday, I had to go to the dentist. I had a terrible experience when I was 18 or 19 and have been nervous with anyone specializing in the dental arts since then. So yesterday, at 12:50, I drove into the parking lot of my dentist and did some quick breathing exercises. Inhale. Exhale. I am an adult. Inhale. Exhale. I am strong. Inhale. Exhale. I'm going to up-chuck. So, the breathing exercises didn't go so well, but I forced myself to let go of the iron grip I had on my steering wheel and went inside and checked in. Then I sat down next to the coffee pot. Why do they put coffee pot in dentist's office waiting room

In 6 days my two favorite parents are landing in Tulsa, OK to visit their favorite Clarks and Castles. We'll get them in Tulsa for 3 days and I am so incredibly excited! It was one of those things that we planned long ago and it seemed like the time would never come, but it's here and I'm looking forward to so much! Here are some of the things I'd like to do in these 3 fun packed days! I can't wait to show off my baby belly. This picture is from the day I had Bailey! Mom is always great to have around when you're expecting! I look forward to lots of attention being showered upon my children. Caden still loves making silly faces and I know mom and dad love to make him laugh! Looking forward to reading time with Grammy. The kids loves reading and it's always special to see them sharing their love of reading with Mom. Swinging is always a favorite pass time, I know we'll hit up the park at least once while they're here! Caden is already talkin

We got to do a photo shoot at a horse ranch and while the girl we were photographing changed outfits, we got to take pictures of our cute little family! It was so fun! Enjoy! It was a cooler day after weeks of triple digits and even though we were sweaty we had a blast and the day ended up being really special! Bailey and Caden both got their first horse ride, Caden got to raise and lower the loader on a John Deer tractor and they loved climbing on the hay bales! The kids are at such a fun stage full of wonder and excitement for every little thing, it's a really great time to be their mom! On another note, my birthday is 5 days away! I'm a wee bit excited! I love birthdays and parties and on Monday, I get both!