Blog, Family

Life Lately


Liam and Kai walking in the rain

Hi all! I thought it was a good time to pop in and throw a few pictures up on the blog from life in the past few weeks. And stick around (or skip everything and just scroll down, I’ll never know 😉 ) for the end of the post because I have a little announcement!

 

We have been crazy busy lately and my energy is draining daily! A day (or even a few hours) out and about usually means that I end up spending the next couple of days recovering. Along with the glucose test that I’m about to take, my OB has ordered lots of other bloodwork to see if anything is going on! More than likely it’s just what comes with being the mom of 5 and one on the way, but if there’s some vitamin deficiency, it would be nice to know! In the meantime, I’m feeling lots of “mom guilt” for not having the energy to do much with the kids or manage a household.

Kai in the rain
 Every once in a while, I get bursts of “energy” and we try to do fun stuff in that time. During one of the many summer rain storms we’ve had, we finally made it outside to play in the rain. Most of the storms have been filled with lightning so it’s been hard to get the chance to get out and play during them.
Evangeline in the rain
followed by the sweetest little gloomy day naptime.
Baby nap time
If we’re anywhere near a swing set, you better believe that this cute little girl will be on the swing and asking you to push her…for the next several hours haha.
Young girl on a swing
Evangeline swinging
I actually hate melons of all kinds (I wish I didn’t because they look so delicious!) but my kids sure do love watermelon. It’s a favorite summer treat around here!
Liam eating watermelon
I need to make an effort to pull out the DSLR more often. Desmond went from taking his first steps a few weeks ago to pretty much full time walking now. Seeing babies learn to walk is one of my favorite milestones. He looks so proud of himself all the time and stops to clap multiple times during his strolls around the house.
Desmond walking and clapping
Kai never does normal smiles for pictures these days. My favorite trick is to ask him to tell me a joke while I snap a ton of pictures. A natural smile usually makes an appearance.
Kai smilingForest Park + middle of the afternoon on a HOT, humid day = crabby kids, crabby parents. It was definitely a park fail! But we made up for it later that night by going to another park at sunset.
Liam and Evangeline at Forest ParkLiam and Kai at Forest Park
Kingston at Forest Park
How’s that for a random post? This type of post isn’t the most glamorous or exciting type of post to write/read. But it’s our life. And our life is definitely not always glamorous or exciting. As much as I struggle with hard days, it’s nice to look back and see the good moments that popped up in between. It reminds me to always look for the little things. It also reminds me to pull out the DSLR more often!

 

If you’ve stuck around this long, I have a little announcement! I purchased a website domain! This simple little blog is getting a much needed update, after my husband’s persistent encouragement. He knows how much this space means to me so he’s helping me build a new site. But let’s be honest–he’s doing most of the work because I know nothing about that stuff. Stay tuned for the new site with a much better look than what I have going on right now!

Have a good rest of the week!

All Videos, Blog, Family, pregnancy, Videos, Vlog

28 week bumpdate (with a video!)


Jessica Roberts in Blue Mamma Belle Dress with Sunflowers
 
It’s so crazy that I’m already 28 weeks, which also means that I’m in the 3rd trimester–the final stretch! If you want to know how the pregnancy has been going, make sure you go all the way to the end of this post where I have included my first bumpdate video! 
 
This has been one stressful week for us. This time last week, I was going back and forth, trying to decide if I needed to go to the ER. I had a pain in my jaw/tooth/whole left side of my face. It was so severe that I was curled up in a ball, hardcore crying. And though I’m a wimp with pain, I usually never cry from it. I decided to wait it out until the next day. I have had pain off and on this past week but it’s almost all the way gone at this point–so weird! I did find out that I need one, if not two, root canals on Monday (and to be honest, I’m completely dreading it!!)
 
Jessica Roberts in Blue Mamma Belle Dress
Blue Mamma Belle Dress Maternity
These pictures were taken on Wednesday night, right after a fast, but powerful storm blew through our area–taking out our electricity for 24.5 miserable hours! It was sad to have to throw out all the food that went bad in that time but I’m thankful that we are safe and that no real damage was caused!
 

Blue Mamma Belle Dress with Evangeline

Blue Mamma Belle Dress with Evangeline 2Blue Mamma Belle Dress with Evangeline 3
Those pictures with Evangeline are some of my favorites ever!! Don did a great job capturing this stage of life of me with all my little loves. It’s stressful to get everyone in the shot sometimes (especially since my boys are entering the stage where all their smiles look fake and forced haha) but I truly treasure each and every picture. And the promise of cupcakes made the kids extra well behaved and motivated to get into a few shots with me 🙂
 
Roberts Family Group Shot with Blue Mamma Belle Maternity Dress

Roberts Family Group Shot with Blue Mamma Belle Maternity Dress 2

 Can we just pause and talk about this maternity dress that I’m wearing?! It’s from Mamma Belle and I am in love! I don’t own anything else in this color and I think I need to change that because it is too good! The maternity clothing industry has come a long way since my first pregnancy (and so has my style–or lack thereof!) I love the ruching on the sides and the black and white floral pattern. But I think my favorite part is that it’s lightweight and so comfortable. Comfort is pretty much my number one requirement for clothes these days–and dresses and leggings are my comfort clothes! Mamma Belle also offers other beautiful maternity and nursing friendly dresses, so be sure to pop over and check out the site!
**this dress was kindly sent to me but I was not asked to give a review. These are my real, honest opinions!!
Blue Mamma Belle Dress Maternity 2

Blue Mamma Belle Dress Maternity 3Blue Mamma Belle Dress Maternity 4Roberts Family Group Shot with Blue Mamma Belle Maternity Dress 3Roberts Family Group Shot with Blue Mamma Belle Maternity Dress 4

 Now, before you watch this video, a few disclaimers!!!

1) I usually end up editing myself out of every video we make! It is extremely awkward to talk to a camera–but I’ve heard it gets easier with practice? We’ll see! But editing this video was tough and I was cringing the whole time. How do my friends deal with me? 
 The fact that I’m posting this video is actually kind of a miracle because after I made it, I wanted to just delete the whole thing!
 
2) The clip that appears while I mention my exhaustion cracks us up–so I hope you get a kick out of it too 😉
 
3) I recorded the talking videos right as the crazy storm was blowing through. So there are some weird lighting shifts. Also, you may hear kids being loud in the background because…well, #reallife.
 
4) If I don’t go into hiding after posting this, I may do a couple more videos before baby girl is here. But I’m not making any promises!
 
5) Fun fact: Evangeline fell into the pond while we were videoing at the park. I thought for sure we would have to leave right then and there but she toughed it out. I still keep laughing about it though.
 
Anyway, enjoy! And thanks for reading/watching!