Today I am 30!

Today marks my 30th birthday. Which is surreal and exciting all at the same time. On one end I can’t believe I am 30. As I’ve said today to a few of my friends, 30 sounds so significant. It just sounds so grown up. On the other end I feel like I’ve been 30 for a long time. I’m married, I have a house, four kids…yeah, I’m so 30. It’s about time I caught up with myself.

On my 29th birthday I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t have anymore babies, think about babies, want another baby for at least a year. I was going to make a baby the farthest thing from my mind. Well, just 20 days later…I found out I was pregnant with Tenley. I made a promise to Mike that I wouldn’t set any goals or promise myself anything this year. Probably for the best.

Today I’ll celebrate with these 4, their dad and auntie. They all fill each and everyday with so much joy! 

I’m so blessed.

The Dream...

 Now, if you know Mike and I you know we are incredible procrastinators. Like it’s really REALLY bad. So bad that Kensington’s social security card still says “Elliot”. I tried to change it once and they wouldn’t let me. Long story…. 

Honestly, with how busy our lives are lately I completely forgot about it. Until the other night when I had a dream about it. I had a dream Mike went to the social security office and they denied our request to change her name. Therefore, we had to start calling her Elliot again. We had to make yet another announcement to all our family and friends. In doing so people were calling us terrible parents. Telling us Kensington was going to be severely screwed up. It even made the news. Yes, the news! LOL! Let’s be honest, it was a nightmare. Even when I told Mike he said “That’s not a dream for you, that’s a nightmare.” I woke up so nervous. Well, since then I’ve had terrible anxiety over it. I grabbed her up in her crib after her nap today and found myself looking at her like “Could you be Elliot?” Imagine if somehow someway SS told us no? Really….what would we do? I guess, we better get on this fast because until it’s all said and done this mama is going to be losing sleep thanks to that dream! This is what we get for procrastinating I guess…

Ohhhh Kristen. Why can’t you be a normal person and just name your baby and stick to it. Poor Kensie (Elliot). HA! I guess 3 out of 4 isn’t a bad ratio.

The saga continues…..

And here’s a cute picture of me and her Auntie because….why not?!

Weekend Round Up

It was a busy weekend. Friday night, Mike and I got a date night. Saturday we got to sleep in (thank you Gammy!!) and then go run some errands solo. Sunday I had a full day with a baby shower and then spending the rest of the day with my Dad, Dee and Zack. We haven’t hung out just the four of us in SO long. It was a lot of fun! Sunday was also the first time I’ve been away ALONE without all the kids. Honestly, I felt like I was missing a limb. HA! I’m so not used to being alone. But it was so nice!!

Sweet Tenley all dolled up!

On our way to “date night”. We went to see my dads band play. It was so nice to get out for a few hours. We had a great time! 

Kensington, our girly girl. She is obsessed with this purse!! It’s Kamryn’s but it works and luckily Miss Kam has no problem sharing with her little sister (most of the time). 

As I said on Sunday I had my friend Annie’s baby shower. Doesn’t she look amazing?!? Annie was my maid of honor (and I was hers), she is Kamryn’s godmother and we’ve been friends since the third grade. She really is my oldest and dearest friend. To say I am excited she’s becoming a mama is a major understatement! I cannot wait to meet her sweet baby boy “JJ”.

And here are the kids checking out their whale cookies from Ginger Betty’s that I grabbed for them at the shower. 

Mike and I sat down last night and realized we have a lot of busy weekends ahead. It’s going to be a summer full of fun!!

Beach

Mike looked at me the other day and said “We should go to the beach Thursday night when I get home from work.” At first I thought he was crazy. That time of day is when the kids are at their worst. Sorry, it’s true. Everyone is tired, hungry and cranky. The beach isn’t really my thing. Well, I’ll rephrase that, a crowded beach isn’t really my thing. But…the beach on a Thursday night after everyone has gone home…? Sure!!! I decided to just try it out. If the kids were terrible we just wouldn’t do it again. Well, the beach gods were on our side because we had the best time! 

We stopped at McDonalds on the way there and then hit the beach. This is a win in my book! I didn’t have to cook or pack food!! 

Last year Kensington was still very much a baby when we went to the beach so this was her first REAL experience. I think she’s hooked. She was amazed by the seagulls, who if you ask me, seemed to be on steroids! They were MASSIVE! I guess they eat well down here on the “upper cape”. I should’ve gotten a picture.

When Mike got home he surprised the kids with new beach toys! 

My crew

Uncle Jim tagged along as well. I have to say, it’s a good thing he did. We are severely outnumbered and until the kids get a little bit older I think things like this are always going to involve at least an extra set of hands. Plus, they adore Uncle Jim! How could they not?! He only has the coolest YouTube channel there is!!

Summer 2016 is off to a great start! I’m looking forward to many more nights like this. We’re thinking about making it a weekly thing. Grab food and head to the beach at least one night a week after Mike gets home. I’ve definitely had a change of heart. With this crew….I love the beach! (Now if only I could lose the baby weight so I’d be comfortable at the beach in a bathing suit.) 

Fathers Day Weekend

This past weekend we celebrated our “Dada”. We took the kids to Papa’s house to use the pool and then went to Pappi and GranDee’s. It was a long day but we had the best time!

Disclaimer—I realized while packing for the pool that Kensington didn’t have a bathing suit. WHOOPS! She’ll have one by the end of the week!

Kamryn is our cautious child. She still won’t go in the pool past the stairs. While Logan jumps right in! I have a feeling by the end of the summer he’ll be without floaties and Kam will still be on those stairs. Sigh…gotta love her! Just like her mama! Kensington, just like Logan, loved every second of it. Even Tenley enjoyed getting her feet wet.

Lexi and Mike. 

Michael is an incredible Dad to our kiddos. He signed up for that. But words can’t describe how thankful I am that without a second thought he has stepped in as a father figure for Lexi. They’ve been in each others lives since Lexi was 6. He’s watched her grow up and now he helps her out in every which way a dad would. I know Lexi appreciates everything he does for her. Man, are we lucky or what?!

And these 4. They don’t even realize how lucky they are to have him. They woke him up with handmade cards Sunday morning and were so excited to celebrate him all day long! Kamryn reminded Logan first thing in the morning that because it was Father’s Day he had to be extra good. ((He listened!!))

I couldn’t possibly put into words how appreciative I am of this man. He works so incredibly hard to provide for his family and loves us all something fierce! Thank you for everything! We all love you so much!

Kamryn's Kindergarten Graduation

Anddd just like that kindergarten is over! (Well almost, the last day of school is friday) I can remember that first day so vividly that it really does seem like just yesterday. Logan cried and cried when his big sister got on the bus. What a year! Kamryn has grown leaps and bounds. She’s matured so much. It’s just incredible! I have to be honest… Kindergarten scared the shit out of me! (excuse my language) I worried so much about Kamryn. I just didn’t feel like she was ready or prepared. Let’s face it, I didn’t feel ready or prepared either. But she did it! We did it! Kamryn rocked it!! We are SO incredibly proud!! 

Miss Sassy Pants before she got on the bus. 

There she is! I filled up with tears the second I saw her and she gave us a great big wave!

She told us “When I saw how many people were there my stomach got kind of nervous.” So sweet!! 

Here she is with her teacher, Miss Cavicchi! I sincerely hope she teaches all my children. We LOVED her!! 

After the graduation we took Kamryn out to dinner just the 3 of us! She’s been asking for some alone time with us for quite some time so she was EXTREMELY excited!! We let Kam pick the spot…Friendlys of course! She was giddy the entire time we were there.

I’m 6.5 years into this mothering gig and I still can’t believe she’s mine. I get sad thinking about how she’s growing up but as she grows it seriously just keeps getting better and better!

And this one is just funny! Mike told us to make a silly face and when Kamryn and I grabbed his phone to look at the pictures, we laughed and laughed because without any planning we made the same exact face. #mygirl #myminime

We love you, Kamryn Alexis and how proud we are of you could never be put into words!! Keep up the great work!!

First Day — Last Day

On to first grade……

My greatest joy.....

…..is being mom. <3 

The Sass Family LOVES Being Outside

Tenley loves being outside!! I swear she’s in awe of this great big world!

Kensington went in and out of this cozy coupe over and over and over again. She absolutely loves it!!

Dada is home!!! 

Mike lovingly (and half joking bc he loves all his kids just the same) calls Kensington “the favorite baby”. They have such a sweet bond. It’s safe to say Dada is Kensington’s favorite too! 

The always barefoot Logan and loving it!!

I have a feeling this summer is going to be our best yet! All of my kids absolutely love being outside. It’s too bad they have the fairest skin on the planet because even with sunscreen we definitely have to limit the sun exposure. They can thank me for that. Sorry guys! But, I’m a nut about too much sun and the risk of skin cancer. Which is almost laughable because I was totally that teenager who would say “I need to get a burn first and then I’ll tan.” Uhhh no! It’s SO SO bad for you!! But, back to the point. We love being outside. We’re so lucky to have a big fenced in back yard that I now can send the big kids out alone and I know they are safe. (I’m checking on them CONSTANTLY. When it comes to my kids I’m a worry wort. But it’s nice to get 10 minutes to do the dishes without being interrupted 20 times) And! We have a huge driveway and live in a super quiet street. So it’s endless hours of drawing with sidewalk chalk and riding bikes/driving cozy coupes. My kids are also great at knowing the street is off limits. Why do I feel like I always have to justify these things and remind everyone the kids are safe?! haha! 

Summer 2016 .. I love you already!!

Matchy - Matchy

I’m totally not the type of mom to dress my kids alike. Especially if its not a special occasion or holiday. Some days it just happens. Must depend on my mood or something. 

This morning was a total accident but I looked at Kensington and Tenley and realized they were both dressed in bright pink, orange and yellow! I must’ve been in a great mood…look how bright those colors are!! :-) 

Of course I had to snap some pictures….

It looks like someone may have inherited mama’s curly hair!!

Tenley is seriously ALL smiles ALL.THE.TIME! Andddd she sleep’s right through the night. Anywhere from 8-9 at night until 7-8 the next morning! Yes! She’s a rockstar baby!!

“Gimme that baby!!!”

Just Keep Blogging ....just keep blogging ...

If you read this blog you’ve noticed I’ve been posting a lot more lately. Truth be told I don’t know if anyone reads it regularly besides my dad and my Aunt Linda (love you guys!!!), they are the only two who respond to me.

This season of my life is insanely busy! I hit the ground running and I don’t stop until all 4 kiddos are down for the night. But if I was a betting person, I would bet that when I will look back on these days I’ll look at them as the best of my life. The days just being mom. So, I want to remember it. All of it. 

Listen, I’m terrible are printing out pictures….so the Sass family doesn’t have any albums. I don’t scrap book. I won’t scrap book. I don’t enjoy arts and crafts, glue, glitter, drawing…none of it! That’s just not going to happen. None of my babies have baby books. I just don’t have the time to think about updating them. What I do have and enjoy is writing my blog! So it’s time to really take the time to write and write A LOT! Lots of pictures and little stories about the kids. I want to make sure I can read this blog and remember it all! This time is fleeting. I can’t believe how fast this school year flew by for Kamryn and she will be in first grade in the fall. Before I know it Tenley will be going into the first grade and my years with my babies home with me will be done. I’m sure that season of life will be fun in different ways and I hope then I am still blogging to remember those years too. 

So, let’s see if I can do it! I figure this summer will be a test run. I’ll find out if I can blog regularly a few times a week and keep it up! I hope you enjoy it and I don’t annoy you. HA! But mostly I hope you come back often to see what we’re up to!!

Life Lately

This will just be random pictures from my phone….you’ve probably seen majority of them on my Facebook and Instagram. So….here we go! 

Tenley has her own personal guard dog. 

And watch out future boyfriends! You don’t stand a chance with Logan around!!

I mean……

Mike and I being silly with snapchat filters. He loves me….I promise!

Wednesday my furry nephew brought me coffee. He’s figured out his Auntie Kristen. I’m a pretty simple person….bring me coffee and I’m one happy girl!!

As a bonus he brought along this guy. We love our Uncle Zacky!!

As a project for school Kamryn had to send “Flat Stanley” somewhere new. When the week is over she will share the pictures with her class. Can you guess where Flat Stanley went?? Well, Texas of course!! 

Kamryn and Tenley! My twins born only 6 YEARS apart! :-) 

Friday morning I was putting on my make-up and Kamryn came in and asked if she could use some too. So, I shared some lipgloss. It made her day!!

Miss Tenley continues to grow and grow…

And our Kensington continues to make a mess! LOL! Sweet Kensington is turning into quite the mischievous little girl….don’t tell her Daddy. He still thinks she’s perfect