Happy Birthday Kamryn (7.5) and Logan (5)!!!!

Well, well, well I certainly have been MIA here on the blog. We have been crazy busy with play dates, sleep overs, a couple vacations for Lexi and lots of projects around the house for Mike and I. But in the midst of all the craziness we did find time to celebrate Logan's fifth birthday and Kamryn's seventh (and a half) birthday.

There seemed to be a little confusion as to why we combined their party this year. So here's the short of it. Back in December Kamryn decided she wanted to have her first "friend party". We invited all of the girls from her class and out of about 12 girls only 3 rsvp'd and 1 out of the 3 couldn't make it. (I hear this is totally normal now a days when it comes to rsvp'ing. Cmon people!) Lord love my Kamryn she still wanted to have that party so we planned to go on and have the party anyways. But the morning of her party we got hit with a blizzard and the bowling alley closed for the day. Sadly, we had to cancel the party. Kamryn was so understanding BUT was very vocal about how this would've never happened if she had a summer birthday. That afternoon her and Logan came to me with a plan, they would celebrate their birthdays together in July. So from there on we knew we would have one big party for the two of them. Well, it wasn't a "big" party...just their aunt and uncles, GranDee & Pappi, and 2 close friends but...they loved it. 

I think they're just a little excited

Listen, my kids can be brats just like any other kids but when it comes to parties, which I've always kept relatively small, they are so appreciative we have a party at all. So they didn't sharing at all. When Kamryn was born on New Years Eve EVERYONE told me I should give her half birthday parties instead of trying to celebrate it so close to Christmas. I think they might be on to something....

We did a pirate/mermaid party and it was perfect!

I had a lot of fun setting up the table half mermaid and half pirate. I swear to you, I was meant to have boy/girl twins! I've always said that. Aren't the colors so pretty?

As always I kept it cheap and simple. I bought all the paper products at the dollar store and just grabbed a couple pirate and Little Mermaid decorations at the party store. I took Ariel and Flounder off the Little Mermaid decorations so they were strictly just mermaid. I am not a fan of characters. Character bedrooms, decorations, clothes, etc....I'm just like my mother in this way. I used to hate it as a kid but now I TOTALLY get it!!

We just grilled burgers and hot dogs along with store bought pasta salad and potato salad. Good stuff and easy peasy!

My big 7.5 year old and 5 year old!

Where did my babies go?!?

Happy Birthday Kamryn & Logan!!!!!!!!!

I don't know if we'll ever celebrate their birthdays together again BUT this was definitely fun for a change. We'll see what happens come December! ;)

Happy Monday!! Have a great day!!!

Flipping Perspective

Today was a rough day. Which unfortunately for me, I have these types of days more often than I'd like to admit. I even called Mike halfway through the day crying because I was totally and utterly overwhelmed. How's that for real life? The kids were cranky, it felt like no one was listening to me, it was hot and I had little to no patience. Today just wasn't what I would consider a good day.

I woke up this morning with a list a mile long on what I was going to get done. We are having a small party for Kamryn and Logan this weekend and I have so much to do. I had big plans for the day -- I was going to take the kids for a nice walk down to the pond, catch up on all my laundry, clean both my bathrooms and I was even going to prep my deck to be stained while Kensington and Tenley napped and the big kids played on the slip n slide. Yep, I had some huge expectations for myself.

Here I am it's 8 at night and guess what I did today. I did a load of dishes.....that are still in the dishwasher, folded only half of my laundry from yesterday and wash & dried a load of towels....that are still in the dryer. That's it. As I sit here I feel like I failed today. I don't even know what happened. I have no idea why I didn't find the time to get those things done. I really feel like this was the LONGEST DAY EVER yet I couldn't even get 3 things done on my todo list.

  

You see, I'm a very psychological person and most times I can talk myself out of these funks. I just did and I want to share how I did it for those of you who may be feeling this way too....

So, here's what I know I did do today....

I welcomed my 4 kids with a giant "good morning" smile and a kiss

I made them all 3 meals

I passed out about 500 snacks 

I gave them all clean clothes to wear

I worked with Logan on writing and spelling his name (for some reason we forget the A. LOL)

I told them I loved them approximately 6,456,921 times

I took 63 trips to the bathroom with Logan (rough estimate)

I kissed at least 4 boo boo's

I took all the kids outside in the backyard for an hour to get some fresh air

I DID set up the slip n slide for the big kids at nap time and they loved every second of it

We had a dance party right before I started cooking dinner

I sat at the kitchen table with my kids and laughed and laughed at dinner time

I gave them all baths...because being clean is important

I read 4 books

I snuggled them all so tight, did our bedtime routine and told them how much mama loves them

My husband came home and I gave him a huge hug and thanked him for working so hard for our family. Because I couldn't do this without him. Really and truly. Michael Sass is my rock.

Listen, this is normal stuff. This is what I do everyday and some days I forget how much it matters. It's all a matter of flipping perspective. My children are fed, dressed, clean, healthy, happy and LOVED because of me.Today was hard, it was so hard. I still don't know how I didn't get more done. I'm still upset that I lost my temper more times than I should have and I'm still aggravated I can't manage my time better but you know what, my when I put my babies to bed tonight they all wanted one more kiss from their mama. They all squeezed my neck so tight and they all told me they loved me (Okay, Tenley can't say "love you" yet but she meant it, I could tell. LOL!). I know for a fact that these are the very best days of my life.  I am so thankful for my little family.  At night, when the 6 of us are tucked away inside, no matter what kind of day we have all had, I have such a peace that God has me right where He wants me.

Motherhood is hard. I don't care if you are a stay at home mom, working mom, work at home mom, single mom, co-parent mom, married mom...whatever the case may be this job IS NOT easy. God gave us these babies because he knew we were the best one to do the job. So, give yourself a break. Know at the end of the day you are doing the best you can and some days that just a load of dishes, and that's perfectly okay. People ask me all the time "How do you do it?" I always tell them that I just make it day to day. I have 3 things I know I need at the end of the day....is everyone fed, clean and alive? We're good! It sounds simple but really, keep it simple. Don't set your expectations too high. These season of life with little kids at home flies by....do your best to just enjoy it. Your kids love you and are so thankful, even when they don't show it, for all that you do. I just know it!

Happy Birthday Logan!

Today, my little Logan turns five.

I can hardly believe it.

FIVE.

July 17, 2012.

Happy birthday to our sweet, spirited, determined, stubborn, loving, funny (oh so funny), passionate, sensitive little big boy. We love you so so much Logan!!

Having Babies Close Together --- Ken & Ten

When I found out I was pregnant with Tenley, it was the biggest shock of my life. Even more of a shock than finding out I was pregnant with Kamryn. The only thing I can equate that to is that I was too naive at 22 to understand the GIANT responsibility headed my way. But when I took that pregnancy test and walked downstairs to see my little Kensington...my 7 month old baby sitting in her high chair being spoon fed baby food by her auntie, I was so freaked out. I couldn't for the life of me understand how life was going to be with two babies. And two big kids too. How would I show all my kids equal attention? I was beyond worried about Kensington. Kamryn and Logan have each other and they both adjusted so well when Kensington was born that I knew they would be okay. But Kensington was only going to be 16 months old when the new baby was born and I really REALLY worried about that. Which is funny in itself because if you asked me before I had kids what I wanted, I would've told you to have my kids super close in age. Yet here I was...PETRIFIED.

Here I am, SUPER pregnant, at Kensington's 1st birthday party

I can say now with 100% confidence that having those babies close together is the best thing we've ever done. Kensington and Tenley are the BEST of friends. 

Kensington and Tenley are 16 months and 11 days apart. From the moment we brought Tenley home everything just felt right. Truthfully all the times I've felt overwhelmed since Tenley was born was due to my older kids, not the babies. Like today for example: I have a 3 row SUV. Kamryn and Logan sit in the 3rd row and Kensington and Tenley in the 2nd. Kamryn and Logan fussed and fought the whole ride to and from the store while Kensington and Tenley sat like absolute angels. I turned around to tell Kam and Logan to cut it out and just see these two toddlers smiling ear to ear at me. Truthfully, they are like that every single day. I know someday they too will be driving my crazy like their brother and sister but as for today, I'm enjoying their pure sweetness.

Kensington would not leave Tenley's side

Routine. Routine. Routine.

Since I brought Tenley home I was DETERMINED to get her and Kensington on the same schedule. When Kamryn was a baby our routine was always about sleep. But when she turned 4 months old and started eating solid food I was having a really hard time incorporating eating in with our sleeping schedule. It was then my cousin Caitlin told me about the schedule she used for her daughter that was 5 months older than Kamryn. That is when I decided I could NEVER EVER live without a predictable routine again as a mom! Literally I know every minute of the day what's going to happen next and it makes the days go by so fast and smoothly. I continued that same routine Caitlin told me about, with all my kids and it helps so much. Little did I know back when it was just Kamryn that I'd have 4 kids and REALLY need that routine.

Always watching over her

I remember always worrying about bringing two babies out of the house at the same time. You see, Kensington was a late walker and didn't full on walk until she was almost 18 months old. So that made things really tricky! I had really hoped she would be walking by the time Tenley was born because then I would be able to just hold her hand and have her walk beside me while I held the infant carrier. Well, that wasn't an option. Kensington just did NOT want to walk. So, I did one of two things. I either carried both of them....which was HILARIOUS or I did it in shifts. I just had to. It definitely wasn't easy when I had to go into a store and truthfully, more often than not I saved the errands for when I could go alone or just bring one BUT when I had to do it, I made it work. Always laughing at how ridiculous it was. I learned that really early on, laughter is key. It helped me not be crazy stressed all the time.

The sweetest

I get asked a lot if Kensington was jealous of Tenley. At first, no not at all. I don't know if it's because Kensington is really easy or because Tenley was such a good baby or because she was our fourth. But the transition from three to four was definitely our easiest. Honestly, Kensington is more jealous now at 2.5 years old than she ever was as a 16 month old, but not in a bratty way. Kensington is extremely patient. Which is AWESOME in this situation that we're in. So, if she see's you carrying Tenley up to bed, Kensington isn't going to follow you, she's going to wait until you come back downstairs and get you to carry her up too. She'll do that when we go out too. She won't walk out with you, she's going to make you take two trips. If Tenley gets a snack, Kensington get's a snack. If Tenley get's milk, Kensington get's milk. It's actually quite comical. But it works. 

milk time

Here is where it get's tough to explain. You see me, I'm pretty optimistic. I can look at pretty much any situation and see the good. If I get overwhelmed...I laugh. I just don't see the point in living my life as a stressed out mess. Babies are babies. Babies cry, they fuss, they mess diapers, they spit up, they don't sleep sometimes, they need to be held a lot, etc etc. But THAT is all temporary. Babies don't keep. Now I don't want to say Mike is pessimistic, but Mike definitely lets things get to him a little easier than I do. So to me, these 15 months have been amazing. To Mike they've been, at times, overwhelming. I get it, it can be stressful. We all have our moments, even me BUT stressing out isn't going to change anything. It's like the saying "Stress is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you no where." So I just tried my darndest to enjoy it! All of it. (Says the girl who currently has shingles due to stress....A'hem!)

matching christmas pjs

Kamryn and Logan are really close but it took us awhile to get there. Kamryn is 2.5 years older than Logan so when he came along she loved having a baby in the house but he didn't do anything so, to her, he was boring. It took us well over 2 years for them to actually REALLY play together. With Kensington and Tenley it was almost INSTANT. Kensington is 2 and a half and Tenley is only 15 months old and there is constant giggles from these two. Constant tickles, constant kisses, hugs, wrestling, sharing. They just LOVE each other. I can feel it soon they will be causing trouble together, too!

sunny days sleepy nights

Having babies close together is so special. I know there are people who have them even closer than I did, all the time. I will say it's not easy on your body. My pregnancy with Tenley wasn't exactly smooth sailing and the doctors weren't thrilled I got pregnant so quickly but thank God everything turned out okay!

I always say to Mike how I can't imagine not having these two babies toddlers in our life. As most of you know, we named Tenley in the hospital when she was 24 hours old. The name Tenley was not on either or our radars during my entire pregnancy. She was actually going to be named Finley but when we saw her it just didn't fit. We almost named her Tinsley but again, it just didn't feel right. All of the sudden I said "Mike, what do you think of Tenley?" Tenley opened her eyes for a split second as if she was saying "That's me!" We just knew she was our Tenley James. But at the time we never even thought about how we now had a Ken and Ten. It's so cheesy but we love it and it cracks us up! 

Our Ken & Ten!

We never ever call them just Ken or Ten but together it's Ken and Ten

It's really a crazy thing. I was SO worried about having these babies close together. My entire pregnancy it was in the back of my mind just how badly this might go. When in reality it turned out to be one of the biggest blessings of my life. Kensington and Tenley are so small and so young yet they already teach me so much. The biggest thing they've taught me is patience. They are SO patient with each other and I have learned to be patient with myself when it comes to my parenting. Just watching them together reminds me to trust Gods timing. If I had it my way I wouldn't of gotten pregnant so quickly after Kensington. But God knew. He knew we needed this bond in our family, he knew we needed this blessing of a lesson and he knew we needed Tenley. 

I am forever grateful for these girls, their closeness and this blessing that I didn't know I so desperately needed. 

Tasha & Rylin Visit!

This has been by far the LONGEST week and a half of my life. It's been a lot of fun but the kids bed times were almost non-existent and if you know me you know I am a major stickler for bedtime. I have been since Kamryn was a newborn. My kids just do not do well when they aren't on a routine. So needless to say in the midst of all the fun there's been a lot of meltdowns, a lot of whining and a lot of tears. Last night I was in bed by 8 and I think tonight it might be even earlier. Yes, it's Saturday.... 

Right now I have a stack, and I do mean a STACK, of chocolate chip cookies in front of me just getting me through the day. I am in SURVIVAL MODE. In the past week we've had out of town guests, my birthday, 3 different 4th of July celebrations and Mike's dad's 60th birthday. We've been BUSY!!

So, let's take a trip back in time, shall we?

I was 22 when I found out I was pregnant with Kamryn and 23 when she was born. I went from zero real responsibilities, besides paying my rent and getting to work each day, to having a baby who needed me 24/7. At the young age of 23 when most people are just figuring out who they are I was now a stay at home mom. A week after Kamryn was born Mike and I found a notice on our door because we forgot to pay our rent. With the excitement and exhaustion that comes with having a new baby we totally forgot to pay our rent. Mike ran down to the office and immediately paid it. At this point we were in a 1 bedroom apartment because we couldn't afford a bigger 2 bedroom. Or so we thought..... When he went down to pay, the lease manager heard we had a baby and said "I can give you a 2 bedroom for $1 more a month if you want." Mike went and looked at it and by the next weekend we were moving, to the apartment building right behind ours. Man, I miss that little apartment!!

Much to our surprise we moved directly above another couple, the same age as us and in the same exact situation as us, who had a son exactly one year older than Kamryn. I look back now and see what could've been the hardest year of my life, ended up being the exact opposite. A lot of new moms feel loneliness, sadness, they feel secluded, they just feel ALONE. But I never felt that. Jules, Chris and Landen really were a gift from God at a time when I really didn't understand the gift we were being given. Like most people we totally took it for granted. I had Jules there with me every step of the way....even on days when we both just looked at each other and said "This sucks!" We did it together. Jules still does my hair and just a few weeks ago I sat with her and Chris and we all talked about how lucky we were to have each other. I will forever cherish those 15 months we all spent together at The Woodlands. 

When Kamryn was 15 months old we bought a house. We moved 45 minutes away from everyone we knew. It was then I felt the loneliness and sadness. I felt secluded and I definitely felt ALONE. It was then I started to search for mommy blogs and eventually I jumped on twitter and somehow someway I hooked up with a TON of young moms from all over the country in the same exact situation I was in. 

One of those mom's was Tasha. Tasha was from SW Florida and eventually we started tweeting and direct messaging each other daily. I decided to give up social media for Lent that year and Tasha and I exchanged phone numbers. From that day on we haven't gone even 2 days without talking to each other. Tasha knows all my secrets and has been there for me through some of the hardest times in the past 6 years. She even knew I was pregnant with Tenley before Mike did. HA! 

Most people don't understand these types of friendships. With shows like Catfish out there you just assume no one you meet online could really be who they say they are, BUT Tasha, thankfully was. LOL! So....when Tasha found out she would be coming to Boston to leave for a cruise to Canada we knew she had to come visit us beforehand. So, last Wednesday Tasha and her daughter Rylin came to Plymouth. I can't really put into words what it feels like to actually meet someone in person who you've talked to for so long and who has become one of your best friends, but you've never seen them in front of you. I squeezed her so tight and, of course, filled up with tears. It was such a special moment that I really can't explain. 

It was like we've always known her. Her and Rylin fit right in with our crazy crew. We showed her around town, make sure she saw the ever disappointing Plymouth Rock, and took her to a local beach. Being from Florida she wanted to see a beach that wasn't tropical. Isn't that funny? Everyone up here LOVES tropical and she wanted to see anything but! Mostly we just hung out and let the kids play because, truthfully that's all we ever wanted over the past 6 years. Just to be together and hang out! The best part was I got to spend my 31st birthday with her! BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER.

Tasha has one child and obviously, we have four. What I found super funny was when I asked Tasha if we were different than she thought we were going to be and she said: "I expected you all to be louder." I cracked up! She couldn't believe how chill my kids were and just assumed it would be chaos all the time because there are so many of them. Trust me, we have chaotic moments but Mike and I both don't really like chaos, so if our kids were chaotic I can promise you we wouldn't have four. She also assumed we would be loud because we were from Boston. Which again, cracked me up. Mike told her if she got us away from the kids and got a few drinks in us she'd hear us get loud....and those accents (she loved so much) would only get thicker. ;-) My family has this on-going joke when we are out somewhere and drinks are involved we always get LOUDER. And then one of us yells "Getting loud!!" If you know the McCaul's you know this. But still, I got a great laugh out of her thinking we'd be loud and obnoxious all the time. Guess we aren't the stereotypical Bostonian's.... ;-)

Tasha and Rylin, thank you so much for making the trek up to Boston to see us! We love you and Ry so so much and can't wait to see you girls again...and hopefully Jake next time too!

-- How I Do My Hair --

It's all about my favorite hair products today!

Listen, I have tough hair. It's extremely thick and really curly. Okay, it's REALLY curly in the back and on the right side and then the rest is wavy. Thank you children for making my hair even crazier than it was growing up. Pregnancy hormones are something else!!! Mama's do you hear me?!?!

This is me & this is my hair!

I don't know if this will help anyone but if you have similar hair to mine I wanted to share because I get asked a lot how I do my hair, so I figured why not make a blog post about it?!?

It's taken me a LOOOOONG time to be okay with my hair and find a style that works. I used to wish for fine straight hair. I would've done ANYTHING for fine straight hair. I'd straighten the crap out of my hair but it never looked the way I wanted it to because that just wasn't what my hair should be doing. My hair is thick and curly/wavy and I had to learn how to style it that way.

My hair routine is extremely simple now. I want to kick the old Kristen who took a solid 45 minutes to an hour to do her hair back in high school. 

I barely ever blow dry it. We're talking only blow dry it maybe 10 times a year. I already put enough heat on it with my curling wand. My hair is coarse and dry so the less heat the better.

I wash it with a Keratin De-Frizz Shampoo and Conditioner. I love this stuff and it leaves my hair feeling super soft! I do try to change up my shampoo every couple of months. Mostly because I'm never totally satisfied BUT lately I've been using these and I LOVE them!

Once I'm out of the shower I brush my hair out and then add a cocktail of products to it.


Lately I've been using THIS, THIS and THIS.

I just put a small squirt of each in my hand, rub it all together and then put it through my hair to the ends.



After this I let it air dry. I usually pull it all back into my signature messy bun and just let it do it's thing. 9 times out of 10 I shower at night. So I'll pull it back. Do my bedtime routine, watch TV with Mike and then when it's time to go to bed I let it down and just sleep on it damp.

When I wake up its a wild mess! LOL! So I do one of three things....


ONE
I put my Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray. I LOVE this stuff! I've tried more expensive similar products and for me this one is the best! It doesn't leave my hair with an awkward film and doesn't leave it sticky at all! It does the trick and leaves me with awesome beachy waves. I spray it all over and then just scrunch it with my hands. Circa 2000 style....


TWO
I'll put some Argan Oil or Morrocan Oil in my hair (paying close attention to the ends), section my hair into three sections and then pull out half inch pieces and curl it with my curling wand. This is what I do more often than not and it works out best. A lot of people straighten their hair before they curl it which to me is silly. You're defeating the purpose and putting wayy too much unneeded heat on it. If you wrap your hair the right way it'll make your curls/waves nice and smooth.
I do however, sometimes I use my flat iron to straighten the top section if its too unruly but never my whole head. After that I use the Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray. I scrunch it and mess up the curls, because I like it that way, and then go.


THREE
If my hair is not cooperating I pull it back up into my messy bun. My hair is my hair and some days it just isn't going to do what I want it to do so I surrender. No need to fuss and fight with it. I am just meant to be a messy hair girl and honestly I've learned to like it that way.



That last one took me a long time to come to terms with. I used to straighten and straighten and straighten my hair until it was totally fried. I wouldn't give up. Now you'll only see it straightened on the rare occasion that I shower, blow dry it and then straighten it. That OR when my amazing hairdresser, Jules, does it for me. Other than that it's one of the three options above. I beg my sister to give her hair a break from the flat iron. BEG HER! Someday she'll listen, I just know it!



That's it! Simple, right?

I really don't think anyone should be taking more than 15 minutes to do their hair. I've watched enough YouTube tutorials to prove that to me. Even the girls with the perfect curls don't take more than 15 minutes to do their hair. Figure out your hair style, texture and thickness and find a style abd the right products that works for YOU.




Okay, I hope this helped. Have a great day!!

xoxo, Kristen

July 4th 2017

4th of July is absolutely without a doubt my favorite holiday! 

I think it has something to do with where I grew up because ask anyone who lives in that neighborhood they will ALL tell you July 4th is the best day of the year. The neighborhood sits right on the ocean and all day its just a big giant party! It really is THE BEST!!!

We start the day nice and early with a parade around the neighborhood circle. Here is Kamryn pulling Logan and Kensington in the wagon. Tenley sat this one out. 

Every year my Dad and Dee have a huge cookout. Last year we did a water balloon fight and I think it's safe to say this is going to be an annual thing. The kids (and adults) love it!

Pappi got really into it this year! HA!

Kensington did NOT want to take this picture with me. But after we took it and Auntie handed me back my phone she saw it and exclaimed "MAMA!!!" HA! She's such a riot!

Kensington (loving that cupcake), Pappi & Logan (with blue sugar all over his face) --- 3 pals

We ended the night like we always do. Up at the seawall watching fireworks. Adams Shore (my childhood neighborhood) always brings their A-Game when it comes to fireworks. 

Tenley LOVED it! She was so cranky (overtired) until she saw her first firework and then she oo'd and ahh'd and cheered with every one that went off. Kensington was another story. She covered her eyes and sat snuggled into her Daddy like that the whole time we were up there. 

We had the best day! The kids did great. It was tough for the babies as we hit their bedtime hour because it was such a long day but somehow we made it work. A whiny kid never hurt anyone, right? Seriously, when you have a family of this size you just kind of expect someone to be crying at some point during the day. LOL! The Sasses are here!!!! I hope we didn't drive anyone too crazy....

I hope you all had a happy and safe 4th of July!!!

From now until July 4, 2018 you can find me counting down the days until I get to do this all over again....

4th of July SALES!!

This post may contain affiliate links

Today I quickly wanted to hop on here and let my fellow mama's know about some great 4th of July sales going on right now! I love a good sale and these are some of our favorite stores to shop at so I figured why not share the wealth! :) 

Gymboree is having a great sale for the 4th of up to 80% off! AND free shipping and an extra 20% off when you use the code: PARADE

Crazy 8 is also having a sale of up to 80% off AND free shipping and 17.76% off when you use the code: GOUSA

Everything online at Old Navy is up to 60% off and you will get an additional 20% off at check out, without a code, as well.

When you shop at Gap and use the code: HAPPY4TH, you'll get an addition 40% off on their site which almost everything is already up to 60% off. 

That's it for today. I'm off to celebrate my FAVORITE holiday with my FAVORITE people!!! I'll be back later in the week!

Everyone have a happy and safe holiday!

HAPPY 4TH!!!!