Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day again. My 5th one as a momma to children of my own and it's been nice so far. Eric made me overnight oats for breakfast which was delicious and got me some pretty flowers and the kids did some art for me. Also, Eric wrote me the BEST song ever and the kids danced to it while he sang it. It's awesome. And Levi's card he made me cracks me up:

He says: "It's you and me with the fridge between us and I'm grabbing the "L" from my name. And on top of the fridge is a yellow candle holding up a plate with a can of tomato soup on it!" Ok buddy haha. 

 Pregnancy has FINALLY eased up on me a little bit. I've been having more energy and been getting back to doing some things which help me feel like me such as going out with Eric, working on the murphy bed again, taking care of our plants and doing our own laundry! I'm still nauseous often but not to the level of before and I've gone two whole weeks now without throwing up!! Which I'm pretty sure is a record for me for any pregnancy. This past week I backed my Zofran down to 4mg/day which meant I was a little more nauseous in the evenings again but not like before. I can still help with bedtime. And the nausea is managed as long as I eat something with protein any time I start feeling a little sick.  And I've gotten to start feeling baby move every so often! Which is always so reassuring and helps remind me that pregnancy is about a baby coming... not just about me feeling like death haha. And next week we get to find out the gender! I keep feeling like it's a boy but also kind of slightly wishing it is a little girl to be a best friend sister to Emery. And I'm crossing my fingers for curly red hair although I think the likelihood of that is pretty slim! 

 So yeah, its been a relief to be feeling a little bit better and getting back to a little bit of normalcy around here. For my birthday, Eric and his parents are making the back patio expansion + covered pergola happen so I've been excited planning and imagining for that. Our yard has come such a long way from the patch of grass it was when we moved in! It already looks so much better and is so much more functional with the trampoline, tree and beautiful, colorful flowers all along the fence on the side and a brand new crepe myrtle in the corner by the trampoline. I feel like we will spend even more time out there once we've got a larger covered back patio. I can't wait to BBQ and have friends over! Eric is finally fully vaccinated so we are venturing back out into the social scene which is so nice. Today we get to go to family dinner for the second time since COVID. We all got together for Easter which was so nice and we are all so excited to get together again. I just love Emery's relationship with Maren and Silva and I love spending time all together as a family. Here are some pictures from our Martino Family Easter Egg Hunt:

These sweet cousins are just the best.

We joked that this kind of looks like an engagement picture haha

So yeah things have been looking up a little bit around here. Eric got a job offer from his brother which he thought long and hard about and prayed about and we discussed a lot. Ultimately he decided to turn him down but it did open his eyes to possibilities I think and made him realize that he's ready to be done with MedQ and move on to another opportunity. But he says he's going to wait till after baby comes to search for a new job in earnest. Even though things at MedQ aren't great, the convenience of him working from home with flexible hours is still so needed right now and logistically makes the most sense for us for now. 

Anyway, as is appropriate for Mother's Day here is an interview with my children I actually did a couple weeks ago. I asked them the questions separately so they didn't hear each other's answers and some of the questions I didn't ask Emery because I knew she wouldn't understand them.

1. If you won a million dollars what would you buy?

    Levi: Million Lego piece set. Star Wars of a Mega Star Breaker

2. What do I always say to you?

    Levi: Good morning

3. What job would you like to do when you grow up?

    Emery: Doctor

    Levi: Artist

4. Who is the strongest person you know?

    Emery: Me!

    Levi: Dad

5.Where do babies come from? 

    Levi: *shy smiles and taps my arm*

6. At what age do you become a grownup?

    Levi: I don't know

7. What wild animal is your favorite?

    Emery: elephant

    Levi: cheetah... no! Lion

8. What would you do if you couldn't find your underwear?

    Emery: go to the store

    Levi: *laughs* then: not wear it

9. If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

    Levi: mac n cheese

10. How much does it cost to buy a house?

    Levi: um... $1000 no $2000! 

11. What are you scared of?

    Emery: Unker (Thunder)

    Levi: monsters

12. What is your favorite game to play?

    Levi: Castles of Burgundy

13. What is your favorite color?

    Emery: Pink

    Levi: Pink

14. How old am I?

    Emery: 2

    Levi: 22

15. Who is the president?

    Levi: Joe Biden!

16. What kind of car do you want when you grow up?

    Levi: It depends on how many kids I have. If I have a lot probably a minivan. 

17. Where do you want to live when you grow up?

    Emery: in my crib

    Levi: Probably Texas... oh! I mean the North Pole!

18. Who is your best friend?

    Emery: Mayin (Maren) and Silva. I like them, both of them. 

    Levi: Jaxon... I mean, Mattie!  With the orange hair. 

19. What's your favorite thing to do?

    Emery: watch something

    Levi: games

20. What's the safest place in the world?

    Emery: bedroom

    Levi: *shrugs* I don't know

21. Who makes you laugh the hardest?

    Emery: books

    Levi: *shrugs*

22. Who is your favorite old person?

    Levi: *laughs* probably Oma

23. What's my favorite thing to do? 

    Emery: watch the kids

    Levi: I can't read your mind! So I don't know! 

24. Who loves you the most?

    Emery: Mayin and Silva

    Levi: Jaxon probably

25. What year is it?

    Emery: May

    Levi: May. No, not May, April! 

I just love the things they say! Also, I asked Emery again recently what we should name the baby if it is a girl and she said "Pink Baby" haha. And she has started calling flies and other small flying bugs "bad guys" haha. My Emery is getting so excited about her upcoming birthday and her brand new big girl bed that she will be getting soon! She and Levi really are the light of my life!

Emery: "For if bad guys coming so I can tell Levi!"

We tried dyeing some Easter eggs naturally this year. They were a bit underwhelming as you can see. The tumeric (bottom left) worked the best. The one that's brown (bottom right) was supposed to be green. I used parsley and chamomile tea but... that didn't really work out. And the top left one was supposed to be pink. I used craisins and strawberries but... I guess purple is kind of close? Haha

They have started wrestling more which is fun until someone gets hurt (usually Emery even though she's always the instigator). 

She kept yelling "The Mighty Untidy Titans!" Over and over again. Thank you Bubble Guppies

Emery has gotten incredibly difficult to feed lately. She pretty much only wants to eat fruit, chips and lunch meat. This evening she climbed on Levi's chair with him during dinner (it is SO HARD to get her to stay seated in her own chair) and he managed to make it a game so she actually ate a little bit of carrots and corn. I call that a win. 

Levi had his kindergarten tour last week! I can't believe how big he is, but also he is sooo ready for kindergarten and I know he will do great! His math skills blow me away. Like this morning he was like, "We had 12 gummies so we split them so Emery and I both got 6." and I was like "if there were three of you how many would you each get?" and he was like "four." 

I heard a lot of giggling going on towards the end of "quiet time." Turns out that this is why. And I couldn't get it all off so now it looks like she has a nasty bruise on her knee haha. 

Emery always asks for her hair in braids. Really she just wants to keep her hair down all the time, but if I tell her we have to put it up (which is pretty much every day to try to keep her from looking like a total wild thing and to help keep the tangles under control) she always asks for a braid. Usually she insists on one braid but this day I convinced her to let me do two braids and it was so adorable!! 

Bluebonnets

 Yesterday we went and took some iconic Texas bluebonnet pictures. It was bright but the field was beautiful and the weather was perfect! 

The only semi-decent smile while looking at the camera picture I got of this guy! This happened thanks to a game of peek-a-boo/hide and seek. He would crouch down behind the flowers and then pop up when I would say "where's Levi?" 

Twirling

Daddy's tickles are just the best

One family picture thanks to a helpful stranger. Too bad neither of the kids is even kind of smiling. 

These two really are such good buddies. They play together all the time now and I just love their relationship. 

This is my Emery! Loud and expressive and enthusiastic. Her zest for life is everything.

And my silly Levi. I think I asked him for a "serious face" and this is what he did!  

This picture took lots of tries because she would smell the flowers so fast! 

Spring Visitors

So it's been exactly one month since I last wrote a blog post. It's been a LONG month. Pregnancy is hard. It's very much not my favorite. Actually, it's the worst. But baby is apparently doing well and growing and I am slowly getting a little better. I've been going to acupuncture which I think helps a little. And thanks to the TONS of help from our family and Eric, I have been able to take things slow (as in, I lie down a lot and take naps during the day, don't do any chores, laundry or meal prep and often end up in bed for the evening well before the kids go to bed) and I've been able to back my Zofran off a little from 12 mg to 8 mg a day. So that's good. I definitely still have hard days and hard moments when I feel so sad about things I am missing or can't do. Levi's birthday was hard- he wanted to go to the zoo but there was no way I would be able to handle that so I had to stay home while Eric took the kids. That was depressing. I know it's not forever but neither is Levi and Emery's childhood and I hate missing things with them and not being able to play actively with them as they wish I could. All told though Levi has been incredibly patient and understanding. He is very gentle when he hugs me and says "careful of the baby" and he prays for me at night that I will "make it through" and that I "won't wake up in the night feeling sick." He knows that I'm tired and feel sick because I'm growing a baby and it's hard work and he knows it's not forever. That has been helpful for sure. 

 Anyway, despite the misery of pregnancy, this month hasn't been all bad. Like I said, Levi had a birthday so I know have a big kid 5 year old who is just so smart and creative. We ate yummy cake and Papi and Nona and John came over the next day and brought dinner which was so nice to see them and spend time with them. 

Then my Mom came to visit. I felt bad that the Murphy bed had to be abandoned for now so she had to sleep on the air mattress again but there was no way around that. It's always nice to have her here and especially nice this time as she was able to help out with some much-needed kitchen cleaning and play with the kids who LOVE having her around. Then not long after she left, Katie and Kendall came to visit! It has been so fun having them here! They are sooo good with Levi and Emery and the kids adore them. We went for a walk (the farthest I have walked in literally months) and scouted for blue bonnets but only saw a couple of them. And then last night we got a babysitter (the kid's favorite: Annelise) and Katie and Kendall and Eric and I went out to a Brazilian steakhouse for dinner. It was, as always, sooo delicious! I'm glad I am doing well enough that (with the help of Zofran) I was able to enjoy it! It has been so good to have Katie and Kendall here. I wish they lived closer. I miss having my weekly dose of Katie in my life. 

So yeah, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic that I will continue to slowly improve and be able to get back to more activity soon. And we've got some things coming up to look forward to including the first Martino family gathering in over a year this Friday! We are doing an outdoor Easter Egg hunt for the kids and I am just so excited to get to see everyone again. And then this weekend is General Conference with Matthew and Valerie again and then Easter Sunday! I wish we could have Easter dinner with others to celebrate but since Eric isn't vaccinated yet we are holding off on eating inside with others (except for Papi and Nona and my direct family). So I guess we will have to wait a little longer for that. Eric is eligible to get vaccinated starting tomorrow though! I hope he can get in soon and the wait list isn't too too long. We'll see. 

Anyway, that's life of late. I realized that Mom's visit passed without me taking any pictures of her with the kids which is a shame. We will have to be better about that. But here are some other random snippets of life: 

I found this dress for Emery from Once Upon a Child and she LOVES it. She wants to wear it every single Sunday and she looks so cute in it. 

Levi requested this cake very specifically. He told me he wanted a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting with strawberries on top forming a ring around the candles. Haha. Making this cake took all my energy for the day but it was certainly delicious! 

Levi was very excited about his giant present (a batcave from Grandma and Grandpa). This present took me forever to wrap because I mis-measured. Sooo I ended up having to cut like 6 1" wide strips to cover all the uncovered areas haha.

Kristie and Shannon trade off taking the kids every Friday as I am still not up for taking care of them all on my own all day (and I have my acupuncture and OB appointments on Fridays). Shannon sent this adorable picture of Maren and Emery playing piano together. I just love these little cousins and the friendship they are getting to build.

The kids love brushing my hair and I am happy to let them do so... as long as they're gentle! 

I love when this little comes and visits me in bed or when I'm laying on the couch feeling awful. She is my little ray of sunshine and loves to snuggle and be with me even when I can't really play with her. 

They both fell asleep watching Nick Jr together. So precious! 

Wearing Daddy's shoes

Last Wednesday I saw this cute pup roaming our street unattended. When I stopped the car and opened the door to get Emery out, the dog climbed into my car! She was so sweet and friendly but had no tags! So we took pictures and put them on NextDoor and then Eric borrowed a leash from Dawnelle and took her on a walk around the neighborhood to try to find who she belonged to and it worked! We got her reunited with her owners within an hour and a half which was awesome. I'm just glad we could help and that she didn't get hit by a car or anything. 

Emery loves Auntie Katie!

And her Uncle Kendall. She was smiling much bigger before I took the picture though stinker. She especially loves when he skips with her or spins or her around. 

One of the few bluebonnets we spotted along Bluebonnet trail in Plano. 

Levi asked me to take this picture of him in the field of "pretty flowers." I love this boy of mine.