The upside to morning sickness...

IF there is an upside to morning sickness, I think I have found it. Having to surrender any thoughts of being productive, working out, doing a project, finishing a book, and even my normal day-to-day list so that I can lay on a couch and feel like a worthless bump on a log has totally sucked... Not to mention the CONSTANT feeling of upchuck rising. But I believe there was a blessing in disguise.

I seem to be a person who always has to be working on something. When one project is finished there are 20 more in line. I have to feel (and even see) a sense of accomplishment daily, in order to stay happy. And a lot of times, the kids can get in the way. Well, these last couple of months have been a major reality check for me.

While being forced to lay on the couch and do nothing but pay attention to my kids, I have realized something. They are pretty freaking awesome. Not that I didn't ever pay attention to them before, but just not to the same degree.

They are SO sweet and caring. One night, after telling them I was too sick to take them to the park, I went upstairs to lay down for a bit. When I came back down, Kaleb was entertaining Bradley, and Jaden had cleaned the entire downstairs for me.

Almost daily, Kaleb will give me his special blankets and bear to lay with on the couch. A few nights he even gave them to me to sleep with. That may not sound like much, but if you know Kaleb, you know it's the most heartfelt thing he can do.

Bradley can be really good at playing independently when I need to rest. It's so sweet to watch him playing on his own.

Kaleb has moments where he is the most affectionate in the family. He tells me how much he loves me, he makes sure I sit next to him at the table, he likes to have a group hug and even a group kiss.

Jaden takes care of his brothers. He helps them get their shoes on, and their seat belts too. He takes them in the backyard and plays with them for hours. He pushes them on the swing, helps them climb a ladder or a rockwall, hugs and kisses anyone who gets hurt, gets them a drink of water, builds guns out of blocks for each of them, ties a rope around their waists to hold their swords, and always cleans up.

Kaleb is so funny. He's so original--(When he's not repeating every word Jaden says, just to annoy him.) Bradley loves to copy Kaleb, it's the cutest thing.

Bradley now likes to pester. I think if I wasn't "appreciating" my kids like I have been recently, I would just be annoyed by it. But I seem to have more patience.

These last few months, there has rarely been a night where I didn't go to bed thinking, "I love those boys. They are the best kids."

I've always known my kids were awesome, but I guess I never fully appreciated them till now. I think that what this has taught me is that I need to not focus so much on my to-do lists, and focus more on them. It helps me to understand them better, have more patience, and just love them more. They are growing up quickly and I want to enjoy them as much as I can.

I'm not sure how I ended up with a shot like this.
They don't even realize how funny it is.

I told them to pretend to be thinking... haha!

These kids are the best friends, and I love them to death. :)