tulum.

post by casey.

theo announced to the whole waiting room, at my most recent baby appointment:

"MOM. I want a wiener for my birthday!". 

My face: .......um......

that and the fact that this vacation happened onlyyyyyy 3 months ago - HOW is that possible because a LIFETIME of shit has happened since!!! Add in this pregnancy and my body already evolving since these photos were taken - 4th baby is saying "Heyyyy" much sooner than all the rest;)....

i'm gonna have to dig deep to find all those blissful vacation memories because life is all about my daughter wanting a wiener and teething toddlers and sassy soon-to-be 5YR olds and pregnancy hormones!;)

where you check-in when you arrive:) - this is where I cried for the 1st of 1 MILLION times while we were here:) Where I begged Jacob to quit his job and move our family to the beach:)

okay...nah. I remember it like it was yesterday! It was a dream...it felt like a dream. It was downright dreammmmyyyyyy!!!! 

Minus the fact that we went while we were just pregnant andddddd ZIKA IS A THING! Omg. We are the dumbest. More on that in my next pregnancy post.

we flew into Cancun on a Sunday afternoon and flew out on a Wednesday afternoon. After landing Sunday, we took a 1-1/2hr transport - Sun Transfers - to our boutique hotel in Tulum, Mexico. We stayed at NEST Tulum for 3, magical nights:) We chose Tower Two and it was just so so perfect - 2 balconies and an ocean view! All the employees there claimed it was their favorite room (sureeeeee;) but after seeing it for ourselves...we believe them:)

NEST Tulum is eco-friendly. So depending on how you like to travel...this may be perfect for you or sound like a complete nightmare;)! The power went out just a few times but for just a minute and later at night (this wasn't a negative thing to us). There was no air conditioning. No TV. All of which, was amazing for us. We were looking to just spend the time together...resting, relaxing and so those amenities just weren't a priority to us! 

The weather was perfect and so we kept our doors open all night. The breeze from the ocean was perfect and I think I should have recorded the sound of the ocean from our room in order to lull me to sleep and to drown out any babies that won't go to sleep in this house;)

The property is quite small. Small and beautiful:) I think there are only 8 rooms and so there weren't a lot of people there, which was so nice. It felt incredibly quiet and secluded:)

they serve you a complimentary welcome drink, when you arrive! During Happy Hour, all drinks are free (5-6PM, I believe). The food was so so good. We just laid on the beach, read, took short swims and then came back up to our bed on the beach and ate tacos all afternoon! The complimentary breakfast was incredible and there was SO much! After day1, we realized that we'd only need to order for 1:)

we were only there 2 full days and 2 half days but we felt like we had just enough time to enjoy the area a bit and still have plenty of time to stay put at the hotel. On the 2 half days (when we arrived on Sunday and when we left on Wednesday) we stayed at the hotel and wandered the beach and just relaxed:) On the 2 full days (Monday and Tuesday) we chose to do some sight-seeing. One day we rode bike down Beach Road - right outside of our hotel - for hours! We did a little shopping and thankfully the bikes were free with our stay because I blew our budget on a pillow case, perfume and a necklace;). The next day we took a short cab ride (20MIN) to swim in the Cenotes - Grand Cenote. 

dinner on our last night, at La Zebra Tulum. It was so yummy.

view of our hotel from the ocean

"will you come travel with me? shall we stick by each other as long as we live?" 

- Walt Whitman

i don't know that there's much more in this life that I love more than traveling...besides the obvious, Jacob and family and our babies and pregnancy and...that's actually it:) I'm so fortunate that Jacob feels the same and wants to make it a priority for, not only us as a couple, but for the kids too:) 

i know it can seem impossible to do. Especially, if you, like us...don't have the means, financially, to make these types of things happen often...or ever. But honestly, it IS doable! Once I set my mind to it...I saved. And I saveddddd. And I sold things. And I purged and I turned in change and collected cans. I kid you not. If you want it enough...you WILL find a way! 
We decided to stay for only 3 nights so that we could splurge on our hotel ($340 per night) and I waited and waited and stalked flight prices until I was able to get them pretty cheap ($270 per person). For us...it was so so great and worth every penny! Of course we couldn't have done it without the help of my mom and my sister, Pigg, for keeping the babies safe and sound while we were gone!! THANK YOU!!!!:)


find what you love, what you're passionate about - whether or not that's traveling - and make it happen!:):)

"if you ever find yourself empty from something you cannot know or name, find a stretch of ocean, a field, or mountainside, or even clouds, or trees. Because there are 1,000 simple ways to fill your tired soul so you can remember how to be, how to see, and most importantly, how to breath." 

- Victoria Erickson

i hope you're planning something wonderful at this very moment!!!


and now that dang video!! It's 8MIN long - eeeeekkkkkk, sorry!!! - and somewhat dizzy-ing at times...sorry! Me + a bike + a video camera...so so unsafe;). Enjoy!

#the52project Week16

post by casey.

it's been a good week! We're a bit behind but when isn't that the case, really:) And on top of a good week (last week), today...MONDAY...has been down-right amazing! Spent some of the early morning with my husband, before he left for work. Had well-behaved children all through breakfast!! A successful baby-appointment (I'm downright giddy to be doing baby appointments again!!!!!:):) and Theo tagged along and was just the best little buddy!!! Now it's nap time and I'm going to push-mow the lawn while listening to a podcast and good lord...these are the days:):)

my good stuff: $55 pillow cases (2 for $55 - that's not supposed to make it any better;) that your husband talked you into and that he guarantees will be life-changing;). good mornings that turn into good afternoons. googling flights, always.googling.flights:)

 a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

homer - the kinda day you are bound to have when this face wakes you up in the morning;)

theo - baby girl learned to ride her bike! It wasn't easy going the whole time...she ran into a boat, almost broke her 'parts' and fell in dog shit. BUT she has it down now!!!:)

rockyp - he, basically, does as he pleases;)

15 of 52

post by Courtney

for those of you following #the52project, this is week 16. for those of you who follow my 52project, this is actually week 15 ;)

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

when the big kids still play with the little kids. be still my heart.

she makes it near impossible to get a photo of her. teenagers.

artist at work.

can't take credit for the photo. but had a great time visiting with friends.

in case you're questioning, this is not a catch ;)

birthday treats.

another artist.

and another.

'you are a psycho! good God... comb your hair' 

name that movie...

thigh goals.

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#the52project Week15

post by casey.

now that we finallyyyyyy got that peskyyyyyyy baby announcement out of the way - HERE if you missed it;) - we can move forward and play catch-up! Man...hiding a pregnancy can be all consuming and in some ways...a total buzz kill! Glad to have the cat out of the bag and to be able to share how much I've really been eating;)

lots more fun blog posts coming up but for now...these 3 knuckle-heads:)

my good stuff: telling people you're pregnant:) family volley ball games. endless birthday parties (and cake:).

 a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

homer - I've been SO impressed with his building!!!:)

theo - equally as impressive;)

rockyp - always off somewhere, being too cool:)

baby.

post by casey...I repeat...By CASEY. Courtney is NOT pregnant. NOT. PREGNANT. Unless she's at home, secretly drafting up her own pregnancy announcement, that I'm unaware of...I KID. Courtney is NOT pregnant!

courts...I'm starting to doubt myself here...chime-in and confirm;)

adorable little announcement by my Friend, Kati:)

i'll start by saying that we're fortunate. Incredibly, incredibly fortunate. We're pregnant:) And getting pregnant has never been difficult for us. This is our 5th pregnancy - and I have to take a beat to let that sink in. 
We have 3 beautifully, feisty children:) We've suffered one miscarriage, which came as a shock. Ah, it's just something you never think about until...you're forced to have to think about it:/ 
Homer's pregnancy was wonderfully uneventful and I'm so thankful for that because we were blissfully unaware that anything could go wrong, when we boarded a plane to Portugal/Spain when we were only 8WKS pregnant. I'm more thankful now, since having the miscarriage, to have been gifted a 'worry-free' pregnancy.
And then with pregnancy #2, we had a miscarriage and I gotta say...that put a whole different spin on pregnancies since. Speaking only of my experience and how I handle things...but from that point on, each pregnancy (especially, in those early weeks) has been tainted with a lottttt of fear and anxiety. Some of that having to do with the miscarriage and maybe some having to do with the fact that the older I get, the more I feel the weight of how incredible and delicate and insane and fascinating and life-changing in all.the.ways this experience is. How easily something can be happening one minute and not the next. Life...I tell ya.

oh, hi hormones. I've missed you;')

okay. That went down a miscarriage path I hadn't set out to take;) Anyway, I just wish so much good for anyone out there wanting or waiting on a baby or laying in bed tonight with their hand on their tummy, praying that it'll all be okay:)

a quote that still rings true, - found HERE:

"I don’t know why God gave me children effortlessly and withholds them from others who would make fantastic parents. But I know this: fertility is not a curse, it is a gift. It is a scandalous miracle."

moving on:)


me trying to get pregnant:

DAY1    i want to be pregnant

DAY2    i'm just gonna 'let it happen'...no pressure...no biggie...no charting...just go with the flowwww:)

DAY4    reading manual for fertility sticks
DAY4    downloading apps on phone

DAY6    when will we everrrrrrr beeeeee pregnanttttntntntntntnn!?!?!?!?

DAY9-13    unavailable. having all the sex (eye-muffs, mom;)

DAY17-19    spending obscene amounts of money on tests and taking them far too early to get a positive and then getting a negative and then being sad/angry/IRRATIONAL. These are not good days...for anyone;)

DAY20    FORGET IT!!! We're never gonna get pregnant! Do NOT touch me. 

DAY25    all is forgiven. We'll just try again next month...no biggie!!!;)

is it obvious why it's a gift straight from Jesus to Jacob, that I get pregnant in only one month because who could handle this kind of craziness!??!;) And then we always get pregnant fairly quickly and then I'm all: I should have just chilled out;).


i found out we were pregnant the morning we left for our little get-away in Tulum, Mexico! I wasn't expecting a positive, at all...so it was a really fun surprise to see that positive show up! I hung onto that information, planning to tell Jacob on the plane but then we ended up having some issues at the airport and didn't have seats next to each other:/ But once we got settled into our place and had headed straight to the beach, I surprised him with the news:) You'll actually see a little snippet of that in the video I made of our Tulum trip - that I hope to get posted in the next week or so:). 

1st belly photo...4ISH-WKS and already committed to eating like a total tank;) TACOS.

you guys, 4 doesn't scare me at all. I mean, we have NO clue what we're doing and I get worried...but mainly, just worried about the baby being healthy and the pregnancy and birth going smoothly...andddd running out of money and time-out spots;) But having 4 kids running around this house is not one of those worries:) I think the scariest part for me, about being pregnant with our 4th, is that enough time has passed to be pregnant...with our FOURTH:( I've loved every minute of this process. I can't believe I'll have gotten to do it 4 times:)

by mid October, we'll hold another baby in our arms. We'll have 3 kids coming to meet their sibling at the hotel hospital!!!;) Homer's already coming up with names! Steve has come up way more times than I'm comfortable with;). Theo doesn't really get it and is confused about whether she'd like a brother or sister..."Do you want a baby girl like you? Noooo, you don't have parts like brother. You have girl parts. It's different. No. Definitely not. No. Don't take your underwear off! Okayyyy...do you want a cookie?";) but she does get excited when we talk about it and then immediately forgets:) I wonder if these will be her last few months as the only girl? 

*for those of you who don't know how we do things around these parts;)...we don't find out the sex of the baby until he or she is born and we keep the name a surprise as well. ALL.THE.SURPRISES!!!!!

we're 14WKS along. My ass, thighs, chin anddddd arms seem to be the only parts of me aware that we're pregnant;) Besides weight gain to those areas of my body - per usual...on track to gain those 50/55lbs;) - we're, very happily, symptomless!

and because, who doesn't like to reminisce...here are my pregnancy announcements for my other babies:)
HOMER
THEO
ROCKY

i plan on having Courts take some weekly photos but probably only every few weeks or so. And if you remember, the above photo is one of 3: no belly, belly, baby:) 
I'll definitely keep you updated on the growing belly (still, impatiently, waiting on my breasts to show up;/) and how many offensive things people ask me about how old I am - after I tell them I'm pregnant (34, dick) and how full my hands are (just as full as my Taco Bell stuffed stomach, dickkkk) and if this was planned (SURE WASSSSSSSS) (dick.) and fun names we come up with and how many Cinnabons I inhale - I'm getting my 1st tomorrowwwwwwwwww!!!!:) 

Pregnancy #4. 
Cinnabons: 1. Cans of peaches: 7.

we're so happy:) Thanks for reading, you guys!:) Oh and unfollow now if you were hoping we were done at 3 cause...GIMMIE ALL DEM BABIESSSSS!!!!!!;)

XO

14 of 52

post by Courtney

a dreary Monday morning post. so glad we got some sun over the weekend. only one of the kids woke from the hail storm last night so they must have enjoyed the sun as well. surprisingly, 'on time' for my weekly blog post!

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

worth repeating: he's a great big brother.

currently obsessed with the new Pentatonix album that just came out.

preparing for a school project.

telling me how bad his wrist was hurting. you can see the pain all over his face. obviously.

he tells me he hates to read. 

when I make him sit down to read, he reads longer than I make him :)

big browns.

the many faces of MegO.

helping empty the garbage.

I can't with this kid!

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#the52project Week14

post by casey.

these weeks pass in a blur and they do so because we're so damn busy...I think?!...and yet here I am trying to recall even one thing we did? It was a good week and we even got a few really nice days - which, was necessary to get us through the next week of rain filled days! We paid off a loan! Jacob and I got to spend a few hours alone, spending an obscene amount of money on household essentials but appreciating that time together and task more than I ever thought possible:)

my good stuff: successful sales on Facebook:) warm hotel pools. getting the puke bucket just in time;) - Rocky was sick last week.

 a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

homer - this boy has pushed me to the point of considering going back to work...maybe I should let someone else raise him for a while?!:(

theo - thinking tonight might be the night we try to get her out of diapers overnight!!!!:) I see lots of laundry in my future;)

rockyp - he'll never turn on me, like the other 2 have...right?!?!!?;(