The Luckiest No Matter What!

This post is honestly embarrassing for me to write. The last day of 2017 began, for me, at 5:24am.  I wish I could say that was atypical, abnormal, a fluke, but alas- it is my new normal for about the last six months. I need to start by complimenting my boys on the things, sleep related, that they do SO well. My boys have never fought going to bed- our bedtime routines have been consistent, positive, and a well-oiled machines since they were very very small.  They go to bed, fairly early, willingly.  They do not come into our room to sleep with us in our bed... ever.  They do not wake up in the middle of the night.  They have never fought taking a nap.  I'm knocking on wood as I write all these things...  Nolan and Judah have always been earlier risers- they've never slept past 7:00am... like ever.  But, something happened to Nolan and Judah where they began waking up about an hour earlier than they had previously done for at least the last ...

Since being "out" with the pregnancy of our fourth child, I've received all kinds of questions, comments, and reactions.  Some of them have seemed typical things people say such as as wondering when I was due.  Others have seemed a little more specific to this particular pregnancy.  Either way, because of "My Crazy," I always feel a bit awkward talking about a pregnancy out loud as if I'm jinxing it in someway.   Please don't misunderstand, I am SO over the moon excited, grateful, and completely in awe of the honor of being pregnant.  There have been many moments where I didn't think I'd ever get  pregnant, even more still where I didn't think I'd ever stay  pregnant, and just as many where I didn't feel like Josh and I could ever do this pregnancy thing on our own without lots of medical interventions.  You don't go through all the infertility and miscarriage heartache without being one of the most appreciative pregnant people ...

The minutes can sure feel slow, but wow does time ever flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I have two four and a half year olds- two kids who are closer to being in kindergarten with each passing minute and I can't even.  I've really enjoyed every stage and this one is no different.  Here's what been up with Nolan and Judah. What Nolan is Into: Nolan continues to be extremely aware of his surroundings and the people in them.  He has a very deep mind and the capacity to have real understandings of empathy and compassion.  Although he wants others to be happy, healthy, and be taken care of, he also prefers if everything is done the way HE wants it :)  I truly think Nolan was lucky to be born into our family with Josh and me as his parents because his intense emotions, his need for control and order, and his "occasional" bossiness are fully understood by his parents.  We can help him label his feelings, patiently let him talk through whatever he needs to digest, and can r...

The Bing has turned two and a half years old recently!  It's insane to me how old he is, how big he is, how much he can do, and how many things he thinks he can do (that maybe he can't yet ;) )  Here's what up with Carter... Things Carter is Into: Carter loves destroying things- much to the chagrin of his brothers who are often the victim of this.  I know that dumping, running into, and knocking down are super age appropriate for Carter right now, but it's definitely been a bit more challenging this time around since there are older brothers.  When N and J were Carter's age, the only stuff they messed with was mine.  Not that I enjoyed that or anything, but I'd much rather me get frustrated or sad than anyone else.  It's hard to try to help N and J understand they may need to build in a different place or that pretty much any time they are working on a creation, they are taking a large risk that Hurricane Carter may reek havoc.  Carter does seem t...

Dear Kristin Pavona (2007 addition), Today is your wedding day!  You are about to become Kristin Hundt.  This is a day that you have been planning in your mind for as long as you can remember.  It's here!  Today, you choose a man, Josh Hundt, to walk along side you as your partner, your equal, your biggest cheerleader, supporter, your knight in shining armor. As you patiently wait for Grandma Ort to arrive in the post-tornado/curfew traffic that is the thriving metropolis of Williamston, Michigan, you are certainly thinking about your husband, how much you love him today, and all the reasons WHY you feel in love with him. Now that I've been married to Josh for ten years, which I think gives me the ability to be pretty legit on the subject, let me drop some knowledge... First of all, you will love Josh more in the years to come than you do right now... like a lot more . I hope that gives you some peace. Second, I know that you fell in love with Josh beca...

After four days in Denver and waving a sad goodbye to my mom and Aunt Doreen, we were headed west to Breckenridge.   Neither Josh or I have actually seen mountains bigger than the brown ones you see driving between Las Vegas and Los Angeles and we couldn't WAIT to get actually IN to the rocky mountains.  Although the drive contained a lot of winding roads, steep hills and a few areas where the wrong move would've sent you flying down thousands of feet, it was GORGEOUS.  Breathtaking actually.  Thankfully, we were in no rush to get to Breckenridge so we stopped several times along the way so I could do what I do- take pictures.   Here are some nuggets from our time in Breckenridge and mountains majesty:  1.) Georgetown Lake - FINALLY, a lake with mountains in the background! That's the dream!  We stopped here, literally on the side of the road, ate our lunch and basked in the beauty.   Boys taking in Lake Georgetown...

After 18+ hours in the car with three adults, three kids, and two seasons worth of clothes, we finally arrived in Denver! Here are some of our favorite nuggets in our four days there... 1.) Denver is very gluten free: There are a lot of good gluten-free options for Judah in the Lansing area and at grocery stores, but they all get boring after a while.  We see the same food, the same snacks, the same mixes, and sample the same pizza crust (no matter what restaurant we buy from- thin crust, small, flat).  Denver opened up a new window for us because restaurants, in particular, had SO many more options.  Muffins, cookies, DETROIT-STYLE pizza, cheesy breadsticks, etc.  At one coffee shop, Josh asked where the gluten-free choices were thinking the barista would point to a small window or a few choices on a shelf.  Instead, he said, "Everything in here is gluten free except that small little area right there."  We had arrived at gluten free heaven. 2.) The D...

Yesterday morning, I woke up to the same news as most of you- hearing about the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas.  As the news kept pouring in, so did people's opinions of it on social media.  I scrolled through seeing a lot of similar statuses and postings.  A couple, however caught my attention and have stuck with me.  I saw two different statuses on Facebook and a couple on Instagram putting down the use of people saying their "thoughts and prayers" were with Las Vegas.   These people were presumably well intentioned- calling for more action than that and I understand- I sincerely do.  They must certainly be as frustrated and disheartened with the bad news that keeps coming and the lack of empathy and compassion we have in our leadership right now as I am.  They were certainly not coming from a bad place and, I'm hoping, not wanting to make anyone feel worse. However, I was disappointed to see people use their social media platforms to ...