Make That Two Nichols Ninjas ...

You, my friend, are reading my 200th post! 

And what better way for this Momma to mark a milestone than to brag on one of my kiddos?!

Kolt has officially become the second Nichols Ninja in our house. He started karate last week and is loving it! 

We've always wanted the boys to do something, some type of activity. Kolt's original choice was football and as much as I loved watching him play a game that he loved, the experience we had within the local association was enough to ruin us. (You can read more about Kolt's last season in this post) We have watched so much growth with Kollin in karate and have experienced first hand the positive influence this sport has had in his life. 

Kolt has been biting at the bit to get in there and start. We've been waiting for the time when we would renew Kollin's contract for the year and add Kolt, which came last month for us. Kolt started this past week. And the kid is loving it. I am excited to see him excited again about something for him. And as much as I am dying not enrolling him in football again this season, I am looking forward to watching Kolt establish relationships, positive and encouraging relationships I might add, with his instructors. 

Here is Kolt with Mr. Bennett, one of his instructors. Kolt earned his first belt this week and I heard Mr. Bennett explaining to him how he earned this belt, not that he was just giving it to him. 

On that note, I'll leave you with a ...

Hiiiii-Yaaaaa and a Happy Tuesday!

Burnt.

What a title, right?

 

But I am.

 I am so burnt right now. Yep, it's from sitting at ball fields practically all day. Poor Kohen has a little burn too. Note to self: add sunscreen to the diaper bag. And I'm so jealous of Kruz - do any of you guys have a kid that just tans so perfectly? Well, that's Kruz. No lines ever, just a perfect blend. 

 

So here's a glimpse into our day ...

It all started with a Mommy trying to get 4 kids packed for the day and out the door in 30 minutes. I was so exhausted from yesterday that the additional 30 minutes of sleep was too appetizing and I would have rather been rushing around like a mad women than to get up the first time my alarm went off. So I nursed Kohen, dressed him and Kruz, got myself dressed, got Kolt into his football gear, made sure Kollin was matching in what he picked out, packed the diaper bag, cut up apples and oranges for snacks, added grapes and raisins to our snack bag, grabbed all of Kollin's baseball stuff, brushed my teeth, grabbed my camera and literally ran out the door. 

 

Nothing was exaggerated there. 

Travis had a yard to cut while all the madness was going down, so I had to meet him with the kids. Don't you love switching around car seats? I do not. 

 

I had a photo session at 10am for one of my favorite little girls, Miss Aria. I have been photographing her since she was 1 week old. I love having the privilege of being a part of watching little ones grow and being able to document it for their Mommys and Daddys.  Today I photographed her 1 year pictures, my how the year flew by. She was a great way to start my hectic day.

 

I left there and raced to Kolt's game. Considering I had his helmet, there was no option of running a little late. He suited up and headed to face a team full of giants. Maybe not literally giants, but for my tiny 4 year old - those nearly 7 year olds looked like giants. He fearlessly headed out on the field and tackled down some of these big ole' boys. I watched as the other team scored over and over again and was just a little teed. How fair is it to have a team of 21 kids play our team of 9? I am so not a Mommy to make excuses for her boys. Kolt is by far one of the shortest and youngest on his team and I tell him day after day that he is just as good as any other bigger player. But this morning, I honestly felt like I was feeding him to the wolves. It's over now, thank goodness. According to the board, we lost. I'd say our boys getting out there and playing their hearts out is a win in my book. 

 

Kolt's game ended at 1:05 and Kollin's began at 1:30. Remember how I ran out the door this morning? Well, this afternoon we all ran to the car and raced to another set of ball fields. On the way there I told Kollin I had this funny feeling he was going to get a great hit today. He looked at me like I was crazy. What do you know? This Mommy was right! Kollin smacked that ball and scored a run for our team. He is so focused during the game and I love watching him play defense. He is down and just waiting for that ball to get in his glove. The Gators won 17-4!! 



 

Remember the running and the racing? Yea, I did more of that. We raced home and I unloaded the kids and reloaded my camera equipment to head out for 2 more sessions. 

Needless to say, we ate cereal for dinner, took showers and poured on the aloe. 

The boys are in bed and I am in silence.

Well, I thought I was. I just heard a door creak. Guess that's my queue to shut this baby down for the night ...

Oh and happy NINE months to my KoKo Beans ...
 

Hope y'all had a wonderful Saturday!!

Ikea and More ...

Today was one of those days where we didn't stop until ... well, I guess now. 

At bedtime. 

We woke up pretty early and headed to the Health Department to get Travis' shot records for school. Little did we know he ended up needing another vaccination and the kids and I sat in the car for over an hour. Yea, you read that right ... a whole hour. Actually over an hour. And my kids and a car not moving do not mix well. Kohen squawks like a dying duck, Kruz whines about wanting water and Kollin and Kolt think it's WWF time. By the time Travis came out, I was ready to escape the vehicle for a nap. Alright, enough of my complaining. We headed to Clayton State to turn in the rest of his paperwork and then to Ikea. 

We decided to sell the boys' bunk beds. I am little agitated about it too because we just set the two sets up in their room. I have come to learn two things about bunk beds: first, they do not mix well with slanted ceilings and two, I hate changing sheets on bunk beds. I mean like, hate. My butt climbing up those skinny little stairs, um no thank you. So no more bunk beds for us. I wanted something super simple and sleek. And inexpensive. So Ikea it was. 

Us, 4 kids and Ikea. Well, it's interesting. That is the only way to explain it. Kruz feels the need to become an animal in public and Kohen acts like he has never sat up in his entire life when I put him in the buggy, I can only laugh at us. 

And can I mention how amazing the husband and I are at fitting tons of boxes and kids into a car? I'm pretty sure every person that passed by us wanted to stand there so badly to watch us fit 4 kids, 13 boxes and 3 sets of slats in our Mountaineer. 

We are a great team in more ways than one. 

So the buying of the beds was accomplished and we headed home only to literally unload the car, get the boys changed into their uniforms and get directly back out the door for a baseball game and a football scrimmage. I'm telling ya ... it's the story of our life right now. 

Kollin's team finally won their first game and Kollin was stoked to say the least. He still has a hard time at bat and had to hit off the tee tongiht, which completely embarrasses him. He did however, tag a kid out at second base - and he loved that! I missed most of Kolt's scrimmage tonight, which I hate. But really. I can't be in two places at one time. I have to accept that. It's a tough pill to swallow. Kolt's coach said their scrimmage went great and they won. Two wins - a happy Momma. 

Waffle House cooked our dinner tonight and MawMaw joined us, which was a nice treat. We all had the usual: bacon, egg and cheese on wheat for me, an angus burger for Travis and waffles, pickles and bacon for the boys. And I must mention this: have you ever had one of those kinds of laughs that is a mixture of something funny and being totally exhausted that you just laugh until coke nearly comes out of your nose? I had one of those tonight with the husband. And it was so needed. Laughter is oh, so good for my soul. 

Now we're home and I am totally about to hit the sack.

I'm wrapping this day up with this post and getting ready for 3 photo sessions, a football game and a baseball game tomorrow. 

Night y'all - Kolt says, "Peace!"

Karate. Life. Football. Life. Baseball. Life. Repeat.

Good morning from the Nichols'!!

This morning I woke up to Kruz in my bed first. He is always the first one awake, he is my early bird! He is so mischievous and always takes advantage by getting into Daddy's deodorant and my lotion or something he knows he is not supposed to. If not that, then I hear some Mandisa blaring in my ears and him singing to it. 

And just when I think Kruz was the first of the 4 to be in my bed, I try to turn over and find Kollin snuggled right underneath me. Ever since he was a little guy, he has nearly always joined our bed in the middle of the night for some extra cuddling.

Kolt is my kid to always sleep in a little later. That is until Kruz goes in his room hollering for him to get up. Poor kid. After being woke up by his little brother, he'll come stomping in our room whining about being woke up by Kruz. Ha, I feel ya kid!

And as soon as Kohen knows he is missing out on the action, he too will start squawking in his bed for Mommy to come get him to join the chaos. 

And before I know it, I have no room to move and I have no covers. And I feel overwhelmingly blessed ...

We have so much going on in the next couple weeks. We have been juggling karate, football and baseball the past couple months, that in itself has worn us out. I despise eating fast food, so unless we eat at 4:00 we normally do not eat dinner until around 9:00 and this Momma is not a fan of late dinners. I mean, seriously. My kids are normally in bed my 8:00 on any other night. Sports this spring has really given us a realistic glance into our future of having 4 boys. Pure and utter busyness. And dinners in the car. Or at 9:00. And football pants soaking in the kitchen sink. 

So in the midst of juggling practices, stripe tests and games we also found out Monday that Travis will need an additional surgery on his shoulder next Tuesday. I was totally bummed when I heard this news after his doctor's appointment earlier this week. After Travis attending Physical Therapy so many times during the week and his range of motion not being near at what it should be, we knew another surgery was in his future. But to hear the scheduled date for it, I was just bummed. Please pray for our family as we are having to take on another surgery and daily trips to the physical therapist after his surgery date. The surgery will include the manipulation process, trying to break up the scar tissue that is holding him back from further healing. He will not lose all of his strength, but I can't help but feeling like we are starting over. Friends, please pray for me. 

So if you didn't hear about Travis leaving Clayton County Fire Department here, then click on over and get caught up :) He is doing landscaping full time until school starts and to say he has been bombarded with calls for work would be an understatement. We feel nothing short of a confirmation that God's hand is upon our new journey.

With nicer weather comes people who want nice yards and also people who want their pictures taken, which is my second job. This time of year is definitely my busiest. Oh and we're trying to fit in a vacation somewhere in here too. 

And to top it all off, let me remind you about our Can't-Finish-A-Project-Itis. We are still working on an unfinished master bedroom, a demolition in the boys' room, finding a new mirror for the boys' bathroom, hanging new cabinets in the laundry room and changing out the sinks in the downstairs bathroom. Not to mention the constant laundry and a kitchen that is never not in use and in turn, never clean. And because the temperature here in Georgia is either freezing or like summer, I have to switch out their clothes from winter to summer this week too. Did I mention we homeschool? 

Are you laughing with me yet?

And with all these thoughts bombarding my brain before 9:00 this morning, I stopped to smell the roses. I stopped to look at each of my babies and realize that we do what we do for them. We run around like crazy, hopping from park to park for them. To see Kolt fearlessly tackle boys much bigger than him. And to see Kollin hit the baseball on the first pitch or to see him learn a new form for a new belt.

Life is insane. And oh so good too. I'm just going to breathe and take it all in for what it's worth. These years are going to be gone in the blink of an eye ...

So just breathe Kelsey. Just breathe.