my girl.

Once again I've managed to abandon my beloved space here on the interwebs.

I did a quick search, and I've barely mentioned my girl. 😔

 
 

ten.

Y'all! Little R turns 10 today! I don't even know how that is possible. I feel like it was just yesterday that he started preschool 😩. When I met Big R, Little R was 2 years old. Big R and I dated for almost a year before he introduced me to Little R. So, Little R was 3 when I first met him. Big R introduced me as Ms. Keia, and Little R still calls me Ms. Keia to this day.

Little R will always be my first baby! He gave me my first taste at being a mama. He is by far our "easy" child. He is mild mannered, has always been well-behaved, kind, SMART, funny, caring, and he is a great big brother. While I wish I could be more involved in his life, I do understand he has a bio mom. So, I respect that. I take very seriously doing as much as I can to give Little R the same love, attention, and consideration I give to his brother and sister.

Anyone else a bonus mama like me? Would love to hear about your experiences.

middle child.

independent. peace maker. unafraid of authority. rebellious. generous. 

Our Riley, at two years old, fully embodies many of the ways one would describe a middle child. Our family dynamics are a bit unique in that our oldest splits his time with us and with his mom in another state. While Rashaun is not always here with us, Riley LOVES his older brother. Big R and I were amazed with how quickly Riley took to Rashaun. Rashaun can do no wrong in Riley's eyes. 

Short story: A couple of weeks ago when we dropped Rashaun off to his mom at the end of the weekend, Riley literally cried like he lost a piece of his soul when he realized his brother was leaving. It was sad. Big R said Riley can't ride to drop off his brother anymore, because it hurt him to see Riley crying like. (Daddy is a softy, low key)

Then there was Mia. Mia quickly came about, and took some of Riley's shine. Riley was not at all interested in Mia when we first brought her home. In fact, he was quite mean to his sister at first. Several times he took his aggression out on her directly, and she was hit by him more than once. #fail. Just recently he has started to become more kind and loving toward her. He shares with her, and whenever we're leaving he always make sure we have sissy in tow. He calls her 'baby,' and he is slowly starting to evolve into his role as big brother. 

There is the notion of the middle child getting the least amount of attention. Well folks, in our house that is far from the truth. Our Riley demands our attention, and we all love him for it. 

Thankful

Marana, AZ

Six years ago when I relocated to North Carolina, I was a young, single, and an inexperienced professional trying to figure out what the next phase of my life was going to look like. Today, I am knocking on 30 years old, working in a field I enjoy, married, and I have three beautiful children. I share not to brag, but I just want to put all of that out into the atmosphere to acknowledge how THANKFUL to God I am for this season in my life. I am blessed. My life is soooooo far from perfect. I don't ever want to give an illusion that everything is perfect, because it is not. My kids wear me out, I don't have enough QT with my husband, I don't go to church enough, we don't have access to Little R half as much as we would like, and the list goes on and on. Through all the not so great things, I still have so much appreciation for life. God is so good y'all.

Saturday Happenings

• Riley started preschool 2 weeks ago. I received an email on Wednesday that a kid in his class was diagnosed with hand, foot, mouth disease. Last night he spiked a fever. This morning he woke up with a rash on his hands and feet. OH JOY! Mind you, just earlier this week we visited the dermatologist to get his eczema under control. I was extremely pleased with the results of the meds the dermatologist prescribed for him. I saw results within one day. 
• I say all of that to say, we are having a very chill weekend. We've watched several movies, listened to lots of nursery rhymes, and I'm trying my best to keep Mia away from Riley as much as possible. 
• I am currently listening to a radio broadcast of Big R's football game. His team is playing a "money game" a division up. I LOVE Saturday, college football. I'm hopeful the team is going to be able to pull off an upset tonight. 
• Speaking of Saturday football, our plan was to head to VA to catch Little R's football game this morning; however, those plans were shot since Riley is under the weather. 
• Big R received Little R's 1st 9 week report card yesterday, and he is doing AMAZING. We are super proud of him for maintaining his outstanding academic performance even with incorporating football into his weekly routine.
• I'm still tripping I'm over the fact that I'm a mom of three. It all seemed to happen over night. 

That's what's happening over here! Hope you are having a great weekend!

revitalized.

August 13th 2016 | The date I last published a blog post. Y'all I had a WHOLE baby since my last post. Yes, you read that right. December 27th, 2016 my sweet girl, Mia, was born.

And yes, that means she and her brother, Riley are just shy of 18 months apart. Here's Riley now: 

So, there you have one reason why I've been away from blogging for so long. Being a mom of three, with two that are two and under keeps me BUSY. Then, y'all remember Little R. Well friends, Little R will be TEN years old next month. #icantdeal

Hughey Party of Four was very short-lived. We are now a COMPLETE (I ain't having no' mo' kids!) Party of Five. 

ALSO, I will begin a new professional venture this upcoming Monday, and I am feel reinvigorated. With that said, I'm BACK. Hopefully to stay! 

Week in Virginia

It's Friday night/Saturday morning, and I haven't blogged all week. Why? Because Riley's sitter was on vacation for the week (a much deserved vacay I should add), and so Riley and I spent the week in VA with my family.

This past week was long but short...stressful yet fun! All in all, I made it through another work week, Riley spent some much needed time with his granny and cousin, and we picked up Rasbaun for the weekend. I'm glad to be back home to my husband, and the boys are happy to spend time with their dad. Riley came home this evening and showed off his new walking skills, and Rashaun filled us in on his first week of 3rd grade.

It's currently 12:12 am. I'm off to bed.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Our Life in Black + White

New Day. New Week. New Month

via

August Goals...

+End co-sleeping with Riley

+Meal plan

+Create and start a cleaning routine (Use HowJenDoesIt as a guide)

+Start to transition Riley off his "ba ba"

+Treat myself to a mani + pedi

+Start fall shopping for kids + maybe a thing or two for me

+Drink more WATER

What are your goals for August? 

Update

Now that I'm back to blogging - I would say an update is necessary. My time is so limited these days so expect many of my posts to be bullet style.

Here we go!

• Riley is ONE
• Rashaun will be starting the 3^rd grade August 8^th
• My professional work keeps me BUSY and CHALLENGED daily. 
• My mom life/wife life keeps me BUSY the rest of the hours and days of the week.
• Riley is an eczema baby, and it is HARD. He doesn’t sleep through the night. I don’t sleep through the night. And Rodney doesn’t sleep through the night.
• Football season is around the corner. While I’m excited for some football, my days are going to be even crazier with just Riley and me in the evenings.
• I’ve found a new YouTuber that I LOVE. She’s a mom of two, young boys. She inspires me.
• I need to start being more intentional about meal planning. 
• I need a Costco or Sam's membership. Riley LOVES milk!
• I want to try freezer meals. 
• I'm having a hard time keeping my house clean. Well actually I keep our main living areas clean, but the rooms you can't see i.e. our master bedroom, master bath, and "movie room" - I just can't keep them clean. I need a cleaning routine...or hired help!
• It's hard to think about any kind of routines, because I can't get a bedtime routine down for Riley...damn, eczema. 
• I ordered him ScratchSleeves , and they should arrive today. I'm hoping this will be the miracle product I've been searching for!

...there's so much more to share...until next time!

Untitled.

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For the past week or so I’ve found myself wanting to blog again. I need an outlet. Like all other moms, I feel like I never have any time for me. Blogging is my therapy. Goodness knows I need therapy. I started www.hugheypartyoffour.com this time last year, but I’ve come to realize my heart is here at justkeia.blogspot.com. Really, I’m JUST Keia. I’m plain. I like simplicity. I love that this space feels like a journal of sorts. It’s not stuffy…you know? I want to share whatever I feel like sharing when I feel like sharing.

So that’s what I’m going to do. This space is for ME, but I welcome you (whoever you may be) to come along!