For Local Blog
This morning I got up early to take my turn hanging out with Miss Nocturnal, and kept staring out the window in confusion at the coffee shop. Why was it open so early on a Saturday? It took me 2 solid hours to figure out that today was actually still Friday. Three-day weekend! Seriously, I appreciated three-day weekends and vacations when I worked, but now appreciate them even more, since it means I get to hang out with my sweet husband.
Today is running errands day. That's definitely been another shift since Vivian showed up- we used to do pretty much all the miscellaneous errand running together on the weekend. Now that's just not really practical, so I tend to go out and take care of most of it alone on Saturday. Or in this case on Friday. I'm also doing more online, since it's hard to get everything done in my limited time alone/with a car. I got my first order from Alice.com yesterday and was pleased with that. It's another household goods shopping site, and the prices seem to be good. The thing I liked is that shipping is always free, which is nice since I usually end up wasting money trying to get up to free shipping on other sites. And when shopping at my favorite stores, I definitely spend more money than I planned, as I wander the aisles and see things that I "need".
Can I just say one thing? I know I've been kind of cranky/whiny lately. And I know that I am so overwhelmingly blessed and have so little to complain about in the grand scheme of things. But I am going through a big transition and dealing with lots of hormones and very little sleep, and this is my reality and sometimes I find it kind of challenging. Not challenging like I can't deal with it, but enough to need a place to vent. And, as a stay-at-home mom of a newborn and another small one, I don't really talk to people during the day and rarely leave my condo during the week. Right now my world is small, and this is my place to vent and write about what's bugging me so that I can get it out of my system and be smiling when my overworked/undersleeping husband comes home. Writing helps me process my thoughts and figure out what I need to talk to Daniel about and what is the silly stuff not worth mentioning. And it helps me remember to pray about the things that are bugging and stressing me. So please, bear with me.
Now, go forth and enjoy the sunshine (I hope you have sunshine where you are!). And have a safe and happy 4th of July!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Things I have learned so far
Here are my pieces of wisdom from my vast experience of being a mom to 2 under 2. By vast experience, of course, I mean one month. So take all this with a grain or 40 of salt.
1. Having two kids is not twice as much work/busyness. More like 3 or 4 times as much.
2. When the baby wants to eat, we have to go through a long process EVERY time of reminding her how to latch on and suck and get her settled in a position she likes. Which changes at every feeding. This whole prolonged process triggers something in Ethan where he desperately needs to be lifted up or fed a snack or needs something that he can't reach and he must scream at the top of his lungs until his situation is resolved. Or he decides to misbehave and needs to be put in timeout. All of which mean I have to unlatch the baby and button myself up (for the good of the people on the street with a view into my condo) and deal with the situation and then start over with the baby.
3. Naptime is the most precious time of the day. NOTHING shall be allowed to mess with it. Ever. I went to a friend's house for a mom's group/bible study thing on Tuesday. And it was wonderful and I was so glad to get out and be with my friends. But Ethan fell asleep in the car on the long drive back and that was it for the day. A napless toddler plus Daddy getting home late because he has to take multiple buses (since I had the car) is a bad thing. So I think we're going to have to hold off on participating in that particular outing again until I'm more mentally stable and able to cope with a cranky toddler.
4. Sleep deprivation sucks. I forgot just how much. I never have been much of a napper, but I miss the freedom to take one if I wanted. Although the kids' naps overlap, it's not by enough to nap myself, and I'd still rather use the time to make a dent in my house stuff and computer stuff and veg out watching TV.
5. I've had to lower my standards for house cleanliness/organization by a lot. Daniel and I are neat freaks. Really bad neat freaks. But it's just not happening right now, and I'm having to deal with that and it's tough.
6. (not a new realization) My husband is a saint. He has a nasty cold and is really tired himself, but has been staying up with Vivian until midnight so I can get a couple of hours of sleep before staying up with our little night owl. I would not be even remotely able to cope without these few hours of sleep, so I am so grateful to him.
7. There is always laundry waiting to be folded. Even when I don't remember washing a load of laundry. I think it just spontaneously appears. Amazing.
8. It is possible to love two kids, each with 100% of your heart.
9. I am so blessed.
1. Having two kids is not twice as much work/busyness. More like 3 or 4 times as much.
2. When the baby wants to eat, we have to go through a long process EVERY time of reminding her how to latch on and suck and get her settled in a position she likes. Which changes at every feeding. This whole prolonged process triggers something in Ethan where he desperately needs to be lifted up or fed a snack or needs something that he can't reach and he must scream at the top of his lungs until his situation is resolved. Or he decides to misbehave and needs to be put in timeout. All of which mean I have to unlatch the baby and button myself up (for the good of the people on the street with a view into my condo) and deal with the situation and then start over with the baby.
3. Naptime is the most precious time of the day. NOTHING shall be allowed to mess with it. Ever. I went to a friend's house for a mom's group/bible study thing on Tuesday. And it was wonderful and I was so glad to get out and be with my friends. But Ethan fell asleep in the car on the long drive back and that was it for the day. A napless toddler plus Daddy getting home late because he has to take multiple buses (since I had the car) is a bad thing. So I think we're going to have to hold off on participating in that particular outing again until I'm more mentally stable and able to cope with a cranky toddler.
4. Sleep deprivation sucks. I forgot just how much. I never have been much of a napper, but I miss the freedom to take one if I wanted. Although the kids' naps overlap, it's not by enough to nap myself, and I'd still rather use the time to make a dent in my house stuff and computer stuff and veg out watching TV.
5. I've had to lower my standards for house cleanliness/organization by a lot. Daniel and I are neat freaks. Really bad neat freaks. But it's just not happening right now, and I'm having to deal with that and it's tough.
6. (not a new realization) My husband is a saint. He has a nasty cold and is really tired himself, but has been staying up with Vivian until midnight so I can get a couple of hours of sleep before staying up with our little night owl. I would not be even remotely able to cope without these few hours of sleep, so I am so grateful to him.
7. There is always laundry waiting to be folded. Even when I don't remember washing a load of laundry. I think it just spontaneously appears. Amazing.
8. It is possible to love two kids, each with 100% of your heart.
9. I am so blessed.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Happy Canada Day!
Hope you're all having a great week so far! Can you believe it's already July? And that Vivian is already a month old? How did that happen?
If you get a chance, please drop by and vote for me at the Parents' Pick Awards- not much longer on the contest, I promise!
Just wanted to share some photos of the kids from this morning- they wish you all a happy Canada Day! (My husband is Canadian, and my kids have dual citizenship in the US/Canada. And yes, it's the same shirt in both pictures. We don't have one for Vivian yet, but I wanted a picture of her being Canadian as well)
If you get a chance, please drop by and vote for me at the Parents' Pick Awards- not much longer on the contest, I promise!
Just wanted to share some photos of the kids from this morning- they wish you all a happy Canada Day! (My husband is Canadian, and my kids have dual citizenship in the US/Canada. And yes, it's the same shirt in both pictures. We don't have one for Vivian yet, but I wanted a picture of her being Canadian as well)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thank goodness for dimly lit dressing rooms
I've pretty much spent the last 2 months trying to avoid looking at myself in the mirror. The pregnancy stretch marks all showed up overnight at 36 weeks, and I was horrified to see my reflection from that point on. And once I'd had my c-section, I certainly didn't want to see what I looked like. Two pregnancies and two c-sections in two years does not equal a happy, pretty abdominal area.
Unfortunately, I am seriously lacking in clothes that fit me, so shopping was becoming increasingly inevitable. Particularly for jeans. I'm back to my pre-Vivian-pregnancy weight and shape, more or less (do not be impressed, my pre-Vivian-pregnancy weight and size was still WAY larger than I should be for my height). However, pre-Vivian, I only had one pair of jeans that really fit, and when I put them on last week, I discovered that they had a very large hole in an area where you really don't want a hole in your jeans. So I had to go jeans shopping. 3.5 weeks after having a baby. Yeah, that's not depressing.
As I've mentioned before, I'm ridiculously cheap, so I headed up to Ross to find some jeans. I grabbed three pairs off the rack and went to the dressing room to try them on. The dimly lit dressing room, thank goodness. Let me just tell you, low rise jeans are NOT a good idea when a large portion of your body weight is concentrated in a post-baby pooch. I eventually found a pair that I feel I can wear without crowds of people pointing at me and laughing/running away while shielding their eye in horror. And they were cheap, which is also essential when buying clothes in a size that you never wanted to wear again (I'm at the same weight/size that I was 4 years ago, pre-weight watchers).
After the trauma of the jeans shopping, I came home and we went for a walk in the gorgeous weather. We did manage to get Vivian's passport picture taken. Taking a newborn's passport photo is not easy, but fortunately the photographer was patient and we did eventually manage to get something that will work.
Tomorrow is church and (weather-permitting) our first trip of the year to the wading pool. Hoping for sunshine!
And before I go- here's a picture of Vivian and her post-bath afro!
Unfortunately, I am seriously lacking in clothes that fit me, so shopping was becoming increasingly inevitable. Particularly for jeans. I'm back to my pre-Vivian-pregnancy weight and shape, more or less (do not be impressed, my pre-Vivian-pregnancy weight and size was still WAY larger than I should be for my height). However, pre-Vivian, I only had one pair of jeans that really fit, and when I put them on last week, I discovered that they had a very large hole in an area where you really don't want a hole in your jeans. So I had to go jeans shopping. 3.5 weeks after having a baby. Yeah, that's not depressing.
As I've mentioned before, I'm ridiculously cheap, so I headed up to Ross to find some jeans. I grabbed three pairs off the rack and went to the dressing room to try them on. The dimly lit dressing room, thank goodness. Let me just tell you, low rise jeans are NOT a good idea when a large portion of your body weight is concentrated in a post-baby pooch. I eventually found a pair that I feel I can wear without crowds of people pointing at me and laughing/running away while shielding their eye in horror. And they were cheap, which is also essential when buying clothes in a size that you never wanted to wear again (I'm at the same weight/size that I was 4 years ago, pre-weight watchers).
After the trauma of the jeans shopping, I came home and we went for a walk in the gorgeous weather. We did manage to get Vivian's passport picture taken. Taking a newborn's passport photo is not easy, but fortunately the photographer was patient and we did eventually manage to get something that will work.
Tomorrow is church and (weather-permitting) our first trip of the year to the wading pool. Hoping for sunshine!
And before I go- here's a picture of Vivian and her post-bath afro!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Naptime=happiness
I have to say, even though I love my kids, I thank God every day for the wonder that is naptime. It gives me a chance to take part in those little luxuries of life, like going to the bathroom or combing my hair or eating. Thankfully the kids have been napping at the same time most of this week. It's pretty much the only thing that's saved my sanity.
Oddly enough, I'm already having a hard time believing that we didn't always have Vivian around. By no means have I figured out this whole two-kid thing, but having two kids around already seems normal to me. Definitely a different normal though, one in which my house is a disaster zone and I look so scary that I'm surprised Daniel doesn't scream in horror when he walks through the front door.
We've almost made it through the first week. We had friends come over and bring food yesterday (thank you again- and I finished off the cookies this morning!) and hang out with us, which was so much fun. Vivian and Ethan and I haven't actually set foot outside our condo door since we returned from church on Sunday, so it was nice to have visitors from the outside world. Tomorrow my best friend is coming over and I think I'll be up for venturing out for a walk, with her help. I'll let you know how it goes.
So I do have one new goal on my to-do list. Other than "figure out how to find time to fix hair and put on makeup every day". I have been so utterly humbled by the outpouring of love and friendship shown to us through the pregnancy with Vivian and after her birth. I have been blessed with visitors and food and prayers and fabulous friendship. And it's sort of shone a spotlight on my own life and my actions to others. I like to think that I'm a caring person, but I also know that I am very clueless as to the hands-on logistics of helping others out. When some one is sick, it just doesn't occur to me to offer to bring food (mainly because I dont cook and hate to inflict my cooking on them), and offering other forms of help usually also doesn't pop into my mind. I'm very self-centered that way, I tend to focus more on the upheaval it's going to bring to my life rather than what it would mean to someone else. I'm not sure exactly what my version of helping out would look like, given the no car situation and poor cooking skills. But I'm sure there is something that I could do to help others out, and I really want to try to find that.
Anyway, enough rambling from me. Naptime is quickly ticking away, and I need to go clean/organize something!
We've almost made it through the first week. We had friends come over and bring food yesterday (thank you again- and I finished off the cookies this morning!) and hang out with us, which was so much fun. Vivian and Ethan and I haven't actually set foot outside our condo door since we returned from church on Sunday, so it was nice to have visitors from the outside world. Tomorrow my best friend is coming over and I think I'll be up for venturing out for a walk, with her help. I'll let you know how it goes.
So I do have one new goal on my to-do list. Other than "figure out how to find time to fix hair and put on makeup every day". I have been so utterly humbled by the outpouring of love and friendship shown to us through the pregnancy with Vivian and after her birth. I have been blessed with visitors and food and prayers and fabulous friendship. And it's sort of shone a spotlight on my own life and my actions to others. I like to think that I'm a caring person, but I also know that I am very clueless as to the hands-on logistics of helping others out. When some one is sick, it just doesn't occur to me to offer to bring food (mainly because I dont cook and hate to inflict my cooking on them), and offering other forms of help usually also doesn't pop into my mind. I'm very self-centered that way, I tend to focus more on the upheaval it's going to bring to my life rather than what it would mean to someone else. I'm not sure exactly what my version of helping out would look like, given the no car situation and poor cooking skills. But I'm sure there is something that I could do to help others out, and I really want to try to find that.
Anyway, enough rambling from me. Naptime is quickly ticking away, and I need to go clean/organize something!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The days are long, but the years are short
I've had several people recite that saying to me lately "the days are long, but the years are short." I'm already seeing the truth in that. It's so hard to believe that Ethan is not my tiny baby anymore- that he's almost two years old and I have a new tiny baby. And she is practically growing before my eyes. As of last Friday, she'd grown 2.5 inches in height and gained 6 ounces since birth.
I hope you all still like me, even though I haven't been blogging much. Truthfully, I'm a little off kilter lately and kind of grouchy. Today is day 2 of being home alone with the kids- my parents left Sunday night. I had a hard time not begging them to stay. Yesterday went okay, but Ethan is in this horrible whiny stage, and Vivian is a baby, so they're not the world's best conversationalists. Cute and sweet and funny, yes, but fairly boring. So that makes the days long and kind of lonely. Daniel's been insanely busy at work- too busy to call all day, then coming home and working until midnight most nights. So he's kind of out of the picture for entertaining me at the moment. Hopefully we'll be able to get out and about by next week, and start developing a new routine/activities, and that should help a lot.
Apparently there's something in the air today, because both Maggie and Lindsay were blogging today about purpose in life. I can so relate. I was telling Daniel that this time is particularly challenging for me because I'm not sure what's next in terms of life goals and things to hope/wait for. I spent most of my life focusing on things like school and career, while hoping for a family someday. Then I met Daniel and was waiting for engagement, then planning the wedding, then quickly trying to have a baby, then waiting for Ethan, then planning for the next baby, then waiting for Vivian... and now I have the degree and the career (if I want it) and the husband and the two kids and two cats and own a home... PLEASE don't think I'm complaining- I know I am so unbelievably blessed and have so many things that are incredibly wonderful. And I appreciate those things. But I'm a very goal-oriented, to-do list making, planning type of person, and now there's none of that in my life. So I need to work on figuring out what's next for me and where God's leading me. Fortunately for me, the church summer bible study is a Beth Moore study about being a woman, and I think it'll really help me as I try to readjust my perspective on my life.
In other news, I made the horrible realization last night that Vivian's stomach seems to get upset whenever I eat something with a lot of dairy in it. Like ice cream. So I'm going to need to give that up for a while. Talk about life not having any meaning in it! I have two containers of yummy ice cream in my freezer- if you're in the area, please come visit me and eat my ice cream! I need to have it gone!
I hope you all still like me, even though I haven't been blogging much. Truthfully, I'm a little off kilter lately and kind of grouchy. Today is day 2 of being home alone with the kids- my parents left Sunday night. I had a hard time not begging them to stay. Yesterday went okay, but Ethan is in this horrible whiny stage, and Vivian is a baby, so they're not the world's best conversationalists. Cute and sweet and funny, yes, but fairly boring. So that makes the days long and kind of lonely. Daniel's been insanely busy at work- too busy to call all day, then coming home and working until midnight most nights. So he's kind of out of the picture for entertaining me at the moment. Hopefully we'll be able to get out and about by next week, and start developing a new routine/activities, and that should help a lot.
Apparently there's something in the air today, because both Maggie and Lindsay were blogging today about purpose in life. I can so relate. I was telling Daniel that this time is particularly challenging for me because I'm not sure what's next in terms of life goals and things to hope/wait for. I spent most of my life focusing on things like school and career, while hoping for a family someday. Then I met Daniel and was waiting for engagement, then planning the wedding, then quickly trying to have a baby, then waiting for Ethan, then planning for the next baby, then waiting for Vivian... and now I have the degree and the career (if I want it) and the husband and the two kids and two cats and own a home... PLEASE don't think I'm complaining- I know I am so unbelievably blessed and have so many things that are incredibly wonderful. And I appreciate those things. But I'm a very goal-oriented, to-do list making, planning type of person, and now there's none of that in my life. So I need to work on figuring out what's next for me and where God's leading me. Fortunately for me, the church summer bible study is a Beth Moore study about being a woman, and I think it'll really help me as I try to readjust my perspective on my life.
In other news, I made the horrible realization last night that Vivian's stomach seems to get upset whenever I eat something with a lot of dairy in it. Like ice cream. So I'm going to need to give that up for a while. Talk about life not having any meaning in it! I have two containers of yummy ice cream in my freezer- if you're in the area, please come visit me and eat my ice cream! I need to have it gone!
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