This too....

As I climb into bed tonight I realize that it is quite chilly. The temperature has shifted and I need long pants and a long sleeved shirt to stay comfortable.  I find one on the floor (come on you guys-I'm a mom of 2 now, do you think I actually ever get to doing my own laundry?) and as I put it on over my head I get a full, ugly, colorful waft of infant spit up.  If you're a mom-you know it.  Sour.  But I just don't have it in me to get up and look for something else, so this will have to do.  Chances are I'll add to that sour splendor in a few hours. 

The youngest is in bed.  For now.

The oldest is on his 46th minute of yelling Mama and Papa over and over again.  His voice, all raspy from a day of tantrums, is pulling at my heart strings.  But I told Andy-"We're back in full out CRY IT OUT mode".  Not with our infant-with our almost 3 year old.  He just won't go to bed without the full gamut of complaints.  Tonight though-yes tonight I did my homework.  Before I left the room I reminded him that
a) we read our normal amount of stories
b)he's had his vitamin
c) one fan is on, the other is not-his choice-not allowed to change it
d) he's not thirsty, he had his last sip
e) the turtle night light is on, it's green-his choice. if it goes off, don't yell that it turned off, time to close the eyes and go to bed
f) the window air conditioner is not on tonight, so the door will be close all the way tonight
g) music is on
h)he has his 2 stuffed friends. the 3rd is sleeping downstairs because it got taken away during a time out where he misbehaved
i) socks? his decision to not have socks on
j) i made up my story tonight about "a lot of trucks" per his request. 

How does it get like this you ask?  Oh let me tell you,
It
Just
Does.

So there, there is nothing to cry about right?  I'm not going in unless he vomits.  Does that sound harsh? He's almost 3 and last night he was up until 9 pm (about 1.5 hours of yelling/crying) and then got up at his normal time, so he was sooo cranky today.  I know this is a stage.  The easy thing to do is to go in and give in to his requests. You want socks? FINE -socks. Now quiet!  But he's not quiet. Then he wants a Kleenex? A Kleenex? HERE.  Now quiet!!!!!!  It's easier to give him the Kleenex (takes 40 seconds) than it is to listen to him rant about it for 20 minutes.  I know you are all in the same shoes or have been. Or even scarier-will be.

So tonight I focus on this.

And tonight at 2:30 am, I will focus back on quiet Eli and pray he sleeps 15 minutes longer in the am.

Both sweet boys.
And this too....shall pass.  (And believe it or not, someday I may be able to laugh about and miss it!)

Eli almost 3

This was taped last night....

He's almost 3. Gulp gulp gulp. I just can't believe I have an almost 3 year old.  He's so amazing to me.  We're going to have to work on the "ummm"-he's as bad as me!

Movin' On...Not So Memorial Day Style

This past weekend came and went.  Just like every other weekend. But not really like every other weekend.  It was a 3 day weekend for most and I considered it 3 days for me, because Andy was home for 3 days.  I did actually go into work for a short bit today because I don't have enough vacation time to take the day off yet.  I didn't let that get me down. 

But I am disappointed that our weekend was so blah.  We didn't really do anything Memorial Day-ish.  We didn't get a chance to teach Eli anything about the meaning of the Holiday because we didn't go to a parade, or hang out with friends or see any heroes.  We should have talked about it instead.  But it just didn't work out that way. 

Andy wore his Super Dad Cape all weekend while I tried to get over a flu bug.  Or food poisoning.  Or maybe I was glutinized.  Either way-I was in bed all weekend.  I was physically drained and probably dehydrated.  I was up all night sick as sick can be.  It was miserable and awful. 

Thoughts I had today...

I'm on the mend.  Hip hip hooray. 

I'm glad Andy got out to golf, but man those 5 hours of me alone with both boys was physically taxing.

Both boys got baths tonight.  Even if we didn't do anything all weekend, boys still get dirty.  Eli did go to the park, play in the sandbox, in a little pool, the sprinkler, the grass and the mud.  I can't count how many ants he smooshed with his fingers. 





The neighbor asked if we were going to ever start feeding this boy.  Let me tell you how I've tried.  He has access to all the food in our house...getting him to indulge-that's another story.



This boy on the other hand...he is eating just fine.  I never knew shoulders could get pudgy. 


I got locked in a stairwell at work today.  Don't ask why, just know that it is because it's a holiday.  I didn't have a phone or anything. I literally started sweating and staring at the emergency button on the wall.  I knocked hard and pounded on a door until FINALLY a patient (poor guy-just comin' for chemo as if that wasn't enough) opened the door to a frantic me.  I hope I thanked him enough.  Now I don't know what to do...take the stairs or the elevator...both of them make my heart race. 

There is nothing consistent or constant about Hughie's bedtime.  It's completely unpredictable.  I don't know when or how he'll go down.  And I dont' know when he'll wake up.  The only thing predictable about his sleep is that it is unpredictable.  We are definitely working on routine, but last night he was up for over a 2 hour chunk.  With me being up sick one night this weekend I feel exhausted.  I'm not sure why I stress about figuring out his sleep and bedtime.  It's not likely that we will figure it out-since we still struggle with bedtime for our almost 3 (gulp) year old.  Last night we had to change the sheets because Hughie spit up all over his.  When we opened the closet door (at 2 am mind you) Eli started yelling "My ears hurt. My ear".  Evidently the noise of the closet spooked him awake and he heard it-meaning his ears hurt.  Sometimes the nights are enough to....well I don't know.  But it's inevitable...you make it through and move on to the next day.

Andy and I had a discussion about what our boys would be when they grow up.  It's SO interesting to me to think about where they will live, with who and what they will do for hobbies and careers.  I can only hope they grow up to be decent, nice men and find a job that is exciting but not too stressful for them.  I hope they don't live too close (like in our basement) and not too far away that we can't hop in the car at a moments notice.  The choices they have are theirs and I already know it will tug at my heart strings. 

We've had some storms and Eli is now aware of thunder.  I love to see his reaction because I know when I was little I was scared of it.  We've also had our share of beautiful days.  Eli loves his backyard and his bubbles.  I'm constantly on the lookout for new outside toys.  But I can't help but try to capture this boys joy when he runs in the backyard.

See his "bad guy" face?

Love the happy cheeks in this one

So as my sister always says, the days are long....

But the years (and months even!) are short.  Scary to keep movin' on....but no other choice. 

 

3 months

You made it to 3 months.  I can't believe how big you are and how mature you seem to me.

2 nights ago you slept through the night.  It took me by surprise and I was so proud of you.

You are passionate about your thumb.  You still take the nuk, but man you are starving for that thumb.

You have long, lean, kicking legs.  They are strong.  Beautiful rolls.  Keep 'em coming!

You are still a really mellow fellow. Pretty easy to figure out and easy to soothe.

Your giggle is contagious.  Together we can conquer anything, right?  I am at my happiest and you are such a big part of that.  Hugh-to-the-Lou   (our favorite nickname for you). 

Double Rainbow

Have you seen this video?

For some reason I missed it when it was popular.

But a friend introduced it to me the other day and I got a real good laugh out of it.  I'm not even sure why it is so very funny.  I just find many of his emotional statements to be hilarious.

I also couldn't believe it was real or that he was serious.

Andy didn't think it was as funny as I did.  This sort of perplexed me as he enjoys "stupid" comedy much more than me.  He finds things such as "Anchorman" funny and I usually don't.  But this.....this got some laughter tears and I needed it that day.

Mother's Day

So much has been happening....I feel like I am a nerd for posting about Mother's Day so late.  But here I am. Truly a mom.  A mom of 2 and maybe that is why I am so delayed.  Do I get an excuse now?  It was wonderful-the day-the concept-all of it.  I hope all the moms out there felt loved and special and honored.  I know I verbalized it, texted it, e-mailed it, mailed it, called it and thought about it for all the special mom's that I"m acquainted with.  

I can't even begin to explain how much more I understand my childhood and my own mother after becoming one.  I can't count how many times I have said "sorry" to my mom in my head while being a parent.  A big ol' sorry for all the little age appropriate things I did to annoy her.  But I smirk knowing I brought her some type of joy here or there.  She is/was/will always be the perfect mom for me.  Just like I am for my boys.

A few special Mother's Day links that I enjoyed.... (Check 'em out even though it's come and gone.  If you are a mom, you'll most likely enjoy.  If you aren't, but you have a mom or want to be one, you'll probably enjoy.)

A post from a friend far away---oh how I miss her.  I love how she wrote this-it made me feel it.  Is she a great writer or what?  An even better mom!

This post had a shout out to me and it made my day even more special.  

I don't have a daughter but I still got a kick out of this. 

This one is written by a mother of 4. I love her writing style.  This one hits home because I have 2 boys and I just liked it. 

Color

Before:

During:

After:

Special:

Special again:

Funny Bride to Be:

Paparazzi In Charge:

Colorful:

We were exhausted and colorful.
We did it.  The Color Run.

Images from travels

A few weeks ago my boys and I traveled far and wide to visit my sister and her family.  My mom came along for the ride, to help it all go smoother and to spend some time with her grandchildren and daughters.

I never made time to post about the trip, therefore I'm just going to share my images.  A few of my favorite things about the trip were:

-Everyone made it very easy for me to be gluten free
-Sydney was interested in Hughie, the car seat and Hughies nuk
-Eli got some alone time with Uncle Ed after a nap while we dress shopped (well the other kids were there too, but I heard uncle ed had to change Eli's diaper.)
-Hughie slept awesome while were there.  Eli did too!  That made it so much easier on me and Aunt Sarah got to her exercise class.
-Eli got to spend time showing his "big" cousins his Trains, Diggers, Planes and fire trucks app on the ipad
-First episode of Downton Abbey with Grandma Barb
-Happy Hour with the neighbors and trains outside
-We saw a huge helicopter flying right above the house-wow
-Eli and Grandma had some bonding time while I nursed Hugh in the car

Here are some images...

What are they looking at? Eli is so excited...

Look at that helicopter!

How can we not want to get back in the car and go right back????

Survival

A lot has happened since I last posted.

I survived.

You knew I would.  Andy was sure I would.  And here I am....still alive.  I made it to work and back.

I knew the boys would make it through their day.  I wasn't sure about myself.  But I did it.

It was awful and ok at the same time.  Awful because I couldn't stop thinking about what THEY were doing and if they were ok.  It was ok because I made it.  It was long and grueling, hard and emotional.  Physically I was exhausted at the end of the day.  But when Wednesday ended, and I walked out of the building to my car, I was wide eyed.  It was my Friday!  4 days away.  A vacation! 

It will be a while before we get into a routine.  The first morning Eli slept in.  So Andy had a nice morning with just Hugh.  The second morning, Hugh slept in.  I'm so blessed to have a husband who can get both boys off for the day. 

The day between my 2 long work days I spent with the boys and worked in the evening.  It was quiet there and I got done what I needed to.  I came home and Eli was already asleep (bliss) and Hugh was waiting for me...if you know what I mean.  Again, blessed.  But the day we spent together was truly amazing.  The weather was perfect and the boys were angels.  We ventured outside and this is what my view was.

To my right

Right in front of me



To my left

It's true...there is so much beauty in the world. Everywhere I looked-beauty.

There is so much more to jot down...but I'm about to get on the floor and play trains (what else?).  We will meet daddy for lunch at his work.  Maybe a walk in the stroller.  Dinner on the deck?  Oh and final touches on plans for a shower being thrown this weekend for my future sister in law.  More posts to come...hopefully.  For now---I'll leave you with a smile.