It Could Have Been a Bad Day

So today turned out pretty well compared to how it could have turned out had I let doom and gloom take over. We had a terrible night sleeping. I went to bed later than I would have liked and then Baby M was up like 5 or more times and R had a terrible nightmare that caused him to freak out and therefore, wake me up. My alarm went off at 6am and I felt like I hadn't slept a wink. Instead of starting the day off on this bad foot I decided that I was going to make coffee, have a big mug, and just decide that I was going to have a good day.

It was really cold today, like -13 degrees this morning and so I went out to my car to start it up early so it could heat up and low and behold it would not start. Again, I could have gotten all upset and let it ruin my day but instead I went in and woke up R and started getting the kids ready to put in his car so that he could drive me to work. I luckily had plenty of time to deal with this situation and still be to work early. I was not going to allow anything to bring down my morning. Having a bad day is just how you react to things that happen. I chose not to have a bad day and in the end my day turned out really great. I subbed in a 4/5 split classroom and the kids were awesome. The teacher was so organized and her lesson plans were so great!

I got a really nice compliment from another teacher at the school I was at today. She told me that they (all the teachers) think I'm fabulous and offered to keep me in mind for a sub job next fall. She's pregnant and due in July so she's planning on taking the first couple weeks of school off. It made me feel really good that I have built a reputation for myself, now I just wish that I could land a long term position this year!

So all in all I chose the day I was going to have today and it is possible when everything seems to be going wrong to still have a wonderful day! Here are some pictures that I promised. I love that just looking at my kids puts a big smile on my face, how could you not have a good day after looking at them?? (I know, I'm biased :) )

Christmas and Beyond

We had a very nice Christmas. Thank goodness I had this blog because I went back to one of my posts from last year to figure out how we did the gift opening and Santa present thing. It settled an argument that R and I had and he won!!! I didn't remember doing all family presents on Christmas eve and then waking up and doing Santa presents but that is in fact what we did. In my family growing up we always did everything on Christmas morning which is what I wanted to do this year but since we did it R's way last year we kept with our newly formed family tradition and did it the same way this year.

I actually have to say that I enjoy doing it that way better. R prepared a yummy Christmas dinner of goose and roasted chicken with roasted potatoes and veggies along with stuffing and rolls. It was simple but tasted awesome! After dinner we opened presents and then set out cookies and carrot/celery sticks for Santa and the reindeer. We tucked Little man into bed around 8:30pm and when he was asleep got all the Santa gifts perched under the tree along with the stockings filled.

We woke up Christmas morning and opened Santa presents and then prepared breakfast. I usually go all out with an elaborate Christmas brunch but since we were missing my brother and low on funds I just made Ginger.bread waffles and my dad cooked his homemade cinnamon rolls he had made a few weeks earlier and then froze. We ate breakfast and then packed to head to my grandparent's house. We got there around 12:30 and then opened gifts there around 4pm. Santa (aka my Uncle K) came and visited the kids. (He's Santa for my town's Christmas festival so he brought the suit to surprise the kids) We ate dinner at 5pm and then just hung out for the rest of the night.

On Friday my mom, Baby M and I went over to my aunt's house and visited for awhile. She had Christmas presents for the boys and we had one for her grandson. It was a nice visit. When we got back from there R, Little man and I went to Cabel.as so that Little man could see all the animals and the aquarium. It's pretty huge and R had never been there, it gave us something to do so that we didn't get too bored. We had dinner, celebrated my brothers birthday, and then watched some movies.

Saturday we had brunch and then got on the road about 3:30pm to come home. Little man went home with my parents so that he could have some undivided attention from Grandma and Grandpa and so I could get stuff done around the house and get milk pumped and frozen in preparation for my return to work. On Sunday R and I went to the mall and to Ol.d Nav.y so that I could spend the gift cards that we received for Christmas.

Overall, it was a very nice holiday. We definitely celebrated family and it was more simple than normal because of our situation. It was the best holiday that we've had so far and I pray that this teaches us to celebrate the reason for the holiday and to keep it more simple in the past. It's not all about money and elaborate things.

3 months and 45 months

How the time flies, Baby M is already 3 months old and Little man is exactly 3 1/2 years older, which makes 45 months. I can't believe it's been three months already since I've given birth and it saddens me a bit to think of how fast he's growing. In three short months Baby M has grown so big that he's definitely in 6 months clothing, though he can still snugly wear some 3-6 month stuff. I'm buying 9 month stuff because I'm sure he'll be in it before we know it. He's started cooing and making noises, especially when we're playing with him. He's very close to rolling over when he's on his back. Right now if we put him on his blanket on the floor he will rotate around in a circle, though still staying on his back. He's much more mobile than Little man ever was. From day one he's scooted out of his bop.py and just been fighting laying down in one place. He's almost to the giggling point, showing big smiles and doing this sort of laugh thing when he's really happy. We have a bit of tummy time everyday, some days he likes it and other days he doesn't.

His sleeping patterns are very inconsistent as well as where he sleeps at night. He's definitely napping and sleeping more in his crib but we still use the bouncy chair sometimes. When I'm getting ready in the morning he'll sleep on his bop.py next to R because I know someone is right there with him and I can frequently check on him. He's making it more 3 hour stretches at night but he still feeds A LOT! I'm up several times per night. I'll feed him and he'll be asleep so I'll put him in his crib. That will last about 5 minutes, enough time for me to settle snugly into bed and then he'll start crying, in which R will go in and get him back to sleep so I can get some rest. Baby M love music! Most nights he's listening to the extensive Dav.e Matthe.ws playlist on the IPOD that I created for when I was in labor and more recently he's started listening to the Bab.y Einstei.n classica.l lullibie.s.

Little man is getting huge! He's already growing out of some of his 4T and 5T clothing that I bought him to start school. So he's pretty much in 5T except for Ol.d. Na.vy which I've had to go to the "big boy" sizes now because the little boy 5T's are too small. I hate that clothing sizes are different everywhere. Every day Little man cracks me up. His latest saying is "Oh good grief" since we've recently been watching holiday Charli.e Brow.n cartoons. It's so funny because if something doesn't quite go his way we hear an "Oh good grief" with the best emotion in his voice! His vocabulary amazes me every day!

He's loving preschool and anticipates every Tuesday and Thursday. He can write his first name really well and can finally count perfectly from 1-20, he was getting mixed up with 14, 15, and 16 but those days are long gone. He can safely go much farther than 20 but still occasionally gets mixed up with a few here and there. His coloring is more controlled and he's staying in the lines a little better. He's been creating the cutest holiday craft projects so our back door has become his mini "art gallery." I just love kids art work hanging up in our house! Oh and my most favorite skill that he has acquired is the fact that he can say the Pled.ge of Allegian.ce all by himself. He demonstrates his new skill frequently and even gets his little flag that he got at the 4th of Jul.y parade to hold while he's saying it, so incredibly cute!

Little man LOVES his baby brother so much. He'll play with him and show him all the toys he has. I know he's super excited for when he can really play with him. He'll bounce him if he's crying or gets upset in his bouncy seat. He gives him lots of hugs and kisses and asks to hold him. He even said that Baby M was going to be his best friend when he gets a little older and can play with him. He truly was at a great age and was so ready for a sibling. He'll sit and read books to Baby M. We really need a video camera to capture all these precious moments.

So that's a little peek into their development and mainly a written account for me so I can remember these developmental stages in their lives. I'll post soon about our Thanksgiving and life situation.

Wordless Wednesday

I definitely need some help in figuring out how to post pictures, I can't get them to go where I want them and post text in between. I'll keep working on it.

Food Rut and an Update

So since having Baby M I've been in the biggest food rut, nothing sounds good, well except sweets. I seriously think about what to have for lunch or dinner and sweets are the only thing that sound good. Usually I can find something moderately appetizing to have for breakfast since that to me is the simplest meal but lunch and dinner drive me crazy. I open up the fridge and just stare only to move on to the pantry where I do the same. Of course I can think of foods that I would like to eat but they are all things that we don't have the ingredients for, so usually I just go hungry until I get desperate and just have something like a bowl of cereal or cheese and crackers. I think it may have something to do with breastfeeding. Many of the foods that I love don't really agree well with Baby M so I've been very conscious of eating only foods that I know won't cause him gas.

R had his phone interview this morning, though she called later than she scheduled so he was pretty nervous he got stood up, apparently she was just running behind. He thinks that it went very well. It was great experience. I would be surprised if he got the job because they have around 20 very solid candidates and it's a huge job. They aren't hiring until the end of next month so we'll see what happens. His other interview is an in person interview and it's on Wednesday. My interview for substitute teaching is tomorrow at 4pm. I have been able to make a ton of money this month online tutoring and then since I'm a certified teacher I can make $90 per day subbing. We figured that subbing would make more money than R getting some hourly job which would most likely include nights and weekends and not make much more than minimum wage. Plus I can continue to online tutor in addition so hopefully we'll be able to make ends meet until a job comes along.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Baby M has his one month appointment, hard to believe he's already 4 weeks old!!!! In addition to his appointment I have my check up with the OB. Little man has preschool and then I have my interview at 4pm. Tomorrow is also the last day that we have health insurance. I'm going to ask the dr for a script for birth control and get one month filled along with my prenatal vitamins refilled and then we'll go from there. I'm either going to pay out of pocket or use the government assistance that I qualify for. It's hard to believe that September is already over and we are moving on to the scariest time of our lives. This is worse then when we moved up to MI because R was still working for his job in FL, via the computer so we were making money and living with my parents expense free. Surprisingly I'm not worried, something will work out!.

Baby M has grown so much in the past month. He's working on smiling and is more alert during his awake time, which is still minimal during the day. He was sleeping pretty much through the night but then after his cold his sleep schedule has been off. He's been up and fussy much more at night. I have been sleeping on the couch and he's been alternating between sleeping in his bouncy seat, crib, swing, and bo.ppy. It's been easier for me just to take care of him at night. When R and I were sharing neither one of us got any sleep and it was just inconsistent. I have been able to get sleep most nights. Little man loves his baby brother. He's constantly helping and loves to just stare and talk to him. The other morning he told R that he thought Baby M would like to watch a Bab.y Eins.tein show and asked him to face his bouncy seat toward the TV. It was cute, though I don't really want Baby M getting attached to TV at an early age, haha. He loves baths and hates getting his diaper changed! R and I were getting pretty overwhelmed with all the cloth diapers so we finally chose our favorite and ordered more so we could use the same type of diaper. We are mainly using pocket diapers and our favorite is the Bu.m Geniu.s 3.o. It's supposed to grow with them so we shouldn't have to buy any other sizes. So far they have been great!

The Latest

I've been meaning to blog for several days but times are definitely busy! I had my baby shower this past weekend and that was very nice. We got catered food from a local Italian restaurant. My mom ordered a cake from a bakery and came down on Friday night to spend the whole weekend. The shower was a noon on Saturday and that was a bit stressful because there was a lot to do to get ready for the shower. There were only about 10 people because quite a few couldn't make it but it ended up being the perfect amount. I got some cute clothes but was pretty disappointed that people didn't shop from the registry because there were some things that we needed really bad and since R isn't working we have no money to purchase the items on our own. I ended up taking several things back to Babi.es R U.S the day after the shower so I could get the things that I really needed.

Baby M was sleeping really well but recently has been up pretty much most of the night. It's been trial and error to see what his deal is and how to remedy him being nocturnal. Last night actually went pretty well, though I won't be splitting shifts with R. He thought it would be a good idea if we took shifts. I would stay up with him until around 1am and then R would get up and stay up for a period, repeat. R went to bed around 10:30-11pm and I stayed up with Baby M. I ended up getting him to go to sleep and actually got some rest from about 11pm until 2am. Usually the night time is when Baby M is fussy and cries a lot so I was prepared for a long couple hours, but pleasantly surprised that he slept and slept well for that matter. I know I'm probably a bad parent for doing this but he sleeps really well on his bopp.y so we prop him very carefully and safely on the couch and I was sleeping on the couch right next to him. When he woke up at around 2am I fed him and then changed his diaper and figured it was a good time to wake up R and retreat to bed for a couple more hours of sleep. Well R did not have any luck and Baby M was crying and very fussy and so I got up at 3am and tried to help but that just made R mad because he wanted me to sleep and I think was insulted that I got up to "try to help" but I couldn't sleep with him crying. Finally I got up at 4am because R was just not being effective and was frustrated and it just wasn't a good situation. I'm much better able to deal with being up at night and better able to get him to calm down and actually get some sleep. Plus it's too hard to communicate with another person at that hour of the morning so there is consistency and both people are on the same page. I ended up getting him to go to sleep pretty much immediately at 4am and we both slept until 6am when my alarm went off.

The nights are definitely hard but I'm just going to take responsibility. If R was working I would be doing it anyway so I mine as well get used to it and give Baby M some consistency at night rather than being passed back and forth and one person not knowing what the other is doing. I think I can grab some naps through out the day so hopefully this works out better. I'm done putting up with R's frustration in the middle of the night. I'm not blaming him because it's damn frustrating when a baby won't stop crying and you feel as though you've done everything you can think of and usually R keeps his cool but I think it's wearing on him and things aren't running smooth.

Still no news about any jobs :( R never heard back from that phone interview so he didn't make it to the next step with that job. He's applied for several but apparently he's been passed up or things are just running really slowly. I jump every time the phone rings praying that the caller ID will light up with the name of a potential job. He did get news that there is a possibility for him to do some contract work for a friend who works at a university down in FL. He's calling about that today. I can't believe that it's already the end of September. I'm starting to look into getting government assistance and researching what programs are out there for the kids and health insurance. It makes me sick to my stomach to know that we both have freaking master's degrees and I'm typing welfare and W.I.C into my goo.gle search engine. Times like this really makes me wonder if we should have ever left F.L. in the first place. Though it was expensive we both had really good paying jobs and insurance.

Yesterday all of us went to the dentist. We've been trying to get all dr appts out of the way before insurance runs out in a week. (so scary to think about!) Luckily, we all had great visits and no cavities. R and I got a full set of X-rays and a cleaning, everything looks great. Little Man had his first visit and he did SO GREAT!!!!! It was really fun for him and the hygienist was really wonderful. It helped that she had three kids of her own all under 5. I got some really cute pictures. My mom stayed and went with us so she could watch Baby M while we were getting our teeth cleaned because R and I had to go at the same time. Next week I have my check up at the OB/GY.N and Baby M has his one month check up. We successfully made it through the colds that Little man and Baby M had so hopefully we stay healthy until we get insurance again.

I'm going to try to blog more because it's a sort of therapy for me when I get stressed. I'm staying positive though and really hoping that we are okay during this tough time. I've been tutoring a lot so I'm able to make money to cover my bills and contribute to the family. I'll keep everyone updated about how things are going!

So Tired!

I'm about 2/3 of the way through the birth story so that will be posted soon, I promise. I wrote the majority of it in one sitting and then let it sit for awhile so I could be sure to add little details here and there that I forgot. This week has gone pretty good. The past 2 nights though Baby M has been nocturnal so that's been really rough. He sleeps most of the day but then gets really fussy and stack feeds from about 10pm-1am. Last night he didn't settle down for bed until around 3:30am. It makes for a really long day. I always have grand plans to catch a nap here or there but that never really seems to pan out. I can't complain though because I've at least been getting a shower on a daily basis :o)

Little man has been doing really well. He really enjoys preschool! It's been a little over a week since he started and he's already sick though :o( It's just a cold, but I'm really hoping he doesn't pass it kindly to his little bro. Mainly he just has a stuffy/runny nose and coughing a little. R and I have been making it a point to spend individual time with him as well as show him one on one attention with the baby not around. I took him to the neighbors to play yesterday for about an hour and he really enjoyed that. Overall, he's been doing very well and definitely loves his baby bro.

We've been getting a lot of rain lately but we've had some just gorgeous days with cooler temps and sunshine. I've been trying to get out for a walk everyday with Baby M which usually puts him to sleep. Baby M is much feistier than Little man. He's picking up his head for pretty long periods of time for a newborn. He always has his hands up by his face which makes it nearly impossible to feed him. Every time I need to feed him I have to pull his arms down and then the quickly pop right back in front of his face. He his so strong so pulling his arms away feels like I'm going to break him! He's already scooted himself out of his bopp.y.

Feeding has been going pretty well. He's pretty much eating every 2-3 hours but then at night I'm not sure what his deal is because he prefers to be attached to me for 2-3 hours straight from like 10pm-12 or 1am. I guess we're going to try to keep him up more during the day in hopes that he'll sleep more during the night. Prior to the night before last he was sleeping 5-6 hours at a time, still fussy from about 10pm-12am but after that he'd pretty much sleep for a good stretch without waking up too much. I would have to wake him up to feed so I wasn't too uncomfortable. I should have known that was too good to be true.

Well that's all for now. I'm going to work on finishing the birth story today and hopefully get some more pictures posted. We have a really cute one of the four of us.

Life with Two

Wow, things have been busy. There are so many things that I'm wishing I would have done before the birth but oh well I'm slowly getting them accomplished. I should have gotten all my pump parts washed and sterilized because I have to check today that I'm making enough milk. I took Baby M to the dr this morning because he's not urinating enough. It's really hard with the circumcision to tell if he peed or not because we're having to use so much petroleum jelly to cover the circumcision. The dr. told me he looked great and that I should pump both breasts to make sure I'm getting at least 2-3 ozs. I guess I should have supplemented with formula until my milk came in but no one really talked to me about that so I was unaware. Guess I should have figured that one out being a second time mom but I didn't have to do that with Little man.

My brother has been helping out so much with Little man. R worked Wednesday and then today is his last day. My hormones have been getting the best of me lately thinking about both of us not working, but he's applied for several jobs so hopefully he'll have some luck. I guess I'm most scared about losing insurance right when Little man is starting preschool. He's been away from the daycare/preschool setting for over a year so I'm sure his immunity isn't what it once was and then with the new baby I'm scared he'll be bringing home germs to share, guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Little man's first day of preschool was a parent and child day and was shortened from 9-10:30. He had a really great time and we took lots of really cute pictures. I'm really going to try to blog in detail about his first day and everything that's gone on for the past couple days so I have the account to look back on.

There's so much more to write but I have to get lunch made and feed Baby M soon so it will have to wait. Oh can I just say that the birth worked out just the way I had hoped and I'm so glad we didn't have the induction on the 29th! Thanks for all your advice, support and comments, they mean so much to me!!!!!!!

Seriously?

So I'm pretty sure I have a UT.I. I called the dr's office this morning and they sent me for a urinalysis, but the results won't be back until tomorrow morning. Last night I was seriously up at least 10 times in the first hour I went to bed, each time peeing like a tablespoon, and leaving the bathroom feeling like I still had to go. I was up until midnight and finally took a shower to try to relax because I was so annoyed, uncomfortable, and worked up. I finally fell asleep after the shower and slept straight until 4:30am. Prior, around 10:30 I drank about 4 cups of water in hopes that maybe I just needed more fluids and things would be fine, but upon waking up this morning I still have the urge to go all the time and not much is coming out.

My mom took Little man home with her so that we could get things straightened out and work on getting prepared for the new baby. I assured Little man that if the baby decided to come when he was at grandma and grandpa's that they would bring him to the hospital right away. He will get more attention since my brother is there and I'll be able to get things done around here and figure out this UT.I crap. Also, R will have time to start looking for jobs in the evening when he gets home and not feel like he's depriving Little man of attention. I haven't been feeling well either so it will give me some time to rest.

Three Years Old!!!!

I absolutely cannot believe that it's been three years since Little man was born. We had the most awesome birthday party for him yesterday with over 30 people in attendance! He had such a good time and R and I were so happy that it went so well. It was also a chance for people to see our new house since we haven't had many visitors since we moved in. The party started at 3pm and we did presents, then cake and ice cream, followed by dinner. I decided on a mexican theme which I have to thank Chas for, she recommended the dip that sparked my decision on a food theme. We had that cheese dip, another mexican dip, taco dip, and then tacos and nachos. We had a C.ars theme since Little man is obsessed with the movie. I found plates, napkins, cups, table cloths, and party favors that all matched. My mom made the best, Li.ghting Mc.Queen cake that was all decorated and then cupcakes to go along with the cake because it wasn't that big. Overall, it was a great time! I wish it was warm in March because it would have been really nice to have the outside available as well because it was a lot people.

I'll try to post some pictures as people e-mail them to me.

Ahhh it's Friday!!

The weeks are just flying by!!!! I swear it was just Monday! I did get a lot accomplished this week but there is still a lot to do. Yesterday we went to a playdate at the neighbor's house again. This time T invited all her stay at home mommy friends so I got to meet so many people and then Little man had a lot more kids to play with. I love getting to talk to other mommys and having more kids for Little man to socialize with. What I've found though is that his age they all play with separate toys and aren't into playing with each other really, still though, at least there are other kids around.

We are still working on potty training. E the neighbor boy just turned 2 in Sept. and he's already potty trained!!!!! He has an older cousin so I guess that helped him a lot. It's helped Little man too because he got to see E use the potty and get a treat so since our first play date Little man has been wearing underwear during the day. He's had quite a few accidents but he's doing better and I've been more consistent and taken all of T's advice about how to do it. I've been setting the timer on the microwave and we try every 30 minutes. He gets a tattoo or sticker everytime he goes and I give him tons of praise. I'll keep my fingers crossed that we'll be potty trained by 3!!!!!

I don't know what we are doing this weekend but I hope it involved relaxing and we have to take Little man to see Santa Claus. My mom and brother are also supposed to be coming down to bring more stuff that we forgot and so my bro can see the house. He just had surgery on his hand yesterday so he's in a cast for two weeks and can't do much over Christmas break. The surgeon started cutting into the wrong finger so that was the big drama during his surgery. I guess the risk management team had to meet with my parents in a secluded room. The doctor was joking a lot with them prior to the surgery so they thought he was joking when he told them he cut into the wrong finger to begin, but apparently he did and he wasn't joking. Crazy!

Little man has been waking up earlier and earlier every morning and taking a shorter nap so I've been having to adjust my schedule and find more activities to fill our days. It's so hard being stuck in the house or outside the house not being able to go anywhere. I don't have a car since I don't have a job (can't afford one) so we are extremely limited to what we can do. I think I'm going to have to quit the play group I found because I can't get to any of the events. Luckily, I have the neighbor, but still that's maybe once per week that we get together. I would love to call her everyday to hang out but I know that would definitely overwhelm her. She's the type that loves staying home and her house is perfect so I imagine that she keeps pretty busy. Plus she has two kids.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!