Yesterday I was with the kids at Target and we were walking through the dog food isle (our biggest joy in shopping because Frankie and Joey both love to look at the doggy faces on the boxes and bags and squeeze the chew toys), when Joey found and picked up a toy car that was left in the wrong section of the store. It was a little Hot Wheels car - a new obsession of Joey's - and he felt he had to have it.
We have never had any problems while shopping of Joey wanting something and begging for it, or making a big scene about not buying something. His tantrums have never been related to wanting a toy and not being able to get it. However, he was fixated on this car - a little Snoopy and the Peanuts 'Winter Wonderland' car with red skis painted on top. He asked me if we could get it, and I told him no and that we had plenty of cars at home and even some Hot Wheels, and he should be thankful for everything that he has. "But," I told him, "You can hold it the whole time we shop!" As he held the car, his intense love for it grew and he began incessantly badgering me to buy it for him.
"I'll make you a deal." I told him. "We will go take the car to a special box that will tell us the price. If the car costs one dollar or less, we can buy it. If it costs more than a dollar, we won't buy it."
"Where's the box?"
"We'll find it along our shopping trip. We're not going to go now. You just hold onto it until we get there."
"Where's the box?"
"If you ask me where the box is one more time, you can't hold the car anymore."
*wiggling around, dying to ask me when we're going to the box*
I almost passed the red 'scan item' box, but was reminded by the look in Joey's eye that we needed to do this, and SOON!
"Ah, here's the box." I said. "Hand me the car and let's check together."
--------$5.50--------
"The car costs $5.50. That's much more than $1.00. Daddy and I didn't plan to spend money buying a car this day, especially one that costs so much of the money daddy earns at Nvidia. I'm sorry that it was more than $1.00. We can't buy the car today."
Joey, thoughtful, looks up at me hopefully and says, "But, mommy! Counting to five is SUPER fast. It's not hard. It's really really easy. Watch! I'll show you. 1,2,3,4,5. There! Five! Now we have five!"
"Counting and having money are two different things. I know you can count to five quickly, but that's not what money is."
"But, it is fast."
"Yes, Joey. It is fast."
"Why can't you spend your money on this car? It's only five!"
"When we spend daddy's money, mommy tries to be careful about what we spend it on. We want to spend it on things that will benefit our whole family, not just one person - things like food, medicine, our new van, and gas. Things that are only for one of us are for special occasions like birthdays. Maybe you can ask for this vehicle for your birthday! That would be special."
"Ya. But, I just want to have it right now."
"I know, buddy."
"I can just hold it until we leave."
"That sounds good."
When we got to the till, Joey put the car on the conveyor belt with a mischievous look in his eye.
He motioned for me to move in closer and put his face close to mine.
"Mommy, don't tell the woman that the car is on the conveyor belt. Don't tell her. Just leave it there, okay?"
"I can leave it for now, but we're going to have to take it off and tell her that we're not going to be buying it when it's our turn."
"No. No, mommy. Mommy. Just don't tell her and then she'll get it for us! She won't know!"
"Joey," (laughing) "That's not how it works! She scans our items right here (as I show him a bar code of one of the things we're buying) and it comes up with a price on her computer. Then, mommy pays for it all at the end."
"Ya, but if you don't tell her, maybe she'll just put it in the bag! I think she will! She's going to do it! OHhhh! I think she's going to doooo it!!!!"
"Joey, it's not going to work! It doesn't work like that."
"Mommy. Mommy. Just leave it, okay? Just leave it on there. She'll get it for us. She won't even see it! I don't think she's even going to see it! Ohhhh! She doesn't see it!!!"
When it was our turn, I told the lady that we're not going to be purchasing that car and Joey put his hands on his head, "Ahh! Mommy! She wouldn't have seen it. You shouldn't have said anything."
It was soooo funny.
We decided to put it on his birthday wishlist when we got home.
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Friday, May 5, 2017
Lately
Ah! it's been months since I wrote a blog post. I'm gonna start with some things Joey says/has said to try to remember themmmm.
"Mommy, have you ever had an adult in your tummy?"
"No, that sounds uncomfortable! Have you?"
"No. Mommy? Is the baby girl going to be a mommy?"
"Probably some day! We don't know yet!"
"I can't wait for the baby to be my mommy!"
*wakes up out of a dead sleep*
"Mommy! I know what I need! I know exactly what I want!"
"What's that, sweetie?"
"I teeny, tiny. like the smallest red truck. Sooo small. Really, really small. That's all I want."
"Did you see one somewhere? Or were you just thinking about it?"
"I was just thinking about it."
"How small is small?"
*holds fingers sooo close together so there's the tiniest gap of air possible and squints eyes*
"This small. This is how small I want it. Just as tiny as it can be."
J: do you want an owie Frankie?
F: Ya
J: Are you sure? They hurt
F: Ya
J: They hurt and you'll have them for your whole life
There are SO many more awesome things that Joey says on, like, a daily basis, but alas I haven't written even one of them down, so I only remember the ones that stick out from the last two days. I need to start writing down more because I know they'll be so fun for him to look at when he's older.
Also, lately he's been acting SO grown up with just the way he talks. For instance, I asked him if he wanted to play a game with me and he replied,
"Ya, sure. Which game were you thinking of?"
"I was thinking we could play Zingo."
"Sure. I mean, if you really want to, we could play that game." (with hand gestures and a slightly furrowed brow)
"We don't have to play that. Did you have something else in mind?"
"I would prefer to play Uno."
It just felt like I was talking to a way older kid and not a three year old who cries over me not watching him put his pants on and it was sooo weird. I feel like that's a conversation I'll never forget, not because it was remarkable in any way, but because it was the first time I saw Joey as growing up into a kid and not being a toddler anymore.
What else is new with my Joey? He's into trying new things all the time at the park, like climbing to the top of things and he's really observing older kids and trying out things that they're doing. It really amazes me because he's a really cautious kid. He'll try to do a flip over a bar when he sees an older kid do it (like a realllly sad attempt over and over), and ask the kid how they did it and if they can show him again. He's becoming way more outgoing in that way. He'll tell kids things about himself and ask them their names and stuff without me nudging him. It's a totally new experience and I love watching him grow socially! I'm so impressed with his new-found social skills!
Him and Frankie have been fighting a little more lately as she rolls on into the almost two year old age of wanting things her way, independence, and a little bit of attitude. She's so stinkin' cute. It's unreal how sweet and cute she is. And the things she says! And the way she says things with her little raspy voice! She's Joey's little parrot! If he says that blue doggy did something funny and describes it to me, Frankie will chime in and tell me all about what pink bunny did in the exact same way. She's forever wanting to be included in everything Joey's doing and always pats her chest with both hands, saying, "Me, too! Me, too!"
She's the ultimate bedtime staller. Stuart and I FINALLY have a handle on it (I think...) but, it was bad for a couple weeks there. Like, she would scream and freak out at bed time for LITERALLY HOURS and NOTHING we would do would satisfy her because she was just... well, not wanting to go to bed and that's really what her issue was. There was nothing actually wrong. Completely opposite of Joey, she HATES going to bed. Like, ever.
I thought the funniest thing ever was, after being frustrated on and off for hours, I had caved and rocked her to sleep and was just putting her limp, asleep body in bed, when she deliriously raised her hand, started to cry, and said, "Hang nail, mommy! Hang nail!" hahahahahahaha! Joey's OBSESSED with having hang nails, so she figured it would be a good excuse to get out of bed. ohh my gosh, it was really hilarious. I like actually started laughing out loud.
Annnnnnd - what else? We've been doing lots of fun things lately outdoors. I LOVE spring/summer here. There's always so much to do with your kids! Lots of REALLY cool parks that literally cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to design and are amazing, free, and open to the public, and a bunch of great water places to take your kids (the beach OBVIOUSLY being the number one).
Here are some pics of me and the kids lately:
"Mommy, have you ever had an adult in your tummy?"
"No, that sounds uncomfortable! Have you?"
"No. Mommy? Is the baby girl going to be a mommy?"
"Probably some day! We don't know yet!"
"I can't wait for the baby to be my mommy!"
*wakes up out of a dead sleep*
"Mommy! I know what I need! I know exactly what I want!"
"What's that, sweetie?"
"I teeny, tiny. like the smallest red truck. Sooo small. Really, really small. That's all I want."
"Did you see one somewhere? Or were you just thinking about it?"
"I was just thinking about it."
"How small is small?"
*holds fingers sooo close together so there's the tiniest gap of air possible and squints eyes*
"This small. This is how small I want it. Just as tiny as it can be."
J: do you want an owie Frankie?
F: Ya
J: Are you sure? They hurt
F: Ya
J: They hurt and you'll have them for your whole life
There are SO many more awesome things that Joey says on, like, a daily basis, but alas I haven't written even one of them down, so I only remember the ones that stick out from the last two days. I need to start writing down more because I know they'll be so fun for him to look at when he's older.
Also, lately he's been acting SO grown up with just the way he talks. For instance, I asked him if he wanted to play a game with me and he replied,
"Ya, sure. Which game were you thinking of?"
"I was thinking we could play Zingo."
"Sure. I mean, if you really want to, we could play that game." (with hand gestures and a slightly furrowed brow)
"We don't have to play that. Did you have something else in mind?"
"I would prefer to play Uno."
It just felt like I was talking to a way older kid and not a three year old who cries over me not watching him put his pants on and it was sooo weird. I feel like that's a conversation I'll never forget, not because it was remarkable in any way, but because it was the first time I saw Joey as growing up into a kid and not being a toddler anymore.
What else is new with my Joey? He's into trying new things all the time at the park, like climbing to the top of things and he's really observing older kids and trying out things that they're doing. It really amazes me because he's a really cautious kid. He'll try to do a flip over a bar when he sees an older kid do it (like a realllly sad attempt over and over), and ask the kid how they did it and if they can show him again. He's becoming way more outgoing in that way. He'll tell kids things about himself and ask them their names and stuff without me nudging him. It's a totally new experience and I love watching him grow socially! I'm so impressed with his new-found social skills!
Him and Frankie have been fighting a little more lately as she rolls on into the almost two year old age of wanting things her way, independence, and a little bit of attitude. She's so stinkin' cute. It's unreal how sweet and cute she is. And the things she says! And the way she says things with her little raspy voice! She's Joey's little parrot! If he says that blue doggy did something funny and describes it to me, Frankie will chime in and tell me all about what pink bunny did in the exact same way. She's forever wanting to be included in everything Joey's doing and always pats her chest with both hands, saying, "Me, too! Me, too!"
She's the ultimate bedtime staller. Stuart and I FINALLY have a handle on it (I think...) but, it was bad for a couple weeks there. Like, she would scream and freak out at bed time for LITERALLY HOURS and NOTHING we would do would satisfy her because she was just... well, not wanting to go to bed and that's really what her issue was. There was nothing actually wrong. Completely opposite of Joey, she HATES going to bed. Like, ever.
I thought the funniest thing ever was, after being frustrated on and off for hours, I had caved and rocked her to sleep and was just putting her limp, asleep body in bed, when she deliriously raised her hand, started to cry, and said, "Hang nail, mommy! Hang nail!" hahahahahahaha! Joey's OBSESSED with having hang nails, so she figured it would be a good excuse to get out of bed. ohh my gosh, it was really hilarious. I like actually started laughing out loud.
Annnnnnd - what else? We've been doing lots of fun things lately outdoors. I LOVE spring/summer here. There's always so much to do with your kids! Lots of REALLY cool parks that literally cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to design and are amazing, free, and open to the public, and a bunch of great water places to take your kids (the beach OBVIOUSLY being the number one).
Here are some pics of me and the kids lately:
Sunday, January 15, 2017
What's New?
Now in the mornings instead of writing in my blog, I've been reading the bible. BUT, I still want to blog! It's just way more of a challenge to find the time/energy to do it at a different point in the day.
I'm so happy that I've started reading the bible again on a consistent basis. I feel like even just the act of doing this is a good discipline for me and I'm trying really hard not to have regret for not doing it more consistently earlier on. Regret is pointless. So, I'm just trying to look forward and think how happy I am to have made this choice now instead of in 20 years when my kids are out of the house and I 'have time'.
What's new in my pregnancy? Let's see! I'm 23 weeks pregnant today and still feeling great. The only time that I feel not-so-great is when I'm trying to get comfortable to sleep at night. And I know it's only going to get harder. I totally forgot about this and it's super annoying, but sleeping with a pillow between my legs is helping a bit. The only thing about doing that is, when I unconsciously move in the night, I always get woken up because the massive pillow between my legs gets shifted into a weird position and needs to be adjusted.
But, on a bright note, my energy and mood are high and I've been eating super healthy and really enjoying this stage of pregnancy. AND, Joey is so excited that there will be a new baby sister in the house. When he plays, sometimes he makes one of his cars 'baby sister car'. It's sooo cute. And when we pray, if I forget to mention baby sister, he'll say, 'And baby sister!!!' It's sooo sweet.
What's new with my Joey? He's started to get better at writing letters. It seems to have happened very recently that he can stay on course when he's following the dotted lines on a practice worksheet of, for instance, the letter 'G' on a fairly small practice line. So, that's pretty cool. And I've noticed that when we are working on the worksheets, he can focus for a longer period of time. Oh! And he can color in the lines now (but, he's not really into coloring). As far as crafts go, I'd say he's more into gluing and painting, although he's not eager to do either.
Joey LOVES activities where he can build things. He got a model car that has a bunch of plastic screws that you can drill out (with a toy drill) and take all the pieces apart and rebuild and he can now spend a significant amount of time on that task by himself and independently build the car. He also got a train that does the same thing, except with a manual screw driver, that he has perfected. I find it so interesting how into these kinds of activities he is (and how good he is at them!). It's not surprising though, now that I think about it because he was enjoying doing fairly complicated (25 piece) puzzles independently at two and a half.
What's new with my Frankie? She is saying SO many words now and really tries to say things conversationally that just comes out like nonsense and it's super cute. Sometimes, when Stuart and I are talking, I can see the wheels turning in her little brain as she listens to our conversation and language. She knows all the names of Joey's cars and the Paw Patrol gang figurines.
One thing she loves to do lately is put her stuffed animals to sleep in a little box by laying them inside with a blanket. And in the morning after a few sips of her bottle, she'll try to give her stuffed animals the bottle. So cute! She REALLY likes dog figurines. She lines them up, or puts them in her little house, or a box, or her toy microwave, or tries to put them on top of cars. When I was a little girl, I loved little figurines, too! It's so cute how much she likes them!
She's started to sit nicely during Next Step and now does actions to songs! Joey still isn't into participating in this and never has been. So, it's fun to have a kid that likes participating in this kind of thing because I never got to see it with Joey at her age and it's so adorable.
What's new with sibling dynamic? Joey and Frankie are becoming closer buddies all the time. Sure, there's a little sibling rivalry, but they are two tight little friends. Joey's always asking Frankie to play with him at home. Sometimes they play separately, but sometimes Joey will invite Frankie to play with him in his room and she'll doddle off behind him and the two will play cars together on his road mat.
In their beds in the morning, I'll hear Joey asking Frankie questions or telling her that she's not allowed to yell, or just to be patient for mommy. And she listens to him! It's so cute. At bed time, Stuart has started to put Frankie beside Joey in his tiny bed and the two lay there together nicely while Stuart tells them a bedtime story that he makes up. After the story is over lately, Joey will ask Stuart if Frankie can sleep in his bed with him. SO CUTE!!! When Joey has a bigger bed and Frankie doesn't need the crib anymore, I'm guessing these two little amigos will sleep in the same bed more often than not.
--- that's all for now because my kids are awake! ---
I'm so happy that I've started reading the bible again on a consistent basis. I feel like even just the act of doing this is a good discipline for me and I'm trying really hard not to have regret for not doing it more consistently earlier on. Regret is pointless. So, I'm just trying to look forward and think how happy I am to have made this choice now instead of in 20 years when my kids are out of the house and I 'have time'.
What's new in my pregnancy? Let's see! I'm 23 weeks pregnant today and still feeling great. The only time that I feel not-so-great is when I'm trying to get comfortable to sleep at night. And I know it's only going to get harder. I totally forgot about this and it's super annoying, but sleeping with a pillow between my legs is helping a bit. The only thing about doing that is, when I unconsciously move in the night, I always get woken up because the massive pillow between my legs gets shifted into a weird position and needs to be adjusted.
But, on a bright note, my energy and mood are high and I've been eating super healthy and really enjoying this stage of pregnancy. AND, Joey is so excited that there will be a new baby sister in the house. When he plays, sometimes he makes one of his cars 'baby sister car'. It's sooo cute. And when we pray, if I forget to mention baby sister, he'll say, 'And baby sister!!!' It's sooo sweet.
What's new with my Joey? He's started to get better at writing letters. It seems to have happened very recently that he can stay on course when he's following the dotted lines on a practice worksheet of, for instance, the letter 'G' on a fairly small practice line. So, that's pretty cool. And I've noticed that when we are working on the worksheets, he can focus for a longer period of time. Oh! And he can color in the lines now (but, he's not really into coloring). As far as crafts go, I'd say he's more into gluing and painting, although he's not eager to do either.
Joey LOVES activities where he can build things. He got a model car that has a bunch of plastic screws that you can drill out (with a toy drill) and take all the pieces apart and rebuild and he can now spend a significant amount of time on that task by himself and independently build the car. He also got a train that does the same thing, except with a manual screw driver, that he has perfected. I find it so interesting how into these kinds of activities he is (and how good he is at them!). It's not surprising though, now that I think about it because he was enjoying doing fairly complicated (25 piece) puzzles independently at two and a half.
What's new with my Frankie? She is saying SO many words now and really tries to say things conversationally that just comes out like nonsense and it's super cute. Sometimes, when Stuart and I are talking, I can see the wheels turning in her little brain as she listens to our conversation and language. She knows all the names of Joey's cars and the Paw Patrol gang figurines.
One thing she loves to do lately is put her stuffed animals to sleep in a little box by laying them inside with a blanket. And in the morning after a few sips of her bottle, she'll try to give her stuffed animals the bottle. So cute! She REALLY likes dog figurines. She lines them up, or puts them in her little house, or a box, or her toy microwave, or tries to put them on top of cars. When I was a little girl, I loved little figurines, too! It's so cute how much she likes them!
She's started to sit nicely during Next Step and now does actions to songs! Joey still isn't into participating in this and never has been. So, it's fun to have a kid that likes participating in this kind of thing because I never got to see it with Joey at her age and it's so adorable.
What's new with sibling dynamic? Joey and Frankie are becoming closer buddies all the time. Sure, there's a little sibling rivalry, but they are two tight little friends. Joey's always asking Frankie to play with him at home. Sometimes they play separately, but sometimes Joey will invite Frankie to play with him in his room and she'll doddle off behind him and the two will play cars together on his road mat.
In their beds in the morning, I'll hear Joey asking Frankie questions or telling her that she's not allowed to yell, or just to be patient for mommy. And she listens to him! It's so cute. At bed time, Stuart has started to put Frankie beside Joey in his tiny bed and the two lay there together nicely while Stuart tells them a bedtime story that he makes up. After the story is over lately, Joey will ask Stuart if Frankie can sleep in his bed with him. SO CUTE!!! When Joey has a bigger bed and Frankie doesn't need the crib anymore, I'm guessing these two little amigos will sleep in the same bed more often than not.
--- that's all for now because my kids are awake! ---
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Being a Mom/Wife/Housekeeper
Wanna know something?
It legit is a big job to have 2 kids home all day and be pregnant while taking care of the house and everyone's needs. It really is! I've never quite felt it the way I do these days and it's probably because as my pregnancy is progressing I'm getting more and more tired.
This morning I got woken up by my beautiful children. Joey takes off his night time diaper, wipes himself, and puts his own underwear on now which is a life changer (amazing!) while I change Frankie's diaper. Then it's off to the living room for play time. I hold Frankie while heating up a bottle for her in the microwave and then she sits in the corner of the couch with a big blanket on her and her bunny by her cheek drinking while I remind Joey 3000 times that I would love to play with him, but first need to start brewing my coffee and get fruit ready for him and Frankie.
I shovel fruit into the kids mouths and play with them until I hear the heavenly beep of the coffee maker and tell Joey that mommy needs five minutes to read the bible at the kitchen table. As I read, he stands beside me and asks me to read to him. I read it to him and he has no idea what it means, but he keeps standing there because he likes to be beside me.
Following my five minutes of not-so-quiet time, I feel guilty that I have taken that time and play with the kids on the floor for another 20 minutes or so before going to the kitchen to clean up the tornado of dishes that were left from the previous night when I was too exhausted to clean them up at the end of the day.
I tell Joey that I'm going to go wake up daddy and I sit in the quiet bedroom with Stuart for 1 minute, drinking lukewarm coffee and enjoying the quiet until Joey and Frankie come lumbering in. Breakfast time.
I make a smoothie for Stuart and I and in the midst of it, sneeze coffee out of my mouth and all over the wall. Joey thinks it's the coolest thing he's ever seen.
We all sit down to breakfast together. Joey now feeds himself (finally!) so, all I have to do now is put a bowl of cereal in front of him and remind him to keep eating. Frankie tries to do things on her own, but needs help and insists on mostly doing things independently.
After breakfast, I frantically get the kids dressed, prepare a healthy snack for Stuart (blueberries, strawberries, cut up celery, carrots, and grapes), a snack for the kids and I, and try to gather my gym clothes together, remember a couple diapers for Frankie, and assign Joey the task of finding his and Frankie's water cups (something that almost never happens with less than 5 reminders). I realize, while I'm doing this, that I have to ask Stuart a question. NoooOOOooOOOooOOOooo. While I'm asking Stuart a question about his Visa, or at least trying to ask it, Joey has a problem with his shoes that he's incredibly stressed about, and, as a result, is flailing and yelling for me to fix it. Stuart is now asking me a question about the question I asked him, we're late, and I need an answer before we head out the door. I snap at Stuart, I snap at Joey, and ask everyone to stop talking to me please. Once we're in the car, everything is peaceful and great again. We made it.
(that series of events was over the span of 2-2.5 hours)
At the gym, I bring the kids into kids club and make small talk with the employees. If there's one thing that I've learned is that if you want childcare workers to treat your kids super well, you have to be nice to them and tell them how much you appreciate them. Makes sense, right?
I set Frankie up at a table with some coloring so she doesn't get sad while I'm gone and Joey is so independent that he's off doing his own thing the minute we set foot in the place.
I usually take my workout time to speed walk on the treadmill for 45 minutes and listen to a sermon, but today my friend is there that I don't want to have to feel obligated to talk to, so I decide to do my power walk outside and call my mom because I hadn't talked to her in a while.
After a chat with my mom and a good pregnancy workout, I hit the sauna for 5 minutes of quiet before needing to go pick up the kids for Joey's 'Next Step' class.
When I arrive back to Kids Club, Joey RUNS to the door (something he never does) and he looks so red and sweaty and they told me for the past 20 minutes he's been running around in circles. As soon as he gets close enough to me, he blurts out, "MOMMY! I HAVE TO GO WEE WEE REALLY BAD!" I don't know why he never wants to tell the kids club workers, but it's always a frantic event when he has to pee at the Y. I quickly (with Frankie in tow) take him to the bathroom and we all head up to Next Step. A bunch of my friends are there today and we have a really nice time, as we all haven't seen each other since the holidays.
One of my friends and I decide to go to Costco after and have lunch with the kids and grocery shop. It's super close to nap time, but we badly need gas and milk, so we go. Lunch actually goes surprisingly smoothly with all of the kids, including the one year old's, sitting nicely at the table (a HUGE accomplishment) and the two of us and the four kids all go shopping afterward together. When we leave in the pouring rain, Joey says, "Mommy! I had such a fun time at Costco today!"
When we get home, I change Frankie's diaper and rock her, singing songs to her until she's ready to be put down to sleep, gather up all of Joey's stuffed animals, blanket, and pillow, and put them into our bedroom for nap time.
I make Joey a small snack and he and I cuddle up on the couch and read a story, head to the bedroom, say the Lord's prayer and sing two songs before I close his bedroom door.
I make myself a snack and watch 7th Heaven. Now, it's time to wake Joey up, clean the kitchen once again that looks just as bad as it did this morning with all the snack/smoothie making/breakfast dishes, play cars, clean the floor and gather up all the clothes that have been thrown around, and make two different dinners because Stuart has decided to try being vegetarian for a week and Joey, Frankie and I have not decided that. Then, it's toy clean up, read the bible, watch five minutes of Bob the Builder, brush the kids teeth, and put them to bed. Thennnn clean the kitchen all over again from making two meals for 4 people and briefly talk to Stuart, watch a show, and pass out in bed because, oh ya! I'm five months pregnant. *yawns*
It legit is a big job to have 2 kids home all day and be pregnant while taking care of the house and everyone's needs. It really is! I've never quite felt it the way I do these days and it's probably because as my pregnancy is progressing I'm getting more and more tired.
This morning I got woken up by my beautiful children. Joey takes off his night time diaper, wipes himself, and puts his own underwear on now which is a life changer (amazing!) while I change Frankie's diaper. Then it's off to the living room for play time. I hold Frankie while heating up a bottle for her in the microwave and then she sits in the corner of the couch with a big blanket on her and her bunny by her cheek drinking while I remind Joey 3000 times that I would love to play with him, but first need to start brewing my coffee and get fruit ready for him and Frankie.
I shovel fruit into the kids mouths and play with them until I hear the heavenly beep of the coffee maker and tell Joey that mommy needs five minutes to read the bible at the kitchen table. As I read, he stands beside me and asks me to read to him. I read it to him and he has no idea what it means, but he keeps standing there because he likes to be beside me.
Following my five minutes of not-so-quiet time, I feel guilty that I have taken that time and play with the kids on the floor for another 20 minutes or so before going to the kitchen to clean up the tornado of dishes that were left from the previous night when I was too exhausted to clean them up at the end of the day.
I tell Joey that I'm going to go wake up daddy and I sit in the quiet bedroom with Stuart for 1 minute, drinking lukewarm coffee and enjoying the quiet until Joey and Frankie come lumbering in. Breakfast time.
I make a smoothie for Stuart and I and in the midst of it, sneeze coffee out of my mouth and all over the wall. Joey thinks it's the coolest thing he's ever seen.
We all sit down to breakfast together. Joey now feeds himself (finally!) so, all I have to do now is put a bowl of cereal in front of him and remind him to keep eating. Frankie tries to do things on her own, but needs help and insists on mostly doing things independently.
After breakfast, I frantically get the kids dressed, prepare a healthy snack for Stuart (blueberries, strawberries, cut up celery, carrots, and grapes), a snack for the kids and I, and try to gather my gym clothes together, remember a couple diapers for Frankie, and assign Joey the task of finding his and Frankie's water cups (something that almost never happens with less than 5 reminders). I realize, while I'm doing this, that I have to ask Stuart a question. NoooOOOooOOOooOOOooo. While I'm asking Stuart a question about his Visa, or at least trying to ask it, Joey has a problem with his shoes that he's incredibly stressed about, and, as a result, is flailing and yelling for me to fix it. Stuart is now asking me a question about the question I asked him, we're late, and I need an answer before we head out the door. I snap at Stuart, I snap at Joey, and ask everyone to stop talking to me please. Once we're in the car, everything is peaceful and great again. We made it.
(that series of events was over the span of 2-2.5 hours)
At the gym, I bring the kids into kids club and make small talk with the employees. If there's one thing that I've learned is that if you want childcare workers to treat your kids super well, you have to be nice to them and tell them how much you appreciate them. Makes sense, right?
I set Frankie up at a table with some coloring so she doesn't get sad while I'm gone and Joey is so independent that he's off doing his own thing the minute we set foot in the place.
I usually take my workout time to speed walk on the treadmill for 45 minutes and listen to a sermon, but today my friend is there that I don't want to have to feel obligated to talk to, so I decide to do my power walk outside and call my mom because I hadn't talked to her in a while.
After a chat with my mom and a good pregnancy workout, I hit the sauna for 5 minutes of quiet before needing to go pick up the kids for Joey's 'Next Step' class.
When I arrive back to Kids Club, Joey RUNS to the door (something he never does) and he looks so red and sweaty and they told me for the past 20 minutes he's been running around in circles. As soon as he gets close enough to me, he blurts out, "MOMMY! I HAVE TO GO WEE WEE REALLY BAD!" I don't know why he never wants to tell the kids club workers, but it's always a frantic event when he has to pee at the Y. I quickly (with Frankie in tow) take him to the bathroom and we all head up to Next Step. A bunch of my friends are there today and we have a really nice time, as we all haven't seen each other since the holidays.
One of my friends and I decide to go to Costco after and have lunch with the kids and grocery shop. It's super close to nap time, but we badly need gas and milk, so we go. Lunch actually goes surprisingly smoothly with all of the kids, including the one year old's, sitting nicely at the table (a HUGE accomplishment) and the two of us and the four kids all go shopping afterward together. When we leave in the pouring rain, Joey says, "Mommy! I had such a fun time at Costco today!"
When we get home, I change Frankie's diaper and rock her, singing songs to her until she's ready to be put down to sleep, gather up all of Joey's stuffed animals, blanket, and pillow, and put them into our bedroom for nap time.
I make Joey a small snack and he and I cuddle up on the couch and read a story, head to the bedroom, say the Lord's prayer and sing two songs before I close his bedroom door.
I make myself a snack and watch 7th Heaven. Now, it's time to wake Joey up, clean the kitchen once again that looks just as bad as it did this morning with all the snack/smoothie making/breakfast dishes, play cars, clean the floor and gather up all the clothes that have been thrown around, and make two different dinners because Stuart has decided to try being vegetarian for a week and Joey, Frankie and I have not decided that. Then, it's toy clean up, read the bible, watch five minutes of Bob the Builder, brush the kids teeth, and put them to bed. Thennnn clean the kitchen all over again from making two meals for 4 people and briefly talk to Stuart, watch a show, and pass out in bed because, oh ya! I'm five months pregnant. *yawns*
Thursday, January 5, 2017
New Year - New Hope
Wanna know what I love? I love the new year. Everyone is so hopeful and so excited for change. It's like spring on steroids. I think the falling away of a year and the bringing forth of a new year is a great time to reflect on your life in a profound way. I used to think new years resolutions were stupid and cliche and a waste of time because peoples hopes for self improvement never seem to stick past the first few weeks. But, my thoughts have changed!
It's a beautiful thing to want to be better and do better. I think that the problem a lot of people run into is that the either set unrealistic goals for themselves (ie after never touching a vegetable deciding that they're only going to juice from now on) or setting vague goals that have no concrete destination (be kinder, eat healthy, etc.) I think that a strategy in becoming this better person is training your brain to think differently. When you think differently, you act differently.
If you have thought and felt one way about something for an extended period (for instance a negative thought about a family member), your brain forms a pathway straight to that negative thought and feeling whenever you think of that person. We can train our brains to form new pathways with positive thoughts until thinking positive things kind of becomes an 'automatic' in our brains. The same can go for making healthy choices when it comes to food. If you're always thinking, 'I'm gross and fat. I'm craving a burger so bad,' you'll obsess about the burger and feel bad about yourself until that burger is in your mouth and offers you a little bit of relief from your negative thought pattern. But, if you replace that thought with, 'My body is a vessel. I want to treat it well.' You will likely make a healthier choice that coincides with that thought pattern.
Changing your thought pattern isn't an easy task, but it's one that I've been working on for the past few days and though outwardly I'm the same, I feel a daily sense of contentment inwardly that wasn't there before. It's biblical and since I was young I've loved the verse, 'Do not conform to the patterns of the world, but be renewed by the transforming of your mind.' I always knew there was something deeply profound about this idea, but never really explored how to put it into practice until now.
If you want to make any kind of change, go to the root of your issue: your mind; your thoughts. Your views, opinions, self-talk, and ideologies deeply affect your actions in all areas of life. Once you adjust your thoughts and attitudes (something that requires tremendous amounts of discipline and focus, and probably a lot of reading and prayer) you can start being a light. Without that, you'll never improve the way you'd hoped you would.
New year = new hope. And I think that's a beautiful thing.
It's a beautiful thing to want to be better and do better. I think that the problem a lot of people run into is that the either set unrealistic goals for themselves (ie after never touching a vegetable deciding that they're only going to juice from now on) or setting vague goals that have no concrete destination (be kinder, eat healthy, etc.) I think that a strategy in becoming this better person is training your brain to think differently. When you think differently, you act differently.
If you have thought and felt one way about something for an extended period (for instance a negative thought about a family member), your brain forms a pathway straight to that negative thought and feeling whenever you think of that person. We can train our brains to form new pathways with positive thoughts until thinking positive things kind of becomes an 'automatic' in our brains. The same can go for making healthy choices when it comes to food. If you're always thinking, 'I'm gross and fat. I'm craving a burger so bad,' you'll obsess about the burger and feel bad about yourself until that burger is in your mouth and offers you a little bit of relief from your negative thought pattern. But, if you replace that thought with, 'My body is a vessel. I want to treat it well.' You will likely make a healthier choice that coincides with that thought pattern.
Changing your thought pattern isn't an easy task, but it's one that I've been working on for the past few days and though outwardly I'm the same, I feel a daily sense of contentment inwardly that wasn't there before. It's biblical and since I was young I've loved the verse, 'Do not conform to the patterns of the world, but be renewed by the transforming of your mind.' I always knew there was something deeply profound about this idea, but never really explored how to put it into practice until now.
If you want to make any kind of change, go to the root of your issue: your mind; your thoughts. Your views, opinions, self-talk, and ideologies deeply affect your actions in all areas of life. Once you adjust your thoughts and attitudes (something that requires tremendous amounts of discipline and focus, and probably a lot of reading and prayer) you can start being a light. Without that, you'll never improve the way you'd hoped you would.
New year = new hope. And I think that's a beautiful thing.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Poor Poor Pitiful Me
I was sick all of Christmas time. Well, that's not entirely true.
December 17th we arrived at my in-laws at 11:30 pm. It was so good to see them and we were excited! The next day everyone was healthy. We went to my parents house for lunch and had a really nice time with Jesse, Sharalin, Anika, and Ben. My mom made SUCH a good lunch and we had SUCH a nice time. I'm glad I'm writing this out to recall, because this day really was a good day.
After the kids woke from their naps, we went to a restaurant to celebrate Stuart's parents 40th Anniversary. It was... challenging. But also nice. Frankie and Joey were both going a little nuts from going to bed so late the night before and with us all being non stop busy with family as soon as we got there, and the meal at the restaurant lasted almost THREE hours! THREE hours! and a bunch of courses. With a one year old and a three year old this is no easy feat. I spent the hours entertaining the nieces, which was nice because I really love those little girls! And feeding Frankie and Joey of course. And trying to run after a Frankie who kept trying to escape. and occasionally taking a bite of food. And feeling frustrated and overwhelmed and a little upset that I wasn't with all the other adults enjoying their wine and not having to try to scarf down their food and participating in adult conversation. Buuut, this is the phase of life I'm in right now and they're all out of the phase and have older kids, so they should enjoy their time in the sun. I would just like to have a glimmer of that life again. Some day. like 6 years from now.
We went back to Dueck's for dessert around 8:30, which was WAY way easier because they kids could run around and play and I could sit with everyone and talk. It ended up being a really nice evening there and the kids went to bed around 9:30/10:00.
And that's when it allllllll started.
Frankie woke up around 2 and I thought she was choking on her soother or something because she sounded terrible. Stuart leapt up and started patting her back, as I watched, horrified, as she barfed ALL over the pack-and-play, floor, and rug in a trail all the way to the bathroom after her realized what was going on in his delirious state. He held Frankie while I cleaned up the stinky, gross puke that was everywhere, rinsed the linens and put them in the washing machine (cuz you definitely don't wanna let that sit...) found fresh sheets and blankets, and we put her back to bed. 30 minutes later, the charade started all over again with more explosive puking. Once again, Stuart held Frankie while I put the other linens in the dryer, cleaned up all the barf, rinsed the new linens, put them in the washing machine, and took the cleaned linens and put them back in the crib. Needless to say, it was a long night.
The next morning, Frankie seemed okay. She didn't have much of an appetite, but I chocked her throwing up on her having eaten a lot of rich foods at the restaurant that she isn't normally exposed to.
That day, Joey and Stuart spent some more time in the snow and Frankie and I putzed around in the house with Stuart's parents. I don't really remember what happened the rest of December 19th... Oh! I went to the mall during the kids naps to get a couple of last minute Christmas presents. And then at 5:00, Vanessa picked me up and we went to Cactus Club with Candace, who announced her pregnancy! Yahoo! We're all pregnant right now, which is pretty cool :) But, of course, Vanessa lives in Chilliwack, Candace lives in Langley, and I live in California, so we never see each other. But, it's still nice! :) We had a lot of fun and laughs at the restaurant, and unlike going out with my kids the previous evening, the three hours we spent sitting, laughing, and reminiscing went by in the blink of an eye. I brought Stuart home a blizzard and we hung out for a while,
The next morning was a nice quiet morning again at Dueck's. At around 12:30, we put the kids down for their naps and Stuart and I went out for Sushi with Andrew, or 'Uncle Andrew' as Joey calls him. Again, a super nice visit over lunch and nice to be out with Stuart.
When we got back to the house, the kids were up and playing and Andrew realized he had locked his keys in the car and had to stay for dinner. At dinner, Joey was acting weird and not eating the salmon that I kept raving before the meal that he would eat a tonne of, as it's his favorite meal. He refused to eat even a bite and said 'his mouth tasted weird' and I knew something must be wrong. After begging to be excused, he went over to the toys and started crying so hard. My poor guy had barfed all over a rug. He was so distraught and I really don't think he's ever puked before, so he was confused and angry at me for not stopping him from doing it. :( "Mommy, why didn't you just make me not do it? Why weren't you with me?" etc.) It was so sad. Then he threw up again. Then again and again. I put him to bed right away and Frankie hung out in the room with us while I put him down with a bucket beside him. He was sitting up and asked me to count from a million to a million two hundred and twenty five. I knewww this was him not wanting me to leave because he was sick and probably scared, so I rubbed his back while Frankie hugged me and counted. By the time I got to a million two hundred and twenty, he barfed again into the bucket. And then again a few minutes later. I left to clean the bucket and talk to Stuart after laying Frankie down in her pack-n-play and when I got back in the room, he was sitting up again. I sat by his bed and asked him if he had to throw up and he said no. I put the bucket in front of him and he was so upset with me. I think just because he was scared to throw up again. And sure enough, he did. And then I led him to the bathroom and he threw up again, but this time it was so hard that it went through his nose and hurt his nose so bad and was stuck in his nasal cavity. He was bawling and telling me to get it out, which of course, I couldn't do. I tried to suck it out with a boogie sucker thing, but that just made him freak out more. It took a long long time to settle him down and back to bed, but then he was okay.
He woke up once and sat up for a long time, but didn't throw up. But I knew his tummy still felt unsettled. The next day he acted fairly happy, but didn't have much of an appetite until right before his nap when he ate a small bowl of plain Cheerios.
At 3 pm, Stuart and I were in the TV room and I had the sudden urge to barf my brains out. Annnd I did. This went on every 20 minutes for the next 9 hours. I've NEVER been so sick in my life. At around 10, feeling super dehydrated, I took a gulp of water that immediately exploded out of my throat and all over the floor. It was crazyyyy. I don't even know how I barfed for so long, as I had nothing left in my stomach whatsoever and I just kept retching and retching until about 12 am. Stuart had gone to the movies with his brothers, so there was no one there to be with me. Well, Stuart's mom was, but it's not the same. I can't whine and complain to her and get babied and snuggled the way I needed to be, so I was feeling super sorry for myself.
The next day (the 22nd) was supposed to be the Christmas gathering at my parents house, and I phoned my mom around 10 and told her there was no way I'd make it. She said she'd reschedule it for Christmas day and I felt so guilty because then my brother and his family wouldn't be able to make it as they already had another gathering to go to.
Stuart came home around 12:30 from the movie and laid with me in bed and I was finally able to calm my body down enough to fall asleep. The next day I had no appetite and was more exhausted than anything from all my body had been through the previous day. My dad came and took the kids first thing in the morning, which I was so grateful for, and I slept pretty well the entire day. When I went to pick up the kids, I tried to have some chicken broth and promptly threw it up. Stuart had plans again that evening with his brothers, so once again, I was sick and alone. I wanted him to go out. He said he'd stay home and that it would be no problem, but he had this night planned for a long time and I didn't know when the next time we'd be back in Chilliwack was and I didn't want him to suffer just because I had to. But, it still sucked :( I went to bed at 8:30 and had a super good sleep.
The next day was the Dueck gathering. I still was feeling pretty crappy and once again didn't eat all day.
Oh man. It's been a couple of days since I wrote the last time and I already don't feel like writing the rest of this post. RATS!
I guess I'll just do the rest as briefly as I can.
Christmas Eve:
In the morning Jessica and Hinley came over and the kids played while we hung out. It was nice, but weird. I feel like so much of our lives have passed by since we last talked. It's been longer than ever that we've gone without talking (I think like three months!) so, not that it was awkward, but it felt like our friendship isn't what it used to be and it kind of bums me out. and I kind of think, meh. It is what it is.
In the afternoon while the kids were napping, Stuart came with me to run errands and I'm SO glad that he did. I was going to go on my own and have a pity party about not feeling good, but having him there made it fun.
Christmas eve night at the service JOEY. WENT. NUTS. He hated every living second of the service from the minute we walked into church. I haven't seen him have a tantrum like that since like a year ago. crying and yelling. yelling and crying. "I WANT TO GO! I DON'T WANT TO STAY HERE!" or my personal favorite, when the singing started, "MAKE EVERYONE STOP SINGING THIS SONG!" and crying his brains out. in my arms. while I held him with a vice grip. 15 minutes into things, and after having him calm for a little while, I could tell he was starting to get really anxious and stressed out again, just by the way his body was tensing up. He said quietly, "Mommy, I don't like this." and I knew the next thing that would happen is him crying and yelling again, so I just thought, 'You know what? The rest of Christmas has been a crap shoot. Why should I enjoy the Christmas eve service?' and took him downstairs to the nursery to play. (There were no workers there, so I couldn't have left him if I wanted to. Not that I wanted to because he wouldn't have known anyone and it would have been stressful for him all over again).
When I was downstairs with him, I got to talk to some super sweet other moms my age and their little ones, and it was actually not so bad. It just didn't feel like Christmas. Joey was so tired. I don't know why he was so tired! The service was at 5pm! He collapsed into my arms downstairs and said, "Mommy. I'm so tired. I just need to sleep." and he looked it!
When we got back to my parents house and everyone was getting ready to take pictures, I stripped Joey down and whisked him off to bed. My mom was disappointed because she wanted him to open his presents with everyone else. But, guess what? He. Needed. Sleep. End of story. I'm glad I made that decision. Stuart told me to keep him up, but I've never seen him so deliriously tired and unable to have a handle on his emotions as a result. I knew keeping him up = more meltdowns with no one to adequately deal with them but me and feel judgement raining down on me by my family members (whether perceived or real) and I wasn't about to be that frustrated, exhausted, sensitive person on Christmas eve night because at that point, I knew I couldn't really handle any more challenges.
The rest of the night went really well! The kids opened 2 small presents (I LOVE that our family doesn't do over the top gifts) and my brother and I each got a check from our parents. Super nice of them! And then we ate good food and played fun games until almost midnight! A fun time had by all!
Christmas Day:Frankie woke up at 6ish and I was sooo tired to go and get her because usually I try to go to sleep at 10 in anticipation. But with the late night, I was exhausted! But also excited because... well, it was Christmas day! I took her downstairs and played with her. It's so nice to play with only one of my kids in a completely quiet house first thing in the morning. There's something so peaceful about that I just love!
An hour and a half later, Joey woke up and wanted to open his Christmas present from Omi and PA. He was SO excited and it was adorable!! My mom came downstairs and watched him open it and then I got breakfast ready for the kids.
The morning was nice. Just playing and eating and the kids were really sweet, happy, and well behaved.
My mom realized she had forgotten a spice for her stuffing, so Stu, the kids, and I went over to Dueck's to say hi and borrow it. (Poultry Seasoning). I was actually really glad to have an excuse to go over there because I think they were slightly disappointed that they weren't going to see the kids on Christmas morning. It was SO nice going over there and we ended up staying for an hour or so.
When we got back, my grandparents were there and we visited together and with the kids. It was really nice to see them.
Right before lunch, I put Frankie down for a nap, which was SO nice for me because my parents don't have a high chair and her being at lunch with us would have meant me trying to feed her the whole time on my lap and having her squirm around or try to leave and head for the stairs.
Lunch was so enjoyable with my Oma, Opa, Uncle Dave, Grandma, Grandpa, my parents, Stuart, and Joey. Suddenly, it felt like Christmas time. The stars aligned. Suddenly, I sunk in my chair and was able to truly relax (and feel good!) for the first time in four days and just enjoy. It. was. awesome.
Joey went down for a nap right after lunch and the adults hung around visiting, eating dessert, and drinking coffee for the next hour. Of course, by 2 pm all of the elderly needed to be on their way and it was just us again. But, for that two hours of lunch and dessert, it was the most perfect Christmas I could have asked for.
At 5:30, we headed back to home base (Dueck's) and I made Stuart and I something small to eat after we got the kids tucked into bed at 7. Stuart and I cuddled up and watched a movie. It was just the perfect day. <3
Boxing Day:I woke up in the middle of the night completely congested with a sore throat. I knew things were too good to be true!
Joey, Frankie, and I went over to my parents house first thing in the morning because I had forgotten my presents for my sister in laws. I'm really glad we went over there because it ended up being the last time we saw them before heading back home.
By the time we got back to the house, I felt sicker than before and at 9, everyone started arriving for the Christmas festivities to commence.
For some reason, Frankie needed me to hold her all day long and wouldn't let me put her down, and I was getting sicker by the minute.
The day was really actually super nice and everyone was so fun to be with and the food was great and everything was awesome, but I think I was just so burnt out. I was getting sicker and sicker and by the evening (yes, the event lasted from morning until night) I had chills, a headache, and couldn't breathe at all out of my nose. And a 30 pound Frankie was hanging off of me. And I was trying to be social. And do laundry. And pack. (We had to leave the house at 5 am the following morning).
Luckily, my knight in shining armor swooped in at 8 pm and said, "I'll do all the rest of the packing and organizing, you just relax." I needed so badly to hear that. And I knew I could fully trust him because he is a master organizer and I so am not. And I knew he wouldn't forget a single thing we brought or a single present and he'd make it all fit because he's amazing at that. I wouldn't have made it without his help.
Airport Day:
I was feeling sicker than ever. Woke up at 3 am and thought I might as well just stay up until we had to leave at 5 because I couldn't breathe anyway. BUT at 3:30, I came to my senses and went back to sleep for a little while.
I was in the back with the two little sweeties (who do SO WELL EARLY IN THE MORNING) they are SO CUTE WHEN YOU WAKE THEM UP EARLY!! Frankie just gets all giggly, and Joey says the funniest things with his puffy little eyes and his bed head and his tiny little smile) and Dueck's kept talking to us, but I was SO hot in the back (I think from being sick because everyone in the front had winter jackets on) and SO tired that I didn't answer anything they asked me and had my eyes closed.
The cuteness of our sweet children was what kept me from giving up at the airport as I went through all the lines deliriously and feeling sick. The need to take care of two other people while you're feeling sick really gives you an inner strength to push through when you wouldn't have been able to on your own.
The plane ride was so hard. Frankie got overtired and was crying her brains out in my arms and she finally conked out 15 minutes before we landed.
When we finally got home sweet home at 11:30, both kids went straight down for a nap.
WE WERE HOME!
I spent the next ... well, 4 days I guess since today is the 31st, being ultra sick, but 2 days ago, I got some antibiotics and am on the road to recovery. Yahoo!
December 17th we arrived at my in-laws at 11:30 pm. It was so good to see them and we were excited! The next day everyone was healthy. We went to my parents house for lunch and had a really nice time with Jesse, Sharalin, Anika, and Ben. My mom made SUCH a good lunch and we had SUCH a nice time. I'm glad I'm writing this out to recall, because this day really was a good day.
After the kids woke from their naps, we went to a restaurant to celebrate Stuart's parents 40th Anniversary. It was... challenging. But also nice. Frankie and Joey were both going a little nuts from going to bed so late the night before and with us all being non stop busy with family as soon as we got there, and the meal at the restaurant lasted almost THREE hours! THREE hours! and a bunch of courses. With a one year old and a three year old this is no easy feat. I spent the hours entertaining the nieces, which was nice because I really love those little girls! And feeding Frankie and Joey of course. And trying to run after a Frankie who kept trying to escape. and occasionally taking a bite of food. And feeling frustrated and overwhelmed and a little upset that I wasn't with all the other adults enjoying their wine and not having to try to scarf down their food and participating in adult conversation. Buuut, this is the phase of life I'm in right now and they're all out of the phase and have older kids, so they should enjoy their time in the sun. I would just like to have a glimmer of that life again. Some day. like 6 years from now.
We went back to Dueck's for dessert around 8:30, which was WAY way easier because they kids could run around and play and I could sit with everyone and talk. It ended up being a really nice evening there and the kids went to bed around 9:30/10:00.
And that's when it allllllll started.
Frankie woke up around 2 and I thought she was choking on her soother or something because she sounded terrible. Stuart leapt up and started patting her back, as I watched, horrified, as she barfed ALL over the pack-and-play, floor, and rug in a trail all the way to the bathroom after her realized what was going on in his delirious state. He held Frankie while I cleaned up the stinky, gross puke that was everywhere, rinsed the linens and put them in the washing machine (cuz you definitely don't wanna let that sit...) found fresh sheets and blankets, and we put her back to bed. 30 minutes later, the charade started all over again with more explosive puking. Once again, Stuart held Frankie while I put the other linens in the dryer, cleaned up all the barf, rinsed the new linens, put them in the washing machine, and took the cleaned linens and put them back in the crib. Needless to say, it was a long night.
The next morning, Frankie seemed okay. She didn't have much of an appetite, but I chocked her throwing up on her having eaten a lot of rich foods at the restaurant that she isn't normally exposed to.
That day, Joey and Stuart spent some more time in the snow and Frankie and I putzed around in the house with Stuart's parents. I don't really remember what happened the rest of December 19th... Oh! I went to the mall during the kids naps to get a couple of last minute Christmas presents. And then at 5:00, Vanessa picked me up and we went to Cactus Club with Candace, who announced her pregnancy! Yahoo! We're all pregnant right now, which is pretty cool :) But, of course, Vanessa lives in Chilliwack, Candace lives in Langley, and I live in California, so we never see each other. But, it's still nice! :) We had a lot of fun and laughs at the restaurant, and unlike going out with my kids the previous evening, the three hours we spent sitting, laughing, and reminiscing went by in the blink of an eye. I brought Stuart home a blizzard and we hung out for a while,
The next morning was a nice quiet morning again at Dueck's. At around 12:30, we put the kids down for their naps and Stuart and I went out for Sushi with Andrew, or 'Uncle Andrew' as Joey calls him. Again, a super nice visit over lunch and nice to be out with Stuart.
When we got back to the house, the kids were up and playing and Andrew realized he had locked his keys in the car and had to stay for dinner. At dinner, Joey was acting weird and not eating the salmon that I kept raving before the meal that he would eat a tonne of, as it's his favorite meal. He refused to eat even a bite and said 'his mouth tasted weird' and I knew something must be wrong. After begging to be excused, he went over to the toys and started crying so hard. My poor guy had barfed all over a rug. He was so distraught and I really don't think he's ever puked before, so he was confused and angry at me for not stopping him from doing it. :( "Mommy, why didn't you just make me not do it? Why weren't you with me?" etc.) It was so sad. Then he threw up again. Then again and again. I put him to bed right away and Frankie hung out in the room with us while I put him down with a bucket beside him. He was sitting up and asked me to count from a million to a million two hundred and twenty five. I knewww this was him not wanting me to leave because he was sick and probably scared, so I rubbed his back while Frankie hugged me and counted. By the time I got to a million two hundred and twenty, he barfed again into the bucket. And then again a few minutes later. I left to clean the bucket and talk to Stuart after laying Frankie down in her pack-n-play and when I got back in the room, he was sitting up again. I sat by his bed and asked him if he had to throw up and he said no. I put the bucket in front of him and he was so upset with me. I think just because he was scared to throw up again. And sure enough, he did. And then I led him to the bathroom and he threw up again, but this time it was so hard that it went through his nose and hurt his nose so bad and was stuck in his nasal cavity. He was bawling and telling me to get it out, which of course, I couldn't do. I tried to suck it out with a boogie sucker thing, but that just made him freak out more. It took a long long time to settle him down and back to bed, but then he was okay.
He woke up once and sat up for a long time, but didn't throw up. But I knew his tummy still felt unsettled. The next day he acted fairly happy, but didn't have much of an appetite until right before his nap when he ate a small bowl of plain Cheerios.
At 3 pm, Stuart and I were in the TV room and I had the sudden urge to barf my brains out. Annnd I did. This went on every 20 minutes for the next 9 hours. I've NEVER been so sick in my life. At around 10, feeling super dehydrated, I took a gulp of water that immediately exploded out of my throat and all over the floor. It was crazyyyy. I don't even know how I barfed for so long, as I had nothing left in my stomach whatsoever and I just kept retching and retching until about 12 am. Stuart had gone to the movies with his brothers, so there was no one there to be with me. Well, Stuart's mom was, but it's not the same. I can't whine and complain to her and get babied and snuggled the way I needed to be, so I was feeling super sorry for myself.
The next day (the 22nd) was supposed to be the Christmas gathering at my parents house, and I phoned my mom around 10 and told her there was no way I'd make it. She said she'd reschedule it for Christmas day and I felt so guilty because then my brother and his family wouldn't be able to make it as they already had another gathering to go to.
Stuart came home around 12:30 from the movie and laid with me in bed and I was finally able to calm my body down enough to fall asleep. The next day I had no appetite and was more exhausted than anything from all my body had been through the previous day. My dad came and took the kids first thing in the morning, which I was so grateful for, and I slept pretty well the entire day. When I went to pick up the kids, I tried to have some chicken broth and promptly threw it up. Stuart had plans again that evening with his brothers, so once again, I was sick and alone. I wanted him to go out. He said he'd stay home and that it would be no problem, but he had this night planned for a long time and I didn't know when the next time we'd be back in Chilliwack was and I didn't want him to suffer just because I had to. But, it still sucked :( I went to bed at 8:30 and had a super good sleep.
The next day was the Dueck gathering. I still was feeling pretty crappy and once again didn't eat all day.
Oh man. It's been a couple of days since I wrote the last time and I already don't feel like writing the rest of this post. RATS!
I guess I'll just do the rest as briefly as I can.
Christmas Eve:
In the morning Jessica and Hinley came over and the kids played while we hung out. It was nice, but weird. I feel like so much of our lives have passed by since we last talked. It's been longer than ever that we've gone without talking (I think like three months!) so, not that it was awkward, but it felt like our friendship isn't what it used to be and it kind of bums me out. and I kind of think, meh. It is what it is.
In the afternoon while the kids were napping, Stuart came with me to run errands and I'm SO glad that he did. I was going to go on my own and have a pity party about not feeling good, but having him there made it fun.
Christmas eve night at the service JOEY. WENT. NUTS. He hated every living second of the service from the minute we walked into church. I haven't seen him have a tantrum like that since like a year ago. crying and yelling. yelling and crying. "I WANT TO GO! I DON'T WANT TO STAY HERE!" or my personal favorite, when the singing started, "MAKE EVERYONE STOP SINGING THIS SONG!" and crying his brains out. in my arms. while I held him with a vice grip. 15 minutes into things, and after having him calm for a little while, I could tell he was starting to get really anxious and stressed out again, just by the way his body was tensing up. He said quietly, "Mommy, I don't like this." and I knew the next thing that would happen is him crying and yelling again, so I just thought, 'You know what? The rest of Christmas has been a crap shoot. Why should I enjoy the Christmas eve service?' and took him downstairs to the nursery to play. (There were no workers there, so I couldn't have left him if I wanted to. Not that I wanted to because he wouldn't have known anyone and it would have been stressful for him all over again).
When I was downstairs with him, I got to talk to some super sweet other moms my age and their little ones, and it was actually not so bad. It just didn't feel like Christmas. Joey was so tired. I don't know why he was so tired! The service was at 5pm! He collapsed into my arms downstairs and said, "Mommy. I'm so tired. I just need to sleep." and he looked it!
When we got back to my parents house and everyone was getting ready to take pictures, I stripped Joey down and whisked him off to bed. My mom was disappointed because she wanted him to open his presents with everyone else. But, guess what? He. Needed. Sleep. End of story. I'm glad I made that decision. Stuart told me to keep him up, but I've never seen him so deliriously tired and unable to have a handle on his emotions as a result. I knew keeping him up = more meltdowns with no one to adequately deal with them but me and feel judgement raining down on me by my family members (whether perceived or real) and I wasn't about to be that frustrated, exhausted, sensitive person on Christmas eve night because at that point, I knew I couldn't really handle any more challenges.
The rest of the night went really well! The kids opened 2 small presents (I LOVE that our family doesn't do over the top gifts) and my brother and I each got a check from our parents. Super nice of them! And then we ate good food and played fun games until almost midnight! A fun time had by all!
Christmas Day:Frankie woke up at 6ish and I was sooo tired to go and get her because usually I try to go to sleep at 10 in anticipation. But with the late night, I was exhausted! But also excited because... well, it was Christmas day! I took her downstairs and played with her. It's so nice to play with only one of my kids in a completely quiet house first thing in the morning. There's something so peaceful about that I just love!
An hour and a half later, Joey woke up and wanted to open his Christmas present from Omi and PA. He was SO excited and it was adorable!! My mom came downstairs and watched him open it and then I got breakfast ready for the kids.
The morning was nice. Just playing and eating and the kids were really sweet, happy, and well behaved.
My mom realized she had forgotten a spice for her stuffing, so Stu, the kids, and I went over to Dueck's to say hi and borrow it. (Poultry Seasoning). I was actually really glad to have an excuse to go over there because I think they were slightly disappointed that they weren't going to see the kids on Christmas morning. It was SO nice going over there and we ended up staying for an hour or so.
When we got back, my grandparents were there and we visited together and with the kids. It was really nice to see them.
Right before lunch, I put Frankie down for a nap, which was SO nice for me because my parents don't have a high chair and her being at lunch with us would have meant me trying to feed her the whole time on my lap and having her squirm around or try to leave and head for the stairs.
Lunch was so enjoyable with my Oma, Opa, Uncle Dave, Grandma, Grandpa, my parents, Stuart, and Joey. Suddenly, it felt like Christmas time. The stars aligned. Suddenly, I sunk in my chair and was able to truly relax (and feel good!) for the first time in four days and just enjoy. It. was. awesome.
Joey went down for a nap right after lunch and the adults hung around visiting, eating dessert, and drinking coffee for the next hour. Of course, by 2 pm all of the elderly needed to be on their way and it was just us again. But, for that two hours of lunch and dessert, it was the most perfect Christmas I could have asked for.
At 5:30, we headed back to home base (Dueck's) and I made Stuart and I something small to eat after we got the kids tucked into bed at 7. Stuart and I cuddled up and watched a movie. It was just the perfect day. <3
Boxing Day:I woke up in the middle of the night completely congested with a sore throat. I knew things were too good to be true!
Joey, Frankie, and I went over to my parents house first thing in the morning because I had forgotten my presents for my sister in laws. I'm really glad we went over there because it ended up being the last time we saw them before heading back home.
By the time we got back to the house, I felt sicker than before and at 9, everyone started arriving for the Christmas festivities to commence.
For some reason, Frankie needed me to hold her all day long and wouldn't let me put her down, and I was getting sicker by the minute.
The day was really actually super nice and everyone was so fun to be with and the food was great and everything was awesome, but I think I was just so burnt out. I was getting sicker and sicker and by the evening (yes, the event lasted from morning until night) I had chills, a headache, and couldn't breathe at all out of my nose. And a 30 pound Frankie was hanging off of me. And I was trying to be social. And do laundry. And pack. (We had to leave the house at 5 am the following morning).
Luckily, my knight in shining armor swooped in at 8 pm and said, "I'll do all the rest of the packing and organizing, you just relax." I needed so badly to hear that. And I knew I could fully trust him because he is a master organizer and I so am not. And I knew he wouldn't forget a single thing we brought or a single present and he'd make it all fit because he's amazing at that. I wouldn't have made it without his help.
Airport Day:
I was feeling sicker than ever. Woke up at 3 am and thought I might as well just stay up until we had to leave at 5 because I couldn't breathe anyway. BUT at 3:30, I came to my senses and went back to sleep for a little while.
I was in the back with the two little sweeties (who do SO WELL EARLY IN THE MORNING) they are SO CUTE WHEN YOU WAKE THEM UP EARLY!! Frankie just gets all giggly, and Joey says the funniest things with his puffy little eyes and his bed head and his tiny little smile) and Dueck's kept talking to us, but I was SO hot in the back (I think from being sick because everyone in the front had winter jackets on) and SO tired that I didn't answer anything they asked me and had my eyes closed.
The cuteness of our sweet children was what kept me from giving up at the airport as I went through all the lines deliriously and feeling sick. The need to take care of two other people while you're feeling sick really gives you an inner strength to push through when you wouldn't have been able to on your own.
The plane ride was so hard. Frankie got overtired and was crying her brains out in my arms and she finally conked out 15 minutes before we landed.
When we finally got home sweet home at 11:30, both kids went straight down for a nap.
WE WERE HOME!
I spent the next ... well, 4 days I guess since today is the 31st, being ultra sick, but 2 days ago, I got some antibiotics and am on the road to recovery. Yahoo!
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Christmas Time is Here
Christmas time around here has been non-stop fun. And non stop busy! And Frankie and Joey have been terrible nappers this week!
On Monday we went to my friend Ana's family tree farm for a Christmas party/gift exchange for the kids. It was SO much fun. I. Love. My. Friends. We've formed such an awesome community! I've known most of the 3 year old's you'll see in the pictures from the time they were 2 months old. :) And I mean, know them know them. Since almost none of us have family here, we get together. A lot. Me and the other moms know things about each others families, know each others parenting woes, and intimate details about each others marriages (Thank you, wine) hahaha
Anyway - yup! Love these ladies. Love their kids. I'm so freaking lucky to have this amazing group of women in my life for so many reasons. And a lot of them weren't even there! This is just a few!
I know I've said this before, but the one thing that I would change would be that there would be some BOYS around for my sweet Joey. He needs some boys in his life. Girls are so.... girl. They're so different even at three years old from the little boys and Joey gravitates toward boys. And the girls gravitate toward other girls! Sigh. At least we have Julian! <3
Joey after he found his present hidden in the Christmas trees.
Diggin' in the dirt (he could have done this all the live long day)
Original Frankster and her dinosaur puzzles (She LOVES T-Rex's)
The gang!
The rest of the week was so lovely with the kids. We went to the YMCA for Next Step two mornings this week, one class of 123 Grow, and one class of Ready, Set, Read. I didn't take any pictures one of the days. It's really hard to take pictures at classes like these because you're not supposed to get any other kids in the picture (YMCA Policy) and I'm just so busy playing with the kids and talking to other moms. Anyway - I got a couple of pics!
One thing that I have zero photos of, and will have some once Petra puts pictures up on facebook is our annual (and CHAOTIC) Christmas Cookie Exchange. It was a lot of fun and craziness. My friend Sandie hosts it each year because she's got a super nice house that's wide open and we can be in the kitchen the entire time and still see the kids no matter where they are. Wait! I do have one picture of the egg nog fudge I made:
I don't really like it. It was a new recipe. It smelled good, though! haha oh well. It was easy to make. And the weirdest thing ever was that half the people there had never heard of fudge. Who's never heard of fudge?!?!!? Weirdos. So, when you have no idea what fudge is and you're expecting a cookie and take a giant bite, obviously it's gonna be WAY too rich and sweet. You're only supposed to take a tiny bite at a time, freaks. Haha.
The afternoon after leaving the cookie exchange was a nap time disaster and the kids barely slept at all. BUT it was worth it because the exchange was super fun and nice and everyone had a great time. Joey never wanted to leave. He told me we could set up a bed and he could nap at Sandie's so we wouldn't have to go. hahaha!
Here are a couple random pics from the other days this week:
The kids LOVE these foam stickers! They've had so many cute crafts at the Y lately and I've been so impressed with their new teacher, Brittany.
What we do at home. In the morning we keep all the lights off except for one. Then Joey excitedly runs to the couch, lays down and turns his head away. I make a trumpeting sound and plug in the Christmas tree and he turns around and freaks out excitedly about the lights. Every. Morning. It's so stinkin' cute. I have 7 big candles up on the ledge beside the Christmas tree in our front entry way (just for Christmas time) and I light all the candles in the morning and Joey and Frankie both LOVE it so much and it smells soooo good and so Christmas-y!
I kind of wish we weren't going back home for Christmas, and surprisingly so does Stuart! As our family grows and gets older, it sure is nice to be at our own place at Christmas time. We're our own independent entity now. hard to believe that day has already arrived!
Joey painting at Ready, Set, Read
Frankie only painting in the tray at Ready, Set, Read. Haha! What a mess!
hahaha <3 Frankie and Natalie outside the YMCA hangin' out.
Frankie has been so clingy at nap time lately and wanting to be held and swayed to sleep - something I haven't done for her since she was a little baby. I LOVE doing it, but I can't do it when I have to get Joey down for a nap next because they go to bed pretty much at the same time.
Joey had SUCH a hard time listening before nap time yesterday, which is unusual for him. I think I've just gotten used to him listening to me all the time and when he doesn't it makes me sooooo upset. He went into Frankie's room right after she fell asleep and started being so noisy and woke her up! I was SO mad. When she finally had calmed herself down, Joey was in the bathroom. I went in and reminded him to be quiet and he SLAMMED THE TOILET SEAT DOWN. and it woke her up again and she was screaming. Omg. I was so, so, SO, SOOOOO mad. I said in a super angry, quiet, seething voice, "Mommmyyyyy isssss veryyyyy angrrrryyyy" and it scared Joey so bad that he fell to the bathroom floor bawling and saying "Mommy, you're scaring me." Wow. Disaster. Frankie's screaming in one room and my three year old is naked on the bathroom floor scared of me. Siiigh. I hugged him for like 15 minutes after that and told him that even though I feel angry at him, I still love him and blah blah blah. I don't think I've ever been quite so mad at him, though.
After that long episode, Joey finally went down for a nap. And then I went into the room Frankie was sleeping in and calmed her down for a good 20 minutes. She was SO precious, though. Like, the most precious in the world. She had her little head nuzzled into my neck and her whole body just sunk into me as I swayed her around. Omg. Most precious moments ever.
When I got out of there... s-t-a-r-v-i-n-g, I heard Joey. He never fell asleep and he was yelling that he had to go wee wee. He went to the bathroom, went back in our bed (he sleeps on our bed for nap) and I went to go relax. He started yelling and talking, but I thought 'Hey, at least he's in the bedroom' and that maybe he'd tire himself out. About half an hour later, Frankie starts making noise (I don't know if she ever fell asleep) and Joey yelled at the top of his lungs, "MOMMY!! CAN YOU WASH MY HANDS??? SAY YES, OR NO!" I wondered why on earth he needed me to wash his hands.
What I walked into, I could not have expected. It was the funniest scene imaginable. A very serious, remorseful Joey was positively glistening, covered head to toe (he sleeps only in a diaper) in Vick's Vapor Rub. It took everything I had not to laugh. I said in a quiet voice, "Joey. What did you do?" and his lip started quivering as he tried to talk and he burst into tears. OMG it was so cute, sad, and funny. I hugged him on the bed for SO LONG while he calmed down. Probably a good 20 minutes of calmly explaining to him (while his head was buried in my chest) that Vick's is medicine, not lotion and we only put it on our chest and only when mommy is there to help. He, of course, knew all this, hence the crying when I found out what had transpired. I went on and on about how much I love him and how we all make mistakes and blah blah blah and he was loving every delicious morsel of my affection. Suddenly, I felt his body start to become heavy. He was getting super sleepy while I was talking to him and rubbing his back. I lay him down and told him that I needed to give him a special bath before he went back to sleep and to wait quietly. I came back with a warm, wet towel and washed the Vick's off his little body, sang a million Christmas ballads, and told him it was time to sleep. And he did. Of course, Frankie was still awake and had started to cry, so I went back to her room and swayed her around for another 20 minutes. By the time I was out of there and sat down, it was only 15 minutes before Joey started crying because I forgot to turn on the fan before I left our bedroom. Annnnd then Frankie started crying. I just got them both up because it was a lost cause.
Anyway, here's me, ultra tired:
Annnnd I have to go now cuz my kids just started screaming for me. BUT first, here's my 18 week bump!
I've gained 8 pounds so far, which feels like a thousand and looks on the scale like... well, like a number that I only see when I'm pregnant and hate more than anything. BUT, I love how huge i'm getting. I actually am loving my pregnant body this time around, which is something unexpected and awesome. I just wish I never had to see the number. womp. BUT! It's all good. In 5 more days, we get to find out the sex and see our little one in the womb! Soooo excited.
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