Potty Time and Bedroom Woes...

This morning Monkey went pee on the potty! That's a statement only other parents can truly appreciate, I think. Or other very sweet and sympathetic friends. I imagine most people think it's gross to talk about it, but I've already talked about way worse on here. So, she did. She wanted to sit on it in order to get a blue M&M. (She gets one for sitting and trying, two for pee, three for poop.) Her diaper was super full, but I let her sit on it anyway, to encourage a friendly relationship with the potty. So she sat for a while, I gave her juice to drink. Gotta encourage things to happen, you know. After a while she said she was done, and I figured nothing happened. But after she got up, I saw a bunch of pee. Woohoo! I tried to make a big deal out of it, as it's the first time she's done anything on there. Hopefully she'll realize it didn't hurt, wasn't too weird, etc. I am not planning on potty training. I don't think she's totally ready. But if we can get her doing it occasionally, right on! The closer she is before the baby comes, the better.

So, on to the bedroom woes. This just happened, so I'm still peeved about it. We put the kids down a little early. They've been waking up a touch early, and they had a super active afternoon playing at McD's with a friend. So they were plenty tired. But here I am an hour later, and I'm pretty sure that door's not opening up again. The only reason why is because I just busted Moose for encouraging Monkey to get out of bed. He was literally going to her bed and talking to her about things so she'd open the door. The last time she came out she said she wanted to watch her "baby show" aka Baby Einstein. Where on earth did that come from? Now I know. Moose. She had opened the door probably 4-6 times. Can't remember. Closer to 6. So frustrating. She didn't get in big trouble any of those times, but at one point we were taking away her paci and she was crying about it. To then find out she was doing it because he was whispering in her ear makes me so upset. Anyway, I can't wait until we have a 3 bedroom place and I can separate those two. They're not good for each other. The last two mornings they've gotten up at 6:20. This morning, she turned their light on and woke him up. If it's not her waking up him, it's the other way around. Although sometimes he just comes right out and is quiet about it so she stays asleep. But it's tough. Oh well. Woes of parenting and shared bedrooms. I can only imagine what my parents went through with all 7 of us and 2 bedrooms between us. (3 boys in one room-you know that was trouble- and 4 girls in the other-equally trouble) Well, here's to tonight and the weekend. May it be relaxing as can be and fun as well.

Curiosity and Table Conversations...

The other day while we were driving to preschool, Moose started asking me questions about what he saw on the road. We ended up having a full on DMV lesson. It was kinda funny after. He was asking about the different road signs and what they meant, and why we could go when there were still some red lights. It was pretty interesting explaining to him how there are different lanes, and each one has its own light. He's learned quite a bit about traffic signs/signals already, so it was kinda funny to see him get more in depth.

Lately, the hubs has been very sneaky about being able to talk about work stuff while we eat dinner. I noticed it a while ago, and thought to myself how very clever he is. It's so hard to talk anything serious with Moose at the table because he constantly interrupts and wants to know what words mean. Or he'll ask clarifying questions that would require in-depth answers to really answer properly. Anywho, so this is the hub's new tactic. Whenever he wants to chat about something that happened at work, he directs his conversation at Moose. He'll say to him, "Moose, guess what happened at work today." Then he'll proceed to "dumb down" his version of the story so that Moose can understand the generals, and I'm able to ask the occasional question without constantly being interrupted. It works brilliantly. Sometimes he'll get his fill of being talked to, and we can just continue the conversation like a normal adult would, which is also nice. Everytime he does it now, I laugh. He'll direct his conversation at Moose, but glance at me and I can't help but smile. The hubs is so sneaky. :)

Blah...

Today was not a bad day. A long day, but not a bad one. The hubs has been gone all day again. I haven't handled today nearly as graciously as I did the last one. I've just felt a bit tired all day long. Perhaps a bit uncomfortable. The kiddos are tired. Moose was most certainly ready for bed. He was a tad whiny today, throwing the occasional fit, which never sits well with me. All I've wanted to do today is lay down and read my book. I've managed to do quite a bit of the reading part, but not so much laying down. The house is a total mess. We try pretty hard to keep it relatively clean, no huge messes on the floor. But right now, the living room is covered in DVD cases and toys. There are huge coats infront of the door. The kitchen is scattered with shoes and toys, and Monkey's dinner dishes are still on teh table. Not to mention the rest of dinner paraphinalia (I know I didn't spell that one right) that is all over the kitchen counters. I really don't want the hubs to come home to this, but I really don't want to clean anything. At all. I just feel so tired. I'm going to go read on the couch now. My back hurts. Blah.

The Hubs...

Today was a more normal scheduled day, which meant the kiddos got some time with the hubs this evening. Poor Monkey hadn't seen him since yesterday morning. Moose was up early enough to see him this morning before he left for work. But it was quite the joy for them to be able to play with him this evening. He corraled them to their bedroom to play while I made dinner (probably more for my sanity than for them), and then proceeded to occupy their attentions after dinner as well. I could the giggles, and "ion canons" blasting from the bedroom and knew they were having a blast. (Especially Moose.) It just made me think again how lucky I am to have a partner in my parenting. Not to mention that he's a homebody, work doesn't take him far, or for long, and he has no social needs outside of me. So I can have as much of his attention as I want. I have two sisters whose husband's work takes them away for chunks of time, and they've been living this way for years. They both have two kids the same ages as mine, and I just don't know how they handle it. I was telling the hubs that I could fly solo more often, I would just be way more stressed out and not nearly as nice. (Not that I'm all that nice, but I'm working on it.) So to all of you who single parent, or who do it often enough that you feel like a single parent, I salute you. I don't know how you do it, I never want to do it, may you have all the love and support you need. :)

Flying Solo...

Today the hubs had to work til 9 (meaning he's still not home) so I was flying solo. Granted, he was the one up with the kids for about 30 minutes before I woke up, but I did the rest of the day on my own. I was mentally prepared for it, which helps. Going a whole day alone can be supremely stressful. (Although I know I'm a wuss since the hubs is never gone for extended periods of time. I actually don't remember the last time he was gone for 24 hours.) Anyway, I was proud that the day went really well. We had a pretty relaxing morning, the kids took great naps, and we survived the evening without it getting too "I can't wait til bedtime"-ish. I still hate the hubs being gone for this long, but I'm super proud of having a good day.

With Moose, I remember being done with the day by noon, when the hubs would come home for lunch. Then when he was older, I remember being able to make it til about 3 or 4, when the hubs would come home from his day job (a different one at this point) and get ready for his night job. (And then I'd dread the night, of course.) It was when Moose was between 2 and 3 that the hubs had night classes and I got so that I could do a whole day on my own. Granted, that was just one kid. And even then, I do recall it being really boring. (We rode the bus around campus for a while every Wednesday evening - it was free- since Moose loved buses, and it filled time.)

I can see the baby steps I've made as a parent, the little milestones. I have a friend with only 1 little one. Sometimes she'll ask me how I do it all, or she'll express some type of amazement at what I'm able to get done with 2 kids. All I can say is, when I look back to my time with only 1 kid, I can't believe how hard it was. And it was, genuinely hard. I wasn't super wussy or anything. It's all a matter of adapting, growing, changing as a person. The thought of doing a whole day with 3 kids right now totally seems unlikely to happen without large amounts of stress. But I'm sure I'll get to the point, eventually, when I can. Our youngest might be a bit older, but I'll get there I'm sure.

7 1/2 weeks left. 6 1/2 till my mom comes. (Yes mom, I only put that there to stress you out.)
:)

Family Time...

Today was a nice Sunday. We were worried it would be a bit busy, which it was, but it was still completely manageable. The kiddos were up bright and early (6 am) for a potty trip. But Moose went back to bed, so Monkey went with him. That lasted, surprisingly, for around 15 minutes before she came back out again. Then the hubs got them both to lay in bed for another 20 or so while he laid on Monkey's bed. After church we had late afternoon naps for the kiddos, then after they woke up we headed over to the in-laws for some dinner and birthday celebrating. (My mother in law's birthday was Friday.) It was really great. We hadn't all hung out in a while, and we hadn't seen much of the other families individually either. So it was great to get together. The kids absolutely had a blast. (There are 3 families, all with kids.) Me and my sister in law got to chat up pregnancy and delivering babies for a while, as she's currently 12 weeks pregnant. We had amazing key lime cake. (Seriously, that was amazing cake. I'll probably eat the entire chunk we took home. Thanks!!) It was just fun. Sometimes when you get enough kids in a confined area, it just ends up being stressful no matter what. But it was totally nice. The kids played downstairs, the adults all got to chat, and my brother in law even changed Monkey's diaper for me. I'm still bummed the weekend is over and the hubs has to go back to work tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll survive. (Even though he'll be at work til probably 9 tomorrow night. Bummer!) Anywho, good day. Yay for that. :)

8 to go...

I officially have 8 weeks til my due date. Which means 7 til my Mom gets here. Yay! Today turned out to be a great Saturday. I was worried it would be a bit of a downer since the hubs has gotten our cold, but it's been as mild for him as it was for me, so that's awesome. He woke up feeling better today (yay!) and we had a pretty normal Saturday. We all went out and did some shopping, which can be dangerous, but turned out great. The kids and the hubs took naps while I worked on to-do things. Then shortly after naps were done, we dropped the kids off at a friend's house while we got dinner and started a movie. Awesome Saturday! The hubs is currently picking them up. Then they'll go to bed and we'll finish our movie. Ooh, the other great thing about today was that it was practically 40 degrees the entire day (warm for us right now) and very sunny. The sun was so great! It actually warmed you! It was nice to be able to enjoy it since it's supposed to start getting cold again tomorrow. All in all, it made for a great Saturday. I can only hope that it will feel even more spring like in 8 weeks. I hate the idea of having our baby when it's all wintery out. Monkey was born just a few weeks later than this one is due, and where we were living (2 hours south of where we are now) it was plenty spring-like. We spent most of the day walking til my water broke. Oh well. We'll see. Til then, I'll just enjoy the sun (and the 40 degree weather) whenever I can get it!

Today...

We had a pretty busy day today. The kids got up (too early, but that's another story) and we did breakfast, chores, and I got things ready for a day out of the house. We took Moose to preschool and me and Monkey hit the errand list. Doctor's office, Wal-Mart, Library, Shoe Repair, Haircut, and picked up Moose from preschool. A seriously busy 3 hour round trip.

Doctor's trip was successful. My weight is on track, so is the size of my uterus. All in all, we're in super good shape. Naps were only semi-successful. Monkey had a great one. Almost 2 hours. (They've been shorter lately.) Moose, however, didn't nap. He stayed in my bed for a little over an hour. We know he's tired, but I think he was a bit overtired since he got down later than I wanted to. He also turned the clocks towards him (I always face them away). Whenever he can see a clock, he just stares at it and waits til 3 or something. Then he comes out and asks if he took a good nap. But we're homebound tomorrow, so naps are most certainly on the menu. Especially for him.

Oh, and then during my piano lesson (I teach, I'm not the student) I had the kids playing in their bedroom. When I went back there when it was over, Moose had dumped every toy out of their big toy shelf storage thing and dumped out 3 puzzles. It was ridiculous. So we spent the next 30 or so minutes cleaning that up. But the kids were in bed at 7:00. So me and the hubs are going to relax, possibly eat some popcorn or something, then dose up with Benadryl (we both have colds) and go to bed! :)

The Way Things Were...

The past 2 days have been sick days around here, but that ends tomorrow. Moose's preschool host is off the sick list, so we're heading on over. Moose isn't sick either. He had some congestion Monday, but it's gone. Me and Monkey are still battling some congestion, but it's not really bad for either of us. It's going to be really good to get back to things. The last two mornings, the kids have let me sleep in (which has been great, don't get me wrong) but to do so, Moose has watched a bit more movies than normal. And neither of them are getting the same amount of physical activity they usually do. So naps have suffered quite a bit. I'm thinking it's just because they're just not as tired. But by the end of the day, they are definitely mentally exhausted. I just think they don't feel it as much physically so they fight sleeping more. But tomorrow, we're back to it. Not to mention that I've got a doctor's appointment and I'm getting my hair cut. (It's only been 12 weeks. Last time it was 1 1/2 years between cuts. Look at me!) I know it's going to be tiring to get everything done tomorrow and not go nuts, but it's going to be a more satisfying naptime. I can feel it! I'm also hoping to drop by the library and pick up a book they have on hold for Moose. It's from the Magic Treehouse series. I was looking for chapter books to read to him that he would enjoy, and that me and the hubs would enjoy reading too. I'm hoping he gets into it. We tried a Boxcar Children book last summer, but he was a bit younger then, and it was harder for him to follow. (Lack of pictures didn't help either.) We did read it, but he didn't love it. I'm hoping these ones are more his taste. And hopefully his being even a little bit older should help too.

So despite my being able to sleep in til, dare I say it, 10, I'm glad to get back to the way things were. (And that's not straight sleep, but just how late I could stay in bed before I was forced out. Generally by Monkey. Moose would watch movies all day and leave me be.) As long as I get a good night's sleep tonight, I'll be in good shape.

Little Helper...

Monkey has become quite the little helper lately. Her mimicking of my daily activities has only increased over the last short while. She will now help me make my bed, clean out her ears, attempt to spray things in her hair, she's tried to apply mascara a few times, wiping up messes, pours the soap in the washer, puts the clothes in the washer, and enjoys dumping/pouring out anything that I'm measuring for cooking purposes. She had the hardest time letting me crack the eggs with her for our scrambled eggs tonight. She wanted to do it on her own once I showed her how to crack an egg. (With me, of course. Not on her own.) We wear our aprons together and she just has a blast. It might have taken me longer to make our pancakes, eggs and syrup, but I think it was most definitely worth it. I will enjoy my little helper for as long as she wants to help. :)