Weekend Extravaganza...

So we spent the weekend at few hours away where my brother lives. My parents drove two days to be there on Sunday when my brother blessed his little baby. So we drove down on Saturday and spent a day and a half with them all. It was tons of fun. It was tons of work, and a bit of stress, but overall such a great time.  Here's our agenda, with my own little comments and notes.

Saturday Morning - leave
Drive 2 hours - stopping halfway because I felt absolutely awful. Luckily the second hour wasn't as bad.
Arrive at destination and drop off stuff at the hub's brother's house. He also lives in the same city as my bro. He let us sleep in his basement for the weekend.
Meet Moose's best buds and fam for lunch at a special play place. - It's a great indoor mall with a play area. So awesome in the winter. Our current city has zilch like that for winter, so we miss it a lot. The kids had a blast. Minus the end when there was a little girl barfing in a trash can, who was then allowed to continue playing. Come on Mom!
Meet up with my parents and head over to brother's house. - My mom gave us all some things she had stored up. Clothes for Moose, an adorable pillow/blanket for Monkey, with adorable Monkeys on it! And the remaining 4 boxes of my stuff from the garage that they found the day before they left. I didn't even know it was there.
Meet sweet baby (yes, the one born in the car) and visit a bit.
Then our fam went out to dinner while the parents ate with my bro and his in-laws. - By this point, we had driven across the city like 4 times. My bro and the hub's bro live across the city from each other, and we kept going back and forth. Oh, and the kids had no naps, so they were wired. Moose told us like 4 times Saturday that he was tired and wanted to go to sleep. We ate out at Denny's, which gave them a bit of renewed strength for the rest of the night.
We went back to my parent's hotel room that night, intending to swim, but ultimately didn't. Instead we all chowed down on microwave popcorn and the kids got silly.
Monkey fell asleep on the way home and Moose was asleep before his head hit the pillow. It was nice.

Now, the only problem we had was our sleeping arrangement. We brought our great queen sized air mattress. The big double thick kind. Except, at 3:30, we realized we were halfway to the floor. The hubs blew it up with air, to realize he could feel a leak. Well, we got back in, hoping it would last til 7. By 4:30 we were sinking again and he couldn't sleep. So he got up, showered, and rested on a couch upstairs. I stuck it out on the mattress alone. It was also pretty darn cold. It made for a slightly difficult night, but we managed to stick through it.

The next morning we went to church with my bro and saw his sweet baby get blessed. So precious. She's such a doll. After that, my mom offered to take family pictures for us. We don't have any with Monkey and thought it would be nice to do so before we have Baby 3 on our hands too. So we did that. It was pretty darn fun. Then us and the parents all went out to lunch at a great place. I stuffed my pregnant face. It was awesome. We then proceeded to my bro's house and visited for a short while before heading home. Me and the hubs were exhausted, our kids were still exhausted and we wouldn't make a drive 2 hours in the dark. Moose finally fell asleep over halfway home. Monkey had fallen asleep between our restaurant and my bro's house and woke up before we left for him. She stayed awake the whole time. We were back home by 5 and ate leftovers and put the kids to bed. It was exhausting overall, but completely worth it. If we hadn't had the air mattress issue, it would've been top notch.

So that was our weekend. Insanely busy, non-stop really. But so great to be around my fam and the hub's fam. A huge thanks to them for letting us stay at their house. Something about the hub's bro and his sweet wife make Moose so goofy and he's a complete goof ball the entire time we're around them. Well rested or not. It was a blast. So good to see you all.

Today was a day to try and get back on track. It went pretty good. Hopefully a good night's rest will get the kids back to themselves even more so. I hope so!

Great news!

As I was getting ready to write a post about Monkey's wacky day of waking up too early, having a very early nap, and then being awake from 11:30-8, I found out something way better that I wanted to post.

My sweet friend from High School had her first baby this Monday. She actually named her after Monkey. Okay, not after her, but she really likes her name, and decided to use it too. (Which I am thrilled about!) And no, she's not named Monkey. :) She has had such a tough pregnancy (being sick constantly) and she's a really tiny gal, so I can only imagine how tough this has been on her body. Especially since the sweet one was a little over 8 pounds! (Seriously, my friend is teeny tiny.)

I'm so excited for her new arrival. The birth of a baby is so wonderful. It can be horrible and painful to go through, but I find in looking back on the births of my two kiddos, the pain and difficulties of childbirth are the first things to be forgotten in the long run. I can always remember difficulties of pregnancy (probably since it lasts so long), but for some reason their births (though I do remember how hard they were) don't stick in my mind as much as far as how rough they were. (And I know I might be unique in this way. But that's my experience.)

I wish I lived closer so I could see the little darling. Being a new parent is so tough. Looking back at our beginning with Moose, despite how prepared I felt, I ultimately had no clue what I was doing. He was a tough cookie, and really took it out of us. I hope your little one isn't nearly that difficult. :)

So congrats to my dear friend "Lil P" and her hubby. I hope your sweet little girl is the joy of your days and that you're more comfortable now that she's screaming at you instead of jumping on your bladder and kicking you in the ribs. :) And welcome to the world sweet lady. Your Mommy and Daddy have been waiting a long time for you and love you very much. Be nice.

Getting Things Done...

Today was a rather productive day. With another 7 o'clock wake up from Monkey, my day started early. I took the liberty to lay down on the couch for an hour right after everyone was fed. Then Moose was whisked off to preschool. Me and Monkey were able to go and get my hair cut! The first time since before she was born. I used to have short hair, and now it's nearing my waist! A trim was definitely needed, and it was a nice morning activity to loosen me up. The kiddos had good naps and Monkey's was quite long. I think these 7 am wakeups are starting to get to her. (Her nap was 4 hours.) She didn't stay up chattering for an hour after we put her to bed at night either.

Her appetite is back (Woohoo!) and we can tell she's had a growth spurt. She's now opening doors and holding onto the stair rail on her way down. (Though we still won't let her go down on her own.)

Thanks to Monkey's 4 hour nap, I was able to relax, read, and sew. I have a quiet book I started over 2 years ago that I'm just finishing. I worked on it a bunch the month before Monkey was born, but then didn't touch it for a long time. I'm sewing a cover around the outside so little pieces don't fall out and get lost while it's being carted around. I'm pretty sure it'll be done tomorrow. Just in time for a short trip!

Saturday morning we're taking a short drive down to my brother's place. He's blessing his new baby, Taylor, on Sunday. (Yes, the one born in the car.) We're heading down to visit and enjoy the occasion. My parents are also coming, which is a point of excitement for us since they're a full 2 days drive away. (Long days.) The kiddos don't get to see them very much. The last time we saw them was back in May, when my brother gradauted. Before that, it was when Monkey was 3 months old or so. So big stretches. After this short weekend visit, we won't see them again until Baby 3 is born. And even then it'll probably just be my mom when she comes up to help out when Baby 3 is born. Unless I can squeak out a flight down to their place for me and the kiddos. (That would be fantastic, but don't know how probable, since plane tickets can be so pricey.)

Anyhow, so today was a good productive day. Tomorrow's a day without preschool or any other planned activities. So who knows what'll happen. Maybe some bike riding for Moose. Maybe a quick grocery trip for all of us. Maybe some frosting of Halloween cookies. The possibilities are (almost) endless.

Early to Rise...

So this morning, Monkey decided to be up at 7 with Moose, which meant over 1 1/2 hours less sleep for me. (Boo!) Let's just say I was not the happiest camper ever. As I realized my own grouchiness, I decided to take a long, hot shower to cool off. (Ironic, I know.) It did the trick (possibly because during part of it, Monkey accidentally shut herself out of my bathroom, so I was actually alone.) but withint a few minutes of being out of the shower, the grouch was back. So I ate and then laid down on the couch in my robe and decided I wasn't moving. Eventually, Monkey gave up on my trying to read her books, and Moose was happily playing the computer (since his chores were done.). I was actually able to fall asleep on and off. I laid there for an hour. (More of it being spent awake, but the bits of sleep I did get did the trick.) I finally found myself feeling rested and like I can face the day.

So my moral for the day is, when your day starts out the wrong way, try again. When your first try to restart your day doesn't work, try again. Maybe the second try will work. But if it doesn't, feel free to try again. With ice cream or chocolate. :)

Tuning Tuesday...

Today gets to be Tuning Tuesday because the piano was tuned this morning! It took 2 whole hours, but it sounds great and now I could actually teach someone on it. (I'm vaguely considering starting Moose on it. With some great little kid books of course. I'll have to check the selection. For now, just a thought.) Moose had preschool today. Then naps happened. (Yay!) The afternoon was unremarkable. Computer games, some small me-tasks, books to read, then pancakes and bacon for dinner.

Is it so funny that my kids love bacon? (I like to say they get it from their Grandpa, my fantastic Dad. Happy Birthday Daddy!) Moose seriously ate like 3 strips of bacon at dinner. He actually ate more than me, since he ate 2 pancakes and I only ate 1. Monkey even ate decent today. Cheerios, applesauce, some macaroni, crackers and cheese, pancakes, and yes, a few pieces of bacon. :)

I feel like I'm finally past the caution stage of eating where I don't eat things for fear they would make me throw up. But now I'm starting to feel (already) like I'm in the stage where I fill up really fast, so I can't eat much. (Bummer!) I don't know if this will pass and then come back later on, when it usually hits, or if it's just coming early. But it's no fun to finally feel like you can eat things, only to have to seriously limit your portion size. (Or keep the tums handy, which I've already had to use.)

Although, I find there's always room for ice cream or chocolate. Just saying. :)

Just A Monday...

There really wasn't anything outstanding about today. It was just a good day. I say this in a good way. Today was a good day. Nothing really specific that comes to mind that I wanted to write about. But it feels good to have had a pretty normal day. We had a friend over this morning (who lives far, so it was a treat) and that was really fun. The boys played, Monkey stalked around, we made some Halloween cookies. Good times. During naptime I was hit with a productive bug and tried to do as many of my projects as possible. (I did pretty good too. Not finishing as much as I wanted to, but feeling so good about what I did finish.) We had a great dinner of fried fish, rice and zucchini. Family Night, with some more frosted cookies as our dessert. The hubs is attempting to put the kids down. I only say attempting because lately Monkey only goes to bed with me. But all I do is lay her down in her crib, on her little pillow (a new thing. It's tiny.) and sing a few songs. She's still been a bit of a crank pot today, so we'll see. Although we already gave her some yummy tylenol to help ease the canine pain. Can't wait til this teething business is done. She was still picky-ish today. Cheerios, cheese, saltines, applesauce, milk, apple juice, bread, and maybe a bite of rice. Oh, and frosted sugar cookies. Of course those are okay. All in all a really good day. Hope tomorrow is equally good. We're getting the piano tuned. (Can I hear a hooray?) Very excited for this. Now when my mom mails me a copy of "Bridge over Troubled Waters" I can play it and it will sound fantastic. Can't wait. :)

Picky Eater...

I can't really talk about being a picky eater. I was a very picky eater growing up and didn't broaden my horizons until after I was married. Even more so until after Monkey was born, for some odd reason. But with kids, you have no idea what their tastes and preferences will be. We're not super tolerant of picky eaters (gotta avoid creating more like me, right?) and make our kids eat a little of everything. Because of it, (and probably because he's like the hubs) Moose is a fantastic eater and eats a wide variety of things, that makes a Mama proud. But Monkey is still a bit young and getting teeth, so she still can't handle the full gamut of foods. This makes her occasional picky bouts harder to deal with. She's currently getting all 4 canines at the same time, giving her occasional discomfort and food issues. Today was one of those days. Outside of Ritz crackers, milk or juice, she hardly touched a thing. Even foods she generally loves, like saltines or grapes. She had a few strawberries from our dessert, but otherwise didn't want anything. We even offered her a fruit bar, which are her favorite, and she turned it down and asked for milk. What do you do? I try not to let myself get up in arms over it, because with my kiddos, this sort of thing generally doesn't last longer than a day or two at most. And the last 2 days, the hubs has spent more time with her during meals, so I can't really account for what's been going on. I'm usually the food giver with her, so I know how to read her signals and body language really well. I may be more persuasive or convincing about making her eat a reasonable amount of decent food too. But whenever they're teething, I try to let things slide knowing that by tomorrow she's going to be hungry, and when she finally decides she wants to eat, I'll be there with something yummy and nutritious.

Regular Saturday...

Now that the hubs is no longer working Saturdays (yay!) he's home for a more regular feeling Saturday. He's been working Saturdays since late May. It's been so long, it feels so luxurious. When he spends a whole day at home, he's usually extremely productive the whole time (barring sickness or a bad night's sleep.) so it's always fun to see what happens.

Me and Moose went to a friend's birthday party, so the hubs spent the morning/afternoon with Monkey. He hasn't done that since, maybe since she was a newborn. Probably not even then since she was breastfeeding back then. It was fun for him and her. She just loves Papa time and I think she was in heaven, once he decided to stop trying to ignore her. (In his defense, he was doing dinner prep, laundry, and chores.) After me and Moose got home and he was in bed, I was able to head off to JoAnns for the first time in a long time and get a few finishing touches for some projects and some Halloween touches for the house. Moose is SO excited about Halloween. This is the first year he's been able to anticipate it and he's so excited! It's so contagious. Then we spent an evening together eating dinner and watching Beauty and the Beast. (I probably enjoyed it more than Moose did.) It was a great day. We had corn on the cob at dinner and Moose was able to try eating it on the cob for the first time. I told him how much I liked it when I was little and talked about our corn stalks in our front yard growing up. Not in the backyard, the front yard. Good times. :)

I have really missed these "regular" Saturdays. At one point, the hubs had both kids with him on their hands and knees with rags mopping the kitchen floor. Needless to say, it was awesome. :)

Head Bonks...

So we were on our way to drop off the kids for a date tonight. (Digiorno pizza/breadsticks and the end of Season 4 Alias.) When I was getting Monkey in the car, she walked into part of the door, getting a nice, small red welt on her left temple. Upon arriving, Moose was getting out of the car and when he shut his door, he caught his nose with it. It wasn't bleeding or broken, thank goodness. But he might get a good sized bruise on it, although it's been a few hours and it's not looking too bad. But it sure was super sad when it happened. To both of them. I was super close to whacking my head on a freezer door at Albertsons while we were getting our pizza. I guess it was just one of those head-beating days. (So long as there aren't any major bruises or headaches, I think it'll turn out alright.)

And Baby 3 is now an apple. :)

More Preschool...

So I had my second day with the kiddos today. It turned out SO much better. I had 4 kids today, the addition is 3 1/2 and a sweetheart. I was less physically prepared, but more mentally, which completely balanced out. Monkey sleeping in til 9:45 didn't hurt either. My favorite activity was cutting out sugar cookies with my leaf shaped cutter and frosting them in brown, red, and orange in honor of our new and wonderful season. The kids had a good time, they spent significantly less time in free playtime, and I felt really good afterwards. Yay for that.

And one of the moms told me that on Tuesday on the way home, her little one told her something along the lines of "B, Bus". (B was our letter Tuesday.) So yay! Something I'm doing actually sticks. And when the hubs asked him about school today, he remembered that our letter today was "H". A good day. Glad I won't have to do this again for 5 weeks, but I ultimately had a great time.

The rest of the day was spent in recovery mode/cleaning up. Moose didn't take a nap really, so that always crimps my style just a bit. But those two crazy kids are in bed, and me and the hubs are looking forward to the remainder of our science fiction miniseries tonight. (Netflix fans!)

Maybe Monkey will sleep in again tomorrow...  :)