Well today was the day, I sent my oldest child off on the bus to kindergarten. And it was really hard, like really really hard.
I didn't think I would be the mom that cried at the bus stop and was fighting the urge to follow to bus all the way to school. But about half way through this summer I realized that was totally going to be me. My anxiety was at an all time high. Unfortunately the Kindergarten orientation two weeks ago did not help the situation at all. I left feeling more scared and more sad and more worried about how he was going to handle this new school schedule and how was I going to handle having him away from me from 8:45am-4:10pm every single day.
So why is it so hard? Why am I such an emotional mess? I think one big part of it is that kindergarten represents the next big stage in life. His baby, stay home and play with mommy, responsibility free years are over... and never coming back. He will now be in school full time for the next 13 years (any hopefully more with a great college education)!! He will spend way more time in school, following the rules, going through the motions of public education, conforming to what he is suppose to be doing, then he will at home with me and exploring the world. That makes me sad.
But it's also hard because I need to come to terms with the fact that he won't need me as much. He will be gaining independence daily. He will become a big boy, slowly drifting away from my little buddy that needs mommy's hugs and kisses for everything. This realization is equal parts pride and heartbreak.
Luckily for everyone, he woke up this morning excited and ready to start this adventure. When the bus came, he ran, literally ran down the street and jumped right on. That made me happy and relieved and soooo sad that he so easily just blew me a kiss and went on his way.
Within a few minutes my parents went back on with their day, Mike left for work and took Patrick to my inlaws, and it was just me. I sat in the kitchen, drank my coffee, and cried lots of tears. Here are some of the thoughts that ran through my mind:
- I can't believe my little baby is on that big bus driving to a brand new building without me. He is to young for that! How can he possibly do that by himself??
- I hope he can open his lunch box and all his snacks? What if he can't open the bag of grapes, or zipper it back up?
- I pray pray pray he doesn't try to share food with any other kids, he still doesn't really understand what is safe and not safe to eat with his allergies. The lunch room is a scary place!
-What if he talks to much? He loves to talk, and he is so enthusiastic, but what if he doesn't understand when to stop?
- Please be a kind love-able boy! I hope the teacher loves him too and he doesn't become the "bad" or "annoying" kid in class.
- What shorts is he wearing? Is he going to be able to button them by himself after the bathroom?
-I hope he doesn't get overwhelmed and act like a crazy kid.
-Does he miss me? I hope so because I miss him, but I hope not because I don't want him to be sad.
-Do they get to spend enough time just playing and being kids? They are still so young, being in school all day is hard!!
-I hope he eats his lunch and snack, I don't want him to be hungry.
-Is it 4:10pm yet???
The time finally came to meet him at the bus stop. When the bus arrived the bus driver had to remind him several times that he had to get off the bus, he could see his friends tomorrow. He spent the next 2 hours telling me lots of stories about the classroom, the boy on the bus, the kid he helped walk to the nurses office, the boy who hit him by mistake in the face (I didn't love this part), the lunch room, and how he needs to wear his nice blue sneakers on Tuesdays. My heart was full to hear about his great first day. Tomorrow will be a tad easier, but the feelings of worry and sadness will not be gone. But hopefully seeing him happy, a great teacher, and new friends will help ease the pain and lead to an amazing first year of school!!
They say things are much easier when the kids start 1st grade.... that better be true!
The Taynors
Showing posts with label mom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mom. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Thursday, July 14, 2016
What do I want to be when I grow up?
When kids in high school or early college say "I am not sure what I want to do when I get out of school", I laugh, because I am 33 years old and I still can't wan't answer that questions. This particular topic has been messing with my mind on and off over the past 2.5 years (since Patrick was born) but has been overwhelming me recently.
Recently we have been having a lot of debate and discussion about moving to North Carolina (that is the next post), but it seems like we will be staying in put in New Jersey. Along with this decision is the decision that I really need to continue to work, being a stay at home mom is really not an option. The cost of living in New Jersey is high, the taxes are high, the amount of projects we have for our house is high... bottom line is that if we are living in New Jersey, we need to be a two income family. I am okay with this decision, I really know its best, but it leads me to question my current career.
You see, if I am going to work, I want it to be worth it. I want to make enough money that it is worth leaving my kids with a babysitter. I want to be motivated and feel like I am doing something that matters. I want to feel like I can grow and develop in a career. And if I am being honest, that is not how I feel right now. I feel over qualified in an under paid job. If I have to pay for a babysitter, I basically work for free. And I feel stuck in a rut, its the same thing over and over for the past 5 years.
When I first started working in the Chiropractic office, it was the perfect transition for me. Ryan was just about 7 months old, we had decided going back to teaching full time wasn't the best plan for our family, and I had my inlaws and parents to babysit regularly so I wasn't paying babysitting (which meant my low pay was okay). And it was new and exciting! I loved the people I worked with (I still do!) and it was a new position that I had to learn, and I loved being in the health and wellness word. Over the past years I have learned soooooooo much and made so many great connections. But now five years later, I am bored. I dread going to work every day, my pay checks are so low that I feel like I am going to work for nothing. I don't have my inlaws and my mom to babysit as consistently as I did before, so I have to pay for a lot of child care. It is just not working the same as it was when I started.
So I am back to the drawing bored, and it's stressing me out!
Do I stay at the chiropractic office because it is comfortable and flexible and routine right now, and stop worrying about my qualification and lack of pay increase? Or do I start to search for a new, better option. I think the stressful part is, I am not exactly sure what the next job would be.
I am lucky in the sense that I have a lot of qualifications. I have a business marketing and management degree, I have my license as a hairstylist, and I am a certified English and Business teacher. I have work experience in offices, fundraising, event planning, hair salons and bridal hair, teaching, assistant teaching, sales, childcare, and I can keep going. I have had a million jobs since I started working at 16 years old! I truly believe I could be good at whatever I decide to do. I am super hard working, motivated, determined, and stubborn (haha I won't let myself suck). But none of this helps me make a decision on what the next step is.
I have been trying to think logically- what are the most important aspects of a job that I am looking for-
1. Flexible schedule!!! Absolutely first thing. I still want to be mom first. So a job that allows me to go to school shows and take the kids to doctors appointments and put my kids priorities first is the most important factor.
2. Good pay. Like I said before, I have a lot of qualifications and skills. If I am going to leave my family to work, the pay needs to be worth the time away. We are blessed enough to not be scraping by, but my income allows the opportunity to do the things we want to do.
3. Something I enjoy doing. I don't really want to sit behind a desk doing paper work or answering phone calls. I want to be motivated, achieving goals, interacting with people. I want to be proud of what I do.
My husband's input is this- I have changed jobs a lot (its true, I can't be mad at him for pointing this out) so he wants me to try to find something that I am happy enough doing that I won't be having this same conversation in about 5 years. And I do agree with him, that will be ideal. But I don't think its a deal breaker. I personally don't really think its a "bad" thing that I have changed jobs a lot, or that I look for change every 5 years or so. Every time I have made a change it has been for the better, each new job has given me new motivations. Also each job has been perfectly suited for our family situation at that given time. I am not a career woman, trying to climb a corporate latter and making big raises by staying at a company for the long term. I think it is okay to seek change everyone once in a while as our family dynamic changes. And it might mean that by time I retire I will have had 20 jobs, but is that really an awful thing? I don't think so, but maybe I am missing something?
So that leads to my husbands next question- what is your passion? Find something you are passionate about and do it! Much easier said then done. I have tons of passions-
1. Healthy and wellness- especially with raising kids. Educating kids and families on real wellness.
2. Research junky on the nutrition (gut), brain, nervous system connection for kids with special needs, and also anything health related- clean water, removing toxins for homes, getting our bodies back to the way nature intended it to be.
3. Organizing. I know, weird, but I LOVE organizing.
4. Planning. I love planning parties and events and schedules. Goes along with my love for organizing.
5. The beach (can I make a career of going to the beach?)
6. Travel- I love to travel the world, and I love to plan and research travel.
7. Management- One of my favorite parts of my current job is the management aspect. Coordinating people and appointments and tasks and making sure everyone is doing what they are suppose to be doing.
8. Kids- I love being around them, teaching them, motivating them... I love working with kids.
9. Being in charge. Its part of my personality and something it is a negative trait, but I love being in control and making decision. Total type A personality.
10. In general I just like working with people. Helping them, communicating with them, working together.
I am sure there are plenty of other passions I have, but these are the ones that come to mind. Now is the hard part. I need to take the "must haves" list for a new job and combine it with some of these "passions" and hopefully find a great new career option. And to make it even better, hopefully I already have the schooling for whatever I want to do so it does not mean going back for another degree or certification.
In the past few months I have been tossing around a few ideas, some more attainable than others. But I haven't put my finger on a plan yet.
- Travel agent- I love everything about this, except for the inconsistent pay. I love travel, research, working with people.... but I don't know if I can give up my steady pay check for the irregular income of a travel agent.
-Building my Bridal Hair business enough that I can do only that. This is a great plan, and I love doing it. But I can't see myself committing to working every Saturday and most Sundays from March-October. That is our only family time. What happens when the kids are older and have weekends loaded with sports and activities. I love doing weddings, but I don't want to miss every single weekend for months at a time.
-Real estate agent- this option is a front runner right now. It is flexible, I can do as much or as little as I want with it. It's more money then travel agent. And it also ties in with one of our family goals to continue to invest in income properties and possibly flip homes. Yes I need to take the course and it will take some time to build up business (agents are a dime a dozen) but I think its an accomplishable goal.
- Occupational therapist- This is a dream job at this point, but also the most far fetched. I am attracted to it because its a true career that I can work part time. It involves working with kids. There are many career options within the field. I can use my health and wellness and passions for helping kids. But its a LOT of school. I would need to do a semester of pre-reqs and then apply and pray to get in, and then two years of full time school. That would be a stretch financially and logistically for our family.
-Some kind of social worker/therapist. This is very vague. But one of my favorite parts about my current job is working with the moms who come in and are lost and looking for help. Guiding them through health and wellness, giving recommendations for their kids, connecting through my past experiences... I just love being able to talk to other families help them the best I can. Maybe working with postpartum moms, or families going through the special needs process with their children. I really don't know.
- Or of course, stay where I am. It's comfortable, and flexible, and I can suck it up and just be happy there.
Okay longest, rambly blog post ever. I am done for now. Ahhhh I feel better just getting it all out of my head and onto paper. I think I will just pray a lot, see what happens with Mike's career in the immediate future, and hope that the answer just comes to me. I'll keep you posted!
Recently we have been having a lot of debate and discussion about moving to North Carolina (that is the next post), but it seems like we will be staying in put in New Jersey. Along with this decision is the decision that I really need to continue to work, being a stay at home mom is really not an option. The cost of living in New Jersey is high, the taxes are high, the amount of projects we have for our house is high... bottom line is that if we are living in New Jersey, we need to be a two income family. I am okay with this decision, I really know its best, but it leads me to question my current career.
You see, if I am going to work, I want it to be worth it. I want to make enough money that it is worth leaving my kids with a babysitter. I want to be motivated and feel like I am doing something that matters. I want to feel like I can grow and develop in a career. And if I am being honest, that is not how I feel right now. I feel over qualified in an under paid job. If I have to pay for a babysitter, I basically work for free. And I feel stuck in a rut, its the same thing over and over for the past 5 years.
When I first started working in the Chiropractic office, it was the perfect transition for me. Ryan was just about 7 months old, we had decided going back to teaching full time wasn't the best plan for our family, and I had my inlaws and parents to babysit regularly so I wasn't paying babysitting (which meant my low pay was okay). And it was new and exciting! I loved the people I worked with (I still do!) and it was a new position that I had to learn, and I loved being in the health and wellness word. Over the past years I have learned soooooooo much and made so many great connections. But now five years later, I am bored. I dread going to work every day, my pay checks are so low that I feel like I am going to work for nothing. I don't have my inlaws and my mom to babysit as consistently as I did before, so I have to pay for a lot of child care. It is just not working the same as it was when I started.
So I am back to the drawing bored, and it's stressing me out!
Do I stay at the chiropractic office because it is comfortable and flexible and routine right now, and stop worrying about my qualification and lack of pay increase? Or do I start to search for a new, better option. I think the stressful part is, I am not exactly sure what the next job would be.
I am lucky in the sense that I have a lot of qualifications. I have a business marketing and management degree, I have my license as a hairstylist, and I am a certified English and Business teacher. I have work experience in offices, fundraising, event planning, hair salons and bridal hair, teaching, assistant teaching, sales, childcare, and I can keep going. I have had a million jobs since I started working at 16 years old! I truly believe I could be good at whatever I decide to do. I am super hard working, motivated, determined, and stubborn (haha I won't let myself suck). But none of this helps me make a decision on what the next step is.
I have been trying to think logically- what are the most important aspects of a job that I am looking for-
1. Flexible schedule!!! Absolutely first thing. I still want to be mom first. So a job that allows me to go to school shows and take the kids to doctors appointments and put my kids priorities first is the most important factor.
2. Good pay. Like I said before, I have a lot of qualifications and skills. If I am going to leave my family to work, the pay needs to be worth the time away. We are blessed enough to not be scraping by, but my income allows the opportunity to do the things we want to do.
3. Something I enjoy doing. I don't really want to sit behind a desk doing paper work or answering phone calls. I want to be motivated, achieving goals, interacting with people. I want to be proud of what I do.
My husband's input is this- I have changed jobs a lot (its true, I can't be mad at him for pointing this out) so he wants me to try to find something that I am happy enough doing that I won't be having this same conversation in about 5 years. And I do agree with him, that will be ideal. But I don't think its a deal breaker. I personally don't really think its a "bad" thing that I have changed jobs a lot, or that I look for change every 5 years or so. Every time I have made a change it has been for the better, each new job has given me new motivations. Also each job has been perfectly suited for our family situation at that given time. I am not a career woman, trying to climb a corporate latter and making big raises by staying at a company for the long term. I think it is okay to seek change everyone once in a while as our family dynamic changes. And it might mean that by time I retire I will have had 20 jobs, but is that really an awful thing? I don't think so, but maybe I am missing something?
So that leads to my husbands next question- what is your passion? Find something you are passionate about and do it! Much easier said then done. I have tons of passions-
1. Healthy and wellness- especially with raising kids. Educating kids and families on real wellness.
2. Research junky on the nutrition (gut), brain, nervous system connection for kids with special needs, and also anything health related- clean water, removing toxins for homes, getting our bodies back to the way nature intended it to be.
3. Organizing. I know, weird, but I LOVE organizing.
4. Planning. I love planning parties and events and schedules. Goes along with my love for organizing.
5. The beach (can I make a career of going to the beach?)
6. Travel- I love to travel the world, and I love to plan and research travel.
7. Management- One of my favorite parts of my current job is the management aspect. Coordinating people and appointments and tasks and making sure everyone is doing what they are suppose to be doing.
8. Kids- I love being around them, teaching them, motivating them... I love working with kids.
9. Being in charge. Its part of my personality and something it is a negative trait, but I love being in control and making decision. Total type A personality.
10. In general I just like working with people. Helping them, communicating with them, working together.
I am sure there are plenty of other passions I have, but these are the ones that come to mind. Now is the hard part. I need to take the "must haves" list for a new job and combine it with some of these "passions" and hopefully find a great new career option. And to make it even better, hopefully I already have the schooling for whatever I want to do so it does not mean going back for another degree or certification.
In the past few months I have been tossing around a few ideas, some more attainable than others. But I haven't put my finger on a plan yet.
- Travel agent- I love everything about this, except for the inconsistent pay. I love travel, research, working with people.... but I don't know if I can give up my steady pay check for the irregular income of a travel agent.
-Building my Bridal Hair business enough that I can do only that. This is a great plan, and I love doing it. But I can't see myself committing to working every Saturday and most Sundays from March-October. That is our only family time. What happens when the kids are older and have weekends loaded with sports and activities. I love doing weddings, but I don't want to miss every single weekend for months at a time.
-Real estate agent- this option is a front runner right now. It is flexible, I can do as much or as little as I want with it. It's more money then travel agent. And it also ties in with one of our family goals to continue to invest in income properties and possibly flip homes. Yes I need to take the course and it will take some time to build up business (agents are a dime a dozen) but I think its an accomplishable goal.
- Occupational therapist- This is a dream job at this point, but also the most far fetched. I am attracted to it because its a true career that I can work part time. It involves working with kids. There are many career options within the field. I can use my health and wellness and passions for helping kids. But its a LOT of school. I would need to do a semester of pre-reqs and then apply and pray to get in, and then two years of full time school. That would be a stretch financially and logistically for our family.
-Some kind of social worker/therapist. This is very vague. But one of my favorite parts about my current job is working with the moms who come in and are lost and looking for help. Guiding them through health and wellness, giving recommendations for their kids, connecting through my past experiences... I just love being able to talk to other families help them the best I can. Maybe working with postpartum moms, or families going through the special needs process with their children. I really don't know.
- Or of course, stay where I am. It's comfortable, and flexible, and I can suck it up and just be happy there.
Okay longest, rambly blog post ever. I am done for now. Ahhhh I feel better just getting it all out of my head and onto paper. I think I will just pray a lot, see what happens with Mike's career in the immediate future, and hope that the answer just comes to me. I'll keep you posted!
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Travel Dreaming
Traveling has become my passion. It is what gets me excited, makes me want to save money, how I spend my free time (haha). I love having a trip on the calendar and am always planning the next one. We just got home from an amazing Disney vacation. I really loved it and so did the boys. We hope to have many Disney trips over the years, but I also really want to travel all of the world. There are so many places to go and amazing places out in the world, I want to do my best to see a lot of them. Luckily it appears Ryan has my travel bug and interest in seeing the most interesting places.
One day I asked him where he wants to go on our next vacation, and this is the list he came up with:
-Himalayan Mountains
-Nepal
-Great Barrier Reef
-The Grand Canyon
-Alaska
-Whale Watching
-Noah's House (North Carolina, I love that this was on his list)
-On a cruise
-Swimming with the dolphins
-Hawaii
I love this list! I love that this is how his brain works. I can't wait to take him to some of these places! And lucky for me, some of these trips are on my list too.
I will go pretty much anywhere, but here is my list of the top places I want to travel:
-Aruba
-Turks and Caicos
-Atlantis (we can swim with the dolphins here!)
-Florida Keys
-Disney Cruise
-Nashville
-Niagara Falls
-Grand Canyon
-Zion National Park
-Skiing out West
-Spa Resort in Arizona
-Spain
-France
-Ireland
-London
-Alaska Cruise
-River cruise through Europe
-Bora Bora
This list is not all inclusive- if an offer or a new idea pops into my mine, I'll try it! Luckily I have a couples vacation coming up in a couple weeks to Myrtle Beach (golf for the guys, beach for the girls). Then we are in the works of planning a friends vacation for next summer, so I have some things on my radar.
One day I asked him where he wants to go on our next vacation, and this is the list he came up with:
-Himalayan Mountains
-Nepal
-Great Barrier Reef
-The Grand Canyon
-Alaska
-Whale Watching
-Noah's House (North Carolina, I love that this was on his list)
-On a cruise
-Swimming with the dolphins
-Hawaii
I love this list! I love that this is how his brain works. I can't wait to take him to some of these places! And lucky for me, some of these trips are on my list too.
I will go pretty much anywhere, but here is my list of the top places I want to travel:
-Aruba
-Turks and Caicos
-Atlantis (we can swim with the dolphins here!)
-Florida Keys
-Disney Cruise
-Nashville
-Niagara Falls
-Grand Canyon
-Zion National Park
-Skiing out West
-Spa Resort in Arizona
-Spain
-France
-Ireland
-London
-Alaska Cruise
-River cruise through Europe
-Bora Bora
This list is not all inclusive- if an offer or a new idea pops into my mine, I'll try it! Luckily I have a couples vacation coming up in a couple weeks to Myrtle Beach (golf for the guys, beach for the girls). Then we are in the works of planning a friends vacation for next summer, so I have some things on my radar.
The Taynor Brothers
As usual, I haven't blogged in forever. I missed Patrick's 2 year old birthday update and party details, and I missed Ryan's 5th birthday update and party details. Life is busy, blogging slips down on the priority list. So instead of trying to back track, here is my post about my precious boys. Hopefully I will still get to posting about their parties. I had a lot of fun planning all the details and would love to share.
So as of today- Ryan is 5 years 3 months old and Patrick is 2 years 4 months old.
Patrick-
-His personality makes us laugh and shakes our heads all day. He is funny, charming, moody, a trouble maker, and super cuddly.
-Patrick is the type that will do something wrong, know he is about do get in trouble, so he will do something really super cute immediately after so that everyone laughs and smiles and suddenly he is no longer in trouble (my brother was very good at this trick too, I know it well).
-He is still sleeping in his crib and in diapers, but we plan to start transitioning both things this summer.
-He occasionally goes on the potty, and when he does we have to have a big celebration
- Patrick can be a bit of a couch potato (he gets it from his Daddy). Umizomi, Little Einsteins, and Paw Patrol are current favorites.
-Talking is coming slow for him, just like his brother. But he is a very good communicator and the words are slowly catching up.
-He calls his brother Yaya and he is in love with him!
-Sleep habits are pretty routine- in bed around 7-7:30, sleeps til anytime between 6-7am and takes a 48 minute nap (I'm serious, all naps are exactly the same length, we have still never gotten a nap over 1 hour).
-He is in the "I do" stage which I kind of love. He wants to try to do everything himself and he is determined to keep up with his big brother.
-We registered Patrick for school, so he will be starting preschool 3 mornings a week in the fall (ahhhh!)
-Patrick can be stubborn. He know what he wants and that's it. If he doesn't get it, tempers flare. But luckily the tantrums never last long.
- He is a picky eater. By time we get to dinner he pretty much eats nothing. I am a mean mom. I make one dinner for the family, he eats it if he wants, or he eats nothing for dinner. I am not starting the bad habit of multiple meals or eating junk for dinner. I am not overly concerned because he eats a great breakfast, a decent lunch, and has lots of healthy snacks all day... so I know the kid won't starve. He will start eating dinner again when he is ready.
-On the food topics- his favorite foods are pouches, bananas, avocado, yogurt, veggie straws, waffles with sun butter, and pasta.
-He finally has his own friend. Up to this point its been all Ryan's friends or his cousins. But now he has play dates with his little buddy Rex and they have a lot of fun together. Its very cute.
-My favorite part of the day is Partick cuddles. He loves to hug and kiss and cuddle up in my lap. I think he would curl back inside the womb if it was possible.
-Patrick's the kind of kid that everyone loves. He is cute, he puts on a show for everyone, he is a social butterfly, people just love him.
Ryan-
-Ryan brings me all the greatest parts of my day and all the hardest parts of my day! He is a lot of love, personality, emotions, and energy every single day.
-Recently Ryan has been blowing us away with his knowledge and questions and quests to learn about all these fascinating topics. He is obsessed with whales, sharks, underwater life, scuba diving, dinosaurs, and traveling around the world. And the obsession is not just about playing with these kind of toys. He wants to read books (like real encyclopedia style books), watch documentaries, and tell everyone about what he is learning.
-When you ask Ryan what he wants to be when he grows up he says "a scuba diver that can take pictures and videos of whales and sharks and use to it do research to learn more about them and teach kids" or to work at a rescue center for sea animals that have been injured.
-He also has become very artistic. His teachers always pull me aside to tell me how great his imagination and art skills are. We are looking into an art summer camp for him.
-He loves people, all people, all the time. Everyone he meets he wants to become friends with. He has invited many grocery store clerks or target employees to our house for dinner.
-Ryan is currently enjoying playing soccer on Saturday mornings and going to his gymnastics class. He is doing much better with following the structure and improving his skills.
- We are working everyday with his ADHD behavior needs and his sensory issues. Its been a tough few months. He goes to OT once a week and I am constantly doing research, going to seminars, watching webinars, to find out more about what I can do about helping him. As he gets older, we are encountering new more challenging issues with his ADHD and compulsive behavior. Its a lot of work to keep up with but we are trucking along. I hope to do a separate post about this soon, I don't want my Ryan update to be all about his disability.
-Ryan is very very emotional- from the highest highs to the lowest lows. When he is excited he is barely able to contain his joy, and when he is upset he cries to the point of throwing up and not breathing. The pendulum can swing from one emotion to the next in just seconds. He keeps me on my toes.
-This kid is LOUD, like really loud all the time. I didn't realize how loud he was until he wasn't around for a few days and the house was eerily quiet. He talks loud, laughs loud, cries loud, plays loud.
-Just like I was saying about Patrick, Ryan is full of love. Lots of cuddling, hugs, kisses all the time. Many days the boys fight over who gets to cuddle with mom- I don't mind this at all!
-Ryan loves to be outside, exploring in the woods, doing yard work with Daddy, swinging on the swings. He is very excited for summer to be outside all the time.
Now lets take a quick peak at their relationship as brothers.
-They love each other so much, its very sweet.
-Ryan loves to protect Patrick, he gets very worried about him and making sure he is safe all the time. But at the same time he can totally body slam him in a wrestling match and not thing twice about it.
-Ryan wants to be just like Mike, and Patrick wants to be just like Ryan, so this leads to a lot of following each other around and fighting over toys. When they all play together, Ryan wants to do whatever Mike is doing, and Patrick then wants what Ryan wants, so even though we have a room full of toys, all three boys are fighting over the same sword (or dinosaur, or truck, or lego piece). It is an odd dynamic because their love for each other and want to play together leads to lots of fighting and tears on a daily basis.
-Both boys are very boyish boys. They are loud, like to get dirty, wrestle a lot, play with bugs, constantly on the move. The activity level in our house is always very high from the minute their eyes open until they fall asleep at night.
-We have reached the fighting and tattling stage. Its tough and I don't think its going away anytime soon. Like I said they fight over toys ALL OF THE TIME, and we get a lot of "Patrick hit me" or "Yaya gave me boo boo". We have a lot of lessons in sharing and keeping your hands to yourself in our future.
-But they can't leave the room without giving each other hugs and kisses and saying I love you, 100 times a day.
I am sure I could go on and on about the little things that make me smile every day, or the little things that make me want to pull my hair out (like Patrick's habit to poop in the bath tub or Ryan's ability to leave a mess wherever he goes) but at least I got some of their little personality traits down on paper!
Seriously I need to get better at posting more often, then I don't want to worry about getting it all down at one time.
So as of today- Ryan is 5 years 3 months old and Patrick is 2 years 4 months old.
Patrick-
-His personality makes us laugh and shakes our heads all day. He is funny, charming, moody, a trouble maker, and super cuddly.
-Patrick is the type that will do something wrong, know he is about do get in trouble, so he will do something really super cute immediately after so that everyone laughs and smiles and suddenly he is no longer in trouble (my brother was very good at this trick too, I know it well).
-He is still sleeping in his crib and in diapers, but we plan to start transitioning both things this summer.
-He occasionally goes on the potty, and when he does we have to have a big celebration
- Patrick can be a bit of a couch potato (he gets it from his Daddy). Umizomi, Little Einsteins, and Paw Patrol are current favorites.
-Talking is coming slow for him, just like his brother. But he is a very good communicator and the words are slowly catching up.
-He calls his brother Yaya and he is in love with him!
-Sleep habits are pretty routine- in bed around 7-7:30, sleeps til anytime between 6-7am and takes a 48 minute nap (I'm serious, all naps are exactly the same length, we have still never gotten a nap over 1 hour).
-He is in the "I do" stage which I kind of love. He wants to try to do everything himself and he is determined to keep up with his big brother.
-We registered Patrick for school, so he will be starting preschool 3 mornings a week in the fall (ahhhh!)
-Patrick can be stubborn. He know what he wants and that's it. If he doesn't get it, tempers flare. But luckily the tantrums never last long.
- He is a picky eater. By time we get to dinner he pretty much eats nothing. I am a mean mom. I make one dinner for the family, he eats it if he wants, or he eats nothing for dinner. I am not starting the bad habit of multiple meals or eating junk for dinner. I am not overly concerned because he eats a great breakfast, a decent lunch, and has lots of healthy snacks all day... so I know the kid won't starve. He will start eating dinner again when he is ready.
-On the food topics- his favorite foods are pouches, bananas, avocado, yogurt, veggie straws, waffles with sun butter, and pasta.
-He finally has his own friend. Up to this point its been all Ryan's friends or his cousins. But now he has play dates with his little buddy Rex and they have a lot of fun together. Its very cute.
-My favorite part of the day is Partick cuddles. He loves to hug and kiss and cuddle up in my lap. I think he would curl back inside the womb if it was possible.
-Patrick's the kind of kid that everyone loves. He is cute, he puts on a show for everyone, he is a social butterfly, people just love him.
Ryan-
-Ryan brings me all the greatest parts of my day and all the hardest parts of my day! He is a lot of love, personality, emotions, and energy every single day.
-Recently Ryan has been blowing us away with his knowledge and questions and quests to learn about all these fascinating topics. He is obsessed with whales, sharks, underwater life, scuba diving, dinosaurs, and traveling around the world. And the obsession is not just about playing with these kind of toys. He wants to read books (like real encyclopedia style books), watch documentaries, and tell everyone about what he is learning.
-When you ask Ryan what he wants to be when he grows up he says "a scuba diver that can take pictures and videos of whales and sharks and use to it do research to learn more about them and teach kids" or to work at a rescue center for sea animals that have been injured.
-He also has become very artistic. His teachers always pull me aside to tell me how great his imagination and art skills are. We are looking into an art summer camp for him.
-He loves people, all people, all the time. Everyone he meets he wants to become friends with. He has invited many grocery store clerks or target employees to our house for dinner.
-Ryan is currently enjoying playing soccer on Saturday mornings and going to his gymnastics class. He is doing much better with following the structure and improving his skills.
- We are working everyday with his ADHD behavior needs and his sensory issues. Its been a tough few months. He goes to OT once a week and I am constantly doing research, going to seminars, watching webinars, to find out more about what I can do about helping him. As he gets older, we are encountering new more challenging issues with his ADHD and compulsive behavior. Its a lot of work to keep up with but we are trucking along. I hope to do a separate post about this soon, I don't want my Ryan update to be all about his disability.
-Ryan is very very emotional- from the highest highs to the lowest lows. When he is excited he is barely able to contain his joy, and when he is upset he cries to the point of throwing up and not breathing. The pendulum can swing from one emotion to the next in just seconds. He keeps me on my toes.
-This kid is LOUD, like really loud all the time. I didn't realize how loud he was until he wasn't around for a few days and the house was eerily quiet. He talks loud, laughs loud, cries loud, plays loud.
-Just like I was saying about Patrick, Ryan is full of love. Lots of cuddling, hugs, kisses all the time. Many days the boys fight over who gets to cuddle with mom- I don't mind this at all!
-Ryan loves to be outside, exploring in the woods, doing yard work with Daddy, swinging on the swings. He is very excited for summer to be outside all the time.
Now lets take a quick peak at their relationship as brothers.
-They love each other so much, its very sweet.
-Ryan loves to protect Patrick, he gets very worried about him and making sure he is safe all the time. But at the same time he can totally body slam him in a wrestling match and not thing twice about it.
-Ryan wants to be just like Mike, and Patrick wants to be just like Ryan, so this leads to a lot of following each other around and fighting over toys. When they all play together, Ryan wants to do whatever Mike is doing, and Patrick then wants what Ryan wants, so even though we have a room full of toys, all three boys are fighting over the same sword (or dinosaur, or truck, or lego piece). It is an odd dynamic because their love for each other and want to play together leads to lots of fighting and tears on a daily basis.
-Both boys are very boyish boys. They are loud, like to get dirty, wrestle a lot, play with bugs, constantly on the move. The activity level in our house is always very high from the minute their eyes open until they fall asleep at night.
-We have reached the fighting and tattling stage. Its tough and I don't think its going away anytime soon. Like I said they fight over toys ALL OF THE TIME, and we get a lot of "Patrick hit me" or "Yaya gave me boo boo". We have a lot of lessons in sharing and keeping your hands to yourself in our future.
-But they can't leave the room without giving each other hugs and kisses and saying I love you, 100 times a day.
I am sure I could go on and on about the little things that make me smile every day, or the little things that make me want to pull my hair out (like Patrick's habit to poop in the bath tub or Ryan's ability to leave a mess wherever he goes) but at least I got some of their little personality traits down on paper!
Seriously I need to get better at posting more often, then I don't want to worry about getting it all down at one time.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
The Adventures of Making Adult Friends
I have been saying for a while that making adult friends is like dating. But events of the past few weeks has proven this to be more true than I was even realized! So I will say it again, making adult friends (after college and marriage and kids) is the same thing as dating!
I have been very blessed with the very best friends, and they have been in my life since as early as elementary school. The same group of girls has been with me through every detail and drama and bad hairstyle I have had for the past 18 plus years. I never really needed to make new friends. But the past year lead many of my best friends heading in different directions. They will forever be my best, the friendships are not going anywhere, but I became acutely aware that I needed to find some girl friends closer to home. Ones to go out for a girls night with, or to bring their kids over for a pizza night every once in a while. I couldn't drive South Jersey or Maryland or fly to NC every time I needed some girl time. That is what started me on my adventure to find some new adult friends
Back to why it feels a lot like dating- Some examples-
-It can be awkward at first, you have to the play the whole getting to know you game. At first it may seem like you have mutual interests, but after a few times hanging out all of a sudden you realize you are very different people. What do you do next, keep working on it? Let it go? It's a bit weird.
-Sometimes you find out they are crazy. Unfortunately I have had a few issues of this recently. Girls can be drama filled and over the top and everything is the end of the world. I don't have time for this in my life, I haven't dealt with that since middle school, and I certainly have no interest in drama filled, crazies in my life as an adult. But just like some of the weirdos we have dated, its hard to shake them.
-Playing the should I call/text game. I know this sounds funny but it's true. You meet someone you think would totally be a great new friend. But you don't know if they feel the same connection (haha I am laughing as I write this). So do you call them? Find something random to text them about? When is it okay to reach out and ask them to do something? Or now that you have hung out a few times, and you feel like you are always the one making the plans, do you keep initiating or do you stand back and wait to see if they reach out. Oh the stress and anxiety over trying to read the situation.
-Deciding what to wear. Women know they really only dress for each other, right? So I seriously found myself in a situation last week over thinking what to wear for dinner out with a new friend. We have known each other for a while now, see each other at daily school drop off in our yoga pants, even had a few social events we both attended... but we had never been out for a girls night just the two of us. I didn't know what her usual dress would be for a girls night (with my high school girl friends I can pretty much predict what each one of them will be wearing to any situation because we know each other so well). Was our night a casual jeans and flats and a sweater night, hair in a pony tail running out the door kind of night? Or would it be more of a "yes we are free, lets get all dolled up for a night on the town" kind of night? I went somewhere in the middle, and luckily it turned out to be just fine.
-Continuing with the same night, it was all about trying to figure each other out- are we ordering full meals, or just bar foods? Would we split some appetizers or like totally different things? Do we pick up this small stuffed endive and eat it whole or cut it up into little pieces (yes this moment actually happened and we laughed a lot about it). We each have our own norms when it comes to going out with friends, but we had to get use to each others.
- But lastly, and just like with dating, if you meet someone who is a good fit, then all these silly little things become easy. Just like when meeting a guy that turns into a real relationship, it should be easy and fun and none of the stress I described above. It's the same with making new friends. If it's easy and fun and you enjoy having this new person in your life, then it probably means it will be a good friendship. If its awkward and work and doesn't make you happy- cut the losses and move on.
Again, I am lucky to have my girls. We know what we will wear, what we will order to eat, what kind of activities we like to do. We know who wants to go out and get a bit tipsy and who would rather sit in sweats on the couch and chat. We know each others quirks and have no judgments about them. We understand each others relationships with our husbands and parents and inlaws and children. We can be ourselves 100% all of the time and know that know matter what these are my best friends that I can go to whenever I need them.
I am hopeful that going through this friendship dating game will lead me to a few more new friends that live a little closer to home. Until then I will blog about my adventures!
I have been very blessed with the very best friends, and they have been in my life since as early as elementary school. The same group of girls has been with me through every detail and drama and bad hairstyle I have had for the past 18 plus years. I never really needed to make new friends. But the past year lead many of my best friends heading in different directions. They will forever be my best, the friendships are not going anywhere, but I became acutely aware that I needed to find some girl friends closer to home. Ones to go out for a girls night with, or to bring their kids over for a pizza night every once in a while. I couldn't drive South Jersey or Maryland or fly to NC every time I needed some girl time. That is what started me on my adventure to find some new adult friends
Back to why it feels a lot like dating- Some examples-
-It can be awkward at first, you have to the play the whole getting to know you game. At first it may seem like you have mutual interests, but after a few times hanging out all of a sudden you realize you are very different people. What do you do next, keep working on it? Let it go? It's a bit weird.
-Sometimes you find out they are crazy. Unfortunately I have had a few issues of this recently. Girls can be drama filled and over the top and everything is the end of the world. I don't have time for this in my life, I haven't dealt with that since middle school, and I certainly have no interest in drama filled, crazies in my life as an adult. But just like some of the weirdos we have dated, its hard to shake them.
-Playing the should I call/text game. I know this sounds funny but it's true. You meet someone you think would totally be a great new friend. But you don't know if they feel the same connection (haha I am laughing as I write this). So do you call them? Find something random to text them about? When is it okay to reach out and ask them to do something? Or now that you have hung out a few times, and you feel like you are always the one making the plans, do you keep initiating or do you stand back and wait to see if they reach out. Oh the stress and anxiety over trying to read the situation.
-Deciding what to wear. Women know they really only dress for each other, right? So I seriously found myself in a situation last week over thinking what to wear for dinner out with a new friend. We have known each other for a while now, see each other at daily school drop off in our yoga pants, even had a few social events we both attended... but we had never been out for a girls night just the two of us. I didn't know what her usual dress would be for a girls night (with my high school girl friends I can pretty much predict what each one of them will be wearing to any situation because we know each other so well). Was our night a casual jeans and flats and a sweater night, hair in a pony tail running out the door kind of night? Or would it be more of a "yes we are free, lets get all dolled up for a night on the town" kind of night? I went somewhere in the middle, and luckily it turned out to be just fine.
-Continuing with the same night, it was all about trying to figure each other out- are we ordering full meals, or just bar foods? Would we split some appetizers or like totally different things? Do we pick up this small stuffed endive and eat it whole or cut it up into little pieces (yes this moment actually happened and we laughed a lot about it). We each have our own norms when it comes to going out with friends, but we had to get use to each others.
- But lastly, and just like with dating, if you meet someone who is a good fit, then all these silly little things become easy. Just like when meeting a guy that turns into a real relationship, it should be easy and fun and none of the stress I described above. It's the same with making new friends. If it's easy and fun and you enjoy having this new person in your life, then it probably means it will be a good friendship. If its awkward and work and doesn't make you happy- cut the losses and move on.
Again, I am lucky to have my girls. We know what we will wear, what we will order to eat, what kind of activities we like to do. We know who wants to go out and get a bit tipsy and who would rather sit in sweats on the couch and chat. We know each others quirks and have no judgments about them. We understand each others relationships with our husbands and parents and inlaws and children. We can be ourselves 100% all of the time and know that know matter what these are my best friends that I can go to whenever I need them.
I am hopeful that going through this friendship dating game will lead me to a few more new friends that live a little closer to home. Until then I will blog about my adventures!
Friday, December 25, 2015
When Christmas Doesn't Go as Planned
It's Christmas night, 7:30 pm, and I have enough time to sit down and write a blog post. Something is wrong with this picture. After all the planning for a magical Christmas day, I am currently sitting on the couch by myself watching lifetime movies. This year Christmas did not go as planned.
Apparently even though I shopped months in advance, I got all the best gifts, wrapped them in color coordinated piles for each kid, prepped lots of food, coordinated plans with all of our family... that didn't stop the flu from hitting our house. Patrick started with the high fever on Tuesday and it has not gone away. He is miserable and lethargic and is on day 4 of this nasty virus (to the doctor we go tomorrow). Then just to make things even better, it hit Mike yesterday. He is out for the count with the same high fever, body aches, and misery.
So this morning Ryan jumped out of bed with excited that it was Christmas morning, but we had to drag Patrick and Mike down to join in the excitement. Patrick cried through most of present, he had no interest at all, and Mike was barely awake to watch the kids open Santa's surprised before he went back to bed for the rest of the day.
Mid-day I realized that neither Patrick or Mike could attend our family Christmas dinner, and Mike was in no shape to take care of Patrick.... sooooo that meant I had to stay home also to take care of them both. I didn't want to ruin the day for Ryan, so I sent him up with my parents.
So here I sit, Patrick is in bed, Mike never left bed, and Ryan is out with my family. I will admit I am a bit lonely, this is definitely not how I pictured Christmas. I am missing my kids and husband and my cousins and extended family, BUT I am sipping champagne, enjoying the quiet and thinking about how even though this was not our perfect Christmas, we are still such a fortunate family with so much to be thankful for.
Christmas can be overwhelming and stressful for parents, but that is not the point and life happens anyway. I am making this a glass half full moment and enjoying whats left of this holiday, and praying that our family is healthy soon so we can enjoy all of Santa's goodies and the plans we have all week.
Anyway- Merry Christmas to all, and hopefully next Christmas we will be able to all celebrate!
Here are a few of the pictures I did manage to get today:
Apparently even though I shopped months in advance, I got all the best gifts, wrapped them in color coordinated piles for each kid, prepped lots of food, coordinated plans with all of our family... that didn't stop the flu from hitting our house. Patrick started with the high fever on Tuesday and it has not gone away. He is miserable and lethargic and is on day 4 of this nasty virus (to the doctor we go tomorrow). Then just to make things even better, it hit Mike yesterday. He is out for the count with the same high fever, body aches, and misery.
So this morning Ryan jumped out of bed with excited that it was Christmas morning, but we had to drag Patrick and Mike down to join in the excitement. Patrick cried through most of present, he had no interest at all, and Mike was barely awake to watch the kids open Santa's surprised before he went back to bed for the rest of the day.
Mid-day I realized that neither Patrick or Mike could attend our family Christmas dinner, and Mike was in no shape to take care of Patrick.... sooooo that meant I had to stay home also to take care of them both. I didn't want to ruin the day for Ryan, so I sent him up with my parents.
So here I sit, Patrick is in bed, Mike never left bed, and Ryan is out with my family. I will admit I am a bit lonely, this is definitely not how I pictured Christmas. I am missing my kids and husband and my cousins and extended family, BUT I am sipping champagne, enjoying the quiet and thinking about how even though this was not our perfect Christmas, we are still such a fortunate family with so much to be thankful for.
Christmas can be overwhelming and stressful for parents, but that is not the point and life happens anyway. I am making this a glass half full moment and enjoying whats left of this holiday, and praying that our family is healthy soon so we can enjoy all of Santa's goodies and the plans we have all week.
Anyway- Merry Christmas to all, and hopefully next Christmas we will be able to all celebrate!
Here are a few of the pictures I did manage to get today:
Friday, November 6, 2015
Taynor Family Randomness- Fall 2015
I wish I could blog daily, I seriously have enough going on in my head that I could come up with a topic of interest every day. I am going to try to make that a goal of mine, to write more often. Lets see how I do!
But for now, here is a bunch of random things going on in our world. I'll be very general, and hopefully a lot of these topics I can go into more details about in later posts (ya know, now that I am going to blog more often). So here it goes.
- We have been in our new house almost 1 year! I can't believe how fast it has gone. We are still very much in fix it up mode, and we have the "what should we do about..." or "What project should we start next" conversation every day. Top of the priority list is to finish the basement, patio and backyard landscaping, dining room, and maybe upstairs bathrooms. In the meantime we have been tackling smaller items- setting up a craft area in the playroom, Mike is building cabinets and cubbies in our front hall closet, front of the house landscaping, 20 privacy trees in the backyard around the base of the hill, painted the boys bathroom rainbow, and hopefully some new light fixtures soon.
-We love our house, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that we are considering moving. I would say its about a 50/50 shot right now, but things in life keep popping up that suggest maybe it would be a good idea to move out of state (craziness with Mike's company, craziness with Toms River, my parents interest in possibly retiring out of state, financial reasons, they are building something mysterious behind our property, and of course the fact that many of my life-support friendships are now out of state). Who knows- no real plans yet, all just pretend.
-I miss my friends like crazy! And Ryan misses his friends... and Mike misses his guys.... you get the point. We are really really missing all the important people that have moved far away. And not just my North Carolina people- my South Jersey and Maryland girls too. Everyone is just to damn far away. I read an amazing blog once that described this feeling. I want to know what they do each day, and see how they decorate their homes for the holidays, and watch their kids grow up, and see the new sweater they got on sale last week. All those things that are so normal when your best friends are near buy, that get lost when suddenly they are far away.
- We bough another house the end of August. We officially own three homes and rent two. Mike has always wanted to dabble in real estate investing, so this year we took advantage of some opportunities. Let me tell you, financially balancing three homes is not easy. Hopefully it will be worth it in the long run.
- It's been a busy travel year for us. Since April we went as a family to Tampa, the OBX, as a couple to Colorado for my cousins wedding, NC twice, Mike on a guys trip, me on a girls trip to Disney. Ryan and I are going next weekend to visit all our buddies in North Carolina, but then that will probably be it for awhile until our spring family Disney trip (Staying at the Polynesian this time- woohoo)!
- I am learning more and more and more about what healthy living is really all about. Its become a major passion recently. I am constantly learning and researching and really feel like I finally get how it all works. Things I have questioned my whole life finally make sense. This particular topic really needs a post of its own, I can't wait to share some of the changes we have made. Its been about a 4 years journey- pretty much since Ryan was born (motherhood changes everything), but the past year I have really become confident in my knowledge and some of the changes we have made as a family.
- My sister just ran the NYC marathon on Sunday and she killed it! We all went up to watch her, what an amazing experience. It was her first marathon and she finished in 3:42. I am incredibly proud of all her hard work and dedication. Congrats to all NYC marathon finishers.
-So are you going to have another baby?? That's the question I get asked almost daily. For a while I said I wasn't going to even talk about it until after our vacation to Colorado. Well that was 3 months ago. I have no updates or news as of now, but I can say we sure do hope to be able to have a third baby. Only time will tell.
-I have been super sentimental about my boys recently. I could explode with love each day. I LOVE being their mom, like seriously love it! I have always loved them, but something recently has made me slow down and actually appreciate and fall in love with each day. I feel like I can appreciate that they won't be this small forever, and that time is going fast. So I want to take in every day and every stage and make a million memories, because before long they will be big boys, then preteens, then teenagers (ahh scary), and eventually adults with wives and I will no longer be the most important woman in their lives. My point being- having toddlers and preschoolers is SO MUCH FUN, and I am going to love it instead of getting annoyed by the hard parts.
-Speaking of the boys- lets do a brief update on both of them:
Ryan
-He is 4 years and 8 months.
-He loves dinosaurs, ninja turtles, fire fighters, police men, power rangers, sharks, sea creatures, and as always, trucks.
- His imagination is UNBELIEVABLE. Like, crazy smart thinker. Every day we act out a new story line full of adventures.
-His newest obsession is crafts. When he was younger he had no interest in coloring or drawing, but I guess he is making up for it now. He spends hours every day coloring, cutting, gluing, stapling, taping, painting, writing, making stories, decorating my house, etc. He calls them projects and he spends most of his day at home working on projects.
-The start of the school year was a struggle. But his teacher has been fantastic working with him, we changed occupational therapists, I adjusted his vitamins and refocused on his diet and nutrition, and I think he is starting to settle in and show some improvements. He has very classic ADHD symptoms and is dealing with many sensory processing issues, but we are doing so much to help him with his brain/body connection and I believe we are already seeing some changes.
-One major plus to our house is that the back yard is our own personal woods. He can spend hours exploring, gathering acorns and leaves, swinging on the swings, doing obstacle courses. He loves being outdoors.
-Daddy is Ryan's favorite person in the world. Everything Mike does is just "soooo cool". If Daddy does it, Ryan wants to do it. If Daddy likes it, Ryan likes it (this specifically hurt when he decided to root for the MEts this year instead of the Yankees- booo)
-Ryan is a big bag of emotions and he is really good at talking about them. Its kind of cute to watch a little person go through the range of being happy, then anxious, then sad, and then process it and go back to being happy again.
-He is super protective of his brother. He watches him closely when they explore in the back yard, and is always checking to make sure the gate on the stares is closed. He gets worried when Patrick crying and wants to know where he is at all times. They are turning into best buds.
-Ryan prays to God every single night to have a baby sister. Man he is putting the pressure on.
- There are little things that Ryan is doing recently that really shows his independence growing. Things that are not a big deal really, but to me they are big signs of him growing up. Some examples: he gets up in the middle of the night and uses the bathroom and then goes right back to bed without needing my help. I only know because I normally hear the toilet flush. He can swing himself on the swings for a very long time. He picks out his clothes, gets dressed on his own, puts the dirty clothes in the hamper, without needed a lot of prompting. He makes his bed most mornings. Sometimes he washed the dishes after dinner without being asked (and actually really cleans them, not just play in the water). He plays independently for much longer stretches of time. Little things that are signs that he is really growing up before my eyes
- Oh Yea, his very favorite song is Drinking Class by Lee Bryce. He knows every word. Proud mamma moment, I guess :)
Patrick
-1 year and 10 months old
- The almost two stage is hitting us hard. Boy is strong willed.
-He is so friggin cute and he knows it.
-He knows what he wants, and knows how to throw a fit til he gets it. But he can also switch on the big smile and flirty eyes in a second.
- Like most second children I would assume, he wants to do everything that Ryan does.
-He is incredibly stubborn- but I believe he has been that way since the day he was born, including during labor.
-He is also incredibly love-able and cuddley. He loves to snuggle and offers hugs to everyone, included strangers.
-His favorite songs are Let It Go from Frozen, Shake your Sillies Out, and also Drinking Class.
-Donald Duck aka Quack Quack is Patrick's favorite character and stuffed animal.
- He won't go anywhere without his school bus. Some kids have loveys and some have teddy bears... Patrick's comfort object is a school bus. Its very cute.
-He is suddenly giving me a hell of a time with sleep again. He was awful til he turned 1 year old. After that he fell into a good routine. Right to bed with no problems between 6:30-7 and up between 6:30-7 most mornings. Some days earlier but not the usual. Then his naps were never great, an hour at best. But he would go right down on his own without any fuss. Then on Saturday everything changed. He refuses to take a nap during the day and just cries hysterically for hours even though he is exhausted, he refuses to fall asleep at night, up to 2 hours of crying each night before he falls asleep standing up or finally gives in and lays down, and then up for the day by around 5am. The tears have been starting just by mentioning nap time or bedtime, and he does whatever he can to try to stall and avoid going up to his room. He is beyond exhausted. We have been pretty miserable all week. Not sure whats going on, or how to change it... but it sucks to see him so upset. Fingers crossed and lots of prayers that he settles back into his happy routine soon.
- He eats like a teenage boy- that is all.
-Getting him in and out of the car seat is a full blown wrestling match.
-He is a slow talker, even slower than Ryan I think. He has some basic animal sounds (dog, cat, sheep, cow), Mama, Dada, Gigi, Bubba, Uh-Oh, Yes, Bus, Quack Quack, Snack, Go, and NaNA (banana) . That is about it. He can do some sign language, and he is pretty good at letting us know what he wants in non-verbal ways. BUT I do think life will get a lot easier for all of us once he starts picking up a few more words. We have many frustrated moments of whining and tears because I have no idea what he is trying to say to me.
-He is generally calm and happy and can go with the flow. He plays well by himself and can be very silly.
Well I think I have gone through a lot of topics I wanted to touch on. Hopefully I will be back very soon to talk about some hot topics, or whatever else pops into my mind between now and then. Until next time...
But for now, here is a bunch of random things going on in our world. I'll be very general, and hopefully a lot of these topics I can go into more details about in later posts (ya know, now that I am going to blog more often). So here it goes.
- We have been in our new house almost 1 year! I can't believe how fast it has gone. We are still very much in fix it up mode, and we have the "what should we do about..." or "What project should we start next" conversation every day. Top of the priority list is to finish the basement, patio and backyard landscaping, dining room, and maybe upstairs bathrooms. In the meantime we have been tackling smaller items- setting up a craft area in the playroom, Mike is building cabinets and cubbies in our front hall closet, front of the house landscaping, 20 privacy trees in the backyard around the base of the hill, painted the boys bathroom rainbow, and hopefully some new light fixtures soon.
-We love our house, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that we are considering moving. I would say its about a 50/50 shot right now, but things in life keep popping up that suggest maybe it would be a good idea to move out of state (craziness with Mike's company, craziness with Toms River, my parents interest in possibly retiring out of state, financial reasons, they are building something mysterious behind our property, and of course the fact that many of my life-support friendships are now out of state). Who knows- no real plans yet, all just pretend.
-I miss my friends like crazy! And Ryan misses his friends... and Mike misses his guys.... you get the point. We are really really missing all the important people that have moved far away. And not just my North Carolina people- my South Jersey and Maryland girls too. Everyone is just to damn far away. I read an amazing blog once that described this feeling. I want to know what they do each day, and see how they decorate their homes for the holidays, and watch their kids grow up, and see the new sweater they got on sale last week. All those things that are so normal when your best friends are near buy, that get lost when suddenly they are far away.
- We bough another house the end of August. We officially own three homes and rent two. Mike has always wanted to dabble in real estate investing, so this year we took advantage of some opportunities. Let me tell you, financially balancing three homes is not easy. Hopefully it will be worth it in the long run.
- It's been a busy travel year for us. Since April we went as a family to Tampa, the OBX, as a couple to Colorado for my cousins wedding, NC twice, Mike on a guys trip, me on a girls trip to Disney. Ryan and I are going next weekend to visit all our buddies in North Carolina, but then that will probably be it for awhile until our spring family Disney trip (Staying at the Polynesian this time- woohoo)!
- I am learning more and more and more about what healthy living is really all about. Its become a major passion recently. I am constantly learning and researching and really feel like I finally get how it all works. Things I have questioned my whole life finally make sense. This particular topic really needs a post of its own, I can't wait to share some of the changes we have made. Its been about a 4 years journey- pretty much since Ryan was born (motherhood changes everything), but the past year I have really become confident in my knowledge and some of the changes we have made as a family.
- My sister just ran the NYC marathon on Sunday and she killed it! We all went up to watch her, what an amazing experience. It was her first marathon and she finished in 3:42. I am incredibly proud of all her hard work and dedication. Congrats to all NYC marathon finishers.
-So are you going to have another baby?? That's the question I get asked almost daily. For a while I said I wasn't going to even talk about it until after our vacation to Colorado. Well that was 3 months ago. I have no updates or news as of now, but I can say we sure do hope to be able to have a third baby. Only time will tell.
-I have been super sentimental about my boys recently. I could explode with love each day. I LOVE being their mom, like seriously love it! I have always loved them, but something recently has made me slow down and actually appreciate and fall in love with each day. I feel like I can appreciate that they won't be this small forever, and that time is going fast. So I want to take in every day and every stage and make a million memories, because before long they will be big boys, then preteens, then teenagers (ahh scary), and eventually adults with wives and I will no longer be the most important woman in their lives. My point being- having toddlers and preschoolers is SO MUCH FUN, and I am going to love it instead of getting annoyed by the hard parts.
-Speaking of the boys- lets do a brief update on both of them:
Ryan
-He is 4 years and 8 months.
-He loves dinosaurs, ninja turtles, fire fighters, police men, power rangers, sharks, sea creatures, and as always, trucks.
- His imagination is UNBELIEVABLE. Like, crazy smart thinker. Every day we act out a new story line full of adventures.
-His newest obsession is crafts. When he was younger he had no interest in coloring or drawing, but I guess he is making up for it now. He spends hours every day coloring, cutting, gluing, stapling, taping, painting, writing, making stories, decorating my house, etc. He calls them projects and he spends most of his day at home working on projects.
-The start of the school year was a struggle. But his teacher has been fantastic working with him, we changed occupational therapists, I adjusted his vitamins and refocused on his diet and nutrition, and I think he is starting to settle in and show some improvements. He has very classic ADHD symptoms and is dealing with many sensory processing issues, but we are doing so much to help him with his brain/body connection and I believe we are already seeing some changes.
-One major plus to our house is that the back yard is our own personal woods. He can spend hours exploring, gathering acorns and leaves, swinging on the swings, doing obstacle courses. He loves being outdoors.
-Daddy is Ryan's favorite person in the world. Everything Mike does is just "soooo cool". If Daddy does it, Ryan wants to do it. If Daddy likes it, Ryan likes it (this specifically hurt when he decided to root for the MEts this year instead of the Yankees- booo)
-Ryan is a big bag of emotions and he is really good at talking about them. Its kind of cute to watch a little person go through the range of being happy, then anxious, then sad, and then process it and go back to being happy again.
-He is super protective of his brother. He watches him closely when they explore in the back yard, and is always checking to make sure the gate on the stares is closed. He gets worried when Patrick crying and wants to know where he is at all times. They are turning into best buds.
-Ryan prays to God every single night to have a baby sister. Man he is putting the pressure on.
- There are little things that Ryan is doing recently that really shows his independence growing. Things that are not a big deal really, but to me they are big signs of him growing up. Some examples: he gets up in the middle of the night and uses the bathroom and then goes right back to bed without needing my help. I only know because I normally hear the toilet flush. He can swing himself on the swings for a very long time. He picks out his clothes, gets dressed on his own, puts the dirty clothes in the hamper, without needed a lot of prompting. He makes his bed most mornings. Sometimes he washed the dishes after dinner without being asked (and actually really cleans them, not just play in the water). He plays independently for much longer stretches of time. Little things that are signs that he is really growing up before my eyes
- Oh Yea, his very favorite song is Drinking Class by Lee Bryce. He knows every word. Proud mamma moment, I guess :)
Patrick
-1 year and 10 months old
- The almost two stage is hitting us hard. Boy is strong willed.
-He is so friggin cute and he knows it.
-He knows what he wants, and knows how to throw a fit til he gets it. But he can also switch on the big smile and flirty eyes in a second.
- Like most second children I would assume, he wants to do everything that Ryan does.
-He is incredibly stubborn- but I believe he has been that way since the day he was born, including during labor.
-He is also incredibly love-able and cuddley. He loves to snuggle and offers hugs to everyone, included strangers.
-His favorite songs are Let It Go from Frozen, Shake your Sillies Out, and also Drinking Class.
-Donald Duck aka Quack Quack is Patrick's favorite character and stuffed animal.
- He won't go anywhere without his school bus. Some kids have loveys and some have teddy bears... Patrick's comfort object is a school bus. Its very cute.
-He is suddenly giving me a hell of a time with sleep again. He was awful til he turned 1 year old. After that he fell into a good routine. Right to bed with no problems between 6:30-7 and up between 6:30-7 most mornings. Some days earlier but not the usual. Then his naps were never great, an hour at best. But he would go right down on his own without any fuss. Then on Saturday everything changed. He refuses to take a nap during the day and just cries hysterically for hours even though he is exhausted, he refuses to fall asleep at night, up to 2 hours of crying each night before he falls asleep standing up or finally gives in and lays down, and then up for the day by around 5am. The tears have been starting just by mentioning nap time or bedtime, and he does whatever he can to try to stall and avoid going up to his room. He is beyond exhausted. We have been pretty miserable all week. Not sure whats going on, or how to change it... but it sucks to see him so upset. Fingers crossed and lots of prayers that he settles back into his happy routine soon.
- He eats like a teenage boy- that is all.
-Getting him in and out of the car seat is a full blown wrestling match.
-He is a slow talker, even slower than Ryan I think. He has some basic animal sounds (dog, cat, sheep, cow), Mama, Dada, Gigi, Bubba, Uh-Oh, Yes, Bus, Quack Quack, Snack, Go, and NaNA (banana) . That is about it. He can do some sign language, and he is pretty good at letting us know what he wants in non-verbal ways. BUT I do think life will get a lot easier for all of us once he starts picking up a few more words. We have many frustrated moments of whining and tears because I have no idea what he is trying to say to me.
-He is generally calm and happy and can go with the flow. He plays well by himself and can be very silly.
Well I think I have gone through a lot of topics I wanted to touch on. Hopefully I will be back very soon to talk about some hot topics, or whatever else pops into my mind between now and then. Until next time...
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
2014 Year in Review
2014 was a year of change. In under one year Mike got a new job, we had a new baby and became a family of 4, and we bought a new home. In the process, it became a year of planning and "figuring things out" and adjusting to all the change.
This year I want to focus on some more personal goals. I am currently reading "The Happiness Project" now and with each chapter I keep adding new things to my list of goals for the year. But for now this is my list (off the top of my head):
1. Go to bed earlier
2. Drink more water- like way more water
3. Run my second 1/2 marathon- I have officially registered for May and on a training schedule
4. Work out efficiently
5. Spend much less time on social media
6. Don't ever attempt to "keep up with the Jones"- stop comparing myself/our family to others
7. De-clutter my brain by tackling unfinished tasks and by not putting things off than can be completed immediately
8. Pray and/or meditate more
9. Be a better wife to my husband
10. Make sure the time I am spending with the boys is quality interactions. Get on the floor and play instead of trying to tackle the laundry and dishes and emails when I'm with them
11. More date nights
12. Work to keep friendships strong
13. Eat more plants/less sugar
14. Every night before bed, recognize something I am grateful for
That's a hefty list, but I am gonna make it a year of self growth and relationships to help recover from our year of change! Happy 2015!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
This year I want to focus on some more personal goals. I am currently reading "The Happiness Project" now and with each chapter I keep adding new things to my list of goals for the year. But for now this is my list (off the top of my head):
1. Go to bed earlier
2. Drink more water- like way more water
3. Run my second 1/2 marathon- I have officially registered for May and on a training schedule
4. Work out efficiently
5. Spend much less time on social media
6. Don't ever attempt to "keep up with the Jones"- stop comparing myself/our family to others
7. De-clutter my brain by tackling unfinished tasks and by not putting things off than can be completed immediately
8. Pray and/or meditate more
9. Be a better wife to my husband
10. Make sure the time I am spending with the boys is quality interactions. Get on the floor and play instead of trying to tackle the laundry and dishes and emails when I'm with them
11. More date nights
12. Work to keep friendships strong
13. Eat more plants/less sugar
14. Every night before bed, recognize something I am grateful for
That's a hefty list, but I am gonna make it a year of self growth and relationships to help recover from our year of change! Happy 2015!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:2015 Resolutions
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Pulled in too many directions
I have to take 15 minutes out of my day to write. It's kind of like my therapy. I feel like I am being pulled in 17 different directions and I am at a breaking point of keeping it all under control. I know I am not happy with a lot of whats going on in my crazy world, I feel like my life is just a bit out of sync... but I am really struggling on how to fix it.
Let me first say that I really truly understand how blessed I am. I know my "problems" and stresses are very "first world problems" as they say these days. After 2.5 years of house shopping craziness we are finally settled into our beautiful new house in a dream neighborhood. I have two very happy, healthy boys, and a very supportive, loving husband. My extended family is amazing and I have best friends that have been by my my side more than half my life. Life is good... very good! But right now, we are in a phase (and have been for about 6 months) where life is messy and the pressure is real and I am having a hard time digging out of this rut.
My job situation is not working- and I don't know how to fix it. My income is dropping yet I feel like I am working more and more each week. My job description at the office is constantly changing and I feel very unsettled there, meanwhile my out of the house business is slowly deteriorating. I am concentrating my efforts on a new direction of the hair business (bridal hair) but I need time and effort and money to build that up before I can start seeing the income benefits. I don't feel like there is anything I am really good at, and I definitely can't answer "what makes you happy" in regards to my work. I'm putting 75% effort into everything and really not growing in any direction.
The greater problem is I need a certain income every month, I am not hitting that number, so I need to work more. If I work more I need more paid daycare, which then takes away from the income number. I could re-build my hair business and work more nights and weekends but now that we are in the new house I don't really have a professional working space.... do we spend the money to build another salon space or spend it building up the bridal hair side of things which doesn't need a salon?? Either way that doesn't help the income issue we are having right this second. Do I find a new job? Go back to work teaching full time? Concentrate more on the office job even though the future is uncertain? All of these questions have been weighing on me every single day for months now.... I keep waiting for the light bulb moment when I finally feel like "hey that can work". Its not happening, and in the mean time its leading to some pretty rough times on the home front. Including sitting in tears on our date night because we were both feeling so overwhelmed and can't seem to make anything work.
On top of that, there is trouble at work and I am being pulled beyond what should be expected to keep the peace. I am trying to get Ryan signed up for a new OT and Speech program. I am trying to spend more quality time with my kids... like significant meaningful moments, not just watch tv and play. I am trying to cook dinner more often to save money on eating out. I want to spend more time with my husband and stop the constant attitude and arguing over the stresses of day to day life. I need more me time to do something that makes me happy. I am missing all of my best friends that live all over the east coast... but barely have enough time to get together with the one that lives 15 minutes away, never mind travel 6-10 hours to see the others. I want to meet new friends that are in similar situations as me, but I just don't even know how to do that. I want to decorate our new house, and plan a vacation for my cousins wedding, I want to sit and blog about Patrick's first birthday and update on all the amazing things the boys are doing these days. For goodness sake, I want to sit and watch a full TV show at night after the kids are sleeping. There simply is not enough time in the day.
My brain is just cluttered.... the to-do list is getting longer. The budget is getting tighter. The work situation is getting more stressful. Quality family time is being sacrificed. I feel super lonely since Mike and I don't seem to be on the same page and most of my mommy friends are all in their own unique situations. It's all just so overwhelming.
How do I find the balance between being a great mom, a great wife, support my family financially, be successful in my career, find time for my passions.... and most importantly be happy (which ultimately will help the whole family be happy)?! If you have the secret... I am sure many of us multitasking moms would like to know!
For now the big step one is getting off social media. I haven't quit cold turkey, but I have realized how much angst it makes me feel. The articles, the posts, the pictures of everyone's seemingly perfect families....It makes me feel like I am not doing enough for my kids, we aren't going to enough fun places, I haven't crafted enough, I haven't gone on a super cool vacation or girls night.... you get the picture. I end up feeling bad about myself and it just adds more pressure to keep up with the Jones'. And most importantly.... its a time killer. So I"m done. I am going to try to re-invest that time and energy into something else.
That's it for now... my heart and emotions wrapped up on a blog post. I know its just a phase... but one I am certainly having a really hard time getting out of.
Let me first say that I really truly understand how blessed I am. I know my "problems" and stresses are very "first world problems" as they say these days. After 2.5 years of house shopping craziness we are finally settled into our beautiful new house in a dream neighborhood. I have two very happy, healthy boys, and a very supportive, loving husband. My extended family is amazing and I have best friends that have been by my my side more than half my life. Life is good... very good! But right now, we are in a phase (and have been for about 6 months) where life is messy and the pressure is real and I am having a hard time digging out of this rut.
My job situation is not working- and I don't know how to fix it. My income is dropping yet I feel like I am working more and more each week. My job description at the office is constantly changing and I feel very unsettled there, meanwhile my out of the house business is slowly deteriorating. I am concentrating my efforts on a new direction of the hair business (bridal hair) but I need time and effort and money to build that up before I can start seeing the income benefits. I don't feel like there is anything I am really good at, and I definitely can't answer "what makes you happy" in regards to my work. I'm putting 75% effort into everything and really not growing in any direction.
The greater problem is I need a certain income every month, I am not hitting that number, so I need to work more. If I work more I need more paid daycare, which then takes away from the income number. I could re-build my hair business and work more nights and weekends but now that we are in the new house I don't really have a professional working space.... do we spend the money to build another salon space or spend it building up the bridal hair side of things which doesn't need a salon?? Either way that doesn't help the income issue we are having right this second. Do I find a new job? Go back to work teaching full time? Concentrate more on the office job even though the future is uncertain? All of these questions have been weighing on me every single day for months now.... I keep waiting for the light bulb moment when I finally feel like "hey that can work". Its not happening, and in the mean time its leading to some pretty rough times on the home front. Including sitting in tears on our date night because we were both feeling so overwhelmed and can't seem to make anything work.
On top of that, there is trouble at work and I am being pulled beyond what should be expected to keep the peace. I am trying to get Ryan signed up for a new OT and Speech program. I am trying to spend more quality time with my kids... like significant meaningful moments, not just watch tv and play. I am trying to cook dinner more often to save money on eating out. I want to spend more time with my husband and stop the constant attitude and arguing over the stresses of day to day life. I need more me time to do something that makes me happy. I am missing all of my best friends that live all over the east coast... but barely have enough time to get together with the one that lives 15 minutes away, never mind travel 6-10 hours to see the others. I want to meet new friends that are in similar situations as me, but I just don't even know how to do that. I want to decorate our new house, and plan a vacation for my cousins wedding, I want to sit and blog about Patrick's first birthday and update on all the amazing things the boys are doing these days. For goodness sake, I want to sit and watch a full TV show at night after the kids are sleeping. There simply is not enough time in the day.
My brain is just cluttered.... the to-do list is getting longer. The budget is getting tighter. The work situation is getting more stressful. Quality family time is being sacrificed. I feel super lonely since Mike and I don't seem to be on the same page and most of my mommy friends are all in their own unique situations. It's all just so overwhelming.
How do I find the balance between being a great mom, a great wife, support my family financially, be successful in my career, find time for my passions.... and most importantly be happy (which ultimately will help the whole family be happy)?! If you have the secret... I am sure many of us multitasking moms would like to know!
For now the big step one is getting off social media. I haven't quit cold turkey, but I have realized how much angst it makes me feel. The articles, the posts, the pictures of everyone's seemingly perfect families....It makes me feel like I am not doing enough for my kids, we aren't going to enough fun places, I haven't crafted enough, I haven't gone on a super cool vacation or girls night.... you get the picture. I end up feeling bad about myself and it just adds more pressure to keep up with the Jones'. And most importantly.... its a time killer. So I"m done. I am going to try to re-invest that time and energy into something else.
That's it for now... my heart and emotions wrapped up on a blog post. I know its just a phase... but one I am certainly having a really hard time getting out of.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Adventures in the life of a mom
Today I am home with the boys. I don't have to work til 4:30. But like all moms do (I assume), I filled my day at home with a long list of things to be done. Most of my to do list is the normal stuff.... Laundry, make dinner, call Comcast, clean the bathrooms, but I had one very important thing that had to be done by mid day today.
The task was simple- get cash from the bank and take it to the carpet guy. Three hours later, I am just now home from what turn into quite an adventure.
Here is how a simple task turns into an adventure when doing it with a toddler and a baby.
It's a super cold day today, so to make the car ride a little more fun I was going to turn it into a movie day. I let Ryan wear his slippers, bring a blanket and two favorite stuffed animal friends. We are all finally buckled in and I can't get the DVD player to load the DVD. After multiple attempts I give up and go back inside the house for the iPad. This movie car ride is a fail without the movie part. Get back in the car to find that the iPad has about 15% battery remaining. No worries, I have 3 chargers in the car.... Except- none of the 3 chargers work. Here we are about to spend over an hour in the car and we have no DVD or iPad that works. Oh well, I had to get this done so off we went.
Arrive at the bank- no problems there thank goodness. But that's just about when Ryan makes his first announcement that he has to pee. I leave the bank, find the nearest wawa and start unloading the boys. That's when I realize Ryan has no shoes, just the slippers I let him wear for his movie ride. I am now attempting to carry both Ryan and Patrick in my arms into the wawa for an emergency pee break.
We manage to get in and out pretty quickly. Get Ryan buckled in and now I'm working on Patrick. This is just about the time I hear the dreaded explosive poop come out of Patrick's little bum. Immediately I know it's a bad one. A quick glance down the side of his pants and I see it's a full blowout.
I reach for his diaper bag, and realize I don't have it!!! I have Ryan's emergency bag, but no diaper bag. And of course the back up diaper and wipes I normally carry in Ryan's bag had been taken out just the other day. I have no change of clothes and no diaper for Patrick's poopy mess.
Decision time- I'm about half way to the carpet store. Do I keep going or turn around to change Patrick?? Don't judge me, I kept going.
Thankfully we make it to the carpet store- make the quick cash drop off and then we are on our way home. Patrick fell asleep (poor sleepy guy sitting in that mess). Ryan now starts the "I'm hungry" chant. I don't blame him, it's lunch time by now. Problem is, where can I stop for drive through food for my kid who is allergic to everything. I decided on mcdonalds apple slices.
Pull up to mcdonalds, order the apples, and guess what? They have no apple slices. They have nothing that Ryan can eat. So now I have a very hungry 3 year old who is bored with no movie and a baby sleeping in his own poop. Mom of the year!
We keep heading home. Patrick keeps sleeping and Ryan falls asleep about 5 minutes away from our house. The next challenge is getting them both inside on this blustery day. I attempt Ryan first since I don't want him to wake up. I lift him over my shoulder and get him up the stairs. He briefly woke up but laid right back down for his nap. Patrick next- but he woke up as soon as I opened the car door.
Last step- change the blow out. Upstairs we go, pants off and they are covered (right into the soak pile). Then I realize I can't get the onesie over his head without covering him in poop. I run to get the scissors to cut if off (first time ever trying the method but I was desperate). As I walk back in, I see the final step to this mess... He is now peeing all over himself, the floor, and whatever clean clothes are left. Anyway, I cut off the onesie and put it straight in the garbage, get him naked and in the bath, and get a load of laundry started for the rest of the clothes.
Now Patrick is clean, dry and happily playing, Ryan is sleeping, and I'm sitting with coffee writing my story.
So the end result- after all that craziness- at least the carpets are paid for and can be installed next week. Now onto everything else I need to get done before work in 2 hours. Being a mom rocks 😉
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The task was simple- get cash from the bank and take it to the carpet guy. Three hours later, I am just now home from what turn into quite an adventure.
Here is how a simple task turns into an adventure when doing it with a toddler and a baby.
It's a super cold day today, so to make the car ride a little more fun I was going to turn it into a movie day. I let Ryan wear his slippers, bring a blanket and two favorite stuffed animal friends. We are all finally buckled in and I can't get the DVD player to load the DVD. After multiple attempts I give up and go back inside the house for the iPad. This movie car ride is a fail without the movie part. Get back in the car to find that the iPad has about 15% battery remaining. No worries, I have 3 chargers in the car.... Except- none of the 3 chargers work. Here we are about to spend over an hour in the car and we have no DVD or iPad that works. Oh well, I had to get this done so off we went.
Arrive at the bank- no problems there thank goodness. But that's just about when Ryan makes his first announcement that he has to pee. I leave the bank, find the nearest wawa and start unloading the boys. That's when I realize Ryan has no shoes, just the slippers I let him wear for his movie ride. I am now attempting to carry both Ryan and Patrick in my arms into the wawa for an emergency pee break.
We manage to get in and out pretty quickly. Get Ryan buckled in and now I'm working on Patrick. This is just about the time I hear the dreaded explosive poop come out of Patrick's little bum. Immediately I know it's a bad one. A quick glance down the side of his pants and I see it's a full blowout.
I reach for his diaper bag, and realize I don't have it!!! I have Ryan's emergency bag, but no diaper bag. And of course the back up diaper and wipes I normally carry in Ryan's bag had been taken out just the other day. I have no change of clothes and no diaper for Patrick's poopy mess.
Decision time- I'm about half way to the carpet store. Do I keep going or turn around to change Patrick?? Don't judge me, I kept going.
Thankfully we make it to the carpet store- make the quick cash drop off and then we are on our way home. Patrick fell asleep (poor sleepy guy sitting in that mess). Ryan now starts the "I'm hungry" chant. I don't blame him, it's lunch time by now. Problem is, where can I stop for drive through food for my kid who is allergic to everything. I decided on mcdonalds apple slices.
Pull up to mcdonalds, order the apples, and guess what? They have no apple slices. They have nothing that Ryan can eat. So now I have a very hungry 3 year old who is bored with no movie and a baby sleeping in his own poop. Mom of the year!
We keep heading home. Patrick keeps sleeping and Ryan falls asleep about 5 minutes away from our house. The next challenge is getting them both inside on this blustery day. I attempt Ryan first since I don't want him to wake up. I lift him over my shoulder and get him up the stairs. He briefly woke up but laid right back down for his nap. Patrick next- but he woke up as soon as I opened the car door.
Last step- change the blow out. Upstairs we go, pants off and they are covered (right into the soak pile). Then I realize I can't get the onesie over his head without covering him in poop. I run to get the scissors to cut if off (first time ever trying the method but I was desperate). As I walk back in, I see the final step to this mess... He is now peeing all over himself, the floor, and whatever clean clothes are left. Anyway, I cut off the onesie and put it straight in the garbage, get him naked and in the bath, and get a load of laundry started for the rest of the clothes.
Now Patrick is clean, dry and happily playing, Ryan is sleeping, and I'm sitting with coffee writing my story.
So the end result- after all that craziness- at least the carpets are paid for and can be installed next week. Now onto everything else I need to get done before work in 2 hours. Being a mom rocks 😉
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Men vs. Women: preparing to travel
Both Mike and I will be traveling for 4 day trips on our own, for me it's next week and for Mike it's in three weeks. As I prepare for my getaway, I can't help but think about how different it is for each of us to get ready to leave for a long weekend.
Here is Mike's to do list before traveling alone:
- pack
- get address for hotel
- maybe get a hair cut
Here is my to do list:
- arrange babysitter for Thursday
- arrange babysitter for Friday
- type out schedule for the boys weekends
- make sure I have enough breast milk for baby
- make sure house is stocked with groceries
- make sure laundry is done and put away (so all my boys have clean undies)
- get a pedicure
-shop for toiletries
-pack my breast pump and all accessories
- worry for 3 days that I didn't forget something
- oh yea, pack my suitcase
Sometimes I wish I had a wife to coordinate all the details for our family! But hey, at least I'm going away :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Here is Mike's to do list before traveling alone:
- pack
- get address for hotel
- maybe get a hair cut
Here is my to do list:
- arrange babysitter for Thursday
- arrange babysitter for Friday
- type out schedule for the boys weekends
- make sure I have enough breast milk for baby
- make sure house is stocked with groceries
- make sure laundry is done and put away (so all my boys have clean undies)
- get a pedicure
-shop for toiletries
-pack my breast pump and all accessories
- worry for 3 days that I didn't forget something
- oh yea, pack my suitcase
Sometimes I wish I had a wife to coordinate all the details for our family! But hey, at least I'm going away :)
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