good cop bad cop

"aw, did you have a bad dream? come here buddy"

"stop kicking me"

"you want to snuggle? come here"

"stop pushing the covers down"

"does his breathing sound funny to you?"

"put your feet down"

"will we ever have a normal nights sleep again?"


In my heart I know that years and years from now, I will long for the sound of feet padding down the hall, a small voice calling out, and just one more night with my snuggly babies.

yes i put my kids in daycare

Yes, I put my kids in daycare.
No, it does not make me a bad person.
Yes, I tell myself daily.

It is really hard to have a full-time job and leave your kids in someone else's care. Maybe people don't realize that when they make such rude comments and snide remarks. The guilt has been piling up lately. The media seems to say nobody stays home with their kids any more. If this is true, how come every mom that I meet does?

And they judge me.
"Your kid's in daycare, right? Well that's the problem."
And I try not to hate them.

I also really dislike the categories out there for moms. I'm a "working mom", she's a "full-time mom". So if you have a job outside the home, you're not a full-time Mama? I don't think so. I wish I knew more of the "working moms". Every blog I've found is by a stay-at-home-mom, but I'll keep looking. Hey, all you other working moms out there- tell me how you cope. Just kidding- I know I'm the only one who reads this...

Lately:

may tenth

Frannie is 3 months old today, and Tripp is 23. I can't believe he'll be 2 in a month; I don't know how to slow down this roller coaster. Today when I was getting ready in the bathroom I heard Frannie start breathing louder and faster- it's easier to tell since she has a stopped up nose. I went to check on her and found Tripp rubbing her face and whispering to her "Hi Frannie. Hi Frannie." (yes he can say F's now). He's very sweet, but has a hard time remembering not to poke her in the eye or pull her ears. After he got down he quickly found his Thomas the Tank Engine. This is one hearty little train and it doesn't stop until it hits a wall, and then makes a terrible sound- like a tommy gun- and it's terribly inconveinent when that happens under your bed. Daddy always makes a comment about how we're "under fire". Anyway, it wasn't long before the sound started. Tripp was on the floor reaching behind this shelf and when I got him to stand up we realized Thomas was running... in his hair. Tripp's face was priceless. Daddy saved the day, rescued the train, and Tripp didn't lose too much hair. AND we all still made it out the door on time.

a whole new kind of "tired"

Well, here are (finally) some pictures of Frannie. She will already be 3 months old tomorrow. I started back to work last week, and today am absolutely exhausted. My mom told me after her second baby, she called her mom and said "I'm just so TIRED." Her response was "Oh honey. It will only get worse." I'm trying to keep my eyes open and my head up, but it isn't easy.

Mother's Day was great. Mostly because I got to spend time with family. We watched old home movies where I was horrible to my mother, and everyone had cute little people voices. I want to make more videos of my kids because it all goes by so fast. For now, I'm trying to keep up with pictures. I ordered about 900 prints this weekend because there was a big sale, now if only I can follow through and get them in albums.

One more thing, I tried to find some blogs from "working moms" the other day- and couldn't. Mostly because we don't have time. I'm really starting to hate the labels/categories for moms: "working mom", "full-time mom", etc. they all imply that some moms work more or less than others, which isn't true. okay, I'm getting of my soap-box now...

so far

so far, I have failed at blogging. I keep telling myself that I will get a whole bunch of pictures on here, and then I will write. obviously that is not going to happen. So today I'm just going to talk about today. I just survived a doctor's appointment with 2 kids, and now they are both miraculously sleeping. Don't worry I am not foolish enough to believe it will last. I'm sure Frannie will be awake soon. We had a girl, and we named her Frannie. Really, Frances Kate- but we're big on nicknames around here. Some time I will put pictures of her on here, and talk about how she got here. It is all going by so fast. She's already 6.5 weeks old, and growing like a weed. She smiles all the time, and it is so amazing. In another month I have to go back to work, and am trying not to think about how much I will miss her.
so today...
Tripp was up all night coughing. I got roughly 3 hours of sleep, and not in a row. I have plenty of energy today- but it will hit me tomorrow. MAN- it is hard keeping up with 2 kids, but just having one is already a distant memory. I can barely remember life without Tripp and Frannie... too bad I wasn't blogging back then. Ha. Tripp is growing so, so fast. Having a new little baby makes him seem like a giant in comparison. He is speaking so well, putting several words together, using verbs and personal pronouns ("my baby" when he's not calling her Bannie- we're still working on the letter F). He had to get a shot at the doctor today, and took it like a champ. He cried for roughly 45 seconds. One of the worst parts of being a mom is holding your baby down so somebody can give him a shot. Well, so far. I'm sure things will get worse, and better, and I can't wait.

Lord, give me the strength and patience to be a good Mama.

daddy's big helper

Jase's goal was to put off raking long enough so that all the leaves would be off the trees, and he could just do one really big yard day. He made it out there on Christmas Eve. Tripp and Daddy quickly realized they needed help, so they called in Uncle Matt for back up. Eventually they finished thanks to their big helper, Tripp. 

getting ready for baby... number 2

I am 10 days away from my due date. It is a nerve-racking thing waiting on a baby to arrive. I think the you-have-no-control-here feeling helps you prepare for being a parent. Our older son, Tripp, is almost 20 months- so we will have 2 under 2, and officially be "baby bunchers". I have spoken to a lot, A LOT, of parents who have had children very close together and the general consensus for the first couple years is: (1) it is an insane whirlwind, (2) you work primarily on a survival-only basis, and (3) you don't remember much.

Although I am sure 1 & 2 are unavoidable, I am determined (to attempt) to change #3. So... I started a blog! I started reading "mom blogs" when I was pregnant with Tripp. I read about strangers who were pregnant too, and what they went through. It was nice knowing I wasn't alone, and I learned a lot from other moms' experiences. I read blogs where people were going through tragedies and really horrific things, and just cried in front of my computer. And I read about the hilarious things kids do, and how other moms survived nursing, and pumping, and working full time. Mostly though, they wanted to record things about their kids to remember. And that is my goal here. My objective it to blog once a week, which may be overly ambitious... especially since I have never been successful at maintaining a journal.

Jase, my husband, will be blogging here as well though so maybe that will keep things going. We are just waiting to meet our new little one, boy or girl- it's kind of like the calm before the storm. Any day now...