Busy! Busy! Busy!

It's seems like now that Allen is getting older that things would feel less chaotic but they don't. Between the kids and the gym and the approaching holiday we have been quite busy. Allen and Amelia are growing like weeds. Allen is sitting up now. Amelia has become mommy's little helper as well as quite the little artist.

Over this past weekend we made our office into a playroom and Amelia really thinks it's neat. Took alot of work and we are still relocating other things and trying to deal with the aftermath mess. Not to mention I'm still playing catch-up with the laundry.

I love being a stay-at-home mom but it's not always what it's cracked up to be. It's alot of work. I used to think stay-at-home mom's cleaned a bit and then spent the whole day watching tv and playing with kids. There is so much more too it. The cleaning and laundry never ends. Then there's the teething and potty training and terrible twos. The schedule runs 24/7. The pay is great though. The reward is worth the hassle. I have two healthy happy well adjusted children.

The kids' dedication is coming up in a couple of weeks and then not long after it's Christmas. This is a very busy, stressful, fun, exciting time for our family. I can't wait to see the kids' faces on Christmas. For now though I can hear my bed calling out to me and my eyes can hardly focus on the screen so it's time to say 'good night'.

4 Months Today (Allen's birth story)

Well Allen is 4 months old today so I will take a bit to tell about how this little blessing made his entrance. It all started with a proposal from Daddy. He and I were just watching Amelia play and he turned to me and said "Let's have another baby." Being that Amelia had not been planned we had never tried to have a baby.

So our adventure began with a google search on how to get pregnant. Yes we understood the sex part but we knew there was more to it. Eventually I landed on a phone app. There I met a wonderful group of women. They were a little older then us and had a more experience in life but they welcomed me in. (I found later that they had a lot more advice to offer then just fertility tips.) Some of them were like encyclopedias on fertility.

After following many tips and tricks we conceived. I must admit we did call my mom because we weren't sure how long to wait before telling people and when to go to the doctor. We waited a few months and finally told everyone around Christmas. We answered a million and one questions regarding names, due date and what gender we would like. We told everyone that we would welcome the new baby August 16th.

I fought through nearly 3 months of morning sickness while chasing a toddler and potty training her. Then I slowly gained a tummy. We went to our second ultrasound to find out the gender and we found out we were having a boy. 

Amelia was very excited at the idea of having a partner in crime to play with. She loved giving mommy's tummy kisses.

On July 26th I was in my kitchen cleaning. I had emptied all the cupboards and re-organized them the day before and all I had left was to mop the floor. I had the bucket all filled and started to mop when all the sudden I felt a bit of fluid running down my leg. I went to the bathroom. Then I changed into new pants. I went back into the kitchen and as soon as I stepped over in a gush of liquid ran down both legs and soaked me. I used the mop already in hand to wipe the floor and I called Mike.

I tried to get ahold of my mom but was having no success so we placed a call to my Aunty Jo and Mike's parents. We told them to head to the hospital that the baby was on his way. I cried nearly the whole ride because my mom was still in Colorado and wouldn't be home until the next day.

Once we arrived at the hospital with Amelia in tow we filled out the paperwork and settled into our room. Our family arrived and we visited for a few hours. We sent them out so I could get into the tub. As soon as I got in I knew I'd have to get back out. I told the nurse that she better get the doctor. They called the doctor. I tried as hard as I could to not push until the doctor got there. She arrived just in time to catch our baby boy.

Allen Michael was born three weeks early but weighed a healthy 6lbs 11oz. He was perfectly healthy and needed no special care. After a few days they let us go home. We went and met up with my mom to show her our little Allen.

Amelia took to Allen imediately. She wanted to hold him all the time. Even now she asks to hold him about once an hour. He loves watching her and doesn't like her to get out of his line of view.

Here he is our sleepy four month old Allen. He has grown so much.

Psalm 127:3
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him

Bathtime, Bedtime and the Inbetween

So it begins. The messy task of putting the minis (and in case you are wondering minis in our title refers to the short tales in our blog as well as the munchkins) to bed. First comes Amelia. Her routine was formulated after a year of try and fail until we met success. It is made up of an overly acted out screen play (directed and narrated by dad of course).

Scene One (The snack)

 This in itself can be a production. With a list of two or three choices given, promptly turned down and renegotiated until she finally decides on one of the two or three original offered snacks. (She seems to only be doing this to assert her independence.)

Scene Two (Bathtime)

 Amelia dumps all of her bath toys noisily into the tub while daddy goes over the routine:

 Daddy-"What do we do after the bath?"
Amelia-"The mommy kiss!"
Daddy-"No. We brush our teeth. What do we do after we brush our teeth?"
Amelia-"The mommy kiss!"
Daddy-"No. We find the daddy shirt. What do we do after the daddy shirt?"Amelia"Um....the mommy kiss?"
Daddy-"Yep! What do we after the mommy kiss?
Amelia-"The mommy kiss."
Daddy-"We say our prayers. What do we do after we say our prayers?"
Amelia-"The mommy kiss."
Daddy chuckling-"No...we watch a movie and go to sleep"


 Once in the tub Amelia splashes and splashes while daddy protests and threatens. Daddy struggles to get her hair washed. Then he wrestles with her attempting to get her dry.

Scene Three (The Mommy Kiss)

After she is all clean daddy carries her to the living room (still dripping some) where she gives mommy and brother each a sloppy kiss. She squeals and squeaks out some "good-nights" and "ew's" (at kisses).

Scene Four (The bedroom)

They then head to her bedroom where the drama really begins. Amelia (who seems to either be an inspiring actress or a politician in the making) pleads her case as to why she should get to watch an episode of a show rather than watching a movie. Daddy explains why she must pick a full length movie 7 or 8 times until one or the other gives in. After several calls for drinks, potty and show changes She finally falls to sleep.

 Scene Five (Meanwhile in the living room...)

All the while mommy is struggling with the grueling task of getting an over tired Allen to stop fighting sleep. We nurse and then rock. I walk him and he cries. I sing to him and he cries. I bounce him and he whimpers. I rock him some more and he gives in to sleep. I attempt to lay him down which he soon detects and begins to howl. There is more bouncing, rocking, singing, and crying, Then another nursing session and repeating all of the above until finally he can no longer fight it and crashes into a deep enough sleep that mommy can put him into his crib.

Scene Six (Exhaustion)

Then mommy and daddy exhausted fall onto the couch and survey the disaster from a day of playing and temper tantrums. We discuss cleaning but ultimately decide to put it off until morning. We then lay in bed and put on a movie which we have no intention of finishing and doze off. 

Matthew 11:28
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Reality check! (Meet our family)

So... where to begin... Well first off I remember when I was a kid I always wanted to be a mom. I thought though that I would marry an architect, live in a mansion and have a maid. Reality strikes! Here I sit in a tiny apartment 2 kids and a cat. I'm married to an IT guy (a glorified nerd). He works long hours and although we pay the bills no problem most of the time sometimes we seem to just barely eek by. The funny thing is we are happy. We always have what we need and that is each-other.

Now to get to the children. I have a 2 year old daughter, Amelia, who is my pride and joy. She was a silent baby. She never cried. The most you ever heard was a slight whimper. I hardly slept the first few months because I was afraid I wouldn't hear her if she needed me. She has the most caring heart and incredible amount of energy. Her creativity knows no bounds. She is intelligent and incredibly kind. She may be a little impatient and moody at times but what two year old isn't.  Amelia is one of those kids who can make you smile no matter what kind of mood you are in. 

Allen is the baby. He will be 4 months old tomorrow. He is always impatient. He was in such a hurry to be born that he was born 3 weeks early. He is always in such a hurry to eat that he gets himself so wound up that he has trouble latching on. He is also loud. Not in a bad way. He just has alot more volume to him then his sister ever did as a baby. Most of these loud sounds are happy ones. When he cries though I swear they can hear him all the way to Mexico. He loves being the center of attention. He knows if your full focus is not on him and lets you know it. 

My husband, Mike, and I are best friends. We tell each-other everything. He is my rock. I can always count on him to be there when I need him. He has a quirky sense of humor and is a little bit of a ditz sometimes. When he came into my life I never would have thought we would be here today. He has a way of keeping me calm even in the most stressful of times. He and I are learning to navigate our family, work, and spiritual lives together. We know that our journey together has just begun and there is still so much ahead of us. 

1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV 

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.