Dusting Off the Old Blog

It is me again...ready to jump back into the blogging world. (I am sure my grandfather is over the moon!)  Please look forward to a post very soon.  I am dusting off the old blog.  "My Life As..." is back in service.

Life With 2

My life has taken a major turn with the birth my second child.  I considered the thought that having more than one was going to be a challenge, but it is tough on many days.  The hardest part is keeping the schedules of two children of different ages...a four year old and a four month old.  Most days they don't eat, sleep or need cleaning at the same time.  Trying to make sure each get enough of your attention is where I struggle most.  Once I get them both "tended" to it is 8 o'clock...where did the time go.  I think I would love it to pieces if we could just come home, play with the kids, and go to bed.  NO LAUNDRY. NO COOKING. (Eating but no cooking.) NO  CLEANING. NO BATHS. NO TV.  Just interacting with the family.  When we had Hurricane Ike a few years ago and were without electricity for days...that is what we did.  It was great!  You didn't have to do laundry because your washer and dryer didn't work.  You didn't have to cook a lot because your oven was inoperable.  We spent a ton of time reconnecting as a family.  Maybe I should institute a "DO NOTHING DAY" once a month at least and do just that...NOTHING!  A novel idea!

Other than the juggling I do daily, having two children is a dream.  When I was pregnant I worried that my heart wouldn't be big enough, but that is not a problem.  God knows what he is doing.  My daughter is an amazing big sister and a great helper.  She is like his second mother.  The other day she told me I had to put socks on him to go to school so his feet wouldn't be cold...I wasn't concerned about this, but she was...needless to say...he wore socks that day!

As for me, I am learning to be more flexible, especially since I am breastfeeding and pumping at work.  Stress does not help your milk supply!  I have resolved to stay in the free milk business as long as the Lord allows.  I am also going to venture into making my own baby food in a few months.  I was blessed with a Baby Bullet (the sister machine to the amazing Magic Bullet that I already own), and I am planning to make food from fresh fruit and veggies instead of giving Gerber all of my money...right now!

I also have a crazy idea...to me...to try cloth diapers.  Many moms at weekly mommy meetings use cloth diapers religiously.  I have not reconciled the entire plan in my head, but I have purchased my first diaper and am preparing to use it...soon.  In the words of my sister-in-law...I am becoming a tree-hugger!

The most interesting thing about having two is a question I was asked by a co-worker.  She asked me what is the difference between my two children when they were infants, and I honestly had to say that not much is different between them...I am the one that is different.  With my first child I had no idea what I was doing.  I was scared of making the wrong decisions...breaking her...torturing her with my inability to parent properly.  With my son I know more...am more flexible (not letting my type-A personality get in the way too much)...and realize that God made infants pretty resilient in order to live with adults like us.  I pray a lot more when I parent...for my milk supply...for guidance in discipline...for what to cook daily....for enough sleep at night...I pray a lot more as a parent of 2.

The most asked question I am posed with is...will you have more.  Thankfully I had a great birth experience with my son...not by choice.  My labor was about 3 hours total.  From the moment I arrived at the hospital to when I gave birth was about 30 minutes.  I missed the drug window...came in at 8 centimeters.  Pushed out a 9 lb 2 oz baby with ease...three pushes!  Within an hour after birth I felt pretty good...no pain!  I surprised myself.  What I learned from the experience is that God really did make me to birth babies, and He will never put more on me than I can bear.  I can do all things through Him.  So in the words of Michelle Dugger of "19 Kids and Counting" the TLC show..."If God chooses to bless us with another child we will happily accept the blessing.  We would be honored to be parents of God's gift."  If, when, or how this will happen is not up to us, and even though it seems like something we couldn't handle, I realize that He knows me better than myself.  I look to the source for my answers and direction.  This new perspective on life really offers me a lot of peace and joy.  I welcome all who are considering following God to give it a try.  His burdens are light in comparison to the "junk" we put on ourselves!

If I could only find time to write...

...pray for me...I intend to be back real soon.

A Lot of Kicking Going On

Let's just say it is a little weird to feel something moving in you all the time.  I don't remember the sensation that much with my daughter, but this little boy is a mover and a shaker.  It is great to know he is ok in there, but sometimes it startles me when he moves.

The Verdict Is In...

It's a BOY!

Now I must do two things...

1.  Prepare for the biggest garage sale in our history.
2.  Go to the store so I don't bring home a naked baby!

Wish me luck.  We are so blessed.

Picture Day

Today was picture day at my daughter's school...and I was not excited about it.  I really wanted to be excited, but I find it hard to do at 5:30 am.  I am more stressed about what she is going to wear, how to do her hair, and what shoes she is going to wear.  My biggest issue is figuring out how I am going to keep her hair "together" until the pictures are taken.  So at 6:00 am I wake her up, change my mind about what she is going to wear, find out that the shoes I wanted her to wear are too small, and am indecisive about which socks best match her outfit because some of the pictures are full body.  Once I settle on the outfit, hair and new shoes we are ready to go at 6:25 am.  I drop her off at school looking so cute, but now the things that are racing through my mind are...what time will the pictures be taken and will she spill milk on her dress before her turn.  When I leave the school it dawns on me as I ride to the park and ride that I will have no idea how she looked in the pictures until many weeks later, and then I will be forced to determine if I want to buy the "so-so" pictures or have some done myself at the local JCPenny.  I decided to leave that decision with the Lord.  Upon arriving to school to pick her up she is playing on the playground, sweaty, the lace is broken on one sock, her knees are rusty, and her hair is all over the place.  I sigh in disbelief...could this be the same cute child I dropped off this morning?!  I decide the best course of action is to take a deep breath, hope the pictures were taken before she looked like "that" and wait for the proofs.  Then the teacher informed me that the pictures were taken after nap time...oh no...without a scarf...now I am really nervous.  I am sure her hair was a mess.  Ugh.  Picture Day!!!!!

Bowling with the Family

This weekend we went bowling for the first time in a very long time.  When I was a child my mother and I used to bowl weekly at the 99 cent a game bowling alley right by our house.  I even have my own bowling shoes!  (NOTE:  It has been a LONG time since I bowled...and that was evident when the soles of my very own bowling shoes began to come off during the first frame!)  I was excited to take my three-year old daughter to bowl for the first time, and she was probably more excited.  We have a toy bowling set we play with at home, but this is the real thing!  I was also concerned about bowling with a bowling ball of my own in my belly!  Could I balance to roll that big ball down the lane?  In light of this concern, my daughter and I bowled with the same 6 lb ball.  She bowled a 52!  I bowled a 103! Yes, we did use the bumpers!

In all it was a great experience, and one that I was glad to pass on to my daughter.  Perhaps she will get her own shoes one day!