How do you chill out

Well it's just about 5:30pm at my house which seems to be a universal meltdown time. I've had a cranky almost 2 year old all day long and a three year old who seems to be constantly pushing the limits today. I feel like if one isn't getting into something the other one is...which is our own fault for having children who would be at this terrible toddler stage at the same time! I get so down because I don't like the way that I handle things. I hate it when I yell at them, but I just can't seem to be calm when they are pushing ALL my buttons. I know I need to pray more throughout my day so that I would experience more of God's power to get by, but even that hasn't seemed to help today! So here I sit with a screaming child at my feet typing...if I don't take a time-out I know that I'll just explode! I'm thankful that Melanie is sitting quietly playing atleast!

Where does the time go?

I can't believe that my last entry is from the 22nd and now it's already the 29th of August! I haven't had too much going on, just haven't been able to get on the computer these last few days! We had a relaxing but crazy weekend that's for sure.

On friday I had a wonderful birthday lunch with my friend and then we walked around the mall for a bit. She always manages to make my day special :) After that I took the kids to my inlaws house because they offered to watch them overnight! What a blessing to have family close by...the kids LOVE going over there and I really enoyed having a few hours to myself before Brian got home. I finished knitting a blanket that I've been working on FOREVER and then took a nice looooong shower. When Brian got home we decided to head out for dinner and movie. We used to go to the movies all the time before we had kids! When we got there all of the power in the shopping center was out...kind of creepy! So we headed to a different restaurant and then just went home to relax.

It was nice waking up Saturday morning on my own and not having to tend to the kids. Brian and I just spent the morning doing random things around the house and then we went to get some donuts and pick up the kids. When we got there Brandon was asleep for a nap, so Brian took me and dropped me off for my spa day with my sisters and momma! It was so nice hanging out with my family and getting pampered. We went in the jacuzzi (just my feet since I didn't want Brooklyn to get too toasty) and then it was off for my massage. It was wonderful, but a bit pricey so I'm not sure I'll be doing it again too soon. After that I sat in a quiet room with my younger sis and we put cucumbers on our eyes. It was funny because both of us couldn't get them to stay on and kept laughing. Then I showered and we ate lunch there. It was such a fun time and great memory too! Then it was back to reality *LOL*

Sunday was a bit hectic because we decided to go out and look at houses about an hour from our place. Brian really wants to get out of our condo. I think that he feels like he works so hard and can't get into a house here and it drives him nuts. I really love living where we are now because there are so many kids in the neighborhood and I'm close to family and friends. We both grew up here and don't really know any different. But it breaks my heart to see him struggle so much with work and not have a house to show for it. We found a bunch of beautiful houses that are actually selling for the same price as our condo. We both talked and decided we need to pray about it a ton this week, but it looks like we may be headed out of here sooner rather then later.

I'm feeling excited, but a bit sad at the same time because I grew up in this area and all our family/friends are here. If we move away then we won't get to see family as much and will also lose many of our babysitters. With having three little ones at home, I don't know if I'm putting myself in a bad position or not. I know I will meet new friends and won't be that far from family and close friends that I have now...but it's just such a HUGE life change for me I guess! We would have to find a new church, new doctors, etc. I just feel so torn this morning!

Didn't think I had SO much to blab about this morning...must be a monday thing :)

I never knew I would be so excited

Haven't updated in a while because things have just seemed so boring around here lately. Same old same old at home chasing after two toddlers and just trying to make it through the day! On friday I was feeling my usualy guilty feeling about not having Melanie potty-trained yet...I usually have these guilt trip once every couple months, try the whole potty thing and then decide that she's just not ready and I might have 3 in diapers! So I put some "big-girl panties" on my stubborn girl because we were stuck at home all day and I thought I should give it another try. After about an hour I took her in and she went pee-pee in the potty. She has done this before, but usually it was more of luck then actually going on cue. I was thrilled, but tried to hold my excitement until she actually went again. I figured I would be cleaning up wet carpets and couches within hours. But we went outside to play and she didn't have one single accident! She has been in panties ALL weekend long and hasn't wet in them once. She hasn't started telling me that she has to go, but she will go everytime I take her in there. She stayed dry through her nap yesterday too, but I'm still keeping her in diapers at night for now. I just can't believe how excited and proud that I feel over something as simple as peeing in the potty :)

Now #2 is a different story...she seems to be holding it because we haven't yet gone poop in the potty yet. We did go poop in our "big-girl panties" yesterday morning though. So today I'm off to get more underwear so we have plenty on hand for the next few weeks...if they're going to be messy ones!! I thought that this day would never come. And what's even better is that she has her 3 year well check tomorrow and I was dreading bringing her in in diapers because the nurse had a made a comment last time we were in about her still being in diapers...ARG! Now I can tell the nurse to kiss my butt *LOL*

Not too much other exciting stuff going on in my world right now. I'm counting down the days until friday when my inlaws are going to take the kids for the night so that we can go out to dinner for my birthday. Not even sure if we'll go out or just enjoy a quiet house. Then on saturday I'm going to go and get a massage with my sisters and my momma! I can't wait...although I am a bit nervous about bearing all while someone I don't know rubs my bod :)

Ready for a baby

I'm actually excited to have a newborn at our house. Not because I'm looking forward to the lack of of sleep or one more diaper to change, but because they won't be able to:

1. Throw tantrums
2. Talk back
3. Say "NO"
4. Push and hit
5. Constantly be getting into things they aren't supposed to
6. Whine (know infants cry a lot, but could it be as bad as whining?)

I guess I could go on, but those are the things that seem to be wearing on my patience today! Oh and newborn diapers don't seem to be quite as stinky as these two little ones ;)

No park for us today

Well after a pretty easy morning I starting having Braxton Hicks contractions. I've never had this with my other two pregnancies so I didn't know what the heck was going on. I've been drinking more water then usual and sitting on the couch all day and the past hour hasn't been too bad. I hope that this is a random thing though and doesn't continue for the rest of the pregnancy...I don't think the kids would survive being cooped up for the next 8 weeks ;) But they have really been so good today for being stuck in the house. I just feel bad because the TV has been on ALL day long! I did get my dishwasher unloaded before I started feeling yucky, but other then that I guess the rest will wait.

Today started out much better then some previous ones this week! We had a big day yesterday, so the kids both slept in this morning. It was so nice getting up on my own without hearing the kids at the crack of dawn. I got up and got ready and even checked a few emails before hearing Brandon at 8am. Then we came downstairs and had some breakfast together while we waited for Melanie to wake up. She just got up about 15 minutes ago...just in time to watch her favorite show DORA the EXPLORER! Brandon is such a snuggly little guy, he's just sitting here next to me, leaning on my shoulder and rubbing my arm. I just treasure my time with him...especially since Melanie isn't usually a snuggly girl!

Yesterday we met a friend of mine at costco and did some shopping. then we got the kids hot dogs and she invited us over to play at her house for a while. It's always a nice break being somewhere other then your own house. The kids did really good playing with each other too. Then my sister called and asked if we wanted to come up and swim at her pool. So I rounded up the kiddos and we headed home to get our swim stuff. Brandon fell asleep in the car which was nice because I knew it would be about an hour by the time I got all our stuff, got lunch for myself and got up to my sister's house. He slept the whole time...YAY! My sister has three bunnies at her house so the kids had fun playing with them while we all got ready to swim. She has the BEST pool in her apartment complex...there's a little kiddie pool and then the big pool has a ramp that goes down into it. The kids just wanted to run in and out of the water the entire time. After we got dried off we headed home and Melanie fell asleep for a nap. Brandon and I got cleaned up and had more time just to play together until she woke up around 5:30pm. Then I got her all showered off and we got ready to go to my nephew's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's. IT was nice because there was family there to chase after the kids so I got to sit down for a while and east dinner without two kiddos to deal with. After lots of playing we headed home and both kids went down pretty easily.

It's amazing how a good nights sleep....followed by sleeping in a bit can make you feel like a new person. I have a few things to do around the house today, but other then that we don't really have much planned. I'm trying to think of something fun to do with the kids later if it's not too hot. Maybe we'll go to the park by the beach and I can pack a lunch to eat there. My kids aren't really into the water yet (I think the waves still are a bit overwhelming to them) so it's nice just to play in the sand and hang out. Brian is off work tomorrow and I have a bridal shower to go to...I'm looking forward to a nice break from being a mommy for a few hours.

I need a vacation

There are some days when I don't have the words to describe how overwhelming it can be to be a mom and a wife!

Chores

I had such a productive morning so I'm going to post about it here just to make me feel better about having such an unproductive afternoon ;) This is an extremely boring blog entry though, so don't feel bad skipping it! I started the day with a shower which usually doesn't happen until the kids are in bed at night. I finished a bunch of laundry yesterday but hadn't put it away yet, so I did that while Melanie was in the bath and Brandon was still sleeping! After he woke up I put new sheets on our bed and took the old ones downstairs with the towels to wash. I unloaded the dishwasher and then put all the dirty dishes from the morning into it. When I went upstairs to get the kids clothes for the day I decided to weed through Brandon's closet for all the stuff that doesn't fit anymore. It actually took about 2 minutes so I don't know why I had been putting it off. Then I went out back to get something and realized that there was so much stuff (bubbles, buckets, toys, etc.) that needed to be reorganized and put away. Of course the kids wanted to join me in getting things out while I was trying to reorganize! After things were put away I filled up their little pool because even though it was only 10am it was already blazing HOT! They swam for a while and then we got in dry clothes and headed off to the grocery store. Brandon fell asleep on the way home so Melanie and I unloaded groceries and then made some cookies....yummy! But that was the end of my productiveness...as soon as Brandon woke up the kiddos had lunch and then played while I layed on the couch for an hour. I think I sank right in and got stuck, because I just didn't want to get up off of it. Finally they seemed a bit stir crazy so we went outside to walk around for a bit. It was nice because it really had cooled off a lot and wasn't too hot. Now we're back in the house, they've been fed and seem to be content playing again so I'm sitting in front of the computer. I'm doing hot dogs and baked beans for dinner, so I don't really have anything to prepare. I guess it's nice to slack off every now and then, and I did get a lot done this morning so I don't feel that guilty. Hmmmm...I wonder what tomorrow holds :)

Fun weekend

Well we started out the weekend by going to a baseball game on friday night. We didn't get there until the 4th inning, but we knew it was going to be a late night and didn't know if the kids would do good for all 9 innings and fireworks afterwards. The kids really seemed to have so much fun! Melanie was a bit nervous after they shot off a few fireworks and said she wanted to go. so we left during the 8th inning and watched the fireworks from the car...Melanie liked that much better.

Saturday was a bit crazy because that's when Melanie went to the circus, but she came back safely and had so much fun, so it was good in the end. Brandon took a 4 hour long nap and I actually got to nap with him for 2 of those hours. It was so wonderful to just relax and not do anything. Brian went into work late and came home earlier then usual so it was nice having some time together as a family.

Sunday we went to church and then had lunch at home with the kids. We had some family in town so we headed over to the ILs around 2pm. It really was a GREAT day. the kids ran around with their cousin and Brian played cards for a long time. The food was great and it was just such a relaxing day. I wish I could get Brandon to stay by himself in the nursery at church so that I could go in to the service, but he just cries and cries when we leave. I guess it's just a season and I'm hoping that within the next year he'll be more comfortable and have fun in there so I can actually attend church again with Brian!

My goal for the day is getting both kiddos to take a nap. With such a crazy weekend, Melanie is just messed up in the sleep department. She wouldn't go down until after 9pm last night and was up at 3am and then 6:30am. She really needs to have a nap or else she seems to be so hard to deal with at night. I think I'll let the kids play outside this morning and then we'll head to the store. Hopefully they'll fall asleep on the way home.

Safety first

OK I must warn you that this is mostly a vent to make me feel better...but that's what blogs are for right? I can't stand it when other people think that safety guidelines are just not important...especially when it comes to kids (mine in particular). When we first got pregnant with Melanie we got tricked into a sales thing that we thought was a safety convention on children's products. We did end up buying a GREAT crib and high chair because we liked how they were made. But my MIL laughed at us right away for spending extra money on the high chair and said that all her kids survived in their high chair even though it might not have been up to safety standards. This is the same person who tried feeding my kiddos anything and everything when I asked her to withold certain things and doesn't really use car seats as they should be used. I'm thinking that it's probably because when her kids were little they didn't have to ride in car seats and they didn't have as many guidelines about what babies should and shouldn't eat at certain ages. But my kids are my responsibility and it just bothers me that others don't apply to the same safety standards that I would like. The carseat issue is the HUGE one with me because car seats were invented for a reason and they have standards in how to use them for safety reasons as well. Wouldn't you want your grandchildren to be as safe as possible when they were in your care? Why put them in a car seat if you're not going to strap it right? I guess I could go on and on, but I'll stop now so you don't have to listen to me rant and rave forever ;)

Waiting and waiting and waiting

Oh man...I had two doctor's appointments today and although it was nice to get a break from the kids I was so sick of waiting! I got there at 8:45am for a 9am ultrasound and didn't have to wait long for that. Since I was done around 9:45am I had to wait 30 minutes for my 10:15am appt. with my OB. That wasn't too bad, but I didn't get called back to the office until around 11:15am! Then it was a different doc and nurse (my OB is out this week) and the nurse wasn't very friendly. I know she could have been having a bad day, but if I'm going to be pleasant after waiting over an hour then she could have at least been more cordial with me...ARG! Then I did my usualy pee in the cup and step on the scale and waited another 15 minutes for the doctor...who just came in and asked if I had any questions. I can't believe that I had to wait that long for such a short amount of time with the actual doctor. Oh well...baby looked good and I'm thankful for that! I guess I just needed to complain a little to make me feel better ;)

So unmotivated

We had such a great weekend away, but it was just too short. I think it was a little taste of relaxation, but not enough to satisfy me! Ever since we've been back I just can't seem to get back into the swing of things. I did unpack and get some laundry done yesterday, but I just don't want to get off the couch this morning! I have plenty to do...including taking a much needed shower...but just lack the motivation. I was already annoyed by my wild and crazy kiddos when they woke up at 6:30am and I feel bad because they're just being kids. I know that I'm just being way too selfish right now, but some days I guess I'm just not feeling like being a mommy! Luckily my friend snapped me out of my funk yesterday when she invited me out for lunch with the kiddos. It ended up being a great day...followed by long naps from both kiddos. It's definitely my mommy friends that get me through the days sometimes :)