And so it goes...

I started back to work about 3 weeks ago. Everything has been going pretty well. Anna learned to gulp her bottle after a day and a half of refusals, Reagan got hand, foot and mouth on her second day, and I only cried the first two days back. Sounds fabulous, right?

In all seriousness, everything is okay. The babies miss us during the day and I'm up with one of them at least 3 times a night. More than anything, I'm pretty tired.

Reagan has grown to really enjoy school, and my husband says now drop off is easy. She leads the way to her classroom and waves to him. She loves playing with the baby dolls and outside time. Often she finds the mud, and I pick her up and she's had a necessary wardrobe change. Anna is such a happy baby. They all love her. A teacher from Reagan's old daycare is actually one of Anna's teachers now. She always is telling me what a great baby she is.

I have 20 extra special kindergartners. They make the time away pass pretty quickly, but keeping up with 11 wild boys and 9 energetic girls is contributing to my exhaustion for sure. Other than my little family though, there is nothing I enjoy more than the inner workings of a five year old's mind. They have it all figured out.

Getting into the routine has been tough and we have a few kinks to work out, but I am enjoying the weekends, the early morning snuggles, late nights with my babies. These times won't last forever. Might as well enjoy them. One day I will sttn (sleep through the night) again. I won't even know what to do with myself, it's been at least since December 2010!

Now that I'm a mom....

There are things I thought I wouldn't give up or things I thought I'd stop doing once I became a mommy. Now that I have two little girls that are going to look to me for guidance, I consciously think about all my choices.

Now that I'm a mommy, I don't think I will be tanning. After seeing my dad get a hunk of his nose carved out , my fair skin can stay fair. My girls will learn all too soon that they can bake without seeing their mommy do it. We will spray tan together!

Now that I'm a mommy, I skip the greasy fries. I'm not a crazy healthy food nut, but I will teach my gals it's about choices. Choose what is best based on what is in front of you. I'm not going to teach them to have to have special foods or dietary needs (though my big girl may anyway), but to just be smart about their food intake.

Now that I'm a mommy, I will have an adult drink from time to time. I'm not going to get wasted, but a glass of wine with dinner or a beer with my baby daddy is fine. I don't want my girls to see it as taboo to have a beverage, and I want them to learn that it is fine in moderation.

Now that I'm a mommy, I want my girls that I'm all about them, but the whole world isn't. Our church goes and volunteers at the local children's home. As soon as the girls are old enough, I want them to get their hands dirty in the work of helping others.

I'm sure there are lots of other new perspectives I will take as I become a more seasoned mommy, but Anna is done eating and Reagan needs a clean diaper! My day is about to get started in full force. Now that I'm a mommy, there is nothing in the world that comes close.

My Little Sister...

...is growing up.  I usually just post about the babies and me on here, and this is still about me (hey, isn't everything?), but it's more about life in general.  My baby sis is getting married in less than 2 months.  Crazy?! In the past three and a half years, I've become a wife, a stepmom, and momma of two, so I know life comes at you pretty fast.  I'm so excited for my sister, my friend, my boxing partner to embark on this fabulous journey.

Now, I'm working on her lingerie shower plans and her gift for her bridal shower this weekend.  As I get her gift together, I find myself tearing up a little.  Partly because it's a pretty sentimental gift, and it is reminding me of my life's blessings, and partly because she is going to be going through these amazing experiences soon!

I cannot wait for the festivities these next two months will hold (though traveling with two babies in tow leaves a little left to be desired).   What a really wonderful and exciting time for my beautiful sissy, the goregous bride to be!

We love you, sis, Auntie, and buddy!  We are so blessed to have you in our lives!

This Crazy Life

It's official, I really stink at schedules.  I'm great at routines, but not schedules.  I think this flexibility is probably why I'm able to manage a kindergarten classroom and two children under the age of two.  My oldest child needs routines, but if I force her to do things at certain times, I end up with one very loud, ill child.  I can't handle crying it out, and for that reason, my sweet Reagan has went  down for her nap by riding in the car the past few days (unplanned, but that's just how it worked out). 

Because of this and a few other things, a little part of me is really excited to get back to work.  Mommy needs a routine too.  I'm all about the babies, but I've kind of lost myself a little.  I doubt I'll get it back completely ever until, well, never.  But I do look forward for a few hours a day to focus on something other than whose diaper I changed last, what to feed my very picky toddler for lunch, and which side I nursed my infant on last.

Lately, I have been having a really great time photographing my little Anna.  It's been something that I can do for fun, a little creativity, and it requires nothing other than my imagination, a sleeping baby (or two---somethings are impossible to do with a toddler running around), and whatever we have laying around the house.

Anna the Country Singer

Anna Climbing the Tree & Taking a Rest at the Top

Jumping on the Bed

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my girls, and I if I knew it were possible for our family, I would stay at home with them and LOVE IT, but because I know that being a working mother is a reality for me, I go in and do that job with my whole heart.  I feel like it must be God's will for our family for me to work outside our home.  My most important work is here, but I can enjoy my work too!  I'm a mommy ALL of the time, and a teacher for a few hours M-F ten months a year.  I love both of these fabulous jobs I've been blessed with.  Who knew though that two little people could wear me out more than 20 five year olds? What a crazy life!

15 months

My sweet big baby had her 15 month birthday yesterday.  That meant today we got to go in for her 15 month check up and a couple shots.  She did really awesome, making her momma really proud.

At Reagan's two month check up, a whole year ago, she was a fat chunk.  I loved her rolls for the record.  All that good mommy milk made her top the growth scales and she was a shorty.  Today is a much different story.  She is a VERY active girl, and because of that she was 20 lbs 10 oz making her in the 17th percentile in weight.  She took a growth spurt and jumped from the 20th percentile in height to the 68th.  She's a tall skinny model baby.  What's funny though, is that I still see her as my chunky girl.

She's is meeting all developmental markers well.  She uses a few words, hey and bye being her favorite!  She picks up things and carries them, she stacks blocks (in our house, she prefers bowls), and she self feeds (though not very successfully with utensils).  She is already exhibting her "spirited" personality with her bedtime refusal.  Her doctor gave me some reading material and the behaviors she's showing are very characteristic of two year olds... I"m not looking forward to those terrible twos!  We discussed bedtime at length, and when the doctor was telling me that we, as parents, take too much credit in being the child's safe place, that they can associate the crib as that safe place, Reagan shook her head, quite fervently, no.  It was as if she was saying, "uh-huh, my mom is my safe place."  We all found this quite amusing.

In just a couple weeks, Anna will be having her two month check up.  I am really dreading it; it helps that Reagan has taken her binkie.  It soothes her after those scary shots.  Anna isn't really the best at self soothing, either with a binke or a thumb.  She's just not into it.  We'll pray that she'll be just as tough as her sister was today.  I'm so in love with my fuzzy headed little girls.  I can't believe my babies are already 15 months and 6 weeks.  The time is flying!

Pinterest Inspired

I'm obsessed.  Pinning during feedings and pumping, while going on walks (Anna in the sling, Reagan in the stroller--it's a rare moment when I have a free hand...ha!), during naps, and after bedtime.  It's made me want to clean, decorate, photograph, and craft.  Here's a sampling of the Pinterest inspired ideas we've tried at home.  I've done a few projects with my school babies as well, but don't seem to chronicle it with photographs like I do with my kiddos at home. 


Fine Motor Skill Practice

Reagan loves pipe cleaners and as long as I'm near to play with her, I think there is nothing wrong with her playing with them.  We used a colander and put the pipe cleaners through and she'd pull them out and we'd repeat the process.  To keep a toddler entertained, it takes a lot.  She seemed to really enjoy this!  I would try to get her to sort them by color after she removed them, but that was a little advanced right now.  We'll build on this activity in the future.




Father's Day Crafts
 Brent made his daddy the cutest saw card.  Since my husband comes from a sawmill family, we felt the saw was very appropriate!  David really liked it.




We had to include the babies too, so I had an extra canvas left over from the 2 pack I bought we Reagan made my mom's mother's day gift.  With a little finger paint and mod podge, we made a gift from all three of his sweet kiddos for his office.





Mom's Day
Being two years pregnant and thinking I would have a newborn on Mother's Day, I almost forgot my mom.  Truthfully, I was hoping to get a picture of all the grandbabies for her, but since Anna had her own ideas about when she was to arrive, I ended up making a footprint canvas from Reagan for my mom.  Grandma loved it.



Finger Painting
We've tried several different times at finger painting, and surprisingly Brent really enjoys it still at 7. We did store bought paints in ziplock baggies.  It made for no bathtime afterwards which was a plus.  However it didn't hold Reagan's attention very long at all.  Brent wants to do it all the time though.  Which is kinda nice since he can gather the materials and do it himself. 

Yesterday we made our own finger paints.  With 4.5 cups of boiling water, 1 cup of cold water, and 2 cups of corn starch + a little food coloring we had our own unique goopy finger paint.  Brent really enjoyed making his own colors, and the coloring we bought at Target had a variety of colors you could make on the back of the package.  His favorite was chocolate moose.  It looked just like pudding.  Reagan loved the texture of the paint and making the paints look different by using a fork to paint.  The paint is thick so we had to let it dry overnight, but it drys to create a really neat 3-d effect.  Brent and I decided we may use it to create a landform map of his granddad's house since he has lots of ponds, it would be "more interesting" than just our street! 



Gifts
Pinterest has really cute ideas for gifts.  Teacher Appreciation week was my first week of maternity leave, and I had no baby, so I actually got to see Reagan's teachers to give them their little token of our appreciation.  After being home with two babies, I have a new found appreciation for daycare teachers.  They make kindergarten look easy!  It also gave me a little time to prepare some ideas for Reagan's last day party, though I did have a baby by then to bring to celebrate summer with the toddlers. 


Now...
I'm currently working on a project I'm super excited about.  Hopefully it will turn out as anticipated.  This isn't a project with the kids, so I have to work on it in the little spare time I have.  Since it is a surprise, I'll have to post pictures later!  The babies are both sleeping (miracle!), so I'm going to attempt to work on it now.  I'm sure I need to be cleaning, but crafting is so much more fun!

Tired Doesn't Even Begin to Explain...

We've been two weeks at home: Reagan, Anna, Brent (on occasion) and me.  Oh my goodness, I never EVER knew what exhaustion was before.  I was really tired when I was at home with Reagan.  She wanted to nurse constantly, she was really super needy,and I was a first time mother who knew nothing about babies.  I thought I needed to watch her... Watch her sleep, suck her binkie, play in her gym.  I don't know what was going to happen if I didn't watch her, but I realized this time around, Anna wasn't going anywhere if I placed her in the pack 'n play or in the crib without my eyes on her. Now, I still can't take my eyes off of Reagan during her waking hours, but it's justified.  She's into EVERYTHING!

Our schedule is starting to fall into place.  I can't get the babies to nap at the same time, but if I do, I feel like I need to take advantage of that time with laundry, dishes, and cooking.  When Reagan is up, she usually needs a playmate, and right now that's me (unless Bubba is here!).  When Anna is up, she usually needs a diaper or a boobie, and guess what, that's me too.  Between all that neediness, I spend most of my days, reading board books, changing diapers, picking up cheerios, doing puzzles, feeding a baby (while checking e-mails, pinning ways to keep my toddler busy, and looking at Facebook), singing songs from Nick Jr. and Baby Signing Time, and dreaming of 5 consecutive hours of sleep.

However, I love being home with my girls and their Bubba.  It is the busiest I've ever been.  I'm beyond tired.  I am just trying to soak their smallness in.  I know in a few short months Anna won't need me in all her waking hours, Reagan will be able to vocalize with actual words her dissatisfaction with her 8 o'clock bedtime, and Brent will be back in school (so will I, but that's another post for another day) as a second grader.  These times are precious.  So despite the fact that I'm just depleted of energy, I know that this is a time that's fleeting.  It will be over all too soon.  There's much to look forward to, but I'm not wishing the present away.