We survived!

I feel like I need one of those cheesy tee shirts you see in touristy areas.  You know the ones?  They say things like "I survived Niagara Falls!" or "I survived the Demon Drop!"  Only mine would read "I survived two weeks of two under two by myself!  And only have four vomit-stained shirts to prove it!"  Not that that's too impressive to many moms, who do it day in and day out.  But the past two weeks?  Longest. Of. My. Life.  There were lots of good things (visits with friends, hugs and kisses from Amelia, William started sleeping better) but the perpetual Negative Nancy in me likes to dwell on the bad (TWO teething babies at the SAME time, that whole quarter-swallowing incident, etc.)  Either way, Paul's ship is set to arrive tomorrow at 12:15.  It's true.  I have an email from the captain to prove it!  :)

Let me just say that I love my children.  I love them more than I ever thought I could love another person.  I ache when they aren't near me (really, truly, I do).  But it will be SO NICE to have some help!!  I've felt a lot of guilt lately because this face?

This one gets upset with me often.  Because I can't smother her with kisses and hugs and lavish 100% of my attention on her.  She is NOT IMPRESSED with my marginal multi-tasking skills.  Because this one?

Wants to be held all the time.  And while I love the baby cuddles, sometimes I need both hands to accomplish silly things, like loading the dishwasher, folding laundry and changing his big sister's diaper.  Oh no, not acceptable in William World.  (I really need to find my Baby Bjorn...anyone seen it?)  He's decided now is a good time to start teething, so it's lots of fun at our house!!  He's in a great mood!! 

I really need to count my blessings though, because both babies have been (for the most part) wonderful while I've been handling them solo.  Of course we have our moments.  Life is never easy.  But when the constant whining, fussing and complaining gets to me, and I find myself counting down the hours until bedtime, I've been trying to remember that I'm going to miss this.  All of this.

I'll miss picking up the MILLION packing peanuts from a Christmas gift that Amelia decided to crunch, scrunch and squash.  I'll miss it because she was happy, healthy, small, and content to play with inexpensive "toys."

I'll miss peeking in on my two sweet boys, only to find that the big boy, who was supposed to be putting the little boy down for a nap, decided to go ahead and join the act after church.  Seriously.  This picture makes me tear up!  I'll miss this because never again will Little be so small that Big can cuddle and hold him while they sleep.  If the past 20 months with Amelia have proven anything, it's that the time passes by all too quickly...hours like minutes.

I'll miss the daily "grocery runs" Amelia takes through the pantry.  Her cart is empty in this picture, but it was soon filled with a cook book, some paprika and two cereal bars.  Hey, she knows the essentials, y'all.  I'll miss this because she giggles, grins, and shakes her head at me, because she knows she's not technically supposed to be playing in the kitchen.  I've been a bit of a softie with her though, because moments like these are worth more to me than a clean, organized pantry.

I'll miss this. 

*Insert witty title here*

I wish I had more energy lately!  Paul is gone for two weeks, so it has been all-mommy-all-day-don't-even-think-of-doing-something-so-small-as-going-to-the-bathroom-without-an-audience since Monday.  William is sleeping horribly, both at naptime and at bedtime, and I'm just drained.

Last night was certainly eventful!  One of Amelia's favorite things to do lately has been to put money in her piggy bank.  She loves it, giggles the entire time, and wants "More?  More money?" every time she puts the last coin in the bank.  Well, sweet William was being not so sweet, and very urgently needed his diaper changed.  I took my eyes away from her for about two seconds (yes, I should know better by now) to change his diaper, and mysteriously one of the quarters she had in her hands was gone. 

Did she swallow it?  Surely I would've heard her swallow it!  But what if she did?  What happens when a baby swallows a quarter?  Is there lead in quarters?  Is she poisoned?  UGH.  I tried to relax, since she didn't cough or choke or really make any signs of swallowing anything.  Day proceeded like normal.  She ate fine, went to sleep just fine. 

Cue 9:00, about an hour after she's in bed, and about 30 minutes after William is in bed.  I'm up to get him back to sleep (remember how I said he's sleeping poorly?  Try 30 minute increments...all.night.long.) and I hear her crying.  She NEVER does this.  EVER.  I try to relax, get back to my bedroom and lay down, trying to unwind from just another hectic day.  Twenty minutes later she's up crying again.  And then twenty minutes after that.

So right about now is when I started to panic.  OH MY GOODNESS my child swallowed a quarter, and I'm going to go in to find her limp, lifeless body in her crib.  (Over-reaction?  Maybe, but still...)  I called my mom, who advised me to call the emergency room.  Wouldn't you know they refuse to diagnose or give advice over the phone?  That makes sense right now, at 2:45 in the afternoon.  At 10:00 at night?  Not so much, especially when I'm choking back tears because of coursethis has to happen while I'm on solo duty. 

I decided to peek into her room (she's a light sleeper, and was quiet at this point, so I was hoping against hope that I wouldn't wake her) and whaddaya know?  Her legs are stuck through the slats of her crib.  Major sigh of relief!!  Now that I look back on yesterday, I really really don't think she swallowed a quarter.  There's just no way, and I honestly thought to try swallowing one myself, just to prove I'm right...but I didn't.  I'm not crazy, y'all.  When I went in to get her this morning, her legs were still hanging out of the crib, but she was just fine.

Moral of the story: MONEY IS FOR SPENDING, NOT PLAYING!! 

I did manage to take some cute pictures of the kiddos yesterday, since the last two posts have really only had pictures of Amelia.  William is here too!! 

She's annoyed with me here.  Can you tell?

Sitting up (sort of!)

Wait for it...

Man down!!  How I love a baby in Osh Kosh overalls!

Giving thanks.

How cute is this?!  Taken after her nap, with "Beau" the bear.  And that dress?  She wore that dress last Thanksgiving too.  I was shocked that it still fit!

We have so much to give thanks for this year.  Two beautiful, healthy children.  A warm house.  Reliable cars.  Food on our table every night.  Wonderful family and friends.  God has blessed us so much in 2010, and we are excited to see what 2011 has in store for us.

Here's hoping everyone enjoyed Turkey Day! 

Is this a problem?

Amelia refuses to drink her milk unless it's in a coozie.  Problem?  I can feel the judgement in the eyes of onlookers when we're out and about.  Yesterday we were at the grocery store and a woman did a double-take, seemingly to make sure I wasn't giving my child a beer?  I don't know...either way, I think it's funny.  My child, 19 months, drinks from a coozie.  Proud, party of one!  :)

What happens when Daddy does lunchtime

Promptly followed by a bath and a nap!

Life as a family of four

We've been a family of four for almost three (three!!!) months now, but the past week has been the first we've lived as a true family of four.  It's been wonderful!!  Of course it was hard and bittersweet to pack my car and drive away from Indiana and my parents and the comforts of my childhood home.  But it's been amazing to have Paul with us for breakfast, lunch and dinner the past 10 days, wakeups and bedtimes and all the time in between. 

It's nice to hear Amelia giggle while he tickles her or chases her around the house.  It's hysterical to hear him read her a classic bedtime story ("Love You Forever") where he changes the words to "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, I'll stalk you."  Oh my goodness I stopped and laughed out loud when I heard that from down the hall!!

Anyway, here I go yet again promising to update the blog more often, but this time, I really truly promise, y'all!  Hopefully things will slow down a bit when Paul goes back to work on Monday, and I can use nap time for things more productive than hanging pictures, dusting, folding laundry, etc.  You know, things like blogging...

Recent pictures (another to-do: become a better mom-tographer!):

Amelia, do you like William's new room?  I think this is a no...??

Believe it or not, this is the BEST picture we got of the two of them.

Amelia, hold still.  You won't?  OK, then, we'll hold you still!

Yep.  This is the outcome of 99.9% of pictures I get!

William's Nursery!

Oh how thankful I am to have a handy daddy and a handy hubby!  Thanks to the hard work of both my dad and Paul, the nursery is finished!!  I get very OCD about my babies' bedrooms and get all these grand ideas in my head...and the two amazing men in my life take my crazy ideas and turn them into reality!  Big thanks to them both.

Here it is!

We still have some small details, but it's about 90% complete.  I love it, and I hope Willie-Worm does too as he grows!