Make-Up Day

I'm taking a bit of a break right now because the boy just spent the good part of an hour screaming at the top of his lungs at me. NOTHING would make him stop crying. Finally my nerves had had it and I swaddled him, put him in his swing and walked away. With my ears still ringing I could faintly hear him crying downstairs for about 5 minutes. Finally it was quiet so I snuck downstairs...he's finally asleep. He's been a bit needy today. He has a bit of a cold, plus he's overtired. Hopefully it's quiet until Mr. Sloth gets home from the store with Demand.

It was an interesting week. I never got a chance to mention it but last week I lost my diaper bag with my wallet in it. My BELOVED diaper bag that is. It was in a very public place outside the Children's Museum. We realized we lost it within minutes and immediately started asking different securitys but it was no where to be found. Immediately I prayed to my Guardian Angel then St. Anothony, after a few days I started adding saints to my list. I knew someone had it, I just didn't know if someone honest had it or someone found it didn't find my wallet and then tossed the bag. (None of my credit cards had been used.)

Well yesterday I was having a crappy day. I woke up in a bad mood which wore off onto both children making matters even worse. Mr. Sloth called around 1pm to say he had some good news. I wanted to guess that he had found my diaper bag but I didn't want to get my hopes up. Well he DID find it or rather the police had it. Mr. Sloth got a call from the police saying they had my diaper bag and had been looking for me for days. Apparently three days ago a man turned it into one of the building securities and asked them to take care of it, they then gave it to the police. Instead of turning the bag directly over to lost and found like they are supposed to, they took time...days, to hunt me down. The found Mr. Sloth's cell phone number by calling our fitness center since I had my entrance card in my wallet. How awesome is that?? I'm so happy and so is Mr. Sloth. Nothing was missing and I had two gift certificates in the bag as well. I mean it was great that no credit card had been used and I accepted that as a blessing in itself but we still would have had to replace the diaper bag and I would have had to get a new license, credit cards, library card, fitness card, insurance cards... you get the idea. I asked Mr. Sloth later what he thought when the police called him about me. Did he finally think I lost my mind? Had I tried to sell the children on Ebay?

The moral of the story is if you don't have a relationship with your Guardian Angel...get one!! And thank your Guardian Angel today and pray to them often! My angel rocks!

Today made up for yesterday, well right up until the boy started screaming at me. We all got up a little early to day which is weird for a Saturday. I was awake at 7am so I decided to shower. Of course a mother can eat or shower without her children knowing about it and after I started the shower water, I heard Demand yell "Hey!" happily from her doorway. Then she told me "I gots lots of sleep today!" She was in a good mood, but she also knew we were headed to the baby store today. (BabiesRUs)

We were headed to "the baby store" to finally get me a glider and pick out a double stroller. (We can't buy the stroller yet as it won't fit in our car, we'll have to wait until we get a van...hopefully soon...) I was super excited because my coupons had been in my diaper bag so we got 15% off the chair and then we went to Michael's where I had another coupon for 20% off. At Michael's I bought the kit to make a castle cake for Demand's birthday. She was so excited I let her "decorate" a cake we had sitting on the counter. Pictures will be posted soon. Needless to say I will be decorating her actual birthday cake.

When we got home Mr. Sloth and Demand took a nap while I cleaned and watched the boy. Mr. Sloth and I are in pretty big purging moods right now. I love to purge! Besides as it stands our bedroom is officially FULL of furniture. We have a queen bed, two night stands, an exercise bike, and armoire desk, a long dresser, a travel crib and now an upolstered glider. I'm thinking of moving the armoire somewhere else in the house...maybe the laundry room.

I shall leave you now and either clean my re-arranged bedroom or take a bath.

Pictures

Here are some recent pictures. I don't have a chance to update right now. The Boy is asleep in his sling as I write and he'll be wanting movement again soon. Enjoy! (click on any picture you want to enlarge)





One of the cutest things I've ever seen.




Those handsome eyes.




Note the onesie. Demand wore it too.




What a great team!



Springtime Princess!

A Brief Update

A brief update until the boy wakes up.

Sunday morning was interesting. By the time I came downstairs Mr. Sloth had Demand dressed and ready for Church, which was fantastic until she spilled orange juice on the floor and LAID IN IT. I have no words. She not only needed a new outfit by that point but she needed her hair washed.

Monday: My day started off alright, but I had to sit in the living room for four hours with the boy which lead to a horrible stress headache. After playing outside withe Demand, bathing her, and putting her to bed Mr. Sloth headed to the drugstore to get something to help his headcold. He looked terrible, but I was just convinced he hated me and was "going out for medicine". There he goes I thought. He'll never come back. (I have these thoughts a lot). My stress headache didn't go away with sleep, in fact it started to become a migraine. I found the courage to stumble downstairs for motrin and then I asked Mr. Sloth if he would massage my neck. He's such a trooper. Still sick himself he didn't complain about massaging me. It really helped and it was greatly appreciated.

Today was a better day. My headache was bad enough last night that I felt FANTASTIC today. I cleaned all morning and then after lunch the kids and I went to the library and the grocery store. At the library I took a chance and asked if they had any passes to the Children's Museum. They did!! Score!! It was on our list to do again with Demand but the tickets are pricey and free 3rd Sundays are crazy. I can't believe they had tickets, they are so hard to come by!

At the grocery store Demand really wanted a car cart. You know the grocery carts that have cars on the front for toddlers? Well I couldn't find one so I asked. The two workers there were so accommodating. They looked for ten minutes for us; outside, inside, on the side of the building... I couldn't believe how helpful they were. Plus, they said if they found one they would bring it to us. Demand was heartbroken and started to cry. Luckily I only had to carry her and push the cart (with baby carrier) a few feet to the container full of free apples for kids. Demand compromised with a free apple and sat in the main part of the cart. By the way I later saw the ONE car cart the store owns and it was with a mom who had at least four little ones; she totally deserved the cart. The boy slept the whole time we were out and about. He also slept most of the morning and nursed while Mr. Sloth served me lunch. (It was good too!) On the way home the boy woke up hungry (I knew it was coming) Demand and I started singing to make him happy. It worked for a while but then he started crying again. Demand insists that he was singing too. (I've heard nicer singing)

Since I failed to buy corned beef ahead of time I decided just to make Irish breakfast for dinner, especially since I had most of the ingredients on hand. In fact I pretty much dropped the ball on the whole St. Patrick's day thing. I never did find something for Demand to wear and she doesn't own anything green. She briefly had a shamrock in her hair but she took it out. I dug out my work shirt to barely pass as St. Patty's Day apparel but the boy was well dressed for the day.

Dinner turned out well. We had eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, ham, bread,baked beans, and tomatoes fried in bacon grease...actually everything was fried in bacon grease. It was delicious.

It took a while to get the boy asleep tonight so I should go before he wakes up again.

PICTURES!!!

Sorry for the delay, I've been doing vocational things like mothering, cleaning, and celebrating lent. Enjoy!



The boy dozing in his boppy in the loft. Don't you want to eat him up?? And he smells so delicious (especially since he doesn't spit up!)





Demand thoroughly enjoying her umbrella.



It wasn't so much raining as sleeting out, but Demand insisted on going out in "the rain". She loves her Dora umbrella and new Tigger boots.





My handsome bright eyed boy!




Demand and her little brother. I'm guessing this was the 300th time she kissed him that day. There were hundreds more to come...

Ready or not....

I should write quickly while the boy is asleep in the sling here. You never know when he's going to wake up! Tomorrow marks our third week with our new little guy and today is my sister-in-laws due date with their little guy. Yep, the girl to boy ratio on my side of the family is now 1/3...sounds about right.

This week, Mr. Sloth officially stole my daughter from me. He showed her a shuttle launch and now she's officially a super-nerd. All she talks about is rocket ships. I've seen the shuttle launch video countless times this week. Did I mention my dislike for outer space?? Many pictures of outer space actually make me want to pass out. I'm agoraphobic and outer space epitomizes open spaces. It's just not right. Anyway, so now my little girl wants to be an astronaut...we'll see. I told Mr. Sloth that I "get" the boy if he insists on stealing my little girl. He's already a momma's boy so this should be easy.

I'm slowly re-gaining control of my home again. I plan on cleaning, organizing, etc in the evenings but the boy and I don't always agree on how to spend our evenings. Right after dinner tonight the boy seemed happy so I ran upstairs to address thank you cards while Mr. Sloth entertained the kids. It had been on my list of things to do for days but I could never get a free moment.

I'm glad we have a freezer full of meals, and it's not for reasons you may thing. I've actually been in a mood to cook, but we never have time to clean after wards. Last night we had left overs so the kitchen was clean before dinner which is great since we didn't go in the kitchen again until bedtime. Tonight we had chili from the freezer, with Caesar salad. Actually, *I* had Caesar salad. While I was prepping the salad just before dinner I sneezed on it. Mr. Sloth was standing right next to me when it happened. He just starred at me. Then I at him. Then I asked if he wanted raw carrots as a side. (He said yes)

Anyway, little clean up for dinner tonight. I'm so glad we stocked up on disposable cups and plates before baby came. It's been a lifesaver! Tomorrow, being Friday, we're having French Bread pizza for dinner with broccoli. Apparently I'll be having more salad for lunch since I'm the only one eating it.

Demand is doing well. She adores her brother. She starts every morning by running in our room to see what baby is doing. She laid on the bed next to him today and said, 'This is my brother. This is my friend (boy)." So cute!! She also entertained him on the living room floor for a bit while I cleaned up the kitchen this afternoon. I knew this sibling thing would be fun! When it was just Demand I was the only entertainment committee. Demand and I have been able to play more together this week than the past few weeks. Yesterday we painted for a bit and played tag. Two days ago we played hide and seek but Demand was counter and forgot we were playing. Luckily I was hiding near a pile of clean laundry that needed to be folded. And luckily the boy was asleep in the sling, he could have given away our location!!

Since the boy is still asleep I think I'll try and squeeze in some housework before he wakes up again.

Toodles!

Errand Day

I keep thinking of things to blog about so we'll see if I remember them at this late time of night.

We're definitely getting back into the swing of things around here. Demand has gotten back to her sweet self which is such a relief. "The Attitude" went away with her cold so that's a relief.

On the other hand, Mr. Sloth has successfully stolen my little girl from me. How do you ask? Demand is completely hooked on "Spaceships". Fan-bloody-tastic!! Just what I wanted, a 2 1/2 year old super-nerd. It's all she talks about now. I watched "the spaceship show" (When we left earth) four times today. I can't say I'm too surprised, I mean she is a Daddy's girl. So I'd taken the initiative to claim "the boy" as my own. He's already a bit of a momma's boy so it should work out well.

Today we had our first errand day with me and the TWO kids. True, I've been to Bible Study twice with them, but it's a safe space. I'm not exactly sure when the new batch of "mommy-grace" was delivered but I'm sure glad it was. Due to the time chance our morning had a slow start so errands waited until after lunch. Demand knew we were heading to the library today so she was a bit anxious to get going. "The boy" was ready for his nap after lunch so timing worked well...so I thought.

We dropped Mr. Sloth off at work, which is when he discovered the joy of the passenger seat. Ever since we installed the infant car seat I've had my knees up to my neck, and that includes the last few weeks of pregnancy. The plan was to drop off Mr. Sloth, head to the library and then get groceries all before Demands nap. We were in the library four minutes when they announced my name to come to the desk. Turns out I had lost my card in the parking lot and someone had turned it in. I picked out books while Demand played and then picked out two videos. As I read her two books I realized that she had completely soiled herself. Demand denied it. Finally, while checking out books Demand asked for a diaper change. Instead of trying the library bathroom for this adventure I decided that we'd just head home and then nap. Groceries could wait, that's why I have a freezer full of meals.

Demand totally filled her pants. I'm glad we came home. She went down for a "nap", "the boy" was still sleeping so I laid on the couch for a nap myself. I heard my phone ring while napping but ignored it. Upon waking I learned that I had left my wallet at the library. Fantastic. Good thing I didn't try and get groceries, or even worse bring a cart full of groceries to check out only to not have a wallet. So I released Demand from her cage, and put the poor boy who had just woken up back in his carseat. And now, because of rules, laws, and crazy people I had to unload both kiddos and drag them into the library just to retrieve my wallet.

Since we were out, we headed to the grocery store. The boy did fine for the most part. I eventually put him in the baby carrier and he was fine. However, by the time we left, he was quite done. I called Mr. Sloth to tell him we were on our way to pick him up. The radio was on, the boy was screaming,and Demand was singing to the boy. I couldn't hear a word Mr. Sloth was saying. Luckily he picked up on the events unfolding in the car and was ready to leave when we arrived.

Honestly, it wasn't a bad first day of errands, especially considering that I lost my library card and wallet. I also managed to get 90% of the kitchen cleaned which is as far as I've gotten since we had the boy. I also did two loads of laundry, (or was it three?). Mr. Sloth has a knack for mentioning his need for clean jeans AFTER I've just washed a load of darks. I then have to hunt down the jeans, not just because he didn't put them in the dirty laundry basket, but also because he doesn't seem to know where they are. If your dirty jeans have gone missing on their own, you've waited too long to wash them.

My last bit of exciting news is that months and months ago either when I was newly pregnant or not pregnant yet, I bought birth announcements on super clearance. I knew it was a risk since they were on the boyish side and what were the chances I was having a boy. I'm so excited that my thrifty investment paid off AND I managed to find the announcements. So not only did my thrifty investment pay off but being relatively organized made it possible!

Ok, now starts another day. I'm going to try and re-potty train Demand. Something tells me my day is going to involve a lot of bodily fluids.

Back to Normal

Don't panic, the title is misleading. How can we be normal when we've never had a normal life with two children? Point is we're getting back to what we know is normal and making room for new routines that are needed.

We've been back to Bible Study twice now and I'm slowly getting back to my other routines (tweaked of course to include "the boy")

I have a list of goals for each day.

1-Shower, dress, hair, make-up, brush teeth. Tiger doubts that there could be a day in her life when she would forget to brush her teeth. (She's five months pregnant) Now, maybe she'll prove me wrong, but most mothers I know have had their days.

2- 2 loads of laundry a day. Washed/dried/put away. My original goal was one load but I'm finding we need two loads done.

3-One load through the dishwasher. To be honest I haven't touched much of the kitchen since "the boy" was born, Mr. Sloth has taken care of that if it's gotten done at all.

4- Clean sink. Same as above.


Those four basic things make peaceful life possible. I'm still doing my night routine which is setting out clothes for Demand and myself. At this point dressing the boy is just a matter of grabbing something out of the drawer. I've added a new goal of having Demand dressed with diaper changed and teeth brushed before heading down to breakfast. This became a goal yesterday when I realized that Demand's morning diaper wasn't changed until 11am. So sad. The rest of the night routine includes picking up Demands room and playroom, general pick up of the upstairs and gathering stuff for the next day.

I'd say today was the first official day that Demand has been better since being sick, and she was delightful. Whew! So it looks like her attitude issues were more sickness than new baby or even just "another stage".


Among my other goals I've recently been inspired by a Catholic blog to be more present to Demand. "The boy" has plenty of attention, but now is an important time to be present to Demand. Anytime she'd asked "You play with me?" I'd stop and evaluate what I was doing. Could I stop and play? Was I doing something necessary or just needed? Keep in mind, I enjoy cleaning. So if I'm in the middle of folding laundry and Demand asks to play I could easily say "In a minute". Ugh. It's only been two weeks but I'm so sick of telling Demand "In a minute", "After I do this", "Maybe later". Since there really are so many times when I have to say no due to "the boy", I need to try and say "yes" when possible.

For example. Demand got a new book from "the boys" Godmother and asked if I could read it to her. Without thinking I said "In a minute". Then I stopped, realized I could take a sip of coffee and put away a few dishes in a minute, for now I could stop and read to Demand. It felt good.

I know it's not possible to do this all the time but to stop and do it once or twice a day makes a difference. Today I stopped paying bills online to play with Demand and her Princess sticker book. How can you not when you hear, "Momma? You play with me?".

The moral of the story is that we're starting to settle into a new set of routines, and I need routines to function. Tomorrow we're going to a childrens consignment store to buy clothes for our ginormous daughter and new son. Hopefully we'll have some luck and find some good deals. If anything we'll be getting out of the house, which is a nice change of pace these days.

Baptism and Such

Sorry I haven't been online much, it's actually not so much having a new baby as it is having a new baby and the beginning of Lent.

So I'll quickly relay Demand meeting her brother, the Baptism and such. "The Boy" (He needs a nickname, help me out...) was born on Friday. Mr. Sloth stayed the night at the hospital since I wasn't doing well and when I gave birth to Demand when he left and came back I was unconscious with 7 doctors in the room. We were hoping to avoid that situation this time.

Saturday morning Mr. Sloth headed home to shower and bring Demand in. I wanted it on video so Mr. Sloth came in the room alone while Demand stayed in the hallway with everyone else. She was really excited to go to the "hopistal" and see Momma. I was sitting in the rocking chair with "the boy" and Demand came in. She was a little overwhelmed having been entertained by 8 adults the previous night, and a little nervous to meet her brother. The first thing she said was "You find a baby, Momma?"

Yes. I "found" a baby.

She was gradual to touch him and hold him but of course she's over that now.

The Baptism

My doctor supported and helped me leave the hospital in time for "the boys" Baptism. We had a friend come by the house and pick out a few optional outfits for me to wear and then Mr. Sloth came and picked us up around 11am. We got home around 11:30am, I took a shower got dressed, had a quick lunch and a cup of coffee and then we were off to the Baptism. I felt great. I truly did. Luckily I had borrowed a friends less feminine Baptism gown weeks before in case we had a boy. Demand was Baptized in my gown and it's really frilly. We got the Cathedral about 10 minutes early. I headed to back to dress "the boy" and of course nurse him, and then ran to the bathroom myself. Mr. Sloth was slightly stressed that people were waiting on us but I didn't feel pressure since I was the mother and my son was the necessary person needed for said Baptism.

The Baptism was beautiful, as most Sacraments are. Luckily we're familiar with the process because we were caught off guard when asked the necessary questions during the Baptism. It only took about a half an hour then we took a few pictures and off we went. When we pulled into the garage Mr. Sloth said something I wasn't quite ready to hear. "I'll get the KIDS". Wow, wasn't ready for that. A friend who happens to be a wonderful cook brought us a lasagna for dinner. We ate the lasagna before Mr. Sloth grilled steaks. It was quite the celebration.

Our first two weeks as a family of four have been much easier than I could have dreamed. I was right in thinking it would be easier to go from one to two children than it was to go from zero to one. Zero to one was a lifestyle change, one to two is a change in routines. It helps that this boy is an amazing sleeper and overall even EASIER than Demand. Hear that? It's a slow clap for God for creating a child easier than Demand. Seriously. Bravo, God.

Demand was obsessed with nursing. This boy loves it but when he's not hungry he's not that interested. He's cool just hanging out on his own, but loves to be held and cuddled. He loves belly time and rarely spits up. Oh, and he's super adorable too. I honestly rarely doubt God but I doubted He could make a child as cute as Demand.

Our first two weeks haven't been perfectly easy though. It's hard to tell if Demand is adjusting ok because she's been sick since the day after he was born. Poor Demand. In fact we've said that so much she says it now, "Poor (Demand)". There are so many layers to her situation right now we don't know what to think. She's been sick for 10 days, she just went through a growth spurt, she has a new baby brother, and she's been living off sugar for one reason or another. I don't even know where to start. Plus, they don't tell you that when you have a new baby your second youngest grows up instantly. She's GINORMOUS! And so mature now. Again, she on the verge of a growth spurt when I went into labor but seriously. Where did my baby girl go? I want my sweet two year old back, not the girl who says "No" to everything but M&Ms and ice cream.

We're also very done with television. I know we're not the first family to use TV as a back up during this time of transition but it's so annoying. It doesn't help that it's the middle-end of winter so we're going stir crazy, and since Demand has been sick play dates are off. The girl needs a friend that isn't animated.

If your wondering how I'm doing, I'm doing well. About eight hours after birth I was ready for my third baby whereas Mr. Sloth mentioned something about a Josephite marriage. In case you were wondering about Mr. Sloth, no he isn't "totally stoked" about having a boy. He's excited, don't get me wrong, but it's not like "whew" we had a boy.

That should wrap it up for tonight. Me thinks the boy will want to eat again soon. Speaking of which. Oh, by the way he gained a pound in one week! As I told the doctors assistant, "It doesn't surprise me considering I make enough milk to feed octuplets."