Where we are now

Sometimes, okay most times, I get a little nervous when I think about this fall and being responsible for three little tots.  I tend to get most nervous on Mondays and Tuesdays because those are Jon's long days.  The days where I'm on my own from wake-up to bedtime, through all meals, naptimes, tubby times and book readings.  Until they finally stop chatting in their beds and I can stumble right on by the pile of dirty dishes in the sink, collapse on the couch, flip on HGTV and marvel at how exhausted I am.  I mean, it's just two kids! 

And most moms don't have it as good as I do, since the other three days a week my husband is working from home and can lend a hand when the boys are screaming for lunch and Mommy ends up spending 30 minutes on the phone listening to a prospective student go on and on about her health, financial and relationship issues, despite the fact that this same person began the conversation with "I only have a minute but ..."  By the time I got off the phone Jack was already down for his nap and Jon was working on the washing the lunch dishes.  Yeah, I have it good.  For now.

Jon recently spoke with his new boss and it would seem that we can expect long work hours in his new job and loads of traveling.  And not just a few days here and there.  I believe a two month stint 1,000 miles away was mentioned.  "Dear Mr. Coast Guard Captain Sir, I'm going to have a newborn, in addition to a very spirited, highly active 3 year old, and his sensitive, mama's boy 18 month old brother.  You cannot take my husband away from me for two months!!"  Needless to say, I'm already scouring Craigslist for potential Mother's Helper applicants.  And "guest bedroom" has moved to the top of our housing "must have" list since we now have an open invitation for either set of grandparents to come and go as they please, and stay for as long as possible.

Other than that, I try not to think about it.  I try to just focus on the here and now, and heaven knows there's plenty to focus one.  So where are we now?

Now, we're really into tape measures.  As in, we've already broke two and have been caught devising a way to retrieve a third one from Daddy's tool box.  Clever boy.

He figured this one out all on his own folks.  Just can't figure out how to open the toolbox.

Now, we have a shorter haircut, compliments of Daddy.  (Might be a long while before we attempt that again!!)

Now, we are suffering a bit of cabin fever.  The weather's been cold and rainy this past week and some of us are bouncing of the walls, literally.  Jack has taught himself how to do foward rolls and does them the whole way across the house.  Of course, when we are able to get outside after a rain shower, the results can be traumatic. Poor Jack.  He was having so much fun running through the drainage ditch ... until he fell face first into the mud.

For days afterward he would randomly start telling the story:  "Puddle ... eyes.  Eyes in the puddle."



So lately, since we're stuck inside, we're "playing" with flashcards, learning our numbers, colors, shapes and states. This kid really likes to learn!  And we've been doing lots of puzzles.  Jack's a puzzle pro.  See that Thomas the Train puzzle?  That's a 24-piecer baby!  And he can almost do the entire thing himself.

We've had a lot of indoor time lately.  Need. More. Puzzles.



Where are we now? 

Well, we're still not crawling.  But how close is he in this picture!?  We're doing really well with "walking while holding someone's hands."  And we dominate our walker (maybe that's why we're not crawling?).  You should see Jude maneuver his set of wheels around the house.  He whizzed by me the other day while I was walking across the kitchen.  The moment he heard me open the refrigerator door he put himself in reverse, whipped back around the corner and parallel parked right inside the fridge door.  Then he reached for the bottled cilantro - it's his go-to condiment. 

Jude's also known for giving "flat tires", he'll come flying up behind you and run over your heels.  So lately I've been prancing around the house on my tiptoes.  Oh, and let's not forget the time he completely took me out in that thing.  Yup, came up behind me, cut me off and knocked me to the ground.  He's got a lot of work to do between now and age 16.

Right now we're also cutting some serious teeth.  I'm pretty sure every tooth in his mouth is about to make an appearance at this point.  Whenever a Jude-tooth is about to break through, we usually have a rough night.  Which means I end up sleeping on the guest bed in Jude's room.  Last night was no exception.  In fact, it may very well have been our worst night yet.  It was 9:30 and I was just about to go to bed (first trimester exhaustion, cut me some slack!).  And then I heard Jude wake up.  He cried for two hours.  I got him out of bed, and snuggled for a while until he fell back to sleep.  Gently laid him back down and ... he was up again, kicking and thrashing.  So I picked him back up, paced the floor until he fell asleep, then sat down.  He started thrashing again.  More holding, more pacing.  He fell back to sleep and I kept walking.  I walked the hall until my arms and back ached.  As soon as I stopped he was up again.  I tried to rock him, he screamed.  I tried to nurse him, he pushed me away.  I tried to lay down in bed with him next to me, smack up on my side with one arm around his head and his feet kicking my thighs... he slapped me across the face and kept screaming.  By now, we're pushing 11:30 and I'm at my wit's end.  I finally grabbed him a cup of milk.  He chugged it, on and off in between 2 minute naps, until the cup was drained.  And that's the last thing I remember.  A few hours later I woke up, still sitting up in bed holding a zonked out baby in my arms.  I laid him next to me, he immediately woke up ... and started laughing and kicking the bed.  Oh Jude.

Oh, and then Jon woke up the next morning wondering why I was sleeping in Jude's room.  Men.

Yes, where are we now?  Deep in the throes of house hunting.  We drove by a few last weekend (and quickly crossed them off the list) and looked at a new house (which we fell in love with), but just found out it's been sold.  We're only two weeks into this and it's already a bit discouraging.  We're going to look at a few more soon so hopefully we'll have some progress to report on in the near future.  And in the meantime, we hoping the weather will warm up and a certain someone will get all their teeth and the second trimester will come quickly!   That's where we are now!