I don't have four arms

An interesting title for a blog post, right? It's what I'm dealing with right now though. I do not have four arms. I seem to forget that. I absolutely LOVE, and I mean love, having two kids. It is more wonderful than I imagined and 90% of the time I am surprised at how easy it is. (I was getting a bit concerned towards the end of my pregnancy about how I would manage two little ones so close in age.) I would say about 10% of the time it is difficult logistically though. And really that is only because I have unrealistic expectations about what I can handle!

Daycare pick up was where I first recognized the need for four arms. My first attempt at easy/peaceful pickup was leaving Liam in his car seat in the snap n' go stroller and trying to get Jack to walk by my side & hold my hand. No luck. Jack wanted to help push the stroller which was super cute and fun except that it's four feet off the ground and he's not tall enough to reach the handle so basically I was holding him up off the ground, and trying to help him steer (to keep Liam safe near curbs!) with his backpack on my back and keys in my hand...you get the picture. If I didn't let him push the stroller - major tantrum. Him screaming "Jack help!!! Mommy!!! Jack help!!!" Not an enjoyable experience.

So then I tried just carrying the car seat with Liam (usually sleeping) because I figured if we removed the stroller pushing factor, Jack would walk like a big boy and all would be well. Wrong! Instead Jack wanted to be held so I became a pack mule - 30 lb. child in one arm (Jack) and infant car seat (weighing at least 20 since Liam is such a chunker and already weighs 13 lbs!) in the other. Backpack strapped to back. Not an enjoyable experience.

So today I upped my game. I broke out the double stroller and popped Liam's car seat in and strapped Jack into the seat on the back. It worked really well (Jack enjoyed his ride) but I felt like I was driving a suburban pushing that thing around. It has no turning radius and is so heavy and clunky. But compared to other attempts it went really well and since we aren't going to spend $600 on a fancy double stroller anytime soon it will do!

It was great to solve that logistical issue but then this afternoon I found myself another one. I have a huge desire to be a fun mom and take Jack outside to enjoy the lovely winter weather (it's 70 and sunny most afternoons) and all of his fun Christmas toys. So after daycare pick up we took his new truck (push/ride toy) out for a spin in the cul-de-sac. Liam was asleep in the sling and I figured we could hang out for 20 minutes or so and then go inside for a snack. Unfortunately Jack had other plans. These plans included wandering bravely down the street, way further than I was comfortable with. Despite my requests to turn around he was marching full steam ahead. It's hard because he is SO verbal and such a great listener (he understands what I am saying) so I forget that he is still only 20 months old and therefore accustomed to doing what he wants and not what mommy asks. Long story short...I ended up having to scoop him up, screaming and kicking, and carrying him 200 yards back to the house. We left the truck behind and poor Liam got jostled around in the sling a bit since I had a toddler throwing a fit in my other arm. And Jack was traumatized that we had to leave the truck behind. (Once I got them both settled safely in the house I sprinted back to get it...let's just say that was my workout for the day.) I think all three of us were pretty upset with the experience! But lesson learned...I don't have four arms. Time to re-set the expectations on life with a 6 week old and 20 month old I guess!

(Sorry to disappoint but I don't have any photos of these experiences. :) )

Jack's Vocabulary & My Favorite Toddler Words

Jack is officially a toddler - we went for his 18 month check up last week (a bit late!) and I can't believe how grown up he acted. The good news is that he is totally healthy and has a spectacular vocabulary. The bad news is that during his check up, he used his spectacular vocabulary to tell his pediatrician exactly what was up. Namely, as she attempted to poke and prod and measure him (all necessary things, and she is really great with kids and did her best to distract him and make it fun!) Jack repeatedly, and quite clearly, said "No more! All done! Go bye bye!" It was so adorable but also quite embarrassing. I like to think he has very healthy personal boundaries, which is a good thing, right? :)

Waiting to get his 18 month vaccinations. 
Poor little man had no idea what was coming. :(

One of Jack's favorite things to do is go outside to go walking ("WOK-en!" as he says). Whether it's in his stroller or his new racecar from Mima, he has a blast, and we love to watch him explore the world around him. He points out everything - cars, trucks, school buses, motorcycles, bicycles, airplanes, helicopters, dogs (especially if they look like Nana's yellow lab Marshall!), cats, birds, and even cows (we randomly have a few in a field near our house, which I love because it reminds me of my childhood in the country!). The weather has been beautiful lately so we go for a walk every day, even if it is just around the neighborhood (I still haven't mastered the art of taking a newborn and a toddler to the park so I try to avoid it unless John can come with me).

Hanging out in the kiddie pool in our backyard - who says this isn't a winter toy? :)

Walking with Uncle James, who is the best (read: fastest) driver ever!

Jack is supposed to have at least six words at this age. We think he has around sixty. They aren't all perfectly understandable but man, that kid can talk! We are so proud of him and get such a kick out of hearing him describe or ask for something.

Here are some of my favorite words -

Home - which he actually uses instead of "garage door" because whenever we would pull up to the house, as I pressed the garage door opener, I would say, "Jack, we're home!" But hey, most homes have garage doors so I guess it makes sense.

Lotion - comes out "LO-tun!" and is so adorable. Whenever he sees me putting lotion on my hands (it's so dry around here!) he begs for lotion on his hands too.

Avocado - comes out "av-o-CAW-do" and along with yogurt ("go-gur") and cookies ("COO-kies") is his most requested food. Actually, I take that back, lately he is loving Welch's fruit snacks, which he calls "nack!" This is problematic because when I say, "Jack, do you want a snack?" what I mean is something healthy, like grapes or cheese, and he hears snack and gets a little bit too excited, thinking he is getting fruit snacks. We're working on that one.

Baby Eat - what he says whenever I am nursing Liam. Too cute! 99% of the time he calls Liam "baby" but every once it awhile we can get him to say Liam ("Meem!").

Mail & Keys - Jack loves to check the mail with his Dad every day, mostly because he gets to carry the keys and it's a short walk outside! Jack always returns to the house with his arms full of mail (he loves to bring it to mommy...he is such a great helper) and as he inevitably drops it all, it melts my heart that he says, "Uh oh Mommy! Mail! Uh oh!"

School - comes out "cool!" and this is what he calls daycare (which he loves...especially because of his friend Samuel). He also knows that my brothers go to school and he often goes with Nana to pick them up, which is super fun, because he gets to see lots of cars, trucks, school buses, motorcycles, etc. while they drive across town.

Peace - what he yells during the sign of peace during mass, as he shakes the hand of any and every person in sight. Jack is so social and loves this part, which is great because it's normally right before he is ready to melt down since he's been sitting still for 40 mins or so.

Here you go - more like "ge gu go" (or something like that) and Jack uses this phrase when he hands you something (logical) but also if he wants you to give him something (illogical). So instead of asking for something sometimes he just yells, "here you go!" (I think this is a result of the fact that when we give him something, WE say "here you go.")

There are so many more but those are just some of my favorites. I can't believe how big our first baby is getting! How blessed we are by these two children.

Five on Friday

After a long week I thought it would be a good idea to lighten things up with a fun link up to celebrate my many blessings. So here we go!

1. My two biggest boys, John and Jack, are just melting my heart constantly because they are best buds. Jack adores his Dad and when John was out of town for work this week for two days Jack asked about him constantly. John is such a hands-on dad and is always so attentive & engaged when he plays with Jack, which I just love. We got Jack a few matchbox cars as a stocking stuffer for Christmas and they are having a blast lately playing, "Ready, Set, Go!" (as Jack has named the game) with them. Of course it was quite the adventure when a car found its way under the stove. Luckily Bacon Papa saved the day and quickly rescued it!

2. The weather here in the Central Valley has been pretty darn great considering it's January! And that means that most days we've been going for short walks and Jack is having a blast doing so in his new car (which is way more fun than a stroller!). It took me awhile to convince him to take the car outside, interestingly enough, because right after Christmas when he got it he was so sick that we weren't leaving the house, and we were just pushing him around the kitchen/dining room/living room. Now he understands that we can take this awesome toy out into the great big world and he's having even more fun. Of course it's ten times better when his awesome Uncle James is the one pushing him. :)

3. Liam is just killing me with cuteness lately - every day I stare at that full head of black hair and those chubby cheeks and just can not believe that he is ours! He is the sweetest little baby and is growing so fast. This is him sleeping away in a 3 month outfit...based on what we've seen in the past few weeks I don't know that it will fit him for long! He is such a great little nurser and his thighs are starting to show that with a few adorable rolls. I just love chubby babies! 

4. As we adjust to life with two little ones our bedtime routine has changed a bit! I took some advice from a friend and we made bathtime a family affair - Liam came in too and we all hung out with Jack while he bathed. He loves to have the baby nearby and I love every minute that our little family of four is together so it was a nice change. John sat on the side of the tub holding Liam and they only got splashed a few times so it worked out pretty well!

5. Liam still sleeps a lot which is great. Most days I'm still waiting for him to pop out of that newborn all-I-do-is-eat-sleep-poop phase and start doing crazy baby things like refuse to nap, cry for no reason, etc. But for now he is still an easy baby and that is a blessing for sure! I love to just watch him sleep because sometimes he makes the funniest little faces or baby sounds. I took him to adoration with me again yesterday which was great except that he decided to randomly do his noisy breathing while he slept - I'm hoping we didn't distract anyone too much! I love that he is my little buddy who comes with me everywhere. It's so easy to pop him in the sling and go anywhere. Aside from the usual sleep deprivation and constant nursing, this is definitely a fun phase with baby!

Two boys

Our two boys are doing so well. Jack is such a sweet and loving older brother (so far). He's very "interested" in Liam (by that I mean he wakes up from his nap and says, "Baby?! Baby?!" because he wants to see Liam) and likes to say hello, touch his face (nose mostly), give kisses, and look at him, but he generally doesn't seem jealous or disturbed by the presence of another little one in our home. We continue to pray daily that the adjustment from a family of 3, to a family of 4, will be peaceful!

Jack holding Liam on our first afternoon at home

Side by side of our two baby boys faces...Jack on the left at 2 weeks old, and Liam on the right at 2 days old!
Liam is quite the chunker. :)

Another side by side of the boys, this time in the carseat.
Liam on the left and Jack on the right. Jack is that lovely shade of tan because he was so jaundice...Liam was/is a bit jaundice but we didn't have to do the bilirubin blanket like we did with Jack, or take him for repeated blood work, praise the Lord!

Most of the time, we still can't believe that we were blessed with another precious baby. Liam is so wonderful, and seeing Jack and Liam together has brought us so much joy. I know that most people (because I hear this on a daily, or at least weekly, basis) think that having two kids under the age of two is a huge challenge, but I know that John and I are up for it! I am so glad that Jack has a sibling, and that we have Liam in our life.

Holidays with a toddler

While my sweet 18 month old takes a nice long Sunday afternoon nap, and Bacon Papa watches a football game.... and since I am still waiting on baby #2 to arrive, I thought I would share some helpful holiday tips. Just a few things that we've learned so far since the holidays are very different when you have little ones around.

#1 Tree/home decorations

The name of the game when decorating for the holidays with a toddler running around is shatterproof. Meaning...shatterproof ornaments! Best find ever...both kinds that we found look great but can be thrown and if thrown, will survive. Of course instead of just allowing daily games of ornament chucking, we spent a few days teaching Jack to touch them with one finger (only!) and not pull/tug/rip them off the tree, so we actually haven't seen too many ornament grenades flying around here, but it does give us so much comfort knowing that our family Christmas tree isn't a total safety hazard (aside from the lights...and the branches...and the fact that it could topple down on him....yikes). We introduced the tree really slowly because I thought we might also be introducing Jack to a new sibling very soon, so I didn't want to overwhelm him. First it was just the tree. Then the lit tree. Then the lit tree with...dun dun dun...ornaments. Ornaments are great and beautiful and totally necessary but of course really complicated when one of your son's favorite words is "BALL!!!!" and his favorite thing to do with balls (naturally) is throw them. Anyway, introducing the tree elements slowly worked really well for us (we didn't even have to put it up on a pedestal 5 feet off the ground, or surround it with baby gates...both things we considered). As far as other home decorations, except for the awesome Fischer Price Nativity set from Nana (still "Gnana" in Jack-speak), everything is up and out of reach (on the mantle...on the dinner table...on a high sofa table but not end tables, etc.). 

Such a great advent gift - Jack is having so much fun (every day!) playing with this Nativity Set.

#2 Gifts

I love purchasing gifts (I've always loved shopping!) but have a hard time spending money as we try to live within our means. Budget is not my favorite word...but sale/coupon/deal...now those are words I like! Since I had some time of my hands, and enough energy to drive/walk around as many stores as needed, I definitely found & used some great sales/coupons/deals, and that felt great. After I purchased all of the gifts, I tried to fight my goal-oriented nature, and instead of wrapping them all immediately (I love to finish a job!) I stored them in the guest room closet and then wrapped them all one morning when I had time (while drinking coffee & watching The Today Show...I will be honest and say that maternity leave hasn't been torture thus far.) When I finally did wrap them, I cut myself slack there as well. Yes, I used Christmas wrapping paper, but no, I did not waste time/energy/money attaching a Pinterest worthy bow and handmade card to each one. I used a sharpie and wrote out "to" & "from" in about 12 seconds flat. It was awesome. 

In other gift "learnings" I realized that although we got Jack a few things (one large present & two smaller items), and we know he will really love them (I can't wait to see his face!), people aren't lying when they say kids are more excited about the box. I mean really, he loves boxes. At least one of the gifts came in a big box so he'll be a happy kid, right? :)

Jack's big gift is WAY cooler than a dog bed, but as you can see, hanging out with Blake on the dog bed is pretty much the coolest thing, so I guess I could have saved some time/money and just gotten him one of those right? It's definitely a shatterproof/comfortable/multi-purpose item...

#3 Family Photos

I still have no idea how we will capture a family Christmas photo with a newborn (at this rate, the kid could be just a few days old!) and a toddler, so we practiced a bit today with just Jack. He is such a cutie, and loves to smile (although when he does his eyes are often closed like mama's) but is so easily distracted. Fortunately John just snaps continually on the iPhone and after about 30 shots we normally get one or two. Today we tried to give Jack something to play with (the aforementioned shatterproof ornament) which was neither win nor lose. It didn't help much (he kept looking down at it, instead of holding in festively as I imagined, in most shots) but we did get one good picture! Generally I think what I've learned now that I am a mama in charge of family photos are these three things: 1) A few deep breaths help. Like most things in life, the more patience you have, the happier everyone will be. 2) You might get "dressed up" five times before you actually get a decent photo. 3) Sometimes it is okay to just give up after five minutes and say, "let's do this another time" instead of forcing yourself, your husband, and your kid to carry on for the sake of a "holiday" photo. There are a LOT of holidays and nobody's ever told me that I needed to capture every single one to be a good mom.

The "festive" version - with my large pregnant body not blocking the cute wreath, and Jack holding an ornament. Such a goofy smile on that adorable kid.

Me and my handsome boy - I wonder if this will be one of the last pictures we'll take before baby #2 arrives?!
(40 weeks + 3 days pregnant at this point!)

Waiting on baby!

It's two days post "due date" and we are still waiting on baby #2 to decide to arrive! For me, becoming a mother (even though I was one of five children, meaning that I got lots of "practice" with my brothers :)) included a steep learning curve. I've been doing the mama thing for awhile now, but as a type A, choleric-sanguine working mama...it is driving me crazy that this little one is not arriving as anticipated, and that there is nothing I can do about it! For the past week, every morning I wake up totally surprised that I am still pregnant. But then as I go about my day I realize that there are plenty of reasons that this little one has decided the timing isn't quite right to come out, and I will have to grow in patience, and pray for peace, in the meantime. 

Baby bump @ 40 weeks + Jack having fun at the park with mama

I decided to go out on maternity leave after Thanksgiving (originally I planned to work from home until baby arrived) because I wasn't feeling great (so exhausted, and lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions & back pain, which have been making my life less pleasant since around 31 weeks). Although it was hard to let go of the work projects/events left unfinished, I am so grateful that I had this past week at home with my family, and that I got to enjoy a little bit of time to myself as well. I finished all of our Christmas shopping (we definitely embrace a simple view of gift-giving and don't go crazy, so that was pretty easy) and even wrapped all the gifts, went for a 2 or 3 mile walk almost every day (some days this was me walking around the mall, grocery store, Target, etc. :)), snuck in a few naps, and got lots of time with my #1 boy, Jack. SO many people told me to go out on maternity leave early to spend time with my firstborn, but it was so hard for me to believe that it was a good decision. It just seemed like it would be better to work up until baby #2 arrived and then spend four months with both of my kids. Now I can see that this time with just Jack was so precious and very much needed for both of us. I know people who have 3, 6, or even 10 kids, and their kids are all so loved & cared for...so I know that it can be done, and can be done very well...but as a mama it is so hard to imagine spreading myself even thinner and making sure that both babies (Jack is still a baby at 18 months old, right?! I mean he can say "helicopter"....and "avocado"....and babies can't really pronounce 4 syllable words...hmmmm...but he's still our baby!) get enough love. I guess we will find out shortly, and maybe baby #2 decided to delay the ol' arrival date so that I could pray about this a bit more.

This little man is going to be a big brother oh-so-soon! But not just yet apparently...

I guess another great thing about waiting on baby has been the fantastic things I've been cooking up around here! The cold weather and slower pace of life, combined with my pregnancy cravings (unlike my sister-in-law Katie I do not crave bran muffins or sparkling water...oops! :)) resulted in some delicious meals. I'll just share two recipes that I think are super easy & totally doable for stay-at-home or working mamas alike!

#1 - this salad! I am LOVING arugula lately which is really bizarre, because I normally don't even like it. But I am finding so many ways to make it delicious and it turns out it is really, really good for you (you may have already known this). 

#2 - these tasty whole wheat dinner rolls! the big craving of this pregnancy has been butter...not straight but on top of carb-y goodness! Most nights with dinner I wanted to add some sort of biscuit/bread/roll/breadstick so after 9 months of this I decided to try my hand at some at home varieties. Meaning...I bought yeast. SCARY! I mean that is some serious baking if you ask me. What I love about the recipe is the fact that it includes step-by-step pictures and helpful hints.

On that delicious note, time to go eat something tasty, and pray that baby decides to arrive....when the time is right.

Brothers!

I haven't blogged in awhile - which makes me a bad blogger I think. I ordinarily give up on things that I'm not good at, but I do enjoy sharing our life, because even though it is challenging at times, we are very blessed. On the topic of blessings, tonight I am SO GRATEFUL for the gift of my two youngest brothers. (I like my third, "oldest" younger brother too, but he's in Texas, busy finishing up his last semester of college, and not the subject of this post for that very reason.) 

Back to my two youngest brothers. They are so wonderful! They fill my life with so much joy, and laughter, and excitement, but more so than that, they are Jack's favorite thing in this world. I mean more than cookies, tractors, trucks, trains, his blankie, you name it....David and James are his favorite part of life. At just over a year old (before he said Dada by many accounts, but thank goodness long after he learned to say Mama) Jack learned to say, "DA-wid!" (for his Uncle David). A few short weeks later he was calling James "JAY!" (a great nickname as it was my dad's! :)). It was amazing to us that some of his first few words revolved around his uncles! Notice that both names end in ! This is because when Jack says their names, it is always with a serious amount of excitement.

He spends every Tuesday with my mom (he is so blessed to have a day with Grandma while we are away at work) and this summer he was just in heaven being around my brothers all day long. It was quite the adjustment when they went back to school in August and I'm pretty sure the best part of his Grandma day now is when the boys get picked up at school (although I think Jack enjoys the cookies that Grandma indulges him with too...). 

If he hasn't seen them for a day or two, he will now ask me about them, in the sweetest way. He looks up at me and says "Dawid? Jay?" and then a few seconds later, "Gnana?". Nana , or Gnana...think the "gn" sound from gnochhi + "nana",  is always included in the list because they are a little tripod, and he wants to know where they are/when he is going to see them, but the boys come first (this breaks Nana's heart...what grandma doesn't want to be #1? but like I said, my brothers are Jack's favorite things in this world!). Every time he asks about where they are it warms my heart, because we are so blessed to have them play such a large role in his life, and ours. We live 1 mile away and see my mom and brothers so often that Jack just understands that they are a part of his orbit, as my mom says. And that is such a blessing, especially as we all miss my Dad on a daily (or hourly) basis. Jack looks just like a little Phillips too! His hair is just the same as my brothers, and when he wears a plaid shirt and is smiling I always think about how much my dad would adore the little man is he becoming. 

As we await the arrival of baby #2 (just 3 weeks until my due date! my how this pregnancy has flown by) I feel so blessed that Jack gets to experience being a brother so soon, because I have been so blessed by my own siblings. I know Jack is going to be a really great brother too. When I picked him up at daycare today, he said, "Hi Mommeeee!!!!" and then proceeded to gently rub the baby bump. Just because. Just a little "hi there mommeee and baby" rub. It was so sweet! 

Uncle James, Jack & Johnny at the county fair this summer.

Jack's favorite place to be...in Uncle David's arms!

Perspective from my iPhone

This morning, Breadwinning Mama shared her 10 trappings of modern motherhood which got me thinking about my own smartphone (iPhone). To be honest, at this point, I see my smartphone as more of a blessing than a curse. Fortunately my work-life balance is pretty darn good, and although I do check emails right before bed...and right when I wake up...and throughout the day/on the weekend...I don't feel like a slave to technology because at this point in my career it is normally just a quick check, and not something that draws me away from my family/friends/more important things! So that is great. What I love about life with an iPhone is that it keeps me connected to my family while I'm away at work (for better or for worse...see exhibits A & B below), and since I always have it on me, I can capture great photos as we move (so quickly) through daily life. So for this blog post I thought I would share just a bit of perspective from my iPhone. :)

First, my most favorite & least favorite text messages from the past week:

Exhibit A: Most favorite - A text from John where he uses "Jack language" to say I love you. We just melt every time we hear Jack say "Blah Lala Lou!" I can't believe how quickly he has grown up. When I receive a great text like this from John, I think about how fantastic it is that he can instantly send me a quick note and make me smile during my busy work day.

Exhibit B: Least favorite - A text from John regarding a mysterious rash on Jack's face. NO PICTURE. Statement that ends with a question mark. This is a working mama's worst nightmare. (I'm at the office thinking, "What kind of rash? How big? How red? How itchy? Food allergy? Insect sting? Ahhhhh!!!!")  

Okay, and now on to my second favorite part of life with an iPhone. The super cute pictures I always catch without having to carry around a camera! Speaking of cameras, I don't even know where ours is. If I found it, the battery would probably be dead, or missing. So really, without an iPhone, I would have ZERO pictures of my beautiful child...except for the ones that my amazing sister occasionally captures (she has a great camera, keeps it charged, and remembers to pull it out and use it...hence the adjective amazing prior to the word sister.) Anyway, here you go.

How handsome are my boys? We had such a blast at the pumpkin patch on Sunday,
 even though we didn't stay for long.

Believe it or not, Jack was SUPER EXCITED to see tractors. I mean literally he just kept yelling,
"TRACTOR! TRACTOR! TRACTOR!" Unfortunately he just wanted to SEE the tractor.
Every time we tried to sit him on for a photo...tears. Big tears. Even when we tried to have him pose with
some of his favorite people (his god-sisters Gianna & Clare). Oh well!

The four of us! It's so hard to get a good "family" picture even with one kid still in the womb
 (I mean how hard can it be to make a baby bump look good?) which makes me worry about the day we attempt real family portraits of the four of us someday.
Jack was very distracted and was not as eager to smile as usual but at least we captured the moment, right?

Love this picture of my beautiful boy checking out the farm animals, especially since I was
raised on a farm, so pigs, chickens, and cows were a huge part of my childhood. :)

This was Jack's opportunity to pick his pumpkin out.
He didn't understand that he got to actually pick one though.
He was more interested in just staring at them all!

A little insight into Bacon Mama's life this week

Baby #2 is the size of a pineapple this week! Wowsa. Probably weighs around 4 lbs, which is kind of scary since we still have about 7 weeks to go and just taking a wild guess here…I think both of us are going to grow substantially in that period of time. On the note of pineapples, did you know that pineapple is supposed to help induce labor? At least according to this article.  Overdue mamas get pretty desperate, so I guess it's worth a try.

 Heard around our house this week:

“Honey, I don’t know how to say this, but…I think that skirt is too tight.”

Result: purchase of additional maternity clothes from gap.com – thank goodness they are having a Fall sale with 35% off!
Thought process: two new pairs of pants and two new shirts are definitely cheaper than actual therapy for the pregnant mama who is feeling F-A-T!

 

“I WATCH!!!! I WATCH!!!”

(This needs some additional detail: Jack loves to watch videos of himself (as a baby) on our iPhones and now knows how to tell us that he would like to do so. “I WATCH!!!”)

Result: we now have to hide our phones unless it is a time/place where it is appropriate for him to sit and watch a few videos.
Thought process: originally I loved this “video watching” activity (because I love seeing how much he has grown/changed, and I thought that watching videos of himself was better than watching the junk on TV). Now that he drains my phone battery on a daily basis and throws a tantrum if he can’t watch…not loving the activity as much as I was before.
 

“Really glad my brain just turned back on and I gave him the pacifier!”

(Requires additional detail as well: due to an “I WATCH!!!” fit in the car on the way home last night, Jack was screaming his head off for 5 minutes…I mean really screaming and crying…and John (via Bluetooth) was trying to reason with him. Suddenly Jack was silent. Ol’ Johnny boy thought his magical words had done the trick. Wrong. I remembered that not only did I have a pacifier within arms’ reach, but that my son still really likes them.)

Result: with the onset of third-trimester pregnancy brain, I now plan to keep a pacifier in my sight so I don’t forget what a magical mommy tool it can be.
Thought process: for us, pacifiers have been a saving grace! At 16 months old, Jack is certainly not addicted to them (i.e. he doesn’t “need” one…goes all day at school without it and really just uses it to fall asleep or if he is extra fussy, but then spits it out), and it never affected our nursing relationship (huge fear of mine since breastfeeding was so important to me! But after his first 3 days of life, when I realized it was not really going to work for mama to be a human pacifier…we popped one of those bad boys in and have enjoyed the results ever since. Baby #2 will be a paci baby or a thumb sucker if desired as well!).

Sunday Mornings

I really love Sundays at our house. We wake up early with Jack and make a great breakfast (today it was two varieties of cottage cheese pancakes and turkey sausage...two varieties of pancakes because the first Martha Stewart Recipe was awful in that it stuck to the non-stick pan no matter what we did, and was just generally a gooey mess) and then head to 10:30 am Mass. My mom & brothers go to 9:00 am Mass so we try to get to our Mass early, so that we can see them as we head in/they leave..but of course today that didn't quite happen (probably because it took us 1 1/2 hours to make our delicious but delayed breakfast?). So when we got there at 10:40 there were no seats (challenging for a 32 week pregnant woman and her husband since they need a seat to contain a certain 16 month old child). Fortunately an usher saved the day by finding a pew he could squeeze us into, which was great because we ended up getting to sit with our best friends/baby #2's godparents, and since Jack adores their entire family I knew Mass was going to be a breeze today. And it was! And what a blessing that was for all of us. But that's not what this post is about. This post is about the week prior, and the weeks prior to that, when our angel child Jack has been a bit challenging during Mass.

Disclaimer: he is actually very well-behaved on the toddler-contained-to-one-space-for-60-minutes spectrum. Even if he wasn't my child, I really don't think I would be bothered by him. But he is my child, and while I'm definitely never bothered by him, sometimes I do find myself embarrassed, not necessarily because of the tiny, noisy-but-normal things he is doing, but because of certain adults' reactions to his behavior (which as I mentioned, is minimally distracting and normally adorable!). A few weeks ago this woman kept turning around and just staring us down. I mean it was really clear that we were ruining life in general for her. John was embarrassed too and mentioned that he "almost said something!" (thank goodness he didn't, I would have been even more mortified!). I just felt so frustrated that she was making us feel badly about having our son at Mass. But I quickly jumped out of the guilt/embarrassment zone and into the righteous indignation zone. Because honestly, when I looked at that 60 year old woman, glaring at us with every peep that Jack made, I thought, "Lady, be grateful this kid is in Mass! We are doing our best to raise him to be a holy man of God, and 20 years from now when you are in the grave, he will be praying for your sorry soul!" Probably not the most virtous internal response but I was a bit peeved by her reaction, and hey, it's true! The children that we are working so hard to form into practicing Catholics are the future of our church, and will be the ones (God willing) leading the next generation in the Faith as well. We may even have a little priest of our hands (he really does love the sign of peace, and he already clearly knows how to say "Jesus!!!" so things are lookin' good, right?).

Anyway, Mass was great today, but if it's difficult next week, and the week after, and especially in the coming months once Baby #2 arrives and we are equally matched (start praying for us now!) I hope I won't lose my own peace & joy (like I said, our Sunday mornings are so great!) because that definitely defeats the purpose of spending time with Jesus, right?

For more on this topic, head over to a blog I love here.

Business Travel

This week I am out of town for three nights at the National Employment Law Institute's Annual Conference. Believe it or not, I am very excited to be here! Missing my boys (like crazy) but I really do love my job (which for those of you who don't know...in simple terms...it's a mixture of Human Resources (recruiting, so external hires and internal transfers/promotions) and Compliance (legal stuff). I love that I get to work with our employees directly, but that I also am doing data analysis/strategy, and that most of the time, it feels like I am "back in school" because I am learning so much about employment law/federal regulations/best practices. Anyway, it's nice to spend 3 days training so that I can be even better at what I do.

This view (our conference is on the 32nd floor of the Westin St. Francis) isn't too shabby either...

 

But on to more important things. I wanted to share some of my "best practices" for business travel, because the first time that I left Jack as a new mama (he was 4 months old and I had to head to Indianapolis and then Orlando, two weeks in a row!) I was so overwhelmed at the prospect of leaving him. (What complicated that trip more was that I was still exclusively nursing...that's a blog post entirely of it's own though because I have lots of learnings/advice when it comes to transporting...oh say...200 oz. of pumped breastmilk across the country for your precious baby.) I don't travel often (2-4 times a year probably?) but I think even if I was just on a day trip, it would still be challenging to leave my family if I didn't have some good things in place.

 

So here's how we make it work:

 

1) Leading up to any travel - I spend every minute that I can with John & Jack. I snuggle, read books, and play play play! I can never get enough of my boys but it is especially important to fill up the love tank before you head out of town. Here's how I spent my Monday night:

 

How cute is this little man? Just playing on some homemade drums. (I'm not crafty...but I am creative! He loved when I grabbed this stuff from the kitchen cabinets and realized that he could make lots of loud noise with it all!)

 

2) The day that I leave - we make sure that the refrigerator is stocked, laundry is clean/put away, Jack's back pack is packed for his 3 days at daycare (including his lunches...the kid eats well! This week he had polenta & pork, black beans & carrots, corn bread, yogurt, cheese, grapes, peaches, and avocado), etc. Part of this pre-work makes John's life easier...but he is incredibly capable and could totally handle it on his own...so part of it just gives me piece of mind and reminds me that even when I'm away, my boys are taken care of. It always feels great to leave things "in order" so even if I am tired, or worried about other priorities (projects at work? washing my hair? calling back a friend that hasn't heard from me in weeks?) I don't let this priority slide.

 

3) Planning time to video-chat! I had an issue with my iPhone's wi-fi, and luckily a friend came to the rescue with an app I could download so we could video-chat without it (I can only FaceTime with wi-fi...booooooo AT&T!) which was great because seeing my baby's face is a NECESSITY. I love to talk to him in the morning & evenings and just watch him play and run around. Now that he can talk video-chatting is even more fun; it melts my heart when he says "Hi Mommyyyy!" and I love that he can hear my voice and see my face. Sometimes I think about how bad it is that we (John & I but also society in general) are so connected to our phones & the internet...but other times I see the benefits (like video-chatting with your 16 month old son with a few quick clicks) and I am so grateful! (How could I not be grateful when Jack kisses the phone screen?! So adorable!) John is also the best Bacon Papa there is and sends me videos (of Jack just hanging out & playing, or of him sleeping, because we are obsessive parents like that and we love to watch him sleep, haha) which is so fantastic.

 

4) Embracing a little "me" time. Believe it or not, I have a hard time taking time to myself because I just adore my family and want to be there for them/with them any chance I get. But sometimes mamas need to recharge too. Johnny does his best to encourage me to do this even when I'm home (a pedicure here or there, lunch with a girlfriend, or a solo trip to Target) but half the time I feel guilty taking "me" time so I fight it or push it off. Since I'm away from my family on a necessary business trip anyway though...I try to let myself sip my morning coffee while reading the newspaper with a great view, or I enjoy a leisurely meal with colleagues, or I just watch some girly TV (while answering emails!) because I can.

 

My homemade ravioli (stuffed with beef short ribs and smothered in an amazing sauce) definitely hit the spot...

5) Family. Honestly the only other thing we do/have to make business travel work is reach out and/or accept help from our family (this includes our dear friends who are like family!). My mom always steps in to help John & Jack while I'm away, and this week, our friends (& baby #2's godparents :)) invited John & Jack over for dinner two of the nights I'm away which is just the sweetest thing. It brings me so much joy and comfort knowing that they are with people they love, eating a great meal and playing and hanging out, while I'm away. I feel so blessed to have people who love and support us as we raise our little family.

 

Anyway, that's all the advice I have to share for now! Time to head to bed before another busy day!



 

 

My Big Baby Jack

There are days when Jack seems so big, and then other days (or nights in this case) when he seems so small. He really is still my baby, even as he sits on top of my other baby (the baby bump is still a favorite perch). Last night he woke up four times (rare for our angel child…if somehow you missed the memo…he ordinarily sleeps 12 hours straight without a peep) and the first two times Johnny went to get him, but by the third time it was clear that he really wanted “Mommmmmeeeeee!” At 1:30 am as an exhausted pregnant woman (third trimester…had already gotten up to pee twice…need I say more?) at first I thought “Oh mannnnn.” Then I heard his little voice on the baby monitor again.

“Mommmmmeeeeeeee.”

There is no sound sweeter to a mama! Well actually, I think that first cry as they enter the world, after hours (days for some people) of labor is the sweetest sound. Or some might argue that the first ultrasound and hearing that little swoosh swoosh swoosh heartbeat is the sweetest sound. So I don’t know, there are a lot of sweet sounds for mamas (& a lot of not so sweet ones…especially if you have a gassy kid…haha) but Jack’s little voice last night was just so wonderful to me. Walking down the hall to scoop him up in my arms and snuggle with him for a few minutes is never something I regret. (If we had a kiddo with a night waking habit I would probably be singing a different tune though.) Those moments with him are so precious and I’m so glad that even though he is getting so big, he is still my baby.

There are definitely other days when he seems SO grown up though. Like  at the park (John texted me this picture while I was at work. When I got it I just started smiling from ear to ear. I mean how handsome is this boy?!?!). 

 

 

We took him to the park this weekend and he was just running all over, exploring, going up and down the slides and steps and loving life. Pretty much with every third movement I had to remind myself to breathe because I am an incredibly anxious mama, so the entire time we are at the park I have visions of him walking off the platform or falling down the slide…but it is still such a blast to watch him play and learn. I can’t wait until he has a little partner in crime to play with too!

In the meantime he is keeping us busy as we navigate through the fun phase of “I know what I want but I don’t know how to communicate it…so I’ll just scream/yell/whine/grunt until you desperately shove things my way that I may/may not desire.” We even had to institute a little “timeout chair” (to be used when the screaming/yelling/crying surpasses the limits of logic/reason). Of course Jack had different plans for what this chair could be used for…

My big fat baby. I love him so much!

As far as other potential solutions to the "throwing a fit" problem (the time out chair does work sometimes, so I'm not toooo worried), John forwarded me this email today:

Hello John!
When your toddler throws a full-blown screaming fit in the middle of the grocery store, you may want to hide behind the toilet paper display – but rest assured that other parents feel your pain. The most useful response is to take your child out of the store (even if it means leaving a cart full of food behind) and sit with him until he finishes crying. Staying calm and offering lots of hugs and kisses can help. Remember that your child is still learning how to communicate and will eventually outgrow this behavior.

Just another one of BabyCenter's useful updates. :) Seems like long before we hit the "terrible twos" we are still going to have a lot of excitement around here!