Eli - 7 months

As every mother says, it's so hard to believe that my baby is 7 months old already.  Just in the last two months, he has started to develop such a personality.  He's still a pretty chill baby and will usually sit and play or just watch what is around him unless he is tired, hungry, or getting teeth.

Speaking of teething, he has had such a hard time with these top teeth.  His two bottom teeth came through relatively quickly, but he has been battling with these top ones for over a month.  One finally broke through last week but the other one is still bothering him.  Poor baby.  

He is definitely on the move now.  He does this move that we call the froggy where he gets up on all fours but can't quite figure out how to move his arms and legs at the same time to move forward.  That doesn't really stop him at this point though as he can roll/scoot wherever he wants to go.  He so badly wants to pull himself up and will insist on standing (holding my hands) when we are playing. Caleb didn't walk until right around a year but I'm wondering if this little guy is going to be on the move much, much earlier.

                                         

He's made some pretty big advancements in sleeping since my last update 2 months ago.  He has started sleeping through the night pretty regularly and when he does wake, usually if Josh goes in there he will go right back to sleep.  If I come near him though?  He decides he is actually ravenous and MUST eat.  

He's wearing 6 and 9 month summer clothes right now.  There is no way a 6 month sleeper would fit because he has pretty long legs like his Momma, but 6 month summer clothes are just right.  It wouldn't surprise me though in the fall if we have to bring out the 12 month pants.

He babbles like there is no tomorrow and he and Caleb have developed a really special bond.  He will just sit and watch as Caleb talks to him, hands him toys, kisses on him, and tries to follow him around the room.  It is so sweet for my Mommy heart to watch.  

Back to that personality though.  When he is unhappy enough that he wants me to know it, he squeezes his eyes shut and screams like the picture below.  It is so, so funny to watch.  There are no tears, he just wants me to know that he wanted that toy that Caleb has, or he thinks he might still be hungry, or he doesn't feel like he has my undivided attention.  It just cracks me up.

 

  

He's still nursing great and has started solids.  We've had homemade squash, sweet potatoes, peas, pears, peaches, plums, bananas, and applesauce so far.  He does really well with everything but the peas (which I do not blame him at all).

Overall, he's a sweet, carefree, and fun baby and we are so blessed.  He gets cuter everyday and I can't wait to see him grow.

Weekends

Happy Monday!  Is there such a thing?  It doesn't seem like it in my house.  Mondays blow, no matter how you slice it.  As I would imagine everybody feels, weekends go way too fast.  There is never enough time to do everything we plan and I always stay up way too late on Sundays trying to prolong the inevitable.  It's a serious problem.

Our typical weekend involves trying to catch up on house work, playing with the boys, and sometimes visiting our families.  The past few weekends have been focused on the move and we have barely been home. This weekend we actually were able to focus on unpacking... finally.

Saturday morning, we grabbed our coffee and headed to Lowe's to pick up some things that we wanted to work on for the house.  Both our walk-in closet in our master bedroom and our linen closet in the bathroom, have oddly placed shelving.  For example, in the entire floor to ceiling linen closet there are only 3 shelves spaced very far apart.  So you either have to put hardly anything in it, or stack up your towels and sheets so tall that it looks messy and haphazard (in my opinion).  Same thing with our closet.  We wanted to move the existing shelving closer together and add more shelving to make it usable, plus add more hanging space.  Holy cow, the price of shelving adds up!  I also got a bunch of baskets/containers for more kitchen organization.  I'm thinking the Lowe's trips on Saturday mornings is going to be a very common occurrence over the next few months as we update the house.

We played with the boys for awhile and while they napped, I actually napped too.  (Shock, gasp! I know!)  We've been getting to bed so late every night, trying to do some unpacking that I was/am just exhausted.   We headed to Church Saturday evening and grilled burgers for dinner.

Sunday morning we got up bright and early and headed to the grocery store.  I love getting there early in general to get it out of the way, but I also love getting there early because usually the special kid carts with the car attached are available and Caleb is overjoyed to be at the grocery store.  As anyone with a 2 year old knows, that is more than worth it.

We spent the morning outside playing while Josh mowed the lawn and trimmed some of the trees.  We realized that along with work inside the house we have to do, we also have a lot to do outside.  The front porch needs some paint along with the door and trim.  The trees, bushes, and plants are totally overgrown and really need to be cut back.  In fact, we probably will remove a lot of the plants.  Some of them have grown over the edge of the sidewalk and get walked on everyday.  It just looks messy and I hate it.  Seems like not a lot of maintenance has been done over the last ten years.  The house is in great condition but it is in desperate need of some simple maintenance.

The rest of our Sunday was spent installing shelving unpacking boxes, and playing at the park.  I'm proud to say that we have made a dent but still have a long way to go.  I hope in the next few days we will have enough boxes unpacked that we can at least park our car in the garage, crazy thought isn't it? I mean who actually parks their car in the garage? 

All in all, a successful weekend.  Too short though.  They are always way too short.

We're in

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of crazy and Josh and I are pretty much walking zombies at this point.  Stumbling over boxes as we walk around with our eyes closed.  We're in the new house and 'in' is sort of a relative term at this point because almost everything we own is still in boxes in the garage.  Most of the furniture is inside now and beds are set up (finally!) but drawers and cabinets are still empty. 

Why you ask since we have been technically living there for 4 days already?  I'll give you three reasons.  One, I have two children under 3 which leaves me with approximately 60 minutes with which to spend unpacking each day.  Two, we only took 3 days off work for this, 1.5 of which were spent physically moving boxes.  And last but not least, I did not realize that when we moved in the house was going to be a GROSS, DISGUSTING MESS which would require me spending countless hours to first, clean and disinfect before I put anything of mine into this place. 

Let me start by saying that our closing day was less than stress free.  In our contract, we had requested that the carpets and the house be professionally cleaned before closing day.  In the last two hours after we closed on our old house (so we were technically homeless), we found out that the carpets had indeed been cleaned but the old owners had refused to pay the bill.  Technically, that means that there was a 'lean' on the property and we couldn't close unless we wanted to be responsible for the bill.  Also, the wrong legal description of the property had been submitted and they had our names wrong that also had to be corrected.  I swear, it was like Murphy's Law.  Our realtor was wonderful and worked it all out for us.  Because of all that, I didn't ask for a receipt for the professional cleaning because I was worried that it was all going to fall through.  Plus, I figured who doesn't leave their house in clean condition?  I just cleaned our old one from top to bottom, so surely they did too.  Well... that was not the case.

Tuesday morning I spent 70 minutes,  (Yes. 7-0 minutes.) cleaning out the washing machine because it was coated/caked with orange liquid fabric softener.  Built up fabric softener apparently does not come off easily and literally has to be scraped off.  Which takes forever.  That was not the half of it.  Kitchen walls were splattered with food, floors hadn't been mopped or swept, there was dust everywhere, cabinets were full of crumbs and stains, and the appliances were ick.  So that's what I did with my entire time off work and started unpacking boxes late Wednesday night.  The house is a disaster. 

Oh and one last thing before I stop bitching.  They decided to paint over marks left on the walls which I suppose was maybe nice in theory, even though I could have easily taken those things off with magic eraser.  The walls are flat white and they painted over these spots with glossy white.  So all of those areas are total eye sores.  Yes, we were going to paint anyway but not everywhere all at once.  So every time I look at the walls, I get a teensy bit more angry. 

Enough of that.  On the positive side?  I love that we have more space.  I love that we are going to be able to paint/redecorate/add touches to make it our own.  I love the neighborhood and the neighbors seem nice.  It will be great in time. 

This weekend we are headed down to my hometown for my ten-year reunion.  I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends and can't wait to catch up with everyone.  The house stuff will have to wait until Sunday. 

Making a house into a home

As we are packing and preparing to move, the thought that we have one last week in this house- our home- makes me so unbelievably sad.  Am I excited to move into our new house?  Absolutely.  I know we need the space for our growing family and our current lack thereof is driving me batty, but I can't help but feel so, so sad about leaving this one behind.  

Part of it is that this was the first house we bought.  We painted the walls, picked out the furniture, made it ours.  The other part of it is that this is where we brought my babies home to.  This is the only house they know and it makes me feel terrible to move them out of it.  I worry about Caleb, who is so fueled by routine and has a hard-time with change (just like his momma).  I worry he is going to be sad about leaving, confused about where his stuff is going, ask to go back to the old house.  I'm not worried about Eli, he's pretty go with the flow at this point. 

Some people may think we are silly to move right now.  This house is in a similar price range to our current one.  We are basically trading a brand-newish house for a slightly older house (2002- not super old) to have more space.  I would have loved to move into our 'forever house' at this point but we just aren't in that place with me part-time which is okay.  The bones of this house are good, some of the trim/colors are not our style.  We plan to paint, replace fixtures, replace some flooring, do some updating, typical stuff to make it ours.  

When we moved in to our current house, we also wanted to paint and decorate but for some reason did so without really any sense of urgency.  We slowly painted a couple weekends here and there, and truthfully never fully finished our master bedroom the way I would have liked to.  Maybe it was because I knew we wouldn't stay very long, or maybe it was that two pregnancies and two babies took up most of my time.  This time however, there is that sense of urgency which I hope sticks with us.  Painting always sounds like such a fun project until you are in it, doesn't it?

So as I think about all this moving stuff, I have to be careful in my mind what terminology I use.  Am I moving my babies to a new house?  Yes.  But their home isn't changing. I look forward to making this new house our home.  As fast as is humanly possible. 

The best four years...

Today is our 4 year wedding anniversary.  If you had told me on our wedding day what the next four years were going to look like, I would have laughed in your face.  Never had I imagined we would have two babies already; let alone different jobs, homes, etc.  These last four years have been the best of my life.  Thanks to this guy....

 

No seriously.  He's a wonderful husband, beyond wonderful at the whole dad thing, and just a great person.  He balances my crazy which is not an easy task.  We were together almost 5 years before getting married and will celebrate 9 years together this fall.  We met in college, in a public speaking class in fact, and were paired together for a group presentation by the professor.  The rest as they say, is history.

                                            


It's only been four years and I'm not going to pretend to have loads of experience in the marriage department but for us?  That time at the end of the day when both boys are asleep and we sometimes have 30 minutes, or an hour, or (when we are really lucky) two hours alone together?  That's when we reconnect.  We snuggle up on the couch, catch up on our DVR, and chat about adult stuff.  Often we are accompanied by a sweet treat or an adult beverage and it's what keeps us sane.  I hope we never lose that time together or somehow find ourselves too busy to find it. 


                                   


We have an annual tradition where we order a small cake from the bakery who made our wedding cake and have them fill and decorate it the same as our wedding cake (except it says Happy __ Anniversary).  Vanilla cake, buttercream frosting, raspberry filling.  It is AMAZING.  Here's to many, many more cakes and years together. 

Happy Anniversary honey.  Can't wait to see what lies ahead.  It's you and me against the world. 


                             

Caleb Update

I wasn't going to say the cliché thing about how time goes so fast...  blah, blah, blah...but seriously, it does.  I cannot believe that I have a two and half year old.  Caleb is SO full of energy, opinions, giggles, and brings joy to every day.  I've obviously never had a 2 year old before, but from what I have gathered from others he is way ahead in the language department.  He talks SO much and I am amazed at all the new things he learns how to say daily.  He's always listening and repeating so Josh and I have to be so careful with the things we talk about and the *cough* language we use.

 

 

The things he comes up with sometimes are so funny (truthfully probably more funny to us than anyone else.. sort of a 'had to be there' type of thing) and I wonder where he possibly came up with it. We've had a bunch of birthdays in the family recently and he now loves to run around randomly and shout 'Happy Birthday!!!' at us.  Sometimes when he wakes up early in the morning on the weekends, we let him watch his favorite tv show.  He'll walk over to me with the biggest smile and whisper in my ear, 'Watch Tiger Mommy?  Pleeassee?' It's so cute that I seriously can't say no. 


                                    

He's so full of spunk and sure knows how to turn on the charm.  For the most part, he will talk to new people he meets and flashes that adorable smile.  He is such a chatterbox and will talk on and on in the backseat about anything and everything.  He loves his little brother so much. We have to watch closely because his nice kisses and hugs are not always as gentle as Eli needs.  He always means well though.


                                             


He's a great eater and most of the time will try new things with some coaxing.  He had an allergic reaction to strawberries at 18 months and we still have stayed away from trying them again until he is a bit older.  Other than that, we haven't noticed any allergies to anything yet.  Josh has a major egg allergy so we have always been careful with those, but Caleb doesn't even like eggs so we haven't had an opportunity to see if he is allergic too.

Let's face it though, he is two and with that of course comes his share of meltdowns and 'differences of opinion'.  We're lucky in that he doesn't really get frustrated because he can't communicate what he wants, we almost always can understand what he is saying, but more so because he prefers his choice over mine.  There are days when he doesn't want to put on his clothes, doesn't want to go to daycare, doesn't want to take a bath/get out of the bath/eat dinner/go to bed, the list goes on and on.  Then there are days when he is an absolute angel which I guess balances those out. 

Overall, he is a happy, healthy, sweet, energetic two year old and honestly, I couldn't ask for anything more.  We are pretty lucky.

Catchin' Up

Happy July everyone!  Where did June go? This is going to be a catch up post on my life right now because while I feel like so much has happened, it's been a whirlwind that I'm only just beginning to process.  I haven't written much lately, honestly because I was afraid if I wrote it down then everything would fall through.  It still may unfortunately but I'm going to take a page from my husband's play book and have a positive outlook. 

As of today, I am now part-time at work and off at 12:30 everyday.  Like anything, I think this is going to take some getting used to - in a good way.  I am very much a routine oriented person and change kind of throws me off for awhile.  I knew the change in routine was going to be hard on Caleb too (he is very much like me in that way, poor kiddo) and that was certainly evident in the difficulty of nap time today.  I figure it will take a week or two for us all to get used to the new schedule and then hopefully we will have more success with nap and more time to have fun. 

Again, as of today, we have accepted an offer on our house and had another accepted on one we want to buy.  The inspections have been done, but no remedy requests have been submitted and as we have come to know anything can still fall through.  I hate that about real estate.  On several occasions, our realtor has said to me "Sometimes in real estate, you just have to take risks" which I completely understand.  However, that is so NOT me and that is definitely not me with two children to worry about.  We had another offer earlier in the month fall through which is probably another reason why I am just so worried about it happening again.  The people who made an offer on our house, also are selling theirs and need to close on the 22nd of this month.  We had only 31 days from the time they made their offer until closing and it has been a whirlwind.  Banks in general, prefer to have a longer time to get the loans together which made this whole situation very tricky as well as the inspections, etc.

Because we now have exactly 3 weeks until we close, we have no choice but to start packing, reserve the U-Haul, and make moving arrangements even though the remedy requests haven't been submitted and all contingencies have not been dropped.  Not the way I would choose for things to go but unfortunately, it is the reality we are faced with.  Keeping my fingers, toes, and everything else crossed and praying for the best.

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Update on Eli's feet

We went back for our follow-up visit with the pediatric orthopedic specialist.  As I had mentioned before, our pediatrician had noticed a problem with Eli's feet at his 2 month well-baby check. After an initial visit with the specialist, he said Eli had 'metatarsus adductus'. He showed us some physical therapy stretches to do and asked us to follow up with him in two months.  If they hadn't improved, Eli would need casts on his feet to help them develop normally.  

When we went to our pediatrician for his 4 month well-baby check in early May, I asked her to look at his feet and she said that she hadn't noticed any improvement.  We were pretty upset and frustrated because we had been doing those stretches as much as we possibly could and expected at least a little improvement.  I was fully prepared (and dreading) the visit to the specialist because I was pretty sure he was going to say we needed casts.

We showed up to our appointment at 8:30 last Tuesday, full of nerves, only to be told that somehow we had mixed up our appointment days.  Our appointment had actually been the day before at 8:30.  If you know me at all, you know that I never do that.  Like ever.  I'm usually very organized and can keep dates in my head like no one's business.  However, with the stress of our upcoming trip and all the showings with the house, I somehow got the dates mixed up.  Oops.  They were nice enough to find an opening for us the next morning.

Of course, they were somehow running an hour behind that day (!!!) which only added to my nerves as we waited to be seen.  Our hospital is a teaching hospital, so we were first seen by the resident.  He looked at Eli's feet, and with no hesitation said that the flexibility had remarkably improved and he didn't think there was any reason for casts at this time.  The specialist came in a few minutes later and agreed with his assessment, but told us to continue doing the stretches.  We are supposed to come back for another appointment in one year when he is walking, to make sure that his feet are developing normally and not causing him a problem.

To say that was a major relief would be a HUGE understatement.  I felt as though a weight of worry had been lifted of my shoulders.  I am so, so very grateful to my husband who was incredibly diligent at doing those stretches with Eli every chance he got because clearly, so far it has worked.  Hopefully, they won't cause him a problem learning to walk and we can put this whole mess behind us.  Until then, I can definitely breathe a little easier.

Eli - 5 months

My sweet Eli,

It's so hard for me to believe that you are already five months old and yet equally hard for me to believe that five months and a few days ago, you were still in my belly.  The extent to which you have changed our lives for the better sweet boy, is too much to even describe. 

Your big brother loves you SO, SO much.  You spend all day together at day care and still he wants to play with you and kiss on you when we get home.  You love to watch Caleb as he plays/dances around you.  My heart is warm watching the two of you play together.  He chatters at you and you give him these big, huge smiles and have even started to giggle a little.

You have mastered rolling over from your belly to your back and have started rolling from your back to your tummy.  You've almost got it, it's just the opposite arm that keeps getting stuck underneath you.  You love tummy time and are so strong lifting your head and shoulders off the ground.  You even like to move your legs a little when you are in that position and end up scooting yourself forward.  You have started finding interest in toys and I can tell your little brain moves faster than it is able to tell your hands to explore. 

You are a big boy and have outgrown a lot of your 6 month sleepers because you are so tall.  We think you will be able to wear 6 month summer clothes but I'm prepared with some 9 month clothes too. We've been able to be outside a lot in the last few days as the weather has gotten nicer and you love to look around and enjoy the breeze and sunshine.  I can't wait until it stays warmer and we can be outside more often.

You have the most adorable big, toothless smile that you flash at me and have started babbling when you are excited.  Speaking of toothless, I'm pretty sure that this is going to be the last week for that.  I can feel tiny little ridges on your lower gums, and know you are about to get your first tooth.  It seems way too soon for me because I still feel like you are my tiny baby but I know you do everything in your own time.  

 

I love sitting with you in the evenings while Daddy gives Caleb a bath so we can have some alone time.  I love talking to you and seeing you get so excited that you flail your arms and legs.  I am always amazed at how calm of a baby you are.  You usually just go with the flow and are a sweet, happy little boy which we adore.

You are continuing to nurse great and I treasure this bond we have because of it.  You are not too big on sleeping lately and really have only slept through the night a handful of times since you were born.  You used to wake up only once but the last few weeks you have started waking up two or three times per night.  We haven't quite figured out why, but we keep trying new things to see if that helps.

You are a wonderful baby and I am beyond blessed to be your Mommy.  Can't wait to see what this next month will hold!

Love always,

Mommy

Eli's baptism

A big day in our religion is the day a baby is baptized, which for us is scheduled soon after birth.  Our Church performs two baptisms at the weekend services once a month which as you can imagine, leads to some scheduling difficulties and a waiting list.  We were able to get Eli baptized when he was 4 months old, which is pretty lucky.  I've heard that some babies have to wait until 8 or 9 months depending on the waiting list at the time. 

Our Church is a little different than most these days in that it has the baptism celebration during the actual Mass, where as Caleb's was done in a small ceremony for families after Mass.  I felt as though we were on display for everyone which made me a little nervous but it was also nice to see so many people welcoming Eli into the Church and offering their blessings.

 Eli was introduced to the Church with us and his godparents. We chose my sister as his godmother and my cousin Ben as his godfather.  This was after the priest told Caleb that he was going to help with the ceremony.  Everybody got a good laugh.

My Aunt got some beautiful pictures of the actual baptism.  Eli was such a good boy and actual seemed to like the water on his head.  Unlike his brother, who screamed his head off when he was baptized.  

That play phone you see Caleb holding?  He would NOT let it go.  I figured it would be best to let him keep it and avoid the meltdown during Church while we sat in the front row, but little did I know that he was going to drop it while we were receiving a blessing which made a really loud noise!  Even the priest stopped and laughed. 

Love this picture of me and my sweet boy!  Caleb was able to wear Josh's baptism outfit when he was baptized which was pretty special to us and really cool to look back on pictures.  Caleb looks so much like him which made it all the better.  We had planned to have Eli wear the same outfit but my adorable, chubby baby was too big for it.  I ordered one off of Amazon that looked pretty similar and I think he looks very handsome in it. 

                                                              Eli and his godfather, Ben.

Eli and his godmother, Aunt Brittany.  She likes to call herself his 'fairy' godmother. 

And last but not least, my big boy smiling at the dinner afterwards.  He was so good during the ceremony and had a blast playing with everyone at the party.  Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating his baptism!  

We were so happy that our families were able to join us to celebrate and it meant a lot to us that some people traveled hours to be there.  Eli received some really adorable gifts.  He is a very loved little boy!

On the market

So, as I talked about in my last post, we decided to put our house on the market.  Josh and I bought our home 3.5 years ago in November of 2009 when it was just the two of us.  We had only been married 4 months and hadn't necessarily intended to purchase at that time, but then that whole 'First Time Home Buyers' $8,000 credit came along and we felt like taking advantage of that was right for us.  We bought a zero lot (share a wall with another person but have our own yard/driveway/etc) which are extremely popular in our area.  At the time, our 1700 square feet seemed like a huge mansion from our previous small apartment and we couldn't imagine needing more space.

Well, 3.5 years and two babies later, we are dying for more space.  The bedrooms of our current home are really good sized which is nice but we only have one living room.  We have said many times that if we just had a basement to play in, we would be able to stay here for at least a couple more years.  The toys, the dogs, everything feels like it is everywhere and we just need more space.

After slowing losing my mind for the past few months, we recently decided to put our house on the market.  When we bought our house, it was only a year old and we actually got into a bidding war over it and probably paid a bit more than we should have.  But such is life I suppose and at the time, we really wanted the house.  Our hope and prayer, is that we will be able to find a home with more space that is perhaps a little older so we can stay in a similar price range to what we are at now.  We shall see. 

Let me say though, putting a house on the market while having a toddler and a 4 month old at home is not an ideal situation.  I do NOT recommend it. We don't have any family within a 30 mile radius, so we've been mainly preparing the house for selling with the little ones home with us.  Not an easy task.  Every morning we pack up all the scattered toys, throw them in the back of the car, and head to work.  It's really all we can do.  We've moved a lot of the clutter and a lot of the kitchen stuff that we don't use on a regular basis to a storage unit, and have more we should actually move over tonight.  Our realtor is bringing the rest of the realtors from her company through tomorrow and then she is having an open house this weekend.  We pray for some interest and some good feedback. 

I've never sold a house before so maybe I'm not as informed as I should be, but I was pretty shocked with the rule that everything that is 'screwed into the walls' stays with the house unless we reserve it on the listing.  So for example, we had to reserve my decorative curtain rods in all the rooms of the house and also, my PHOTO GALLERY WALL.  Seriously??  Who thinks that family pictures and pretty curtain rods come with the house?  I realize I may be one of the few, but I would never think that.  I also realize that I sound like a 3 year old when I say, those are MINE.  I picked them out, waited for them to go on sale, and hung them with my two hands (that is a straight-up lie, my husband hung them with his two hands) and they are MINE.  And you can not have them.  So there. 

All. The. Things.

Can't believe I haven't blogged in over 2 weeks.  Life has been busy, busy and we've had just a few things going on (sarcasm anyone?).  As any full-time working mom of two little ones can likely tell you, there is never enough time in the world to do everything/anything as it seems lately!  Unfortunately, the realities of working full-time, maintaining a house, and keeping two littles alive and healthy doesn't leave much quality time to actually spend just hanging out with those little people. I would be lying if I said that fact has been really getting me down lately.  After stressing and worrying about it for months, we decided to do something about it. 

We realized the two things bothering me the most have been the lack of space in our current home and the fact that I feel like I spend very little time with the boys every day.  SO... we put our house on the market and I asked my boss to go part-time.  60% time to be exact.  Surprisingly, he was actually cool with it which I am so grateful for.  The details haven't been worked out yet, i.e. when I will start part-time, exact hours I will work every day, etc. but I'm hopeful that this will help me out with the time factor. 

Supposedly, in our area, homes are flying off the market and right now there is nothing listed in the same price range which is hopefully good.  We pray that ours goes quickly and also that we are able to find something a little older and a little bigger which would hopefully take some of the stress off.  It's so much work preparing the house for showings with two very little ones that we don't plan to leave it on the market forever.  If it doesn't sell within a certain amount of time that we have set for ourselves, then we will take it off and try again next year. Maybe it's just not the right time.

Along with the house and the part-time decision, we also have had a few other things on our plates:

* Our sweet baby Eli was baptized last Saturday.  It was a beautiful day and we were lucky enough to have our friends and family able to join us.  Our Church does it during the weekend masses and we shared the day with one other little one.  We rented a banquet room at a nearby hotel, and planned a dinner afterwards with our relatives, so I was busy preparing the food and cake for the celebration.  Eli received a lot of beautiful gifts and we are so grateful.  I'm hoping to get around to posting some pictures soon.

*  We took one of our dogs to the vet for a routine appointment where they told us that he not only needed to get his teeth cleaned, but one was actually infected and needed to be extracted immediately for a whopping $800! It's odd because he was just at the vet a year ago where they said his teeth looked fine.  I was under the impression that tooth decay is a rather slow process and it couldn't happen that fast, but apparently not.  He's actually there now and I hope that everything is going well.

* Tomorrow we have Eli's follow-up appointment with the orthopedic specialist.  I am SO nervous about it, mainly because I think I know what he is going to say.  We definitely have noticed a change in Eli's feet from the last appointment and we feel as though it's improving but I don't think it has improved as much as he wanted it to.  When I stand him up, he definitely puts weight on his feet but he also turns them in sometimes and ends up standing on the outside of his foot.  I can't imagine that is what they want.  I hope he doesn't recommend casts but I suppose if it is necessary for Eli to grow and walk, then of course that is what we will do.

* We also leave this week for a trip to visit Josh's parents and his twin brother, our sister-in-law, and our new baby nephew.  Josh's brother is in the Navy and has been stationed in Guam for the past 3 years.  We haven't seen him in 2 years since their wedding and we also haven't met our new baby nephew who was born 12 days before Eli.  He is being relocated to Virginia and is able to stop home for a visit before they have to report.  We are SO excited to be able to see them.  A lot of Josh's family are also coming for a visit also and his parents will sure have a full house.  We expect to have 3 babies two and under, 4 dogs, a set of grandparents, his parents, and the four of us plus other random guests.  It will be crazy and the 4 or so hour car ride to get there with two babies and two dogs will be great fun, but we are just so excited to spend time with them.

So just a few things going on at the moment, right? 

I need to chill....

Things stressing me out right now:

1. The hubby and I are considered a pretty large life change right now as I am pretty unhappy in my current work situation.  I am so much a planner that I always like to have all my ducks in a row before making a change and it's not looking like that is going to happen.  I'm kind of stuck between what my head says 'I should do as a responsible person' and what my heart wants to do as a mother of two young children.  I pretty much go back and forth on a minute by minute basis- no joke.  I'm trying to gather and explore all my options and pray that a clear path will be revealed. 

2. My house that never seems to stay clean no matter how much I try.  I know this is a common theme among mommies of little ones.  I know I am not alone but man, oh man am I over the constant mess.  I am currently breastfeeding/pumping while at work which while a wonderful, wonderful gift to share with my baby and worth every minute in my opinion (another post in itself), but is certainly a lot of time and work.  I pump before work, at work of course, and before bed when Eli doesn't eat everything I 'have', if you will.  That is necessary for me to keep up my supply but a giant time suck.  My husband has really picked up the slack for me in housekeeping duties while I spend a lot of my time doing that but still.... I just wish it could stay clean for .55 seconds.  As I sit here away from my house, I long to have 5 minutes to vacuum.  Or scrub the bathroom.  Ridiculous, right?

3.  The impending doom of potty training.  I feel like Caleb isn't ready so I haven't really pushed it but we're getting close to that point.  He was very excited about it a few months ago so we went out and bought him an Elmo potty seat which he was PUMPED about.  However, when he realized it was not a toy and Mommy wouldn't let him take it out of the bathroom and play with it, he decided it actually wasn't all that cool after all.  In fact, now he refuses to sit on the potty at all.  Which is awesome.

I realize that by no means are these 'big problems'.  I am very lucky that these are the things that are what is stressing me out! 

Sweet baby feet

My pregnancies with both of my boys were so very different which was surprising to me at the time and still is now.  Not only were they almost exactly two years to the day apart (so it's not like I was drastically older) but they were both boys.  I have heard that some people feel like there is a huge difference between carrying boys and girls but for me it was very different with two babies of the same gender. 

My pregnancy with Caleb was pretty eventful.  It seemed like every time we were at the doctor's office, they found one more (small) thing of concern which led to another appointment to check it, and another, and another.  My whole pregnancy with him probably needs another post itself.  Caleb was born two weeks early and weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces.  Because the trend is that second babies are born earlier than first babies, I expected Eli to be born early too.  That indeed was not the case.  We welcomed sweet baby Eli into the world 3 days LATE at 9 pounds, 1 ounce.  Wowza. 

To say we were shocked would be an understatement.  No one, including the doctor's had expected him to be quite that big.  In fact, after he was born, the baby scale was being used by another delivery team. As we waited for it to become available, the small group of nurses and doctors in my room were taking guesses on how big he was based on his appearance.  We all guessed around 8 pounds or so, but we were very wrong.  He sure didn't look that big because he's also pretty long and we loved (love) every little adorable ounce of him.

Eli continues to grow on pace with his weight and height and he's Mommy's big boy.  At our two month well baby check-up, our doctor mentioned that she thought his feet looked like they turned in a little too much and referred us to an orthopedic specialist.  To be honest, I had never really noticed a problem.  I've always felt that babies are pretty flexible, especially as newborns, so we (and the rest of my family) thought his feet looked normal and I wasn't too concerned.  We took him to the specialist in March and he explained to us that Eli's feet are indeed turned in too much. He said he has a very common problem called 'metatarsus adductus'.  He explained to us that because he was such a big baby, he actually ran out of room in my belly to grow.  He showed us how he must have placed his feet to create more room for himself and by doing that, his feet grew a little more turned in than they should have.

The doctor showed us some physical therapy stretches to do with him as many times as we can a day.  The idea is that we can try to stretch out that ligament in his foot which right now is so tight that it prevents his foot from straightening completely. Hopefully, as the ligament is stretched, his foot will begin to correct itself and grow properly.  He said it is a slight problem and the stretches should help.  We have to return to see him mid-May so he can check his feet again.  Hopefully the stretches will have done their job but if not, he may have to wear a cast to correct them.  I'm not entirely sure for how long he would have to wear it but I figured that it wasn't worth worrying myself until we reached that bridge. 

I'm a pretty hardcore worrier so to say I haven't been anxious about this situation would be a complete lie.  It's hard to tell at this point if the stretches are helping.  Eli certainly does stretch his foot out straight when he is playing but then returns it to the regular position also.  I'm not even sure if the specialist expects the problem to be fixed by our next appointment, or if just by having it improve we can avoid the cast.  I know that this is not the worst problem in the world by any means and that if he does need a cast, catching it now as opposed to when he tries to walk is a good thing.  However, I'm sure no mother wishes for their child to have any health concerns including having to wear a cast.  We see his pediatrician next week for his 4 month well-baby check and I hope that she can give us some insight on if they look a little better than they did. So for now, we continue to do the stretches as often as we can and we pray that no further medical intervention is needed. 

Meal planning

I am a HUGE meal planner.  If you know me, you know that I am a planner in life by nature and this part of my life is no exception.  I love to cook so you will hardly ever find store-bought frozen meals on my dinner table.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, I just get my jollies by cooking and baking.  If I don't meal plan, I've found that not only do we spend more money but we also eat more unhealthy things.  That was completely my downfall in both of my pregnancies.  I had some crazy bad morning sickness (in the afternoon and evening) and never knew what I would be able to stomach that night.  We stopped at the grocery store every evening and that is exactly what happened.  I'm not saying we are completely clean eaters or don't cook with things like cheese or oil, we do.  However, we try to use it in moderation and where possible try to cut calories by using skim milk, low fat cheese, ground turkey, etc.
 
When I meal plan, I try to do it at a time of day when I'm not starving so that I make sure to include healthy meals on our list.  For some reason when I'm meal planning when I'm starving?  All I can think of are carbs, carbs, carbs!  I try to make sure we have veggies every night either as part of the main dish or as a side.  Friday nights are usually our nights to eat out or to order take out.  Sometimes if we are visiting family or friends on Saturdays then we eat out then too, but most of the time we eat at home.  Sort of by choice and also by necessity with two young children.

I use my crock pot with a timer when I can, but during the week we are usually gone for too long and meat gets too dry sitting on warm.  I'm always game to try a new recipe (especially those that are quick and easy for weeknights so I can spend more time playing with my boys!). I love using Pinterest to find recipes and follow several foodie blogs.  I'm also pretty lucky to have married a man who is pretty adventurous with foods he eats and is not even the slightest bit picky.  So far, our toddler seems to have followed suit which is great news for me.

Caleb loves to help me in the kitchen which I adore.  He sits on the counter with me, dumps in ingredients, and helps mix things.  I hope he continues to like helping his Momma with cooking as he grows up.  Future chef perhaps?

I'll definitely work on some upcoming posts with our favorite recipes but for now, here are some of my favorite recipe blogs.

Iowa Girl Eats

Annie's Eats

Six Sisters Stuff

Treasure Each Moment

I decided to call this blog 'Treasure Each Moment' to remind myself in particular to do just that.  It's so easy when things are crazy, to wish for bedtime, wish for this phase to pass, wish for the week to be over.  I can be very guilty of that sometimes.  It's only after I had my second baby and looked back on the milestones reached with my first that I really realized how very fast it was going. 

We're in a 'phase' right now with Eli where he is waking up multiple times a night. Whether it's to eat because he's actually hungry or because he needs comfort I'm not exactly sure.  As I was sitting with him at midnight, then 4, then 4:40 this morning, I kept trying to remind myself that it really doesn't matter why he's awake.  For some reason, he needs me and I know without a doubt that someday I will miss this.  Maybe not so much the lack of sleep, but his need for me.  This time when Daddy doesn't cut it.  When I sit late at night/early in the morning rocking/nursing him to sleep and patting his back.

Caleb is a typical two year old and can go from being sweet as pie to being a cranky, patience-waring little boy in a split second.  There are evenings when I feel like if I have to say "Caleb, stop laying on your brother please." or "Caleb, it's nice you want to share your toys but Eli doesn't need them pushed in his face" or even "Caleb, Eli can't eat big people food yet he only drinks his special milk remember?"  just one more time.....  I try to remember that it's absolutely wonderful that he loves his brother so much (sometimes too much!) and someday we will for sure miss this.  When they are older and busier, I pray that they stay close and are friends but it will probably be never quite like this. 

Even with Josh and I, we constantly crave a moment together.  Time and energy to actually watch a movie on a Friday night without one of us falling asleep.  Being able to eat a hot meal together (gasp!).  But again, someday when it's just us again (sob.....) we're going to wish we were interrupted by a chattering toddler/sweet baby and the house will seem too quiet.  Sometimes when I call my mom after work, I can't get her because she and my dad are out to eat or at a movie.  I tell her it is like they are 18 again!  No one to answer to and complete freedom.  She reminds me that it can be lonely....and that I can believe.

So, every day I hope that just the title of this blog serves as a reminder to me that the days are short and as everyone says, children grow up WAY too fast.  Treasure the moment Amy because in the grand scheme of it all, when we look back, everything is only a moment.

The beginning....

So... I finally did it.  Finally started a blog.  More for me I think than anyone else.  I've spent years wishing I had blogged through my wedding planning, through my first pregnancy, through my baby's first year of life, and through my second pregnancy.  I constantly think about what I was feeling then.  The excitement, the nerves, the joy, and the hard times.  So now I have somewhere to write it all down for me to remember and to look back on. 
 
I hope to update often but life with two little ones is often times a circus and things fall to the side.  You know things like frequent hair cuts, pedicures, and reading something that is not a children's book are luxuries that come few and far between.   What can I say?  I am definitely a mom.  :)
 
A little background info for those reading who don't know me personally.  My name is Amy.  I am married to a wonderful man named Josh.  We've been married for almost 4 years and together for almost 9.  We have two beautiful boys.  Caleb is 2 and Eli is 3.5 months old.  I work full-time right now although I would LOVE nothing more than to be able to stay home with my boys.  We'll see.  Our life is crazy, but wonderful and we are so blessed. 

To be honest, I have no idea how to work Blogger at this point so it could be rough goings for awhile.  Like other things though, if I put it off until I actually know what I am doing?  It will NEVER get done. 
Stick around a while?  


**Disclaimer: This blog is for me to write about my life in.  My thoughts are my own and are not meant to offend or insult anyone.  If you are coming here to judge or make rude comments about me or my family- this blog is not for you.  No rudeness or inappropriate comments will be tolerated. Thank you! **