10 on Tuesday

1. I had the best weekend. My parents were here, the little ones were blissfully happy, my heart is full.

2. Is anyone watching The Bachelorette? Love it. Where do they find some of these guys!?! That guy in the mask is seriously funny to look at.

3. I don't tend to blog much about current events, especially not sad things. If I had thousands of readers and could use my blog to make a difference I would but for now, my blog is my happy place where I try not to dwell on things that make me sad. I did read this account of the recent tornados and it made it all seem very real and scary. Still praying for those in Joplin, Tuscaloosa, and other places affected ...

4. I've been emotional about my little ones growing too fast but this blog makes me smile and helps me to know there are many sweet moments ahead as they grow and become friends. I love all of the pics of her adorable, loving kiddos.

5. Have you seen any excerpts from Jimmy Fallon's new book? Sounds hilarious!

6. Do I want a kindle? Last week I thought I did but then I realized it might be dangerous. To have all books at the tip of my fingers might get expensive pretty fast. Too bad you can't check out e-books at the library!

7. I am now an expert in real estate, remodeling, cooking, and plastic surgery, thanks to many hours of HGTV, Top Chef, and Real Housewives during my maternity leave.

8. Speaking of television, I am thankful for TiVo more than ever because I am home so much and we all know that infomercials for pajama jeans get old after awhile. I am looking forward to lots of summer shows - Bachelorette, Big Brother, more Real Housewives of Jersey ... go ahead, judge me if you must!

9 Ava just woke up so you only get 9 today, and sadly no time to upload photos :(

And Babies Don't Keep...

Sitting in the living room, enjoying the quiet of the afternoon.

Listening to the air conditioner click on and then off again and the periodic clicking and moving of the ceiling fan.

The sweetest sounds I hear though are the tiny breaths coming from the baby sleeping against my chest. Her arms are limp, legs curled up beneath her like a little tree frog. She shifts and stretches every so often. She is completely relaxed and peaceful. I am reveling in that peace.

I am the busiest of all busy bodies but there's something about my babies that stills me like nothing else can. My mother had a poem that hung above our cribs when we were babies, I think of it on afternoons like this when I start to feel guilty about sitting around.

"Cleaning and dusting can wait till tomorrow
For babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep"

Early Days

I have not been blogging nearly as much as I would like to be. I don't want to forget what these early days with Ava are like, yet blogging seems low on my priority list when I finally get a moment when my hands are free. It's been busy this past week because my husband has been sick and in an effort to avoid passing it to me and the baby, he's keeping his distance. Addison has already had this so he's able to do everything with her but I am basically the only one holding the baby this week so when she's sleeping I find myself in a tizzy trying to figure out what the most important thing is to do at that moment. I find myself cleaning, writing thank yous, calling friends and sleeping instead (all very important things!).

Addison's mood swings are much better this week now that she's feeling better and getting more sleep. I am SO thankful! I know it will come in waves as she continues to adjust and grow into a 2 year-old but this week is so much better.

Ava is an easy baby. She has been sleeping at night (cue hallelujah chorus), I even got 5 hours of sleep in a row myself for the past two last nights! She is sweet and content almost all of the time she's awake, although the past couple of days have been a little fussier than usual. I can't believe she'll be 5 weeks old tomorrow! These early days are slipping away much too quickly. I am trying so hard to stop and enjoy the little things like napping with her on my chest, putting lotion on her tiny hands and feet after her bath, and kissing her tiny head. I look at Addison and know that soon enough they'll both be running around and squealing. Although that is sweet and wonderful in its own way, there's something about these early days that you can never recapture ...

Adjustments

The past two weeks have felt like a roller coaster with Addison. It's hard to know how much her mood swings can be attributed to having a new baby in the house, and how much of it is due to the fact that she's 22 months old. I honestly think the latter is more the case. She's a little ahead of the curve with how verbal she is and it seems like she's exhibiting some classic 2 year old behaviors a bit early. I just pray that they don't last all the way through the year! 

The only noticeable change we've seen since we brought Ava home is that bedtime is much harder. We used to read books, say prayers, and she would lay down without a peep - now she gets anxious as soon as the books are read and cries when we put her in her bed. It's harder for us than it is for her - we agonize over it almost nightly. The first two weeks home were very emotional for me - I worried so much about her, wanted her to feel secure and loved more than anything. She didn't seem too phased by Ava, although she didn't like it when she cried - she decided she would yell every time Ava cried, good times. Luckily Ava hardly cries at all! However, the last two weeks have been rocky. She'll go from happy to completely demanding in a flash. Everything is "MINE" - her pajamas (she doesn't want to put them on or take them off), her food (even is she refuses to eat it), her books, my cell phone ... you get the picture. It's exhausting! I told my mom this week that I don't like this part - I don't want to have to set boundaries and discipline, I just want her to behave, be happy, and I want to enjoy all of the fun of her exuberant personality all of the time. I know there are many more days of this ahead, part of being a parent is to teach and guide your children but no one said I have to like that part! The good (and bad thing) about little ones is that each phase is SO fast. Just when you think you'll never get sleep again, you do. When you are at your wit's end with tantrums, they subside. Soon I'll be wishing for her to be 22 months old again, just like when I was holding her the other night and tearfully remembering when she fit in my arms as a tiny little newborn. sigh ...

While you were sleeping

While you were sleeping last night, I was learning about all of the products you didn't know you needed. Let me tell you, there are some hidden gems out there! Luckily, Ava knows the difference between day and night and we aren't usually up for hours at a time but I am still getting up to feed her every 3-4 hours so I find myself watching TV at some odd hours. There are some ridiculous products ...

Pajama Jeans - Not only do they look like denim but feel like pajamas, but you get a free t-shirt too!

The Cami Secret is one of my favorite "worst" commercials. It can be viewed on their home page but be forewarned, the page has pop ups to try to prevent you from closing it) and makes me laugh every time it comes on.

The Topsy Turvy tomato trees are definitely innovative, if nothing else.

And of course you can't forget about the Shake Weight. Ridiculous and hilarious. One of my friends has a co-worker who actually does this at work every day.

And then there are the products that I find myself wanting to buy, such as the Insanity workout (I would die but at 3 am, I find myself intrigued) and the Magic Bullet blender.

What are your favorite infomercials and "As Seen On TV" products?

And of course a picture because she's so pretty ...

Just in case you were wondering

Just in case you were wondering what a bag of goldfish crackers looks like after going through the wash ...

Thank goodness the bag stayed sealed!

Every day is a Saturday

I might change my tune shortly but for now, being on maternity leave makes every day feel like Saturday. Last week I finally let go of the feeling that I needed to be thinking about work and just let myself enjoy some down time. I use the term "down time" loosely because I have a newborn and a toddler which means that there's always laundry to do, babies to feed, and baths to be given, but it's still different than being in work mode. This weekend was kind of crazy. My in-laws were here for a visit and they all played in a golf tournament on Saturday. I had a babysitter come for part of the day and a friend came over late afternoon which helped immensely, but I had the girls by myself for a few periods of time that day which is where the crazy came into play. Addison discovered that while I was feeding Ava she could get away with a lot. At one point, there were toys all over the living room floor and she came dancing out of her room with her pacifier in her mouth - something that is strictly meant for bedtime only. It was actually kind of funny but I was more than exhausted at the end if it all.

Today was kind of relaxing (... kind of). We went out to the condo that the in-laws were renting and spent the day enjoying the beach. Addison loves the beach and we chased the water along the shore and made "birthday cakes" (aka sandcastles) in the sand. During naptime I got a 15 minute nap myself on a lounge chair which was amazingly refreshing. I did come home with a pink square shaped tan on my chest due to the neckline of my dress, I'm just happy I wasn't sleeping longer or I'd look pretty interesting. Despite the fact that Uncommon Husband was there all day, it was still chaotic with both little ones. I learned that all of my packing and preparing was very important - by the end of the day, all of us needed the spare clothing I brought along! A few pics from today at the beach ...



Tidbits

I have about 5 unfinished posts on here. I think the problem is that I start typing and then get sidetracked trying to pick out pictures to include and end up blogging nothing. I normally do 10 on Tuesday but since I'm on maternity leave and the days are running together, let's just pretend it's Tuesday ...

1. Several friends have brought us dinner over the past 2 weeks and it has been wonderful! No worries about cooking, shopping or clean up. I am grateful.

2. Newborns sleep a lot! I honestly can't remember Addison sleeping this much but I think we were in a state of shock with her for the first several weeks. We were enjoying it but "shock & awe" are very good ways to describe those first weeks as new parents.

3. The second baby is so much easier but now I know what a friend meant when she said "newborn = easy, toddler = not so much." In my husband's words the other night "it's like dealing with a crazy person!" As Addison went from writhing on the floor to laughing and dancing in a 3 minute span.

4. Now that I am not pregnant anymore, I am REALLY going to try to start my photo a day project again. I have a feeling it won't be hard right now while I am on maternity leave but you might be seeing an awful lot of baby Ava for awhile ... she's too precious to resist!

5. I should be taking a nap right now ... that picture above, combined with waking up every few hours, makes me sleepy. Maybe posting this one will make me feel more awake ...

6. She's only 3 weeks old but she's already got fancy "shoes"


7. The birth announcements came yesterday and I love them! As soon as I finish mailing them, I'll post a photo. I think Crazy Betty even approved (and if she didn't, she kept that opinion to herself for the first time ever!).

8. Crazy Betty came over yesterday to visit and helped me out by folding some laundry. Throughout she kept saying things like "if you hadn't fried this it wouldn't be wrinkled" and other fun commentary about my laundry skills. I quit letting it bother me.

9. My in-laws are in town for the weekend. Thankfully they rented a condo on one of the keys near our house. They used to stay with us, 7 people (including me & uncommon husband) in a 2 bdrm, 2 bath. It was good times. I was practiced GREAT restraint not blogging about those visits when they were happening.

10. I can't believe I made it to 10 (although it was a boring 10 things). I'll leave you with a smile for the weekend.



Scenes from Mother's Day

Initially I was sad that we couldn't go out for Mother's Day. No one loves brunch somewhere posh more than I do, but we didn't think it was wise (or sane) to attempt it with a 2 week old and a 21 month old. Uncommon husband came through as usual though! We had my favorites for breakfast - croissants, fruit and banana bread. He bought my favorite flowers for me. We took pictures with my girls. We had pool time. We ate cheesebugers. We stayed home and it was practically perfect (with a little chaos thrown in for good measure).

Boston Cream Cupcakes - oh my!!!

Soaking it all in

I'm still here, just soaking it all in. All of the tiny squeaks, the sleepy snuggles and the newborn love. Blogging and Facebook have taken a backseat since my mom was here last week and my sister was here this week. It has been wonderful. My sister left today so now we're alone until my in-laws come next Wednesday. When Addison was a newborn, I remember feeling panicked when everyone left. This time has been much easier and although it makes me sad to see them go, I don't feel that panic this time. The biggest thing I am intimidated by right now is the thought of trying to go somewhere by myself with both girls. My mom and I took them for a quick trip to Target and that was insane, mostly due to the toddler. Thankfully, it will be at least another week or two (or as long as I can string it out) before I attempt something like that by myself.

I have much to blog about and now that we're getting into a rhythm, maybe I'll actually blog instead of thinking about it!