Blessings

(I wrote this late yesterday after Jonathan's surgery but forgot to actually post it....)

Today was a gift. It is rare that our crazy life allows for a day in which I am not working and only have one little boy to take care of. It is even more rare that the one little boy spending his day with me, spends the morning curled up in my lap. I have forgotten how much fun Jonathan can be.

Granted, he was on some pretty high powered pain killers this morning and couldn't really walk straight, but for whatever the reason, he wanted to cuddle and snuggle and love on his Mom. And I couldn't have been more in Heaven. I have been noticing over the past few weeks or so, that poor little Jonathan gets jipped a lot. Matthew requires more attention right now, that's just the way it is. I try my hardest to pay lots of attention to Jonathan, but sometimes it isn't easy. He has watched too much TV and been denied too many trips to the park. He has eaten one too many chicken nuggets and been told too many excuses about why I can't build "big, big towers" with him. And I am pretty sure if I tell him "hold on buggy, Mommy is feeding brother!" one more time....he will punch me in the face. But the whole time, he has been accepting. Obviously he might whine for a minute or stomp his feet in protest, but he always, always gets over it and moves on quickly. Instead of being angry with me when I can't do something with him, he will run off and find something else to do. And instead of hating his brother for taking up my time, he loves him and tries to help feed him or hold him. There is a whole lot I can learn from my sweet little boy.

As I looked forward to his surgery this morning with anxiety and worry, I also looked forward to our day together. I knew for the first time in a very long time (as in, before bedrest) it would be just me and my guy. And I was excited. We came home this morning and literally sat on the couch for an hour before moving again. He watched 3 episodes of Barney curled up in my lap, sipping on juice and eating cereal out of a baggie. And I knew that my little boy's heart was happy. As the day progressed, we played with Play Doh, cooked lunch, watched Elmo, built lots of towers, he helped me play with fold laundry and before nap time, we laid in his bed and sang songs and read books. It was truly a blessing and something that I think we both needed desperately.

For all my stay at home mommy friends and friends who get the chance to have days like this often, please do not take your time with the your kids for granted. I am sure you don't and I know this sounds pretty cliche, but looking back, I honestly have to say that I didn't take advantage of my time with Jonathan. As he was growing from an infant to a toddler, I stressed and worried and complained about being sleep deprived. I didn't just sit down and watch him play and cherish that moment. I guess my point is, if you are given the chance to spend a day like I did today, please do it. I know for me personally, days like today are the ones I will look back on and remember when I am old and gray.

Tubes!

Well, we finally did it. After literally 2 years of back to back ear infections, Jonathan had tubes put in this morning! It's a long story as to why it took this long to actually do the surgery, but it is done now and I am praying that this finally gives my little guy some relief! Honestly, I feel like all of my mommy friends have already gone through this with their kids, it seems so common these days! But even so, we were pretty nervous going in. Anytime your baby has to be put under and taken into an operating room, it is a big deal.

We had to get there at 5:30 this morning, which obviously was a killer for all of us. A big thanks goes out to my mother-in-law who spent the night last night so that she could get up with Matthew and take him to the babysitter this morning! When we got into the pre-op room, they had a fun wagon waiting for him with coloring books, blankets and pillows! He was pretty excited about the wagon!

Unfortunately, he wasn't too interested in letting the nurse take his temperature, pulse, blood pressure etc...Even with me holding him, watching cartoons and promises of a wagon ride, he wasn't thrilled. He especially hated the thing they tried to tape to his finger. That sucker lasted about 20 seconds. But we got what we needed and they sent Zack and I to wait in the waiting room.

Once he finally went back, the surgery only lasted about 10 minutes. After about 20 minutes, we were allowed back to see him. By now, he was waking up and a little cranky, but it was nothing we have never seen before! (seriously, how cute are these little kid hospital gowns?)

A few cups of apple juice and a Popsicle later, we were headed home! They told me he would spend the day in one of two ways, totally groggy and sleepy or hyper and going full speed ahead. Obviously my kid chose to be hyper. But that's okay because I have a healthy little guy who made it through surgery just fine. And I get the rest of the day off to play with him and spoil him rotten! I do want to add how much I love Memorial Hermann-Memorial City. I have spent my fair share of time there after two babies, bed rest, my own day surgery and now Jonathan's and every single experience I have had there has been fantastic. I am especially impressed with the way everybody treated Jonathan today. All the nurses and doctors were sweet and patient. Nobody gave us dirty looks when he was crying in post-op and our recovery nurse didn't bat an eye when he asked for like 100 cups of juice. I would honestly recommend this hospital to anybody for any reason!

And thanks again for the prayers today :)

A Few Thoughts From Matthew Ley

Hey friends! Matthew here! My Mom was too tired this morning to write a post, so I am doing it for her (She says I owe her since I am the reason she is so tired....I don't really see why she has her panties in a wad though. So what if I wanted to be awake all night the last two nights?! Doesn't she know those are the prime party hours?) Anyway....I hope you all had a great weekend and that your Mommy took you outside to enjoy the fun weather! Over in my hood, we stayed outside ALL weekend while my Mom, Dad, Jonathan, Honey and Papa worked in the yard. Luckily, they didn't expect much out of me and I was left alone to chill in the stroller while they worked their tails off. This was good news because, let's be honest, my hands are the best looking ones in the family. Why would I want to tarnish them with blisters or cuts or something??

So, for my first ever blog post, I wanted to discuss a few things with you guys. These are things that have been rolling around in my head for a few weeks and I just need to get them out there...

1. What is up with my brother snatchin' up my stuff?! He is always in my room taking my blankies and toys and then throwing them around the house so that Mommy never can find them when I start quietly letting her know that I need them. Just last night, he was sitting there on my dresser, pouring out my baby powder. HELLO! It is called BABY powder, big brother....not toddler powder. So lay off. And please stop pouring it all over my stuff. What Mommy didn't capture in this picture was that I actually just Ninja kicked him from behind. That's why he looks out of it :)

2. Again with my brother being all up in my Kool Aid.....Doesn't he realize this is my favorite spot? It is just my size and my best friends, The Bee Family, are always there waiting for me. If he is laying there, how am I supposed to lay there!?

3. Mommy...hook me up with a snack please. If you are going to make me sit in this stroller all afternoon and watch you guys work (great job by the way...) at least give me some refreshments. See that big round hole in the front of the stoller? It's the perfect size for a bottle. And that little tray? Perfect spot for some Cheerios. Oh wait, I don't have teeth yet.....maybe we should just stick with the bottle. Either way, let's make that happen.

4. Now brother, I love you. Lots. But seriously....please leave the feeding to Mommy. You are super great to play with and pretty hilarious most of the time, but your feeding skills leave something to be desired. You are supposed to follow me around with the bottle as I look around the room. What you have done here is stayed in the same place as I moved, therefore creating loss of suction with my bottle. This leads to a river of milk coming out of the corner of my mouth and down into my jammies. And while this is often fun to do when Mommy is all worked up and cranky, it's not that cool when people are just sitting around taking pictures of you and not cleaning it up.

5. Papa....you are pretty awesome. Thank you for building this great play area for me and Jonathan to play in. I plan on getting really dirty out here in the future if Mommy ever lets me out of the stroller. Oh and if she ever finds a place to deliver the playground mulch, which she keeps saying she needs in order to finish it. Excuses, excuses.

6. Dad....when are you going to throw me around like that? It looks pretty fun. And while we are on it....what's up with you having to work so much? I miss you and need you to come and help Mommy at home. She keeps telling me "I'm coming Matthew!" but then it takes her like 5 more minutes. Seriously Mom, don't tell me you are coming if you aren't literally walking over to me. It get's my hopes up.

Whew! I already feel much better having gotten that off my chest. My family is pretty awesome and I love them very much, but sometimes, things just have to be said :)

Brothers

*Please excuse the low quality of these pictures....My goal was to catch the memory, not focus my camera and mess with settings! Oh and please also ignore the milk on Matthew's face...I really do bathe my children, promise.

Last night, while I was working on my new gallery wall, I stuck Matthew in the Bumbo and brought him into the hallway with me. I thought Jonathan was busy watching Barney, so I walked into the garage to get some supplies. When I walked back in, this is what I found.....

For the first time, the boys were playing with each other. Jonathan would push Matthew around in his little Bumbo seat and Matthew would just laugh and laugh. In return, this made Jonathan laugh. So for a good 5 minutes, my little boys played and laughed and enjoyed each other. I didn't know whether to giggle along with them, cry because Matthew is getting old enough to play, or grab my camera. I ended up doing a combination of all three. I think these little guys are going to be good friends :)

Things I love this week!

I think it is time for another installment of "things I love this week!"

1. For the past few weeks, my good friend Sara and I have been meeting up in the afternoons to walk around the neighborhood with all 4 of our kids in tow. It has been so fun to get out of the house, let the boys yell from stroller to stroller (her little boy is about a year older than Jonathan) and have some good girl talk. Yesterday, we set out after the rain stopped and enjoyed the random cool afternoon. It was so nice! And there is always something fun about little boys having a "who can laugh the loudest contest" :)

2. Burt's Bees Baby Lotion and Johnson and Johnson Bedtime Lotion. I use the Burts Bees on Matthew since it is more sensitive and the Bedtime Lotion on Jonathan. Now I know there is some concern over Johnson and Johnson having too many chemicals and whatnot...but I don't use enough of it to cause me worry. Both of my boys have sensitive skin and eczema, so we have to use other stuff for everything else. Other stuff that does not smell nearly as good as these lotions. I could seriously sit and sniff them both all night long. There are few joys in life greater than a freshly bathed baby. And add to that how happy they both are after they get a bath and fresh, warm jammies....Oh, be still my heart.

3. One of Matthew's favorite things is to have somebody sing to him. Now, in case you have forgotten my "confessions" post, I often like to revisit my choir glory days. So really, this is a match made in Heaven. Lately, our nighttime routine consists of putting Jonathan to bed at 7:30 and then spending the next 30 minutes loving on Matthew and getting him ready for bed. One of my favorite times of my day is that 30 minutes. I lay him on his changing table and sing him  this song by the Dixie Chicks. He just looks at me, smiles a huge smile and sings along with me. No matter what type of mood he is in, whether he is crying or not, if he is sleepy or wide awake....singing with him makes him instantly happy. And therefore, I get instantly happy. It's the perfect way to end my day. And in case you are worried about poor little Jonathan missing out on the fun, he gets his one-on-one time in the morning before we wake up Matthew :)

4. And because it wouldn't be an accurate list if I didn't mention something about food....I am currently obsessed with anything made out of cake mix. Cake mix cookies, blondies, cobbler....Seriously, it is all so stinkin' good. And the best thing is that since it is made with a pre-made mix, it is usually really fast and easy! Right now, these cookies are my favorites! Unfortunately, this doesn't do anything good for my post baby diet. Which I really am trying to take more seriously now. For real.

5. I recently discovered that Purex makes a baby laundry detergent that is SUPER cheap. I was hesitant to try it since both boys have such sensitive skin, but I gave it a shot and so far, so good! It's been a few weeks and I haven't noticed any weird reaction. It makes all of their little clothes smell so sweet! To be honest, it helps me look forward to doing their laundry (which has to be done like every single day...) because it makes my whole laundry room smell like sweet little baby clothes.

So that's that. It's been a good week so far. Thursday night we are hosting Bible study at our house (our first time back at Bible study in a long, long time thanks to bedrest and a newborn) and my parents are coming in on Friday to spend the weekend playing with the boys and helping us in the yard. I have a feeling the second half of the week won't disappoint! :)

Questions for the Pinterest Mommy

I have spent far too many hours on Pinterest lately. And I have a few questions for the Mommy's who contribute, duplicate, pin, re-pin and steal ideas....

1. Let's talk about these "sensory tubs" that I am supposed to create for my kiddos. Am I missing something about toddlers? Jonathan throws EVERYTHING. He also wants to eat EVERYTHING that I tell him not to eat. So am I supposed to assume that if I give him a tub full of dry beans/rice/rocks/water/sand....that he isn't going to go to town eating and throwing all of it? I mean, I am all about setting boundaries and teaching him what is and isn't acceptable behavior, but I feel like this is just teasing him.


Just look at all those little pieces....all I see there is a huge mess. Oh, and that isn't my kid.

2. Are you millionaires? Where do people get all this money to buy the adorable clothes I see everyday and/or the supplies to make all these awesome crafts? And while we are on this subject, what's up with the Moms who specifically write "how to do blah, blah, blah, on a budget!" and then tell me to go to my "craft closet" and pull out a bunch of supplies that I should have stashed there for a rainy day. First off, I don't have a craft closet, so I would have to go drop $100 at Hobby Lobby to get those supplies. Second of all, I most likely don't have anything stashed for a rainy day....Oh who am I kidding, I'm just jealous... I want a craft closet.

3. For those that are creating/trying all these great recipes....do calories not touch you?

4. Birthday parties. Who is actually planning these huge, elaborate birthday parties? You know, the ones with a massive dessert bar, water bottles with your kids face on them, huge gift bags full of swag for the kiddos who were lucky enough to be invited, food that makes my mouth water just to look at....and who is taking all the professional pictures? Did you do all of those things yourself during nap time? And then take your own professional looking pictures while the kids ran around at your feet? Because I am uber impressed if you did. Believe me, I have seen Tori Spelling's reality show and I know that is a hard, hard thing to do. And if you didn't do it all yourself and you hired a party planner and photographer....I re-ask question number 2.

Can I have this Mommy come plan my own birthday party? My birthday is May 12...just FYI.

5. Is it just me, or do you all wish you had like a million more square feet of wall space so you could buy all the super fun sayings, quotes and wall decals you come across? I have seen no less than 10 wall decals with beautiful sayings or quotes that I want for the boys rooms. This is problem for a few reasons. #1. If I wanted to type them up and print them myself, it would require a butt load of printer ink and new picture frames. And if I have said it once, I've said it a million times....I am cheap. #2. I have no more wall space in their rooms. I mean, I could turn into a hoarder and just start putting stuff up wherever there is an inch of space, but that seems a little ridiculous. And we all know I am not ridiculous or anything... :) And finally, #3. I have boys. As much as I want to put the words to "You are my Sunshine" above Jonathan's bed and keep them there for all time, Zack might have a problem with that. He is all about our boys not being girly and having sports and stuff in the room. So, unless I find wall decals that have sweet, sentimental sayings about football, I am stuck.

So that's that. If any of my super mom friends (who coincidentally also happen to be super Pinterest moms) can answer some of these for me, I would appreciate it.

Easter Photo Dump!

Let me start by saying I never want to drive anywhere by myself with both of my kids ever again. Matthew is only chilled out in the car if it is in motion (you know...like you would expect it to be on the Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend trying to get into Austin in rush hour...) and Jonathan has decided that the only song he will allow us to listen to in the car is "Rise and Shine (and give God the glory..)"  So we listened to it on repeat. For 3 hours. Going AND coming. So that was fun. Other than that, we had a great time with our family and even Zack was able to put his computer away and relax a little. We went to Austin Friday night and then headed to Boerne to be with the rest of my family on Saturday. We ended up back in Austin for Easter Sunday and then home to Houston that afternoon. Lots of travel, but lots of fun! We are truly blessed to have such an amazing, close family. Moving on....

Jonathan discovered his love for both the trampoline and the piano! Thanks Cousin Marybeth for teaching him his first songs!

Matthew had a great time showing off his big smile and great new hairdo....you know, that awesome phase of infant hair when the baby stuff has fallen out, the new stuff is coming in and there is a patch in the back that is totally bald. But let's be honest here...he is rockin' it :) The Easter Bunny must agree because even crazy hair himself got a new cuddly lamb to love on!

And finally (speaking of crazy hair...) Jonathan had a great time finding all the Easter treats left for him on Sunday morning. I love how serious he is here....I would like to say it is because he is a perfectionist or competitive or something and just wanted to find all the eggs....but really, he was just looking for the ones with M&M's in them. He's no dummy.

Happy Easter 2012!

A Lesson in Losing Control

This picture is the best possible description of how I feel this morning....Poor little Matthew....

Now I know this title might lead you to believe that I actually lost my cool and did something ridiculous yet equally hilarious, but unfortunately for you, that is not the case. This is in fact, a story about learning to relinquish control and not whine and cry about it. Well let's be honest and say learn to relinquish control and only cry and whine an acceptable amount.

Let me start by saying I am pretty OCD about certain things. I try to keep myself on a schedule and my boys are on their own schedule. I try to keep my house as clutter free and clean as possible and everything has it's own place. Basically, I like to keep my life organized and in order. However, the last 24 hours have tested my ability to maintain control.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that our kitchen faucet was being finicky. It would leak sometimes, sputter sometimes, leak weird black goo sometimes. Even the little sprayer on the side started leaking. And yet, we ignored it, hoping it would get better and we wouldn't have to drop money on a new one. (If there is anything I am better at than being organized and in control, it's being a huge cheap-o) As you can guess, it didn't get better and on Monday night I discovered that the leaky faucet was causing considerable damage under the sink. So Tuesday afternoon I left school early and went to Lowes before picking up the boys (because you know, nothing screams "fun!" like standing in the aisle staring at faucets while your two babies scream in the basket....) I rushed to make a decision (I had about 10 minutes) and then rushed to pick up Matthew. I fed him quickly and then rushed to pick up Jonathan. Once we were all reunited, we went to Sam's to pick up Zack's prescription. And as a side note...Sam's is the cheapest pharmacy around, but could they be any more inconvenient? You have to unload the kids, haul them through this massive store, stand in a line that is guaranteed to be at least 4 people long and then trek back to the front of the store, stand in another line to have the receipt lady check your purchases and then brave the crazy busy parking lot to get back in the car. Seriously....inconvenient. But I digress...We got home and (of course) Jonathan refused to eat dinner, then refused to come inside after playing in the front yard. He is in this new fun stage where he doesn't want to do anything that isn't his idea originally. Finally Zack's parents arrived to help Zack install the faucet. And here is where my ability to maintain control starts to really get tested....As Sue and I were getting the kids bathed and in bed (we have a schedule here people!) Zack and his Dad were essentially destroying my kitchen. Everything from under the sink was now on the counters (right next to Matthew's clean bottles..grrrrr....) and the sink was out of commission. I had to wash out milk cups and bottles in the bathroom sink and there was trash all over the floor. In less than 5 minutes, my clean, organized house turned into this...

And honestly, this picture doesn't do justice to the crazy (there was no way I was going to sleep with trash all over the floor, so it had to be picked up last night!) At this point, let's just say that the sink is installed now (although it is crooked and will need to be fixed in the next few days....because you know I would never be able to live with that....) but my kitchen still looks like this. It actually gave me a little eye twitch to walk out of the house this morning knowing that I had this crazy mess to come home to.

Now...The reason it is still like that and the reason I didn't take care of the mess this morning can be blamed on this little guy....

My good little sleeper slept all night! He has been doing this for about two weeks now and typically wakes up around 5:45-6:15. This schedule is great because it allows me to get ready for the day before he wakes up. Sometimes I can even get Jonathan up and ready before he wakes up, allowing me to spend some good one on one time with Jonathan first. Obviously this is a huge deal and I am thrilled and in no way complaining, BUT.....this morning he decided to wake up literally the second I got in the shower at 5:00. I had just started washing my hair when I looked at the monitor and realized he was screaming his head off. (I am always amazed how he can go from sleeping little angel to a little red hot tamale screaming his head off so quickly...) So I jumped out, dried off and went to feed him. To my dismay, I noticed quickly that he was pulling "The Refusal" on me. You can read more about that in this post from a few weeks ago. He had no intention of going back to sleep and letting me finish getting ready for the day. So I put him in the bouncy seat and attempted shower #2. By this time it was almost 6:00 and I was totally off schedule. I didn't have time to fix my hair, so I had to throw it up wet, slap on some makeup and accept that I would look a little like a wet rat today. Whatever. The rest of the morning went pretty much the same. Jonathan was cranky and mad because I wouldn't pick him up and put Matthew in the car seat at the same time. Then Matthew started to get a little cranky because by 6:30, he was ready for a nap (only a baby is ready for his first nap of the day at 6:30 AM...) and I was cranky because I was off my schedule and looked like a wet rat.

You still with me? My whole point in recounting my entire last 24 hours is to say that I have had to fight tooth and nail but ultimately lose the battle to hold onto control of the situation give up control. I couldn't control that the sink broke. I couldn't control that Matthew chose to wake up at a random time this morning and throw his entire schedule (and ours in the process...) down the drain (along with the black goo leaking from the faucet!....see what I did there?) and I can't control that my house is is disarray. I have to start learning that things like this will happen. Especially with two small kids and two full time working parents. I have to realize that even though my house looks crazy, I look crazy, and we are all crazy tired from rushing around to run errands and make pick up deadlines...we are all okay. We are safe, healthy and blessed. I feel like the Lord has been trying to teach me this over and over and I always try to listen and learn, but I never do. And this probably won't be the last time He teaches me that it is okay to lose control, but for now, I am learning.

Thoughts From The Weekend

First of all, I am not sure why, but I seem to write better when I can write with bullet points. Apparently I have so many small, meaningless things to say each week that I can't form them into one cohesive post, so I end up with a bunch of disjointed ideas. This is another of those posts....

Recently I have been fighting an inner battle every night while Zack is sleeping. I am a crazy light sleeper and hear pretty much everything that goes on in our house at night (I blame motherhood) but unfortunately, Zack is the opposite. Once he is asleep, he is out cold. He also snores. And breathes super heavy. And is basically really annoying. Usually this isn't a huge issue because I am already asleep when he comes to bed. However, now I have to get up multiple times a night to tend to my little munchkins and when I come back to bed and hear Zack breathing all heavy and loud, there is no way I can fall back to sleep. Normally I would just punch him in the face gently wake him and ask him to roll over. But these days, he is so stressed out and so tired and getting such a little amount of sleep that I have to think long and hard before waking him up. So this all brings me to last night. Matthew ate at 3:15 and I was back in my room at 3:40. I was excited about the chance to go back to sleep for an hour and a half until.....Snorey McSnorerson greeted me as I climbed back in bed. And being the good wife I am, I just laid there. I didn't try to roll him over without waking him up (which never works), I didn't "accidentally" kick him as I tried to roll over and I didn't thrash around saying "oh my gosh!" with the intent of waking him up....I just laid there and didn't go back to sleep. (Obviously I feel like I should win an award for this) So let me ask you guys....would you wake him up and ensure your own good night of sleep at his expense? Or would you sacrifice your sleep for your overworked husband?

Other than my own (clearly over dramatized) sleep issues, we had a great weekend! Saturday my great in-laws watched the boys so that I could go to a baby shower. Man, I love baby shower food. Nothing beats sitting around with a plate of yummy food and cake on your lap while looking at super cute baby stuff. I may or may not have out-eaten the pregnant women in the room. Oh who am I trying to impress....I ate everything sight, it was delicious. No shame.

Saturday night we went to dinner with some of our good friends and their precious son. It was fun to get out of the house and eat some good Mexican food, but whew....taking two babies out to eat is tough. Jonathan used to sleep through dinner in his car seat. Matthew....not so much. And seeing as he is currently going through some weird bottle issues (he refuses to let me hold him when I feed him....what's that all about!?), feeding him wasn't really an option. Other than that, we had a great time though :)

And the best part of our weekend....Sunday. Zack worked all day Saturday at the office, but Sunday he was home. And for the first day in months, he didn't really work. And I don't mean that he was sitting in the living room with us but still had the computer in his lap. He really didn't work. We ran errands, worked in the yard, washed the cars and made cookies. We grilled chicken and he played with the boys. It was so nice. For the first time in months, I didn't feel like I had been run over by a truck when I went to bed. I had my teammate back! Now I am just praying that it continues and that his stupid work doesn't creep back into our family time for a while.....one can dream right?

And just because....