Matthew's Favorite Sleeping Games

Turns out Mr. Matthew has a sense of humor. As in a, let's see what I can do to make Mommy want to pull her hair out at 3:00 am in the morning, kind of humor. I have come to recognize that he has 3 favorite games to play in the middle of the night. Luckily for me, I got to play all 3 last night!

1. The Scare Tactic. I am pretty sure every mom out there has played this before. He falls asleep while eating. I mean REALLY asleep. He doesn't budge when you stand up from the rocking chair, not even when you stumble on a pacifier and have to catch yourself. You slowly and carefully lower him into his bed, all the while praising the Lord for making this so easy tonight. And then....right when you turn to walk out of the room, BAM!! His eyes pop wide open! You jump because it was, well, just plain scary, and within .01 seconds, he is screaming as if you had left him there for days. And the routine starts over.

2. The Fake Out. This one is possibly the most frustrating. He falls asleep easily. You lay him down (and since he has already played The Scare Tactic, his little eyes stay nice and closed as you lower him into his bed) and quietly walk out of the room. Again, you praise the Lord for your good luck tonight! You crawl back into your nice warm bed, cuddle up next to your hubby (who of course has slept through the whole ordeal, including the previous game of Scare Tactic) and just as you start to doze off, you hear it. Those first little sounds that indicate he is not really asleep. We all know those sounds. They start nice and quiet, just a few little baby noises coming from the monitor. There might even be a minute or two between noises. And then, just as you begin to cringe because somehow you know it's coming....the full fledged scream. And the routine starts over.

3. The Refusal. This one seems innocent at first, but about 10 minutes into the feeding, you start to worry that he might be trying to pull a Refusal on you. While you are feeding him, he gets nice and relaxed. Might coo a little, look up at you with those beautiful, big, baby eyes, things are great. However, after about 10 minutes of feeding, when he usually starts to get drowsy, you realize, "oh crap....he isn't getting drowsy." In fact, when he starts playing The Refusal, he might get more worked up as the feeding goes on. Maybe his eyes catch the black and white on his curtains and he refuses to stop looking at it. Maybe he decides that he is going to drop a load in his pants that can't be ignored, therefore assuring a diaper change after the feeding. Maybe he just wants to be totally innocent and while he eats, he bats his little eyelashes and smiles from behind the bottle (he knows full well you aren't going to be mad at that....) And so, as he finishes eating, he is still wide awake with absolutely no intention of going to sleep. This is a tough one for all moms because we all know at that point, that it could be a pretty long time before we go back to sleep in our own bed.

So those are Matthew's top 3 night time games of choice. We have played all of them a lot over the past week. I am hoping we can teach him a new game this week while on spring break....it's called "please go back to sleep before mommy has a nervous breakdown."

Of course, he might think mommy having a nervous breakdown is funny and therefore add that one to his rotation of games......Sigh.....

My first week back!

First of all, thank you SO much to all my friends who went out of their way to ensure that my first day back to work was a good one. Seriously, I am so blessed to have such amazing, thoughtful friends! I got tons of emails, text messages, phone calls and Facebook messages encouraging me as I made the transition back to work. And honestly, every last one of them made me smile just a little more :) So my first week back has actually been pretty good. I mean, there are obviously things that stink (like, I don't know....leaving my 8 week old son every morning) but for the most part, it has been a smooth transition. Here are some of the highlights!

My amazing long term sub had all my students make posters and cards welcoming me back and they were hanging all over my classroom when I got there Monday morning! And then, she had the most beautiful (and HUGE) bouquet of flowers brought to my classroom! They smell amazing and make my room seem so much more happy and joyful! On a side note, when the student aide walked in with them, I totally thought they were from Zack who was trying to make up for the fact that he forgot Valentine's day......they weren't. He is not off the hook yet.

Later in the day, my good friend Brittany drove all the way to my school and dropped off a huge, yummy cupcake to have delivered to my room! Now, for those of you concerned about how a teacher would go about eating a cupcake when she is busy teaching but not waiting so long that the cupcake gets stale....I dove right in and ate the whole thing in front of my class, while they were working, while I was yelling at one student to put his Flaming Hot Cheetos away (there is no eating in my classroom...duh.) No shame here. I didn't take a picture of it (because I was stuffing it into my face) but it looked like this....except for more awesome.

Poor little Jonathan has had to make the switch from waking up whenever he wants (usually around 7:30) to being woken up at 6:15 so that we can get out of the house on time. And while that isn't really a highlight, it sure is fun for me to sneak into his room every morning, wake him up gently and get some good cuddles before we go about our day (I say fun, he says annoying as crap) It also hurts my feelings that when he sees me walk in, the first words out of his mouth are "Barney!" Does that mean I look like a huge purple dinosaur? I mean, I know I have a little baby weight left to lose, but seriously, not cool. This is what he looked like Monday morning when I went in. Obviously he had no intention of waking up for a while...

We also had our last little celebration for Jonathan's birthday. Since we didn't have a party, my parents had to bring their presents for him this week. So last night we let him open his last few gifts and attempt to eat another cupcake....if you remember, he hates cupcakes apparently. Last night was no different. He ate one bite and was done. What the heck kid?! His favorite gifts were his new yellow school bus (he calls it a "schoo-bee") and an Elmo towel. He walked around with it on like a cape for a while....pretty hilarious :)

And finally, my little Matthew. He has no clue what is going on. He is just happy to be fed, changed, held and loved on. Luckily, my Mom is watching him this week so that I could buy a few more weeks before he heads to daycare (next week is spring break.) This has been great because she sends me pictures and videos all day :)

So that is that. I made it. I didn't collapse into a crying heap of crazy hormones on the floor of my classroom. I didn't cry each morning because none of my clothes fit. My boys are both as happy as ever. I guess the anticipation is worse than the reality in this case. Which, at the end of the day, is a good thing!

Reflecting

As I sit here, the day before my maternity leave ends, I can't help but look back at the last few months and reflect on all the craziness, anxiety, joy and pure happiness that has come about. I took some time this morning to read over my blogs, starting the day I got put on bedrest, and it actually made me a little sad. Obviously my bout with bedrest was not fun. Obviously the anxiety over possibly having a pre-term baby was overwhelming. But at the same time, it was exciting. I woke up every morning for 7 weeks wondering if today was the day I would meet Matthew. I made goals each week and wondered if I would meet them. At Thanksgiving, we all thought I would have a 2011 baby. I didn't. And then, Matthew came. One day, out of the middle of nowhere, he decided it was time to make his appearance. The next 4 days were wonderful. I healed well from my surgery, bonded with my new son, spent time with Zack and Jonathan as we built our new family of 4, and rested, peacefully, knowing that my precious little boy was safe and in my arms. The last 8 weeks at home have been amazing, tiring, beautiful and stressful. Every day has been something new as I learned to be a mommy to two little guys. I got sick and had to call in reinforcements, Zack has worked more than ever before, Jonathan has had multiple double ear infections.....and yet, we made it.

Looking back on all that has happened since Thanksgiving, it makes me sad that it is all over. Tomorrow I will go back to work as if nothing happened. I will spend the day doing exactly the same thing I did the day before I was put on bedrest. Obviously I will have my precious boys to return home to, but for the most part, our routine will start up again. Even Jonathan's days of sleeping late are over!

As Zack and I discuss (very casually) having a 3rd baby, I am a little overwhelmed by the thought that my days of being pregnant and all the excitement and fun that comes along with this time of our lives, could be over. I know that a whole new time of our lives is just beginning as we watch our boys grow up, but there is something sad about thinking those days are behind me. And I am not saying they are for sure. It's still up for debate. But like I said, as I sit here, the day before I go back to my "regular" life at work, I can't help but feel like that part of life is over. At the end of the day, I guess I just need to thank the Lord for the ease in which we conceived, two (relatively) easy pregnancies and two beautiful, healthy boys.

This post might not make a lot of sense, sorry about that.....Zack didn't seem to understand what I was saying last night while I was crying about this....but hopefully you guys do. It's been a pretty emotional few months and I guess I am just now realizing how much we have gone through and how far we have come :)

Jonathan's Birthday!

Since our house is in disarray right now, my poor little guy had to postpone his Elmo birthday party. The good news is that we were still able to have a small family celebration on his actual birthday and a small celebration with Zack's parents and sisters this past weekend.

Happy Birthday Jonathan Zachary Ley!

My dear little man,
You are already 2 years old. Sometimes it feels like the last two years have gone by in a blur. Other times it feels like you have been in our family for our entire lives. I honestly couldn't imagine life without you here. You bring so much energy and joy into our home! You are truly a gift from the Lord....an energetic, nutty, beautiful, joyful gift.

Right now, some of your favorites include: Elmo, Barney, building "big, big towers!" with your blocks, reading books, learning your colors and numbers, going to school and playing with your friends, playing at the park, and riding in the car.

You are talking up a storm and you love to sing! You can say pretty much anything we ask you to say and repeat almost everything! Your favorite songs are "Do Lord," "Take me out to the ballgame," and "Old McDonald." You also really like to listen to Sunday School songs in the car!

At your appointment yesterday with Dr. Torn, she said you are in the 44% for weight, 87% for height and 97% for head size....you sure do have a big brain! She also said that you were absolutely perfect....but we already know that.

We love you Jonathan and look forward to so many more years with you!!

Going Back

I haven't really made it any secret that I am not ready to go back to work. On Monday, I am returning to my 8th graders after being gone since Thanksgiving. It will be tough.

From a work standpoint, I left unexpectedly. I didn't prepare my kids and I was definetly not prepared. Luckily I had a long term sub already arranged, so she picked right up and took care of things, but still, I wasn't prepared. So I am not sure what I will be walking back in to. My kids take their state reading test in a few weeks and I have not been there to get them ready. So that should be interesting.

From a logistical standpoint, I am already nervous about getting two babies and myself, out of the door by 6:40 every morning. I know it can be done, I just have to find a routine that works for us. Let me say that up until now, my track record for packing them both up and getting where we need to be on time....well, it's less than stellar. I just need more practice. Unfortunately, I am out of time to practice. And let's not even get into the fact that Matthew still likes to party around 1:45, 4:45 and 5:30 am.

From a Mommy standpoint, I am not ready. I honestly feel as though I haven't had enough time with this sweet little boy. We have such a wonderful routine right now. He is doing so well. He naps like a champ, eats like a champ, plays like a champ. He loves going for walks outside, walking around the mall, laying on the floor and playing, watching me work in the kitchen. He loves to watch Jonathan when he is playing close by....things are just so...good. I am not ready to give these days up. I am 100% not ready to send him to a babysitter I hardly know. I could go on and on, but it makes my heart hurt.

And then there is this:

Monday morning we woke up and I loaded the boys into the car to take Jonathan to school. I noticed there was quite a bit of running water coming from behind our back gate, so I went to investigate. This led me to a pipe gushing water out of our house. A frantic phone call to my Dad led me to the attic to check the water heater. Bingo. That puppy bit the dust (after 20 years though...let's give it some credit for a job well done) and flooded our guest room, hallway and Jonathan's closet. Please don't ask how I didn't notice any of this in the middle of the night while I was up walking around with Matthew. Or in the morning. So...the water restoration guys have taken away the wet carpet, ripped holes in the ceiling to take out the wet insulation, and removed all the wet base boards and door casings. Right now everything is drying out. Once that is done, they will have to come in and rebuild the walls and ceiling in the guest room and install new carpet and base boards. These pictures honestly don't do the chaos justice. We have 10 fans, a de-humidifier and an "air scrubber" hanging out in our rooms and hallways right now. There are dark brown stains on my walls and ceililng (that apparently were not wet enough to cut open...interesting)....it is all just a big, gross, mess. I am telling this story only because it is one more reason I don't want to go back to work next week. I feel like I need to be here to make sure things are being done to my satisfaction!

So that is that. I am sure you will say I am just being over-dramatic. Millions of mothers out there have to send their babies to day care. Millions of mothers work. I get that. And in a few weeks, I am sure it will get easier. But for now, with my return looming like a grey cloud, it is not easy. And like I said above, it makes my heart hurt. Would you want to leave this little guy all day long? How am I supposed to kiss those puffy little cheeks while I am at school!? Sigh.....

My "baby" is about to turn 2!

Tomorrow my baby boy turns two. I know it is cliche, but I seriously do NOT believe this. It seems like yesterday I was living the story I am about to write out. I am not sure how many people are going to be interested in reading this, since it is no where near current. However, I didn't have a blog with Jonathan and therefore did not have a reminder of what things were like the days leading up to his birth or documentation of his birthday. I kept a journal throughout my pregnancy, but I wanted to make sure I sat down and wrote his birth story, just like I did for Matthew. So here it is :)

Just like with Matthew, I had contractions for months leading up to Jonathan's birth. I was on medication that kept them under control (much more successfully than Matthew) but I still constantly felt them. So when I started feeling some a little stronger than normal on Sunday, February 21st, I didn't think much of it. I tossed and turned all night, but didn't really worry. I woke up that Monday and decided to start timing them just to see what was up and they were somewhat regular and every 10 minutes or so. I figured this was still not too alarming, so I headed to work. I remember thinking as I was driving "I probably shouldn't be going into work today, but I REALLY don't want to waste a sick day if this doesn't turn into something..." I even emailed Zack that morning and told him what was up. His response was "Man, I hope he doesn't come until Thursday...I really need to finish up this project at work!" I told him I would do my best..... (Interestingly enough, he said the exact same thing the morning I went into labor with Matthew...)

The entire day, I struggled. I was super tired and the contractions were getting closer. I monitored them on my computer at my desk and stayed off my feet as much as possible. I was determined to make it through the day. By the time I left work that afternoon, they were coming pretty regularly around 6-7 minutes apart. Still, in my stupidity, I didn't think it was an issue. I didn't call the doctor and I didn't tell Zack to come home early or anything. I headed to bed around 9:30, but never actually went to sleep. Around 11:30, I came out of our room and told Zack I thought this was it. At that point, they were about 4-5 minutes apart. At midnight, we headed to the hospital! It was kind of fun getting there in the middle of the night because we had to buzz the security guard at the parking garage to let us in and Zack just yelled "My wife is having a baby!!" It was funny :) That and the traffic on I-10 is a whole lot better at midnight than any other time of the day!

By the time I got checked in and the nurses checked on me, I was 5-6 cm dilated and 100% effaced! When they confirmed that I would, in fact be there until I had the baby, I called my parents (in the middle of the night) and told them to high tail it to Houston! Around 3:00am, I wanted the epidural but we had to wait for my blood work to come back so we could double check that my platelets were high enough (I have thrombocytopenia or low blood platelets which can cause issues) This took FOREVER! But once I got the epidural, life was much better. I could actually talk to people, take pictures, watch TV and relax. But then things started to get frustrating...After already being in labor for like 24 hours, being almost 6 cm and having nice, strong, regular contractions...everything just stopped. My contractions continued, but stopped making any kind of difference. I stopped progressing almost completely. Around 9:00, Dr. Storey broke my water and started a little pitocin to get things going again. Thankfully, this worked and I didn't have to stay on the medication for very long at all. Finally around 11:00, I had progressed enough to try pushing. Which I did for the next two hours. Around 12:00, Jonathan turned sunny-side up and basically refused to come down or basically do anything helpful. So we tried the vacuum to help him move down, I moved positions to try and get him to turn a little more, we waited it out, pushed more....nothing helped. Ultimately, he started to get pissed off and let us know it. The decision was made around 1:00 to have a c-section for both his safety and mine. I was pretty upset. I had made it so far, only to end up in surgery. (This picture was taken right after the epidural...not after pushing for 2 hours...)

Once we made the decision, things moved very quickly as it was important to get him out quickly and safely. After being in labor for almost 28 hours at this point and pushing for two, I was exhausted. I basically slept through the delivery. I honestly don't remember anything. I was in recovery for almost 3 hours before being moved to a room and only then did I get to see my little boy. He was perfect.

After 4 days in the hospital, we were able to come home and start our new life as a family of 3. Looking back at the whole experience, it makes me so thankful for my less exciting and more calm delivery with Matthew. Obviously I never wanted to go with a c-section with either baby, but at the end of the day, I have two healthy, beautiful little boys and that is all that matters! Happy early birthday my sweet Jonathan Zachary :)

Our Love Story!

I have seen lots of cute "love stories" on the blogs lately and I thought I would join the fun! So, like normal, I am copying from other people...

1. How long have you and your significant other been together? We started dating in January of 2002, so 10 years. WOW. That seems like so long when I type it out.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?} I always say our meeting was 100% meant to be. One week during my freshman year in college, my high school boyfriend called and dumped me. Like a really mean, never talk to me again, kind of dumping. So I was too depressed to leave the house and therefore couldn't try out a new Bible study on campus that evening. Luckily, my roommate was cool enough to wait and go with me the next week. So that next Thursday, we both went to Upstream for the first time and got placed in a small group with all the other "newbies" that week. Zack was in that group as it was his first week as well. If I had gone the week before as planned (and my idiot boyfriend hadn't dumped me) I would have been placed in another group and I would never have met Zack! On a side note....my roommate actually dated Zack first :) After they broke up, I swooped in and stole him :)

3. If married, how long have you been married? 5 years!

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding? We got married in Austin at my childhood church, Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church. The reception was at a beautiful outdoor venue overlooking the hill country. It was relatively large with about 150 people and absolutely wonderful!

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Ha ha, a few, but they are all pretty stupid and embarrassing. Nothing too racy though!

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey. Zack is incredibly loyal, determined and faithful. If he feels the Lord is leading him to do something, he does it, even if it is not comfortable or the "popular" thing to do. If work asks him to do something, he does it, regardless of the hours it might require. And most importantly, I never, ever question his love for me or his children.

7. Tell us how he proposed? Ha ha, I always give him a hard time for this. By the time he proposed, we had gone together to buy a ring, talked about the wedding...basically we both already knew the proposal was coming. He knew he couldn't do anything fun or fancy because I would immediately know what was going on, so one Friday night, he told me he was working (at Subway!) so I worked out and then went home to eat dinner and watch TV for the rest of the night. I was in the middle of an episode of House, in my sweaty work out clothes (not sure why I hadn't showered or changed...), when he showed up. He had a dozen red roses and dropped to his knee right there on my front porch. I just kept saying "you are supposed to be at work...why are you here? What are you doing!?" Finally he got the question out and of course I said yes :) Then somehow, we ended up at Northgate with a bunch of his friends to "celebrate." Uh...I don't drink and none of my friends were there, but whatever....

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals? Hmm...he is pretty much a "Valentine's Day is a Hallmark holiday, but I don't want to get yelled at, so here are some flowers and a card." I will hand it to him that he always gives me my favorite flowers, daisies!

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch? Most of the time, a pop in a movie and stay home kind of girl...but I could be easily persuaded to enjoy a sunset dinner on the beach!

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I would love to go to some exotic beach, like Fiji or something. You know, sleep a lot, eat a lot, relax a lot....oh man, that sounds so nice.

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day. Probably nothing. You don't do much when you have a 6 week old and a 2 year old and your husband is in the middle of busy season.

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day? Nope. We are trying to save all the money we can to allow me to stay home with the boys!! Well that and we have medical bills coming out our ears. So we will probably get each other a card and a small treat (most likely food...)

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love. Zack is very firm on the "do not let the sun go down on your anger" rule. We always talk/fight things out before heading to bed. I think it makes a pretty big difference.

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.