Oh, hello...

I've been meaning to jump back into the blogging world. I'm lagging in adult conversations and I miss rambling through my fingers.

Every time I start a blog post or think of a good topic to write about, something comes up. One of my 2 kids is in need of something, my teaching job requires lesson planning (weird, huh?) or I'm just wanting to sit and watch House of Cards or Westworld with Nick because we're too exhausted to do anything else.

So, let's get caught up.

+ Ellie is 3 and a complete three-nager. Occasional attitude and sass, non stop talking, and random unexplainable crying. I don't know whether to fear the teenage years or pray that all emotions will be gone from all the crying that happens over wanting to do things herself.

+ Oliver is 1. I now have two toddlers. And one is much crazier than the other. Actually, I take that back. Ellie is crazy emotional and Oliver is a crazy explorer. He puts anything and everything into his mouth, opens all cupboards and drawers, senses open doors and baby gates and will cheetah crawl his way to it (seriously, he's too fast) and never closes his mouth. But, he loves his sister, books,  and laughs a lot. It's awesome and tiring. 

+ Nick is in nursing school. It's actually quite nice, despite the mass amounts of homework and studying. He no longer works the awful night shift at the hospital, is awake during the day (!), and gets to have dinner with us almost every night!

+ I drink coffee now. Okay, I did before BUT I have advanced from frappuchinos-only, to mochas, and now to lattes and straight coffee with creamer. We have a coffee maker in our kitchen that gets used a lot. What's next?!

+ Toddler dance classes are adorable. Watching a bunch of toddlers in leotards jump around a room is pretty darn cute. It's even more cute when your daughter is an expert leaper. Just watch.

+ I can't stop reading. Technically I'm listening because you have to have something productive to do when your commute is 25 minutes both ways, right? I've been on a WWII kick lately. Ruta Sepetys' books, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, and Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly are a few of my recent favorites.

I did, however, decide to take a break and am FINALLY starting the Harry Potter series. I've watched the movies, but never read the books. I know. I'm getting on it!

+ I can't stand Facebook and social media right now. I'm not getting political on here, but every side and then some is being shoved into my face and I'm done.

+ I can stand LuLaRoe. I absolutely love their clothes. The leggings are like wearing clouds all day and the shirts are all pretty flattering - which is a big selling point when you are a mom fighting the terrible post-2 kids body. The only problem is that it's so expensive! I can only justify buying one thing every few months so I don't go broke. But I want them all!! 

+ Each month I post a joke of the month on my bulletin board outside of the music room. Enjoy this one from last year:

Life x2

 

Life with two kids is a whole 'nother beast.  I thought just one was crazy and exhausting.  I also thought I'd never give into the whole TV thing.  Let me tell you, when you're trying to put a 2 month old to sleep and the 2 year old sister is being noisy... you play an episode of something just for a little peace and ease.  It's also such a great relaxing activity when all you want to do is melt into the couch at the end of the day, but bedtime is still an hour away.  Yes.  I've become a TV allowing mom.  At least my daughter is watching educational shows.  Little Einsteins is probably the best.  And Super Why.  She's even started learning her alphabet sounds! Yes, we have a child genius on our hands. Ok, maybe not, but at least she'll be somewhat ready for preschool.

Speaking of preschool, we're thinking of doing it next year.  HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!  We're potty training right now (60% success rate right now and going on day 7) and we're talking about gymnastics class in the summer and preschool in the fall  *cue mommy sobs and grown-up baby wails* 

But really, preschool is expensive.  I could buy two round trip tickets to Hawaii for the price of preschool.  Ellie needs some good socializing though.  That's our only reason for putting her in preschool this next year and not the year after.  Somehow we created a book-loving introvert.  Well, hyuk hyuk, the acorn doesn't fall very far from the tree. So it makes complete sense.  But, we're pretty set on making sure that she at least has the chance to not be a super introvert.  Only slightly introverted.  We'll see.  Oliver may just take over for her and be the crazy one. 

Oliver is adorable and so much different than Ellie.  He has the cutest smiles and coos.  Ellie didn't smile as much as he did at this age or at least I'm pretty sure she didn't.  Seriously, everything just blends together because it's all a phase and then that turns into another phase.  The whole first year is a blur and just a phase.  It's hard to remember most of Ellie's first year.  Even Oliver's first few weeks are starting to blur together.

Oliver is taking a bottle like a champ, growing into 6 month clothes (thanks to his long bodied relatives), and sleeping better than his sister.  He only wakes up, on average, twice a night.  It's a miracle!  Ellie woke up at least 3-4 times.  It drove me crazy.  Bonus: I can get both kids nap at the same time in the middle of the day.  It's pure mommy bliss and I love it.

I get the chance to binge-watch something (before I head to work in a month), read a book, or...SLEEP!  I've seriously enjoyed reading some good books (check out my goodreads) and watching some new shows.  The Man in the High Castle (Amazon Prime) was an awesome show and now Mozart in the Jungle is winning me over.  I love the silly musician puns.  I may have watched the Office and Parks and Rec all over again.  Totes awesome sauce.

Now I need to put in time to exercise.  Post-natal body is killing me.  I forgot how terrible and annoying it is to wait for the jell-o stomach to become "normal" and the stretch marks to not feel like weird ripples.  Also, that c-section scar is killing me.  I did a 15 minute Pilates workout and my wound hurt afterwards.  Ugh. AND shopping afterwards is amazing and terrible all at once.  I may have bought 2 pairs of yoga pants just so I didn't have to wear uncomfortable jeans.  Maternity jeans sag like no other and pre-pregnancy jeans won't button.  What an awkward time.  /endrant

I think it's time I left to eat my 2nd dinner.  Breastfeeding stomach is 10 times bigger than pregnant stomach. True story.  At least I get to eat whatever and not worry about it not liking me.

Oliver

Oliver came to join us on November 8th.

He weighed 10 lbs and was 23 in long.

This is his story.

It may get a bit wordy and long, but a lot can happen on the 9 months of pregnancy. 

The original plan with Oliver was to deliver at a birth center with a midwife. Instead he was born via c-section at the hospital.

Ellie was a big baby.  She weighed 10 lbs 6 oz when she was born and had her shoulders stuck for about a minute before she graced us all with her presence.  Knowing all of that, it makes sense that the doctors and midwives wanted to monitor me a little more closely.

I started out seeing a midwife at a private clinic and it was awesome. I got personalized care and we focused on diet and exercise for the pregnancy.  But, while camping in June my arm and half of my face went numb for about 2 whole minutes.  It was one of the most terrifying 2 minutes of my life.  We ended up going to the ER, had a million tests done (including an MRI), and saw too many doctors/specialists.  What it came down to was a possible TIA or "mini stroke".  No one really knew what or why it happened.  Apparently some people can have it as a migraine symptom, which sounds like a terrifying migraine to me.

After that episode I was told to see an OB instead of a midwife.  

Nothing else happened throughout the pregnancy except I was labeled as a high-risk pregnancy because of it.  Which really threw my emotions.  I did some ugly crying when I found out that I was going to be labeled that.  Hormones...

Anyways, they wanted me to do an ultrasound at 38/39 weeks to check on his size because of his sister being so big.  At the ultrasound it showed that he was 10 lbs 6 oz and three different doctors wanted me to do a c-section.  They were worried that he would just continue to grow and get his shoulders stuck worse than Ellie because boys typically have broader shoulders.  I told them that I knew my body and wanted to try it on my own.  Or at least until 40 weeks came along, then we could talk about it.  I mean, I already delivered a big baby!  Plus, I was terrified of having a c-section.

Fast forward 3 days...

Nick was working the night shift at the hospital (new job!) and Ellie was at her grammy's when I went to pee at 2 am and my water broke.

I hitched a ride with my grandparents and told Nick to meet me there.  I was so excited to get the chance to prove that I could deliver another big, healthy baby.

I was only 3 cm dilated when I went to the hospital.  I had some contractions at the hospital, but nothing too intense.  At around 8 am the OB came in a talked to us about a c-section and all of the risks involved with delivering a big baby - if I still wanted to do it naturally.  I decided that I wanted to wait until the afternoon to see if labor progressed at all before I made a decision.  I was sure my body could handle it.  I'm also a pretty stubborn person, so my mind was made up.
 
Contractions got stronger, but they were still irregular by 2 pm.  The doctor came back in and I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do.  Nick wanted to do the c-section.  He was worried about our safety ever since he heard about the ultrasound.  My stubborn self wanted to try, but in the moment I decided that we should do a c-section.  Oliver still wasn't ready, we couldn't go home, and I was exhausted from not sleeping.

Well, after saying the word Oliver was in the world 30 minutes later! 

It's amazing how fast everything went.  In the moment it felt like forever.  The operating room was freezing (purposefully), my nerves were everywhere during the procedure - so I had the shakes like crazy, and after taking him out they had to stitch me up (which took about 20 minutes).  

The incredible thing about the c-section was that when they went in the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, twice!  We don't know if I could have delivered him safely or not, but now I don't regret my decision at all.  I think God was playing a little part in pushing me just a little bit to choose the c-section.  For that, I'm so grateful.

We now have a beautiful, healthy baby boy.  Ellie adored him from the first moment she saw him and now smothers him with hugs and kisses anytime she can.  I couldn't ask for a sweeter big sister and a wonderful family!

Here I am

Actually, that should probably say here we am. are.

Here we are.  Baby boy and my gigantic belly circa 33 weeks.  And today, the struggle is real. 

Ever since dinnertime I've had intense pressure down in the pelvic area.  It is hard.  What's even more difficult is having to deal with it while having a 2 year old running around.  Thankfully she isn't too much of a handful all the time and we live in a house with my grandparents who are such an awesome support system.  More on that a different day.


The second time around has been so different than the first.  I feel like I'm diving into the uncomfortable stage headfirst, while with Ellie I didn't really get there until the last few weeks.  Maybe it's a boy thing and maybe it's a weird second child thing.  I don't know, but this little man loves to do acrobatics in there and push the heartburn button all day long.

So tonight I have decided to put off my maternity-leave sub planning and bounce on my yoga ball.  Yoga balls are amazing when you're pregnant.  I still haven't used it for anything BUT.  Maybe I'll play a video game... am I the only one who still does that?

The second time around may be a little more difficult because I'm teaching.  Teaching music to antsy kindergartners is so hard while 30+ weeks pregnant.  I want to play with them and be crazy, but my body says "sit down woman!"  I hate sitting while teaching.

Also, Nick has taken a whole career change.  He has become a certified nursing assistant and is getting experience at a nursing home/rehabilitation center with terrible hours.  2-10 is such a terrible shift.  Not to mention that he's taking 2-3 classes a quarter for pre-requisites because he's applying to PA schools in the spring/summer.  He's decided to go back to school to become a physician assistant mostly because of a great opportunity that arose.  Life is busy and a little stressful.  Thankfully he's now applying for hospital jobs with the goal of working only day or night shift.  No more evening shift.  Hallelujah.

Somehow with all of this going on I've been able to do some serious reading.  It has been awesome.  I just finished Gone Girl on audiobook and it was so intense and so good (be warned, it's a little graphic).  But, really, I could have had a different ending...

I also had a chance to read the Life of Pi (pretty awesome), Coming Clean (incredibly interesting and well-written), We Are Called to Rise (good), Orphan Train (very good), and The Fault in Our Stars (cheesy and an easy read).  

    

Other than Ellie turning 2 and becoming this talking machine (she says 'yes' to everything instead of 'uh-huh' or 'yeah'.  We've trained her well. Ha) that's all that's going on in our lives.  So, how are you?

Ellie Mae

Every stage is my favorite.  It's funny how as a parent you say "this is my favorite stage" over and over again.  I loved when Ellie was a newborn.  I loved when Ellie was starting to babble and laugh.  I loved when she started liking the swing and going for walks.  I loved when Ellie was crawling.  I loved when Ellie was talking.  I loved when Ellie was just walking.

Now, there a few things that I don't want to forget about this stage before it's gone.

-- Ellie always greets you in the morning with a "mo-ning".

-- She has a routine now of always picking out her PJs before bed.  I've started letting her pick out certain parts of her outfit (i.e. just pants and I'll pick the shirt to match).  It's fun to watch her brain work, pick up one pair of pants, say "noww" (no) and then pick four different pairs until she finds the right one.

-- She talks ALL the time.  Okay, not when strangers are around, but if it's people she knows she will talk on and on and on.  She is very good at play-by-plays.  She will see grandma coming up the steps to take her boots off from getting chicken eggs and Ellie will proceed to say "Mama (grandma) up, up, up.  Eggs?  Booss (boots) off.  Uggghhh (sympathy grunt).  Pussshhh (door opening).  Ah.  Hi!

It's adorable.  Sometimes, though, I swear she's speaking a different language.  She'll just start talking and it'll sound like full sentences, but just not English.

-- I love that she understands things now.  She knows what all done means.  She knows what wait means.  She knows so much.  It amazes me sometimes.

-- On that note, she is VERY aware.  My grandparents have a family picture on their desktop that Ellie loves to look at and point out certain people.  Well, one day she went in there to look at the picture.  The screen was off so she wiggled the mouse to turn it on.  It still didn't turn on so she went down below to push the button on the computer to turn it on.  It's pretty impressive how much she retains.

-- She is an outdoor baby.  Anything that involves being outside she will instantly be a part of.  Going for a walk around the yard, getting eggs from the chickens, going on a run with mom and dad, hanging up laundry to dry, etc.  If she's out there for less than 10 minutes it usually ends up in a meltdown because why would we go inside too early?!

-- She can really communicate with us now.  It's wonderful and frustrating all at once.  She will tell you if she does or doesn't want something, what she wants to do at that current moment, and what she's thinking.  Example: she may go to the couch, bang on it, and say "sit!".  Obviously, you know what she wants.  Sometimes, though, she knows what she wants and she won't take no for an answer.  Thankfully, we're still in this very short attention span phase so we can easily distract her mind if that happens.

She loves to be chased, to play on our keyboard, to read books, to snuggle with her blanket, to throw the ball around, to find sticks outside, to look for ay-panes (airplanes) and eat any fruit she can get her hands on.  

I love her tickle spots, her belly laugh (it cures all), her snuggl-y side that comes out before and after bed, her curly hair, her hip-swinging dance, and her love of animals (except bugs. She saw a ladybug crawling on grandma's hand and did not like it one bit).

Ellie's Wishlist

Sure it's only 5 days 'til Christmas, but hey!  Someone has to know what to get Ellie for Christmas. And so, here it is. 

These are the things that Ellie wants for Christmas (she told me):

 

Etsy

She can't fully talk yet, so this shirt will talk for her on Christmas.

 Etsy

This just explains life.  Need it say anything more?

 

 Etsy

I haven't put many things in her hair.  It doesn't seem fair compared to all the other babies with huge bows and flowers.  We'll start small then see how we feel.

 

 Land of Nod
Everybody else is reading and sleeping in adorable teepees.

 

Amazon
Yes, she wants this.  Scratch that.  She NEEDS it.  How else will she learn to be a proper housewife?
Okay, okay... I really want this.  WHO WOULDN'T?!

Freshly Picked
 She was never given adorable fringe moccasins.  She's incredibly mad at me for not splurging.

 

Etsy
 No explaining here.  She loves turtles, glasses, and all things cute and geeky.

Plus, turtles are one of her daddy's favorite animals.  She can't help but swoon him with a cute turtle of her own.

Etsy

How else will she stay cute and festive over the holidays?

Babiators

She doesn't have cool shades like mom and dad.  Lost and found guarantee?  Yes.  We need them.