Overwhelmed

I have not posted anything for a while, and with good reason. Even though I am a mere 3 weeks into the Fall semester, I am feeling more than just a bit overwhelmed on most days. I am finding that this is definately more difficult to handle with 2 kids instead of 1, with an infant AND a toddler instead of just a toddler. Kyle has given up naps and replaced them with frustration. Kaleb is just to the point where he is getting into everything. While Kaleb still takes one or two naps per day, I still have to take care of dishes and dinner and everyday chores. I find myself staying up until midnight or 1 o'clock just to get things done for school and then having less patience and energy the next day. I know I have to find the balance, I know I can do it, but this is the first time I have truly had to struggle with managing it all.

I will now pull on my big-girl panties and just suck it up.

How can admitting I am not superwoman make me feel so much better?

I do not know.

But it does.

Bugs on a Rug

For the past few weeks Larabee has been working nights. It has really thrown off everyone’s schedule and it is just plain strange. Larabee is not built to work nights; he is a morning person to the core. Sleeping in until 11 or 12 is so against his nature that he almost does not know what to do. Kyle does not like saying goodbye to Daddy at the time of day we are usually saying hello to Daddy. My entire schedule is shifted since I am now cooking Larabee’s dinner when I should be doing the dishes, am doing the dishes when I should be making dinner, am eating my big meal at lunch, leaving me starving at 10 PM because I am not hungry when I should be eating dinner. Kaleb, well, he is just Kaleb. He is cool with anything.

One bright spot amidst all the chaos is the fact that I get real quality time with the boys in the evening. Since I am not obligated to make a big dinner and I already have the dishes done, I have ‘free time’. This evening I sat on the floor and read books to the boys Librarian Style- both boys sat in front of me and I held the book over my shoulder and read. I tried to hold it on my lap and read it upside down but Kaleb was too drawn to the pages and could not sit still for want of touching them. So over the shoulder it was. It was so heartwarming to see both of our boys sitting side by side on the floor, eagerly listening to the story and looking at the book with interest and awe. It was one of those moments that makes all the dirty diapers and timeouts and sleepless nights completely and utterly worth it.

After our story time Kyle and I played dog-pile on the floor, with a bit of tickling and laughter involved. Kaleb, who had happily been playing in the toy box- standing against it and pulling toys out left and right to be exact- decided that we were having so much fun that he needed to join us. Over he came, and on me he climbed. It was so much fun to just play with the boys. I love that Kaleb is big enough now to be involved and I am excited for all the fun times that are still to come.

Great-Grandma’s House

  I remember going to Grandma’s house when I was little. For me, Grandma’s house was home. Since we traveled all of the time with my Dad’s job, Grandma’s house became my grounding place. It was where I came from, it was where I always knew I would go back to. I could always count on the fact that Grandma’s house would be a constant in my world of change. Grandma’s house is to me what “Grandma’s House” should be.

 

A place where you are always accepted for who you are.

A place where you are loved without any strings attached.

A place where you are comfortable, no matter the situation.

A place where you are safe from the world.

A place where you hope your own children will experience the same acceptance, love, comfort, and safety.

 

I am very happy that our children have been able to know not only all of their Grandparents, but that they have also been blessed to be around MY Grandparents. These particular Great-Grandparents are young enough to be involved with their Great-Grandchildren yet old enough to know that feeding them chocolate for breakfast is not the end of the world. They spoil with little gifts, but most importantly, with endless and effortless love. They take great joy in the little things that the boys do and are able to simply relish in their company. 

They worked hard to raise their own children, had a hand in raising me, and now are able to stand free of any and all parental-type duties and just enjoy.

No worries about the cost of diapers or baby food.

No late nights full of crying and sick babies.

No interrupted sleep.

No holding a child while the nurse administers shots.

No fretting over the billions of ways you can screw up a child, promising a future full of sarcasm and therapy.

No crying over the fact that, well, everyone else is crying so you might as well join in.

No counting to 10 simply to keep your cool because your toddler just spilled milk on the floor again. For the second time in an hour. The whole cup.

No worries over the ‘right’ form of discipline. Face it. By the time you are Great-Grandparents the child could burn the house down and you would just thrill in how much fun it looked like they were having in the process. “How cute!” “Isn’t that clever!?!”

NO POOPY DIAPERS!

 

Basically, they have been there and done that more times than I ever will and darn it they deserve a break.

 

They are more than happy to allow me all of the aforementioned worries and stresses. They know that I, like my parents before me and they before my parents, have to pay my dues.

 

I am fairly accepting of the ‘no rules’ rule at Grandma’s house.

 

Actually, I take that back.

I do have ONE rule at Grandma’s house.

 

Calories do not exist………

Love, Hugs, and Kisses Galore

“Mommy?”

“What Kyle?'”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Kyle.”

Kyle and I have this conversation at least 15 times per day. He just likes to let me know how he feels. It sure is nice to hear.

He has also been excessively cuddly lately. In saying he is excessively cuddly, I mean excessively cuddly for him. Usually he is going 90 miles an hour every which way, so to see him take the time to sit down and snuggle is very sweet. He just wants to be with us, even though he is always with us. Silly boy.

Also, we have a nightly routine when he is going to bed. He climbs in bed after telling Daddy goodnight and Mama tucks him in. He gets his blanket and waits for his kisses.

Oh, the kisses.

It started out with a ‘real’ kiss, which is on the lips, and one on the forehead. Now he gets an Eskimo kiss, a ‘cat’ kiss (where we rub cheeks), a ‘real’ kiss, a kiss on each eye, and a forehead kiss. It is quite the production.

Apparently, this is no longer enough.

In the last week he has tried to slip in an ear kiss, a chin kiss, a hand kiss, and a hair kiss. You would think that this kid does not get enough kisses or something. It is something else.

I guess I should take all I can get before he turns 3 or 4 or 5 and no longer wants any kisses from Mommy because it is icky.

Oh, he had better never do that. I will simply not allow it.

New conversation to have 15 times per day:

“Kyle?”

“Will you always give your Mama kisses?”

“Ya!”

“Promise?”

“Ya!”

I am going to hold you to that Kiddo!

Happiness and Bliss, Wrapped in Cuteness

 

Kaleb, you are such a blessing and a joy. You radiate happiness and turn even the gloomiest day into a wonderland. How can I even begin to express how you have made our family better than ever?

For a little guy you are a big thinker. I watch you taking in all of the goings-on around you and I can tell that you are focused on figuring out the how and why of it. It amazes me that you have the ability to really watch and learn at your young age.

Your personality is an absolute wonder. I think you are a lot like your Mama. That makes me happy because I feel that we will always have that connection, no matter what. You are surfer-dude laid back and most of the time you do not think anything is a big deal. Well, unless your meal is late- that, to you, is a big deal. You do not blow anything out of proportion. If you get upset you let us know and then you get over it. You are content 90% of the time and even in the 10% of time you are not, it still is not that bad.

You recently learned how to sit up. Actually, that is not true. You recently decided you wanted to sit up. You have been able to do it for a while, you simply did not want to. That is pretty much how you are. You do things in your own time. You cannot crawl just yet… or perhaps you just do not want to. You ‘seal’ crawl, which is very cute and it gets you from point A to point B. With this newfound mobility you are exploring the world around you in a whole new way. I imagine that you will be into everything sooner rather than later, so I am truly enjoying not having to tell you no every 5 minutes.

We cannot wait to see how you grow and learn and change, but part of me wants you to stay one bundle of happiness and bliss, wrapped in cuteness forever.

I made my own blog background!

See the background that my blog is rocking?

I am proud to say that I designed it :)

It is my first, so there are still some kinks to work out, but otherwise, I love it!

Just had to share my new little fun, time-wasting hobby!

Father’s Day, 2010

We had a pretty low-key Father’s Day. I got up early (8:15….hey, any time Kyle is still in bed it can still be considered EARLY) and made Larabee breakfast. He was treated to French Toast and Sausage Links.

I capitalize those because they were SO good.

They deserve to be capitalized.

Anyhow, after our yummy breakfast we headed out for adventure and fun.

First we drove down to Bluff to look at some petroglyphs. They were neat, but we are hard to please, so we did not hang out there for very long.

Next, we drove to Hovenweep National Monument. It was really neat. Basically, it was a grouping of ancient Pueblo ruins from about 700 years ago. There is a small canyon and these ruins are located in various places around the rim of the canyon. We only went to a few of them because Kyle was hot and Kaleb was ready for a nap. A nice couple volunteered to take a picture of all of us, and here is a rare look at…

Wait for it…..

Wait for it….

Our entire family!

Pay no attention to the horrid white shirt I am wearing… I would have dressed the part had I known I would actually be in one of the pictures rather than simply taking the pictures! After we went home so the kids could nap and we could vegetate and eat dinner regroup, we went out to the Butler Wash Ruins, which are cliff dwellings that are over 800 years old. It was a very pretty hike to get to the dwellings. Once we were there we were able to hike up and around the ruins, but not actually get close. If we did not have kids with us we could have done it, but there are simply some things that you cannot do with a 2 year old and a 7 month old.

Scaling vertical cliffs is one of them.

Sorry kids, we value your lives.

We did walk from the area where this picture was taken over to the star above the alcove. We walked to the right, across a natural bridge, under which was a massive cavern for water flow, and along the area where the small stars are. It was pretty high off the ground down into the canyon!

Kyle did not want to hold my hand.

Again, sorry Kyle, we value your life.

On the way home from Butler Wash Ruins we stopped at Little Cottonwood Canyon Recreation Area so that Daddy could gather some ‘prospect’ soil from the riverbed. There was not any flowing water, but in the large pools of the riverbed there were hundreds, if not thousands, of tadpoles. Kyle knew right away that they were baby frogs, which I was certainly impressed with. We even had to catch a couple of them so that Kyle could touch them. It was so cute!

All in all, we had a wonderful day. I was so happy to be able to spend the day with my fantastic husband. Kyle and Kaleb were thrilled to spend the day with Daddy too! Even if Larabee is ‘not into’ Father’s Day, we will still tell him how wonderful he is and how loved he is every year!

Happy Father’s Day Daddy! We love you!