Reminiscing

I sit here and think back as to what happened two years ago today.

I was in labor with G at the hospital and hoping that his birth would be very different than his brothers.  Thankfully, it was.

Right now, I'm watching video footage from that moment and am in tears just thinking back about the last few moments I had with E before G came along.

Or remembering how much of a cow I felt I was when I saw myself tandem nursing.

Or how, for the first time in two years, I just saw footage of E and I having a quiet nursing session, just the two of us, that morning before going to the hospital.

So many thoughts were going through my mind tonight.

I am so grateful for all the love and support I have had these past two years. I could never thank Paul enough.

Great Parenting Moment

Sometimes, I have to give myself a pat on the back as a parent and this is one of those times.

I've been sick this weekend and so have the boys. But we still had to go grocery shopping. 

We started off well, but it soon took a turn for the worse. 

I was in the produce section and around the aisle comes E, shortly followed by Paul and G. E starts to throw a fit because he didn't want Paul to follow him. E said he wanted to go back and do it over again, but he didn't want anyone to follow him.

He kept fussing and dropping down tithe ground. I gave him choices about what he could do, but it was not working. He wouldn't stop having a fit. 

After a few more attempts, I asked for the car keys from Paul and I told E we were going to leave.

He didn't want to go, so I picked him up (tears and all) and we went to go have a chat in some chairs near the deli. 

After talking to him about his safety an that he was too young to go around the store alone, I brought up Daniel Tiger (a show he likes to watch). We talked about how he has to "stop and listen to stay safe".

After a few minutes he settled down. He also told me that he was hungry and tired.

Ding, ding, ding!

No wonder he was having such a hard time. I took him out of the store, grabbed him a snack and then he was ready to go back. (We had left Paul and G to do the rest of the shopping.)

I just think of how I could have chosen to lose my patience and our outcome could have been so different. Granted, I was lucky to have Paul there do that I could take the time to chat with E. But I'm so glad I did it this way instead of losing it.

Go me! 

E the Photographer

I found these pictures on my camera.  Apparently, Paul let E take some pictures while I was...er, I don't know where I was.

He has quite an artsy style to his pictures.

Fourth of July

For the past few years, we have joined Paul's family at the country club for Independence Day celebrations. The kids get to swim, catch goldfish, and collect coins.  There's always a good spread for dinner consisting of good ol' American favorites: burgers, dogs, and potato salad.  One year we actually stayed for the fireworks and it turned out to be a big mistake.  They were WAY to loud for E and he cried until we left.  Since then, we have just gone home around 7 and watch the fireworks from our backyard.

E was really excited to catch the goldfish this year.  He would catch one, release it, catch another, release it, and so on. We didn't expect him to get in the water, so we let him wade up to his knees.

Of course, before we new it, he was completely drenched.

Notice how his shirt keeps getting more and more wet?

Summer Fun

A Mommy Moment

As bad as I have been about posting, I know it probably won't get much better. School has resumed and I'm feeling more swamped with things to do. My time with the kids has dwindled down to a few hours a day. I miss them terribly, but I know that after this school year, I'll be there for them all day and every day.

Last night, Paul and I were able to go out on a date while the boys were at my parents' house. I shared with Paul how excited I am to know that I will be the one taking the boys to school every day and to pick them up. The thought of it started to make me tear a bit.

Silly? Probably. But as each summer/fall/winter/spring break goes by, I'm reminded of what I'm missing out on. I know that what I do for work is important and meaningful, that we need the income, and that I love what I do. But man....do I miss my kids. 

I've told Paul many times: I don't want to regret not staying home.

At the same time, I'm frightened that I will struggle getting a job when the time comes to go back to work. Or that we have a hard time financially. 

Even still, I can't wait. Only 10 months to go.