Chris and his sister Stephanie left this morning with Daniel and Nathan to take them out to visit Chris's parents for a week without us. I have mixed emotions about it. I'm excited for them to have a great visit with their grandparents and for my chance to really clean the house without them coming behind me and remaking the mess I just cleaned up! I'm going to miss them like crazy though. This will be the longest I've ever been away from them. We have only taken one trip just the 2 of us since we had kids and that was when Daniel was almost 1. So, it's been a few years. We've never travelled without them since Nathan was born. I'm sure they will have fun. Chris's parents really know how to make things fun for them and the boys love them to pieces. I'm sure Daniel will miss us more than Nathan. Nathan is much more independent. Daniel is more of a people person and always tells us that he misses us even if we just run up to the store for 10 minutes. He's very sweet and he loves his parents. Nothing wrong with that!
So, I'll try to post about this week and how it's going as it goes along. Day 1 of them being gone (11:00am) and I've been on the cleaning mission already but now I'm taking a break because Xander needs some Mommy cuddling so he can go to sleep again. I've been reorganizing cabinets and counters and de-cluttering already and I vacuumed a bit. Not bad so far. I have made a nice checklist of things to accomplish this week. I want this house to be clean and organized and to be able to see all of the surfaces again. We are really a bad clutter family. Flat surfaces are always cluttered with mail, and various other paper items or things that don't have homes yet. I'll be really happy when we don't have to use the infant carrier car seat anymore. That thing takes up a lot of space on the dining room table.
I'm happy to report that the family room is already in pretty good shape. I cleaned it somewhat yesterday. I didn't dust all of it yet... that's basically all that is left aside from steam mopping the perimeter of the room. I think I'll clean the french doors too... they'll get a couple weeks withing nasty fingerprints on them!
Well, I'm off to work again! Thanks for reading and please comment!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Contemplating...
So, have you ever heard the saying that people always die in 3's? Well, I heard it a while ago and in the past week, there have been 3 deaths I've now heard of in the last week. All three were people I didn't know personally but were known by friends of mine. The first was while Xander and I were on our trip to St. Louis. Our first night down there, last Friday, just after I had gotten to sleep, my friend Linda came and woke me up to tell me they had to run over to their friends: Joel and Erica's house because they had just received a letter stating that Joel's youngest brother had committed suicide.
This is just terrible news and so sad. I feel so terribly for Joel and Erica and the rest of their family. Joel's brother was very young and had so much life ahead of him. Seems like such a waste and so unfair to the rest of his family and friends that loved him for him to do such a thing. All we can do now is pray for them and for his soul.
If Joel or Erica read this, I'm desperately sorry for your loss. I know that we only met once but my heart goes out to you and your family. We prayed for you all at Christ the Good Shepherd today as well and we'll continue to pray for you.
The second death was my friends' Robin and Kim's mom, Linda. She was only 64 years old and died suddenly from either a massive heart attack or a blood clot. The doctors were unable to determine which it was for sure. Linda had been healthy up until that point and was the center of their family. Both Robin and Kim are married and have young children. As I listened to the descriptions of Linda and what a wonderful person she was and how she was the glue of their family, it made me think about how I would deal with my mom passing. I pray that she doesn't go until she's very old and has lived a very long and full life free from dementia of any kind. She is my best friend aside from my husband and has always been my rock for everything. My boys love her so much. I know if we lost her, it would be devastating. I'm not sure how I'd deal with it. I'm actually crying as I type this right now just thinking about it.
The last death was my friend Nicole's friend Michelle. She was only 38 and lost her battle with cancer. Her death wasn't sudden nor a surprise but she was the mother of 4 young children and a wife. I've thought about the possibly of what would happen if I died. Who would help Chris raise our boys? It hurts my heart so much to think of them growing up without their mom. My not being there to kiss their "bee boos" (as Nathan calls them) or to teach them about girls or how to drive see them graduate and become men. I know Chris would still do an amazing job raising them because he is a wonderful father but no matter how wonderful a father you are, you can only fill the roll of mom so much. So, I think of Nicole's friend's family and I pray so much for those children and for her husband because he lost his best friend, soul mate and partner and they lost their mother.
So, in closing, please keep all of these families in your hearts and prayers in the coming days and weeks as losing loved ones, especially so young, is so so hard to get through.
This is just terrible news and so sad. I feel so terribly for Joel and Erica and the rest of their family. Joel's brother was very young and had so much life ahead of him. Seems like such a waste and so unfair to the rest of his family and friends that loved him for him to do such a thing. All we can do now is pray for them and for his soul.
If Joel or Erica read this, I'm desperately sorry for your loss. I know that we only met once but my heart goes out to you and your family. We prayed for you all at Christ the Good Shepherd today as well and we'll continue to pray for you.
The second death was my friends' Robin and Kim's mom, Linda. She was only 64 years old and died suddenly from either a massive heart attack or a blood clot. The doctors were unable to determine which it was for sure. Linda had been healthy up until that point and was the center of their family. Both Robin and Kim are married and have young children. As I listened to the descriptions of Linda and what a wonderful person she was and how she was the glue of their family, it made me think about how I would deal with my mom passing. I pray that she doesn't go until she's very old and has lived a very long and full life free from dementia of any kind. She is my best friend aside from my husband and has always been my rock for everything. My boys love her so much. I know if we lost her, it would be devastating. I'm not sure how I'd deal with it. I'm actually crying as I type this right now just thinking about it.
The last death was my friend Nicole's friend Michelle. She was only 38 and lost her battle with cancer. Her death wasn't sudden nor a surprise but she was the mother of 4 young children and a wife. I've thought about the possibly of what would happen if I died. Who would help Chris raise our boys? It hurts my heart so much to think of them growing up without their mom. My not being there to kiss their "bee boos" (as Nathan calls them) or to teach them about girls or how to drive see them graduate and become men. I know Chris would still do an amazing job raising them because he is a wonderful father but no matter how wonderful a father you are, you can only fill the roll of mom so much. So, I think of Nicole's friend's family and I pray so much for those children and for her husband because he lost his best friend, soul mate and partner and they lost their mother.
So, in closing, please keep all of these families in your hearts and prayers in the coming days and weeks as losing loved ones, especially so young, is so so hard to get through.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Xander's First Trip
OK, I'm nervous. This afternoon, I'm taking Xander on a plane to St. Louis by myself. I know it will be better than driving down there from MI but I'm still nervous about how it's going to go. Funny thing that even though I'll be turning 32 this month, I've never flown by myself before, let alone with a baby. Chris and I took Daniel on a plane when he was closer to 2 years old. Xander is 4 1/2 months old now so this will be quite different. The rules and regulations with flying are a pain too. I haven't flown in over 2 years so I'm nervous about other things too like the full body scan and how are they going to scan Xander? Has anyone out there flown with an infant in their arms before? When we took Daniel, we bought him a seat and brought his car seat. If anyone has advice on this topic, please post a comment.
So, yeah, I'm a bit nervous about this and then I read the weather reports. I'm leaving Michigan which is finally getting some NICE weather, unlike the last month of 90+ and heading to hotter weather and flying through THUNDERSTORMS. I'm not psyched about this at all. I'm hoping and praying all will be fine and Xander and I will have a fun and stress-free weekend with our friends.
I'm looking forward to Sunday morning's activity too. My friend, Eric, is being installed as a Vicar at his new church in Florissant, MO. He is currently going through Seminary at the Lutheran Missouri Synod Seminary in St. Louis. Very exciting to see Eric progress on his journey!
Also looking forward to meeting Eric and Linda's newest baby girl, Jillian, who was born in June! She is their 5th child! (They must be crazy!) ;0) I think 3 children is plenty for me!
I'll post after our trip and share our experience. Please comment! Thanks!
So, yeah, I'm a bit nervous about this and then I read the weather reports. I'm leaving Michigan which is finally getting some NICE weather, unlike the last month of 90+ and heading to hotter weather and flying through THUNDERSTORMS. I'm not psyched about this at all. I'm hoping and praying all will be fine and Xander and I will have a fun and stress-free weekend with our friends.
I'm looking forward to Sunday morning's activity too. My friend, Eric, is being installed as a Vicar at his new church in Florissant, MO. He is currently going through Seminary at the Lutheran Missouri Synod Seminary in St. Louis. Very exciting to see Eric progress on his journey!
Also looking forward to meeting Eric and Linda's newest baby girl, Jillian, who was born in June! She is their 5th child! (They must be crazy!) ;0) I think 3 children is plenty for me!
I'll post after our trip and share our experience. Please comment! Thanks!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
New Food!
Last night Xander tried his first carrots. I was really nervous about giving him more new foods since when I tried giving him cereal, he not only hated it but he didn't sleep well all 4 days we tried the cereal. I was afraid the cereal was the reason. After a few days I realized it was probably more of an effect from my birth control shot. Since I'm nursing and I had gotten a new shot the day we tried cereal for the first time, I think the big blast of hormones might have been the culprit. I'm not sure about this but I think its definitely possible.
So, we tried the carrots. He was actually opening his mouth well and actually ate some and was happy and smiley for a lot of it. He didn't eat tons but he did really well for his first time. Here are some pictures:
So, we tried the carrots. He was actually opening his mouth well and actually ate some and was happy and smiley for a lot of it. He didn't eat tons but he did really well for his first time. Here are some pictures:
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Preference
So, I'm curious if there are many other stay-at-home-moms out there that have the same situation as I do. My boys, aside from Xander, always prefer their daddy over me for pretty much everything! I'm so thankful and very blessed to have found a man that is such a wonderful father to his kids but at the same time I get quite jealous when they always want their daddy to do everything with them. They just want me to get them stuff. Daniel is starting to want me more for things and just now gave me a big hug and kiss and told Chris "I love Mommy so much!" Nathan comes in my room in the morning while I'm laying in bed with Xander and Daniel who has come in to cuddle with us and he completely ignores us and goes into the bathroom where Chris is showering and then turns around and leaves the room without even saying hi. Why does this happen? I keep telling myself it's because I'm home all day with them so I'm not as special to them as their daddy who's gone most of the day.
Is there something wrong with me that I'm bothered by this? I'm curious if anyone else has the same feelings about this as I do. It hurts when I offer to read a book with Nathan and he wants to only read it with his daddy. I work hard taking care of them all day every day mostly on my own. Thoughts? Comments?
Is there something wrong with me that I'm bothered by this? I'm curious if anyone else has the same feelings about this as I do. It hurts when I offer to read a book with Nathan and he wants to only read it with his daddy. I work hard taking care of them all day every day mostly on my own. Thoughts? Comments?
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