typicallyme.com

I love my girls.  I love, love, love being the mom of two girls.

But, honestly?  It’s been harder than I had thought.

The transition from one to two has knocked me on my backside.  Hard.

There were so many times this summer that I felt completely overwhelmed.  I felt like I was a bad mom.  I was a bad wife.  I was a bad daughter.  I was a bad friend.

We took Aubryn out of school for the summer.  I wanted to have her home with Maisie and with me.   I had all kinds of fun activities that I wanted the three of us to do together – go to the pool, go to the beach, play on playgrounds, have play dates with friends.  But every time I had something planned to do something, my plans were thwarted.  Aubryn would have a meltdown or Maisie would need to be nursed.  It was next to impossible to get out of the house, much less get anywhere on time.

When I went for my 6 week check-up with my OB, she asked how the transition was.  I explained to her that there were lots of times that if Maisie was not nursing, she was screaming.  My OB mad the offhand comment that it sounded like I have demanding children.  She was exactly right.  I have very demanding children.

Maisie, like Aubryn, cried for virtually all of the first three months of her life.  Neither had reflux, they were just fussy.  I tried to eliminate dairy and soy and many other things from my diet because I read somewhere that breastfed babies cannot be colicky.  Nothing helped.  I just have demanding children.

My husband would come home from work and ask me what I did all day.  Too often, my answer was “nothing.”  There were so many days that between nursing and trying to entertain a 2 year old, I got absolutely nothing done.  While I was nursing Maisie, Aubryn would pull all of her toys out or empty a basket of clean laundry on the floor or pull everything that she could reach out of the pantry.  And, I don’t blame her for any of this behavior.  She’s only two.

But so often, I found myself getting impatient with Aubryn for this behavior.  I found myself getting impatient with Maisie for taking forever to nurse and then spitting it all back up all over me.  And that?  That made me feel like a failure.  Made me feel like a bad mother.

It didn’t help that we sold our house two weeks after Maisie was born and moved out a month later.  We’ve been living with my parents since then.  I packed the absolute bare necessities and sent the rest of our things to storage.  It also didn’t help that we ran into some issues with the new house and had to rip up the floors, rip out the bathrooms and rip out some of the walls.  We hope to be in by October.

And so, I’ve been in survival mode all summer.  I have had no time for myself and the things that I enjoy.  I haven’t felt like blogging or reading the blogs of others.  And for that, friends, I am truly sorry.  I’ve missed you.  All of you.  I’ve missed sharing myself and I’ve missed the glimpses into your lives.  Most of all, I’ve missed myself.

But, fortunately, Maisie has emerged from the newborn stage.  She laughs and smiles and “talks.”  I just wish that she would sleep through the night a little more…  I no longer feel like there is always one or the other or both of my children crying.  We have all adjusted to being a family of four.  Aubryn loves her little sister more than anything.  My heart swells at the sight of it.

And I am starting to get some of myself back too.  And with that, mothering both girls is getting easier.

Last week, my girls (I still can’t get over saying that – I have TWO girls now!) and I were invited to a playdate at Colleen’s house with a few of my favorite bloggers to check out MobiStories digital books for iPhone, iTouch or PC.  I even kept A out of school so that she would get to go too!

Seeing as A is only two and (I’m ashamed to say) I have neither an iPhone nor an iTouch, I had never heard of MobiStories before.  But let me tell you, they definitely impressed me!  According to MobiStories, they are “the new world of reading.”  MobiStories was created to “fill two needs.  The first was to spend more time with their young families.  The second was to develop a product that could supplement the story time experience that their children only received at bedtime.  While nothing should replace a parent hugging a child and reading a book together, MobiStories are there whenever that can’t happen.”

MobiStories are digital and interactive books that you can purchase and download to your iPod, iTouch or PC.  And they were a hit with the kids:

I love the digital books.  Once we move (and I can start spending money again), I plan to invest in an iTouch and/or an iPad.  These books would be perfect for long car rides and for long waits – doctors’ appointments and the like.  Plus, they are really, really affordable and interactive.  A will love them!

You can download your very own MobiStories.  Use the code RTW0710 to download the Summer puzzle book and Celebrating Michelle Obama to your PC.   Go to mobistories.com, click on Summer (in the Ages 2 – 4 category), add to your cart the summer puzzle book and and Celebrating Michelle Obama (http://stillmotionmedia.com/ages-6-10/celebrating-michelle-obama/) then enter the code in the Coupon Code Box.

Mandatory Disclosure:  I am not affiliated with MobiStories but I was invited to this playdate where a face painter and a balloon animal artist entertained A and we received lunch from Chick-Fil-A.  We also received a download of The Marvelous Toy.

As if I needed to add one more thing to my already full plate, we put our house on the market last week.  ACK!  I know.  I.  AM. CRAZY.  Only a crazy person would put their house on the market at 33 weeks pregnant, right?

The week that I returned from maternity leave after having Cuddle Bug, we put our house on the market.  Where it sat.  And sat.  And sat.  After almost 6 months of very few showings and ridiculously low offers, we took the house off of the market and resigned ourselves to the fact that we were going to stay where we were for a little bit longer.

And why not?  We live in a beautiful house in a gorgeous neighborhood in one of the best school districts around (according to Philadelphia Magazine, at least).  Oh, and Philadelphia Magazine?  It named my town as one of “10 Awesome Neighborhoods to Call Home.” 

But we want to move.  We live about 45 minutes from my parents’ house and from our church.  At the time that we bought our house, TK4 and I both worked in West Chester.  Now, I drive 50 minutes to an hour to work.  Add in the time that it takes me to drop off or pick up Cuddle Bug, and you’ll find that I spend alot of time in my car.

So we spent much of last weekend cleaning out and cleaning up.  I tagged things for trash, cleaned out all of my closets, washed windows, repainted the master bathroom, (partially) power washed the deck and made my house absolutely immaculate.  TK4 totally cleared out our basement, planted flowers and mulched.  The house is all ready for the perfect buyer.  Now if we could just find that perfect buyer…

Pray that my house sells quickly – not that we have anywhere to go (we don’t).  I just don’t know how well my pregnant self can handle all of this pressure!

Oh, and if you know anyone who wants a fabulous house at truly a bargain (we’re asking less than we paid for it, not to mention all the work that we did in it), send them my way!

Today, I am thirty-two.  I am also thirty-two weeks (and five days) pregnant.

Here is Miss M. at thirty-two weeks, five days:

I’m not going to lie, it’s been a tough year:

• My dad had a stroke but has had an amazing recovery.

• We suffered through secondary infertility – 3 rounds of Clomid, 1 round of Follistim and 4 IUI’s; but we are blessed enough to welcome another little girl into our house in a few weeks.

• TK4 had surgery on his back in December – a microdisectomy and a laminectomy; but he is doing amazingly well.  He even went skiing this past winter!

But this year was full of incredibly fun and exciting things too:

• I went to my first ever Eagles game.  (That jersey is now kinda out of date)

• The Phillies went to the World Series again!  (Although they lost but I still love my Phils)

• I entered the realm of mom cars.

• We found out that we are having another little girl and I am cherishing every single minute of this pregnancy.

• My sister-in-law got engaged.

• Cuddle Bug is changing and growing into a wonderful, funny, bossy and independent little girl.

And although this is the first year where my age sounds old to me (thirty-two does sound old), I am really, really looking forward to all of the life changes ahead.  This year will be one of adjustment but I am officially declaring thirty-two to be drama-free!

It’s been a while friends.

For various reasons, I changed my blog and am going to make it more private.

But I’ve missed you!  And I have to much to share with you.  So much to share about our full-blown toddler and about the new baby on the way.  Over the next few days and weeks, I’m going to try to update you to everything that has been going on in the past few months.

We’ve been very, very busy!  TK4 had surgery, Cuddle Bug* celebrated her second birthday and we found out that we are having another baby girl in May.

And with 6 to 7 weeks left (at most) before the new baby arrives, we’re seriously considering putting our house on the market.

It’s going to be a wild ride!

* One change that I made is calling our now 2 year-old Cuddle Bug (I sometimes refer to her as A too).  I’d ask that if you know her real name (not hard to figure out if you go through some of the pictures on past posts), that you not share it in the comments.  I’d like to avoid people being able to find her here through a google search.  I’d ask that you do the same for the former name of my blog.  Thanks!

Apparently ice cream does wonders for your skin.

At least that the best reason that I can think of

for coming home from work to find that bath time

started in the high chair tonight.

And coming home to this happy face is the best part of my day.

We have had some napping and bedtime success lately thanks to “Baby.”  Cuddle Bug has a Cabbage Patch baby that she got for Christmas last year.  She has taken a particular interest in it lately – probably because of all of the baby talk in our house the past few weeks.  The past few days, at naptime and bedtime, we have taken Baby into Cuddle Bug’s room.  We kiss Baby “night night” and put Baby into the crib.  Then we read books.  After 2 or 3 books, we talk about going “night night” and Cuddle Bug asks to go “night night” with Baby.  I put her in her crib, she cuddles Baby and there is not another peep.  It’s wonderful.

Hopefully it continues!

It’s been a rough week around here.

That’s an understatement.

It’s been an awful, terrible, no-good, horrible week around here.

A little over four years ago, when we moved into this house, TK4 herniated a disc in his back trying to move the big white chair in the family room by himself.  Since then, he has had flare-ups of pain which have resulted in cortisone injections, epidural steroid injections and physical therapy.  Yet, his back has continued to degenerate.

A few months ago, TK4 started another round of physical therapy.  He went to his doctor last Friday and had a cortisone injection.  For some reason, he became progressively worse last weekend and the beginning of last week.  By Wednesday night, he could walk far enough to get to his class from his car so he missed his first graduate school class.  For TK4, this is a huge deal.

On Thursday, he was downstairs putting on his shoes when I left with Cuddle Bug for school/work.  When I was almost at Cuddle Bug’s school, TK4 called me and asked me to come home to take him to the Emergency Room.  I took Cuddle Bug to school and headed home.  When I got home, he was in the driver’s side of his car but could not move.  He was eventually able to get out of the car but collapsed on the garage floor.  I went to get my neighbor to help me get him up and into the car but we were unable to move him so I ended up calling 9-1-1.

TK4 went to the hospital via ambulance and I followed by car.  We ended up sitting in the Emergency Room for about 9 hours – during which I had to wear a mask because I am pregnant.  Around dinner time, TK4 was admitted.  A MRI showed that a piece of his disc had now broken off and was pressing on some nerves causing spasms and pain.

He stayed in the  hospital until yesterday afternoon and tomorrow we return for another epidural steroid injection.  For now, TK4 is on some heavy duty drugs and unable to get around the house or drive.  So it looks like I’ll be driving him around for a while.  The hardest part is going to be getting him to and from his classes.  Hopefully Erin and my parents can help me some with that.

So how did this all lead to my breakdown at Wegmans?  Let’s just say that having a very active and spirited toddler along with a husband who needs help with absolutely everything plus my end of the year schedule and being pregnant and nauseous and exhausted all of the time caught up with me.  At Wegmans, Cuddle Bug refused to ride in the cart and refused to walk beside me and hold my hand and it just all became too much.

So, if you saw some crazy lady crying while her toddler was trying to run out the side door of Wegmans this evening, it was just me and I apologize.  Sometimes life just becomes too much and a good cry can be cathartic.  But, tomorrow is the beginning of another week and it can only get better from here.  Right?

Shhh….

It’s been a secret.  Mommy and Daddy wouldn’t let me tell.

But now the secret’s out…

I’m going to be a big sister in May!

Mommy, Daddy and I couldn’t be any more excited!

I can’t wait for my little sister or brother!

Cuddle Bug is twenty-one months old today (I promise that I’ll stop with the month-by-month when she’s two – I just don’t want to someday forget all of this).

She is wild and funny and keeps me on my toes.  She can be defiant at times (the time out stool and step are getting some good use) but is so loving and sweet most of the time.  She is discovered her voice and is prone to scream absolutely everything.

Cuddle Bug is becoming more and more of a night owl like her Daddy and loving to sleep in.  When I get her up around 7, she will pull the covers over her head and say “uh uh.”  Like her Daddy, her favorite food is pizza (“peesee”), followed by peas, grapes, goldfish and cheese.  She also loves all kinds of sweets – cookies, cakes, donuts.  Her favorite time of the week is definitely the coffee hour after church on Sundays.

I love watching her with her three best friends at school.  There are four little girls who are all within weeks of each other in age.  They are inseparable and I’ve even seen them hug and kiss each other.  It’s so cute.

Cuddle Bug can count to five (although she often misses “three”) and we are working on colors and animal sounds.  For some reason, she can do duck and lion and cow but refuses to say what sound a dog or cat makes.  I think that she knows them but just refuses to say them.  Kind of like how she calls my Dad “George” (“dorge”) but refuses to call my Mom “Grammie” but will call my Grandmon “Gigi.”

I can’t wait to see what the next month brings!

Kristie Finnan posted a question on Twitter and her blog last week asking what working moms did that morning before going to work.  As an aside, if you haven’t bought Kristie’s book Mommy’s High Heel Shoes for your little girl – you should.  It’s one of Cuddle Bug’s favorites.

Kristie’s question got me thinking.  What do we, as moms, pack into a day?  I’m guessing that, for any mom, the answer would be alot.

Take this morning for instance.  (And I should preface this by saying that my husband gives me a ton of help – really, a ton).  I got up, took a shower, went downstairs and got myself some juice, dried my hair, got dressed, put on make-up, made my bed, woke up Cuddle Bug, changed her diaper, picked out an outfit for her and TK4 got her dressed, went downstairs, packed Cuddle Bug’’s lunch and made up her cups of milk and juice, packed her breakfast and did her hair, put on her shoes and took her to TK4’s car.  TK4 drove her to school.

I came back inside and ate breakfast, did my dishes from this morning (along with our house guest’s dishes from last night), prepared for my hearing this morning, watched some of the Today show and was out the door by 7:30 to make it to court by 9.

I worked a full day (leaving work at 6:15) and went to my parents’ house.  They had picked her up because TK4 has an exam this week so we are giving him some space.  I ate dinner there (what’s better than a home-cooked meal at Grammie’s house?) and gave Cuddle Bug a bath.  I put her pj’s on, combed her hair and brushed her teeth.  We drove home, spent some time with TK4.  Cuddle Bug and I read some books before TK4 took over.  I washed my face and brushed my teeth, and put whitening strips on my teeth while TK4 put Cuddle Bug to bed.   We discussed what health insurance to get for next year (settling on mine).  I still have to pack lunches for tomorrow and then I am going to settle in to bed.

I rarely get a minute to myself – it’s no wonder I’m exhausted all of the time!  I wouldn’t change a second of it.  Like all moms, I love every single minute of it – I would like some more time for me though!

How long until Friday?

So, what do you do in a day?