A Day in My New Life {Picture Post}

Oh. my. gosh you guys.  I’m just going to cut right to the chase here:  two kids is HARD!  (Moms of more than 2, I know you’re laughing at me right now, and that’s okay…I’m laughing at all the moms of 1 who think – like I used to – that their life is hard!  lol} 

I mean seriously.  One blog post in February?  Because all I do all day is take care of the kids (aka make sure they both survive), then Chris comes home, we eat, I do housework like a crazy woman while he spends time with them, we put Luke to bed, we both do a little housework together while one of us tries to hold Olivia and then we basically crash…before getting up to feed her in the middle of the night, of course.

Did I mention that Luke decided he wanted to wear big boy underwear last Saturday?  When Livi was 4 weeks old?  So that means I’ve been potty training for the past 11 days with a newborn?  And that my baby girl happens to have pretty bad acid reflux and is on a prescription and needs to eat more often than she had been (but a little less at each feeding so her stomach can handle it better) and needs to be held upright for at LEAST a solid hour after she eats or else she will projectile vomit and/or scream bloody murder but that sometimes she does those things regardless?  Did I mention any of that?!  lol

Anyway, I end most days feeling like I got absolutely nothing accomplished except that nobody ended up in the ER and Mommy didn’t and up as the crazy lady on the 6:00 news.  (haha)  So I randomly woke up this morning and decided this morning to record my day – boring as it might be - in photos.  Because somehow I already have a 6- week-old so even though the days draaaaaag on and on the weeks really are flying by. 

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So for better or for worse, here’s a visual diary of my day today:

 

Basically, most of my days now consist of watching Luke play and verbally interacting with him (rather than getting on the ground as much)while I hold Olivia upright so she’ll stop screaming bloody murder be comfortable and happy.  ;)

 

 

Morning activity that lasted about 10 minutes:  letting Luke use one of my canvases to make “art” with the blue dot marker.  It actually turned out really neat – I think I’m going to hang it in the playroom when we re-do it this summer.

 

Bought a bag of Easter M&Ms for Luke’s potty rewards; gave him 3 and he gagged on them and spit them out.  I think he was afraid of the pastel colors since they’re different than the regulars?  (Seriously, people don’t always take me seriously when I tell them my kiddo has serious food issues – but that’s whole other post for a different day!)  Since it’s basically a sin in my world to throw out perfectly good chocolate, they now sit on my counter and I spent my day today trying NOT to eat this entire jar. 

Good news: I didn’t! But I wanted to.

 

I remember at 10:00 that I haven’t given Livi her morning dose of medicine yet.  I cringe when I have to administer it because she hates it and usually cries. (Ummmm, because bless her heart, it smells like Listerine strips!)  But I do love seeing my girl’s name in print, regardless of the reason! It just makes me so excited that she's a real person and she’s really here with us.  I am a total dork, I know.  (I kept this photo blurry on purpose.) 

 

I bought a great old cast-iron skillet for $3 back in November at the Salvation Army.  It’s been under my dresser for the past three months (story of my life, people!) and today I decided it was getting ridiculous and it was high time to clean it.  After a good scouring and rubbing with oil and baking at 500 degrees (my house smelled horrible like smoke afterwards, even with the windows open), it came out looking tons better but it still needed to go back in for round 2 of seasoning. 

 

Quick standing-up lunch/snack:  amazing restaurant salsa leftover from girls’ night out with friends on Saturday night.  I have eaten entirely way too many carbs since having Olivia…but what can I say?  I eat standing up these days and they are fast and easy. 

 

This picture was technically taken the other day, but it pretty much represents how I spent most of today, and the day before that, and the day before that…and you get the picture:  hanging out with Luke by the potty, with Olivia hanging out in the sling. 

 

Back to today:  the time stamp on this photo is 1:44.  Because someone in my home is apparently always having a crisis, I don’t get to drink many hot sips of coffee in a row. Hence the “reheating rings” – I count 5 and it’s not even 2:00 yet!  I specifically picked my “Today” show mug this morning because it reminded me of a happy day in my life (visiting the “Today” show live with Lindsay).  The memory of that makes me smile and also simultaneously miss my best friend all day long. 

(Somewhere about this time two friends dropped by separately for a short time each – praise the Lord for adult conversation!)

Little Miss Thing spits up a ton, bless her heart, and we go through a lot of clothes here (she’s had two more outfits on today - for a total of 6! - since this photo was taken).  Clorox stain remover is my new best friend!

 

Time for an afternoon sensory activity!  We traced letters in kosher salt on the tray and then buried objects under it.   (And no I didn’t do that to his hair {it’s seriously been standing up like that for days} but I am loving his little faux-hawk!)

 

Miss Liv took a nap on me while Luke and I played with the salt:

 

P.S. Salt activity came to an abrupt halt when Luke decided to repeatedly dump it all over his head.  After being told not to.  Like 3 times.  But…YAY for my kiddo being totally cool with touching salt!  I mean, still a win, right?! haha

 

Right about this point in the day I am super thankful I actually had 10 free minutes this morning to pop a chicken in the crockpot for dinner!  It’s starting to smell really good!

 

I somehow manage to grab another 10 peaceful minutes (I heard the angels singing when it happened) and throw together these no-bake energy bars that my sister recommended.  Verdict:  I love the clean ingredients but they don’t come together all that well.  Next time I will add more peanut butter {I ran out after I made the recipe}. I think I still prefer my morning cookie. :)

 

{Loving my “new” aka vintage Pyrex bowl that I got recently for $2.50!  Perfect for mixing!}

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Not long after this Chris came home (Haaaaallelujuah, thank you Jesus), so the pictures stopped.  But just think more potty breaks (including where Luke accidentally peed on his face – yup, think that one through with me! haha), bath time, playtime, clean-up time, bedtime routine, dishes, 2 loads of laundry, and me and Chris talking about our days and singing out loud to Bruno Mars’ “Marry Me” on Pandora (best part of my day!).  

It’s 9:32 and I’m about to help Chris give Livi a bath and then head to bed! 

I’m not going to lie to you – these are some of the most emotionally draining days of my life.  The days are long and hard and demanding. (There are no pictures of me today because there was no shower for me today!  I chose sleep instead this morning, which I don’t regret one bit!)

Between having shingles in December and being stuck at home for two weeks, then staying home a lot in January to avoid getting the flu while pregnant, then having a newborn and being at home to keep her healthy and learn her routine, then having a little boy potty training who has max 5 seconds to make it to the toilet right now (so going out with him is not really an option for a while), and I don’t get out a lot.  I love my home and my kids but it’s hard for me mentally to be stuck at home and feel like I don’t have my freedom.

But then I think about all the people who would just love to be able to have babies and be home with them…and I try to change my bummed-out attitude and cherish the good parts of my day: the baby smell and snuggles, kisses from Luke, tickling him, sharing his joy when we make it a day without accidents.

Let’s just say I live for 5:00 when my relief pitcher walks through that door. 

Oh and weekends…when I can take a nap!  Don’t even get me started. ;)

Goodnight all!  This mama is POOPED OUT – LITERALLY!  haha