I don't know how to relax

J.R. took Ben to bed tonight so that I could watch 24. So I watched it. The boys are asleep so I have time to myself!! However, I'm not feelin' it. The Winter Olympics are on this week. I LOVE the Olympics!! I almost had to force myself to turn it on. Figure skating is on!! I love figure skating but it's not doing anything for me. I kinda want to go to bed. Can you believe it? All 3 boys are asleep. I have the house to myself. I could be doing anything! Nope. Facebook is boring me, and I don't feel like reading my email. I'm not right...

Last weekend I thought I'd take a bath. It's been 5 years since I've had a bathtub. It's been longer since I took a nice bath. J.R. made sure I had the bathroom to myself. I drew the water, got in, said ahhhh, and that was the end of luxury. I looked at my toes sticking out of the water. My right toenail was longer than my left toenail. "I have to cut that," I thought. So I put that on my to do list. It reminded me I need to cut the boys' nails. So I put that on my to do list. I decided to read - I did remember to bring reading material in with me. Did I read a novel? A Dean Koontz book? Some smutty quick read? No. I read my Parenting magazine....you know, so I can get tips on how to be a good mom. I enjoy my Parenting magazines, but it wasn't necessarily pleasure reading. Then, after sitting in the tub for a while, I realized I was too hot. I sat up, I put one leg out of the water, finally, I had enough. I pulled the plug and got out. What's my problem?

Snowed in!

It's official...this is the snowiest winter Philadelphia has ever had. In December we had 23 inches of snow (we probably had at least 18 at our house), this past Fri/Sat we had 28 inches (at least 24 at our house) and Tues/Wed we had another 14 at least at our house, I'm not sure what the weathermen are saying is the official Philly total. And those are just the big storms! I've been out of work for 2 days. You'd think the house would be neat as a pin and personal projects complete with four days stuck inside, but no. I've actually been enjoying playing with the boys. I really only get to spend 2-3 hours a day with Aaron, and only 2 or so more with Ben. It's been fun to just hang out, and it gives JR a bit more time to himself as well.

Ben and Aaron both like to eat the snow. In Dec, I taught Ben how to catch snowflakes with his tongue, now he likes to do it every time he goes out. He gets very excited, screaming "no, no" when he sees snow on the ground. Saturday we had fun following the snowblower guy around the complex. When he stopped to take a break, Ben was disappointed (uh, oh! he said). Then we went next door to the daycare center and sat on a snow pile watching the ATV plow guy. When that got boring we turned around and waved to all the cars going by. Aaron went out for a little bit with us on Sunday. We don't have a full snowsuit for him, so we bundle him in layers. He's not a big fan of that. Ben and JR went out for a bit yesterday, but yesterday's storm was actually a blizzard I guess, so the wind and wet rain/snow was too much to take out Aaron. Both kids were asleep before 8pm last night. Not sure if the snow had anything to do with it, but if it did...Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!

Another Christmas

Not really sure I have a lot to write about at this moment, but I have a little insomnia so I thought I'd throw a few pictures up of our most recent Christmas. Yes, we had more than one. JR's family came up this past weekend so we could exchange. It was a really great time (and the 2nd time I got to host a holiday!) The kids made out like bandits again. JR got a Keurig coffee maker that he is in love with, and my new sister in law and I are going to see The Lion King!! I'm so excited.

Here are those pictures I was talking about.

Aaron's a little happy!

Ben was very excited to see that there were more presents under the tree when he woke up.

Catchin' Up

Finally! I have a minute to sit down and record a few moments of the last few months. Of course,it's because I have insomnia and it's 3:30 AM! Oh well.

So yes, my computer had a virus, and thought it was taken care of. Then shortly before Thanksgiving I was having problems again. It ended up that I really couldn't use it, so I bought a new one right after Christmas. It has a webcam, which I haven't tried out yet. I'm excited to try out Skype and be able to talk to my mom and have her see the kids. That's one big reason I haven't been able to blog. So here are the highlights of the last few months....

* Aaron was Dedicated back in October. My mom and Ron came down, and J.R.'s family came up as well. We had a small party afterwards with some friends from church.

* While my parents were here we went to Boo at the Zoo. Ben also wore his costume at school, and we went trick or treating for the first time! Aaron was a monkey and Ben was Thomas the Train.

* Thanksgiving was spent at the beach. The weekend before, J.R.'s brother was married so J.R. and Aaron spent the week, while Ben and I came back up for school/work. We went to see Santa, but the kids were both had double ear infections so we didn't do the tram ride to see the lights.

* Aaron had a checkup after Thanksgiving. The doctor couldn't believe how great he was doing. He pretty much wanted to stand right after he learned to sit. Now he's crawling up a storm, cruising and just starting to stand on his own. He thought he'd walk before he'd crawl, but he'll still only take 2-3 steps when you hold his hands and let him walk.

* Ben loved the Christmas lights. On our way home from work I would point out houses to look at. On our way home from Life Group we would drive up and down a few streets so he could see all the "eyes".

* J.R. had his Gallbladder removed in Dec. We had previously made two trips to the ER, and he recovered for 2-3 weeks. He was sick for a while, but now he is doing great.

* We went to Mass for Christmas. Santa was very good to the boys, and to J.R. and I. We barely had enough room for all our new things. My dad and Kathy came down as well, so we got to see them too. It's the first time Kathy has seen Ben since last summer, and the first time she's seen Aaron. My dad had come to visit us when we went up in June. It was great to see them. We came back to Philly for New Year's, and on New Year's Day, we went to the Mummer's Parade. Ben was a little overwhelmed, I think, and Aaron was just really cold. We stayed only long enough to say we went.

* Ben has a Race Car Bed now! He loves it. The first night we set it up he slept all night in it. He hasn't really since, but he will either start off in it, or after I read books to him, we'll go in there to sleep. So, he's no longer falling asleep in our bed. If he wakes up, I'll take him into my bed, then move him (when I can, sometimes he just doesn't sleep heavily enough) back. One thing at a time, I guess.

* Aaron is still a great sleeper, but once in a while, he'll wake up. And when he does, he's up. The hard thing about the boys sleeping in the same room is that we are afraid one will wake up the other.

* Aaron is eating great. He's more of a fan of oatmeal cereal than rice, and loves squash. He's also eating sweet potatoes, peas, and green beans and we are finally introducing bananas, apples and pears a little more. We've been making all the veggies and bananas ourselves. He's also eating small cooked carrots, peas and puffs as finger foods.

* Ben is at day care only 2 day a week now. J.R.'s unemployment ran out, and now his latest extension is a bit different and he's not getting paid as regularly. Things are really tight and a huge stress, but it's working out so far. God isn't going to let us down.

* The in-laws are coming this weekend so we can do Christmas with them. J.R. and I are both excited. We all swapped names for a gift exchange with his parents and Steve and Kim, so everyone, including Kyle, will be here. Our tree looks like it needs to be recycled back to nature, but we are willing it to live for just a few more days!

* I've been made chair of the Staff Development Team at work. I'm very excited. I thought it would be an easy thing since I'm really interested in it, but it's a bit more challenging than I thought. Not in a bad way though. It's a good challenge that will help me to grow professionally as well. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to do this. We've put on one program so far, and Thursday is the big annual January workshop that is mandatory for all staff. I pray it goes well.

I think those are some of the highlights. Hopefully I can get on here a bit more often now!

Things to celebrate, and things not to celebrate

So, I've been wanting to blog for at least two weeks now, but I just haven't been able to. First, my computer has had a virus so I didn't want to infect anything. Second, J.R. has been sick, so I've been trying to take care of him, and the boys, and the house all with a busy schedule. I'm a mom, that's how it goes.

Not Going Down Without a Fight

So, the week we moved, we started Aaron on formula. As sad as it makes me, I am happy that I was able to supply all breast milk for him for 5 months (with Ben, I started supplementing at 3 months; when I went back to work). For that, I am thankful. Unfortunately, as soon as we started formula, I dried up quick!! It was a matter of weeks before we was formula all day. I'm really, really disappointed. I think I'm just very stressed out right now - I'm super busy at work and I was missing my daily appointments to pump. I reduced my appointments to two a day because I was feeling awful when I'd pump and get 2 oz. At least twice a day it seemed like I was getting a little more. Moving was a stress (although J.R. definitely had the brunt of it) and I'm stressed about finances as our rent is now higher, and J.R.'s unemployment runs out very soon. Stress reeks havoc on my body, so I think that was a big part of it.



However, I'm not going down without a fight. Two Fridays ago, Aaron was up twice overnight. I nursed him the first time he got up, and just knew that was going to be the last time. It was very sad for me, but at the same time, I felt OK. Then Sunday we were out, and he was hungry, so I tried to nurse him to see if that would calm him while the bottle warmed. He seemed OK. Monday I went pumpless to work. Tuesday morning I woke up and my t-shirt was a little wet on one side, then I saw a drop of milk on the other side after my shower. I took my pump to work and got 4.5 oz!! I was thrilled - literally dancing! That was the last time I pumped, which I have to say, does not make me sad. Since then, I have nursed Aaron three times. I'm not sure how much he got, but at least once, he had milk dripping down his cheek, and two nights ago he almost fell asleep. So, he is at least getting enough to hold him over until a bottle warms. This makes me happy!



Again, I'm happy I went all breast milk for 5 months, but I'm disappointed it took only weeks to go all formula. There were many days at the beginning I thought of how it would be so much simpler to not breastfeed. I was tired in the middle of the night and wanted help. I was sore and felt like I couldn't do anything else. I knew I just had to work through it. I did, and now, I'll miss it so much.



We started rice cereal over the weekend. He's not a huge fan, but we'll work on it. On the bright side...he's sleeping through the night!

We moved!

We did it, we offically moved into our new apartment. We didn't move too far away; we are only two miles from our old place. This apartment is bigger. We are in a complex, which I'm ok with. I've lived in complexes before, and they are nice. There are several perks. One being maintenance! I don't have to call the landlord and not have him show up. In this place, they'll actually respond. There is a gym and a lending library also. There is a swimming pool, but we have to pay for it. We probably won't because the Philadelphia swimming pools are free, so we will just go there. There is a nice one pretty close to us.

As for the apartment, the kitchen is small, but there is room to move around and there is plenty of cabinet space. Ben seems to approve of the space.

The living room/dining room area is much, much larger. There is lots of room for the kids' toys. The 2nd bedroom is bigger than the old nursery. We can fit Aaron and Ben in there. Our bedroom is a little smaller, but there is still plenty of room, and I get to keep my scrapbook area! The closet space here is unbelievable. That is one thing we definitely didn't have in the old place. We have a storage locker, but I have so much stuff to store, we are quickly running out of space. Parking is decent, even late at night. We can hear some traffic from the main road we live on, but it's not to bad. It gets loud when the windows are open, so I can't leave the kids' window open when they are trying to sleep.

We are so blessed to have the friends we do who helped us move. We were able to get the keys to the new place on Sept. 16 and we didn't end our old lease until Sept. 30. It was nice to have two weeks to move. We spent almost every night moving over a carload of stuff at a time. On the 19th, our friends Jerry and Sharon drove up from Maryland with a box trailer and grabbed all our big furniture and everything we had boxed up to that point. My friend Pete from work came over that day too, so we had some hands helping lift and move and keep two kids occupied. Then a former student came over one night, and current student came over on her day off, and watched the boys so that we could bring some more stuff over and unpack. Then the weekend of the 25th, J.R.'s parents came up and took the boys all day Saturday and by the end of the weekend, everything was out of the old place and into the new.

We still have tubs to unpack and things to put away. I'm sure it'll take us a while to get completely settled in. Mostly the stuff to put away now are the things that we just don't know what to do with yet. Although there is a lot of closet space, things are just laid out differently so it's hard to find room for some things. We also lost the desk and the paper stand, so J.R.'s computer is on an old night stand in the living room and the printer is on top of the entertainment center.

We have a lot of stuff. I have a lot of stuff. I've done three yard sales and I'm doing another one in two weeks. For a packrat (I prefer to call myself sentimental) I'm doing very well at getting rid of stuff. I've sent quite a bit to Salvation Army as well. I want to go through my holiday decorations and the toys to see if there is anything to get rid of at the next yard sale. Among other things, I also have all the baby clothes that are too small for Aaron...which by the way, means anything under 6-9 months! I'm even selling some scrapbook stuff. See, I am doing good!

A friend asked tonight if I missed the old place and without hesitation, I said NO! We are adjusting well. I love the space, it's clean, there are no mice and it feels so good to be out of the bedroom! We are enjoying actually being in the living room each night! We ate dinner at our kitchen table once! Since then, it's been covered up by stuff, but we've been doing some cleaning so we can see most of the table top again. I'm sure by the end of the week we'll be eating there as a family again.