Gone are the days when I sneak in a quick nap while the kids are sleeping. If you’ve seen me lately, chances are I’m running on fumes and haven’t put on makeup in at least 5 days. This is the life of a stay-at-home mom. And I love it. (most of the time)

We have had a lot of fun the past few weeks– two weekends ago my parents and Krysta took the twins and Adam and I enjoyed some Eli time. Having just 1 kid to take care of, that is “normal,” was incredible! Incredibly fun, incredibly easy, and almost incredibly relaxing. He did take that time to go through a growth spurt, so he was attached to me about every 2 hours during the day. Thank goodness, he still slept through the night! Sam and Jack had a great time with Auntie and Grandma and Grandpa. Jack came back basically knowing how to read. 🙂

That weekend gave us the opportunity to go out to eat with some friends, catch up on stuff around the house, and do lots of studying.

This past weekend our good friends Matt and Jenna came to visit! We went out to eat, played with the boys, and they got a definite glimpse into their future with a toddler… It can be fun, very fun… but definitely not always pretty. They got to experience a few Jack meltdowns– lucky them 🙂 It was so great to see them, and we are very lucky we have such good friends.

Here’s a little update on my two favorite kids over the age of 2:

Sam

He has been doing so well at the feeding clinic lately. Right now we are working on chewing with the use of a “chew tube” and just recently started self-drinking. He is doing AMAZING with the drinking, and getting there with chewing! I still can’t say he loves eating… But he is more interested in food than ever before. Unfortunately, this new-found chewing has also led to him grinding his teeth. It used to be all the time, but now it’s when he gets nervous or bored. Luckily, that’s not very often– but I worry about his teeth! His Pediasure has a ton of sugar, he vomits often, and now grinding his teeth? Luckily these are his baby teeth, and “practice” teeth.

Sam also knows all of his animal sounds… It is adorable! His favorite is the gorilla. He actually has become a little less talkative, but more knowledgeable. He can find all the animals/cars/people in books and pictures and the same goes for understanding directions. He runs to the door when I say we’re going to the car, he has started to concentrate more on building blocks and doing puzzles, and shows more interest in learning new things.

We’ve still been battling the aggression against Jack. Sam can be a bully, and he will literally tackle Jack or horse-collar him. Too bad he can’t play football, because he would be kind of awesome. Timeouts don’t seem to be working, but we are staying consistent and hoping that will help.

He has also gotten in trouble at pre-preschool… For throwing things. Since he could crawl, he has had an OBSESSION with throwing. So, basically, for about a year I’ve been trying to stop this behavior. Stubborn Sam has only improved mildly. I’m hoping his teacher Jamie can get through to him just a little. Maybe being disciplined by someone other than me will do him some good!

Sam is also obsessed with singing and music. I can’t even tell you how many times in a day I have to sing Wheels on the Bus and The Ants Go Marching… I’m annoyed with myself just thinking about it. But not only does it make him happy, it also instantly calms him down and also helps him concentrate on eating.

This kid is the smiliest, happiest, and coolest little boy. His happiness is infectious. He can be pissing me off and making me lose my mind, and with one smile or laugh immediately changes my mood. He knows it too– he can work his Momma big time.

Jack

I could not ask for a sweeter little boy. This kid loves to give hugs, kisses, and hold hands with strangers (going to have to work on that eventually). The love he has for his brothers is absolutely adorable. I catch him giving Eli hugs and kisses at random (see pic below) and while Sam prefers to horse-collar, Jack prefers to give actual hugs.

He is also quite the little talker these days! He is obsessed with saying the ABC’s (although he is not a fan of the letter C… skips it all the time. “Aaa… Beee… Deee…”). When he’s in his crib, he is either saying the ABC’s, “rawring” like a lion, or laughing at something Sam “said.”

Lately he has been making trains out of everything… Cars, shoes, Mega Bloks, puzzle pieces… you name it. Tonight he was silent and as a mother of a toddler, you naturally assume something disastrous is happening. Nope… my little man was grabbing every pair of shoes from the entryway and building a huge “train.”

Jack has also become good friends with the timeout corner. He likes to throw food on the floor, hit his brothers and then stare at Adam and me, and just act like your typical 2-year-old. Today for lunch I gave him peanut butter toast, his favorite, and without taking a bite, he threw the entire plate to the floor. And then started wailing. Really?! It is honestly so hard not to laugh at some of these tantrums.

And this video… I die over the cuteness. Jack loves to play with Sam’s cups/syringe:

The Parents

Yep, I’m even going to update you on the life of Adam and me!
Adam has been staying busy with work, and I love to complain that he isn’t home enough. And then I stop to think that he’s home about 60% more than he used to be, and 70% more than if he were in almost any other residency! He really does a great job of balancing work life with family life. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful husband and daddy.

I’m still finding my way with the life of being a stay-at-home-mom. Truth be told, today was one of those days where I searched for jobs and thought “get me the hell out of this house!” About 2 minutes into my search, I looked over at my kids and Sam and Jack were passing books back and forth and Eli was staring at his brothers, and I clicked out of the search. This is where I’m meant to be, and I love it 95% of the time. Working moms have my utmost respect, but I just couldn’t do it.

We just found out that Sam should have/does qualify for FREE daycare. What? Yep, you heard me right. Would this have changed our decision when I quit work? Maybe. But probably not. However, it would have been nice to know about this program because it also would have paid for our nanny…Not too happy with Sam’s care coordinators at the moment, but what can we do. Adam and I are going to get in touch with some people and let them know about the program to help other families out in the future. Being on this side of the health system has been really eye-opening. I have met so many families similar to ours, and when we trade stories, at least one of us walks away knowing their child is eligible for some other service. These things are HUGE for a family like ours– Sam is an expensive child, and a child that not everyone can take care of. Having qualified nurses take care of your child every day would be nice.

I can’t say it enough– I absolutely LOVE being home with my children, but it’s not easy. Hardest job out there, but it’s all worth it. Love you boys!