When Will the Tantrum Barfing Stop?!?

Today we had a "throw such a bad tantrum in the grocery store that we have to leave without groceries" moment. It was wonderful. Especially the part before we left the grocery store where people were actually stopping and pointing at us as they whispered to their shopping companions what a horrible child I had. Seriously, all that was missing was some popcorn and some lawn chairs.

It started because I had the nerve to unbuckle her from her carseat instead of letting her do it herself. Because I was in a hurry and because when she does it herself it takes her 10 minutes and for-the-love-of-God, just let me take it off for you already! So she was already kicking and screaming before we walked into the store. And I made the rookie mistake of thinking "oh, she'll calm down, it will be fine". It was not fine.

And then to top it off, once we got back to the car after our wonderful mid-shopping tantrum, it just got worse as she started screaming "I wanna go back inside!!!!! Back inside!!!!!!!" As I wrestled her writhing, kicking, screaming body into her carseat, she got so bad that she threw up all over herself.

At this point I gave the day up for lost. On the way home I stopped quickly at a friends house to tell her that we wouldn't be making it to our regularly planned "put the kids to nap in a separate room and surrender ourselves to 3 trashy hours of Kardashians" date that was in half an hour. She saw how upset I was so being the good friend she is, she gave me a half a loaf of freshly baked banana chocolate chip bread to take home. Which I promptly ate in it's entirety during the 2 minute drive home. Emotional eating at it's best, folks.

My only comfort (other than that glorious bread!) is that I get to hang out with my girlfriends this evening at a pedi party. Sangria here I come!

Tot School

I'll be starting my Tot School posts at my new blog tomorrow if you're interested in following along. :)

The Boy

He's been sitting on his own for about a month.

He started eating baby food and less than a month later he promptly decided that he was above being spoon fed. As in every time I bring a babyfood filled spoon within a five foot radius of his mouth he screams bloody murder. So I gave in and he's happily learning how to stuff soft foods into his own mouth.

He's stubborn. (Wonder where he got that from?) He knows what he want and he knows how to get it. (Loving eyes and adorable smiles in case you're wondering. Or screaming. Either way he has us wrapped around his little finger).

He's a master sleeper. About a week before we went to San Antonio we realized that he had to be sleeping on his own. The bed we would be staying on at Philip's mom's house was a full and there was no way all three of us could fit on it. So we put him in his own room and *gasp* let him cry it out. I know, I know, I'm a horrible mommy. The longest he's ever cried was 30 minutes and now a few weeks later he never cries at all. I figured he's 8 months old. He doesn't need to eat in the middle of the night anymore, and the better rested he is at night the happier he'll be. And he is.

The quiet baby moments are swiftly passing by. He wants to be playing and getting into things, not snuggling. But those magical times when he's sleepy or nursing or just in a quiet mood, I hold him close and try to breathe in every moment of baby bliss while I still can.

I Love...Lamp?

Today as my dear child was running around naked in the front room while I made dinner I heard her say "I love you books!".

That's when her daddy found her strapping some of her books into the double stroller like they were her babies.

I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the sad nerdy little tree.

*20 points if you can tell me what movie the title comes from. :)

When Two Arms Just Aren't Enough

Last night I was woken up in the middle of the night by Philip searching around the room for the gripe water. Michaela was awake and she was screaming uncontrollably over some nightmare she had. Unintentionally, Philip's searching and Michaela's screams had woken Rafael up too so he was also crying. I started searching around for the gripe water also, but for the life of me could not find it anywhere. On one of my umpteenth trips around the house to search, Michaela saw or heard me and called out for me to hold her. I stood there in the hallway looking at my baby girl who was so upset, and even though Philip was hugging her and trying to comfort her, in that moment she wanted me. Across the hallway Rafael was screaming, angry that he had been woken up and just wanting some comfort to get back to sleep.

What do you do when you have two children that need you at the same time? It is probably one of the hardest things to deal with when you have two children. I can only imagine what a mom with 3 or more little ones feels like.

I realized that Michaela needed me just a little bit more at that moment so I picked her up and snuggled her until her sobbing became more even and she was able to calm down a little bit. Philip walked Rafael around and around the house until he calmed down and for a moment the house was quiet. After a while Michaela asked for "Daddy hold you" so I switched off with Philip and he was able to get her back to sleep while I got Rafael back to sleep.

I'm so thankful I have such a loving husband who knows how to be tender and comforting to his children, because right now my two arms just aren't enough, and probably never will be.

Chicago Trip - Part 3

We drove back to Chicago the next morning and dropped Philip's cousin off at the airport. Our hotel room wasn't ready yet, so we ate lunch and then played at a little park until it was.

We tried to go to a little frozen custard place in Lincoln Park but the traffic was so bad and there was no parking at all, so we ended up just eating at McDonalds and heading back to the hotel. Luckily we saw another frozen custard place on the way back, so we ate there and then relaxed for the rest of the night.

The next morning we packed up and headed to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Again, the traffic was really bad, it started raining, and we had to make a 2:30pm flight home anyway, so we didn't get to see all that we wanted, but it was still nice.

The flight home was horrible. We ran out of Michaela's diapers and didn't have room to pack a newly purchased package so we tried to use up the last of her swim diapers instead. Apparently swim diapers don't hold as much as regular diapers.

So she peed out of her swim diaper at the airport and we had already checked our luggage so she was running around pants-less. I was THAT mother. Then she decided to throw a tantrum right before we got on the plane, about the same time Rafael decided he was hungry. So we boarded the airplane with 2 screaming children, trying really hard to ignore the glares from the flight attendants and other passengers. Rafael calmed down as soon as we sat down and I could feed him. 2 hours into the 4 hour flight, Michaela finally calmed down a bit and was able to play with some toys the lovely flight attendants had plied her with.

We were so glad to finally get home and relax. I'll tell you though, that experience is not something I would wish on my greatest enemy! I think we'll stick to driving from now on!

Chicago Trip - Part 2

After we left the Children's Museum, we picked up Philip's cousin from the airport and drove down to Southbend. We had been planning to meet up with a good friend who lives in Michigan for dinner after we dropped off Philip's cousin and let the kids take a quick nap at our bed and breakfast.

Unfortunately the traffic was really bad and we didn't count on there being a difference in time zones. We didn't get a chance to get back to the B&B for naps, but we were still able to get together with our friend, the woman who had been campus minister when we were in college. She was like a second mother to me and I was so glad we were able to meet up.Then we drove to our B&B, which was absolutely amazing! We had to drive through a long winding road in the forest to get to it. I felt like we were driving to the Cullen's house.It was basically a little apartment over a family's garage. It was so great, and so private as opposed to a hotel.They had kids too, so they had a little jungle gym that Michaela took full advantage of.The next day we just relaxed and went to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Michaela screamed through most of the rehearsal, so I was a little worried about whether or not she actually make it down the aisle for the wedding. I ended up walking with her, but she did great.

As soon as she got down the aisle I whisked her to a quiet area right outside the entrance and bribed the quietness out of her with toys and books. She wasn't really into taking formal pictures afterward but she did wander over with a cookie in hand and plopped herself down right next to the bride and groom. I'm sure those were some cute pics.

Philip with his mom & cousin, who is the brides brother and is becoming a priest.

At the reception.

My handsome man with his Grandma.

The flower girl & ring bearer, having fun now that they are out of their fancy clothes. By the way, Michaela had been pulling at her dress the whole day and I just thought she was uncomfortable. Turns out she had a needle sewn inside the lining that was stabbing her the whole time! Yeah, we'll be getting a refund.

Philip is showing them the way to escape.

Chicago Trip - Part 1

Philip's cousin got married this past weekend in South Bend Indiana and had asked Michaela to be her flower girl. So this past Wednesday we loaded the kids into the van and headed out, knowing a 4 day road trip would be better than several hours on a plane with screaming children. Oh wait, no, we weren't that smart.

Actually, the flight over was fine. Other than me losing the folder with our passports, the kids birth certificates and our boarding passes. Yeah. Thankfully a very kind TSA agent found them and had Southwest page us. After that, things went smoothly. Michaela was kept occupied with various toys, books, and snacks, and Rafael slept most of the time. Michaela had a little bit of a meltdown when we landed, but that was understandable considering she had been up since 4:30am.

We rented a van and drove to our hotel in downtown Chicago. It was right on the river and so beautiful! After the kids took a little nap we headed out for a walk downtown and ended up at a huge public fountain in Millenium Park. Michaela had such a blast running around and getting soaked.

After we went back to the hotel to dry her off, we returned for dinner at a restaurant in the park.

This little bird had built a nest right over the entrance to the restaurant and attacked the back of my head right after I took this picture.

Then we visited the "bean," which was kind of cool.

Philip's mom flew in late that evening and the next morning we went to the Children's Museum on Navy Pier. The exhibits were amazing and we could have easily spent the rest of the day there if we hadn't of had to drive down to South Bend.

Breakfast Time

I asked Michaela if she had finished her breakfast and she told me that her babies were eating the rest. Apparently this teeny tiny gorilla and the number 2 are her babies. The next morning she had her monkeys join her for breakfast. She even gave them plates with their own food.

I love how her little mind works.

Perspective

Sometimes it's really easy to get really down on my life and wish we had more. I see the families with nicer houses, nicer cars, money to go out and do amazing things with. I look around and think of the improvements I would make to our house and to our life if we had a little bit more money. I get jealous of the couples without children or with older children who can go out, go on vacation, go to the bathroom alone or take longer than a 5 minute shower while the baby is screaming in the background for goodness sake!

But then I realize.

We have a home that is ours. In a nice neighborhood, with enough room for our growing family. We are not upside down on our payments. We are not in any risk of losing it.

We have two vehicles that are ours free and clear. They are not the top of the line, but they are ours. We don't have to worry about monthly payments or unnecessary credit.

We have no outstanding debt and while it would be nice to have a bit more money, we have enough to create a safe little "just in case" nest egg for ourselves.

We have food in our stomaches, clothes on our backs, and a faith in God that will get us through anything.

We have two gorgeous kids who are normal, healthy and happy. They make my heart so full of love that sometimes it feels like it will burst.

And Philip and I. We have each other. We're a team in this marriage and a team in raising our children. We are the steady and safe foundation for our little family. Watching how hard Philip works to provide for us, and how loving he is towards me and the kids, I know just how lucky and blessed I am.

I've realized that if I spend my entire life thinking about what could be, or what it would be nice to have, I'll waste all the time I could have spent enjoying what is.

This is what is.

And it's perfect.