Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope your day is filled with love. I'm away from my little loves today (work day, boo!), but I've heard Theo had a fun morning at school for their party and Lucy helped her mom grocery shop. Like last year, we will have an at home date once I make it home this evening. Happy day!

Church.

DSC_0035, a photo by MelissaandSusan on Flickr.

The kids and I have been attending church (and by "attending" I mean, we've been twice and our record is 45 minutes). I've taken Theo to a UU church several times, but it's kind of far and while there is a lot I like about it, it wasn't the best fit. I grew up in the Catholic church and while I have MANY issues with the church and theology in general, I do enjoy the cultural and traditional aspects of Mass. I searched around and found a parish that could be the twin sister to the church I grew up in. I emailed with the family life director and found that they have a very supportive LGBT ministry and even participate in pride events. The email I received back was long, thoughtful and heartfelt. I felt like it would be ok to try it out.

This morning was our second go 'round. I don't feel good about leaving the kids in the nursery (Lucy wouldn't stay anyway) and I overestimated Theo's ability to sit still. So, the first time didn't last long at all. This time I got smart and brought the Leap Pad and earbuds. Worked like a charm. Lucy is really good and just watches and sings and talks quietly. We go to the 9:30 Mass which seems to be the one everyone brings their kids to. They both did great this morning.

This morning's homily (like a sermon to the non Catholics in the group) was all about including and honoring everyone, even those that are different. He somehow related this to the story of lepers in the bible, but I was distracted. Anyway, I was left with a feeling that we were wanted and included, just the way we are. Not something religion typically does a good job of. They also had a baby baptized this morning, which was so sweet to watch.

So, I think we will continue to try it out. It's in walking distance from the neighborhood we hope to move to next year. I want the sense of a church community for the kids as well as the grounding feeling tradition brings. So far, so good. I hope they don't disappoint me.

And to be honest, I enjoy having a reason to dress the kids up. This picture is baby girl this morning. That jumper is to die for and she hadn't worn it yet!

On ending nursing.

When Theo stopped nursing, it was so hard. I wrote about it. I will do that for Lucy, but just haven't yet. I feel guilty about that, but I think it's largely because I was REALLY ready. I was committed to letting her lead the way just like I did with Theo and I did that. And three weeks ago, I finally accepted that she was over it. She was down to nursing just at night and she wouldn't latch, she'd just reach for her crib. Sister always knows what she wants and after her bath and PJs, she wanted to snuggle in her crib. Fair enough.

So, we made it 14.5 months and like big brother, she never had a drop of formula. She's the last baby I will ever nurse. It was bittersweet for sure. Though, after sharing my body with another human for nearly 4 years, I was more than ready to have it back. It's nice to have the freedom to grab dinner with a friend after work now and again and let Susan handle bedtime. It's nice to not worry if the only thing I've had to drink all day was a cup of coffee and a diet Coke. It's nice to take any old medicine I want for whatever ailment I have. I'm happy to just worry about myself for awhile (well, physically I mean).

That said, I will always miss nursing. It's sacred and special - growing another person. For both of my kids, I know I gave them something that no one else in the world could. I am very proud of that, especially considering how difficult the early weeks were. And soon I will write Lucy that letter for her book, so she will always know that no matter how hard it was, we made it through and we are both better for it.

Walkin' fool.

DSC_0137, a photo by MelissaandSusan on Flickr.

It took her until she was 15 months, but she is a full time walker now. And girlfriend thinks she is GROWN now and won't let you do a confounded thing for her. She wants to walk, climb, stand on anything and everything. She also said "no!" to me twice this morning, something big brother has yet to do. There's a reason I call her Sass.

Day in the life.

I know that one day I will wonder how we spent our days, so here's a typical day in the life. Feel free to skip - this will be boring for anyone but me! Every day is a little different depending on if it's a work day for me or school day for Theo. I picked Monday, because we are home.

6:00 - 6:30: Kids wake up

I get Lucy first, get her to put her paci in the crib, change her diaper and get her a smoothie.

Get Theo up, take off diaper, take him to the potty, put on his undies and get him a smoothie.

Make us all breakfast and eat with the kids (sometimes).

8:00 - 10:00: Morning chores, get ready for the day.

Usually the kids watch PBS Kids while I empty the dishwasher and clean up after breakfast.

Make beds, open curtains, pick out clothes for the kids, throw in some laundry, quick pick up. Then I get each of them dressed, teeth and hair brushed, etc. I get myself ready and figure out our day. *This is hard. I can't shower with them alone and I hate showering at night.

10:00 - 12:00: Errands.

This is usually when we are out of the house. Target, post office, grocery store, park, etc. Sometimes we go walk around the mall. We all get stir crazy, so getting out is important! If we don't go out, we play at home, do some learning games, crafts, playdoh, etc.

12:00: Lunch.

I fix the kids their lunch and clean up the toys and chaos from the morning while they eat.

12:30 - 2:30 or 3: Nap!

Mama's favorite time of day. Kids go down for a nap and I eat lunch, clean up lunch dishes and then play on the computer, watch TV or prep dinner. Sometimes I shower here if I just threw on yoga pants earlier in the day. Rarely do I nap because I always feel groggy and gross if I take a nap.

3:00: Kids up.

I try not to let them sleep past 3, but don't wake them up unless it's after 3:30. Usually we don't go out in the afternoon because by the time we did that and got anywhere, we'd be fighting rush hour to get home and 5:00 is the witching hour around here. Usually the kids play while I fold laundry, make dinner, etc. Sometimes we do run up to the park because it's really close.

5:00: Witching hour.

This is when everyone is melting. Kids are hungry, I'm trying to fix dinner, etc. Susan often has clients on Monday evenings, so she isn't always around to help out (but it's great when she is!). So, sometimes they get to pick a movie so that we can all survive and make it to dinner time.

5:30 or 6:00: Dinner

We try and eat together and we really do almost every night. Not on Tuesdays because I get home late, but every other night we do. After dinner the kids run around and play a bit while I frantically try and finish up dishes, get out PJs, fix Theo a water cup for bed, cut Lucy's meds, etc.

6:30: Bedtime routine.

Susan usually does Monday night baths if she is here. While she does that, I finish dishes and do all the bedtime prep. Once they are clean, I take Lucy and brush her teeth and put on her diaper and PJs. She doesn't nurse anymore and she's always ready to get in her crib. I turn on the sound machine and put her in with her loveys and pacis. She's out fast.

If I am here by myself, Theo plays in the tub while I get Lucy down (don't call CPS, I am like 5 feet away). Then I get him out, brush his teeth and hair, put on his bedtime diaper and PJs and we read a story in his bed. He gets one story and one song and one ticklefest. Then he gets tucked in with his loveys and blanket. Sometimes he knocks out fast and other times, he talks to himself for awhile. They are both in bed at 7:00.

7:00: Mama time!! We usually finish up dishes, clean up the living room, set the dishwasher to run, take out the trash, soak the diapers (if it's wash night) and kind of "reset" the house for tomorrow. If we are doing a crock pot meal the next day, sometimes I will prep it at night. Then we just watch TV, play at the computer, veg out, eat ice cream, etc. I try to be in bed at 10pm.

That's it! Of course, I left out all the times I take Theo to the potty, change Lucy's diaper, let the dog in and out, find missing toys that must be located right.this.minute, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, etc. :) We are rarely bored!

2011, in review.

I always love looking back to see how our years go by! This one was harder because to be honest, our sweet little girl made the first half of the year a total blur. She became more manageable somewhere around June, but to that point it was pure survival mode.

January:

Lucy rolls over, Theo sings ABCs, we join Marbles Kid Museum, we get a dusting of snow.

February:

I joined Weight Watchers (didn't last), we had a Valentine's date at home, Gran and Grandad visit Raleigh, we visit Gramma and Papa in Richmond, Theo gets promoted from his high chair to a booster seat at the table, Lucy starts "talking."

March:

Susan's grandad dies, we see lots of family for the funeral (many of whom meet Lucy for the first time), Theo gets a tricycle (he still can't ride it!), we get a new rug, Gramma visits and we play at Marbles, Lucy's first trip to the zoo.

April:

Lucy and I begin a swimming class, we narrowly miss being hit by a tornado and are without power for days (so we packed it in and went to Richmond), our friend Sarah saves gallons of my breast milk from certain demise, we go back to Richmond for Easter, Lucy begins eating solids.

May:

Lucy gets her ears pierced, we go strawberry picking, Susan turns 30-something, Lucy and I fly to Atlanta and back in a day to meet friends and see Aunt Sammy's new house, Lucy sits up, Theo finishes his first year of preschool with flying colors, Gramma visits and we take her to an outdoor concert, Theo begins potty training.

June:

Theo is potty trained, hallelujah!, Lucy pulls to stand, swimming playdate, we visit our friend Kelsi and meet chickens, we visit Richmond and have fun in the fountains, we visit friends in Charlottesville and Melissa weeps all the way home because she wants to move back, Lucy begins to turn a corner towards being a bit easier.

July:

4th of July event in Rolesville (which Theo still talks about), Theo takes a tumbling class, we go on vacation to the Great Wolf Lodge during which Theo gets a terrible burn on his finger.

August:

Theo plays in the rain, Gran and Grandad come to visit, Lucy gets promoted to a big girl carseat, we go to a birthday party at Hillridge Farms, Lucy begins crawling, Gramma visits.

September:

We visit Richmond (twice), Melissa runs (ok, walks) the Charlottesville 4 Miler, Theo starts his second year of preschool, Lucy begins standing unassisted, we fail at apple picking (AGAIN).

October (look out!):

The kids and I attend Heritage Festival in Raleigh, we visit Richmond and NoVA for Alex's birthday party, Lucy takes her last bottle, Melissa turns 30-something, our family visits for Lucy's birthday, we go to the state fair, we go to the pumpkin patch, Lucy turns ONE!, Lucy takes steps, Susan saves Halloween.

November:

Theo turns THREE!, Theo's birthday party at Marbles, we visit Richmond for Thanksgiving, we go to Maymont Park.

December:

Stomach flu 2011, we visit Richmond to celebrate an early Christmas, we meet Legendary Santa, an elf comes to our house, we make many crafts, we have Christmas at home as a family, Lucy takes 10 steps but still won't walk!, we celebrate the New Year with friends and their kids at an early potluck.

WHEW. Are you tired? We didn't even really do much of anything and I'm tired just thinking of it. Writing this taught me three things: 1) I should not neglect the blog, because that makes writing this harder; 2) I visit Richmond a LOT. There is to be no complaining from grandparents about lack of face time with the kids; 3) Our kids were in summer clothes beginning in March. I can't believe they will be back in shorts in three months when I am still taking tags off of winter clothes. Ugh.

We have a lot to look forward to in this new year. A little bit of traveling (but hopefully less, because I am sick of traveling), Theo and I will see The Lion King together in March, Lucy will begin her first year of school this fall and the kids will turn yet another year older. I've said it before, but it's so, so true: the days are long, but the years are so short.

Happy New Year!

Christmas, 2011

DSC_0200, a photo by MelissaandSusan on Flickr.

We had a very nice, relaxing little Christmas at home. We decided to stop traveling on Christmas and it's been a great decision. This year, Theo was really into all the traditions and excitement, which was really fun.

On Christmas Eve, we had a picnic on the living room floor with appetizers. We had a fire going and let the kids watch the cartoon Grinch while we ate. Then we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. While we were gone, Reindeer (our elf) left to go back to the north pole until next year, but he left us gifts to open and a note. Christmas PJs for everyone! After we got changed, we read Twas the Night Before Christmas and then put Lucy to bed. After she was tucked in, we wrote to Santa, sprinkled magic reindeer food on the lawn and had donuts by the fire. Susan went to bed early (sick on Christmas, boo!) and I stayed up and went to midnight Mass.

The next morning, we just watched the kids open gifts, had a nice breakfast and then lounged around and played with new toys, watched Christmas movies and Skyped with the grandparents. I made a little dinner - ham, potatoes and green beans and the kiddos went to bed a little early while Susan and I played a card game.

I didn't open a single gift and yet, I had a wonderful Christmas. I loved watching the kids open their stuff and play. Quality time with all 4 of us at home was all the present I needed.

We have one more Christmas in January with Susan's family and then we will finally get to rest and relax and take a break from traveling. With all the birthdays and holidays that consume us from October through Christmas, we've been so, so busy. We've already packed away all the decorations and gotten the house back in order, so we are one step closer to a few low key months.

Hope everyone's Christmas was as nice and family centered as ours!