2014 - Week 22

Monday was Memorial Day and the weather was absolutely gorgeous! Not too hot, a little breeze, lots of sun. Perfect! We were supposed to stop by my in-laws’ for a little informal BBQ, but my sister in-law and her kids wanted to go as well, and their apartment just is not big enough for all of us. So, they brought all their food over and grilled at our house instead. I really didn’t want anybody over, but at least it was nice enough to stay outside, and I didn’t actually have to do or prepare anything. While I hung out with Eliza most of the day (I gave the moby wrap a whirl today and she LOVED it, so I got to bring her outside, which she also loved!), Christian and his dad grilled, his mom prepared everything else and all of the girls ran around like crazy…playing in the sprinkler, on the swing-set, having the time of their lives. A couple of Christians’ friends stopped over for a quick beer and burger and we called it a night. Not only was today Memorial Day, but it was the last day of all of us being home! The girls head back to school tomorrow and Christian goes back to work. Boy did those two weeks fly by! With that, it was a pretty early night for all.

Playing outside

Playing with their cousins

Taking the moby wrap for a spin!

Got my Grandpa's flag set up, just in time for Memorial Day

Tuesday was the big day…Christian and the girls were up bright and early. He off to work, the girls off to school. In reality, I think they were all pretty excited. Christian gets pretty bored and antsy around the house…he can never just relax, always has to be doing something. Not that it’s a bad quality or anything, it just doesn’t mix well with an extended leave from work, and not having unlimited funds to do whatever you want. The girls were excited to see their friends and teachers again, get out of the house and get the stimulation they get from school. They’ll only be going to school Tuesday-Thursday while I’m on leave, to save a little money. I debated it for a while…I like having them in that environment, and want my time to bond with baby, so we had to find a balance that worked all around. Hopefully they don’t miss too many fun things on the days they aren’t there. Meanwhile, I spent the day relaxing, cuddling with Eliza, catching up on some shows and settling in for the new reality of my maternity leave. This time is going to go so fast, I’m just trying to take it all in. Christian picked the girls up after school and the usual chaos ensued around the house. Man those girls are loud! They were pretty excited to see baby when they got home though.

The "after" of our garden, finally ready to grow

Wednesday was a pretty good day. I woke up before Eliza, took a shower AND ate breakfast. Felt like quite the rockstar, that’s for sure! The rest of the day was pretty much the new standard…hanging out with Eliza, watching some TV and getting our rest. I’m feeling better and better every day, just about feeling back to normal, physically. Nursing is still going pretty well…still some pain to work through, some days are more exhausting than others, and she’s latched on for a good majority for the day still, but I’m determined to stick with it and avoid formula again. My goal right now is just to hit that 6 week mark…I know with Amelia, things really did change around there and become a lot easier, so I’m hoping that’s the case this time. Other than that, we were off to baseball as soon as Christian arrived home with the girls. We gave all the girls a quick bath when we got home from baseball and that was about it.

Happy 2 Weeks! And still very serious.

Finally got her uniform. So cute!

Thursday was my first really, truly productive day in a long time. Eliza actually cooperated and took some good naps today, giving me lots of time to get stuff done around the house. I did our mound of dishes, cleaned up around the upstairs, did a couple loads of laundry, and finished writing out and addressing my baby shower thank you cards (finally!). It felt good to be able to take advantage of the day and actually get some things done. I could definitely get used to getting things done during the week, being able to do things on my own schedule, rather than jamming everything into the weekends. That will be hard to adjust to once I head back to work. The evening was pretty quiet. Christian picked the big girls up, we had some dinner and hung out around the house. Olivia was VERY upset with me when I told her they weren’t going to school tomorrow, on “show and share” day. Worst Mom!

Friday was my first day home with all three girls, all day. Not gonna lie, I was a bit nervous. It’s not just the fact of three kids to take care of, it’s now knowing how things are going to go, or how everybody will adjust to a new setting. Thankfully, today actually went pretty well. The big girls were able to play outside in the yard most of the day, and they took super long naps, which helps. Other than the big girls’ constant fighting, things went pretty smoothly. I do have to say, I can see a special relationship forming between Olivia and Eliza. Olivia just LOVES her to pieces, and always wants to help her…and, she actually seems to soother her. Today, I was helping Amelia put on the 10^th bandaid of the day, when Eliza started crying out in the living room. She suddenly stopped, and when I went out to check on her, Olivia was sitting with her, stroking her head and talking to her. It was so sweet! The evening was pretty quiet around the house…Christian brought some dinner home with him and we all settled in for the night. No more late nights around here!

Working on some tummy time!

Sweating it up on a hot day!

Cooling off in the sprinkler

Saturday started off pretty busy. Because of the Holiday earlier this week, Christian had to work all day today. So, it was just me and the girls again. Only, this time, we also had swim class. It was my first time taking all three to swim class on my own, so I was pretty nervous. Luckily, Eliza still slept through the whole class, so I was able to watch the girls, get them out after class and dried off with no problem. Hallelujah! I grabbed us some lunch on the way home and it was time for some naps and relaxing. Some storms rolled in later in the afternoon, so it was a pretty quiet night around the house. I just relished in my little mom-success of the day.

Our lilies are coming in fast and furious

The lilacs are also coming in, WAY better than any other year

These are the cute stepping stones in the garden that the girls made with my mom for Mother's Day

She makes the funniest faces, always so focused!

Rico is never far away

We may have a thumb sucker on our hands...she loves it when she finds it!

Sunday marked the first day of June. I can’t believe it’s already June, this year is just flying by…almost half over already! Christian spent much of the day doing some yard work and cleaning up outside while I spent the day with a pretty crabby Eliza. Well, honestly, she’s not really crabby, it was just one of those cat nap and nurse ALL.DAY.LONG kind of days, and it just exhausts me beyond belief. Even though the actual nursing itself is going well, and FINALLY the pain is going away, I’m still struggling with nursing this time around. I don’t know why, but I just honestly don’t want to. No real, legitimate excuse, it’s just purely selfish, but it’s hard to battle away those thoughts every day. So, that’s the new demon I’m battling! Hopefully it will pass. Meanwhile, the big girls bounced between playing outside and driving daddy crazy, and playing inside and driving mommy crazy! Really, even though they drive each other crazy, I’m glad they have each other to play with and keep the other busy. I think it really saves us a ton of stress, actually being able to focus on other things and not feel like we’re neglecting them.

One of her many cat naps, even though she looks so peacefully passed out.

Sister fun

Until Next Week XOXO