Happy Holidays

We had a fantastic week celebrating Christmas. We went to Klaus restaurant on Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family for dinner. Santa even made an appearance right before dinner! It was fun, and most of the family got a picture with him, even though most of the kids cried when it was there turn to sit on his lap. It took Kenley a few minutes to warm up, but she finally did  and managed to get in one last request for what she wanted. (A white race car)

Christmas morning we were home, just the 4 of us, and opened our stockings and gifts. It was fun, and Kenley got what she asked Santa for and a lot more! Charlie got a few baby basics and a few small toys too. I got Ray a laser finder for golf, a travel bag, and a few little things. He got me a beautiful diamond infinity ring, perfume, and new work out clothes. Then we headed over to my parents house for brunch with my dad's side of the family. We had a great dinner at Ray's mom's house, and by the time we left there, we had a truck full of gifts. We were all very spoiled by our family members, and the kids go SO much. I spent a few hours the following day just going through everything and tying to find places for everything. Kenley had so much fun playing with all of her new toys all weekend long.  And, I'm sure Charlie will be enjoying his really soon too. He is just starting to reach for things, and he also got his first tooth this weekend!

We went to the Shedd Aquarium on Friday, which was the first time I have been there in a very long time. It was cool, and we saw the dolphin show, the Ice Age show, and walked around to see everything. The rest of the weekend, we ran a few errands, but mostly just stayed home and relaxed. I even squeezed in a few naps since Charlie's teething had me up (again) a million times a night. Luckily, Tylenol has helped the last two nights. Tomorrow, we are back to our regular schedule, and I am kind of happy because I have to get back to the gym!! I haven't worked out in2 weeks because of my dental surgery, and I have eaten way too much this last week.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas & has a Happy New Year!

Countdown to Santa!

It's Christmas Eve morning at 8:40, Charlie is already back to sleep for a nap, and Kenley is still sleeping! I'm going to let her sleep as long as possible because we have a busy 2days ahead.

Last week I had to have some dental surgery, and I figured it would be one day of sleeping and pretty much back to normal by Tuesday, but I was wrong. It turned out to be a bit more painful then I expected, and all the drugs I was taking combined with not eating much made me feel pretty crappy for a few days. If I would have known that, I would not have scheduled it the week before Christmas. I was still able to make it to Kenley's preschool party and my party with my co-workers, but wasn't really able to eat much or drink. It was hard taking care of the kids while trying to take care of myself, so I am so thankful I had my parents, sister, and mother-in-law and sister-in-law to help me while I was recovering and going to my follow up appointments. The worst part is that I have to have the other side of my mouth done at some point in the next few months, but at least now I know what to expect.

We celebrated my dad's birthday this weekend by going to dinner and ended up taking the kids to Odyssey fun world where we all ended up crawling through the tubes! We also went to breakfast with Santa at Drury Lane with Ray's family on Sunday and had a delicious brunch. We have had such a fun few weeks and we have been able to do a lot to prepare for Christmas. We have had multiple Santa visits between the mall, library, pre-school, and brunch, we played in the snow, decorated our gingerbread house, searched daily for our elf on the shelf, completed many Christmas crafts, looked at Christmas lights, shopped and wrapped our gifts etc.... I am excited for Charlie to have his first Christmas and for Kenley now that she is really into everything about Christmas.

These next few days we will spend with our families eating good food, exchanging gifts, and  enjoying our time together. I am happy that Ray has the rest of the week off after Christmas so we can really enjoy this time all together and relax a little after all the holiday fun. Merry Christmas everyone and enjoy this time with your family!

36 & 4 months

Kenley turned 3 is week! We had a "a Winter Wonderland" birthday party, and had family & friends over to celebrate. It was so fun watching her open her gifts and blow out her candles like such a big kid. She had a really fun day. Earlier in the week, Ray and I took her to see her very first movie at the theatre, Frozen, and she did great! I was expecting to have to leave before it was over, but she sat right the whole thing, happy as could be with her popcorn and candy. Sunday, her actual birthday we just stayed home because it was snowing and let her play with all her toys. We sang happy birthday at 5:44, and I got in lots of hugs and kisses and told her about the day she was born and how it snowed in the hospital just like it was snowing that day. Monday she celebrated her birthday at school, and she got her first haircut. We went to his adorable kids place, and although there was a huge fit thrown, she finally calmed down and sat in my lap to get her haircut. Afterward, she professed that getting her haircut was "cool and awesome" getting her haircut, and she can't wait to go back.

Charlie turned 4 months old this week, and also got his first haircut! Now, he looks a bit more stylish and less Donald Trumpish with the comb-over. On the positive side, he has been napping a little better, less crabby during the day, and we have even gotten through a few car rides without screaming. Unfortunately, the nights have been terrible. On average he wakes up about 8-10 times a night. Sadly, I am not exaggerating. He is not up very long, but I have to go in his room, give him a few sips of his bottle, replace his paci.  It's pretty rough having my sleep interrupted so often. I really don't know what to do, but he has his check-up next week so I will talk to the doctor. He is making lots of noises, gurgles, and really laughs now. He is also squirming around more, and he's getting close to rolling over. I just hope he starts sleeping better ASAP!

I have a lot of Christmas gifts already, but I haven't wrapped one single thing. It's kind of hard to do when Kenley is around since I have a lot of gifts for her, so I will probably try to do some one day while she is at school. I have my Girl's night Christmas party with all of my high school friends on Friday, and next week I have a party with all of my co-workers. I'm looking forward to both of them and catching up with my friends.

 

 

December Already!

I've been kind of a slacker on updating and posting pictures, but didn't want to forget to write about a few big things we've had going on,

We had Charlie's Christening over 2 weeks ago already. It went really well, and It was fun to celebrate with our family and friends. Charlie did really well at church and only had a little meltdown at the very end when we were trying to get some pictures. He looked so handsome in his outfit too. Charlie is very blessed to have 4 Godparents- his 2 aunts and 2 uncles. We had a lunches at An Italian restaurant nearby and the food was great! It was a good day, and one of many more to come celebrating with our little man.

Our Thanksgiving was really nice, and we managed to go to my grandma's house, Ray's aunt's house, and a final stop to my other grandparents house. It was busy, and I was exhausted by the end of the night, but I'm glad we were able to see the whole family. We had lots of delicious food, and had a nice time just hanging out.  It was Charlie's first big holiday, and he did pretty good. I tried not to get stressed the way I used to when Kenley was that little, and I think I was a bit more relaxed, which made it more fun for me too. Plus, it always helps when there are lots of people willing to hold and comfort a baby!

Even though I was so tired, I chugged some Pepsi Max and head to Kohl's around 9:30 pm Thanksgiving night. I know many people are against stores being open on Thanksgiving, but the past 2years it has been much easier to spend the whole day with family, tuck the kids in, and then meet up with my mom and sister for a little shopping. There was no trampling people, fights, or rudeness that we witnessed, and for us it has always been our little "girls" tradition to do "black Friday" shopping. In a few years, I will bring Kenley with me. It was fun, and we got a pretty good start on our Christmas shopping.

I joined a gym last week, and so far, I am loving it!! It has been such a struggle trying to work out at home even just for a half hour a day. Even though I have usually managed to sneak it in each day, sometimes it takes me half a day jut to do it. I always wait until Charlie is asleep and Kenley seems content watching a cartoon for a little while, but some days having those two things happen at the same time take forever. The gym has daycare, so I took Charlie there 2days this week while Kenley was at preschool. I felt like I was much more productive to get my workout in early in the morning  without having to worry about the kids, and then we could get on with the rest of our day. I'm planning on taking both kids with tomorrow, and I hope Kenley likes the kids area because I am hoping to go at least 4 times a week. I'm really excited about it, and I hope this helps me continue getting back into shape.

We have a busy few weeks ahead with Kenley's birthday next weekend, holiday parties, and Christmas just around the corner. We got all of our decorations up over the past 2 weeks, and I am ready to enjoy this special time of year. Exactly one year ago, I got a positive pregnancy test and found out our 2nd child was on the way. I'm so happy he is here now, and he can celebrate the holidays with us, but where did the year go? I guess I'll be getting sentimental with Kenley turning 3 too. Time, please slow down!!

Princess and the Frog!

Here I am blogging, kids asleep, husband away for the weekend, and it's finally time for me to relax. Things have gotten much better with Charlie, and he finally got some medicine and seems to have kicked his sickness. It still seems like it really jet depends on the day if Charlie is going to take a few long naps, or just cat-nap all day. The days are much easier when he takes longer stretches of naps and it gives me more time to get stuff done, spend time with Kenley, and he is easier to take out. Or, there are days like today when I have to eat lunch in 5 minutes, get off the treadmill 5 times during a 30 minute run, and let Kenley watch too many cartoons. Yesterday, I took them both to story time at the library, and it was great! I think we will be going back there really soon, and we finally got a library card.

We had a great time on Halloween, even though the weather wasn't great. I got to go to preschool with Kenley for her party. It was so cute to finally put a face to all of her friends that she talks about. We might be in trouble though because most of them seem to be boys! Hmmmmm....

Kenley had so much fun answering the door for our tick-or-treaters, and didn't seem to mind one bit that we waited around for a while since Ray got stuck in bad traffic on the way home. She had a blast going around our neighborhood, and would scream "trick-or-treat" at the top of her lungs, many times even before the person answered the door.  She got tons of candy, and I've been taking handfuls out of her bag each day and hiding it away so she won't notice. We also stopped by my sister's house and were able to get some of my favorite pictures of her & Kayla. Unfortunately, getting Charlie in too was pretty much impossible, but one of these days we will try for one of all 3 of them.

Over the weekend, we went to Greg's bodybuilding competition to cheer him on. He worked his ass off preparing for this and has had the dedication of a saint with working out and following a strict diet. Then, Ray and I went to one of his co-worker's weddings at the Knickerbocker Hotel. We had such a fun night, but definitely paid for it on Sunday. Luckily, I got myself together to go to one of my best friend's baby shower! Joan's baby boy is due in December, and I am so excited that we will have boys just a few months apart. It is so awesome that my pregnancy overlapped with all 3 of my best friend's pregnancies this year. Now we all get to experience motherhood together and can really relate to one another.

Well, it's 10pm, and I'm already ready for bed. I know Charlie will be calling for me soon, so I'm about to get as much sleep as possible!

Jokes on me

Pretty ironic that just last week I wrote about my thoughts so far about being at home with the kids. Little did I know that it would lead me into our most challenging week so far.  I didn't mention that Charlie had been a bit fussy for a few days. To be honest, he has been more challenging than Kenley as far as having some fussiness with his bottles and many days only cat-napping in between bouts of crankiness. I ended up taking him to the doctor on Friday after he wouldn't eat much at all on Thursday, barely getting any sleep because he cried every hour, and being more cranky than usual as the week went on. The doctor said they didn't see any signs of major sickness except for a bit of a stuffy nose. We decided that I would switch to the gentle formula and try some medicine for acid reflux.
As of now, I don't think that is the problem, but I'm willing to keep trying it until Friday when we go back to the doctor. I think Charlie might just be a little sick, and that is making him not sleep or eat well. I really don't know, is he just colicky, sick, or just a crabby baby? But, it's been a tough 10 days! It's hard to get much done and to give Kenley the attention she deserves when I have to try to calm Charlie down every 45 minutes. It's frustrating and heartbreaking to have your baby screaming and not know how to help him. I'm just trying to stay patient and positive knowing that it will get better, hopefully sooner rather than later. Today, I got about an hour in with him being happy and smiley, which is about the longest stretch we've had lately.
I still took the kids to Ray's work party, and by some miracle, the 2 hour drive it took us to get there wasn't too bad. I was so nervous about driving into the city with them by myself considering that Charlie had been so fussy that night and morning. The only good thing about going .1 mile and hour was that I was able to reach back and feed Charlie and give him his paci in traffic. We had a great time letting Kenley trick-or-treat around his office, and I'm glad we made it there. (Even thought it was literally almost 4 hours in the car for a 1 hour party) I know she is very excited about Thursday to go to her party at school and trick-or-treat around the neighborhood.
In other positive news, I finished the 5k on Saturday in under 34 minutes! Not too bad since Ive only been running for about 8 weeks and for a hilly course. My mom also ran the whole thing, and I am proud of both of us. I'm hoping to stay on the treadmill throughout winter, and I'm looking forward to using our jogging stroller next Spring.
For the record, I'm still glad I am home with my kids, and I wouldn't trade this difficult week for an easy week at work. Honestly, I couldn't imagine how I would function doing both with the minimal hours of sleep I've gotten a few nights. I'm tucking in early tonight and hoping that Charlie lets me get a few hours at a time at least!

*I wrote this on Monday/Tuesday, and I am happy to report that Charlie has been soooo good today.  I'm hoping he stays this way!  Leads me to think he really was sick with something.  Fingers crossed....

Stay at home momma

As my baby boy is quickly approaching his 12 week mark, I can't help but think that this would be about the time I would be going back to work on a "typical" maternity leave. I was lucky enough to take off about 16 weeks with Kenley, and I went back after our Spring Break that year. As I've said before, I am LOVING being at home with the kids, and I am so greatful that I am able to have this time with them. We really have spent very few days "at home" and I think I can count on one hand the times that we have actually stayed home the entire day without going anywhere. I know it might not be as easy once the winter comes, but even though it is not always easy to leave the house with both kids, I try my best to have something to do every day. Many of those out and about days might only consist of running a few quick errands, taking the kids somewhere to play for a while, or grocery shopping, but it gets us out and gives us something to do on days we don't have any plans.

I've read a few blogs and articles recently about being a stay at home mom vs. working, and I always find them interesting. People like to argue which one is "easier" or "harder," and I don't want to take sides, but at least feel like I can make a judgement for myself now that I have experienced both. I can say that I have not even had one half of a second where I missed working. (Well, other than the obvious of receiving a paycheck) Even the times when both kids have been crying hysterically, or when it has taken us way to long to get out the door, or even the night that I barely got any sleep because both kids were on rotation for waking up at all hours of the night.

I feel overwhelmed at even the thought of going back to work at some point. Other than the biggest perk of spending my time with the kids, it is so nice to be able to do all the errands, cleaning, shopping, doctor appointments, etc during the day and not have to cram that into the nights and weekends. I think that was the hardest part of working even with just one child was getting all of that done too because after working all day I hated giving up more time away from Kenley to do all of those necessary, but time-consuming things. I also don't feel bad about having a little "me" time every once and a while. Ray and I have already had 2 date nights, and we have a wedding coming up in another week. It's not as hard leaving the kids for a few hours, or a night when I know I will be with them all week. I know we are SO lucky to have parents that love to spend time with our kids and allow us to have those times to ourselves.

I am so excited that next week I get to attend Kenley's Halloween party at pre-school and help out. It's going to be really fun to get to know her teachers and classmates since I only see them for a minute or two when I drop off/pick up. This is one of the things I know I would be missing out on if I was working. Today Kenley helped make chocolate covered pretzels for her class, and she was naming all her friends they were for. Tomorrow I am taking the kids to Ray's office for their annual Halloween party. I know Kenley will have a blast, and it will be fun to have Ray's co-workers meet Charlie for the first time.

My first 5k is is weekend, and I'm really excited and a little nervous about it. I'm proud of myself that I've been running at least 5 times a week, and I've worked my way up to those 3 miles. I've made good progress considering at the end of my pregnancy it was difficult to even walk to the park a few blocks away! My mom is doing this 5k too, and I know she has been working hard to get ready for it too. The hardest part will be the hills since it takes place in my hometown of Hickory Hills, and I know there are a few steeps ones we will have to run up. My main goal is just to run the whole thing without stopping, but I would like to finish in under 40 minutes.

Halloween pictures to come soon! I really hope I can get a good one of the kids together in their costumes!

Fall fest mania

We have been going to so many fall fests, pumpkin patches, etc these last few weeks that I think Kenley expects everywhere we go to have either a hayride or a petting zoo. Friday, Ray took the day off work so that we could go to Bengston's with the kids to try to beat some of the weekend madness. We didn't think about the fact that there would be a ton of schools on field trips, but we still had a great time. (Especially once the schools left!) I've had the kids in Halloween outfits almost every day the past few weeks too, since Kenley has at least 6-7 different outfits. I just can't resist the holiday outfits, and I can't wait to buy some Christmas/Winter outfits although at don't want to rush winter at all.

Ray and I had a great night out for my birthday and went to the new outlet mall in Rosemont, went to Morton's Steakhouse for dinner, and went out to a few of the bars in the area. We stayed overnight in the area, ordered room service breakfast, and I dozed in bed until we checked out at 11:00am.

Charlie turned 2 months old is week. He seems so big to me for some reason! He has a doctor appointment this week, so I am interested to see how much he has grown. He is sleeping pretty good, and most nights wakes up around 1am and around 5. He loves his swing and spends a lot of time in there napping during the day when we are home. He loves to be swaddled, and it helps calm him down a lot when he gets fussy. Kenley is still being a great big sister and she really loves Charlie. The first thing she does in the mornings is go right up to him to hug and kiss him. She also loves calling him by nicknames including "Bubbies", "Chuckle Buckle", or anything else silly she makes up or hears Ray or I say to him.

We are very sad that our dog, Jake, died last week. He hadn't been doing well the last month, but it still came as a shock. We will miss him very much. It's was very hard on Ray since he had Jake since college, and it has been difficult to explain to Kenley when she brings it up. We have told her that he is in heaven with Grandpa Ray, but I know it is still hard for her to understand. Thanks to everyone who sent their condolences to us over the past few days.

End of September

How is it already the end of September? I can't believe it! It really crept up on me. My days have been filled with taking care of and entertaining the kids and working out. Those are my two priorities these days, and I feel like its a pretty good day if I have been successful with both. I am so glad that the weather has been gorgeous so we have been able to be outside almost every day. We just got our swing set completed on Monday, and Kenley loves it! I'm sure Charlie is going to love it too as soon as he is big enough to sit in the bucket swing. I am also lucky at I have so many friends with kids that are able to get together during the week. We have had at least one play date a week, which gives Kenley a chance to play, and me a chance to socialize with my friends!

This weekend Ray and I took our niece, Kayla, Kenley, and Charlie to a little parade and festival. Last week I posted about the idea of having a 3rd child, and we got to see what it would be like to have 3 kids under the age of 3. It was a little hectic at times! Kenley and Kayla were screaming and crying when the fire trucks went by, but I don't blame them. It was soooo loud.  At our house, Kenley was helping /forcing Kayla to walk with her. They are so cute together, and it is fun watching them interact now that Kayla is getting older.

My 31st birthday is tomorrow. We're going to celebrate as a family tomorrow, and on Saturday Ray and I are spending the night in a hotel. I'm excited to go shopping, go out to a nice dinner, and relax! It feels like just yesterday was my 30th birthday. It's been a great year, and I got my wish from last year which was wanting to have another baby. What will I wish for this year? Really, I just want all of my family and friends to be happy and healthy, and I want to enjoy time with them. I want to enjoy my time off of work, and cherish these precious moments with my kids because I know in a blink of an eye they will be grown up. (Tear!)

The month of October I'm planning on going to as many Pumpkin Farms as I can. I already have a few things planned that I know will be fun for me and the kids. I love this time of year because there are so many things to do. We got their  Halloween costumes this week, and they are really cute. That's all for now. I better go run on the treadmill while Charlie is sleeping!