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.