The adjustment to my new work schedule has been a bit difficult, to say the least. This is the first steady job I've had since Adelae was born. That's almost 4.5 years. That's a LONG time to be with out a job. A really long time. My part-time job has turned into a 5 day a week job. Not every day is a full day, and that makes it almost harder in some ways. In case you were wondering, working 10-6 is not a good shift. You might think it would be, but it's not. At least I don't enjoy it.
I do, however, enjoy my job. I love the people I work with and I enjoy the work. I just haven't quite been able to balance work and home yet. When I get home, I'm so exhausted that I just want to sit and be still. Having 2 young children does not make sitting and being still very easy. And someone still has to cook dinner, clean up dinner, take care of the kids and maybe squeeze in some alone time with my husband. It hasn't been easy.
I feel like no matter what I do, something suffers. If I cut back on my hours at work, then Ben has to work overtime to make the money to pay the bills. If I spend more time with my husband, my kids suffer. If I spend more time with my kids, my husband suffers. I feel like I'm being pulled in about 20 different directions at once. Apparently the laundry and dishes still pile up, even if you don't have time to take care of them. It also doesn't help that it's summer. We are always so busy in the summer. We have something going on almost every day of every weekend. It's exhausting. I miss sitting around all day on Saturday and not doing anything. I miss sleeping in and morning cuddles with my girls.
I am extremely fortunate though. I have an amazing babysitter. The kids LOVE going to her house. In fact, there are days when I don't work and they STILL ask to go to the sitters. Thanks to her, I'm able to go to work and give my full attention to my job. I don't ever worry that my kids aren't being taken care of.
And then there's my husband. When I stayed at home, most of the house cleaning and cooking fell to me. That was my job. I hated it, but it was my job. Since I've started working he's pulled his weight and then some. We've started working on a schedule. On the nights when I come home early, I cook dinner and he does the dishes. On the nights when I come home late, he starts dinner and I do the dishes. I had to work this morning for a few hours. I came home to a pretty clean house, the kids were eating lunch and the dishes were done. He even did a load of his laundry. It was awesome. Especially since a nasty migraine decided to smack me upside the head in my last hour of work. After he spent the morning picking up the house, he went outside and started working on the railing for the slide platform he built a few weeks ago.
What did I do? I sat and read on my Nook. I might have even dozed for a little bit. Shh...don't tell. ;)
All in all, we're slowly getting into a rhythm. Will will make this work. I have faith that in another month, we'll be like a well oiled machine.
At least I hope so.
Showing posts with label Ben. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ben. Show all posts
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Some people just shouldn't dance
I'm not a 'gamer.' I can't play video games for hours on end. First of all, I'm not very good at them. Second of all, they're just boring. But, I was the one who hounded Ben to buy the XBox Kinect. We love it. I love it because you have to get up and move. I love it because we can play it for hours and all enjoy it. I love it because it gets all of us up and active on these cold and dreary winter days.
I love having Kinect parties. I love that when I have Kinect parties, I can convince people that don't normally dance to dance. Like my brother and my husband. I also reserve the right to record anyone and everyone that dances. And then post that video on my blog. (Insert evil laugh here.) You'll have to excuse the quality on the last two videos. I took them with my cell phone.
Rumor has it that my sister in law has a video of my pathetic attempt at dancing on her phone. If that video ever surfaces I promise to post it, just so I can share in the humiliation.
I love having Kinect parties. I love that when I have Kinect parties, I can convince people that don't normally dance to dance. Like my brother and my husband. I also reserve the right to record anyone and everyone that dances. And then post that video on my blog. (Insert evil laugh here.) You'll have to excuse the quality on the last two videos. I took them with my cell phone.
Rumor has it that my sister in law has a video of my pathetic attempt at dancing on her phone. If that video ever surfaces I promise to post it, just so I can share in the humiliation.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
We didn't blow away!
I'm still here, we haven't blown away in all of this crazy wind! I find myself facing a lot of writer's block lately. I have a lot of stuff in my head, it's just hard to get it out. Not to mention, it's a wee bit disheartening to post blogs and have no comments. I'm sure people are reading, but I need some comments people! Don't have an account? No problem! Post under anonymous, but please sign your name so I know who you are!
We've been ridiculously busy for...well...since forever it seems. I know that one of these days we're going to be able to sit around in our pajamas all day long and watch TV. Right? No? Not gonna happen? Sigh....
Here's a few updates:
Adelae is still loving pre-school. She is making lots of little friends and learning so much. When I hear her sing her songs, it makes me smile from ear to ear. I remember my Grandma telling me that one of her favorite memories of me when I was little was when I would sing her all my preschool songs. I like to think that Grandma's looking down at Adelae and smiling that same smile. Adelae has developed a real passion for reading lately. When I go up to check on her at night she's almost always cuddled up in bed with her flashlight and her book. She can't read the words yet, but she loves to look at the pictures. Her imagination has really taken flight as well. She's starting to get into playing house with her various dolls and stuffed animals. Adelae is also working on testing my patience, but she's 3 so it's to be expected. Over all she is such an amazing little girl. I love to watch her grow. Even though she's a big girl now, she's not about a few snuggles here and there. The other morning she climbed in bed with me and whispered "I just wanna hold your hand like this till I fall asleep again." How could I say no?
Brinna is changing a little bit every single day it seems. She's starting to "talk" more and more every day. Right now her favorite thing to do is to point to something and say "UH! AH! AH! AH!" insistently until you give it to her. She is entranced by baby dolls and petrified of any toy that moves on it's own. She has definite opinions on what she does and doesn't like! I would like to say that she's growing like a weed, but well...I can't. She's definitely our little munchkin. She just had her 15 month check up and she's weighing in at a whopping 16 lbs 4 oz and is 29 inches long. Our doctor said that some people are just tiny and isn't concerned at all. Brinna eats like a horse, so I'm not sure where she's putting it all. It's my theory that she has a hollow leg. Brinna has a wee bit of hero worship going on where her big sister is concerned. Lately she does everything Adelae does. Most of the time it's pretty cute. Most of the time. It's not so cute when Adelae is sassing back and Brinna starts yelling "AH, UH, BA, MA, AH, AH!" at me. Brinna recently learned how to give kisses and hugs. She will routinely walk over to me just to give me a hug and a kiss. It completely melts my heart.
I'm doing well. I've fully recovered from my sinus surgery (although I dang near had a heart attack when we got the bill). I have my final check up this afternoon, but I expect that all is well. I recently decided that I needed a few more tattoos, so I had that done last weekend. Other than that the kids are keeping me hopping! It seems like between school, appointments and errands we are rarely home. That's ok though, it keeps us all busy and occupied. Sadly, my housework is sorely behind. I suppose I should be doing that instead of blogging, but blogging is just more fun!
Ben's tired. Poor guy! They've been pushing him really hard a work lately. He's been working three 12 hour shifts and one 10 hour shift, not to mention a few hours of overtime on the weekend. He's hoping his schedule slows down sometime soon so he can spend some time with us. We miss him! He took Adelae to their first Father/Daughter activity at school the other day. They had a pumpkin carving night. All of the kids sang their Halloween songs and Ben was one proud Daddy. I love that he loves spending one-on-one time with each of our girls. They are very lucky indeed!
We've been fighting some awfully strong winds the last few days and I'm pretty much over it. I suppose this will be the wind that finally blows winter our way. We're hoping the propane fireplace that we purchased will help keep us all warm and cozy this winter. If not, I'm going to pack up and move down South.
We're slowly getting ready for Christmas too. Adelae has a wish list a mile long. She's really nice and helping her sister make her wish list too. I'm pretty sure that the Tiana (from Princess and the Frog) Barbie that Adelae put on Brinna's list isn't really for Brinna. When I pointed out that Brinna might be too little for a Barbie Adelae said "Oh. Well I can just play with it till she's big like me." At least she's thoughtful!
That's about all that's worth reporting in our little part of the world!
We've been ridiculously busy for...well...since forever it seems. I know that one of these days we're going to be able to sit around in our pajamas all day long and watch TV. Right? No? Not gonna happen? Sigh....
Here's a few updates:
Adelae is still loving pre-school. She is making lots of little friends and learning so much. When I hear her sing her songs, it makes me smile from ear to ear. I remember my Grandma telling me that one of her favorite memories of me when I was little was when I would sing her all my preschool songs. I like to think that Grandma's looking down at Adelae and smiling that same smile. Adelae has developed a real passion for reading lately. When I go up to check on her at night she's almost always cuddled up in bed with her flashlight and her book. She can't read the words yet, but she loves to look at the pictures. Her imagination has really taken flight as well. She's starting to get into playing house with her various dolls and stuffed animals. Adelae is also working on testing my patience, but she's 3 so it's to be expected. Over all she is such an amazing little girl. I love to watch her grow. Even though she's a big girl now, she's not about a few snuggles here and there. The other morning she climbed in bed with me and whispered "I just wanna hold your hand like this till I fall asleep again." How could I say no?
Brinna is changing a little bit every single day it seems. She's starting to "talk" more and more every day. Right now her favorite thing to do is to point to something and say "UH! AH! AH! AH!" insistently until you give it to her. She is entranced by baby dolls and petrified of any toy that moves on it's own. She has definite opinions on what she does and doesn't like! I would like to say that she's growing like a weed, but well...I can't. She's definitely our little munchkin. She just had her 15 month check up and she's weighing in at a whopping 16 lbs 4 oz and is 29 inches long. Our doctor said that some people are just tiny and isn't concerned at all. Brinna eats like a horse, so I'm not sure where she's putting it all. It's my theory that she has a hollow leg. Brinna has a wee bit of hero worship going on where her big sister is concerned. Lately she does everything Adelae does. Most of the time it's pretty cute. Most of the time. It's not so cute when Adelae is sassing back and Brinna starts yelling "AH, UH, BA, MA, AH, AH!" at me. Brinna recently learned how to give kisses and hugs. She will routinely walk over to me just to give me a hug and a kiss. It completely melts my heart.
I'm doing well. I've fully recovered from my sinus surgery (although I dang near had a heart attack when we got the bill). I have my final check up this afternoon, but I expect that all is well. I recently decided that I needed a few more tattoos, so I had that done last weekend. Other than that the kids are keeping me hopping! It seems like between school, appointments and errands we are rarely home. That's ok though, it keeps us all busy and occupied. Sadly, my housework is sorely behind. I suppose I should be doing that instead of blogging, but blogging is just more fun!
Ben's tired. Poor guy! They've been pushing him really hard a work lately. He's been working three 12 hour shifts and one 10 hour shift, not to mention a few hours of overtime on the weekend. He's hoping his schedule slows down sometime soon so he can spend some time with us. We miss him! He took Adelae to their first Father/Daughter activity at school the other day. They had a pumpkin carving night. All of the kids sang their Halloween songs and Ben was one proud Daddy. I love that he loves spending one-on-one time with each of our girls. They are very lucky indeed!
We've been fighting some awfully strong winds the last few days and I'm pretty much over it. I suppose this will be the wind that finally blows winter our way. We're hoping the propane fireplace that we purchased will help keep us all warm and cozy this winter. If not, I'm going to pack up and move down South.
We're slowly getting ready for Christmas too. Adelae has a wish list a mile long. She's really nice and helping her sister make her wish list too. I'm pretty sure that the Tiana (from Princess and the Frog) Barbie that Adelae put on Brinna's list isn't really for Brinna. When I pointed out that Brinna might be too little for a Barbie Adelae said "Oh. Well I can just play with it till she's big like me." At least she's thoughtful!
That's about all that's worth reporting in our little part of the world!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
3 down!!
Happy Anniversary, babe! I love you :D
Don't forget to check out 5 Minutes For Mom for more Wordless Wednesday.
Don't forget to check out 5 Minutes For Mom for more Wordless Wednesday.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Our little mini vaca
We were fortunate enough to be able to go to Kalahari about a week ago (ok it was a little longer than a week). I promised to get the pictures up and, well, life just got in the way. I'm working on a rather heavy post for (hopefully) tomorrow, but ya just never know!
We really did have a blast at Kalahari. In case you're not familiar, Kalahari is a massive indoor waterpark. We went to the one in Sandusky, OH and it was a BLAST! When we first got there and Adelae was crying and Brinna was crying I looked and Ben and said "Well, this was a waste of money." Luckily, they both warmed up to it after a bit. It took us literally forcing Adelae to go down the slides in the kids area, but it worked. She was a pro after about 5 minutes.
Brinna was a wee bit overwhelmed by all the noise and the people. She pretty much stuck with me on the sidelines while Adelae played. That was ok with both of us. I did get her to sit in the little swing and in the water with me for a bit.
Surprisingly enough, she took really long naps both days we were there. At home I can't get her to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time!
They also have a fantastic dry play area for babies, which was much more Brinna's speed.
Ben got to ride lots of crazy water slides that I would never ever attempt, cause I'm a big scaredy cat. He and Adelae also LOVED the wave pool.
I am so glad that we took the time to take a little mini vacation. We're contemplating going back this summer :)
We really did have a blast at Kalahari. In case you're not familiar, Kalahari is a massive indoor waterpark. We went to the one in Sandusky, OH and it was a BLAST! When we first got there and Adelae was crying and Brinna was crying I looked and Ben and said "Well, this was a waste of money." Luckily, they both warmed up to it after a bit. It took us literally forcing Adelae to go down the slides in the kids area, but it worked. She was a pro after about 5 minutes.
Brinna was a wee bit overwhelmed by all the noise and the people. She pretty much stuck with me on the sidelines while Adelae played. That was ok with both of us. I did get her to sit in the little swing and in the water with me for a bit.
Surprisingly enough, she took really long naps both days we were there. At home I can't get her to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time!
They also have a fantastic dry play area for babies, which was much more Brinna's speed.
Ben got to ride lots of crazy water slides that I would never ever attempt, cause I'm a big scaredy cat. He and Adelae also LOVED the wave pool.
I am so glad that we took the time to take a little mini vacation. We're contemplating going back this summer :)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Anatomy of a Fight
Well, fight might be the wrong word. Ben and I are both very opinionated. We have our opinions and it's near impossible to sway either of us. This leads to a lot of little minor disagreements. Like the one that took place the other day. Let me set the stage..
Scene: A cloudy, but warm and breezy morning. Me at the computer, Ben standing in the middle of the room. Cloth diapers are in the wash.
Me: I was really hoping it would be sunny today so I could sun bleach the diapers.
Ben: That doesn't mean that you can't hang them on the line.
Me: I know that. I just wanted to sun bleach them.
Ben: You can still hang them on the line.
Me: I know I can hang them on the line. But it requires SUN to SUN bleach diapers.
Ben: No it doesn't.
Me: Are you serious? Seriously? It's called SUN bleaching. The name alone suggests the need for sun. If not, it would be called "cloud bleaching."
Ben: You can get a sunburn on a cloudy day.
Me: What on Earth does that have to do with the diapers?
Our voices are getting louder and louder through this
Ben: I'm just saying that there is sun.
Me: I know that. I just said that I wish it was sunny.
Ben: So now you're not going to hang them on the line?
Me: (shouting) I never said that. I SAID I wish is were sunny. I'll still hang them on the line.
Ben: (shouting) SO WHY ARE WE FIGHTING?
Me: (matching his tone) I DON'T KNOW!
Ben: (still shouting) WELL LET'S STOP!
Me: (shouting) OK!
Adelae: (shouting) MOMMY!
Me: (shouting) WHAT?!
Adelae: (shouting) I'M THIRSTY!
Me: Ok, let's get some juice.
See, it wasn't a fight. But, we do tend to shout a lot. However, at some point, the shouting turns to joking. So we just kinda shout cause we know how ridiculous we're being. The tone completely changes. Adelae even gets in it. I suppose anyone looking in on us would think that we were really fighting, but we know we're not. I suppose every marriage is filled with silly little conversations like this.
We keep saying that we need to apply for The Marriage Ref.
So what silly little arguments to do you have with your spouse?
Scene: A cloudy, but warm and breezy morning. Me at the computer, Ben standing in the middle of the room. Cloth diapers are in the wash.
Me: I was really hoping it would be sunny today so I could sun bleach the diapers.
Ben: That doesn't mean that you can't hang them on the line.
Me: I know that. I just wanted to sun bleach them.
Ben: You can still hang them on the line.
Me: I know I can hang them on the line. But it requires SUN to SUN bleach diapers.
Ben: No it doesn't.
Me: Are you serious? Seriously? It's called SUN bleaching. The name alone suggests the need for sun. If not, it would be called "cloud bleaching."
Ben: You can get a sunburn on a cloudy day.
Me: What on Earth does that have to do with the diapers?
Our voices are getting louder and louder through this
Ben: I'm just saying that there is sun.
Me: I know that. I just said that I wish it was sunny.
Ben: So now you're not going to hang them on the line?
Me: (shouting) I never said that. I SAID I wish is were sunny. I'll still hang them on the line.
Ben: (shouting) SO WHY ARE WE FIGHTING?
Me: (matching his tone) I DON'T KNOW!
Ben: (still shouting) WELL LET'S STOP!
Me: (shouting) OK!
Adelae: (shouting) MOMMY!
Me: (shouting) WHAT?!
Adelae: (shouting) I'M THIRSTY!
Me: Ok, let's get some juice.
See, it wasn't a fight. But, we do tend to shout a lot. However, at some point, the shouting turns to joking. So we just kinda shout cause we know how ridiculous we're being. The tone completely changes. Adelae even gets in it. I suppose anyone looking in on us would think that we were really fighting, but we know we're not. I suppose every marriage is filled with silly little conversations like this.
We keep saying that we need to apply for The Marriage Ref.
So what silly little arguments to do you have with your spouse?
Monday, August 24, 2009
Everyone gets a check-up!
I'm a little late in posting all of this fabulous information. You'll have to forgive me! I feel like all I've done this past month is run to doctor appointments, nurse Brinna, yell at Adelae and talk on the phone. (It's nice to have a sister to chat with :) )
Here are the latest from all of our various doctor/WIC appointments.
Adelae is 37" and 27 lba. The lady at the WIC office said "She's just so darn tall!" I keep trying to convince them that she gets her height from me, but nobody seems to believe me!
Brinna is 19 3/4" and 6lbs 6ozs. It seems she's going to take after her older sister and remain in the 10th percentile for weight and 25 percentile for height. The doctor definitely is not concerned, since Brinna is doing a fabulous job gaining weight and has grown and inch since birth! We have an appointment on September 21 to repeat Brinna's newborn hearing screen. I'm positive that Brinna can hear, I think she just had really small ear canals and they couldn't get an accurate reading at the hospital. Her appointment on the 21st is with a pediatric audiologist. We're working with the same folks that removed Adelae's adnoids last year, so I'm confident that they'll do a fantastic job.
I'm doing fantastic! I got the all clear from the doctor today. I've lost 15 of the 30 lbs that I gained! Only 35 more to go until I'm at the weight I was before I had Adelae. Honestly, I'm doubting I'll ever see that weight again! I like Oreos too much!
Ben is the only one that hasn't been to the doctor lately! So, I have no idea what his weight is, but he's still 6ft 2in :) He's still working hard, too hard in my opinion! We miss him cause he's gone so much.
Over all we're doing great! Things are slowly setting in to a loose routine around here. Of course, now that I've said that, everything will change!
Here are the latest from all of our various doctor/WIC appointments.
Adelae is 37" and 27 lba. The lady at the WIC office said "She's just so darn tall!" I keep trying to convince them that she gets her height from me, but nobody seems to believe me!
Brinna is 19 3/4" and 6lbs 6ozs. It seems she's going to take after her older sister and remain in the 10th percentile for weight and 25 percentile for height. The doctor definitely is not concerned, since Brinna is doing a fabulous job gaining weight and has grown and inch since birth! We have an appointment on September 21 to repeat Brinna's newborn hearing screen. I'm positive that Brinna can hear, I think she just had really small ear canals and they couldn't get an accurate reading at the hospital. Her appointment on the 21st is with a pediatric audiologist. We're working with the same folks that removed Adelae's adnoids last year, so I'm confident that they'll do a fantastic job.
I'm doing fantastic! I got the all clear from the doctor today. I've lost 15 of the 30 lbs that I gained! Only 35 more to go until I'm at the weight I was before I had Adelae. Honestly, I'm doubting I'll ever see that weight again! I like Oreos too much!
Ben is the only one that hasn't been to the doctor lately! So, I have no idea what his weight is, but he's still 6ft 2in :) He's still working hard, too hard in my opinion! We miss him cause he's gone so much.
Over all we're doing great! Things are slowly setting in to a loose routine around here. Of course, now that I've said that, everything will change!
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