I want you

I love being at home with the kids, but I am very thankful for the few hours that I get out of the house daily. Not only because it is good for me to have a break, but I think that it is also good for the kids to have some interaction with other kids. Luckily, my mother-in-law does daycare in her home and watches my kids daily while I am at work. Lately I have been debating whether or not to send Reese to preschool at 3 years old or keeping her home with me. After our conversation tonight I think that she needs to continue with that time away from me, even if just a few hours daily, or we could have some trouble when she starts school.

Reese: "Mommy, I missed you today when you were at work."

Me: "I missed you too honey."

Reese: "Mommy you need to take care of your kids."

Me: "That is why mommy takes you to grammy's because she will take care of you when mommy cannot."

Reese: "But I wanted you mommy."

Fresh Perspective

The past two days I have been working full days for a co-worker who is out. Though a little bit difficult, the change of pace has been really good for me. Usually we sleep until Reese wakes us up between 6 and 6:30. We snuggle on the couch until Aidan wakes up. We usually play for a little while and then eat breakfast around 8am. After cleaning up the kitchen and making the beds, I start getting ready for work. This is where the kids start fighting, crying and getting into things that they should not- generally making it very difficult for me to do anything without stopping five times. I usually finish getting ready just in time to dress the kids and run out the door to drop them off at their grammy's.
This week I have had to be to work by 8 am, so our whole schedule has been moved up by 2.5 hours. Rather than lounging around the house after getting up at 6am, I have been rushing to get in the shower before Reese wakes up. After she wakes up we snuggle a minute and then I try to dry my hair and do my makeup before Aidan wakes up. Right after Aidan wakes up, we eat breakfast and clean up. Then I dress the kids and run out the door around 7:45.
I love being at home with the kids, but I have been so frustrated with dealing with the fighting in the morning. Having to be out the door so much earlier completely cut out that time that they have to entertain themselves while I try to get myself ready for work.
On top of being easier for me, I think that Reese has gained an appreciation of our time together. She told me several times that she wanted me to stay at home with her and has run and jumped into my arms when I went to pick them up.
The past 2 days have also been really good for me. I really enjoyed my time at work and felt a purpose that I have not had in over a year. Though I do still want to be home with my kids, I need to find something to do where I can feel valuable to my family. I also have a renewed energy for playing with and enjoying my kids. I had really started to take that time with them for granted and would push them away to do something that I needed to do, such as cleaning, or something I wanted to do, such as checking my email.

Bestill my heart!

Tonight I was sitting in the basement working on a scrapbook with my 2 year old daughter sitting next to me cutting up scraps of paper. She was jabbering away about anything and everything when suddenly she said, "Mommy, you are my whole world!" I was totally speechless, for a moment! I know that she doesn't understand the magnitude of her statement, but it just made me melt. If only she could understand how happy I am to be her and her brother's mom! Those two kids are my whole life!

What is in a name?

Watching tv tonight, I came across a show on Bravo called 9 by Design. The show is all about a couple who builds houses in Manhattan and has 7 kids! It is amazing to me that you would choose to live in such a large city and have so many kids! But what was even more interesting to me were the kids names: Wolfgang, Bellamy, Tallula, Breaker, Holleder, Five, Major. It has always interested me how people choose their children's names, especially when they are as unusual and unique as these.
When we were pregnant and found out that we were having a girl, I was set on using my grandmother's name, Elaine, as part of my daughter's name. I also had thought about names starting with A like my own name or R like my husband, Randy. When I realized that my husband's initials were REW I wanted to name my daughter so that her initials would be the same. Someone mentioned Reese and when paired with Elaina it sounded so pretty! We knew that we would name her Reese Elaina within a few weeks of the ultrasound.
When I was pregnant with my son we tossed around a few names to honor family members, but I have been determined to name my son Aidan since first hearing the name on "Sex and the City" almost 8 years ago. My father-in-laws name is Dan, so we did honor him by spelling it "Aidan" though there are multiple variations on the spelling. As far as the middle name, Randy wanted his nickname to be "AJ" and Jeffrey sounded nice. Since Aidan is a very popular name, I like that he could be called AJ at school if there is more than one in his class.
How did you choose your children's names? Did you have a name ready or did you have to see the baby to see if the name "fit"?

Look Daddy

The other day Reese was running around playing with her babies in her underwear. I helped her to get her baby carrier with her baby onto her back. She then walked straight over to her dad and turned around so that he could see her baby. She obviously didn't think that he would be able to see the baby, so she bent over and shook her little butt while saying, "look daddy!" He immediately looked up and doubled over laughing at the sight of her! It would have been a perfect video to send in to America's Funniest Home Videos for sure!

New words

Whenever we can, we play on the front deck or in the back yard after coming home from Grammy's. Aidan loves to sit and watch the cars, trucks, trains and barges/boats that drive by the house. There is no shortage of vehicles as we live off of a busy highway and along the Mississppi River. I call out what type of vehicle it is as they drive past. Imagine my suprise when Aidan started repeating after me! He now says, "truck", "car" and occasionally "boat" (his 4th, 5th and 6th words!) He is truly his father's son!

Sign that Reese cares about her little brother

One morning this week, the kids were playing in the basement playroom while I showered. After showering I grabbed Aidan and took him upstairs to play while I finished getting ready. About 20 minutes later, Reese came running up the stairs, all out of breath. She said, "Mommy come look! Aidan is not downstairs anymore, I can't find him anywhere! I'm just worried about him." I said, "Reese, mommy brought Aidan upstairs to play. He is in the living room." She peeked in the living room and confirmed that he was there, then as she headed back downstairs, said, "I was just worried about Aidan." It was so sweet and gave me hope that the two of them will be close and be friends someday!

Teething?

Since birth, Aidan has been the most laid back child I have ever known. He has never been one to fuss for no reason, matter of fact, sometimes he doesn't fuss when he has reason to! He will let you know when he is ready for bed by getting a little crabby and whiny, but as soon as you set him in his crib, he snuggles into his blanket and lays down. In the morning or after naps, I will check on him in his crib and he will be sitting up and grinning at me. Who knows how long he has been awake because he is content to just sit there until I come in to get him.

Well, recently my laid back guy has been a lot more aggressive. He will throw his head around or slap at your face if he does not get what he wants. He sticks food in his mouth and chews it for a little while, then spits it out on the table. Tonight at dinner he just screamed and threw little hissy fits all through dinner. I am assuming that this change in behavior is due to teething or some other growing pains, though I do not feel any teeth in his gums. Whatever the cause in his change in behavior, I hope that I have my little boy back soon!

No self esteem problem here

Driving home today after picking up the kids from Grammy's house, Reese observes that the cars are following us home. "All the cars are going to our house. They are excited to see me!"

I am a big girl!

This past weekend, my mother-in-law was asking Reese if she knew her own name. She said, "If you got lost, what would you tell someone your name is?" To which Reese answered, "I am a big girl!" She then switched tactics and asked, "What does Jack call you?". To which she responded, "Reese!"

It was funny because later when Jack was in trouble, Reese had no problem yelling at him using his full name! Guess I need to quit using all of my pet names for her and use her real name more often!

Are men naturally better drivers?

At my nephews birthday party today, he received a power wheels Lightning McQueen car. He immediately hopped in and pushed the pedal and was off. Though he didn't understand to let off of the gas pedal or put it in reverse when he got close to something, he was not afraid to just get in and drive! He looked very comfortable with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the shifter (sometimes doing the parade wave!) Reese was absolutely dying to get in the car and she snuck into the drivers seat one time when he was occupied with something else. She got in and started pushing the buttons for the horn, happy just to push buttons. I helped her to put it in gear and showed her where the gas pedal was. She pushed down on the pedal, held onto the steering wheel with both hands and screamed as she drove across the yard! She did two or three trips before Jack became aware that she was in the car and wanted it back! Reese jumped out of the car without too much of a fight and chased Jack around the yard as he went back to his driving. Watching them as they both got into the car for the first time and their very different reactions as they drove made me really think about how different men and women are, even at a very young age!

Creatures of habit

Children are by nature creatures of habit, well at least my children are. During the week, they get up, eat breakfast, play, get dressed, go to grammys, eat lunch, take naps, eat snack, play, eat dinner and get ready for bed at the same time. They know the schedule and what to expect. I believe that they are much better behaved when our daily routines follow this schedule. As a result I strive to stay as close to our regular schedule on weekends and special occasions as possible. If it is not possible to follow the schedule we make modifications to make it work. For example, if we are planning on a late dinner with friends I would feed the kids a large snack at their regular dinner time. I tried changing the schedule on weekends and special occassions a time or two when Reese was younger, but once Aidan came along it was not worth the fight of dealing with two crabby kids because I wanted to do something that interrupted their schedule. As a result, if we want to go shopping during the weekend, we will go before or after nap time. If we go to a party and the kids get tired, we head home and put them to bed. Some people think that this makes us not fun to hang around or that we let the kids control our lives. I think that it works for our family and that is all that matters to me.

Fun at the park

This afternoon I took the kids to the park on the way home. We went straight to the swings and I was pushing both kids and tickling them. After a few minutes Reese said, "Mommy, want to take a picture?" Now whenever I ask her to pose for a picture she won't look at me or take her thumb out of her mouth! I don't have a camera on me, not even my cell phone, and she is all ready to pose!

A few minutes later, Reese is slowing down and needs another push. I say, "Reese, it looks like you are slowing down." She looks and me and replies, "Yeah mommy. I'm running out of gas."

Aidan had fun swinging, but couldn't wait to get down and climb all around the equipment. He is such a little monkey and has absolutely no fear. He would climb all the way to the top of the equipment and then peer over the edge. If I stood near the edge he was leaning over he would turn around and take off the other direction towards a more dangerous area. I can't imagine what it is going to be like with him once he can actually walk!

Happy Easter!

It was a very busy day of finding our baskets from the Easter Bunny, going to Dubuque for Brunch with my family and then returning home for egg hunting and dinner with Randy's family. We would not change a thing though and are very happy to be able to share these moments with so many people that we love!

Aidan's new trick

Recently while feeding Aidan some applesauce with a meal he attacked the spoon and made a chomping noise. I laughed and grabbed the camera to take the attached video:
Though it was funny at the time, I may soon be regretting giving this so much attention as he has been repeating this performance at every meal since!

"I can make that my own!"

I don't know where this saying came from, but recently whenever there is a commercial on tv for some toy or we are shopping and Reese sees something she would like, she will exclaim, "Mommy! I can make that my own!" She doesn't save this commercialism for herself, whenever there is something that she thinks somebody else would like, she will ask, "Mommy, you make that your own?" This is just one of the many examples of how Reese talks like a child at least twice her age. It is so funny sometimes to hear the things that come out of her mouth and to think that she is only going on 3!

Randy and I call each other "babes" and a few times Reese has called one of us by this pet name, but it actually comes out sounding like "bapes".

Finally, this week Randy was out of town on business and Reese wanted to talk to him. We called his cell and when the female voice came on the line announcing that the person we intended to call was unavailable, Reese was indignant, "That's not my daddy!" I held the phone up to her ear and tried to get her to leave him a message, but he ended up with me in the background saying, "Tell Daddy you love him." Then I told her to give daddy a kiss and she planted a big smooch on the phone, so cute!

Aidan is not one to be left out while his outspoken sister takes the spotlight! He has been blabbering up a storm lately. One of his favorite things to do is stand at the windows and watch the cars go by or watch tv and point while blabbering on and on. I respond with, "Really, Aidan", or "Reese do you know what he is saying?" He does have a few words down pat though. He can clearly say "Up", "Da", and "Aubrey" (sounds like Ah-brey). Yes you read that right, he calls his dad "Da" and me "Aubrey", just like Reese did!