Maybe bathing is a bad idea….

Moms with toddlers really shouldn’t bathe.

For some dumb reason I thought I would go take a shower this morning while the boys were watching a movie. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I did my usual routine of locking the baby gate and hoping the boys would be entertained long enough for me to wash my hair and the oldest wouldn’t climb over the gate. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

For the past several days I have been wondering if I was getting careless and forgetting to lock the refrigerator or if our 2 year old had figured it out. Well, today I got my answer. It came in the form of 2+ pounds of sugar emptied and smeared across the floor in my kitchen and thrown (yes, thrown) over the gate, into the floor of the living room.

Let me state again that mothers of toddlers shouldn’t bathe.

More space? How about less stuff?

With every pregnancy well meaning friends, relatives, and often strangers, share their advice whether you ask for it or not. Sometimes this can get annoying, but for the most part I just nod and smile. I’m not so sure I get this unsolicited advice as often as others do, however, as most my friends and family know that I have no issues with telling them my opinion or what I think of theirs.

I have been a bit surprised by all the opinions on the size and arrangement of our home though. I was expecting comments on the number of children or how close in age they will all be, not comments on the lack of square footage in our house. Even with the birth of our second son, a few people were surprised to hear that we did not give him his own bedroom even though we do have a three bedroom home. The third bedroom is being used as a playroom for the boys, and we like it that way. Now with #3 on the way, we plan to keep the same arrangement and have all three kiddos share a bedroom. You would think we were committing a crime from some of the looks we get! Several have commented that we have “outgrown” our home. While I agree that our home is small by today’s standards (It would have been “small” even in the 1980′s when it was built.), and we do plan to buy a bigger home next time (because we plan to have more children), I don’t feel that we have outgrown it yet. We have central heat and air, a roof that keeps out rain, a large kitchen, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms. They may be small rooms, but they function, and that’s more space and luxury than most people around the world have. Most of us have heard the statistic that the average home in the 1950′s had 900-something square feet of space and the average home today is 2000-something square feet. Why? The average family size has decreased, so it definitely has nothing to do with the number of children.

Stuff. It’s all that stuff that we “need” so much. I am constantly being made aware of how much our culture focuses on “needs” that aren’t really needs at all. For over a year now I have been making a conscious effort to rid our house of unnecessary stuff. Just like most other families in the US, we have lots of it. Toys, books, furniture, electronics, dishes, cooking utensils, bath products and towels, and more clothes than some people own in their lifetime.  When I start feeling overwhelmed, like I have too much to do, and my home is suffering for it, it’s time to get rid of some of those things that aren’t necessary in my home and life. My husband and children are what is important, not my possessions. Not to mention, the fewer items you have in your home, the less time and energy it takes to keep clean. Just this past week I was steam mopping the floors for the second time (potty training forces you to do such things), and I was thinking about how much I really dread having a bigger home when potty training future children, as I know it will take much longer.

I’d like to encourage you to join me in this! Take some time this week and clean out one room, closet, cabinet, or drawer. You might just be surprised by how many unnecessary things fill your home and everyday life. Feel free to come back here and post a link if you blog about it too!

Here are a few tips to get you started.

• Grab a box or bag (I like diaper and wipe boxes because it’s what I have on hand) and start tossing stuff in it that you want to donate. Don’t leave it sitting around the house though. Immediately put it in your car so it can be dropped of while you are out running errands this week. I found this is much less stressful, and it gets everything out of my house faster than waiting until I have a larger drop-off load.
• Don’t just assume it it is all your kid’s stuff cluttering your home. We adults have useless junk too!
• Facebook and Craigslist can be great ways to sell unwanted items. Just don’t get sucked into buying more stuff while you’re there!
• Dishes – Do you really need 2 full sets of drinking glasses? When was the last time you had 20 people over for dinner and didn’t use plastic cups that got tossed in the trash?
• With lots of teenagers graduating high school right now and getting ready to leave for college in the fall, find one and load them up with your unneeded dishes, towels, bedding, and cleaning supplies!

Week 16, Baby #3

I can’t believe we are already at week 16. I have been taking the “weekly belly pics” since week 12, but alas, with 2 toddlers already running around, they haven’t made it to the blog. In fact, all of them aren’t even on Facebook yet. I did get the new carseat ordered last week though. I’m slowly checking off the to do list.

A few things have changed since my last post.
First we have decided to go “team green” and find out the sex of the baby at the birth. We’re pretty excited about it. Second, we have changed from seeing an OB/GYN to seeing a midwife for my prenatal care and will be having a homebirth. More on that later, but we are definitely looking forward to the experience. No picture for now, but I’ll be taking one this weekend.

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: According to the midwife’s scale, I’m up 8 pounds. Pretty sure it was only because I went to see her right after eating a huge lunch though. Most days I’m doing good to see the scale up 3 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Some, but it’s not a necessity. I’m just tired of wearing my old clothes and wanted to wear my new stuff I bought last week. I am looking forward to wearing the rest of it later.

Stretch marks? no

Sleep: decent

Best moment this week: Coming home today and hearing that Lincoln used the potty (even #2!!) for the baby sitter all day with only one accident!

Movement: none that I can feel, but he/she sure was moving around to escape the doppler today at our appointment.

Food cravings: none

Gender: no idea

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in

What I miss: having a life – Work has been crazy lately.

What I am looking forward to: Vacation next weekend!!

Weekly Wisdom: A pregnant woman should consume 80-100 grams of protein per day. That’s not easy.

Milestones: none

Lincoln says….

Yesterday afternoon we took the boys to Harp’s to do some much needed grocery shopping. Our oldest apparently didn’t get a long enough nap and started whining as soon as we walked in the door. I told him that if he obeyed Mommy and Daddy, and walked with Daddy like a big boy (no running away!), he could have a sucker when we left. After several infractions, he lost out on his sucker opportunity and a package of Oreos he asked for. When we got to the car he remembered the sucker, and he asked about it on the way home. I told him he didn’t get a sucker because he didn’t listen to Mommy in the store. Poor little guy, he threw his hands up, gave a little exasperated sigh and said, “But I wisten to you aww day!”

Mommy needs a time out.

 

I like to get up in the morning before my boys are awake, to spend some quiet time reading from the bible and praying. My days go so much better when I do that. They aren’t perfect, things still go wrong, but my attitude is better when those things stray from my plan. Today was not one of those days. I tried, sort of. I woke up late, didn’t even make it halfway through my reading before I was thrust into the morning routine of sippy cups, diaper changes, and hundreds of other demands. Now, at the end of the day, I can definitely tell.  I failed the mommy card today. I was lazy, cranky, and impatient. I woke up irritated by people and things that my children had no control over, and I carried it with me all day.

I am so thankful for God’s unending forgiveness.

Tonight I sat on my oldest son’s little toddler bed with him, with the mattress squished thin beneath us, blankets and stuffed animals stacked around us, and apologized for my bad attitude today. I explained to him that sometimes adults act ugly and need a time out too. I said I was sorry for acting ugly today, gave him a hug and asked if he would forgive me. His response? “I fgib you. I sowwy Mommy. I go time out too…….. I love ew haiw (read: I love your hair).” When I went over to pick up my younger son to apologize and kiss the top of his head, he just laughed and snuggled his head into my shoulder. Oh the unconditional love of a child! There is so much I have learned and am learning from my boys. They will both wake up in the morning, excited to see me, completely erasing the memories of my bad attitude of today from their little minds. They won’t hold a grudge. They won’t move on, just to bring it up again in two months. They forgive and let it go. That’s definitely the lesson I needed to hear today. Remember, I woke up irritated by people and things and carried that irritation and hurt with me all day. I had told myself that morning I had forgiven….but I hadn’t.

I am so thankful for God’s unending forgiveness.

Someone once pointed out to me that moms often talk about needing “a break,” and wanting to get away from the kids to do something for themselves. However, when we do that, we usually dread that time being over and going back into our homes, kids waking up from naps, getting up in the morning, etc.  When that break includes God’s Word and prayer, the results are drastically different. The next time you want to hide in the bathroom while the kids run through the house screaming, take a bible.

7 Weeks (Baby #3)

According to thebump.com, “Baby’s brain — both hemispheres! — is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby’s third!) is now in place.”

How far along? 7 weeks, 4 days

Total weight gain/loss: I don’t know.

Maternity clothes? nope

Stretch marks? no

Sleep: What’s that?

Best moment this week: Hearing that Lincoln was the only kid in his Sunday school class that already knew the memory verse for the month!

Movement: none

Food cravings: none

Gender: no idea

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in

What I miss: sleep

What I am looking forward to: our appointment on Friday

Weekly Wisdom: A pregnant woman and two toddlers have no business going to the grocery store unsupervised!

Milestones: none

6 weeks (#3!)

It is incredibly hard to believe that I am already writing this again.  In less than 40 weeks, we will be a family of five. I will again be sleep-deprived, overly-emotional, changing about 20 diapers a day (assuming we get the oldest potty trained by then!), and staring into the face of a third little blessing. I will be kissing little tiny fingers and toes and breathing in that wonderful fresh baby scent that only newborns have, from the top of  a tiny little round head.

 

 

How far along? 6 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: 0

Maternity clothes? nope

Stretch marks? now that would be scary at this point

Sleep: I sleep all night, and then want to sleep all morning too.

Best moment this week: Sharing the news with our friends and family!

Movement: none

Food cravings: all things chicken

Gender: unknown

Labor Signs: nope

Belly Button in or out? still in

What I miss: caffeine!

What I am looking forward to: Our first doctor appointment

Weekly Wisdom: Don’t lie down on the couch with a toddler and drift off to sleep without making sure the toddler is asleep first. You will wake up to a destroyed living room.

Milestones: I made it a whole day without snapping like a crazy woman at anyone.

Other Pregnancy Symptoms: My psycho mood swings probably make my husband want to slap me.

Other memorable moments: Tonight on the way home, it was late and Lincoln was about to fall asleep in the car. He said, “I love you Mommy.” before he went to sleep though.