Christmas

So here are my plans/goals for Christmas.

I want to keep things simple.  I've always said "things" aren't important and I want to instill that in my children at an early age.  Everything we have is a blessing and I've seen so many pictures of families with their heaping mounds of gifts and I just don't want that to be us.  (No offense to any families out there who do that!). 

For stockings I'm thinking about the boring stuff...PJ's, underwear, fun socks, etc.  For Noah probably bibs, little teething toys, etc. 

The big thing we want to get Zoe this year is a doll house!  She's played with one a couple times and it keeps her incredibly occupied and she loves it.  So that'll be her big gift.  Other things she loves is, books, dinosaurs, and cars.  We have enough babies, play dishes, play food, stuffed animals.  Oh and arts and craft things....We go through a lot of construction paper!  Edible paint and edible play-doh is also on my list...(There is such a thing!)

For Noah, I'm still at a loss.  Clothes?  Probably toys...But again, I don't want things to get too out of control!  I'll come back to him...

We always needs clothes, PJ's, shoes, etc.  Always.  We're constantly growing, playing hard-being rough on our clothes and shoes, and here the seasons actually change so we do constantly need different things. 

2 weeks?!?

How did I let 2 weeks go by without blogging!?  Oh my ... It's been even longer since I blogged on my other blog.  Yikes.  Oh well.  :) 

Anyway, let's see.

Oh yes, I started my new job.  And I LOVE it.  Seriously.  I feel incredibly overwhelmed.  BUT, I'm learning so much.  And I can't wait until I know a lot more and can do a lot more.  Everyone is extremely nice and understanding...No one expects me to know everything right away, they all realize it's a lot to learn.  So that takes a lot of pressure off me.  But I can be a perfectionist and hard on myself because I do want to know everything, right now! 

The kids are doing well.  They're both pretty attached to me once I get home, which is to be expected and I'm not complaining!  I'm glad they missed me all day!  They love their sitter, who comes 3 days a week in the afternoons.  She is looking for a full time job so I am worried I'll lose her at some point.  My brain can't even handle worrying about that right now.

Noah is already 4 months old (and the size of like a 7 month old!).  He'll be having his 4 month well child check on Monday (I have to miss it because I can't take any time off work-obviously!).  More shots...And I hate that I won't be there for that part of it.  Argh.  He's rolling over and sitting up in his Bumbo seat and generally a happy baby.  (At least for me...Tony complains a lot that he's pretty fussy during the day for him...I think it's just Tony!).  We did have a bottle issue...I obviously can't nurse him during the day, so he gets a bottle with breast milk when I'm not home but he apparently wasn't a fan of the bottles we had.  So we had to switch.  I hear he handles those much better!  Of course when I do get home, he pretty much nurses every couple of hours.  :)  He is going for longer stretches at night...3-4 hours.  At this age Zoe was only getting up once in the night to eat, but she was also a formula baby and they tend to go longer between feedings because it takes them longer to digest formula.

Zoe is completely potty trained.  I think she's had one or 2 accidents since we started this whole process and the last time she had an accident was like a month or more ago, at Church.  She doesn't even wear training pants during the night or naps anymore.  She always woke up dry so I just stopped putting her in them.  So far, so good! 

She's counting a lot now...Tony works out during the day and he has her count with him while he counts reps.  Totally funny and cute.  She usually starts at 4, skips 5, and gets to 11.  Progress! 

Bedtime with her is still a nightmare.  I think it's her bed/room.  We totally should have done the Montessori style nursery for her from the get go.  Wish I had known about it back then!  I think that would have solved a lot of our problems.  Right now we're saving up for a bigger mattress for her and I think we'll keep it on the floor for a while.  She's such a short, tiny person.  I think having it on the floor will help.  We want to get her some nice bedding (right now it's just a hodge-podge assortment of sheets...) and hopefully that'll help.  We're lucky if she gets to sleep before 1 AM.  And she has to get up at 7 AM at the very latest because they take me to work in the morning.  Ideally I'd like her up at 6:30 so we can eat breakfast together, get dressed, etc.  But so far that hasn't worked out.  I'm really thinking it's her bed.  She did this awful screaming before bed thing when she outgrew her crib.  As soon as we got her in the toddler bed, she slept beautifully.  Now we're back to screaming again.  It's dreadful.  And yes, we have tried no nap during the day or shortening her nap.  Nothing seems to help.  I'm hoping at the end of October we'll be able to afford to get her a new bed.  Then her current mattress will probably go to Noah upstairs.  It is a little thick so I am worried about him rolling off....But I'll figure that out.  (Our current bed is on the floor and he has rolled off that and it never phased him...Freaked me out, but didn't phase him.  It's not a very thick mattress so it's not like he rolled off a high bed or anything...)

I'm also hoping to bike to work!  Yes, even in the dreadful rain.  We don't live incredibly close to downtown, but close enough that it's doable and it'd be an awesome workout for me.  My current goal is to get up at 5 AM so I can workout...Obviously that hasn't happened.  If I did bike to work, I imagine I'd have to leave around 7 AM to get there a little before 8 AM.  At least in the beginning.

I also do not have any pictures to share this time.  Sorry.  I've been really awful at taking pictures.  Oh, but I will hopefully have some next week.  Noah was dedicated at Church last week and I'll probably have some pictures from that....A friend at Church was kind and sweet enough to take pictures for us!

Alright, I think that's it for now.  I'm doing a separate post about Christmas! 

breaking news!

I got a new job!

Yes, another one.  (Remember, my current one is just a temp job!)

My new job will be with Lane County at the District Attorney's office.  I'll be an office assistant. 

It was a somewhat hard decision for me because I do love where I am now.  But ultimately decided this was best for me and our family.

When I was giving my current job my 2 weeks notice, they did try to offer me things to get me to stay.  But my new job will be closer to home, more hours, more pay, benefits, and let's not forget, awesome experience!

Oh and honestly, here's what I'm most excited about.

They have a lactation room!  (They call it a birth room though, which is weird to me..)

Meaning a comfortable room where I can pump during my breaks.  Oh, I cannot tell you what a relief that is.  Seriously.  It's a room just for pumping.  So now I don't have to worry about that.  (And believe me, I was worried!)  But Oregon is so proactive about breastfeeding and they have incredible laws about workplace pumping etc, so I was pretty sure that with it being a government building, they would have something like this setup.

(Yes, my life revolves around nursing!)

I'm also currently obsessed with the idea of doing cloth diapers.  I have quite a few friends who actually cloth diaper.  Some full-time (meaning they use nothing but cloth diapers) and some part-time (meaning they use them sometimes but also disposable diapers sometimes).  I'd like to do them full-time but I think realistically (at least to start) we'd do them part-time.  I'm still exploring and researching.  And who knows if I'll actually do it, but I really like the idea.  Yes, the idea of more laundry is a bit scary.  But I hear it's not that bad.  We shall see.

I have had some people ask me about Christmas...Christmas present ideas for the kids and I'm currently making a list.  :)  There have been a few ideas to cross my mind.  The key for me, is to write them down right when I think of them, so I don't forget.  Usually I forget.

Alright friends and family, it's "late".  And it's taken me all day to write this!  

I shall be back soon with more updates and pictures!

Have a fantastic Saturday (or weekend, if I'm not back before it's over!)

Love to you all.

pictures

Ummm, looking back at the blog, it really has been a long time since I've posted pictures.  Oops.

A rare treat of chocolate milk from Dutch Bros.

Sweet feet.

"Oh man.  I have to eat from the bottle again?"

I assure you she's at least wearing underwear.  It got a little hot this summer!

Big boy!

He was so tired and fussy, but couldn't fall asleep.  But then I put him in my Moby wrap and he was out within a couple of minutes.

It's a little blurry cause he's a little fast. 

Library books are GREAT!

Precious babes.

Don't you just love his little arm on her leg and his little hand in her hand?

And soon he was falling over!  Too big for sister's lap!

So um Tony hates the water.  (He's getting better.) And didn't really intend to go in the water...But sorta slipped/tripped and ended up a little deeper than planned.  Hence the polo shirt.  Haha.

oh, yes, hello!!

Hmmm, yes, I'm a bit behind in my blogging aren't I?

Well, as always, the days seem to fly by around here.

Since going back to work, I haven't had any time to sit at the computer.

Thanks to the internet/email/Facebook on my phone, I know about some things happening in the world (I can check it while I nurse Noah).

I have some great news I'll be sharing in the coming days, but can't say anything right now.  (And you can quickly forget the idea that it has anything to do with another baby.  NO NEW BABY!)

Zoe is completely potty trained.  She had one accident a couple weeks ago at Church. 

Noah has slept for 4 hours straight the last TWO nights!  Let's see how tonight goes...

We found a great babysitter to watch the kids when Tony and I's work schedules conflict and she's willing to do a couple nights a month so Tony and I can actually have a date night!  Wow.  Huge blessing!

I have lots of pictures to share, but none of them are on the computer.  They are all on my phone.  Sorry.

I'm really tired and would love to be in bed right now (especially since the kids are sleeping!!!) but we have to pick up Tony at 12:30 AM from work.  YUCK.  And yes, I have to be up at 6 AM for work.  It's kind of a bummer.  But it won't be forever.  And it's only 2 nights a week that I have to do this.

I do miss being home with my babies all day, but I love being out in the world, doing productive things.  I appreciate my time at home a lot more and I think my patience lasts a little longer now too.  I'm not so worn out and tired and frustrated.  (I think Tony is though! Haha!)

I slightly regret cutting my hair a few months ago.  I do wish it were long again. But when it gets long, I always chop it off.  It's a vicious cycle, really.

While I'm sad to see summer go (I love the long days, the sunshine, the happy skies, the warm temps), I am excited about buying the kids new fall clothes.  Fall clothes are so cute.  This summer the only time the kids really wore clothes was when we had to leave the house, so neither one of them had very exciting outfits.  (Yes, I care slightly about those things, you should not be surprised.  Don't judge me.  Baby/Toddler clothes are so cute!  And I live vicariously through Zoe.)

I have nothing left to say.  Let's just hope I don't fall asleep and forget to get Tony.  Wouldn't that be tragic?  

Love to you all.

Yes, I promise.  Pictures will be posted soon.  Perhaps this weekend?

Favorite Books

I've been trying to take the kids to the library every few weeks (the books are due every 3 weeks) and we recently made a trip last weekend.  Saturday was a little hot but I wanted to get out of the house and walk around a bit somewhere so I decided to head downtown.  We parked in the parking garage a ways down so we could walk around a bit to and from the library and it was the perfect distance for Zoe.

We didn't get as many books as last time, but we did get a few that are our new favorites.

My sister got Zoe a book a while back called "Knuffle Bunny" by Mo Willems and Zoe absolutely LOVES it and we read it at least once a day.  So we discovered a few more books by Mo called "Knuffle Bunny Too", "City Dog, Country Frog" and then "Edwina-The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She was Extinct".  We've read Edwina two nights in a row so far.  :)

There's also "Iggy Peck, Architect" by Andrea Beaty.  I love the illustrations in this book...It's what drew me to it!

Zoe wanted the book "No More Kissing!" because it had monkeys on the cover!  It's a super cute book.  It's by Emma Chichester Clark.

Books can be a little pricey-especially when you have a 2 year old who can easily destroy a nice book, but once you find ones your child wants to read over and over, it's worth the investment!  We have a great thrift store who is known for their selection of books, so we've found a lot of great finds there.  But they're mostly "older" books.  I need to do more online shopping...There are some great deals that way!

SO ...

... Momma got a new job.

I'm working for a company called Turtle Mountain.  You might have seen our brand in the grocery store, called SO Delicious Dairy Free.  All our products are (as the name implies) dairy free and actually ANIMAL FREE!  YAHOO!  Vegan!  My kind of company.  We make almond milk, coconut milk, and frozen treats out of the almond or coconut milk, as well as yogurts.  We make some soy products (ice cream) but the big sellers are the almond and coconut products.

I'm working in customer relations and I also handle some administrative tasks as well.  I'm just part-time right now and it's a temp to hire position.  It could go full-time at some point but no time frame on when that would be.

Today was my 3rd day and I LOVE it.  I am so happy to be there.  The company is great as are the people I work with.  It's still a fairly small company (even though we've been on the Dr. Oz show and Drew Brees is our spokesperson!) but it's based here in Eugene/Springfield.  

Noah is having a hard time adjusting to the bottle.  He hadn't really eaten much from it before I went back to work and doesn't really like it.  The first thing I do when I get home is nurse him!  Zoe is having a hard time adjusting to all the new changes.  Can't blame her.  We had a great routine, then we brought home a baby.  Got into a good routine with the new baby, now momma's gone half the day and our schedule has changed.  Plus, the week before I got the job we really worked on potty training.  SO many changes for the poor girl.  She's super clingy when I get home and she has random outbursts and tantrums.  And I KNOW it's just because of all the changes.  I'm hoping things will get better in the next few days.

For right now we don't need daycare.  I get off at 3 PM and Tony has rearranged his schedule so he can go in at 3:30.  This means however that I don't see Tony much and 3 days a week he has to take me to work, go home, come back and get me, and then we take him to work, go home, and at 12:00 midnight I have to round up sleeping babies and go get him from work.  It kinda sucks gas wise, time wise, and sleep wise (that cuts into my sleep time) but childcare wise and because we only have the one car, it's just how it has to be.  There are 2 Wednesdays a month I need a babysitter (which I at this moment do not have!!!) because Tony works days the first and last Wednesday of the month.  Luckily I have a couple weeks to figure it all out.  

I mentioned we were potty training Zoe and I'd say she's pretty much there.  She doesn't give a whole lot of warning (yet) when she has to go so we don't take too many ventures out into the real world.  We stay close to the potty!  But she will say "Potty!" when she has to go.  And she struggled with going #2 in the potty for a few days but has since started saying "Potty!" when she has to go #2.  So that is great!  

When we do have to go out, I have her wear underwear and a Pull-Up over her underwear.  I know, it sounds weird.  But when we started potty training months ago, the Pull-Up was basically a fancy diaper and she just kept peeing in it.  Our pediatrician recommended not using Pull-Ups at all for that reason...She actually needs to feel wet to know something happened that shouldn't.  So we just started putting her in big girl underwear, she had a few accidents, didn't like it, and bam.  Potty trained.  But when we're out I want to avoid serious accidents in the carseat or at the store, so I have her wear the underwear so she can still feel she's wet, but not have it leak everywhere.  This idea was suggested by a friend of mine.  Once Zoe can hold it a bit til we find a public bathroom then I'll stop doing this, but for now it works for us.  I'm so very proud of her!  (And yay for less diaper buying and changing!)  Oh and she wears a Pull-Up during nap and at bedtime because obviously sleep training takes a little longer...

Tony's doing okay...Noah is a bit difficult (mostly because of the bottle issue..He's hungry, fusses like crazy, but won't really eat from the bottle) so I know it stresses him out, but I hope things get easier! 

Maybe now that I'm working we can take a trip to the coast or something fun.  Money's been so tight we haven't been able to afford to do much.  But getting away at the coast for a day sounds like fun to us!