Week in Review -- Two Kids Are Tough!

This has been a tough week to say the least. Monday was good as I had little scheduled so accomplishing little meant I met my expectations (all three of us were fed and clothed by the end of the day at least!). Tuesday, I planned my first solo with the kids outting and well, it failed. I showered after Matthew got out around 7:30am. Philip was awake shortly thereafter and then Braewyn needed to be fed around 8:00am. Between making mine and Philip's breakfast, getting us dressed, doing my hair and make-up, trying to keep Philip occupied and contemplating just how much tv he should watch while I'm getting ready, making sure he doesn't squish or hit Braewyn in her bouncy seat, changing her diapers, remembering that Philip still wears diapers too and changing him, nursing Braewyn again, and finally realizing I had NO CLUE where my keys were (in the bottom of my purse of course!), it was suddenly 11:30am and I was too frustrated to go anywhere. I did then take the kids outside. I pushed Braewyn in the stroller around the cul-de-sac while Philip stood in Hayden's yard. Sharlene had not yet seen Braewyn so I told her we would drop by in a few minutes after I got my stress out through walking a little.

It was greating showing my daughter to Sharlene and seeing how little Braewyn really is (in comparison with seeing her next to Sharlene's four-month-old Jordan), but then Philip had his second breakdown of the day (yeah, I forgot to mention that I gave him a bath around 10:00am and he screamed throughout the entire process; he's funny about morning baths like that). He did not like the idea of just visiting for a minute and wanted very much to spend the afternoon playing with Hayden. I got him back out of their house and had to carry him while pushing the stroller back across the street. Matthew came home a few minutes later to a frazzled household. Lunch was followed with putting Philip down for his nap, nursing Braewyn, hoping I could get a nap only to sleep for 15 minutes before the phone rang, and then hearing Philip banging on his wall (he's great about not getting off his bed until told he can and so he's developed the "bang on the wall until they come get you" method).

Luckily, Matthew was home shortly after that. However he had a softball game at 6:30pm so he was out the door pretty soon after arriving home. After Philip's third breakdown of the day (he didn't want to eat dinner), I put him and Braewyn in the car as we would be attending half of Matthew's game. Philip would stay at the game while Braewyn and I would go to my friend Kim's house for a Sunday School get-together (one of our 10th grade girls is moving next week so it was a going-away party). Ruth Ann took Philip off my hands in the parking lot and I headed to Kim's house without getting to watch any of the game as I was later in getting there than I planned. Anyway, the party was fun and then home by 9:45pm. Tuesday night was the normal 2 hours of sleep, nurse Braewyn, 3 hours of sleep, and it's morning already!

Wednesday was a little better as I actually got out of the house as intended. MOPS had a scheduled playdate for strawberry picking which I thought would be fun for Philip and me. I stopped by Mom's house first to drop off Braewyn. Mom's sister, Cindy, is visiting this week and she was excited to babysit for me. Off to the strawberry field, but then I pass Jo Ellen on the road who tells me the event is off as the people who own the field are no where to be found. Well, Philip and I are dressed and in the car so I drive us over to the park for some mommy and son playtime. It was a good time together and then I took him for an overdue haircut. Back to Mom's for the afternoon. I had an eye exam at 3:00am so again no nap. Finally to church for supper as it beat going home to cook for myself, and yes, my eyes were still dilated from the exam so everyone must have thought the sleepless nights were REALLY wearing me down as I looked strung out. Wednesday night was actually restful as I only got up once during the dark of night (nursed Braewyn at 11:30pm before we went to bed, again at 3:00am, and then heard her grunting at 6:30am when it's already getting light!).

I needed a good night's rest as Thursday morning was the first day of a Beth Moore Bible study at our church. I needed to be on time for this and third time proved to be the charm as they say because I was! It was motivation that my neighbor and friend Roz would be riding with me. The Bible study was good although I was somewhat distracted having Braewyn in with me (she slept for almost an hour but then I nursed her trying to be as quiet as I could). Thursday afternoon proved again unsuccessful in the nap department, but I did lay down for a short rest after Matthew came home.

Today was great in that I again had no plans and actually stayed in my pajamas until 3:15pm. The kids were in pajamas all day, but I thought I could shower and then nap before Philip woke up. Wrong, I heard wall banging about 3 minutes after getting out of the shower. Again, I took a short nap (roughly 15 minutes) after Matthew came home. I greatly appreciate that he made dinner and then played with Philip outside for a good bit. The little munchkin has been in bed for an hour now, Matthew is holding Braewyn on the couch, and I should go to bed asap as I might have an hour before she wants to eat again.

I am SO BLESSED to have Matthew and our two children. The hectic level of things these days is fleeting (3-4 more months at the most as Braewyn will one day sleep through the night) and my energy level will return to normal. In the meantime, I need to be a faithful servant of my time and daily pray each morning for God to order my days. As my friend Julie reminded me today, taking care of my husband and kids is God's will for my life right now. There will be plenty of time later for adding other activities back in to the mix.

If you've read all of this, thank you. Please let me know if I'm not alone and if you can say, "I've been there."