Being Mom

Wyatt.

My heart.

This little guys has been putting me through some challenges parenting-wise.  He is a little over two and a half, and it shows. He has his own agenda, his own ideas and his own opinions. He wants to do things for himself, the way that he wants to, and heaven forbid anyone get in his way.

He does the full body tantrum, has it perfected, and will stop, make sure you're watching, and then resume full-on brat mode once he's certain he has your attention.  If the twins upset him, he will scream, his volume ear deafening, until the twins give in, or Josh and I intervene.

We're working really hard on getting him to use his words, and this week I've seen some definite improvement. Instead of screaming bloody murder, he will come find me to tell on his brothers.  He will also (instead of flailing on the floor) tell me the idea he had for how things were going to go.

Getting him to ask for what he wants has been key.

Changing our bedtime routine (details here) has been so good for both of us.  I miss rocking him like I did when he was a baby, but he's been great about putting himself to sleep.  And it's been nice to have Josh put him to bed occasionally.  

But regardless of him using his words and going to bed without a struggle, it's been a challenge to adjust from "Two kids and a baby" to "Three kids".  They team up against each other... They fight like gangbusters... They all want the same toy...  It's exhausting.  

Last time I talked to my grandpa he said it sounded like I needed a referee uniform.  Maybe he's right. Perhaps the boys would take me more seriously if I looked the part.

Luckily along with the challenges of him growing up (sharing with his brothers, using his words and understanding that he's not the boss!) there are some adorable things he now does.  

For instance, when there is a lag in conversation, or I just look at him instead of answering, he says, "Awkward!"  It's seriously hilarious!

His other new thing is to wipe my kisses off his face with his beloved taggie. He smiles evilly and says in a sing-song voice, "I wiped them off!" Then I tickle him, attack him with more kisses, and the cycle starts all over again.  It's adorable.

{Wyatt:: 10 weeks}

Wyatt is now the age the twins were when I quit my job. I can't believe that I worked so long when they were little.  I feel so blessed to have been home this whole time with Wyatt. To never have to leave him. To witness all his moments.  I particularly loved breastfeeding him, laying him down for every nap & bedtime, and enjoying post-nap snuggles for the last 2+ years.

{Summer 2011}

I realize now just what I missed with Jack & Logan, and I'll be honest, it breaks my heart a little bit. But life can't be lived backward, so I am just doing my best to enjoy right now. To make the most of today.  To write down the funny things they say, to read their favorite books (sometimes over and over again), and to let them be little.

{Fall 2011}

Today I am grateful for the gift of Stay-At-Home-Motherhood.  A gift that my loving husband gave me and continues to give me by working hard enough to provide for our family on his own.  He is so supportive of my role at home (both mother and homeschooler) and always does whatever he can to make my life easier.  

It's a beautiful thing, 

raising these boys, 

and even on the hard days, 

I feel so blessed to be doing it.

Bathrooms

I have decided to continue sharing our home.  

(I started with our bedroom & the linen closet here, 

and you can see the boys' bedroom in this post.)

These first three pictures are from the downstairs bathroom, which is the boys' bathroom. It's handicap accessible, which means it's huge! And it has a moveable shower head, which is quite convenient for rinsing off soapy kids.  

We have a basket of books for the boys on an odd side table we had, and a basket for extra toilet paper rolls on the floor.  I love our new non-skid stool, so Wyatt can wash his hands independently, and I am also in love with the Clorox Toilet Wand.  I have one for each bathroom.

I buy hand soap for the boys' bathroom in bulk and each week I refill their small dispenser. That way I'm not stressing about how many pumps they use.  I'm just happy they're using soap!  I also always make sure they have hand lotion (on the soap bar holder to the right of the sink) because it gets so dry up here!

Above the sink, on top of the medicine cabinet I store air spray, bubble bath, Vapor Bath (for when they're sick) and my favorite night time Johnson & Johnson lotion.

The medicine chest in that bathroom is the only storage we have down there. 

So it's imperative that I keep it organized.  

The top shelf has A&D ointment, Baby Orajel, and a myriad of eyedrops.

The second shelf has bath body paint, nail cutting supplies & pads.

The third shelf has bandaids, neosporin, a thermometer, Desitin & Aquaphor (which we use constantly for dry skin!)

The fourth shelf has more bath paints, Vicks Baby VapoRub, chapsticks, tylenol & ibuprofen, toothpaste, Lubriderm lotion (my favorite!) and our BandAid brand antiseptic.

And the fifth and final shelf has floss as well as the boys' toothbrushes.  

In this picture you can see the other thing I store in our bathroom: Water.

Yep, those two huge Rubbermaid totes are filled to the brim with water.  I learned after our first time without water (for THREE everliving days), that having some on hand, in case of emergency, is a good idea.  I wish I had a better place to keep them, but if I kept them in the arctic entry or laundry room, they would likely freeze, which wouldn't be very helpful!

I also have a little bit of fun art in the bathroom.

I love this one that my friend Kristina made me. It puts a smile on my face each time I read it.

And this one from my mom cracks me up.

"Aim"

(head shaking)

Only a mom of little boys would have a sign in the bathroom that says, "Aim."

---

The upstairs bathroom is our bathroom.  

It has a bit of a beachy theme, and it's lovely in there.

It is much smaller than the downstairs bathroom, 

but it has under-sink storage, which is awesome!  

Curlers, toilet paper & Clorox wipes,

A basket of bath items & a basket of make up,

Feminine products, hairspray & a basket of hair things:

brush, hairbands, mirror, blowdryer & curling iron

 In the medicine cabinet I have:

On the top shelf, lotion, ProActiv & cotton face pads.

On the second shelf is nail accessories (files, clippers, tweezers, scissors) Josh's Rx, Bandaids, Vaseline (a must for noses when the boys have been sick) eye cream & Tylenol.

On the third shelf, floss, a small jewelry box, A&D ointment, and chapstick.

On the final shelf we have deodorant, cologne, body spray, oil, face lotion & Q tips.

It's taken a while to figure out what I need in the bathroom, and what can go in the linen closet.  It's also been a bit of a learning curve discovering what I can order online (say, from Amazon or Walmart) versus what must be bought in person over the summer.  

For prescriptions we found a mail order pharmacy that makes my life super convenient.  And Amazon & Span Alaska provide nearly all the groceries we need.  The most difficult things to get are drug store items.  Cold medicine, facewash, hairspray, chapstick and nail polish remover, for example.  What I wouldn't give for a Walgreens on the corner!

One of Those Days

 Oh man. Do you ever just have one of those days?

(Insert friendly nodding as we all collectively lift our coffee mugs for a sip.)

Today was that day.

My Tuesdays tend to be long, even if they're good days.  Daddy's gone from morning till night-- school followed by class followed by homework-- and this mama's on her own for all of it.  

But today wasn't a good day. It wasn't even an okay day. It was a bad day.  

Now that it's over, it's okay to admit that. It's okay to admit defeat.  

It started last night. At one a.m. Logan came in complaining about his ear hurting.  Then again at two a.m I was awakened by Logan & Jack, together, complaining about not feeling well.  At 4:30am Logan was up again about his ear, and finally at 5:45am I got up and climbed into Logan's bed, barking occasionally at the boys when they would talk or try to get out of bed.

Finally at 6:30am the light turned green and I gave up on the sweet dream of sleep.  Instead we got up, got dressed, made beds and started our day.  Josh, who had been up all night coughing himself, got in the shower and then let me have a turn.  

Before I knew it, the day was in full swing.  

We did school, which takes forever lately. Between the boys' extra long reading lessons, which I (obviously) have to do twice, and potty training Wyatt ("Are you pooping? Do you need to poop? Where does poop go?") we're lucky to get school finished by lunch time!  Today was no exception.  

Then after snack Logan was playing in their tent, which we set up in the living room, and he tripped coming out of it. He smacked his poor little eye/glasses on the bottom step of the stairs, smashing his glasses and splitting his eyebrow.  It was bleeding so much at first that I called Josh in a panic, worrying he'd need stitches.  Josh flew home, leaving class in the middle, to check on us.  He assured me that it was just some small cuts and he'd be okay.  

During all of this, Jack, crying hysterically, had fled upstairs, and lay sobbing on his bed while we tended to Logan. Once Logan had stopped crying, and we'd made sure he was going to be okay, I followed up with Jack.  He said Logan had been crying so hard, it scared him.  He was shook up all afternoon.  Sweet boy.

Josh was able to go back to class and the boys and I carried on about our evening.  I made lasagna, tickled Wyatt and emptied the upstairs trash.  I asked Logan, just before the lasagna was done, to take the garbage into the arctic entry for me. Instead of doing that, he thought it'd be fun to play dodgeball with Jack with it.  Well, Jack's got a knack for dodgeball, so he naturally ducked... And instead the flying bag of trash hit my Scentsy warmer, splashing warm, blue Luna wax all over my curtain, wall, heater and flooring.  

I took a deep breath (it smells delightful), and walked away. 

In fact, it's still there. I'm not ready yet.

It's still too soon.

Instead I retrieved the lasagna from the oven and set the table.  Then while the boys ate, I attempted warming the metal on Logan's glasses with my blow dryer, and bending them back into shape with Josh's needle nose pliers.  Instead, I busted them.  I was nearly in tears.  I called Josh to apologize.  We just spent $331 on Jack's new pair of glasses (after his lens got lost in the snow), so breaking Logan's pair feels like adding insult to injury.  Josh assured me it was okay, and thankfully he agrees that glasses are imperative so we will see about fixing this pair, but if that doesn't work, we'll do whatever it takes to get him another pair as quickly as possible.

My day ended more peacefully than it began.  The kids, being sick, all fell asleep very quickly, and I really enjoyed watching the newest episode of The Little Couple, where they picked up their absolutely adorable baby girl in India.  

And the best news?

Tomorrow's another day.

Thank goodness!

Underoo's

I think the best part of potty training this little cutie,

is seeing him run around in his underwear.

I mean, isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?!?

He's been doing really well peeing on his potty chair.

He'll even tell us when he needs to go.

We're still working on #2, but we'll get there!

And in the meantime, I get to enjoy the cutest underoo model on the planet!

Care Packages

We have been so blessed by care packages this year.

Chicago Fan:

From our Chicago Fan we recently got a lavender wrapped gift box stocked with fresh fruits & veggies,

Spiderman washcloths for the boys,

fruit snacks, Koolaid, drink sweeteners, pepperoni,

silly straws, gum, yogurt covered raisins & so much more.

It came during a particularly brutal week, so it was a much needed highlight!

Thank you, girl. We love ya!!!

---

Emily:

 From my sweet friend Emily I got an amazing Mama care package.  It had chocolates and treats, a to-go coffee mug, which I have used every Saturday since to take my morning pick-me-up with to Saturday Social at the school,

as well as three books to help me grow my faith.

My absolute favorite thus far is Jesus Today by Sarah Young.  It's short devotionals are easy to read each day and help me feel connected.  It has been such a blessing to read.

Thank you for your thoughtfulness Emily.

It truly touched my heart.

---

The Brown Family:

Josh's cousin Nathan & his wife Dunnette sent us an awesome care package during Christmas break.

It was stuffed with goodies!  Werther's originals, movies for date night,

Pepperoni for pizza, fruit snacks, puzzles for the boys,

homemade cough drops,

a box of Goldfish (Wyatt's personal favorite!)

and mini chocolates for each of the boys.

We absolutely love Nathan & Dunnette.

So much so that we named Wyatt Wyatt Nathanial after Nate!

And every time my boys see a picture of their little boy, Caleb, they ask when we're going to see him again.  They think he's the cutest!  And they're right!

---

Kari:

My friend Kari has seriously gotten me through the last few weeks.  Mornings when I would wake up crying, I would text or call her, and she would talk me through, promising me that better days would come.

She was right, and I have been so grateful for her friendship, love & support.

She sent me a "Stress Less" care package with Hugs, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Scentsy, socks, hair ties, an inspirational decoration to start my mornings off right (it says "Pray More, Worry Less"), tea & an adorable tea mug, plus a million bath items I can't wait to use.

She also got me a book, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and three beautiful journals.

That package wasn't only for me.

Kari also included pencil bags & pencils for the boys,

beef jerky for Josh,

and these adorable,

hilarious disguises for these crazy kids of mine!

I am so grateful for my amazing friendship with Kari and so blessed to have had her by my side through the last couple months.  

I love you, girl!  More than a trip to Panera!

---

Kristina:

My sweet friend Kristina recently moved to a farm in Illinois, and if you recall, sent me boxes of apples in the fall.  Those apples are the gift that keeps on giving. When I received them, I sliced them up and stored bag after bag of them in my freezer. Just last week I pulled some out and made an apple cake. It put a huge smile on my face to have fresh apples in the middle of February!

This care package, like all the others, was full of little joys.

Scentsy wax (Luna & Jet Set Go-- holy delicious!), homemade strawberry jam, dried apples (that Wyatt went gaga over!) and cookie cutters.  And I'm in love with the sticky notes & pens she sent me.

She also sent the boys a book, Spiderman markers, Phineas & Ferb folders and spiral notebooks, a balloon craft for school, a pack of card games, new toothpaste & their favorite cereal-- Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Wyatt's second favorite (after the dried apples) was the bag of m&m's she sent him.

He started to open them, and I told him he had to save them for movie night.  He continued opening them anyway, and this is his, "I dare you to try and tell me no" face.

Unfortunately for him, that face doesn't work on me.  But I did enjoy capturing it. We ended up transferring the m&m's to a baggie for him to save for Saturday night.  Little stinker!

~Kristina, truly, your thoughtfulness and kind words have been such a boon to me through this difficult time.  I am beyond grateful for you... and your apple orchard!~

---

Erika:

Erika is a friend I made through my blog.  We text (mostly laughing lately about how the weather in Wisconsin and Alaska has traded places) and cheer each other on through the week. It's lovely to have another friend to reach out to when I'm feeling lonely up here.

When I saw a package from her on the kitchen table (thank you Josh for being our mail delivery man!) I knew enough to get excited!!!

Inside the box was a new movie for the boys to watch on movie night (perfect timing!), 

and a candle for mommy!

There was also stickers (Mickey Mouse, superheroes & Easter ones) a set of card games, Grab & Go Playpacks (which are our preferred activity on planes!) white boards, markers, crayons & erasers that the twins can use in school (so awesome!!!) St. Patrick's Day window appliques, a set of Doug & Melissa paint pages, an adorable set of "blank books" for the boys to create stories inside and those fun lasso-sticky-hands that kids LOVE to play with.  She also sent a Word Play book that I think will be really fun (and funny!) to play with Logan & Jack, a pack of glow sticks, as well as toothpaste & toothbrushes for the little guys.

Wyatt's two favorites were:

the new books (Llama Llama Red Pajama and Snow Bear)

and the bag of "only marshmallows" she sent.

They are like Lucky Charms, without the oat cereal pieces.

The kid was in heaven!

"Mom, can I have these?!?"

:)

I will admit, I had some too, and they're pretty much *magic*!

We also got chocolate covered cherries, Angry bird graham cracker snacks, two types of deluxe buttermilk pancake mix, beef jerky (Josh is also in heaven!) and cheese. Holy Wisconsin Cheese Awesomeness!!!  Squeaky, Mild Cheddar, Colby Jack and Vegetable Jack... We're eating cheese like it's going out of style!

Erika, your package could not have come at a better time. It has entertained my kids through this three-day weekend we've had, and made me feel so loved!  I especially appreciate the bracelet, which is beautiful and thoughtful.

---

As you have probably picked up... We love getting mail!  It spices up otherwise boring weeks, and gets things into my boys' hands that we wouldn't normally have access to.

If you're thinking of sending a package, check out our Care Packages page (which has our address & some shipping tips).  And here's a list of things we're enjoying currently.

What We Love:

Koolaid

crafts for the boys

gum

granola bars

fruit snacks

We really do appreciate everything that comes our way.  

And thank you {again} to all you girls who have sent such awesome care packages recently!!!

***

"A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions,

and the roots spring up and make new trees."

-Amelia Earheart