Spring Break is over…boo! BUT there are only five more school weeks until SUMMER break! :-)
Saturday 4/12/14
Lots of mama and baby boy time. We spent the day hanging out at home playing outside and made a trip to the grocery store. Laid back and lots of fun.
Sunday 4/13/14
We spent the morning setting up RF's new toddler bed. It has some pretty intense ABC/123 Elmo bedding on it (see for yourself…). I never thought I would embrace character-themed kid bedding, but hey, it's what the kids likes, so we're going to go with it. After setting up his bed we ate lunch and then he took his nap in his new bed - it was a complete success. I was so proud of him when he woke up that we rode over to the USS Alabama and let RF run around the airplanes for a while. Although, all of the seagulls peaked his interest and he spent a good bit of time chasing them around the park. RF also slept in his big bed tonight and did really well. He woke up once about 11:45 and called out my name, but a quick reassurance that he was safe and a few pats on the back did the trick.
RF's big boy bed. I added a pool noodle under the fitted sheet on the outer side as a precaution and he's done really well so far.
He LOVES airplanes.
RF enjoyed chasing the seagulls around just as much as he enjoyed looking at the airplanes and the big, big boat.
Airplane, mama.
Monday 4/14/14
RA had a late night last night working so when RF woke up, bright and early at 5:15am, I handled morning duty (RA usually handles morning duty while I get dressed for work, but it is my Spring Break, so I wasn't concerned about time). We had breakfast and got dressed for school. I took RF over to school about 7 and came home to tackle some of the items on my to-do list starting with CLEANING. MY. HOUSE. I've been picking up each evening as much as possible, but have not been doing a lot of cleaning. After lunch Aunt Hartley and I rode over to the mall to kill some time (and I may have indulged in an Auntie Anne's pretzel) before I picked RF up from school. We came home and had a great afternoon playing outside before the rain set in, cooking dinner and watching Curious George. About 6:45 RF pointed to the iPad and said, "Off." I turned it off and he laid his head down on RA's shoulder - his sign that he is ready for bed. I love that he is becoming more and more able to tell us what he wants/needs - using words and gestures. So much has changed in the communication world in the last few months. I started making a list of all of the words RF knows and can use correctly last week and stopped in the 90s. He is growing up so much each day and I just love, love, love getting to experience it as a mama. :-)
Tuesday 4/15/14
Spent today working around the house getting a few minor projects completed and catching up on some cleaning that desperately needed to be taken care of in the Hawk house. After I picked RF up from school we came home and played in the backyard until dinnertime. My sweet outside boy was in heaven.
Wednesday 4/16/14
Rough night for RF. Teething sucks. I spent the morning helping RA with some paperwork before heading out after lunch to take care of some things across the bay before picking up RF at school. He had a really good day at school and had his teachers laughing when I walked in to pick him up.
Thursday 4/17/14
Another ROUGH night last night. This teething round is crazy intense for RF. I really try not to do medicine unless it is absolutely necessary, but these last two days have been a no brainer - my little boy was hurting and needed some relief. Thankfully, the pain reliever has been helping him feel a little better. I spent today taking care of some appointments - eye exam, chiropractor, etc. Feeling quite accomplished + super exhausted. RF had a great morning at school and we came home and hung out as a family.
Friday 4/18/14
And yet another rough night for the Hawks. I am really hoping that this round of teething is gone soon. We spent the morning hanging out at home watching the rain move through. After RF's nap we headed out to the grocery store - one of RF's favorite things. I loathe grocery shopping (completely and absolutely loathe it), but RF's enjoyment of it makes it a little more bearable - especially if we can get one of the carts that look like a car. He LOVES those carts.
Saturday 4/19/14
RF woke up this morning in great spirits (like he usually does), but our day quickly started turning more and more in the direction of a sick day. He wasn't interested in his lunch at all and went down for a nap at 11:00 and slept until 1:45. He woke up from his nap again in good spirits, but felt a bit warm - no fever, just warm. I got him dressed and took him over to spend some time with Meme while I had a much needed hair appointment (the grays needed coloring + I was ready to go with a short haircut - a mama haircut as RA calls it). When I picked him up it was pretty obvious that he wasn't feeling well and he whimpered/cried the whole way home. Taking his temperature at home gave us the verification that he was running a fever. A lukewarm bath brought it down a little bit, but he and I snuggled on the couch and then headed to bed at 7:00. Longest. Night. Ever. I felt like I had a newborn again. RF was completely restless and didn't actually fall into a good, solid, deep sleep until early Sunday morning.
Sunday 4/20/14
Long, long night of RF feeling crummy, but his fever was definitely down this morning. RA and RF spent the morning hanging out while mama made hash brown casserole to take to Easter lunch at Aunt Hartley's house. A good dose of pain reliever/fever-reducer and his allergy medicine and RF was good to go. We had a great lunch with the grandparents and RF ran all over Aunt Hartley's house.
Hunting Easter eggs with Meme...
Our little family...
Unfortunately, a lack of sleep led to a major meltdown for RF and that was our signal that we needed to get him home to rest in his space. Once home RF fought his nap for about an hour before giving in and finally falling asleep. RF and RA took a good Sunday afternoon nap, but I couldn't sleep…my mind was racing.
I know my child and I know his meltdowns today were magnified by the fact that he hadn't had much sleep last night. While he was fighting his nap I had to step out of his room and take a minute for myself at which point I had a breakdown. He was tired, I was tired and we were both upset, but the first thought that ran through my mind as I walked into my bathroom and took a deep breath was 'How in the world am I going to handle days like today with two babies? How am I going to focus on my marriage, my children, my role as a teacher and the many, many, many demands it holds for me, maintain a house, etc.?' My house is a wreck (even though I managed to keep it clean over Spring Break). Nothing is ready for back-to-school/work tomorrow. RF's Easter basket didn't even get put together last night/this morning with all of the sickness/craziness. Anyone who begins to think (or dares to speak) the words that parenting is easy is kidding themselves.
This is without a doubt the hardest role I have ever had to play. And days like today make me realize just how much of a challenge it is. It's not easy. Some days it is not even fun. But in the calm, quiet and stillness of my house right now (quiet other than the old beagle snoring on the floor at my feet) I know that this is a role that I was meant to play. Being a wife and a mother are the two most important roles that I could ever have the chance to take on. So in reflecting on my meltdown moment of, 'How am I going to handle all of this with two babies?' I can be confident in knowing that I can handle it because I was born to handle it. I can handle it because we can handle it - together. RA and I are a team. I have a husband who is there for me in all of my break-down moments (and there have been quite a few here recently), a husband who makes me smile, laugh and gives 100% to his family. And I have a little boy who loves me more than words. When he's sick, he wants his mama. When he's outside enjoying nature he runs up to me to show me the leaf that he found or the flower that he picked - he wants to share his moments with me. His smile is enough to melt away the roughest of days. His laughter and wonder and pure, unconditional love make everyday - the good and the bad - completely worth it.
So sometimes I just need a moment to get out my crazy, hormonal emotions and take a step back.
Sometimes I have to be reminded that the perfectness of my life does not lie in the perfectness of me, but rather in the moments that I stop and focus on my family. The perfectness of my life lies in the fact that I get to experience this life with RA, RF and JE - together, as a family.
An airplane pillow, two puzzles, sidewalk chalk, Curious George fruit snacks and a new coloring book with crayons.
Not feeling 100%, but definitely feeling a bit better this evening after his bath. :-)
