On Holidays!

I made it through the weekend. By Saturday night though, I was pooped and counting down until Devin got home. At one point, when Hayden was crying and Hudson was bailing the bathwater out of the tub, I threatened a time out until he's 20. Lets just say I was glad to see Devin :)
It's been a busy week and an even busier week ahead. We're off to visit my parents for the weekend, and then Devin's got a week of holidays after that. We've been immersed in cupboard samples, window sizes, door ideas etc so we plan to make a ton of decisions next week to get them off our plate. This is supposed to be the fun part of building a house, and it is, there's just SO MANY decisions that need to be made. Some choices I really don't even care about but a decision still needs to be made. At times it gets very overwhelming.

See you in a week!

Single mommin' it.

Devin went fishing with his brothers this weekend. That means just me with the kidlets for 3 whole days!!! AHHHH!!
Actually things have been going much smoother than I thought they would. Devin comes home tomorrow around noon and Hudson has only had one time out so far (for hitting his brother) and Hayden hasn't had any fits of unconsolable crying. In fact, Hayden and Hudson both slept an uninterrupted 12 hours the first night! Thank you boys!
It's been a rainy weekend so we've ordered pizza, started episodes of Glee (which I'm now in love with btw), played school bus, and had a dance party. It's been fun!
Even though I've had a great weekend with my boys, I'll be happy to have my Devin home. An extra set of hands is never a bad thing :)

Nighttime is the hardest

Why is it that nighttime is the hardest when you are missing someone you love? As the sun goes down, the ache begins and you can't stop wishing they were near.
Devin and Hudson went camping this weekend (with Devin's brothers as well). This is Hudson's first camping trip and my first weekend without Devin and Hudson. At first, I was excited. Excited to have a weekend to myself (well with Hayden too) to do things that I wanted to do. No real schedule. I mean I can't even remember the last time I was able to lay on the couch and watch a movie.
So far I've gone for a run (and I hope another tonight), watched 2 girl movies, went to the farmers market, went shopping, and did a couple things around the house. Hayden is quite willing to do anything I have in store :). Plus he's not mobile so I don't have to keep my eye on him every second like I do with Hudson.
Last night, I was sad. I missed sleeping next to Devin and I missed Hudson-cuddles right before bed. Instead of the house feeling full of life and love, it just felt empty.
I'm enjoying my momma time and my one-on-one time with Hayden but nighttime is definitely the hardest.

Breaking the mold

Before Hayden was born I always thought that he was going to be a fussy and challenging baby since Hudson was such an easy baby. If one's easy, the next will be quite difficult- that's the perception anyways. Well so far that definitely hasn't been the case! He's a great sleeper and has now found his routine. He sleeps from 8:30-9pm to 5:30-6am and then wakes up to eat and goes back to sleep for a couple more hours (so I do too :)).
He always greets me with a mouth-wide-open smile in the morning and laughs at the strangest things (like when I touch his gums for example). I used to think he was grumpy all the time but now I think he's just being analytical and trying to understand and figure things out. I think he'll do something in the sciences as a profession- and yes I realize he's only 2 months old.
He only cries when he's hungry or has a burp or is overtired which makes figuring him out not too difficult.
He's such a sweet little guy. Either he's the exception to the rule or you just can't believe everything you hear.

Running? Not so much.

Running has seem to take a back burner. I started C25K and I really enjoyed it (to my surprise) but I'm having a hard time sticking with it. Either it's been raining or +30 in the evening still so I don't go. Or I'm way too sore from all the manual labor on the weekend. Or I'm tired because I've been going steady since 7am that morning. Or Hayden was up early and I'm exhausted. Or we've got something in the evening, blah blah blah.
I'm kind of disappointed that I've only been able to complete 5 sessions of it but I have to remember that I can only do so much. Sometimes something's got to give.

Budget time!

New houses = new expenses. There's the higher mortgage we'll be paying, new furniture and electronics needed to fill the house, costs associated with moving, costs associated with living on an acreage, and costs we'll incur along the way as we add or change things to the build. In an effort to save money and tighten our pursestrings, we're now operating with a budget. I mean a real one where cash is withdrawn every paycheque and money is allotted to each category of spending. No credit cards allowed either!

Tomorrow will mark the second pay period we're doing this for and I have to say that so far, we're doing quite well. We even have money left over in each category to roll over. It's taken some time and energy (and will power) to make it work but it really has been going great. More money is getting thrown into savings than ever before and neither Devin or I feel like it's a hinderance.

Shopping takes a bit more planning. I used to just go and get random items it felt like. Now I collect coupons (no extreme couponing as it's impossible in Canada), look at the flyers and let that dictate what we eat for the next two weeks, and make a list and stick to it!! We know we have some things coming up that will cost money so now we figure out where the money will come from and set aside the money upfront.

It feels really great to know where our money is going now and to know that none of it is being wasted.

I need a smaller plate.

I haven't had much time to post lately, or to do many momma related things for that matter. Things have been hectic but also fun. Lately days have been filled with activities and checking off things on our to do lists.

Hudson still has been going to his 'summer camp' (which he's doing quite well at now and LOVES playing with the other kids) and that seems to eat up every morning even though it's only an hour long.

I'm trying to get Hayden into a routine with napping like we did with Hudson but with us being out of the house so much it's proving quite difficult. Especially since he wants to nap from 11am-12:30 and then again from 3-4:30pm whereas Hudson naps from 1-3pm. So basically we're stuck in the house from 11-supper time with someone napping or Hayden has to compromise and nap in the stroller or carseat. Its just hard for him to get into a solid routine if he continues to have his naps on the go.

We finally got the final house plans yesterday. We should have a basement dug in the next few weeks and will be complete by May/June of next year. Weekends have been filled with getting things accomplished around our lot. We mowed the 4 ft grass, cut down trees, cut those trees into logs, planted 720 trees and made shelters, and weeded and watered the trees. It's been tiresome but I know that all of our hardwork will pay off in the end.

With the move looming in the background, I've been starting to organize and clean out spaces, get rid of junk, pack up crap we don't use or won't in the next bit etc. We've got a lengthy list of things to complete or repair around here before we sell and I know that we have time but things are only going to get busier for us. I think we should try to tackle some stuff while we can.

Hudson has been quite interested in potty training as well. I think maybe this weekend we'll start that adventure. I mean, what's one more thing added to the pile?

Between camp, vaccinations, drs appts, grocery shopping, switching banks, laundry, all the things associated with the new house build, work, and trying to squeeze in play time- life is busy!

Lucky

Recently I've been really thinking about just how lucky I am. I mean, I try to not take anything for granted but sometimes I get caught up in the moment and fail to appreciate the people in my life. Sometimes people are so focused on what they have, they forget about who they can share it with.

My husband is my absolute best friend who I was lucky enough to meet when we were just 18. Because we've been together so long (and grown up together), we share so many experiences and memories in the last 13 years. I think about what we were like then vs now and so much has changed. I'm very thankful that we changed and grew together and not apart. I can't imagine living a life that didn't include him in it.

Hudson is a special little boy. He is so well behaved (he does have his moments though) but as he grows, what becomes most prevalent about him is the size of his heart. He's only 20 months but he is always willing to help. Most of the time he'll also stop what he's doing and give you a kiss or a hug. As a first born, he's very 'easy' and has been that way. I'm lucky that I have a strong, independent boy and one with such a big heart.

Hayden, too, is also very special and I think about how lucky I am to have him. At 2 months old, his personality is just starting to emerge but like his big brother, he's also been easy. He's starting to smile a lot now and we can even make him laugh those baby giggles. He's turned into a great sleeper and doesn't overly fuss. He is so adorable I just want to hold him all day.

I'm a lucky girl to have such a wonderful family. I want them to know just how important they are to me. My goal is to show them every single day.

Glad that's not my kid!

Our town offers a summer program for kids so of course I enrolled Hudson in it. So off we went today for the first day of age related activities. I was excited for Hudson to play with kids his own age. We walked to the school and were met with friendly 'teachers' who asked us to write our names and decorate foam shapes. Once that was complete we headed over to the gym where they had balls, jump ropes, hula hoops, and tunnels set out. Hudson loved it!

The teachers then asked for everyone to play a game. It was simple. Dance and then when the music stops, everyone sit on their bums. All the kids loved the game except for one kid who was off playing with a ball, kicking it to himself and not listening or caring at all what was going on.

Then comes story time. All the kids sat around the teacher listening to the story except for that one kid who wouldn't listen to his mom, screamed and cried at the suggestion of putting the ball down and listening to the story like all the other kids. This went on for all the activities for the hour. Glad that wasn't my kid.
Except for one thing.

That WAS my kid.

I was so frustrated but felt helpless since there was nothing that I could do. I couldn't very well put him in a time out, and I had to hold Hayden so I couldn't really get in there and do it with him. Besides, no other parents were helping their kids out. The things the teacher was asking were not over his head. He's done them a thousand times in music class or at home.

Almost for one second in the height of his 'independence' I thought that maybe I should pretend that I don't know him. I mean there was like 30 other kids there, no one knew who's kid belonged to who. But that only lasted for a brief moment. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't love him it's just that I was so embarrassed by his lack of listening skills. Also because in a way its a reflection of me and my parenting skills. Our parenting skills. Sigh.

The program runs Mon-Fri for the next 4 weeks so hopefully the following days will go much smoother. I sure hope so.