what i'm learning and what i love...

i love being a momma...
and having 2 kids is a tremendous blessing... i look at the girls a lot and think, "Gosh, Robin...you really are a blessed woman with these girls...they're beautiful, funny, and they've been entrusted to you..."

i'm not going to lie...going from 1 to 2 children has been a little bit of an adjustment... i'm not completely sure how to verbalize all of the changes and challenges just yet...but each day, i'm learning a lot of new things... some of them are realizations...some of them make me laugh out loud...and some of them make me want to cry...

a teacher i used to teach with, who had 4 boys, told me that adding a second child was the most challenging for him and his wife (he stayed home with his boys - Mr. Mom :))... i honestly thought, since i baby sit, i would not have as much of an adjustment, but i was pretty off the mark there. don't get me wrong...things are not TERRIBLE...it's just different...and it takes me a little while to adjust...

so, this week, i've written down some of the things that my mind has loved or what i've learned... :) i hope to do this for a few weeks...and i also will work on putting words with my thoughts and feelings... :)

so this week, what i've loved and learned... :)

*i have a very wonderful husband who jumps in with both feet every single day after working all day... after around 5 hours of sleep every day... he's a gem, without a doubt...

*there are not enough hours in the day to get everything i want to do finished (which is why i guess there's "tomorrow," huh? :))

*that whiny child that can grate on your last nerve that i sometimes scoffed at while shopping or in public before - yep, i have one now... heaven help me...

*it's ok if you set out to make cookies on Sunday and only get 15 made in 2 days... it's good that cookie dough keeps in the fridge... (this is also good for someone's craving for eating some cookie dough :))

*i love when K hears a noise and says, "hear dat??" as she gets really quiet to listen. we hear things like the ice maker, a trash truck, and dogs barking... but my favorite: when the wind chimes sound, she says..."hear dat??? hear jingle bells....." :)

*i need to find some quick "go to" foods for breakfast and lunch for me...

*burp clothes are like gold around here

*i do a lot of laundry...and it takes me forever!

*teaching my sweet K about the birds that come to the feeders as we eat our breakfast and lunch is really a blessing these days... i love her grin and giggles as she watches them "eat their din--nnnnner" and fly "high in the kye" when they're finished

*it takes me 8 minutes to serve me my food, warm up my dinner plate (at 8:40 because of someone needing to eat first, then a diaper change, then...), put leftover spaghetti in a bowl, put leftover blueberries in a bowl, tear cling wrap to cover the bowls, oops, forgot to put leftover corn in a bowl (more cling wrap) with one arm while holding Hannah in my other arm, slightly bouncing because she's in need of some good sleep (without her big sister banging on the bongos, playing her harmonica or tambourine, or yep, whining so loudly she can't sleep)...

*it's so sweet to hear K sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" - her version goes something like this... "Tinkle, tinkle, staaaarrrrr....high in the kye...." with her little arms moving up above her head like she's mopping the ceiling... it makes me smile every time... (especially b/c she doesn't whine when she sings this)

*it's never predictable to be at home with a 3 week old and an almost 2 1/2 year old... case and points: flying "meatballs" at your head when you're nursing ("meatballs" = balls from the ballpopper toy), throwing fits about puzzles and throwing pieces, pooping all the way up to your armpits, refusing to eat "fruit snacks" that she's always loved...things are always changing around here! :)

*the dogs, for being as old as they are, are real troopers about waiting till 2 or 3 to go outside to do their business...and i am more patient about letting them sniff every blade of greening grass because they're so neglected these days...

*i should be going to bed earlier but i can't seem to get there...

*it's ok that i sometimes don't get to shower until 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon... as one of my high school helpers (when i taught) wrote to me on facebook (she's the momma to twins!), "i don't get to shower until later in the day either...and my girls don't seem to mind at all!" :)

*i'm beyond thankful for a 3 week old who sleeps the bulk of the night - minus a feeding around 5 or 6 or 7... she's a super sleeper...

*it will be nice to give the girls a bath TOGETHER in about a year... 2 separate bathtimes makes for a very long night on nights when Hannah is up for a screamfest bath, too...


*when the dog throws up in Katherine's room, i should laugh when she is obsessed about seeing "Shorshe's yuckies" every 3 minutes and then tries to "mell" it (thankfully, from afar)


*it's ok to make your 2 1/2 year old lay with you in bed for 20 or 30 minutes in the morning because you're tired when she wakes up earlier than you anticipate...even when she doesn't want to lay with you... :) there's something special about your face being tickled by her wispy hair and seeing her incredible blue eyes stare at you... :)

*March Madness takes away some really great afternoon TV downtime for me...

*seeing K give her little sister kisses melts my heart... i'm so glad that she loves her sister...

*having daddy home a little early because of a flood day early dismissal is like a gift from above... :)

what will next week be like? i can't wait to find out (sorta)................. :)