So today was my first day riding solo with both boys (it still sounds funny to use plurals)! Things were awesome and we had a great day.
Its all about being organized! I had quite the agenda planned, heading to buy a much needed double stroller then heading over to my friend Julie's for a playdate. After nursing Weston at 7:30, I hopped in the shower while he dozed back off and I had the chance to dress, eat, pack J a lunch & load the car before he woke up again. I got Weston settled in his carrier before waking Jackson up (at 9:15 I might add), dressing then feeding him. We were out the door by 9:45 and not the least bit rushed.
I bought the stroller then spent the morning catching up with Julie while we watched Jackson & Slade run around the yard playing in the water & making mudpies in the inflatable kiddie pool. Sweet Weston dozed in his carrier, waking for the occasional snack. After lunch and a much needed bath for the big boys, we headed back home and I had an entire hour & a half of me-time while both babies were napping. Shortly after nap time commenced, Ben got home.
I am by no means an expert, and I honestly think the good Lord just blessed me with a peaceful day, but I do think a few things were key.
1. Preparation. Sunday night, I stocked both diaper bags, packed our swim bag with fresh towels and a change of clothes and packed J's lunch. Before the babies even got up Monday morning, I loaded all 4 bags (yes, four) in my car so all I had left to put in the car were the kiddos.
2. Rise & Shine! In my pre-Weston days, J & I would both sleep in until 9 or 9:30 on a regular basis. Total bliss. However, juggling a nursing newborn and a hungry toddler while groggy does not sound like fun to me so I decided to join the ranks of 99% of moms and get my lazy butt out of bed. It was awesome to shower, eat breakfast and check my email in peace. It's just amazing how a calm start sets the tone for the entire day!
3. Strategic timing. I learned quickly that it's easiest to get one baby settled at a time, rather than managing two potential meltdowns. I let Weston's nursing schedule dictate our timing, but once he got good & settled, I focused on Jackson. Each boy got undivided attention and I was able to quickly move through our morning must-do's such as teeth brushing, dressing & hair combing without having to do it with only one arm or having to block out screaming in the background.
Tomorrow will be the true test...as Jackson has to be at preschool at 9am. Wish us luck!
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Monday, August 29, 2011
So far so good...
Ten days into being a mommy to two, I must confess this is going much better than I expected. Jackson has been amazing and is transitioning really well. Weston is nursing like a champ & is sleeping 20 out of 24 hours a day. I'm getting adequate sleep (so far) and i've been spared of having to do any real cooking. Plus, it's been a blessing to have so much help from family. And from the sweet big bro.
Weston had his first newborn check-up on Monday and he was already back to his birth weight of 7lb 8oz. He got an excellent bill of health from our pediatrician and we don't have to go back until his 1month well visit! We had his first outing last Sunday, when he & I made a run to Target. Minus a mid-store meltdown & near diaper blowout, it was a success. Since then, we've been to pickup Jackson from preschool, to the library, the grocery, mall & pool. And no, baby didn't swim, we watched Big Brother & Daddy. We finally took Weston to Dillard Farms for ice cream last week. He slept through this outing but it wont be long & he'll be well aware what ice cream is.
Jackson started back preschool last week. He goes Tuesdays & Thursdays and not only does he love school & truly thrive being around other children, having structure and learning new things, I also cherish the time it gives me alone with Weston. I know most of my "free time" will be consumed with running errands that are easier to accomplish with one child in tow, but I also plan to be intentional about spending quality alone time with Weston, just hanging out. Th biggest challenge will be getting everyone up, dressed & fed and to school by 9am...when our typical day doesn't start until 9am usually, due to my late sleeping toddler.
Bebe & Oma were in charge of getting Jackson ready for his first day of school.
Ben's been off work since last Wednesday so we've had 12 days of tag-team parenting. We've enjoyed evening walks with friends, spontaneous get-togethers and a trip here and there to the pool. Monday is going to be a reality check for me. I'm praying for a peaceful day of staggered meals and simultaneous naps, cooler weather and happy kids.
My neighbor Kim & her baby Carson, who was born 8 days before Weston.
BFFs already! Same size and similar hair color.
Tomorrow, we plan to take Weston to his first church service then come home and spend the day relaxing.
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Sunday, August 21, 2011
From scrap wood to a playset...
As I mentioned in a previous post, Jackson was gifted with a play set for his birthday from Nanny & Poppy. While we were grateful for this new addition to our yard-o-fun, we were a little weary of the amount of time & expense it would take to "polish this turd" as Ben calls it. And with less than 3 weeks before New Baby makes his/her debut, he's tripled the pace in attempts to appease me & my "it better be done by the time this baby is born" deadline.
The original wood arrived in the form of bee-infested cedar, closely resembling a stack of broken down pallets.
After 2 weeks of killing hundreds if bees that had planted roots in our cedar, we invested in expensive bug killer & enough wood filler to plug over 100 holes.
Next was the pressure washing, which culminated in purchasing a new pressure washer as our current one had issues that were not worth fixing. So add 2 weeks of pressure washing to the schedule, and then realizing that despite the e washing, the wood really ought to be sanded as well. After all, no one wants to get splinters!
So sanding commenced. An extremely timely project when you are using a 5" orbital sander and have an entire stack of lumber to work through. Enter in power tool purchase #2 -- the belt sander. While this little guy helps speed up the pace, he also roughens up the boards enough so that you have to go back over them with the orbital. Double Duty, that's right. After 3weeks of constant sanding, Ben finally wrapped it up early this week and I must say, the wood looks amazing. The finishing he did on it to round the corner and completely smooth out the boards truly paid off.
Now on to the staining. Ben got a slight head start on staining on Monday night and had 2 teenage guys from church come over today to help finish it up. It's amazing how much time you save by hiring a few extra sets of hands. With me having back pain and some mild contractions, Ben's sense of urgency has increased, for good reason! That piece of the project is knocked out and now, all that is left is assembly!
Saturday morning, J & I headed to the pool so Ben could have some uninterrupted play set construction time. In typical form, he had to do some minor repairs to his air compressor before work could even begin. I spent the afternoon keeping J from peeking out the back windows so we could surprise him with something substantial before bedtime. It was worth the wait...just before 9 pm, we took J out back for a "really big surprise" and he went nuts going up the ladder & down the slide until we decided it was too dark to keep playing.
Today after church, Ben hit the backyard to finish up this project. He managed to get the heavy roofing panels attached to the platform, creating a fort. He installed the awesome picnic benches under the fort and Jackson & Bella have already shared some snacks in their new hangout.
Monday & Tuesday nights rolled around & Ben tightened up some bolts & righted the A-Frame of the swing beam. However, the legs of the beam were too long and create a slanted swing beam. So 3 options: 1) raise up bracketed end of beam (difficult), 2) cut off the legs of the A-Frame to level it up, or 3) bury 6" of the legs to lower it, making it level. I think we are going with the third option but that may be a few weeks from now, seeing as the set functions perfectly as-is and we are pretty much dying for a few days of relaxation prior to New Baby's arrival.
All in all, the play set looks amazing & we can already tell we will get many many hours of pure fun our of this piece of work. We plan to put a cost on what it took to get it from point A to point B...our preliminary estimates are around $500. The question is...how much is Ben's time worth?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The original wood arrived in the form of bee-infested cedar, closely resembling a stack of broken down pallets.
After 2 weeks of killing hundreds if bees that had planted roots in our cedar, we invested in expensive bug killer & enough wood filler to plug over 100 holes.
Next was the pressure washing, which culminated in purchasing a new pressure washer as our current one had issues that were not worth fixing. So add 2 weeks of pressure washing to the schedule, and then realizing that despite the e washing, the wood really ought to be sanded as well. After all, no one wants to get splinters!
So sanding commenced. An extremely timely project when you are using a 5" orbital sander and have an entire stack of lumber to work through. Enter in power tool purchase #2 -- the belt sander. While this little guy helps speed up the pace, he also roughens up the boards enough so that you have to go back over them with the orbital. Double Duty, that's right. After 3weeks of constant sanding, Ben finally wrapped it up early this week and I must say, the wood looks amazing. The finishing he did on it to round the corner and completely smooth out the boards truly paid off.
Now on to the staining. Ben got a slight head start on staining on Monday night and had 2 teenage guys from church come over today to help finish it up. It's amazing how much time you save by hiring a few extra sets of hands. With me having back pain and some mild contractions, Ben's sense of urgency has increased, for good reason! That piece of the project is knocked out and now, all that is left is assembly!
Saturday morning, J & I headed to the pool so Ben could have some uninterrupted play set construction time. In typical form, he had to do some minor repairs to his air compressor before work could even begin. I spent the afternoon keeping J from peeking out the back windows so we could surprise him with something substantial before bedtime. It was worth the wait...just before 9 pm, we took J out back for a "really big surprise" and he went nuts going up the ladder & down the slide until we decided it was too dark to keep playing.
Today after church, Ben hit the backyard to finish up this project. He managed to get the heavy roofing panels attached to the platform, creating a fort. He installed the awesome picnic benches under the fort and Jackson & Bella have already shared some snacks in their new hangout.
Monday & Tuesday nights rolled around & Ben tightened up some bolts & righted the A-Frame of the swing beam. However, the legs of the beam were too long and create a slanted swing beam. So 3 options: 1) raise up bracketed end of beam (difficult), 2) cut off the legs of the A-Frame to level it up, or 3) bury 6" of the legs to lower it, making it level. I think we are going with the third option but that may be a few weeks from now, seeing as the set functions perfectly as-is and we are pretty much dying for a few days of relaxation prior to New Baby's arrival.
All in all, the play set looks amazing & we can already tell we will get many many hours of pure fun our of this piece of work. We plan to put a cost on what it took to get it from point A to point B...our preliminary estimates are around $500. The question is...how much is Ben's time worth?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, August 18, 2011
It's a....!!! (Preview for Mama Sal)
At Sally's gentle reminder, I've decided to update the blog with pictures of our new little BOY!
Weston Michael Talbert was born on August 17 at 8:30 am. Our angel was 7lb 8oz & 21" long. Everyone is healthy & happy and we are thankful for a full-term baby! His birth story to come but here's some photos for now.
Our sweet family of 4! Bella & I are out-numbered!
My sweet baby boy...
And his Daddy...
My friend Kristin had her baby, Ian, 3 hours before Weston was born and is my labor neighbor --staying 5 doors down! How cool that these two share a birthday?
Bebe & PopPaw and their grandsons.
Poppy & Nanny...
Oma came all the way from Georgia!
And last but not least, St. Francis' model patient...labor is hard work!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Weston Michael Talbert was born on August 17 at 8:30 am. Our angel was 7lb 8oz & 21" long. Everyone is healthy & happy and we are thankful for a full-term baby! His birth story to come but here's some photos for now.
Our sweet family of 4! Bella & I are out-numbered!
My sweet baby boy...
And his Daddy...
My friend Kristin had her baby, Ian, 3 hours before Weston was born and is my labor neighbor --staying 5 doors down! How cool that these two share a birthday?
Bebe & PopPaw and their grandsons.
Poppy & Nanny...
Oma came all the way from Georgia!
And last but not least, St. Francis' model patient...labor is hard work!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Monday, August 8, 2011
Potty Training 101
Jackson's BFF Slade is a few steps ahead of the game when it comes to talking, expanding his vocab and most recently, potty training. I love it because it totally encourages J be more vocal & step up his communication skills & hopefully his potty skills too.
Lately at the pool, after stripping them out of the swimmie diapers and prior to rediapering, we've been letting the boys do their thing against the pool fence -- facing away from the pool & into the bushes. The result: Super cute tanned buns and 2 proud boys pee-peeing in the bushes. How can you even consider Stopping them from doing this?!? Too presh!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Lately at the pool, after stripping them out of the swimmie diapers and prior to rediapering, we've been letting the boys do their thing against the pool fence -- facing away from the pool & into the bushes. The result: Super cute tanned buns and 2 proud boys pee-peeing in the bushes. How can you even consider Stopping them from doing this?!? Too presh!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Happy Birthday "Bey-Bee"
It's hard to believe that ole Bella (whom Jackson affectionately calls Bey-Bee) is 8 years old! It seems like yesterday that we rescued her from a shelter posted up at Petsmart, totally ambivalent as to whether or not we were responsible enough to get a dog. Ben had just started his new job in Spartanburg & I was in my 5th & final year at State.
Looking back, Bella has been an awesome dog other than a few puppy mistakes that we've long since forgiven. She is Jackson's best friend & we could not ask for a better 4-legged member of this family. How many dogs would really tolerate the constant torture of a 2 year old and not once get snippy?
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Looking back, Bella has been an awesome dog other than a few puppy mistakes that we've long since forgiven. She is Jackson's best friend & we could not ask for a better 4-legged member of this family. How many dogs would really tolerate the constant torture of a 2 year old and not once get snippy?
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Tuesday, August 2, 2011
We love Oma & Opa!
Several weekends ago, Oma & Opa came to visit. Of course, the one weekend they plan to come, Ben comes down with a flu-like bug and is confined to bed. But that didn't stop the rest of us from having lots of fun.
Although we don't see them as often as we see the other grandparents & not nearly as much as we'd like, Jackson didn't miss a beat and was constantly asking "Where's Oma/Opa?" anytime either of them left the room. Opa proved to be a big kid and spent hours ion the floor playing legos, cars, blocks & puzzles with J. Lill & I spent some time shopping around town & catching up with each other while Opa was on baby duty.
Lill has a real knack for decorating and always has great ideas for sprucing up my house & rearranging pictures and furniture to freshen things up. She noticed how our dining room is still lacking window treatments (we have been here 4 1/2 years) & suggested we find some drapes to give us some privacy. We trekked in & out of half a dozen stores & finally found a great curtain rod that was long enough for our super-wide front windows, followed by the perfect neutral textured panels. Bill & Ben hung the rod & our dining room was instantly transformed. I don't know how we went for so long living in a fishbowl!
Also on our shopping excursion, we went by Costco and saw some adorable little girls outfits. Oma can proudly stake claim to being the first to purchase a girl outfit for the newest grand baby (if she turns out to be a girl). Otherwise, I have to exchange them for boy items. (Notice new curtains in the background...Love them!)
Saturday night, we had Movie Night & watched Cars for the tenth time. No Movie night is complete without insanely large amounts of popcorn.
The next day, we played around the house, went out to dinner, then hit up our fav ice cream spot, Dillard Farms, for a little treat. We finally remembered to take some pictures late that evening...
We always regret never taking enough pictures & this was no exception. We had a great time with Oma & Opa and Jackson has spent the last few weeks asking "Where Oma go?"
-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Although we don't see them as often as we see the other grandparents & not nearly as much as we'd like, Jackson didn't miss a beat and was constantly asking "Where's Oma/Opa?" anytime either of them left the room. Opa proved to be a big kid and spent hours ion the floor playing legos, cars, blocks & puzzles with J. Lill & I spent some time shopping around town & catching up with each other while Opa was on baby duty.
Lill has a real knack for decorating and always has great ideas for sprucing up my house & rearranging pictures and furniture to freshen things up. She noticed how our dining room is still lacking window treatments (we have been here 4 1/2 years) & suggested we find some drapes to give us some privacy. We trekked in & out of half a dozen stores & finally found a great curtain rod that was long enough for our super-wide front windows, followed by the perfect neutral textured panels. Bill & Ben hung the rod & our dining room was instantly transformed. I don't know how we went for so long living in a fishbowl!
Also on our shopping excursion, we went by Costco and saw some adorable little girls outfits. Oma can proudly stake claim to being the first to purchase a girl outfit for the newest grand baby (if she turns out to be a girl). Otherwise, I have to exchange them for boy items. (Notice new curtains in the background...Love them!)
Saturday night, we had Movie Night & watched Cars for the tenth time. No Movie night is complete without insanely large amounts of popcorn.
The next day, we played around the house, went out to dinner, then hit up our fav ice cream spot, Dillard Farms, for a little treat. We finally remembered to take some pictures late that evening...
We always regret never taking enough pictures & this was no exception. We had a great time with Oma & Opa and Jackson has spent the last few weeks asking "Where Oma go?"
-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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