We are really seeming to get into a rhythm here with the two kids and my work schedule. There are a lot of commitments and a few moving parts, but the consistency we have worked for has been a huge help for us in this crazy time of adjusting. February was a bit much just dealing with all the changes and trying to get some sense of normal. Supposedly, it takes 21 days to form a habit and 90 days for it to become part of your lifestyle. So, we are only about 1/3 of the way to establishing our current routine as part of our lifestyle, but we are trying! There are a lot of things we want to do and trying to figure out what that is going to look like has been challenging, but exciting at the same time! As a bonus - I am actually typing the blogs up in a semi-regular fashion, so I will take that as a win!
Week 31: February 13th - 19th
Double 13 week - both the worst and the best week! Worst because working 26 out of 37 hours isn't much fun and is hard on both Mama and babies, but best because it is followed by 6 WHOLE DAYS of no work! Of course, this week specifically was not like that because I switched a Saturday in order to be able to go to the farm for pig day the next weekend. It was a pretty smooth transition for our first time doing this week with two kids. This specific Monday is the only one that I work, all the other Mondays I am off! One Monday out of every 3 is a pretty good deal if you ask me. Pam comes and keeps the kids while I am gone, which is a huge blessing. It means the aren't away from home AND Mama for two days in a row. They get to see Daddy throughout the day, hang out with Grandma and get to sleep in their own beds, away from other kids and outside influences. Amelia really enjoys this day with Grandma and gets very excited to see her.
Jonathan had a project due on the 13th, so he was especially busy, but it was great to get that thing done and over with! Tuesday was another work day for me, obviously, but Jonathan had a short day! It was also Valentine's Day, so we barely saw each other, but he got me a gift card to the spa and I got him a hat he had been wanting and some candy. The real gift to both of us was that we started letting William sleep through the night, extra sleep is the best gift for a sleep-deprived parent. We weren't sure what he was going to do, so I didn't want to do it until I wasn't going to have to work the next day, but it worked like a charm. He has only woke us up to eat once since then...and that was just last week!
William needed a shot, so we had a pretty big Wednesday this week as we made a trip to Lisbon in the morning. This was disappointing for me because Amelia loves story time and we missed it. To compensate, we took her after Jonathan was done with work, so Daddy got to come! He took her and William into the sensory room while I picked out books...you could hear her all over the children's department, she had so much fun. After that, we ran to Granny's attic to do some thrift shopping. Jonathan's first time being there, so he got a bit of an education! For dinner, we ran and grabbed Subway, came back, ate and then went to small group. It was a rather busy day, but went really well and allowed for some fun time with the kids.
Thursday was the ONU career fair, so Jonathan went out there and brought me Jalapenos for supper - my favorite place to eat in Ada. It was heavenly...I was so thankful. Only a few days before I told him I was craving it, so it couldn't have come at a better time. Jonathan had band in the evening, William had a chiropractor appointment, we just had a very messed up day, but the kids did great and I got to enjoy a lot of time with them.
We celebrated Valentine's Day on Friday with a date night. Jonathan was gone all day, but I got ready, we got the kids ready and took them to Granny and Papa's and went on our yearly trip to Cibo's. I don't know why we don't go there any more than once a year, because we could, but we choose to just go once! It makes it especially special and makes Valentine's Day an easy thing to celebrate - we just have to pick an evening.
Like I mentioned earlier, I had to work on Saturday. We had the whole weekend planned out, but it was all changed last minute, so instead of doing what we had planned, we ended up getting together with the Landis family after work on Saturday. They were here when I got home and we hung out until a little after the kids went to bed. It was a good evening, I was definitely beat by the end, but Amelia had a great time! Thankfully, I was off on Sunday, so I got a nap to try to get myself back on track. We had soup, Mom and Dad came to visit and Jonathan got to work on the house. Sundays are so special for us because we get to spend most of the day together as a family, and we really treasure that time!
Week 32: February 20th - 26th
Jonathan took some personal time on Monday because Amelia had a test she needed done in Canton. It didn't take very long and she did great, William hung out with Granny. We attempted to do some shopping, but it was a bit of a bust - the main thing is, we had a great time together as a family! We ate lunch at Mom's, then came home for afternoon naps. Jonathan worked outside while I made quiche, french onion swiss steak and mashed potatoes. After the kids woke up, we went and got groceries then finished up at Texas Roadhouse for dinner! It was a great day with tons of family time!
As always, I worked a long day on Tuesday and Jonathan had the kids. He also went and purchased a trailer! It is perfect for us and will really suit our needs - plus it was a good deal! This was also the day my ear started having problems. I felt like I was all muffled on my left side, but I just ignored it and kept on trucking.
Wednesday we had a big day! Story time in the morning, which has become a staple for us, then a visit from the Henmans in the early afternoon for a little mini lunch date. While the kids napped, I started working on cherry crunch, then Mom, Kristen and Vicki stopped by and hung out for a little bit. After dinner, we went to small group! It was a great day. William started to give me some fits this week on the late feeding, we couldn't really figure it out, but on this particular day he was challenging me for a lot of feedings. Instead of eating, he would just scream. Not a fantastic time. In light of that, we changed his schedule on Thursday and he did pretty well. It was a bit of a thrown off day, but worth a shot.
I did a ton of cooking on Thursday to prepare for our screwed up weekend. We had pigs on Saturday, but I worked a long day on Friday and also worked Sunday, so there was going to be zero cooking going on those days. I made garlic lovers chicken, Amish noodles and green beans, I made ham and potato chowder, got chili out to take on Saturday, made banana bread for breakfasts (it was also national banana bread day) and then I didn't cook in my kitchen for another week! It was actually a pretty good deal! Jonathan milked while Dad was up at the farm, then he went up too. I was home with the kids, but Jonathan got home earlier than he normally does on Thursday nights!
It was a long weekend, but we made it through and it was really great. Jonathan ran to Carrollton to get plates for the trailer, but otherwise he was at home while I worked on Friday. Saturday went pretty smoothly, there is always a lot going on, but we got it done and we actually headed out around three thirty because there were a lot of people and we weren't assisting very much. We ended up getting fast food and watching a movie after the kids went to bed...it may not have been the healthiest choice, but it was almost a mini date night and we loved every minute of it!
Week 33: February 27th - March 5th
Back to the ear situation that I mentioned earlier...I finally got sick of not being able to hear well out of my left ear on Friday, but no one could do anything about it then and I was working 13 hours. I was doing everything I could to get the wax out but it seemed like nothing was helping, so I finally just broke down and went to stat care. The kids and I were there for about an hour and a half, so not terribly "stat" but we tried. Turns out, I had a pretty nasty ear infection. Makes more sense as to why I was totally exhausted and irritable! I was very glad to get on some antibiotics and start feeling better. I got my hair cut in the afternoon, then relaxed and hung out with my family in the evening...I may have even taken a nap? I can't really remember.
Tuesday was our typical day, but we made Wednesday a little extra special. It's always a fun day, but we didn't go to story time because William was really struggling with naps and eating and he just needed a good home day with Mama and Amelia, so we gave him that. I made a peanut butter cake for National Peanut Butter Lovers Day, then we went and got Subway, ate there then headed to the park before small group! Amelia was just having so much fun outside we wanted to soak up all the nice weather. She truly loves being out in our yard and she had a blast in the park on all the jungle gym things!
Saturday was a MUCH needed home day for our family. I made a lot of food, Jonathan worked on getting the truck ready to sell and got some internet stuff set up. We went outside and played quite a bit, Amelia loved it and William did too! He had a basically perfect schedule and was just so happy. It was a dreamy day with our little family of four.
Sunday was a good day, but quite the opposite of Saturday! We were gone from the time we left church until 4 pm! LONG day for babies and parents, but we had a great evening relaxing at home together. We spent the afternoon at Jonathan's parents' making maple syrup. It was a beautiful day and we had a fantastic time with everyone. Amelia loved being outside and William took pretty decent naps until we got in the car on the way home. It was a great day to finish out a great week! The weather felt so springy!
I hope everyone else has been able to enjoy some beautiful weather too. We will see what March has in store in that area, but for now we will just soak up all the beauty we can. We are loving the blue skies and the sunshine!
We love you all!
Love,
Jonathan, Allison, Amelia and William
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