Advent time

Starting season four of Grey's and almost done with Christmas shopping.  Woot woot for cyber Monday!  There's nothing better than scoring some discounts from the comfort of your home while wearing your fat pants.  ;)

A tree was procured and decorated, for the first time we have outdoor lights, all of the other Christmas décor has been put in its place, and these two found their way into my kitchen...

We joke that this is the best $60 investment ever.  The white noise puts Baby L to sleep in his swing every time.

Productivity, y'all.

This is the first year that I feel like G really "gets" Christmas.  He knows who Santa is (yep, we do Santa) and that he will come on Christmas and give him presents if he is nice and a good listener.  He doesn't quite understand that Christmas doesn't happen immediately just because it's December.

Last year I saw so many cute ideas for Advent calendars and knew that I wanted to do something like that with G.  Of course, many of the suggested ideas are still too old for him, but there are more than enough things for us to start doing this Christmas.  I really want to teach him about the importance of giving over the holidays instead of having it be a me!me!me! fest.

So, this is what we are doing (in no particular order)...

1. Decorate Christmas cards and send them to our troops.

2. Go to the animal shelter and take them some items from their wish list.  Love on some cute animals while you are there.

3. Bake cookies.

4. Go to your local fire station, tell them how much you appreciate them, and give them some baked goodies.

5. Give cookies to the trash men.

6. Leave cookies for the neighbors.

7. Go to a nursing home and hand out treats and hugs.

8. Decorate the tree.

9. Play in the snow.

10. Visit Santa at the mall.

11. Play a game in front of the fire.

12. Put money in a Salvation Army kettle.

13. Go to the bookstore and pick out a Christmas book.

14. Make Christmas cards for the grandparents.  Send them in the mail.

15. Go to Target and pick out a gift for the Ugandan orphanage from their wish list.

16. Tape quarters to toy machines.

17. Watch Christmas movies and "camp out."

18. Go see Christmas lights and stop for ice cream.

19. Give Christmas gifts to your teachers.  Make them each a card.

20. Decorate a gingerbread house.

21. Go Christmas shopping for Daddy.

22. Wrap presents and put them under the tree.

23. Pick one of your own toys and donate it to charity.

24. Open one present and leave out cookies and milk for Santa.

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Every morning, G gets one chocolate from his Angry Birds advent calendar and also gets to open a door from the Santa countdown calendar.  Inside, there is one hershey kiss (to be eaten after lunch) and a slip of paper telling him the "adventure" of the day.  He loves it and I love starting new traditions and showing him ways to give during the holiday season.

Gobble gobble

Thankful doesn't even come close! Happy Thanksgiving from my turkeys to yours!

Our new normal

I've had so many posts in my head, but not enough minutes (or desire left) in the day to sit down and type them out.

My new normal involves a needy newborn and an attention seeking three year old.  Both are equally cute and charming, but both are draining, and at the end of the day the only thing I want to do is to crawl in bed and close my eyes.

While it has been challenging, it has been so rewarding in many other ways.  Experiencing the newborn stage all over again... the cuddles, the grunts, the first smiles.  Watching R with his two sons and seeing G interact with his little brother.  Running errands or leaving the house and realizing how much easier everything is the second time around.

Other than a bump in the road the second week L was home, G has been really good.  He wants attention and someone to play with him, which I think (read hope) is normal for his age, but otherwise he is very go with the flow.  No potty training regression and no aggression towards his little brother.  Whew.

Little L is growing like crazy and has been nursing like a champ.  There are only so many things you can do when you are nursing, so I have already watched the entire first season of "Orange is the New Black" (loved it!) and started re-watching "Grey's Anatomy."

I have already taken L out to run errands many times and have even ventured out with both of them in tow (I normally try to take care of things when G is in school).  I will say that having G in school has been a tremendous help and I've also been fortunate enough to have his favorite sitter coming on the two days that he's at home to go on "special play dates."  The extra one-on-one attention has been vital for his sanity and for mine.  ;)

It has also helped to have the support of friends and family.  We had many meals brought over to us and my family lives nearby if we need to get out of the house and have a change of scenery.  R has been great about taking care of G and his needs in the evenings while I tend to baby brother.  

Just like with a first baby, I know that as L gets older everything will get a little bit easier.  He will eventually sleep longer and G will eventually play more independently for longer amounts of time.  Eventually, they will even play together.  

Until then, I will try to soak up these fleeting moments.  The days are long, but the years are short.  

Happy Sunday

This whole "fall back one hour" stinks hardcore for most parents.  Parents of newborns - well, it doesn't really matter what hour the clock says, does it?  ;)

While I would definitely love more sleep, it's hard to be grumpy when this little guy is the reason for your sleep deprivation...

All in all, we had a pretty nice weekend after a pretty rough week.  Yesterday was swim lessons, Touch-A-Truck (where kids get to crawl inside and see over twenty different vehicles from fire trucks to garbage trucks), and our neighborhood chili cook-off.  Today was a lazy day at home and dinner provided by wonderful friends.

Even amidst the chaos and the stress, life is good.

Learning

I promise I have a good excuse for disappearing for the entire month.

Little L arrived on October 9th and for the past three (!) weeks, I have been learning how to be a functioning (p.s. the jury is still out on that one...) mother of two.

These past three weeks have taught me much about patience and gratitude.  I have to admit, the newborn phase the second time around is a breeze compared to the first since you've already been there and survived.  Adding a toddler to the mix, however, makes it a tad bit different, but I have been fortunate to have amazing family members and friends who have come to the rescue whether it meant bringing us meals or taking G off our hands.  

G hasn't expressed any jealousy at the baby and is always going up to him and saying, "He's so cute!"  The one time he became frustrated was this morning when he wanted me to play with him and I had to feed baby brother first.  Usually R is at home and handles G in the early morning while I deal with L, but R has been out of town for work.  I know that he is only three and that this is all brand new to him, too.  I'm actually surprised how well he has adapted and how long it took before he expressed any resentment whatsoever.  

So... we are still here.  Learning, growing, and stretching as a new family of four.  Please bear with me if my posts aren't as frequent.  Two little boys have been taking up my time {and all the room in my heart}.

Hello October

October is my favorite month.  The weather finally gets cooler (usually), it is the start of the holiday season, and I begin to think about busting out my leggings and boots.  This year will be especially sweeter with an October baby joining our family.

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My wonderful NNF (new neighbor friend) "booed" us this week, and G could not have been more excited about the mystery person and the bucket of treasures on our front porch!  I guessed it was her, but she acted like she didn't know what I was talking about until she confessed later on.

If you have never heard about this before, the idea is that you fill two treat bags or buckets with Halloween/Fall goodies and leave them on neighbors' porches anonymously at night.  It is similar to a chain letter where they are supposed to leave the ghost on their front door indicating that they've been "booed," and in return, boo two other neighbors.  Such a fun and clever way to get into the holiday spirit!  If you would like to start it in your own neighborhood, go here to print out the signs.

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With Little L's upcoming arrival, I went ahead and prepared Halloween goodie bags for G's teachers.  I already had the $1 treat bags from Target and filled them with pumpkin note pads (also from the dollar spot), candy, and two mini mason jar candles from Bath & Body Works.

Everything is cuter with some ribbon and a personalized gift tag.  At least that's my motto.

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Yesterday I tempted fate and ventured forty-five minutes away for some pumpkin patch fun.  My mom came with me (in case I went into labor) and we took all four cousins.

The farm was huge with tons of activities - pumpkin painting, candy corn maze, horse rides, barrel train, face painting, and a hay ride, just to name a few.

On Sundays they open at 1:00 and by the time we arrived twenty minutes later, the place was already packed.

We lasted an hour and the littles enjoyed feeding the goats (yay for being free!), having their faces painted, and in general, just running around.

Pumpkins galore!

Out.of.control.

Why can't my son take a normal picture?

Happy October, everyone!  And please, it's pumpkin, not punkin.

Five on Friday

I feel like these "Five on Friday" posts make up most of my blogging material these days, but how can you not love them, right?!?  ;)

{1} Last week (or maybe the week before), Shutterfly was having a fifty percent off sale!  I'm sorry I didn't post about it, but I actually found out via another mommy blog that day and scrambled to put the finishing touches on my two latest projects.

Ahhhh, it feels so good to be caught up!  I've already started the next one, and it's hard to believe it will also be featuring a certain new little guy.

{2} This guy just had his first dental visit.  It was much better than I had anticipated!  It is strictly a pediatric dentist and they ask a bunch of personal questions on the new patient paperwork.  So, he got the green room (his fave color) and Buzz sunglasses (bc he loves Toy Story) to wear during the exam.  He also got to watch "Diego" and pick between vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry "frosting" for his toothpaste.  If only my dentist visits were this plush!

He is holding Chester the cheetah.  Chester cleaned his teeth with chocolate frosting.  :)  They gave him Chester as a parting gift, which he was excited about, and he got to pick a prize from the treasure box.  My prize was our brushing grade - a 2 on a scale of 18 (horrible) to 0 (perfect).  They said a score of 0-3 was considered an "A" grade.  Woo hoo!  Oh, the things we get excited about once we are parents.

{3} Remember when R bought me this desk one year ago??

It had basically been sitting like that up until recently - with laundry, things I wanted to decorate it with, etc. all on top.

I finally had enough and went to Ikea in search of some shelves.  R finally put the shelves up and it has been usable space for me!  I really wanted a desk for my laptop and all of the other things that usually junk up our kitchen island.  I wish our kitchen was big enough to put it there (only because I'm in the kitchen/living area way more often), but that can be a consideration if we ever build our dream house one day.  ;)

Here it is in all of its glory - still a work in progress, but soooo much better!

{4} I made this pasta recipe earlier this week and it was a huge success!  Very easy and delish!  R actually had three helpings, and while it may look like I also had three (or ten) servings, I stuck with one.

Via

{5} My family went camping this weekend, and my parents graciously took this little cowboy off my hands for the weekend!  With a clean (thank you, housekeeper) and quiet house, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself.  I anticipate lots of sleep and very little moving off of the couch.  Hey, I need to relish it while I can!

Why can't I get a normal picture anymore?  Also, it was cowboy day at school for the letter "C", just fyi.  Contrary to popular belief, we don't normally dress like this here in Texas.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!