Journey to toddlerhood

This past weekend, we finally got around to searching through the boxes in the basement for the toddler bed bolts. We actually found them fairly quickly, and Eric got the bed set up pretty quickly as well. I clearly remember putting the bed together all by myself for Westen when I was a single parent. How things have changed!

Aeson napped in it for only about an hour that day. He loves climbing in it, and he shakes his head yes when we say anything about it being Aeson's bed. That night, he woke up several times. He woke up when we moved him from our bed to his, then he woke up several other times throughout the night. I've been trying to hold out nursing him until at least 4a.m., but he was so upset that night, I ended up nursing him earlier- and we let him finish the night off in our bed.

Last night, I had class, so Aeson was already asleep when I got home. We put him in his bed without him waking up and when he awoke after 1, Eric was able to easily pat him back to sleep, and then he stayed asleep until around 4:30 which is his usual time for waking to nurse. So it was much better! We're hoping it will keep getting better and after he's sleeping better, we can eventually move it into his own room. I'm pretty proud of him so far! He's made huge leaps the last couple weeks with nursing and everything.

He's also wanted to be DONE with diapers lately. He constantly pulls on them, trying to get them down, if he has one on, and then the second he pees, he really wants it off. I've been putting him on the potty, and he likes that BUT he only wants to sit for a second! He's always, always, always on the go. SO, if anyone has any tips or anything, let me know!

Weekend highlights

Every Thursday a couple of friends and I meet, with all our kids, for lunch and to hang out. Last Thursday, Shannon had the idea to go to Discovery Depot in Galesburg. I'd never even heard of it before. We loaded the kids up (Chels & Bentley went with us), ate lunch at Shannon's, and then headed there. It was SO much fun! I uploaded all the pics on Facebook. It was a little children's museum, with all sorts of play areas. It isn't very big, but that was perfect I thought, because you could just let the children run all over and could keep track of them easily. Both my boys had a total blast, and they were perfectly behaved the entire time. I was very glad we went! I wish our town had something similar. There's really NOTHING to do in the winter time. We stopped by Steak & Shake for a treat & then all the kids crashed on the way home!

Friday night, we spent with my sister and her husband, eating dinner and watching Dateline together, as is our usual Friday nights these days! I'm so glad we have them to spend time with!

Saturday night, Eric & I got to go on a date! We hardly ever get out of the house without the kids, it seems. The Wednesday before was our 3 year dating anniversary. It seems like we've been together so much longer! A lot has happened in those 3 years! Anyway, we went out for dinner and had kind of a crappy restaurant experience, but oh well. It was one of those nights you wish you could rewind and do something different, but at least we had fun together. Westen stayed the night with Eric's parents that night. He has so much fun with them. They had also watched the kids while we were gone, and while Aeson cried when we left, he was reading with them and didn't even make an effort to get up and come to us when we got home! We're lucky to have them as grandparents!

Sunday, we headed to Springfield to go shopping again. We hadn't found much for Westen in Quincy the weekend before, and we really didn't find much in Springfield either. Looks like I'll have to order online! We did find several things for ourselves (very good deals!) and got Aeson his first Cubs hat. He loves wearing hats lately. I can't wait to get his picture taken with it on! Aeson only napped about a half hour the entire day, but he was still well behaved.

We've had gorgeous weather here, and it makes me anxious for summer! I've enjoyed being outside every day. We've taken walks most days, and Aeson loves them. He also loves being outside, but he has to be followed pretty much every second to make sure he doesn't go into the road. We did some yard work Monday, and I can't wait to plant flowers and get my garden started. I had class Monday night, which I really didn't want to go to with how nice it was! I just have to remember it will be worth it in the end! I also wanted to see how I did on my first test, which I did get an A on. We have another one already next week.. I think there's a test or paper almost every class from now until the end of the semester. I'm glad I'll have more time to work on those things now!

A couple random things about the kids -- I realized the other day that you can hear every train that goes through town at our house.. You know how I realized this? Aeson gets this 'uh oh' look on his face and says "choo choo!" every time he hears one! :) Westen has also enjoyed our walks and anytime it's going to be anyone other than the 3 of us, he says we're having a "walking party!" :)

Last, but not least, Eric got a new job!!! He'd had several interviews over the last couple of weeks, and he finally heard on Saturday. He gave his 2 weeks at his current job today. The hours will still vary, but this job is only 32-36 hours most weeks (There will be times where he'd have to work a double or something if somebody calls in or whatever) and it still qualifies as full-time, which means BENEFITS!!!! Health, dental, vision, paid vacation, etc! You have no idea how lucky you are to have those things until you DON'T have them! AND it's in town! No more driving 30-45 minutes every day for work! I'm thrilled. More time home, benefits, less driving, yay! It's a managing position at Aldi, by the way, in case you were wondering. I can't wait til he starts!

The end of daycare

For quite a while, we have had a perfect routine figured out for weekends. This past weekend, we totally changed it, and it was a lot of fun! Friday night, my sister and her family came over for dinner, and we grilled out (which we did again on Monday! we love being able to!). Saturday, the kids and I ran all the errands early, Westen went with a schoolmate to a Spiderman/skating birthday party, and I was able to get a start on my first paper that's due since Aeson napped at the same time! When Daddy got home, we played outside for just a little while, and then Westen's friend Kaden came over & the boys stayed home and ordered pizza while Tabitha & I went out for mexican food and margaritas! We ended up sitting in the restaurant for almost 5 hours, just talking and talking and talking! Sunday, we got up & headed to Quincy with my sister and Eddie. We ate lunch at Steak & Shake, I showed Eric where I go to school, and we did some summer clothes shopping. We didn't find too much really, but we got a start. We had dinner and dropped Westen off at Eric's parents that evening. It was just a perfect weekend! I'm looking forward to many more this summer.

On Friday, I also announced to the daycare parents that I will no longer being doing daycare. It's just not working for our family right now. I told them that I plan to find a part-time job (which I do), and I thought it would be better doing it this way rather than giving them a short 2 week notice. In all honesty, operating a daycare has been the single most stressful thing I have ever done in my life! I'm a perfectionist, and I like to do everything to the best of my ability, and I simply felt I could not with that many little ones. It was leaking over into my home life as well, leaving me exhausted and unhappy. I did it to stay home with my kids, and most of the time I feel like I am pushing them off in order to care for another child. I'm glad I was able to do it for the time I was able to, but I'm more than ready to be done. The constant, constant illness was also very frustrating and there were just countless stressful situations that arose. I had no experience in daycare prior to this, so it was all a learning experience. I'm anxious to move on.. to spend quality time with my own children, to get out of the house! (I had too many little ones that it made it very difficult to go ANYWHERE, even the backyard), and to be less stressed!

It has actually been a process in the making for a long time.. We made lots of preparations. When Eric totaled his vehicle, we bought another that didn't require a monthly payment. Our insurance also went down. We got a new furnace and did some other weatherization that has made our electric bill go down. We changed Eric's cell phone plan to the cheapest one and recently did the same to mine, getting rid of the $60 a month Internet charge on them! We're waiting on unpaper towels and cloth napkins to be made, so those purchases drop. We already cloth diaper and could cloth wipe if I choose to. We used our tax refund to pay off our only credit card, all the medical bills we had, and some of our debt. Westen will be out of school soon, so we won't have that monthly payment. We changed our cable to the cheapest we could find. We've paid ahead on some things, and just basically have done everything we can, so that we could make it on Eric's income only if we needed to. It will be tight, but I think we'll be okay for a bit. I keep watching and applying, and hopefully I'll be able to find something that will work with either my sister or my husband's schedules.

It was a hard decision, and I struggled with it for a long time. I prayed a lot and felt like I was getting no answers. I figured if this was the path I was supposed to take another job would come up, making me quit the daycare; however, that never happened. Now, I think there were signs that I just didn't see. The rough days were happening more often, leaving me in tears at the end of the day too often. We did get a good tax refund that left us able to do a lot of the things I mentioned above and basically made it so it wasn't absolutely necessary that I work the next several months. I became completely comfortable with the decision for the first time ever, etc.

I wish the kids would have been able to stay together until school age.. and I think Aeson will miss his playmates. Westen's anxious to have his mommy back. We'll definitely be involved in playgroups too, and we'll be able to get out more, though, which I know Aeson will love. I'm confident it's the right decision for our family right now!

My loves at... 19 months & 5 years

My loves at 19 months (19 months!!! How did this happen?!)
I love...
-how he insists on sitting at the table with us, instead of in his high chair (he's done this for quite a while)
-how he's gotten away from signs and can communicate verbally more and more
-that he's always ready for "night night" because he knows he gets to nurse
-how nursing puts him to sleep in just a few minutes! (I love the cuddles that go along with it too)
-how his voice changes when he wants something or needs help.. It is too sweet!
what a good eater he is, in terms of variety... In terms of amount, not so much!
-that I can provide instant pain relief
-how clearly he says "no" and asserts himself already
-how he shakes his head "yes" and seems to understand everything I say (some of which I know he does.. like if I ask him to bring me something or throw something away, if he's hungry, etc.. some of which I'm pretty sure he doesn't know, like colors)
-how excited he gets when Daddy gets here every night
-how he has actually started to prefer Daddy sometimes!
-how much he LOVES to go "bye bye" .. He'll get his socks, shoes, and coat if he thinks we're going somewhere!
-how sweet he is to his brother .. like tonight, Westen's sick & Aeson keeps going over to give him cuddles & kisses (he doesn't randomly give kisses often either!)
-the funny new face he has started to make.. I'll have to post a picture if I can get one taken!
-how he copies every little thing his brother does! It's so humorous
-how he does something to surprise me or make me laugh every single day!

My loves at 5 years old
I love...
-that he can now make himself a SANDWICH! He loves doing it!
-that he's an AMAZING big brother and helper!
-his constant drawings.. and insisting on taping them up on the walls everywhere!
-that he's been trying more and more foods.. he'll take at least a bite or two, and I've been able to get him to eat some things he wouldn't before by adding ranch or ketchup (at least he's getting his veggies..!.. even cooked spinach worked this way!)
-how he says multiple times a day that his brother is "SO cute!"
-his desire to learn.. he asks about SO much every day
-how he thinks he has a girlfriend and has found the one he's going to marry!
-that he still comes up to us often & hugs us, telling us he loves us (I'm going to majorly miss that when he's older, I'm sure!)
-how he knows who Justin Beiber & Lady Gaga are and sings parts of their songs :)
-that Mommy's meals are usually "so good" and that I make it the "best ever!"
-how he loves Dairy Queen as much as Mommy does!
-how he runs to hug me and usually tell me he missed me when I pick him up from school (that's 2 hours long :))
-that he can entertain himself easily
-how excited he ALSO gets when Daddy gets home (and how he ALWAYS tells him we missed him)
-his constant interruptions when we're reading books, so he can ask questions :)
-that he also does something daily that surprises me or makes me laugh!

Good days, P90X

This is a dome that you can draw on & it goes over a light thing that rotates.. It's pretty cool, and it was one of Westen's birthday gifts, but Aeson had fun putting it on his head!

The snowman Westen & Daddy made this year.

Aeson helping Daddy. :)

Yesterday, it got into the 50's, so we got outside to play! The boys both got super muddy, but they had a lot of fun. We went to Dairy Queen for the first time this season too! Westen was just dying to go! I got lots of other stuff accomplished, and we played lots (Westen's been wanting to play with his Lincoln Logs a lot). It was a good day! We had Chelsea & Eddie over for dinner & tried a new recipe that was yummy. I'd tried a new chili one from Weelicious (a website/blog/facebook page) that has healthy recipes for kids (and adults!) on Sunday, and it was very good!

Eric and I started P90X on Sunday. It is some crazy stuff! The first day was chest & back, along with the 'ab ripper' cd (doesn't that just SOUND painful?!).. the next Plyometrics (couldn't make it all the way through that one!).. and then arms & shoulders, again with the ab ripper. I have been sore in places I didn't even know could be sore! It's a very intense workout, and I'm not able to fully do it, but I do my best. (He says in it to "do your best & forget the rest!" which I like :)) I used to love working out, but it's hard for me to leave my kids that much, and the YMCA schedule doesn't really work with Eric's (not much does, actually). Anyway, I like this because it's different every day & I hope I can keep it up. It makes me so much more motivated for the rest of the day, and I'm in a much better mood!