A little smarter, a little wiser.

When Justin was deployed I was in Arizona for a few months to spend time with family. I thought my life was so hard. Here I was, practically a single mom for 8 months. My father in law told me that my life was easy because I only had one kid and I remember it made me so mad. I'm doing everything alone! How could anyone think that was easy?

Well, it's hard to admit, but he was right. My life was easy. I mistook my life being lonely for hard. It wasn't really hard in the way I thought it was, I was just bored and lonely without Justin. I can honestly say, my life is hard now. I'm happy and I love it, but it's hard. Having Tristan and Landon so close together has been challenging. I feel trapped inside my house. By the time we get shoes, socks, jackets on the kids, put Landon in his carrier, put together a diaper bag and get ourselves ready, Justin and I don't feel like going anywhere anymore. So we go in shifts. Justin will go out and do his errands, I'll go out and do mine when he gets back. We don't spend much time together like we used to because of it. Landon and Tristan have different nap schedules, so I have to wait for Justin to get home for lunch so I can shower. Which means he usually doesn't get to eat lunch and on the days he can't come home for lunch, I don't shower. lol 

There is no such thing as sleep at our house. Landon actually sleeps through the night now which has been amazing, but Tristan wakes up and then he wakes up Tommy too. I get 2-3 hours of sleep at a time. I've never been so sleep deprived in my life. If someone was to grant me one wish, it would be a whole day of sleep and someone to clean my house. I'm literally busy almost all day long, and then Justin gets home from work and he's tired too. So we split the work getting the kids dinner and put to bed, so we can enjoy an hour or two together before finding ourselves falling asleep on the couch and heading to bed.

I know this is a phase in our life and someday soon it'll all be different. The kids will be older and in school. I'll have afternoons to myself to do whatever I want. The kids will start going through growth spurts and sleeping longer than me. There will be a time I can eat my lunch all at once and sitting down. But in the meantime, it's chaos. I love it. I'm needed and wanted. I'm everything to my sweet babies and I wouldn't want it any other way. I'm trying to enjoy all of it. 

I'm trying to relax on the housework and not push myself as hard as I used to. I can't wait for my kids to have kids (maybe a granddaughter... please?) and I'll get to spoil them rotten, send them home and sleep the whole night through. Payback. ;)

I guess the point of this post is, no one has a perfect life. All the posts on my blog may all be of good things, but we're all dealing with our own struggles. I used to think everyone else's lives were fun and exciting and mine was the only one full of mundane things. It's taken until the last couple years to realize everyone's life is boring and mundane to a degree. I'm not the only housewife still in her pajamas at 3pm, right?

...don't answer that. 

When Daddy's away, Tristan will play.

 

Tristan is so curious. He loves climbing on the table. He doesn't dare do it when Justin's home, because he knows he won't get away with it. However, when Justin's at work it's fair game. He knows it's a lot harder to get Mommy upset and I inevitably think everything he does is cute.... even when he's rotten. I've had to take our centerpiece off because he's already broken part of it.

Like a true boy, he does a victory dance at the top.

Tommy says "It's a dance table! I want to do it too!" Since I was taking pictures instead of getting him down right away, naturally Tommy thinks I approve.

Tristan starts to realize maybe this isn't as fun as he thought it would be...

so a meltdown ensues.

Is it just me, or is he even cuter when he's rotten? :)

The good, the bad, and the CUTE.

Tristan has crossed into a whole new level of cute. His new favorite word: Hommy. (Otherwise known as Tommy!) In the morning and after naps, it's the first thing he calls out from his room. They are best buds. I can't even describe the level of joy I feel seeing them play and love each other. When Landon was born we moved Tristan upstairs right across from Tommy's room. That has been a mixture of good and bad. Good: Tommy goes in there to play with Tristan when he wakes up in the morning which means I don't have to get him out of bed right away. Bad: Tristan wakes Tommy up at unholy hours of the morning which in turn means wakes up the rest of the house. Their laughter and chaos is LOUD. We're all tired, but they're happy. Give and take, right? LOL

Tommy is really sad that soccer season is over. We had the award ceremony a couple weeks ago and Tommy was so excited to get his medal. Justin got a trophy for coaching too. We sat with Justin's team and all the boys were grabbing Tristan and fighting over him. Tommy didn't like it, he kept telling them "That's MY Tristan!" 

I didn't get very good pictures, just what I could capture with my phone. He loved his medal but I'll admit, it was broken the next day. lol

Tristan being ridiculously cute.

Landon is going 7 weeks, I can't believe it. Didn't I have him like, yesterday?! He's started smiling and kicking his legs a lot. He used to love being bundled up, but now he can't stand it. He likes being free to wiggle. He is the first of our kids to have dimples on both cheeks and I love it. I'm enjoying this time as much as I can. I know I'll miss being able to cuddle with him after he starts crawling. None of my boys are cuddlers. :( 

Justin and I are making plans for when he gets out of the army next summer. It seems so weird to think about. I just can't imagine it yet. So many changes coming up! We've been in Germany so long it's going to be weird living anywhere else.

So very thankful for our lives! ♥

Getting Healthy

After having a baby, there is always extra weight to lose. After having Landon I felt pretty depressed about my weight but have lost 20 lbs. so far. It feels amazing. I wanted to share what I've been doing. I did a lot of research online about the best way to lose weight and read a lot about smoothies. They're filling and depending on what you put in them, extremely healthy. I looked over a bunch of recipes but usually just throw whatever fruit and vegetables I have in the house in a blender together and it always turns out delicious! 

1 small bag baby carrots

1 handful of spinach

1 apple

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup frozen cherries

1 banana

I drink two large glasses of it and feel really full. My biggest rift with diets is that I always feel hungry. This smoothie keeps me full for a long time. I usually have a smoothie for breakfast, a regular lunch (like a chicken sandwich), a snack like crackers sometime in the afternoon, and a smoothie for dinner. I also exercise for one hour 5 days a week. It's not easy, but it's worth it. I want to be in the best shape I can be in to run around with my kids. (Which is no easy task, they're crazy!)

Landon's Baby Pictures

Welcome Landon!

One of the sweetest things about welcoming a new baby boy

 is learning how you fit together...

The way his sleepy weight 

fills your arms so perfectly,

and how that place where neck and shoulder meet

 suddenly seems made for him to snuggle his head into.

But even more than that,

it's discovering just how beautifully he fits into your life,

how there was always a place right in the heart of your family

just waiting for this precious boy 

to come and fill it with so much love.

Welcome Landon James Brooke!

September 30th 2011

9 lbs. 10 oz.

22 inches long

Tricky Tricky

Tommy calls trick or treat "tricky tricky". He is the cutest. Enjoy our Halloween decorations. :o)

My favorite Halloween candle.

This oven mit glows in the dark.