Ryan and Logan had a boys weekend, which it sounded like they both enjoyed. However, we’ve been noticing that Logan acts a bit like a crazy man on the weekends when daddy is home to spread around his attention, Logan is SO demanding of Ryan’s time and attention, and is always asking him to put the baby down and just play with him. It (a little bit!) cracks me up, and I am just so grateful that Logan understands that mommy’s time is split between the boys! Otherwise, weekends would be just plain painful! And this weekend has been no exception. HOWEVER, I just got to take the nicest hot bath while Ryan and Logan played trains, and Zander took his morning nap. I feel absolutely refreshed, heading into the week. AAAAHHHHHhhhhh.

And today is THE day…that I get BACK to the gym. I am so excited! We found a rec center, and it sounds like it will fit the bill. I have officially reached that place that I am disgusted with post-preggie belly and such, so this is just what I need. Hoping we can all get on some kind of a schedule so I can get back to running in a hurry (gotta get my 2 half marathons on the calendar!)…so wish us luck!

Then Sunday, at lunch with my family, I actually said one of the more stupid things of my adult life. This is where the Proverbs come in. But I am not sure which one, exactly. Leading a horse to water? Or just not saying something outloud and jinxing oneself? At any rate, because of his crap sleeping, I decided I was going to eat that bean burrito (DANGER, Will Robinson, DANGER!!!). And then I said, out loud for my family to hear, “It’s not like his sleep can get any worse, right?”.

WRONG, oh so wrong! I couldn’t believe how much worse it did indeed get! He was up most of the night crying and screaming in pain. Oh, refried beans, how you hurt my baby so! Who knew nursing required so much thinking on the part of the mommy?! It was, hands down, the worst night we’ve had with little Zander. And one I hope not to repeat anytime soon, that’s for sure.

And then I got to thinking a bit more. He’d been sleeping through the night, mostly, since he came home from the hospital. It was only in the week of Christmas and after that the middle of the night crying and nursings had started in earnest. And then I realized I had bought a new product, a drink additive for water, to try. It’s called Mio, and I kinda do love the flavors they have, and have been drinking it every day since I purchased it the week of Christmas. So, being the slow, no-sleep mommy that I have been for the past 2 weeks, I finally looked at the ingredients….Second ingredient? Citric acid! How had I missed that?! So, I didn’t drink any Mio yesterday…and guess who slept ALL night again? Wow, poor kid.

I am beating myself up that I didn’t figure that out earlier. I have given up SO many good-for-me foods in efforts to keep his tummy troubles to a minimum. But a drink flavoring, really? Man, does my kid have a sensitive tummy! At any rate, it worked last night, let’s hope it continues. I really hope that was the total cause of sleeping issues in the house…cuz momma wants to sleep!

IT

WAS

AWESOME!

I LOVE being so close to family that they can just come over whenever, and we can have a party with them! LOVE IT!!!!!! We are so blessed with everything in our lives, and it just seems to keep getting better, if that’s even possible. We are so very, very blessed!

And here is just a fun glimpse at one of my many blessings…still haven’t found my camera to load the rest of the pictures, but working on it, I promise!

So, I am going to give it a try again next year! By having my plan in place ON the first of the year, though, I can just jump right in! So wish me luck!

I’ll have some holiday pictures for ya’ll next post! The boys had a blast! And Logan I believe has every single Thomas and Friends toy or decoration ever made. Our house will never be the same, EVER!

But even in realizing that that means New Year’s Eve is in just 2 short weeks (with Christmas in the middle, as well as a 5K race that I haven’t even pretended to prepare for!), I am still so completely excited about having family over for holidays in our new home. We had Ry’s family over Saturday for some fun birthday celebrating (happy birthday, Grandpa!), and some of my family over for dinner (and obligatory box unpacking!) yesterday. And I loved every minute of it. I really don’t care that there are still 100 boxes to get through. The idea and reality that we can be with family inside 30 minutes is just simply AWESOME!!!! I’m in HEAVEN!

And bright and early they DID arrive. The window of arrival was 8:30 – 10:00 am…and they were here by 8:15. They busily began unloading the truck, and mass chaos ensued. Trying to check in every box, direct the flow of stuff to the correct room, and still manage to nurse the baby was oodles and oodles of fun. I am so glad Ryan went to work a little late, and the family calvary showed up to help! The movers were done and out the door by 2:00 pm, leaving a rubble zone a mile wide in their wake.

But we are getting it done. Slowly but surely. The kitchen is ALMOST is order, I still can’t believe it (thanks mom, dad and mother in law!! You guys rock!). I even baked a cake and made dinner in the house last night (yes, something other than macaroni and cheese!). Yes, there are still boxes in every other room of the house, but I am positively okay with that. Going through each box, finding a home, and even getting rid of some stuff is really quite therapeutic! I know I am weird, but that’s what’s getting me through this whole thing, with a 3 year old and 3 month old in tow! Logan is having a blast! And he’s loving his new big boy bedroom! Thank goodness!

This time, though, he thankfully surprised us and answered yes! And he hasn’t looked back since. It’s been absolutely awesome! Having 2 kiddos in diapers was ridiculous! But Logan is all about the big boy underwear he got to pick out, and is still being rewarded with Skittles and “special surprises” when his bathroom task is complete. He had one minor accident the first day, but that’s all! And not even a diaper at night! It’s fabulous!

A lot of parents told us you just can’t rush boys, that they will decide when they are ready to potty train. And while I did believe them (I swear, I did!), that didn’t make my desire for him to learn subside. As you probably know, patience is not always my strong suit. So to patiently wait, change both boys diapers, while living somewhere other than our own home, was challenging for mommy, to say the least. But I am so thrilled he did embrace the underwear, and so fully! And yes, if you are wondering…all his underwear DO have Thomas the Train on them! What can I say? I am SO not above bribery!

But as it turns out, not quite enticing enough for me…I have lost a total of 9 pounds…my sister had lost WELL over 20 pounds, and is kicking my arse! So is everyone else in on the challenge. But do I put the M&Ms away? Heck no!

But I have been at least slightly motivated (this week, in fact!) to start back to a work out plan. Hoping I can stick with it: at least 4 days a week of walking/running, 3 days of a leg workout, and 3 days of abs/arms. I am cutting it a little close this week, being my first week on the wagon, but I am trying! I had no idea how closely my free minutes would be sucked up by both my boys…but if one doesn’t need me for a minute, the other certainly does! But I am on board with my workouts, and can’t wait until they are second-nature again…I miss the “regularly scheduled programming” of my running world!

While making pumpkin cookies with me, we got ready to make the icing. He moved his little helper stool to the end of the counter, and declared “Mommy, I am just wild with excitement!”. Where do they hear these things!?

While Logan and daddy were playing with Logan’s Buzz Lightyear toy with the attached arm rocket, Ryan made the rocket into a bucket. Logan’s response? “Daddy, I am so impressed with you!”. Uh, guess we’ve used THAT phrase a little too often!

And he is getting better at making excuses for everything, too. Tonight, I got a carton of ice cream for dessert. Ryan got it out of the freezer to scoop. Logan gets up from the table, takes his spoon to the counter “just in case”, and informs us he went to the counter to show daddy just where to put the ice cream in the bowl. You know, ‘cuz daddy doesn’t know where the ice cream goes!

And it just goes on and oh…gotta get my ab workout in somehow, I guess!

The boys are doing wonderfully, if I do say so myself. Little baby, who isn’t really so little, is a sleeping rockstar! While I thought Logan was an easy baby (minus those darn teeth!), Zander man is a breeze! I know that is always subject to change, so I am enjoying each happy moment with that kid as I get ‘em! And Logan just loves being the big brother! He’s the best…now if only we could get him on board with the potty training, I think life would be JUST about perfect! Any suggestions out there???? We’ve tried good old fashioned bribery, pleading, threatening, teasing…nothing seems to get to that kid in respect to potty training! Guess he’ll decide to do it on his own (at least that’s what everyone tells me…), but momma is ready NOW!