Finding My Rhythm

I've been working evenings for a little over a week now... and today, I feel  like I finally found my rhythm.  Either that, or some crazy burst of energy that will leave me more tired than before come this evening!

Here's how my days/nights look:
4:30am Jason gets up to get ready and leave for work
6am Im awake with Josiah
Take care of children and house etc. during the day
4-4:30pm Jason arrives home (we exchange pertinent information as fast as possible)
4:45pm I leave for work
10:30pm I arrive home finish anything needed to get ready for the next day, get ready for bed
11/11:30ish Go to bed
2am awake to nurse Josiah
start all over again.

It was really rough.  I was getting really heavy eyes near then end of my shift at work.  I was finding it near impossible to get up in the morning.  I was struggling just to keep it together during the day, let alone be present and active with my children and not seeing Jason at all STINKS.  Jason got home early one day last week and I took a nap.  I slept in until 10:30am on Saturday morning and I took another nap on Sunday.  Monday was okay.  And today, I finally feel like I've found a rhythm.

Last night I spent some time with God when I got home, wrote Jason a lovey dovey note (figuring if we just pass like ships in the night, at least we can pass notes back and forth like we're school children again) and then made a plan for the day.  Today I've accomplished the following:
Took a Shower (big stuff I know! ;)
Swept the whole downstairs
Did a few mountains of dishes
Prepped Dinner
Cleaned 3 bathrooms
Emptied all the trash
Had the ADT guy come out to get out alarm system up and running again
played outside with the kids (swinging, t-ball, "princess ponies")
Took the dog for a walk while pulling the littles in the wagon.
Set up and did a fun activity with Ella during Josiah's first nap
Had a finger and toe nail painting party with Ella during Josiah's second nap
Took some nice pictures of the kiddos
Got out the kids and my summer clothes
Did a MILD organizing of the storage room (had to in order to get to the summer clothes ;)
Oh, AND blogged!

Wowzers!  Feelin' Good.  I think tomorrow I might need a nap again!
 

Josiah Video

He's actually only six months in this first video.  I love this little voice so much!!!

I have tried EVERY bib.  Velcro, snap, and now T-shirt collar.  Its no match for Houdini.  I need to just make a shirt style bib that ties in the back... also known as a straight jacket.

The boy is fast.  

I was just trying to capture his mad finger food skills with bananas.  And I got this!  He signs "more" for the first time at 8 1/2 months old.  I've been doing the more sign with him since about 6 months old.  So exciting!  Maybe this will decrease the fussing!

And here is a sweet little gem.  Ella LOVES her brother.  Sure there are the occasional frustrating moments where Ella wishes she had my attention, or his fussing is getting on her last nerve.  In turn, Josiah LOVES hi sister.  Sure there's always the moments where she turns on heel to run and accidentally trips over him, kneeing him in the head.  But isn't that what siblings are for!?  For the most part Ella is helpful, involved and intentional with her brother without every being asked.  And Josiah adores her, watches her every move and thinks everything she does is amazing and hilarious... you know, save for the kneeing him in the head thing.  I have prayed that they would have a wonderful sibling relationship and it brings me such joy to see those prayers answered.  I will continue to pray for their relationship all of my days!  

8 Months!

(There will be a follow up post of all video!!!)

Okay, he's really closer to 9 months old now, and I could barely get an in-focus picture because this little bubba does not stop moving for one solitary second.  But here he is in all of his 8 month glory!  Yes, he has food all over him.  It was my only hope of getting him to sit remotely still.

Oh hi mom!  This is the smile I ALWAYS get when he first sees me.  

You want me to pose?  Okay, how's this face?

Okay, I'm getting skeptical... how long is this going to take?

Bo-ring!  I'll eat my buckle.  I have a little bit of a buckle addiction to be honest.

Bbbpppllllll!  That's what I think of this!

Dude.  I'm outta here!

• He still likes to eat... lots more foods now.  He generally does not want you to feed him and only wants to eat things he can pick up on his own.  Independent.  Stubborn.  (must get that from his father... wink, wink.)
• He still doesn't like to sleep...well, naps are great now.  He goes to sleep like a champ at 6:30 and wakes up for the day around 7am.  But some nights there is still lots of resettling and he still nursing once in the wee hours of the morning.  I'm okay with it.  I'm rolling with it.  I'm savoring the sweet moments nursing.  I'm asking God what He has for me in this, what he wants me to learn (thanks to some advice from a wise mama of 5!)
• I know all the pictures of him are always all smiles...but don't be fooled.  That's only because he has my undivided attention.  He has a constant middle of the road fuss that you will hear non-stop unless he is sleeping, being held, being entertained or getting into something.  I'm going with the theory that he's HIGHLY intelligent and therefore needs stimulation or else gets bored.  That will serve him well in life.  However, I'm fairly certain it will give me many a gray hair in the near future and I'm willing to bet big bucks that I have my work cut out for me when he goes even more mobile!
• Speaking of mobile.  This boy can army crawl like nobody's business!  He's always one the go.  He wants to get into EVERYTHING and will!  He's constantly exploring and spots something new and undiscovered in seconds!
• It's harder to diaper this boy than it is to wrangle a greased pig!  Talk about squirmy!  Especially when his sister is around.  He LOVES his sister.  He can hear her a mile a way and contorts himself to be able to see her.  She can make him giggle and smile like no other!
• He talks a lot...lots of babbles, coos, noises, sounds, giggles, belly laughs, squeals .. fusses and cries.   
• He has more hair than Ella did when she was two and he weighs more than she even dreamed of weighing when she was one!
• He WILL not keep ANY bib on.  The child is Houdini.
• And he is a genius.  He just signed "more" for the first time today at 8 1/2 mo old!  
• He is a true boy joy who's giving me a run for my money but has completely run away with my heart.

Hi-HO, Hi-HO its off to work I go!

Maybe you've heard about this.... our government can't agree on and come up with a budget.  Its recklessly spending it's way into an oblivion of debt whilst hardworking people like ourselves are doing everything we can to get out of debt and live within our means... even... (gasp!) GIVING money away  AND putting money into savings.  Crazy I know!  Can you tell I get a little ruffled by it all?

Anyhoo, I digress.  Because our government is reckless, my husband is being furloughed at least 14 days it looks like.  What does furlough mean?  It means... we don't pay you for 14 days.  It means 20% pay cut   It means our nations national defense shuts down for 14 days.  Not good people.  Not good.

But I cannot control any of this.  I can only control what I think and what I do.  So I choose to pray and to trust.  And I choose to go get a job.

Yes, we'll be OK if the furlough goes through.  But we won't be able to save, continue to pay down debt and we'll have to cut out EVERY extra.  And by extra's I mean, buying ANYTHING for the kids or us other than groceries and gas.  We don't DO a ton of extras over here to begin with folks.

GOD IS GOOD.  I hopped on the internet to search for some sort of job that would provide us with some extra income but still allow me to stay home (because if I had to pay for childcare it would all cancel each other out anyway!)  HERE IS WHAT HE PROVIDED the very day I went online to look!

• I am going to score the essay portions of standardized tests (sure I might be geeky, but I think that sounds like fun!).  
• The hours are 5:30pm-9:30pm Monday - Friday.  WEEKENDS STILL FREE FOR FAMILY!!!
• It is not continual.  Bathches of tests come through and you sign up for the ones you want!  If you don't want to sign up for any because say.... your husband is going to be out of town for a month... you're going up to camp for a week... or you just want a break... You don't have to!!!
• COULD NOT BE ANY MORE PERFECT.  Praise God.

So I rejoin the "working" world again.  Orientation is tonight!  

Git 'er done!

Holy Hannah, though.  The sun popped out one day and temps warmed up to around 50 and it's got my house fixin' DIY mojo a flowin'!  Here's a list of what I want to do!

• Spring clean the whole house
• finish painting where we did reno in the living room
• finish painting where we did reno in the bathroom (I won't even SAY how long ago)
• put frame around bathroom mirror
• touch up paint on cabinets and wall corners
• finish the little bits of trim in the kitchen
• get my decorations back up in the living room
• finish stain and poly where we did reno in the living room
• put doors on the pantry
• put trim in the 1/2 bath
• paint the linen closet doors in my bathroom
• redo the woodstove hearth
• paint and create windowseat nook upstairs
• paint stairway
• paint hallway
• finish drywall on ceiling in upstairs bath
• organize the storage room AGAIN
• organize the utility room
• rebuild porch
• rebuild deck
• make firepit area
• put woodchips around new swingset
• take old swingset to dump
• tend my flower garden
• put fence up around veggie garden
• plan/plant veggie garden
• clean up branches in yard
• make wood storage shed
• Im sure I've forgotten something!

OOOOOh wait... I haven't had a full nights sleep in over 8 months and Im perpetually exhausted.  I think I'll vacuum the upstairs that hasn't been done in three weeks, blog my to-do wish list and call it a day :)

P.S. I know I haven't blogged in forever.  I have 1,000 posts swirling around in my head and 10,000 pictures and videos to post of my little loves.  But I'm spending my energy where it's needed.  Some day they shall all come flowing forth when I have the time!