Time flies! I feel like I’m saying that on repeat. Oh well.
Parenting
Being a mother of two is quite the job! My husband and I spent a good deal of the first months figuring out how to manage the schedule and needs of two little ones (and it was a challenge!) One son was pretty independent but then needed even more attention once his brother showed up. I get that, you go from being the only to sharing everything, including mom and dad. We dealt with a massive sleep regression for 2-3 months and got precious little sleep ourselves. So my husband and I had to set side time every day to just focus on our eldest son so he didn’t feel replaced. Over time he relaxed and realized that while yes, baby is here for good, he is still loved. Finally got out of the sleep regression and minor case of jealousy to the point here he is our little helper now and loves his little brother a ton.
Whilst dealing with that we had a newborn! They have a lot of needs. Our toddler could talk, sleep on his own (until that sleep regression) and eat by himself. Our newborn could do none of those things. A lot of housework went by the wayside during these tough months. Now the little tike is mobile and getting more independent every day! He sleeps through the night mostly, and follows his brother around to play. We’re getting out of the trenches of helping with every little thing and moving onto teaching lessons in good behavior and reminding both what sharing is (hah).
Overall though? We’re so blessed to be parents to these boys. Having two kids is a blast. Hard work, but definitely worthwhile. They’re the best of friends and we could tell our first born was just lonesome when we had to work. Now they keep each other company and play pretend together when mom and dad are busy for a minute. It is so precious. My husband and I both agree that kids are a blessing because they bring structure and meaning to a person’s life. Would I go out of my way to get outside and get some sun, make a big healthy meal for dinner, or go to bed early if not for my sons? No, I’d probably sit inside all day, eat a snickers bar for dinner and stay up until 3 and wonder why I felt like crap the next day. These boys are such a good influence on us both, and they also help us keep our own bad behaviors in check (they are always watching!) We’ve mostly curbed a majority of our swearing, and have definitely been more aware of our own adult tantrums and how we behave when things don’t go our way. We lead by example! What a blessing to have these boys here, we aren’t sure what we’d do without them.
Art and Hobby Managing
Oh goodness where to start. I have felt the art bug bite and I crave more and more time to hash out my ideas and polish them so I can share them with y’all. The thing I lack is time and energy, but I still get some of what I’d like to get done, done. Recently upgraded to an iPad and Procreate, I really love that setup because I can flop on the couch and make stuff while hanging with my husband. I still have my desktop setup, I probably should use it more because it is a good setup and I do have art hanging in limbo on there that is now long abandoned. We’ll see what time allows.
Lately all my freetime is used making art. I have very little free time, and I love making art, so that’s what I do. My other hobbies have been sort of set aside for other various reasons which is unfortunate, but I’ll have time for them later in life. Reading was something I was big into, and if I ever get around to charging my kindle maybe I can get back into it. Holding a book around kids is sort of a bad idea because they like to be up in your face and take the book, and I tried audiobooks for a while but my son just sort of shout talked over it so I couldn’t understand the stories anymore, and personally I refuse to use headphones when watching my boys because I need to be able to hear them (this rules out music as well).
Crochet work was a project I started a while back and had fun with, but this one also requires me to be paying close attention to stitch counts and not letting my sons grab the string. I have set this one aside for months now because it is between that and art typically (though I have finally dug out an unfinished blanket I’m going to try and finish on Saturday nights when my husband and I watch UFC).
Gaming is sort of making a comeback, a lot of these hobbies are just not possible when my sons are awake. Gaming can sort of be done with them around, if they’re interested in what I’m playing. I’ve recently been playing the New Pokemon Snap and Bugsnax while waiting for the new Ratchet and Clank to come out (super stoked!).
As for shows, my husband and I don’t really watch any set show per say anymore. We long quit Netflix I can’t even remember when, over the whole Cuties fiasco that they won’t let up on. We usually chill and watch Youtube, have a movie night (recently gotten into John Wick), and Saturday UFC night is a thing now! Who knew I’d actually be interested in folks punchin’ each other a lot? lol.
We also decided to start keeping fish as a couples hobby. We went and got a nice 65 gallon tank (sort of small on the big side, but perfect for our house). We’ve got a good set of fish in there: A bushynose pleco, A neon blue gourami, some cherry barbs, a Sunset Burst Shark, some Rosy Barbs, Pristella Tetras, Longfin Congo Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Peppered Cory Catfish, and a Common Pleco. Yes, Yes, we know. We have the dreaded Common Pleco. We are aware of it’s needs and have a place that will happily take it if it decides to outgrow our tank, and both our plecos are young so we’re going to see if they get along since they’re being raised together. Our boys like the tank too, personally my favorite fish is Hoover the Bushynose Pleco, they’re so small! For now that is.
All in all, I do have free time, and I find that what I do with it rotates with time. I tend to pick something and go with it for months and then set it aside and marathon something else. Not sure when the art marathon will slow down and I’m not sure what I’ll pick up in the meantime, we’ll see!
General Projects Around the House
While stuck at home in Pandemicgeddon we’ve been slowly updating our house. We painted all the walls blue or white except two rooms and a hallway, and we had the roof replaced which needed to be done. Looking at some of the windows now. Houses are a lot of work, but the rewards for having worked on them are very great too. We can only thank God that He has blessed us so much that we can even take on these projects. We are pulling back a bit on some of them though due to inflation of material prices. Little by little this place changes. Looks nothing like it did when I first moved in at least.
One of the upgrades we did a while back was redo our bed setup, I reluctantly let my husband pick all white for the bed because he was super keen on it, and I for the first few months wasn’t sure about it because it just gave me this major hospital feel from being so darn white. But over time I’ve really grown to love it because I associate it with clean and I’m glad my husband convinced me of it. No worries about spiders in bed, you’ll see em! He also decorated it with high quality eeveelution throw pillows so, it is classy and geeky at the same time!
I really want to dig into my work and organize the garage, and paint the remainder of the rooms, but that whole, not with the kiddos around thing comes up again. The garage is too dirty and there are too many things out there that would make my heart jump out of my chest if my sons got ahold of them, not to mention I just can’t paint and leave ladders around with babies and toddlers crawling and climbing all over the place. These projects will, happen when they happen. For now I just scrapbook and hang photos on walls until I have time to do big projects like that. Today’s project is mending board books my son tore up with packing tape (lol). Just the other day I hot glued a Buzz Light Year back together. Parenting is a wild ride!
Being Married and the Woman of the household
Marriage is a beautiful thing, and the more I think on it the more I appreciate my husband and the blessing he is. He challenges me to be better every single day, and we’re a team. We face anything the world throws at us, together! I think that’s underappreciated today, everyone says to look out for numero uno, but I just think that makes everyone disposable in your life. No, you shouldn’t hinge your entire existence on an individual, but putting yourself first no matter what is just, downright selfish. God put us here to serve each other and Jesus showed us how that was to be done by doing it Himself. No, not everything is going to go my way and not everything is about me, and that’s a good thing. I often times have to remind myself that my family comes before anything else (other than God). Games can wait, art can wait, even at times, sleep can wait. Sometimes my youngest son wakes up hungry, do I ignore him? No. Do I have a sleepless night to serve another? Yes. But this part of my life is merely for a season, and I’ll be looking back and wishing I could have one more sleepless night.
Being married is serving and helping one another too. I take pride in keeping the house clean and being a good wife to my husband. For one, until I showed up barely anyone he considered a friend even treated him well. To be honest they didn’t even know anything about him, maybe scratched the surface? I saw a wonderful, intelligent, generous and kindly man being underappreciated. I wasn’t that great myself when I arrived, and what did he show me? Kindness! I learn every day from him how I can be a little bit better, and nothing makes me more happy than to be his wife and to help him achieve what he wants to achieve. Be that fixing up this house or talking about his walk with God, or how he should move in his career. He helps me with my goals, why can’t I do the same? That commitment to each other, the promise before God that we will love each other and care for each other no matter what? That is a big and beautiful thing. As our pastor said too, it isn’t about lording it over each other, it is a willing desire to serve.
With that being said, my job on a day to day basis is a busy one. I care for the little ones while my husband works, and while some women may see that as the worst thing in the world (bit dramatic aren’t you) I find it to be a tremendous honor. I get to stay home and care for my sons the way I want them cared for. I don’t have to blindly hope and trust in someone I just met at a daycare that my boys will be taught good things and I don’t have to worry about someone treating them poorly. I myself was a daycare kid, and I honestly had a splendid time in daycare, but if it is just not necessary I don’t see the point in sending my boys to be watched by someone else with less one on one attention so I can work a job that just covers childcare. Seems silly, doesn’t it?? So I’m here watching our boys, and some may think I just sit around all day. Oh no, no no no. These kids run a tight schedule because they want a tight schedule. My husband and I are constantly cooking and cleaning for these boys, and remembering nap schedules and making sure they get outside and are taught colors and oh goodness all sorts of things. We honestly don’t get to sit down until around 8-9:30 at night and that’s IF the boys are asleep as they should be at that time. I find the schedule super helpful to be honest, but if you slip up the housework gets way out of hand, so I’m busy at it pretty much all day. I’ve also been trying to take on the responsibility of weekly meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking (my husband is teaching me that last part). I am pretty novice at it, but it really makes me smile when I hear my husband say ‘nice job on dinner tonight hun’. I’m getting there. My overall goal I suppose is to be one of those mothers that can cook anything mend anything and sends everyone a card on the holidays. Far from it right now but, don’t we all appreciate the hard work of the woman in the family that organizes events or checks in on everyone? I know I do. An inspiration at least. So blessed that my husband and God gave me this opportunity in life.
With that being said
I think that’s everything I’d like to blab about before disappearing for half a year again. This summer is looking pretty busy and I’m stoked for the world to reopen and I’m super tired of hearing about masks and vaccines. Our local library has reopened and I’ve been frequenting there again, and summer swimming lessons are in the future. My little garden I have hopes for if my toddler will stop aggressively transplanting every crop I have (lol). We’ll see how long it is before the next update!