Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Thoughts from the Ironing Board



Last night I found myself engaged in an unfamiliar task; growing up, I had watched my mother do this for hours at a time. Meticulously she would iron a basket full of dress shirts for my father so they would be clean and crisp for him to wear for work, carefully pressing the creases in all the right spots and hanging each one up in love in preparation for a long day’s work. I remember thinking that when I grew up, I would never stand in front of a daunting pile of shirts to iron; therefore, as a young bride, I only purchased “Wrinkle-free” dress shirts for my husband (back when he wore a shirt a tie to work on a daily basis). 

After I had put the boys to bed, I went to pick out my clothes for the next morning. With our washer and dryer out of commission for now, I was unable to throw my work clothes into the dryer for a “quick fluff”. Instead, I found myself standing in the kitchen at my tabletop ironing board (as I do not even own a full size board) and began ironing my own dress shirts in preparation for a long day’s work. 

It was in this moment that I realized that at the same time, I had become my mother and my father. My mother was an amazing homemaker (I, unfortunately am not, but I survive) and my father was a dedicated breadwinner who wore a shirt and tie to work every day when I was young. Here I am, a woman in her 30’s, trying to be the best mom she can be and keep up with the house while simultaneously preparing for the next day as a working professional. (This is not to say that I am at this alone, my husband on the other hand is both a breadwinner and a homemaker and has his own set of complications, but his story is one for another day). 

I have to admit, it’s not easy and sometimes I feel torn between wanting to be more like my mom: keep a tidy house, boys always well-behaved and clean (yeah right), dinner from scratch on the table every night at 6:00; and at the same time wanting to develop my career further. I found myself singing/humming a country song, Trisha Yearwood “X’s and O’s”:
She used to tie her hair up in ribbons and bows
Sign her letters with X's and O's
Got a picture of her mama in heels and pearls
She's gonna make it in her daddy's world
She's an American girl

It may not be easy, and I am not going to try to say I can do it all (especially not alone) but I will continue to strive to be the best of “both worlds” if you will. I will be the best mom I can be and give my all to my career. The house may not always be the cleanest, and my boys WILL be dirty; I may not be able to attend every after-hours event at work and I will occasionally have to stay home to care for a sick-kid; but this is the life I have chosen, and given the choice again, there is not much I would change. 

So I will continue to iron as many shirts as I need to after the kids are in bed...
or I might start looking for Women’s Wrinkle-Free dress shirts…

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Picture Wednesday

These are the types of pictures that kids hate when they get older but mom's just love! (Scott also probably wont be happy with this picture).  But Seriously, I think I might frame this in my house.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Dolls with Lily

Lily turned 2 years old this weekend. Happy birthday Lily! For her birthday she got a doll gift set with everything you could need to take care of your baby doll.  Caleb , Lily, and Aunt Bekah had a fun time playing with lily's new toys.

Although blurry my favorite picture is of caleb playing with 1 doll while lily carries 5 in her arms!

Sorry the pictures aren't turned...I am still learning my smart phone...












Monday, August 27, 2012

Hair Cuts - Summer in Review

June 1st

At the start of summer I noticed the boys were in desperate need of a hair cut.  Especially Caleb; and as this was Caleb's first hair cut, I of course took pictures. 

The bath before the hair cut, since my boys always seem to be covered in dirt...




I have found that the best way to cut the boys hair is a pair of clippers and a stool outside on the patio.  While it was sad to cut off Caleb's curls, it was time to get rid of the baby curls and have a big boy hair cut.

Caleb was first.
 He did surprisingly well, sat still through the whole thing without being bribed with a Popsicle or anything!
 No more curls!

Brendan was next.  
Although he usually hates hair cuts and wont still through to the point that I have to hold him down while Scott cuts his hair, I made such a big deal about Caleb sitting so still that Brendan decided he would too.  I still had to give him a treat when he was done though.


At the end I had two good looking boys, and at 2 years old, Caleb had his first hair cut!



Summer in Review

Since I was not very good at blogging about all our summer "adventures" these past few months, I want to catch up with our family happenings, mostly with pictures.  Bear with me as I update my blog with pictures and posts, and hopefully I wont fall so behind again!

Enjoy!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Abby the Tabby

Our family has grown again, a week ago we brought home the newest member of our family...a tabby cat.

Meet Abby the Tabby

I saw on facebook a friend trying to find a new home for one of her cats, since we had been talking about getting a cat for a while, we pounced on the idea!

Okay, so it wasn't quite a pounce, rather we carefully contemplated the idea of introducing a cat to our family so soon after bringing home a baby and with our kids so young and bringing home a cat with previous issues. 

The situation seemed like a good fit for us since Abby is already 2 years old so we don't have to worry about training a kitten, and she has been raised in a family with three young children already so I don't have to worry about how she will be around our young rambunctious kids.  And since she had a few previous issues in her first home, our friends agreed that we would give Abby a two week trial type period to make sure she was a good fit for our family, and if not, they would try to find another alternative for her. 

So last Saturday, we went and picked Abby up.  We didn't talk to the kids at all about us bringing home a cat so they would not overwhelm her with their excitement.

The first few hours she spend under the bed, but she would slowly come out for attention if Scott or I went into the room alone.  By the next day she was sleeping at the foot of our bed and begging for attention.  A few days later she would timidly come out to eat and then retreat back to our room either under our bed or at the foot of the bed.


Now a week later, Abby has made herself at home, sleeping at our feet, eating well and even curling up on the couch (after the boys go to bed).  The boys love the new kitty and she tolerates their little grabbing hands.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Austin @ 1 month

As of Wednesday, August 21st, Austin is now 1 month old.  I has been a crazy fast month with family, visitors, and getting used to a routine with 3 kids now. 

Overall Austin is doing great and sleeping well.  He is on a 3 hour feeding schedule for now and usually sleeps 6-8 hours in a row at night.

His brothers are doing great with a new baby in the house, Caleb especially wants to be around me and Austin all the time and help with anything that he can...even if I don't need/want any help, Caleb is right there by my side. 

Austin is a pretty laid back fairly easy baby although he is wanting to be held more and wants more attention as he gets older, but he takes good naps for us.  Bath time is not his favorite but he tolerates them.  (You can see my little helper in the background during bath time).


 Austin now weighs 10 lbs, 12 oz according to my scale at home, That is more than 2 pounds since his birth. And although I didn't measure him, he is defiantly getting longer as many of the newborn clothes are not stretching as long as he is.
Although we are tired and it has been a bit of a struggle for me getting used to three kids so young, I love watching Austin grow and our family come together as one unit.

Austin @ 1 month: