Planning for the future

I have been sick for the past 5 days. The Flu. Not something you want to have at all, let alone while pregnant. 

Since I have been laying around in bed for the past 3 days I have had a lot of time to sleep, poke around online, and cough cough cough.....and pee on myself every single time I cough. It is one of the more annoying things in life.

Anyway, all this time to lay around and think and be halfway conscious has given me a chance to sort of asses our families routines (um, lack thereof) and annoyances and think about ways to address them.

Our closing date on our house is coming closer and closer. Sort of. Our realtor called us and said we need to pick a closing date because all thats left to do on our house is carpet and landscape. Lies. We told her December 14, and if thats not doable then December 21st. We will see. If all there is left to do is carpet and landscape then I guess they weren't planning on installing a single light in our home, because there are none to speak of. Also, no mirrors in any of the bathrooms. Also, no shelving or cabinets in the pantry or laundry room. Hmm, seems to me there is a bit more than carpet and landscaping......

Anyway, I have this dream scenario built up in my head that I am daily trying to vanquish because I know it is not reality. I picture us being the kings and queens of organization, being routine masters, and everything being incredibly spotless. Our lives will always run in such a smooth manner and in my little daydream I am sitting on the couch in a big comfy T shirt and leggings holding Finn while Ryder and Lucy happily play upstairs. Somehow I am also 50 lbs lighter....I guess I am really counting on breastfeeding to work its weightless magic this time. Im ca-razy.

Anyway, I am so so so anxious to move though because I dont feel it worth it to start a new type of routine while we are still living in the matchbox. *Disclaimer: I am not saying that my house is so freaking small and how could anyone live in only 900 square feet with one bathroom, I am simply saying that at this point in our lives we have an almost 5 year old (next month! agh!) a 2 year old, and a baby on the way. So for us, this house is too small. We've paid our dues people, we have lived here for 6 years.

We are boxing up everything, and living on bare necessities. 

Right now my family is in survival mode. Even more so since all of us have been sick. George is at the doctor right now getting checked for the Flu. We are just trying to make it by until we can move...and we are miserable. I normally dont repin a ton of "mommy" type stuff on Pinterest. Like 50 things mothers of sons should know.....blah blah. I am a mother of a son, I got this. However I did pin something yesterday that i was happy about. I was drawn to it because the picture of the pin was a planner. If you know me at all, you know I love a good planner and routine. So I had to check it out. Here is the blog it sent me to.

I loved the part where she said that when she was pregnant she feels like she was just in survival mode. Thats so comforting to hear from an established mom. When you are only pregnant with your first, its a completely different ball game than when you already have kids. And Im not here to act like I am about to have my 3rd kid so I am a book of knowledge and you silly mommies with one dont know how good you have it. Because I remember what it feels like to just be pregnant with or only have one child. So many things are uncertain and your life is changing so dramatically. Its an insane roller coaster of emotions. Never does your life change so much as when you have your first child. I dont care how many more you have, at that point you are just adding to the life you already have, not taking on something completely new. I remember crying all the time because I thought George and I would grow apart, and being so desperate for company when Ryder was born. Its a lonely first year and a half when its your first. So it's nice to know that other moms of more than one are just trying to survive. Because thats what we are doing up in here. I feel like George and I should be wearing army gear and Ryder and Lucy are the assailants. 

So, what exactly are we surviving from? Well, Ryder is super super hyper and wound up most of the time. Hello he is a boy. Who loves Karate. Why do they all love karate? So most of his life consists of punching and kicking this socker bobber punching bag we got him which has been a lifesaver. Im not exaggerating, he did his "ninja training" on that thing for over 2 hours straight yesterday. Just punching and kicking in his room. What. So now that we have given him an outlet for his ninja ways we have curbed some of the frustration that comes along with having a crazy boy. But then there is the frustration with the eating. This kid lately has been trying to eat each meal in two different time frames. He will eat half of his meal, claim he is full because he wants to go play, then come back 1-2 hours later and claim he is starving again. OR, he will tell us his belly hurts, and he cant eat anymore, but then will try to sit right beside George and stuff his hands in the Doritios bag. This happened last night. Um no. If your stomach is hurting and you cant eat your breakfast for supper then you certainly cant eat cheesy Doritos. Nice try buddy. 

Lucy. Lucy has me reaching for the parenting books....on sleep. Im not really in the loop on all these different sleep training methods. I know the phrases or words: Ferberizing, CIO, babywise, etc. But Im going to be honest, I have no idea what the hell they mean. I dont know wether to be for or against a certain method. Obviously, I know what cry it out means, and am all for it if you can stand it. And I dont mean in a "I just cant stand to hear my baby cry, it breaks my heart sort of way", I mean stand it as in your blood pressure not shooting up to the breaking point because the sound grates on your nerves. Let me tell you something. I cant stand it. I just cant. So, I have decided to buy the No Cry Sleep Solution. I read through a couple of the preview pages on Amazon and it doesnt seem too looney tunes. Granted I only got to read to page 8 in the book preview, but it got 4.5 stars in the reviews so I am willing to give it a go. This girl is 2.5 and wakes up in the middle of the night most nights and getting her to go to sleep at all is a nightmare. She used to be super awesome at it. We have never rocked and sang and stood and patted backs on any of our children, we just lay them down. I dont know what the deal is all of the sudden. 

The blog I linked above also had some good ideas for cleaning stations for children, and giving one child a thumbs up and a little prize or sticker or token towards a reward system at the end of each day. I liked that. I like positive reinforcement. 

So, we are currently just surviving. Schedules, and routines have been thrown out the window lately. But we are trying to get back on track, reassess, and come up with a new game plan. 

Thanks for letting me vent :) I realize I just wrote a novel. I guess I am making up for all the time I haven't been blogging it up. 

Now, let me go back to sleep because my head is spinning. Oh, ps: word of advice: if you are able, and they are able, dont move away from grandparents when you have children. My mom has been such an amazing help over the past few days while we have been sick. She has Ryder now, he is the only one who has gotten over this crud, and Lucy is sleeping away a fever right now. I am so thankful for my mom and mother-in-law for being so close by and helpful. 

Ok. Bye :)