Mama business = serious business

Did you hear that? I just sighed a HUGE sigh of relief. I'm done working in Cannon Falls for the week, so the scrambling is done for now. Dan gets home tomorrow night and I can't wait to squeeze him! It has been a totally crazy week for the little boys and me. This single mom business is no joke! I have a new, great respect for single moms. They are my heroes!!!

My limited patience and the boys' total craziness have been feeding off one another all week. Things that are usually a piece of cake have suddenly become chaotic. I don't know if it's chance or Dan's absence or both. Putting the boys to bed the past few nights has been filled with stress, which has never been an issue for us. This morning on the way to daycare, Sammy realized he had forgotten his sunglasses. It was raining, so I assured him he wouldn't miss them. The entire ride to daycare involved screaming (like, ear-clutching SCREAMING), punching the door, punching the air toward me and yelling potty words that I've never heard come from his mouth. Three of the past six school days for Elijah have been "bad" and the other three were "ok." Elijah has reverted to waking up at 3:00-4:00am, which I don't get. He's also been having a hard time falling asleep at night, which isn't like him at all. I'm praying all of this is just a result of a major change in family dynamic/routine and that it'll go back to normal...tomorrow.

Tonight there was supposed to be a carnival at Elijah's school and we were all really looking forward to it. There were going to be games, a raffle, yummy food, friends, etc. As Elijah and I sat in the car outside daycare while picking Sammy up (torrential rains had swept in, so I was trying to wait it out), I received a recorded call from the school. The carnival was canceled due to inclement weather. Oh man, I knew Elijah was going to have a really tough time with that news. I gently shared it with him and tears immediately squirted out of his eyes. I mean, literally, they flew from his eyes horizontally there was so much pressure and sadness. It broke my heart. I hate seeing my boys genuinely sad! When I got back into the car with Sammy, both of us TOTALLY saturated from the rain, I told the boys we could replace carnival fun with another kind of fun. We'd move pizza-movie night up a night! The boys loved that idea and I actually saw a smile on Elijah's tear-stained face. "Thanks, Mom! That made me feel happy again." It sounds like they'll try again with the carnival next week!

We are so excited to see Dan and to hear about his adventures! The boys and I have missed him so much and we're looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend together. Next week = a follow-up appointment with E's awesome neuropsychologist, more work in Cannon Falls, Dan's and my 8-year anniversary, possible skydiving for Dan and hopefully more rest, normalcy and happiness for all of us!

Thanks for peeking in! Happy early Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mamas!

Exhaustion

Samson was inconsolable for most of the day. I'm talking, NOTHING made him happy. I think overtiredness started it (he fought his morning sleep again) and that turned into a lot of air swallowing and that turned into a lot of uncomfortable gas (that he already has issues with) and that turned into being too exhausted to eat and that turned into being hungry and MAD MAD MAD. I can't even explain the level of exhaustion I feel and I can't imagine how Sam must feel right now.

I had my moments where I was completely frazzled and frustrated, but I mostly just felt so bad for my sweet little guy. He obviously wasn't feeling well and there was nothing I could do for him. I hope neither of us ever have a day like today again. It was really tough, to say the least.

He is in bed right now (we will see how long that lasts), Elijah is asleep and I am peeking out the window at a massive storm that is moving in. I have to say that Elijah was awesome today. Despite a few whiny moments (totally normal for him), he was so good about handling the chaos in our house. He has never once complained about Sam's crying and he never acts out when I have to spend large chunks of time consoling Sam. Dan's mom offered to watch Sam tomorrow for a bit so Elijah and I can get out and have a little time together.

I'll end with some exciting stuff. Elijah has started asking me spontaneous questions on his own in the past few days. For example: "Mom, what's that sound?" or "Mom, what's this song?" or "How's it going, Mom?" I think this is a pretty exciting step for him! I'm so proud of him. Last year at this time he was just starting to say "Mama" appropriately. Sooooo much progress in one year!

Ok, please pray for sanity and sleep and peace for us!

Crazy but good

This week has been totally crazy. I feel like we are still catching up from being sick and sleep-deprived while trying to fit other, extra things in as well. We had a mini-date night the other night (which was awesome, btw) and last night I got a haircut, and tonight we will bring Elijah to PT/ST and then go home and pack for our trip. Tomorrow my stepmom flies into town and we will all drive up north for the weekend for my cousin's wedding. It should be a really fun weekend. Elijah is super excited to see Grammie P.

While dealing with some chaos in the past few weeks, I decided that I need to do something, daily, that will help me to relax. So I started taking baths before bed. AAAHhhhhhhh, heaven! I've done this almost every night for about a week now and it helps me out so much. I have found that I look forward to this relaxing, quiet time all day long. Last night I got home kind of late after getting my hair cut, so I figured I might just go straight to bed, but Dan already had everything ready to go for me. He had the bath ready, complete with bubbles, candles, a TOTALLY CLEAN bathroom, my book, and even a glass of wine. My husband is awesome. He knows how much I need this. I'm so happy I discovered my beloved bath. I'll miss you this weekend, Bathy, and I'll see you again on Sunday night!

Elijah has been doing really well this week. His cold symptoms are practically gone. He has been extra clingy/whiny, but we are hoping that fades a bit now that he's starting to feel better. He hasn't been in daycare for two weeks, so that probably isn't helping him to know that he isn't the only human in the world worthy of Mommy and Daddy's attention.

Still no pics...I'm sorry! Maybe I'll find some time tonight in between getting things ready for the weekend. Grammie P, please don't judge us if our house isn't clean. Because, our house isn't clean!