all in a days work.

I went to a work conference last week and the speaker brought up the term "superwoman."  She was referring to those moms who somehow do it all.  You know, they cook, clean, play with the kids, work and somehow manage to have a fun, social life.  This post in no way is intended for me to sound like superwoman.  Trust me.  Now that I'm only working part-time I'm beginning to learn a new way of life.  That tricky balance between work, playing with the kids to give them a happy, educational, memorable childhood and remembering that the house somehow needs to get and stay relatively clean.

So, because I often look around the house and see all that needs to be done (especially the floors, even though I just vacuumed and mopped them 18 hours ago), I thought I'd make a list of everything I accomplished this morning, all before noon.  This isn't meant to brag or boast, but more serve as a reminder that even when it doesn't feel like it, I am productive.  Because, let's face it.  Motherhood is hard work.  And when you clean the table 72 times in one day, it doesn't seem like much.  But it's important to give ourselves the credit we deserve.

Nursed the baby 3 times.

Took a shower, got dressed, drank some coffee.

Made the bed.

Did a load of laundry.

Fed the dog.

Fed the toddler breakfast, 2nd mini-breakfast and a snack.

Fed the baby breakfast and a snack.

Played dress-up, cars, puzzles, baseball and pretend baking in the play kitchen.

Rocked baby to sleep for a nap.

Baked pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.

Played with play-doh and finger paints.

Yelled at the toddler for painting the chair.

Apologized to toddler.

Gave toddler a bath after finger paints turned into full body paint.

Cuddled with toddler while watching cartoons.

Changed 5 diapers.

Wiped off the kitchen table 8 times.

Read 6 books.

Helped toddler go potty 3 times.

Cleaned up bathroom after potty/handwashing mess 3 times.

Got toddler dressed 4 times.

Followed baby up the stairs twice and saved her from falling down the stairs 3 times.

Took dog toy away from baby's mouth 3 times.

Put toddler and baby down for a nap.

Made homemade jam.

Snacked on some trail mix while checking fb as kids slept.

As hectic as life can get, it's nice to remember that the days might go by slowly but the weeks/months/years continue to fly by.  Despite the chaos little ones can bring it's still important to me to forget about the stuff that "needs" to get done and sometime focus on the stuff that "wants" to be done. There will always be time tomorrow (or rather tonight after the kids fall asleep) to finish the laundry, clean the garage and wash the dishes.  But, finally after 2 years of me desperately wanting to be home more with the kids, I'm going to take advantage it and enjoy the fun.  And, remind myself that superwoman doesn't exist and that's okay.

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August

Matt and I were talking the other day about how quickly the summer passed by.  At first it seemed like we didn't really get to do too much.  But, thinking back it was packed full of major life events:

1. Matt went to San Diego for a work conference

2. I turned 30.

3. I had my 2nd cornea transplant.

4. We "celebrated" our 5th wedding anniversary ("celebrated" because it was 2 days after my surgery and I was tired and we were at his parents house for the weekend.  Oh well, there's always next year!)

5. Matt accepted a new job in Seattle.

6. We left Bellingham after 12 years.

7. We moved in with Matt's parents for a month.

8. Carter learned how to use the potty!

9. Lucy started crawling.

10. Lucy started standing and cruising on furniture.

11. Lucy learned how to climb the stairs.

12. Lucy gave us a little health scare.  

13. We moved to Bothell.

Hmmm....I'd say we had a pretty busy summer.  

To recap in pictures, here you go.  Some of my favorites from the month of August.

Sibling bath time silliness.  

 After 2 years Carter finally built up enough courage to ride Grandpa Vance's lawn mower.  It took getting Grandpa new headphones for his birthday that Carter could wear so the noise wasn't too scary.  The joy on his face was priceless!

 Lucy in her hospital gown.  Cutest little (healthy!) patient I've ever seen.

 Lots of time exploring the grass (and maybe eating a little too!)

 So much cuddle time.

 Smiles.

 Many trips to get frozen yogurt!

 Baths in the big bath tub!

 Getting the cutest little fat rolls.

 Learning how to climb the stairs.

 A new hair cut....just like Daddy.

 Sibling play time at Grandpa and Grandma Vance's house.

 2 big things - big boy undies and his new sword. Yep, still obsessed with Peter Pan and Captain Hook.  After a week of Carter using a stick to "fight" I was fed up and went to Toys R' Us to find a more suitable sword.

 Standing and exploring.  Always.

 Lots of digging in the dirt at the Vance's.

 Love her.

 Nothing says summer more than pool time with popsicles.

 A trip to the Pierce County Fair.

 Park time!

 A trip to Point Defiance Zoo.  Carter's favorite animal...the monkey!

 Our new house.  (We still need to do a lot of yard work to give it a little more curb appeal)

 Standing and smiling.

 More baby girl love.

 Mutual love for one another.  Carter just loved living with Grandma and Boppy for a month.

 His new bed.

 Her new favorite thing to do..."help" with laundry!

 Crazy boy at the new neighborhood park.

 Sweetness.

 Starting to take a few steps....so not ready for this yet.  Shouldn't she still be a tiny little newborn?

Self-portrait on my phone.

 It might have been a crazy summer but was filled with so many great memories.  And, someday, we'll look back and say, "Remember that insane summer of 2012?!?"  Whew, we survived!

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Infantile Spasms

Our life has been crazy this past month.  Between leaving Bellingham, moving in with Matt's parents, Matt starting a new job and me taking a month leave from work our family has seen more transition than we've ever seen before. We are finally in our new home in Bothell and trying to make this house seem like home again.  But, more on that later.

During my month of off work, which has been wonderful by the way, I've noticed many big changes in the kids.  Carter is now potty trained (woohoo!), Lucy started crawling, climbing stairs, pulling herself up and cruising on furniture and eating lots of yummy solid foods!  It's been so fun to be home and witness each new milestone.

But, along with those changes I also noticed something a little different with Lucy.  About 4 weeks ago she developed a facial and neck spasm.  At first I blew it off, thinking she was stretching a bit funny.  It was always random, lasted anywhere from 30 seconds to 4-5 minutes and she had 2-3 episodes a day.  I mentioned something to Matt and he finally saw it one night too.  After another few days I finally got it on video, started googling (worst decision ever!) and got a hold of her pediatrician.  After showing the video to the doctor, his concerns confirmed my fears.  Possible infantile spasms - a rare, infant form of epilepsy with not-so-great outcomes like autism and mental retardation along with awful side effects from treatment drugs like blindness, hormonal imbalances and high blood pressure.  We were immediately referred to Children's Hospital for an EEG to confirm the diagnosis and follow-up with a neurologist. 

Her appointment with her pediatrician was on Friday, Saturday and Sunday we moved into our house and Monday we found ourselves at Children's - the one place Matt and I never, ever wanted to be with our children. Needless to say it was a long weekend.

The staff at Children's is remarkable.  From the friendly greeter who met me at the door and pointed me in the right direction to the maintence man who personally walked us to the neurology department after we got lost; they all were so caring, kind and comforting....especially during a very emotional day.

Lucy was a champ during the EEG.  She screamed her little lungs out while they made markings all over her head, disinfected each site and then placed over 30 electrodes on her head with a gauze bandage holding it all in place.  Luckily I was able to hold and nurse her immediately which stopped the tears and she drifted off to sleep for a well-deserved nap.  The EEG was 90 minutes and I was the only one allowed in the room.  Poor Matt sat patiently (although his version of the story is probably different) in the waiting room next to the oncology unit, thanking God we weren't visiting that department instead. After a short nap, she played with toys and the test was over.

 We went immediately to meet with the pediatric neurologist, again, thanking God we didn't have to wait hours or even days to hear the results.  The very first thing she told us was.....the EEG was normal. Whew.  Huge sigh of relief and a few (happy) tears shed.  She told us with certainty Lucy did not have infantile spasms.

 But, the next question was, if not infantile spasms, then what?  Well, that is still to be determined.  2 other neurologists came in to meet with us and watch our video.  Unfortunately, they couldn't completely rule out a possible seizure disorder but said it was highly unlikely.  Instead, they think she has habit spasms.  Basically a quirky little thing she does for some unknown reason and will eventually grow out of.  It's hard to not have a true label on what she's been doing but we are so blessed that she is a very healthy baby girl.  Her development is right on track and the doctor's really didn't have any concerns, other than to just monitor her for any changes.

 So, we made it through our first very scary experience as parents.  Probably the most anxious/nervous/terrified we've ever been.  And Lucy, just kept on smiling, just like she always has.

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Marmie

We have about 2.5 days left in Bellingham.  The house is empty.  Boxes packed. Work is done (for Matt - 2 more days for me).  And goodbyes have begun.  It's funny though, because of the chaos of moving, 2 small kids, and a major eye surgery we really haven't had time to process it all.  There have been few tears but I realize this is silly because we really are only moving like an hour away.  And hello, we have Facebook to keep in touch every single second of the day.  But still, some goodbyes are definitely harder than others.

One of those is Marmie.  Marmie has been the kids' childcare provider since Carter was 4 months old.  It was a random February night about 6 weeks before my maternity leave was over and we realized we should probably figure out childcare for when I returned to work.  Trying to be funny, Matt suggested we look on Craigslist.  I said, "Are you nuts?!?  There are crazy people on there.  I'm not having some stranger watch our child!"  About 30 seconds later he read an ad for Marmie's Place - a gentle loving Grandma providing one-on-one in home care.  It sounded perfect.  We met with her 3 days later and never looked back. 

Over the last 2.5 years Marmie has become a part of our family.  She knows the kids better than anyone else (sometimes, I think, even better than me!).  She has become like a mother figure to me, a mentor and friend.  She has been my constant support during these first 2+ years of being a mother.  And, we love her. 

When I went into labor with Lucy, she was one of the first people we called.  She let Carter spend the night at her place so we didn't have to worry about him while I was at the hospital.  She graciously allowed us to take Lucy there when I went back to work again and has always just loved our kids.  

It'll be hard to not see Marmie and our friends each day.  

So, to say thank you, we decided to take some pictures.  It wasn't easy.  But we tried.

After Lucy got bonked in the head we decided to wait another day and try again.

And...they were done!

 Thank you, Marmie, for loving my children and providing a safe place for them to learn, grow and laugh.  You will always hold a special place in our hearts.

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