Mommy Stuff: Having two kids under 3 years old
We are currently in Augusta, staying with my parents for two weeks. We came here on the same day that my mom left to go back here, mostly to spend time with my dad but also for a change in scenery. L is able to work from home from here, which is how we're able to stay for so long, and my dad spends time with the kids at night and on the weekends. My dad also has Fridays off (he works at least 40 hours from Mon-Thu already) so we're able to do stuff then. Last weekend we went to Atlanta and tomorrow we are planning to go to Myrtle Beach. It'll be an almost 4 hour drive one way, and I hope the kids do well so that we don't have to make too many stops.
Being here is nice. Not that we've done a whole lot, or that we're really doing anything different than what we were doing in SJ. There is actually less stuff to do here, as far as children's activities goes - back in SJ there was a zoo, several parks, a children's museum, tech museum, bounce houses, all within a 20 min drive. Here they just have the mall and a Chuck-e-Cheese close by. But having both L and my mom at home with me is huge, in helping to take care of the kids. I had been so stressed out, taking care of the kids by myself - feeling like I couldn't keep up with everything I was supposed to do, with making sure that both kids are well taken care of and have enough attention. The worst times were when both kids were upset or crying - I could only take care of one at a time, and even switching to the second sometimes meant upsetting the first all over again.
Having my dad around and seeing him playing with the kids is wonderful. My mom is also cooking up a storm. We're prob saving a lot of money just with that, since we tend to just order out when we're at home. It's just too bad that my diet for M's upcoming christening is going nowhere. :) My mom also seems much more relaxed here. I do try to make her feel comfortable when she's staying with us, they do have their own room in our house after all. But I suppose even after all this time it's just not the same as being in their own home. And I think my dad's presence has a steadying effect on her, like L's does to me.
It also helps that both T and M are doing very well - T is behaving better, doesn't have as many tantrums (only when super tired) and seems to understand most of the time now when we explain things to him. He does still get bored when we're just staying in, but taking him out for a little bit or introducing new things to him helps. M is doing great, hitting all her milestones despite being born prematurely and is just a very happy baby. She is a bit of a mommy's girl still, very attached esp when sleepy or hungry, but that's to be expected at this age. And now that she's more used to my mom and dad, they're able to play with her and help take care of her for longer periods of time.
I am somewhat concerned about what will happen when we go home next week, since it'll be back to taking care of both of the kids by myself. But I am trying to get back into a motivated frame of mind: full of ideas for educational and fun activities to do with T, come up with a healthy but relatively easy menu, as well as an efficient and manageable schedule, and the discipline to actually stick with these plans. Most of all be able to stay zen - the next time that I'm in the middle of something, T makes a big mess, and he and M decide to have a contest to see who can cry the loudest. Just need to breathe and remember that I love my family. And that moms have done this for thousands of years and there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to. :)
Being here is nice. Not that we've done a whole lot, or that we're really doing anything different than what we were doing in SJ. There is actually less stuff to do here, as far as children's activities goes - back in SJ there was a zoo, several parks, a children's museum, tech museum, bounce houses, all within a 20 min drive. Here they just have the mall and a Chuck-e-Cheese close by. But having both L and my mom at home with me is huge, in helping to take care of the kids. I had been so stressed out, taking care of the kids by myself - feeling like I couldn't keep up with everything I was supposed to do, with making sure that both kids are well taken care of and have enough attention. The worst times were when both kids were upset or crying - I could only take care of one at a time, and even switching to the second sometimes meant upsetting the first all over again.
Having my dad around and seeing him playing with the kids is wonderful. My mom is also cooking up a storm. We're prob saving a lot of money just with that, since we tend to just order out when we're at home. It's just too bad that my diet for M's upcoming christening is going nowhere. :) My mom also seems much more relaxed here. I do try to make her feel comfortable when she's staying with us, they do have their own room in our house after all. But I suppose even after all this time it's just not the same as being in their own home. And I think my dad's presence has a steadying effect on her, like L's does to me.
It also helps that both T and M are doing very well - T is behaving better, doesn't have as many tantrums (only when super tired) and seems to understand most of the time now when we explain things to him. He does still get bored when we're just staying in, but taking him out for a little bit or introducing new things to him helps. M is doing great, hitting all her milestones despite being born prematurely and is just a very happy baby. She is a bit of a mommy's girl still, very attached esp when sleepy or hungry, but that's to be expected at this age. And now that she's more used to my mom and dad, they're able to play with her and help take care of her for longer periods of time.
I am somewhat concerned about what will happen when we go home next week, since it'll be back to taking care of both of the kids by myself. But I am trying to get back into a motivated frame of mind: full of ideas for educational and fun activities to do with T, come up with a healthy but relatively easy menu, as well as an efficient and manageable schedule, and the discipline to actually stick with these plans. Most of all be able to stay zen - the next time that I'm in the middle of something, T makes a big mess, and he and M decide to have a contest to see who can cry the loudest. Just need to breathe and remember that I love my family. And that moms have done this for thousands of years and there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to. :)