Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Happiest Place on Earth

Ok, as I look back on my last post, I see how negative it was... what a big complainer I can be! Sometimes this is a great place to vent though... so I'm glad I got it off my chest.  I just don't want to seem like I don't realize what a great problem it is to have that there is so much baby gear to pack up between our two boys. I have experienced loss on my road to mommyhood, and I wouldn't have our crazy life any other way- the chaos that comes with kiddos is what I wanted (and continue to want) more than anything in this world!!  

So, back to Disneyland.  We went down on Wednesday night so we could get an early start and be there when the park opened on Thursday morning.  That didn't happen, but we still got there MUCH earlier than if we had left from home that same day.  We were so thrilled to have the hotel to come back to if our older son needed to nap or if the baby needed to nurse.  As it turns out, both Disneyland and California Adventure have an awesome "Baby Care Center".  They have private, quiet areas to breastfeed, plus CLEAN, sanitary diaper-changing areas.  In a word, they are freaking amazing.  Disneyland is so fantastic that way- they know how to take care of their guests.  I was beyond grateful and impressed by this setup.  We actually didn't need to go back for our monkey to nap either, as he just slept in the stroller.  Still, having the hotel was the best thing ever.  Waking up and being able to pack them up and walk over to the park was great!  We of course needed and brought TONS of stuff- but had we run out of diapers or gone through all the spare outfits for the boys, we could have been back in business in a matter of minutes. Awesome! 

Our day was great, because the weather was cool enough to keep the big crowds away, but we were lucky and never got rained on.  We bundled our little guys up like crazy and enjoyed a brisk day in the Magic Kingdom.  Our older son LOVED all the rides, and the baby did great- he was happy just looking at everything and sleeping most of the time.  The little one's one and only ride was "It's a Small World", but he missed all the excitement because he was under the nursing cover the whole time we were in the boat.  Hey, a baby's gotta eat!



This was actually our big guy's third trip to D-land.  We took him for his 1st and 2nd birthdays too. People told us we were crazy to take him so young and that he wouldn't remember it, but you know what?  WE will always remember it, he absolutely loved it each time, and kids are free until they are 3, so why not?  I am thrilled that we live close enough for him to have already experienced such a magical place so many times in his young life.  We plan on taking them every year in December- both to celebrate our big boy's b-day and to see the spectacular Christmas decorations.

Two things that we were pretty proud of remembering this trip: to bring our own water, snacks, etc. to avoid spending hundreds of dollars on food our big one would barely touch, and to bring our buggyguard.  We just got our double-wide BOB a few months ago, so between that and the diaper bags I am in love with, I was nervous to leave our stroller unattended while we rode the rides, but with the buggyguard, you can lock everything so no one walks off with it! Win!

We had Park Hopper tickets, so we started off at California Adventure, which has a bunch of rides for the under 3 crowd.  After our big guy fell asleep, we left the park to grab lunch at Downtown Disney (read: hubby wanted to have a beer or two!).  When he (the toddler, not my hubby) woke up, we went to Disneyland.  We got lots of rides in, his favorites being Dumbo and Autopia. Around 7:00p.m., we were all pretty tired, so we headed back to the hotel and watched the fireworks from our room while we had dinner in our jammies.  Again, I have to say, when you have little ones, a hotel is a must, even if you live in so cal.  We would have been pretty bummed to have to make the drive home after such a long (but of course, fun) day. 

I took a bunch of pictures of the littles, that I'm not sure if I should post or not (more on that tomorrow), and we all had a wonderful time.  It is a family memory that I will cherish always, no matter how much craziness went into the prep work and packing.  Btw, we have been home for five days and I still haven't unpacked everything yet. Whoops!


Monday, March 28, 2011

Wow.... just wow.

I just can't get over how much harder it is to get out the door with two little ones as opposed to just one.  Holy crap!  And by crap, I mean the truckloads of it that we need just to get through one afternoon away from home.

Thursday was my birthday (29 for the 5th time. Yep.), and I decided that I wanted to go to Disneyland to celebrate. So we did. With a two month old. And a two year old. In the rain. And we were going to stay for two nights. AND my hubby was working, so I would need to pack up everything, load up the car, get the babies ready and drive the three of us down to his work and meet him so we could drive down to the magic kingdom. What the heck was I thinking?! It was sooooo much more work than I thought it would be.  AND so much harder than when we only had one baby.  I have nooooo idea how you mommies with multiples do it.  I was beyond exhausted before we even left!!!

Friday, March 18, 2011

The downside to my new BFF...

(aka the cleaning lady) is this...  When the house is perfect, I want it to stay that way so badly that I turn into a nagging wife! I get VERY annoyed when my hubby leaves even one dish in the sink (hello, the dishwasher is 6 inches away! Put your dirty dishes in it!!), or doesn't leave the throw pillows perfectly placed on the couch when he is done watching tv.  On a side note, I feel the same way about the laundry- once every single thing is clean, I swear I wish we could all just wear the same thing for a few days so the hampers wouldn't fill up so quickly again! Ughhh! Am I crazy or what?  Any other mamas want to share their OCD moments?? I think I am being this way lately because bringing the new baby home has thrown our routine for a loop.... of course I would have it no other way, but having so much new gear added to our home has made it harder to keep tidy, so I have been a little on edge about that. It's just hard enough with a new baby and a toddler without having to deal with clutter.  Am I a control freak or something?

I guess because the cleaning lady is not a regular thing, I just want the house to stay the way it was when she left, for as long as possible.  The one positive thing has been that we are spending tons of time outside- it's good for all of us, and we leave the house in tact. Win!

If you are reading this, thanks for letting me vent! And please share your crazy mommy moments or your husband's annoying habits!!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

My New BFF....

is the cleaning lady.  I LOVE a clean house, and in my single days mine was always pretty immaculate.  When we first got married, (and had never lived together beforehand), I soon discovered my hubby is pretty messy.  Not anything gross- but he leaves his crap out. Constantly. I try not to let it bug me, but it usually does. However, I remind myself that he is loving and sweet and great husband and father, and then I am less annoyed. Until I trip over his f-ing shoes for the 200th time, and then I am pissed off again... Anyway, when it was just the two of us, I could keep the house clean (the way I like it- not just clean, but perfectly clean and organized) about 90% of the time.  When our first baby was born, it went down to about 75%.  Now that we have a toddler and a newborn, it is like 10%.  My older son thinks it is his mission every day to destroy the house and leave toys everywhere.... therefore when he sleeps, I clean up, and when he gets up he re-does all the damage all over again.  This means I rarely have time for the actual deep cleaning I want to do- vacuuming, dusting, etc.

When I was still preggers, I saw an advertisement for a local, pretty cheap cleaning lady.  I was probably 8 months along, and couldn't exactly get down on my hands and knees to scrub the floor- well I probably could have, but getting back up would have been nearly impossible! Plus I didn't want to use the harsh cleaning products, so I asked my hubby if we could use her "just this once", and lucky for me, he agreed!  I was ecstatic!  I am one of those weirdos who actually likes to clean, but let me tell you, I enjoyed every second of watching someone else do it while I hung out with my son, reading a book and cuddling on the couch.  Pure. Bliss.



As a new baby gift after our little one arrived in January, my awesome and amazing and wonderful Nana said she was going to send me flowers, but thought I would like it more if she sent my the cleaning lady back!  Again, I was so thrilled!!  Someone else cleaning the toilets and tubs and kitchen floor?  Yes please!

Today she came again- this time as an early birthday gift.  I just can't tell you how wonderful it is to have a perfectly clean and pristine house, and I didn't have to slave all day getting it to look that way.  I could probably have done a better job- but who cares?!??  I have a toddler and a baby to look after- someone else can do the cleaning for once!! I do feel slightly guilty, but while she was working hard, I had a glass of wine and forgot all about that.  Cheers!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Not feeling the love


When I first started this blog, I decided it was for myself.  However, I can't help feeling sad that I have only 1 follower. How do I get more? Since no one reads this, I guess I can't expect an answer...

I didn't think I would care if no one read this, but I apparently I do care.  I see these mommy blogs with so many followers and it seems so fun! I follow a lot of blogs, and I want to be followed too.  I guess everyone has to start somewhere, so I will hang in there.

I guess I could let my friends and family know I have a blog, but what about when I want to complain about them?? Ha ha.

Ok, that is all.  If anyone is reading this, please follow me- even if you never stop by again! ;)

Friday, March 11, 2011

Make it a Netflix night

So we finally signed up for Netflix. It is AWESOME.  I used to think there was no way we would watch enough movies to justify the cost, and I knew that we would never mail the movies back in and end up paying the monthly fee just to hang on to the same three dvd's.  Then they came out with the deal where you can get movies and tv shows instantly through the computer or playstation, and we were hooked.  It is so fun to be able to see something on a whim, and also get dvd's in the mail (we get one at a time, so that is only one to keep from being colored on!).  Since I haven't been able to see a movie in the theatres in a million years (so not fun when preggers and you have to run and pee 10 times during the film!), it is great to catch up on everything I missed.



I have found that since I am nursing around the clock, our older son gets to watch much more tv than we ever thought we would let him watch.  I want him in my sight, and I don't want him to feel punished while I feed the baby, which I figure will lead to jealousy, so I thought it was a fun treat to let him watch Elmo or Blue's Clues (we are a Team Steve household, Joe is so not as good!), or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I nurse.  The problem is, what started out as a treat when the baby was tiny and was sleeping most of the day and only nursing for small stretches has turned into big brother watching hours of television a day.  I'm worried that this is bad for him, but I really don't know what else to do!  How do other mommies keep their toddler occupies so they can breastfeed a new infant??

Lately he has gotten into movies too- G rated, of course, but he wants to watch them over and over and over.  He loves Toy Story (aka "Buzzy moobie"), and even though this movie is for kids, I'm surprised at the language.  No 4-letter words or anything, but they do say "shut up", "stupid", "idiot" and "moron" quite a bit.  For my little copy cat, this is not great.  He has already starting calling our little yorkie "stupid dog" because the bad kid Sid in the movie says that to his poor doggie. :(

Am I overreacting? (Please say yes!)  Is it ok for a 2 year old to watch tv/movies for a couple hours a day?  Or even 3 hours?  It's not all at once, it is stretched out over a 12 hour period, but he definitely craves it now and would watch much more if I let him.  And what is the deal with the language?  Should I shelve Toy Story for a few years?  It is such a cute movie and he LOVES it, but I would rather he not call his teacher a moron at Mommy and Me.

Any feedback or advice?  From my 1 reader?  Anyone?  Bueller?

Saturday, March 5, 2011

8 weeks!

My little one turned 8 weeks old yesterday.  I truly can't believe it has been that long since he was born!  Wow!! Time really does fly, especially with a lively toddler to take care of also.  The baby is so, so good; we are very lucky.  We pretty much hit the baby jackpot twice- both of our sons were low maintenance, colic-free and great sleepers fairly early on.  Both were stinkers when it came to eating, but with a little help, were chunking up in no time!

I really feel so very blessed to be a mommy, and that these little angels picked me to be theirs.  I am very in love with my boys and am trying to soak in every second of them being so little.  I know one day I will have two teenagers on my hands, and I will long for this time, so I am trying to appreciate it while it lasts.  Who cares if my house is covered in toys, the laundry is piled up and I desperately need a pedicure and to get rid of the pregnancy weight?  For now, I will just enjoy every second with my baby loves!!!