Adulthood

Would you like to know the pivotal moment when I realized I was an adult?
I was in college, and every time I would sweep the floor, I would noticed the broom was getting dirtier and dirtier.  I kept wondering when was it going to go away, growing up the broom did not get like this.  Finally one day it clicked, my mom was never going to show up sweep my floor and clean out all the hair and lint from the bristles, that was my job now.  I must admit, I felt a little deflated after such a revelation.   Adulthood would not be everything I thought it would be...
Adulthood was not ushered in by a big party or celebration, it was cleaning a broom.
I'm pretty sure this is how I felt.

For Valentine's Day

I have a story for all of you (ie my 10 faithful followers), since its less than a month until Valentine's day.  Oh like 20 months ago we (as in my husband and me) thought I was pregnant.  We weren't planning on being pregnant yet, but none the less, I know many people with surprises so I guess it could happen to us too. I was in denial, not really denial, I just don't like taking pregnancy test.  I think they are a waste of money, either you are pregnant or your not, nothing changes with a pregnancy test.  Instead of wasting my money I looked up when the the due date was.  It was terrible!  It was February it made me want to cry, I didn't think I could handle a third birthday, and a holiday all in the same month. Eventually my husband convinced me to waste my money, and I wasn't pregnant.  I was so relieved, I did not want another February birthday. I also had no interest in another December birthday. Have no fear my third baby was born in a much less busy month.  AUGUST!  Oh wait, no.  As far as I can tell December is the worst month for a birthday, ask anyone with a December birthday.  Then as far as our family goes February is pretty booked up, but back to school is about the third worst time for a baby.

Don't believe me, I am pretty sure I've never seen a picture of me looking more zoned out.  It was a lot to have a baby and get two kids started in school.  (And this lame picture makes me want to scream!  What the heck is wrong with blogger, they must be the only application that doesn't allow to rotate pictures.  On my computer is is rotated correctly, just not on STUPID blogger. @blogger you hear that, update your code so users can rotate pictures.  #bloggerneedstoallowpicturestorotate )

I have wonderful birthday months.  If I was good at planning my children's birthday months I would declare I will never again have a baby in February, August or December, because those are the worst months for birthdays.  But I have never had success in planning birthday months, I don't have high hopes in my abilities   All of my children have been planned, just not what month they were born.

$280

Many of you have seen the #firstworldproblem  if you haven't here is an introduction:
My stove works, but its ugly, and does not work wonderfully.  My father in law was kind of to check to see if my oven was level, it is, so now we know it just doesn't heat evenly.  It burns things in the back, before the front is fully cooked. Brownies and other such things, grow very bizarrely while cooking in my oven. They grow high in the back of the oven, and become concave in the front.
A month or so ago my husband told me he found a stove on clearance at Home Depot for like $280, it was even stainless steel, but the closest one was 40 minutes away so he ignored the sale.  He told me this about two weeks after the fact.  He warned me that he probably shouldn't have told me.  He was right he shouldn't have.  Ever since I've been morning the lost of the stove I never had.  I wish I had it.  #firstworldproblem Yeah, I know it would be a low quality stove, but I could handle that, because the heating element in a low quality stove is still new and working better than the heating element in a low quality OLD stove.  Plus, I'm not buying a high quality stove in the near future, that isn't even on the table.

On the plus side that is $280 less money I have to re-save for our short-term savings. One the plus side I probably hate my counter-tops and sink less with an ugly stove in the kitchen.  On the downside I really wish I had a new oven.  I love baking when I have a new oven, I don't otherwise.  On the downside, there is a good chance I'll have new counter-top by the end of the year, and then I will have an especially ugly stove without the ugly/stained/old counter-tops camouflaging it. On the plus side we really can't decided if we want a gas stove or a cooktop.
Sure you should get gas if you love to cook, but we really don't like cleaning, in which case cooktop is making a compelling argument.  If you want to can you should get a cooktop.  I don't want to can, my husband on the other hand.... my grandma has been canning on her cooktop for 20 years.

I'll get over myself.  Instead, I'll plan my family's dream vacation to Latin America/the beach/somewhere with really marine biology life.  My dream vacation, somewhere less than 5 hours on a plane. #firstworldproblem And by plan I mean, not get mad at my husband when he researches every detail.

Twins Two Years Apart

When I started having children I assumed we would like everyone else.  We would sit on the church pew with our children that looked like twins two years apart.  Well things never quite happen like I expect, and my children did not come two years apart, due various reasons. My first child looked quite a bit like both my husband and I, so I assumed all our children would be like that. My husband was born with a full head of hair, I was born with a full head of hair, and my first child was born with a full head of hair.  A little shy of three years later my second child was born.  She didn't look anything like the rest.  She was bald, she ended up being blonde, she had bright blue eyes, she didn't have my husband's eyes/son's eyes. None of us are blonde and blue eyed? Truly where did she come from? (I ignored the fact that the majority of our nieces and nephews on both sides of the family are blonde and blue eyed.  Then she grew into green eyes, like mine.)  Plus she cried incessantly for two years.  Why didn't I have my twins two years apart, like all those other families?
Well four years later, I didn't get my twins two years apart, but almost four years later, I did get my twins, four years apart.  Now the eldest child is the one that doesn't look anything like the rest.  Ok, to be fair I think my third is going to be the missing link between the first two. But it is fun, now to have my baby that is the spitting image of the older sibling, still I'm wondering how two people born with hair, are 2/3 for bald babies?

Breaking the Rules

When J was a baby, he was on an excellent sleep schedule.  He was a great napper and very consistent  I read lots of sleep books, and I did what worked best for us.  He always went down awake and always put himself to sleep.  (Which made him a nightmare at church because he wouldn't nap without a bed.)
Multiple things I read talked about how you have to want your baby asleep, and not actually want to be holding them.  Etc, etc.  At the time I couldn't fathom wanting to hold my baby when I should be sleeping, or even during the day while they should be sleeping. Then again J didn't like to cuddle and often wanted to chill next to me, instead of being held.  Even with Nan, I had no desire to see her during sleeping time.
Now its been 4-6 years since I've had those babies, and I finally understand what those books/articles were talking about.  Baby A nurses to sleep, and I just want to hold him.  He is only a baby for such a short time, why miss it.  Baby A will only be a baby for a short time so I have to soak it up, while the other two where babies for what seemed like an eternity, but now I realize it was a blink, but at the time it was in eternity. When Baby A is up past the other kids, he is the star of the show, my husband and clamoring to win his attention. The majority of the time he goes to bed at 7, but when he's up late, we let him.  I have no problem rocking him to sleep, in fact he has recently out grown being rocked to sleep, and I wonder what happened to my baby?  Yes, I'm atrocious, and I'm ok with that.
Although I sort of think Baby A, taught me to be atrocious, he doesn't play the sleeping game like my other kids did.  He refused not to be rocked to sleep for months.  He would never stop crying, if I was in the house, and would quickly slip off to slumberland in less than 5 minutes if I rocked him.  He can't be on the same schedule the other babies were on, because we are always carting some child to here and there and yonder.  His naps are often interrupted   With the other babies I was a prisoner in my own home, I stayed put during naptime, no one never napped on the go.  Not this baby, he gets his sleep when he can, because life goes on.

Funny

J: How do you know?
N: because she is a mom
N: moms know

New Year's Eve

I try to throw a bash for the kids when we are home, although we never stay up until midnight. I think the only year we stay up until midnight was the year Brent helped his brother with a plumbing issue until 11:45. The traditions we have gained over the years is drink smoothies and watch the world celebrate the new year via YouTube.