THIS WEEK IN MOTHERHOOD | 1.16.2015

THE GOOD

1. Doing constructive activities with both boys has gotten so much easier! They're two years and four months apart in age {Asher is almost four and Silas is about one a half} and we can finally all sit at the table and do play-doh, finger painting, easy learning games, etc, without many hysterics from the little one. Same with reading books. I'd pretty much given up on reading to both of them at the same time because of the general havoc that always ensued. Between fighting over who got to sit directly in my lap, blocking each other's view, and turning pages at random, it was just way too chaotic to be enjoyable. But- though there is still a little ruckus over who gets to sit in my lap- the three of us can generally sit down and enjoy books together now.
2. Silas started going down the stairs by himself. Ah! Praise God. That makes my life so much easier. {By the way, I love his new little high-tops.} 
3. The boys are starting to wrestle and it is so, so cute. I can't wait to see all three of them in their rough & tumble prime a couple of years from now.

4. Lots of outdoor time in Virginia, where the weather was sunny and warm, and then lots of fun in the snow back in New York. Young kids + long, frigid winters is not an easy combination, but having Thane home to make the best of it with us is such a blessing!

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. Unpredictability. No two days as a stay-at-home-mom are ever totally alike. Temperaments and tolerances are up and down {my own included} and even though most days are made up of the same old stuff, I truly never know how the day will go. Sometimes things are truly great; productive, relaxing, enjoyable, and steady paced. On days like I that I'm on top of the world and I'm ready to have three more kids and {maybe} be a homeschooling extraordinaire! But other days it just feels like chaos and drudgery and trying to make even a two minute escape into the bathroom by myself is countered by Silas screaming outside of the door and Asher trying to open it. Granted, entire days are never like this...it's really more like the twenty minutes before nap time {go figure}. I love my boys and they are my world! But it would be a lie if I said those twenty minutes didn't have me wondering what in world I got into when I signed up to be a mom, hahaha. I guess I like a structured, predictable, well-oiled routine, which is just super challenging when it comes to kids.
2. So remember how I mentioned having no clue how much pregnancy weight I've gained and not really caring? Well I finally took a look at my chart to see how I was doing... Uh-oh. Looks like I'm only about five pounds away from the weight that I delivered Asher at, which wouldn't be all that bad if I still didn't have fourteen weeks to go... Yikes. This probably explains why I've been feeling so uncomfortable even in the second trimester. So, in conjunction with trying to keep up with my aerobics routine like I mentioned in my goals for 2015 post, I'm also taking the time to get serious about my diet. I loaded up on fresh leafy greens and veggies last week and pretty much started a salad factory in the kitchen. I'm certainly not going to kill myself over this, but between healthier foods, smaller portions, and some moderate exercise, I'm hoping to get back on track.

P.S. Started a weekly photo project for 2015, portraits of the boys! There's a link to it under "Categories", to the right, and here are the first and second weeks. Is anybody else doing it this year? 

THIS WEEK IN MOTHERHOOD | 12.09.14

THE GOOD

1. You probably saw the announcement last week, but in case you missed it we're having a third little boy! It was so obvious during the ultrasound that Thane and I noticed before the tech even pointed it out. All we could do was laugh, hahaha. I have to say, I'm totally shocked! I guess I would have been equally shocked if it was a girl, but having three boys in a row seems to defy the odds. Every time I think about it I can't help but feel so blessed and enthralled.

2. Does getting a new puppy go under the "motherhood" category? Willowby has been the life of the house ever since we brought her home last Sunday. It's been a bit of an adjustment to keep up with her house training {and her occasional accidents}, but overall she's the sweetest little thing and we're so glad to have her. 

3. Silas gets up onto our kitchen table chairs and eats right off the table now, which means way less high-chair cleaning! I can't quite get away with it yet, but if I could I'd throw that high-chair to the curb. Wheeling it between rooms, cleaning the gunk out of the seat, taking the tray on and off constantly to clean it is just one of those things that's gotten so tedious. He still needs it when we eat dinner in the dining room, but one high-chair mess a day is so much easier to manage than two or three. {And Willowby helps clean up some of the scraps!}

4. The boys are finally sleeping in again! Daylight savings time was no fun at all this year, but now that their 6-6:30am wake up times have gone back to 7 or 7:30am, we can forget it ever happened. At least till next year, haha.

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. Busyness. I don't know if I try to do too much or if I just don't have the threshold for hectic schedules like other women do, but it seems like I almost always have one too many things packed into my week. A lot of that probably has to do with all of our new dog adventures plus the holiday season on top of all the other normal stuff. But it's getting to the point where I feel like I don't have the time to do simple things, like plan a play date with a friend, because of all the other more formal commitments I have. So maybe that's a sign that I need to re-prioritize and cut back.

2. The bug paid a visit to the Keller household this week. Unfortunately for Thane, he got the worst of it, Silas got the second worst, and Asher and I pretty much skated by other than a day or two of me feeling totally drained. 
3. Silas pulled my best camera lens off of the table top and threw it onto the floor, and now it needs to get repaired. Which means a hefty chunk of money and a long drive to the closest camera service shop in Syracuse. Fun! I keep reminding myself that it was bound to happen at some point. But I've noticed that almost every year around Christmas I find myself without a working camera or without my best lens or some variation of that.

THIS WEEK IN MOTHERHOOD + 18 WEEKS

The Good

1. Wow. One day it was fall, and the next day it was winter. Or at least that's how it felt! What started as a few light flurries in the last couple of weeks has now turned into full on blizzards! The snow is here to stay, and it's exciting. But I'm so thankful we got to get out as a family before the real snow hit. One day we explored some of the trails at Thompson Park, and another day we did a 6.5 mile bike ride along the Black River. 
2. My last OB visit went very well and I got to hear a strong, healthy heartbeat! Even though it wasn't the first good visit I'd had this go around, it's such a relief to see that the baby is doing well. Knowing firsthand that the news you want isn't always a guarantee, I'll never take a healthy baby for granted.

2. Silas was left with a sitter AND went to the church nursery with absolutely no tears either time. Considering his middle name is Separation-Anxiety, that was a big deal.

3. Soccer went so much better for Asher this past week. He was excited to go and totally ready to jump right in and participate in all the activities. Thane was off for Veterans Day and got to be there to see him too, which was such a treat.

The Not So Good
1. Daylight savings time/fall back. Remember the days when gaining an extra hour was really great? If you're not a parent yet, you're still in those days. If you are a parent, I'm going to take a guess that it's not that great anymore, hahaha. Even though it's been a couple of weeks since we gained that extra hour, my boys are still waking up a good 30-60 minutes earlier than usual {6-6:30am}, even though they're still going to bed at their usual time at night. Arg! And of course this happened right after I got my energy back and started getting up earlier than the boys to have my bible time. If I'm lucky, I can still squeeze it in. But the smallest sound from me sends Asher bursting out of his bedroom door, which wakes Silas up immediately too.

2. Asher has not been so great about following directions or telling the truth recently. This is a new thing and it's requiring lots and lots of discipline.

On another note, we're about to pass the 18 week mark and this little baby is starting to show!

OUTFIT DETAILS
Sweater- J.Crew {similar}
Top- J.Crew
Pants- Express {similar}
Boots- Hunter's {similar}

THIS WEEK IN MOTHERHOOD

The Good

1) The first trimester is OVER. And has been for a few weeks now. Hallelujah, I can function again! I feel so much better that I even started exercising.

2) Family dinner time has gone from massively chaotic to just semi-chaotic. {Silas is learning not to throw food-flying tantrums in his high-chair}.
3) Asher and I got some true one-on-one quality time today. When Thane was away we got a lot of it because we'd spend a good chunk of time reading books and talking before going to bed. But now Thane puts him to bed most nights, so I have to try to fit solo-time with him elsewhere.

4) The boys are playing so well together! It's so great for Asher to have a sibling old enough to be a real playmate. It felt like it took a long time to get to this point, but now that we're here I'm really appreciating the fact that he doesn't have to rely on me for entertainment 100% of the time.
5) Asher just had his first soccer practice! It took him a while to warm up and start participating, and even then he still wasn't thrilled with it. He was that kid lagging behind, frowning, and rubbing his eyes the whole time to avoid making eye contact with the coaches. But I'm hoping that as the weeks go by he'll get more and more comfortable and grow to love it. {Does that mean I'm a soccer mom now? Nah.}

The Not So Good

1) The constant mess. Now that Silas is walking, climbing, reaching countertops, and opening drawers and doors, every room he goes into turns into a total disaster. I'm talking clothes in the toilet, turning sinks on and drenching the floor and himself, emptying out every lower cabinet in the kitchen, stealing food and eating it through the packages, etc. And Asher- though he was never much trouble on his own- joins in on the fun. 
2) I cannot keep up with two toddlers. If I have one under control, chances are the other one is wreaking total havoc. The other day in the Gap I was hurriedly trying some pants on Asher in the middle of the store so that we didn't have to bother with the dressing room. Meanwhile, Silas was quietly strapped into the stroller right next to us. As soon as I got done with Asher, I looked over to realize that somehow Silas had reached into my bag, pulled out my wallet, and dumped every single card, receipt, paper, and piece of money onto the floor. I feel like this kind of thing happens constantly! 
3) I shouldn't talk about this as if it's uncommon or a season that will pass- but the laundry. Oh, the laundry. I'm starting to think it would be easier {albeit smellier} to just go back to the times when you owned two items of clothing and washed them by hand once a month. In the past I've wondered if getting rid of half of our clothes would help, and came to the conclusion that I'd have to washes more often, which would be just as hard. But you know what? I ALREADY do non-stop washes, so actually it wouldn't make a bit of difference. How in the world do you moms with more than just a husband and two kids do it? 
4) This is that time of year when all the sicknesses start going around. Asher and Silas were sick on and off for the last two weeks. It was mostly minor coughs and runny noses, but it started with Silas having a serious case of croup. Poor guys!

What about the rest of you mammas? What was life with your kiddos like this week?