Things to be thankful for.

I have a hard time remembering everything that I have to be grateful for during all that loud moaning and whining I've been doing lately.  In my defense, I have some pretty decent stuff to whine about:

• A 2+ hour commute each way to work and back, making my work day into a 13 hour ordeal.

• Getting home at 7 at night.  Eli usually goes to bed around 8:30, last night Mischa went to bed at 7:30.  I miss my babies.

• Then there is just the general gripe about never having enough time to do ANYTHING, blah blah blah.

That's not what this post is going to be about.

I got this idea from This Awesome Bish to post every week about what I have to truly be thankful for.  Today, I'm going to keep it simple.

I'm so incredibly thankful for this boy and this girl:

Slacking off.

At work.  I do it ALL THE TIME.  Take right now, for instance, I'm "taking calls" because I work in a call center, but since there aren't any calls I'm playing on blogger and babycenter.  What more could you ask for?

We recently got a grant for new home owners to get some work done on our house, we are in the process of getting a new roof and new windows in the living room, as well as a new window and sliding door in the dining room.  This was supposed to be done when it was warm out but it appears like that obviously wasn't able to happen.  Thank god they at least had the window IN the wall before the children were home so husband could put the heat back on.

Husband is coping pretty well with the limits of his new stomach, he and Mischa pretty much have the same diet now (I seriously had to buy baby food for BOTH of them the other day), I guess that makes it easier for me, ha ha.  Now all I really have to worry about is feeding myself and the chicken butt, and since he pretty much only eats chicken and french fries, we're pretty much set to go.

I think I'm finally finding my groove with being back to work, though I'm so back and forth emotionally.  One day I'm excited to be working again, the next I'm so depressed over how much I'm missing in my babies' lives.  I just wish there could be a nice middle ground, but I don't see that happening for a while.

We got costumes for the kids, The Chicken is going to be Mater, and Fat Fat is going to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast (my sisters talked me into that.)  Maybe I'll be able to post the pictures in a bit, but uploading from my phone in the city is surprisingly such a pain that I wait until I get back home.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend, don't forget to hug and kiss your loved ones and let them know just how special they are to you!

Harlowe.

Back to work...

This post is a few weeks late, but we've had a busy month.  I started back to work on the 17th of Sept, I knew it would be hard but that first week was HARD.  On top of trying to adjust to 5 hours of sleep and constant waking from the 6 month old, we all came down with really bad colds that are just not starting to ebb.  Honestly all I remember of my first week is foggy thinking, migraines, sneezing, tired, and not much else.  Sure, it has gotten easier but I don't think I'll ever get used to being away from my children for 13 hours a day.  It sucks, I miss them with my entire being.

Husband had gastric bypass surgery last week, he is healing well but I think he regrets the decision, if only for the amount of work it takes just to keep himself hydrated.  It's insane.  You can't drink any liquid for a half hour before and after you eat (at this point his "food" can only be jello, pudding, or yogurt), but you need to be constantly taking sips of water, etc. to keep your fluid intake up.  It's hard work in the beginning.  He did it for the babies, though, and if for that reason only I think he's okay with his choice.  We both want to be around well into the future for them.

In other news:  I will never stop being in awe of the love between The Chicken and Fat Fat (that is baby girl's new nickname).  It stops my heart and brings tears to my eyes almost every day.  Where I was pretty firmly in "no more babies" camp before, she makes me want to have another.  Both of them had this effect on me.  I am seriously blessed with my children, chicken is definitely in the "terrible twos" but even then he is just so sweet and has good days and bad days.  Mischa just sleeps, through the night, takes great naps during the day.  I hate even telling other mothers about it when they ask me because I've been there with the chicken.  Every two hours he was nursing until 8 months, and it was incredibly hard, the last thing I wanted to hear was someone else's child was sleeping through the night from 6 weeks old.

And now for some pictures because I love to share:

At the corn maze, it was a bumpy ride so she had to hold onto her hat:

The chicken got to meet Mater, he was so exicted!

Playing in the corn box!

The chicken is a rebel:

Nope, I'm not going to look up, I'm touching grass.

Sibling love:

Hugs:

And kisses!

In The Chicken's words:  "I LOB you, sister!"

Showing off her new petti romper:

She looks surprised but don't be fooled, she was just about to bite the basketball:

Straight thuggin' at the doc's:

JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL!

She's obviously trying to say "I heart you, mom":