Coordinating the Chaos

I recently celebrated my work anniversary at Daycos and, let me tell you, it has been one heck of a year. Between the career change, adjusting to a new schedule with an infant, finding out we were expecting baby number two and working on a major addition to our home -- you could say we’ve been a bit busy.

As of this week I am officially back to work full time. Once again, I find myself working to set schedules and routines to try to create some sort of order in my life.

With an infant and a toddler who is just shy of 18 months, it sure gets crazy. Although my oldest has a notorious ornery streak, he has already proved to be an amazing big brother. He tries to take care of the baby in his clumsy toddler way. When baby starts to fuss, he’ll often bring me the pacifier or bottle, and I’ve also noticed times he’s tried to “share” his toys.

He’s still learning the consequences of gravity and has gained the nickname, Bruiser, due to his knack for falling and getting scraped up. Although you can’t understand a lot of what he says, that doesn’t keep him from talking all the time. His favorite pastime is pointing at any given object and repeatedly asking me, “Mama, what’s this!?”

Although with toddlerhood come the inevitable tantrums, teething and overall rambunctiousness, I’m enjoying watching him grow. It never ceases to amaze me how much he picks up that I never realized I taught him. He can throw away trash, bring me certain objects when asked and put his cup in the sink. All this comes in handy when I have my hands full with the baby.

Once the little came along, we learned quickly that my oldest was an easy baby. We’ve had an uphill battle with gassiness and a lot of sleepless nights. It appears that we’ve recently turned a corner and have had several nights with only one nighttime feeding versus the 4-5 we had been experiencing. So, there may be hope on the horizon.

Despite his fussy tendencies, he’s been thriving. At the rate he’s growing, he’ll catch up to big brother in no time. I’m confident that once he’s mobile the two will be as thick as thieves. Which is equally heartwarming and terrifying for the trouble they’ll no doubt get into.

Although the progress on our addition has somewhat stalled since the birth of my youngest, I am more than content with where we are and am loving all the extra space. The top floor is near completion, with the exception of our master bathroom. We will likely tackle that in the fall, but for the moment, my husband is taking a well-deserved break (which includes as much fishing as possible.)

Other than one quick trip up to Fort Randall Dam, I haven’t spent much time away from home. It is definitely hard for mom to leave the kids behind. But hopefully soon my husband and I can take some time away.

So, to sum up where I am in motherhood right now: It’s crazy, beautiful and at times so difficult you don’t know how to get through the day. But, as always, I remind myself that I’m doing the best I can and remember that tomorrow is a new day. I am incredibly grateful for the life I've been given: An amazing job, dedicated husband and two sweet boys to love. I couldn't ask for more.