Tender Heart

Have I mentioned how awesome my parents are? We are so lucky to live SUPER close to my family, so close that my parents can relieve us of one or both of the kiddos any time and close enough that they play a major role in help me manage the kiddos every single morning (evenings too).

Little Man and Pop have this morning ritual of snuggling in Pop's big easy chair, drinking "co-co" milk and watching Johnny and the Sprites. Pop told me that the other morning he and Little Man were watching an episode about how worms were eating Johnny's garden and Johnny and the Sprites had to gather up the worms into jars and get rid of them. Pop looked over at Little Man and he was wiping his eyes with his "Lovey". Pop asked him what was wrong and Little Man said, "This show is making my eyes cry." Ha.

I love his sweet little tender heart.

Oddly enough, worms in a jar make him cry but we watch BAMBI and NADA. What's up with that?

The Look

The past week has been R-O-U-G-H for this mommy. I've been running on anywhere from 1-3 hours of sleep a night thanks to a very fussy night time baby.

Two nights ago when I was several hours past exhaustion, Trav was at the fire station, Little Man was crying in his room for me to come get him and June Bug was inconsolable I thought I was going to lose my mind. I got my act together, put Little Man back in bed, snuggled up June Bug and just as I was about to let the tears flow, I looked down at the baby lying on my chest and saw this look.

It is amazing what a little eye contact can do to soothe a tired momma.

Can you say creepy?

It is weird but my family loves to be creeped out and THIS (click on the word, dad) is one of the creepiest things I have seen in a long time. Be sure to scroll down.

Like mother, like daughter

I am not a great sleeper and I'm kind of a pillow snob because of it. I understand wanting to put babies in beds without blankets and fluffy items that can cause suffocation but knowing how hard it is for me to sleep through the night I really feel sorry for my little June Bug. She tosses and turns at night, groaning and stretching over and over again just like I do when I am on an uncomfortable bed sooooo when I am awake, I let her sleep ON my beloved pillow. I think she likes it!!!

Happy Father's Day!

My little prince

This morning Little Man walked in just as I was putting on one of my favorite headbands on June Bug's head. LM took one look at her and exclaimed, "Oh wow mommy! [June Bug] a beautiful princess!" He then ran over to the dresser, grabbed another headband and put it on. Knowing that his daddy would have a fit, we came up with a compromise....a bowtie fit for a prince :)

Oh and this is now the face I get from LM anytime I pull out the camera. I guess he isn't really enjoying being in front of the camera!

Maternity Leave

I am so very, very blessed to work where I do. Working for my church enables me to work with wonderfully godly men and women in a healthy, happy environment that not only cares about the individual but the individual's family. When Little Man was born nearly two months early, the church worked with me to arrange a schedule that would allow me to give my son my undivided attention while he was in the NICU and then after 6 weeks of maternity leave allowed me to work from home for many months while my little one grew and grew. This time around, with June Bug, I wasn't sure whether or not we would have an experience similar to Little Man's or one that was more typical. The church was flexible and more than willing to work with me and support me through bed rest, multiple trips to L&D and even an early delivery. Now that JB has made her arrival they allowed me to modify "maternity leave" so that I could work from home for the summer and only come into the office for meetings and emergencies. It allows me to give my sweet children my attention when they need it and arrange my work load to accommodate their needs. It also allows me to participate in the staff prayer meetings, minister meetings and luncheons that I so desire to attend. It really is the best of both worlds. While not a permanent solution, I will go back to full-time work in September, it is such a tremendous blessing for this new mommy and one of the many reasons I love my job.

I do get some weird, sometimes skeptical looks, when I tell people that I work from home but honestly....can you imagine a better working situation?

Working from home with Little Man

Working from home with June Bug