Peek-A-Boo 2

The other morning I found myself doing something which for me, epitomizes motherhood and the mixed-up feelings I have whenever I spend too much time with my kids.

Chris had been on a business trip for a few days, and I was having breakfast with the kids. Sort of. They were actually doing the eating. Sort of. I was spoon-feeding Andrew and, as usual, he started getting distracted and turning his head away from me, and he hadn't even eaten half his meal. He had to eat more. Toys and singing were not doing the trick.

I needed to play peek-a-boo.

But the problem was, I didn't have two free hands for peek-a-boo. So I grabbed the nearest thing, a dishtowel, which I later realized was a dirty dishtowel, and put it on my head over my face. I used one free hand to feed Andrew and the other to pick up the towel every few seconds and say peek-a-boo. Andrew ate it up. I heard Eli giggle and looked over and to my surprise, he was eating it up, too!

And then it hit me, here I am, with a dirty dishtowel on my head, trying to feed my children and entertain them at the same time, while my bagel sits idly by, getting cold and feeling quite lonely, and my orange juice cup is still full, as it almost always is even when breakfast is over. What am I doing? Shouldn't a grown woman be able to eat her breakfast in peace, at least once in a while?

But I was enjoying it, mostly. And the kids were too. And there is always a little voice in my head telling me that, someday soon, these very same kids would be extremely embarrassed to see their mom with a dishtowel on her head during breakfast.

And honestly, a small part of me yearns for those days. But I try to suppress that part of me and live in the moment and love every single moment of every single stage.

But I tell you, when my husband is gone for a week and a half, and I am the sole caretaker 24/7, it is hard. And fun. And hard. And that's what I'm talking about.

New look

Welcome visitors! It has been a while since I posted, obviously! On Facebook, I have been trying to post a picture a day of both Andrew and Eli, and thanks to my bestie Susan Wenner Jackson, I think we have figured out how to share those photos with my loyal non-Facebook using blog followers. Click on the photo links at the top of the page and see if that takes you to some photos. And thanks for checking in!

Welcome Andrew Lee Talley!

Born 2/13/2011

Posted lots of pics on our Shutterfly site, click here.

He was born 2 hours after we arrived at the hospital, needless to say it was pretty quick. Then we were released 27 hours later! Me and Andrew are both feeling good, and Chris and Eli are adjusting well so far.

Pre-labor jitters...

At the end of your pregnancy you get the same questions a lot: "Are you excited?" and "Are you ready?" *Sigh* Where do I start? I am as ready as I'm gonna be. Equipment-wise we are ready. Nursery is ready. I am ready to get my body back and not be pregnant any more. I am ready to meet my new bundle of joy.

However, I think it would be naive/insincere to say I am excited. I know what I am in for. I am in for some pain. I am in for lots of sleepless nights, then playing with Eli all day AND trying to take care of a newborn. I am in for Eli going through an adjustment period.

Most of all, I think Chris, Eli, and I would just say, "let's get this show on the road". Enough waiting for our family of three to become a family of four. Let's do it.

Postpartum addition: Many of these fears were unfounded. Labor, while painful, was no where near as bad as last time, and postpartum I feel great! So happy to have our little baby, sleepless nights are no problem so far and Chris has been great with Eli, and Eli has been great with Andrew. I'm nervous about when he goes back to work, but we'll make it.

Finally potty training

Okay, so last time we tried potty training, in November, we had several accidents in a day and reverted to pull-ups. Four days ago we tried it again, and although my nerves were frazzled from expecting an accident every five minutes, Chris pointed out at the end of the day that Eli had only had one accident. He wore underwear to school the next day and...no accidents! Day four, no accidents! I guess he's finally ready. With one month to spare before baby #2. Then we have a bunch more diapers to look forward to, and perfect timing for Eli to regress, which I hear happens a lot. Oh well, it's progress at least.

Speaking of baby #2, we have a few names we like, and are feeling them out. Which do you like?

Andrew
Evan
Cameron

Up until last week, we had no names, now it seems we like a new one every day. We may have a new one tomorrow! Stay tuned! =)

Two Years

Mom has been gone for two years now. It is as hard to believe that she is gone as it was the day she died. I still can't wrap my head around it. She was the central personality in our immediate family and, to me at least, in our extended families. Holidays and gatherings still feel empty without her. They always will. She would have been happier than anyone at our Thanksgiving celebration on Friday about the five babies age two and under. Mom used to dream about the day we'd have a lot of kids at our parties. It is here, and she missed it altogether. There was no better gift-giver, and no one I enjoyed shopping for so much. I always wanted to match her talent for finding the perfect gift. I miss sitting on the couch and watching tennis with her, shopping with her, cooking with her, and waking up to her french toast. I wish we could enjoy Eli together and talk about motherhood and what I was like as a baby/toddler. I thought I was prepared to miss her. But the hole she left in my life takes me by surprise every day. I guess that's the down side to being so much to so many people. The hole.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

This is a big week for us. We have started the process of potty training and are planning to move Eli into a big bed tomorrow night. I never planned to make two big changes at the same time, but he suddenly seemed ready for both, or maybe I'm the one who's ready. I can't guarantee that we won't all freak out and revert to diapers and the crib by next week, but we're trying. Wish us luck!