June/July/LIFE Lately Recap

Wow, it's been almost a month since I've updated.  I'm pretty sure that's a record.  The truth is, it's not because I've been busy.  I mean, I have.  What with two kids and a move and all.  But not busy enough to warrant a month away.  The truth is that I just haven't felt like writing.  Because by writing, that would mean I would have to formulate my feelings into thoughts and put those thoughts into words.  And frankly, I've just been too jumbled up to do that.  Good or bad, the thing about two kids and a move is that you stay just busy and distracted enough to not have to process stuff.


But, that "stuff" eventually catches up to you.  So, before I snap on somebody like I did two weeks ago with the gutter cleaning man and last week with the Comcast rep, or like I shamefully find myself doing entirely too frequently with my three year old, I thought it best to take some time and sort through the past two...or three...or four...or five months.


Our life has been a whirlwind since Luke was born:  his birth, Easter, co-hosting a bridal shower, my dad getting married, illness, Mother's Day, a 5K, David's birthday, day trips, a beach trip, another family wedding, listing our house for sale and the million subsequent showings, Father's Day, shopping for a new house, Audrey's birthday and party, swim lessons, David's trip to Norway, our anniversary, doctor's appointments, play dates, my grandfather falling ill, and on and on it has seemed to go.


Some days I feel like I'm falling apart.  But you don't get to do that when you're a mom.  There is no time to fall apart with little ones depending on you.  Especially not when you also have a house to keep spotless for showings, and then later, begin packing for moving.  I tell myself I will schedule a nervous breakdown for late August 2017, after both kids are in school full time...if only I can make it that long.  At times, especially right now when we have no idea when we're moving or where we're moving (more on that later), it's doubtful I'll make it through the end of this year without someone hauling me off in a straight jacket.  Isolation and a room with padded walls sounds kinda nice right now.  I bet it's soooooo quiet.


So, how DO I feel about what our life has entailed since February?  Mostly great.  90% of everything we've undergone have been good, God-given blessings.  But it's still a lot of change for this Type A personality.  If I had my way, most of the events would've been spread out over a matter of years so we could have just focused on getting used to parenting two kids.  Instead, I find myself doing double-takes at Luke and thinking, "when did you get here?"  Then he grins his dimpled grin and my heart melts and I am so very glad he is here and that he is who he is:  a laid-back, sweet, precious baby who doesn't ask for much besides milk (and lots of it) and a snuggle.


The best way I've learned to cope is just to keep doing the next right thing. Whether that means playing with the kids or packing a box or cooking dinner.  I just have to try hard not to accidentally cook the kids or pack up dinner.  It's a minute-by-minute tactic, but it works.  As does praying.  A lot.  My kids are healthy, my husband loves me, and my God is still God.  He is on His throne and overseeing every hectic detail of my life and working it out for my best.  Oh, how that relieves me.  Until the next wave of "overwhelmedness" hits me.  Vicious cycle, isn't it?


Even though I've already recapped a lot of the past two months a few paragraphs above, I'll go ahead and try to list out a couple of highlights here for June and July.  


Of course the biggest two things that took place in June were our trip to Florida for Katie and Cameron's wedding and then Audrey's third birthday and party (see separate posts for more details on those events.)  Audrey also began swim lessons with her friend Audrey and was coached by my sweet friend Kara.  It was such a neat thing to watch as she conquered her fears and gained confidence and skill in something in such a short amount of time.  Though we obviously don't let her go in the water alone at her age, she is swimming quite well and loves it so much!  During that same time, we got a contract on our home and celebrated Father's Day by driving around and looking for houses.  We closed the month with a great doctor's appointment for both kids.  At four months, Luke was 18lbs 9oz and 26.5" long, which put him in the 89th percentile for height and 95th for weight.  To keep up with those fat rolls, he started rice cereal two days shy of 4 months on Audrey's birthday.  Audrey also got a great doctor's report and of course kept them all entertained with her chattiness and vocabulary.  


We started off July celebrating the 4th at my Dad's with my brothers and their families.  It was nice to see everyone without having to "share" them with other birthday party guests, as we've had to do at the last couple of gatherings.  On the 4th we went to David's Great Aunt Joy's for his annual family reunion.  Audrey showed off her new swimming skills and Luke had everyone going mushy over him.  That same week, I weaned Luke down from two night feedings to one (finally!) and he rolled over from his stomach to his back once (and only once more since.)  Later that month, David had his first out-of-town trip (Norway) since Luke was born.  It was a tough week, but I lined up a ton of help and play dates, especially in the evenings.  Though we missed him terribly, we survived with the help of friends and family.  We also endured the never-ending barrage of paperwork, phone calls, inspections, repairs, etc. that come with selling and buying a home.  (Again, I'll delve into that in a separate post.)  We had several fun play dates with friends, visited David's Granny Joy and swam in her pool, met up with dear friends for lunch, and took a meal to another set of sweet friends and got to meet their new twins.  Then, the last week of the month, David had to work like a dog with customers in town and put in nearly 75 hours in 6 days.  Suddenly it was the 31st, and we were celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary.  It was normal day without much fanfare since we'd gone on a lunch date the weekend before, but we did celebrate with the four of us eating at Waffle House that night.


So, that's a very brief synopsis of what has been a very busy two months.  I'm not sure I did much in the way of processing and putting feelings onto "paper" about all that's been going on, but sometimes just writing it all out helps me tremendously.  I'll try to catch up on the photo gallery later this weekend and will post an update when I do.  Also, as mentioned, I really want to get the house selling details down soon, so check back for that as well.  Hopefully I'll be more on top of writing now that I feel a bit caught up - literally and emotionally.  Of course, if you don't hear from me again for awhile it means we're either in the throws of a move or that you need to come visit me in the local asylum.  Just be sure to bring some chocolate chip cookies when you come and help me out of the straight jacket so I can enjoy them, would ya?  :)