Life as a Working Mom

I started back to work last week. I am working Monday through Thursday from 8 until 5. I knew it would be challenging, and I was right. :) Marc has a very busy schedule for the next four months where he has to be in the hospital for rounds by 6 am every weekday. So, that means that for the next four months I will be getting my two babies and myself ready and then getting them into daycare without any help. (Just imagine me today getting them to daycare with 3 inches of snow on the ground!) It really helps me empathize with all the single moms I see at work on a daily basis who have little to no help with their little ones. Whew! I do think that each day last week our routine got easier so I hope this week is even better. I wanted to get a picture of Hailey before her first day of "school" but by the time we were ready to leave I was already running 15 minutes behind so the best I could do was with her in her car seat. I told Eli that she was going with him to school and he seemed pretty excited. He is so sweet to Hailey. I love seeing his little personality develop. He may be wild and crazy but he sure has a tender heart for his sister...

...and she has really taken a liking to him.

They make even my busiest of mornings a great one.

I learned a few things after my first week back to work. Being a stay at home mom of two was much easier for me than being a working mom of two. It is so hard to find the time to take care of your home when you are not in your home during the day! When I was home with both kids I managed to somewhat stay on top of laundry, cleaning, and cooking. Now that I am at work all day I have realized that I can't do everything that I used to do. I am a good multitasker, but even I have to draw the line somewhere. My parents were gracious enough to offer to get us a maid service every two weeks and I am SO thankful. When they first offered this several months ago I didn't want to take them up on it because I was still in the "superwoman" state of mind. I wanted to still be all and do all for my family even with another baby. I had to surrender that idea along with my pride of not wanting help and I feel much less stress as a result. (Thanks mom and dad!)

I have also had to tone down our meals and settle for more simple dinner ideas. Last week we had taco soup for two nights and then a cheesy chicken casserole dish. I prepared both of these meals the night before after the kids went to sleep so I just had to heat them back up when I got home from work. This week we are having poppy seed chicken and a pot roast. I really enjoy being in the kitchen so it is hard for me to not be able to prepare something exciting all the time. Marc is grateful for whatever I make so I have to remind myself that these expectations are only things that I put on myself.

Amid the morning chaos, I was somehow able to spend a little time doing my bible study every morning and it really helped me keep things in perspective last week. I have been challenged lately with all these life changes in what I find my identity and purpose in. Beth Moore's study Breaking Free (the revised version) has been a wonderful study for me to do right now and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new study.

Well, I finally (after a month!) have my computer back so I plan on getting a post up tomorrow with some weekend pictures. Have a great Monday and stay warm!

New Year's Eve

It is funny how different your life is once you have children. :) Different in a good way though! This year on New Year's Eve we went out to eat as a family for pizza at one of our favorite pizza places. Marc dropped me off with Hailey to wait for our table while he and Eli went to pick out our movie. It worked out great because by the time they got back I was already seated at the table and had appetizers on their way. Eli does so much better at restaurants if there is food in front of him immediately! He just doesn't enjoy coloring with the little crayons they give him much at all so we sometimes have to beg our waitresses to bring us food even if it is just crackers. :)

Eli had to get in a little riding time before dinner. He loves wearing his hat from his Halloween costume while riding his horse. :)

Happy New Year Hailey June!

Marc and I are not big champagne people but we do LOVE Welch's sparkling grape juice for toasting. I wanted Eli to have something fun to drink so I let him try some before we put him to bed. He hasn't had anything carbonated yet except maybe a sip of a limeade from Sonic. I think the fizz and tingle shocked him!

Letting it roll to the back of his throat. Ha!

I don't think he wanted seconds...

After we put Eli to sleep, Marc and I watched a movie and Hailey enjoyed sleeping in Marc's arms. We finished our movie just before midnight but forgot to turn the TV on to watch the ball drop. I did get my New Year's Eve kiss though. :) We took some pictures with the camera timer.

These pictures were all from our new camera! It is really easy to use and takes great pictures. I think REALLY great pictures still require the camera operator to know what he/she is doing so I plan on working on that some in the coming months. :)

Christmas in Arkansas- Part 3

So, I realized yesterday that I was just one post shy of my 100 posts goal for 2010! So close. Something tells me that this year I might be typing fewer posts. :)

Well, back to the holidays. Since Marc and I have been married we alternate the major holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, with our families. This is really the only way to do it since our families live over eight hours apart. So, this year we spent all of Christmas with my family. Christmas Day has always been a whirlwind for my family because we spend much of the day traveling on the road trying to see everyone in our extended families. I really don't like all the road time, but it is so much fun once we get to each destination. Our first stop this year was to Little Rock where we had lunch with my mom's side of the family.

I must have been too busy eating bon bons and fudge because this was the only picture I got during our time in Little Rock. It is a sweet one though. This is my Pappaw holding Hailey for the first time. :) My aunt had all of my Pappaw's war medals put in a shadow box for Christmas and I think it meant a lot to him. He got tears in his eyes when he opened it. It was special seeing the pride he has for his years of service in the army.

After we left Little Rock we headed further south to a small little town where my dad grew up. I actually lived there for my first four years of life. Marc LOVES it at Memaw and Poppy's but he always jokes that if I had grown up there for my whole life I would be a true country bumpkin with a strong southern twang. Ha!

Eli had fun opening up even more presents. He would get so excited when he saw something wrapped. It was hard to convince him sometimes that not every present was for him.

Hailey was certainly the center of attention everywhere we went. She sure made it in a lot of our pictures! I think mostly because she was the only child who would be still enough for me to get her picture. Eli was far too interested in all his new toys for pictures. :)

Well, that is it! I am officially caught up with our Christmas posts. And not a day to soon since I start back to work tomorrow. The challenging days are ahead now that I  am working full-time and continuing to carry on the roles of wife and mother of two. Whew! It wears me out just thinking about it but I know we will manage just fine. :) I think my crock pot is about to see some real action in the coming months. Ha!

Christmas in Arkansas- Part 2

It is now 2011 and I am still playing catch-up on Christmas posts! Almost there. :) We had a great time Christmas Eve with my family. We started off the night by attending the early candlelight service at my parents' church. My mom gave Eli and Hailey some cute Christmas outfits and they both looked adorable all dressed up.

Eli did pretty well during the service. I think Marc only had to take him out once when he started getting a little rowdy. I was glad we were able to enjoy most of the service together as a family! After we got home from church we ate lots of yummy food, changed into our new PJs, and then opened up gifts. My parents got us a new camera that will be great for taking pictures of the kids and for our time in Africa next year (I will share more on that in a few weeks!).

Eli loved all of his presents. Our house is now covered in toys! You can tell our families love these kids very much. :)

 Papa D enjoyed lots of time with Hailey. She did so well with everyone holding her all weekend. It really gave me a break since up until now she has been a BIG mama's girl and would fuss if other people held her when she was getting tired. :)

It was great being home and getting to enjoy some of our holiday traditions. It is amazing how this time of year brings back so many memories for me of when I was a little kid. :) I love it!