I've been trying really hard to make parenting decisions for myself (with Glen's input and wisdom too, of course) rather than what I see other's doing. Every child and every family is different so I know that what works for one person may not work for me, but it's easy for me to want to do what I see other's doing.
I'm having a hard time deciding whether to give CIO a try or not. Josiah is 8.5 months and still waking up several times per night. He pretty much nurses to sleep two times during the day. At night when he wakes up I'd say a couple times he's hungry. If he hasn't nursed well during the day I can count on him wanting to eat more throughout the night. As far as whether to cry it out, I just don't know whether I can do it. On one hand I do enjoy rocking him and nursing him at night, I like having him fall asleep nursing, I like the ease and convenience of nursing him to sleep, and I want to relish the time I'm able to rock him because I know it's fleeting. On the other hand, the 2-5 wake-ups each night is wearing on me, I am pretty much the only person who can get him to sleep because he won't take a bottle, if he does need to go to sleep and isn't hungry it can be a challenge and take a lot of time.
If I had to pick right now I think I would continue as I'm currently doing. It's familiar. As much as I'd like to sleep all night and have the ease of laying him down and him going to sleep on his own, I'm not sure it's worth the crying he would have to do. I know he would/could probably out-last me.
Ugh, I so wished he would be a good sleeper and pretty much train himself. I should have known better. Oh well, at least he's cute.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The Happiest Place on Earth?
We are at Disney World. It's possible we lost our minds when we decided this would be a good idea. We have lots of reasons for doing it now with two two year olds and a 7 month old, but it's not easy. Today it was proven that we cannot manage a bus ride with three small children and two strollers without the help of strangers. That was humbling. Because I don't know whether I'll remember to come back and write about each day we were here I thought I would do a general overview for myself and then if I forget to write more in detail later, at least I'll have this.
We arrived Sunday night and were up late and then had to get up early. But before we went to our room for the night we took the boys to see the Mickey Mouse statue in the lobby of the resort. As soon as Luke spotted him across the lobby he started running toward Mickey saying, "Mickey Mouse, I see you!" over and over. It was the cutest thing. He hugged him and we got some pictures of the boys with him and then a nice couple offered to take a family picture.
Monday morning we had reservations to have breakfast at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends. The boys were a little shy at first, but each time the next character came by they warmed up a little. That was a lot of fun for me too, to see them so excited to see these characters they've seen on tv and movies. It was good food too. We did the Peter Pan ride, the Pooh ride and the Dumbo ride on Monday morning. Then we headed back to the hotel for lunch and naps. In the afternoon we did a train ride and the big boys and Glen did the Buzz Lightyear ride while Josiah napped in the stroller. When they finished that ride the parade was in full swing between where we were and where we needed to go, so we put the big boys on our shoulders so they could see the floats. They liked it a lot more than we expected them to. The Pete's Dragon float was my favorite. Then we fought the crowds to get to the monorail to get back to our resort. We just happened to be able to see the fireworks from the Polynesian Resort where we got off the monorail, so that was fun for the boys. Sunday night we could hear the fireworks from our room and Luke refused to look out the window at them. Monday night he really liked them.
Today we went to animal kingdom. IT was kind of disappointing. It felt like everything was going wrong to get there. I'll have to write more about that later. Overall it was kind of a frustrating day, but we did have moments of fun.
We arrived Sunday night and were up late and then had to get up early. But before we went to our room for the night we took the boys to see the Mickey Mouse statue in the lobby of the resort. As soon as Luke spotted him across the lobby he started running toward Mickey saying, "Mickey Mouse, I see you!" over and over. It was the cutest thing. He hugged him and we got some pictures of the boys with him and then a nice couple offered to take a family picture.
Monday morning we had reservations to have breakfast at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends. The boys were a little shy at first, but each time the next character came by they warmed up a little. That was a lot of fun for me too, to see them so excited to see these characters they've seen on tv and movies. It was good food too. We did the Peter Pan ride, the Pooh ride and the Dumbo ride on Monday morning. Then we headed back to the hotel for lunch and naps. In the afternoon we did a train ride and the big boys and Glen did the Buzz Lightyear ride while Josiah napped in the stroller. When they finished that ride the parade was in full swing between where we were and where we needed to go, so we put the big boys on our shoulders so they could see the floats. They liked it a lot more than we expected them to. The Pete's Dragon float was my favorite. Then we fought the crowds to get to the monorail to get back to our resort. We just happened to be able to see the fireworks from the Polynesian Resort where we got off the monorail, so that was fun for the boys. Sunday night we could hear the fireworks from our room and Luke refused to look out the window at them. Monday night he really liked them.
Today we went to animal kingdom. IT was kind of disappointing. It felt like everything was going wrong to get there. I'll have to write more about that later. Overall it was kind of a frustrating day, but we did have moments of fun.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Funny things they say
The boys' speech has really taken off these last couple months or so. It's fascinating to watch (and listen!) and a little unnerving as I hear my words come out of their mouths. Here are some of the things they've been saying:
Micah:
Luke has been released from speech therapy! When his speech therapist was here evaluating him she was shocked that he was using plurals. I'm so happy that he's made so much growth. I've always kind of wondered if he was inaccurately approved for speech therapy because he's shy and didn't act himself in his initial evaluation. He did have another evaluation about 6 months later and still qualified, so maybe it was legitimate afterall. As happy and relieved as I am about him no longer needing speech, I am a little sad that his speech therapist is no longer coming over every other week to work with us. Also I worry a little that he'll still be behind in speech (and language?) but not qualify for additional help. In September he will be evaluated by the school district to see if he qualifies for any services from them since he'll be three in October and will no longer be able to receive Early Intervention Services. I really really hope we can get him caught up before that evaluation, but more than that I hope it's accurate and if he needs additional help that he'll be able to get it.
Micah:
- "Oh, I guess so." -- Dad: "Micah, can you help me pick up the cereal you dropped?" Micah: "Oh, I guess so"
- "It's okay, I'm right here." -- He's said it to both his brothers when they are crying. He has also said it to me, but I can't remember the context.
- "I'm a little bit big right now." -- I was putting on his shoes and getting him dressed and he made this comment.
- "ubble dew" -- otherwise known as W.
- "Where'd the ___ go?" -- this is said in the cutest sing-song voice and he'll ask two or three times in a row.
- "bubba beb" -- spiderweb
- He says "hi" and "bye bye" to bugs he finds outside.
- "So si sah" -- AKA Josiah (his brother)
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| We took this picture the day the three boys were dedicated to the Lord. April 15, 2012 |
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| Luke using the potty in style |
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| Micah is still a cuddle bug. I wish I had more time to cuddle with him, it's the only time he's still. |
Sunday, May 27, 2012
He's Here!
It's only been 3-1/2 months, but I've been a little busy. Josiah David is here and part of our family. He was born on February 15 at 7:35 am. He weighed 8 pounds 4oz, and was 20 inches long. It was a fairly eventful birth by c-section. That was planned, but we did have a few complications during the surgery that we were not expecting. He's fine and I'm fine, but it wasn't the experience I wanted or was expecting. We spent three and a half days in the hospital. My mom was here and stayed home with Luke and Micah. Glen was back and forth between hospital and home. He stayed at home overnights because the boys had not been sleeping well and we didn't want my mom to have to deal with that. It was kind of interesting being in the hospital on my own with the baby, but I think it was good bonding time for us.
Luke and Micah were excited to come to the hospital and visit the baby and me. My mom brought them up twice and then we decided they could wait until I was home from the hospital to visit again. It was a little nuts with them there. We had a bit of a difficult time adjusting. Their behavior was getting a little out of control, but it's understandable with all the changes and different people in our house. Once it was back to our family of 5, things evened out a little bit.
My mom was able to be with us for about three weeks. My dad came for a week long visit, arriving the day that Josiah and I were released from the hospital. My dad left on a Monday and my brother, sister in law and niece arrived the next Saturday and stayed for a week. My 7 month old niece was so cute and loved watching her bigger cousins in all their craziness. My sister in law was a huge help with cleaning and my brother was a big help with the big boys.
Fast forward 3 1/2 months and Josiah is growing fast and is a lot of fun. He was at the doctor this past week (for a cold) and was 15 pounds, 10 oz. Speaking of growing, he's fussing for me to feed him now, so I better go.
Luke and Micah were excited to come to the hospital and visit the baby and me. My mom brought them up twice and then we decided they could wait until I was home from the hospital to visit again. It was a little nuts with them there. We had a bit of a difficult time adjusting. Their behavior was getting a little out of control, but it's understandable with all the changes and different people in our house. Once it was back to our family of 5, things evened out a little bit.
My mom was able to be with us for about three weeks. My dad came for a week long visit, arriving the day that Josiah and I were released from the hospital. My dad left on a Monday and my brother, sister in law and niece arrived the next Saturday and stayed for a week. My 7 month old niece was so cute and loved watching her bigger cousins in all their craziness. My sister in law was a huge help with cleaning and my brother was a big help with the big boys.
Fast forward 3 1/2 months and Josiah is growing fast and is a lot of fun. He was at the doctor this past week (for a cold) and was 15 pounds, 10 oz. Speaking of growing, he's fussing for me to feed him now, so I better go.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Changes are coming
In just four short days we will be welcoming home our newest addition.
I never take the time to sit at the computer anymore these days, so my updates haven't been happening. One of the boys will say something funny or do something adorable and I'll think about adding it in here just so I have a record of it, but it's very hard finding even a couple minutes to myself when the boys are awake. And then because it's been so long since the last update, I feel like I need to post a long update to cover the months since the last post and I never have the time to do that. I'm sure I've typed a similar paragraph many many times already in previous posts.
Luke and Micah are 27 months. It's been a pretty difficult time the last several months, probably mostly due to me being pregnant and extra tired (weary and sleepy). Plus they're just two and that's how two year olds are. It scares me to hear so many people say that three was even harder. Eek! They're also doing so many cute things lately and I know they really love each other even though they are constantly pushing each other's buttons. Micah is a little more independent, so he's mostly content to just play what he wants to play and he usually leaves Luke alone. Luke wants to play with Micah which irritates Micah because Luke doesn't do it right. So there's lots of screaming and whining. I'm trying to remind him (them) to use his words and often if he asks for the stolen toy back by saying "please" Luke is quick to return the toy.
They started going to Mother's Day Out in November. We had a few good weeks and then around Thanksgiving Micah started having lots of anxiety issues and wasn't sleeping well and then crying while he was at MDO. They are going two mornings a week for 4 hours. Now for the past month or so they've been really enjoying it. It's great for me to have a break to get errands done or just have some time to myself. It will be especially nice once the baby is here and I can spend that time just with the baby.
They are also attending a playgroup connected with the therapy Luke is receiving for speech and fine motor skills. This is one morning a week for an hour. They haven't taken to this as well as MDO, but they're starting to really look forward to it the last few weeks. I think it's a little more chaotic with children with special needs. This week there was a boy in the waiting room that was crying pretty loudly which made both of my boys uneasy.
They're also enjoying nursery at church. That's been a long time coming. They recognize church when we drive by and will clap their hands as they say "yay church". Last weekend they cried when we drove right past, even with promises of going to church the next day.
We've talked a lot to them about Baby Brother and have read lots of books to try to prepare them. I think I need some books to prepare me. I feel really sad when I think about how much things will change for them when the new baby is here. I'm so thankful that they have each other to play with when I'm busy with the baby, but I know it will still be hard. Luke loves babies, so I think he'll be very nurturing and interested in everything the baby is doing. I'm not sure about Micah. He's been pretty cuddly and demanding about rocking in the rocking chair with us. I think it might be harder on him, but thankfully he's a more independent kid, so I'll hold out hope that he'll be fine too. I know they'll be fine in the long run.
My c-section is scheduled for February 15. It's crazy to think this is my last Friday being pregnant. This will be our last weekend as a family of four. I'm so excited to meet our new little man. We're 95% sure we've decided on a name, but we have a couple back-ups just in case. We're keeping the name a secret so we'll at least have one thing to announce on Wednesday. We already know he's a boy and when his birthday is. I'm excited to see his face and have him here with us and I'm ready to be done being pregnant. I've enjoyed feeling him move and I've enjoyed having a baby belly, but everything has gotten so much more difficult the bigger I get. I'm ready to sleep without pain or difficulty rolling over. I'm ready to be able to bend down to pick something up without it being a major deal. I'm ready to have my lap back for my big boys. And I can't wait to dress my little guy in all his big brothers' baby clothes and hold him and snuggle him and nurse.
My mom is coming into town on Monday and will be with us about three weeks. My dad will be here for a week while she is. My brother and sister in law and niece will be here sometime around the first of March for a few days. And Glen's parents are coming for a week sometime in March. We're getting ready for a busy but joyous time in our family.
I never take the time to sit at the computer anymore these days, so my updates haven't been happening. One of the boys will say something funny or do something adorable and I'll think about adding it in here just so I have a record of it, but it's very hard finding even a couple minutes to myself when the boys are awake. And then because it's been so long since the last update, I feel like I need to post a long update to cover the months since the last post and I never have the time to do that. I'm sure I've typed a similar paragraph many many times already in previous posts.
Luke and Micah are 27 months. It's been a pretty difficult time the last several months, probably mostly due to me being pregnant and extra tired (weary and sleepy). Plus they're just two and that's how two year olds are. It scares me to hear so many people say that three was even harder. Eek! They're also doing so many cute things lately and I know they really love each other even though they are constantly pushing each other's buttons. Micah is a little more independent, so he's mostly content to just play what he wants to play and he usually leaves Luke alone. Luke wants to play with Micah which irritates Micah because Luke doesn't do it right. So there's lots of screaming and whining. I'm trying to remind him (them) to use his words and often if he asks for the stolen toy back by saying "please" Luke is quick to return the toy.
They started going to Mother's Day Out in November. We had a few good weeks and then around Thanksgiving Micah started having lots of anxiety issues and wasn't sleeping well and then crying while he was at MDO. They are going two mornings a week for 4 hours. Now for the past month or so they've been really enjoying it. It's great for me to have a break to get errands done or just have some time to myself. It will be especially nice once the baby is here and I can spend that time just with the baby.
They are also attending a playgroup connected with the therapy Luke is receiving for speech and fine motor skills. This is one morning a week for an hour. They haven't taken to this as well as MDO, but they're starting to really look forward to it the last few weeks. I think it's a little more chaotic with children with special needs. This week there was a boy in the waiting room that was crying pretty loudly which made both of my boys uneasy.
They're also enjoying nursery at church. That's been a long time coming. They recognize church when we drive by and will clap their hands as they say "yay church". Last weekend they cried when we drove right past, even with promises of going to church the next day.
We've talked a lot to them about Baby Brother and have read lots of books to try to prepare them. I think I need some books to prepare me. I feel really sad when I think about how much things will change for them when the new baby is here. I'm so thankful that they have each other to play with when I'm busy with the baby, but I know it will still be hard. Luke loves babies, so I think he'll be very nurturing and interested in everything the baby is doing. I'm not sure about Micah. He's been pretty cuddly and demanding about rocking in the rocking chair with us. I think it might be harder on him, but thankfully he's a more independent kid, so I'll hold out hope that he'll be fine too. I know they'll be fine in the long run.
My c-section is scheduled for February 15. It's crazy to think this is my last Friday being pregnant. This will be our last weekend as a family of four. I'm so excited to meet our new little man. We're 95% sure we've decided on a name, but we have a couple back-ups just in case. We're keeping the name a secret so we'll at least have one thing to announce on Wednesday. We already know he's a boy and when his birthday is. I'm excited to see his face and have him here with us and I'm ready to be done being pregnant. I've enjoyed feeling him move and I've enjoyed having a baby belly, but everything has gotten so much more difficult the bigger I get. I'm ready to sleep without pain or difficulty rolling over. I'm ready to be able to bend down to pick something up without it being a major deal. I'm ready to have my lap back for my big boys. And I can't wait to dress my little guy in all his big brothers' baby clothes and hold him and snuggle him and nurse.
My mom is coming into town on Monday and will be with us about three weeks. My dad will be here for a week while she is. My brother and sister in law and niece will be here sometime around the first of March for a few days. And Glen's parents are coming for a week sometime in March. We're getting ready for a busy but joyous time in our family.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Spontaneous Hug
This morning we had to take Luke to the doctor and made arrangements for Micah to go to daycare. I had a lot of anxiety because it was the first time we would separate them for that amount of time without one of us with each of them. Before we left the house I told them that Micah was going to daycare to play and Luke would be going to the doctor. Micah gave Luke a big hug like he was comforting him. Micah's not real affectionate with Luke, they're more the tackle each other to show affection kind of kids, so I'm not sure if it was related to the news I'd just given them or was just random. Regardless, it was very sweet.
By the way, Micah did great at daycare. He was happy to see Luke, Daddy, and I walk in to get him, though.
By the way, Micah did great at daycare. He was happy to see Luke, Daddy, and I walk in to get him, though.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Days
Since it's been so long since I really updated on the boys, I thought I should do a description of our typical days so I can look back in the future and remember what it used to be like. Things are going to be changing in November and then again probably in February. I've gotten the boys set up for Mother's Day Out two days a week starting in November. They will be at "school" from 9:30-1:30. They'll play, learn, have music class, and eat lunch. I have mixed feelings. Part of me feels like I'm capable of teaching them at home and that they would be better off with me. Another part of me is excited for the short breaks I'll have to get errands done or to clean the house without the boys tagging along. I know they'll have fun and I'm sure they'll learn lots. Luke's therapists have really been talking about getting them into something like this for a while now. Am I being gullible just taking their word for it, or should I accept their recommendations because they are the experts. Anyway, so back to our current days...
Around 7:00 the boys wake up. Sometimes it's as early as 6:30 and sometimes as late as 7:30, but 7 is probably the average. Micah has been sleeping in the pack n play in the guest room. It started probably about 6 weeks ago when we were having trouble with his sleep. He acted like he was scared to be in his room without either Glen or I. It was taking forever for him to go to sleep and then he'd wake up multiple times in the middle of the night. The only sure way to get him to sleep was to have him in the pack n play in our room. We got tired of that pretty quickly, though, so we tried him out in the guest room and it was like magic. Suddenly both boys were sleeping through the night and falling asleep in their rooms without us needing to sit in there with them at naptime and bedtime.
I give the boys milk in their sippy cups pretty soon after they get up and they watch a show on tv while I either shower or just attempt to drink my coffee in peace.
8 or 8:30 we have breakfast. A week or two ago I started scooting their highchairs up to the table without the trays, so they're sitting like big boys (but are strapped in!). Typically they have a fruit (banana, strawberries, applesauce, yogurt) and a grain (cold cereal, pancakes, waffles, toast, bagel) and milk.
9 ish to 10 ish - Morning play time while I clean up from breakfast. They like to help me empty the dishwasher which is kind of fun. I have to be quick before they can grab anything sharp or breakable. I get them dressed which always seems to take forever as they like to run away and wrestle with each other.
Most days we get out of the house between 10 and 11:30. We'll do our shopping, go to the library, play at the mall, and now that it's cooling off, we can play at the park. It seems there's always an errand to run, though, and I have a hard time mustering the energy to do more than two stops.
12:00 - Lunch. This is a difficult time for me because I usually don't know until just before lunch what I want to eat. We have a few standbys, though. They like nachos, quesadillas, grilled cheese, pb&j sandwiches, pizza, fish sticks, and more. I also try to give them a fruit and sometimes I give them a veggie. They also drink milk again.
12:30-12:45ish I get them down for their naps. We go straight from lunch to naps. I change their diapers and take Micah to the potty. Put them into sleep sacks and we read a couple books together in the rocking chair. Then I put Luke in his crib and carry Micah over to "his" room.
Sometimes I'm good and clean up from lunch right away and sometimes I'm just too tired and figure I'll do it later. Most days I lay down during naptime, sometimes I sleep and sometimes I just read, but I really enjoy that time to recharge.
The boys typically sleep two hours, sometimes they'll sleep up to three hours if I'll let them. I think we've decided not to let Micah sleep more than 2 1/2. Luke seems to do fine no matter how long he naps, so I let him sleep, but usually he's the first to wake at naptime.
We're pretty lazy in the afternoons. I don't really like doing errands in the afternoons because it's hard to get out of the house before 3:30. The boys will usually watch another tv show or a Signing Time dvd or one of their educational dvds and have a snack and drink. Then we mostly just play. I've been taking them to the back yard and they love it. It's nice to have such a large (maybe not large, but much bigger than the backyards at our previous few houses) back yard. They like kicking and throwing balls, climbing and sliding on their slide, scooting around on their cars, and throwing dead grass on me (I'm not a fan of that last one). It's been the perfect temperature lately, but the mosquitoes are horrible, so we need to figure out something we can do about that.
Glen gets home around 5:15 so we catch up and the boys pretty much go crazy. I also start getting dinner going around this time.
6:00 is dinner time. We've just started being able to give the boys what we eat. It's so nice when I find a meal that I don't have to give them any extras. And because they're eating our food, it forces me to make sure it's healthier. Micah loves broccoli these days and he likes it with nothing more than salt on it. He's eaten some raw carrots recently and will eat peas or corn if they're in something else. Luke is harder to please, so I have to sneak veggies into the things he does like to eat. My favorite sneaky food lately is fruit smoothies with raw spinach in them.
After dinner the boys play with Daddy while I clean up. If it's early enough he'll take them for a wagon ride around the block before it gets dark. They enjoy getting out and he often lets them get out and walk for the last hundred yards or so.
Around 7:15 we start cleaning up the toys and "kid mess". The boys are sometimes good about helping. The nights they do help are great and keep us asking them to help every night. If it's a bath night (every two or three nights) we get them into the bath around 7:15. We try to get them into their room by 7:40 or so and do diapers/potty, pajamas, sleep sacks, devotions and other stories, brush teeth, and pray. We alternate which kid we pray for and lay down (I have Micah on the odd number days). Micah usually asks for water as soon as we lay him down, so we'll give him a half full cup of water to keep with him. He likes to have his door open until he falls asleep, Luke doesn't seem to mind his door being closed. We aim to have them in bed at 8:00. And then we RELAX!
Around 7:00 the boys wake up. Sometimes it's as early as 6:30 and sometimes as late as 7:30, but 7 is probably the average. Micah has been sleeping in the pack n play in the guest room. It started probably about 6 weeks ago when we were having trouble with his sleep. He acted like he was scared to be in his room without either Glen or I. It was taking forever for him to go to sleep and then he'd wake up multiple times in the middle of the night. The only sure way to get him to sleep was to have him in the pack n play in our room. We got tired of that pretty quickly, though, so we tried him out in the guest room and it was like magic. Suddenly both boys were sleeping through the night and falling asleep in their rooms without us needing to sit in there with them at naptime and bedtime.
I give the boys milk in their sippy cups pretty soon after they get up and they watch a show on tv while I either shower or just attempt to drink my coffee in peace.
8 or 8:30 we have breakfast. A week or two ago I started scooting their highchairs up to the table without the trays, so they're sitting like big boys (but are strapped in!). Typically they have a fruit (banana, strawberries, applesauce, yogurt) and a grain (cold cereal, pancakes, waffles, toast, bagel) and milk.
9 ish to 10 ish - Morning play time while I clean up from breakfast. They like to help me empty the dishwasher which is kind of fun. I have to be quick before they can grab anything sharp or breakable. I get them dressed which always seems to take forever as they like to run away and wrestle with each other.
Most days we get out of the house between 10 and 11:30. We'll do our shopping, go to the library, play at the mall, and now that it's cooling off, we can play at the park. It seems there's always an errand to run, though, and I have a hard time mustering the energy to do more than two stops.
12:00 - Lunch. This is a difficult time for me because I usually don't know until just before lunch what I want to eat. We have a few standbys, though. They like nachos, quesadillas, grilled cheese, pb&j sandwiches, pizza, fish sticks, and more. I also try to give them a fruit and sometimes I give them a veggie. They also drink milk again.
12:30-12:45ish I get them down for their naps. We go straight from lunch to naps. I change their diapers and take Micah to the potty. Put them into sleep sacks and we read a couple books together in the rocking chair. Then I put Luke in his crib and carry Micah over to "his" room.
Sometimes I'm good and clean up from lunch right away and sometimes I'm just too tired and figure I'll do it later. Most days I lay down during naptime, sometimes I sleep and sometimes I just read, but I really enjoy that time to recharge.
The boys typically sleep two hours, sometimes they'll sleep up to three hours if I'll let them. I think we've decided not to let Micah sleep more than 2 1/2. Luke seems to do fine no matter how long he naps, so I let him sleep, but usually he's the first to wake at naptime.
We're pretty lazy in the afternoons. I don't really like doing errands in the afternoons because it's hard to get out of the house before 3:30. The boys will usually watch another tv show or a Signing Time dvd or one of their educational dvds and have a snack and drink. Then we mostly just play. I've been taking them to the back yard and they love it. It's nice to have such a large (maybe not large, but much bigger than the backyards at our previous few houses) back yard. They like kicking and throwing balls, climbing and sliding on their slide, scooting around on their cars, and throwing dead grass on me (I'm not a fan of that last one). It's been the perfect temperature lately, but the mosquitoes are horrible, so we need to figure out something we can do about that.
Glen gets home around 5:15 so we catch up and the boys pretty much go crazy. I also start getting dinner going around this time.
6:00 is dinner time. We've just started being able to give the boys what we eat. It's so nice when I find a meal that I don't have to give them any extras. And because they're eating our food, it forces me to make sure it's healthier. Micah loves broccoli these days and he likes it with nothing more than salt on it. He's eaten some raw carrots recently and will eat peas or corn if they're in something else. Luke is harder to please, so I have to sneak veggies into the things he does like to eat. My favorite sneaky food lately is fruit smoothies with raw spinach in them.
After dinner the boys play with Daddy while I clean up. If it's early enough he'll take them for a wagon ride around the block before it gets dark. They enjoy getting out and he often lets them get out and walk for the last hundred yards or so.
Around 7:15 we start cleaning up the toys and "kid mess". The boys are sometimes good about helping. The nights they do help are great and keep us asking them to help every night. If it's a bath night (every two or three nights) we get them into the bath around 7:15. We try to get them into their room by 7:40 or so and do diapers/potty, pajamas, sleep sacks, devotions and other stories, brush teeth, and pray. We alternate which kid we pray for and lay down (I have Micah on the odd number days). Micah usually asks for water as soon as we lay him down, so we'll give him a half full cup of water to keep with him. He likes to have his door open until he falls asleep, Luke doesn't seem to mind his door being closed. We aim to have them in bed at 8:00. And then we RELAX!
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