Well hello again my friends! I have to warn you, this post is real life (like all of my posts). I want to remember every single detail of these days. They are flying by faster than I could have imagined and I am left feeling that I need to document everything. So, today you get a glimpse into my daily life.
I was trying to decide where to start my day since it never actually seems to end. I guess I'll start at morning wake-up since that is normally an "acceptable" time for people to be awake. Generally, the kids are awake anytime between 4:30 am and 5:30 am for the day. It used to be more around 6:00 am to 7:00 am but the time change is quite literally the worst thing ever. On a day where Ken is off from his second job, he or I switch off watching the kids in the morning, usually it is the less sleep deprived one that gets this honor. The other one catches an extra hour of sleep before the day begins. Then I cook breakfast, feed the family, and clean up from breakfast while Ken entertains the kids. I love this set-up because I am able to get everything done so much faster and the kids are perfectly content. Then we try to get them down for a nap which usually lasts for about 45 min to 1 hr. Sometimes Penny likes to skip this nap which we are fighting to get back. Then Ken and I, or at least one of us, gets a short break to either do chores or sit on our cell phones and zone out (which we both have deemed totally acceptable under the circumstances). Then, before we know it, the kids are up and it's time for lunch. So, I cook, feed, and clean, again while Ken watches the kids. After that it's time for Ken to shower and get ready for work which generally leaves Penny crying outside the bathroom door because she wants to get in a bath so I distract her with music or a book or playing with her brother. After Ken leaves it is the long haul till bed time. Most of the time I can get the kids down for a second nap, but most often it is in the car and so I am not able to be productive at all. Then, they are up from nap around 4:30 and ready to start the cooking dinner, feeding, and cleaning, this time by myself. It is chaos, always, but I love that Penny always breaks off little pieces of food to give to Pierce and says, "der you go!" every time. Pierce just loves food and chomps away at everything in front of him. He took to food so quickly and it's so fun to watch him explore. Penny always wants to sit in my lap and feed me my food as well. I love when I cook something she loves to eat and all I hear is "Nummy, nummy, nummy!!" After dinner, it's generally a straight path to the bath to wash off the dirt of the day, or at least from that meal. Penny absolutely loves the bath and her favorite thing is to soap up her brothers hair and body and rinse him off. She is such an incredible helper and always wants to be copying what I'm doing. I love being able to involve her in everything and she is so smart that she is able to do all of the tasks I give her. Pierce also loves the bath and splashes about spraying water everywhere. He doesn't mind getting water poured over his head by Penny which makes it all more funny. I then drain the bath and we laugh and giggle while I snuggle them into their towels to keeps them warm. Diapers are next and let me tell you, it is a workout in itself to get a diaper on these squirmy kids! Then come pajamas and more reading/play time. I try to prep Penny early by saying, "are you ready to go night night?" about every five minutes so that she is prepared when it comes to bed time. We have really been struggling at bedtime, and finally tonight I said, "okay Penny, it's time to go to sleep, I love you, sleep well." and she goes, "bye, bye, muah, muah" blowing kisses at me as I left the room. Not a peep from her since. Pierce can be more difficult to get to sleep because he likes to crawl around on the bed until he has found the perfect spot to sleep in, a process which can sometimes take 30 min. By this time it's normally 8:00 pm and I am so ready for sleep. But, I get to go and do homework instead! So I either get homework assignments, tests, quizzes, or studying done for at least 2-4 hours before my body finally gives in, Ken comes home, or Pierce wakes up for his first night time feeding. If I am lucky, Ken is home and will usually take him because he is incredible and can get Pierce back to sleep so easily. If we are lucky, Pierce will only wake up one or two more times before the morning (AKA 4:30 am). Penny has had a really erratic sleeping schedule lately and there are nights where she will wake up at 2:00 am and want to play, all. night. long. until the sun comes up. These nights are the hardest because there is just no stopping that girl once she gets started. Through all of this, I have my hardworking partner, always willing to take a baby or put the other to sleep. I don't know what I would do without his help.
And that folks, is a day in the life of a pregnant mom with 2 under 2 yrs old.
I have moments, normally on the days that Ken works from 6:00 am to 11:30 pm and I am doing every step of that day on my own, that I just feel hopeless. The exhaustion reaches levels that are unfathomable and my body goes on autopilot to get through the day. On days like these, I lean hard on my village. I draw strength from the other women that surround me and I keep my eyes fixed on the day when I can breath again.
Initially, when I started writing this, I was so focused on how difficult my day normally is and how much I have to do to keep my house from hitting a zone of chaos. But the more I wrote, the more I couldn't help but think about every little amazing thing my kids do during the day. I wish I could include every one of these moments because they are so precious. About 90% of the time, I feel like the most blessed mom in the entire world. Since I promised to be real, the other 10% is complete exhaustion and yes, feeling like I'm about to go insane. I'm not always proud of myself as a mom, but I made a decision a while ago to give myself grace, and forgive myself for messing up. God has a plan for me and he is molding me into a better person through every failure. I honestly don't know what is going to happen when this third baby comes, but all I can do is put it in God's hands. I have to say though, I am reeeaaallllyyy sick of hearing, "You're crazy!" and "I don't know how you are going to do it!" I know people mean well, but geeze, have a little faith in me! hahaha
For everyone who is reading this and didn't know about my pregnancy (I'm keeping this mum on social media cause I'm just not ready for more of the above comments), here is a quick update! I'm currently 24 weeks along and due in the beginning of March, so yes, Pierce and this next baby will be 11 months apart just like Penny and Pierce were. I am so excited for this little one and I know that somehow, God will us through the next few years. I have faith!
That's all for now <3
