2 months

Raelynn at 2 months:

Stats:

around 13 pounds & not sure how long...

My darling girl, here is what you're up to:

~ started smiling around 5 weeks old
~ started sleeping through the night at about 7 weeks old

~ LOVE to talk and smile to your mobile on your bunny swing

~ love your baby einstein play mat
~ you started enjoying bath time recently

~ already growing out of your 0-3 month jammies because you're so long

~ have your daddy wrapped around your sweet, little finger

~ went on your first vacation to Sunriver and were a gem in the car

~ you're a full time cloth diapered baby (even daddy's on board)

~ go from smiling to demanding food loudly in .2 seconds

~ very happy, very easy, very perfect little (okay, maybe not so little) baby girl

And of course, what is a blog about a baby without adorable pictures of the last month?

how do you get ready?

This is how I get ready in the morning. 

After I'm done blow drying my hair, the boys take turns blow drying their dry hair. 

As they do that, I usually straighten my hair off to the corner (beside where Isaiah is sitting). 

I usually do my makeup where Spot is (Elias' beloved dog). 

It's a zoo. 

Sometimes I get irritated by the lack of space and privacy, but you know what? 

I really love that they like to hang with me.

 I'm going to miss this stage soon enough, so right now I'll take the crowded bathroom! 

black eye

Isaiah got a black eye. He looks like such a big boy.  

*sigh*

The boys turned around and ran into each other. Elias' forehead hit Isaiah's eye. Elias walked away and Isaiah dropped to the floor. It was a sad moment. 

oh elias

Our conversation this morning after his 3 minute time out:

Me: Do you know why you are in time out?

Elias: Because I bite Isaiah.

Me: That's right. We do not bite do we?

Elias (with the sweetest, most serious voice): But crocodiles bite.

Me (trying not to laugh out loud or let him know I'm laughing so hard on the inside): Yes, crocodiles do bite, but you are Elias and you are not a crocodile. So, you don't bite.

Elias: Yeah (sounding like he was just realizing he wasn't actually a crocodile). Can I tell Isaiah sorry?

This little boy always has me laughing!

back to work

I've been back to work for almost 2 weeks now.

It has been a long 2 weeks.

I hope to get back into a groove soon.

If I don't, I may break.

Prayer is welcomed.

this chaos called life

How I will thrive in this chaos rather than just barely survive...

My plan of action:

I will get out of bed before my kiddos & spend time in prayer.

I'm a much better woman & mom if I'm up and attacking the day before my kids are jumping on my bed asking for a snack. I know this, but I continue to sleep in until the very last possible second. I wake up & hit the floor running before I've even had a chance to pray. This will change - This has to change!

I will start working out.

I'm not going to spend hours a day trying to beautify my body. I'm simply going to start running again. I'm a whole new woman when I run. My head is more clear; I have more patience. Oh yeah, and my pants fit better.

I will get back to a cleaning schedule.

I had a cleaning schedule before I was pregnant with Raelynn. I stopped it the first 5 months of pregnancy, then started again, then stopped when Raelynn was born. A schedule keeps our home sparkling.

I will plan my meals weekly.

This helps our budget, my sanity, and our health. When I don't plan meals, we eat out too much. Have you taken a 4 year old, 3 year old, and hungry 7 week old out to eat? 

INSANE & I always regret going. I tell Bryan, "let's just make sandwiches the next time I come up with the idea to go out".

I will schedule a time to work.

I'm still working part time (32 hours). 24 of those hours are done from home. I need to figure out a schedule so that my work doesn't slip through the cracks. Raelynn loves to be held and talked to right about the time the boys go down for naps. Working on a computer while holding my darling girl is a little difficult. 

Date night will still be a priority.

I've been so tired and moody lately that I've just said, "forget date night, let's just stay home and be bums". My husband and I need date night. We need to connect without our precious kiddos interrupting every two seconds and without the distraction of computers, emails, and work.

That's my plan folks. 


Thriving in the Shoemaker Household

goodbye tents

Packing up my maternity clothes & bringing out my normal clothes really brings me as much joy as going on a giant shopping spree. 

I'm seriously sitting here with the biggest, cheesiest grin on my face because I just pulled the last of my maternity clothes out of my closet to be packed away. I found all my regular t-shirts and sumer shirts. 

By the end of my pregnancies, I absolutely despise my maternity clothes. I get so tired of wearing tents disguised as shirts and pants the size of watermelons on steroids. 

Yes, I just love being back in "normal" clothes. I don't quite look normal in them yet, but hey, my maternity clothes are too big and my other clothes pretty much fit.

 I'll take it.

apprehensive?

I'm not sure if that is the right word. I can't really come up with the right word at the moment. My husband just forwarded me an email from our realtor. 


"I’m still following up with that couple that I showed your house to last week.  They are working with their financial adviser to see how they could pull off the purchase.  The issue is that they are retired, and would need to free up the cash."


We've had our house on the market for almost an entire year. We've had many people look. We've had one awful offer. The house is on the market because this is not where we want to be forever. 

Idaho is calling me home. 

Idaho is not an option right now. 

Yes, apprehensive. That is how I feel. Where in the world are we going to go if someone buys our house?

The whole time our house has been on the market, I've felt so ho-hum about it. I knew we could find a great place to rent for a time. I knew we have a massive amount of people who would help us with our kids and help us move. I knew that God was in control - if the house was going to sell, it would sell and that would be that. (anyone but me ever start singing Twila Paris' "God is in Control" every time they think that? just me? okay, well, it's running through my head)


Now? Well, it's our house. We had it built while we were engaged. We moved in right after we got married. We had 3 babies here. We've had 5 anniversaries and 2 first birthday parties here. Lots of friends have trekked in and out of here. 

So, apprehensive is not the word. Sentimental is the word. 

As I write this, that is what I realize. I still know we can find a great place to rent for a time. I still know God is in control. 


What I don't know is how in the world am I going to walk away from this house full of wonderful memories. Something I really didn't expect to feel because well, it's just a house. It was just a "starter home". We had planned to sell it within 5-7 years. We hadn't planned to start a family here. God had a better plan, and we started our family here. 

So Sentimental I am at the moment, and we haven't even had an offer! Silly me.