We bought a treadmill at Christmas time and consequently I've been spending some time on it trying to keep my sanity and fit into regular clothes. My maturnity clothes are getting warn out. The other day I had cleaned up throw up and been pooped and peed on and I was just working out some of the tension that bodily fluids invokes on the treadmill and I had some thoughts and since you're reading my blog, you get to hear them.
There are several things that people use to measure their lives and the changes that are inevitable. I thought about the views that I have had from a treadmill. For a while I boycotted treadmills because I thought they were so boring.
When I graduated from college I saw the light and goodness that a treadmill can be. Don't get me wrong, I prefer to run outside, but when life changes you have to take the best options. For a while the view from a treadmill was other people working out. I worked in the laboratory and I would go and run in the morning before heading into work. It wasn't a boring view, people watching at the gym is a lot of fun, but it was forgettable.
As my profession changed the view from the treadmill changed. My view changed to a hotel wall or a mirror. Again, utterly unforgettable with the exception of horrible equipment that I would try and get a good run on.
Fast forward to today ... the view from the treadmill is a dark, unfinished basement. There are cars, trucks, train tracks, and a little boy that at any moment could be sporting just his diaper and a smile. Needless to say this is the most memorable of the views to this point in life. It is the hardest, most challenging, most motivation, and the best. At any given moment I could be required to get off the treadmill and fix the train track, kiss an "ouchie", or watch my little man run as fast as he can and yell " I nuts ... I nuts!". I see him and I know that families are so important. My role in my little family is very important and this is the view that I will never forget and I will be sad when it is gone.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The funny thing about kids
Okay, so I've only been a Mother of 2 for 2 months. We survived:
- Insane poopy diapers from Embree. Such a little girl with so much poop to share. We had to throw away 3 outfits because they will not come clean.
- A matchbox car stuck in Preston's hair and subsequent hair buzz where he screamed "All done" the entire time.
- Lack of sleep for Mommy. Embree is a good sleeper at night, but still at 1 feeding and that interruption wares on ya after a while.
- RSV. We don't get sick a lot, but Preston got RSV for the second time in his life. Luckily the baby didn't get it and he recovered quickly. Hard part of that was giving him breathing treatments and all he would eat was noodles and hamburgers. This kid can eat an entire cheesburger from Wendy's and luckily they are 99 cents.
- Christmas. To all Mom's out there ... enough said!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
You Know You're a Parent When ...
Life is interesting with children under 2. It's full of energy and every moment seems to be teaching them and the parents something new. We have several "things" in our home that have been destroyed by our ever-learning boy. He is so curious and so many "things" in the house are so very temping to break open and see how they work. Our Christmas tree is no exception. Look at the picture and you can see just how tall Preston is. Looking at our "things" that have gone the way of the trash. Or in the case of our tree, limp along with missing parts, I wouldn't trade any of it for a second away from Preston. Most of the time I just laugh and clean up the pieces. I guess that's when you know you're a parent. Maybe someday we can have a whole tree again, instead of just a half.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
A Little Bit of Embree Love ...
A fabulous photographer and good friend, Tiffany Buckmiller, took these pictures of Embree when she was 4 days old. Thought that I share a few of my angel baby.
Mother of Two
Lots of people have asked me about being a Mother of two children under the age of 2. While I was still pregnant I didn't have a lot to say only because I was anxious and worried about it. Here is a little of what I thought about late at night...
I had a hard first couple months when Preston was born so how was I going to do with 2 kids? Would I be able to love and care for both of them at the same time? Did I have the knowledge to do this? Did I have the energy to do this? What were we thinking? Are they going to hate each other? Am I going to be able to handle staying at home with both of them all day everyday? What were we thinking? Will I be able to be the Mom that I want to be? Shouldn't there be some sort of test to have children? Would I pass that test if it existed? What if this new baby cried all the time and I slept for only 30 mins/night, what am I going to do with Preston? He deserves to not have a zombie Mom. What were we thinking? How is it that people have more than one child? What do they know that I don't? What were we thinking?
The anxiety really started to build until about June and that's when I decided that there was nothing that I could do, this was happening and so enjoy the summer with Preston. Preston and I did just that, we had a really fun Summer. We swam and played and enjoyed it just being to two of us at home during the day. I love my little boy so much, and watching him learn and grow is one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in my life.
Fast foward to November when the doctor told me she would induce me on November 6th. All of those fears and questions came flooding back. Finally, I thought "This is happening and I have to deal with whatever cards are dealt. So stop worrying and start experiencing. I told myself that I need to enjoy every minute because this will only be a small portion of my life, but it can enrich the rest of the days that I have here on this earth.
Now that Embree is 4 weeks old I feel as though I can safely say that we are managing well. She has fit into daily life so well, she is so mellow, and Preston LOVES having a little sister! I didn't know that I had such a capcity to love these two amazing little people as much as I do. It feels as though she is meant to be here and be a part of our family all along. I don't feel like a zombie even though the longest stretch of sleep I've had since she was born is 4 hours, and we still have a lot of fun around here. I have been given strength and endurance that I didn't know that I was capable of, and I'm so very greatful for that! Has it been easy NO WAY, but it doesn't feel as though it should be any other way.
I had a hard first couple months when Preston was born so how was I going to do with 2 kids? Would I be able to love and care for both of them at the same time? Did I have the knowledge to do this? Did I have the energy to do this? What were we thinking? Are they going to hate each other? Am I going to be able to handle staying at home with both of them all day everyday? What were we thinking? Will I be able to be the Mom that I want to be? Shouldn't there be some sort of test to have children? Would I pass that test if it existed? What if this new baby cried all the time and I slept for only 30 mins/night, what am I going to do with Preston? He deserves to not have a zombie Mom. What were we thinking? How is it that people have more than one child? What do they know that I don't? What were we thinking?
The anxiety really started to build until about June and that's when I decided that there was nothing that I could do, this was happening and so enjoy the summer with Preston. Preston and I did just that, we had a really fun Summer. We swam and played and enjoyed it just being to two of us at home during the day. I love my little boy so much, and watching him learn and grow is one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in my life.
Fast foward to November when the doctor told me she would induce me on November 6th. All of those fears and questions came flooding back. Finally, I thought "This is happening and I have to deal with whatever cards are dealt. So stop worrying and start experiencing. I told myself that I need to enjoy every minute because this will only be a small portion of my life, but it can enrich the rest of the days that I have here on this earth.
Now that Embree is 4 weeks old I feel as though I can safely say that we are managing well. She has fit into daily life so well, she is so mellow, and Preston LOVES having a little sister! I didn't know that I had such a capcity to love these two amazing little people as much as I do. It feels as though she is meant to be here and be a part of our family all along. I don't feel like a zombie even though the longest stretch of sleep I've had since she was born is 4 hours, and we still have a lot of fun around here. I have been given strength and endurance that I didn't know that I was capable of, and I'm so very greatful for that! Has it been easy NO WAY, but it doesn't feel as though it should be any other way.
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| Here is my adorable little family. Preston showing us where Embree's nose is. He loves his little "Sassy" (that's Prestons word for Sister) |
The Great Room Shift
I have found out a couple things about pregnant Haylee ...
1) I'm not a fan of being pregnant. I have heard several people say that they really don't mind it, I"m not one of those people. It's hard to spend 9 months waiting and living through the craziness of your body not being your own. It feels as though it has been high jacked.
2) I'm not a very good pregnant person. The hormones are not my friends and Brock is the best for putting up with me. I would say and do things and think "What am I doing, that's not me".
3) I get a lot of nervous energy when I'm pregnant, which is not a good thing. So, in the spirit of trying to contain the nervous energy and thinking about the best sleeping arrangements for the kiddos, we moved Preston out of the room that he had, and turned it into the nurseryfor our new little girl.
Preston got a the bigger room, that was our guest room. Of course I wouldn't just move him, that would have been way too easy. I felt the need to make his room special for him. I decided that I was going to paint a stripe for him. Easy enough, right? Well, after a TON of pencil marks on the walls, telling myself at least 3 times that "A stripe is not worth all this", and finally putting on my big girl pants and getting it done, Preston got a really cute Brown stripe in his room. I was glad when I finally finished it and I really like it, but trying to put a stripe on textured walls can make a grown woman weep ... and I did ... a couple times.
Embree's room was a little bit easier. After resigning myself to the fact that there will most likely be a lot of pink at our house, I decided to embrace it and paint her room pink. I tried to mix things up with purple curtains, but it just made the room that much more girly. That said, it is super cute ... for a pink room.
1) I'm not a fan of being pregnant. I have heard several people say that they really don't mind it, I"m not one of those people. It's hard to spend 9 months waiting and living through the craziness of your body not being your own. It feels as though it has been high jacked.
2) I'm not a very good pregnant person. The hormones are not my friends and Brock is the best for putting up with me. I would say and do things and think "What am I doing, that's not me".
3) I get a lot of nervous energy when I'm pregnant, which is not a good thing. So, in the spirit of trying to contain the nervous energy and thinking about the best sleeping arrangements for the kiddos, we moved Preston out of the room that he had, and turned it into the nurseryfor our new little girl.
Preston got a the bigger room, that was our guest room. Of course I wouldn't just move him, that would have been way too easy. I felt the need to make his room special for him. I decided that I was going to paint a stripe for him. Easy enough, right? Well, after a TON of pencil marks on the walls, telling myself at least 3 times that "A stripe is not worth all this", and finally putting on my big girl pants and getting it done, Preston got a really cute Brown stripe in his room. I was glad when I finally finished it and I really like it, but trying to put a stripe on textured walls can make a grown woman weep ... and I did ... a couple times.
Embree's room was a little bit easier. After resigning myself to the fact that there will most likely be a lot of pink at our house, I decided to embrace it and paint her room pink. I tried to mix things up with purple curtains, but it just made the room that much more girly. That said, it is super cute ... for a pink room.
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| Preston's room, the brown stripe at the top ... |
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| It has a certain Easter/Spring feel ... |
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Embree Jane Erickson
On November 6th, and 12:36PM, Embree Jane joined our family. We couldn't be more excited to have her with us. My due date was November 11th, and my problem was that Preston was born 10 days early and so I was waiting for Embree to make and early appearance as well but she was choosing to stay warm and cozy inside my HUGE belly. At my OB appointment on Friday November 3rd, the doctor could tell that I was pretty miserable, which I was. A stomach bug had plagued me for 4 days prior to the appointment and I was worn out. My doctor said " You look miserable, do you want some help or do you want to wait and see at your next appointment." I asked for help and she let me know that she could induce me on Tuesday November 6th. I have to say that I was scared to be induced because it was new to me and I was unsure about how everything would go, but now that it's all said and done, I am a believer! I got up on Tuesday morning, took a shower, got dressed and walked cool as a cucumber into the hospital. They started me on the pitocin by 7:30, I got an epidural at 10:30, by 12:15 I ready to push and after 3 pushes here she is! She was 8lbs 11oz and lots of dark hair, not as much as Preston but she has plenty of it. She was and is healthy and I have been able to recover quickly. It amazes me the energy, vibe, spirit, feeling, whatever you want to call it, that is present when a baby is born. It's a very quiet excitement, almost electric, as you see and hear a little body take its first breath. It truly is such an amazing thing and I'm a very lucky woman to be able to have this experience twice!
Lots of people have asked us about the name, and it's a pretty good story so I'll share it. When I was pregnant with Preston, Brock had a dream and there was a little girl in it, and her name was Embree. So, we put it on the list for potential names back then. I have to admit I wasn't totally sold on the name, I was really liking the name Eden. When it came time and we saw her, it was clear that Embree was her name. We chose the "ee" on the end because of the "ee" on Haylee. Jane is my great aunt, my mom, and my middle name. She already has a lot of nick names Pinky, Sissy, Sassy (that's Preston's version of Sister), Princess, Emmy, Bree, Love Bug, and any other girly nickname that pops into our heads. She sports a headband with a bow on it everyday and wears pink pretty much all the time. She is one loved little lady.
Lots of people have asked us about the name, and it's a pretty good story so I'll share it. When I was pregnant with Preston, Brock had a dream and there was a little girl in it, and her name was Embree. So, we put it on the list for potential names back then. I have to admit I wasn't totally sold on the name, I was really liking the name Eden. When it came time and we saw her, it was clear that Embree was her name. We chose the "ee" on the end because of the "ee" on Haylee. Jane is my great aunt, my mom, and my middle name. She already has a lot of nick names Pinky, Sissy, Sassy (that's Preston's version of Sister), Princess, Emmy, Bree, Love Bug, and any other girly nickname that pops into our heads. She sports a headband with a bow on it everyday and wears pink pretty much all the time. She is one loved little lady.
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| Ready to be done! |
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| For the first hour or so, she had her fingers in her mouth. It looks like she's crying but she didn't really cry very much. |
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| She's about 15 minutes old and just got all dried off from the bath. |
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