What's new?

What's going on with me?  

It's been a month of me being a "stay at home" mom.  I finally feel like I got the hang of it.  I'm finally mentally ok with it too.  It just took a shift in my mind but I do enjoy it.  The weeks go by fast although some days do feel never ending in the moment.  It's a bit hard on most days to cater to both kids because Liam likes to be held a lot.  However, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Once Liam is a little more independent (like when he can sit up), I can see how it will be much easier.  Until then, it seems that I am disappointing one of the kids at any given moment during the day.  

Gavin has not been napping regularly either.  I've started putting him down later in the day around 3pm to see if it helps but this week he only napped a real nap ONE day.  The other days he just stayed in his crib and talked to his "friends" (doggie, kitty and top-top) for an hour.  Although I'd like for him to sleep, I'm ok if he just rests in his crib.  By 3pm I just need a little quiet time.  Gavin does not shut up! :)  He is constantly talking, asking questions, and he expects me to interact with him so I'm talking all day too.  So I look forward to that one hour when he rests and Liam sleeps on me on the couch while I relax or grade.  

In another 2 weeks I will be done teaching. YAY!  Teaching three online classes has been tough to keep up with all the grading, technical glitches and overrides, emails, etc.  I managed to finish my dissertation proposal and am scheduled to defend when we go down to FL in a couple of weeks.  Hopefully I come back as ABD (all but dissertation).  

Re: diet and fitness....well, it's a work in progress.  I am doing really good cooking at home.  I'm actually surprised but very happy about this.  I do feel added pressure to cook healthy for Gavin and Nick but also for me since I'm still "eating for two".  I know my body will compensate and provide the nutrients that Liam needs in the breastmilk but I still don't know how it works.  I've been very conscious about taking care of myself because I am the primary caretaker and if I can't take care of the kids then we're in trouble.  The fitness part is not a routine yet.  I have done the bike a couple of times but mostly I have just tried to be active during the day with the boys.  I try to incorporate "moves" throughout the day (e.g. squat to put Liam to sleep, mousekercise with Gavin, dancing with Gavin, walks, etc).  I have been so behind with grading and keeping up with the 3 classes I'm teaching that I would feel guilty if I took out an hour to workout rather than work.  I'm hoping after we come back from FL and my classes are over I can dedicate some time to running again.  I  am hoping to fit into some of my old clothes by Christmas.  

What's going on with Gavin?   

He's definitely way more active now than ever before.  He needs structure or he starts behaving a little crazy.  

He is in the "I want to help you" stage and most of the times it's cute and he is actually helping.  Then there are the other times when he really can't help but refuses to understand that and it turns into a small tantrum.  He wants to do everything himself.  Again, this is good....except when we're in a rush and need things to be done quickly (like this past Wednesday when we were late for the library and he insisted on putting his socks and shoes on himself!).  He also "argues" with us over stupid things like we will serve him his oatmeal in the morning and we'll tell him "it's hot so you have to wait" and he'll say "it's not hot".  We'll warn him over and over and he will continue to contradict us.  We've talked about just letting him eat it so he learns that we're not lying.  We just can't bring ourselves to actually letting him eat it while it's piping hot.  

I've started to be a little more diligent about his "school" time-- when we practice writing his letters and drawing/painting.  Although Gavin is on track on vocabulary, his motor skills need improvement.  He is still not able to do any numbers with his fingers.  So when people ask him how old he is, he says "I'm two years old" but he cannot show just two fingers (or any for that matter).  Earlier this week Nick was trying to help him and show him how to do 1, 2, and 3 with his fingers.  Gavin must have gotten frustrated that he couldn't do it and he told Nick "I'll tell you with my mouth" so he counted out loud.  I also can't seem to get him to hold a crayon or pencil correctly.  I actually don't even know which hand he prefers because he constantly switches.  Most of the time he is right handed but he can eat with his left and also paints with his left.  Over the past two weeks he has improved.  He is now able to trace lines and he can draw circles pretty well.  So I just need to continue to practice with him.  I went to Walmart and I was surprised at how much educational stuff they carry.  I now have a little "homeschooling" station in my craft cabinet.  

Gavin traced the letter C in orange marker

What's new with Liam?  

He is smiling and cooing lots.  Like Gavin, he wakes up very happy.  That's the best time to catch him smiling. Other than that he really makes us work to get a smile out of him.  He has this thinking, "I'm not sure about this" look in his face-- his trademark face I call it.  He has started to "talk".  This week there was a moment between him and Gavin--he was looking at Gavin and making all kinds of noises.  

He doesn't care for tummy time much but after reading a friend's blog (Hi, Heather!)  I got the idea to put him on my shins and rock him and he loves that.  I didn't think that would be considered tummy time but he gets tons of neck exercise from that position and he thinks it's play time.  I love it because it's also exercise for me! 

The question that everyone will inevitably ask, "is he sleeping through the night?"  Well, he is.  I just haven't wanted to write it down because I don't want to jinx it.  But he's been doing it long enough where I think it's routine now.  He goes to sleep around 8pm and on most nights will not wake up until 2am.  Amazing, I know!  Then he will wake up every 2 hours after that, which I don't mind at that point.  As long as I go to bed by 10pm, I'm good.  

I forgot to mention that we started using cloth diapers a few weeks ago and it's been an epic success.  It's so much easier than I thought it would be even though I have to do laundry every day to every other day (depending on whether it's pooping day or not- Liam poops every other day!).  I would like to buy another dozen cloth diapers so I can cloth diaper full time.  

What's new with Nick?  

Nick is doing well at work.  The students are a little different than we're used to.  He has to try harder to get student participation in the class because he thinks the students are accustomed to being lectured and not expected to interact.  Other than that all is well.  He just did a guest lecture on Native American Imagery for another professor and got such good reviews that he's been invited to do it again for the whole college during Native American history month (Nov).  He sent out a few manuscripts for review (based on his dissertation) for publication and is awaiting a response.  

We're just getting ready for Fall break next week when we go back to Florida.  We're both looking forward to being around family and hopefully having a date night! :)