Proud Me!

My little Madeleine is such an artiste! She's already developed a love for art. Every day she wants to paint. This is her #1 request. She has to have an activity that lets out that creative bundle of energy. Play-doh, crayons, markers, nooodle art --- you name it. We've got it!

This afternoon she took it upon herself when I gave her a dry erase marker and activity pad to make a creation all over her legs. She must have had her pant legs pulled up while scribbling all over because when she stood up to show me her proud work, it disappeared. It's funny because when she walked over to me, she had a funny expression on her face like "hey! what happened to my art?!" Conveniently it was also diaper change time so when I pulled off her pants,:I was shocked to see what it was that she soooo wanted to show me! She was so darn cute I had to get pictures.

Full-Time Husband

In my last blog, I mentioned "full-time husband". I thought I'd go back and define what I meant. On my bad days, I choose to tell Chay he's a "part-time dad" and on my good days, I prefer "full-time husband". I don't mean to disrespect Chay by the titles I give him but realize that from his perspective, it is offensive. (And as I'm writing this, if I were in his shoes, I'd agree.)

It's difficult for us to truly appreciate each other unless we are to swap shoes. I love Chay dearly and know that I have found my match in every way. But it doesn't mean I don't have grievances or my version of grievances with our current situation. This is just how I've chosen to deal with my daily stresses and frustrations.

Being a parent is HARD. I'm fortunate that I have someone to share in the joys and responsibilities. I think that's partly it; Chay gets the joys and I get the responsibilities. I get joys too, but I often am resentful that I'm the one here 24-7. There's a not a squabble that goes by that he doesn't wish I go to work every day and he stays home. But even then, I somehow know I'd still have similar stresses with a full day's work added on top. Am I being too negative here?

I DO appreciate that Chay's working and traveling thousands of miles so that I can stay home with our girls. I get to wake up every morning to smiling faces and cheers of a bright new day. Chay doesn't get this greeting every morning. My daily reward are the zillion hugs & giggles & kisses! But some days, I want a reward from Chay. And I was so happy when I got a little piece of paradise this weekend as he took "FT Husband" responsibilities and I was off until 10.

I know it's appreciation and recognition that I want. The work I do as a stay-at-home-mom. For all SAHMs, why don't we win awards for all we do? It's been quite a transition from career woman to mother to stay-at-home-mom to SAHM w/ traveling spouse. And I know I'm not alone as I've met many women who wear the same shoes as me.

And yes, there are many saying, "What about all the work I do as a "Go-to-work-and-support-my-family Dad"? Yes, well that's your blog to write. :)

Happy Easter

This was the first year we did an easter egg hunt for the girls and I think they thoroughly enjoyed it. Maybe it was just the sweets but all the same, plenty of smiles.

It was a wonderful long weekend with "Daddy!". Chay came home Thursday afternoon and sadly left a few hours ago. I actually did have a relaxing weekend sleeping in and napping my afternoons away....notice my theme of sleep. Blissful sleep is really hard to find these days. It's nice when we're both home because we split mornings, if feasible. Saturday was my morning to sleep and veg until 10am! I know, that's a record morning! Beyond sleep, the rest of the weekend is a blurr... Aaahh, the good life of having a full-time husband. :)

Bloom

Needless to say, as a SAHM --- I'm always on the lookout for activities to fill our days. I only have so much staminia to play hide & seek, give piggy back rides and play make-believe. And as much as they love Dora, Diego and Little Einsteins; I can and should only allow so much tv time. Looking back, the easy months were definitely when my girls were newborns. I never worried about too much television, too much sugar, temper tantrums and educational value. These are much tougher milestones! (I can only imagine what I'll be saying when they're teenagers...makeup, boys, crying!...AAAAH! Give me back my toddler!)

Anyhow with Olivia understanding the concept of games, I've been on the lookout for activities/toys that are both educational and fun. I'm happy to say, we recently discovered "Bloom", a new series by Cranium. I've only seen it at Target and all products are under $20. Although the products are for 3+, Madeleine loves them just as much as Olivia.

Olivia's favorite is the Seek & Find Park puzzle. It's a 24 piece puzzle of a park bustling with activities. The puzzle includes 2 small flipbooks and 1 dry-erase marker. After the puzzle is put together, the flipbooks direct us to find things...i.e. 3 wagons, 8 fish, something blue, etc.. Both Olivia and Madeleine love finding and circling all the different items. Up to this point, we hadn't really done much with puzzles and now it's a daily activity. (We also own the Zoo puzzle, Let's Go Shopping activity deck and Sounds Bingo --- ALL great!) So for all the moms or anyone who enjoys games, this product definitely gets my stamp of approval. (We also love Word World but that's for another blog.)

Time to go as I hear my girls calling for waterpaints. Happy St. Patricks!

Sisters

Priceless are sister talks. My sisters and I all live in different states and our visits are far and few between. Unfortunately sometimes, our talks are also far and few between. But whenever we can find the few minutes to share news of our daily lives, it's always a treat.

It was a pretty lucky day for me today; I caught up with my little sis, Nou on the phone and my other younger sis, Julie came for a short visit.

Nou's little boy, Landrew was pretty sick a few weeks ago that ended with a long night in the ER. We finally had a chance to catch up to exchange details. I, along with everyone else are relieved that Landrew is doing much better. Of course, during our conversation we had to mention the lack-of-common-sense our husbands have in stressful situations. Her husband using a new cell phone instead of the home line to dial 911 only to have trouble communicating their address and my husband handing me a wet towel when my water broke when I went into labor w/ Madeleine....things in the moment we want to scream at our husbands for but in hindsight realize they proably are just more freaked out then we are. Needless to say, we both laughed out our stresses today.

Some of my favorite chats are with Nou. Our conversations usually start by a heated discussion about some incident or fight we had with our hubbies which then turns into a laughfest. It's relieving for us both because we get to fume about what's been bugging us and then we can laugh about it. These talks are always therapeutic! And by the call's end, make us appreciate the wonderful husbands we really do have. (Like today!)

And then Julie was here today! We had a lot of catch up to squeeze into 2 hours but all the same, if felt like an entire day. Eliy, Evan and Eian didn't make the trip but hopefully when we're in Sheboygan and they move to Neenah, we'll be able to have playdates.

All in all, a pretty lucky day.

P.S. And last but not least, my older sis, Blia and my niece, Trinity will be here in 2 weeks for an extended weekend visit. I can't wait! How ironic that now we're moving, my sisters come to visit?!

Our sister's trip to Miami last summer

Mine, Mine, Mine

The girls and I have been gone for over a week and it's sooo nice to be home. To quote my girls "Mine, Mine, Mine." There's such comfort in coming home to my things, my bed, my couch, my space. It's been a roller coaster the last year and half with our move to Chicago and then Chay traveling everywhere; and now him in Sheboygan and us still here.... don't get me wrong, it's great to have a few days of "mine, mine, mine" but it gets lonely when it's week in, week out e-v-e-r-y day.

I am happy to say tho, we officially signed a lease today and will be moving in May! We finally are making a go! and moving everything to Sheboygan. (Actually the lovely Town of Sheboygan Falls.) No news in selling our house but we all miss Chay too much to be separated much longer. We are all looking forward to the family days ahead!

Goodbye Chicago and Hello Sheboygan Falls! New move, new town, new adventures!