The post office.

I am convinced that waiting in line at the post office is a form of modern torture. It's silent except for maybe the wail of a baby. People are shuffling forward at a snail's pace. The damn phone won't stop ringing (apparently, it's not in their budget to have an answering machine because the phone must have rang 30 times). The walls are gray and the room is small. The tone is somber. The guy behind me belches twice and coughs into my hair. He's standing so close I can smell the smoke off his clothing. Everyone is looking around helplessly while the one employee rings people up. A girl looks through the array of boxes to figure out which one she needs to use to ship her order in. You'd like to make conversation with the person in front of you but it seems she is just as annoyed as you are.

I am only there to buy some stamps for my workplace, but still those 10 minutes felt like a hour of hell, waiting in line to be served prison food.

My three beauties

Every day, at least once a day, I look at my children and think about how incredibly blessed I am. For as long as I can remember, I always wanted something to love. For awhile, pets seemed to fill that craving. But once I became a mother, my life truly changed and it divided into two "chapters": life before kids, which is seemily insignificant besides my wonderful memories with my mother and siblings and other family, and life after kids, which is super awesome, greater than I ever imagined, and my reason for existence. I live for these kids and everything I do is for these kids. If I should ever leave this earth unexpectedly, I would like my children to know that I loved them more than anything on this earth and nothing filled my heart more than them. ♥ ♥ ♥







If I could have somehow taken a peek forward 10 years ago and seen that these beautiful children would be my future, I'd have lived every moment without trepidation or fear, knowing that my future was bright and I need not worry. Now that I'm there, I now know that every step I have taken has led me to here. For that I am grateful: fate certainly was perfect for us.

------
All photos are copyrighted material and may not be used by anyone under any circumstances.

It's me, Boring Blogger!

I apologize for my lack of availability in the blog world. I haven't been able to even log in and scroll my feed to see what's been going on with all of you. If you're still there. I have probably lost my readership.

A quick update: I am back to work but very busy. I feel as though sometimes I don't even have time to run to the bathroom (and really, sometimes I don't)! I am running home twice a day to nurse the baby (I'm at work 8 - 4 so I nurse before work, then come home at 10 and 1, and am home for the day at 4, feeding on demand the rest of the time). We tried pumping and feeding bottles around 3-4 weeks and he did really well! I was prematurely hopeful, because around 6-8 weeks, he was less enthusiastic about them. My first day back, he only took half an ounce in the morning (the whole morning) and wouldn't take anything in the afternoon. I decided, screw it. I ran home before and it worked out awesome, so I mentioned it to my boss and he was cool with it. Thank goodness! One of the breaks is my lunch break anyway, so they really can't tell me I can't go home. I punch out for both breaks. Jameson is a happy boy! He's becoming more aware every day and will smile and coo as soon as he sees my face. He has such a cute, gummy smile (please stay that way -- I don't need an early teether like Andrew was)!

Elise is just amazing. She has SO many words now and is starting to put 2-3 word phrases together. I can't even count how many words she has and she will try and say almost anything we teach her. She's spunky and funny and daring (she even climbed to the top rung of a ladder when Daddy had his back turned for less than a minute)! She is also very much addicted to the boobie, but I am really okay with that. The transition to her being "not the baby" anymore has been seamless and she loves her little brother. I like to think that the comfort I provide her has helped. It certainly hasn't hurt, and I love knowing she has gotten all those extra immunities through my milk (immunities not found in cow's milk -- immunities which actually increase in the 2nd year).

Andrew is my little man. He still has challenging behaviors but he is learning to control them better. A big part is just understanding how to react to him so that it may prevent angry outbursts. We praise him when he makes good choices, and he enjoys that praise. At school, he is doing better with not getting so angry and they are telling him to "ask for help" if something is frustrating him. He has made new friends and he likes to talk about them. I have been in touch with his teacher (e-mail, phone, and in person) and we have a great communicative relationship going. We both want what's best for Andrew. The plan now is to do a second year of pre-k next year. He is most likely not going to be ready for kindergarten, not because he lacks academically, but because he needs the emotional growth required for kindergarten (let's face it, he'll be going a full day and they will be asking a lot out of him). He is the very youngest in his class with an 8/25 birthdate (the cutoff is 9/1). I would rather him go to kindergarten ready than struggle and have to start over.

All is well in our house. We are preparing for Christmas, slowly but surely. I am going with my family next week with the kids to the Christmas tree farm. My family goes every year and last year I decided not to go, then changed my mind and wanted to go the following weekend and they were closed for the season because the trees (for that year anyway) were all gone. DH and I would like to go Christmas shopping so I need to get a night where my mom is off and have her watch the kids so we can get as much done in 2 hours as possible. We'd also like to have dinner since it's been, well . . . a LONG FREAKING time! LOL.

I hope things are well with all of you; feel free to update me with anything I missed while I've been away!