It snow's in central Texas

It's been snowing all day here.  We took the opportunity to have some family snow fun

Gwendolyn didn't want her picture taken but we did manage to snap a couple shots

Our Texas snowman :o)

Link was not really into it but, stayed long enough to show the size of our snowman ;-p

He enjoyed the jeep for about half a second 

A lucky shot of Gwendolyn, my camera shy girl

Indy had the most fun but even Lucy had a little fun

....and Link says we're done now.....

Looks like doing a mobile blog post with a picture isn't working for me. I'll figure it out someday but, I don't feel like doing the research now.

Here is my first mobile blog post. Hope it works....

Missed my calling???

As a child, I always said I was either going to be a singer/actress raking in grammy's and academy awards and/or I was going to be a mom.  Luckily, I knew the first was a pipe dream and didn't cling onto fantasies.  I focused hard on being a mom.  It was not only important to me to be a mom but, to be able to stay at home with my children.  I remember telling Ken while we were still dating and having the discussions of what we wanted for our future that if I couldn't stay home with my children, then I wouldn't have any.  Of course, this was easy for me to say knowing that I would never actually have to make that choice.  I already knew Ken would support me in staying home with our children.  I was thankful to find out that he not only supported me in that choice but, felt the same on the matter.  We did wait a while to have children though so, after high school, I did get some higher education and worked in the medical field for a while.  However, I never focused on a big career.  I said as a child, I was going to be a mom and never seemed to really consider anything else.  Was that a good choice for me??  Did I miss my calling?  Was being a stay at home mom really the best choice for me or more important for my children?

One of my big personality flaws in my opinion is, I get a bit of tunnel vision with certain decisions.  They are usually harmless like I set it out in my mind what I need to get done before we leave the house and I absolutely have to complete those things regardless of how late it's going to make me or how silly the tasks are.  That's the harmless part since it doesn't really matter if I get to the market 30min later than I expected because I had to pick up toys and do the dishes before I left the house instead of when I came back home.  It's OCD and luckily, doesn't keep me from having a good life.  However, I do wonder if it helped put me down a path that maybe wasn't "my calling".  As stylish as I am in the photo above, I'm not thinking I should've chased a singing/acting career but, was being a stay at home mom the right dream to chase?  Was my OCD causing me to be blinded to another career that would've enriched not only my life been created a better life for my children?

This question has been weighing on my mind for a while now.  I felt like a decent stay at home mom after Gwendolyn was born.  Then she wasn't an infant anymore and I found out I'm terrible at getting on the ground and playing with her.  Coloring and doing puzzles seem to take a patience, I don't possess.  Setting up crafts never happens because I never want to deal with the frustration of doing the project or the mess that follows.  Luckily, she is in school 10 hours a week where she gets to do all those things but, I feel terrible that it's only 10 measly hours a week when she gets true enrichment of play and learning.   Her friends are writing their names and my daughter isn't.  Poor Gwendolyn has already shown signs of her own OCD and certain things stop her dead in her tracks.  She's paralyzed and can't move on unless things are done a certain way.  Might this not be so, if I had been a working mom and my Gwendolyn had a daycare and school to give her the enrichment I've so clearly failed at everyday?  It's only gotten worse of course as Link became a toddler.  Now, I feel like I'm failing him as well and since patience is clearly my biggest problem, I end up frustrated most of the time, causing my children to be distressed and unhappy.  It's not all the time of course.  I would still consider us to be a happy family and my children aren't neglected but, could they have better??

Regardless of the answer to those questions, the fact still remains that daycare and preschools are expensive and unless you've planned to be a working mom all along, it's doubtful any paycheck brought home would cover those costs.  So here I am, thinking about what my future holds but, more importantly, what my children's future holds and how have I set them back due to my blindness.  I don't write this post as a plea for sympathy.  I write it only because, I think the best way to move forward with certain things in life, you need to own up to your own short comings.  Announce that yes, I acknowledge that I was wrong, I'm a putz for being the way I am and only hope that by owning up to it, maybe I can change and set us out on a new path.

Naps suck....but I love'em

Here I am as usual stuck because, of poor time management with a list of errands that will have to wait as the children nap.  Before I had children I knew I wanted to take my infant everywhere in hopes that the baby would get used to sleeping when they were tired regardless of where we were.  This worked wonders until Gwendolyn was 2.  Then the environment was always more exciting than going to sleep.  I felt pretty great in keeping my "freedom" for so long and not having my schedule ruled by "nap time".  By that time, Gwendolyn was only taking 1 nap a day so, at least I had that going for me.  Fast forward to when Link was born.  I kept to my system of just taking him everywhere and he's done pretty well.  Link will wake more easily so his "out naps" are definitely less restful than Gwendolyn's were.  Gwendolyn will still take a nap even though she's turning 4 next month.  Both of my kiddos will fall asleep in the car.  This is both a blessing and a curse.  There are times when I just want them to stay awake until we get home but, usually, I'm okay with them taking a nap in their car seats as long as the weather is not too extreme.  I'm lucky enough in our floor plan that I can leave the kitchen door open to the garage and it just extends my home interior allowing me to let my children stay secure in their seats while they nap.  That doesn't work when it's too hot of course which, takes me back to, I need them to stay awake until we get home and nap inside.

Anyway, back to my whole point.....I love naps in that with the kiddos asleep, I have at least a short time to either get some housework, waste time on facebook (this happens too much I admit), or just watch some TV (also happens more than I want to admit) and relax.  However, there are many times when, I just want to get my errands done.  I don't want to worry about the kiddos being harder to handle because the friends or family that don't have napping children have scheduled some fun action during the usual "nap time".  I'm ready to not worry about "nap time".

I have friends who are very strict about "nap time".  Naps are at a very specific time.  They need to be home and ready for their children to go to their rooms, with the right lighting, stuffed animal or blanket for comfort etc...  I'm sure these friends have found this system to be the answer for harmony in the family.  I certainly know there are children who thrive with rigid routine.  Maybe mine would to and I've proven to be too selfish to give them that much control over our schedule.  The reason I write all this is to say "I MISS MY FRIENDS!"  I feel like I hardly ever get to really spend time with my friends because nap time awaits.  When we are together, we of course can only be half there since we are watching our children with at least 1 eye and making sure they are "sharing" etc.....

I guess in the end, my post title really sums it up for me.  I'm so conflicted.  It's great to have time awake when I don't have a child calling to me or needing me for some reason.  However, I just want to be able to go where I need to go and not watch the time and of course I want to spend time with my friends and family without cranky children of no friends to spend time with at all since they are home for their naps.

Of course, as it goes with growing children, when naps are done, school is in so, my friends will undoubtedly be doing something responsible like their errands or housecleaning during that time.

Oh, woe is me.......ok I'll get over it......I'm lucky to have the family and friends I do even if I don't get to spend the time with them that I want.......and of course.......I'm so lucky to have my beautiful and wonderful children when I know there are people would give anything to have to worry about "nap time" and can't have children for one reason or another so, LUCKY am I!!!!

Here we go again

Once again, I'm going to try and fire it up with blogging.  Even though my posts are few and far in between, at least I have intention and eventually do come back ;o)

Ken news; Astronomy is what makes Ken's heart tick!  Aside from his family of course.  He is currently making the switch from visual astronomy to complete astrophotography.  He's enjoyed all the visual astronomy he's done and certainly learned a lot.  When he started taking images, he really found his nitch!  He loves every aspect of the hobby and looks forward to every clear night we have and makes the most of it.  The one bummer for sure, is that we can't control the weather and this winter hasn't been very forthcoming with the clear skies.  That aside, when he has been able to go out and image, he's gotten some really beautiful pictures.  He enjoys not only the process but sharing it with people!!  That's right, you read correctly, my husband has found something he loves to share!  Although, I still wouldn't say he's the socialite of the party, if you want to talk astronomy in any way, he'll socialize all night with you.  He maintains a flikr account where he uploads his completed images.  Flikr has a great accessory for astronomers so, it's widely used in the field for sharing.  For those who've expressed interest, Ken has created a distribution list so, when he's finished an image, he adds a write up explaining what you're looking at and how he made the image.  It's all amazingly interesting and very eye opening.  Let us know if you want to see Ken's astro work :o)  Here is one of my personal favorites;

Molly News; In my life, I never seem to have enough time or sleep but, I'm managing what I can.  Gwendolyn and Link fill my day with wonderment and craziness.  Somedays I love it and other days, I just wish I could get even half way through my todo list!  It's not all their fault.  Facebook is not on my todo list and Gwendolyn and Link certainly don't force me to get stuck on it.  I need to seriously check myself!!  I need to find a system with a routine I can stick to.  I manage to keep my children clothed, fed and socialized but, I can't say I do it well.  Crossfit is a huge passion of mine outside of being a wife and mother.  I enjoy all of the many things it has done for my life.  Eventually, when I can make it happen, I intend to get my certification and train at Ginger and William's gym "Crossfit Georgetown"  www.crossfitgeorgetown.com.  Book Club and the occasional Girl's Night Out with my Playgroup friends are things I really look forward to.  I wish they both happened more often ;o)

Gwen News;  It feels like Gwendolyn is almost 4 going on 20.  Everyday she says things that leave me in awe.  She never misses a beat.  You may think you're hiding something from her but, usually she totally knows about it and she'll call you out on it.  Gwen is very particular about almost everything.  We are certain she has OCD and plan on getting her evaluated to see if there's something we can do to help her life be less stressful for her.  Particulars aside, she's a happy girl who enjoys people.  Her family, especially her cousins are at the top of the list.  Anytime, she knows she's going to see her cousins, she's ecstatic about it.  Gwendolyn goes to school 2 days a week.  Even though it starts at 9am, it's still tough to get her woken up and in the mood.  She usually tells me at least once that she doesn't want to go to school but, glad in the end that she went.  She's just not a morning girl that one.  She comes by it honestly ;o)  At school she gets to go to gymnastics and cooking class.  She's really thriving in all she's learning and being able to get that structure in her life.  Gwen is still a pipsqueak.  Although, she'll be 4 next month, she is not wearing 4T clothes.  In fact, she wears a lot of 2T clothes still.  For Gwendolyn, it's still all about princesses.  She would wear a "sparkley dress" every waking moment if she could.  We are lucky to have a decent assortment handed down from Delaney.  They are slowly getting very tattered as she plays in them so, I'll probably need to invest in some more soon.  A  pass time that Gwen really loves is singing!!  She likes to find a microphone but will sing without one if she must.  Her favorite songs are still ABC's and Twinkle, Twinkle but she's been singing "Pants on the ground" as of late ;o)  Gwen really loves to teach you things.  Everyday she comes up to me with a new lesson I need to learn from her.  Her favorite color has switched to pink.  Although, she says yellow is second.  I can't believe she is turning 4 years old next month!!  It will feel like a flash and I'll be dropping her off for her first day of kindergarten......Pass the tissues please!!!

Lincoln News; Oh, my love bug Link!  At the end of this month Link will be a year and a half old.  He is very near out weighing his sister and has already managed to push her down a couple times.  Gwen can be rough at times with him and I think it'll be sooner than later that she may be getting "pay backs" ;o)  He is amazingly strong as he can hold his own body weight for a decent amount of time.  He likes to pull himself up on the table and will hang on the fridge doors (as you may have seen from a recent facebook picture) :-P  Link will climb anything he can, get into whatever trouble he can, run to any open door that he sees and do his best to run me ragged.  At this point Gwendolyn and I were signing to each other and communicating quite well.  Not so with Lincoln.  He knows many of the signs I do but, will only sign back to me on a rare occasion.  I feel like he cries and fusses a lot more than Gwendolyn did but, I really attribute to the lack of communication.  I wish like anything we could communicate better so, I'm really looking forward to him talking since he seems to want to skip the whole signing thing.  Link was in "feeding therapy" for a short time.  He basically refused to eat almost everything.  If he didn't breastfeed, he wouldn't have had such a nice layer to live off of while we figured out his food aversions.  After only about 6 weeks he went from eating nothing but puffs and goldfish to eating quite the array of food.  He's still particular about many things but, is eating enough of an assortment that we don't need to worry much at this point.  His favorite foods are eggs, goldfish and yogurt covered raisins.  His favorite beverage is ice water.  He doesn't like cows milk much but sometimes, if I make it ice milk he'll drink a few swallows.  Above all, breastmilk trumps anything on the menu, he prefers that to any consumable.  Link is proving to be a big time mama's boy but there's no question he adores his Dad and recognizes the loved ones around him.

Lucy and Indy News;  Our furbabies are still doing well.  The addition of Indy to our family was a good thing.  Lucy will play with her and she submission pees less (I think).  Indy is a very sweet girl and as she's nearing the end of puppyhood, I'm finding less destroyed toys of the kiddos which excites me greatly.  She still shreds her toys up in no time at all but, I certainly don't mind that.  Indy has a lot more energy than Lucy so, she definitely tries to herd us everywhere and hopes desperately we'll play with her.  I can't believe how tolerant both of our pooches are to our children's abuse but, luckily, they do seem to love them and know that Ken and I will have their back when they need it. ;o)

Dear Link

Today you officially became a walker. You took 3 unassisted steps from the coffee table to the couch where I was sitting. Throughout the afternoon, you took a few more steps here and there all on your own so, I'm thinking, it'll be a matter of a day or two before it really clicks and you are walking all over the place.

You turned a year old a week ago. It's amazing how fast this past year seems to have gone. I think it went by faster than your sister's first year went. I guess that's because life with two children is just way more chaotic and you have to make more of a committed effort to not let life's distractions take over from treasuring all the wonderful moments of raising my children. Link, you are proving to be a real "mama's boy". Everyday you make me feel so needed and loved. Like I'm literally the only one on this planet that can make you happy. We've tried to give you "lovey's" that are soft and cuddly, stuffed animals and pacifiers. No matter how often they've been repeatedly offered, when you really need to be comforted, nursing is the only thing that works. You have a very easy smile that charms everyone. There isn't a person anywhere that's met you and didn't become instantly smitten. With your easy smile and open love comes easy hurt with it. Like your Mom, you are overly sensitive with just about everything. It makes you nuts to be uncomfortable in any way. If you bump your head you'll give a look that someone would think you've nearly knocked your head clear off your neck. I can barely touch you, and you'll giggle with the most intense belly laugh because you are crazy ticklish all over. You are very easily startled which can make you a really light sleeper. With your very blond hair and fair skin, I need to be extra careful with you outside in the sun. You're skin is pretty sensitive. You'll turn red just from holding you or when I clean your face after you eat.

When you were born, you were just shy of 9lbs. At your 2 month well child check you were literally off the growth chart where you stayed for both height and weight until your 9 month appointment. You've just had your 12 month check this week and you are now on the chart! Since becoming mobile, you started crawling at 8 months, your height is now closer to average and you are at 95th percentile for weight. So far, you've closely followed your Cousin Duncan's footsteps. Your baby pictures look practically identical at times, you both were very chubby babies, both of you are blond, blue eyed with fair skin. Also, both of your are "mama's boys" and are crazy sweet and sensitive. I think you'll be kindred spirits forever and share a close bond.

You got your first teeth, yes I said "teeth" since the first 2 came in at the same time, at 7 months old. 5 more quickly followed and you've stayed happy with those 7 for quite some time now. Not that you've needed them. Nursing is all you've wanted. Baby food has never been something you've been willing to eat. It didn't matter what kind it was, if it's pureed, you gagged. Actually, you've gagged on pretty much everything until recently. Now, you're happy to eat all kinds of table foods. Your pre-requisites are that it must be something you can pick up and put in your mouth yourself. You're willing to try almost anything. What's absolutely not allowed, is for anyone to try and feed you with a spoon. It doesn't matter if it's baby food, ice cream or a cheerio, you gag every time a spoon gets to your lips. However, you are thrilled to play with a spoon as long as there isn't any food involved with it. You are the first child I've ever known to gag on ice cream. I'm certain you'll grow out of that soon enough ;o) You are still mostly nourished by breastfeeding, as your idea of eating solids is to put it in your mouth, chew and play with it a bit, cough it up in case it gets too close to the back of your throat and then spit it all out. Since you also refuse to wear a bib, your wardrobe has taken quite a few hits. You'll go through way more outfits in a day then your sister ever did. That's okay though, it gives me a chance to have you wear all your clothes a lot which your sister has outfits that I know she never got to wear.

Speaking of differences between you and Gwendolyn. Gwen is a fish and has always loved the water. Until about a week ago, you were certain being submerged in any kind of water, is the same as being in a vat of acid. The only way to keep you calm in a pool, is if I hold you. Putting you in a float pretty much never worked out. Giving you a bath was a speedy operation as you screamed the entire time. As soon as you could sit up on your own (5 months), I just started bringing you in the shower with me. You were happy to sit there playing with toys as long as you didn't feel like you were sitting in a puddle of water, it was okay. I think you've turned a corner with this in the last week though. Now you're happy to play in the baby pool in the backyard and are comfortable playing in the bathtub (even with your big sister being wild around you) as long as no one dumps too much water on your head at once. I have high hopes that you are becoming more comfortable in the water and next season, you'll be thrilled to be in the pool and swimming in the lake when we visit Grandpa Gary and Grandma Connie. This years visit was pretty rough. You were crawling and the lake house is very unfriendly to babies and toddlers. When we were down at the dock, you had to be held unless we were in the boat. Then you could crawl around a bit at the bottom of the boat but, when it got hot, you hated to be dipped in the lake for a cool down. I'm sure you'll enjoy it more next year.....

When your Dad comes home from work and you see him, your face literally lights up and you scream and start moving your way to him as fast as you can. This of course makes your Dad smile and light up too. Gwendolyn is always trying to play with you. I have to remind her to not be too rough with you and that you're still a baby. When you're old enough to understand the games she's trying to play, I think you guys will have a great time playing together. Gwendolyn can really make you giggle. I was lucky enough to get one of these giggle fits on video. It's so cute when you find something funny and will repeatedly laugh about it. Usually it's some sort of slapstick style comedy. Gwen really gets a charge out of making you laugh.

I'm so excited at what the future will bring for you. Link, you are the perfect completion to our family. We all love you and can't get enough of your hugs and smiles. I love being your Mom.

I love you the most,
Mommy