Dusting Off the Keyboard for Friday Randoms!

It goes without saying that things have been a liiiiiitle hectic around these parts lately, hence the lack of blog posts.  I will say, though, that it is the most wonderful, happy chaos I could have ever imagined!  Having a new baby is no joke.  Having a new baby and a three-year-old is nonstop.  Having a new baby and a three-year-old smack dab in the middle of the holiday season is crazy.  Nap while the kids are napping?  Riiiiiight.  If they're both asleep at the same time, it's a miracle.  And if I do get a chance to breathe, I don't have time to breathe, because there are Christmas cards to address!  And online shopping to do!  And presents to wrap!  And preschool parties to plan!  And don't forget about eating!  And cleaning!  And laundry!  And breastfeeding every 2-3 hours!  And dishes!  And maybe, possibly trying to squeeze in a bit of exercising so my stomach will stop looking like a jello commercial!!

But y'all?  I am so happy.

And I truly keep meaning to get back to my little corner of the web, because no matter how crazy things are around here, I really do want to document what's going on in our lives so I can look back and remember what is sure to one day be a blur!

So I've pulled out my trusty ol' MacBook and am here for some invigorating Friday randoms...

*First things first - my sweet E.  He's doing GREAT.  Such a good, easy baby so far.  He rarely cries and if he does, it's usually easy to figure out why and make it stop.  He ended up weighing a whopping 12lbs 3oz at his one-month checkup, which was technically at 5 weeks.  He's nursing every 2-3 hours during the day, and at night he does anywhere from 5-8 hour stretches of sleep.  YAY.  He's still sleeping in our room in his Rock 'n Play, but I plan on moving him to his room soon.  Hopefully to his crib, but we may transition to the Rock 'n Play in his room first, and then the crib.  I've started doing some crib naps during the day (he's been napping on my chest or in his swing), and he's touch and go with those.  He's way too young to cry it out, but I am trying to put him down for his naps awake so he can start "learning" how to fall asleep on his own.  I am definitely still enjoying having him sleep on my chest here and there - mostly because as a second-time mom I realize how fast they turn three.  And sweet little buddy-roo is SO snuggly and will conk out for HOURS on your chest.  Which is just about the best feeling in the world.  I swear there's a corner in heaven where you can scoop up a newborn for a chest nap.  Perfection.

*And as for my CK - she's still the best kind of mess you can imagine.  Three is TOUGH, y'all.  It's hilarious, but exhausting.  It's so fun, but no walk in the park.  T and I are constantly trying to figure out how to best parent our very emotionally-driven little girl.  But all tantrums aside, she is an absolutely amazing big sister.  Bringing E into our family has gone even better than I could have ever dreamed, because of Cameron Kate.  She hasn't shown even an ounce of jealousy.  She is very protective of him, often telling T to "be careful with our baby."  She loves him and is constantly sneaking in hugs and kisses when she thinks no one is watching.  I will forever be grateful that I get to watch my son and my daughter love each other unconditionally.

*As for me?  I'm doing pretty good!  I had my 6-week postpartum checkup yesterday, and despite the fact that there is a little more healing to be done from birthing an almost 10-pounder, I have been cleared for all normal activities.  So after nap time yesterday, I promptly threw both kids in the jogging stroller and went on my first post-baby run.  It was more like a trot since it felt like my pelvic bones were going to fall out, but it felt so good.  I haven't been running since February, and my body was craving it.  If you know me at all, you know running is my therapy... it's something I need.  So hearing the doc tell me I could lace up my running shoes was like an early Christmas present!

*And as for T?  I never really talk about him on here, but y'all - I am married to the most amazing man. He dove headfirst into life as a dad of two, continuing to work his butt off from 8am-6pm and then coming home and being 100% present for me and the kids.  I am so lucky to be his wife - and I thank him everyday that I get to live this life right now, focusing solely on him and our children instead of counting down the days until I have to go back to a "job."

*And speaking of not having to go back to a "job" anytime soon - it's definitely different having a new baby and not being on maternity leave.  I think when you're on maternity leave, you feel like you're supposed to kind of be a mess and stay in your pajamas all day and have an excuse to be "figuring it all out" because, after all, you're "off" from your normal day-to-day job.  However, this time, as a stay-at-home mom, there isn't really an actual maternity leave.  Life is continuing as normal, and because of that, I feel this immense amount of pressure to have it all together.  I know it sounds ridiculous, and it's definitely a pressure I'm putting on myself.  And then yesterday I realized if I was a working mama and on maternity leave, it would only be halfway through - so the fact that I still feel all over the place and the fact that each day feels like a blur and the fact that getting dressed and brushing my hair still feel like luxuries are all totally acceptable.

*I HAVE started trying to loosely begin the eat, play, sleep routine with E.  I read The Baby Whisperer with CK and it worked really well for us, so I'm trying to introduce some of the same tips now that we're starting to slowly get the hang of things.  If you're pregnant or have a new baby, I strongly recommend that book!

*What has been a little tough for us is pretty much being home all day, everyday.  Per the pediatrician, we are trying not to take E out in public until he's 8 weeks old.  Everyone knows that illnesses right now are EVERYWHERE.  The flu is crazy, y'all.  They even cancelled school in a nearby county because the flu was running rampant.  In fact, Georgia is one of the top four states right now in terms of flu counts!  Not to mention all of the other illnesses that are going around.  So, at-home we stay.  Which is tough since I like to be on-the-go and CK gets cabin fever like crazy.  I even kept her home from preschool yesterday because the kids at her school are dropping like flies.  And lo and behold, she and I both woke up with the beginnings of some kind of sickness this morning, which I'm hoping is just a head cold.  I love the holidays and all, but cold and flu season is for the birds!

*If you follow me on Instagram (jmpeele), you saw me post a picture of CK having a tantrum a few weeks ago.  Over what?  You ask.  The fact that HER SLEEVES DON'T PULL ALL THE WAY DOWN.  Girl is obsessed with some long sleeves.  Get into any conversation about clothes, and I guarantee she will bring up whether or not the sleeves pull all the way down.

*Anyone else watching State of Affairs, the new show on NBC?  We're obsessed!!

*Every year at Christmas, someone around me makes Oreo balls and I pretty much die because they're the most delicious things I've ever eaten.  So this year, I decided to make them myself.  3 ingredients, SO easy, and now I will NEVER lose this pregnancy weight! :)

*And speaking of eating, though thank-you notes have been dispersed, I feel the need to also give a public shout-out to all of my friends who have brought us meals as we learn how to be a family of four!  And a huge thank you to Amanda for organizing it all!  I cannot tell you how much stress has been lifted to have so many dinners brought to us during the past six weeks.  It was such a relief to know that something delicious was going to magically appear in our kitchen come 6:30pm each night.  So thank you, thank you, thank you to all of my new GA friends who have been so generous to us!

*And now that the last of those gifted meals have been delivered, I have officially started cooking the freezer meals I made at a Pampered Chef workshop back in August.  My friend Mindy is pretty much the best Pampered Chef lady on the planet, and she hosted this magical workshop where you bring your groceries and she has everything else you need to walk away with 10+ delicious freezer meals.  I hope she does it again after the new year, because having these meals at the ready has been awesome.  (Hear that, Mindy?!)

*E is ROCKING an old man hairdo these days.  Like his sister, he's going bald, just on top.  Hellooooo, George Costanza.

*My sister-in-law gave me some Ugg slippers for Christmas and y'all?  I'm obsessed.  It's the kind of thing I'd never buy for myself, but something I will use every single day.  They are totally worth the splurge if you're ever needing new house shoes.  (Thank you Beth!)

*So, T and I aren't doing gifts for each other this Christmas.  We've got hospital bills and new bathrooms and a long-gone wall so we opted to just buy for the kiddos.  But then our vacuum went on the fritz, so we decided we were officially at the age where giving each other an appliance for Christmas is totally acceptable.  We researched - he researched - and we ended up with a Dyson, which has been LIFE-CHANGING.  I swear we could eat those freezer meals off of our floors, they're so clean!

*::Patting myself on the back::  We somehow managed to hang up Christmas lights on our house this year, which makes me so happy.  But then the other night I realized half a strand was out, and our house basically looked like the Clampett's, so I haven't turned them on since because I'm too lazy to figure out which bulb is the culprit.

*Ughhhhh I hate pumping.  And I guarantee that any breastfeeding mother will tell you the same.  And I had plans of starting to pump weeks ago so that I could introduce a bottle to E and start storing milk for an out-of-town trip we'll have next year... but I haven't yet.  Maybe because I'm a little lazy with it all, but mostly because I can't figure out how to squeeze it into our day with both kids to manage.  I know I need to do it after the first morning feeding session, but during that time I'm usually running around doing something else that seems to need to be done at that very moment.  Since T is off for two weeks after today (!!!!!) I hope to start pumping with him to help with the kids, then hopefully I'll find a way to do it all on my own.

*You guys, Christmas is absolutely magical with a three-year-old.  This is the first year that she actually understands what's going on with everything - our Elf on the Shelf, our Advent calendar, Jesus' birthday, Santa, etc. - and it brings me so much joy to see the holidays through her eyes.  We haven't even really gotten to do all I would like since things have been so hectic, but the little we have done has brought this light of excitement to CK's eyes, a joy to her spirit that I will remember for the rest of my life!

*What doesn't bring her joy?  Ol' Saint Nick himself.  Year 1 she had no clue what was going on, years 2 and 3 brought her tears of terror.  So for year 4 I had high hopes that she'd love him.  She talked about him all.day.long as we counted down the hours until she got to meet him.  But one look at the guy and you would've thought we were ripping off her limbs.  We then attempted to hide Santa, but she was all I SEE HIS BOOTS BEHIND THE CURTAIN.  We somehow ended up with a decent picture between her fits of terror.  E, on the other hand, could've cared less.

*Now that I'm back in the running game, it's almost time for some new shoes.  Any suggestions?  I have terrible running feet - well, terrible feet in general.  (Really, they're so ugly.)  But I need a good running shoe for flat, pronating feet...

*So, a couple years ago we decided we wanted to stop traveling for Christmas.  We wanted to wake up in our own home on Christmas morning and start making our own holiday traditions, ya know?  Especially now that CK is starting to understand it all.  And traveling with kids during the holidays is no joke, right?  Having to haul all of the presents on top of the normal shenanigans that go into taking a trip with the littles...  And I'm not one to have a fake Christmas at home before the actual 25th... that doesn't work for me!  So anyway, off my soapbox... We're not totally opposed to traveling to see family before or after Christmas, and grandparents are ALWAYS welcome at our house any time, any day (as my mom says, it's always easier for her to come to us than for us to come to her!).  But this year, because we knew we'd have a new baby, we decided we'd probably need to stay put over the month of December.  And then my family decided to start the first annual BLOMPS Christmas weekend.  And I couldn't stomach missing a weekend when my entire family, all million of us, would all be under one roof.  Especially since it was the first time all of the cousins (SEVEN in total, after FOUR new ones were born this year!) would be together.  So, we decided four hours would be manageable to travel, and we bit the bullet - and traveled to Columbia last weekend to hole up at my parents' house.  It was perfection.  There were 48 hours of straight chaos, and we loved every minute of it!

*And as soon we got home from BLOMPS, we were also able to celebrate Christmas with CK's other cousins!  Safe to say she slept like a rock last Sunday night.

*Whew!  What a brain dump this ended up being.  If you made it this far, I'm impressed.  I'll try to get back here sooner than later... TGIF!