Aaron's new J.O.B.

After my mother in law passed away my family decided to change things up a bit to make our lives a little happier and less stressful. So, my hubby quit his job and became a Stay At Home Dad. Please note: Although I support this change; I am insanely jealous of this!!!!!!!!!!

I will say, I have never seen him so happy before. I know when you hear Stay At Home Mom/Dad you immediately think that the parent is sitting on the couch watching soap operas and eating bon-bons all day. I KNOW that this is not a true statement. I realize that the only time you might actually sit down during the day is when the little one wants to sit in your lap to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while he fights the urge to sleep . And maybe you are eating chocolate but it is probably because after you just made 17 different snacks/meals for the little one and each one was rejected and thrown on the floor for the dog to eat and you just gave up on what you wanted to actually eat and the chocolate just happen to be sitting there. (Wow- those were some extremely long run on sentences)

What I do know (from my 3 month maternity leave that I wish would have been a permanent gig) is that it is a tough job to keep the household things up while keeping a 21 month old entertained. But my hubby has managed to do it. Charlie and Aaron have their own little routine and usually have good days. The past month was a little rough because Caitlin was home for winter break and then it snowed a million times and school was cancelled. But, Aaron got a taste of what summer life will be like- except they were stuck inside the house.

He (like all other parents) has days that he is completely on edge when I get home. But he does a great job.

I know I don't say it often enough. So here it is again... Aaron does a great job!!

Lately he has been texting me silly things that happen during the day and it just brightens my whole day. 

Here is one from today.



I hope these little Dad-isms don't stop- I love them (hint. hint.)

Beware of the silent moments

You know that magical moment when you are relaxing in your PJs and you take a deep breath because everything is so quiet and serene. Well, if you know that feeling you also know the feeling of panic that immediately follows...

WHAT are the kids doing?

WHY is it so quiet?

WHERE is Charlie?

and then this happens OH MY GOD... Why can't I get the bathroom door open?

In the matter of about 10 seconds, Charlie had successfully snuck into the bathroom, closed the door, and opened the drawers against the back of the door so it was impossible to actually GET IN the bathroom. (I know- what a great bathroom layout)

We tried to bribe him with every kind of cookie and toy that we could think of to get him to close the drawers and come out.

The bribery ended up being a big fat failure and my panic level was at LEVEL RED.

I kept hearing him lightly giggle and I could hear water splashing.

After a couple of minutes (which felt like 4 hours) Aaron got the drawer to close and we burst into the bathroom to find this... 

 

Don't worry- he is just brushing his teeth using toilet water. No big deal.

Where's Mickey?

Last night I heard little giggles coming out of Charlie's room.

When I went in there I found Caitlin and Charlie laying on the a huge palate of fluffiness made out of every pillow and blanket that was within 7 miles of our house.

It was reading time and they had selected the Mickey Mouse search and find book. Caitlin had Charlie hunting for all of the Mickeys in the book.

The only rule was, "Give Mickey a kiss when you find him."

 

I LOVE watching these two playing together and forming a bond that only siblings can create.

 

My New Years Resolutions

I know, I shouldn't even attempt to make resolutions but I like to think of them more as a goal that I would really really like to try to attempt. Maybe I can keep them if they are a simple goal.

Here are my resolutions goals for 2014:

1. Lose weight. I say it every year but I am going to try for 1 pound at a time instead of saying "I must lose 20 pounds in one month". No, I am going to be realistic. I want to look better in our Christmas photos next year. I don't have a specific weight or size in mind just as long as I feel and look better.
2. Update my blog on a regular basis. I don't really have a group of followers so this blog is really for me to write down my memories.
3. Read the bible. I have one of those 365 day bibles so I think I can accomplish reading a little every day.
4. Spend more quality family time. That means less TV time and more fun time. Also, I am going to try to be a little less hard on Caitlin. I feel like I am always getting onto her.
5. Be happy. This one is the most important. My family has had a lot of loss this past year. (We lost Aaron's brother, grandma, cousin, our family dog, and his mother.) Our poor little hearts cannot take anymore.

You can do it

I love my little girl. For such a teeny 8 year old, she has a HUGE heart. Yesterday there was a marathon that went through our neighborhood and she made signs and went out to the curb cheering the runners on. 

Our morning routine...

When Caitlin was little we spent a little time each day reading books and playing (but secretly learning) with flash cards. It was one of our mother- daughter bonding moments that I cherished.

Now that Charlie is around my role as the teacher has been taken over by the little mommy in the house.

Just this morning she got him out of his crib and brought him to my bed and read to him. Although this happens all the time, it made my heart swoon.

(Sorry for the poor quality photos.
I took these on my phone in a dark-ish room and tried to brighten them up.)

I LOVE seeing his little finger point to the pictures.

L-E-G-O-S

My kiddos latest obsession is LEGOS!! I hate those darn things, I always step on them. I can't wait (insert very sarcastic voice) until Charlie gets the real teeny tiny legos instead of the huge "My first Lego" size. I bet those will be real fun to step on.

Every day we have the same routine...

1. Charlie MUST dump the entire box of legos.

2. Charlie has to giggle (for several minutes) about dumping the legos above his head causing them to go everywhere in the living room. Then he wears the empty box as a hat.

3. Caitlin feverishly grabs all the multi piece legos and gives Charlie all the single pronged ones.

4. She builds a castle (remember, this happens EVERY time we get legos out)

5. Charlie destroys Caitlin's castle (and in this case- he tries to eat it too)