Single Mom?!?

So obviously I am not a single mother.  I have a husband that lives in the same house as me…or at least is suppose to. Now a days it seems like I spend more time alone then with him. This whole night shift thing is really getting to both of us. Besides that he is also taking online classes to get his bachelors degree.  So basically our day looks like this. Colby get home about 5am bed by 5:30, I'm up with Harp between 7 and 7:30 and then we have breakfast. I spend the morning taking care of the kids getting them fed and dressed. Then maybe some dishes, laundry, cleaning, bills…whatever needs to be done. Colby gets up about 11-11:30 and check his homework. I make lunch for us. After which the kids go down for a nap, Colby does homework and I do more housework. The kids wake up basically in time to see Colby leave for work. Then its playtime, supper, bath, and bedtime. Not only do we not get to spend time together, he doesn't get to see the kids much or help with them. Even if he is awake I don't feel like I can ask him to help because he is working on school. Hopefully this changes soon with a job or position switch but for now I will put up with it because it mean I get to stay home and raise the kids which is what both of us want.

We are still working on the whole potty training thing. She isn't there yet but I do feel like we are getting closer, I hope. Today we only had 3 accidents, two of were while she was eating in a high chair. The other time she wet her pants a little but then peed and pooped in the potty.  What makes we think we are getting somewhere is when I ask her if she has to go potty she will tell me yes when she has to go and no when she doesn't. Next we have to work on her telling me she has to go so I don't have to constantly ask her. The one thing about doing potty training the way we are, no diapers just underwear, is there is a lot of laundry. I have to do at least one load everyday to wash her underwear to make sure she has enough for the day.

I have also started working out some. I have gotten a workout game for Zumba plus the Just Dance video game. I try to do those in the morning right away or during nap time. This will hopefully help me lose the weight I want but man am I tired. Once Waylon starts sleeping through the night or just longer periods of time at night should help. I really am looking forward to sleeping more then just 3-4 hours at a time.

Speaking of sleep…off I go.

Frustrations

Lately I have found myself getting very frustrated. It really came to the fore front today. First off I get frustrated that Colby isn't around that much and that he can't help out then and the little time he is here and awake it doesn't seem like he helps me out. The dog is suppose to be his responsibility. I don't want the dog, especially in the house, and I don't have time to take care of him when I am trying to take care of the kids.

The dog is another HUGE frustration for me.  He is super needy. He is always on me or Harper and standing right in front of us while we are trying to walk. He thinks he is more important then the kids and is always trying to get between us and the kids and never watches out for the kids. The other day he even stepped on Waylon trying to get to where Colby was. Today he kept chewing on everything like crayons, Harper's toys, and shoes. His tooth got caught on Colby's ear today and made it bleed. Some days I don't even know why we have him. The only person that really wanted to get him or have him doesn't even like him sometimes. Our "free" puppy has definitely been costing us a lot of money and time.

The things that really adds extra frustration that isn't normally there is with Harper. We are trying to potty train her. We have been casually trying for a few months but this week we started to really hit it hard. The method we are trying is just cutting out diaper all together expect at night. This has led to a lot of accidents and peeing in her underwear/pants. This is only the second day of doing this and I am getting frustrated. She has been peeing in her pants right after we get done "going" potty. Sometimes I just want to yell at her but I know I can't. Its not that she is going in her pants on purpose. She does go in the potty sometimes and to help her want to go in the potty we made a little chart and every time she goes in the potty she gets a sticker to put on it. Once the chart is full she can get something special from the store. I know she likes getting the stickers so hopefully she starts understanding their purpose a little more. Another plus is she told me she had to go tonight. We had just left the bathroom and were going to play in the playroom. As soon as we got into the room she said "potty potty" but by the time I put Waylon in the swing right next to me and grabbed her she had already started to pee and it got all over my hand. That was frustrating but I tried to look at it in a positive why like she actually told me she had to go potty instead of me asking her or just taking her.

Hopefully tomorrow goes better.  It is another day and the more we do this potty training with Harper the more she is suppose to understand what is going on. I just hope it doesn't take too long for her to understand/get it figured out. I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend and Colby being here to help out more.

1 Month Already?!?

My baby boy is 1 month old!! It is crazy how fast that month went by. We were busy for a lot of his first month of life. Colby had his wisdom teeth taken out right before Christmas so he was in a lot of pain for a few days and not able to really eat anything.  Then of course we had Christmas. On Christmas day, we did presents at home, then church followed by presents at my parents house and ended the day with the Vostad Christmas at my cousin's house. The next day we left at 4:30am to head to Kansas. As soon as we got there we did presents with Colby's parents then headed to his Grandma Sherry's house then to his Grandma Judy and Grandpa Rudy's house. The next day we visited Colby's great grandfather and then had a very long lunch with Colby's best friend after which we headed home. A very busy and exhausting couple of days. We had a couple of nice days at home until at dog was hit by our neighbor on New Years Eve breaking his back leg. It is costing us a lot to get it fixed and Im not sure it would be worth it but Colby thought it would. I am still not convinced. He can be a huge pain when I already have to deal with two children. Life is just going going going.

All that going did not hinder Waylon's growth one bit. At his check up he was already up to 10lbs 13oz which put him into the 75th percentile. This is crazy to us since Harper was always in the low percentiles always around the 10th or 20th. They are so different already. Harper is trying to show us how independent she can be. She does not like to listen to us and when she doesn't get what she wants when she wants she throws a tantrum. It can be very frustrating but she is also a really good and really smart little girl too. We are just working through it day by day. We are also trying the whole potty training thing. She will go sometimes if we take her just sit and if I ask if she has to go sometimes she says yes but rarely actually goes. She won't tell us when she has to go but we are working on it.

Another big potential change for us is Colby's employment. He wants (along with me) to have a day job so badly. He is having some problems at his current job with  people above him complaining to others, besides him, about the work he is doing. However, no one will tell him what he needs to change which is very frustrating to him. He wants to go to day so badly that we have started to look for jobs for him in other cities and with other companies. There is position available with the same company he currently works for in the city my sister and brother both live in. A move like that would be a big deal for us. We also want to have buying a house in our near future. If we are going to buy a house we need to be brining in more money and be more financially stable.

I am hoping our future will turn out even better then we can imagine right now. We just need to have the faith that everything happens for a reason and everything will work its self out.

He has arrived!!

Well the wedding happened. It was definitely a lot different then any other wedding I have been to but that is ok. My dress didn't fit real well as I suspected it wouldn't. It was too tight around my belly since I was carrying the baby so high and then the zipper puckered in the back. My top was too big but then was also too low and I felt that my bra was always showing. My hem was longer in the front then it was in the back. But that is past now.

The next weeks were pretty uneventful. Just getting ready for Christmas and the baby. However, the friday before we were going to have the baby Harper rolled off the couch and landed on the drying rack I had set up and knocked out one of her front teeth. She is fine and it came out completely and cleanly so it should not affect anything later in her life. We just have to wait for her permanent tooth to come in.

Now on to the big news. Friday morning we went to the hospital bright and early at 7:30 am. I was past my due date so the doctor decided it would be ok to get things going since I had been making some progress on my own. He broke my water about 8:30 and about 8 hours later we had our little boy. Waylon Dean weighted 8 lbs 2 oz. He is doing really well. Sleeping a lot and wanting to eat a lot which makes it hard for this mommy to get sleep during the night. I have not been taking as many naps during the day as I thought I would want to but I think I will the rest of this week especially since Harper is not her. My sister is watching her this week so we can get settled in with Waylon. I miss her so badly though. I know things this week are easier without her but I still miss her especially when Colby is at work at night. It is really hard for me and it makes me want to cry missing both of them so much. I know its ok to cry and I have. I just want my family together and my husband here at night. Colby made a suggestion today and he though I wouldn't like it but he was completely wrong. He wants to start looking for a job on days be it at Twin City or somewhere else. It has to pay just as much or more then his current job but we would both love for him to be on days. He has been waiting at Twin City since he started for a day position to open up for him but nothing has yet. I hope he can find something somewhere soon. I really HATE him working nights!!

Well Waylon is telling me he is hungry so I better wrap it up.

Time Passing so Fast

So its the week of the wedding. I can't believe it is actually this weekend. Not only because it came up so fast but also that means I only have 3 weeks till my due date!!! THREE WEEKS. This pregnancy has gone by so so fast. I think it has a lot to do with having a child already. I haven't really had time to just slow down and think about the pregnancy because Harper needs me to be there for her. Its very important to me to spend as much time with her before the new baby comes and her whole world is changed. I do worry about being able to divide my love and attention between the two kids but I know I can do it. It will all be here before we know it and is going to come if I am ready or not.

Back to wedding stuff. As strange as it seems they are still making changes this week. But that is their choice as it is their wedding, we are just supporters. I have the programs done. They may not be 100% right on the order of the ceremony but its what I had. They look pretty good if I do say so myself. At this point the only thing I am concerned about is the clothes. Not one of us has what we will be wearing for the wedding except our shoes! It just makes me nervous having all these other people in charge of our attire and I have no control over how they will fit, look or even when they will arrive!! The big thing everyone is stressing about is that they will not be able to decorate the reception site until 1pm Saturday afternoon. That is only 2 1/2 before they are suppose to be walking down the aisle. Lets hope everything gets done.

The biggest news from this weekend is we are having another wedding. Jamie (finally!!) proposed to Whitney and put a ring on it. I know Whitney has been very patiently waiting for this to happen…probably more patient then I would of been. The date is going to be Sept. 1, 2012. That is labor day weekend, which is the SD State Fair also and we are sad we might have to miss all of it. I'm not sure if I mentioned it before on here but there would be times when talking to Whitney it seemed like she had the wedding planned for the most part already but you asked her something specific like the month or date so would make a comment about needing the ring first. Well apparently that wasn't entirely true. They just got engaged this weekend but they already had the date picked, venue booked and wedding dress bought. She told Colby they already have a lot planned and have been planning things since September. This doesn't surprise me really. I started planning my wedding before Colby actually asked me. I had the month picked but not the date, colors, attendants, choices for food, etc. The one thing she already has planned/picked that I was surprised to hear was the wedding dress. She did this alone. I thought it was fun going dress shopping with my mom and friend. I think maybe Whitney's mother, sister, friends, people like that would have liked to go shopping with her. That is suppose to be a special moment for a mother and daughter but whatever. It will definitely be different watching the planning of their wedding unfold then it was watching the one this weekend. Not only does Whitney have more time but also seems to be more organized. But all of that is whatever since I am sure, just like the wedding this weekend, we will be pretty much left out of the loop. I guess its not a shock since we are on the grooms side and they usually don't have much input. Not only am I on the grooms side I am also just his sister-in-law. Not exactly the first person they will think of when planning things or talking to about what is going on.

So 2 years after Colby and I were married, two of his other brothers are following along. We are excited for everyone and it will definitely be a change. When we got married I was the only wife and none of the other boys even had girlfriends. Now 3 of the boys will have a wife within the next year and we will be in the majority now being a married couple with kids. Everyone is growing up, even though I think Colby's parents wish that wasn't the case. My hope for the future is all of us, brothers and their wives, can get along and become close, having a relationship where we are all a part of each others lives even though we won't be living right next to each other. Only time will tell and this blog, if I can keep it up!!

Heartburn and headaches

First off the heartburn.  When I was pregnant the first time, I got heartburn pretty bad for most of my last trimester. So when I started my third trimester this time around I expected heartburn. However, I wasn't really getting any. Now that I am down to my last monthish the heartburn has set in and seems to be here to stay. I have been getting it pretty bad everyday, and in most cases, all day lately. This thursday I only have 4 weeks left so hopefully I can just tough it out and get through it, I mean this is nothing compared to labor right?

Now to the headaches part. Not a physical headache but more of just figurative one. This wedding is only 12 days away. I have not gotten any form of conformation on the program order and need to start printing them. If I don't hear anything in the next couple days I am just going to start printing them and say how I made them is how they are going to be. The other thing that we found out today that was kind of frustrating has to do with the groomsmens ties. Colby's brother, the groom, said it didn't matter what they wore as long as it was a purple tie. We disagreed with everyone having different ties so today while we were looking for a tie for Colby they had enough of the one he liked to get one for his other two brothers. Before we bought them though, I wanted to make sure they didn't already have a tie they were planning to wear. Colby ended up calling his brothers girlfriend, the maid of honor, since his brother was at work and she usually know about everything that is happening. She informed us that the bride was getting all the groomsmen matching ties so we didn't need to worry about it. This is the third different thing we have heard about these dumb ties. I really hope she does get the ties and we aren't out trying to find matching ties for all of them the night before the wedding.

We are so close to the day and it seems as though there are many questions unanswered still. I guess we are just not in the loop enough with everything since we live in a different state. Im just hoping they are not expecting us to do anything else with out asking or confirming that they want us to do it. There has been A LOT of assuming going on with the bride and groom and other people doing things. For example, I offered to look up readings and even read them during the ceremony if they wanted. I never heard anything either way so I was just gonna forget it. But alas we are doing the readings and we had to hear it from someone else.

The only thing I am concerned about that I have asked about more then once is how they are planning to get the little girls down the aisle. All they tell me is Colby's little sister will be escorting them. What is that suppose to mean? Will they be in something or is she carrying the our niece, who can't walk on her own or very well holding onto someone yet, and then Harper is suppose to walk next to them? Our niece is about 3 months younger then but weighs more then Harper. I don't know how Colby's sister, who is only 11, is going to carry one toddler down the aisle while still worrying about Harper who is walking. Also Harper can be kind of shy sometimes when a lot of people are watching her and when she is around people she doesn't really know, which will be everyone there besides Colby and I. Maybe with us at the end of the aisle she will want to walk to us but I can not guarantee she will or be happy about doing it. Guess we will just have to wait and see how everything goes or if anyone tells about whats going on.

Even though I am 99% sure this baby will not be coming until December, I have been having thoughts and dreams about the baby coming righting before the wedding or while we are down there. Its just pregnancy I'm sure but I have always had weird dreams so it doesn't worry me but still I do not, I mean really do NOT want to have this baby down in Kansas hopefully the baby feels the same way.

Everything is better…kind of

A little update with the whole dress freak out. It is better, for the most part. I am no longer concerned about it not fitting or looking bad. I talked to Colby's grandma today for a while, the person who is actually doing the dresses, and got some answers that really helped. She gave me the pattern number so I could look it up online and actually see what they are going to look like. They are not at all what I had pictured. I was most shocked to find out they are not floor length. This changes my shoes plans and what shoes I get because everyone will be able to see them. Anyways they will be purple with a white ribbon under the bust line and a halter top with a gather in the middle of the bodice. They are going to be super easy for his grandma to make (she sews a lot) so if she needs to adjust mine the night before it should be no problem. She also talked to a lady at the fabric store about how to adjust my hem line to account for the belly and make it all even at the bottom. The stress for that is over.

Harpers dress on the other hand I am a little concerned about. The dress part that his grandma is making I'm not worried about fitting. She has the measurements and if its a little big so what. The concern comes from what I learned today talking to grandma. They, whitney and nichole I would guess, are making a tutu out of sparkly tulle to go over the dresses for the little girls. This will just have an elastic waistband and slip over their dress. The tutu is what I am concerned about looking horrible. I know they have a tendency to make them huge and very full and I don't want it to over power the girls. Hopefully it is just a couple layers of tulle and it looks cute but alas living here and everyone else being there means I will have to wait until Friday night before the wedding to see what everything looks like and how it is going to fit.

Im done stressing about it because how its meant to turn out is how it will and I can't do anything to change that. I just need to make sure I am ready with everything else. Now I get to go shoe shopping and probably get two new pairs of shoes. I also may be getting a new bra, woohoo…not, and then pick out what jewelry would look good. I might be making the programs too but still waiting to hear on that so if I don't hear anything I won't make them and thats that.