Stay-at-home mom VS. "home-maker"

I have been quite busy with my current job as a stay at home mom, so again lost track of my blog. Ours days really stay busy and quite eventful. I was thinking about tonight while cleaning up dinner and HAND WASHING re fabulous dishes (yes...I'm slowly getting used to it).

Before we got to Boston (Cambridge), everyone kept re-iterating how difficult this would be. Moving to a place thousands of miles from Texas, where we knew not one person, Todd would be busy so I would be raising the kids basically like a single mom...yes there have been some moments where I went to the car, called my mom or sister and blubbered like crazy (it's only necessary). But I was thinking about how much I get accomplished everyday with two kids in tow. Just the other day, I was going to do laundry and a little girl saw me pulling Andrew in the wagon (my secret tactic to prevent him from running onto the park), and wanted to jump on in. Now, this little girl's dad just so happened to be the guy who saved the day when my car wouldn't start, I was kicked out of my apartment for the entire day, and it was pouring rain. So, how could I turn her down? ;) So here I was: pulling two toddlers in a wagon, pulling my laundry basket (with wheels), with the other hand, whilst carrying my 6 month old in my boba baby carrier. Did I make it through the high rise building, down the elevator, and to the basement to retrieve my laundry? I sure did. Talk about a super woman moment. :) Hence the title of the blog: I AM a stay at home mom...NOT a home-maker (Todd told someone from AT&T I was a "home-maker" and it might have hit a little nerve). ;)

I am trying to live in the moment in every instance rather than thinking about how much of a challenge it has been and will continue to be. We stay busy everyday playing on the playground, going on play date outings, toddler time, (or I just text my new friend Shelley and tell her to meet me somewhere stat because I NEED adult time). We have had doctor appointments (need to write a whole other blog for those things) and we take care of daily chores and go about our routine. I know I will really miss all the fantastic people we have met, the environment, and the beautiful weather (for now). So, I am going to try to forget about all the difficult times and live in the moment.

Cape Cod

I FINALLY got the new software on my phone and uploaded the blogger app. Yay!! Now let's see if I can actually post some pics to my blog. :)

This Labor Day weekend was probably the best one I have ever experienced. Not having to go back to work helps boost the ranking quite a bit. ;) But spending the weekend with Todd and my 2 babies was the icing on the cake. :)

We ventured to Cape Cod and stayed in West Yarmouth. It was so relaxing. We drove in Friday night after Todd was done with classes and stayed at an old but cute little hotel in town, Cape Cod Inn. I felt like I stepped back several years to my childhood when my family would travel to Colorado and stay in a local hotel that was not your ordinary Best Western or Marriott. Not fancy, but so inviting.

Food is always a big make or break on my vacations. :) We had some fantastic food for all meals! We ate dinner at a local restaurant (recommended by the hotel), called The Skipper. I normally do not like sea food, but they had the BEST clam chowder in the world! Andrew's fish was also the most delicious fish plank I have ever tasted (strangely, my son prefers fish over any kind of chicken). We also had fabulous breakfasts at 2 cute little restaurants and strangely ran into the same sweet family at both places! That gave me a warm sense of small-town-feel. :)

We planned on taking a ferry over to Martha's Vinyard or Nantucket, but decided the best plan with a 6 month old and 2 year old was to stay close the the hotel. Ironically, there had been shark sightings the DAY before, so no swimming was allowed (which honestly didn't change our plans at all). Sadly, I do not have the pics from what we saw (we took them with our camera and they aren't on my phone), but we saw seals jumping out of the water right by the beach! It was so incredible! Andrew really loves being outside so this trip was perfect for him. He threw a frisbee with a new friend, built sand tunnels/hills, ran wild on the beach, and ate some good old junk food (yummy fried calamari, ice cream, and their version of a Hurricane which was basically a tropical milkshake). It was a perfect day.

That night we went out on the town of West Yarmouth and found a Brazilian restaurant with a live band. Todd and I had wine on the patio and listened to some music while Andrew danced and Abby eventually fell asleep in her little car seat. It was a much needed "date night" even with the kiddos. :)

There are many other new adventures we have experienced since I last wrote a blog (Toddler Times, Davis farm trip, baby-sitting night, traveling to Good Harbor Beach). This one was an experience I didn't want to forget. So even though it was a week ago, I just had to share the best Labor Day of my life! :)

Life in Boston

Well, it's been 2 weeks since we moved to Boston and a whirlwind of new has flooded our lives! Not all bad, but very different. I don't even know where to begin,

I will start off by saying it's REALLY not as bad as I thought it would be. The dorm life with kids has actually been a lot of fun. The dorm we are living in is strictly for families, so there are SOOOO many kids, toys, and a HUGE playground! And you should see all the preggo women! It is SO cute! It's like a little mommy sorority where they all plan to be pregnant at the EXACT same time! :) I shouldn't make fun because my friend Laura and I were pregnant with BOTH our kids at the same time. Anyway, I have met so many wonderful ladies that have been so nice. It's just crazy because westgate has been their home for 2-5 years (no lie), so they are all really close and share so many stories from the past few years about each other being pregnant, going into labor, birthday parties...etc. It kinda makes it sad that our time here will go by so quickly (9 months).

Now...about the Bostonians when I have been out and about the big city:  I hate to generalize all people from Boston because I have had some friendly interactions with people, but for the most part, I have learned that they DO NOT respect personal space!!  The first time I was in the grocery store and the man behind me was basically breathing down my neck and handed the lady his 1 item to purchase before I had even paid for my items, I thought maybe it was just him. The exact thing happened this week.  NO patience and literally pushed me out of the way as soon as the receipt was in my hand. And customer service here...nothing like my neighborhood Tom Thumb where they always left you with, "Thank you Mrs. Templeton. Would you like help out to your car today?" HAHAHA!! No kidding....the second time I was shoved out of the way by the man behind me at the store, I almost forgot my 1 bag of items (I was pushing the stroller and instinctively thought it was my shopping cart), the checker said, "Don't you want your bag??!" Really? I seriously should have responded with, "No, I just walked a mile to the grocery store pushing my 70+ LB stroller with 2 sleeping children only to purchase a bag of groceries to donate to the next pushy, rude customer behind me!"  Same thing in Walgreens...man shoves his 2 boxes of condoms (no kidding), practically right in my face before I can finish discussing my new insurance with the pharmacist. And she seriously made me wait behind that man before helping me because it was going to take a minute....ARGGG!!! I guess I will get used to it. I just hope I'm not influenced by their "rush through life" kind of attitude.

Right now, I'm pretty home sick. There is such potential for happiness here in Boston, but I miss Texas. I really do. I am meeting with the ladies here for "Toddler Times" on Monday, and I hope I fit in. I hope Andrew has fun and that we can start feeling completely comfortable. Because right now, it can be pretty lonely. Until next time, I hope anyone who reads my blog enjoys our adventures. And please pray for us...we have a long road ahead.

And no pictures...I can't figure out where Todd saved them and he's not here...oh computer illiteracy... :)

learning curve

Wow...it sure has been a while since I've blogged! Maybe that's because my only way to access the internet is on my iPhone (not real easy to blog on an iPhone), and I even tried downloading the app for blogger, but I didn't have the updated software on my phone...yatta yatta yatta. Anyway, a lot has happened since I have written, so it is going to take me a while to get back into the groove of things.

As far as my blogger template/background/title....it's having some technical difficulties and I have already spent my "Mommy Time" AKA: when BOTH kids are napping messing with this CRAZY MAC laptop. It's nice, don't get me wrong, but man it makes me feel like I am way behind in technology.

My baby girl Abigail is almost 4 months old and Andrew just turned 2 in April. There have been many BIG events and lots of BIG news in the Templeton household, and I'm hoping I can catch up on the past few months and then get into a habit of writing about all that is going on with our family. As a little spoiler, here are a few of my favorite pictures that give a little timeline of the past year. :)  I am also looking forward to catching up on my reading of other blogs because I really do benefit from hearing all the other mommy stories and tidbits of advice I get on blogs!

About a month before I was pregnant with Abby: 2nd half marathon complete 

10 year High School Reunion: 1 week before pregnant with Abby :) 

School Baby Shower: 5 days before Abby was born :) 

                                                    The incredible moment I met my Angel Abby

Photo Card

Andante Dots Pink Baby Announcements

Announcements for every life event: graduation, wedding & baby.

View the entire collection of cards.

The life of a pregnant mom who teaches 8-year olds all day

I just started reading The Happiest Toddler on the Block today, and I must say: it's given me peace of mind knowing that my little man Andrew is not the ONLY non-stop, always in mischief, yet cute as can be toddler on earth. He is such a blast right now. That being said, he's an energizer bunny that keeps going, and going, and going, and....you get the hint. :) The Happiest Baby on the Block was a good book too, but we didn't actually live by ALL the advice Dr. Harvey Karp wrote in his book. We combined a lot of the Baby Wise strategies with his, and it seemed to work quite nicely for our little man. :) It's crazy to think we will be reliving the newborn phase all over again in 4 short months! At least we are now "experienced parents" who have some tricks up our sleeves. :)

As I said in my last blog, this pregnancy has been a very different experience than my first. I had morning sickness, crazy exhaustion, and have been an emotional roller coaster the entire time. Oh yea...the strange cravings (popcorn and marshmallows, a late-night run for trolly sour gummy worms or a breakfast burritos, TONS of eggs: which I couldn't even think about or I'd be nauseous with Andrew) have been so strong, I obsess until I get what I want. :) There have been a couple things that have actually been better this time around: feeling her move a lot sooner, knowing what to expect without reading the book, and not having the crazy, dark line running down my belly (AKA linea nigra).  This baby girl is foreshadowing all the mysteries that having a girl vs. a boy will bring. :)

Here are a couple photos throughout the pregnancy:

First sign of pregnancy :)

12 weeks and already showing! 

I had several pictures I was going to post, but my computer is not cooperating. :) Until next time! 

Our 2nd bundle of joy's story

*I actually typed this months ago...and here it finally is! :)
9-1-11
Since it's week 12, I guess I can make it official that I am PREGNANT again!! :) We are very excited, but I'm not going to lie: this pregnancy has been very different than my first! Here is how it all happened:
Let me start off by saying we really are over the moon happy about our little plum!! Todd has been ready for baby 2 for quite some time, but I kept insisting that I wanted a non-preggo summer with Andrew and then we would start trying. Todd was in Europe in June when I went to pick up my BC. I found out it was going to cost me an arm and a leg (new prescription + no generic+ new insurance= SUPER expensive!!)so I asked for my old one. They said no, so I told them, " I'll call my doctor and have her call in my old prescription."  (the irony of all of this is: I'm pretty sure a BABY is slightly MORE expensive that the perscription) ;-)

Todd was out of the country for a few weeks so I figured I'd be good. Well.... never called my doctor, hubby returns from Europe...you can guess what happened next. The whole theory of  BC taking a few months to get out of your system is a big myth...try less than 2 weeks of not taking it and bam!! Baby on the way. :) The way I found out is also quite interesting: I got into some poison ivy while working in my yard, broke out uncontrollably and had to go to the doctor.  WARNING: the pictures you are about to witness are disgusting, but I just want you to observe just HOW BAD it was:

The nurse asked if I could be pregnant and I said I might be but it's too soon to tell (Todd's face was priceless!) I went home, took a 1st response:  it was negative. Another very different thing about this pregnancy: I seriously just KNEW I was pregnant. It was really crazy.

Because they didn't give me any meds for the uncontrollable itching and inflammation, I went back the next day. They asked again if I was pregnant, and I said I took a test but it was too early to tell. They figured I wasn't because of the negative test so gave me a steroid shot and 3 different perscriptions that you should NOT take while pregnant...I was worried ( but also in agony from the itching), took another test 2 days later (4th of July) and it was POSITIVE! "I knew it!!" was exactly what came out of my mouth! :) So, I immediately stopped the medicine I was taking (which was rough considering all I could take for itchiness and redness was benadryl or rub some calymine lotion all over my entire body). Then the morning sickness kicked in, then the exhaustion, moodiness, very odd cravings...etc etc...which essentially made me extremely lazy for the rest of the summer!! When Andrew napped, I napped. When he was playing, I would usually lay on the couch or floor. Crackers and zofran were my morning ritual. :) So, after that long story, I may have to type a WHOLE OTHER blog  to to tell about the bizarre cravings and other interesting differences this pregnancy brings. I do have to say that we are very blessed and I know this was definitely God's plan for our family. :)

Fast Forward to 10-17-11:

We find out IT'S A GIRL and are absolutely THRILLED!! That explains why this pregnancy is SO DIFFERENT than  Andrew's. God is good. :) :) To be continued....