And just like that....

2 weeks can go by! My weeks are blurring together as I try to get everyone fed and taken care of (and getting myself fed and taken care of? I need to work on that!)

In case you're wondering...I'm SO tired these days. We moved Aubrey to the pack-n-play temporarily while we transition Tristen to his toddler bed (and the start of them sharing a room! Ahh! Wish me luck in the transition!). Aubrey has decided that she doesn't like the pack-n-play (she was in a bassinet before) and hasn't been sleeping through the night lately. As I put one foot in front of the other and TRY to get through the week without Aaron, I'm a little tired and drained. But, I really do feel like God is giving me the strength I need since it's definitely not coming from the amount of sleep I'm getting each and every night! And, my lesson plans for Tristen continue to get me up in the morning so I better keep that structure going!

Aaron is LOVING his clinicals though! He is working with kiddos right now and I think it's even more fun for him since he has kids. He has quite a bit more homework than we envisioned which has been hard but at least it's stuff that he is excited to learn about. And, we're just hoping it gets easier?

Tristen and Aubrey are way cute lately! The other day, another little boy was going to rock Aubrey in her cradle and Tristen nicely said, "No, no. A-bey." and took over rocking her like he was protecting her. It was so cute (even though I had to remind him that we can share rocking Aubrey too) :)

Oh, and Aubrey :) She is getting SO strong and is done with her swing, bassinet, and anything else that requires she lays down. That girl wants to be in on the action!! Lifting her head and sitting up, she always wants to be with people.

Today we took advantage of the fall colors by taking family pics...it's slightly a tradition of ours and since our family has expanded since last fall, it was time to update the pictures in the house :) So, here are a few of our faves :)

Hope you all have a beautiful first week of October!!

Smile!!

 

I just realized I haven't posted a pic of our growing girl for a while! She's getting so big, weighing in at 12 pounds at her 2 month appointment! We can't believe how fast the last 2 1/2 months have gone!! Smily girl, you're a fun one!!

On Being Content and Settling In

A few Sundays ago, the sermon was on contentment. It's funny when you think you don't really need to hear a sermon and then halfway through you're like, "Oh, wow. Umm, he's talking right to ME!" Thus was the case this particular Sunday.

A friend stated to me a few months ago that she wanted to stay with me but she knew that I always remarked that my house was too small so she didn't want to bother me. Ouch. I know I've mentioned once or twice that I don't have a guest bedroom (which, I'm a HUGE guest bedroom person because I love having guests!) and it makes it hard to have overnight guests because they would need to sleep on an air mattress,.but I realized that the way I said it must have come across as not being content in this adorable little house that I call my home.

Before the sermon, I started thinking of when my husband has a job, when my kids can have their own bedrooms, when we'll have a guest bedroom again (wahoo!), and how life will finally feel settled once again when we 1)are done with college  2)move to a bigger house.

And then the sermon came along as well as a conversation with my husband about contentment. We could be living on the streets right now or still living in his parent's basement (which would be quite the commute now since they moved! Ha!) But, God provided a house...a house that fits our needs and really is JUST the right size. I have learned how to downsize and it's been wonderful!

I remember reading about a military wife that made it her goal to always unpack and settle into her house no matter how long she ended up living in one place. I think I've had it in the back of my head that Mankato and this house is just temporary.....just for one more year. But, in the last few days, I've been trying to change my thinking. I want to view it as I thought of our time in Iowa....our home and community until God calls us somewhere else....with no timeline in the back of my head!

Now I'm trying to enjoy my house, my church, and the community of Mankato for all it's worth until God calls us somewhere else. Not thinking about what is next in life....now THAT is contentment.

I guess that means I need to finally organize my laundry room :)

Dry Erase Crayons!

The last week has just FLOWN by! It's amazing when you have a schedule and routine down how the days just zoom right past. All in all, we've been good. BUSY, yes.....but good all the same. Two weeks ago, I decided that as much as I try to fight it, I have a teacher in me. I LOVE my bulletin boards, watercolor paints, lesson plans (the things I used to not like the most!), and activities to fill up a day. I love having a plan....a plan that incorporates learning and exploring.

So, two weeks ago, I started a very loose lesson plan for my day....not in the sense that I'm a teacher, but I personally just need a plan. I needed structure and I needed something to get me up, excited for the day. In essence, I think I needed a purpose to being a stay-at-home mom.

The last two weeks have been figuring out a schedule, finding out what times are bad times to try and do activities and when are prime times, researching ideas of what you can do with a 20 month old that 1)aren't too messy but are still exploring  2)aren't way too over his head. It's been a challenge and a fun one at that.

SO, I really was just going to write about my newest find but I guess I gave you an update instead. :) We're finally into a very loose routine and it's been helping ME if nobody else :) But, as some behaviors are starting to diminish/decrease, I think it's been helping my kiddos as well :)

Before I ramble too much longer, one of the activities I found that we needed were quiet activities after breakfast. Thus, the dry erase crayon find!! I printed off some free coloring pages, put them in sheet protectors and was planning on getting dry erase markers since Tristen LOVES to clean and I thought he would like to color and then erase it (which, I found out, he loves!!) and we can reuse the coloring pages over and over! Spotting the dry erase crayons, I decided to give them a try. And, so far, I LOVE them! They are less messy than dry erase markers, don't have the smell, and don't have the caps that always fall off and are hard to find!

 

Coloring!

 

Erasing!

 

Umm, yeah, it was a big hit :) It's been so fun to see his personality come out more and more. This boy LOVES to clean, much like his father and uncle. Aubrey, on the other hand, loves to be social and kick her feet around. She's a smily one and SO adorable! I just love the 2-4 month age! I can't wait for her personality to come out even more :)

 

Off to continue on with our day!

Overall Time!!

Tristen and Aubrey in their overalls....LOVE :)