Company

Surely I am not a totally horrible person... Surely.  I am exhausted by company. We went from my birthday in September to non-stop entertaining through the fall and then the holidays and birthdays, I was done.  And it wasn't over. This weekend was our last event on our calendar, and while it was a small one with close friends it reminds me that while I love people and am for the most part an extrovert how much I cherish our slow seasons with little to no entertaining filled with just our little family of five.  I keep a relatively clean home, but of course when we entertain, we spend days preparing the house for guests and many extra hours are used doing necessary deep cleaning but those hours are always rewarded after company leaves with many more hours of additional clean up from the mess that the guests leave. It is exhausting.  I am so looking forward to not entertaining until the spring -- when most entertaining is done outdoors anyways haha).

We have had quite the week besides entertaining last week.  It was BEAUTIFUL weather all week, which is a rarity in January, so we took full advantage with trips to three parks, the arboretum with four of my mom-friends and our TWELVE toddlers.  The kids have played hard and really enjoyed themselves.

It is 3:30 am and I am typing on a blog in the office because just like almost every night, I am wide awake. Tomorrow in the midst of trying to fight kids down for a nap I will undoubtedly hate myself for not forcing sleep, but it doesn't seem to work that way for me. My body refuses to let me sleep.  I suppose the best use of my time in the middle of the night would be cleaning, but I don't want to wake the babies, or my husband who has to work in the morning.

Anyways, not really much to tell tonight so, I will see ya in a few days with hopefully a more positive attitude and a more rested spirit.

Good night,
The Toddler Wrangler

NAVIGATING MOTHERHOOD

Navigating motherhood is no joke.  Between the expectations of others, trying to prepare your children best for their current and future circumstances, staying on top of the house cleaning, trying to enrich your children with experiences and social events, all while trying to raise a morally well brought up child is no joke... AND MY KIDS ARE 3 , 3 & 1... I cannot imagine throwing in numerous sports events, practices, big school, homework, new friends, and everything else in the mix.  I am starting to come out of a post partum fog and realizing that my life will not be slow-going ever again.  My three year olds are enrolled in a speech therapy program twice weekly for an hour each day, they will be in a preschool program twice weekly, add in sports once weekly, and that is already overwhelming.,, and that does not factor in sister's once weekly MDO next year, and hopefully a ballet class a week... YOWZERS... When I envisioned becoming a mom, I honestly wasn't thinking about how busy life is.  I am so grateful, don't get me wrong, but how overwhelming to think that for the next 18 years I will be toting kids around from one place to another, keeper of the schedule, manager of their food intake and grades and on and on.

And the mom-guilt... It is NOT A JOKE... it is all-consuming at times. I have two kids in speech, is it because I let them watch television? Is it because I am a bad mom who is incapable of teaching my kids correctly? Is it a sign of all my failures that will occur in the future?  Its all a lot... A lot. I am rambling on about the toughness of navigating motherhood, but in fact, there are so many more positives.... When Austin walks up out of nowhere and kisses me on the forehead, when Graham says "Love you mommy" when Abbey celebrates her newest milestone of running by running across a room 7500 times and expects a full-on standing ovation EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.  It really is incredible.  I feel so beyond blessed I get to be here for these moments and a little overwhelmed that the twins will be starting two a day preschool next year and that 10 hours every week are now not mine to experience with them.  It's hard to swallow that there will be firsts that I won't be there for.

Enough rambling. It's beautiful outdoors in January, and we have been enjoying park visits and running the soccer fields, and playing chase, and Abbey has been enjoying the taste of gravel (despite how many times I stop her she just KEEPS ON), and we really have had a blessed couple weeks.  Amongst everything else, we have enjoyed doing some new projects around the house... A cabinet in our laundry room, shelves in a closet for storage, this weekend we are starting a guest bed headboard. Brian really excels at carpentry despite it not being his trade, and he really seems to enjoy making things with his hands and I really enjoy painting or staining said things.  It gives a little time for silence and self-reflection amongst the loudness of our household.   Anyways, here is to praying the weather keeps on keeping on and we are able to burn more and more energy outdoors for the greater good of everyone's attitude.  I will post some pics below to tide you over for the next time a perfect storm of three napping toddlers happens so I can update again...

Until next time,
JEN AKA THE TODDLER WRANGLER

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Whoa, it has been a crazy week or so!  I'm not even sure where to start!!! I suppose it should be Christmas!!!  Christmas with three toddlers is the most magical, fun time of my entire life... The build up ensured peak anticipation and the kiddos were all over it!!!  Santa Clause came and rewarded them for being good little kiddos and mama and daddy toasted after all the gifts were laid out!

Christmas morning was the absolute best, we had nowhere to be just loads of playing with the kids new toys, eating, and enjoying our little family.  I could not have asked for a better Christmas.  The next day, our little community was ROCKED by tornados that wiped out entire neighborhoods, and we were devastated by the damage!!!  Our community will take a while to recover from the damage done, but to see the outpouring of love and offerings of household items, temporary residence, and humanitarian aide has been enlightening.  The week following has gone at super speed, with visits from friends, visits at friends, lunches with old friends, etc. playing with their new toys, and preparing for our mini-NYE party with our friends, the Highlens.  We had noise makers, horns, hats and lots and lots of alcohol for the adults.  All in all, the holiday break has been great with a few hiccups and we are so thankful to enter the New Year with a healthy, happy fivesome.  Happy New Year and may God bless anyone who might read this!

Until the next decent naptime,
JEN - AKA THE TODDLER WRANGLER

BUSY PRE CHRISTMAS FUN!!!

It has been a very very busy week before Christmas... Last week was filled with the park, Christmas painting with a twist with friends, Christmas party for Brian's work at the delicious Ruths Chris Steakhouse, Arboretum with friends from out of town, lots of beautiful weather so many park visits with friends... And lots of prepping for Santa Clause.  Everything is in the garage, decals added, batteries loaded and charged, every screw put in, everything is ready for Christmas morning. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and we have a busy day of food prep, visiting and celebrating Christmas with Brian's grandmother and mother, and then watching my niece, Nora, get dedicated at the Christmas Eve Service, and then trying to make my littles go to sleep!!!

Fingers crossed Santa comes without any hiccups this year!!!

 Abbey chasing mama down while checking for Christmas cards in the mail...

Arboretum Monday

                                                   Bowling with Uncle Josh and Aunt Yay on Sunday

Playing hard with some of our favorite friends, Brady & Grayson

Painting with a twist with my best friend, Katie.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

It has been a great weekend!!! Chinese and dance parties at my best friends house with all of our little toddlers on Friday, Saturday was filled with errands to prepare for the week ahead, mani/pedi with my best friend and then a VERY RARE date night at Seasons 52 followed by our favorite Wine Bar in our small downtown.  It was a blast to spend quality time laughing without chasing rugrats.  Sunday we woke up and met Brian's grandmother at  Brunch with Santa and Mrs. Clause at our country club.  We all ate too much and the kiddos had a blast.  Brian's grandmother shared some very sad news about her cancer prognosis, which they are considering terminal now and they will not be continuing any treatment.  She asked us to find time to get some of her and Papaw's (her late husband) belongings to pass down to the kids, which is heartbreaking.  Mamaw has been a solid, stable CONSTANT in my children's lives, and I am devastated knowing that her time here is limited.  After she left, we did our normal football season Sunday of wrangling toddlers while attempting to watch the Cowboys game.  All-in-all it was a good weekend with some bad news, but it has a silver lining... You always appreciate time with someone more when you know it is limited, you make extra visits, do extra special things, and generally let any petty things go.

Off to bathe three toddlers,
JEN

The Toddler Wrangler... Introduction

It is all together unlikely anyone will actually read any of my blogposts, and honestly, I am really good with that, but I figured I'd try to put my daily thoughts out there strictly for my own sake... Every day has a tendency to become a bit of a blur, so having a place to put my randomness so I can look back seems appealing to me.

I am Jen, I am a mother to twin three year old boys, Graham and Austin, and my daughter, Abbey who is one.  The twins were about as planned as they could possibly be, while Abbey was the biggest surprise of a lifetime.  We had Abbey 5 days before the twins' 2nd birthday and her due date was actually on the twins' second birthday.  I am married to an incredible husband, Brian, and am currently a stay-at-home mom, which I go back and forth daily with how I love and hate to identify myself this way.  I am, for lack of better terminology, a toddler wrangler...  I wrangle them into their seats at breakfast, wrangle them into their clothes for the day, wrangle them apart when they are fighting, and so on.  I am not sure how much I will actually contribute to this blog, as it is kind of an experiment for me... You see, I had delayed onset post partum depression after the twins, and that didn't go away before pregnancy hormones assaulted me when I got pregnant with Abbey and its still lingering past her first birthday.  It's not the post partum everyone imagines where you hate life or your kids or anything, in fact I think I am one of the most active and participating moms I know (not a helicopter parent, just really involved), its more of an anxiety about almost everything kind of thing that I am working through... Every day seems to get better except the days that don't. Haha.

Anyways, SAHM of three toddlers, that are hilarious and wild and silly and crazy....  Well, I suppose that is my introduction because 1/3 just woke up from naptime... 

Adios to myself since I will likely be the only one ever to read this!

Jen