Day 1

Today starts an interesting new chapter for our family. My husband is in a new position in his company which will require him to travel more than he ever has before. I'm happy and excited for him, but I've definitely been thinking about the effect this will have on all of us, with 2 young kids and a 3^rd due to make his arrival any day now. This is how Day 1 went.

Normally, I go into work late on Mondays, but I was actually scheduled to be off today, which was really nice with the impending weather. Both kids had their share of Super Bowl fun, so after kissing Daddy goodbye around 6:30 this morning, we all slept in until 9:30! So nice for this very pregnant mom to get some extra sleep. Our plan was to eat breakfast and get ready to go out for the day- picking up a couple baby things at Target and then to NJ to meet up with my sister. I looked outside and saw that the snow had different plans for us. Yuck. The new plan was not to go stir crazy.

Being silly the camera

I made breakfast and told the kids they could eat in front of the tv today. First broken rule of the day. Chloe started off by taking food that wasn’t hers, climbing on everyone and hitting. First time out of the day. Back to breakfast, and I’m talking to Cole when Chloe knocks over her tray table, all the food on it and somehow manages to flip herself off the couch on top of the mess. First tears and injury of the day. Meanwhile, I’m hearing from Kevin that he is sitting on the runway in Philly, while I’m feeling my first Braxton Hicks of this pregnancy and praying that that’s all it is. (It was.) Oh, and Cole asks how soon until Daddy comes home. Thursday is a long way off for all of us at this point.

Hiding from Mommy

Cuddle time with their baby brother

After breakfast, Cole asks to play Madden on the Wii- his new obsession. This is an unusual day, so we’re breaking more rules, and I say yes to electronics at 10am. He plays that while Chloe occupies herself with her toys, so I take advantage of the time to check work emails. Well, neither of them like that idea because Cole feels the need to yell to me about every single play he makes, so that “good job, Buddy” becomes the only thing I say for what seems like forever, and Chloe follows me in wearing Cole’s shoes and tries to climb on my lap.

Back to the living room for more playing, followed by Chloe going down for a nap, and Mommy sorting and organizing baby clothes. The batteries in the Wii remote go, and we have a break from hearing, “I got a touchdown!” for the time being. After Chloe wakes up, we have lunch which is fairly uneventful, except that I can tell all 3 of us are already getting cabin fever. I need a plan. I look outside and the snow has slowed way down and our streets are cleared. I decide we’re making a break for it. I text and call my sister, but no answer, so I decide on Target. The kids are just excited to be going somewhere.

Highlights from our shopping trip- we use the bathroom hand dryers for wet shoes (mommy hack of the day), Cole picks an outfit for his baby brother, the kids try on hats to send pictures to Daddy, and we raid the dollar bins (where Mommy comes off like Santa without having to break the bank).

Trying on hats

My poor injured baby (looks worse in person) 

Pretending to nap in the cart

Real nap on the way home

We head home and all go down for naps. It’s after 4 by this time, so we’re breaking the late day nap rule, and I know I’ll pay for it later, but I just can’t help myself. Chloe and I get up at 5:30 and Cole not until 6. We have leftovers for dinner and my normally picky eater (Cole) scarfs down his dinner while my good eater (Chloe) refuses to eat anything until I put a cupcake on her plate with her stromboli and carrots. That and juice boxes with dinner, and we have 2 more broken rules but happy kids.

Eyeing up her dinner of stromboli, carrots & cupcake

Cole insists on a family bath after dinner, so we all hop in together and send more pictures to Daddy (I'll keep those for us), so he doesn't feel like he’s missing out. Pajamas and books, everything laid out for tomorrow, bags by the front door, and I'm feeling pretty satisfied that the night will end well. (Besides a lot of questions from Cole about when Daddy will be home and wanting to wait up for him. Sigh.) Of course, I should know better because Mommy's Law is just like Murphy’s Law and it’s now 10pm, and both kids are still awake. After an hour of trying to get Cole settled in his bed, he’s now lying in mine because Chloe won’t stop talking. I'm hoping that the separation leads to some sleep for all of us. Wishful thinking but it’s my only solution for now. Until tomorrow…

Christmas “Vacation”

Last night, as I was putting Cole to bed and he was giving me a hard time (as is his norm lately), I told him that we had a very nice Christmas vacation all together, but that he is going back to school tomorrow and has to get a good night’s sleep. He said, “Vacation? Where did we go?”

So I had to explain that a vacation doesn't always mean going somewhere, but that Mommy and Daddy were off from work and we were all home spending time together and that can be a vacation, too. And then I thought that even with Christmas and New Year’s, it was just all the simple moments that made my 12 days home with my family so great. Here are some highlights...

Hanging out on Mommy & Daddy's bed

Waiting to hear their brother's heartbeat

BFF Christmas cuddles

Listening to big brother read

Playing Madden on the Wii

Very excited to own his new favorite Christmas movie

Girl time

Painting toes for NYE

Trying out our new suitcases

Lunch date w/ Aunt Kate & Olivia

Little Doc McStuffins

"Arrr matey!"

What's in a name?

Any pregnant woman can tell you that we get the same questions over and over again.

When are you due?

Do you know what you’re having?

Have you decided on a name?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love pregnancy and babies, and I don’t fault people for asking these questions. I’m sure I’ve asked them to other women tons of times. And it’s not so much that I mind answering them. It’s just that the last one can be kind of tricky.

Everyone has an opinion on what you should name your baby. And some people are not even a little bit shy about sharing their opinion with you. “You want to name your baby what?!” “Have you thought about…?” “How would you spell…?”

I think that giving someone the name that they will have for the rest of his or her life is a really big deal, and it’s not something that I take lightly. But I think that I need to learn my lesson about discussing baby names unless I am prepared for the faces, questions and possible judgments that I may encounter.

Some people thought that it was strange that we kept my daughter’s name virtually secret until she was born, but every time I mention a name for this baby, I am reminded why. So while we may go with another “C” name (not something that was ever planned) or we may name the baby the same name as someone who happens to play a sport somewhere (no, my son was not named after Cole Hamels), I think that for now, we’ll just be happy to call this little guy Baby Tinsley. No one can make a face about that. 

Humble Christmas Brag Letter

I was reading a blog about the "Humble" Christmas Brag Letter and thought that I wanted to write one this year. Now, I did not have the same idea in mind as this person was talking about... or I should say making fun of. I didn't want to write about how wonderful my life is or gush about my perfect children. (I love them, but they have their moments. Haha.) But I did have some things that I wanted to reflect upon and share and thought that this would be a good forum. And because today, 12/12, as some significance to me, I wanted to share it today rather than wait until the end of the year.

Last year, around this time, I had a medical scare. I didn't post about it or share it with a ton of people, because it was personal, and I think I put enough of my business out there as it is, but it was a tough time for me and my family. On 12/12/12, I went in for surgery. One year ago today. It was scary, and we didn't know what was going to happen, but luckily, things went well, and shortly after, we got the call from the doctor that everything was a success. I still worry that something may recur, and I may always have that fear, but after getting a clean bill of health, I know that I have a lot to be thankful for.

I went into 2013 grateful, and not expecting much from the year. I was actually looking forward to it being quiet after my medical scare, a big loss in our family and the birth of our daughter all happening in 2012. I had no idea what we were in store for. 

Earlier this year, both Kevin and I earned promotions at work. After each putting in a few years at our respective jobs, this was a happy reward. In June, we both pushed ourselves physically and mentally to complete a Tough Mudder, arguably the most difficult race on the planet. We finished with a group of over 20 people and now have this accomplishment that we will never forget. That same month, our daughter Chloe turned 1 which of course came way too soon, but we celebrated with a great party at our house (another first for us). The end of the summer saw us taking Cole to preschool for the first time. Another event in our lives coming way too soon, but he loves it and is thriving, and we couldn't be prouder. 

As the fall approached, we were preparing for 2 weddings that would take us away. Kevin's brother, in 

Florida, and Kevin's oldest friend, in Mexico. Having not taken a vacation together since our honeymoon, we were thrilled to be able to have the time and help needed for these trips. Then on October 21st, we received the biggest shock of all when we found out that we were pregnant with our 3rd child. Yes, our 3rd in 4 years! Not only that, but I was already halfway through my pregnancy. This was mind blowing and unexpected and hard for us to wrap our heads around. But whether you believe in a higher being or some kind of destiny, we now know that this baby is meant to be. After the loss of Kevin's brother and not even knowing if we could have any more children after my medical history, this tiny little blessing came to be, and we couldn't be happier and more excited to meet our son in February. 

Now that I've written all of this, maybe it does sound a little braggy or boastful, but like I said, our life isn't perfect. We struggle just like every other family. But what I do know is that we are extremely lucky, too. One year ago today, I didn't know what my fate would be. And today, I was able to hear my son's heartbeat. This Christmas, that is the greatest gift I could have ever hoped for.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Just a number?

On a couple occasions now, Cole has told me how he is going to be 4 soon and will be too big for me. (I know; break a mother’s heart.) Last night, he was telling me again, and I told him (as I always do) that I don’t want him to grow up. This is how the rest of the conversation went:

Cole- “You want to keep me 3 like this forever?”

Me- “Yes, I love you being 3.”

Cole- “I want to keep you just like you are, too.”

Me- “How old do you think Mommy is?”

Cole (looks at me thoughtfully) - “15?”

Me- “Aww, you’re the best. Close, but actually, you are 3 and Mommy is 33.”

Cole (with big eyes) – “Wow, that’s a lot like all the way to outer space.”

Age perception by a 3 year old.

Career Predictions

One of the ideas that I saw and almost adopted for our first day of school picture was to ask Cole what he wants to be when he grows up. But because I didn't think that my 3 year old knew much about jobs or careers, I decided to skip that.

But of course, we've always wondered what he will be when he grows up. When he was born, we thought that Cole Tinsley sounded like a quarterback's name, and if you throw in his middle name Martin, he could then retire as a Senator. Walking in Philly with him one day as a baby, a drunk homeless man declared our son the future president of the United States. Thank you, sir.

I did have Cole tell me once last year that he wanted to be a doctor. When I asked him what kind, he told me a heart doctor. I'm under no delusions that this kid can yet say, not alone spell, cardiologist, but I appreciate the lofty aspirations.

Now that Cole is more than slightly obsessed with anything sports related and seems to be getting better and better, athletically speaking, his dad likes to tell him that he'll be our retirement one day with some sports career or another. (We can only hope.)

Then tonight at Wawa when he was in a silly and hyper mode, several women remarked on what a happy kid he is, one claiming that he has so much personality that he's going to be mayor someday. I could only think how extremely proud that one would make his politically involved father. And when we got home and it started raining, Cole said, "I knew it was going to rain because I looked out the window!" (Sounds qualified to be a weatherman to me.)

The final prediction Cole made himself. As I was contemplating my 3 year old's future as an all star athlete, politician and meteorologist, I asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up. He shrugged, smiled and replied simply, "Daddy."

1st Day

For those of you who regularly read my blogs (or just know me), I have a tendency to get overemotional about a lot... especially anything dealing with my kids. So yesterday was definitely a tough one for me.

I don't even know if Cole was born yet when we started talking about preschools and where we would one day send him. We always had our number one choice in mind, so the fact that Cole started there yesterday is a crazy reality. I wanted to document our day so that I wouldn't forget my little man's first day of preschool.

Typically, Kevin does drop off on Tuesdays, but because he had a meeting (and I may have begged to take Cole to his first day), I took both kids. On any other day that I do drop off, I find myself running late, in the midst of some kind of chaos, dragging 2 kids and about 10 bags out the front door. Yesterday was no exception, just amplified.

Both kids woke up somewhere between 6:30-7 which is pretty typical for them. They usually don't have breakfast until they get to daycare, but Cole's school doesn't do breakfast, so that was the first twist in the day. (I'd like to thank the inventor of frozen pancakes for the assist here!) Luckily, Chloe is now big enough to sit with her brother, watch tv (my morning babysitter) and eat breakfast. This gave me time to get ready and then get them dressed. At some point during this time, Kevin left for work but gave helped me out by carrying half of the daily bags out to my car and taking out the trash. Huge help!

I had laid out clothes for both kids the night before, but of course Cole's shirt had a stain that I had missed which sent us back to the drawing board with him. He must have been very excited about school because he didn't give me a hard time when I redressed him 3 times. And then he put his shoes on without my asking (this is an every other day battle) and combed his hair (a first). Of course, my mommy OCD had me reaching to smooth his cowlick, but he got upset and told me not to mess it up. Okay, big man.

My goal was to get out the door at 7:30 but knowing that we typically run closer to 8, our 7:40 departure was a pretty big victory. A brief stop out front to take the obligatory "my first day" picture. The next decision to make was who to drop first. We pass Cole's school on the way to daycare but I would pass it again on my way to work. Okay, who is easier to transport in and out. Cole. Done. We'll drop Chloe first. This almost caused a meltdown from the preschooler who just wanted to get there already, but I quickly turned him around with some Mommy psychology.

When we got to daycare, Cole ran in and yelled, "I'm going to Neumann!" Yes, this is one excited kid. Knowing my son so well, the sitter told him to use his listening ears when he gets there. Thank you for that. We dropped Chloe and we were back in the car in just a few minutes.

Knowing that his best friend was going to school with him, Cole found her car as soon as we pulled up and got even more excited. Of course, crazy mom that I am, I wouldn't let him go in until we got a picture in front of the sign for the school (opposite end of the entrance). He luckily obliged and then grabbed my hand (melt my heart) and we went in. Fortunately for Cole (unfortunately for his emotional mother), he found his best friend shortly after entering and forgot about me right away. Well, that didn't take long. I took his book bag over to his hook. Hmm, everyone else just had their spare clothes in a plastic bag. Okay, I did that. I take out the bag, proud of myself for remembering to put his name on it. Mental note that our plastic bag is 5 times the size of the other kids' and I'm already getting a complex. Okay, plastic bag back in the book bag. Arrange it just so on the hook. Put his sleeping bag on the floor under the hook. Okay, now what. Cole is playing. Well, I guess that's good. I find the sign in sheet and initial that I'm dropping him and go to say goodbye.

Okay, here it goes. Be strong, Cole. Be strong, Mommy. I tell him I have to go to work. He continues to play for a few seconds and then says, "okay, I'll kiss you" and plants a big one on me. Good, he still loves me. I head towards the exit, check the lunch menu on the way out (delaying the inevitable) and walk outside. I choke back a few tears but by the time I'm in my car, it's ugly cry time. Oh, man. What is it about this kid that gets me so worked up?

I feel a little better when I get an email from his friend's mom halfway through the day asking if I have their daily schedule with me because she is thinking about what they are doing. Big sigh of relief that I'm not the only one. Note to self to get schedule from hubby that night. Said hubby calls late afternoon to say he can pick up the kids. Usually a big help but I'm a little disappointed that I won't be the first to hear about Cole's day. Luckily, they call me on the way home. The answer to my questions- "Stop! I'm trying to relax!" Um, ouch. We all meet up at home where my now big man asks to play outside with the neighbor's daughter. There it is. One day of preschool and he's grown up and moving on with his life. Of course, he'll always be my little man.