« Jen Loves Kev

It’s halloween!! Yippie. It’s one of my most favorite holidays. I just love dressing up. I am all for a little fun spookiness with cheesy ghost and skeletons but I am so over the gore and terror that has taken over. I tried to find a festive hayride for us all to go on but it was impossible to find anything other than things like “Field of Screams” and other stupid named horror shows. Why?? Why??

How was your week? Have any cool plans for Halloween? We had an overall pretty good week around here. Just thought we’d share a few of our ups & downs…

UPS:

1. SLEEPING!! Can I get a woot-woot? WOOT! WOOT! Remember our “down” from a few weeks ago? Hallelujah we are in a really good place right now. It took a few months of persistence and this lovely clock (and maybe a little of letting Finley whine in the morning before going and getting her) but everyone is sleeping till 8:00am. Seriously, I am over the moon… like jumping up and down high fiving myself!! You better believe I’m not taking this for granted. I know this too is a stage and I am sure something will change (daylight savings UGH!) but for now I am so freakin’ happy.

As of right now our sleep schedule goes like this… Girls wake up at 7:55am. That’s what time I have the clock set to change to let Rowan now it’s ok to come out of her room. She knows she can play or read books if she wakes up before that but I am pretty sure she wakes up to the minute that clock turns. Kids are crazy weird with internal clocks. Finley usually wakes a few minutes before but we won’t go and get her till 7:55am when we get Rowan. She has actually been sleeping till about 8:30!! Rowan hasn’t taken a nap since she was like 2 years old but Finley definitely still needs and takes a nap. We finally hit the sweet spot for the one nap a day. She had a rough go there for a little while with the transition from 2 to 1. But ideally her nap time is 12:30 or 1ish. This doesn’t always happen because of daily plans and things but if we are home this is when she naps. She will sleep for around 2 hours. Then both girls go to bed any where from 7:00-8:30pm. Finley going down first and then Rowan soon after.

2. The age of four. So far four has been pretty good to us. I know we are only a few weeks in, but Oh man! Rowan is just the best. I love that little girl so much. I love four. I love the questions that four brings. Soooo deep and profound. You can just see the wheels working up there as she really begins to process the world around her. Like today she asked me how people know how to read words that go up and down (vertical). Or she asked me the other day if the tooth fairy was real. This afternoon she said to me “I don’t feel so well. I really need some tea because I have the shivers and they are driving me crazy”. Hahaha

3. Finley learning how to tell secrets. It’s just gibberish with a “Roro” thrown in there but it’s about the cutest thing ever. She climbs up on you. Pulls your hair aside, gets real close and then leans in to whisper sweet nothings (literally sweet nothings) in your ear. She then throws her head back and laughs. HEART MELTED THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Downs:

1. Potty training. How are we entering into this stage again? I don’t think Finley is quite there yet but we created a potty monster over the weekend by having her sit on the potty like Rowan. Every second of every day since then Finley has been pulling her diaper off to sit on the big potty. She sits for 5 seconds, doesn’t go potty and then wants her diaper put back on. I know it’s process. I know she is just starting but I am venting because ugh! potty training it just not super fun and we are too busy to spend our entire day taking diapers on and off every second as a big ol’ game.

2. Snacks. Oh snacks are my arch nemesis. I swear the girls are looking for food every minute of the day. Why? Are they really hungry? I don’t know. Do your kids do this? I only give them healthy options (apples, carrots, celery and peanut butter, etc…) and they will eat it all but every.mintue.of.the.day. HALP!

I leave you with the sweetest pictures of little miss Fin to date. She was loving this day with her sister…

Happy weekend my friends!!

OUTFIT DETAILS:

JEN:
Jeans: LOFT (best legging jeans ever)
Button down: J.Crew (25% off)
Coat: H&M (similar)
Boots: Similar
Glasses: c/o Coastal

Girl’s shoes: Vans
Finley’s vest: Target
Finley’s buffalo plaid shirt: Target
Rowan’s Sweater: H&M (boys section)

“The days are long but the years are short.”

I am tired. I am very tired. This quote has been ringing in my ears a lot. I’ve also been wearing this sweatshirt a lot lately too because it makes me laugh at how true it is. It’s like a sad, sad joke. After a month of vacation and holiday travel we’ve spent the last few weeks trying to get in our groove at home. That especially means with sleep. We have been neck deep in sleep training with Rowan and well, it just is not going well. She got a little to use to sleeping all together (most nights in the same bed) and doesn’t want to stay in her room. We’ve made a few advances here and there but then something comes up… like more travel. Having 2 kids that are literally up every half hour all night long is wearing. Physically and emotionally. I swear if it’s not one, it’s the other. I can’t even imagine what a full night of sleep feels like. It’s been over a year that’s for sure. I am continually praying that I can find wisdom and have patience over it all. 3 year olds are smart little creatures. Much smarter than we give them credit for. Rowan knows exactly what to say in the middle of the night to get me into her room. I try to resist but then my mom guilt gets me. I start thinking “what if she really is thirsty? What if her poor little throat is dry and I am denying her a drink? I’m so terrible”. Ha! Oh man the inner struggle. I know she’s bested me when I bring her that drink and she throws it to the side without even taking a drink. Then says something like “but my back is so scratchy now”. Oh the excuses.

It’s true. Some days on this journey called parenthood are long. They can be very long. But you know what else is true? The years really are short. When I think back to Rowan being a baby, I really don’t remember the struggle all that much. I know it was there. But where there was once frustration and anxiety over being a first time mom, its now filled with lots of sweet memories that overpower any of the bad. So with that perspective in mind I am whispering to myself with each middle of the night wake up call… “This is just a stage, this is just a stage”. I know this too shall pass. Soon enough (and really it can’t come soon enough) they will both be back to a good sleeping schedule and we will all be sleeping through the night. Until then though, I will try to embrace the tired and keep wearing my sweatshirt as a warning to others.

NOTE: I am currently in a hotel room in Chicago all by myself. ALL.BY.MYSELF! After an extremely long day of a bunch of canceled flights, I am left all alone in a city I wasn’t supposed to be in. I WILL SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT TONIGHT! I am super pumped about it, even with a 6am wake up call. Get this though! It’s almost too quiet. When you are surrounded by chaos all day, everyday, when you get a chance to be alone it’s almost too quiet. Why is that? I am sure that thought will pass in about 2 seconds when my head hits the pillow and I get 6 glorious, uninterrupted hours of sleep.

I miss my babies though.

I digress. Anyway. Whatever your parenting struggle is right now. I hope you can find comfort in remembering it’s a short road on this long journey. It will pass. You will look back on the years and remember the great joys, the struggles will be but a distant memory.