Life with 2 kids

I have been asked this question quite a bit lately:  How is it going with 2 kids?
My answer is usually something like this:  Pretty good.  Wyatt cries a lot, but otherwise it's going very well.

Today I realized that I have had a beer or glass of wine almost every day in the past week, so I think I better change my answer to that question :)

So here's what happened today that caused me to buy a 6 pack at the store.  Our morning was wonderful (James let me sleep in until 8:00 for starters).  At 12:45 I loaded up the van for a trip to a 3 year olds birthday party.  Rylee was outside playing while I was throwing a couple of things in the van.  I told her I just had to go inside and get Wyatt and then we would be leaving.  While I'm inside for 2 minutes Rylee falls down and scrapes her leg up and is crying.  I give her a hug, tell her she's fine and throw her in the van.  Next I put Wyatt in the van...and then realize he is still in his jammies.  So I run him back in the house and change his clothes. 

We get to the birthday party and I think I'm going to be golden because it's Wyatt's normal nap time and he should sleep through the whole thing, and Rylee took a short nap on the way there, so she should be good to go too. 

NOT!  Wyatt cries the whole 2 hours we are there (I had to shove a bottle in his mouth right before the "happy birthday" song so everyone could be heard singing).  Then Rylee has a meltdown because I won't let her eat any of the very melted chocolate she got from the piñata.  Rylee and I both decide it's time to leave.  We hop in the van and everyone is finely quiet. 

Rylee tells me she doesn't want to go home, so I ask if she'd like to go to the grocery store as I had planned on doing in the first place.  This kid loves to go to the grocery store, so she's excited....until we get there....

The second we walk in the door Wyatt starts screaming.  Then Rylee gets upset because this store doesn't have any of the fun carts and has a complete meltdown.  I should have just left at that point, but we were already in the store and it's not exactly easy for me to get to the store living out in the middle of nowhere.  We get everything on the list while both kids are screaming and head home.  It's a very peaceful 20 minute drive home as Wyatt sleeps and Rylee looks at her book.

Right when I pull in the driveway Wyatt wakes up and starts crying again.  Once I turn the car off, Rylee starts crying because she wants to listen to her music (she never even asked me to listen to it).  OMG!!!!  I've almost had it at this point....but I'm really a pretty calm person so I just shake it off. 

Okay, so events like today are not the norm, but days like this are a true test of my patience.  I'd like to think I do a pretty good job of keeping my calm.  I have thoughts of screaming at my daughter when she asks for milk for the 20th time after I have been repeated telling her "I'll get it in a minute", but when I think of her crying because I screamed at her, I decide it's just easier to tell her "I'll get it in a minute" again instead. 

Poor Rylee gets told things like this a lot because I'm constantly having to tend to Wyatt who really does cry quite a bit.  I try to be conscious of her needs too and will occasionally give the "backseat" to Wyatt instead so Rylee doesn't feel left out. It's hard to balance their needs some days.  Luckily, Rylee has my patience and understands when Mom's busy most of the time.  I'm so grateful that she can play independently for a long time; and that she loves her brother so much she wants me to take care of him first.

Wyatt, my sweet handsome little guy, is going through a rough crying phase.  After several days of trying to figure out why he was crying and thinking of calling the doctor, I remembered the mandatory video we had to watch in the hospital on PURPLE crying.  I looked it up online and after reading the entire website, I feel comfortable in saying that's just what's going on with him right now.  I don't have that mom-instinct that something medically is wrong with him; I just think he's a crier.  We were so spoiled with Rylee who never cried, that having a crier is tough.  But knowing there isn't really anything we can do about it, makes it easier to deal with.

Some people run right to their baby/toddler's side when they are crying, but I get immune to it after awhile and don't even realize they are crying right away.  When Rylee's cry is due to a tantrum I just ignore her.  I apologize in advance to anyone in the same store as me when my kids are crying.  It's not bothering me and I have no plans to leave or hurry-up.  I'm sorry. 

Aside from the kiddos having rough days, things really are going pretty well.  We have a pretty good routine down during the day and Wyatt is sleeping 6-8 hours at night.  It probably could be a lot worse.  I didn't want to waste my summer away staying indoors, so we have been trying to get out as much as possible.  This helps the time go by quick too.  I mentioned it before, and I know I really shouldn't wish my baby to "hurry-up and get older", but I'm just not a baby fan.  I want to be able to laugh at all the funny things he says and exercise my right as a parent to tell him, "No, you cannot have that melted chocolate right now" :)

I LOVE MY KIDDOS -- they have taught me a lot about myself that I may not have known without them.  Being a mom is a (mostly) fun job!! 

P.S. My husband has been outside working on the farm all day and he sends me a text around 6:30pm that says "having lots of equipment issues; it's been quite the afternoon".  I responded with this message, "tell me about it!  My afternoon has been blog-worthy!"  :)  I love blogging! Thanks for reading :)