As I skimmed facebook this morning I saw lots of little “mommyhood is so amazing” posts…and I couldn’t agree more. But, I feel as though we are in a very refining phase right now. I have mentioned before how I feel like about every 6 months we have a sort of boot camp time where the boys seem to push every limit over again and it feels like we have to crack down. And here we are. Let me give you a glimpse into my day yesterday…
Jackson and Seth rushed out the door to school and Owen and I headed out for our weekly coffee time with friends before going to swimming lessons…besides the major nudity exposure that swim class in Europe brings (this is for sure a completely separate upcoming post! stay tuned!) we had a good morning and enjoyed our friends as always. Owen fell asleep on the way to drop off our friends after class and was less than excited when I woke him up to pop into the grocery store. To my credit this isn’t nap time so I wasn’t torturing him!! I came armed with a snack and distractions but yesterday they did not work. I put Owen on the floor to walk when he refused the cart and he proceeded to throw his body on the floor of the store and SCREAMMMMMM. I scooped him up, gather the groceries I could remember amidst the screaming and hurried out. Did I ever mention that the stores here feel awfly quiet to this was a bigger than normal scene.
We got Jackson from school and headed home. Owen decided that 15 min nap in the car was sufficient and refused his nap. Jackson fell asleep shortly and we moved along with the afternoon. Because I had been unsuccessful at the store in the morning I decided we would get out and walk to the grocery store for a few more things we needed. Everyone was happily crunching an apple on the walk up. enjoying the fresh air and being outside!
Since I had the stroller I decided to let Jackson push a kiddie cart, knowing our food would fit in it. He accepted the task with great enthusiasm and on we went. Half way through the store he took a corner too quickly and over went out overly full cart…eggs and all. I quietly up the contents, tossed them back in and moved on. And I thanked God that no one was in our aisle at the moment. Sometimes the stares feel more annoying than the toppled cart.
We hiked down the hill and made it home in time for the boys to play in the atrium while I cooked dinner. I heard them come in at one point and head back to their rooms. Then I heard them in the bathroom. I went back to see that we were not having a flood and saw that they had open the giant bathroom windows and Owen was tossing bath toys out the window one by one.
At dinner we have been working on Jackson staying in his chair. Last night at one point he hopped out of this chair and as we both spoke up to tell him to sit down his foot landed on Owen’s fork that had somehow made it’s way to the floor. Jackson earned himself a nice little gouge.
Baths were uneventful and everyone went to bed peacefully.
So, although I agree that motherhood is amazing and rewarding, it is also so much work and so refining. It’s tough doing the hard work of discipline and teaching! It wasn’t that the kids even needed tons of discipline today it was more that they had constant needs and I find that some days it’s just tough getting anything other than little boy stuff accomplished.
I am building in some “me time” this weekend to catch my breath and be able to enjoy the sweet moments a little bit better. They tend to get a bit blurry in the midst of the chaos. It certainly is no piece of cake!
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Disclaimer: Readers may want to secure a Starbucks Peppermint mocha before sitting down to look at this post…oh no, I forgot those are only a holiday special. I totally understand if you don’t make it to the end. The good news is if you make it through this new things are on the horizon!
After our busy first week in Friendswood and the farm we headed on to Ft. Worth. We arrived on the 23rd of December just in time for the Christmas festivities. We spent Christmas Eve at a candle light service and then went on to my sister-in-law Tina’s family celebration. Tina’s mom, Lisa, had a wonderful spread and when Santa lit firecrackers on the front door step the boys found gifts just like the rest of the family. They included us like family. The next morning we got up early and did Christmas morning with the boys, my parents, and my brother Graham and his wife, Tina. It was a fun week and a half of time together….with way too much food!
Owen was SO tired and kept raiding the goodie table at Craig and Lisa’s. Here he is playing it cool with his 4th sugar cookie!
Santa brought Jackson his much asked for cowboy boots!!
my dad had hand surgery so Tina was sweet enough to cut his prime rib for him!
dance lessons from the family’s best dancer
Owen’s name has been added to my parents will…Bogie will go to Owen if necessary! They were besties!
antipasto platter at Nona Tata….a fun little place in Ft. Worth. Graham and Tina took us out for a fun dinner while my mom and dad had a night with the kiddos! Thanks, mom and dad!
post hair cute curl horns
We missed having my brother Ryan and my sister-in-law Stephanie and their kiddos around! So we swung by DC on our way to Bern…
Whew. And if we didn’t look busy enough we slipped in a meeting with a realtor in DC to begin the process of house hunting…more on that to come in the New Year! Not even ready to talk about that yet!
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We headed to Texas on the 15th of December and arrived relatively unscathed despite running through both the Zurich and Dulles International Airports. A complication with our luggage and then a delayed plane just added a little excitement to the journey. The boys had some jetlag but nothing too major beyond the first couple of days. We hit the ground running with Kolb family Christmas, Owen’s second birthday, a trip to the farm and then made our way to Ft. Worth for part 2 of our “Texas Tour”. Don’t worry this post will only be the first part. I will give you a breather before Part 2! After visiting my parents we went back to Houston for a few days, on to DC for 24 hours and then on to Bern. So, before the week is up you are likely to be sick of our pictures and journeys. But I promise the blog will get more interesting soon!
cousin teeth brushing time
closing eyes for stockings…clearly Owen missed the memo!
Seth’s mom has a reputation for needing a bib with spaghetti…just so happens that I found these one of a kind hand embroidered jumbo bibs at a thrift shop here in Switzerland!! And there was even a matching one for my father-in-law. Some gifts are just meant to be!
not sure if this is just something they do in Texas but Santa came around on a fire engine and threw candy to the kids
Seth and I snuck out one afternoon to celebrate our 6th Anniversary! We headed over to Taste Of Texas. It was so much fun but a bit sad being over in my old stomping ground and not having any time to catch up with so many dear friends!! Next time! As you can see above they must have known Seth was deprived of good red meat because this was his cowboy steak!
The Kolb’s have a tradition of having sword fights after Christmas using the tubes from wrapping paper…it was the first time for the boys and I to participate. The boys loved it!
whataburger evidence
We headed to the farm to spend a few days of peace and quiet…or rather Owen learning to climb out of his crib, the addition of kids pepto to our traveling medicine cabinet and some fun things like s’mores by the fire and beautiful fall leaves in December!
(interject Part 2 in Ft. Worth coming soon)….oh wait…
On our way back to Houston we took a detour to meet this little lady, Annabelle, and to have a quick lunch and visit with her parents, Bo and Leigh, along with her big sis Katy Jo.
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Owen and KatyJo catching up…Owen told her she’s “preeeti”
…back to Houston
Our time in Houston with family was so much fun. It could have only been better with the addition of Seth’s sister Claire, her husband Donnie and our nephew Benjamin! We missed you guys!
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Last week we celebrated Owen’s 2nd birthday! Happy Birthday to our sweet Owen! You have filled our lives with so much joy and love!!
For Owen’s party this year we got to be back in Texas and celebrated with Seth’s side of the family. Owen’s 4 cousins came over and we did it up with a puppy themed party.
The kids made collars for their craft and wore felt floppy ears. Aunt Sara painted their noses black! We had a houseful of cute pups! While they crafted they munched on dog food (ie peanut butter Captain crunch)
Seth led the kids in a Simon days game with fog commands. Owen pretty much toddled around watching the bigger kids and enjoying the extra attention.
For dinner we served hot dogs and puppy dog tails (ie curly fries) in big plastic dog bowls. Each kid got their own bowl and thought that was pretty fun!
Er had his party a day early and headed to the farm on his real birthday. So on the morning of his real birthday he got to go with Seth to pick out his first ever doughnut! He approved!
Happy Birthday O!
ps-We are loving our time in Texas….and I am obviously falling way behind on blogging!! Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!!
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