Forgetfulness

I am going to blame it on lack of sleep, I have under 4 hours of sleep the last 4 nights, that is not sustainable. Little man is still having so much gas, it is painful for him ( I am going to my last resort and cutting out all dairy from my diet, I feel like I have tried everything else with no avail).  Sleep is essential for functioning. That has been the hardest part. I have built up somewhat of a tolerance against his screaming and crying, but the lack of sleep gets me. I have only had a handful of nights that I have had at least 5 hours of sleep over the last 6 weeks.  It is affecting me so much, my patience, my emotions and my brain!

After Bible study this morning I wanted to run in the grocery quickly to get a few essentials before our winter storm hit tonight.  It is already so yucky here, freezing rain/mist and icy ground. I ran into the grocery store with both kiddos, got my items and checked out. At the check out the lady asked me if I wanted to pick up my groceries at their "grocery pick-up" so I could get the kids in the car safely and quickly. I have seen the sign for the service, just haven't utilized it before, so I thought today would be a good day for it.

I headed back out in the nastiness with both kids in tow, got them both loaded up and ..... headed home. Yup, that's right drove home. That is the normal after you get in the car, you head home. I drove the 10 minutes home, to the front of my neighborhood before something triggered inside of me, "I FORGOT TO PICK UP MY GROCERIES!" I had to laugh so hard at myself, who forgets their food.

The story get's better. I turn around and head back to Hen House to get my groceries. I call my mom so we can laugh together about my forgetfulness.  As I pull back up to the grocery store, I find the appropriate place to pull up to get my groceries, and I look inside to see the manager standing by my cart.  I take one glance and realize I KNOW THIS GUY! I don't really know that many people here. It is rare to be out in public and see someone I recognize. This gentleman goes to our church and used to be an elder. He laughed when he saw me and couldn't stop laughing the whole time we loaded my groceries. He said he couldn't wait to tell Steve this story.  I asked him, "please tell me people do this often?" to which he replied (while laughing) "I'll just tell you they do." I did explain to him that I am functioning on minimal sleep and this has affected my actions and reasoning. I got in the car and laughed most of the way home.

So today is the day I forgot my groceries. I hope you can all laugh with me.

Dr visit, nice weather & bathtime

Last week was the week of Dr visits. Payton had her 2 year, Colton had his 1 month (really he was 6 weeks) and I had my post-delivery check up.

Here are the stats:

                       Payton                    Colton                                    Me     
Height:           2'10" (55%)           22" (65%)                                5'4"
Weight:          28lbs (61%)           10 lbs 14 oz (59%)                  About 10 lbs off pre-baby weight
Head:             19.9 in (avg)          15 in (grown 2 in since birth)  I have no idea :)

We have a new Dr that is a family Dr that we love. He spent over an hour with us, granted half of the time him and Steve shared hunting stories. He is young, a Christian, has 6 kids and loves to hunt, fish and sports.

We headed to the lake for a few days and so enjoyed the time there. We love going down there in the winter, it is so quiet and we get good down time.  I was able to work on some sewing that I had wanted to do and the weather was so amazing that we were able to get outside, it was refreshing to me soul to be able to be outside!

I completely forgot my camera, so the pics are off my phone:

Even though Payton has been in a big girl bed for months, she loves going in the pack n play for traveling. She calls it her "little bed." She wanted Colton to join her in her bed

Little Man and I went on a good walk up many hills. I am out of shape but it felt so good to get outside and move.

My little brother and his new wife were on the other side of the lake for some business meetings, so we drove to spend some time with them on Saturday before returning home. It was so nice to see them, we hadn't seen each other since their wedding in November.  I forgot to get a picture (I am forgetting a lot these days). But here is a shot of them from their wedding

On a completely side note: Payton hasn't really like baths for the last 1.5 years (that is 3/4 of her life) but my mom suggested doing candle baths (she did that with my little brother when he was little). Ever since her birthday, Payton has been in love with candles and wants to blow them out all the time. So she recently started taking candle baths (the lights are still on and we blow out and relight candles A LOT) and she isn't fighting baths like she used to!

Happy Monday, we are supposed to get anywhere from 6-18 inches of snow over the next 48 hours, hunker down and stay warm!

Solutions

SOLUTION #1

What you do with a screaming child who wants to be held and you need to get things done....

SOLUTION #2

Being weighed down by 2 diaper bags and 1 purse and all while walking on ice, carrying a car seat and holding a 2 year-old's hand

Payton got her own backpack that she can carry and I upgraded to 1 larger bag for purse and Colton's stuff. We will see how this works.

For those of you with 2 little ones, how do you carry everything without breaking your back?

Inside activities

Being winter, being we have snow all over the ground, being I hate the cold, being that we have a newbie in the house, we have been staying inside a lot. I have tried to find things that keep Payton entertained inside.

It is too cold to be outside for too long in the snow, so I brought the snow inside where we could play in it and stay warm.  Payton was a little hesitant at first, but she quickly started enjoying it

We also got the opportunity to get real dirty. Someone suggested "painting"with pudding, so if she eats it, it won't hurt her. Luckily we wore an old shirt that could get dirty. Here is the progression of that experience...

This is one for the memory books, look at those cheeks!

I would love to hear of other ideas you have for inside activities for a preschooler.

Ava Belle and Reese Elizabeth McNeil

Zack and Hilary McNeil are some of our closest friends in Kansas. They really are more like family than friends. They are our next door neighbors, and have been a huge blessing in our lives. They have loved Payton so much the last 2 years and have really been a gift. They are strong believers that attend a wonderful local church that isn't ICCC, which is nice because Steve isn't their pastor, just their friend, but we share the same priorities.

They are amazing people, that have such a heart for kiddos.  They did not have an easy journey in getting pregnant, but after a long time of trying, praying, and assistance, they were able to conceive and were blessed with twins! I can remember Hil showing me the ultrasound and I took a double-take trying to make sure I was seeing things correctly. They wanted to be surprised in the gender, thinking these might be the only children they have.

Hilary was having a healthy pregnancy, she is one of the healthiest people I know. No complications, just the normal pregnancy symptoms of fatigue and nausea.  Long story short, she delivered 2 beautiful girls on December 20th. The problem is, the girls were only 26 weeks.

It has been a roller-coaster for the McNeil family the last month. The girls celebrated their 1 month birthday this past week and are continuing to fight and persevere. They will be in the NICU until at least their due date (end of March) if not later. Zack and Hil are two of the most positive people, who trust the Lord with all of their life, even when things get difficult.

I share their story to ask for prayer for them. You can follow their story on their caring bridge website

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcneiltwins

Steve and I visited them recently, we had visited one other time when they were about a week old, they have grown (both have gained about 1 pound which is a lot when you are born under 2 pounds).  They are amazing little fighters who are already developing a personality. We are so excited for them to come home in a few months and to watch them grow. They are only 4 days younger than Colton, so he might have his choice in ladies. Zack did say that he trusts his girls around the Southards boy which is a compliment because he is a tough one :)

Reese "kangarooing" with her mommy.

Reese "kangarooing"

Ava has been on medicine that is making her retain fluids right now, so she is a little swollen

It is amazing how they are so small, yet have the same exact features as full-term babies

Thank you for your prayers as they have a long road still ahead.

Randoms

I haven't had time to blog recently but I have been trying to snap pictures, so here are a few pics of our life recently...

Grandpa Wiens spending quality time with Payton in her tent

I am not sure how they both fit in there with all the stuff Payton kept adding to the tent

Mom with little man, we had a great time with Mom and Dad. They were only here for 4 days and I was very sad to see them leave. Good news is the kids and I head to Florida in less than a month!

I decided I need to take pictures of little man (we have far less than we did with Payton) so I sat in him in her chair and she did not want him sitting in it unless she joined him.

"Lady why is the camera in my face?"

"Umm, a little help here lady"

"Enough already"

We have been stuck inside because of the 10 inches of snow

Steve brought me home a few surprises one evening. That is unlike him to bring me something "just because." No details will be provided about what was in the VS bag :)

I have a problem with sweets after having kids. I really have show no self control with cookies, candy, and anything yummy like these homemade-from-scratch Cinnamon rolls that my friend Amy brought me. I ate half of a 13x9 pan full of them in 2 days. So much for losing baby weight. The same thing happened with Payton,  I usually don't care for sweets much, but after delivering a baby, that sweet meter is turned up big time!

Payton 2 years old!

Friday was Payton's 2nd birthday. It is crazy that 2 years have already passed.  Friday morning we woke up and made waffles. Payton helped me cook and then got to blow out candles on her waffles, she was thrilled to have candles on her waffles.

Waffles with whip cream and candles

Waffles with whip cream for birthday #1 too
(funny thing is she hasn't worn that bib for about a year and we just pulled it out and that is all she wants to wear)

Baking our waffles

I had thought about doing a birthday party for her, but a few weeks ago decided life was a little too crazy for a party. That decision was made before Steve had hurt his back (which he is doing much better) and I am very glad that I decided to not make a big hoopla and stress myself out. Last minute I decided to have a few friends with kids to join us at Chick-fil-a, one of Payton's favorite places to eat. We had a great evening with friends and the kids got ice cream and got to play while the parents visited.  Payton had a very rough day (tantrums ALL day) and you can see by the pictures she wasn't much happier at her own "party"

Ice Cream is her favorite dessert right now

We had to trick her to turn around from the picture. You can see her tears of unhappiness that she cried a lot that day

My mom and dad arrived late Friday night, so we got to celebrate Payton again on Saturday. We had pizza and then went and got ice cream with Zack and Hilary (our next door neighbors who are the closest thing to family for us in Olathe) and their families that were in town.  Payton loved her chocolate ice cream.

The gang

Loving chocolate ice cream

Zack and Hilary and us

Payton with a few of her favorite men

The family minus Colton

Colton was quite content sleeping in his car seat while we all ate. (Check out his adorable owl hat from my friend Judy)

MIA

 I have been MIA in life in general. Since having Colton 3.5 weeks ago we have had family visiting, Christmas, gone visiting family, New Years, Payton had the flu, I got the flu and now I have a husband who resembles the leaning tower of Pisa.  It is snowing like crazy outside and full of chaos inside. Steve hurt his back very badly last Thursday. He has a bad back (herniated discs and other things) and something didn't sit well with his workout on Thursday. Has has gotten worse and his body is leaning, literally his top half leans.  He is gone to the Chiro a few times this weekend and is getting an MRI done right now.  Please pray for wisdom to know what needs to be done and ultimately for healing.

Needless to say, I have been pulled many directions. With a newborn who by nature is demanding, a 2 year-old that is very vocal about her demands, and now a 28 year-old who is trying not to be demanding but can't do much for himself (I have to help him get dressed he is so bad off).  I told Steve that everyone's physical needs will be met in our house this week from me, but that is about it.

My life in pictures:

Trying to find things to do indoors for the little one, she has watched more movies in the last few days then she has in her lifetime

Food, clean diaper and a little loving is about all I can give him right now

It looks worse in person, if you look at his waist he is leaning towards his right

My house a complete mess, still trying to put Christmas away but can't seem to get more than a few minutes at a time to work on it.

This is the mess outside, thanks to Brad and Spencer from church who came and blew off our driveway this morning. We also had a sweet neighbor Amy who had shoveled half of it earlier in the morning

My sanity time, a few minutes drinking a hot drink, I imagine I am either in the mountains listening to the woods or on the beach, warm and listening to the waves. Using mental imagery for my sanity :)

There are so many people who have been such a help. Thanks to my MIL who came over for a quick trip on Sunday to help and a special thank you to everyone who has brought us meals. That has been a huge blessing, I know my family will at least get one meal each day :)  This too shall pass.