Author Archives: letterstoreesie

Holidays 2019

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The Holidays went by in one beautiful blur. It gets more fun each year. I feel like the kids were at the perfect ages this year. At 2, 5 and 8, we had the perfect mix of sheer excitement and sheer terror (June.)

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Reese and James reveled in everything/anything Christmas; the baking, the presents, visiting with family, the songs, the snow, the hot chocolate, the movies, Santa, they couldn’t get enough of it. We waited 1.5 hours to sit on Santa’s lap at our town’s Christmas celebration only to learn that Santa is June’s one true nightmare. On Christmas morning, we had to carry her, kicking and screaming, downstairs because she was sure Santa was down there. To this day, when a car comes down the driveway or someone knocks at our door, June runs to me screaming, “It’s Santa!”

Santa brought a street hockey set, an aircraft carrier set, countless books, Lego sets, a tea set, pajamas, candy, underwear and socks. The kids stayed in their rooms until 7:30 as instructed by me. I will say that me telling my kids they can’t wake us until 7:30 is the most hypocritical thing I have ever done in my life. As a kid, and admittedly, until I was way too old, I would wake insanely early on Christmas morning (like 3 AM.) I would charge into my parents room where they would beg me to come back at 6. As a compromise, I would go to my room, stare at my clock for two hours and then go back to their room at 5.  A true assassin of holiday fun and relaxation. It got so bad that on Christmas Eve my Dad used to set all the clocks in our house back by hours in the hopes of stalling me.

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Each year it gets a little better and I understand now why people say Christmas as a parent is just as fun as Christmas as a kid. It might be even better.

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June at 2 Years 2 Months

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Our wild child.

This is our third born. She rules this house with an iron fist, as two year olds do. On her birthday we let her eat a butter packet with a knife because both of us were too scared to take it away from her. This about sums up how life is right now.

She is tiny, but she is fierce.

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June is a lot like her siblings were at this age. She talks a TON, she has already taken to calling me by my first name, “I so happy to see you Jackie”, she says. She loves music and anytime there are songs at story time or playgroup, she takes out her ponytail and shakes her head around until she falls down in a dizzy heap. Her favorite song to sing is Jingle Bells. The only line she knows is “Jingle bells, jingle bells”, so you can imagine what that is like for all of us.

She lives for Reese and James is her arch nemesis who she ocassionally likes, mostly when he gets stuff for her.  She knows exactly how to piss James off and unfortunately he falls for it every time. She is the destroyer of lego towers, grabber of crayons, puller of hair, and the worst; a spitter. But she also wakes from every nap, looks around, pushes her curls out of her eyes and asks, “Where’s Jeems?” When they are at school she loves to play in their rooms and steal their most prized possessions, the ones she’s never allowed to touch when they are around. As a little sister myself, I can commiserate with this.

It is easy to tell that she is a little sister. She knows far too much for two years old, and is not afraid to chase down big kids and join their wrestling matches or soccer games, much to my horror. She has started potty talk much too soon thanks to her big brother, and her favorite thing to do is to yell “poopy diaper” and wait for the laughs.

She sits through soccer practices, swim lessons, is carted to karate and cub scouts. I imagine how this feels through her eyes. To be taken to places with cool looking things; games, toys, crafts, balls, pools, snacks etc. Then to be promptly removed without being allowed to touch anything, only to be taken back about an hour later and then removed again. She is totally aware that bigger kids are doing better things without her. Anytime we talk about going anywhere or doing anything, June will appear at my feet, pulling on my pants leg and yelling, “I COME!”

I promise you June, your time will come.

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Favorite things include our dog Miles, who she follows and around and loves on/tortures relentlessly, her bubba (pacifier) which yes, she still has at 2 years old so shutty, her big sister and brother, her cousin Sam, Legos (which she pronounces with an Italian accent), Paw Patrol, Daniel Tiger, playing outside, riding her trike, apples, ham and cheese, the beach and the farm.

Despite the fact that she is the littlest, our life still seems to revolve around her in a way that it should. The kids are aware that we can’t always do certain things because we’ll have June with us and it just won’t work, or that there are times when she will need to go for a nap, or need to be fed. And to me, this is how it should be, because before we know it everyone will be on the same playing ground and there won’t be a little person there to remind us to take a break.

So thank you Junie, for keeping us on our toes. I think it was getting too easy for us for a little while there anyway.

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It’s Been Awhile

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This is us!

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I am a terrible blogger and it feels like years since I’ve been back here; feels like years since I’ve not been too tired to sit down and write something that I want to write.

I love writing, and I love having memories from this special time in my life and my kids’ lives. As Reese is about to turn 8, this has become trickier. She is embarrassed by everything, and if she knew there was an online space available to anyone/everyone, that contained embarrassing baby stories, she would die. And they will probably all feel this way at some point, until they get over it and realize how cool their mom really was. Haha! Right. All that being said, writing these stories is something I have really missed, and my goal is to continue recording and sharing these memories without mortifying my daughter, although I’m sure that day will come no matter what I do.

So much has changed since the last time I’ve written. New house, new town, a second grader, a kindergartner, and a 2 year old who runs shit around here.

We are smack in the middle of crazy after school activities, weekend sporting events, homework and the terrible twos, with potty training on the horizon. It’s a circus round here, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it.

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James at 3.5 Years

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Another late update.

James was 3 and a half in early September and in true middle child fashion, his update never happened. Sorry buddy, but from one middle child to another, you’ll get used to it.

Dear James,

My little baby boy.

You are feisty, you are loud, you are devastatingly handsome, and you are wild and crazy. You couldn’t be more different from your sister at this age.

Your true loves include trucks, trains, Star Wars, MagnaTiles, Iron Man, selfies, riding your bike, the police, swimming, wrestling, Legos, and pretending to shoot things. You love peanut butter, jelly, rice cakes, cereal, and little other food. You love “cozy pants” and refuse to wear any pants that have buttons on them. I fight you on this, but I get it, no one loves an elastic waistband more than your mom. You fight with Reese daily, but when she gets home from school you light up. You are doing so well with your new little sister. I know you notice the extra time I have to spend with June, but you never direct your frustrations at her. You are only jealous that she gets to wake up in the night to eat.

You continue to be my biggest challenge in the parenting department. Sorry son, but it’s true, we usually go to battle an average of three times a day. The terrible two’s have reappeared as the threatening threes (as in me threatening you 24/7, and you threatening my sanity.) You are the sweetest boy ever about 75% of the time, but the other 25% of the time you will cut a b. You regularly tell me that you are never playing with me again, throw toys, stomp your feet, melt to the floor and turn to rubber, and then minutes later reappear asking for some crackers. I usually avoid taking you to places like the mall and the grocery store because you are getting bigger and stronger and I’m not sure how much longer I will be able to throw you over my shoulder and get the hell out of there when the need arises. The need usually arises.

You go to the school twice a week from 9-1 PM and it is everything to you. You love getting your backpack and your lunch box and going off to school just like Reese. Despite said behavior at home, you are an angel at school.

You would take a nap everyday if we had time for it. You love your midday snoozes and you still love to cuddle with your mamma. Lately you have been waking up scared in the middle of the night but your Dad can usually get you right back down. Going to sleep at night is another story. We put you and Reese to bed around 7/7:30 and for the next hour (sometimes more), you can be found laying in the hallway, busting into Reese’s room and being a general annoyance, calling to Andrew and I for water, hugs, tuck-ins, complaining of phantom injuries, etc. Oftentimes you appear in the living room doorway because, “I just had to tell you something.” “Something” is usually an arbitrary question about Star Wars, or a request to borrow our phones.

We are so proud of your kindness to other kids and your fierce independence. We love seeing you in your element at swim class, and watching you race on your bike like a maniac. We know you will be a wonderful big brother, and hopefully will become a little less of the stereotypical “little brother.”

We love you sweet James, more than you will ever know.

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Baby Stuff: Must Haves

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As our third child, June really shouldn’t need anything. I saved EVERYTHING from Reese and James’s baby days. Clothes, shoes, toys, bassinets, cribs, rockers, literally everything. When I was pregnant I was determined not to buy anything else, baby stuff has a way of slowly taking over your house until you are drowning in it. And baby instagrams, blogs, and advertisers make you think that you need EVERYTHING! I mean how did the pilgrims ever have all those children without an HD video monitor that could connect to Wifi so they could share snapshots with their friends?? Times were trying.

However, after our first sleepless night in the hospital (June had a marathon night where she was awake and fussing from 11 PM until 5 AM), Andrew and I would have paid any amount of money for any magic sleep suit, dock a kid, miracle bed, whatever! We have softened in our old age and one sleepless night had us Amazon Priming it up at 5:30 AM, in search of some baby sleep trick gimmick.

Since being home, there are a few things that have made these first few weeks easier, and a few that I could not have lived without.

Fisher-Price Rock ‘N Play Sleeper

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I know I am late to the party on this one, but this thing has been saving us at night. We got a hand me down rock and play from my sister and June has slept in it almost every night since we got home. She sleeps so much better in this than in the co-sleeper that we have. The co-sleeper was initially attractive to me because it kept the baby close to me and was also recommended for moms who had c-sections because you wouldn’t have to get out of the bed to get the baby. I didn’t find it easier though, I still had to completely sit up then kneel and reach into the bassinet to get her and lift her out. It was an awkward motion and after the first night I was in pain from all the moving. I don’t know if it was just our bed, but the sleeper never lined up directly with our bed, so I couldn’t just roll the baby into my bed and feed her, which is what I had imagined. The downside of the rock and play is that I did have to get completely out of bed to get the baby when she woke, but it cradled her, and she wasn’t just lying flat on a firm mattress like in a crib or bassinet. June loves it, and right now, she sleeps for 3 and sometimes even 4 hour stretches in it at night. I wish I had had this for Reese and James!

Swaddle Me Blankets
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I have used these with all of my kids and they are the best, especially in the first few weeks when the babies are itty bitty and still craving that womb-like feeling. Having their hands cuddled inside stopped their startle reflex from constantly waking them, and since you can’t use blankets, I never had to worry about them being cold. Also, the SwaddleMe brand was my favorite because the newborn sizes fit June perfectly and they never creep up around her face and mouth like some of the other brands do.

Reusable Nursing Pads
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I love reusable things. With the first two kids, I used disposable nursing pads, which were fine, but if I ran out of them I was screwed would have to stuff toilet paper in my bra all day long. I also hated how fast I went through them. This time I tried some organic bamboo nursing pads that I found on Amazon and I LOVE them. They are super absorbent and soft, you can wear them longer than the disposable ones and you can use them over and over. They are a little more bulky, so sometimes they can show through a thinner bra and shirt, but for the most part I love these. They are machine washable (I just throw them in with our regular laundry) and even come with a washing bag so they don’t get lost in the black holes that are my washer and dryer.

If You’re Nursing, A Good Pump
normalInsurance will now give you a free breast pump (holler!) but I still use the one that I got when Reese was born, the Medela Freestyle. My insurance didn’t provide a pump when Reese was born, but I was working at the time, pumping three times a day, and needed something that was easy. I bought the Freestyle and I don’t think I could have lasted a year of breastfeeding without it. It’s hands-free so I could continue working while I was pumping and the pump itself is small enough to hold in one hand and walk around with if needed. The battery life is long, so you aren’t tied to a plug the whole time you’re pumping, and the bag and cooler that are provided are small and make transporting everything easy. When I had James I got the free pump that insurance provided but ended up donating it because I just continued to use the Freestyle. This time, after hearing that my pump was 5 years old the nurses at the hospital basically insisted that I get a new one through insurance. The Freestyle isn’t covered completely, so you still have to pay out-of-pocket for a portion of it (I’m not exactly sure how much.) But because of that, I just got one that was free, the Medela Pump in Style. I still prefer the Freestyle though and continue to use it, and after two years of pumping it still works great. If you are working and planning on breastfeeding I would definitely recommend paying more for the Freestyle; the bag, the hands-free option and the small size make everything SO much easier. If you won’t need something every day, I would just use the free one through insurance; the Pump In Style gets the job done it’s just harder to tote around and doesn’t come with a bag to carry all that crap in.

All of This Happened

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So, I haven’t exactly been hiding, but I spent much of the past 9 months looking like this, so there hasn’t been much time for blogging.

img_7325Our third born, June Powers, arrived on August 23rd, 2017 at 11 AM, one week early, via a scheduled c-section.

And she is just beautiful. None of us can stop looking at her. She came into the world kicking and screaming and weighing in at 7 lbs 3 oz, our smallest baby yet. She is quiet and gentle until she gets hungry. Then she is pissed. She seems to be unfazed by the screaming/yelling, non-stop talking, and tackling that goes on in our house, so I think she will survive here nicely.

Her first week here has been chaotic. James and Reese both started school and there were visiting days and orientations, not to mention dealing with the aftermath of a pipe that burst in our basement while we were in the hospital.

Meanwhile, June is straight chillin’ all day long. She sleeps at night. The first couple of nights home from the hospital I actually had to wake her for her feedings. For the record, when other people told me they had to do this with their newborn babies, I secretly never believed them. I know this may not continue, but it’s nice to have right now, while trying to recover from the c-section and get two kids up and out the door for school in the morning. Sidenote: I laugh a little inside when I say things like “get the kids up and out the door for school.” It’s so mom-ish.

I actually love the chaos this time around. Reese was born in November and because the weather was terrible, flu season was nearing, and she was our only child, her and I pretty much spent her first winter hunkered down in our living room watching Laguna Beach reruns. When James arrived two years later in March, the weather was better but we also had a two-year old who wasn’t in school yet, woke insanely early, never went to bed easily and could do very little for herself. Sicknesses ravaged our house those first few months and those were probably some of the hardest days of my life. I could remember feeling guilty just wishing that James would hit that 3 month mark and maybe start sleeping better. I felt like I was wishing his babyness away. So far, I don’t have those feelings this time.

Now, Reese is in school full-time, we have swimming lessons and soccer practices to go to and June will be dragged to everything. Much like any younger sibling, and I think she will roll with it.

Here are some glimpses of our first few days.

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Last Day of Nursery School

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On the last day of nursery school the same photobomber from the first day was still wreaking havoc on our photo taking.

Reese officially finished nursery school in mid June and it was bittersweet to say goodbye to her lovely little school. James will start there two days a week next year, so we aren’t leaving it completely but Reese loved everything about her school so much and I know she misses it. She is as pumped as ever for full day kindergarten next year, and Andrew and I are excited to see her in this new phase in her life, even if I will miss my little helper every day. Can someone take James all day instead? Just kidding Jamers.

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