Welcome Back, Blogger

It's 11:30pm and I have 30 more minutes until my 30nothing becomes 30something...well, not just something, in fact...31! Of course, I'm not going to forget the fact that California is two hours behind - so, that counts even though I'm in Kansas, right?

Sure it does - just let her believe it.

So, welcome to the updated new blog. It's my birthday today, so that means you have to at least stay for a spell and give it a chance. I'll admit, it is still a work in progress. I wanted to launch it today, since I might cross your mind (it being my birthday and all) and thought you might want to stop in for a looksee. Well, here you go. There are a few new posts to glance at, just enough to hopefully whet your appetite for more...

But here is the honest truth - I'm in Kansas right now, living it up midwest-style with my girls and my fam (and did I mention it's my birthday?), and sort of just trying to survive on insanely little sleep (we are talking like 3 hours per night is doing good here folks) and also getting in some quality time (like playing how many sets of matching outfits can we put these girls in with my mother and her camera) - all to say, I'll be writing a full account of the trip once I return - so you can look forward to that.

My hope with the updated blog is to accomplish a few things:

*Get my thoughts out - no matter how random or ill-organized they may be

*Entertain you - feel free to laugh at me, near me, around me - or whatever preposition you prefer

*Write - and hopefully get better, one little letter at a time.

Check back often, or sign up for an email notification, or follow me on twitter to stay up to day on any new posts. I hope you hang around. I hope you tell your friends.

I mean, come on...it's my birthday!

Kansas Bound Babies

So, tomorrow I'm hopping on a jetplane with my mom and my daughters and flying home to Kansas for a funfilled week of insanity and family festivities. It's going to be Daphne's first flight (and second and third and fourth, as we have a layover on the way there and back again - oh joy) and I'm already anticipating the jaded glares of nearby passengers who start auctioning off their tickets to trade seats with the person farthest away from our entourage.

Yikes.

This seemed like a good idea when family was far away and I was imagining the bliss of having many helping hands around and being in the comfort of my parents home and thinking about Matilda playing with her cousins - all of which I still eagerly anticipate. But, as I pack the millionth pair of baby socks and the extra onesies "just in case" and the burp cloths and the glow worm Matilda "must have" to sleep with...well, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be easier to entirely dig up the state of Kansas and have it FedEx'd to my doorstep instead. Whew.

Today, as we were picking out some last minute items at Target, I fell all too wearily to the enticement of the LeapFrog system - the Leap Explorer or whatever the heck it is called. Whatever it is, it practically guarantees hours of fun in the palm of my toddler's hands, promising to educate and entertain her beyond my parental capacity, gluing her to the same position by her own choice...in other words, "don't you dare travel without this!" Hmm. We'll see. I totally caved and bought it, picturing Matilda's happy face as she stares at it for the 3 hour flight (the first leg anyway) as she pleasantly greets the other passengers who wave politely at her and comment on how sweet she is, along with my rosy cheeked infant who is sound asleep against me. Sure. Okay. That's so not going to happen.

But, if I can just survive tomorrow without TSA forcibly removing my child from the cargo cabin of an aircraft, or not having a flight attendant get jumped on (picture Matilda heaving herself piggyback style onto a completely unaware stewardess who should have thought twice before getting that weave my toddler is about to yank out of her head), and if we can just get there...then it will all be worth it.

Whew.

Here we go. We can do this.

Diapers - check.

Clothes - check.

Boarding passes - check.

Sanity....ask me when we land.

If only I could click my heels and we'd be there.

Overdrawn

People always warn you about the sleeping habits of newborns (or should I say, lack thereof). Even strangers will often offer their unsolicited advice at how you should "store up sleep now, once the baby is here there'll be no more sleeping for you" as if somehow this imaginary sleepbank even existed. (Trust me, it doesn't.) To all this, I say Pshaw! Newborns got nothin on toddlers, let me tell you.

Last night I got a grand total of 2 hours of sleep. And out of everyone in the family, the newborn slept the most - go figure. Since Daphne was born, a mere 8 weeks ago, she has made the newborn phase of parenting look like a walk in the park. Matilda, on the other hand, has suffered a barrage of disruptions in her little world, all peaking at what I would consider the painful pre-show to entering the terrible twos. Sigh.

The poor girl got a new sister, a new bed, and a new set of molars within a month. She's been to the ER once (I'll save that gem for another blog on a slower day) and dismantled more than a couple child safety devices we've had to install to protect her from her nighttime excursions. But, last night topped them all. Albeit, the ER scenario was by far the scariest - but last night was the most frustrating.

Last night she discovered that if she got out of bed and didn't come to our room (which is what she did before we locked her in) then she could simply just stay and play...and play...and play...and...well, you get the idea. We have a video monitor so that we can literally keep an eye on her in the middle of the night, and at around 11pm, the sneaky scoundrel decided to go to the one side of the room undetected by the camera, climb the rocking glider with her favorite animals, and just play.

This led to my husband returning her to bed not once...not twice...but maybe a few dozen times. At least. Long story short, she finally caved around 3:30am, right around the time Daphne woke up for a feeding. Yep, that seems about right.

This girl has got some naughty britches on her, I tell you what. First thing this morning I pulled out the ole James Dobson classic "The Strong-Willed Child" and started dog-earing pages, determined to arm myself with more parenting ammunition than her little assertive brain can defend.

Where is my sleepbank now? Is it completely overdrawn?

How about all that time I spent skipping chapel in college and sleeping in instead? Where's that sleep? How about all those Spanish classes I dozed off in the back of class? Can I cash that sleep in now??

Honestly, if I were the makers of Huggies, or Graco, or Gerber or whatever-the-heck-else baby-stuff-maker is out there, I would seriously look into branding my own line of highly caffeinated beverages for the parents out there.

And to the new parents of a little newborn for the first time. Those parents who are up in the night but then get to sleep while the wee one is sleeping...well, to them I say this: Sleep now, store it up, cause in a couple years you're going to need to cash that in.

Good luck.

Yawn.

thirtynothing

I've got a week to go before I join the ranks of being considered an official "30-something", giving me a full seven days of "30-nothing" to ponder and enjoy. Since turning the big 3-0 last year, however, life has been overflowing, leaving me to wonder if this is thirty-nothing, what in the world does thirty-something have in store? I'm guessing so, so much more.

Since last year, I've gotten pregnant, had my sweet Daphne, and quit my job to be a stay-at-home-mom. Not only that, but my husband also graduated with his Master's and changed jobs as well! Life has progressed rapidly over the last 12 months and I see no end in sight of it slowing down any time soon. And thank goodness!

Never before have I been so excited, so bewildered, so exhausted, and so grateful...this is a good place to be as I leap into my 30-somethings! I have two, healthy, beautiful daughters who drive me wild with equal amounts of love and insanity. I have a handsome husband who still likes my cooking and takes out the trash without being asked. And I have my dream job which I've spent years praying for and working towards and I have to say - it is even better than I imagined (just don't ask me at 3am...I mean, I'm still human). ;)

But okay, enough bragging/counting my blessings. Let's look ahead. Afterall, birthdays are more than just a time to reflect and see what God has done thusfar...they are also a time to set goals, project progress, and simply dream about what is to come. NOT that I'm trying to rush anything! For heaven's sake, I just had a baby 7 weeks ago who is already being mistaken for a 3 month old! Time is already marching at a faster pace than I'd like!

One of the things I'd like to cement into my newly 30-something life, however, is writing. Here it is. I'm saying it. I'm going to write more. I'm going to put myself out there and blog like a blogging fool.

Here is my only disclaimer - it will be hit or miss. I have no agenda, I have no expertise, I have no intention of being a blog where someone will come and necessarily feel like they are walking away with more than just some gal's fearless antics about her life. Maybe you will feel more validated in your own life. Perhaps you will chuckle a bit or empathize with my honesty.

Nevertheless, I hope you stick around for a long time. It's just about to get good. And maybe we can take this thing all the way till I'm blogging (or whatever we're calling it by then) about my 40-nothing and 50-nothing self, and so on...

For now though...it's about time we turn this nothing into something. Here we go.