Sooner than later

I knew this day would come. After all, we have conquered most gates and can climb out of anything with straps. Yes, my children have officially climbed out of their cribs at 18mths old. If anyone knows me well, bed time is a very important thing for me. When it is bed time or nap time, I put my kids down and that is all there is to it. This is my time (right..) or my time with Janie or Mike or laundry time or whatever-I-have-not-been-able-to-do-why-the-boys-are-awake-time! Whatever it may be, it is important to me and fortunately, my kids go to bed well.

Well, this all changed on Sunday. Janie and I were up at my Mom's for my Sissy's baby shower. Mike stayed home with the boys. He put them down at noon for their daily nap. 10 minutes later he heard a loud thud. He thought "great, Kyle has learned how to get out" So, he ran upstairs and no, it was not Kyle. Kyle was already out of bed playing, it was Owen who had fallen. I can see Kyle running over to his bed trying to coax him out. My little Owey would never do this on his own!

They went to bed fine last night. So I was thinking maybe it was just a one time thing. No such luck! When Mike heard the boys this morning and went into get them, Kyle was out and about playing like he is 4 years old. Oh my!

This is not safe. I fear that they will hurt themselves very bad crib climbing. Kyle may have conquered it quietly so that he does not tune us in but Owen is not quite strong enough. I read in Parents Magazine to move them at this point into big beds. Guess what? I am not ready. I am not ready for them to roam their bedroom for hours each night and I am certainly not going to lay with them until they sleep! Call me selfish!

I am going to by nets! Watch for an update....

Have I told you about my Brother?

It seems so often that we are so busy and caught up in our daily routines with jobs, children, spouses and nameless other things. My brother is no exception to this. He is in a very demanding political career, commutes daily 70 miles each way to work, and has endless evening meetings and events. And oh ya, he also has a wife at home that he occasionally sees. Despite his crazy busy life (just wait until he has kids), he never and I mean never (unless something major is happening) says no to helping me out when I need it. I can't tell you how many times I have been in a pinch having to work with no one to watch the kids. He has absolutely no problem with it. He will change diapers, he will play and play and love and play. All I have to do is feed him and he likes Hamburger Helper.

When I got caught at the Dr.'s office and was told I needed to go and deliver the boys, I called him and he went and picked up my daughter from school and took care of her all night. Just this last week I had concert tickets and Mike had to work. It was one of the few days that John got to work out of his house in Lansing. So what did he do? He drove down to Detroit to watch my kids so that I could go to the concert. And, did so willingly.

Anyway, it is so nice to have someone in your life like my brother. I can count on him. I can ask without guilt or compensation. I trust him as much as I trust anyone to care for my children. For this, I am grateful!

The only thing he doesn't do...pick up! Love you bro!

A month later...

It has been a very long month with a lot of ups and downs and therefore I could not bring myself to blog. In fact, there have been days that I could not bring myself to do much other than give my kids what they need and get through the day.

Mike lost his job on Sept 29th. The circumstances are not something I really want to discuss right now but ultimately, he resigned his position. So, we have been living with the stress of trying to make it on my salary while he is diligently looking for a job. There are so many factors to consider. How can we keep our babysitter that we love and has taken incredible care of our kids? How can we keep Janie is gymnastics? How can we not get ourselves into such a big whole that we can not get out? Where can Mike begin looking? Can he work an hourly position until he finds something? Will my husband fall into and unmotivated rut? And on and on and on...

Fortunately, things seem a bit up. He has started to get some interviews. In the meantime he is working as a temp at my work. He may start an interim gig next week at a new high end restaurant in Southfield. So, we are making it, trying to keep our kids happy and our marriage intact.

What I have learned through this whole ordeal is that I do have so much to be thankful for. I have healthy children, a loving family who would do just about anything for me (thank you!), great and supportive friends and I am still in love with my husband. Many things in life will come and go but my life is filled with the most important things! Now all I need is a paycheck damnit!

The kids are great! The boys continue to be out of control. Fortunately, they keep us laughing. Janie continues to do well in school. She told me the other day, as she giggled, that she has two crushes in her school. She made me promise not to tell Daddy or anyone else. See how I don't listen. It is so cute.

Despite having one unemployed we are managing to stay busy. My sister had a baby shower in Columbus this past weekend so we road tripped there. She has another this weekend up near my mom's and I think Janie and I will skip off by ourselves. We have a big fundraiser next week for the NICU where the boys were.

Other news:

~One of my best friends had a baby a week ago~ Congrats Mere and Jon and welcome Talan
~The nursing home where my grandma lives dropped her the other day and she has some serious bruising and cuts but is doing okay
~I saw the Indigo Girls concert last Friday and it was great!

I think that is it for now. Here is a pic of the boys enjoying their first powdered donut.