Adventures of a mama of 2

I called my mom the other day to tell her that this whole two kid business is kind of tricky. She immediately started laughing, which I guess is the appropriate response if you've raised six kids.  I never thought it was amazing or even somewhat remarkable that my mom raised all six of us, with my dad working late hours, with no family around for support.  Now, I wonder how the heck it was humanly possible.

The other day, I had Easton in the Moby and was sweeping the floor while Gabriela slept.  I thought in that moment how I never realized how easy it was having just one kid, and how if someone had ever suggested such a thing that I would have never believed them.  Because, let me tell you, there is nothing easy about trying to figure out how to be a parent and console your tiny new baby.

Things are mostly going well.  The other morning Gabriela and Easton were both snuggled up to me on the bed sleeping soundly - and it was after 8am!  Such sweet bundles of love. Fast forward to this afternoon - Gabriela was overtired from a totally fun cookie decorating party, throwing a supreme tantrum, kicking and screaming and pulling her own hair because I took Easton out of the car seat before her, acting like I had betrayed her by moving our family to Alameda when she just wanted to live in Oak-a-land.  Knowing she had just lost it, I didn't get angry, but picked her up (along with Easton and the diaper bag) and carried her into the bed for some snuggles.  She was sobbing on one side of me, and Easton was doing the same on the other side. It was a rough afternoon.

Sometimes I don't think we can handle going to the grocery store together (which is why we have no eggs, milk, or bread, among other things at the moment), but other times I feel super courageous and do crazy things like make a trip to Ikea all together.

There I was with Easton in the Moby, lugging around the diaper bag, a giant Costco sized grocery bag full of stuff, and a six pack of wine glasses, trying to keep track of Gabriela. This mostly worked until she disappeared from me for about 3 minutes. I knew she had wandered away, but didn't want to go too far in case she came back looking for me. And she did, right away, bursting into tears when she saw me.  We talked about what to do when you get lost again and she was sure to stay next to me the rest of the time.  Then Easton had a mini melt down in line, and as soon as we sat down to nurse him, Gabriela announced she had to go potty.  The fun never stops, people.

I'm nearly to the point where I feel brave enough to start going on outings with the kids and just me.  Wish us luck. It's a tricky adjustment, but I love this new life.