Spirited Essence Works

My husband and I met in the beginning of 2006. I married my best friend in 2009. We were happy, love birds.  It was just the two of us. We moved across the country to Washington State that year. And in 2010, we found our new member of the family, Jerry. A scruffy but distinguished fellow that loves to hunt. Later that year, we picked up another new member of the family, Bob. The loyal companion that is always by your side, yet thinks he’s only a 20lb. lap dog. And we became a family of four. We love our fur boys so much!   

Yet, by 2013, we felt something was missing. A pitter patter of feet, you might say. We moved back across the country to Tennessee and in March of 2014, we had our first little boy, Vincent. A blonde, blue eyed flirt that is always the life of the party. Then by surprise, in the beginning of 2015, we found out we had a new bundle of joy on the way. In the beginning of October, we welcomed Steven to the world. He’s my brunette, hazel eyed thinker. We have become a six pack now. Now with two little ones until 19 months, it has been crazy in our household, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.  

The daily juggling act has been a challenge getting used to. Making sure each child gets quality time as well as my 19 mo old has plenty of educational and creative learning throughout the day. We are still working on a routine. My husband is an amazing stay at home dad. Without him, there are times I don’t know if I could have done it by myself. For one, occupying a toddler while breastfeeding or pumping. The first few days were rough. Yet, we have figured out a method to our madness. Reading to my toddler while I feed the new little one or pump has been key. Vincent will bring me a stack of books and we just begin from there. Sometimes reading the same book two or three times in a row, like “Go, Dog, Go.” Goodness! I think I could quote that book verbatim. Yet, it is a good book! Another challenge was teaching my toddler to be gentle with the new baby. We discussed the topic with him on a few occasions before Steven got here, but experience learning is key with a toddler. I swear that seems like my phrase of the day lately, “Be Gentle!” My toddler has a big heart, and is so loving yet he’s built like Bam Bam and doesn’t realize his strength. He has been doing good so far. My other challenge has been if the baby has something, my toddler wants it too. Thank goodness, I had two boppies. My toddler has to sit with his boppy if Steven is feeding and using his own. Two blankets, two toys, kisses for each, and attention spread evenly. I give props to all the mommies dealing with this right now. It’s not easy some days. Oh, and don’t forget the fur babies, they need attention and exercise too. Working that into a schedule can be hectic at times. Our dynamic six pack is a handful some days but with each new day the routine gets easier. The quality time with each person in our little troop can be difficult to juggle but I make sure that each person or furry one knows how much I love them and how important they are each day. And that is the answer to keeping a happy family. No one left out, and love spread daily. My husband and I are very lucky to have such a wonderful family. Counting our blessings daily!

If you have a routine of managing a family you would like to share, please comment! I would love to hear others methods of juggling daily life with toddlers. Thanks for reading!