2 Cups of Coffee Days

This morning we were getting ready to go to church then Patrick remembered he had to go into work. So instead, the kids took a morning nap since they woke up super early and I decided I'm not going to try to fight they're sleepiness and take them to church by myself. As soon as I was getting ready to sit down and blog both kids woke up... apparently they just needed a little cat nap to restart the morning. Im going to write my blog anyways while they play upstairs.

For those of you who don't already know, Patrick got a job at Smashburger (which is down the street from our new apartment) as a General Manager! He will be making great money to support our family comfortably and he will have is OWN STORE to manage which is what he loves to do, manage. I am so proud of him and he is already getting so much praise and encouragement from his bosses and they are excited to get Patrick into his store. The store he will be at hasn't had a GM in a few months. A lot of employees have left and the store needs a lot of work to get back to how it was. Its a great location and has a lot of potential to do really well. I know Patrick is capable of turning this store around. Wednesday will be his first day in his store as a GM. He has been doing training this past month. So with him being at his new store, he will be working about 70 hours a week to try and fix up the store.

Since Patrick started this job, I have to do bedtime by myself with both kids. The cooking, feeding, bathing, lotioning, jammies, bed time books and then putting them down. Thats a lot to do with both kids. I have a system down now so its not as difficult as it was the first time I did it. However, it definitely requires me to have a lot of energy to be able to do it. Thats when I really started doing my "mid-day latte" everyday. Most days I require 2 cups off Coffee to make it through till the end. Thankfully, Annabelle has been doing really well with her sleep training and its a lot easier to put her down for naps and bedtime.

Sometimes I feel like a single mom. Its hard and exhausting. For the next few months, most days I will be waking up with the kids and putting them to bed by myself. Also, doing errands with them and all the stuff around the house whether they are asleep or not because it has to get done. I have an amazing husband who works so hard to provide for our family and who always makes sure we are taking care of. Not just financially but also emotionally, physically and spiritually. On his days off or days he goes in later he always tries to do as much as he can for me to give me a break or to make my days go easier.

The days have been long for both Patrick and I! As a stay at home mom with a hubby working full time, it feels like you don't get any "days off". Life after kids is so different! It is what we have always wanted. I remember before we had kids I would feel bored a lot and would always say, "I can't wait until we have kids and I can just play with them and take care of them." I still get excited about them everyday that I wake up. I am excited to see their little happy morning faces and plan out the day with them. I am never bored or run out of things to do. Yes I miss the days I could get up when I wanted to and have a quiet morning and take my time getting ready and being able to do things spontaneously and not thing about a nap/eating schedule. But, having kids has changed me so much and has grown me in so many ways. I feel like I'm more responsible of a person and have more appreciation and respect for parents because I see all of the hard work that goes into it.

These long, 2 cups of coffee days won't last forever. I am just powering through this season and dreaming about the family vacations we can take in the future and creating memories with my kids as they grow.