Just a week ago...

... I was huge and miserable! About this time last week, was when the contractions started to liven up and get things going. Now as I sit here and type away, I look over to see the triumph of all my pain... Sweet little Brady Ross.
He is such a sweet little boy, and a very good baby. Last night he went a good 2 1/2 - 3 hrs between feedings and slept soundly in his crib the whole night. We didn't have to mess around with the suckie, or bouncy seat or even rocking him to sleep. He just ate, burped and slept- How wonderful!! Our schedule last night was 9:00pm 12:45 - 3:00 - 6:00 and at 8:45am I had to wake him to eat before taking the big boys to school. I'm afraid to admit it, but I feel pretty good and rested for having a newborn and 2 preschoolers at home. And as long as he keeps this kind of nightly schedule I think we'll do just fine.

Dylan and Riley went back to daycare/school yesterday and today, which was soooo needed for them. As you can imagine things are very different at home, and well Mom and Dad don't have as much undivided time to devote to them. The needed to burn off some energy and get some norm back into their day, so school was a great outing for them these past 2 days. Tomorrow we'll all be home again (Brad included) and try for a new normal kind of schedule at home. Dylan has been most interested in Brady and is constantly asking to hold him~ and of course its usually at inconvenient times~ such as when Brady is nursing, or having a good rest. Riley doesn't seek him out as much, but does remind us the things that Brady can and can't do because "he's only a baby".

Brad is having a tough time with feeling rested these days... I don't think its the sleep part of things, but all the internal worry and stress you generate when having a new baby at home. And if this isn't enough to have weighing on your mind, Brad has applied for a rink manager position at a new $20 Million area in Duluth, MN and after an initial phone interview, is one of the top 3 candidates and has been invited out to Duluth for an interview next week. Not sure where this will take us? Lots to consider- and the huge question of, would the offer be worth a huge move for our family? At this point I'm staying on the sideline with this one and will only let myself start freaking out if he should get the offer. OH yeah and with all this going on upstairs, he went back to work this week only for Tuesday and Wednesday- foolish man. Hopefully he can catch up on some R & R before heading back to work next week.

And then there's me... Like I mentioned earlier, I'm feeling pretty good. Despite a 3 day stretch with no shower, I've been up and at 'em. The Ponytail, sweats and the Today show are my new ritual. The past 2 days have been pretty quite with just Brady and I, but thats about to change as the boys will only go to school a few hours in the morning a couple days a week. I sit and ponder how long it will take for this pudgy belly to shrink in size, and/or how long I can use the excuse "I just had a baby" before I am expected to do something about it. Eh- for now I'll just worry about staying fresh and presentable, and worry about the rest later...