Pretty sure we’re stickin with two! So you think the man upstairs says…

Baby fever was certainly starting to set in, but could you blame me? Three of my closest girlfriends, including my longest childhood friend were all expecting. Let's not forget my sister in law and former marketing coordinator both had buns in the oven – due within weeks of each other. And I actually liked being pregnant with the first two – maybe we were meant to have more? Fortunately my common sense thread woke up and I was back on track with sticking with two. So I thought...

I had completely talked myself out of it. Not so much that Mark was off to get a little snip snip, but hell – my mind was made up. We were blessed with two beautiful healthy kids and I was enjoying being a true size 6! We even started talking about a trip to Costa Rica later this year and with the new job I just took– along with my recent nomination to become the MHDA President (which yes – Mark thought I was crazy to accept), aint no time for newborns. And then there was that night…

That damn Makers Mark and post business trip lovin’! But we don’t make stupid mistakes like this! I’m a planner for God’s sake! And with the first two we were actually trying – and we survived the other 10 years with each other making sure we didn’t have an oops moments. Could this really be freaking happening?! Now the waiting game…oh monthly visit from the red river – where are you????

The trouble with Transformers

So, it wasn't the loud banging of metal and missiles being shot across the screen that made me regret letting Isaac watch Transformers for the first time this past weekend. It was the premature explanation I had to come up with on a whim about why face clutching - tilted head, closed-eye kisses are NOT meant for mommy (or family for that matter). I wish I had a picture to post, but basically my knee jerk response was, literally laughing out load, taking his hands and telling him those kisses should be saved for a girlfriend or wife someday. Are you kidding me? Am I really having this conversation with a 4 year old, is all that kept floating through my head as I'm explaining myself. Dammit - I knew I should have vetoed anything past G Rating for another year! Of course he didn't make any gesture letting on to how much he wished he was the guy getting to drive Bumblebee home and lock lips with super hottie, Megan Fox. However, saying good night a few hours later told a completely different story. This was a perfect example of you reap what you sow. Hello - parenting 101, they are soaking in EVERYTHING - not just the cars turning into mega machines. They are watching the same make-out scenes as you and wondering, hmmmm...why are they kissing like that? I can't fault him for being glossy eyed and anxious to copy the newly discovered smooching technique (that we essentially exposed him to!), but still an awkward moment for me! Dad certainly saw far less harm in the whole matter and actually wrapped up part 2 a little while ago. Hopefully they were more focused on the loud cars this time! LOL...we'll see. Happy New Year - never a dull minute in the Devlin household! No resolutions this year - just a promise to post more often!!!

There's a reason why they suggest washing before wearing!

This is what happens when you are on a Sunday flight to Anchorage with kids close in age to your own surrounding you – I go into reminisce mode. 2013 has seriously been a whirlwind, and once again I’ve fallen into bad blogger mode. With just over a month and half to redeem myself this year, here I go... Isaac has pretty much been good to go on the potty training front since last December, but until recently, new under-roo’s (as Isaac likes to call them. Better than panties – which sometimes slips out of my mom’s mouth because she’s so used to having only girls around) were damn near as good as chocolate, so venturing to nana’s house for an unexpected sleepover also meant an emergency run to Target for the next best addition to the underwear collection. Now, in a regular day at the Devlin’s we’d wash the undies before wearing them, but with the trip to nanas and need to open the pack that day, why not scratch the whole pre-washing deal out the door and put the rest of the ‘new’ undies in the drawer to wear? Here’s why... GRANDMAHHHHHHH – Isaac hollers, she rushes over to the bathroom to find a VERY confused little boy with a facial expression screaming, “Why did it turn black?” His little package was no longer of Caucasian decent; it was a shade darker than the asphalt at 6 p.m. the weekend of day light savings. Did I mention – Isaac has blonde hair and blue eyes? Perhaps this was a story that falls under the funnier if you were there category, but come on – imagine your hubby’s mini-me freaking out that is package changed colors and for a second you have NO IDEA WHY – to later realize is was the dye from the undies?! LOL. Lesson learned – always pre-wash those darn dark colored under-roos!

The Milk Factory is Officially CLOSED

Well, they are finally mine again – yes, the all-powerful nee-nee will no longer be a means of nutrition, soothing support, nap shortcut, or airplane take-off crutch. As of Monday, August 5 – the milk factory officially closed for vacation...and doesn’t plan on coming back! Which means, baby #3 is looking less and less likely (which I’m totally OK with), but that horrible monthly beast is BACK. How is it that carrying a baby (in the womb) is more comfortable than the miserable cramps that paid me a visit this week?! Oh, what us woman go through – and see, that’s why I feel no guilt having an occasional ladies night, or sleeping in Saturday morning while Mark is watching Bubble Guppies with the kids. It’s all about balance, right?! And, accepting the fact, life (as we once knew it) is never “fair” – once you are blessed with the title, MOM!

Bad Mommy...

How is it possible that someone so young can make his way under my skin so bad that I completely SNAP! Oh, yeah - a 3 1/2 year old can. Everyone talks about the terrible 2's - ha, two's nothing compared to the little stinkers they can become once they hit three. But, the worst part - when we let them WIN! And, that's exactly what happened the other night. Isaac pushed the last button - the motherboard breaker that activated a screaming mommy who was done with the back and forth conversation that was going nowhere painfully slow, and it was clear – I needed to walk away. But of course, not before screaming God Dangit (but the real thing, which is SOOOO not me!) – G-O T-O B-E-D! Accompanied by me storming out – slamming the door shut behind me. Not my proudest moment! I made it downstairs, but turned right back around - obviously feeling horrible about what I'd just done. So, what's the rational thing to do next, of course, crawl in bed with him, sobbing I'm sorry - mommy had a really rough day - please forgive me. For him to reply with, I wish you didn't have to go to work in the morning. Are you kidding me?! Brutal. I felt the crappiest I've ever felt as a mom...in my whole 3 1/2 years - LOL. But in all seriousness - it was a low moment, but dangit, you need to listen to mommy! And that's what I also made sure to say. And, not that I'll make a general practice of hollering GD, and risk waking up the other kid, along with feeling like shit, he's been somewhat less of a stinker these past two days! TGIF!

Welcome back!

I'm clearly a horrible Blogger, having not written anything in over a year, and previous to that had another huge lapse in time - but her I am, back at it. That whole work life balance thing that I mentioned in my intro, it barely exists these days. Who could blame me when you add another kid to the mix, two volunteer boards – each with their own activities, and a job that still has me on the road at least once a month? Yes, I know, some of that busyness is by choice, but regardless, the weekends are priceless and I cherish every minute I have with Isaac and Abigail - and of course Mark, too. Today something funny happened, well - strange actually. This could just be a random coincidence, but I think it's a head-scratcher. Isaac comes downstairs and asks if he can watch Sportacus, which is a character on the Sprout channel. He goes on to say it’s on after Elmo. I remind him that the show he was previously watching was a recording, so whatever he just saw wasn't actually what was going to be on next. But it was... I head back upstairs with him and turn off the recording and there on live Sprout TV is Elmo and the next show scheduled was Lazy Town - the show that Sportacus is in. Weird, right? Never a dull moment here, and so much more to tell – it’s been way too long.

Is it really the middle of April?

Wow - I can't believe I haven't posted anything since August of last year. They always say time goes by faster the older you get...especially once kids are in the mix. Well, that is the serious truth! I feel like I've been pregnant with Isaac's little sister forever - maybe because I was a lunatic with the pregnancy tests and was taking one a week, so I literally found out I was pregnant the first humanly day possible! And here I am 38.5 weeks in losing my mind. It's like I've never been through this before - but wait - maybe because I haven't! Isaac made his appearance 12 days early - so this whole thing about going on 39 weeks is INSANE to me. Not to mention the nerves I'm feeling because I've been having contractions like mad, but no other signs of labor, again - nothing like what I experienced with Isaac. My storybook delivery, which so many of you curse me about, is now haunting me, because now all I can think about is, crap - what if my water doesn't break first, and what if I don't really know if this is real or not, and yikes, I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but I don't want to end up giving birth to this kid in the car. UGH - so much to think about and all everyone keeps telling me is to relax. HA - Cheri relax, right....

Last night is the perfect example. Contractions started up about 9 p.m. and they weren't the little Braxton Hicks I've been dealing, they were the dagger in the goods feeling, so I look at Mark and say, “OK - let's start timing them.” Well, a few more came and went, but none of them were lasting for than a few seconds...but 2 hours of this? Mark asks me, "so what do you want to do?" And I say, “I dunno...maybe I should take a shower.” So that's what I did. A few more contractions came and went, and then the lull...so, we decided to go to bed. And here I am today, still prego and bigger than I was yesterday!

Good times in prego land...