How it's going.

Trying to find time to post these days is hard. This will probably have to be fast, Luke is watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Matthew is in the Rock N Play "sleeping" but is kinda squawky about it so that may not last long.

Sleep is pretty crappy these days. Luke goes to bed right about the time Matthew wakes up to eat for a freaking hour. Then Matthew goes to sleep for a couple of hours while I try to run around and get important stuff done like laundry and dishes (forget about cleaning beyond that). Then Matthew is up and ready to eat again. If I'm lucky, he'll go back to sleep for a couple more hours so I can get a couple hours of sleep then too. And then he is up again for his marathon cluster feeding. Last night it was from about 12:30 till about 2:45 am. I'm not sure why I even look at the clock, to torture myself I guess. He eats a little, stops for awhile, eats a little more, stops for awhile, repeat repeat repeat. Seriously kid, why can't you just eat and go back to sleep?!? Last night he still wasn't really done when I pulled him off and gave him a pacifier instead because I was totally empty and totally DONE with it whether he was or not. He gave me a disgusted look when I tried to put the pacifier in his mouth, yawned, and went to sleep instead. And then Luke was up bright and early at 5 am sharp for the day. And that was a "good night" because I didn't have Luke up at 3 right after Matthew went back to sleep, like he does some nights. So, it's kinda rough. This too shall pass...someday...right? It's a nice problem to have, but exhausting.

And then Luke. He's not afraid of the baby anymore. He's quite comfortable poking his grubby little hands on the baby's face. "Bayee?" (baby) "Yep, that's the baby." (He has no interest in saying anything close to Matthew.) He also likes touching Matthew's nose and saying "no". He has managed to climb in the swing and in the rock n play about 50 times already (And he's good about waiting for a prime opportunity to do it, like when I'm changing a diaper.)-thankfully not with the baby in them-I don't think he would if the baby was there, while he doesn't mind touching him, he's not that comfortable around him, even so, I don't leave them in the same room together where Luke can reach Matthew. It will be a miracle if our swing survives beyond two kids at this rate.

I started taking Luke to My Gym this week. He is one of the biggest kids in his class and also the least cooperative. Circle time was a joke, I had to take him off to the side because he decided to throw a huge tantrum instead of doing the hand clapping things and songs and stuff. The problem was that they let the kids play for a few minutes before it started, and they had all kinds of beloved toddler stuff like mats and a ball pit and bouncy balls and a trampoline and climbers and slides. So Luke got a taste of that and then when I dragged him off the climber for "circle time" he was pretty pissed about it and really not impressed with the circle time activities. Luckily circle time only lasts for 5ish minutes or less and the rest of the "class" is a lot less structured...they have activities...but the kids can also just keep playing if they want...so Luke really didn't do much of the "class" and mostly just played. I am HOPING that after another week or two of this, he will get with the program and at least sit still if not comply with circle time. I think we would have been better off starting this a couple months ago, when he was a little more compliant, but it is too late for that now. The nice thing is that they have "free play" time every day at different times and you can go unlimited times a week for free (well, not really free because we are paying for classes, but it's free to go to free play as much as you want.) SO, we are going to be spending A LOT of time there this winter, I predict. My mom watched Matthew for us while we went though when we go for free play I will probably have to bring him most of the time and use a baby carrier.

Joe got the job he started interviewing for a couple months ago! It starts in a week or two and will be a lot better. Slightly shorter drive, better pay, much better benefits, much better training and job opportunities. They have training in Florida, actually, so I foresee a Florida vacation in our future. (Because Joe is out of his mind if he thinks he's going to Florida and leaving me here with a toddler and a baby on my own while he's in freaking Florida. We will all go, thank you very much.)

Time to feed the baby, then get dressed and take Luke outside to play for a bit (I dress the baby warmly, put him in the carseat with blankets and a carseat cover, and put it next to the door but inside the house, so I can see the baby from our porch and front yard, but he can still stay warm inside and I have my hands free to chase Luke around. It has worked pretty well so far but it's going to be harder when it gets cold.

Hopefully the planets will all align and we can take a long nap, all at the same time, today. Not holding my breath for that and I usually end up doing other stuff during the rare times both boys are asleep at the same time anyway.