Recharge and Start Again

Sometimes I’ll hear a comment or some advice and know it’s true and relevant to me, but it’s only after I’m in the midst of the experience that I fully process it and look back at how young I seemed when I first heard it. For example, I remember taking notes in the childbirth class before Rush was born, calmly writing down “go to the hospital when you can no longer talk through a contraction.” Oh Kelly, so naïve, how did you not think about how intense pain is if you can’t even talk through it?

These days I’m thinking about how every single person that I talked to with two kids approximately two years apart said “it’s really hard at the beginning, but after that it’s awesome.” I guess I thought “really hard” meant I would be tired and busy. I realize now that it actually means it takes everything I have to meet my kids’ most basic needs –eating, sleeping, no busted heads.

It’s been a little intense, but I did get a great recharge this weekend when we visited Trent’s family. Trent and I went on a lunch date to Jason’s Deli (Can you believe there’s no Jason’s Deli in Pearland? Not only that, but if you type “salad bar Pearland, TX” into google, the first restaurant it recommends is Chick-Fil-A. What? A fast food restaurant that serves three pickle slices as its primary vegetable is the closest we have to a salad bar?) and there were lots of extra hands to hold they boys and give them attention. I had the best sleep I’ve had in approximately ten months when Tate miraculously slept from 9 PM until 5:30 AM on Saturday night. And really it was just great to get out of the house and go somewhere besides Kroger.

Rush had a great Saturday morning when Trent’s family took him to Sesame Street Live. Apparently when Elmo came out on the stage he almost jumped out of his seat. From what I heard, the show was long but he stayed pretty focused on it. He does love Elmo. Oh Rush, you’re adorable.

Here’s a recent picture of me:

I have to stop making fun of the pageant moms on Toddlers and Tiaras for stuffing their kids with sugar all day to keep them going. I always say they should be giving their kids a decent breakfast instead of a Fun-Dip. Yet here I am after four hours of sleep, four Pop Tarts fatter. I find myself using Pop Tarts on myself just like those moms use Pixie Sticks on their daughters, but instead of needing energy for my beauty routine, I need it to clean the kitchen after bath time. I’m not even sure how I got started on Pop Tarts, which, until recently, I had not eaten since college. It might have something to do with the relentless product placement on 30 Rock.

Trent and I make real popcorn (real meaning made in the Stir Crazy instead of the microwave) every Sunday night and we settled into a routine of Trent making the popcorn and me cleaning up. Last night when we settled in for the Oscars I made the popcorn and obviously forgot how much to popcorn to use. And actually how much oil as well, that popcorn was basically deep fried. It was damn good.

I was happy to see a win for my favorite actor, Christian Bale. When he thanked his wife for being his “mast through the storms of life” I asked Trent if I was his mast. His response: “yeah, erm……………..” Okay.

Let’s just close out with a picture of the ever-growing Tate – what a sweetie.