a little bit of everything.

This post might be a little longer than some attention spans can handle... but both kids are in bed, Felipe is at work and I've got a lot on my mind. :) Lucky you. First off, in less than 36 hours I will be a working girl again. A part-time position at my church needs to be filled and our friend/ my new boss asked me if I was interested. Needless to say, I was, and with my going back to work (PT), Felipe will be starting his new job of being a stay at home dad (Monday-Thursday from 8AM - 2PM)! He'll work 4 or 5 nights a week at his "paid" job, too.



I've got to say how proud I am of my husband. In the past, I couldn't go to the grocery store for an hour without getting several phone calls wondering when I might be returning, or what to do when Teo does this, or what does it mean when Eva does that? Although I don't anticipate it being the smoothest transition for us, I'm proud of him for stepping up to the challenge. I told him he would have a grace period in which I wouldn't expect to come home to a clean house, cooked meals, etc. until he gets more acclimated to the role. :) As long as the kids have been fed and aren't still in their pj's when I get home, I'll be happy. So, if you think of him next week, you can say a little prayer for him.

There is one thing that has my back in knots regarding going back to work, and that's that Eva will NOT take a bottle, eat baby food, NOTHING! It's got to come from me, or she doesn't want anything to do with it. She will be 7 months old on Feb 27, and I am at a loss. Teo was choking down anything and everything I put in his path at 4 months old. So, why Eva is so stubborn in this area is a complete mystery to me. We are trying a sord-of crash course with Felipe and Eva tomorrow (Sunday)... I am volunteering all morning (be gone about 5 hours) and will take Teo with me. And I'm going to leave Eva home with Felipe. Despite my numerous, daily attempts to get her to eat anything other than my milk from me, I am praying that God will be gracious enough to bless Felipe with some sort of magic touch tomorrow; Eva will eat everything he gives her, drink from a bottle (I'm pumping), and just have a fabulous day with daddy. Otherwise, we are in for quite a week!

If you didn't know, my kids share a birthday ~ crazy I know ~ I'm still not over it. Well, they also share some characteristic traits. They are both super stubborn! Teo will fight me on something all day long! No amount of time-outs, spankings, taking toys away or anything will budge his will. Felipe and I find ourselves having conversations about what we must be doing wrong?... why won't he listen?... why won't he obey? Thank God that the things we "deal" with are pretty typical for 2 year old boy behavior, but they are exhausting, nonetheless. And don't get me wrong, Teo is A-MAZ-ING, he is precious and he melts my heart multiple times per day. And I wouldn't choose to change one thing about him. But, I would choose to have a little more insight or wisdom on the matter. Well, tonight, God gave me just that. We've had a day full of battles, Teo and I. And when it was time for him to go to bed, I knelt down next to his sweet little face and (not even trying to hide the fact that I was totally spent, worn down, broken) said to him "Teo, you know that mommy and daddy love you sooooo much. We want what is best for you, and we try to be the best parents that we can be. But sometimes we don't know what to do. Do you know that when you disobey me, it hurts me?" and Teo said (as sweetly and sincerely as any two year old could), "I'm sorry I hurt you mommy... I love you so much too... but I just don't want to obey."

I ended our little conversation with letting Teo know that I would love him no matter what and that it was important for him to learn to obey... But, wow! How's that for take-away, huh? I think this is one area that people change very little in throughout their lifetimes. We know what's right, we know what's good, and we're sorry we hurt others by doing otherwise, but (in the sincere words of my two year old) "we just don't want to"... I was desperate for some insight on parenting, and I got a life lesson. Be careful what you ask for. ;)



Well, I thought I had other stuff to write about, but I sord-of forgot now. The pics in this post are from some play time this afternoon - that is one thing I've got to get Felipe to do while he's home with the kids... take pictures! Do YOU think he can handle it??