Two Weeks

Madison is two weeks old and I am happy to say we are survivng life with a newborn again. I hate to jinx it- so I'm crossing my fingers as I type this post- but things are going really, really well. As the kids would say, "Madison is an AWESOME baby." And she is- she has been a nursing champ, poops great, and sleeps contently for long periods of time. I get more visits from the older kids during the night, who are having a week of scary dreams. And since I'm up comforting them, I wake Madison to nurse and change like one time, and then she's back to sleep til I get up to start the daily routine at 5:30. I don't know if it's because it's our third time doing this, or if it's because Madison just ROCKS as a newborn- or maybe it's becuase this is the first time around that we weren't frantically constructing a home to move into while living in a trailer... we had a nice cozy home already made to bring her home to. It really makes a big difference having a place to rock and change a newborn, plus easily accessible laundry is a huge plus. We've been doing cloth diapers this time around, which was fully inspired by my friend Jessey, who is a pro at using and MAKING her own cloth diapers for her three kids. It's going really well, just a little more laundry than usual, and a really GOOD feeling about not creating all that waste and not forking out a ton on the disposable dipes- I had the most satisfying moment as I walked through Target last week and didn't have to pick up one of those huge, expensive boxes of huggies.

We are hoping we'll have another big money-saver this year other than the diapers, Wes has been working on a new project with any spare time he gets. Last winter, the cost of propane was insane- we let the bills pile up and pretty much tackled them by the time summer rolled around. It has been weighing heavily on our minds as the weather is getting colder, and Wes decided we could heat our house more efficiently and cost effectively with a wood stove. We've got access to wood easily, and we are hoping that this will save us this winter as far as bills go, and still keep our newborn and kids warm. So, a few weekends ago, my handy husband got to work on the frame for the stove's "raised up" location in our dining room. The kids have enjoyed having a project to help daddy with... they unloaded every single stone from the trailer and wheel-barrowed them in and layed them out for Daddy and Grandpa- who helped out with the masonry. Lately, Wes has been out splitting wood after work til dark, and Kylee and Owen love stacking it and chatting with Dad about their day. This project has been a great way for the kids to have some special attention from Dad during all the changes at home, and they love making us proud by being "good workers" like Daddy. Here are some pics along the way.

The kids unloading all the stone

Laying out the stone

The frame

The stove is set!

And finally, the kids have really adjusted well to our family of 5. They love their sister, and always want to know where she is, what she's doing, and when she'll be able to play with them. They love showing her off to their friends and teachers... and are doing their best to help mommy- ESPECIALLY with our weekday mornings. Our school routine is the trickiest part of the day. Wes has been starting work a little later some mornings, so he'll drop Kylee off every now and then on his way to work- which is a huge help and gives Kylee a few special minutes with Dad, and mom a few more minutes to get Owen motivated and ready for his day. And this week, our weather has been beautiful, so I've been loading the stroller with my 3 kiddos and walking them- which is also a lot easier than the whole "in and out of car seats" routine. Also, the walking is great for mommy- who has been confusing many kids with my having a baby in the car-seat, and yet still having a tummy. Owen tells them that Madi is the baby that came out of my tummy, and there is now a "boy" baby in my tummy. Kids- gotta love 'em! I'm off to do some sit-ups in hopes for a quicker departure of the belly!