Firsts

Last night JB and I went out for the first time since Elijah was born. Just the two of us. We weren't gone long. Just went to a local sushi place. No, I don't eat sushi. JB does. I eat other food there. Honestly, it didn't matter what we ate. We just sat there for two hours basking in our alone time. In the car on the way over, we rode in complete silence and just smiled at each other. Nice.

One might guess that during our dinner all we did was talk about the boys. But we really didn't. We had a lot of other things to talk about. A wedding we are attending in May. My klutziness. (I spilled like three things during dinner.) JB's work. Guests coming in. (Tara and Shomir are next.) Stuff like that. A few funny baby boy stories were sprinkled in. Like Isaac choosing to play with his cup in the bathtub even after I busted out a big old boat toy I had been waiting to unleash. But for the most part, we kept it very grown-up.

We planned on getting dessert on the way home, but it was freezing out. Stopping at Sonic and getting ice cream wasn't nearly as enticing when you are cold. Okay so it wasn't Minnesota cold. But it was pretty darn Florida cold. Thirties I think.

[Sorry, had to take a break in writing this post. Not that you'd know I took a break anyway, but, I'll still tell you why I took a break. Our neighbor's two little puppies got out of their porch and were wandering through my backyard. Man are they the cutest little things! A black and yellow lab. But man oh man I don't miss those little puppy claws snagging your legs when they jump up to say hi. Mission accomplished. They are back on their porch. I moved a chair in front of the hole they made through the screen to create their exit. I'm sure my neighbors will scratch their heads trying to figure out how their puppies moved that chair all the way across the porch.]

Anyways, back to my posts on firsts. Last night, while we were gone, the boys hung out with Jeff, Bobbie and their four kids around the corner. It is so wonderful to drop your kids off and truly not worry about them one little bit because you know they are being loved on to infinity. Upon pick-up, their family gave us a framed photo they had taken that night with the entire family, our boys, and even their dog, Deuce, smiling for the camera! A celebration of our first date night since having a second son.

Speaking of Bobbie and her family, I'm very sad that they are moving in May. So many people are moving this summer. The Rabens. John and Becky. All right. Quit being a downer Wendi. This is a post of celebration.

Back to the firsts. Today is my first entire day home with all three boys (Scrubs included) by myself. I was worried about it especially after I didn't secure more than four hours of sleep last night. But it truly has gone flawlessly. Sure I have changed ten dirty diapers between the two of them. (Isaac decided to have four of them today! What's with that?) And sure that doesn't count the wet ones. Okay, and yes we ended up with food in Isaac's hair and spit up down my back. And Scrubs decided to try to eat out of Isaac's snack bowl on his exersaucer; he's serving time in his kennel as we speak for this offense. But really the day has gone amazingly well.

The key? There are two of them I think.

The first is that I can't concern myself with the things that have to get "done" around the house. I try to do a little chore here and there in five minute increments. But in the end, it's got to be okay that there are dishes in the sink. Laundry in the basket waiting to be folded. Toys scattered throughout the entire house. I wait for the right moment -- a lull in the action -- and then tackle a small task. Another thing checked off my list. But worrying about how long the list is will be futile. I can tell that after just one day.

The second key is to try to plan ahead. It's time to feed Elijah. What can Isaac do while I am feeding him? Where can Scrubs play while I am feeding him? It's time for Isaac to take a nap. Can I time it with Eiljah's nap so I can get some rest? How can I make sure Scrubs is calm during this time? Flashlight game before Isaac goes down. Things like that. I don't try to plan way ahead. Just about sixty minutes into the future seems to do the trick.

Of course, I am not an idiot. (Although this can be argued.) I know that some days will not go as smoothly as today. But today, I did well. All by myself. Sure Isaac screamed a bit when I left the room to change Elijah. Elijah had to wait longer than I would have liked to secure his fifth feeding. Scrubs didn't get quite as many belly rubs as I would have liked. But in the end, everyone is fed, changed, clean. Well everyone but me. I'll wait until JB gets home to get my own shower. I did brush my teeth though. Point for Wendi!

The last first? Isaac took a step today. It wasn't a big step. But he let go of one of his waist-high toys and then moved one of his feet before deciding to sit down and start crawling. I always thought he'd be a late walker since he was so late rolling over. But now? My guess is that we'll have a walker in just a few short weeks. Yikes!

So that's that. Tomorrow JB is home again. Tomorrow Isaac has his follow-up appointment with the surgeon. I need to take a picture of his ear. You should see that thing! The scar is already nearly invisible. How great is that? But JB is home until Monday when he will return to work. And worse, he'll return to do two weeks of nights! Yuck! I'll navigate Monday, Monday night, and Tuesday during the day by myself until my Mom joins me. She was going to join me this weekend, but my sister-in-law AD is having her own first on Monday: a scheduled c-section of the first Huisman girl: Charleigh Elizabeth.

All right. Let me be the first to say good bye. Peace out all.