A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WORKING MOTHER OF 3: December 2009

2009 has had many ups and downs. Let's face it, it's a tough world to live in right now and we have been affected like everyone else.

I wanted to do this post so I can use it to reflect on the year and try to remember everything.

January - Preston turned 5! He was my baby at the time, as Mason was still baking in my belly. Preston celebrated by having a Chuck E. Cheese party and invited 7 of his little boy buddies. He had a blast and got lots and lots of Transformer toys.

February - Mason was born! February 19th is when our family became complete; and I became a mother of 3. Mason has been my easiest child yet.

March - was not that eventful. I enjoyed spending the month at home on maternity leave as I bonded with my new baby boy. Even though I had just given birth to a healthy baby boy, I did remember the 1 year-anniversary of the death of my baby Grace. It was bittersweet to say the least; I still often find myself thinking of her and feel the tears well up in my eyes at those times. I know I was meant to have Mason, but the loss is still so deep and painful. I will never forget. Preston also got kicked out of pre-school at the end of March. After numerous problems with the teacher, we couldn't get Preston to change his ways and agreed mutually that it was in his best interest to not return to the pre-school. (By the way, he's doing fabulous in kindergarten)!

April - I returned to work after only 6 weeks of maternity leave. I did only work for a week before taking Spring Break off with my kids and going on a mini-vacation to Kalahari resort in Sandusky, Ohio. David & I also celebrated 9 years of marriage. Preston started seeing a psychologist due to his behavioral problems at school. Eventually, the doctor told us to keep him away from that particular school environment since that was the only place he showed the behavior. Since it was almost summer time, we did not find another school for him; he stayed home with dad and babysitters.

May - David turned 42 on May 2nd. David also had to refile his unemployment as it had now been a full year since it had started. He was working some side jobs here and there to try to make up the difference. Preston had his kindergarten screening tests, which he sailed high, just like Allison, which surprised me because he had such a hard time in pre-school. Makes me think it really was the teacher causing most of the problems.

June - I started Weight Watchers, again. Allison finished 1st grade, which was very tough for her; she loved her teacher and so did I. Allison also had her first tap recital! She did great and remembered the whole dance. I was so proud of her. She has since decided she does not want to dance anymore; but at least I got one year (and picture) out of her. Maybe she'll do it again in the future, as of right now, she has no interest. Oh, and I turned 32; much to my dismay. I don't know why, but it seems since I've turned 30, my birthdays are so depressing. I have everything I ever wanted right now, but life still seems like such a struggle and I guess I always thought by this age, life would be easier. Allison and Preston also started swim classes on Saturday mornings at the YMCA. David got called back to work, in Pittsburgh. He worked for 4 weeks, leaving on Sundays and returning Thursdays or Fridays. It was a tough 4 weeks, but at least he was working, even though it was very short lived. We had numerous graduation parties to attend.

July - Allison turned 7! Wow, seven years went by fast. She also had her birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, again. She invited 10 girl friends and had so much fun. I guess July was uneventful. David was done with the work in Pittsburgh, which meant he was laid off again, and the kids were still taking swim classes on Saturday mornings. Oh, I did get into a pretty bad car accident at the end of July, well, bad for the car, not any persons. Initially, I thought I was at fault until I discovered that the side of the road the other car was driving was one way and the other driver was driving the wrong way! My insurance company did an investigation and determined I was not at fault. I eventually had my ticket dismissed in court, unfortunately, the other vehicle was a city vehicle. Therefore, my insurance company had to pay to get my van fixed, $4,800 in damage! But, they didn't have to pay for the other vehicle and no one was hurt.

August - The kids started school. Allison started 2nd grade (which is a totally different world than 1st grade, boy do I miss Mrs. McNichol!) and Preston started kindergarten, which he loves! I told you (and everyone else) that the teacher DOES make all the difference.... The kids finished swim lessons and we had lots of weddings, BBQ's and festivals to attend this month. I introduced formula a little bit to Mason. We mixed 2 or 3 bottles a day with 2 oz of formula, which Mason didn't bat an eye; the kid likes to eat!

September - We went camping for Labor Day weekend...in a pop-up camper. This was my first time ever doing a two-night camping trip, in a pop-up with 3 kids. We had a ton of fun; Mason was great and the kids were filthy and exhausted by the end of the weekend, but that's what it's all about! Preston started soccer again; Allison did not want to play this time around. She decided she doesn't like to run when it's hot outside and would rather run around with her friends while Preston was playing...typical girl! Mason started crawling everywhere this month, too. Mason said "da-da" for the first time and started clapping. I stopped nursing Mason this month, too. I felt really guilty and had a lot of anxiety about it, but it had been 7 full months and with 3 busy kids, a full-time job and a lot of family obligations, it got to be too much. I had enough stored up in the freezer, that Mason still got breast-milk 2 or 3 times a day for another month, but again, he didn't even act like he noticed a difference; he just wanted to eat. ha! We also started giving him baby food regulary every day now. He had been eating baby cereal with fruit for awhile, but I think it was about 6 or 7 months that we started him on jar dinners every day. Usually, he ate 2 jars per night; piggy!

October - Preston continued to have soccer two nights a week, and the weather got cold in the evenings. We had birthday parties and weddings galore in October. We were busy almost every weekend. We also lost our babysitter, Amie, this month. I was so upset because she was so convenient and easy-going, but she got a better offer that she could not turn down. I understand, but miss her. Coincidentally though, David's side work slowed down and honestly, there are weeks sometimes that we don't even need a sitter at all. My niece and my brother's girl-friend have been helping us out on an as-needed basis.

November - Allison started Girl Scouts again. Finally, she got involved with something. She loves it and the leader this year is great. They have meetings every Monday after school, with a field trip once a month. It's been good to see Allison socialize with other kids. Mason started walking in November, at 9 months old! We got to celebrate Thanksgiving twice; once with each side of the family, which was nice. My mom did not end up going to Texas this winter, so we get to see her a lot more these days, which is nice for the kids.

December - I have officially lost 26.8 pounds since June...on Weight Watchers, not working out. Can you imagine what I would have lost had I been exercising?! I can't believe I am going to tell the world this, but I am now under 200 pounds for the first time in my adult life; and do not have to shop in the plus section anymore!! Unfortunately though, that means I won't be frequenting my favorite store much anymore, Lane Bryant. I now wear the smallest size they have available and really, don't need to be getting my clothes there since they are technically plus sizes. I can now wear a misses XL and feel good about myself! Of course, with David not working much, I haven't had the opportunity to buy many new clothes; so I don't have much to wear these days, usually wearing the same things over and over. But, overall, I've lost most of the weight I wanted to (I could still afford to lose 15 more pounds) but I do feel great. I have more energy than ever now and David even mentioned that I act more confident these days; which I feel, too. We had a great Christmas (I know I haven't posted any pictures yet; they are coming, I promise) even though it was a tough year; the money came when we needed it the most. I know Christmas is not about the gifts, but for a mother of 3 kids, it usually is. They go to a Catholic school, so they know all about Jesus' birth and why we truly celebrate Christmas, but it's hard to get away from the commercialized version of Christmas. For me, it's all about the giving, to my kids, mostly, but that is the true reason I enjoy Christmas; I love seeing them get excited and get some things they want. We were very fortunate this year, our family is amazing.

Overall, it has been a pretty good year. We welcomed the birth of our baby boy and have all remained healthy this year.

Money is a huge issue these days and the fact that the economy is not getting any better, I don't anticipate David going back to work for the union anytime soon. His unemployment will run out at the end of January, there has been an extension approved, but we are not yet sure if he is eligible. It's looking like he might end up working at a fast-food place or some sort of retail position during nights and weekends. Hopefully, he can still get some side-jobs here and there to make up some of the money, but this has really made us evaluate the way we live. We have always lived above our means because there was always another job coming up and we indulged ourselves using credit cards because that was the way of the world. Well, not any more, we are trying to get used to not having those credit cards anymore and having to pay cash for the things we need. It's a pretty eye-opening experience.

But, I don't want to end this post on a negative note; I am really looking forward to a new year, which I hope brings us (and you) a healthy, prosperous new start. I am hoping for an even better 2010.

Happy New Year!!

I know I say this every month, but I cannot believe it has been another month. Mason, you are now 10 months old! I just can't believe how fast time is flying lately.

Let's see what you've been up to; you've had a very big month.

You weigh 21 pounds, 2 ounces and are 28 inches long; 50th percentile for both areas now.

You are still wearing 12 month clothes. I have even been buying some 18 month onesies because of how long you seem to be.

Mason, you have 2 teeth now!! They both came through on the same day; which explains why were so cranky for awhile and had a horrible diaper rash...all is better now.

You are walking now; and I don't mean taking steps, you are walking from room to room and now that you are vertical, you can see more of what is on top of tables and desks. That means, that you are into even more now; you can see more so you get into it. It seems like I am always telling you no.

Again, now that you are vertical, you figured out how to open the kitchen cabinets. Luckily, I don't put anything dangerous in the bottom cabinets, so I just let you get into them when I am in the kitchen. You love to play in the cabinet with all of the Tupperware. When I am doing dishes, you pull out a bunch of containers and stack them inside each other...mental note, Santa is looking for stackable cups for you for Christmas!

We have upgraded you from your infant carrier to a big boy car seat! (Especially since the infant carrier only held up to 22 pounds)! You seem to enjoy the big car seat because you can sit up and see more, and see Allison and Preston in the back seat better now. Lately, though, you haven't wanted to be in your car seat, mostly because you don't like to sit still!

We have also started giving you baths in the big bath tub; no more baby bath tub. It was getting too difficult with you trying to pull yourself up and reaching for anything around the kitchen sink...so I tried the big bath tub and you love it. Of course, you are pulling yourself up constantly and are always standing up when I am trying to wash you, which does make it easier for me, but I am so worried you are going to slip and hurt yourself.

You did not like stage 3 baby food. Maybe because of the texture, but maybe because 9 times out of 10 you want to feed yourself. Because you don't have a lot of teeth, I have been very careful of trying new foods; we are so afraid you are going to choke. I can give you stage 2 food now and then, and you like yogurt and pudding (sugar-free of course) so you are getting something in your stomach. You will still let me feed you mashed potatoes because those are your favorite. Yesterday, you even ate a grilled cheese sandwich! I cut the pieces into tiny bites and you fed yourself. Oh, and you love scrambled eggs, too. Pretty soon you will be eating what the rest of us are eating every night.

We have finally gotten you into a more normal bed routine. It's been hard because daddy is still laid off so he's home with you most days and you are not on a regular schedule for feedings and naps. But, you seem to be going to bed around the same time every night, between 8:30 - 9:00 pm and are sleeping through the night, sometimes until 8:00 or 8:30 in the morning. You take the best naps when you are sleeping on mommy or daddy's chest. Yes, I know that is not the most desirable place for getting you into a normal routine, but we love it and it makes us take the time to sit and cuddle with you. But, you are a very hot baby and sweat horribly...ha!

This week you will celebrate your first Christmas; I am so excited! Not that I think you will even want to open gifts, but just by being there with us as we go through our holiday traditions, and most importantly by completing our family.