15/52

"Joining Jodi's 52 Project with "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

I really thought I would get a non-portrait post up sometime between the last and this one, but here we are. Oh well. I have been working, however, and hope to share them soon. A couple having to do with how I approach my wardrobe and one on what I think about wearing makeup, what role it plays in my life, and a few of my favorite products. I hope these posts will be encouraging to you all as well as useful!

But now, on to the portraits.

Sebastian | It warmed up quite a bit, but we were hit last week with some more cool weather. I have a feeling that this might be the last of it. The glorious rays of sunshine certainly are welcome amidst the chill, and I am reminded to enjoy these last days of bundling kids in their sweet little vests and hats. Seb has also been battling a cold for nearly two weeks now, so he's stayed home from Kindy the last 3 days. Mostly it's going well, but I'm finding it difficult to get my errands done. Seb has grown accustomed to being able to play freely all morning at Kindergarten, but at home, I split my mornings between play and errands, but mostly it's errands. Bruno is used to this, but Sebastian isn't. We have daily battles over him wanting to take his bike to the city (he has to learn to listen a bit better before that happens), which are just a stressful way to start the day. I find myself loosing patience quickly on this topic. He gets to ride his bike for at least an hour, if not 2 or 3 on a daily basis, so the "More more more" attitude is exhausting. It seems that the more we go outside with our kids, the more they want to be outside! We go out as much as we can, which is a lot, but my chores, like cooking, cleaning and laundry are sorely neglected because I just can't be outside all day and get all my inside things done. If Seb and Bruno woke up early, we could get started by playing outside and then run errands, but we can't do that and be back in time for lunch. I am starting to get nervous about how our lives are going to change in this respect once we're back in the states. What will happen when we have to drive everywhere?

How do you balance your kids play time with your chores and responsibilities? Does this "always more" attitude resonate with you? On average, how much time do you spend outside with your kids? Is it daily?

Bruno | The theme of this week must be survival, because Bruno is teething like I've never seen teething before. Until this week, I honestly dismissed most "teething talk" from parents because I was like, "Okay, so they drool, are a bit fussy, yada yada yada, but it's not that bad." Clearly I had never had a toddler teeth like Bruno is teething. I'll spare you all, but let's just say none of us are getting much sleep these days. However, and most importantly, I'm so thankful for a husband who helps with both the kids all night long, and for the way Sebastian can sleep through most anything, for the opportunity to snuggle warm little children in bed with us, for hot coffee in the morning, and for tylenol. This, too, shall pass. Tonight we're going to make up our couch bed so both kids can fit in bed with me tonight and Cody can actually get some sleep in the living room. Wish us luck!