Living life with Two kids Two and under

The moment I read that positive pregnancy test I was elated!!!

“ ANOTHER baby ..what an amazing and unexpected blessing” were my first thoughts along with the happy tears that flowed freely down my face.  During those first fleeting months of pregnancy all I could really think about was how blessed we were to be bringing another baby into our lives. I was beside myself with the thoughts and dreams of decorating another nursery, nursing another baby, and cuddling and kissing those sweet soft newborn cheeks. Once that sweet baby arrived I was so happy to have this healthy and perfect little boy home that I really didn’t give much thought about the challenges that were about to smack me right in the face. 

CHALLENGE NUMBER 1. 

Big brother is having a hard time accepting new baby.

I knew having two kids 22 months apart would be challenging but I had friends who had babies 15 months apart and were rockstars!! I had friends who had babies 2-3 years apart and were rockstarts!! So naturally..I figured I would be a rockstar too!!!! 

And somedays I damn sure am

Jax didn’t take well to his new little brother at first. He was confused, annoyed, and didn’t want anything to do with the baby or... Beh Beh  according to Jaxie. 

My heart sank because my entire life I dreamed of having same sex siblings that would be best friends and it wasn’t working out so well. While Jax never was malicious towards his brother he also didn’t want anything to do with him. I let it go ( although I did still force them to take matching brother outfit pictures :)) and figured they would organically grow to love one another.

One day on a Sunday while Brandon was golfing Jax just randomly went up to his brother and started kissing him, loving him, and hugging him. I was so caught off guard that I forgot to grab my camera to snap a few sweet pictures. I was SO happy that he decided to “ love “ his brother. Ever since that Sunday Jax races to love on James Lucas. He is constantly fretting over whether JL needs his paci and wanting to plant big sloppy wet toddler kisses on his forehead. I could not be happier to get to experience this type of love between siblings.

My point is..even if you have the most difficult of toddlers..they will eventually love that new baby :)

Challenge Number 2.

The toddlers are still babies themselves. 

Jax turned 2 three weeks after I gave birth to JL and mamas let me tell you- You will look at your toddler and think “ WOW, they are SO big” compared to the newborn but truly.. they are still just babies and they still really need their mommy. I think something else that was hard for me was that I had to adjust my expectations of Jaxie. I had to quit getting frustrated over all of his wants and needs that seemed to be 24-7 ...he was not going to just miraculously make his lunch or get himself a sippy cup of milk no matter how dad gum tired mama was. Once I accepted the fact “ Okay ..I have TWO babies and they both need me” my mindset was much better and I wasn’t as frustrated. Moms it’s hard having two little ones..and my husband works a busy schedule and I don’t have parents that wait on me hand and foot. It is basically me 24-7..but thats okay because I AM MOMMY. It’s hard sometimes but that is how it is. 

** Tip** Join a moms group albeit MOPS, FIT4MOM, a moms bible study, shit a moms wine night group. 

Join Something that keeps your sanity because friends you are gonna need it :) 

 It takes not only a village to raise a child but a village to lift up a mama.

Challenge Number 3.

The naps. OHHHHHH the damn nap schedule.

The death of me I swear...

So our newest challenge Now that JL has fallen out of the newborn category is that he doesn’t sleep anywhere and everywhere. I am now to the point where we need to follow a nap schedule. The nap schedule will be your best friend or worst enemy..

add a toddler to that little equation and you can get yourself a nice little shit show.

OR you can try like I do every single day and get them both down at the same time.

I try each and every day to have the afternoon nap at the same time so that I can 

• Shower in peace
• Eat Lunch 
• Stare at a wall in silence because I can

I will be honest..some days are better than others..Some days Jax falls right asleep immediately and then I can focus on getting JL to sleep. It takes about 30 minutes to get everyone down and then I am free!!! Other days I am tag teaming the two of them to get them both asleep.. and to stay asleep. 

Better days will come and they WILL be on the same afternoon nap schedule...

Optimisim mamas..Optimism

Other tidbits and tricks that I have picked up since having JL

*BABYWEAR!!!! - Whether you are going to a park play date, the museum, grocery shopping ( yes I know about curbside and online shipt. Im old school okay) baby wearing literally saves me. I have my hands free to chase after Jaxie anytime! Also another plus is that the little baby most likely will just fall asleep in your wrap so thats awesome.

My Faves:

The Wildbird

The Tula

* Feed new baby before you go to any outing and have snacks and water bottles packed for the older one. I quickly found that if I nursed JL before we went anywhere he would not be having a major screaming sesh in the middle of whatever we were doing ..a newborn screaming sesh plus a hungry toddler...no bueno. 

* Limit activities to no longer than 2 hours. Whatever the case may be..any time you go on an outing with your toddler and baby PLAN ACCORDING TO APPROPRIATE TIMING. For me personally, the best time to go to an outing with my kids is around 9:30-11:30. Yes it might take you a hot minute to get your act together and get out of the house by 9:30 but it works out so much better when it ends BEFORE lunch and nap. 

* Don’t be afraid to rest. I am NOT a rester.. I am a DOER!!! It is very hard for me to ignore a rug that needs to be vacuumed, laundry that needs to be folded, and dinner that needs to be prepped. I repeat it is HARD for me.. I am type A and I like to have a neat and orderly home. However, when you have two demanding little ones it is important to take time for yourself and rest. The other day I was so exhausted so I walked past my dirty kitchen, grabbed my baby, and we snuggled and slept for two hours. 

REST.

This two kiddo thing is still a work in progress and I am taking it day by day still. I learn something new each week and honestly the most important tip I could offer a new mama is to rely on Jesus. Rely on prayer and sing his praises and he will get you through even the most exhausting of days. The lord will always meet you halfway and he will fill your cup more than even the strongest of coffee. I am so blessed and grateful to be able to do this mama life and I relish in the days when we don’t get out of our pajamas..or when I am on my second cup of coffee and JL starts giggling at absolutely nothing. These days are treasures and I am soaking it ALL up!!!!

Shrimp Pasta

Happy Thursday Friday Eve!!!!

Tuesday night I decided to get a little crafty in the kitchen and ignore my crockpot..
I pulled out a few pans..some basic ingredients and set out to make a simple shrimp pasta. Tuesday is not my grocery store day so I needed to make use of what I already had in my fridge. This pasta could not have turned out better and it was made with only  a few simple ingredients!!!! I chose shrimp because when I make a seafood pasta shrimp is always my go-to and as always, it did not disappoint.

When  I am making a seafood pasta my two favorite types of noodles to use are linguine or angel hair pasta. I used whole wheat linguine this time but honestly if you are watching your carbs- zoodles ( zucchini noodles) are a great option and taste just as yummy in my opinion!!!!

This recipe took me about 15 minutes to pull together...not difficult at all!!!

Enjoy!!!

Ingredients:

Juice of a lemon

Linguine noodles/zoodles/angel hair pasta

grape tomatoes - halved

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 onion- chopped and diced

butter

handful of spinach

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 LB shrimp - salt and peppered and lightly dusted in flour ( or almond flour)

** I lightly dusted my shrimp in flour- you can completely omit this and it will not change the recipe**

Method:

*TIP* Prep your dinner beforehand meaning deveining your shrimp and seasoning them, have your noodles ready and waiting to throw into the boiling water, have all your other ingredients chopped, diced, and ready to just throw in the pot**

In a medium sized dutch oven or large skillet start by sautéing the onion ( over medium heat)  in 2 tablespoons of butter once the onion is starting to turn translucent then add the garlic. While the onion/garlic is cooking go ahead and cook your noodles ( boiling hot water for ten minutes).  

To the onion and garlic add some dry white wine, the juice of a lemon and deglaze ( cook down a bit).  Then throw in your tomatoes and spinach and let them bathe in those wonderful juices allowing everything to sort of wilt and marry together. 

At this point your noodles should be finished- strain them and rinse them and add them to the pot with the garlic and onion and other veggies. Also add more butter at this time if needed and mix the noodles in well. 

Now to cook the shrimp

In a skillet with again..more butter :) 

add your shrimp- take care not to over crowd them

cook evenly for 3 minutes each side and then remove from heat. 

Toss the shrimp in with the noodles and add freshly grated parmesan cheese and basil!!!!

This was a great dinner!!!!

Lemon Chicken

Hey everyone!! 

Good Morning!! 

I had a lot of inquiries about the Lemon Chicken I posted on stories last night and I wanted to share!!

I have been making this dinner for a few years now and have made it both in the crock pot AND dutch oven. ( I also have the infamous insta pot which I have yet to use...whoops)

So this can really be made in just about anything. I chose to use the dutch oven because I LOVE how it braises meat.. it truly cooks it super evenly and very quick. I NEVER burn anything in the dutch oven!!! So with that said...

This dinner is literally so quick - It takes all of 15 minutes ( maybe less) to throw together. Cook time is around 2 hours and voila! Dinner! I love to make this dinner for friends who have just had a baby, when I don’t have a lot of time to cook ( which is basically always), or just want something really yummy that is full of vibrant but simplistic ingredients to make for dinner!!!

Here it is!

Ingredients:

4 skin on chicken thighs

juice of one lemon

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup flour ( almond flour if you want this to be Keto friendly)

capers

olives

parmesan cheese

cumin

S & P

Method:

Throw some butter in your dutch oven and turn it on medium high heat.

While the butter is simmering, Salt and pepper your chicken evenly and then brown it on both sides. While your chicken is browning go ahead and make the liquid portion of the meal. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cumin, juice of a lemon, and chicken stock and whisk well. 

Once the chicken is browned on both sides pour the stock mixture over as well as a handful of olives and capers...and some of the juice too. Slice a lemon and place on top. Cover and cook on low for two hours.

Y’all thats it!!!! It is so simple!!!

I always garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese and parsley as well :) If you are making this a Keto friendly dinner you could serve along side zucchini noodles..but angel hair or linguine goes amazing as well!!!

Enjoy!

Fall Bucket List for Toddlers

My favorite time of year is officially here!! I have my pumpkins placed strategically throughout the house, I have a pumpkin candle burning..all we really need is for the weather to cooperate!!!!

Each  year I come up with a fun list of things to do with the babies for this special time of year. The list grows and gets more fun each year :) I find a lot of my inspiration from Pinterest, a lot from my days of teaching preschool, and then some we come up with on a random day for a little extra fun!!!!

Sometimes these fun activities go seemingly well and other times we leave because someone is throwin’ a fit and mama is flustered. I just do the best we can and we almost always enjoy it!!!! That is what it’s about!! 

Fall Bucket List 2018

1.  Apple Stamping. Activity found HERE
2. Make Pumpkin Muffins. Recipe found HERE
3. Washing Pumpkins. Activity found HERE
4. Fall Canvas Art. To see ideas for canvas art click HERE
5. Visit a local Pumpkin Patch!!!!
6. Fall Tree Art. This is the exact version I do year after year HERE ( PS. always wonder what to do with all those wine corks?:) problem solved.)
7. TRICK OR TREAT WITH FRIENDS!!!!!
8. Make home-made Pumpkin Spice Playdoh. ( I will list my recipe at the bottom.)
9. Make home-made apple sauce! My recipe is found HERE
10. Hay Ride and Fall Festival!!!!!!

There you have it!! A simple and easy little list for this fall...

I am always looking for fun ways to entertain my toddler so comment below if you have anymore fun ideas!!!!!!

and for fun here are some of my past fall bucket lists :)

Fall 2017 Here

Fall 2014

And a few fun fall pictures from the past as well

Fall 2013

super cheesy :)

Engagement picture

Fall 2015- opening season at our Ranch Laguna Vista

Pumpkin Patch!

Our tiny pumpkin Jax Holden!

OMG!

Last year at the Pumpkin Patch! Mama was pregnant with JL and didn’t know it!

Happy Fall!



** Playdoh Recipe**

Ingredients

2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup salt
2 tbsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups flour
pumpkin and cinnamon spice

Pour all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix well.

When you have a strong willed toddler...

        Before having kids I wanted to do ALL THE THINGS- and for the most part I did. I joined Fit4mom ( LOVE IT) I stay home ( SO GRATEFUL) and I am able to take my boys to do really fun play dates weekly with our wonderful friends ( LIFE SAVERS!!!) It really is a sweet life with these two babies but man some days are

TOUGH.

This morning started out great- we were going to the library like we usually do some Friday’s..I had my coffee and good attitude, my boys slept all night...this was going to be fun. 

NOT.

Jax wailed and screamed the ENTIRE class..he threw his play mat along with a tantrum and we did time out.

again and again and again.

With strong willed toddlers you have to be consistent right? So on the third warning I promptly packed up our stuff and left. 

Mom guilt all the way down the hall.. mom guilt all the way into the car...BIG mom guilt when he grabbed my face and kissed my lips.

Sometimes you have it all together.. and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes your toddler is a SASS-hole and you feel like everyone is watching and judging.. but then sometimes they are perfect and so well behaved and you want to jump up and down and say “ LOOK AT MY KID!!! HE IS BEING SO GOOD!! A MILLION GOLD STARS FOR YOU TODAY KID!”

Sometimes I feel like I have it ALL together but then just as quickly as that feeling comes, reality in the name of Jax Holden slaps me in the face and says “ NOT TODAY SUCKER!!!!”  I am then humbled and forced to pray to God each and every day for guidance to help me navigate the rocky waters of this motherhood gig. 

I have a strong willed toddler and they tell me that he will be a leader one day.. 

I believe he will. He was a journey to have and still is today. I know he is meant to do BIG things and I know God has a purposeful and perfect plan for him. I am glad I know and serve a BIG God who will never leave my side even on the toughest of days!!!!

 Some things  I have learned when you have a strong willed two year old is that you have to set limits.  Consistency is key especially when it comes to discipline and you have to find a behavior management that works for YOUR KID. Something that works for Johnny Joe is not necessarily going to work for Jax. Find what works for YOU and don’t let others sway your decisions or your momming. You will have hard days...I repeat you WILL have hard days..but that doesn’t make you less of a mom. I know that I am a GREAT mom.. and I am the perfect mom for Jax. That is why God gave him to me and nobody else. You are the perfect mom for your strong little leader and that is why they are sitting in your lap and nobody else’s. It’s hard to view the world from their level and at times you catch yourself saying “ are you freakin’ kidding me right now!?” But like a friend shared with me today “ the moments when their big hearts shine make all the tough  moments WORTH IT” She was right.

Jaxie kissed his brother last night for the first time and told him he loved him. He tells his daddy and me that he loves us a million times a day and he loves BIG. He hugs his friends and worries when he sees them crying..he has an infectious laugh and he truly makes my heart swell with pride because he is a great kid.

So today remember 

"It takes someone really brave to be a mother
someone really strong to raise a child
and someone really special to love someone more than herself”

Birth Story-James Lucas

I always love to read other people’s birth stories.. they are just so amazing and each birth is truly unique!

Here is James Lucas’ Birth Story

7:00 AM we head to the hospital.. daddy has to stop and get some breakfast ( I can’t eat anything really) so we eat in the car and talk about how we are back at the Methodist Hospital AGAIN in a little less than two years :) SOO crazy!! We talked for a little while and then headed into L&D

** funny- I never slept the night before because I had crazy bad back pain.. I thought I might be in the early stages of labor but I knew I was going to be “induced” in a few hours so I decided to wait it out. Well when I got to the hospital I was already at a 4 and fully effaced so looks like I was in labor!

Once they confirmed I was in labor they hooked me up to the Pitocin to get things really going and I immediately starting feeling contractions. I labored on all fours for a while and then they moved me from side to side to get baby to move down.

Once my pain was at about a 7 I decided to get the Epidural.

Here is when things get real.

Anesthesiologist came and hooked up my Epi and all was well... until it wasn’t.

about 5 hours into labor and well after I had my Epi all plugged in I started complaining that I could feel my feet.. then my legs..I was lifting my legs and wiggling my feet and I could literally feel the Epidural wearing off. I was starting to get nervous because I had already been laboring for a few hours so I knew the pain was about to get bad if the anesthesiologist didn’t come and fix it.

The nurse continuously told me to just click my button ( which allows more medicine to drip into your catheter). Well I clicked that damn button until it almost fell off. IT WAS NOT WORKING.

Two hours later...

I am FULLY in pain. Screaming. Cussing. Yelling. Hurting So bad that honestly all I could do was BREATHE.

The nurse who was my original nurse ended her other shift and came back to be my main nurse. Well she looked me over and discovered the problem. The epidural catheter completely fell out of my back and my bed was getting all my medicine. Well I hope that damn bed was good and numb!!! Because I sure wasn’t!!!

At this point I am in so much pain I am feeling pressure and I knew deep down that I was about to have to push this baby out naturally. The nurse checks me and says “ well sweetie you are in this much pain because you are at a ten and its time to push”.

I knew that I had to strap on my big girl pants and suck it up because I had to get the baby out. I also was having blood pressure drops due to the epidural and was put on oxygen. The baby had the chord wrapped around his neck too so his HR would dip when I was in certain positions. I knew it was time to get him out and so I prayed for strength and I repeated in my mind our chant from body back.

“ I am a mom and I can do hard things”.

I played tug of war with the nurse for a few minutes to move him down and then five pushes later he was out!!! He did have the chord wrapped once but he cried and was born BEAUTIFULLY!!

I felt SO proud of myself that I sucked it up and got him out with no meds. It was not my intentional plan but it was how he got here and I know now that I am a strong mama!!!!

My beautiful dark haired James Lucas was born at 6:21 PM weighting 6 pounds and 15 oz. He was just as sweet as ever and the moment they laid him on my chest brought me happy tears of joy!!!

My sweet little surprise.

Here are some pictures from that special day

James Lucas Frankhouser

It has been officially two weeks since James Lucas has made his grand debut into our lives and I have to be honest.. it has been pretty damn sweet. 

Being second time parents definitely has its perks.. we are more confident this time around and It was almost like I just went into robot mode knowing what to do this time around. 

Breastfeeding has thankfully been amazing once again and I am so very thankful.

Big brother is pretty unsure of our new little tenet. He has made some baby steps and has offered to give him a kiss, gave baby his paci, and even sat next to him on the couch..so we are taking what we can at this point :) 

James Lucas is a total second child. He is a major go with the flow baby, literally never cries unless he is hungry, and sleeps really great stretches for us. I am not complaining. 

His grand entrance into the world was a little bit scary ( more on our birth story later) but for now some pictures of our sweet new life as a family of four!

We are blessed!!!

Here are a few pictures from his first few days of life.

UP next is his Birth Story!!!!!