My "Ah-HA!" Moment

**Disclaimer... this is really long and mostly for journaling sake**

It is no secret that Andy is a great dad. He LOVES being a dad. When he gets home from work he is so excited to see the kids and play with them. When we lived in Las Vegas his schedule was flexible. Usually he would leave the house by 6am or so, so that he could be home by 3 when Lucas woke up from his nap, giving him enough time to see and play with him. This was super nice on me because I had him to help watch Lucas while I made dinner, ran any last minute errands, went to church functions, etc... One might say I was spoiled :)

Along came Jane and I continued to be spoiled in this regard. Andy was pretty much done with work and it we were preparing to move. So I had Andy to help 24/7.

We moved to Utah and literally my world came crashing down. Andy was at work and school 24/7, the physical aspect of moving 2 weeks post baby hit, and I had 2 kids who needed me all day long. I honestly felt like I was losing my mind. I was yelling at Lucas all day for not listening, I was frustrated that Jane wasn't falling into a schedule, and Lucas wasn't napping or going to bed at night. And all this was happening and Andy wasn't home at 3 to relieve me.

After about 2 weeks or so of this I had my "Ah-HA!" moment. It was a Wednesday and it is Andy's really long work day. I always dreaded Wednesdays because we don't see him all day. I woke and was bound and determined to make today a great day. I got ready and got the kids out the door by 10 to go to the park. We met up with some friends in our ward and Lucas ran free. When we got home it was time for lunch for both kids. I would typically hurry to get Lucas' lunch ready, then feed Jane while he was eating, then put Lucas down, then Jane. But that day I did things different.

Instead, I fed Jane first. Then once she was happy and content, I made both Lucas and I lunch and we ate together. At that time Jane was ready for a nap and so I put her down. Then Lucas and I read stories, sang songs, and I put him to bed. For the first time in 2+ weeks Lucas went down for a nap! That was when I had my first "Ah-HA" moment! Lucas just needed some one-on-one time with me. Before I would be dealing with a fussy baby so I didn't have time to read or sing with Lucas, which in turn was causing him to feel left out and not wanting to nap. Once I switched the routine, Lucas started napping.

After Lucas' nap it was dinner time (he slept for 4 hours... and has ever since!) so we packed up dinner and headed to Andy's work. We decided that on Wednesdays we would have a picnic dinner so we could at least see Andy. It was so great to see him, Lucas was in heaven... and we all needed that pick me up.

After dinner we went to the library and checked out some new books. By this time it was 7:00 and bedtime was approaching. I bathed the kids and we started our bedtime routine. I had been putting Lucas down between 7:30-8, not because he was tired, but because I was exhausted and I was ready for him to go to bed. Well no wonder bed time wasn't going well. So on this particular night I decided to let Lucas play in his room while I put baby to bed and cleaned the house. Around 8:45 I went in to the kids room, Lucas and I read our new books, sang a song, and within 15 minutes he was out. WHAT? Bedtime had been taking an hour plus for the weeks prior... and on this night he didn't even fight me.

Not to mention when I came out of his room, both kids were asleep and the house was completely clean. Cue, second "Ah-HA!" moment.

Needless to say, life since that Wednesday has been glorious. I have been so much happier. I feel like such a better mom because I am not yelling at Lucas, he listens to me and has stopped telling me, "NO!". He is happier because he is sleeping again. And Jane is now on a perfect schedule. Every night I put Jane to bed and Lucas and I play together until he is tired. We have so much fun together! Of course we miss Andy, but Lucas is my little buddy. Here is a collection of random pictures from the past few weeks of play time.