Howdy! Let me first just apologize for all the issues around here lately. My blog was crashing every time I put up a new post because of the traffic. Sort of a good problem to have, I guess, but an annoying one, nonetheless. So the super sweet Blogarista has been helping me switch it over and we’ve had a few hiccups. Hopefully it’s all smoothed out now and this place loads much faster for you all. Thanks for hanging in there with me.
Also? I’m 30.
I said goodbye to my 20s over the weekend while I chilled with family and friends and friends who are like family in Austin. I also watched Scott complete his 3rd marathon… and secretly wished I was running for just a brief moment. (Think I’ll try for Chicago in 2012!)
I fulfilled a mommy fantasy of being cutesy matchy matchy with my daughter when Leyna and I wore our coordinating outfits to my birthday dinner. She wore a pillowcase dress and bloomers (tutorials linked) with fabric from City Craft. I also crocheted a headband for her and made a fabric rosette to stick on it. Then I made a headband and a broach for myself with a few fabric rosettes (made from this tutorial).
I planned to write a deep, introspective post about this new decade of my life, but it turns out I really don’t have the time to do a lot of deep thinking about turning 30 because I’m too busy accomplishing nothing. Never in my life have I really, truly understood the phrase “spinning my wheels” like I do right now.
Basically the story of my life right now is working hard to achieve nothing.
Today it took us 1 hour 15 minutes to get out of the house just to walk a mile to the park. And I didn’t even manage to put on a drop of makeup or brush my hair.
The morning went something like this:
11:00 I finally get my teeth brushed and decide we should take a walk to the park.
11:15 Leyna’s diaper is changed, must now get Kendall to go potty.
11:30 Kendall is STILL on the toilet (because he is already very much like a man and really enjoys his bathroom time).
11:45 Kendall is done, but now Leyna is screaming because she’s hungry.
12:00 Leyna’s done eating, but now screaming because she’s tired and wants me to rock her to sleep.
12:05 Leyna is temporarily soothed by the swing while I pack snacks for the walk.
12:07 Leyna is screaming again because I’ve now strapped her in the stationary stroller and she is not in a state of motion.
12:09 Kendall is in timeout for, well, annoying the shit out of me (incessant pleas for snacks coupled with defiance and bossiness).
12:11 Leyna is still screaming, Kendall is crying in timeout, I’m fantasizing of vacations to places where no children exist and people bring me drinks.
12:13 Kendall is strapped in to the stroller alongside Leyna, and now I’m the one who has to go pee. I close the door and relish the fact that they are both tied to a stroller with the brake on at the other side of the house perhaps just a little too much. Silence.
12:15 We’re off!
So it pretty much took me 75 minutes to do something that would take most people 5- LEAVE THE HOUSE.
Having a second baby doesn’t make everything take twice as long, it makes it take 15 times as long, apparently.
Which means I can’t possibly find the time to think about turning 30 and share all my infinite wisdom that comes from 30 years on this earth with you all because I would be turning 40 by the time I’m done. And that? I’m pretty sure is how the rest of my life is going to go. Me not having time to think about time because I’m too busy not getting ANYTHING done.
I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
Kendall is 2 and nearly 10 months, Leyna is 8 weeks, and I’m THIRTY!
- 12Shares
35 comments
Come to Chicago! Yes! I will cheer you on…with a nice frosty beverage in my hands.
You and Jen are at the top of my list of reasons to torture myself and train for the Chicago Marathon.
Chicago marathon in 2012? I’ll take it. You look great! Love the cute outfits. Such an adorable family.
30 is WAY to young to try to be all retrospective. Come see me when you turn 40. 😉
This cracks me up only because I was thinking this EXACT same thing this morning when trying to get us out of the house for a walk. Getting ready to go out took longer than actually taking the walk and we took a pretty decent walk too!
You all look great! As somebody who has a 2 year old daughter and has watched my 10 month old niece full time since she was 3 weeks old, I can assure you that it gets easier, a lot easier, to find your rhythm with two.
And thanks for sharing the tutorials! Can’t wait to try my hand at the headband!
Thanks! For Leyna’s tutorial I just crocheted it by winging it, so that’s not in the tutorial. If you know how to crochet, you just chain stitch 10, then double crochet into the 4th chain from the hook, chain stitch 1, skip one chain stitch in the original chain, and double crochet in the next chain, repeat one more time until you’ve reached the end of the chain, turn and start again. Make it long enough to wrap around their head, then join both ends to make a headband. I’m sure that makes absolutely no sense. So you’re welcome for the utter confusing crochet bullshit that my fingers just vomited.
=) makes sense to me! I’m a self taught crocheter amd make up my own non-sensical (to everyone else but me) patterns all the time.
Happy Birthday!! You look fantastic and I’m swooning over the matching outfits. Clearly you have more time than you’re letting on if you can handmake bebeh clothes. My baby wears footie pajamas pretty much exclusively.
Also, getting out of the house is overrated. All it leads to is getting smacked in the face by a screaming toddler while the stroller your infant is strapped into slowly rolls away from you in the mall. Not that that happened to me THIS MORNING or anything.
I literally just snorted.
I only had time to make the baby mommy outfits/accessories because my mom took Kendall for a week and because I let my house go to hell.
You’re right: having two kids doesn’t just double the workload or make things twice as complicated. They had an amazing way of multiplying tenfold. I described it to a non-parent as trying to herd cats while simultaneously executing the storming of Normandy and apparently (to my children’s ears) only being capable of speaking like Charlie Brown’s teacher. It took a lot longer to recover and feel like a halfway functioning human being after having my second than it did my first. So when you announced you had #2 on the way, I was eagerly anticipating your insight on life with two kids. And now my husband and I are working on #3…I’m equal parts excited and terrified, with a healthy dose of masochism thrown in.
Yeah… good luck with that 😉
My mom has always said that two kids aren’t twice the work, they’re 10 times the work.
I’m scared.
Rebekah speaks the truth- I now have a 5 year old and an almost 3 year old- it gets WAY easier. I promise! Hang in there!
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jill Krause, Jill Krause. Jill Krause said: New blog post: Spinning My Wheels To Start My 30s https://www.babyrabies.com/2011/02/spinning-my-wheels-to-start-my-30s/ […]
I ran Chicago last fall and it’s an awesome race. It’s been hot as balls 3 out of the last 4 years, though, so I don’t know if I’ll ever do it again. Seriously, the amount of people I saw totally passed out and/or vomiting uncontrollably at aid stations (or randomly, on the side of the road) was bananas.
Yes, for some reason having 2 feels like having 10. Also, I feel ya on the “snacks” issue. It drives me F***ing crazy. James will finish breakfast and 5 minutes later start begging for snacks…and keeps doing it for the rest of the day.
Happy Birthday! I have one more month before I join you at 30 🙂
Happy late birthday!!
Happy Birthday!
My favorite walk was when my then 20 month old decided to sit down and refuse to get up while I was wearing her then 8 week old sister in a Moby. I had no choice but to pick her up, carry her like a football kicking and screaming up a hill, and swear like a sailor. I can imagine how I looked, dressed basically in PJs, carrying one hysterical child while the other screamed in the Moby.
I may or may not have cried that day.
THIS is why I love this blog so much. Comments like this that make me really LOL at 10:30 at night bring me such joy.
I have my 2.75 year old, my 9 month old, and turn 30 in 6 months, so I totally feel you. We are planning on doing the Disney marathon next January; if you are doing something so crazy, might as well do it someplace nice and have fun afterward! And yes, I plan on entering both kids in races, myself in the half, and my husband is doing the full run. I’m making him do the full because he is a Marine and mentioned doing a marathon once. 😀
When we were planning on TTC #2 my SIL told me, “don’t go in to it thinking it’s double the work. It’s like, 30 times the work. Which doesn’t make sense, but if you want to be a sucker you’ll find out what I mean”. So here I am 15w pregnant with #2, a 2 year old that throws tantrums constantly and then wants to be held after hitting me, and wondering wtf I got myself in to. My niece and nephew are almost 10 and 6 now, and I’ve heard it does get easier. I’ll keep reading your blog as a guide 🙂
And Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday, and way to go, just over an hour to get out of the house? Sometimes it takes me that long with just one kid!
Love this sentence “12:09 Kendall is in timeout for, well, annoying the shit out of me (incessant pleas for snacks coupled with defiance and bossiness)”! I could have changed the names in this post to Tyler and Emily and that is the exact same process we have getting out the door down to Tyler in timeout and Emily in constant motion! My husband just thought we sucked at getting out the door, but apparently we are normal
First of all, Happy 30th Birthday!!!
Second of all, yes, it takes a friggin’ eternity to get out the door to do anything with 2 kids. I can’t imagine adding another to it. I would never be on time again!
Happy Birthday! You look great and your kids are adorable.
I’m looking forward to your “wisdom” – I turn 30 in June.
And now I’m a little scared for #2!
oh man. it just took me 12 hours to actually finish reading this post… and I only have one!
well happy 30th birthday to you!!!!
The best introspective advice I was given before I had my little one was that after your kid(s) are born, life stops being a series of attainable goals, it stops being this thing where you look at yourself as a series of accomplishments, life or parenthood, instead becomes a process. I think the advice was something like “focus on the process instead of end result.” The advice feels true so much of the time, but I also realize that every moment of parenthood is an accomplishment. Trust me, you are never accomplishing nothing as a mother. You are always accomplishing something, every single second of the day, that’s why it takes HOURS to get out of the house:) Happy Birthday!
I, personally, can’t wait to turn 30. It’s just one year closer until I can become an “Old Man” and do whatever on Earth I feel like and have it considered cute.
Congratulations to your husband for running the Austin Marathon (although it does mean something must be wrong with him, running a marathon is insane) and congratulations to you for not freaking out about turning 30!
Now I’ll go cry myself to sleep to the thought of staying at home with 2 kids when we have a second. Thanks for the nightmares!
Story of my life. I have three kids. Boy 10, Girl 2.5, Boy 6.5 months (and husband, if that counts). I tried to explain to my husband about the importance of leaving RIGHT when everybody is ready or the process of pee/diaper, eat, sleep with have to start all over again and it will be another 2 (or more) hours before we can leave. With fear of never getting out of the house, there have been a number of times I have forced him to drive separate. Only solution I have come up with to keep me from going completely insane. Once he actually said something along the lines of “what’s the hold up?”. Ummmm yes, either I really grew horns and breathed fire on him until he burned to the ground or I blacked out at that point and imagined that I did – not quite sure.
Good news is it does…get easier (never heard that before huh?) Just recently, after a looong day at an indoor waterpark (you can imagine what work goes into the end of that day) packed up my three kids, double stroller + my nephew into my tiny Civic. For a brief moment when I turned the key in the ignition I had a great sense of pride. I had successfully did it and all without – let me check – YEP, without raising my heartrate. I thought “Would you look at me…You GO GIRL!” So you actually do accomplish something 🙂
The mall, hot day at the park, a fancy restaurant…I say BRING IT OOOOONNN! Get ya some!
You’ll get there…
So now I’m scared to have a 2nd kid.
But seriously – well, I was kind of serious just then – you ARE accomplishing something in that 75 minutes. You are nourishing, disciplining, teaching, and still prioritizing the outdoors & exercise. All in 75 minutes! Amazing.
This is my life! My birthday was Feb 19 (33), my son is 2.10 (3 in April) and my daughter was born Dec 21! AND YES YES YES!!! I cannot believe how many HOURS it takes me to GET DOWNSTAIRS and get breakfast let alone leave the house with 2 kids!!! (Also, the whole thing about the 2 year old being in time out…) I can so relate! I keep thinking maybe it will get easier when it gets warm and there are less coats and mittens and blankets to worry about (but then there will be sunscreen and sun hats and….oh boy)
Happy Birthday and welcome to the Second Act! You’ll have time to reflect upon 30 before you know it. I can certainly relate to the whole 15x the work, damn why didn’t anyone tell us!