Much Improved Day!

Thanks for all of the encouraging comments on yesterday's post.

Today was much better. Katherine went to Mother's Day Out. Nana and I hung out. Today we decided to run errands. I made a list of all the places I needed to go, mainly to return or exchange things and then we set out. We went to the post office, Target, Sam's, Pottery Barn, Wild About Harry's (for lunch), A friends house to drop something off, Hobby Lobby, Target and then to my dad's office. Caroline slept through the entire thing. At two of the stops Nana stayed in the car with Caroline and she came in to the rest. Not only did I feel very productive but I was proud that I did all of that with a baby. I have not run that many errands with Katherine in a long time. It was fun to go to Pop's office to introduce Caroline to all of my co-workers (I work up there a little too). After the office I introduced Nana to Bubble Tea at Fat Straws.

When we got home, Nana and Katherine had a snack, played with animals and then Nana got Katherine down for a nap. That changes the entire tone of the day. She woke up in a great mood. We ate dinner, went for a walk as a family and had smoothies while watching Diego before bed.

I know that there will be good days and there will be bad days. I am thankful that today was good!

The easy one

Today was my first day on my own with two kids. Sam returned to work. I decided to take the day head on and get out of the house. For our first outing I did take it easy though, no running errands at Target or anything like that. I went to Janna's house so Katherine could play with Robert and Laurie Jane. That was easy enough and other than Katherine scratching Robert and refusing to clean up toys the day was uneventful. Caroline slept a little, ate a little and was awake and happy a little.

When we got home it was time for a nap. Yikes, how do I get Katherine down for a nap and take care of Caroline? With Sam home we would typically divide and conquer. Caroline was happy so I read to Katherine and snuggled up with her. She seemed to be headed toward sleep when I heard Caroline crying so I went to feed her. A few minutes later Katherine was out of her room and finding me. So, I put Caroline down (she was not happy about this) and went back to Katherine's room to try to get her asleep. Needless to say, it did not go well. Caroline fell asleep in her crib for almost 3 hours but Katherine never did fall asleep. The rest of the afternoon went downhill. Katherine was whiny, clingy and grumpy. She was not the only grumpy one by the time dad got home from work.

So, today the newborn was the easy one and the toddler kicked my tail.

So, for those of you with 2 kids, any suggestions on how to get that toddler to take their nap when you are caring for your baby? Katherine is in a big girl bed so there is no leaving her there. She can get out.