"Let's go!", "Hurry up!", "Can you please put your shoes on..now?", "Please walk faster", "If you don't eat now, you're going to be hungry later", "Did I forget something??"...That's what my mornings sound like now..Chaos I tell you.

Currently, our M-F looks something like this:

• 6:00am - Wake Erin up. Ken probably just got back from the gym and it's possible I'm already awake.
• 6:30am - Ken and I have been switching off making breakfast and making Erin's lunch. Lately though, we've just been sending Erin to school with a smoothie and fruit bar for breakfast.
• 7:00am - Drop off Erin and Ava (Ken and I carpool now. It's awesome..because I'm not the one driving).
• 8:00am - Arrive at work.
• 4:30pm - End Work.
• 5:30pm - Pick up Erin and Ava.
• 5:45pm - Make dinner and eat.
• 6:30pm - Erin will play and/or do other random things. I'll nurse Ava.
• 8:00pm - I'll start getting Ava ready for bed. I'll nurse her a final time and she'll go down anywhere from 8:00-8:30pm. Ken will get Erin ready for bed.
• 8:30-9:00pm - Erin will go to bed around this time.
• 8:45pm - I wash Ava's bottles and get tomorrow's milk baggies ready.
• 9:15pm - I'll shower and start winding down. Ken tends to sleep a little later than me, but we're usually in bed around 10pm.

It's been 8 months now since we became a family of four.  There is definitely more to juggle now and the girls are keeping us quite busy. M-F is pretty routine. We've got a nice little schedule down, but it doesn't leave Mom/Dad with a lot of free time. Erin started Pre-K and is learning SO much. There's never a dull moment with this girl...the things she says now. But, that also means she requires a lot of attention and she's constantly needing to be occupied by something and/or someone. She's actually becoming more independent, meaning she wants to do everything herself, which means she's going to do things much slower...and that also means we need to watch her more carefully (if it involves climbing something, carrying something, putting on her clothes, etc.). Ava has been keeping me busy these last few weeks and has been waking up 2-4 times at night (very unusual!). I had a feeling it had to do with teething and sure enough, her two bottom teeth have cut through her gums. Baby girl has teeth now, hooray (not so hooray for my boobs)! But besides the bad sleeping, Ava has been real easy thus far! She's almost always sleeping through all the chaos in the mornings and has been real easy going down each night. The girl rarely cries and just wants to eat all the time. Hah. But I'm sure once she's a little older, she'll become more of a handful, especially when she becomes mobile.

In the midst of this new busy life, I've sort of hit a slump of laziness. I've been so tired lately and I've found myself with less energy. I've been wanting to squeeze in a run before or after dinner, but it has yet to happen. Lame, right? When I do find myself with some spare time, I just want to sit and do nothing. It's been so much harder this time around to find the energy to do things.  I'm always finding some excuse.."I'll do it tomorrow," "It's too hot to run," "It's too far," "I'm too tired,"...etc. I gave myself a year grace period. Hah (till Ava turns 1). So we'll just have to see where I am in the next few months. Hopefully I'm in a nice groove, with more energy and actually getting things done. I'm also hoping that once Ava is off the boob and my body becomes my own again, I'll be more active and dare I say..actually running! I'm pretty sure I've lost all my muscle mass!

Being lazy has its perks though. I get to sit and hang with the girls/Ken. Sometimes we all just veg out on the couch..watching TV and/or reading books. The girls are the cutest together and it's been such a joy watching these two interact and "play" together. Erin is so sweet towards Ava and Ava is busy watching Erin's every move. Must treasure these moments. Soon enough they'll be making each other cry and annoying one another. Hah.

Currently

• Erin is pretty much potty trained...finally. Hooray! 
• Ava is an eating machine! She sure loves food.
• Erin got a bed upgrade. She's in a bunk bed now. 
• Our house is finally starting to feel like home. I'll share pictures soon.
• Football season started. I know what Ken will be doing every Thursday, Sunday and Monday. 
• Pumpkin Spice Latte is back! Can't believe its the last quarter of the year already. This year seriously flew by.
• In just a little over a month, I leave for my very first trip away from the kids! 
• Three is not my favorite age. Erin has been quite a challenge these days.