The first thing is Brent being moved to second shift. His hours are now two in the afternoon until midnight instead of six in the morning until four in the afternoon. For the first few weeks I'd find myself waiting up on him to get home around 12:30, which was not a huge issue because I'd catch up on sleep during Oliver's nap. Now that my part in this transition period has occurred, nap time is not exactly feasible most days. Another aspect of this is that we'd been able to eat dinner and be together as a family every night for over two years now. Now we get to eat only a handful of meals together over the entire course of the week. A positive aspect of this new schedule is that Brent now has time (in theory) to get some man-chores done around the house, such as mowing the lawn and taking are of the cars. Even though this schedule stinks, I'm very excited that my boys still get Thursday and Friday to spend time together. They would both agree that time is special and something they would not change for anything!
The next thing has been Oliver switching to a new daycare. The reason for this is that his old one would not take infants. My drive to work is long enough without havong to stop twice! Once is enough! Pretty much everything about this daycare is different than the place where we have taken Oliver for the past two years. There is a different teacher in the morning than in the afternoon. He eats school food because it is included in tuition. He doesn't know anyone yet because it takes him some time to warm up, even though he plays and gets along with everyone great. The hardest has been his potty situation. On Wednesday last week he was moved from the three year old room to the twos because he's having so many accidents at school; the biggest problem being that they are poopy accidents. We've kept tabs and he has not had a poop accident at home at all after being there last. He's not only telling us when he needs to go at home with few prompts, but mostly going on his own. I've been every emotion from extremely angry about the potty situation to an upset crying mess and everything in between over the last week. We are all, including Oliver, praying hard that it gets better at school quickly and he can get back in his preschool class as soon as possible.
The final main transition has been me going back to work. This is the first year Oliver realizes that he has gone from being with me 24/7 to only having me fully with him two days each week. This is hard to swallow because he wants time with me like he had this summer. Even though he does not say it specifically, he gets latchy and whiny if he's not had enough one-on-one time, Brent's schedule also complicates things because at night it is only the two of us. By the time I pick Oliver up and get food on the table, dinner time has moved from 5:30ish as our family normal to around 6:30. This is because I have a 45-60 minute drive home from work, when we get home Oliver needs personal mom time, Wilson has to go out and be fed, I have to actually prepare dinner, and I'm just shy of 8 months pregnant so my energy and patience are thin by the time we even walk in the door. I have ideas for simplifying this process as the year contunues, they have just not happened to this point yet. Plus I only have about 9 more weeks of work until maternity leave. For that I am also very grateful. Though, I already praying for what is to come in January after I go back to work.
Somehow in the middle of our new normal, we continue to press on. We know that God has a plan for our family. He's helping us realize that some things, like potty usage, are out of our control. I'm learning that I have to be patient even when I'm exhausted.
Plus the best part is the reminder that my husband truly is a rock star! I am more grateful for him than ever before these days. When he could spend the mornings he is home alone watching TV or riding his bike, he's been painting Graham's room and putting together furniture, continuing to take care of the lawn and cars, and keeping me sane by taking time to talk me through my worries at 6:30 in the morning. This is all before going in to work a 10 hour shift!
Mostly I'm becoming more and more grateful for everything God has given our family. He is good and He knows what is good for us. He promises never to give us more than we can handle and that all things are possible through Him. Those promises fill us with hope and excitement for the future!
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