I thought it would be interesting to talk today about our roles and to hear from you about your roles currently and how they have changed!
It seemed that just as Andrew and I were really figuring out our different roles in marriage/at home/with the kids… things have been changed again with the addition of Skye! There have been a lot of changes in roles over the last decade for the both of us (especially in terms of single parenting… not going to lie, that was hard. I felt like I had to wear all of the hats for every role possible during that time). It is really nice to have a best friend where we can work together fulfilling all of the different roles. Our biggest role (husband/wife) means that we make sure to spend some time each day just the two of us talking, relaxing, watching a show together or having a date.
At the moment (because things change so quickly), we have a few of our different roles figured out and we help each other out on most of them too: A few of my roles currently ——> food source for Skye;), Skye cuddling, working, laundry (because Andrew hates it and I don’t), keeping the kitchen clean/dishes (because I love doing that), breakfast/morning routine with the kids, Skye from 2am-8am. A few of Andrew’s roles right now—> bills, taxes (which is out of control crazy as a blogger… my mom was very happy to pass this torch to Andrew when we got married), SCHOOL (which he is rocking), Skye cuddling, dinner cooking and more of the night responsibilities (that is when I do a lot of my work) with the kids, bathrooms and Skye from 9pm-2am (I have a bottle ready for him if she wakes up). As far as kids go throughout the day… some weeks I don’t have a lot to do for work and Andrew has a crazy amount of school (or vice versa) and so we play it by ear with what each of us is doing for them (and the time we are all together doing stuff is obviously our favorite)! We both spend time throughout the week picking up/cleaning. So that is how we split up a few of the responsibilities around here and I would love to hear how you do it at your house!
A little bit from Andrew about roles:
It seems about the only constant in life is change. Janae and I were talking yesterday about roles and how dynamic they can be. If I were to look back at my life 10 or even 20 years ago I would of never of dreamt of the all the changes that I would experience in such little time.
I look to my parents and the family that I grew up with. I will always look up to my parents through the tough things they went through. I remember that when I was in 6th grade my parents had to change roles. Some changes at my dad’s work didn’t jive with what was going on and he resigned from his position and just like that my mom went back to work as a nurse. Sparing all the minor details, my parent’s roles drastically shifted overnight. My mom became the “breadwinner” and my dad was at home. I was young at the time and didn’t think much about it rather than it was just change that I had to accept.
Now looking back at the past 5 years…. we could both write a book of what has happened. Divorce, marriage, blending a family, career change, school, house remodel, baby… and so much more. I remember living in my house with just me and Knox and some of the things I did—> like the extra bedroom by the washer and dryer was where I put all of my clean clothes that I never wanted to put away. Why not skip a step and keep them close to the washer where they are going to end up again anyways. Okay… I know that’s trivial, but when you are on your own, kids or not, you have your routines and ways of doing things. When Janae and I got married we both were working and loved to be busy with similar and very different things. We kept things like this for a while, but we needed to change some things, especially when I got into nursing school (something I told Janae on our first date…I was changing careers, I’m surprised that didn’t scare her off).
I remember it took quite some time for me to realize that I was going to quit my job and go full-time stay at home dad and school full-time, to make sure I could help take care of the kids with Janae so she could keep working while I was going to school! It has been an amazing experience to step into a different role. Is it always easy, hahah no way but so WORTH it.
So why talk about roles? To be honest…. we don’t know, we wanted to talk about something different today. As we have talked about roles together we feel like it isn’t concrete how it might have been in the past. What we envisioned isn’t exactly how they turned out, but it is our life and to be completely honest, I feel like we enjoy the little things we wouldn’t have, had we not gone down the same path we have already. We evolve constantly and it’s quite the adventure. Do you think your roles have changed? How? Why?
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Brooke told me yesterday morning that she is officially taking over the task of brushing her hair in the mornings. She is turning out to be quite independent these days.
I hit my longest postpartum run yesterday! 5 MILES!! My average pace was a 9:02 and I included a few hills while I was out too!
I was also excited because I found the perfect hill for hill repeats. It’s on a road where there is plenty of room on the side (so I don’t have to worry about sidewalk cracks) to run, it is about .25 miles long and it is steep but not too steep (ps it isn’t the hill below but I’ll take a picture of it another day). It is also the perfect distance from my house where I can run there for my warm-up, do a bunch of hill repeats and then run home for my cool-down.
Those are shorts. In January. It felt so good.
I came across the perfect resting spot in case I ever need to sit down and take a breather during one of my runs. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a tree chair before.
When I got home from my run, this is the face that Skye gave me. She wasn’t super thrilled with me leaving and going out and having fun without her.
Eventually she forgave me… kind of.
I had sweet potato enchilada leftovers for lunch (you know how I feel about leftovers… they are my favorite because it means I can eat within 90 seconds of going out to the kitchen for food). I was still hungry after lunch so I got out the Reese’s Puffs. This stuff is too good.
Right before dinner I got my eyebrows waxed and some fake eyelashes put on:) I do this once every 4-5 weeks or so and it’s my favorite. Gotta love the redness that accompanies waxing and call me crazy but I kind of like the feeling of getting my eyebrows waxed.
Skye is already prepping for Easter.
And Kodiakcakes with my brother’s homemade jam for dinner because it was fast, easy, delicious and something we all love.
Beretta’s bday was yesterday. She is now six years old. The kids sang happy birthday to her, Andrew took her on a run to her favorite place and she had a few extra dog bones at dinner time:)
A small sample of Brooke’s Greatest Showman Dancing (this happens daily so I thought I would share a clip).
Also, I was looking up random things about the Winter Olympics and I saw these average speeds for the different sports. Can you imagine going 93 MPH on a bobsled?!
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WHO HAS A FEBRUARY BIRTHDAY!? Tell me what day!
-ME ME ME ME ME. 2/13 (anybody else?)
What about in your life… how have your roles changed over time? What are some of your roles right now?
If you could participate in any of the sports at the Winter Olympics… which would you choose?
Eyebrows—> do you wax, pluck, do nothing because you have great eyebrows already?
