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Friday, December 31, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Solicitors of the World:
Take note!
It is best not to solicit women who come out of the grocery store with carts that look like this:
And arms that each look like this:
I assure you her main goal is to get into her car with as much speed as possible, especially if either of her children are crying. Trying to get her to stop to give you time and/or money is not in your best interest if you want to get through the day without being verbally assaulted.
Thanks for your time and attention to this matter.
It is best not to solicit women who come out of the grocery store with carts that look like this:
 |
| He was blowing out something he perceived to be hot (in this case, car exhaust, LOL). |
And arms that each look like this:
I assure you her main goal is to get into her car with as much speed as possible, especially if either of her children are crying. Trying to get her to stop to give you time and/or money is not in your best interest if you want to get through the day without being verbally assaulted.
Thanks for your time and attention to this matter.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Naturally.
Amidst all the drama of last weekend (you know, husband gone, kids sick, yadda, yadda...) we had another bit of excitement thrown in the mix.
Naturally.
Picture it: You've just walked into your house after hauling 3 kids to the Wal-Mart clinic (think practically no waiting room and no place for kids to sit in the examining room, basically chaos) and to the pharmacy (where despite being first in line your prescription still takes a half hour to fill).
So you've just come in the door and are peeling coats off of two kids who are running around like wild banshees while trying to get the screaming baby out of his car seat. At this point, one of your kids (the toddler, so it is extra cute) crouches down next to the kitchen table and points, laughing hysterically. You had seen the cat run by but you can't quite figure out why he's laughing at the cat, who he sees zooming around the house most of the day.
Then, the warning cry by your kindergartner: "Mommy, Poo Kitty has a mouse!"
No way, you think.
You crouch down to check and, sure enough, there is a mouse doing his very best to run away from this large orange predator. You expected to see something grotesque and rat-like, but instead you see something that, being the softie you are, you want to protect: a cute, teeny, brown mouse. Unfortunately, you don't want to protect it enough to let it roam free in your house, so out it must go.
You make a panicked phone call to your husband, who laughs at you, enjoying your high pitched freak out voice. You wag your fist of fury at him and hang up the phone. HOW are you going to get this thing out of the house?
Suddenly, the cat makes a power play and snatches the mouse up in his mouth, turning to stare at you as he does so.
A moment of brilliance: Get the cat to take the mouse outside.
You run to the door and throw it open, calling "Poo Kitty, come outside! Come on, kitty! Come outside!" He looks at you like you've lost your mind. You plead with him in your mind not to drop the mouse. Finally, after several minutes of coaxing, he carries the mouse outside.
Victory!
The worst part: the animals were locked in the house, so the mouse came from somewhere on the inside.
Oy.
Naturally.
Picture it: You've just walked into your house after hauling 3 kids to the Wal-Mart clinic (think practically no waiting room and no place for kids to sit in the examining room, basically chaos) and to the pharmacy (where despite being first in line your prescription still takes a half hour to fill).
So you've just come in the door and are peeling coats off of two kids who are running around like wild banshees while trying to get the screaming baby out of his car seat. At this point, one of your kids (the toddler, so it is extra cute) crouches down next to the kitchen table and points, laughing hysterically. You had seen the cat run by but you can't quite figure out why he's laughing at the cat, who he sees zooming around the house most of the day.
Then, the warning cry by your kindergartner: "Mommy, Poo Kitty has a mouse!"
No way, you think.
You crouch down to check and, sure enough, there is a mouse doing his very best to run away from this large orange predator. You expected to see something grotesque and rat-like, but instead you see something that, being the softie you are, you want to protect: a cute, teeny, brown mouse. Unfortunately, you don't want to protect it enough to let it roam free in your house, so out it must go.
You make a panicked phone call to your husband, who laughs at you, enjoying your high pitched freak out voice. You wag your fist of fury at him and hang up the phone. HOW are you going to get this thing out of the house?
Suddenly, the cat makes a power play and snatches the mouse up in his mouth, turning to stare at you as he does so.
A moment of brilliance: Get the cat to take the mouse outside.
You run to the door and throw it open, calling "Poo Kitty, come outside! Come on, kitty! Come outside!" He looks at you like you've lost your mind. You plead with him in your mind not to drop the mouse. Finally, after several minutes of coaxing, he carries the mouse outside.
Victory!
The worst part: the animals were locked in the house, so the mouse came from somewhere on the inside.
Oy.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
The Plague
I was going to make a new post about the book series I'm reading, but the plague has apparently infected my house so I decided to write about it instead.
To begin, Jack has had some crud for at least a week. A progressively worsening cough and snot that began turning neon green. I assumed it was just a cold and it would pass.
On Wednesday evening, Spencer told me his stomach hurt. A doctor once told me that kids will often complain about stomach pain with strep throat (although I have no idea why), so I felt his noggin to find a fever of over 101.
The next day, I haul my gaggle of children to the doctor's office and we get a diagnosis of strep throat, Spencer's second round of it in as many months. My dear husband will get strep if anyone in a 10 mile radius has it, so I call him to give him warning and lo and behold he's been feeling puny all day. Awesome.
That night, Jake said that Jack was burning up and really restless. By the time Jack found me and I felt his head, he felt cool so I brushed the idea of him having a fever aside.
The same night, Fin had been quite warm to the touch and tossing and turning all night, so I had given him a wee baby sized dose of tylenol. The next day he barely even coughed. I had made both of them a doctor's appointment early in the day, but when they both seemed to improve I canceled it assuming I was overreacting.
Wrong choice.
Last night was miserable. Spencer is on the mend, thank God for small miracles, but Jack was burning with a fever and Fin was hacking and so stuffed up that he was screaming with frustration and hunger.
Did I mention Jake is away at drill?
I got us up and moving this morning and we went to the new clinic at Wal-Mart. I generally really dislike Wal-Mart, but their clinic is open late and on weekends when NO OTHER office in my whole town is. Before this clinic opened, any illness that occurred on the weekend and needed medical attention was directed to the emergency room. Talk about a waste of the ER's time.
The NP (I love NPs, BTW) looked, listened and probed the boys while Spencer, reviling in his new found post-illness energy, acted like a wild animal, and diagnosed Jack with strep and Fin with a minor ear infection and an irritated throat.
Antibiotics all around.
While I was at the pharmacy getting the medicine filled, I picked up some Vitamin C w/echinacea hoping that it will help with the boys' immune systems. I'm also dosing Jack with motrin and tylenol for the pain and everyone (including Jake, although he doesn't know it yet) is going to start taking probiotics.
I feel like a nurse.
Hopefully by tomorrow everyone will feel at least 50% better and we can go to Branson to see Santa. Spencer was so disappointed that we had to delay our trip, which was scheduled for today.
Now I'm going to go lysol my house.
To begin, Jack has had some crud for at least a week. A progressively worsening cough and snot that began turning neon green. I assumed it was just a cold and it would pass.
On Wednesday evening, Spencer told me his stomach hurt. A doctor once told me that kids will often complain about stomach pain with strep throat (although I have no idea why), so I felt his noggin to find a fever of over 101.
The next day, I haul my gaggle of children to the doctor's office and we get a diagnosis of strep throat, Spencer's second round of it in as many months. My dear husband will get strep if anyone in a 10 mile radius has it, so I call him to give him warning and lo and behold he's been feeling puny all day. Awesome.
That night, Jake said that Jack was burning up and really restless. By the time Jack found me and I felt his head, he felt cool so I brushed the idea of him having a fever aside.
The same night, Fin had been quite warm to the touch and tossing and turning all night, so I had given him a wee baby sized dose of tylenol. The next day he barely even coughed. I had made both of them a doctor's appointment early in the day, but when they both seemed to improve I canceled it assuming I was overreacting.
Wrong choice.
Last night was miserable. Spencer is on the mend, thank God for small miracles, but Jack was burning with a fever and Fin was hacking and so stuffed up that he was screaming with frustration and hunger.
Did I mention Jake is away at drill?
I got us up and moving this morning and we went to the new clinic at Wal-Mart. I generally really dislike Wal-Mart, but their clinic is open late and on weekends when NO OTHER office in my whole town is. Before this clinic opened, any illness that occurred on the weekend and needed medical attention was directed to the emergency room. Talk about a waste of the ER's time.
The NP (I love NPs, BTW) looked, listened and probed the boys while Spencer, reviling in his new found post-illness energy, acted like a wild animal, and diagnosed Jack with strep and Fin with a minor ear infection and an irritated throat.
Antibiotics all around.
While I was at the pharmacy getting the medicine filled, I picked up some Vitamin C w/echinacea hoping that it will help with the boys' immune systems. I'm also dosing Jack with motrin and tylenol for the pain and everyone (including Jake, although he doesn't know it yet) is going to start taking probiotics.
I feel like a nurse.
Hopefully by tomorrow everyone will feel at least 50% better and we can go to Branson to see Santa. Spencer was so disappointed that we had to delay our trip, which was scheduled for today.
Now I'm going to go lysol my house.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Stop the Car
Fair warning: ranting ahead.
I will be the first to admit that I am incredibly soft-hearted. I cry watching Extreme Home Makeover. I cried watching the finale of "Lost." I cried reading my friend Randi's blog post about her daughter turning 3. Think the oatmeal-y, goulash-y, soupy version of soft-hearted. That's me.
One of the things that will cause me to weep copiously is pretty much anything sweet or sad or loyalty driven having to do with animals (I was already crying during the "Lost" finale, but when the dog did his thing with Jack [people who watched it know what I mean] I lost my marbles).
I drove us home from Jake's parent's house this weekend. As I was driving I see a dog start to walk out into the road.
Maybe it is just because my worst nightmare is to hit an animal, especially one that may be a beloved family pet, but I am constantly scanning the sides of the road when I drive for any type of movement. And I don't mean the sides of the road just to the front of where I am, I scan as far as I can. Any movement or (in the dark) flash of an eye means that I slow waaaaay down. Because of this, I noted the dog, slowed down, checked the other lane for oncoming traffic, and swerved around him.
The guy behind me should have had no trouble doing the same. When the person in front of me slows down and swerves, I am typically inclined to do the same. At the very least I slow to a crawl. Instead, this guy just drives like the road is totally clear and devoid of obstacles. I checked my rear view mirror just in time to see the poor dog get hit.
And he just kept on going.
There was probably nothing the guy could have done for the dog (you know, besides not hit it), but it seems so cruel not to stop and help. Maybe the dog could have been saved. Maybe it ended up on the side of the road, suffering, until it died. The guy better be glad that he didn't end up passing me on the road at any point; he would've gotten my middle finger and a dirty glare (I am totally the most mature person ever, I know).
I know exactly where the hatred for people like that comes from.
Right after we moved here in 2008, our dog, Crickey, dug out of our fence. Spencer and I were biking to the farmer's market and she tried to follow us. It took her long enough to get out of the fence that I didn't know she was on our trail. She got hit and died.
The person that hit her didn't stop, but some gentlemen that witnessed the accident did. They removed her body from the road, checked her collar, and called Jake. They told Jake that the accident was totally avoidable (the speed limit on the road where she was hit is only 30 MPH); the lady that hit her was not paying attention to the road.
I can't imagine the scene that would have occurred if I'd have biked back to the street to find her there. And the person that hit her should be very, very glad that I don't know who they are. I've never been a violent person, but I guarantee you that there would've been a fist thrown on my part.
I'm not naive enough to think that I'll never hit an animal (although I hope and pray never a dog or cat). But I promise you I'm kind enough to stop.
I will be the first to admit that I am incredibly soft-hearted. I cry watching Extreme Home Makeover. I cried watching the finale of "Lost." I cried reading my friend Randi's blog post about her daughter turning 3. Think the oatmeal-y, goulash-y, soupy version of soft-hearted. That's me.
One of the things that will cause me to weep copiously is pretty much anything sweet or sad or loyalty driven having to do with animals (I was already crying during the "Lost" finale, but when the dog did his thing with Jack [people who watched it know what I mean] I lost my marbles).
I drove us home from Jake's parent's house this weekend. As I was driving I see a dog start to walk out into the road.
Maybe it is just because my worst nightmare is to hit an animal, especially one that may be a beloved family pet, but I am constantly scanning the sides of the road when I drive for any type of movement. And I don't mean the sides of the road just to the front of where I am, I scan as far as I can. Any movement or (in the dark) flash of an eye means that I slow waaaaay down. Because of this, I noted the dog, slowed down, checked the other lane for oncoming traffic, and swerved around him.
The guy behind me should have had no trouble doing the same. When the person in front of me slows down and swerves, I am typically inclined to do the same. At the very least I slow to a crawl. Instead, this guy just drives like the road is totally clear and devoid of obstacles. I checked my rear view mirror just in time to see the poor dog get hit.
And he just kept on going.
There was probably nothing the guy could have done for the dog (you know, besides not hit it), but it seems so cruel not to stop and help. Maybe the dog could have been saved. Maybe it ended up on the side of the road, suffering, until it died. The guy better be glad that he didn't end up passing me on the road at any point; he would've gotten my middle finger and a dirty glare (I am totally the most mature person ever, I know).
I know exactly where the hatred for people like that comes from.
Right after we moved here in 2008, our dog, Crickey, dug out of our fence. Spencer and I were biking to the farmer's market and she tried to follow us. It took her long enough to get out of the fence that I didn't know she was on our trail. She got hit and died.
The person that hit her didn't stop, but some gentlemen that witnessed the accident did. They removed her body from the road, checked her collar, and called Jake. They told Jake that the accident was totally avoidable (the speed limit on the road where she was hit is only 30 MPH); the lady that hit her was not paying attention to the road.
I can't imagine the scene that would have occurred if I'd have biked back to the street to find her there. And the person that hit her should be very, very glad that I don't know who they are. I've never been a violent person, but I guarantee you that there would've been a fist thrown on my part.
I'm not naive enough to think that I'll never hit an animal (although I hope and pray never a dog or cat). But I promise you I'm kind enough to stop.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thankful
Happy Thanksgiving!
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world about 90% of the time (the other 10% of the time I'm working on the bills, ugh).
I have a husband that I adore and that likes me ok too. ;-)
I have 3 amazing kids that keep me on my toes.
I have 2 awesome sisters whom I love dearly.
I have 2 very sweet nephews.
I have a family that is there to support me in good times and bad.
My inlaws are great people that love me and do nothing but smother my children in affection.
I have a house that keeps me warm and enough money to keep us all fed.
I have a car that drives and is paid off, even if we are packed into it like little sardines.
Jake has a job. So thankful for that in this economy.
My job is so much fun. I love going to work and all the perks I get (like bringing the boys with me).
I have made some great friends in Mtn. Home.
I truly feel blessed.
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world about 90% of the time (the other 10% of the time I'm working on the bills, ugh).
I have a husband that I adore and that likes me ok too. ;-)
I have 3 amazing kids that keep me on my toes.
I have 2 awesome sisters whom I love dearly.
I have 2 very sweet nephews.
I have a family that is there to support me in good times and bad.
My inlaws are great people that love me and do nothing but smother my children in affection.
I have a house that keeps me warm and enough money to keep us all fed.
I have a car that drives and is paid off, even if we are packed into it like little sardines.
Jake has a job. So thankful for that in this economy.
My job is so much fun. I love going to work and all the perks I get (like bringing the boys with me).
I have made some great friends in Mtn. Home.
I truly feel blessed.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
I confess...
...that many mornings my kids don't get a good breakfast. I am grateful to the school, for serving breakfast to Spence, and for Pop Tarts, which is frequently what Jack eats.
...that I think the only thing Jack got from me was his curly hair.
...that I always said Spencer could keep his hair how he wanted (long, short, whatever), but now that he chose to have it cut short I HATE it.
...that it I get something on my shirt that dries clear, I'm not changing it. Be that water or spit up or breastmilk. If it isn't showing, I'm not changing. That just makes more laundry.
...that I smell like sour milk right now.
...I have a coke problem. As in Coca-Cola. I cannot get enough of the stuff. I'd drink it all day, but I worry that the baby would be wired from all the caffeine.
...I think I love my husband more and more everyday.
...that the only thing I don't mind being woken up for in the middle of the night is sweet sayings from Jake. He frequently wakes up in the night and says things like, "I'm glad I found you so young." I think he thinks I'm asleep when he says them.
...that watching Spencer and Jack play together makes me feel all warm and gushy inside. I almost cried watching them fly around playing Buzz Lightyear last night.
...that I love my job. It is the best of both worlds: bringing in some money while being with my kiddos (well, at least the younger two).
...that it annoys me that Jack wants to sit on me all.the.time.
...that I think it is special how much my boys love my grandparents. I'm so glad they will get to know each other so well.
...that I've eaten over 50% of the Halloween candy by myself.
...that I have a deep love for TV. I really only have one show that I must watch each week (Glee), but if I can find a Law and Order rerun I'm as happy as can be.
...that I think the only thing Jack got from me was his curly hair.
...that I always said Spencer could keep his hair how he wanted (long, short, whatever), but now that he chose to have it cut short I HATE it.
...that it I get something on my shirt that dries clear, I'm not changing it. Be that water or spit up or breastmilk. If it isn't showing, I'm not changing. That just makes more laundry.
...that I smell like sour milk right now.
...I have a coke problem. As in Coca-Cola. I cannot get enough of the stuff. I'd drink it all day, but I worry that the baby would be wired from all the caffeine.
...I think I love my husband more and more everyday.
...that the only thing I don't mind being woken up for in the middle of the night is sweet sayings from Jake. He frequently wakes up in the night and says things like, "I'm glad I found you so young." I think he thinks I'm asleep when he says them.
...that watching Spencer and Jack play together makes me feel all warm and gushy inside. I almost cried watching them fly around playing Buzz Lightyear last night.
...that I love my job. It is the best of both worlds: bringing in some money while being with my kiddos (well, at least the younger two).
...that it annoys me that Jack wants to sit on me all.the.time.
...that I think it is special how much my boys love my grandparents. I'm so glad they will get to know each other so well.
...that I've eaten over 50% of the Halloween candy by myself.
...that I have a deep love for TV. I really only have one show that I must watch each week (Glee), but if I can find a Law and Order rerun I'm as happy as can be.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
One Month Evaluation
So Fin crossed the one month mark yesterday. It is absolutely insane how fast the time goes. It seems like just yesterday that Jack was a baby. Two days ago Spencer was.
When I found out I was pregnant with Fin, I was really unhappy. Jack was only 10 months old and super, super needy. He nursed all day and all night. He was up at least every two hours on a good night and hourly on a bad one. He hated people, screaming at everyone from the checker at the grocery store to the ladies I work with, and wouldn't take a bottle so I couldn't leave him easily. When the second line came up on that pregnancy test, all I could see was my future with a bigger version of that Jack and a baby that had the same temperament that Jack had as an infant. I was already sleep deprived with a husband bunking on the couch, so the thought of having two super needy kids just made me want to jump off the nearest cliff.
Thank the good baby Jesus that that future never came to fruition (I seriously prayed for it not to).
Jack, while still not 100% over his hatred of people (just ask the photographer from today's MDO pictures), he is 85% better. The last two Tuesdays that I've dropped him off at MDO so I could have a break, there was nary a tear. And he'll actually let a stranger talk to him without screaming as if they are pulling his fingernails off one at a time. He's not hit his big temper tantrum throwing stage yet either, so things are pretty positive on the Jack front.
Fin, so far, is pretty mellow. He can (although he doesn't always) lay down and fall asleep without nursing. He likes to eat, but will take a passie for his sucking needs instead of insisting on a breast. At this point, he doesn't scream in the car (but I know that can absolutely change in the next few months); our first trip to Little Rock last weekend went pretty well. He'll hang out in the bouncer and the swing for short periods of time. He's gaining weight well (13 pounds when my sister weighed him last weekend), sleeping decently for his age (up 2-3 times a night to eat), and, unfortunately, losing his hair (which is standard for my babies; they have hair at birth and are bald by the time they are 3 months old).
It has not been nearly as bad having two so close together as I feared it would be. That's not to say there aren't times that are difficult. Sometimes Jack needs me and I'm nursing Fin so I can't go to him in a timely manner. Sometimes Jack whacks Fin on the head with a shoe. Sometimes Jake has drill so I have to deal with two kids who wake at night (yes, Jack still doesn't sleep through).
But sometimes Jack points at Fin, makes a smacking noise, and leans down to give him a kiss.
I'd say things are going well.
(And he's started smiling already. Awesome. :-D )
When I found out I was pregnant with Fin, I was really unhappy. Jack was only 10 months old and super, super needy. He nursed all day and all night. He was up at least every two hours on a good night and hourly on a bad one. He hated people, screaming at everyone from the checker at the grocery store to the ladies I work with, and wouldn't take a bottle so I couldn't leave him easily. When the second line came up on that pregnancy test, all I could see was my future with a bigger version of that Jack and a baby that had the same temperament that Jack had as an infant. I was already sleep deprived with a husband bunking on the couch, so the thought of having two super needy kids just made me want to jump off the nearest cliff.
Thank the good baby Jesus that that future never came to fruition (I seriously prayed for it not to).
Jack, while still not 100% over his hatred of people (just ask the photographer from today's MDO pictures), he is 85% better. The last two Tuesdays that I've dropped him off at MDO so I could have a break, there was nary a tear. And he'll actually let a stranger talk to him without screaming as if they are pulling his fingernails off one at a time. He's not hit his big temper tantrum throwing stage yet either, so things are pretty positive on the Jack front.
Fin, so far, is pretty mellow. He can (although he doesn't always) lay down and fall asleep without nursing. He likes to eat, but will take a passie for his sucking needs instead of insisting on a breast. At this point, he doesn't scream in the car (but I know that can absolutely change in the next few months); our first trip to Little Rock last weekend went pretty well. He'll hang out in the bouncer and the swing for short periods of time. He's gaining weight well (13 pounds when my sister weighed him last weekend), sleeping decently for his age (up 2-3 times a night to eat), and, unfortunately, losing his hair (which is standard for my babies; they have hair at birth and are bald by the time they are 3 months old).
It has not been nearly as bad having two so close together as I feared it would be. That's not to say there aren't times that are difficult. Sometimes Jack needs me and I'm nursing Fin so I can't go to him in a timely manner. Sometimes Jack whacks Fin on the head with a shoe. Sometimes Jake has drill so I have to deal with two kids who wake at night (yes, Jack still doesn't sleep through).
But sometimes Jack points at Fin, makes a smacking noise, and leans down to give him a kiss.
I'd say things are going well.
(And he's started smiling already. Awesome. :-D )
Friday, October 15, 2010
3 Across
I wish that I was asking advice on a crossword puzzle, but alas, I am not.
I'm talking about this:
That is what two very wild boys and one very little boy look like when scrunched three across in the back of my Honda Accord.
Let me go ahead and profess my embarrassment that Jack is forward facing already. All the new research shows that kids are 500% safer when kept rear facing to the weight limit on their seats and the American Academy of Pediatrics is about to come out with a recommendation to keep kids rear facing to age two, or so I hear anyway. But I literally could not drive with his seat rear facing and I'm a shorty. One day, if I ever get a bigger vehicle, I'll turn him back around.
When we found out Fin was coming, I was pretty convinced we'd be getting a new vehicle. Then we paid my car off and Jake insisted that we keep it and put them across the back seat.
In order to accomplish this, the first thing we had to do was get Jack a new seat. The seat he had (and that had been Spencer's) was really wide, so we traded that one for a Sunshine Kids Radian, which is super duper narrow but still one of the best on the market. We'd have even more room if we also put Spencer in one, but a) Spencer freaks out at any little change (we got the seat he is in now last summer and it took 6 months for him to stop whining about it), b) they are $250 and c) the cup holder on his current seat rocks my world. No telling how many spills that thing has saved me.
However, as you can see in the picture, Spencer's seat bumps up against Fin's and makes it tilt to the side. It is still safe (the base is tightly secured and the seat is firmly snapped into the base), but Fin's poor little head topples to the right when he is riding in the car. I hate that.
Another problem that we are having with them wedged in there so tightly is that Jack can not only reach Fin, but can reach him well enough to smack him in the face and steal his passie. Ask me how I know. :-/
I'm hoping I can convince Jake to upgrade us in the spring. All the traveling we'll be doing during Thanksgiving and Christmas may do the convincing for me.
I'm talking about this:
That is what two very wild boys and one very little boy look like when scrunched three across in the back of my Honda Accord.
Let me go ahead and profess my embarrassment that Jack is forward facing already. All the new research shows that kids are 500% safer when kept rear facing to the weight limit on their seats and the American Academy of Pediatrics is about to come out with a recommendation to keep kids rear facing to age two, or so I hear anyway. But I literally could not drive with his seat rear facing and I'm a shorty. One day, if I ever get a bigger vehicle, I'll turn him back around.
When we found out Fin was coming, I was pretty convinced we'd be getting a new vehicle. Then we paid my car off and Jake insisted that we keep it and put them across the back seat.
In order to accomplish this, the first thing we had to do was get Jack a new seat. The seat he had (and that had been Spencer's) was really wide, so we traded that one for a Sunshine Kids Radian, which is super duper narrow but still one of the best on the market. We'd have even more room if we also put Spencer in one, but a) Spencer freaks out at any little change (we got the seat he is in now last summer and it took 6 months for him to stop whining about it), b) they are $250 and c) the cup holder on his current seat rocks my world. No telling how many spills that thing has saved me.
However, as you can see in the picture, Spencer's seat bumps up against Fin's and makes it tilt to the side. It is still safe (the base is tightly secured and the seat is firmly snapped into the base), but Fin's poor little head topples to the right when he is riding in the car. I hate that.
Another problem that we are having with them wedged in there so tightly is that Jack can not only reach Fin, but can reach him well enough to smack him in the face and steal his passie. Ask me how I know. :-/
I'm hoping I can convince Jake to upgrade us in the spring. All the traveling we'll be doing during Thanksgiving and Christmas may do the convincing for me.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
We Should Have Named Her "Destructo"
Last January, we got a puppy. She was so cute and did that cute puppy romp. We were in love.
After we brought her home, she didn't have much of an opportunity to do much. She slept a lot at first and we crate trained her (poorly *sigh*), so she spent most of her time either outside or in her crate.
As she's gotten older, it is almost as if her bad habits have gotten worse. Her chewing has gotten out.of.control.
To date, these are the things I can think of that Cara has chewed up:
-too many dirty diapers to count
-sippy cups
-all of Jake's flip flops
-all of Spencer's flip flops
-all but one pair of Jack's flip flops
-all but one pair of my flip flops
-2 pair of my tennis shoes
-numerous toys, blocks being the toy of choice
-water bottles
-any plastic storage containers left on the floor by the kids
I'm sure this is just a partial list and I've forgotten a ton of stuff. I'm guarding the remaining flip flops in this house with my life.
After we brought her home, she didn't have much of an opportunity to do much. She slept a lot at first and we crate trained her (poorly *sigh*), so she spent most of her time either outside or in her crate.
As she's gotten older, it is almost as if her bad habits have gotten worse. Her chewing has gotten out.of.control.
To date, these are the things I can think of that Cara has chewed up:
-too many dirty diapers to count
-sippy cups
-all of Jake's flip flops
-all of Spencer's flip flops
-all but one pair of Jack's flip flops
-all but one pair of my flip flops
-2 pair of my tennis shoes
-numerous toys, blocks being the toy of choice
-water bottles
-any plastic storage containers left on the floor by the kids
I'm sure this is just a partial list and I've forgotten a ton of stuff. I'm guarding the remaining flip flops in this house with my life.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Welcome, Fin!
I think pretty much everyone who reads this blog is my friend on Facebook, so this isn't an announcement for you, obviously. *laugh*
Finnegan Howard
September 26, 2010
1:25 pm
9 lbs, 8 oz
21 1/8 inches
Sweet as sugar.
Finnegan Howard
September 26, 2010
1:25 pm
9 lbs, 8 oz
21 1/8 inches
Sweet as sugar.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Lazy
The lazy has invaded me. I have less than zero energy.
As of right now, there are about 5 big things that need to be done around here before Fin comes. And it isn't like they can just be left undone. When you have your babies at home, home needs to be ready to handle L&D. Mainly, it needs to be clean.
I find it impossible to maintain any sense of order or cleanliness in this house. Jake and I worked for hours in a row two weekends ago and the house was chaos within a few days (although the windows have stayed pretty clean). I know that a lot of it just goes with having two young kids. They are going to drag the toys out and leave them in places they don't go. I'm not one to mind having a bit of toys scattered throughout the living room, bonus room and, of course, in the boys' room, but they drive me crazy when they make it into the kitchen or my bedroom. And, naturally, Jack is too little to do any major picking up and Spencer, much like his mother, can be oblivious to the mess. I can say, "Spencer, pick up that pencil at your feet" and he'll look all around and not be able to see that it is right between his feet.
Their nutrition has greatly suffered at the hands of my late pregnancy laziness. Spencer has pretty much learned how to get his own food out of the fridge and gets Jack some too (but part of that is b/c Jack is all up in Spencer's business if he doesn't have some as well). Their go-to snack these days is squeezable yogurt and bread. Yes, bread, right out of the bag. I have managed to keep us stocked in milk, but it has been an effort.
I know that some of this is late pregnancy fatigue. It certainly doesn't help that I have slept through the night maybe 10 days in the last 18 months and that is hard on a person. Jack gets me up between 6 and 7 in the mornings and I am ready to have a nap by 11. I slept with Jack for 2 hours this afternoon. My eyes have been more than ready to close by 9:30 every night for the last week.
It makes me worry about how I'm going to handle another labor. I went into labor last time pretty well rested and I was exhausted by the end. There is no real napping to be had during a natural childbirth.
I'm going to get up now and attempt to clean a bit. Wish me luck that I make it through more than one room before falling asleep on my feet.
As of right now, there are about 5 big things that need to be done around here before Fin comes. And it isn't like they can just be left undone. When you have your babies at home, home needs to be ready to handle L&D. Mainly, it needs to be clean.
I find it impossible to maintain any sense of order or cleanliness in this house. Jake and I worked for hours in a row two weekends ago and the house was chaos within a few days (although the windows have stayed pretty clean). I know that a lot of it just goes with having two young kids. They are going to drag the toys out and leave them in places they don't go. I'm not one to mind having a bit of toys scattered throughout the living room, bonus room and, of course, in the boys' room, but they drive me crazy when they make it into the kitchen or my bedroom. And, naturally, Jack is too little to do any major picking up and Spencer, much like his mother, can be oblivious to the mess. I can say, "Spencer, pick up that pencil at your feet" and he'll look all around and not be able to see that it is right between his feet.
Their nutrition has greatly suffered at the hands of my late pregnancy laziness. Spencer has pretty much learned how to get his own food out of the fridge and gets Jack some too (but part of that is b/c Jack is all up in Spencer's business if he doesn't have some as well). Their go-to snack these days is squeezable yogurt and bread. Yes, bread, right out of the bag. I have managed to keep us stocked in milk, but it has been an effort.
I know that some of this is late pregnancy fatigue. It certainly doesn't help that I have slept through the night maybe 10 days in the last 18 months and that is hard on a person. Jack gets me up between 6 and 7 in the mornings and I am ready to have a nap by 11. I slept with Jack for 2 hours this afternoon. My eyes have been more than ready to close by 9:30 every night for the last week.
It makes me worry about how I'm going to handle another labor. I went into labor last time pretty well rested and I was exhausted by the end. There is no real napping to be had during a natural childbirth.
I'm going to get up now and attempt to clean a bit. Wish me luck that I make it through more than one room before falling asleep on my feet.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Hold On, Baby!
38.5 weeks
I hope I have some time left. Tomorrow I will be at the same point, gestationally (is that even a word? I have no clue...), that I went into labor with Jack. Jake left for his training in Austin today.
I need this baby to hold on. Just hold on for one more week!
I hope I have some time left. Tomorrow I will be at the same point, gestationally (is that even a word? I have no clue...), that I went into labor with Jack. Jake left for his training in Austin today.
I need this baby to hold on. Just hold on for one more week!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Ramifications of Nursing
Jack weaned, with a push from me, back in late March. He was a year old and not really ready to give it up, but pregnancy can zap the best of milk supplies (which mine was) and I could tell he was growing frustrated with it. He was nursing, easily, twice as much as he had been and acting kind of angry about it. I just didn't have a good supply, if any, left.
One of the ramifications, in my opinion, of pushing them to wean before their ready is what I've started calling the "comfort boob."
Exhibit A:
Is he just hanging out? Bored?
Hand in the cleavage.
Upset? Hurt?
Hand in the cleavage.
Post temper tantrum?
Hand in the cleavage.
You get the drift.
Good thing I don't mind.
One of the ramifications, in my opinion, of pushing them to wean before their ready is what I've started calling the "comfort boob."
Exhibit A:
Is he just hanging out? Bored?
Hand in the cleavage.
Upset? Hurt?
Hand in the cleavage.
Post temper tantrum?
Hand in the cleavage.
You get the drift.
Good thing I don't mind.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Dear Ms. Spider,
I want to take a moment to formally apologize for sucking you up in my vacuum cleaner yesterday afternoon. I feel like I should explain seeing as how I not only allowed you to live in the window above our computer all summer, but I lobbied my husband several times not to squish you.
You see, we had a fly issue this summer. We moved the dog food outside the back patio door which brought the flies (and in one instance, a very unlucky possum) in droves. This wouldn't be a big issue if I didn't have children. They have this really annoying habit of going in and out doors, specifically our patio door, and leaving it open. And the dog destroyed the screen many moons ago, so we don't even have that option. Although, honestly, I think the boys would've left that open anyway too.
So I wanted you to be able to hang out, both metaphorically and literally, to help curb the fly problem. And let me take this moment to say what a bang up job you did. When I vacuumed up you and your impressive web yesterday, I also vacuumed up a ton of fly carcasses. So well done, Ms. Spider! I commend you!
My dear husband pointed out that you looked like you were about to lay eggs, though. And while I am appreciative of the job you did this summer, I can't make room for hundreds of spiders in my house. I barely have room for the 4 (soon to be 5) humans, 5 animals, and all our stuff. We didn't think out this two bedroom thing very well, obviously.
So, sorry. May you have speedy passage into the next spider life.
Regretful,
Mandy
You see, we had a fly issue this summer. We moved the dog food outside the back patio door which brought the flies (and in one instance, a very unlucky possum) in droves. This wouldn't be a big issue if I didn't have children. They have this really annoying habit of going in and out doors, specifically our patio door, and leaving it open. And the dog destroyed the screen many moons ago, so we don't even have that option. Although, honestly, I think the boys would've left that open anyway too.
So I wanted you to be able to hang out, both metaphorically and literally, to help curb the fly problem. And let me take this moment to say what a bang up job you did. When I vacuumed up you and your impressive web yesterday, I also vacuumed up a ton of fly carcasses. So well done, Ms. Spider! I commend you!
My dear husband pointed out that you looked like you were about to lay eggs, though. And while I am appreciative of the job you did this summer, I can't make room for hundreds of spiders in my house. I barely have room for the 4 (soon to be 5) humans, 5 animals, and all our stuff. We didn't think out this two bedroom thing very well, obviously.
So, sorry. May you have speedy passage into the next spider life.
Regretful,
Mandy
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Saturday Randomness
I wonder if my kids would fight as much if they were a boy and a girl.
We all have snotty noses and that sucks.
But I love this weather shift anyway. I'm sad that it is going to get hot again on Monday.
I wish the A/C people could've installed the new A/C this weekend, just for my peace of mind if nothing else.
I wish we didn't need a new A/C. It is expensive.
I can't believe our rental agency is blowing our renters off. I think we're going to fire them.
I really, really cannot have this baby until after the 20th. Really.
I feel like Thomas the Tank Engine has permeated almost every facet of my life. I only mind sometimes.
I just want to stay home all day and nap, but I have a lot to do even if we did stay home all day.
I miss teaching this time of year. I wish I'd have gotten that job in Flippin.
I hate finding bits of food all over my house. I can see pieces of pretzel from where I'm sitting now and I know there are goldfish crumbs on the living room floor. I just swept yesterday.
I'm so happy Jake replaced our screens. Our house looks 25% less ghetto now.
The box fans we bought last night made a huge difference in the coolness of our house this morning. I'm hoping I can keep it under 76 in here today.
I'm going to throttle our dog if she doesn't stop chewing stuff up. I know it is just the puppy in her, but I'm down to 2 pair of flip flops. I think she ate 6 of my pair alone this summer.
Why aren't there more girl engines on the Island of Sodor?
The carrot cake I ate last night was the best I've ever had. I'm glad I ate it, even if it did make me so full I was miserable.
I should drink more water.
I need more shirts that fit. I'm down to two of mine and a few t-shirts of Jake's. Even my maternity shirts flash my belly.
Jack is so ornery. It is cute now but I can see that cuteness fading really fast in the next year.
Spencer needs to whine less. It is driving Jake up the wall. I guess he can't tune it out like I can.
I wish Jack would sleep through the night. He was doing it 3 times or so a week or at least not waking up until 3 am-ish. The last week he's been waking up in the 10 or 11:00 hour so I've ended up sleeping in his bed all night. I like sleeping with Jake better.
I need to fold laundry. The pile is seriously huge.
I obviously had a lot of thoughts floating around in my head. I had no idea the list would be this long.
We all have snotty noses and that sucks.
But I love this weather shift anyway. I'm sad that it is going to get hot again on Monday.
I wish the A/C people could've installed the new A/C this weekend, just for my peace of mind if nothing else.
I wish we didn't need a new A/C. It is expensive.
I can't believe our rental agency is blowing our renters off. I think we're going to fire them.
I really, really cannot have this baby until after the 20th. Really.
I feel like Thomas the Tank Engine has permeated almost every facet of my life. I only mind sometimes.
I just want to stay home all day and nap, but I have a lot to do even if we did stay home all day.
I miss teaching this time of year. I wish I'd have gotten that job in Flippin.
I hate finding bits of food all over my house. I can see pieces of pretzel from where I'm sitting now and I know there are goldfish crumbs on the living room floor. I just swept yesterday.
I'm so happy Jake replaced our screens. Our house looks 25% less ghetto now.
The box fans we bought last night made a huge difference in the coolness of our house this morning. I'm hoping I can keep it under 76 in here today.
I'm going to throttle our dog if she doesn't stop chewing stuff up. I know it is just the puppy in her, but I'm down to 2 pair of flip flops. I think she ate 6 of my pair alone this summer.
Why aren't there more girl engines on the Island of Sodor?
The carrot cake I ate last night was the best I've ever had. I'm glad I ate it, even if it did make me so full I was miserable.
I should drink more water.
I need more shirts that fit. I'm down to two of mine and a few t-shirts of Jake's. Even my maternity shirts flash my belly.
Jack is so ornery. It is cute now but I can see that cuteness fading really fast in the next year.
Spencer needs to whine less. It is driving Jake up the wall. I guess he can't tune it out like I can.
I wish Jack would sleep through the night. He was doing it 3 times or so a week or at least not waking up until 3 am-ish. The last week he's been waking up in the 10 or 11:00 hour so I've ended up sleeping in his bed all night. I like sleeping with Jake better.
I need to fold laundry. The pile is seriously huge.
I obviously had a lot of thoughts floating around in my head. I had no idea the list would be this long.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
School Daze
What a month it has been! Looking in from the outside, it appears as if I've slacked in my blogging this month, but that isn't entirely true. Our main computer managed to get some corrupted files in Windows, which is bad news b/c apparently you can't make it turn on when that happens, and my netbook didn't have a charger, so no blogging for me. Even the library was closed to relocate to the new building, so I couldn't even go there. My blogging in August was just not to be.
This month, Spencer started school. And it is a pain in my rear, to put it mildly. I am missing our lazy days hanging out at home, but probably not nearly as much as Spencer is. I also went back to Mother's Day Out 3 days a week and Jack has aged out of the baby room and is now in the toddler class. He is not a fan. I can hear him wailing for about 10 minutes when I leave him and then for 10-15 minutes at nap time. I expected him to be a lot more clingy after we left each day, but he really hasn't been at all. It seems that, minus the tearful times, he's just fine.
I can't say the same for Spencer, though. He hasn't warmed up to Kindergarten at all and drop offs seem to be getting worse and not better. Last week he had one day that was so bad I told him if that ever happened again he'd be riding the bus from then on. We haven't had another day like that, but we've had several very tearful ones. It breaks my heart b/c it isn't an angry tantrum, it is a heartbroken cry. I'm considering going to eat lunch with him today, but I 'm not sure if it is a good idea yet. He'd probably want to come home with me and be upset when he couldn't.
A pic from the first day (note the joy and enthusiasm on his face, LOL):
I am hoping that next week will be better, but who knows. The three day weekend may throw him off even more.
This month, Spencer started school. And it is a pain in my rear, to put it mildly. I am missing our lazy days hanging out at home, but probably not nearly as much as Spencer is. I also went back to Mother's Day Out 3 days a week and Jack has aged out of the baby room and is now in the toddler class. He is not a fan. I can hear him wailing for about 10 minutes when I leave him and then for 10-15 minutes at nap time. I expected him to be a lot more clingy after we left each day, but he really hasn't been at all. It seems that, minus the tearful times, he's just fine.
I can't say the same for Spencer, though. He hasn't warmed up to Kindergarten at all and drop offs seem to be getting worse and not better. Last week he had one day that was so bad I told him if that ever happened again he'd be riding the bus from then on. We haven't had another day like that, but we've had several very tearful ones. It breaks my heart b/c it isn't an angry tantrum, it is a heartbroken cry. I'm considering going to eat lunch with him today, but I 'm not sure if it is a good idea yet. He'd probably want to come home with me and be upset when he couldn't.
A pic from the first day (note the joy and enthusiasm on his face, LOL):
I am hoping that next week will be better, but who knows. The three day weekend may throw him off even more.
Friday, August 6, 2010
The Pacific Northwest: A Top Ten
Top 10 Reasons I want to move to the Pacific Northwest:
1. Arkansas summers are unbearable.
I've been complaining about it all week, so I thought I'd complain some more. It seems the older I get, the more I loathe summer. Or maybe it is just the fact that I have kids who I'm trapped in the house with all summer. I can't let them out to run off their energy b/c they'd A) get terribly sunburned, even with sunblock and B) they'd probably die of heatstroke. It just isn't fun. Even the local bodies of water are too warm to cool you off.
2. Politics
I'm liberal. Like, way liberal. Most of Arkansas, well, let's just say they are not. My ideology just doesn't fit in here. Know where I'd fit in? The PNW. Jake wouldn't fit in there, but he doesn't like to talk politics anyway.
3. The Scenery
I'm not saying that Arkansas doesn't have its pretty spots b/c it certainly does. Especially in the fall over in the northwest part of the state. But regardless, Arkansas doesn't have the awesome towering trees and snow-capped mountains in the background like Washington state did. So beautiful.
4. Jake could probably transfer
Although it isn't a given, there are tons of CEDs on the west coast. I found at least 10 in Washington state alone and Jake said there are probably more divisions with different names that I didn't find.
5. Now is the time!
Jake and I had a big discussion about living away from our families recently. I'm of the opinion that now is the time to do it while the kids are young. Jake thinks that, if we want to move away, we should do it when the kids are grown. I maintain that, by that time, I'll want to hang around and play grandma.
6. Jobs
This logic could be used for moving back to Little Rock too, but living in or around a metro area would certainly give me better job opportunities. Of course, the cost of living might off-set that. Maybe this one is a draw...
7. Better Birth Climate
This is probably a strange one for me to list considering we are about to have our last baby, but the rules and regulations binding midwives in the PNW are a lot more reasonable.
8. The Weather
I mentioned how Arkansas summers suck, but not how awesome the PNW weather seems to be. Yeah, it rains. Whatever, I'll just wear my hair curly all the time. It is just so much more temperate there. I dig temperate. For example, right now, in Seattle, it is 67 degrees. Perfection!
9. Fresh Seafood
I'm sure they get stuff shipped in too, but the proximity to the ocean means fresh seafood. Yum! We don't have any fresh seafood here. At all.
10. I want a change.
I've lived in Arkansas my whole life. Small town, big town, bigger town, small town. Blah. It is more of the same. And maybe it would be that way somewhere else too, but I'd like to experience it. While I'm young, please.
1. Arkansas summers are unbearable.
I've been complaining about it all week, so I thought I'd complain some more. It seems the older I get, the more I loathe summer. Or maybe it is just the fact that I have kids who I'm trapped in the house with all summer. I can't let them out to run off their energy b/c they'd A) get terribly sunburned, even with sunblock and B) they'd probably die of heatstroke. It just isn't fun. Even the local bodies of water are too warm to cool you off.
2. Politics
I'm liberal. Like, way liberal. Most of Arkansas, well, let's just say they are not. My ideology just doesn't fit in here. Know where I'd fit in? The PNW. Jake wouldn't fit in there, but he doesn't like to talk politics anyway.
3. The Scenery
I'm not saying that Arkansas doesn't have its pretty spots b/c it certainly does. Especially in the fall over in the northwest part of the state. But regardless, Arkansas doesn't have the awesome towering trees and snow-capped mountains in the background like Washington state did. So beautiful.
4. Jake could probably transfer
Although it isn't a given, there are tons of CEDs on the west coast. I found at least 10 in Washington state alone and Jake said there are probably more divisions with different names that I didn't find.
5. Now is the time!
Jake and I had a big discussion about living away from our families recently. I'm of the opinion that now is the time to do it while the kids are young. Jake thinks that, if we want to move away, we should do it when the kids are grown. I maintain that, by that time, I'll want to hang around and play grandma.
6. Jobs
This logic could be used for moving back to Little Rock too, but living in or around a metro area would certainly give me better job opportunities. Of course, the cost of living might off-set that. Maybe this one is a draw...
7. Better Birth Climate
This is probably a strange one for me to list considering we are about to have our last baby, but the rules and regulations binding midwives in the PNW are a lot more reasonable.
8. The Weather
I mentioned how Arkansas summers suck, but not how awesome the PNW weather seems to be. Yeah, it rains. Whatever, I'll just wear my hair curly all the time. It is just so much more temperate there. I dig temperate. For example, right now, in Seattle, it is 67 degrees. Perfection!
9. Fresh Seafood
I'm sure they get stuff shipped in too, but the proximity to the ocean means fresh seafood. Yum! We don't have any fresh seafood here. At all.
10. I want a change.
I've lived in Arkansas my whole life. Small town, big town, bigger town, small town. Blah. It is more of the same. And maybe it would be that way somewhere else too, but I'd like to experience it. While I'm young, please.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
A Day at the Lake
That sounds like the title of a children's book to me. LOL
Last Saturday, we were treated to a day at the lake with one of Jake's co-workers and his family. We live in an area with two lakes that are pretty easily assessable, and yet we almost never go. I think it is because we would rather go out and enjoy the lake from the boat and not from a swimming area (that may or may not be gross when we visit, yuk).
We kind of have a plan for trying to buy a boat in the next year or two, but we'll have to see how things pan out.
Anyway, we got to the lake around 1:30 or so. Donnie owns a ski boat while his son has a pontoon. I have always been partial to ski boats because that is what I grew up on, practically. Some of the best memories I have of my Dad from my youth include him behind the wheel of our boat wearing a backwards hat, sunglasses, no shirt, and the dorkiest lake shoes you can imagine.
The pontoon is much better for a family with kids, though. Mainly because they can take their life jackets off when the boat is stopped and they are gated inside the railing, so they'd have to put real effort into jumping/falling off the boat. Obviously, we hung out on the pontoon for most of the day.
Spencer was none too happy with our plans of a lake day. He didn't want to go. He was scared of the boat, scared of the water, scared of the wind and the clouds and the noise. I'm not convinced he was really scared; I think he just wanted to NOT get on the boat. Of course, when we "parked" the boat and swam, which was 99% of our day, he looked a lot like this:
(ie-as happy as a clam). The kid had a blast swimming and munching chips on the boat. And playing with Donnie's son, Robert (pictured here), who was either called "Robin" b/c Spence didn't hear his name right or Diesel, b/c, you know, everyone gets a train name. They grew grapes under the pontoon boat, which cracked us up.
Even Jack loved it. The life jacket was a bit too "up in his business," as I tend to say, for my taste, but he didn't seem to mind too much.
He also had this turtle floatie thing that he could sit in and we alternated between it and the life jacket. I took him in the water once with no flotation device (although I was sitting in a life jacket, so we had no trouble staying above water) and he kept drinking the lake water, which squiked me out, so he had to get back in the boat.
We didn't end up leaving until after 9 pm and, of course, the boys were beat down. So were Jake and I. But it was so worth it for the awesome time we had.
Last Saturday, we were treated to a day at the lake with one of Jake's co-workers and his family. We live in an area with two lakes that are pretty easily assessable, and yet we almost never go. I think it is because we would rather go out and enjoy the lake from the boat and not from a swimming area (that may or may not be gross when we visit, yuk).
We kind of have a plan for trying to buy a boat in the next year or two, but we'll have to see how things pan out.
Anyway, we got to the lake around 1:30 or so. Donnie owns a ski boat while his son has a pontoon. I have always been partial to ski boats because that is what I grew up on, practically. Some of the best memories I have of my Dad from my youth include him behind the wheel of our boat wearing a backwards hat, sunglasses, no shirt, and the dorkiest lake shoes you can imagine.
The pontoon is much better for a family with kids, though. Mainly because they can take their life jackets off when the boat is stopped and they are gated inside the railing, so they'd have to put real effort into jumping/falling off the boat. Obviously, we hung out on the pontoon for most of the day.
Spencer was none too happy with our plans of a lake day. He didn't want to go. He was scared of the boat, scared of the water, scared of the wind and the clouds and the noise. I'm not convinced he was really scared; I think he just wanted to NOT get on the boat. Of course, when we "parked" the boat and swam, which was 99% of our day, he looked a lot like this:
(ie-as happy as a clam). The kid had a blast swimming and munching chips on the boat. And playing with Donnie's son, Robert (pictured here), who was either called "Robin" b/c Spence didn't hear his name right or Diesel, b/c, you know, everyone gets a train name. They grew grapes under the pontoon boat, which cracked us up.Even Jack loved it. The life jacket was a bit too "up in his business," as I tend to say, for my taste, but he didn't seem to mind too much.
He also had this turtle floatie thing that he could sit in and we alternated between it and the life jacket. I took him in the water once with no flotation device (although I was sitting in a life jacket, so we had no trouble staying above water) and he kept drinking the lake water, which squiked me out, so he had to get back in the boat.
We didn't end up leaving until after 9 pm and, of course, the boys were beat down. So were Jake and I. But it was so worth it for the awesome time we had.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Adventures in Baking: Blackberry-Peach Pie
In a bit of a break from the typical breads I've been baking, I decided to bake a pie.
This is my favorite time of year b/c of the farmer's market. A week or so ago, I picked up some peaches. Last week, I picked up some blackberries. My original plan had been to make a peach cobbler and later a blackberry cobbler, but we got busy and the peaches just kept sitting in the fridge, unused.
Then, as it turns out, I hadn't purchased enough of either fruit to make cobbler.
I started browsing the internet for recipes using what I had and stumbled across a pie recipe that used both. It sounded pretty good and not all that complicated, so I printed it off and decided to run with it.By far the most intimidating thing about making a pie is the crust. It just seems like a really big deal. I have memories dating back 2 decades of my grandmother rolling out pie crusts so the whole idea wasn't foreign to me, it just seemed like it would be difficult to get right.
I decided to give it a go anyway. I pulled out my trusty red and white gingham Betty Crocker cookbook (holla to Jake's Gram, who got that for us as a wedding gift), found a crust recipe, and got to work.
Amid the screaming and gnashing of teeth going on by my children, I managed to roll out two pie crusts that actually fit in the one pie pan I had. I laid the first in, put in the filling, put the second on top, cut the slits, and popped it in the oven.
Just before going in the cooker:
It had been baking about 20 minutes when Jake got home from work. He is currently on a low-carb diet in preparation for an Army combatives class in September, so he took on look in the oven and let me know what an injustice I was perpetrating. He wouldn't have liked it anyway; he has a thing about seedy textures and blackberries are, of course, pretty seedy.
Anyway, after about an hour the pie came out of the oven looking and smelling delicious.
I managed to wait until after dinner to cut a slice. I was nervous. I'd never made a pie before, much less a pie totally from scratch. I was afraid it would taste bad. Afraid that the insides would just kind of liquefy and run all over the pie pan when it was cut.
Fortunately, I am an expert recipe follower and the pie was delicious.
I dedicate my first pie to my grandmother, who is the queen bee of all pies. May I acquire her stash of recipes soon! ;-)
This is my favorite time of year b/c of the farmer's market. A week or so ago, I picked up some peaches. Last week, I picked up some blackberries. My original plan had been to make a peach cobbler and later a blackberry cobbler, but we got busy and the peaches just kept sitting in the fridge, unused.
Then, as it turns out, I hadn't purchased enough of either fruit to make cobbler.
I started browsing the internet for recipes using what I had and stumbled across a pie recipe that used both. It sounded pretty good and not all that complicated, so I printed it off and decided to run with it.By far the most intimidating thing about making a pie is the crust. It just seems like a really big deal. I have memories dating back 2 decades of my grandmother rolling out pie crusts so the whole idea wasn't foreign to me, it just seemed like it would be difficult to get right.
I decided to give it a go anyway. I pulled out my trusty red and white gingham Betty Crocker cookbook (holla to Jake's Gram, who got that for us as a wedding gift), found a crust recipe, and got to work.
Amid the screaming and gnashing of teeth going on by my children, I managed to roll out two pie crusts that actually fit in the one pie pan I had. I laid the first in, put in the filling, put the second on top, cut the slits, and popped it in the oven.
Just before going in the cooker:
It had been baking about 20 minutes when Jake got home from work. He is currently on a low-carb diet in preparation for an Army combatives class in September, so he took on look in the oven and let me know what an injustice I was perpetrating. He wouldn't have liked it anyway; he has a thing about seedy textures and blackberries are, of course, pretty seedy.
Anyway, after about an hour the pie came out of the oven looking and smelling delicious.
I managed to wait until after dinner to cut a slice. I was nervous. I'd never made a pie before, much less a pie totally from scratch. I was afraid it would taste bad. Afraid that the insides would just kind of liquefy and run all over the pie pan when it was cut.
Fortunately, I am an expert recipe follower and the pie was delicious.
I dedicate my first pie to my grandmother, who is the queen bee of all pies. May I acquire her stash of recipes soon! ;-)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Parents, In Love
Spencer has assigned us all train names. I am Mavis or Molly (there is a shortage of girl trains in Thomas-land, FYI), Spencer is currently James, Jack is Henry, and Jake is Hiro.
When we visit my grandparents, as we did a few weekends ago, Spencer always sleeps with my grandmother. I told him I was going up to bed and gave him a kiss and he said, "Mommy! I have to tell you something!"
"What, sweetie?" I said to him.
"I want you to have good sleeps and sweet dreams of Hiro."
Maybe it is all the pregnancy hormones, but it made me tear up. Ever since, I've been thinking about how wonderful it must be for children to see their parents in love.
Our boys see us snuggle, kiss, flirt, and laugh together. They also see us bicker, argue, and huff at each other. My biggest hope is that they can take these situations, as enacted by their parents, and kind of log the memory of how it all went down and use it in their own lives.
I feel so lucky to have Jake and my wonderful boys.
When we visit my grandparents, as we did a few weekends ago, Spencer always sleeps with my grandmother. I told him I was going up to bed and gave him a kiss and he said, "Mommy! I have to tell you something!"
"What, sweetie?" I said to him.
"I want you to have good sleeps and sweet dreams of Hiro."
Maybe it is all the pregnancy hormones, but it made me tear up. Ever since, I've been thinking about how wonderful it must be for children to see their parents in love.
Our boys see us snuggle, kiss, flirt, and laugh together. They also see us bicker, argue, and huff at each other. My biggest hope is that they can take these situations, as enacted by their parents, and kind of log the memory of how it all went down and use it in their own lives.
I feel so lucky to have Jake and my wonderful boys.
Monday, July 12, 2010
V is for Vasectomy
By the look on his face, you'd think it wasn't totally his idea, huh? ;-)
On Friday, Jake had a vasectomy. I can't claim that I was 100% on board, b/c I wasn't. I haven't been too happy about having another baby, but it isn't necessarily the baby itself that has me freaked out, it is the age gap between Jack and the baby. And I think I've said to him more than once, "Why stop at 3? Let's have more!" I really do enjoy being pregnant for the most part and I adore older infants and toddlers. Just not little babies, so much.
But Jake was adamant that he was done after Jack and I put the idea of a vasectomy off as much as I could. The permanence is quite scary to me, especially b/c Jake and I are still quite young. 27 just doesn't seem old enough to make such a permanent fertility decision.
The surprise of Fin, not to mention the terrible age gap, was enough for me to relent no matter that I'd have 1 bazillion kids if he'd let me. Three really is a good number for us. I'm one of three and so is he, so I'm happy with the decision to stop here.
Recovery wise, it has been up and down. The first day was ok. I expected the second to be really terrible, but it wasn't. It seems to be a bit worse today, but Jake said he feels it in his abdomen, presumably b/c they severed some connective tissue in the process of the procedure. He is planning to go back to work on Wednesday and I've encouraged him to stay off work as long as it takes to feel ok. Pushing it won't help him heal any more quickly.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Things That Are Hard
(That's what she said!)
Ok, no, this post isn't about that. It is about things in my life that are HARD! Tough, if you will. Difficult. Whatever, get your mind out of the gutter.
2. Being pregnant while having a toddler who doesn't sleep through the night.
Separately, these things aren't so hard. Being pregnant? Not so hard. Having a toddler? Trying, but not necessarily hard. Having a toddler that doesn't sleep through the night? Sucky, but not so hard. Combine the three and you have a recipe from the devil.
3. Menu planning with a picky husband.
I try to cook different stuff. Keep things spicy in the kitchen. But Jake likes his meals in a very simple format: meat, potato, vegetable. Or sometimes meat, vegetable, vegetable. He'll try anything I cook, but it is really easy to tell when he's not a fan. And it isn't that what I cook is bad (seriously, I'm a pretty good cook when I have a recipe to follow), but he just takes issue with meatless dishes and some textures. So our meals end up being the same thing week after week, which suits Mr. Jake just fine.
4. Keeping our "bonus room" clean.
We have this room off the kitchen that was an addition to the original house. It is kind of a multi-purpose room; there is a built in desk and some storage, a closet that Jake uses as the home for his clothing, and the closet where our laundry machines are. Next to the living room, it also has the most open space, which means it houses a lot of kid playthings. We keep the train table there, with all its accessories, and a little picnic table for impromptu snacks and lunches. But because there is so much going on in there, it is also a disaster most of the time. Computer trash, clean and dirty laundry, papers cascading everywhere, toys galore. It drives me crazy, but no matter how often I pick it up and sweep it down, it is a disaster again within 36 hours.
5. Staying stocked with milk
A few months ago, I posted about how insane the amount of milk WIC gives us is. How we could never go through that much and I was throwing gallons and gallons away each month. My, my, my, how the tables do turn. Since Jack weaned, we are going through about a half gallon a day. I went through what WIC gave us in 15 days this month and am now buying gallons two at a time when I go to the store (which is about every 4 days, at this point).
6. House training a puppy
Do I even need to elaborate here? This is part of what is keeping my bonus room so dirty. Cara (our 8 month old puppy) still isn't fully house trained and is peeing on our beds. I'm washing sheets like a crazy lady, but that creates a backlog of laundry. Which then sits around in my bonus room.
7. Figuring out "Lost"
We are late getting on the "Lost" bandwagon. We just started season 1 this year. WTF is going on? We are about 7 episodes in and it just keeps getting weirder. But from what I gather reading around the internet, that doesn't really change. And you don't really get any true answers. Why am I watching this again?
8. Getting a job
Mtn. Home=the land of no jobs. At least not jobs in my field. If I was a LPN, RN, or CNA I'd be set. I'm getting my application together for the last opening in my field within an hour's drive today. Pray I get the job.
9. Making this list an even 10
So I'm going to stop now. :-)
Ok, no, this post isn't about that. It is about things in my life that are HARD! Tough, if you will. Difficult. Whatever, get your mind out of the gutter.
- Peeling carrots without a vegetable peeler
2. Being pregnant while having a toddler who doesn't sleep through the night.
Separately, these things aren't so hard. Being pregnant? Not so hard. Having a toddler? Trying, but not necessarily hard. Having a toddler that doesn't sleep through the night? Sucky, but not so hard. Combine the three and you have a recipe from the devil.
3. Menu planning with a picky husband.
I try to cook different stuff. Keep things spicy in the kitchen. But Jake likes his meals in a very simple format: meat, potato, vegetable. Or sometimes meat, vegetable, vegetable. He'll try anything I cook, but it is really easy to tell when he's not a fan. And it isn't that what I cook is bad (seriously, I'm a pretty good cook when I have a recipe to follow), but he just takes issue with meatless dishes and some textures. So our meals end up being the same thing week after week, which suits Mr. Jake just fine.
4. Keeping our "bonus room" clean.
We have this room off the kitchen that was an addition to the original house. It is kind of a multi-purpose room; there is a built in desk and some storage, a closet that Jake uses as the home for his clothing, and the closet where our laundry machines are. Next to the living room, it also has the most open space, which means it houses a lot of kid playthings. We keep the train table there, with all its accessories, and a little picnic table for impromptu snacks and lunches. But because there is so much going on in there, it is also a disaster most of the time. Computer trash, clean and dirty laundry, papers cascading everywhere, toys galore. It drives me crazy, but no matter how often I pick it up and sweep it down, it is a disaster again within 36 hours.
5. Staying stocked with milk
A few months ago, I posted about how insane the amount of milk WIC gives us is. How we could never go through that much and I was throwing gallons and gallons away each month. My, my, my, how the tables do turn. Since Jack weaned, we are going through about a half gallon a day. I went through what WIC gave us in 15 days this month and am now buying gallons two at a time when I go to the store (which is about every 4 days, at this point).
6. House training a puppy
Do I even need to elaborate here? This is part of what is keeping my bonus room so dirty. Cara (our 8 month old puppy) still isn't fully house trained and is peeing on our beds. I'm washing sheets like a crazy lady, but that creates a backlog of laundry. Which then sits around in my bonus room.
7. Figuring out "Lost"
We are late getting on the "Lost" bandwagon. We just started season 1 this year. WTF is going on? We are about 7 episodes in and it just keeps getting weirder. But from what I gather reading around the internet, that doesn't really change. And you don't really get any true answers. Why am I watching this again?
8. Getting a job
Mtn. Home=the land of no jobs. At least not jobs in my field. If I was a LPN, RN, or CNA I'd be set. I'm getting my application together for the last opening in my field within an hour's drive today. Pray I get the job.
9. Making this list an even 10
So I'm going to stop now. :-)
Friday, July 2, 2010
Alone
There is really something to be said for alone time.
After being sat on, rubbed on, clung to, and jumped on for the better portion of each day, sometimes I just want my children to go away. Not for a long time, just long enough to watch a tv show or grab a bite to eat without having to share.
98% of the time, any time I spend without my children is spent with Jake. I am a huge advocate of getting out of the house with the spouse sans kids. Jake and I try to have a date night at least once a month and actually prefer to do so twice a month or more. We don't do anything fancy; if we are in Mtn. Home our dates usually are dinner and a movie. If we are in Little Rock, we usually do dinner, a movie, and a Target trip (b/c, really, when you live in a land of no Target you go as often as you can when you find one). We are dinner and movie people, I suppose.
But every once in a while, I want to be ALONE. I don't want to talk to anyone. I don't want to accommodate anyone else's wants, needs, or desires. I want to do what I want to do.
I feel very lucky that I have a husband who gets that about me. He has no problem telling me to get out of the house. There have been times I've taken a book and parked my car in a parking lot somewhere to read (welcome to Mtn. Home, where the only walk-in coffee shop closes at 6 pm).
Last night, I went to a movie by myself. For those that have never done this, it is amazing and I encourage you to give it a try! I used to be embarrassed by it, but I do it proudly now. I don't have to share my popcorn. Or my candy. Or my coke. I can squeeze into a spot in the theatre that a group couldn't, so I get a better seat. And in the instance of last night's movie, Eclipse, I don't have to listen to snarky comments coming from the seat beside me.
While I was at the movie enjoying myself, Jake and the boys were out having "man time." They ate at Spencer's very most favorite place, Pizza Hut, and went to the park to play since the weather took a mild turn.
And when I got home, I was refreshed and ready for another day.
After being sat on, rubbed on, clung to, and jumped on for the better portion of each day, sometimes I just want my children to go away. Not for a long time, just long enough to watch a tv show or grab a bite to eat without having to share.
98% of the time, any time I spend without my children is spent with Jake. I am a huge advocate of getting out of the house with the spouse sans kids. Jake and I try to have a date night at least once a month and actually prefer to do so twice a month or more. We don't do anything fancy; if we are in Mtn. Home our dates usually are dinner and a movie. If we are in Little Rock, we usually do dinner, a movie, and a Target trip (b/c, really, when you live in a land of no Target you go as often as you can when you find one). We are dinner and movie people, I suppose.
But every once in a while, I want to be ALONE. I don't want to talk to anyone. I don't want to accommodate anyone else's wants, needs, or desires. I want to do what I want to do.
I feel very lucky that I have a husband who gets that about me. He has no problem telling me to get out of the house. There have been times I've taken a book and parked my car in a parking lot somewhere to read (welcome to Mtn. Home, where the only walk-in coffee shop closes at 6 pm).
Last night, I went to a movie by myself. For those that have never done this, it is amazing and I encourage you to give it a try! I used to be embarrassed by it, but I do it proudly now. I don't have to share my popcorn. Or my candy. Or my coke. I can squeeze into a spot in the theatre that a group couldn't, so I get a better seat. And in the instance of last night's movie, Eclipse, I don't have to listen to snarky comments coming from the seat beside me.
While I was at the movie enjoying myself, Jake and the boys were out having "man time." They ate at Spencer's very most favorite place, Pizza Hut, and went to the park to play since the weather took a mild turn.
And when I got home, I was refreshed and ready for another day.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Seven Year Itch/Father's Day
Today, I have been married for seven years. And the seven year itch is no where to be seen.
Seven years ago, I was 20 years old. I look at 20 year olds now and think about what babies they are. The first batch of students I ever taught are 21 now.
But, oh, what a grown up I thought I was. And so I told Jake that I wouldn't "shack" with him and that if he didn't marry me I was moving back into the dorms when summer was over. He says he's glad I forced his hand, and I totally believe him. ;-)
Jake was fresh out of basic training and I was in between my sophomore and junior years in college.
We were broke, so broke, and living in this little shanty of an apartment. Every Thursday, we'd load up all our laundry and haul it over to the ghetto to the laundromat. And God knows we looked like we belonged there, because all of our good clothes were dirty. By Thursday we were wearing the dregs.
And now we've survived so much together. A deployment. A very early, very sick baby. The purchase of two houses, three cars, and a motorcycle. The adoptions of 6 pets. A beautiful home birth with another rapidly approaching.
We've come a long way since we were the 20 year olds who got hitched. I wouldn't trade a second. Not one.
And on another sappy note, happy father's day to the best man I could've ever picked to have children with.
We have a lot of laughs around here, can you tell?
Seven years ago, I was 20 years old. I look at 20 year olds now and think about what babies they are. The first batch of students I ever taught are 21 now.
But, oh, what a grown up I thought I was. And so I told Jake that I wouldn't "shack" with him and that if he didn't marry me I was moving back into the dorms when summer was over. He says he's glad I forced his hand, and I totally believe him. ;-)
Jake was fresh out of basic training and I was in between my sophomore and junior years in college.
We were broke, so broke, and living in this little shanty of an apartment. Every Thursday, we'd load up all our laundry and haul it over to the ghetto to the laundromat. And God knows we looked like we belonged there, because all of our good clothes were dirty. By Thursday we were wearing the dregs.
And now we've survived so much together. A deployment. A very early, very sick baby. The purchase of two houses, three cars, and a motorcycle. The adoptions of 6 pets. A beautiful home birth with another rapidly approaching.
We've come a long way since we were the 20 year olds who got hitched. I wouldn't trade a second. Not one.
And on another sappy note, happy father's day to the best man I could've ever picked to have children with.
We have a lot of laughs around here, can you tell?
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Some Days
Some days, the pitter patter of little feet running up and down the hallway makes me want to pull my hair out. It grates.
Some days, the boys seem to do nothing but fight. Spencer lives to torment Jack, it seems. Spencer better hope Jack doesn't remember; I have a feeling the tables will turn as soon as Jack realizes he's almost as big as Spencer.
Some days, I seem to have a million errands to run and both boys seem to do nothing but fuss and whine. They are hungry when they just ate. Thirsty when they just drank. Hot when the car can't be a degree above 73. Tired when they just woke up from naps.
Some days, I'm tempted to look at them and yell "FINE THEN!" and turn on Barney and Calliou for the entire day while I hide in my room. Barney and Calliou can soothe the savage beasts, I tell you.
Some days, I can't move for a kid clinging to my leg. I can't be out of sight for .42 seconds before someone is crying my name in agony because they dropped their bowl of goldfish or bumped their head on the super plush couch.
Some days, I want to put them both in bed at 5:00.
Today, well, today was not one of those days.
Today, my kids rolled with the punches with as little belly aching as I have a right to expect from a 5 year old and 15 month old.
Today, the pitter patter of little feet running up and down my hallway was punctuated with peals of laughter.
Today, Spencer and Jack hardly fought. They played "puppy" instead.
Today, no one clung to my leg while I tried to cook or pressed themselves to the shower door while I was trying to clean my weary body.
Today, I relished in my children. I relished that I was their mother and they were my kids. Imperfect and wonderful, all three.
Some days, the boys seem to do nothing but fight. Spencer lives to torment Jack, it seems. Spencer better hope Jack doesn't remember; I have a feeling the tables will turn as soon as Jack realizes he's almost as big as Spencer.
Some days, I seem to have a million errands to run and both boys seem to do nothing but fuss and whine. They are hungry when they just ate. Thirsty when they just drank. Hot when the car can't be a degree above 73. Tired when they just woke up from naps.
Some days, I'm tempted to look at them and yell "FINE THEN!" and turn on Barney and Calliou for the entire day while I hide in my room. Barney and Calliou can soothe the savage beasts, I tell you.
Some days, I can't move for a kid clinging to my leg. I can't be out of sight for .42 seconds before someone is crying my name in agony because they dropped their bowl of goldfish or bumped their head on the super plush couch.
Some days, I want to put them both in bed at 5:00.
Today, well, today was not one of those days.
Today, my kids rolled with the punches with as little belly aching as I have a right to expect from a 5 year old and 15 month old.
Today, the pitter patter of little feet running up and down my hallway was punctuated with peals of laughter.
Today, Spencer and Jack hardly fought. They played "puppy" instead.
Today, no one clung to my leg while I tried to cook or pressed themselves to the shower door while I was trying to clean my weary body.
Today, I relished in my children. I relished that I was their mother and they were my kids. Imperfect and wonderful, all three.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Playing Around
I'm playing around with the template of the blog, so pardon the work in progress for a bit!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
25 Weeks, a Winter Hat, and Other Randomness
Today, I roll over into my 25th week of pregnancy. I am huge, but I hear that frequently happens with pregnancies so close together. And I can tell this has been harder on my body, which makes sense when you think about the fact that my body hasn't had a break since May of 2008. I did 9 months of pregnancy with Jack, then nursed him for a year, and several months of nursing overlapped with this pregnancy. So my body has really been proving what is made of the last few years.
But even though I can tell it has been harder, I still have no complaints. I feel good. Thanks to my memory foam mattress topper, I'm still able to sleep on my stomach part of the night (a big grateful shout out to my mother-in-law for getting us that for Christmas one year). I'd be sleeping all night long if I didn't have a pesky little toddler who likes to wake up from 1-3 times each night. But even that is a vast improvement from the 8+ times he was waking up while he was still nursing at night, so I'll take it and be grateful for it.
I'm quite convinced that our young belly dweller, Fin, is a big baby. Bigger than Jack was at this point, for sure. I would not be surprised at all if he weighed somewhere between 9.5 and 10 pounds at birth.
Big 'ol belly (pardon the crazy hair, we went to the pool today):
I've done practically nothing to prepare for Fin's arrival. I picked up some really cute receiving blankets, a gown, and a couple of outfits on crazy sale from the Carter's outlet, but that's it. You would think that with having a third boy, there wouldn't be much to do. But Spencer and Jack were both spring/summer babies, so most of the itty bitty stuff that I have are short sleeved. Fin is due mid-September-ish and it starts to get chilly here in late September or October, so I'm going to need some long sleeved bitty things this time around.
Part of getting ready for Fin means knitting some longies and soakers for him. I haven't picked up my knitting needles in probably four months, so until yesterday they still held Spencer's incomplete winter hat. I finally buckled down yesterday evening and finished it. Fortunately, I'm terrible and sizing heads (just ask poor Jake; I've knitted him 3 winter hats and they've all been way too big or too small) and it is a bit big on him now. I bet it will fit perfectly (or at least much better) by next winter.
In other news, it seems I am unemployed for the summer. The Mother's Day Out program that I work at simply did not have enough kids in my room to keep me working. One of my kiddos jumped ship and went somewhere with regular child care hours (we are only open until 2:30), and two have aged out of my room. That only left me with Jack, who I don't pay for, and another little boy. That won't even pay for me on a day to day basis.
So I offered to keep a few kids at my house this summer and so far it is working out great. I'm not making as much money, but I'm also only keeping them 2 days a week at this point, which has been really nice. It is less stressful for me b/c Spencer and Jack can sleep as late as they want and hang out in their pajamas when they get up, so I'm not running around every morning like a crazy person getting lunches packed and shoes on feet.
A very awesome side effect of this is that the house is staying pretty clean. It has been really nice!
Random pics from our first few days of summer:
And please don't think I'm shorting Spencer on the picture front. The kid is on an "I don't like" kick and right now one of the things he doesn't like is having his picture made. He either runs away at the sight of the camera or ends up looking mad. That should bode well for the professional pictures I'm having made of them on Friday. Oy.
But even though I can tell it has been harder, I still have no complaints. I feel good. Thanks to my memory foam mattress topper, I'm still able to sleep on my stomach part of the night (a big grateful shout out to my mother-in-law for getting us that for Christmas one year). I'd be sleeping all night long if I didn't have a pesky little toddler who likes to wake up from 1-3 times each night. But even that is a vast improvement from the 8+ times he was waking up while he was still nursing at night, so I'll take it and be grateful for it.
I'm quite convinced that our young belly dweller, Fin, is a big baby. Bigger than Jack was at this point, for sure. I would not be surprised at all if he weighed somewhere between 9.5 and 10 pounds at birth.
Big 'ol belly (pardon the crazy hair, we went to the pool today):
I've done practically nothing to prepare for Fin's arrival. I picked up some really cute receiving blankets, a gown, and a couple of outfits on crazy sale from the Carter's outlet, but that's it. You would think that with having a third boy, there wouldn't be much to do. But Spencer and Jack were both spring/summer babies, so most of the itty bitty stuff that I have are short sleeved. Fin is due mid-September-ish and it starts to get chilly here in late September or October, so I'm going to need some long sleeved bitty things this time around.
Part of getting ready for Fin means knitting some longies and soakers for him. I haven't picked up my knitting needles in probably four months, so until yesterday they still held Spencer's incomplete winter hat. I finally buckled down yesterday evening and finished it. Fortunately, I'm terrible and sizing heads (just ask poor Jake; I've knitted him 3 winter hats and they've all been way too big or too small) and it is a bit big on him now. I bet it will fit perfectly (or at least much better) by next winter.
In other news, it seems I am unemployed for the summer. The Mother's Day Out program that I work at simply did not have enough kids in my room to keep me working. One of my kiddos jumped ship and went somewhere with regular child care hours (we are only open until 2:30), and two have aged out of my room. That only left me with Jack, who I don't pay for, and another little boy. That won't even pay for me on a day to day basis.
So I offered to keep a few kids at my house this summer and so far it is working out great. I'm not making as much money, but I'm also only keeping them 2 days a week at this point, which has been really nice. It is less stressful for me b/c Spencer and Jack can sleep as late as they want and hang out in their pajamas when they get up, so I'm not running around every morning like a crazy person getting lunches packed and shoes on feet.
A very awesome side effect of this is that the house is staying pretty clean. It has been really nice!
Random pics from our first few days of summer:
And please don't think I'm shorting Spencer on the picture front. The kid is on an "I don't like" kick and right now one of the things he doesn't like is having his picture made. He either runs away at the sight of the camera or ends up looking mad. That should bode well for the professional pictures I'm having made of them on Friday. Oy.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Adventures in Baking: Boule
I haven't been doing much baking, especially since the shocker of my pregnancy. Before this, the last time I baked was when I blogged about it, and I'm pretty sure that was before we knew about this new guy.
I'm feeling a bit better about things recently (and I do mean just a bit, a bitty bit), so I broke out my big bucket for some fresh bread.
Boule is the very basic recipe in my bread book, but it is by far the most delicious and versatile one I've made.
Butter + garlic salt + boule=heaven, FYI.
Anyway, here's the bread at just mixed:
At 1 hr:
2 hrs:
The spoils of a baked loaf:
If you have the book, make this bread! So simple and so, so good.
I'm feeling a bit better about things recently (and I do mean just a bit, a bitty bit), so I broke out my big bucket for some fresh bread.
Boule is the very basic recipe in my bread book, but it is by far the most delicious and versatile one I've made.
Butter + garlic salt + boule=heaven, FYI.
Anyway, here's the bread at just mixed:
At 1 hr:
2 hrs:
The spoils of a baked loaf:
If you have the book, make this bread! So simple and so, so good.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Nose Owies and Preschool Graduation
Last week, Jack got the most glaring injury either of my kids have ever gotten. Right on his nose.
He was doing his best to run (you know, that little toddler run) when he tripped over his flip flop. Unfortunately, he was running on concrete and he was obviously not in a self-preservation mode as he didn't put his hands down to catch himself at all. I literally watched him slide across the concrete face first. Ouch.
It didn't look bad on the first day. Even though it was a pretty nasty fall, it appeared to only take the first layer of skin off; it didn't bleed or anything.
The next day, it looked like this:
Of course, we got comments about it where ever we went. I just called him Rudolph.
In other news, Spencer graduated from preschool a few weekends ago. They held a graduation ceremony during the 11:00 service at church and it was super cute. Spencer was not thrilled to participate in any way, shape, or form, but he was with Ms. Teshena and Ms. Laura, so he was ok.
He was doing his best to run (you know, that little toddler run) when he tripped over his flip flop. Unfortunately, he was running on concrete and he was obviously not in a self-preservation mode as he didn't put his hands down to catch himself at all. I literally watched him slide across the concrete face first. Ouch.
It didn't look bad on the first day. Even though it was a pretty nasty fall, it appeared to only take the first layer of skin off; it didn't bleed or anything.
The next day, it looked like this:
Of course, we got comments about it where ever we went. I just called him Rudolph.In other news, Spencer graduated from preschool a few weekends ago. They held a graduation ceremony during the 11:00 service at church and it was super cute. Spencer was not thrilled to participate in any way, shape, or form, but he was with Ms. Teshena and Ms. Laura, so he was ok.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Happy Birthday, Spencer!
I'm only *checks calendar* 3 days late posting this. I feel like a hamster on one of those wheels, running and running but not going anywhere!
Anyway, my sweet guy is now 5! And even better than being 5 is the fact that, in about the last month or so, he's gained 3-4 pounds. This is an especially big deal as I think he's been 32-33 pounds consistently over the last year. He hopped on the scale at the vet's office on Monday (which is a whole other post, ugh) and it said 37 pounds. I thought it was calibrated wrong. I stuck him on our scale at home and it said the same thing. Awesome! I hope the weight hangs on; he certainly needs it.
We held his party on the 15th at our local youth center. He attended a party there in January and had such a great time that he decided he wanted his party there too. They blow up those huge inflatables (a slide and a bounce house, in our case) and do 98% of the clean up, so it was really great.
We invited everyone in his class plus a few of his buddies that aren't in his class. I think we ended up with between 15 and 20 kids in attendance and it was so much fun. I don't think I sat down once for the entire two hours, but it was great.
Party table:
I bought 30 capri suns, 12 cokes (and by cokes I'm speaking southern, I mean "soda"), and 12 bottles of water. I also made a batch of lemon squares, brownies, and 2 dozen cupcakes. At the end of the day, I had a few Diet Cokes, 2 cupcakes, and 2 lemon squares left. Successful menu planning! I was scared I was going to have way too much food.
Spencer requested a Thomas the Tank Engine ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. I had no idea it was actually ALL ice cream. I'm used to ice cream cakes being half ice cream, half cake, which is why I was perplexed as to why the cake seemed to be melting all over.
I can't remember a time when he's ever liked to have the birthday song sung to him.
For kicks, I made him pose with a diaper that they sent me home with from the NICU (for his baby book, they said). This size diaper was actually a bit too big for him in the beginning.
Anyway, my sweet guy is now 5! And even better than being 5 is the fact that, in about the last month or so, he's gained 3-4 pounds. This is an especially big deal as I think he's been 32-33 pounds consistently over the last year. He hopped on the scale at the vet's office on Monday (which is a whole other post, ugh) and it said 37 pounds. I thought it was calibrated wrong. I stuck him on our scale at home and it said the same thing. Awesome! I hope the weight hangs on; he certainly needs it.
We held his party on the 15th at our local youth center. He attended a party there in January and had such a great time that he decided he wanted his party there too. They blow up those huge inflatables (a slide and a bounce house, in our case) and do 98% of the clean up, so it was really great.
We invited everyone in his class plus a few of his buddies that aren't in his class. I think we ended up with between 15 and 20 kids in attendance and it was so much fun. I don't think I sat down once for the entire two hours, but it was great.
Party table:
I bought 30 capri suns, 12 cokes (and by cokes I'm speaking southern, I mean "soda"), and 12 bottles of water. I also made a batch of lemon squares, brownies, and 2 dozen cupcakes. At the end of the day, I had a few Diet Cokes, 2 cupcakes, and 2 lemon squares left. Successful menu planning! I was scared I was going to have way too much food.
Spencer requested a Thomas the Tank Engine ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. I had no idea it was actually ALL ice cream. I'm used to ice cream cakes being half ice cream, half cake, which is why I was perplexed as to why the cake seemed to be melting all over.
I can't remember a time when he's ever liked to have the birthday song sung to him.
For kicks, I made him pose with a diaper that they sent me home with from the NICU (for his baby book, they said). This size diaper was actually a bit too big for him in the beginning.
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