Mimi All Me

Blank

2009-06-22T18:46:00.001-07:00

… is what my mind is lately.

There have been a lot of highs and lows just in the last couple of weeks alone. Today was a GREAT day, which was weird because Mondays usually aren’t. Usually the boys are bummed that Daddy had to go back to work and are crabby and generally unruly. Usually I am stressed and pissy because taking care of three little kids alone is no joke, y’all. There is always someone wanting/needing something and sometimes just taking care of everyone’s BASIC needs is impossible. Which makes me feel like a bad mommy.

TODAY, though, we had beautiful weather for the first time in several weeks. The boys and I played outside while the baby took a very long nap.

(Playing outside)

(Napping)

The baby and I, we are still in that awesome honeymoon phase. I could spend all day sniffing her little head just looking at her all googly-eyed. She is perfection. I don’t even mind (too much, yet) the interrupted sleep and demanding to be held at inconvenient times. I feel really lucky… three times over.

And look! It’s a dress (ish):

One week down, fun with barrettes

2009-06-09T22:20:00.001-07:00

Eight days into becoming a family of five. OMG, I have three kids. I can hardly believe that fact myself.

The c-section went well. And by well, I mean that I’ve already forgotten the feeling of being… um… cut into before the anesthesia had really done its full job yet. Yeah. Thank goodness c-sections are relatively short procedures, so it was kind of like ow, ow, ow, ow, owie, ow, ow, OW OW OW, ow… then it was over. And she was really a girl. So that part was nice.

The first couple of nights at home, Baby C woke up every half-hour to hour at the most, had a poopy diaper and wanted to nurse. Even though it hadn’t been that long since the last baby, I had forgotten what that kind of sleep deprivation was like. It’s yucky. But thankfully, we have gotten into a routine of waking up twice per night, which is way more do-able.

The boys seem to be adjusting ok so far. When I got home from the hospital, they seemed extra big and extra rowdy. But they are fascinated by their baby sister and haven’t asked to send her back (yet).

We’ve gotten lots of fun girly presents from friends and family. The boys never knew what hair-clips and barrettes were before this little girl came into their lives, so of course we had to try them out.

Little sister modeling the pink one.

That looks fun! Green is for boys, right?

And my ~~beautiful~~ handsome ~~little princess~~ second son tries out the blue one. Such a shame to waste that great hair on a boy!

At long last…

2009-06-03T18:39:00.001-07:00

We are home, and I am exhausted. But we got the job done! Where job = having a baby!

Camilla June

Born June 1, 2009 at 11:25 am. 8 pounds, 7 ounces.

One week to go!

2009-05-25T22:01:00.001-07:00

In one week, we will have a new baby!

I graciously allowed my husband to take one (1) picture of me to mark this momentous occasion. Because I haven’t let him take many prego shots of me at all. Because… ugh. Well, here ‘tis:

A few comments about this pic:

-That’s my mom in the background… HI MOM!

-My belly is GIGANTIC… and yes, I am sure that I’m not having twins. Probably just another GIGANTIC baby. (The boys were both nine and a half pounders.)

- This is the biggest maternity shirt that I have and it is stretched to the max. There is no way that I’m buying a bigger size at this point.

- My arm looks beefy and my kitchen looks messy. Ugh! Don’t you hate it when people critique their own pictures???

So now we are patiently (ha!) waiting out this last week. Here are some things we are doing to pass the time:

Brushing our curly hair to make it as big as possible.

Staring glazed-eyed at the TV…

… in lots of different PJ combinations.

Hugging/biting our stuffed animals.

Aaaaaand doing some bottomless bike riding.

That about wraps it up from our household.

*Totally unrelated! I want to subscribe to a new weekly magazine (we already get Entertainment Weekly). Should I go for People or US Weekly? Or something else?

The Choices You Don't Make

2009-05-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

As New Baby Time draws closer (two weeks from yesterday, people!), I think more and more about life choices that we all make. Because it seems to me... the more babies you have, the more responsibilities you have, and the less likely you are to make any major, sweeping life changes. And I always like to feel wistful about things that I'm not likely to get to do. Because I like to torture myself like that, I guess.

So, my life, for example. I am turning 28 this summer, I'm a stay-at-home mom. I live in a small town that is both quaint and picturesque, but has limited opportunities and is a full day's drive away from any sort of big city. I have a few friends here, and several family members. My days are spent largely at home, because with two small kids and another on the way, it is just easier to find things to do in the house. And outside when the weather allows. We spend a lot of time waiting for Daddy to get home from work, because the boys worship their daddy like a golden god.

So that is my life right now. Which makes it really unlikely that I will ever:

1. Live in a Manhattan loft, walking each morning to my high-powered career where I wear heels that cost more than most mortgages and shout things like "don't give me excuses!" to my employees.

2. Join the peace corps and travel to third world countries where I help build schools and teach my wisdom to the native children.

3. Live in a big white farmhouse on the prairie and raise cute farm animals like sheep and pigs and ride my pony around the property and teach my kids to swim in the swimmin' hole.

4. Marry a European prince and live a jet-set lifestyle, impressing people the world over with my impeccable manners and good breeding.

5. Be a surf bum, living in a Hawaiian beach shack with a rock-hard, tanned bod from endless hours of surfing and sun-bleached, dreadlocked hair.

Those are all things that I have seriously wanted to do. Maybe in a different life, right? Does anyone else have any silly dreams that they've had to give up on?

My Half Eff-It List

2009-04-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

First of all, I loved reading the comments on my last post about how sweet and wonderful your daughters/nieces are. Thank you for taking the time to write them. It's making me look forward to this baby all the more!

Thanks to the lovely ladies at Semi-Desperate Housewife and All D's, I've been thinking about my (excuse me but I have to say it) Fuck It List. Only I am way too lazy/uninspired to think of 10 things that I don't care about doing in this lifetime. So here are my top 5.

1. I don't care about ever having a natural, or even vaginal, childbirth experience. I don't think this is a very P.C. thing to say these days, either. It seems like pregnant women are very much encouraged to eschew pain meds during childbirth. Use a doula, have a birthing tub, hypnosis, acupuncture, whatever... but LORD don't even TALK about the possibility of getting a c-section because wouldn't that just be the worst thing ever? My first c-section came about after I labored for about 28 hours and never even dilated one *freaking* centimeter. The doctor basically told me, Sweetie it ain't gonna happen without some help, so off we went to surgery. I felt disappointed about it for a while, wondering what I or my doctors did wrong to have it end that way, but I have since come to realize that it doesn't matter how your baby gets here as long as it does get here. And bodies don't always do what they are supposed to do, even when you do everything right. So I am looking forward to my third c-section a little more than I probably should be.

2. I've never thought that running a marathon would be a great goal to have. I know a lot of people aspire to do this... which I think is great, just not for me. I totally want to be physically fit and healthy, but a marathon? Erg. Maybe I am biased because I know a lot of cross-country runners, and I know how fraught with injury the running lifestyle can be. So I guess I will stick to lower-impact forms of exercise for the time being.

3. I've never had the desire to get a tattoo. I guess this is the goody-two-shoes in me rearing her preppy head. I've just always thought that clean skin looks nicer than inked skin. And there is nothing that I can think of that I would want to have printed on a body part of mine forever. Even though I found it easy to commit to my husband for life and then commit to raising kids with him, I don't think I have the kind of commitment in me to get permanent body art.

4. I don't really ever want to have more than one dog at a time. And I say this with a little bit of trepidation because I am always like OOOOOO look at that puppy I WANT IT. But the realistic side of my brain will kick in and tell me to walk slowly away from the cute puppy because I already have one dog at home who annoys me most of the time. When I think of two dogs, I think of two times the vet bills, two times the poop in the yard, two times the muddy paws in the house, etc. I guess I have less patience for doggie shenanigans because it is all taken up by the toddler types around here.

5. I hope I don't ever have to be forced to give up caffeine for any reason. I can't even give it up for pregnancy, for goodness sakes. Never before has a Diet Coke tasted SO GOOD or a cup of coffee in the mornings been SO NECESSARY. Not to even mention my beloved iced tea. I know that it would be a lot healthier to give up caffeine totally, but I just can't make myself even want to do that. The only exception to this is that I will temporarily lay off the good stuff while I have a nursing baby in order not to stimulate the poor child out of a good nap or night's sleep. Because while I do LOVE me some caffeinated beverages, I probably love sleeping more. So that's that.

How Things Are

2009-04-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy update:

I'm huge and cranky. The end.

Just kidding. Sort of.

I am 33 weeks along now, and inching slowly towards our June 1st delivery date. That is the beauty of the planned c-section. It is just so... planned. I have my mom and my mother-in-law lined up to take care of the boys while we're in the hospital. I feel at ease knowing that they will be sharing the responsibility, because these boys are high energy lately and are kind of a lot of work. Or maybe it just seems like it because I am so low-energy and can hardly haul my rear around the house these days.

At my OB appointment last week, the doctor commented that my weight gain looked pretty good so far. I laughed out loud and told him that it certainly isn't because I'm not eating everything that I can get my hands on. I guess that is just the benefit from having to chase around two little ones when I would rather be making my indentation on the couch even deeper. This is the same doctor that I've used for my two previous pregnancies, and he has NEVER said anything like that before. So I was kind of pleased, even though PLEASE it's not like I am one of those "skinny" pregnant people AT ALL. Maybe it means that I will gain marginally less than my usual 50+ pound pregnancy weight gain. Hooray.

I am getting very excited about meeting the baby. I wonder if she will look like her brothers. I wonder if she will act like her brothers. I have three nieces that were all colicky, crying babies for the first six months or so of their lives. I have this idea in my head that THAT is how girl babies are. I really hope not, because my boys were both such sweet babies and I loved that time with them. I hope I don't get some little hellion who makes me wish that I had practiced birth control methods more thoroughly. I wonder if she is going to be a girl at all, or if I will get a delivery room surprise. Because you know there are ALWAYS people around to tell you about the person they know whose ultrasound showed they were having a girl, but then *oops* it was a boy instead. Not that another boy wouldn't be great... but there is the issue of all this pink stuff we have now.

MC surprised me the other day when he mentioned how great it would be to have two boys AND two girls. My mouth dropped open because up to now, he had always been the one most adamant about stopping at three kids no matter what. The thing is, I would be open to having a fourth child if I knew that it would also be a girl, because I like the idea of having a set of brothers and a set of sisters. However, we all know that there are no guarantees as far as the baby's sex is concerned. It's all a big crap-shoot. Which makes me nervous. Did I mention how I like things that are planned???

So anyway, it looks like the possibility of getting my tubes tied is off the table for sure. I am thinking IUD for a few years, then having MC get the big V(asectomy) when we decide we are done, done, done with having kids for sure.

Does anyone want to tell me about how sweet their girls were as babies and how they NEVER cried and slept ALL THE TIME? I would much appreciate!

Shopping it out

2009-04-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

One of the things that (I'm sad to say) always, always, always makes me feel better when I am low is spending some money. Especially when I'm not supposed to. And particularly when I see Suze Orman on Oprah telling me to QUIT SPENDING MONEY, FOR GOD'S SAKE because we are in an ECONOMIC CRISIS and we should all be HOARDING OUR CASH!

I nod solemnly at the TV, because what Suze is saying just makes so much darn sense. And yet almost immediately I think of three things that we absolutely, no question HAVE TO have immediately, and this spending freeze will just have to wait until tomorrow.

I have been in a funk for the last month or so, so of course my spending has gone up a significant amount. Which has to stop because it looks like MC will have to be take a 5 or 10% cut in salary here pretty soon. The company is also laying off a number of employees, and while MC is safe from being laid off (it IS my family's company, after all), the salary decrease is to avoid even further cuts in the company. So... good times, all around, basically. Fewer employees means more work for MC to do, which means less time that he'll spend with the family. Great time to be having baby number three, if I do say so myself. It's almost like this pregnancy was not meticulously planned or something. Oh, wait.

Here is a partial list (some pictures) of my recent expenditures:

One of these beauties for the top of my car. Which was actually more of a necessity, because with the third kid and all, we were not sure how we would carry all of our crap around on our frequent sojourns across the state. Still, this didn't exactly turn out to be a cheap thing.

This chair to replace the giant pink (!) recliner that I've had since I was, like, twelve. I'm not sure the picture does it justice, because the fabric is really cool. Please ignore the way it totally clashes with the rug. And the Thomas Train table in the background used to be where we had a dining room table. Until children took over the house, that is.

I bought our second Stokke Tripp Trapp chair. We have one in black that ONO has used for quite a while now. I bought this one in red because ED has been coveting his brother's seat at the table and flat out refusing to sit in the high chair. Plus, he can climb up and down by himself, so there is less toddler for my pregnant self to lift, which is nice.

This is the cutest little bike ever. Perfect for ED to skooch around after his big brother's big-wheel style trike. Again, with the wanting everything that his big brother has. And I am folding easier than a lawn chair these days.

Lastly, keeping these guys in matching shirts and popsicles is getting expen$$ive! Not to mention the stain remover required to remove the inevitable popsicle stains from lightly-colored clothes. Seriously... why don't I just dress them in sensible brown all the time?

So you can see that I have done my fair share of *cough, cough* helping the economy lately. And I'm not gonna anymore. So what do I do now to cheer myself up?

Moving on from the unimaginable

2009-03-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

Some stuff has happened in my extended family lately that I can't really write about in detail here. It is the kind of horrific, unthinkable thing that you really, really don't want to happen to anyone that you know. About a month ago, I had four living grandparents, all in their 80's. As of last week, I have one grandparent left. I will spare you the details (that I don't really want to talk about anyway), but my family is now preparing for a double funeral on Saturday.

The kids and I were out of town, staying with my sister when everything happened all at once. This was one of the bazillion times in my life that I have been grateful to have a sister that I'm very close with, because being together during a difficult time was the best way to get through it. And thank goodness for kids, because with four of them to take care of (my two and sis' two), we had to maintain a certain level of normalcy.

I am mostly worried about my parents, because they have had to deal with the brunt of every crisis that has come along lately. Just in the last four years they've had to deal with:
1. My mom's breast cancer and subsequent surgeries and radiation treatment
2. A lawsuit having to do with our family's company, which stretched out over two years
3. My mom's dad falling and breaking his hip, leading to a year of declining health
4. My mom's dad's death at the end of February
5. This latest tragedy, which took the lives of my dad's parents.

In the span of about three years, my brother, sister and I have each had two kids, bringing my parent's grandkid count to six. And two of those babies (my brother's daughter and my sister's son) were 7 and 6 weeks premature, respectively. And now I will be adding grandbaby number 7 to the mix here in a couple of months. And while having babies are certainly happy events, they do add a certain level of stress. So what I'm trying to say is that my parents have had a lot on their plate. I wish that I could give them a break from their stress, even if just for a day, but I know that it's out of my control.

So I feel like such a Debbie Downer today. I can't wait until I can start to feel normal again, without dwelling on what happened in the past. My question to anyone reading is this: how have YOU moved on from a tough time in your life? Any ideas or stories you have would be much appreciated.

Not an ad... just really excited about a sippy cup, for heaven's sake

2009-03-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

Eureka! I have found it... the best sippy cup in the world!

I have been searching for YEARS (well, three) to find a tolerable sippy cup. I have bought darn near every kind and have hated most of them. What is the point if they leak when laid on their sides? If the tops are hard to screw on? If it takes an engineering degree to dissemble and reassemble them for each washing?

I stumbled upon these bad boys during my last Target visit...

They are Playtex The Insulator Twist and Click cups. They come in straw and spout tops. I have both versions, and they both work great! No leaking (even when held upside down and shaken), the tops are easy to get on and off, and there is only one piece (the straw or valve) to take out when washing. Bonus: they are also BPA free!

I plan on replacing all of our other random sippy cups with more of these. I am just so excited, I had to spread the word to other frustrated sippy cup moms!

Passing, pooping and presents...

2009-03-01T08:11:00.000-08:00

Saturday, my beloved Grandpa passed away. He led a long and happy life. He died at home, surrounded by his family that loved him. It's the way that I think we all wish that we can go, when our time comes.

He broke his hip last year, and since then his health has been an up and down roller-coaster ride. This last downward turn was thankfully quick and merciful. I am most grateful that I just happened to take the boys over and visit him on Thursday, which turned out to be his last lucid day. He was talking and smiling and teasing the boys.

I have such great memories of my grandpa. I was blessed to have grown up in the same town as my grandparents, and for the last few years I have lived close to them as well. I have had lots of time with him, and yet it never seems like enough. Rest in peace, Grandpa. We miss you already.

My grandparents, 60+ years ago.

**************

Coincidentally, Saturday was also the day that ONO decided to poop in the potty for the very first time, ever.

This much-anticipated event took place just when I had given up hope that it ever would, after some of the worst potty training days that we've ever had. On Friday, he pooped in his pants a couple times and peed on the floor several times as well. I was at the end of my rope and was just about to put him back in diapers permanently. Thankfully, he woke up Saturday morning with a cooperative attitude and got the job done. I am very excited that we seem to have turned a major corner in that process.

Difficult? Me???

***************

March seems to be the month of birthdays around here. I have two nieces that are turning 2 and 4, respectively. I'm sort of clueless about what to get them this year, so I have to ask: does anyone have any kick-ass little girl birthday gift ideas? I do need to keep my position as their favorite auntie, after all! =)

Valentine's Day Memories

2009-02-14T16:06:00.000-08:00

My mom always made my sister and I feel very special on Valentine's Day. She refused to have flowers delivered to us in school because she thought that it was too showy. But she always had flowers for us at home, along with a box of chocolates and usually some sort of red-themed clothing item. When we were old enough to drive, she would get into our cars during the school day (she had a key), and would fill them totally up with balloons, flowers, candy and other little giftie things. My sis and I always loved it, and it made us forget about whatever boy we liked who hadn't noticed us on Valentine's Day.

My first Valentine from a boy came when I was a sophomore in high school and was just starting to date. My new "boyfriend" (I use the term very loosely here) asked me to his junior prom and gave me one perfect red rose on Valentine's Day. I had an away game with my basketball team that night, so I remember sitting on the bus thinking gaa-gaa and puppy looooove thoughts about him. Unfortunately (for him, HA!) that relationship didn't last very long, but it was a nice memory nonetheless.

My first Valentine's day with MC, I was a sophomore in college. We came to my house that morning with arms and a backpack full of goodies... flowers, candy, little presents, I think a bracelet was in there somewhere. He had made reservations at a special restaurant that night too. He told me later that my best friend told him that as it was our first VDay as a couple, he had better "do it right". He did good.

Through the rest of our pre-baby years together (I think about 5), we always went out to eat on Valentine's Day. We looked for places that had special tasting menus or Valentine's gimmicks and we would make reservations way in advance. We would blow a little too much money, but it was always fun. We ate squab once, then found out that is just a fancy way to say pigeon. We discovered a great bottle of wine (Domain Drouhin Pinot Noir) that is still one of our favorites. I ALWAYS made MC order dessert, even though he NEVER wanted to. Because hello! not being hungry anymore is no excuse for not eating something chocolatey on Valentine's Day.

Since we became parents, our Valentine's Days have been a lot more low-key and home-based, you could say. We live in a small town now, so there is less temptation to try out a new restaurant or try to do something fancy or romantic. We spent this morning baking cookies and contemplating visiting Nana and Papa, or my grandparents who all live in town. But ultimately we stayed home, discouraged by the cold rain that's pouring outside. So instead of sharing all of our Valentine's cookies like we completely intended to do, we are making a good dent in them by ourselves. And it's nice. It's a cozy, nice feeling knowing that everything you want and need is right under your little roof.

Pregnancies 1 through 3 : Part 1 of ?

2009-02-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

Pregnancy 1: Run out and buy Very Expensive Brand-Name Maternity Jeans at first opportunity. Declare "I will NOT lose my sense of style just because I'm pregnant!" You don't need to wear maternity clothes at all until well into your fifth month, but once you do you are very proud of these jeans and never once admit that the panel kind of digs into your sides. Wear them until practically your due date.

Pregnancy 2: Squeeze into the Very Expensive Brand-Name Maternity Jeans the minute you find out that you are pregnant and wear them until approximately midway through your fifth month, when your rear end becomes too large to go there at all. Curse that damned uncomfortable panel and declare that whoever designed these jeans must hate pregnant women very much.

Pregnancy 3: Laugh when you see the Very Expensive Brand-Name Maternity Jeans at the bottom of your pregnancy clothes bin. Decide that if an item of clothing does not have a big, wide stretchy waistband, it really need not apply. The more butt room, the better. Order another pair of yoga pants from Old Navy.

Because I haven't even mentioned it

2009-01-26T11:23:00.001-08:00

Over two whole weeks ago, my big boy ONO turned three whole years old.

And it was fun, as all kid birthday parties are. I think three will be a fun age because he is just so excited about EVERYTHING and he is just hyper-aware of EVERYTHING going on. And he remembers EVERYTHING. Which is good and bad, I guess.

ONO's favorite part of the party:

The Thomas the Train birthday cake. Which I ordered from a bakery, thankyouverymuch. I tried making a cake on his first birthday, and it was a total disaster. Now I leave it to the pros. The cool thing was that the train on top actually went around and around the little track.

ONO's favorite birthday present:

A Kid-Tough Digital Camera. I got this thing major cheap during an after-Christmas toy sale, and it was a hit. ONO carries it around with him at all times, snapping pictures of just about anything... his brother getting a diaper change, the dog's eyeball reallycloseup, the walls, etc. The downside is that it goes through batteries like nobody's business.

Mommy's favorite moment of the party:

Yes, this was a present that he unwrapped. I think the look on his face says it all. Oh, I crack myself up.

Ultrasound Result!

2009-01-22T19:05:00.000-08:00

It has been an exhausting day and I am tired and headachey, but I wanted to tell you all what I found out today.

We are having a baby GIRL!!!

I am in disbelief and am very, very shocked. I was really certain that it would be another boy. But baby wasn't shy, and we could see very clearly that it is a "she".

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments!

One Track Mind

2009-01-20T14:32:00.001-08:00

So much has been going on around here lately, but I have one thought constantly circulating in my head:

Is it going to be a boy or girl? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL? BOY OR GIRL?

It's amazing that I can get anything done around here when this is literally ALL I think about.
And it is so silly to worry about THAT of all things. Because the baby already is whoever it is going to be, worrying and stressing about it isn't going to help or change anything.

I had myself deluded into thinking I could actually wait until the birth to be surprised by the sex of the baby. I just can't do it. I can't take another four months of the not knowing and the worrying about something I can't change. My 20-week ultrasound is on Thursday, and I am hell bent on finding out if this baby is a boy or a girl on that day.

That is, if I don't keel over from anxiety first. Seriously, I am pathetic. I need constant reassurance that everything will still be ok if I have a third boy. Life will still be good. Dresses and dolls and girl things are highly overrated anyway, right? Don't answer that.

Reflections on '08

2009-01-03T13:12:00.001-08:00

I had every intention of doing Sundry's New Year Quiz, but as I was filling it out, I was boring MYSELF to tears. So I decided not to subject anyone else to the blah-ness that was my last year.

And I really shouldn't say that. After all, keeping up with two small boys is never exactly boring and everyday life is generally fun and happy around here. What I mean is that there was nothing really big to note about my 2008 that would make it stand apart in my mind.

It's been the first year in a long time that we haven't taken a big vacation. We never saw the inside of an airport in 2008, instead we criss-crossed our state in the car about a million times in order to see relatives and attend events over six hours away. We became pros at packing our SUV quickly and efficiently, and knowing exactly what kinds of snacks and toys would occupy the boys for the longest periods of time.

2008 was a bit of a bummer at the end, as MC and I had a couple of childless trips planned that got canceled. One was disappointing, as our college football team didn't make it to the bowl game they were supposed to. The other was business-related, and canceled because of economy cutbacks. MC's company also did not hand out year-end bonuses this year, so that sucked.

On the other (much happier!) hand: we are all healthy and happy. We did not have any major illnesses (only one minor visit to the ER). ONO is a fun and smart almost-three-year-old. We're going to start him in a pre-school program just one day a week pretty soon. Baby ED has been the sweetest infant/baby imaginable. He has only recently decided to become a more opinionated toddler, but I will always have nice memories of his first sweet, sweet year. We finally answered the question of "should we have another baby?" by getting accidentally pregnant. So, there is THAT to look forward to.

I am looking forward to turning the page on 2008 and seeing what in the world 2009 will have in store.

An Embarrassment of Riches

2008-12-22T08:44:00.001-08:00

Having computer issues here! Otherwise I would have posted sooner.

First of all, I would like to say a big Thank You to everyone who commented on my last post. You all are very sage givers-of-advice indeed and I appreciate your taking the time to do so for me. You bring up some interesting points, too. Suck as: Aaack! I didn't know that having a tubal might mean a more painful recovery from the c-section. That doesn't sound too appealing. Also, I am now leaning toward finding out the sex of the baby because YOU ALL ARE RIGHT (once again)... it would be better to get any disappointment out of the way now and not post-partum when hormones are crazy and all of that. Anyway, I'm sure I will be kvetching about all of this again and again in the near future.

On to better things!

I got my Swistmas package! And lo, it is glorious. Behold:

beautiful Christmas card
Christmas mug (the very same kind Swistle uses during the holiday season!)
Bird fruit and veggie peeler
Christmas tree grow kit
Slick tint lip shine
Pot of DCT lip balm
Travel tube of toothpaste

And do you think that is all? Oh no, no no...

Stuffed lambie
LOTS of big, chunky fun-colored board books
Two slinkies
Sheet after sheet after sheet of awesome stickers in fun characters

Any sane person would think this would be all, right? Well, you would be wrong AGAIN.

St Jude's heart-shaped ornament
Bejeweled ornament
Beautiful Christmas bowl filled with...
Homemade Swistle goodies -- cookies, fudge AND mint brownies! YUM, YUM and YUM!!!

This was truly such an amazing package to receive. The box was chock full, not a millimeter of space was wasted. Swistle tucked little notes in some of the items, which made me smile. All of the kid stuff is totally fun (I'm saving some of it for stockings). My very favorite is the bird peeler... no, wait. The Christmas mug (did I mention it is JUST LIKE Swistle's?). But I also LOOOOVE the pretty bowl. And did I mention how yummy the sweet stuff is? I'm eating fudge right now and it's only 8:30 a.m. My family WISHES I could bake like that.

So, thank you Swistle! You are a Christmas angel! =)

Decisions, Decisions...

2008-12-18T18:44:00.001-08:00

I forgot to update on my last post about the ultrasound that I had two weeks ago. Ya'll... I'm a lazy, lazy blogger. It's better that I get that fact out in the open. (Plus the fact that I love to drop a y'all in the conversation every once in a while, just for kicks.)

So the ultrasound was good. Uneventful. Of course there is only one baby in there. My husband always gets into my head that MAYBE it's going to be TWINS this time! But we don't have a family history of twins or anything, so it would have been an unlikely scenario. But I do have to say that even the third time around, it is always cool to see the baby for the first time, if only to reassure myself that I am indeed pregnant after all.

And I am. Now we are grappling with a couple of decisions that we need to make soon and I need somebody to ~~tell me what to do~~ give me sage advice.

Decision #1: Should we find out the sex of the baby or wait for a delivery surprise? For the first two pregnancies, this was not even a consideration... we wanted to know, and so we found out at the 20-week ultrasound. But this time, now that we are two for two in boy-land, I am a little reluctant to find out the sex. What if it is another boy? Am I going to feel bad or sad or disappointed to not have a girl? Because I don't want to feel bad about that. I know that when the baby gets here, it really won't make much of a difference either way and I will love him/her regardless, but I am worried about how I will feel about a third boy for the rest of my pregnancy. On the other hand, what if it is a girl? It would be fun to know so I could plan and decorate and dream about girly things.

Decision #2: Should I get my tubes tied? Since I know that this will be another c-section, the doctor suggested that a tubal ligation could be an option if we know that we do not want any more children. While I feel certain now that we will stop at three kids, how can I know that I will always feel this way? I can list a whole bunch of horrible and hopefully unlikely scenarios where I might want/need to have another baby. And doesn't sterilizing oneself at the ripe old age of 27 seem a bit premature? On the other hand, I really, really don't think we will ever want to have any more children, and it is cheaper and easier to get this procedure done (rather than a vasectomy for MC) since I am already under the knife for the c-section. So you see what I am dealing with here.

Has anyone out there had to deal with similar decisions... and what did you decide to do?

These Things NEVER Happen!

2008-12-15T15:50:00.001-08:00

Last night I was wondering if 13-month-old ED suddenly developed a inexplicably late toddler-version of colic. Seriously, he was crying, thrashing, and nothing I could do was comforting him or helping in the least. He didn't feel feverish, I couldn't tell if there was some new tooth problem brewing... it was just weird. He finally fell back asleep, exhausted after about an hour and a half of hard-core crying. Then he got up and has acted totally normal today. Huh.

Then! This morning when I got up yawning and cranky from such an odd night's sleep, I was clicking through my Google reader, nonchalantly reading some new posts. A new one from Swistle came up, and I was all caught up in the decision that she and her husband are having to make, knowing that is a discussion that MC and I will have to get serious about too... how many babies is enough? And then BAM! Out of nowhere, she wrote that I will be the winning recipient of an awesome Swistle Christmas Package!

I was totally shocked and pleased and yes... I may have even had to fight back a tear or two. I am that excited.

And then, on this wondrous day of days a second thing happened that never, ever happens around here:

This may not seem like a big deal to a lot of you, but PEOPLE! I live on the Oregon Coast. Like, I can SEE the ocean from my front porch. It NEVER EVER snows around here. So this was a very special treat.

We are totally unprepared for weather like this. Look! My one-year-old is wearing crocs in the snow! We don't have warm stocking caps, gloves, or snow gear of any kind. But we didn't let that stop us. We stomped around and had a good time in our inadequate clothing anyway. There turned out to be more snow than these pictures show, but still not a whole lot. Now, several hours later, most of it has already melted.

So it has been a really, really good day.

NoIgYoBloMo... didn't you know?

2008-12-03T09:41:00.001-08:00

Well Hi!

I was so inspired by other bloggers working hard at posting every day in November for NaBloPoMo. So inspired, in fact, that I was hard at work on a little something I like to call NoIgYoBloMo... in other words, November Ignore Your Blog Month. And that's what I did. Ignored the 'ol blog for the better part of November. Which is such hard work. Not really.

I've certainly had better days/weeks/months than I've had recently. It was mostly because of different sicknesses hitting our household, one after the other. The most memorable was ONO's hand-foot-mouth disease. It caused such bad fever blisters in his mouth that he didn't eat or drink anything for over two days... he just screamed. And this is an almost three-year-old, so he can scream LOUD. Longest two days of my life.

I am still pregnant, with babycenter.com estimating me to be about 13 1/2 weeks along. I am finally having my first prenatal appointment today, so I guess I will get the official word from my doctor. This appointment should also include an ultrasound, so that is a little exciting. My husband always tries to freak me out by claiming that it is going to be twins. I will feel a lot better once I am assured that there is only ONE baby in there.

One Emergency, Two Celebrations

2008-11-07T14:51:00.001-08:00

I am having such a hard time getting myself to the computer to update, even though so much has happened this last week. Like:

Our first trip to the ER! The boys were playing around in the bathroom after their nightly bath last week and when MC and I both had our backs turned for a second, ONO somehow managed to slam his little brother's finger in the shower door (totally on accident, of course). It was gross, it was bloody. I really thought that the end of ED's finger was going to come off. Thank goodness it didn't, and after three hours in the ER and five stitches, we were all home with all of our digits intact. ED is a little trooper, and really after the first day his finger hasn't seemed to bother him much at all.

Halloween! We had lots and lots of fun this Halloween. I dressed the kids up and they trick-or-treated in MC's office. ONO was not really sure about the whole dressing up thing, but once he figured out there was candy involved, he warmed up to the idea really quickly.

SUPER-HEROES... saving the world from processed sugars one Fun-Sized bag at a time!

Bad pictures, I know, but I could not seem to get a decent shot of the two of them all costumed up.

ED turned a year old! I've been referring to him being a year old for a while now, but now it is official. Not so much a baby anymore. To punctuate his big-boy status, he has taken up walking as his main mode of transportation. He is stealthy and quiet, toddling around the house like a drunken robot. Now he wants to follow me around the house, getting mad at me if I walk too fast for him to keep up.

Cake: Good for squishing between your fingers, then throwing on the floor to the dog.

Written in Between Naps

2008-10-27T20:12:00.001-07:00

I cannot for the life of me scrape myself off the couch long enough to write a post. I am in that horrible early-pregnancy fog, where I just want to sleep all day (but of course I can't), so I just yawn all the time and lay around lazily and am pretty much a big bummer for everyone else in my family to be around. Good times!

But I really want to say thanks to everyone who left a comment on my last post. You are all too kind and make me want to lay my head on your collective shoulders and tell you my woes all the time. I'm sure that wouldn't get old at all.

I am still in shock/denial about the whole actually being pregnant thing, but I am moving more towards acceptance every day. I am guesstimating that I am about 7-8 weeks along, making the due date sometime mid-June. So there is lots of time for me to be grouchy yet!

Obligatory pumpkin pic:

Three Updates

2008-10-16T21:17:00.001-07:00

1. We are headed to our Favorite City to the North this weekend to attend a charity auction and dinner. Remember... the event that I needed a new dress for? Well, I got all three of those dresses that I ordered, and they were all sort of ok looking, but nothing special. So I caved and ended up ordering that expensive one from Neiman Marcus. And imagine this... I love it! Of course. I cannot be trusted with an internet connection and a credit card.

2. Remember Baby ED's eye problem? The one that he totally needed surgery for, that ended up getting canceled due to a runny nose after a really crappy week of appointment after appointment to get ready for the damn surgery? Well, it seems like the problem may have solved itself. His eye has looked totally dry and perfect for the last four days, and that has never happened before in his life. Thanks so much for Erin for telling me in the comments section that her son also had the same problem with his tear duct that miraculously cleared up when he was 11 1/2 months old and never came back. Baby ED is exactly 11 1/2 months old... how weird is that? I'm beginning to think it was a major blessing in disguise that we did not go through with that surgery after all.

3. Oh, the pregnancy scare? Turns out that it is not so much a scare as... a reality. That's right, folks, I'm pregnant. Pregnant as can be. I am pretty much in shock and denial about the whole thing. I cannot believe that (if everything goes right with this pregnancy) I will have three kids under 3 1/2. That kind of makes me scared shitless, to be totally honest. So I am not thinking about that right now. Instead, I am going to sing a little song in my head la la la la la la...

6 Things

2008-10-08T14:19:00.001-07:00

I was tagged to do this meme by Sarah at No Whey, Mama.

I'm supposed to share 6 things that no one knows about me, so here goes!

1. (This is a follow-up to that cliff-hanger of a post I wrote the other day.) I am in the midst of a pregnancy scare! I am at the point in my cycle where I am nervously drumming my fingers waiting for *something* to happen. It has not quite reached the panicky stage yet, but if nothing happens by next week I will most definitely be panicking. And I might even have to go to the store to get a prego test. Frick.

2. My best friend and I have known each other all of our lives, and have been attached at the hip since junior high. We were inseparable in high school, roomies throughout college, maids of honor in each other's weddings, etc. She is awesome and fun and even after all of these years, I never get tired of her crazy antics. Bonus fun fact: our husbands are also best friends with each other. BFFs all around!

3. My family owns a business that is based in the town that we live in. My grandpa started it, my grandma used to work in it, my dad currently runs the company, my mom is a major fixture there, my brother works there and will take over someday, my husband works there too. Sometimes it feels like we are in an episode of Brothers and Sisters, only without the illegitimate children and extramarital affairs. There is always a lot of drama that goes on when people are related and have to work together too.

4. Before we had children, my husband and I got to take "the trip of a lifetime", which consisted of 5 weeks traveling all over Italy and Greece. This was about four years ago, but we still talk about it all the time because we have the best memories from that trip. It's what I always tell people who are thinking about starting a family... "Take a trip first!"

5. I'm generally not a very political person at all, but I find myself thinking and worrying about this upcoming election all the time. I wish November 4th would hurry up and get here and put me out of my misery!

6. I am 27 years old and I still have all four of my grandparents surviving. They are not in perfect health, but they are all awesome, amazing heroes to me and have lived very interesting, honest, and generous lives.

That's it! Now I tag:

MOMommy

This Wonderful, Crazy Life

All Dressed Up

Houndrat

My Son Thinks He's Tarzan