Summer is ending... hallelujah!

Whew, we made it! This summer has been a tough one, the toughest one on record. And. it. is. over. Dr. F was on call just about every other day (no lie) and has had 1 weekend off since Memorial Day. He worked 2 weeks of straight nights and the kids and I escaped to my parents' house because I'm not so crazy as to try to keep two kids quiet all day so he could sleep. No thank you! We didnt get much together time and it has definitely been lonely, but we've turned a corner. And we are thankful.

The kids and I have been getting into a routine and my house is still a mess and I'm pretty sure it will be for the next 20 or so years. However, I have joined a moms' group that meets once a month and provides babysitting for those 2 hours! We also joined the Y and I am in love! 2 hrs of childcare each visit is included in the membership. I have gone 4 times in the last 6 days. I feel like a new woman. Y'all, I soooo needed this. For the first time in 4 years I can workout and not be dependent on Dr. F's schedule. My mental state has already been much improved. Which is good, because we're having Avery baptized on Sunday followed by a lunch at our house for A LOT of family. And I haven't started cleaning yet. But you know what, I'm going to take a nap know because Ms. Thing has decided to revert to waking up 2x a night. UGHH.

My dad found a frog in the back yard!

Nationals game with his great grandfather

First pony ride!

LM is obsessed with Dash from the Incredibles... doing his best impersonation

The pumpkin patch taking over the back yard...

I could just eat her with a spoon

Argggh matey! 

Imagination at work

I am hopelessly behind... having two kids is such a game changer! We are settling into more of a routine and I'm hoping to begin keeping this up more frequently especially now that I am STAYING HOME!! That's right, I quit my job last week to stay home full time and I couldn't be more excited. We feel so blessed and lucky to have this opportunity. Money will definitely be a bit tight, but when I barely made enough to cover the cost of two kids in daycare to begin with, it just made sense. Besides, they are only young for such a short time and I know how lucky I am to be home with them....but I digress.

Aidan has adjusted pretty well to having a little baby in the house and the "accidents" have greatly declined in frequency. He LOVES his sister like no other and its pretty dang cute. He is always trying to get her to smile and hug her and play with her. He is also learning to play more independently, partially because he's getting older, partially because he has to. I can't be a constant playmate when there are poopy diapers to change and a baby to be nursed!

Now, I have no idea where this came from, but he has decided that the space behind the lazy boy is his "gopher hole" SAY WHAT? Yes, a gopher hole. He must have heard a story at his old school about gophers? He loves it back there and will hid his trucks, the afghans from the couches and my decorative pillows back there to make it "comfortable." And just to humor him, I actually got in it with him yesterday. It was close quarters, but I had flash backs of making forts as a little kid. Also to enter the gopher hole, here are verbatim instructions I received yesterday "first you scamper up on the daddy chair (the la-z-boy), then you scamper on the couch, then you slide down in." * side note, what 3 1/2 yr old kid says scamper?! one that has a gopher hole instead of a fort, i guess....*

 Here, take a look:

an ordinary la-z-boy...

getting comfy

getting the blankets juuuust right

all settled in

happy boy in his gopher hole!

and i couldnt resist a picture of this doll!

I got crafty y'all!

Ok, so LM is at daycare today and I'm supposed to be spending the day grocery shopping and cleaning up our disaster zone of a house. exhibit a:

 If you look closely, you can see unpacked groceries in the background. I got home 3 hours ago and they are still sitting there *perishables are put away.* What you dont see in this picture is the living room behind me where loads (plural!) of clean laundry are all over the floor in various stages of being folded. OR the upstairs bedrooms that desperately need to be organized etc. At least I did get Avery's diapers washed and hung to dry.

Ok, enough self-flagellation. Yesterday the Little Man was home with me and Avery allllll day, and we happend to spend the majority of the weekend just the 3 of us stuck in traffic on I-95 in 109* heat. The drive was easy compared to the acting out that all 3 of us did yesterday. Let's just say I wouldnt win any mom of the year awards yesterday. Oooff it was rough. So today, I decided I'm going to indulge my need for some crafty-ness.  After reading Sam's blog at Death by Decaf and being inspired by her adorable bow holder, I went right to Michael's before the grocery store. *hooray for Michael's being located in the same shopping center as the grocery store! that's efficient, no?*

Anyway, I got my glue gun out and went to town. Check it out!

I snagged an $11 frame (they were having a big frame sale!), a $1 piece of scrap booking paper, and $5 in ribbon. I took the glass and matting out of the frame, glued the paper to the back of the frame then glued the ribbon down. The black ribbon is glued all the way down but the pink on just the ends so I could clip Avery's bows to them. I'm pretty happy how it came out!

And not to leave Aidan out, I finally finished his name for his bedroom door. Again from Michael's, wooden letters and frame that I painted and then hot glued together. 

Well, now that I got that out of my system...I think I might actually get to the kitchen, and maybe make my bed. Maybe.

Girlfriend

OH HELLO THERE! I finally got a moment...we'll see how long this lasts!... to try to frantically capture a few thoughts. I have to say, being a mom to two kids has been a great transition and I can hardly believe Avery is already 5 weeks old! 5 WEEKS! That also means I haven't slept more than 3 hrs in a row in 5 WEEKS, so forgive me if this is a little disjointed. Of course, this transition has been eased by having LM still in daycare, which was the BEST decision we've made. This is his first week scaling back to part-time, which was perfect because Dr. F was home for Memorial Day, so tomorrow is LM's first weekday day home with Avery and I. I have done two 24 hr shifts with just me and the kids already and plenty of night's of just the 3 of us while Dr. F has been on call, the first one when Avery was just barely a week old. If there is one thing I've learned being a parent, you don't stop to think about things, you just do them because they have to get done.

We've also found that having two kids has been no big deal. I mean, it is a big deal, but I think LM broke us in already with the early wake ups and dead social life, soooo...you know what I mean. Besides, all Avery wants is to eat and be carried in the Moby ALL. THE. TIME. I can bathe LM, wash dishes, make dinner AND go the bathroom with my Ladybug in Moby. Dear God, thank you for creating the inventors of the Moby. For realz.

Now, one thing that hasn't been so fab is the regression on my part to survival mode. Ok ok, I know. Taking care of a 5 week old and a 3.5 yr old and a husband who is a resident demand survival mode, and most days that means not a single lick of makeup, my hair a frizzy mess (but we don't have central AC so I'm not going near a blow dryer and its been freakin' hot!), oh and I'm in that post-baby body hell (more on that later...yay). I am so thankful for a beautiful, healthy, happy family and a husband who loves me no matter what. But y'all, I just want to be my hubby's girlfriend again and not because he puts any pressure on me. Let me explain- if I were his girlfriend, I'd never let him see me with such frizzy hair or so little make-up, or such a messy house. Now, when I go out, I settle for looking "good-enough" and it sucks. I choose between doing my make-up or hair, but not both, because who has time for that? I'm hopelessly unfashionable, and have zero idea of how to accessorize.  It's vain and petty and so #firstworldproblems, but sometimes, you just want to feel like a rockstar, but these days, I'm a rockstar if I get the bed made.

Avery's Birth Story

Whew, its been 4 weeks and what a crazy, exhausting, wonderful 4 weeks it has been! Thank you for being patient with me (as if you had a choice :) as I've taken my time to finally commit this to the internets. Avery's birth was wonderful and magical and if I could be assured giving birth would be like this every time, I'd have 10 more kids! What made it so awesome? Let's start at the beginning... (also, may be tmi...fair warning)

On the morning of April 24th I had my normal 39/40 week appointment ( I was due on April 26) and my doctor did an exam. How fun! He told me that I was about 1.5 cm and 50% effaced. I could have told him that... my Braxton Hicks had started taking my breath away over the previous few days, but weren't sustained long enough to go to the hospital.  He warned me that I might notice some discharge due to the exam. Well, by the time I got to work, I was having some strong contractions and yes, discharge. BUT, by the time you're 39 weeks preggo, sometimes it is hard to tell if youre peeing your pants or leaking fluid and with Aidan, I actually went to the hospital thinking it was the latter when it was actually the former...so I brushed it off. All afternoon at work I kept having contractions although they weren't super regular. At one point I was looking at my wall calendar and thinking that if I went into the hospital the next day (Wed.) I'd be home by Friday. I just knew something was different this time.

By the time I got home from work I just felt like I had no control over my bladder and when Dr. F walked in the door, I calmly told him that I didn't think he was going into work the next day. All through dinner we started timing my contractions and over the course of the evening they went from 20 min apart to 14-12 min, then by 10 pm they were 5 min apart. We called my parents and told them they might need to get ready to hit the road, but we were going to wait until my contractions were 5 min apart for an hour before going to the hospital. Now this is where things got complicated because they were coming from VA. We called our neighbor who agreed to come over (after I woke up a sick Mary Frances :( I'm so sorry!!), I took a shower and straightened my hair (I looked rough in Aidan's birth pictures and I sure as hell wasn't going to let that happen again!) and then we headed to the hospital around 11:30pm. After confirming with the nurses that I was staying, we told my mom and dad to hit the road and settled in for the big event. I kept complaining about the peeing and guess what?! My water had actually broken and I was leaking fluid, not peeing my pants! Hooray! I had been waiting for a big pop and gush like the first time.

We settled in and as I got comfortable, my contractions slowed down to the point that they had me start walking the halls. Dr. F slept and I walked for about 90 min. It was boring, but the contractions kept coming until I got back in the bed when they stopped again. I also was stalled at 2 cm, despite being 100% effaced. *I totally didnt mind Dr. F sleeping. I knew if this was going to be a long labor, I'd need him to have enough energy to encourage me later on). By 6am the Dr came in (NOT MY DOCTOR! :( it was his partner, whom I didn't really like) and he decided I'd need pitocin to get labor going again. My first thought was NOOOOOOO because how wonderfully that went the first time. However, I had given walking an honest shot and I did go into labor on my own, so I knew this was the next necessary step. I also knew that despite wanting a natural labor, I was not going to feel guilty if I had to get pitocin and needed the epidural. The dr. wanted my contractions to be consistently 4 min apart before the epidural. I actually made it to 7 cm over the next 6 hrs just by concentrating on my breathing and relaxation/visualization. It was hard, but I was so proud of myself. By 11:30 am I was asking for the epidural and by 12pm it was in and I was feeling pretty good. However, like the first time, it wasn't working on my whole body. However, the anesthesiologist was awesome and re positioned the catheter a few times and actually got it to work on both sides of my body! HOORAY! She explained that my anatomy caused the catheter to move and not be as effective. 2 hrs later I had taken a little cat nap and was 10 cm! And just like that, the nurses told me I was ready to push!

Now, this is where all of my reading about natural birth came in. I knew that my body would do most of the work and if I waited until I was truly ready to push, birth would be easier and I would have the best shot of minimizing tearing. One nurse was awesome, one nurse was not so great, but Anthony was such an amazing advocate for me insisting that as long as the baby's heart rate was stable, I wasn't going to push until I was ready. Although, we did agree that if after an hour, I still didnt feel the need to push, I'd try anyway just to see how it went. By 3:30, I sort of felt like pushing, but not a really strong urge. However, we agreed that I'd push 2 or 3 times to see how it went and if necessary, they'd get the doctor for delivery. I pushed 1 time and they stopped me to get the doctor. I didn't know it at the time, but Avery wasthisclose to coming out. The doctor came in, I pushed for less than 10 min (as compared to 4 hrs with LM!!) and Avery was on my belly and Dr. F and I were crying and smiling and completely in love! I delivered the placenta easily and we donated the cord blood to the public bank. Delivering the placenta was one of the worst parts of LM's delivery because they didnt wait for it to come out on its own. I actually felt the dr. (not the same one this time) rip it from my body. It is amazing I didnt hemorage or have scarring on my uterus because of it. This time, it was out and I hardly realized it. OH, and did I mention...no tearing or stiches... HELL YEAH!!

The first thing I did was look to see if she was a boy or girl. I was absolutely not surprised to see that we had a baby girl! I knew the entire time and she is so perfect. She's already got her daddy and her big brother wrapped around her finger and I've been filling her closet with tutus and ruffles. Whew, if you made it this far, I'm impressed! So as a reward...here are some pictures :)

I love this one!!

Getting ready to head to the hospital!

Daddy's little girl

she's here!!

Introducing...

Avery Anne

Avery was born on April 25th weighing in at 7lbs 9 oz and 21 inches. She is absolutely perfect and we are completely smitten.

Avery's birth story coming soon...when I've gotten a little more sleep!

And here's the part where I complain...

I've officially hit that part of the pregnancy where I'm READY to have this baby. I mean, feet swelling, waddling, enduring the most ridiculous things people let fly out of their mouths READY. Let's recap the top three DUMB things I've been told in the last few days:

1. You better be having that baby really soon- no dipshit, its fun being this enormous and I'd like to stay this way for.ever.

2. Wow, your walk has really changed. I mean REALLY changed- oh really? well, lets see how an 8lb baby sitting on your pubic bones changes your walk, ass.

3. Ohhh I can see it in your face, you are just so done (said while higher up at work wants to touch said face, but gets death stare instead)- your powers of deduction are astounding, assclown. I'm a week away from my due date and there is a full-grown newborn HUMAN INSIDE of my body. Do ya think I'm done?

Apparently, this is also the part of my pregnancy where I curse like sailor because my clothes are big enough to hoist as sails...at least, those clothes that still fit...

Happy Hump Day! (but be careful, this could be you in 9mos! ;)

Growing in every way

This week the Little Man has discovered the joy it brings me (and possibly all women) when a man (big or small) brings them flowers. He officially picked his first “flowers” from our back yard and proudly presented them to me. Of course, they were weeds that have little purple flowers on top, but they immediately went into a vase on our kitchen table. Since then he’s constantly trying to pick flowers to bring me and I love it. This is his first gift that has given of his own free will without any prompting from anyone else. That kid has the biggest heart and it’s amazing to see him growing into a person who understands that other people have feelings and that he can influence them…positively and negatively. We’re also talking a lot about not pointing at people or talking about them. Like I said, positive and negative.

LM’s love of giving me flowers has blossomed so much that last night as he and Dr. F were coming in our front door; he tried to rip out some of the flowers we have planted next to our door. Dr. F quickly stopped him reminding him how hard we all worked to make them look so nice, but our sweet sweet boy started to tear up saying he just wanted to pick flowers to give to me. Our hearts completely melted. Dr. F felt terrible, but I couldn’t blame him for not wanting our new flowers torn out and one never can tell what a 3 yr old’s true intentions are. We all snuggled and Dr. F told LM that they would find other flowers to give to Mommy. All was quickly right with the world as the boys played some basketball and I got dinner together.

Last night was also interesting because after dinner I was completely laid up on the couch with painful contractions 4 minutes apart for almost 2 hours. OH that was fun. It actually might have been “fun” if I wasn’t only 36 weeks and Dr. F didn’t have his exam this weekend. At least it gave me a lot of practice breathing and relaxing…and I didn’t do a single dish and watched American Idol guilt free. It also got me thinking about just how exciting it is that we’ll be meeting SB soon. And SB will soon have a name! And I won’t get the random comments in the elevator at work begging me not to go into labor. Seriously, yesterday some guy who works on another floor just had to check to make sure I wasn’t due any second. It’s a 20 second elevator ride, dude. Calm yourself. My co-workers also demanded that I put my Dr.’s #, my parents’ and Dr. F’s phone numbers up in my cubicle…you know, just in case I go into spontaneous labor and am rendered unable to communicate… of course, most of them haven’t had kids and are totally freaked out about the possibility that I’ll have this kid right here on the floor of my cube. And I kinda go along with it, just because I get a kick out of watching them freak out a little J     

    

Happy Thursday!

Questions

1. LM: "Mommy, when the baby comes out of your belly, will your belly break?" Me: "No, my belly will just get smaller again (I hope!)" LM: "Oh! Good! Then we can snuggle in the daddy chair again!"

2. LM: "Mom, why do I have nipples?" Me: "That's the age old question, kiddo. I have NO idea."

3. what waddles like a penguin, grunts like a weight lifter, and moves slower than molasses in winter? ME.

I was 35 weeks yesterday and between the baby shifting down (oh holy pubic bones) and the amazing (warm) weather, my feet have started to swell and I am having trouble walking. I've even been having a ton of contractions, and they are way stronger than I remember with LM, at least this early. I actually had one that made me nauseous and another one that was so strong, it woke me up in the middle of the night. I know this is all good because that means my body is gearing up and we're getting so anxious to meet Stranger Baby, but I'm hoping (yes, despite the increasing discomfort!) that this doesn't mean SB is planning to make an early appearance... Dr. F has his big nasty exam next weekend, he's got evening lectures the following week, and then my dr. is on vacation the week after that. Basically, the next 3 weeks are a no go, after that, game on.

Happy Friday!!

Ready for my close up!

Yesterday we had our last ultrasound for Stranger Baby. It was amazing! I've never had a 3D ultrasound and wasn't expecting it at all, but suddenly the tech flipped a switch and the most perfect little face appeared! SB's hand is even resting under his/her chin in the Thinker pose.

We also got the great news that the baby looks perfectly healthy, has a full head of hair (no surprise there!), is head down (I already knew that thanks to the copious amount of kicking directly to my ribs) and weighs almost 5lbs already...that last part isn't so fabulous. I mean, its great, but also means we're looking at another 8+ pounder. UGHH.

Dr. F thinks the baby looks like a boy, and I kinda think he's right...but who can really tell? I resisted the (enormous) temptation to find out if the baby is a boy or girl and now there is no way we will know until SB is born. I even read the report just in case I "accidentally" came across the sex, but to no avail. I'm kicking myself. Despite the cute yellow outfits I bought, I really just wish I knew. At least we've settled on our boy and girl names...and even started talking about names for baby #3. Dr. F even initiated this conversation! Let's get this one here first, ok babe?

My camera is also dying a slow and painful death... the lag time is unbelievable between pictures, and that's if it decides to actually take a picture when the shutter is pressed. I really didn't want to spend the money because we're trying so hard to save money...but we can't be a few weeks away from having a new baby with no camera. I read a ton of reviews and ended up going with this baby:

                                         

It got fantastic reviews on image clarity and shutter speed: two things I am really looking for in a camera. What I really wanted was a fancy DSLR camera, but that is no way in the realm of our budget, even a cheap one, so I need a quality point and shoot. I can't wait to get my hot little hands on it! And of course, I had a coupon for $10 off and opted for in-store pick up to avoid the shipping charges. Never pay full price for anything!! :)

Ramblings

Ok, so I have been majorly neglecting my blog lately. I even managed to let February go by completely without a single post. Brilliant. I guess so much has been going on around here that I've not managed to finish one of the 50 million posts I have sitting in my drafts box. Well, it is a quiet day at the office (shhhhh, don't tell!) and I have enjoyed reading everyone else's posts so much...so here goes nothing.

Yesterday my office building opened a gym in our building and it is only $10/mo! and you only pay for the months you use! HOLLAR!! They were supposed to open back in Jan., and I've been stalking them since because this momma needs to move. I used to be a total gym rat back in my single girl days in DC and I miss it like whoa. Obviously, there are more important things going on in my life, but that bit of self-indulgence and me time at the gym... anyway...enough whining. I hit it up yesterday and I felt AMAZING.  I can't push myself too hard or I start having contractions and/or pee my pants (TMI, youre welcome), but the boost in mood alone was worth it. I even slept better than I have in months.

Speaking of sleep and contractions, I'm getting very little of the first and very much of the latter. This happened with Aidan as well, including a 2hr episode of braxton hicks contractions every 10 min when I was 33 weeks along. Yesterday I hit the 32 week mark (and could theoretically deliver in 5 weeks!!!) and this bambino has taken to squirming and jumping and hiccuping right under my ribs. Although, this time my heartburn is much less and my swelling is significantly lower. I am actually still wearing my wedding rings, which is nothing short of a miracle. For any future children, I will demand that I'm only pregnant in the winter! I'm sure having my thyroid levels carefully monitored and regulated by meds isnt hurting either :)

2 weeks ago I also broke down and bought a boy and girl "coming home" outfits. I couldn't contain myself any more and I've started packing my hospital bag. I know I know, I still have some time, but not knowing if this baby is a boy or girl (I've secretly started calling him/her "stranger baby"), I haven't prepared the way I did with Aidan. So I'm doing all of the gender non-specific things I can think of to satisfy my inner planner. I also had to force myself not to buy any extra girl clothes, but they are all so damn cute! And I did make myself buy some yellow and green clothes, but it was not fun. I will never be surprised again, this is miserable despite the fact that Dr. F is loving the surprise. Enjoy it this time, buddy.

This is the back of the girl onesie. Ahhh so cute!

Of course, I also snagged a big brother shirt for the proudest big brother. 

In other pregnancy news, the honeymoon trimester is soooo over. I am trying my best not to waddle and I think keeping up with Aidan has been very instrumental in keeping me mobile. But let me tell you what, I am ready to get some mobility back. I'm thrilled with how my body has handled this pregnancy as far as weight gain  goes (I've also not indulged in quite the number of bagel breakfast sandwiches this time...) and I'm all belly. However, I'm pretty over the massive effort it takes to simply get myself out of bed in the morning. I also really miss being able to really hug Dr. F. I felt this way with Aidan too and it was one of the things I craved the most when I was expecting him...full body contact with my hubby! It sounds silly, but try hugging your man with a beach ball in between you...its like middle school dances at Catholic school where you have to "leave room for the Holy Spirit." 

My cravings have also been pretty mundane. I had the usual insatiable appetite for cheese in my second trimester (namely queso and brie), the need to consume mass quantities of cold milk and felt like pbj sandwiches were delicacies (usually I like them, but this was more like liking them). Lately I've been trying to control myself where chocolate is concerned. I have only a modicum of self-control in the chocolate department and that is being generous.

If you made it this far, I'm impressed :) The flood gates have opened and I'll have to post more soon about Downtown Abbey (Amazing!!), couch dates (Moneyball was so good!) and even a belly shot or two... Happy Friday!

Going Granola

Recently I've been doing a lot of reflection on my birth experience with the Little Man and how much it just wasn't what I wanted or hoped for. Of course the ultimate objective of bringing home a healthy baby was accomplished, but the actual process of delivering him was in a word a clusterfuck and a experience I have no desire to repeat in anyway shape or form. 

When I was expecting LM, Dr. F was in the throws of the worst part of his 3rd yr of med school and I was mid semester of grad school. I was more cavalier about giving birth than I usually am about anything. I figured that women have been giving birth for thousands of years and I can do it too. What I didn't count on was being left feeling like giving birth happened to me instead of being an active participant. This time I'm determined things will be different. I've started doing a lot of reading on natural birth, breathing exercises and exercises to ease labor and delivery. I came across this great DVD set

Generally I consider myself pretty well educated, but I learned so much from the first dvd and I'm becoming more and more convinced I want to go as naturally as possible with this delivery. My list of NO's was pretty long before I started researching (ie. no induction, no episiotomy etc), but now I'm becoming more and more convinced I want as few interventions as possible. Now, I'm not about to have a home water birth, but I'm seriously considering a birthing center attached to a hospital just in case. 

Finally, tonight I watched The Business of Being Born. 

I totally get that it has an agenda, but I'm feeling more and more strongly. Now I'm just not sure I can actually make it through labor and delivery without the drugs. I want to, but I'm scared. Have any of you given birth without drugs or had a particularly good experience with a particular book or dvd series? 

Dear Target, your customer service needs an attitude adjustment

LM is still under the weather so I'm home with him again and you know, I can't wait till I get to be home full time with my kiddos in a few months. I really miss being a SAHM, even when its tough I know I'm doing something that really matters. Call me crazy, but scheduling meetings and answering phones just isnt my idea of fulfilling work. It pays the bills, but it sure isn't what I'd call my life's work.

Of course, I'm also remembering how much I need to have some structure to the day otherwise things drag on and that is no good for me me or the little man! This morning he was doing well enough to head to Target to pick up some new big boy underwear. You've never seen excitement on a kid's face until you've seen a 3 yr old pick out Mr. Incredible underwear. It was pretty stinking cute. While we were there I also snagged a new bottle of nail polish and we were both set to head home happy. That is until we were going to have a special treat of a soft pretzel from the Target cafe....

I had a feeling this wasn't going to end well when the girl behind the counter was more interested in talking to one of her coworkers and wouldn't make eye contact with me, the ONLY customer in line. Then she must have sorta microwaved a soft pretzel. I was skeptical but LM and I headed to the tables. I took one tiny bite and realized this chick didn't heat it up, it was totally raw and covered in oil in salt. I told LM he couldnt eat it because it was raw....commence crying and I had to find the employee to complain. She was chatting again and not even at the cafe counter. I walked up to her and said "This isn't cooked at all" So what did she do? Took it from me, threw it out but didnt bother to help me pick up the pieces that had fallen on the floor and said she'd refund my money. OH YA THINK? I'm 7 months pregnant with a crying sick child and you are a lazy piece of crap. You know the best part...she actually gave me change with a Canadian penny and I just didn't have the energy to deal with her.

Tonight we're having homemade pizza, one of my specialties and making it is a fun activity to do with the Little Man. I even broke out my new Kitchenaid mixer (aka the best surprise Christmas present ever) and made some rocking whole wheat dough with enough left over to try my had at homemade soft pretzels. Of course, I had to try one right out of the oven and it was soooo good!

Take that Target.

bullet point post

So it has come to this...I have to be home with a sick Little Man to get the time to write a blog entry. Wow. I'm also going to ease myself back into the blogosphere with a bullet post cause I need to make the most of his nap time. Here goes:

1. I'm 27 weeks. That means we could have a full term baby in 10 weeks. 10 WEEKS. OH Sh*t! I would also like the people in my office who keep asking me when I'm due and how I'm feeling with that annoying concerned look on their faces would go away. Let the verbal preggo diarrhea start.

2. We painted our dining room 2 weekends ago and LOVE the new color. It was quite red and is now a beautiful battleship grey. Ah-mazing! I really had to fight tooth and nail for the darker color, not with Dr. F, who was pretty agreeable with trusting my vision...but with my parents who actually said to me "You are not painting the room that color. It is too dark." Ha, my house guys, I'll paint it what I want. Guess what... they loved the final product so much, my mom now wants a grey room in her house.

LM and my dad painting. LM couldn't have been happier to have a "little boy brush"

The finished product

3. One of the things I love about Dr. F is that he's so not a cave-man guy. I mean, there is nothing un-manly about him, but he encourages our son to do traditionally boy jobs and girl jobs. It was even his idea to get LM a little kitchen for his new kitchen gadgets. We scored the perfect kitchen at Bed Bath and Beyond for 1/2 price and then my two guys whipped out the power tools while watching football to put it together. Power tools, football, and a kitchen set all in 2 hours? Love it!

In a word: perfect

4. We are big Giants fans in our house and the last time the Giants played the Patriots in the Superbowl, Dr. F and I were dating and he and his childhood friend won the annual Groundhog's day beer pong tournament. This year we'll be watching with our 3 yr old and baby. Life has changed so much in the last few years, but one thing we're hoping won't change is the Giants beating the Pats again. Dr. F even suggested we name the baby Eli if the G-men win and its a boy... he was kidding...I think...
     *side note: I just tried my hand at homemade queso dip. sooooo good. all you need is a can of rotelle, 16 oz of velvetta (which comes in 2% so its not soooo bad for you) and a crock pot. hot damn its good!*

5. I'm feeling really good so far with this pregnancy, with the exception of the unreal tailbone pain. Sure I had the typical pubic bone pain that is also starting to make an appearance this time around too, but holy tailbone batman! I couldnt even snuggle on the couch with Dr. F this weekend it hurt so badly. I actually had to lay on a separate couch...so much for a netflix couch date! :( This is also making it pretty tough to be at work where I sit all day. Has anyone else experienced this, and if you have, any suggestions for relief? I'm allll ears!

6. and now for a gratuitous cute picture: 

Pinterest

So, um...After resisting for a while, I've decided that I'd like to join Pinterest...does anyone have an invitation they'd like to share with me?

k, thanks :)

Happy New Year!

Whew, this holiday season has passed by in a blink and we've made some great memories and we're looking forward to all that 2012 has in store for us, especially meeting the little acrobat who is performing jumps and flips nonstop in my uterus. I seriously spent my lunch hour watching my belly dance. I sure dont remember Little Man being so active so early (23 weeks)! 

We spent a lot of time in our hometown in VA and even got to go on a Mommy and Daddy date to see Sherlock Holmes. It was fab! I've been working my way through the complete works of SH on my Nook and I love it!(if you have an ereader and commute on a train/bus, it is a collection of short stories that are perfect commuting length!) The movie exceeded my expectations and I usually HATE when movies are made from books I love. However, this version just picked various elements of different stories and wove them together into something new while keeping the characters true to themselves. And who doesn't enjoy Robert Downey Jr.? Additionally, Dr. F and I each made it to the gym! Now that was a serious treat! I had to take it easy, but was still able to get in a great workout and am looking forward to hitting it hard in May when I can see my feet again!

Anyway, here are a few of our snapshots from this wonderful Christmas.

Thank you Vicki T for coming to visit us!!

We coordinated our Christmas Eve outfits without even trying :)

 I can also say this was the best NYE I've ever had. After a great dinner of my special homemade pizza (not to brag, lol)... the three (4!) of us snuggled on the couch reading books before bedtime. I put LM down to bed and he made sure to tell me "Happy New Year Mommy!" without any prompting. It was adorable and we fall more in love with our BIG boy every day. Then Dr. F and I parked ourselves on the couch while UVA played a terrible game at the Chick-fil-a bowl game. When midnight rolled around we toasted with Izze pomegranate juice (thank you so much Vicki T!) and then hit the hay.

This year was so perfect because it was low key to the extreme (I was wearing some sweet maternity sweatpants), Dr. F didn't get called into the hospital!!, and I got to kiss the man of my dreams at midnight. I feel so lucky and so so blessed. When I think about all of those NYE's wishing to have the perfect midnight kiss, I had no idea just how awesome it would be. My nights of glitter eyeshadow and dancing and drinking at bars are over (at least until the kids are grown and out of the house...ha:), and I couldn't be happier. I am continually reminded and amazed that it is the simple things in life that create the most indescribable joy: my happy family, my wonderful marriage, and our home that is full of love.

I also have been debating whether or not to make a resolution this year, but Dr. F and I decided we'd make a joint resolution to declutter our lives: our house, my desk at work, his office etc. We're not going to try to be perfect, just better. I also secretly (not so secretly) want to be back to my pre-baby weight by this time next year because my sister-in-law is planning a NYE destination wedding in Jamaica and I want to wear a bikini. That is vain and I don't care :) Happy New Year Everyone!

A new New Year's tradition, black eyed peas, kale and corn bread. YUM!! 

half way

Today I am officially at the half way point (20 week!) of this pregnancy and can't believe how quickly it is flying by!  It has been so different from my first pregnancy, easier and harder in different ways, but so so joyful. I have gotten much bigger much faster, although my weight gain is right on target. I think after the Little Man (who wasn't actually such a little baby), my abs just said a big "F-you" and they have not attempted to hold back. I haven't started swelling yet (I hope and pray I don't swell like I did the first time!), and I'm overall more relaxed. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually forget I'm pregnant sometimes...there is just too much other stuff to get done! LM is also super excited about this baby and keeps asking when his baby will get here. He even transitioned out of the nursery last weekend and into his big boy room with a big boy bed. It has been the easiest transition and he told me that our new baby would sleep in his old crib. I love that he made that connection by himself and he wasn't the least jealous or upset by it. In fact, he loooooves this baby so much already and hugs my belly every chance he gets!

This pregnancy is also different in that Dr. F and I decided not to find out if we're having a boy or girl. It is pretty ridiculous that I, in all my planner-ific glory, agreed to such a crazy idea, but I did. Although I begged him to change his mind when we were at our ultrasound last week. I am secretly glad he stuck to it because now we can have that "its a.... " moment in the hospital and since we're not sharing our names either, it will just be one big surprise. However, every.single.person. has said I'm having a girl. LM cannot be swayed and even the guy who works in the coffee shop at my office said I'm definitely having a girl. I think it might be a girl too because I was so sick in the first trimester this time and I wasn't last time. But, in all reality, I don't care at all either way. Sure, pink bows and dresses would be ah-mazing, but so would being the F boy's mom. If they take after their father and uncle, well I can only imagine the trouble they could get in to together. (pray for me) So, I'll just bring a boy outfit and a girl outfit to the hospital and leave the tags on.  

This last week has also been a really big growth week...and I have the belly to prove it (see below)! The baby has been moving like crazy and I think this is my favorite part of being pregnant. I love feeling all of the little kicks and rolling around, at least until he/she gets some strength behind those movements. I'm even able to feel lots of kicks from the outside too, which means Dr. F and LM can feel the baby! So fun! However, I've also entered the "I have to pee every 15 min" stage. This is very not fun as I can barely make it all the way home on my 45 min commute without peeing my pants. TMI? You're welcome. 

20 weeks.... 

Now I would be remiss if focuses solely on me and my belly.... because in addition to Thanksgiving, which was stressful and I'm happy it is over... we also celebrated both Dr. F and LM's birthdays *on the same day.* Some might say I'm crazy, I just think of it as condensing the pain. We had about 10 3 yr olds and their parents and assorted siblings in the morning and 10 30 somethings and their significant others in the evening. LM had a Phillies themed party, naturally, and Dr. F had the Dirty Thirty Beer Pong Tourney in our basement. Both F men had a blast and I was ready for a nap the next day.  Let's just say I'm thrilled this next kiddo will be a spring baby so we can rent a picnic shelter and let the kids run around outside aka not in my house.

Thank you Oriental Trading Co for your Phillies decor! 

And the winners of the tourney are....

I'm 3!!!!

Finally, there is so much sad news out there and I am already enjoying the heightened preggo emotions...so for today, I'm just going to focus on the happy things like my wonderful family and friends and what promises to be a great Christmas with a little boy who has lots of questions about Santa.

well hello there

Ahhhh, I cant even tell you how much of  a bummer it is to not be able to read or write on ANY social media at work anymore! I still catch up on my reading at night, but lately Dr. F has been hogging the computer at night because he had a presentation at work. But at last I can do a quick update!

Everyone is doing well, Aidan's growing so quickly and so am I! We had a blast trick or treating and Dr. F and actually got away for the first time since our honeymoon without having any obligations. It was AMAZING. We spent the first night in Baltimore and the second in Lancaster County. Now we're getting ready for the boys' birthdays complete with a Phillies themed party for the Little Man and a Beer Pong Tourney for the Big Man.

Dr. F felt the baby move last night for the first time! What a wonderful moment for the two of us. I've also been subjected to some of the wonderful pregnancy verbal diarrhea that people seem to spew, like my neighbor asking me if we were trying and when we thought we conceived. Ummm... how do you politely answer that? Yeah, we were getting it on just a few houses down back in the summer? Riiighht.  Also, this baby is kicking me like crazy! We've also decided not to find out if we're having a boy or girl this time. We knew with LM, but this time, well, we've got all of the big stuff in gender neutral colors/patterns and we have plenty of boy clothes. If this baby is a girl, I have no doubt she'll be one well dressed little lady between my mom, mother in law and sister in law. We have picked out boy and girl names and are keeping those a surprise too :)

I'm hoping I'll be able to update more frequently now that Dr. F's presentation is done, but he is a computer hog.... I mean, why does he need to study anyway? :)

Someone's been watching his daddy!