Welcome, Livy!

Oh, Miss Livy. She surprised (shocked) us by arriving 2 weeks early. I had my regular weekly OB appointment on Tuesday, 12-20 at 4:00, and when she checked my cervix, she said, "Yep, still the same as last week, dilated to a 3....oh wait, no, you are dilated to a 4, and 50% effaced. Don't go having this baby over Christmas, I am not on call!" And then we laughed, because we had already set up an induction for 12-28, which I was bummed about because although I would be getting my fabulous OB for delivery, my favorite nurse who I had with both boys wasn't going to be working. SAD! So, I drove home and made dinner. Then at 6:00, the contractions started. But they were all over the place...3 mins apart, 7 mins apart, 2 mins apart, etc. So we called Labor and Delivery, and the charge nurse said that since I was already so dilated and this is my 3rd baby in less than 4 years, I needed to drink a ton of water, lay down for an hour and time the contractions to see what they do. As soon as I did that, the contractions went to 7 mins apart, 1 minute long every time. So then we were confused...were they slowing down, or becoming more regular?! I called back to L&D and my dr (who was THANKFULLY on call!) told us to get to the hospital. So we called Chris's mom, and she came to sit with the boys who were already in bed. I was apologizing all over the place, assuring everyone that I was probably going to just get sent back home, but in the back of my mind, I knew this was "it." And then I got sad, in typically Jen-mommy fashion, because I had just rocked Wadey to sleep as the baby for the last time, and I was worried that the boys would be sad in the morning when I wasn't there.

So we got to the hospital, and the contrax were getting pretty bad, this was at 11:00pm. They took me upstairs, got me changed and hooked up to the monitors. And I told Chris to go to sleep because they would probably send us home in a few hours and he would have to go to work. Then the nurse came and started an IV for fluids because the baby's heart wasn't having decels like it was supposed to, and the fluids were supposed to help. While Chris was sleeping, I went walking the halls, trying to get labor to kick into high gear. At 2 am, the nurse checked me again, and I was 5 cm, so my dr said there was absolutely no way she was sending me home because 3+ babies typically come super fast. So Chris got up, started pounding back the coffee, and we started walking the halls together. At 6:30 Dr. Saunders broke my water to get things going, and at 7am I was SO HAPPY because my favorite nurse walked in my room! She just happened to be working that day, and I got her!!! What luck?! They started pitocin at around 8, because I wasn't progressing very quickly. That sucked, but what do you do? ;) I labored by walking, rocking in the room, bouncing on a ball, etc. Then at 2:00ish, I asked for an epidural. It was the most painful one I have been given, but also the best! I could still feel contractions, but no pain. Awesome! Then at 3:30, I started feeling tons of pressure, so my nurse checked me, I was dilated to a 10 FINALLY, and baby was coming down. So my dr came in the room at 3:45, I pushed through 3 contractions and Miss Livy Noelle was born!

Chris, me, my OB and my nurse all said, "She is so tiny!!!!!" when she came out, almost a full pound smaller than her big brothers. But she was also 2 weeks early. ;) Thank goodness.

Sweet girl (and the best nurse!)





The epidural took a bit to wear off, so by the time I was finally moved upstairs to the mommy/baby rooms it was after 6:00. So Chris went and picked up the boys (and McD's for them!) and brought them up. They were soooooo excited to see baby girl. They have adjusted amazingly well so far.

And nothing can make your 19-month-old look more like a giant than a brand new baby! Geez! Wade seems huge now! We are so blessed to have added such an amazing little baby girl to our family. She is so laid back so far, and we rarely hear her cry, unless she is naked or hungry or tired. We are all in love!

The best chicken and noodles. ever. make this soon.

I love love love love fall and winter for the sole reason that I get to prepare soups! Hate the cold/weather of these seasons, love the soups. Here is one of my favorites, do yourself a favor and make this soon! (or, have a baby or surgery or something, and i will make it for you!)

Chicken and Noodles

1 lb chicken breast

1ish cups of diced carrots

3/4ish cups of diced celery

1 small white onion, small diced

8-9 cups of water

3-5 TBSP of chicken boullion granuals, depending on how strong/salty/chickeny you like it (I use 4ish)

1/4 cup melted butter (unsalted)

1/2 tsp black pepper (more to taste)

salt to taste, depending on how much boullion you used!

1 big bag of Reames frozen noodles (omg, i die for these noodles)

1/2-1 cup of heavy cream (this is optional...but I recommend using it! I tend to lean more toward the 1 cup of cream side, shocking, i know)

Way before you are going to start making the soup, place your chicken in a crockpot and pour a can of low sodium chicken broth and cook it on low all day, until it shreds easily. Remove the chicken at that time, and shred it. In a LARGE stockpot, add the water, diced carrots, diced celery, diced onion, chicken boullion, chicken, melted butter, salt and pepper. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce and simmer (you want it to still bubble, but not BOIL, if that makes sense) for 25-35 minutes, until the veggies are nice and tender, be sure to TASTE the soup at this point, and decide if you want to add more boullion. Remember, you can always add more...you can never take it away. Then add the bag of frozen noodles, and give it a big stir. Add your desired amount of heavy cream, and then let the mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the noodles are tender, hot and cooked. Then, ENJOY the best chicken and noodles you have ever had!

Vacations are relaxing?

Really? Because I am so tired and we haven't even gone yet! We are headed to the Outer Banks of NC next week, and it has been stressful, due to the hurricane (Irene) that blew through last weekend, leaving us unsure if we would even be going to obx. So, we had an entire backup vacation to Destin planned just in case we needed an alternate. But planning a vacation that needs to work with our little ones is tiring. Choosing flights, beach house (big enough and on the beach!), rental cars, baby rental stuff (cribs, high chairs, etc) to be delivered to the beach house prior to our arrival, etc. It is a lot to coordinate! And then the thought that I was going to have to cancel all of that, and then RE-BOOK that entire list of stuff again for an alternate vacation, well, I was flipping out. :)

And then I took a look at my calendar for this week, and oh my goodness, busy.

Monday- Labor Day/Hair appointment for me

Tuesday- Preschool for Owen/ renewing my driver's license/grocery store

Wednesday- eye appointment for me/ pedicure for me/ soccer for owen

Thursday- Preschool for O/ Kindermusic for W/ Vacation Prep

Friday- MOPS meeting/vacation prep

Saturday- be at KCI at 6:30 am!

I am going to live on coffee next week!!

He made it!

We made it through the first day of school. Well, Owen did, anyways. He was suuuuper nervous Tuesday morning. He didn't eat anything for breakfast, needed me to get his clothes on, etc. When we got to preschool he was really quiet. But we went into his classroom, he did great. He hung up his backpack, put his name circle in the train (for attendance), and then found his seat and started painting with the watercolors that the teacher had out at their tables. I sat with him for a minute, and then said, "Okay, mommy and daddy are going to go now! We will see you in a bit!" And then he said, "You are leaving? For just a little bit?" And his eyes got HUGE. And then my eyes started to well up and my lip started shaking, and I said, "Yep, just for a little bit! We will be back soon!" And gave him a hug and a kiss and then we left. OMG.

We went to the grocery store after we dropped him off, and it was hilarious, because Wade kept saying, "Oh-wee! Oh-wee!" (That is how he says Owen) like he was looking for his brother. Poor baby has literally NEVER EVER EVER been separated from big bro, so he was a bit weirded out. But when we got back home and Wade realized that he had control over their toys and that he could do WHATEVER HE WANTED and he wouldn't have a big brother taking stuff from him, or making him play a certain way, he was very excited.

Then we went back to the school to pick O up, and Wade went nutso. He was running around the lobby, hollering, screaming, etc. When Owen came out of his classroom, he was smiling! He told us that he painted a dinosaur, played outside on the playground, had snack, etc. He said he had fun! And then we asked him if he wanted to go back on Thursday, and he immediately replied, "No." LOL! But I reminded him today that he will go back tomorrow, and he seemed okay with it. :)

D-Day

Ohmygosh, y'all. Owen starts preschool, like, TOMORROW. In 10 hours we will be dropping him off, and LEAVING. I am soooooo nervous. And so is O. He had a really hard time going to sleep tonight, he was super antsy. He kept calling me and Chris into his room with random complaints, and the last time I went in to his room by myself, his major issue was "I am getting flat (fat)", which is hysterical, because to hear your scrawny 3 year old muss over the idea that he is getting fat, well, it's just funny, k? But after I tucked him back in and gave him (more) goodnight kisses, his little bottom lip came out like 6 inches, and he was holding back the tears. Break.My.Heart. Thankfully Chris took tomorrow off so that he could be there for drop-off and pickup, because methinks Owen AND momma are going to need Chris!

After dinner tonight, Chris was asking O if he was excited for school, and Owen said, "Yes. But I think that mommy is going to cry." LOL! Well, I need to get off and go to sleep so that I can take my baby to school in the morning! Waaaaah!

The Name Game

Naming babies is hard work. Like, real hard, man. They will have that name FOR-EV-ER, so it is important that you don't eff it up, you know? With Owen, it was pretty easy.

Owen- Part of Chris's family's farm is called "The Owin' Place." Something about when it was first purchased, it was done so on borrowed money, so they were "owin' " money on it. ;)

Henry- Chris's uncle Henry was like my kindred spirit. We were basically the exact same person, with the exact same weird quirks, and I loved that guy SO much. Imagine me, but in a 66-year-0ld man's body, and that was Henry. He passed away when Chris and I were 22, and I miss him sooooo much. And Chris and I joke that Henry is up in Heaven all kinds of thrilled that Owen's middle name is his namesake, because that is just how Henry was.

Wade- this was a hard one! Chris and I were at major odds over Wade's name. I wanted Wyatt; Chris said he would rather die than name our son Wyatt. (No offense to any mommas of Wyatts...I love the name!) So, when we were literally down to the wire, like due to have him within a few weeks, I suggested Wade during one of our name talks. And it was put on the "maybe" list, but I was secretly planning on ambushing Chris in the delivery room and coming out victorious with a new baby Wyatt. Well, Wade won. And it so SO funny/weird, because when he was born, and Chris's parents brought Owen up to the hospital to meet baby, Larry (chris's dad) goes, "Where did you get the name Wade?" And we were like, "Oh, Jen suggested it, and it apparently was the "dark horse" in our name game." And then his dad proceeded to tell us that he had kin in Chula that used to come visit when he (Larry) was a boy, and two of his uncles were named "Doc and Wade." So, in a roundabout way, Wade is a family name, lol.

William- William was my grandpa's name, and I have tons of sweet memories of that man. We thought it would be a great middle name. Actually, Chris wanted William to be the 1st name, and call him Will. But "Will Smith"?? Ummm, no. Wasn't going to happen.

So, here we are again. We were sure we were having another boy, so we had our boy name all set, and picked out. But, alas, we won't be using that name now, and we are back at square one, CLUELESS as to what we will name our baby girl. In a way, it is kind of nice to not really know what you are going to name the baby. Because then you avoid all of the "feedback" from everyone, and plus, if you change your mind when you look at your baby when they are born, you aren't stuck with monogrammed towels that have the wrong baby name on them. And did I mention that you don't have to deal with all of the feedback??? ;)

You're going to miss this...

...You're gonna want this back...

Are you familiar with that Darius Rucker song? It's about looking back when your kids are grown, and missing all of the quirks that go along with living with wee ones. I was singing that song in my head tonight as I about broke my neck trying to maneuver around the landmines (read: toy trucks, hot wheels, hard plastic dinosaurs) that the boys left all over the kitchen floor. I know that when our babies are all grown up and it is just me and Chris left to hold the fort down, I will actually miss not risking bodily harm by walking across the floors. OH. And speaking of "missing" stuff, one thing that I will miss once our kids are older are the surprises that I always find when I change the laundry. Wade is momma's-lil-helper around here, and when I am stuffing clothes in the washer or dryer, he loves to help. But if I leave the washer or dryer doors open while I am running to the bedrooms to get something, it never fails that he will find his own things to add to the wash. Sippy cups, diapers, books, hot wheels, etc. I never know what little treasures I will find when I change the laundry! Kind of fun. Except for when he sneaks a diaper in the wash. That is just gross because the diaper kind of explodes, and this weird ballish-gel type stuff gets EVERYWHERE, so you have to take everything out, wipe out the washer, reload the clothes AGAIN (keeping a better eye on your baby) and so on and so forth.

Pregnancy Brain

I have it bad! But I would also like to state for the record that I also have two toddlers, so I am not exactly "firing on all cylinders" as the saying goes. Today's story:

We had to go to the grocery store, which, with both boys is such a delightful adventure. Owen wants to push the cart, Wade wants OUT OF THE CART RIGHT NOW THANK YOU VERY MUCH, and I am left trying to buy a week's worth of groceries in about a 30 minute time frame. Such fun. Well, today we went to HyVee, and we went after the boys woke up from their nap, that way we would be getting home from the store right around the time when Chris got home from work, so he could help unload groceries. So, we did our shopping (and I would like to throw a little Shout-Out to HyVee. Thank you for giving my kids slices of deli cheeses, cookies from the bakery, and balloons from the florist. Those little prizes are the only way we survive shopping trips!) and then we went and checked out. I paid for the groceries, told the cashier I wanted drive-up (where you pull your car up and they load your groceries for you!) and then managed to find the car, get the boys all loaded up/strapped in/snacks served, and get home in great time. Chris heard the garage door open, so he came outside, opened the back of my Acadia to unload groceries, and says, "Ummmmm, where are the groceries?" I FREAKING FORGOT TO GO TO DRIVE-UP AND PICK UP OUR GROCERIES!

So, we had to drive BACK to Hyvee. And I had to look like a total dumbass when I pulled up, and had to explain to the high school boy that was sitting there with my cart of stuff that I am a complete airhead and forgot about actually picking our stuff up. So embarrassing! But, at least we all got a good laugh about it. And now Chris has more to ponder when he spends time wondering "how exactly does Jen get through her days?" Because, really. How do I even manage to get through my days intact with 2.5 kids while running on about 7% brain power? It's a mystery, I tell you.

My Superhero

The boys and I were playing downstairs today, and Owen kept jumping off of the fort/slide thing. Here is our conversation:

Me: Owen, please stop jumping off of that, you are going to break your leg.

Owen: Mommy, no I won't. I am not jumping, I am FLYING. I am Superman-boy, and my cape helps me fly. So it's fine.

How do you argue with that?

I've caught the sickness...

...that would be the "Mom to Baby Girl" sickness in which one must purchase anything pink. We have a perfectly good bouncy seat, swing, tub, high chair, towels, washcloths, pack and play, etc....but did you know that you can buy those things in PINK?? For your baby GIRL?? 'Tis true, 'tis true...those smarty pants companies capitalizing on this sickness. Should be a crime. Chris will be so thrilled. ;)

A Girl???

We had our "big" ultrasound this afternoon, and we were SHOCKED to hear that the lil one taking up residence in my belly is a baby girl! I was fairly certain we were going to have another boy, which would have been amazing! We had our boy name picked out and everything! Here are a few pics from our ultrasound: her pretty profile

The absence of "junk" between the legs...I made the ultrasound tech check like 3 different times before I believed her, ha!

Her sweet little feet! Everytime we have a baby, after we have our ultrasound that tells us what we are having, we always go to Babies R Us and buy the baby's coming-home outfit. So we did just that today! We got to go to the PINK side of the store! I felt like an imposter...and it felt really strange to not be purchasing something with a monster truck/football/construction equipment/trains/etc on it. Luckily I have several friends who have little girls that will e passing down their clothes to our little lady! I still can't believe we are adding a girl to our family! The best quote of the day was from Chris. Before we found out the gender, we had talked about how if we have another boy, our next house would probably be a 4 bed/2.5 bath, and the 3 boys could share a bathroom. And if we have a girl, we would probably get a 4 bed/3.5 bath so that she wouldn't have to share a bathroom with her older brothers. So, Chris goes, "Well, I guess that means we will be getting either the Perry or the Lexington (the two 4 bed/3.5 bath floorplans we are looking at). Damn, she isn't even born yet and she is already costing me more money!" HA!

cravings

With my last two pregnancies, I had cravings, sure, but never anything out of hand, Chris never ran out to the store at midnight for a package of Ring Dings, etc. But last night I started craving crab rangoon and guacamole. LIKE BAD. Real bad. Like, I must eat these items very soon or I am probably going to die. I will have to stop by Chipotle and Kam Sheng when Chris gets home today. Because when I think of crab rangoon and guacamole, my mouth starts watering uncontrollably. Must.Eat.Crab.Rangoon.And.Guacamole.Today. Soon. Very soon. You're welcome, baby 3.

One for the books

The above picture is what I saw today when we were leaving the pool. It was quite scary, actually, seeing my sweet, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Owen turn into the aforepictured creature. Backstory: we have been at the pool every day, all morning for the last few weeks. Owen has had swim lessons this week, and after lessons today, we stayed and swam with Gavin, Kinley and Megan. All was great (with the exception of Wade being incredibly crabby) until it was time to leave. We had to be home by 11, so we got the kids out of the pool at 10:40 and got dried off. Now, to exit the pool, you have to press a button to make the gate open. Owen didn't get to press the button. Heaven help us. As I wrote in a prior post, he has a mile-wide streak of STUBBORN in him, and by golly, he wanted to press that button. But I didn't feel like getting the key from megan, opening the gate for him to go BACK in, just so he could push the button. Did I mention I was also holding wade, our pool bag, 2 wet towels, a life jacket and car keys?

So, I told Owen that he could press the button tomorrow at swim class. And if that was the wrong thing to say, that was it. He FREAKED THE EFF OUT and threw a tantrum of a magnitude that has never been seen my myself before. It was awful. So I got our stuff in the car, got wade in the car, and then scooped owen up (while he is fighting, kicking and screaming) and put him in his carseat (since the pool is like 3 seconds from us in the neighborhood, I didn't bother strapping him in. Mistake #1) He got out of his seat, and opened his door, determined to get back in the pool and press that danged button. This went on for a few minutes, all the while he is screaming and speaking in tongues. Did I mention that my friend Megan and her beautifully behaved children were in the car, witnessing the madness? Ya, true story. So, after a while, I yanked his crazy ay-ess-ess out of the car, gave his bum a swift swat and gave his face a stern talking-to. He FINALLY calmed down after I told him I wasn't going to listen to his nonsense until he could speak nicely. So he said, "Mommy, I need to kiss you!" except he really said "mommy, i need a TISSUE." and then all was better. Thankfully. It was the worst fit he has ever had. Ever. Ack.

Differences

Chris and I were discussing the differences between our boys the other night. In looks, and personalities. Interesting stuff.

Owen: Looks exactly like Chris. Blonde hair, blue eyes, great smile, and just extremely adorable in general. Personality? He's his momma's boy. One might think that because he looks exactly like Chris, he would have his laid-back, easy-going, old-boy personality. NOT SO. That little boy is me in a blonde 3 year old body. He is stubborn, hard-headed, and digs his heels in when he doesn't agree with something he feels strongly about. Just like momma. Let's just say that if I was on a certain Florida jury that was deliberating on a certain sociopath murderer mom's trial, a verdict wouldn't have been delivered in less than 11 hours!! Nope, we would have sat in that jury room until everyone agreed with me that she was GUILTY (um, duh, dummies!) or we would have had a hung jury on our hands. Excuse the rant, I have Nancy Grace on in the background and she is still fired up! Rightfully so! Anyways, back to Owen. He is so strong willed. We have to be soooo strict with him. Not in a bad way, or a stifling way at all; but he has to have clear and consistent boundaries, because if he sees a weakness, look out. He is a SUPER amazing and sweet, and big hearted little guy. :o) He always looks out for his friends, he adores Wade, is generally extremely well behaved (re: consistent boundaries!), and just a love bug.

Wade: Looks exactly like me, but has facial expressions that remind us of Owen! He has a head full of brown hair that has gotten really light from playing outside this summer. He has the biggest brown eyes EVER, and the most adorable little smile that is actually not "little" at all. When he smiles, it takes over his whole entire face! One of my favorite things about Wade is his "floppy ear." When he was born, the nurse handed him to me after he had been cleaned up, and Chris and I noticed his right ear was almost folded in half! It was drooping down, and Chris said, "ummm....what's going on with his ear??" Apparently while he was in my tummy, his ear was folded against his head, so it took a few days of life on the outside, and keeping his ear tucked under his hat for it to straighten out. But still to this day, that ear sticks out a wee bit more than the other ear, and because of that it gets extra kisses. Personality? He is so Chris. Wade has a huge streak of STINKER in him. He is the goofiest little guy, always looking for something silly to do, funny sounds to make, funny ways to use toys to make Owen laugh, etc. He is also a tease. He will take Owen's sippy cup from him, and then I will say "Wade...give O his cup back." And then Wade will hold the cup out and say "here!" for Owen to grab it....and then right when Owen is about to grab it, Wade will throw it out of Owen's reach and then start cracking up. One thing that is great about Wade, is that although he is already an incredibly ornery child, he is really laid-back and doesn't have the strong will that Owen does. So disciplining him won't be as challenging, because he (hopefully) won't resist, like Owen does. ;)

Sick boy.

The last few nights, Owen has been having various ailments. "My hair hurts, my cheeks hurt, my teeth hurt, etc." We chalked it up to his hypochondriac-itis, and moved along. Until he woke this morning with a 101 fever. Yikes! So, we went in to the pediatrician, and when he asked Owen what was wrong, O said: "My head is hurting me really bad. And my mouth hurts, and I probably have the flu." At which time his dr turned around and started cracking up, because he is all too familiar with Owen and his ailments. ;) Anyways, one look in his mouth, and Dr. Paul said, "O, you've got strep!" Owen was thrilled, because he 1) got to go see Dr. Paul, one of his most favorite people...2) he got fussed over and checked out at the dr....and 3) he got some "pink medicine" aka- amoxicillan (sp, obvi!). He is now laying in his bed for naptime, watching The Sandlot, hopefully sleeping.

Love.

I love when Wade takes a ridiculously long nap, and he wakes up with a big "Oh! Momma!" And then I turn on the video monitor to snoop on him, and see him all stretching and rolling around in his crib, basking in his refreshed self. Love. It.

Chris= Super Dad/Husband

Ugh. Morning sickness is in full-swing now. I spend a good majority of my day dry-heaving, covering my mouth, and running to the nearest trashcan. It is AWESOME! Coupled with the fact that Wade is getting up 7-12 times a night lately (teeth? needing momma? who knows!), I am a worthless mess of a momma lately. If you were to walk into our laundry room, you would be greeted with a mountain of clothes that is taller than both of my children. SAD. Chris had a 3 day weekend due to the holiday, and bless his heart, he let me sleep in, took care of the kids, got the laundry done, CLEANED MY CLOSET (he let me lay on the couch and then brought piles of clothes to me and made the "keep" and "give away" piles, then bagged the donations up, re-hung the "keep" clothes and put them back into the closet. AND he cleaned the kitchen after dinner. Seriously, what a blessing he is! I am so lucky! My OB gave me a prescription for Zofran at my appointment on Friday, and that is helping with the nausea, but it can only do so much. I basically feel like I have the worst possibly hangover. All Day. Every Day. Except I didn't drink anything (obvi!), and I won't feel better in the morning! And the thought of drinking coffee anymore sends my stomach over the edge. BLECH. At least we will save money on K-Cups and CoffeeMate.

So, to wrap it up: Chris is the best, I feel like poo, my house is now (somewhat) put back together.

Poem

A friend sent me this poem, and I wanted to share.

It's 3 am, they're all asleep

And no one is here to see.

As we rock slowly, back and forth

My baby boy and me.

His little hand is feather light,

Tucked up beneath my chin.

I hold his tiny hand in mine,

And stroke his baby skin.

The house about us creaks and groans,

The clock hands creep around.

He snuggles closer to me still,

And makes his baby sounds.

I love these quiet hours so much,

And cherish every one.

Store memories up inside my heart,

For lonely nights to come.

All too soon, he'll be grown up,

His need for momma gone.

But until then, I still have time

For kisses and for song.

Time for quiet hours like this,

With him cuddled in my arms.

Where I wish he'd always stay,

Protected, safe and warm.

And yet I know the day will come

When his tiny little hand,

Will be bigger than my own,

He'll grow to be a man.

But until then, he's mine to love

With no one here to see.

As we rock slowly, back and forth.

My baby boy and me.

Isn't that so sweet??? It makes you stop and realize that, really, your time with your babies is so fleeting! My good friend Ursula (who is one of the most amazing mommas I know, and I can only hope that I do half as good a job being a mom as she does!) reminds me all of the time to "cherish every minute." And while I am not exactly jumping for joy when Wade is up for the 4th time by 10 pm, I know that this special time cannot be replaced or relived. With that said! Let's hope that Tylenol/Orajel prove to be a magic potion tonight! My kids are notoriously slow teethers, and at almost 13 months old, Wade has 4 teeth. And he hasn't gotten any new teeth for 7 MONTHS! I am certain that he is working on his molars, I can feel them on the bottom gums. Poor baby! He was so grossed out by the orajel, that face he made was stinkin' priceless. "WTH is this &$!*, momma??" But hopefully it will give him some relief until the tylenol kicks in.

My New Invention...

...patent pending, so don't steal my idea. I am going to put one of these bad boys at every entrance to our neighborhood. But it will be below the concrete, so you can't see it. "But Jen, what would the purpose of that be?" Glad you asked. If you are driving, attempting to get into our neighborhood, and your car is over a certain amount of decibles (basically, any of our cab-driver neighbor's cars, motorcycles, trash trucks, UPS, FedEx, etc), and it is between the hours of 8pm-8am, and 1-3 pm, the spikes will pop up and pop your tires, thus making you unable to drive your loud-ass car past my house and wake up my kids. You have been warned.

Happy Birthday, Wade!!

This post will be sans photos, because I have none on my laptop. I will upload some later! Without further ado...

Dear, Wade (aka- Wadey, Wadey-poo, Wadey William, Sugar Booger, Bubba, Monkey, so on, and so forth)

I can not believe that you have already been in our lives for an entire year! How in the world did that happen?? I remember the day you were born as if it were yesterday. Daddy and I were up at 3:30 am, so we would be on time for our 5:00 am induction. I was incredibly nervous about labor/delivery (you can thank your big brother for that...) and was even more nervous that I wasn't going to love you as much as I love Owen. (I know that sounds horrific, I am aware!!) But as soon as I saw your sweet little face and heard your (incredibly loud, intense, and piercing) cry, my heart doubled in size, and I suddenly, somehow had enough room in there to love you JUST AS MUCH as I love Owen. It was amazing how immediate it was! I was relieved. :o) You came out with a head-full of black hair, it was so cute! And Owen was very proud to show you off to all of the visitors. He loves you so much!!! Then we took you home a couple of days later, and you rocked our world!

The 2nd day that we were home, you began crying nonstop.all.of.the.time.24.hours.a.day. You were a colicky mess, who had bad acid reflux to boot! We were at the dr with you countless times. I spent so many hours just holding and bouncing you. I remember trying to bounce/rock you to sleep when you were little, and it would never fail that as soon as you fell asleep, my ankle would pop and you would wake up screaming, and I would have to start the entire process over! I have no idea how we made it through those first 4 months!! But we did! And you would never know that you were such a fussy baby. You are the happiest, sweetest, orneriest, craziest little guy!! Here are some things I always want to remember about you being 1.

You eat everything. You out-eat Owen and every meal. I am terrified to see how much you will eat as a teenager. The only food you don't like would be cereal bars and bananas. You love Hot Wheels, and are constantly playing at the hot wheel table, making "vrooooooooom" sounds. You love to play in the trampoline, and you think it is SO funny when Owen bounces you. You have developed a love of toy guns (thanks to big bro) and if you pick one up, you go "BOOM BOOM!" Pretty funny! You sleep snuggled up on your belly with a small teddy and a blanket. You wear 18-month clothing, and size 4 diapers. You say the following words/sounds: Momma, Dadda, bubu (for Owen), Oh ya, wow, ball, vroooooom (when playing with, or seeing a car), more, dee (drink), nack (snack), and you can make the pig and monkey sounds. You learned the monkey sound because the shampoo that we use for you and O has a monkey on it, so when we are washing your hair we make monkey sounds. :o) You started blowing kisses last week and it is pretty dang precious. You aren't walking yet (hallelujah!) but you are crawling and cruising, so it won't be long. You like to ride your new trike (it has a harness so you can't fall off!) behind Owen, and you laugh at brother while he is riding. You are a roughian, that is for sure!! When we read books, you slam the pages instead of turning them, which horrifies your brother who is much more careful. You like to play hard, and you just have this look like, "I am going to be suuuuuch a stinker!" I forsee many calls from school in your future. ;) You have definitely added another dose of comic relief in our family! You love to dance, and anytime you hear music you start shaking that little booty! There is so much more I could say, but you are waking up from your nap so I should probably hop off here and go get you. :o)

YAWN.

As a punishment for watching the royal wedding this morning, (because I was banking on taking a nap this afternoon while the boys slept!), Wade decided that he did, in fact, not need a nap today. I.Am.So.Tired.

Here's Your Sign

I could not believe this conversation that I had with an ADULT today. As soon as I got off of the phone, I knew I was going to be blogging about it so I don't forget it. Ever. I called the location of the 1st part of Wade's party to see how many tables were in the room, and what shape/size they are, so that I could get tablecloths. Here is how it went down:

Woman: "Line Creek Community Center, can I help you?"

Me: "Hi, yes, my son's birthday party is going to be there on Saturday and I need to know how many tables are in the party room, and what shapes they are so I can bring tablecloths.

Woman: "Ummmmm. Hmm. There are 4 tables. Square tables."

Me: "4 square tables?"

Woman: "Hang on. (yells to a coworker) Mary? How many of those long tables are in the party room? 4? (speaking to me, now) Ma'am there are 4 square tables."

Me: "Umm, you just called them "long" tables when you were asking that lady. Are they rectangles?"

Woman: "No, they are squares...like the long squares."

Me (in my mind, not out loud) what the frickty frick is she talking about??

Me (out loud this time) "Um, so they are rectangles??"

Woman (shouting to her coworker) "Mary? Do you call those tables "rectangles"? Oh, okay. (speaking to me now) Yes, they are rectangles, like the long squares."

I was completely dumbfounded!!!! I haven't heard made-up names for shapes since I taught kindergarten! Meanwhile, hearing all of this "shape talk" Owen is in the background hollering "triangle! teardrop! circle!", obviously showing off his superior shape-knowledge.

He just needs to be fed!

So, I have posted many times about Wade's sleep issues. We thought we had solved them for the most part a few months ago when we transitioned him into his crib and he was only waking 2-4 times a night. And then he started only waking 1x a night. I.Was.In.Heaven. But then he started waking constantly after midnight. And on Saturday he refused to go back to sleep, he would just scream and scream and scream. Since i had been up for hours with him, Chris kept him up and fed him breakfast. As soon as he ate, he went back to sleep! He was hungry! So we started giving him a decent sized snack before bed, usually a sippy of milk with some carnation instant breakfast, and a Gerber cereal bar (similar to a NurtiGrain), and knock on wood, he has been sleeping completely through the night.

I am terrified for this kid to be a ravenous teenager. At the age of (almost) 1, he out-eats Owen at every meal. For breakfast, he will eat 6-7 silverdollar pancakes, a serving of fruit, a sippy of milk, and then he will beg for whatever I am eating and eat some of that. Lunch is "more of the piggy same" and dinner is ridiculous. I swear, the kid had a religious experience on Sunday when I made grilled chicken pasta with tomato cream sauce. He was all "nom nom nom nom!" through dinner. So funny! The child is a pig. His favorite food is green beans. We make them for him at every mean, and as soon as you say "Greenie Beanie!" he flips his lid.

I don't get how two kids can be so different. Owen eats the bare minimum amount of food to sustain a high-level of energy (unless we are at Minskys, McDonalds, or Chickfila, or grilling hot dogs, in which case he will pig out). We joke that we are serving him his "rations" at mealtime. As you know, he has an extremely limited palate, as well! Whereas Wade mows through food like it is his job.

The Hazaards of Raising Boys

When I was younger, I just knew that I was going to have girls. The thought of having boys crossed my mind for, like, a millisecond, and then I was all "oh hell no." I knew nothing about boys. At all. So, I am here to help out all of you mommas-of-boys-to-be, and give you some tips that you will thank me for by the time your sweet son has outgrown toddler hood.

-If you are cooking, and you open the drawer that holds all of your measuring cups and spoons, and they have all disappeared, check your son's sandbox. Or the toilet. You are guaranteed to find them in one of those two spots. (Disclaimer for our friends who eat at our house: If said spoons/cups are found in the toilet, they are trashed. But, if they are found to be in the sandbox, they are fair game for reuse, after a dishwasher cycle, obvi!)

- If you are filling the bath for your son(s) and turn around to grab the soap/shampoo/washcloths/rinse cup and you suddenly hear maniacal laughter, you will probably turn around to find your son(s) standing on the edge of the tub peeing into the bathwater.

-If the above scenario happens to you, you will do one of two things. 1- drain the tub, wipe it out, and refill, this time keeping a sharp eye on your sneaky son. OR, 2- Laugh, swish the water around in an attempt to dilute the pee-water, and then proceed with bathtime. I will let you draw your own conclusion as to what option I choose when this happes at (every.single) bathtime.

-Be prepared for your son to be a monkey and/or daredevil. After recent research (done by moi) I have come to the conclusion that boys automatically scan the area that they are in, assess the area, find the most dangerous/thrilling possible activity they can create, then follow-through. They do this because it is their male instinct. Just like male lions/peacocks/ostriches/blah blah do crazy crap to impress the females of their species, human boys do the same thing. Only when they are young they are doing it to increase the strength of their mother's hearts. Because after you have seen your son(s) front-flip off of the fire place 1,386 times, you don't OMG!!!! as much. True story.

-If your sink drain begins to act wonky, shine a flashlight down it and take a peek. You will most likely see 38 Nerf darts down there.

-When the time comes for your son to potty-train, you will be SO excited. No more diapers, YAY! Cute little toddler-boxers, YAY! Your excitement will last approximately 2.4 seconds. That is how long it will take you to realize that while, yes, you don't have to change diapers anymore, you now have the job of scrubbing toilets/floors by the toilets/walls by the toilets on a daily basis. Because your son will do great aiming for a day, and then he will discover that he can wiggle his weiner (alliteration, had to do it) and make his potty move. Exciting stuff. Life-changing for your sweet boy.

-Be prepared for your son to spontaniously grab his "boy parts" and pretend to squirt you will pee. He will even make the "pssssss!" to create a realistic effect. He does not need to be naked for this to be an effective form of comedy, Owen has been known to bust out the "pssssss!" fully clothed. Thankfully he only does this at home. I am praying that he refrains from trying to make his preschool teacher laugh with this tactic.

-Your son will not be afraid to drop his pants in the backyard and pee. Because stopping playing for more than a second (especially OUTSIDE playtime) is something that is not acceptable. Your son will do this even if there is a birthday party going on next door. In the backyard. And your son will do his biz in the middle of the yard, not in the hidden "potty spot" that you have shown him. And, yes, you will show your son a potty spot in an attempt to make sure that he doesn't pee out in the middle of your yard. But it will happen. And you will laugh

- But the real kicker is this. Your son will LOVE you and say things that will melt you into a puddle of momma-love. Whether at dinner when he says "Momma, this is DELICIOUS!" as he devours a peanut butter quesadilla, or while you are reading him bedtime stories and he says "You are the best momma ever" or when you see your son starting to act like a big boy and start to do things like his daddy (which in our case I am thrilled about, because my boys' daddy is pretty freaking amazing), or when he runs up to you out of the blue and gives you a hug and a kiss, or if on your 28th birthday he comes home from an outing with his daddy and gives you a card that has a picture of a pickle on it and says "Look momma! It's a pickle! For you! Happy birthday!" like it is the best gift ever (which it is, because he chose it just for you!), or when you are rocking your youngest boy to sleep and he sits up just to give you another hug and a kiss.....you will realize that all of the quirks that come with raising boys are amazing! Raising boys (especially more than 1!) is definitely not for wimps!

The cashier didn't realize how offended Owen was.

We were at Target last week picking up some medicine, and the checkout gal was chatting with me about this and that while she rang my stuff up. She commented on how cute the boys are (uh, how could she not comment on that, seeing as how they are, like, perfect and all) and then she goes, "they look so different! are they brothers?" I laughed and said "yes" and then Owen gasped at her and said, "yes! that is my brother! wade is MY brother!" He was so quick to set her straight, that we both started cracking up.

OnStar is amazing.

So, as if I hadn't already forfeited my Mom of The Year award due to the late posting for O's 3rd bday, I definitely had my name removed from the contender list yesterday afternoon.

We had tball practice at 1:00, and it was pretty hot yesterday. So, at 2:20 when practice was over, we were heading to the car to load the kiddos up. I started to put Wade in his carseat and said "Wow, it is hot in here!" That is where things went downhill. Here is the sequence of events:

-Unlock the car, begin to put Wade in his seat, as Owen climbs in the car.

-"Wow, it is hot in here!"

-I picked up the keys, and tried to press the remote start button so that the car would cool down.

-I remember that you have to press the LOCK button before remote start will work.

-I pressed the LOCK button, then REMOTE START, and the car started and began cooling off.

-Wade started freaking out because he wanted to hold the keys, so I set them in his cupholder so I could finish getting him buckled up.

-Wade is all buckled up, so I shut his door and head to Owen's side to get him strapped in.

-I attempt to open Owen's door.

-It is locked.

-With the keys in the car.

-And both boys in the car.

-With my cell phone.

Thankfully, the car was running, and a/c was blowing on the kids so they weren't hot. Chris walks up and I started cracking up because this is something that is SO DAMN TYPICAL of our lil family. Chris, however, is unable to find the humor in the situation. ;) We were trying to talk Owen into opening his door, but the child lock was on, and he couldn't. We tried to talk him into climbing into the front seat and unlocking the driver's side door, but by this point he thought that this was the BEST/FUNNIEST thing to ever happen, so he was just chilling in the car, cracking up at me and Chris hollering through the window. Thankfully Wade was just chilling, and not screaming. This goes on for almost 30 minutes, and then the car turns off, because remote start had been going for too long. At that point, Owen got a bit freaked out, and climbed in the drivers seat. We were trying to tell him how to unlock the door, but the lock is actually really hard to grab and pull, and the driver's side has a billion buttons on the door handle, and he wasn't able to figure out the correct one.

At this point, we had about 5ish tball parents giving suggestions, and one guy said "Do y'all have OnStar?" YES! Duh! We have OnStar! So he tries calling, but alas, no service on his cellphone. Gah. Then another mom comes up and she has service on her phone, and calls OnStar for us, and they had the car unlocked within 2 minutes. THANK GOODNESS! After all of the excitement, we took Owen to Sonic to get a limeade for his valiant efforts in trying to unlock the car. :o) And Chris was finally able to laugh at his airhead wife.

So, we will definitely be renewing our OnStar service!

Only 2 months late on this post...

Since I have not gotten around to posting pics of O's birthday (nor for lack of trying...blogger shuts down when I try to load pics lately. Frustrating!) I figured I still need to write a 3 year old tribute post to my big boy. Here goes.

Owen, here are the things that I always want to remember about you being 3. You are the COOLEST kid. Ever. You love sports, and are really stinking good at them. You drain basketballs like it ain't no thang, you can smack baseballs when daddy pitches to you...but you have a wee bit of trouble hitting off of a tee, which should make t-ball interesting! For your birthday, you got a trampoline, and you are on that thing constantly. You love to bounce Wade when he is in the trampoline, and you think that it is hysterical when mommy bounces, and you don't understand why momma can't bounce for hours on end. You have developed a fascination with superheroes! You love to climb on everything like you are spiderman. You are still a VEEERRRRRYYYY picky eater, but you are getting better. You will now eat chicken from anywhere, and you have started to enjoy meatballs! Pasta of all kids still makes you gag, so we don't make you eat it. You love going to the dr, and the dentist...anyone who will fuss over you! You want to be outside allll of the time. You have the biggest heart of any kid I know. You want to have lots of friends, and you are so good to your friends. You worry about everyone's feelings, and are such a well-liked kiddo. You are the definition of a "routine kid", and you do not appreciate when something is out of line. You have your bed arranged a certain way, you sleep with your cheetah every night in the same position, you have to have your fan going and your fishtank light on to go to sleep. Speaking of fishtanks, you LOVE your fish...a beta named "Owen Jr." How you came up with that name, we will never know! You will start preschool in the fall at Second Friends, and you are SUPER excited. Your friend Hudson will be in your class, and I am SO glad about that, that will give you some confidence! I know your teachers are going to love you. You are the best big brother to Wade that we could have ever hoped for! You will do anything for him, and you love to make him laugh! You sometimes get mad at him when he wants to take your toys or when he is taking too much of momma's attention, but you never get MAD at him. Wade loves you so much that one of his first words was "buhbuh". You think your dadda hung the moon. Anytime that anything needs to be found, fixed, put together, etc, you say "my daddy can do that for us." SO cute. You are his little helper. You love the water, but you hate getting water in your eyes. You love to snuggle still, and I will encourage that as long as possible!! I still can't quite believe that it has been 3 years (and 2 months, whoops) since you were born! How much our lives have changed for the better with you in them! We love you more than you will ever know, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for you! xoxo, mommy

First of many, I am sure.

We went to Paradise Park today with some friends, and had a wonderful time! But, something happened during our visit, that made me not look forward to the later years with our boys, especially with Owen, who is incredibly sensitive.

Owen was playing in the water room with his friend Avree, and I was feeding wade his lunch at a nearby table. A mom that was with our group was in the water room, and she heard another mom go "EWW! He is drinking the water!!" She was referring to Owen, who, clever little man, was using the measuring cups to get water from the water table and drink from. Obviously, that is pretty gross, but obviously a 3-year-old boy doesn't see the problem, lol! But Owen heard what the mom had said ("EWWW!") and knew that she was talking about him. He then put the toys down, and didn't play anymore. He gets embarrassed and heart-hurt so easily, it breaks my heart. I know that there will be many more times in his life where he gets embarrassed and withdraws, and I know that I can't do much more about it than to encourage him to be his amazing self. I hate thinking about how he must have been feeling when he heard the other lady say "ewwww!" at him. I wish my babies would never have to know what that feels like. I wish I could have been there today, to say "O, no big deal! If you are thirsty, let's go get a drink!" With him, quickly diffusing the situation is key to preventing him from feeling bad. I feel bad I wasn't able to do that today.

Sweet moment with my sweet boys

I realize that I have yet to post pics from O's 3rd birthday, and write his annual letter to him. Guess that means I am out of the Mother of the Year race. RATS! I do need to do that, like, soon, obvi, before I forget all of the fun that occurred at his party.

We went to Lowe's yesterday, to buy some wind stakes for O's trampoline. The boys were riding in one of the racecar carts, and this lady that works at Lowe's came up and started chatting with my boys, which, who can blame her seeing as how my boys are so sweet and charming, who could resist them?? After she asked Owen the standard questions "what is your name? how old are you? are you a good boy? is this your little brother...?" to which Owen politely and sweetly answered, she moved onto Wade. Wade loooooves to play the "me so shy and coy!" game when people are talking to him, usually he will smile at the person, and bury his head in my chest. Well, since I wasn't holding him, he instead snuggled right into Owen, laid his head on O's shoulder, and hugged O's arm, while smiling sweetly at the lady. I.About.Died. from the cuteness. Owen then spoke up for his brother and said, "It's okay, he is just shy!" Awwww!

In other news, both boys are still amazing. Owen is smart as a whip, and starts tball here shortly. He is so dang excited. He is going to be on a team with Hudson and Gavin, which makes this even better! Wade is doing great! He is almost 11 months now, and not crawling! But before you start "oh my gosh! wade isn't crawling yet! can you believe it? that is crazy! something is wrong!"...I asked their pediatrician a few weeks ago about it, and his reply was "Be glad! Less chance for him to hurt himself!" Apparently crawling isn't even a milestone since so many kids just don't do it. He has the strength to do it, because he will hang out in the crawling position, but he just doesn't seem to care! Oh well! No skin off of my nose. ;)

Camera Gear

After my last post, I got a few emails asking what equipment I have...so, here it is!

Camera Bodies:
Canon 5D
Canon 30D (back-up)

Lenses:
50 mm 1.4
85 mm 1.8
24-70 2.8L

This year, I am planning on selling my 30D, and getting the new 5D Mark III when it is released, then my 5D classic will become my backup. I also hope to add the 70-200 2.8L IS lens to my "gear" this year. Exciting stuff! At least it is to me, lol.

Where have I been?

Wow, it has been a hot minute since I updated this thing! Let's see what has been going on with us...

-Owen turned 3! I have a big blog post to make about that whole shindig. It was so much fun! I still can't believe my baby is three. How.Is.That.Possible?

-We got Owen all signed up for spring Tball! He is so excited. He is going to be on the same team as his little friends Gavin and Hudson. We can't wait to see him play. He is a sports nut and he is going to completely eat this up.

-Wade is fabulous! Such a happy baby. We have been working through sleep issues. He was getting up 8-12 times a night, and it was realllly beginning to wear on me. We did a modified Smith of the No Cry Sleep Solution, and we are happy to say that he is doing great! He is down to only waking an average of 3x per night. And he naps in his crib now and sleeps in his crib until 3 am or so! Woohoo!

-Chris has been doing great at work. I am so thankful that he works so hard so I have the opportunity to stay at home with our kiddos. He has been having lunches with the president of his company, and just last week, the OWNER of his company sent him a personal letter thanking him for his leadership, professionalism, and hard work. Way to go, babe! Just had to brag on him for a sec.

I need to update with some pictures of the boys! They are growing like dadgum weeds!