Regrets

Only now that I have the pretty, pretty princess do I really fully regret not filling out the Duke's baby book. It's so sad to think that I have no written record of his milestones and achievements in babyland... It's like I did everything so backward with those two. I started this blog to keep a written record of the squirts but I sadly missed most of the Duke's firsts, and that makes me kinda weepy. I was in such a hurry to get through the C's (croup and colic)that I never stopped to document all of the amazing little things that I'll reminisce about when I'm old and wrinkly, or right now... If I hadn't been on heart meds that made me super drowsy for two months after his birth, if he hadn't had Colic which made him cranky and not sleep (which made us not sleep), if he hadn't had to deal with multiple bouts of Croup (which made us sleep even less)... If only....



SO, I'm diligently tracking Miss B's milestones and will eventually transfer them from my planner to the baby book... I've also started dating and collecting all of Lukey Duke's wonderfully artistic creations/drawings to be stowed away in his baby box along with my favorite preemie onesie, his hospital wrist band and my ultrasound pictures... God, it goes so damn fast! Please slow down... Let me enjoy my babies as babies for a while...

Today

shower, coffee, Smurfs
drive to Carrie's, kiss babies
drive to work, blah, blah, blah on radio
pump, blah, blah, blah
breakfast, pump
blah,blah,blah
lunch, pump
blah, blah, blah
run out of work like the building is on fire
blah, blah, blah on the radio, traffic
arrive at Carrie's house: FINALLY exhale!
hug/kiss babies, smile, hurry to the car to head home
make dinner, still smiling, read bedtime stories, feed baby, tuck munchkins into bed...

It has been ONE of those days.

Memorial Day: Bob, Brauts and Babies

We didn't do much. just hung out and played in the backyard and listened to a little Marley, but it was a blast! Some pictures of our relaxing Memorial Day... My lap was a little crowded in that first picture... But I love it and wouldn't trade it for a thing....

My husband's new babies

Matt's been on this gardening kick for the past few weeks and has completely re-done all of the landscaping in our front and back yard. It looks amazing and finally like we live here. Before, it only reflected the people who we bought the house from and their tastes. Now it reflects us... Down to my husband's new babies; 5 to be exact. He has always had a thing for Japanese Maple trees and I pretty much blew him off about it until he brought the first 2 home. They're gorgeous and I liked them so much I sent him back to Home Depot for 3 more! Picks of his hard work!

Shotgun Wedding

One of the lovely ladies that I work with went to Vegas last weekend, pulled the trigger, and got married by Elvis last weekend... It brought back memories of my own shotgun wedding almost four years ago.

After a few years of living together, it was clear to both Matt and I that we were going to get married but we weren't really in any hurry to actually do the deed. Cue unplanned pregnancy with Capt. Duke that pressed our hand. We always knew that we were going to get married and realized that now was as good a time as any. We planned a day and time at the courthouse, invited a few family members who were free and got married by a nice gentleman in a tie-dyed Bob Marley T-shirt who smiled through the entire short and sweet ceremony. It was just as meaningful as any other wedding minus the frills. We cried as we recited our vows, exchanged rings and had our first kiss as a married couple. It was beautiful and special and simple and a great memory.

Yes, if we hadn't been 8 months pregnant at the time, things may have gone a little differently, but it doesn't change the love behind the actions. The funny thing is, I bet if we hadn't been pregnant at the time, we'd probably still have done something small and intimate and gotten married in jeans and flip flops on the beach of Lake Tahoe, and that would have been perfect for us too.

My promise to my children

I promise:

** I will never compare you to each other. You are each your own individual being and you deserve the chance to shine on your own and not have to be in any one's shadow.

** I will always encourage you to do your best in everything that you do. Whether that be your relationships, your profession, or your family, I will encourage you to make everything you touch in this life sparkle.

** I will give you every opportunity for growth that I can provide and support you no matter what life path you choose. I knew in my soul that there was nothing more important to me on this planet than being a wife and a mother. That is my soul, my profession and my true calling.

** I promise to love you so completely that there will never be any doubt to the depth of that love. Nothing you could EVER do could make me not love you. You are my children; a part of me, plucked right out of my heart, and I will strive to make you realize that fact each and every day.

** I promise to be your rock. NOTHING will shake me. I will be there for you come hell or high water... I'll bring the rain boots!!!!

I love you Bean and Cookie!

4 Months Old

My girl is 4 months old... Craziness I tell 'ya! We had her 4 month shot/doctor's appt today with the new pediatrician and I think I love this woman.... She's funny and articulate and can speak English! Hallelujah!!! She growing right on track with where a breastfed baby should be at 4 months and she's hitting all of her developmental milestones on time or early. It was funny to listen to the doc ask me about her rolling over and attempting to communicate by cooing and smiling as she's rolling all over the exam table and laughing her head off... Here is the stats for Miss Brooklyn:

Weight: 12lbs 9oz. -- 45th Percentile
Height: 24.5in. -- 50th Percentile
Head Cir.: 41.25cm -- 60th Percentile

Then came the dreaded shots. She screamed at the nurse with her high-pitched shriek for a bit but was ok within minutes after nursing and getting her teething ring to chew on... Here's a clip of her rolling around on the bed... Sorry about the quality. It was shot with my POS cell phone. LUVS!!!

Cute munchkin pics!

Hope Kristen doesn't mind, but I have to post a few of new pictures of her adorable little man Carson. We work together and survived being pregnant at the same time last year... Check him out! He so reminds we of Lukey Duke when he was a baby...

Rock & Roll Baby, Rock & Roll

She did it last night! She rolled all the way over from back to tummy and then back again about 3 times in a row, laughing her little elfin head off the entire time. I laid her in her crib after she yakked all over my shoulder, and as I was cleaning the baby puke out of the back pocket of my jeans and from in between the girls (the child has perfect boob aim when it comes to spewing... It's uncanny!), I caught a glance out of the corner of my eye of her grabbing her feet, piking up and then rolling over. It was very ingenious of her to use the foot grab to get her pudgy arm out of the way so she could get all the way over onto her tummy... My smart little blueberry! I'll have to try to catch her on film rockin' her new act. I've been a bad mommy lately and haven't posted any new picture of the girl. I promise I'll post some soon... Gotta find the free time to make a little video of her...

My Little Over-Achiever

After mentally trying to grasp that my girl may have teeth a lot sooner than usual, she goes and does something else ahead of the class...

I went to pick her up from Ms. Carrie's house yesterday and Carrie told me that she is days from being able to roll over completely from back to belly. Carrie said that she sat and watched her rockin' out in her play yard yesterday and was amazed as she saw her attempt the roll a few times but kept getting caught up on her arm. So, short of moving the arm out of the way, our girl can roll over! Carrie said she's going to work with her on trying to teach her to get that arm out of the way... She's growing so quickly...She'll be 4 months old on Saturday!

Back in the swing of things

Ma and Mel, you want to go and brave the madness that is Costco and Walmart on Saturday??? I've been out of the loop on the mass grocery shopping trips and I can't wait to hang out... I miss bonding over giant cans of pinto beans and trying to figure out how the hell we're going to fit all of the groceries, the kids, and us into mom's truck... Call me. Please!!! I can't grocery shop with 2 kids alone!!!!

Teefers

Our girl is cutting teeth early ya'll, and it SUCKS! I forgot how difficult and painful it is...It makes me feel so bad for her, she sounds like she's in so much pain and you can't even see or feel any tooth yet. So we've been giving her baby Tylenol and baby orajel as needed and that seems to be working ok so far. I think we probably won't see this pesky tooth for a few more months but she'll probably have a few more episodes of it sliding down and then receding back into her gums. Rough. Poor drooly, grumpy baby...

Mom's Day: The Beginning

What a good man I have... I awoke to steaming decaf peppermint mocha, a new cookbook I've had my eyes on, a new book to read while pumping at work and a pretty journal so I can write letters to Brooklyn as I have done for Luke since he was born. Oh yeah, and a sausage mcmuffin that didn't make it to picture time.... Yum!! I'm not a big fan of the fast food, but it tasted great and I didn't have to make it, so it rocked. I also got a sweet card from my Hubby who rarely is a sappy kind of guy, but brings it with full force on Mother's Day cards. There was also one from the Duke, complete with a Picasso-worthy four color "signature" that I'll save until I'm old and gray. Nothing like one day of true sweetness to remind you how amazing it is to me a mom.

Kiss your babies, hug your hubby and treasure every moment... For it all goes by so damn quickly....

Farty Friday

What is it about Fridays that just makes everything better?

It makes my coffee taste better, the commute to work almost enjoyable, and that early morning shower feel like heaven. I woke up totally exhausted like usual ( I need to start enforcing a bed time for myself!), dreading the mountain of things that I have to do today, but my sweet baby girl made it all better... I kinda rushed through my shower this morning as I could hear her rolling around in her crib and fussing a little and I had to be fully dressed and makeuped before I went to change her and feed her. So, I walk into her room to wake her up and get her ready for her day and she's laying sideways in her crib giggling at me while trying to shove her fingers down her throat in an attempt to find her thumb. I get her up on the changing table pull of the onesie she slept in and start changing her diaper. All of a sudden she lets out this massive belly laugh pulls her knees to her chest and lets out this rumbling, fat truck driver fart that practically rattles the walls! I start laughing my head off, Matt comes in the room and starts cracking up and Luke hangs his head around the door and tells me that I need to say excuse me when I fart that loud.

How is it that a gassy, laughing baby can make just about any day better, especially a Friday?

Sleep, Precious Sleep

I haven't talked about it in a while, but I feel like bragging a little right now. After having a heck of a time sleep training Miss Brooklyn around 2 months old, we finally got over the hump and she's been sleeping through the night ever since. I can't preach it enough: you have to get your baby on a schedule. It doesn't have to be super strict on what happens when, but there needs to be some consistency in your nightly routine for the baby to learn when it's time for bed. We have a pretty loose routine at night, Daddy takes Luke and I take Brookie, and we get 'er done. Luke's routine is pretty much set in it's ways so it usually goes dinner, playtime for about and hour, 30 minutes of his Teen Titans cartoon to wind him down, a sippy of warm milk, jammies and teeth, 2 books with Daddy and then we both come in and give him kisses and tuck him in. He still gets up a few times a night to pee, tell me he had a bad dream (without actually falling asleep), talk about storm clouds in his room (his night light reflects off of his dresser and makes a weird shape on the roof of his bedroom in the dark), or 1 of a hundred crazy, off the wall thoughts that fly into his head that can't wait until the morning. Brooklyn's is far more simple. It usually begins with changing her diaper and onesie, followed by a bath ( every couple of days...), chow time, and then off to bed in her crib. This has worked like a charm and we've only had a few hiccups where she's woken up later in the night hungry or wet.

Schedules are a beautiful thing! Anybody see Idol last night? How about those painted on ridiculous grey and black pirate pants Adam wore for the duet with Allison? What a buzz kill... No man should EVER wear pants that tight!

Boobie Pump Down for the Count

This is what I get for buying a "gently used" breast pump online... Yeah, I bet you only used it a few times, or a few years, which ever! But at least I got a screamin' deal on my new Medel.a Pump in Style Advanced, and it comes in a super cute messenger bag...About $100 off the regular price to be exact!!!!

Maybe I'll finally have enough space in that thing to bring to sets of parts so I don't have to wash the same set 3 times a day in the bathroom sink.

Party like a rockstar

This weekend my parents managed to throw two gigantic parties for my little sister's graduation from nursing school and my mother's 50th birthday. I think they are criminally insane.

Who the hell has ever heard of throwing two back-to-back 30+person parties? They were able to set up, cook, entertain, tear down and repeat for two parties (one on Friday night @ 6pm and the other @ 1pm on Saturday), both with completely different themes, meals, and oh yeah, it was POURING outside and they were both held outside in their backyard!


I'm amazed and totally impressed... It was a blast!

Project "Firm Mommy"

When you have a baby, at least for me and both of my pregnancies, you sort of lose your swagger for a bit.I know that it all stems from low levels of hormones following birth, but it's kind of depressing when you see a lack of confidence and attitude in yourself that you used to be so proud of.

I've never been one of those women obsessed with my weight or my looks and I think I've only actively dieted probably twice in my life. The first was for a "biggest loser" contest at work with a cash payout for the winner, the other was right before we went to Mexico last year. I hadn't been in a swimsuit, let alone a tiny bikini (of which I bought 4 for the trip) since before Lukey Duke was born and I really wanted to try and look my best for our first REAL vacation ever. I didn't do anything too extreme, just a few weeks of low carb, low calorie and managed to get myself to a trim 148 pounds of sexy mama. I was pretty proud of myself for dropping the weight but new full well that we were trying to get pregnant, and had been for 8 months, so the thought of gaining weight again wasn't a problem. Then we had Miss Brooklyn and I was quite proud of myself for only gaining a modest 30 pounds, compared to the 45+ pounds that I gained with the Duke. It kinda surprised me when the weight started melting of so quickly after she was born and I happily accepted that the last 5 pounds were probably going to stick with me until I was finished breastfeeding...

I've never claimed to be drop dead gorgeous or the sexiest thing alive, but I think I have pretty decent self-esteem and a healthy ego for a 20 something woman. So it kinda started to bother me when I realized that I was subconsciously turning away from Matt when changing clothes. What was happening to me? Why was I suddenly self-conscious around my husband who I've NEVER been nervous to be naked in front of?

This new "timid" me was really starting to piss me off so I decided that no matter what I have to give up (even less sleep, am I crazy or just masochistic?), I'm going to find time for myself everyday. I'm going to find a way to get 30-45 minutes on the treadmill at least 4 times a week and I'm going to firm up my soft mommy body. I know that the weight and the flab won't melt overnight, and I'm ok with that. I just don't want to be hampered with bad body thoughts and I really want to be active again. My kids deserve a happy, unburdened mommy who exudes self confidence and that's what I'm going to give them...

Wish me luck!!