Musings from a Suburban Mom

I should be embarrassed

2010-10-26T22:00:00.001-04:00

But I'm not. And you know why? Because I'm giving myself an 'A' for effort.

This is truly a case of, "Why didn't mind turn out like hers?" and the only conciliatory factor is that it's cake. Cake, crumbled and mixed with frosting. Cake, crumbled and mixed with frosting, and dipped in chocolate. Honestly, when all is said and done, no one will truly care that my balls looked odd... they'll be too high on sugar to remember or care.

According to The Pioneer Woman, my cake balls coulda, shoulda looked like this. Yes, mama needed a glass of wine (or two) to get through this project.

And this is how they actually turned out. Scary looking, just not in the way I intended.

With their ghoulish faces on, they are more scary in the way that I did intend.

And considering the average age of the younger audience for whom these have been made is about two years old, I'm totally fine with the end result. However, I'm still not convinced that I'm very crafty... and again, I'm fine with that.

The Trouble with Links

2010-10-02T17:34:00.003-04:00

The trouble with links is that when you put them out there - like on Facebook, Twitter and your favorite blog replies - others will click on it and go to your blog and see that you've only posted on your blog twice in the last year (this makes three). I subscribe to a site that emails me daily or weekly or something and tells me how many visits my blog receives and I cringe each time I see that number and think, "I should really post something." If only it were a priority right now.

As I've said numerous times before, our home life has changed dramatically with CB's current job and it leaves me very little down time. And with the downtime I have, I tend to fill it with mind-numbing activities like Scrabble on my iPhone or watching Hoarders and Obsessed on A&E.

CB was recently gone for 55 days. If you are thinking, "hell, one day alone with the kids makes me want to check myself into a mental institution," I will whole heartedly agree with you. After 55 you'll want to go away to a city you've never been to and where you know no one (well, I know of one Coastie wife whom I plan to meet when I'm down there). I'm going to Escape with my fellow Manic Mommies (see favorite blog mentioned above) in San Antonio for three full days. Well, I'll be away for three full days and am so giddy about it that it's ridiculous.

I love my family and my life but damn... it just gets in the way sometimes when it comes to having a thought stay in my head for more than 30 seconds. I'll leave you with this: tonight, as giving the kids baths, I totally lost the word for that piece of cloth used to wash the body. The 3yo called it a 'napkin' and while I knew that wasn't right, it took a good amount of time before I could remember the right word: washcloth.

Which leads me to another blog post for another day: when does forgetfulness go from Mommy Brain to early onset Alzheimers?

Bad Mama

2010-08-17T14:50:00.002-04:00

I'm clearly the worst blogger updater in the world. There, I said it. There are many others who write much more interesting blogs, heck, I can't even seem to update mine with photos. Maybe some day I'll get a hang of this blogging thing. Oh, and maybe Twitter, too.

World's Cutest Tap Dancer

2009-11-05T22:14:00.002-05:00

Clearly Saylor is in her element here. Tuesday was "sneak peek" day where parents could sit in on the last 15 minutes of class. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. It was capped with my sweet girl constantly winking at me.

I rocked!

2009-08-01T07:15:00.007-04:00

I did it! I completed my first Sprint Triathlon! It was honestly the most amazing experience of my life - and I rank it just a smidge higher than giving birth because I did this FOR me and ONLY me! Amazing. I had the goofiest grin the entire time (except during the swimming portion, where I was grinning on the inside for fear of swallowing lake water) and was WICKED proud of myself.

And since I tend to get long winded, feel free to just look the photos and not read the rest if you're short on time...

Game time! Here's the scene at 6:25am, July 26, 2009.

The five of us wore "Psyched to TRI" glitter tattoos.

After the big finish!

The five of us after we all finished and wearing our medals.

Jill: 1:53.37 - my official time! Twenty minutes faster than I expected it to take!

I know I said above that I did this for me and only me... but how can you not have even more pride when you see how excited your 3yo is about having a medal winner in the house? She wore it with her Cinderella dress up shoes for a week. It was awesome to have say, "did you win your race, mumma?" Yes, dear, mumma won.

Want the whole scoop? Read on...

The swim portion was great. It was a little daunting to have 100s of women swimming around you, but it was fine. There were "waves" or groups of 100 who started together - and then, depending on your speed, you either caught up to the group who had left a minute before you, or the next wave caught up with you. There were tons of "angels" in the water either in boats or with the swim noodles you see kids using, to just help you not freak out about being in a lake and not in a swimming pool where most of us had trained.

Thirteen minutes later it was on to the bike portion. A bit of baby powder to soak up the last bit of moisture and brush off the sand from the run from the beach and into my sneakers my feet went.

The 12-mile bike course was challenging because of a GIANT hill and I mean G-I-A-N-T. It was a 1.5-mile incline in three stages, the first being the toughest. I walked up the first two and biked the third to help save my legs for the run.

Upon reaching the crest my goofy grin began to emerge. I had just accomplished HALF of the event. OhmygodI'mtheawesomestwomanIknowandI'msoproudofme!

It was also at this point that I think I forgot that it was a "race" and while I was still working at getting to the finish line, I know that I didn't push as hard as I could have - and really enjoyed the experience. I finished the bike portion in under an hour and was thrilled.

The run wasn't bad. It was less than three miles and looped through a little lake side community. I know I walked much more than I should have - but again, it was just awesome to be running alongside first timers, ten timers, getting "whoo hoos" from fellow racers and folks who came out to cheer us on - and in one case, a gal who sprayed us down with a hose as we ran by.

It's about here that my smile was from ear to ear and I was amazed at myself! The finish line was - oh my - just amazing. I remembered a friend saying to smile as you cross because there are photographers (see first photo above) and I milked it!

I began training for the event in January and in four months had slimmed down 9+ inches and lost about ten pounds and was on my way to fitting into a size I haven't seen since middle school. With some family changes and becoming a "happily married single parent," I slowly gained nine pounds back. On race day, I was not looking the way I had envisioned. Days before the event, I tried on my race outfit and was pissed at myself for this bulge here, this roll there. But when I tell you that I saw women of EVERY shape and size, I mean e-v-e-r-y shape and e-v-e-r-y size. They swam. They biked. They RAN! I met one gal who had four kids. The oldest was 5yo, the youngest, just 3mo! I met a 79yo woman. I met 18yos!

This event is clearly for every woman and I recommend it to every woman I know. The event partners with The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and considering we all have boobies, it's just another reason to get moving!

Of the 2700+ racers that day, over 500 were breast cancer survivors. It makes me emotional just thinking about it. It was very easy to get caught up in the excitement of the race (and make it all about me), but that morning, I spotted a tall woman, who looked to be about 50yo. Her hair was silver and short and spikey, in a way that showed that this was a new hairstyle with newly grown-in hair. She was who I was there for. She was my mother, my sister, my aunt, my niece, my best friend. I was doing this event for her and the hundreds of thousands of woman who should have been standing there, but who are no longer with us. She was why I swam, why I rode, why I ran. Why I ROCKED.

And I plan to do it again next year: July 25, 2010. Who's with me?

Six Weeks to Go

2009-06-14T16:06:00.004-04:00

CB gave me an iPhone for my birthday - he couldn't have missed my desire for one unless he had lived on Mars for the six months prior to my 36th birthday. To say I love this piece of plastic and glass would be an understatement. It's my new right hand.

But since getting it, I find I don't get on the actual computer much anymore - much to the happiness of my two children. I can check email, websites, play scrabble, read a book, check my bank account and the all important, FaceBook, without having to actually sit down to do it. The best thing is that I can leave it on the counter and away from little hands. I do have the ability to update the blog from the phone, too, but I just haven't really tried too hard to do it.

But back to the subject of this entry. I've got six weeks to go until my triathlon! I started training in February for it and at that point, July 26 seemed years away. But now it's "next month!" Eeeks!

I've been sick so much during this training - or maybe I've been as sick as I would have been without the training, but I am more aware of it when the illnesses keep me from running, swimming or biking. I'm just finishing up some antibiotics and for the first time in ten days, I finally got a run in and it felt great! Much better than I expected.

The next thing I need to do is finally order my gear - my suit and whatever stuff I will need for the big day. I also want to get my bike checked out and see if I need to get anything to make it more suitable for the 12 mile race. It's only two years old, but it's a recreational bike, and I just want it to look the part that day.

I'm off to get my workouts scheduled for the week, now that I'm among the living again!

Long Time No See

2009-06-06T10:54:00.001-04:00

So apparently I need to update this blog. My friends are giving me a
hard time that I've been lax in this department.

I'm on the train to NYC to see a Broadway show but I promise to get
back to this blog. As usual lots of things have been happening - and
I'm proud to say that I'm rolling with all the changes pretty well.

I'm Going to Tri

2009-02-20T07:45:00.001-05:00

I still have to update on our family happenings in January, but suffice it to say that we are facing some big changes and I'm still coming to terms with how they will affect my family as a whole. And I'm going to be required to step up and put a kibosh on any kind of whining that I'm quick to do when my going gets tough. I also am going to have to remind myself daily that we're healthy and that CB has a great job and many in our lives and in the world can't say that right now.

So with these changes comes stress. I could just sit on my butt and eat a bag of Oreos in one sitting - and I don't think anyone would blame me. Or instead, I could get off my butt and do something. And in my case, that "something" is a triathlon. Yes. I wrote that word and, yes, I meant to.

Those who know me in my current life may not realize that in a past life, I was a competitive swimmer, diver and track and field athlete. Of course that past life was close to 20 years ago, but still... it's in me somewhere, albeit buried beneath stretch marks, gray hair, diapers and crushed Cheerios.

A new friend, Rebecca, suggested it to me and we began training two weeks ago. And I already feel lighter - maybe not in pounds lost, but definitely in attitude (something both CB and the kids appreciate!). So the two of us, along with at least three other friends - and, as of yesterday, 700+ others, are competing in the Danskin SheROX Triathlon on July 26. I've already signed up and paid my entry fee, so I guess I'm really doing it!

I'm going to swim. I'm going to ride. I'm going to run. I'm going to ROCK! I'm so excited for this. It will be the second hardest thing I've ever done (the hardest: giving birth twice sans meds; but this will hopefully take less time then both of those labors).

Oh and if you're interested, there's still room for others to join in the fun! But if you were, perhaps, a cheerleader in your past life and you find yourself in Webster, MA, on Sunday, July 26 at, oh, say, 7:00 AM, feel free to scream, "Go Jill! Go Rebecca! Ra! Ra! Ra!"

Have you done a Tri? Got any advice you want to pass my/our way? It would all be appreciated!

Showing the Love

2009-02-13T08:47:00.004-05:00

Saylor shows the love...
Yes, that's Sesame Street - TV is the only way to get her to sit still long enough for me to do anything to her hair. And then the whole thing comes out at naptime as she refuses to have the smallest pony when sleeping.

I got the idea from this mom and this mom - so many fun ideas! I can't wait to do some more!

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009!

2009-01-25T09:57:00.006-05:00

The holidays came and went. A quick sentence for a season that seemed to go by just as fast. Last I knew it was Labor Day and then - bam - Santa was making preparations for his visit to our house.

We had a wonderful holiday season. It kicked off in November with my mom visiting, and then 19 of our nearest and dearest descending on our little abode to give thanks. I channeled Martha Stewart and created very attractive table settings, if I do say so myself.

The turkeys on each plate had "feathers" on which guests were invited to write something for which they were grateful for that person.

Big sister, middle sister and our mom.

Cranberries in hurricanes. We ran out of room on the tables so in went the taper candles.

The kids and the dog looked especially cute on the morning of our first snowfall in early December.
And it made for a wonderful photo gift for family members.

December was a whirl-wind and before I knew it our desire to limit the number of gifts each child would receive resulted in me over-buying. I found myself saying my mom's two most used Christmas lines, "Hmm... don't know what's in that one so guessing's not going to work, just open it." And this classic, two days after the last of the wrapping paper remnants had been picked up and upon looking deep into the walk-in closet, "Oh crap. I forgot I got Saylor a Cabbage Patch Doll."

I was so excited, too, when I purchased little Nyla Ronnie, too! It is the 25th anniversary of the CPK dolls and I am proud to say, I had an original. Dale Michael was my bald little baby and I loved him. If I knew where he was, my kids would be playing with him now. He went with me everywhere during fifth grade - as did all of my girlfriends' Cabbage Patches.

Searching for that perfect Christmas tree - and one that costs less than $100.

I readily admit I bribed the kids with candy canes to get this photo.

Family Christmas 2008

Saylor, along with our neighbors' girls, enjoying the ton of snow we received just after Christmas.

In our house, if you can walk, you can clean. Hugo's even got his very own Swiffer so cleaning up is even easier.

Then *bam* it was 2009. Honestly I remember rocking out to Dick Clark's Rocking Eve when I was 14 thinking, "Wow, I can't believe it's 1987! Duran Duran looks great tonight!" And now I'm in my mid-30s. How did that happen?

A few days later, CB and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long and thankfully neither of us seems to be getting any kind of "itch" that I've heard others mention.

More happened in January, but I think I'll save that for another post... and hopefully it won't take two months for me to share it.

A Grown Up Night Out... Sort Of

2008-12-07T10:27:00.005-05:00

Remember when you were in high school and you'd attend the dances (and rock out to "Rock Lobster" and "Stairway to Heaven") and you'd see the "old" people hanging around, making efforts to dance and you were just embarrassed for them?

That was us last night the Coast Guard Academy's Holiday Ball. I knew I should have had a couple of drinks before heading out. Darn. I got a bit excited when I saw a wine bottle being passed down our table during dinner and then I remembered that the majority of the guests at the dinner are barely old enough to vote, let alone imbibe, so I read the label and realized we were indulging on "Welch's Sparkling Grape Cocktail" or some silly name like that to make you feel "fancy" - in wine glasses no less.

The cadets with whom we sat were very polite - as are all of the ones whom I've had the opportunity to meet in our three years here. It is such a nice change from the texting-set that one hears so much about.

And it was very nice to get gussied up and change out of my "mom gear" and wear sequins and heals - three inchers at that (I'm paying for it today). I had a good hair and make up night and felt non-momish for a few hours. I tried not to think about the fact that most of the cadets hadn't yet entered preschool when I had graduated high school.

We've now attended two of these balls and I can now say I've been there and done that. The cadets and staff do a wonderful job from start to finish - but I'd rather save my feet for a ball where I am among those who know the song - and the dance - for Rock Lobster... and know who the B52s are.

My Second Entry

2008-12-04T14:38:00.007-05:00

On any given day I have a million and two things to do (don't we all?). But now, thanks to the wonderful world-wide-web, I now am adding "reading a billion blogs" to it. The amount of blogs I subscribe to may not be in the eight digit range, but sometimes it feels that way. And I keep finding more to add.

Each blog points to another which points to another... then add to that all the readers who comment on these blogs - most of them have blogs of their own. Good grief. It's amazing that my children are not fending for themselves in the kitchen (perhaps the fact that Hugo has quite the sixth sense for knowing which cabinet hasn't had the child lock replaced isn't such a bad thing). It's also amazing that I haven't gone blind from all this computer reading I'm doing.

Ahhh... maybe that's the real reason I downloaded Anna Karenina to "read" in time for my January book club meeting. I can't read blogs in the car - and I'm sure my children want to hear the goings on of Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky (I'm only on chapter 10 of this 900+ page tome). I'm sure my dear, dear husband was just being supportively optimistic when he said, upon seeing the audio book in my iTunes shopping cart, "Why don't you just read it?" I think I've heard more of it than I would have read up to this point. I've got just over a month before we discuss it (and enjoy Russian delights that evening - I'm really looking forward to the borscht).

Back to my blog obsession. I blame my friend Erika. She suggested this one, this one and this one and somewhere in there I found this one, this one and this one. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I am actually subscribing to them now and the entries come directly to me in my handy dandy RSS feed in my Mail application.

Twenty-three. I just counted. That's how many subscriptions are in my RSS mailbox. There are 38 unread posts - so at least I'm getting up and stretching my legs from time to time and not just sitting here reading post after post.

Oh and the reason for this post? The gal over at ISBFL is doing a "giveaway" (as many bloggers often do) and I'll get an extra entry into her giveaway for the Twilight series by posting about it. While I may not need another thing to read, it would at least give me an opportunity to sit on the couch, in front of the fire and finally find out what all the hub bub is about this searies - in a much more comfy spot than my computer desk. And while this post was a way to get said second contest entry, it turned into a confess about my blog addiction as of late - and forced me to actually count how many I'm reading.

Good grief. I think perhaps I'll just scatter some Cheerios on the floor for S&H.

We're big in Japan

2008-11-29T10:52:00.005-05:00

I really am not one of those spouses who knows all the ins and outs of my husband's military career, so bear with me as I stumble through this. I know enough to get by and to embarrass myself and CB occasionally.

Each summer the Coast Guard Academy hosts students from other countries in one capacity or another and in the summer of 2007, the CGA hosted two Japanese cadets who are students at their own CGA in Japan. I'm not really sure what they do here, how long they're here - or why (hence the qualifier above).

A fellow Coast Guard couple served as hosts to them as the wife is originally from the country. And we were lucky enough to get an invitation to dinner one evening. While I was looking forward to some down home Japanese fare, my friend, Tako, as she likes to be called, thought it would be a treat for the cadets to get some down home American cuisine. (A bummer that was rectified a few months later when she showed me the art of making maki rolls - yummmmm.)

Tako took photos of us all that evening and we went home. Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2008 where we enjoyed the company of Tako and her family (as well as 16 others - but that's another post). Tako said that our photo made it on the JapanCGA's website! Thank goodness she was able to navigate the website (in Japanese of course) and after a few clicks, we were staring at ourselves - me with my big baby boy belly and all.

As you can see from the screen shot of the page, the cadets did other things during their time in the states. I believe they found time to get to Boston and NY City - while learning the ways of the US Coast Guard and teaching our cadets their ways.

12 Days of Junkie

2008-11-12T12:04:00.000-05:00

Tip Junkie is having a 12 Days of Junkie where there will be 2 winners announced each day for the next 12 days!

It's to help promote the women who are selling their products in the Mom-preneur Shop-a-thon. So be sure to head on over to Tip Junkie and enter the contest and check out all the amazing gift-giving possibilities in the shop-a-thon!

File This One Under...

2008-11-10T20:05:00.003-05:00

Words I never thought I'd string together into a sentence

"Please take your toothbrush away from your penis."

Yes. Those are the words I said to my son tonight. He "brushes" his teeth (better known as chewing on his toothbrush) after bath and while I dress him. Boy Wonder can't seem to be in any kind of position that will keep him from keeping an eye on all the excitement that is bedtime (and cries like a pterodactyl until allowed to get up), the toothbrush keeps him occupied (aka, distracted) long enough to let him diaper and dress him.

I have a feeling that being a mother to a boy is going to open me up to a whole world I never knew existed considering the four sisters I have. I'm looking forward to it, if not in a hand-over-one-eye kind of way.

I Voted

2008-11-04T20:58:00.003-05:00

I'm happy to report that I was able to get out the door by 7:15a to go vote. And I was back by 7:31, in time for CB to head off to work. No issues at my polling place, in fact, it ran pretty smoothly for having been open all of 20 minutes.

I was in the right place. My name was on the list. I had my ID with me and I found it easily. There was a pen in my booth and it worked. The scan machine worked and took my ballot quickly. I was very happy to see that the ages of the volunteers spanned high schoolers through retirees.

Living in the town I do, it's the older generation that is seen doing the most in town. It's great to have more people involved. Perhaps if "the needs of the service" keep us here like we're hoping for, I will look into volunteering for our next election in 2009.

Hope you were able to "Rock the Vote" as easily as I did.

A Change of Scenery

2008-10-30T11:16:00.005-04:00

It's amazing what a change of scenery can do for one's mood.

We recently upgraded to a computer armoire (that's a fancy term for a closet with doors to keep little hands off said item). Since we're able to shut it up (and thus, not see the mess that is my papers), we moved it out to the living room. The kids' toys swapped spaces as they had previously been where the computer now is.

The change of location has done a lot for my mood and my "To Do" list. I feel so inspired and motivated now that I'm out of the coldest room of the house and in a bright, large, airy room with the pellet wood stove right behind me.

As I just thinking about what to do next (Saylor's at school and Hugo and the dog are napping), I looked out the window and thought I'd share my view. It's not bad and it's one of the things that sold us on this particular house back in the summer of 2005.

Happy Birthday, Hugo!

2008-09-23T09:50:00.006-04:00

Happy birthday, Hugo McGhee! If our first year with him is any indication, we've got a lifetime of fun in store for us all.

More birthday fun here.

Our Michigan Vacation

2008-09-05T12:06:00.008-04:00

While I don't recommend 18+ hours (yes, that's one way) in the car with a 2.5 yo and 11mo, a dog and two stressed parents, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. In our case, we trekked to northern Michigan to visit CB's dad and to see other relatives in his family tree for a ten-day visit.

Some photos:

The kids hanging out in a moment of silence (which was golden on the trip!). They seemed to like their Snack & Play Travel Tray. I'd recommend it to those of you going on long drives. It really helped from having to pick up each and every thing they dropped - and I could easily serve snacks and lunch on them.

The B kids in the lake.Saylor visiting with her cousins, Amelia (3) and Kirstin (2). Saylor insisted on wearing her nightgown when they visited; she would wear that thing all day, every day if I let her!

The kids on Papa's boat.

The Happy Bs taking a walk.

We visited Mackinac Island while we were there and brought our bikes. It's a non-automobile town and bikes are one of the popular ways to get around (that and horses, carriages and feet). We brought our own bikes and the kids' trailer. We timed the trek around the island with naptime and both kids conked out for the 6+ mile journey.

More photos are on flickr.

Tag: Are you it?

2008-08-17T21:09:00.003-04:00

I am: feeling the effects of two glasses of wine after a long day
I think: CB's banjo sounds great
I know: I am a better mother/wife/daughter/sister/friend/citizen than I give myself credit for
I have: a lot to do this week (organizing baby boy clothes being priority #1)
I wish: I didn't worry about these 15 pounds I'm hanging on to
I hate: empty glasses of wine and having to refill them
I miss: my babies being babies!
I fear: my babies are growing up too quickly!
I hear: the sounds of the nighttime... birds? Insects? I can't tell. Oh and CB's banjo playing
I smell: ... probably. I should take a shower after a day in the sun
I crave: ice cream
I search: for relatives on Ancestry.com; my newest obesession
I wonder: if I'll figure out the family trees within my two-week free subscription
I regret: not going to bed an hour ago
I love: my husband (especially since I've not be as kind to him as I could/should be lately)
I ache: in my feet from standing all day
I am not: anyone but me
I believe: each of us has our own talents
I dance: with my gorgeous daughter on my feet
I sing: to get my baby boy to laugh (it works well)
I cry: too often
I fight: too often
I win: too often
I lose: not enough
I never: stop and smell the roses
I always: rush by said roses
I confuse: myself quite often
I listen: to CB (thankfully!)
I can usually be found: online or with the kids... or both
I am scared: we'll be stationed somewhere we don't want to go next summer
I need: to go to bed soon
I am happy about: our upcoming vacation
I imagine: we'll have a great time in Michigan
I tag: everyone reading this...

The blanks for your ease of use:
I am:
I think:
I know:
I have:
I wish:
I hate:
I miss:
I fear:
I hear:
I smell:
I crave:
I search:
I wonder:
I regret:
I love:
I ache:
I am not:
I believe:
I dance:
I sing:
I cry:
I fight:
I win:
I lose:
I never:
I always:
I confuse:
I listen:
I can usually be found:
I am scared:
I need:
I am happy about:
I imagine:
I tag:

I heart fonts

2008-08-07T11:53:00.007-04:00

On our iMac, that we have dubbed, "Dog," I have close to 800 fonts. I thought that was a lot until a fellow Photoshop-aholic shared that she had roughly 11,000. Oh my. That would require me to get an external hard drive for my fonts alone! (Hmm... not a bad idea, actually... excuse me while I day dream a minute about all the fonts that I could buy with my Starbucks-addiction money.)

Okay... back to fonts. I love them. I had to take a break from font hunting and downloading for a while there because, frankly, I'm of the mindset that too many fonts can too much of a good thing and really muddy a look. Have you ever really looked at a magazine, newspaper and other printed material. Next time you do, count how many fonts you see on that page. Chances are you'll find one main font that is used as the "readable" font and then one or two for headings and to draw your eye around the page. Plus when you have 11,000, how many do you honestly use? For my cards and such, I only have a good handful that I pick from.

I was perusing Blogspot today and came upon a site that has sparked my interest in fonts again. Maybe I should go looking for an external drive with a firewire to replace the one with USB to help with this addiction. (I kind of sound like I know what I'm talking about there, don't I? Don't let the jargon fool you.)

Think "Downloading Fonts" could count as a sport in light of the Olympics? May as well give it a shot... let the downloading commence! *BANG*

P.S. Here's a list of some font sites I have bookmarked and who will be receiving a visit from this suburban mom who, apparently, after having CB home for 11 days, has nothing better to do. I'm sure I'll be adding to this list this afternoon when the kids are napping:

Fonts | Smashing Magazine
Font Garden
Font Garden - the home of handwriting fonts
lindkvist.com illustrations fonts design
Fonts by HypoTypo [OFFSite: Only Free Fonts Site]
Absolutely Fonts! for the MAC and PC
CoolArchive - Free fonts

I am crafty after all!

2008-08-06T22:20:00.002-04:00

I just didn't realize it!

I try to scrapbook... both physically and digitally, but haven't been very good about keeping up with either version. I get inspired to make things, but the pillow covers that I had planned to make with leftovers from hemming my bedroom curtains have been lost to the walk-in closet of doom. The pattern for the purse I want to make is currently sitting on the dining room table and it's only a matter of time until a certain 2.5yo discovers it.

But what I do do... wait, let's back that sentence train up (I know a couple of Wordies who read this blog and I want to at least attempt to impress them with my grammer, er, grammar)... what I can do is create cute and stylish birth announcements, holiday cards, invitations, notecards, business/calling cards, and more. I enjoy it... I'm self taught... I can do it from home... and it gave me an excuse to buy Photoshop and other nifty things for the computer.

I'm currently gearing up for the holiday and spent the kids' afternoon nap updating my other blog. I want to get the word out to as many as possible that I am taking orders. If you're interested, check out my website for more information.

The Return of the Married Life

2008-07-30T16:24:00.008-04:00

After 42 days, CB is home. It was a long six weeks this year (as evident by my lack of blogging and empty wine bottles).

To say it was stressful being on my own for that amount of time with two young children would be an understatement. But we got through it and it's over... for now. The first week home was bliss for us all. The kids adjusted well to "daddy being home from work" - but at the same time, it created the issue of what to call his day job where he in fact, comes home each afternoon so as to not cause any extra stress.

We tried to have fun while CB was away. We went to NH, Aunt Leanne came up from Philadelphia to visit, we went to the beach, swimming at the neighbors, blueberry picking, the town's weekly concerts, had dinners with Grandma, among other things. We even had some sweet friends come and visit with us from time to time to help and to chat.

In retrospect, I did great. In the midst of it (Hugo's teething resulted in three teeth and all four of his molars are bugging him and I began the little thing called potty training with Saylor), I didn't feel like "Mother of the Year," but I know I did what I could and in the way I could. CB only got one email from me in which I poured out my emotions. I told him point blank that I didn't want to worry him by what I was writing, but it needed to be said. I ended it by asking for him to reply with the affirmation that I desperately needed at that point (and not advice on what I "should" be doing, hell, I already knew that, but was too damn tired to do it). As I can always expect from my own Mr. Fabulous (an old nickname from when he was a permanent crew member on Eagle), he replied with just what I needed, "If you could only see yourself for one moment from where I am you would be amazed at what you have already accomplished and how you love both kids."

So... he's home for now (and for a while) and we're enjoying the reunion.

The Return of the Military Life

2008-06-16T08:36:00.004-04:00

CB's presently helps protect our country by holding down a desk and assigning cadets to different duty stations around the world each summer. (There is much more to it than that, but that's the best way I can describe it.) Each summer though, he's gotten underway on the USCGC Barque Eagle for a number of weeks and this summer is no different.

I'm doing okay with it. Little dude is sleeping through the night now - yahoo! Saylor didn't do that until she was 18-months old. Hugo will be nine months old next Monday. What a great thing sleep is - it is just what I need to recharge my batteries during this "return to military life."

Our next tour will most likely be on a ship... and one that goes out for long periods of time (six to eight weeks). I'm looking at this underway time as a precursor of what's to come. It's all in how you look at it. I can freak out and whine about it - which would get me nowhere and leave me with two very unhappy kids, or I can go with the flow and switch gears as often as necessary and as quickly as possible which will keep us all content.

I'm not the first "happily married single mother" and I won't be the last. I just need to keep us busy and take care of myself. I've got a sitter lined up here and there which will help the time pass.

The house will be cleaned this week and that will be a huge stress relief. It's a belated Mother's Day gift and I'm really looking forward to it. I've never had someone come it to clean the house and I don't expect to do it again any time soon, but with two kids, a dog, a deployed husband - it's just what I need to feel relaxed. Of course right now I'm looking around the house and thinking of all the stuff I want to bring to the basement so the gals don't need to clean around toys and clutter. (Do I really need to leave the bread machine on the counter when the baker is currently out to sea?)

I must go and entertain the children... it's rainy today and what better thing to do than make a project involving construction paper, scissors and tape? We'll be making 39 chains for a paper chain to count down to when CB will be back.

Sitting Pretty

2008-06-14T14:08:00.003-04:00

I've taken over 3000 photos of our kids since Saylor came along. If there was a way for me to surgically attach a camera to my hand, I'd be a happy woman.

Without further ado... more photos of my beautiful girl.

Can you tell me how to get to...

2008-06-08T14:23:00.001-04:00

We visited Sesame Place at the beginning of June with CB's brother and sister-in-law. We had a fun time - despite the 90º heat and accompanying humidity (something that prompted me to come home and cut off four inches of hair). We all got in for free with the Hero Salute from Anhueser Busch. Saving $50pp was one of the reasons that I think we liked it as much as we did.

Saylor didn't stop from the moment we got there and passed out hard when we got back to the van (and air conditioning). Hugo didn't enjoy it as much... there wasn't a whole lot for him to do but ride along in the stroller and watch the goings on around him. I know he'll be hard to keep up with in a few years at places like this, too.

Memorial Day 2008

2008-05-27T17:11:00.005-04:00

Last year CB was away over Memorial Day weekend. This year he was home and we had a beautiful weekend weather wise and fun one as family. We took a long bike ride with one kid on each of our bikes.

Yesterday we hung out in town and watched the parade and had a cookout at my mother-in-law's house. It was a fun, fun day. Saylor didn't nap at all... and today woke up with a fever and sunburn (the lesson has been learned: reapply that sunscreen!).

Three down, one to go

2008-05-25T10:49:00.005-04:00

Hard to believe that we've been in Connecticut for just about three years. It has gone by so quickly (and here I thought a four-year tour would drag by).

We're making our list of things to do to increase our chances of selling next year. CB is getting ready to paint the house and every day I think about all the de-cluttering that I/we will have to do to before the move. Case in point, we have one closet that we have not really looked in since moving the items in August 2005. I have a feeling many of those items will be freecycled before long.

I'm actually beginning to look forward to transferring... new job for Hubby, new house for us all, new town to explore and get to know. It'll be good. It'll be good. Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself.

In the meantime, we'll be enjoying our last full summer in Connecticut and continue to daydream about where the "needs of the Coast Guard" will take us next. For those of you curious, so far the list of possibilities include, Honolulu, Seattle, Charleston, Newport (RI) and more. I keep reminding myself that while it's "considerate" of the Coast Guard to "ask" for station requests, that it sometimes doesn't mean anything. Connecticut, for example, was not on any list we had looked at, considered or submitted. And thankfully, it's been a great tour.

Brought to by the letter P and the #4

2008-05-25T10:34:00.007-04:00

We have pee pee!

Before I was a mother, I just grinned and nodded when I'd hear parents go on and on about their children's potty escapades. I now can count myself as one of those people. I want to sing it from the rooftops that #1 Daughter went #1 on the potty!

We've been sitting her on the potty after bath time for months now and she generally just talks and brushes her teeth. Last night all of a sudden she yelled out "pee pee!" and to all of our delight, there it was! While I did take a few photos of my proud child, I will save her any embarrassment and save those photos for ourselves.

Hugo is doing great, too. He's got four teeth now and has begun to "commando" crawl. He was getting around quite well with his rolling technique, but now he's a boy on a mission when he's on his belly and sees something out of reach.

I've enjoyed catching up on sleep this past week. Little Dude has gone from waking twice a night to (knock on wood) to just once. It's lovely. I've been sleeping so much that I can feel the synapses in my brain reconnecting and firing again. It will definitely come in handy the next time I go grocery shopping - perhaps I'll remember where I parked the mom-van.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-12T09:16:00.003-04:00

Mother's Day 2008 has come and gone. CB attempted to let me sleep in... but I only got about ten minutes extra when our toddler had a meltdown because we didn't have any more of her toothpaste (what can I say, the girl loves to brush her teeth). So I lied in bed listening to her screams and smiling (because I wasn't the one having to deal with her).

I went down stairs and was greeted with my cute, smiling kids and their cards. Saylor had made me a picture that now graces our refrigerator.

Later in the morning we went to brunch with my mother-in-law and my oldest friend and her family (that's Saylor and my friend's son above). It was lovely - and really yummy.

Happy Mother's Day to all of my fellow moms!

More Tickle!

2008-05-07T22:16:00.002-04:00

I am a bad blogger... I need to go back and update... or, rather, I could just say the last couple of months have been a blur and that the kids are doing well and leave it at that.

A Dog's Life

2008-02-15T08:26:00.001-05:00

Well, it's official, life with two children makes for busy, all-consuming days. I'm working on trying to balance it all - being a wife, mother, friend, president of a social club, (very) part-time graphic designer, and member to two book clubs. In addition to that: housekeeper, cook, chauffeur, peace maker, entertainer (aka, human jungle gym), and loads more titles that escape my mind right now.

To that end, I sometimes wish my days resembled those of George, the wonder dog. While he's probably still wondering what happened to his days of Doggy Day Care and considering he's now nursing his second knee surgery in five months, he's got it quite good.

Winter Formal

2008-02-11T10:12:00.001-05:00

We've been at the Coast Guard Academy for over two years and CB finally brought home an invitation to a formal. In his defense, I have been pregnant for almost two of those years, but still!

It was so nice to get dressed up, have my hair done and go out with my handsome guy in his uniform. The kids did well with the sitter which was a source of stress for me. It was nice not to have to worry about them for a few hours.

I think CB's favorite part of the evening was the fact I recycled a dress from a ball down in Virginia for this event.

My Babies

2008-01-23T14:17:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, we, the three Musketeers, braved the mall and Sears Portrait Studio. Thankfully the kids behaved stupendously during the photo shoot and we got some wonderful shots of them both together and individually.

Saylor was cute as can be in her first official Gymboree outfit that Santa brought for Christmas. Hugo was cute from head to toe - including his little StrideRite shoes.

Today they each had a check up and five vaccinations between the two of them.

Hugo:
Height: 26.5" = 94%
Weight: 16lb, 13 oz = 85%
Head: 43.5cm

Saylor:
Height: 33.75" = 58%
Weight: 30lbs, 4oz = 88%

Happy Second Birthday, Saylor!

2008-01-17T08:35:00.001-05:00

Where has the time gone? Here is my sweet girl at three days old:

Here she is yesterday when she turned two years old:

I am just stunned that I have a two year old! She had a wonderful birthday. She woke up to a bunch of gifts on her high chair and a balloon. I could have saved a ton of money by buying her just a balloon; she's been carrying it around with her all day.

Papa got her a couple of Elmo DVDs and an Elmo book about potty training. We got her an aquadoodle and a few books. Later in the morning, we met a few friends at the children's museum. We all had a great time. When we came home, both kids slept for over two hours - I didn't know it was my birthday, too!

I made her pink cupcakes with pink frosting and sprinkles which she just loved. She didn't like the idea of having to eat her dinner last night before having a "cake" but we're learning that we can "encourage" her to do things with incentives... and it works!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-01-04T10:29:00.001-05:00

Seems like yesterday that we got engaged. Then we got married in my friend Gina's living room on a very cold day in January in Portland, Maine. Six years have flown by so fast!

Three moves.

One dog.

Two homes.

Two kids.

And I love him and our life together more and more every day.

Happy New Year

2007-12-30T18:25:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year from the Littlest B.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-29T20:49:00.002-05:00

Christmas was so much fun this year!

Well... it did start out a bit scary on Sunday night when Saylor ended up in the ER for six hours. She found Papa's blood pressure medicine and got the cap off and tipped it back like a cup. It wasn't until I heard the clicking of the pills in the bottle that I realized what she was doing. We called Poison Control and they said to be safe and bring her in.

Six hours and a dose of a charcoal "drink," and three showings of Shrek later, we were sent home. It was quite a scare. I was pretty sure that she hadn't ingested any of the pills almost immediately. The girl spits out chicken... if the pills had passed the taste test, she would have probably chewed it like an M&M. I didn't see anything in her teeth when I looked. But - especially in cases where the child can't speak on their own behalf - it's best to be safe than sorry.

The weekend's activities did make Christmas that much more special.

Saylor playing with her new Little People Zoo, a gift from Santa.

For a family who have made a conscious effort to control the gifts coming in and going out, our living room was quite full of presents!

Saylor posing in front of the family's new holiday stockings. Maybe I'll actually get them personalized in time for Christmas 2008.

Saylor sitting on her new chair with her new pal, "Cycy" (aka, Fancy Nancy).

Hugo is thoroughly enjoying his Laugh & Learn Puppy. He actually stares at it and laughs along with it.

Papa Don, CB, Uncle Drew and Hugo.

Jill, Saylor, Aunt Leanne and Gramma Luray.

A December Photo Update

2007-12-27T15:38:00.001-05:00

I found an easy way to update my blog! I can attach as many photos as I want to an email and send it to my blog! Love that. Definitely beats waiting for my DSL to decide that my photos are worthy to be uploaded.

Saylor and Hugo met up with Santa in early December. Last year, Saylor was quite content to sit on the Big Man's lap. This year, as you'll notice, she refused to sit with him and sat on a "present" instead. This year, her baby brother won "Cutest Baby" and sat happily for Santa.

CB and I had a date night! Whoo hoo! I was successful in leaving my "stay-at-home-mom-uniform" at home and got dressed up. I bought three new tops and for the first time in forever, had difficulty deciding what to wear! We belong to our town's Chamber of Commerce and we enjoyed the evening at its annual dinner. Not quite the "date night" I look forward to on January 4 (aka, our sixth wedding anniversary), but it got me out of the house and drinking wine with other grown ups (and not just myself).

Apparently the snow is like the ocean. Last summer, Saylor bee-lined it for the water as soon as we took her crocs off (and even when we didn't). The girl would emerge from the Long Island Sound bluer than blue. As you can see in the photo below, she's redder than red. The bit of snow we got December 7 was plenty for her to run around in on the deck and she only came in after I bribed her with "special milk" (aka, chocolate milk).

You can't see it in this particular photo, but she's still wearing the crocs.

The backyard, the morning of December 8. It was lovely to wake up to.

Saylor's first steam train experience. We had a great time and Saylor just was in love with watching the view out the window. Santa and Mrs. Claus came by - but she didn't care much for them. But it all changed when Rudolf visited!

Little Dude Turns Three Months

2007-12-24T19:51:00.000-05:00

With a soft glow lighting his onesie, Hugo turned three months old on Sunday. He's holding his head really well and it's only a matter of time until he rolls over on his own.

A date with Kris Kringle

2007-12-22T20:05:00.000-05:00

I made the easiest sugar cookies today. The Kris Kringle cookies are just adorable. They were fun to make... and I can't wait to be able to eat them.

Jill & The Rockettes

2007-12-14T08:25:00.000-05:00

No, I haven't joined the Rockettes - but boy oh boy! After seeing the Christmas Spectacular show on Monday, I tell you, I'd love to learn to do a few of their moves!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2007-12-03T07:35:00.000-05:00

Saylor and mom ventured into making a batch of chocolate chip cookies last week. The flour and sugar were barely mixed together before Saylor declared, "all done" and hopped off her stool. She came back when it was time to scoop the mixture onto the cookie sheets. She cried terribly each time the scoop went to the sheet and not directly in her mouth.

Thankfully I got my "it's hot, don't touch" point across when the cookies went into the oven. She sat quietly for a few minutes and watched her cookies bake.

I figured now was as good a time as any to work on the "rules" of baking:
Rule #1: Wash hands.
Rule #2: Pre-measure everything for ease of baking.
Rule #3: Put things away as they are used to make for easier clean up.
Rule #4: Never use the same spoon you tasted the mixture with to scoop mixture onto cookie sheet.
Rule #5: Lick bowl when it's all done.

I'm sure that list will ebb and flow... just like her moods.

Alpacas

2007-12-02T19:32:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we visited a local Alpaca Farm. I wasn't sure how well Saylor would do - but she walked right up to the fence and seemed really interested!

In other news, CB now thinks he wants to "get a farm" when he's done with this Coast Guard gig.

November

2007-12-02T11:58:00.004-05:00

What easier way is there to update than with photos?

My sweet boy all swaddled on 11.9

The woman behind the madness (or responsible for it?) and her kiddos.

Buddies, Hugo and Alek
(Alek's the older one on the right... but you might not notice that consider H & A weigh the same despite that A is six weeks older). Alek's mom, Nada, and I have been friends since I lived in Portland, ME. She's our only friend who has visited us in each of our duty stations.

Two too cute bums celebrating their first Christmas.

Brother and sister having an adorable moment.

Three generations of Bs.
Hubby's dad came out from Michigan to meet his grandson.

Papa and Hugo

My dad and Hubby preparing for Thanksgiving in NH.

The newest family member, Bill Dunn (an angora goat), and the pups, Nutmeg and Ginger.

Dad and the girl waiting for dinner.

My little turkey.

I love this outfit! I especially love that I got a $90 Strasburg Children jumper on sale for $17!

My beautiful niece, Reese.

Our happy family post-Thanksgiving dinner.

Hugo hanging out.

You just have to love sleeping babies, after all, being two months old is hard work.

He's growing so big... so fast!

2007-11-28T13:21:00.001-05:00

My boy is getting bigger and bigger! His stats from today's two-month check up:

Height: 24"
Weight: 14 lbs, 6 oz
Head: 42cm

Saylor was on Zantac for reflux for a year and I started Hugo on Axid a month ago. I now don't know it was me trying to figure out his cries and if I was following his cues accurately or if he indeed was in pain. With Saylor, the meds helped the spitting up tremendously. Hugo's spitting up has always been terrible and hasn't diminished one bit. I'm going to stop the meds for him for a bit and see what happens.

In the meantime, I'm dosing him on Tylenol to help him recover from the three shots he got today.

As for my updates... I still owe them... goodness, to be able to keep a thought and follow through with it would be a wonderful thing.

Hugo after his shots, bandaids and all:
Saylor, at the same age, after hers:

Well, that wasn't fun.

2007-11-27T14:56:00.000-05:00

Figures, huh? The child who has been spitting up since birth two months and four days ago, has kept a dry bib all day. The child who barely gets anything on her bib during a meal was the one who needed it today.

I was so happy to get out of the house on time this morning to meet our friends at Ikea. We arrived just a minute or two late. As I circled around to a parking spot, Saylor got sick. Once it was out (and all over her new red dress, the car seat, and her toys), I cleaned her up as best as I could with the help of Huggies wipes and a stranger who was kind enough to go in the store and grab me a handful of paper towels. We all got strapped back in and back home we came.

Poor girl. Thankfully that seemed to be it. Once we were on the road, she was fine - and chattering as if nothing had happened. If only my nose could have reacted the same way.

Here's my baby girl before (I didn't snap an 'after' shot; something I'm sure you're all thankful for):

Burning the midnight oil... at 10:40pm

2007-11-26T22:39:00.000-05:00

How, do you ask, can I even possibly manage to not be passed out in bed at this hour? I'll tell you how! Little mister is sleeping from 7:30pm until 5am, with a little help of a dream feed before I turn in myself. On the recommendation of a friend who had success with it (and a STTN infant at nine-weeks old), I decided to give it a go for a week or so - what's 15 minutes while I'm still awake? Sure beats waking two to three hours later to a hungry baby if it works!

The first night, dude woke an hour earlier than I would have expected if I hadn't DF him. Then he got progressively better... going from 2am to 2:30am to 3:30am and - shocker of all shockers - 3:45am. The latest one coming while we were away from home at my dad's house for the Thanksgiving holiday!

Then Saturday night he slept until - get this(!) - 5:08am! The same thing happened last night. I am in shock. I am in awe. I can feel clear thoughts returning to my sleep deprived brain.

Of course I am fully aware that I am jinxing it all and Hugo will surely wake every two hours tonight. Not only because I am bragging (I admit it, I am) but because we three musketeers have plans to meet a friend and her 20-month old daughter at Ikea at 9:30am for their cheap-o breakfast and some equally cheap-o holiday decorations.

I owe a few updates... perhaps I'll remember tomorrow, upon our return from our outing that a) I have a blog and b) I know how to type to update it.

Sleep. It's a good thing.

I'm an Auntie!

2007-10-27T10:19:00.000-04:00

I'm officially an aunt and I can officially start spoiling my niece. Reese was born October 1 and is eight days younger than her cousin, Hugo. She was a little peanut compared to Hugo at birth and weighed 5lbs, 5oz! I love that they'll be so close in age. We plan to make a trip to NH soon so that we can get all the grandkids together. I can't wait to get a photo!

One month, one day and counting...

2007-10-27T10:00:00.000-04:00

Slowly but surely we're getting into a routine. Hugo's been here for a month now. Wow. Time has never sped by quicker. He's a pretty good sleeper - and I really shouldn't complain. He's been waking twice a night for about a week and goes right back to sleep. He takes great naps during the day and has been eating like a champ.

This week I've begun putting him down for naps and the night while he's still awake and my little man is falling asleep on his own. I am trying to follow the Baby Whisperer model like we did with Saylor. I didn't start it this soon with her (although I wish I had!).

He had his one-month check up on Thursday and his stats are:

Weight: 12 lbs, 6.5 oz
Height: 22.5"
Head: 40.5cm

He's in the 95th percentile for height and weight - and most likely head, too. Little Dude is already growing out of his 0-3 mos size clothes! I honestly did not know it was possible for a one-month old to do this! I brought Hugo to Book Club the other night to introduce him to all the ladies and the host said her three-month old weighs less! I'm really glad I bought his Christmas outfit in a 3-6 mos size now.

Some photos:First bath - for the most part he enjoyed this mama took too long and he started to fuss loudly.

Doing what he does so well - and so often - sleeping. I'm so glad he takes a pacifier otherwise I'd never have my arms free.

On a personal note,

I'm doing well... this week anyway. I've had horrible sciatica pain for three weeks. Tylenol with Codeine didn't do anything. Motrin and percocet took the pain from a 10+ to about a 4 or 5 on the pain scale. I had been looking forward to being more active after the baby came and with the pain made me feel as though I've been pregnant for 43+ weeks. Not fun.

I'm in physical therapy now and I'm using the pool in which there is a treadmill. I'm actually feeling like I might be able to start working out soon! I want to do a 5K over Thanksgiving weekend and I had hoped to have at least been able to get out walking by now. I've got less than a month to at least get in shape enough so that I can walk the 3.1 miles! I plan to check out the Couch Potato 5K website for tips.

Is it potty time?

2007-10-19T08:40:00.000-04:00

Saylor's been getting interested in the potty so I got her one the other week. As soon as I set it up, this is what she did. She mimics me as if she's my mirror, so apparently I must stick my foot in the toilet from time to time, too.

We're by no means pushing potty training with a newborn, but it's there - plus it doubles as a stool for hand washing.

Baby! Baby!

2007-10-14T21:00:00.000-04:00

"Ceese? Ceese?" That's how Saylor asks to hold Hugo, while also doing a sign for it. She asks a number of times a day and seems to enjoy holding him. So far she seems to really love her "Go Go" - I only hope she realizes he's here to stay.

Want the Story?

2007-10-02T20:04:00.001-04:00

Hugo McGhee
Sunday, September 23 at 11:36 a.m.
9 pounds, 3 oz • 20 1/2 inches long

I want to write out Hugo's birth story... but I think I may have to add to it in case I get interrupted by my sweet boy's voice (he's napping right now and Saylor’s snacking).

Friday night we went out for dinner for the eggplant parm as I just didn't have it in me to cook it - plus I would have started it far too late according to CB. I had its leftovers on Saturday for lunch.

Saturday morning I got SUPER excited when I saw some physical signs that labor could be on its way - I was literally dancing around the house, making mental lists of things that I needed to do and last minute things to toss in my bag. I called my doctor and he burst my bubble when he said, "it really doesn't mean much." Darn! Major bummer. So we went on with our Saturday plans - the Farmer's Market and errands on Main Street. We were out and about walking for about two hours. While we were out I picked up some Red Raspberry Leaf Tea and had two mugs that afternoon.

**20 minutes and two diapers (one for each child) later...**

Through the night I had a few contractions that woke me up, but nothing major. I had a dream in which I delivered the baby... but it was a girl! During the dream, I remember thinking, "Oh God - and we have so many boy clothes!"

I got up about just before 8a on Sunday. When I blew my nose I remember hearing/feeling two different "pop" sounds. I thought, "That was weird." Then about 10 minutes later when I bent over to pet our dog, it became official - my water had broken. CB asked what I planned to do - I told him that I was going to fold laundry. After I folded and put away the laundry and picked up our room, I took a shower. That's when my contractions started getting strong.

We called our neighbors to come over to watch Saylor and my mother-in-law was on call for back up duty. We left for the hospital about 9a. By then I couldn't walk or talk during the cxs. I just knew I needed to keep myself as relaxed as possible during the cx so as not to waste energy and get through them as (for lack of a better term) as painlessly as possible.

When we drove to the hospital for Saylor's labor, it was midnight on a Sunday night. I have to say that 9a on a Sunday was not much different traffic wise! There was close to no one on the road. I ate some yogurt and granola bar on the way.

When we got up to L&D I started to cry - it all became real what was going to be happening soon. They got me in to triage and checked me - and the nurse said I was 10cm! Just before then CB and I discussed pain meds again so we were still on the same page and I was feeling quite uncomfortable at this point so we discussed an epidural (as a friend reminded me the week before, there’s no award given for going through labor unmedicated) - but when we were told how far I was, we figured that was out. They moved me immediately into a room and my OB was still there from being on call the day before. He came in and checked me and corrected the nurse and said I was 5cm... darn it! (I guess the position of his head with my thinning cervix was the cause of the confusion.) Then he said that I could deliver in 10 minutes... or two hours... but it probably wouldn't be more than that (it was just before 10a at this point). I decided to have some stadol to help take the edge off - this was great because I couldn't stop thinking about Saylor at home with neighbors who didn't know her schedule, her signs, what and when to give her snack or our illegally parked car downstairs.

** Okay, baby's in his bouncy and Saylor's watching The Wiggles...**

CB did awesome. I'm so glad we talked about what I wanted/needed him to do a couple of weeks ago. He answered ALL the questions that I couldn't form the words to answer (why do they ask questions in the midst of a cx??!!). He held my hand when I needed it, fanned me when I was hot, covered me when I was cold - he did great! He advocated for me just as we talked about - right down to the pain meds. We had just talked on Saturday about how hard it is to not go along with what medical people say. So early on when my OB mentioned meds and CB said that I didn't want any, he felt weird going "against" what the doctor was offering.

I recall the nurses saying something about the baby's head and his station... but I was trying to concentrate on the cxs and had my eyes closed (OH - and they dimmed the lights during this time!). I finally got comfortable on my side and then the on-call OB (mine had left) had me roll on my back to check me - I was pissed! I immediately hated him! The nurse could check me from on my side - why couldn't he?

It wasn't very long and I had the urge to push and all of a sudden it was show time! I didn't feel ready mentally!

I think I pushed 5-6 times and the OB turned out to be great. He helped me as I pushed to prevent tearing (yay!) all of a sudden - WHOOSH - baby was out and on my chest! I was overwhelmed! I just kept saying, "Oh my God! Oh my God!" I held him a minute or two and then they took him to clean him up.

Hugo McGhee was born at 11:36am after just about 3.5 hours of labor!

I really feel like I had a great L&D experience. A great, supportive husband, dim lights during labor, minor tearing (only two little stitches; I had an episiotomy last time), they laid him right on me after delivery and then waited an hour or so before applying the eye goop and giving him his vaccinations. (All those I wanted with Saylor, but didn't know to ask for it.)

And now we're home. We got home the next afternoon after only one night in the hospital. I just wanted to get home as soon as possible. The first night was rough but we know it'll get easier as we get into a routine and learn Hugo's needs better.

Love has a name

2007-09-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

And in our case, it's Hugo.

She's Crafty!

2007-09-18T08:46:00.000-04:00

Okay, that was my oh-s0-lame attempt to use a line from The Beastie Boys (oh, how I loved them in my 20s... and that love has continued as I see my mid-30s on the horizon),

A friend recently got into swedish embroidery and I was so excited to a) know what she was talking about and b) be able to show examples of a completed attempt at a swedish embroidery project! So... apparently I am crafty - and I just didn't know it. I made the blanket while we lived in Michigan, which is pretty cold throughout the year, regardless of the date on the calendar. Having a blanket spread out on top of me while I worked on it was quite nice!

Here are photos of a blanket and pillow I made as a wedding gift for my best friend. I'll admit that they just celebrated their five-year anniversary. I'm inspired again by the things this gal's grandmother did in the 1940s. Perhaps it's time I pull out my needle and yarn and get going again. It's the perfect weather to make a blanket after all. I used a variegated yarn:

It's my pregnancy and I'll eat if I want to

2007-09-17T15:48:00.001-04:00

They're out there. Just calling my name. Taunting me as I walk by. Sitting there in all their chocolaty sweetness. Those darn brownies I made last night are just waiting to be eaten. At 38w 3d pregnant, I honestly do not care what I eat. I'm at 31 pounds gained and I am fully aware that every brownie (or bowl of ice cream, or chip, or whatever the snack-du-jour is) I eat, is another that I need to work off after the baby arrives.

Luckily CB, who has only had two of the 16 brownies (of which, there are maybe eight left), just called and said that he's on his way home. So polishing off the pan wouldn't be a good idea this late in the day (plus all that chocolate at once would give me killer heartburn).

In weight loss news, I am excited to say that I've already signed up for my favorite work out classes at my local YMCA. I miss them so much. I figure by mid-November (and maybe earlier) I'll be ready to get out of the house and back to at least a modified work out. I cannot wait.

Oh, and in case your counting down with me, there are 11 days left (or 247 hours and 33 minutes) until September 28. Two different friends have said they think I'll go this weekend... we'll see!

687 Hours 2 Minutes

2007-08-30T08:48:00.000-04:00

Or... 29 days. There are moments when I just want to have Baby Boy here in my arms and then I rethink that thought and I'm grateful that I've still got time. Time to prepare for his arrival by washing clothes, setting up the co-sleeper, rearranging Saylor's bedroom to make it a room for both kiddos... among many other things.

My online time has been limited due to a toddler who wants to share the computer with me (apparently 25 minutes of Wiggles can only hold her attention span for so long).

I know I had more to share... but the memory is seriously slipping these days.

Apparently home isn't where it's at

2007-08-13T13:29:00.001-04:00

After all the hoopla I made about deciding to have and actually committing to have a home birth - it looks like it's the hospital again for us. To say I'm bummed would be an understatement. The realization has been about a week or two in coming but I've just been in denial. In fact, as I write this, I'm a bit teary and sad.

I'm sad because it all comes down to insurance and miscommunication. The HB group's billing person has been good about looking into my questions and pretty good about following up with me... but what she says and what Tricare says always end up being the opposite at the end of the day.

In the five weeks I've been researching this option, I've spent probably close to three hours on the phone with Tricare (something any military dependent abhors) and for the first time in my 5+ years of dealing with Tricare I'm actually getting consistent information from different people (whodathunkit?). And that info is that the HB group is not an authorized provider. No idea how my CG spouse-friend has gotten her HB covered (because, honestly, I keep forgetting to call her to ask her this), but at this point I can't be on the fence about what we're going to do when Wee Two decides to make his arrival. At 33.5w pregnant, I need to have a clear(er) plan.

One thing that frustrates me the most is my OB and his nurse practitioner. I really like the NP a lot, she's full of helpful information and always has great answers to questions. My OB is very nice... but sometimes I get the feeling that he'd rather talk about his most recent travels than my pregnancy.

Oooh nellie - but talk with them about the "idea" of having a home birth and you'd think I just brought up the idea of giving birth by myself in the middle of a field 100 miles away from civilization. Both the NP and OB brought up horrifying "worst case scenarios" and they honestly scared the bejeezus out of me (while not completely talking me out of a HB). The NP talked about "what if the shoulder gets stuck? You only have a small window for medical help..." and the OB told us of his "one and only home birth experience where [he] was called in to clean up a horrible situation. And [he] never want[s] to do that again." So - are you trying to claim that all of your hospital births have gone like clockwork and by the book?! Doubt it!

Jesus. I swear to God. Here is yet another opportunity to share information about births in general. My other issue is that the OB should be the place where expectant women should get literature and information about how L&D is natural and ways we could rely upon ourselves to get through it and that the pain isn't "bad" and to educate us on our options - and to not only just suggest that we can get pain meds to "deal" with it.

I'm in such a pissy place about it all. One would think that my OB and NP could perhaps just try to "sell" me on a hospital birth versus scaring me into it. Hell, when I met with the CNW, she was so open and non-judging of what kind of delivery a woman chooses to have.

My favorite part of the conversation with my NP was when she said, "You can have the kind of delivery you want in the hospital. You can dim the lights, play soft music..." I reminded her that when I came into to L&D to have Saylor, I barely had time to give them my name let alone light my incense.

CB and I have already begun the conversation about what I want/don't want when the time comes - and that will be ongoing, I'm sure. I already know I don't want the nurse to even suggest meds. I know I do not want to be strapped in a bed. I know I don't want to be hooked up to the machines. If they want to know how baby is doing, pull out a stethoscope and listen for yourself. If you won't support me in my home birth plan, by God, give me some control when I'm most vulnerable.

::stepping down, off my soap box; I shouldn't be up that high this far along anyway::

Don't you just wish...

2007-08-03T08:01:00.000-04:00

Don't you just wish that sometimes you could go back in time and reassure yourself that things will be okay and that all will work out just as its meant to? Time couldn't have crawled by any slower those six months between my miscarriage and getting pregnant with Saylor. After getting pregnant that first time, all I wanted was to be pregnant again. I don't know if I could have been more envious of those with bulging bellies.

I wish I could go back to the "Spring of 2005 Jill" and just tell myself that within 2.5 years I'd have a beautiful little girl and expecting a little boy. I'd tell myself that while nothing will take away the pain of the twins I'd lost that seeing Saylor dance and run around with her curls bouncing up and down and feeling Wee Two do back flips in my belly helps to decrease the sting. And that, in the end, it has helped me appreciate pregnancy and the joys of parenthood that much more.

Thank you to Dawn for sharing this poem, the author of which is unknown. It's the last line that just got me reflecting on my pregnancies. I've never considered miscarriage from the children's point of view like this. All of my friends who've experienced a loss all say "if not for the loss, then I'd never have this child..." But giving the subsequent children a voice is powerful.

A different child,
People notice
There's a special glow around you.

You grow
Surrounded by love,
Never doubting you are wanted;
Only look at the pride and joy
In your mother and father's eyes.

And if sometimes
Between the smiles
There's a trace of tears,
One day
You'll understand.

You'll understand
There was once another child
A different child
Who was in their hopes and dreams.

That child will never outgrow the baby clothes
That child will never keep them up at night
In fact, that child will never be any trouble at all.

Except sometimes, in a silent moment,
When mother and father miss so much
That different child.

May hope and love wrap you warmly
And may you learn the lesson forever
How infinitely precious
How infinitely fragile
Is this life on earth.

One day, as a young man or woman
You may see another mother's tears
Another father's silent grief
Then you, and you alone
Will understand
And offer the greatest comfort.

When all hope seems lost,
You will tell them
With great compassion,
"I know how you feel.
I'm only here
Because my mother tried again."

Vacationland!

2007-07-31T10:00:00.001-04:00

We took our second family vacation to Maine in mid-July. We stay at a cute little cottage in York one block from the beach and love it!

This year we attempted to go the Moxie Festival (think carbonated Pepto Bismol only not nearly as tasty). We missed the festival by about 24 hours so we, with our friends, Gina and Roman, visited Land's End, near Brunswick. Then it was off to LL Bean where CB became quite claustrophobic at the masses of people. We ended the day in Portland at Flatbread Pizza where this expectant mama really craved her first beer since New Year's. Probably had something to do with being in Maine, land of the microbrews and the nonstop rain that had besieged us all day.

We rode our bikes (I'm shocked I kept my balance at 30 weeks pregnant) and visited Nubble Light and York's Wild Kingdom. CB made two delicious home cooked lobster bakes... yummy!

We had a wonderful time despite my inability to walk for most of the five days due to sciatica. Interestingly, I was quite comfortable on my bike and have been fine since coming home.

We're already planning our trip for next year. We're thinking of doing a full week and considering the idea of throwing a couple of days of camping into the mix. We'll see!

I think the pictures says it all...

2007-07-27T08:25:00.000-04:00

Bath Time!

2007-07-25T21:01:00.001-04:00

I'm in a redecorating mood (much to the thrill of CB). We recently replaced our bathroom sink and I could finally add some other fun things. I hung a shelf lastnight and took some photos of Little Miss in the tub.

Bubbles are something we do for a special treat (aka, when mom has a bit of extra energy to deal with bubbles as more bubble mix gets on me than gets blown into bubbles). I can't wait to get the photos and frame them in a decent amount of time. Hopefully this redecorating mood lasts until Monday or Tuesday when I expect to receive the enlargements.

That's Elmo's World!

2007-07-11T21:52:00.000-04:00

Saylor sings Elmo's World and we caught it on video!

I'll Have My Own Home Boy!

2007-07-10T14:41:00.001-04:00

I got a call yesterday from the certified nurse midwife for whom I'd left a message for last week and she happened to have an appointment last night. Our wonderful neighbors watched Saylor last night so CB and I could meet go alone to get the info without being distracted. We really liked her. She's one of two certified nurse midwives in the practice (they also have certified professional midwives which are very similar but the CNW have an academic education as in, they are nurses first). I feel very comfortable with them - especially after we realized (in a round about, non-HIIPA violating way) that the one local Coast Guard spouse I know who has had a home birth has used them. I haven't connected on the phone with my friend yet, but I had a feeling she must have used this practice.

So now I need to call my OB and get my records and get that ball rolling. I'm sad about quitting their practice. Not that my OB delivered Saylor... but I like my nurse practitioner and the nurses are great. Plus I'm just comfortable there and I'm opening a new door and change is often a bit scary.

CB is really comfortable with the idea (especially after finding out they'll clean everything up and even start the laundry after the birth, lol). I was able to get him to cut Saylor's umbilical cord... wondering now if I can convince him to catch his son (getting teary thinking about that).

One interesting thing that gave us a giggle... but is a bit serious is that they aren't able to take my placenta away. If they take it away, it becomes "medical waste" so they leave it for the family. They'll bundle it up securely and put it in the fridge or freezer. The CNM suggested we bury it in the backyard... which I think we'll do but at my mother-in-law's house since that's the family house (CB's great-grandfather built it). We already have a "Saylor Tree" (a lilac bush) there so I think we'll do the same and have a Wee Two tree. I can't wait to tell my mother-in-law that we're going to bury the placenta in her backyard!

So now I plan to research more of what I can do to prep myself mentally and what I need to do to get the house ready. I'm considering buying or renting a birthing pool so I can do it in the livingroom where we have a bay window looking out at our brook and many trees. Come September there will be a beautiful scene to look at during labor with the wonderful colors of autumn. I'll also have to think about Saylor. My birth with her was so fast and I expect this one to go just as quickly, if not faster, so I'm tempted to keep her here. I suppose it would be best to have a back up plan in case she gets frightened or gets a bit clingy to me.

I'm considering having a photographer here during labor. The CNW suggested it and was honest about it, "If you don't want to display them, stick the photos in the attic, but you'll never have a chance to have those images again." The idea of having photos leading up to and immediately after the birth when I first hold him is amazing.

I have no qualms about this decision. I'm happy that I have the choice to do this. In fact, it makes me even more relaxed about going into labor a second time knowing that I'll (most likely) be able to do it completely in the comfort of my own home, among my own things.

But one thing I do know... if I have anxiety now about how clean my house is... I'm going to be so much worse come September!

Weekend Fun

2007-07-08T21:48:00.001-04:00

We're enjoying the summer! What a concept, huh? Transfers within the Coast Guard tend to happen during the summer and we tend to lose a lot of time during the whole leaving one state to move to another state. And the little thing of finding a place to live and the necessary unpacking just eats up many a weekend.

Last year, with an infant and with CB gone for 1.5 months during prime beach going, vacation taking time we may as well have transferred! Thankfully CB's home for the rest of the summer and we're not up for a transfer for a couple of years. So that means there's lots of time to hit the local ice cream joint and chase Little Miss at the beach.

Personally, I'm not doing much chasing myself this summer. Feeling like a beached whale will do that to you. Baby Boy is just growing big and has made me look 9+ months pregnant when I've got close to 11 weeks to go.

Hard to believe I've already hit the third trimester. It really just snuck up on me. Thankfully my hips aren't hurting like they had been a few weeks ago and the sciatica has disappeared (*knock on wood*). I'm still able to keep my heartburn at bay with Zantac and limiting my trigger which I've determined to be high fructose corn syrup, which, if you haven't realized, is in just about e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.

Now if I could just get someone to call me back about having Wee Two at home, I'd be a very happy whale... I mean, girl.

I Need a Hobby

2007-07-04T11:30:00.001-04:00

I need to get a hobby. I need to find something that I want to spend my time working on. Friends have knitting, scrapbooking, stamping, beading, jewelry making, photography, sewing... and the list goes on. (And one friend in particular does more than one quite well!)

I feel like I am just getting through my days doing what needs to get done and that's it. My time is spend chasing and playing with Little Miss and keeping the house clean (and thanks to my Oreck and new dishwasher, it's easier to do so)... but I can't help but feel that there are other things I can spend my time doing.

Scrapbooking is fun... but I use it more as a social thing - to get out of the house and get together with friends. I haven't looked at my SB'ing stuff in months and have never taken it out at home except to organize it. I don't know if it's "for me." I'm more apt to order a personalized book of photos from KodakGallery - less stressful to create and less of a mess.

Here are photos I took of the one I made for Nana (my mom) for Mother's Day. I loved it so much and looked at it so often that it took me over a week to get it to her (for a belated Mother's Day gift). I told CB that I want to make one for us... he replied with, "Isn't that what you got into scrapbooking for?" What does he know.

I think the bigger issue is that I'm afraid to take time away from my family. I made the choice to be a SAHM and doing something other than being a homemaker makes my heart ache. But then again... I don't want to lose myself completely and only be a mother and wife and look back at my life and wonder what happened to "me."

CB has his guitar. He finds the time to play whenever he can - 20 minutes here, an hour there. He goes out and plays with a group weekly and really enjoys it. I could find the time... but where?

I suppose another issue is time management. I need to get better at that. I think I could find a whole bunch of time during the week to devote to something I want to do versus things I need to do if only I was better at how I used my time.

So... if you have any suggestions, please send them my way. I'm open to anything.

Happenings as of Late

2007-07-03T16:31:00.001-04:00

Last night, CB was playing guitar and Saylor, as usual, was enjoying listening to dad play. I heard, "Jill, get the camera" and walked in to find this. She was just sitting there rocking out as only a 17.5 month old can.

Here's a photo of Saylor playing with a friend from our playgroup at our group's barbecue last week. The little girl is a week older than Saylor and they have begun to really look like one another now that their hair is coming in so full.

Here's a slideshow of our barbecue last weekend - a "Kick Off To Summer/CB Is Home" party. It's official... once you have children, most of your friends are people with children. We had a kazillion kids there and they all seemed to have a great time.

There's no place like home

2007-06-29T15:12:00.002-04:00

I'm currently researching all we'd need to know about having Wee Two/Elwood at home. I was kind of surprised when CB said he was "all for it" and totally understood when he followed that by "as long as I don't have to clean it up."

I've found some great sites that support mothers-to-be in their decision to deliver at home and I'm really beginning to think this is what I should do.

I've had two uncomplicated, completely normal pregnancies (knock on wood) and Saylor's delivery was 4.5 hours from start to finish and 3.5 from the first contraction that I could feel (I imagine I was contracting before then, but hadn't felt them). At my last appointment, my OB definitively said, "Oh this time you'll go much faster."

MotheringdotCom/Homebirth
Like Heaven Into My Hands: A Midwife Story
Our Journey to Homebirth

We're not anti-hospital. In fact, I would be perfectly fine if I end up going in that direction again. I have already been looking into how to have a completely med free delivery (I had two mgs of Stadol with Saylor).

The only thing I regret about my delivery was not knowing more about how my body would react and what I was capable of and what really happens and how things progress. I wish I had trusted myself more that I could do it all on my own. Instead of helping me cope with the pain (a word I dislike in relation to delivery because the word implies "bad" and I feel that pain with delivery is a means to an end) my nurse was quick to offer an epidural. As it turned out while I agreed to one, I wouldn't have been able to get one because I was progressing so quickly - but I think that would be another thing I would have regretted had I gotten one.

So my OB says he believes I'll deliver faster this time. While our overall hospital experience was good, it just seems like A LOT of work for what I expect to be a few hours of labor and delivery. None of us slept while in the hospital. After I learned Saylor's cries and what each meant, I realized that she was crying in the hospital not because she was hungry but because she was tired! We were all exhausted and just wanted to sleep - without the overhead florescent lights on.

I'm already envisioning cuddling up with my son (wow, I think that was the first time I thought of him as a son!) in my own bed minutes after birth.

And to just put it out there - I'm not naive in thinking that I'll go quicker this time for sure. I'm going by what others' experiences have been and what my own mother's experience was. I believe her first delivery (me) was eight hours, Sara's was six and Emily's was four. Since Saylor's delivery was already four, I often joke that I might have a homebirth whether it's planned or not!

I've called Tricare and they cover it 100%. Now I just need to find a certified nurse midwife. I have a call into a local group who I hope can help me. I'll need to get my OB to refer me to the CNW - but I can't imagine that will be a problem considering I'm so low risk.

I never in a million years thought I'd ever consider this route... but it's becoming more and more clear that a birth is a personal thing. As the Midwife video I linked to above states, the child was conceived in a private, intimate way, the delivery should be done in the same way. I also like how it said, "the dad put the baby in, the dad should deliver it." Don't know if CB would be onboard with that, but we'll see.

I'll keep you posted about what we decide to do.

All of our Puerto Rico Photos

2007-06-24T15:50:00.000-04:00

Puerto Rico 2007

I finally figured out how to use our FTP... stay tuned for a new and improved website for our family in the future...

We're a family again!

2007-06-23T12:47:00.001-04:00

For the sake of privacy and security, I didn't blog about CB being away for five weeks. Last year he was gone for two weeks (in March; when Saylor was 6-8w old) and then for six weeks (June-July; when Saylor was 5-6.5mo old). This year was "only" five weeks which seemed to go by much faster and dare I say, easier than last year. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I could "talk with" my little girl this year.

It was hard to say good bye to him the weekend of Mother's Day, but reassuring to know that I was going to meet him in San Juan over Father's Day weekend. When I looked at it that way, it was "just a month." I roll my eyes there - "just a month" is still a month! In this case it was 34 days. But Saylor and I did great. I went kicking and screaming into our new routine the first week and then we caught our groove and we did well. I even got Saylor to sleep through the night officially! At 16.5 months old she slept from 8p-8a without waking (aka, crying out) one time! I tell you, it was pure bliss to have that much sleep.

So on June 15 I flew to San Juan - alone - to meet CB and it was fantastic! My dear, dear sister-in-law volunteered to watch Saylor so we could have a "baby moon" before Elwood makes his arrival.

Ahh, my dear dear sister-in-law, Leanne. She's a saint. Really. Five days by herself with a very active toddler. Thankfully Saylor is a very sweet girl with the occasional melt down. Leanne was awesome. Is awesome! I'm really surprised I did so well with leaving my child for as long as I did for the very first time - but it was because of Leanne that I could relax. I came back home renewed and refreshed (sporting a bit of sunburn) and ready to tackle said toddler on the changing table of doooooom.

In Puerto Rico we stayed for one night in San Juan and enjoyed a reception on board the USCG Barque EAGLE, America's Tall Ship, and then headed west to Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen in Aguadilla where we stayed in the guest houses.

On our way to the Air Station, we stopped at Arecibo Observatory where we learned about this fascinating telescope. And it's huge! The photos don't do it justice at all.

We spent a day on Borinquen Beach - which was wonderful! Then we traveled south where we spent a few hours on the wonderful Boquerón Beach. But we loved Borinquen's beach so much that we drove back up to spend a couple of more hours there.

CB did well in his SPF 30 and I did fine with my spray on SPF 15 - if only I had sprayed it more evenly. Had I done so, I would have been able to sleep much better those three nights in Borinquen!

All in all, it's great to be home with my babe and baby... I am recommending to all of my friends to leave the kid(s) with a trusted care taker and go away by yourselves. It'll do you, your marriage and your sanity a world of good.

I'm going to be an aunt!

2007-06-14T10:00:00.001-04:00

My sister, Lana, is going to be a mom! She is due October 2 with her first child and I am beside myself with giddiness about being an aunt, CB being an uncle and Saylor and Wee Two/Elwood having a cousin so close in age!

24 Weeks and Growing!

2007-06-07T13:28:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling very good considering I'm nearing the third trimester of pregnancy. This pregnancy just seems to be fleeting by. The heartburn has begun but it's tolerable (mostly with Zantac as I lost my taste for Tums and such early on with my pregnancy with Saylor). Crazy to think that I have (potentially less than) 16 weeks left until we meet Elwood.

Eight more days until our adult-only vacation - I can't wait to lie on the beach and work on my tan - and have a conversation with CB that doesn't require either of us to rhyme like the Cat in the Hat.

A friend recently emailed and said, "I'm so glad you are doing this for your marriage." I hadn't even thought of it like that. I was only thinking of the time away from the Wee One... not that we, as a couple, as two people who used to talk about grown up things. But, as another friend put it, we have to do the things now that will ensure that in 20 years we will still like each other and will want to talk to each other.

The Wiggles

2007-06-06T09:30:00.000-04:00

Yes, our life is being taken over by The Wiggles along with everyone else with toddlers. I caught Saylor dancing this morning and had to share.

I have a ton of other things I want upload/share and I'll get to it eventually... In the meantime, introducing the fifth Wiggle:

Dogfood... Revisited

2007-06-01T16:37:00.000-04:00

You may recall a few months ago that Saylor discovered the dog's food dish. Well, that fascination has continued. There are days and weeks that she'll leave the bowls alone and then times when it's all she can play with.

Today I caught her doing this...

saylorsmom wants to share videos with you!

2007-05-31T08:54:00.001-04:00

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Must Have Grapes

2007-05-30T21:44:00.000-04:00

I think Saylor will do just about anything for grapes - and that includes sitting down for snack even in the midst of a temper tantrum.

Memorial Day Parade 2007

2007-05-30T21:17:00.000-04:00

We had a GREAT time at the Memorial Day parade on Monday. We were invited to walk in the parade with a group who were representing the town's recent honor of being named one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People.

Saylor did awesome. She sat so well in her wagon and clapped and danced the entire parade.

We're so proud of our Coastie!

Sliding Girl

2007-05-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

Saylor loves her slide. She'd play on this toy all day long if I let her. She's gotten so coordinated with it. She'll crawl up the slide, sit on the ledge, hop off, go out the door, close it, open it, go back in, crawl back up on the ledge and the slide down. She'll do this 80 times.

We're in trouble now!

2007-05-25T21:41:00.000-04:00

Saylor can officially climb up onto the couch unassisted. God help us. Thankfully she can get down on her own as well - although she mostly enjoys running back and forth on the cushions.

Wee Two is PERFECT!

2007-05-21T21:27:00.000-04:00

After waiting three weeks for my follow up Level II ultrasound, we were ecstatic to find out that Wee Two is perfect. His brain is perfect as are the rest of his organs.

I love the ultrasound photo of his face - looks just like Saylor's at the 36w ultrasound I had with her. LOVE those cheeks!

A month from today!

2007-05-15T20:37:00.000-04:00

A month from today Hubby and I will be on a child-free vacation in Puerto Rico! Whoo hoo! I'm already thinking about what on earth we'll talk about... will I actually enjoy a warm meal without constant interruption... does my body know how to sleep past 6am anymore? I think after day one we'll both remember with ease.

My next ultrasound is next Monday at 2:30pm; I can't wait to get a look at our little guy again. I'm still feeling great and have been feeling him move a lot - such a great feeling!

Here's a fun video of Saylor signing for banana. Technically it could be said she's signing "friend" but at this point I'll take anything if it means less whining and crying for something she wants!

No doubt about it - It's a Boy!

2007-05-01T11:16:00.000-04:00

Baby Boy showed his bits right at the start. The tech said, did you want to know the gender? I said yes and she said, good, because there it is - he's a boy. His legs could not have been any further apart!

I'm thrilled!! We would have loved a second girl - but it didn't matter one way or the other. We are just happy beyond happy about having a second child and the fact that it's a boy just means even more excitement in our lives.

Baby was SUPER active and the tech went to get the doc about 3/4 of the way through...

Apparently there's a concern of hydrocephalus. The spacing in the brain was at the max of what they'd like to see. They want me to go back in three weeks to see if it's stayed the same (which would mean things are fine). I'm not worried... well not completely. I have no reason to think that anything would be wrong. I'm relatively healthy, so is DH. Saylor's pregnancy was completely normal and this pregnancy has been better than textbook.

We're very excited to be having a boy and can't wait to get started playing the name game!

Spring has finally sprung!

2007-04-22T20:59:00.000-04:00

I'm not going to say it very loudly, but I think that Spring has finally arrived. On Friday, Hubby came home early and we took George to the park where we got to run around - and Saylor tried to keep up best she could.

Saturday we went on the world's longest bike ride. Just as we were at the furthest point away from home, Saylor began to scream. Wait... no, she SCREAMED. And just as we thought she'd calmed down, she'd start to scream again. The ride never seemed to end. I can't wait to move her bike seat from mine to Hubby's bike. Ugh!

This afternoon we decided to have a picnic lunch. We had a wonderful time dining on French bread, fruit and brie. As you can see by the photos Saylor thoroughly enjoyed each lunch item as well (I think she has food in hand in each photo).

We ended the weekend with a cookout with our favoritest neighbors so far in this Coast Guard adventure. Their two girls came over to keep Saylor busy (and to help ward off her all too present temper tantrums of late) and we invited the family over to take advantage of the grill. It was a wonderful evening... which was capped off by Saylor going to bed relatively easily and on time (by 7:15)!

Here are two photo montages of our weekend fun:

The house behind Saylor in a few of the photos is "Fenwick," the home of the late Katharine Hepburn. My mother-in-law was a great fan of "Kate" so I knew she'd enjoy a photo of her favorite grandbaby and the house.

More Easter Photos

2007-04-11T08:50:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful Easter week. Hubby's dad came to visit last Tuesday through Sunday from Michigan (not sure how we scored to have six days versus BIL and SIL only having him four, but I'll work on that). He was in his element seeing Saylor and how big she's grown just since he last saw her at Christmas.

For Easter we went to Cousin Marsha and Rick's house and had a very nice evening. MIL, who is still recovering from her double knee replacement surgery was having a bad pain day, but she stuck it out and hopefully enjoyed herself as much as possible.

Saylor was happy - there were two other kid there, a 6yo and 16mo, and they played all day together. It made the adults happy, too, as we didn't have to find ways to entertain Little Miss on our own.

Here are some photos from Easter weekend:

Back on March 28... Spring happened for a moment

2007-04-10T22:12:00.000-04:00

It was during that week that Saylor wore TWO dresses! Since then, it's been back to bundling her up. I wanted to get some new photos of the newly walking girl and was successful. George just wanted to be on the deck - and not necessarily chased around it so Little Miss could give him hug after hug after hug. It's adorable to watch her do that - she's at the perfect height for it!

Having fun with iPhoto

2007-04-10T21:51:00.000-04:00

Look at the cute little website I made with photos of Saylor in her "big sister" t-shirt! Okay, it's far from a cute website, but it's got quite a cute girl to look at, lol.

Check it out! Big Sister

April 30! Mark your calendars!

2007-04-10T20:42:00.000-04:00

Hopefully the Wee Two will cooperate and show us his or her goods so we can start calling him or her by a proper pronoun!

Last night we conclusively decided we wanted to know the gender. I've been on the fence recently about finding out. With Saylor I just *knew* she was a she (read the blog back to before we found out - I only hoped I was right in referring to her as a her - I would have felt like such a terrible mom if she was a he!). With this one, I have absolutely no clue. Some days I think "boy" and other days I think "girl." But when Hubby gives his real opinion about something I listen since he often says, "Whatever you want to do." Last night he said, "I want to find out." And find out, we shall

Twenty more days!!

Belly is Growing!

2007-03-24T08:59:00.001-04:00

*Editing in to add, 3 Nov 2008:
I find that I get a lot of Google searches that seem to direct folks to this particular post. I'm very curious as to what brings you all here. Shoot me an email and let me know if you can! I'd appreciate it!

Here I am at 13 weeks pregnant with the Wee Two. I broke down and pulled out my favorite maternity jeans yesterday. My low rise jeans weren't cutting it anymore. Since I can't wear a belt, I was forever making sure they didn't fall down. I finally gave in to the comfort of maternity. Ahh... and boy are they comfy!

I've felt some movement this past week... I'd like to think it's the baby and not gas, but who knows. So much is going in internally that it could be anything. My next appointment is Wednesday, but I don't expect anything more special than peeing in a cup and listening to the heartbeat. I hope they schedule my Level II ultrasound where we could possibly find out the gender!

Any ideas? Boy? Girl? This time we have no clue.

Saylor Discovers TP

2007-03-21T21:32:00.000-04:00

I heard Saylor squealing with joy... came around the corner and found her in the bathroom. When she spotted me, she ran out of the room... with the TP in hand. It was a new roll as of yesterday. Oh we're in for some fun now!

Baby Check Up!

2007-03-19T16:57:00.000-04:00

I had a Nuchal Translucency (NT) Scan today at Yale which measures the neck fluid of the fetus to determine the risk of Down's Syndrome or Trisomy 21. I'm happy to say that the Wee Two measured within the normal range. The risk of him or her to have it one in 2,500. And based on bloodwork I had done last week to check the risk of Trisomy 18 and that risk is one in 4,500.

If I felt good about the pregnancy before going into this ultrasound, then I feel outstanding after seeing Wee Two again. I have felt a bit nervous since I'm feeling so good this pregnancy. I kept a list in the journal about how I was feeling along the way. I haven't done it really with this one because I barely feel any different than I did before I was pregnant!

Seeing Wee Two on that screen today was incredible. Absolutely incredible. I have felt him/her kick the last couple of days and it's a great feeling.

What a Pain in the Ass

2007-03-13T19:27:00.000-04:00

Oh my. I forgot what sciatica was like. I didn't experience it until the last few weeks while pregnant with Saylor. I've had it a couple of times already and today - ooh boy - it hurts!

Another PITA is turning 34, which I did on Sunday. I had a beautiful day, spent it with some of my favorite people (Hubby, Saylor, my oldest and dearest friend, Amy, and her two gorgeous children) and celebrated it quietly yet perfectly. Everyone who I had hoped to call did and it just made the day grand.

But how in the heck did I become 34? Has it really been 20 years since I obsessed about Duran Duran (mmm, John Taylor) and Michael Jackson (when it was cool to like MJ)? Wow. Twenty years since another milestone that comes to mind that I won't share here because while I don't mind sharing some things, I am not one to share all things online. Let's just say, I'm glad we're not stuck in middle school forever and that we grow up and become who we are to become. For good and for bad.

Happy birthday to me... and my PITA.

One-Fourth Done!

2007-03-02T07:51:00.000-05:00

Today I'm 10 weeks along. Feels good to be a fourth of the way through. We had an OB appointment yesterday and after a few minutes of my NP trying, we were able to hear the sweet, sweet sound of the heartbeat. I immediately started to cry.

I have felt like I wasn't growing but after taking the photo above last night I realize how silly I am. I've grown by about 2.5 inches around and my pants are definitely getting more snug. I'm by no means close to maternity clothes - and considering I'm 20 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant with Saylor, it will be a while before I can fit in the bin of clothes I saved. It's just as well since I wouldn't want to wear my "winter maternity" wardrobe while pregnant during the summer this time.

Saylor Walks!

2007-03-01T09:10:00.000-05:00

It's official. We have a walker. And she gets better at it every day. It's great to watch her. She also can stand from a sit now which is pretty handy.

Snow Day 2007

2007-02-26T12:00:00.001-05:00

CB had Monday off - which happened to be his birthday. It was a nice gift from Mother Nature, hehe. He insisted on taking Saylor and the dog outside to enjoy the snow.

Having a second is a lot easier than the first

2007-02-22T15:54:00.000-05:00

Funny how much I obsessed about being pregnant with Saylor. I don't think that I forgot for one second during the 36 weeks I knew about her that I was expecting. Not one.

I don't know what it is, but there are times when I have to remind myself of this one! It's not like I'm bringing a cocktail to my lips and think, "Oh yeah!" it's that with a 13 month old walking (yes! she's officially walking) around and getting into so much more than before that my mind is elsewhere. Thankfully I'm remembering to take my prenatals and doing my best to eat well.

I was going through Saylor's pregnancy journal recently and found that I had so many more pregnancy symptoms at this point - breast sensitivity, morning sickness, heartburn... oh the heartburn! I've had very mild morning sickness and it's virtually disappeared over the last week or so. My breasts are sensitive - and I think I only notice it because I'm still breastfeeding the first baby. So my lack of pregnancy symptoms is what I really think is the reason I "forget" I'm pregnant.

Although I'd love a glass of wine!

Fun in the Snow!

2007-02-20T09:09:00.000-05:00

We went to NH this weekend where my family gave Saylor a second first birthday party. It was so sweet and it was great to see everyone. My sisters, brother-in-law, cousins and cousins-in-law and my aunt all made the trek the dad's house to see us.

Saylor got to experience her first snow first hand as Grampy and Grammy had gotten 30 inches of snow last week. It was great! We've had nothing to brag about in the winter department down here in CT so it was great to experience it for a few days and then leave it behind.

Here's a video of Saylor walking in the snow:

Two Under Two

2007-02-15T10:15:00.000-05:00

We found out the day after Saylor's birthday that we're expecting again! We're still trying to wrap our head around the fact that we're going to have two children under the age of two.
We've only told a few family members and friends. We're planning making the big reveal this weekend when we go to New Hampshire to see Grampy and Grammy - as well as aunts, uncles, and cousins. They've gotten a bunch of snow, so we're looking forward to having Saylor play in the snow for the first time!

Celebrating the First Year with Little Miss

2007-01-17T09:23:00.000-05:00

It's so hard to believe that my little baby girl (at left in a birth day photo) is a year old! We had a fun birthday party a couple of days before the big day. It almost didn't happen since the stomach bug made it's way through the house the week before. I had it Wednesday, Saylor had it Friday and Hubby stayed in bed through the whole party and missed the big day while he suffered with it.

Saylor got a Radio Flyer wagon for her birthday from mom and dad. It'll come in really handy this summer when we go to the beach.

We wee surprised to watch Saylor eat her entire cupcake. She picked it right up and munched away - and didn't make too bad of a mess.

Here are a couple of birthday photos.

Time has flown by!

2007-01-01T08:49:00.000-05:00

We had Thanksgiving at the home of a cousin here in Connecticut and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Saylor ate a lot of turkey, stuffing and even tried turnips (can I just say how thankful I am that she eats everything; how I hope it remains like this!).

Christmas was a lot of fun. Grampa came out from Michigan, Uncle Drew came up from Philadelphia (Aunt Leanne spent the holiday with her family in New Mexico), Aunt Sara came up from New Haven and Gramma came over from her house for a weekend load of fun. Santa brought a Playskook Walk 'n' Ride, magnetic alphabet letters and books.

In September we had written a letter to our family and friends suggesting to them that they not buy us any thing as we have everything we need with them in our life. It worked and Christmas was more about being together than scrambling around buying something for buying sake. It was very relaxing.

Aunt Emily went a step further by buying a flock of chicks through the Heifer Organization in Saylor's name. "Starting at six months, they can lay up to 200 eggs a year — a reliable source of protein for children who otherwise subsist mostly on starches." How cool is that? And I just love the fact that it was a flock of chicks... it made me cry for some reason.

What the hell is wrong with me?

2006-11-01T21:39:00.000-05:00

The old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is more true than I thought. After Saylor was born I started taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen and felt completely fine on it. I didn't experience any side effects - no weight gain, no water retention, no acne... nothing. But I didn't trust myself to be able to remember to take a pill the size of a baby aspirin daily, so I talked with my OB about an alternative. Originally I thought I'd talk with Doc about the patch the she suggested Nuva Ring instead.

I began using "the ring" on October 15. I honestly didn't have any issue with it. But now, about 2.5 weeks later I realize what a fog I was in while using it.

What Hubby noticed was my MOOD SWINGS. That's in all caps because apparently I have been so bad that he didn't want to talk to me - at all. And I didn't realize how bad I was - I knew I had been short with him, but to me it was "normal" shortness, but to him it was to the point that he wanted to run from the house and not answer my calls when he was at work. Last night was the clincher. We were at my mother-in-law's house for dinner and a night of Trick-or-Treaters, and I freaked out at her about her dog (he jumped up on the dining room table and ate Saylor's dinner, which we'd only brought enough to her house for one serving). I wasn't myself - I could feel myself inside my head, but this anger came out of no where and I was so rude and horrible. After a light "clicked on" in my head, I came back to my senses and realized just what a big deal I had made out of absolutely nothing (in the big scheme of things).

I hadn't realized it but I felt like I had the BIGGEST, DARKEST black cloud hanging over me and it was only getting bigger. Yesterday morning I didn't feel like doing anything and even the idea of showering and getting dressed was as daunting as a root canal. I just didn't want to do it - ever again. It also helped explain why yesterday morning I cried when Hubby didn't make me coffee. He never makes me coffee in the morning so why was I so upset?

So, last night the NR came out and already today I feel that I'm back to being my perky self. It's the only change I've made in the past few months so I decided to get rid of it to get back to "normal."

I called my OBGYN and refilled my ortho tri-cyclin lo Rx today.