Oh Goodness!

I’d love to know WHAT this bug is that I keep seeing in my house. I think it’s a millipede. But I don’t want to Google it. That will just gross me out. I’ve seen two of them in the last half hour ~ two DIFFERENT ONES. EW. Heeby Jeeby.

Anyways, I was just hopping on WordPress here to post some stuff when I saw the creature. And now I’m just creeped out and don’t really want to sit in this room anymore. Hubby is sleeping and I have no one to kill it for me. Boo.

I’ve been posting lots of pictures over on my other blog. Check it out!

Dear Snowdrop

Dear Snowdrop,

Today you are 8 months & 6 days old. Today you began to crawl for the very first time! I can hardly believe how big you are now. You’re my little ham. The first time was this morning. We were in the kitchen and your sisters were coloring. They spilled their crayons all over the floor and as soon as you caught sight of them it became your life’s work to get them. You leaned forward from a sitting position and got yourself on your stomach. Then you inched forward, using your toes to push you just an inch or so at a time. We scrambled to pick up the crayons and you never ended up really getting any.

When Daddy came home after fixing some jukebox emergencies I put you on your stomach about six feet away from him. He took out the Piggy Bank that sings and showed you the coins and made the pig sing. You love that toy very much and without much hesitation, you started to crawl ~ one toe, then the other. All the way until you made it! Daddy was very proud, and so was I. You are learning so quickly and getting better at it every day.

You love songs and sometimes we hear you singing along to the words. It’s really pretty funny. Other toys you like are your Mr. Froggy Oggy that sleeps in your bed with you, the rattles, and your building blocks. You also like to play with your sisters’ toys. Sometimes they are okay with that; sometimes they’d rather you didn’t. We have a toy where you can put balls down a slide and it has some songs, etc. You love this toy and can put the balls in the container when I tell you to. You are very smart, my little girl!

Today you did something very funny. You & I were laying on the couch together. You were sitting inbetween my legs. You started crawling around putting your face in the pillow. Then you rolled over and stuck your face in the back of the couch and put your butt up in the air. It reminded me of an ostrich. I called Daddy to come downstairs because I thought you had decided to fall asleep. You were in such a cute position. Daddy thought you looked really cute and when he rolled your body over a bit to check if you were asleep, there you were smirking up at him with a twinkle in your eye! You were certainly delighted by this little game. You had played a trick, a joke, made a funny! We were so surprised by this show of humor! Snowdrop, you were absolutely just the cutest!!

Lately you have been eating things like peas, green beans, sweet potatos, carrots, squash… pears, bananas, applesauce, peaches… You LOVE carrots and peas. Green beans are a favorite, as are sweet potatos. Girl you like to eat, but sometimes you get crabby when you’re eating and it makes it hard to feed you. And frustrating! We just started giving you puffs and you really seems to like those. Still, you wake up to drink a mo-mo around 4am every night. It’s hard on Mommy & Daddy and we really wish you’d learn to sleep through the night.

At the last dr’s appt, you were in the 26%ile for height and 96%ile for weight!! You are a chunk! Deliciously fat. We have another appointment this week so we’ll see where you are at now.

You are an easy baby to take out on errands or to the stores. People are always commenting on how beautiful you are and how stunning your blue eyes are. You are pleasant and like to look around and smile at people. Did I mention how easy it is to take you places?

You just started waving “hi” and “bye” to us. It’s more of like a wild paddling in the air ~ but we’ll take it as a wave! Sometimes I swear you’ve said “Hi” and you have also started saying “mamamamamamamamamamama”. Even though I know it’s not for real, it’s still pretty cute!

You love your big sisters and they love you! We pick them up from school and you are always so excited to see them!

Daddy is begging me to come upstairs as it is late and we are heading to the lake tomorrow EARLY to spend some time with your Gigi & Papa.

We love you very much Snowdrop! You are our little girl and we are so proud of all the things you do! Love you Bunny!

Love, Mommy

I’m Gonna Go Ahead and Say It…

(I moved this post from my photoblog. I decided it was more appropriate to post it here, on my WordPress blog where I typically do things like rant.)

It really bothers me when people say bad things about the Duggar Family. Having a large family isn’t for everyone, I get it! Other people don’t like Christians, I get it!! Everyone gets to have their own opinion, I get it!!!

But specifically, I read something this morning that set me off. It was this, from a blog that will remain unamed. But really, you know who you are. This is what the author wrote, in reference to people she really truly hates: “…finally Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar…(and all families who make a living off of birthing children.) Just my opinion.”

Totally! It’s just your opinion. Well here’s mine. Maybe you should get your head out of your ass and do a little research. Really? You list the Duggars with Carrot Top and Paris Hilton as your most hated people? Really?? The Duggars?? God-loving, Child-Rearing, Do-It-Themselves Duggars?? Really?? The Duggars birthed 19 kids just so they could make a living off of them???? Really? Do you know ANYTHING about having children or about the Duggars other than what Perez Hilton and TMZ tell you? Really?? Have you gone through a pregnancy?? (My sincere apologies if you haven’t, really I’m all about supporting the pain of being infertile and not being able to birth your own baby, but seriously – it’s not all rainbows and lollipops. And I don’t think you could pay me enough money to do it 16 times!!!! No wait, I KNOW you couldn’t pay me enough money to be pregnant 16 times!)

Really, do you know anything about the Duggars?? Really?? Because if you did know anything about them, you’d know that they have lived debt free nearly their entire marriage. Did you know that Mr. Duggar served in the Arkansas House of Representatives for several years? Did you know that they own several commercial properties that they rent out – WHICH IS THEIR MAIN SOURCE OF INCOME. Did you know thay they’ve never had government assistance? Did you know they buy most of their clothing used? They built their own house with their own hands. They teach their kids to become self-sufficient, hard-working, and to give back to their communities.

Do your research, lady! And stop picking on the Duggars! They seem to the be the ONE family in America that isn’t fucked up, that’s fighting to do good for themselves and others, and that the rest of us could probably stand to learn a thing or two from.

“Just my opinion.”

(PS. So the Duggars are making a living off of birthing their children and you hate them for it? What about your Big Ol’ Sponsored Mommy Blog???? Sounds absolutely hypocritical to me.)

Randoms

I’ve been posting quite a bit on my newer blog (www.theunexpectedworldofmommyhood.blogspot.com) mainly just pictures that I’m entering into photography contests. I’m having a lot of fun with it, exploring a new hobby, branching out…

My sisters moved into college last week. One of them is here in the Little City at my alma mater (pretty cool) and the other is in FL studying golf. (Living the dream.) (Except, not my dream. I don’t like golf. But Go Her, right?) (My parents wouldn’t let me study theater but she can study golf. There I said it. No big elephant in this room.) (But seriously, I really AM happy that they’re letting her study what she wants to study and are supporting her in this decision. It will make all the difference in her life and career.) (Seriously it will. And seriously, I am happy for her.) (Yes, I may always be bitter that my dreams weren’t supported.)

ANNNNNNNYWAYS. I’m really glad to have ONE sister here in the Little City with me. She’s already accompanied me on a Target-Whole Foods run & we’re going to go on errands this weekend. I know every week and weekend won’t be filled with visits and errands – but I know it’s going to make such a positive difference in my life having her around.

Junie & Mags go to preschool next week. They start on Tuesday. They’ll go Tues/Thurs from 9-12. That will give me just about 6 extra hours of “free” time a week, in addition of course to the 6 hours I get on Wednesdays. (May the Lord Bless my MIL as long as the sun & moon shall endure.) I have a whole post drafted about our parent meeting. It didn’t go well. And you’ll have to wait until I post the draft to read about it. (Okay, it wasn’t like the worst day ever. But it would definitely rank under “Worst First Impressions”.) *sigh* We take the girls to school tomorrow for an Open House so they can see their classroom, meet their teacher, etc. I’m excited. I hope they don’t freak out. Hubby’s parents wanted to come to school on the first day… I was like “noooooooo way.” The LAST thing I need on the first day of school are my in-laws there. Yes, bless them for all the wonderful help they give us, but I really want this to be MY day with the girls, you know? Is that super selfish? I also don’t want the day to be super overwhelming for them. And I just get the impression that the first day is probably going to be a circus and they probably don’t want more people there than it needs to be. Also, I want to be able to take pictures, get pictures of me with the girls, etc – and I’m not going to be able to do that if my kids are hanging all over Gigi & Papa (which they will be because Gigi & Papa are preferred over Mommy & Daddy 9/10 times).

And I’m nervous for school. I can’t believe my little girls are going to school. Well, playschool/preschool. And I think as excited as they are, they are also nervous. They started asking lots of questions this week about school. And saying things like “You drop us off. And pick us up later?” And then I have to reassure them that I’m picking them up later. We talk about how they will play and eat snacks and go potty and play outside and listen to stories and their teacher is ”Going be really really nice” (that’s what they’ve been telling me about her for months!). It will be interesting to see us dressed, fed, and ready to leave the house by 8:35 am at the latest on Tuesdays and Thursday! Right now we live about 17 minutes from school. It’s kind of a drive (but it’s all highway, less than five minutes getting on/off the highway) but eventually – like I’m hoping within the next two years – we’ll move out of the city and closer to school.

I have no idea what they are going to wear on the first day. I need to get that figured out so they don’t have fashion emergencies that morning. Any tips from you veteran moms out there? We already have a shoe box where they know to grab their shoes and put them on. I was thinking about having two boxes on the lower landing of our staircase. One would hold their outfit for the day, the other would hold socks (so they could just grab any old sock and throw it on). In my imagination, the girls will come downstairs in the morning, eat a waffle (or whatever breakfast is that morning) and then throw on their clothes and socks and shoes and be ready to leave for school.

In my imagination, the girls are the only self-sufficiant three year olds in the universe.

My plan has been rendered ridiculous. My head is in the clouds, isn’t it?

We’ll get our school morning routine figured out.

Okay. That felt good to write. Hi WordPress Blog. I’ve missed you. I might not be ready to come back yet… but I’ll be back sooner than later. Sorry to anyone who might read my blog on a regular basis! I’ve been in a funk. Really, a funk. But it’s slowly leaving me & I’ll be back to my usual spirited self soon enough. Thanks for sticking by!

Photo-Story on my Other Blog

Posted a photo-story over at my blogspot blog in participation of IHeartFaces weekly photo challenge.

Maybe someone from here is interested in The Rescue of Little Clown and How He Helped Mommy Finish the Laundry. 

Check it out!

Posting at Blogger, Taking a Break

I’ve been posting over at Blogger. Okay. That’s sort of a lie. I should say that I’ve posted at Blogger three times this week. Mainly to participate in photo contests. I’m testing the waters over there. I kind of like it. You can find me there. (http://theunexpectedworldofmommyhood.blogspot.com)

Although it’s totally been on my mind to post here.

We’re all fine. I just haven’t felt like writing. I even survived a trip to the Big City and a whole week with my mother!

Do pigs have wings?

Getting my act together

I need to get my act together and finish up (actually, start) the post on our trip to the Big City. I also need to catch up on QOTW and Seen & Heard Saturday.

We’ve just been plain old busy. And when that happens, my blog gets stuck on the back burner. I dislike this but that’s what happens.

I PROMISE I’ll get my act together this week. Hubby is due to watch the kids and give me some free time…

The Belated Mother’s Day Weekend Recap

WOW. SO. It’s been awhile since I posted last. I think it was before Mother’s Day or shortly thereafter. We spent Mother’s Day weekend and this past weekend out of town so things have been BUSY and MORE BUSY and I haven’t really had the chance to sit down and type. In fact, Snowdrop is calling me to get her out of her jumperoo right now. But I’m leaving her in there because the pediatrician told us it was time for her to start self-soothing. She’s not crying yet but as long as she’s just “fussy” I know I need to leave her in there. There’s hardly much worse than a child that can’t soothe themself so… soothe-training, here we are!

Mother’s Day Weekend…. we spent at Hubby’s parents’ lakehouse. It’s about an hour drive from where we live (prob a little less) and is quite lovely. I mean, it’s not fancy or anything but it’s also not a dive. Hubby’s dad and grandpa built it years & years ago – and when I say they built it, I mean they dug the foundation built it. Right up from the ground. It was one of the first homes in the community. Anyways, it sits on a lake and they just got a new boat this year. Now wait a second – before you go thinking our trees grow money, they don’t. Their old boat was over 27 years old and had FINALLY kicked the bucket. So they got a new boat. The motor on this new boat is HUGE – we call it my FIL’s “MidLife Crisis Motor”, hahahaha. The boat is smaller and faster than the old pontoon. And currently nameless. We joked that it should be called “The Grandson”. It was pretty funny for a bit but… then got to be not-so-funny when Hubby really started to contemplate that he might never provide his father with a real grandson. (Hubby is the son of an only-son of an only-son of… well, six generations of ONLY-A-SON and here we are with THREE GIRLS!) (I still think it’s funny.)

My In-Laws have neighbors at the lakehouse – the ones on the right side, we never see. The ones on the left side are pretty close family friends. The husband and my FIL are really good buddies – the guy’s wife? …. Well. She’s nice but is one of those people that asks too many questions, offers very unsolicited advice, and generally believes SHE is always RIGHT. We all know people like that. She REFUSED to wash her hands before holding Snowdrop – and I was too tired to cause a stir so I just let her hold the baby without washing her hands. NEXT TIME, she’ll have to wash her hands if she wants to hold my children. AND she’ll have to put down the booze. She’s always been a drinker (I mean, isn’t anyone who lives full time at a lakehouse?) but apparently, per hush-hush with my MIL, she’s been drinking a lot lately. Like, bottle of Jack under the sewing machine drinking… which isn’t a good thing. She was pretty tanked this weekend and it made me really uncomfortable. My parents (and extended family for that matter) aren’t big drinkers and it’s rare if they’re even tipsy (which would lead to a great story about my parents activities this past weekend while we were visiting them. I’ll provide a link to the post here after I create it.), so I’m just not very used to be around drunk elders.

Anyways. So the new boat. The girls were really excited to take a ride so of course we went out for a long ride on the lake. I wasn’t keen about bringing Snowdrop even though we have a lifejacket just for her. However, although Drunky offered to watch the baby while we went on the boat ride – I felt less comfortable leaving her with my child. Right? So Snowdrop came with us! I really didn’t want her to and I was nervous pretty much the whole ride. She loved it though and slept through the whole thing. Even the part when my FIL sped up to about 68mph…. which I was not happy about. It seems a little too fast for my 2 year olds and 4 month old. They loved it though! It will be fun this summer when we can pull them around on the tubes in the “lagoon”. Hubby laughs because I call it a “lagoon”… it’s like an inlet or something that the house sits on.

So on the way out there… Hubby and I were pretty much at each other’s throats. Something about me wanting to download and analyze the photos from our video camera and it taking forever, thus we weren’t going to end up getting out to the lake until much later than he expected. Whatever. I’m over it now. He was pissed at me and *I believe* purposely neglected to tell me that a certain stretch of road was heavily policed. I was blowing past everyone else and didn’t notice the State Police SUV I was about to pass. Haha. He promptly pulled me over. I felt so stupid – really. SO I was going 82 in a 65 – not unheard of – and because it was a zero tolerance zone I had to get a ticket. The guy was REALLY NICE though so at least I had that going for me. I hate when cops are jerks when they pull you over for speeding. I mean, it’s not like I was driving dangerously on top of speeding. I was just speeding. Anywho, he could have been a jerk but he wasn’t and that was pleasant. I actually thanked him for my ticket – who does that? Haha. Me. Now I have to go to court and get the whole thing fixed for various reasons that I won’t go into (mainly because it would divulge the state in which we live and that goes against my blog rules).

My MIL also walked in on me nursing Snowdrop. I was totally topless from the waist up, laying down on the bed. I had told Hubby that I was going in there to feed the baby so he would know to watch the girls and to keep others from entering our room. MIL keeps the baby toys in our room so when the girls started hassling her about things to do – she thought she’d bring them into our room to get them some toys. Of course, Hubby was too busy watching the ballgame to remember that he was also supposed to be protecting me. I KNEW when I heard her voice and the girls’ footsteps that they were headed into the room. I swung my arm around my bosums JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME and said “HI!” It was so awkward. And she was frozen for what seemed like an hour before she stumbled out “Oh gosh, sorry! I didn’t know.” I was just like “It’s fine!” while inside I was preparing my strategy to strangle my husband. Haha. 

The girls keep asking to go back there. I’m glad they love it as much as we do! We made it home without any more speeding tickets. d

Irked.

I’ve been working on the Mother’s Day weekend post now for a week or so (it’s still in the works!) and I’ll have another post coming about our trip to the Big City for my sisters’ graduation/prom weekend. Those will have to wait for now.

Meanwhile. I’m irked about something. Just plain irked.

See. Here’s the thing. Snowdrop’s “real” name is a variation of her Godmother’s name. Not intentional but that’s the way it worked out. Her Godmother was pregnant up until yesterday when she delivered her baby girl. See, when we were still pregnant in December we had asked her (Snowdrop’s Godmother) if she’d be using her name at all for her baby. We didn’t want to steal her name and we didn’t want our baby to share the name of another baby that we’d be seeing lots of in the future. (And if you’ve been a reader of my blog you know I want my kids to have unique names, blah, blah… etc.)

She assured us that they were DEFINITELY NOT using her name for their baby. DEFINITELY NOT.

So I’m irked because we received a text message yesterday after the baby was born. Despite definitely not planning on using said godmother’s name for their baby – they did! As a middle name, BUT STILL.

For example, let’s pretend that Godmother’s name is Joannna (it’s not, we’re just pretending) – and let’s say we ended up naming Snowdrop “Joanne Middlename”, with the understanding that Godmother Joanna wasn’t going to name her own daughter “Joanna”. But then Godmother Joanna named her daughter “Firstname Joanna”.

I know – it’s just a name, right? Well, sort of. To me it’s so much more. And because we specifically inquired about using the name…. I really wish had gotten the heads up about her using her own name. I know, she’s totally entitled to use her own name (and entitled to change her mind about not using it) but like, I JUST had my baby four months ago. It would be one thing if it were years later but it hasn’t been very long at all. Had we known, we totally would have gone with a different name. The name she ended up with wouldn’t have even been on our list.

I’m totally bummed. So is Hubby. Which makes me feel better about the whole thing knowing that he’s also bummed and would have also chosen a different name. It’s nice not to be the only one on my side.

It just irks me. And I wish I had put my foot down about my favorite name choice for Snowdrop (that we didn’t end up using). Growl.

 

Mommy Guilt…

I have Mommy Guilt. BIG TIME. And it really… sucks.

Breastfeeding. I struggled quite a bit with it in the beginning – between cracked nipples, supply issues, it basically HURTING A LOT, infections, lack of sleep, etc… it was no fun. But as the weeks went on it got easier. I had told myself prior to Snowdrop’s birth that I’d do my darndest to make it to week 12.

And I did.

In fact, around week 10 1/2 it got SO MUCH EASIER! My supply was pretty good (probably had something to do with my daily oatmeal serving) which helped immensely in not needing to supplement with formula anymore. I felt good about myself – I was keeping her nourished. It’s really an amazing feeling. I felt so proud that I was doing what I intended to do for her and it was working. We were starting to settle into a nice little “non-schedule” (no set times but I was able to expect when-abouts she’d need to eat). Before I knew it, week 12 was upon us.

My goal had been to make it until week 12 and then to re-evaluate the whole thing. At 12 weeks, I decided to go another week. And then another week after that and so on. We were in a nice rhythm, me & Snowdrop. I was really enjoying the moments I had with her while she was nursing. The way her eyes rolled back into her head with enjoyment as she drank – she looked like a little drunkie baby. The way she’d pop off my boob with her mouth open and milk dribbling down her chin when she had finished, eyelids fluttering in exhaustion. How she grabs at my shirt and clutches it in her little hand, as if to say ”No Mommy, I’m not done just yet!” The little noises she makes – little grunts, like a piglet. My piglet. My Snowdrop. My precious baby.

I loved scooping her up from her swing in the dark when she’d wake to nurse and tucking her beside me in bed. There we’d lay while she nursed and then we’d fall back asleep, my arms carefully wrapped around her while she slept. When the big girls woke up, Hubby would leave me & Snowdrop to sleep in bed. She’d wake up about an hour later to nurse again and then I’d place her back in her swing so she could have her morning nap. Those moments were so special, waking up together and seeing her pretty little face beside me.

Here we are at week 19 now. I find myself almost needing these nursings more than her. The very thought of not nursing her anymore drives me to tears. It’s not a formula vs breastmilk issue (our twins were formula babies so… I’m not anti-formula in any way). I think it’s more of a mommy/baby thing. I never got to experience this with the big girls. It took me a long time to feel close to the girls… it took a long time to get to know them. With Snowdrop, it’s so different. It’s happened so much faster and is so much deeper. I’m sure this has something to do with nursing her. It has to, right? Because how could I feel more for her at this age than I did with her sisters?

Sometimes I wonder if I didn’t open myself up to the girls because I was so scared all the time that they would die. They were premies and with Mag’s kidney stuff… basically, I’m paranoid. (We all know that!) I’m not so scared this time around. Just a little bit… but I’m not completely a newbie mom anymore. Now I’m more worried that she’s not hitting the same milestones at the same times the big girls did. (Again, the paranoia.) Anyways….

At week 17 1/2, I found my supply seemed to be slipping away from me. I restarted eating oatmeal in the mornings - now a task more than just having breakfast. I loathe my daily serving of oats, how much more oatmeal can I really eat before I am never able to eat it again? I hoped it would help with my supply… One morning, I even put Caraway Seeds (like Fennel, it is a galactogogue – that means it can help up your supply!) and Cinnamon in my oatmeal. Yes, Caraway and Cinnamon Oatmeal. It was so gross. But I ate it… nearly every bite just hoping it would boost my supply. I couldn’t bear to eat it the next morning.

I think I’m drinking enough water/liquids. I’m getting as much rest as I was before… which isn’t much… but no different than before….

And here’s where the Mommy Guilt comes in:

As much as I LOVE, NEED, WANT to nurse my sweet little Snowdrop… part of me wants desperately to have “myself” back. I want to join Hubby outside after the kids go to bed for a cocktail without worrying about the effects on my baby. I want to be able to go to the grocery store or on other errands (or activities) without worrying that I need to be home in time to feed the baby. (We used up all the stored milk we had when Hubby & I went on two date nights. Just TWO.) I want to be able to go out with my husband, possibly even have an overnight date, without worrying about being sure to pump enough while we’re gone from the baby. I want to be able to go out with my friends and not worry about my milk or feeding the baby on time so I can keep my supply going…

I really hate eating oatmeal EVERY morning.

I want to lose all this baby weight. They say breastfeeding will help you lose the weight but mine really seems to be sticking on… I want to be able to cut back my food intake and really get back to eating like I’m a skinny person instead of being sure I’m getting enough calories all day and eating at least three square meals and drinking enough liquids… I want to be able to exercise a bit without worrying that I’m taking away from her nourishment by burning calories.

And I feel like SUCH a terrible person for all of this. What kind of mother doesn’t want to feed her child anymore? I just feel like a… mommy-bitch.

About last week (18 weeks), I started to wean her. This morning was the first morning that my boobs didn’t feel like they were going to burst – which is good, it means my milk production is slowing down… which will make weaning less painful. We’re set to visit my parents next weekend and it would be nice to be able to leave her for an extended period of time and get out to see my friends.

*sigh*

I feel so sad to be giving up this part of my life but so excited at the same time to be gaining part of myself back. But the sadness and guilt are so much more prominent these days.

Did you have Mommy Guilt when you quit breastfeeding? If you did, how did you deal with it? If you didn’t, what did you tell yourself that prevented the guilt?

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mommy-bloggers out there (or just mommies who read blogs!) ~ I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a relaxing one, too!

I’ll post later about our weekend but I will tell you this: It involved me getting my first speeding ticket since 2004 (82 in a 65 on the highway… after Hubby told me to watch my speed - OF COURSE.) and my MIL walking in on my naked torso while I was feeding Snowdrop. And their drunk neighbor rubbing her face on my baby.

*sigh*

Next year? I’m going to Tahiti for Mother’s Day.

My Tailbone and Our New Computer…

I’ll leave the whole tailbone thing for the end of this post. On to better things like our new computer!

Our new computer. We finally got it set up (well, Hubby did it while I was out running an errand)! It’s pretty snazzy with a HUGE flat screen monitor and a CD/DVD burner. I’m really excited to start copying our home videos and photos to CD/DVDs. I envision the girls when they’re older being able to pop in a home movie and enjoy watching our family. I personally love seeing our old home movies. They’re so special. My dad burned copies of the first 1/4 of home movies – I keep bugging him to copy the rest for me.

The new computer… has this fancy new Windows 7. The last Windows I had on a brand new computer? Windows 2000. Things have really changed! I *think* I like all the “updates”. I’m not sure yet; I’m still tinkering around on here.

Tonight, I made some spreadsheets. Don’t I lead an exciting life? I was really excited about them. See, I didn’t keep track of Junie & Mag’s medical info like height and weight, etc. That’s because I’m a bad mom (kidding). When we switched pediatricians, the old ped’s office copied the girls’ files for me and we picked them up. I decided to make spreadsheets of their medical information. So now I have it all recorded and organized and that makes me feel happy. There are piles of laundry laying around here but somehow designing spreadsheets and doing a little data entry is what I chose to do tonight. Don’t you just love OCD?

Anyways, we have a new computer and I’m very excited.

Now, my tailbone. Nothing really exciting to report I guess. Sorry if you were expecting some awesome story. Well, so my tailbone still hurts from back when Snowdrop was born. It really sucks! I was giving it a while to get better but it really doesn’t seem to be improving. I was at my doctor’s yesterday for my yearly exam and she gave me the number of her chiropractor. I’m not looking forward to this but 4 1/2 months into all this tailbone pain, I am really ready for it to be over. Hopefully the gal will be able to snap me back into place and I can sit comfortably on my bum from now on. Until we have another child.

Which I’m hoping (please God!) won’t be until after 2010.

Maybe even closer to 2012? Please?

Question of the Week: What Item Do You Splurge On?

What Item Do You Splurge On?

There is one thing that I do consider to be a real splurge of mine and that is Aveda Brilliant Damage Control spray. It costs $15 for an 8.5oz bottle. I go through two (maybe three depending on summer heat, frequency of swimming, etc) a year. I love this stuff! It makes my hair feel great and I love the way it smells. I’d use Aveda shampoos but they’re just too darn expensive!

And Uggs. I love my Uggs. I’ve got a few boots and three pairs of slippers. I LOVE THEM and completely recommend them to everyone. The cost is worth the comfort and quality, in my opinion.

There are a few other things that I “splurge” on… I go to a fancy-pants salon to get my eyebrows/lip waxed every month and a half or so. I find it so relaxing and I really trust my lady there to do a good job. Plus they use all natural stuff so I think it helps with my uber-sensitive skin. There’s no way I could do it myself, in addition to not trusting myself to over/under-tweeze. I get my hair cut at the same salon, which is also a splurge but I justify it because I only get my hair cut once a year, if that.

When it came to decorating the nurseries, I splurged – a little. I got Pottery Barn Kids bedding for the big girls. I had found it on sale, but it was still a big purchase at the time. (In fact, they DO offer a multiples discount however the gal behind the counter said they didn’t… but they do so don’t be fooled if you’re in the market for some PBK!) I “splurged” on PBK bedding for Snowdrop, too – but I bought it on 75% off clearance. SCORE! And her curtains were PBK from Ebay. DEAL!!! I’m really into PBK, I think they’ve got the cutest stuff for kid’s rooms. I tend to buy accessories and accents at places like Homegoods or Target, etc. But bedding is something I splurge on for the kids. I like our nurseries to be adorable. And they are!

When I go back home to the Big City, I’ll splurge on stuff like Bakery Food from my old bakery or I’ll go on a little Ikea spree because we don’t have one where we live.

Seen & Heard Saturday

Juniper: “I tired. I need nap.” It’s 7am. So why aren’t you asleep, silly girl?

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Juniper: “I having bad day. I sad today.” Because she wanted to play in the park but it was raining.

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Magnolia: “What’s that?” During their last shower with Daddy.

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Magnolia: “I love boobies!”

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Seen: One girl tucking her sister into an empty diaper box and covering her with a blanket and a lovie.

Seen: Two little girls reading a lift-the-flap book to their baby sister.

Seen: Two little girls running around with Bumbos on their heads – like helmets. They remind of Rick Moranis in SpaceBalls.

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Juniper: “Oh no! Big storm coming! I want to go in basement!” Well. We DID end up needing to go into the basement as the tornado sirens were going off. And the girls? They LOVED it! Flashlights, vintage Duck Tales movie (on video cassette), and our cat lovingly perched on Mag’s chair keeping watch on our girls until it passed.

 

Are we moving or not?

Hubby would like to have the house on the market in about four months.

Are you laughing with me?

I think a more realistic timetable is like… a year? At the earliest, I’d say nine months from now but January really isn’t the best time to list our house. We’ve got so many beautiful flora & fauna that it’s in our best interest to list the house in the Springtime. (Ahem, one year from now. Like I said, one year.) Our house is NOT ready to be listed. I mean, we COULD list as it is right now but I think we’d get more money out of the deal if we waited a bit longer to complete what I think are necessary changes to the house. Like painting the big blue monster that is our main room.

Hubby promised me when we first looked at this house that we could change the color of the main room if we ended up buying it. Well like elephants, pregnant women never forget! And the room STILL isn’t painted. I threw a fit (no, it was a big fit!) about a week and a half ago about it – so finally it’s going to be painted. We have it on the calender. Thank GOD. I’m so tired of the color. Everyone who comes to our house really likes it – I’m the only one who doesn’t. I’m also the only one who spends the most time here so… it’s getting changed. It’s not that I don’t like blue, I just don’t like THIS blue. It’s too… grey. Which you will think is bizarre considering I’m going to be painting this room grey. Haha. (I know I’m so weird!)

Other things we need to do to the house – are paint the master bedroom, the upstairs bathrooms, and hallways. We really don’t have too much more painting to do (that’s what I keep telling Hubby). We recently put a ceiling in our basement – and it looks SO nice! I’m so glad Hubby finally got around to doing it. We’ll also need to paint the basement, get it leveled (the floors a bit uneven), and install tile. That will be a big job but an absolute necessity before putting the house on the market if we want to be able to ‘bill’ the basement as liveable space. It totally is liveable space but with tile in place, it will be much cozier. We’re going to put all the toys down there and I can’t wait to get them out of our main room. It’s overtaking our life. And we need most of it in order to entertain the minds of our little ladies.

That’s another thing that makes me wary of putting the house on the market. As of September, the girls will be three – which gives us three children under the age of three. Which equals, toys, toys, and baby stuff. I know I’ve heard that when you place the house on the market it’s a good idea to de-personalize your home and get rid (or store) anything that is in the way. And that for us, would be a LOT of stuff. Where oh where do I put it all? I sort of think those PODS are like an invitation for people to steal your things. Like, here’s my POD full of all my belongings while we try and sell our home – it’s yours if you can break in!

So do we complete the necessary projects and not worry about de-children-ing our home? Not worry about the multitudes of family photos on our walls? Our poster collection (in nice frames on a main wall in our home) from concerts we attended? Do we hope that the people who look at our home can look past the toys and personal photos & see the beauty of the home?

And then there’s another thought. Let’s not move. Let’s stay here for a few more years and wait until we have another child. It’s a tight fit right now, but we fit in this house. And I do love our yard. And the location of our home to the highway, restaurants, etc. I don’t love our location in terms of closeness to some pretty ghetto areas… and I don’t love the location in terms of type of hooligans passing by on a daily basis. And although I already have them designed… I’d rather not have to paint/redesign the kids’ rooms again if we moved - holy cow, that was an undertaking.

It’s so much to think about and the above is just a smattering of my thoughts on the subject. A mere smattering.

Have you moved homes with your multiples (or pack of children)? How did that work for you, as far as de-personalizing and packing up? Any pointers or tips to pass on?