Mommy Musings

How Lydia Got Her Name

2009-10-06T16:22:00.004-04:00

Since I had posted about the name Sophia and why we were going to name the baby that, I thought I should add an entry about how and why we changed it.

Believe it or not, it all started AT HomeGoods the night we thought we got our sign to name her Sophia. I loved the name Sophia but was a little concerned about the popularity. Obviously, I don't have a problem with popular names...all of my kids have names that were in the top 25 or so when they were born, but I tend to avoid names that are top 5 in popularity and Sophia was right up there. Having been one of many Melissas in every class growing up and ALWAYS being Melissa R., I think I'm more sensitive to that than others might be. Tyler, at age 14, has also mentioned recently that he doesn't like that there are more Tylers in his grade than any other boys name. So, I considered popularity more than I ever did in the past. This is something Aaron and I had discussed about Sophia, but when we stumbled across that sign, I tried to push it aside and get excited about choosing a name. What I didn't mention in the earlier post is that when we went to check out, the cashier said "Wow, Sophia's a popular name...I've had 3 little Sophias come through my line today and I'm guessing that's what you're naming your baby." I know Aaron wanted to gag her to keep her quiet! :)

As time went on, I started to hear it more and more and more and more. I kept telling myself it was popular because it's beautiful (and I really do believe that), but it was starting to bother me. I knew my chances of getting Aaron to renegotiate were slim, so I felt like I needed to find the PERFECT name and present it to him. I started thinking and praying about it a lot (to me choosing a name for someone is such an important responsibility). Then one day, out of the blue, it came to me....Lydia! It had never been on my name list before and wasn't really a name I'd ever really thought about. But it absolutely felt right and had the beautiful, classic girly qualities I like in a girl's name.

I wanted to research it a little before presenting it to Aaron. I found that the name means noble kind; of the noble sort. Both Grace and Noah have strong Biblical ties in their names and it was a bonus to be able to continue that trend. I have to admit, I wasn't completely familiar with Biblical Lydia, but in my research I read about her in Acts 16 and that sealed the deal. A successful businesswoman, she is thought to be the first European convert to Christianity. She believed wholeheartedly and became a servant to the missionaries, inviting Paul and his companions to stay in her home. Later in Paul’s mission, he returned to Lydia’s home where he met with believers. Yes, Lydia was an admirable namesake for my daughter.

When I mentioned it to Aaron, he agreed to it almost immediately and honestly, neither of us wavered from that point on. And when she was born, it just fit. We both really liked the middle name we had originally chosen, Maren, and decided to keep it because the flow was also good with Lydia.

She is almost 3 weeks old now and I must say, her name is a perfect fit!

Introducing...

2009-10-03T09:44:00.006-04:00

Lydia Maren Richardson
Born on September 30, 2009 at 9:08 am
8 lbs, 5 ounces
21.25 inches long
Healthy, beautiful and loved tremendously!

Nearing the finish line...

2009-09-23T16:29:00.003-04:00

Today marks 38 weeeks, 4 days. One week from today is my scheduled c-section! My thoughts are going in so many different directions at the moment, I don't feel like I can even write a blog entry that anyone could follow! I'm excited to meet this little girl, a little bit nervous about the surgery and sort of on the edge of my seat wondering if I might possibly go into labor before the scheduled date. My gut feeling is that I'll make it to the end. I'm a bit of a procrastinator and just can't see myself going early. :) I've been having sporadic contractions over the past several days and each time I have one I start to wonder..."will they continue?...will my water break? but then they peter out and I go back to cleaning the refrigerator, bathrooms, reorganizing the pantry, doing laundry or whatever nesting task has moved to the top of my list in urgency.

I know it's probably weird, but I'm actually thankful to get to experience some of the things that come with the last few weeks of pregnancy. I'm in quite a bit of pain because of some of the natural changes of pregnancy, but I told Aaron last night that I'd gladly accept the pain over the boredom I endured being in the hospital for 7-10 days prior to delivery in my last two pregnancies. Yes, at this point I'm kind of "hobbling" around, but that beats being confined to the bed away from my family by a LONG shot. And it's kind of exciting being at that "you could have the baby any day now" stage. I've never been here before and it's not as bad as I anticipated it might be.

So here's to my last 7 (or less) days of being pregnant!

The "Almost 37 Weeks" Update...

2009-09-11T10:45:00.002-04:00

I'm back from my 36 week, 6 day appointment and feeling a little less positive about making it to the scheduled c-section. Oh, the doctors still say it's the plan, but I know that elevated blood pressure today and a 3-lb weight gain the past week are not good signs. Usually on Fridays, I have the NST and go home (I only see a doctor on my Tuesday visits), but today I had to get 2 blood pressure checks and approval from the doctor to go home. Of course, today could be a fluke, but you can bet my hospital bag will be packed before my next appointment. Can't hurt to be ready early, huh?

This will probably sound weird, but getting past today is a big deal to me. 1) 37 weeks (which I'll be tomorrow) is technically considered full term and 2) This whole pregnancy, I've not wanted the baby to have a 9/11 birthday. The fact is, anytime anyone says that date, it stirs up all kinds of negative emotions and feelings.

So, while I still hold out hope for my scheduled c-section (because if I make it to then, it will be mean I'm healthy when I deliver), I won't be extremely disappointed if I have to deliver a week or two before that. As always, we really appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Now, that's what I call toxic gas!

2009-09-08T16:59:00.003-04:00

Background: Noah, sweet Noah...such a lovable, snuggly little man with a smile that lights up the room (and mommy's heart). But sweet Noah is not at all interested in potty training.

The other day we were at my parent's house watching football, when all of the sudden their natural gas alarm went off...loudly. After a minute or so, it stopped leaving us wondering what in the world caused it. Noah had been playing in that corner (it's up on a shelf) and at first we thought maybe he had done something to the cord, but we realized it has battery back-up and that shouldn't cause it.

In further checking out the situation, we noticed that not only had Noah been playing in the corner, he had been creating QUITE the masterpiece in his diaper. We all began to wonder...could his stinky diaper have actually caused the gas alarm to go off? I perused the owner's manual and sure enough, there was an instruction NOT to install above a diaper pail because the methane gas could cause the alarm to go off. With Noah out of the area (and diaper changed) no more alarm.

All I can say is that sweet Noah better be nice to mommy when he starts dating or she'll have a REALLY good story to tell! :)

FREEDOM!!!!

2009-09-04T10:52:00.002-04:00

No, I'm not really posting about the movie Braveheart...and I'm not trying to recruit you to sell Amway either :). I'm just posting because I had my 35 week, 6 day appointment today and was released into the free world again. Woohoo! During this week, I've made a special effort to really appreciate the fact that I was able to do my normal activities and not cooped up in the hospital. Long walks with the family in the evenings (the weather has been FABULOUS - like low 70's in the evenings), snuggling up with the children, getting a hair cut, doing little tasks that need to be done and most importantly...being thankful have occupied my days. I really feel like we're in the homestretch now and ladies and gentlemen...I...think...she...could....go...all...the...way!!!

Aaron and I discussed it and...

2009-08-31T17:44:00.002-04:00

We're going to change the baby's name. I know I committed to Sophia and I believe it's a beautiful name, but as I go about trying to think of the baby as Sophia, it just doesn't seem to fit. We're working on a new one and I think we've got it, but given my tendency to be "wishy washy" when it comes to naming children, we'll keep it under wraps until she's born. It's lovely though and Biblical and most importantly, it just seems to fit! :)

35 Weeks!

2009-08-29T10:59:00.002-04:00

Well, the 35-week mark is here. This week is a major milestone for me. If I make it through the next week with no complications, it more than likely means no hospital stay PRIOR to delivery. I feel great (only slightly like a walking time bomb). I had an appointment yesterday and all was good. The baby was moving so much, the nurse had to turn the sound on the machine down because it was disturbing people in the hallway. :) The next appointment is Tuesday and I am feeling really good about things.

In other news, I have to admit that I'm re-thinking the baby's name. I know we have a great story for the name, but all of the sudden, it seems like everyone I run into has a little Sophia. Being one of about 4 Melissa's in every class I was in in school, I'm getting cold feet. It happened with both Grace and Noah and we ended up naming them what we'd planned, so it doesn't necessarily mean we'll change it, but it is weighing on my mind.

When she grows up...

2009-08-26T16:50:00.006-04:00

Grace wants to be a medicine-giver-outer (aka pharmacist).

I thought I'd document that for her, so she'll know what her first career aspiration was.

Why the interest in being a pharmacist when most kids her age want to be a fireman or ballerina you ask? Well, thanks to the gestational diabetes we've made quite a few trips to the pharmacy lately for lancets, test strips, insulin, and syringes. Miss Grace has been quite fascinated by the medicine-giver-outers and REALLY wants one of those cool white coats someday. :) Ah, to be driven by the simple things.

For the record, when Tyler was Grace's age, he wanted to be a calculator. I love these kiddos!

34 weeks +3 days - Status Report

2009-08-25T12:18:00.003-04:00

I had my first NST for this pregnancy this morning, followed by an appointment with the doctor. I'll be going in every Tuesday and Friday now for NSTs with doctor's appointments following every Tuesday.

Today's visit was good....apparently I am "the picture of health...for someone with chronic hypertension and gestational diabetes." So basically I'm "in good shape for the shape I'm in." :) Sophie looked great in the NST. She moved like crazy and when she did, her heart accelerated just like it's supposed to. My blood pressure was good (for me), no protein in my urine, measuring right on target.

I'm extremely pleased with the way the appointment went, but can't help but think about the fact that the 35-week mark is RIGHT around the corner (as a reminder, I ended up in the hospital at 35 weeks with both Grace and Noah for the remainder of the pregnancy). Strangely, in both cases, it was like a flip was switched at that point because all had been well prior to that time. So, if NEXT Tuesday's appointment is as positive, I will really have something to celebrate. I know if I have to be admitted prior to 36 weeks, I'm looking at a hospital stay prior to delivery, while after 36 weeks they'll probably just go ahead and deliver. I remember how hard it was for me to be away from my family for a week and a half prior to Noah's birth when I was confined to the hospital and really hope to not have to do that again.

Regardless of what happens in the next week, we have AT MOST 5 weeks til we meet Miss Sophia. I can't believe how it's flown by!

WHY?!?!

2009-08-23T15:19:00.007-04:00

*Warning: this is probably an irrational pregnant woman rant!*

WHY, oh WHY did the makers of a very popular children's show (Thomas and Friends) give one of the main characters the name "Percy?" Didn't they know they the "r" sound is one of the last ones kids master? Noah is a Thomas JUNKIE...and Percy is one of his favorites, but he cannot get that "er" sound in the middle right and it comes out sounding like a VERY unpleasant word. And he says it 100 times a day...and sings songs even.

We try to laugh it off, but it's a little disconcerting for Aaron and me (and you should SEE the looks we get when strangers hear him say it). Guess we'll be working on the "er" sound in the very near future. Sure would have been nice if they'd named him Nick though!

Just a quick update...

2009-08-12T14:13:00.002-04:00

We had an u/s today and...

-Baby Sophie is doing well.
-She weighs around 5 lbs (79th percentile...it's worth pointing out that Noah was off the charts at this stage).
-She is no longer breech (which could explain why I'm feeling a little more comfortable lately).
-Amniotic fluid is within normal range, but on the high side.
-My blood pressure is starting to creep up, but not concerning at this point.

The doctor I saw today (who is normally the most optimistic of the bunch) did not seem to think it likely that we'll make it to the 9-30 c-section, but is happy with where things are at the moment.

We head to the beach Saturday! Woohoo!

Finding the Positive in Gestational Diabetes...

2009-08-11T15:06:00.003-04:00

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I have officially been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. It's VERY likely that I also had it in my last two pregnancies, but that it went undiagnosed because of later onset. Given this, when I failed my 1-hour glucose tolerance test (by just 4 points) this time, I chose to forgo 3 hour testing and just proceed with diet/blood sugar monitoring. Sure enough, my sugars were beautifully controlled for about the first 7 days (which means I probably would have passed that 3 hour test anyway), but at that point, my fasting blood sugars started getting out of whack (which according to my doc means that I definitely have GD...if I didn't, my sugars would ALWAYS be in range REGARDLESS of what I ate). Fasting sugars should be 95 or lower and even ON THE DIET, I was getting readings of around 107-112. So, I started taking 3 units of insulin at bedtime. Since then, the insulin has been increased every few days. I'm now getting fasting numbers between 97 and 102 so we're getting close (though I'm now up to 25 units nightly).

Everyone seems to think a gestational diabetes diagnosis is terrible, but I'm happy to report that it's not all that bad. In the grand scheme of pregnancy complications, it's one of the few that I can actually do something about. So, here's the positive spin...

1) The injections REALLY AREN'T THAT BAD. This is coming from a total needle-phobe. I hate shots and anything related, so if I can give myself a shot every evening, it CAN'T be that bad. Now, the blood sugar checking lancets are a tiny bit bad, but I keep reminding myself...this is a short term thing!

2) The diet isn't THAT restricting and is "forcing me" to give Miss Sophia a good start. Are there things I miss? You betcha! I've told Aaron that once this baby girl is delivered, I expect him to be at Krispy Kreme as soon as the "Hot 'n Now" sign is turned on to pick me up a soft, warm, piece 'o Heaven. It's a funny thing because despite living in Krispy Kreme's hometown, I probably eat the doughnuts maybe twice a year tops, but knowing they are on the bad list has made them incredibly attractive. And yeah, there are other high carb/low nutrient foods that I'm avoiding, but there are still plenty of yummy things that I CAN eat and I am definitely not starving! Most fruits and vegetables are safe foods and I'm eating them more than I normally would.

3) The pregnancy weight gain (or lack thereof) ROCKS! For background, I gained 45 lbs with Tyler, 58 lbs with Grace, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 lbs with Noah (I honestly stopped looking at the scale!) This pregnancy, I was +14 lbs at 26 weeks (which was about 20 lbs less than previous pregnancies at that point) and since starting the GD diet, I've lost 2 lbs and held there for 6 weeks. So, I'm +12 at 32 weeks. Ultrasound tomorrow will confirm this, but I KNOW the baby is growing just fine (she was already 3 lbs at 28 weeks), so this is a good thing. My doctors told me early on that gaining less weight could help delay (though not prevent) pre-eclampsia and could lessen the side effects (i.e. pulmonary edema) after delivery if I DO develop Pre-E again. So, I've been a lot more careful with my diet throughout this pregnancy and the GD diagnosis has just made me MORE careful. In previous pregnancies, my ankles and feet have rivaled Fred Flinstone by the half-way point. This time, despite being in the middle of a hot, humid NC summer, I'm experiencing almost no swelling!

4) It's the third trimester and I feel incredibly not bad! For fun, I was looking back at blogs from my pregnancy with Noah and realized that I'm not nearly as miserable this late in the game this time around. Now, admittedly earlier in the pregnancy, I felt pretty bad. I had daily headaches for the first two-thirds of pregnancy and was so exhausted in the second trimester I could barely function. However, since I started "the diet" I've felt much more like a human being.

So, there you have it. Why, to me, Gestational Diabetes really isn't THAT bad. Sure, it's inconvenient and takes some getting used to, but there are some definite benefits of getting diagnosed and getting it under control! I'm really thankful that my doctors allowed me to take control of this situation (and didn't insist that I go through "standard procedure") and grateful for the overall positive impact the diagnosis has had on me.

Waiting (and Anticipating)...

2009-08-08T16:01:00.004-04:00

First of all, I am happy to report that right now I feel GREAT (well other than feeling like my pubic bone is splitting right down the middle). Given the way I felt back in the second trimester, I think my body's totally confused. You're SUPPOSED to feel great in the second trimester and I was a walking zombie. My guess is that getting my iron to more normal levels and controlling my blood sugar level are the big factors in my renewed energy/spirit. I'm not sure, but whatever it is, I'll take it!

Given the issues I've had in previous pregnancies, I have kind of set "mini milestones" for myself as we go through the final 2 months. Today, I hit the first one...the 32 week mark. Of course, I don't want to have the baby right now...I want her to keep "baking" as long as possible, but 32 weeks is a stage where baby is generally expected to do well if delivery becomes urgent. To me, it's a point where if my health takes a sudden turn for the scary, I would be less guilt-ridden about agreeing to delivery. (Just to catch anyone up who DOESN'T know my prior history, things have taken a sudden turn for me at 37 weeks with Tyler and at about 35 weeks for both Grace and Noah, when I developed pre-eclampsia with each. Tyler was induced/delivered immediately, and with both Grace and Noah, I was hospitalized for 7-10 days before they were delivered by c-section at around 36 weeks).

Given that we are nearing the homestretch, I can't help but start to play out the potential scenarios in my head, so thought I'd post them in my blog.

Scenario #1: "In it til the end"
This is the one that I always operate under the assumption of (though so far, it's never come to fruition). I have a c-section scheduled for September 30 at 8:30 am. At that point, I will be 39 weeks and 4 days pregnant. While this is the one we ALL hope for (because it's the one with less risk for everyone involved), it's also very hard for me to fathom. I've had three kids and have NEVER "done" the last month of pregnancy. Given the misery I've been in during the part I DID make it through, I can't imagine it. Apparently my doctors seem to think it's a possibility, so I'm holding out what I call "tempered hope." I don't mean to sound cynical, but until I sail past the 35 week mark, September 30 is merely a date chosen to satisfy legal requirements to not schedule a c-section prior to 39 weeks.

Scenario #2: We'll call this one "Sophie's Choice"
This is also a favorable option. In this one, we have no complications and I go into labor on my own when little Sophia is ready (past 37 weeks and prior to the scheduled c-section), get to the hospital and have that c-section right away. I have to say, deep down, I kind of hold out hope for this one. This is definitely my last child and so far, I've never experienced the whole "going into labor on my own" thing. Granted, it does sort of scare the heck out of me. I can't help but think that if I make it to this point, I'll be the one who ruins someone's furniture or carpet when my water breaks at an inopportune moment. I vaguely remember contractions from Tyler's induced birth almost 14 years ago and well, I can't say they were pleasant (but on a positive note, they were MUCH more pleasant than a kidney stone!) I also have some slight worries about uterine rupture and that kind of thing, since I've now had 2 c-sections, but honestly that doesn't keep me up at night.

Scenario #3: The "Bail Out"
Though not as favorable as option #1 and option #2, this is the only one I've ever known. My doctors have made it pretty clear to me in the last two pregnancies that once I hit the 36 week mark, if ANYTHING starts to go wrong, we'll bail out and deliver. They consider this a very safe point to deliver (and that has been true with both Grace and Noah) and it's the point where if my blood pressure starts to rise or any other complications surface, the risks of a slightly early delivery well outweigh the risks of NOT delivering. While I do work under the "In it til the end" assumption, I have to admit that I have looked at a calendar to see where 36 weeks falls. With both Grace and Noah, the doctors have allowed me to pick the birthday within that week. So, IF the bail out scenario happens again and I get to pick the day, I probably won't be able to resist 9-9-09 (which falls at 36 weeks, 4 days). Especially given that this is my first baby that wasn't DUE on the 9th of the month...it might be kind of cool for her to be the only one actually BORN on the 9th. And, both Grace and Noah were born fairly close to 9am, so I have even entertained a 9:09 am delivery and a 9lb, 9 ounce baby (hey, sounds far fetched but it COULD happen).

Scenario #4: The Scenario That Cannot be Named
Frankly, this is one I don't think about. This would be an emergency situation that required immediate delivery. It would, of course, be the least favorable of all. However, I count my blessings with each week that passes and as I mentioned in the beginning of this blog, we are now to a point where the potential outcome is very good (and it just gets better from here!)

So, there you have it... regardless of which scenario plays out, we have AT MOST 7 weeks and 4 days til baby Sophie's arrival. This pregnancy has absolutely flown by. I'm thankful for my family and my work for keeping me too busy to worry, thankful for a team of doctors in whom I have complete trust, and thankful for your prayers. We have an u/s this coming Wednesday and barring any drastic changes at that point, my doctors have agreed to let me take a much-needed beach vacation during my 33rd week. After that, we'll go for twice-weekly NSTs. When we get to that point, I'll try to update weekly since it's typically when the "fun" begins! Stay tuned!

We got our sign...(and I DO mean that literally!)

2009-08-01T22:29:00.004-04:00

As I've alluded to in previous posts, naming this baby girl has not been an easy task. With our first two children, I've said to Aaron "I think we should name the baby (fill in the blank)!" and he's said "Okay." Easy, peasy, DONE! Well, this time was different. As soon as we found out we were having a girl I said to Aaron "I think we should name the baby Claire Margaret!" He didn't really object for a few weeks, but at some point he decided he didn't like it. That really put a wrench in things for me because my mind was made up. Back to the drawing board? That was unchartered territory!

For a while, Aaron pushed for Olivia Rose. Don't get me wrong, I think Olivia is a beautiful name, but I already know several little Olivia's and it just didn't feel like "the one." Then somehow we came up with Sophia. Though I know it's also very popular, we don't personally know any little girls named Sophia. While we both had other favorites, this was one that we both liked quite a bit. Still, I couldn't quite seem to let go of Claire and we just didn't know how to come up with the "final answer."

Tonight we had dinner with some friends (while the kids stayed with mom and dad). On the way to dinner, I asked Aaron how we were ever going to make a final decision and he didn't really have any ideas. We talked names with our friends all during dinner, but still couldn't commit.

When dinner was over, it was 8:30 so we had a little time to kill. That is when I came up with "the plan." I explained to Aaron that a while back I just happened to find a sign with Grace's name on it at HomeGoods (which happens to be one of my very favorite stores!) If you aren't familiar with HomeGoods...they have a little of this, a little of that...usually not in large quantities (which I've found can be a real pain when you're looking for matching placemats or napkins). Occasionally, they'll have these personalized painted signs with children's names on them. It's totally hit or miss and on one of my many trips, I happened upon a "Grace" sign (which now hangs in her room). There are never more than a couple and they just have random names. So, I suggested we go to HomeGoods and check out the little girl's section. IF any of the names we were considering happened to be there, we could take it as our sign that that was the right name. I'm not sure he agreed with me, but he DID drive me there and actually went in with me (maybe his second time EVER in the store).

As we approached the section, I scanned quickly and saw NO name signs. "Oh well" I thought..."at least I got to come in one of my favorite stores...and on date night even!: But there was a round display that had several wall hangings in it and I decided just for kicks and giggles to search through it.

And there it was...hidden behind three other pictures. When uncovered, it shone like a beacon under a sparkly yellow crown....

I have to admit, I actually gasped when I saw it. Though it was a fun idea...I didn't REALLY expect to get our answer right there in the aisles of HG! But deep down, I've been leaning more towards this name in recent weeks and think I just needed "permission" from my conscience to let go of Claire. And so there it was.

Of course, we couldn't leave without the sign. This little girl will have a fun story about how she FINALLY got her name. She needs to be able to SEE the sign. Not to mention that I really needed a picture of it for my blog too! :)

We also decided on a middle name tonight, so the final answer is:
Sophia Maren Richardson
Sophia means "wisdom" and Maren, which happens to be the diminuitive form of Margaret (my mom's name) means "pearl." Coincedentally, Maren is also a pretty good mix of "Melissa" and "Aaron."

So, there you have it...with exactly 9 weeks til the due date (which we know likely means 5-6 weeks til her arrival), she has a name!

Dear Baby Girl "Yet-to-be-named"...

2009-07-26T23:07:00.003-04:00

Dear baby girl,

I realized today that I have done a horrible job at documenting my pregnancy with you. I was pretty good at keeping track of the feelings I was having/things I was experiencing when pregnant with your big brother, Noah, but I've been busy (and slack) this time and have mostly been posting updates on Facebook. However, since my blog also serves as a journal, I wanted to document as much as I can remember here.

The first trimester was relatively uneventful. Though I found out very early that you were on your way, it whizzed by before it really hit me that I was REALLY GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY!! I was a little sicker (and tireder!) than I had been in my pregnancies with your brothers and sister, but that could have been a result of having a 3-year old and 2-year old to chase...and a teenager to...well...just trust me, teenagers can sometimes just zap your energy. The doctor's appointments were minimal early on, but we did have some non-invasive screening done which indicated the risk of certain health conditions was low, so we chose to forgo any additional testing. You see, mommy is considered "geriatric" in terms of pregnancy, so the doctors recommend lots of testing. You are our child...and we will love you and cherish you no matter what, but do want to be prepared to help you get the very best start!

At about 16 weeks, mommy had an ultrasound done. We were so very anxious to know if you were a boy or a girl and the ultrasound tech said she was 110% sure you were a girl. Subsequent ultrasounds at 18.5 and 28 weeks seem to confirm this finding. We would have been thrilled either way, but it's nice to "even the score" with 2 boys and 2 girls. Your big sister is just as happy as she can be to get a sister after 2 brothers. She seemed to know that you were a girl from the start and declared that she already had 2 brothers, she NEEDED a sister! :)

A little later in the second trimester, I started having some problems catching my breath and the doctor thought she detected a heart murmur (on me) during a routine exam. I visited a cardiologist and had lots of tests. Luckily, it turned out that my heart was in better shape than it had been during an echo 2 years earlier and the problems were chalked up to anemia. I started taking iron supplements and after a while, began to feel MUCH better.

Apparently, you are one SWEET baby already because a couple of weeks ago, I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. Doctors now believe that I actually had this with both Grace and Noah, but that it developed after the screening tests and therefore went untreated/unmanaged (which explains why they were both almost 9 lbs at 36 weeks and probably explains why I had polyhydramnios both times). I started a pretty strict diet about 3 weeks ago which is so far controlling all of my blood sugar numbers except the fasting one. Last week, I started taking an insulin injection each night. So far, we haven't gotten the dosage exactly right, but I am working closely with the nutritionist and feel confident we'll get it under control soon!

You have gotten to be one active little girl and it is fun trying to figure out what kind of movements are causing the alien-looking contortions of my tummy. Yesterday, we hit the 30-week mark. That means, at most, we have 9 weeks to go!! The doctors want to schedule the c-section for 39 weeks if we make it that far. I can't believe how time is flying, but we are all very anxious to meet you, so I can't say that I'm too sad that it is. :) As is evident from the title of this post, Mommy and Daddy are still "discussing" your name. I know eventually we'll come to an agreement and it will be the perfect name for you, but it hasn't happened yet!

So, there you have it...the first three fourths of the pregnancy in a nutshell! I will try to do better at updating over the next few weeks. Starting in 2 weeks, we will have to go to the doctor for twice weekly non-stress tests and things tend to get a little more eventful during that time. Hopefully, things will be different this time and we'll sail right through, but if not we are very fortunate to have an army of people praying for us, so I know we'll be okay. :)

Lots of love,
Mommy

Let's hope this continues!

2009-05-08T07:27:00.002-04:00

We had our "big" anatomy scan a couple of days ago and for the third ultrasound in a row (with three different u/s technicians), we were told how cooperative our growing little munchkin is. We're so proud! :) They were able to get a peek at all of the stuff they needed really quickly (including confirmation that this one is, indeed, of the pink variety!)

I never realized this before Grace was born (I didn't get many ultrasounds with Tyler and was generally clueless at the time anyway) that there are WAY more things to worry about than I ever thought! Having had more ultrasounds over the past 4 years than probably anyone on the planet, I've realized what a miracle life really is. So here's a summary of what we were told:

Heart looks good. 4 chambers (the tech was particularly impressed with the pic she got and said she wished she could see all baby's hearts this well).
Brain looks good
Kidneys look good
Nuchal fold measures as it should
We could see the tummy so we know baby can swallow
Bladder looks good
2 arms, 2 legs, 2 hands, 2 feet (and it looks like at the fingers and toes are there)
No club feet
No cleft palate
Eyeballs are present
Umbilical cord has three vessels (which is good)
Non-invasive testing we had last month shows no markers for Down's Syndrome, Trisomy 18, or neural tube defects

I'm sure there's more, but bottom line is that all looks well! I'm so thankful! I am considered geriatric in the OB world and given my history I'm sure we'll get more peeks over the coming months, but this is all very reassuring.

A huge thank you to those of you who are praying for MY health. My blood pressure has been good at home, but up a little in the office. As always, my docs are monitoring it closely. I'm also seeing a chiropractor this time and so far, have been way more comfortable than in previous pregnancies. Here's hoping that continues as well!

Noah Turns TWO!!

2009-04-29T21:19:00.005-04:00

Sorry I am soooo late posting this. I was in that first trimester pregnancy funk and have been playing catch-up ever since. I don't know WHERE the time has gone, but my little man turned 2 on March 15. We had the usual party with family and Noah had a great time. Keeping tradition, Aaron made the cakes...a Deacon basketball theme this time. Unfortunately, our Deacs embarassed themselves royally in the big dance just says before, but hey, we're fans for better or worse. Noah may be their "biggest little fan." He absolutely loved basketball season this year.

If I had to describe Noah in one word....well, I'd be in trouble, because there are so many good words to describe him. Snuggly, caring, fun-loving, adorable, and ALL-BOY are the first ones that come to mind.

Noah's been talking for a while, but in the past four or five months, we've all started to understand most of what he's saying. Recently, he's starting volunteering to say family prayers in our house and it nearly brings tears to my eyes to hear that sweet little voice thanking his Heavenly Father.

He LOVES his family. Every morning when he wakes up, he asks "Where's Grace, still seeping?" If I let him, he'll try his best to wake her up so they can get started on their daily fun. The two of them are so fun together...they really have gotten to be best buddies. Yes, they have their moments, but you can just tell they love each other. Noah has also become Tyler's biggest fan. You see, Tyler likes to play soccer and basketball and those are two of Noah's favorite things. For his birthday, he got a basketball goal for home AND for Nana's house and he will play with them endlessly.

This kiddo has his mommy wrapped tightly around his finger too. Many times when I'm helping him get dressed, he'll put his arms around my neck, pat my back and say "awwwww." Now, who wouldn't fall in love with that? He knows he's got me wrapped too...when he does something wrong, he pulls out his most charming smile (and as much as I hate to admit it, it's actually worked for him a time or two!) Being such a mommy's boy, I'm a little worried about how he's going to react to the new baby, but luckily he's taken a major interest in babies lately, so I'm hoping for the best.

I am so thankful for you, my sweet little Noah Balboa. Looking forward to seeing what we can get into this year, little man.
Love,
Mommy

Evening the score...

2009-04-25T21:59:00.002-04:00

I know, I know...I'm still way behind on blog entries. I'll get to them soon, but we had a gender scan yesterday and the tech said that she was 110% sure that..

Of course, we would have been thrilled either way, but given that this baby will be born around the same time of year as Grace, I'm really happy to get to re-use some of the girly clothes. Of course, I've let some of them go, but something kept me from parting with all of them. We are all very excited. Grace kept insisting that the new baby needed to be a sister and when we informed her that we'd be happy with whatever Heavenly Father sent us she said "No, I've already got 2 brothers, I NEED a sister." So, she's happy...now I just need to break it to her that we are not naming the baby "Schnoop-Bop" (a name she picked up from Yo Gabba Gabba and liked!)

Is this thing on?

2009-03-15T20:59:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted in such a long time and I have lots to update (Noah turned 2 today and as soon as we get pictures, I will post on that). Our camera is broken and I need to get the pics from my parents.

But we have some BIG news and I thought I'd post it here to see who really reads this. :)

I AM PREGNANT! (It's already getting hard to hide so I thought I'd defend myself...I'm not JUST getting fat!)

"But I thought you were done?" you say...

Well, so did we but we changed our minds and here we are. I'm a little over 11 weeks along, due on October 3, which happens to be Aaron's birthday. So far, all is well. I saw the little bean on u/s last week and they tell me it looked great (like all of the others, it looked somewhat like a gummy bear to me). I have been TOTALLY exhausted and nauseous every evening. Thanks to Aaron, Tyler, and my parents and my sister-in-law, Melissa for helping me get through it. I'm hopeful that stuff will pass soon. I'm showing faster than I did with any of the others and maternity clothes are in my near future (of course, I gave ALL of my maternity clothes away after Noah was born, so I'll be working on a new stash).

So, there you have it. If you read this, please leave a comment so I KNOW that YOU KNOW. :) It'll help me figure out who I need to fill in later.

Dancin' Queen...

2009-02-10T16:59:00.004-05:00

I've never wanted to be one of "those moms" who re-live their own lives through their children. I want them to be active, but I want them to choose their activities when they are ready. I personally took dance lessons for oh...a month or so when I was about 4 and I STILL remember HATING getting up on Saturday mornings to go to class. So when GRACE came to ME and told me at age 3 that she wanted to take ballet class, my first response was "Oh honey, are you SURE?" I let some time pass to see if her interest waned, but she didn't forget. She kept asking when she could go to ballet like Raelyn (our neighbor and friend). Raelyn's mom, Cortney, is my running buddy, so I finally got the details from her and we got her signed up for class last week.

It has been her favorite topic of conversation ever since and she's asked several times this week when she could put on her "tippy toe shoes" and go back to dance. She is actually taking ballet, tap, and creative movement and is having a blast. I don't know how long it will last, but as long as it does, she sure is cute all dolled up for class. :)

Our Very Happy Holidays!

2009-01-07T22:41:00.008-05:00

Whew, it seems like the month of December is always the fastest moving month of the year. We all had a great Christmas and I wanted to get it all down before I forget.

On the day after Thanksgiving, a very special visitor arrived at our house. Our Elf on the Shelf showed up on OUR shelf with a book explaining his presence. You see, Santa sends these elves out to keep track of children during the day. Each night he reports back to Santa and shows up in a different spot in the morning. The kids named our elf Sparkle and we had such a good time getting up in the mornings and looking for him. He sure did hide in some funny places! After a week or two, even NOAH would get up and the morning and say "Where Spah-kle?" Sadly, Sparkle had to report back to the North Pole until the day after Thanksgiving 2009. We all REALLY missed him for a couple of days after he left.

Also on the day after Thanksgiving, we had our second annual Christmas Tree Hunt. We drove to Sparta, found our perfect tree, cut it down and brought it home. We got a great tree this year and enjoyed our time together looking for it.

In early December, we had our hospital stay with Noah. It just so happened that we stayed on a Friday night and my first 5k was on Saturday. Aaron and I both stayed at the hospital and I was able to get up in the morning before Noah woke up and get to the race right around the corner. Cortney, my faithful running buddy and friend, and I finished and were pretty happy with ourselves! (Please pardon my appearance -- after a night sharing a hospital TODDLER bed with Noah (getting NO sleep) and a 3 mile run, I was just ick.)

Later in the month, the kids had a Christmas program at school. They sang songs and had a little party. They also got to visit with Santa while there. They BOTH loved him and let him know they wanted a train for Christmas (whew!).

Grace and I took a girl's day out trip with my mom and my SIL, Melissa to see the Nutcracker. Grace was soooo excited. Well, during the first act anyway. She fell asleep during the second act, but when it was over, we bought her her very own Nutcracker and she loved that. I, of course, forgot my camera, but am hoping my sweet sister-in-law will send me hers. She got some great ones!

On Christmas eve, we went to open gifts with my parents. We had a great dinner and had lots of fun visiting with Nana, Papa, Uncle Andy and Aunt Melissa. We all got some wonderful gifts too!

Christmas day we did our own family exchange and Aaron was able to hook us up via webcam with his family. It was such a neat experience, but I was a little camera shy. Being broadcast across the country in my pjs was a little intimidating. :)

On New Years Eve, I did another run with some friends. It was through the Christmas Light display at a local park and it was pretty neat! This one was 3.5 miles and I struggled through the hills because I had been pretty slack in my training since the last race. But, I made it through. I've signed up for a training class starting later this month and am planning to continue running into 2009!

All in all, we had a great holiday season and hope our friends and family can say the same!
Happy New Year!

Noah vs. the Peanut....

2008-12-17T14:04:00.005-05:00

Things are usually pretty calm, ok maybe calm is a poor choice of words, let's say uneventful, in the Richardson household, but last week was an exception. Last Wednesday evening, Tyler and I went to run an errand and came home to find 3 firetrucks in our cul-de-sac. Heart pounding, I jumped out of the car to ask my neighbors (who were standing in our yard) what was going on. Some workers trying to repair a telephone line had cut through a gas line, but they thought they had everything under control. Able to breathe again, I went into the house (which smelled like gas) where Aaron, the other kids, and my parents were eating pizza getting ready to go to the Wake basketball game. Within a few minutes, the fireman told us that it wasn't as under control as they had thought and that we should evacuate the house (but we couldn't start our cars!) We managed to get both cars pushed to the top of the street where it was safe to start them and went to the game. Before we even arrived at the game, the firemen gave the all clear, so by the time we got home, all was well.

Fast forward to Friday...

Noah is an eater. He eats anything and everything and particularly loves to put things he shouldn't in his mouth. On Friday, he got some peanuts that were in Aaron's office and got in trouble. He started to choke and Aaron patted him on the back, which cleared his airway, but he continued a very distressed cough and cry. Now, I'm on my third child and I've learned not to take the kids to the doctor for every little cough, but mommy instincts kicked in this case and I called right away. The doctor's office was closing at 1:30 that day for a Christmas party, but they squeezed us in at 11.

The doctor listened to Noah's chest for a VERY long time and decided something didn't quite sound right, so he sent us to the hospital for x-rays. The x-rays showed air trapping, which is consistent with foreign object aspiration, in his right lung ( I learned while we were there that this is where peanuts usually go...who knew?) The doctor at the hospital said we needed to do a bronchoscopy to check things out/remove the peanut if it was still there. Sometime, between the x-ray and the surgery, Noah apparently cleared the peanut on his own, but they were able to see a bloody spot and lots of mucous where the peanut had been. They gave him steroids to help heal it, but wanted to keep him overnight for observation in case they had missed something. If particles of the peanut had remained in the lungs, the risk for pneumonia is quite high, so they counseled us to keep a close eye on Noah for the next week or two for any signs of that.

The scariest part of the whole thing to me was that Noah had a bad reaction called "delirium" to the anesthesia. As he was waking up, he screamed and flailed and punched and and hit at Aaron and me, not making any eye contact with us at all. They gave him some medicine to counteract that he slept from then (about 3pm) through the rest of the night at the hospital (at least SOMEBODY got some sleep there!) :) He was a little woozy for the rest of the weekend, but by Monday, he was back to his wild and crazy self and shows no signs of being worse for the wear. I am thankful for our doctor and the staff at Brenner Children's Hospital for taking such good care of our little munchkin.

I am also thankful for our normally uneventful weeks and pray they continue to be the norm!

Can it be...

2008-12-17T11:41:00.003-05:00

Grace is THREE!!
Okay, so I've been a REALLY slack blogger and this happened over a month ago, but still it deserves documentation. My lil sunbeam turned three in early November. She had a nice party with the family followed up by a little neighborhood friend party. She got lots of nice gifts and I talked Aaron into letting me get her a dollhouse that she and I were going to Costco several times a week to play with. We, er, I mean SHE loves it.

I can't believe how much my little Lulu has changed in the past year. She's like a tiny adult, carrying on normal conversations, asking questions, and occasionally testing mommy and daddy's patience. She LOVES preschool and going to nursery at church. She likes playing with both dolls and trains and she and Noah are quickly becoming best buddies. She is helpful and loving and such a special member of our family. We love you, Grace!

Lost in Translation?

2008-10-31T21:48:00.003-04:00

This was just one of those little "Graceisms" I don't want to forget!

The scene: My mom and dad's house. We're all just lounging around and chatting.
My mom: Hola Grace! Do you know what hola means?

Grace: Yep!....It means you're eating at the quesadilla house! (Her name for the Mexican restaurant)

I can't believe it...

2008-10-20T00:09:00.002-04:00

My FIRST baby is a TEENAGER. How did that happen? It seems like it was just a few years ago that at this moment, I was about halfway through a 27 hour labor. I was excited, scared, tired and couldn't wait to meet the little munchkin I'd felt fluttering around for so long. Finally, at 12:09 pm he arrived...induced 3 weeks early...weighing in at 6 lbs, 13 ounces (WAY smaller than my other two!) and 21 inches long. He was healthy and screaming and we went home a couple of days later.

As a first-time mom, I remember the early days as being...well...not easy. I was amazed at how little I knew about taking care of a baby. Of course, little Tyler and I figured things out and by the time he was a couple of months old, he was a happy, smiley little fellow. He fought many ear infections during the first two years, but has been perfectly healthy ever since.

Over the years (that have flown by like minutes) he has always been a smart, precocious, caring little boy. Once, at about age 6, he was in the room with Nana as she was watching an episode of Oprah about saving money and when the show was over he told Nana he thought maybe he should open an IRA. As early as second grade, he started asking what he could do to get a scholarship to college.

At age 10, Tyler became a big brother, something he'd been wanting to be for a number of years. From the beginning, he's been so sweet to his siblings. They really look up to him and even Noah asks "Where TyTy?" when he's at school or not around. Both of the little ones feel so special when they get play time with Tyler. It warms my heart to watch them.

Over the years, we've gone from little people, to Pokemon, to skateboarding and soccer to now phones, ipods, and computers. Yes, interests have changed and Tyler has grown into a fine young man (who now stands just 3 inches shorter than me).

On this very special day, I wanted to say...Tyler, I love you. Thank you for being such a great son. I am so proud of you and pray that as you enter your teenage years, you will always remember who you are. Sometimes it may be difficult to make the right choices, but you are a strong young man and your heart is in the right place. I know you're going to do great! Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mom

Couch to 5K Progress....

2008-10-09T16:45:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to post and say...

We're still going!! Follow-through (particularly concerning diet and exercise) has never been my strong suit (as you can probably tell from some of my previous blogs about various diets and programs). But this time, I'm committed! I have paid my money for my first 5K in December and I have to keep going so I can run it!

To track our progress, we have finished:

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	To be done Saturday morning

Each day, I'm skeptical about whether or not I'll make it and each day I'm proud of myself when I finish. Each week, I can't imagine doing the runs on the schedule the next week and when each week is finished I say to myself "now that wasn't so bad." The jury's still out. On day 3 of next week, we have a 20 minute run, no stops to walk. "I think I can, I think I can..."

These are a few of my favorite things...

2008-10-07T09:59:00.006-04:00

No, this is not a sappy, sweet blog. Of course, my husband and sweet children are my VERY favorite things, but this blog is not about them. No...this one is much more materialistic than that. This is about some of the little things that have made life easier for me lately.

First of all, there are a few websites that I want to mention. I am a MAJOR web surfer and I think I am close to "finishing" the internet. :)

Out of ALL of the websites I have ever shopped from, www.zappos.com is the coolest! Zappos offers mainly shoes, though they do have some clothing now. The cool thing is that you can order shoes and get them the very next day with free shipping! EVEN IF you order them at night. I thought it was amazing when I ordered at 7pm one night and had my order by lunchtime the next day, but when I ordered shoes for Tyler at 10pm and got them the next afternoon, I was DULY impressed. The shipping is free both ways, so if you're not sure what size or style you want, you can order several and ship back what you don't want.
I think I've mentioned this one before, but www.etsy.com is a cool one too! I like to go there first when I'm looking for things and see if I can support someone who makes their own crafty items.
Not a shopping site, but lately I have really been enjoying http://orgjunkie.com.

Now, on to a few cleaning products, I've been loving lately.

First, Mrs. Meyer's Stainless Steel Spray. When we bought our house, Aaron and I were both determined to have stainless steel appliances and I have regretted that decision since day 1! Can you say streaks and tiny fingerprints galore? I have tried product after product and spent countless hours smearing stuff on with one cloth and buffing it off with another only to end up with a streaky, awful looking fridge. Then I found Mrs. Meyer's. It smells heavenly (we got the Lemon Verbena) and best of all it sprays on and wipes off very easily and the appliances just sparkle! Oh, and did I mention it's biodegradable and non-toxic. A very nice bonus since I am making a conscious effort to go green with my household cleaners. Thank you Mrs. Meyer's!
Speaking of non-toxic household cleaners, I'm also loving Method Surface Spray. It smells so good, I spend the whole day looking for things that need to be cleaned. Also by Method is almond scented floor cleaner. I hate doing the floors, but this stuff makes it a little more bearable!

And finally, there are a few items that are making Couch to 5K possible (by the way, we are on week 4 and going strong...woohoo!)

Asics Gel Tennis Shoes! Love love love. I have done the fitness walking thing in the past on land and on treadmill and have always stopped because of excruciating pain in my shins. Determined to keep up with C25K, when the aching started this time, I did some research online and purchased these shoes (from zappos.com of course!) Not a problem since.

My Ipod Nano and C25K podcasts - I never thought I'd need an Ipod, but when I started C25K, Aaron got me one as a (much appreciated) gift and downloaded some podcasts (basically a guy tells you when to run and when to walk and plays music). Cortney and I have developed an appreciation for Robert from California who is 43 years old recently started running again and created these podcasts. Our only real qualm is that he forgets to say "go" sometimes. Here's a link: http://www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts/

So, there you have it...a few of my favorite things at the moment. I think I'll do one of these posts once in a while because I love when people share info. about great products with me. If you have any you want to share, please put 'em in the comments!

The Pajama Truck!

2008-10-07T09:38:00.002-04:00

Not sure if I've mentioned it on my blog or not, but I LOVE to shop online. Taking Grace and Noah into a store is like herding cats, but I can shop to my heart's content online while they are sleeping or otherwise engaged. In just a few days (or the NEXT day with zappos.com), the goods arrive right on my doorstep.

On one occasion back in the spring, I ordered Grace and Noah some pajamas. (Note: another positive about ordering online is that it's often easier to find ALL the colors and sizes you need in one place...I have a heck of a time with that in stores). Anyway, when the UPS man arrived, it was the first time Grace really paid attention and grasped the fact that this nice man drove right up to our house and brought her a gift of super soft pajamas. She became very fascinated with this kind prince and took particular note of his noble steed. Since then, we have not passed a UPS truck without Grace saying "Look it's the pajama truck! That man gave me jammies" About a week ago, the pajama man confused her royally and dropped off...CLOTHES. Now, when we see the pajama truck, she identifies it as the pajama truck, then curiously asks "What's he gonna bring me today?"

I think "almost three" is my favorite age! :)

Potty Training Fun!

2008-10-05T00:36:00.004-04:00

I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of a year's worth of potty training so with both Tyler and Grace, I've waited until they really started showing an interest to push the subject. When Tyler was 2 years, 9 months old, his preschool teacher called and said that Tyler was interested in wearing underwear at school like all his friends. So, we bought underwear and no joke...he's been using the potty ever since. No training, no bribing, just him being totally ready.

For a year, Grace has shown spurts of interest followed by total lack of interest, so we haven't pushed it. However, a couple of weeks ago she decided she didn't like the feeling of poop in her diaper (sorry if that's TMI) and she's been putting those in the potty ever since (so far pee pee is still okay to put in the diaper, but she is starting to ask about big girl panties (sorry Janae, that's what she calls 'em...) :) So, I think we're getting very close!

After a few days of sounding the alarm that she needed to go, getting someone to take her, doing the celebratory dance afterwards, etc....she decided she was ready to handle the process herself. I was working while she napped the other day and when she woke up, she quietly went and took care of business herself. Then she (literally) scooted in....

Both legs in ONE pant leg, the other leg hanging around like a tail and pull-ups in a very interesting wad in the back. You better believe she got a huge hug. My sweet little girl is growing up!

Happy Birthday Dear....

2008-10-03T08:13:00.003-04:00

Aaron! Another wonderful year has flown by and my sweetheart is now older than me again...woohoo! I know I say it in blog after blog, but I sure do feel blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

Aaron, thank you so much for being:

my best friend
a loving, supportive husband
a wonderful daddy to our children
my personal chef
our lawn boy...
and handyman...
and "techinical support dude"
co-diaper changer
head bath giver
and of course...in-house comedian

We love you more than words can express! Happy Birthday!

My "Mom Wall"

2008-09-25T10:08:00.007-04:00

As the daughter of two teachers, I really hate to admit this, but I have always been "that mom." The one teachers hate. You may be her too and if not, surely you know her. It's usually not intentional, but "that mom" is a little scatterbrained, not *quite* as organized as she should be and has trouble keeping up with dates (like picture day, bring a special (fill in the blank) to school day, etc.) In her (my) defense, she really does love her kids and cares about what's going on with them, but she usually has many different things going on falls just short of doing any of them exactly like she wishes she could.

Combine having three children in some form of "school" now with three sets of papers, dates, etc with my new love of organization and you get a major brainstorming session on how to solve some of these problems. The result = my "Mom Wall." I started talking about "my wall" long before school started and thinking about what I needed and how I wanted to do it. I mentioned it to Aaron several times, but when I told him the week before school started that I was ready to go get the stuff for my wall, he replied "huh, what? what wall?" "Never mind, let's go to Target," I replied. :)

My mom wall has changed my life (not to mention my reputation with the teachers). First (and MOST important to me) is the large white board calendar that I actually do use. It's got all the important stuff on it and I check it nightly to make sure I'm all ready for the next day (and yes Mom, I KNOW the little kids have school pictures next Tuesday! You don't even have to remind me this year! :)) Next, there's a file holder with three levels (one for each child). Each child has a folder where papers that need my attention go. I leaf through each folder a couple of times a week to make sure we've turned in what we need to turn in, etc. Tyler knows if he has things that need my attention he is to put them in straight up and down (instead of sideways) so I can easily see that they are there. And finally, the bag hooks. I should mention that Tyler now has his own hooks in his room to hold his school backpack and his soccer bag and he has his own white board above it for attention items. But, the little kids are of course, too young to keep up with their own stuff, so they each have a clearly marked tote bag (thank you Land's End) that keeps their school folder (that teachers send things home in and we send thing back in), their change of clothing, diapers, etc that they need to take to school each day. The "Mom Wall" is right beside the door to the garage, so it's easy to grab things on the way out and hang them back up on the way in.

This system is so far working great. I know I'll have to adjust it as time goes on, but I'm learning that organization is an ongoing process and if it isn't tailored to your individual needs, it's not going to work long-term. I would love to hear from you about any cool tips that help YOU stay on top of things! :)

Big Boy!

2008-09-19T14:32:00.003-04:00

Noah had his 18 month check-up this morning. He is doing great and is still a big boy! I used an online calculator and his percentiles are below.

Based on the data you submitted, your child falls into the following percentiles:

Length = above percentile 95
Weight = between percentile 50 and 75
Head Circumference = in percentile 90

At 18 months, he is a full inch taller than Grace was at age 2. I am holding out hope for a future Demon Deacon basketball player!! :)

In other news, the doc said he looked great physically, mentally, and socially and is slightly ahead of the curve on talking (something I've been a little concerned about because he doesn't talk quite as much as Grace did at this age). So yay Noah Balboa! Stay healthy and we don't have to go back for 6 months!!

ME?......RUN?....YES!

2008-09-18T09:46:00.005-04:00

For those of you who know me well, the title will both confusing and surprising. You see, to me, running has always been something you do for necessity only. You know, if you were being chased by a bear or trying to catch the ice cream truck before it leaves your neighborhood. I've never understood the term "fun run" or how people could possibly find it relaxing. Any time I'VE done it in the past, I've ended up breathless, sweaty, and not amused. But over the past year or so, I've heard mentions of the Couch to 5K program several times. I even looked it up about 6 months ago, but didn't quite have the motivation to do it at the time.

Recently, a friend/neighbor of mine (hi Cortney!) and I started walking in the mornings. We've both found that doing it at 6:30 am is perfect, because it's done before the rest of the house even wakes up and it leaves you feeling revved up and rejuvenated for the rest of the day. We have some other friends who run. a lot. And while I think it's great, when they've mentioned it to me, I've always responded "uh...no thanks, I'm not a runner!" I also have a sister in law who is not only a runner, but a running coach. She's thrown out challenges in her blogs to everyone to get up and get running and I've always assumed she wasn't talking to me. (You weren't, right Shayla?) Anyway, some of these friends have started training for a half marathon (I had to look this up to see what it even was...basically it's about 13.1 miles) and Cortney happened to mention Couch to 5K one day as we were walking. Feeling a little less than challenged by just walking (and obviously in an early morning stupor), I suggested we give it a whirl. Turns out, the same event our friends are running also has a 5K. So, that is our goal. To run a 5K in December. We started this week with week 1 of Couch to 5K and while we're only running a total of 8 minutes per day so far, I feel GREAT every time we finish. It's hard for me to imagine that I will be able to run 3 miles only 8 weeks from now, but I've seen lots of success stories from people who've done it, almost all of whom say "If I can do it, anyone can." I have faith that I'll be saying that myself in a blog later in the year. And if I say it, you will know for sure it's true!

Wish me luck!

Noah's First Haircut

2008-09-10T23:57:00.004-04:00

I have to admit...I LOVED the little curls (see beach pictures). I didn't want to cut it, but it was starting to look much like a brill-o pad in the mornings. Aaron kept threatening to sneak him off for a haircut and because I didn't want to miss an event as important as the FIRST haircut, I finally agreed. It started off great, but about five minutes in, he was sooooo over it. He looks like such a big boy now...

Beach Trip '08!

2008-09-10T12:37:00.005-04:00

First, I've been a slacker and have a LOT of catching up to do.

In mid-August we took our annual family beach trip to Ocean Isle Beach. We went with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and Tyler took a friend this year. We had a GREAT time (Thanks Mom and Dad!!) Noah was fascinated with the ocean and Grace was a little intimidated by it this year. This year, the house we stayed in had a pool and the kids really enjoyed that. Aaron and I enjoyed taking the kids for bike rides and getting some rest! It was nice having so many adults around full-time. :) Here are a few pictures...

The boys hangin' out...

And Grace had her turn too!

Aaron and Noah in the pool

Nana catching some rays

All ready for a ride!

Mommy, Noah, and Grace

My little Lulu

...

Gramma, Grampa, Aunt Juway and Unca Nafun!

2008-08-16T21:49:00.011-04:00

I could not think of a clever title for this one, so I thought I'd just use the names of our recent visitors as translated by our dear little Grace. Translation for those over 3: Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Janae and Uncle Nathan.

I'm a little late in reporting this (work has been crazy busy), but I would be absolutely remiss if I didn't document our recent visitors. It was a real highlight of our summer and something we don't want to forget!

At the end of July, Aaron had to take another week-long business trip and with my workload being busiest during the summer months, he arranged for his sister, Janae to come and spend the week with us to visit/help out. Coincidentally, her husband Nathan has a client in the area and was able to get to fly out on his company's dime for a few days. At the end of the week, Aaron's parents flew in for the weekend and got to see two kids for the price of one flight. :)

Having Janae here was GREAT!! She did a great job of keeping the kiddos occupied, allowing me to get my work done in record time. I fear we bored her to death with our day to day activities, but she was a really good sport about it. Because we live across the country from all of Aaron's family, I really love when I get to spend one on one time with them so I can get to know them better. Janae and I had lots of time to get to know each other, including two "in car" sessions when the battery died and we waited for help. We also both got a lot better at Rock Band during the week (is it really terrible that my almost 3 year old can sing "Roxanne?" -- yeah, time to put away the microphone I think). ANYWAY, this was the least stressful and most fun of all of Aaron's business trips to date. Thank you soooooo much, "Aunt Juway!!"

Though Nathan was only in town for a few days, we did make a trip to Blowing Rock while he was here. The 70 degree weather was a nice break from the high 90's we were having. We ate lunch and enjoyed the scenery.

We hadn't seen Grandma and Grandpa since Christmas and we were so happy to get to see them. Grace greeted Grandpa with her rendition of Barney's ever-famous "I Love You, You Love Me" (about 10 times in a row). She's gotten used to singing to them on the phone and I guess it just seemed like the right thing to do. I know I'm biased, but I thought it was pretty flipping cute! While they were here, we visited Tweetsie (also in Blowing Rock). It was a fun day that would typically get it's own blog, but the focus of this blog is family visitors, therefore I'll just share some pictures and say... the place is neat, the train ride is cool, but the skit is super lame. Oh, and Noah's really, really scared of fake gunshots.

All good things must come to an end and while we tried to convince them all to move to NC, our guests had to go home. We are so thankful they came, thankful that Grace got to refresh her memory of the faces that go with some of the names she mentions each night in her prayers. We hope they'll come back soon and remind ALL of the family that there are plenty of open lots in our neighborhood! :)

Aunt Juway and Unca Nafun

Grace , the Cowgirl, at Tweetsie
Grace and Gramma
Lil Daredevil wanted the BIG horse

Choo Choo
Anxiously awaiting the journey and praying for no cinders in the eyes! :)
Noah, Mad Scientist
Bring on the Crackers, this was CHEESY!
Grace enjoying heading up the hill...
To see animals,
Ride rides, and
Pan for gold!
Just KID-ding around (okay I admit that was pretty lame too...LOL)

~THE END~

One of those days!

2008-07-30T23:16:00.004-04:00

Today was one of those challenging days that makes a mom appreciate the boring, er...less eventful days a whole lot more. It started out just fine. I got my work done fairly early, the kids were in a good mood and we decided to take them to the pool. I should mention that Aaron is out of town and his sister, Janae, is here visiting/helping with the kids. More details to come in a separate blog, but I'll just say "Thank Goodness She is Here!" The kids and I are really enjoying visiting with her and she's been soooooooo helpful! Anyway, we took the kids to the pool and that's where things started to fall apart.

My two little ones, who usually LOVE to play in the water were not as thrilled with it as usual. Grace was most concerned about having a snack and Noah decided that the pool chairs made a nice jungle gym. After about an hour, it was naptime and we decided to head home. Just as we were getting ready to leave, Noah slid through one of the chairs and started to cry. We didn't see any obvious damage so headed out to the car.

When we got to the parking lot, there were about 20 geese hanging out by the lake. Noah started saying "Duck, Duck, Duck" so I put him down and let him walk towards them thinking "oh, this will be cute...he'll go towards them and they'll all fly away." NOT! As Noah approached, the head goose started hissing at him. I knew geese were dirty but I had no idea they were mean too!! I swooped in and rescued Noah. As I put him into the car, I noticed that when he slipped, the chair sliced a little chunk out of his leg. I looked down and realized from carrying him to the car I had blood spots all over me (no biggie). We tried to clean it off, but it bled for quite a while.

After we got that cleaned up, we were ready to go. I went to start the car and got the dreaded "click click click." Yep, dead battery. It's happened several times lately, so I've gotten into the habit of holding my breath as I turn the key. I sighed "Nooooooo! NOT TODAY!" Luckily the pool is only about 1.5 miles from our house so I called my friend Holly and she came to our rescue with jumper cables. But alas, after 3 different people tried different things to charge me up, we were not successful. Holly took us all home where the kids fell asleep in 2 seconds flat and slept soundly for a couple of hours. Later in the day, my dad helped me get a new battery into the van and I'm happy to report, it's now alive and kicking.

I, on the other hand, am not kicking. As I was preparing dinner this evening, Noah accidentally threw an iron trivet and it hit me right on the ankle bone. It was one of those pains that instantly brings tears to your eyes. It's swollen now and still pretty painful, but I'm pretty thankful he didn't drop it on his OWN foot. One injury in a day is enough for the poor little munchkin.

Tomorrow is a new day....and I think we'll just stay home! :)

Still a MAN ROOM (just a cleaned up version)

2008-07-28T08:10:00.005-04:00

As promised, I wanted to post pictures of Aaron's office. He's been a little on the fence about the makeover. When I suggested it, he got very defensive and decided that I must be trying to move in on his man space (something he insisted he have when we moved into our house). Truth be told, I'm happy to let him have his space as long as he keeps it somewhat neat and lets me use it when I really need it for work (after all--I let him sleep in MY bedroom...lol)

Having said that, I'm on a mission to be 100% clutter free and the foolishness and mayhem (to quote Niecey Nash from Clean House) was not cutting it in there. So, the room got a makeover for Aaron's Father's Day gift. Despite his defensiveness I think he likes it. The other day I heard him tell a friend "hey, let me show you what I've done to my office!" :)

BEFORE:AFTER:

My NEW FAVORITE Room in the House

2008-07-05T22:51:00.005-04:00

For years, I've had a "dream bedroom" in my head. Inspired by a picture in Pottery Barn, but unable/unwilling to pay those kinds of prices, it's been on the back burner. We've worked through most of the other rooms in our house, but our master bedroom has been, well honestly, a total train wreck. It's fairly easy to close the door and keep visitors from catching a peak, so it's been low on the priority list. Still, I've longed for one of the cozy retreats I so often see on hgtv.

There is a local furniture store that sometimes sells floor models dirt cheap and when we get a bonus or have a little extra money, I like to go check it out and see if I can find anything that fits into any of my "dream rooms." A couple of weeks ago I walked through and found my dream furniture marked down about 66%. I talked it over with Aaron and we decided if it was still there when the weekend rolled around, we'd get it and take on another weekend warrior project. Luckily, it was still there! We got up early last Saturday morning and painted the bedroom Laura Ashley Green Apple #4. It was a little shocking pre-furniture, but when we got everything in, it ended up being JUST what I had in mind.

So, I thought I'd share the before and after pics. Now to be fair, our bed isn't made in the before pics because I took the pics as an after-thought after we got up early to get ready to paint. I knew it was going to be a day for transformation so didn't bother with it. :)

BEFORE: (Builder Beige with a bed frame and old furniture moved in. Just a place to sleep.)

And AFTER (Made to Suit US!!)
(I have hung chocolate brown silk curtains since these were taken and plan to get a good cozy reading chair or two at some point, but this is 99% done)

Next time, I'll share Aaron's favorite room in the house, the "man room" (the office). It also recently got a makeover!

Wii've lost our minds!

2008-06-27T00:11:00.003-04:00

Tyler is home for the summer. He is here all day, every day. We've joined our local pool to give us all a break from hanging out at the house, but still there's a lot of time to pass. We try to do fun things, but sometimes it is hard to find things that a 1, 2, and 12 year old all enjoy. Not to mention, Aaron and I do have to get some work done during the day!

Enter the wii. I have been dead set against getting any kind of gaming system because I don't want the kids to sit and veg, but our friends the Skinners brought their wii over a couple of times and it's just different. We've played tennis, golf, and bowling interactively and had a blast, but the other night they brought over Rock Band, a fun game that comes with a drum set, a guitar, and a microphone. One song and Aaron and I realized we'd missed our calling. Oh don't worry, we were meant to be together, but there is no doubt we were meant to be Rock Stars. When our friends left, we missed the wii and vowed that when we saved enough money, we'd buy one. The very next day we got a nice little check we weren't expecting. We were at Gamestop within 24 hours. Now buying TOTALLY non-practical stuff is not commonplace for us, so it felt a little weird, but between Aaron, Tyler, and I someone's been playing non-stop practically since we got it. Grace and Noah love to watch us play -- they are cute dancing to the music -- it really is a group activity.

So, if you call and wii don't answer, wii're surely cleaning the house or working or doing something completely productive. Don't worry about us, wii'll call you back just as soon as wii get a spare minute! :)

When the cat's away...

2008-06-22T11:42:00.003-04:00

The mouse will sleep with her Teddy!

We have been trying to help Noah find a "lovey," but none we have tried interest him as much as GRACE'S scraggly, scruffy, PINK Teddy. He's learned the hard way not to take it from her when she is around, but he was sick and throwing up this morning so he and I stayed home from church. Grace usually takes him with her, but today she forgot. So, at nap time, guess who Noah came carrying? Yep, our sweet Teddy.

Excuse Me?

2008-06-22T00:23:00.002-04:00

I apologize in advance if this is TMI for some. Part of the purpose of my blog is to help me remember funny/cute things the kids do or say so I can terrorize them with it when they start dating. :)

Aaron and I have always worked with Grace on manners...please, thank you, excuse me, etc. Usually she remembers and if she doesn't, a gentle reminder usually elicits the appropriate response. Tonight, she forgot. Nonetheless, she had Aaron and I laughing to near tears.

The scene: Aaron is putting Grace in the car when she burps REALLY loudly.
Aaron: Wow Grace, what do you say?
Grace: I say that tastes like GATORADE!!

Can't argue with that!

Guess who finally started walking tonight?

2008-06-01T21:32:00.005-04:00

That's right! At 14.5 months, Mr Noah beats Grace's time by 2 weeks. Who says boys are slower than girls? =)

He's been teasing us for a while now and has started standing up on his own in the last few days. Last Sunday, I predicted he'd be walking in the next week and apparently he didn't want to make a liar out of his mommy! Aaron put him down on the bedroom floor tonight and he just walked across the room to me, not a step or two but a full-on walk. Of course, we kept having him do it until he got totally tired and frustrated with us, but those first steps are just too darn cute! Yay Noah Balboa!!

This picture is also to record his first goose egg on the noggin'. He took a little tumble on the patio yesterday. It's always scary to see those knots pop up on the head, but he seems to be feeling fine now.

Don't Tell ME Not to Jump on the Bed!

2008-05-31T13:42:00.003-04:00

Duly Noted. But Grace, sweetheart, it really isn't nice to use those hand gestures. Especially to your parents. Love, Mommy.

Fiesta Night!

2008-05-30T21:50:00.003-04:00

Our neighbors have been feeding us so much for movie nights or other get-togethers lately that tonight we decided to take a turn at hosting and we had such a great time! We called it fiesta night and the food had a Mexican theme.

We had 4 families from the neighborhood over (Cortney, we missed you...next time we will pick a weekend you are in town! :)) In total, there were 10 adults and 10 children age 6 and under. I made shredded chicken in the crock pot, Aaron grilled beef brisket (with a kick!) and we laid out all the fixin's (homemade guacamole and pico de gallo, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes). Our friends brought homemade salsa, watermelon (Grace's favorite item of the evening), veggies, tres leche, and pecan pie. I ate soooooo much I think I'm good for the next month or so!!

We ate out on the newly poured patio and then the adults got to chat, while the kiddos played on the swing sets and with the sand table. My ONLY regret is that I forgot to bring the camera out and take some pictures. Oh well, maybe next time!

I am pretty sure I have already spent more time outside this spring than I have in the last 5 years combined. It helps to have kiddos who are now all old enough to find fun things to do outside (and to not be pregnant and miserably hot!!) We also joined the pool this year. We went a couple of days ago and Grace and Noah both LOVED it!

I used to be a big fan of Fall, but Spring sure is winning a spot in my heart this year. Summer (which brings NC humidity) is just around the corner though, so we'll enjoy it while we can!

The Great GOOSE Outing

2008-05-23T13:54:00.004-04:00

Grace just turned 2.5 and man oh man, what fun and creative stage this is!!

For background, nearly every time we leave our house, we pass my parent's church. There is usually a church bus parked outside and when we pass Grace says "There's papa's bus!"

One of her favorite things is seeing the geese in the neighborhood across the street from us. Quite often, they're just standing around as we ride through but if they are not, she says "I wanna go see gooses!" (We are working on "geese" but it just hasn't stuck yet). Let me just say that Aaron and I now totally understand the phrase "wild goose chase" because we have scoured that neighborhood time and time again for geese.

One particular day, as we went through the neighborhood we were completely unable to find the geese. Grace was really sad and kept saying "Where did the gooses go?" We explained that they were probably taking a nap (we use this one to account for anyone and anything that suddenly goes missing and that usually satisfies her curiosity). As we continued down the road, she noted that papa's bus was missing from the church parking lot. "Where's papa's bus?" she questioned. When I told her I wasn't sure, she said...."The gooses took papa's bus!" Amused by her creativity, I said "ohhhhhhh, is THAT where they went?" "Yep" she confirmed. "They got on papa's bus to go out to eat pizza!"

The mental image she created at that moment still makes me giggle! Ah, it just gets better and better! :)

Missing Daddy

2008-05-15T22:53:00.004-04:00

Aaron has been in Los Angeles all week and we are all missing him. So I can keep my business going when he's out of town, the kids and I always spend most of our time with my mom and dad. They are a GREAT help (thanks mom and dad), but that means changes in routines, lots of running back and forth and well, I'll admit it, I miss my sweetheart.

Luckily, these week-long trips only come around a few times a year. It's been about 9 months since the last one (I totally lucked out!) and this is the first time Grace has really "noticed" her daddy was missing. It's been a good opportunity to work on days of the week with her. Starting Monday morning she woke up with "Where's Daddy?" to which I responded "He is in L.A. He will be back on Friday. Today is Monday, so we have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and then Daddy comes home." We've been through this multiple times every day and she now tells everyone she sees "my daddy is in L.A. He'll be home Friday." It's really very cute, but not as cute as the conversation I overheard her having on the phone with him last night....

Hi Daddy...you in L.A.?
You coming home on Friday?
I gonna see you and give a BIG HUG to you!
I love you.

Aaron thought I had prompted her, but that was straight from her sweet little heart.

The kids have been so well behaved -- I've been so thankful and so proud of them. But we are ALL ready to have Daddy home with us. So hurry home, Aaron! We love and miss you!!

We've been hit by a VERY nasty bug!!

2008-04-27T22:44:00.003-04:00

(Note: do not read this blog while eating! :))
I should start by saying that generally we are a very healthy family. Grace had her very first fever AFTER she turned 2 (it accompanied her first ear infection). Noah has never had a fever and other than a runny nose here and there has never been sick. Tyler has not missed a day of school so far this year (that will change tomorrow) and in the time I've known Aaron, he's had sinus infection or two, but NEVER a stomach bug. Other than my kidney stone, I've avoided any "blog-worthy" illnesses as well.

Having said all of that, some kind of super germ kicked our trash this week! It started Tuesday night with little Noah throwing up. We thought it was an isolated event until it happened 45 minutes later...and 45 minutes after that...and 45 minutes after that....and so on and so on for the next 12 hours. The next morning we took him to the doctor. We assumed it was some kind of virus, but wanted to be sure it was nothing more serious. Sure enough, the doctor said there was something going around. Noah was very lethargic for the rest of the day and then seemed to feel much better (though his illness moved South...let's just say we bought some disposable diapers to get us through the week).

On to Thursday, Grace went to Mother's Morning Out as usual, came home, ate lunch, took her nap and 2 hours later woke up SCREAMING at the top of her lungs. I went in to get her and found her pitiful, covered in vomit, trembling, and saying "I'm sick." I think she was scared by the mess so I tried to comfort her while stripping her down, stripping her bed, and identifying which stuffed animals needed cleaning up. I got her bathed and cleaned up just in time for round 2. Like Noah, she had an episode every hour or so for about 12 hours.

By Friday morning, both of the little ones seemed to be past the worst of it, but at about 5 am, Aaron started throwing up. Same 12 hour deal. Now, I have to say during all of this I felt very queasy and very tired (24-hour laundry perhaps?) but so far I have yet to hit the vomiting stage. We all felt well enough by Friday evening to do the movie on the lawn with the neighbors.

On Saturday, both kids were still dirtying lots of diapers, but they acted very normal and Aaron was well, so we ventured out to the store. Bad idea. On the way there, Grace begged for some water so we gave her some. 10 minutes later she was projectile vomiting in her car seat. Thinking it was caused by too much water too soon, we proceeded into her store where she had a VERY. MESSY. DIAPER. Aaron took her out to change her while Noah and I finished the shopping and we left very quickly. On the way home she had another episode that was probably the worst I have witnessed in three kiddos. Aaron is not that easily amused and even HE was impressed. Bless her heart, we felt so bad for taking her out. We got her home, got her out of the car seat and cleaned up. We pulled the car seat out of the car and washed every part of it we could figure out how to get off. We cleaned the carpet, pulled the 3 outfits she had gone through out and washed them (let's just say my washing machine has had a heck of a workout this week). In the meantime, Grace took a nap. When she woke up she felt much better and has done very well today.

To be safe, the kids and I stayed home from church today in an attempt to not infect all the other kids at church. Wednesday through Friday, Tyler was on a trip with his school and I prayed that he was not experiencing this during his trip. He got home and reported he had felt fine through the trip. HOWEVER, he started throwing up at 3 pm today and seems to be on the same track as the rest of them. He'll be missing his first day of school this year tomorrow.

I'm feeling guilty that all my family has suffered through this bug and I've escaped relatively unscathed. But at the same time, I know they have needed me to comfort and clean and I am thankful I've been able to provide these things for them. I just hope Tyler recovers quickly and we can put this nasty bug behind us because it has been one messy, miserable week at our house!

It's a beautiful NIGHT in the neighborhood...

2008-04-26T10:35:00.004-04:00

At the risk of things sounding too perfect, I have to say... I love my neighbors. I love my neighborhood.

One of the things that tipped the scales for this neighborhood when we decided to build a house was that we already knew 5 other families nearby (3 in our immediate neighborhood and 2 in the neighborhood that connects to it). When we found a floor plan that included EVERYTHING we were looking for, we called our search to an end and started building! When we moved in, it was just comfortable from the start. Over the past 10 months, we've been able to meet most of the other families in the neighborhood and we are so blessed to be surrounded by some of the nicest people I've ever met.

Our backyard backs up to two other families and since the warm weather arrived, we've been doing lots of stuff with these families and several other neighborhood families. The kids all love playing together and inevitably we end up eating together at least one weekend night. Last night, one of our neighbors ordered pizza and we all ate pizza and the kids played outside until dusk. Then the guys hung a movie screen up on the outside of the screen porch, we laid down blankets, and watched the Jungle Book. The kids LOVED it. The mommies got to sneak inside for a while for some pleasant conversation and the daddies hung out and watched the movie with the kids. I snuck away at one point to grab my camera because I realized I was witnessing a great blog entry. :)

I think there's something about moving into a newly built neighborhood...where everyone is new at practically the same time. I observed close relationships forming in my parents new neighborhood and am so pleased to see the same thing happening for us. We're happy, our kids are happy...yes, we are really HOME.

Why I wish I could safely have more children...

2008-04-20T22:37:00.005-04:00

Yes, we're busy. Yes, our hands are a little full. But look at these little faces...(these pics were made at Grace's preschool and I scanned them so they are a little blurry, but you get the idea)

Say WHAT?!?!

2008-04-10T21:36:00.003-04:00

You know how sometimes well-meaning strangers make comments that make you go hmmmm? Like the time I was at the mall with Grace and Noah and a lady came up to me and said "Are they ALL yours?" I was thinking "um, yeah...all TWO of them and *gasp* I even have another one at home!" Well, tonight I think I heard the best one ever...

We took the kids to Panera to eat and apparently they were REALLY hungry because all three of them stayed in their seats, were relatively quiet, and ate their food. For the record, this is not normal, but it was a completely enjoyable time. As we were getting close to finishing up, a very nice lady at another table was leaving and she came by and said "You all have such a sweet family." Of course Aaron and I beamed and said thank you. She followed that up with a comment directed to Aaron....

"Thank you for being such a good daddy. I am a school teacher and I wish you were the daddy of MY kids."

Yep, she meant well...but we sure did get a good laugh out of that one after she left. :)

The Appliance Series

2008-03-30T15:58:00.004-04:00

Noah loves babies. Noah loves looking at babies in books and kissing them. Noah has found that a VERY cute baby lives in our oven and that baby's twin lives in our washing machine.

The "Perfect World" of Bloggery

2008-03-28T13:09:00.003-04:00

I went to Girl's Night Out last night with some friends and fellow bloggers and we were discussing how almost everyone's family appears "perfect" on their blog. Surely, even television's most "imperfect" family (pictured left) would have appeared to be living in complete bliss if they had had a blog (well, maybe not, but the important word there is television, they aren't a real family at all.)

I like to think that at the end of the day when you consider everything that happened, it's the positive and funny things that are noteworthy enough to get mentioned, but I also think that blogs have become the daily or weekly equivalent of the Christmas letter or the high school or family reunion. Who mentions their marital counseling in their Christmas letter? Or comes to the high school reunion to report that they've been fired three times in the last year?

The more I think about it, I don't think it's really about painting a perfect picture for the outside world, but about preserving the memories that are really important, the things you WANT to remember. I am NOT anywhere close to perfect. I have some major shortcomings that I am painfully aware of. I'm thankful that my husband doesn't post these things on his blog and I give him the same courtesy. We're married, we're a team, and while a blog is a great way to share things with family and friends, there are some things that should not be hung out there for the world to see. I suppose I could post about Grace hurling herself to the floor in more than one grocery store to scream at the top of her lungs for whatever it was that her little heart desired and we said no to that day or I could talk about Noah being grumpy when teething or Tyler getting in trouble for texting his friends before finishing his homework, but if I forget about these things in time, what's the harm? I'd rather devote MY blog space to remembering the precious moments.

So, to dispel any myths..we are not perfect and neither are our kids, which makes us all PERFECT...for each other. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! :)

ABCs...Grace Style...

2008-03-24T12:05:00.004-04:00

OK, Grace can sing the alphabet song. Some letters aren't really clear and if she's not sure she fills it in with "uhuh." Sometimes, she gets sidetracked and makes her own lyrics. For example, several months ago she bellowed "A B Daddy E F G." This morning in the car I heard a new Grace version. She sang through as much as she could clearly singing "Q R S -T U V -W F - Wake Forest Deacons." Genius--maybe not -- but ya gotta love the creativity! :)

An "Eggs"cellent Week!

2008-03-22T23:52:00.006-04:00

The last few days have been filled with fun Easter activities and my children are reminding me - once again - what life is all about! Seeing things, I mean REALLY seeing things, through the eyes of a child brings such an exciting perspective that it makes you wonder WHY we all grow up and start seeing things any other way.

On Thursday, Grace had an Easter Parade at Mother's Morning Out. I did not have a camera when we went to pick her up, but I will paint the picture for you as well as I can. Aaron went in to get her and she came bounding out the door with a little bonnet made out of a paper plate with a plastic bowl on top, donned with hot pink silk daisies (her sweet teacher Mrs. Pauline made this for her). She had a plastic Easter bucket in one hand and a little rabbit basket with flowers made from pipe cleaners and cutouts of her hand print in the other. She literally had a grin from ear to ear as she made her way to the car. No, I didn't have a camera, but I know that I will NEVER forget the image. It should be in the dictionary beside the word "elation."

On Friday, we went to my parent's house and dyed Easter eggs, followed by a Grace/Noah Easter egg hunt. Grace had such fun looking for the eggs and sweet little Noah had fun trying to stuff them in his mouth. As I pondered how much they enjoyed such a simple activity, I decided we didn't need Little Gym or the likes. It is possible to have GREAT fun without paying big money for it. Again, something I KNEW when I was a kid, but sometimes forget as an adult.

Today, we had our neighborhood Easter egg hunt. We took all the kids out in a neighborhood common area and they "searched" for eggs. I had been thinking earlier in the day "now where will they hide the eggs? It's just an open area" Silly adult me! They just get dropped in the grass....it's not fun if you have to look TOO hard for them! :) Again, the smiles on all the kids faces were priceless. Nobody was rushed, nobody over-scheduled and NOBODY was misbehaving. Makes me wonder if our attempts to keep our children "entertained" is to blame for some of the newer behavior problems (but that's a whole other blog).

Tonight, we went to see the Easter Bunny. We figured (correctly) that the lines would be much shorter for those of us who procrastinated until the very last second. I didn't know what to expect from my children. I know lots of kids are scared of the Easter Bunny and Santa, but I'd been talking to Grace about it and she was adamant the SHE wanted to see "the Bunny" so off we went. Thanks to our procrastination, Grace was able to run right up to the bunny as soon as we got there. It was like he was her best friend. One down. Noah has developed a little stranger anxiety so I thought surely he'd have a meltdown. He calls his stuffed animals "Deacon" (long story) and as I walked him up to the bunny, he patted it's "fur" and said "Deacon, Deacon, Deacon." It was love at first sight for him too! We got a great picture and had a hard time getting Grace to leave. She'd walk away and go right back to check him out again.

It has been such a fun weekend! Thank you little munchkins -- for reminding mommy of some things she needed to be reminded of. I LOVE LOVE LOVE you!!

What fun!!

2008-03-21T22:34:00.002-04:00

We went to see the Harlem Globetrotters tonight! It was so much fun. Tyler has been wanting to go for years and this year I managed to remember to get tickets and I am so glad I did. Grace danced and had a grand old time through the whole show. It was in the coliseum where her Wake Forest Demon Deacons play and while that was a little confusing at first, when we left she said "I had fun at the Deacon's house!"

Noah was a little overwhelmed at first, but was dancing and clapping in short order! Aaron, Tyler and I laughed quite a bit -- it was a great show!

Thank you Ty Ty!

2008-03-20T23:11:00.002-04:00

The little kids in our family tend to get a lot of press on the blog because they are learning and doing so much new stuff in such a short amount of time, but tonight as I took some clean laundry into Tyler's room, I looked around and realized how lucky I am that he is such a good kid.

Yes, we have our battles. I tease him and tell him I'm going to have to start sending text messages to let him know it's time for dinner. We've had to limit phone and computer time because it's gotten ALOOC (A Little Out of Control). But so far this year, he's made straight A's in highly academically gifted classes, while participating in Scouts and keeping up with a demanding soccer schedule. And, although he is 12, he keeps his room darn near spotless. Yeah, I have to remind him to hang up his clothes and empty his bathroom trash, but when I think back to how MY room looked when I was 12, I'm amazed at what a good job he does.

He is also a great emergency babysitter. Some days when Aaron is visiting a client and I have a business phone call to take, he steps right in and entertains the little ones. They both adore him, so it's a really easy transition.

So, thank you Tyler! We love you and appreciate all you do!

Curly Sue (and Noah too!)

2008-03-20T14:07:00.004-04:00

If you've met Grace (and even if you've just seen any of her pictures on this blog), you understand why I sometimes call her "Curly Sue." She has VERY. CURLY. HAIR. I mean the kind of curly that causes strangers to cross restaurants to comment on it. It was around her first birthday that we started to notice some little ringlets forming in the fuzz and as her hair grew, it didn't get longer, the curls just got tighter and more defined. If you pull her hair out straight it is shoulder length, but it's impossible to get it straight (and I would never want to, I love her little curly locks!)

Anyway. Noah's hair has developed a familiar fuzz and sure enough, the curls are forming. I couldn't be happier that they have both apparently gotten daddy's curls. I'm sure when they are older, they will both fight them and try to straighten them, but as long as I'm the "stylist," let the curls be free!!

Don't pay attention to this entry...

2008-03-17T11:07:00.002-04:00

I know you want to skip right over it and read about Noah's birthday anyway, so please do.
I had a bad, bad week on the weight loss thing. I can blame nobody but myself. Between spaghetti dinner at Grace's school and very tempting birthday cake yesterday, my willpower crumbled into dust. And a busy work schedule kept us from the gym. Oh well, there's always this week. And starting the 30th is the Feel Great in 8 challenge. THAT ought to keep me on my toes.

The results:
Start of the week: +13.9 from goal
GAIN This week: +1.2
To go: 15.1

Celebrate!

2008-03-16T21:31:00.009-04:00

Though yesterday was Noah's actual birthday, Tyler had a soccer game an hour and a half away and we made a family trip of it and met Aaron's old roommate who lives in the area for dinner. We're not big on huge first bir thday galas, but we did have lunch/cake in Noah's honor at mom and dad's house toda y. Uncle Andy and Aunt "Missa" ca me and we all had a nice time.

Aaron started a tradition of making the birthday cakes with Grace and though time constraints due to our trip yesterday kept him from making his typical masterpiece, he did put together a darling bunny cake for Noah to dig into. Noah surprised us all by being quite dainty with the cake. We were expecting him to be covered head to toe in icing like Grace was, but he ended up with a little on his nose and some on his hands. We didn't even have to hose him down when he was finished!

He had a fun time opening gifts. He loves to look at other babies and when he opened one gift, he proceeded to kiss the baby on the box. He is such a sweet little guy! Of course, after the initial excitement wore off, he was content to play with (and try to eat) the wrapping paper. :)

Happy Birthday, little NoNo! We are so glad you had a fun day!

Cheesin' with Mommy

I love my Auntie M!

Gotta love Nana's necklace!

Hi everybody!

Monkeyin' around with Papa and Tyler

Did someone say time for CAKE??
Even big boys get cake on their nose sometimes!
Oooohhhh...presents!
Mwah! That is the cutest baby ever!
Let me check out the transmission...
Grace in the doll chair
Happy Birthday, best buddy!

A "ONE"derful Year!

2008-03-15T20:53:00.010-04:00

Dear Sweet Noah Balboa,

Where has the time gone? One year ago today, you joined our family. I clearly remember that in the afternoon when all of our guests had left to eat, you and I had our first moment completely alone together. You were wide awake and you gazed into my eyes. Then you wriggled your way up my tummy to nurse. I fell in love with you at that moment and you have continued to wrap me around your little finger every day. This year has been a busy one and we've gone through a lot of changes, but whatever the challenge, you've been a sweet, easygoing little guy.

One of my friends refers to you as "the mayor" because you are so smiley and charming to everyone you meet. You have an infectious little giggle.
You have recently started to LOVE to play games. Peek-a-boo is your favorite, but you also like "How big is Noah?" and Patty-cake. You are a loving little dude and when I pat your back, you pat my back in return. It is so darn cute. You have FINALLY discovered food. You wouldn't eat anything but breast milk until you turned about 11 months old, then you totally skipped baby food and started eating anything and everything right off of our plates. I am amazed at how much you eat!

You explore the world with your mouth. If you can pick it up, it goes in your mouth. This really keeps daddy and me on our toes. We've pulled paper, coins, and various other tidbits out of your mouth just in the nick of time.

As sweet as you are, you have a mischievous side too! One of your favorite games is standing outside the bath tub and turning on the water and sticking your little hands in it. Grace enjoys playing that game with you! Yesterday, while I was drying my hair, you went behind the bathroom door and pulled quite a bit of toilet paper off the roll before I caught you (and snapped a picture). I couldn't help but laugh -- you looked soooo proud of yourself.

You have brought so much joy and love to our family, little man.

I love you to the moon and back!
Mommy

The coolest shop online...

2008-03-11T14:01:00.002-04:00

is etsy.com! I have been an online shopper for years and one of the things I love most about the experience is the opportunity to comparison shop a kajillion stores in minutes. Through the cloth diapering community I have become familiar with a website called etsy.com which features handmade products from a kajillion different individuals (ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but check it out, there's TONS of stuff there!) Being a work-at-home mom has changed my perspective on a lot of things and it is my goal to support other work at home parents when possible. Etsy doesn't offer "everything" but when I need something "crafty" it's the first place I look. Just last week, I got a beautiful bag from xcessrize on etsy. It something I've been looking for for over a year -- a messenger bag that has a divider and is big enough to carry my laptop on one side and miscellaneous kid gear on the other. Very helpful when I take the kids to my mom's so I can work. And speaking of bags, I've been "bag tagged" so as soon as I can, I'll take a picture of it and play out my turn!

In the meantime, check out etsy! You're sure to find a treat!

Not Cute!

2008-03-11T11:13:00.003-04:00

My mom tells a story of me as a young toddler in which I was in a particularly cranky mood and she said to me "Boy, you sure do like to argue!" I fired back quickly "NO! I DO NOT LIKE TO ARGUE!" This morning I realized that the classic mother's wish ("I hope when you grow up you have kids that act just like you") has come true for my mom.

All of Grace's Dora cups were dirty, so I poured her milk into the only available cup and handed it to her. She took one sip and said "I don't like this one, this is Noah's cup!" After a few minutes of telling her that she could drink out of that cup or not at all (met with major whining of course!), I looked at her and the following conversation ensued.

Me: Oh Grace, you are just too cute!
Grace: NO! I NOT cute! I Gracie!

Ah, the fun of having a 2-year old!

Week 2 Results...

2008-03-10T11:34:00.005-04:00

All things considered, this was a good week. We didn't join the gym until Wednesday and were able to go twice. In addition, we took advantage of some GORGEOUS NC weather to go on a couple of family walks.

Full calorie soft drink weaning is going ok. I am not going to post what I've gone from and to on that one because frankly, it is embarrassing, but trust me, I'm getting there! :) I've discovered that Diet Sprite isn't so bad.

I've definitely made better choices with food.

So, without further ado, here are the results:

Start of the week: +15.5 from goal
Loss this week: -1.6
To go: 13.9

I'm happy with that! I know sensible weight loss is about 1-2 lbs per week, so that was a pretty good week. Still lots of work to be done though! :)

Making myself accountable!

2008-03-07T10:22:00.005-05:00

Post baby weight...it's a slippery slope.

I have about 15 lbs of post-Noah weight still hanging around (in addition to 5 post-Cadbury mini egg lbs). I changed the appearance of this blog because Grace has taken to calling me "Cookie Mommy" which has forced me to take a good long look in the mirror and examine my eating habits more closely. With Noah turning a year old, my "grace period" has long since passed so I am making a commitment to losing 20 lbs! I know there are at least a few people who follow my blog, so I am going to post weekly results to keep myself accountable.

What am I doing? Well, we joined a gym and I am trying to go AT LEAST 3 times a week. In addition, I am attempting to completely wean from full calorie soft drinks (which means I'll probably give up soft drinks all together...I hate hate hate diet sodas!) and eating sensibly. I'm still nursing so Iwill not be going into "starvation mode" but I will not be visiting my friends Wendy and Ronald anymore (It's been fun guys, but the badonka donk butt has gotta go!)
I am also getting ready to join a "Feel Great in 8" challenge with some friends that focuses on feeling great through eating right, exercise and scripture study. There is a winner at the end of the 8 weeks and I like a challenge!

I've actually been working on this for a week and a half and had great results in week 1.

Start weight +20 lbs
Week 1 -4.5 lbs
To go 15.5 lbs

This week's results to come on Monday. Have a great weekend..oh, and please pass the broccoli! :)

If you say so Mommy...

2008-03-06T22:29:00.005-05:00

The scene: My parent's house (Grace's favorite place) right after lunch (nap time). We are sitting on the front porch enjoying the beautiful weather. I am on the steps and Grace is in the rocker.

Me: OK Grace, nap time!

Grace: No, I NOT sleepy

Me: Grace, it's nap time. You can take a nap here (touching the front porch to make the point that I am talking about Nana and Papa's house) or we can go home and you can nap there.

Grace: OK Mommy -- I sleep here (laying down on the porch in the exact spot I pointed to).

Guess I asked for that one, eh?

"GRACE-ing" us with her Presence

2008-02-25T22:45:00.009-05:00

With the stress of selling the old house gone, we are really really enjoying time with our children. We marvel every day at how fast they are growing up and are thankful for their sweet, innocent personalities. Miss Grace has been particularly entertaining lately. She has learned to say prayers and prays at every meal (often several times before, during, and after the meal). She also says her own prayers at bedtime and occasionally I hear her in her room all by herself with her sweet little voice praying....it usually goes something like this...

Heav Fadda
Tanka dis day
Tanka mommy, daddy, Noah, Tywer, Nana, Papa, Andy, Missa, Gamma, Gampa
All our bwessings
Nama Jesus
AMEN!!

While she loves to say prayers, she doesn't like it when OTHER people pray for too long. More than once she's proclaimed "AMEN!" in the middle of a prayer at church. We attribute it to her Baptist blood. :)

Grace is also becoming a true GRITS (girl raised in the South) and is a huge college basketball fan, more specifically a Wake Forest Demon Deacon basketball fan! Her absolute FAVORITE thing is going to the games. On game days, she wears her "Deacon shirt" and carries her deacon bag with her pom pom sticking out. She has a little stuffed Deacon (ugliest stuffed animal on the planet...sorry Mom) that she carries around too. She can identify a WF from a mile away and says "WF Wake Forest Deacons!" She is a true little cheerleader and quite possibly the most dedicated fan under the age of 3.

Finally, she may be cute, but she's a feisty little thing. I particularly enjoyed this exchange in the car the other day.

Me: Grace, how old are you?
Grace: TWO!!!
Me: Tyler is 12
Grace -- Well, I fourteen!
Tyler: Well, I'm 25
Grace: uhhhhh, nooooooooooo

You know, I haven't been to the movies in years and I turn the TV on for one hour a week (to watch House). Who needs 'em....we've got all the entertainment we need!

"Tigtails!"

2008-02-23T10:22:00.002-05:00

When I was pregnant with Grace and found out she was a girl, I was excited at the prospect of the girly clothes and shoes, yet intimidated by the thought of having to come up with darling hairdos over the years. Doing hair does not come naturally to me and when Grace's hair turned out ultra curly, I was secretly relieved to be able to just wet it, stick a bow in the front and go!!

My mom had other ideas and recently while she was keeping Grace, she introduced her to pigtails. Pigtails are not an easy feat on Grace because she has what I call "non partisan" hair. There's such a mass of curls, you CANNOT get a straight part in it no matter how hard you try! Nonetheless, Grace now insists on "tigtails" almost every day. I know people take pity on my when they see my poor attempts to make equal pigtails, but I'm doing the best I can...and you gotta admit...it looks pretty cute from the front! :)

Our Beloved "Teddy"

2008-02-23T09:56:00.005-05:00

I've been meaning to do a blog about Teddy for a while, but with other recent events, I just haven't had time to schedule a photoshoot with him. Many of you have probably met Teddy. If you've met Grace, chances are good you've met Teddy for he accompanies her most everywhere she goes.

I purchased Teddy on a whim. When Grace was younger she got into the habit of falling asleep touching my hair. When we found out we were expecting Noah, we were eager to teach her good sleep habits and I was on the lookout for a "substitute me" for night-time. While at the mall one day, I stumbled into Build-a-Bear. When I laid eyes on the beautiful pink teddy bear and felt it's silky fur, I knew we'd found our lovey. For Grace, it was pretty much love at first sight as well. Teddy worked like a charm and she began sleeping through the night every night without a fuss.

Since then, Teddy has become more than a night-time lovey. He (and I'm not sure why we call a pink teddy "he" but we all do) has become a member of our family. He accompanies Grace to preschool and to nursery at church. He rides in the car with us a lot of other places, but is usually content to wait for us there. Teddy has been to the beach and to Texas and to soccer tournaments galore . He's lived in three different houses with us. He was there to help Grace welcome a baby brother to the family.

Over time, teddy has become tattered and worn, but for Grace, there is no substitute. She has other animals that she loves, but none come close to the strong companionship she has with Teddy. She can sleep if one of the other animals is left in another place in the house, but Teddy must be by her side. One night we couldn't find Teddy and I honestly think I panicked as much as Grace. I couldn't stand the thought of her losing a friend at such a young age. Luckily, Teddy turned up -- he was just hiding under the sofa. As I look at Teddy, I know that before long he is going to start requiring "surgeries" to remain intact. I am hopeful that he will last as long as Grace needs him and will do everything in my power to make that happen. People have suggested that we buy another Teddy to "prolong his life" but it wouldn't be the same. Teddy is special because he's been through so much with Grace. A new Teddy wouldn't have the same "scent of experience." It just wouldn't have the character that comes with being grungy and worn.

I can HONESTLY say...

2008-02-18T14:45:00.002-05:00

Photo opportunities like this are sooooo worth the extra laundry! :)

SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-02-15T13:55:00.003-05:00

I will warn you upfront that this could be one of my more emotional blogs. I am feeling such a mix of emotions right now (relief, joy, nostalgia…oh too many to name!) You may not even want to read this one for it most definitely will be hard to follow, but I want to put it out there so I will remember.

We were supposed to close on our old house on February 29. On Monday, February 11, we received word that the buyer wanted to close on….February 15!! (It became official at noon today!!) Hey, that was great news, but of course a great scramble ensued! My gut reaction was WOOOHOOOO!!!! It’s FINALLY going to be over! And then I got sentimental.

You see, when my first husband and I divorced I was 28 years old. I moved into an apartment and vowed to buy a house by the time I was 30. It wasn’t an easy task for a young single mother, but I was committed. I paid off my debts and built up my savings and 17 days before I turned 30, I made an offer on a house. The offer was accepted and I closed 1 week after my birthday. Before deciding on the house, I looked at HUNDREDS of houses over a period of about 6 months. I really believe that when you are house hunting, you just “know” when you walk into the right one and when I walked in, I knew. It had PLENTY of room for the two of us, and was warm, homey and comfortable. Tyler and I packed up our modest amount of “stuff” and moved into “our house.” Tyler was almost 6 when we moved in and during our time in that house, he went from a sweet little boy to a handsome and helpful young man. During our time in that house, I found my wonderful husband and we added two sweet babies to our crew. We both put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (and maybe even a cross word or two) into updating our space. The house saw us through MANY life changing events and it served us well. We have learned that the gentleman who purchased the house is a single father. He has plans to make it a wonderful home for his daughters. I am thrilled to know that children will continue to grow within its walls.

Goodbye old house. Thanks for the memories, for the shelter, the warmth, the place for our family to grow and learn.

Despite feeling a little nostalgic about the old house, I , for the first time, am feeling at “home” in our new one. Sure, we’ve lived here for nearly 8 months, but as long as we had two mortgages, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it could be a temporary thing. We have enough furniture to function, but we have done very little personalizing. Monday, I bought paint for the kitchen. I am ready to make this house our home. The excitement most people have when moving into a new home was somewhat tempered for us and I am FINALLY starting to let myself get excited!! I am finally allowing myself to love the things I love about the house and thinking about how I want our space to look. This house is special to Aaron and me because WE picked out the features TOGETHER. It is OURS. While we are not sure how long-term it will be, we hope to be settling down for a good little while. Til now, I haven’t had the guts to blog about the new house. It seemed premature. But next week, when the dust has settled from this crazy, hurried week we’ve had, I will tell you all more about it!

Here’s to home sweet home.

GO BIG GREEN!!

2008-02-11T21:49:00.000-05:00

Tyler's soccer team had their first pre-season tournament this past weekend and they swept their way to the championship! They won ALL four of their games, 6-2, 8-0, 5-0, 2-0!! What a great way to start a new season! Way to go guys!

"A tale of two kiddies..."

2008-02-04T22:03:00.000-05:00

Grace: The Great Hunt for Mommy's Keys

Yesterday afternoon we decided to go visit my parents for a while. We loaded the kids up in the van and realized we did not have the keys. We took turns, one of us entertaining the kids in the van while the other looked for the keys. We looked high, we looked low. Heck, we even looked in the refrigerator...to no avail. After 20 minutes of searching, we used the valet key and hoped they'd turn up.

This morning, as we were playing with Grace, we found the keys...just where they should be... safely tucked away in the purse.

BUT... it wasn't MOMMY's purse....

Ah, a blog is born. =)

Noah: Saying "Hi" to the Voice in the Sky

During a trip to Lowe's Home Improvement late last week, I was pushing Noah in the cart (while Aaron chased Grace around the store). Noah is, 99% of the time, a very happy, social baby and he was "talking" and laughing with me as we walked. Suddenly, an announcement was made over the intercom. Sweet little Noah's eyes got as wide as saucers, he tilted his little head back, looked to the ceiling and said with the cutest little southern drawl..."Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" (His newest thing is saying "hi" with all kinds of inflection). The people in the aisle with us nearly died laughing!

It is the little moments like these that remind us not only of what sweet, wonderful, and pure blessings our children are, but that they are watching us every minute and taking their cues directly from us. May we teach them well!

Yes, I Cloth Diaper (and No, I Haven't Lost My Mind!) :)

2008-01-31T21:52:00.000-05:00

Many people are shocked when they find out I cloth diaper my kiddos. To be honest, if I think hard enough about it, I’m shocked too. Before Grace was born, when I got up every morning, hurriedly got dressed, took Tyler to school, and commuted to work, where I spent my spare time talking to co-workers about current events, I never even realized cloth diapering (CDing) was still an option. Seriously! It just never dawned on me that people would still do that. I remember my first conversation with a friend on BabyZone (who also lives fairly close to me so I’ve met her several times in real life) who had just started CDing. I was in total disbelief that she would even consider such a horrid thing. I really didn’t even have too many memories of anyone being cloth diapered from my childhood, but the faint memories I did have did not smell good!

But she planted a seed (thank you Amanda) and of course the researcher in me just HAD to know what could POSSIBLY encourage someone to make such a decision. I will spare you all the gory details (there are a kajillion websites outlining them if you are interested), but after several hours of reading , I was converted by a few simple facts. There are many things to consider, but the thing that really affected me was the fact that disposable diapers take hundreds of years to break down in landfills. Stop and think about that. That means EVERY disposable diaper that has ever been used still exists somewhere in a landfill and given that every baby produces approximately 2 tons of disposable diaper waste during their time in diapers, that’s a LOT of diapers! Not to mention that the stuff that’s in the diapers is being put into the landfills untreated (and people say CLOTH diapering is gross!?!?) Yes, there is the argument (which the good folks at Huggies and Pampers like to tout) that washing cloth diapers uses more energy and water, but most experts believe the impact of the massive quantity of non-biodegradable waste is much greater (not to mention the fact that disposable diaper companies use quite a bit of water and energy manufacturing their diapers). Even if environmental impacts are equal, keeping potentially* harmful chemicals away from my babies’ sensitive parts tipped the scale (*note, I say “potentially” because as with everything these days there are different opinions as to their safety. Google dioxin and sodium polyacrylate if you are interested in more information).

I was delighted to find that cloth diapering is not as complicated (or as stinky) as it was in the past. No ammonia smelling wet pails, no rubber pants. There are a variety of cloth diapering options ranging from very economical (basic pre-folds) to downright expensive (for squishy organic bamboo velour). We have a little bit of everything in our “stash.” When I first started I vowed never to do a pre-fold (the old fashioned kind my parents, er mom, used), but now I find myself reaching for those fairly frequently for Noah. I would use them for Grace, but I don’t have any in the size she needs and am not investing much into new diapers for her given she’s showing some interest in potty learning. I’ve also discovered wool longies and soakers. Basically, they function as a cover over the kinds of diapers that require covers (several kinds don’t these days) and they are soooo cute, not to mention easy to get on and off for diaper changes! There is an excellent article here: http://www.diaperpin.com/clothdiapers/article_wool.asp on why wool is great as a diaper cover.

Finally, I’ve discovered that contrary to my expectations, I find diaper laundry to be quite therapeutic. There is something about taking something so yucky, putting it through the process to make it fresh and as cute as can be again and folding it up, ready to use again.

No, I never would have pictured myself on this path, but it is one I am happy to be on!

Grace waking up happy in her woolly jammies!

About a day and a half worth of fluffies for two fresh out of the dryer!

The (Fluffy Cute) End!

NEWSFLASH: Our old house is UNDER CONTRACT!

2008-01-26T20:20:00.000-05:00

I'm afraid to say too much because I don't want to "jinx" it, but to summarize...

We've had a flurry of traffic in the last few weeks and two of the people who had looked at the house were still interested after the first visit. We were really holding out hope that something would happen with one of those. But on Thursday afternoon, a guy came for the first time, looked at the house, walked out the door and wrote up an offer immediately! It was a good, solid offer considering the market (98% of asking price), but he asked for significant closing cost assistance and we countered on that amount. He accepted our counter offer and we all signed the paperwork Friday afternoon! It is heartening to us that he really seems to be as excited about the house as we've been expecting "Mr or Mrs Right" to be all along. :)

We are "cautiously excited." After nearly 11 months on the market, I think we are both afraid to believe that it might actually happen, but pending inspections we are scheduled to close on February 29. We appreciate all of your prayers on our behalf and ask that you please keep us in them for the next month. We really need to bring closure to this "adventure."

The Long Way Down Holiday Road

2007-12-31T23:56:00.000-05:00

Twas the week before Christmas and van filled with a load,
Our family took off for a LONG trip on the road

The kiddos were nestled all snug in their seats
And mommy and daddy had a cooler full of treats

We drove and we drove and then drove some more
To see lots of family, what the season is for!

On NC, on SC, on GA and Bama
On Mississippi and Louisiana to Texas to see Gramma

Miss Grace was just fine with Toy Story on the screen
and Noah, sweet Noah was the opposite of serene :)

After 22 hours, we finally arrived
Aunt Becky and Uncle Stephen welcomed us from the drive

We all shared some hugs and said "good to see you!"
then were off to Grandma and Grandpa's to see the rest of the crew

There was Shayla and Seth, little Katie and Ian
Janae and Nathan with Kaya and Pepper (their two furry bein's)

Amy was there too and later came Ben
at Grandma and Grandpa's house, the fun just NEVER ends!

We talked and we ate and we can't forget the singing--
Seth's version of "In the Jungle" -- oh my ears are still ringing!

We all opened gifts and the goodies were great
Santa visited the kiddos -- they just couldn't wait.

We had such good times, we were sorry to go
But our mortgages were calling us back to the road

So now we are home, we've had time to unwind
When Wednesday rolls around, it's back to the grind

It was so worth the drive, our memories make us grin
Maybe in a year or two, we'll do it all again!

Noah Balboa

2007-12-18T23:14:00.000-05:00

Very early in his life, Noah got the nickname Noah Balboa. When we call him that, I always think of Spanish explorer, Vasco Núñez De Balboa. We even have a little song we sing:

Noah Balboa
was an explorer
Noah Balboa
he sailed the sea
Noah Balboa
was an explorer
and then one day he sailed to me

Even Grace can sing parts of the song (because she's heard it hundreds of times).

But this week, little Noah Balboa looks more like ROCKY Balboa. He's gotten brave and a few days ago as we were playing on the bed, he pulled up on me and launched himself over me (and right into the nightstand). By the next morning, he had his first shiner. Like most black eyes, it gets a little worse each day (the pictures below were made the day after he did it). He looks so pitiful, but he's still a happy little camper.

Too cute not to share!

2007-12-09T23:09:00.001-05:00

'nuff said...

Say Cheese?!?!

2007-12-02T23:02:00.000-05:00

With the holiday season upon us, we decided it was time to update our family picture (which we haven't done since Noah joined us) and get Grace's 2-year pictures made. The whole process reminded me why we don't do it very often!

First, there's the outfit planning for the family portrait. Fortunately, my mom had purchased something for all three kids to wear, but finding something appropriate for Aaron and I to wear that blended and looked somewhat festive proved challenging.

Then, there's the actual studio experience. I decided that if we ever do it again, we'll dress in our holiday outfits in July to avoid the crowds. I know that portrait studios are out to make a buck, but when you specialize in a business that thrives on people looking happy, making them wait in a 90 degree studio for any longer than 10 minutes or so just doesn't make good business sense. Kids get hot, they get tired, moms and dads get flustered and in a hurry and you just don't sell as many pictures as you would have if you scheduled fewer appointments for the day! The thing is, these pictures are around for like...ever...and nobody wants their great great grandchildren looking back and laughing about how stressed everyone looked. Yeah, my great great grandparents look VERY stressed in their pictures, but with much better reason than a photography studio that overscheduled appointments! They were raising 13 kids and working in fields with no deodorant, so I cut them a whole lot of slack! But I digress...

We finally got our pictures made. And when we got home that night, I fell asleep a couple of hours earlier than normal. It was work, but we got it done and managed to get a few good shots. Lots of you will be seeing some of these on forthcoming Christmas cards. Act surprised! :)

Starting Traditions...

2007-11-24T20:43:00.000-05:00

I've always been a little sentimental and either Aaron is being a good husband and humoring me or he's grown a little sappy in his old age too. :) Through Tyler I've seen just how fast children grow up and I've decided that I want to establish some "family traditions" that our children will look back on and remember fondly.

When I was growing up we ALWAYS had colored lights on our Christmas tree and we always had a real tree. Once the lights were strung, mom and dad ALWAYS put the ornament they bought on their honeymoon on the tree first and they always kissed as they hung it. Over the years, my brother and I picked out "our ornament" and when we hung it, we hugged each other. It was the one moment of the year that we called a temporary "truce" from typical sibling arguments and acknowledged ever so briefly that down deep we liked each other. :) Our Christmas eve and Christmas routine evolved over the years to accommodate different situations with my grandparents, but there was always some kind of gift exchange on Christmas eve, a very, very early morning up to see what Santa brought and a Christmas day gift exchange with my dad's family. To this day, I STILL get excited on Christmas eve and wish everyone would eat dinner a little faster so we could get on with the fun stuff. Not because I'm greedy or really in a rush to open gifts but because it takes me back to my childhood and reminds me of a time when December was without a doubt, the most exciting month of the year. I want my children to have these kinds of memories too!

In October, we had our first annual family pumpkin hunt. We gathered the troops and went to the local pumpkin patch (see blog below) and all the kiddos picked out their pumpkins. It was such a hit that we've decided to go every year. Today, we had our first annual family tree cutting day. We loaded up the van this morning and traveled an hour and a half to a tree farm in the beautiful North Carolina mountains! It was a long ride and as we were traveling, I wondered if it was really worth the trip. As we got there and set out to find our tree, I knew it was definitely worth it. It was a cold, cold day and we all got bundled up and started down the path. At one point, Aaron pointed out into the field and said "Tyler, you see that tall tree that stands above all of the others...why don't you go see how tall it is." We were looking for a 7' to 8' tree and when we took the measuring pole out there we saw that it was just over 7' tall. Tyler and I looked it over and deemed it perfect in every way. Grace came to check it out and agreed so we called the tree farmer over to cut it down and tag it "ours!" As we waited for the tree to be brought back to us, we drank hot chocolate and ate cookies and just enjoyed each other's company.

I'm sure as the children get older there will be much more "discussion" about which tree is the perfect one, but very young and very agreeable makes for a very pleasant start to a tradition. :)

Next month, we will start another new Christmas tradition. Starting this year, it is our plan to travel to Texas every other year to celebrate with Aaron's family. We are really looking forward seeing everyone and are especially eager for our children to meet some of their cousins! Stay tuned for pictures and stories from our trip!

We got elfed!

2007-11-19T09:18:00.000-05:00

OK...this was so funny, I had to post it....

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9548143461

You could only do 4 people at a time so I created another to give Aaron a chance too:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9548208447

Enjoy!

Grace's Big Day

2007-11-11T22:23:00.001-05:00

To celebrate Grace's 2nd birthday today, we had a small get-together with family. We had originally planned on doing a Barney theme because Barney is loved dearly by Grace, but the party supply store had no Barney decorations. :( So...we let Grace pick her theme. Oh, there were Disney Princesses, and Hello Kitty and even Elmo, but my sweet princess picked....CARS! LOL

We recently added the movie Cars to the minivan DVD player and it has quickly become a favorite. Perhaps it's his color or maybe his big eyes, but from the minute she saw him, Grace has called the main "character," (whose "real" name is Lightning McQueen), "Elmo Car." We get in the car and she asks for Elmo Car every time. In desperate need of a break from Barney, we oblige often. So, when she asked for an Elmo Car birthday party, we figured it was appropriate.

Continuing a tradition started last year, Aaron made the cake. He did an awesome job! Given the cost of cake pans, we've decided that Noah will probably have an Elmo Car party in March. :)

Grace had a great time and got some cool new toys. She loved visiting with Nana, Papa, Uncle Andy and Aunt Melly. We greatly missed Tyler, who was unable to attend because he was playing in a soccer tournament championship game (which they won!!)

The day gave me cause to reflect on the last two years and the sweet spirit Grace has brought to our family. Time is flying and I'm reminded that I need to stop and savor it as often as possible. When I look at this sweet little walking, talking girl, I can't believe that just 2 years ago she was being born a month early under emergency circumstances. She has grown to be a loving daughter and great big sister who loves to shower everyone (especially "NoNo") with hugs and kisses. She is as sharp as a tack and can carry on a completely understandable conversation. She ADORES music and loves to dance. She has a truly infectious giggle and curls that put Shirley Temple to shame.

Happy Birthday sweet Gracie girl! You are a precious little sunbeam. I love you!
~Mommy

"Elmo Car" Cake (Made by DADDY!!)

The "spread"

I think this pic is a classic!! Gotta love the diaper!

The party may not have been girly, but Nana and I made sure her outfit was!! :)

Noah and Daddy

Andy, Noah, and Daddy

Checkin' out the Cake!

Happy Birthday dear Graaaaaace....!

Yummy!

Pretty big bite there, Gracie girl!

Princess Papa :)

Mommy and Noah

The fun part!!

Mommy's Photo Shoot

2007-11-08T20:18:00.000-05:00

Right after Noah was born, Aaron bought a new camera. He didn't ask me about it beforehand and I can't say I was completely thrilled. I had a little "easy" camera that was working just fine for me and the new one has too many buttons for some who is "technically challenged." I resisted and have been using my old camera all along. But alas, something is wrong with the old camera...something with the card thingy and I don't have a clue what that means.

Yesterday morning, the kiddos (and Aaron) were in particularly good moods and my camera was broken! So, I put the new fangled camera on the only setting that made any sense to me...the one that said "auto." Actually that's the only setting that has words on it...the rest are pictures that just aren't intuitive to me. I reasoned that "auto" meant if I found the subject and pushed the button, the camera would do the rest. I was almost right. Apparently it also means that the camera will give everything a bluish tinge. Oh well, the subjects are still pretty cute!

Let's hear it for the boy!!

2007-11-07T21:32:00.000-05:00

Today was report card day...

Tyler is in 6th grade this year and we have been impressed at how he has really buckled down and taken a strong interest in his schoolwork. In his math class, his teacher has a 100 club. She lists the names of people who make a 100 on a math test on her website and posts their picture with their test. Tyler is a TWO-TIME member of the 100 club -- one of only three students out of 120 in his program to achieve such a feat!

Today he brought home all As and excellent marks on conduct in all classes (behavior is at least as important as academic achievement to us, so we were glad to see that!) He gets to go to a special "lunch out" at the food court on Friday to celebrate being on the "A" honor roll! Way to go, Ty Ty. We are proud of you. Keep up the great work!

Yowzers!! That HURT!!

2007-10-30T10:59:00.000-04:00

One week ago today, I woke up to excruciating pain in my back and bladder area. I woke Aaron up and told him I needed to go to the emergency room. I had a suspicion I had kidney stones -- I'd never had them before, but had heard them described as the worst pain ever. Now, I HATE hospitals and have NEVER been to the emergency room, so that's an indication of how much pain I was in. We called my parents to come watch the kids and by the time they got there, the pain had subsided somewhat so we went to the Urgent Care facility instead of the emergency room. When we got there, I was tested for every single thing under the sun except kidney stones and was diagnosed with a bladder infection and sent home with some antibiotics.

I felt much better in a couple of days so figured I just had a particularly bad bladder infection. Until Saturday. While eating dinner on Saturday, the familiar pain started to come back into my back and within hours I was writhing on the floor in pain, throwing up and generally feeling like death was imminent. So, once again, we called my parents to watch the kids and this time went straight to the emergency room. Given the obvious pain I was in they called me in quickly once we got there. They got me into a room, gave me wonderful painkillers and anti-nausea medication and did a kidney scan. In the words of the doctor on call in the E.R. "Yeah, you have a stone, a large one, 5 mm, and it's lodged. And you have lots of infection so we are admitting you because an infected kidney stone can cause serious consequences." Before I knew it, I was getting blood cultures done and being moved to a room. The doctor did surgery on Sunday morning to remove the stone and I got to come home yesterday afternoon (Monday). I am still in a good bit of pain (irritation from the removal surgery), but am thankful that the stone is gone and hopeful that I don't ever have to go through that again. Having been through labor once and two c-sections, I will say without a doubt, that a kidney stone is the most painful thing EVER!!

Punkins at the Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-15T09:48:00.000-04:00

Crisp weather and Halloween decorations in abundance signal that fall is here! To celebrate the season (which happens to be my FAVORITE), we loaded up the minivan and took the punkins to a local Pumpkin Patch. This was the first year of what we have decided will be a family tradition of visiting and letting the children each pick out a pumpkin. I must say we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Grace got to go on her first Pony Ride, Tyler enjoyed the rubber duck races, and Noah was the typical happy camper. Here are a few pics of the day...

As Promised, Introducing BOB, Our Revolution Duallie Stroller Strides Super Duper Fantastical Double Stroller

2007-10-11T12:26:00.000-04:00

In my minivan post, I said I'd be introducing the stroller we love in a future post. Occasionally I write product reviews (because I find them sooo helpful when making my own purchase decisions), so I thought I'd just post my review here. We love our BOB!!

We consider BOB part of the family!
Reviewer: ASmiles , | Date: September 30, 2007

I had tried out this stroller while I was pregnant with my third child. My second and third are 16 months apart and I do a lot of walking in addition to attending my oldest son's soccer games and needed a stroller that would handle well on various types of terrain (asphalt, gravel, grass). My husband balked at the price at first, but he is an engineer and once he tried one out, he was sold. He got a bonus from work and the stroller arrived 2 days after our son did! We walk a couple of miles as a family twice a day and we love this stroller. The kids are comfortable and the stroller pushes like a dream and we've tested it on about every surface you could use it on. The sun canopies provide great coverage as well as a barrier to protect my youngest from his feisty older sister when needed. The storage basket is large enough to tote all of our stuff and that is no small feat! We've taken it to the mall and other shopping centers and it easily fits through the doors. We bought the car seat adapter and it worked GREAT with our Graco Snugride while we were using it. The ONLY downside I can think of is that it IS bulky when folded up, but hey, that is the nature of a double stroller.

My husband and I joke around when we get in the car and call out all of our kid's names to make sure we have everyone. BOB is such a member of our family that he's now on the "roll call!" :)

After 12 Years of Being a Mom...

2007-10-10T22:40:00.000-04:00

I finally got my "Mommy Badge!"
Years and years of being a soccer mom coupled with 2 children under 2 changes your way of thinking. Things that used to be uncool are suddenly the hottest thing going. Things like diaper bags and baby wraps and fancy strollers....and....MINIVANS!!

Yep, it was inevitable and today it happened. We bought a minivan. And the scariest thing is that I LOVE IT!! I don't know why we didn't do this sooner!

A little background...we have been driving a Toyota Highlander for several years. It HAS a third row seat, but I don't think it was ever intended to be used by anyone taller than 3 feet tall. Since Noah came along and two massive car seats took over the whole back seat, Tyler has been sitting in the tiny, tiny third row. He's been a good sport about it, but it's been painful for me to see him back there with his knees touching his ears.

Additionally, when the third row seat is up, it leaves no room for our beloved stroller, BOB (who will be introduced in a blog to come). We have a luggage carrier that we sometimes carry the stroller in on top of the car, but lifting a 30 lb stroller up on top of an SUV isn't easy (well, Aaron does it, but I'm SURE it's not easy). We've been meaning to trade the Highlander in for a while, but we've been preoccupied with house stuff and haven't gotten around to it. Last weekend, Tyler had a soccer tournament and because we all needed to be in the car and BOB needed to go with us, we rented a minivan. The convenience and comfort was undeniable even in a base model clunker from the rental agency. So when we got home we started searching for a used minivan with the features we wanted at a good price. Today, we found it. We had to have it transferred from another store, but it is everything we were looking for...

It's a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country with leather seats, Stow and Go 2nd and 3rd row seats (this feature is GREAT!!), power doors, navigation system, and built-in DVD player (the kids have already tried this out and love it -- well, Tyler and Grace do...poor Noah still faces backwards so he'll miss out on that for a while). Because the thought of sitting with the kids in a car dealership throughout the buying process was a little too much for me, I charged Aaron with finding the perfect minivan for us and I am THRILLED with what he found. When I got in for my first ride, I really felt more like I was in a luxury car than a minivan. I can't believe we waited this long to make the switch!

Though he picked it out, Aaron is in denial that we have moved to this stage of our lives. He's moping around in a state of mild depression because he's now a minivan owner. He says it's not very masculine, that anything named "mini" can't be masculine. I told him we could call it a MANivan if it would make him feel more manly, but he was not amused. Sorry honey...when it's time to trade the Maxima, I promise you can get the biggest, manliest pick-up truck you can find! ...(and then you can use it to tote home all my great shopping finds!!)

Happy Birthday to Aaron!!

2007-10-03T20:04:00.000-04:00

My sweet husband turned twenty-seventeen today!! I wanted to make a special post for this day to tell him how wonderful he is!

First of all, he is the most incredible Daddy in the world. I know everyone says that about their husband, but he really is. We are blessed that his job allows him to be completely involved in our children's lives. He is so patient and involved with them and you can see the little ones just light up when he's around. He does his share of diapers, gives his share of baths, reads more than his share of books...he is the BEST! He puts his family first and helps guide us in the direction we need to go.

Second, he is my very best friend. He's totally laid back and I'm a little more high strung so we balance each other out nicely. He's fun and we both like to laugh, which is sooo important as we go through this journey together.

Third, not only is he a great husband...he's a great husband-chef! Many of you know that cooking is really not my thing. How fortunate for me to have found a mate who LOVES to cook! SCORE! After seeing video and still pictures of ourselves at the beach, we both decided to watch what we eat and exercise and I tell you, with Aaron creating healthy meals, it's been a breeze. Some days I go to the store and pick up lots of veggies that look good, bring them home, and he creates a wonderful meal. Yes, I am the luckiest girl in the world.

I could go on and on with praise for my sweetie, but I have a feeling he's the only one who would read it. :) So, I will close by saying....Happy Birthday, Aaron!! I love you!! (and..na na na boo boo...you're older than me now!!) mwah!

Our Day at the Fair

2007-10-03T19:45:00.000-04:00

I'll be honest...I'm not a fan of the fair. I haven't been since Tyler was about 4 (at which point he started liking rides that made me queasy). But...this year I thought it might be fun to take all the kids for an afternoon adventure (I've heard too many horror stories about the things that happen out there at night!) Tyler was excited about going, but asked to take a friend since the rest of us are either too short (Grace and Noah), too old (Aaron) or too squeamish (me)to ride the rides he likes.

I agreed to let him take a friend, which meant we needed to take two cars. I picked the boys up after school and met Aaron on the way into the parking lot where we were "robbed" on the way in. Don't worry, no guns involved or anything. This was totally legal robbery..$7 PER CAR to PARK! So since we had 2 cars, we're out $14 before we even get into the fairgrounds! Next, we go to the admissions gate...I forget how much it was for each person, but I know it cost us $23 to get in. Cha-ching..that's $37 down and we've just walked in the gate. Then of course you have to have tickets to ride. When you consider tickets are $1 each, each ride requires approximately 4 tickets, and we have two riders (Ty and his friend) with us....well...let's just say they didn't ride many rides!! I snagged 6 tickets from them so I could take Grace on her first merry-go-round ride. She LOVED it. As she was riding she hugged the horse's neck and as we went past Aaron she'd say "Bye Daddy" and then as we passed others she'd say "Bye People!" It was adorable! And just like that, I stopped putting a price tag on the day.

When everyone was all out of tickets, we all went to see the animals and I was excited to get to see camels. I don't know why, but I've always been fascinated by camels. They are such cool looking animals. We ran into a particularly friendly one who loved Grace! Grace thought all of the animals were pretty cool...and I think Tyler and Tristan had a good time too. Noah was just along for the ride, but he was a happy camper!

All in all, we had a fun, albeit incredibly expensive, afternoon!

A few fun pics

2007-10-03T09:15:00.000-04:00

I was FINALLY able to get some pics of the kids TOGETHER!! Until recently, Grace has been unpredictable with Noah. She'd start out loving on him and end up scratching him. Now she LOVES to give him hugs and kissses. They are really starting to interact with one another and it is precious to watch!

Hug? or Headlock?
"NoNo's Nose"Sweet, Smiley Boy!

Soooooo Busted!!
Watching Barney :)
The Three Musketeers

My BFF, Leigh

2007-09-24T20:19:00.000-04:00

Having an 11-year old, I must admit, I'm amused with the Cingular Unlimited Texting commercial. Tyler and I often disagree about what's SNF ("so not fair "for those not familiar with the commercial or the lingo). Anyway, every time I hear the tween on the commercial talk about her BFF, Jill-- I think about my BFF, Leigh.

When my parents moved into the house I grew up in when I was 3 years old, one of it's best features was my sweet little next door neighbor, Leigh. My mom says that as we were moving in, she came over and said "Hi, I'm Leigh!" And the rest was history. Leigh was just 9 days younger than me and we were pretty much inseparable growing up until about high school when different interests took us down different paths. We are both very busy ladies and we live in different cities now and admittedly have done a horrible job of keeping in touch, but we recently reconnected via myspace and were able to spend a little time together this past weekend.

One of the fun things about the two of us is that even though we are terrible at keeping in touch, when we get together, it's like we never skipped a beat! We also have some almost eerie similarities -- almost like twins separated for years and put back together to find they've been leading parallel lives. :) One of those similarities is that without knowing it, we both went through pregnancy at the same time and our babies were due within 12 days of one another. This weekend, we introduced those babies, Grace and Cooper to each other. They had such a good time and it was great to watch them playing together.

Hopefully our kiddos will give us a good reason to keep in touch. Of course, I tried to talk Leigh into moving into one of the available houses across the street so Coop and Grace could be the "new us," but unfortunately her job makes that an impossibility. Oh well, here's to future get-togethers!

A Whole Lot of Firsts!!

2007-08-28T14:59:00.000-04:00

Whew, it has been a LONG time since I've posted. Things have been incredibly busy since our move and I just haven't had a chance to write. The kiddos have had a fun summer and there are lots of new milestones to report!

Noah (5 months)...is rolling all over the place, sitting up for short periods of time and had his first bite of baby cereal (oatmeal) yesterday. He reacted better to it than his older siblings did at first. He swallowed it right of the bat and gave me a big sheepish grin as if to say "Finally Mommy! I've been watching you guys do this for months and I FINALLY get to try it!" He only ate a little bit and I'm in no hurry to push the issue but it appears that it will at least be less of a struggle than it was with Grace (who would not eat ANYTHING other than Mommy Milk until she was 7 months old). I believe he is also telling us he's ready for his own bed because he is ALL over the place in the middle of the night (which means none of us are getting much sleep!) I wake up in the middle of the night to see a little cutie staring at me and it's just hard to go back to sleep! Luckily, this coincides with one of Grace's first (to come below), so before long Mr. Noah will finally have a real room and bed of his own.

Grace (21 months)...is talking like crazy!! She is learning to say "please" and "thanks" and is using it to get just about anything she wants! It's so difficult to say no to a sweet little voice saying "Treat Mommy, peeeeeeeeeeez!" Especially when you know it will be followed up by "Tanks Mommy!" She has picked up the word "Coke" and when we go out to eat she tries to pull one over on the waitress by saying "Coke" or "Diet Coke" when we order. Of course, she's not getting THAT no matter how much she begs so she has also learned to shake her little finger and say "No Coke for Grace." Little Miss Jokester just giggles at this routine! :) Though mommy isn't quite ready for her to yet, Grace is also showing some interest in the potty. Once every day or so she'll say "Potty" and will either pee pee or poop when she gets there. Nothing consistent yet, but she is showing lots of readiness signs so full-time potty training may be in our near future. Two days ago, after putting her down for nap, Daddy found Grace OUTSIDE her crib pointing in and saying "night night." Sooooo, we've ordered a little bed for her and will give the crib to Noah when it arrives. I am looking forward to decorating her room in extreme girly fashion. When we bought the crib stuff, I knew we wanted more kids so went gender neutral, but with Noah getting that stuff, here we come princess room!! Pictures to come when we get it done!! Grace starts Mother's Morning Out next week and will say "TyTy school, Grace school."

Both Noah and Grace had their first trip to the beach in mid-August. They both love the pool and Grace was pretty impressed with the ocean as well. She was not a big fan of sand though! She enjoyed a trip to the aquarium while we were there and didn't want to leave when it was time!

Tyler (12)...had his first Classic soccer tournament over the weekend. We traveled as a family to Asheville and enjoyed three soccer games in addition to beautiful country! Considering these were the first games the team had played together, we were pretty impressed with their performance (they won one, tied one, lost one). I think they've got real potential and can't wait to see how they progress. Tyler also started middle school yesterday. The school with the HAG program is all the way across town which means he has a very early bus pick-up in the mornings (5:58 am). He and I have BOTH been going to bed early to prepare for our early wake up. Since it's still dark outside at that time of day and his bus stop is just under half a mile away, I drive him to the bus stop and wait with him until the bus gets there. He seems to be happy with school and says the people on the bus are really nice. It really seems like he just started kindergarten yesterday, so it's a little hard for me to swallow. When Aaron and I met, Tyler was nearing the end of his first year of elementary school and time has just flown since then!!

Aaron and I (ages withheld to protect our vanity:)....are enjoying settling into our first house built and purchased together. We remain hopeful that we'll experience our first home sale sometime in the near future.

In a nutshell, that's what's been going on in our neck of the woods. With things settling down a little, I'm sure I'll be back to normal blogging frequency soon!

Love to all!

Way To Go Ty Ty!

2007-05-28T00:48:00.000-04:00

Of course I'm talking about Tyler! Grace LOVES her big brother and she calls him "Ty Ty" and I've gotten into the habit of calling him that too. I do try not to do it when he is around his mature "tweenager" friends to save him some embarrassment. :)

Anyway, Tyler is a soccer player. He's been playing since he was 5 years old and over time has really developed some skills! He has been playing Challenge level soccer for the past two years. The Challenge Division is for players who want to move up from recreation soccer to a higher level of play and coaching. To play, you go through try-outs and if you make a team you travel within the local area for competitive soccer.

This year, he decided to try out for the Classic Division, which is defined as "for more advanced players who want to move to the highest level of youth soccer." He had great tryouts last week and we found out on Friday that occupies one of just 11 spots on the team!! It's a big commitment for him to make, but he is completely excited about it and can't wait for the season to start. Way to go Ty Ty! We are proud of you!

The Mystery of the Green Mouth

2007-05-25T23:18:00.000-04:00

Ever had a "DUH!" moment? You know...one of those times when you just have to laugh at yourself? If so, you will appreciate...The Mystery of the Green Mouth!

Yesterday Aaron worked out of town and my parents and I were home with the kiddos. As my dad was feeding Grace Cheetos (yes, her Papa lets the junk food flow freely), we noticed that her whole mouth and tongue were green. There was some green around the outside of her lips and her teeth were even green. Now Grace is a curious little thing and her favorite way to really explore things is with her mouth. This was an ugly, army green though (not the color of anything that was actually edible) and we feared she had gotten into something she shouldn't have. The search began to figure out what mystery object she had tasted. We searched high and low. She had just gotten up from a nap, so I searched her crib for a torn stuffed animal or a stray marker she might have smuggled in in her diaper. Nothing! We searched the entire house, every single place she'd been after waking from her nap and even re-traced a path she made through the yard during a quick escape. Nothing! During the whole process I kept asking Grace "now Gracie, WHAT did you eat?" She grinned and giggled and pointed to her mouth (not exactly the clue I was looking for!) After about half an hour of searching to no avail, we called off the search. Grace seemed to feel fine and we decided we'd watch her closely for the rest of the afternoon and call poison control if we noticed anything unusual. Luckily, she had no ill effects and by the time Aaron got home, there were so many other things going on, I forgot to even mention it to him.

Fast forward to tonight...

Aaron was in the kitchen and I was in the living room and we were having a conversation. He came in and opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out at me and I'll be darned if it wasn't that same yucky harmful substance looking green! "Oh Oh Oh...How did you do that?" I asked. "Uh, do what?" he said. "Make your mouth green like that!" He returned to the kitchen and brought out a bag....a bag of Cheetos. Be sure to read the fine print (ok maybe it's not so fine...let me re-phrase that...be sure to read the huge green banner across the top of the bag)....
So...mystery solved. I showed the bag to my parents and we all felt pretty dumb (but we all got a really good laugh out of it!) In my defense, I hadn't even seen the bag when the whole thing started. Mom had just picked up what she thought was an ordinary bag of Cheetos at the grocery store and dad had given Grace what he thought were ordinary Cheetos. The thought never ever entered my mind that it could have been the Cheetos. With the mystery solved though, I will rest better tonight . Ahhh, adventures in Toddlerhood!

"Nothing Tastes as Good as Being Thin Feels" (The first in a series of MythBusters by Melissa)

2007-05-21T14:02:00.001-04:00

If you're familiar with my blog, you know that I often like to give a little background before jumping right into the point of the post. This is one of those posts. I would like to start off by saying I love Weight Watchers. Though I was disappointed 4 years ago when I first signed up to find out they don't take away any pounds for free just for signing up (in other words, I had to WORK for every pound), it is a realistic program and when you follow it, you will lose weight. I've used the program several times -- first, before my wedding. I lost 30 lbs this time and while I was still a far cry from the NutriSystem lady whose husband calls her a trophy wife (<--gee, how nice), for me I was in excellent shape. Secondly, 6 months after Grace was born and I realized that I'd lost all of the "free pounds" I was going to lose from breastfeeding, I started the program again and got back to my pre-pregnancy weight TWO WHOLE DAYS before I found out I was expecting Noah. In an attempt to get the few extra pounds off a little quicker this time, I started again several weeks ago and lost 7 pounds within a few weeks. This week has been challenging though. I took a pretty long fall off of the "wagon" and as I was in the shower this morning, I decided I needed a pep talk!

I searched my brain for all the cute little inspirational things I've heard from Weight Watchers over the years. You know "you bite it, you write it!" and that kind of thing, when I stumbled across THE mantra of all mantras when it comes to weight loss -- "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!" There, that oughta do it right? Maybe it would have if I had just STOPPED thinking at that point, but that's not how I work. As I pondered the statement more, I began to doubt it's accuracy. First of all I had to think about what being thin feels like. Now, I'll admit, even when I'm on Weight Watchers, I'm usually not "overweight" by most definitions. Without work, I naturally fall somewhere between a size 8 and 12. On Weight Watchers, I usually rest around a size 6 (so we'll call that my definition of thin for me for purposes of this discussion.) So, what does being thin feel like? I think the implication there is something to do with health and sense of accomplishment. For me (and most people I know) if I'm not pregnant and not throwing up or suffering some other kind of illness, I feel pretty healthy regardless of my weight. And sure, there is some feeling of pride and accomplishment when you drop a dress size. However, if I had to sum up in one word what being thin feels like, the word would have to be....

hungry.

Of course, there are ways to combat hunger and still lose weight, but they just aren't as much fun as the good old "eat what ya want" days! As I continued to think about the phrase, I was able to "de-bunk" this myth in many ways. So here is MY list. These are the things that I think taste WAY better than being thin feels! :)

1) Cadbury mini eggs (I'm not talking about the ones with the gooey junk in the center. These have a hard candy coating over the most scrumptious milk chocolate you've ever sunk your teeth into. I'm convinced they are straight from Satan and thankful I can only get them around Easter).

2) Hershey's chocolate milkshakes from Cookout (If you've been there you know they have the world's best milkshakes in a million different varieties. I've tried a couple but boring old chocolate is my favorite!)

3) Hot chocolate from Panera (My "winter milkshake")

4) Cheetos (Though I've said time and time again that someone should invent a "Cheeto tong" to save us from orange finger syndrome, Cheetos are the greatest crunchy snack I can think of)

5) Coca-Cola (not the diet stuff, I'm talking full strength, full sugar Coke. Worth the calories!)

6) Any kind of ice cream shared with an 18-month old (Between the taste of the ice cream and the image of pure joy on the little ones face...total yum! Ice cream sandwiches are my personal favorite with the blend of chocolate cookie and creamy vanilla ice cream...pure genious!)

7) Cheese pizza from Cicionne's shared over conversation with an 11-year old (Conversations with 11 year olds are a hot commodity and if pizza facilitates it, so be it!)

8) Thanksgiving dinner items! And I'm not just talking about one day a year in November. Thanksgiving is probably my favorite meal ever. I love it all: Turkey, dressing, gravy, green beans, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, broccoli casserole, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie. Oh yes, some things DO taste as good as being thin feels!

If you'll excuse me, my mouth is watering...

Myth status: DEBUNKED!!

Look Out Doc, Here We Come!

2007-05-21T01:41:00.000-04:00

We had a "dual" doctor appointment on Friday for Grace's 18 month and Noah's 2 month appointments. While slightly logistically challenging, it was kind of convenient to be able to get both appointments taken care of in one shot. Here's the news:

Miss Grace - the doctor says she is "sharp as a tack," and is doing great developmentally. She's running now and is going through a vocabulary explosion. She loves to point out her body parts and can name a lot of them. She has also become a great helper and particularly likes helping unload the washer, dryer, and dishwasher (let's see how long THAT lasts!) She put on a show for the doctor and had him completely wrapped him around her finger in no time. She is 33 inches tall (85th percentile) and weighs 26 lbs (75th percentile). She escaped with no shots this time.

Mr. Noah - is also doing great developmentally. He is smiling like crazy and occasionally treating us to a little giggle. He "talks" to me all the time and let the doctor hear some of his "language." He's a strong little fellow and pushes WAY up on his arms when placed on his tummy. He is 25 inches tall (100th percentile) and 15 lbs (100th percentile). Apparently Noah thinks he and Grace should have been twins and he is doing his best to play catch up. The doctor said he wouldn't be the "little brother" for long! Noah got 3 shots and had a little bit of a fever the following day. He seems to be feeling better now.

Our kind doctor just loved both of them and said he would gladly take one or both of them home with him (we may just take him up on that one Friday evening for date night! That's a babysitter I think I'd feel 100% comfy with.) :)

It was a great appointment all around and we are so thankful for happy, healthy children.

Tales from the Housing Market

2007-05-11T23:32:00.000-04:00

Well gentle readers, as I've mentioned several times in my blog, we are building a new house and our current house went on the market while I was in the hospital prior to Noah's birth. Noah is two months old next week and I really hoped that by this time I would be informing you all that our house was sold, but alas, the market in the area is about as slow as molasses on a tree in the middle of winter. This is the first time either Aaron or I have been through the process of selling a house and I have to say all in all, it has been one of the most stressful experiences I've ever been through.

First of all, let me remind you that I am a researcher (yes, I realize I say that in almost every entry but it seems to be a convenient way to explain some of my neuroses.) :) Anyway, when we decided to build the new house, I did some research to determine what we needed to do to get our house ready. Before we decided to move, Aaron (with the help of friends) had already put in hardwood floors downstairs (thank you dad, Whit Gifford, and Scott Snow). We had enough left over from that task to do the master bedroom (which was in dire need of new flooring), so Aaron and my dad took a weekend and tackled that task. With that done, it was time to de-clutter. We rented a POD which stayed in our driveway for a couple of months while we went through the house room by room as we had a chance and packed up stuff that we wanted to take with us. During this process we also gave about 40 large trash bags full of stuff to Goodwill and threw away many, many bags of trash. Most of the rooms in our house had not been painted since the house was built in 1995 and ALL the articles I had read insisted that painting was the cheapest way to command top dollar for your home, so we painted every single room, every single inch of trim, every single door, THE WORKS! Having painted all the trim white, we needed to change out all of the outlets, so Aaron tackled that task and every single outlet and light switch in the house was replaced. With the help of friends (thank you Skinners!) we ripped very busy wallpaper down in the half bath and painted that too. Somewhere in there, we also had the carpet on the stairs and in the kids bedrooms replaced. All of these things took a good deal of time and we actually finished right before I went into the hospital. We did so much work that we actually started to wonder why we were leaving in the first place! (Noah's arrival quickly reminded us that we were out of space.)

When the realtor came to look at the house, she was duly impressed! But we weren't completely done yet. When we started having showings, we placed fresh yellow flowers in a vase in the entryway (yellow encourages people to buy things and fresh flowers make people feel home), baked cookies for the homey smell, made sure the lawn looked great, played classical music and made sure our dogs were off the premises. We were sure that the first people who saw our house would LOVE it and make an offer. They didn't, nor did the second, third, fourth or even tenth people. They said things like "love the house, but I want a 2 car garage," (ok, nothing we can do about that), "love the house but don't like that it backs up to the school" (ok, nothing we can do about that either, but we LOVE backing up to the school -- free playground equipment after 5pm and no neighbors behind us...EVER), and the kicker "don't like the new house feel" (to this one we offered to let our dogs back in the house for a week to take care of that, but still no interest).

During the course of this process we have been beaten down. There is a automated service that calls and tells you when a realtor wants to show your house. In the beginning, we got excited when we saw the number appear on the caller ID. When we found out someone was coming, we'd go through all of our "getting the house ready rituals," high 5 each other and talk about how great the offer would be when it came in later that evening! As the rejection started to pour in, we got less and less excited to see the number and we stopped putting as much effort into the showings. No more cookies, no more flowers, basically now I just remind Aaron to make sure the toilets are flushed and the seats are down.

Every realtor who sees our house tells us it is lovely and we just have to wait for the "right people" to come along, but our new house will be done in about 6 weeks and as the fear of having two mortgages sets in, we're less interested in Mr. and/or Mrs. Right...we'd be PERFECTLY happy with Mr. and/or Mrs. Right Now!

Tomorrow is a new day and there happens to be a new showing. Here's to hoping it's the Right Nows!

Dear Noah...

2007-04-13T10:23:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to write you a letter and it just so happens that you and big sister are both napping at the same time while big brother is at school (yes, the planets are lined up just so!), so now seemed like the perfect time. I wanted to write to you about how I am feeling during your early days so one day, when you can read, you can know what your arrival meant to our family.

When I was pregnant with your sister Grace, I had picked out a girl name and a boy name before I knew that she was a girl. A week or so after she was born, I told your Daddy that I still felt like there was a little Noah to join our family one day. We were thrilled that Grace was a girl and she brought a whole lot of sunshine to our family, but I knew our family was not yet complete. I found out the day after my 35th birthday that we were expecting another baby and I knew from the minute the second line appeared, that my little Noah was on his way.

My pregnancy with you was BUSY!! Mommy and daddy decided shortly after we learned you were on your way, that we were out of room in our current house. We have a three bedroom house, no "spare rooms," with three kiddos and mommy and daddy both working from home we were bursting at the seams. In November of 2006 we made the decision to build a new house and started going through the steps to do so. In December, we started the preparations to put our old house on the market and there was MUCH to do! In addition to all of that going on, we had Grace to chase after. With your older brother and sister, I had everything prepared way in advance, but I just didn't have time to do so with you! Throughout the majority of the time I was pregnant with you, I was the healthiest I'd ever been during a pregnancy. My blood pressure was better than it had been, my weight gain was lower, no gestational diabetes, no placenta previa. I just knew I was going to make it the whole 40 weeks with you, so thought I had plenty of time left to get things in order. But when I was 35 weeks pregnant, I got sick again and spent a couple of weeks in the hospital prior to your birth. Luckily, between an emergency trip by Nana to Babies R Us and a visit from some very nice ladies from church who threw a baby shower right in the hospital room, we got the necessities taken care of and we were able to dress you in blue for your trip home from the hospital instead of some of Grace's pink hand-me-downs.

You came into the world, healthy and screaming! Being a 36-weeker, I was warned that you may not cry at first and that you may need some intervention from the NICU right after birth, but just like your older brother and sister, you allayed any fears mommy may have had about that from the very second you were born. The first time I tried to nurse you, I couldn't get you to wake up to eat. I called the nurse in and she noticed that your little tummy was FULL of fluid (which is a pretty common thing for c-section babies, especially when their mommies had polyhydramnios). It was no wonder, you weren't all that interested in eating! She took you off to suction some of that out and our next attempt at feeding was a success. You have been a pro ever since!

On the fourth day after you were born, we were able to leave the hospital. From there, we headed to Nana and Papa's house. Our house went on the market while we were in the hospital and with me recovering from surgery and two children under 18 months, we just didn't think we'd be able to keep it in show condition. When we arrived, your sister was so happy to see us! She tries really hard to say "Baby" but right now it sounds a whole lot like "Daddy." Luckily, we are able to tell who she is talking about by who she is pointing to. Unfortunately, she is still learning what "gentle" means, so you've been scratched on the head a time or two. Nana and Papa have been really helpful at keeping her occupied so we can keep you safe. We know it won't be long until you are able to hold your own with her!

You've been with us almost a month now and already I can't remember what life was like before you arrived. You have just fit right into our family. Already, I can tell that you are going to be one determined little fellow! While you have been an easy baby to take care of so far, if you don't like something, you do not hesitate to let us know! If we're holding you in the wrong position, you will wriggle and twist yourself until you get into an acceptable one. You despise diaper changes, but now that we can put you into the water, you are loving baths. You LOVE to eat and do it often. You are the first of my babies to take a pacifier. You are very alert for your age and spend quite a bit of time just gazing into my eyes. You have me absolutely wrapped around your little finger and while they say you can't spoil a newborn, I am surely testing that theory. So far your hair is still dark, but only time will tell what color your eyes will be. Right now, they are dark gray so mommy and daddy like to tease each other about their final color.

We look forward to watching you grow and develop over the years. You complete our family, sweet boy. We love you.

~Mommy