Holidays and Hacking

We are enjoying a wonderful vacation in NW Arkansas with my family (who have driven and flown in from the far reaches of the country, well, from Florida, Texas, and Ohio anyways) and we are having a great time. Thus far we have opened Christmas presents in Jared and Rachel's newly renovated living room in front of a roaring fire, played soccer outside in the brisk cold of what a December forecast should truly be, and eaten prime rib and gourmet mashed potatoes with boursin cheese. And we can't forget the episodes of MacGuyver we've been watching since my brother purchased me the 1st and 2nd seasons on DVD.

This morning however, we had to find a pediatrician in the area because my poor little 8 week old baby girl has been coughing forcefully for 3 days and is unable to hold down milk. :( Turns out she has bronchiolitis and has to be on breathing treatments. Sounds horrible, but I didn't even have to buy the breathing machine or the medication because Noah has had the same thing for months now, and my nephew has also struggled with this affliction so I am well versed in its treatment.

Here's to hoping you are all having a healthy and happy holiday season thus far, and ring in the New Year with stories that will occupy and entertain us all on your blogs for weeks to come!

The Dirty 30

Thirty years ago today I entered the world--one month late (I was due on Thanksgiving) and after putting my mom through 36 hours of labor. I had red hair and enormous cheeks.

For this momentous birthday, Greg got me a spa day last Saturday (which I insisted on planning myself) and I got to go with my friend, Julie, whose birthday is next week. We both just had babies, and our sweet husbands watched our kids for the day, a combined total of 5 kids ranging in age from 2 weeks to 4 years! Needless to say they appreciated us much more when we returned. Everything was amazing, and I had to give you a few of the descriptions of our pampering:

Desert Heat Wrap: "A self-heating bubbly mud massaged into the entire body; it is rich in copper which is considered one of the best heat conductors used within the medical field for skin repair...It brings a true sense of relaxation, health and wellbeing, leaving the skin mineralized, hydrated, and nourished." (What they failed to mention is that you are totally naked except for the tiniest little paper thong underwear imaginable, but I didn't even care).

Classic Spa Facial: This was amazing... "A luxurious and indulgent wellness based treatment personalized to achieve maximum results. This revitalizing facial includes a deep-cleansing, customized exfoliation followed by a face, neck and shoulder massage certain to ease your mind, body, and spirit. While warm stones are used to massage the hands, arms, and decollete, feet are cocooned in warm booties. A revitalizing masque is followed by antioxidant treatments that hydrates, protects, and restores the natural balance of your skin."

We also had a one-hour pedicure, arm and leg massage, brunch, crackers and cheese, and champagne spritzers. I know it was supposed to be for my 30th birthday, but we've already planned our spa day for next year! I think all women deserve to do this every once and a while so read the descriptions again, and then go spoil yourself!

Most of the rest of my birthday will be spent on antibiotics nursing my UTI, and picking up a prescriptions for my son's newly diagnosed bacterial pneumonia (non-contagious thankfully!). Sounds rough, but really it means I get to relax with my sweet kids, watch a few cartoon movies, take them to go get some ice-cream, and wait for Greg to get home -- and I don't even have to cook because he apparently has something up his sleeve to do for dinner. Not a bad way to spend the day!

Happy Birthday to me! And for some true birthday humor, visit my sister's blog: www.mimsies.wordpress.com

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Brand new Pottery Barn personalized stockings! They all have a little something in them already, well, except for mine. :( I might have to treat myself as I don't think my husband really understands the excitement that is The Stocking Gift.


Noah will be shy 2 gifts on Christmas as he already opened them while mom was going tee-tee.

Yes, I ran to get the camera before resuing my 6-week-old from her knitted attacker.

Party Time

So sorry I haven't blogged in FOREVER. It has been a very stressful time around here over the past week and a half, and I'm still trying to mentally catch up with everything. Sorry for being so ominous...

Last night Greg and I went to his office party. What a great way to cap off the stress! We had a babysitter for 5 hours and took full advantage; I drank 3 glasses of wine, talked to Greg's boss about epidurals and childbirth (he's about to have his first grandchild), ate Chilean Sea Bass (almost licked my plate clean), ate a three-layer chocolate mousse (actually did lick my plate clean), and danced the night away. Hope all your holiday parties are this successful!

Family Picture Day, part 2

Do you remember this post from last year chronicling the craziness of family picture day? Well, this year was equally as interesting with a now-2-year-old plus the addition of an infant (which, joyful as it may be, simply means there is one less parent able to corral the toddler). Needless to say, we didn't use any pictures that required Noah to sit still on his own, and ended up using one where I was carrying/restraining him. As you can see, Noah decided he'd rather be part of our picture from a distance...





Happy Holiday-card-picture-taking to all, and to all a good night!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was quite the non-traditional holiday. In fact there was no big meal, no turkey to speak of, zero pumpkin pie, and yet it managed to be one of the best Thanksgivings we've had! You see, due to general scheduling dilemmas, we will be celebrating the traditional trimmings of this food-centered holiday tomorrow with Greg's family. While we are definitely looking forward to it, it means that today was OUR day. Our day to take morning naps while the kids were napping. Our day to choose whether or not to shower (we chose not to). My day to take a long hot bath. And our day to have a fun-filled day with our new family of four.

Here is Lauren's Happy Thanksgiving pumpkin outfit. I just love having a girl to dress up! You can't tell, but her socks have pumpkins on them too.



So after our morning naps, I fixed a couple of sandwiches, we all got bundled up, made a thermos of hot chocolate, and headed to the park. It was a very cold 44 degrees today! Finally some cold weather in November in Texas!

Observe Lauren the snow bunny. She's only a month old, so I wanted to make sure she wouldn't so much as feel a slight breeze on our cold weather adventure!

Daddy and Noah. Otherwise known as the two men in my life.

Mommy and Noah.


When we got back from the park, Noah took a second nap while Greg and I got to sit down in peace and watch the Cowboys beat the Jets whilst sitting in front of the fireplace and eating one of the best cold-day meals around: Chili and beer. Added bonus that I served it in sourdough breadbowls I had picked up from Panera Bread Co.!


Hope your day was this good and that you found much to thank the Lord for. I'm personally thankful that we still get to look forward to all that food tomorrow...

Aunt of the Year

The award goes to Aunt Rachel who, despite being in a very uncomfortable 3rd trimester of pregnancy, being in the middle of an enormous home renovation, and getting a flat tire on the way, trudged onward and made it down to Dallas over the weekend to visit her niece. Her reward? She got to do this for 3 days in a row:

Halloween, Birthdays, and Other Happenings

Do you remember this post from last year's Halloween? It was Noah's first trick-or-treating experience, he'd just turned 1, he had his costume on for about 20 minutes when he puked all over it. We removed the costume and it made it's way to the back of his closet until this year because I'll be darned if it doesn't get some use as long as it fits!! This year was significantly better; Noah trick-or-treated at 5 neighbors' houses (except that when he got a piece of candy, he'd say "Thanks" and then throw it back in their bowl, so he ended up with no candy whatsoever). Then he decided it was time to rip his lion suit off and play soccer in the front yard with daddy, giving candy to various trick-or-treaters who passed by.
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The Lion approaching:

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This is my favorite picture...

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So that was the 31st. Well, today is November 2nd and it is Noah's "king" birthday as he turns 2! I can't believe how time has flown; I hold Lauren now and I swear it could be Noah in my arms, just coming home from the hospital! Since we celebrated Noah's big day with a Little Einsteins party a couple of weeks ago, today has been fairly low-key, but he of course got to help make his favorite breakfast -- pancakes. He's opened a few presents, gotten his 2-year shots, and we're all going for some dessert later on. Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

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And an update on Lauren? She's staying very busy keeping up with the Big Three responsibilities of babies: eating, pooping, and sleeping!

Lauren Elyse

Here she is! We went in last Friday morning and well, only 3 1/2 hours of labor and 3 pushes later, Little Lauren joined us at 7 lbs, 8 oz, and almost 19 inches. Thanks to the pre-planned epidural I didn't feel any of this quick and easy process so I'm certainly not going to have anything to hold over her head when she's a teenager! She has blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and is just the sweetest baby girl!
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Proud parents

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Bright eyes and chubby cheeks!

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Sweet naptimes

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Noah inspecting his new "beebee."



Thanks to Rachel for hijacking my blog and posting her arrival a few days ago, and thanks to all of you for the sweet comments! That's it for now though; I'm tired and have only 2 more hours before yet another feeding. I'll keep you posted!

Announcing Baby Lauren!

Rachel here, hijacking my sister's blog to let you know that Jackie and Greg are the proud parents of a baby girl! Lauren Elyse was born today at 1:09 p.m., weighing in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces. Mom and baby are doing great. I will post a photo as soon as they're sent out!

Happy Birthday, Noah!

Knowing that we'd have a little baby around on Noah's 2nd birthday (which is actually November 2), we wanted to give him a birthday party early so he'd be fully celebrated. We chose the Little Einsteins' theme since it is his absolute favorite thing in all the world at this point; he can sing parts of the theme song, say Vrooom! with Rocket, and shout "Blast Off" at all the right moments. We wanted to remember this phase and give him one last birthday party of his own before he has to share them with his sister for the rest of his life!

So last Saturday we had several friends and family over to the neighborhood park (because at 10 months pregnant I wasn't about to clean my house and host it there--I'm a nice mom, but not a crazy one). We had food from Chick-fil-A, brought a basket of sports equipment and bouncy balls, we had 4 dozen Little Einstein cupcakes, handed out treat cups, played on the playgrounds, and of course opened presents. A great time was had by all, especially by the grown men who played football and pretended to allow the small children to play with them. A big thanks to my sister Rachel who was in town with Jared, and got up early to help me get everything set up!

Here are some highlights:

This was officially the final "scheduled" function that I really wanted to get through before the baby comes. Happy early birthday, Noah--we love you!

Last Day of School, er, Work!

Remember the last day of school? I'll pretend I'm not too old to remember that feeling I always got those last hours of the last day of school before a break. I have that feeling today as it is officially my last day of work before 3 glorious months of maternity leave! My schedule is very light today, I've already gotten 2 baby gifts from patients this morning, and another patient brought in cheesecake bars! If all goes according to plan, I'll have the rest of the week to try to relax, get a mani/pedi, do some last minute cleaning and preparing, and then head on up to the hospital Friday to have a baby. Sounds intense when I put it in writing, so today I think I'll just sit and savor my "last day of school" feeling...

Hairdos and Baby Showers and such

Well this weekend was a whirlwind, but a great one! On Friday my friend Stacey came over with her son, Carson (Noah's best friend). She had arranged for a professional hairstylist (very cool woman we both know) to come to my house and set up a 'salon' in my master bathroom! We both got haircuts, full foil color, and styles -- all without having to maneuver our pregnant bellies around town and try to find weekday babysitters for our boys! It was such a treat.

On Saturday, four of my dearest friends threw me a baby girl shower. It was gorgeous and so much fun; we ended up with so many adorable things that I can wait to use! I felt very blessed as several of my friends and family drove anywhere from 1 to 5 hours to be there -- this little girl already has many great ladies she'll be able to look up to!

Finally, tonight, whilst grimmacing at the Cowboys' tragic first loss of the season, I was able to sort th rough ALL baby gifts and items we've gotten thus far; this includes packing the baby's bag for the hospital as well as my own, washing all 0-3 month clothes and arranging them neatly in drawers, hanging everything else up by size, and sanitizing bottles/nipples/pacifiers/etc. and putting them away in her very own cupboard.

I'm exhausted, large, and tired, but finally feel like we are "set up" to have this baby. Now if she can just hold off until after Noah's birthday party next Saturday...

A few pictures:

Tracy's beautiful house, gorgeous display of food, and homemade Vanilla-Raspberry "Diva" cupcakes (in the back) from her cupcake business.

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The hostesses (and me): Stacey, Rebekah, me, Kaci, and Tracy.

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My two sweet cousins, Leslie and Alli. Great to catch up with you both! And yes, there's my new 'do which is not too terribly different except there are a lot more layers and quite a bit of auburn/red/dark blonde color. Apparently she said this is closer to my natural color since my hair has darkened; figures since I'm turning 30 this year.

That's it! Have a nice week. I'm going to bed.

Holy Crap

Sorry for the title, folks. I went to the doctor today and found out that although I am not yet dilated, I am almost 90% effaced and according to him, the baby's head is so low that it is "somewhere between my knees." I'll go in for another sonogram next week, and assuming things continue as they have, we tentatively scheduled to have the baby on October 26th. Yes, that's right, that's two weeks away--well, 17 days to be precise. So I'll say it again...Holy Crap.

I Have A Dream

I have a dream that it is Fall, and then I wake to realize it is never really Fall in Texas. I was going to wait until October to decorate my house for one of my favorite times of year, but I just couldn't help it. Call it nesting, call it obsession, call it whatever you like. It is 91 degrees outside, I'm wearing shorts and a tanktop and am sweating, there are only a few wisps of clouds in the sky... but darn it if my dining room and front entry don't look like Thanksgiving is next Thursday!

To Sleep or Not To Sleep?

Someone help me! For the past several days I have suffered from I can only term "Pregnancy Insomnia." Basically my bladder wakes me up in the middle of the night (no surprise there), but I can't get back to sleep! My mind races and wanders, and I lie awake tossing and turning for the better part of 2 hours. Last night I woke up initially at 2am, and it was 3:45am when I last looked at the clock before finally drifting off again. Have any of you had this?? What can I do? I'm exhausted and it's all I can do to not fall asleep on my patients at work at this point...

Posh or Poo?

My sister Rachel was in town over Labor Day weekend and we went to the outlet mall nearby with Greg and Jared. Our preppy husbands were like giddy schoolboys walking through all the shops and even bought the matching pairs of shoes... In any case, they just about doubled what Rachel and I spent, thus justifying the above purchase from the Fossil Outlet store. I've needed a new handbag: something bigger but not gynormous, something that can hold a diaper but doesn't look like a diaper bag, yada yada, you know how it goes.

Anyway, I picked this one out. I received two comments about the purchase that day: Rachel said that "green is the new black" and she loves it. Greg said that he really likes the style, but the color reminds him a little of Noah's diarrhea when he was a baby.

Who to believe?

InterNOT

I was all ready to post a new entry last night after loading and editing some pictures on my computer and everything. Suddenly and for no reason at all, the internet shut down. It wouldn't open again. I went to the control panel and repaired the connection, I turned off the computer and restarted it, I spoke nicely to it and then finally resorted to yelling. Nothing. This is not the first time this has happened, no, it's been going on consistently for the past 2 weeks! And this isn't dial-up we're talking about either; we pay a stinkin' lot of dinero every month for instantaneous, do-what-I-say, high-speed internet. Furthermore, it's with AT&T! We're not talking Joe's Hubcaps and Internet here, people.

I hate all electronics that don't listen to the commands I give. Aside from slow drivers on the road, nothing can get me stringing words together that I haven't used since the ole farm days in Iowa like crappy internet or cable service. Thus endeth my ranting. Hopefully by the time I get home tonight I'll be able to turn on my lovely computer, post a worth-while blog entry complete with a picture or two, and be done with the yelling for one day.

I'll let you know. :)

Weighty Issues

I'm venting a frustration today, so bear with me and if you like, agree with me and make me feel better about it. :)

I haven't gained much weight with this pregnancy so far; I'm almost 30 weeks along and am apparently measuring a little small but my doctor is keeping the due date the same because he thinks the baby is just little. Little but healthy, that is! Furthermore, since I'm tall and long-waisted, I carry babies vertically so they don't stick out very much.

The comments I've received thus far include
(the first one was from today, prompting this blog):
"There's no way you're in your third trimester! Are you eating anything?"
"You don't really look pregnant, just like you ate a lot for lunch."
"Are you sure that baby is growing properly?"
"I hope you're at least taking vitamins so the baby will be healthy!"
"I hate people like you. Just eat some cookies or something."
-and finally, my personal favorite...
"You look like you just have a really good beer belly."

Are you kidding me? If it's not politically correct to tell someone they need to lose a few pounds, why is it okay to tell them they need to gain a few? And for crying out loud, is it ever okay to say someone's UNBORN CHILD is NOT HEALTHY? I didn't think so. And just for clarification, I'm not like a skinny girl who gets skinny comments on a regular basis. And I do eat cookies. I'm just a mom who happens to hide babies pretty well because of the biomechanical makeup of my uterus for crying out loud, so I wish everyone would just keep their mouths shut!

Thanks for listening. I feel better.

Farewell, Glorious Summer!

I've been out of the loop for the past two weeks because we've been in fabulous South Carolina relaxing and taking advantage of all the lake life has to offer. We originally went to the east coast for my cousin's wedding, but decided to leave a week early and spend some time with my immediate family at a lakehouse owned by a couple of our aunts and uncles. Here are a few of the highlights...


The Lakehouse viewed from the dock. This humble abode was our home for 7 wondrous days of eating, boating, sleeping, taking drives through the mountains, enjoying family, and much more. The house itself sleeps more than 20 people comfortably in 7 bedrooms including 2 master suites, it also has 2 kitchens, gorgeous views of the lake and moutains, a private dock, and all the toys necessary for a water vacation such as a boat, jet skis, and ample swimming gear.


Greg wakeboarded every day (okay, let's be serious, he needed one day of rest after his first day of wakeboarding. He is 30, after all). Okay people, my husband did backflips, 360s, 180s, and got really tan in the process. He was hot the whole time. :)


My 6 1/2 - month pregnant self couldn't do water sports, but did enjoy myself on the boat every day with my boys...

...and my sister, Rachel, who came down with Jared a couple days after we got there.

There was cliff jumping...

and jet skiing...

Noah had a blast on the boat and discovered a pair of un-claimed girly sunglasses.

And of course, there was tubing. All the men (Greg, Jared, and my dad) took turns tubing with our nephews, Skye and Trey. I've never seen such boyish delight on the faces of grown men!

Noah and Wally were especially concerned each time someone jumped from the boat into the lake. Wally was our official "babysitter" the whole time because Noah never got tired of playing with him!

We climbed up this waterfall,

...and swam in the swimming hole (I'll spare you the picture of me in the water in my maternity suit that floated up over my belly and almost to my boobs).

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At week's end, we sadly bid farewell to the lake and headed up north to Charlotte to attend my cousin's wedding.

The Ladies: Carol (my stepmom), me, Rachel, and Andrea (my sister-in-law).


The Men: Rich (my brother), Greg, and Jared in the back with Noah, and my two nephews in the front.

Aside from having to stand in the back of the church during the wedding because Noah noticed that his PawPaw was up front and kept trying to get his attention (my dad officiated the ceremony), we had a great time. :) It was a gorgeous multicultural wedding; the bride is from here, the groom is from Spain, and the vows were in both languages. We did have a babysitter during the reception however, and were able to dance the night away!

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Well that's the scoop, and such a memorable way to cap off our summer! No more vacations to look forward to for a while now, because I'll officially be in my 3rd trimester next week. All hail the coming maternity leave...

A Few Good Photos

Why don't any of my pictures look like this? This gallery is a big thanks to my friend, Laura, and my mother-in-law... May you both find jobs at photography studios, and give me discounts...

Girls' Weekend 2007!

As you may know, every year since college a group of 7 of us get together for a relaxing weekend sans responsibility of husbands and children. We've been doing this for 7 years now, so we realized we've known each other when we were dating idiots in college, when we were making wise and sometimes less-than-wise decisions, and when we started dating "the one." We were there through makeups, breakups, engagements, and have been to each others' weddings. We seen the skinny, sexy stages as well as the fat pregnant stages, and our kids have played together. We've shared traveling experiences throughout the years and have been there through illnesses and deaths of family members. We've always committed to reuniting one weekend each year to reconnect, reminisce, and of course, eat a whole lot.

Here are a few highlights from this year:

Lounging by the pool takes up most of our Saturday every year (this is the only swimsuit photo that was approved publishing material due to 5/7ths of the group being pregnant...)


Lunch picnic by the pool: Summer salad, homemade chicken salad croissants, fruit, veggies and dip, and other such girlish sundries are usually on the menu.

Me and my other half, Sara (and apparently my bra) -- go check out Sara's brand new blog at http://queen-of-the-house.blogspot.com !

Grand tradition states that we get sassy and go out to dinner on Saturday night. Usually sushi is the menu of choice, but with so many pregnant ladies, we opted for meals a little less fleshy... We topped off the night with New Orleans Beignets paired with raspberry, white chocolate, and Jack Daniels dipping sauces. Mmmm.

The whole group: Christy, me, Sara, Jenny, Kelly, Ruth Lee, and Emily. Farewell until next year! Alright, fewer dramatics. I'll see most of you at Homecoming in October. :)