Junk Drawer 12/28/2012

Improvising

I do most of my blog posting at work.  I know, shame shame!  But for some reason I’m not able to access my blog from work anymore.  It hasn’t been blocked but the site just won’t pull up.  So I’m improvising.  I’m trying a feature I haven’t tried before where you email your blog post and it publishes it.

I’m a little unsure of how it’s going to look when it’s published because I won’t be able to edit it before posting it so this will be the test run.

Will it do pictures?

This is a picture I’ve tried and tried to post on Instagram and I can’t because of the stupid cropping feature on Instagram and it cuts some of the text off.  So can I email it to my blogspot and have it published?  Let’s see…

Christmas

Christmas was so much fun but that will have to be a separate blog post.  I am sending out the call for Christmas pictures from those that were there.  I don’t have many since I was playing Santa.  So if you have pictures of my kids or pictures of anyone else that you don’t mind being posted please send them to me.

Testing 1,2,3

Okay, let’s see how this works.

Update - 1/2/2013

I was finally able to log on today so I edited this post and re-posted it.

Junk Drawer 12/13/12

Sending Roses

Everyone has heard the phrase “It’s better to give roses while they’re still alive” in some variation or other. I usually trail off after saying something like “It’s better to send roses now…” My Dad called me several weeks ago to tell me how much he loved me and how special I am to him because he wanted to “give” me “roses” now instead of wishing he had when it’s too late. Although he did assure me that he didn’t think it would be “too late” for awhile. Whew! It got me to thinking though about roses and sending them and who to send them too.

It can be a dangerous thing to send roses publicly to someone or several someones because you risk missing someone and hurting feelings. I had considered writing a post listing everyone I love and cherish and sending them literary bouquets of roses (or at the least daisies!) but I feel like that would steal something from the heartfelt sentiment and possibly have a trite feeling to it or feel that it’s being written out of obligation. Receiving roses is a special thing even if you live on a rose farm and sleep on sheets made from rose petals…it’s the thought that makes it special. Knowing that someone singled you out to let you know you’re special to them. I was inspired by my Dad’s lovely bouquet and I want to send some of my own. So look for Sending Roses posts sometime in the near future.

Petty Devastation

For the record I’m using the word “devastation” in a very exaggerated way. I’m by no means really devastated. Except that I am – pettily.

I Corinthians 11:15:

“…if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her…”

My “glory” has taken a pretty strong hit recently. I’ve written that my hair is falling out in clumps due to postpartum hormone fluctuations and so far the new pregnancy hormones haven’t reversed that trend. My ponytail is probably a 1/5th of its previous thickness. Seeing as this is the second time I’ve been in this particular boat I tell myself “this too shall pass” and soldier on. But a discovery was made last weekend regarding my “glory” that I fear can’t be undone not with any permanent solution.

It is with great sadness I announce that due to advanced maternal age – I have tons and tons of gray hair. It’s been disguising itself as “blonde” hair but upon closer inspection it’s most definitely not blonde.

I haven’t come to terms with this unexpected turn of events yet. My crowning glory has turned from gold to silver.

A moment of silence to observe the loss of youth would be in order.

11 Weeks

We've made a decision on where we're going to have this baby. After stressing out about finances and mentally avoiding the problem because I couldn't figure out how to solve it I started thinking about getting prenatal care and delivering at the Chickasaw hospital. It would be 100% covered and I would only be out the inconvenience of having to travel once a month (until the end) for an appointment.

Once we made the decision and I made an appointment the burden that lifted off my shoulders was immense. We still have plenty of other things we have to think about but I find myself thinking about and planning for a baby. That's exciting. Maybe unexpected but exciting nonetheless.

Who will he look like - who's coloring will he have - what's his name - is he a he?

I still have moments of extreme fatigue but that's slowly going away and the nausea is almost completely gone. I still get bloated some but for the most part there is nothing happening that says "YOU'RE PREGNANT!"

I'm looking forward to my first appointment - three more weeks - where we'll hopefully get to hear his heartbeat and maybe get to see the little bean.

Joey is Six Months!

Well, he’s been six months for almost 2 weeks now but I’m just now getting around to posting about his six month appointment.

The Dr congratulated me on our happy surprise 2.5 weeks ago when I took Joey in for a sick visit (HFMD). She assured me that it was highly unlikely that I would get it and transfer it to the baby and then said she was happy and excited for us because we make “pretty babies”. So there you have it…a DOCTOR said that we make pretty babies. It’s official.

At that visit they weighed Joey in his diaper and socks and he weighed 21lbs. The next week when we went back for his six month check up he was weighed properly in his birthday suit. Then he was measured, but not in his birthday suit which is also proper. Here are the results:

21 lbs 4 oz
27 inches

Just to put it in perspective I believe Jimmy is somewhere around 25 lbs and 34 inches.

1st Wrestling Match

Of MANY, I'm sure!

It may LOOK like Jimmy has the upper hand in this match but what you don’t see at the end is Jimmy laying prostrate in tears because Joey has a handful of his luxurious locks and won’t let go. 

I won't lie...I died laughing.

Pregnancy #3 - Catching Up

End of Week 6 - 11/14/2012

What a shock.

Pretty lingerie: $25 - $150
Contraceptives: $0 - covered by insurance
Not using either: Life Changing!

Walked around in a fog for a day. The fog cleared though and the future is sunny and bright...though we really need to win the lottery.

**********

Week 7 - 11/16/2012

The Baby Center guide says I'm at Week 7 already so we'll go with that.

The fatigue is really setting in and so is the nausea. I'm usually famished at breakfast and lunch and feel really shaky until I get something to eat and then by the evening I'm just nauseous and although it helps to eat my appetite just disappears.

I threw up the first time last night and then just felt miserable. I'm crossing my fingers this only lasts a few more weeks.

I'm already more scatterbrained than normal too. The other day I finished rinsing my pump parts, dried them off and threw them in the trash! I didn't even realize it until when I was packing everything up I noticed I only had half the parts!

**********

Setting the Stage

Let me set it up for you.

Monday morning - 3:00 am
I’m exhausted for no other apparent reason other than I have a 5 ½ month old that still wakes up 3 times a night to eat. Not only am I exhausted from waking up but Joey seems to be very dissatisfied with breastfeeding. I’d noticed a dip in supply recently which usually accompanies Aunt Flo’s monthly visit so I assumed his increasing fussiness at the breast was because he wasn’t getting as much as he is normally used too.

I’ve been stressing over this supply dip among 10 million other things that have landed on our plates to stress about recently. Since stress is a well known culprit in delaying Aunt Flo’s visit I lay there thinking about how to relieve my stress so that she can show up and my supply can resume it’s normal overabundance and Joey can be happy again. Not only will he get enough but he won’t fuss as much and I actually sleep while he’s nursing. I’d pretty much do anything to get more sleep at this point.

3:15 am
Maybe I can take a pregnancy test and trick my body into doing what it’s supposed to do. That’s always helped before. It never fails - Aunt Flo is late (breastfeeding messing with my cycles), I freak out that I’m pregnant, I test, Aunt Flo shows up the next day - because I stopped stressing that I’m pregnant.

Nah, I’ll wait until it’s time to get up.

Now that I’m thinking about testing I can’t stop thinking about testing.

Now I’m really freaking myself out.

Oh God! What if I really am pregnant??

Aunt Flo will show up. I’m never testing again. If I’m pregnant I don’t want to know.

Oh crap.

3:30 am
I can’t help myself. Joey is finally asleep but I’m obviously not going to get anymore sleep until I know one way or another.

Thankfully I have to pee.

I do the pee-pee dance while searching for my pregnancy tests under the sink.

The instructions say wait 5 minutes for the results.

Peeing on the stick.

BAM! Less than 5 seconds – 2 lines!

And God laughed.

Happy Surprise!

Baby #3 Arriving July, 2013

Junk Drawer 11/29/12

"OwhkAY"

My firstborn is just about the most precious two year old I know. Actually he IS the most precious two year old I know.

- I check on the Ninos in the back seat and Jimmy is almost always holding Joey’s hand. Makes my heart melt.

- More and more frequently I get a sincere, un-prompted “Tank Tu Mommy, Tank Tu!” when I do something for him.

- If he happens to wake up in the morning before I leave he says “Hola Mommy” when I walk into his room.

- “OwhkAY” is his new buzz word. It goes like this –

Me: “Jimmy bring me the blanket”
Jimmy: “Blanket? OwhkAY!”

Me: “Shut the door”
Jimmy: “Door? OwhkAY!”

Jimmy sitting in his carseat picks up his pacifier from his lap. Holds it up for me to see, mumbles something with a very expressive face while nodding his head emphatically. Then “OwhkAY!” and sticks it in his mouth. You probably had to be there but it was hilarious.

HFMD

That’s what Joey has. Poor little papa. Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. Man, anything with the word “disease” in it sounds scary but it’s actually a virus.

I think he must actually have a mild version of it because what I’ve read online sounds like it can be pretty bad with really painful sores. Thankfully, he only has sores in the back of his throat – and just a mild rash around his mouth, hands, arms and feet. The rash has actually mostly faded already.

But the sores in his throat make it painful to eat so he hasn’t eaten much the last couple of days and doesn’t even want his pacifier.

Holiday Game Night

We invited my family over this Saturday for Desserts and Game Night. I’m really looking forward to it and I’m going to at least try to have our Christmas tree up and decorated.

So far the menu looks like this:

Egg Nog

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Fudge

-or-

No-Bake Cookies

and maybe Rice Krispy Treats

Can’t wait! It’s too bad it’s going to be close to 80 that day…not very “holiday-ish” at all.

Jimmy & Joey Update

It feels like its been awhile since I've posted anything.  It's been one thing after another in our house the last month or so.  The boys are just the cutest things though and I wish you could all see what I see every day.

I only have ONE picture of Jimmy believe it or not.  He's a mess and so smart all at the same time.  His pacifier passion is strengthening instead of waning as time goes on and I'm afraid we're going to have to do something drastic soon.

Sleeping sans pacifier!

This past Saturday we went out to the house to finish the yard and burn some wood. We got all the way out to the house before I realized that I had packed everything BUT Joey’s pacifier.  Of course that was the day he decided he really needed it too.  I tried to get Jimmy to share his – even though it’s for bigger babies – but he wasn’t having it.   It rolled around to nap time and both kids were fussing so I stuck Jimmy in his car seat and he fell asleep pretty quickly.  So I gently took the pacifier out of his mouth and stuck it in the still fussing Joey’s mouth and within minutes he was asleep too!  After a little while Jimmy stirred and cried a little so I transferred the pacifier back to Jimmy.  Crisis averted!  After that we managed to survive until we got home.

Here are some pictures and videos of Joey in the last couple of weeks.  We're working on learning to sit up, roll over and trying to do more belly time.




Blowing Bubbles

I posted a little yesterday about Joey and what he's up to now that he's almost 5.5 months.  He has not one but two teeth on the bottom.  He'll occasionally chew on me and that's no fun but mostly he's good about being sweet to his Mamma.

It seems like literally everything is going faster with this little one.  Not only is my attention and focus split between two little boys but Joey seems to be growing and hitting some milestones a lot faster than Jimmy did.  In a way it's impressive but for his Mamma it's just sad and going too quickly.

Teeth:

Jimmy - two bottom teeth at 7 months
Joey - two bottom teeth at 5 months

Clothes and Diapers:

Jimmy - wore a 3-6 month hoodie at 12 months.  Size 4 diaper at 2 years.
Joey - wearing 9-12 month clothes at 5 months.  Size 4 diaper at 4 months.

I've also already sorted Joey's clothes more times in the first 5 months than I did in Jimmy's first year.

Sitting up:
Jimmy - sitting up at 5 months
Joey - working on it but not there yet

Thats just a few examples of  how fast it's all going.

Junk Drawer 11/08/12

Uh it’s November

Where is the time going? Seriously. My baby is almost 5.5 months old, has two teeth, laughs and babbles on a regular basis and he’s trying to sit up on his own! He’s also wearing 9-12 month clothes!!

My big baby is 26 months old and is super super smart and funny and smart and he’s talking a lot clearer and adding words every day and THERE’S NO GOING BACK!! He’ll never not know how to say “airpane” now.

Random blog comment

I read this blog post from an OB in the South that is pro-natural birth. I didn’t even know such a thing existed. Anyway, the blog was about a low income patient he had at one time (no names of course) and the course of this woman’s life. It was very sad and frustrating when you see it from his view point. Of course someone tried to ruin it by making an angry comment saying he was judgmental towards her station in life. This was his response. I love it. I want to share it with the world.

Junkety Junk Drawer 10/31/12

If Wishes Were Money…

…I’d wish for a million things. Cause you know it’d be like a $1 for every wish and then I’d have a million $1s. Get it?

Project Overload

Okay, it’s not overload and actually my project is going well but there is still so much I want to accomplish in the next 5 days (including today) and not enough will power to do it. I’m lying. I have enough will power I just need more wishes ($$). Wishes AND muscles.

Really though, I think the heavy lifting for the most part is done. And as physically exhausting as that part was it seems like it was the easiest mentally speaking. You know how they call jocks dumb? I get it now, they might not all be dumb but using muscles doesn’t require a lot of brain power…the next steps in my project need mucho mas brain power.

In case you don’t know what my project is it’s pretty simple, in a high level manner of speaking. While my dearest fiancé is out of the country I’m rearranging the house. Well, two rooms in particular with a few other things thrown in the mix if I have time. It’s all a surprise too. I’m moving Jimmy & Joey into Mercedes room and moving Mercedes into their room. It sounds simple I’m sure – heck, it sounded simple in my head when I decided to do it.

Stop it! Just Stop!

I’m getting so sick of these kids growing so fast. WTH?? Can’t they just take a break every now and then and stay in one phase longer than two seconds? I really do love every new phase they’re in but sometimes they just fly through them. With Joey being our last baby I especially want him to go slow so I can enjoy every minute of every phase…cause we’ll never get to experience this again. But he seems to be speeding through them faster than ever!

What’s he up to you wonder? Well, I’ll tell you. He’s figuring out how to use his hands! We’re all downhill from here. So sad. And excited. But sad.

Look at him go!

Jimmy & Joey Update

Jimmy

I don’t know how I have any heart left at all the way this little boy steals chunks of it every day. I’m learning more about him every day it seems. Sometimes writing these update posts are so difficult because I don’t know how to even begin telling you about the preciousness that is my boys. Where do I start? How do I describe some of those things you just have to see or experience to understand? I’ll give it my best shot though.

 

 

Bedtime at Grannie & Grandpa's

 Jimmy is such a fun and loving little boy and while he is 2 and pushing boundaries he is still just a really good boy. Last night after his bath I was slathering him in lotion and he started crying huge crocodile tears. I had no idea what he was crying about but it became clear pretty quickly that he was forcing himself to cry and I just got the sense that he was wanting some attention from his Mamma. Joey was asleep in his bed and Daddy was outside working and it was just me and Jimmy sitting on the couch getting him ready for bed. So I rocked him like a baby and wiped his never ending tears and tried to make him laugh. He did laugh as much as he tried not too and would make himself cry again. I didn’t mind rocking him though. I got his pajama shirt on him and he put his head on my shoulder so I rocked him some more and told him how much I love him, how special he is…and zonk he was out. I didn’t even bother with pajama bottoms, I just put him in bed.

Junk Drawer 9/24/12

Happy Birthday Dad!

Hoppy Bursday to joo, Hoppy Bursday to joo!

Hoppy BURSDAY dear Daaaad!

Hoppy Bursday to JOO!!!!!

This makes me think of the horrible thing I almost wrote in my BIG BOSS’s birthday card this year. I was trying to be clever so I tried personalizing the lyrics to the “Birthday Song” they sing to you at restaurants (you know “Happy, Happy Birthday, we’re so glad you’re here! Happy Happy Birthday, come again next year!").

1st Line: Happy Happy Birthday, we’re so glad you’re here! (yeah – not too original I know)
2nd Line: Happy Happy Birthday, I hope you’re still here next year! (AHHH!!! He’s old but not THAT old!)
Revised 2nd Line: Happy Happy Birthday, Hope you have a great year!

So glad I caught myself before I actually wrote it…I still need this job.

My Nephew

Thomas Daniel W. II

Thomas Daniel Webb II made his entrance September 16, 2012 at 10:23 am.

 He weighs 8 lbs on the nose and is 21 ¾ “ long.

Jim-oey Videos

So far having a two year old has been awesome. I don’t know if the “Terrible Two’s” are just around the corner or if this is as bad as it gets. I’m crossing my fingers that this is as bad as it gets although I’m up for the challenge of whatever he wants to test me with. Turning two didn’t automatically change him into a little brat is what I’m trying to say. He already was one. I kid, I kid! It’s the opposite actually – he’s still a sweet big brother, a loving, funny, smart as all get out, sometimes ornery little boy. And all boy for sure. He has started testing the boundaries to see what he can get away with lately but other than that he’s still my sweet little Jimmy – just two now.

He officially graduated from his “baby” checkups last Friday. He only has to have annual checkups now like a real “big boy”, so barring any sicknesses that we can’t cure with Tylenol, cough syrup and spit he won’t have to see the Dr again until he’s three. Three! Here are his two year weight and height stats:

25 lbs 10 oz
34 inches

He's TWO!!

He’s 2, He’s 2!



I’m not sure how it arrived and departed so quickly but Jimmy’s 2nd birthday…happened. Lucky boy will always have his birthday on or around Labor Day weekend so he’s pretty much guaranteed a 3 day weekend for his birthday every year. Must be nice! This year we thought we would take a family trip to celebrate the holiday and his birthday instead of having a big party. He’s only two after all. We decided on a destination…Aunt Vickie’s house…and off we went with Grannie in tow.

We were so excited about the trip and anxiously awaiting news that my sweet little nephew might arrive sooner than we thought that we almost forgot about Jimmy’s birthday and the fact that he was going to officially be two years old. Not “almost two” anymore. TN was beautiful and rainy…or beautifully rainy…and Aunt Vickie’s front porch was a peaceful and relaxing as I remembered. It was wonderful to see the family and truly a surprise to see my cousin Hannah in from CO…even though I might have figured out the surprise a little ahead of time…might have. More family came in unexpectedly and it turned into a mini family reunion!

In the midst of enjoying the family, the rain, the porch, catching up on sleep in a swinging bed (another story for another time!), eating delicious food and attending our very first demolition derby….Jimmy turned two. TWO! The trip was really all we were planning to do for his birthday although we did get him a little broom that we still haven’t remembered to actually give him and I was thinking maybe to get him a little cupcake of his very own to eat. But Aunt Vickie and Crew took matters into their own hands and baked and decorated two cakes (one for Jimmy and one for Grannie) and threw him a proper party with singing and candles and the works!



He sat smiling so sweetly in his chair while we sang to him and then blew out the two candles as if he knew exactly what he was supposed to do. Then we sang to Grannie and he helped her blow out her candles too.

Yum!

Next came a bunch of presents and CAKE! You can see him opening his presents and enjoying his cake here:

Singing Happy Birthday

Blowing Out His Candles

Blowing Out Grannie's Candles

Opening Presents

Eating Cake

Happy 2nd Birthday Jimmy! We love you sweet boy!



Jimmy - 12 months to 24 months





MomMY!

MommY!

            MomMY!!

                         :gibberish:gibberish:gibberish:

He’s not calling me. Nope, he’s calling Daddy! I know he can say Daddy but I think he gets confused because they both have a “y” at the end. Sometimes just for fun I’ll tell him to give something to Daddy just to hear him say “MomMY!”. Daddy half the time ignores him because he doesn’t even realize Jimmy’s talking to him. I’m going to have to get it on camera one of these days.

He’s going to be TWO years old in 3 days. He’s growing and learning so fast these days that I find it nearly impossible to keep up with him. Sometimes I just look at “Mommy” in amazement and wonder when he learned whatever it is that he just said or did.  He's quickly leaving baby-hood behind.  Sweet boy!

"Mommy's" Boys!

Wordless Wednesday

Well, this video clip has PLENTY of words in it.  It's also Rated R.  I thought it was hilarious.

Enjoy!

Oh The Horror-Mones!

Junk Drawer 8/22/2012

This is really a Junk Drawer post but I just felt like being dramatic with the title. Hormones. Lovely, lovely things they are. Actually I know they’re important but if you ever get the hormone cocktail off balance weird, scary, ugly, funny, terrible things can happen. Just think of the top 5 times your hormones seem to get all wacky and off kilter and you’ll know what I mean.

1. Puberty
2. PMS
3. Pregnancy
4. Menopause
5. Men’s Mid Life Crisis

Changing voices, hysterical laughing/crying jags, morning sickness/constipation, psycho-wife and toupees are only a few of the things that happen when you have too much or not enough hormones in your system…or the wrong mixture. When you get pregnant you know to expect some wacky hormones and boy do you run the gamut. Even if it doesn’t manifest emotionally you still experience so many exciting and sometimes weird physical changes. And most of us think that once you deliver the baby the hormonal crazy dance stops. To quote my Grandpa - “PSYCH!”

18-22 Years

I was sitting on the train yesterday reading my book and from time to time I would lift my head to think a little more deeply about something I had just read or to check out my surroundings. You can’t be too careful these days. At some point a young man with a bicycle got on the train and stood at the front of the car directly in my line of sight. He was a good looking young man – dark hair, tan skin, nice masculine face, somewhat tall and slightly muscular (probably from carrying the bicycle around). He looked to be somewhere between 18-22…I’m really bad at guessing “young” people’s ages these days. After seeing him in my line of sight for probably the 5th time I thought “I bet he was a fat baby”. LOL It just goes to show a mom’s world revolves around her babies.

'Mano y 'Mano

Playing at the Dr's office

I sat Jimmy in his highchair in the kitchen the other day because Joey was asleep in Jimmy’s little chair and Jimmy was sleepy and fussy and whiney and I needed a place he could fall asleep comfortably. So he sat there watching me cook and clean and played with a couple of toys and ate some snacks. I noticed after awhile he was fiddling with his hands down under the tray – I figured he was playing with the straps – and then Joey started waking up and fussing/talking a little. Jimmy said “mano” and I looked over and he was still fiddling with his hands. I said “Yes! Hands! Manos!” He looked at me and I said “Where are your manos??” and he pointed at the living room. All of a sudden it dawned on me that he wasn’t saying “manos” he was saying “hermano”!!! He had heard Joey waking up and tried to tell me!

"Most Precious"

Red Alert! Red Alert!  Blog Overload!!

At a minimum of 12 times a day I pass by Joey in his swing, in his bed or being held and I think "Oh my goodness he is the most precious..." and then I stop myself because I said that about Jimmy too.  I don't guess they can both be the Most precious baby I've ever seen.  But 4 minutes later I'll catch a glimpse of his wobbly head and little tongue sticking out and I'll think "He's got to be the most precious..."  Dang it!  It's hard having two little boys because I can't even diffrentiate and say "the most precious little boy I've ever seen"....they're both boys!  Anyway.  He's precious, just as precious as Jimmy was in his own Joey way.

I was fiddling with the settings on my phone/camera and took these.  Thought I'd share.  Isn't he the most precious...?

Than Too!

Jimmy said "than too”! Without even being prompted! I didn’t even know he knew how or when to say it. Friday Mercedes handed him a piece of bread from her plate and he said as plain as day “than too”!!!! We just stared at each other in shock! So we asked him to say it again and he did and he hasn’t stopped! He’s growing up so fast. But he still refuses, refuses, to say “please”.

********       

Mamma: "Do you think Joey misses me during the day?"
Daddy: "Oh yeah, he does!"
Mamma: "I thought so."

And so it is...Joey can't tell us differently anyway.

Junk Drawer 8/14/2012

Not Again!

Yep…again and it probably won’t be the last time. I forgot to put on deodorant! And when its supposed to be 102 today that’s not the ideal thing to forget. It’s not the first time I’ve forgotten it either. Thankfully I’m stuck in my cubicle all day and I’m not required to interact with a lot of people face to face. So I guess I’ll only be offending my own nose.

It won’t be long…

….and I’ll be an aunt!! We still have approximately five weeks (give or take a few) to meet the little booger but it’s really starting to feel like his arrival is right on top of us. We went to the baby shower last weekend and we’re so close to Jimmy’s birthday that it all just feels like its about to happen anytime. What does Jimmy’s birthday have to do with it? Well Jimmy was due on exactly the same day Little Daniel is due! My gut feeling is that he’ll be born the week before he’s due but these little ones can be tricky…giving you signs they’re coming RIGHT NOW and then hang out for a week after the due date. Or make you think they’re never going to come on their own and then BAM they’re here.

Whenever he gets here I can’t wait to meet him and spoil him rotten the way my aunts spoil(ed) me.

P.S. I promise not to text/email/call Daniel and Stephanie every day asking about contractions, dilation, effacement or saying “anything happening yet??” Maybe every other day…but not every day!

Oops I Did It Again....

I read a random blog post about chickens in Farmers Branch yesterday, a story for a different time, and really liked how this girl organized the topics in her blog. So I took the idea and applied it to my blog(s).

So far this year my little blog has been viewed almost 2,000 times. I have no idea WHO or HOW MANY people are viewing it. I’d almost be willing to believe Grannie V has personally viewed it 1,500 times herself! Can’t be sure though. 2,000 views in less than a year is a lot to me even if it’s not a lot to the rest of the world. But even without people to view it I still love my little blog; writing posts about pretty much whatever pops into my head, arranging the layout and apparently changing the title too.



Blog Labels

 I like having things categorized and easy to find…that’s why I created Jimmy’s Corner earlier this year. In my desire to simplify things I over-complicated them. It seemed like the answer at the time though. I’m leaving the Jimmy’s Corner blog and all of its posts open but I won’t be posting there anymore. It was too much work, too confusing and no one checked it out anyway. From now on I’m simply going to label each post with one of the following tags:

• Family 
• Jimmy 
• Joey 
• Junk Drawer 
• Pregnancy: Jimmy 
• Pregnancy: Joey 
• Pure Random-ness

So if you want to read all of the posts about Jimmy all you have to do is look on the sidebar to the right and click on Jimmy. It will bring up all the posts that are about him. See isn’t that easier? If I add topics to my blog in the future I’ll just add another tag to the list.

I did it (reorganized) again and I'll probably do it again and again and....

Junk Drawer 8/6/2012

Q: Got Milk?

A: YES!

When I first went back to work after Jimmy was born I was able to pump enough milk for the bottles he would need the next day and a little extra in case some was spilled or he decided he wanted an extra bottle. At first I was getting the extra back at the end of the day but that didn’t last long…not even a couple of weeks. I started worrying that I wasn’t going to be able to pump enough to keep up with him. Weeks later we discovered the sitter was overfeeding him with every bottle. By that time though I had already gone through my meager stash in the freezer and I was never able to keep more than one or two bottles worth frozen after that. It was really stressful knowing that I HAD to pump enough for the next day because if I didn’t I didn’t have any or much extra to make up the difference.

Boy is it different with Joey! I feel like my milk supply is in overdrive and while I’m thankful it’s also causing a different kind of problem. Storage! I have room and can make more room in the freezer but I’m running out of containers to put the milk in. On top of that I’m using bottles for storage and now over half of my bottles are in the freezer and that’s causing a shortage of containers to pump into. I ordered Lansinoh storage bags that should be delivered tomorrow but over the weekend I ended up buying some because I had MORE milk that had to be frozen or it would go bad.

I have approximately 80 oz frozen right now and I usually have 5-10 more oz to freeze every evening!

Now if only the money would pour in the same way…


Heeeeyyyyy Margarita, Aye!

Oops I mean “Macarena”…no actually I mean margarita. Now you will all be humming The Macarena since no one can remember the words except for that line and I’ll even bet some of you bust out the dance moves too…you know just to see if you can remember them.

Jimmy: 23 Months!



Kool-Aid on a hot day

 The “Big J” of the “J’s”. He’s 23 months today and that means he’ll be 2 years old in a month! Actually we’ve already been referring to him as 2 or almost 2 for awhile now. I don’t know when the magical cut off is when you stop referring to your children’s age as weeks or months but it feels like a mouthful to say "he’s 20 months" or "he’s 22 months now". Then you see the person’s eyes become unfocused as they do the math in their heads to figure out where that puts him in years. And if you're a little doubtful as to their abilities to arrive at the correct conclusion that he is almost 2 then you follow up the “22 months” with “almost 2”. So now I just skip the whole months thing (unless I’m talking to another mom with babies) and just say “he’s 2”.

Jimmy is so…so…well, he’s so many things. I just love that little boy so much and he makes me want to pull my hair out. Sometimes I want to just tell him “Stop! Stop being almost 2 for one minute!” cause he’s just driving me crazy with the whining and pointing and running and banging things on anything and everything. But mostly I just want to squish him and tell him “Please don’t grow up yet!”

Joey: Two Months



Peaceful

 What makes you two months old? Is it achieving the 8 week mark or is it the same date as your birth date (e.g. the 1st)? Joey was 8 weeks last Friday but today is his 2 month birthday. It’s hard to believe it’s already been two months and it makes me cringe knowing every month from now on is going to blink by.

Where do I begin? There are so many things I want to say first. "He’s such a sweet boy." "He’s such a big boy." "He’s so strong and alert." "He’s a brown-eyed boy."

Junk Drawer 7/25/2012

One of ‘Em

Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Captain America, Iron Man…pretty much everyone in the Avengers…and Pepper. Yep, you can put my name in that list of Super Heroes. Or any list of Super Heroes. As a matter of fact if you list more than one mom’s name in a row chances are you’ve already made a list of Super Heroes.

I’m pretty new to this Super Hero game so my feats of heroism (in my mind) are mundane day to day tasks for other moms…in other words…just life. But that doesn’t stop the insane feeling of pride and accomplishment I get when I come home from a day of work and pumping breast milk for my baby and spend the 20 minutes I have to myself straightening the living room, vacuuming, putting up the clean dishes, straightening the dining room and then cleaning out the truck. Then we go pick up the Ninos and I spend the evening cleaning the kitchen, cooking dinner, feeding Joey every 5 minutes (not literally), telling Jimmy “No!” or “Stop!” every 2.5 minutes (literally!), changing Jimmy’s diaper, changing Joey’s diaper, then changing Joey’s diaper again, giving Jimmy a bath, then actually eating dinner, then cleaning up after dinner, fist bumping Jimmy approximately 5,280 times, burping Joey, cuddling Joey and hoping Jimmy isn’t jealous, putting Jimmy to bed with lots of kisses, good-bye waves and fist bumps, falling asleep on the couch trying to figure out what I’m wearing tomorrow…then waking up to feed Joey again.

But it doesn’t end there…

I go to bed, get up every two hours to feed/burp/change Joey, and then get up at 5 to cook breakfast, prepare my “pumping bag”, the boys diaper bag, get Jimmy’s sippy cup of milk, find their clothes, get dressed, get Jimmy up, change and dress him while he has his sippy cup of milk, change and dress Joey, feed Joey, put the bags in the truck while Jimmy freaks out about what toy he thinks he can take to the sitter but he really can’t, take the boys to say good-bye to Daddy, load the boys up, unload them at the sitter, then make it to the train on time.

All of that probably makes me a normal mother of two but it certainly feels like a Super Hero.


Mexican Fiesta Marinade

We tried this last night on chicken in the oven. The original plan was to grill it but we were both tired and it was hot so we decided to just bake the chicken instead. I put the chicken in the glass dish, mixed the marinade and poured it over the chicken. Let it set in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes while I fed Joey. Then baked it in the oven at 400 for an hour, turning the chicken once.

It turned out pretty well. I wouldn’t put it in my all time favorite seasonings list but it was good and a nice change. I’d still like to try it grilled.


Swiss Brain

Poor Joey. Well, really poor everyone that I’m responsible for caring for. I may be a Super Hero in my head but its probably only because my memory is so full of holes these days that I can’t remember how much I forget.

I feed Joey about every two hours. Sometimes its less and sometimes its more…but most often it’s two hours on the dot and he’s letting me know its time to eat. I’m glad he remembers because sometimes he’ll start fussing and I’m not sure why – it certainly can’t have been two hours already! I look at the clock but that’s not helpful because I can’t even remember what I was doing two hours ago and the harder I concentrate on remembering what I was doing the more I can't remember. When I finally determine that it must have been two hours already and he really is hungry then I can’t remember what side I fed him on last. Seriously? You would think that wouldn’t be too difficult to remember and two hours goes by in a flash…how on earth could I forget what side I fed him on?? Poor little guy! I’m pretty sure he’s gotten the “empty” side a few times. But I’m never for sure because I CAN’T REMEMBER!!!

I'm not worried about him though - he's obviously gotten the "full" side plenty of times too!



Big boy!



A Hospital Stay

Little Joey is such a good baby. So laid back and easy going. He loves to watch the world around him when he’s awake – which is more often now – and loves to eat and sleep. So Saturday evening (the 14th) when he seemed a little fussier than usual I assumed it was a gassy issue. I would burp him to infinity and beyond hoping to ease his discomfort. And we did get some pretty good burps out and he would snuggle back up and be happy again.

That night though around 1 am (early morning technically) he woke up really fussy and then screaming and wouldn’t nurse. I again thought it was gas and tried to burp him but instead of calming down he got more upset. I finally realized he seemed warmer than normal so I ran to find a thermometer and took his temp and it was 102.2! I called the pediatricians office and left a message for the pediatrician on call. When she called back and asked his age she said I needed to take him to the emergency room immediately.

Apparently when babies under 2 months have a temp over 100.4 they have to go to the hospital and get the work up done. Their immune systems are not mature enough yet to handle even a simple virus like a common cold.

So off we went, just me and Joey while Daddy stayed home with Jimmy. We got checked in and the nurse in triage checked his temp and yep he still had one so we were shown to a room.

I was feeling so bad for him and worried about what they were going to do to him, what kind of tests they would run and what the results would be. Two nurses came in and told me what the immediate future held for us. They would insert a catheter to take a urine sample, then they would do a spinal tap, insert an IV and take blood for labs. Then one of them said “he won’t like us very much for a little while”. I laughed and said “I won’t either” and then cried. Then I patted her arm and assured her that I was kidding. Sorta. Not really.

I tried to distract myself by texting people while they did the catheter and it worked pretty well. They got it in, got the pee and got it out pretty quickly. Then the Dr came in to do the spinal tap. Poor Joey, he didn’t know what was going on and people were holding him down and doing things to him that didn’t feel good and he didn’t feel good and Mamma seemed to have disappeared. He was getting so tired and was almost cried out.

It took the Dr two tries to get spinal fluid and little Joey was being held hunched over in the most uncomfortable looking position. I didn’t cry…probably because I had already cried earlier…but my heart broke for him. It was so pitiful.

As awful as that was I think the most traumatic thing was finding a vein for the IV. They finally, finally found one and got the line in and then couldn’t get much blood out…certainly not enough for labs. So they sent another guy in to find a vein. After about 10 minutes of rubber bands squeezed around his legs and arms and a few futile pokes the guy gave up and said he would send someone else in. While we were waiting another man came and got us and took us for a chest x-ray.

Not long after we got back to the room a lady came in to try to find a vein again. It wasn’t very reassuring that she kept referring to him as “she” and “her” and called him “pretty”. Even after she asked if he was a boy or girl she called him “her”. Her method of finding a good vein was simple….just poke until you get one. Thank God it only took her two tries and she found the mother lode.

We were both so exhausted and I wasn’t sure what else they were going to do, how long it was going to take and no one in the world seemed to be awake except for me, Joey and the hospital staff.

Somewhere in there another Dr came in and said that the early results of the spinal fluid labs showed that he probably had meningitis but that we would have to wait 48 hours for the cultures to be sure that it wasn’t bacterial.
Right before we were transported upstairs to our room the nurse came back in and did a nasal swab to check for different viruses. And then it was over. We were finally moved upstairs and into our own room where Joey had a bed and Mamma had a bed and there was no more poking.

Joey didn’t feel good for a couple of days and had to have Tylenol suppositories every four hours for awhile to help with the fever and just general crummy-ness. He did express his feelings about the suppositories quite dramatically in the middle of the night on Monday. He had a blowout right as the nurse was putting it in and poop was everywhere! That showed her!

The final results were that he had rhino virus (found with the nasal swab) and viral menengititis (found with the spinal fluid cultures). Thankfullly it wasn’t anything bacterial and he was able to go home Tuesday afternoon.

We are so grateful for everyone’s prayers, encouragement and support and we were so happy to get home.

Sweet Video

This video is a little on the long side but I think it is a super sweet video of my two boys.  I took the video on my phone so the quality probably isn't great and it might be shaky but hopefully you can still see how sweet my babies are.

Dr-unk J-awer 07/23/2012

I said it wrong in my head recently and it sounded funny so I had to use it.

Work
I’m back at work today and it’s a grab bag of mixed feelings. I’ve missed blogging terribly and although I had a computer and internet at home I couldn’t seem to tear myself away from Life to document it. Now that I’m back at work I can goof off properly and document Life to my hearts content.

I also love paying my bills…or rather having enough money to pay my bills and 60% of my normal checks just isn’t what I’m used to.

However, coming back to work meant dropping off my littlest nino at the sitter for the first time. In all honesty it wasn’t as difficult as I imagined it would be. I think it helped in a way that I had been through it before, I already know the sitter really well and he’s not there by himself. Jimmy may not be old enough to protect him or care for him but just knowing that he’s there with his big brother made it a lot easier to leave him this morning. It did feel surreal though and I’m definitely looking forward to picking them both up this afternoon.

Blog
No one probably noticed but I changed the name of my blog again. I think this is the last time...I think. I didn’t change the URL yet because I wanted to give everyone advance notice. The new blog name is The “J” Files and I’ll post a new URL soon….just giving you heads up.

2 Boys
I love having two kids, specifically two boys. I can’t wait to update you all on all the happenings and the going ons…and of course share a gazillion pictures and videos of Jimmy and Joey.

Belly to Baby

My Belly to Baby post has been updated!  I'm not sure what happened to some of the pictures from the beginning but I'll look into it.

Check it out!

Joey Alejandro

Brothers

Jimmy and Joey's footprints on the wall at the Birth Center.  Joey's feet are much bigger, huh??

Jimmy's Corner

New Big Brother

The Unintended Water Birth

*Disclaimer: This is a birth story and as such has birth story type details.  You've been warned.*

Friday, June 1st, we headed to the Birth Center for a blood pressure check.  We had been told the day before that I would be induced within 48 hours depending on how things looked Friday so we knew it was a possibility they would keep us but we still had in mind they might just have us come in Saturday morning too.

After a blood pressure check - it was still high - and an internal exam - I was 2-3 cm- I was put on the monitors to check the baby's heartrate and for any contractions.  I had a couple of light contractions while on the monitor and the baby looked great.  The midwife said she wanted us to talk to Beverly, the midwife on call for the day and she wasn't in yet. So we went downstairs to the waiting area of the large birthing suite to wait.

We had never seen the Birth Center so busy before.  They had a lady in labor in the downstairs room and a lady in the upstairs room and several different couples waiting to be seen!  We waited a good hour and a half and started wondering if they had forgotten about us since we were downstairs. I was also having a constant headache that wasn't going away even after taking tylenol so I was a little concerned about that too. We finally made it back upstairs when there was enough room for us to sit up there so we would be in their line of sight and they would remember us.

Around 11:30 Beverly came to talk to us and took my BP again and it was pretty high. Since I was having a headache she said she wasn't comfortable with me going home. She sent us back downstairs to wait.

We only waited about 10 minutes and when the lady using the downstairs birthing suite went out to walk with her husband Beverly had us come in to use the bed to check me again. She said I was a 3 and contemplated breaking my water right then. But I told her we hadn't brought anything with us to stay. So she sent Ricardo home to get all of our stuff and said she would break my water when he got back.

37 Weeks!!

Whew!  We made it to 37 weeks (yesterday)!!  My appointment was moved to tomorrow morning at 9.  I'm trying to make sure I'm prepared in case they decide to induce me tomorrow.  Sometimes I feel sure that I know whats going to happen at my appointment and then other times I feel like I really have no idea and that it really could go any number of ways.  But I'd like to be prepared for an immediate "Baby Joey Evacuation" in case thats the way it plays out.

This time I have to have me and Daddy ready, Jimmy ready and everything ready to bring Joey home.  So here is the short list of things I need to do this afternoon.

Jimmy's Corner

Video - May 2012

Baby Shower

Here we are over a month after the baby shower Mom and Stephanie threw for me and I still haven't written about it!  I swore to myself that the minute I was put on bed rest I was going to write about it but I guess I swore to myself that I would do a bunch of other stuff too...so you know I've been "resting" and slowly crossing off that invisible list in my head. 

I felt a little guilty that I was getting another shower so soon after having my first baby especially when the second one is a boy too!  But Mom seemed to really want to throw one and I have to admit I thought it would be fun to have a "celebration" for Joey whether I got a lot of stuff or not.

I was so exited to find out that my good friend Jill was planning to come to the shower too.  I was thankful to not be itching miserably this time but I still didn't feel great so the hospitality was lacking somewhat...ehh, who am I kidding?  Thats just a handy excuse!  ;-)  We all really enjoyed her visit though.

AniMAHlone

AniMAHlone means "Holy Cow Huge!" in my personal dictionary and its a cross between English, Spanish and Made Up. 

Joey is AniMAHlone!  I keep being told that babies born to hypertensive moms are on the small side and thats one reason why they monitor them so closely with extra ultrasounds and such because sometimes these babies aren't getting fed properly.  Jimmy was born at almost 38 weeks and was 6 lbs 12 oz.  So I had something similar in mind for Joey...but he has his own plan I guess.  My midwife told me on Wednesday that I need to be on my left side as much as possible so that he's getting "fed" because when I'm not he's "starving".  Uhhh...I don't want to be disrespectful or call her a liar but I'm pretty sure Joey is figuring out a way to eat whether I'm on my side or not!

At my appointment Wednesday the midwife guessed that Joey was a good 7lbs based on how big he "feels".  At my ultrasound yesterday at 36 weeks 2 days Lisa, the ultrasound tech, asked me immediately after starting to scan me if he had been measuring on schedule or ahead.  I laughed and said "definitely ahead!"  She laughed too and said oh good because his head is measuring really big!  Based on her measurements his head and belly are measuring at 39 weeks and he weighs approx 7 lbs 9 oz.  That's almost a whole pound heavier than Jimmy - 2 weeks earlier!!

I'm pretty positive that we won't make it to my due date...like 100% positive we won't...actually I'll be lucky to make it another week.  But say we DID make it to my due date, if Joey kept growing at the same rate that would put him at 9.5 lbs!!  AniMAHlone!!

I know this and everyone reminds me that these are all educated GUESSES but I just have to say that the midwife and Lisa were in agreement on Jimmy's weight before he was born and they were right.  And this time they're both estimating the same weight again - with different methods.  So I have a lot of faith in their "guesses".

What cracks me up is that his head is already measuring so big.  Jimmy had a big head too although we didn't really realize it at the time, we thought he looked normal.  But it definitely explains why we got so many comments on our "chubby" or "big" baby when he was really so tiny.  It was his big head!!  So it seems like Joey is following his lead.

Look at this little one...6lbs 12 oz, 19.5" and 14" head.  It will be fun to compare these stats and pics to Joey's stats and pics!  Won't be long before that AniMAHlone gets here!!

Little Jimmy 9/2/10





Week 36

Well, we've made it into the home stretch.  Now that I've reached 36 weeks I'm set to deliver at the Birth Center barring any true emergencies requiring major medical interventions.  I can't tell you how that makes me feel.  It's a jumble of things that makes me happy.

- I'll be able to deliver Joey in the same place/bed where Jimmy was born.
- We'll get to put Joey's footprints on the wall next to Jimmy's at the Birth Center.
- It's such a peaceful, intimate and cozy environment along with music and candles.
- I trust the midwives to do the best for me and Joey while still respecting my desires as far as how I want to labor.

I am hoping to let Joey incubate a little longer...I feel like 36 weeks is too early and 37 is kind of pushing it too. This might be erroneous thinking but knowing that he's already such a big guy makes me hopeful that if we do have to induce at 37/38 weeks he'll be a stong little booger that can handle it.  More than anything I don't want to have to transfer him to the NICU across the street because of respiratory issues...so if a few more days or another week will help us avoid that then I'm down with that.

On the OTHER hand....I'm ready to have him here already and be done with this discomfort.  And really it is just discomfort...its nothing too horribly painful...although there are painful moments too.  Last night was particularly miserable - between Jimmy waking himself up coughing several times and some pretty bad hip/pelvis pain with every toss or turn, lots of acid reflux, lots of getting up to pee, some pretty strong braxton hicks contractions...at least I think they're braxton hicks contractions...and just not being able to sleep it was a really long night.

Junk Drawer 5/18/2012

Last Day
Well, it’s my last day at work..it’s a half day but still the last day I’ll be here, writing on this computer, working so hard every day (snort) making the days fly by. Now I’ll be at home, being a stay at home mom, resting all day, making lists of things I won’t do, making budgets that I won’t stick to, cleaning, cooking, I mean resting, washing baby clothes, watching all the shows I’ve recorded, recording some more, probably writing 20 blog posts a day, shopping online for things I can’t possibly afford, organizing electronic files and folders on my computer, obsessively checking my blood pressure, wondering when Joey will get here…and on and on.

I’m physically ready for the break, even the half days I’ve been working are almost too much for me to do now. But I’ll miss the distraction of having somewhere to go every day, something to do to make the time pass and of course I’ll definitely miss the money that comes with working. I’m definitely not ready financially for the break. But these things have a way of working out and I’m planning to just go with the flow…and praying to win the lottery.

Poo-Pee

You know I started this blog as a way to update everyone on the “goings-on” with Jimmy and cute pictures and videos so that everyone near and far could still feel a part of his life. I’ve noticed that it’s evolved into more a blog about the goings on with me during my pregnancy…especially since I split Jimmy’s blog off into its own spot. Now that I’m close to the end of the pregnancy and I’ll have two babies I’ll be making a decision on what this blog will focus on. My main goal is still to keep everyone updated on the babies and what they’re up to with a splash of myself thrown in. So as you read the rest of this little section take comfort in knowing you won’t have to read this kind of stuff about me for much longer!

Week 35 - Oh Honey...Do Get Here Already!

Oh how I love thee Week 35...let me count the ways.  For one it's now only 5 weeks from my due date, 3 weeks from when Jimmy was born, 2 weeks from "full term" and 1 week from when the birth center will be able to legally accept me for delivery and not one day before.  I think thats enough counting for now.

I had an appointment today and fully expected to be put on bed rest after being put on a restricted work schedule last week.  I got what I expected more or less.  She's letting me work through Friday and that will be my last day at work. At least my next check will basically be a "normal" check.  So two more half days and I'll be done with work and here at home focusing all my attention on all the things I've yet to do to prepare for little Joey's arrival...ahem...I mean resting.

Lets see there is some more squeamish stuff I have to report if the guys want to avert their eyes for the next couple of sentences...or not.  I had my Group B Strep swab today and she also did a cervical check and found, to my delight, that my cervix is shortening and softening and I'm at a "good 1...almost a 2".  So thats encouraging.  Even if I don't go into labor on my own being dilated will help significantly with an induction.

I'll be sent next week for another ultrasound but the midwife is guessing based on how the baby feels that he'll outweigh Jimmy and that he's probably already at 6 lbs!  Lets see...so if we hit 38 weeks that puts him at about 7.5 lbs give or take some ounces.  Not bad!

Little Joey is definitely bigger now than Jimmy was...I can just feel it.  He's heavier and bigger...I feel a lot more stretched these days.  The baby websites are saying he should be about 5.25 lbs but he's definitely got that beat!  So Week 35 is represented by a honeydew melon but it would have to be a pretty big one!

Joey at Week 35

Here I am in all my stretched out glory!

Mamma @ Week 35

Pray 4 Gray's Family

Grayson, the youngest son of my brother's close friend died last night on Mother's Day.  I guess there is never a good day for your baby to die but on a day dedicated to the celebration of Mothers it seems a little bit of a cruel twist.

Here is the link to Gray's blog and donation page.

I wanted to post the news and link to reach maybe a few people that my brother's social network might not reach.  Please keep their family in your prayers.