Too GQ? Too flashy? Too chill?

2 months old and totally rockin' this life.

Still workin' on that baby announcement thinger though.

Oh happy day...

...I found my hand...

Status report 1:56pm

Bad guys eliminated...

...but still in jammies.

Baby weight...

I'm generally not one to worry how much I weigh. I don't have a scale. I'm good if the pants fit. HOWEVER, out of morbid curiosity I let the nurse at my oncologists office weigh me. I was SHOCKED to find out that I was 15 pound more than I estimated. Yikes. I was bugged for about a day.

My real weigh in was yesterday at my 6 week follow up visit.. DA da daaaaaaa... 10 pounds lighter!!! Now, I can guarantee you that I did not lose that much weight in a week but it sure feels great to shed those psychological pounds. My doctor continued to applaud my weight (that's why I pay him the big bucks) and told me that nursing moms tend to hold onto 5 or 6 pounds until they quit - it's all that extra liquid and fat for milk making (yes, he said that). So I'm perfect, he said (but don't tell my pants, they stubbornly disagree).

Really... it won't...

Image from here.
I'm having a bit of trouble doing it all right now. Let's be honest... I've never really completely had it together. There's always something, well, several things. And that's okay. Most days.

I may not get Christmas cards out this year. True story.

Home made neighbor and gifts? Not so much.

You didn't want those extra calories anyway, right?




Christmas shopping? Well. We're keeping it simple this year but I still have to actually do some shopping. But it's really really cold outside. Perfect for procrastination. Really.



This was going to be the year of the advent calendar tradition. Unfortunately, checking the TV guide for the Christmas show of the evening is as far as I've gotten. Oh, and starting to decorate the tree. And, we've read some Christmas books. Next week - a gingerbread house. WAIT - we made paper chains and ceremoniously cut them every day. The full advent calendar tradition will have to wait until next year for it's official introduction though. Maybe.






Even though things aren't perfect we're still managing to have some fun. A few jolly laughs even. It's our first Christmas with Isaac. Every time baby Jesus is mentioned I see the boys look at him. It reminds me what Christmas is about and that I'm grateful for what we have and especially for the moments that we enjoy together.

Oh.

Nobody is perfect.
We all make mistakes.
A very wise friend of mine taught me to
chalk them up to the stupidity of youth and move on.
oh. is a blog that lets you set your mistakes free
(and is great for some good reading, I might add).
::via Design Crush

That darn desmoid...

While pregnant I enjoyed a lovely little break from thinking about that blasted dang tumor thing. Pregnancy = no CT scans = not even worrying about it.

I always prefer not thinking about stressful crappiness.

This morning I had to have my postpartum follow up scan. It's been a year since my last scan (previously I'd had them every 3 months for the prior 2 years). I was a little nervous... actually, I was a little angry that I had to start thinking about it again. In fact, just before I went to sleep last night I actually got really cranky and angry at it (and at that sick, nasty contrast goo I had to choke down. Not a fan.).

A tumor would totally ruin the holidays, you know?

And heck if I wanted to go through another surgery recovery from, well, heck again.
Or trying some possibly-helpful-but-we're-not-sure chemo. Fun!

CT scan went smoothly and the iodine running like fire through my veins didn't even ruin my day. And, I got to bottle feed Ike all day - it's so very, very convenient to have a happy well fed baby all day (read: napped soundly all day long). And, since I wouldn't be able to pick up my report until Monday morning --- no worrying about stressful crappiness all weekend.

Then, this afternoon I got a call from the clinic. It was my oncologist's assistant. Oh crap. She's never called me before. While my mind was running through a string of new phrases I learned at book club (kidding!) I realized she was saying she just wanted to let me know that everything came back normal. HUH? I was totally confused. It took a second. I had a baby, and my tumor didn't come back. 2 years, 9 months tumor free--- put that 90% recurrence rate in your pipe and smoke it.

I'm meeting with oncologist guy on Wednesday to go over my tumor-free results. I'm hoping he will just tell me that I can be on the yearly scan plan (and that the kidney stone they saw growing awhile back has completely vanished) but in the meantime I'm just going to enjoy my tumor-free weekend.

Cross eyed???

Greg said that Isaac is cross eyed in every picture I picked?
I guess I'm just his mom and not seeing it.
Really? Cross eyed? Oh well.. his mama loves him.

Isaac - 1 month

For my mom... and you too.. I'll blog more later... maybe...

For your case of the Mondays...

When I was at BYU a hundred years ago nothing got my morning off to a great start like the Daily Universe... or DU (pronounced "Duh" by those in the know... namely me and Jess). If caffeine had been permitted within a 2 mile radius of campus - a Dr. Pepper would have been my answer to those chilly early mornings walking across campus. Being left with the DU, and my steaming Styrofoam cup of instant microwaved oatmeal - it was looking forward to those feisty letters to the editor, ridiculous campus police beats, and our favorite weekly contributions from Eric D. Snider that got me out of bed each day. Random sidebar - I had a photo journalism class one semester where I took photos for the DU - seeing my stuff in print was pretty cool.. why didn't I go that direction?

Any who.. Although Mr. Snider has moved on to much bigger and better things his articles still brighten my inbox on Monday mornings. Today's didn't disappoint: My Rejected Twilight Screenplay. I enjoyed it, yes, with an ice cold Dr. Pepper - it was a rough night & my 3 week sabbatical from all things caffeinated was seriously overrated. Seriously.

Isaac Maxwell...

2 more cute pictures for your viewing pleasure. Here is Jack & Charlie checking out their baby brother, Ike, for the first time. Charlie thinks that he whines and complains a lot, but loves his soft hair. Jack just can't wait to get his hands on him! And this is Isaac's official hospital photo.

And here he is...

I knew he was going to come early! And yet... I still wasn't ready. So when contractions started Monday morning I did my best to throw a few things in a bag and get to the hospital. But... by the time I got there I was already dilated to a 6! Ouch. We only waited a little bit for my doctor to arrive and there I was in surgery. Everything happened really fast.

He was born at 12:27pm.
He weighs 8 pounds 5 ounces!
And he's 20 1/2 inches long.

Here we are thinking he was 10 days early. But after doing all their little tests they said he was definitely 40-42 weeks --- I KNEW I WAS READY TO DELIVER A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO!

We still don't know what to name him.
But the nurses keep reminding me where the birth certificate form is.

Have a magnificent Halloween

Baby names

One of my favorite blogs posted THIS about baby names! I could spend hours on these lists! And probably should.

"Frank" shows up on the 'Hipster Names' list as well as 'Clunky But Cool Names For Boys'. So, there.

But both "Charlie" and "Jack" show up on 'Yupster Names for Boys' so maybe I should stick to that list.

Ready or not here he comes.

I think that I'm almost ready for kid #3.

I've gotten my I'm-not-buying-any-more-clothes-until-I'm-skinny-again-so-I'm-chopping-off-my-hair-haircut. Less hair = less weight I'll have to lose. (Nice cheesy head shot, right? And my photographer is only 5.)

I'm still going ballistic on all things clutter. No mercy but it's a continual process. I keep finding more closets, more drawers, more BOXES. Oh the boxes!!! And the ironic thing about de-cluttering I've found is that it actually creates quite a huge mess.

I had an awesome baby shower brunch with some of my most favorite people. It should be done more often.

As for the actual baby part of getting ready for the baby. Greg decided yesterday that we should start getting serious about picking a name. Really? He claims that he told me his most favorite name yesterday, but then forgot it just hours later. Ummmm... I don't think he said it out loud, but whatevs. We'll figure it out. Or do a contest or raffle and let someone else pick.

In an effort to keep things simple and to be a bit more earth-friendly I'm not buying lots of new stuff. Just a few bare necessities. Sometimes this greatly conflicts with my obsessive compulsive perfectionism. Example - the crib set is 5 years old and has been in constant use. If we were having a girl - an easy justification for a new crib set. BUT - I didn't want to buy a new one just for the heck of it. So, I cleaned everything really well, and the only thing that bothered by was the piling on the crib bumper. INSPIRATION~ piling can be shaved off. So, I gave it a go. Worse case, I tore it and had to buy new crib bedding (justification) but it worked out and the whole thing looks like new. With a couple of new crib sheets we're good to go and I feel great about not purchasing a new set. Saving the earth one crib bumper at a time.

And just for the heck of it - here is a belly shot at 37 1/2 weeks. He hasn't dropped and doesn't seem to have any intention of doing so. 10 days and counting until my c-section!

For all my pregnant friends read this bare bones baby buying guide and this getting ready for baby list.

Feedback requested because I have severe issues with decorating my own house...

So, for awhile I've been planning on putting bookshelves on the wall behind my couch.

I figured that 2 would work proportionately too the couch BUT now I'm thinking that 2 feels weird. There should be 3, right?

BEFORE:

AFTER - Ignore the stuff I've thrown on the shelves for now. I'm thinking~ get rid of the tall lamp and push 3 books cases closer together:

Random things that we do

We've been playing a lot of slap-jack lately.. you know, the card game. Although, admittedly there has been some playful slapping of the Jack during these games as well.


Also, playing restaraunt has been very popular.



Charlie is featuring one of his sandwich creations - The Fesky Wesky.

More soccer videos

I am proud to be a soccer mom and proud of my little soccer player.
We had a blast this season! So much so that we're going to do a little indoor soccer this winter too.

This video is called "I can stop to tie my shoe and still make the goal".
He's found several ways this season to baffle all the kids on the field. This was just one of them.

This clip shows the fancy footwork he's been working on this season. Next season - sharing the ball with his team.

Smells So Good Chocolate Play Clay

I made this for a nursery activity last month and it's still in my pantry with our play dough in an air tight container. It smells really good and is super soft and smooth and very quick and easy to make. We only had one kid try to eat it (but is was seriously worth it for his reaction).

Smells So Good Chocolate Play Clay
Found on this website.

1 1/4 C Flour
1/2 C Unsweetened Cocoa
1/2 C Salt
1/2 Tbsp. Cream of Tartar
1 1/2 Tbsp. cooking oil
1 C Boiling Water


Mix dry ingredients in a large cooking pot.
Add the oil and boiling water.
Stir quickly to mix.
Cook over low heat (keep stirring) until dough forms a ball.
When the dough is cool enough, knead it with your hands.
Store the dough in airtight container.

Lightweight over the bed decor?

I stumbled across this post on, well, now I can't find the blog I was looking at.

I'm always keeping an eye out for light weight over the bed decor (you know, in case of a middle of the night earth quake, of course). This could work. Painted lightweight urethane ceiling medallions.

Book storage solutions continued...

Another great post on keeping things simple for kids. I'm working on the boys' room and the baby's room... I've lived here for 2 1/2 years and now trying to get as much as I can done in the next 4 weeks. I'm trying to remember that I will be somewhat functional post-baby.

She uses a rain gutter to store books! Which got me thinking about other things that might work and excited to visit the hardware store to see what I can find... planter boxes... plate racks & shelves...

Jack and his big boy bed

We bought bunk beds earlier this summer excited for Jack to transition into his new big boy bed in plenty of time before the baby arrived. However, we discovered Jack had ZERO interest in leaving his crib. He tried his bunk bed out for about 5 minutes the first night and was done. Since then he's been gracious enough to offer to let the baby sleep with him in the crib when he arrives.

Then, inspiration hit. I told Jack that if he wanted he could take his crib apart with Daddy's drill. Then, in it's place we'd put the extra twin bed that we have. Well, mention power tools to the boy and he's all for it! The first night he only slipped out of his bed 4 times. The second night 2 times. Then last night - he slept perfectly all night! This photo was taken after his 3 hour Sunday-nap. He's was feeling extremely well rested.

Now if I can only figure out how to incorporate power tools into potty training...

Charlie's 5th birthday

For Charlie's birthday he wanted a bike-riding party. We kept it simple with pizza and cake with his friends, riding around a big empty parking lot with whistles (parents can thank me later), cake and ice cream! A total blast. For the treat bags that we sent home with the kids we included a miniature Gatorade, a granola bar, & yogurt covered raisins. Because, after all, you need to refuel after a long ride.

For dinner Charlie picked Red Lobster - he'd been drooling over commercials and billboards for the all you can eat shrimp fest - his favorite. We didn't mind! Grandma and Grandpa were able to join us for dinner too!