My Idol Votes

Yes, I watch American Idol. But I couldn't do it without my DVR. I forward through most of what Ryan and the judges say. I like listening to the songs. But I can even pass those by if I get bored. So...

Who can go? Jacob, Paul, James

Who can stay? Haley, Lauren, Scotty

The rest I could take or leave. Well Stefano is easy on the eyes but I don't think he is that great.

We'll see tonight.

A Classic

What college kid didn't love Ramen noodles?
And who would have thought they make a great kid food too. (isn't that a great picture?)
I make them by cooking them in chicken broth. Then I either skip the seasonings (that's the stuff that is really bad for you) or use just a pinch to season a little.
They're fast and easy and what kid doesn't love noodles. Especially ones as fun as these.

Memory Lane

About two and a half years ago we took Nicholas on his first pilgrimage to Ohio. He was 6 weeks old (the same age Alexander is now). Alexander will make his trip when he is almost 3 months old. So here are some pictures to remember Nicholas' first trip to Ohio. The first time he met his Grandpa G. (Papa) and numerous other relatives.

And, yes, we drove. It took us 11 hours to reach eastern Ohio where we stayed with friends. And then the next day we covered the other 4 hours across the state. With that in mind we will try this driving trip again with a 2 year old and a 3 month old. Fun times! How did our parents do it? When I was young my parents took us to Florida every year. That was a 17+ hour trip. We did it in the car. People didn't fly back then the way we do today. I just wonder how often we will make this trip by car. And will it get easier? I guess kids have it made these days with portable dvd players, DS game systems. We had travel bingo and license plate games. Crayons and coloring books.

One fond memory of our drive to Florida. We would always reach the border of FL in the morning (my dad would drive all night long while we slept in the car, gosh he must have been smoked). We would stop at the FL welcome center for fresh orange juice out of those little paper dixie cups. I wonder if they still do that? Maybe someday I will do that with my kids. And I hope we will make many more memories such as this.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the memories. Thanks for making the sacrifice and showing us more of the country. And giving us a love for travel. I have so many wonderful experiences because of it and I hope to have many more too.

Nicholas smiling at Daddy. Nicholas with his tractor and daddy. With Nana and Papa

a) Meeting Great-Grandma.

b) being held by Grandma c) saying hi to Grandpa, or sleeping.

Photo Comparison

Nicholas at 6 weeks.

Nicholas at 6 weeks. Nicholas was smiling.

Alexander at 6 weeks. A. is just starting to smile a little. He won't let me get him on camera yet. But it's sort of a whole open mouth smile.

I am not pleased

Looking in the mirror is not so pleasant these days. I know, 5 weeks after having a baby. But still, I want to feel good about myself.
I think of myself as a pretty good eater. I incorporate veggies and fruits, balance grains and protein. So I started tracking my food on Livestrong.com. A program called my plate that calculates calories, fat, nutrients, etc.
Let me tell you the calories add up quick. My downfall is the sweets. I have a serious sweet tooth. And being home all day, I just want to snack. It's a boredom breaker. It's not that I am not busy. With two kids I am. But trying to play with a non attentive toddler gets boring.
So any way. Try this just for one day. It may shock you at what you actually put in your mouth.

Five

Alexander is five weeks old this week. To celebrate I thought I would list five of his likes.
1. A dry, clean diaper.
2. Car rides. (the car seat is a different story).
3. To lie and kick and look around.
4. Sleep nestled on my chest or on his belly.
5. Nurse. And often for comfort not just for food. Sometimes nothing else will do.

I LOVE coats

It's true. If I could have a whole closet dedicated to many many different kinds of coats I would. I never feel like I have the right coat for the right occasion. I love coats, but I don't buy many. I actually feel like I have too many now. But that's because I don't like many of them. The next coat I would like to buy, a trench coat. I have nothing good for the rain. So I would like a trench coat in tan, with buttons and a belt. Also preferably with a hood.

I like naps

Naps are good. I look forward to nap time everyday. For many reasons. A break for Mommy in more ways than one.
Today I got two. Yes, count them two naps. A 45 min in the morning and an hour and a half in the afternoon. It was nice.

Alexander's Birth Announcemet

Here is one of the birth announcements I made of Alexander's Birth. I ended up making 3 different ones on Shutterly.com. I just couldn't decide on a design.

Mod Block Boy Baby Announcements

Birth announcements, Valentine's cards, & invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

A good day

Friday.
We ventured out. We had a dr appt for Alexander. I decided to throw in extra stops too. I know I was asking a lot from all of us.
So we went to the doctor.
Alexander now weighs a whopping 8 lbs 11 oz. And grew another inch. He is almost 2 lbs above birth weight. Yay! He had a great check up. Nicholas was only mildly disruptive. He took a bunch of tongue depressors out of the canister to use with his trucks. Then pushed everything on the floor. He did pick them up. Then tried putting the sticks back in the container. Oops. One made it in and got lost. So I guess that won't be so sanitary.
Ok leave dr office and head to the balloon store. Joe's birthday Saturday so we had to get balloons. Mission complete.
Get gas.
Head to McDonald's for a quick snack. Two trips through the drive thru. My friend called and wanted something just as we finished. After we were pulling out for the second time I forgot to order myself fries. I wasn't going through again.
So off to the playground.
It was near 70 degrees, sunny, breezy. I was smokin'. Alexander was only in a light sleeper and a hat. He was smokin too all nestled in the Jeep front carrier. We all ate, then we played...for two hours! Alexander just slept. He is such a good baby. By the end Big Man and I were tired and ready to head home.
Home we came. Nap time for all of us.
For supper I grilled chicken legs.
It was a good day.

We did it

Our first adventure to the yard. Just the three of us. I bundled Alexander up in his "way to big for me" fleece pram. Hooked on the Jeep carrier to my bodice. Bundled up Nicholas and threw on a jacket myself and away went went. Out the door. It was cloudy and maybe topping 40 degrees. But we made it. A. slept the whole time! Wahoo! So N. swung, pushed the mower chasing mommy, played in the sand box, picked up sticks, drew with chalk. It lasted a generous hour. It felt good. We were out. We can do it. Now we just have to get the weather on board. Expecting 60 on Friday. So exciting!

Take it away

I think 1-ply toilet paper should be banned. It's like using tissue paper. Probably better for the septic but not so good on the body.
Take it away. I could do without.

Call us Crazy

Lock us up. Throw us in the looney bin. That would be Crazy with a capital C.
We have decided to drive to western Ohio.
That's 745 miles. Over 12 hours.
1 car. 4 states.
1 two year old. 1 three month old.
2 crazy parents.
Plane tickets would be $1000
I guess you can put a price on sanity.

It's coming!

I saw a few of this bird, The Robin, on my lawn this morning. Spring is coming. Yay!

Growing

When I upload photos they always go before my text. So photos will be first. Enjoy.

Oh, my sweet Alexander. You're one month old today. I can't believe the feeling of you moving inside of me is now a distant memory (as is sleep). You, my boy, are doing great. You have pretty much outgrown your newborn sleepers. You were swimming in them when we brought you home. Now you are stretching out your legs and filling them out. It's sad you wore them such a short time. But you are growing just as you are supposed to be. Your face and head look fatter. Your body is longer. You are heavier and meatier. You are just...growing. Yay for Mommy's milk. Your eyelashes are filling in. as is your hair. Which I am still curious how the color will develop.
The feeding has been challenging but I feel we may be settling into a rhythm of eating and pumping. However you still throw me sometimes. You are a champion (albeit slow at times esp. At night when you are sleepy) eater though and let us know when you want more.
You still love to sleep a lot either snuggled on us or in your swing. But you also love to just lay on your own and look around. You are still so relaxed. And for this I thank you.
You are just the sweetest thing. I am curiuos to know who you will become. What your personality will be like. I imagine you to be a gentlier spirit than your brother. To have you smile at me. Grab a toy. Wave your hand. I look forward to all these many things and so much more. But don't grow up too fast. You are my baby.
Nicknames I have for you: snuggle muffin, fat boy, beefcake, sweetheart, chompers.
I love you, Muffin.

Celebrate

Because of all the trials we've had on the breastfeeding front, I thought it important to celebrate one month of breastfeeding. Wahoo! There was a time I didn't think I would make it this far. Thanks to my husband for being so supportive. And thanks to Alexander for plumping up and making it worth it.

Balance

Alexander is 3 weeks old already. Time and events are referred to as "before He was born" and "after He was born".
So how are things?
Things are going ok. Monday began the real challenge. All by myself with the two boys. My mom was here this past week but she is home now. I wish she could stay a month. Or better yet just not live so far away so that our time together could be more spread out. But unfortunately that is not the case nor will it happen.
How is eating and sleeping?
Well he sleeps really well, as a newborn should. I feel like the eating thing has been an uphill battle the whole way. A few highlights; cracked bleeding nipple, painful letdown, finger feeds. He just doesn't eat well at the breast. He gets lazy. He falls asleep. But he's still hungry. He just won't work for it. So he ends up snacking all the time. And it's frustrating. I would love to just sit and feed my newborn and hold him all day. However, life with a toddler does not allow for that. So my goal is to find balance. We all need to be taken care of, physically, emotionally and mentally. It's finding the right balance for us all. But it is exhausting to feed and pump and feed and pump. It leaves little time for anything else.
Have you been out with the two by yourself yet?
Why, yes. Monday I took Nicholas to MyGym. Of course I was trying to plan out feedings for Alexander. And of course he had different ideas. Luckily though he likes to sleep in the car so he slept the whole time. Even at MyGym. It was really nice because I didn't know how I was going to chase Nicholas and feed Alexander. MyGym is active for Mommies too. But it worked for this week. We'll try again next week and see how it goes.
How is Alexander?
I haven't described much of his features. He has auburn hair and when the light hits it, it looks reddish. He has Joe's wide flat nose. My head, it's small and round and so soft. I just love to touch and kiss it. His eyes seem to be turning brown. Go figure.

He is such a good baby. He likes to lay by himself and just look round.
He's getting long. Filling out his newborn sleepers. He had a dr visit last Friday. He weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and 19.5 inches. So he grew an inch and is 7oz above birth weight. Thats good in my book.
He likes to suck on his thumb. When he finds it. I think he will do well with a pacifier. I am just waiting to get this eating thing settled before giving him one. We've thrown a lot of things at him in three weeks.
How is hubby?
What a guy. I could never do this without him. He takes so much on himself. He not only goes to work for ten hours a day, he comes home to a distraught wife, a super active toddler with meltdowns and a messy house. He takes care of us all. Gives me time to sleep and chill with Alexander. Plays with toddler and puts him to bed. Feeds baby. Gets ready for another day of work and does schoolwork. He is my Superman.

Okay here are some pictures. I haven't taken that many. I guess it's second baby syndrome.

Alexander with cousin Abbey

Me and my boys

Cousins: Abbey. Alexander, Nicholas and Noah

Cousins and Aunt Kerri

I'm 3 weeks old!! And losing the puffy newborn face.

Addicted

I LOVE this stuff. Vaseline cocoa butter body oil. I haven't thought about dry skin all winter.