Stupid Technology

Or stupid me for forgetting to pack things that I need to make my technology work. We went on a great boat ride the other day and saw an eel, starfish, horseshoe crab and a bunch of other things that I have pictured of but I don't have the USB drive to pull the darn images off the camera. ::sigh::

Instead I'll give you the teaser that there will be many cool nature, beach and sunset images coming, as soon as we solve the technology problem.

I hope everyone has a beautiful Memorial Day.

Big Day

Jack has his first golf lesson.

Maybe next time he'll remember his formal wear.After the lesson, PaPa and Jack went to play a few holes in the yard.

But look who got stuck doing the caddying!

Later Jack was reunited with his beloved backhoe. What a great find that was!

The biggest news of the day is Jack went on his first sailboat ride. He was adamant about getting on the boat when it was beached on shore and when PaPa and Daddy came back from their long morning ride Jack wanted a turn. I figured, we have a life vest for him, what's the worst that can happen? He went once across the river and back and then asked to go again. He was gone for about 30 minutes and all reports suggest that he was a great listener moving from one side to the other when asked, staying seated and ducked under the boom when tacking.

We might have a little sailor on our hands. I will, however, refrain for getting him a sailor suit.

Not Again

Here's a our sweet moment of silence on our car ride. I'd love to say it was a piece of cake and they both behaved beautifully but that is not the case. So instead I offer you pictures of my sweet boys followed by my tragic tale.
We've been dealing with our fair share of sh*t lately. First there was the hormonal sh*t. Then there was the epic sh*t. And then there was the tragic car ride. Things started out great. They were content and then they were both asleep and the husband and I couldn't help but comment on our good luck. Biggest. Mistake. Ever.

Henry started to fuss and we needed gas so we stopped. Decided to do a diaper change to be on the safe side. It was another billion-wipes used, coming out everywhere change and of course we stop at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. So of course it's basically a food cart (like on a street corner in Manhattan) with gas pumps so I didn't even bother looking for the bathroom. So this whole messy diaper change was done, where? on MY car seat.

My husband turns to me and says sarcastically "What so you want me to do with this onesie? Throw it away?" I thought for about 10 seconds, and said, in all seriousness, "Yes! That's a great idea!" The car was filled with stuff we packed, this gas station was a joke- where was I going to wash and dry this shirt. So we did the unthinkable, we threw away the onesie.

If this is the most challenging part of our vacation then I call it a win.

My kids are weirder than your kids

My toddler makes choo-choo-trains out of everything. Everything. It's very cute, but often leads to a whole lot of Mommy cleaning up after these little creative endeavors.

My poor sweet baby suffers from the strangest looking androgenic alopecia male pattern baldness. In cuter news he grabbed my finger, purposefully, and put it in his mouth today. It took him about 5 minutes. He had the cutest, determined look on his face while he was trying it. And just to practice his new skill he did it a few more times before before bed last night.

Irony

We went on a walk last night. Exercise, be healthy and all that... so what's that under the stroller you ask? Um... nothing, just some Papa John's pizza.

Mommy's new toy

My birthday (today) present this year is a new phone. Check it out!

I know what you're thinking... no Blackberry, no iPhone? Nope, not for me. My internet addiction is already totally out of control, the last thing I want to be is the mom at the park that doesn't bother looking up from her crackberry.

Besides this one is purple, and it slides so I can type, so now my texting speed is much improved.

Happy 29th Birthday to me!

*Updated* Henry noticed the cat today. Which was very cute! He was just sitting on my lap and all of a sudden he got this look on his face like 'what is that?!' and he watched Monkey walk along the back of the couch. So exciting!

Thank goodness it happened today

Today we had our own little comedy of errors.

I will preface this by saying Henry only poops once a day. Weird, I think, but not outside the realm of normal. So, as you can imagine, when he poops it's.... epic. Well today he was a little fussy so I put him in the swing so I could clean up from breakfast. When I hear that sound. You mommies out there know 'the sound'. So I go over and pick him up only to find that I can see it has leaked up the front of the diaper. This is never a good sign, my friends. It leaked up the front and out the legs. At this exact moment I think of this.

It's everywhere, swing needs to be washed, everything Henry is wearing might as well be burned. I've gone through about 8 baby wipes and he starts to pee. At this point I carry him into the kitchen and put him in the sink. Now that he's all squeaky clean I wrap him in a dish towel and bring him back to the changing table on the pack n play. As I'm carrying him across the room he throws up.

Seriously?

All I could do was laugh. I mean, really, it doesn't ever happen all at once like that! So Henry is here, naked under this blanket because I'm running upstairs to get him some clothes... while I'm at it I might as well do a load of laundry because I'd rather eat irresponsibly raised pork than clean everything he just soiled by hand!

Jack remained blissfully ignorant. Lucky him!

I know I said I washed him in the sink.... but just to be absolutely sure.

Also, lets not have a repeat tomorrow. Yes, it was very funny, but tomorrow is Mommy's birthday and that would be not so nice. Thanks.

Om

Today I went back to my first post-baby yoga class. It felt good! So... so... good.

I kept up just fine but I noticed some interesting things. See, with yoga, I've become more attune to my body. The two poses that I felt the best in/ was the most aligned in were the two poses that I felt the best in for my entire pregnancy (and both I did during that class where I went into labor). Half moon pose and pigeon pose were my happy poses of the day.

While in utero Henry liked to hang out on my right side. I didn't think that this would have any impact on anything but even the simplest of poses were really intense. (Like marathon running, muscle burning, intense.) Anything requiring strength and balance on my right required more mental and physical energy than when I was using my left. (The discomfort was almost exclusively in my hip.)

The body is a strange thing. Before I always thought things like 'muscle memory' was really my brain's memory of how to control my muscles to perform some specific task, but this was totally different. My body remembered that there was more stress and pressure on the right side and despite my best efforts, behaved accordingly.

Clearly more yoga is required. What's a girl to do?

Ready?

So I gave Jack this backpack to play with. He likes putting toys in it and carting these items around. Well yesterday he pulled this little stunt. Matt looked at me with a sad face and tears in his eyes... not ready for his little boy to grow up and I was pumping my fist in the air. Am I a bad parent or is this merely a reflection of the fact that I'm the one that stays at home with the kids all day? Either way, it was pretty cute.

That's not what I ordered...

One
On the day that I went into labor with Henry I *thought* I *might* be in labor so I went down to the midwives for a labor check. They thought I wasn't in labor, hah! I sure showed them!
Anyway, that was a long morning so on the way back home I stopped at Einstein Bagels for a tasty turkey sandwich ::drool::. Well, the drive thru was closed and so I went inside and waited 5 minutes at the counter for someone to acknowledge I was there. Then I waited for a few minutes while the cashier talked at basically the volume of a jet engine to some other guy so that I could, you know, pay. Then he forgot to give me my cup so I couldn't get a drink-nor get a word in edgewise- while I waited, and waited and waited for my food, which when it came was not what I ordered. Then I got in my car, twitching, and drove home so I could call corporate because, seriously, that's not what I call service.

I basically left a message with corporate just explaining the deal and I figured since the guy who refused to ring me up was the one wearing the little Manager badge the district guy might at least read him the riot act for getting a complaint.

So today in the mail I get a letter from corporate with vouchers for 2 free sandwiches and a free bakers dozen bagels. Um, awesome! You have not lost a customer, Einstein... well played. I will however be going to the other location near me next time.


Two
At my 6 week check up my midwives discussed birth control and I would LOVE to use the Mirena because something a. I don't have to think about and b. can make my periods shorter and lighter sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Unfortunately I've never done well with hormone birth control. I've tried: ortho tri-cycline, ortho cycline, ortho evra, and the nuva ring. Each one has made me crazy (it's not uncommon for some women to experience severe enough emotional effects from birth control that it doesn't make sense for them to use that type of method). And when I say 'crazy' I mean crazy-von-crazy of crazytown. Knowing this my midwives suggested the mini-pill as a way to test my sensitivity to progesterone (because everything but mini-pill and the Mirena includes estrogen and progesterone).

Sadly I took another trip to crazytown and now will have to resort exclusively to hormone-free methods, because seriously what partner is willing to have 'relations' with a person who hates him, everyone else and is willing to demonstrate this by cursing like a sailor every chance she gets? I'm starting to wonder if the pharmacy is mixing up my order for birth control with someone else's order for crazy-pills.... Hmmmm.....


This pill-poppin' problem does explain why I seem to be missing all the basic coping skills a parent of two should have and why until this point having two has been stressful, yes but not unmanageable. It has also seemed that Henry has been quite a... um... pill lately and behold through the power of Google I have discovered that some women who used the mini-pill noticed a serious increase in fussiness because their milk flavor/supply/whatever changed enough to make the baby cranky. Fortunately most report that within 2 weeks of stopping the pill the baby returned to their non-fussy self.

Tomorrow *updated*

Tomorrow must be better than today, right? Everything started out right, we had a fun morning playdate. Henry was awake from 7:30 till about, oh... 5 minutes ago. Jack is in his room tearing the place apart. I have had to run up there to sing a song, get water, play 'where'd puppy dog go?' Finally I explained to him that he doesn't want me to come back because my blood is just boiling right now.

I'm not just a mommy, I'm a human being! I need to eat and at the very least pee too, people. Which means I need at least 5 minutes here and there in order to keep producing milk for the baby and keep calm and collected enough that I don't kill (not really) my toddler. But seriously, can't a girl catch a break?!?!

Dear Universe,
Tomorrow please give me two kids who will sleep at the same time for at least an hour and, if it's not too much to ask, will act like humans and not demon spawn while they're awake.
-Thanks.

**UPDATED**
Dear Universe,
Thank you for the 1.5 hours (and counting) I've had to myself today. I had time to watch the Real World Road Rules Fresh Meat Challenge and watch some other pointless, mindless TV. I have enough mental/emotional energy to take Jack out on to the deck to play with his playdoh this afternoon. I very much appreciate the me-time today! Please send more in the future, if you don't mind!
-Thanks

Woah!

Slow down there, Tiger! What's scary about this is he can hold this position without bobbing for 60 seconds. I'm so impressed with my little-big-man.

Jack & Henry

Henry

Jack

Total bliss for Mommy, when they're both sleeping like this.

Another reason to buy organic.

I saw this. Aside from the eco-friendly-ness of going organic (or better yet organic and local) organic phosphates might be 'to blame for ADHD.'

Now, I'm always a skeptic about these sort of news stories because one could argue that families that ear fresh fruits and vegetables are more likely to have involved parents who would advocate for their kids, and thus get them testes whet something like ADHD is suspected. Who knows... but it's pretty clear to me:

Produce rinsed and scrubbed is safer, organic produce is safest.

Sip and See

I have been introduced to the wonderful world of the Texas Sip and See. Guests come to a house (open house style) where the sip some beverages, eat some snacks and see the baby. So beautiful blue and green abounded while Henry entertained his adoring fans guests. There was quite the yummy spread.

Me and my hostesses. Lindsey, Emily1, Me, Susan. Didn't they do a fantastic job making a beautiful spread?? Thank you so much, ladies, for planning such a fun party! Henry and I both feel so loved!

Jack and Henry.

Oh, but don't worry. Jack did not spend any time playing second fiddle to his new little brother that day, his dear friend Cady made sure of that.

New 'Do!

It appears to be turning into a tradition for me to get my hair cut right after I have a baby. There must be something about labor and delivery that makes me look like a disheveled mess. Not anymore!

Also I had a fabulous little come-meet-the-baby party thrown for me, known by Texans as a 'Sip and See' today. Stay tuned for some photos of that!

Choices

As parents we make choices. Well, one choide I've made is akin to infanticide to the pearl-clutchers of the world. Henry takes all his naps on his tummy. He sleeps SO well, and his tummy troubles are helped by this position. Go ahead, clutch your pearls and gasp at my reckless parenting. I might as well be riding seatbelt-less in my Buick with my toddler on my lap and my infant in a box on the seat beside me.

Honestly, part of me feels like someone is going to call the cops on me because I'm endangering him. Well, here's the rub- our entire generation slept on our stomachs and most of us survived to make adorable little babies of our own. I know stomach sleeping doesn't cause SIDS, but it is a risk factor, and that makes even reckless-me nervous. So we always put him to sleep on his back at night because we couldn't check on him every 5 min like we can when he's napping.

Last night we put him down on his tummy for his first cycle at 9pm (because he usually sleeps for 2.5-3 hours at a time) so when we're ready for bed he's usually ready for a quick meal and quickly to go back to sleep (get it.... back to sleep?) Last night he slept from 9pm-3:40am. It was BEAUTIFUL. And then the guilt rolled in.

So when I discovered this I was elated- Our problem is solved! This is exactly the type of product that I would have made fun of. "Paranoid parents who need to know that the baby is moving, making noise and what the temperature the room is?! Seriously, they need to chilax!" Well my rebellious self will be using the (base version of) this monitor to tummy-sleep my child for 6 blissful hours at a time, thank you very much.

Farm Fresh

Here are the goods from last weekends Farmers Market.

Also, I know I said I was going veggie, I think for now I'm going to go "If I've met the guy who raised the animal and he knows the guy who 'prepared it' and it tastes DELICIOUS then we're cool." I picked up some bison at the market the weekend before and it was ah-mazing, so since I feel really comfortable with this meat and this vendor, I'm going to go for it.

Smile!

This smile reminds me of Matt!

Hurray for video-capitured milestones! Maybe I can teach him how to smile wide before this half gin-thing sticks?!

Cloth Diapers

I might not use my cloth all the time, but I LOVE my cloth diapers. I'm switching Jack back out of his disposable to cloth (since Henry was born we decided to make things easier for ourselves) but it's time to get back to cloth. To ease this transition I'm going to switch Jack back first, who's in big-boy pants a large part of the day anyhow so it will hardly change my daily workload to put Jack in cloth.

Putting Henry in cloth requires more work from me, obviously. They make diaper liners (like little tissue papers) which help with clean up. I'm going to score myself some of those off Amazon so when we're changing poopy diapers I'm doing the same simple rinse that I do with pee because I'll be able to pick up the sticky/messy poop in the liner and flush it down the toilet. I still have a little more than a box of diapers left before Henry runs out and we'll evaluate then whether or not we're ready (and whether or not he's big enough).

A Message

Family Time

We don't get a chance to see Uncle Josh and Aunt Kate very often so when we found out that they were coming up to Matt's parents house for a big family dinner we were psyched! Jack and Henry were charming (of course) and Grandma and Grandpa Newton provided a yummy meal. Good times were had!

I brought my camera but forgot to take any pictures. Maybe that was subconsciously on purpose because I spilled so much food on myself that I had to take off my shirt and wash it in the sink. Which means I spent the bulk of the evening wearing Matt's shirt, thus leaving Matt shirtless. So, really, pictures of our happy group would have looked a little too Oliver Twist.

I double dog dare you

not to 'squee' over this cuteness. Just try.

In other news Jack believes his last name is Thomas, because Jack talks about "Jack Thomas and Henry Thomas." I mean, Henry Thomas sounds good, but Jack James... not so much. I think I'll keep it the way it is. This does make me realize he's reaching the age where he should be taught his address, name and mommy's phone number, for safety reasons- though I could get it tattooed to his body if I got really desperate.

This thought that I have

You know how sometimes you have this thought in your head and you can't get it out, and even when you do it just comes right back.

Like that nagging thought that you needed to do something, or needed to get something but you can't remember what it is, and you can't even remember if it's a real memory of needing to do something or just a vague inkling that 'something.... somewhere' needs doing.

Well I have this thought that keeps coming back. I want to blog about it, but I've already blogged about it so I'm really trying not to beat a dead horse here... but then again this is my blog; so if I wanted to beat a dead horse I'd be well within my rights....

Well folks here it is. At least once a day, if not more frequently than that I think to myself "I pushed a baby out of my youknow, and it was the AWESOMEST day ever!!!" Really, I talk to strangers at the grocery store about how I had a successful VBAC. I'm a nutcase about it. Before hand I built it up in my head to be this intense and empowering female experience (which was why I didn't want to go ahead with the second section) and I have to say, it did NOT disappoint!

In a slightly related topic my strange-and-new postpartum symptom is that my c-section incision aches every night. It's about as painful as it was 6 weeks post-op with Jack. I called the midwives and they don't think it's too abnormal, but if it persists for several weeks I am going to have to get checked for a hernia.

Cinco de Mayo!

Now that we have the ABC song down we clearly need to branch out and learn what the actual letters are, right? We used these stickers today and had fun arranging them together and then he carried it around the house pointing at the letters and pictures and singing his ABCs. Pretty cool little activity off-the-cuff, if I do say so myself!

Best. Soap. Ever. We have a great dislike for 'smelly' detergents, when we had to make the switch to scent free when Jack was born it seemed really hard not to find scented stuff completely overwhelming- in the bad way. This soap actually says on the back "If you want flowers go pick some." Hilarious! We've been using it for about a year and a half and love it. This time I decided to branch out and get the 'all purpose cleaner' and it says "Cleans everything from false teeth to diesel engines." Awesome.

The best part? Aside from being COMPLETELY eco-friendly (unless you want to wash your clothes on a rock down by the river) each bag lasts 80 loads and cost $11.50!

Then I made myself a margarita. It is Cinco de Mayo, after all!

Also- please vote on my poll and tell me if you could be anywhere but here, where would you be?

American Gladiator?

Super Jack.
He requested his big-boy underoos today.

Practicing his poses in the mirror.

Wait, what are these things? Yup, then he told us about his nipples "One, two nipples." which he used to pronounce 'nickles'. Now that I'm breastfeeding again I'm wishing I hadn't taught him that word quite yet. Ah, well.

Let Daddy show you how it's done, son.

1 Month Today!

Happy One Month Birthday, Baby Boy!!

I've been meaning to catch this on video for a while, because it's cute to see and important to document these 'big boy' milestones. Not to be out-done by the birthday boy, Big Brother Jack has something to contribute to today's post too.

Baking.

While Matt was at the store today Jack and I decided to bake some cookies. Henry kindly slept through the entire event.

Even the dough taste-testing. Delicious!