Mommy Diaries

Like climbing Mt. Everest...

2012-01-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

The title of this post comes from a blog I was just introduced to. Her January 4th post (the first one I read) hit so close to home that I posted it on my Facebook page as "the best commentary on motherhood I've ever read." Here's the link for you to get caught up... http://momastery.com/blog/ ...All caught up? Awesome, right?

Might I add that motherhood, some days, is like climbing Mt. Everest WHILE IT'S ON FIRE, and other days it's like you've grown wings and can soar up it.

The Chronos moments are those like I summarized in my run-on paragraph describing my hiatus. Those are all snippets of time, and things that have happened and we've just moved on.

The Kairos moments we can see on most days, but describe the summation of parenting- of mothering. I highlight mothering because it IS different. Yes, growing a child doesn't make one a mother. But, for those of us who grew, nursed, and are raising our children- it's MOTHERING. Mothering is, and will likely remain, the single most spiritual connection with God I will ever have until I meet Him myself. Raising children gives you a direct line to the Big Guy. Not only because children are more spiritually attuned than the rest of us, but God GAVE them SPECIFICALLY to us. I think about that sometimes when I'm having a particularly difficult day. I think "well, if someone else could be doing it better I'm sure God would have given the kids to them...press on!"

I hope you take the time to read that post- it's really great, and is truly the only reason for this post :)

Carry on fellow mommy warriors ;)

andrea

Stop all the clocks...

2012-01-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

...Thank you W.H. Auden...Well, I only wish we could. Then, we could ignore the fact that I haven't had a post since JULY. July? Seriously?

I'd call this a hiatus. Before I typed that word, I thought, "I can't truly call it a hiatus because I didn't KNOW it was going to be a hiatus." In truth, I had no intentions between then and now of posting- alas it was a hiatus. And, I found a great quote to help bookend the time away, "Thus began a break of undetermined length and meaning." (Jacob Slichter).

I like the "...and meaning" part of that quote. What did my hiatus mean?

I can tell you what I DID during that time: Quinn's hair grew back, I started working as an Aide in a Pre-K 3 classroom at a CATHOLIC school (much more on that later), Paige and Aiden turned 2, I'm still not losing weight, I stopped trying to lose weight, I started trying to lose weight, marriage counseling (cue the gasp), Quinn started Head Start, Quinn was evaluated by the Committee on Preschool Special Education, he was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder/Sensory Seeking, Quinn subsequently failed a hearing test at school, then again at the audiologist, leading to our appt in a week with the ENT to see if tubes in his ears will fix the significant hearing loss apparently caused by extreme fluid build up behind his ear drum, friends have become pregnant with 2nd babies, my baby brother got engaged to his FABULOUS girlfriend, people have come out of the closet, people have locked themselves in the closet, people forget where the closet is, people think the closet matters, I read the ENTIRE Twilight series in 10 days, and have seen all 4 movies that have been released thus far- 3 of them many more than one time, Christmas happened in all of its yuletide glory, and here I sit, January of 2012 the year the Mayans ran out of room on their calendar... ;)

But, what did that all mean? I've become a better mother, hopefully a better wife, but I've become one that realizes she NEEDS to write. Something. Every. Single. Day. Writing has always come easily to me. Poems, short stories, this blog. However, when life gets busy and I forget that writing connects ME to MY life...I get all disoriented, disillusioned, and lots of other nasty dis- words. My ONLY New Year's resolution is to write more. I hope you all get to see most of it- I've always been an open book- that's how people learn and grow. I hope as I sort out my subconsciously planned hiatus, you can be there with me and we can all move forward, and be better.

Let us not, "pack up the moon and dismantle the sun." as Auden depressingly writes in one of my favorite poems of all time. Rather, lets grow together- be better together.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." ~Aristotle

andrea

...And that's why you don't take your 3.5 year old for a last minute haircut.

2011-06-23T11:36:00.001-07:00

...picture to come..

Last Thursday my parents were meeting me and the 3 kids in Glens Falls so we could do a quick lunch and they could take Quinn to their house for the weekend. Yea, they're awesome like that, I know I'm blessed (read my previous post regarding going home my own self).

Anywho, Quinn was looooooooong overdue for his summer buzz cut. We do this because he has ridiculously thick and heavy hair (exactly like both of his parents) and you can almost see heat radiating from his head. I called my normal hair place (Contemporary Images- which ROCKS) and they didn't have any spots that morning. I contemplated sending him to his BeeDee and YeYe's house all scruffy, but when another hair place in town said they had an immediate opening, I immediately brought Quinn in.

Problem 1. Not giving Quinn enough notice. With most toddlers, but especially Quinn, great notice must be given when going to do something new or out of the ordinary. Such preparation usually puts off tantrums. Usually. We had little time for notice on this day.

Problem 2. Going somewhere new. This was a problem for both of us. Quinn has had his hair cut before, but not at this place- and I hadn't ever been there either. The place was kind of loud and cluttered and she told Quinn he could have a lollipop when he was done.

Problem 3. I didn't bring a lollipop with me for him.

Problem 4. I didn't tell the lady to shove it and give him one anyway.

Problem 5. He wanted to sit on my lap but didn't want to wear an apron and the lady was all anal about him getting covered with hair. I almost screamed "JUST CUT THE FUC*ING KIDS HAIR, I'LL VACUUM HIM OFF!" I told her I didn't care 900 times, then she calmed down- but I needed a Xanax.

Problem 6. He was figety and she clearly didn't cut kids' hair as often as she may have thought she did.

Problem 7. I didn't tell her to give him a lollipop.....again

Problem 8. The Coup d'état. She finished the back and sides of his head and moved to the top, changing the guard on the clippers. She put the clippers down on his head. AT. WHICH. POINT. the guard FELL TO THE FUC*ING FLOOR and left a nearly BALD spot on the top of his head...a roughly 2.5 inch square.

She instinctively said "oh, he jumped!" forgetting that he was sitting on my lap and he, certainly, did not jump. He moved, but not enough to knock the guard off....And, if he had jumped, he wouldn't have a bald spot the size of a frog.

I took a deep breath and told her to finish normal and we'd deal with the bald spot later. I did not, in fact, lose my shit on her because, what would that do? The hair. was. gone. She felt horrible, insisting it would fill in in a week or two (we're on week 1 and there's almost a shadow).

She said she wasn't going to charge me and I wanted to say "damn straight, you should PAY ME!" but I said "thank you, it's ok, it's ok...." maybe I was trying to convince myself it was ok?

Either way it's over. And I doubt I'll go back.

Lessons to take away from this ill-fated mission?

1. Notice, notice notice.

2. In the absence of notice: lollipops, lollipops, lollipops

3. In the absence of both of these? Reschedule.

xo
andrea

Family and Funny Stories

2011-06-05T16:53:00.001-07:00

Hi Readers!

Let me say, first, that I am SO looking forward to this weekend. I will be heading- by MYSELF- to my parents' house for the weekend. Why, you might ask? BECAUSE! No, all kidding aside, I was supposed to go to the Cornell Reunion but that was going to cost a few hundred dollars that I don't have. This was going to be my birthday present, a weekend away- alone. Then I thought, why not go to my parents' house? I can actually RELAX there and get a free meal or two ;) (because parents are awesome like that).

This all started last Labor Day weekend. I was supposed to go to a friends baby shower, but she ended up having the baby VERY early (everyone is fine now). Since I had planned to go away anyway, I went to my parents' and had a BALL.

1. My parents are still together. They've been married for almost 31 years and have been together longer (since HIGH SCHOOL).

2. They're not idiots (despite how this blog may have read if blogs existed when I was in high school).

3. They're young, and awesome and I love them AND LIKE THEM EVEN! lol.

4. They live in the house I grew up in and there's a bed in my "old bedroom" that my mom now uses for her sewing room.

All kidding aside, there's nothing more comforting then going "home"and getting to be the kid for a weekend, even if you're 28. Bonus, my parents have awesome friends (like I've mentioned before) and I'll get to see some of them. AND GO TO TRADER JOE'S AND THE KICKASS FARMER'S MARKETS AROUND!

Moving on.

While I still don't understand Quinn- he's hilarious. He says things that make me laugh on a daily basis. This is what happens when you're learning a new language and you know no other language haha. We were outside yesterday and he was pointing out shapes. He pointed to the bedroom window and said (I'm going to type it exactly the way it came out of his mouth),

"That is the shape of a square....And there's the rocks...We have to jump over the stones to get the monkey away from the drum." (moving on to a stick in his hand) "This is like a saxaphone (twwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet tweeeeeeeet) oh, this look like a dog.......this look like a wide-mouth bullfrog (tweeeeeeeeeeeet tweeeeeeeeeeet)......."MOMMY! LOOK, THE FLYING DRAGONS!" (dragonflies)

The end.

xoxo
andrea

Boys oh Boys

2011-05-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

Hey fellow readers!

Boys are a funny species. What surprises me most about Aiden and Quinn is that, although I always wanted just 2 boys, it never occurred to me that 2 boys wouldn't be alike haha. And, if you've ever spent a millisecond in my house, you'd learn that Aiden and Quinn might just be polar opposites.

While Paige is the spitting personality image of Quinn at this age, Aiden is SO different and so-peaceful. Sure, he gets his fair share of toddler hair-pulling and poking in, but he has so much of his father's personality in him. He's so "whatever."

Now, Scott's dad tells me that Scott was a wild little boy, which helps to account for Quinn's insanity. However, Scott now is a giant teddy bear. EVERYONE who talks to me about him mentions how laid back and mellow he is for a large fella- and that's how Aiden is. Aiden doesn't get lots of attention in this blog or even in pictures because he likes to keep a low profile. He's a "fly under the radar" type of guy. It's just this type of personality that made me say to a friend, "Aiden requires the least physical maintenance of all my children, but he will likely require the most emotional maintenance." Aiden is, as I always mention, devastatingly sensitive. His huge brown eyes fill with tears at mention of the word "no" and he shrieks in terror when someone gets too close to his personal bubble. But , he gives the best hugs and will sit contently for long periods of time. Eons compared to "the other two" lol.

I used to say that Paige was our bonus child because I wanted 2 boys. However, it's clear to me that Aiden is the bonus, because he brings a bit of peace to my day and a snuggle when needed :)

I love you Aiden! Thanks for giving me a break- please don't wear black eyeliner and black lipstick in high school........

It's about time!

2011-05-17T17:44:00.001-07:00

So I've been ridiculously off the blog radar. I don't understand how stay-at-home moms or even working moms have the time for full time blogging! I find myself oddly busy for someone who doesn't work outside the home!

Anywho, I will post tomorrow about kid stuff (including a ridiculous 3 year old). But tonight I want to blog about my 21 day cleanse. Today is day 7.

I decided to do this cleanse because my weight loss hit another plateau and I knew my body has had enough. I've been doing the same things I was doing the last time I had to lose weight (2003) and it wasn't working anymore. A lot about my body has changed since 2003. I have had 3 children. Including twins. My body, my hormones, and my metabolism don't know what they're supposed to do anymore!

Why Kathy Freston's 21 day cleanse? Well, as you may remember, I read her book "Veganist" and fell in love with Veganism again as an idea. For years I was a vegetarian but thought Veganism was ridiculous. However, something speaks to my spirit about Veganism now...Maybe because I'm a mother...something has changed.

Anyway, I wanted to choose a cleanse that seemed intense but realistic. For 21 days I've given up the following: caffeine, sugar, gluten, alcohol, and animal products. I figured alcohol and animal products would be a no-brainer, no problem, caffeine would be intermediately hard, and sugar and gluten would be tough- but for different reasons. I have a sugar addiction, which I didn't realize the extent of until Day 1, so I knew that would be at least challenging. Gluten, I assumed, would be tough because I know gluten is in EVERYTHING. It's used as a protein and a filler...It's extremely processed. It's the protein removed from wheat ('tis the gluten from wheat hehe)... More on the process of making gluten here.

Day 1: I woke up at 445 to head to the gym. Half way through the workout I realized I wouldn't have my after-shower cup of coffee. I instantly got annoyed. I only have one cup of coffee a day so I figured I'd get over it. I was wrong. I got home from the gym and half way through my brown rice, almond milk, and dried cranberry breakfast I was smashed with a nasty headache and a horrific attitude. That's when it hit me how addicting caffeine is. One measly cup a day was enough to keep my flesh happy.

I napped while the kids were napping that day. I don't know that I had any other choice. Anyone wanting to try the cleanse should start on a Saturday. That's my recommendation.

By evening on Day 1, a feeling of uneasiness and anxiety came over me. Then, again, it hit me- sugar. This is the time of day when I'd indulge in some plain graham crackers with nutella, a leftover cookie, or some other carby sugary delight. Not tonight. I felt like absolute crap and went to bed. "Fu*k this" I thought.

Day 2: Morning! When my alarm went off I realized that I didn't toss and turn at all the night before. Then I realized that I DIDN'T realize tossing and turning was something I had done. Could this have been from no sugar or caffeine to eff with my body? Time will tell. While I had the slightest hint of a headache left, the trainwreck in my brain had been cleaned up. Notice how Day 1 I didn't complain at all about gluten? Turns out gluten and sugar go together too often, and carbohydrates that are gluten free (like rice and beans) are more filling.

Day 3: More of the same but I started to do something that can only be described as awaken. I felt clear and energized. This was exciting.

Day 4: My birthday. Long story short. I worked at Mr. Mikes and ate NOTHING that they cook- which is good. My mom bought some ice cream to share for my birthday which I treated myself to, along with 2 pc of wonderful chocolate. The icecream was SO SO...wont get it again (red velvet cake by ben and jerrys) and....I SLEPT LIKE SHIT! That ice cream was the first sugar I had in 4 days and my body CLEARLY rejected it (thanks body!)

Day 5-7: I had some chocolates left which I limited myself to 3 pc a day. Then I realized some cravings were returning. I put the chocolate in the freezer to save for when the cleanse is over- victory.

14 days to go!

I've been eating avocados nearly every day. Essentially it's the only fat I'm getting. Days like today, when I had no avocado ( sad face) I ate some extra almonds. Fat is insanely satisfying and fat doesn't make you fat- so that's that. hehe. Avocados on salads, in sandwiches (made with brown rice bread) or mashed up in guacamole to be eaten with gluten free rice crackers, or tortilla chips (corn tortilla chips like most are) are so great.

I encourage everyone to find a cleanse and try it.......I think I might have a gluten sensitivity, but that will only be determined at the end of the cleanse when I try to put it back in my body.

We shall see :)

xoxo
andrea

ps- I could very well stay vegan at this point. More on that later.

Holy Week

2011-04-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Holy Week everyone!

This is the week before the holiest of Christian holidays- Easter. Some people think Christmas is the most important holiday and, while it's important, it's not THE most important. Easter is what makes Christians Christians. It was Jesus fulfilling the messianic prophecy, "proving" it by rising from the dead on.............Easter :)

*Like my last "church post," this comes from my notes taken from our Palm Sunday sermon.

Preparation of Easter is traditionally Lent, the 6 weeks preceding Easter, beginning with Ash Wednesday and lasting the symbolic 40 days and 40 nights.

Last Sunday was Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday celebrants Jesus' triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. He rode in to Jerusalem on a donkey (we'll get to that in a minute) and people laid cloaks and branches (palms) on the road in front of him as a celebration/ welcome. This event in Jesus' life is mentioned in all 4 Gospels. Luke 19 :28-38, John 12, Mark 11, and Matthew 21.

Our Palm Sunday sermon focused on the question, "How do we prepare for Easter?" The answer(s) are: Do. Feel. Tell.
1. Do what Jesus says
2. Feel what Jesus feels
3. Tell who Jesus is

1. Do what Jesus says. Obedience to God and His word is something every Christian struggles with. It's part of my daily back-and-forth with God. Ex: "God! I knoooowwww I shouuullddd do this...buuutt...etc" The Donkey I mentioned earlier comes in to play here. Jesus told 2 of his disciples to go and get a donkey...essentially steal a donkey..and bring it to him. He told them that if the owner asked what they were doing to tell them that Jesus sent them. The Bible is not a script that was followed, the disciples didn't know what would happen, but they just OBEYED and this stubborn donkey was transformed itself and went willingly and carried the King in to Jerusalem. **To prepare for Easter we must practice listening to the "little voice in the back of our head," "our 6th sense," "mother's intuition,"- all watered down versions of "God." Forgive someone you know you need to forgive, ease up on someone that needs a break, stop the gossip...Do what Jesus says.

2. Feel what Jesus feels. Luke 19: 41-44 shows us that amidst the peoples' celebration of Jesus entering Jerusalem, Jesus is weeping over the people. His words of sorrow and warning were drowned out. He was offering words of warning (to what ended up being Titus leveling Jerusalem) and he was heaving in sobs, and they ignored. As believers we need to feel this internal heaving for those who haven't experienced the forgiveness and life that Jesus offers. We have the key inside us....and that leads us to #3...

3. Tell who Jesus is. If we tell- the WHOLE of humanity will move. It is our RESPONSIBILITY as believers to share Jesus with those who don't believe or haven't heard (yes, there are people in the world who haven't even heard of Jesus). God has charged US with spreading the name of Jesus. We don't need to do this by "door to door." If people know you are a Christian, they are watching you. They watch your actions, they listen to your words. We preach the gospel daily- and are to use words when necessary.

In closing, there is nothing in our "want to" that will bring us to a place of "yes" with God. We are sinful by nature and need God's help to get from "want to" to "just do." We do need to forgive, we do need to obey, we do need to preach the Gospel through actions and words. We do need to use Holy Week to bring a friend to church who hasn't believed before, or who doesn't know.

Have a Blessed Holy Week!

Things we said we'd never do...and a meatloaf recipe!

2011-03-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

Good Evening everyone!

Let's start with the meatloaf recipe. A little background. I didn't like meatloaf as a kid. As most of you know, I rarely ate meat, and loaf form didn't fit the bill. However, as an adult I got to experiment with different flavors and I've come to enjoy it as a weekly staple in our household dinner menu. Always different, always good.

Yesterday's recipe was particularly excellent. Some ideas taken from an Ina Garten recipe. Mostly I just like to mix things up to see how they taste!

INGREDIENTS:
1 to 1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 c Italian style breadcrumbs
1 tbsp Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 large white onion
5 baby portabella mushrooms, diced
1 tbsp Montreal steak seasoning (I actually have a similar Pampered Chef version, but this is similar- any course steak/meat seasoning will do depending on your taste).
2-3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1. Sautee the onions in olive oil, with a pinch of Kosher salt until they're translucent, add the mushrooms and the Worcestershire sauce. Add another small pinch of Kosher salt and cook for 5 minutes.

2. Place ground turkey in a large bowl, add beaten egg, bread crumbs and steak seasoning.

3. Add sauteed onions and mushrooms to the bowl and mix with a fork (mixing with a fork is actually important, it keeps the loaf light)

4. With clean hands form the meat in to a loaf and place on to foil on a baking sheet.

5. Put 1/4 c of Ketchup on top (if desired) and spread with a spatula.

6. Cook at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. and enjoy.

**Sooooo....Things we thought we'd never do as parents! What are some things you do, or did, that you thought you'd never do? Or, maybe, some things you don't do, that you thought you might?

1. Bed sharing. We didn't do this at all with Quinn. However, when you have 2 newborns- a whole ton of sh*t goes out the window. While nursing the twins, they weren't waking up at the same time in the middle of the night always....So if I had already been up with Paige at midnight, aiden at 1..Paige at 2, Aiden at 3....Aiden got to nurse while I slept. He then fell asleep and would go back to sleep after Paige ate (a spouse is helpful in this case- to go fetch the crying child hehe).

2. Pacifiers. Quinn used his until my hormones while pregnant with the twins got annoyed when he was 16 months old. I threw them in the trash and that was that. With the twins I HONESTLY DON'T GIVE A DAMN! Why? Here's why. 1. They ONLY use them in their cribs. By only I mean we don't even let them use them in the car for long trips, they don't use them during the day (except once or twice when they've been sick). It's really only at night which is less than thumb suckers. I just don't care and it makes them happy and it's not a battle I choose to fight with now- I like sleep, so do they, win win. They'll be rid of them by the time their 2...or not ;) Again- I don't care. And I wouldn't care if a mom of a 3 year old told me their kid used one at night. Promise.

3. TV. I actually never had a rule for myself about this. Some days they hardly watch TV and some days it babysits them for long periods of time. There. I said it. If people watch responsible programming (like PBS or other age appropriate shows) then theres not a problem for me. But you better be reading to your kids at least 20 minutes a day :)

4. Food. This is actually something I stick to my guns on, with some relaxed days or minutes. They eat good food, junk food is a treat, not a staple, and it's all good.

So, what things do you do, or not do?

xoxo,
andrea

Faith...and doubt

2011-03-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

This post is strictly about our sermon at church on Sunday (3/20). It affected me so deeply, I wanted to share what was preached, and open it up for discussion. Let me say that this isn't intended to become a theological debate between believers and non-believers. I would, however, appreciate a thoughtful and helpful discussion regarding the huge topic of Faith.....disclaimer over.... ;)

The sermon was based on the book of Joshua, Chapter 2, Verses 1-11. Anyone with a Bible handy, that's in the Old Testament, between Deuteronomy and Judges (ugh, Judges....). This portion of scripture introduces us to a most unlikely "Faith Giant" (discussed again in Hebrews 11 and in the genealogy discussed in Matthew)- Rahab the prostitute. Yep. There she is. An unlikely woman of Faith living among heathens. I won't get in to the whole story because it's best if you read it, but we focused in on Joshua 2:11: Rahab states (and please read the whole story for context) "When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." There, just like that, fact. The spies from Joshua's camp came and Rahab hid them, protecting them from certain death if they were found within the walls of Jericho.

Without "knowing for certain." Rahab lied and hid spies- she "knew" within her soul, that their God was GOD.

This lengthy background led to our "modern" discussion of Faith in general. And, in light of recent natural and man-made disasters and protests, and uprisings of the last several months, this is really important. I took notes during the sermon so I'll just write down things that were said, that I wrote down, and you can think about them in your own way.

*People choose to blame God when it suits them. How can you blame bad things on God if you don't believe in Him? If there is no God in your life, then you don't know what good/bad are.

*The presence of Evil doesn't NEGATE Good, it is a departure from Good. It PROVES that Goodness exists. If Goodness remains, so does God, and he is still in control. (Yea, Ill get to that in control of the bad stuff in a minute...)

*We (humanity) invited Evil in to the world. WE rejected God. He STILL came in Jesus because he LOVES us. We, again, rejected Him, killing Jesus. He came that he might know human suffering and pain. He knows pain, He gets it, he understands Evil and deals with it every second of every day. He doesn't see highlights of the news- he sees the billions of hurtful things that happen around the world EVERY DAY.

*Suffering is temporary. Goodness exists and always will prevail. It just makes sense to TRUST God because he is in control.

If He is in control- what of suffering? Let's take the almost obvious points first. There is man made suffering. We were given Free Will. We were given the opportunity, the invitation, to listen to God...we are also able to hear Satan as he pushes our buttons and whispers bullying words in to our ears. We make decisions. Satan is not omniscient- he can't pull the trigger, he can only tell us where the gun is.....

Now...if God is in control- what of the "senseless" suffering....Natural Disasters, cancer, illness in children, hunger, disease, etc?
....Folks, there is no answer. It stinks, and it's really hard for me to understand and accept. But he orchestrates it all....There is just no answer on this Earth. Our human brains couldn't process it if there was. The answer, and all other answers, WILL be revealed in grandeur on the Last Day....And, while I don't have all the answers, I know The One who does. I choose to have faith (belief without sight) that all things will work out for good- even if they don't seem good.

I'll take a bad day with Jesus over an eternity without Him.......He has shown his hand at work over and over and over in my life, in both Good and Bad...

People sometimes marvel at my apparent mental stability in having 3 toddlers. I think they think I'm kidding when I say I pray constantly. It's not even a joke..I am praying constantly, giving Thanks where Thanks is due and trying to learn and grow in the word so I can continue to be an example of what his Love can do for us. I'm not just a "mellow" person- anyone who's known me for long enough knows that. And the addition of children doesn't typically calm people down- but the addition of Jesus does...

xo
andrea

Naptime

2011-03-16T17:35:00.001-07:00

A meaningful naptime has returned to the Randall Household. Let me explain...

At some point during Paige and Aiden's first year, we got to the point where They would nap at 8am and 12pm, and Quinn was napping at 12pm as well. The twins' nap at 12 was of decent length, but never longer than 1.5 hours. Within that 1.5 hours I would scramble to eat lunch, clean the house, and sit for a second, before I had to nursing babies waking up.

A few months ago, Paige and Aiden decided they were old enough to drop a nap, and become a one nap a day team. This nap would be between 2-3 hours long. Usually 2.5. This nap, however, did not magically occur at noon, which would have been a convenient time for me, but they would take it at 9........meaning they would be up just in time for Quinn to go down for his nap. I no longer had any time where everyone was asleep, and the twins would surely melt down in the late afternoon after having been up for so long.

Over the last couple of weeks I've conditioned the twins toward a 12:00 nap and it has finally worked- AMEN, PRAISE GOD! (some of you might think I'm kidding about this praise, but I mean it as sure as I'm sitting here.) This week has been consistent, lunch around 11:00, everyone in bed at noon. Quinn usually sleeps till about 3 (bless his heart). And Paige and Aiden have been getting longer and longer, and they're hovering around 2.5 hours at this point- which is dandy for me.

What does this mean for me? It means I get to CATCH UP ON 18 MONTHS OF SLEEP! Yea, that's right, I'll say it, here's a HUGE FRIGGEN BENEFIT of being a stay at home mom. I can take a damn nap and feel good about it :) So the past few days I've gotten them all down, eaten some lunch, cleaned up a bit, and lay my little head down on a pillow. One day it was about 20 minutes and I felt fine. One day it was over an hour and a half.

Today was sweet. I thought I only had about a half hour till they woke up, so I laid down. Quinn woke up 45 min later. I brought him in to my bed with me (which we never do because he doesn't sit still) and he watched Dora while I dozed a little longer. I wasn't sound asleep, but it gave us some cuddle time we never get anymore.

So, I won't maintain my personal nap schedule, but I feel relieved during the day knowing it's available. And, it makes those days where I wake up at 4:50 to go to the gym less dreadful, knowing I will likely be able to take a quick snooze later if I need to :)

xo
andrea

Resolution Check-In

2011-03-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

It's Gut-Check time. Here is my list of resolutions and an update (in a different color).

1. Read "Blue Like Jazz"- Almost near the end. I am LOVING it and suggest you get a copy. I'll do a blog post solely on this book later.
2. Read "The Happiness Project"-This will be my next book.
3. Read something every day-check
4. Scrapbook at least one page a week-Not always. However, when I get a chance to scrap, I've always done MORE than one page to make up for the weeks that I can't.
5. Take more pictures- This is a serious ebb and flow, I need to get back on the take and post horse
6. Take at least one yoga class a month- January, check..February, NO! eek! I'll take 2 this month.
7. Journal every day, include prayers and gratitude-I've done this in one fashion or another. I'm writing more.
8. Continue minimizing the material things-check.
9. Pay off the last of the credit cards this year (we haven't used them in several months!)-HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE CHECK!
10. Read some of the Bible every day. Actual goal is 3 chapters a day, but I just need to read SOME of it EVERY day. period.-This had been ebbing and flowing, but the days I didn't read, I'd read more the next. I'm back to reading some of it every day for the last few days.
11. Make more plans with friends that I don't usually make plans with-This hasn't happened.
12. Increase intake from the Earth. This includes: water, fruits, vegetables, whole grains. Thanks, God, for making all the stuff I need ;)-Check
13. Less...Is...More (stole this directly from Amy ;) )-Check
14........And this is a tough one........Wake up 30 minutes, at least, before the kids get up, to have some quiet time to ease in to the day with prayer and a cup of tea or coffee.-Big Fail here. I forgot what a benefit this actually is. I did it randomly the other day and it gave me a chance to have coffee and prayer! duh..like I said.......
15. Go to bed by 10:00 pm at the LATEST. This will give me 7.5 hours of sleep at the least, if I wake up at 5:30. On nights before my early morning gym sessions I will go to bed earlier.-This has been going well. Except for Tuesdays, because Parenthood is on NBC at 10:00. I DON'T get in bed then because I'm afraid I'll fall asleep! hehe
16. Get at least 4 massages this year. It's necessary in my line of work ;)- Scheduling one this month to fulfill my quarterly quota ;)
17.............start tossing around my book ideas................ ;)
18. Blog at least once a week

I don't get you...

2011-03-06T16:07:00.000-08:00

Quinlan is silly. He has a silly heart, a beautiful, quarky spirit, and is-in general-"spirited." He "lives life with gusto," as his daycare provider calls it. As you can imagine, his silliness confuses me. It's not the silliness of the toddler that confuses me, it's the evident and deeply ingrained silliness of his soul. He is empathetic, which is difficult for a toddler. However, if he were in an adult body, he would be certifiably insane.

I don't remember being silly when I was a child. I had a fantastic and deep imagination (including a long-standing imaginary friend, named Katie) and I could play by myself for hours- I still could. But, I don't ever remember embodying silliness. Paige is like this- I get her.

Aiden has a third personality altogether that is tough for me as well. He plays, relatively quietly, has bursts of silliness (especially around dawn), but is devastatingly sensitive. Mid- laugh he could fall on his butt and cry for 5 minutes. The same fall would have Quinlan rolling on the ground laughing, and Paige would sigh, purse her lips and get up and on her way.

I'm grateful that my children have very distinct personalities. They are all very loving, and while in their silliness they act the same, but they are VERY different.

The fact that I "get" Paige terrifies me to my core, and delights my mom because, well......she will one day be a teenager- and that's frightening if she is anything like I was. :)

So, when people look at Quinn in the midst of his silly explosions and cock their head to the side like a puppy watching a butterfly, I want to nod and say, "I know. I don't get it either...." But, I'm his mom, so I don't think I'm supposed to do that. Instead I smile and nod, shrug my shoulders and say, "that's Quinn."

Soul Food

2011-02-23T17:08:00.000-08:00

Sadly, I finished Kathy Freston's "Veganist" today. I say sadly because, as any reader knows, a good book becomes a friend, and turning the last page means saying goodbye. This is why it's not uncommon for avid readers to read some of their favorites over and over again. Of Note: I've only read one book twice in my life and it was, "Rats Saw God" by Rob Thomas. I read it in High School and again in college. Not sure why I capitalized H and S in high school, but we'll leave it ;)

Anyway- this book opened me up and spoke directly to my soul. I fell like Kathy knew me, and wrote it for me. For the person on a spiritual journey. This isn't about Christianity singularly, it's about MY spirit and YOUR spirit, and all of the things we do, places we go, people we meet, and the things we eat that serve our spirit. The condition of our spirit defines the condition of our emotions, which defines how we life our lives with other people.

Eating is, has been, and always SHOULD be a spiritual experience. To eat mindfully is to realize what you're putting in your mouth will affect your hunger now, and your health later. To eat from...the...earth connects you with the beginning of time, the very plants (and animals if you go that route) that God provided FOR US back in Eden. Our spirits should always dwell in Eden, should always dwell before "The Fall."

I don't mean to get heady about it, but so many of the words in her book felt like a gut punch, in the best way a gut punch could feel. I suddenly looked at my kitchen-in my fridge, freezer, and pantry- and studied what they all said about me, my family, how we live our lives, how we choose to live our future.

Now, I don't know where my spiritual path with food will take me. I don't know if I will ever "become" a card-carrying Vegan. However, I know that I will forever make choices based on the world. In no other country than the U.S.A. does what we eat say so much about how we view ourselves, our place in the world, and the place of others in the world. My kitchen is now more a place of ingredients. A place to make food, not store food that others have made that can last an odd amount of time on a shelf. Grab and Go food around here is in the form of fruits, vegetables, and homemade bread.

On this road I can certainly say I will never again eat as much meat as I have been. That is for certain. I can envision myself not eating flesh ever again. Not so much because I think it's wrong to eat animals and everyone should be ashamed- it's just not currently sitting right with me for a host of reasons better saved for an entirely different post. I've gone YEARS without eating meat before, only to forget in a split second bite of a burger why I ever made that choice in the first place.

If my journey to "eating nirvana," if you will, DOES lead me to Veganism, I can also say with certainty that bacon and cheese will be the last things to go- and likely in that order. I don't drink cow's milk now as it is (I just dont- I drink almond milk mostly...again, that could be another post) so that part of dairy won't be difficult to part with. However bacon and cheese are spiritual experiences on their own. And, I've tried fake bacon..........once........it's just insulting ;) I can't say I've ever tried fake cheese. I've used vegan grated "parmesan cheese" before but it's more for salt than taste anyway, and I didn't notice much difference.

This post wasn't entirely spawned by "Veganist." I also, this week, watched "Food, Inc." Due to reading "Veganist" at the same time, and having spent several years as a vegetarian for a number of reasons, AND frequenting the PETA site, not a TON in that movie was shocking- but it was very cerebral. It tied in the slaughter house snuff that PETA shows with the food industry molestation, portrayed by "Fast Food Nation" or "Supersize Me." It ties it together in an eloquent package and doesn't get in your face Michael Moore style. It's educated, it's well thought out, and should be viewed by everyone, including the a-holes at Monsanto :)

Can you all vow to check out some of the resources I've mentioned to see how you can make your dinner table a symbol for how you choose to live your life, treat your planet, and provide for your descendants?

xo

andrea

Veggie Loaf and other food things...

2011-02-15T17:08:00.000-08:00

Until now I have steered away from food posts because I feel the blog world is thoroughly oversaturated with them. However, the past few weeks has brought some exciting new food things in to my life.

It all started with an episode of Oprah, that featured Kathy Freston and her new book. While I'm not about to bodly state that I'll be going vegan, the book has given me a lot to think about, health-wise and ethically. I'm about half way through the book and I HIGHLY recommend it. It is very well written and she has clearly done her research-which I respect.

I have wanted to try making a Veggie Loaf for years. Many recipes call it "vegetarian meatloaf," but oxymoron's annoy me. As does most fake meat. I didn't want to use the fake "ground meat" either, I wanted to use beans, grains, and veggies. Cheap, easy, delicious. The recipe below makes a loaf that fills a loaf pan to the top, 6 servings, and each serving is 7 points plus on the new WW program. Its a solid meal in itself and you'll see why.

INGREDIENTS
1c dry Quinoa
1c dry lentils
2 eggs
1c shredded cheese
1c fresh breadcrumbs
1/3c onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2c baby spinach, wilted
1/2 plum tomato, diced (left over from a different meal)
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp. Black pepper
1/4 tsp. Red pepper flakes
1 tsp. Freeze Dried Basil
1 tsp. Freeze Dried Chives

*Cook Quinoa and lentils according to individual package directions. Drain, rinse. Mash cooked lentils slightly and combine with Quinoa in a large bowl, setting aside to cool.

*Preheat oven to 350. I put this 2nd only because it will take roughly 30 min. to cook the lentils.

*Heat a skillet with some cooking spray or a little oil (1tsp) and wilt spinach, place in medium bowl.

*Dice all vegetables and place in bowl with spinach. I gave you the vegetables I used, which were what I happened to have around, use whatever you like. Maybe some peas or corn too, if you like that.

*Combine vegetables with Quinoa and Lentils, and add in fresh breadcrumbs. I didn't add them when I made mine, because I didn't think it would need it- but it didn't hold together as well as I would have liked...so add them :)

*Add in the spices. TASTE NOW BEFORE YOU ADD THE EGGS so you can add more seasoning as needed.

*Beat eggs and cheese together lightly, add to mixture

*Work mixture with clean hands and press in to a lightly greased loaf pan.

*Bake at 350 for 45min-1 hr.

enjoy!

**You could easily make this dish Vegan by omitting eggs and cheese, and using a vegan substitute.

Fun fact. The next day I heated up one "slice" then broke it apart and used it as a filling on a "Smart Wraps"tortilla....IT was VERY FILLING!

If you try it, let me know how you like it!

xo
andrea

Potty Training........and Weight Watchers.

2011-02-12T16:13:00.000-08:00

Like the period at the end of "Potty Training"? That's the little space in which I wish to curl up and die.......

There needs to be some place for parents to send their toddlers for 2 weeks, overnights, to potty train them. Not every parent is cut out for it I'm sure. I am sure of this because I can handle a lot. I had twins when Quinn was 20 months old for God's sake- I don't scare easily......But day #2 of potty training has my hair standing on end......Very few wetting accidents, but 3 poops in his pants. It's such a ridiculous mess to clean up poopy underwear....Just picture it- I'm not typing about it. I'm too overwhelmed to write more...so, on to Weight Watchers.

I've toyed with the idea of re-joining Weight Watchers since the twins were born. Technically I joined shortly after they were born, but their nursing mothers program was not designed for those mothers nursing twins...Losing weight was honestly the furthest thing from my mind at that point.

HOWEVER, yesterday was the day. After 2 very inspirational Oprah episodes (If you hate Oprah don't bother reading my blog at all, lol) I felt ready to re join...That and a plateau to end all plateaus....no weight loss since SEPTEMBER! Anyway, they have re done their program and I can feel the difference. I certainly ate less today than I have in recent days, but not so much less that I am ready to eat the keyboard. I actually feel great. I had room for these cookies to boot!

Today I was able to get to the gym and run a mile on the treadmill and do 20 minutes on the elliptical. I felt good about that. I felt even better about these noodles, that are 1 pt for 8oz.

Anyway, today calls for a gigantic glass of ~~whine~~ wine.....

xo
andrea

Happy Birthday Quinn!

2011-02-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

Dear Quinlan:

Oh my Quinn. My little Q-ball. Tonight I put a 2 year-old to bed, and I will wake up to a 3-year-old. Tomorrow is your 3^rd birthday. I'm surprised we all made it! Especially surprised that your father and I made it. There were times throughout this year that I surely thought I would die of frustration- turns out that doesn't happen. I usually have a pretty realistic sense of time, but I HONESTLY feel like we just had your 2^nd birthday party here, complete with the SpongeBob cake!

Tomorrow I will no longer have 1 2-year-old and 2 1-year-olds, which is fun to say. However, tomorrow I will have a 3 year old, which makes me sound very grown up, I think.

You're a beautiful boy and you're growing and learning every day. You're passionate and compassionate-and for you I hope that never changes. You love Paige and Aiden dearly, and while you're sometimes a bit “in their face” about it- they squeal in delight whenever they see you first thing in the morning, and that melts my heart!

This year will hold new challenges for us- such as potty training. Let's make that quick, ok?

I love you Buddy and I hope you keep your silly spirit a while longer

Love,

Mom

Plateaus...

2011-01-27T17:45:00.001-08:00

So here's what's up.
I'm on the longest weight-loss plateau EVERRRR. I'm not even being dramatic. Through last summer I lost roughly 18 pounds or so that brought me steadily to my pre-getting pregnant with twins- weight. However, I still have TOTAL 60 pounds I'd LIKE to lose....40 to get to where I was before I got pregnant with Quinn and another 20 for vanity's sake ;)

Back to that 18 pounds...Since then NADA. Maybe a pound...I'll weigh myself tomorrow. Over the last month I've been doing the 30-day shred (massively intense) and I have been HONESTLY cleaning up my eating (I'll show you food diaries if you want). But the scale, that cruel bit*h, HASN'T MOVED! I don't doubt that I'm gaining muscle due to the intensity of the strength training provided in the 30-day shred, but given the amount I have to lose- shouldn't I be losing?!

I'm buying a tape measure tomorrow to start there.........

HELP!

xo
andrea

Reflection

2011-01-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

This time of year in this part of the country gets me down and batty all at the same time. Up here in Saranac Lake, NY (that has been on the national news for the last 2 days with record LOW temps) has such a LOOOOOOOOOONG winter that January feels like it's only the beginning. It's tough to take the kids outside when it's below 20 degrees. And, when it's below 20 degrees so frequently, we all get a little pent up!

Quinn is especially pent up. Since the twins just started walking, they spend their days wandering. But not our Quinn. Alas, we'll be getting him an exercise trampoline for his birthday. That's right, a mini trampoline that he can use in the house. They use one at his daycare on snowy/rainy days and it's the perfect mechanism to get the sillies out. My parent's are getting him a larger one with netting for outside, but it will be late April before that's operational.

I am looking forward to heading to Massachusetts for Quinn's 3rd (YES THIRD!) birthday in 2 weeks. We're having 2 parties, essentially. On Friday the 4th we're having an "adult" party after all the kids are in bed to celebrate 3 years of parenting for me and Scott. Basically this is an excuse to be able to hear adult conversation over some adult beverages. Then, on Saturday the 5th we'll have his actual party with family members.

My friend Amy and I have been doing Jillian Michael's 30-day shred. Last week we started Level 2. I have done it (level 2) 3 times (well 4 including the aerobics class I took Friday that was almost identical to the JM workout- ouch). I will need to do it for another full week before moving on to Level 3. Level 2 is a cruel bitch.

How are everyone's resolutions going?

If you're not a follower, please follow, and comment!

xo
andrea

Some new things.

2011-01-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

My friend, "Texas Kim" reminded me that I'm blowing a resolution to blog at least once a week. So here I am! haha.

I just wanted to point out some things that are new and fresh.

1. ON the right side of this page, around the "About Me" box, you'll see some fun stuff. You'll find some blogs that I follow fairly regularly (or at least have found interest in) and some favorite links of mine. These will expand, take a look!

2. You now have the option to "share" my blog. PLEASE DO!

3. Also, become a follower, leave comments, this is how I know that SOMEONE is reading this stuff!!!

What are some of your favorite blogs and links? Maybe I'll add them to mine!

More later

xo
andrea

525600 Minutes

2011-01-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

2011 is MY year. I mean that introspectively, rather than selfishly.

I'm going to list my "resolutions" in no particular order. Some will be books I want to read. Some might be foods I want to try, dates I want to keep, plans I want to make, or personal goals.

This isn't meant to be a "check list" for 2011 or even a lifetime "bucket list." Because many of the things I'm listing are going to be processes of personal development. They aren't ever going to be "done" in order to check off any list. These things I resolve to pay specific attention to this year, in order to develop myself for my l-i-f-e. These things will likely ebb and flow in their importance throughout this year, and throughout my life...But they are skills or character traits I want to develop and carry throughout my life.

*I love the freshness and promise of a new year

*Bold items are more standard "resolutions" for 2011

1. Read "Blue Like Jazz"
2. Read "The Happiness Project"
3. Read something every day
4. Scrapbook at least one page a week
5. Take more pictures
6. Take at least one yoga class a month
7. Journal every day, include prayers and gratitude
8. Continue minimizing the material things
9. Pay off the last of the credit cards this year (we haven't used them in several months!)
10. Read some of the Bible every day. Actual goal is 3 chapters a day, but I just need to read SOME of it EVERY day. period.
11. Make more plans with friends that I don't usually make plans with
12. Increase intake from the Earth. This includes: water, fruits, vegetables, whole grains. Thanks, God, for making all the stuff I need ;)
13. Less...Is...More (stole this directly from Amy ;) )
14........And this is a tough one........Wake up 30 minutes, at least, before the kids get up, to have some quiet time to ease in to the day with prayer and a cup of tea or coffee.
15. Go to bed by 10:00 pm at the LATEST. This will give me 7.5 hours of sleep at the least, if I wake up at 5:30. On nights before my early morning gym sessions I will go to bed earlier.
16. Get at least 4 massages this year. It's necessary in my line of work ;)
17.............start tossing around my book ideas................ ;)
18. Blog at least once a week

I'll add to this as the month goes on :)

xo

andrea

Reflections

2010-12-28T17:06:00.000-08:00

December always seems to be a good time for reflections. Not just because it is the sunset of the current year (or the dawn of the coming year depending on your outlook). But also because of my geographic standpoint in all of the Decembers of my life. I am an East Coast gal, and December is dark, and brooding of course, but also blanketed with snow, cracking fires, and hot drinks. This kind of scene lends itself to reflections. Alas, I shall reflect.

Let me start by saying that I did not weigh myself for an entire month and it served it's purpose. While I only lost 2 (TWO!) pounds in November, that beat the 2 month plateau I was on- and included Thanksgiving. However, I did decide to throw out my scale in an effort to keep the crazy at bay. I've now started weighing myself once a week at the gym and that seems to serve me just fine.

As I typed "Alas, I shall reflect," I tilted my head back and thought back to January 2010. I first remembered that on January 3rd Paige was admitted to the hospital under respiratory distress. At 2 days under 3 months old she had a touch of pneumonia and that was VERY scary. I was in the ICU with her for 2 days, nursing her then pumping for Aiden, while Scott was at home with the boys. Not all was lost on scary though. During that stay, my dear friend and former caregiver to Quinn, Meghan, gave birth to her first child, Allie, at the same hospital Paige was in. While she was in labor I would wake up in the middle of the night, feed Paige, and walk down the short hall to visit with laboring Meghan. It was quite an experience.

The "spring" of 2010 here in Saranac Lake seemed especially long. It rained a lot, snowed a lot, and the snow seemed to take forever to melt...Once we thought we were in the clear, we had a freak snowstorm on Mother's Day.....I was sick as hell and Scott had to work alllll day. It was AWFUL.

*Thanks to that snow in May that means in 2010 we saw snow in SEVEN MONTHS out of the year....SEVEN! We usually get snow in October- but it didn't happen this year (did it?) if it did and I'm simply not remembering correctly, then there were only 4 beautiful months where nary a snowflake was to be found.

The summer was great. Quinn got to play outside lots and the twins started napping and eating on the same schedules (which started more in late spring).

I spent most of 2010 (8 months) nursing 2 babies. It feels like SO LONG AGO.

At the beginning of this year, Quinn wasn't yet 2 and the twins were 3 months old. That literally seems like a lifetime ago. As I sit here, he is almost 3 and the twins are almost 15 months and walking, saying a couple of words, and responding to instruction...

This year was truly ALL ABOUT THE KIDS. I was nourishing 2 babies with my own body and starting to adjust to our new family of 5.

***While the rest of my life will certainly be "all about the kids" in some respects, 2011 is going to be about me. It will mark 10 years since I've graduated high school. It will mark the second part of my weight loss journey (a journey that has no set number of parts at this time). It will mark a renewed committment to the spiritual side of myself- YIPEE! But, as I am still a mom, this will ALWAYS be "Mommy Diaries," even if I happen to leave the kids out of a post or two. That likely won't happen too much since their lives have completely shifted my view of myself and the world.***

A whole new person can happen in a year...and not just in babies.

xo

andrea

I am Mommy...

2010-11-19T17:43:00.000-08:00

...and I need some ME time!

My friend Amy and I have been trying to use each other to stay honest with ourselves about eating/exercising/ goal setting, etc. on our quests to lose weight. While I need to lose significantly MORE than her, the principles are the same.

Thus far, in my quest to lose a GRAND total of 65 pounds from my weight on November 1st, I have committed to the following:

1. Weigh myself only once a month* (I will discuss the ridiculousness of the addiction in a minute)

2. Log on to www.myfitnesspal.com daily to track my calories in and out through food and excercise (shout out to my brother for introducing this to me last week)

3. Complete the Couch to 5k program- I'm in Week 2 so far

4. Work out as many days in a week as I can, for more than 30 minutes. That might seem vague to some of you, but the fact that a stay-at-home mom of 3 kids under 3 can make working out a slight priority is a miracle in itself

5. Use the D.I.E.T. F.R.E.E. "mantra" and 8 simple steps by Zonya Foco. I saw her speak and it's really been helping!

**THE SCALE**

It wasn't until Amy and I committed to only weighing ourselves once a month that I thought about how often I have weighed myself over the last several years. Since I graduated high school in 2001, I would venture a guess that I have weighed myself AT LEAST 2x a week, every week, since. This means that at the VERY LEAST. I have weighed myself 936 times since 2001. HOWEVER......It's more times than that...much more. 936 truly is the very least. I cannot recall going more than a few days without weighing myself, mostly because there was always a scale in the gym at college. There have been times, more recently, that it's been several times a week, and even SEVERAL TIMES A DAY....seriously??!?! a day?!! Yes...its out there.

So, it was like detoxing to weigh myself on Nov. 1st and say "see you in December" to my scale, which is now taking up residence in my linen closet. The first week wasn't too bad. I'd grown accustomed to weighing-in at least once a week, so going a week isn't unheard of. Pushing past that, however, was physically painful at times. I could feel a gut-pull to get the scale and check in. But, I persevered. Not just because I had made a promise to a friend, and not even that I made a promise to myself. Once I realized how insane my attachment to the scale was I realized I HAD to literally STEP OFF for a while and re-develop a healthy relationship with the thing and use it as a guide only.

My clothes will guide me, my cholesterol numbers and blood pressure will guide me-and they will all work together to help me stay healthy- not just above or below a certain number. That's my rant about the scale ;)

Until next time...

xoxo
andrea

And the years go by...

2010-10-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

Paige and Aiden turned 1 (ONE!) on 10/5/10.....ONE!

Dear Paige and Aiden,

Thank you, truly, for turning my life inside out in the most magical way possible over the last year. I'm so glad you decided to join our lives at the same time, and not a couple of years apart as your father and I originally planned.

Thank you for being good nursers. You saved us an obscene amount of time and money, and you taught me that my body can do ANYTHING I tell it to do. I'm going to use that sentiment to lose the rest of the weight I need to lose that your brother put on my body when I was pregnant with him ;)

Paige- (Paigeygirl) Thanks for being the sweetest little girl I never knew I wanted. I joke that even though you were 'Baby A' I think you were truly the bonus. God knew we wanted 2 boys, but threw you in as a "see, they're not so bad..." Thank you for being tiny and having gorgeous eyes with long eye lashes- you're 100% girl. Thank you for being a fabulous napper and nighttime sleeper. Feel free to pass these traits on to your younger brother :) However, I wouldn't be hurt if you ceased your random shrill shriek-scream combination that you use when you're happy, mad, sad, hungry, tired......

Aiden- (Aideybum) Thanks for being the cuddly little boy that your older brother has grown out of. Thank you for being the quiet one...Mommy needs a quiet one most days of the week. We could work on your sleep, but you're toothy smile makes it hard to be irritated when you wake up at 5:00am. I'm glad we have those private, quiet moments together. Promise you'll always be my cuddle-bum...until it's culturally inappropriate ;)

Ok you two, as you start to walk, and undoubtedly run, this year, PLEAAAASE take it easy on me, and on Quinn...Yes, Quinn..the blond freak that chases you around..you'll be able to tag team him, and it just won't be pretty :)

Love you guys!

Mom

Photos, 10 day treks, tantrums, oh-my!

2010-08-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Let me start by pointing out that my new header photo is from none other than the talented Rae Barnes from Rae Barnes Photography (www.raebarnes.com). I met Rae through church and she did shots of our family during my pregnancy with the twins, and did some extra maternity shots as my belly got epic. Bummer for me, she moved to Philly at the beginning of the year. Not bummer for me- she still had some photo contracts up in our area through this summer, which gave us an opportunity to snag her for aNOTHER shoot of our family! The shoot was super fun and I'm so glad to have some gorgeous shots to remember this otherwise chaotic time when I don't always (or often) have my camera in my hand! Thanks Rae!

Anywho...On August 13th Scott and I planned on taking the kids to Clayton, NY (where his sister and a ton of our friends live) for 10 days for a wedding, a firematics event, etc...However, my grandmother was sick/ having surgery/etc and I just didn't feel right taking that trip while my dad was in China and my mom was left to deal. SOOOOOOO I took the 3 kids to Massachusetts with me and sent Scott to the wedding to represent us ;) I spent a week with my mom which allowed us to keep her company and, more importantly, allowed her to breathe a HUGE sigh of relief when Hurricane Randall left ;) Sometimes people just need a little perspective and I'm perfectly fine to provide that! We met up then with Scott in Clayton for a 3 night stay and finally back here. Bummer for me- the week we came back was our daycare providers vacation so this week has been particularly challenging with hyper Quinn.....

However, daycare resumes tomorrow...He'll go Tuesday and Wednesday half days and that's just enough breathing room or mommy! This will help out emmensely in the winter time. For those of you who don't know, the winters up here aren't overly cold or overly snowy in my opinion (in regards to the AMOUNT of snow) BUT the winters are loooooooooooooooong...by long I mean October to April long....Ever since I've lived here there has been one killer snowstorm at the end of October, then it melts away and there's a "normal ish" November with some snow, then the snow returns in a big way for December through February. At this point it's quite hellish. The calendar SAYS March, but we have weather that goes from Blizzard to warm as the weeks roll on. April starts to clear up but there's usually one "farewell" snowstorm in April. And, if you're extra lucky- on your first mother's day with 3 kids and when you're sick, it will snow then too......
My point- getting him out of the house will be nice in the winter...

This Labor Day weekend some friends and I were going to go to a Baby Shower for a friend in Sag Harbor. Unfortunately she delivered her baby at 30 weeks on Saturday. Mom and baby are doing well, although it will likely be a long road. So, Scott said I still had to go somewhere by myself. MOM TO THE RESCUE! I'm heading to my parents house or the weekend to sleep, eat, drink, and read. I'm excited to see some of their high school friends who I essentially grew up with. My parents have been together since high school and married 30 years this October..that's right..I'm not lying!

I'm ready for some full on relaxation tomorrow with Quinn going to daycare in the AM, I'm getting my hair cut and colored in the afternoon, and then running errands with Julie in Plattsburgh tomorrow evening......I RAAAAAAAAARELY say this (as I'm working on living in the moment) but..I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL FRIDAY!!!

xo

andrea

~9 months!~

2010-07-08T19:27:00.001-07:00

Paige and Aiden have now been around for longer than they were in my belly!

After a lovely loooong weekend in Massachusetts with my parents, family, and friends, I came home to two bottom teeth for Aiden. I was very excited for him, in theory, because he hasn't done anything first. Paige's water broke, she was born first, latched first, slept through the night first, sat up first, crawled first, and pulled up to standing first (Adien still hasn't done that)...but no teeth for Paigey girl just yet.

HOOOOOWEVER! How quickly I was reminded that a child who is ACTUALLY TEETHING is MUCH worse than a child YOU THINK is teething......whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. That's Aiden now..whiiine whiiine..and I need wine wine wine..;)

On top of this, Paige and Aiden are developing very different and interesting personalities.

Paige is 2 things for certain: 1. 100% GIRL and 2. 100% girl version of Quinn..........god help me. She is silly, fearless, resilient, and tolerant (specifically of Quinn). She can fall and bump her head several times before she even whines, let alone cries. She's demanding in her own way (high pitched screeches- sound like anyone I've mentioned?) and tests Aiden's patience by CONSTANTLY taking his toys/food/cup/etc.

Aiden is also 2 things for certain: 1. 100% momma's boy and 2. 100% sensitive....Aiden is quiet, observant, studious, and has no problem doing things- in his own time. The world is so big through Aiden's eyes and he sometimes needs a minute...He can fall over from sitting up and burst in to tears...He never considers falling as an opportunity...it's currently the end ;) He isn't so tolerant of Quinn, his antics, or Paige and her antics. He has a sweet silly heart of a goofy little boy and his 2 growing bottom front teeth. He's a wicked snuggler..which makes me happy- Im glad at least one kid is!

Quinn is getting better with listening..he's had minimal time outs lately, but they're always within reach..and sight..He's now going to the daycare he went to last summer...He's going Tuesdays/Thursdays from 730am-1130am...

Those days go like this: 1. Drop him off at daycare 2. come home and put twins down for a nap by 8 3. clean, eat breakfast, enjoy silence while putting laundry away 4. twins wake up, nurse, eat food, play 5. Pick Quinn up 6. Lunch time for him, pre-nap snack for babies 7. By 12-1230 aaaaaallll are down for a nap......thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you very much! It's great for him to have the interaction and activity with the kids and its great for me to get some things done in the am and let the twins have some quiet Quinn free playtime. It might continue in to the fall/winter- fingers crossed!!!

xoxo

andrea

Let's freshen up.

2010-06-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Dear readers...if there are any of you out there...
I realize that from January to April, I managed one or two posts a month, at most...There was not a single post in May...and this is likely to be the only one in June.

However, with a new blogging season approaching in my mind, I needed a new look. So, I've changed the template and hope to keep things fresh! Now I need to dig up some more pictures...

I was honestly really hoping to chronicle life with infant twins as it was happening. Funny thing though...I WAS TIRED! To all the moms of one or more babies that can Blog while in the throes of newborn hell, I salute you!

A week from Monday, Paige and Aiden will be NINE months old! I can't believe it, I can almost say "they're almost 1" AGH! Not a single time in my life has flown by faster than these past 9 months. I am still nursing the twins (now they are down to 3-4 nursing sessions a day), they're eating all kinds of food of various consistencies, and they're now in an official routine...which took roughly 6 months to mold..

My most recent struggles are with Quinlan...the witty 2 (almost 2 and a half) year old. Two crawling infants don't hold a candle to the shenanigans hosted by Quinn. I'm really trying to stay patient and stay consistent. I ask the Lord daily for patience and a calm tone...Quinn is one of those kids that gets more worked up the more YOU get worked up, so shouting really does little...unless he's about to touch fire or something.

I'm waiting for a miracle..a "suddenly" as Joyce Meyer puts it..in dealing with Quinn. However, little by little DO I see the "terrible two" phase leaving and he's starting to just be a young pre-pre schooler. He's inquisitive, is learning the alphabet, recognizing upper and lower case letters, counting to twelve (we add a new number on every few days lol), and the tantrums are getting fewer and further between...Just about in time for the twins to grow in to them I'm sure.

The twins are in that "latent" period that we'll be in for some time where they're still "baby cute" but are now "baby fun"...They're in a routine, trying new things with movement and food daily, and it's generally exciting...Then they'll learn to talk and it'll be all over with..hmph...

Anyway- now the kids all take a nap at the same time. For the twins it's their second (of 2 or 3) naps a day, and for Quinn it's his only (albeit long) nap. Everyone is down between 1200 and 1230 and the twins can usually make it till about 2 (they nap between 1.5 and 2 hours). Alas, I believe I will be able to blog on a more regular basis and my blogs won't be just baby based! woohoo!

It will be about babies, toddlers, losing baby weight, marriage, family, God, Love, all of it. It's about life, how to live it, and how to live it well. Join me, won't you?

xoxo

andrea

~6 Months Baby!~

2010-04-09T06:14:00.000-07:00

Monday marked the 6 month birthday for the twins! I can't believe we've made it 6 months on a whole lot of levels.

1. 6 months with 2 babies has simply flown by. My friend Julie says it's because I haven't had time to stop and think about it..she might be on to something...

2. Quinlan has put up with 2 babies for 6 months with no injuries to either party!

3..and most importantly to me...I've successfully breastfed the twins for 6 months, which was my initial goal, and I am continuing on in hopes of making it to a year.

I'll add #4...The days are getting much easier. The twins seem to be synching themselves with each other and naps are becoming more regular and routine....yay! If this continues I'll be able to blog more..I simply haven't had the time.

*What are your thoughts about breastfeeding past 6 months? Keep it respectful!

5 months already...Schedule? What schedule?

2010-03-10T05:39:00.000-08:00

Gosh..Paige and Aiden are 5 months old and Quinn is 2...

Breastfeeding is still going great. The kids aren't sleeping through the night on a regular basis at this point, but they only get up once or twice so I'm not that bummed. Nursing at night is the best. I stumble in to their room, get whoever needs to eat, and crash back in to bed- no extra staggering in to the kitchen to prepare a bottle- glad those days are over!

While IIIIIIIIIIII would prefer a schedule for the twins, they're not so up for it. It's not that we really need one as I'm a stay at home mom, but I figure for them it'd be good to know when they're napping, etc. HOWEVER, that being said, they have gotten in to a groove within an hour, which is great! They wake up between 630-730 (their attitudes throughout the day are markedly better when they wake up at 730) then they eat, nap within 2 hours, and eat pretty much every 3 hours (occasionally 2.5). I suppose I can't complain!

We're slowly starting rice cereal with them. Aiden loves it and will take it whenever I offer. Paige needs to be in the mood, and even then she's not all too impressed. Also, Paige and Aiden are rolling over...Well, Paige rolls all over the place, front to back and back to front..As of this writing, Aiden rolls on to his belly and immediately starts crying rather than rolling back over..it's reminiscent of Quinn's early days.

I can add another part to my blog now...WEIGHT LOSS. I've heard that for women who don't typically lose weight during breastfeeding, between 4 months and 6 months it gets easier. Maybe it's due to a change in milk production, babies needs, who knows..But in the last 2 weeks I've lost 4.6 pounds. I'm following the nursing mothers program with Weight Watchers (which gives me like 40 points a day) and I use the "extra" points if needed. It's really good for me to follow WW because it helps me focus on getting whole grains and veggies which makes better milk anyway!

I feel a slight breath of fresh air as the "newborn" stage is WELL behind us...I need to savor this breath because it's all going to go to hell again when the twins start crawling...............

xoxo

andrea

Breastfeeding Twins

2010-02-11T14:02:00.001-08:00

It's a choice I made. Most moms get to make a choice and I chose even before I was pregnant to breastfeed my next baby. I exclusively pumped for Quinn for a few months. His latching and my efforts were both down the tubes. He got lots-o-breastmilk but I really wanted to give it a 100% shot with my next baby....Then I found out there were going to be 2 babies. This further cemented my goal.
The sheer number of bottles that would be used for pumping or formula feeding twins was enough to make me more nauseated than my first trimester was already making me. For the rest of my pregnancy I spent HOURS and HOURS researching nursing twins. You can feed one at a time, you can tandem feed (which I do now), you can try to schedule, you can feed on demand (that's me), but the bottom line is- YOU CAN BREASTFEED MULTIPLES! Don't let them scare you :)

The lactation consultants and nurses in the hospital were PHENOMENAL in helping me achieve this goal. I was very clear throughout my pregnancy that I had full intentions of exclusively nursing my two new bundles of joy. I bought a twin breastfeeding pillow (which is what is supporting the two of them in the picture) and, yes, I practiced with 2 stuffed animals regarding positioning. *I only did this once..give me a break.

Unlike Quinlan, these two latched right away. At first Paige was the stronger latch-a-doodle and, at first, neither one of them wanted anything to do with my left boob. However, over the next couple of days (which is one positive of a c-section-more time in the hospital to get this nursing thing down!) I was able to get them to latch individually and together (with assistance).

When I got home it was abundantly clear that tandem nursing 2 newborns is not a task for the faint of heart. Scott had to help position them with their floppy little necks and it took some time to get them both on and going. I decided to nurse one at a time for a while. Further, tandem nursing them as newborns proved an opportune time for Quinn to get in to mayhem.

Tandem nursing was on the back burner until about a month ago, when they turned 3 months old. By this point they could just lay in front of my boob and latch on themselves, and required little "extra" handling like a newborn.

For now it's great and I don't really know when I'll stop...we'll see how it goes (that's my motto for everything nowadays). They get one bottle of either breastmilk (if I remember to thaw some) or formula at 5pm because that's Quinn's dinner time and their fussy time. That's their last feeding of the night.

We used to use bottles of breastmilk over night for like every other feeding because they were getting up at different times and a lot so it was exhausting. Now they only get up once or so a night and I just popem on and then they eat a little and fall asleep.

I've had such a great experience nursing them I've become a full-on breastfeeding advocate and I really wish I worked harder with Quinn...(all in the past...he's fine and huge and it's water under the bridge lol)..

The point is, you have a choice. And, while I hope people choose breastfeeding or breastmilk by pump- JUST FEED YOUR KIDS hehe...Dont let people make you feel bad (formula) or weird (breastfeeding) for your choice.

love,
andrea

I now have 3 under 3...rather than 3 under 2

2010-02-09T16:48:00.000-08:00

Quinlan is 2...2 years old...I can officially only KIND OF call him a baby for another year..He IS technically a toddler..but a 2 year old is still sweet...ish.......Don't get me wrong, he's about as rambunctious as they come but he still babbles, calls me mommy, sings part of his homemade lullabye with me and, above all, still thinks I'm just the best person in the world.

I posted a birthday message to him on my BabyCenter February 208 Birthboard that read:

Dear Quinn,

You've handled your second year with grace, fervor, and fearlessness. You've taken on a move in to your first "family home" that mommy and daddy bought. You welcomed a brother AND a sister on the SAME day in October and you love them unconditionally (despite the smack on the head here and there). And, true to form, on the eve of your second birthday you decided you've had enough of the crib, forcing mommy to turn your crib in to a toddler day-bed. You only slept 7 hours last night but nap today went well and bedtime tonight went better. I love that you move to the next stage of things so quickly and cold-turkey..but take it easy when you leave the little kid stage, ok?

Love you,

Mom.

His 2nd birthday snuck up on me during the twins' first 4 months. The first 8 weeks with the twins was something out of a sci-fi/horror/comedy/drama/docu-givemeabreak-ary. Scheduling was out the window, partially due to breastfeeding (which I'm still doing thankyouverymcuh) and the rest due to the fact that I had 2 FRIGGEN INFANTS AND A TODDLER..It was enough to do to make sure I ATE, and everyone else ate, nevermind WHEN THEY ATE.

Things are calming down now. I know some of you think it silly that I would even interject the word CALM in to my blog about life with 3 little people but it's true. The twins have started eating every 3 hours during the day and they're getting up only once (rarely 2x) a night at this point during a 12 hour period. Their naps are starting to organize themselves and I am putting them down at the same time for all of their naps...It just makes sense for my life.

I'm seeing the light, slowly, and I need to decide where to go from here. I'll be blogging about my daily rediculousness, the struggle to lose weight (which apparently for me is nearly impossible while breastfeeding) and the struggle to keep a marriage together (which seems nearly impossible at times...we always need to remind ourselves we're on the SAME team)....I guess I'll be going in all of these directions and you'll follow me...because you love me!

Love,

andrea

Three Months...Whaaaaaat?

2010-01-19T17:41:00.000-08:00

Faithful readers I do apologize.
During my pregnancy I was so looking forward to blogging my way through this journey, starting with the first week home from the hospital.
I envisioned a half hour a day spent to updating you on everything from Day One on.....That vision was presented by a pregnant woman drunk on pregnancy hormones.
Looking back on the last 15 weeks how the HELL did I think I would have time to connect with all of you? Let me do a nice retrospective for all of you...if I can remember that far back.

* We came home from the hospital the Saturday after the twins were born (I often try to type Paige and Aiden to acknowledge their individuality, but for now "the twins" is just going to have to do.) I'm glad we had an extra day in the hospital because that day they really got the hang of nursing and I was fully confident in my ability to feed them all by myself :)

*As per the two "get ready for twin" baby books I read, we decided that overnight, when one ate, the other would eat. This is in an effort to get them synched...........(insert overly sarcastic pushhaw). I must say that for the first 8 or so weeks, this really did serve a decent purpose.

*However, let me let you peek in to the window of our second night home from the
hospital...otherwise known in this house as "the night all hell broke loose." As I nurse the babies, Scott was helpful in bringing the babies to me in the middle of the night after changing their diapers, and he'd then put them back in the crib (which was right next to our bed). Well. The second night home was when the babies decided they wanted to cluster feed THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. I was in tears through the babies' cries. Feeding them at the same time didn't seem to matter and only made it seem like we had 900 babies. We were up EVERY SINGLE HOUR..SOMETIMES TWICE IN AN HOUR...and it was SO frustrating because they would only eat for a few minutes, then fall asleep. Alas, Scott and I decided from that night forward, I would pump after the last feeding that took place after 8pm and we would bottle feed the babies breast milk (still emplyoing the one up, both up, mentality) and then I would go pump to prepare for the next feeding. As my body was in overdrive milk production, these middle of the night pumpings produced SO much milk that I still have milk in the freezer right now lol. Like over 100 ounces.
...I can't type any more about it- it exhausts me thinking about "THAT NIGHT" lol

I didn't realize how long it would take to reopen that painful wound lol. So, I'll wrap it up for now.
**MOMS** Please take from this story the fact that you MUST do what works for YOU AND YOUR FAMILY....I can tell you that I'm back to nursing them through the night but that's because each of them only gets up once or twice at this point and they are awake for a lot less time when they're on the boob then when they're on the bottle and they fall asleep much faster. HOWEVER, I did NOT see that coming early on. So, again, do what works for you and remember that you are ALWAYS ALLOWED TO CHANGE YOUR MIND!

I'll type tomorrow about Quinn's adjustment, scheduling, not scheduling, tandem feeding, scheduling, Quinn don't touch the babies, can someone get me some food, why do I own a mirror- or a scale for that matter...and other things that happened over the last 3 months.

xoxo
andrea

~Birth Story~

2010-01-19T17:20:00.000-08:00

Before getting on with my apologies and a synopsis of the last 15 weeks I would like to post my birth story of Paige Ellen and Aiden Robert, born 10/05/2009 (3 days after my last post).

Recovery from this c-section has been much easier then my c-section with Quinn. The nurse said normally 2nd c-sections are easier because we know what to expect. Also, she said moms of multiples tend to do better because it's just such a relief to have them out! The story is long but thanks for reading!!

Baby's Name: Paige Ellen and Aiden Robert
Date of Birth: 10/5/09
Original Due Date: 10/29, c-section scheduled for 10/15
Weeks Pregnant: 36 weeks 5 days
Weight: Paige- 6 pounds 1 ounce & Aiden- 7 pounds even
Height: Paige- 20.5 inches & Aiden- 21 inches

Sunday night (10/4) I felt "off." I was restless, couldn't get comfortable, and was a little nauseated. I couldn't eat much and even soaking in the bath didn't help. Luckily I got some sleep and started my Monday as usual.

I had my regular OB appt. at 10:20. I told the midwife I had been feeling stronger contractions and some pressure. She decided to do my "pre op" questionnaire then since she said I likely wouldn't make it until next week. She also checked me and I was 1cm dilated but my cervix was nice and long.

My BP is usually low but it was high in the office, but when I went down for my NST it was normal. However, I was having regular contractions that were moving from my lower back around my hips and to the front and they were quite strong. They gave me an IV of fluid to see if I was dehydrated or if they were "real" contractions. They slowed down and after I finished the IV bag they sent me home at 3:00pm

I hadn't eaten since 9:00am so I ate a quarter pounder and fries when I got home. I still was feeling off and Scott was taking care of Quinn (20 months) so around 5:30pm I took a bath. When I got out I got in my PJs and told Scott I'd draw Quinn's bath. I knelt in front of the tub, started the water and added the soap. When I stood up..."guuuuush" and my water broke. I sat on the toilet and waited for Scott to come in to give Q his bath. He said, "what are you doing?!" I said "Don't panic..my water broke..We'll give Quinn a bath, I'll call my parents (4 hour drive) , Ben and Julie (friends to come watch Q) and the OB unit."

I told OB I'd be about 20 minutes as we waited for Ben and Julie to come. 15 minutes later the doc himself called me to make sure I was on my way. I didn't realize they were urgently waiting for me. I told DH they clearly were going to do the C section right when I got there and he would have to be in the room with me, instead of my mom.

Luckily, when Ben and Julie got there Julie offered to sit in the room with me because Scott is too squeemish. She drove me to the hospital and Scott followed. I should note Julie was pregnent and due 10/26 haha. Anyway, we got to the hospital and we were strolling up the parking lot and 2 nurses were waiting for me with a wheelchair! lol!

At 7:00pm I got in to one of the L&D rooms and there was myself and Julie, my midwife, doctor, 3 nurses and the anesthesiologist. The doc was supervising, midwife putting catheter in, one nurse shaving me, one nurse putting the IV in my had, one nurse supervising and the anesthesiologist asking questions (like when did I last eat......remember the 1/4 pounder at 330? It's about to make a cameo).

They get me in to the OR probably around 7:10 or 7:20, did the spinal (he had to do it 2x but I was numb from the local so it didn't matter).

The babies were out at 7:43 and 7:44 pm!!

It was Paige's water bag that was broken. She was frank breech in the womb (butt on cervix) but rather than her legs being stright up she was kind of squatting so when on her back she has little froggy legs, but they are straightening now.

I didn't realize how out of breath I was until they pulled Paige out and I said "HOLY HELL I CAN BREATHE AGAIN!" and the whole OR laughed.

After the babies are out I returned the 1/4 pounder via vomit. It's odd throwing up while on your back and not feeling the lower half of your body! haha, all is well now though.

Both babies are absolutely wonderful and they are champs at nursing!! The first few sessions I had assistance to latch on but the last few I haven't needed it..I just need to get the hang of tandem feeding which will be tomorrow's project!

The COUNTDOWN!

2009-10-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

Praise the LORD!
I am just over 36 weeks pregnant and my c-section has been scheduled for 10-15-09! I will not, however, object to their deciding to come early- should they choose :)

I had an ultrasound yesterday which told me that Baby A, Paige, is 6 pounds 7 ounces and Baby B, Aiden, is .....wait for it....7 pounds 15 ounces...yea, that's right...By that measure, Aiden already weighs more than Quinn did when he arrived at 7 pounds 13 ounces at 37.5 weeks gestation!

So, when I announced this news, I naturally have been thrown a few pretty practical questions from people who don't see me day-to-day, or at all for that matter.

1. Can you walk?
*Yes, but I try not to do it often or for long distances. Why? This might be TMI so you have been warned. If I walk too fast or for too long I feel like I'm either A) going to give birth or B) going to pee my pants. Also, if I walk for a long time I just feel tired and tend to have more contractions so it's just not worth it haha. Further, it takes a while to get going (think: inertia).

2. Can you stand?
*Yes. Perhaps I should have put this as question 1. since I obviously have to be able to stand to walk. However, inertia is a bigger enemy as far as this topic goes. From the recliner or a kitchen chair, standing up is not as difficult due to the firm surface and easy access to places to put my hands to leverage my gravity defying body up. However, from the couch it's a little more difficult since it's squishy. The floor...I have sat on the floor exactly twice in the last month and neither one was a pretty sight...once was today. In effect, I have to roll on to all 4's and pray there's something nearby to leverage myself up with haha. From bed is best because I just heave my legs over the size of the bed and I'm half way there.

3. Can you breathe?
*Praise the Lord I have been sooooo lucky with this. A common complaint among pregnant women, no matter how many babies she's carrying, is the difficulty she has while breathing. Obviously with organs being pushed out of the way, the lungs have to sacrifice some room as well. Twins, obviously, complicate this situation. Thankfully these babies have been fairly low throughout the pregnancy so I haven't had TOO much trouble breathing. Their lowness in my uterus, however, does complicate questions 1 and 2.

3. Just for fun....Your sex life?
hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha.
ahem..um...no.

4. I bet you can't wait to have them out!
* Yes and no. They're much easier to manage whilst in, regardless of the physical difficulties. Also, they're healthy and happy in there and I'd rather wear 15 pounds of baby than have 4 pounds of baby in the NICU.

So that otta wrap it up for now :) xoxoxo

andrea

Tick-Tock goes the labor clock...

2009-09-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hi friends!
The last week and a half has been very busy and hectic!

Last Thursday we found out the twins weigh 5 pounds (Paige) and 6 pounds 3 oz (Aiden)...That was when I was 34 weeks. The midwife is very happy with how well this pregnancy is going. It boggles my mind that my body can handle pregnancy so well but I can't seem to get it together for a "natural" delivery! Either way, both these kiddies are breech, I had a c-section with Quinn, and AMC doesn't offer vag. delivery with twins so c-section it is!

On the 14th my dad came home from China FOR GOOOOOOOOOD! Amen! They came up last weekend and my mom has been here all week helping me out with Quinn while Scott gets a lot of extra work done for extra $$ now that we're on one income. It's soooooooo great having her here. Due to my size and the face that I'm carrying these babies straight out, moving is SUCH a challenge. I spend most of the day sitting or laying down.

Better yet, this weekend my parents are taking Quinn to Massachusetts so we have a toddler free weekend! Our friends Tracy and Meghan are getting married saturday and my pregnant partner in crime, Julie, has her baby shower Sunday (we have the same due date) so I'll be able to rest and then enjoy these events!

Next Wednesday, the 30th, is 36 weeks for me. This means as long as I make it to that date, I can have the babies here, rather than having to go to Burlington which isn't home! Don't get me wrong, Fletcher Allen is an AMAZING hospital with a great NICU and WONDERFUL care but it would be very nerve-wracking for me to go in to a c-section meeting the surgeon for the first time!

Anyway, just a little catch-up from me...This weekend I'll get to post more when I'm toddler free!

xo xo

Andrea

Week One Done, Week Two- Bring it on!

2009-09-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely readers:

I've finished week one of my stay-at-home-momness is finished and I'm alive...and so is Quinn...and Scott for that matter!

I've noticed I'm MUCH less tired at the end of the day and throughout the day since I'm not working outside the home at all, so that's helped me emotionally for sure!

Anyway, let's get to it.
The butt winner is: PINXAV!!!!!! The stuff is pink...like pepto pink almost...Also, it has a scent of eucalyptus oil, which probably accounts for the instant relief the babe feels when you put it on..it cools but it doesn't burn. Be warned- the stuff is pink and it stays that way, meaning when you go to change the next diaper, there is going to be pink stuff on the diaper...it's slightly shocking lol but it's all good.

The weather has been my ABSOLUTE best friend this past week. It's been absolutely gorgeous outside all day, meaning I get to take Quinn outside once or twice a day for long periods of time which is good for both of us! He gets to run out all his crazy energy and I can stock up on some Vitamin D hehehe.

I'm right this minute watching the Documentary "The Business of Being Born" and it makes me very thankful for Dr. Kirollos's practice. Although it's at a hospital, it's run like a birthing center in that there's lots of care from the midwife and nurses and you're generally left alone. Even though I had a c-section with Quinn, I'm not offended by this movie (which is HIGHLY anti warcry c-section)....My water broke at midnight, Fridaynight 2-1-08...by 5:00ish on Saturday evening (16 hours later) I was only dilated 3cm and that was ON pitocin! I can remember every contraction I had...which was like 3...the Pitocin wasn't working...the birth process seemed to have stopped at my water breaking..So, c-section it was.

With the twins I'll be having a c-section for a number of reasons. lWhen I found out I was pregnant with what I thought was JUST #2 I considered transferring my care to Plattsburgh because they allow VBACs and AMC in Saranac Lake doesn't. Even before we found out it was twins I decided against it because....wait...let me pause to say that some guy on this documentary just said moms who give birth by c-section don't have the "love hormones" released and if monkeys give birth by c-section they don't bond with their babies and don't want them..........................FUCK YOU DUDE...ok anyway..I like Dr. K's practicea nd I feel very comfortable with my care there.

Now that it's twins, AMC doesn't do Vaginal births for twins for an umber of reasons and I could, again, transfer to another hospital, but I don't feel as comfortable with that. Furthermore, as of my last ultrasound, both twins are breech so it wouldn't be promising for a vag. delivery anyway...

This week coming up is BUSY!!!

Monday- My dad comes home from China for good! I am getting a prenatal massage at the Mirror Lake Inn..thank the LOOOOORRRD!!

Wednesday- Appt. with Dr. K at 8:40 am and a NST

Thursday- Ultrasound at 10:00 I do believe, with Brenda at Dr. K's office!

Friday-Sunday- Mom and Dad come visit!!

Continued prayers for good check-ups and that I stay pregnant for at least another 2 weeks!

Diaper Rashes, Mommy Groups, and Baby Showers- OH MY!

2009-09-09T15:35:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my first full day as a real stay at home mom and it went encouragingly well! Quinn was in a great mood all day (perhaps he knew I needed to be broken in easily) and took his naps, played outside for a long time, and was generally his wonderful self.

I didn't put away any laundry but I got some washed and folded, and dishes ended up in the dishwasher, so that's a successful day in my book! Evidently, according to a book I'm reading called "Domestically Challenged," I am staying at home to raise the children, not be a maid.

Today was better and worse than yesterday.

I was invited by a woman from church to meet for kind of a mommy and me group at another church members house...They craft, the hostess Diane makes lunch, and the kids play. Quinn did really well and I'm glad that the woman's house is rather kid friendly because he certainly ran the place ragged!

HOWEVER.....Quinn's morning nap was about an hour short thanks to the teeth spawned from Satan himself, the eye-teeth. Yes, the Eye-teeth. They're the "vampire" teeth and they completely turn your house and your toddler upside down. It's not that I wasn't warned...Articles, books, people..they all say "the eye teeth are the worst." But, after dealing with the first few teeth you really trick yourself in to thinking that NOTHING could be worse....WROOOOONG! Quinn woke up HYSTERICALLY crying 2 or 3 times last night (which is much different than a newborn crying..it's really REALLY REALLY loud!) and he still is fighting his effing diaper rash. Sooooooooooo he had a steady diet of tylenol today and got some motrin before bed, and had his ass caked with Balmex and baby powder.

About the diaper rash. Since Quinn's been born we've used Butt Paste. We've only ever put it on like first thing in the AM and right before bed. However, when a diaper rash appears we need to beef up the infantry. This diaper rash has a mind of it's own. Evidently I am to try this stuff called PINXAV (pronounced pink salve)...It has like 2x the amount of Zinc Oxide...It's been shipped (had to order it online as it's not available in stores around here) and I'll give the review upon ONE usage..that's all they get ;)

Anywho- Quinn's in bed and I'm going to reheat some Pizza Hut veggie pizza and watch Friends all night :) Tomorrow I go for a non-stress test which I hope is less eventful than the last one (I was having contractions every 4-6 minutes but they went away....obviously)....Keep you posted!

xoxo

andrea

New Chapter- Becoming a Stay at Home Mom

2009-09-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Good day!
3.5 months later I sit in my recliner at home with a laptop that's back up and running and ready to fill you all in briefly before pressing forward.

I left off in May, discussing my relief from morning sickness and anticipation of finding out the sexes of these babes!

Well, we're having a boy AND a girl and their names are Aiden Robert and Paige Ellen. We just like the name Aiden, Robert is my dads name and my grandfathers middle name, Paige is my great grandmother Quinlan's maiden last name and Ellen is Scott's mom's middle name- there hehe.

As of this writing I can tell you I had an ultrasound one week ago and Paige was 4.5 pounds and Aiden was 5 pounds. Today I am 33 weeks pregnant and counting.

On to the title of this blog- Becoming a Stay at Home Mom.
Never, and I mean NEVER, in my life did I ever imagine I would ACTUALLY become a stay at home mom. I thought about it once in a while but I never figured we'd be able to afford it financially, etc. God tends to have other plans so I'm not shocked haha.

Scott and I sat down one day and calculated the cost of having 3 children in daycare. It came out to $70.00 less than what I make a month...and that didn't count gas. Not to mention, we'd likely have to have the 3 kids at 3 different daycare centers because at-home daycares can only have a certain number of kids under 2, etc.

Alas, we looked at each other and said "let's figure out how to have me stay at home!" Scott is EXCELLENT at finding and maintaing side jobs, so, between that and altering our budget some (like going down to basic basic cable, signing up for WIC, etc) we are able to make it work.

My last day of work was August 28th and that couldn't have come a day too soon. I have nearly 10 pounds of baby in my body, not to mention 2 placentas, 2 umbillical cords, and 2 fluid sacs filled with fluid. ALSO, I am carring these babies COMPLETELY out front so it looks like I'm simply defying gravity when I stand.

Unfortunately for my physical state, Quinn's last day of daycare was Friday, 9/4. LUCKILY he's not a needy boy so I can play with him some and then sit in the recliner some while he plays independently (fancy word for ALONE) and then we can go ouside to our newly fenced in back yard and I can veg. in the sun while he runs around with sticks. I spend most of that time simply praying that he doesn't fall with the sticks because it will take me a good few minutes to get to him once I get myself up and going (inertia is a cruel thing).

That's all for today. HOWEVER, expect a blog ALMOST daily from here on out until the twins are born. I have my lap top on what's left of my lap, with my feet up, watching Regis and Kelly, as Quinn takes his morning nap.

Later for now!

The Second Second Trimester- relief!

2009-05-27T05:10:00.001-07:00

Once again, too much time has passed.

The first 14 weeks of this twin pregnancy were HORRENDOUS…..That’s what I get for thinking this second pregnancy would proceed much like my first, wonderfully. I had my head in the toilet for most of the 14 weeks and they went by so fast, in part, because I was either in the bathroom or asleep the whole time.

Hormones, man…what the hec! No, what THE HELL! I just wish men and others who don’t have children could experience that for a day, then they could stop telling their pregnant friends to get over it or, “it’s not that bad..” For the record, no one said that to me- that would be deadly….My husband did, however, ask that I stop wasting our food..hahaha.

Anyway, here I sit, 18 weeks pregnant with twins…2 heartbeats beating strong. June 4th we find out the sexes! We think they are fraternal because there are 2 placentas, so I have 3 possibilities…..boy/boy, girl/girl (ah!), and boy/girl. I ASSUME it’s boy/girl because that’s what statistics lead me to believe…but I also was statistically in the small group of women who are sick the ENTIRE first trimester, so we shall see.

Diet…….
You always hear pregnant women discussing cravings, eating too much, eating too little, whatever. Counter that with what the AMA says is reasonable, an extra 300 calories a day, and you have confusion. IT makes perfect sense that if one is taking their vitamins and eating off the food pyramid first, 300 calories is good- it’s a tiny person-you need NUTRIENTS over calories.

But what do you do with twins? It is not as simple as 600 more calories a day. If you were dieting before you were pregnant you’ll need more, etc. So I decided to go to the nutritionist with a referral from my midwife. I gained 60, yes 60, pounds with Quinn and still had about 30 of it on me before this pregnancy. “Luckily” I only gained about 3-5 pounds in the first trimester (if that) due to the whole “head in the toilet” thing.

The nutritionist told me lots of things. She said to aim to gain 35 pounds and do that by gaining about 1.5 pounds from here on out and eating THREE THOUSAND calories a day! A DAY!! At first this seemed to be a very promising proposition. Eat 12 servings of whole grains, ungodly amounts of fruits & veggies, and good protein, dairy, etc….

So, on Monday I decided to write down every morsel of food that passed my lips, count the calories and the exchange (grain, fruit, etc.). Even after forcing a yogurt and an apple down my throat at 9pm I came up with 2250 calories. I really don’t think I could have eaten more (that included ice cream!) So, I’m just going to keep it around there for a while and see what my weight does.

Next Thursday we find out how healthy they are and hopefully what sex they are!

Mommy Diaries: The Second First Trimester...

2009-04-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

Mommy Diaries- The second first trimester.

Good afternoon fellow readers. I have fallen off the planet and I apologize. Let me take a minute to explain.

Over the last year, for you faithful readers, you’ve heard me mention that my husband and I would start trying for baby #2 when Quinlan turned one. Well, true to form, his birthday was 2-2-08 and on 2-17-08 I found out I was pregnant. Here’s where it gets interesting, frightening, or comedic, depending on your point of view.

After peeing on the stick, I called my OB office and they scheduled me for a “confirm ultrasound” 2 weeks later, when I’d be 6 weeks pregnant. That appointment is just to say “yes, you’re pregnant, congrats, see you in a few weeks.” Mmmmhmmmm.

My husband and I had to bring our son to this confirmation ultrasound appointment because the daycare provider was at a funeral. So the three of us walk, oblivious of the events to follow, in to the exam room. Sure, it started off normal enough, “Get undressed, put the sheet on, flip the switch when you’re ready…”

That’s where things got…interesting…The doctor came in and began the internal ultrasound, to find the sac. As soon as the image appeared on the screen I became flushed with a racing heart. I knew exactly what I was looking at (thanks to TLC, Discovery Health, and the Internet) but I did not say ONE WORD as I lay there, waiting for confirmation from my OB. I glanced over at my husband who was turning an interesting shade of red- he must have known too. The OB was silent for a long time scanning back and forth and back and forth before saying, “Ok, here is one normal sized baby/yolk sac (who can remember the details here)…and here is another one, the same size...It’s twins.”
*Let me interject and simply say, yes, twins do run in my family...but only 2 sets in the last 4 or so generations...so if thats running, its running*

Even as I type this I get chills. I, for the first time in my life, immediately went in to prayer. Prayer for their health and mine, prayer for sanity, prayer for financial support, prayer prayer prayer. Normally I would try to THINK..but now was no time for thinking…it was time for praying.

I looked right at my doctor and with an exasperated tone I uttered (I’m not lying) “HOLY SHIT!” He laughed, as did the nurse. They said they hear that time to time. My doctor lightened the mood by saying “At least it’s not 8” (he has a funny sense of humor) and said “congratulations” before handing me the picture of 2 6 week old yolk sacs and orders for a blood test.

One of the nurses at the station outside cheered, as she has twins 2 months older than Quinn. Scott’s first full sentence, I do believe, was “We’re going to have 3 kids under the age of 2.” My response? “Yep.”

The ride home is almost another post in itself. Haha. However, it consisted of silence mixed in with (From my husband) a lot of “how…” “what….” “how are we?” “what are we?” I looked at him and I said “trust God and Pray.” He said he’s never seen me so calm.

I hope you enjoyed the first post of the second pregnancy! I will write another, probably tomorrow, discussing the hellacious world of twin pregnancy symptoms and never ending morning sickness…
STAY TUNED!

XOXO
Andrea

Daycare separation anxiety-for moms.

2009-02-10T07:20:00.000-08:00

Good day everyone!
This week begins Quinn’s second full week at a new daycare. From May 2008 until Feb 1 2009, my best friend watched him by himself in her house during the work day. However, she got an offer to work full time, and she wants to finish her schooling, so we had to find an alternative daycare. Luckily, Scott’s friend’s sister has at-home daycare (and she has a 6 month old) and she agreed to take on Quinn.
I was a little nervous at first. He had had Meghan’s undivided attention for the better part of 9 months. I knew how badly she was going to miss him and I was fearful that he’d miss her the same! Luckily, Quinn is awesome and easy going. Since he’s on a schedule he’s very adaptable to new situations. As long as he naps and is fed at the same times, it really matters very little where he is. Plus, he is getting a LOT of interaction and play with small people :) . There is a 2 year old and an 18-month old there, so he gets his workout.
Today when I brought him I took off his coat and wind pants and off he went, playing with the 18-month old. They were bopping along to something that made fun noise. I said “Bye handsome,” and he gave me a quick glance and went back to dancing. It made me a little sad FOR ME, but very happy for him that he doesn’t have to deal with separation anxiety :)Thanks for listening!

Xoxo

andrea

I have a toddler!

2009-02-05T05:56:00.000-08:00

Whew! Where has the time gone! I promised an update and then I fell off the face of the earth! Well, work’s been busy and then Quinn turned ONE so- things have taken priority.

Yes, Quinn is one…dear LORD I have a one year old. I am the mother of a one year old…eeeeks! He’s doing very well. He’s eating a lot and is almost walking. He’s in the 60th percentile for weight and over the 97th percentile for height. So he’s long and lean-not sure where he gets that from but we’ll take it.

Turning one means lots of things when you’re a parent. I will enlighten you:

1. Your child is no longer an infant, he is officially classified as a toddler…NO more “baby” or “infant” business, we’re now in the world of the toddler. We’ve turned the page to a chapter that will hold walking, talking, and the terrible two’s, God help us.

2. If you so choose, you can transition your child to milk. Preferably not Soy, but that’s a topic for another day- someone remind me. Transitioning Quinn to milk was not a quick process. He was on breast milk, and then went to the Gentle formula, followed by regular full lactose formula, then we spent 2-3 weeks transitioning to whole milk. And, yes, we give him Organic Whole Milk. Someone else remind me to post on Organic Dairy :)

3. Food. Now your toddler can experience all the world has to offer. Peanut Butter is ok, as is honey, and basically anything you’re eating. As my pediatrician says, they shouldn’t have grapes, peanuts, or hotdogs until they can spell them (due to choking hazards). I still make Quinn’s fruits and veggies because food preparation for a one year old is still a task. They can’t wield a fork or spoon successfully, and they don’t have molars, so all food still needs to be pea-sized or diced-carrot sized, ish. So I we’ll cook a chicken breast and pulse it in the food processor a few times and off he goes.

4. Talking. Now that your child is officially a toddler, you no longer get questions like “is he sleeping through the night” or “what formula is he on.” You get “what words is he saying.” Well, to answer your question, none. He talks to himself all day but everything is dada, mama, yeaaa, or uhoh…And, he doesn’t discriminate with dada and mama…I could be dada or uhoh depending on the day.

5. You still haven’t lost all of your baby weight and you better get going on it. Yea, still have half my pregnancy weight but people say it doesn’t look like it. These people must have met me while I was pregnant and, therefore, have no clue how gorgeous I was on my wedding day :)

So, life with a toddler will undoubtedly give me great material for this blog as the months go on…And my husband and I better clean up our mouths or else Quinn’s first words will be PG-13- eek!!

Update, sorry I've been MIA!

2009-01-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

Dear Blog World!
Sorry I've been MIA...Life has a way of getting away if you know what I mean.
I will be back after this weekend. From Thursday to Monday I'll be retreating to my childhood home in Massachusetts, with my mother. Just me. No husband, no son...just Mom...well..in this case I'll be just daughter..Andrea.

I plan on finishing reading Grace's Window so I can do a few posts when I get back to launch that book study and hope you guys read it!

Quinn is almost 1....ONE! can you believe it? Well..more from me to come...Keep the Faith and remember...God is everywhere- seek Him

Mommy Diaries: Things I've learned from Quinn...

2008-11-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

Mommy Diaries at 9 months: Things I've learned from my son.

*I encourage the other mommies who read this to respond with things they've learned from their kid(s), no matter what age!

I decided to write this retrospective after listening to my over-tired 9 month old cry in hysteria yesterday fighting his nap, and I stood my ground by not going in to pick him up. He didn't need to be held, he needed to be napping :).

1. I'm much less convenience oriented than I thought I would be: I sacrificed time to pump breast milk for my son who wouldn't latch on, so he would get the best food that was MADE FOR HIM. I've blogged about pumping before. It's certainly a great thing, but it's extremely exhausting at times. In order to keep the supply up, you need to pump when the baby eats so your body knows how much milk to make. Also, I make 80-90 percent of his food. I buy fresh and frozen fruits and veggies and puree them up. I buy mostly organic (frozen organic is WICKED cheap) and that way I can control what is in his food. I do use disposable diapers, but am considering changing that for baby 2 since they make all in one (AIO) cloth diapers…more to come on that in the future.

2. I'm MUCH more patient than I thought I was: While I sometimes find myself living from deep breath to deep breath, I certainly DON'T find myself as externally frazzled as some first-time parents I have come across. I attribute that to MANY things. 1. A supportive extended family. My mother stayed with us for like a month after Quinn was born. Scott and I handled all Quinn duties and my mother helped with laundry and feeding us, it was heavenly. My sister-in-law was great about giving me much-needed intelligent conversation when I needed it most and my brother, as usual, was there for comic relief. My dad and father-in-law provided encouragement from afar. My father being in China and my cute father-in-law terrified of newbie babies hung in the background. 2. (Which is technically 1) AN AMAZING HANDS-ON HUSBAND! Scott got right in there with baby care from day one and hasn't slowed since. Well..you know..he IS a man but he's better than nearly all I've seen :)He'll do baths, bottles, diapers, WHATEVER. **Simply put, my patience is a function of NEVER FEELING ALONE!** If you're ever going to have a baby, make sure you have a support system of ANY kind (friends, family, etc.)- you need it!

3. (extension of 2) Having a baby wasn't the Earth-destroying event so many think or say it is. Certainly in those first 6 weeks of sleeping in shifts Scott and I got snippy with each other, but lack of sleep does that. I think what really saved us was we planned Quinn. We discussed children and decided it was time, and we had 9 whole months to prepare as much as possible. We faced some cold hard facts which helped the transition: 1. You will lose a SIGNIFICANT amount of sleep (especially the first 6-8 weeks). Get over that fact early and move on. Period. 2. The lack of sleep won't last forever, but it DOES matter what kind of baby you have and what kind of parents you are. If you choose not to slowly ease into a structured schedule then expect the random acts of sleep to continue ;) 3. Babies bring SO MUCH JOY that it totally outweighs walking in to walls at 3:15 am…yep, I've checked, 3:15 am does actually exist…and 4. We wanted a kid, that comes with the good, the bad, and the ugly that they have to offer. Period.

4. The world is big, wonderful, beautiful, and terrifying. When your LO (little one) begins exploring the world on his own (by looking, grabbing, crawling, etc.) you relearn the world with him. It's an amazing thing to find joy in the funny texture of the carpet or the wagging tail of a fat old pug. It's also horrifying to realize what they want to put in their mouths, AH! I've learned to control as much as I can (put organic things in your mouth and that makes me happy, hehe) and pray for what I can't. I don't mind if he eats dirt, I welcome germs because I want him to have a good immune system. However I don't welcome kitty litter, pieces of paper, old food, staples, nails, electrical cords, dirty diapers, garbage, and actually EATING the tail of the fat old pug. Again, we must take the good with the bad on this one.

5. I love being a mommy and can't wait to do it again. Don't you worry, people have ALL KINDS OF OPINIONS ON ADDITIONS TO YOUR FAMILY. Not only do people have that unwanted pregnancy and newborn advice I blogged about in the past, people (often the same people) have advice on raising your kids (which is usually more unbiased than the pregnancy and newborn advice-usually) but they also love to suggest when and how you increase (or choose not to increase) your family. Here are some popular quotes that I will close this list with

*"Have all of your babies right away, then the diapering and formula stage is over with sooner."
*"Ugh, you want another baby ALREADY? Don't you think that's a little soon* (No I don't, thank you. I know it will have its challenges but it will have its joys as well- good day)
*"One kid is just sooo easy" or "I wish I had more than one"
*"2 kids is horrendous" "(insert any number) is wonderful/horrendous/etc."
--You get the picture :)

Well gang, I hope you've enjoyed this installment; it's certainly helped me reflect on the joys of mommyhood. Yes, Scott and I plan to start trying for another baby next year sometime. Due to my job it would be irresponsible of me to have a baby between April and July (maybe August) so we like to plan these things and, as we did with Quinn, just see what happens ;)
Xo
Andrea

Grace's Window, Discussion 2: "Praying the Apocalypse"

2008-10-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

“The Christian year begins in the late fall with warnings of the impending apocalypse. This chaotic upheaval reflected in its scripture readings in turn reflects the chaos of the individual soul in personal cataclysm. Just as individual prayer often begins in facing illness, death, change, tragedy, fires, and floods, the Christian year calls for conversion in the context of the end of the whole world, when the threat of apocalypse awakens the most radical call to prayer.” (p. 4)

Before the birth of Jesus Christ, the world was literally a dark and scary place. God sent Jesus that Humanity (yes, with a capital “H”) might be saved for all time. Jesus IS the light in darkness.

Let’s think about this: is it any surprise that the Christian year begins in the late fall, with all of its dark undertones, and many people in the world feel dark and down in the late fall? I think not. Seasonal Affective Disorder could more aptly be named Sensing Apocalypse Disorder. Our souls, which hold pieces from the beginning of all time, remember this dark time before Christ and they cry out for the Christmas season so that Jesus may be born again and he may walk among us. The falling leaves, bitter cold weather, and general death of nature around us are all visual signals of the world long ago, a world before Christ.

Rev. Guthrie goes on to say,
“During the rest of the time, during the other seasons, prayer does not seem so urgent. Still, I practice this prayer in Advent for that end time, that last crucial breath. I want to learn to pray so that my last moment might be prayer and not a hollow gasp. When I pray for God to rend the heavens and come down, when the skies open for the last time and the Son of man comes on clouds from the horizon, I want to look with longing, not fear, toward the horizon.” (p. 5)

While the soul may instinctively recoil in to a state of prayer, as discussed previously, we must LEARN to pray continuously. We must learn to pray for and during the best and worst of times. Learning to pray certainly does not mean learning fancy languages and postures. Learning to pray means to train your soul to give praise and thanks, and to pray effectively during times of darkness.

The world of prayer isn’t simply “…Dear God….thank you…amen” or “…Dear God…please…thank you…amen” The world of prayer is so much more than that. The world of prayer is much more beautiful, satisfying, and exciting. All of these things we will learn as we continue through “Grace’s Window.”

We must learn it because, as Rev. Guthrie states, “the threat of apocalypse awakens the most radical call to prayer.” (p.4)

Grace's Window

2008-10-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

Grace’s Window Discussion 1

"Prayer arises out of the awareness of mortality, rather than the promise of eternal life. Praying begins not so much as a response to a secret, inner spiritual call, but rather to the worldly threat of change, personal cataclysm, or impending death. The soul recoils into a state of prayer. Prayer begins not so much in piety as in panic." (p. 4)

Can I get an amen to that? Lol. How many of us start or finish each day in prayer? How many of us pray throughout the day for things good and bad? Even I, a Christian my whole life, have tended NOT to pray constantly. I wait until something bad happens; perhaps an illness, death, a struggle for a friend in finances or relationships, or a personal struggle in those areas. Praying seems to have become a last resort. "Well, nothing left to do but pray." We need to flip that on its ear. We should pray immediately when facing darkness of ANY kind. That should be our first, middle, and last line of defense.

A friend of mine had a baby in May and he was VERY sick for 3-4 months. She and I have spoken about the power of prayer in relation to her son and she agreed it saved his life. All the cards in every deck in the world were stacked against this little boy. By all medical and logical accounts, according to my friend, she would have put him to bed one specific night and he wouldn't have woken up, the doctors would have labeled it SIDS- but it wasn't. This little boy's mother, father, family and friends KNOW deep within our souls that the strong Prayer and Faith saved his life. There is simply NO medical explanation for his surviving and thriving. Period.

Now that he seems to be out of the woods one might think the prayers could end because the danger is over. However we need to continue to pray for his health and PRAISE his health.

This example is meant to show that while our souls recoil "into a state of prayer" during times of panic, we must praise and pray constantly. We must be thankful the 364 days other than Thanksgiving. Start each day saying "Thank you for this day" and end each day the same way.

Positive energy out-put reaps positive energy.

Mommy Diaries Book Club

2008-10-27T11:23:00.001-07:00

Mommy Diaries: Grace’s Window

Grace's Window is a book written by a former priest of mine, the Chaplain of the Episcopal Church at Cornell, Suzanne Guthrie. Suzanne has been the single greatest Christian influence in my life. I picked up this book when I graduated (2005) and am JUST reading it now.

The full title is "Grace's Window: Entering the Seasons of Prayer"
The back of the book says this:

"Suzanne Guthrie teaches us about the seasons of prayer by letting us enter her own. In these forty meditations from Advent through Pentecost, she weaves together her mystical wareness of the presence of God and the experiences of childhood and childbirth, ministry and housekeeping, summer firestorms and family life, suffering and dying. For Guthrie, ordinary life is a window of grace into the holy, where nothing is wasted because everything teaches us the art of prayer."

As I read I will share paragraphs and quotes (some will be religious and some will be good no matter who you are!). It's a Mommy Diaries Bookclub, if you will ;)

Mommy Diaries: Poop

2008-10-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

When, exactly, did I become nonchalant about poop on my hands?

I mean, really. Growing up I'm pretty sure that would be the nastiest thing I could have happen during the day, feces on MY HANDS!

Let's see...could it be several months ago in some sleep induced haze when I was trying to change a diaper and he twitched just right, smearing my hand in poop?Possibly.

Or, I think maybe one just gets to a point as a parent where there are worse things than poop. And throw up.

The challenge is remembering to have the hand sanitizer near by.

Mommy and the Bible

2008-10-26T12:37:00.000-07:00

Mommy Diaries: Climbing out of the valley

In order to climb out of this valley that I'm in, I will post Bible verses that have helped me in the past and I'm counting on to help me again. I'll try to do this once a week. IF you have a favorite verse you want to share, add it in the comments or email me to post it next time!

My first and most most most favorite is the first and only (to date) verse I have memorized. lol. I memorized it maybe in 8th grade?

Matthew 17:20

He replied, "Because you have so little faith [ye of little faith]. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you"

How great is that?! If we hold on to a shred of faith in the middle of darkness and call upon it- we can be pulled out. God is good!

Mommy Diaries on the road

2008-10-11T18:57:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Scott, Quinlan, and I have come to Belchertown for the weekend to visit with family and retreat to some nice Fall weather before winter sets in in Lake Placid-yick!

I was just thinking today as I was watching Quinn sleep: I wonder if any baby in the entire world has ever been loved as much as Quinn is.

Let me back up.

We spent this evening at my grandparents house, and it was my aunt's birthday yesterday so we had a nice dinner and a cake. My grandmother made a great ziti-like cassarole and we had wings from the Hangar (which is the same company as "Wings over Ithaca" for those who have had the pleasure).

Either way, we were all sitting at dinner and I took a minute to pause and realize how lucky we all at the table were to be able to eat with 4 generations. My grandparents, my aunt and uncle, my brother and cousins and, of course, my son.

All eyes were on Quinn, of course, whose laughter filled the room and I couldn't think of a better sound. That's when it struck me- love.

There have surely been many dinners and many birthday cakes over the years where the family has focused on the newest addition to the family. Certainly I remember especially when my twin cousins were born-as they were severely premature and clung to life at just over 2 pounds. I remember just ADORING them and thinking nothing in life could be so wonderful.

Enter-Quinn. Something in life can be MORE wonderful (to me).

So, I know there have been babies as loved as he is, but certainly not more ;) And, it makes me happy to know that generations from now my family, some of whom I will never meet, will sit around a meal and a birthday cake listening to the soul-filling laughter of their newest addition in awe, wondering if there's ever been a baby so loved.

Clay Aiken is Gay

2008-09-24T06:02:00.002-07:00

1. No shit.
2. Who cares?

Another Dream

2008-09-24T06:02:00.001-07:00

Another dream
So last night I had another one of those dreams. The recurring dream with a former best friend. This time it was a happy one. I was home in Belchertown and I ran in to her. At first I was hesitant and wanted to run and hide but I thought, what the hell if she hates me she hates me. She turned around with a huge smile on her face and said "HI! I'm so glad to see you!" I noticed her hair was gorgeous and she looked generally happy. This is all weird. Also, she was shorter than I. She's 4 inches taller than I am....Maybe by letting go of the negative feelings I've come out on top, appearing taller than she is?

Kind of almost 1?

2008-09-19T08:13:00.001-07:00

Kind of almost 1?

Bedtime Musings:

Right now it's 830am, but I started this blog last night after Quinn was asleep so, it's kind of a bedtime musing ;)

Well. Sitting up alone and TEETH have arrived! Quinn can sit up on his own for quite some time before succumbing to gravity, and his 2 bottom front teeth broke through the gums sometime between Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

In roughly 2 weeks he'll be 8 months old and it's just a little too close to one year old for my comfort! Last year at this time I sat and stared at the calendar, waiting for October 4th. I was waiting for October 4th because that was the date of the ultrasound where we would find out the sex-yay! My parents came up and it was their anniversary and we all found out it was indeed a Quinlan growing in there! I was kind of showing by that point, but some may have just thought I was bloated.

Now…a year later….Quinn's a full-blown food eating-teeth cutting-almost crawling-sleeping through the night-human.

Scott and I are starting to talk about baby 2. LOL. Yes, it's true. We're waiting until Quinn's first birthday to come up with a game plan, but we'd like to have another one by the time Quinn is 2. This is simply because we're not sure if we want 2 or 3 and I want to be done having kids by 30…so…2 years apart it'll be. And, I've heard if you have 2 under 2 you won't have 3 so…hahahahah

Anyway, I'll sit here and continue to ponder the last 8 months and make a plan to lose the rest of the weight I'm going to lose by Quinn's 1st birthday so that way I can gain it all again. Hahahah.

Bedtime Musings

2008-09-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

Friendship Lost
Bedtime Musings:Between working full time outside of the home AND full time inside of the home, the only way I'll get back to blogging full time is to do it after bedtime, every night. This will allow me to re-cap the day. He goes to bed between 630 and 700 but he's taking a late nap right now so here I write...

I need to discuss a semi-recurring dream I have. I had a best friend in high school. We were friends from 9th grade until..well I'm not exactly sure when it all dissolved but we no longer speak....as in the passive aggressive she won't add me as a friend on myspace or facebook kind of we no longer speak........

She appears in my dreams like once a month. Dreams are your brain processing events, thinking about events, or wishing for events. And all of those are covered here. Last night....and I sit here at 5pm and it's still vivid...We ran in to each other at the grocery store. Her friend told me that after what her uncle told her she couldn't be my friend.

I was confused. Probably because I'm not sure I've ever met an uncle and...quite frankly...I don't know what I did that was so horrible at the age of 17, 18, or 19 that at the age of 25 she can't say hi, or congratulate me on my new family, or let me congratulate her on her successes.

My parents see her parents and exchange pleasantries but that's about it....I just needed to get that off of my chest.

6 months and counting

2008-08-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Has it really been nearly 2 WHOLE MONTHS since my last post? Sheesh! I guess I better get back to it!
Work has been really busy, just the way I like it. And, Scott and I have been busy with a little boy who's eating mushy food and rolling all over the house!

Baby Update: Quinn's been eating "solids" for about 2 months. "They" say not to start solids until 6 months but "they" don't know all babies. Ha. At his 4 month check up I informed the ped (pediatrician) that he was drinking 40 ounces a day with rice cereal in the bottle. We were given the go ahead to try rice cereal by the spoon, in a thick cream consistency, to get him in the habit of not inhaling everything put in his mouth.

Then came the bananas, apples, oatmeal, mixed grain, prunes, pears, greenbeans, peas, carrots, sweet potato, yam, and just today he'll be trying yellow squash. Later this week I'll be trying him with zucchini.

I make his food and I try to buy as much organic as possible because he's such a little human! Yep, I'm a tool. I have Gerber food on hand for if I run out or for convenience of travelling, etc, but it's mostly Organic. Yes, I meant that capital "O." I figure he has plenty of time to put whatever he wants in to his own body so I'll give him the best I can. Even buying organic fruits and veggies to make food is still cheaper than buying the jarred or containered baby food. Yes, container just became an adjective...or is it an adverb?????

Anyway, Quinn's also close to crawling. Close as in he rolls around, lifts himself up on his forearms, and can get on his knees. Then he does this inchworm move that turns in to Downward-Facing Dog. Maybe he's a yoga prodigy...whatevs.

This weekend, Sunday in fact, my little bro graduates from college. What the hell! I literally remember playing with him when he was in his crib...Jesus. Shoutout to Brian, Big B, Bigs, BigsB, Fey, Holmes, Holmesy, Holy, Brianna on a job well done!

My little bro is an adult and my son is 6 months old- what's happening?!?!

25 years ago today...

2008-05-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

Quarter Century
Yep. Today is my (self promotion ahead) birthday. Happy birthday to me! I am 25…Yep…a quarter century. Or, an eighth of 2 centuries if you’re feeling ambitious.

Interesting things that happened in 1983 (pay attention to all of the nuclear testing going on) include (courtesy of www.brainyhistory.com) :

January 4 U.S. Football League holds its 1st player draft
January 15 Thom Syles keeps a life saver intact in his mouth for over 7 hours
January 18 IOC restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals 70 years after they were taken from him for being paid $25 in semipro baseball
January 23 "A-Team" with Mr. T premieres on NBC
January 24 Hulk Hogan pins Iron Sheik for World Wrestling Federation title
January 29 40th Golden Globes: Gandhi, ET and Tootsie win
February 1 U.S.S.R. performs underground nuclear test (and on 2/24, 3/2, 3/30, 4/12, 9/24)
February 7 1st female secretary of transportation, Elizabeth Dole, sworn-in
February 17 Netherlands adopts constitution
February 21 Donald Davis runs 1 mile backwards in 6 minutes 7.1 seconds
February 26 Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album goes to #1 and stays #1 for 37 weeks
March 1 Tornado tears through LA, injuring 33 people
March 21 Only known typo on Time Magazine cover (control=contol), all recalled
March 23 U.S. president Ronald Reagan introduces "Star Wars" missile defense plan (SDI)
March 26 U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site (and on 4/13, 5/5, 5/26, 8/3, 8/27, 9/21, 12/9
April 1 Anti-nuke demonstrators link arms in 14-mile human chain in England
April 5 France throws out 47 Soviet diplomats
April 5 New York Met Tom Seaver's sets record 14th NL Opening Day assignment
April 7 Oldest human skeleton, aged 80,000 years, discovered in Egypt
April 14 President Reagan signs $165 billion Social Security rescue
April 17 India entered space age launching SLV-3 rocket
April 17 Nolan Ryan strikes out his 3,500th batter
April 18 12th Boston Women's Marathon won by Joan Benoit Samuelson in 2:22:43
April 18 87th Boston Marathon won by Greg Meyer of Mass in 2:09:00
April 19 France performs nuclear test (and 5/25, 8/4
April 22 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
April 25 France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island (and on 7/20, 12/7
April 26 Dow Jones Industrial Avg breaks 1,200 for 1st time
May 3 Soviet leader Andropov decreases nuclear weapons in Europe
May 3 U.S. bishops condemn nuclear weapons
May 4 China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC (and on 10/6
May 11 Comet C/1983 H1 (IRAS-Araki-Alcock) approaches 0.0312 AUs of Earth
May 13 Reggie Jackson is 1st major leaguer to strike out 2,000 times
May 17 Israel and Lebanon sign a peace treaty
May 18 Senate revises immigration laws, gives millions of illegal aliens legal status under an amnesty program
May 30 AL President Lee MacPhail suspends Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for one week, for his public criticism of umpires
June 8 "Trading Places," "Ghostbusters," and "Gremlins," premieres
June 11 Don Genalo needs just 3 of 5 pins to win Southern California Open bowling tournament, miscalculates his score and intentionally gutters his ball
June 11 "Faithfully" by Journey peaks at #12
June 15 Supreme Court struck down state and local restrictions on abortion
June 18 7th Shuttle Mission-Challenger 2 launched-Sally Ride 1st U.S. woman
June 22 1st time a satellite is retrieved from orbit, by Space Shuttle
June 22 "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life," released in France
June 22 NHL institutes a 5 minute sudden death overtime period
July 5 Woman gives birth to baby 84 days after brain death in Roanoke, Virginia
July 21 Polish government ends 19 months of martial law
July 25 1st non-human primate, baboon, conceived in a lab dish, San Antonio
July 26 Light flashes seen on Jupiter moon Io
July 28 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear Test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk U.S.S.R.
(and on 9/11, 10/26, 11/29, 12/26
August 4 While warming up before 5th inning Yankee Dave Winfield accidentally kills a seagull
August 18 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya U.S.S.R. (9/25,
August 21 110 degrees F (43 degrees C) at Fayetteville, North Carolina (state record)
September 1 Korean Boeing 747 strays into Siberia and is shot down by a Soviet jet
September 6 U.S.S.R. admits to shooting down KAL 007 on 9/2
September 9 Radio Shack announces their color computer 2 (Coco2)
September 12 U.S.S.R. vetoes United Nations resolution deploring its shooting down of Korean plane
September 14 U.S. House of Representatives votes, 416 to 0, in favor of a resolution condemning Russia for shooting down a Korean jetliner September 15 Cops beat to death Michael Stewart for graffiting New York City subway
September 16 Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes a U.S. citizen
October 2 Carl Yastrezemski's last at bat
October 25 U.S. invades Grenada, a country 1/2,000 its population (U.S. Wins!)
October 31 Ron Grant completes a 217 day, 8,316 mile run around Australia
November 2 President Reagan signs a bill establishing Martin L. King day November 3 Jesse Jackson launches his 1st campaign for presidency
November 9 Amsterdam brewer Freddie Heineken kidnapped
November 10 Federal government shut down
November 11 1st U.S. cruise missiles arrive in Great Britain
November 11 President Reagan became 1st U.S. President to address Japan's legislature
November 20 100 million watch ABC-TV movie "Day After," about nuclear war
November 23 U.S.S.R. leave weapon disarmament talks
November 24 PLO exchanges 6 Israeli prisoners for 4,500 Palestinians and Lebanese
November 30 Police free kidnapped beer magnate Alfred Heineken in Amsterdam
November 30 Radio Shack announces Tandy Model 2000 computer (80186 chip)
December 13 9,655 see highest-scoring NBA game: Detroit 186, Denver 184 (3 OT)
December 15 3 Kansas City Royals suspended due to cocaine usage
December 16 Yogi Berra named Yankee manager for 2nd time
December 23 Journal Science publishes 1st report on nuclear winter December 25 1st live telecast of Christmas Parade

Mommy Diaries Part VII: Bullying

2008-04-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

High School Reunion
The 80’s song “Only the Lonely” by The Motels is playing in my office which reminded me I wanted to blog about this. The group performed this song at “the prom” on TV Land’s “High School Reunion.” (HSR)
During the second half of my maternity leave I became addicted to TV Land’s “High School Reunion.” It’s a reality show filmed over 2 weeks I believe. They pick a high school from somewhere in the country and a class that graduated 20 years ago. They bring on some “typical” superlative holders and throw them in a house in Hawaii for 2 weeks.

The one I watched aired beginning March 5th and featured the 1987 graduating class of J.J. Pearce High School in Dallas Texas. The “cast” is as follows

DeAnna- The Popular Girl
Steve- The Backstabber (slept with his best friend Mike’s wife, Lana)
Cheryl- The Outsider
Yvette- The Girl Next Door
Glenn- The Geek (bullied by Jason)
Heather- The Heartbreaker
Jason- The Bully (to Glenn)
Justin- The Pipsqueak (and super hot today I might add)
Kat- The Lesbian
Kristin- The Spoiled Girl (formerly engaged to and currently reunited with Sean)
Lana- The Drama Queen (yes, the cheater with Steve)
Rob- The Stud (though “Robbie Sparks” seems to come out easier-his full name)
Sean- The Millionaire
Matt- The Jock
Mike- The Rebel (formerly married to Lana and former best friends with Steve)

ON the outset I’d like to refer you to my “Friends” list on MySpace. Many of the cast of HSR have pages and they’re on my friends list. I’d like you to read Glenn’s Blog. He wrote a blog during the show that was on the TV land website. However, he continues his blog on his MySpace page and has an EXCELLENT blog about being bullied by Jason in high school. This HSR blog will just discuss Glenn, Jason, and bullying. I’ll blog about the rest of the show later.

When Glenn showed up to the reunion he confronted Jason. He told Jason what he did, how Jason hurt him, and demanded that Jason admit his wrongdoings and apologize in front of the rest of the gang. Jason did. He was ashamed and he and Glenn became friends outside the show once they realized how much they had in common. Glenn blogged a shocker. He said that at the end of the show (it wasn’t shown on TV) Jason had the show fly his family to Hawaii to meet Glenn. Jason explained to his boys what he did to Glenn in high school and why it was wrong. Wow…talk about a turnaround.

I was never bullied or picked on in school. If I was teased it was for always raising my hand in class. I guess my “superlative” if I were on High School Reunion would be “The Teacher’s Pet.”

While I was never picked on, my brother was. He was 3 years younger than me and, until high school, was picked on/bullied because of his weight. He would cry at night in his bedroom because he was called fat or (insert any variation here) during the school day. Just talking about it writing about it makes my blood boil. There were times where I confronted the sh*tforbrains about their actions and they nearly peed themselves. Through all of it, as far as I know, my brother never shouted a mean word back. He took it all in because he knew “two wrongs don’t make a right.” And, quite frankly, he could have caused physical damage if he wanted to.

As middle school turned in to high school, my brother reconciled formally or informally with these asses, became a class officer, and became rather popular. Fast forward- he’s about to graduate college, has had a wicked successful college career and, on yea, he’s lost like 80 pounds and is a runner.

While he appears to have let it go, there are still kids that tick me off when I see them. We are all well in to our twenties at this point and I still want to punch them in the head….I suppose I should get over it but LORD.

As a mother I realize that, in fact, the bullying at such a young age had roots with their parents. Kids at the age of 7,8,9 have no other basis for how to treat people than what they see around them in their family. Somewhere along the way they learned that it was OK to talk to and treat people that way. They didn’t make it up. My parents always taught us to treat people with respect in both actions and with our words.

Quinn will be taught the dying art of RESPECT. Respect yourself. Respect your family. Respect others.

In the face of adversity, do not cast the second stone.

Xo

Andrea

Thoughts on Divorce

2008-04-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

Divorce.

All at once a four letter word and as trendy as an iPod, it seems.

I have two friends that got married in May of last year who are getting a divorce. Well, let’s be honest, she is one of my best friends and he’s more of “someone I know.” My husband is closer friends with him than he is with her. Thus, we discuss their divorce very little. Anyway. They’re 26. I’ll give you all a minute to collect yourselves, judge, and whatever before I discuss my thoughts on divorce today, especially in our “young” population.

They way I see it, a divorce is only as tragic as the expectations the marriage failed to meet.

When I first met this couple they, well, weren’t. They had just gone through an icky breakup in the summer of 2004. I didn’t pay too much attention to the details of the breakup as I was just meeting everyone, but I know there were outside parties involved, yadda yadda so the story goes.

My friend then went on to start dating a guy she later became engaged to, but in the winter of 2006 they broke off their engagement and she started dating her ex.

I know what many of you are thinking. “I bet she was with her ex all along, or at least near the end.” You know what? Maybe. Maybe not. She’s my friend and I’ve never compromised her integrity by directly asking her about any potential infidelity. If she were to ever offer the information, I’d take it. However, she hasn’t so I am to side with my friend and assume that these were two separate relationships, regardless of what I think I might have done in the situation. And, frankly if she told me she was with him while she was engaged, so what. It’s her life. We shouldn’t try to run the lives of others while we, as Americans, clearly have enough trouble running our own.

Moving on. She and her ex got back together, moved to his hometown, bought a home, got new jobs, got engaged, and got married in less than a year. To me, that is a LOT of change that would signal disaster for any personal relationships in which I may be involved. Any one of the life events they went through can cause stress alone, but together, for my friend, they formed a perfect storm.

The transition was certainly difficult, as it is with any couple moving in together for the first time AND planning a wedding. And, of course, there were doubts (cold feet) along the way as there is with most engaged couples.

However, on the day of the wedding (love you girl) I knew something was wrong. I could tell by the look on her face (complete terror/nausea) that she had more than excited butterflies, jitters. On May 19th 2007 I knew that she deep deep down knew she was making a mistake. But, I also know that EVEN DEEPER down she thought it would all be ok. Thus, I said nothing. I was a bridesmaid. My job was to support her whether SHE DECIDED to walk down the isle or run in to the road. No matter what you may see on TV shows, it’s never OK to tell your friends they’re making a mistake unless there’s abuse or some other extenuating circumstances involved. To do otherwise is to tell your friend that they have no brain with which to judge and run their own lives.

You, as a friend, only see a certain percentage of the relationship. Just because a couple might bicker a lot in front of you, they may spend the other 80% (give or take) of their time in complete bliss…You NEVER have the whole picture. I don’t think anyone ever really has the whole picture, even if they’re in it. Maybe you see even less when you’re in it…Hmm....earmark that for another day.

The wedding was beautiful and I was hammered during the reception. The following months were filled with difficulty, questions of annulment, and counseling for my two friends. She left a couple of times for long weekends to clear her head. He played the “peeing game” by flirting with girls whether she was there or not. Just a few weeks ago, he left. Left left. Took his clothes, took his money, and left to his parents’ house. Yea…don’t get me started on that part…So, my friend was left realizing this was over. Could she backpedal and not threaten to leave if that was what, in fact, drove him to actually leave? Nope. And, quite frankly, if she could it wouldn’t matter. Why wouldn’t it matter? Their expectations.

I was left wondering, what were their individual expectations upon entering the marriage? She told me she wanted a marriage with children, etc. I never asked him-that’s something you don’t ask guys who aren’t your close friend I guess.

Expectations. I had a friend a long time ago say, “Women enter a relationship expecting to change their partner and men enter a relationship hoping their partner will never change.” I have since lost touch with that friend but I think about that statement CONSTANTLY. It’s so true. Women are, by nature, naggers (or nurturers, however you want to say it). If there are little things that “bother” us we figure we can just change them. My husband will verify this. He says I have a laundry list of things to change about him but he hopes I never change. All except the bitchy part I suppose ;)

So, in the end, my friends’ divorce will only be as tragic as the expectations their marriage failed to meet. Maybe neither one of them will ever fully admit/understand the expectations they had or the other person had. Maybe they can’t be that honest with themselves or each other.

I personally feel they are both better off. They are the same people they were when they broke up in 2004. Expectations of change brought them back together in 2006 and tore them apart, again, in 2008.

Young folks of today please listen. Marriage and divorce aren’t accessories added to our overindulgent 21st century lifestyle. Marriage is an ancient right of passage that has been sacred for all centuries of human culture. Marriage isn’t about the wedding. A wedding is one day, and not a full day at that (and rarely a sober day). Marriage is a lifestyle. Marriage is not a dress, tux, reception, guest list, caterer, open bar (well…), gifts, thank you cards, and invitations. A marriage is love, work, sacrifice, growth, support, partnership, family and eternal.

Love each other, love yourselves, and love your friends.

Love your friends well enough to know their expectations, support their decisions, and catch them when they fall. A true friend spends more time with their ears open and their mouth shut. A truer friend spends more time with their arms open than with their ears and mouth combined.

xo

andrea

Mommy Diaries: Part VI

2008-04-14T08:53:00.001-07:00

Mommy Diaries: Part VI

"Feeding your baby. Bottle? Breast? Both? Neither?!"

This very well could have been part II but I'm glad I waited to post about this because my thoughts and feelings have changed a MILLION times.

I will warn members of my family (little bro) that I will discuss breastfeeding a bit here so, skim at your own risk ;)

There I sat, online at work (as usual...which may get me fired someday, lol), pregnant, and pondering the question that hits pregnant woman at some point during the second tri-mester: "How will I feed my baby?"

Now, this may seem like a simple enough question until you realize that we, especially in the U.S. have a choice. Make that many choices. Breastfeeding was the norm for decades, then it took a backseat in the 70's and 80's only to return again in full force as "THE CHOICE" for infant feeding in the late 20th and early 21st century.

You've certainly seen infant formula commercials where they say "Breast is best" or "breasmilk is best" or some variation on that theme. The idea is that breastmilk IS the best option for your baby as it is literally THEIR food. The mom's body produces this food for the baby filled with antibodies, nutrients, fat, sugar, water, etc.

Here are some pros for breastfeeding:
1. It's free
2. It's convenient (I'll talk more about "convenience" in a minute)
3. It's the perfect food
4. The body does this cool thing. If your baby is coming down with something, when he/she latches on to the boob, the baby's saliva sends a signal via boob and the body will pull the related antibodies and put them in to the milk- no lie!
5. It helps the uterus contract back in to it's pre-pregnancy size
6. It can help the mother lose weight faster due to the calories burned from producing milk.
yadda yadda

For me I never wanted to on-the-breast breast feed. For me, it didn't seem convenient. How is it convenient when only one person on the whole planet can feed the baby? How would it be convenient for me to be the only one to wake up for nighttime feedings, to have to schedule my every out-of-the-house move around when the next feeding might be? NO THANKS!

But, recognizing the benefits of breastmilk I wanted to exclusively pump (EP). I wanted to get a double electric breast pump and give my baby breast milk through a bottle so everyone could feed him.

After my c-section the lactation consultant came in and asked if I wanted to try to latch........Of course!..Wait, I thought I wanted to be an EPer?.....In my defense, on morphine you could have gotten me to attempt to latch with a snapping turtle.

2 days later at the hospital, latching was still a nightmare. Even though my water broke I never really went in to labor (hence the c-section). My body hadn't produced enough of the right hormones to go in to labor. These are the same hormones that facilitate milk production. There I was on day 3 of my son's life being told my milk might NEVER come in...NEVER?! what?! Does that happen?

It finally came in the day we got home from the hospital. Luckily babies don't need much food in the first few days because of what they stored up in the womb, but Quinn had had a few feedings of formula. I never even tried latching at home. I didn't need the stress and the expectations placed on me by the hospital or society regarding "Breast is best." That would have been a sure recipe for Post Partum Depression. I was going to pump and bottle feed, and that was that.

It's worked out nicely. 2 and a half months in I'm still producing milk. Quinn got nothing but breastmilk for nearly 3 weeks. Then, as his appetite increased we mixed bottles 1/2 breast milk and 1/2 formula. Formula allows them to go longer between feedings, too. Because breast milk is so easily digested, it passes through faster, requiring more feedings.

Today, my son is approaching 14 pounds, he's nearly 25 inches long and has lovely fat rolls on his body. He now eats 6-7 ounces every 3.5-5 hours. He gets 2 full breast milk bottles a day, followed by formula.

Honestly, I probably could have continued giving him breast milk exclusively, maybe even to this day, but I had to be realistic. I wanted to help him sleep longer through the night to get us all on schedule when I went back to work and I didn't want to be at the pump my whole life. I pump a few times a day and I have about 80 ounces of breast milk in the freezer. I'll add to that periodically to help us transition when I dry up or decide to stop pumping completely. For now, I"m happy knowing he's still getting 30% of his feedings from breast milk.

So, for all of you moms in the future or mothers-to-be. Be realistic. Do your research. Decide what is right for YOU, your baby and your family. I know tons of people that formula feed right from the beginning and I know as many more that breastfeed forEVER. Know that pumping is an option right along with breast and formula. Email me with any questions :)

xo

Andrea

Mommy Diaries: Part V

2008-04-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

Mommy Diaries Part V- A BREAK!

As my husbands birthday on April 4th approached, he "asked" me if I minded that he go to "camp" that weekend with his buddies. I said I didn't mind because my mom was still going to be here so she and I could handle the baby. I really wouldn't have minded if I would have been alone for the weekend with Quinn, but having my mom on hand made "saying yes" a LOT easier!

To my surprise, my mom asked Scott and I if, on that April 4th weekend, she could take Quinlan to Massachusetts to stay at my grandparents house where he would get all kinds of love. This is my Grandma and Grandpa Quinlan, after which our son is named. Scott and I didn't have to think too hard before we said "GO AHEAD!"

Adding some icing on this cake, Scott told me he would be taking the dog with him. This meant one thing.

48 hours ALONE!!!! Me and the cat, to be exact. I haven't had more than an hour or two of ALONE time since like half an hour before my water broke- seriously.

After Friday morning mayhem on the 4th of packing up a baby for a weekend away (yes, they require a weeks worth of goods), saying goodbye to my baby, husband, mother, and dog, that was it- I was alone.

After work I headed to the bookstore and bought "The Letters of John and Abigail Adams." I am obsessed with the "John Adams" miniseries on HBO (that reminds me I must "on demand" this past Sunday's installment) and I headed to Mr. Mike's for a lovely dinner, alone.

For those of you out of the loop, Mr. Mike's is a pizza and Italian restaurant I've worked at on weekends off and on since 2005.

For those of you further out of the loop, it's absolutely OK to eat alone. In fact, I encourage it. I slowly and purposely drank my glass of La Playa Merlot (I don't usually like merlot, but that kind is good), ate my eggplant parmesan (the first time I've had it at Mr. Mike's in the 3 years I've worked there) and read my book.

Then, it hit me- What the HELL did I do with all of my time before?! How, in 24 hours time, could I have squeezed in raising a human being?! I let that thought race through my head for a few more seconds before taking another long, slow, warm sip of my merlot.

I said goodbye to my friends at the restaurant and headed home to do some laundry. No lie. Our new washer and dryer came after the old unit broke and it made me feel accomplished to get a few loads done before heading to watch a movie with our friends Tracy and Meghan. I'll blog about the angelic nature of my absolute savior Meghan later.

What did I do as we were settling in to watch the movie at their house? PASS OUT. I mean down for the count, I woke up when the movie was over. Oh well, after 9 weeks of intermittent sleep, what did anyone expect?

I went home around midnight and slept until 11:30 Saturday morning. Well, I woke up around 8:30 to pump but that's a story for another day. Don't let me forget to blog about "Baby feeding: breast, bottle, both, neither?"

Anyway. Saturday was filled with coffee, 50 degree sunny weather in this frozen tundra, a run, and, thanks to my savior Meghan, a free massage. A whole hour of pure indulgence, followed by dinner of a buffalo chicken wrap and a cosmopolitan...mmmmmmmm cosmopolitans with raspberry vodka should be the national drink or something.

Sunday afternoon was approaching and the orange rind on my carriage was starting to show.

While I thoroughly enjoyed my 48 or so hours as a bachelorette, I desperately missed my husband, my son, and obviously my mother :) Sure, it was nice to sleep when and how long I wanted to. It was nice to come and go as I pleased, just picking up the keys and walking out the door. It was nice to spend as long as I wanted without worrying about feeding times, changing times, nap times, or when Scott was coming or going from work. While all that was nice- it was much nicer knowing I am someones wife and mother. All the free time and extra sleep in the world doesn't compare to the smiling face of my son being carried through the door or the warm embrace of my loving (albeit smelly after camp for the weekend) husband.

Yes. I love my life. Both of them :) And, I hope I don't go too long before I get to hang out with bachelorette Andrea again- she's a wacko.

xo

andrea

Mommy Diaries Part IV

2008-04-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

Mommy Diaries: Part IV

Thoughts on post-baby body image (body what?), doing the deed, and gassy, floppy babies.

I’m dumbfounded that more than entire month has past since my last post! I kept saying "today I’ll post, today I’ll post." Honestly, it’s probably best that I didn’t then because what you would have read would have been way more incoherent than what you’re about to read.

After a couple of weeks of going to the gym rather regularly I decided to take a minute in front of the mirror before getting in the shower one day. After blankly staring in the mirror for a good minute (a minute is painfully long when standing naked anywhere, let alone in front of a mirror post-baby) I wanted to scream, "Are you KIDDING ME?!?!"

For those of you who know me well, you know I’ve never been skinny, and I’ve only been fat once (which most people from high school missed since it was during my sophomore year of college and I lost it before my junior year thank god). While I’ve never been skinny, I’ve always had a rockin’ stomach. That was my thing. I had booty and thighs but I had a tiny waist and a flat stomach.

Well- pregnancy ruined the ONE thing about my body that I carried proudly. THE ONE THING. Granted- I did not come home from the hospital looking pregnant as I feared via seeing many women suffer that fate, but I was less than excited to see that my stomach now looked as though I had a red roadmap of the United States tattooed all over it.
I’m speaking of Stretchmarks (yes, they earn a capital "s") for those of you assholes who don’t have them.

Now, some of them are very shallow and very small and may actually go away. But, alas, the others will simply fade and become a shiny, sad, medal of honor of some sort. So, the long and the short of it is I’ve joined weight watchers online to assist in reclaiming what was once mine.

Aside from having my stomach, muscles, and uterus cut open to airlift a baby, my new body image and sleep deprivation combined to make a perfect storm- NO LIBIDO!
When my husband first suggested sex I had the luxury of saying "the doctor says not for 6 weeks, my body just went through a trauma." When the 6 weeks were up I had the confidence to look at him, smile and say, "yea..right" When he asked "why?" I simply stared at him as though he just gave birth himself and said "How the HELL could you WANT TO??!?!"

Twice. That is the number of times since February 2nd, 2008 that we’ve "done it." And, really, the first time didn’t count because I held my breath the whole time in prayer that nothing would hurt, smoosh, tear, etc. Men boggle my mind.

At my 8-week check up the midwife said, "What would you like to do for birth control at this point?" I looked her right in the eye and stated, "Absinence."

No lie.

Well, our little man is now 2 months old as of yesterday. He’s really crossing the threshold and is almost a full blown human! He is eating (drinking) more, sleeping for 4, sometimes 5 hours a time at night, and is...here it comes...SMILING AND GIGGLING!

Some Baby Einstein toy, a smiling sun that plays music and flashes colors, is his official best friend. He stares at it for 30-40 minutes sometimes (which is nearly an eternity when you’re 8 weeks old or a mom cooking dinner quite frankly) and he laughs, makes noises at it, and gives the biggest toothless smile you’ve ever seen.

I never thought, in all my life, that I would fall in love with a person wearing a toothless smile.

This is a big change from roughly 3 weeks ago when Quinn went through 3 days of screaming his head off. Yep 3 days. Maybe it was 4 and I blacked out during one. My mom was here, thank God, because one of those nights he cried for 4 hours. Straight. Screaming. He wasn’t sick, was clean, changed, dry, fed, and not hurt.

After the 3rd (or 4th) day of frantic observation it dawned on me as he was trying to eat. Dear God, my 6 week old has outgrown the newborn nipple on the bottles!

He was trying to eat faster (because he was eating more at this point) and the newborn nipples are designed to be slow-flow for newbies and he had just had it! HE was screaming because he couldn’t get the food out fast enough, then he’d give up and fall asleep after 45 minutes of trying to eat, and then would scream because he was hungry but wouldn’t eat because it was too much effort!

How the hell was I supposed to know before the 11th hour that a nipple designed for a 3 month old was desired by my son 1/2 that age?

Men. They all want bigger nipples than offered.

xo

andrea

Mommy Diaries Part III

2008-04-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

Oh what a month it's been!

Quinlan turns 1 month old on March second and I am amazed at how many changes he has undergone in that time. I'm further amazed at the changes in my relationship with my husband and the formation of our FAMILY.

The first week home was strange because I was still recovering from the c-section. However, I did as much as I could during the day as my body pieced itself back together. I'll tell you what, I'm fully ready to recover from a tummy-tuck if I would ever decide to get one because recovery is very similar! ouch!

The first week home was full of sleep deprivation, but it wasn't horrible. My husband and I got in one good bitch fest at each other a day and then we got over it. It's amazing how little sleep one can function on, haha. Quinlan's been sleeping roughly 3 hours at a time at night now. It was less when he was on breast milk alone, but I now mix his bottles with 1/2 breast milk and 1/2 formula so it sticks around in his system longer

The first week...well the first 2 weeks, felt like one long day. Thank GOD my mom was here. The first 2 weeks was full of getting excited over poopy diapers, laughing at my husband as he got peed on during nearly EVERY diaper change, and napping when we could.

For all of you contemplating conception and parenthood, I HIGHLY suggest you seek out a very dedicated family member to stay with you, or at least come over during the day, every day, for the first week-at LEAST the first week. My mom made food and did laundry....it was absolute heaven!!! She stayed until Feb. 19th when we all headed to Massachusetts to introduce Quinn to my family.Cars are lovely. Quinn slept nearly the whole 4 hour ride to Massachusetts.

My grandparents absolutely loved him and it was nice to get out of this icebox excuse for a place to live for a while, lol.

After we returned this past Sunday, it was like our real family life began. It was just me, my husband, and our son...Our family. My husband, bless his soul, has off from work until March 10th and I am off until April 1st. This week M-Th dear Scott let me sleep in and I felt like a bum- AND I LOVED IT! He had the coffee made and the baby fed and down for a nap by the time I got up for the day- SHOUT OUT TO SCOTT!

The nights are getting better. Scott and I alternate getting up for middle-of-the-night feedings. We just nudge each other and say "your turn." Quinlan is in a bassinette in our bedroom right now and that makes things so so much easier! I imagine once he starts sleeping a little longer at night we'll move him in to the crib but I'm happy not wandring through the house at night to get to him.

Among the magical things this week are: 1. Quinn focuses more on objects and faces 2. I am back to going to the gym at LEAST 3x a week (although I can't go full-out until I get clearance at my appt. on 3-24, grr) 3. Scott discovered that Quinn loves to be swung. Since his swing is best for when he can hold his head up, Scott discovered strapping him in to the car seat and swinging him until he falls asleep. He is currently asleep in the carseat in our bedroom now, going on hour 2! 4. I am drinking a Guinness a day to keep my milk supply up- it's true!! look it up!

I promise the next installment will be filled with slightly more sarcasm as I discuss my first real look at my body upon going back to the gym, sexual advances from you know who, gassy babies, and "when are you going to DO something?"

xo
andrea

Mommy Diaries Part II

2008-04-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

I realized today I must condense these two parts-the hospital stay and our first week home-because my mind is slipping on the details, lol.

The mprphine drip and percocets caused hazy hospital memories and adjusting to home life caused the last 10 days at home to feel like one!

Part II
After being greeted by my family and my son after the c-section, I was officially a mother and my husband and I had a "real" family. I was given a shot of Dilottid (sp?) which is a synthetic morphine and I was in total lala land.I maintained conversation, and was quite chatty with a dry mouth hahaha.

After some meeting and greeting and ooing and ahhing, everyone left. My mother stayed with me so my husband could go home, get a good night sleep, and gather some things I had left at home that I would need for my now longer than planned hospital stay due to the unexpected c-section.

With vaginal deliveries you're in the hospital for 2 nights, and with c-sections you're in there for roughly 4 nights, or until you poop. Yep. That's right. As though I hadn't thrown all my modesty out of the window after 16 hours of labor, prepping via a catheter and shaving for the c-section and attempting to breastfeed in front of my friends (they and I did not care), I was told I couldn't eat solid foods, let alone go home, until they were sure my intestines were "up and running" again after the spinal. yay. I couldn't imagine standing up, let alone standing up to sit down again and do...that...AAANNNYWAY.

The nurses rock. They keep the baby in the nursery so you can get sleep after your long ordeal. They brought Quinlan in when he needed to feed (which isn't that often as fresh newborns are more interested in sleeping and they have food stores to go on for a day or two). So I got some LOOOVELY morphine-induced sleep the first night.

The next morning I asked to NOT have the morphine anymore because I hate feeling so loopey. They laughed at me and told me I'd be moved to Percocet today. Yay- aNOTHER new drug I had yet to try.

Breastfeeding was a giant pain and Quinn never really latched properly, unless with extended help from the lactation consultant. He was 2 weeks early and my milk hadn't yet come in, a bad combo.

My mind was made up- I'd be a pumper. It is really important to me that Quinlan gets breastmilk as long as possible for a variety of reasons that I'll share in a later blog regarding my Exclusive Pumping. If he isn't going to take it from me, I have NO problems pumping and giving it to him in a bottle. Plus-there are wicked benefits to mom with the whole milk-production thing.Brief aside- formula stays in the digestive system longer, meaning newborns on formula USUALLY go 3-4 hours between feedings. Breast milk-eating babies need to eat every 1.5-2.5 hours as newborns. Luckily if Quinn wants to eat every 1.5 hours he does that during the day...He's gone as long as 3 hours at night. yay! Another aside- breast milk babies poop with every feeding because of how easily digested the milk is...yay. lol.

So after a few days, successful intestine start-up, good pediatrician checks, a circumcision, a glass of wine with our "special meal", they said "Tomorrow you guys can go home."Umm......you mean we can't stay HERE forever?!?!

Stay tuned for a more informative Part III as I discuss getting home with our new bundle of joy.

They told us we couldn't stay in the hospital forever.

Mommy Diaries Part I

2008-04-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Mommy Diaries: Part I
As many of you know by now, I've had our baby! I'll give quick stats before I dive in to the long birth story. Well, it was long in time, won't take too long to write!Quinlan Kenneth RandallSaturday, February 2nd, 20085:26pm (keep the day and time in mind as you read on)7 pounds 13 ounces21 inches long*absolutely perfect*

My last blog had me convinced I was leaking amniotic fluid, which was evident by the ultrasound I had that day. I had one non stress test on Wednesday, and planned my next one for Saturday morning.

After posting on Wednesday I felt crappy all week, which was unlike the rest of my pregnancy. I was sure my mind was playing tricks on me, although my mother was convinced I "would have that baby by Saturday night."

Friday was a particularly crappy day at work because people were particularly annoying. I finished up everything and just couldn't wait to get home. Scott was working late so I knew I had the house to myself alllllll night-yay! I got home to a very clean house because Scott cleaned in the morning because we were going to have a Superbowl Party at our place on Sunday. I made dinner, did the rest of our laundry, and watched a few episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 on soapnet. Quite the perfect night for a fully pregnant person.I dozed off to sleep around 10pm.

Scott came home around midnight and was in the living room watching TV. I got up to go to the bathroom and headed out to see him. As I stepped out of the bedroom I felt it...a small gush..At first I thought, "dear GOD have I lost control of EVERY PART of my body?!" I went back to the bathroom to try to empty my apparently still full bladder. As I stood up, a bigger gush....HOLY JESUS MY WATER ACTUALLY BROKE!I ran in to the living room with my pants in hand and said "Honey, we gotta go!" It took him a few good minutes of staring at me and my pants before he got up and slowly walked toward me. My heart was racing-this was real.

Let me inform you that Friday was the worst weather day in weeks in Lake Placid and we joked that we couldn't go in to labor that day...ooooh how the gods work...

The drive to Saranac Lake was completely silent, completely icy, and completely wet.

We checked in to the hospital at 12:30am on Friday night/Saturday morning and I got all hooked up to the monitors. I was having infrequent, irrelevant contractions at that point so the nurse suggested I get some sleep. I was 2cm dilated and sleeping away.9:00am rolls around-still 2cm. They started me on Pitocin to get my contractions a rolling and they gave me a bag of antibiotic since my water had broken so long ago. The pitocin got the contractions stronger and closer together...for a short while. Then my uterus decided to take a break. Marcy, our nurse, even said, "do you HAVE a uterus?" LOL.

My contractions went from regular to nearly non existent and back and forth again. 5 hours later I was 3cm...not the kind of progress you like when you're supposed to dilate 1cm an hour...An hour later-3cm...The doctor said "I'll give you one more hour and then if you're insistent on staying at 3 we'll have to talk about something else." lol.

One hour later.....3cm..This brings us to 4:00pm on Saturday...Nearly 16 hours after my water broke. It was time for a c-section. By then I was so ready to see our baby I didn't care if he was squeezed out or airlifted out.Mr. Anesthesiologist came in and rocked my world. It wall happened so fast. My mom opted to come in to the O.R. with me because my dear husband would have been useless and passed out on the floor.

I get in to the OR, they stick a needle in my spine and away we went. Keep in mind, I have NEVER had any kind of surgery before so feeling my feet go numb up to my chest nearly sent me in to a panic attack. But I gathered myself only because I didn't want them to put me under-that would've been awful. My mom came in and in less than 5 minutes my baby boy came screaming in to the world.

He was born at 5:26pm, 4 minutes shy of 17 hours after being admitted to the hospital. My mom held my hand and talked me through the rest of the surgery. She has had 2 c-sections and watched the whole thing. She told me what they were doing, where they were stitching, etc.

The first time I heard Quinlan scream I lost it. My abdomen was still open and I lay there crying, completely unaware that people were still digging around inside my body. I got to see him for a few minutes, then the wheeled him out to dad while they put me back together. It was my doctors birthday as well!

My hour in the recovery room was dandy. They had me on dilottid (sp?) which is a synthetic morphine. For someone that doesn't even use cough drops, I was in my glory.

I was wheeled in to my room, greeted by my husband, mom, brother, and 2 close friends who were with us allll day. Last but certainly most, I was greeted by my little boy.

Welcome

2008-04-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my "Mommy Diaries."

I am a 24 (soon to be 25) year old married (to 26 year old Scott) mother of one two-month old bundle of joy named Quinlan. His name is my mother's maiden name.

We live in Lake Placid, NY, otherwise known as the place too cold for hell to freeze over. Yes, it's the Lake Placid that hosted two winter olympics, including the "Miracle on Ice." Yes, it's the Lake Placid that hosts hockey tournaments nearly year-round to "hockey families" from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and (worst of all) New Jersey.Those are blogs for another day my friend. Ps- there are no homicidal reptiles in our waters.

I digress.

My "Mommy Diaries" is a blog I host on my Myspace.com page. However, not everyone has, or wants to have, a myspace page, but (trust me) everyone wants to read this. So I will post my blogs on my myspace page and here on blogspot-except on here you'll find me at mondernmomsdiaries because mommydiaries was taken- I otta check it out.

I'll take the next few minutes to copy and paste my "Mommy Diaries" installments from myspace to catch all of you up.

xoxo

Andrea

Mommy Diaries

Like climbing Mt. Everest...

Stop all the clocks...

...And that's why you don't take your 3.5 year old for a last minute haircut.

Family and Funny Stories

Boys oh Boys

It's about time!

Holy Week

Things we said we'd never do...and a meatloaf recipe!

Faith...and doubt

Naptime

Resolution Check-In

I don't get you...

Soul Food

Veggie Loaf and other food things...

Potty Training........and Weight Watchers.

Happy Birthday Quinn!

Plateaus...

Reflection

Some new things.

525600 Minutes

Reflections

I am Mommy...

And the years go by...

Photos, 10 day treks, tantrums, oh-my!

~*9 months!*~

Let's freshen up.

~*6 Months Baby!*~

5 months already...Schedule? What schedule?

Breastfeeding Twins

I now have 3 under 3...rather than 3 under 2

Three Months...Whaaaaaat?

~*Birth Story*~

The COUNTDOWN!

Tick-Tock goes the labor clock...

Week One Done, Week Two- Bring it on!

Diaper Rashes, Mommy Groups, and Baby Showers- OH MY!

New Chapter- Becoming a Stay at Home Mom

The Second Second Trimester- relief!

Mommy Diaries: The Second First Trimester...

Daycare separation anxiety-for moms.

I have a toddler!

Update, sorry I've been MIA!

Mommy Diaries: Things I've learned from Quinn...

Grace's Window, Discussion 2: "Praying the Apocalypse"

Grace's Window

Mommy Diaries Book Club

Mommy Diaries: Poop

Mommy and the Bible

Mommy Diaries on the road

Clay Aiken is Gay

Another Dream

Kind of almost 1?

Bedtime Musings

6 months and counting

25 years ago today...

Mommy Diaries Part VII: Bullying

Thoughts on Divorce

Mommy Diaries: Part VI

Mommy Diaries: Part V

Mommy Diaries Part IV

Mommy Diaries Part III

Mommy Diaries Part II

Mommy Diaries Part I

Welcome

~9 months!~

~6 Months Baby!~

~Birth Story~