Noe News is Good News

A family of four... and some major ramblings.

Our best attempt at a family photo today... daddy's head has been cut off just a little too much, but I love this picture. I love Joselyn's smile and I love seeing the 4 of us in a picture together.

Today I was finally given the GO for driving. Woohoo! But wait a minute... am I really ready for that? I must say that these past 2 weeks at home have driven me crazy. I need out a bit. Fresh air. New environement. I'm pretty sure Joselyn feels the same way. But I get nervous thinking about trying to get all of us ready to go by myself and loaded into the vehicle. I'm sure it will take some getting used to. I also have to get used to Landen's feeding schedule. I forget sometimes how demanding a nursing baby can be and leaving the house is so inconvenient when I start thinking about the "what-if's"... what if he gets hungry while I'm out? Where would I feed him and what will Joselyn do while I feed him? I'm starting to think that leaving the house with two small babies by myself won't be happening for quite some time. I might attempt a few small trips to my parents' or in-laws' but as far as shopping or story time at the Library... that's going to have to wait until I either have someone to help me out or my babies get a little older (or Joselyn more mindful).

On Monday, Adam goes back to work full-time and I tackle the two babies all day by myself. So far Joselyn has been wonderful. She's been cheerful and sweet... almost understanding. But Adam has been here to help keep her occupied as has our TV. And I think I've let her watch a little more TV than I would like. And honestly, (especially since we got rid of the fancier cable channels recently) I can only take so much of Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Sid the Science Kid. So... what to do? And how will I find the time to take a shower in the mornings when Adam is not here to watch the babies? I'm thinking my days are going to need some major planning from now on. But I'm ready for it I think... and I'm ready to start focusing a little more on myself this year. I'm heading back to the gym as soon as I get the go-ahead from the doctor and I'm going to to have a "pamper myself" day every saturday... just an hour or two to feel good about myself with a facial or manicure or something. (at home done by myself). I'm suffering from postpartum low self-esteem. I know I just had a baby (and Adam continues to remind me of this) but I hate how unproportioned I feel... and how much weight I've gained... and I'm sick of my hair. It needs a new style and maybe even some color?? (Come on mom... it won't be THAT bad!!) And I NEED NEW CLOTHES which I don't want to buy until I have some sort of a figure back. My old clothes just won't fit anymore because I am very "top heavy" if you know what I mean. And No, I have never considered this a blessing. It's FRUSTRATING. I can't find a shirt that looks good on me right now. All of this brings me back to the driving and going out thing... the thought of going out the way I look right now is discouraging which makes it harder to talk myself into leaving the house... even when I WANT to!

Ok. Sorry 'bout that. I really didn't mean to turn this into a pitty party for myself. I have really been pretty happy with things as long as I don't look at pictures of myself and I can stay in my comfy lounge pants and sweatshirts. I love Landen... he's a little cuddle bug. I love how he just curls his little body up into a ball and lays his head on my shoulder when I hold him! I love looking into his dark- grayish greenish brownish bluish eyes (I'm thinking they will be hazel like my dad's) and how he will lay on a blanket on the floor taking the world in around him with such amazement. I love how sweet Joselyn is to him... sharing her beloved blankets with him, trying to get him to play with rattles that he can't hold on to yet and wanting to play with his cute teeny fingers and tickle his toes. I can tell they are going to be such good little buddies.

This is all one big amazing journey for me that will take a while to get used to for sure... but I could not ask for anything better in my life right now. So even when I complain about how I don't get any sleep or I can't wash my hair as much as I would like to, just know I am loving every minute of it.

Oh... and if any of you have any suggestions for the following issues, please leave me a comment! Thanks!

1. How to handle taking out 2 or more babies out at the same time (I'm guessing Heather, Danielle or Amaree might have some good insights on this one)
2. NEW CUTE HAIRSTYLE ideas that would be fairly easy to manage for someone with thick takes-a-long-time-to-fix hair
3. When to take a shower
4. How to occupy a one year-old and keep her from getting into everything while trying to nurse a baby without always counting on the TV to do that job

In One Week...

I woke up VERY early this morning (5:00am) and realized that Joselyn is 1 week and 1 day away from being a ONE YEAR OLD. And her birthday party is in 1 week... didn't realize that it would sneak up on me this fast! I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't, so I finally just came downstairs and got on the computer. This is crunch time. I have had all these ideas of what her party was going to be like for MONTHS now, and now that the time is almost here, I am trying really hard to make all those ideas a reality. I started a list of all the things I would need to get, the food I was going to have and other things. My plan is to keep the party part of it pretty simple... no overwhelming games or schedules, just mingling with family and friends. Here is some of my inspiration for decorations...

  The theme is girly (HAS TO BE!), colorful and will feature butterflies and flowers (and 2 special elephants!). Shouldn't surprise anyone that I drew inspiration from Martha Stewart!

Another thing I realized this morning... Adam and I need to get her a few gifts! I have so many fun ideas running through my head, although we are definitely not going to over do it. Joselyn has tons of toys right now thanks to hand-me-downs from her cousin Autumn. But she does love Books, and puppies, and babies, so those things will be my inspiration for her gifts.

Well, today I need to worry more about tonight's Halloween Trunk or Treat party for church (finish Joselyn's CUTE CUTE costume, decorate our trunk...) so I thought I would get these birthday thoughts off my chest. Can't believe Joselyn is almost 1...

Don't mess with a pregnant woman and her cravings!!!

After Ethan left for the day I decided I was craving something sweet... what I REALLY wanted was something from the Japanese bakery... like a Melon Pan which is this absolutely sweet and delicious crunchy on the outside melt in your mouth soft inside roll (Thanks Amaree for the recipe!! I will be using it in the future when I have another craving!)...

...but they were already closed for the day so I settled for Krispy Kreme. When I got to the drive through I thought a steamed milk also sounded nice so I ordered a steamed milk and a custard filled donut. I have ordered steamed milk millions of times through this particular Krispy Kreme but apparently I was crazy for thinking they sold it there.

"We don't have that here" the lady said as I looked right at their menu where it said MILK-HOT OR COLD.
"Are you sure? I've ordered it here before many times" I replied.
"Let me ask my manager...nope. We don't sell it."
"You mean you don't sell it anymore"
"I guess not"
So, I order a hot chocolate. Not the same, but still hot and sweet. I pay for my order and head over to my in-laws. On the way there, I decided to take a sip of my hot chocolate. I put it up to my lips and take a sip- I can smell and taste that what I was drinking was not hot chocolate but some sort of coffee drink- and I don't drink coffee!!! A little upset since I was really craving a hot sweet drink, I decided to call Krispy Kreme and tell them what they had done wrong. I called 5 times... each time letting it ring about a minute. Never an answer. I didn't have time at that moment to turn around and complain, so I pretty much said forget it and headed over to my in-laws.

When I got to my in-laws I HAD to tell them my story, of course, especially since my brother-in-law Steven worked there pretty recently. Steven wasn't surprised about the steamed milk incident... apparently they DO make it, but are told to tell customers that the machine is broken or that they don't have it because it is such a pain to make!!!! Oh, you can imagine my displeasure. I had flat out been lied to. And I was a crazy pregnant lady with a craving.

So can you guess what I did on my way home? You guessed it. I stopped by Krispy Kreme to have a little chat with the manager. I was nice, of course, but I definitely expressed my displeasure. At first the manager said "We DON'T sell steamed milk". So I went on to tell him about Steven (didn't mention his name), the drive through menu and the fact that I ordered it in the past numerous times.

"Well" he said, "we CAN make it, but it's not really on our new menu and it can't be rung up easily." (yeah I believe that one!!)

So he agreed to not only make me a steamed milk (which did in fact take him forever to make), he large sized it for me and threw in a dozen fresh melt-in-your mouth donuts to take home for Adam and me to enjoy. I walked out of there very much satisfied. And now as I write this blog, I am happily sipping on my steamed milk munching on a very delicious HOT melt-in-your-mouth Krispy Kreme glazed donut!!

Getting on my last nerve!!!

When I was pregnant with Joselyn I got this really really sharp pain in my... well... butt. (sorry, mom. I know you don't like that word) I was at work and it hurt so bad that I was actually crying. That is something I rarely do when I am pain, but this REALLY REALLY HURT!!! Come to find out it was sciatic nerve pain. I guess it is something that a lot of pregnant women deal with. Some sources say it is caused by the baby hitting the nerve which I guess runs down your back and down to your leg. I had to deal with it most of pregnancy which made it very difficult to do simple everyday things such as doing the dishes, picking stuff up off the floor or just getting in bed. After a while I figured out that with a lot of rest it doesn't hurt as bad and that it is something I can live with.

Well a few days ago, that old familiar pain was back. It started out a little muted and was quite bearable but NOT TODAY. Today it is killing me and I am now pretty worried because I can't pick up Joselyn, I can barely drive or do any of those things. I have a feeling that dealing with the sciatica this time around is going to be a LITTLE different. But since there is not much you can do about it, I am going to have to live with this big pain in my butt!!! (excuse my language)

What pregnancy does to you...

One of those nights...

I really thought it was 6:30 am or something and that wouldn't have been too bad... but it's actually 2:53 in the morning right now. I got up, washed my face, brushed my teeth (again) and got some water to drink and decided to make myself tired again because I don't feel like I could get back to sleep if I tried. So I read a few blogs... looked around on a few of my favorite websites... and I think I'm just about ready to go back to bed now. As of yesterday I am 34 weeks. I am feeling the pressure... time is flying by so fast. I washed all of the baby's bedding and clothes over the weekend. I told Adam we needed special detergent and he just laughed at first. He thought I was joking, but once I explained the reasons why he was fine. We ended up  just getting All Free and Clear. That should work ok, shouldn't it? I hope so cause that's what I washed her clothes in. I thought it was great that I could wash all of her 0-3 months clothes in one load. Then I got to see the cute outfits again and that made me so excited for her arrival. I folded all the onsies and sleepers and laid the rest out to be hung up (again). Well, I'm starting to doze. I guess I'll give this sleep thing another try.

Feeling a little silly...

I felt so stupid the other day... my boss, JP, asked me to pick something up for him downtown... a basket and necklace he had won at an auction the week before. So I did, and when I got back asked him what he would like me to do with it. He asked if I could go put it in his vehicle, and I was happy to. He said it was parked on the side of the building and he gave the the keys. When I got outside, I pressed the unlock button on the keyless entry. There were two vehicles on the side of the building; a blue CX-9 and a silver Edge. I figured I would just try the Edge first... I figured if it was unlocked, it was his. IT was unlocked! So I put the basket and necklace in there and shut the door.

Later on that evening, I got a call from JP asking me which vehicle I put the basket in because it wasn't in HIS vehicle. I could feel my face getting red. I told him I put the stuff in the Silver Edge... and that I figured it was his because it was unlocked. He said he had planned on giving his wife the necklace that night, but that he would have to wait. He then said that I should probably call Glenda, one of the business office managers here, and let her know the stuff in her Edge wasn't hers. (good thing it wasn't a customer's car!!) I apologized over and over again to JP and he just teased "You're not pregnant, are you?" Ha ha.

Well to make things worse the next day, he asked me to get his stuff out of Glenda's Edge and put them in his CX-9. He handed me his keys, and sure enough, there was a large MAZDA symbol on the keyless entry.  How did I miss that? I really do just have to blame it all on the pregnancy. 

Still tired and craving bread pudding

I don't know if I wille ver get used to feeling so tired all of the time. Work almost isn't worth it because I struggle to stay awake all day.

I had my first 'real' craving today. It was actually pretty random. I never eat bread pudding, and I never think about it. But out of the blue I had a craving for bread pudding. I was determined to get it.... thank goodness for good friends who will come out of their way to pick you up and take you somewhere where they have the food you are craving!! I got my bread pudding and was even able to eat a few other things, although after a few bites I was done.

Now if I could only find a secret place around here to take a quick nap...

Will I ever be able to sleep through the night again?

I'm starting to get really 'tired' of not being able to sleep through the night. Pun intended :) The truth is, I can't get enough sleep it seems! Adam mentioned this morning how strange that sounds because I'm TIRED all of the time, so you would think I would have an easy time falling asleep! But no... if it's not waking up of discomfort, it's because my stomache is growling with hunger (this is a new thing for me). So I nibble on a few crackers and sip a little of my water that I keep beside the bed and try again. An hour and a half later I am STILL awake in bed.... so I move downstairs to the couch dragging my pillows, crackers and water bottle with me. I can finally get to sleep and then guess what? I wake up again... so I move back upstairs dragging my pillows, crackers and water bottle. And it seems I wake Adam up every single time I get up and I feel so bad for him. I've gotten to the point of not even trying to waste time trying to get back to sleep so I get on the internet to look at baby things and wear my little eyes out until they can't stay open anymore. As soon as we get our tax return (Next week I think?) Adam and I are going to buy a new KING SIZE bed. I actually think that this will help somewhat in the comfort area... as far as the hunger issue? I don't know... I'll have to eat lots before bed I guess. The GOOD thing out of all of this that it is preparing me for the many nights I will be getting up to feed my little baby! That IS a  good thing, right?