Burrow Blog

Predictions...

2012-02-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

Is it too presumptuous to make predictions about what your children will be like 10, 15, even 20 years from now? I would never want to pigeon hole my girls into being this way or that way, but I can't help but speculate just a little. All mothers do it right?

Well, even if they don't I am. I can't help it. Obviously there's more that I see for Lila than for Evie simply based on age. I wonder if I'm anything like what my mom saw when she looked at her two year old. Does she remember? Mom, feel free to chime in. I think it will be absolutely hysterical to look back with Lila and Evie one day and show them my predictions. And what better place to jot them down than this blog where all three of you that read this know and love them?

Here goes...

Lila will be the girl that always has her nose in a book and her head in the clouds. I don't mean this in an insulting way. She is brilliant you know. She will be that tall blonde walking down the street intently reading something like Gone With the Wind while boys stare at her. She will trip on the sidewalk, stumble, and then never miss a beat. She will have perfected managing her clumsiness unlike her mother. Managing her slight OCD may come later in life, if at all. It's a tough thing to grab hold of. If she isn't a doctor or lawyer or something else that requires an immense amount of brain power, she will be a fashion designer. Every dress will have some shimmer, every skirt will twirl, and she will call them all "so beautiful". If those things don't work out, she will manage others much like her Poppy does. I hope I can teach her to manage the bossiness in a way that gives her the power to teach those who work for her. Again, much like her Poppy does. But then there's the guitar. And the piano. And the dancing. I thank God every day that she has a song in her heart and beat in her head at any given moment.

Evie reminds me more and more of my sister every day. I was 5, almost 6, when Sara was born. I have a horrible memory when it comes to my childhood, but I do remember distinct things about Sara as a baby and toddler. That crooked grin that seemed almost permanent still makes me laugh when I look at pictures. Evie and her two bottom teeth smile reminds me so much of Sara. I plan to create some sort of artwork for Evie's room out of this song lyric:

"She grew up good, she grew up slow. Like American honey. Steady as a preacher, free as a weed. Couldn't wait to get goin' but wasn't quite ready to leave. So innocent, pure, and sweet. American honey."

That's Evie. She's going to be the girl that wants to do it all but can't quite break away from home. At least not quickly. She needs me more than Lila ever did as a baby. Or maybe she just needs me in different ways. Regardless, her need is intense and all consuming sometimes. And yet once the crawling lightbulb goes off she will be all over this house in five minutes. She might look back to throw me that fantastic grin once or twice. She's determined and oh so timid. I see her as a bit of a free spirit. Again, I have visions of Sara.

They're so little so it's really silly to speculate. But kind of fun at the same time. When Evie is Lila's age we will revisit. You know, maybe we will revisit every two years. Hmmm....

Happy hump day ya'll even though it will be over in ten minutes. Someday I will bring back Holla Hump Day. Promise.

Glad to be a blogger

2012-02-01T21:18:00.000-08:00

I bet the first mom blogger, whoever she was, never thought her idea to document her life in this way would spiral into what mommy blogging has become today. The internet is blowing up with mothers (and fathers) who blog about many things. But, at the core of those things it all comes back to the world of being a parent.

I also wonder if some part of her knew that the ball she was beginning to roll was going to do all of the things it has done. I mean, you could have a laundry list of parenting issues and chances are good someone out there in the blogosphere would have written a post that you are SURE was written for you. You may even feel it was written about you, and your family, and everything you have endured. Isn't it amazing that complete strangers can open your eyes to something, show you when to maybe give yourself a break, or simply give you the freedom of knowing that you are not alone?

Maybe I read too many blogs. All I can say is that recently there are some bloggers who are speaking directly to me. I'm sure of it. And thank God for them. Therefore, I feel it's my duty to pass along what has gotten me through some tough days...

1) Momastery. By now, if you don't feel like you are best friends with Glennon you live under a rock. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration. But seriously, this chick has it figured out while also being a complete mess (by her own admission). Regardless, I'm hooked. Because of Facebook (I'm assuming) Momastery has kind of blown up recently. Due to this, Glennon has been blogging in a "best of" sort of manner to welcome new readers. Here are my top three faves so far:
- For Adam
- On Gifts and Talents
- Don't Carpe Diem

2) Once Upon a Dream Come True. I have to be flat out honest here. I read this post due to a link in a comment thread on Facebook. I have never read the blog before or since reading this post. But, this post really hit home for me. Every single day I think about how full my hands are. Instead of being overwhelmed when I think it now I smile and the moment gets so much easier.

There are many, many more. But those are the two recently that often make me feel normal instead of like a crazy person. If I can share the relief you know I'm going to. After all, that first mommy blogger started it.

On that note, here are a random smattering of videos I've been holding onto. They have nothing to do with this post, but they are also a little overdue. Plus, they are just so stinking cute. Enjoy!

God love that little Carson. Listen closely to what she says...

Random Evie video.

Watch closely. They scatter if they catch me taping. I guess Evie felt left out because she is "talking" loudly in the background.

This is a horrible video. But something about it warms my heart. If you know nothing about Evie this is a good glimpse. It may be just a mother's eyes watching, but that girl is so ready to go somewhere.

The jump up and down song is a staple around here. I would not survive without it. When the world is coming to an end, as it often does with toddler girls, I just start singing it. Suddenly things aren't so bad. Wouldn't it be nice if life was just a big jumping up and down party?

Mobility is right around the corner...are we ready?

LOVE. THIS. SO. MUCH.

January

2012-01-31T19:15:00.000-08:00

Suddenly, I looked up and it's February tomorrow. Then, I looked again and my baby is going to be 9 months old next week. Even further still, I looked and Lila sounded out a word on a billboard. Maybe if I keep my eyes closed time will freeze, even if just for a moment. Actually, I could even handle it slowing down quite a bit if only it would.

I also noticed that I went on sort of blogging run and then hiatus all at once. Sorry for the inconsistency. I've only been a tiny bit busy.

This month I turned 32. And what a month it's been! I've already covered the Orlando trip and Disney. Here is about the most concise rundown I can give of the rest of it even though concise isn't really who I am.

The weekend after Orlando was to be my birthday. I was excited to stay home, relax, and do a whole lot of nothing with my family. Thursday rolled around and Seth asked if we could get a sitter for the day on Friday. In my head I thought, men are so silly. Doesn't he know that if I could get a sitter at the drop of a hat on a weekday I would do it? Like a lot? Apparently he does not know this. So I chuckled, called the one person I could think of to call (hope you are feeling better Anna!) and went on my merry way. He then says, "Ah, that's ok. The girls can just come with us". I'm thinking, what on God's green Earth are we doing on a weekday that could or could not involve two small children?

Seth comes home that night and tells me we need to be up at 6:30 in time to leave. We get up and he tells me we are going to Chick-fil-A. The whole morning was pretty frantic. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why we were in such a hurry to go to breakfast. Fast forward a few hours and I am sitting in a parking deck at the airport with papers that say I am going to NY in complete disbelief that this is the route the day is taking. Seth tries to take a video of my reaction to his carefully orchestrated surprise, but you could say I was a little shocked. I'm not the most spontaneous person. I like to plan things. But let me tell you...once the confusion cleared and Seth started rummaging through what he had packed for me, I started crying. Could it be true? Could he really have done this for me? I know my husband loves to give me gifts. He loves to surprise me and he puts a lot of thought into getting my things he knows I will love. As you can imagine, this one takes the cake. The thirtieth birthday surprise party was amazing, but it was my thirtieth. I was sort of hoping to have a throw down. There is truly something to be said for the completely unexpected, completely shocking, and completely perfect gift. That's what this trip was for me.

I miss my sister more than I have probably missed anyone in my life. Just a few weeks before this trip I was having a meltdownish sort of day and admitted to her that I was sure I was screwing up my kids. There were tears and feelings of frustration in abundance. When I stopped talking to her that night I realized I was still crying. I realized on top of the everyday trials of being a stay at home mom, I just really missed her in an awful way.

As I sat in the airport drinking coffee it dawned on me that I could do whatever I wanted. I could buy a book. Better yet I could read it. I could talk on the phone and only be competing with the loud speaker announcing flight information. I could eat slowly and peacefully. I could even sit and just stare at people if I wanted to. Glorious. I'm not even going to dive into the disclaimer about how I love my children and the fact that I get to spend every waking minute with them. All I'm going to say is when it's been a long time since you've had a little freedom to do whatever you want you value every second of it.

The NY weekend was a blur of hats, gloves, eating, coats, scarves, shopping, eating some more, talking, drinking, and running around. I got to see what Sara's life has been like since the fall. Where she eats, how she makes her away around the big city, and where she hangs out.

Brooklyn Flea Market in a beautiful old bank

Bloody Marys and brunch after the market

Poetry slam at the Bowery Poetry club!

Monet at the MOMA

Times Square!

Needless to say, Seth outdid himself. I am truly the luckiest girl around.

When I got back from NY my family was sort of in shambles. When I left Lila had a slight cold that turned into a nasty cold for everyone. Within the next week and a half Evie ended up with the cold/cough, pink eye, and an ear infection. We were supposed to go the following weekend to Americus to celebrate Christmas with my mom's family. Yes, we are aware Christmas was a month ago. You do what ya gotta do. Lila and I ended up going with my mom so Seth could stay here and take Evie to the doctor again.

AND, if all of this wasn't enough, I had originally planned to go the lake with some girlfriends this past weekend for my birthday. This was, of course, before I had any idea about NY. I gave Seth an out and told him I would cancel, but he told me to go! It was a great end to a month of great weekends.

As much fun as I have had and as much as I appreciate it all, it's nice to be home consistently for a while. I missed my little chickies. Speaking of them, a post is coming soon with gobs of videos and pictures that I am so behind on sharing. Like I said, things are changing so fast I just can't keep up!

Disney...oh and that little marathon Seth ran

2012-01-11T19:31:00.000-08:00

Have you ever gone on a trip that was sort of half planned with tons of loose ends? That's what this trip was for us. Sometime after signing up for the marathon Seth asked if we (as in ALL of us) wanted to go. At the time I said "of course!!!". And that was the end of the story. If you don't know, Team in Training (through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) does everything for you. They tell you what to, when to do it, and how to do it successfully. Seth and I did a marathon through TNT while dating. I knew then that we would survive marriage.

The holidays came and we began talking about how we really had no plan. I don't think I knew where we were staying until the week of Christmas when my dad asked me. My dad and his wife Liz live in West Palm Beach. They were planning to come and join us. It was when he began asking me questions that I realized I had no clue what was going on.

So, we got the logistics sorted out. Sort of. The week before we went Seth realized that this marathon was no joke. Not just because it's a marathon of course, but because it's big. LOTS of people go to it. Some super crazy people even run the half on Saturday and the full on Sunday. It's called the Goofy challenge. Goofy indeed. It occurred to Seth that taking Evie might be a logistical nightmare. As you know if you read the previous post, we did not take her.

I have to say for being so loosely planned this was one of the best trips I have taken. Here's why:

1) Gobs of Lila time.
2) Really good quality time with my dad and Liz. Not just for Lila, but for me too.
3) Even with no nap every day, riding buses everywhere, and sensory overload to the max Lila was in awe the entire time. It was priceless.
4) I got to really be a spectator and see how well Seth would do without me. I always knew I held him back in Vancouver and I'm so glad he did this without me (sounds weird, but I have always had remorseful feelings about it).
5) It's Disney for goodness sake!!!

Here's a bit of a rundown via pictures:

Just before the character breakfast at the Polynesian Hotel.

She was so excited that she touched Pluto's nose!

She's not having any fun at all. I promise.

Lila and Liz. This was the beginning of the Animal Kingdom day (Friday). Seth didn't go to this with us because he had marathon meetings and the expo to go to.

Just hanging out!

This is either right before or right after a hippo swam slowly past us in front of the window under water. It was SO cool.

This is on the train that pretty much just rides around the outskirts of the Animal Kingdom. Nothing fancy but Lila kept wanting to ride it!

Brushing some sheep at the petting zoo area.

At the start of the African Safari ride...Poppy made sure she didn't get scared. The new Donald Duck doll helped as well.

A little resemblance here I think :-)

This is the start of the day at the Magic Kingdom. Not sure what this face is about. I just think the picture is funny.

This is right before It's a Small World. I think this ride was her favorite!

The beginning of a day full of pointing.

Riding Aladdin's magic carpet ride.

I'm not really having any fun either.

Funny story. Seth and dad took a break so Liz, Lila, and I got in line to meet Tinkerbell. About twenty minutes in Liz realized we were actually in line to meet Ariel (who Lila has no clue about). Twenty or thirty minutes after that she had her thirty seconds with Tinkerbell. TOTALLY worth it.

It's hard being a kid that gets pushed around in a stroller all day.

This was during the parade where she really got to see everyone she knew. She was either waving, pointing, or staring. This was the best twenty minutes of the whole weekend.

Another parade before the big dance party...

...serious dance moves in the street!

* I need to interject here how the last day of our trip went. It was actually a pretty amusing comedy of errors. Let's back up. Seth had to get up at 2am to eat "breakfast" and then be at the bus at 3:30 am (I think). Anyway, let's just say it was out of control early. He and Lila passed out around 7:30 pm so I spent my night off trying to figure out how to track Seth during the marathon. I read online that 10.5 miles was at the castle at the Magic Kingdom and spectators didn't need a ticket. Perfect! We would get to see daddy running and Lila would get to hang out at the castle one last time. I set everything up so that I would get a text every five miles (isn't technology CRAZY??) and woke up at 6:30 am to get there on time. Lila was not to excited about this plan. AND, I made the massive mistake of telling her we were going to the castle again. NUMBER ONE RULE OF PARENTHOOD: Do NOT tell your child something really fantastic is going to happen if you aren't 110% sure it will.

The buses at our hotel were running very late so we got off the bus at the Magic Kingdom right about the time Seth was running through the castle. So I asked where the next spectator spot was. The helpful Disney employee looked me up and down (with my angry two year old in her $20 POS stroller) and said, "if you hustle you can get to the Polynesian Resort over there and just past it is the 12 mile stop". Hustle we did! At this point I was simply too proud to give up. I wanted to surprise Seth and maybe give him some extra momentum. I chose not to tell Lila about missing the castle at this point. It was about an hour later that it dawned on her. She handled it as best she could given the circumstances.

As I'm hustling I realize lots of other people were making their way in the same direction. It was crowded to say the least and I couldn't see a thing. What's the point of doing all of this hustling if I don't see him? I made the executive decision to cut through some pretty tall grass along the road, book it around the barriers, and join a "cheer crowd" that I'm pretty sure you had to pay to belong to. Lila and I had so much grass on our pants and the stroller probably needs to be thrown out. BUT, we saw him!!! I think he was really surprised. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture because we were hugging and cheering and enjoying the moment. That's how worth it this was!

Then there was the trick of finding our way back to a bus that would take us to the finish line at Epcot. And guess what? Everyone else needed that as well. I had two hours though. So I got some coffee and hopped on a tram. Well, Disney likes to switch things up when a big event is happening. Signs that say some form of transportation will get you where you want to go nine times out of ten are false. You can imagine how excited Lila was to get off the tram that didn't end up taking us to Epcot only to see a gigantic line for the bus. Enter a much overdue meltdown. I got this brilliant idea to take a bus back to the hotel and then get a new bus from there to Epcot instead of waiting an hour in line where I was (which ironically was the transportation station). The problem with this plan was that the buses weren't running to the hotels. Somehow, with my screaming child I convinced a bus driver to take me to the hotel that he would pass as he took random people to another park. So in twenty minutes I was at Epcot due to either my screaming child or my sweaty, frantic, almost in tears condition.

We grabbed some food and hung out waiting for Seth to reach the finish. Lila pushed the stroller around long enough for the grass to completely fall off. We saw him cross and it was all worth it! SO PROUD OF YOU SETHY POO!

This is our lazy day at the resort after the marathon. Our little sassy girl has been walking around with her hands on her hips these days. Oh and today she put on her Snow White "dress up" and told Carson and I she was Snow White. No like, when I called her Lila she said "no mommy...I'm SNOW WHITE!!!". Carson promptly pointed at the actual picture of Snow White on the costume and said, "no, that's Snow White!".

And last but not least, this is how we actually know she had a good time.

Alright, sorry this was so long. It really was such an enjoyable trip. I missed Evie so much, but the time with Lila was much needed for all of us. Good times!

Interrupting again!

2012-01-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

I can't believe in my list of upcoming posts I left out our trip to Orlando for Seth's marathon...which we leave for tomorrow!!!

It's safe to say that we didn't think this trip out or plan it very well at all. We were like, it's Disney! Of course the whole family should go. Of course it will be magical and glorious. And, even if the whole family was going it would have been those things. But, Evie will be staying behind.

I have very mixed feelings about this. This is the first situation where having two kids has put me on a major back and forth roller coaster. We will be gone from Thursday to Monday which is a long time to be away from your baby. Granted, we went to GA/FL back in October for three days and survived it. I'm not so worried that she will be upset. I'm more sad she won't be a part of this little adventure. Which I decided was a silly reason to take her.

Therefore, we weighed the pros and cons. It became obvious quickly that having Evie stay here would be better than taking her. Apparently the Disney marathon is a massive and very popular one to run. Orlando becomes flooded with people and driving places would be tough. Shuttles are the transportation of choice. Well, Seth will be doing the running and won't be able to shuttle all over the place with me all the time. That leaves me shuttling with two very small kids. This pretty much sounds like a nightmare. Not to mention, Evie does well to sleep in a room in our house with the door closed and a very loud sound machine going. I would imagine that none of us would get any sleep if all of us were trying to do it in the same room. AND, there is the pro of the one on one time. Lila has had so little one on one time with us since Evie was born. We try to do it when we can, but it happens sporadically and for short periods of time. The thought of taking her to Disney, just her, makes me smile. AND, Evie get to have one on one time with both grandmothers which has never happened.

Of course, the mommy guilt is still lingering in my head. She won't remember any of this (and chances are good Lila won't either). But I still feel like Evie is being cheated out of a trip with her family. At any rate, I am very excited to go and even more proud of Seth for this commitment he's made. I can't wait to cheer him on without feeling stressed out and overwhelmed doing it! Wish him luck!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program...

2012-01-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

I said I wasn't doing resolutions. But this crazy thing happened. In the past 24 hours I have been making them in my head randomly and really feeling motivated about them. They aren't typical for me. And there aren't that many of them. Why not give them a go right?

1) Go to bed earlier. I am a serious night owl. It would stand to reason that Lila gets this from me! I guess I struggle with having "me time" and letting my mind decompress after chasing after my kids all day. But, lately I feel like getting up in the morning is getting harder and harder and the days are feeling longer. The goal to start is going to bed by ten three nights a week.

2) Send one piece of personal mail...actual mail...every day of 2012 (except today and yesterday). I did some organizing today and came upon my stash of greeting cards. Would you believe I have two birthday cards for my mom? Her birthday is February third but I can't even tell you when I bought these cards. Not recently for sure! All of these cards I have hoarded, along with the random assortment of stationery I have, prompted this goal. I love getting real mail. Christmas is the only time I religiously check the mail instead of Seth doing it because I know there is a chance of getting Christmas cards. Anyway, I have all of these cards in a box all sorted out. The idea is to pick a card every night, pick who I want to send it to, and mail it the next day.

3) Join the 365 project. I just joined actually. I still need to read through the website or whatever. Really I just want to attempt to take a picture every day that takes more effort than whipping out my phone. Joining the 365 project will maybe/hopefully hold me accountable. I want to educate myself more about how to use my camera too. But, it will be the 363 project for me because I'm starting tomorrow! Stay tuned.

Christmas!

2012-01-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

Ah, Christmas. It feels like just yesterday we were buying the biggest, fattest tree at Home Depot and now all that's left is a a massive amount of pine needles all over my house. That and Toys R Us may or may not have vomited all over my house as well. Seriously, I should be purging the playroom instead of sitting here writing a blog post. Unfortunately I am horrible at getting rid of things.

Anyway, Christmas was magical. I thought a lot about the effort to impart the reason for the season on Lila and decided I will take this new year to sort that out. Due to a last minute trip to my uncle's for Christmas Eve, we frantically bought Oreos for Santa at CVS and called it a day.

Let's back up. Here are a few key things I want to remember about Christmas this year:

* Our tree. Best. Tree. Ever. Granted, according to Seth it had a split and watering it was useless. But water it we did in hopes of getting it to last through Christmas day at least. The sad part is, due to it's size and prickly, dried up state it became hard to walk past it and not get stabbed.

* Christmas morning. Somehow Lila slept late. Evie woke up at her usual time and she and I sat in the den amidst the glow of the big tree. I whispered to her about how someday she would care about Christmas so much she would lose sleep over it. I told her someday she would want the gift and not feel the need to eat the wrapping paper. And someday she wouldn't wake up early just to sit and smile at me like this. So for this one hour of this one Christmas morning I got the best present of all...just her.

* Being that Lila did sleep in I took another stab at Christmas morning homemade cinnamon rolls. Last year they were awful. You can imagine that I would then be a little fearful of trying again. But, they were actually pretty good this time! Maybe I will keep the tradition going after all...

* Christmas shopping. Seth and I went on a date to go Christmas shopping. I made a few realizations on this date...my shopping trip planning skills are horrendous, Toys R Us is a hateful place, and I am so excited to Christmas shop with Seth for the rest of my life. I mean, he's easy to find in a crowd, he can rationalize any toy purchase, and he now hates Toys R Us too. We are a perfect match!

* Lila's gift choices. I took Lila to the dollar aisle at Michael's. It's not as big and overwhelming as a dollar store or even the dollar aisle at Target. But, she had things to choose from. She got a massive kick out of this. I tried not to guide her but she would get herself mixed up on who gets what and want to start over. Plus, she initially thought it was all for her. This took some discussing. But, at the end of it all she was beyond thrilled with her choices. She was so thrilled that she spoke about the buttons she got for her uncle Levi for the rest of the day. That too was my favorite purchase. I will never forget her excitement over that little container of buttons.

* The big winner gift. Santa got Lila a train table with lots of Thomas the train accessories. We thought for sure that would be the big winner. Turns out, while she loves trains she is still a girly girl at heart. Mommy and Daddy (actually just daddy) got her two sets of fairy wings that came complete with a tutu, wand, and headband. She has a recent obsession with Tinkerbell whom she has only seen on a pair of hand-me-down pajamas she wears every single day and night. You can imagine how the fairy attire went over...

And, like I said, she loved the trains as well!

* Evie and Molly. Innocent bystanders to the mayhem of Christmas. We did Christmas at Seth's mom's house the Wednesday before Christmas. Evie slept through that. Christmas morning she ate some wrapping paper, tried on her new (way too big) shoes, and then lounged while watching Lila blow through presents (some of which actually were Evie's). Christmas afternoon was more of the same with my mom and Seth's brother. And even the day after Christmas my dad was here and the fun continued! All the while these two could only hang out and spectate.

My mom (Vivi) and her photo book gift.

Lila's present from uncle Levi!

My dad, Poppy, looking at his photo book with Lila.

Evie checking Poppy out.

* The refrigerator. While I hate that I may think of this Christmas as "the year the refrigerator died", that's just how it goes right? I mean, the ones I can remember growing up were "the year the tree fell over", "the year I got Jem and all of the Holograms", and "the year Granny stayed with us and set up an awful, creepy clown decorated tree". Regardless, the day after Christmas we purchased a beautiful new refrigerator.

* Decorating with Lila. It was a bit of a science to figure out how to successfully decorate our big tree with Lila's "help". Seth got a system going that went incredibly well. What was more interesting though is how well she undecorated the tree. Seriously, I took all of the ornament boxes out and she would carefully put the ornaments in each box, close it, and put it in the storage bin. She treated some of them like they were puzzles due to their packaging. It was quite impressive. All the while she was saying "Christmas is over mommy" like she was getting the closure she needed by helping put the ornaments away.

* Random extras...I will remember Lila's steadfast love of the Charlie Brown Christmas movie...the way she sings jingle bells and asks to start with "dashing through the snow" so she can do the laughing part...the way she now refers to Oreos as Santa cookies...the way Evie watched Lila open presents the way she watches Lila do everything else, with complete adoration.

We are so blessed in so many ways. I hope your holiday left you feeling this way as well. ;-)

Well hello 2012!

2012-01-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

I said I wasn't going to blog until after the first of the year. Actually, I won't post this until then, but I am beginning to write it two days after Christmas. I have a lot to cover in my head so I might as well take a minute here and there and get a head start right?

For the first time in forever I went back and read a few blog posts at the beginning of 2011. I appreciate how I reflected on 2010 instead of listing what I planned to do in 2011. It gave me a sense of nostalgia instead of defeat over the things I didn't accomplish.

I think I am going to start his year off with a list. A blog post list to be exact. This blog keeps my head clear, my life documented, and my children aware of how things they won't remember really went down. I have neglected it here and there this year, but I want and need to be more on top of it. There are many things I have wanted to post about and haven't for various reasons (usually because I forget). Hopefully this list will keep the ball rolling (in no particular order)...

1) I have big plans for this new year. I'm not 100% sure what they are yet, but I can feel them coming. Seth and I created bucket lists once while on a car ride. I would like to share those and get started on them stat.

2) I need to flesh out a post about life with two children close in age. I do realize they could be even closer in age, but on a daily basis I feel like I may spontaneously combust.

3) Potty training and how I loathe it.

4) The life and times of Molly.

5) Lila - an update.

6) Evie - an update.

7) Christmas!

8) Goals and plans for cleaner eating, living, and gardening hopes and dreams.

9) How being a control freak does not lend itself well to parenting.

10) Update that other blog I started, posted three times on, and quit. Then post about it here so maybe someone will go read it.

Alright, there you have it. Lucky for you, post number two of 2012 is just around the corner...maybe later today but definitely by tomorrow!

Peace Out

2011-12-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

Not that I blog consistently these days anyway, but I did want to let my avid readers know that I will not be posting again until after the new year. I'm sick, I'm tired, and I have an over-extender personality that just won't quit. It's my own doing.

But before I go.... :-)

I do want to throw some thoughts out about the holidays and having children. This year has been filled with uncertainty for me mostly in regards to Lila. How much does she understand? How do I instill a giving heart while indulging in my own secret love of Santa? How do I not let the commercialization of Christmas take over?

I read a blog in the past couple of weeks about how this family was bringing the Christ back to Christmas. Santa left the premises and all things Christmas were centered around the spiritual and giving nature that Christmas was intended to be. I wish I could remember the blog so I could accurately quote some of it. It was very well written. Anyway, the mom of this large family (or rather the parents I guess) decided to make this change while some of their children had already spent years of their lives leaving cookies out and throwing carrots in the yard. They were trying to undo years of what they had started in the first place. I applaud their efforts, but struggle with the validity of what they are trying to do and how much their kids will resent them for making such a big switch concerning such a big thing...something they themselves had originally made into a big thing.

Now I'm babbling. All of this is to say that I feel like there has to be a clear and solid balance. Someone has to have mastered it and I need that someone to step forward. In thinking about my own childhood I can tell you three things: 1) I knew Christmas was Jesus' birthday 2) I got more gifts from Santa than I could even begin to count 3) I got a lot more than I gave. In no way would I ever fault my parents for how they did things. I would say parenting these days involves a great deal more over thinking that it ever did when we were growing up. But, that's not to say that I don't want to think about things and really decide how it should go now before Lila starts to fully remember how it's been. Does that make sense?

She's two and a half so Jesus to her is someone in a storybook. Sometimes he's a baby and sometimes he's a man. He's also the main part of one of her favorite songs. That's the extent of it. Santa is a big jolly (albeit scary in person) man that will one day bring her presents. This part, above all of course, is on her mind daily. We took some toys to be donated but naturally she does not understand the "kids who have no toys" situation. We went to the dollar aisle and I let her pick out gifts for everyone in our family. She loved wrapping them and talking about who is getting what. We have made gifts together for neighbors, friends, and even daddy. But, at the end of the day she is still too young to understand a whole lot.

Therefore, I'm thinking ahead. What will I do differently next year? What will I do the same? How on Earth can I make Christmas about Christ and giving when I love the magic of Santa, elves, and reindeer? I mean, I am uber excited about having an elf on the shelf! If you've successfully done it or know someone who has please give me a shout. Because once Christmas is over chances are good I won't take/make the time to get a good grasp until around Thanksgiving next year.

Love you all and I hope this holiday leaves you feeling fat, happy, and blessed!

Pins and videos

2011-12-15T20:09:00.000-08:00

First, a pin or two...

...the pin:

Our version...

The Snow White figurine came from our advent stocking calendar. She was less than pleased once the jar was sealed. In fact, she got downright mad about it and wanted Snow White to be evacuated immediately. I had decided that this would become a Christmas tradition. We will make a snow globe every year. Note to self: use a figurine that does not belong to my kids.

The pin...

...my version. However, since the pin was just a google image I didn't have a tutorial. I used fabric glue (which you can see in some places). This means I have no idea how it will look after washing. But it looks pretty darn cute right now :-)

I am not feeling too great and I need to get some sleep. So, I am going to leave you with some videos because who doesn't love videos of silly kids? I do want to say welcome to the world Cole (Trickle) Alexander! We love you more than you could ever know sweet baby.

Reason number 86 why my child is weird:

The next five videos are of Evie (Lila's in there a little too). This is probably overkill but she cracks me up. The last two really showcase the voice she has found.

And these two are just fun hanging out videos. Happy Friday ya'll!

How was your weekend?

2011-12-05T20:34:00.001-08:00

Many, many times on this blog I have stated that I believe single parenthood is for saints and angels. Those of you who do it simply amaze me. Seth was in town this weekend, but he had a lot going on. In no way am I complaining. How could I? Not only does he do SO much for me, but he's raising money for charity by running longer than anyone should ever contemplate running. If I did complain that makes me kind of a raging you know what right? It's cool though. I was good with it because we had fun things planned. That is until the Christmas tree fell over (twice), the vacuum cleaner died, and Lila got pink eye (in both eyes). All of this was discovered within the first hour that I woke up on Saturday.

As I said, I'm not lodging a complaint here or trying to make you feel sorry for me. I just thoroughly enjoy those comedy of errors type stories you know? My thinking is, you might enjoy them too. In which case, it's only fair that I share it with you.

Sometime last week we decorated the biggest, fattest tree that we could find at Home Depot. When we saw it there we chuckled and put it down. But my heart knew we were going back to it. Every year we get a tree that will logically fit well in our house. It's usually smaller than I want it to be. I usually get home and enjoy our tree. But in the back of my mind I'm always wishing we had been a little more adventurous. Enter the big fat tree of 2011. It was cold, Lila was with us, and in an instant I knew it was game face time. I told Seth I wanted the big fat tree. He chuckled and agreed. I asked him if we were crazy and he said something like, "this is what we do right?". So we did it.

When we got home with it and let it begin to settle it became comical. We sat here randomly glancing at each other and giggling at our monstrous tree in our average, low ceilings house. That was Wednesday. Thursday night we decorated it. It wasn't until Saturday morning (or rather Friday in the middle of the night) that it fell. Seth got up super early to eat something before his EIGHTEEN MILE run and found it at which point he stood it back up and went back to bed. When he got up for real to go run I was getting up too and there it was on the floor again. I frantically tried to pick up pieces and vacuum before Lila woke up wanting to help. Then the vacuum decided it's job no longer consisted of sucking things up. Mind you, at this point Evie is losing her mind because she hates the sound of the vacuum (yes it runs...just doesn't do anything else). Lila is crawling out of bed looking like a train wreck. If a toddler could look hungover that's how she looked.

I immediately started getting us all ready for breakfast with Santa at Lila's school. It wasn't until I was actually getting Lila ready that I saw the green nasties in her eyes. I had noticed the dark circles already but just assumed she didn't get enough sleep due to her aversion to going to bed. My neighbor kindly brought over her vacuum and informed me Lila probably had pink eye. I have zero experience with pink eye. I mean, I'm aware it pretty much jumps on you from thirty feet away if someone has it. Other than that I didn't really know what it looked like.

Being the good parent that I am, we went to the pediatrician instead of breakfast with Santa. I wish I had taken a picture of my children all decked out in Christmas garb at the pediatrician's office. Oddly, we weren't the only ones missing a special breakfast. The place was crazy and there was a very large family of decked out kids and a tired mom that didn't look that different from us.

Needless to say, the pink eye is going away. The vacuum may be fixable. The tree has a new, wider, metal stand. All is well with the Burrow household. I love our tree. I'm sitting her smiling just glancing at it and I haven't even put the ornaments back on it yet!

Pinterest is blowing up my blog!

2011-12-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of my feelings (phrases stolen from others of course) about Pinterest....

courtesy of Somewhere in the Middle

It's pretty interesting to me how quickly a website can become a major obsession for so many. Twitter, Facebook, and now Pinterest (it's getting to that point I promise) to name a few. For people like me who like to make things, cook things, and generally be creative Pinterest is the definition of overwhelming.

One thing I can say that I have done and seem to continue to do is use ideas for the girls. If I was still teaching I'm pretty sure Pinterest would make my head explode. But when you're just talking about two toddlers it's incredibly manageable. Two year olds simply can and cannot do a specific set of things. The field is narrowed dramatically therefore leaving me with a reasonable number of options.

If you recall I said weeks ago that Fridays would be the day I illustrated how something I pinned came to life. And I think I stuck to that for one, maybe two, Fridays. Today we will play catch up. Nothing like Christmas to bring out the get it done spirit!

SIDE NOTE - What I also love about Pinterest is that when you do complete something it doesn't have to be exact, perfect, or really anywhere near what the other person did. It's about inspiration.

Did you know you can order online from Hobby Lobby? I didn't...until I went searching for places online to order felt off of a bolt instead of in small sheets. I hate going to Joann's. It's not close and with two kids I just can't be bothered. Felt is SUPER cheap. When I pinned this I knew I would do it simply for that reason. The actual doing part of this was somewhat of a happy accident. I had grand plans of cutting out ornaments the night before. But that didn't happen. So I sat on the floor in the den and cut out the tree. We hung the tree in the playroom and went back to the den. I traced the ornaments on the template and then realized that was a pain. I then began asking each little chickie what color and shape she wanted. I would quickly cut it out, hand it to her, and send her on the treck (because my house is so big) to the playroom to "hang" it on the tree. That gave me barely enough time to make the next ornament for whichever little one was still standing there. It was a bit chaotic and quick, but they LOVED it. We got to doing letters for their names and it was like I was Santa himself with each ornament. Due to the nature of the activity I only got a picture of the end result...

The pin...

The pin in action (sorry for the horrible picture quality)...

After that worked out so well I decided to keep it up! This activity involves two pins!!! I know. I'm such an over achiever. I'm telling you though. I wouldn't be doing this stuff if it wasn't easy.

I've been thinking a lot about teaching the spirit of Christmas and how difficult that can be with a two year old. To her Christmas is presents. To any toddler it really is just that. They understand the immense excitement and joy of getting gifts. They don't understand that it's a special day about Jesus and that giving is as amazing as receiving. My goal is to at least start with the giving part at this age. I want her to feel as fulfilled by giving as she does by receiving.

That being said, we made gifts today! I saw this pin...

...and while it would be perfect for Father's day it works for any day I think. Unfortunately I was running very low on finger paints. It's a good thing there are a million pins about making your own. I used this one...

There were major tweaks to this one, but it turned out perfectly in the end. The girls picked their hand color and then painted for AN HOUR. Longest continuous activity in my house to date. And, two pins in one. Bam!!!

Carson doesn't usually love finger painting or getting messy. I guess the actual two year old (happy birthday sweet girl!) is coming out in her. She went to town!!!

We actually ended up putting them in frames and wrapping them. The girls liked wrapping just as much as painting. Lila literally fell all over herself to give Seth his gift. She was so proud and so excited. I just love when things I try to do work out so well!

But...you can't win 'em all.
I found this little treat and immediately thought it was risky but so cute...

Lila LOVES puzzles and things similar to this. She also loves M&Ms (Seth's doing). Match made in heaven right? Ok, maybe not ideal for more than once in a blue moon. It uses quite a lot of M&Ms. But, I also wanted to see how she would do with some self control practice. I printed the template, got the M&Ms, and while Evie was napping we gave it a go. The ones you see below are as far as she got. This was not due to the expected desire to eat them all. I hate to say I have imparted a bit of perfectionism on her. It has taken me a while to even sometimes get over it when things don't go as I think they should. She would lay an M&M on the paper and they would wiggle and slide some when she would put the next one down. So she'd grab them and start over. She got frustrated and just started playing with them and organizing them on the blanket. I tried to talk her through it. Then she got so caught up in playing with them in a different way that I just let it go. Maybe she was thinking outside of the box anyway!

As if you haven't already gotten bored with this blog post, I have more!!! I tried to make a wreath. It turned out ok (hear that perfectionism seeping out). I used two pins again which seems more exciting than the actual wreath being made.

And here's how mine ended up...

It's kind of skinny and kind not round. But, it's done and will do :-)

Ok, I'm tapping out. Sorry for the deluge of nonsense. But I can't promise there isn't more coming...

One on one

2011-11-30T11:24:00.000-08:00

My week is pretty frantic these days. Lots of diaper changing and meltdown mending. Mondays, Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays leave almost no room for one on one time. I love having Carson here for so many reasons. But, I have to admit that I do look forward to the one on one time I get with my girls on Tuesday and Thursday. Those are the days when I really get to just be with Evie while Lila is at PDO. That being said, Lila's one on one time isn't as much as it should be. She comes home from PDO and promptly passes out. Usually, if I can swing it, Evie is asleep then too. But sometimes Evie sleeps after Lila. This would be the schedule I am aiming for but it doesn't always work out. However, on the days that it does I try really hard to just give Lila as much hugs and attention as possible.

This can be tricky. She wakes up from her nap recharged and being her loud self while Evie is trying to nap. Lately I have been trying to come up with activities to do with Lila during this time that are quiet yet engaging enough. Yesterday it totally worked out.

Lila loves my computer. She isn't allowed to play with it alone so when I sit with her and play on it she thinks it's such a big girl thing to do. She likes to find the letters and type them in different colors. We got going with this and I talked her though typing the names of people we know. She would choose "their" color and then I would spell it out and she would find the letters. After Josie she lost interest! For some reason this was so much fun for both of us! Here is the result:

LILA

MOMMY

DADDY

GRAMMY

GRANDMA

CARSON

KATIE

SARA

VIVI

ERIC

PAIGE

EVERETTE

JOSIE

Thanksgiving down South

2011-11-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving at my cousin's/Grandma's for the third year in a row. The actual Thanksgiving meal is at my cousin Laura's house and then we spend the next few nights at Grandma's house. It's so nice to go there consistently for many reasons.

First and foremost, we had the best surprise! Sara came home for Thanksgiving. I know she missed us, but my girls missed her just as much. It was so great to just spend time with her. That is until she got sick! Nothing like getting a stomach bug right after Thanksgiving. But at least we were able to take care of her.

This year Lila and Anna Kate came closer to playing with each other instead of around each other. Anna Kate is exactly a year older than Lila. She is definitely the cooler older cousin with all of the most amazing toys for Lila to play with. In fact, we had to drag Lila out of Anna Kate's room to eat! Lila can typically be pretty good at playing by herself, but the number of times she told me to leave when I went to check on her hit an all time high! She also loved talking to the horse that lives next door. She tried to love the trampoline and tire swing but just wasn't sure.

Evie was one of two new babies this year. My cousin Connor and his wife Lindi had baby Emmye two months after Evie was born. I'm excited to see these two girls grow up around each other too! For now they did a lot of being held by anyone and everyone.

Relaxing at Grandma's is always one of my favorite things to do. We watch movies and simply sit around and talk. I even did a little shopping. NOT black Friday style craziness though. Grandma also enjoyed the Lady Gaga special with us! If you can't tell from these pictures, my latest obsession is instagram. LOVE IT.

I'm sure I also posted about this last year, but Grandma's street is a winter wonderland extravaganza. And would you believe Santa has a home (we'll call it his summer home) just a few houses down from Grandma? I was unsure of Lila's first encounter with Santa this year. Recently she has been pretty clingy with me and not so excited about strangers. I thought it might be a struggle to get her to even go near him. But, as she often does, she proved me wrong. He did such a good job of making her feel comfortable. I'm sure the candy canes helped too. It was Evie though that really surprised me. She seriously sat and stared at him for a very long time. No crying or panic set in. Just simple awe. It was priceless. And wouldn't you know our big fancy camera went dead within seconds of the girls being on his lap! So we got some pretty awful phone pictures.

This would be her face as she passes all of the extravaganza.

Going out of town always wipes everyone out. With little ones it can be hard to know who will sleep where, when, and for how long. In spite of the rocky road we have been on the past seven months in the sleeping department, the girls did really well. Lila didn't get any naps in, but she made up for it on the way home...

Needless to say, I am thrilled about this holiday season. Lila can identify Santa! She can understand so much and sees magic in everything at this perfect little age. Soon I will begin to attempt to continue the traditions I started last year while adding some along the way. Let's just hope you hear from me again before Christmas has come and gone ;-)

I hope you and yours had a great Thanksgiving as well. Thank you for tolerating my overly sappy and indulgent Thanksgiving posts.

I am thankful (post number three)

2011-11-23T19:28:00.000-08:00

I think a lot about what I have. There are big hopes, dreams, and desires all the time. Not just for myself or for Seth and I, but obviously for our kids too. But then when I get down to the nitty gritty of the day I take a look around and realize most of those hopes, dreams, and desires are already happening. I see it in a text message photo of the girls taking a bath while I go to my glamorous second job (that I am more than lucky to have). I see it in the dog that makes me crazy but tolerates her "best friend" Lila day in and day out. I see it in my mom who always has a kind word, an open mind, and a giving heart. I see it in my dad who to this day works to no end and then brings big pink tutus to his granddaughter. There are just so many ways to see the best of life.

I've never been a glass half full kind of person. Unfortunately, I lean towards realistic instead of optimistic. One time someone told me if you don't expect much then you are always pleasantly surprised. At the time I found that to be such a comforting way to walk through life. And then I married Seth...and had a baby...and then I had another one. And expectations sort of landed somewhere after the fact. And pleasant surprises became a way of life. And the glass started looking fuller and fuller by the minute. Some days so much so it overflows. It's hard to explain, but depression runs pretty deep in my family on both sides. Many times I've struggled to figure out how to rise above it. Growing up I had this redhead friend who just didn't understand the purpose of getting down. Let's just say her glass is a lot bigger and a lot fuller than most. I always wanted to be like her. I wanted to bottle up that feeling and carry it with me all the time. Instead, I just tried to make her stick around for a while so I wouldn't forget how easy it can be to just be happy and thankful.

I don't know if it takes finding what makes you the happiest and multiplying it. Maybe it takes planting the right people to be reminders. Or, it could just be taking the time to pay attention. Regardless, I am there. This Thanksgiving more than any other in my life I can't express enough how thankful I am for what I have.

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

For your viewing pleasure...

2011-11-22T19:50:00.000-08:00

Two things...

1) I am only showing you the following picture because I laughed so hard at it that I figured I should share the good belly laugh. Lila decided to go to sleep last night around 10:30. Maybe even 11. Needless to say, she ended up in bed with us at around, oh, sometime. Anyway, when I woke up this morning I only saw the awesome Lila half of this sleeping situation at which time I looked at Seth, said "look", pointed, and giggled. He giggled too but it wasn't what I was expecting. He just kind of quickly got up after his laugh and went to work. Fast forward to now. I went to do my glamorous second job for forever basically and he tossed me his phone to look at pictures he had taken of the girls. I landed on this one and busted out laughing. He then tells me how he had already had a good laugh at my expense when I pointed out Lila's awesomeness this morning. Anyway, you can thank me via comments. If you didn't bust out laughing at this picture something is seriously wrong with you.

2) In an attempt to make you even happier today, here is what my day was like. Good times!!!

Thankful post number two

2011-11-22T10:29:00.000-08:00

Today's thankful post is for my family...

I am thankful for my dreamboat husband every single day. Sometimes every single hour. We are truly partners in the land of parenthood. Not a lot of women can say that. That alone makes me uber thankful for him. But beyond that I really feel like he makes me a better person. I get in a tizzy quite a lot if you can believe that. I can be slightly unstable. He knows exactly what to do. This may be to ignore it and let it pass or to come home immediately and let me take a breather. There is no bigger blessing in life than to find someone that compliments you and loves you in every way. What's terribly unfortunate is that I have no current pictures of just Seth and I. That will have to be resolved this weekend during Thanksgiving when there will be gobs of other people to hold our children.

I am thankful for baby Burrow #1. The little princess (and I mean that in the best possible way) that Lila has become keeps me on my toes and in fits of giggles. The other day she woke up and immediately told me she needed her Tinkerbell pajamas on instead. This was a school day so I told her she had to put clothes on instead of pajamas. So then she insisted on wearing a dress. We put a dress on her, got a coat on, and two hours later were out the door :-) In the car on the way to school she started ~~screaming~~ telling me that she needed to take her coat off. I kept asking her why and she finally said, "because you can't see my dress!!!!". Since that day she will only wear dresses. I don't spend a lot on clothes for my kids, but I definitely didn't buy only dresses for winter. Today I told her they were all dirty. She matter of factly said, "Brandon can bring some new ones". Kids are so funny. I'm sure Brandon would love nothing more than to spend his time buying dresses. Lila spends a great deal of time in her "dress ups" and loves to pretend. She makes a really great doctor, musician, and cook. She's also an amazing big sister and recently she is trying so much harder to be a good big sister to Carson too. I just love the little girl she is becoming even though I miss the baby she was with every fiber of my being.

I am so very thankful for baby Burrow #2 as well. Evie is like a happy little bundle of smiles and laughter. I feel like I am constantly trying to make her smile (it's not very hard) because it just makes me so happy. As I've mentioned before I wake to her overwhelming happiness and there just is no better way to start your day. Lila has recently figured out the best ways to make her giggle too. And, of course, big sister gets the best, most adoring laughs out of baby Evie. Carson is a close second to Lila. Daddy gets the brightest smiles though. When he gets home she will lean and wiggle and squirm to get him to look at her. And when he does her ear to ear grin is intoxicating. Some might say she gets all of this from me. I tend to overlaugh about everything and I can get very smiley at the drop of a hat. Regardless, of where it comes from there is nothing better than baby laughter...especially from my baby :-)

Thankful post number one

2011-11-21T20:58:00.000-08:00

My children are the luckiest. I mean, how many little girls can say they have more women to look up to than they know what to do with? I get nervous sometimes about not working. I wonder if my kids will see me differently because I didn't fight for a career or climb a ladder. And who's to say that can't still happen? In the mean time, the sheer volume of examples of successful women (yes, I am really popular) that I am friends with will have to do!

I have talked countless times about these amazing women. In this week of being thankful I want them to know they mean the world to me...and to my girls.

Here are a few examples of funny ways these ladies enter our day with or without them knowing it:

1) This is aunt Kimmie...she became a doll in Lila's doll house rather quickly. Lila talks to her frequently. The picture below aunt Kimmie would be mommy and daddy.

2) Aunt Meg (and uncle Skip too) - Meg is due to have a baby here pretty soon. They don't know what they're having but they have names picked. When we pray for everyone (and I mean everyone) before bed I usually say "and thank you for Meg, Skip, and baby Emily". Seth usually says "and thank you for Meg, Skip, and baby Cole Trickle" because Seth has nicknames for everyone. Lila will add in (at least with me) the one that is left out. This may get confusing when the baby is actually here and she has to stick to one name. I think they should cross their fingers it's a girl or b-dub will be called "baby Cole Trickle" every time it sees Lila.

3) Aunt Josie (and aunt Vicky - Josie’s mom) - Ok, so this is what I’m talking about. How many of you have friends that haul their one year old and their mom to your house to babysit your two children so you can go on a date? I’m guessing not many. Not to mention they juggle two screaming babies and change sheets when diapers leak completely in stride. Lila is still asking me when Josie is coming back over.

These three examples are seriously just a few. I pray every night that my girls find the kind of true friends I have found.

All of this being said, Lila and Evie's real aunt, Sara, moved to NYC about a month ago. While all of these other women are so important and wonderful, no one can replace Sara. She watched Lila the whole first year of her life while living with us. I knew when Sara moved away it would be tough. She knew it too. The day before she left was really difficult. But, I keep telling her that she is so lucky to be having this experience. I often regret that I have only ever lived in Georgia. She is getting to experience so many new things at such a great time in her life.

AND, technology makes it easier than ever to "be there" when you can't actually be there. The first few times that we tried to video chat it was a bit of a train wreck. Lila didn't want to stay in front of the camera so it was mostly Sara and I talking while I may or may not have been holding Evie. But the few times so far that Lila has really engaged it has been priceless. Lila has read books to Sara, tried to brush her hair through the computer screen, and tried to feed her play food from her kitchen. It's just adorable how the mind of a two year old works. When Lila told Sara she wanted to brush her hair Sara was about to say "you can't" but couldn't get it out because Lila was already leaning over "brushing" the computer screen. We miss you Sara but live it up for us ok??? **Side note - take a look at Sara's blog...I have to say she kind of reminds me of....me :-) www.sarabateman85.blogspot.com .

I'm going to leave you with the latest installment of the best shots from our last go at photo booth...I'm pretty sure initially they were like "wait, what's the point of this again?".

Already over it. They seem to like to just stare at themselves (go figure). I usually have to prompt them to make faces or something...

...like here...

...I think here I said "smile really big!".

Attempt number one at getting a cute hug.

I couldn't think of anything else to tell them to do.

Attempt number two at getting a cute hug (which means we will have to practice this one some more).

Lila-isms

2011-11-20T20:37:00.000-08:00

1. own = new - Not sure why but she says the word own when she means to say new
"mommy I want own books!!", "mommy I want own music!!!", "mommy I want own crayons!!!"

2. you = me - Pronouns are still hard
"mommy can I hold you?"

3. "I'm so happy!!!" - This one usually follows an epic, knock down, drag out meltodown...it's like her way of letting you know she's over it even though her face is red, her hair is CRAZY, and tears are streaming down her face.

4. bus = any video - The first video that she ever really got into was a kid songs video where kids are dancing around and singing songs. The first song on the video is wheels on the bus. So when she wanted us to know she wanted to watch it she would say "watch bus!!!". Now all videos are called bus.

5. "toots magoots" - This one is 100% courtesy of Seth. He says random things like this all the time. So now when she toots she says it. Or, if I ask her if she pooped she will say "no mommy, it's just toots magoots".

Alright, that's all I've got at the moment. No offense to you readers out there, but I totally just did this post so I wouldn't forget these little nuggets of everyday chatter from my adorable 2 and a half year old.

The past six months...

2011-11-15T20:57:00.000-08:00

This post, and the new header, are dedicated to to the littlest Burrow. She turned six months old on the 5th. Making a header devoted to Evie is long overdue!

Six months ago our world changed forever for the second time. Things got turned upside down and inside out and now here we sit wondering where the time went yet again. Well, sort of.

I would be lying if I said it's been a smooth ride. The thing about Lila is that until she turned 18 months she taught us nothing about being parents. We were clueless to say the least. We got lots of sleep and very little changed. But just having one is sort of like that sometimes.

Evie made her entrance and due to some intense reflux she made it loud and clear. She screamed all the time and slept on occasion. I am of the belief that reflux is just something you really know nothing about until it's taken over your baby. I'm sure there are varying degrees of it. I am also aware that many, many more difficult things could happen. But, when you have been walking around with a screaming baby for hours after no sleep and you feel so unsure as to what is going on, you kind of feel like the world is caving in.

Then, one day, everything changes. You get to meet your real baby. The one that just wanted to be happy all along and couldn't. The one that just needed you to be patient so she could show you who she really is. The one who smiles and giggles at the drop of a hat and has somewhat of an obsession with her big sisters (Lila and Carson that is).

That day came for us a little while back and has just intensified every day since. Every morning I wake up to that little face you see on the far right up there. Every day I watch her laugh at Lila and my heart melts. Every day I snuggle her and thank God for the healthy, happy, squishy little girl that I am fortunate enough to call mine.

Here are some Evie 6 month stats:
* 17 pounds (75th percentile)
* 27 inches (100th percentile)
* has one tooth broken through and one very close!
* tried cereal and green beans and wasn't a fan of either
* "roars like a tiger" (Seth's words)...this is her current form of communication
* does this movement with her hand that looks like a backwards wave...we lean towards thinking she's advanced when really she has no idea what she's doing
* transfers a toy from one hand to the other
* is days away from sitting completely on her own...she's so close!
* rolling back to front and front to back....and sometimes ends up in odd places...

*Loves to jump...

* Loves to swing...

There you have it! Isn't she cute? Don't you just want to smooch her sweet little cheeks?

We love you so much baby Evie!

big props

2011-11-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

Shortest. Post. Ever.

Ready?

I would like to give a big 'ol shout out to all the single moms out there. I learned this week that I could never, ever handle it. Ok, maybe I could if I had one kid. Or maybe if I had two that were like ten years apart. Bravo ladies. They should make you the CEO of some major company simply because your children are alive.

That's all :-)

get it together

2011-11-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a bad day. Like, a really, really bad day. Seth went out of town for the week the day we decided swaddling Evie is no longer an option. Needless to say, Tuesday night involved very little sleeping for the three Burrow ladies. Lila is a child whose temperament depends on sleep. If she gets none the next day is horrendous. But these days if she gets enough the "terrible twos" seem to be slipping away. Yesterday was the worst day we have in a long time.

Carson and Lila are also going through some very opposite changes which makes my job as constant referee a little harder. Carson is entering the combative two year old world where her need for control and independence are growing. Lila is entering the stage of less parallel play and more PLAY WITH ME NOW with other kids. So here's how that looks:

L: Carson let's dance!
C: NO!
L: Carson PLEASE let's dance!
C: No thank you.
L: (entering meltdown mode and in Carson's face) Carson dance now!!!!!
C: NOOOOOO! (shoves Lila)
L: (screaming and crying like someone just shredded her blanket) Mommy Carson won't dance!!!!
.....I diffuse Lila's hysteria....Lila calms down....
C: Lila dance?
L: Ok!
.....and off they go into a blissful thirty minute running around dance fest that ends in a similar situation mentioned above about the use of a stroller, doll, magnet, or any other item in my house.

This all becomes magnified by the fact that they both can't sleep due to the snot and coughing extravaganza that has now become everyday life for them.

Most days I can diffuse most things and the times of chaos are few and far between. Yesterday just wasn't one of those days. And because Evie thinks that sleeping is something other people's kids do she starts screaming and crying just to fit in. Or because she's EXHAUSTED.

After Carson left yesterday Evie finally took a nap and Lila and I had a video chat with Sara. This part of the day was nice. Then Evie slept a little longer so Lila and I perused the Super Readers website. If you don't know, Super Readers is a fantastic little cartoon that Lila is obsessed with. She actually thought her Wonder Woman Halloween costume made her a Super Reader. Anyway, we did that for a while and then Evie woke up around dinnertime. We have no food and I desperately needed to get out of the house. I decided we would go drive through somewhere. Lila decided she hates me because I turned off the computer and put her in the car. She hasn't had an all out screaming-so-much-in-the-car-meltdown-mommy-wants-to-run-into-oncoming-traffic kind of episode in a really long time. I had actually forgotten how miserable those can be. I'm not proud, but I had had enough. So I screamed back. I'm not a screaming parent. But she was getting Evie riled up too and I just couldn't do it. After I screamed Lila went silent. After we drove through to get food and I gave her lemonade it was like the whole thing never happened. Don't you just love that about toddlers?

Needless to say, last night ended the day with a bang. Evie went to sleep just long enough for me to read and sing to Lila only to wake up and take over an hour for me to get her back to sleep. So both children were asleep somewhere around 10:30.

I'm not telling you all of this so you feel sorry for me. I'm not telling you all of this to be your birth control if you don't have kids. I'm telling you all of this to now tell you something else....

I was in the car taking Lila to school this morning and Evie fell asleep as she usually does. So I drove around to hopefully get a good nap in for her. While doing so I started listening to Dave FM and they are at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta doing a fundraiser. It seems that CHOA is in desperate need of funds. Anyway, they are calling it the Big Show for Little Voices I believe. They have families talking about how much CHOA means to them and why. I am listening to the stories of children who spent the first two years of their lives in the hospital. I am listening to moms who have bad days every day because they spend their lives watching their child suffer. And of course, I'm crying. I'm crying because I have two amazingly healthy and happy kids. I am crying because my bad day overwhelmed me to no end when it's one bad day among hundreds of good ones. I'm crying because I need to cut myself some slack. A two year olds everyday tantrum (or ten) is probably something one of those moms at CHOA would welcome with a big smile.

I know I'm allowed to be upset by our bad day. But God just wanted to make sure I knew how lucky I am to have that kind of a bad day. So God, if you're listening, I heard you loud and clear.

hello again

2011-10-31T20:27:00.000-07:00

Here are my excuses in no particular order:

1) I had the stomach bug that kept on giving. It was given to me by my two year old who had that after finally getting rid of the bronchitis. Oh and now she has the "sneeze in a way that ensures my snot covers everyone in the room". Carson has it too. Yea, this is the last time you will ever hear from me again.

2) My littlest holds sleeping at the very bottom of her list of priorities.

3) I was planning a baby shower for this fantastic chick...

4) Any time I plan anything at my house I get this absurd idea that I can turn this house around and make it look the way I want. Instead, Seth ends up forced into a whole bunch of awful home improvement projects that stress me out to no end.

5) I went to Georgia/Florida in St. Simons for three days and left my children with Seth's cousin Jessica (God love her). Let's just say I need a vacation from my vacation.

6) My beautiful Mac finally decided that I take too many pictures and videos and just kind of got cranky about it. We are still working on this one.

SO, to make up for my slacker ways yet again, I have the following:

She's here to save the day!

(alright, maybe she just made you smile and consider continuing to check in on my slacking blog)

And I have this...

Again, trying to kill you with cuteness.

If those two don't convince you, maybe these will. Well, at least the first one. Not sure why Seth and I find these so funny. I guess the fact that she can see herself making the video makes it priceless.

Maybe, just maybe you will hear from me again soon...until then, I will hold out hope that you keep seeing this post and thinking, "how can I not check back?".

Camping

2011-10-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

I think it takes a certain kind of female to really enjoy camping. I think it takes an even more special kind of female to want to take a toddler camping. I can toot my own horn and say I am that girl. Lucky for me, Katie is that kind of girl too. Kim and Sara also happen to be professional campers. Brandon pretty much invented it. This would be THE crew to teach two little girls about sleeping in the wilderness. And when I say wilderness I mean the big open field outside of a cabin belonging to Katie's sister-in-law's family.

Seth took one for the team and stayed home with Evie. Lila got sick last week and passed it on to Seth and eventually to Evie. By Friday everyone was sick except for me. Seth and I had a long talk about the planned camping trip and decided he and Evie would stay here and Lila and I would go. Lila was in need of some serious one on one time. She was still not feeling great, but we decided being outside would help.

A big thank you to Brandon for hanging out with all of the ladies this weekend and handling all things camping. We had THE BEST time. I loved the time with Lila. She ~~picked~~ ate apples, ran around chasing Moe (the Beans dog), and slept all night in a tent! I am so proud of her. She and Carson spent all day Saturday playing around our "campsite" learning about why their parents love to camp. Good times.

Here are entirely too many pictures to showcase what a good time we had. I promise I chose only the best ones...

Things got started on the tractor headed to pick apples...Lila was SO excited about the tractor that she almost had a meltdown when it was time to get off.

But then she realized there were apples to be eaten!

Delish.

We may or may not have encouraged the hand holding frolicking through the apples...

Lila has a recent love of hills. In the car she yells "hill!!!" and then says "weeeeee". So naturally, this hill needed her to run to the top the minute she saw it.

Here we are setting up camp. This lasted about a minute before Lila almost whacked Katie in the face with a tent pole.

Happy campers! (sorry, had to say it ).

YAY for camping. I hate this, but I have almost no pictures of Kim or Katie. Katie if you took some will you share?

Pile on Jana...their favorite game.

This would be our tent city. The blue ones actually attach and have tunnels!

I seriously took twenty pictures trying to get a good shot of the girls and Sara in Sara's fun hammock. This was the best one if that tells you anything.

It got better when it was just them...

I have a habit of bringing bubbles everywhere. I am so glad I did this time too!

I call this one Carson's pre-glamour shots picture. She's really probably trying to get Lila to stop holding her hand but it came out like "check out how cute I am" instead.

LOVE.

I know there are more but my computer is running slow because it's overloaded with pictures and I need to go to bed. Just a quick note about the new header...

I want to mention something about the picture of Lila, Carson, and I. I randomly remembered today that I have photo booth on my Mac. This will now be my go to activity when the girls get nuts. I'm pretty sure they could have stared at themselves and taken pictures of themselves for hours. In the header picture I had just told them to quickly make a funny face :-)

2011-10-07T11:38:00.001-07:00

I may be a blogging slacker, but I stuck to my goal of being a productive pinner! Well sort of...we made these a few weeks ago....

The pin...

The pin in action:

Lila's tape hasn't been pulled off yet because this was round two for her. She used too much paint the first time and it ripped :-) These are hanging in our playroom!

Happy pinning!

2011-09-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

Heard of it? If you haven't don't look it up now. It's a deep, black hole that will suck you in the minute you take a peek. Think Facebook meets Google Images meets regular old computer bookmarking. It's brilliant.

Anyway, the downfall of Pinterest is somewhat of a user error. It's so easy to pin and pin and pin and never do. It's so easy to be visually intoxicated by all of the recipes, DIY ideas, event planning, and home decor without ever leaving your couch to implement any of it.

I refuse to let the only downfall get me down folks! Seth can make fun of me all he wants for getting sucked in but I will prevail! My house will be cuter. My kid will have more to do. I WILL make all of the crap I have pinned...someday. For right now I'm just getting started.

So here's my plan. You know that other little blog I started pre baby Evie? The one about decorating and such. Well, I've been doing the decorating part slowly but surely. I just haven't been doing the blogging part. I'm sure you are shocked. Rest assured there is a mammoth post coming to it soon. That is where you will see much of my pinning inspiration come to life. Here I plan to take the other stuff and showcase my efforts. If you read a lot of blogs you are right in judging my big old jump onto the "weekly pin comes to life" bandwagon. I am not above following the crowd.

I am going to say that this will be weekly even though there's a good chance it won't. But I really, really want it to be. I want to bring back Holla Hump Day too (which oddly enough would be today). Baby steps people. One giant step in adding something new does not mean I am going to just up and be on top of things completely.

Anyway, this may seem small and silly. You may be thinking this first pin in action was so easy to do it isn't even worth posting about. To you I say take a look at the pictures and when the big grin on your face emerges you will know it was a perfect start....

pin:

pin in action:

* Please note that this is the perfect image of my world. Baby doll hating life in the background, messy hair in everyone's face, and tutus. We do what we can.

You would have thought I gave Lila the most expensive and amazing toy ever. She kept saying she was making a porcupine.

Carson decided the colander just went really well with her outfit :-)

In an effort to bring back Holla Hump Day I think "Look what I ~~pinned~~ did!" will from here forward be on Fridays. But not this Friday. Unless I am unusually on top of things :-)

Happy pinning!

Week in review (or lots of random things in review)

2011-09-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

Now that school is in full swing for Lila I have to admit I really look forward to Tuesdays and Thursdays. She LOVES school. She gets a little apprehensive on the way there, but she is so happy when I pick her up. She's the perfect mix of exhausted, chatty, and feeling like a big girl. I wish I could say I got all weepy and overwhelmed with her beginning school. I didn't though. I think we were both so ready for this that it was an incredibly easy transition. Being a SAHM lends itself to endless benefits. However, one drawback is an over abundance of time with the same person (people) all the time. Everyone needs a break...even mommies and babies.

Speaking of babies, Evie and I REALLY need that time too. The evil reflux coupled with the big sister gave Evie very little hang out with mommy time. If you don't know, when a baby has reflux (or colic, or anything that is constantly causing irritation to the baby) you don't really feel like you get to do the normal baby things. Every moment spent with her was trying to make her feel better, cleaning her up after yet another barf-fest, or trying to get her to stay asleep for more than five minutes. It's exhausting for everyone. The notion of quality time gets put to the side inadvertently. But now that Evie is on the upswing this one on one time is priceless. Last week we did a lot of laying around and staring at each other (and Molly). I did that ALL THE TIME with Lila. I soaked in every little bit of her that I could. So I have some catching up to do with Evie...

Again, my phone's photo quality is lacking, but for now it'll do. And sweet Molly...she is a lot of things that make me CRAZY on a daily basis. But, we couldn't have asked for a better dog for our kids to grow up with. She is so good with them. Evie has recently really started to pay attention to Molly and it's the cutest thing. Other new things in Evie's world...she is rolling front to back and back to front. However, she doesn't love the tummy time. So the little booger that she is takes her new found rolling skills and throws herself onto her back when I put her on her tummy. That is if there isn't something to stare at like Molly. She is also grabbing everything. Mostly my hair, Lila's hair, and articles of clothing. And, like her sister, she has a serious set of lungs. She has regularly been "talking" in a screaming manner for a while. Her actual crying/screaming is somewhat excruciating. I mean hurts your ears it's so intense. It seems the teenage years around her could get ugly...

In the land of Lila things are so entertaining. Her imagination is starting to run wild and I just love it. She talks to me like a little adult. The effort to be so big and yet the littleness of being two leads to some very cute and endearing conversations. She says thank you but also says you're welcome right after. She has pronouns all mixed up. For instance this is my current Facebook status:

I told Lila to look at Seth tonight and say "Daddy, you're so cute". She looked at him and proudly said,
"Daddy, I'm so cute!". Man I love that kid.

Lila also spends 75% of her life these days in a tutu. She replaced the pajamas with the "dress ups" as she calls them. But, if I can get her out of the dress ups it's only to then put on the pajamas. Or be naked. She and I are trying to come to a happy place. There were a few weeks there where I thought we were going to make each other crazy. I love her more than life itself, but she's a smart cookie. She knows how to push my buttons and she stomps all over them some days. Nothing has ever taught me the kind of patience this little girl is teaching me. Well, I should say US. Seth messaged this picture when I was at my super glamorous second job one night letting me know that Lila was grumpy:

Needless to say she keeps us on our toes. I have to assume that life would be insanely boring if she didn't!

This past weekend was filled with family. Most of my mom's family came into town to go see Wicked and celebrate Grandma's 80th birthday. I, yet again, did not bring my camera. Aunt Gail, if you are reading this my blog desperately needs the pictures you took! Until then, here are the horrible attempts I did make at taking two pictures...

Look closely at Evie's face...man she's so happy!!! Seriously, what are we going to do when Sara leaves us???

Lila decided Seth did not really want his Zaxby's.

We had the best time with everyone! It's not too often that they all come up here so it was a real treat for us.

Just a quick side note...this Friday is our five year anniversary! We are going on a date and I am BEYOND excited. I love you Sethy Poo! I can't wait to continue this crazy ride with you for many, many years to come ;-)

Just a note...

2011-09-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

...or two or three...

Sorry for the dramatic previous post. Some things just have to be said you know?

I hope you can appreciate the thrown together nature of the blog headers these days. I used to painstakingly put those together because I think they are so darn cute. Now, I snag some pictures off my phone, slap them on there, and hope for the best! The best this month being that Evie only naps longer than twenty minutes unless she is sleeping on me and Lila is learning the art of tracing herself starting with her crotch. Really the best would be that Evie is able to enjoy the bouncy swing and Lila totally digs Tuesday morning breakfast with mommy at Starbucks!

Yesterday was a doozy of a day. THANK GOD my sister decided to come hang out. We think Lila has an allergy (to fish possibly). Then, after giving her Benadryl and putting her down for a nap she vomited all over her bed thirty minutes into the nap. Good times! So after the clean up we had some low key couch time:

Man they are so cute.

Speaking of cute, my second little girl that is often mistaken for a boy has a tight grip on my heart. I just never knew it was possible to love this much more than once.

She's a little deer in headlights in these pictures but don't you just want to smooch those cheeks?!

Happy Tuesday!

I'll be your supermom

2011-09-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

There's this underlying world within motherhood that lives in the minds of most mothers. Many pretend it doesn't exist. Some know others are thinking about it but say nothing. And still others may talk about it openly and compete for the title of "supermom" amongst their group of friends. It doesn't matter the approach. The result is the same. A whole boatload of guilt on top of the guilt they already inherently feel all by themselves from day one of motherhood. If you are supermom and you don't feel mommy guilt pat yourself on the back and stop reading.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the choices I make, the type of mother I am, and the mothers I am surrounded by. Women spend a great deal of time comparing themselves to other women. We do it our entire lives. Then motherhood comes and it's like the motherload (ha, ha) of exhausting comparisons. It begins the instant pregnancy occurs. Should I stop drinking caffeine? My best friend stopped and her kid is brilliant. Should I register for the $300 monitor? My house isn't that big but I'm sure I need it because all of my neighbors with kids have it. Should I have a natural childbirth? It's causing me immense amounts of anxiety just thinking about it. But it's what I should do right?

Then the baby comes and for a while there isn't necessarily the time or energy to care. But when the fog clears and the sleep gets wiped away what do you see? I suppose it depends on your view. If you are looking at a desk instead of a baby most of the time your heart may be aching while your guilt grows as things are missed. A first step here or a new word there can be like daggers in your heart. You count the hours that you spend with your child like they are little nuggets of gold. If even one is taken away you feel like it has to be replaced somewhere. You believe working and helping to support your goals and your family is the ideal for you. However, somewhere over the course of the day the guilt still creeps in.

If you are looking at that sweet angel face all day instead the guilt is a little different. It's hidden in the things you forget to do or the way you discipline your child. It sneaks up on you and then hits you across the face. You realize more frequently how much you have to learn. You hear others judge the working mom yet sometimes, in the depths of your subconscious, you envy her...and then you feel guilty for that too. You chose to stay home because you feel like it's what's best for your child. Or maybe you chose to stay home because you couldn't handle that working mom's kind of guilt.

One day maybe the image starts to change a little. The view becomes that of motherhood as a whole instead of this kind of mother or that kind of mother. You no longer see that she works or doesn't work. You see that she's just like you no matter what the circumstance. Guilt is guilt no matter how much you get paid, how often you see your child(ren), or how many times you are PTA president. You learn supermom doesn't exist. Even if she did you wouldn't want to be her. That's just too much pressure.

Instead you want to be the best version of yourself that is now mommy. And you want that for the other mommies as well. You lean on the lawyer, doctor, or teacher who goes in late at night to kiss the baby just as often as you do. You count on the ones who have been there and done that because they won't judge. You look to them as examples, as co-workers, and as confidants. But most of all you look to them as a way to believe in yourself more.

So to all you mommies out there who feel the guilt and maybe compare yourself a little too often take a step back and take a long loving look. You gave birth to that child. You do the most with the smallest amount of hours. You deserve a medal...or at the very least a reprieve from your own criticism once in a while. In my eyes you are supermom. Every. Single. One. Of. You.

photo stream

2011-09-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

My POS Droid has to be on it's way out. The list of malfunctions it performs on a daily basis is endless. In fact, I tried to make this post last week. It had such a hard time emailing the photos to me that I got angry and gave up. I'm still not sure I got them all.

Anyway, it dawned on me the other day that my phone is full of the most random assortment of pictures. This is because the minute I get the real deal camera out Lila figures out what I'm doing. She then hides or makes every effort to sabotage my photo shoot. Ok.... I am a horrible mother. I just blamed my laziness on my two year old. Everyone can admit it's much easier to whip out their phone and take a picture right? :-) I'm trying to be better about taking "real" pictures but it just isn't very easy.

Before I get to the onslaught of pictures, I have a few random kid tidbits to share:

1) Lila's conversation skills have suddenly changed. She has always been an incredibly verbal child. But recently she is putting many more sentences together. It's so fascinating to me. For instance, we took a stab at potty training and decided it just wasn't time. But, after talking about it a lot for a few weeks she still wants to talk about it randomly. We took the girls to Athens to tailgate this weekend (see below) and because we had both of them I would take Lila to the bathroom with me. Our tailgating spot is near a very nice bathroom that has about five stalls. I shuffle the two of us into a stall and Lila starts going on and on about me using the potty. Here's how it went:

"Mommy is the pee pee coming out of your bottom? Mommy are you going to poop? Mommy did you wipe? Are you going to wipe? Open this door mommy! Make sure you flush mommy."

We open the door and I realize it was kind of quiet in this very crowded bathroom. I look in front of us to see the long line of women giggling and smiling at my little chatty cathy.

2) I know I have said this before, but Evie is SO FREAKING HAPPY. Even when she's super mad she makes me smile. I don't know what it is but her cry is even kind of funny. We went out to dinner with my dad tonight (see below) and our waiter had a very raspy voice. She fixated on him and just smiled at him like crazy as he discussed the menu with my dad. It was the cutest thing. We had her four month check up on Thursday and she won over the nurses with her wide, happy smile. That is until they gave her shots! By the way, she is 14.8 pounds and 26 inches in case you were wondering. That makes her 75th percentile for weight and still 100th percentile for height. I see two daughters that are taller than me in my not so distant future.

Alright, are you ready? These are not in chronological order, you may have seen them before, and most have a comment....It's kind of a lot....on with the photo stream!

We begin with a little outside playtime. It appears they are having no fun right? I promise they were.

You will begin to notice a trend with Lila and Carson's hair....

...I can never quite get it to be manageable.

The two of us don't have hair problems. I don't because I wear a hat (due to lack of shower) and she doesn't because, well, she doesn't have any.

This is another outside adventure day. This was let's wash everything in sight day. Why can't we do this inside?

Molly finds the fan for Evie quite appealing.

Washing things seems to tire Carson out. And no, Lila is not eating the washcloth. She has a frozen yogurt (gogurt style) wrapped up in there.

Not sure where we were going but she looks most unimpressed.

Nevermind. Just sleepy :-)

Putting stickers all over ourselves is a daily occurrence.

I like to call this one "Attack of the Hair Band". Carson is shaking the noise maker thingy, Lila is drummer/singer, and Evie and I (not pictured) probably have some other random noisemakers Lila insisted we use.

Just chillin'.

Oh yea. I took this one to illustrate that she found her feet. Poor second child. This type of thing would have had it's own blog post with child number one!

This is the night that we thought Lila had gone to bed so easily. And she had. In our bed that is.

Off for a stroll.

This is at the Botanical Gardens....love that place!

Evie's first official Molly kiss :-)

Hanging out on the floor with Vivi (I think I actually stole this picture from Sara maybe).

Sara said here they were pondering what ducks eat (I think).

Cuddle time.

These girls played with the sand (moving it all over the deck and in and out of the pool) for almost an hour without talking to me or each other. It was serious work.

Finger painting! (amidst the mess that is my house...all that stuff back there is for sale if you see anything you want).

Finger chewing! It seems there may be teeth coming...

We went to hibachi and it would only stand to reason that since Carson had a bib on Lila HAD to have one on too. Seth fashioned one out of a napkin because after all, that's what daddies do right?

He's also great if you need to catch a nap during dinner.

Ugh. I pretty much got horrible pictures on the first day of school. She's still a cutie though!

Goofing off at the doctor's office.

You want to do what? As if the thermometer placement wasn't fun enough...you now want to give me shots?

My sweet angel teaching her baby sister the ABC's.

I pulled out my consignment sale dress up finds and was SO happy I did!

Yep. Every ballerina should be playing an electric guitar.

Carson not only has an obsession with Evie. She also really loves all forms of seating for Evie.

A little wine, a puzzle, a princess dress, and aunt Kimmie equals a great evening.

Alright dawgs...let's do this.

Family picture at the tailgate....or what I could get of one anyway.

Way past nap time yet she refuses to go to sleep until ten minutes before we get home....

....so she and I ended up here...

....after nap hair....

....after tailgating/nap general grumpiness.

And last (but most certainly not least!) dinner out with Poppy. Thanks again for the sushi Dad. We love you!

Ok now that you are sick of looking at my kids I hope your week starts off beautifully!

So very behind...

2011-08-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

If you still check this blog and you think I fell into some black hole somewhere you would sort of be right. It's Lila's world ya'll, and we're just living in it.

Sometimes I daydream while driving to my super glamourous second job about the vast number of things I want to blog about. Then at the end of the day all I can think about is sitting on the couch and spending my time mindlessly surfing pinterest. All I want to do is something that requires zero effort or thought. Hence, the drop in quality blogging on my part.

I wish I could tell you I'm posting now to make up for that. I am so behind on all the stuff I could post about I don't even know where to start. This frustrates me because I LOVE blogging. I love rambling on and on about my life like the whole world is reading. As I've said before...it's free therapy.

Instead I'm going to give you one of my lame attempts at an update :-)

1) Lila:
HOLY CRAP. I love this little girl with every inch of my being. But every day it is taking every inch of my being to parent her. Ever heard of the little pig known as Olivia? She is the main character of many children's books written by Ian Falconer. Lila and Olivia are one and the same. In fact, I am seriously considering making an Olivia costume for Lila for Halloween.

Yesterday we began our initial attempt at potty training. I'm pretty sure I was smoking crack when I decided to get that ball rolling. Thank God for Seth. Today was better, but the road appears to be long ahead of us. As with anything in parenting, the options, theories, shoulds, and should nots are endless in regards to potty training. I'll let you know what my opinion is once it's all said and done.

Here are a random slew of Lila pictures that may give you a glimpse into what I experience every day... sheer joy, wonder, and chaos ;-)

These first two were recently taken within a set of two year old pictures we had done. She spent the entire session avoiding Sarah and not smiling. It took a lot of prodding to get these! And yes, she desperately needs a haircut.

Mom and Sara took Lila to Americus to see my mom's family while Evie and I went with some friends to the worlds longest yard sale. Little princess Anna Kate (my cousin's daughter) sits calmly and quietly per her usual. Princess Lila spends an exorbitant amount of time blow drying Grandma's hair.

I ADORE this picture. Sara took Lila to a local park just the two of them not long ago. I think Sara may have taken this picture on her phone. Priceless.

Lila and I are in absolute denial that Sara is leaving us for the big apple...

2) Evelyn:
Look at this face!!!

I am not exaggerating when I say that Evie is the happiest baby ever. I mean, aside from the spitting up nonsense she has to deal with, she laughs and smiles at everything. In fact, sometimes she laughs when absolutely nothing is happening. Wonder where she gets this from? We go in a week or two for her FOUR MONTH check up.

Having number two is glorious and disheartening all at once. I started thinking the other day about all of the precious moments I had with Lila in these baby days and how those moments with Evie seem too few and far between. Therefore, I am trying really hard to slow down and really envelope myself in all things baby Evie. I used to spend mornings just laying in bed with Lila staring at her. I haven't done that hardly at all with Evie. When I tried to early on she would spit up non-stop and cry. I tried again the other day and was pleasantly surprised. She still spits up but the volume is less, the crying is gone, and it's worth the perfect moments of staring and giggling.

The best moments though are when Evie is laughing at Lila. Lila has no concept of the hold she already has on her baby sister. Evie looks at her with wide eyes and laughs that beautiful belly laugh when Lila acts the fool and my heart is so very full.

It's interesting how Evie actually reminds me of Carson more as a baby. She's more physically aware and wiggly than Lila was. I rarely put her in the bumbo because it makes her spit up. She's maybe been in it a handful of times. The other day I put her in it, turned around, looked back and she was five feet to the left of where she started. She used her foot to slide the weird little seat and she just thought it was hysterical. All of that being said, Carson and Evie have the sweetest connection. Evie looks at Carson the same way she looks at Lila. For all she knows Carson is her big sister too. But Carson is beyond intrigued by Evie. Katie has made it clear to Carson that Carson should not touch Evie's face and head. So Carson will randomly sit and hold Evie's feet and just stare at her. Freaking adorable.

3) Jana and Seth
I am more than lucky to have the best possible partner to share parenthood with. We talk about poop like we used to talk about movies or books. Then we laugh at how much our lives have changed. We gush over the fantastic show Suits and how much we love it. Do we love it because it's that good or because it's the only show we really actually watch? We laugh about Lila and share stories of her perfect little antics when one of us isn't here. I get up to feed Evie and he gets up to get Lila back in the bed. It may be that he ends up in her tiny twin bed with her so I can get some sleep. When Lila sleeps with us she insists on being centimeters from my face. To top all of this off, Seth has decided to train for a marathon. Originally we were both going to do a half marathon together but it's just not feasible. I am not getting enough sleep yet (would probably help if I went to bed earlier :-). So for now I will stand behind him and help him fundraise (hint, hint).

Alright kids...that's where we're at today. I miss you. I hope you miss me. I'm getting there I promise.

Want to know what I've been doing?

2011-08-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

Read this first...

Here's my version catered to my child:

1. MUST suck my thumb right now.
2. Molly thinks it's funny when I pull her tail.
3. I wanna eat a banana.
4. I wanna eat all of the bananas.
5. WHY ARE YOU NOT GIVING ME A BANANA?
6. That toy is mine.
7. I'm gonna take that toy from Carson.
8. I HATE TIME OUT.
9. I wanna run away from time out.
10. Mommy is funny.
11. I wanna run away from time out.
12. Mommy is funny but why isn't she laughing when I run?
13. When is the dingy going to go off?
14. I wanna take that toy from Carson again.
15. I love my guitar.
16. I am the best singer ever.
17. Can my voice get louder?
18. I wanna chase Molly with my guitar.
19. Molly is so funny.
20. I wanna take baby Evie's pacifier.
21. Baby Evie's pacifier is mine.
22. I HATE TIME OUT.
23. Mommy's phone is mine.
24. The TV is mine.
25. I wanna watch Sesame Street.
26. Why won't mommy turn on Sesame Street?
27. The remote is mine.
28. I think mommy's phone goes in my microwave.
29. No I did not poop.
30. But now that you mention it I'm going to stick my hand in my diaper and make sure.
31. Oh I did poop.
32. Get this crap off my hands!!!
33. No I don't want to wash my hands.
34. Get this crap off my hands!!!
35. I wanna grab the faucet.
36. Why am I all wet?
37. Get my wet clothes off!!!!
38. I don't want a new diaper.
39. Where is Go Do Go?
40. I NEED to read Go Dog Go.
41. I bet Carson stole Go Dog Go.
42. I only want to eat bananas.
43. Why can't I have another banana????
44. That banana Carson has is MINEEEEEEEE!!!!
45. I love story time.
46. I love my blanket.
47. I love sucking my thumb.
48. I love Go Dog Go.
49. No thank you. I do not want to take a nap.
50. I don't care if Carson and Evie are sleeping. I am the best, loudest singer ever.
51. I want Carson to wake up.
52. I love Go Dog Go.
53. Beds are for reading and singing....not sleeping.
54. No mommy I am not tired.
55. I AM NOT TIRED.
56. I just want another banana.
57. I love sucking my thumb.
58. Is baby Evie crying? Why does she get to be up?
59. Where is Carson? Where is mommy? Where is Molly?
60. When did I go to sleep? Mommy I AM HERE!!!!

SIDE NOTE- I am way behind on the new header. I am way behind on blogging in general. You should see the state of my house. And we leave to go to the beach again tomorrow! Have a good weekend and maybe, just maybe, I can get my act together next week.

My Daughter is a Weirdo

2011-08-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

I am totally stealing the idea, sentiment, and title of this post from Katie's post about Carson. Sorry to be a copcat Katie...it seems we are in for a life of weirdness together.

Exhibit A - This wouldn't be that weird except that we have a gigantic, uber comfortable couch surrounding this table she is taking up the froggy position on.

Exhibit B - Ok, this is borderline scandalous. I went to my super glamorous second job tonight and got this picture emailed to me from Seth. He said she stuck these on and then did her "swimming" move that she does in really shallow water. Apparently the bikinis she saw at the beach left a mark because she certainly hasn't seen mommy in one. PS - the red marks are mosquito bites after being outside for ten minutes.

Exhibit C - First off, yes my house is this messy and cluttered these days. Such is life. This would be one of Lila's absolute favorite things to do. She chases either me or Molly with the shopping cart (usually Molly). But today she got geared up in upside down sunglasses and added a very dramatic move. See the video below.

Weirdness certainly keeps life interesting ;-)

Tiredly random...

2011-07-31T21:12:00.000-07:00

...or randomly tired. Whatever.

There just aren't enough hours...not enough sleep...never enough energy.

But man is there an abundance of other fantasticness. Yea, I made up a word.

So in no particular order here is my random assortment of blog post goodness:

1) Carson begins coming to our house on Mondays and Wednesdays tomorrow!!!

2) We just got back from the beach yesterday. Lila LOVED it. That being said, it flat out exhausted her and us. She loved running in the water. I would sit down and she would run circles around me. Evie sat under a tent with one of us the entire time and slept a whole lot. I had flashbacks of being at the beach with Lila when she was that age. I remember laying on a towel and just staring at her while I dozed in and out to the sound of the ocean. Man how things have changed :-)

This would be the face of delirious exhaustion...the best kind I might add.

As you can tell, the week started off cloudy but then got very sunny!

Where is Lila?

There she is! This is what Seth called the "Lilagoon". He would dig a gigantic hole while she played in the water...

Seriously...what's so great about this beach place anyway?

She is shockingly happy about her sticker face care of big sis.

Nothing like a little down time.

3) Swim lessons are almost over. This is going to be the last week. On Fridays the parent gets in and learns how to practice with their child. So what you see in the video looks a lot like the lesson is for me! It's also kind of short and doesn't show much. But, hopefully this week I will get more. Lila is doing SO well. It's just such an amazing thing to witness. I don't mean that just for us either. The little boy that usually goes before us "graduated" last week. When we first started going I would watch him in fear that Lila would be like him and take an incredibly long time to feel comfortable with these lessons. The week he graduated it was like something clicked and he really took off. While it can seem daunting these lessons are meant to be life saving and I am confident Lila could save herself.

4) Evie may be the smiliest baby ever. Now that we are past the days of screaming all day and sheer agony on her part (ok and maybe on mine a little too) she obviously feels there is quite a lot to be happy about. I absolutely love making her laugh. Even more than that, I love it when Lila is doing something in front of her and she laughs. Half the time Lila doesn't even notice but it just melts my heart...

5) Evie and I are headed to the longest yard sale this weekend with Patty, Patty's mom, and Patty's friend Megan. I am very excited. I wanted to go last year but didn't get my act together. I may be crazy trying to go with a 3 month old, but I have to give it a shot. Plus, Lila will get a whole weekend of one on one time with daddy which is a huge bonus. Anyway, wish me luck!

Happy Monday ya'll!

Amazingly inconsistent

2011-07-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

When I had Lila life was about consistency. I believed in Baby Wise and the power of a schedule. I still do. But kid number two gets the shaft in life right? You would never have heard me say that until I had baby number two. Don't tell my sister that I am now aware of how much better I must have had it. Except for the whole getting away with things. That doesn't come until later though.

Anyway, I am trying. Now that Evie's on the path to happy instead of miserable I want to really aim for consistency. I believe children need it. They thrive on it. Even babies. Some disagree, and I understand.

The problem is, Lila has given up sleeping. Rather, she has given up going to sleep. Once she goes to sleep she does alright. It's just the getting there that's become a struggle to say the least. But we're working on it. She is consistently taking up residence up against the gate we put at her door when she "goes to bed". She piles up her blanket Kim's mom made and falls asleep on it rather purposefully.

She has also decided that between 2:30 and 3:30 am she needs to do a walkabout. She comes to our room all foggy and sleepy. When Seth was out of town I may or may not have let her get in the bed with me at this time. Last night I decided I would get in bed with her just until she fell asleep. What do you think happened? If you said I passed out immediately you would be correct.

We will see what route I take tonight. Seth and I went on a date tonight while Seth's mom was brave enough to babysit. Lila was up until 10 pm talking at the gate. Tomorrow's swim lesson should be awesome.

On another note I want to say bravo to Seth. He took both girls to the Botanical Gardens this morning while I went to my glamorous second job. This was his first real outing with both ladies and of course it went incredibly well. I'm all warning him about bringing extra outfits for both girls in case of blowouts. I'm all "you'll never know until you do it". I'm all "good luck!" as I grab my coffee and relish in my impending alone time. Not only did he not have blowouts, meltdowns, or any other such disaster...he made friends at the gardens. Well done Sethy poo.

FYI, my desperately seeking decor second blog is desperately in need of an update. It's coming. We finally accomplished a few things in Lila's room. While I could post about it piece by piece my life just does not allow for that. So stay tuned for a massive Lila's room update...and maybe even an Evie's room update too. Until then check out my new favorites in the Song of the Week (or year) tab and the favorite things tab.

Bloopers

2011-07-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

The new header is gigantic. But, I'm very tired and don't feel like fixing it. So for the next month you will just have to see my beautiful babies up close and personal.

This week has been the biggest roller coaster of a week I have ever had. Monday was probably the worst day I've had since having kids. And today feels a little like I fought the mommyhood and the mommy (I) won. What made Monday so bad? I will tell you.

Do you ever have those days where really and truly everything goes wrong? I'm not talking life shattering things. I'm talking little things that eat away at your day until so many of them have happened that you want to scream at the universe because it must be out to get you? Here's the short list:

* Evie screamed. All day. When I say all day I mean every single second. Except for when we were at Lila's swim lesson. But Lila screamed through that.

* Lila decided the swim lessons are not for her. I usually change her into her swim attire when we get there. It only consists of reusable swim diapers and tennis shoes (to help her kick more). She had the most massive of meltdowns. This was more due to the lack of sleep she had been getting than the lessons because she suddenly also decided the big girl bed wasn't for her. Her meltdown got to the point where she plopped down completely naked onto the nasty floor surrounding the pool (which is indoor at a hotel no less).

* I gave up dairy only to realize Seth had been randomly giving Evie a bottle of frozen, pumped milk from before giving up dairy. When am I going to get this right?

* I fell off of a chair. I have a really pretty bruise on my knee, a somewhat twisted ankle, some random other bruises, and the intense feeling that Lila may drop the F bomb any day now.

* Seth had just left to go out of town. For a week. And it was only Monday.

Again, Monday could have been much more horrendous I'm sure. But you know the kind of day I'm talking about. The things mentioned above are the majors. The minors are too numerous to name and are now long forgotten anyway.

Today, however, made Monday seem like a distant memory. The not eating dairy (consistently without screwing up) seems to be making a difference. Evie has been a completely different kid the past 48 hours. She loves to smile, but now I see it almost all day instead of just in between sheer terror and pain. She is sleeping all night and attempting to nap longer.

Lila is coming to terms with her room having a gate up at nap and bed time. She did fall asleep (twice) laying on the floor next to the gate. I am convinced that was only because Sara was babysitting. She hasn't done that with me. Sara is WAY cooler than me. Sara and two of my cousins were here last night and she actually said "I want to come out too" like she was missing out on a big party. Seriously broke my heart. But then tonight she didn't seem too bothered. Mommy is just old news I suppose. I'll take what I can get though. Both girls were asleep by 8:30....and are still sleeping. Glorious.

Anyway, here are what I see as blooper pictures to go along with my blooper of a week.

It seems the dress wasn't good enough as is. She thought it needed a belt. Belts are meant to hold things up right?

This picture cracks me up. All I can think of to say is my daughter rocks the disheveled look.

During our photo shoot Lila decided her "Baby Evie" needed to be in the picture too. And this is how she thought the baby should be posed.

Not sure what we're looking for here.

I like to call this the deer in headlights look.

Happy Friday ya'll!

Updates

2011-07-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

Seth
Daddy. Of. The. Year.
He heads to camp on Saturday for what he claims will be his last year at camp. I have always loved that he volunteers for MDA camp. But, I have to admit that a full week without his help will be interesting. I am lucky enough to have a husband that knows what it means to really parent. He's not just a daddy to our kids, but a parenting partner for me.

That being said, here's what he's been up to aside from the whole working thing. He beautifully tiled our laundry room (pictures coming soon). He spends most nights with the girls so that I can either go do my glamorous second job or go out to dinner with friends. He took Lila to a Braves game...when she didn't take a nap...after I told him it was too risky...and she had the very best time. She is finally past the "I only like mommy phase". Yes, that kind of phase is quite normal and equally as unnerving. Overall, Seth is probably the most stable out of the four of us :-)

Jana
I'm pretty sure I should be way skinnier than I am. I never sit down except to nurse, eat, and drive. Not to mention, it's not uncommon for me to nurse and eat at the same time. Or eat and drive at the same time. Wait, maybe I am eating more than I think. Anyway, I also do my glamorous second job like a bat out of you know where these days. This is partly because I'm no longer trying to do it pregnant. It's also because it has become the only time that I spend completely alone. I may or may not have been singing along with the Indigo Girls at the top of my lungs tonight too. That has to burn some calories right? I am giving up dairy as well. Not to get skinnier but to keep Evie from feeling like I am feeding her poison. The problem is I'm a moron. The dinner I made tonight included an entire stick of butter and I didn't make the connection that butter is indeed dairy until I had eaten a generous helping. Yes, I willingly made a meal that contains that much butter (in fact, I decreased what it called for). It doesn't happen often, but sometimes a pasta cream sauce just has to be done. Regardless, I haven't really built a case here for why I should be skinnier have I?

Lila
I can't remember what I've shared exactly about Lila because things happen so unbelievably fast. She is a full on conversationalist now. And not the kind that is only understood by her. It was like one day she woke up and said three complete sentences in a row and there was no going back. Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. There is something magical about lessening the guessing game I like to call "I don't know what you want because I can't understand you!". At the same time this is just one more thing that makes her older, faster and I am in desperate need of a pause button.

A few other random updates include her complete escape from the pack and play, her beautiful infatuation with her sister, and her ever growing musical talents.

As I'm sure I've mentioned, Lila graduated to a pack and play before Evie was born. She (I) wasn't ready for the big bed and yet it would have been silly to buy a second crib. Then, not too long ago she graduated to the big bed but still took naps in the pack and play. This was because she refused to nap in the big bed but went to bed great in it at night. Over the weekend she escaped the pack and play. Needless to say napping AND going to bed at night have been interesting. I pretty much bribe her to take a nap. I come up with something that will happen when she wakes up and that typically works like a charm. Going to bed at night is getting more challenging, but we are working on it. I think she knows that Evie is still up (not by our choice) and she feels left out. This breaks my heart because she is SO VERY GOOD with Evie. If she only knew I would typically give anything for Evie to be asleep too.

Speaking of Evie, Lila is pretty much the best big sister on the planet. She talks to Evie like Evie understands everything she is saying. She reads books to her while I dry my hair. She dances around the kitchen, stops to tell Evie to dance, pauses like she's waiting for Evie to actually start dancing, and then emphatically says "good job baby Evie!!!". She puts Evie's pacifier back in her mouth if it falls out. She brings her a blanket if I say her feet are cold. Her absolute favorite job is to get a new bib when Evie spits up all over the one she has on. I'm telling you, she's a dream. I'm pretty sure Evie entering our family has changed Lila more than anyone else. I'm not sure why, but last night was the first time we had Lila sit on the couch and hold Evie. For some reason things like that get lost in the shuffle. Anyway, you can imagine the look on Lila's face. Pictures just don't do it justice.

Lastly, Lila's love for music is pretty much oozing out of her these days. All she ever wants to do is dance. She actually had a massive meltdown today because the song that was playing in the car was no longer playing when I turned the radio on in the house. And because I have no brain I couldn't remember what song it was. She acted like I had ruined her life. I'm sure that won't be the last time she feels that way. She has also fallen in love with the two guitars she got for her birthday. She is partial to the "electric" guitar, but she will take out the other one and sing a ballad or two about hairbows and flip flops. This video is long, but worth it. Seth had a hard time taking it because she would stop or walk away if she knew he was trying to video her. She will go on like this for quite a while. I was cleaning one night and Seth texted me asking who gave the guitar to her so he could adequately thank them (she had apparently been playing it for an hour and a half).

Evie

Our sweet little girl had her two month appointment yesterday!!! She is still around the 100th percentile for height and weight. While the reflux is a daily struggle, she is such a smiley baby.

I honestly don't remember Lila smiling this much or this early. In fact, Evie has laughed a few times as well. Once for me and once for Seth. She sleeps really well at night, but her napping is kind of erratic. She will sleep ten minutes here or twenty minutes there. She prefers sleeping like this:

I feel bad not having more updates for Evie! But, she's two months old. She eats, sleeps, poops, smiles, and cries. She may be the center of Lila's world most days, but she has stolen my heart just as much. I am trying so hard to soak up this baby time and steal moments with just her. I know the second child has it rough. So here are my goals for Evie:

1) To take more pictures of her and not with the camera on my phone.

2) To let Lila hold her whenever she wants because they both love it.

3) To have her sleep on me whenever I can make it work.

4) To slow down, for her sake, and make sure she feels just how much I love her.

Alright, that's about it for now. Sorry for the lengthy post but you may not see much from me when Seth isn't here!

I....S.....R

2011-06-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

Infant Swimming Resource....heard of it?

I call it survival swimming. Seth's mom Lee used to teach it. Lila is now taking lessons.

When we (Seth, Lee, and I) first started talking about this I got panicky. But then we went to the pool one day and Lila had the most minor of incidents. She had on a swim vest, fell forward, and had a hard time getting back up. My neighbor Christy was in the water in front of her and helped her up. Like I said...very minor. But, being that we were at Seth's mom's pool where Lila will spend a lot of her little life my panicky feelings turned to curiosity.

I went to watch a few lessons by a few instructors. I only knew what Lee had told me. Lee went with me and helped me pick. And here we are almost finished with week one of four.

If you know nothing about these kinds of lessons I would be concerned to just tell you my thoughts. I wouldn't want to sway you one way or the other if you ever thought of doing them. Let me just say they are intense. If you don't want to be swayed I would advise you stop reading now.

Each lesson is ten minutes and you go every weekday for four weeks. Lila had gone with me to watch the lessons last week. Therefore, I'm sure on Monday she thought we were just observing again. Let's just say we both survived. Tuesday when we got out of the car she started saying (to herself) "it's ok, it's ok, it's ok". That's what I say to her when I'm trying to calm her down. We still survived. Yesterday when she figured out halfway there that we were headed to swim again she started saying (loudly) "Katie's house! Katie's house! Katie's house! Please go to Katie's house!". Surviving still...

Today she started crying in the car. Not the kind of crying that involves whining or screaming. The slow, quiet crying that is just plain heartbreaking. I texted Seth that she was breaking my heart.

Those are the bad parts.

Lila never has candy. I mean, with the exception of Christmas and Easter she doesn't ever consistently have candy. You can imagine that when she does have candy it's like I have just introduced her to Elmo. The instructor brings a gigantic container of lollipops and Lila thinks it is the greatest thing that's ever happened to her. While she was doing the heartbreaking crying I was promising her as many lollipops as she wanted. I started telling her all the flavors just hoping she would light up. Nothing.

When each lesson is over the child is lifted up onto the edge to lay on towels and rest. That is when I give Lila a lollipop. Today after she did amazingly well in her lesson and was laying on the side she started, in order, reciting the flavors I mentioned eighteen times in the car. I painstakingly tried to find each flavor.

While it stresses her out she tries so hard to do well. I can tell she wants to get it. In yesterday's lesson she struggled kicking her feet to propel her to the side. Today she had to wear tennis shoes in the pool during the lesson but she still couldn't connect the kicking with moving herself through the water. When we get in the car after the lesson I spend the entire ride telling her how well she did. Today I also talked about kicking just to see if it would stick for tomorrow's lesson. Well, this afternoon we played on the deck and she actually got in the little blow up kiddie pool, plopped on her belly, and started kicking while yelling "mommy I'm kicking!!!".

Those are the good parts.

Tomorrow I will get in with her for part of the lesson. Wish me luck! In case you think I'm crazy for doing this or you are just plain curious, take a look at the video below. I don't have to justify, but I'm willing to get through four tough weeks for the peace of mind that she could save herself from drowning. This video sold me on ISR. Updates coming soon!

Par tay

2011-06-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

Lila's 2nd birthday party was a little over a week ago. We decided to throw conventional party planning out the window and wait to have her party over a month after her actual birthday. Between my cinco de Mayo baby and my kid destined to a life of birthday pool parties I would say it will all even out somehow...someday.

Lila has what some may call an obsession with Elmo. She loves Sesame Street, but she LOVES Elmo. So really the only planning that went into this party was the cake. And i didn't even do that. I didn't decorate. I barely got food in time. I invited the whole world and then got all stressed out about it because that's what I do. So I knew something had to be a sure thing. And boy was it ever.

Seth's aunt Janis did us the gigantic favor of making this masterpiece. I asked her to make an Elmo cake. What I got was the best kid's birthday cake ever.

To top that off, Lila's most priceless moment of the entire party may have been more overwhelming for me than it was for her. When things like this happen I feel like my legs get knocked out from under me and I can't catch my breath. There's a moment where everything stops and all I see is this perfect creation that Seth and I made. I want to run up and somehow convey to her that she is the best thing that ever happened to me. I want my crazy and intense staring to signal to her that turning two and having 40 people singing happy birthday to you while you stand next to the best Elmo cake ever is in fact as glorious as it feels...

...thank God we were able to capture this moment. Seriously, what am I going to do when she graduates or gets married?

We have the best friends and family. The gobs of people that love this little girl need to know that we love you for loving her as much as you do.

Here are a few more of my favorite pictures from the big day.

And lastly, this is what we are referring to as her "paparazzi moment".

The littlest Burrow

2011-06-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

Here is the long overdue birth story of our little Evelyn :-) I can't recommend more highly having a birth photographer. In fact, I can't recommend more highly MY birth photographer and friend Sarah Wise. She took the pictures in this post. I didn't know what to expect from the pictures, but I can tell you I was more than impressed and pleased. There are so many pictures I could add. However, while I am not very modest I also don't want anyone to be weirded out. So, if you want to see more and/or you or someone you know is truly interested in birth photography let me know.

I felt certain the week of Evie's due date that we would go right past it. I saw the midwife on Wednesday and when she told me there was no change from my one centimeter I braced myself for the waiting game. I went out to dinner with some friends and told them how sure I was it would be a while.

That night I had a hard time going to sleep. I fell asleep only to wake up to a contraction around midnight. This was nothing new. Twenty minutes later the same thing happened. This went on for about three hours. Again, I wasn't thinking anything of it. There were many nights previously where I convinced myself baby was coming. But, around 3 am I got irritated by the in and out sleep and just got up. I went to the kitchen and emptied the dishwasher. Around 3:30 am the twenty minutes apart went to ten. Only then did I let myself think it was time. I realized my house was a disaster and started "cleaning". I mean, someone was coming here to watch Lila and I couldn't very well just leave things as is. Plus, it passed the time (and pain) brilliantly.

At 5 am or so I called the doctor's office and spoke to the midwife. She told me take my time, take a shower, and then head on over to the hospital. I woke Seth up, he called his mom to come over, and I got in the shower. From this point on things went really quickly. I got panicky and stood in the driveway waiting for Seth's mom to get here. I had visions of giving birth in my driveway and this may or may not be when I turned into mommyzilla. I'm pretty sure I bit Seth's head off a few hundred times in the 15 minutes from here to Northside.

Once in a room and in a bed the contractions were much different from what I remember with Lila. However, with Lila I was induced and had more back labor than anything else. Birthing Evie taught me what contractions really feel like. The nurse started in on the questions and I again got panicky. I couldn't understand a word she said. I want to say she was Jamaican maybe? Anyway, I'm pretty sure with every question (and contraction) I said "what??" and she had to repeat herself. I began to prepare myself for lots of miscommunication. But, once I got the epidural and really focused on what the nurse was saying we were good to go.

Evie was born just before 10 am. She came very quickly which I couldn't have appreciated more. Right after Lila was born they whisked her away because she wasn't breathing right away. I didn't get to do the whole holding the baby skin to skin and feeding right away. That has always bothered me. With Evie I pretty much pulled her out and brought her up to meet me instantly. It was a completely different experience. There is just nothing more amazing than that moment. Seth was leaning over us and my heart was overflowing with the the fact that our little family quickly and wonderfully became four.

This is one of my favorites. I love how little yet how much you can see.

If I'm being honest I was almost sure we were having a girl. So much so that when she was born I don't remember the "it's a girl!" moment being as prominent as it was with Lila. I guess I felt I already knew. These guys maybe weren't so sure :-)

It was a perfect day. I am so glad I wasn't induced this time. I am so glad that unexpected things happened like my dad being in town. I am so glad that Lila got to have a blast with her grandmothers while we got to take the time to enjoy Evelyn. But mostly I am just so lucky to have two happy, healthy little girls now. Here are a few more of my favorites from the day...

Another favorite...she has no idea just how much these women will teach her.

And of course, our baby meets her baby sister :-)

Our life in one photo

2011-06-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

This is what Seth's nightstand looks like today. I noticed it right before getting in the shower and my first thought was just how appropriately this sums up life for us these days. Let's dissect:

*If You Give a Pig a Party
Lila's current favorite book (along with If You Give a Moose a Muffin). We actually have a stuffed animal of the pig and moose (and mouse too :-). She walks around saying "pig a party" when she wants to read it. I LOVE THESE BOOKS. Someday I will come up with a children's book that will be that brilliant.

* Red Cup
This cup with a lid is my lifeline. No it doesn't have coke or coffee in it. Just water. I would love for it to be iced coffee or Diet Dr. Pepper :-) But water is what keeps the milk coming on the regular. I pretty much feel like I could float away all day long. The cup is the kicker. The lid/straw means little feet can knock it over, little hands can carry it around, and a certain little girl can feel special drinking "mommy's water".

* Travel size packet of Butt Paste
enough said

* The Happiest Toddler on the Block
A MUST read. Some of it is hokey and a lot of it is impractical to me at times. But the premise is helpful and the ideas are solid. I'm "reading" this one but somehow it ended up on Seth's nightstand. He's reading one or five of the other assorted books you see.

* A can of dusting spray and an orange cloth (hidden under other things)
Apparently this is where the dusting stopped. The sad part is, I have no idea when that was or how long it's been there.

* A remote control
Look closely. It has eyes. It's watching you. In case you didn't figure it out it's a toy. We do have a TV in our room, but the remote for that one is missing...or someone may know where it is. I do not.

* Assortment of books
Seth is an avid reader. He has either read or is reading all of these including the Dr. Seuss ABC book. Really though, I wish I had his dedication. No, I wish I had his attention span. No, I wish I had his level of intelligence to actually read and finish more than one book at a time on minimal sleep.

And just to make you smile, here are my littles smiling at you ;-) Sorry for the picture quality or lack of.

Fastest post ever

2011-06-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

I know I have been neglectful...I don't really have any down time these days. SO, here is the fastest update post ever:

* We are making strides with Evie's reflux and getting sleep. It's one day at a time. She isn't throwing up as much since we switched to Prevacid, but she is pretty tortured sometimes after eating still. BUT, she is starting to smile at us which makes the rest just melt away.

* Lila has been a dream lately. Truly a dream. She is so unbelievably good with Evie. She's always helpful and talks to her like she's been here forever. She's just as happy as can be even though mommy is very preoccupied sometimes. We are transitioning to the big girl bed which is going great at night but not so great at nap time. Potty training is like this big, bad cloud looming in the distance that I am running from...

* Seth's work is slowing down. We went on a half date (one child went with us, one did not). That is Seth and Evie on our half date to the drive-in up there in the new header. Isn't he so stinking cute? We thought it would just be perfect to go see the Hangover sequel since Lila's first movie was the original. BUT, Seth had his heart set on the X-Men movie. Evie didn't seem to notice either way.

* I finally feel like a human being again. No more fevers. Lots more energy. I actually went to my glamorous second job of cleaning doctors offices for the first time a week or two ago. It's amazing how much faster things get done when you aren't as big as a house trying to scrub toilets.

* We helped throw a big old bash for the fabulous Kim Warren to ring in her dirty thirties. I got to pump in a stall in a bar bathroom which I've never done before. Kim was all sorts of surprised and had a fantastic time. It was a great big night out for all!

Ok, that's all the time I've got for now. I promise someday there will be lengthy posts with pictures about Evie's birth, Lila's birthday, Kim's party, Lila's party (coming this weekend), and whatever else has happened that I would love to have the time to blog about. And maybe someday there will even be a holla hump day returning...thanks for hanging in there ;-)

A Day

2011-06-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

These days are tough ones. It would be really easy to get lost in the sleepy exhaustion and forget just how lucky we are. I have more support and love around me than I know what to do with. My kids are healthy and happy and we have everything we could possibly need or want.

If you're a long time reader of this blog you know that Seth volunteers at the Muscular Dystrophy camp every summer. For many years he had the same camper named Jonathan. There is an age limit at camp and Jonathan "outgrew" it a few years ago. Seth still made an effort to be a part of Jonathan's life and they remained close. Today Jonathan passed away.

I need to tell you a little something about my husband. He's a joker. He likes to push people's buttons sometimes and be a smarty pants. But don't let him fool you. He's a bigger softy than any man I know...and a stronger one as well.

I have been sick pretty much off and on since I had Evie. I won't go into all the details, but the lack of sleep has made it hard for me to get better. Yesterday I kind of hit a breaking point and called Seth pretty much in hysterics asking him to come home for a little while. He promptly showed up, I took a shower, and all was well. He came home last night and gave Lila a bath as cheerful as could be. He ended up on the couch in the den sleeping with Evie next to him in her papasan chair (the only place she sleeps well right now) so that I could go to bed normally and sleep for a while.

Jonathan was not doing well for a while. This week things really went downhill. Seth left at 4 am one day earlier in the week and went down to Dublin where Jonathan is from to spend time with him. Needless to say, amidst my neediness, the loss of a dear friend, and actually doing his job Seth has been a rock. I am just so very lucky. But really, we all are.

Early yesterday morning I decided to randomly take pictures all day with my phone. I carry my phone everywhere because I have this fancy little app that I log Evie's feedings into. Anyway, I was realizing that being tired and frustrated needed to be overshadowed by the fun and fantastic moments of the day. This was my way of making sure that I didn't get caught up in the tough parts and take anything for granted..

We started with some art...

...followed by Lila decorating with puffy stickers while mommy fed the baby...

...followed by bath time for baby after a massive diaper blowout and barf-fest...

...followed by fun by the pool ;-)

(I'm pretty sure she's thinking "why on earth are we sitting out here sweating...I just got clean")

Remembering

2011-05-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I told Seth I was having daydreams of lounging on the lake drinking a beer for Memorial Day weekend. I don't have to tell you that I love my life more than anything, but everybody daydreams right? I am fighting off a cold and Seth and I both have what I like to call zombie face. We were just kind of getting through the day yesterday. Seth was watching a string of war movies during nap time and around 4:30 he decided he wanted to go see his cousin Joseph. I decided that sounded better than any other possible Memorial Day weekend plan. So we piled up our little family and took a drive.

Side note - THANK YOU to those of you who told me since the last post that I should have called you to come watch Evie so I could go to the ER with Lila. I knew there were options and I chose not to take them because it was late and Evie was kind of a mess! But next time I will be calling and I hope you know you can call me too ;-)

Mommy guilt overfloweth

2011-05-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

Mama said there'd be days like this, there'd be days like this my mama said...

What a day yesterday was. I suppose you could say it was just a long day in general. Evie is struggling with reflux and general discomfort with eating that makes her pretty fussy when she's awake. Lila is adjusting to Evie like a champ. But, she also wants to play and be all over the place like any two year old. I'm working on balancing! Seth gives 200% to everything...he works late at his job, he goes to clean for me, and he gets no sleep right along with the rest of us. You could say we are both a little tapped out.

Last night Lila took a tumble in the bath tub and her forehead made an unfortunate connection with the hot water knob. Ironically, the actual tub faucet has a cute whale covering it to avoid such accidents. She and I both realized there was blood streaming down her face and there was a bit of a panic moment. She kept saying "what is it?!?" and I kept telling her it was okay. She calmed down pretty quickly, but head injuries are no joke. I called Seth and he headed home from work immediately. Evie was moments away from witching hour pandemonium.

Seth came home and was feeling pretty strongly that she would need stitches. I had been on and off the phone with a nurse at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and we just weren't sure. Seth took Lila over to Meg's house (my great friend Meg is a PA as well as our fill in pediatrician) to see if he should then head to the ER. I tried to see if my mom or sister could come over (Seth's mom is out of town) but had no luck. Taking Evie to the ER was just not an option for us. Meg wasn't totally sure about stitches either so Seth and I decided they just needed to go.

Here is where the guilt floodgates opened. I already felt bad the whole thing even happened. And now they were going to the ER without me. My baby was going to a scary place to have something scary done to her and I wasn't even going to be there. In no way do I think Seth isn't capable. I am fully aware that she won't remember or really be concerned with the fact that I wasn't there. But I am her mom. That is where I was supposed to be.

A few hours, three stitches, lots of baby/mommy crying, and a loopy little girl later Seth and I were putting her to bed. This too shall pass. I will get over it...it appears she already has ;-)

She loves the purple band-aid on her face and refuses to take off the hospital bracelets.

One is one....two is ten

2011-05-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

Not long after I had Lila I was at a work function and another teacher asked me when number two was coming. I always find it so interesting what people are willing to ask/say. Especially since I was looking at her through shell shocked yet blissful eyes. However, I did tell her I didn't want to wait too long because I wanted them to be close in age. Her reply was, "my dad told me when I got pregnant with my second that one is one, but two is ten". She (and her dad) were right.

While pregnant I often thought how strangely impossible it seemed to take on the task of loving a second child the same way I loved the first. I had nightmares (and still do) about leaving the house with one and not the other. I found myself contemplating life with two like someone would prepare for a career change or a big move.

On the night of May 4th I never really went to sleep. I was in and out until I realized that I was in fact having contractions that were sticking around this time. I had thought about the possibility of things progressing the "normal" way, but dismissed it quickly assuming that induction would again be necessary. When the contractions started getting closer together I decided to get up and clean my house. I mean, previously I really didn't think baby was coming any time soon. Therefore, my house was a disaster. If I was going to have this baby I was going to at least pick up a little for the person that would be hanging with Lila. Plus, it was an unlikely distraction that passed the time quite nicely. Around 4 am I had to stop and just grin and bear it. I called the doctor's office, woke Seth up, and got in the shower. We got to Northside at about 6:30 am and around two pushes later Evelyn Reese was here at 9:53 am. She weighed in at 9 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 22 inches. Some say I am lucky because things went quickly. Others look at me in horror when I mention her weight. I found it all to be pretty status quo for me.

It's a little strange to birth a child that appears identical to the first. It was a little deja vu - ish if that even makes sense...

LILA

EVELYN

Needless to say I actually just got the pictures mixed up and wasn't sure which was which child for a second. They are correct now though :-)

Anyway, we are now blessed with two adorable little girls. Having a baby changes your life. I do think that having two babies is much more dramatic though. Hence the massive delay in blogging (or really anything other than mothering). I need to have a holla hump week just to thank the immense amount of people that have helped me out. I used to be horrible at accepting help. This is no longer the case.

Here is what I have learned so far:

* It's amazing how easy it actually is to love two children with the same amount of passion and intensity. It's also amazing how quickly the mommy guilt doubles with two...on a daily basis. There's just not enough time in the day.

* I am 100% sure I will not leave the house with one and not the other. I have left without brushing my teeth, without diapers for one of them, and got in the car completely unsure of where I meant to go. But at least we all went right?

* If mommyhood is a job then I would say having a second with the first being so young does qualify as a major career change. I am still in the same company but the increased job requirements and level of responsibility would normally dictate a massive raise.

* Sleep is elusive and it gets harder and harder to rock the dark circles under our eyes...

* Baby reflux is just hateful.

* Infants are a cake walk...assuming they aren't accompanied by a toddler.

* Watching my sweet little girl be a big sister is more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined.

There's so much more I could tell, but I have done really well to get this much done! Thank you to Sarah Wise for taking such fantastic pictures for us. I am going to do a more in depth post about Lila turning two and about Evelyn's birth when I get my act together.

Love. this.

2011-05-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

I know nothing about performance poetry. I know enough about poetry to know that I love it...but I love writing in all forms really.

A friend of mine posted the below video on Facebook. This poem was the beginning portion of the video. I tried to find it in text format online and apparently it does not exist. So I transcribed it. That's how much I love it. That being said, it's probably all chopped up in the wrong places and I'm sure it's grammatically off. I'm tired and it took me a long time to type it up. This is as good as it gets. I could have just shown you the video, but reading something like this tends to impact me more.

Unfortunately (or fortunately rather), today is a day I say thank you. Lila has tested me a lot today. This video brought me back to Earth. Enjoy.

If I should have a daughter, instead of mom she’s gonna call me point B cause that way she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me.

And I’m gonna paint the solar systems on the backs of her hands so she has to learn the entire universe before she can say “oh I know that like the back of my hand”.

And she’s gonna learn that this life will hit you. hard. in the face.... wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

There is hurt here that cannot be fixed by band-aids or poetry. So the first time she realizes that wonder woman isn’t coming, I’ll make sure she knows she doesn’t have to wear the cape all by herself.

Cause no matter how wide you stretch your fingers your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal. Believe me. I’ve tried.

And baby, I’ll tell her... don’t keep your nose up in the air like that. I know that trick. I’ve done it a million times. You’re just smelling for smoke so you can follow the trail back to a burning house so you can find the boy who lost everything in a fire to see if you can save him. Or else, find the boy who lit the fire in the first place to see if you can change him.

But I know she will anyway. So instead I’ll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rain boots nearby because there is no heartbreak that chocolate can’t fix. Ok...there are a few heartbreaks that chocolate can’t fix. But that’s what the rain boots are for. Because rain will wash away everything if you let it.

I want her to look at the world through the underside of a glass bottom boat...to look through a microscope at the galaxies that exist on the pinpoint of a human mind because that’s the way my mom taught me.

That there’ll be days like this, there’ll be days like this, my momma said. When you open your hands to catch and wind up with only blisters and bruises.

When you step out of the phone booth and try to fly and the very people you want to save are the ones standing on your cape.

When your boots will fill with rain, and you’ll be up to your knees in disappointment. And those are the very days you have all the more reason to say thank you.

Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away.

You will put the win in winsome, lose some. You will put the star in starting over and over. And no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life.

And yes, on a scale from one to over trusting I am pretty damn naive. But I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar...it can crumble so easily. But don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.

Baby, I’ll tell her... remember your mama is a worrier and your papa is a warrior and you are the girl with small hands and big eyes who never stops asking for more.

Remember that good things come in threes and so do bad things.

And always apologize when you’ve done something wrong, but don’t you ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining. Your voice is small but don’t ever stop singing.

And when they finally hand you heartache...when they slip war and hatred under your door and offer you hand outs on street corners of cynicism and defeat...you tell them that they really oughta meet your mother.

Spring greening

2011-04-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

I would love to say that spring has brought out the cleaner in me like it should have. I did buy a steal of a deal on eversave.com for two full house cleanings for something like $76. I know they won't use what I would use to clean my house. However, I'm down with paying someone a few times (once right before and once a bit after baby comes) if my mental stability will improve in the process. I love a clean house. But, I am trying really hard to move towards an understanding with myself about cleaning. If you are always cleaning then you aren't playing enough. Sometimes mess is allowed to mean that you have had a really good day.

On that note, what I have done is attempt to expand my going green attempts. Little by little I am trying to rid my house of cleaners that aren't made by me. I could just buy organic cleaners and call it a day. The thing is, the more I learn the more I realize it's crazy easy to just do it yourself. It's also way cheaper. Here's the rundown of what I have been doing for a while along with what's new (to me anyway):

*Using towels instead of paper towels
Quite a while ago I purchased a big stack of not so fancy dish towels at Big Lots. They sit in a basket by my sink and I make every attempt to use them instead of paper towels. I do still buy paper towels, but in all honesty I rarely use them.

*Cloth diapering
Little do most know cloth diapering is a world unto itself. If you ever want info I am now a wealth of knowledge and I'm sure I still don't know the half of it.

*Cleaning products and tools
This is a big one. My cleaning staples have become Dr. Bronner's soap, vinegar, and baking soda. I bought one bottle of Dr Bronner's at Target in the fall and have yet to use half of it. Vinegar and baking soda, as I'm sure you know, are both crazy cheap. The "tools" are pretty random!

1) My most recent fabulous green cleaning purchase is the Libman Freedom Spray Mop. I used to be a Swiffer girl. We all know how wasteful those little pads are (not to mention a constant waste of money). The Freedom Spray Mop was my answer to the idea of the Swiffer. You fill the cleaning solution bottle with your own concoction and the pad is washable/reusable. My house is all hardwoods except for one room so I do just vinegar and water. I bought it at Target for around $15 I think.

2) I used to stock up on Bath and Body Works hand soaps whenever they had their sales or I went to an outlet. I love the scents, the foaming pump bottles, and when on sale they are fairly inexpensive. Needless to say, I had lots of them. I was getting down to the end of my stock and began to search for a greener solution. I found it! I used the same bottles because I love the foam soap. Per a post from More Green For Less Green I used one part Dr. Bronner's to 9 parts water. You can probably add an essential oil too for the fun smells :-)

3) My kitchen and bathroom cleaner consists of Dr Bronner's, vinegar, and water. I used to buy Method and now I'm using the Method spray bottles to house my concoction. Per the Super Natural Momma I use half water, half vinegar, and four tablespoons of the soap. Again, you can add lemon juice or essential oil to cut the vinegar smell. I use baking soda along with this cleaner as well to scrub surfaces.

Here are few links I plan to peruse further if you are interested:

Inhabitots How to Make Kid Safe Homemade Green Cleaning Supplies

Re-nest 25 DIY Green Cleaning Recipes For the Whole House

I honestly thought I had more than that going on, but now I am drawing a blank! So, you may see a similar post when my brain starts functioning better...someday...

I would love to hear what you do to work towards a greener home!

Holla Hump Day

2011-04-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

This week's shout outs go to...

...Lee (Seth's mom). I cannot thank you enough for cleaning for me, for having Lila over on the weekends, for having Lila over during the week after work, and for that fantastic dinner you made. While I would prefer this baby not come late, at least I know I can deal with it because of all you are doing for me!

...Lila for keeping me humble. Instead of just repeating everything I say she is now repeating things I do. We were in line at the store and I was absent mindedly tapping on the car with my fingernails. She then started tapping too. She did the same thing when I was sitting with her playing and I started tapping my leg. Apparently while at Grammy's (Lee's) the other day she would squat down, lift up her shirt, pat her belly and belly button, pull up her pants, and pull her shirt down over them. When she follows me into the bathroom this is pretty much what she sees me do. If she follows me that is when I show her my belly sometimes. You know the maternity kangaroo pants as I like to call them? The ones that come up over the belly? That's what she is imitating pulling up I think. The humble part comes next...in the past few days when time she gets up from sitting or squatting she grunts and moans like an old lady. Lee also noticed this at her house. Slightly embarrassing...not at all surprising.

...Sonja for planning the street Easter egg hunt and the cookout. I didn't do a thing and I feel like such a slacker! We had the best time as I mentioned before. Next time I promise I will plan something...or at least be on top of things enough to bring something.

...Paige for planning my girls dinner/mini baby shower that happened last Thursday. I felt strange about having a shower for baby number two, but Paige planned it just right! It became incorporated into the monthly girls dinner we have so that future babies after the first can be acknowledged as well. Great idea Paige!

The navigation continues...

2011-04-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

On a daily basis I try very hard to really appreciate the fact that I have a daughter who knows what she wants. I realize she's only almost two, but I hope she never becomes as indecisive as her mommy. We have scaled down the tantrums (even in regards to clothing) but scaled up the hint of bossiness I had seen in the past few weeks. It seems like every day her language builds at a speed that I have a hard time keeping up with. This means that she knows more and more how to get what she wants. She also knows that I have a VERY hard time saying no when she says please. Overall, we are navigating turning two on a constant basis...

* Lila has always loved music but she only recently realized that it quite often comes from this thing called a radio. Unfortunately, she refers to the radio as "TV". When we are in the car if I turn the radio down for even a second she is chirping "TV on! TV on! TV on!". I tell her it's called a radio and she thinks it's funny to argue with me and says TV over and over again. Also, I am a Dave fm fan, but she prefers Q100. I know this because today we were in the car and I switched from Q100 (which was on commercial) to Dave fm (which was playing Rain King by the Counting Crows) and she promptly said "don't touch the buttons!". So, in the end we need to work on the demanding nature of her opinions and we may need to work on her music choices as well. Last week she got mad over the exact same thing when I went from Britney Spears (Q100) to Kings of Leon (Dave fm).

* The term scoot, or in Lila's world "scoop", has become her way of getting you to move her or move yourself. I got her a little table to sit at in the playroom at a consignment sale not too long ago. She gets herself into the chairs but can't seem to then get the chair to the table. The same thing goes for the chair at the piano. Before I even have a chance to help her she is yelling "scoop mommy! scoop!". She has also commanded me to scoop myself out of my own chair. I mean, I will be the first to admit that I sit. A lot. She now tries to put her arm around my back and move me out of the chair. Have I mentioned I'm ready to have this baby?

* This is kind of random, but it's a testament to how concrete the world is at this age. When we are in the car and Lila sees a car just like Seth's she starts screaming "daddy!". I guess the silver Chevrolet Traverse is super popular these days. She gets mad if the car pulls away. She even started crying yesterday and seemed genuinely mad at me for not taking chase after the car.

* Last, but certainly not least, Lila's affection towards my belly is growing by the minute. Usually if she pays attention to it at all I have either asked her where mommy's baby is or mentioned that she should give the baby some love. But in the past few days she has randomly come up and kissed my belly or gently patted and talked to the baby. I know she can't possibly understand what's about to happen. However, I do feel like her little heart is feeling a big sister pull :-)

Easter

2011-04-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was fantastic. I would say it was one of the best weekends we have had as a family in a really long time. It was crazy busy, but so much fun. Here's why...

Friday night was uneventful :-) Seth worked pretty late which usually leads to a lot of working over the weekend. Fortunately for us, that was not the case this weekend!

Saturday morning we got up and got ready for Lila's first Easter egg hunt on our street. It was less than nice outside, so instead of the cute little sundress I had picked out Lila wore her absolute favorite outfit....the "button shirt" and rain boots. We had a small posse with us that included my mom, Seth's mom, Sara, and Sara's boyfriend Tucker.

I just love our neighbors. Our kids are all pretty much around the same age, and they get along so well. It's a small group, but the hunt was a huge success! Lila, of course, walked around discussing to herself something about the eggs this and the eggs that as she picked them up.

This one is the favorite of the day. Everyone looks so awkward all at the same time. Priceless.

I mean seriously...could I look more frumpy?

After the hunt the sun started to shine and we headed to the Szubski's house for a driveway cookout. I didn't have my camera for this part, but it was just perfect. Seth and Ben almost ingested enough hot dogs to concern me. Teddy put his arm around Lila at the little kid picnic table. All was right with the world.

After the cookout we made the bold decision to skip nap and head to Grant park for our friend Eric's 30th birthday cookout. Lila has skipped naps before, but it was usually because she just chose to talk in her bed instead of sleep. We knew this could go one of two ways. However, we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best anyway. The best is what we got. She had her first experience with corn hole and she sat like a zombie in Meg's lap on the blanket filled with babies (so mad at myself for not getting a picture of all the babies on the blanket!).

Earlier last week Seth's mom offered to have Lila spend the night one night over the weekend. Lila has been having consistent sleepovers with both Seth's mom and my mom the past couple of weeks and it has been so nice for us and for Lila. She gets to be around an active adult that doesn't move like slug and we get to either get things done, rest, or go out for the night. I felt bad bringing our very sleepy child over to Lee's, but again she was a champ. Seth and I went to a very nice dinner and then to a movie with Meg and Skip. I got the best night of sleep I've had in weeks. I'm not sure why it was so good because Lila almost never wakes up in the middle of the night. But it was glorious just the same. Seth and I rolled over at 9 am and just stayed there basking in the fact that neither of us just naturally woke up way earlier.

It dawned on me that Lila didn't get to see her Easter basket that morning at our house. I did do one and she still has yet to see it. But, it doesn't matter. She has the best time at Grammy's house and we had our second Easter egg hunt to attend. I figured she'd be ok with waiting a few days on the actual basket presentation.

We got ready and headed to Seth's Grandpa's house in Monroe. Lee met us there with Lila. On Seth's side of the family Lila is really the only little kid. So they did a "big kid" Easter egg hunt complete with money in some of the eggs. Lila got a head start for the ones on the ground. She loved this egg hunt just as much! It was so cute to see her get so into it. She again missed her usual nap time. Lila is not the type of kid that has ever fallen asleep anywhere but in her own bed. I have tried to get her to nap with me or fall asleep with me at other random times and she just won't sit still long enough to do it. As you can see, she did it this time...in two different chairs on two different people no less! That's how you know she had just as much of a good time this weekend as we did.

Holla Hump Day

2011-04-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is holla hump day is dedicated to a very special group of people. Let me explain.

I love that God has blessed me with two healthy pregnancies. I love that my lifelong dream of being a mom is coming true for a second time. I do not love the stage of being pregnant where I feel completely incapable 99.9% of the day.

My friends (and dear husband) know this about me. Seth knows that undone things in our house make me CRAZY. Meg and Kim hear about it pretty much daily. The big shocker here is that Skip, Meg's husband, started the whole Saturday housework day of fun. It's not that big of a shocker because Skip is just fantastic like that. But, he is also married to Meg who probably tells him that I complain about the undone things daily.

My mom had already been planning to take Lila from Saturday morning to Sunday. Meg was sort of haphazardly trying to come up with something to do for the weekend. It seems she and Skip chatted and Skip suggested showing up at our house Saturday morning to help us get things done. One thing lead to another and before I knew it Meg, Kim, Skip, and Seth were painting and letting me delegate other random things to be done. I looked over at one point and Kim was washing my kitchen windows while "taking a break" from painting trim. Yes folks, these are my friends.

So in true holla hump day fashion, this week's shout outs go to....

...Vivi (my mom) for taking Lila for most of the weekend.

...Skip for suggesting that he and his wife spend the day fixing up someone else's house, for painting whatever Seth suggested he paint, and for trying to get our existing kitchen blinds to work in the nursery.

...Meg for painting trim, doing decoupage, and mudding nail holes while washing her hands eight million times because Seth kept making more holes.

...Kim for cleaning my kitchen, painting trim, doing decoupage, and letting herself get roped into this day of fun!

...Seth for sort of last minute having to throw some things together. I know he wants this stuff to get done too, but he is in the throws of crazytown (also know as his job). I'm sure his stress level went through the roof when I told him he would have to take the day and get some things done. At least I provided help this time right honey?

Seriously, I love you guys. I am so very lucky.

VOID

2011-04-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but there is now a void on Sunday nights. Maybe for you it's a void on Monday mornings. We looked forward to the name game even though it could be tough. Sunday nights for us brought about discussion and deliberation in a consistent and entertaining way. Therefore, here I sit trying to come up with a way to fill the void....and, I got nothin. Suggestions?

Until I figure it out I am going to just fill you in on our lives in a random outline. Remember outlines? I remember them from writing in high school. Does anyone use them beyond that? This girl is about to....

I. The latest and greatest that is Lila
   a. Getting dressed has become a daily test of my patience and her endurance. She spent the night at
   Seth's mom's house a few weeks ago and came home the next day in her pajamas. She spent the
   night at my mom's last night and came home this morning in her pajamas. You would think we are
   asking her to put something on her body that will go up in flames at any moment. I know it's a
   control thing. I also know that while it would totally ROCK we will not be going places in our
   pajamas. This is obviously a work in progress.
   b. Going outside may as well be the same as going to Disney World. She walks around and talks with
   such enthusiasm and excitement. She identifies everything with some garbled Lila speak in between
   each identification. It goes something like "leaves wlekrjwlehraklhweklrwe garden wlkerlkw mail
   alskdfakljdkl car wlekrjwlkejrl walk wlekjrelkjr trees lwkejrlkej" and so on. Now if I could just get
   her to understand that going outside can happen much faster if we just put on clothes...
   c. More on this later, but we have been working on Lila's big girl room. She has been sleeping in the
   "new" room for about a week in a pack and play. She seems totally fine with the change. We know
   she isn't ready for the big girl bed, but at least she is starting to feel like the room belongs to her!

II. This weekend we lost my almost 102 year old great grandmother Mable Stevenson...aka Maw Maw. My mom was actually supposed to take Lila to Americus on Saturday to go to Maw Maw's birthday party. Instead, Lila stayed here today and mom, Sara, and I went to Americus for the funeral. Even though it was a day trip, I felt like it was a treat to spend the day with my sister, my mom, and my extended family that I don't see as much as I would like to. Plus, we were able to honor a magnificent woman who lived a long, full life. We will miss you Maw Maw.

These two were almost exactly 100 years apart in age.

III. Note to baby Burrow #2
I'm ready for you. I'm excited about you and madly in love with you already, but I need my body back. I need to eat and not feel like I may be miserable for the rest of the day. I need to run and actively play with your silly big sister. I need to feel capable and comfortable again. However, I also need for you to be ready to join the world. I just felt it couldn't hurt to mention that I'm ready when you are.

Gooder

2011-04-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

Not to backtrack here, but I have a story to tell in relation to the female name choice made this week.

Gooder (Mary Evelyn) was Grandma's mom. Grandma is up there in the header playing piano with Lila. Grandma is my mom's mom and she is an avid reader of this blog. I truly love that she is able to "see" us more because of it.

Do you have any stories from your childhood about yourself that have stuck with you? This one stuck with me but I am horrible with details. All I can ever remember is that Gooder was killed by a drunk driver and I wrote a note to her and buried it in the backyard thinking it would go to her in Heaven. So I emailed my mom and asked her to refresh my memory. She tells it better than I ever could so she is our guest blogger today (hope that's ok with you mom!)....

"Gooder died Christmas day of 1983, so you were 3, almost 4. You didn't really understand then what had happened. You just knew something wasn't right when I got the phone call from my mom about Gooder. We had celebrated Christmas that morning in the condo we were living in down in Sandy Springs. Granny was there. That was the year she gave you the rabbit coat that you adored! The call came later that morning, after we'd had time to do Santa Claus with you. After the call, we began to pack and get ready to go to Americus. You/we wrote the note your school year that Sara was born, so sometime during your kindergarten year. It was probably close to Christmas because you mention Sara's stocking in the note. I don't remember what prompted my conversation with you about Gooder that led to the writing of this note, but it was probably nearing the anniversary of her death and I was sad and you picked up on that ... precious, sweet angel that you are!! Yes, her name is Mary Evelyn and you're spelling it right. Here's what the note said, as you dictated it to me:

To Gooder:
This is Jana. I have started school. I wanted to tell you that I love you and I hope you are feeling good. This is a picture of Sara. I wanted you to know that my mama and daddy and sister and me are feeling good. I wanted you to know that Sara already has a stocking. (You wrote this next sentence, some caps some lower case). I WaNT you TO KNOW THAT I caN speLL Bat aND I caN speLL SARA. (Then I wrote) ... We miss you.

You drew a picture of baby Sara lying down (sideways on the paper). You also drew a picture of yourself standing up with hearts over your head going up to Heaven (I assume). You're standing next to a picture of a flower. Then you wrote all of our names as follows: SARA Bateman, Jana Bateman, Vicky Bateman, Jeff Bateman. We buried the note in the backyard before you went to bed that night. I remember it like it was yesterday. You said, "If buried people go to Heaven, won't buried letters to them go there too"? I said, "Of course they will." Then you said, "I want to write a letter to Gooder." After you went to bed that night, I went out and dug up the letter. It was priceless to me and still is. What you did gave me such peace about the first family member I'd lost that meant so much to me ... a woman who beat all the odds, and a woman you and Sara would never really know. She was one of a kind. You and Sara would have loved her as much as I do. If we have a baby girl, she couldn't be named after a better woman than Gooder. I was secretly pulling for that name all along. And you also need to know that her friends didn't call her Mary. She was always Evelyn. Just Evelyn."

Thank you mom for telling the story. Even if we have a boy this naming process and this week will stick with me just like this funny little story has.

Holla Hump Day

2011-04-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

This week's shout outs go to...

...all of you who got caught up in the name game. You made it fun for us, and we love that we were able to share it with friends and family who already love Evelyn/Holden.

...Seth for everything he said in his post. I am just so very lucky.

...Lila for teaching me so much each and every day this past week. I knew I would love watching her learn and grow. I guess I never really thought about how much I would constantly learn and grow because of her.

...Sara again for wanting to help me with my garden, for loving Lila endlessly, and for being my best friend. What will I do without you when you go to the big city?

...my playdate neighbors/friends for making me feel sane because they have been there and/or are in the middle of being there. After the new babies are here there most certainly needs to be a girls night out involving adult beverages. Christy, I will have no problem drinking your drink for you as long as you don't mind driving us in your swagger wagon.

...all those strangers out there who stare a little longer than they should, who hold the door far longer than is necessary, and who offer assistance constantly. I could let it make me feel like I am incapable in your eyes. Instead, I am choosing to embrace your sensitivity because I hope that by doing that you will begin to behave this way with everyone and not just women who are "mega prega".

Day of Sara

2011-04-12T18:30:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I want to get done before baby gets here. The list seems endless. With spring being the most glorious time of year for Seth (or rather everyone but him) he's rarely home to help. Sara offered to get the vegetable garden up and running for me and I couldn't have been more thrilled. When Sara was nannying for us/living with us last spring she and I ventured into the world of Square Foot Gardening. It's really quite brilliant. However, we did a lot of things wrong. This year I had a plan. My plan was to plan better and actually use some resources instead of just winging it. So with the help of The All New Square Foot Gardening Book, Georgia Organics, and The Kitchen Garden Planner at Gardener's Supply Company my plan was ready. The raised beds were still standing and in good shape from last year. All I needed was someone who could do the dirty work.

Sara is a member of the Oakhurst Community Garden which I will also now be joining. They had a massive plant sale this weekend and she went to get about half of the plants we needed. I bought seeds at Farmer D Organics on Briarcliff. Sara then spent most of Sunday in the sweltering heat getting the job done. I have not been feeling 100% in the home stretch here so Seth's mom took Lila to a birthday party for Seth's Grandpa. Needless to say, the garden is up and running and I got some much needed lounging around done. Thank you Sara for everything you did!

Lila came home on a good times with family/birthday cake HIGH. She was in rare form and Sara took full advantage. I just love how happy they make each other ;-)

....to my lovely wife....

2011-04-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

Have you guys seen JB? She is pregnant, like mega-prega. She is stunning. Gorgeous. Adorable.

Alright. So its Tuesday. I know, I missed my self imposed deadline.

During this entire process, I thought this was going to be a fun way to try to narrow the choices and select a name. I have had real strong feelings for one of the names on the list, and I attempted to manipulate this decision making process. Last week, Jana cut that name.

Well not really. My "name" is still on the list.

This seems like such a silly thing to be contemplating. We dont even know if we are having a girl or a boy, but we are making such a deal of out this.

Evelyn Burrow. Charlotte Burrow. Charlie Burrow. Evie Burrow.

Seriously, how funny will this be if it is a boy.....

Evelyn Burrow. Evelyn is a family name on Jana's. I think it is a beautiful name. Those that know me know that she will likely not be called by the name Evelyn. I have spent countless car trips thinking of variations, repeating all of them endlessly, and loving all of them. Evie, E, EB, Evelyn, to name a few. I love that it is a name that comes form Jana's family. Lila's middle name comes from my mother's mother, and I think that our new family should represent our past. I can see myself (hopefully at least a month from now...sorry honey!) looking into Jana's eyes and telling her that she has another daughter, Evelyn (insert middle name determined by Jana here) Burrow.

I forgot how much I like the show Entourage. Ari kills!

Charlie Burrow. I love it. Since day one. I love it when Lila says Tchurlee. I cant get the name out of my head. I have spent countless days, or......hours, plotting which names to cut on my cut week to ensure that Charlie made it to the final two. The deliberation was minimal. Success! Welcome Charlotte Burrow......

.....but its not that easy. After last weekend. I thought this decision was going to be cut and dry. Charlotte Burrow was a shoo-in. I didnt even think about it all week. Yesterday, I spent the day in the car. When I say day, I mean 1000 miles (that is why this has been a ~~Monday~~, err, Tuesday announcement. Much deliberation can happen during that time. I realized it wasnt as easy as I thought it was going to be. I thought about my situation. I thought about the names. A lot. Both names are beautiful.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was forever. I mean when my daughter, I still cant get the idea that it may be a boy out of my head and we are making a huge deal of this, does something great (hopeful thinking), the world is going to remember her name forever..... and when they remember her name, I want it to be....

.....Evelyn Burrow.

When you see Seth....

2011-04-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

....yell at him.

But do it gently because he worked until 9 tonight and then went to play a 10:30 soccer game on 4 hours of sleep. Yes, he's on crack. He claims three other people backed out or something. He also claims that "before the end of the day" means by 11:59 pm. If the name isn't posted by then you can yell at him not gently if you want.

On that note, I excuse myself from this situation. I am the most indecisive person you will ever meet. Therefore, the plan all along was for Seth to make the final decision.

And goodnight. Yes, I plan to go to sleep before knowing the name of my future possible daughter. I just ate DQ because I cried ten times today. That's what happens when you are SUPER hormonal and your daughter runs around in the heat and then talks her brains out instead of napping.

......delay......

2011-04-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

On behalf of Seth, we are fully aware that the name was supposed to be announced last night. He didn't get home until 2am from working in Raleigh...he promises to have a post up by the end of the day!

Drum solo please....

2011-04-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

It seems we have a musician on our hands. Can you catch the quite humorous Molly reference?

Holla Hump Day

2011-04-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

If you have been looking for me or wondering what I'm up to I am apparently on another planet.

In the physical sense I am currently sitting on my couch waiting for Lila's diapers to finish washing so I can put them in the dryer. My friend Sarah just commented on something I said on Facebook hinting to the missing holla hump day to which I replied "holy crap is it Wednesday?".

So here it is...short and sweet.

This week's shout outs go to...

...Christine. She came over and gave me decorating pointers while patiently catering to Lila's attempts at sorting the maternity clothes I was trying to give her.

...my mom for listening to me whine. I'm sorry mom but there is most certainly more coming.

...Seth's aunt Jiff for doing a 3D ultrasound for us yet again. Those things are so cool!

...Lee (Seth's mom) for having Lila over for a sleepover Friday night so we could take a break and go out to dinner...and then for also keeping her most of the day Saturday so that I could attempt a yard sale.

...the midwife I saw on Friday who told me what to do to make my back hurt less and help me sleep better. I just might kiss her the next time I see her.

...anyone who comes in contact with me. This has been a tough pregnancy for me and I am (obviously) not with it to say the least. Someday after this baby comes I will sit here with a fat glass of wine and gush about how smart I feel, what great shape I am in, and how much I have gotten done that day. Ok maybe two or three glasses of wine...while on vacation...by myself.

Don't freak out. I love my family and I LOVE that I am fortunate enough to be having baby number 2. I wouldn't change my life for anything. I simply do not handle feeling incapable very well!

Happy hump day ;-)

The Decision 2011

2011-04-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

And then there were two...

~~Allie~~

~~Amelia~~

Charlotte/Charlie

~~Claire~~

Evelyn

~~Kate~~

~~Lucy~~

~~Mia~~

~~Patty Lou~~

~~Peyton~~

~~Piper~~

~~Quinn~~

~~Riley~~

Holla Hump Day

2011-03-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

If I am being honest, I have all of these shout outs to give and I'm concerned I may repeat something I have said before and forget some at the same time. Just take things I say between now and maybe six months from now with a grain of salt. My brain is having a rough go of it these days.

Ok, this week (or rather month) of shout outs go to...

...my mom and Seth's mom...Vivi and Grammy. They took turns watching Lila while I went to the lake so that Seth could get some things done around the house. Things didn't go as planned for Seth and mom and Lila ended up barfing for half the weekend. I had a GREAT, relaxing weekend though.

...all the ladies who accompanied me to the lake. Thank you for relaxing with me when I needed it most!

...Kim for checking on us every single day while we battled the nasty in our house. Feeling quarantined goes much better when others are reaching out to you.

...Katie for making soup for us for the exact same reasons as Kim...I am SO lucky the have the friends I have.

...the people who bought our dining room furniture off Craigslist. They were nice, normal, and they took it quick. My kind of people.

...Katie (a different Katie from the one above) and Christine for unknowingly meeting Lila and I for lunch today. It was a rough day for me and they were a bright spot!

...Sara for making dinner tonight just because I love when people make me dinner ;-)

Alright, that's all I've got for now even though I'm sure there are more. Happy hump day!

This one's for you Poppy...

2011-03-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

She may look like daddy (and have his insanely perfect memory)...

...but this little singer looks quite reminiscent of mommy today.

The Decision 2011

2011-03-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

Seth joined the Burrow barfing club in the middle of the night last night (I joined on Friday). Therefore, I am posting for him.

He is VERY sad to say that he is cutting Patty Lou. I know our moms are crying big fat baby tears right now, but I think the two of you will one day come to terms with his decision. To my friend Patty, Seth is truly sorry :-(

Allie

~~Amelia~~

Charlotte/Charlie

~~Claire~~

Evelyn

~~Kate~~

~~Lucy~~

~~Mia~~

~~Patty Lou~~

~~Peyton~~

~~Piper~~

~~Quinn~~

~~Riley~~