Halloween and New Friends

Halloween was so much fun. Zach dressed up as Woody from Toy Story and really got the whole Trick or Treating thing this year. He amazed me by saying "Trick or Treat" to people when they answered their door - he normally is pretty shy and won't talk to most people at all. To see him get so excited was such a joy. Jerome's mom and K came over and answered our door so we could both go out with Zach for a bit. K dressed up in her Lady Gaga costume so we could take pictures of the kids all dressed up. She made a GREAT Lady Gaga, and even won $20 in a costume contest at a party she went to earlier in the weekend. And you can definitely tell Isaiah is not the first kid in the family - I only snapped a handful of pictures of him in costume, none of which were of him by himself. I'm blaming the fact that he fell asleep soon after he got his costume on, but still ... I think I might have to dress him up again and have a little photo shoot. No one will have to know that it was actually a few days into November, right?

Here are a few pictures of the kids in costume. The one of K and Zach is my absolute favorite! I may have to get it printed and frame it.

K, Zach, and Isaiah

Passed out before the action even started

While Trick or Treating, I made it a point to finally introduce myself to a family that moved in down the street a month or so ago. I'd been told by another neighbor that they had a little boy and are expecting again, so I was very excited to meet them but, being a little shy, I had never taken the initiative to walk down there and say hi. The mom was super friendly and it turns out we have a lot in common - older stepdaughters (1 for me, 2 for her), 3.5yo boy (me) and 4yo boy (her), both watch extra kids during the week. I told her to feel free to stop over and play sometime, and was feeling very excited about the prospect of finding a friend on a block that is primarily older couples with grown children and younger couples with no children. As we were walking to the next house, Jerome told me that I'd better make sure the house is clean in case they decided to drop by ... well, they decided to drop by today (super awesome) and my house was less than company ready. Oops! She didn't seem to mind too much, but I sure did! It was nice to visit with another adult though, especially on a day when I don't get a ton of adult contact since J has class tonight, and I think we hit it off fairly well. Lol, we even exchanged numbers. However, I do think it may be time I give the whole FlyLady thing another shot so that I can stop living in CHAOS ...

One Word Wednesday

Brothers

So ... What's New?

Has it really been over two months since I've blogged? Oops. I guess I have some news to share: Baby Boy#2 is here!

Also known as Isaiah Jerome, Baby Boy#2 arrived at 5:47am on Thursday, May 13, 2010 weighing 7lbs 7.8oz and measuring 19 inches long. My labor and delivery were relatively quick and easy, and Isaiah was born 100% healthy. I'm happy to say that Zach is adjusting to Big Brotherhood very well, my only complaint being that he loves his little brother perhaps a bit too much. Isaiah is growing very big very quickly, which is fun to watch but a little bittersweet since he is my last baby. I can't believe he is already 6.5 weeks old!

Life is starting to feel more normal, and I am definitely feeling much more human than I did those first few days/weeks after Isaiah made his debut. However, I'm now feeling the effects of spending Isaiah's first 6 weeks doing pretty much zero housework: my house is a disaster! It doesn't even feel "just messy" right now; it feels downright dirty. It's completely wearing on my nerves today, but how do you scrub a house when you have a 3 year old, a 6 week old, a lot of junk to deal with and papers to file, and not enough hours in the day?

My goals for today are to make this week's meal plan & grocery list and tackle the living room and playroom (the rooms are adjoining with no door between them). This includes folding and putting away 3 baskets of laundry, clearing off the desk in the playroom and finally bringing the desk down to the basement, and finding a real home for my knitting stuff - the corner behind the recliner isn't going to cut it anymore! I'm guessing I'll only get as far as the laundry ...

Ultrasound #3 ...

Yesterday was ultrasound number three of this pregnancy and most likely my very last baby ultrasound ever. Everything looks good! They confirmed for me that he is definitely head down, which is a huge relief for me. We also got to check on his weight and growth, the main reason for the third ultrasound. This happened when I was pregnant with Zach too; at 36 weeks and 4 days they estimated his weight to be an even 5 pounds. Yesterday I was 36 weeks and 3 days pregnant, and they estimated Baby #2's weight to be 5 pounds 4 ounces. Just a tiny bit bigger than his brother :) My doctor said this put him in the 20th percentile for weight, which is still considered big enough for them not to be worried. Good deal! Having been through this with Zach I wasn't too worried about what yesterday's ultrasound would find, but there was still that tiny thought going through my mind saying "What if something's wrong? What if they tell me they need to induce me today? I'm not ready yet!" Thankfully that wasn't the case and baby is still nice and cozy. It is getting down to crunch time though; I should probably pack a hospital bag and find the car seat bases one of these afternoons ...

I finally figured out how to work the scanner function on our printer, so I'll leave you all with a few ultrasound shots. Okay, or maybe it's more like ultrasound picture overload! Picture #1 - First ultrasound at 11 weeks and 3 days. Pictures #2 and #3 - Second ultrasound at 21 weeks and 2 days. Baby's profile and Baby's feet. Picture #4 - Third ultrasound at 36 weeks and 3 days. Profile pic of baby's squished face - can see lips, nose, forehead across the top.

The Boys' Rooms

I made this a page on here too, but once I start posting pictures I'm going to be removing a lot of my writing (everything but the to do lists). I think it's partly because I'm just wordy and partly because of the layout I chose, but I feel like all my posts are a bit on the "novel" side of things in terms of length. Not quite what I'm going for. Here ya go:

OK, I've officially fallen off my rocker. I've actually wondered if I am perhaps going through a manic episode and need to go get myself evaluated somewhere. (Yes, that was a joke!) Since we're pretty much broke, at least when it comes to extraneous money for fun things like bedrooms, I decided I'd save money and do a lot of the work myself. A LOT of the work. Here are my to-do lists for the boys' rooms:

Zach's Room:

• Paint 3 walls green


• Paint car/truck mural on 4th wall


• Paint some sort of decoration on the solid, non-mural wall (I'm thinking words of some sort? Stop? Beep Beep? Dunno yet.)


• Sew curtains for windows


• Fabric paint some sort of design on curtains

Baby's Room:

• Find fabric I 1) like and 2) can afford


• Sew the following:
  - Curtains
  - Bed Skirt
  - Bumper


• Paint room or touch up existing paint (wholly depends on fabric choice


• Paint accents on wall above crib

Sounds easy, right? Right ... but the first step before any sewing can be done would be remember how to thread the damn sewing machine. And no, that one wasn't a joke :) Zach's room gets first priority, then I will move on to the baby's room. Once I get that done, I have a list of other things I'd like to sew, but they're definitely bottom of the totem pole things. (New sling, new boppy cover, pillow for rocking chair in baby's room, and a car seat tent) Now ... any bets on how old the baby will be when I actually get all this stuff finished? I'll give you all a hint and say that I have definitely inherited my mom's ability to finish projects. The quilt she started for my brother when he was about 2 years old was finished in the weeks before he left for college ...

Mom of Boys

I was never a big girly-girl. In middle and high school I always preferred a few extra minutes of sleep over making sure my hair and make-up looked perfect. Not trying to say I was a tomboy; that couldn't be further from the truth! I chose dance classes over anything that involved a ball or a stick. I still liked to shop and wear make-up and daydream about boys. But I was never one who primped in the bathroom between classes or cared if my hair was in a ponytail instead of perfectly blow-dried and curled. Despite that, I still had the dream that most girls have: That one day I would have a daughter of my own. A little girl to dress in pink and purple, do her hair pigtails - or better yet, "sticky buns" - and most of all ... watch perform in dance recitals, complete with the adorably poofy cupcake dresses, as my mom used to refer to them.

Fast forward to 5 years after high school: I find out that my boyfriend and I are having a baby boy. No disappointment from me; I knew Jerome would be thrilled to have a little boy to play sports and video games with. After all, he did already have a daughter. So I had a lot of fun dressing my new little man in blue and sports and truck/plane/tractor outfits. One of my favorites was a onesie with a digger on it that read "I Dig Grandpa." I figured that "my turn" would be next time. I could have my little girl and our family would be complete. Not that that would happen anytime too soon; life was crazy enough already and we were busy soaking up our little guy, Zach.

Fast forward 2.5 more years: We're now living in a house that we own. I'm done with college and staying at home with Zach, earning some money by watching my two nephews and another little boy during the week - yep, 4 boys under 5 on some days! And what happens? We discover that we are pregnant yet again. Ironically it was unplanned but the baby was due right around the time I previously said I'd want to plan it for - shortly after Zach turns 3. As we approach the "big day" - the 20 week ultrasound - I have no clue, no feelings, as to whether this kiddo is a girl or boy. Of course, seeing as how my life is already FILLED with boys I'm secretly hoping for my girl. OK, or maybe not so secretly. The big day comes and there is no denying baby's gender: it is a very proud little boy :)

And thus begins my life as a mom of boys. Good-bye cupcake dresses and sticky buns; hello dirt and trucks and "guys" times two!