Irish, American and French

Tom and I have certainly had our fill of the cultures lately-this past Tuesday we headed off to hear the Pittsburgh Symphony perform various pieces of their upcoming season. We haven't been to the symphony together since we were dating in D.C. and both of us agreed that it was extremely relaxing. Our favorite piece: Gershwin's an American in Paris http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1_TSydZ1LQ&feature=fvsr
I am not sure if I ever heard this before, but I am a big fan now!

Then Saturday afternoon we were lucky enough to score tickets to the Pitt v. Notre Dame game. Although we didn't get to squeeze in any tailgating, we had an awesome time lounging in the top row (I mean literally, we were in the top, top row-no one behind us) in the perfect 70 degree weather Pittsburgh decided to dish up. It felt like the good ole' days when we were carefree at Notre Dame but I felt a little guilty leaving the kids all day. Paying for it now though-I have had a cold since Wednesday and after being out and about all day Saturday, I took a turn for the worse last night. I spent most of today napping when I could squeeze it in while Tom entertained the kids and cleaned up around the house. I love that guy.

As you can see from our shirts, we decided to support Notre Dame this game although we are also Pitt fans. Great game down to the last few minutes, but Notre Dame was able to stay ahead-Go Irish!

"This is DELICIOUS, Mom!"

That is Patrick's comment at nearly every meal-he might not eat a lot, but I guess he thinks I am a good cook!

Tommy meanwhile has been eating, and eating and eating. He now gets two meals a day and remains a happy, textbook kiddo (at least for now). Newest favorite-the frozen banana in his mesh eater which entertains him while I am trying to get dinner going. I finally broke down and ordered a jumper for the doorway since T is so much more active than his brother was. It should be here Monday.

What One Oreo Can Buy:

Two minutes of Patrick asking for the cookie while I snap away. One day I will get both of them smiling at the same time.

Faith and Fear

I did it again.
Just now, while hunting for details about a posted craft idea, I was diverted from one familiar blog to another, unfamiliar blog. I found the post I was looking for, but then something else caught my eye- a heartfelt sentiment along the side of the blog. I scrolled through some more posts and was was captivated by the blogger's storytelling. It was so honest and pleading. I just spent an hour and a half reading her blog and my heart broke for her. I cried. And cried.

Her faith is inspiring. Would I be able to praise God in such dark moments? I hope so, I think so, but I pray that I don't ever have to find out.

Motherhood is truly a gift. It gives us our highest of highs, but in the back of your mind you know through just the fear of losing one of your children that it is also capable of producing the lowest of lows. It is always in the back of my mind. There is so much that can go wrong, even when I am doing my best to safeguard my little ones. Maybe I have too much anxiety about it, but life is full of reminders and frankly, my past work experience doesn't help. And the haunting stories-stories of friends of friends and fellow bloggers.

I bought Patrick a helmet for his tricycle-it is in our basement and I didn't tell Tom because I thought he would think it is unnecessary and think I was being overprotective. I am being overprotective. But what if he fell off and hit his head in just wrong spot? My brother's neighbor was fooling around on his kid's skateboard and fell off, hitting his head on the pavement. He died as a result. That was only like 6 feet. Friend of a friend.

I worked for four years at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children www.missingkids.com, a great organization with even greater employees. But guess who is never allowed out of the stroller at the mall unless he is holding my hand? I am so afraid I will lose him. How could I ever explain to Tom that while finding the perfect pair of jeans I lost our son? Morgan Nick was 6 when she was abducted from a softball field in a small Midwest town. She was playing with her friends just 50 feet from where her mother was watching the game. I heard Morgan's mother tell the story while I worked at NCMEC and it is forever stuck in my head. How all of Morgan's friends came back to the bleachers after the game, but not Morgan. My worst fear.

Then I became a special agent and really saw first hand the evil that exists in this world to harm children. Unthinkable acts. And if you knew the frequency with which these people exist, you would probably be paranoid like me. I did some online undercover work posing as a minor and I liked to describe it as going fishing at a fish farm. Every time I logged on to the computer I had a new case. Sometimes my creepy meter goes off, just in passing someone. I can't explain it.

Please be patient with me kids when I have trouble letting go of my fears and act a little crazy.

I am not meaning to scare anyone. Just voicing my anxieties and hoping that they don't cause me to smother my kids as they grow. I know I need to put more faith in God and let go of some of these thoughts. I am not perfect.

Bear Hunt

This amazing family www.capturingmotherhood.blogspot.com (your photos are my on-going inspiration!), sent us some great books to celebrate Tommy's arrival. One of those was Michael Rosen's We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Patrick loves it and insists on not just reading it, but acting it out each day. So this past Saturday, instead of taking a family hike, we went on our own bear hunt. Patrick embraced the idea.

Through the long, wavy grass...

Through thick, oozy mud...

And through a big, dark forest...

We also crossed a deep cold creek where Patrick tried his hand at tossing rocks into the water.

Thank goodness, no snowstorm (yet). While we didn't find a bear, we did find teddy at home. Better luck next time.

"You Might want to Grab a Pen and Paper"

Those were the words that came out of our pediatrician's mouth last weekend when she called to give us the results of Patrick's allergy testing. We thought we should get him tested to see if it could shed some light on his eating issues. Turns out he is allergic to more than just nuts-try corn, milk, soy, egg whites and barley. The great news is that none of his allergies, at least to the best of their knowledge, are severe enough right now to really pose a danger to his life. In fact, he still gets milk (I mean, he has been drinking it since he was one), at least until we meet with the allergist in November.

Boogie Woogie Woogie

Last week I thought Patrick had finished his granola bar until I was cleaning up toys at the end of the night and came across this in his cars.

Tommy has moved his AM wake-up time to 6:00 or 6:15am from 5:15am. Making progress. Has eaten squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, peas, mangoes, bananas, peaches, apples, apricots to date. Is a huge pig. Still breastfeeding, but he is getting about 8 ounces of formula supplements a day also. Puts himself to sleep like a champ-much more easily than Patrick ever did. Sucks his thumb when tired or hungry, but not all day long.

Patrick has been whining up a storm lately. He wants held A LOT and has asked me to feed him a couple times with the fork, which he does just fine with by himself. Much more crying than usual. Not a big fan of this stage. The more whining=the more wine I need at the end of the day.

I think our washing machine may be breaking. It doesn't sound good.

I stepped on my scale and finally saw a number in the 140's (okay, it was 149).

Patrick learned to do a modified Electric Slide today. We had a fantastic time saying "Boogie Woogie Woogie".

Eating School Update

Progress has been slow in Patrick's occupational therapy for his eating issues. This past session (#2), his therapist observed him eat a typical lunch and determined (drum roll)...that he is not swallowing his food properly. Tell me something I don't know.

She is at a loss as to why. It doesn't appear to be behavioral-he wants to eat and puts the food in his mouth willingly. It doesn't appear to be a physical impediment because he can and does eat a whole cookie regularly. We believe there are some sensory issues since I had the same problems swallowing meat, but with Patrick it goes far beyond just meats.

She has recommended he be seen by an eating panel, so I guess we go from there. Meanwhile, please say prayers of patience for Tom and I-every meal is a battle these days. I realize there are parents with kids who have much more serious eating problems, but I worry about my little guy.

Finally

Just short of the 5 month postpartum mark, I was able to get my engagment ring back on comfortably. The wedding band is a different story-still wearing my pregnancy band, but at least the bling is back!

The Welcome Wagon

Tom was gone for a few days on a much needed golf trip in New York, and we missed him, especially his shadow (AKA-Patrick). In preparation for his homecoming on Saturday, we made Daddy a welcome home sign. Tommy really didn't contribute much, but Patrick used crayons and real markers, and thought it was the best sign in the history of signs.

Somebody was on cloud nine hanging out with dad this morning...

Hidden Blessings

Last week, the battery on my scale died. Probably from me weighing myself after every workout. I think this is for the best and I am going to wait a few weeks to replace it. I guess I need to post my 3 month Crossfit photo next week, but I gotta be honest, I am not where I thought I would be at this time. I had visions of having some defined abs at the six month mark, but as I am nearing the end of month 3, I still have the baby belly. If I want to see abs anytime soon, I am going to have to watch Jersey Shore.

With Tommy still waking each morning at 5:15Am, I am finding it hard to get motivated to go some of these mornings. I am beyond fortunate that I did find Lisa, our new sitter, who has made it possible for me to continue my program past summer. She is amazing and although I am paying her, she is watching the boys solely for the joy of being around little kids.

Seriously.

The former special agent in me should find that statement a little suspicious, but really, she is like a modern day Mary Poppins. She has two boys that she just saw off to college and another 7th grader at home. She knows boys like the back of her hand, and Patrick loves her. She told me she remembers how hard it was to be a mom with really young kids and wanted to help by giving me some time for myself. I know.

I have been the recipient lately of A LOT of help. Oh the joy of going to the grocery store alone! Oh the ecstasy of getting my hair colored on a Tuesday so I don't have to sacrifice my weekend time with Tom! Oh the thrill of knowing that there are two symphony tickets sitting in my mail basket which translates to another date night!

How lucky I am? I can't wait (and must) to pay it forward someday...

Eating School

At one time or another most parents think they have a picky eater on their hands. Not Tom and I though-we have a picky swallower. We kept thinking he would outgrow his tendency to chew and chew, AND chew but not swallow a lot of his food (particularly meats), but it seems to be getting worse.

Sadly, I take some of the blame through genes; I was the exact same way as a child. I hated the texture of most meats, especially steaks and turkey, and would sit for what seemed like eternity at the table with chewed meat stored in my cheeks, refusing to swallow. My mom is probably laughing now that I am getting a dose of what I dished out to her for her years.

So I made an appointment with our children's hospital and Patrick had his first occupational therapy session today. Next week I will bring a lunch with me so they can observe Patrick eat, and I have to write down everything he eats for the next week. Just to rule out other allergies besides his nut allergy, we also got blood drawn. I pray that his issue is only a sensory disorder related to food textures that they will be able to work with, because I can't imagine going through another year of this. I will keep everyone updated.

Trucks Vs. Brothers

When asked whether we should keep his trucks or Tommy, Patrick of course responded, "Trucks".

Good Company

A side effect of moving around so much is that both Tom and I have left a whole host of good friends in the dust each time we move on to the next city. If we are lucky, we see those friends once every couple of years. Last summer the Brown Family (we met them as neighbors in Canton, MS) came to visit us from their new home in Virginia. Their son Hudson and Patrick were born a mere 3 days apart, so hanging out together is always easy with built in buddies. This year we decided to meet up with them at Seven Springs and include them on one of our traditions-taking the kids to Idlewild Park. This was Patrick's second visit and Hudson and Tommy's first. It was BLAZING hot. The kids were troopers and we made it through, but boy were we zapped at the end of the day.

Anna holding Tommy.

Hudson and Patrick playing with clay the first night we arrived.

We look happy because the temps had not yet gone over 85 degrees when this was snapped!

Brad, Anna and Hudson at the entrance to Storybook Forest.

Patrick was too scared of most of the rides to actually want to go on them, but he did put on a brave face for the merry-go-round and the teacups. He also did the pony rides, but chanted "get down" the entire lap.

Hudson (L) and Patrick (R), age 27 months.

Choose Your Own Adventure

I loved those books growing up, so here is one for you guys. One of these explains why I have been noticeably slacking in my blogging.

Carol has a fabulous Saturday celebrating her anniversary then...

A) Her husband surprises her with a week long trip to Hawaii where she remains tipsy on Mai Tais and blissfully free of the responsibilities of motherhood.

B)She falls on her head attempting a handstand push-up during her crossfit workout, sustains a small concussion, and is forced to take it easy for a week.

C) The roofers bang on her roof for 3 1/2 days disrupting her kids' nap schedules, which in turn eliminates any hope she has in napping herself or accomplishing any household chores that need done. Subsequently her kids are crabby from not napping, which makes her tired and cranky and so on and so on.

Those that know me well are ping ponging between B and C, but the correct pick would of course be C.

The roof is done and things are returning to normal. More posts to come.