Too Much of a Bad Thing

Reminder: Things can ALWAYS get worse. But really, today has sucked. This hole above our front door was the result of my brother-in-law diagnosing a major leak in our master bath that will require the whole tiled shower to basically be ripped out so a new liner can be put in. This bathroom was remodeled by the previous owners less than 5 years ago, so this is a completely unexpected project that had not been on our radar. In fact, until that is fixed, we are showering in the other leaky bathroom. Apparently it had not been done properly and has probably been leaking since the day it was installed.

To top off that news this morning, Patrick decided to have a major meltdown and cried so hard he threw up all over his comforter and blanket. The kid has a major gag reflex, so no surprise. He finally cried himself to sleep a few minutes ago. Now I hear Tommy waking up.

Can't wait for this weekend!

Too Much of a Good Thing

The problem when you have a baby on a great sleeping streak is that it is only a matter of time before the streak ends. Saturday night marked the end to my restful nights. Tommy has been waking at least once a night, sometimes at 3:00, more often 5:00ish. He also seems to be unable to flip back to his back once he is on his belly, which makes for an unhappy baby. So back to an extra feeding, which has actually done wonders for milk supply, which had seemed to be dwindling a little.

One Month Before and After

Mid-July marked the completion of my first month of Crossfit. While I don't really want these photos online, I think it will be a good motivator to keep me going. I am sucking in my stomach in this first photo, taken mid-June 2011 just before my first workout. Several people congratulated me on working out while pregnant. Ummm, awkward.

Still sucking in, but at least my belly appears to be slowly deflating. This was taken July 12th.

Just in the past week I really feel like I am seeing a difference, so can't wait to see what next month's photo shows. And before that, the dreaded at-the-beach-in-a-bathing-suit pictures.

Hello, Meatballs

Patrick had picked up his plastic golf club the other day and held it up to his ear like a phone. "Hello, meatballs" he said. Which leads me to the subject of this blog post: who is out there? My curiosity gets the better of me sometimes-who is actually interested in my blow-by-blow boring mommy life? Tom suggested a ticker counter and after just a few days, I am pleased to know I do have an audience to ramble to, even if I don't know who you are.

If one of you happens to be the mom from our church cry room who brings the huge container (like a 2 lb jar) of raisins every Sunday for your three kids, I have this to say: you don't need that many raisins to make it through mass. Your kids will get by just fine on the cookies, gummies, and cereal you also bring. And if you are trying to keep a steady stream of food in their mouths in an attempt to keep them quiet, newsflash-it isn't working.

And if anyone out there works at J-Crew, please do hook me up with your employee discount so I can afford the $200 sandals I want.

That's all.
Over and Out, Meatballs.

Shedding Like a Lab

From the time I met Tom up until just after our wedding, I had a blind, black lab who was the sweetest dog on earth. She also shed like a champ. I feel like I am her lately. For some woman, at around the 2-3 month mark after delivering, you begin to lose your hair. Because my hair is so thick to begin with, I lose A LOT. It is everywhere-on my clothes, the floor, the couch, on the baby. It is gross.

On top of being annoyed about that, I took Patrick to a new salon this morning to get his hair cut. I know toddler cuts are tough because they don't sit still for very long, but I was looking for an improvement over the last place I used. Where was I going with this? Oh, annoyed. The woman who cut P's hair was named Katie-such a cute name. Even her last name (which I won't post) was adorable. Imagine something cute like Katie King. She was in her mid-20's I would guess, with adorable dark hair done up in an adorable pony tail with a little adorable braid blended in. She was beautiful. Stunning really, with the perfect pale peach skin you see in Noxema commercials. And I have hair that is falling out like a lab. Where are all the frumpy hairdressers when you need to feel better about yourself? Patrick liked her of course. End pity party. After all, I had beautiful dark hair in my early 20's too before I had to start coloring the crap out of all my grays. Just wait, Katie.

On another note, the chimney guy finally arrived this afternoon to give his best expert opinion. Sadly, the chimney is in as bad of shape as my hair, but at least does not appear to have to be completely rebuilt. Still, I will be mourning the loss of my new dining room set that I was planning on having duplicated from the Pottery Barn catalog by an Amish man who lives an hour north. Good bye, wall long bar/buffet. Hello, sturdy chimney that won't be losing bricks in the next storm.

The All Seeing Eye

Love, love our video monitors, except when my husband secretly photographs my behind while I was trying to soothe an overtired, crying Patrick to bed Friday night. We have caught Patrick doing something he shouldn't have been enough times to make this thing worth its weight in gold. My favorite moment recently: being a fly on the wall while Tom and Patrick completed night-time prayers before bed last night.

Tommy, now officially 3 months, has spoiled me rotten with all this sleeping. He is taking one good 2-3 hour nap around 1:00 or 2:00, followed by a full night around 8:00pm. In another month we are going to start him on some stage one foods. He and Patrick were my shopping companions Saturday when we hit the outlets and were very well behaved. Only in the fashion world does summer end in early July-I love end of summer clearance shopping when I can still get lots of use out of the clothes this season. Got a great dress/beach cover-up at J-Crew for $15 that will be coming on vacation with me.

Finished up a workout this morning, but was dragging a little following a late night caulking party in the kids' bathroom. It isn't pretty, but at least the patches should get us through to the spring when we plan to gut the whole room and start from scratch. With so much still to do on the house, we are prioritizing and shelving cosmetic projects for a more practical approach-like roof and chimney repairs and diagnosing a possible leaking shower in our master bath. I am itching to rip out all the old bathroom fixtures though and finally re-paint the bright yellow walls with a more appealing color. I would hate to do it now and see my work get demolished in the spring, so I will silently hate it for the next few months.

Enjoy your week...

Nearly Three Months

Tommy is approaching the 3 month mark and is proving to be as good of a sleeper (actually better) than his brother. For the past week and a half, our new routine is bed around 8:00 or 8:30 and he sleeps through until 7:00 or 7:30 the next morning. Although he is still rolling from his back to his belly on his activity mat, he hasn't been doing it at night, thank goodness. It is time for the breathable bumper to be installed though.

Tommy has also been showing more interest in toys and will hold one for a while if in the mood. He has been going through a spit-up phase which is not fun for me, but at least he isn't acting fussy.

That's about it. I just passed my one month mark for my workout program and while I can see some results, my weight hasn't changed at all. Our vacation is looming ahead-uggh, pictures on the beach. In a swimsuit.

Tom and I have been getting split opinions about Tommy's features and who he more closely resembles at this point. I remain undecided...