vacation photos

We had a wonderful time on vacation. The boys went from the beach to the pool to mini-golfing and back to the beach. It was pretty much a kid's paradise. I think the adults enjoyed themselves too. After working much of Father's Day, Andy decided to leave his Blackberry at the condo when we went to the beach (woohoo!). He also played a little golf, but not as much as I would have thought. Aunt Jo read two books and I managed to watch a couple movies and go for a few runs. But we mostly hung out on the beach playing in the water with our two little fish. Izzy was such an easy-going baby. She chilled in the tent on the beach with us every day with few complaints. She's such a sweet girl.

In this picture the kids are all hanging out in Alex's bed in the morning. Devin and Alex shared a room and loved climbing into a bed together to watch TV in the morning.







Some pictures of us playing on the beach.













This picture provides a glimpse of the gear required to take care of three small kids on the beach. We have a tent for Izzy, but both boys are napping in the tent in this shot.
















Beach front dining. There's nothing finer...

Happy Birthday Devin!!

Can you believe that I have a five year old now? Seriously. Five years old.

Devin loved being at the beach for his birthday and asked if we could spend his birthday at the beach every year. Wouldn't that be nice. Happy birthday Devin! And Happy Father's Day to Andy too. The last time Andy shared Father's Day with Devin's birthday was the day that Dev was born... and what a life changing day that was. Happy birthday you big five year old boy! I love you.

I miss my friends!

We had a wonderful visit with Annie and Loretta. It was so great to spend time together and to catch up. I loved introducing Isabel to her 'Aunt Mo' and I really enjoyed spending time with Annie for a few days (it felt too short!). Of course we have stayed in touch via phone and email, but there is nothing like spending time together. The only thing our weekend was missing was John (and Caroline, of course). We are really looking forward to seeing them in August.
The boys talked about Loretta for days after she left, and Devin wanted to call her to make sure that she knew we are coming to in August "so she won't miss us so much." How cute is that? Even Andy commented numerous times that it was a great visit and that he misses the Tarnuzzers a lot. It is hard to be far away from such good friends.

This week was mayhem. Between getting ready for our beach vacation and having contractors working on the kitchen for days, things have been a little crazy. The kitchen looks great though. We still have some cleaning to do (since every cabinet gets nasty when counter tops are being replaced) and the dust is still settling from them cutting the island wall and the granite for the cook top, but I am quite pleased with our updates. We have some detail work to do, like re-grouting the line between the counter tops and the back splash and touch-up painting, but that will happen later. July shouldn't be too busy for us, so we will probably tackle those projects then. Aunt Jo arrives tonight (fingers crossed, since she has already been delayed) and we head to the beach tomorrow. We are all excited. The boys already have their back packs in the car and have been 'helping' Andy and I get ready since this afternoon. They can't wait. I am hopeful that there will be some R&R for us this week, although juggling three kids on the beach may not allow for that. =)

Summer is here!!

The boys finished school two weeks ago and our summer season is fully underway, complete with hot the weather and with me taking on three kids for the next three months. So far we have been doing great, but I have had a lot of help. Last week Andy's family visited and the boys were thrilled to have the extra attention. Andy and I even managed a date night too! This week has been all about the pool (especially since the temperature has been in the high 80's and 90's) and getting ready for Annie and Loretta to visit (on Friday - can't wait!). Next week our kitchen work will commence. We are replacing our counter tops with granite, changing the island configuration, adding a hood and running a gas line for a new gas cook top. The following week we are going to the beach (woohoo!) and the week after that the boys go to day camp at their preschool. After that the Shaffer's (Phil, Karen & Samantha) will visit us right before the 4th of July. This will be a very busy month; it's a good busy though, with all kinds of fun things happening.
Today we are planning to take the boys to a triple-A baseball game (Pawtucket Red Sox vs. Charlotte Knights), weather permitting. The game is at 7:15, so I hope it won't be too crazy hot by then. We'll see. This morning we are headed to the gym for a Mommy yoga class (the boys will go to childcare, but this class is one of three weekly pre/post natal classes offered at our gym where the instructor makes modifications for growing bellies and babies are welcome to stay in the gym near Mom while she works out. How cool is that?). After my workout I will likely take the kids to the outdoor water park at the gym for an hour or so. They love it! It has a shallow area with some little slides and a huge spray area that both boys can use, and then there is a lap pool with two sets of water slides that Devin can use.
Isabel and I mostly hang out in the shade, but I have put her little feet in the water a couple times. Izzy is doing great and sleeping a full six hours at a time most nights. We are nowhere near having a predictable schedule yet, which makes for some difficult planning sometimes (like yesterday morning when I wanted to swim before Andy went to work. Our neighborhood pool opens at six am for adults only lap time and I planned to get my first swim in after nursing Izzy, but she slept until after seven!), but she is great.
I now have Alex in my lap while I type, Devin is standing next to me with a book ready for "story-time" and Izzy is starting to stir in her crib. My time is officially up!

not such a big girl

Isabel had her two month check up (already she's two months old!) and she is doing great! She is 10lbs 5oz and 23.25 inches. She no longer looks like a newborn at all, and everyone comments on how long she is (75th percentile... not bad). Since I am in no hurry for this baby to grow up, I am a little sad that she's already getting so big. But I am absolutely thrilled that she is healthy, of course. When I got home I checked the boys' growth stats, and realized that she is not that big compared to her brothers. When Alex was two months old he was the exact same length as Izzy, but he was two and a half pounds heavier (many of you remember those amazing rolls in his thighs, I'm sure) and at two months Devin was 3/4 of an inch longer (24 inches) but he was three and a half pounds heavier. So she's not such a big girl after all. =)

Speaking of big girls, today is Loretta's third birthday! Happy Birthday Retta!!! Devin and Alex wanted to call her this morning to sing, but I knew Loretta would be at daycare and then I completely forgot to call this evening. The boys will be anxious and excited to call tomorrow, so I hope the Tarnuzzers are ready for an early morning phone call complete with some enthusiastic singing! We love Loretta in this house.

anniversaries

This is a week of anniversaries for us. First was our wedding anniversary (our seventh). Sometimes I can't believe all that Andy and I have done, been through and accomplished in a mere seven years. We're on our third house, third child, third job for me (if you count staying home as a job - which I certainly do!) and third job for Andy (which is an accomplishment in itself, since he was changing jobs far more frequently before our wedding). With the multitude of things that need to happen and people who need something from us in our daily lives I think we sometimes lose our focus on the love that brought us to this place, and I am glad for a chance to regain that focus. Plus we get a date night, and I'm always happy for a reason to spend some additional quality time (i.e. kid-free time!) with Andy. =)
The second anniversary that we recognize this week was the third anniversary of Brianna's death. My sister and my family in Illinois maintained their tradition of sending off notes to Brianna on helium balloons. Annie and John maintained the tradition that we started of participating in the 5k road race to benefit Children's Hospital in Boston. And I think I have found a new tradition. I spent some time alone with my thoughts while walking in a beautiful wooded park near our house. It gave me a chance to really reflect on Brianna's life and all the wonderful things that it brought to my family and to many of the people in our lives who were touched by Brianna in some way.
I also watched our wedding video for the first time in ages. It was so wonderful to see all the images of our families at such a fun and celebratory time, but also it is among the only videos I have of Brianna. There are scenes of her walking Andy's parents down the aisle, dancing and hamming it up for the camera and even trying to touch one of the chickens that escaped their pen during our reception (very brave!). But the image of Brianna that touches me most from the wedding is one of her cuddling Andy as he was holding her. Then she smiled at me and said, "Maybe I'll marry Uncle Andy."

I miss you Punkin, and love you forever.

dream baby

Isabel is still a wonderful baby. The last couple nights she has been sleeping five and a half or six hours a stretch! If only we could keep her brothers in bed then Andy and I wouldn't be so exhausted... but she's doing great. She started smiling a couple weeks ago and has been stealing all of our hearts with her little smiles and gurgles. It is truly adorable.

I loved this series of pictures and couldn't pick just one to post, since they each are cute in their own way.

This one is my favorite.

Tummy Troubles and misc...

We think that the dream baby has tummy troubles. It started a week and a half ago, but really got intense this weekend. Izzy would start nursing and then a couple minutes later she'd drop the latch and start screaming, arching her bad and hitting me. This would happen once or twice an evening. Not exactly a fun way to end the day. It was clearly upsetting for her and rather stressful for Andy and I. I took her to the doctor yesterday and they think she may have a mild case of reflux. They likened it to heartburn, which doesn't sound like fun at all. So Izzy is taking a low dose of Zantac and so far it seems to be helping.
Tomorrow Devin has the follow up appointment for his eye. It looks so much better already. I hope he gets the all clear to go swimming soon, since our neighborhood pool opened early this year and he is already asking to go. Not that we won't have ample opportunity to swim this summer, if I can figure out how to get them to the pool while keeping Izzy out of the sun. I can't believe that we only have three more days of school (actually one more day for Alex). I'm not sure if I'm ready to have these hooligans all to myself all summer long. In some ways I am looking forward to it, since we all enjoy mornings where we don't have to hurry out of the house. However, on these lovely schedule-free days the boys often get tired of entertaining themselves by late afternoon and they start getting "creative". Which means that I am counting the minutes until reinforcements (i.e. Andy) arrive. I guess that is where the margarita machine comes in handy. =)

Happy Mother's Day!

What a wonderful day! My day started with a sleep in morning (other than nursing Isabel at 5:45 am, of course). Then the men in my life woke me at 8:30 with breakfast in bed. Devin, Alex and I devoured Andy's creme brulee french toast, chicken apple sausage and the fresh cut strawberries and bananas. The only thing I didn't share with the boys was my coffee. =) Each of my children presented me with presents (even though Andy and I said we wouldn't do presents for Mother's/Father's day this year. His argument was that the gifts weren't from him...) and I love them all. After breakfast was digested I jogged down to the neighborhood fitness center to lift, came home for a shower and left for church with Devin. Those of you with three small children (or with a baby of any age) know that getting a workout and a shower in the same morning is an unbelievable luxury! After church, Devin and I went to lunch and did a little shopping (since he needed a new bathing suit and none of my shorts fit me yet). When we came home and I puttered around the house, played outside with the boys and held my little girl a lot (Izzy is going through a growth spurt. She nursed seven times today and had two bottles. Wow!)
This day was more relaxing and fun than I had anticipated. I have to thank my kids and my amazing husband who made it all happen! I am one lucky Mama.

Pirate Devin

Devin's surgery went well. The doctor said that it really couldn't have gone better. Other than the vomiting in the car on the way home, he did great. He had to wear an eye patch yesterday, and that really bothered him. We tried to talk up the whole pirate angle, but that only appeased him for a while before he decided that he really wanted the patch off.

There were tears, but he was much better this morning when the doctor said he was doing well and only needed to wear the plastic eye shield at bedtime. His eye is red from the trauma of surgery, but the doc says it should look better within a couple weeks. He doesn't seem bothered at all about it now.

quick update on goals

Hi there,
Aunt Jo and Eileen are here and we are having a great time. Since I would rather spend my "leisure" time with them than online, I'm just doing a quick update on goals.

Here is how I did on my goals for last week:
1) Finish Alex's thank you notes - done!
2) Clean bathrooms & vacuum before my sister and Aunt Jo arrive - done & done!
3) Catch up on email - blew that off again
4) Get some exercise - two walks, one pilates tape and one run! woohoo!!
5) Assemble and print labels for Isabel's announcements - done and sent
6) Get through to Alex about his behavior at school - we had a better week this week, so maybe?

This next week I want to get more exercise and catch up on email. Other than that I'm planning on laying low, what with company here and Devin's surgery and all. Dev is having eye surgery on Wednesday to remove a red bump (that the doctor likened to a mole) from the white part of his eye. Hopefully things will go well and the pathology report will come back with good news. =)

closure

It's official. We no longer own a house in Massachusetts. This was supposed to happen months ago, but we ran into an issue with the title and had to wait for the builder and the Shrewsbury conservation committee to sort things out. Luckily Wachovia was great about it and continued to reimburse our mortgage until the close, and the close finally happened today.
Andy and I are both breathing a sigh of relief. It's a little strange though to know that the house there is no longer ours. We really are Southerners now.

one for Grandma

My mom has been after me to post some new pictures of Isabel. This one is for Grandma; check out those chubby thighs! I guess I must be producing heavy cream instead of milk. =)

This picture was taken after Alex's birthday party. It was the first time Izzy wore a dress.

Isabel is five weeks already, and she's starting to look so different to me. She's getting rounder cheeks and chubby legs and she looks so long! She started smiling for us last week; it's adorable. With her smiley eyes and her big open-mouthed gummy smile, no wonder we are all in love with her.

Well most of us... Alex asked tonight why Isabel is always here. Andy and I explained that she's part of our family and will always be with us, just like Devin and Alex. He seemed to be okay with that, but who knows what he thinks. He loves when Isabel and I say goodnight to him though, because I let her lay in bed with him while I kiss him goodnight and he thinks that is great. Devin tells me how cute Izzy is about two or three times a day, and has decided that he likes girl babies more than boy babies. Clearly I'm not the only one who is going to spoil this little girl.

I made it through alive!

I am quite proud to say that I made it through my first week and am still relatively sane. I have a few good friends to thank for that. Overall things went well.

Here is how I did on my goals for last week:
1) Finish thank you notes - Izzy's are done and mailed. Alex's are nearly done
2) Catch up on email - totally dropped
3) Send the boys to school with lunch each day that they go - I did it. yeah!
4) Re-hang the pictures in Izzy's room - not only done, but also hung her letters. woohoo!
5) Do laundry - ongoing. always
6) Nurse Isabel 4-6 hours each day - a gimme, but I wanted at least one goal that I knew I would accomplish
7) Go for a few walks - two walks and one pilates tape.

Here are my goals for the coming week:
1) Finish Alex's thank you notes
2) Clean bathrooms & vacuum before my sister and Aunt Jo arrive
3) Catch up on email
4) Get some exercise
5) Assemble and print labels for Isabel's announcements
6) Get through to Alex about his behavior at school

The last one may be a challenge, but I am optimistic.
Goodnight all!

call him trouble

One of my favorite family stories is about the time that my twin nephews dug a tunnel under the fence and escaped from their kindergarten playground. In fact, they didn't just tunnel themselves out of kindergarten, but they took another kid with them. I think that most of the stories of Connor and Ryan are examples of how two little minds can work together to create big trouble. In our house, we only need one little personality to create big trouble, and that is Alex.

On Thursday Alex was sent to the principal's office (well technically the assistant principal's office) for talking "potty talk". Apparently he had been talking nasty for some time, and when the teacher corrected him, he'd give her a big smile, sit through his "time out", and then go right back to the potty talk. I think she finally decided too engage the higher authorities when he graduated from the basic potty talk and started telling his classmates, "eat my poo poo". I have no idea where he got this, since we haven't heard either boy use this gem at home. My sister thinks that he's simply combining two of his favorites; eating and potty talk.

I'm sure that the parents of the other preschoolers are simply thrilled that Alex is basically introducing the phrase "eat shit" to their little ones. But I am still hung up on the fact that a mere week and a half after Alex turned three he made his first trip to the principal's office. I think Connor and Ryan have met their match in this little trouble-maker.

that's what I like about the South...

When I was leaving my doctor's office today I noticed a sign posted on the building entrance stating, "No weapons allowed". At my doctor's office. I know that I live in the South, but this is a nice medical building in an upscale suburb. So next time I', going in for a physical or to figure out my allergy meds or whatever, I'll be sure to check my handgun at the door.
After the doctor, Isabel and I picked up a salad at the deli a couple doors down from the doctor. I was leaving the deli carrying a bag with my salad, a drink and Izzy's car seat when, in the span of three minutes, I had offers of help from two different people. I wonder if these are the same people who need to be told not to bring their weapons to the doctor.
Regardless, this made me laugh. Weapons and unsolicited offers of help. Southern hospitality at its finest!

single-handedly

I truly believe that whomever coined the term "single-handedly" must have done so with the mother (or father) of an infant in mind... because clearly the other hand was occupied by baby. Isabel is in what I refer to as the "hold me, love me" phase where she wants to be held most of the day. Hence, I can honestly say that I have tackled numerous tasks single-handedly. I have made two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, poured two glasses of milk and cut the stems off of strawberries single-handedly. I have single-handedly read books, cleaned up toys, washed faces and yes, I have even single-handedly wiped bums. I have single-handedly loaded the dishwasher, paid bills, surfed the internet and tonight I can honestly say that I have officially blogged single-handedly. However, many of these tasks were not only performed single-handedly, they were performed single-handedly while the other hand (well, arm actually) was swaying and bouncing, as newborns often enjoy. Pretty impressive, I know. =)

big week ahead

Tomorrow is a big day. My mom has been back in Chicago for a couple weeks now, and at 7:00 am tomorrow Andy will be going back to work. That means that I will be playing the zone defense (3 kids vs. 1 Mommy) from 7:00 am until about 5:30 pm tomorrow (assuming Andy leaves work a little early). I'm slightly terrified, but part of me is excited to just get on with it and start figuring out how to manage my brood. I have to get Devin to school and then take Alex and Izzy to their respective check ups with Dr. Jamie. Other than that we don't have much planned, maybe we'll take a walk or a trip to Trader Joes. We'll see how the day goes.
I do have a couple goals for the week. Since I really cannot predict how my days will be, I tend to plan a few things to tackle each week and hope I accomplish something! Here are the goals for next week:
1) Finish thank you notes
2) Catch up on email
3) Send the boys to school with lunch each day that they go
4) Re-hang the pictures in Izzy's room (since I never seem to get things right the first time)
5) Do laundry
6) Nurse Isabel 4-6 hours each day
7) Go for a few walks

I am fairly confident that I will accomplish at least half of those tasks. Wish me luck!

happy birthday Alex!!

Andy and I both said that we can't believe that Alex is already three years old. He is getting to be such a big boy!!

Here is a quick video of his big day.

as promised

Andy sans-goatee (and totally hamming it up).

His dark beard gives him a pretty constant five o'clock shadow, but he seems to think that will fade once he gets some sun on his face.

Since I'm posting pictures, I'm sure that you all want to see some more of Izzy. In this one I think she was about four days old (and quite a looker, we think).

In this one she's almost two weeks old (already!!).

Here is a picture of the boys at the US Whitewater Center with Papa. This week has been packed full of father and son(s) outings that all the men in the family seemed to greatly enjoy.

Andy shaved his goatee.

Yes. Andy shaved his goatee. For those of you thinking to yourselves, "I've never seen Andy without facial hair", well you are in good company. Andy and I have been together for more than ten years and I have never seen him without a goatee, except the winter when he grew a full beard. He came down last night after a shower and the goatee was gone. I was shocked. He looks twelve, or maybe sixteen. I like it, but I still do a double take when I see him. It feels good though. Devin has said that he likes Papa without it, but Alex likes him more "with the hair on". I haven't decided which I like more (with or without the goatee), but he seems happy. I realize that this is certainly picture worthy, and promise to post one soon.

Isabel continues to be a dream baby. Last night she was having an issue keeping the binki in her mouth after her 3:00 am feeding... so after I got up to put the binki in her mouth a zillion times between 3:30 and 4:45 am, I finally took her to bed with me. We slept soundly until 8:30. I think she just likes getting some night time cuddles. Who can blame her? At her doctor's appointment on Friday we learned that Isabel is up to 7 lbs 10 oz, so she gained seven ounces in a week! Still our little girl is only in the 25th percentile for weight. She's 21.25 inches long, which puts her in the 75th percentile for height, so Andy says she's a string bean. I'm sure it won't take her long to get big, after all her brothers started out long and skinny too!

update

Just a quick update for those who are interested... we are doing really well. Isabel is a dream. She is a great eater and a great sleeper. She is up to 7 lbs 10 oz and is only getting up once or twice each night. Izzy is a mellow little girl except when she's hungry. When hungry this girl is a serious screamer!
The boys are in love with Isabel and are constantly kissing her and competing with each other to put binki in her mouth. Alex's behavior has declined a bit over the last week or so, but we are hopeful that he will come back to his own soon. Andy and I have been giving him some extra love and extra attention in an effort to help him out, so hopefully he will settle down. Devin is doing great. He seems to be taking everything in stride, and he loves his little sister. He has mentioned that he misses me on the days when he spends more time with Andy or with his friends (some of the preschool moms have been taking Devin home for play dates after school to give me a rest); it is a little heart breaking to hear that, but then I just give him some more lovin' and we all feel better. I am still learning how to split my time between all of these little people, and the big one too!

Off to watch a movie with my hubby... and my daughter. =)

Baby love

We are all smitten with Isabel. Seriously. Alex is hysterical because he is constantly trying to kiss her and gets right in her face and talks in a really high, soft voice to her. I am sometimes worried that he's going to "love" her a little too much, but his affection is very genuine and it certainly beats him trying to throw a truck at her or something like that. Devin is the ultimate big brother and is quick to help in any way. They are constantly asking to hold her and checking on her. It is really wonderful.

Andy and I are both sleep deprived but are really happy with our little girl. Andy holds Isabel all evening long (I think he really doesn't want to be back at work, but he'll get his two weeks at home once my mom leaves) and he is still wearing his bracelet from the hospital. =) I am just so in love with my baby doll. She is wonderful.

We would be lost without my mom here helping out with the boys, the laundry, whatever needs to be done and frankly I'm a little terrified for the time when she is gone and Andy is back at work... but that is another story.

Many people have asked me how we chose her name, so here goes: my grandmother's middle name is Veronica, and I have always loved that name, so we chose that for her middle name. We both also loved the name Isabel or Isabella. "Belle" was my niece Brianna's nickname, and while we will never have another Brianna in the family, we thought that calling our little one Isabel would be a great way to honor Brianna's memory (and Brianna would have loved it!). Also, Isabel's Aunt Belinda was called "Belle" when she was little, so Izzy is in very good company. And it's a cool name. =)

welcome little one

Welcome Baby!

Isabel Veronica Blake

Monday, March 24th 2:33 pm

7 lbs 7 oz and 20.75 inches long

Andy and I are thrilled to welcome Isabel into our family (after what was thankfully an easy labor and delivery!). The boys are so in love with their little sister and we are all doing well.

pictures of the boys

After a rough Sunday I was pretty sore on Monday. According to my doctor that is completely normal, since the uterus is a muscle and mine certainly got a solid workout this weekend. Here I go, over training for an event again! Will my competitive nature ever settle down? =)

By yesterday I was feeling so much better and I even felt well enough to go to a pre-natal yoga class today. It is pretty exciting to know that we will meet this little one by Monday. I am ready.

I am posting a couple recent pictures of the boys, since they are getting so big! Enjoy.

Devin and Alex playing pirates.

Alex hiking. Check out that red hair!

The boys with the Easter bunny at our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. They had a blast!!

no baby yet

We haven't met our little girl yet. My contractions continued to intensify and we went to the hospital at dawn but my labor proved to be false. Lots of contractions and no real progress with my cervix (I'm at three centimeters). The contractions didn't stop until mid afternoon, and that was with the help of a mild sedative. I had a good nap and felt much better, until the contractions started again about an hour ago. I know that my body is getting ready, but I really want the contractions to cease until its the real deal.

Fingers crossed!

body by baby

I have been meaning to post some pregnancy pictures for all the people who we haven't seen since November/December, and since we just got our new digital camera, here goes!





These were both taken this weekend, which I am starting to think was just in time.



I have been contracting on and off since this afternoon, but without any real intensity or regular pattern so I figured my body was just "practicing". However, I woke up about an hour ago and I think that this may be real. You would think that by my third child I would know when labor is starting, but my water broke both times, so that was a crystal clear sign. It would be pretty ironic if after all my well laid plans of mom coming in to help and an early induction this baby actually came earlier than expected... especially since all who know me well can vouch that being early would truly be a unique characteristic for this little girl. =)

More news soon...

the boys

I guess I'm not the only one getting ready for the baby. Today the boys were playing with two stuffed animals that they found in the baby's room and they were carrying them around like dolls. Devin had an elephant and Alex had a bear. They took turns cuddling them and pretending to feed them and carrying them around. It was so cute!
I know that I shouldn't be surprised, since they are aware that the baby is coming soon (especially since there are so many conversations about the baby these days and her room is nearly ready and we have received baby clothes from some friends), but I was. It was sweet to see them playing like that.

I realized the other day that Devin is just a couple months younger than I was when I met Annie. I couldn't help but wonder if any of the friends that he has made since we moved here would be life-long friends for him. I can only hope that he is that lucky, since Annie is clearly fundamental in my world. I miss her.

getting ready for baby

I think my body is getting ready to have this baby. Since Saturday I have noticed that I am having far more Braxton Hicks contractions and I'm getting the aches and pains in all kinds of interesting places. While I know that this is not a sign that I will be delivering anytime soon, I am getting more nervous about that happening. With my previous pregnancies I would have welcomed an early baby, but this time I am all about the plan.
My mom is coming to town the 21st (Woohoo!! Mom got clearance from her doctor to travel and drive and chase my boys. More importantly, she is really feeling like her old self!) and I will be induced on the 24th. I feel like I need a couple weeks to be ready (I have little projects to finish around the house and in the baby's room) and I really don't want to go early. For the boys I had everything done far enough in advance that I was just kind of waiting for the baby to come. That is not the case this time. Its all part of settling a new house, but Andy and I still fee like we have so many things to do!

That being said, I am getting quite excited about meeting this little girl. Yesterday I bought my my first little dress. =)

Lori McKenna show

I have been meaning to write a post about Lori McKenna since Andy and I went to see her (again!) last Thursday, but most things seem to take me a while lately.

Lori McKenna is a musician from Stoughton, MA whom I have grown to love (http://lorimckenna.com/). I first heard her folksy music when she was featured on Chronicle about five years ago (playing her guitar and singing while her baby was bouncing up and down in a little doorway jumper). Since then Andy and I have seen shows of hers at Club Passim in Harvard Square and even at the Paradise. She is an amazing songwriter and singer, and her musical career is truly a Cinderella story. A few years back some country stars (like Faith Hill and Sarah Evans) heard her music and started recording her songs. Since then she has toured with Faith Hill and Tim McGraw and has put out her first album on a major record label (although the four before that are truly amazing).

Imagine my surprise when we found that Lori was playing here in Charlotte (for what would actually be her first trip to NC). We were thrilled - my favorite local Boston artist here!! The show was far more mellow than the most recent one that we went to at the Paradise, and the crowd was far smaller, but Lori was awesome! I have to say that I wish she played some more of her older music, but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her (and to Mark Erelli who plays with her but is a fantastic musician on his own http://www.markerelli.com from Cambridge, MA). Per Devin's request, I have recently put her Pieces of Me cd back in my car changer, since he was asking to hear the song "Mars". There is something truly adorable about hearing my four and a half year old singing, "I see Mars reflecting in my little boys brown eyes, and he says 'Mama I'm gonna get there someday. Mama I'm gonna get there someday'." Devin's other favorite on that album is the song "Fireflies" (which Faith Hill recorded), although Devin calls it "Peter Pan and Tinkerbell" because of the lyrics. I adore that song, but it reminds me more of my niece Brianna than of the boys. Alex however is partial to another song that Faith Hill recorded called "Stealing Kisses" which is on the Bittertown cd. Andy loves that our little Alex sings "I was stealing kisses from a boy. Now I'm begging affection from a man..." but I think its cute. Its funny how they can identify her voice now in other songs. I personally am partial to the song "Falter" these days (which is on both The Kitchen Tapes and Unglamorous), but actually would recommend any of her cd's. There is a little something amazing on each one that she has put out.

House pictures

I have promised pictures of the house, and now that we have added memory to the pc, I may actually be able to post them! Here goes...

This is our house from the front.

Here is a picture of the family room. The room is two stories high and it has amazing light all day long.

Here is the view of the hallway from the family room. I included this because it shows how open the floor plan is. We love it!

Here is the dining room (which happens to be the only room we haven't repainted). We are still working on getting coordinating dining room furniture, but these things take time. We found chairs we like though. =)

Here is the toy room (complete with boys playing).

Andy suggested I wait on the pictures of the kitchen until we replace the counters (hopefully by summer). The boys rooms and the nursery are nearly done and I will post pictures of those rooms when I have them.

As you can see, we have paint on the walls, but that is about it! Andy is anxious to hang pictures, but I haven't yet figured out where I want things to go. We'll get there though. Andy said I should post a picture of the guest room, so everyone knows that we are sincere in saying that we want visitors. I will say that the guest room will be far more comfortable soon, since we are upgrading to a king sized bed and planning to put our queen in the guest room. Now taking reservations.... =)

mom is home

and seems to be doing well. she still has quite a headache and will be visiting her doctors quite frequently over the coming month, but she's hanging tough! woohoo!!

my mom

My mom was in a car accident on Friday. She was making a left hand turn onto a busy street and was broadsided. It was pretty bad accident. She is doing alright, but is still in the hospital for observation because she has a small subdural hematoma. For us non-medical people that means that her brain bled from the trauma of the crash. She has been in the ICU under close observation since Friday, since they want to keep tabs on her brain function (testing her every couple hours with questions and small physical tasks) and any swelling in her brain. The good news is that the CT scan that she had this morning showed that there is no more blood now than there was on Friday, and she was moved out of the ICU to a regular room. She has a bad headache and her neck and left side are pretty banged up, but otherwise she is doing well. We are hopeful that she will continue to improve and get home soon.

well the weather outside is awesome

Have I mentioned that the weather here seriously rocks? I have never lived somewhere as sunny as this. Its fantastic! I find it much easier to get in a good mood when the sun is shining and I'm not freezing cold. Lately most days the high is around fifty degrees (some warmer, some colder), but sunny and fifty is perfect - especially for February!! Now who knows how I'll feel about the weather in August, but so far it has been a wonderful change from New England.

Andy and I are working diligently to settle the house (and get the baby's room done) and good progress is being made. I had intended to upload some pictures of the house (since more than a few friends have asked for them), but the pc where we store photos is in need of memory and is god-awful slow and I am terribly impatient. But soon - I promise!

The saga of the potentially broken foot...

Alex has been limping since the Superbowl. I don't think he's just trying to show his support for Tom Brady, much as we all love number 12. We had some friends over that day and while many adults were outside when Alex went down, no one saw what happened. All we know is that he came in the house sobbing that he was pushed down and the limping began. After a couple days he seemed to be doing better (still limping some, but also running around with Devin and riding his bike), so we thought he was healing. Then we had a very active weekend; I'm not sure if it was the hiking or the jumping on the trampoline, but by Sunday he was limping badly again. Now this limping didn't stop him from running around and playing, but when he was walking he would limp. On Monday I took him to the doctor and we went for Xrays, only to be told that he had a small fracture on his left foot. The nurse set up an appointment with an orthopaedic doctor for this morning, and advised us that the ortho would likely immobilize Alex's leg for a while... and the panic began. How can we immobilize a child who doesn't sit? Would it be a cast or a boot? How long would he be in it? How will we explain this to him? How will I manage all of this in the last month of my pregnancy?
So today we went to the ortho, and she said that she does not see a fracture in the Xrays. The ortho was great. First she gave me a much appreciated anatomy lesson on how kids bones develop and the differences between "soft bone" (or cartilage) and "hard bone". Then she explained that what the radiologist thought might be a fracture in the left foot looked consistent across the right foot also, so she thought it was just how the bone is developing. She said that she thought his was more of a soft tissue injury, which should be addressed with anti-inflammatory meds and rest. She said that if he was totally hobbling or unable to put weight on the foot she would put him in a boot, but since he was getting around pretty well, she recommended motrin and rest.
Let's be clear that I am thrilled. Annie said it best when she said, "Alex and immobilize just don't go together well". But since my pediatrician told me that motrin and rest would be the treatment if there was no fracture before we ever went for Xrays, I couldn't help but wonder why I was even at the ortho this morning (after all, I have nothing else to do these days... right?). So while mildly annoyed, I am focused on the good news... we don't have to immobilize Alex. Woohoo!!

Two big boys

It's official. I have two big boys now. In addition to the facts that Alex (a) has stretched out and lost all of his baby fat and (b) speaks so well that I no longer need to translate for him to everyone except for the few who are proficient in toddler-ese, Alex is potty trained. Alex is potty trained!! This is not to say that we are completely accident free, but we're close. I am much more excited to deal with two accidents in a week instead of changing 5-6 diapers every day. He is so proud of himself and we are thrilled.

Yesterday we were "crafting" at the kitchen table, when Devin picked up a pencil and started writing out the alphabet. He got to "M" before he had to ask me for some help (maybe because that is the part of the alphabet song that's faster?), but he did it. He wrote the entire alphabet. He does this at a time when he is going through placement testing for Kindergarten. Recently Andy and I were considering whether Dev should go ahead to Kindergarten or if he should wait another year (as many of his friends with summer birthdays are doing). We decided that we think he's ready academically (and certainly physically), but we wondered if he's mature enough for Kindergarten. I think that he has solidified our thoughts on this. He's going; if we kept him back I think he would be absolutely bored with school.
My boys. I love my boys. Sometimes they make me so proud.

Brianna

Yesterday my niece Brianna would have been twelve. Twelve. I can't believe it. Twelve seems like such an enormous difference from the nine years that she was when I last saw her. I wonder what she would be like now. I am sure that she would still be smart and fun and athletic, since those characteristics seem fairly permanent. But what would she look like? Would she still be a little cutie or would she start looking more grown up? Would she be in that awkward phase where some of her features grow before others? Would she be gangly?

I like to think that she would still be energetic and fun, and a little boy crazy (since she was already starting to show interest), but that she would still maintain some of the innocence that we all loved. I can't imagine her at twelve. I guess she'll always be a little girl to us.

not quite an Easter baby

I saw my OB last week and things are progressing well. She is so laid back and considerate that I really feel lucky to have found her (thank you to Andy's co-worker Carla!). We got talking about the delivery and I expressed my concern about child care for the boys while in the hospital. Let me be clear, we have made some good friends who I know would watch the boys during labor and delivery so Andy could be with me, and for that I am really grateful. However, we don't have an Annie or a Clare or a Jen that I know can handle my two plus their own, who know my boys so well from years of interacting with them and who can work together to take care of the boys for the 2-3 days that I am in the hospital. So while I would have Andy on hand for the delivery, he would need to be home with the boys after that until we could get my mom down here. Well, given that this is the epitome of a healthy pregnancy and that the baby is measuring a healthy week ahead of schedule and that I tend to labor quickly, my doctor suggested inducing me a week before my due date. Woo hoo!!!! So on March 24th (the day after Easter) I will meet my baby girl. It feels a little strange going into this delivery knowing so many details; I know its a girl and I know when she will come. For both of my previous pregnancies we didn't know the gender or dates or anything. Its exciting either way, but I am glad to be able to plan a bit more for this one.
That being said, my parents were here this weekend so that they could see the new house (which met their approval, I think) and so that my Mom could start learning her way around in preparation for her solo tour with the little men in March. We had a really nice visit. My parents are easy going house guests. Before we had kids we did a lot of sight seeing when they came in town, which was fun because I got to act like a tourist in my own home (and we all know there is a ton to see in Boston!). Now they are content to hang out with their grandkids, and the touring is replaced with walks to the park, playing basketball and building with blocks. I think everyone enjoyed themselves, and we were sad to see them go. But since its nearly February (!!), we take comfort in knowing that we will see Grandma again very soon. Another exciting thing is that Annie (aka Aunt Mo) is going to come down after the baby arrives. I am thrilled. John (her husband) surprised her with the offer, and once they figure out child care and schedules on her end she will get her tickets for sometime in April. I can't possibly communicate how much it means to me to have my oldest and dearest friend here for such an exciting time in our lives. I am soooo lucky.

lazy day

Today we had a very lazy day... or at least as lazy as the two little men allow. In fact, the boys and I stayed in jammies all day long. It really was a nice change of pace. Alex is potty training, so we planned on staying home most of the weekend so we can keep him bottomless (since that worked well for Devin). He's really doing well so far, and hasn't had any accidents. In fact, he has only wet his pull-ups during naps or overnight. However, when it comes to bowel movements, he treats the pull-up like a diaper. I am sure that once we get him to poop on the toilet he will make a habit of that as well, but we need a good success there. Maybe tomorrow.

I am definitely feeling more tired than I expected this pregnancy. Today was the only day this week that I didn't feel completely exhausted by mid-afternoon, and I think that is only because I slept until 9:00 am this morning! I love my weekend sleep in day!! Once Andy gets up with the boys I put on the sound machine and close the doors to my bedroom to muffle the wild men and I can usually snooze pretty well. Its glorious!

After Andy had a few late nights at work this week, he encouraged me to have a night out. I was all set to meet up with a friend for manicures and maybe dinner, but when he got home I was so exhausted that all I managed to do was hide out in the sitting room in our bedroom and read for a while. I could have napped, but I thought that a 6:00 pm nap was a sure bet for a horrible nights sleep. So the reading was relaxing (and missing out on the dinner madness was great) and once the boys were happily in bed I had a chance to hang out with Andy (double bonus!).

The coming week will be a busy one with the painters here, two days off of school, our hospital tour and all the other unexpected mayhem before my parents visit next weekend. Our first visitors! Andy still wants to get a bed for the guest room before they come, but I think the pull-out couch will suffice for this visit. I'm sure that we will have the bed thing sorted before my mom comes to help out with the baby, but for now they will have to suffer through a couple nights on the pull-out. At least they have their own room again though. =)

all in a day

I have made a successful return to the gym - woohoo! Of course I haven't done anything all that strenuous or challenging, but its good to get moving and lift some again. I think that tomorrow I will try out a nearby Y that is supposed to have an amazing pool. The Y in our neighborhood only has an outdoor pool (and water park) and I have been missing my laps. Plus I'm sure that I would enjoy being buoyant at this point in my pregnancy. Speaking of, I had my ultrasound that week and everything looks great! Of course, they took special care in looking at the heart (two separate techs had a turn) and the baby is measuring a little ahead of my due date; should be another healthy little one. =) They did both a two dimensional and a three dimensional ultrasound, and the 3D one was wild. I could see her little profile so clearly and it was really cool to see the shape of her nose and face. She really reminded me of Devin. We'll see how close the resemblance is once she's here.
The boys were a lot to take today. Sometimes when one is naughty the other one joins in and things really spiral downhill quickly. It started outside with them pulling out clumps of grass and throwing them at each other. Then they were using the arm rests of my Adirondack chairs like diving boards, and finally they came inside only to have their first real food fight. A few minutes into dinner they started throwing kernels of corn at each other. Thankfully I ended that before they made it to fist-fulls of corn, but I was not at all happy. Of course they do all of this on a night when Andy isn't home because he's working late. Tomorrow should be another late night for Andy, but I am confident that after my wrath tonight we will not repeat this tomorrow. Not if they know what's good for them!

I miss the gym

Those who know me well know that I derive a certain amount of my sanity from going to the gym. Its like my reset button when things are crazy. Before the holidays I was making it to the Y a few times each week (and loving it!) but sadly I have yet to return. I was sick, so avoiding the gym was probably prudent, but now I am ready to go back and I am really missing it! I thought that this week would be my glorious return, but other priorities have usurped my morning plans. On Monday I went on a school tour (the effort to educate our eldest continues) and made the obligatory Target trip to get tissue and diapers (yes, Alex's behind takes priority over my workout). Today I worked through teacher recommendations for Dev's school applications, picked up eight different paint samples, scheduled meetings with two painters and (finally!!) got my hair cut. Tomorrow I have my glucose test and an ultrasound, so Thursday will be my triumphant return. I can hardly wait.

Let the search begin!

As we suspected, the local public school is not for us. We weren't sure about it when we chose this house, but were comfortable moving forward here since we knew that there were plenty of great private schools nearby. So we have begun the process of touring schools in the hopes of finding the right place for Devin for kindergarten next fall. Since most of the schools go K-5 or K-8, we are trying to find a place where we will hopefully be comfortable for years so we don't need to switch him again. The challenge is that most schools are accepting applications already and some close admission in the coming weeks! So we're busy. Some schools recommend that you start learning about the schools and the admissions process years in advance ~ clearly not an option for us. We are not visiting those schools. =) And the process for most of the schools is extremely thorough, including testing Devin, getting recommendations from current teachers and interviewing Andy and I. Pretty intense for kindergarten if you ask me.
I am also making myself crazy trying to figure out paint colors for the baby's room and the rest of the house (have I mentioned that the previous owners painted almost nothing in the four years that they were here?). I really want most of the painting done before the baby comes, so I am a woman on a mission right now. The folks at Benjamin Moore are going to love me! Andy wants to do the work in the baby's room, but we will hire someone for the rest of the house, since we have some two story rooms and all kids of vaulted ceilings (and Andy is not a big fan of scaffolding or heights). Yet another search commences...

Happy New Year

We had envisioned a lovely day playing with the kids and watching our beloved Illini in the Rosebowl, but things have not worked according to plan. Unfortunately half of the family is sick (Alex and I) and I think the other half is growing tired of our lazing around and coughing. Devin's plans of playing outside were foiled by the long afternoon naps that Alex and I took and by my general unwillingness to go outside while feeling gross. Andy had kid duty almost non-stop today, which we all know can be challenging, and the Illini certainly aren't playing their best football. While they still have a quarter in which to redeem themselves, the prospect looks bleak when facing the dominance of USC.
Ah well, things don't always go according to plan. I am much more relaxed about that fact than I was in my younger years, which I believe is a good thing. I certainly don't feel that this is a preview of what this year will hold for us, since we have many good things coming our way. =)

Home Sweet Home

We came back from Chicago on Friday and managed to sneak out before the snow was really a threat to our travel plans. Woohoo! We had a great trip. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we got to spend a good amount of time with our various family members (and even got the chance to see a couple friends too!). And I don't think we angered or offended anyone, which is always a challenge when we have so many schedules to try to manage, and so many demands on our time. Overall one of our better trips. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see my cousins Donna and Barb. I had really hoped for some time with them, but between being busy with the family and my being extremely tired (not only because of my pregnancy, but Alex's fun sleep schedule had its impact), I never had the chance.
We were glad to have the weekend at home before Andy started his work week. In the past we always came back from trips on Saturday or Sunday and jumped right back into the routine on Monday, and I can now see the real benefit to having some time before getting back to reality. It was far more relaxing... the boys were happy to play with their Christmas presents that we had left behind for our trip, Andy and I had some time to unwind and get things done (like the eight loads of laundry I tackled) and we are more prepared heading into the week. Plus returning to the warm weather feels like a vacation even though this is home now. I'm sure that the novelty of the weather will wear off, but not yet. =) We were also quite excited to return home to a giant stack of Christmas cards from our friends and loved ones; they were wonderful! Its always nice to get the quick update from our far away friends, and now more and more of our friends fit into that category. We miss you!
We have our usual plans for New Years Eve... watch a movie and hope that I can stay awake until midnight. These plans started when I was pregnant with Devin, and have become our status quo since. Not terribly exciting, but I am sure that we will enjoy ourselves. I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year!!

Chicago

We're in Chicago now visiting the families and the boys have been loving the snow. I think we've spent at least an hour or more each of the last few days throwing snow balls and making snow men. They love it! The have even managed to get grandma (my mom) and Deda (Andy's dad) out playing with them (and my mom hates the snow!). We began our trip staying with Andy's parents. We typically stay with them towards the end of a trip, since their house is like a quiet respite after the mayhem and craziness of my large family, but we decided to switch things up this time. The boys have enjoyed themselves, but after a couple days they were really ready to see their cousins. Luckily that came today with a gathering at my sister's house. We had a great time catching up with everyone and the kids had a blast (meaning that I rarely saw them during the four+ hours that we were there, since they were too busy running around). I love seeing them interact with their big cousins, and its really fun to see how grown-up my nieces and nephews are getting.

Unfortunately Alex is not sleeping well on the road yet. This morning he slept until five am, which has been his latest morning yet. I love Alex, but at 4:30am I really don't feel the need to share my love with him. I am hopeful that tomorrow morning will be better (especially after playing with the cousins), but in case not I had better sign off.
Sweet dreams!

santa claus arrives!

Since we travel for Christmas each year, Santa comes to our house early so that we can have Christmas at home before we leave (isn't it nice how accommodating Santa is? I was no small feat pulling that off merely a couple weeks after we moved, but Andy and I did it!). We woke yesterday morning to a house full of presents and the boys had a blast. I think Santa went overboard a bit this year. I'm not sure if that is because of the move (wanting to spoil the boys a bit after uprooting their worlds) or if its because we forgot about some of the gifts that were purchased before the move, but they definitely made out. We had a lazy day in our pajamas and a wonderful Christmas dinner. The only thing missing was the snow, but hopefully we will see plenty of that when we go to Chicago later this week.

Our friends in MA and our families in Chicago have been keeping us posted on the cold weather. I think that I can certainly settle into the Charlotte weather, as we haven't worn our winter coats yet since we arrived. In fact, the weather has been unseasonably warm, and I had to find the boys shorts so they could play outside last week in the eighty degree weather. The only downside that I have found to the weather is that I had to do some shopping, since most of the clothes that fit me at this stage of my pregnancy are wool, but its a cross that I willingly bear.

We have met a number of our neighbors and are starting to get friendly with the locals. The good weather has helped since everyone is out. I am a little surprised at how many people we've met with ties to Chicago. In fact, a woman that I used to lifeguard with at the University of Illinois lives a few streets over. We were at the neighborhood children's Christmas party and she was talking to my neighbor (both women are pregnant - I've never seen so many round bellies!!) and I was wracking my brain trying to think of why I knew her. I haven't seen her in at least fourteen years, so it was a surprise to both of us to meet again. Small world. I have met a lot of friendly people and am starting to develop some friendships that I think will be good ones. Our neighborhood has a gazillion kids, so the boys are in heaven. We have been riding bikes to the park or with the neighbor kids most afternoons, so we are starting to branch out some. We all miss our friends though. Every time we go for a bike ride Alex asks if we are going to ride to Loretta's house. That would be one long ride little man!!

southern living

Our friends in Massachusetts had a wonderful send-off for us (and our kids) before we left. At that time, my friend Sue suggested that I start a blog to keep our many far-away friends up to speed on our changing lives. While I laughed it off at the time (something about moving 850 miles away the week after Thanksgiving with two little kids while pregnant... a blog seemed tough to maintain), I found myself often thinking of what I would write in my blog (while unpacking boxes or playing with the boys). Clearly there is a huge difference between contemplation of blog-worthy items and the execution of creating the blog, but I have decided to give it my best shot.

So since we last saw you all:
I was sadder than I thought I'd be when we left our lovely home in MA the day before Thanksgiving and went to our vacation house in NH to spend the holiday with some friends. I guess it really hit me that we were leaving our lives and starting anew (something I didn't give thought to when dealing with movers and cleaning the house and taking care of the kids). We had a great Thanksgiving holiday with old and dear friends before we set off for the warmer climate of our new home. In just a few days we travelled across ten states, stayed at 4 different places, moved 18,000 pounds of belongings, and ate more take out than I ever imagined. The boys did great. Seriously. Andy and I were pretty surprised at how good they were through the trip. I think our plan of doing fun things in the morning and driving in the afternoon saved us. After all, they got to go to the aquarium in Baltimore with their Tetka (Aunt Nena), play with their friends Jack and Abbey in Raleigh, and swim at least once per day at the various hotel pools. Does it get any better than that?

Our move was as uneventful as we had hoped; the close went seamlessly, the movers were great, our belongings are all present and in good condition. In the almost three weeks (already!) that we have been in the house we have primed and painted Devin's room (before the move he insisted that the hot-pink room was not his, so we knew that was a change that needed to happen quickly), unpacked and settled all the common areas of the house, met our pediatrician (twice), joined the gym, met my obstetrician, spent hundreds at Target and Lowes and have started meeting new friends. The boys are settling into preschool and are really enjoying themselves. Devin's teachers say that he seems so comfortable there that he is no different than the kids that they have had since September. Alex loves everything about school; his teacher, the activities that they do, his friends (although my fears about him being a preschool bruiser weren't unfounded), and especially eating lunch at school. =) I am enjoying my two kid-free mornings each week, but have been extremely busy acting as Santa's helper and tackling house projects that are best completed without the help of little hands. Andy has been at his new job for two weeks now and is enjoying the new role (although he is still figuring out what that role is). Overall I would say that we are pretty happy here. I am sometimes overwhelmed at the amount of work that we have ahead of us in the house and I don't think I will move at Christmas time again if I can avoid it, but things are going well.
Love to all!

news from 11/4/2007

Our time as Northeasterners is nearly drawing to a close. The movers are coming the week of Thanksgiving to pack and load our things, and we will slowly make the drive down to NC in time to close on our new house on Nov. 26th. We found a great home in an amazing subdivision that sits on the NC - SC border, so we will actually be living in South Carolina. Our house is about 15 miles from 'uptown' Charlotte, where Andy will be working and is close to all the amenities and activities to which the boys and I have become accustomed. We are very excited for our new adventure, but quite sad about leaving our good friends. In fact, Devin has been insisting that his friend from preschool is coming to NC also. =) But I am sure that he and Alex will quickly make new friends in preschool while I am busy trying to settle our house before Christmas.
Among the tasks that I will quickly tackle is picking colors for the kids rooms. Our other exciting news is that baby #3 is a girl, so we will actually be introducing pink into our world! We are thrilled. Andy is nervous about how this will affect his humor and we both realize that we will need to learn a whole new set of toys, but we are really very excited.

news from 9/28/2007

First, we are very excited to report that we are adding to the family again! We are expecting another little Blake in the spring. While many ask if we are hoping for a girl, we both agree that we would need a pretty tough girl to keep up with the likes of our two wild men. We would be truly thrilled for either a girl or a boy baby in our family. However, we fully intend to find out which we are having when the opportunity presents itself, since I am determined not to decorate our next nursery in gender neutral colors... its trucks and trains all the way or pink as pink can be!!
Our other crazy news is that we are relocating to Charlotte, NC. Andy was presented with a wonderful opportunity managing international projects for Wachovia (the parent company of his existing employer). Thankfully since Andy's new boss is based in Europe, this position should not mean a lot of travel for Andy, but it does mean that he needs to be at Wachovia's headquarters in NC. We have been busy preparing our house to list it in the coming week, and will be traveling to Charlotte in two weeks to look for houses. Andy will start his new position in the beginning of December, and we plan to move by the end of the year (if not before his start date). We are all very excited about this great opportunity not only for Andy, but for our growing family (Charlotte is really family focused and the weather is lovely!), but we are also very sad to leave behind our amazing friends (and "chosen family") in Massachusetts. Andy has already mapped out the drive, and Charlotte is a mere 14 hours from Shrewsbury, MA and about 13 hours from Chicago. When it snows during spring break, we welcome all Northerners seeking sunshine!!
We hope that everyone is doing well, and we promise more updates as we have them.
Love to all!
Meaghan

New look, new blog

Hopefully this time I will stay with it!

Our family has some tremendous changes coming up. In the interest of consistency, I am posting a few updates to ensure that any new posts don't catch people off guard. Also, I had been using pseudonyms for the family in previous posts due to a pretty scary article I read about people assuming the identity of certain bloggers. Since I am lucky to get a post in these days I will not be maintaining the pseudonyms going forward. I apologize for the confusion!

mistake

Henry has a cold. Last night he got up around 12:30 am because he lost his binki and he was completely unsettled. Ten minutes later he wanted me to fix his blanket; fifteen minutes later it was the lost bunny. I started to let him cry it out (much to the dismay of my loving husband) until finally I asked the King to give him some night-time medicine to see if we could get him back to sleep. By then the King was quite frustrated with our little prince and was quite stern with him, which just about crushed the little man. Then the King made a horrible mistake, a dreadful horrible mistake. He gave Henry medicine alright, but when I got up with Henry again after another fifteen minutes of crying I realized that the King gave him non-drowsy sudafed... at 1:30 am. So the King and Prince Henry had some quality bonding time last night until about 3:00 am. I was just so glad that my hubby came through in the clutch and took ownership of the medicine mishap. This morning my weary husband told me that in the future I need to medicate the kids at night. Poor guy!

swimming

Swimming makes me so exhausted. Seriously. I used to say that it made me ravenous, but by mid-day I think exhausted is winning out, and I didn't even swim that far today! My knee started bothering me about a month ago and it landed me in physical therapy twice per week. It turns out that I have a leg length discrepancy (who doesn't?) which is causing my hips to shift out of alignment and is straining my hamstring and knee. So I have a gel insert in my right shoe (just like the Dr. Scholls ads - I'm gel-ing) and I am doing loads of exercises to try to strengthen my core, glutes, etc around my hips to keep them in alignment. My cardio is limited to swimming right now and my knee still hurts pretty much whenever I attempt any exercise (including my PT). Needless to say my motivation is lagging. The King teases me that I should be following his regimen of healthy fat and loads of liquor with minimal exercise to stay healthy, since clearly the nutrition plan and the multitude of workouts isn't keeping me healthy. =) I think I'll have to kick his ass!

the boys

I decided that for Lent I am going to try to maintain a positive disposition and try to find more patience for my boys. They are genuinely good kids and they behave pretty well, but they are still kids. Like all kids they get rambunctious and willful at times, and I find that I can have a pretty short fuse for them (especially at the end of the day). Henry (almost 2 years old) can be particularly difficult because he's at the point where he knows what he wants but can't always communicate it... and sometimes he can communicate what he wants but cannot have it and he doesn't understand that ("yes, I understand that you want a pancakes but we are having chicken for dinner tonight). Then he gets angry and throws his food, cup, etc on the floor. Not my favorite stage. And yet, yesterday I was sitting on the floor with William and Henry kept coming up to hug me from behind. Then he crawled in my lap and gave me a big old open mouth sloppy drooly kiss (the kind where you need a napkin to recover). I loved it! So I alternate with being frustrated with him and completely smitten by him. I guess this is what its all about though. William (almost four years old) is proof to me that our kids do listen to us, since he constantly uses our expressions. Its hysterical when I ask him to do something and he says, "no problem" or when he tells Henry he's an eating machine. So fun! Just by the questions William
asks ("Mommy, what animal made those tracks in the snow?) and the stories he tells ("I dreamt that the dinosaurs were driving the race cars and they went so fast!") I see him really flourishing before my eyes. And he can write his name. Officially. For a while he needed help writing it, but now he can do it on his own. I am really proud of my boys and I am truly blessed by these little guys.

February 1st

Thursday is February 1st, and should be my niece Brianna's eleventh birthday. Brianna should be turning eleven. Just thinking of that is enough to make me want to cry. I can't believe its been two years since I last saw her alive. I just don't know how my sister and husband manage. They are amazing people.

the joy of naps

William has decided that naps are "so 2006". I knew this was coming, after all he is three and a half, but I am devastated! I can still get him to "have a rest" for about an hour in his bed before he starts with the constant, "Mommy, is my awake?" (note: need to work on the kid's grammar). Its seriously one of the hardest things for a parent to come to terms with, and I am struggling. After all, if he doesn't nap then I am on the job with the little men from 6:30 in the morning (or 7:00 on a good day) until 7:30 at night. No break. No time to do anything without the help of the boys. Sure I can make phone calls, do laundry, clean the kitchen when they are around, but email is damn near impossible and forget any nap-time workouts (which is particularly brutal since they have been sick and I haven't been making it to the gym). Now Henry is up. Until another day...

happy holidays

I love the holidays. I really do; the only thing better than Christmas is my birthday (although now that I am getting older the birthdays are getting a little less exciting). Unfortunately we were all sick with the stomach flu when Santa came to our house. We all managed to rally that morning and have a great time (after all, what is more exciting than presents!), but the night before was tough for William and I and the night following was horrible for the King. Then we all had vicious colds in time for our trip to Chicago. For a change, we were the people hacking on the plane (much to other passengers dismay, of course). Our time in Chicago was hectic as always, but very fun. The boys really loved their time with the family, and I can really see how they get different enjoyment from each place that we stay (quality time with the grandparents, crazy time with the cousins). Moving around a lot while we are there is tough, but its good for them to see more of the family that way. They were really quite resilient about sleeping different places (Henry even slept in a bed for a couple days!)and we all got over our colds. I managed to contain the damage of not working out for weeks and eating/drinking more than usual. I only gained two pounds on our trip - not too bad considering how far from my normal habits I strayed. We had a really good trip, but we were all thrilled to be home again. Today the King went to work, William went to preschool and Henry and I went to the gym. I love being back in the routine. Happy 2007!

off week

I decided to take a couple days off to let my back recover, and that has turned into almost a week off. Seriously. I think I did yoga once this week. I consciously decided to take the first couple days off for my back, then William got sick. Poor guy. Obviously I really felt bad for him, but I was also bummed that it killed any chance that I had of getting to the gym (or finish any holiday errands). I think he'll be back at school tomorrow and I can go to Pilates. If my back does well, then maybe I can get some good workouts in this weekend (in between the birthday parties and holiday festivities). I'm tired today. I actually just realized that Wills has slept through the night only once this week. Having a sick child is like having an infant. I hope William kicks this soon, and that the rest of us stay healthy...

nutrition plan

A few weeks ago I worked with a great trainer (who is the Yoda of triathlete.com) to complete a fitness assessment and nutrition plan for me. He collected all kinds of info on me (current weight, measurements, current exercise regimen, etc) and gave me some recommendations to get into better shape. I went into this thinking that I was okay with my size but not thrilled with my shape. His recommendation was that I work on losing fat and gaining muscle to bring my body fat percentage down. Sounds easy enough, right? So I have been counting calories, fat, protein and carbs daily. It kind of sucks. It really sucked at first, but we quickly learned that certain recipes provide all of that info (thank you Cooking Light), so I don't have to calculate it myself (where calculating means measuring out each ingredient, looking up the details on that online, adding all the numbers for each ingredient and dividing by the number of servings). I also need maintain my current cardio routine and lift more often; he recommended that I lift pretty heavy weight (where I am reaching fatigue after 8-12 reps). The workouts have been good. I really like lifting, and have been pretty motivated to workout often. I did something to my back last weekend, so I have been taking it a little easier this week... but probably not easy enough, since I am still in pain. I think its because I haven't been consistent about stretching well after my workouts, and this can really mess me up - especially after runs. I am hopeful that with a couple days off and some yoga or pilates I'll be back on track soon. I did pretty well through Thanksgiving; I ate healthy during the day and then I really enjoyed my Thanksgiving dinner. I also enjoyed the leftovers for a couple days, but I think I balanced the rest of my eating pretty well. Christmas should be another story though. We will be staying with family for a week and a half and my mother will inevitably make her usual zillion Christmas cookies. Its like I walk through the door and become a kid again... "cookies for breakfast? Sure!". I just hope I don't undo all the good that I have done thus far.