Caramel Apple Spice

at Starbucks is amazing...waiting for 2pm to roll around for that buy 1, get 1 free thing.

Charley has figured out the door knob child safety thing. We were greeted at 9am this morning with his smiling face and the thumping of his little feet.

Made pumpkin pancakes this morning - not so much. I need to try a different recipe I think.

Charley has also figured out how to get into his high chair, on his own, SOMEHOW. I have no idea how. His high chair is the kind that has wheels on it, so if he's not strapped in, he can fall out.

Started some Christmas shopping. Toys R Us was INSANE at 6pm last night.

There was a spider in the shower this morning...I drowned it.

Apparently I slept talked again...I was searching for a diaper. Oh boy.

Izyk has croup. WTH? Friday was the first night in 3 months that he DID not sleep through the night. Although, I cannot complain. It was only one night. He's sleeping better, just still waking up early-ish...5:30am but going back to bed until 9:30am. Can't wait for him to get over this little obstacle. No one else in the house is sick. *crosses fingers*

I really need to clean the bathroom. I really don't feel like it. I haven't felt like it for 3 weeks.

My mom sent a picture of the snow. I'm sad. I miss the snow and the mountains.

Izyk weighs 19lbs, 2.5oz at 26 inches long. The nurse said "Mama's milk is miracle-grow on steroids." Darn straight!

Calmest night

Izyk had his 4 month appointment today. He is in the 95th percentile for weight and height. He is in the 90th percentile for his head circumference. He had a moderate reaction to the pertussis immunization so they didn't give him the DTAP vaccine which is just one "cocktail" shot and having to leave out the pertussis made it into 3 more shots. That's 6 total shots, so we are splitting them up. Izyk did really good today compared to last visit. We are keeping him off the zantac since he's better off without it. We are taking it case by case. I think we can get a handle on his projectile vomiting as it is infrequent and when it does happen, we know the signs. Izyk is weighing in at 18lbs 5oz and 26 inches long. He's an extremely happy boy (except for the occasional fussiness preceding the projectile vomiting), sleeps like a champ, rolls from his tummy to his back. He's trying his darnedest to roll from his back to his belly. Charley says "Hi ra ra..." to him every morning and after naps.

The title of this blog...I was going to make this quick but I'm known for rambling. Actually, I'm not. I digress. Tonight, we had to run to the store. We finally broke down and bought pants for Charley. He was running around in a diaper, barefoot on tile in our 60 degree house. Kid HAD to be cold. I was hoping that maybe he'd gain some weight and grow an inch or two so we could just throw him in 24 month/2T pants (he has 1 pair of 18 month pants and they're jeans). But alas, he's still short and skinny. SO...off to Target after a 3 hour nap for everyone (but me because I had just gotten home from work) to buy pants. Long story short and 80 dollars later (because you can't just go to Target for ONLY pants)...we're home trying to get dinner done. Izyk woke up from his 20 minute nap in the car from Target. Charley was having rest time in his room while dinner was cooking and we were putting groceries away...

Like I said we went to Target ONLY for PANTS...ah-hem...

I have dinner after feeding Izyk. Izyk gets fussy. I decide he's going to bed a little early. I give him his bath, get him dressed for bed. We sing and he's in bed...talking to himself. Charley gets done with his dessert of raspberries, bath time (which for once didn't involve practicing his outside voice), and then bedtime. It's 7:35pm. Silence. There was no screaming, crying, or fits to be had (before, after, or during our nighttime rituals). Now, I only have two children and that can be just the tiniest bit chaotic in the evenings when everyone is tired and cranky and we're all just trying to get to bed. But this night is what I shall strive for in the future. It was a beautiful thing. :)

Pictures

Practicing our pull ups!

Family Picture

He always gives me the same look when I attempt a self-portrait of the two of us...

Charley was mixing the macaroni and cheese and his applesauce together. But he was actually eating it too. Blah.

BEST...BRA...EVER

It has been a horrible experience for me trying to find nursing bras that are comfortable, supportive, and non-grandma looking. I fell upon this website, Bella Materna, when I went searching for a 32G. I ordered a bra in hopes that it might be a good one. I got it in and just fell in love with it. It wasn't just white, black, or nude...it was plum colored!! I was sooooo excited to have a bra with a COLOR. Not only was it a pretty color but it was extremely supportive and a TRUE 32 inch bra. Amazing. So I've lived in this bra for the past 8 months.

Ah-hem

So, it's like a week later and originally this post was going to be about my AMAZING bra but I have lots on my mind...

Izyk was suppose to have an appointment this week on Thursday. We missed it because I thought it was at 11:45am and it was really at 10:45am. My bad. Really though...my entire week had been like that. So I should've just ASSUMED that was going to happen. I was really looking forward to talking to the doctor. First, about his immunizations...we're not doing that anymore. Well, we are just not the cocktail schedule they normally do. Second, I have taken Izyk off the zantac. He kind of turned into a basket case and he almost developed all the symptoms OF acid reflux and they were worse than before. He was a completely different child. He's back to normal now and I have some discussions I'd like to see happen.

Izyk is in 6/9 month clothing...meaning he is twice the size Charley was at this age. I know I said it before but it still is beyond my comprehension how gynormous this kid is. He's such a butterball. To top it all off...I don't think he really is eating more than Charley was but then again, how would I know? It's a good thing he skipped the 6 month clothes because Charley man did too and we didn't have any. :) *thumbs up*

Charley keeps falling out of his bed. Not a big deal, it just happens...often.

Where are the bed rails, you ask?

Let's just say, he knows how to get his bed off the frame and do things with all the parts that honestly, who would think a 22 month would do. But at least he goes right back to sleep when we get him back in bed.

We're moving Izyk's last feeding back slowly. Working on 9:30pm this week. He seems to be doing fine.

The kids are getting more sleep than Mama. I was late to work EVERY DAY THIS WEEK. Except one morning when Ryan kicked me out of bed at 5am. And by late...we're talking my alarm clock went off an hour and a half before I actually got OUT of bed. Good times.

Work has been chaotic but we'll leave that...at work...where it belongs.

That's all I can think of, OH WAIT. So we bought a standalone freezer...for my BREAST MILK. Yes, that's the only thing we have in that freezer because Ryan was sick of having my stash take up 75% (he claims 95%) of the freezer in the kitchen. Yes, we have that much breast milk saved up...because I RULE.

Going ons

So Izyk has a little acid reflux. We have him on a small dose of zantac twice a day. That's the only thing they saw on the x-ray. I'm thankful it's not anything worse. Although, I was a little confused that it was reflux because all the research I had done said they spit-up/vomit after every feeding. Also, they are usually really fussy and don't sleep that well. None of this described Izyk. He puked once or twice a month. He slept like a champ...better than Charley did at this age. He's a very happy little boy. Every now and then he'd fuss but it wasn't continual and usually he'd do it right before he burped. Regardless, we'll see how this zantac does. We won't see "results" until after about 2 weeks. The nurse said he may sleep better (boy sleeps from 10 to, at the earliest, 7am <- when I wake him up), or eat more (he eats a lot as it is), or be less fussy. So...we shall see. Izyk is 17lbs, 10oz at 3 months 3 weeks old. (Charley was 15lbs at 6 months) Boy is HEALTHY. He screamed and hollered when they tried to get the barium down him. Was not happy at all. He was choking the stuff down and coughed and spit it up. Ryan and I left the hospital spattered in white. Haha! It took 4 hours to get all the x-rays they needed. He kept falling asleep at small increments because we had to keep getting x-rays. Thank you to our neighbor, Nina, for watching Charley-man. They had fun tromping through the outdoors and getting dirty.

Potty training...we had to abandon our attempt at potty training 2 days earlier than planned due to Izyk's projectile vomiting and the hospital visits. But as it stands now, he tells us he has to go by saying "Sssssss" and climbing up the stairs to the restroom. He's still in a diaper (sometimes running around in the nude) but whenever he makes that sound, we take him. He's gone in the toilet a whole bunch but not consistently. One of these days we'll go straight to underwear and never look back. He will not go in the little potties. Even though that's where we started. He's better at going in the toilet so we'll leave it at that. Also, on a sad note, he broke half of my collectible figurines. He made it past the child-proof locks while Ryan was feeding Izyk. *sigh* Oh well...I should've moved that stuff when I had the chance. My mom is sending me the ones she has...thank you!! Those will stay packaged away FOREVER, or at least until the kids are out of the house. :) Pictures below are from Tate's Farm and other random times.

Monkey for Halloween.

My Charley-man.

My happy little chunk.

Long week...

And I know everyone has those weeks that feel like they're never going to end but I did preface this blog with my last blog about the whole traveling and having to pump thing. I figured I'd let you all know how it went.

Conclusion: I never want to do that again.

While some people may have NO problem pumping, I do. Now, in familiar places, I have absolutely no problem pumping, in fact, I think I've gotten pretty good at it. Now the whole trip, in general, went well. I didn't get stuck anywhere and my flights were actually running early. The only thing that put this trip in the "never want to do that again" category was the pumping. Now, I'm sure y'all are saying I just got myself worked up and caused myself to stress out.

*Ding ding ding ding*

"What do they win, Johnny?"

Yes. I stress. Yes, I cause myself to stress. No, not on purpose. Let's re-cap on my 36 hour trip.

Morning of...I attempted to time my last nursing with Izyk right before I left so I wouldn't have to pump until I got to the Detroit airport. I just realized that I lied a couple of sentences ago when I said all of my flights were on time. My departing flight was an hour delayed (which was a good thing because I was running late...go figure). I checked my baggage in (yes, I had baggage for a 36 hour trip. This bag was mainly for my cooler...which was for the milk that I had pumped) and the dude said that my flight was delayed. Oh goody. Surprisingly enough, I got my own row! So now you may be thinking "Perfect! I can pump in peace...sort of." Believe it or not, Detroit is in the EASTERN time zone. I hadn't realized this until the captain told us to turn off all electrical devices. I lost my opportunity. I was angry with myself. Next opportunity would be while we were on the ground (we were suppose to stay on the same plane but we know how STATIC flight plans are. They aren't). I had to change planes. Found my next gate, tried to get into the family restroom at the airport but it was LOCKED.

*grumble grumble*

I ended up pumping...on a 29 minute, FULL PASSENGER flight into Erie, PA. Now that means I had about 10 minutes...TEN WHOLE MINUTES...to set myself up and pump as much and as fast as I could. And everyone knows how easy it is to pump when you are under a time constraint and 160 curious onlooking eyes. *ahem*

Okay, okay...they weren't ALL staring at me but it sure felt like it. Only the lady next me was trying her darnedest to ignore whatever contraption I was hooking myself up to.

We landed in Erie...the SMALLEST airport EVER. Six terminals all bunched together in a room. Seriously small. When we landed, the pilot had the throw the engines in reverse because he almost missed the right turn to the terminals.

Fast forward an hour, check in at the hotel. I sat down and relieved the pressure for a good 25 minutes. Morning came...it took me 45 minutes to pump. Ouch. I had to rush out of there to make it to my meeting. Luckily, they had a room set aside for my pumping pleasure. Hooray! Some solitude. So I pumped whenever I could and as often as I could because I could feel myself stressing out and filling up. On our way to the airport, I realized that my ice pack in my pump bag had thawed. I was worried that all my ice packs were going to thaw but everything actually made it home. I had planned on pumping at the Detroit airport, which I did, in a family restroom. Did...not...happen. I mean, I tried but, dear me, I couldn't get anything out. Why? Well, it didn't help that every 5 minutes someone was trying to get in the locked door. It was maybe 30 degrees in that bathroom...I thought it was going to start snowing. So I ended up at home with several clogged ducts and an extremely sore chest that lasted a couple of days.

So that was the trip in a nutshell. I survived, as did the rest of my family. Izyk apparently ate fine while I was gone and I think he made up for some when i got home. The next night he woke up in the middle of the night to eat and then was nursing every two hours the next day. Either a growth spurt or he was making up for lost milk. I'm just really glad it's over with and hope that I won't have to do that again especially with a 3 month old at home.

So...

It has been awhile. Lots of random little things going on but nothing too exciting. I've had pinkeye three times in a row. I caught it when Izyk and I were at the hospital getting his chest x-ray. Surprisingly enough, no one else in this household has gotten it...*knock on wood*...let's hope it continues that way. There's way too much going on at work right now. I'm slightly (kind of a lot) stressed out and overwhelmed. My milk stash is impressively huge which is a very good thing considering I'm having to travel next week <- one source of stress of which I shall complain about later in this post. We went to Tate's Farm and had a grand time. Charley could've stayed in the corn pools ALL DAY and would've been fine. He didn't care too much for the petting zoo. Like I said...he LOVED the corn pools. All of 5 of them. I will post pictures soon. We bought a 75lb pumpkin.

Why?

Because we can.

It is now sitting out in the corner of our lot with 2 smaller gourds of similar color. Izyk is sleeping 9 hours at night. It's a beautiful thing. Although, he totally knows when it's bedtime because he starts pouting and fussing as we are singing the bedtime song. Charley and him are still doing great together. My house is in total disarray. I apologize to everyone who comes over and has to experience said mess. I made an awesomely delicious caramel apple pie this past weekend using apples from Isom's. Nothing like baking a pie using local produce. I'm thinking I may try making fried pies using the rest of the apples. I have tomorrow and monday off from work. I can't decide if I'm going to relax or freak out and use the time to clean my house. I was involved in an accident. The Nissan now has a dinner plate sized dent in the driver side rear bumper. So much for selling the car. I'm trying to decide if I want a new phone or if I'm going to take Ryan's Droid (and Ryan gets the new phone). I've been helping Ryan a lot lately with this last Research and Statistics class. I despise Statistics. Not my favorite subject but it's nice to know I remember confidence intervals that I learned 8 years ago.

Back to the business trip next week...not looking forward to it. Whilst I've figured out the logistics of pumping during the supplier visit, I have yet to figure out how/where I'm going to pump mid-flight and at airports. I'm EXTREMELY nervous about it as I've never PUMPED in PUBLIC.

The thought of it STRESSES the SNOT out of me.

I've thought about waiting to pump until I get to the hotel room but 6-7 hours is way too long and I'll be engorged before then. I've heard horror stories of the TSA holding up mothers bringing their pumps as carry-ons thinking they were bombs. Really? A pump looks like a bomb??? And do I LOOK like a threat?? I will be gone for pretty much 2 days which really isn't that long but it is. :) I've had to request a freezer/fridge and a microwave for my hotel room. I have to figure out how I'm going to bring the milk back with me. I'll probably buy a bunch of gel packs and a cooler and pray it all makes it back to Huntsville. Hate hate hate hate hate hate having to do this...I can't think of a more precise word...just hate. Talk about an emotional wreck. It's pathetic. One moment I think it's all good and I can handle it...the next moment I'm having a psychotic emotional breakdown in which my husband has no way of consoling me. I'm a walking friggin' disaster.

I'll post pictures tomorrow when I have...time...which means I won't get to it for another week. But does anyone really care? Probably not but it sure is fun to pretend.

2 Month appointment...from last week

Ha...yes it took me a full week to post the exciting milestones of my dear 2nd child. At his two month appointment, Izyk weighed in at a whopping 15lbs, 2 oz and 25inches long. Both measurements put him in the 97th percentile. All I could say is, DANG. I can't say I'm feeding him any different than Charley but he does take 5 oz the two feedings while I'm at work. My little chunk. He's smiling, laughing, and talking up a storm. Still sleeping 10pm to 6am. I'm not rushing to make that any bigger of a gap but eventually we'll move that 10pm feeding back. He's starting to wake up with a happy disposition, as in he wakes up cooing and smiling, instead of crying. Yay! He had his chest x-ray/ultrasound last sunday and everything came back normal as can be. *thumbs up*

The balance between work and home still is a challenge. I wish it were easier to be a working mom but it gets harder, not easier, as you have 'em. I get to spend a beautiful 3 hours with my Charley before he is off to bed and Izyk a bit more as I have to wake him up in the morning to nurse before I leave.

*sigh*

At least I have the weekends. It's better than nothing. :)

Daddy and Izyk.

A little blurry but he was laughing...

Bulldog Izyk.

Another Daddy and Izyk.

Charley man...

Mama and Izyk.

Oh so happy.

The end.

I LOVE...

my boys...

A little update

Okay...so I don't start work until TUESDAY. Monday is, of course, a holiday. I knew that. So Izyk is sleeping through the night...like 10pm to 6am and sometimes longer (like this morning). We started using a bottle a bit later than usual but he is adjusting well. Hopefully it'll get easier for him. I really do hate pumping but I'm grateful I am able to do it and with an awesome pump. Hopefully this time there will be less "pumping" stress.

Potty training with Charley is going fine. We are taking the relaxed road. Doing it when I can. Today was a third day of potty training. It's actually been quite humorous. Yesterday I gave him 3 huge sippy cups of fluid and he usually has a bowel movement in the morning. So I figured it'd be a good time to attempt using the potty. I only had a couple of hours before his nap time so we went for it. He kept trying to put a diaper on himself and kept making the sound for urinating. He also kept grabbing at his crotch (which he does when he has a bowel movement). The second I put a diaper on him, he did both. Lovely. Today was a slightly different story. He held it again but he started dribbling a little. Needless to say, I had to clean up a mess. One of these days he'll get it. :) I think it's a good sign that he can hold it though. Now I just have to convince him to do it in the toilet or potty.

And some pictures...

Charley blowing bubbles...

Playing with Izyk...

Hanging out.

New arrangements and other randomness

Last night was the first night that Charley slept in his bed. It was also the first night for Izyk to sleep in the crib. To tell you the truth, I think we ALL slept better. Charley still slept until 9am and Izyk "slept" through the night...ish. (He slept from 10:30pm to 6:00am which is going to work out really well when I start work next week.)

Speaking of work...I start back to work on Monday. I'm not ready. I guess I'm never ready. :( Oh well. Pumping this time around is definitely a lot easier and I think I'm less stressed about the whole thing. Plus, whenever I return to work after time off, I feel like I'm starting a new job. Haha! I haven't been there in 2 months and I'm going to have to learn everything all over again!

Housework...totally have fallen behind and I won't ever catch up <- story of my life. Trying to let it go.

Dinners lately have been decided at the last minute and involves running to the store in the evening to buy supplies for that particular dinner. We haven't done a full grocery shopping in awhile...another "Oh well"...

I have two loads of laundry sitting on the couch...unfolded. It bothers me.

Ryan is napping and so is Charley. Izyk will be going down in a half hour. I'm starving but have no motivation to find food.

Excited to get my soap from Goat Milk Stuff which should be arriving in the next couple of days. Their soap is amazing and smells AWESOME. I tried the bath bombs the other night. LOVE THEM.

I have my skin biopsy next friday for the spot on my forehead. Ugh.

Ryan's 30th birthday is this friday and failing as wife, I have NO plans currently for this "milestone" event (I'm sure he's appreciative of that).

Another fail...I don't have pictures for this post because my camera died.

The visit...

where we had (at one point) 9 more people in our house. :) It was also mid-90's and humid so the greater part of the visit was spent indoors. Although, with the slip 'n slide and the mini-wading pool, they still had fun outdoors. It was a joy having everyone and we had great fun. We really do miss everyone and the two family times we had this past month and a half made us realize how much we missed everyone. Izyk spent most (98%) of his time asleep and Charley spent most of his time playing with the cousins. That's all I'm going to say and the rest is in the pictures.

Unloading all the legos into his shirt!

Jarod and Izyk...

Charley hitching a ride on Brennan down the slip n' slide!

Aunt Brandi and Charley playing in the pool...

Riding cousin Brennan again!

It's a race to the end... who won???

All the grandkids minus Dakota. :-(

Jodi and Izyk...

Playing games and trying not to smile...

Jodi...

Putting more stuff down the shirt...

Jonny holding Izyk..

Izyk passed out...in his cute dinosaur outfit.