Well this happened today. I may or may not have teared up a bit, blame the hormones. Craig and I are just so proud of him. As of today he is no longer in Mother’s Day Out but straight up Preschool, 5 days a week. I am so happy for him. Its time and he is more than ready. But whoa where has the time gone.
This last week has been an eventful week in Round 3’s short life. We met with the perinatologist and had the ever scary first trimester scan. Something about hanging out in the High Risk office that makes you very thankful for easy, fairly uneventful pregnancies. We got two good looks at the little jumping bean then another today at my monthly visit. Kiddo likes to move and makes it interesting to get a heartbeat this early in the game. I will never complain though. This momma is always up for a quick look at the newest member of our herd.
How far along? 13 weeks
Total weight gain/loss? up 3 lbs, lovely. Those are all crackers which keep me from paying homage to the porcelain gods.
Maternity clothes? Yep. Some of my pants still fit but its just uncomfortable.
Stretch marks? nothing new
Sleep? decent.
Best moment last week? seeing a healthy baby and getting a gender guess. AND NO I AM NOT TELLING.
Movement? I have had a moment here or there where I am betting I feel the baby. Nothing consistent its still way to early for that.
Food cravings? Sweet and Spicy. I know weird.
Gender? Still a mystery
Labor signs? None thank god
Belly button in/out? In. It has yet to pop in a pregnancy so I am guessing it will stay in this time too.
What I miss: not even going to pretend WINE. Goodness I love a glass of good red wine.
What I am looking forward to: Finding out what the baby is.
Milestones: Just keeping my eyes to the magic 24 week viability mark.
This morning I loaded the boys into car bright and early to head to our local doughnut shop. Some old friends were in town visiting and we just couldn’t bid them farewell without sharing a little Sublime doughnuts. As soon as the garage door opened I noticed a familiar scent and chill floating through the air. Fall is on its way. We aren’t there yet but its brewing and starting remind us that she is indeed headed our way.
I love the change of seasons. Just when you have your fill of heat or cold suddenly the hint of a new beginning starts to show. This fall marks the graduation from Mother’s Day Out to Preschool for EJ. He has an actual curriculum and will be exposed to much more than the structured play of the past. I could not be more excited for him. He is ready for the stimulation and as much as packing him a lunch daily and dropping in the carpool line makes me a little sad I know its time and he will love it.
This fall I have a bucket list for our family. With Craig in the midst of grad school and me pregnant, I know we have to be deliberate about our family time or just may pass us by. Too often we find ourselves slipping into the our own world on the weekend; napping, playing on the internet and not doing much of anything at all. There is a time for that but I know we want to make memories and always feel guilty when those weekends are happening all too often.
I ran across this on Pineterest and loved it. Its perfect way to guide our weekends this year and make sure that we have time to make some great memories as a family. We will also add going to the fair and going to a football game to the mix because you just can’t have fall with fairs and football.
I love fashion. As a child I would not wear pants and changed my clothes a million times a day. God Bless my mother for tolerating it. That was a whole lot of laundry and ironing I accumulated for her.
This love has carried me through my adolescent years and into adulthood. I loved dressing the part. Whether I was walking the halls of the US Capitol or attending a state fair. I perfectly planned most everything I wore.
My first pregnancy was a mix of emotions and that love for dressing went by the way side. I just didn’t care. I finally got it together right before his birth and bought a few staple items that were pretty expensive considering I was about to give birth. But, those few purchases were the best thing I ever did because I learned a major lesson. Spend the money on staples. They fit right and you will most likely wear them all the time.
Fast forward to my second pregnancy I knew better. I spent the money from the start on a few nice items and that combined with my few from my first left me with an awesome wardrobe. Let’s be honest most of your pregnancy you do not feel great physically. And if you feel like crude in your clothes then it makes for a miserable few months.
Baby #3 is baking away and considering it is my 3rd pregnancy my body is jumping right back to form in record time. The first when are due comment from a perfect stranger came at 10 weeks. My regular clothes are packed away and the pregnancy wardrobe is shaping back up. This time I am sharing my thoughts on good staples and pretty clothes for those of us with a growing midsection. And together we can all rock the bump!
10 weeks baby #3
It was time for a new little space in the inter webs for me. A new space that truly mirrors the family we have become. In the last three years I have rediscovered LA. I am a mother but there is so much more to me. Welcome to our new little world.
What better way to usher in A Splendid Day than with another new beginning.
2 new feet are on the way sometime around March 4, 2013.
We are thrilled to be blessed with another child.
I turned 30 last month. It was quiet family only birthday. I read all day, spent some time on the beach with my kids and spent time with those that matter the most to me. For me those are the happiest of birthdays.
I started my 20’s in Knoxville, watch my first close friend walk down the aisle and devoted myself to a major that made sense. I spent a stint in DC working my tail off, married off a few more friends. Watched a president get inaugurated in person on the actual stage. Moved to Georgia continue to work my tail off made some great friends forever and some just for a time. Met my husband… fell in love… got pregnant… got married… bought our first house and had another baby. Needless to say those are just the highlights but they were busy. A lot of growing up and learning about myself occurred. With each decade brings a touch more wisdom and lots more security in who you are.
I did a lot in my 20’s and I will say I am ok if there is less major changes in my 30’s. I just want to grow in who I am and who I strive to be. Raise our wonderful boys and hopefully add a few more children to the family. I pray each day that Craig and I can continue to grow in our love for each other and work each day to make sure our happily ever after is just that. Happily ever after.
This birthday brought a peace that I never expected but I sure am ok with it.
I have become a food nut over the last few years. Let’s be honest, my grandfather is a cardiologist which means I spent my entire childhood being told that salt was the devil’s sauce not liquor. We never ate anything that was full of salt and my mom made our meals fresh. Even in the age of the microwave meal it was never something I was used to. My mom did make only a few things and we ate it all.the.time. But, I grew up with an appreciation for being healthy and fresh.
Fast forward to now and I have my own kids to fed and I suddenly understand why the fuss. The more I learn about food, the more I want to make every last thing we eat from scratch. The garbage in the food today makes me gag. But, if we are being honest so does things like Whole Foods. Why yes we will sell you the same healthy yogurt that you can buy at Super Target for $3 for $5. It angers me that they take the movement to be healthy and make a small fortune off it. So I go out of my way to not shop there either. Me and trader joes and a lot of food made straight for scratch is the way we eat these days.
I have a toddler and all toddlers love mac and cheese especially the blue box form. I make killer homemade mac and cheese but it ends taking a few hours and dirtying up the kitchen. Good? yes. But practical for day to day life, not at all. So I bought the Annie’s box mac and cheese and just made it even though the taste wasn’t great. That was until I discovered the one pot Mac and Cheese.
It take 15 – 20 minutes and from scratch. I use GF rice noodles and it makes me feel so much better about serving it many times a week. Not to mention I could eat the whole pot. It is that good. I make a double batch and put it in individual servings. This makes me a great quick meal for the kiddos when I need something fast.
Easy Peasy Mac and Cheese
4 c of milk (I use skim)
2 c of noodles
2 tbsp of butter ( Most likely could be omitted but my kids need the fat)
1.5 tbsp of flour
2 cups of shredded cheese
In a pot combine the milk, noodles and butter over med-high heat. Keep on eye on it stirring regularly. Just before milk reaches a boil lower the heat to low and stir a few times. Once the noodles are cooked around 8 -10 mins depending on the type you use stir in flour. The milk should not be completely soaked up (see 2nd picture). Once flour is completely stirred in add cheese until melted. I, also add ground mustard, cayenne pepper and dash of sea salt.
And that my friends is it. So easy.
Posting here seems to fall lower and lower on the priority list these days. Trying to find the time to sit and write and then edit it so it makes sense never gets done. I have wrestled with the idea of just shutting it down and thus removing it from the back of mind that I need to do it. Life is busy per usual. I honestly do not expect it to slow down until we have an empty nest. Today its baby/toddler days and as those wind down school days begin. Sports and other extra curricular will gear up and I fully expect to wake up one day and be watching one of these boys walk across the stage at graduation. If the last 3 years have taught me anything its that it flies by. All struggles will pass. As soon as you think you have it figured out, things change. It is life. But it is my life and I love each and every day I am given in it.
I am not into parenting books. I did not read pregnancy books and did not read baby books. I have a strong gut reaction to child rearing that I trust and I choose doctors that I have total faith in. If I am worried I ask them. Thus reading books seemed to cloud my personal judgement so I have historically chosen not too. But, EJ has entered into a phase the last six months that left me at a total loss. We have always been aware that EJ was at a high risk for ADHD. Craig has it and it seems to travel through families through the male to male kids. Many of the early signs did not show up in EJ so we wondered for awhile if we were in the clear. We still do not know for sure. Its hard to tell prior to the age of five but my gut says yes this is something we will be dealing with. Regardless he has a “difficult” temperament and every day was battle for awhile. I was at a total loss so I called the doctor and asked for some guidance. He pointed in the direction of a book called “The Difficult Child” and it truly revolutionized our daily lives. It helped me see the best way to handle him. All I can say if your kid makes you want to pull your hair out strand by strand or makes you feel like failure its worth looking at. Warning it written by a doctor and at times feels slightly clinical. But power through it is good.
What? It means “I love you” in dinosaur. And this is something EJ has taking a liken to. All day, everyday.
At a play date earlier this week, EJ bogarted the playhouse and held the door closed. 2 little girls really wanted in and politely knocked repeatedly. EJ responded with opening the door slightly and “RAWR” over and over again.
He also loves to wait until Jack falls asleep in the car and then scream “JACKSON” at the top of his lungs followed by a RAWR. Seriously its ridiculous. This is a result of the RAWR.
Instead of playing dolls. I play trucks and repeat “please don’t rawr at mommy” and “please don’t tackle mommy”. Ahh the life of a boy mom and its only just begun. I have two of them and judging from Jack making every other baby at the play date cry by just talking to them my kids are going to have similar personalities. Its a good thing they are adorable because I am going to have a head full of greys by the time we get to high school graduation.
I am a structure person with mild obsessions about cleanliness and order. The chaotic life that evolves with a toddler underfoot has at times left me a bit frazzled and even unhinged. It truly has taken years for me to see the beauty in the disarray. The toys scattered about are signs of imaginations at work. Those stacks of books were time machines to a far away place or vessels of knowledge added to their brain. Sticky floors point to a full belly and most likely some laughs.
I have to stop at times and remember one day my house will sparkle again but with that sparkle will also come the silence of empty rooms as their inhabitants are busy living their lives. Learning new things while the world is shaping them into their people they are to be.
So today I am learning to plan a little less and play a little more. To hold my babies close and pretend about desert islands and buried treasure. To walk over the toys scattered about and cherish each and every moment we have together. Because in a blink of an eye these days will be over and new days will be beginning. I will cherish each stage even through the strife because these really are the days.
A Splendid day 