I'm actually on the ball!

I actually have our Christmas card done before Thanksgiving! 

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

I can't wait to get them!

The Worst 5 Hours of Motherhood

Connor has been complaining of leg pain in his thigh off and on for a week.  By Tuesday of this week he was limping and had woke up crying in the middle of the night.  I knew it was time to go to the doctor.  When we got there the doctor did an exam, had him walk around and asked him some questions.  He told me that thigh pain in toddlers is usually from either pain in the hip or pain in the knee.  He sent us over for x-ray and blood work.  Blood work?  For a leg problem?  I asked the doctor why the blood work?  He looked me and I think with some reluctance told me - "I want to test him for Leukemia." Insert face of shock here.  "Oh." I said.  Not really being allowed to react because I didn't want to upset my son who already is not the biggest fan of doctors.  He got upset when he heard he had to get an x-ray.  I told him it would be really cool!  It's a picture of your bones!  We headed over to the hospital, got x-rays, got blood work - he was a trooper!

Now the waiting began.  The doctor said he would call us at 5:00. He would have the results then.  At 5:00 on the nose our phone rang.  "His blood work is perfectly, boringly, normal."  Whew.  His x-ray showed a shadow/dark spot on his femur near his knee.  Could be a bone trauma.  Let's wait 10 days and see if he improves.  In the meantime, if he worsens, gets a fever, refuses to walk, come back in.

I cannot imagine anything happening to this face.

Motherhood.  Not for the weak.

When Papa Is In Charge

Alan and I are so very fortunate that my dad watches the boys for us.  On Monday's my dad comes up to the house because Connor has preschool.  I normally get the kids dressed, but I had to take Connor to the doctor Monday morning.  (The yearly ear infection strikes again!)  When I got home from work, I couldn't help but take a picture of this little ensemble my dad had put Liam in.

This will be the first of many I'm sure.

~B

Smoob

I have giant boobs.  No, I'm not bragging.  I'm nursing a 21 pound four month old.  No, that is not a typo.  The doctor made the comment that I could nurse triplets.  No joke doc.

I wear a nursing tank everyday since I get to do the oh so fun pumping at work.  I prefer tanks that open like this:

The other kind opens like this.  This is the kind that I freaking hate:

I bought one of these ^ by mistake.  I wear it only when absolutely necessary - like the other 5 tanks are in the wash.  I had to wear this monstrosity last weekend.

Why do I hate it?  Because it is not good for the large chested.  It gives me what I have now dubbed smashed boob or smoob.  Not in the flattening down kind of smashing, more in the let's push the ladies together and see if we can get the clevelage to rival Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.

We can.

~B

The Snip

Alan has agreed to have a vasectomy.  No so much agreed as volunteered to. He figured it was the least he could do since I had 2 c-sections delivering our boys. While our plan was originally for 3 kids - we now know 2 is all we can handle.  It's all we want to handle.  We love our boys dearly, but when we originally said 3 - we didn't have any kids and know what all parenting entailed.

I've been harping on him to please call the doctor for the last month.  It's getting to be the end of the year and we met our deductible with the delivery so I'm telling him to please call the doctor.  This is the actual e-mail exchange we had last week.

This is what you get after being married 9 years I guess.

-----Original Message-----
From: Brooke

Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:02 AM
To: Alan

Subject: It's getting to be the end of the year so -

**Insert doctor info here**

From: Alan

Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 10:50 AM
To: Brooke

Subject: RE: It's getting to be the end of the year so -

Yeah? And?

-----Original Message-----
From: Brooke 
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:07 AM
To: Alan
Subject: RE: It's getting to be the end of the year so -

Really?

From: Alan
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 10:51 AM
To: Brooke

Subject: RE: It's getting to be the end of the year so -

What?

-----Original Message-----
From: Brooke 
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:08 AM
To: Alan
Subject: RE: It's getting to be the end of the year so -

That’s the information for the urologist for you to call.

From: Alan

Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 10:52 AM
To: Brooke
Subject: RE: It's getting to be the end of the year so -

What’s a urologist?

-----Original Message-----
From: Brooke 
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:10 AM
To: Alan
Subject: RE: It's getting to be the end of the year so -

You know what dear – you won’t have to call the urologist because I’ll give you the vasectomy myself.  What do you think?

From: Alan 
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 10:55 AM
To: Brooke

Subject: RE: It's getting to be the end of the year so -

I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. What?

From: Brooke 
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:12 AM
To: Alan 
Subject: RE: It's getting to be the end of the year so -  

Whatevs.

From: Alan 
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 11:06 AM
To: Brooke

Subject: Re: It's getting to be the end of the year so -

I love you

And on Monday I got this one - which I am sure was brought on by ugly cry face weekend:

-----Original Message-----
From: Alan
Sent: Monday, October 03, 2011 4:20 PM
To: Brooke
Subject: Nut check

Appointment on Nov. 3rd. 2:50pm. I will be getting paperwork in mail beforehand. Not sure if its a consult or actual surgery. Figure that out when I get there I guess. Doesn't matter to me either way.

~B

I'm skating by at about a 4 -

This is my new realization. 

Skating by at what you ask - parenthood. working full time. patience. keeping a house.

My husband and I are proud parents to two boys.  Connor is 3.  Liam is 4 months. 

Connor is in the hell stage that is the age of 3.  No listening, whining and tantrums galore!  It's only gotten worse since Liam made his appearance.  It got so bad this weekend he and I were both in tears.  I was reduced to ugly cry face. *sigh*.

Liam is a very chill baby.  So chill he doesn't care about sleeping at night.  He's up at least twice a night.  Which would be okay if I wasn't working, but I do.

My day generally starts at 5:00 5:30 5:50 when I get up to pump, feed the baby, get dressed, get two kids out the door and try to pull something for dinner by 7:15 when we leave for my parents house and I head to work for my 8:30 start time.  I get home around 5:15 and then we rush to do the dinner, play, baths, bed dance.  Frankly the lack of time stinks.  It depresses me when I think about it - so I don't think about it.

My house - well we try.  We do okay, but things could be better.  My husband is at least willing to help with chores.  More so if I ask him or tell him what needs to be done.  Otherwise he has no way of knowing that the pile of dishes needs to go in the dishwasher or the clean light on the dishwasher means they can be put away.  He suffers from your standard case of male blindness.  Male chore blindness is similar to this:

Which leads me to skating by at a 4.  I think I put up the appearance of having it more together - on a scale of 1 to 10 - I think I appear to be about an 8.  But in reality - I'm skating by...at a 4.

So - here is my foray into blogging.  Surviving motherhood. Work. Home.

~B