fun with markers

This is the reason you should never turn your back for a second when two toddler boys are playing with markers.

Baby talk with Ethan

Ethan and I had the following talk this morning after we got home from Sammy's house...

Me - "Ethan, what was the baby's name that we saw today?"

Ethan - "Jacob."

Me - "That's right!"

Ethan - "He's out."

Me - "He's what?"

Ethan - "He's out of her tummy now."

Me - "You're right, he is out of her tummy!"

Ethan - "I want a baby in my tummy."

Me - "Only mommies can have babies in their tummies. Do you want mommy to have a baby in her tummy?"

Ethan - "Yes, I want you have baby in your tummy!"

Introducing Adam Charles

Baby Adam was born yesterday morning! He weighed 8 lbs 2oz and was 20 inches long. Samantha is doing great and Adam is such a sweet, adorable baby. His big sister Madison loves holding him. I'm so happy for Samantha and Trent!

Three babies down, one more to go! Pretty soon our culdesac will have five little boys three and under. We have some fun times ahead!

Days with Grandpa

My mom's two best friends came in town to have a ladies' retreat Sunday. Their plans include shopping, visiting a winery, making jewelry, and eating at the Melting Pot and a tea room. They are having a wonderful time.

While my mom is having her ladies' retreat, my dad is staying with us for a couple days. He had plans to go visit a friend out of town, but his high blood pressure kept him around here. We invited him to stay with us for a couple days so the ladies could have the house to themselves.

We have really enjoyed my dad being here. The boys love to sit on his lap and look at books, wrestle and draw pictures on the magnadoodle. They especially love the donut holes he bought them for breakfast!

happy brain

My hall closet is finally organized and my brain is happy. I like things organized. When things are cluttered, my mind feels cluttered. When my bed is made, I feel more in control and happy. Weird, but true. Does this keep my bed made every day? No, because I can shut the door and hang out in the living room. It does keep my kitchen island consistently clean and free of clutter. That's the one thing I can control in the chaos of kids throwing toys everywhere.

I've been trying to tackle organizing my entire house. Most closets need organizing every couple of months, so I have been trying to stay on top of it. My latest challenge is my hall closet. It has become the throw all place for anything and everything. Leftover horse mylar balloons, games, masssage chair, hand weights, crafts, scrapbooking supplies, photo albums, you name it were in there.

It is now an organized closet and my brain is happy. I love that I can grab a game for the boys to play or playdoh in an instant. Everything has a place. Just as my brain likes it.

The Law of the Garbage Truck

I came across this article written by David J. Pollay and thought it was good enough to share. I have a tendency to take things personally when other people dump their garbage on me. This article gives me a fresh perspective on dealing with other people's issues and realizing it's about them, not me.

How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you’re the Terminator, you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of your success is how quickly you can refocus on what’s important.

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. And I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened: I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when all of a sudden a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, the car skidded, the tires squealed and at the last moment the car stopped just one inch from the other car’s back-end.

And what did we see next? The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started swearing at us. How do I know? Ask any New Yorker, some words in New York come with a special face. And then here’s what blew me away. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that!? This guy could have killed us!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck™” He said:

Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you. So when someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well and move on. Believe me. You’ll be happier.

So I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the street? It was then that I said, “I don’t want the garbage and I’m not going to spread it anymore.”

I began to see Garbage Trucks. Like in the movie “The Sixth Sense,” where the little boy said, “I see Dead People.” Well now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my taxi driver, I don’t take it personally; I just smile, wave, wish them well and move on. The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day. What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more Garbage Trucks pass you by?

Written by David J. Pollay

a reason to blog

Blogging makes everything better. Every situation can be turned into a photo op. Instead of being annoyed at my little stinker for getting yogurt everywhere, I grabbed my camera and enjoyed the moment. It was nothing a bath couldn't fix and he had had a great time.

The non-playdate, playdate

I'm not a big fan of the word "playdate" for some reason. It seems too structured and official I guess. When I do get the kids together with other kids at someone else's house, I'm just happy if we leave there without breaking anything. The kids always have fun on playdates, it's the poor mothers who suffer. Different parenting styles, kids fighting over toys and trying to get the kids to eat is enough to stress anyone out. I try to have no expectations and have as much fun myself as I can.

My good friend Erica was gracious enough to let me borrow her extra carseat so we could go visit her. I hauled the three boys over there this morning for our non-playdate. Grace zoomed around the yard flying and being a beautiful swan. The boys had a great time playing outside on the playscape, coloring on the art easel and playing with someone else's toys. Other people's toys are always better of course.

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I love hanging out with Erica and her kids because Erica and I understand each other. I never feel bad because my pesky kids won't sit down to eat lunch, throw rocks or any other mischievious boylike activity. We both know kids will be kids. It also helps that we both have perfect kids.

Ethan's silhouette

For Ethan's third birthday I ordered him a silhouette picture by silhouette artist Karl Johnson. I think it looks just like him!


Each silhouette is cut out freehand and is an original, one of a kind piece of art signed by the artist. From what I've read he is the best silhouette artist around and his work has been in a ton of magazines, tv shows and movies. I'm going to order Austin one when he turns three.

baby fever

It's official. I have baby fever. How could I not with all these babies and pregnant people around me? After holding Jacob, even Eric admits he has it too. Don't worry though, I'm not pregnant and won't be for a while.

Our family visited Sammy, Chris and Jacob today. Jacob is doing great. He is so cute and is such a good baby. Ethan and Austin were very gentle and liked looking at him. Austin was more interested in the dogs though. Both boys did tell me they wanted their own baby when we left. See, even they have baby fever!

While the boys napped, I headed over to see my second newborn of the day Madelynn. Jennifer and Luis make the prettiest baby girls! Charlize is so gentle with her baby sister. She loves holding her. It was sooo cute!

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I'm so happy for all my friends and their new babies. Only two more babies left to meet in the next few months!

beautiful day

It was such a beautiful day yesterday. The sun was out and there was a crisp, cool breeze. We spent most of the day outside and the boys loved it. Ethan and Austin ran around holding hands and getting into trouble. Trouble in the backyard is usually playing in the water fountain, bird bath or running with sticks.

Tye's favorite thing is swinging. I have become quite the professional swing pusher. It is not unusual to find me running between the three swings pushing the boys. Too bad I can't count that as real exercise.

What could be better for a little boy than demolishing a box while doing the airplane on a swing?

14 things I love about Eric

1. He takes great care of the yard in the summer and it always looks perfect.


2. He can build things with wood like decks, picnic tables and benches.


3. He is the best father to the boys. He wrestles with them, takes them to the pet store all by himself and puts them to bed every night.


4. I love that he can tow, set up and breakdown our camper without any help from me. He takes care of the outside stuff, and I take care of the inside stuff. He is my perfect partner.


5. I love his hazel eyes, mischievious smile and nice butt.


6. He has the ability to apologize, which not all men have.


7. He has a great sense of humor and makes me laugh.


8. He watches American Idol with me, makes the best biscuits and gravy, and cuts the boys' hair like a pro.


9. He is thoughtful and surprises me with gifts sometimes. The latest gifts were khaki shorts he picked out all by himself and a bottle of peach schnapps. Now that's a good man!


10. He is a kid at heart.


11. He encourages me to get out of the house since I'm often trapped here for days.


12. We share common goals and morals.


13. He is smart and witty.


14. He takes great care of his family and is an amazing husband.

Progression of life with babies

As you can see from my blog, there are lots of babies in my life and even more to come. I still have two friends expecting babies soon, so expect a lot more baby pictures. All this baby talk has made me think about how each baby experience is different. Here it is from my slightly jaded point of view...

First baby:
The nursery is set up with every detail perfect... every baby book on sleep, parenting and pregnancy has been read... there is nervousness about the birth and much anticipation on meeting the baby... the new parents stay in the hospital the recommended two nights.

Second baby:
The nursery is set up with the essentials plus some new special things for the baby... the books have been glanced at, but never reread... there is anticipation to meet the baby... there are lots of worries about the older child... the new parents rush home from the hospital after one night so they can be home with the older child.

Third baby:
The nursery is full of hand-me-downs and well worn clothes... the books have been in the top of the closet for years... there is anticipation to meet the baby... the parents think of the hospital stay as a vacation and are looking forward to it... the other children will be fine!


I love this time in our lives when we are growing our families and building our futures. I feel very lucky to have so many friends who are going through the same stage of their life with us. There is lots of hope and together, we just may survive it!

Georgie's 1st birthday

Our old friends George and Adrian came in town from New York to celebrate their son Georgie's first birthday. Eric and I met George and Adrian at the Gristmill before any of us were even couples. They moved to New York over a year ago and we were really glad to see them again. Their son Georgie is such a cutie!






The kids had a great time playing together. There were five boys and one baby girl. They ate entirely too many cupcakes, went for wagon rides and pretended to be tigers.


We really enjoyed the perfect weather and spending time with good friends!

J. Henry

I saw baby Jacob tonight. He is so sweet! Sammy and Chris are handling parenthood very well as expected.


Jacob is nursing great and Chris is a pro at soothing him. He has a slight case of jaundice that should clear up soon. He loves his pacifier and his Miracle Blanket. I loved holding him and I can't wait to see him again!

Baby Madelynn is here!

Madelynn was born yesterday morning! She weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 20 inches long. She is so sweet and pretty! She looks a lot like her older sister Charlize's newborn baby picture. I loved holding a tiny baby girl!






Jennifer is doing great too. She is such a good mommy. Charlize visited her baby sister at the hospital and was very gentle with her. She is going to be a great big sister! Jennifer and Luis have a beautiful family and I'm so happy for them!

Focus

Photography really helps me get my life in focus. It's so easy to rush through my day taking care of the boys and not really taking in every moment. Between diaper changes, eating, napping and drinking, our days get pretty full of routines. Seeing the boys' happy faces playing makes it all worth it.

The boys climbed up in the swing and swang together this morning. I grabbed my camera and captured these pictures of them. It really helps me to see just how precious they are. Before I know it they will be all grown up and I won't have to change diapers all day long. While I look forward to that, I know I will miss their chubby cheeks and sweet kisses.

Introducing Jacob Henry!

Little Jacob Henry was born this morning at 5:48! He weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. He has light hair and light blue eyes. He is very cute and has a sweet little cry.



I have now seen three babies be born and had two of my own. I cried every time at the amazing miracle of it all! It was easier to see the first two births before I knew what it was like to give birth myself. This time it was harder because I knew what she was going through. I wanted to switch places with her and take away her discomfort. She did so great though and is the best pusher ever! I'm very proud of her and so thankful they let me share such a special moment with them.

I am so happy for Sammy and Chris. I know the joy they feel now meeting their son and I can't wait to see all the happiness he brings them. Jacob is a very lucky baby to have such great parents!