Not Ready Yet

I got an email from Pier 1 about a Holiday Preview Sale. Jason sometimes goes into the Galleria for lunch, and he says that Macy's has had their Christmas display up for a few weeks. Does it seem too soon to be talking Christmas to anyone else?

I love the holidays. Or at least I love the idea of the holidays. Family, food, and fun. But I'm not ready to start thinking about what to buy for everyone. And things like: Which side of the family gets Thanksgiving Day, and who gets the day after? Who gets Christmas Eve and who gets Christmas Day? And is that fair to both sides? And when will my little family of 5 get to have our own time to make our own memories and establish our own traditions?

Yuck! Stress. Headache coming on.

Maybe it's good that it's not even October 1 yet and Christmas ads are in full swing. I'm going to need some time to gear up for this oh-so-joyous time of year.

(Sorry to sound like such a Scrooge. Do the holidays do this to anyone else? It seems like they were simpler and pure fun when I was young. But maybe my parents were big balls of stress, trying to make it appear simple and purely fun.)

Add-on: I think the holidays are the time of the year that those couples who have parents that live in different states are the luckiest. Take my sister and her husband for example. Our parents: Texas. Her inlaws: New Jersey. She can't possibly be both places at the same time. So she does Thanksgiving in NJ and Christmas here. Plain and simple. Jason and I, on the other hand, will do both sides of the family on each holiday. That's trickier I think.

J in Camo

As I was looking for pictures for the post below, I ran across these. I can't remember how old J was. My in-laws gave him camo. I was ok with putting him in it for a few pictures, and I thought he was pretty cute, since he's a boy. (They gave S some camo when she was a baby and when I put her in it, I about gagged. We all agreed baby girls should not be in camo. Just a personal opinion.)

I remember thinking I was being funny when I put the rubber duck in the crib with him... like he had killed the duck or something. I don't know. I'm a dork.

J's Foot

I got a letter from Scottish Rite yesterday. It's time to take J back for another check up. He has to go every time he goes through a growth spurt. I had kinda forgotten about J's club foot, to be honest. So I decided to take a look back at how far we've come.

At 4 weeks we had to take J into Scottish Rite because his left foot turned in severely. (They scored it a 13 on a scale of 1 - 15.) We were told this was no big deal by our pediatrician and were completely thrown off when we left Scottish Rite that day with a cast on our baby. We went once a week to have them saw off the cast and put a new one on. Then after a couple of months, his foot was turned but his heel cord was still way too tight. So they cut his heel and wrapped him in one more cast.




I don't know if you can tell but his left foot couldn't go into these pajamas because of his cast.



This was the last cast after they cut his heel cord.



Then he had to wear these shoes with a bar bracing them all the time to keep his left foot turned out the way it was supposed to be.


I remember this being so hard at the time. But now I am so thankful that he's healed. I give God the credit but He definitely used the people at Scottish Rite to heal Jack's foot. And they do it all at no cost to the patient.

It's because of J's foot and Scottish Rite that I got so into running. I wanted to run because there was time I was afraid that J wouldn't be able to without limping. And I ran White Rock Half Marathon because it benefits Scottish Rite. Now I'm hooked on running and can't wait to run the race again next year.

I remember that I would sooo look forward to the hour in between the time they cut off his cast and the time they put a new one on because it's the only time he could scrunch up and curl up in my arms. And it's the only time I could tell how truly light he was... he felt so heavy with that dang cast on.

Because of what we went through with J, I appreciate even more holding Caroline and her curling up like a ball in my arms. I don't take it for granted.

I think it's good to look back sometimes and see how far God's taken you on your journey and how you got through things that, at the time, seemed so hard.

Trip to Seminole

This weekend we went to Seminole (about an hour east of New Mexico) for Jason's cousin's wedding. We really needed to make it out to West Texas and see his extended family. Many of them I had either never met or only met at my wedding. But how much do you remember when you meet someone at your wedding? So it was good that we made the trip.

We drove on Friday to Odessa and spent the night there. We refused to stop on the way. Jason is good about making good time on the road and when you have 3 young kids, you know that there's no such thing as a quick stop. Our solution: just keep going.



So I fed C very illegally sitting on the floor of the van. I leaned against the back seat in between S's and J's carseats and prayed that God would keep us safe and that a cop wouldn't pull us over.

On the way down I had to change her dirty diaper in the floor of the van. She then spit up all over herself, so I got to change her clothes on the floor of a moving vehicle as well. It was nuts. But it worked.

We had 2 rooms. Jason, J, and S shared one. C and I shared the room next door. I don't know which of us had it worse. J and S didn't exactly fall asleep quickly Friday or Saturday nights.






Saturday we drove from Odessa to Seminole. We spent time with Jason's parents and his grandmother. Then at 6 we went to the wedding. C and I watched it from the foyer. I was too worried that she was going to ruin the wedding if we went into the sanctuary. I have to tell you... J looked so cute. He had on a navy sports coat and a white polo shirt with khakis and brown cowboy boots. I would have a picture of him but we didn't take one. Because, although he looked cute, he was full of A.T.T.I.T.U.D.E. Could've killed him. Why is it that they know to pull this crap when you're in public?

I did not look cute. I tried to look cute. I wanted to look cute. But I guess the stress of packing the kids and getting everything together got to me because when I got to Seminole, I realized that my shirt was see-through. Oh good. (I had never worn the shirt before and I swear it wasn't that sheer in the dressing room when I bought it.) Ugh. Disaster.

But all in all, the kids really did well. I wouldn't recommend a weekend road trip with kids our kids' ages, especially without a set of inlaws to help at the hotel. But God is good and He kept us sane and safe.

Glad to be home!!

C week 10

She Qualifies

S's speech was evaluated Friday, and she qualifies for services. The diagnostician will type up her formal evaluation and send it to our neighborhood school where she will go to class probably twice a week.

I am so glad she's getting some help! It makes me feel good that we saw a need and pursued the testing. I think we can get her on track before Kindergarten and then she won't have to be pulled out of class that first year of "real" school.

I'm also excited that she'll get some exposure to her elementary school before we start going full time next year.


I am so grateful for public schools. I realize I live in a good district, but when I think that they're going to help Sarah and there isn't some fee I have to pay (other than taxes), I'm amazed. I mean, really amazed. I have done all I can do for her. I don't know how to help her. They do. And they'll do it... for free. Wow. Yay for teachers!

It's Probably Only Funny to Me...

As I said in the post below, I am right handed and always seem to have a baby on my right hip so I'm forced to do things with my left hand.

The other, more hidden talent/improvised way of doing things is that I also can do a lot of things with my feet. Put the hygiene of it all aside. I know feet are gross. But I can pick up just about anything with my toes. I can throw a blanket on the ground with my left hand and walk around the blanket pulling at each corner with my toes and straighten it out. I can pick up little things like pens, pencils, and crayons. I can pick up big things like cups and even books. (Books are a little tricky. I have to cheat a little and use my ankle and shin along with my toes. You'd have to see it to understand.)

Jason has always been a weird mix of horrified and impressed by my skills with my "monkey toes", as he calls them. It is so second nature for me to do things with my toes that I've really never considered that I should probably be embarrassed and not do it in front of people.

The funny part to me... and you'd probably have to see this too to fully appreciate it... is that S has started cleaning up her toys with her feet. That girl can grab a coloring book and set it on the fireplace hearth with her toes. She can put candy wrappers on the table, dolls on the couch... all with her feet.

Again, Jason is totally grossed out, but I am so proud!! That's my girl! :)

It's Too Late to Change Now

I have always held all of my babies on my right side. I feel like I have more control with my right arm than I do with my left, so the kids have always felt more natural and secure sitting on my right hip or resting on my right shoulder.

The reason they feel so secure on that side is, I'm sure, because I am right handed. I have struggled now thru 3 different newborn/baby stages to stir, type, eat, and write with my left hand while holding one of my kids with my right. I slosh things when I stir. I peck at the keys when I type. I make a mess when I eat. And absolutely no one can read my writing.

It's too late to change it now, but man, I wish I had made more of an effort with S to switch to the left side.

Boo/Yay

Boo that is raining again today. Although I know we need rain. (BTW, Anytime I say something about needing rain, I feel so old. I feel like my parents would always say that when I was growing up. The rain would mess up my plans as a kid, and my parents would say, "Well we really need the rain." Have you ever had that weird feeling that you're becoming your parents? Crazy how that sneaks up on you.)

Yay that it feels cooler outside. (I L-O-V-E Fall!! I'm ready for it.)

Boo that S's preschool doesn't have the carpool line on rainy days. When do you need a carpool line more than on a rainy day?

Yay that my dining room is being painted today.

Boo that C does not nap much during the day.

Yay that I bought Nivea's Goodbye Cellulite Patches. (I'll let you know if they work.)

Boo that I'm pretty sure that the only way to reduce cellulite is to lose weight.

Yay that I had time to blog today, even if it is a quick entry!

Sleepover with KK

My mom is on her way to pick up S for a sleepover. S packed herself. All the things she thinks she needs... wow... I have no words. I made a list of everything she packed to make sure she comes home with it all. I had to draw the line when she tried to pack her lamp from her nightstand. I told her that her bathroom night light would be good enough.

Thanks, Mom, for taking Sarah tonight! Can't wait to send ALL of the kids to your house!

Freckles

Can pregnancy cause freckles? Not can it cause old ones to get darker? I mean can pregnancy give you all new freckles? I don't know. It never has before. All I know is that my stomach has no less than 50 small little freckles on it that weren't there before, and I can guarantee you that I wasn't sitting in a bikini letting my fat stomach get some sun this summer.

Weird

Dinner Last Night

I tried a new recipe last night. I got it from Erin (www.blueeyedbride.com) who got it from the cookbook, Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast: 5 ingredients, 15 minute recipes.
It was Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes.

I got to pound out chicken breasts until they were 1/4" thick. And I put tomatoes in the oven to roast them. 2 things which I don't normally do because I'm the most basic, boring cook ever. I gotta say, it was fun to do those extra little steps. It made me feel kinda fancy. I think I like cooking. I don't like the chore of fixing something to eat, but, if I get to do fun little fancy things, cooking's not that bad.

The whole thing, start to finish, literally took 15 minutes like they said it would. That was important because the natives get restless and start running around the kitchen if I'm in there too long.

So I'm cutting and pasting the recipe below, if you're interested.

Word to the wise: If, hypothetically speaking, a couple of the grape tomatoes don't burst in the oven, it might not be a good idea to smash them with a fork while wearing a white shirt and leaning over the bowl. I don't know what kind of idiot would do that, but it's not a good idea. ;)

Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

Balsamic vinaigrette salad spritzer (such as Wish-Bone)

1.Preheat oven to 450.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; place tomato mixture on foil-lined jelly-roll pan. Bake at 450 for 12 minutes or until tomato skins burst and begin to wrinkle, stirring once. Transfer tomatoes to a bowl, scraping juices into the bowl. Stir 1/4 teaspoon salt into tomato mixture.

3. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side. P lace chicken on individual plates; coat each breast half with 2 to 3 sprays of balsamic spritzer. Spoon tomatoes evenly over chicken.

Yield: 4 servings

The Miracle Blanket

Why am I just now finding out about this??? Did other moms use this and not tell me??

I bought The Miracle Blanket (that's actually what it's called, I'm not being overly enthusiastic) and it has been AWESOME!!! C has been sleeping 6 - 7 hour stretches at night and twice has gone between 8 and 9 hours. I LOVE THIS THING!!

I just started using it last weekend and it worked immediately. So I'm actually glad I didn't use it any sooner because she may have slept through some feedings early on, which wouldn't have been good.

I think swaddling is great, but I'm a moron when it comes to doing it. I've been shown a thousand times how to do it, and my kids are always able to kick their way out. This thing is so easy to swaddle. It's a little bit like a straight jacket so at first you kinda feel mean for wrapping your baby so tightly. But as soon as I got to sleep 6 hours straight, I didn't feel guilty anymore. She wasn't sure about it the first couple of nights, but now she loves it. It keeps her from having that startle reflex that so often wakes her up.

I'm telling you... LIFE SAVER!! Especially with a baby who doesn't take a bottle or a pacifier, I am so excited to find another way to comfort her.

C 2 mos

Wow! It's already been 2 months! It has flown by... for the most part. ;)

Check up today:

Weight 13 lbs (95%)
Height 21 inches (25%)

Short and round. :)

First Day of School

I MADE IT!!! School started today! Woo hoo! The longest summer in the history of long summers is over, and the kids' teachers can entertain them 2 days a week. Mom is off duty!!

I realize S's backpack is almost as big as she is, but they insisted she needed one that big because it has to be able to hold her lunchbox and a big winter coat.

Also, she hates wearing her tennis shoes with a dress. The school says no sandals so those shoes are a must. But she fights me on it because she says it doesn't look right. And what can I say? She's right. :)

Driving Tour

C hasn't been feeling well. It's so hard with babies. Sometimes they just cry, and I know that. But then the possibility of something being wrong constantly nags at me. I always wonder what I could do to make it better.

She seems to relax and settle down a little faster if either Jason or I will take her on a long drive. But until she falls asleep, we have to be going at least 60 mph. So we get on the Tollway and/or Hwy 190 and just drive.

I think Jason has been almost to Fort Worth a couple of times. And I've seen my fair share of Richardson, Wylie, Murphy, and Allen. Hopefully this phase of extreme fussiness will pass quickly.

I Couldn't Care Less

So as I was running this morning, (yes, after I fed Caroline at 6, instead of going back to bed, I went for a jog... hooray!) I was listening to Beyonce "Single Ladies". I LOVE that song! I run a little faster when it comes on... don't know why. :) But anyway... In the song she sings "I could care less what you think." Which reminds me... It drives me nuts when people say "I could care less." What you mean to say is "I COULDN'T care less." If you COULD care less, then you care at least a little because you're saying it's possible for you to care less. But if you don't care at all, then you COULDN'T care less.

As in, "Julie, I couldn't care less about this post."

:)

Must Run

It has been so hard to find time to get out for a jog. I feel like I have to work to find that magical time where I can run and still get in a shower before the baby wakes up, the kids need me, and Jason heads off to work.

It's one of the only things I do truly for me. It gets me out of the house and gets me feeling better about myself. I feel like I've done something with my day, like I've pushed myself somehow. I think that's a hard part of having a newborn. I have to slow WAY down to meet her needs. Lots of sitting. Lots of holding. Not a lot of going and doing.

But I am determined to do 2 things:

1. Lose the last 5 pregnancy pounds before I turn 30 next month.

2. Run in a race this fall. I'll do a silly 5K if I have to. I want a race number and a free Tshirt. :) I want to get that small part of my life back.

Even with everything going on, 30 minutes a day spent doing something that renews my energy is time well spent.

Market Street

Easiest way I've found to take 3 kids to the grocery store: Go to Market Street because they have kid-sized baskets that J and S can push.
A) Pushing little carts keeps them busy.
B) They enjoy going to the store and don't misbehave.
C) They can help carry some of the groceries since the infant carrier takes up half of my shopping cart.

The tricky part is keeping an eye on everyone and making sure they move their carts out of the middle of the aisle. Sometimes other shoppers give me mean looks as if they're annoyed I have my 3 kids at the store. But I think having to bring them all to the store sucks way worse for me than it does for them.

Sorry for the inconvenience; I'm doing the best I can.

I'm Related to a Celebrity

Let me start out by saying that I'm sure I don't have the details of this story straight...
But here's what I understand...

When Hilary, my sister, lived in New Jersey, she became friends with Suzanne who is a producer for a show on Fox News Channel... "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren"... as in national news, out of NYC. Suzanne and she have been talking back and forth about some political issue recently, and Hilary was asked to do a television interview to give her opinion. (Not sure what they're going to be talking about but I know Hil's point of view will be very conservative.) Anyway she is heading down to some studio in downtown Dallas to get hair and makeup done and will be on the Fox News Channel tonight at 9:00. (I think that's central time, not eastern.)

What??? Crazy!! How come no one I know wants to put me on TV? :) haha

Gotta say I'm a little nervous for her. I hope they prep her some for what questions she might be asked so she can get her thoughts together. I'm sure she'll do well, and hopefully, even if people disagree with what she's saying, she'll feel good about her 15 seconds of fame. :)

What a good brother...

J is so sweet with S.... (sometimes). :) He's very willing to be the prince when she wants to play princess. He will ask her to dance, and they twirl around and around while S sings.

My Grandmother

My grandmother was in town yesterday and met C for the first time. It was so good to see her. She has been in a nursing home for the last several months. My PawPaw died almost 2 years ago I think, and yesterday was their wedding anniversary. So my mom picked her up and brought her to Plano to spend the day with us. I hope it was a special day for her. I loved that she was here.

That's a Fat, Happy Baby...

The first time I haven't used formula. The fattest baby I've ever had. And I love it!! ;)