Wordless Wednesday: The bear is not happy

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The bear is not happy.
20071031_1239, originally uploaded by sam&bex.

Happy Halloween, y'all!

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 9:15 PM 8 comments  

He really does listen

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

As moms, we get used to the fact that 90% of what we say is deflected by our childrens' selective hearing (that they undoubtedly inherited from their fathers). And like every other mom, I can often be heard reiterating some version of, "What did I tell you/Do you remember what I told you/Why did I tell you that?" Knowing full well that I won't get an answer.

But! Sometimes kids surprise us. Today I was attempting to trim Sawyer's hair over his ears and at the nape of his neck. As cute as the rattail was, it needs to stay in 1994. Now, Sawyer doesn't like any part of being held down, or having various objects near his face. His first and only professional haircut at 21 months old involved many tears.

So, in an attempt to make it quick and painless (on his part anyway, as I was taking a few wild kicks and headbutts to the chin) I had him in my lap with my legs wrapped around his waist, left arm pulling his arms snug to his sides, and right hand wielding the scissors. (Yeah, sounds like a great way to get a straight haircut, right?) I began snip-snip-snipping at the hair over his ears and he kept ducking his head away and trying to shield with his hands.

"Sawyer, just hold still, it doesn't hurt when you cut hair. What hurts is when you wiggle and thrust yourself at the scissors."

More head-bobbing and swatting. And then he said, "MOMMY. This is scissors. This is very dangerous."

Now, how can you even begin to argue with that? I had no choice but to leave his hair lopsided, because I have no clue how to explain to a 2-year-old that he shouldn't play with scissors but Mommy can cut pieces of his body off with them. A battle for another day, I guess.

Later, we picked my little sister up from school. She wasn't even halfway into the car before Sawyer was chattering away. "ANNA! Hey Anna! You go to school? What you doing? You sit on your seat? I sittin' in my seat. Beckett's in him seat. We go to Grandma's house? Where's Grandma? Hi Anna!" And then, not even a block away from the school and he stops short in his chatter and I can see his eyebrows arch into a concerned look in the rearview mirror.

"ANNA. You wear your seat belt. To be SAFE. Put it on."

He watched closely as she buckled it, then was rattling off questions again.

Once in awhile, he does listen.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 8:33 PM 5 comments  

Obligatory pumpkin patch post

Sunday, October 28, 2007

We took the boys to a pumpkin patch today, a first for both of them as well as us. It was a nice little farm, and pretty good sized for actually being inside the city limits of Indianapolis. They had a market, corn mazes, a hay mountain for climbing, pony rides, lots of concession type stuff, some games and a hay ride out to the actual pumpkin patch. Oh, and a giant robotic dinosaur that munched pumpkins!

Out of all those things, which seems most likely to frighten a two-year-old? The dinosaur, right? Or maybe the ponies if he's extra skittish? Wrong and wrong again. No, Sawyer was afraid of the hay ride. The tractor pulling a trailor filled with hay that tugged along at a whole five miles per hour. He cried the entire way to and from the pumpkin patch, complete with a dramatic flop of his body among the hay. He even refused a Snickers bar from a nice lady sitting across from us, and you know it's serious when my child turns down candy.

As soon as we were off the trailor, he switched gears and skipped all over the pumpkin field, sitting down at every pumpkin in his path and hugging it. His eyes were bigger than his body because he kept trying to pick up pumpkins that weighed more than he does. Then he wanted a green pumpkin, and then a pumpkin that was split open with flies grazing on the fruit. We finally convinced him to pick up one small enough that he could carry it himself, and he did lug it all the way back to the trailor on his own.

We explored a corn maze, which Sawyer deemed as "too cool!" and then hit the market where he chose a green apple to munch on the way home. We hit concessions on the way to the car and picked up a giant bag of kettle corn which DH and I have already almost polished off. If you've never had fresh kettle corn, you're missing out. It is nothing like the microwave kettle corn. At all. Our ability to eat a whole 4-foot-tall bag in one day is proof of that.

Tomorrow we'll paint the pumpkins to adorn our front porch, because Wednesday is Halloween. And then it's November. And OHMYGOD how is 2007 almost over already??

Waterman's Farm 10/28/07

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 9:31 PM 7 comments  

Tattoos and breastfeeding

Saturday, October 27, 2007

I've gotten several hits from searches about tattoos while nursing, and I've also had many people ask me personally if it is safe to be inked while breastfeeding, so I thought I would post some helpful links. I researched thoroughly before I decided to go ahead with it, just in case anyone reading was wondering about that. And yes, my artist knows I am breastfeeding. ;)

Ultimately it is a personal decision and I know both moms who waited until they were done nursing and also those, like me, who felt safe having it done with a nursling still at home. Hopefully this info will help anyone who still may be on the fence about it.

KellyMom: Tattoos

"There is no evidence that getting a tattoo will affect breastfeeding. There should be no harm to mom or baby from the dyes injected. If you get a tattoo, the biggest concern for anyone (not just nursing moms) is infection (hepatitis or HIV)-- so make sure the place you go has good references and is clean."


La Leche League FAQ on Tattoos and Breastfeeding
"Tattoos are created by injecting ink into the dermal (second and third) layer of the skin. Tattooists use a hand-held electric machine that is fitted with solid needles coated in the ink. The needles enter the skin hundreds of times a minute to a depth of up to a few millimeters. The ink that is used in tattoos in the United States is subject to FDA regulation as cosmetics, but none are approved for injection under the skin. However, the ink molecules are too large to pass into breastmilk.

General information about tattooing also applies to breastfeeding women. Local and systemic infections are the most prevalent risks of tattooing. Local infections can occur when the recommended aftercare regimen is not followed. Aftercare includes keeping the tattoo clean with mild soap and water, not picking at the scabs and keeping the tattoo out of the sun. Tylenol is often prescribed for the pain, if needed. Systemic infections occur when universal precautions are not followed by the tattoo artist and can include such diseases as hepatitis, tetanus and HIV.

It is very important to screen the tattooist and the shop carefully, checking with the local health department for local laws and regulations. Professional tattooists will follow universal precautions such as sterilization of the tattoo machine using an autoclave, single-use inks, ink cups, gloves and needles, bagging of equipment to avoid cross contamination, and thorough hand washing with disinfectant soap. Most tattooists will not knowingly tattoo a pregnant or breastfeeding mother. It is suggested that mothers wait at least until the child's first birthday to give their bodies a chance to recover completely from childbirth before getting a tattoo."

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 4:10 PM 6 comments  

Sawyer's Tree: finished!

What do we think? I was a little disappointed to see that she hadn't drawn anything new, but now it's much more special that it's the actual original drawing I did myself and I adore the end result. I love the shading and leaves she added (I decided I didn't want the tree to be dead, LOL). Click here to see it larger. It took about an hour and a half, not too bad. I already made an appointment November 30th to do Beckett's. I was planning to put his on my chest but now I'm leaning towards putting it under the tree and starting a sleeve.

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20071026_1085 20071026_1082

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 11:39 AM 8 comments  

Tattoo lust

Friday, October 26, 2007

SILENCE. Finally. Both boys are asleep and I'm sitting on my duff doing absolutely nothing because I'm too scared I'll make noise and wake them up. Today must be Crab Day because both boys are whinier than a grown man with a hangnail. They're still fighting their colds and I got a peek into Beckett's mouth earlier and it looks like tooth #7 has made its debut. I'm hoping #8 follows quickly behind so we can be done with this teething business for awhile.

As for Sawyer, who knew starting the wrong Dora episode was grounds for a toddler-induced F5 tornado. 'Nuff said.

So instead of cleaning the house like I should be, I'm putzing around on Flickr looking at tattoos. Because does anyone remember what tonight is? Sawyer's Tree! I'm getting pumped. And after the day I've had, it will definitely be a good hurt under the needle and AWAY from the house for a few hours.

Umm, yeah, Beckett just woke up. Already. So I'm cutting this short, but I have to share these:

Food tattoos. They intrique me. Especially the cupcakes. Seriously, how cute are those?!

food tattoos
1. Yummy, 2. fruit, 3. keep sweet, 4. lucky cat w/ sushi, 5. corn, 6. P1010022, 7. Cherry Tattoo, 8. cupcake, 9. Candy Apple
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

And my new obsession: sewing tattoos! I've been trying to get ideas for my quilt tattoo and I found these.

sewing tattoos
1. sewing machine tattoo, 2. pincushion tattoo, 3. my sewing machine tattoo, 4. my new tattoo, done by Julian at Rising Sun, 5. sewing machine, 6. Picture 267, 7. blue sewing machine?!, 8. stork scissors!, 9. thread and needle
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 2:18 PM 15 comments  

Mouths of babes

Thursday, October 25, 2007

I swear, there isn't anything this kid does any more that doesn't make me laugh. (Okay, I don't laugh when he's giving the dials on my serger a spin, especially when I can't remember what they were set on, but most of the time, I'm laughing.)

Sawyer has this Diego field journal thingy that's like a Magnadoodle on the inside. He's always asking me to draw stuff. It used to be just squares and circles or the alphabet but lately he has gone to more complicated things. Our conversation just now went like this:

"Mommy! Draw balloons."

I quickly scrawled out three balloons.

"Thanks, Mommy! Now draw a tapir."

Um, WHAT? Okay.. I drew a blobby thing with a long snout and hoped he'd accept it as a tapir.

"OOOOHHH, it is a tapir! Thanks! Now draw a jaguar."

I drew a pretty kickass jaguar, if I do say so myself. Spots, whiskers, triangular nose and all. Maybe slightly domestic looking, but I didn't figure he would notice. And what does he say?

"Umm.. it's a cat, Mommy."

I am so in for it when he's a teenager. The kid will be smarter than me, I know it.

The other thing that makes me laugh is how kids are so honest. They aren't afraid to tell you that you're fat or look weird or shouldn't eat that third donut. Sawyer particularly loves to squish my saggy belly pouch in the shower and laugh, saying, "Ewww, gross, Mommy!" And the other day, he informed me that my morning bed head hair was "like a big bird." At least I know whose opinion to trust when I get a new outfit, right?

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 9:18 AM 7 comments  

Sickies: Part 2

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

We just got over a nasty cold a few weeks ago and already, we're getting hit again. A product of the moms group Halloween party we attended last week, I'm sure. The baby hasn't been sleeping more than two hours at a time for the past four nights and it's just a fabulously good time, let me tell you. Sawyer wore a permanent scowl today as he walked around and randomly wiped his nose on the furniture if I didn't catch him with a tissue soon enough.

Speaking of snotty noses, back when I was childless, yet apparently knew everything there was to know about child rearing (like we all did when we were still blissfully unaware, you know), I always scoffed at the children I'd see at the grocery store with crusty green mustaches. My child will never be dirty in public! *snort*

Then I had a Sawyer. And I realized that while nauseating and embarrassing enough to wear a disguise so as not to be recognized, quiet and crusty-faced is still better than a clean screamer. Because toddlers? They do not like it when you try to wipe their nose. In fact, mine dislikes it so much that he perfected the art of making it seem like I'm brutally beating him. Which, as you can imagine, doesn't go over well in public. I'll take a little bit of snot over the "pulling out my cell phone to call CPS" glares, thanks.

I'm just hoping this passes quickly, because it'll be a little hard for me to sit still for my tattoo on Friday if I'm sneezing and hacking up a lung all over the artist. Plus we were planning to hit up the pumpkin patch on Saturday and tackling that with an entire sick family is not on my list of fun things to do.

Luckily, both boys went to bed without incident for my mom last night while DH and I were out having a quiet dinner at The Melting Pot. Alone. No children. Yes, it was wonderful. There were roses and a card waiting for me on the table and we had a private corner booth that made it seem like we were the only patrons in the whole restaurant. And we left weighing about five pounds more than when we went in.

Tomorrow's installment: the husband's first tattoo (yes, I'm dragging him over to the dark side) and how I tried to defend myself from burglars with a broom stick. Mensa candidate right here, y'all.

Oh, and if you could, please clicky that Top Momma button at the top of the page! Or, if you're using a reader, you can just click here. Lets see how long I last!

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 8:47 PM 4 comments  

Two years

Monday, October 22, 2007

Has it only been two years? The husband and I were married two years ago today but it seems like a lifetime ago. I don't remember life without him and I don't care to. We've known each other much longer than that, so maybe that's why.

We practically grew up together, playing on the same high school tennis team in a tiny Texas town. I first met him when I was 12, and secretly had a crush on him all through middle school. Once I got to high school, he was the guy all the girls were after; a senior and a quiet guy with a cute smile and a curl in his hair. And I was the timid freshman, sure that I didn't stand a chance at getting him to notice me but still determined to try.

I can still remember the team trip to Corpus Christie the summer before my freshman year. My friend Katie and I teased the crap out of him, stealing his hat and giggling as he chased us for it. I remember spending hours picking out my outfit to wear to the steakhouse that night, curling my hair just so and trying to suck my stomach in and stick my chest out as best I could. I remember watching him play a match from up in the stands with the senior girls, and them commenting on his cute butt. One of those girls would later date him, and many years after that, we'd visit her and her new husband on a trip back to Texas. It's so funny how things work out.

We did end up dating for a short time in high school, but not long enough to really even count as a relationship. My dad caught us kissing in the driveway once after practice, and I remember trying to pass it off as a dare from the other girls. But believe me, no one had to dare me to kiss him. I was plenty willing!

After he graduated, he moved to Arizona to go to a local college in Phoenix, and shortly after that, my dad's job relocated him and we moved to Indiana. I didn't talk to him for nearly two years. One day, I decided to send a note to his old email address and see if he still checked it. Much to my surprise, I received a response, and we began talking again. We'd talk on the phone a lot, just a platonic relationship. For me it was a way to hang on to the life I once knew.

A few months after we reconnected, he told me he was being sent to Indiana on a business trip. I was so incredibly excited and begged my mom to take me to see him. We hadn't lived here long and didn't know that Ft. Wayne was a two-hour drive north. But we made the trip, and had an amazing time. He kissed me in his hotel room that night and rekindled something I never thought would ever be again. My mom still to this day says that if she had known how far we would have to drive, we never would have gone. Thank goodness for small miracles, right?

After that, we talked non-stop. I entered my senior year of high school and had my fair share of boyfriends, but he was always in the back of my mind. For Spring Break that year, he invited me to come to Phoenix for a week, and I was ecstatic. I did go, and to describe it in one word: life-changing. I still can't believe my parents let me go, but I thank my lucky stars that they did. After returning home, I sent him an email and mustered up the guts to tell him in that email that I loved him. His response was less than stellar, because he didn't say it back. But I assured him my feelings would be the same if he ever changed his mind.

October of that same year, he came to Indiana again to visit me at college. Our time together then was very confusing, and I wasn't sure how I felt any more. But when I took him to the airport, I cried as he walked away from me and it was then that I knew I still loved him. When he returned home and called me that night, he finally said it back. We became an exclusive couple that night. The funniest part of this is that when we decided it, it was past midnight in Indiana but three hours behind in Arizona. So to determine what day would be the "official" day, we decided to use the time it was in our Texas hometown. It was just after 11pm on October 22, 2003.

Despite the distance, our relationship flourished, and five months later in March of 2004, he made the leap of faith to quit his job in Arizona, pack his things, and move to Indiana. It was an incredible decision to make in that he had no job lined up here and was just trusting that he would be able to find one. He lived with my parents (for much longer than expected, actually) and I am thankful every day that they took him in and allowed us to make things work. I was still at college at that time and would drive home every weekend to see him.

Sawyer was conceived three days before our one year dating anniversary, and I found out I was pregnant on Halloween. That event started a snowball of activity and when I was 14 weeks pregnant, January 5th, 2005, he proposed to me. Two months later, in March, we bought our first home and in May after I finished my sophomore year of college, I was able to finally come home and live in our house. Sawyer was born that July, and we were finally married three months later on October 22nd, 2005. Exactly two years after we started dating.

I always love telling our story because I think it's such an amazing example of fate and how everything happens for a reason. What if we hadn't moved to Indiana, or I hadn't ever emailed him, or he hadn't chosen to work for that particular company that sent him to Indiana? It's such a crazy chain reaction.

It sounds like such a short time, but like I said, it seems so, so much longer. We've been through so much and in that short time, we've had two children, one wedding, bought two houses and changed jobs twice. We've seen life, death, hardship, rejoicing and everything in between. And I wouldn't change a thing.

Happy two years of complete bliss to my amazing husband. You are my happy ending.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 3:47 PM 20 comments  

The two words every mother dreads

Friday, October 19, 2007

Corn syrup.

And I'm not talking about in your child's food. I'm talking about in your carpet.

Do you ever compose blog posts in your head before you actually type them? That's what I was doing while mopping a foot-wide puddle of Karo from my linoleum and contemplating how in the world to get the circular swirls of it out of my carpet.

karo syrup. toddler. fun times.
My first instinct was vinegar, which I soaked on it and then wiped up and it's not near as sticky now. My whole house is going to smell like a pickle. I already had the vinegar out yesterday when Sawyer thought it would be fun to take off his turd-filled diaper and then sit bare-butt on the carpet. Yes, we're working on the potty.

I swear, this child could start World War III in five minutes with the way he's able to destroy my house in the times it takes me to pee or get Beckett from his room. I know how my night will be spent: borrowing my parents' steam cleaner and installing a lock on the pantry, which I thought about months ago and should have already done.

And in typical Sawyer fashion, there always has to be a finale: today it was peeing on the floor after I got him out of the bath tub in the 2.5 seconds it took me to find a diaper.

Cages. A good thing sometimes. (Kidding, of course, which I have to say or I'll worry that someone will read my blog and think I'm inhumane and crate my kids like puppies.)

In all seriousness, the kid is not neglected. He's just really good at causing chaos in no time flat. Ask my DH about the time he emptied a whole bottle of Windex onto the couch when they were in the SAME room together. I kid you not. This child is a master at watching for a turned back. And I think it makes us look like inattentive parents but anyone with a toddler knows how quickly it can happen. I'm just glad he's not one of those that likes to climb on top of the TV and attempt to fly. Yeah, I think I'll take his food obsession over death-defying super toddler.

On that note, I'm thinking it might be wise for us to invest in some hardwood floors. I don't know how much more my carpet can take.

I did catch a cute picture of them today. Sawyer insisted on wearing my yellow shirt (which SHRUNK to half its original length in the dryer, and I am pissed, because I liked that shirt) and dancing around like a maniac. Beckett was enjoying the show.

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Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 6:56 PM 6 comments  

The one where I don't lose my mind for a change

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

My child is only two years old and already is picking up disgusting habits. He picks his nose. He bites his nails. He picks at scabs. He is a boy, and is therefore disgusting by default.

But the most nauseating habit by far is his obesession with chewing and sucking on the corner of his blanket. One specific corner. All the time. He has two of the same blanket (because you always need a back-up with things like this) and both, up until today, had a brown, gnarly corner that absolutely reeked. Seriously, no matter how many times I washed them, the brown didn't go away and the stink was huge. We'd go into his room in the morning and be knocked over from the stench. No amount of bleach gets rid of the smell of day-old saliva.

I caught him chewing on the gross corner again this morning and had had enough. So I snatched both blankets from him and performed a quick Frankenstein operation on them. Sliced off the offending corners and replaced them with crisp, new satin binding. HALLELUJAH, no more stink. For now, anyway. I already caught him searching for a new corner to deface. Methinks we may just have to put them away for good, but I'm not quite ready for the sobbing and pleading that will ensue when we do that. So for now, I'll keep hacking them up.

Before:
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After:
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This was him telling me, "Ohhhh, it's green! Thanks, Mommy!" And then he began frantically searching for his beloved corner and upon realizing it was gone, started chewing a new spot. Sigh.

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And Beckett. Sweet Chunky Face. He turned seven months old today. It's looking like seven months is going to be the Magic Age for him, because it's like someone flipped a switch and turned my monster baby into an angelic little cherub. He no longer screeches all day or insists on being a permanent growth from my hip. He plays with Sawyer and crawls around the house on his own and laughs all the time. All three naps yesterday and today were taken without a fuss, by himself. THREE. This is monumental.

He's finally starting to realize that solids aren't so bad and gobbled down two big meals today, which in turn meant he actually spaced out his nursings a little. It was nice to not be on a newborn's nursing schedule for once.

I was nursing him tonight and he was being so playful and cute. He'd suck a bit and then pop off, causing milk to spray all over his face. He'd shoot a big grin up at me and wait for me to say, "Beckett! Why'd you do that!" and then dissolve in a fit of giggles. I am so not used to him being this happy and playful all the time and I LOVE it. I really hope it continues because if it does, I will feel like a new woman.

Happy 7 Months, Funny Face!

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Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 11:22 PM 7 comments  

Wordless Wednesday - Crying Over Spilled Milk

crying over spilled milk
crying over spilled milk, originally uploaded by sam&bex.

Today I was finally strong enough to rid the freezer of 58 ounces of liquid gold. With the average freezer shelf life (not a deep freeze) for breastmilk being 2-3 months, this stuff from March and April was not even usable. Beckett refused the bottle until he was almost six months old, so my stash of milk I had pumped in the first six weeks of oversupply just sat.

But there's an attachment that only another nursing mother can understand and I could never bring myself to throw it out until now. I needed the shelf space for the next stage of food, and in essence, stage of life. Next on the list: bury the placenta.



Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 9:19 AM 21 comments  

Woman at work

Monday, October 15, 2007

Bear with me while I tweak my layout! Any odd color combinations and layout quirks will be worked out soon.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 3:57 PM 5 comments  

Just to make myself look even more crazy

Sunday, October 14, 2007

I'm following the lead of VDog and showing you my desktop for the desktop meme. I'm actually quite proud of mine (and yes, slightly incredibly anal retentive about it). When I got my 24" iMac (aka my Baby), I spent quite awhile deciding which programs to use and which to have in my dock, and replacing all the system icons with cuter, more hip icons.

And yes, you too can have a kickin' desktop! These are the two programs I use to change my system icons and organize all the icons I've collected. They're both free for a limited time, although I paid for them because they rock that much. Oh, and you have to have a Mac to use them. Because anything else is just not cool enough. ;)

  • CandyBar2 - Trick out your Trashcan. Decorate your Drives. Mix up Mail.
    CandyBar 2 lets you change the Mac OS X icons you usually can't!
  • Pixadex - Pixadex is to icons, what Apple's iPhoto is to images. Brought to you by Panic and the Iconfactory, the team who created CandyBar, Pixadex lets you import, organize and search huge numbers of icons quickly and easily. Pixadex lets you store all of your icons in a single place, organized into collections that you create.

And here's a list of places I get wallpapers and icons from. Sharing the love.

My wallpaper actually changes every five minutes because I love my collection and can never decide which to use. So I took two caps, just for fun. These are actually on different days and I have changed the icons since the first one was taken, hence the different docks. My screen resolution is 1920x1200. Fabulous.

desktop

treedesktop


And just so I can be a total geek, the apps in my doc are, from left to right: Finder, Email (yes, that's Hedwig the owl!), iTunes, System Preferences, my camera uploader, Adium (instant messenger), Firefox, Photoshop CS3, jUploadr (Flickr upload client), Chicken of the VNC (to connect to my old computer), Safari, Preview. And the green monster on the far right is my trash can. :)

And here is my Dashboard. Flickr upload client, pictures from my stream, Threadless, Gmail widget, Bloglines notifier, Harmonic, and your standard weather and time widgets.

dashboard

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 9:35 AM 5 comments  

Sorry Dad

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Today I got the incredible urge to do something crazy again, much the same way it happened the night I was out with some friends and ended up with my first tattoo an hour later. So after picking up some fleece from JoAnn's, DH drove me to the tattoo shop and I got this beauty.

Next on the list: my hair will be making friends with some black and purple dye. Stay tuned.





And by the way, I know, it looks like I have a 'stache in the first picture. I'm not cool enough to know how to Photoshop it. I think it was the lighting? I promise I'm not a man.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 10:37 PM 6 comments  

Blessed

Friday, October 12, 2007

I have to take a minute to send out a quick plug. Last week I participated in the Cyber Baby Shower hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom, and I won a prize! I was lucky enough to snag an adorable tee from Blessed Baby. They offer stylish and sophisticated clothing and accessories that also spread the word of God. I chose the Blessed Baby toddler tee, which features an uplifting scripture on the back.

Here are a couple pictures of Beckett modeling his new duds. Thanks again to Blessed Baby for such a cool prize!

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Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 5:04 PM 4 comments  

And so it begins

What happens when big brother doesn't want to share his puzzle pieces?

Baby brother gets slashed with the samurai fingernails of doom.

shiner.

I'm sure this is the first of many injuries that will happen at the hand of his sibling. We've been lucky with Sawyer and not had anything too bloody in his two years of life. But I know it's coming, and my bets are on Beckett. Not only is he much more fearless than Sawyer ever was (he's leaped off the couch before I could catch him more than once) but he has the factor of younger brother against him as well.

The younger sibling always seems to be the victim, as was shown by my little brother and I growing up. I was responsible for stitches in his head on two separate occasions involving a wooden baseball bat and a merry-go-round. It definitely wasn't on purpose, but he was so good at obeying my every command, which resulted in him playing catcher too close to my swing and also falling underneath the spinning merry-go-round as he helped me push it. Needless to say, I was faster than him.

As if having me help him along in his injuries wasn't enough, he was also incredibly accident-prone and received stitches in incidents involving a concrete step, a paring knife, a school desk, a broken wine glass and my dad's elbow. Not to mention the numerous sprains and breaks as well as water on the knee. Yeah, the kid has had his fair share of bumps and bruises.

I, on the other hand, have never broken a bone and never had stitches or spent the night in the hospital (not counting Sawyer's birth). So if our children follow my lead, Beckett is in for a rough ride. Maybe I should bite the bullet and invest in a helmet while I still have the chance?

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 2:10 PM 5 comments  

Love letters

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Dear Beckett,

I really wish you could explain to me why your crib seems to be so evil today, and why a nap is so incredibly unappealing. You know that schedule we worked out? The whole go to sleep after being awake for two hours thing? You were doing really good with that. You even got the hang of falling asleep on your own for a little while. Did something happen to change your mind? Monster in the closet? Indigestion? An incredible urge to see Mommy jump in front of a bus?

Even though it took two hours, I do appreciate that you finally went to sleep. You really shouldn't drive Mommy's blood pressure up so high, though. That's not good for you or me. Believe me, if I could cut off a boobie and let you sleep with it, I would. Doctors are still working on that. Until then, lets remember that taking a nap keeps Mommy sane, okay? All the cool kids are doing it. And you, my son, are very cool.

Love,
Mama

Dear Sawyer,

By nothing short of a miracle, you took a nap today for the first time in two weeks. You have no idea how happy that makes me and I would smother you in kisses if you would let me. However, it was really kind of rude of you to fling your door open the second my foot hit the bottom step after getting your brother to sleep. It really would have been nice to have a few minutes to eat, or pee, or you know, breathe.

I will say that I appreciate that you can at least tell me what you want. Even if it does mean that you turn up your nose at my suggestion of grapes and an English muffin, and instead demand "cakes in a bowl." For both breakfast and lunch. I do apologize for my failed attempt at a creative lunch though. I won't be making that again.

Also. The fridge. We really need to work on learning that it's not there for your entertainment. Yes, it's very neat that you figured out how to open the door and insist on practicing that skill 50 times an hour. However, as much as you enjoy carrying around jars of pickles and grape jelly, cleaning the shattered remains of them off the linoleum is not my idea of a good time. I already did that once last week.

Love,
Mama

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 3:49 PM 3 comments  

Baby's awake, gotta go.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

This is my 50th post! I know, impressive, right?

I met with my tattoo artist tonight and the date is set -- October 26th at 7pm, I'll be getting Sawyer's tree. I told her what changes and improvements I wanted made to my sketch so it will be exciting to see what she comes up with. Of course, I'm the most impatient person in the world and will go nothing short of crazy waiting. But what's two more weeks to have it for the rest of my life, right?

We also met with our new family doctor for the first time today for Beckett's 6-month check-up. Chunky weighs 22 pounds and is 30 inches long. This milk bar apparently produces soft serve. Chocolate and swirl.

I'm attempting to actually go to bed at a decent hour tonight, so I can't stew over this blog post for two hours like I normally do. So here's what we had for dinner tonight. Sinfully bad for you but too good for me to care!

cheesy volcano meatballs
Cheesy Volcano Meatballs

Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 24 min
Makes: 4 servings, one sandwich each

1 lb. lean ground beef
6 RITZ Crackers, finely crushed
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup spaghetti sauce, divided
12 KRAFT Cheddar Cheese Cubes
4 hot dog buns, partially split

PREHEAT oven to 400ºF. Mix meat, cracker crumbs, Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce in medium bowl. Shape into twelve meatballs, using about 2 Tbsp. meat mixture for each.

PLACE, 2 inches apart, in shallow baking pan sprayed with cooking spray. Press 1 cheese cube deeply into center of each meatball.

BAKE 14 min. or until meatballs are cooked through (160ºF). Meanwhile, microwave remaining 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec. or until heated through (adult assisted).

SPOON sauce evenly into buns. Fill each with three meatballs.

We also did the Bacon, Cheese and Potato Chowder. Not quite as sinful and very very yummy.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 9:58 PM 2 comments  

Sawyer's tree

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

I'm getting the itch for more ink. I'm calling the artist tomorrow to schedule a time to go in and talk to her about my design. I'm planning to do my tree tattoo for Sawyer next. I drew up a rough sketch tonight that I'm somewhat happy with, but I'm hoping she can add her own touch to it to make it ten times better. It needs shading and more depth.

If you look closely, you can see Sawyer's name in the roots. I'm not sure if I really like the placement of it, but I know I want his name in there somewhere.

This will be on my upper arm/shoulder, with the trunk and roots on my bicep and the branches cascading up and over my shoulder.

sawyer's tree

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 10:12 PM 6 comments  

Wordless Wednesday - Instant Supply Boost.

instant supply boost
instant supply boost, originally uploaded by sam&bex.

Flax seed and Omega 3 cookies. Very yummy and very milk-inducing.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 8:27 PM 1 comments  

Google it

Monday, October 8, 2007

I've been saving these up to compile a post for awhile and I think I have enough now. So today, I bring you my most interesting Google search referrals to my blog.

My top referrer by a landslide is "Kate Gosselin's belly". I show up in the first page for this! Apparently, people are dying to see a picture of it. Well, you won't find it here. But, I think my saggy skin pouch could compete with hers pretty easily. I saw her show hers on national TV and I have to say that mine is totally that bad and I only carried one baby at a time. For carrying six at once, I expected hers to at least be at her knees. Not impressed!

"My toddler destroys all his board books" - I have a feeling this person was trying to find a way to make her toddler stop destroying all his board books. If she ever finds out I hope she will share the secret, because all books are still on ban in our house for this reason.

"tattoo in snatch, large picture" - No comment. Just a mouth-gaping expression of disgust. And then lots of laughing.

"coral reef tattoo" - This one cracks me up because the first thing that popped into my head was an image of a big pile of my husband's poo tattooed on someone's bicep.

I get lots of hits from searches for different types of tattoos, like nurse tattoos, Boston terrier tattoos, wild boar tattoos and quilt tattoos. I would kindly suggest to anyone thinking about inking themselves up with a wild boar or a portrait of their dog that they reconsider. The only thing I dislike more than human portraits is pet portraits. But if anyone has ever seen a quilt tattoo, I want to know! That would be wild. And totally something I would get.

"public breastfeeding laws in the media" - It makes me smile to know that my blog shows up for this.

Okay, so I didn't have as many as I thought. What are some crazy search terms that have pointed people to your blog?

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 4:27 PM 9 comments  

Undercover

Sunday, October 7, 2007

My husband and I are going to hell. We hid from the baby tonight. Yes, hid. As in, behind a blanket, holding perfectly still and trying not to laugh.

The boys were playing together with the magnets on the fridge and DH and I were watching TV on the couch. It was the much anticipate Rock of Love reunion and I was glued to the screen. Every now and then I'd hear Sawyer say, "Don't, Beckett. Beckett, stoooop it!" But no screaming or sounds of body parts being impaled with plastic alphabet magnets, so they were fine.

DH got up to peek over the bar at them, and he got too close because Beckett saw him. And when Beckett sees you, that's it. He's coming for you. The kid is like a bloodhound, I'm telling you. DH flew back onto the couch and whispered, "HIDE!!!" as he jerked a blanket over us. We huddled silently under the blanket for a few seconds until I peered out to make sure the coast was clear.

We were giggling and trying to be quiet, and then the shadow of his bald head appeared in the door way and we raised the blanket up to form a wall. I heard him shuffle onto the carpet, babble a bit, and then be still. We sat like that for a good five minutes, until he turned around and crawled back into the kitchen to resume tormenting his brother.

Yes, we are evil. Don't worry, the kids both definitely inherited that trait so there will be paybacks.

Good thing they're cute.

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Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 10:47 PM 6 comments  

Progress

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Well, it looks like we just have a picky eater on our hands. I tried peaches yesterday with Beckett and he gobbled up two cubes in less than five minutes. Fed them to him again this morning, and he went for three cubes and probably would have eaten more. Wouldn't you know that his favorite food would be the one that is a pain to make. But seeing the way he enjoyed it instead of spewing it down his front was priceless and I'll slave away in the kitchen every weekend if I have to so he can have his peaches.

Yesterday I also made pureed plums, mangos and carrots. Those went into the freezer with the nectarines, pears, squash and the already dwindling supply of peaches. This weekend I'll make pumpkin, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes and apples. That should last us a couple months, and by that time he will be old enough to introduce spices and I can start making mixtures of things as whole meals. Pureed garlic chicken with carrots, anyone?

Last night Beckett and I made the 45-minute drive up to the north side to attend the Central Indiana homebirth support group. This was our second time attending and I'm really enjoying it. I can't explain how nice it is to be in the company of people who don't look at you cross-eyed when you say that your placenta is in your freezer.

I really thrive on interaction with other like-minded mamas, because very few people understand why I do things the way I do. DH told me yesterday that a woman at the office shook her head in disgust and told him it was "gross!" that I'm still breastfeeding our 6-month-old. It's attitudes like that that make it hard for me to venture out beyond these concentrated groups that are my comfort zone.

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Beckett really enjoyed himself as well and I was so surprised because he stayed awake the entire ride there, the whole meeting, AND the ride home. And was not a royal pain, which is rare for him. There were a couple other babies there, both older, and he just thought they were the coolest ever. He crawled around after them just squealing and grinning from ear to ear. He and another baby named Felix spent the entire two hours trading toys and pulling at each other's faces. We later discovered that they had both been born in the same birth tub, with the same midwife, so of course I think they're destined to be good friends. :)

I've been wanting to attend a Holistic Moms meeting but they too are on the north side, even further than the one last night was. It would be an hour drive for me one way, and their meetings don't start until 7pm. With Beckett's bed time at 8 and the odds looking like we wouldn't get home until around 10, I'm not thinking it would be a very pleasant experience. I'm contemplating leaving him with DH and a supply of pumped milk, but I really like taking him with me when I meet new people. Kids are always an ice-breaker, you know. So we'll see.

I don't think I've mentioned it here before, but I've been toying with the idea of beginning training to become a birth doula for awhile now. Since having the boys and feeling within myself that our family is complete, I've been struggling with the question of what I will do with "the rest of my life." Eventually these boys will be in school and old enough that they don't need their mama doting on them all day long, and I know that I'll be at a loss as to what to do with myself when that time comes.

Birth has always fascinated me and since experiencing it myself, it has become my passion. I've read every word on the DONA website and it just calls to me. I think it would be amazing to get into midwifery and I feel like being a doula for awhile first would be a helpful stepping stone in that direction. There is a workshop coming up in January that I'm really excited to sign up for. I've been talking about it with DH and I think I'll go ahead and sign up soon, and also apply for my certification packet to make it official. I'll have two years from the date I get the certification packet to complete it. I've never been this excited about anything career-wise in my life and I can't wait to move forward and start making things happen.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 12:09 PM 13 comments  

Wordless Wednesday - Kangaroo

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

trying out the Moshi
trying out the Moshi, originally uploaded by sam&bex.

I'm cheating, because this wasn't taken today. But I needed an excuse to post it. And I guess this is no longer wordless, either. Don't laugh too hard at my farmer's tan.

Check out 5 Minutes For Mom for more Wordless Wednesday photos!



Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 8:12 AM 12 comments  

Food and memes and awards, oh my!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

20071002_0873
DH took both boys in the car to get dinner, and before that they were at the park. I have had almost two solid hours of wonderful silence and it has been heaven. I used the time to bake up a butternut squash I've had sitting on the counter for awhile now (did you know you can keep those babies around for close to four months and they don't go bad?) and pureed it up for Beckett.

That batter bowl is filled with almost eight cups of squash. It loaded up four ice cube trays of 14 cubes each. The cubes are about an ounce each, so I made approximately 56 ounces. When you figure that jars of Gerber squash are 2.5 ounces and $0.59 each, that's $0.23 per ounce. I bought the squash for two bucks -- about 3.6 cents per ounce. Sa-weeeeet. It smelled a lot better too. Now my whole house smells like Autumn.

It was actually fun for me to do this time, nothing at all like the horrors of peaches. I want to try some pumpkin next. If only he was older, I could add some cinnamon. Yum. Oh, and I guess it would help if he'd actually eat the food. We're working on that again tomorrow.

Sarah tagged me to tell her what I think should be in the running for "Grosser than Gross." You sure you want to know, Sarah? I think I had one of my grossest moments today, actually. Clearing dishes off the counter and into the dishwasher, and I opened a sippy cup to rinse. Oh, look! It has milk in it from four days ago! It had morphed into a solid moldy milk patty, and let me tell you internet, this is not something you want to experience. It was the worst, most overwhelmingly putrid smell ever. I was literally heaving while I rinsed it down the drain. That, my friends, is grosser than gross.

Sawyer also took off his diaper today and peed on the linoleum, which I later slipped and fell in. That was pretty gross, too. But it's got nothing on the sour milk or grape skin and raisin poops I have scraped into the toilet. I always tell DH that I need to call Mike Rowe and have him feature the dirty job of motherhood on his show. Because I think we wade through the poo and puke with the best of 'em. Just saying.

I'm supposed to pick a couple other people to tell their tales of grossness, so I tag MomSmoo, Louann and Jayna. Gross me out, ladies!

Also! Jayna thinks I'm nice. :) She bestowed this little award on me. Thanks Jayna! I'm amazed that I fooled you into thinking that flattered. ;) To pass on the spirit of niceness, I'm giving this award out to Sarah and Louann, who both gave me a very warm welcome into the blog world.

I also got another award a few days ago from Dixiechick. Thanks, girl! I'm really feeling the blogger love lately.

I started this post over an hour ago and the boys have been back (and very loud) for 20 minutes now. So I should get them off to bed and then finish my grocery list so I can replenish the barren shelves of my pantry and we can stop eating the natural disaster rations for dinner.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 7:27 PM 6 comments  

My son is non-stick

Monday, October 1, 2007

So, remember when I mentioned that my son loves Crisco? Yeah. Well. I now have photographic proof.

This is what happens when you take a few minutes to blog while you think the kids are playing nicely in the next room. I know, I know -- why wasn't I watching them? Well, the house is pretty well kid-proofed, so I don't worry about them getting hurt if I take a breather for a couple minutes. Except for the pantry. Most of the stuff on the bottom shelf is harmless -- taco seasoning, cans of beans, bag of brown sugar, box of croutons. But for some reason I haven't moved the Crisco to a higher shelf. (Actually, there is a reason -- the baking stuff goes on the bottom shelf and I can't be having the Crisco off alone away from his baking buddies!)

Usually I hear him open the door, but it must not have been all the way shut because I heard nothing today until he ran up to me and said, "Mommy, I wash my hands!" I spun around in my chair to help him at the sink (he has a new hand-washing obsession) and was met with this:

20071001_0839

"Umm, Sawyer, you need to wash your whole head. Now stand still so I can take a picture for my blog."

I tried to get him to stand next to his masterpiece on the couch but the most he would do was sit in the chair for a few seconds. Then it was off to the bath tub, where I discovered that Beckett is terrified of the water if I'm not in it with him. So no brotherly bath time today.

20071001_0843

My one piece of advice for anyone with kids that is furniture shopping: when they offer you the Guardsman treatment, take it. Yes, it's a couple hundred dollars more. But trust me. TAKE IT. Our couch has now had run-ins with blood, an entire bottle of Windex, and Crisco. And has lived to tell the tale.

And yes, the Crisco is now on the top shelf.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 3:35 PM 8 comments  

Baby Shower Party Post!

It's Baby Shower time! The lovely ladies over at 5 Minutes For Mom are at it again with their fun games and awesome prizes. I'm writing my own Party Post to join in the fun and help Susan count down the days until Sophia's arrival. One party guest made her debut early -- Olivia was born September 28th!

For my first trick.. err, I mean, party game ;) -- I'm accepting the challenge to show my most sympathy-inspiring delivery photo. This one is mine, hands down. This photo shows the culmination of 11 hours of natural labor at home and 15 or so incredible minutes of pushing. I get teary every time I look at this photo and remember the raw emotion and power I felt here. I kept saying over and over, "I did it! I did it!" A truly amazing moment.

IMG_5188

The next challenge is to show a pregnant belly photo. That one's easy for me. I took pictures of my belly all the time. This particular one is the very last photo I took at 39 and a half weeks. Beckett was a slug and came moseying on out a little under two weeks later, at 41 weeks 1 day. This picture shows the incredible way I carried both of my boys -- straight out front. My belly earned the nickname "Torpedo" from quite a few people.

39wks

Next, Susan wants us to tell our birth story. Again, easy for me! I posted it awhile back and you can read it here. Beckett was born at home and his birth was the most profound experience of my life. Pure perfection. I relive that day every time I read the story and it never gets old for me.

I was just checking out some of the prizes being given away, and I want everything! Such a great showing of mom entrepreneurs. Classy Mommy is giving away a GR8X Diaper Bag -- how fun and funky is that?? And this is the first time I've ever seen a Cushie Pushie -- it's a little pillow designed to help support a nursing mom's breast, so she has a free hand while feeding. Very cool! And Ju Ju Beane Boutique has absolutely adorable clothing and is giving away a $20 gift certificate. I'm drooling!

Susan and Janice also asked us to talk about our favorite baby names. I already used mine up on the kids I do have (Sawyer and Beckett), but I will share that if Beckett had been a girl, the two names in the running were Linden Aurora and Ellia Annelise. Maybe I'll still get to use them on a pet some day. ;)

Hmm, lets see. Picture time again. Here is a picture of me as a baby, and the boys as newborns! I see a little of myself in both of them. And seeing them side by side, I really don't think they look much alike at all!



I have to cut my party short now to get some sleepy boys down for naps, but feel free to share your pictures and stories in the comments. Or visit 5 Minutes for Mom and start your own Party Post. Warm congrats to Janice on the birth of her daughter and best wishes to Susan on her impending birth! Thanks for the chance at some great prizes, ladies!

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 1:40 PM 18 comments