Life As A Mom

I was trying to figure out why I have such a hard time blogging. A lot definitely goes on in my life. I have a busy husband, two busy kids, a full-time and a part-time job, my brother just got engaged, friends are having babies, playdates are happening. Rachel had her first dentist appointment. I am still doing very well training for my 5K. The bowling alley is going to be in contract very soon.

That's when it hit me...I have so much to blog about that I really just don't have time to blog about it. I think that most moms out there can relate to me on this. Moms are behind almost everything that happens in each family member's life in some way. We are the behind-the-scenes puppetmasters.

So I began speculating what would happen if I weren't around for, say, a week. I would be whisked away to some remote island paradise, leaving my husband to take care of everything that I do at the height of my busiest season. But I would leave behind a To-Do list to help him throughout the day.

Now, don't get me wrong (because my list is obviously for comedy and doesn't cover everything a Dad does), my husband works his butt off. He is running a busy plant in Columbus and trying to start a bowling alley in his "spare" time. But the next time he comes to me and suggests that I just sit around or that I am not pulling my weight, I think I will give him my To-Do list and see if he understands just how much I do without him ever knowing that I did it.

Because that is the key to being a Mom, isn't it? We do all of this without documenting or saying that we have done it. We aren't doing these things to "get credit" for doing them. We just do them because they need doing. So unless you are Beyonce, J-Lo, or Michelle Duggar (who has live-in help galore), sit back, relax (easy for me to say!), and see if you can relate to my Life As A Mom:

LIFE AS A MOM

• Get ready in the morning (~6 AM).


• Get Kid #1 up and going (lay out clothes, check on progress as you get ready).


• Get Kid #2 ready (change diaper, change clothes, pack diaper bag with food for the day and milk, load into carseat as you argue with Kid #1 about what she is allowed to take to the babysitter/daycare).


• Drop off Kids (unload Kid #1 from the car, monitor #1 as you unload #2 to make sure #1 doesn’t run into the road).


• Full-time job (consumes ~8 AM – ~5 PM, including travel time; take phone calls throughout the day and squeeze in as many errands as possible at lunchtime, including shopping for kids clothing, birthday presents).


• THREE TIMES A WEEK: Rush home to squeeze in a 45-minute workout before picking up children.


• Pick up Kids (try to talk to daycare provider about Kid #2 as Kid #1 talks to you incessantly about what she wants to do when she gets home, make sure Kid #1 doesn’t take off into the street as you haul Kid #2 to the car).


• Drag laptop case, diaper bag, and purse/pump into the house with Kid #2, after you have unhooked Kid #1 from restraints safety harness.


• Put milk away for next day, place coats on hangers/wherever, put laptop safely tucked away as you listen to Kid #1 beg for a TV show and milk.


• Sort through mail and fret over the bill that has appeared out of nowhere for $200 that you thought you paid already/insurance was supposed to cover/you have no idea what it is for.


• ONCE A WEEK: Attend swimming lessons/gymnastics/soccer or whatever else you have #1 involved in to expend as much of her energy as possible.


• Argue with #1 about dinner options.


• Get dinner ready for #1.


• Change diaper of #2 and try to distract #2 while you get #1 settled with dinner and a show.


• Tidy the counter in the kitchen so it looks less like a bomb exploded there.


• RANDOM: Make beauty appointments to maintain the appearance of trying to look good.


• Feed/Nurse #2. Begin watching DVR’d show.


• Pause show to answer question from #1 about toys/shows/food/drink.


• Make dinner for yourself. Try to eat this and resume DVR’d show while #2 whines at you for more attention.


• Pause show. Greet husband when he gets home. Listen to him tell you that the counters look like a bomb exploded there.


• Bite lip as husband gets #1 hopped up on sugar.


• Play with #1 and #2 for 20 minutes.


• Get #2 ready to eat dinner. Tell #2 that he needs to eat his dinner while he spits it back out at you and makes noises with his tongue.


• Listen to husband about husband’s day at work. Try to be supportive and attentive, while eyeing what #1 is doing and continuing to feed #2.


• Clean dishes/unload dishwasher/load dishwasher with husband’s dishes/re-wash dishes that crappy dishwasher didn’t quite get clean.


• Clean up toys that #1 has dragged out.


• Empty trash in bathroom/kids’ rooms/kitchen.


• ONCE A WEEK: Do Laundry for Kids #1 and #2. This is a massive amount of laundry. (See item above re: shopping for Kids’ clothing.)


• Fold and put away laundry for Kids #1 and #2.


• Resume DVR’d show.


• Pause DVR’d show. Tell #1 to get ready for bed.


• Get #2 ready for bed.


• RANDOM: Give #1 and #2 baths so they don’t become smelly kids at the daycare.


• Argue with #1 to go back to bed at least 3 times. (See comment about husband getting #1 hopped up on sugar above.)


• Get #2 in bed. Monitor #2 throughout remainder of evening to verify #1 did not wake #2.


• Feed Dog. (Tell Dog to go away repeatedly throughout the night because #1 sneaks food to Dog and this gets Dog sick.*)


• *Clean up mess left by Dog when #1 has snuck food to Dog. Give Dog evil stare.


• Return downstairs to resume DVR’s show. Discover that husband has started watching his own show.


• Call family to finalize plans for birthday dinners.


• Pay bills and balance which bills will be paid with which paychecks.


• Check bank account and balance budget against what husband has secretly spent during the week.


• ONCE A MONTH: Arrange monthly playdate with friends.


• Research elementary schools for #1. Make sure #1 is preparing for Kindergarten.


• Maintain quasi-adult-like relationships. (Facebook is your main medium for this.)


• Listen to husband complain about you being on Facebook too much.


• Work freelance to pay for unexpected expenses and possible family vacation (see below).


• Resume DVR’d show to unwind your brain.


• Crawl into bed for 5-6 hours.


• REPEAT.
  
  WEEKENDS/DAYS “OFF”:


• Catch up on all sleep missed during the week.


• Organize coupons to go grocery shopping.


• Make final list to go grocery shopping. Ask husband repeatedly what he needs from grocery store.


• Go grocery shopping. You must take #1 and #2 because husband has plans to do something important. (When you get home, husband is still playing video game.) Listen to husband complain that you have no food.


• Clean house because #2 is close to crawling and your floor is gross.


• Schedule doctor/dentist/photo appointments for Kids.


• Attend doctor/dentist/photo appointments for Kids.


• Go to Church so #1 and #2 have some knowledge of religion.


• Attend monthly playdate with friends.


• Plan possible vacation for family. Balance husband’s schedule against possible dates to go that would be within non-existent budget.


• Make cakes for friends, family, etc.


• Attend family gatherings as scheduled.


• Try to have adult time with husband.
  CHRISTMAS:


• Go Christmas shopping with all your free time and stress about Christmas budget and making sure all gifts have been purchased.


• Decorate Christmas tree.


• Teach #1 the meaning of Christmas.


• Buy Christmas outfits for #1 and #2.


• Listen to husband complain about what you have/haven’t purchased.


• Try to decide whether you have time to do Christmas cards.


• 
  
  Wrap presents for family, Kids #1 and #2, and husband whenever they aren’t around for a few minutes at a time.
  
  
  LIFE AS A DAD


• 
  
  Wake up early.


• 
  
  Go to work (6 AM – 4 PM).


• 
  
  Go home.


• 
  
  Complain about house.


• 
  
  Eat food.


• 
  
  Complain to wife about job.


• 
  
  Complain about wife to wife.


• 
  
  Play with Kids.


• 
  
  Play video games.


• 
  
  Text friends with weekend plans.


• 
  
  Ask wife to do something with her “free time” the next day.


• 
  
  Help wife get Kid #1 to bed because wife seems busy. (Not sure what wife does with all her time.)


• 
  
  Tell wife she should get oil changed in her car at lunch the next day.


• 
  
  Go to bed. Ask wife for sex. (Give wife guilt trip if she turns you down.)


• 
  
  ONCE A WEEK: Do laundry. Wonder why wife has stopped doing your laundry.


• 
  
  SUMMER: Mow lawn once a week. Refuse wife’s offer to do this.


• 
  
  CHRISTMAS:
  o Go shopping for wife’s gifts.
  o Wrap wife’s gifts.
  

Workout Impossible

In my last post, I wrote about my new year's goals. I call them goals, rather than resolutions, because I feel like resolution is a strong and oft-overused term these days.

One of my goals is to run a 5K, and in my quest to fulfill that goal, I downloaded an application on my iPhone called Couch-to-5K. This is a great application that takes someone with very little running expertise (read: ME) through a 9-week interval training program that eases you into running, gradually adding more and more jogging to your workout until you are comfortable as a runner. I don't run. I am pretty sure I laid that out in my last post. But I have been through four "runs" so far in this program and I have enjoyed all but one of them.

First of all, this gives me a half-hour of "me" time. Sure, when the kids go to bed, I can sit on the couch and watch TV. But then I tend to fall asleep and I don't really get much out of that time to myself. This gives me time to watch a show while exercising my body and doing something good for myself, and I have a clear head afterward so I can THINK.

Second, I don't really "run" through these workouts. I do a brisk walk for the majority of the workout, as per the instructions. I jog at a decent pace through the jogging intervals of the program, and I think fairly soon I will have fewer and fewer walking intervals as I prepare for the 5K. So it is a steady pace for sure, designed for someone like me who doesn't have much desire to run every day. But the more I do it, the more I enjoy it.

As far as losing the baby weight, well, I have gone in reverse there. It seems that whenever I begin an excruciating exercise regimen, I tend to put on a pound or two, and this time is no exception. I haven't altered my diet at all, so that doesn't affect anything. So I tell myself it is just that muscle weighs more than fat and I have to be patient. It's all about my clothes fitting better and my body getting healthier, right?

Yeah, I need to repeat that to myself every day. Because it is really frustrating to kill myself every day, 5 days a week, to see no difference on the scale.

As far as my other goals, we are taking baby steps toward them. Look for big changes in 2012!

So long 2011, bring on 2012!

A Leap Year to boot!

2011 wasn't so bad, actually. I love the number 11, so maybe that has something to do with it. The year was really nice. My pregnancy was healthy and normal. My not-so-baby girl turned 3 years old. I gave birth to my baby boy, who is healthy and growing like a weed. Duane's job brought new challenges and opportunities, along with some much-needed extra money to pay off some of those hospital bills! My job, well, it is still there. I was promoted in May, then went on leave from August through most of October, then got to work short weeks when I came back, and now I am on vacation until 2012!

So my goals for 2012 are as follows (in no particular order):

1. Lose the baby weight. We're talking ALL the baby weight, going back to my pregnancy with Rachel. When I got pregnant with Gavin, I had just started to lose a couple more pounds, but I was basically 10 pounds heavier than when I got pregnant with Rachel. That 10 pounds, no matter what I did, would NOT come off. I exercised every day for a month, and 5 days a week for 4 weeks prior to that, and I didn't lose ONE pound. I was pretty tone, but not skinny. With this pregnancy, I only gained 30 pounds, and I have lost about 26 pounds of that. Given that I am still nursing, I am okay with this, and the Weight Watchers has helped a lot. But I need to combine that with exercise. Which brings us to #2.

2. Run a 5K. Now initially, this was "Run a half-Marathon" but I thought that might be a bit lofty for a goal. I don't have much time to exercise as it is, so training for a 5K might be more realistic, then I can start training for a 10K, and then we can bump it up from there. This will get me into exercising for a purpose other than to just lose weight. It isn't going to be easy, but it looks like there are lots of training programs out there to help me get started. And now that I know my bestest Kim Cotter is doing the same, it might help!

3. Spend more time with the family. This may seem crazy, given the first two goals, but I need to spend more time with my family. Before Gavin got here, I didn't get to spend much alone time with Rachel because I was working all the time. Now, I know I need to make time for her and Gavin, and ESPECIALLY my husband. We barely see each other when the kids aren't around, and I am instituting some sort of date night every week. Time without the kids. It is not easy to keep the fires alive with two kids and four jobs, but we have to find a way to do that.

4. Pay off as much debt as possible. Enter the aforementioned four jobs. I freelance, Duane works at the bowling alley (which we are trying to buy), and we also both have full-time jobs. With all of this, we should be able to pay off as much of our revolving debt as possible this year. I don't need to be rich, but I do want to be able to spend $100 on something without flinching. Or go out and buy a much-needed new car for our expanding family. My old girl has 230,000 miles on her, and if she makes it one more winter without major issues, I will be thankful. We're not poor, but living in debt is like carrying extra weight on your shoulders. You always think about it.

5. Be a better mom. It's hard sometimes, having two kids, two jobs, a husband, bills to pay, finances to balance, workouts to get in, housework to do, blogs to write... Sometimes (too often) I lose my patience. I want to be a more patient and loving mom. Not sweat the small stuff. Have FUN with my kids. I want them to be kids, not tiny adults. I need to focus on what is and isn't important and have more patience and understanding.

6. Be less judgmental. I am adopting the saying, "Walk a mile in his/her shoes..." because this year has shown me that I am not a perfect parent. I am not a perfect wife. I am not a perfect employee. I have been the parent with the screaming toddler and crying baby in the store. I have yelled at my toddler in public. I have made mistakes at work. I have judged others, and acted like I was perfect. And I am not. No one is. So I am really striving not to judge people, most especially when I don't know what they are going through. It is all part of being a better Christian.

7. Figure out what I want to do when I grow up. As much as I love my job, and I am good at it, it isn't where I will retire from. This year has taught me that, if nothing else. I can move around and adapt as the company changes, but in the long-term, I am not going to retire from The McGraw-Hill Companies. And that is okay. I am only 31 years old. That seems old, because I have two kids and I have worked there for almost 8 years, but in reality, it is just a decade of the four decades I will likely work before I retire. That is one-quarter of my career. So it is time to start thinking about what I want to do now that I am getting older. And it may involve going back to school, which I shudder about, because I have little time as it stands. But I need to figure it out sooner rather than later.

Blog FAIL

I have been neglecting my blog again, so forgive me. I knew going back to work would be tough, but going back to work with two kids and a second job has been even tougher. I deluded myself into believing I would have time to go to the gym every evening, but some nights it is all I can do to get home and make something for Rachel to eat before slipping into a mental coma.

So work has been...interesting...the last few weeks. Just as I return from maternity leave and re-embrace my project that was supposed to be done before I ever got back, rumors begin to swirl about layoffs and re-orgs, etc. It soon became apparent that last Wednesday was D-Day (rather than Pearl Harbor Day -- my company can sure pick 'em). And when the e-mail went out from the first unlucky person called to HR, everyone in the company knew it was on, and we sat and prayed that our phones wouldn't ring. I survived the day, but we lost one of the people on our close-knit team, and that was tough.

So when I got home Wednesday night, I had to do a lot of reflecting. Work defines a lot of our lives, because most of us spend a good 40+ hours at work every week. I met some of my best friends at work. I am good at what I do. But if I were to lose my job, would I lose my identity? Would my life come to an end?

As if in answer to this question, Gavin slept a whopping TEN hours that night. I awoke refreshed, sad, but able to face the day after with more clarity than usual. And luckily I had my normal Friday vacation day to recover as well.

And I have been enjoying my kids a lot lately. As frustrating as it can be, I love being around them. We have been doing way too much to describe it all here. We have has Gavin baptized, met with Santa Claus, had sleepovers at grandparents' celebrated Thanksgiving, and started new routines. Gavin is on baby food now, and seems to enjoy that. Rachel has started a behavior chart to give her a bigger incentive to, well, behave. :) And I am just generally looking forward to spending the holidays with my family. Rachel finally seems to grasp the concept of Santa. She wants lots of purple presents for Christmas this year.

So I guess things are pretty good. Work is settling a little bit. Life at home is starting to become more routine. I am still hoping for a repeat of that 10-7 night of sleep, but we'll get there...

Back to Reality...

Well, it has been 12 weeks since we brought Gavin home from the hospital. In late July, October seemed a lifetime away. And I have to say, I have really enjoyed my time off with the kids, with the exception of the complications I suffered and the extra surgery I had. But once that was behind me, I was able to get out and enjoy my time with them. And the bonus from the discomfort of that is that I got some vacation time back because I had to file a new short-term disability claim, so instead of going back to work with 1 day of vacation, I will have 11 days left when I return. While I considered extending my leave into November, I have always had it in my mind that I had to return on October 24th, so I arranged it with my boss that I would return for 1 full week of work, and then use my remaining vacation to work short weeks the rest of the year. Because of the holidays, it works perfectly, and I will even be able to take the week between Christmas and New Years off as well. So with the exception of this week and the week of November 7th, I will be taking every Friday off. And I have to say, that lessens to harsh feelings I was having about going back to work full-time.

Once that was settled, I focused on spending as much time as possible with my kids. Last Thursday, we went with my mom, sister, and nephews to Pigeon Roost Farms, which is a pumpkin patch and all-around Autumn playground. We didn't bring any pumpkins home (I am hoping we can get back there with Duane to do that), but Rachel had so much fun playing in the fun center with her cousins. It was a chilly day, perfect autumn weather, and I just had a blast watching her romp around.
Saturday Gavin and I went to my cousin's wedding, so Rachel had a sleepover at cousin Caden's. Judging by her crankiness when I picked her up on Sunday, she had fun. I enjoyed spending time with my family, and they were very helpful with Gavin so I even got to dance with my dad and brother.
Sunday, we attended Nolan's 1st birthday party! His mom did a Halloween theme (I don't know what she would have done if she had a kid that wasn't born around a holiday), so I made a pumpkin cake (actual pumpkin cake decorated like a pumpkin) and smash cake. Seriously, check out the video on Kim's blog. I have never seen a kid have that much fun with a smash cake.
Tuesday was my last real day of maternity leave with both kids, so I tried to get outside and spend some quality time with Rachel. I hadn't been able to do a lot of that, and I regret it, but we spent an hour outside blowing and chasing bubbles, playing in her car, and just generally running around.

Wednesday, Duane, Gavin, and I dropped Rachel off with the sitter and headed to Florida for Lori's wedding. I wish we could have taken Rachel with us, but I knew two kids would be a lot to handle for both of us, let alone the times when I had to do wedding things and couldn't be around to help. And because I am nursing Gavin, I didn't want to be away from him that long. So Rachel got to spend some days with Grandma and Hoppa, and we headed to Boca Raton.

The vacation was really fabulous, even though we didn't get to do much. Gavin could not have been better on the airplane. He fell asleep every time the engines kicked on. When we got there, we picked up our rental (a mini-van, much to Duane's chagrin) and drove up the coast from Fort Lauderdale International Airport to Boca Raton. It was gorgeous. There were so many yachts and mansions lit up in the night. Duane was instantly in love. Apparently we arrived during a beautiful pocket of nice weather too. It was 70s and sunny every day! Not even humid!

Our hotel was situated right on the beach, and I splurged on the ocean view room with a balcony, so we spent every morning sitting on the balcony just staring out at the ocean. I drank my coffee, and Duane just stared. We left the door open and listened to the waves crashing on the beach as often as possible. This was the view from out balcony.
And the wedding was probably the most beautiful wedding ceremony I have ever seen. Lori was gorgeous. I hope she doesn't mind if I post this picture.She is beautiful under the worst conditions, but as a bride, she was simply stunning.

She and Mike were married at a private club, in front of a pool with a fountain. As she came down the staircase, Mike started to cry, and I almost lost it too. The night could only have been more perfect if Duane and Gavin had been able to be there, but Gavin was extremely fussy and Duane sacrificed his evening so that I could spend mine with my friends. Everything was amazing. I am so happy I could share the experience with them.

So amazing that we really didn't want to leave on Saturday when the time came. I had scheduled a late afternoon/early evening flight to give us time to putz around on Saturday, and putz we did. Duane tried to convince me to go get Rachel and bring her back...permanently. He is already job hunting down there.

For now, we are just planning next year's vacation. I got some great tips from the woman who did my hair for the wedding. So I hope we can spend several nights in Boca and a couple in Orlando visiting a giant mouse and his friends. Until then, we may have to buy Duane a CD of ocean waves, crashing on the beach, to get him to sleep well at night...

Two Months!

In ways, it feels like just yesterday that I was posting that Gavin was 2 weeks old, and in other ways, it feels like it has been 2 years. He has developed strong preferences, much like his sister had at his age. Duane says we let them do that -- and he might be right.

Although Gavin doesn't have the reflux problems Rachel had when she was an infant, he is very particular about how he sleeps and eats. Try as I might, he doesn't sleep well unless he is sleeping next to me or on his boppy. I have been trying to slowly break him of his boppy habit, but when I lay him to sleep on his back with nothing around him, he wakes within minutes. And I figure that him getting sleep is more important than whether or not he sleeps with his boppy. His neck muscles are strong enough to lift his head now, so I am not so worried about him suffocating, and I figure that eventually, he will be able to roll over and sleep however he wants. (I used to find Rachel like this in her crib!)
He has also definitely decided he doesn't care for formula when I am within smelling distance from him. I have attempted to give him formula at points recently when we have been out and about, and he will only take the liquid kind that comes in 2-ounce bottles. No powder for him! This only concerns me because we are heading to Florida next week for Lori's wedding, and we are taking Gavin because of the nursing, but if he is fussy about sleeping and/or eating with Duane while I am taking care of wedding obligations, it could cause issues.

In other sleeping developments, Gavin has been experiencing nightmares every few days. I can tell they are nightmares, because he will be in a deep sleep, and suddenly he begins to cry, with no wimpering or whining leading up to it. And when I lift him, he doesn't immediately wake up, as though he is stuck in the bad dream. It is so sad to see him experience that, because he is upset for several minutes after. I always wonder what babies dream about -- and apparently whatever he is dreaming about isn't good!

So other than the sleep situation, Gavin is doing well. We had his 2-month doctor appointment last Friday. He did really well. Unfortunately, at the 2-month appointment, he had to have 3 shots! He didn't care for those much. He was very fussy the rest of the day. But his measurements were all wonderful. He weighed in at a hefty 13 lbs 9 oz and was 24.5 inches long. That is 90th and 96th in percentiles, respectively. So I guess I am making enough milk!

I get lots of smiles and coos, and that is always nice to see. I am hoping that when Gavin starts daycare in a couple of weeks, he will settle into a routine, which should also help Duane settle in with him too. Soon after that, we should start solids, and I remember that helping Rachel sleep better and be a little less fussy about her eating. Here's hoping.
Until then, I am trying to enjoy my remaining time at home with the kids.

Where Did September Go??

I know it is cliche, but I honestly feel like I just brought Gavin home from the hospital, and it is already October -- the month when I have to go back to work. I still have 3 weeks of maternity leave remaining, but at this point with Rachel, I was back to work. Twelve weeks just seemed like an eternity when I was anticipating leaving work, and now I am already building up to the dread of going back. :( I always have lofty plans for what I will do while I am off work. This time, I accomplished more of those plans, but definitely not all of them.

So what did I do with my September? I trekked down to Kentucky/Cincinnati on Labor Day weekend to celebrate my friend Lori at a bridal shower and bachelorette party.

Then I rushed back to Columbus to celebrate my brother's-in-law graduation from college. The following weekend, I made my first wedding cake! I normally wouldn't commit to making a cake for such a momentous occasion, but it was for a friend, and the wedding was small enough that I decided I could handle the pressure.

I had a little bit of a health issue this month. It is too personal to detail here, but it was the result of complication from laboring with Gavin, and after repeated trips to the doctor, it was determined I would need surgery to correct the issue. Now let me say, I have gone through childbirth twice now, including the recovery from childbirth. And I was a BIG BABY about the build-up to this surgery. It was outpatient surgery, but the doctor couldn't really predict what it would do to me or how long it would wipe me out. And having two kids around, I was worried about how to care for them. The surgery also required anesthesia, and that meant no nursing Gavin for 24 hours. And as much as I fretted about nursing Gavin in the early weeks of his life, the boy has definitely grown to love the boob. So he wasn't exactly pleased when I came home from the hospital and he didn't get to nurse. I had to pump-and-dump, which stinks -- breastmilk is like GOLD! But the upside of the surgery is that I had a lot of support from family and friends through the whole thing. Duane's job took him out of town all week, but my in-laws came through big time. They took me to and from the hospital and helped a bunch with the kids. My mom came to spend the night with me the night of the surgery, and things went very well. Then my mom and my sister both came over the next day to make sure I was doing okay. I just realized again how lucky I am to have so much support.

I have also been trying to get out of the house more this month. A couple weeks ago, I took Rachel to sign up for her first library card! She didn't understand the library, but she has enjoyed looking at the books. I am planning to take her to storytime one day this week, if I feel up to getting out. Two Wednesdays ago, I took Rachel to see her first movie in a real movie theater. My in-laws came up to sit with Gavin, and Rachel and I went to see an early showing of The Lion King. She was hesitant to go in the theater, but once she sat down and started eating popcorn, she was sold on the experience. I have never seen a kid who loves popcorn like that (my mother would be so proud!). I think she even ate a piece off the floor.

Then two Fridays ago, Mom and I took both kids to the Zoo. It was a bleak and rainy day, but Rachel had been looking forward to the visit all week, so we decided to brave the weather conditions. I am glad we did -- she enjoyed seeing the elephants and other animals. But more than anything, she loves riding the carousel at the Zoo. I hope we can make a trip back up there before I go back to work. Also on the agenda is a trip to the pumpkin patch!

And the kid just has so much personality now. She has figured out how to use the camera on my phone -- here is one of her self-portraits and just another example of her personality:
Gavin has turned on the personality lately too. He has grown like a weed this month. I had to reschedule his 2-month doctors appointment because of my surgery, so I don't know how much he weighs or his stats, but he seems twice the size that he was when he came out. I slightly miss the tiny fingers, hands, feet, etc. But I love all the things that come with his getting a bit older -- like the smiles! He smiles at me ALL THE TIME now. And there is no question that he knows who I am. He is carrying on a love affair with one of the lamps in our family room -- cooing, smiling, laughing at it. Duane was holding him yesterday, and it astounds me how much he has grown to look like his daddy. A lot of the dark hair he had when he was born has fallen out or faded, so he doesn't have much more than Rachel had at this age.

My kids are so wonderful and yet so frustrating all at once. I have days where I want to pull out my hair and days where I can't imagine not being around them like this all the time. They love each other -- that is quite obvious. Rachel always wants her "Baby Gavin" (because she won't call him just Gavin) with her at all times. She is one of the few people he recognizes and he smiles at her too.

And now the weather has turned cold, my football is in full blast (though my Buckeyes are definitely having a down year), and I am looking forward to Halloween for the first time in a long time. I don't think Rachel understands it, so I need to record some of the cartoons about it so she can get the idea a bit better. And I have two weddings to attend in October, one which will require traveling to Florida!

I signed up for Weight Watchers Online the last week of August because I am sick of feeling frumpy. So far, without exercising at all, I have lost 3 pounds. Granted, that is with some health issues, and I intend to start a serious exercise routine tomorrow to try to trim another 7 pounds in the next 2 weeks. But I feel better about what I am eating now. I tend to go crazy with my eating in the first few weeks of nursing, because I am ALWAYS hungry, and I am up all hours of the night. So I got it in check now, and I have a personal goal of getting back to my pre-Gavin weight by Christmas. :)

Sigh...now I am back to my leave. I need to experience every day to the fullest! I have a haircut slated for this week. I was trying to grow it out, but it has become too much of a pain every day. I need something easy!