Friday

It's Friday! And because the day was cool, windy and gray me and Travis spent our morning not doing dishes and instead baked ginger cookies (I think they are mostly called molasses cookies?). Tyler had his third day of preschool today and when he returned home with Scott we had a little lunch and a cookie.

The boys took naps and I took Danica to her two month check up. Already!!! She is healthy and growing nicely. She is 3" longer than when she was born! Babies are amazing and wonderful aren't they?

After returning home we've been watching movies and I've been catching up on headlines since the convention last night.

Scott is under the weather and Danica is wanting to be held a lot since she got her immunizations today. So dinner was basic for me and the boys. I had to smile when I saw their plates. This isn't unusual. They are similar in some ways, both sweet and affectionate. Big brown eyes. But in other ways they couldn't be more different. Travis ate all his pasta and left the fruit. Tyler ate all his fruit and didn't touch his pasta. You can't make this stuff up!

And now as I sit here watching The Incredibles, Danica has joined me on the couch. She just wants to be held poor girl. I hope she sleeps okay tonight.



With that I'm signing off for the night. It's Labor Day weekend. I hope you're able to enjoy the long weekend with family and friends.

Parenting Today

A cousin of my mom's came for a visit today and to meet Danica. She brought her grandson who is Tyler's age and the three boys had a grand time playing outside. It was so nice.

Our conversation turned to child rearing. She was marveling at how moms today have it harder than she did when raising her four kids (primarily in the 1960s). It is an observation I've heard before from older moms. The big difference they see is that moms now don't have the neighborhood (or family) support that used to exist. Before it was, let all the kids go play in the street and the moms will visit, take care of babies, and work around the house. The neighborhood moms and kids collectively looked out for one another.

The other main difference parenting then and now is that now there is more focus on Parenting (capital P). It is a sport. A profession. Something many of us choose very consciously and often give up lucrative careers for. It is serious business. The stakes are high (our children!) and the bar is higher. Play dates. Crafts. Homemade baby food. Breastfeeding. Preschool. Organized sports. The list goes on. As my cousin noted, before the mom was always right no matter what she decided to do with and for her kids. Her choice to be a mom was basically an automatic assignment, not a career path. You just got by and used your common sense. She laughed when she told me about another group of young moms she had been with recently and how they had consulted a book about which blankie to provide their child. Sadly, I could relate to that. These days the instinct and common sense in parenting is almost 100% removed. We consult books. Scour magazines. Read parenting blogs. Scan Pinterest. It's a full time job being a parent to very small children that really only want love, food, play and an occasional bath. The irony is deep.

I have made these observations myself since becoming a mom 4 years ago but it was nice to have my theory validated by a mom of the 60s when children were kids. Not adults in training.

I wonder if we will get back to the simple days of neighborhood play, using our own ideas and common sense, life outside of being a Parent. It's so exhausting! And where does it get us and our children? The scrutiny and focus can't be good for anyone in the long term. Parenting isn't natural anymore. It's contrived.

I would love to send Tyler and Travis out to play with the neighbor kids while I watch from afar or maybe not at all. (gasp!) But if I did they'd be wandering our quiet and lonely neighborhood by themselves. The other kids are inside studying or practicing piano. Maybe watching an educational TV program like Super Why or participating in a craft project that engages both gross and fine motor skills.

Times have changed. And that is inevitable. But I do really question if the changes in Parenting have been for the better.

What do you see as a mom or parent? Do you have a lot of support? Do you feel the pressure and competition or is that an individual thing? How is your neighborhood?

3 Under 5

We have made it and we are making it. We being me, Scott and our newly expanded brood. Doing the math, I realized I had 3 kids in 4 years (May 2008 to June 2012). Holy smokes!!! Danica is 3 weeks old and we are pretty smitten still. Tyler adores her. Daily he talks about how cute she is and how wonderful. He likes to hold her and "pet" her, ie touch her tummy or head or arms. Travis is coming around too. He will bring her pacifier to her and loves to pat her head and says "hiiii" to her in this incredibly sweet soft voice. Love my boys with my girl!

But I will be honest and say that having three little ones at these ages is really no joke. It is a lot right now. I do have help from our sitter a couple mornings a week (sort of a mother's helper role) and Scott helps out big time when he isn't working. Friends and family have been so kind and generous with bringing meals and offering assistance. But the day in day out is a bit overwhelming at times. Mostly because of course at this point I have to feed Danica very frequently. And the boys being active, happy boys, want to get out and do stuff. It's hard. I'm afraid their summer kind of sucks this year. We are still doing tons of sprinkler time, Popsicles, walks, and outdoor play but we hardly leave the house. To be honest I haven't figured out how I will take all three of them anywhere in the near future. I think it will involve baby wearing, which is fine, but it still seems like a monumental undertaking. So for now I try to keep the kids entertained at home. We watch our fair share of tv. We have done some art and crafts. We do baking every other week. (they love this!) I've setup a whiteboard calendar and am trying to make a schedule for us a week at a time so I can tell Tyler what we will be doing and so I can stay on task. However that works...

I know several of my readers have 3 or more kids. If you have any tips or insights for managing with 3 little ones I'd love to hear them! We aren't going to have the mother's helper forever and I will be more on my own again. I think I am one of those "I can do it myself!" people and I really want to feel like I can successfully manage 3 kids and our home and lives. I see it as not only my life and my loves, but my job as a stay at home mom too. So please share 'em if you got 'em! And I will share this delicious photo of Ty with Danica.

Finally, it's 3:45 in the morning so this will be a little test to see if I can blog coherently in the wee hours.

New Arrival

Our baby girl has arrived! Danica was born on Saturday June 30 at 11:55am. We are home now and enjoying our sweet newborn baby girl. Tyler and Travis think she is "really cute" and Ty especially loves watching and petting her. :) Scott and I are completely smitten with our girl.

My mom is here helping us out, thank goodness, too. Scott and her just took the boys to the park to run off some energy. Poor guys have had more than their share of TV the past couple of weeks.

I am hoping to share a bit more frequently now that she is here but we will see how it goes. Three kids under five. Oh my!!

Pregnant for the Third Time

This is what we look like whenever we picnic at the park.

One thing we decided to do with this pregnancy that we haven't done before is have professional maternity photos taken.  As much as I don't feel my most attractive right now, being in my third trimester, I knew that I'd never regret having pictures taken of me and my last baby bump.  We actually took these at a nearby park when I was about 29 weeks, but you get the idea.

Taking photos with the kids is always an adventure, although Tyler is a really good sport.  Travis did pretty well too, all things considered.  We have about 20 shots, but this one is my favorite.

Since these were taken, things have been a whirlwind of activity.  We finished redecorating our bedroom.  I am so pleased with it.  It was kind of a long process (about 2 months), but it's DONE and we don't have to think about it anymore.  We also moved Travis into Tyler's bedroom and are almost done decorating the baby's room.  We had Mother's Day and Tyler's birthday to celebrate in May, and have a couple more family birthdays in June, along with Father's Day of course.

Today I am 35+ weeks and am feeling it.... I'm tired, crampy, and pretty dang impatient (sorry guys).  I am sort of hoping baby girl comes early but also don't really want to be "surprised" because of the logistics of having someone watch both boys while we scurry off to the hospital.  I think there is a good chance we will induce, assuming she goes along with that plan.  I took the boys to the park today and a mom of twin toddlers asked if I was having a girl (yes) and then remarked, "it will be hard".... (yes).  This is something I've run into a lot with this pregnancy.  Somehow having two kids is okay and fairly manageable but when you're pregnant with a third, people go out of their way to let you know how much work it will be, how much of a challenge it is, how tired you will feel, and that you are generally nuts.

I have gotten used to the comments but that doesn't mean they don't annoy me.  They come from people of all walks of life - friends, family, strangers, you name it.  Old, young, have kids, don't have kids, whatever.  A breath of fresh air would be to have someone say, Oh that's so wonderful!  You will love having a big family.  I can only think of a couple people who have said something like that.

In the meantime, we are thrilled to welcome our baby girl into the family.  While I have no illusions about it being easy, I am excited about the prospect of a somewhat large family with chaos, and fun, and a warm home for everyone to enjoy together.  I can't wait to add to our memories and photographs when baby girl joins the family.

Book Report: "Don't Mess with Travis"

I had the pleasure of reading an entire book recently!  Hallelujah!  I am excited because it is rare for me to finish a book these days.  I'm either too busy or too tired to get through whatever book is sitting on my nightstand.

So when I started Don't Mess with Travis by Bob Smiley and finished it in 3 days, I totally shocked myself.  Scott picked it up for me at a book signing in Austin on a recent business trip.  I started it Friday and finished it this afternoon.  And honestly, that's quite a feat considering it was also the weekend my parents were in town, Tyler turned 4 and we had a party (more on that later!), and it was Memorial Day weekend.  Go me!

But really, the author made it easy.  This was a serious page turner!  What's it about?  Basically, it's the story of a conservative Texas governor that has the guts to go up against big Washington, big government, entrenched Democrats, the President of the United States, and a lot of the Establishment to stand up for what he believes in.  It's fiction.  And it's seriously funny!!  And that is saying something when you consider it's about politics.  Scott is reading it too and we've both been chuckling and sharing excerpts with one another, as Smiley weaved in some great one-liners and references to current events and personalities.

One of my favorite things to do while reading was to draw parallels between Smiley's fictional characters (the governor, his academia sidekick, the President, and some other Washington power players) and real life politicians and political insiders.  If you follow national politics, you will pick up on several of these.  And who knows, maybe I missed some.  The way he was able to combine a truly funny, inspiring, and quick moving story with parallels to real life politics was uncanny.  And being kind of an American history nerd, I learned a thing or two, which was a bonus.  Smiley had clearly done some research to make this story seem very plausible with accurate and helpful historical references to build the storyline.

All in all a great read!  To be honest, I'm a little bummed I finished it so quickly.  I think he needs to write another political fiction soon.  Or do a sequel!  Or heck, they should just make a movie out of it.  Scott pointed out it would be a great movie and I immediately responded with, yes, but what Hollywood movie studio would make a movie about a likable and courageous conservative Texas governor?  Silence... he didn't have a response to that.  Ha.

If you are wondering how I heard about this book, well, it's because I happen to know the author!  We are old high school friends (or "longtime", as he wrote in the inscription of my book).  Bob has written another fabulous book (about Tiger Woods), and has also written for TV.  Believe it or not, he was my editor for the school newspaper when I was a senior!  So yes, I may be a bit biased, having known him for almost 20 years (yikes) and being a conservative, but I am so proud of Bob and this book.  I am going to recommend it to several of my friends, and I also think it'd be a great Father's Day gift.  If you are so inclined, go check it out at Amazon or your local bookstore.  It really is a fun and insightful read.  The main character Ben Travis was funny, brave, and exhibited more common sense than almost any real politician today.  He and the book were a breath of fresh air and also served as a reminder of what could be if we are willing to stand up for our beliefs.  And, they made me laugh.  A lot.

Sweet Peas

Saturday is drawing to a close, sadly.  Scott was in a class all day today so it was me and the kids on our way.  Fortunately the weather was gorgeous all day! After breakfast and getting dressed, we headed to our nearby farmers market.  The boys did great, thank goodness.  We rounded up some strawberries, blueberries, white nectarines, freshly made bear claws to snack on, and some really yummy looking berry syrups.  Which means we are definitely having pancakes tomorrow.

I also came across one of my favorite vendors at the market, a flower grower who has the loveliest sweet peas.  I buy these every year. Which then brings up the question, why don't I just grow them?  So I think I will give that a shot.  According to Sunset Western Garden Book, they grow in almost any zone and there are varieties that bloom almost all year.  Yay!

In the meantime, aren't these lovely?  They are sitting on our dresser so every time I walk into our bedroom, the scent spreads across the room.  So nice.

Tomorrow will be filled with errands and projects around the house as we do our usual chores and prepare for Tyler's 4th birthday party next weekend (whoa!) and the baby that is due in less than two months (WHOA!).

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Sweet Peas

Preview

We have been busy around these parts.  And clearly, blogging hasn't been on the list unfortunately.

I'm 31 weeks.  Baby is active and moving and kicking every day.  At my last checkup she was head down.  My doctor thinks there is a good chance she will arrive early on her own or we will induce early because Travis was so big.  Right now she is measuring on time.  For now I'm hanging in there but I will say that pregnant plus a toddler and a preschool is a lot of work.  I'm so wiped out by the end of each day.  Right now I'm sitting in our sectional watching Hotel Impossible with my feet up.  It's nice.  I think the boys are asleep finally.

Did I tell you we moved them into one room?  It has been going well so far.  There have been some hiccups with Travis wanting to sleep in the lower bunk but we've made his crib into more of a little bed for him with his quilt and a pillow so I think he really loves that.  It is so fun to put them to bed at the same time and read a story all together.  I hope they love sharing a room over the years.

Now that Travis has moved in with Tyler, baby's room has been painted and we are working on furnishing it.  Here is a little preview, below.  The walls are a pale aqua.  The decor will be lots of white, some pink, and more aqua.  We will see how it comes together.  I don't have a specific bedding set or theme really.  I'm just choosing things I like.  I have to say, it has been SO much fun!

Even though I am tired and achy, I am trying to soak up every minute of this pregnancy.  I'm 99% sure it's going to be my last pregnancy, which makes me sad but four kids definitely isn't in our plan!  So every day I try to remember how I feel and just reflect a little bit about how it feels to grow a little life inside me.  ... And we had maternity photos taken to capture these moments.  I will share the photos if I like them.  Haaa.

Baby girls' crib!

Cuteness and Life

I mostly just wanted to share some cuteness with you.

Two of my four loves.

But also... I'm 28 weeks today.  Life is flying by as always, in good ways.  I celebrated a birthday last week.  We've been to two concerts in the past month: Thompson Square/Darius Rucker/Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown Band.  We're somewhat redecorating our bedroom.  The boys moved in together yesterday (ahhh) and baby girl's room is slowly taking shape.

So yeah I have nothing going on.

Coming up... finishing baby's room, completing our room, a visit to see my parents and Disneyland in Southern California, Tyler's 4th birthday party, and more.

And also we have a mommy dove who setup house in one of our rain gutters and is patently sitting on her eggs rain or shine, waiting for them to hatch.  It's adorable.  I'll share a pic soon.

Decorate My House: Family Room Edition

I thought I'd share a photo of our sparse family room in hopes of some inspiration from my good friend, the Internet.  As you know, we moved into our house about 18 months ago.  We love it, but it needs a little help in the personality department.  Take Exhibit A, the family room.  No crown molding, beige walls.  Someday we will add molding and paint it a more exciting color, but here it is for now.  What is really bugging me is that end table.  See it?  There are actually two nesting tables.  They match the round cocktail table.  

Here's my question: what should I put on the end table?  

As you can see, we desperately need color in our family room.  Dark wood floors + dark brown leather couch + beige walls equals practical and very boring.  I would looove to put a leafy fern or other pretty potted plant here but that doesn't seem like a great idea given that I have a couple crazy kids running around.  A table lamp also seems like a natural choice, but again, breakable isn't good at this stage.  (Plus we have nice recessed lighting)  

So what do you think?  Something that could add color and personality to the room.  The only colors in the room are in Old Glory there above the fireplace, the blues and whites in the rug, and the navy/beige in the drapes in the breakfast nook, which is off to the left.  Oh and the throw pillows from Target.  Those are shades of blue and beige.  

Do I need something life like?  (A cute but durable topiary?)  Something with other colors?  I really am stumped.  This room needs personality!  What do you think?

Help meee... pleads my comfortable but plain family room.