Pictures of the kidlets...

Here is Jay pulling an ET moment. He wanted to sleep with all his stuffed animals. I'm afraid he gets this naturally.










Jay decided to share "Ruff Ruf" with his sister. Anyone who knows Jay knows what a big deal this is...










These are my favorites. Sibling love....

Permanent Brain Farts

When I was pregnant with Jay, my mom told me that when you're pregnant the blood flow is diverted partially from your brain to the baby and it causes memory loss, but after you have the baby, the memory will come back....she lied! Sometimes I feel like I'm just swimming through this permanent brain fog. Then get a couple of kids on top of that and you just lose it! Yesterday afternoon I had taken the kids for shots and when I was leaving Macon Nell started crying....loudly. I turned on the tibetan monk songs and all it did was make Jay mad. So he's just whining about me turning it off. I was returning a call to Uncle Bill and about the time he got on the phone I just couldn't even really remember my name! It was like I forgot who I was, where I was, etc... Then I get to work this morning and apparently after I unplugged the fridge to pump, I didn't plug it back in again...at 11:30am yesterday! So of course the leftovers in there I planned to eat for lunch today are ruined. Which means I'll have to go out for lunch instead of eating in and getting schoolwork done like I had hoped. I think I need some memory pills of anti-brain-fuzziness pills or something. That would be great with all the pills I'm taking every morning anyways! Zyrtec, cingulair, hydrochlorthiazide, prenatal vitamin, vitamin C, brewer's yeast, fenugreek. Bring it on!

Today is a long day for me. I have work, then I have class, then I'm doing my second of four administrative rounds tonight. Will also need to pump in there somewhere tonight so it will be a long night for me. I think I'm not going to push to get here too early tomorrow. This weekend is the library fair here and I can't wait. I really look forward to it every year. I already have two or three books that I'm waiting to read, but I need more! LOL Actually I generally get some good books there and this year Jay's old enough to enjoy the kids' games so he'll have a ball.

Another life change since Nell is that I have a new found love for all things caffeinated. I literally kissed my diet coke from the machine across the hall from my office this mroning...and it's my second one. Coffee too! I never really drank much pre-Nell, now I love it. I think I'll wait to wean myself off of it when Nell is three or something. For now it's a daily necessity.

Work issues I'm going to have to deal with today, need to get some reading and reviews done, need to get more work stuffs done. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! Hectic, and crazy, but beautiful!

Snowball Effect

When you start your morning out right on time or just a few minutes late things have a way of snowballing. I guess I just have to be resigned to the fact that about once a week I'm going to have a rough morning. That's been the pattern since I came back to work. They can't all be smooth. This morning as soon as I get to daycare Nell spits up all over my shirt. I get the kids in and think that maybe it will dry and not be noticable. By the time I get to the building, it's still noticeable. So I head on home and have to bypass a wreck to get there. Run in and change the shirt, then whack my head getting back into the car. On top of all this, my eczema which has been a mild inconvenience the past few days decided to come on out this morning to so I'm having issues relating to that as well. Come on Tuesday, what else have you got!?!?

If you need me I'll be hiding under my desk.....

Sibling love

We had our first sibing related incident tonight. I've been taking nell into Jay's room at night to "tell him good-night." Tonight I had her lying with her head on his pillow so he could lie next to her (I was holding her the whole time) and he bumps heads with her when he lies down. Both were crying. It was nice. I felt so bad for her. Jay started crying because she was crying. It was lovely!

Made a corn tomato salad tonight for a bridal shower at work tomorrow that I won't even be able to attend. We have the Relay for Life luncheon tomorrow. Yay for my third free lunch this week! Two more days till the weekend! I can't wait for Friday. It's kind of funny. When I was on leave I almost lost track of the days most of the time until everyone on FB started posting their TGIF status updates. Now I'm there with them again. So looking forward to the weekend...

Decisions

This article makes me happy in so many ways. There have been several times in the past couple of weeks that I have thought about throwing in the towel with nursing. For no other reason than my convenience. It just takes so long to pump. Takes time out of my night and work day. Three times a day during the week. I know I' doing best for Nell and she is definitely benefiting. But this article really made me even more happy about my decision to breastfeed. It truly is best for my child and will help protect her from this nasty swiiiiine flu. Thank you CDC. I know that there are a lot of people out there who try to breast feed and it doesn't work out. With Jay I had to supplement. I nursed as long as I could, but we had to give him a bottle because he wasn't eating at first. I worked really hard to be able to nurse him, but we always had to supplement. There are a lot of people who just aren't successful at all and those people I support in their decision. You have to do what's right for you and your baby. It's the people who don't breastfeed because they just don't want to or they think it's gross or just don't even give it a try. Come on people, the CDC says it's important.

I'm so tired. It's been a busy day shuttling around town and back and forth to the Garden Clubs program in the Fellowship Hall. Tomorrow morning more of that, and trying to get caught up!

Rookie Mom Mistakes

This morning I made them! You'd think I hadn't done this before. First of all, Nell spits up...a bunch and misses the burp cloth with some so I ave to change shirts before I can even get out of the door! Then I walk in to daycare and raelize that I forgot bottles! Anything else they could have made do, but you can't forget the bottles! So I rush back home and get the bottles out of the fridge and run back to daycare. The sweet girl in the room met me outside and took them so I didn't have to go back in again.

Today we're having a Garden Therapy program at the chapel. I'm in charge of making 40 pens with flowers on them...forty of them. I'm just over halfway there, but with having the holiday yesterday it threw me off and I thought I had another day. Luckily Lisa found some left over from our Flower and Art show so I have those if I need them.

They're super simple to make. I'll add pics later, but you need a stick pen (the kind with the caps), floral tape and artificial flowers. I've found that the mum types work best. You take a piece of the floral tape and cut it in half lengthwise. Wrap this around the end of the pen. Then take the flower off of the stem and remove the plastic middle part. Stick the writing end of the pen through the hole in the flower and push the flower down to the end right against your tape. Do it this way instead of cutting it so it will be a snug fit. Then take your floral tape and wrap it starting at the end of the pen all the way up to the flower. They turn out really cute and are fun for flower themed party favors or just for fun. I've seen them in stores and they usually cost $5-$10. Mine cost less than $5 to make a bunch. the flowers I buy at the dollar store so a bunch is $1. The floral tape you can sometimes find there too, but it's never more than $3 and the pens you can buy the cheap kind that come 20 to a bag for a couple of dollars too.

Drinking for two???

Tonight I went to pick up dinner from Chili's. I love it when I don't have to cook! Plus with Jack not feeling 100% this weekend it's just easier. So I have to go in to the bar to pick it up. I took Nell since we're trying to limit her exposure to Jack, and I sit her carrier up in a bar stool (The ones with backs like chairs, very safe) and I go to sit in the chair next to her. The hostess rushes up to me and says she can seat me in a table if I want! I think she thought I was just going to sit up at the bar with my baby and get my drink on? It was pretty amusing.

Tomorrow is Labor Day so no work for me. We had hoped to take Jay fishing, but with Jack sick I don't know that it will happen. So I'm going to try to reschedule our playdate with Sidney since it never happened Saturday and maybe grill some chicken. If Jack isn't up to it I'll bake it (thrilling ain't it).

Some reading on tap for tomorrow and some knitting. I also need to check out the cash in the old bank so maybe I can take it to the bank and use it to get the new tires and tubes for the bike. I think that would help me know what else needs to be worked on.

Tutu Cute!

I made this with this. Gooo Dawgs. It was a disappointing game, but at least Nell was cute!

New project

I need another project like I need a hole in my head! LOL I bought a bike this morning at the Knights of Columbus yard sale! It was $5 and needs new tires and a new chain at least. Not sure what else it needs. I'll probably take it down to the bike shop one day and see what they say. I figure I can do a little bit here and there and maybe if there's any big work I can get it done for my birthday. I've been wanting a bike for a while and just hadn't had the opportunity or cash to get one. $5 seemed too good of a deal!

Other than that, we're having a lazy Saturday. My child who won't get up during the week was wide open at 5:00 this morning! Of course. We hit the yard sale. Jack's dad and our neices and nephew from Jefferson were here. The twins had not met Nell yet so that was fun. Jack Jr. took Jay for a haircut. Now we've had chicken nuggets and we're heading towards a nap! Maybe playdate this afternoon with Sidney.

I should get some reading done for school, but I also want to get some knitting done and finish up Nell's Georgia tutu!

Later taters!!

Work Week One

So I've almost made it through my first week back to work, broke the 200 pound mark I've been hanging around at for the past month, taken Nell for her first set of shots, been to my first code yellow....what else?

Actually it's been a pretty good week. I've gotten most of my questions asked and am meeting with the "big wig" from Atlanta who's here to run things some time next week. Am settling back in to a routine which is the best part for me. Catching up on work stuff. Still have some upcoming projects that need some attention including the Fall Musical which is in a couple of weeks and I have very few people agreeing to performa nd havgen't picked out music for the choir yet. Need to get my schoolwork finished finally. The clients on my new unit are all in transition phase. They are hopefully on their way out of the hospital so I'm working on some ideas for them. They want to go to breakfast on a Sunday. I also want to work with them on some health related/exercise stuff and want to set up once a month meal planning/cooking group. I think that would be fun and right up my alley!

Nell is adjusting well to daycare. I think it makes it so much easier to start out early. They get used to it easier and it's not so hard for her to leave me. She's such a good baby and is pretty much sleeping through the night these days! I'm so glad. Makes getting up for work a little easier. Note I said "a little." 5:30 am is soooo early!

We're doing a Labor Day thing this afternoon with snacks for the clients. Tomorrow I need to take Jay for a haircut and am trying to set up a playdate. Tomorrow afternoon is the Georgia game. Then it's a three day weekend! Yay for three day weekends!!