Ninjas, Cheerios and Tequila Party Gnomes: Random Musings by Karin

Raindrops and Bubbles

2011-06-01T11:12:00.001-05:00

KOB_9517.jpg, originally uploaded by ~*~ KO ~*~.

Man, I sure am glad I got the kids rain boots, because we've certainly got our money's worth of use out of them!

Memorial Day weekend was awesome, relaxing and fun, even though it was filled with rain, rain and more rain. Some pretty impressive thunderstorms ran through the area, but we did get a respite with a scorcher on Monay at least.

Saturday was a light drizzle, and it was relatively warm out, so I figured it wouldn't be a bad day for the kids to get to play out in the rain for a while. Pat decided to add some bubbles for fun, and it was wonderful watching them scamper about and splash away! In the back of my mind though, I was concerned about getting them more sick, and it turns out I was right. It wasn't too bad though, and they both seemed to turnaround by Monday. Still not sure if it was a cold%

Mommy of Two

2011-04-14T22:47:00.001-05:00

Mommy of Two, originally uploaded by ~*~ KO ~*~.

Thanks to Honeybuns for offering to take a few photos of me and the kids :) It was nice to not have to wrangle the kids AND a remote.

So many things I love about this picture - mostly because the smiles are all genuine. We were all done with our photoshoot at this point, but there's always time for ticklefest with Mommy.

Yes, motherhood is tough. But moments like these - payment in kisses, hugs, and snuggles - is what we all live for.

Thanks, Liam and Lola (and Pat too), for making me a Mommy of Two :)

Health Check

2011-04-01T12:55:00.003-06:00

Do you know your blood numbers? I recently had blood work done in October, a free service provided by my company. Seemed like a good idea, since I should really know what my BP & Cholesterol are. The numbers came out a bit wonky, but overall, I felt, OK. I finally hooked up with a primary care physician, and went in for an entire physical a couple of months ago. He asked me to repeat the blood tests because he didn’t like the way the numbers looked, and I thought, well, OK. At the time I had just joined weight watchers, and was trying to commit to a healthier lifestyle – so I was certain the numbers would be improved. I had the bloodwork repeated this week, and turns out, not so much progress has been made. Here are the lifestyle changes I’ve made since January:

Dropped 10 pounds

Increased activity level to exercising 2 times per week.

Decreased fast food eating

Increased fruits and veggies to 2-3 per day.

Good things, right? Well, not good enough. Although my total cholesterol is OK (it should be below 200, and I’m at 150 ish) my good cholesterol is too low (40, should be over 50), and my triglycerides are still too high. Also my c-protein levels are way out of wack, not exactly sure why (but it’s an indicator of heart disease along with a determination for chronic inflammation). Look people, I know I’m not a small woman. I know I’m overweight, and I know that not only does it NOT feel good, it is definitely not healthy.

Today I feel like a turning point has occurred. Weight loss is no longer a vanity issue. It is not a low self-esteem “I don’t feel good about myself” issue. It is a health issue. IT IS A LIFE ISSUE! It is a “I want to be here for my husband and kids for a long time if I can help it” issue.

In order to improve my blood numbers drastically by the time my next test occurs in six months I am going to address and focus on the following issue: Improve Low HDL; reduce triglycerides and inflammation:

Lose weight by following more explicitly the Weight Watchers plan. 5-8 pounds per month, for a minimum weight loss of 30 pounds. I may need to switch from the online version to an in-person meeting + weigh in.

Eat less prepared foods / trans fats by PLANNING PLANNING PLANNING! Pat and I do very well when we plan our meals for the week. This includes lunches, our menu, and that of Liam and Lola (if its not the same).

Reduce consumption of refined sugars and non-whole grain carbs (this focal point is a little loosey goosey, but it still needs to be put down and addressed).

Consume more Omega-3 by eating more fish, and/or taking a fish oil supplement

Increase exercise to five days a week – incorporating strength training in addition to running. I’m already scheduled to run the Shamrock Shuffle 8K next weekend, but I will have to sign up for two additional runs (and set time goals) from now until October to keep me motivated.

Enough fooling around people - this is NO April Fools. I’m ready to kick some ass and take some names.

Storytime - the end of a journey

2011-03-28T12:31:00.002-06:00

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! {177/(365/2)}, originally uploaded by ~*~ KO ~*~.

This pic from yesterday represents one of my favorite things about being a Mom - reading to my kids :) Not only that, but it gives me great, great, heart bursting joy to know that my kids enjoy reading books too. I mean, to fight over how many books to read at night? What better fight to have!!

This particular book cracks me up - and if you haven't read any Mo Willems books, then you absolutely MUST! Pigeon is great - Piggie and Gerald are also awesome. Good times to be had by all.

THis picture also makes me a bit sad, in a way. I've decided recently to put the kibosh on my 365 project, cutting it in two and stopping at 182. Why? Many reasons, I suppose....its not the actual picture taking that takes a lot of time, its the processing and posting, but also its the Flickring as a whole.....visiting friends photos, posting, praising, getting lost on Flickr. Its a huge time suck that I don't have the time for right now. I've got to focus on work, on my business, and my family....and I can't afford right now to spend any more time on the computer than I have to, or I may go mad.

I know many of you have enjoyed my journey, and I really appreciate all your kind words and encouragment (especially you, Mom & Dad :) ). Affirmation is definitely my friend. But in less than a week, I shall walk away. I'd like to say that I'll still continue to post occasionally, but the track record shows that I more than likely won't. If I get burned out on something I have to walk away and recoup for a while before dipping my toes back in.

Back to why this particular pic makes me a bit sad....well, walking away from this project means missing out on opportunities like this. I may have never taken this photo had I not been participating in a 365 project. That goes for many, many other photos like it. I'm hoping that participating in this for as long as I did will make me more aware of capturing me in the picture as well as those around me.

I'm so proud of everything I've produced, and the memories that I've captured and told. I know they'll bring me joy for years to come. I still plan on producing a book to hold all the quippets and memories, it will just be half as thick :)

Thank you, 365/2 journey - for all you've taught and brought me.

Las Vegas Style

2011-03-25T22:30:00.000-06:00

New shoes {174/365}, originally uploaded by ~*~ KO ~*~.

Las Vegas Style

Whoo HOO! This pic is a little sexy for even my tastes, but I love how it came out. And really, it very much tipifies what a Vegas Trip should be. Sex, booze, and rock and roll. Oh, and concrete trucks and rocks. Right? no? Oh yeah, just you, Karin.

THis was the first time I was back in Vegas since about five years ago or so, Pat's first visit in about a week (oh yeah, he was just there last week for the start of the NCAA March Madness crazieness), and also our first trip alone without the kids. It was more difficult for me than I imagined - I struggled through the first 36 hours - feeling like I abandoned my children and wondering how I would survive without their hugs and kisses. After I realized the kids were WAY WAY fine without me I was able to settle in and enjoy. By the way, the kiddos had a great time with Mema & Papa (BIG shout out to my parents who came to us for the week - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!).

Even though we were both busy with separte work obligations, it was really great to get away. The show itself was amazing - what felt like miles and miles of big machines and new technology. Not sure if it was miles and miles, but it sure felt like it to my feet. I managed to have supremely comfortable shoes though (thank you DANSKO!), and only got one blister....which was between two toes. Still not sure how that happened. I got lost twice on the first day, but subsequent days were easier to navigate. I had four classes, two of which were very worthwhile, so that was worth my visit alone.

In addition to the daytime learning & exhibits of the ConExpo / Con-Agg show, Pat and I managed to sneak in a show (Las Vegas, the Show - very entertaining), attend a swanky private corporate event at Surrender at Steve Wynn's Encore Hotel, visit the famed Vegas establishment Spearmint Rhino, and ate some delicious meals. Maybe embibed in a little adult beverage consumption. Maybe. We stayed at Paris Las Vegas, and even though the room smelled a little bit strange, the accomodations were very nice.

I lost a little money at the tables and was getting no love from the slot machines. I decided if I was going to blow my money I might as well get a little something in return, so I went shopping the next day instead. Also managed to secure a manicure pedicure too. It was fantastic...but I kept falling asleep :) So relaxing!

It is good to be home, and back into the regular madness of the work week. I feel refreshed and ready to apply my new knowledge to my job....and maybe spark some innovative quality initiatives :) Hooray for Aggregates!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T10:01:00.001-06:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!, originally uploaded by ~*~ KO ~*~.

Hope your day is green and wonderful and full of good friends and green beer :)

We'll be celebrating low key this evening - after the kids get home from daycare I think it will still be nice outside, so instead of green pancakes I think we'll just have a PB&J picnic outside for dinner :) Easy, and a great way to enjoy this glorious weather!!

HBM: Morning Edition {164/365}

2011-03-14T07:56:00.001-06:00

HBM: Morning Edition {164/365}, originally uploaded by ~*~ KO ~*~.

HBM = Happy Bench Monday, for you non-flickrites :)

I'm proud of myself today because I managed to not only actually eat breakfast IN my house before I left, but I also packed a lunch, snacks AND I didn't stop for coffee on my way in. I really need to stop doing that I'm wasting too much money. I did manage to cut back from Starbucks to Dunkin Donuts, but now I'm much more likely to just go ahead and add on a donut and that not only wastes money BUT precious calories.

Speaking of calories - I'm down below 190. WHOO HOO! Only 10 pounds four more times to go :)

The only drawback to not having coffee is that I almost fell asleep on the way in. Twice. That's scary. I read somewhere that driving while tired is just as dangerous as driving while drunk, and I completely believe it. But I don't have much of a choice....I have to go to work and I have a one hour commute. Whatareyougonnado?? I'm just glad I decided to not go to Henry, IL today. I would have never made it 2.5 hours.

OH - Happy Pi Day! 3.14(159)

Sleep, sweet sleep.

2011-03-11T09:13:00.000-06:00

I'm incredibly tired today.

Not unlike most every day when my child wakes up before 5AM. Honeybuns did a fantastic job of keeping him occupied (even after a 3Am wake up call from Lola...but she went back to sleep). I still didn't really sleep after his initial wake up. Its like I just laid in bed and was PRAYING to get back to sleep, but not actually sleeping. I was thinking Maybe if I pretended hard enough, it would actually find me and then I would feel refreshed and ready to tackle the day after sleeping for another 30 minutes.

The truth is, I'm NEVER ready to jump out of bed and attack the day. I don't like mornings. Never have. Ask my college room / housemates. Somedays I feel like I could just lay there for days on end, warm and under the covers, protected from the stresses of the world. I almost feel like if I'm in bed - I have no responsibility other than to keep myself warm.....but the second my feet hit the hardwood, I've got to take care of everyone else.

Alas, the world beckons me to wake from my slumber, day after day...and I keep pushing back, begging my kids to give Mommy a couple more minutes of sweet, sweet time for me.

*Sigh* Isn't that an eternal battle of parenthood? Trying to get your kids to sleep better? It's like we fight and fight to get them to sleep well, but then by the time they're teenagers we're fighting to get them to get their lazy bones out of bed. Perfect example of the grass is always greener. I realize I should resign to the fact that I'm never going to sleep as well as or as long as I'd like to, but I can't seem to let it go.

Side Note: In general, the kids are great sleepers, much, MUCH better than many other kiddos out there. They go to bed easily, take naps well, and in general, sleep through the night. Its just the early wake up from Liam that is killer. He's just like his dad in that regard, a happy morning person. Lola on the other hand, is my kind of girl. We often have to wake her up to get ready to head to school. I think she'd sleep until 9 if we let her. Thankfully though, even when we do wake her up, she's all sweet and smiles, dancing in a half awake head bopping daze to "Good Morning to You" and "You are My Sunshine". Sometimes I even get a half sleepy "Cha Cha Cha" at the end :)

So, yeah, its not all that bad :) It is the actual act of getting out of bed for me that's the worst.

Another side note: Tomorrow's Self Portrait theme is The Karate Kid Pose!!! I'm pretty pumped about it :) I just have to think of / find a great location....

Ash Wednesday

2011-03-09T13:54:00.002-06:00

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned....it has been a VERY long time since my last confession.

I'm going to confess right now. I haven't actually given up anything for Lent in years. YEARS I TELL YOU!!! I'm not sure why I feel so moved to start (or re-start) now.....but I do. Probably because my cousin tweeted (or Facebooked? I can't remember) something powerful. And I don't remember what it was....but something about everything you want that thing, you think of Jesus, and choose him instead.

Bah. Or something like that. Unfortunately I can't go and check what he said, because taht would mean I would have to check Facebook, and I've decided to give up Facebook for Lent.

Yes, the Junkie of all Facebook Junkies, is going cold turkey.

That doesn't mean I'm cutting myself off from the world. For instance, this blog post will automatically load in FB at some point, as will my Flickr 365 posts and tweets (if I tweeted, anyway). But it is tough. My life is so intertwined with FB. In fact, as I'm writing this post I'm remembering that some organizations require my attention on the FB page....and I'll have to make arrangments to deal with that....hmmm....interesting.

Give me strength!!!!

E is for Enamored {127/365}

2011-03-08T09:28:00.002-06:00

E is for Enamored {127/365}, originally uploaded by ~*~ KO ~*~.

Have I shared this one before? Not sure if I did or not....and I'm too lazy to go back and check :) I thought this would be a good entry for I Heart Faces: Best Face in February Photo Challenge. Its one of my favorite from the month....corny selective color and all :)

Eye See You :)

2011-02-21T15:40:00.001-06:00

T is for Tube, originally uploaded by ~*~ KO ~*~.

I've actually been taking a LOT of pictures with my cell phone lately for my 365 project, simply because its handy, and I can edit and upload right to flickr without too much fuss - so when I heard the I Heart Faces theme was cell phone, I decided I should probably buck up and give it a shot :)

This was taken through a paper towel roll in honor of "T" day of the February Alphabet Challenge.

I'm hoping to participate more with I Heart Faces - it seems like a pretty friendly, fun community teeming with inspiration and uber talented photogs!

Working Mom's Guilt - Party of 1

2011-02-10T01:11:00.001-06:00

I is for Identical {131/365}, originally uploaded by ~*~ KO ~*~.

I know what you're thinking. Its 1 AM - STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER. I did. I swear - my other computer is shut down......I even turned off all the lights, and went into the kids' bedroom to do the final "Make sure they're tucked in before we go to bed" check....and that's when it all went down.

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Side notes:

First off, I have PAI - Pat Absence insomnia. As in when he goes away for business, I can't sleep. No idea why. I'm thinking it has something to do with my bedroom being 20 degrees colder when he's gone, but its probably something deeper.

Second off, I'm totally and completely pre-mentrual, which I am SURE isn't helping things. But, maybe, I'll think of PMS like alcohol....what's the line??? Oh, En Vino Veritas.....

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Like I said before - I shut everything down and walked away after watching two DVR'd gLee episodes (LOVE!), trying to force myself to at least lay down in my bedroom and see if sleep would find me (knowing that it wouldn't). Checked Liam - good to go - nice and toasty warm. Checked Lola........pulled her blanket over her, and she stirred and gave me a quick "What the heck, Mom? Why are you distrubing my slumber?" cock of the head......then laid back down. She fussed a bit when I tried to leave, so I went back in, rubbed her sweet little back for a quick second, and then decided at that exact second that I absolutely needed to hold her.

No, she wasn't really crying, and absolutely didn't need me to hold her, but I did. So I scooped her up, sat in our rocker, and held my sleepy, snuggly not so little girl.

And the water works just opened.

Gosh.....she's really not so little any more.

So there I am, sitting in the dark, disrupting my daughter's sleep, crying to myself and so sad because I feel like I'm missing out on so much. Thinking. Crying. Thinking some more. Wondering if it hurts because its not Even Stevens......I was home with Liam from 6 - 32 months, I kind of feel like I'm jipping her by going back to work when she was 8 months old.

Then it hit me.

Is it ever good enough? Am I ever good enough??

Shit. I thought I was crying before. I was all out bawling when that gem of a thought popped in my head. Well, as bawling as I could be while trying to not jiggle Lola too much by my sobs.

I sat there for damn near 30 minutes with my girl, then hoisted her not so little body back into the crib, where she quickly rolled over, snuggled her buddy and drifted into dreamland. My sweet sweet girl.

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This really got me thinking - why is it that I (we) carry so much guilt? Is it built in? Is it inherited? Is it societal? I mean, I'm definitely harboring some serious, serious working Mom's guilt, that I'm sure many moms do at one point or another. But I don't know if it originates in my own insecurities as a person, or if its more of a "Grass is Always Greener" kind of situation. I'm not going to lie, being a SAHM was definitely not all sunshine and roses either!

In any case....it feels terrible. Lucky for me tomorrow is Therapy Day, so hopefully I can add this to the list of other issues to work out :) I do know that putting it all into words feels better though.....so maybe I have a chance of sleeping....right after The Colbert Report is over :)

If Shoes Could Kill {7-365}

2010-10-08T10:06:00.001-05:00

If Shoes Could Kill {7-365}, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

The following is a dictation of a voice memo I recorded on my iPhone as I was driving home after taking my very first self portrait, one week ago. Hooray! I made it a whole week! I should have included it under my first blog post, but since I already blogged that pic, I just included pic #7 :)

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So today I took my first self portrait, um....which I am going to entitle "The Long Road Ahead". And.....*sigh*, I've basically been inspired by my flickr friends, and I see these portraits they take of themselves every single day, and I realize that it takes a tremendous amount of dedication. But it’s incredible inspiring to see someone take a project like this, and the boundaries that it pushes and the stretching of their, um, not only their photography skills but just their imagination, and see the journey that they take is, it’s just been inspiring. And I, and I, find myself thinking about this on a daily basis, and I think its maybe because I spend so much time driving, and I see a lot of the country side and I think to myself "Oh! That would make a great spot for a self portrait!" or "that's so pretty! I should take a self portrait" or "maybe it’s time for me to start a Face Down Tuesday". And, just, it’s been....enough is enough! And I just, finally today decided to do it. So I drove past this spot and I looked down a long road and I'm like "Wow! That would make a nice backdrop for a self portrait". And I'm like, "You know what?? Turn the car around. I have the time, let’s just do it!” It took all of five minutes, sure it will take me about five minutes to post process and post it. And, you know, if I can take 15 minutes a day to do something for myself, then you know what, I probably should really should make an effort to do it.

And I think partly, you know when I think about it why do I want to do this project. Well, not that I need more things to do. But, I really just want to do something photographically that's, that's for me. And again, the stretching the boundaries of my photography skills, and um, stretching my imagination and and and maybe learning to see things a little bit differently and more creatively.

And really, how fun would it be for my children to look back on this year and see a part of my life every day. And I just think that’s really awesome! Um....And another part of it is learning to see myself a little bit differently. Uhhh, I've got a long, *chuckle* I've got a long road ahead, I've got a long way to go as far as loving myself and my body image, and um, I think that maybe a project like this might be able to help me appreciate myself a little bit more, um, from a strictly beauty standpoint. And, I'm looking forward to that journey; I'm looking forward to that long road ahead.

So I know it’s going to be difficult. I know it’s going to be, um, not necessarily time consuming, but just the dedication required is, is going to be a tremendous amount. But, um, thank you to Cynthia & Jes & Lauren, &, um, for showing me that something like this can be incredibly fun, and even if I'm too tired at the end of the day to put any thought into anything than that's OK too. And um, I'm just really looking forward to taking part in this!

The Long Road Ahead {1-365}

2010-10-03T21:40:00.002-05:00

The Long Road Ahead {1-365}, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

I decided to start a 365 project.....and why wait til January 1 when there's nothing like today to seize the moment!

Pre-6AM...Before the light of dawn.

2010-09-20T21:27:00.003-05:00

House-8, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

What before 6AM looks like in our home on weekends. During the week, I'm up shortly after 5AM when my alarm clock (AKA Little Man) wakes up. Weekends, we postpone getting out of bed as long as possible. Sure, it means suffering through Little Einsteins or Clifford. But well worth the snuggles!

Pre-6AM...Before the light of dawn.

2010-09-20T21:27:00.001-05:00

House-8, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

Happy Birthday Sister!

2010-09-10T08:39:00.001-05:00

BG-104, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

OK - its posted here a few days late.....her actual birthday was September 4th, but I really wanted to show the world how beautiful she is!

Liam being cute :)

2010-08-16T14:50:00.001-05:00

Maddox-99, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

Lola's been getting all the blog love, so I thought I should probably give Liam some spotlight time too :)

Liam being cute :)

2010-08-16T14:49:00.001-05:00

Maddox-99, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

Lola's been getting all the blog love, so I thought I should probably give Liam some spotlight time too :)

Hi ho! HI HO! Its off to work I go!

2010-08-16T14:48:00.001-05:00

FairyPrincessLola-1, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

(side note: this photo has nothing to do with this post.....its just of Lola being cute - with WINGS!)

A month has passed. 30 days. Man, can things change a lot! I was never really all that excited, as you can imagine. Who gets excited to slave away for The Man for 40 hours? I was also not excited because I came to the realization that I really did not want to work. At all. At that point though, it was too late to back out, so I had to press through.

Which I am still doing at this point. Pressing through.

Let us start with the positives…shall we?

1. Thankfully the least of our worries was the daycare. Even with the adjustment for Liam I think Poko Loko rocks. They’re happy, courteous and communicative on every level, and the kids are so happy and content when we pick them up. It’s a great feeling to know they are thriving there.

2. The company I’m working for is so far, living up to its expectation as a family owned Christian company. The people here are amazing – incredibly nice and go out of their way to make sure I’m feeling welcome and that my basic needs are taken care of. I really enjoy my bosses, and I think they are great guys to work for.

3. $$$ is nice.

4. Pat and I are communicating more. This is an unexpected, but very welcome, benefit. We talk on the phone now just because (i.e. because I’m bored) and because we don’t have kids running amuk to chase after.

For as cranky as I was the first couple of days, I didn’t think I was even going to make it a month. But I have. And its improving. Here’s the deal: It’s a big adjustment. For all parties involved. Yes, I’m sure you all know that, but think about how much of an adjustment its going to be, and then multiply it by 100. Then you’re getting closer.

The kids were cranky (well, at least Liam was….Lola didn’t care much) for a good couple of weeks, and I was operating on survival mode. Poor Pat, well, Pat was acting as resident Superdad/Superhusband…..doing everything in his power to make the household run smoothly, and to make my life easier (side note: he still continues to do so……and I if I loved him 100% before, than I can’t even begin to describe how much more I love him now….he’s incredible and amazing and I don’t know where I’d be without him).

So what’s the problem, you ask?

That’s a great question. I think it has the most to do with A) Not quite enough work to fill all the time and B) not knowing exactly what I’m doing. Mostly the latter. I despise not knowing what I’m doing. It angers me. And frustrates me. And then angers me some more. I realize that there is a learning curve, and I’m not expected to know everything there is to know after only a month on the job, but I feel like I should be contributing more and being more productive, and its just not happening. That’s the perfectionist in me….I can keep her under control most times, but every once in a while she rears her ugly head.

The commute blows. I’ve never had a commute more than 30 minutes. Going from zero commute to an hour blows. I don’t mind driving. Its just that its taking time away from my family that makes me cranky. I suppose I’m getting used to it though. And it does give me 2 hours a day of quiet…or noisy if you take into account my NPR podcasts or booty music blasting.

The last thing that stinks…..is that my body is falling apart. Seriously. At the seams! I’ve had issues with my wrists, my jaw, my neck, and most recently, my feet! I’m attributing this to the stress of transition, and fact that I am a hypochondriac. Buy a hypochondriac with real symptoms. For example: Since starting work I have athlete’s foot. Yes, I know. TMI. Work with me here. Hot weather + to small work boots = prime conditions for fungus growth. Its pretty severe (at least in my mind) and looks less like athlete’s foot and more like a Fast Mutating Flesh Eating Bubonic Plague Based Bacteria. I’ll spare you the photographs, but rest assured, ladies and germs, this fungus is eating my feet (or at least my two smallest toes) ALIVE! So much so, that last night I was concerned that I was running out of skin, and soon where my toes should be there will be nothing left but bloody, bone exposed nubs.

And I was almost throwing myself into a panic attack thinking about it while Pat chuckled not quietly enough to himself about my woes. Bastard! If only he weren’t so devastatingly handsome and amazing….

OK. I suppose I’ll start bitching now and get working….it is getting better, I can only hope that it continues to improve.

Peek-A-Boo! Happy 9 months Lola

2010-07-22T08:51:00.001-05:00

Peek-A-Boo!, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

My sweet little baby girl hit the 9 month mark on July 2 – I know, I can’t believe it either. I went into her bedroom last night to give her little (big) head a good night and to tousle her sprouting hair, and I was marveling at how much she’s grown. Yes, its her job. Yes, I’m a little wistful anyway.

We had a check up after we returned from vacation, and she’s still growing like a champ, and still at the 90-95th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference. A dainty little daisy she is NOT, but that’s just how I like her. Lots of chunk for me to nom and smootch all the live long day. I can’t remember the exact statistics, but she’s somewhere around 22 pounds, which is the only number that matters to my back anyway.

This photo is from a little early 9 month photo shoot - and I now realize I haven't uploaded any of the other shots....I guess that's what happens when you get busy and things get pushed aside to make room for other crazieness!

Anywhoozers - she's not crawling yet (hooray!) yes, I'm excited she's still stationary. Easier for me to catch, less work :) But it won't be long. She scootches herself all over the place though, on her belly, backwards, and she's really great at pushing herself back up to sitting. Even getting a little bit of up on the knees and rocking, and pulling herself up to standing. So really, I know it won't be long.

She loves to talk. A lot. To anyone and anything that will listen. And I love her little noises. Especially in the morning when she starts talking to her buddy (pictured above) in her crib. Its the most beautiful sound! It would make me laugh every morning when we were camping, because she was SO LOUD so very early each morning, but you couldn't be angry because the noises were so cute :) If only every alarm clock was so happy!

Happy 9 months little girl - I so love watching you grow!

Grandma Smootches

2010-07-21T16:18:00.001-05:00

Ludington-296, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

One more photo from vacation! This is Lola getting some wonderful smootchies from Grandma Dora. I hope my kids enjoy all the photos I have of them with their Great-Grandma....I think I only have one, and I always thought it was pretty darn cool.

I love this photo because Lola's eyes are so blue, and her little arm is so relaxed and so CHUBTASTIC! Her cheeks are so kissable. And look how UNwrinkly Grandma is!? Amazing! She's 88-ish, and looks incredible :) I hope I get those good skin genes! Love you Grams!

What a ride!

2010-07-21T14:30:00.001-05:00

PR-114, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

We had an amazing vacation in Michigan - filled with visits to Ludington, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (where this photo was taken at Point Betsie Lighthouse) and finally Mackinaw City for the Mayer Family Reunion.

I can't possibly list all the things we did and saw.....it would take me a novel.

Suffice it to say we had a great time with our family, relaxing, and being unplugged for a while. Now, we're back in Chicago and I'm starting a new venture in life back in the corporate world. Its been an interesting few days....I'll keep you posted.

For now, I'll keep solstice in these photographs, reminders of a time not so long ago when life was more simple, and there was nothing more to do than enjoying the view of a beautiful sunset.

I don't think its sunken in yet.....

2010-06-08T18:10:00.002-05:00

After a little over two years of unemployment, I officially accepted a job offer today.

I still don't think its sunken in yet.

I'll be a process engineer for a family owned business in Mokena, Il....playing in rocks and dirt :) This opportunity literally fell in my lap last week, after they found my resume on ConstructionJobs.com - I signed up on that website after Pat's suggestion shortly after I lost my job.....so I guess that means I owe this opportunity to him?? LOL.

I've enjoyed this break from the corporate world, but I must say I've enjoyed being a Stay at Home Mom less than I expected I would. Especially since the birth of Lola, I've struggled with a lot of unexplained anger issues / depression / general malaise......and although therapy is helping, I think there is more to it. The anger portion is the most frustrating. Those of you who know me, I don't think, would describe me as an angry person.

I'm not thrilled with the idea of leaving my kids in the care of someone else.....but I'm kind of excited for them to not be with me all day......

I'm not sure that going back to work full time is the answer to all my issues......but I'm not sure its NOT the answer, either. Does that make sense? I guess the truth is there is no right or wrong answer - in either case my kids will be great, and in the end its what makes me a healthier, happier more mentally stable person that counts most. I feel like I'm taking this opportunity because its a great company, and I think I can make a significant and immediate impact......

This changes the outlook of my photography business, too. Just means I'll fulfill my current appointments and be taking limited sessions in the future.....

This post is full of..........'s. Very indicative of how I feel right now though.......

She's a daddy's girl!

2010-05-12T08:19:00.004-05:00

There was a time when Pat was so worried....because truth be told, Lola didn't like him very much. She was pretty attached to me, and no one else.

There's no doubt about it now :) She looooves her Daddy!

We've gotten tons of comments from various people saying how much she looks like Pat. So Liam looks like Pat, Lola looks like Pat...but Liam and Lola don't really look like each other. Apparently I was just the cooking vessel.

I'm starting to see the resemblance between Lola and Pat more and more lately. Especially her smile. She does this little smirk that always reminds me of this photograph Pat's mom sent me to fix for her a few years ago. I finally got around to searching for it so I could do a comparison. Yup. Sure enough.....same sweet little smirk, and a carbon copy little nose :) She even has a sweet little dimple on the same side (although you can't see it here - I flipped the photo to compare from similar vantage points...so Lola is actually a mirror of her actual self!).

I think Pat was closer to 18 months in this photo (Lola was 6 months), but you can definitely see a resmblance!

Tough Day.....

2010-05-06T21:54:00.002-05:00

Occasionally, Liam will have these days where he's constantly whining, crying, and battling me at every corner. Instead of getting upset, I try to just give him a hug and say "I'm sorry you're having a tough day". Somehow it seems to comfort him, even if only for a little bit.

I had a tough day today......nothing major, but everything together warranted a stop at Dairy Queen for a Oreo CheeseQuake Blizzard. Which was delicious by the way ;)

1) My sister left....she came for a whirl wind visit and took the train back to Michigan today. I love having her around - she's great with the kids, helps me out and in general is lovely to have around :) It makes me sad when she goes away.

2) We're not moving to Michigan....not shocking, I know :) Pat applied for a new job within his company. He had an interview last week, and he was notified today that he wasn't a final candidate. We knew when he applied it was a longshot, but it was impossible to keep my mind from running away with all the possibilities of moving back. I love Chicago....and I love my family, friends and network here. But if given the chance to move to Michigan to be closer to my immediate family I would take it in a heartbeat. I love Michigan. I have a very romantic relationship with the state. The Pure Michigan advertisements make me cry damn near EVERY time I hear or see them. I'm pretty sure they are advertising directly to me.

He prepared all he possibly could, he did his best, and I couldn't be more proud. Rejection sucks in any form - but Pat, I love you so much! And I'm proud of you regardless ;)

Now I have to re-train my brain to let go of living in Michigan again after that faint glimmer of hope.....I did it the first time shortly after Liam was born. Hopefully the process isn't quite as painful this time around.

3) I had an MRI....I've been having this ear thing for the past year and a half (I can't hear out of my right ear very well), and the doctor wants to make sure (in the words of the Governator) its Not a TU-Mah. The MRI itself wasn't awful. It was an hour of uninterrupted time - no kids, no tv, no husband, no internet....just me and the radio and the loud banging and whirring. The part I wasn't prepared for was that I had to have an IV so they could inject Gadolinium (Gd)......which leads me to my next point

4) Today was my last day breastfeeding Lola. We've been slowly weaning over the past few weeks, and this week left us with only one feeding a day, in the morning. Because of the injection of the contrast, I can't feed her for 48 hours....so instead of delaying the inevitable I decided that it would be best just to stop. I wasn't expecting it to be today, I'm not sure I'm emotionally prepared, but not much I can do now. She's more than ready....I'm just going to make sure to get my snuggles some other way. It's like I have to let go that she's not my itty bitty anymore, and just embrace the fact that she's a chunky monkey.....

So, lots of downs today....but at least things are more concrete than they were yesterday and we can continue moving on. I pray that God gives me the strength to pick myself back up, dust off, and forge ahead stronger than ever....and I have no doubt that I will.

Why I Photoshop

2010-04-18T15:11:00.004-05:00

I think a lot of people have issues with the existence of Photoshop, and especially in the case of fashion / magazine photography and their unattainable versions of perfect people I can understand why.

But I edit photos, and I do use Photoshop. Not necessarily extensively, but sometimes I do create what Pat calls a "fake reality". I don't consider it that, though. There are a few different ways I use photoshop. One way is to create art - to make something on a canvas that matches a vision in my head, or in my client's head.

The other way that I utilize Photoshop, is to forgive the ever seeing eye of the lens. When you take a photograph, sometimes you see too much - more than you would notice if you were looking at the same subject in person. For example, if you were looking at me while I was taking my self portrait, you probably would not be focused on "Holy Cow - her eyebags are horrendous" or "Sheesh, she's got a lot of sun damage and freckles". Hopefully, you would be seeing me as a friend, a mother, a wife and a general all around nice gal :) I can transform what the camera sees, into what others see, and make an amazing image.

Does that make sense? Maybe I'm not explaining it well enough.

Anywhoozers - here's an example of pushing the envelope a bit...more in the style of fashion photography (but not *quite* as extreme). In actually, the original photo isn't half bad.....I had a TON of make up on....

Like I said...a bit extreme. I probably spent about 2 hours or so on this edit, where as a portrait touch up might only take about 30 minutes or less. I've been trying to improve my Photoshop skills and tools, and have been taking courses online - so what better way to practice than on myself! Want to know what I did here?

Removed stray hairs on face
Brightened eyes
Highlighted catchlights in eyes
Sharpened eyes
Removed dark under eye circles
Enhanced eyelashes & eyebrows
Enhanced hair highlights
Minimized bright spots on skin
Removed blemishes
Smoothed skin
Enhanced make up
Made a small smile from my weird half smirk

Extensive? Yes. Overdone? Perhaps....especially in the eye department. But you know what, I like it :) Its pretty. It makes me feel pretty - and if it takes a computer program to make myself feel pretty even for just a few moments, I'll take it :) I still feel like its the real me - so no false reality here, but its the best me that I could possibly be. Except for the smile. My mouth always does this weird frown thing when I try to close mouth smile. Its driven me nuts for YEARS!

What are your thoughts on retouching in general? I'm curious to know public perception!

Yardwork

2010-04-17T15:42:00.002-05:00

Instead Of..., originally uploaded by karintobrien.

I do love myself some yard work. There's not much more wonderful than tackling a project and seeing the fruits of your labor not too many hours after. But man - is it W-O-R-K! Our latest home project was to remove a 50 sq ft patch of tiger lilies that resided smack dab in the middle of our front lawn. During this project, I came to a quite a few realizations.

1. Tiger Lilies are my arch nemesis. Although they are very pretty when they bloom in late summer, we have them all over our yard, and they pretty much choke out everything else they grow around. We learned recently, judging by their root growth, that they have probably been in the ground for quite a few years. The tubule system is extensive....and they are HUGE pain in the ass to dig up.

HUGE.

2. I have a new found respect for women I used to see in Mexico working and wearing a child on their back. Those of you who know me should be well aware that I'm a big baby wearing advocate, and partake in doing so quite regularly. Usually I'm just walking around or chasing after Liam while wearing Lola. During this recent project, I wore her on my back for the better part of an hour. While digging up lilies. EGADS! That is even harder to do than I imagined. Babywearing + Manual Labor = tough. All those women across the world who do it on a regular basis because they have no other choice just achieved more super hero status than before.

3. I need a nail brush. Even with gloves, dirt seems to get into every crevice. And although I contemplated using it today, I shouldn't utilize our bottle brush to get the goop out of my nails.

4. Any project that involves completion while the kids are nearby automatically takes 10,000 times longer. But it certainly is adorable when they help....or even when they sit and play in the dirt and get filthy. Not adorable? When they are in the Cozy Coupe and repeatedly headed near the street. That makes me kind of jumpy.

5. Working outside affords visibility and more interaction with neighbors. I just found out today that our neighbor had a baby....a month ago. YIKES! Granted, they just moved in a few months ago and we don't see much of them, but I feel like I should have known.

6. I'm out of shape. I really am motivated to complete a project after I start, even if that means I'm working myself to the bone....way beyond my physical capacity. I just want things to be done! This is a positive quality to have in general....but now I'm so tired and sore that it kind of hurts to type. I may have pulled something. Or somethings. I've also realized that I'm filthy to the max.....so I'm going to stop typing and try to relax in a hot shower for a while.

I'm hoping the sod takes well in the front...it already looks nicer than the glob of lilies intertwined with weeds and grass :)

Cheesy Girl

2010-04-06T15:39:00.001-05:00

Cheesy Girl, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

I've got to say, I'm love love loving my iPhone. If for no other reason than I have a halfway decent camera on my person at alllllll times! Much better than the camera on my last phone.....AND I downloaded the awesome-est app called Hipstamatic which creates all these incredible images to look like they were taken with retro cameras and film. I'm so in love!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T07:08:00.001-06:00

StPats2010-391, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

I hope everyone out there has the time to sip on a delicious Irish brew - hopefully of the Guinness variety.....if not at least a Bud Light dyed green like we had last night! That went deliciously with our corned beef and cabbage (er...brussel sprouts). We had to celebrate early because Pat as of 7;30AM is on his way to Vegas for his (5th? 6th?) annual March Madness trip with his brother, Mike.

This photo is of my delicious green velvet cake balls along side a sweet little treat bucket from our playgroup at Laura's house yesterday. I'm quite enamored with both (although the cake balls are almost gone). The little bucket just makes me happy!

I kind of went overboard for St. Patrick's Day this year.....its only 8AM , Lola is in "Baby's 1st St. Patrick's Day" jammies, and Liam and I already have Shamrock tatoos on our hands, green necklaces and our green shirts on - oh and don't forget the shamrock sticker on our faces! As you can see in the photo, my table cloth and wall decor is quite festive as well. The color green just makes me just a wee bit happy.

So happy, in fact, that it made me chuckle when all my green food consumption yesterday left us both with (in the words of Pat) "quite festive poop" this morning. HA!

Once upon a time....

2010-02-22T08:06:00.001-06:00

MyKids-55, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

There was a little boy who, upon waking up from his restful slumber, would lay in his big boy bed with Nemo and Blankie, and patiently wait for his parents to wake up and open the door to his bedroom....letting him know that it was time to greet this marvelous day. Sometimes, when he lost patience and waited for up to an hour, he would sing songs and make loud noises so his parents knew he was ready to rise and shine! But never, ever did the little boy get out of bed of his own accord.

*sigh*

Our fairy tale has ended.

I knew him laying there in bed by himself wouldn't last forever. He transitioned to his big boy bed in.....um....September maybe? SO its been about a five month run of bliss. Beginning last Wednesday morning, Liam woke up promptly at 5AM, came into our bedroom and announced "I'm Awake!". It was so adorable because it was so uncharacteristic.....

Now, not so adorable. 5AM is way too flippin early. Between him and Lola waking in the middle of the night we're not sleeping well at all. I'm a zombie. Pat's a zombie. And now Liam's started coming into our bedroom in the middle of the night wanting to play, read books, snuggle....etc. He's a little manipulative bastard too. He knows what he thinks we'll really want him to do, so he says things like "I need a tissue!", "Snuggle Mommy?" or "I want to sit on the potty!" in order to stay awake and out of his bedroom. And he keeps his voice at a whisper because, well, you know, its quiet time.

We're wise to him now.....no more Mr. & Mrs. Nice Guy.

I'm not sure what efforts we're going to make, but the kid has GOT to stay in his room until at least 6AM.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T16:02:00.002-06:00

We started the day with heart shaped strawberry pancakes.....and the rest of the day continued to be beautiful with a box of chocolates, a heart shaped balloon and snuggles from my favorite valentines!

Hope your day was great as well!

I couldn't have said it any better....

2010-02-13T20:49:00.003-06:00

I stumbled upon this blog in a round about way (isn't that how all blogs are stumbled upon?).......through my cousin who found these AMAZING nerdy flash cards for her kid. Anywho, I thought anyone as nerdy enough as I am would be worth following, so I added her to my bloglines.

She posted today a post that completely sums up how I feel about being a mother and life, so I thought I would share parts of it with you all. You can find the post in its entirety HERE.

"I write and talk about the noise and the exhaustion and the laundry and the many (many, many) ways that I suck and all of the ways that my life is a hectic mess. Those things are all true, and I don’t regret writing them because it will be good to look back later and remember this time and how silly and full and exhausting it was.

But here is the secret truth that I don’t mention very often:
my life is close enough to perfect that calling it perfect would be accurate.

I don’t talk enough about the good stuff for several reasons, all of which are dumb.

1. Having a perfect life makes me feel guilty.
Because even though we have paralyzing debt and my husband has to work odd hours at a job that uses only a tiny amount of his giant brain, the fact is that compared to most of humanity over most of history up until this point, we live a lifestyle that would classify us as kings. We have a safe, warm, expansive 975 square foot home. One of our biggest problems is owning too much stuff, our kids have too many clothes and books and toys. We have too many choices of where and what to eat. We have a computer. We aren’t required by law to send our children away to boarding school at age seven. We aren’t likely to be killed for our nonstandard beliefs. We don’t have to die from simple things if we don’t want to.

It’s survivor’s guilt really. I didn’t do anything special to be born in this place and time. The odds against having a fancy life like mine are sickening.

But focusing on the sucky stuff out of guilt is self absorbed, contrived and condescending. It helps no one for me to pretend that I am less rich and powerful than I am.

2. I am trying to make a social accomodation.
Is it culturally specific to the US, this thing of never being satisfied so we must always climb upward? Or is it a leftover from the feminist movement? It seems rude and annoying for a mother to be perfectly happy, especially when the kids are little.

There are plenty of blogs out there about why motherhood stinks; it’s not heresy to admit that anymore. So my heretical statement is: I freaking adore this time of my life with my whole dorky heart. That doesn’t mean I’m a perfect mom who spends every minute sewing costumes and baking cookies, and my kids and house aren’t anything like perfect but really for the most part? We are healthy and pretty damned happy.

I don’t want people who don’t adore this time of their own lives to think I am judging them because I’m not. But it’s also lame of me to groan about my life just because that’s an easy way to fit into a conversation.

3. Superstition.
Like if I notice and speak out loud about how great everything is, the universe will somehow realize that things are out of balance and will do something mean! Because I have the logic skills of a second grader!"

It just all really resonated with me.

I feel so incredibly blessed, and maybe I don't say it enough....but I am!

What a weekend!

2010-02-13T20:22:00.003-06:00

And its only Saturday!

Well, our day started Friday with my aforementioned last 5AM at The Container Store....I didn't savor it as much as I should because I felt kind of out of sorts...but I plugged away. After that came bowling - I again, didn't feel great, but kept on enjoying my Personal Cheering Crew (there wasn't daycare available yesterday, so Liam was on hand to provide many, many "HOORAY MOMMY!" cheers....even when I only knocked one down.). Then after bowling we went straight to the doctor for Lola's 5 month check up.

Lets just get this out before I go further....Lola is a B-I-G chunktastic girl!

Weight: 18 pounds 8 oz (> 100th percentile)
Height: 27 inches (100th percentile)
Head: 17 inches (95th percentile)

Gigundic! Its great to see her thrive and grow, but I can't help but feel I'm impeding her motor skill development by feeding her too much or having too fatty content of milk. I mean, she's SO chunky she can't even play with her toes because her belly gets in the way! I know its all ridiculous to think....because the doctor didn't mention any concern about her being "too" big, but still. I suppose I just need something to worry about.

Any who. Toward the end of the appointment, it finally dawned on me that what I was feeling could possibly be the effects of Liam's stomach bug he had on Wednesday night. And once I realized that, it was downhill from there. I got home as fast as I possibly could, put both kids in bed (it was nap time, thankfully) and raced to the bathroom just in time. It was as if someone made an annoucement to my stomach "EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! ALL CONTENTS MUST EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY! FIND THE CLOSEST EXIT, TOP OR BOTTOM, AND GET OUT NOW!". TMI, yes, I know.....but nothing but the truth here on this blog.

Thankfully, I was able to call Pat and he was on his way home, and the kiddos were sleeping while I was holed up either in bed, or in the bathroom until he got home. It was awful. The stomach cramps, the nausea. I couldn't even talk without wanting to ralph. The intensity of the illness tapered off through the night, and this morning I've been mostly OK with the exception of feeling like I've been hit by a truck. Apparently all that heaving wreaked havoc on every muscle in my body. Oh, that, and not being able to eat or drink much.

Needless to say I missed my shift at The Container Store today, as well as some fun with friends that I had to back out of. Hopefully I'll feel more normal tomorrow.

I would just like to take this opportunity to publicly thank my dear, wonderful, amazing husband for taking care of every one in this household over the past 24 hours. I love you so very much, and I appreciate you every day...but especially under these kind of extenuating circumstances!

Free Thinking.....

2010-02-11T20:45:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow I have my last 5AM shift at The Container Store. I'm sad and relieved at the same time. I've enjoyed my short two months working there, but those mornings are killer. I've got a couple other shifts scheduled over the weekend, but my last day will be Feb 15th. They've so graciously let me know whenever I'm ready to come back, they'd love to have me ;) Its just too tough trying to work through Pat's ever more complicated work / travel schedule. I feel like he's going to be gone the next 3 out of four weeks.

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Last week this time I was on a train to Michigan, getting ready for a Mommy/Lola girls weekend. The train ride was LOVELY :) It makes me want to take a cross country trip with a sleeping car with the whole family. And just do nothing. Make it an adventure. See the country side. I don't know.....maybe it would be miserable. Maybe it will be a better idea when the kids are older. But when I think about it, in my head, its awesome.......something romantic about seeing the USA the way people did it when the West was Wild.....and so much nicer than having to drive yourself. Drift in and out of sleep when you want, get up to use the rest room or grab a snack whenever the mood strikes. Yeah. I dig it!

I didn't get any photos of the ride on the train with my good camera, but I did get some fun ones from my camera phone....maybe I'll upload them at somepoint.

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Pat was so nice to come with us to Gymnastics yesterday - I got some pretty adorable photos of Liam & pals. AND, i didn't even have to hold Lola because Adrian took her for me so I could snap snap away :) I like taking photos for fun! I don't do it enough anymore.

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I'm running low on steam today. We were supposed to host playgroup here, but Liam was up last night barfing, and I was up most of the night listening intently waiting for him to barf again so I could run in there and catch it in the bucket.

So.
Very.
Tired.

There wasn't enough coffee to keep me happy or awake. Thankfully, with slow, intentful introduction of liquids and bland food he was able to not hork chunks all over the place. Although I was always watching out of the corner of my eye.

Lola was annoying to me for the first time I think ever. She was just so darn demanding in her need for my attention. She's usually pretty independent, which I've apparently become very accustomed to.....I think she's still recovering from the constipation-ness (which was overcome last night at around 5AM), and maybe fighting a little bit of a cold. Crap. That's totally it. She's getting sick! Ugh. I should have been more compassionate today. My tired mind has been clouded......I wanted to wear her today, but my back has been hurting too.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

That's all........time for an early sleepy time for me!

Snow Day!

2010-02-11T14:58:00.001-06:00

SnowDay-44, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

This was from Tuesday, February 9th in the afternoon.....Liam is standing on top of the snow heap that Pat made from shoveling the driveway. We got another 8-10 inches or so overnight into Wednesday morning (the snow heap is MORE huge now!). Pat thoughtfully decided to take Liam outside to play, while I stayed nice and toasty warm inside with Lola.

After a good 30-45 minutes, the boys came in, Pat drenched from the snow and Liam nice and dry. They enjoyed some S'mores Hot Chocolate.

In the news...

2010-02-10T07:12:00.002-06:00

Well, not literally. At least not literally on national news anyway :) Just new news on the kiddo front.

Liam has takin akin to saying "What the Heck". Its always in context (usually when a toy isn't cooperating), and totally, totally cute. But, not really appropriate. So I've nixed that saying from my vocabulary for the time being. I suppose it IS much better than the alternative WTF....

Lola is gaining mobility :) She's lifting her legs up and rolling from side to side while on her back, which usually results in her turning herself 90 degrees in her crib. Very exciting development! Why, you might ask? Well, she's kind of lazy ;) I know, how can I say that about a four month old, right? But compared to Liam (and that's really my only comparison) she has no interest in doing anything physical. Liam was just raring to go - putting all sorts of weight on his legs, rolling over really early, walking at 9 months, etc. I'm sure she'll be flipping (front to back or back to front) in no time, but until then I'm enjoying being able to put her in one spot and have her stay there. well, mostly :)

On a TMI front, the poor girl hasn't pooped in over a week. Constipation is pretty uncommon for breastfed babies, and she doesn't seem overly uncomfortable, but its a change in her previously regular habits. We've done rectal stimulation (ha! Doesn't that sound nice? Its basically taking her temperature rectally), prune juice (her first taste of something non-breastmilk!), and the last resort....glycerin suppositories. If we don't have some poopage by noon time, a doctor's visit will be in order. So lets pray for some poops!

nap Time

2010-02-02T16:15:00.003-06:00

I've been pretty fortunate to get a good nap out of both kiddos at around the same time each day. Liam usually goes down sometime around 1PM, and Lola follows shortly there after. It is blissful peace for somewhere around two hours, and I definitely look forward to it each day. I usually spend the time catching up online (shocker, I know) or getting projects done.

Today, for whatever reason, I just decided to take a break from the norm. After Liam went down for his nap, I decided to spend a little quality time with Lola. Although she's near me or on me for most of the day, I don't get much time just the two of us (aside from feedings, of course). So after her afternoon meal we sat on the couch, read a book just for her (she always gets to hear Liam books, but not her own) and played with my favorite seahorse rattle (which she is just really starting to pay attention and grab - hooray!).

It was lovely. I stared at her beautiful face, her chubby cheeks, her skinny, long fingers and watched her eyes as concentrated so hard while they were willing her little hands to grab the rattle. Then again when they darted across the book pages.....and again when they got frustrated and started to well up with tears because she was tired and ready to go to sleep. Here's where the story gets good. Instead of putting her down in her crib....I just watched her fall alseep, right next to me on the couch. She twiddles her fingers, and sometimes rubs her face with her hand, all while sucking ever so gently on her "I Love Daddy" binky. Again....pure heaven.

Then, I could have put her down in her crib.....I had a lot of photography business to get caught up on, and I hadn't been online yet today....but I didn't. I just laid there. And I took a nap right next to her. She was so warm and snuggly I just couldn't get up. And we had some serious Mommy/Lola snuggle time.

I don't do this enough. Just sit and play with her. Or with Liam, for that matter. There are always 10,000 activities going on at once, between playgroups, classes, library and TV shows, music, me being on the computer, cooking, cleaning, etc.....and while I think all those things are important for both of them, I forget that just hanging out with Mom is important too.

It was a nice lesson to learn!

Now, the peace is over ;) Liam is awake and crying in my ear.....so I suppose I should go and give him some attention too ;)

Exersaucer Time!

2010-02-01T09:52:00.001-06:00

web_BryerFamily-3, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

Lola Belle is now beginning to "play" in her new exersaucer. I use the term play loosely. She mostly just sits in it and drools. I'm not one to condone the ridiculous gender bias that society inflicts upon our children.....but the Pink Explosion Exersaucer (complete with TWO flower mirrors and a little purse to take things in and out of) was on super sale. It was about the same price as a used one on Craig's list (which is where I was going to find one for her).

I hate to admit. She looks kind of cute in it.

And we can't forget...Mr. Liam!

2010-01-29T22:42:00.001-06:00

MyKids-51, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

Here is Liam just as he wakes up from his afternoon nap, usually around 3:30pm or so. Nemo and Blankie are never too far - he likes to scrunch them up and carry them by his face. And every once and while a rogue truck makes it into the mix. When he's not being a pain in the butt (i.e. When I'm paying attention to him and not trying to do something else), he's an amazing little kid!

Thumb sucker :)

2010-01-29T22:40:00.003-06:00

MyKids-33, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

Here is Lola practicing her thumb chomping skills.

Tummy Time!

2010-01-29T22:40:00.001-06:00

MyKids-13, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

Here's little miss practicing tummy time. We don't do it as often as we should....but she seems to enjoy it when we do. Not too much complaining, anyway ;)

Lazy dayz

2010-01-29T22:06:00.004-06:00

Or should I say less than lazy? We've been a pretty busy family as of late, but then again, who isn't? I'm just trying to place the blame of being a lazy blogger somewhere other than on my shoulders ;) I think that I'm doing a rather good job of not parking my ass in front of the computer 100% though, so I suppose if a side effect of having a life not online is less frequent blogging, than so be it!

There is SO very much to say though! I realized so much is happening with Lola - so many new, cool, developing baby things - and I'm not documenting any of them because I'm not blogging! Because of this, I'll be *attempting* to do at least a weekly update of cool, new, Lola things :) This week, her newly learned skill is lifting her chubtastic little legs up in the air! Its so adorable (as are most things she does) - she lifts them up and puts her hands on her thighs because her legs can go any higher because of her chubby belly.....it makes me laugh every time! In addition to her leg awareness and strength, she's also mastering the art of sucking (or chewing, rather) on her thumb. Lola is pretty much a pro at sticking it in her mouth.....and she doesn't gag every time she does it anymore. She's also very aware of her hands, and as of today can grab a toy and hang on to it for a while. Her favorite (or Mommy's favorite) is a squishy, crinkly little starfish.

Lola has been doing well taking a bottle now, thanks largely in part to a different nipple design introduced by the Koesterim (thanks Keren!). She had been (and when I say she, I really mean Pat) struggling with a bottle for a while, and even though we tried the various designs / flow rates available from when Liam was a baby, we hadn't ventured to try other designs. And when I say we hadn't ventured, I mean we were too cheap to buy different ones that we didn't know would work. Keren gave us one of Ella's to try, and lo and behold, Lola took right to it! That has made Pat's life tremendously better.

Despite efforts made in the bottle feeding department (which Pat does when I'm off working at The Container Store), Lola still isn't the hugest fan of her daddy, which is terribly heartbreaking! She just 100% prefers to hang out with Mommy! (Not that I blame her, because I am supremely awesome!) It just makes me feel bad when she screams her head off when Pat holds her, and then I take her and she immediately stops crying. Most friends have assured me they've gone through similar phases, and its most likely due to the association with breastfeeding....she'll be daddy's little girl soon enough.

Speaking of breastfeeding - still going smashingly. Leaps and bounds and leaps and bounds easier than go 'round numero uno. I'm approaching the 4 month mark in a few days, which was as far as I got with Liam before we weaned him, and I'm looking forward to surpassing it. I have no expecations at this point - I only wanted to make it past 4 months, so any time here forward is a bonus. Not sure if I'll go the whole one year......lets put it this way. As long as its easy, I'll do it! And right now, its easy as pie ;)

And now, a Liam update. He's an incredible kid, and really does continue to amaze me. Most recently, he's amazing us with how far he pushes back to exert his independence and see just how far he can push limits. Amazing. And incredibly, incredibly frustrating. We're trying to be patient and good parents, but sometimes it is just so unbelievably hard. Right now, I'm just focusing on not yelling. Sometimes I feel like he won't listen at all - we ask him three times to do something, and it isn't until we yell that we get a reaction. Our librarian / friend suggested to try whispering. By golly, it seems to be working.....we'll see how long that lasts, though.

Aside from the pain in the assy-ness, his imagination is so cool to watch develop....playtime is definitely fun for the both of us! His favorite toys at the moment are Stickers and Mr. The King (Lightening McQueen and The King from Cars) and four monster trucks (Gravedigger, Captian's Curse, Hot Wheels, and Blue Thunder) that he likes to play with all together. They do a lot of climbing and jumping over things, just like they do in real life Monster Jam. Pretty hilarious. Espeically when they're doing stunts and I hear a very robust "AAAAAAHHHhhHHHHhh!" as they fly through the air :)

Oh! And a new favorite food for Liam: Edamame. He loves the stuff! And it is uber cool to watch him take them out of the pod himself. His cute little chubby fingers hard at work. So adorable!

And Liam is so, so, so very sweet with Lola. Really. It makes my heart melt and turn all sorts of fuzzy wuzzy mushy every time he interacts with her! Of course, there's times when I see a hint of jealousy when we're giving Lola attention, but as long as we take a second to include him in whatever we're doing, he's usually pretty happy to oblige, and I couldn't ask for anything more! The funniest thing is when he gets really close to her face, and puts on his BIGGEST smile possible trying to get her to give him "some Lola Smiles", and when she reacts to him, he just CRACKS up ;) So sweet. Seriously!

That about sums it up for the time being. I've got to get back to baking brownies - its a test run for next week's show down for Heidi's baby shower :) I hope they turn out!

WOW what a day!

2010-01-13T08:12:00.003-06:00

I can honestly say yesterday was one of the toughest days I've experienced in a L-O-N-G time. Its exhausting just to think about it! Pat was gone overnight on business, and I was bound and determined to leave the house early in the morning in order to make it to playgroup on time.

That was my first mistake.

I really need to be better at managing my expectations and not being so stubborn and thick headed when it comes to wanting to get out of the house on time. Because, with two kids, lets face it, its not going to happen. I did my best getting everything ready that I possibly could the night before, but even then I couldn't quite swing the one hour timeframe I had from the moment the kids woke up to the time we set foot out the door. I did come close though, and I should be more proud of myself for that.

But I did forget my phone. For the first time yesterday.

The ride into the city was typical - trafficy and congested as it is during morning rush hour. I avoided the worst by taking surface streets, but when we arrived close to our destination road work and yuppies threw a wrench in my plan again. And I let it AGGRAVATE me SO much! I really try to remain calm and relaxed......but it didn't work. Then I had to park next to a snow bank and drag the kids through it and cross a busy street (thanks to the very nice people who stopped and let us cross!). We get into Pump It Up (inflatable fun jumpy toys!) and Liam doesn't want to jump...he just wants to play in the Cozy Coupe Car.....which we have at home. *sigh* again, I have no idea why it let it get to me so much (it might have something to do with lack of sleep, since I have a hard time going to bed before 1AM when Pat is gone), but I was so irritated to be at this cool place which I paid my hard earned not so plentiful money to get in, and he was not experiencing it like I had planned in my head. Again, I need to learn to manage my expectations of my 2 year old son.

The ride back was nice, but by the time we got home I was still in such a cranky mood that I was uber short with Liam and a very Yell-ey Mommy, which then in turn makes me feel worse because its not his fault he just wants some attention and I want to check out mentally....

Then I received word that an 8 week old baby that I've been praying for lost his fight for his life. Not anyone I knew in real life (the Mom is from one of the online photography forums I frequent), but still heartbreaking none-the-less. He had whooping cough, and RSV, and then pneumonia, and then a blood infection..........and it just broke my heart.

It did give me some perspective on my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day though, and I was a much more calm, centered Mom for the afternoon.

I was looking forward to a much needed Mom's night out at the bowling alley......and then I got a ticket for running a stop sign near my house (I still don't know how the hell I could have run it.....but I don't doubt the cop was lying!). Then while bowlign I forgot my phone in my car...for the 2nd time that day. I missed 6 calls from a frantic Pat, who was convinced at the time we needed to take Lola to the hospital, and it broke my heart again hearing her scream in the background. I felt like such a shmuck. and a horrible mother. We're still not sure what was wrong with her last night, but she appears to be fine now.

I think I cried - all out bawling - four times yesterday. But today is a new day. And I'm grateful for my blessings and my family.....I'm hoping its all up from here!

Jingle all the way!!!!!!

2009-12-20T20:40:00.002-06:00

Lets see, this is going to be less of a cohesive post and more of just a random stream of thoughts....

Was so happy to see the 3/4ths of the O'Hara family on Friday / Saturday morning! They came to Chicago to recall their daughter Janelle (Hi Jelly!) from the UK. Its always nice to have visitors, especially ones that like to entertain and snuggle my kids so I can get a break! I was bummed that we couldn't make it to the airport to join in the welcome celebration, but we had to.....

Go to Indiana for the O'Brien family Christmas! HOORAY! It was a shortened visit, but good times to hang out with the family nonetheless. Again, super fun to hang out with people who like to snuggle and play with our kids :) Liam scored some awesome Duplos (SOOO excited for him to like Legos!) and Lola got a super cute glow-wormy seahorse and BLAH einstein puppet guy :) And Pat & I will be dining at Fogo de Chao sometime in the future...I {heart} our family!

Liam has been battling this cold / congestion thing that is completely annoying. He gets SO congested, and then a few minutes later he's playing around and having fun. Ugh. Then there are the night sweats. He's awoke from sleep completely drenched in sweat. Its so gross, and I feel so aweful for him...but not sure there's anything at all we can do.

I've got more Container Store training tomorrow - then we're headed to the 'Naw for a quick trip before Christmas. I'm still a bit bitter for having my traditions broken and smashed into a million pieces (i.e. NOT being with my family on Christmas Day) but I'm trying to get over it and not be a complete bitch in the process. This is still a work in progress. Back to The Container Store - really enjoying the job so far!

Photography is still rolling along...I'm taking a hiatus for the rest of Dec & Jan after I edit this last set (which I should be doing now....but I'm taking a quick break).

I stepped down from the creative team of my favorite digital scrapbooking home - A Cherry on Top - I'm not digital scrapbooking much these days, and it was time to give someone else a chance to shine :) I'll miss working with those girls though!!

Lola is doing great - such a big chunkamonk! Pat and I agreed that we're totally in love with her chub. Chubbiewubbiesnoogy pants!! SO CUTE!

That's all for now...back to more editing!

See you later, dear Chino

2009-12-16T13:20:00.002-06:00

This morning, our family's beloved pet, Chino the obnoxious and adorable Lhasa Apso, went to the Rainbow Bridge after succumbing to renal failure. She was crazy, but oh so sweet and snuggly, and spent a good 7 years bringing love to my parent's & Karli (and us too when we visited!). We'll miss her flying through the air to catch her slippers, barking at everything and anything, chasing after plastic bottles, and laying on her back twitching in her own spastic way :)

Big hugs to Mom, Dad & Karli......

The Rainbow Bridge

inspired by a Norse legend

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,

Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.

Where the friends of man and woman do run,

When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,

Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.

On this golden land, they wait and they play,

Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,

For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.

Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,

Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,

Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.

All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,

Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;

Together again, both person and pet.

So they run to each other, these friends from long past,

The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,

Has turned into joy once more in each heart.

They embrace with a love that will last forever,

And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.

Visit the original poem HERE

Busy busy bee!

2009-12-02T20:18:00.002-06:00

The good news is, I'm feeling fantastic! No PPD to speak of, as of yet anyway, getting lots of sleep due to a fantastically sleeping baby, and being HELLA productive with my time. I'm exercising more....not necessarily eating less, but we'll get there ;) I feel like I'm being a better Mom to Liam than I was the first few weeks, and in general I'm just starting to get the hang of this Mom to Two thing :) Hooray!

Lola is growing like mad! She's got her 8 week appointment on Friday, so we'll update again after that :) Wii Fit says she weighed 13.5 pounds about a week ago, so we'll see how accurate the game system is. She's definitely much more alert, checking things out, smiling, ahh-ing, goo-ing, and ah-goo-ing. She's gorgeous!

Liam is a great big brother - he is still always talking to her and about her, and often gives a narration of what's going on with her. He really likes to lay next to her in bed when we're saying our prayers and reading books, and he gets mad if he doesn't get to give her a kiss on her head. Its so sweet, really. And much better than I could have ever expected!

The bad news is, I've been SO productive and back into the swing of things that its a little bit ridiculous. I've had a gazillion photography shoots, interviewed four times (and got the job!) at The Container Store and in general readying the house for the Holidays. Its been busy, and at times I've been slightly overwhelmed, but Pat has been so incredibly supportive that its all worked itself out quite well. AND we've got money for Christmas, which is also very good ;)

I start my seasonal employment with The Container Store on December 13, and I am PUMPED! I love every one of the 10,000 products that they carry, and I cannot wait to learn more about living the Organized life! This also allows me to earn a little extra cash as I transition to ramping up the photography business, and also get me out of the house for a few hours of kid free productivity. And, lets face it people - being in Forbes top 100 companies to work for 10 years running, combined with being surrounded by organizational goodness - what's not to love!

So its been a little chaotic and not much time to sit back, relax and update the ol' blog-o, but I'm ok with that! We'll just keep riding this wave!!!

Life is...

2009-11-04T08:31:00.002-06:00

Lola is great...Liam has his moments, but most days I really feel like I'm losing my mind. And that's on a good day. Today, I woke up and said "OK. I'm done. I give up. This isn't fun anymore. I'm moving to Tahiti. ALONE". I wasn't serious :) But it felt good to acknowledge my feelings out loud, and Pat & I laughed about it (which also feels good). We tried to continue our laughter when I was in the shower, Lola was crying, and Liam was standing up peeing all over the bathmat (everywhere EXCEPT the potty, actually) while Pat was getting dressed.........

I'm quite tense 90% of the time. i think in addition to clenching my teeth, I'm clenching my fists as well. That makes for tingly not very well functioning hands most of the day. I have a massive headache today that feels like a tension headache. I despise being tense. I'd shell out $60 for a massage, but the tension would probably just come right back. I don't think I'll be able to manage it well until I'm able to exercise regularly....which won't be for another two weeks. *sigh* I've never been so anxious to get to exercising!

And to eat well - for that matter. I've been downing baked goods like nobody's business. Its been nice, I'll admit, to have so much comfort food around. Especially when I feel overwhelmed - I reach right for the chewy gooey sweet goodness of anything with flour and sugar. And preferably chocolate. And yes, it doesn't matter much because I am nursing so I can consume extra calories, but I'm thankful they're all gone. Maybe it will force me to deal with my feelings instead of drowning them out in food. Its about high time we start making our own meals, anyway. It has been a good month! I'm so very thankful to have so many friends who have made sure we have good meals to fill our bellies during this transition time.....

*sigh* All and all, its getting better (as all you moms of two promised me it would). The more times we go out just the three of us, the more I get the hang of it. Liam is turning into a great helper and really surprising me with how much he likes her and how interested he is in what she's doing. He often presents a running commentary....."Oh! Lola's crying!" or "Lola dropped binky" or "Baby sister is squeaking", often times providing pretty dead on imitations of whatever noises she makes. Quite cute, actually!

We'll ease into transitions with Liam as we can - i.e. Potty Training and sleeping in his big boy bed....hopefully he'll master those two things by the time he's 15 :) Until then, I just have to keep managing the expectations I put on myself, remind me (constantly) that nobody is perfect, and remember to take a couple of minutes and enjoy the two little people Pat & I have created, because despite all the chaos, they are really amazing.

We're managing :)

2009-10-29T06:52:00.005-06:00

Day 3 or so of being solitos....and things appear to be going well. Its about 1,000 times easier when Pat is around to help, but since he has to go out and work and bring home the bacon, I suppose I should just suck it up and learn how to do it well on my own.

That doesn't mean I have to like it though.

I don't like anything really that I don't excel at right off the bat. And believe you me, although I thought I was a pretty good Mom to Liam, juggling two is definitely an acquired area of expertise. I'm short tempered, angry, and in general, Super Seniorita Crankypants. I suppose it stems from many, many things in life coming pretty easy to me....(sports, education, etc.) so when things aren't natural I tend to bitch and whine and kick dirt in your general direction.

Just like the sport of golf (which I also sucked at big time at first...and now the only thing I continue to pursue despite my mediocrity), I'm sure I'll grow to love being a mother of two (even when I'm all by myself) and enjoy it, even when it continues to push me and kick my ass.

:::::::::::::::::::::::: EMOTIONS ::::::::::::::::::::::::

Emotionally I'm still hanging in there - I've only managed to break down and bawl my eyes out once since Lola's arrival (well, unless you count when my Mom left to go back home...but that's different). It was at the end of the first day, and I was so angry at the world. Mostly I was mad at myself for allowing the effin' up of Liam's life. I know, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but I was in no condition to be argued against. I just felt like I spent 95% of the day yelling at him because he wouldn't listen to me. Its like my mind completely forgot that he's TWO and not an 18 year old PFC. *sigh* Pat is a smart man...he just let me vent, and gently reminded me that tomorrow is a new day.

:::::::::::::::::::::::: BIG BOY BED ::::::::::::::::::::::::

We went to IKEA and purchased Liam a new big boy bed. We were just going to buy a mattress and put it on the floor (so he couldn't fall down very far if he fell out) but we found a cute little frame to drop it in as well. Hopefully, he'll start taking naps in it without too much trouble, then we'll move him into it for night time as well. He thinks its cool, and has started spending time laying on it and reading books. The hardest part is going to be getting him to lay / sleep / sit on it and not jump on it. I think we made the right decision on not getting a spring mattress - we went with foam instead - which cuts down on the jumpability factor right off the bat.

:::::::::::::::::::::::: HALLOWEEN ::::::::::::::::::::::::

Liam has a slight fascination with pumpkins / jack-o-lanterns, which I think stems from a couple of great books given to him by his Grandmas. He loves looking at them from afar when he's in the car, and he loves to carry them around (or at least try). He likes to tell us what kind of face they have on - happy, sad, angry or even surprised! He was actually devastated when we carved ours and left them out on the front porch....he really, really, wanted them to come back inside!

So we were so excited when Aunt Moe said we could borrow the Pumpkin Costume that Grandma O'Brien had made. He's worn it every day for the past couple of days! The cutest thing is when he says he's NOT a pumpkin, he's a Jack-O-Lantern. Or, when he practices his "Trick Or Treat!". He's generally a pretty shy kid, so it will be interesting to see if he actually says it while we're out in the 'hood.

Here's a quick photo of our practicing pumpkin, and another of our spooky halloween decorations! I'm so excited to finally have them out!

:::::::::::::::::::::::: LOLA'S SICK :( ::::::::::::::::::::::::

Liam had a slight little cold last week, and has since given it to his little sister. No fever or anything, and she's still eating like a champ - so we haven't done much about it. However, last night she started getting a little too congested for my taste, so I think we'll finally head to the doctor today. It just breaks my heart to hear her struggle to get her nose cleared up! I wish she had the brains to know it is much, much easier to breathe clearly when she sucks on her binky, but she doesn't appear to care much.

What's the Point???

2009-10-15T08:18:00.002-05:00

I ask you, dear readers....

What is the point of creating a fantabulous website and getting people all addicted to its fantastic games and connecting with people all across God's Green Earth....

....and then treating the addicts like crap by continually performing "maintenance" that makes said website perform like big, fat, hairy ass?

Ugh.

Is it because they know we'll keep coming back?

***fist up to sky*** CURSE YOU FACEBOOK!!!!!!!!!!!

Lets see.....

2009-10-06T21:09:00.002-05:00

I've covered my anxiety before the surgery, the surgery itsself and the rest of the birthday.....what's left to talk about.

Oh, well, the hospital stay was fabulous. We didn't score a lakeview room, but we did have a nice city view and a view of a Green Roof, and the construction of Children's Memorial Hospital. A construction zone isn't normally fun to look at, but considering our background, and our son's current fascination with all things construction, it actually worked out relatively well. And it was also fun to trapse around naked-nude in front of the windows, taunting the construction workers that couldn't see me. Or at least I thought they couldn't see me.

The decor was beautiful - especially the bathrooms! Corian countertops, beautiful blue green glass tile and travetine-esque tile in the bathrooms. I realized during the last day of my stay that the view from my bed prevented me from seeing very little any medical equipment at all. I'm sure this was intentional, and makes for a quite pleasant (aesthetically) stay. Most importantly, every single thing worked as planned during our entire visit ;) During our last hospital stay (which was during the last month of that hospital's existence before they opened the new one), we called maintenance for some reason at least once a day. The most annoying of which was the bathroom light, which kept on burning out. The staff was still good, but it was annoying overall.

We took home all sorts of awesome supplies - diapers, breast feeding gear, gigantic maxi-pads, receiving blankets, etc. It was like a medical supplied Christmas!

Since we've been home Lola has been an angel - eating like a trooper and sleeping just as well. I realize it might be short lived, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. There are no shortage of arms that want to snuggle her, but she's perfectly content to sleep by herself in the bassinet. This is night and day from Liam, who refused to be put down for any period of time for his first six weeks of life.

Thanks to the breastfeeding, my boobs are in mega-pornstar mode having swelled to 50x their original size. OK, maybe I exaggerate a little, but you get the idea. I've always been relatively well endowed to begin with, so you can imagine how big they are now. They are, in the words of a friend, officially Milk Boulders. Rock Hard and GIANT. To be honest, they look pretty cool :) Pat and I took a photo, although we're not going to share with the general public. Shocking, I know, since I'm not one to withold TMI. They hurt like a MoFo, and although it feels better than yesterday there are still a few days to go before my milk supply stabilizes. Until then, its a lot of compression (warm and cold), a lot of massage and long warm showers to try to relieve the pressure.

::::::::::: Liam and Lola :::::::::::

One more hospital event: Liam meeting Lola. He was pretty much disinterested - and much more engaged in trying to push all the buttons on the bed (he called the nurse twice) and marveling at the construction equipment next door. What I wanted to see is a proud brother sitting on the couch, excited to hold his baby sister for the first time.....which is a pretty unrealistic expectation. I don't know why I conjured up the image in my head (I'm lying, I do...because it would make a good photo), but I think his actual reaction was pretty normal. I even bought a balloon for him from Baby Lola, which he liked, but that was about it.

After we got home, he was a little more welcoming. He acknowledged when Lola was crying ("OhhH! Baby cryyying!") and occasionally pointed and said "Baby Seester" or "Baby OhhLa". But for the most part he tried to avoid her (and us) and played by himself or with Mema. At one point, I remember him running down the hall full speed, stopping in his tracks when he got to the living room, looking straight to the baby bassinet (with a baby sleeping comfortably inside), and then turned right back around to run and play in his room.

Mema & Daddy have been giving him lots of love and attention, but I really haven't as much. Mostly because its dangerous for me! He's a very active (read: CRAZY!) two year old, and he doesn't understand that he can really hurt me!! I try to give him hugs and kisses when I can, but its not nearly as many as I feel like I should. I think it will all work out OK eventually. Today, he actually wanted to see and hug her...and he actually held Lola for the first time today (just like the photo I wanted!). It didn't last long. She started rooting and sucking his face - he freaked out saying "no more kisses baby Lola!" But it certainly was adorable while it lasted :)

You can see the rest of the set on flickr HERE

The Birth Story

2009-10-03T22:57:00.005-05:00

Pat & I managed to get a decent night's sleep on Thurday evening, with the exception of about an hour where we both woke up at the same time and couldn't get back to sleep. During that hour we caught the Chicago 2016 Olympic pitch live from Copenhagen, which was actually kind of cool. Then the speeches got a little boring, lucky for us, and lulled us back into sleep until the morning.

Friday morning was nice and relaxed. Pat & I gathered everything together and Liam was more than happy to ignore us and play with Mema & Papa, who arrived erlier on Thursday. We gave big hugs to our little man, then headed into the city to the Hospital. We got there right on time at 8:30AM, waited a short while in the Labor & Delivery lounge, and then were escorted back to prep for surgery.

I must say, we had a rockin' team getting us ready. I'm not sure if I was just in such better spirits because everything was planned andsuch or if the staff were just that good...but in any case the experience was quite nice. Scary? Absolutely - what major surgery isn't scary?!? But the doctors / nurses / residents did their best to explain everything that was happening and keep us calm and relaxed as well. The spinal block was pretty easy. Strapping me down wasn't too bad either. I was nervous for most of the process, but was settled as soon as Pat came back to the OR :) Lucky for me, he has very, very kind eyes....and I like to look at them. Its just soothing and calming, even though that's the only part of his face I could see. I don't remember what we talked about during the actual operation, but I know there was chuckling and laughter involved, which was also very calming as well.

Then, before we knew it, Lola was pulled out into the world! I found out later they had to use forcepts to pull her giant noggin out. I had no idea they used forcepts for c-sections. But I suppose that's better than cutting me more.

I think the process took about two and a half hours total. We went back to prep around 9:30AM, and I was back in the recovery room at about 12:00. Then we spent a good three hours or so in recovery.

The most annoying part was the shivering caused by the anesthesia. It was like being out on a cold Chicago morning, but not actually being cold. Its so annoying because when you are shivering long enough, your jaw starts to hurt. They have medicine the help off set these kinds of side effects, but of course, those have their own side effects.....and we didn't think the cummulative effect would be good for me.

One of the things I thought I would be very concerned about but ended up not being an issue was the blue curtain in my face. During Liam's surgery I remember it really bothering me and being too close to my face, despite my request to pull it away on multiple occasions. This time, they actually made it a point to keep it nice and tight and away from my head. Seems like a silly thing to be worried about in the grand scheme of things, but alas, that is what I focused on.

:::::::::::: Recovery ::::::::::::

Recovery wasn't too bad. The whole waiting for your legs to come too is pretty strange....especially when they ask you to try to move your legs and toes, and you do your damnedest to try, but you can't. Ugh. It feels so strange. The only issue I had was a pretty high heart rate that wouldn't come down even though I didn't feel anxious or like my heart was racing. That pretty much didn't go away until we were well settled in our room.

For Lola, she was nice and healthy. Due to standard protocol for babies "Large for their Gestational age" or LG, they had to do a series of glucose tests to make sure her blood sugar was behaving appropriately. The first test came back kind of low, but the rest from there on out were great, so there were no issues to deal with further. Well, we did have to endure a couple of pokies on her sweet little heels, but I can deal with that :)

:::::::::::: What's in a name? ::::::::::::

Up until this point, we didn't actually have a name for her. Actually, if she was a boy, we didn't have ANY names picked out at all! I felt pretty certain it was a feminine energy to begin with, so most of our focus went to girls names. Our middle name was easy - it would be Cecilia. That's my mom's middle name, and I've always thought it was beautiful. Its also my great grandmother's name, and as we later found out, the name of Pat's Mom's Great Grandmother. First names were a whole other story. I've always loved Lola, in fact, that was going to be Liam's name if he were a girl. (Lola is actually my Great Aunt's name....well, its Delores, but she's always been known as Lola). Pat does not really like the name at all, primarily because of the song by The Kinks. So we tried to hash it out, but still always kept Lola in the mix. As of the morning of the c-section, the list was Lola, Elena, Marlena, and Elsa. Lola was always #1, but I never thought Pat would go for it.

When she was pulled into the world and brought around the blue curtain, I took one look at her and said "Oh my goodness - Pat, she's SUCH a Lola - I'm so sorry but she's totally a Lola!". Imagine my surprise when he agreed! So he might not love the name, but I'm hoping it grows on him just like Liam grew on me.

*whew* that was a long story! As of now, we're both healing and doing well. Breastfeeding is going along pretty well (about 10,000 times better than what we went through with Liam - thank GOODNESS!) although we are supplementing with formula so we can get a decent nights stretch of sleep while we're in the hospital.

Also, another really great thing is that I love her. I really, really, REALLY love her! This might seem like a given, but I had a very tough time bonding with Liam for about six weeks or so....struggling with that on top of depression, lets just say I didn't have the easiest go of it for a while, and was dreading dealing with similar feelings this go round. As each moment passes, I'm less and less worried. I know it will be difficult in its own way, but I feel like this isn't going to be as scary or hopeless as I felt before. And I'm so very thankful!

So you may have heard :)

2009-10-03T22:41:00.004-05:00

We welcomed baby O'Brien Numero Dos into the world on Friday, October 2 at 11:23 AM via C-Section :) She tipped the scales a mere 9 pounds, and was 20 3/4 inches long. She's got a slightly fuzzy dark head of hair, the sweetest pink skin and adorable dark baby blue eyes. In short, she's beautiful!

Hooray for Lola Cecilia O'Brien!!

You also may be wondering - Karin, where the heck are the photos?? Well, we'll have to wait until after Monday for those, dear readers. I've got them all on camera, but we don't have our computer here. The couple of photos that we have are on Facebook.....pics that we took with phones, sent to Mom & Sissy, and they posted it for us! I promise, once we're discharged and settled in at home, there will be plenty of Lola cuteness that I'll be more than anxious to share.

Our internet situation at the moment - not the most convenient, but definitely better than nothing at all! The hospital is equipt with wi-fi, but frankly, I didn't want to lug my giant ass laptop around. Each room has a nice 42" flatscreen TV, and you can hook up a keyboard and surf the web (which is what I'm doing at the moment). Its functional, but kind of tempermental, and not lightning quick like I'm used to. The mouse is slow and quirky....and, well, you can see how this would make trying to spend a lot of time on the internet annoying. Its like using dial upafter being on a cable modem for a while....just plain frustrating!

I'm going to try to do a series of short posts, and hopefully I get to cover everything while Lola & Daddy are snoozing and before the drugs kick in enough to knock me out!

Side by Side

2009-09-28T22:26:00.006-05:00

Admittedly, I've been really lax about taking the requisite photo every 4 weeks to show belly progress. Call it a combination of lack of energy / not loving the body changes / laziness. Whatever. I did manage to take a couple, and here is a comparison of approximately the same time frame as when I was pregnant for Liam. Its not an exact copy, but I tried to get them as close as I could :)

I really don't see much difference, do you? If you're brave, you can click the photo for a bigger look. My boobs are bigger now, the belly button is flatter...and I've got more stretch marks above my belly button (which you conveniently can't see due to the soft blur of the photo :) Ahhh - I love photoshop :) ). I feel like my butt is bubbly-er too, or maybe my posture is just worse LOL. Keep in mind, I'm almost at exactly the same weight I was last time too....interesting how things move around.

I don't know. People say they can tell by looking how you're carrying if its going to be a boy or a girl. If the first one is a boy, any one care to guess what #2 will be?? I'm calling it a girl - for the record. Just a feeling more so than analyzing how I'm physically carrying. I've felt that way since I first found out I was pregnant....I guess we'll find out soon enough!

Big & Little

2009-09-28T17:20:00.002-05:00

Liam, as most kiddos his age, is going through an explosion of learning, absorbing and of course language acquisition. In his current bag of tricks are Opposites, the most popular of which is Big & Little. To encourage this I usually try to point out big and little things so he can reinforce his knowledge, but mostly because I think its cute when he says things like "Beeeeeg truck" and Leeeetle Car". It makes me smile.

Today was no different when we left the produce store and walked past a plethora of pumpkins. I draw his attention to a bunch of tiny gourds. fully expecting a "Leeetle pun-kin" to spring forth from his lips. Instead, I got a very, very enthusiastic "oh! oh! OH!!! BABY pun-KINS!". And he surprised me again when I pointed to the large pumpkins next to them and he exclaimed "DADDY Pun-kins!!"

This made me one happy Mama :o)

Last OB Appointment!

2009-09-28T11:38:00.003-05:00

Yup, that's right! I had my last OB appointment before little bambino makes his/her arrival! The big date is all set and ready to go for Friday, October 2, at 10:30 AM. I've got my instructions and now all we have to do is wait :) The appointment went well - everything is still "high and tight" so no signs of baby trying to make an early arrival. Heartbeat nice and strong, and my BP a cool 110/60. I've been lucky this summer with it being soooo very cool, I've had little to no swelling issues at all. AND, as of this morning, I'm sitting at a total gain of 21 pounds :) I feel like 90% of that is boobs and belly....maybe mostly boobs seeing as how stinking GIANT they are!

All in all, I've been feeling relatively OK. Aside from the occasional late night or belly discomfort disruption, I'm sleeping pretty well. Pain has been manageable - baby is still sitting pretty high, so my hips haven't given me nearly as much grief as I expected. Don't get me wrong, they are still very achy, but not as bad as it could be. Back hurts, its tiring to stand or walk for too long, I don't do much in the way of bending over because its not very comfortable, I can't sit and snuggle much with Liam because my belly gets in the way.....but all normal pregnancy stuff. Pat has so very graciously taken over Liam bath duty and night time duty, and pretty much every other duty, which I'm very grateful for...especially since he doesn't even hint at complaining. He's such a great man - I don't know where I'd be without him.

Saturday evening I spent a good 6 hours or so with regular contractions that were just slightly more painful than annoying :) Got tired of waiting for them to get more intense or closer together, so took some benedryl and went to sleep...all was normal in the morning! It was very strange to experience that though - sitting and timing contractions. I didn't have a stop watch handy, but used my iPod instead :) Nifty little stopwatch thing that has!

I think it was so strange because I hadn't experienced it before when I was pregnant with Liam. No regular contractions at all, until I was in the hospital and on Pitocin. In fact, since Liam's pregnancy is the only one I have to go by, I've pretty much been expecting my water to break, although I know it only happens to 20% or less of people. That's kind of stressful....its like every time I go to the bathroom I expect more fluid than just urine to gush out. Yeah, TMI...but whatev.

The other issue I've been wrestling with regarding the idea of going into labor before Friday AM is eating. Its like I don't want to eat, just in case I spontaneously go into labor. If I do I have to, then I have to wait at least 6 hours before having a c-section. I know, its kind of weird, but I never claimed to be normal. Same thing with taking medication (like heartburn or allergy stuff). I end up suffering a bit because I'm afraid if I do take it, it will affect my hypothetical c-section in some way. I'm kind of over it, but kind of not, because its always in the back of my mind.

Well. that's pretty much it! I'm not planning on taking my computer with me to the hospital, because its giant, so my next post very well might be after we're settling in at home with the new kiddo!! Wish us luck!

Halloweenie, Creepy Skulls and other Miscellany...

2009-09-26T09:07:00.002-05:00

It was brought to my attention that most people (I.E. especially Pat, his brother, and family) find my incredibly adorable Árbol de la Vida adorned with Calacas and other Calaveras very creepy. Here are the items in question....

*sigh* They are so uncultured.....

I found my post where I tried to explain the concept of the Mexican Art when I purchasedback in 2006 (Egads, have I been blogging for that long!??). Its a rather long post though....and I found a better summary on Mexconnect. It all goes back to pre-Hispanic times (i.e. indiginous peeps before the Spaniards came to rape our land) and the duality / balance / equilibrium present in that culture.

"The skeletons and skulls of Mexican folk art reflect the dualism fundmental to the pre-Hispanic world view. Without duality in all aspects of life, the universe loses its equilibrium. Animal and human forms; masculine and feminine energies - all are needed. Of all these balancing forces, perhaps none is more significant than that of life and death."

So really, one would fear skulls over babies (death and life) no more than a man over a woman (masculine and feminine energies). That wouldn't make any sense, because all these play equal parts in balacing of the universe. Make sense now?? I think our own fear and creep-outie-ness of skulls and items associated with death are ingrained from a long oppression instilled by our mainly Christian roots, taught to fear death....at least that's how I feel about it.

And in understanding the roots of the art, I can appreciate the beauty! So its NOT creepy - its BEAUTIFUL!!!

Hard to believe

2009-09-24T22:27:00.001-05:00

Yet another year has flown by! It is so very humorous to me how much of my life is expressed in cliches now....but there is a reason :) Just because they are cheesey cliches like "I can't believe how big he is!" and "How did a year just fly by so quickly?" does not make them any less true. He's such a big boy!

Here he is just one year ago on big birthday Numero Uno :)

And, Sunday at his Birthday Party celebrating 2 great years on earth :)

A little less messy, but certainly not less adorable :)

We didn't want to have a party for him initially....but the best of my maternity induced guilt got to me, and I wanted him to have one last center of attention hurrah before his life is changed forever. We had a great time despite the craptastic weather, and I think he's pretty darn happy with the oodles of trucks and cars that now happily occupy his toy space :) Of course, we also let him open two small matchbox cars this morning (it is his actual birthday, after all) and after his nap he was devastated to remember that he lost the Birthday Orange Truck at playgroup today. Like the 50 other trucks and cars he had just gotten weren't nearly as good as the $0.76 one he lost. *sigh* Isn't that always the way??

I'm anticipating the arrival of baby number two to really send him into a tailspin, but I'm also hoping I'm terribly wrong and that he'll do just fine :) It will be interesting to see how it all pans out!

Happy Birthday Little Bear :)

2009-09-24T15:12:00.002-05:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Baby update :)

2009-09-15T21:17:00.002-05:00

I had so many things to say.....so many insightful things....but I ALWAYS forget!

Sigh

::::::::::: Baby Charlie :::::::::::

I have many friends in the Chicagoland area, many of whom have been popping out babies in assembly line fashion! Its been amazing to see the transition between one kid and two, and actually pretty empowering. Seeing all these women do it makes me feel less overwhelmed, and I know I can take it on....although, at the same time, its rather scary because *gulp* the next most pregnant person than I just had her kiddo on Sunday!

Welcome officially Baby Charlie (Charlize)!

I've actually avoided holding other newborns...mostly because I was kind of nervous. Nervous to actually HAVE one again! But, since I had a check up today right next door, and I wanted to sneak a peek at the hospital too, I thought I would drop by and say hello. Holding her was so very nice - so warm and snuggly. Yeah, I'm holding out hope that I'll be able to enjoy the newborn stage this time....keeping my fingers crossed!

::::::::::: Two weeks away :::::::::::

Or just over, anyway. October 2, 10:30AM. So far, so good. I had a 37 week check up today - everything is looking smashing! Even had a growth ultrasound to see how baby is growing. The estimate was 7 lbs 5 oz as of today. (However, the margin of error is 15%, which basically swings it a pound in either direction). So, if we take that estimate and figure an average 1/2 lb gain of baby per week, then we're looking at topping Liam's birth weight of 8 lbs 7 oz (or being pretty darn close). We'll see how close they are. Not that it matters much with this being a c-section and all. They also looked at a bunch of other stuff...amniotic fluid level looks great, blood flow looks great, heart looks great...etc. My Blood Pressure is steady and low....everything looks great!

I'm actually feeling well, too. Not sure if its a home stretch burst of energy or what, but I'll take it.

::::::::::: Adjusting to baby :::::::::::

Thankfully Liam has been exposed to a LOT of babies over the course of the past six months, due to my very fertile friends. This is good, but we also wanted to prepare him (or at least attempt to) by doing things at home. So we borrowed a baby doll from Larkin (Pat's niece) and have had it laying around the house since we've moved. We practice being gentle to it, and change its diaper, and give kissies and hugs at night. We've also set up the baby swings & bouncy seats and practice taking baby in and out.

He's a smart kiddo though - he knows the difference between a real baby and a toy, but I figured its good exposure if nothing else than to have all the baby crap all over the house. I have no idea if any of this is going to help the transition, but I figure it can't hurt.

The only negative (so far) thing happened today. I busted out all my wraps and slings, wrapped myself up and stuck the doll inside. I told Liam he couldn't climb all over me because I was snuggling the baby.....and he looked up at me with his big ol' sad eyes and said "All done snuggle baby?" and tried to take the baby out. I think I may have to come up with a different word than Snuggle when I'm holding the baby, because he definitely knows what snuggles are, and I don't want him to get too jealous when I'm snuggling the baby all day long. At least I'm assuming I'll be all wrapped up all the time. That's how it was with Liam....

::::::::::: Liam Time Outs :::::::::::

Little man had about a zillion time outs at playgroup today. He was putting sand in his hair over and over at the park, and dumping out all the goldfish crackers in the bowl. Not mind blowing stuff mind you, but things he knows better not to do. Yeah yeah, I know he's only two (almost!) but still....I think I have a pretty good idea of what instructions he's capable of following, and he just was adamant about not following them today. The saddest was when he was sitting on the bench begging me "all done time outs, mommy, all done". He was so cute.....

FREAKING out!!

2009-09-09T19:08:00.003-05:00

I'm kind of sort of freaking out about delivery of baby #2 - just over three weeks away now. Yes, I've had a c-section before, and everyone has said the 2nd, especially if its planned is a completely different, easier experience. Which is all good and well but I'm still freaking out about it all. And to be honest, I'm not sure that's the only thing I'm worried about. With the post-partum depression I had with Liam....I'm petrified to go through the whole ordeal again. I don't even think I bonded with him until after 6 weeks. I'm not looking forward to caring for a newborn again - and I'm doubly scared that Liam is going to hate my guts after we bring him/her home too.

I'm thankful that once again I'll have help here at the house for about a month after delivery (between my mom, dad & Pat's mom)....so I know at least Liam will be taken care of. I know we'll have meals because my mommy group friends will be bringing a couple by. I know that I'll have 1000 times better of a support system than when I had Liam because I've got a great network of friends that live relatively close.

I know all of these things. I want so very badly to let all this worry and "what ifs" go and not waste my energy on it, but its encompassing me!! Of course, this all might have something to do with the fact that I'm also not sleeping well at night and waking up at 5AM every morning (because that's as late as Liam will sleep). I also ache all over - am giant - and the biggest crabby pants on earth.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;

I wrote the above vent to some cyber friends earlier today, because I had been feeling so incredibly shitty as of late. I'm not sure why its always easier to spew feelings like this online, instead of calling a friend or talking to someone in person, but alas, its what I did, and maybe it will help foster conversation in the future. Its not like I can't talk about how I feel - its just that normally when I'm with my friends in person we're busy chasing after kiddos, and unless I can express myself in two succinct sentences my point isn't going to get across other than "I feel like Poo".

Not that its a bad thing - I actually think its hilarious. Our entire conversations are chopped up.....we could be mid point and then stop to shout "{insert kid name here} do NOT lick that pigeon!", then run off to prevent some sort of avian infection. Phone conversations are the same way. But I'm digressing.....

I thought about asking to meet up with people outside of playgroup, or even asking for someone to come and visit for a while so Liam could have someone to play with, but I feel like we're a bit isolated because of the distance between the 'burbs and the city. It is not insurmountable, mind you, but it does put a damper on things (especially when you want to do something in the afternoon, and don't want to fight all the crazies during rush hour traffic. Because that BLOWS chunks!).

I've tried to do some shopping therapy - because that's what I've turned to in the past when I'm feeling down....but that is tough to do on a restricted budget. Well, tough to do and avoid tremendous amounts of additional guilt. Luckily I've got a few gift cards up my sleeve, and buying mostly stuff for new baby which is checking stuff off of my list and helping to quell the nesting going on in my brain.

Shopping therapy never really gets to the root of the problem though. Its always just a temporary fix. So what is the root of the issue? I think it all boils down to the fact that I'm really, really pissed off that I can't seem to handle this all myself. I mean, I should be able to handle it all - I'm an adult dammit, but apparently I can't. Emotionally or physically, it seems. And it just makes me mad.

It didn't help today that my doctor's appointment didn't go all that well today either. Liam was a handful at the beginning....probably because he wasn't very happy about the 1.5 hour drive in (really it should take 40 minutes or so). But then he calmed down quite a bit. And physically I'm OK, and the baby is doing well. I was slightly worried that I had pre-eclampsia, mostly because I'm a hypochondriac but partly because I had a couple of bad headaches a couple days in a row. Turns out the BP is good to go - a steady 110/60. I also gained more weight this past two weeks than I had at any other appointment - 4 lbs - which explains why I feel so damn GIANT all of the sudden.....but I'm still in really good shape as far as weight gain goes (under 20 pounds as of today). But when the PA walks in and asks, "Honey, are you doing OK? you look slightly exhausted", that's never a good sign. You never want to look as bad as you feel. It was nice to let myself break down and cry for a while though.....

The fact of the matter is I'm tired, cranky, tired and achy, and although I muster up enough oomf to take care of Liam through the day, it doesn't leave much overflowing to take care of me. So I don't. Most of this stuff is popping up now because Pat has resumed somewhat of a more normal work schedule, meaning that he's gone most of the time instead of working from home more often....which has affected me more than I anticipated. That combined with Liam's obscenely early wake up call at 5AM, and poor sleep quality at night for me is apparently taking its toll.

So what to do? In the infamous words of Dory, "Just keep swimming....just keep swimming....just keep swimming swimming swimming". Through it all I'm going to keep monitoring things with my doctor, and make sure it is only exhaustion and it doesn't blow into a full depression before I even get to PPD...and keep reminding myself that its OK to ask for help.

If you are a Tiger's Fan...

2009-09-08T12:40:00.004-05:00

Then I'm sure you've heard about Ernie Harwell's cancer.

And maybe even about his decision to not proceed with any medical intervention.

When I first read about it, I felt a pang of sadness that he was sick...and then I thought to myself (and maybe even out lout to Pat) "For Pete's sake - he's NINETY-ONE!! He's going to go one way or another. I wouldn't go through with chemo or anything either!". After reading an additional article from MLive - he really does exude the peace that he has for this part of his life's journey. I hope I'm that open and wise when I reach his age.

It still doesn't take that pang of sadness away.

I realize many people look to him as a grandfather figure - someone who has been part of their lives for as long as they can remember. I don't necessarily have that kind of attachment to the man personally, but the memories his voice brings holds a special place in my heart. His voice was the the sound of summer.....interlaced in the soundtrack of my childhood. We would play outside, and Dad would have a radio on the workbench in the garage, which was inevitably tuned to Tiger Baseball.

Tiger Baseball. Memories of going to Tiger Stadium with my Dad, Grandpa** & family. Eating peanuts in the shell. Learning how to keep a scorecard. Relishing the sunshine. Hearing the crack of a wooden bat making contact with the ball. Trying to follow a homerun ball before it was lost in the sun or the stands. Watching a great double play unfold or seeing someone lay down a nice bunt. Strategy. Power. The Game.

Somewhere in those warm, fuzzy, happy memories, Ernie's voice will always be.

I wish him well.

**I'm sure there were always other family members with us at those games, but for some reason I associate the memory predominately with the Patriarchs of the family. Which is OK - its my memory, I can remember it how I'd like :)

Mas computer woes :(

2009-08-24T19:23:00.002-05:00

I no haz internets!!

well, obviously, I do a little bit if I'm posting. Duh.

I only have it if I'm hard wired into the modem, or within three feet of the wireless router. Both of which are downstairs in the basement. Which I'm not keen on hanging out down there when I can't see or hear Liam very well in the playroom next to me.

So basically I have no Internet.

I spent about three and a half hours on the phone with technical support until they realized that yeah, something is wonky with my internal wireless modem thingy and it probably will have to be replaced. Lets hope its that easy! The down side is that once again I'll be without a computer for 7-10 business days after I send it out. That blows chunks. I think I probably will wait until next Monday to send it out, after I finish up some important business and finish editing some photographs....it still pretty much blows chunks though.

:::::::::::::: this weekend ::::::::::::::

Was totally awesome! Had a last minute visit from Tia Karli and Papa (i.e. Karli & my dad), and it was a lovely weekend! We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo, Pat & I got to have a nice lunch with Karli and just chat about her upcoming transition to college-hood, and we played two nights of fun family games....Scrabble & Monopoly. It was really, really nice. I miss my family! I wish they were closer.....but alas, wishing does us no good.

We have another treat in store for us this week too, as Monster Jer, Aunt Joni and Jelly are coming to visit before Jelly (i.e. Janelle)'s departure for the UK for a semester. She's flying out of O'Hare, so they're driving from Metro Detroit on Wednesday to prepare for the flight on Thursday. I'm SOO very excited for her :)

:::::::::::::: this week in preggo news ::::::::::::::

I'm getting bigger (surprise) and my body feels like its perpetually in a medieval torture device grip. It is beginning to really feel REAL (as if it wasn't before!??) because people who weren't that much more pregnant that I am are now popping out their children. This is crazy. I'm trying not to dwell on it too much, but I'm scared out of my wits.....but that my friends, is another, lengthy I'm sure, post.

Feeling blessed!

2009-08-19T21:40:00.003-05:00

Its nice to be able to take a step back and really appreciate my life! Does that mean it is perfect? HEEEEELLLLLL NAW! But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate what I do have right at the moment. Today, it was a really, really nice day. Nothing in particular happened - In fact, it was rather ordinary. But a series of seemingly small things occured that really just made me feel blessed.

:::::::::::::::::: Little & Big Blessings ::::::::::::::::::

Liam slept in until 6:50AM! I acutally woke up myself at 6:44 slightly concerned. I was going to give him another 10 minutes, and if he didn't stir I was going to check in on him. Thankfully, I didn't need to :)
Liam and I had a nice, uneventful trip to the grocery store. We scored a cart with a car on the front (SWEEEET!) so Liam was happy playing while I took my time perusing through all the isle. And, a very nice cart boy helped me put the bags in the trunk. It was just, well, nice!
Minimal fighting at most all diaper changes!
Minimal resistance at ALL mealtimes
Pat cooked an amazing dinner - homemade spaghetti & meatballs, even the sauce from scratch!
We all ate the same meal, together, at dinner time! That was awesome!! Its been a string of separate meals for all of us lately, because we're too tired to cook something good, Liam typically wants to eat before we do (we're trying to change that though)....or even if we want to cook something good for us the refrigerator isn't stocked.
Kitchen clean up was minimal, and dare I say, Easy!
Only one time out for Liam today :)
I was able to read a couple of chapters of my book.
I took a two hour nap (when Liam did :) )
Liam and I stole a little walk outside before dinner and the storms began.
Bath time was nice and quiet.
Bed time was great (even though we read "Blankie" for the seventy-hundreth time today)
Pat & I snuggled on the couch and watched a DVD :) As much as I could snuggle anyway...I can only stay in one position for so long....

So that's really it. Just a really, really nice day. And, should I mention that my husband is looking particularly hunky today :) He's so handsome....just shaved his beard off yesterday and I had forgotten how delicious his skin is....don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the manly lumberjack beard. LOVE it. Loved it even more that he did it after I asked him to grow it. But change is nice sometimes.

So now, I sit. I'm uncomfortable. I'm giant. I ate too much. I'm kind of crabby...but still somehow feeling so very blessed.....and wouldn't change anything for the world :)

August Desktop :)

2009-07-30T17:06:00.003-05:00

I'm excited to start using my monthly desktops again :) This time its another beautiful one from Shabby Princess using a kit called Giggle Box. You can find it ready to drop your photos in on the Shabby Princess Blog!

Chupacabra???

2009-07-30T16:54:00.002-05:00

OK, maybe not. But I awoke this morning and left the house to go to playgroup only to find a bloody massacre in my driveway. Ew. Complete with bunny fluff, blood, and intestine strewn about. It was an awful scene. I might be exaggerating a little bit, but honestly, it was gross.

I did hear some rustling about outside near the garbage cans last night as I was making Pat's birthday cake...but I didn't dare look because A) I'm a giant wuss and B) I tend to make stuff up in my head when Pat's not around. In either case, I figured I couldn't do anything about it, so because it subsided quickly I just let it be.

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the mess this morning was Chupacabra...which literally translated means "Goat Sucker". Its a Mexican monster that eats goats (and little kids who wander from the campsite, according to our uncles)....although I'm pretty sure there were no goats involved last night, what else could it possibly have been?

Do any of you, cyber readers, know of any kind of suburban carnivore that would kill a small/medium size (bunny sized maybe?) animal, chomp it to smithereens in the middle of a driveway, and leave nothing but a bloody puddle, a foot of intestine and a couple of poofs of fluff? Judging by the color of the fuzz, I'm guessing it was a bunny (what would that be doing out in the middle of the night??) or maybe an opposum? Are there coyotes in the 'burbs? How about giant owls (aren't they kind of a fast food nocturnal killer?). I'm just curious.....and hoping I don't see the bloodbath again any time soon!

Learning how to fly

2009-07-26T21:19:00.002-05:00

Liam and I were walking around the neighborhood this evening when we saw the coolest thing :) A new bird taking it's first flight. Well, I'm not sure if it was it's first flight EVER, but that's what I'm calling it in my head. We stopped for a good two minutes (which in Liam minutes is about an hour) and just watched him in the tree, flitting about, looking so very relieved that it landed safely in a tree. You could still see a bit of baby bird fluff on its head and neck, and even a bit of uncertainty in its eyes, not sure exactly what is coming next, but excited... I couldn't believe that Liam was so interested - like he knew it was something cool and special.

OK, maybe I'm reading a bit too much into it all, but it certainly was neat-o.

And fitting - especially since I'm embarking on a new adventure as of this evening. Pat went on a business trip, and Liam and I are flying solo for a couple of days - first time in the new house! Not a big deal to most people, but kind of a big deal to me. I'm a wuss. I don't do well in new places. I don't like being alone. Typically when Pat leaves I stay up way way LATE (like 2AM) until I can't possibly keep my eyes open anymore, and only then can I sleep. That's OK for one night. Not for multiple nights. Definitely not OK for a 5:30-6AM toddler wake up call that Daddy takes care of 90% of the time. Yeah, I really don't like doing all the work myself. Especially when I'm knocked up, vulnerable and whiney.

I thought I might go camping while Pat was gone, but that didn't work out because my body does not cooperate with the un-cushy-ness of camp chairs, not to mention the 6 hour drive. Then I thought I might enlist my cousin and kiddo to come stay with us...but then I realized that request is a little ridiculous. Its like asking someone to babysit yourself (thanks A, for not saying so at the time). Alas, I am an adult, it is my home and I think I've been here long enough where I can handle it on my own.

I think.

*le sigh*

The hardest part of this process is admiting my co-dependancy. Aformentioned cousin A says its OK to rely on each other when you're in a marriage. I suppose she's right. It just takes some getting used to admiting it all...

Heartburn & the rest of my life

2009-07-20T19:54:00.006-05:00

I'm instituting, effective immediately, a no eating policy after 8PM in efforts of minimizing my heartburn suffering. I'm already taking 2 Pepcid AC per day, sleeping on pillows and the like. The next step, if this doesn't work, will be changing my diet...but I really don't know how effective that will be given that anything and everything seems to make it flare up. I'd love to be able to sleep. 3 hours a night is NOT enough!

On the up side, my belly is getting bigger and cuter by the minute :) I haven't been good about snapping monthly shots like with Liam (hey, I've got a toddler to chase around!) but a friend did take this for me while we were at the Chicago Botanic Gardens this past weekend. I {heart} pretty flowers :)

:::::::::::: HOUSE UPDATE ::::::::::::

I feel like we are officially home. Liam and I have somewhat of a weekly routine, which feels nice! Most all boxes up here are unpacked, and those that are downstairs are probably going to be down there for good. The garage is nice and tidy, and can fit Liam's toys and both of our cars :) The parade of contractors has finally slowed down, as most major projects have either been completed or are damn near close and no longer interfere with daily life. I feel like we've moved from the unpacking & survival phase of moving on to the organization and optimization phase. After that is completed (hopefully by time Baby #2 makes his / her arrival) we shall move on to the decorating & beautifying phase, which will most likely continue through 2010. It feels good.

We've added bird feeders to the backyard. I've never been so excited for something so small! We've got a couple pairs of adorable goldfinches that visit (they make me happy because they eat upside down...and they are yellow!), and we added another feeder hoping to attract a beautiful cardinal that visits our trees quite regularly....but he hasn't gotten close yet. We have gotten some chickadees and brown finches with red heads, though. They're noisy and cute and I love them!

:::::::::::: LIAM UPDATE ::::::::::::

Liam seems to be settled in and liking his new digs as well. We play in the backyard all the time, and he loves pushing his car and lawnmower around in the driveway (usually while I'm drawing with sidewalk chalk). I think the cutest part is when he we go in for the evening, he pushes and parks his car in the garage and tells it "night night". He's also getting much better at putting his toys away before bedtime...which is very nice :)

Here's a lawnmowing shot :)

Oh, the new funny expression for him is "DOH!" whenever he drops something. Guess where he got that from (hint: not me). I also taught him to come running to me for a kiss whenever he gets an owie (hey, I needed more excuses to give him smootchies!). He's still loving books and reading, and trains and cars too. We're also taking a gymnastics class (have I mentioned that before? Not sure...). This class has been great not just as an energy expunger, but also at teaching him how to follow directions and wait his turn...two things he's not very good at yet, but is really starting to grasp the concept of simply because of the class. And he looks so cute running around in short shorts and swinging on the bars :)

I hope we can continue some form of this type of class after this one ends...but it won't be with Chicago Park District (since we're no longer residents....bastards!).

His vocabulary and sentence building skills are EXPLODING too! Tonight even, he said "Nigh nigh mom-meee"(Night Night Mommy) as I left his room (and also nigh nigh da-dee - as Pat just told me). Other new expressions are "Ah no hon-kneee" (I know Honey) and "*insert color here* car" - oh yeah, his colors are rockin' the house. Buu, Wred, yeh-yow, oornge, reen, white, blak, pur-poh, pink. Pat says he's a little Minah Bird....basically repeating everything we say (usually when we don't expect it!).

With the good comes the bad...tantrums are starting as well. We've tried a couple different methods of discipline, but alas, it seems that time-outs are most effective. Why is it that the things you say are dumb and that you're never going to do always end up in your life anyway?? I didn't think we were time out people...but it seems to work.

Aside from the tantrums and general pain in the ass-yness, I'm totally loving this stage of his development!

Critter update

2009-07-08T22:15:00.002-05:00

We're not worried at the moment about the raccoons or the chipmunks.....but we did need to take care of the skunk. So we called a couple wildlife control services and decided to go with Smithereen - and not just because they had the coolest name. They weren't the least expensive (although all the quotes were in the same general ball park), but the guy (Dave) was prompt in his return phone calls, very informative and patient with all my questions...and just seemed plain nice.

He arrived this morning and set the traps next to our perpatrator's lair, baited them with marshmallows (heh. Who knew skunks like marshmallows???) and left us with instructions on what to expect and to call if we see the skunk in the trap in the next day or two. The traps are set in a way to only capture the skunk that is living under your stoop, not any random neighborhood skunk.

I heard a little bit of rustling shortly after dark (as did Thalia...she crept to the front door to investigate...which I promptly closed before she could get too close, even though the traps and stoop are way below kitty viewing from the front door). Pat just checked and shined the flashlight through the front windows, and sure enough, there's a cute little black and white dude trying to get out of his steel coffin.

*sigh*

I'm happy he won't be a nuisance to us anymore, but I'm pretty sad they will have to kill him. State law I think. I realize there are no shortage of skunks...He just looks so little, like he's still just a baby :( Pat thinks its an adult though. Even Dave the Smithereen Guy said they're harmless little buggers, especially once they get un-stinky. I'd kind of like to snuggle him. The skunk...not Dave. Is that weird?

Smithereen will come to collect him tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure they keep the traps for a few additional days to make sure there aren't any more taking residence in the same lair. I've got my fingers crossed that its just one, and not a family. I'd really be sad about killing baby animals. Last year a co-worker had to deal with a mama skunk and 5 babies, and it wasn't fun....then they give us tips on how to Skunk proof the porch, so no one else moves in.

One more thing crossed off the list!!

Frustration and crazy emotions

2009-07-05T21:38:00.002-05:00

I'm not adjusting to life in the suburbs well - and I'm not exactly sure why. The reason changes on a regular basis...today it was because it is too damn quiet here. And I'm pretty sure Liam is totally mad at us for moving. Pat thinks he's been out of sorts and crabby because he's finishing cutting those 2nd molars, but I know better than that.

Liam is sleeping pretty regularly at night and naptime, which is fantastic, but throughout the day he's just cranky, sometimes wanders around like he's lost, and has been THE brattiest boy - pushing limits and testing us like mad. OK, I suppose these all could be just normal developmental terrible two stuffs, but I'm convinced he hates our home.

Back to me though....I'm just feeling a little lonesome and sad and just in general having trouble. Our condo was such a social place - even just taking a breather outside you got to talk to people on a regular basis. Here....not so much. Our neighbors on both sides seem pretty nice, but they don't hang outside....and even if you say hello its not the same going through a 6 foot wood fence.

Don't get me wrong, I'm loving our home. I love the space, I love having room for visitors, I love the convenience of having a driveway and a grill and no rules but our own.....but the projects are starting to wear on me (the electrical work is not done yet due to some inspection issues from the village), and it feels like we're bleeding cash (hey, at least we're doing our best to stimulate the economy), and everything isn't it its place. Oh yeah, and I perpetually have dirty feet. Its kind of gross. We just can't seem to clean enough. I think until we can scrub the basement free of the 50 year dust that is harboring there, I don't think our feet will be clean.

I know everything will work itself out eventually....but eventually can't come soon enough.

Settling in....

2009-07-05T21:15:00.002-05:00

We've cleared through most of the boxes on our main living area....I'm still avoiding the basement and garage as much as possible because of the chaos that is still residing there....but it feels good to have a semi normal living space. We're working through it. Pat is / has been a major trooper working his butt off nearly every day tackling small and large projects. I feel so lucky to have him, yet so helpless while he's doing them.

We're also discovering the joys of living in a home that has a rather neglected yard. Not sure how long its been overgrowing (one year? two years? More??), but it has certainly attracted some attention of the pesky variety. We have a cute little bunny, or maybe more than one, that hangs out in the mornings in our backyard. He's kind of precious. There's actually quite a plethora of bunnies in the neighborhood. And they are all named Mr. Bun Bun.

There may or may not be some kind of chipmunk type thing living in the garage.....

Then there's the skunk. We discovered him a couple of days ago...and not by sight. Thankfully I couldn't smell much, but Pat was pretty sure he sprayed near the A/C which distributed the smell evenly throughout our abode. Yesterday I came home from Target to a husband sitting on the couch, swearing he was going to bring the American Flag inside, but decided against it when he saw a certain white striped critter scurry across our front porch path and beneath the bonzai bushes. Later he noted a nice hole under the concrete, and we've come to the conclusion that our stinky friend most likely resides there.

Last but not least, tonight a family of raccoons made their appearance in our backyard, shortly after we had come in for the night. It was a mama and two kiddos - so cute (until they claw your face off and give you rabies - as Pat noted). They traipsed from the overgrown bushes on the side of the garage, over to the tree in the middle of the yard, and then sashayed to the rear of the yard.... Not sure if they are visitors or permanent.

I've contacted a couple of pest control places (one of which is Smithereen - quite possibly the coolest named pest control business of all time) to get an inspection to see who else is living in our lot besides the O'Brien family, and what is the best way to take care of them. I told Pat I don't want to know about any killing of anything, because my little heart just can't handle that. I know that there are humane trapping type programs, but I'm not sure how effective or expensive that is. We shall see. I'd much rather think they'll be caught and removed from our place and find new homes in the forest.

Girls and boys days

2009-06-11T21:57:00.004-05:00

Long before we had actually planned to take over the NW Indiana O'Brien's home due to our relocation, we had planned to have a family gathering. The boys were going to go to a Tiger's Game (vs. the Sox), and the girls were going to go American Girl Place to celebrate Larkin's 5th birthday with a special birthday lunch. Liam and I decided to go with the girls, and we had a fabulous time. Much more fabulous, in fact, than the 3 hour rain delay that the boys got to experience....even though they did score Curtis Granderson autographs on thier hats :)

The whole American Girl thing is very foriegn to me, so I thought it would be fun to go and experience it first hand. Its pretty much all about celebrating being a girl and all the things that go along with it it....oh yeah, and buying crazy expensive dolls and crazy expensive accessories :)

During the lunch, Liam and I were able to score a "loaner" doll, so we didn't have to sit alone. Luckily I found a cute little boy, so Liam wouldn't feel too overwhelmed by all the chicks. He was so cute with the doll. He gave him high fives, was playing with his nose, eyes and hair, and the cutest of all, feeding it with the cute little cup and saucer :)

Even though Liam didn't nap more than 30 minutes all day - he was a champ!! Even when he spilled chocolate milk all over himself :) It was a fun day!

New House visit :)

2009-06-06T20:14:00.002-05:00

I spent some time this morning visiting our soon to be new house. Had to meet up with a couple of contractors to arrange work to be done after we close on the 17th. Also did a few measurements in the kitchen because I think we're going to put a few cabinets in. It was really exciting pulling up and seeing the "Sold!" sign out front :)

I was also surprised with how comfortable I was in the house by myself. In general, and especially in new places, I'm a bit skittish and weary when I'm alone....Jumping at all sorts of noises and such. But not today. It felt very good and natural, which is a good sign I think.

Its been a rough day - Friday I was out of commission most of the day due to a strange stomach issue. It must have been something I ate at The Melting Pot on Thursday night - it just did not sit well at all. I hurled a couple times last night, and spent most of the night awake on the couch trying not to yak. FYI - dry heaving while pregnant is not fun - I have no ab muscle at all and I am SORE as all heck today...all around my core. I'm starting to feel better though - thanks to Pat taking good care of me with Gatorade, pretzels and toast & jam. He's been awesome, especially considering that he's done about 90% of the packing while I've been chained to the bed. I did improve enough to finish packing Liam's room tonight though.

We've got the bathroom to pack, a wee little bit of bedrooms and the rest of the kitchen to finish out tomorrow, and then we'll be pretty much all boxed up. I think the kitchen we might wait til' Monday to finish up...its pretty tough to live without eating.

That's all for tonight - have a good evening and GO WINGS!!!!

/ freak out

2009-06-02T13:28:00.004-05:00

I tried to take a nap but failed because my mind was a-racin'. I vented to Pat about freaking out, then cried a little bit, then felt better. As long as lists are made and things keep getting checked off, I suppose we'll be chugging along...and hopefully its all done by Tuesday.

side note: I just fixed my ef key which was stuck and annoying the shit out of me - cat hair and crumbs were the culprits. Ew! /side note

Now to completely change the subject....I'm rather enjoying my life despite all the chaos right now. I think the majority of that is due to my partner in crime - Pat. We had kind of a deep conversation on the drive home from Michigan...or rather, I had a deep conversation and he nodded and said "Uh huh" a lot :) He admits he doesn't contemplate the hows and whys of life, but chooses to enjoy and be content with things as they are in the moment...which is probably why I love him so much since I tend to spend a lot of my time worrying about future events or disecting and analyzing past events. He really complements me well.

The jist of our semi-deep conversation was Fate & Destiny vs. Chance and the effect on the birth of our relationship. Basically, I feel like we were destined to be together...but Pat doesn't really believe in destiny. He questioned why, if it was fate, did we have to go through our respective divorces instead of just meeting and dating while students at U of M. I explained that I thought it was all part of the "Big Plan" - we had to go through what we went through in order to appreciate and treasure what we have currently. It was just awful enough to make us hurt, but not so much as to ruin us.

But there are other reasons, too. We're just so good together. He resists me just enough so I know I can't boss him around (even though I try to anyway). He's the very Zen to my high strung-ness, he's logic to my passion, the reserve to my extravertivity (hey, if physicality is a word, so is extravertivity). The ying to my yang, if you will. Balance.

But we're not opposites in all aspects. He's grounded in God, family, religion and just the general belief of being a good person. We have plenty of varied interests, but enough overlap to enjoy together. Similarly with style and tastes. He dislikes onions. He's oh so affectionate and snuggly, warm, and smells good. *sigh* And just plain dreamy. Our physical chemistry is off the charts (desitny?? Hmmm....)...even with the changes brought upon by kids and the comfort of daily life.

He is my Rock.

So in the midst of this storm, the chaos of moving and temporary living, the crazy ups and downs of pregnancy hormones, the coming and going of patience with Liam...I know I'll get through it all as long as he's next to me. I love you, Pat...thanks for being mine :)

Kind of freaking out...

2009-06-01T13:27:00.002-05:00

Just got word from the lawyer that the official closing date is June 10.

That leaves us less than 10 days to pack up our lives and prepare for 10 days of limbo. Egads.

I don't think its really hit me that we're moving until just this very second. I think I need to take a nap....maybe when I wake up I'll have a grip on reality.....

Photos from our Day in the City

2009-05-25T21:26:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple of pics from the train ride. Liam was pretty pumped. He loves trains, and he likes to watch people - so it was right up his alley :) We don't actually take the train very often...buses are more convenient.

And then a couple of pics snapped on the boat tour. First, the newest addition to Chicago's Skyline - the Trump Tower.

And, the most famous - The Sears Tower.

A Grand City Weekend

2009-05-25T20:59:00.002-05:00

I keep putting off posting, with grand hopes of uploading / processing my photos to include in the posts....but then I just get lazy and end up not posting at all.

So, I figured I should record the weekend's events, then add photos later. Maybe.

We had a great weekend - one of our last ones in the city - so we decided it would be great to be tourists in our own city. Friday, we spent the morning at Shedd visiting the new, re-imagined Oceanarium. It was actually quite lovely - a bit crowded and hectic, but overall a great visit.

Saturday we didn't do much as a family, because I had a birthday party to photograph downtown - but it was a lovely day to spend celebrating!

Sunday was sunny, but chilly and windy......we took a train ride downtown and took an architectural cruise on the Chicago River (Shoreline Cruises - check them out!). It was a pretty awesome 60 minute tour, even with a squirmy wormy toddler, Pat & I both enjoyed ourselves. Then, a quick lunch on Navy Pier and we jumped on the train back north.

That is definitely one of the things I'm going to miss - access to amazing public transportation. The EL is not right outside our door (like it was when Pat lived in the Gold Coast), but its a nice, easy stroll, and such a very nice way to see the city (at least the elevated portions of the Red Line, anyway). I love passing through the neighborhoods and seeing all the decks and brick buildings.....and especially passing Wrigley Field. Just a cool place to live, you know? I'm thankful for the time I've lived here...but I know that its time to move on. I'm ready to head back to the 'burb living. Its just more my gig anyway.

But I digress....

Today was a leisurely day as well, the local cemetery - Rosehill Cemetery - has a Memorial service & Parade every year. Being that its only a block away, we decided to actually make it to the parade and service this year instead of just walking through the Isle of Flags later in the day (as we have the two years previous). Its a beautiful sight, actually. Flags that have graced the coffins of local veterans line the pathways along the cemetery's entrance (donated by friends and family). Even before I knew the flags' origins, I thought it was beautiful. We made it partway through the ceremony (we missed Abe Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and the Civil War re-enactment) and headed home with an incredibly tired Liam. I've also been admiring our neighborhood a lot lately as we walk through. Very nostalgic, I've become. I'll miss the old buildings, the old old trees.....

Then I spent the afternoon babysitting a sweet little girl, and now I'm home. I can't seem to shake these damn headaches - I'm sure they're just allergy related, but they are annoying just the same.

Tomorrow is our home inspection on the new joint. Thanks to Gayle for the recommendation on inspectors! Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!!!

Shedd Aquarium Polar Play Zone slide

2009-05-23T21:27:00.001-05:00

Shedd Aquarium Polar Play Zone slide, originally uploaded by Shedd Aquarium.

A heck of a lot better than the photos Pat took of Liam on the slide :) Isn't he the cutest little penguin ever?!?!

OK - don't get too excited.

2009-05-14T21:52:00.002-05:00

You know, that's pretty much impossible for me. I'm pretty much an all or nothing kinda gal. Which comes in handy in a LOT of situations - graduating college, for instance. I made up my mind what I wanted to do in 10th grade, and didn't stop until I had it done. Or when I decided I wanted to live & work in Mexico at some point. It took 6 years to finagle it, but I did it!

So we found a house we like, that is just slightly out of our price range. I really really like it. Maybe not love it, but really like it. I like it the most out of all the other ones we've seen. So how the heck am I not supposed to get excited about it? Yes, I realize there's a chance we may not be able to get it.....but still. Really? Not excited? Not crushed if it doesn't work out? Nope. That is not a skill I have in my repertoire.

We put an offer in tomorrow - then we wait for the rejection or negotiation. Keep your prayers coming in, and fingers and toes crossed....and lets hang on for the ride!!!!

House Hunting - Round 3

2009-05-12T06:55:00.002-05:00

So here's how it works. We pick a city we think might work for us. We scope out a zillion 20 listings online and narrow that down to 20 or so. Then we go drive around the neighborhoods and slash those by 50% based on neighborhood / potential, etc. Then we visit those, and well, maybe 1 or 2 will be prospective homes for the O'Brien Family.

So, like the Lotto, the chances of hitting the home jackpot are pretty slim. Its a matter of finding, I think, the right combination of things in a couple of top pickings, and then figuring out which features we want over need.

We've hit Evanston (totally disappointing...can't afford jack shit there), and Skokie (we like the area since its so close to the city, but most of the homes are pretty small and old and need lots of work). Yesterday Special Agent Adrian and I hit Niles & Morton Grove. Better visits than the past two times we've been out (even though people were home during our visits...wtf is that all about...I don't want you there while I'm looking in your closets people. GET OUT!) although those 'burbs are further away from the city than I'd like.

We've got one or two houses in Skokie we like - there were three I saw yesterday that Pat needs to see tomorrow - so we're making progress. I just wish it was going more quickly. Having a toddler definitely cramps my house hunting style. Liam has about a two stop limit on any car trip, then he gets crabby and antsy. I think for the future, we'll have to ship Liam off to someone to watch while we go look together. That is better than adding two days onto our searching every time one of us goes out. Its just another pain in the ass to add to the process.

So where do we stand now? Well, as far as we know, our new prospective owners still want to close on this joint on June 10, which is only a few short weeks away. It looks like then we'll have to move our stuff into storage, and then live either with family nearby for a week or so, or if its longer then find a temporary furnished condo. Luckily, there are quite a few options as far as that goes - people going on sabbatical or traveling for the summer.

The uncertainty is the only thing that is killing me right now....I'm slowly but surely learning to deal with it though. Actually, typing it all out makes it sound like less of a big deal than I've made it in my head, so that's a good thing.

Next stop looks like Park Ridge....I'll let you know how it goes!

Light speed ahead...

2009-05-11T08:04:00.002-05:00

We received an offer on our condo the early days of May, and after a day or two of arguing and negotiating, we had a signed contract in the bag. Since then we've been incredibly busy, working out details with lawyers, agents, inspectors and the like. Oh, yes, and not to mention trying to find a home where we can move in about a month. EGADS!

The process has been exciting, but incredibly stressful. Mostly because in my pregnant state I'm pretty much wound up as a baseline, and get easily overwhelmed and very irritated in any kind of pressured state. Thankfully, my wonderful agent and amazing husband have been all kinds of patient and supporting, especially given all the abuse I've doled out (and have yet to dole) their way. We'll find the right place soon enough...I do have faith.

::::::::::::::MOTHER'S DAY::::::::::::::

We had a splendid mother's day. My official gift was my new car that I got a few weeks ago. The day of, I was treated to a sleeping in day (ooohhH! until 8AM! AWESOME) then I treated myself to a pedicure with some fabulous gals (WHOO HOO Meredith & Adrian!), then headed off to a swank lunch at Texas de Brazil with the family and Mike & Kristen & troupe. Then spent the afternoon chillin in the car scoping out new neighborhoods and places to live. It really was a great day. And I'm reminded that it doesn't matter where we live, actually. Only that we're all together.

Zombie-licious

2009-04-22T07:50:00.003-05:00

That's pretty much what I feel like today. A big, giant, flesh eating zombie. OK, minus the flesh eating part. I didn't sleep well last night (as I haven't the past few months or so) and I'm paying for it today. It was a combination of not being able to fall asleep until 1:30AM, and then waking up at 4:30 and not being able to fall back asleep. *sigh* it really blows. I'm going to do my best to contain my thoughts in an easily followable train of thought, but I really am in no position to make guarantees.

I'm a lucky girl - Liam has been quite content to play with himself & his cars this morning, so I've had minimal entertaining other than providing breakfast. He also hasn't complained too much about my musical choice (Jack Johnson on shuffle) so I've got that going for me. I've also had a semi productive morning thus far - I've placed two orders, one for Origins skin care and another for some computer stuff (Wacom Tablet, YAY!). I also somehow already managed to shower myself, dress, make coffee and eat, too.

< Rant > When I lost my job I decided I wasn't going splurge and purchase expensive skin care. Since then my skin has gone haywire. I realize part of that is being pregnant, but really, I enjoyed my products and felt good when I used them. So I decided I'm worth at least that. It might be $75 two or three times a year, but I'll scrimp and save to make it work. Because the $5 Oil of Olay stuff just isn't doing it for me. I cringe every time I put it on my face. And it doesn't smell pretty. < /end rant >

Can you believe its been about a year, to the day, since I was relieved from my corporate duties? Wow. That blows my mind. One year without having a real job. One year without having a car. I'm continuing to look, but to be honest there still isn't much out there. And I'm really enjoying (most days) taking care of Liam. Especially when we go to the park and see Nannies for the most part ignoring the kids and talking on the phone or texting. It's been a good year - we're still holding our own financially (thanks in part to Uncle Sam and Mr. Unemployment), but that will all end in another month....so it will be another interesting transition - one that I have no doubt that we'll conquer, even with adding another mouth to feed. I'm planning on ramping up the photography business, which has been holding its own without much tending over the past few months. So I feel safe.

I spoke too soon....Liam is demanding attention. Doesn't he know that I'm BUSY!??! The nerve of that child! *sigh* Whew - he's off to play in his fort. This is my other issue. I'm very short tempered and not able to dedicate much to anyone these days, especially Pat & Liam.....which is sad. It is improving since the first trimester has passed. I feel better for the most part, and I'm able to eat most things which is giving me a bit of energy. I'm still so tired constantly. And unable to deal with the easiest of tasks. Its frustrating!!! I'm not sure if the craziness and moodiness will pass as the nausea did (my bet is no) but hopefully Pat can continue to put up with it for 6 months. He's been amazing thus far, and surprised me with his patience and support.

The whole home selling thing isn't helping much either. I feel like I'm living in someone else's house, and its getting old pretty quick. I think we've been back on the market for about two months now. Still getting a pretty consistent flow of people, good feedback. I know there is someone out there....I'm just impatient and impetuous about it all (which, btw, isn't a correct use of that word, but I like the way it sounds so I'm keeping it in there).

OK. I suppose I've ignored my child long enough. It looks like it might be nice enough to go out for a walk, so I think we will....as soon as I finish this coffee.

Liam update :)

2009-04-11T07:59:00.004-05:00

We had Liam's 18 month check up yesterday, and everything went well. He's 24.5 pounds, 33.5 inches. Long and lean, as the doc says :) AND, we only got one shot! WHOO HOOO!!! I can't believe his next appointment is at 2 years old. Sheesh - he's such a big boy!

Yesterday we also had a family adventure at Chase Park: Our very first Easter egg hunt! We actually had a mini hunt at our house on Thursday with the family over so he could practice :) Worked out well actually. He was excited to pick up "Eggies" again, and he put them right in the basket. Wasn't really diggin' the Easter Bunny though. Not surprising, since Santa kinda scared the bejesus out of him at Christmas too.

Yes, he did keep those ears on the entire time. Even after we went inside to play on the toys :) Its only because we put them on right before he went to look for eggs, so he was immediately distracted, and I'm pretty sure he forgot he had them on :) No matter - he looked adorable anyway!

Here's a scrappy update for you....

Playing around with Text...

Papa

St. Patrick's Day 2009

How to give me a heart attack

Bunny Ears

I'm realizing after looking at these that my kid needs a hair cut. Badly. Although he rocks the shaggy look pretty well.

OK, well, time to clean for our 3rd showing of the week. We're still getting plenty of traffic, but still no bites yet. I've got my heart set on selling this place, so I continue to hope and pray that each showing will end in a sale....but its taking a lot of energy out of me!! I refuse to be negative though...its not much in my nature.

O'Brien offspring update

2009-03-24T20:22:00.005-06:00

Throughout the day Liam does so many new, cute and amazing things that I wish my memory were good enough to document them all! Alas, my memory, especially my pregnant memory, is particularly horrible - so as soon as I tell myself "Ah Karin! Don't forget that!" the thought is gone.

He's really talking and saying a lot right now, which amuses me to no end. There is nothing sweeter to my ears than the little voice of a child. One of his newest phrases is "Awww DUDE!" which sounds more like "Awww DOooo", but still adorable just the same. He's very into trying to repeat things that we say. He really enjoys pointing out and repeating letters. Its kind of cool to see that he's aware that each letter does have a name, even if he doesn't know which ones are which yet. He really likes to repeat letters called out on Wheel of Fortune. A favorite pastime, no doubt. Here are some other words / phrases that he knows, along with translations (if its not very obvious)

Liam-ese - Translation

Go Go - Hugo (purple hippo) or Jugo (juice)
Go Go - lets go go!
Awa - Agua
Titee - Kitty
Choo Choo - Choo Choo
Awwriiiiight - All Right!
Oh No!
No
Ar Car - Car
Ahh po - Apple
Dah dah (in cookie monster voice) - Cookie
Sometimes he actually says cookie!
Ah gog - Hot Dog
Beee - Beans
omma - Momma
Dada
ah pa / Papa
weeee - Please
Bee Bo - Belly button
Nana - Banana
Pee pee - Penis <-- very important one LOL
Up up
Ahpa - Help
Dow - Down
Me
No - Nose
Eye - Eyes
WeeeEEeee
Kee - Keys
Beep
wee wee - Tweet Tweet
OOOhs - Shoes
Ackie - Snackies
Quackie - Duck

I'm sure there are more that I'm missing, but that's as good as my poor little brain will do tonight. He's also doing so many cute things - like when I tell him to give something / someone "Big Hugs" he lays his head down on his shoulder, squeezes the object and says "Awwwwwww". Totally makes my heart melt.

In other offspring news, I had a 12 week ultrasound on Monday. Things seem to be progressing well. I'm still feeling pretty craptastic. Less nauseous than before, but little to no appetite, and when I do feel like eating I'm certainly not eating healthy. I'm down about five pounds since the beginning of the pregnancy, hopefully that trend won't continue. I'm still trying to find "the right" prenatal vitamin for me, which has been fun (insert sarcasm here).

Even with an ultrasound and seeing the actual baby on screen, I'm still apprehensive about everything. Like I feel like something is wrong. Not founded at all, but still I can't seem to shake it. In general, I'm much more on edge with this pregnancy than with Liam - lots of anxiousness, irritability, etc. That has by far been the worst thing about this whole experience. In talking to other friends who are during pregnancy #2 as well, they've said the same thing. Maybe after you've been through the process, there is actually more to worry about? I dunno. I was soooo chill with Liam in my belly. Its just so strange.

AND - my skin is so gross. I feel like a zit mania convention is taking place on my head and back. Nasty.

DOOOMMMMED - DOOOOMED I say!

2009-03-24T20:13:00.003-06:00

*GASP* I'm going to be computerless for about two weeks. Hopefully less, but definitely at least two weeks. I've been having issues with my computer for the past six months or so (starting about six months after I bought it) and finally, after the 5th service call, they told me to send it in, even though its about two months out of warranty.

So they are sending me a box - I'm shipping it to then, and hopefully it comes back shiny and new. Hopefully.

Right now I'm backing up all my files onto my EHD and possibly CD too, and hopefully finishing up some editing and layouts that I need to get done before the box comes. It will be an interesting few days. Pat does have a computer for work, so I may be able to check my gmail account, but Facebook is blocked and because "Big Brother" is always watching, there will be very little surfage going on.

Egads.

Truth be told, I'm kind of looking forward to a technology break. I spend way too much time and energy online. The only thing I "need" to do is digital scrapbook for my creative team commitments, and edit photos, but I go way above and beyond that. I think when the computer returns I might start giving myself computer hours...you know, only using the computer between such and such time or whatever. Then maybe I'll be more judicious about what I'm doing at the computer and when I'm doing it. Right now, I'll jump on for something, get sidetracked by email or facebook and then completely forget why I got on to begin with. That is really just silly.

We'll see how she goes!!

Big pile o' crabbiness

2009-03-22T09:27:00.003-06:00

That's what I am lately. I've got quite possibly the shortest fuse this side of the Pecos. Everything irritates me. Everything pisses me off. It's really not a fun way to live life, you know? Especially when you have a slightly sick toddler, who is kind of whiney.

Anyway, when I've got my pissy pants on it gets pretty tough for me to want to blog. It, too, makes me angry. For no particular good reason.

But, what makes me happy is to have a husband that is home from Vegas, even with money in his pocket. Not as much as when he left, but its always good to come home with some, right?

Now, we three are going to take a walk on this fabulous Sunday morning. If I can kick this headache I might even partake in a couple of open houses this afternoon. We shall see what the day brings!

Papa came to visit!

2009-03-13T08:48:00.001-06:00

I did manage to catch a couple of photos of Liam and Papa, but I haven't uploaded them yet (I know, famous last words). I've got a ton to do today to prepare for my Wisconsin departure, so they will have to wait. Alas, it was a wonderful couple of days, I LOVE it when family comes to visit!! I miss them sooooo very much...and Liam likes it too :) We didn't do a whole lot, Dad, er, I mean Papa came with us to our Music class yesterday, and now they are snuggling on the couch watching Little Einsteins...and he'll be heading back to Saginaw later today :( Thanks for visiting Dad!

A piece of me you seek, yes?

2009-03-04T07:29:00.001-06:00

A piece of me you seek, yes?, originally uploaded by Balakov.

Seriously....almost makes me want to be a Star Wars junkie! Almost...

Indy Outdoors

2009-03-04T07:26:00.001-06:00

Indy Outdoors, originally uploaded by Balakov.

The whole Indy / Star Wars Lego themes totally are the cutest EVER!!!!!!

Raising the flag on Iwo Jima

2009-03-04T07:25:00.003-06:00

Raising the flag on Iwo Jima, originally uploaded by Balakov.

Semper Fi!

Lego me Lego's

2009-03-04T07:15:00.003-06:00

I think I've mentioned in the past I have a long storied history with Legos. In fact, I simply CANNOT wait until Liam gets old enough to have his own sets. Makes me all giddy inside. Along with that comes a slightly unhealthy obsession with Lego people. I really don't know what it is about them, but I LOVE them. Seriously. They are SO cute! Quite possibly one of the cutest things known to man. Dare I say, even cuter than puppy dogs and kittens (although, not as cuddly).

It has come to my attention that there area a ton of weirdos out there just like me, perhaps even more wacky. This has been a fun diversion over the past couple of days, because these people are easily findable on the great Flickrverse! The detail and precision that goes into photographing these little peeps is simply incredible.

I'll post a couple of my faves......

Showing a go-go

2009-03-02T19:07:00.002-06:00

We had our first showing of 2009 tonight, I think it went pretty well. But really, you never know I suppose....I really, really REALLY want this place to sell. Really. REALLY.

I've been praying my butt off. I've never felt comfortable asking The Big Man for favors, but at this point I figure it couldn't hurt. I mean, all things in His time anyway, right? What do I have to lose. We're also burning a St. Jude candle and have a St. Joe buried...and besides, Eunice said its OK to ask for things as long as I thank him for something first :)

So, if there are any other prayers available out there - we'd love to have some our way!

Sooooo......

2009-03-01T20:56:00.002-06:00

I'm here! I'm here!

*sigh* its been a bit of madness, but its all working itself out. I kept on waiting to post until I had our new baby's glamour shot scanned, but that's probably not going to happen any time soon so I must move on.

Yes, our new baby!

Announcing Baby O'Brien Numero Dos, slated to arrive October 8, 2009!

Exciting eh? Yes, still early, but so far things are plugging along. The glamour shot I spoke of featured nothing other than a blob from our first ultrasound a couple few days ago :) But its so cute already!

So, that has spurred the re-listing of our home (officially on the market - first showing is tomorrow! YAY!). I've also been feeling pretty pooptastic with nausea (no barfing thank GOD), which pretty much sucks the blogging ju ju right out of me.

In other big news - i have to totally re-evaluate my business because of a seminar I attended on Friday, and that just stresses me out to no end....

And then, there are taxes. Ick. We bought turbo tax because I figured with unemployment and all the roll-over crap it would be kind of hard, but Pat doesn't feel good about it - he thinks he can do better doing it on his own. So I shall let him, and we'll see what kind of number he comes up with. Either way, we're still going to be owing Uncle Sam...probably out the wazoo.

Ick. Pat is watching Lord of the Rings. I hate those movies. Totally creep me out.

OK, enough randomness...have a great week!

We're home!

2009-02-14T20:25:00.002-06:00

Ahhhh - back from Tucson and trying to get back into the swing of things! I'm working on uploading / editing the photos from the trip....hopefully I'll be able to post them all soon!!

Until then - Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Truer words were never spoken

2009-02-04T12:33:00.000-06:00

In a true Karin roundabout fashion (via a high school friend reconnected through Facebook turning me onto an amazing photographer in Atlanta, Ross Oscar Knight, that I stalk...er...admire) - I read a post from this man's blog and was really struck by his words:

"So many of us doubt ourselves. I know I do sometimes. We doubt our intelligence, our decisions, our spirituality, our talents, our gifts, and even our physical appearance. The truth of the matter is this: If you will gather the courage to stand and turn around, you will see your growth and be thankful for that. Some of us have bad memories that we would rather not recount, however, you must be thankful for the obstacles you have already overcome."

I think this is particularly inspiring, as I'm often one to bash myself.....once in a great while, like right now, I'm grateful for my gifts; so very thankful for who I am, who I have become, and where I am heading. Its a good feeling, and we all should take a minute to pat ourselves on the back once and a while. Try it - it feels pretty darn good!

You can see the original post here: Destination Wedding Photographers | Africa, Caribbean, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Mi: I Was Blinded by the Sun

WOW

2009-02-03T22:03:00.004-06:00

Those pics are huge.....just tried something different, and I don't like it at all. Oh well - you live and learn and I'm too lazy to change it now.

I'm excited about my new look - yellow makes me happy! I made these with templates by Amy Bleser at A Cherry on Top, and a kit by Belly Gypsy Designs (also at ACOT). Check them out! I actually think I may keep this for a while.....

Happy Groundhog Day!

2009-02-03T21:39:00.006-06:00

I was corrected earlier by my dear husband, that it is not Groundhog's Day (as in President's Day, or Veteran's Day) but, in fact, not plural......but rather Groundhog Day. I know I'm a day late, but we celebrated the holiday today with our Momfia crew. I should start by saying I've never celebrated this holiday more than watching Bill Murray a time or two....I should have known we were in for some kind of treat when Jen called "dibs" on Groundhog Day last fall. She said it was one of her favorite holidays. She wasn't lying!

We arrived to Jen wearing a groundhog shirt & necklace, with Nick in a sweet groundhog bandana / hat thing. There were groundhog cupcakes, groundhog crafts, and of course, Groundhog Day playing on the TV. There were also fan club cards, napkins, and I'm pretty sure she makes some kind of groundhog shaped meatloaf for her family, but we didn't get to partake in that because it was a morning meeting :) It was quite a treat to be able to experience someone else's love/obsession for a holiday that I hadn't celebrated before! I, of course, forgot my camera for the event, but I did snap a few pics of our take home goodies! Thanks Jen for an AWESOME morning Momfia meeting!

Liam really loved the Phil Pop Up!!!

Cute Phil Ears...

Hmmm....does Phil see his shadow??? It probably doesn't count indoors, does it?

And, most importantly, Liam's membership card! Officially stamped and everything!

And, here's a video of Liam enjoying his very own Punxsutawney Phil with googley eyes. He later started dancing like Phil when I wiggled the groundhog in the cup....and he would blink his eyes to look more like googley eyes :) No video of that though :)

Dining Out; the lost treasure

2009-01-21T18:07:00.002-06:00

One of the best ways we've sliced and diced our budget was by eliminating our dining out spending. Pat was reviewing our spending habits, and our AMEX bill noted that the past three months we have had $0 spending at restaurants. $0. WOW - that's pretty impressive, especially considering we probably spent well over $300 a month with all the fast food and take out alone. And a FAR, far cry from the days when Pat lived in the Gold Coast, and we could drop $200 on one steak dinner! Part of that is because what little money we do spend dining out (less than $100 a month) is spent in cash. Side Note: {Click here for the Dave Ramsey way to control your spending by using an cash envelope system} I would like add that Dave Ramsey and the Total Money Makeover are awesome :) The other part is that we just don't eat out much any more. It is simply cheaper to eat at home. I don't particularly like cooking....but I've learned to not hate it, and I've cooked some great meals in the process.

The reason I bring this up is because Pat, Liam and I had a fabulous dinner tonight. We cashed in all of our loose change ($58.00! Whoo hooO!) and treated ourselves to a Mexican dinner at Campeche. We went early, around 5PM, and Liam was so well behaved (not that I expect him to be crazy - but you never know), it was so nice!! The service was good, food was good, the kid was good, what more could I have asked for!

At the end of our stay, the waiter gave Liam a blue balloon, which he *LOVES*. We taught him how to say "globo" - which is the Spanish word. It sounds so cute coming out of his mouth...."Ooooh bo" "Gooooohhh bo".

Slashing our budget was such a good thing for us, I think. Not just financially. It makes me appreciate the things we do so much more.....

Sleep, why doest thee elude me?

2009-01-20T22:23:00.004-06:00

I've been having issues the past week or so falling asleep. As in, not falling asleep until 1:30 - 2:30 in the AM. Very distressing, especially since little peanut gets up without fail at around 6AM. No wonder I've been so cranky in the morning. First night I thought I took my allergy meds too late in the day (those will keep me up for HOURS)....the second night I thought I drank too much coffee too late in the day (which I do, but it usually doesn't have that effect on me). Then I realized its just my mind racing. I don't give it enough decompress time throughout the day, so my thoughts come a racin' at night. So I need to quit the TV & internet about a half hour before bed so I can journal or just think. So far how am I doing? I'm blogging at 10:30 when Pat's already gone to bed.

I've also got a notepad and pen bedside so if I do have a great idea I can jot it down and revisit it in the morning....that way I can let it go at night. That seemed to work OK. Also, practicing some yoga / deep breathing / meditation / relaxation techniques seem to help as well....but I don't have very good control over my mind yet, so it still tends to wander. Of course, if all else fails at 2AM is quickly approaching, I can always wake Pat up to get it on ;o) He's always happy to help cure insomnia that way (sorry Mom - it had to be said).

So what does my mind race about? Mostly the photography business - I've got so many ideas, so many things to do....and yet throughout the course of the day they don't seem to get done. Either because I'm chasing Liam, or because I get stuck in the never ending rut of Facebook (that site is like Crack to me).

Side note: Liam, Pat & I went to the dentist yesterday to get some cleanin' done. Looks like I may have the beginnings of my very first cavity. I have to make an appoinment to get it taken care of in the next couple of months....but just thinking of it makes me want to pass out. I get so anxious about stuff like that. I should be thankful I've gone 31 years avoiding the drill....but instead I'm panicked about getting a filling! Will someone come and hold my hand??

OK - things that are important to do this week:

Get brows waxed (they are OUT of control)
Movie night with the Momfia crew (yay! I need my girlz!)
More photo editing :)
Dessert night with the Thursday Playgroup ladies!
Get some sleep!
Start / finish book 3 of the Twilight Series (thank you, Jamie, for hooking me on this...)
Change my blogwear....its way past Christmas now.....
Blog about the idea I had last night, then forgot about, then remembered because I wrote it down, but then forgot again and can't write about it because its all the way in the bedroom.

*phew*. OK, I think I'll get off the computer now.....just as soon as I check my facebook newsfeed....

Sweet little boy...

2009-01-16T06:48:00.002-06:00

2009-01-10 Random 05, originally uploaded by karintobrien.

When he's not whining my ears off, he's actually kind of cute. Today, he woke up whining, and hasn't stopped. I suppose I'm posting this picture to remind myself that he is an adorable little thing.....even if it does feel like blood is dripping out of my ears at the moment.