I'm here!

I'm currently exhausted and trying to keep up with my family. I know I know, I say I'm always tired. I'll stop. No really, I will stop. Erich even commented on how boring my blog is, what can I say? I'm a boring person.

I'm working on a photo gallery thingy. I'm thinking I'm going to need more of Erich's help then I wanted to ask for. hrmph. It will be password protected, so when I get it done ya'll can let me know who wants to see my girly. I'll post occasional pictures here and there, but I'm thinking I should confine it to one space. I'd like to know who's going there to look around.

Magdalena is saying two words! :) The first one was, you guessed it, Dada. She says this with a very happy smile on her face when she sees a picture of him, or rolls over in bed and doesn't see him on his side. Dada! :)

Her second word is Mama. I had her on the floor the other day and when I came back in the room she was crying saying, "MaaaaMaaaa, MaaaaMaaaa, MaaaMaaa,MMMMM" It's happened on a couple more occasions so I'm saying it's official. The sucky part is she says it when she is sad, and Dada when she is happy. Boo. Be happy to see me too little girl! :)

Magdalena is getting to be such a big girl! (well not in size, but in personality!) Look at how her leg is in the picture! Just cracks me up. Oh, and I'm in the picture too, at least my shadow is! :)  

Long Time

It's been an incredibly long and busy week. Sorry for the lack of posts. The biggest news this last week is that Erich is finished with school! He got two A's in his last two courses and was already informed he had met all the requirements for graduation! :) They'll confirm all of the grades on Sept. 2 and order the diplomas. They are hoping the diplomas will be in by late October! Once they confirm grades, I'll probably have an open house bbq in honor of my graduate. :)

The second big thing is that I will be continuing my home care. I'm excited about this because it will bring about extra income that we so desperately need! I already have lots of things lined up to pay such as plates, car insurance, and such things. I also want some new size 2 kissaluvs (well I'll actually order from the outlet store) but I'm hoping to buy a couple dozen of those. Hopefully we'll have a nice christmas too.

I've been sunning my diapers that are really stained right out of the dryer. It's been nice to have them taken care of and it's amazing how quickly the stains dissappear. I've also stayed on top of all of the laundry which is so relieving.

I'm sorta staying on top of my house too. It's hard with everyone coming and going, but I feel like I am getting my act together again. We've been enjoying some fresh air outside and have had the window and door open practically all week. I'm loving not running the air conditioner, I can practically feel the money staying in my pocket! ha! We actually had to shut everything a couple times last week because we were cold!

It's so wild to be so chilly in August. I was thinking back to our wedding day (August 10, 2002). It was about a 100 degrees outside with a heat index of 110 degrees. I was thanking myself that we had found a church and decided against that wedding in the park. My legs were actually sweating underneath my wedding gown IN the air conditioning. I won't ever forget that.

I must go, the diva is calling. She's been incredibly clingy this past week or so. I think it is because she is so so so so so close to actually crawling on all fours. She does creep and army crawl backwards. I think she could physically crawl, it's really just about getting the confidence and the dance of it down. And she doesn't like staying on her tummy that long so usually just rolls on over to her back etc to get to her destination of choice.

Breastfeeding Terms

(From an email I received today.)

Definitions of breastfeeding terms:

Boob Lift - The unconscious lifting of one's breasts to check which isfuller. May be done at any time regardless of where you are or whomyou're talking to, grocery sackers and priests/rabbis notwithstanding.

Nursing Flip - The action of adjusting you and your baby to make readyfor nursing. This means moving your tee-shirt off your butt, doing the"boob-lift", putting the baby in the crook of your arm and unlatchingyour bra, all in about 15 seconds, with no attention taken away from yourprevious task.

Wet-Nurse Syndrome - The unconscious urge to nurse any fussy baby youhappen to be holding; you may be engaged in casual conversation whileholding your neighbor's baby, she fusses and you do the "nursing flip,"your neighbor looks at you shocked, "oh my, she must be hungry," youmumble as you pass her infant back. *A side-effect of this is the"breastmilk fixes everything" philosophy. Actually pumping your milk forthe stray kitten you found, under the rational that, of course, humanmilk is better than cow milk for a starving kitten. You may also findyourself using breastmilk for your family's various wounds: "Got a sore, earacheor zit? Put some breastmilk on it, that'll fix it.'' (least that's whatthey say, can't hurt)

Boobie Wrangling - The acrobatics your toddler does while nursing,including but not limited to flips, headstands, & taffy pulls, all whilesurrounded by relatives who believe that should have been weaned monthsago. The benefit of this exercise is that you can now nurse your childwhile each of you lie on your backs.

Twiddling - What happens if everyone fails to mention that your babycaressing your other breast while nursing is NOT sweet. Never, neverletyour baby know that you can possibly have two breasts at the same time.Always keep the unused breast covered, lest you want your littlenurslingto use it as her favorite toy. This becomes a habit quick, heed ourwarning.

The Steal - The act of removing your nipple from your already sleepingbaby's mouth so that you may roll over or sneak out of bed for somemidnight internet use. Typically takes 2 or 3 tries to succeed.

Just a Sip - When your now-walking baby comes to you, lifts your shirt,grabs a drink to refuel him/herself for 10 more minutes of play. Thisactof helping themselves is a show of independence for them, and a show ofbreast for everyone else in the room.

Car Surfing - What you are doing when you strategically hover yourbreastover the baby's car seat while daddy drives down the interstate,ignoringyour butt in the rearview mirror.

Ecstasy Eyes - Picture this: baby is screaming at your feet while youaretalking on the phone, cooking dinner, and getting a band-aid for yourtoddler. You finally sit and pick up the baby to nurse, and she goesfromscreaming wildly to rolling her eyes to the back of her head in ecstasyinonly a few seconds.

Kneading - The act of dang near maiming your breast tissue while youradorable (and sharp nailed) little one nurses. This can result in yourbreast looking like you've just nursed a kitten.

Con tu adios te llevas mi corazon

Today is my 2nd anniversary. I didn't know what life would be like when I approached that alter two years ago. I wondered where we would go together and what obstacles we would face. In that first year, we faced infertility. We worked together to make a baby who is the most beautiful child I have ever seen. During the second year, we celebrated being pregnant, rubbing my belly, and trying to foretell the furture. We welcomed our daughter into this world and rejoiced that we were so lucky. Saturday, we ate dinner as a family at the Cheesecake Factory and smiled at each other and all that we had accomplished. I didn't know how life would fold out when I stood at that alter two years ago, but I knew I'd be happy... and I was right.

My Favorite Picture 

Sitting Pretty 

Peek-A-Boo, I see you! 

Where's Magdalena? There she is! 

My Lovely Butterfly 

Snooze...

I'm exhausted. I officially have two jobs in addition to the whole Stay At Home Mom business. I went yesterday and today to take care of the couple and it's a lot of work. Nothing I can't handle, but with two kids I'm organized baby. And Alicia would be so proud of me, my laundry is all caught up, the dishes are all done, the LR is picked up, and I've vacuumed just about every day this week. Even got on the floor TWICE this week and vacuumed all the little nooks and cranies with the attachements.

I'm learning the art of traveling with a baby and a monster four year old. I have a bag packed with toys for her and for M, I have diapers, movies, food, sippy cup (for T), cup for me, purse and my sanity all packed in the trunk of the Vibe with the stroller. Taking the stroller in with me gives me a safe place to put M while I do things like shower old people and take them to the bathroom. Throw in a swim lesson for the day and I practically carry the house with me. We get back and everyone goes down for naps, except me. :( I start cleaning my house to make sure I don't get behind. I'm getting used to the schedule though, and I'm thinking that if the 30 day trial goes well and they stay in assisted living that I could probably do this two or three times a week. The $$$ I got today made me feel goooood. Gooood, I tell you.

Tomorrow is a very busy day. LLL meeting, quick run into Walmart for some cheap coke, swim lesson, quick naps, bath for M, and pictures for M. She is so freaking cute these days it makes me want to puke! :) I'm positive that this time around, the pictures are going to be fabulous with her two tooth grin and her little bottom sitting up all by herself. It makes me giddy how cute she's going to be. And Erich let me buy her an outfit over the weekend for pictures, a pair of overalls and a pink polo shirt onesie thing. I also have a sundress for an alternate outfit (must remember to iron that stuff TONIGHT) . I'll have to post a picture. Oh, and I know that I shouldn't be going to Walmart and drinking cheap Sams Choice coke. I know that caffeine is bad for you and it just keeps me fat. But dangit, I'm working 250 plus hours on top of my official job of SAHM. Don't I deserve a little addiction?

Breastfeed Baby!

Go check out these ads for breastfeeding. Some are pretty funny! :)

BABIES ARE BORN TO BE BREASTFED! WOOT! :)

Everybody Poops

As we were drying off after swim lessons today, some teenage girls swarmed around Magdalena (who was sitting in the stroller since I had to get in the pool.) Magdalena loves this since she loves "young" people and she loves attention. She is a diva, remember!? Here is the conversation that followed.

Girls: Oh she's so cute, even though I don't like babies. They poop to much.

Me: Well, she's a breastfed baby, so her poop doesn't stink. It makes it better.

Girls: REALLY? I'm breastfeeding ALL of my babies so their poop won't stink.

**grin** It warmed my heart. Now hopefully they'll remember that 10 years from now when they have babies.

Dreamland

I had a dream last night that as I was walking through a restaurant with Erich, we bumped in to Dani and Dawn. They were with their husbands and Erich stopped to talk to the men, because apparently he knew them. I said hello to the ladies and Dani looked at me as if I were an alien. I said, "I know we've never met in person, but I'm Suzanne from 'happily ever after'" She gave me this half smile like "thats great, but I don't really care." Erich finished his conversation and we moved on. I felt a bit stung. Then I woke up to nurse a baby.

Is this dream weird? Why on Earth did I dream this? The randomness of my dreams lately is really bugging me. I'm wondering if the entire universe is a bit mixed up in some way that my subconscious is responding to. Has anyone else had really weird dreams lately?

Can you see my teeth? 

This is fun! 

Weee! 

A rare occasion-- a picture in which I don't think I look half bad. Magdalena has a weird smile, but overall a cute picture. 

Is It Enough?

No matter how much I do in a day, I never seem to feel like I've done enough. I get the feeling that Erich feels the same way, but never says anything. I like to tell myself that it is all in my head, but it isn't helping.

And I'm tired. I'm more tired now then when I was pregnant. T is really really really wearing me out. Every task is a battle whether it's a meal, putting socks on, or going to the bathroom. She makes me want to stick my head in a pillow and scream. And even if you tell her not to do something, she does it anyways. I'll ask her, " why did you just do x when I told you not to?" Her response, "because I wanted to." AHHHH!

I start my new job next week. Erich is bugging me about going to Missouri to visit family. I don't think we have the cash to do it, nor do I feel like I have the energy to do it. He wants to ride with his brother and SIL. They don't have children. SIL doesn't seem to appreciate having children around. They want to go on Labor Day weekend and I'm not sure how they could deal with a 7 1/2 month old for 6-8 hours each way in a car. There is only so much car time she can handle. And they'd have to stop more than usual because they wouldn't be cool with me bf'ing in the car (and I don't think I'd be comfortable with them too) and she does eat an awful lot. I've postponed starting solids until 7 months and I'll re-evaluate then. So she eats a fair amount during the day. Do they realize what this entails?

Life can be so darn tiring.

Army Moves

While writing that entry, Magdalena army crawled backwards across the room.  Have I mentioned that I'm tired?