Let's Get Together

More often.

That's what I think.

Last night, I met up with Hubs on his way home from work and swapped out some 2 liters of soda that he purchased for me on his lunch hour for 2 little boys. I sent TO and OJ with Hubs for the evening while EJ and I headed over to my girlfriend's house for some chick time.

What would an evening of chick time consist of for Tooje and EJ, you ask? Well.....

Facebook. It's funny how a "social networking" site can complete take over your social face to face time. And poor T. She really thought she'd made deep bonds during a high school activity only to find out she'd been defriended by one of those other activity members. Oh, and no personal message from another after accepting her personalized friend request.

Birth control. What's everyone using, what knowledge or suggestions do you have to pass along? Because of our inability to avoid pregnancy, I got skipped over in this conversation. Apparently if we WERE using any BC, it wasn't effective in my girlfriends' eyes. Someone even had an instructional video for a particular type of BC if we wanted to borrow it. What are friends for, really?

Special announcements. The hosting friend let us all in on the secret that she's expecting. I was the first to arrive and she spilled the beans to me when we were alone. As the evening progressed, I wondered if she was going to let the other gals in on the secret. When she did, I cheered. And then appropriately got called a bitch for keeping the secret. I love my friends. Congrats, M.

Prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction. Yup. And it wasn't about random men we knew or commercials that really need to be rethought. This conversation was about one of our fathers. And a mother who shared too much information. God bless these parents, otherwise our get-togethers might be a tad bit more dull.

Ladies, it was wonderful seeing you last night. Can we please do it again, say, tomorrow? Okay, okay....not tomorrow...but soon. Please. E, it was great having you in town to join us. Whenever you're back, make sure we mark it on our calendar and plan something. Enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Am I Showing Up in Blogger?

Blogs you're following....or in Google Reader?

Am I?

:(

I don't know.

It doesn't appear that I am. Or maybe everyone is on vacation??

Maybe I have too much time on my hands now that I'm home on maternity leave. That's probably it. I have too much time to refresh my dashboard and search for comments.

Monday Mumbles

Oh, yes, it's Monday. I used to lose track of what day of the week it was back when I had maternity leave with TO. Now, I know exactly what day it is because Monday means Hubs returns to work and TO and OJ return to daycare/summer camp. The bliss that is Monday.


1. Sitting in the living room with Hubs last night, he had on the BET Awards. I just remembered that I have a girl crush on Alicia Keys. She's so pretty.

2. Turner's T-ball coaches were pretty cool. At the pizza party that they hosted, they paid for the pizza, the extra large cupcakes, LARGE 15 inch trophies that they had personally engraved, and a DVD slide show of photos from the season. You know what he received when we coached? A little dollar store wristband and a 2 inch trophy provided by the sports complex that hosted the games.

3. Hubs is running errands this morning so he's off work and at home. Annoying.

4. Although, the upside is that he just left to take the boys to school so I don't have to get out and do that, dragging Evelyn around during her naptime.

5. After an extensive grocery shopping experience where you spent a LOT of money, do you ever feel as if you have no food? As if you have NO IDEA where your money just went? I feel that way all the time. I guess I buy essential meal making things and no snack foods, and I'm a snacker. Especially when I'm nursing. I need to remember that when I go to the store this week.

6. If you accidentally eat some moldy bread, how sick can you get? It wasn't supposed to go bad until tomorrow, but as I was crunching on my toast I noticed a spot. I almost gagged.

7. My mom lived in town "H" with her former husband Bobby. Last November she moved out and to town "I", and left said former husband Bobby. TO just recently asked me about the house in town "H" and if we'd be going there anymore. He really enjoyed that house, he said. When he saw my mom recently, he asked her about it as well. He said to her, "I really liked that house, Grandma. I never forgot that house.....but I did forget about Bobby." Although divorce is a sticky, uncomfortable thing and sad to explain to children, his comment certainly made my mom feel better. We had a good laugh.

8. Do you ever wonder what professional entertainment wrestlers think about standing in a ring in teeny tiny black underpants with five or six other teeny tiny black underpants clad men? It's like a constant Chippendale's tryout.

9. Congrats to my sister Anna for completing her vacation travels safely. I'm glad that you had a good time and arrived everywhere safely and without incident. It's just a shame you couldn't stop by my house on your way through TOWN!!!!!!!!!!!

10. I'd like to say happy birthday to my friend SJR. I know you are vacationing right now, and I hope you are enjoying every minute back in your homeland. :)

When the Cat's Away

Yup, I will play.

Hubs was about to walk out the door with TO, off to be a wonderful father. The T-ball team is celebrating the end of the season at a local Pizza Hut and instead of dragging OJ and EJ out with us, we decided it would be better to just have one parent present with TO.

He's gathering things - the camera, TO, the pants and belt that have to be returned - I flip on the TV and switch to ESPN. Track and Field.

I feign disinterest, staring at the computer, helped Hubs find the pants in the dryer, shoo them out the door. Have fun! Take pictures!

They pull out of the driveway and I sit back down, intent now on the TV.

I love Hubs, but there is nothing quite like watching Track and Field sprinters with their perfectly honed bodies, the muscles shining in the sunlight. Aaahhh.


***Update: After OJ woke up from his nap and I'd fed Evelyn, and a phone call from Hubs about how fun the party was, we hopped in the car and joined the last little bit of the celebration. We missed seeing TO get his trophy, but we were able to chat with a few parents and thank the coaches. There will be another track and field meet for me to ogle.***

One, Two, Three Strikes

....and the season is done.

Time to Read

I haven't picked up a book in quite awhile. Probably since I blogged about those two books awhile back. You know, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and The Time Traveler's Wife? Yup, that was September, people. I am overdue for reading. It'd be great if the computer wasn't such a damn draw.

The great thing about this problem I have? I have books stacked up that I haven't yet read. I borrowed Dred Scott's Revenge from my sister and have yet to really start it. I've read the intro or the first chapter, but never got around to delving deep.

I received Let the Great World Spin as a gift for being my friend's wedding attendant in April. I've started it and read a couple of chapters the few times I can sneak off to the bathroom and lock the door. Yes, I said bathroom. And I was doing bathroom things too.

I have half-read a book called The Bond, still haven't read Malcolm X, and need to try and read another chunk of Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom. Yeah, I started that one over two years ago. It's a LONG book, people. LONG. And very detailed which requires a lot of concentration. I happen to be running a bit low on that lately.

SO, I'm off to read some tonight. And I'm thoroughly looking forward to it. In between night cries, dirty diapers, and sitting here worrying about TO. He just went to the doc's urgent care for the hives he's had off and on since Monday, and the lump that's formed on the back of his knee. Can't these kids stop hyper-reacting to every allergen known to man? Seriously?

Wordless Wednesday

I know this is supposed to be wordless, and next time it will be. BUT...I need your help. I want to give proper credit to the Wordless Wednesday creator. Does anyone know who that is? If so, please inform me so I can link back to them when I participate in these! Thanks a bunch. In the meantime....enjoy my kissable babies.

Comment Consideration

It's been awhile and I think it's time to give you all some love.


1. Anna said... omgosh! I AM TOTALLY NAMING ONE OF MY DAUGHTERS EVELYN!! snap crackle pop we are totally jayhawk soul sisters!

I was wondering what the reaction would be when we announced the name. We never give that info away either, just to avoid any negative reactions...and believe me...people will give negative reaction even when it's got ZERO to do with them. :) I have been pleasantly surprised by all the positive love that her name has been given - and from a fellow Jayhawk, that makes it even cooler. (Evelyn was my great-grandmother's name, and Jane is Hubs' great-grandmother's middle name).

2. Heather of the EO said... She's beautiful!
Congrats to you and yours!
Also. how do I pronounce the new Tooj? I'm slow...I'm confused...

Heather, you can say "two-gee". Or you can keep saying "two-jah". Or "hey lady". Whatever.

3. Intense Guy said... This "miracle" they call birth goes on around us every day - but until I followed your progress week by week, I never knew what it did to the mom and her frame of mind.

I'm just glad I didn't run you off with too much "girly" stuff going on. Glad to see you stuck around.

4. Rebecca said... So happy for you! (And, thanks to you for today's reminder why we abstain on fertile days, I'm off to research just how much a Shar-Pei puppy will cost ;) )

My best girlfriend thanks me for the birth control as well. I'm happy to help!!

5. Dorkys Ramos said... What a bunch of cuties! Loving Owen's face...can he please just remain the baby forever?

Trust me, he's doing his best to keep that title. He refuses to potty at school, he refuses to mimic me in pronunciation, he baby jabbers for fun.....he cries and won't stop just like when he WAS a baby.....UGH. And I said he was getting better...what was I thinking?

6. Mommy said... Cute pic! I hope you have gotten my gift for Evelyn. If not, you need to hound your dad and/or siblings for not bringing it to you yet!!

Got it the following day. :) Thank you note in the mail! I hope to see you guys soon.

7. Jamie said... Oh, poor mommy. Just think of it as you are so lucky to have a guy you can count on to take him to the ball game when you are busy with the other two.

You are so right. I might treat him to something special tonight....computer time. I have been hogging it, and he deserves something fun for being so helpful. :) Thanks for the reminder.

8. bernthis said... I know nothing is perfect but reading about you and your family makes me think that you sure can come close

Oh, JBern...I really wish we could meet in person. I would make you feel soooo much better about that "nothing's perfect" theory. LOL The list is very, very long....in fact, Hubs was victim to my imperfect attitude last night. Oh and this morning. I was victim to OJ's terrible imperfect attitude this morning, and then he was victim to my imperfect temper and lack of patience. :) Send Phoebe for a visit, and we'll send stories.

Father's Day Fun - Part Two

Okay, Blogger is still being a bugger. It will only load 3 of my 5 photos. I have no idea what's wrong....very irritating. I might get ambitious and create a Part Three, or I might just let it be.

Till mastered the Pogo Stick by the end of the day, but getting there was painful. The look on his face says it all. Apparently there was a lip on the stick that stuck out and knocked them on their knees when they fell off.

As witnessed by the video in Part One, TO mastered the hula hoop. But they also rolled the hoop and mastered jumping through it like dogs. Yeah, those are MY kids.

OJ loved the tree swing. If someone was swinging, he was asking to join them. Don't think I put him in crazy pants all the time, those are swim trunks. With alligators on them! Or crocs...I never know the difference.

Father's Day Fun - Part One

Blogger is acting like a bugger. I am hoping this video works....photos to follow in Part Two.

Monday Mumbles

Happy Monday!! Okay, some of you working may not feel it's happy, but I'm on maternity leave and LOVING it. :)


1. It's also the first day back for my boys at daycare/summer camp. Aaahhh, when baby sleeps, I get to blog, eat, sleep, read, watch TV, Facebook, or scrapbook without worrying I'm neglecting my other little people.

2. Evelyn made her first journey into daycare today when I dropped the boys off. We had to stop by and see teachers and the director and the infant teachers who will be caring for her when she starts attending. The most frequent comment? "Look at all that hair!!!"

3. The other frequent comment we get is about how we must have picked her up from a reservation because she looks like a Native American baby doll. The black, silky hair does have that affect, I suppose.

4. Father's Day was our usual - breakfast with my Dad and siblings, Hubs then went golfing while the rest of us went to my Dad's house to hang out. He's put up a tree swing and purchased a Pogo stick and hula hoop and sprinkler at garage sales this summer. We entertained ourselves all afternoon with them. Pictures to follow.

5. I have avoided the Baby Bjorn thingamabops with both TO and OJ, but I broke down and bought one of those over the shoulder sling carriers for Evie. With OJ just being two and still not minding like he should, it worries me that I'll have her in my arms and have to chase him to beat his rear end. So slingin' she will go when I feel it's necessary. I slung her at Costco this weekend, and again at breakfast yesterday. Not too bad of a get-up, actually.

6. I have been meaning to browse two important websites (Foxy and Em C.) and I will do that today. With no other distraction besides this sleeping baby and her dirty diapers, I can finally do it. :) I am excited!

7. Any of you ladies with large breasts...I am sorry. I hate them. I love nursing and being able to save all that money NOT buying formula, but GOOD GRACIOUS....they are sooooo irritating. And they're here for a year if all goes well. Blah.

8. I can't stop kissing Evie's face. Even when she's got a stinky diaper.

9. My little sister is on a trip by herself. So far, she's made it to her destinations in good order. Next up is a plane ride, finding the hotel, and seeing the sites on her list. I wish you luck and good fun, Anna!!

10. I gotta go for now...Evelyn is trying to talk to me. Something about gas and bubbles and pink....so much pink.

T-ball Tidbits

Saturday morning....T-ball is on the schedule. However........

I had all intentions of being there today if Evelyn was cooperating - read: sleeping. Well, since I think she's been awake twice in 9 days (exaggeration , I promise), I thought we'd be safe to go. Problem?

OJ.

He decided to be a tad on the whiny side this morning and was forced into early naptime. He's zonked out in his bed, Evie is zonked out in hers, and the game starts in 9 minutes. Hubs took TO up to the field and the remaining three of us may or may not make it.

But that's okay. I mean, two games ago TO caught the one and only (so far) pop fly ball and turned it into a double play and did I see it? I was THERE...but did I see it? No. Imagine how much of the game I'd miss tending to both OJ AND Evelyn.

I'm really just trying to make myself feel better for missing the game. I hate missing anything. I suppose I could finish off the donuts my mom left yesterday to make me feel better. They always help. Oh, and the brownies. And the iced oatmeal cookies.

Back In The Swing

Here are my little people. I just wanted to share.

It's amazing how much pregnancy zaps the normal, rational mind. And yes, I am implying that I had a normal, rational mind before getting knocked up. Quirky at times, maybe....but still teetering on the normal side of things.

I've got some post ideas stirring, and I can say with confidence I had zero post ideas while I was pregnant. Zilch. It was scary how lacking I was with words or thoughts. I was simply getting by each day and doing my best to provide a calm and happy and uneventful home for Baby. Now that she's here, I can go back to THINKING. Yea!

Monday Mumbles

That time again! And I'm finally home on maternity leave.....aaahhhh.......a Heavenly vacation. Here's a Mumble about how we got to this point.


1. Back in September, I was diligently training for a half marathon. Hubs had been so supportive while I went on runs in the mornings or evenings or on Saturdays. Because he'd been taking up my slack, one fateful Saturday, I decided to indulge him when he tried to "cuddle" me.

2. Approximately 3 weeks later, I confirmed that I would NOT be completing my half marathon training or running in the race.

3. I almost immediately began feeling very queasy in the evenings for 6 straight weeks and then just as suddenly as it came....it went. By week 13 I was feeling great.

4. Over the course of the following 27 weeks, work turned upside down, got jam-packed with learning and lessons that I hope to never experience again, and I did my best to remain positive, happy, and most of all CALM. As my trials grew at work, my family's patience grew at home, and my belly grew to the size of a basketball. Regulation size, kids. We're not talking little kiddie toys.

5. As D-Day June 8th neared, I grew very, very tired of the daily reminders that I was "still at work" and that "baby hadn't come". The predictions of its sex became predictable....boy or girl, right? Yup. That's right.

6. D-Day came...I went to my appointment, and Induction Day became imminent. June 10th our new addition would arrive. June 9th was a fleeting moment between final doc visit and birth day.

7. June 10th - 7am. Hubs and I arrive at the hospital and get called back to our delivery room. I immediately get changed and placed in the bed for prep. IV in. Modesty out. By 7:45, doc had arrived and my water was busted. Let the fun begin.

8. Around 9am, my mother arrives. We chat for a bit, she and Hubs go get some treats from the cafeteria. As the contractions increase, the nurse suggests that with the increasing flow of activity in the birth center, getting the epidural earlier rather than later might be a good idea. Okay, no need to convince me too hard. We call it in and they arrive. It's in and done by 10am.

9. 10:20 am. The epi docs leave when they know it's working properly. 10:30, my nurse shifts me to my left side and the epi slowly decreases in efficiency in my uterus. Numb from the crotch and hips down, I begin to feel contractions again in my stomach. No worries. I work through them from 10:30 until 11:50, when, in tears, I allow my mom to call in the nurse to see about shifting my position. She checks me out and says, "We're ready to have a baby." In swoops the baby warmer, the extra nurses, the doc, and some EMT student who gets to observe my crotch show apparently.

10. Legs in the air, doc can already see the baby's head, and with hardly a shove from me, out she came, right at Noon. Simple, easy. Just like her pregnancy had been, and just as she's been thus far. I know it won't be this easy going forward, but for now.....I'll take it. Pink explosion and all.

And Tooj becomes.....

.......TOOJE.

Evelyn Jane has arrived. The house run by testosterone will slowly get its world turned upside down as she learns to put her mark on their lives.

Lord help us all.

DR, you get your wish. You may call us TOO-GEE.

Here is the promised before baby belly shot.......It looks like it's see through, but I do have a white tank on underneath. :)

And here she is.....

And here we are......

And here she is again.....

Welcome, baby girl.

Belly Shot

Yeah yeah...tricked ya.

Just wanted to say that I plan on getting a shot taken tomorrow and posting it up for you. :) Gotta get batteries for the camera!

Monday Mumbles

It's that time again. Monday. The dreaded day for some, the escape day for others. I consider it a mixed bag, of sorts. Not nuts...TO's allergic.

1. We went out to meet and eat with some friends of ours Saturday evening. I'm sure we were a silly sight, actually. Two mixed marriage couples, each with two mixed children at the table. And both of the wives? Yup. We're both 9 months pregnant. She's actually having a C-section on Wednesday and we'll be induced on Thursday. I had to giggle about the spectacle we probably made in uppity JoCo (the county in Kansas generally known for being a bit...."special").

2. We took TO and OJ to dinner last night. I wanted to get it to-go. Hubs wanted to eat there. Since OJ was throwing a fit, and we'd chosen a Mexican restaurant, we opted to stay so he could snack on chips and salsa. It took all my patience to sit there and eat. Why? OJ cried because he practically drank the salsa before he got any water. TO can't seem to stop talking and making a mess and generally annoying Hubs and I all day long. And then? OJ spilled his water and cried. And then? TO spilled his water and held back laughter. It was at this point that OJ started laughing with him, and then I joined in and Hubs hid his smile for fear it'd set me off. The laughing was better than crying.

3. Seriously though? TO will NOT STOP TALKING. He always has to have the last word. I wonder where he gets that from......

4. And another seriously....OJ's inability or lack of desire to properly pronounce anything is driving me mad. He refuses to try the F sound, it always comes out "Sh". The fan? Yeah, it's a shan. Four is shore, five is shive. What the hell?

5. TO caught a pop fly at t-ball Saturday!!! He was playing pitcher and sadly....I did not get to see the actual catch. Why? Oh, yes, the little "shantastic" boy we call Owen. He was occupying my attention with some sort of incoherent babbling and I was doing my best to try and interpret. I didn't let TO know I didn't see the actual catch however...I did see the end result and heard the cheers, so I quickly caught on to what had taken place.

6. Do the rest of you end up with mounds and mounds of paper everywhere? I can't seem to stop from piling paper everywhere. I feel like I'm constantly sorting through it, trashing, filing, finding more nooks and crannies to keep what I deem worthy of keeping. It's exhausting!

7. As I went through the weekend, I wondered, "If I go into labor and it's not my doctor on call....would I be bold enough to demand her?" Not that demanding would give me what I want, but still....with two inductions previously, I never worried that I wouldn't have MY doctor. I don't want to go through labor and delivery without MY doctor.

8. Hubs has had a nagging, hacking cough for a week or more. He really needs to get healthy before we have his baby. I can't have him in the delivery room being sick. Sounding gross. Hacking up loogies. Gross.

9. Did I ever tell you that OJ sleeps with approximately 5 stuffed animals? It's bordering on ridiculous since he barely fits in the toddler bed with them all. But each night, he goes through checking that they're all there - Pooh, Tigger, Dog, Monkey, and Fish. Oh, and Pillow. He has his own miniature pillow that must be accounted for as well.

10. Cheers to the last Mumble before I get to add another Tooj family member to mumble about!!!

What Annoys Me

I am going to try something.

Not complaining when the baby arrives, even though I'll be tired and run ragged and have a million things to do. We all have those problems, right?

So what I'm going to do is vent it all here. The things I anticipate bothering me while I'm on maternity leave. And then...? I'm going to wash my hands of complaining about them, to the BEST of my ability. This is something I want to try for the kids and for Hubs. I fear I've nagged him enough that he needs a break. And frankly, when I cease the little complaints, I DO feel better. So here goes.

1. Hubs walking in the door after work and instantly grabbing a snack
Why this bothers me:
I'm usually in the middle of preparing dinner. I'm preparing dinner for him. For our family. Why does he feel like it's acceptable to snack instead of patiently waiting for what I'm preparing and appreciating the work I've put into the preparation? Not to mention the fact that I've told the children no snacking right before dinner and he pops in and does what they've been instructed NOT to do.

2. Computer play and video games
Why this bothers me:
It shouldn't. What am I doing right now? Adult computer play. However, I get annoyed when Till the near-teen constantly wants his face in his computer. That his mother supplied and I didn't exactly "okay" for our home. And he zones out, isn't very communicative (not that he is anyhow), and it just grates on my nerves.

3. OJ and potty training woes
Why this bothers me:
He can do it and refuses at school. At home I can threaten, but they won't do that at school. I can't figure out what to do to get him to cooperate. He's just like his father. Difficult.

4. Neighborhood noises
Why this bothers me:
Unfortunately, we do live in an area of the metro that is more "country" than suburban, and these country folk like loud, thumping music and roaring engines. Oh, and they like to fix things at their house as opposed to quietly removing it to a mechanic so the neighborhood doesn't have to be bothered with engines turning on and off....on and off....revving up and down. Oh, and the thumping music constantly driving by? These late teen/early twenties kids need to have rocks thrown at them, or at least a parent who says it's unacceptable to drive the streets with that noise blaring.

Does It Really Take Over?

Pregnancy, that is.

I think so.

I keep trying and trying to come up with something ELSE to blog about, but the only thing on my mind right now is being pregnant, the effects being pregnant has taken on my body, how the pregnancy has affected my ability to walk correctly, sleep well, or pee in a cup without getting my hand wet.

Nothin'.

Life has been flying by with not much else to talk about. So what in the WORLD did I talk about before? The limp pigeon in the road. Skirts going up or down when you tinkle. Little boy activities and step-parenting struggles.

Now? I could discuss parenting, what it's like to become one, and how the perception you hold of your parents changes because of it. I could delve into the oddities of FB friend requests and why, exactly, everyone feels the need to "befriend" someone they never cared to speak with before. Or how about how I think it would be fun to go watch my little brother karaoke, but refrain from attending because my high school boyfriend shows up frequently and he and his girlfriend weird me out?

And when it's all said and done, the only thing I really want to share with all of you is the fact that the alien in my tummy treated my intestines like a trampoline last night and gave me diarrhea this morning. See? No matter what, it always comes back to pregnancy. It's an all consuming thing.

Good thing I'm done in a week. My mom probably doesn't appreciate that I shared such gross details with the blogging world.