Patiently Waiting

It is 2:18 on Tuesday. I just put Doodle in the bed for her nap. SJ will be screaming any minute. I have been up since 4:00. I should be swapping laundry, starting dinner, putting things away. I should not be blogging. But I needed to revel in my peaceful happiness for a few minutes. We had a rough morning. SJ was screaming (unless she was asleep in my arms) for nearly 4 hours. When she is so cranky, I am cranky. I am embarrassed to say that I am cranky with Doodle when SJ gets that way. I recognize that I let my frustration get the better of me. I am working on it. So, once we finally got SJ happy and asleep, I decided to spend some quality time with Doodle. We have several exciting things coming up in the next few weeks and I wanted a way for Doodle to count down to them. So I got out the construction paper and the stapler and we made a paper chain. We make 23 links and then Doodle wrote on smaller strips so that she would know how many more days to each event. Spending an hour and a half doing something fun with my kid did more for my spirit than I could ever imagine. I feel like I have spent a lot of time lately telling Doodle no, stop, quit, and later. I often feel like I don't have enough opportunities to say yes and be focused only on her. This chunk of time with her was just what we both needed!

Here is our paper chain to count down the days!

This coming Sunday we are meeting Speedracer, SpeedRacer's hubby, eldest, and youngest at the Canfield Fair in OH. We can't wait to see them and eat ourselves silly on fair food!

Then next Wednesday Doodle has her first day at her new pre-school

Equally exciting as the start of school is a visit from Uncle Hank. My brother is in PA working at a golf course for a couple of months. It's about a 3.5 hour drive each way and he is coming to spend the day with the girls and I. I am so excited to see him and for him to meet SJ!

Finally, in 23 days Jayburb is coming for his first PA visit. Doodle is so excited! She is already making plans of things to show him and do with him. I must admit, I am just as excited to see Sisterwife. I have missed my friends more than I could imagine. We can't wait to see them!

Doodle had so much fun working on our project! She has been really into writing her letters, and wanted to do more. We ended up putting some writing in the mail for Jayburb. As I sealed the envelope, I smiled the sweet satisfaction that only comes from the moments when you know all is right in the world even if it is just for a few moments!

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Delicious Morning

When we came to the Pitty looking for houses to rent, I am sure you will remember I was less than thrilled with my new city. You will also remember that during that house hunting adventure the one redeeming thing I discovered was the Oakmont Bakery. This fabulous place has every delicious treat you can imagine. The cake pops are as big as SJ's head! Not only is is delicious, it is reasonably priced. And well known. I always laugh that in the south when you move to a new town people introduce themselves, ask where you are living, and then ask if you have found a church home. In the Pitty the conversation usually goes follows the pattern of introduction, where are you living. When we tell people we are living in Oakmont the next thing out of their mouth is to ask if we have discovered the bakery. Needless to say, everyone loves this place.

Even though the the bakery was the only bright spot I found about our new surroundngs, I made a decision that if I pretend to like it, maybe I won't hate it. So, I am trying to get the girls out and about as much as we can. Doodle has been asking to ride her bike. This is hard in the hills of PA. However, the downtown area of our town has a trail to rail path. I loaded the girls, stroller, and bike up and heading downtown. Doodle likes to ride her bike, but really only wants to ride if there is a purpose or somewhere to go. So, like any good mom I bribed her to ride to the bakery. We had a great morning. The weather was cool and beautiful. The baby was happy. And the cookies were delicious!

Doodle riding her bike on the path the had "no bikes allowed" spraypainted every 100 yards. Oops! I decided balance bikes didnt count!

SJ enjoying the scenery through her eyelids. That is the best way for a newborn to enjoy the world!

Doodle enjoying her heart shaped cookie. She was so excited that it matched her heart shirt!

A short bike ride and cookie eating really tire a kid out. Doodle decided she needed to ride back to the car. Love that my stroller can hold 2 kids and a balance bike:)

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Doodle Date

Doodle has been a trooper throughout this whole summer adventure. The kid has moved, gotten a new sister, and left everything familiar. For the most part, she had just kept on keeping on. It has definitely inspired me to pull up my big girl panties and deal with life! Afterall, if my preschooler can, surely I can too.

One thing that My Favoritest and I have really tried to do is give Doodle some one on one time. This has been much easier for My Favoritest. He can take Doodle anywhere and she sees it as an adventure. He is much more novel than I am, so sitting and waiting while he gets a haircut is fun and not painful. So the last few Saturdays My Favoritest and Doodle have gone out running errands and left SJ and I at home. It has been great for Doodle, but I have missed hanging out with my sidekick by herself.

Another thing we have been dealing with and working on is My Favoritest getting home in time to spend time with us and to give me a little help. It isn't always perfect, but he has been getting home for dinner at least 2 or 3 nights a week. Needless to say, when he chooses to stay late for something that is not required, I get annoyed. So, when he called to tell me he was going to join the other fellows in their chapter review (the review a chapter from a cardiology text book), I was less than thrilled. In my mind all I heard was "you're on your own for dinner.... again". Lucky for all of us I have been working on biting my tongue, and I was not going off on a tirade as he finished his thought. He offered to meet me in town and take SJ with him so Doodle and I could do something alone. I'll be honest, when he first suggested it, I was excited. As the day drug on and the kids were whinier and fussier, I was too exhausted to want to go. I knew I needed to follow through so we did the swap and Doodle and I had a date. At Old McDonalds followed by the park. Not gourmet dining, but the company was fantastic! And we had a chance to check out our local playground.

August 7

Doodle checking out the Aleganey River

Doodle checking out the Alegany River

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Blue Slide Day

As previously mentioned, the last few weeks have started to catch up with me emotionally. It has been really hard to leave everyone behind and start fresh. It has been even harder to do it while recovering from surgery. It has been even harder because I refer to my new home as The Pitty. I promise, I am trying to like it. My Favoritest is trying his best to encourage me to like our new city. His plan to make me like it is very logical.... get out and explore! So, a couple of weeks ago, we went to check out "The Blue Slide". The Blue Slide is located in Frick Park and is a slide built into the side of a hill. You bring cardboard (of which we had tons thanks to moving boxes) and slide down on the cardboard. Doodle and My Favoritest had a great time going down the slide together. SJ and I had a great time enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. It was wonderful just to get out of the house! Here are some pictures of our Blue Slide Day!

Here is SJ chilling out in the bottom of the stroller. I have to give a shout out to Jayburb for picking out a fantastic blanket for SJ. It keeps her cool and shady for days in the park!

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The Grass is Always Greener

So after missing 4 pictures in less than a month, I have decided to forgo a picture a day. Really, I am saving you guys from boredom. You see, until we get a little more settled, most of my pictures these days revolve around the girls, and while I know they are the most beautiful kids in the world, it gets old. So, instead of trying to take a picture everyday, I am just going to try and take some here and there. I will continue to share our story and adventure, but with less pressure on myself.

Part of the reason that I have missed several days already has to do with my darling Sadie Jane (for now she will be known as SJ. When a nickname has stuck she will get a real blog alias). She is a beautiful, sweet wonderful baby. Some of the time. more often than not though over the last 2 weeks we have been battling the beast known in our house as GRASS! (Most of you know it as gas). It has not been pleasant in our house. I am not going to lie. Between moving, hormones, and lack of a social outlet, My Favoritest has found me in tears on more than one occasion. Doodle had colic awful. I remember that if she wasn't eating or sleeping she was screaming. SJ has nothing on her at all. SJ is downright miserable and loud. Exhibit A:

The poor kid was having such a hard time last week that she could barely eat a couple of ounces at a time before she would start screaming. She would try to get the grass out anyway she could, but it just rumbled around inside her! When she gets like this, there isn't much that you can do to calm her down besides hold her. Non-stop! And so we have pictures like this

August 9

This is pretty much how one of us eats dinner each night. And speaking of dinner. I have the worlds cutest soux chef! You'd be amazed at what you can accomplish with one arm holding 8lbs of dead weight!

August 12

In a moment of desperation, I made a late night (and by late night I mean 8:00) Target run to purchase a Dr. Brown's bottle. According to my extensive Facebook research, they are a life saver for coliky gassy babies. So I bit the bullet, or nipple in this case, and bought one to try out. After washing a refilling the same bottle for 2 days straight, I was a believer. The all day crying had subsided to afternoon crying. A huge improvement. So, I bought more. The reluctance to buy more had little to do with finances and more to do with simplicity. The bottles are a pain to clean. They have a million parts. Okay not a million, 4, but it is still a pain! See what I mean! Try putting on of those together with a screaming baby in your arms at 4 AM!

August 12

The bottles have helped, but not solved the problem completly. We still have bad days where I hold her most of the day. And then other days we only have to hold her from about 4PM until 10ish when she passes out. A big improvement. I am trying to remind myself that this is probably our last baby and I need to enjoy the forced bonding time. It is hard to keep that in perspective with Doodle jumping around and the house still looking like a refuge camp, but I am trying. I have to admit, when she looks like this, it is hard not to fall in love with her! I maintain that God made babies cute so they survive!

Here's one of My Favoritest mastering the "Monkey Hold" a move I patented long ago with a now grow Hebert boy:)

August 9

August 9

We like to call the look on her face "milk drunk" . It is a blissful moment that comes immediately after a good feeding without grass problems

August 5

Of all the holding and patting and rocking, my favorite time has been at night. This girl has some super sweet night moves!

August 2

I know the colic is a phase and it will pass. I also know that as it passes we will loose some of this snuggle time. I am really trying hard to focus on that! I am reminding my self of that old saying "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence". I know that in a few months when she is to busy exploring the world I will look back on this time and miss my snuggles!

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Not Again!!!

Doodle wasn't the only one who was getting a new sibling. By now you know that the pup-pups are part of our family. The Mutt is my first born, The Beagle is our only son. We love them like they are children, but treat them like they are dogs... sort of. When we were pregnant with Doodle, I read books about introducing a new baby to the family. There were suggestions of playing recordings of crying infants, carrying around a baby doll so the dogs could get used to you holding something, and making the baby's room off limits. We didn't go that route. We kind of went the opposite and didn't do much of anything. We let the dogs sniff around Doodle's room. We simply told them no when they got to close to her toys. When Doodle was born, My Favoritest brought home a blanket that we had used with Doodle, so they could learn her scent. We brought that 5 day old baby home, put her carseat on the floor and let the dogs go to town sniffing and licking. From that moment on, Doodle was part of the pack! For better or worse the pup-pups loved her!

Since we did the bare minimum the first go round and it worked out so well, we did even less this time around. Because of the impending move, there was no baby stuff to set up. There wasn't a nursery. And when Sadie was born the dogs were at the kennel 5 hours away. They didn't get properly introduced to Sadie until she was over 2 weeks old. And when they did meet her, they pretty much ignored her. They gave her a look like " oh great, here we go again! As if one of those things wasn't enough for us to take care of!" They would check her out, and then keep on moving. In the last week or so, they have started to take her into the pack. They sit beside her when she is in the bouncy seat. Their ears perk up when she cries. And most recently, they have both decided she might be kind of cuddly!

July 31 (9/365)

August 1 (10/365)

Although the picture doesn't show it, she was happy two seconds before this was snapped and two seconds after it was snapped. The Beagle moved to quickly for me to get a second picture!

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Sister Love

We spent months preparing Doodle for the arrival of Sadie. Even though we knew she was excited, there was a piece of me that worried about how much my first born could handle. Let's face it. A baby, a move, and a new job for my Favoritest, is a lot to handle for me, let alone my little Doodle. The entire pregnancy, I quizzed my friends with recent additions to their family. Every single one told me that the big sibling transition at 3 or 4 couldn't be better. The big is old enough to help with the little and feel part of the process. None of my friends had any jealousy issues. They professed only annoyance at the over attentiveness of the older sibling. It was this thought that I held onto for 9 months.

And now the thought that I hold on to is that obsession is better than jealousy! Doodle is obsessed with Sadie. I now spend my day being bossed around by my eldest as she tells me how to take care of the baby. Sadie is the first thing she worries about in the morning and the last thing she worries about at night. She loves to help feed her, plug her up with a bink, and smother her with hugs and kisses.

July 30 (8/365)

She has also started trying to give Sadie toys to make her happy. I think I am going to start an album on facebook titled "Random Toys for Sadie".

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Scrubby Tubby!

I have something to admit..... I have neglected my baby's hygine. Okay, maybe not currently, but in the first weeks of her life, she was neglected. Go ahead and call child services. I will admit that we chose not to forgot to bathe her during the first weeks of her life as often as we should have. She was not smelly and she didn't every get messy. Between the c-section, the move, the readmission, the hotel stays, etc it just got lost in the shuffle. She had a some three or four sponge baths before this picture was taken including one while staying at the MOtel. And finally on the 19th day of her life she had her first real tubby. I promise, we scrubbed her good! And she even liked it!

July 28 (6/365)

 

 

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The Month of a Lifetime!

As I sit in my new house enjoying the peace and quiet that can only be found during the early morning hours, I force my eye to overlook all the things that need to be done.  We are in our house but we are far from settled.  I recently told a friend that in our current state, our house could be a prelude into Hoarders.  There are piles of stuff everywhere and it seems that for every task that needs to be done, there are 5 things that have to happen first.  To make matters even more challenging, I am still not 100%. I am still stiff and achey in the mornings and  I tire out way to quickly for my own taste.  I know that time is the answer, but it is still frustrating.  But as I sit here and try to aviod making eye contact with the projects, I am also so grateful for what has been done in a short amount of time.  And I know that if it weren't for two people, none of this would be done!  So, here is my version of the thank you that will never ever be enough.
Dear Bubbie and Zayde,
There are not words enough to tell you both thank you.  Bubbie, you gave up your entire summer to be there for me, and Zayde you gave up your wife for an entire month.  You both took off work and time away from friends.  You scrubbed my fridge and freezer after the blackout.  You packed my house.  You potty trained my kid.  You kept my spirits high when my world was upside down.  You cooked meals, cleaned my house, and did my laundry.  You took over tuck ins and playdates.  You rocked and fed and changed our newest love.
Bubbie, you reminded me always what strong stock of women I come from.  I don't know many grandmothers who could and would take on what you did this summer.  I know you were exhauseted ninety percent of the month.  But I also know that my daughter will probably never have another month where she is the focus of so much love and attention.  You always say that I am a better mother than you were to us, and I always tell you that I became a great mother by learning from you. This couldn't be more true after the month we shared.  When I was short with Doodle and having guilt, you reminded me that it was okay.  You slept with Doodle while she was throwing up.  When I was unsure of how I was going to survive this move, you reminded me it could be worse!  When I  got readmitted to the hospital you made sure that my kids were safe and taken care of.   And when I showed you our new house for the first time (a little disenchanted with it) you found all the fantastic things about it and made me feel better.  You knew just what I needed to hear in order to pull up my big girl panties and deal with life.  You organized my kitchen and then reorganized it every time we found another box of kitchen stuff!  I will probably never have a chance to spend a month with you again either, and I will always be grateful for this time together.
Zayde, you were my sounding board when I needed a minute.  You are always quick with a laugh and can usually manage to turn my "switch" off.  If it weren't for you, the bat in the basement would be joined by a million boxes.  My stuff would still be scattered and missing without you!  You took the time to get extra chain and light pulls for all our lights and fans a must for this family.  You took my kid to buy wine and made sure she knew she was going to the liquor store.  You even curbed your colorful language so Doodle didn't learn new words.  You were always ready to feed Sadie and bottle or just sit and watch her sleep.  I am a daddy's girl through and through, and so glad that you were here to celebrate and help us out!
So all that mushy stuff aside, here are a few pictures of Bubbie and Zayde with the girls.  Like, I said, we couldn't be luckier!

Bubbie getting some snuggles

Doodle getting serious kisses from Bubbie

Sadie meeting Bubbie

Zayde meeting Sadie

Zayde's girl

Doodle and Zayde do the boxe drop!

July 26 (4/365)

It takes the whole family to feed this kid!

July 27 (5/365)

July 29 (7/365)

Sweet baby snuggles

Mo vs. Ho

So, if you have been following our moving adventure, you are well aware that things didn't go as smoothly as planned.  When last I posted about our adventures, we were pulling out of our beloved neighborhood heading to the Pitty.  What I forgot to mention was that the moving van was sick.  Not totally dead, but sick enough to warrent a trip to the shop.... with all our stuff loaded.  The driver gave us a call Monday to say that the truck was fixed and they would see us on Tuesday morning.  We gathered all of our junk and hit the road.  I was feeling optomistic.  About 2 hours into our trip, my cell rang and displayed a Pitty number.  The only person I know in Pitty at this point is the truck driver, so my heart sank before I even answered the phone.  Guess what!  Truck broke again.  No stuff on Tuesday, maybe Wednesday.  So, now I have 2 kids, a Bubbie, and my Favoritest and we need a place to stay.  I call My Favoritest and put him on the job.  We arrive in Pitty to the Quality Inn that My Favoritest found.  As I pulled into the parking lot, I reminded myself that it was close to the house and budget friendly, and couldn't be that bad.   And then I came to my sensibilities and told Bubbie to go investigate a room and make sure the beds didn't vibrate and that it wasn't to disgusting ( we did have a 2 week old afterall).  Bubbie and my Favoritest gave the rooms a thumbs up, and we unloaded in to the MOtel.  Please notice, I said MOtel not HOtel.  At this point, you might be asking yourself how one can tell the difference between MO and her slightly classier friend  HO.  Well, I have a few pictures that will help clear things up for you in case you are ever in a similiar situation.

July 25 (3/365)

When spending time at a HOtel one usually finds a plastic bag for dirty clothes neatly hanging in the closet.  If you are staying at a super classy HO then you might even have the option for a laundry service to take care of your soiled items.  When spending time at a MOtel, you have a retractable clothes line in your bathtub.  This way you can hang your undies up after you wash them in the sink?

HO's bathroom boasts one faucet that single handedly controls hot, cold and shower features.  We are all familiar with how they work.  What some of you may not be familiar with is MO's slightly older and outdated hardware.  It requires a lot of  manipulating and turning just to get the right temperature.

When you check in at HO's place you generally walk down an interior hallway and unlock your door.  The door generally opens to a hallwayish area of the room that also provide a small bit of privacy to the interior of the room.  MO doesn't care about privacy.  MO's door is reached by way of the parking lot.  MO's door opens up to reveal the entire room.  And did I mention that MO has giant windows that offer views of what else... the parking lot!

Depending on the upscaleness of HO, one might be greeted with a mini bar or at the very least clean glasses and an ice bucket with a couple of bottles of water.  MO doesn't do mini bars, but I am guessing she likes her beer.  Given that MO has a bottle opener screwed to the bathroom counter.  I guess that is so you don't try to steal it!

All joking aside, our experience at the MO wasn't horrid.  The rooms were clean, the breakfast was edible, and the towels were large.  Our two nights there did make me all the more grateful for our stuff to arrive!  And I wasn't the only one ready to be in our house.  Doodle was obviously getting bored because she was very entertained by cramming herself into Sadie's carseat!

July 24 (2/365)