5. It takes a village. Our village in Vegas is bigger than I knew until I was gone.
When you are a military family and don't live near any family, it is really easy to feel isolated and alone. Sometimes on days when I have no plans with the kids and Troy is at work, I get in this weird funk.
I get in this circular thinking where I'm like, "I miss my family. And my friends. I don't know anyone. I need to make more friends. Troy needs to get out of the military so we can be closer to our support system. I don't think I can do this today. I just can't. I miss my mom. Maybe I'll FaceTime her. Why isn't she picking up? Is she mad at me? I'll try my sister. What could she POSSIBLY be doing that is more important than talking to me? My family hates me. Why isn't Troy home today? I wish he could just take leave. Everyday. Except for when I have to work. He should only work when I work. I need to get a grip. I need more friends." And it goes on and on.
But here's the funny thing. I went on this trip and there were several people who stopped by, brought Troy dinner, invited them over, and checked on them while I was gone. Some of it was planned and some was unexpected. And they all called or texted with updates on how Troy and the girls seemed to getting along without Mommy there. While I was gone and getting phone calls and message with updates, I kept thinking, "Wow, our support network in Vegas is really great. I'm a whiner. They're really stepping up to help us out. This is great!"
I'm not saying that Troy couldn't have done it by himself. I have NO doubt that everyone would have been alive when I got home. But I AM saying that they might have lived on chicken nuggets, french fries and green beans the entire time I was gone. With an occasional mac n cheese or peanut butter and jelly. On that diet, their gallbladders would have been going crazy, but no one would have been dead.
Troy only worked 2 days the whole time I was gone. He said it was funny because when he initially submitted leave for that week and his reason was to stay in town at home with the kids, some of the dads he works with were like, "oh no, 10 days all by yourself with the kids? Eek, good luck." So on the 2 days he went in to work, people were saying things like, "Are your kids still alive?" or "Are you guys ok?" He was actually a little offended, which I thought was cute. At one point he called and said to me, "You know, you were with the kids for 2 months while I was at SOS. And you've had them for a couple weeks while I did other TDYs. I can handle a few days. They're my kids too."
Respect. That's a good daddy right there. Love him.
Showing posts with label Daily Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daily Life. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Monday, March 23, 2015
Things I Learned on My Trip - Part 4
4. I'm good at moving logistics. It's a gift.
Kristen helped me move into our house in San Antonio and she has since told me..."You are a beast."
I am relentless. Unnecessarily ruthless. Brutal even. Troy does inventory (checking off boxes and furniture as they come off the truck) and I immediately start unpacking the kitchen. Here are my moving logistics.
My MOST important piece of advice: ASK THE MOVERS TO UNPACK YOU. They will take all the garbage (boxes and packing paper) with them and break down all the boxes. Then you don't have to do it or arrange a later pick up. This forces you to put stuff away because it is everywhere. They won't put a thing away and will overturn boxes and you'll have stuff all over your floors. But as they take out your dishes and glasses, put them away. As they unpack your wardrobe boxes, hang everything up. Immediately hook up your washer and dryer and start washing your sheets and towels.
As they unpack you, you will feel overwhelmed and wonder how you have so much stuff. Just pay attention to the task at hand. Try not to START another room until you are done with your priorities. NEVER go up or down stairs unless you are carrying something. Put all your shelves into bookshelves so you have a place to stack stuff. Make sure your "parts box" (with brackets, handles, screws for beds, remotes) is in your car and not on the truck so you know where all your hooks, nails, brackets, etc are located. Especially for beds, so the movers are dumping boxes onto beds and not on the floor.
By the end of the day 1 and all of our stuff is off the truck, I aim to have the kitchen COMPLETELY unpacked and put away with all the beds clean and made up for sleeping.
On day 2, I can do the grocery store run since the kitchen is completely done so we can eat at home. Which is a huge time and money saver when you are moving. And probably have been eating out and doing fast food for a while. By the end of day 2, I have the living room, master bedroom/closet and bathrooms unpacked.
Day 3 is the "leftover" day. That means the less important rooms for required for daily living. Things like an office, guest room, linen closet, etc.
Day 4 is hanging pictures on the walls, curtains up, and leftover organizing (decorative shelves, candles, junk drawer).
We followed this model with Kristen's home, but did not do a day 4 because she wanted to make some of those design/decor decisions when her hubby was there. He wasn't there on monday morning when we received her household goods because he was TDY for a school for his new job the whole week. So we did it all ourselves. Because we rock.
She was like, "Dude. I wasn't expecting to make this much progress on the house in 3 days. I thought you were like this (translation of "this": a slave driver) because it was your house and your stuff. But we killed it."
We even made a trip to Babies R Us to buy nursery furniture on the morning of day 2. Since their baby was born October, and they knew they were moving, they didn't want to buy a nursery set just to move and have it get beat up before getting a change to use it. So they decided to wait until they got into their house to pick something. Unfortunately, I asked the movers to unpack EVERYTHING in the house, which meant in the nursery (and the office) they overturned boxes and just left PILES and PILES of baby stuff all over the floor. I thought Kristen was going to stroke out. Especially when had to lug that baby dresser we just bought at Babies R Us up her stairs. I really thought we were going to die. It was the hardest I have worked out and the quickest I have ever broken a sweat in my entire life. Ever. I might have been in fear of Kristen's life, who was on the lifting and pushing side of the dresser on the way up the steps.
Her movers came monday morning and we were done wednesday night. House completely done, other than the day 4 list, which she and her hubs are going to do together. Well, the garage needed some work. But we had to leave something for her husband right?
Kristen helped me move into our house in San Antonio and she has since told me..."You are a beast."
I am relentless. Unnecessarily ruthless. Brutal even. Troy does inventory (checking off boxes and furniture as they come off the truck) and I immediately start unpacking the kitchen. Here are my moving logistics.
My MOST important piece of advice: ASK THE MOVERS TO UNPACK YOU. They will take all the garbage (boxes and packing paper) with them and break down all the boxes. Then you don't have to do it or arrange a later pick up. This forces you to put stuff away because it is everywhere. They won't put a thing away and will overturn boxes and you'll have stuff all over your floors. But as they take out your dishes and glasses, put them away. As they unpack your wardrobe boxes, hang everything up. Immediately hook up your washer and dryer and start washing your sheets and towels.
As they unpack you, you will feel overwhelmed and wonder how you have so much stuff. Just pay attention to the task at hand. Try not to START another room until you are done with your priorities. NEVER go up or down stairs unless you are carrying something. Put all your shelves into bookshelves so you have a place to stack stuff. Make sure your "parts box" (with brackets, handles, screws for beds, remotes) is in your car and not on the truck so you know where all your hooks, nails, brackets, etc are located. Especially for beds, so the movers are dumping boxes onto beds and not on the floor.
By the end of the day 1 and all of our stuff is off the truck, I aim to have the kitchen COMPLETELY unpacked and put away with all the beds clean and made up for sleeping.
On day 2, I can do the grocery store run since the kitchen is completely done so we can eat at home. Which is a huge time and money saver when you are moving. And probably have been eating out and doing fast food for a while. By the end of day 2, I have the living room, master bedroom/closet and bathrooms unpacked.
Day 3 is the "leftover" day. That means the less important rooms for required for daily living. Things like an office, guest room, linen closet, etc.
Day 4 is hanging pictures on the walls, curtains up, and leftover organizing (decorative shelves, candles, junk drawer).
We followed this model with Kristen's home, but did not do a day 4 because she wanted to make some of those design/decor decisions when her hubby was there. He wasn't there on monday morning when we received her household goods because he was TDY for a school for his new job the whole week. So we did it all ourselves. Because we rock.
She was like, "Dude. I wasn't expecting to make this much progress on the house in 3 days. I thought you were like this (translation of "this": a slave driver) because it was your house and your stuff. But we killed it."
We even made a trip to Babies R Us to buy nursery furniture on the morning of day 2. Since their baby was born October, and they knew they were moving, they didn't want to buy a nursery set just to move and have it get beat up before getting a change to use it. So they decided to wait until they got into their house to pick something. Unfortunately, I asked the movers to unpack EVERYTHING in the house, which meant in the nursery (and the office) they overturned boxes and just left PILES and PILES of baby stuff all over the floor. I thought Kristen was going to stroke out. Especially when had to lug that baby dresser we just bought at Babies R Us up her stairs. I really thought we were going to die. It was the hardest I have worked out and the quickest I have ever broken a sweat in my entire life. Ever. I might have been in fear of Kristen's life, who was on the lifting and pushing side of the dresser on the way up the steps.
Her movers came monday morning and we were done wednesday night. House completely done, other than the day 4 list, which she and her hubs are going to do together. Well, the garage needed some work. But we had to leave something for her husband right?
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Avery's Art: Port-A-Potty or Bear?
Oh my word. I haven't blogged in AGES. But this was too good not to share. I get to brag on my big girl's art work and share a funny conversation between Troy and me? WINNING!
Avery has been going to school on tuesdays and thursdays all day and she absolutely loves it. She is quite a talented artist, loves to color and paint, bringing home all kinds of projects every day that she has done at school.
Last week, she brought home a picture that was AWESOME. I knew what it was immediately. Her teachers always label her pictures, but this one didn't need it. Or so I thought.
I thought her picture was so awesome, it deserved the center spot on the refrigerator.
Troy came home from work and started unpacking his lunchbox (tupperware in the sink, uneaten items back in the fridge for another day) while I was getting dinner started.
I noticed him staring at her picture on the fridge.
Like, intensely staring.
I got all excited.
Natalie: "Troy, isn't her picture great?!?!"
Troy: "Um, I guess so. I'm not sure it should be on the fridge though."
Natalie: "What? What do you mean?"
Troy: "Well, it's a little awkward."
Natalie: "What are you talking about? It's a perfect bear!"
Troy: "Well, I hate to say this, but the only thing I see when I look at it, is what you see when you use a port-a-potty."
Natalie: "WHAT?"
Troy: "You know. When you look down the hole and there's just a giant pile of poop at the bottom of a dark hole."
Natalie: "Are you kidding me right now? You are looking at a perfect bear and all you see is poop?"
Troy: "SORRY! It's just unappetizing to look at right when I am opening the fridge to eat and all I can see is poop."
Natalie: "You are awful. You tell Avery how amazing her picture is right now."
Troy: (gives Avery a big throw up in the air hug) "AVERY!!! I love your picture! That is the best bear I have ever seen!!
Avery: "HE'S IN A CAVE"
Troy: "I KNOW! It's called a port-a-potty cave!!!"
Natalie: "TROY STOP"
I guess that's the difference between moms and dads. But here is her picture. It's great right? I've probably ruined it because I told you it's a giant pile of poop. Sorry about that.
Avery has been going to school on tuesdays and thursdays all day and she absolutely loves it. She is quite a talented artist, loves to color and paint, bringing home all kinds of projects every day that she has done at school.
Last week, she brought home a picture that was AWESOME. I knew what it was immediately. Her teachers always label her pictures, but this one didn't need it. Or so I thought.
I thought her picture was so awesome, it deserved the center spot on the refrigerator.
Troy came home from work and started unpacking his lunchbox (tupperware in the sink, uneaten items back in the fridge for another day) while I was getting dinner started.
I noticed him staring at her picture on the fridge.
Like, intensely staring.
I got all excited.
Natalie: "Troy, isn't her picture great?!?!"
Troy: "Um, I guess so. I'm not sure it should be on the fridge though."
Natalie: "What? What do you mean?"
Troy: "Well, it's a little awkward."
Natalie: "What are you talking about? It's a perfect bear!"
Troy: "Well, I hate to say this, but the only thing I see when I look at it, is what you see when you use a port-a-potty."
Natalie: "WHAT?"
Troy: "You know. When you look down the hole and there's just a giant pile of poop at the bottom of a dark hole."
Natalie: "Are you kidding me right now? You are looking at a perfect bear and all you see is poop?"
Troy: "SORRY! It's just unappetizing to look at right when I am opening the fridge to eat and all I can see is poop."
Natalie: "You are awful. You tell Avery how amazing her picture is right now."
Troy: (gives Avery a big throw up in the air hug) "AVERY!!! I love your picture! That is the best bear I have ever seen!!
Avery: "HE'S IN A CAVE"
Troy: "I KNOW! It's called a port-a-potty cave!!!"
Natalie: "TROY STOP"
I guess that's the difference between moms and dads. But here is her picture. It's great right? I've probably ruined it because I told you it's a giant pile of poop. Sorry about that.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Torticollis and Physical Therapy for Kinley
I mentioned in a post a few months back that Kinley has a preference for turning her head to one side. The right to be exact. She likes to look to her right side and when she turns to her left, she keeps her chin tucked down. It's called torticollis and she got it from positioning during my pregnancy.
This is Kinley:
This is how Kinley feels about turning her head to the left. And an example of how she likes to sit. With her head turned to the right and tilted slightly down:
If you look at the picture below, some of the symptoms of torticollis are present. As a result of her right sided preference, she has a little flat spot on the back right side of her head. It is also pushing her right ear forward and resulting in an irregular distribution of the fat in her cheeks. So in the picture, you can see her right cheek (your left) is a little bigger looking:
At her 2 month appointment, right before Christmas, our pediatrician put in an order for physical therapy. I asked around a few months ago for a good pediatric physical therapy place in town because I had 2 friends who had kids who needed some therapy. My co-worker's wife works at a place in Henderson call Children's Therapy Center. It's a bit of a hike (about 45 min to get there) but it's worth it to see a therapist that I trust.
They are teaching us exercises to stretch her sternocleidomastoid muscles, anterior scalenes, and trapezius muscles. And how to strengthen her back muscles, which will help her relax and stretch out her neck.
Here is Kinley in PT with her therapist Leslie:
And she got her neck taped last week to assist in engaging muscles to prevent the head tilt:
Leslie says that she is doing better but her neck still feels a little "rope-y," as in the muscles feel like ropes and are tight. We've been going once a week for about a month and are expected to be able to start going once every other week soon. We are good at doing our homework. She has to do little baby sit ups, stretch some, sit up while we rub her muscles, and do lots of tummy time to strengthen her back and extensor muscles for her neck.
This is Kinley:
This is how Kinley feels about turning her head to the left. And an example of how she likes to sit. With her head turned to the right and tilted slightly down:
If you look at the picture below, some of the symptoms of torticollis are present. As a result of her right sided preference, she has a little flat spot on the back right side of her head. It is also pushing her right ear forward and resulting in an irregular distribution of the fat in her cheeks. So in the picture, you can see her right cheek (your left) is a little bigger looking:
At her 2 month appointment, right before Christmas, our pediatrician put in an order for physical therapy. I asked around a few months ago for a good pediatric physical therapy place in town because I had 2 friends who had kids who needed some therapy. My co-worker's wife works at a place in Henderson call Children's Therapy Center. It's a bit of a hike (about 45 min to get there) but it's worth it to see a therapist that I trust.
They are teaching us exercises to stretch her sternocleidomastoid muscles, anterior scalenes, and trapezius muscles. And how to strengthen her back muscles, which will help her relax and stretch out her neck.
Here is Kinley in PT with her therapist Leslie:
And she got her neck taped last week to assist in engaging muscles to prevent the head tilt:
Leslie says that she is doing better but her neck still feels a little "rope-y," as in the muscles feel like ropes and are tight. We've been going once a week for about a month and are expected to be able to start going once every other week soon. We are good at doing our homework. She has to do little baby sit ups, stretch some, sit up while we rub her muscles, and do lots of tummy time to strengthen her back and extensor muscles for her neck.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Breastfeeding Update, Cloth Diapers, and Back to Work
Aloha everyone. Long time no blog.
Last time I left you, breastfeeding was going pretty well and I was nursing the girls once every two hours. Well, about a month ago, Troy and I decided we couldn't handle the crying anymore. And the not sleeping. No one should be AFRAID to be alone with your kids. The babies were nursing every 2.5-3 hours, even at night and they were approaching 3 months old. They should have been sleeping longer and we were both struggling with the whole no sleep thing. And when they were awake they were crying all the time.
Basically, I would nurse one while the other one screamed (I still can't tandem nurse). The one I was nursing would fall asleep for about an hour. I would nurse the second one and they would fall asleep for about an hour. After they both woke up an hour later, they would scream and scream and scream until their next feeding. I would usually cave after about 2.5 hours because we couldn't take the crying anymore.
My boobs felt empty empty empty and they would cry and not latch on because my milk wouldn't come down immediately. Everyone was frustrated. We were tired and the babies were hungry. And not sleeping.
My solution?? Start pumping like crazy. I had to increase my milk supply. At the time, they were drinking 3 ounces each every 3 hours. If they could make it that long. To make sure they were eating enough, we started just bottle feeding my pumped breastmilk. We were able to figure out that they were SO comforted by the boob that they weren't nursing long enough and would fall asleep,
starving an hour later and not helping my supply grow because they weren't completely emptying my boobs out. By pumping, we could ensure they were eating enough and empty the boobies all the way so my supply wouldn't drop off.
While waiting for my supply to grow some more, we supplemented about 2 oz of formula per day, per child. I was sad at first because I want to exclusively give them breastmilk, but after talking to a friend of mine with twins, I realized, "I am not made to nurse a litter." I just need to do the best I can and make sure my kids aren't hungry. If that means supplementing with formula every once in a while, so be it. Every once in a while when we have a busy day, we'll bring formula out with us if we know we'll be gone for a while (going to church and then running errands for example) and then I pump when I get home, usually enough for more than one feeding per kid. Which is pretty great.
I have been pumping during the day and bottle feeding and only nursing for the middle of the night/early morning feeding. As a result, they almost immediately got happier, were sleeping from about 9pm to 5am (the feeding I would nurse) and then pump a full feeding for each of them before I go to work. If they don't wake up before I leave for work at 7am (which has happened), I can pump 18+ ounces. It's craaaaaaaazy! Women's bodies are amazing.
Overall, since I switched to mostly pumping, everyone is happier. It makes my life a little more inconvenient, but it's worth it. For our pocketbook and the babies immune systems :)
Call us crazy, but about 2 weeks ago, we started the cloth diapers. I wanted to wait until the babies were big enough to fit in the diapers so there was no leaking from the leg holes. I started Avery at 3 months exactly (when she was about 10-11 lbs) and I was really excited to start using them for the girls. We are using BumGenius pocket diapers with snaps and prefolds with Thirsties covers and snappis. Troy and Aurora (our nanny) do really well with the prefolds, but I am TERRIBLE. The prefold gets held together with the snappi and then the cover snaps over the prefold. Well, if you don't make sure that all the fabric is tucked in to the cover, the SECOND they pee, there are leaks everywhere and multiple clothing changes per day. I'm getting better at it, but there is a little more patience involved. The prefolds are definitely cheaper than the BumGenius, but I am still partial to the BumGenius. They were having a sale on cottonbabies.com and bought 15 more last week.
A lot of people have said, how can you cloth diaper 2 babies? Well, we'll see how it goes. I did it with one so with a few more diapers, we should be able to keep the same laundry schedule and keep going with two. BUT I don't do any of the kids laundry. Including diapers or bedding. Which is seriously amazing. Aurora is fully on board with the cloth diapers (she used them with her kids) and does at least one load of laundry on days that she's here (3 days a week). So having extra help really makes a difference. I do Troy's and my laundry and bedding, but having Aurora here for all the kid stuff and kitchen stuff makes a huge difference in terms of time makes our quality of life better and our laundry hasn't gotten out of control. Yet.
I am also officially back at work and on my mutually agreed upon schedule at work. I work on mondays, fridays, and saturdays all day. I used to just work whenever I was needed, but now that there is more going on at home, having a reliable week to week schedule just works better for us. And for hiring our nanny.
I've gotten a ton of questions about how we found her, agreed upon pay, "extras", and hours.
We registered on care.com, which is how we found Carolyn, our nanny before we had the twins and she moved away :( Having had luck on the website before, we decided to give it a second go. We placed an ad with our requirements, hours, level of experience, days/hours needed. We had about 35 people apply and only interviewed 3 people. Everyone we interviewed was over 50. We really wanted someone with experience with multiples and with multitasking/running a household. It is easy to get overwhelmed with 3 kids under three and I frequently have freak out moments. I was hoping to hire someone that wouldn't feel that panic, and I felt pretty confident that hiring someone under 30 who didn't have their own kids could get in over their head.
We ended up hired Aurora. She is from the Philippines, is almost 60, has 2 children and her mother lives with her as well. She has tons and tons of experience and great references. She tutors children with special needs and we could tell she wasn't intimidated by watching 3 kids under 3 years old. She has a very gentle, calm spirit and so far, the only issue we have had is that she can let Avery boss her around at times. Aurora is here for 10 hours a day, from 7am-5pm on mondays, fridays, and saturdays and she has come for occasional other things like date night or when we met with our pool contractor (!!!!!!). So far things are going well with me being back at work. She will do dishes, empty the dishwasher, make baby food, cook for Avery, do all the kids laundry, vacuum common areas (ie. areas the kids hang out), change kid bedding, and clean up all the toys/books that Avery hurricanes through in a day.
I'll be back with an update about the pool this week :) We are waiting for the HOA to approve the plan and for the permits for engineering. We are hoping to start digging in the next month so that the pool is up and running by Avery's birthday!
Last time I left you, breastfeeding was going pretty well and I was nursing the girls once every two hours. Well, about a month ago, Troy and I decided we couldn't handle the crying anymore. And the not sleeping. No one should be AFRAID to be alone with your kids. The babies were nursing every 2.5-3 hours, even at night and they were approaching 3 months old. They should have been sleeping longer and we were both struggling with the whole no sleep thing. And when they were awake they were crying all the time.
Basically, I would nurse one while the other one screamed (I still can't tandem nurse). The one I was nursing would fall asleep for about an hour. I would nurse the second one and they would fall asleep for about an hour. After they both woke up an hour later, they would scream and scream and scream until their next feeding. I would usually cave after about 2.5 hours because we couldn't take the crying anymore.
My boobs felt empty empty empty and they would cry and not latch on because my milk wouldn't come down immediately. Everyone was frustrated. We were tired and the babies were hungry. And not sleeping.
My solution?? Start pumping like crazy. I had to increase my milk supply. At the time, they were drinking 3 ounces each every 3 hours. If they could make it that long. To make sure they were eating enough, we started just bottle feeding my pumped breastmilk. We were able to figure out that they were SO comforted by the boob that they weren't nursing long enough and would fall asleep,
starving an hour later and not helping my supply grow because they weren't completely emptying my boobs out. By pumping, we could ensure they were eating enough and empty the boobies all the way so my supply wouldn't drop off.
While waiting for my supply to grow some more, we supplemented about 2 oz of formula per day, per child. I was sad at first because I want to exclusively give them breastmilk, but after talking to a friend of mine with twins, I realized, "I am not made to nurse a litter." I just need to do the best I can and make sure my kids aren't hungry. If that means supplementing with formula every once in a while, so be it. Every once in a while when we have a busy day, we'll bring formula out with us if we know we'll be gone for a while (going to church and then running errands for example) and then I pump when I get home, usually enough for more than one feeding per kid. Which is pretty great.
I have been pumping during the day and bottle feeding and only nursing for the middle of the night/early morning feeding. As a result, they almost immediately got happier, were sleeping from about 9pm to 5am (the feeding I would nurse) and then pump a full feeding for each of them before I go to work. If they don't wake up before I leave for work at 7am (which has happened), I can pump 18+ ounces. It's craaaaaaaazy! Women's bodies are amazing.
Overall, since I switched to mostly pumping, everyone is happier. It makes my life a little more inconvenient, but it's worth it. For our pocketbook and the babies immune systems :)
Call us crazy, but about 2 weeks ago, we started the cloth diapers. I wanted to wait until the babies were big enough to fit in the diapers so there was no leaking from the leg holes. I started Avery at 3 months exactly (when she was about 10-11 lbs) and I was really excited to start using them for the girls. We are using BumGenius pocket diapers with snaps and prefolds with Thirsties covers and snappis. Troy and Aurora (our nanny) do really well with the prefolds, but I am TERRIBLE. The prefold gets held together with the snappi and then the cover snaps over the prefold. Well, if you don't make sure that all the fabric is tucked in to the cover, the SECOND they pee, there are leaks everywhere and multiple clothing changes per day. I'm getting better at it, but there is a little more patience involved. The prefolds are definitely cheaper than the BumGenius, but I am still partial to the BumGenius. They were having a sale on cottonbabies.com and bought 15 more last week.
A lot of people have said, how can you cloth diaper 2 babies? Well, we'll see how it goes. I did it with one so with a few more diapers, we should be able to keep the same laundry schedule and keep going with two. BUT I don't do any of the kids laundry. Including diapers or bedding. Which is seriously amazing. Aurora is fully on board with the cloth diapers (she used them with her kids) and does at least one load of laundry on days that she's here (3 days a week). So having extra help really makes a difference. I do Troy's and my laundry and bedding, but having Aurora here for all the kid stuff and kitchen stuff makes a huge difference in terms of time makes our quality of life better and our laundry hasn't gotten out of control. Yet.
I am also officially back at work and on my mutually agreed upon schedule at work. I work on mondays, fridays, and saturdays all day. I used to just work whenever I was needed, but now that there is more going on at home, having a reliable week to week schedule just works better for us. And for hiring our nanny.
I've gotten a ton of questions about how we found her, agreed upon pay, "extras", and hours.
We registered on care.com, which is how we found Carolyn, our nanny before we had the twins and she moved away :( Having had luck on the website before, we decided to give it a second go. We placed an ad with our requirements, hours, level of experience, days/hours needed. We had about 35 people apply and only interviewed 3 people. Everyone we interviewed was over 50. We really wanted someone with experience with multiples and with multitasking/running a household. It is easy to get overwhelmed with 3 kids under three and I frequently have freak out moments. I was hoping to hire someone that wouldn't feel that panic, and I felt pretty confident that hiring someone under 30 who didn't have their own kids could get in over their head.
We ended up hired Aurora. She is from the Philippines, is almost 60, has 2 children and her mother lives with her as well. She has tons and tons of experience and great references. She tutors children with special needs and we could tell she wasn't intimidated by watching 3 kids under 3 years old. She has a very gentle, calm spirit and so far, the only issue we have had is that she can let Avery boss her around at times. Aurora is here for 10 hours a day, from 7am-5pm on mondays, fridays, and saturdays and she has come for occasional other things like date night or when we met with our pool contractor (!!!!!!). So far things are going well with me being back at work. She will do dishes, empty the dishwasher, make baby food, cook for Avery, do all the kids laundry, vacuum common areas (ie. areas the kids hang out), change kid bedding, and clean up all the toys/books that Avery hurricanes through in a day.
I'll be back with an update about the pool this week :) We are waiting for the HOA to approve the plan and for the permits for engineering. We are hoping to start digging in the next month so that the pool is up and running by Avery's birthday!
Friday, December 6, 2013
Family Pictures
I am terrible about pictures. I take TONS of them, but never print anything out. I have grandparents who don't have smart phones or internet. Seriously. So they never see pictures of their great-grandkids. I am going to print off a mess of pictures the next time I go to Walmart and send the photos to them.
We have also NEVER had professional pictures taken. We always have friends take them who have nice cameras.
So eventually, we will have professional ones done, but in the meantime, we've gotten great results from friends.
Here's one from when Avery was born:
Here's one from a friend at White Sands:
And now we have new ones from the same friend who took our White Sand pictures:
We also took a mess of Christmas pictures, but I'm not sharing all of those until we get our Christmas cards in the mail!
But here are some outtakes. Avery making us laugh mostly. And Optimus reminding me of a t-rex.
Seriously y'all. Optimus's big, goofy face just makes me smile.
I threw a bear at Avery and Kristen took the shot while Avery was in mid-catch.
Avery's new favorite game is the "steal the nose" game and she started playing it in the middle of pictures. This is Avery stealing my nose.
Avery stealing Troy's nose. He's not super tolerant of the nose stealing game. She doesn't quite get the "be gentle" concept of the game. It's a TIGHT squeeze and pinch from her. Ouch.
We took some Christmas pictures in front of our stockings (we don't have a fireplace). We gave Avery a poinsettia flower to hold and she decided that it needed to go on Kinley's head.
Up close shot of the flower on her head.
Well, since we got our photos taken, we got our Christmas cards ordered today. So I just need to make sure I can get them addressed and in the mail BEFORE Christmas. Wish me luck!
We have also NEVER had professional pictures taken. We always have friends take them who have nice cameras.
So eventually, we will have professional ones done, but in the meantime, we've gotten great results from friends.
Here's one from when Avery was born:
Here's one from a friend at White Sands:
And now we have new ones from the same friend who took our White Sand pictures:
We also took a mess of Christmas pictures, but I'm not sharing all of those until we get our Christmas cards in the mail!
But here are some outtakes. Avery making us laugh mostly. And Optimus reminding me of a t-rex.
Seriously y'all. Optimus's big, goofy face just makes me smile.
I threw a bear at Avery and Kristen took the shot while Avery was in mid-catch.
Avery's new favorite game is the "steal the nose" game and she started playing it in the middle of pictures. This is Avery stealing my nose.
Avery stealing Troy's nose. He's not super tolerant of the nose stealing game. She doesn't quite get the "be gentle" concept of the game. It's a TIGHT squeeze and pinch from her. Ouch.
We took some Christmas pictures in front of our stockings (we don't have a fireplace). We gave Avery a poinsettia flower to hold and she decided that it needed to go on Kinley's head.
Up close shot of the flower on her head.
Well, since we got our photos taken, we got our Christmas cards ordered today. So I just need to make sure I can get them addressed and in the mail BEFORE Christmas. Wish me luck!
Thursday, August 15, 2013
2 Appointments Later... and 25 weeks Pregnant!
Appointment from 8/6/13
If you haven't read yet, I had a cerclage outpatient procedure 2 weeks ago. You can read about it here.
I had my follow up appointment a week later and my doctor was very pleased with the results. We looked at the ultrasound of the babies (still happy and kicking in there) and he did an internal ultrasound to look at my cervix.
It was neat because you could actually see the stitches in white in the ultrasound. My doctor was all, "look at that beautiful cerclage! Who did that??" Love him.
So then he's like, "So about rest and work...."
And I interrupted him. I said, "Troy and I have talked about it. I work because I love my job and I see it as 'me time.' I don't HAVE to work. I'm going to call it quits for the rest of the pregnancy because it's not worth the medical risks the babies or I could face if something happens."
And he says, "Oh thank God. I was going to tell you that you could go back to work if you wanted to. If you were MY wife, I wouldn't let you work. But I hate telling people not to work because you never know what their financial situations are or they're going to lose their home because you tell them not to work. I'm so relieved that you made this decision on your own."
So based on LAST week, I'm now at home full time until I decide to go back to work. After the babies are born. And I can tear myself away. And we figure out child care. And how I'm going to breastfeed. And we know what Troy's schedule is going to be like.
Appointment from 8/13/13
I was scared to go to this appointment. With Troy's new weird schedule, he's not really available for now. The last time I went to an appointment by myself, I found out that I needed to have the cerclage. I just keep feeling like I'm waiting for bad news and I don't want to face that alone.
This was a pretty exciting appointment because I was having another growth ultrasound. Most people have ONE growth ultrasound, at the 20 week mark where they find out the gender of the baby. But I had one at 21 weeks and will have one every 4 weeks until the end of my pregnancy (my 29 week one is already scheduled). So since it was my 25 week appointment, they were checking everything out.
Things we found out:
1. Kinley is seriously low. Like, SO behind my pubic bone that they could NOT get a head circumference on her. No wonder sitting down is uncomfortable. I feel like I can't bend AT ALL.
2. Last week, both babies had their heads down by my right hip. Caris is now ALLLLLL kinds of stretched out. She has also flipped and has her head by my stomach, her butt is under my liver, and her feet are by my right hip (where her head was last week). She is in a giant "L" shape. Poor Kinley is shoved down into my pubic bone and curled up in a little ball.
3. They are both still looking great developmentally. Their brains and hearts are GORGEOUS. From the mouth of the ultrasound tech :)
4. They are both a little small. Kinley is measuring 1b 11oz (46%) and Caris is measuring 1lb 8oz (33%). But that is nothing that the doctor is worried about. Especially since Avery was born on time and was only 6lb 13 oz. Maybe I just have small babies... which is not so awesome for multiples, but we're going to see how they're measuring at the next appointment.
So then Dr. Adashek came in a told me my babies are gorgeous (well, duh!) and gave me a hug. He did the internal ultrasound to look at my cervix and see if the stitches were holding.
He said that they still looked great and he still wants me to take it easy and keep taking my uterine muscle relaxers. Even though I had taken the medication 2 hours before my appointment (they last 6 hours), the tech told Dr. Adashek that I had 4 contractions during my hour long ultrasound. Eeek. So we're still dealing with that.
My doctor is feeling good about how everything is going and I was cleared to go back to my every 2 week appointments instead of once a week. Well, I still have to go in every week for my progesterone shot (to tell my body that I'm pregnant and not to go into labor) but I'm back to going every other week to see him.
The good news is, we have some help right now :) YAY! Ask and you shall receive!
So Troy's aunt arrived the day before my cerclage, stocked our freezer, cleaned the house, and yelled at me before I could break my rules, and left 10 days later. Troy's mom got here LATE Tuesday evening and is leaving almost 2 weeks later. My sister, Taylor is coming the first week in September. My cousin Laura is coming for a week or so in mid September. Then my step mom is coming for a week at the end of September. And then my friend Kristen is coming here for about a week at the beginning of October. Then I can hopefully con my mom into coming to in mid October...when I hit about 34 weeks. And staying...FOREVER. Kidding. Sort of. Not really at all.
In short, we are expecting LOADS of company to help and pass the time between now and when the babies come. Especially if my oldest keeps trying to jump in deep end of the pool.
If you haven't read yet, I had a cerclage outpatient procedure 2 weeks ago. You can read about it here.
I had my follow up appointment a week later and my doctor was very pleased with the results. We looked at the ultrasound of the babies (still happy and kicking in there) and he did an internal ultrasound to look at my cervix.
It was neat because you could actually see the stitches in white in the ultrasound. My doctor was all, "look at that beautiful cerclage! Who did that??" Love him.
So then he's like, "So about rest and work...."
And I interrupted him. I said, "Troy and I have talked about it. I work because I love my job and I see it as 'me time.' I don't HAVE to work. I'm going to call it quits for the rest of the pregnancy because it's not worth the medical risks the babies or I could face if something happens."
And he says, "Oh thank God. I was going to tell you that you could go back to work if you wanted to. If you were MY wife, I wouldn't let you work. But I hate telling people not to work because you never know what their financial situations are or they're going to lose their home because you tell them not to work. I'm so relieved that you made this decision on your own."
So based on LAST week, I'm now at home full time until I decide to go back to work. After the babies are born. And I can tear myself away. And we figure out child care. And how I'm going to breastfeed. And we know what Troy's schedule is going to be like.
Appointment from 8/13/13
I was scared to go to this appointment. With Troy's new weird schedule, he's not really available for now. The last time I went to an appointment by myself, I found out that I needed to have the cerclage. I just keep feeling like I'm waiting for bad news and I don't want to face that alone.
This was a pretty exciting appointment because I was having another growth ultrasound. Most people have ONE growth ultrasound, at the 20 week mark where they find out the gender of the baby. But I had one at 21 weeks and will have one every 4 weeks until the end of my pregnancy (my 29 week one is already scheduled). So since it was my 25 week appointment, they were checking everything out.
Things we found out:
1. Kinley is seriously low. Like, SO behind my pubic bone that they could NOT get a head circumference on her. No wonder sitting down is uncomfortable. I feel like I can't bend AT ALL.
2. Last week, both babies had their heads down by my right hip. Caris is now ALLLLLL kinds of stretched out. She has also flipped and has her head by my stomach, her butt is under my liver, and her feet are by my right hip (where her head was last week). She is in a giant "L" shape. Poor Kinley is shoved down into my pubic bone and curled up in a little ball.
3. They are both still looking great developmentally. Their brains and hearts are GORGEOUS. From the mouth of the ultrasound tech :)
4. They are both a little small. Kinley is measuring 1b 11oz (46%) and Caris is measuring 1lb 8oz (33%). But that is nothing that the doctor is worried about. Especially since Avery was born on time and was only 6lb 13 oz. Maybe I just have small babies... which is not so awesome for multiples, but we're going to see how they're measuring at the next appointment.
So then Dr. Adashek came in a told me my babies are gorgeous (well, duh!) and gave me a hug. He did the internal ultrasound to look at my cervix and see if the stitches were holding.
He said that they still looked great and he still wants me to take it easy and keep taking my uterine muscle relaxers. Even though I had taken the medication 2 hours before my appointment (they last 6 hours), the tech told Dr. Adashek that I had 4 contractions during my hour long ultrasound. Eeek. So we're still dealing with that.
My doctor is feeling good about how everything is going and I was cleared to go back to my every 2 week appointments instead of once a week. Well, I still have to go in every week for my progesterone shot (to tell my body that I'm pregnant and not to go into labor) but I'm back to going every other week to see him.
The good news is, we have some help right now :) YAY! Ask and you shall receive!
So Troy's aunt arrived the day before my cerclage, stocked our freezer, cleaned the house, and yelled at me before I could break my rules, and left 10 days later. Troy's mom got here LATE Tuesday evening and is leaving almost 2 weeks later. My sister, Taylor is coming the first week in September. My cousin Laura is coming for a week or so in mid September. Then my step mom is coming for a week at the end of September. And then my friend Kristen is coming here for about a week at the beginning of October. Then I can hopefully con my mom into coming to in mid October...when I hit about 34 weeks. And staying...FOREVER. Kidding. Sort of. Not really at all.
In short, we are expecting LOADS of company to help and pass the time between now and when the babies come. Especially if my oldest keeps trying to jump in deep end of the pool.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Avery is Home and We are Loving Life
Woooweee it's been a while since I posted. Sorry about that.
Avery came home on June 19th and we were very very excited. Troy was on midnight shift the day that she came home. He had worked from midnight to 8 and got home around 930, with intentions to sleep for a few hours before we picked up Avery and my stepdad from the airport. But then my brother called (he was on TDY to Nellis for a deployment training) and asked if we could go to lunch. And Troy was too excited to sleep. So to help pass the time until reunion time, we spent a few hours with Tyler.
Then it was time to go to the airport. Troy made Avery a sign. Yes. Troy did. I had nothing to do with this. At all. I think that other people thought that we were welcoming home a deployed soldier or something. Nope, just our 2 year old. And there is Tyler photobombing. Typical. And Troy's eyes are a little scary. Sorry about the poor quality iphone photos.
This is my first hug with Avery. She came down the escalator sitting between my stepdad's legs on one of the steps. She stood up right at the bottom and jumped into my arms, IMMEDIATELY talking and talking and talking. About what? I'm not really sure. Just long winded babbling with an understandable word every 15 words or so.
We took a family picture in baggage claim too. Troy insisted her sign be included.
We have been spending lots of time at the pool. Sometimes at the YMCA (it's a little crowded there some days), some days we went to our youth pastors house who has a pool, and another day we went to my friend's neighborhood pool (MUCH less crowded). Avery has one of those puddle jumper life vests and is getting more confident in the water. We've been reading a lot and Troy and Avery do puzzles a lot. We've had a couple play dates and I don't think Avery remembers her friends initially, but seems to warm up to people quickly, so yay!
Troy took a bunch of leave when Avery came home and he got to spend almost 2 weeks home with her, which was amazing. I worked for about half of that. Speaking of which, I worked a 40 hour work week last week. It's the FIRST TIME I've done that since before Avery was born. I was feeling pretty awesome about it. Troy was making me go to bed at 830 every night, which was annoying at the time, but a good choice.
I'm glad Avery decided not to squirt her mom, holding the iphone...
Avery has been GREAT in her big girl bed. She hasn't gotten out once. She goes right to bed at night and sits in bed yelling for us in the morning until we come get her. A couple people have asked how the edge of the bed "noodle technique" is working and so far, so good. She hasn't rolled out of bed in the middle of the night. My only complaint is the the noodle will slide off the edge and get caught in the elastic of the fitted sheet so you have to push it back up onto the edge of the mattress. But other than that, it seems to work well and is certainly cheaper than buying a rail. Win-win.
Seriously, I just want to watch her sleep stalker style. She's just so cute.
Avery came home on June 19th and we were very very excited. Troy was on midnight shift the day that she came home. He had worked from midnight to 8 and got home around 930, with intentions to sleep for a few hours before we picked up Avery and my stepdad from the airport. But then my brother called (he was on TDY to Nellis for a deployment training) and asked if we could go to lunch. And Troy was too excited to sleep. So to help pass the time until reunion time, we spent a few hours with Tyler.
Then it was time to go to the airport. Troy made Avery a sign. Yes. Troy did. I had nothing to do with this. At all. I think that other people thought that we were welcoming home a deployed soldier or something. Nope, just our 2 year old. And there is Tyler photobombing. Typical. And Troy's eyes are a little scary. Sorry about the poor quality iphone photos.
This is my first hug with Avery. She came down the escalator sitting between my stepdad's legs on one of the steps. She stood up right at the bottom and jumped into my arms, IMMEDIATELY talking and talking and talking. About what? I'm not really sure. Just long winded babbling with an understandable word every 15 words or so.
We took a family picture in baggage claim too. Troy insisted her sign be included.
We have been spending lots of time at the pool. Sometimes at the YMCA (it's a little crowded there some days), some days we went to our youth pastors house who has a pool, and another day we went to my friend's neighborhood pool (MUCH less crowded). Avery has one of those puddle jumper life vests and is getting more confident in the water. We've been reading a lot and Troy and Avery do puzzles a lot. We've had a couple play dates and I don't think Avery remembers her friends initially, but seems to warm up to people quickly, so yay!
Troy took a bunch of leave when Avery came home and he got to spend almost 2 weeks home with her, which was amazing. I worked for about half of that. Speaking of which, I worked a 40 hour work week last week. It's the FIRST TIME I've done that since before Avery was born. I was feeling pretty awesome about it. Troy was making me go to bed at 830 every night, which was annoying at the time, but a good choice.
I'm glad Avery decided not to squirt her mom, holding the iphone...
Avery has been GREAT in her big girl bed. She hasn't gotten out once. She goes right to bed at night and sits in bed yelling for us in the morning until we come get her. A couple people have asked how the edge of the bed "noodle technique" is working and so far, so good. She hasn't rolled out of bed in the middle of the night. My only complaint is the the noodle will slide off the edge and get caught in the elastic of the fitted sheet so you have to push it back up onto the edge of the mattress. But other than that, it seems to work well and is certainly cheaper than buying a rail. Win-win.
Seriously, I just want to watch her sleep stalker style. She's just so cute.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Avery's *NEW* Big Girl Room!!
Avery comes home on Wednesday. YAY! Troy is laughing at me because I have been nesting in preparation for her homecoming. Her room is done, the house is sparkling, the nursery is starting to look like an actual room, and I'm buying her some clothes and toys. Which I haven't done in almost 3 months.
I have been slooooowly collecting things for Avery's big girl room. Like, over 6 months. When she left for my parents house in April, she was still sleeping in her crib and very happy in there. No attempts to climb out or anything. However, I started buying things for her big girl room transition in January. I was very excited...I don't really know why. This is an overview of her room:
We decided to transition her now for several reasons.
1. With the babies coming, we want her to see a tangible difference between what babies do (sleep in cribs) and what big girls do (sleep in big girl beds).
2. I didn't want to be dealing with new babies and also trying to keep her in her room/bed without her getting out.
3. Her crib was a drop arm crib (OH THE HORROR!) and I was always fearful of her trying to climb out and somehow getting crushed or hurt if the side dropped down with her in "mid climb."
4. Her crib was not a transition to a toddler bed crib. Even on the lowest setting, her crib mattress was super high so we needed to buy her a new bed whenever she transitioned out of it. I'd rather have time to shop around for one and get a good deal than feel panicked and buy one on impulse.
I started shopping for a bed on craigslist in November? I'm talking early. We wanted to find something that was a good deal and would also transition well to her being a teenager. I don't want to keep buying and buying. For example, crib ->toddler bed -> another bed. So we just went for it.
We decided on a day bed for several reasons.
1. It is a twin bed, so it's good/not too huge for a kid.
2. It has a pull out/pop up trundle underneath so she can have sleepovers and the other kid has a bed.
3. If we have family visiting with kids, no matter what the gender, they can sleep there too.
4. If we have adults who need to sleep there, it's 2 beds OR it pops up and turns into a king size bed which is good for adults or multiple kid sleepover situations.
With those things in mind, I set out for something on craiglist. I looked at IKEA, but I really wanted quality wood that would last, so all the pressed board crap was out. It took me about 2.5 months of daily checking before this beauty came up. I paid $280 and it included the all wood day bed frame, metal pop up trundle bed and the 2 mattresses, which are BRAND NEW! And now covered with a pee protector since baby girl is still working on the potty training thing. The edge of the mattress also looks huge because we are trying that Pinterest trick, where you put a noodle underneath the edge of a fitted sheet to keep the kid from rolling out of bed in the middle of the night.
The dresser I snagged in March for $50 off Craigslist and that sucker is HEAVY and QUALITY wood. Troy said that when he went to go pick it up, he felt guilty. The quality of the dresser and mirror is AMAZING and he felt like he should have offered more money. I was like "ARE YOU CRAZY!?!?! YOU GRAB IT AND RUN!" The wood of both the dresser and bed match super well. Troy still needs to hang the mirror. We need to get the hardware for the back. That will happen when my stepdad is here next week for sure. Troy won't let me lift anything over a gallon of milk and it's pretty annoying. So no holding up 40lb mirrors. I like that it's a classic shape.
I got the cube self at IKEA with the plastic cubes for toy and book storage. The lamp is from Target and the duck was a gift from my stepmom. My grandfather makes homemade wooden toys and he made the phone. Avery loves phones. So she has a play phone in her room :)
All of the paintings on the walls are Natalie originals from those group painting classes.
Aunt Taylor saw this laundry basket at HomeGoods while she was visiting and decided that her niece HAD to have it for her room. I love it. It has a draw string on the inside, so it'll be good for traveling in the car also. Toss snacks, toys, books, diapers or whatever in there, close it up and toss it in the car. It's awesome.
I bought 5 dresses for $7 from our online community yard sale thingy on facebook too. Apparently, with Avery getting a hang of this potty training thing, she is refusing to wear pants. Dresses only. So I figured I'd stock up. It was exciting, especially since they were all name brand dresses from H&M, Gap, and Gymboree. SCORE! I feel ABSOLUTELY NO guilt about buying Avery clothes because I know we are going to have 2 more girls to wear them. Muahahaha. Imagine me doing my evil laugh and tapping the ends of my fingers together.
I have been slooooowly collecting things for Avery's big girl room. Like, over 6 months. When she left for my parents house in April, she was still sleeping in her crib and very happy in there. No attempts to climb out or anything. However, I started buying things for her big girl room transition in January. I was very excited...I don't really know why. This is an overview of her room:
We decided to transition her now for several reasons.
1. With the babies coming, we want her to see a tangible difference between what babies do (sleep in cribs) and what big girls do (sleep in big girl beds).
2. I didn't want to be dealing with new babies and also trying to keep her in her room/bed without her getting out.
3. Her crib was a drop arm crib (OH THE HORROR!) and I was always fearful of her trying to climb out and somehow getting crushed or hurt if the side dropped down with her in "mid climb."
4. Her crib was not a transition to a toddler bed crib. Even on the lowest setting, her crib mattress was super high so we needed to buy her a new bed whenever she transitioned out of it. I'd rather have time to shop around for one and get a good deal than feel panicked and buy one on impulse.
I started shopping for a bed on craigslist in November? I'm talking early. We wanted to find something that was a good deal and would also transition well to her being a teenager. I don't want to keep buying and buying. For example, crib ->toddler bed -> another bed. So we just went for it.
We decided on a day bed for several reasons.
1. It is a twin bed, so it's good/not too huge for a kid.
2. It has a pull out/pop up trundle underneath so she can have sleepovers and the other kid has a bed.
3. If we have family visiting with kids, no matter what the gender, they can sleep there too.
4. If we have adults who need to sleep there, it's 2 beds OR it pops up and turns into a king size bed which is good for adults or multiple kid sleepover situations.
With those things in mind, I set out for something on craiglist. I looked at IKEA, but I really wanted quality wood that would last, so all the pressed board crap was out. It took me about 2.5 months of daily checking before this beauty came up. I paid $280 and it included the all wood day bed frame, metal pop up trundle bed and the 2 mattresses, which are BRAND NEW! And now covered with a pee protector since baby girl is still working on the potty training thing. The edge of the mattress also looks huge because we are trying that Pinterest trick, where you put a noodle underneath the edge of a fitted sheet to keep the kid from rolling out of bed in the middle of the night.
The dresser I snagged in March for $50 off Craigslist and that sucker is HEAVY and QUALITY wood. Troy said that when he went to go pick it up, he felt guilty. The quality of the dresser and mirror is AMAZING and he felt like he should have offered more money. I was like "ARE YOU CRAZY!?!?! YOU GRAB IT AND RUN!" The wood of both the dresser and bed match super well. Troy still needs to hang the mirror. We need to get the hardware for the back. That will happen when my stepdad is here next week for sure. Troy won't let me lift anything over a gallon of milk and it's pretty annoying. So no holding up 40lb mirrors. I like that it's a classic shape.
I got the cube self at IKEA with the plastic cubes for toy and book storage. The lamp is from Target and the duck was a gift from my stepmom. My grandfather makes homemade wooden toys and he made the phone. Avery loves phones. So she has a play phone in her room :)
All of the paintings on the walls are Natalie originals from those group painting classes.
Aunt Taylor saw this laundry basket at HomeGoods while she was visiting and decided that her niece HAD to have it for her room. I love it. It has a draw string on the inside, so it'll be good for traveling in the car also. Toss snacks, toys, books, diapers or whatever in there, close it up and toss it in the car. It's awesome.
I bought 5 dresses for $7 from our online community yard sale thingy on facebook too. Apparently, with Avery getting a hang of this potty training thing, she is refusing to wear pants. Dresses only. So I figured I'd stock up. It was exciting, especially since they were all name brand dresses from H&M, Gap, and Gymboree. SCORE! I feel ABSOLUTELY NO guilt about buying Avery clothes because I know we are going to have 2 more girls to wear them. Muahahaha. Imagine me doing my evil laugh and tapping the ends of my fingers together.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Our Easter Weekend
I am so thankful for my mom. She came out last wednesday after my paracentesis and helped since I was on "light duty." She scrubbed my whole house down, did all of our grocery shopping, all of the cooking, dishes, and took care of Avery while I laid on the couch. Oh, and did I mention she basically potty trained Avery? In a week? Seriously.
We managed to dye some Easter eggs too. And with all the potty training going on, Avery has only been wearing underwear...so sorry for that. Her little pudgy body is pretty cute though :)
Troy made the cool egg using a whisk. I thought Avery would be able to better dye eggs if we stuck them in the whisk and let her dye them. As it turns out, she only wanted to drop them into the cups and cheer if she heard the crack of the eggshell. Oh well.
Here's our finished products.
We also managed to make it to church!! YAY! My mom snapped some pictures of Avery and me. And Avery on the swing being adorable!!
She also took some of Troy and me with Avery. They didn't turn out so great. These are seriously the best ones. And they're pretty bad. In that second one it looks like Avery is trying to fly out of Troy's arms. Better luck next year, huh? A special thanks for Megan for sending some hand-me-downs to Avery to include her Easter dress!
On Easter, we had our small group from church over for brunch. Most of us are military or Las Vegas transplants, with no family around. We had a total of 15 adults and 8 kids. It was a little crazy, but we agreed to have a potluck (we made broccoli cheese casserole and fruit salad) complete with ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pasta salad, brownies, and cheesecake. YAY!! There's nothing like some good fellowship with food! And paper plates. No dishes :)
One of the other couples brought 70+ eggs for an Easter egg hunt stuffed with candy. We took a ton of pictures, but I didn't ask any parents if I could post pics of their kids, so you won't see the excited faces of any kids except my Avery :) She LOVED it and caught onto the idea pretty quickly. We didn't know how it'd go. Avery was the youngest and we kind of had to corral the other kids away from the "easy" eggs that we had hidden for her. Luckily there were so many eggs that everyone got a chance to collect a bunch. It was awesome. We will definitely be doing this again next year.
Overall, it was busy and so fun. I'm SO glad my mom was here to help with everything. Did I mention she planted all the flowers in our yard??
How did you spend your Easter?
We managed to dye some Easter eggs too. And with all the potty training going on, Avery has only been wearing underwear...so sorry for that. Her little pudgy body is pretty cute though :)
Troy made the cool egg using a whisk. I thought Avery would be able to better dye eggs if we stuck them in the whisk and let her dye them. As it turns out, she only wanted to drop them into the cups and cheer if she heard the crack of the eggshell. Oh well.
Here's our finished products.
We also managed to make it to church!! YAY! My mom snapped some pictures of Avery and me. And Avery on the swing being adorable!!
She also took some of Troy and me with Avery. They didn't turn out so great. These are seriously the best ones. And they're pretty bad. In that second one it looks like Avery is trying to fly out of Troy's arms. Better luck next year, huh? A special thanks for Megan for sending some hand-me-downs to Avery to include her Easter dress!
On Easter, we had our small group from church over for brunch. Most of us are military or Las Vegas transplants, with no family around. We had a total of 15 adults and 8 kids. It was a little crazy, but we agreed to have a potluck (we made broccoli cheese casserole and fruit salad) complete with ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pasta salad, brownies, and cheesecake. YAY!! There's nothing like some good fellowship with food! And paper plates. No dishes :)
One of the other couples brought 70+ eggs for an Easter egg hunt stuffed with candy. We took a ton of pictures, but I didn't ask any parents if I could post pics of their kids, so you won't see the excited faces of any kids except my Avery :) She LOVED it and caught onto the idea pretty quickly. We didn't know how it'd go. Avery was the youngest and we kind of had to corral the other kids away from the "easy" eggs that we had hidden for her. Luckily there were so many eggs that everyone got a chance to collect a bunch. It was awesome. We will definitely be doing this again next year.
Overall, it was busy and so fun. I'm SO glad my mom was here to help with everything. Did I mention she planted all the flowers in our yard??
How did you spend your Easter?
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Kyle Visits (!!!) and Mandalay Bay Aquarium
This is our 4th time seeing Kyle in 4 months. It's crazy. Before moving out here in August, I don't think we had seen Kyle 4 times in 6 years. He came to visit in August and we saw him again in November for a camping Thanksgiving (or Friends-giving) and then we saw him on New Years Day when he and his new fiancee drove from California back to Colorado. And then 2 weeks ago, he came to visit again!! We love that he can fly here on Allegiant Air for less than 100 bucks roundtrip. AMAZING. SO amazing, in fact, that our family of 3 is flying to visit him and Rosa in March!
I only documented one of the days that he was here though. He flew in late on a thursday and his first stop was dinner at In-N-Out burger. He smelled the bag the whole way home chanting "it smells like college."
On friday, we got up and headed down to the strip to have lunch and go to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay.
We decided to make it easy and satisfy everyone's cravings by hitting up the buffet at the casino.
Avery was excited. She had a ton of fruit and some noodles. She ate WAAAY too much dessert. She ate 2 cookies and when we were ready to walk over to the reef, the guys decided that they were taking ice cream cones for the walk over there (it was probably a quarter of a mile from the buffet to the reef).
Here's Avery with her cookie:
She walked the whole way to the reef while Troy and Kyle bribed her with their ice cream cones. We kept joking that we could get her to run forever if we could hang it on a rope in front of her face attached to her back while she ran.
But here she is, taking an ice cream break from her sugar high running.
We got a discount for being "locals" now that I have a Nevada drivers license, so that was nice. Avery didn't want to sit in her stroller, so all through the aquarium, she got chased or we carried her.
Here's Troy teaching her about the piranhas. They actually had a guide standing there to guard the tank because I guess people have been dumb enough to try and stick their hands in...
The beginning part was all "exotic" water animals. Like komodo dragons, snakes, etc. So it was very rainforest-y in there. And humid. Poor Troy started sweating immediately. And if you know him, that means it's serious.
Here's Kyle, Avery, and Troy. They're precious!
There were 2 parts in the reef where you walked into a giant tube and the fish surrounded you. Avery liked that. Here is us looking at the fish. I think she signed "fish" about 500 times while we were in there.
This fish will FOREVER remind me of "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigalo." This is the fish that was so expensive that he accidentally put in the blender after he broke the huge aquarium. I started laughing when I saw all of them in the exhibit.
There was a whole cylinder of jellyfish. Eeeek. Very pretty though. I love this picture:
This is Troy and Avery looking in the giant shark tank at the end. It's super dark in there and there are parts where the floor is plexiglass so you can see down. Another eeeek! But I love their silhouettes. Look at her little curls. Haha. SO sweet. And more baby sign of "fish."
And then we went to the gift shop at the end. It's amazing what we will do to get Avery to laugh:
His sideways grin makes me smile.
Avery was super wiped out on the way home from all the fish signing. And running for some motivational ice cream. Her normal nap time is at 1pm, but we didn't get home until about 3. Oooops. That's okay. It was all in the name of science! Her Aunt Betty would be proud of her science day!
I only documented one of the days that he was here though. He flew in late on a thursday and his first stop was dinner at In-N-Out burger. He smelled the bag the whole way home chanting "it smells like college."
On friday, we got up and headed down to the strip to have lunch and go to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay.
We decided to make it easy and satisfy everyone's cravings by hitting up the buffet at the casino.
Avery was excited. She had a ton of fruit and some noodles. She ate WAAAY too much dessert. She ate 2 cookies and when we were ready to walk over to the reef, the guys decided that they were taking ice cream cones for the walk over there (it was probably a quarter of a mile from the buffet to the reef).
Here's Avery with her cookie:
She walked the whole way to the reef while Troy and Kyle bribed her with their ice cream cones. We kept joking that we could get her to run forever if we could hang it on a rope in front of her face attached to her back while she ran.
But here she is, taking an ice cream break from her sugar high running.
We got a discount for being "locals" now that I have a Nevada drivers license, so that was nice. Avery didn't want to sit in her stroller, so all through the aquarium, she got chased or we carried her.
Here's Troy teaching her about the piranhas. They actually had a guide standing there to guard the tank because I guess people have been dumb enough to try and stick their hands in...
The beginning part was all "exotic" water animals. Like komodo dragons, snakes, etc. So it was very rainforest-y in there. And humid. Poor Troy started sweating immediately. And if you know him, that means it's serious.
Here's Kyle, Avery, and Troy. They're precious!
There were 2 parts in the reef where you walked into a giant tube and the fish surrounded you. Avery liked that. Here is us looking at the fish. I think she signed "fish" about 500 times while we were in there.
This fish will FOREVER remind me of "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigalo." This is the fish that was so expensive that he accidentally put in the blender after he broke the huge aquarium. I started laughing when I saw all of them in the exhibit.
There was a whole cylinder of jellyfish. Eeeek. Very pretty though. I love this picture:
This is Troy and Avery looking in the giant shark tank at the end. It's super dark in there and there are parts where the floor is plexiglass so you can see down. Another eeeek! But I love their silhouettes. Look at her little curls. Haha. SO sweet. And more baby sign of "fish."
And then we went to the gift shop at the end. It's amazing what we will do to get Avery to laugh:
His sideways grin makes me smile.
Avery was super wiped out on the way home from all the fish signing. And running for some motivational ice cream. Her normal nap time is at 1pm, but we didn't get home until about 3. Oooops. That's okay. It was all in the name of science! Her Aunt Betty would be proud of her science day!
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