green acres

we're visiting the in-laws soon, up on their farm (it's not a real farm, but it used to be, & they still keep horses & some pasture.) hopefully it will be a good trip. N's folks haven't met emma yet, & his mom hasn't seen the guys in almost a year so everyone is (hopefully) looking forward to it.

i'm mostly just hoping conrad doesn't have an awful allergy flare-up. his excema is horrible right now & we're headed to a house with 4 giant dogs. (he's allergic to dogs.) so we've loaded up on zy.rtec & steroids & hoping for the best.

& i'm hoping no one freaks out over me nursing em. it's their house, so i'll be discreet (i always am anyways, i don't like showing lots of boob in public. nothing against those who do, show all you want-- it doesn't bother me to see it, i just prefer to hide mine.) anyways-- i'm not sure what the ettiquette is for nursing in the home of in-laws who aren't really pro-bfing.



as an aside, it occurs to me that this blog has gotten incredibly boring. the minutia of my life pry isn't very interesting to anyone else. sorry about that, if anyone is still reading. i now get enough sleep to think of other topics to write about, but still don't get enough free time to write about them. at least it's progress in the right direction tho!

a stunted blog

i feel sort of tongue-tied on this blog. i started writing on the old one with the intent that it wold be an outlet, kind of like an online journal, so it didn't matter if anyone other than me ever read it. i think i need to start thinking that way again or i may never write again. things have been happening in life that i could blog about, but this blog feels new & weird. it's silly, but the old one was like an old friend i could go confide in, & the conversation has become stunted & awkward since i moved here.

so in the interest of shaking off some dust & getting going, i'm going to ramble for a bit--

i'm still sort of on new-baby-autopilot. emma sleeps about 3 hrs at a stretch, but won't go down until around 1 in the morning. 9-1 is her fussy &/or awake time. so while i'm not totally sleep deprived (nothing like with the boys) i'm not at my sharpest either. i'd have to say overall that having 1 kiddo at a time is WAY easier than 2 (duh). i know this is seriosuly obnoxious of me to say, but it makes me wonder what parents of singletons are complaining about. yeah, every kid can be difficult, but one kid being difficult is a piece of cake. (i'm sure this statement will come back to bite me some day when i think i'm in for a peaceful time with just one of the kids. karma works like that.) or maybe it's that this is our 3rd, & a full term baby & we're just more confident in our own parenting this time around.

N has em right now, & the boys are napping, & altho it's nice (i guess) to have my self to myself, it feels almost wrong not to have a child attached to me somewhere. weird, right?

new blog, day 1

just testing to make sure all is working as it should over here.

stupid hackers. sigh. this solves the "going private" problem (i didn't really want to, but some nosey semi-family members were forcing the issue), but i'm still annoyed i had to change anything. hopefully this works out!

just for fun, here are some new kiddo pics! we have con eating blackberries, emma snoozing sweetly, & the guys riding their push car. (yeah, they actually climb on there together of their own accord. they also take turns pushing eachother in it-- it's almost too cute to be real. not that i'm biased or anthing.)

sock it to me baby!!

this is the first year i've participated in SITM, & this is my first post to show off my awesome new socks! this was a blast, & i'll definetly be doing it again. i highly recommend checking it out next time around. :)
my sock buddy was the super understanding niobe, author of www.deadbabyjokes.blogspot.com. unfortunately SITM coincided with my grandfather's passing & i got delayed in finding/sending socks. she totally rocked as a buddy despite my crappiness, & sent me these awesomely fuzzy socks that i've been wearing non-stop since i opened them. (please try to ignore the yucky swollen ankles... i do!)
& then, she also sent these crazy adorable argyle baby socks for con & val:

i mean, seriously-- how cool is that? to me, that's an above & beyond sock buddy, & is demonstrative of why i wanted to be part of SITM in the first place.

the blogging community has been such an amazing source of support, first following the losses of my first babies, then during a scary twin pregnancy, as a new mom, & finally as an unexpectedly expecting soon-to-be mom of 3. i would never have thought, 2 yrs ago, that this would be a venue where i'd find friends. real, honest to life friends. yet here i am-- connected to women across the country who were kind enough to reach out to me when i was struggling. i only hope that i've been half the friend to you all that you've been to me.

& now for some baby toes!!
here's conrad, modeling the argyle in orange:

& val'a chubby toes in a lovely sky blue:

thanks again niobe! & thanks to any one who takes the time to read my ramblings-- much love to you all! :)

Sock It To Me!

Karianne is doing it so it must be cool! ;)
i decided to get in on Sock it To Me this time around, bc it pretty much looks like fun. being me, i have forgotten how to do the cool hyperlink thing (can i blame this on being preggo? i hope so...) & cannot find the post where dear karianne told me how. (if any one wants to remind my incompetant self, i'd really appreciate it!) so here's the old school ugly link:

http://http://smartone.typepad.com/smartone/2010/01/yes-im-alive-even-though-my-head-is-filled-with-good-things-to-blog-about-since-before-thanksgiving-ive-been-able-to-post.html#tpe-action-posted-6a00e54ff4529488330120a7aa6d60970b

it works, it just looks horrid. or go check out the captain's wife blog & karinanne has a lovely post with much nicer looking links. http://thejeweledcaptainswife.blogspot.com/

anyways, it's a sock (or other warm fuzzy item) exchange with fellow bloggers & i think a good way to get to know more ladies in our little community. go check it out!

too much sunshine

i've decided i don't really enjoy blogs that are super cheerful all the time. if that's the face you chose to present to the world, that's cool, people write blogs for different reasons, after all. but for me, the blogs i enjoy most are like peeks into some one else's head. it's a voyeuristic pleasure, sure, but it's so much more fun than blogs that are just a bunch of happy status reports. no one is cheery all the time, not every day is a good one, & i'd rather read about the angry & the ugly & the bad right along with the good. i think it's a more realistic approach to writing, & definitely a more interesting one to read.

& now i've pissed of everyone who tries to be nothing but positive, which isn't my intent. please understand, it's not a reflection of your writing choices, but rather of MY reading preferences. it's the same reason that the best fairy tales are the ones that are a little scary too. life is better when it has balance. light without dark is just boring. why do you think the princess is usually an orphan? why is there always a scary witch or terrifying dragon? perfection isn't a fun experience 2nd hand.



p.s. to lurker in willis, mi: I KNOW YOU! i must, willis is tiny. so who are you & how did you find me?

testing... (& some pics, just for fun)

my first link! as requested, it goes to MrsCaptain. & i'll happily pimp her blog while i'm linking-- if you don't read it, you should. baby K is pretty much the most adorable little girl on the east coast, & her mom takes a totally cool, laid back approach to parenting that i personally find really refreshing, especially given all our paranoia over vaccinations, & sleeping, & peannut butter, & babyhood generally. so go read, & tell her i sent you! :)

i feel totally silly now for not figuring out how to link eons ago. whatever. thanks karianne!!! :)

& now for some gratuitous baby pics, since i'm posting twice in a day, i might as well have fun doing it!

here's the dudes getting down & dirty with their mesh feeders. sippy cups are mostly for throwing & banging on things right now, but boy, do they love their "sloppies" (aka the mesh feeders, N christened them sloppies after their 1st use!)Val, chillin like a big boy with daddy. (please ignore the mountains of baby-related mess visible in the background. thanks!)& my conrad, who has figured out that you can drink out of a sippy, but prefers to have it held for him while drinking. (although he is perfectly happy to hold it himself when he wants to bang it on things. go figure!)