2013 Year in review

Pretty much the past year went like this:

Everything started out normal enough, then I found out I was pregnant, then I was sick, then I felt a little better, then my ankles swelled, then I had a baby, and now I am disorganized and overwhelmed.

Chickie likes to draw people. I am the figure on the left with the scribbled hair. "Yours wrinkle" (the vertical line to the left of the mouth) is the only other defining feature that she included in my portrait.

Nice.

More from Chickie

"Chickie, Mommy's tired of doing this..."

"Ok. Go to sleep."

Life with this two year old

Chickie HATES:

breakfast
boots
mine cup
that mean lady/step-mother
the step-sisters
that mean cat
watch Snow White
take naps
yours bed
mine bed
mine room
my binky
this one blanket
getting kids from school
mine carseat
mine buckles
mommy's radio

daddy's show

john saying 'stop chickie'

Chickie WANTS:

chocolate cake

chocolate milk

pudding

boots

mine cup

watch Cinderella

watch Snow White

mommy's bed

the crib

my binky

mine blanket

get kids

mine radio louder/up in the air

mine show

sit daddy's chair

john go away

hold you me

My semi-annual blog pledge drive

Twice a year PBS and NPR embark on a week long guilt trip begging for support in the form of monetary donations. Before the dawn of the podcast I would sulk at the prospects of having to endure an entire week of interruptions to all my favorite programs with the promise of a coffee mug in return for a sizable monthly donation. But here I go, asking for pledges. I have no mugs, t-shirts, greatest hits CDs or anything tangible to promise, but this little blog needs your help.

I used to enjoy writing my posts. It was fun and I would spend my week thinking "should I post that?" or "is this blog-worthy?" Then through a series of events and technological advancements my blog began to suffer. Now it has almost whimpered to a stop. I know blogs aren't the "it" thing anymore and it seems most everyone has found better uses for their time but I'm not ready to give up.

I've tried to decipher why I've lost my blog mojo and here's the rub-- I like writing for people other than myself. It's not cool to admit, and perhaps a little self-centered, but I like it when people like what I write. There. I said it. When I get feedback (comments) I get excited and feel validated. As much as we hate to admit it- we like it when we're liked, right?

I need my blog. I need to feel inspired to write again. It's all very selfish. I like going back and reading past entries. The blog provides a glimpse into the everyday constructs of my family that I wouldn't otherwise have recorded. Plus writing, for me, is cathartic. I may not be the best at it, but I enjoy it.

So on behalf of all bloggers out there here's my plea:

If you enjoy reading this or any blog, will you find it in your heart to pledge a little time to show your support? It takes just a few minutes each day, week, or month, whatever you're comfortable with, to click and read. And if you're feeling especially generous you can always leave a comment. The benefits include lifetime friendships and memories, as well as the possibility of the obligatory reciprocal comment/page view for your own noteworthy blog. You really can't go wrong.

Sweet? Caroline!

So, yeah, it's been almost 7 weeks since Caroline was born... It's been difficult to find a minute to pull out the laptop and compose a proper blog post. Life is busy and I suddenly feel like I have too many kids. It's weird to have four little people to wrangle. Let's just say it's been an adjustment for everyone.

Here's the thing, I thought she was going to be an easy baby since she was a scientific fluke. I know that doesn't make sense, but I figured if I had to have one more then the universe would go easy on me. She isn't horrible- she's just really wiggly and grumbley. I think it should start getting better soon- at least that's what my go-to sleep habits book says. The other thing that's hard is that she doesn't particularly like to be in her car seat. I've told her that if she wants to be part of this family she had better figure out how to be content in her seat. She said she would work on it.

Here are some pictures so no one (including my future self) feels ripped off...

Can you spot the professional photos?

She's about 2 weeks



Don't forget about Chickie. Clothing has become optional at our house for grouchy 2 year olds.



It's either princess or nothing at all.  She put the bandaid on her nose because she bumped it.



Six weeks

Four weeks

Five weeks

My best intentions always fail me

I've recently discovered something about myself. I have great intentions. I'm creative, thoughtful, fit, and organized. At least that's how I envision myself, but when push comes to shove another of my great qualities rears its more powerful and pervasive head-- laziness.

For example, I always have great ideas of how to celebrate my kids birthdays

but the reality is that it's a miracle if their gifts even get purchased on time, let alone wrapped.

Or how about all these creative elf on the shelf ideas all over Pinterest? My kids would love it if Winkie played checkers with army men, but really? Once you start that kind of time commitment you can't go back. So what if Winkie is boring and moves from the top of the fridge to the top of the t.v. and back again?

The most recent intention fail on my part took place a mere four weeks ago when I went in to have Caroline(Did you hear? We had a baby. More on that later). I've spent much of my adult life looking at glamorous photos of pregnant friends and even more glamorous photos of them holding their two minute old baby. As I showered prior to our check-in I thought about the effort it must take for these glamorous friends. They must pack make-up, the perfect post-delivery outfit for both mom and baby, a blow drier and curling iron. Do they make sure their hair is curled before they rush to the hospital, or do they do a quick primp before their perfect husbands snap the photo? I vowed to do my best to take a cute selfie prior to delivery and an even cuter post-partum mom and baby photo. It didn't happen. Again with the laziness-- it wasn't worth the effort.

But wait! Enter the wildlife camera Jared set up to catch our neighborhood bear getting into the trash. It's motion activated and captured several of me pregnant and one of us bringing Caroline home, all for posterity. Eat your hearts out glamorous friends!

You never know the crazy faces you make when you don't know there is a camera taking your picture.

Cool shoes to hide the beige old lady compression socks and super fat ankles

See the baby? I promise she's in there.

The bear is so photogenic.

Because this is it-- for real this time

I am at the point in this pregnancy where I just about can't stand it anymore. As a friend of mine said, "It's time for someone else to hold the baby for a while." I know I wrote a similar post around this time when I was pregnant with Chickie, but I am too lazy/tired to go back through the archives and read it.

Because I will NEVER be pregnant again (that's a promise!) I figure I should list everything here so I can share it with my girls when they think they want children.

My belly button hurts and I keep hitting it on things.
My pelvis is probably broken into several pieces.
I have a sore spot on my abdomen that I think is a torn muscle.
My elephant ankles are almost as big as my calves.
I am puffy and swollen everywhere- including my nose and lips, and believe me, the lips are not swollen in a "bee stung" Angelina Jolie way.
My hands go completely numb when I sleep on one side for too long. Completely, not just a little.
I have a horrible taste in my mouth that I can't seem to get rid of.
I waddle. A lot.
I am exhausted but can't ever get to sleep at night.

Those are just the aches, pains, and irritants I am feeling at this moment.