Keeping it Real

My friend Lindsay recently did a post like this and I felt inspired. So often the things that get blogged are the pretty moments of life - the fun memories, best pictures, things that make us laugh or smile or cry, things that inspire us. How's THIS for inspiring? As I said to Glenn this morning on the phone, "I think I need one more grown-up here right now."

The bin and pile on the bottom right are the items of clothing that Bram is currently growing into. The ironing board has been left out because I want to iron my new comforter. In the meantime, it is being used for gift bags and tissue paper (three family birthdays to shop for this month and three next month too, plus Christmas). In the back right corner of the room you can see the boxes of framed photos that have yet to be unpacked. And if you look at the curtains, you may be able to see that they are still our "temporary" curtains from the first week we moved in. The rods aren't actually attached to the wall. The table in the picture is covered with my jewelry making supplies, as well as a new tablecloth I should really try to squeeze into the linen closet, and there are some old tubes from Glenn's amp - can YOU think of creative thing to do with them to make them a hot item to sell to downhere fans? The china cabinet is still not properly organized, inside or out. Next...


The compost bin on the counter is full. Therefore, I had to start a compost pile on the counter. This was left out over night and no doubt we will see an increase in fruit flies as a result. (Sorry babe! Although I do get a kick out of your "fruit fly massacres".) The pots and stuff are out drying on the stove because that part of the counter was full of compost, obviously. And another part of the counter top was full of...


... all kinds of stuff! Chapstick... halloween bag... partially written thank-you notes... mail from Jonah's school... There are dirty dishes on the counter, because the dishwasher is full of clean dishes of course. Check out the cool downhere burpcloth on Bram's chair on the left made by Dana.


My "desk"!! Definitely messier than yours, Linsday! This is a breakfast bar area in our kitchen that makes a perfect work area for me. Except for the disorganization! It's seriously crazy. The moment I realize I actually have to find something specific on here, I am seized with panic. Yes, that IS a live beautiful heat relaxer on my chair. Any guesses as to why I might need to apply some heat to my shoulders and neck?!


Two baskets of clean, folded laundry, in the hallway waiting to be put away. Beside them a pile of dirty laundry, because of course, the baskets are full. Since taking this picture, I have added another basket of clean, folded, laundry, plus more dirty laundry to the pile. And there's a dryer full of towels waiting to be folded too. Behind all this laundry are boxes of books that we have not yet unpacked. We don't have a shelf to unpack them too.


Doesn't this picture just give you that 'zen' feel that all bedrooms should? Not so much. But it IS a work in progress. When this picture was taken, I had just pulled another piece of furniture into the room, so things are definitely out of place. The bags are my shopping purchases of the day for upcoming family birthdays and one bag is of clothing we're giving away. The garbage can is overflowing. My old duvet, bedskirt and pillows are on the floor too. I'm not sure where to put them. I have no idea why Glenn's trumpet stand is in there, although now that I think about it, probably has something to do with the fact that he was only home for 1.5 days when he had to leave again.

For some reason, today, I'm finding all of this rather funny. Some days it is overwhelming and frustrating. Right now, I'm keeping in mind that Glenn comes home tonight. I'd love for him to come home to a tidy house, but he and I are both realistic right now! He'll actually help me whip this house into shape over the next few days by either participating in the chores or taking care of the boys while I do it.

And in the meantime, I'm thinking of all the things I did for myself or others when I could have been cleaning and tidying and organizing. The things I won't regret. Like, with Jonah's help, baking muffins and cupcakes today for my brother (Happy Birthday!) and husband (welcome home!) and father-in-law (thanks for babysitting tonight!) and son (enjoy!) and myself (keep packing those calories in to keep up milk production!). I even put one in the freezer for my nephew who is coming for supper this week. I got out for a jog/walk (Thanks Mark!). I read stories to my older son. I rocked and held and fed my younger son and changed his diapers. I prepared homemade, nutritious meals and cleaned up afterwards. [At lunch Jonah exclaimed that the meal was so good we should have had guests... A boiled egg, KD, and red pepper slices - a meal you WON'T find in "Company's Coming"! ] I had a nice, hot shower! I put three birthday gifts together for family members. I had a long, heart-warming iChat with a relative. I spent time on the phone with my husband and my mother. I read more of "Mystery of Marriage". I re-potted plants. I assembled an Operation Christmas Child Gift Box for a 10-14 year-old girl in a foreign country.

I started this blog entry SIX hours ago. And as I finish it, my youngest son is looking up at me from his feeding chair. My other son is on the back of my chair, leaning his chin on my shoulder driving me nuts, giggling, breathing in my hair and ear, but hugging me too and saying weird things like, "I love you so much. More than a doan." and trying to kiss me. Now it's 5:15pm. The 3 baskets of laundry are not yet unloaded. The dishwasher is washing another load. The towels are upstairs but not yet folded. I'm dressed for the day, but Jonah is still in his PJs. I need to start cooking supper - tonight it will be rice, fish and broccoli. Then I'll try to get the boys bathed and in bed for the night. I'm hoping to do some tidying and prep for tomorrow before I head out to the airport to pick up Glenn, but I'm not counting on it.

I have two boys. I have a house. I have a shovel to use for shovelling snow and warm clothes to wear while I do it. I have food to prepare. Money to buy groceries with. Dear family members to shop for and do special things for. I have more clean clothes than I know what to do with. I have an amazing husband. Sometimes I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off. But I've got two working legs to do it with!

It's a good life.

Because Bram is apparently quite the comedian...

The crazy part about this situation is that I missed the best portion of hysterical laughing before turning the camera on!

I read a book!

I did it! I managed to read an entire book during the first two months of my child's life (and parts of other books too). Most of the reading occurred during the middle of the night and sometimes during feedings in the day as well. I highly recommend this book for people about to embark on the journey of parenthood!

The book outlines theory and a method for, as the title suggests, calming crying and helping your baby sleep longer, specifically, during the first three months of a child's life. The gist of it is combining the following five things ("S's") in this order in just the right way...

#1 Swaddling baby tightly in a blanket allowing no means of escape (see picture of Bram below - he ain't goin' nowhere!)

#2 Side/Stomach position (not recommended for when they're sleeping in bed - just as a position to put them in while you are holding/soothing them - the standard continues to be "back sleeping" to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

#3 LOUD Shushing (white noise)

#4 Swinging/motion/rocking/jiggling

#5 Sucking (soother, nipple, your finger)

This method has worked for our boys, for sure. We used these with Jonah, and in fact, swaddled Jonah for what seemed like FOREVER! Can't remember when exactly we stopped... anyone in my family recall?

Awww, look at our sweet little snoozing Brambi, pictured here in a double swaddle. I'll let you know how long he snoozes in this one.

Like his Bambi sheets? That's how I got the idea for his newest nickname. Brambi. I usually call children by their real names, however, when they are really small, I just can't resist! I used to get such a kick out of the nicknames my friends had for their son/nephew/grandson James. My two favorites were "Jimbly" and "Wams". So Bram has a few. There's the obvious "Bram Bram" said in a high-pitched voice after Bam Bam from the Flintstones. There's also "Brammy Bram" which can be infinitely lengthened to "Brammy Bram Bram Bram..." although I don't normally tag more than 5 Brams onto the Brammy. I also give him the very formal "Bram" said in an English accent (England) with a lengthly rolled r, and the very serious "Bramwell Timothy" spoken with an Irish accent. And there's also "the boy" and "the Bramster" and "scrammy Bram". There are also the affectionate "my boy" and "my sweets" and "gorgeous". And then the less affectionate "poopy pants" and "the pukester".

Jonah usually just calls him Bram or Bram Timothy.

Have I forgotten any, Glenn?

Bram = Two months old!

Anyone else out there unable to believe Bram has already passed the two month mark? He is growing so quickly. He saw the doc on Friday and weighed 13 lb 5 oz. He also had his first immunizations - only cried a little and seemed symptom-free later, except for sleeping more than usual.

He is SO cute these days! He's giving all kinds of smiles and making all kinds of sounds that are very hard to capture on video - once the camera is out he sees it and quiets down. He is generally pleasant and content. His sleep is consolidating nicely - he will generally go to bed between 7 & 8pm (or earlier). I get him up around 10pm to feed him, but he stays asleep while he eats. Then he eats around 4am, and again at 7am or later. During the days he'll only have one good nap and otherwise seems to sleep 30-45 minutes at a time. I expect him to consolidate those soon too - that's my goal anyway! He's still eating every two hours in the day, for the most part, which is fine with me considering how infrequently he's feeding during the evening/night. He still grunts a little too much in his sleep for my liking, because it wakes me up. That seems to be getting better though, plus I keep him in his own room now without a monitor on - the walls are thin - I still hear the grunting when I'm awake, but it doesn't wake me up. And his crying wakes me of course.

The sleep consolidation and the fact that Bram has become pretty laid back has lead to life finally feeling manageable again! So, yeah, I've started up blogging again, and I SURE BETTER get some thank you notes done this week!

I'm starting to think Bram has a cow's milk sensitivity. He had a bad rash on his face and on some of his body. I decided to eliminate dairy in my diet. I also started bathing him every night in just water and then coating him in Vaseline (something recommended by a dermatologist to my sister-in-law for her son when he was a baby). His skin cleared up quickly and I also noticed he was spitting up less. I went back to eating dairy products and he's getting the rash again, and spitting up WAY more again. So, good-bye milk, ice-cream, yogurt, cheese, butter, chocolate and more. I will miss you dearly. We'll try again in a couple of months!

Although he and Jonah looked quite similar during the newborn stage, they seem to be diverging now. I'm so interested to see how much they will or won't look alike!

Bram likes pulling himself up to sitting and standing. He also likes swatting at toys that are dangling above him. His neck is very strong and he can hold his hands to his mouth now. Otherwise all his body movements seem pretty random and uncontrolled still.

I've got two videos here for you. The first is Bram smiling and making noise at breakfast today. The second is of him at supper time tonight - he really seemed to like Aretha Franklin, which you can hear playing in the background. Bram seems to like music and responds to it more than we remember Jonah doing.







p.s. I feel the need to clarify Bram's sleep... He doesn't always sleep so well at night. Like last night... I can't believe how much more tired I feel when he gets up just one extra time. MUST get to bed earlier tonight! (Been up past 11 two nights in a row! CRAZY!)

Halloween '08

Here they are, my boys, all dressed up for Halloween. I've sure gotten my money's worth out of that Curious George costume! I think I spent $6 on it three years ago in Tennessee and Jonah has worn it every year since. We're NOT letting him wear it next year, whether it fits or not! Special thanks to Aunt Tracy & cousin Miles for giving the police officer bib to Bram when he was born - it worked out perfectly for his costume this year!


I had to post this video of Jonah after arriving home with a bag full of treats -- he ended up going out after all (thanks Alexis). He was most excited about the Kool-Aid Jammer he got. He has also enjoyed some candy and chips, but overall, doesn't really like Halloween treats.

Beehive

I've been meaning to post this for a while. Jonah told me he learned "nothing" at school that day but later came out with this...