Technical Difficulties

We are experiencing technical difficulties, which should be resolved within the next 48 hours. 

Thanks for your patience... because Lord knows that I am sure running out of patience on my end.

;-)

Book and Product Reviews

I've been reading a lot while on maternity leave.  Here is the nitty-gritty on what I have read thus far.

Breaking Dawn (Stephanie Meyer):  So-so.  This is the last book of the ever-popular Twilight series.  To be honest, Twilight just isn't for me.  I find the main female character to be whiney and boring.  However, Jacob (from the film series) is definitely h-o-t.

A Knight in Shining Armor (Jude Deveraux):  So-so.  I picked this one up because I like historical fiction and someone recommended this to me.  Um... it was okay.  It took me quite a few chapters to really get into it and I almost didn't finish it.  I'm glad that I finished it.  This would be a nice beach read.

Heart of the Matter (Emily Giffin):  LOVED IT!  Although, I love ALL of Giffin's books.  I flew through her "Something Borrowed" series.  This was definitely something a little different for Giffin, but it was a nice change.  Some of the thoughts of the main female character were so spot-on.  A great read for moms too.

Orange is the New Black (Piper Kerman):  Interesting topic - definitely kept my interest.  This is recommended reading from my book club at work.  Plot:  Girl makes some bad decisions when she is young and learns the error of her ways.  She totally cleans up her act, but the Feds come to get her years later... and she has to pay her dues.  Yikes!

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Steig Larsson):  Really liked it.  I would probably have loved it, but there was some violence included and I don't really like to read violent stuff.  The mystery aspect was great and there was a small love story to keep my interest.

The Girl Who Played with Fire (Steig Larsson):  Didn't finish reading it.  ok - this book makes me regret buying books through my nook.  If you thought that Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was disturbing... then this is worse.  I didn't finish reading it and I can't even loan it to someone or give it away... in hopes of getting some use out of it.  I'm sure that the story line is great... but I don't like to read (or watch) disturbing stuff.

Food Inc. (based on the movie by the same name) and The Omnivore's Dilemma (Youth Edition) (Michael Pollan)

I really embraced being earth friendly while I was home on maternity leave with Brody.  At that time, all of the daytime talk shows were regularly doing some sort of show on something that had to do with being green.  Consequently, I bought re-usable water bottles for every member of my family AND we started recycling among other things.  Yes folks, we have ONLY been recycling for a little over two years now... very embarrassing. 

My maternity leave with Brielle really has me taking steps to be pickier about what my family eats.  My goal is two-fold:  (1) offer more fruits and vegetables and (2) offer organic products when possible.

I started reading Food Inc and The Omnivore's Dilemma so that I could know more about what we are eating and then make smarter choices for our family.

I am half-way through each of these books.  I am shocked by what I am reading... and you will be too.  Our food industry is crazy.  You can read all bout it for yourself.

Anyways... here are the few small steps that we have taken to be healthier:

1.  Buy organic milk,
2.  Shop local fruits and vegetables at a market that is only .5 miles from our house (more about this later), and
3.  Buy organic meat.

Since I started reading the books I find that I have a hard time eating ground meat and I turned my nose up at sausage the other morning {{shocker}}.  Dear Husband forbids me to become a vegetarian.  :-)  I'm eating chicken just fine and the shrimp and crab cakes are going down with no problem.  It looks like my lifelong love affair with spaghetti might be coming to an end... but it could be too early to tell.

If you don't have time to read both then get the Youth Edition of The Omnivore's Dilemma.  It is still fairly sophisticated and will give you enough information to make some informed decisions. 


And now for some product reviews...

Pina Colada Jello:  Yummy!  Loved it!  Very delicious... and it is the first time that I have had jello that you can't see through.  Weird, huh?  Try it - it's perfect for summer.

Pretzel M&Ms:  Not yummy.  Oh, I sooooooo had high hopes for these.  Alas, they were kinda good at first... but were just plain gross by the time I got to the last bite.  From what I can tell, the pretzel is NOT a salt-covered pretzel... so you literally have chocolate covered pretzel toast.  It was the consistency of a whopper... but without all of the sweet factor.  Yuck. 

Chips Ahoy cookies with Reeses Cups:  Very, very yummy!

Justin's Almond Butter:  Really yummy!  We are loving almond butter more than peanut butter.  We bought another brand of almond butter recently but it wasn't as good as Justin's.  However, I can only find Justin's  in single servings and I'd like to buy a whole jar please. 

Coconut water:  Not yummy.  Not to be confused with coconut juice.  Um... coconut water is supposed to be a refreshing drink and beneficial to drink after a workout but I thought that it was just so-so.  I won't buy this product again. 

What new product did you pick up from the grocery store recently?  How was it?

Green Baby Poop and Maternal Bonding

Warning... do not read this post if you don't want to hear about poop.



Today we open with a pop quiz.

Question:  What do green baby poop and maternal bonding have in common?

Answer:  Nothing.  It is very difficult for the two to coexist.

Reasoning:  Instead of the brownish-mustard kinda poop that most bf (breast fed) babies have, Brielle has had some very green poops lately.  After doing some research I found out that green poops, from bf babies, are not good.

Green poops = (1) too much formilk/hindmilk (not important terminology unless you are bfing), (2) an allergy to something mom is eating/drinking, or (3) a sign that baby has a virus.  Most importantly, green poops = very fussy baby.  And, it is extremely to bond with a very fussy baby.

We think that she might have either had a virus or maybe she is allergic to the milk that I am drinking... which isn't a far stretch since her brother has a cow's milk intolerance.

So, I cut out milk in my diet starting last Friday.  So far she is much happier.  Poops are greener... and she is smiling and sleeping better... ahem... which means that I am also smiling and sleeping better.



Coming Tomorrow... some of my personal product and book reviews.

Everybody say "cheese"

Last year I took some July 4/patriotic pictures of my two sweeties.  I tried to do the same again this year.  Here were the results... in order.

Lulu?  Ready.
Bri?  Ready.
Bro?  Not so ready.

Love the expression on Lulu's face here.  Clearly she is telling Brody NOT to try any crazy antics and to smile for the camera.  We'll see how successful that look was.

Can you guess which two children are perfectly posed for every shot... and who is NOT?

Ok - let's give Bro something to do.  "Bro - Put your arm around your sister."

"No, your OTHER sister."

Great!  No.  Not so great - now we lost Bri.

New pose.

Poor Bri.

"Look mom - no hands!

... and... the photo shoot is over.

Yep - we got one great decent good picture. 

Happy (early) July 4 to you!

Recently Heard in My House

Recently Heard in My House
Starring Lulu

Lulu:  Mom, I'm going in my room to get dressed now.

Mommy:  Ok, and make your bed?

Lulu:  Rolls eyes.  Of course.

Mommy:  What do you mean by 'of course'?  Why did you roll your eyes like that? 

Lulu:  As she walks down the hall away from me.  Because I'm a pre-teen and THAT's what pre-teens do.  Don't take it serious.  It's just what we do.

Mommy:  Ok.  Fine.  Well, I'm a mom and moms tell pre-teens to make their beds.

Lulu:  Fine.  Then that's what we do.  It's just what we do.

Mommy:  Sighs.



Recently Heard in My House
Starring Brody

We moved to a community with beach water river access.  All winter long Brody has been asking to go to the beach.  All winter long we have been telling him, "Not yet.  It's too cold outside.  We have to wait for summer."

This Spring you could randomly hear Brody explaining, "We can't go to beach.  Too cold to go to beach.  It's too cold."  And we would confirm that it was, indeed, too cold to go to the beach.

This weekend Brody said, "I want to go to beach tomorrow."  {{Although I am fairly sure that he has NO idea what 'tomorrow' means.}}  I replied, "Ok buddy - but you'll have to talk to Daddy first."  Then he said, "Aw cu on (come on) - it's a summer day!"


Recently Heard in My House
Starring Dear Husband

Remember my saga of the overdue library books which will cost me thousands of dollars over the course of the next 30 years?  Well, I paid the library fee.  {{Gosh.  Mommy in a library is like an alcoholic at a bar... I just cannot help myself folks.}} 

I paid the library fee because Dear Husband bought me a nook for my birthday in April and I sit and read books on my nook while I am breastfeeding... and... well... breastfeeding takes GOBS of time... so... I have purchased and read GOBS of e-books over the course of the past 8 weeks {{but who's counting}}.  In theory, I could borrow e-books from the library and read them on my nook.  But, I had to pay off the library fee before I can borrow the e-books.  Got it?

So I paid my library fee... and was back in the library within 48 hours borrowing books for the kids.

Here was Dear Husband's response: 

Mommy:  Hey Babe... I took the kids to the library today.  Brody got a boat book and Lulu ended up with the Rise and Fall of Ancient Greece... {{crazy, I know}}.

Dear Husband:  What?  You did what?  When are those books due?  You'd better write that date on the calendar.

Ah... here's hoping that you are enjoying your summer days. 

And I welcome ALL tween/teen advice.  Thanks!

Just a Few Tidbits

So... I don't really have any time to give you a decent post and some wittiness... but here are some pictures of our weekend...

Brody played on the trampoline...

... on a hot, hot, hot day...

... while Lulu read her new library book {{yes, I paid my library fine, previously mentioned in this post, and took the kids to the library... more about that later}}.  Look closely, she is reading The Rise and Fall of Ancient Greece, which she picked out herself {{nerd}}.

We are still playing with Legos.

I call this picture, "Hi Brielle." {{aka... "can you guys please watch Brielle while I get dressed?"}}

Ok, we added linked connected our Wii Animal Crossing game to the internet.  Now, Lulu and her dad can play together, even when they are in different parts of the State.  Here, her dad has come to visit her town and they are having coffee together in the cafe.  I asked them to face the TV so that I could get a picture.  Crazy, huh?

Oh, and Lulu got her first job... as in j-o-b... as in she is getting $$paid$$ to work help out the neighbors.  Hopefully I'll have pictures for you soon. 

Do you play video games with others via the internet? 

That's just c-r-a-z-y; I still can't get over it.

Wordless Wednesday

I hope that this makes you chuckle.

Check out http://www.everydaypeoplecartoons.com/ for more funny cartoons.

"normal" is a relative term

Brielle...

she throws up...

everywhere...

all of the time...

no...

that is not true...

not "everywhere"...

but...

rather...

ALL OVER ME!

I am sooooooooooooo over this.

There was a time, over the course of the past few weeks, when I actually thought that I might have post-partum depression.  I googled "post-partum depression" and the results looked rather familiar.  It was on a weekend so I couldn't call my doctor.  I was over my "depression" by Monday.  I think I was just overwhelmed... go figure.

Life is better now.  Just today I was thinking... 6 weeks - I just need to get me babies to 6 weeks and everything is fine  (we are just past 7 weeks now).  But, there is one... lingering... issue... that is getting worse and worse - Brielle throws up frequently and she just drenches me and herself every time.  Imagine having 1-2 cups of warm baby curdled milk thrown in your lap at a moments notice every-single-day... and multiple times a day... it is tiring... and I am so over it.

Yes, we give her Zantac.  No, this does not seem to cause Brielle discomfort.  But, it is getting worse and now she doesn't even throw up just when I burp her... she'll also throw up while she is curled up in my lap nursing.  Imagine that... there I sit, happily nursing my daughter and I get a cup of vomit all over my boob, my baby, and my lap.  Blech!  She is throwing up so much milk and so frequently that I can't imagine that much of it is getting into her system.     

Someone please tell me that this has happened to you and that it will go away.  It will go away, won't it?

How To: Remove permanent marker from a vintage lunch box

Brody started a new day care... the day after we came home from the hospital with his new baby sister... impeccable timing, I know.

Brody's previous daycare provided lunch for all of the kids.  Now,  we were in charge of packing lunch for Brody and were in need of a lunch box.  Fairy Grandmother let us BORROW a Curious George lunch box. 

 Dear Husband did not know that this was a BORROW situation and wrote Brody's name, in permanent ink, all over the lunch box... literally. 

Have no fear... Dear Husband erased the permanent ink with... a magic eraser.  Just wet the eraser and rub.

It was quite simple and required hardly any effort at all.  You could never even tell that there was even the smallest blemish on the lunch box. 

I know that some of you poo-pooed the magic eraser when I wrote about it before.  You know, you really should give it another try.  I love it... absolutely love it.

What Does Your Refrigerator Say About You?

Yummy Mommy asked her readers to share pictures of our refrigerators with the world, if we dare, to see what our refrigerators really says about us?

It turns out that you can tell a lot about me by looking at my refrigerator.  Let's start from the bottom and work our way up... shall we?

Bottom door is filled with letters.  Clearly I have a toddler.

Top door has a list of the classes offered at the gym. Remember my trial membership that my mom got for me?  And, it also has a note to Dear Husband that I left for him one morning telling him that I left at 7:33 and would be back by 8:30 a.m.

Oh, see that little piggy on the motorcycle?  Just ignore that... please.

Ahem... there is lots of junk stuff on top of the refrigerator.  Clearly, I moved into a house with a smaller kitchen and still have not found a respectable place for bread, the blender, thin mints kitchen spices, and more.

What's on your refrigerator?

Yummy Mom would like to share pics of refrigerators from around the U.S. 

Please share your refrigerator with her, if you dare.