Some Things Gained and Some Things Lost

The good news (I think) is that I have lost 22 pounds since having Noah. The bad news is that I have 13 pounds to go. What's interesting is that I'm only 2 pounds off from the weight I was before I had Bella--I actually lost quite a bit of weight after having her...if that tells you anything about her energy level.

I can't start trying to lose weight until after I hit the six week mark. My best guess is that I'll be back to my old self in two to three months. Not too bad!

The other good news is that our offer was accepted on the house. If all goes well (and we are all well aware of our luck at this point), then we will be able to move in a month or sooner. It all depends on when we lock in our rate. We visited the house today and let our future neighbors know the good news.

It's been a while few days since I've posted pictures of Noah. I'll try to take some tomorrow.

Gymboree

I wanted to share a few of our "treasures" from the sale rack at Gymboree. I bough Bella a few things as well, but just a had and several hair bows (I LOVE their hair bows, so as long as she'll wear them, I'll buy them).

I think my favorite find was the racoon hat. It was far from on sale, but oh so cute. And since little boys are even less likely to wear cute things on their heads, I certainly couldn't resist buy this. Who knows how long he'll wear cutesy things?

I Need to Look in the Mirror

After a pen-in-the-washer incident, several of my shirts were ruined. I only have a few shirts that I can wear right now since most of my shirts are packed or are maternity shirts, so yesterday I had to pick up a few shirts at the mall. Fortunately, Forever 21 has great t-shirts for only $4.50, so I bought three.

Today, I needed to go to Target, so I quickly dressed Bella and Noah. Between feeding both of them, taking care of their bathroom needs, etc., I just threw some clothes on myself and ran out the door.

The trip to Target went pretty well. Several people came to look at Noah and talk with me. Bella and Noah were so well behaved that we stopped by the food court and had lunch. When we got home, I started to prepare Bella for a nap, I took a glance at myself in the mirror and noticed that the $4.50 price tag was STICKING OUT OF MY SHIRT! Since my hair is cut short, it was clearly visible.

So many people approached me about Noah, I can't blieve no one said anything about the tag!

Mental note: In attempting to get the kids out the door, need to look at myself in the mirror.

Wardrobe Refashion

I decided to try something new to improve my garmet sewing skills and after looking through a few new blogs for some ideas, I ran across The Wardrobe Refashion website and decided to start the project in September.

The Wardrobe Refashion project requires that you make the following pledge:

I, Robyn, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn, or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed, Robyn.

Although I can fit into some of my prepregnancy jeans (I can button the others, but there is some baby love on the sides, so it's not pretty yet), I think this project will help me to resist purchasing new clothes to fit my temporary size. Plus, it'll give me a good excuse to start making some clothes for Noah, who has thus far been sadly neglected with respect to homemade clothes.

Bella's friends also need some lovin', so hopefully this will force me to set aside the time to repay their mom for all of the support they've provided after Noah was born.

Bella's New Hobby

Today Bella discovered Noah's startle reflex. Now, every time she walks by him while he's resting, she "accidentally" bumps into him and laughs when he startles and outstretches his arms.

Just another reason why Noah can't be left unattended.

My Heart Breaks

This evening, driving home after taking another look at our newest prospective home, both Bella and Noah started crying. Unfortunately, Abel had to drive separately because he had to go back to work, so there was nothing I could do to soothe either one.

Both Noah and Bella cried themselves to sleep. Which introduced another predicament of having two kids--I can't carry them both into the house. I had to awaken Bella and, when she lifted her arms asking to be carried, I had to explain to her that I couldn't carry her because I had to hold Noah. It's no wonder she acts out.

Sadly, I'm not sure which is worse--that they both cried themselves to sleep or that I couldn't carry them both inside.

The Hair Debacle

I always think that once I start wearing my hair in a pony tail every day (one that's filled with split ends), it's time to go with a shorter hair cut. Honestly, I'm not sure why. It actually takes me more time to style short hair than long, but then again, when it's long, it just goes back into a pony tail.

So I went online and picked a hair style that I thought would look good on me. It looks so cute, easy, and the model has a similar face shape, so in theory, it should look good on me. I decided that I wanted the length just a little longer so it was just at my shoulders so I could still pull part of it back.



I think where it went wrong all falls back to my lack of time. I can't leave Noah for long, so I wasn't able to go to the posh salon down the road. To go to East of Eden, it's at least an hour and a half and when you add in travel time, waiting, etc., it's past Noah's snack time and Abel would end up with a screaming baby.

So I decided to potentially sacrifice my hair for his hunger by going to the closest walk-in salon. There were two people in front of me who both requested Shiree. In the back of my mind, I knew I should go with her, but unfortunately, it was now going to be a 40 minute wait for Shiree and again, there's that time issue. Besides, I believe in rooting for the under dog.

I took the next available hair cutter (I'm sure they have a title) and showed the girl the picture with my phone. When she was done, I knew I should have gone to East of Eden (the posh salon) or at least requested Shiree, because this girl cut my layers WAY too short. Anyway, I'm trying to work with it. Here is my hair on day 1. (Keep in mind, it's hard to take a picture of yourself and get a flattering angle.)


Don't laugh

On Day 2, I had time for a nice long shower (Bella was quietly destroying the living room), applied some mousse and dryed it. I think it looks a little better. And I might even venture to say it's looking somewhat closer to the picture. The problem still is that the top layer just isn't long enough and my hair certainly isn't at my shoulders, but I'm at least coming to terms with it.



Ignore the dirty mirror. I have a good excuse whose name is Noah.

It'll grow back. In the meantime, I'm trying to decide if I even want to go into the office on Friday to celebrate Pam's 50th birthday. I'd rather wait until it grows out a little more.

A Picnic in the Park

Our little model.

Although we got a late start today, we decided to devote the day to Bella. We picked up some lunch from Wendy's and headed to Felicita Park. Noah hung out in the sling, allowing me the mobility to take pictures of Abel and Bella.

It wasn't a very pretty day, but for red-heads, it was the optimal day to be outside. It's never difficult to talk Bella into going to the park--the hard thing is convincing her to leave.





Don't you remember how fun tire swings were?

Thanks Uncle Mark and Aunt Katy

Our trip to FedEx/Kinko's to have the birth announcements printed was a failure, but we'll try again tomorrow now that Abel has resized the PDF file for me. Mental note: Need to take a class on Photoshop. Right after I take a photography class. Need to start a milk stash first.

Noah sends a special thanks to Uncle Mark and Aunt Katy for the cute sleeper he's sporting tonight. Now if it would only put him to sleep, that would be great.





Mr. Sandman, please stop by tonight.

There's a Rumbly in Noah's Tumbly

Last night was a long night for Noah and I. Regardless, I still woke up early to get us all ready to visit my office. Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't make it to the gym or anything, but I certainly woke up early enough to shower AND dry my hair.

Seeing everyone was great and I think we may have inspired some newly-weds to start their families. :o) Of course Noah was sleeping at the time--they may have reconsidered if they were here last night.

This afternoon, the rumbling started again. The poor little guy (and poor me) must be in a lot of pain.

I'm a firm believer that our mothers (grandmothers and great-grandmothers) had it right by laying babies on their tummies. Not only does this releave gas pain, but it also helps strengthen their neck muscles. In the days of SIDS scares, this is taboo but it does provide Noah with some temporary relief.



I also headed to Henry's to get some Gripe Water. For those of you who, like Abel, don't know what Gripe Water is, it's an old herbal remedy (your grandmother probably used it) which includes fennel and ginger. This didn't work as well as I'd hoped. Neither did my Old Faithful, Mylecon (it's a gas relief product--think liquid Tums).



The poor guy only wants to nurse but then screams in pain. I'm going to do some more research for some additional ideas, but in the meantime, tonight should be interesting. I think I'll have a chocolate chip cookie.


Bella "taking pictures" of Noah

The Three Musketeers Unsupervised

Today, Bella, Noah, and I went to the store by ourselves. I know it doesn't sound like a very big accomplishment, but when you consider getting every one bathed, dressed, fed (Noah eats every 1-2 hours), Noah's diaper changed, Bella going to the bathroom (every 1 to 1.5 hours), ensuring the diaper bag is stocked, and getting everyone in the car; it's exhausting.




Bella "helping" after Noah's bath

We didn't quite make it through Costco before Noah started fussing so we ended up with just fruit and milk. (And some chocolate chip cookies that are hidden in the pantry. Those are for really bad days.) After dropping Bella off at Grandma's (and taking a quick nap), Noah and I headed to Target to finish getting some of the essentials we didn't want to buy in bulk. Something about being at the store must make him hungry because that trip was cut short as well (he must take after his Momma--he'll be my food court buddy when he's older).

Fortunately my friend made us stew, so atleast we'll have a balanced lunch this week (not just cheese and fruit).

I should get even more bonus points today for washing clothes. I doubt they'll ever get folded or put away, but at least it's a start.

Tomorrow we're headed to the office (and lunch of course) to say hello to all the girls. We'll see how my little stud-muffin handles all the attention.



(On a side note, I realize it's been several posts without pictures which is a no-no in the blog world. I'm having issues with our memory card reader but hopefully we'll make up soon.)

Pictures are now added

Two Year Old For Sale

Today was my first day on my own with Bella and Noah. We had to take Bella to dance today and it took 45 minutes just to get ready to leave. Aside from Bella constantly trying to feed Noah cheerios and play food, the morning went relatively well (especially considering she didn't wake up until 11:00).

Since I'd only fed her a cheese sandwich and I had only eaten noodles, we went to McDonald's as a treat after dance. All was well...

...until dinner at Pei Wei with Daddy and some of the guys Daddy works with. That's when Bella continually refused to sit and, since I was holding Noah, she would run just out of my reach. After hitting me, she then threw a tiny deck of cards at hit me in the head. That's when we decided dinner was over.

Bella is so sweet to Noah--constantly giving him kisses, covering him with blankets, and even checking on him when she accidentally bumps him. Unfortunately she is taking out her frustrations on me. I feel for her, especially knowing that she's more attached to me than she is to Abel, but I'm just not sure how to help her through the transition. I think I need to read some books.

We'll see how tomorrow goes when we go to the store. Good night!

The House Search Continues

So we found another house that we put an offer on and we're waiting to hear back from the agent. It's an REO and stuck in a 70's time warp. The house is almost 5000 sqft (4,853 sqft to be exact) on a half acre with a pool--this is our kind of "project" house. At one time it must have been a model home because it has a built-in LP and 8 track player (yes, I did say it was built-in). The house features petrified wood banisters and a yellow kitchen sink (with matching bathtubs). Although most of the carpet has been replaced, two closests have still preserved the original orange-green shag carpet. It's a relic.

Anyway, the house has good bones...you just have to use your imagination. The pool has since been cleaned and is nice and blue (though still not clear) and the house is clean.

The pictures with the blue carpet show the downstairs area. It has it's own bedroom, living room (with bar and fireplace), bathroom, and laundry room. When we spoke with the neighbors, they indicated most people on that street converted that area to a granny flat. It's separate from the rest of the house and has its own private entrance. Nice and cool down there with REALLY high ceilings and walks out to the pool and patio. That's a pretty nice granny flat!

Bella's "play room" is going to be the tiled sun room off of the living room. We're just debating about whether we will put my sewing stuff in there as well. Since you can see it from the living area, I'd have to keep it really tidy...that's an issue. We may have to put some curtains in that corner or something! :o)

Although it looks like it's right on the street, part of that is just the angle that the picture was taken (although the house does sit pretty close to the street). The street only has a few houses--we were outside talking with the neighbors for two hours and only saw two cars drive by so it's definitely a quiet street. With a screaming two-year-old, I think we're going to be the loudest family around.

Newborn Photos

We loved the photographer who took our maternity pictures so much, we asked him to do the newborn pictures...and we certainly weren't disappointed. Before Noah was born (because I knew I wouldn't have any time afterwards) I made the green "cocoon" and hat as well as the white "pod" to photograph him. I think these gave a little bit of visual interest to the photos. Bella's newborn pictures were of mostly the family, so I knew this time, we wanted to preserve the preciousness (is that a word?) of a newborn--something that gets lost in group pictures.