August 30th Shoot

Tonight I had the pleasure of meeting Baby B, Little A and Mom & Dad. Little A was less than excited to be taking pictures, as he spied the playground just across the way. We were able to get a few pictures and got him on his way to playing. He did, however, inform me that he just turned three and his favorite present was his Incredible Hulk mask.

Here is a sneak peek of the pictures I have had a chance to work on.

Maddi-isms

As we are all sitting at the dinner table the other night:

Mommy- Maddi, who is your best friend?
Maddi- You are!
Mommy- Well, who is Daddy's best friend?
Maddi- You, me and Zoe!
Mommy- And who is Allison's best friend??
Maddi- Your boobie!!

Hm.

One morning before school, we came outside to find it VERY foggy:

Maddi- Mommy..what's that?
Mom- That's fog...it means the clouds fell down.
Maddi- Well...pick them up!!
Mom- I can't! I'm not big enough!
Maddi-- Well...make Daddy do it!

And then there is her fascination with my friend Christi. One day, Maddi saw a picture of Chris, and she proceeds to say to me...

"Hey! That's Christi! She's a lot of fun! You're a LITTLE fun, Mom...but she is A LOT of fun!"


This child keeps me laughing.

The Shape of a Mother

When I was pregnant, I think one of the hardest things about the entire pregnancy was watching my body change the way it did. It was all beyond my control (OK OK...I suppose I COULD have put down the Twinkie, or I COULD have not sent Kevin on nightly treat runs...shut up). I managed to go from 135 pounds to...198 on the night I delivered. 198. Let's say that again, shall we? 198.

I had her and through the mess of post partum hormones I had to face 9 months of uninhibited gluttony.

Eesh.

I tried here and there to lose the weight, but never really put a true effort into it. In fact, I held on to 20 pounds. A souvenir, if you will.

Got pregnant with Allison. I only gained 40 pounds this time!!! Yay. But, do the math, folks. I delivered at...198. Hrm.

Determined to lose the weight this time, I put us (yes, I said us...Kevin didn't want me to eat alone during my pregnancies) on Weight Watchers. Now, I'm not sure if it was all Weight Watchers, or that I burn mad calories while breastfeeding. For the sake of argument, I will say it was a neat blend of both.

Six months after delivery, I was pre-Maddi weight. I can even wear pre-Maddi jeans. This is HUGE. I LOVE IT.

But hold on...where the Hell is my pre-Maddi BODY?!! It is GONE! Left with me are love handles that weren't there before Maddi. My derriere? It seems to have slipped south a few degrees. Nor was I spared stretch marks. As Maddi told me in my last few days of pregnancy "Wow Mom! You are striped like TIGER!" Thanks Mads. The boobs? Well...all I can say is, after two pregnancies and (now) nine months of breastfeeding...God Bless Kevin. Someone needs to buy that poor guy a beer.

But you know what? I'm okay with all of this. It took some time, but I am okay with it. Look what I accomplished that resulted in the total redesign of my body...they are pretty worth it.

Take a look at this website. I think that it is pretty cool that so many mommies are willing to put themselves out there...in all their squishy, mommy glory. **You could see some boob-age...enter at your own discretion**

http://theshapeofamother.com/

Church at the Lake!

We had a FANTASTIC day at church today! Kevin and I have been blessed to have found a wonderful church home, and we had the girls dedicated this morning. Afterwards, we had a baptismal ceremony in the lake for the children who have decided to be batized. It was a spectacular thing to watch.

<-- Not my kid

Shameless Bragging

I seriously have two of the cutest kids on the planet. I'm pretty sure I'm not just seeing them through "Mommy Goggles". Kev and I just make damn adorable girls.

Adult Onset ADD

AKA...parenthood.

A strange thing has happened to me in the past 3 1/2 years. I can't seem to finish anything I start. Half the time I can hardly finish a sentence, and I am willing to bet money that I will get up at least 4 times before I complete this blog.

My days start out on track. The short one wakes me up to eat and the tall one follows shortly after. Morning nursing session is completed and I make breakfast. Serve breakfast and begin doing dishes...because they were not finished the night before.

I wash 2 plates and 4 spoons and notice the short one is using the dog as a jungle gym. Extract the poor dog's ear from the death grip of an 8 month old and resume dishes. *Crap* I remember that Kevin has no clean shirts/pants/socks/underwear for the next day.

I gather laundry, sort and begin a load. (For the record, I have been pulled away from this blog for the first time)

Get back to dishes. Wash a fork and one sippy cup.

Tall one asks for a cup of juice. I pour the juice. Tall one now wants to paint. I get out smock, paint, brushes and paper. I read the riot act about not painting the floor/table/wall/little sister. Oops. Time to change a diaper.

Change the diaper and notice there is more hair on the carpet than the dog. Pick up toys, pull out vacuum, save dog once again from the short one and vacuum 1/4 of the living room. Tall one trips over vacuum cord and lands on dog. Now I have a crying pre-schooler and a Corgi with blue handprints. Pick up child, wipes tears and apologize to the dog. She'll have to stay blue.

Nurse the short one. Vacuum the rest of the living room, but ignore hallways and bedrooms.

Change another diaper.

Switch laundry from washer to dryer...start another load in the washer. Forget to close lid. (For the record...I have now been pulled away from blog twice)

Make lunch. Wash a pot and a spatula.


Change diaper and put kids down for nap.

Consider finishing dishes and vacuuming...fall into a light sleep on the couch.

Dryer wakes me up after 7.24 minutes of dozing. Pull dry clothes out and notice the clothes in the washer are just sitting there in water. Curse and close the lid. Fold clothes and put away socks and underwear when the short one wakes up.

Change a diaper and nurse.

Play on the floor with the baby and see that I need to dust. Pull out the dust rags and wipe of one shelf and three picture frames. Tall one wakes up and requests a snack.

Spend 8 minutes explaining why she cannot have ice cream for a snack. Ignore some whining and we settle on graham crackers and a banana.

Sweep the kitchen floor and pull out mop. Short one tries to eat the dog's tail. Put the dog outside.

(I've been pulled away again...seriously...will this child EVER SLEEP???)

Scramble around to find something for supper. Get out play-doh for the tall one.

Kev gets home. Hugs and kisses all around and pass the kiddos off to Daddy to cook supper in peace. In theory. Short one decides she is hungry. Feed her. Notice there is play-doh stuck in the carpet. Tell the tall one to start scraping. Remind her that yes, it IS fair.

Back to supper. I DO finish this.

We eat, we bathe kids and put them to bed. Tall one begs for potty/water/just five more minutes, PLEASE?!

Collapse on couch.

So...let's recap, shall we?

Dishes? Not done.
Laundry? One load folded and not put away. One load still in washer. Hubby still doesn't have clean pants for the next day.
Vacuuming? At least the living room is hair free.
Mopping? Eh...maybe tomrrow.
Dust is just going to come back, right?

And... The dishes aren't finished.