Mother's Day : )

I just wanted to post what Rachel did at school for Mother's Day. (See the 2 images) She also made a hand daisy with her hand print and it is potted in a little ceramic pot. It is pretty cute! I have no idea what 'Mousey' is, but she thinks it is great!! And, Rachel's teacher thinks Rowan is Roland b/c the way Rachel says it!!! Ha! So that is a picture of me, Rachel and Roland/Rowan, hopefully we aren't playing ball with Rowan - ha! Also, that is her first attempt to write her name all by herself. Pretty impressive ; )

I had a great day - sleeping in, brunch, playing the Wii with the kids and Adam, swimming at the neighbor's pool (he was out of town and invited to come use it while he was gone), and great dinner made by Adam. A great relaxing day!

Swamped!

Here's a picture of the kids, before I forget...

Okay, we have been so incredibly busy and my typing fingers have been busy with the kids!! So, here goes a quick post and I don't know if I'll be able to post again before we move.

Adam is almost finished with his Masters Degree, finally. He is just putting the finishing touches on his Graduate Research Project and he'll be done. Yeah, Adam!

The movers will be coming to pick up our stuff the 2nd week of June (yikes). We'll be staying on base in a 3 bedroom house (temporary lodging) for about a month. (Double yikes!) So, time to get the house organized and ready.

We still don't have tenants yet, but our agents are pretty confident we will find some. We still don't have a place to live in Vegas, but our agent there is sure we'll find one. I am holding out that we'll get a rental with a pool!!! I have been researching Vegas schools with a vengeance. I think I have narrowed down some good ones that will present a suitable commute for Adam also. That's the trick - finding a school within an acceptable driving distance to base.

School will be out the Wednesday after Memorial Day. I have been busy at school too. The PTO does a lot of activities and helping these last two months, so I have been carting Row around campus (and Rachel too when she isn't at school). It has been a rough school year for Russ. The ADHD thing is hard and on top of that his language skills don't help him either. He's done well academically, but socially I really wonder. Hopefully in Vegas we can get in with a good psychologist and start some other therapies too.

I need a new car. I have been driving the4 Runner (Adam's car) and he's been driving my little Jetta. I like Adam's 4Runner, but not for me. And so begins the great car debate. What to get??? And so begins the great minivan debate. I love all the features a minivan has to offer, but the stigma kills me! What to do???? Adam wants the MV, a logical and economical choice. How I wish it was a hybrid, then I could totally get on board!!!

Rowan is still a pretty good babe. he has his days, but don't we all? He has the greatest smile, lights up when he sees all of us. He loves our neighbor, Ray. Pretty cute! We still have him in our room, which is hard b/c he wakes us up even though he is still asleep. So, we are looking forward to getting him in his own room and we can get some better sleep.

Trying to lose at least 30lbs on top of all of this. I just have to remember to look at it in 5 lb goals and focus on the small goal instead of being overwhelmed by the big one. It is hard and depressing! Oh well.

I caught another lizard in the house the other day. With the salad spinner! I won't miss the lizards.

I hate this period of in between - I just want to get the move behind us. Moving into some place new is exciting, but all the stuff that happens before is stressful and not a lot of fun.

There is so much more to write about - G'ma Rizzi (Linda Garland's mom) passed away and we loved her. She was truly every one's g'ma and I want to write about her and remember her. But that will have to wait until I can sit and take more time because she was one in a million and she deserves that time from me.

So, what else - a busy social schedule ahead - Adam's commander is moving, so parties for him and his wife, my bday, Mother's Day, other people are leaving and parties for them, end of school parties, PTO end of the year meetings, Father's day is ahead also. Just a busy time of year.

So, that is it. Are you tired just reading this? I know I am. Well, I am hungry too - salad anyone?

Vegas, Baby

This summer we are do for a move. Can you guess where we are going??????

Boy, it has been a while since I wrote and it looks like it is going to be a bit longer - just put the baby down and he's fussing.

Okay, bink in, swing on - type like the wind, Aim!!!!

We knew we were goingt o move this Summer, but we thought it was definitely OKC. Adam even had a report no later than date. We had always been interested in Vegas (Nellis AFB), but the right job for Adam never came about, so we had put it out of our mind. Then one day Adam gets a call and it turns out there is a new job that was posted and Adam fits is perfectly and it fits him. So, off we go to Las Vegas, Nevada!!! He has report no later than date of August 1st, but he still hasn't received his orders yet. So, we are waiting on that to happen and then we can really get to the nitty gritty of planning THE move.

We have our house on the market here. We've had it on for a little over a month and not one showing. We've had drive bys, a couple of picture takers, a call, but that is it. So, we are disappointed about that. Unfortunately, we bought at the peak of the market here and are trying to sell now. I think everyone knows what is happening in real estate now. So, we are looking at becoming landlords! That kind of sucks, because we have put a lot of work into this house. We did replace the counters and put in a new range with hopes of selling, but what can you do? We don't want to lose too much money with a sale, so we have to change our mindset as to this will be an investment property, keep it for some time, maybe even the rest of our time in the AF. Maybe the market will pick back up and we can sell, make some money to put towards living on the West Coast permanently.

So, there you have it! We are THRILLED to move to Vegas. We are looking at renting a house, although buying is tempting. Right now it is so fun to think of renting a house, having no projects to tie us up on the weekends so we can get out and visit friends & family and have them visit us! Right now we have our eyes on a home with a great fenced pool (gotta keep safety in mind!) and built in BBQ - how fun would that be?

If anyone is looking for a great house in Lynn Haven, Florida..... get in touch ; )

The Best Big Sis!

Well, it has been a challenge to sit and write, but I have record Rachel's reaction to Rowan. She was our wild card, we weren't sure how she was going to react to a new baby. Well, as most of you know - she has been awesome! We couldn't ask for better. Sure, she has her moments, I mean, she is still Rachel, but overall she has been an amazing big sister. I have to do this in list format to make sure I include everything!!!

• She loves to help change diapers. She runs and grabs her little stool and says "Wait for me!!!" She'll put the diapers in the garbage, soothe Rowan while he getting cleaned up, and is always amazed that 'he pooped again!!'.
• She repeats everything we say to Rowan if she is around and in the same tone. She'll remember what to say to him and say it on her own too. It is so sweet.
• One day I picked up Row and leaned him towards her so that his lips brushed her cheek. It was like she won the lottery! 'Oh, he kissed me!!!' Then she'd lean her cheek on to his lips and say 'He kissed me again!'
• She is fascinated with breastfeeding. She'll suggest which side to feed him from, she loves the breast pump and watching the milk go into the container, she tries to nurse her dolls and has even offered to feed Rowan for me.
• Rachel loves to hold and kiss Rowan and often wants her picture taken while she's holding him. This is very cute, but we have to be careful b/c sometimes she'll try to pick him up herself.
• Rowan adores her. he smiles at her, turns toward her when he hears her voice. He really responds to her.
• She helps pick out his clothes and a few times when he blew out an outfit she already had a clean change of clothes for him before I could turn around and get it myself.
• She'll hang out at his crib and talk to him while I am getting ready, put his bink in his mouth, and entertain him as best she can.
• She is constantly telling everyone how cute Baby Rowan is. And then she has to point out his 'tiny little eyes, nose, finger, tiny short hair, tiny little ears' etc.
• Unfortunately for Russell, she is still an annoying little sister!!!

Good Bye Riley

Our big gray kitty, Riley, was very ill and suddenly took a turn for the worse. It was a heart wrenching decision, but when the vet saw just how bad off he was, she was very reassuring that we had made the right choice.

Here is Riley and Rowan... We took this same picture with Russ & Rach : )

Around Christmas we had noticed that Riley seemed different. He was drinking a lot of water and had lost weight. His fur had changed some too. It wasn't as shiny or as thick. We had thought it was just feline diabetes - we have a friend whose cat is afflicted and the whole thing is very doable, so we weren't too concerned. Then we had him tested and it wasn't diabetes, it was something with his liver.

We tried some different medications, did follow up lab work, but he never seemed any better. To do any other tests, like ultrasounds, etc. was going to be very expensive and our vet felt like even if we did spend that money it didn't mean we could save Riley. She felt like his blood test results were so bad that he didn't have much time to live. And any surgery would be out of the question b/c she wouldn't put him under any anesthesia. She didn't think he would come out of it. She was right about his life span, he only made it a few weeks longer. Towards the end he wasn't eating anything and barely drinking. He just laid in our room and slept. Poor guy.

Because he had lost so much weight, the vet examined him and could feel a large tumor on his liver. She hadn't been able to feel it before b/c he was so plump!!

We had him cremated and want to spread his ashes in Vallejo near our old apartment, since that is where we got him.

We had Riley for over 10 years. He was always Adam's cat, he had a thing for Adam!! He was a great cat, very lovable, was terrific with the kids, had a super purrrrrrrr and could eat more than any cat we've ever known! We feel lucky he was ours for so long and that we could give him a happy home while he was on this earth. We really miss him though.

All About Rowan

So, now let me indulge in a little motherly bragging and tell you all about our precious bundle!!!

At the hospital right after birth - he peed all over the nurse!!! Too funny! He hated getting his bath in the hospital, but loved the heat lamp thing after his bath. He was never jaundiced at all, which was a bit surprising - Russ and Rach both were a bit yellow. Not bad, but we had to watch them.

He had his 2 week check up last week and he weighed 9lbs 8oz - so he isn't missing any meals!! I am breastfeeding him, which is going pretty well. We are still learning, well Rowan is, but I think in the next few weeks, it will be easier. He does seem to have some very painful gas and he spits up thru his nose sometimes. So, we are keeping our eye on that and hoping that will get better as he gets better at nursing.

So far he is a great sleeper. Now the first 2 nights in the hospital he was very fussy and didn't sleep, so that was rough and a bit scary - what was he going to be like at home??? It seems the kid wanted to be at home, he has settled into a pretty good schedule. At night he goes to bed between 9 and 10pm, gets up once at 2 or 3 and then again about 5 or 6. On weekdays, I get up at the morning feeding and get Russ ready for school, so that seems to be working out all right. Some nights it varies a bit, but that is pretty much how it goes. Adam changes his diaper and gets him reswaddled for me and then I feed him and we all get back to sleep. Rowan will sleep the first leg of the night in his crib, but prefers to sleep with us after his feeding.

Case in point.... One night I decided to put him back in his crib and he fussed and fussed. Adam - half asleep gets up changes his diaper and hands him off so I could feed him. Adam had forgotten we had just done this 30 minutes ago! ; ) But Rowan was chewing on his hands, acting hungry, so I thought, well, he must still be hungry. I swear the second he was in my arms, he was fast asleep. I guess he just wanted me. It was just one of those love moments, your heart bursts with joy.

This kid can poop like no other. I swear he poops all day, almost every diaper change. Rachel will just say - Oh, he pooped again! We have gone thru more wipes and diapers with this kid than I care to admit!!! He hates having his diaper changed too.

He hates the bath, but he loves to shower with Adam. His fussy time is usually the evening and nothing calms him like being in a warm shower with dad. It is so funny - he goes in with this look like, life sucks, I am naked and cold. And he comes out looking like he's, well in a way he looks like he's stoned. He's so mellow and happy, but then he has to get dressed and then he's cold and pissed again!!!!

He doesn't like his carseat, but always falls asleep in the car. He is following us with his eyes and does seem to recognize the 4 of us. He is turning his head to sounds, especially Rachel's voice. Probably b/c she is so loud!!!

He is such a sweet bundle! It is a bit challenging adjusting to life with a newborn, but you remember the tricks of the trade and the 3rd time around really doesn't seem as hard as the other two. I hope I didn't just jinx myself!!!

February 4, 2008 - On The Day That You Were Born....

Finally, a moment to sit and update the blog : ) You may have noticed the title change - one more R added!!! There is so much to say and I may have to do it in several short postings. We've had a lot going on. Besides Rowan's birth, we have finished updating the kitchen and put the house on the market, Russell turned 7 years old, our gray kitty, Riley, had to be put down due to liver cancer, and Rachel has been a joy to watch and listen to as she shows she is the best big sister in the whole wide world.

Let's start though with Rowan! Adam and I arrived at the hospital at 4am for the induction on the 4th as planned. Adam's mom was here and she stayed home with the kids. More on that later ; ) So, 4am.... We get hooked up to all the machines - IV with pitocin to increase contractions, fetal heart monitor, etc. Then we wait... Well, let me back up for a sec. We get with our nurse and she starts right in asking me about my lidocaine allergy. I am allergic to topical lidocaine. This is a problem b/c they use a form of lidocaine in epidurals. You see where this is going, maybe no epidural for Aimee - Dun dun dun. I had already discussed this with my OB and he said the anesthesiologist would make the final decision. Again, dun, dun dun.

Things are moving along and it is time to break my water, but they are pretty sure that when they do that, labor will progress very quickly, leaving no time for an epidural if I can even have one. Well, I wanted one if possible, I am not that brave. So, in comes Dr. whoever, anesthesiologist. After discussing the allergy, he thinks I am good to go (phew!) as there is one small chemical difference between topical lidocaine and the lidocaine they use to inject into your body for epidurals, dental work, etc.

In goes the drugs and after some adjustment it is working beautifully, they break my water at 8:30 am and 10am when they check me, it is time to push this kid out!! He was right there. Talk about fast. I went from like 4cm to 10cm in 90 minutes. I thought I had felt some pressure, but I was blissfully numb, so I couldn't be too sure. The proven pelvis got to work and again, quickly delivers a big baby!!!! 10:17 am, Rowan Andrew Bright joined our world at a whopping 9lbs 1 oz and 20.5 inches. He looked perfect, so adorable and we were instantly in love with him, of course!!!

His head was quite large and round and I tore quite a bit, so I had a lot of stitches and was very sore for a couple of weeks. So, that wasn't fun, but Rowan is healthy and perfect and that IS fun : )

I have to add that my OB has incredibly good relationships with every nurse that came in my room. They all are either patients of his, live down the street from him, their older daughters babysits for him; it was clear they all had a good working relationship, which made the process fun. These gals are just dishing out shit and teasing him and he's giving it right back. We felt like we fit right in. They are taking wagers on Rowan's weight, telling stories about some old school birthing techniques that OBs used to use, it was like social hour in labor room 8. I have never experienced that before or even heard of anyone having that kind of experience, but I can see why my OB has so many patients.

Okay, so then after having Rowan and moving into a recovery room, I became known as "Oh, you're the one who... _______________" And the blank is filled in with 'allergic to lidocaine', 'had the 9lb baby', 'had the 3rd degree tear and 2inches of stitches' and 'has that odd rash'. (On the 2nd day I got this bizarre rash, which was nothing, but no one knew what it was. The on call OB from my practice called it a pregnancy rash, which he followed up with, 'I know you aren't still pregnant' when I looked at him like are you nuts???? That wasn't my regular OB.)

All right, that is the birth story, and now Rowan is fussing and Rachel has been playing in my make up, so it is time to sign off for now and add more later....

The Proven Pelvis is STILL Pregnant

So, here's the update.....

• If I don't go into labor, I have an appt. to be induced on 2/4 at 4am (yyyyaaaaaawwwnnnn). The plan for that is to go in at 4am and get all the beginning stuff done. My OB will come about 6am and break the ol' H2O so that Rowan would hopefully be born by noon!
• They think Rowan is 8+ pounds already - holy cow! Oh wait, my pelvis is proven.
• I am dilated almost 3cm and you need to get to 10cm. With Russ and Rach it really didn't start getting too painful until about 5 or 6cm. So, I am lucky in that regard.
• I am having sporadic contractions. Usually a bunch all at once and then they sssslllllooooooowwww down.
• Everything seems to be in order here at home. Rowan's stuff is ready, washed, sterilized, etc. The Russ n Rach schedule is posted on the fridge incase the neighbors have to come over in the middle of the night.
• Adam's mom is coming Friday.

Man, I really hope I am not in the hospital for the Superbowl. That would kinda suck.

• And we can't forget that Russ's bday is on 2/12! Busy busy busy!!!!!

Hopefully the next blog entry will be written by a non pregnant, non sleep deprived (yea right!)Aim!

Pillsbury, Hmph!

I have been meaning to report that I did not make the final 100 recipes for the Pillsbury Bake - Off. Which I am fine with, but would love to know how close I was to the final 100 recipes. Mine was Thai Chicken Chimichangas. Now that the final 100 recipes are published, let me tell you recipes similar to mine in my category that made it:

Thai Style Wraps - not very similar to mine, it used curry.

Thai Chicken Burritos - hmmm.... this one is the closest to mine. A peanut sauce with chicken. The difference there is that recipe mixes PB and salsa (that doesn't even sound good to me) and they fill with rice and I fill with black beans, fresh grated carrots and cilantro. My PB sauce is more like common Thai PB sauce, but mine had cumin in it which we thought really added some depth to the flavors.

Picadillo Chimichangas - I think this was the only chimichanga that made it, but it bakes exactly like mine does. So, that was interesting to see - it wasn't the baking of my chimi that they didn't like.

So, time to reflect. Pillsbury really stressed the importance of an original recipe. I know my sauce was original, but maybe not original enough? I never found one with cumin in it that was published, but that isn't to say it isn't out there. When making my recipe and researching sauce recipes (mainly to see if mine was like anything else) I did find a PB & Salsa recipe on the Betty Crocker website, so they can't be too picky about originality. I don't think that a Thai Burrito is an original concept either. There used to be a great burrito place in Napa and my favorite was the 'Thai Me Down Burrito" - delicious!

Also an interesting observation for me - I played with a recipe using biscuits and eggs, etc. And you basically build a breakfast biscuit with those basic ingredients and some extras and use like a muffin pan to cook it in. I never got one quite right and I can't say that I worked too hard on it either. However, I should have because there are probably like 7 recipes of the final 100 that do exactly that and use those ingredients.

It was fun to get the recipe together and submit it. I still think it is an excellent recipe. But it just isn't my year, I guess ; ) Maybe higher powers think I have enough going on with the baby and moving in the summer, so it is a good thing I didn't get selected.... Yea, that sounds good!!!!

I may have to try the PB & Salsa recipe to compare it. Tomatoes and PB don't sound good to me, but maybe it is very tasty??? Or maybe Pillsbury and I have very different taste buds!!! And apparently, we have differences on what is original and what isn't. I would definitely submit again and am thinking I may have to put making the Final 100 on my 'Life List'. I really think this is a challenge I can take on.

Another Friend Leaves Us

Our neighbor, Don Everett, passed away last week. He had been battling cancer for the last 23 years, if you can believe that! He had survived two separate fights with cancer and his last fight started when we moved into our house in July 2005. They didn't give him much time at that point, but lucky for us, he made it until last week. He was 72.

We will miss Don. He was a terrific neighbor and friend. He never let an opportunity pass to tell us how glad he was to have us as neighbors and how much he enjoyed our young family. He seemed to get such a kick out of watching the kids and listening to them, especially since his grandchildren lived so far away.

Don was full of personality and had a great sense of humor. At his service, the hospice team that cared for him remarked many times about how they felt like Don gave them more than they gave him. He leaves behind his wife Betty, who is equally wonderful, and a son & daughter and several grandchildren.

Some Wookie Cookies

Andy gave Russ a Star Wars Cookbook for Christmas. Russ loves it and we do too! It is so funny and really does has some tasty recipes. Last night we made Wookie Cookies, which is essentially a chocolate chip cookie with 2 types of chocolate and cinnamon in the dough. Russell insisted that we have a Wookie in the kitchen while we made our cookies. And, who can eat Wookie Cookies without Star Wars? Tonight we made Han-Burgers. Again, your basic recipe with a few flavor additions. The best part of Han-Burgers is the illustration to go with the recipe - a Millennium Falcon shooting ketchup onto a burger. No telling what recipe we'll try next, but I suspect it may be Yoda Soda.

I have to report on our Fantasy Football year. And now is as good as time as ever, so.....
I am proud to report that all three of my teams made the playoffs in all three leagues. We run one league and have had a core group of people for 3 years. This year our group was pretty global - Germany, Canada, Alaska & Florida. My team, Vintage Crushers, barely made the playoffs, and ended up in 5th place. Quarterbacks killed me in that league. I had an injury to my first string quarterback and just struggled after that. Adam did well in that league, his Russell's Revenge, ended the year in 3rd place.
We also play in Adam's former boss, Chris's league. In that league our team names are Better Half and Worse Half. Chris had given us those names as a joke, but we thought they were fun and kept them. If you EVEN have to ask which team is mine, you are banned from the blog!!! Ha! Of all my teams, I thought this was my worst draft, but sheer luck won me 2nd place. Adam may have placed 5th or so, I can't remember.
And the third league was a Tyndall AFB league with a lot of Adam's coworkers. Nipple Maulers was my team, really my best team overall, and in that league and I placed 3rd. Which is nothing to sniff at, but I really wanted 1st. I just kept smokin those guys week after week. I lost once by .2 points (the WORST kind of loss) and then I lost on the Pats bye week. I had both Tom Brady and Randy Moss on that team; those were some sick points. But on a crucial playoff game for fantasy football, both Tom and Randy didn't get it done. That's the way the game goes sometimes and what can I say, the guys we played with know I should have been the champ ; )

So now that the NFL has hit playoff season - we are excited, but a little sad. The end of a season. Tom was good to me this year, so I am rooting for the Pats. But then again, I love Peyton, I'd like to see him win it all again. I haven't given up on my Niners, they are still my team, but ouch. Hey, at least they aren't as bad as the Dolphins. For now anyway!!!

Ready for Rowan!!!

Leading up to Christmas Adam and I kept saying after Xmas we'll focus on getting ready for Rowan. On the 26th, drinking our coffee, watching the kids play with toys, we made our game plan and then Adam caught Rachel's cold! But, no cold can stop the plan.....

I had an OB appt on Dec. 21st and made my Dr. promise that he wouldn't let me have a 10lb child. He promised that he'd try! But then reminded me that I have already given birth to 2 healthy 8+ babies and managed to push them out in record time. And for the record, I am a good pusher. LaDean (not sure if you remember this, LaDean) gave me a great tip about labor and pushing after she had Kari and I never forgot it. I did not want to be in there pushing for hours!!
So, back to my OB - he says to me you've had two big babies already, it's not like we were expecting you to have a 6 lb child this time, right? And then he says, (and I find this HILARIOUS, even in my 'bothered' state), he says "I expect you to have about a 9lb baby and I am not too worried about it because you have PROVEN PELVIS". (Yes, he said proven pelvis)Of course, that being said we still don't want a 10 lb child and he'll induce early if Rowan is getting too big, but I'm sitting there laughing to myself - he just said proven pelvis, a PP if you will. I have a proven pelvis. I have been having a lot of fun with it too - I'm just going to take my proven pelvis and sit in this chair to relax. Me and my PP want to go shopping. The list goes on.....
My PP and I went back to the OB last week and I am going to have another ultrasound on Jan. 21st to see how big Rowan is and then we'll talk about if we will induce early and the timing and all that. So no news on the when, I'll report back on that later.

OK, getting ready for Gigantor, Moose, Rowan. Our house is a 3 bedroom and for now Rowan will room in with us, which means some rearranging of things in our room and closets. Done! New dresser/changing table that can also double as a nightstand for Adam - bought and built! Got out all the clothes and things we have been accruing - washed and put away. New PacknPlay for Rowan to start life with - ordered and on the way (Thanks Mom!).
Rachel is sharing closet space with Rowan - generous of her, isn't it? So, her closet is organized and ready.
We needed a rocking chair for the living room. We had one of those baby glider chairs with Rachel, but the back was so straight, it was almost uncomfortable, I always wished it would recline a bit. So, I was determined that this time I'd get a chair that reclines and rocks/glides. Well, the kind they make for nurseries and babies that do that are like $500 and not that great looking. So, Russell and I ventured out for a day of local chair shopping, not sure what we'd find. (We left the sickies at home.) Russ is great fun to shop with and no surprise he liked all the red chairs no matter what they felt like! We did end up finding a good ol' LazyBoy, but it is a more petite size, not terribly ugly, but completely comfortable and affordable. So, I did have to abandon my distaste for recliners, but it was the right choice - even came in a color that works with our furniture, so we didn't have to order it. And I'll admit - I love that damn chair already. It is everything I wanted. So, rocking chair - check!!!

Next on the list is getting those last minute baby supplies - diapers, baby wash, that kind of stuff. We still need to tour the hospital, sterilize a few bottles and that kind of thing. But other than that type of stuff we are feeling ready. I am really ready to not be preggers!!!

Oh What Fun It Is To......

December was a busy month!

In order to feel caught up on all our fun this will be an entry that is all over the place!!!


We started the month with....


Wing Christmas Party for the kids - Russ loves this party on base. They open up a hanger and the various spouses clubs on base fill it with blow up slides, bouncy houses and have snacks and activities for the kids. The big event is Santa arrives on an F-15 and then comes to his throne at the party and stays put until every child has had a chance to visit with him as many times as they want. Rachel has fun too - but this is one activity that Russ always asks to go to and he loves that Santa comes in on the jet. He doesn't want to see Santa at the mall or anywhere else.



Gulf Breeze Zoo & Zoo Lights - This little zoo is about 2 hours away. It is bigger than our local zoo, so we thought it would be fun to go in the late afternoon and hang around long enough to see their lights display and then go out for dinner afterwards. It was kind of a sad little zoo. You could tell it has seen better days, but recent hurricanes and tropical storms in the last 5 years have taken its toll on the zoo financially. We did go to a great restaurant - McGuire's Irish Pub on the way home. We haven't been in years and it didn't disappoint! It is fun place with great character, food and beer (they brew their own, but sadly don't sell it outside of the pub).



Volunteer at school - that last week before Christmas was a blur of activities at school for both kids. I did get to help do some fun things in Russell's class. I took cookies and we decorated them for a fun Friday snack. His teacher asked me to help with their ornament making activity. And then I was able to help at the pancake breakfast party too! On the ornament day, his class did the whole "Thank you Mrs. Bright for helping" in unison kind of thing and Russell says afterwards to the class "Yea, my mom is nice like that. She likes to help". What a sweetie.


Rachel's class had a party with a mini recital of carols sung by her class. Only like 3 kids would stand up in front of all the parents and sing for us. Rachel not being one of them. She was just starting to get a cold and not feeling too great. But it was cute to see the others sing. She had been singing the songs at home beforehand and hasn't stopped singing the songs since.



Christmas - It was just the 4 of us and it was quiet but very enjoyable. Christmas Eve we went out and looked at lights and oohed and aaahed. Russ was very specific about what type of snack to leave out for Santa. He was very cute and excited!


The kids got up about 7:30am on Christmas and we weren't too sure how they would go about the whole present thing - would they tear into all of them and then play? Russ was so cute all month reading tags on presents. The funniest comment was on a gift that said "To: Aimee From: Mom" Russ asked why I had given myself a present???


Santa brought Rachel a Dora bike and Russ an electric crash car set. Boy, that Santa is really good. It took about 3 hours to open all the presents. The kids would open something and then have to play with it, read it, etc. So as family would call to see how the kids liked their gifts, we'd have to call back later - we hadn't got to their gifts yet! It was fun to watch them open things and get so excited about each gift and want to play with it right then. Needless to say, the kids got tons of new toys and have been playing nonstop with all of them.

Later Christmas Day, Adam looked at me and said "And tomorrow we start really getting ready for Rowan". Which leads us to the next entry...... but first a couple of Christmas morning pics:

Hot & Bothered

I have reached the point where I am now hotter, (temp. wise of course!), than everyone else. Air conditioning? Oh God, Yes please!!!! And it doesn't help that we are having a very warm December. It was 85 yesterday. And it doesn't help that I have outgrown all my shorts and summer type clothing that I bought for the beginning of the pregnancy. Once again, A/C??? Can't live without it!

And since I am so hot, I am easily bothered. It doesn't matter who, when, where, or what. I blame it on hormones. For example, Adam calls every night when he is on his way home. He usually asks what is the plan for dinner, as sometimes I need him to stop and get something. So, one night he asks about dinner and I reply meatballs. It's one of Russell's favorites and while Adam & I aren't crazy about meatballs, I try to make them as appealing as I can for everyone. And, they do take some time to make. So, his reply to meatballs the other night was "Oh." Now, I have to admit in retrospect that there probably wasn't any tone in his response, just a matter of fact "oh." But that night I heard "oh." Meaning I don't want meatballs, that sounds awful, I'll have something else that I can round up in the fridge. Well, being bothered, I immediately reply something to the effect of "That's the wrong answer, Adam. Try, thank you for taking time out of your day to provide our family with a nutritious meal. Thank you for standing on your pregnant feet in the kitchen and slaving over meatballs so that we can get hopefully get Russell to eat a big dinner since he's so skinny." Gasp!!! Bitchy, I know!! At least I can admit it.

And the bothered part isn't just bitchiness, I do cry easier now too. I'll try tell you a story about Russell and how some boy in his class said he doesn't think that Russ speaks English. Was he being mean? I don't know. But, it makes me cry just thinking about it. Kids suck and Russ tries so hard to make friends and be friends. It just makes you sad that you can't be there to protect from all that crap. He's only 6, can he get a break???? And now, of course, I am crying, so on to other news.

We had a really cool ultrasound on Friday. Rowan is growing!!! He is 4 1/2 lbs already and we are supposed to have 10 weeks to go. I didn't get to see my regular OB, I'll see him in 2 weeks. So, hopefully we'll have a better idea of when we think the Moose will be born. Adam was calling him Gigantor! At the rate he is growing he'll be a 10lb baby by my regular due date. OMG, I don't want a 10lb newborn!!! We'll see what Dr. Simpson says next time. The ultrasouond tech was pretty impressed with his size and thought that we'd be seeing her again next month to see how big he is.

So, this is one of the 3D pictures we got of Rowan. That is his umbilical cord in the upper left part of the picture. We think he is so cute!!!! And he has very similar qualities to Russ and Rach when they were newborns. We can definitely see the same nose and lips.

We did realize at this ultrasound, we'd better get our butts ready right after Xmas. Still need to get the new Pack n Play and his dresser. And, I need to wash his clothes and get some diapers and all those newborn things ready.

I have been reading my refresher course on breastfeeding. I love the Sears' book on breastfeeding - great info on how to get it going, good techniques, etc. I got another book which isn't as good, but there was a fascinating chapter on recent history of breastfeeding and the formula companies. When I opened the book to read, it was a chapter that I'd normally skip. But, something caught my attention and I ended up reading it. I won't bore you with the all the bad things that formula companies have done here and even more so in Africa. That could be a whole other entry or even blog. All I'll say is shame on those companies for being so malicious & irresponsible in the name of profit.

That is it for now. Hope for some nice cool weather for me!!! And please don't email to brag about how cold it is where you live. I did mention how easily bothered I am.....

Tur-what-ken???

This year for Thanksgiving, we thought we'd try a Turducken. I know, a what???? Basically it is an almost boneless turkey stuffed with a duck that is stuffed with a chicken breast and lots of stuffing in between the layers of meat. I ordered it from Louisiana, it costs more than it should, but what the hell, we are up for an adventure. So, we (Adam, me, Mikey & Jess) were all excited to get and try out turducken. We spend pretty much every Thanksgiving with the Boyntons, and have tried all kinds of things for Turkey Day. Although, I have to say Thanksgiving 2004 (Jess slaved all day in her kitchen) was by far the best.

Well, the final word on turducken. Just okay. Not worth the cost, not as good as we thought it would be, and it was no '2004'. Ha! But, the culinary adventure was fun and we'd always wonder what it was like if we hadn't done it. Just for the record, I still am not sure about the existence of the chicken in the whole thing, I didn't see it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there.

The week of Veteran's Day we decided to refinish our kitchen cabinets. It took about 2 weeks of stripping, sanding, painting, glazing, sealing, drying, and then hanging doors. But, it was well worth the effort. They look fantastic. We replaced all the hinges and handles too, so it was a complete change. We also changed our hood, ordered a new stove and will order new counter tops this week. We've wanted to do this since we moved in, but never did it. Well, let's be honest, we were dreading it. But with Rowan coming and it looks like we'll put the house on the slow market in March, it had to be done.

Here's a quick before and after photo - note the hardware in the middle of the cabinet doors and the routed grooves in the doors were actually painted black with the brown stain.

Ugh. Now they are an off white with a hand glazed aging and much better hardware. I have decided glazing is an art - very hard to keep all the doors and drawers looking like they belong together. In other words, not using too much or too little. I'll post more finishing pictures as we fcomplete the kitchen, but I am really proud of how they turned out and what a difference it makes. Hopefully it will help sell our house in the Spring.

Russell's 4 Smiley Face Art

I told Russ I would post his art so the whole world could see it. He insisted that we also scan the 4 smiley faces on the back side so everyone could see it that too : )

ADHD & an IEP, such a BFD, is it TGIF???

Acronyms, you gotta love them!

Well, to report on Russ, again, we've been on the med for almost 2 weeks. We are seeing improvements at school. He is finishing his work almost every day and the days he is not finishing his teacher thinks that he is learning to re-pace himself during the day. The other big difference is that he is taking more time to pay attention to details in his work. Especially coloring. He has always hated coloring, but he does need the practice to stay in the lines, work those fine motor skills and concentrate. Now, he really gets into coloring and is so extremely proud of himself. Yesterday he brought home some paper in he colored at school and he was thrilled b/c his teacher gave him 4 smiley face stamps (she is just a 1 stamp kind of gal) on it and announced in class what a beautiful job he had done on his paper and how proud she was of him for working so hard. So, he is regaining confidence at school and that is such a relief. Before he would not want to go to school, he'd want to be done with 1st grade and now he doesn't complain about school or wanting to be done with 1st grade.

At home he isn't as forgetful when asked to do something and once he's awake in the morning he can self start - no reminders to brush teeth, etc. He'll even make his bed without being told. The side effects we are seeing are decrease in appetite and going to bed later. The sleep issue is the most concerning, he's getting about 2 hours less per day. So, we have been trying to let him sleep in as late as possible on the weekends. And we are trying to make sure he gets better calories during the day when he eats. We see the psychiatrist next week, we'll see what she suggests to help with those.

And if that weren't enough going on with Russ - I had yet another IEP meeting about him and I have one more coming before Xmas. They tested Russ to see where he is with all his disabilities. He tested in speech and language. He did a fantastic job on speech and scores at a 7yr old level (he's 6 1/2) so he will be released from Speech Therapy! That is exciting!! His language score was a 92 which is the lowest 'normal' score for his age, so he could technically be done with language therapy too. His syntax scores are still very low, so we are choosing not releasing him language therapy, but will cut down from 2x per week to just once. He'll still see the OT for his fine motor skills, Russ has terrible writing and still has some issues forming letters correctly, but he is improving and hopefully with his new attention to detail, that will start to progress more also. We still have him in private therapy for speech and language, but she mostly works on his language issues. The private therapist also works for the district, so she is a wonderful resource when all this is happening and gives us great advice and guidance. I felt like his test scores were a good reflection of where he is at. We are so proud of him for all of his hard work!!!

I am glad to get a lot of this done before Rowan is born. It has been stressful and emotional. I typically don't miss having a drink when I am pregnant, but there have been a few days when dealing with all of this, I could have really used a good vodka tonic. I settled for some sparkling mineral water with lime instead and indulged in some chocolate! It is encouraging to see this all coming together for the moment. Hopefully the moment won't be a brief one!

The Russell Update

About a week and a half ago, I took Russell to the psychiatrist. Apparently we are not her typical client. Russell is our biological child, he lives with both parents, has biological siblings (one yet to be born) and I did not smoke or drink while I was pregnant with Russell or any other child for that matter. In fact when she was asking me about the smoking thing when going over family history and Russell's normal birth, Russell said to her "Smoking is bad for you; it turns your lungs black." And his tone was one of 'my mom is not bad and how dare you even ask'. It was pretty cute.
I had to fill out a lot of paperwork beforehand and I brought in examples of Russell's schoolwork, report cards dating when the issues started, a progress report showing his difficulty now, time lines of all the speech and language evaluations Russell has ever done, example of our behavior/chore chart at home, anything and everything I could think of to show what is going on with Russell. So we were reviewing all of it (I think she was a little overwhelmed by everything I brought) and Russell is just being Russell - chatting about things in and out of context, playing with his hands, getting up and examining things all over the office. She is watching him the whole time and carrying on a conversation with me, sometimes asking Russ questions and then after about 20 minutes she asks, "I am seeing Russell how you see him at home?" Yes. "Is this what he is like at school?" At school he knows to stay in his seat or he gets his name on the board, so he can control some of it. Then she says "You have really done most of the work for me, let's talk therapies."
I am thinking, that's it??? 20 minutes with her and that's it, she's decided??? So, I ask, "Really, that's it? Do you think it's ADHD?" Yes. "You don't think it is immaturity or anything developmental / language processing disorder related?" No. Then she tells me if I hadn't told her that Russ was in speech or language therapy, she wouldn't have guessed that he was. She said she could see some of his language issues - talking out of context and syntax errors - but not enough to the point that he'd be in therapy at school or privately.
Okay then!
We are already doing everything at home with his behavior / chore chart, rewards and consequences that needs to be done. Russell's teacher already makes accommodations for him in class, so the next step is some type of medication to see what results we get from that. She wanted him to see a pediatric cardiologist to make sure his heart is healthy and has no structural abnormalities. He even had an EKG, which was very exciting for a 6 yr old who likes science! Of course, Russ's ticker is in good shape (he has minor benign murmur that he has had since birth), so he was cleared!
We are trying a medication that you sprinkle in applesauce, (no pill swallowing), in the morning and it is an extended release med, so only once per day. Today is our third day on it. He started over the weekend and we noticed a couple of differences, but we aren't supposed to 'judge' it until he's taken it for 2 weeks. And then we go back to Dr. Chason to check in and make any adjustments if needed.
This certainly isn't an easy road to take, but I think I said before, we just have take this journey one day at a time.

Rachel Turns 3

Gone are the days of the 'terrific twos' and now are the days of the 'thrilling threes'!!!! Rachel's birthday was pretty uneventful - no big party this year, just a couple of friends over to help celebrate : ) Adam's mom, Jamie, came for a long weekend visit that coincided with Rachel's birthday, so it was nice that she could be here to celebrate too.

So, I have decided that Rachel is already bummed about getting older. Anytime we sing Happy Birthday to her or someone wishes her a happybirthday, she puts her face in her hands and whines. Get over it, toots, talk to the rest of us when you hit at least 30.

Adam took his mom and Russell deep sea fishing last weekend while Rachel and I farted around the house to get ready for the birthday dinner. They had a blast and caught so many fish, they gave some away. Meanwhile, Rach and I stayed in our jammies until like noon and had a quiet morning.

On Monday, there was no school (Fall Break. Whatever that is) and Jamie and I took the kids to Gulf World Marine Park. It is a smallish local marine park with a dolphin, sea lion, and bird shows with birds and other critters to look at. They did have sharks, so Russ was happy about that. We hadn't ever been and I can't say that we'll go back, but we had a good time.

Okay, a belly update.... We have pretty much settled on a name - shocking! Rowan Andrew Bright. Rowan seems to be growing at a pretty good pace now and so is my chest - yowza. I am at that point where it is getting harder to bend over and pick anything up. He is still most active when I am hungry and his kicks, punches, etc. are much stronger than before. My biggest complaint is leg cramps at night. They hurt and are so sharp, they wake you up; not any fun. It does seem to help when I take the time to stretch at night before bed.

More baby stuff from Jess came this weekend, including a breastpump (what a lifesaver!!). In the boxes were all of Russell's hooded towels from his newborn days. They still looked brand new - how that is possible after being used by 3 children is beyond me : ) Lots of blankets and bibs inthe boxes too. Jamie has decided by the time Rowan is born, we'll only need diapers! What can I say? We have amazing friends and family!!!!

Chan-ya, You Rock!

Before I forget, I wanted to post this funny story about Russell and then I'll get to TJ.

In Atlanta when I was taking Russ to the Dr. for his croup, we were checking in with the nurse and Russ was talking about how he loves sharks. He was saying that sharks are his favorite animal. The nurse was saying, well, aren't sharks a fish? Do you like any animals like dogs and cats? Russ says - oh yeah, I like cats, we have 3 cats. And then, (and remember we are in Atlanta, home to Michael Vick....) Russell says - But I love Dogfights. The nurses eyes pop out of her head and Russ is going on and on about killing the enemy, how dog fights are cool, blah blah blah. I am cracking up because he means 'dogfights' with airplanes like in WWII. So, I explain to the nurse what he means and she starts cracking up b/c obviously this little boy knows nothing about dog fighting with dogs and all that is going on with that!!! I thought it was so funny - of all the places to say you love dogfights, Russ has to say it to some stranger in Atlanta!!! That is one for the books!

Last weekend there was a message on the machine for from Tonja (of Garland and Tahoe fame, for those who need a reminder) saying that she scored baby boy stuff and that we were set. Let me quote the message "I scored like 2 Macy's bags full of boy clothes. You know, the big bags with handles". How I do know and miss the big Macy's bags with handles!!! Ha! Of course, I had to call her back... It turns out that her mother's group in Napa was doing a children's clothing exchange and almost everyone wanted and needed girls clothes, but had tons of boys clothes to trade. So, after asking the participants if she could share the wealth with me, Tonja scored big time!!! As we were catching up on the phone on other things, she was counting and counting. I can't remember the final tally, but the onesie count was near 30 and the sleeper count was near 20 and then there was a lot more that I can't even remember, it was that much. The baby will not be naked!!! Anyway, I just wanted to tell her again, Tonja, you are awesome! And thanks so much for thinking of us and scoring the great clothes. You rock!!!!