little hebert family

new

2009-07-12T10:21:00.003-04:00

Okay, the new blog is officially up and running. Brief explanation on the newest post. Follow/blogroll me over there!

half-birthday boy

2009-07-11T13:58:00.000-04:00

It's 2009 and HELLO, why hasn't someone invented a pause button for life yet?! Today is Grayson's half-birthday. I had planned to write a big fanfare-type post in honor of this special checkpoint in G's life but, as it turns out, I do NOT want to talk about it. But I'll try for just a few minutes...

The good news and the bad news: our little bean is growing up, no doubt. Getting bigger, cuter and more independent every day. Every time I think I couldn't possibly love him any more than I do in that moment, my heart stretches and makes a little more room. (By the way, this is the weirdest thing about motherhood so far. My heart grows and pulls and threatens to burst and just when I think it will, it stretches out to make a little more room for all the love and other silly emotions it still has yet to hold. Cheesy, no?)

Time is flying and I am clinging to his teensy tootsies for dear life. I don't want to accept that he is alrady six months old but, if I had to I would certainly do it with a picture of his bitty baby booty.

P.S. -- Since I have been using this blog a lot for more personal/non-"littlehebertfam" related posts, I am in the process of exporting ALL of these posts and will continue to post new ones on a new "personal" blog... http://chailoveyou.blogspot.com (in honor of my favorite beverage, of course). I'll explain the whole thing over there, if I remember. Blogroll me!

in the blink of an eye

2009-07-10T18:57:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow, my little bean will be six months old. Knowing this makes me feel ridiculously joyful, sad, grateful and wholly blessed in every way. I am on an emotional, nostalgic rollercoaster. It happened, quite literally, in the blink of an eye. One minute I'm seven months pregnant, the next I'm mama to the cutest baby I ever did see and the next after that my little boy is six months old. My little family is a bazillion times more than I should ever ask for. Somebody pinch me.

And, a funny side... all of these changes have actually physically manifested themselves in my eyesight. Pregnancy changed my eyes like... three different times. By the end, I could barely see a street sign across the room. Now, six months later, my far-away sight is actually better than it was this time last year. Which is good because if I'm getting new glasses, there better be a new prescription to make it worth the cost. Last time I got metal frames but metal was not working out with G (you know, since my accessorized life pretty much revolves around the six month old babe I mentioned earlier)... I kept poking him in the face with the edges when I went to kiss him and the joint pinched his delicious little fingers. And plastic just suits me so much more. So back to plastic I go. Goodbye headaches, hello clarity and cuteness. The frames are beautiful, if I do say so myself. Sneak peek:

(Those are lasered polka dots, not rhinestones... although that would be pretty fab. They also come in a spicy red if you're feeling sassy.)

graybaybay productions

2009-07-10T10:35:00.004-04:00

I finally gave in and started a YouTube account/channel for our growing collection of videos. Here are three new videos of our not-so-little-anymore babe for your amusement. Or you can click here to view, subscribe and rate the channel.

Gray's becoming an expert on the bottle-to-mouth skill. He's gotta look after that figure, after all.

He can already multitask and exercise while he eats!

No point to this one... just a happy baby.

Can you believe he will be SIX MONTHS OLD tomorrow?! I'm already having a panic attack.

uncovered

2009-07-09T17:09:00.007-04:00

While organizing my iPhoto library today I uncovered this little gem.

Mostly, I enjoyed being pregnant but there aren't many things I miss about it. But the 7-month belly is one of the few. Sigh.

------

In other news, we went to the vascular surgeon who grafted my carotid artery (yikes, sounds pretty bad when I type it out). Turns out, whoever scheduled that appointment schedule it, um, A MONTH TOO EARLY. So, we got my parents to watch G and trekked to Atlanta for pretty much nothing. Except to hear that I should probably be wearing one of those ~~awesome~~ stockings that helps your leg circulate. I know they're seriously hideous but my leg is having some serious circulation problems when I'm on my feet for more than a few minutes. But my leg should somehow, in the next few months, figure out a new way to get the blood back up to my heart. Anyway, I have to go back at the end of the month, when I meet with my head and neck surgeon, for an ultrasound of the area to make sure the artery/vein graft looks good. I will continue to go back every six months for a while and then eventually once a year. But unless/until the time comes for it to be replaced I will always have to get it checked out to make sure it still looks good and that it's not leaking.

My tongue is getting better. It's still pretty difficult to articulate well and I still have to chew most of my food on the right side of my mouth but the fact that it's improving at all is a good sign.

And, as you can see on my last post, I've been getting to hold G in my lap a little bit. I still can't actually lift him and carry him around because of the strain it puts on my neck which is not good for the graft (the vascular surgeon really seems to want me to wait until I go for that check-up) but holding him in my lap while he was still enough made my heart leap to the moon and back.

finally

2009-07-08T11:33:00.000-04:00

From misc. summer 2009

if you thought my nerd alert couldn't sound any louder...

2009-07-06T19:59:00.000-04:00

I like to blog. I love to read. And now I am about to blog about reading.

My favorite thing so far about summer? (Other than squeezing the cuteness out of Graybaybay.) Reading. Because of stress and burnout during the school year, I think I may have read one book total from August to May (Maybe.) which was a big change from last summer, reading about a book per week, even with last-minute wedding plans. (Speaking of which, ohmygosh, I can't believe we have been married for almost a year. And together/dating for almost seven. Crazytown.) This summer I was a little slow to get back into reading but once G started taking these insanely long afternoon naps I realized I had a lot of time on my hands to either A) clean bottles or B) read.

A few weeks ago I started light with Twilight. (I saw the movie first and won't even pretend that I didn't love it.) Twilight was okay. I mean I liked it and wanted to read the sequel but I wasn't obsessed. Until I saw the "New Moon" movie preview on the MTV Movie Awards (why were we watching that?). Definitely didn't see the wolfpack coming. So I get all jazzed about it and immediately start reading New Moon. Flew through that one in about two days of naptime. Devoured Eclipse pretty quickly, too, but did my best to stretch out Breaking Dawn. It was like craving ChickfilA Ice Dreams when I was pregnant -- I just couldn't help myself. I'm not sure what it is that draws people in to this saga. At first, I was a little put off with the love story because it seemed to be too "perfect" and quick to grow but really, it's like this impossible love between these people that they can't push away, their physical pull is just too much to keep them away I guess?? Edward... love him but I hate that girls/women love him for his "perfection." Totally not perfect at all. He's such a tortured soul that it's actually annoying at some points.

Anyway... all that to say I'm finally getting back into my reading groove and I love it. This week on Momversation, some of the panelists were talking about their favorite books and books that changed their lives. Here are some of mine:

1. My first favorite novel was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In sixth grade, we had to read for a book program and you could receive a maximum amount of points per book if you took the quiz for it on the computer. I chose this one because it was worth 27 points, which would more than fulfill the rest of my reading point requirements for the term. But what I got was a great story, great writing and the first book that I really actually loved.

2. If anyone ever asks me for a book recommendation, I almost always ask first if they have read The Kite Runner. There isn't much I can say to do this book justice, you just have to read it for yourself. It is a potential life-changer. His writing is amazing, the story is simultaneously heart-wrenching and hopeful.

3. And, of course, the series that changed the way I look at reading forever... Harry Potter. This series is sort of my baseline for good reading material. I was actually really sad when I finished the last book. I am always looking for a series to fill the void which brings me to...

4. His Dark Materials trilogy. I am a Christian and I still LOVED this series. (There was all of that ridiculous controversy over his atheist views when The Golden Compass movie came out. I have an opinion on that but I'll keep it to myself.) The Subtle Knife might be one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. If you love Harry Potter, you will at least like this series, it's great!

What are your favorites? Anything I should add to my book pile?

(One of my favorite things about reading again? Goodreads. If you're on it, find me! If you're not on goodreads yet, do it and let's talk books!)

do i get street cred for this?

2009-07-03T21:20:00.004-04:00

I got a request to see the slasher incision-will-be-scar. Didn't think of this as blog material before but really, I guess I would be interested in seeing the scar if I'd been keeping up with this whole "surgery" scam on my blog for so long. (I did a little investigating and discovered that "carotid body tumor" is actually code for "demons" and "surgery" adds up to "beat those demons out with a steel baseball bat... no wait, make that a pair of steel Paris Hilton-like stilettos."). For those with weak stomachs, I will give you some scroll time to find your way to the exit.

See? The hospital wasn't all bad, they gave us a room with a view. A nice view, even. :)

Another view.

Okay, are you ready?

About 24 hours after surgery.

This afternoon. Lookin' pretty tame in this photo. Unfortunately, the bite is much, much worse than the bark.

The incision on my leg is about six inches long. Gag. This has actually been the worst of my pain today. They had to go pretty deep to get to the femoral vein so I'm expecting to really feel this one for a while.

So, do you think I'll get some street cred with my students for this?

Oh, and if I haven't ever mentioned this before, my parents are ah-mazing. They brought us a recliner for me to inhabit for the next couple of weeks. Sleeping last night was a pain, even with the million pillows we spent 30 minutes strategically placing behind my back, neck and head. I was seriously missing that hospital bed last night. So, leave it to my parents to just up and bring us a brand new recliner. Hoping for a more peacful, less stiff night's rest. Best. Parents. Ever.

And don't even get me started on Paul's mom, she has been a Godsend with Grayson. He had his first fever the day I was in surgery and she took him to the pediatrician. (Just teething, thank goodness.) I think tonight is the last night he will spend over there and he will be here tomorrow night. Paul's mom brought him over yesterday for a few hours and Emma brought him today -- it's pretty tough to watch him be all cute and cuddly and not even be able to hold him. I would have been able to hold him (on my lap, but absolutely no lifting) but because of my leg I can't for a couple of weeks. And because of my tongue/speech thing I can't even talk to him normally. So. Frustrating. Hopefully today was the worst of it and I'll be on a steady uphill climb soon. My first short-term checkpoint? Regular showers.

home

2009-07-03T14:15:00.003-04:00

We're home. :) Actually, we got here yesterday but it was just one big blur of pain, sleep and trying to eat. Hospitals are definitely not conducive to rest and healing like you'd expect them to be but I will give them kudos for pain management. Pain management at home is not so easy. On the way home, we dropped off my prescription, Paul brought me here and then went back to pick it up because my dose from the hospital was pretty much out. It probably only took him 15 minutes to get there and back but it felt like five hours and once I took it, it took about an hour for it to do any good at all. A problem with pain meds at home: nausea. Because of this crazy frustrating tongue/speech problem I'm having, it's been hard to eat much. So, basically we've been crushing up the pain pills in some apple juice (hard to swallow the pills alone) and sometimes I take a benadryl shortly after that. Today's been better though. I successfully ate a few spoonfuls of oatmeal for breakfast and I just finished a full serving of applesauce and some chicken. It's easier with the little "techniques" the speech language pathologist gave me.

The tongue/speech thing feels a little better today. I've been able to eat and swallow a little better but talking is a lot harder (mostly because of my voice though) which is just really frustrating. Since it is a little bit better today, I'm hopeful that the nerve wasn't actually clipped and that it's "healing" from being stretched out. Time will tell, I guess.

I don't think I mentioned any of the details yesterday... when I was in recovery, here are some of the things the nurses were saying, either to each other or to me: "... tachycardia... yep, it's a little 'tachy'," "honey, they had to cut off the blood supply to your brain," "...attached to the carotid... got a piece from your leg..." That's really all I remember, other than my leg hurting and my right hand hurting from the new (and humongous, by the way) IV they put in while I was asleep. Apparently this was the first time my surgeon had ever seen this happen with this kind of tumor (fused with the wall of the artery, I mean) so it's "interesting."

I go back on the 8th to the vascular surgeon so (I think) they can do an ultrasound of the area and make sure the vessels are healing properly. And then I'll go back to my surgeon at the end of the month for a general check-in.

Haven't really felt like being on the computer much so posting will probably be down unless that changes. Maybe I'll finish answering some of those questions from you guys (you can still ask if you think of a new one).

Until then, I see a lot of reading and Netflix in my future.

my fair lady

2009-07-02T10:23:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm sitting in a room-with-a-view at Emory right now, waiting to be discharged. Originally, we thought we would be staying at least until tomorrow, maybe even Saturday. But my surgeon is very "aggressive" with getting people out of the hospital because "healthy people get sick in hospitals." And even though I'm still in some pain and feel like total crapola, I cannot wait to be in my own home. Here's a rundown of the last few days' events...

Tuesday morning we checked in again at 5:30am. Got called back for pre-op and then waited... and waited..... and waited until they finally called me down for my angiogram embolization. Got a little Versed before I went down but as soon as we got to the OR I did not feel relaxed or "dissociated" from the situation at all. But I didn't want to go under anesthesia because of the risk and also because I really kinda wanted to watch on the screen if I could. So I stayed awake, the worst part was numbing my groin (that's where they went in) and it was really just like pressure. I could see the monitor most of the time. Pretty cool stuff. Long story short: there was nothing to embolize. All of the arteries were really just to small (this was a good thing, really). So that was that.

Stayed here Tuesday night, talked to my surgeon about things like the vascular surgeon that would be on standby if they might need to graft my carotid..... you know, just in case. Got taken down to pre-op at about 7am, gave me something to "take the edge off" and that is all I remember. Woke up in recovery with a shooting pain in my leg and a pretty sore throat. Let me just say, I've never been more grateful for the "just in case" scenario. Again, I'll make the long story short: the tumor was pretty "stuck" to the wall of my External Carotid Artery (goes to the face) but came off pretty easily from the Internal (supplies blood to the brain so this is pretty darn good). But... in order to get the tumor out, they had to basically cut out a chunk of my ECA and part of the split with the ICA. They tied off the ECA (this is not something I will ever notice) and then took part of the femoral vein in my left thigh to piece between the common carotid and internal common carotid. (You know, blood supply to the brain is pretty important.) So... yea. The surgery took about five hours with all of that crazyness.

But the most frustrating part of this whole thing for me right now is that I have lost some function in my tongue. It's a possibility that the nerve got clipped in the process when the vascular surgeon was doing his thing but most likely it is just taking some time to recover from being stretched out. This makes it really hard to talk normally and even swallow water and eat food. I can do it but it just takes a lot of effort. And then add to that the scratchyness from the tube that kept me breathing and... it's not a pretty picture for my throat right now, inside or out. SO... my surgeon paired me up with a Speech Language Pathologist to help me work on some exercises for speaking and swallowing and then to also kind of prescribe a diet that will be easy for me to work with. She wants me to work on overarticulating and I couldn't help but sympathize with Eliza Doolittle.

I'm certainly not the picture of a fair lady right now but I am SO GLAD to go home.

escape artist

2009-06-28T21:24:00.000-04:00

student of teaching: practicing patience

2009-06-25T15:00:00.000-04:00

School is out and I've been thinking about the past year -- saw a lot, did a lot, learned a lot... and while I would like to be able to summarize my experience in one short (or very long) post, it's taking me a while to process.

Last Spring, I took an education course on diversity with a very interesting professor. One of our books (written by my professor) Becoming a Student of Teaching has frequently entered my mind throughout this first year of teaching that I just wrapped up. Or maybe I should just say that the title of the book is what I've been thinking about. My first year as a teacher was filled with countless ups and downs. Unfortunately, there were fewer peaks than valleys. But positively, in a lot of ways, those low points put me back in the "classroom" on an almost-daily basis. Professionally, a lot was thrown my way this year, I had gaps to fill, lessons to learn, other lessons to earn (more on that in a future post) and I am, no doubt, going to be a "student of teaching" for a long time to come if the classroom is where I stay. So... in celebration of making it out of my first year alive I'm allowing myself to process all of these mini-lessons and compile them into several little "jewels of wisdom," if you will, that will make up this series, "student of teaching" (using that phrase in honor of my diversity professor, of course). None of these are revelations... thousands of people have learned these lessons before me, I am sure. But that doesn't in any way downplay the major effect they've had on my professional (and sometimes personal) life.

Without a doubt my hardest lesson earned and perhaps the longest lesson to learn was... patience. Just...... patience. Or, really, practicing patience. How many times have I heard that "Patience is a virtue." Or believed that it was just something characteristic to someone's personality? A trait to be inherited. I never really thought much about it being a practice instead. Of course there were all those church lessons and devotions over the years given completely to learning patience but all of that never could have prepared me for the kind of patience I would need last school year. The patience I needed, and that I gained a little of, was not something I could inherit or learn about in a youth devotional. It took practice.

If any of you do (or have ever) practice yoga or pilates, then you know what I'm talking about. Yea, you can use yoga every now and then to break up your workout routine or flex those little-used muscles, but unless you stick with it and turn it into a practice, it does you little good over the long-term. It's effects aren't meant to be strictly physical; its benefits go a little deeper than that. Just like patience isn't meant to strictly get you through the day; its purpose is greater than that. Initially, I used calming "techniques" (or a shallow version of patience) to simply get me through the day and when the day was over it was total meltdown and frustration.

Next day... wake-up, get ready, brace myself for what was coming, go through the motions, get through the day, sigh and silently fume on the way home, dinner, wind down, sleep, and repeat. It was like a beginner's sun salutation over... and over....... and over again. No substance or rooted strength; just doing it and scraping by. I was feeling the burnout and finally just surrendered myself to patience. It was the only other option (well... the only other options besides melting down publicly or becoming a hateful, unhappy person most of the time). And, just like yoga, it took practice. I was sore at first, too stubborn to really let it take me through, but it didn't take long to reap the benefits.

Before I started teaching, patience was not one of my virtues. I don't think I actually believe it is a virtue at all anymore. A practice? Yea, I think so.

taking the plunge

2009-06-24T19:30:00.000-04:00

Standard warning: This post is allll baby crazyness. Feel free to move on. And come back from vacay, gal pals, so I can have some adult interaction and not blog about diapers. Thanks.

A few weeks ago, I took the plunge to cloth diapering (well, mostly, I am "hybrid" cloth diapering if you want to be specific) for a few reasons:
1. We're trying to save money.
2. For whatever reason, I have become hyper-aware and irrationally afraid of the chlorine in disposable diapers. (Think about it... that's a LOT of chlorine on your baby's cute little toosh.)
3. I still don't have both feet on board the Global Warming Express but after five months of throwing out the Diaper Genie's sausage link bags of soiled disposable diapers and knowing how long they take to break down... I feel just a little bit guilty from time to time. Not always but there are times.
4. I cannot deny this as a small piece of my silly reasoning: they just make baby booties look so dang CUTE! Help me.

So... after I waited for those five hours at the hospital for my embolization, only to be sent home, Paul and I had the rest of the day wide open so what did we do? Well, he went to the golf store while I went on my mission at Babies R Us (Two random things we do not have in the "Classic City"... O'Charley's and a Babies R Us.). How adult of us. I toyed with the idea of "hybrid" cloth diapering for a while. (There is just not way I could ever go straight to cloth because I've been spoiled by disposables for the last five + months.) So in my research I landed on gDiapers, a hyrbid cloth diapering "system." (Why do they call them "systems?" Is that supposed to sound more interesting like it's an XBOX or something? Baby terminology baffles me. But, obviously by this post, I fall prey to it in some areas of my life. I need a life.) Anyway... these little diapers are basically a cloth cover and snap-in liner BUT they also make disposable inserts. Which would defeat the whole purpose of this little "system" in the first place except that they are flushable, compost-able and they decompose much faster than regular disposable. So you've basically got three options (flush, compost, dispose) but either way, they break down much faster, they're chlorine-free and they're still almost as quick and easy as disposables once you get the fit down.

I don't flush anymore. One too-full diaper and I was literally taking the plunge. (Not to mention our guest/G toilet is the spawn.) No casualties to speak of but it could've been a close one. If I use the disposable gDiaper liners, I just dipose of them as normal to let them break down naturally. But, the best part cloth-wise is that the little g covers hold your regular ole cloth panel. Which is great for the wet diapers, easy to wash in its own load. For the poop? Ohmygoshhelpme I will never ever EVER use cloth again if Gray is even maybe going to be pushing one out. Never been so grossed out, I don't know how people do it. I still use regular disposables for that and for when we go out... they are just easier to tote around and no clean-up necessary. And G goes much longer without a diaper change (because I guess they breathe a little better and keep the moisture away from his skin which = no diaper rash = a happy Graybaybay) so I'm already noticing a huge decrease in diaper waste. Win.

But really... how cute is his bum?

They come in a lot of bright colors which is fun. You know, if you consider colored diaper covers to be "fun."

And just for cuteness... my little guy snoozing. My heart could just explode.

bit by bit

2009-06-23T19:18:00.002-04:00

Rediscovered this with G from one of my very favorite stories when I was a child:

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

2009-06-23T11:04:00.005-04:00

Please pray for my friends, the Blonshines. Specifically, for Erin. She is starting her second battle against leukemia. Some rough chemo with the goal of quick remission and then hopefully a bone marrow transplant to follow. This is such an incredible girl and a very special family; an overwhelming example of what it means to put your faith in action. Huge inspiration.

You can follow all of the details on Erin's progress here or click on the "Blonshines" link in my blogroll.

people i love: happy father's day!

2009-06-21T07:44:00.000-04:00

From g baby

From is it really march already?

From g baby

Happy Father's Day!

teething is so 2008

2009-06-20T18:48:00.003-04:00

Gray is lucky right now for two reasons:
1. He is ridiculously cute.
2. Saintly people somewhere in baby land make "teething toys" that are not liquid-filled "teething rings."

If it were not for these two things, Gray would be screaming in teethie horridness in our coat closet while I rip my hair out and throw all of our breakables out the living room window.

There is just no other way to say it: teething bites. I'm over it. New trend, please.

Most teething toys/rings I've seen are made of hard plastic or filled with liquid so that you can throw them in the fridge and, minutes later, somehow attach them to your baby's gums in hope of a few fuss-free minutes. It's a good idea, and I'm assuming that most parents find this to be a successful teething strategy, but so far this just doesn't fly with G. He plays with the teething ring(s) for a little while in his hands which is great for distraction but that's about it. He's not a fan of the cold-plastic-in-mouth thing yet. Maybe soon, I'm still holding on.

Enter the RaZberry.

If I were a G Baby, I would love it for (at least) these few reasons:
1. It's like a pacifier.
2. Silicone is softer than plastic and, other than flesh, that's what he's used to.
3. Real raspberries are delicious and, not to mention, super cute.
4. Little Mr. Independent can hold it himself.

But since I'm not G Baby, I love it for these reasons:
1. It's cheap.
2. It's cuter than the average teething ring. (How shallow of me, I know.)
3. It's made of one piece of silicone so no worries about detached parts becoming a choking hazard. (These are my thoughts now? Hm.)
4. G can hold it, play with it, throw it on the floor and (most importantly, obvi) put-in-mouth all by himself.
5. It stops the fussing! (Which makes me think, Who cares if it's cute?)

Seriously, this thing is the bomb.com. Which is why I have two. And want to buy stock and 8 bazillion more.

G-approved.

(If you have a weird aversion to raspberries, the Born Free silicone teether (which we affectionately refer to as "the chew bone" around here) is pretty good too. But at more cost and with less cuteness.)

EDIT:: Did I ever update my faithful readers on the rescheduled surgery dates? Not sure if I did... I guess I could look through old entries but I am way too lazy for all of that business right now.

a look into daddy daycare

2009-06-20T10:25:00.006-04:00

I found these on Paul's computer. Maybe this is what "getting krunk" in daddy daycare means when I'm gone...

This one is my favorite

people i love: happy birthday, katie!

2009-06-17T13:12:00.001-04:00

Today is Katie's birthday! Here is an ode, in some of my favorite pictures, to my partner in crime/betch/bffl/and maid of honor.

We met and became friends through our d-group at Wesley during our freshman year at Auburn. Here we all are with Becca, our leader, at her bridal shower in Birmingham.

Junior year, we went to NYC for Spring Break and went on the Sex and the City tour (highly recommended, by the way... even if you don't like SATC it is a great tour of the city). Here we are on Carrie's stoop. This was one of the best trips ever. Katie was the angel from above who introduced me to the fabulous insanity that is SATC.

We got super cheap raffle tickets to see Wicked. Amazing show. (Also her idea. She'd seen it the year before in NYC and would not stop raving until I finally saw it with my own eyes.)

There are many reasons for Katie to think I am crazy, but this could be in the top 10 (maybe 20). All summer I'd been wanting to go to this little bar that I loved and had told Katie time and time again that it was awesome, low-key, great wine and dessert blah blah blah. So, finally we go and, of course, there was some sort of gay pride acoustic concert going on. (Before you are offended by me, I have no problem with people living a homosexual lifestyle. But we were living in a deep south college town so it was maybe just a tiiiiny bit odd to see it there, of all places.) It was the two of us girls, just looking for a relaxed wine-and-dessert kind of evening, in a room full of in-your-face gay women (and I mean in. your. face.) and I'm pretty sure it ruined any chance that Katie would ever go back with me again haha. But she is good about humoring my whims.

Here we are at our favorite little hang-out, our last semester in Auburn. Some of my favorite college times. These pictures make me miss my long(er) hair.

One of the many reasons I love this galpal? She actually encouraged this behavior and let me think I could win the best costume prize. She even used her fashion merchandising skillz to help me make the poncho. So selfless, she is.

Two words: GRAVE RAVE.

This picture almost makes me ache with nostalgia. At the Iron Bowl, 2007 (the last game of our college careers, wah).

And, the source of most of my nostalgia lately... our wedding weekend...

At the luncheon

Katie with Paul and I at the rehearsal

If you think that you had the best Maid of Honor at your wedding, YOU WOULD BE WRONG. Katie seriously bent over backwards for me on my wedding day. I mean... she was practically part of Cirque du Soleil. I did not have to worry about a single thing all day, she took care of everything. I will pretty much forever be grateful for that because I was in a glass case of emotion that day (and I am not of the emo kind).

Happy Birthday, Katie! Love you!

(please don't hurt me)

everyday things that freak me out, part 2

2009-06-17T11:00:00.001-04:00

I've been a slack blogger, forgive me. If you want to play the blame game, put your bets on Stephenie Meyer. The last three books in her Twilight series have been keeping an unbreakable hold on my free time lately. I bet there are entire blogs dedicated to their awesomeness.

6. The women from "The View." Help me. Is anyone NOT freaked out (even a little) by this bunch?

7. Leaving the house without pants on. My first thought is, "Who would do that?" but it frightens me no less.

8. Sauce. Barf. Don't even get me started on how many pieces of great sushi are ruined by sticky, questionable sauce. It doesn't even sound delicious .

9. Mayonnaise. The taste. The texture (barforrific). The way that, no matter how clean a sandwich-er you are, its greasy film always manages to coat the outside of the jar. Even typing this makes me want to scream. Maybe I have told this before but I will never ever EVER forget the one time my old roommate, K, dipped a knife in a jar of mayo and licked it right in front of me (she, very unlike me, loves mayonnaise). I may also never recover from the time I was making Paul a sandwich (or probably three, knowing his appetite) and a gelatinous glob of mayo landed on the top of my left foot. I don't care who you are, that stuff is freaky.

10. Spiders. When I see a spider in the house at 9am sometimes I have trouble sleeping at night, fearing there might be more hiding in the bed sheets. I don't even want to admit how many times I woke up the night after Paul found a black widow in our yard. Irrational, I know.

11. Oprah. Or should I say, "OhhhhPPPRUUUHHHHHHHH!" One of the most dangerously powerful women in the world. There are too many reasons I could give on this one. Now keep in mind, I didn't say that I hate her show. Though I don't like it most of the time, every now and then there is a little jewel of an afternoon hour that I can spend with her show and actually enjoy it.

You may think I'm being a little Negative Nancy harping on all of these everyday things that I loathe but never fear, my favorite and most beloved every day things are coming soon... you know, once I am no longer prey to the fictional world of Edward Cullen. ;) (I really should stop using emoticons but I just can't help myself.)

Celebration post coming soon!

------------------------------------

And before I forget, congratulations are in order for the Scobeys! Their sweet baby girl finally decided to make her grand debut! Congratulations, Scobey fam!

questions, part 2 - guilt

2009-06-14T22:00:00.002-04:00

What is your least favorite thing about being a mom? Easy. I'm sure there is a better word for it but it is more or less guilt and I really think that all new moms experience it at some point. Sometimes I just feel like I can never do enough or that what I am doing is not the right thing. At night or on long drives in the car, it's hard not to wonder if maybe I could have done more or made a better choice. When I get some rare time to myself it's wonderful but in the back of my mind I almost feel guilty that I even want to get away in the first place. That guilt was really tough to get over during those first few weeks. But I just had to realize that I'm always going to make the choices that I honestly believe are the best for my family and that wanting time to myself doesn't mean I don't want to be with them. And I won't even start on the guilt of being a new working mom. That new mama guilt is hands down my least favorite thing about being a parent.

And, if you want to know my favorite... there is just nothing sweeter and more rewarding than G curled up like a little bean and sleeping on my chest and lightly breathing on my face. He's definitely not bean-sized anymore (well... I don't know that he was ever that small) and I already miss it so much. Bitty bean-sized baby's breath is the best. That and his quirky little toothless smile.

everyday things that freak me out

2009-06-13T11:11:00.003-04:00

In no particular order.

1. Aluminum foil. In the past, aluminum foil was my best kitchen friend. I might have even loved that shiny silver wrap if for no other reason than for the sound it makes when you crinkle it around the edges of your leftovers dish. That was until I sliced my finger on its conveniently serated metal edge. Burned like the dickens and for the next two days at work (in my coffee shop days, before I was government hired help), I had to explain the Hello Kitty bandaid covering my right index fingertip. "Ohhh, you know, I just had a little run-in with my foil box. No big." And over the the past two months, idiota that I am, I've occasionally been reading a message board about homemade baby food and the Crazies are all, "If you use aluminum foil to cover the cube tray your baby is going to die!!!! The shards, the shards!!!"

2. Beef salesmen. Maybe this isn't an everyday thing for you guys but I can count at three times over the last few months since G was born (so technically, this is not an everyday thing for me either but that is not the point) that a meat salesman has come to my door. They stopped by again yesterday. Who sells steak door-to-door?! And if it's been sitting in the back of your pick-up truck all afternoon, tell me again how that's sanitary? This is enough for me to become one of those people with the "No Soliciting" sign by the doorbell.

3. Jarred baby food. What I'm really talking about here is tapioca pudding. Who in the world thought it would be a good idea to make TAPIOCA pudding... and then shove it into a jar and sell it? And why on earth, when I was 10 years old, did I get the curiosity to try baby food and then proceed to CHOOSE tapioca pudding?? I am ruined for life. Thank God for homemade baby food and the Beaba Babycook. And for crazy mom forums that remind you that aluminum foil kills.

4. Styrofoam. What IS that stuff?

5. Athlete's Foot. I've never had this, thank goodness, but I will never forget the time in the third grade when I went to Rock Eagle with my Girl Scout troop and our leader reminded us at least a dozen times to wear our Adidas sandles in the shower so we wouldn't get it. That bathroom was pretty rank so I was thankful for her warning.

...to be continued.

you can call me olga

2009-06-12T15:24:00.004-04:00

Lately, something strange has been going on in my sleep. Or maybe I just haven't been sleeping well (I do know this much). Whatever the cause, my dreams have arrived at a new level of weird this week. It is normal for me to have dreams that leave me feeling a little cuckoo and I could probably make an entire blog series out of them. Really, they are that weird. But, for now, I will leave you with one that left me feeling particularly unbalanced this morning.

This is a repetitive dream for me. Kind of like the cliche "falling" dream. It is always the same dream in the beginning but about halfway through something changes and takes it in a different direction. For a long time, it was sort of like Bella's dream in New Moon (don't you want to punch me in the face for making this reference?) in the way that it is mostly predictable to a point and it always leaves me feeling confused when I wake. But now, it is totally taking on a life of its own and rocking my midnight world. Seriously, can't even make this stuff up.

How it starts, every time*: I am some sort of mysterious Russian spy. No one tells me this or ceremoniously dubs me worth of carrying out spy activities. I just know that my name is Olga, I am a spy and that I am carrying classified ticking-time-bomb kind of information (Usually in an ordinary envelope but sometimes in my vintage Hummel music box.). I am in the middle of a pasta wilderness and, in order to get to wherever I'm going, I have to navigate my way through chutes made of hollow pasta. Sometimes it takes many chutes, steps and ladders to get to the end, where I typically end up in a bowl of noodles, swimming and struggling my way to the edge. And at this point, the variation begins.

Last night, I started out in usual spy-envelope-macaroni-slide style but at the end of the slide, instead of landing in a pit of linguine, I land gracefully in the middle of a Manhattan Starbucks. I am dressed like a less crazy version of Mary Kate Olsen, circa 2006 (I think this came from watching the third season of Weeds). Louboutin heels, big ugly sunglasses on the table, hair all a mess and some coffee deliciousness on the table in front of me. I am trying to be cool and discreet until Lil Bow Wow walks in (to get the story behind me and LBW, you're gonna have to ask Brittany. I am too ashamed to tell it here). Luckily, I brought my camera along so I snap a Myspace-style picture with Bow Wow and get back to spy business. However, UNluckily, this grabs the attention of The Donald who is sitting two tables down, next to the window. He approaches me and says, "I know," then spins on his heel and leaves the building. I put on my ginormous sunglasses, walk outside, snap my fingers to cue the rain (apparently I can make it rain?), and follow him all the way to Tiffany & Co. It is there that I lose him but remember that I have to pick up my telepathic earpiece on the seventeenth floor (is there even a seventeenth floor at Tiffany's?... I'm pretty sure there isn't). I hop on the elevator and the little elevator-butler-guy (who just so happens to be Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka) winks, takes the envelope and hits the "Kraft Mac N Cheese" button. We shoot through the roof and I am furious because we missed the second floor. I say something in Russian and he tells me to "QUIT MUMBLING! MUMBLER!" and at that moment the elevator becomes Skybar in Auburn, AL and we are dancing to 17th floor (this was like a rap/hip hop cover band that used to come to Auburn a lot, especially during football season). I go to use the restroom and when I walk back out, I am in the Manhattan Starbucks again.

Whew. Anyone into dream interpretation? Do you have a repetitive dream like this? What is the craziest thing to ever happen in your dreamland?

*Except for the one time I started out in a McDonald's playplace and had to find the informational time-bomb in the ballpit.

five months

2009-06-12T11:34:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, G celebrated his five month birthday! Okay, so we didn't actually do anything for it but I like to do the little blog celebration anyway. :) This is by far my favorite stage of babyness right now. He's still cuddly but growing much more independent and is so freakin happy (almost) all the time, I love it. I haven't done too much G-blogging lately so here are a few of my favorite Fun G Things right now...

Giggling
Shrieking
LOTS of babbling
Raspberries
Reaching for me/Paul from his bouncer
Fewer feedings (yes, this is a Fun Thing in my book)
Rice cereal (he looooves this whole eat-like-a-real-person thing)
Pumping his legs
Putting everything in his mouth
His neck is mostly visible now!
Chunky baby thighs... those rolls are to die for
Even better... his cankle rolls. Perfect for nibbling
Thumb sucker... I love this, it's too cute.
Napping... he's becoming a better napper for sure
He loves to grab our faces, pull my hair, chew on our noses...
Teething... I hate the fussy part, but it's fun that pretty soon we can expect some little toofies to break through!
Still loves to "stand"
Sticking his tongue out
Chewin on his little piggies
Sitting up mostly on his own

I've noticed a few people documenting other things about baby stages/sizes/more technical crazyness so, if for nothing else than reference when we go down this road with baby #2, I think I might start doing a little monthly check-in. Even though all babies are a little different, maybe it will help someone else out?? (This is really more for me and could be terribly boring, don't say I didn't warn you.)

Clothes -- mostly still in 3-6M but some 9M. 6-12/9-12M are all still too big. (Janie and Jack is the only brand so far that has been completely non-parallel to his sizes... he can still wear a lot of their 0-3M. Which is great because their boy clothes are presh.)

Diapers -- size 3's in both Pampers and Huggies. Medium in gDiapers (more on this later, maybe tonight) and we can use just a basic cloth prefold with the medium gD's.

Developmental milestones -- these are things I have not put a whole lot of stock in just yet. During those first few weeks couped up at home, I read a little here and there but pretty quickly put the books down. My overall feeling on this is pretty consistent with (I think it was them) the Sears'... developmentally, it is more about just progressing and not so much about the actual timing. But I do think that it's important to check in on them from time to time. At the last well check-up, we filled out a research-based questionnaire about his physical and social/emotional developments and he was perfect on all of those which was reassuring.
Feeding -- G eats about 5-6 times per day, depending on whether or not he wakes in the middle of the night. Either 4 bottles plus one feeding of rice cereal and water or 5-6 6-8oz. bottles. Sometimes he goes beyond four hours between each one.
Holding the bottle -- He is loving trying to hold the bottle on his own and actually does pretty well with it most of the time. Last night, on the way home from my parents', he held his bottle for most of the feeding and I had my own little party in the backseat of the car. How wonderful it will be when he does it on his own all the time!
Sitting -- I guess this is a developmental milestone? He is becoming such a big sitter. I can't wait until he can sit up all on his own so we can play on the floor without me supporting him.

Okay, I will stop with the Blah now. Coming soon (maybe tonight, maybe this weekend... next week??)... practicing patience, more crafting, and taking the plunge to hybrid cloth diapering. Man, this blog is just soooo interesting, huh? Ha.

the longer version

2009-06-09T20:07:00.004-04:00

Today, on Facebook (hello, social media addiction), I gave the short version: no embolization today and no surgery tomorrow.

Here is the longer version... this morning, we woke up at the ungodly hour of 3:30am, got dressed, didn't hurry out the door at about 4:15ish. Got to Emory at about 5:30 (right on time, go us) and proceeded to wait. Didn't actually wait too long before they called me back to pre-op. Changed into the nasty gown and super comfy socks (seriously... their hospital socks are the bomb.com), put that goofy hair net on and... "Actually, they're not ready for you." I thought maybe, "Oh, they're just running a little behind, I mean it IS pretty early, even for surgeons." No... like, they actually weren't even going to be ready for me for a while. I had two choices: change back into my clothes and sit in a stiff waiting room chair or go to an empty post-op room with a TV and take a little nap. Hmmm, tough choice but I'll take number two for 500. We were in there for about... an hour and a half/close to two hours.

8:30ish rolls around... "Okay, they're calling for you... ready?" Pshh yea, let's get this show on the road. I answer the same questions again... State your name, What's your date of birth?, What are you here for?, Allergies?, Blah?, Blah blah? (I know it's necessary but those questions get seriously old. Just imagine how old they must get for the people who have to ask them.) Paul goes to the restroom, I'm about to get an IV started and one of the nurses is all, "Oh, yeaaaaa, actually they're NOT ready for you." At this point, I just knew something was up (at some point earlier in the morning I heard "emergency" a few times so that was a hint) and that, most likely, this embolization was just not gonna happen today.

So... we go back to the post-op room again... Paul goes for a little breakfast and to see my parents in the waiting area and a few minutes later he walks back in with the radiologist who starts with "I have some explaining to do." And then he explained about the five (yes, FIVE) people who came in last night/this morning with brain hemorrhaging. Obviously, an emergency of large proportions. Needless to say, with some of the remodeling they are going through, there would be no obtaining an OR for my procedure. Maybe just a little irritating that it took five hours to learn this but hey... five people somewhere in that hospital were bleeding... IN THEIR BRAIN. If I, or someone I love, were one of those people, I'm pretty sure I'd want them clearing the OR schedule too.

And so now we are just waiting to reschedule, hopefully ASAP. But, in the meantime, Paul and I are catching up on Weeds, Season 3. :)

Questions, part 1

2009-06-08T21:17:00.009-04:00

My youngest sister-in-law, Emma, left with G a little while ago and I was already crying before she even pulled out of the driveway. It's going to be at least four to five days before I even get to see him and probably another week beyond that before I will hold him. Today, G and I went to Target for a few last minute hospital things and I got a little weepy, so I hoped that was me "getting it out of my system." Apparently not. So, now I am blogging to keep my mind busy. And, boy, I've got my work cut out for me because some of the questions I've gotten on comments, texts and email are pretty heavy stuff. Definitely might take me a few days to process a couple of them. But, in the meantime, I'll get to the first installment. If you come up with more questions to keep my soon-to-be-idle hands busy, you can always leave them in the comments, text, Twitter, email, Facebook... you know, any and all forms of social media that totally captivate my internet life. :) Round one, here we go...

1) Can you post pictures of your tattoos, or are they in un-postable spots? How long did it take you to decide what you wanted and where you wanted them? I can "soytanly" post some pictures. None of them are in inappropriate places. I thought about all of them for (probably) a year or so? The first, I had no part in designing, the second (though simple) was my own and the third I needed help to finalize. The decision on where to get them is always easy... I go by what I call the Wedding Dress Rule. If you can see it when I'm in my wedding dress, it is inappropriately placed. Really, if you can see a tattoo when I'm wearing any dress, it is too much. I love tattoos but when I am with a person, or presenting myself to someone professionally, I want their focus to be on me, not on my tattoo. And I just realized it's pretty hard to take a picture of a specific place on your own body so the quality of the first one is pretty horrid but you'll get the idea.

This little dove is on my hip. She's pretty small (probably a little less than 2" x 2") and I did absolutely no designing on this one. I really didn't have to because it was almost exactly as I wanted. My only request was that there be no olive branch.

My second, I don't have a picture, is a celtic cross on my back (also very small). Like birds, I am always fascinated by celtic crosses... no rhyme or reason, I just love them. This one I took to a guy with exactly what I wanted and he drew it up for me and while intricate crosses are beautiful, for gaudyness' sake I wanted to keep this one simple.

And my third, prettiest and largest (about 5-6" width and length), is an old sailor-style swallow on my back right "love handle" area. (This would be the one that surprises people the most and the one that, if she had her way, my mom would force me to remove. She hates tattoos, even if she never even sees them.) On this one I needed help with the design as I am not quite the gifted artiste. Traditionally, this style of swallow has three colors -- deep red, green and yellow (and you'll also see a lot of blue substituting for the green). But I am a lover of brighter, more upbeat coloring and happy detailing. I think I went two or three different times before we got the final image. I was going to go with a traditional three colors -- minty green, brassy yellow and bright red -- but I really wanted to throw the purple in for some contrast with the mint green. My favorite. (This picture was taken the day it was done so the colors pop a little more than they do now.)

(by Lance at Sacred Heart II here in Athens)

2) What are your favorite and least favorite things about teaching? Wow, this is a tough one. I actually have a post scheduled to go up later (next week) about one of the many things I've learned over the past year (my first year teaching). I'm just starting a whole new "series" about this called Student of Teaching (or What Teaching Taught Me), which I'll explain in that post. But, if I'm keeping it short (ha, riiight)...

One of my favorite things, but maybe the biggest growing pain of all, is patience. Before I started teaching, I maybe would have used "patient" to describe myself. And, if you had asked me to describe myself again in August of last year, that word would not have even made the list. Teaching is easy. Yep, you heard me right... teaching is the easy part and requires very little to no patience at all. But teaching a student how to learn is a different story completely. And getting them to actually enjoy the process? Now THAT takes patience. Took patience. And is still teaching me patience. I know I've got a long way to go before I perfect the art of patience but I've skipped across a thousand oceans from where I was in August. Like I said, a whole 'nother post coming about this one but it would fall under one of my favorite things/lessons learned.

One of my least favorite things... discipline. For the most part, if you come out of the gate with high expectations... a good percentage of the students will live up to that. But, there are some that, for many reasons I'll never understand, have so much trouble with school. Not always with the learning but with the structure. I taught a lot of students who have no structure at home, don't even know what "consequence" means. This whole concept of "discipline" will be coming up in my little lessons learned series but it is definitely one of my least favorite things.

Teaching has broadened my sense of humor and given me a little more compassion. But really... my absolute favorite thing might be hearing their fart jokes... ;)

Okay, folks, that's all I got. New Moon awaits me... (yes, I am finally on the Twilight bandwagon, now leave me alone).

Tomorrow, at an ungodly hour of the morning, I will wake up and check-in at Emory for my embolization. If I remember the computer and have working internet, I will post and let you all know how it went. Otherwise, I will see you on the other side of my surgery at some point later in the week. :) Much love, blog friends.

mr. high maintenance

2009-06-07T21:24:00.003-04:00

Yes, those are in sequence. This baby has been high maintenance the past two days. Teething, I hate you.

the swallow

2009-06-05T23:11:00.005-04:00

I took the plunge and re-opened my Etsy shop. Well, it's actually a new, shiny Etsy shop because I deleted the old one but, you know. So... The Swallow is back in business. I've only listed five jewelry items so far because, well... I got tired. Greeting cards are on the way but, like I said, I just got tired. And I'm on this whole jewelry kick thang and there's just no turning back now. If you see something you like and are a faithful blog friend of mine, contact me and maybe we can talk cheap on payment. And by cheap I mean a large latte and a coffee date because I am in serious need of caffeine and adult interaction. G is presh but he only knows so many words... er, syllables. In the meantime, I'm also creating a "sites i like" section in the sidebar, which is where I will put a permanent link to The Swallow.

Last year, when I originally opened The Swallow, I got the same question a lot: Where did I get the name? Well, it's pretty simple. For some reason, I'm really obsessed with birds. Which is probably why I could look at little Evie Scobey's nursery all day and not get sick of it. Birds. I just love 'em. And apparently I especially love illustrations of birds because I have two permanently inked under my skin. A dove and a swallow. My largest and favorite is a semi-large Sailor Jerry-style swallow (it is part of my Etsy "banner"). I got some help designing it at a place here in Athens and I just love the way it turned out. Swallows (in real life and ink life) are beautiful. I love the symbolism, too, but mostly they are just pretty little birds. Anyway, this tends to really shock people that I know (especially my mother because, if it were up to her, I would have had them all removed last summer). I conclude that this is either because you cannot normally see any of them or because this just does not match up with the picture they have painted of me in their minds.

And there are apparently a lot of other things about me that surprise people. For instance, last week my youngest sister-in-law just learned that I played the piano for, like, 10 years. I'm not saying that there's a reason she would know this, I just find it funny that it was surprising. Much like how I find it odd when that one of my very best friends was recently surprised that I sang in an acoustic-type "band" at the college ministry I was a part of my first two years at Auburn. Not that it was a really huge part of my life there but the ministry was a big part of my life and I thought that the smaller parts would have come up at some point. And in keeping with the little Etsy theme of this post, many are surprised by the variety of crafts I like to do. I guess most people just choose one and stick with it? In high school I was in the marching band (pre-GAC days) and the fact that this is strange to some is the biggest shocker of all because when I ask what kind of visual they had before this knowledge... it always goes to cheerleader! What?!! I know I can be pretty peppy (read: crazy... though sleep deprivation has changed this a bit) but me as a cheerleader? Don't think so. No. Thank. You.

All this brings me to the thought that with my surgery coming up very soon I'm unsure how much blogging I'll do. Or maybe I should say I'm unsure of how much brain-powered blogging I'll do. And today, while I was thinking about this whole deal I just talked about, I thought I would open this here blog up to questions while I am "away." A kind of "Ask me anything" carnival. (Well, maybe not carnival, I don't have enough readers for all that jazz but maybe a little flea market fair will do.)

So... what do you want to know about me? Or is there something you know, or have learned, about me that doesn't quite match up with what you expected? Do you want to know if I would rather eat three raw eggs or a single slice of fruit cake?

While you're thinking, click on over to The Swallow and give me some feedback. KThanks.

freak tumor update

2009-06-04T22:05:00.004-04:00

(New post below this one.)

Here's the update from yesterday which, honestly, isn't much of an update at all.

On Tuesday morning (the 9th), I will be admitted. Tuesday is the angiogram embolization and Wednesday is the actual surgery.

Yesterday, I did all of the pre-op testing (just bloodwork and whatnot) and answered 80 million questions over and over again for about 4 hours between pre-op and the radiologist's office. In pre-op they did the bloodwork, of course, I answered all those questions (including scary ones like "Would you like a pastor to visit with you before your surgery?") and I also spoke with a student and NP from anesthesia and also a PA for my radiologist. Basically, got a check-in time (butt-crack-of-dawn on Tuesday) and answered more of those questions for them.

After pre-op, we went over to the radiologist's office where I was given a full neuro work-up kind of thing by one of the nurses (memory task, walk in a straight line, "close your eyes and touch your nose" ... that kind of stuff). Then another doctor (I believe she was a resident) went through the whole deal about what my tumor is, how they plan to embolize it before surgery, etc. So, if you're interested in this kind of stuff (and I tend to be), here's the lowdown for that part: On Tuesday morning, the radiologist will do an angiogram embolization for me. Or, I should say, he will hopefully be performing an embolization. There is a chance (about 20%) that they will not find an artery to embolize. In order for them to embolize, it needs to be a direct artery to the tumor. If there are no good arteries that are specific to the tumor, they will not do the embolization due to risk of stroke or vision loss. Also, if you're curious (and I usually am), they do not aim for 100% on this type of procedure. The goal is, instead, to minimize the bloodflow as much as possible in order to reduce the risk of bleeding or, if there is bleeding, to reduce the amount of blood loss and also to reduce the time of surgery (longer surgery = more risk, no embolization = more risk for bleeding). So, if you're into probability/odds/chance kind of lingo (and I usually am) there is about an 80% chance that they will be able to find an artery to embolize. I really hope that they will find an artery so that the risk for surgery will be a little less.

If you're into risks and more chance and probability (and I usually am), the biggest risk for this surgery is stroke. That risk falls under about 5%. With my age and overall good health factored in, that risk is a little lower. And with an effective embolization of a good artery specific to the tumor, the risk is even a little lower than that. So overall, the odds are for me. I would like it more if there was no risk at all but, of course, every surgery carries risks. I just hope that my youth and good health will play in my favor.

Regarding time, the angiogram embolization will most likely take a couple of hours (most of that is just finding an artery). And, though I'm not sure (I emailed my surgeon's nurse tonight), I think the surgery will probably be about the same.

And finally, if you're interested in the scar part of this whole thing (this was actually not even a question in my mind until my doctor brought it up), I will indeed have an "L"-shaped scar on my neck. People keep cringing and asking if this bothers me. No, it doesn't. I take showers every day, I regularly go to the hair salon and I generally like to look nice but I am not one to be very attached to my looks in that way. My hair, my skin, my clothes... they can't do anything for me and they definitely don't enhance my quality of life. But my health does have every thing to do with how I live my life and that's much more important than a silly little scar.

And finally-finally, if you're thinking I've left G out of the surgery equation, I haven't. Paul's mom is a true Godsend and will be taking care of him while we are at the hospital. (Really, she is a Godsend all the way around because on days when Paul was not able to stay at home with him while I was at work, she kept him. She worked with our schedules and even came to the house to get him so we wouldn't have to allow an extra 20 minutes in the mornings. Aren't we so blessed by her?!) Also, I won't be able to pick him up/lift him for a few weeks after my surgery so I will have someone here to help me while I'm recovering at home.

Mmk, I think that's all the updates I have. Nervous but ready to just get it over with.

(New post below this one.)

while i'm on a jewelry kick...

2009-06-03T22:40:00.009-04:00

... I feel the need to go into another random detail about my life. Actually, more of a celebration of a random but very special person in my life. It really does have something to do with jewelry and crafting, I promise, but you'll have to bear with me for a minute. (Or, if you just want to skip my rambling and go straight to the eye candy, go to the bottom of this post and click on the "Chiyo Jewel" link. It is a link to a site that sells my old roommate's handmade jewelry -- seriously, you will love it SHE IS AMAZING!) Anyway, back to my nostalgia...

During my freshman year I lived in a private dorm due to full campus housing when I finally decided to enroll at Auburn instead of WCU. For the most part, it was great. The rooms were much more spacious than campus housing, an unlimited in-house meal plan was included and I was a 5-minute walk from most of my classes but even closer to frequent my favorite little coffee shop downtown. Oh, the convenience of dorm life! But the very best part was that the Japanese foreign exchange students roomed there during their 9-month stay in Auburn. And during my first month or two of living there (it was called The Commons at the time in case you were wondering), I was offered an opportunity that I could not refuse -- to share a room with one of the foreign exchange students! (I might note at this point that the students had already been in America for 6 months -- they arrived in March and stayed through December.) For my readers who do not know this about me, I am an only child. I had never shared a room, or even a house, with another person my age until college. And really, all I wanted in a roommate was someone who wanted to share things, even if those things weren't necessarily my interests. This didn't work out (not at all) with my first roommate so when this opportunity came up I pounced.

Enter Chiyo, my Japanese-foreign-exchange-student roommate and my best friend freshman year. Our friendship was so quick to grow. (I'll be first to admit, I am not one of the easiest people to get to know. I can talk to most people and I enjoy investing myself in friendships but most of the time it takes a lot of time and effort to really get to that point of trust and authenticity so vital to great friendships. But there are a few relationships in my life in which this happened really quickly. And my quick friendship with Chiyo was just that.) We shared everything and I loved it! I helped her with English (though her speaking skills were really incredible already) and she helped me learn some conversational Japanese. I would have to think long and hard to come up with even a single negative (or even neutral) thing about my experience living Chiyo -- by far the best roommate experience ever! I am even jealous of myself when I think about it haha.

Chiyo has a great faith story, too. I'm not sure that I remember all of the details exactly anymore but I think it all started (this was all before we met and became roommates) when she started attending an English bible study. Something was stirring and she became a Christian. And as if that wasn't already a life change for her, she met her still-boyfriend in campus ministry. Yes, they are still together and going strong! (They see each other only about once a year.) Is that love or what??

But mostly, Chiyo was just an all-around super fun, positive person to be around. Such a joyful person, you can't help but just be happy around her. :) And what all of this has to do with jewelry... Chiyo was also a very skilled jewelry artist. (I say artist because... well, just look at her website and you'll see.) I remember so many afternoons that Chiyo would sit on the floor with her beads and make amazing pieces of jewelry. She taught me to make a few things and I actually still have one of the rings she taught me to make with seed beads. But anyway... she is still making jewelry and doing a fine job of it. Her pieces are all gorgeous and unique. This is basically my totally shameless plug for Chiyo Jewel. Take a look and be amazed! Yesterday, she also posted that one of her clients is also selling her jewelry, which you can see here. (If you, like me, do not understand even a word of written Japanese, you'll like her site better because she also posts in English.)

Here are my favorites:

have i mentioned how much i love summer?

2009-06-02T22:00:00.000-04:00

Really, I am LOVING this free time. Or at least the free time that I do have with this little Chunk of mine. I almost forgot what it was like to do so many Amanda Things. Especially craft-related Amanda Things. I'm very slowly getting back into making greeting cards (When I say slowly I mean sloooo....oooo..wwly.). Haven't done any sewing yet but I have a few projects in mind should I ever pull the machine back out.

Anyway, over the past week or so I've been getting back into making jewelry. (Another random craft fact about me: I used to make almost all of my own earrings and bracelets back in the day. I liked things to be simple and cutesie without all the "I BOUGHT THIS ON MEGA-CLEARANCE AT CLAIRE'S" non-appeal. And if I was just feeling real crazy, sometimes I would make earrings for friends if there was a holiday.) I had been toying with some ideas in my head for a while but mostly it was one of my co-workers who actually inspired me to get back into doing it. So, while I was at Hobby Lobby scoping out 50% off card-making supplies I mozied on over to the beads and behold, they too were 50% off! And then it was all over for me.

I got beads of all kinds... glass, ceramics, jade, turquoise, seed beads, "naturals"... picked up some stretch cord and wire and I was good to go. I held off on the metals (jump rings, clasps, fish hooks, flat posts, crimp beads, etc.) because, if you don't know this already, everything in Hobby Lobby goes on sale pretty frequently. I figured since beads were on sale last week that metal beads and jewelry supplies would probably be on sale this week, and I was right. (I love the Hob Lob but what I'm saying is you should probably never buy anything at Hobby Lobby unless it is 50% off... if it's not on sale this week, chances are it will be in the next few.)

So ANYWAY... I'll just stop talking and get to the pictures.

Here is what I made with some of my haul...

A couple of bracelets -- I made them both with stretch cord so that (hopefully) G won't break them when he pulls a little bit.

"Natural" flat ovals alternating with limey-yellow turquoise stones.

A few sets of earrings...

Mustardy-yellow ceramic donuts with teal glass bead in center.

And some danglies...

I want to make these with large purple stones next time so they'll look like eggplants.

Okay, I'm spent.

Tomorrow, I go to Emory for my pre-op work-up and to meet with the radiologist who will be doing the embolization (a week from today). If I know anything after that of course I'll report.

just wondering...

2009-06-02T21:23:00.000-04:00

not me!

2009-06-01T21:00:00.003-04:00

First let me say that I do not like mess. I hate clutter. And I hate grime. But mostly clutter. And then let me say that even though I do, really, hate clutter... our house is, a lot of the time and especially recently, messy. But would I ever dream of letting my office become a dumping ground for all of our miscellaneous odds and ends? No way! Not me! ;) And I certainly would not let said doodads accumulate to create a mountain of disastrous mess. Once I was officially done with work for the summer and happily realized I had two weeks before my surgery to tackle this horrible, no good, very bad condition of my office, I jumped right on it! I mean, I would never let that snowball keep rolling for yet another week!

Okay, so maybe I did. But maybe today is a Not Me! Monday party and I can ~~cry~~ deny it if I want to. Or I could just let you see it. (I will probably regret this.)

For what seems like forever I've been wanting to get into my office and purge, clean, re-arrange, decorate and set it up so that I can use it more productively to organize bills/important papers and to, what else?, craft somewhere that is NOT my dining room table. After one big day and a few days of crafting to test out the new arrangement (Of course it was only for official and productive purposes. Never would I ever spend half a day craft-shopping and then crafting upstairs when there is so much laundry to be folded and put away. Definitely not.) I am mostly done. It could use a new bookshelf and splash of color (seriously, all of the walls in this house were this color when I moved in... what the fresca is that about?). And maybe, cough, a ~~table~~ whole space station especially for crafting but that is another project for another day and for now, I am pretty happy with it. So, without further ado, here is a visual progression of my office:

And finally some sanity (although I've already done more rearranging since this picture yesterday... the point is that it is much cleaner):

The armchair is still filled with pictures and frames that need to be filled and hung. And don't worry, that box under the table isn't a dumping ground, it's just slowly accumulating things I'm taking to my classroom in the fall.

Clear desk, clear mind. (Hopefully.)

If you follow me on Twitter, I may have promised to post a crafting entry about some handmade jewelry/craft madness, buuut that might just have to wait until tomorrow. :)

even G loves planners

2009-06-01T16:51:00.005-04:00

I've barely been able to keep G occupied today but as soon as I pulled out the momAgenda things were just peachy for ohhh about 10 minutes. But can I blame him? I mean, who doesn't love planners?? This little boy just gets busier all the time, I'm gonna have to step up my game to keep up!

four months

2009-05-29T09:24:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we finally had G's four month well visit (even though he will soon be 5 months old). Just another reminder that our baby is, truthfully, the most perfect and cutest baby that ever existed. Oh, I'm sorry, did you just throw up in your mouth? Okay, then I guess I'll just get to the stats:

Height: 25 1/4 in. (50th percentile)
Head circumference: about 17 in. (50th percentile)
Weight: 16 lbs 10 oz (75th percentile.... last time he was in the 90th percentile for weight so this is good)

Developmentally, he's perfect and everything looks great. We also got the green light to start feeding him rice cereal in place of one bottle feeding but no other solids until 6 months. So... what did I do last night? Fed him cereal, of course! I just couldn't wait. At first, G just wasn't sure that was a rollercoaster he wanted to ride but he caught on pretty quickly and we both got some good laughs. I'll just let the pictures do the rest of the talking...

instant craftification

2009-05-28T21:56:00.005-04:00

As promised, here are pictures of the baby invitations I made for the baby shower Kathy is hosting. There is a feeling I get after finishing a small project like this that I like to call "instant craftification." Finishing a craft-kind-of project is just so satisfying! Especially when it can be completed in a few hours or even a whole day. I'm an instant craftification girl all the way and this one definitely fit the bill. Kathy's first and only big request was that they be shaped like onesies. I inquired about colors (bright blues, greens...), embellishments (buttons and brads), size, envelopes and her choice of wording. I made them all a little bit different with the same overall feel, layout and color scheme. So without further ado...

(orange splotches compliments of the aybaybay address protection agency. or that i'm just too paranoid to post anyone's address on my little space in the interwebs)

The text is printed on vellum which I laid over varying printed papers.

For the onesie "snaps," I used solid brads on some and button brads on others. All of the upper buttons were random and different for each invitation. (EDIT: They are expecting a boy so I feel the need to point out that the text area is light red and NOT pink as it looks.)

That's all, folks. :)

a holiday picnic

2009-05-27T22:38:00.003-04:00

I know this is late but I AM a procrastinator through and through...

On Sunday we went to my parents' for a Memorial Day picnic. Afterward we met up with some of our Athens friends for a dinnertime get together. Good food, good family, good friends, sweet baby, good times... and that's about it. Really... there isn't much more to say about it.

Pictures of our weekend picnic (at my parents')... (well... really, it's just a lot of pictures of G).

Another rare picture of the two of us.

Not much better than G-daddy lovin

For about a second I thought G's cheeks were getting smaller. Until I saw this picture.

Never wants to sit, only wants to stand.

Mama, where's MY turkey burger?!

bottle it up

2009-05-27T22:00:00.001-04:00

Warning: this post will be horrendously boring unless you have a teeny ounce of interest in baby bottles.

Among all of the questions I get from expecting mamas in Target's baby aisle(s), "Which bottles do you use?" is one of the most frequent. (Um, why did I never think to ask questions in the baby aisle when I was pregnant??) I really don't know why people ask me this but somewhere along this mama journey I'm on, I actually have developed a few "thoughts" on bottles. I'll keep it simple, promise.

My biggest gripe? Medela's bottles. Or maybe I should say any bottle that is "made" to go with the pump. I fell into that trap big time with Medela. Stocked up on a whole bunch of Medela brand bottles thinking they were just the ones that would fit the pump or that they were just somehow more fit for storing breastmilk. Made perfect sense at the time. How wrong I was! If you are considering a Medela pump... any standard bottle will fit the shield. In a pinch (when my sink was totally full of empty Medela bottles) I've used other standard neck bottles such as Dr. Browns and even the glass Munchkin bottles. Don't get me wrong, I love Medela, but their bottles are expensive and are certainly not the only shoe that fits. And if you use or received some wide neck brand bottles like, say, Avent... they make a piece that adapts the Medela shield to the Avent bottle.

My second biggest gripe? ... leaking. I LOVE wide neck bottles. For nursing and pumping I don't care, but when I'm mixing formula, wide-neck is what I want. (It's cleaner, plain and simple.) BUT... the Avent bottles, though I do love their wide necks and all of their cuteness (if you can even call a bottle "cute," anyway) leak like crazy if the collar isn't screwed on just so. This drives me CRAZY. Any kind of leakage drives me crazy because, really, who likes a sticky mess?

My favorite? Born Free. Hands down. And if I had to pick a very close second, it would be Dr. Browns. Both have venting systems. Dr. Browns is great with the pump (standard neck) and Born free is wonderful for formula (wide neck, my favorite). If I had to pick a winner I'd pick Born Free, hands down, every time. Never once had a leak, clean-up is fine and they've always been BPA-free. If we had money to blow and didn't already have dozens of other bottles, I'd stock my whole cupboard with them, I love them so much.

Well, now that my interest factor just decreased 2910831 points, I'll leave it at that. So, to my two readers who have asked me about this in recent weeks, I hope this is helpful. If nothing else, at least you are now a few wasted minutes closer to meeting that sweet little baby!

shkoo's out

2009-05-26T18:52:00.001-04:00

Well... technically school has been out but today was my last work day!

C'mon, sweet summertime, we're ready!

so many babies, so many reasons to craft

2009-05-23T17:30:00.003-04:00

Remember way back when I was crafting? (You know, when I actually had time to craft. And by time I mean almost-no-time-at-all.) And how I was about to send out some gifts? Well, I finally did. And so now I can share.

It seems like everybody's havin' them some babies! The Scobeys are expecting a sweet little girl any time now so I thought maybe I should finally send her gift before she actually arrives. Also, Paul's cousin Betsy will be welcoming a baby boy in the next couple of months.

I know that all baby gifts are technically for the baby... but I'd rather give things that are helpful or provide a little sanity when the baby arrives. And, though you might initially think cutesie burp cloths to be excessive and silly, I can tell you right now that sometimes that was the one thing that made me not feel quite so bad when I was just a mere blob of sweatpants and spit up slumped in the corner of our couch. And if you have to wear the things on your shoulder for the next however-many months, you might as well look cute doing it, right? I received a few like this and I stand by my statement that they are one of my favorite baby gifts ever. Hence my decision to craft and let them take over my dining room table.

The Scobeys decided on a bird theme for their wee girl's nursery so in addition to paneled burp cloths, I appliqued a bird silhouette onto a 3-6 month onesie for little Evie (another one of my favorite baby things we received -- clothes bigger than 0-3 months). I made the stitching a little haphazard and left the cotton edges so that they will fray just a little bit with washing. (I guess the onesie really is for Evie after all.) Other sanity items for Ashley: LilyPadz (a real ~~life~~shirt saver in those early weeks of nursing) and side-snap shirts for Evie (G was not a fan of clothes being forced over his floppy head so these were a must-have for us).

paneled burp cloths:

For Betsy, I sent three paneled burp cloths (two shown below) and since I'm not sure whether or not she intends to nurse, I got an Adiri nurser which is great for breast or bottlefeeding.

I'm getting better with the sewing machine and with summer upon me, I'll probably find a lot more time for it. But first, I am making baby shower invitations for Kathy's brother's baby who will be arriving at the end of the summer. (Random fact about me: I used to sell handmade greeting cards on Etsy and last summer I made 150 place cards and table cards for a wedding in New York City.) I'm a day behind on finishing the sample (I lost my vellum!) so I'll post when they're finished.

Who doesn't love babies??

done!

2009-05-20T18:30:00.003-04:00

First year of teaching - DONE! Man, what a year. I'm still processing everything I've learned and already planning for what I can improve on next year. But for now, I just want to focus on the fact that I made it through in one piece! Three more workdays and it's sweet, sweet summertime with my little fam.

we celebrate mother's day now?

2009-05-13T17:14:00.003-04:00

Well, technically we have always celebrated Mother's Day. But now we celebrate Mother's Day. It was another one of those I'm a mom?? moments for me.

We went out of town over the weekend to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach for a wedding on the Hebert side of Paul's family. Too short a trip but still a much-needed break and very refreshing. G went "swimming" for the first time, met a whole lotta family and went to his first wedding. I prepared for the worst but hoped for the best and I've gotta say we have one insanely incredible infant. I mean, pshhh, I knew that already but really... he is the best.

As far as Mother's Day... we spent most of it coming home but went out for some totally terrific tapas at Casa Mia when we got back to Athens (goat cheese might be my new favorite thing ever... you know, in case you were wondering). I know a lot of people are very into the big gifts and grand gestures for Mother's Day, but nothing will ever top having the privilege of being this sweet boy's mama. This is the best gift...

And as for my non-bloggyness lately... all of my own words can't even touch this poem:

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

maxin' and relaxin'

2009-05-06T21:15:00.003-04:00

he's so his daddy's child.

who? me? nahhhhh, not me!

2009-05-04T19:51:00.001-04:00

Following MckMama's lead, I'm starting Not Me! Mondays. If you want to get dirty and participate in the fun, too (and I hope you do!), go here to get the scoop. Sometimes it's just plain funny (or more like horrifying) to look back at my mishaps. Here I go... if you're not into dirty you might want to Stop. Here. I'll give you a little space to reconsider before moving on...

It has most certainly not been almost a week since G had a full-on, in-the-baby-tub bath. He'll get one tonight but I don't know why I would even need to say that because it has definitely not been that long.

And I know I did NOT leave his folded clothes on top of the reading basket in his room for, ohhh... half the week. Yeah, definitely wasn't me.

My clothes are clean and always put away so I most definitely did not use the dryer as my closet for the past three days. I always put my clothes straight away when the dryer buzzes. Got laundry? I'm on TOP of it!

I love to craft but if you're thinking that my dining room has been used as craft storage for the past two months, you would be oh so wrong. I would never use the dining room table for sewing storage. Ever.

We love food and we love t.v. but I would never even dream of eating on the couch. Every day and night. For every meal we eat at home. Just no. Absolutely not.

While all of the above things I didn't do might not seem too bad for some, this one also might not. I can in no way (AT ALL) relate to MckMama when I say that I would never, ever in a million years dream of using G's too-small diapers for something other than their intended purpose. And even if I did think to use them for something other than diapering (Paul uses them to clean up spilled Coke in his car), I wouldn't dream of posting about it on the www. Nope.

So... spill it! What did you not do last week?

strollin' under the influence

2009-05-03T10:50:00.003-04:00

If ever I regret not having taken a picture, it might have been yesterday.

Paul went to school so G and I were just chillin' like villains. Our neighborhood had a 'hood-wide garage sale and then a neighborhood social planned for the evening. We do have things we could sell but not quite enough to make a complete garage sale so we'll just save up for next year. Honestly, most of my sale-worthy goods are clothes, shoes and handbags that I could certainly get a little more money for at Plato's closet so that's my plan for the time between school is out and my surgery in June. Anyway... what I'm saying is we spent the morning walking around the 'hood, checking out other people's sales, talking to neighbors and generally enjoying the outdoors before it started raining. Once the rain came, we went to Barnes and Noble to look for baby books and flip through some magazines (maybe my favorite thing ever: rainy day + bookstore + good book/trashy magazine + seasonally appropriate beverage. Annnd yes, I know you're thinking, "You still don't have a baby book for G?!" Well... no, I don't, but I have been keeping record of all of his milestones and big firsts. Baby books are ugly and I'm holding out for a cute one. Or I'll give up and just make a photobook and somehow throw the milestones in there anway.) Ah-hem... anyway... back to my point of photo regret... or coulda-woulda-shoulda... or "how did I not see this coming?"...

In keeping with the relaxing spirit of the day (and my dwindling latte budget), I opted for a diet IBC Root Beer when we made our way to the BN cafe. After officially ruling out all of my baby book options and flipping through a few of my favorite home design magazines we left and went to the Old Navy next door in search of a bathing suit to hopefully flatter (camoflauge) the post-baby physique. As per usual for a Saturday, there were a good number of women and their daughters eyeing summer dresses, polos, etc... and, also usual for a Saturday out-and-about, I was getting a lot of curious looks which are usually either because I'm young ("is he... yours?") or because G is the cutest ever and everyone wants to gobble him up. Definitely didn't even cross my mind that I was pushing a stroller with what looked to be a cold beer in the mama cup holder. So when I finally realized what they were all looking at, I just silently begged to escape without some stranger scolding me. Well.. nore more than two minutes later, a woman with her tween-age daughter just had to offer her $.02: "Well I hope you're not driving." ... "Ummm, it's root beer?" I'm sure she just walked away thinking, "Riiiiight."

I so wish I had taken a picture of that because when I saw myself in the mirror after that I just had to laugh. I can't even make it sound as funny as it looked. But even though it was just root beer this time who's to say I won't make it an O'Doul's next time?? Hah.

lurve

2009-05-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

like a champ

2009-05-01T22:35:00.001-04:00

leave my mama out of it

2009-04-30T19:40:00.002-04:00

When I am queen, my first order of business will be to legally outlaw "Your mom," "Yo' mama," "Yo' mama so fat..." or any other similar comebacks or "insults."* If I had a dime for every time I've heard one of these used as a comeback in my first period class alone, I would've quit my job three months ago.

*"Your mom goes to college" is not yet on my Cashed Out Phrases of the Century list because I can still get a little giggle in when I hear it in a sing-songy Kip-style fashion.

babywearing, take... oh, i lost count

2009-04-28T21:55:00.005-04:00

Not sure how many times I've talked about babywearing in the past few months but I will probably talk about it a zillion more because I just love wearing Gray SO much! Before this week, I've been wearing him because he loves it and wants to be close to me while we run errands or take a walk. Or sometimes because he's not having the best day I pop him in the sling or Bjorn when I need to get things done. But this week, for whatever reason, I have been feeling a new attachment to G. I seriously cannot keep myself away from this baby. So even though he was having a big time playing by himself on the floor palette I had just laid out for him, I scooped him up, plopped him in the sling and went about my business because I just could not keep my hands off of this precious boy!

babywearing photo ops. it's tough sweatin' to the oldies.

I love him and our little family so much sometimes it hurts and I have to mentally pinch myself to make sure that this is my baby, my family, my life. Looking through pictures, sometimes I still don't believe it. My life is so full I don't know how I could ever want anything more than what I already have. How did I get so lucky to be Mama to this fun baby boy? So lucky to be Wife to my loving husband? I know there will be so many times that I forget all of this but right now, I'm in the moment and I love it.

*The sling I'm using in the picture above is the Munchkin Jelly Bean sling. Which, after testing 24230948 jillion slings, I've found that this one is not-so-great for the newborn stage/cradle carry that I used the Eddie Bauer sling for but IS really nice for the side/hip carry because the sling can still provide a little extra structure while he supports himself. And if you're into cute and reversible, it's a winner.

"smell like syrup"

2009-04-28T19:24:00.004-04:00

I love seeing how people sometimes find my blog. Remember when I told you guys that I smell like maple syrup? You know, because I like to take weird herbal supplements and drink questionable Milkmaid tea from time to time. Well... maybe someone else shares my scent as he/she found my blog by Googling "smell like syrup" and "sweat smells like syrup."

Either that or they've got a wicked case of maple syrup urine disease. Um, yikes!

Also today, got hits from a site about carotid body tumors and someone wanting to know what 39 weeks of pregnancy feels like. Which reminds me... as crazy-uncomfortable as my 39th week of pregnancy was, I really kinda miss it. Now who thought those words would ever cross my keyboard??

MckObsession

2009-04-27T20:07:00.003-04:00

I seriously cannot get enough of this blog. If you haven't heard Stellan's story, let me just tell you it had me in tears on my lunch break last week. Maybe because I see the tiniest bit of Grayson in many of the pictures of Stellan but that makes it no less moving. I love reading his story and I could go on forever about the ways MckMama has captured many of my thoughts in her older posts but I won't. Just go check it out for yourself, you won't be sorry! Lots of blog love to Stellan, he's going home! :)

2009-04-26T20:37:00.003-04:00

Here are the loads of pictures I promised... of no particular theme on any certain order

Gray really loves his silver rattle. This was one of the things I was really hoping he would enjoy because it's one of my favorite things he got at the baby shower(s). (I say that a lot, don't I? I guess everything is my favorite in one way or another haha.) Jessica gave us this with his name and initials engraved on the sides. Such a classic gift.

One of the many faces he makes lately

Contorting his body so he can see the TV

I could post a million of these pictures. But I will just stick to a few. He LOVES to stand up.

He looooves this lion toy. It growls when you move it and has a thousand and one little plastic teething-like pieces, ribbons, different textures, etc.

And he really loves to chew on our fingers

Naked G is my fave

My parents kept G last night and had a photoshoot with him this morning... his clothes engulf him and make him look like the hugest baby on the face of the earth. I promise he is not obese. I bet this was interesting times...

Sad face

And now a random one of my dad. He is currently refusing to cut his hair. Doesn't he look a little like a hippie?

And that's all I have the energy for.
Three more weeks, three more weeks...

first haircut

2009-04-26T18:21:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, Paul and I gave Gray what you could consider his first haircut. The mullet was funny for a while but I couldn't stand it anymore.

But don't worry, he's still got the party.

losing it

2009-04-26T15:25:00.003-04:00

What. A. Week.

The past week tested me. Big time. Only 15 more days with the students. 15 more days... 15 more days... 15... more... DAYS! I could go and tell you details but suffice to say I was literally pulling my hair out at my desk Friday afternoon. Which does not need to be happening because...

my hair is falling out all on its own. Like... a LOT of it. My non-prego readers might not know this... (most of the time) when you're pregnant your hair does not "shed" or fall out like normal, giving the illusion of thicker and more lucious, voluminous locks. Apparently, a few months post partum, your hair then falls out. In smal chunks. And then in huge chunks that tickle my back like a spider causing me to FREAK out. It falls out when I'm sleeping, in the car, in the kitchen (yum?), at school, at the computer, in the shower -- ESPECIALLY in the shower... it just falls out. So much of it has been falling out in the shower that I have to scoop it up off of the drain mid-rinse because the water starts backing up. This is hard for me because I HATE hair. Well, I love hair on the head but I hate hair. Almost nothing is more disgusting than a pile of hair and soap scum on the shower drain. Gets my gag reflex every time. But the only thing I hate more in the shower is standing water so I deal and pick it up. If only the weight just fell off like the hair... I only have a few more pounds to go but gosh are they pesky little ell bees.

In an effort to keep me from going to negative town about the past week, I am going to upload pictures while G-licious continues to nap. More positive, interesting, picture-loaded post coming later.

eskimo kisses

2009-04-20T18:56:00.006-04:00

Last week's Fun Thing (because I can't remember them all for each day... I'm lazy, okay?)...

G was really loving some eskimo kisses! Made me so happy because, really, I can't stop giving them to him. It's the least I can do to not actually kiss his whole face off.

This was the best picture I could get of him almost-laughing.

On a totally unrelated note... I think I am actually kind of sort of maybe starting to like my job. Like, actually the special ed paperwork part. Probably because I'm finally starting to get the hang of it with four weeks left to go (go me). I would actually even say that my last two IEPs have been really good. Woop woop. Am I out of my Geebus-loving mind?

Monday Funday... today's Fun Thing: It was only for about a minute, probably less, and the milk ended up all over his face but... Gray held his bottle and fed himself! And he didn't stop there. When it popped out of his mouth he somehow popped it right back in there. I know this is way boring news to most of you but I squealed and clapped and told him if he does it for two solid minutes next time, I'll buy him a car for his six month birthday.

classy never trashy

2009-04-20T18:27:00.004-04:00

Last week, I got a question: "Mrs. Hebert, what's the definition for classy?" (apparently some kind of language arts assignment... I get these questions a lot to be a science teacher. It makes for interesting times.)

At the time, I wasn't sure how to answer that (I am used to questions more like "What's the difference between a noun and a verb?" and "How do you spell Biology?"). When I think classy, my mind goes to one of our family friends, Coco Chanel, Jackie O, Lady Gaga (only kidding)... but when they think of classy, they're probably thinking more along the lines of (for real) Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Da Brat. The way we define it visually is just different, I'm sure.

But after this weekend I know EXACTLY what I should have said...

classy [klas-ee] - v. also see: mos' classiest
to (breast)feed your infant in the backseat of your car. In a Waffle House parking lot. In WINDER.

When the three month old chunky cuteness is screaming in hunger and no bottle or clean water is to be found... nothing looks more like a diamond in the rough than posting up for a few minutes with a hooter hider in a WaHo parking lot. Win.

floatin

2009-04-18T23:01:00.004-04:00

Gray's first time at the lake on my parents' boat today.

All ready to go before we left. I want to squeal he is so cute.

Soakin it up. (Yes, I am so pale my arm is actually blending in with the upholestry.)

With Paul. G was NOT a fan of the life vest.

My other baby. Stanie loves the boat. And he doesn't fuss about the life vest.

i smell like maple syrup

2009-04-18T22:56:00.003-04:00

Fenugreek makes me smell like maple syrup. I read that somewhere when I started taking it (to boost supply for breastfeeding) but since I do not really possess a sense of smell (really, I don't) I didn't think too much about it. Until Paul was all, "Why do you smell like maple syrup?" I couldn't think why because... pleasedon'thurtme I do NOT like syrup. I am a texture girl and syrup just doesn't make the cut. Anyway, I stopped taking it for a few days and when my supply dipped a little again I got the bottle and all of the sudden, "Ohhhhhhh THAT'S why I smell like syrup."

So... there it is. My sweat smells like IHOP.

spring break cuteness

2009-04-14T22:16:00.004-04:00

I know I sort of promised a G-related blog today. It's gonna be a short one. How about I just post some pictures of our Spring Break fun?

I just wanna dance.

Loves looking in the mirror now. (Except today... he cried.)

Maybe the cutest face ever.

Loves the Bumbo sitter. Like a big boy.

He was such a diva that day.

Easter lunch at my parents' house. Sittin with his Glam'ma.
(I don't think I've mentioned this yet but yes, for now we are calling Paul's mom Glam'ma. Sounds like grandma but much more GLAM haha! It started as a little joke from some of her friends at work but it just kinda stuck. I think it's pretty cute. And should G have a little speech delay with his r's, we're golden.)

Smiling at his daddy. Such a happy babe.

We have to take our own mama-G photos. Waiting in the car at the driving range.

Playing with his new toy from Glam'ma.

Burp cloths are actually toys.

I'm sure this is not interesting for my currently child-free friends but G reached another important milestone... he's been able to roll from belly to back for just a short while now but is already rolling from back to belly! Finally did it completely by himself on Friday night, it was awesome. And, though not a milestone, he is wanting to suck on EVERYTHING. Reaching for things to put in his mouth already. Here we go...

And I'm spent. More later but not promising when.
Goodnight.

got my hurr did

2009-04-13T22:59:00.004-04:00

So I guess I never got to those posts I was talking about...

but I did get my hairstylist to switch it up a little on my "Amanda" day.

Check back tomorrow if you were looking for a Gray Baybay fix.

spring break, i love thee

2009-04-03T23:38:00.002-04:00

Day one of spring break (I said that Oprah-style in my head). Amen. I thought it would never come. Some new posts coming soon over the break but for now... a few photos:

(Hi, my name is Cute.)

I've been crafting a little here and there for some of my friends who are having or who recently had a baby. Some sneak peeks (I don't want to post about anything until they have been sent and received):

And this is not currently a gift. It's a tissue holder for my purse. I'm going to make another with a strap for the diaper bag.

are we creating a monster?

2009-03-30T17:52:00.003-04:00

G loves the TV. And the computer. More than once over the past few days, one of us has used the TV or computer to calm his crying. Put him in his chair or prop him on the couch at an angle where he can see the tube... bam, no crying.

Fussy and cuddling isn't working? Put him on my lap so he can see the computer, find a YouTube Baby Einstein video and... yea, no crying. I love the "whooaa" look on his face when I show him the Baby Einstein clips (by the way... not really a big fan of Baby Einstein, it's a little trippy like Disney's Fantasia but with handpuppets instead)...

On this particular day, he was insanely squirmy and I could only love on him if he was watching the computer or the TV in my lap...

I wonder if it's bad to be introducing TV's and computers this early on... hmm.

He's still very cuddly but not quite like the little Gray we brought home. This afternoon he fell asleep on my shoulder with his baby breath on my cheek and I was just so excited because I miss that so much already.

win or fail?

2009-03-26T20:55:00.000-04:00

I chewed a whole pack of Orbit today.

BF(F? probably not)

2009-03-25T20:25:00.005-04:00

---------------------------------------------------------

Warning: this post is for my prego readers, curious friends and any random person who might find this post by Googling "BFF" expecting an Etsy shop for friendship bracelets but actually got directed to a bunch of posts about breastfeeding. What I'm sayin' is this post has some potential for T.M.I. Just puttin that out there now before you're in too deep.

So... I've been getting a lot of straight-up questions, round-about questions and unsolicited "advice" (opinions) from friends, family, and (real shocker) complete strangers about breastfeeding. And I'd rather just address them here in one post than drag it out over a million posts in response to whatever question or opinion I received that day (I've avoided this overall for the most part but it's becoming a bigger issue all the time) . . . That said, this could be a very long post. I'll cover the questions/comments first, then supply-boosting and then my pet peeves and annoyances and, finally, a little "you can do it" message at the end.

How do I feed little G? [This question usually comes more in the form of "Are you breastfeeding?" or "Why are you giving your baby formula?" or "Is he eating sweet potatoes yet? Because my children were eating solids when they were just a few weeks old and they turned out fine."] The answer: I breastfeed and supplement with formula. Probably wouldn't even be supplementing with formula if I hadn't returned to work. My return to work cut my supply in half (if not more) and I've had to work really hard ever since to boost and maintain (tips for that later if you're interested). My wish is that he could be exclusively breastfed (referred to as EBF in all the super cool judgemental mom forums... ha) but our little routine works really well for us, I'm happy and Paul's happy which makes for a happy little Gray.

Does it hurt? To be honest... in the beginning, yes, it hurts. A lot. Even though almost all of the literature you read assures that with a proper latch it should never hurt... riiiight. Can you really imagine it being the most pleasant feeling? If you plan to breastfeed, invest in some lanolin. And don't worry, it gets a lot better. When it got a little too painful for me, I pumped about every other feeding to give myself a break. That helped times a million.

How often does he eat? With breastmilk it can be anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours between feedings. Usually somewhere around two hours, though, if he ate a lot to begin with. Formula is a much more consistent pattern which is wonderful if you want to get a little more shut-eye. With formula, G goes about three hours sometimes longer. And at night, he is now sleeping about 6ish hours, give or take, after his last night feeding. But with breastmilk, the pattern can be pretty inconsistent, especially if you are feeding on cue and not on a schedule (really not sure how people BF on a schedule).

Do you have to pump? Is it worth the money to buy double electric? How long does it take to express? Yes and yes. After my return to work my supply got really low so I used the pump to help boost my supply. A GOOD pump is vital to your supply if you will be returning to school or work. You will probably hear or read that BF'ing is supply and demand. Definitely true. The more often you "demand," the better and better your supply will be. Increasing demand is good if you want to start a freezer stash, though I don't do this since we already supplement some with formula. As far as which pumps I use... a Medela electric at work (Pump in Style Advanced) and a Medela manual (Harmony) at home so that I can leave most of the things that I need for the electric at work. At home I try not to pump at all because babies are much more efficient than a pump will ever be. Plus, actually nursing is a million times easier at this point, no clean-up or pieces to sanitize. In the beginning, it was much quicker to pump (about 10-15 minutes) than to nurse (anywhere from 20-45 minutes with Gray... this has greatly improved to about 20 minutes MAX now). It's tempting initially to pump all the time and just be done when you're tired, but I really think babies need the experience to improve their efficiency.

Which is easier? (BF or formula feeding?) In my opinion... BF is much easier once you get the hang of it (which could take several weeks... more on that later). When I was just dead tired in the mornings, it was incredible to be able to just bring him in the bed and both of us drift back into sleep. Another plus for BF... it doesn't require scooping, measuring, mixing or a lot of washing bottles (unless pumped which I did do a good bit of when adjusting to comfort level and I do a lot of now that I'm back to work).

How did you solve latch problems? Honestly... (I know a lot of women will hate me for this) I didn't have a single problem with G latching. He literally entered the world rooting and ready to eat... he is a chunk, after all. :) Of course, it did help that I did a LOT of reading when I was still pregnant about how to get a proper latch from the very start and then about potential problems and solutions so I was well-versed on how to get things going and how to tackle problems in the beginning. That kind of information came in handy for me as I was kinda left all alone in the L&D room to figure it out for the first time. When that moment came, I was so glad I'd put in the time and knew what to do. (You'd think it's intuitive and in a lot of ways it is but it's also like, "So... I do what now?")

How do you nurse discreetly? IS there a way to be discreet? Really... probably not. I mean, it's not difficult to tell what's going on. But, my biggest life savers have been nursing tanks. I don't like to let it all hang out (but in the beginning when you can barely drag yourself up the stairs you really won't care, I promise... or at least I didn't). But I would much rather NOT expose my belly. If you're pulling your shirt up, that's where the "Ohmigod, my EYES!" looks come from. In my opinion, a woman pulling her shirt up is a thousand times more distracting than unclip-and-flip. And while this plus a "hooter hider" is probably as discreet as it gets, I still don't do it in public. I just don't. Or at least not yet. Only in the nursing room at Nordstrom will I even think about it. Dinner table? No, thanks. People just don't get it and until they do, I'm not going to be the one leading the revolution.

I know you don't actually need anything but, really... what do you need? Technically you don't NEED anything to BF, but these are the things that I use(d) regularly or often enough:
-PUMP -- my supply would probably be gone without it
-glider/rocker
-Boppy -- I would say this is essential for every new mom no matter how you choose to feed your wee one. Your arms will thank you in recovery.
-nursing tanks/bras
-nursing cover -- even for home when people are over. who wants to leave the party?

This was not a question, just some of my own unsolicited advice, should you ever need it... how I boosted supply. As I mentioned, when I returned to work my supply dropped a lot. I mean, A LOT! Here's what's been working for me the past two weeks: fenugreek and oatmeal. (Fenugreek is an herbal supplement, GNC sells it. I'm pretty sure it's actually an Indian spice??) And basically attaching G to my hip when I get home from work (which is easy because he's so dang cute). Last Monday morning: 1.5 oz. This morning: 6 oz. So, in a week and a half's time, if my math is right, I've boosted G's supply by about 400%. Great success.

Now... my breastfeeding pet peeves (everybody loves a good pet peeve)... these have nothing to do with actual BF, but more to do with other people and their fanatical crazyness regarding the topic. I have gotten more random crap comments on this topic than anything else (other than maybe sleeping). And no matter what you do or where you hide, it is pretty much unavoidable. The breastfeeding crazies will crawl out of the forbidden forest if that's what it takes to give their $0.02. I know I don't know you and haven't even asked how you're doing or how old your baby is but, are you breastfeeding? (Well hello, nice to meet you, too!) How long do you plan on breastfeeding? Well, I breastfed my little bunny boo until he was five years old. Sorry, not for me, but I actually do understand why people go past the six-month and one year marks. It's free (if you don't include pumps, lanolin, nursing tanks, etc.), it's freakin' easy once you get the hang of it and, most importantly, the nutritional benefits are almost unmatched. Not to mention healing and antibacterial properties... it's a winner, but at some point I would like my body back, kthanks and pleasedon'tstoneme. Will I be BreastFriendsForever? Probably not. And harrassing me isn't going to change my mind.

My BIGGEST pet peeve of all... women (and people in general) who downplay the hard work and determination that it takes to be successful. A lot of the literature makes it sound easy, wonderful, rainbows and kittens. It's out there that it should never ever hurt, even in the beginning. Not many mention or tell you that in the first two weeks you will probably want to give up, even if you have a great supply and no problems latching. I really think that even hospitals and lactation consultants are doing new moms a huge disservice by romanticizing the whole idea and not stressing how much work it will be to continue. In my opinion, women would be better served to go into it knowing that it will take a lot of patience and motivation so that when they hit the tough spots, they'll know it gets better. They certainly drive the point home that labor is going to hurt and burn like the dickens. I wanted to stop several times in the first few weeks but I rembered getting a message from an old youth group friend that everything would get so much easier after the first six weeks or so. And really, it does get better. After the first month, maybe even six weeks, it is SO much easier to get it all balanced. But getting through that first month is so crucial and I wish that doctors, hospitals, lactation consultants, whoever... would stress that during pregnancy so that when you want to stop or just want your body back, you'll keep going.

SO... I think I answered all the questions I've gotten and hopefully given some useful advice to my pregos that are considering BF. Hope it wasn't too much TMI. Any other questions, just shoot an email or private message.

You'll hear it a kazillion times but your little babe is so worth it. The product IS worth the process!

one of my favorite things

2009-03-22T22:03:00.002-04:00

G is so happy even HE gets distracted by his own smiley-ness...

At every feeding today he stopped mid-gulp to smile and coo at me. Could he be any sweeter?

In defense of coffee

2009-03-22T16:56:00.006-04:00

They've Got an Awful Lot of Coffee in Brazil by il Quoquo

My vice(s) involves all things coffee or chai-related. My dad is a big-time coffee drinker so the origins are probably somewhere in my upbringing. Saw its peak in my college years during those late nights and jobs working the espresso bar in more than one coffee shop. And that last one is a good question... why WOULD I quit??

two months old (a little late)

2009-03-22T16:56:00.005-04:00

I'm a little late on the two-month-old update, but here I go...

Wait... did I just say he's two months old?? Not possible.

On St. Patty's day he went for his well check-up. Everything looks pretty good and he is definitely still a chunk :) 13 pounds and 8 ounces (90thish percentile). 23.5 inches (75thish percentile). And 16" head circumference. [When he was born: 9lbs 6oz, 20.75 inches, 14.5"] He is growing, for sure! He can still wear SOME 0-3 size clothes but not many. Mostly, he is wearing 3-6 which is fun but sad that he's getting so big! He's super fun and happy which, of course, makes me happy, too.

His biggest milestone so far: rolling over! He rolled over for the first time on Friday while he was home with Paul. He almost did it again yesterday but got frustrated and hungry first. Then again last night before bedtime but still not quite. In a few minutes I'm going to see if he'll give it another go. I HATE that I'm missing little things like this. I thought it would get easier to go to work as the time passed but I think it really gets harder every day to leave him at home. Only two weeks until my spring break. How many weeks until summer??

A photo log of the past few days...

a for-real-for-real item to put on my wishlist

2009-03-21T18:35:00.001-04:00

Polar RS100 by zeerood

The gadget I covet most right now? A Polar watch, please (polarusa.com). I would be able to track calories burned, monitor my heart rate and time spent on a particular activity... a perfect supplement to my Lose the Baby Weight resolution.

worthy of the "LOL"

2009-03-16T18:33:00.004-04:00

...and a few more just because.

starting my mother's day wishlist

2009-03-15T20:16:00.003-04:00

...pffft.

fifth generation

2009-03-15T10:05:00.003-04:00

Grayson makes FIVE generations on Paul's mom's side of the family. Pretty cool.

Since Paul's MawMaw and D.D. still haven't seen our little baby ball, they rode up with Becca on Wednesday to spend a few days with everybody and our newest little Hebert.

Here is Gray with MawMaw (great grandmother... maybe gonna call her GG?... everyone is pretty focused on what they want to be called haha).

And then with D.D., his great GREAT grandmother

And a little family pic (we might have three total now, boop boop!):

hebert boys

2009-03-14T22:58:00.003-04:00

finally a great picture with his pops/grandpa hebert

seriously smiled the WHOLE time his grandpa hebert held him

all three of the hebert boys

jealous.

2009-03-13T21:24:00.005-04:00

He's a professional sleeper. I'm jealous.

(frog legs. love.)

(my favorite)

(public sleeping is his favorite sport)

(play, sleep, repeat)

Can you believe he is TWO MONTHS old?!

can't decide

2009-03-10T17:43:00.002-04:00

He can't decide...

... if he's happy or sad. He made all of those faces within one minute. About once every evening he can't decide if he's happy, upset or just annoyed. Such a woman! Really, I think he's just super hungry but we distract him so he will smile. So he goes back and forth really quickly between smiling/giggling and whimpering with his bottom lip sticking out (like the picture in the top left corner). Like, "I'm flippin' hungry, ma! Weee! No, wait, don't make me laugh, I'm hungryyyyy. Wah!" It is maybe the most hilarious thing I've ever seen.

Please, look at the present Paul discovered in the garage today:

Paul said it scared the crap out of him. That would have been only the beginning for me -- I KNOW I would have cried and curled up all fetus-like. And it was definitely not placed there by accident because it is under the workbench in the garage. I mean, c'mon... who DOES that?! Help. Me.

daddy daycare

2009-03-09T22:57:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to Paul! 24 today. :)

Since my return to work, Gray has been spending the day with either Paul or Paul's mom. When he's in "Daddy Daycare" I always get at least one picture to keep me going through the day. My favorite Daddy Daycare pics so far:

From is it really march already?

pretty cute

2009-03-08T17:12:00.004-04:00

stanie had to get in on that lovin', too

sweet rolls

x marks the spot

2009-03-06T22:13:00.007-05:00

Today, I picked up my CT films to take to the surgeon on Thursday (all of those are on CDs now... fancy shmancy!). To my layman's eye, the "toomah" looks like a little blur at first but when you look a little more closely you can even see how it splays apart the ICA and ECA. Insanity!

So, if you've ever wondered what a carotid body tumor looks like...

Me no likey.

and six days later...

2009-03-06T21:48:00.003-05:00

...I am still in awe of our recent snowstorm.

(two days later... Target, Athens, GA)

There were about twenty of these snow "mountains" like that in the Athens Target parking lot two days later. And that one was even a little compacted from moms and their children climbing it (why?). Yea... we got a LOT of snow by Georgia standards.

"really?!"

2009-03-05T20:51:00.003-05:00

That's what I have either said out loud or been thinking a few too many times this week.

On Tuesday, one of my students asked me what "absent" means... really?

I was also accused of skipping class. Scene: I let my fifth period leave a few minutes early for lunch and as we were walking, a teacher practically mauled the student in front of me to ask him for his hall pass. "WHERE'SYOURPASS?" I stepped in, told her it was fine we were just going to lunch to which she responded with a look that could kill and, "Well, where's YOUR pass?" Uhh... I'm a teacher? Does that count? I know that I'm young and that I often look like a student when I forget my name badge but these confrontations are seriously annoying.

Yesterday, I got a brilliant question... from a 15-year old: "Soooo... (awkward silence)... say I got a girl pregnant... do I really have to pay child support?" Um... REALLY??!! Am I actually supposed to answer that?? I mean... what kind of answer do you give that will maybe even touch on the gravity of that question (again... 15-year old... thinking about child support. pardon my French but what the eff?). His question was, of course, followed by this profound observation: "I mean... babies are easy so I guess I wouldn't have to actually leave the state and get away. All you have to do is feed 'em, burp 'em, change a diaper here and there... pshh, easy." (When I asked if this was his situation he said that it wasn't... not sure I believe him.) Wow.

What. the. crap.

my daily must-haves

2009-03-02T12:00:00.002-05:00

Got any harmless addictions? Share!

(can't live without lip balm.)

(chai. probably can't live without it, either.)

hello, snow day

2009-03-01T16:17:00.006-05:00

It's snowin' in Georgia, y'all!

How cute is the Gray BayBAY?

I've been DYING to put him in that thing. So very presh, but it's still a leeeetle too big. So we put him in the fleece one to make a quick trip to Target (p.s. -- most frustrating return policy EVER... how do you deny a receipt??). Still cute.

Do you think we need a new thermometer?

Random note: I got my hair cut last week.
(Uhhh... Hi, random and awkward Myspace-style photo.)

let's play catch-up

2009-02-28T09:42:00.010-05:00

Whew, it's been a while... we've been a little busy.

Let's play catch-up... "fun thing" style (part of my "positive thinking" resolution).

Tuesday... honestly, I can't even remember if I got out of bed on Tuesday, is that bad?

Wednesday: my 6-week post partum appointment. Doesn't sound like a fun thing but I got a lot of things including the o.k. to exercise and... waaait for it... birth control! I love me some Gray Baybay but I have NO desire to be pregnant again anytime soon (though lately I have been missing my G Baby Belly and silently admiring every cute prego belly I see... but that is another blog. And still not enough to make me want another baby right now.).

Thursday... I'll start with the NOT fun thing: my return to work. Boo! Actually, not so bad. The students were all (well, maybe not ALL) excited to see me and we spent the day talking about what they learned, what they've been up to, looking at pictures of Gray (they are all so excited about him... is that weird to you?)... easy day. It was pretty hard to leave in the morning. He was awake when I left and in a sleepy-kind-of smiley-mode so all I wanted to do was curl up with him. But knowing he would be with Paul all day made it a lot easier to go.

Thursday's super fun thing: date night! Paul and I had a big evening in Atlantic Station. My parents were awesome and watched Gray for the evening while we ate quite the delicious meal at Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro. Followed by walking through Bodies: The Exhibition. And ending with Kooza under the Cirque du Soleil tent. (!) When I saw the tent, I was filled with an excitement that must rival an MTV Spring Break-er.

Delightfully creepy, yes?

Kooza was pretty much everything I'd hoped for. My favorites acts were Contortion (even more awesome than I'd ever imagined... the way they move and bend is total insanity!), the Unicycle Duo and, of course, the Wheel of Death (this was Paul's favorite, by far). All of it was very cool. Pretty funny, too. I think one of the things they did with Kooza was really bring in a lot of "clowning" which was pretty cute and very entertaining, especially before the show started. I loved it! Totally recommend going if you're looking for a fun night on the town. I was definitely worn down by the time it was over, though. Paul and G went home and I spent the night at my parents to get up for work the next day. I slept for almost six full hours. Uninterrupted. Amen.

Yesterday's fun thing I can't really use for a while... my mom got us the French Beaba Babycook (I told you guys she is awesome)! I don't normally eat baby food but I think now might be a good time to start just so I can unleash my inner baby chef. Ohmygod I want to steam and puree everything in my kitchen. Anybody down for some pureed sweet peas?

And today I just stayed at the house and loved on G all day. He was a little fussy most of the day but I guess he knows I've missed him a lot because this is what I woke up to this morning:

From february 09

He's so awesome.

Posting will probably be less frequent with my return to work but don't worry... my students have already given me some pretty funny material. There is a random student who stops by my room everyday to chat up her BFF before class. Last semester she was always commenting on my belly, how huge it had gotten and wondering when the baby was coming. Yesterday, this was our interaction:

Student: So... have you had your baby yet?
Me: ...seriously?!

I thought I was doing pretty well with the whole post-baby body thing but now I wonder... do I really still look pregnant??

is this what my life looks like?

2009-02-23T18:16:00.004-05:00

Paul is at the gym.

Gray is passed OUT in the pack 'n' play.

And I am playing housewife.

Cooking.

Laundry.

Washing G's bottles.

Catching up on blogs between the cooking, washing, folding...

and jamming to T.I. and Justin's "Dead and Gone."

Wait, one of those things is not like the others...

finger puppets, anyone?

2009-02-22T19:50:00.006-05:00

Finger puppets for G! Man, these are a total throwback.

I love them. And, apparently, there is many a website dedicated to puppets and finger puppets for babies. After having Gray, I'm seriously considering a career switch. The baby industry is where it's at. Or at least where all the money's at.

Speaking of money, Old Navy is having a pretty insane sale on almost everything right now (including the puppets pictured above). I could have seriously bought almost everything I saw. But I finally just settled on a top and a pair of pants for my return to work. Work, here I come, whether I like it or not.

Random note... Kooza in four days!

And on another completely random note, I cannot get "La'Saaaaarah!" out of my head today.
Boop boop HOOP YEA!
(above links are not child appropriate)

silly

2009-02-20T22:22:00.001-05:00

From february 09

georgia peeps, i want to know...

2009-02-19T20:40:00.007-05:00

During the crazy thunderstorms/tornado warnings/wind/hail... did you make a plan and take cover or did you go outside to watch the action? Or did you do nothing and carry on with whatever you were doing at the time?

When I got the UGA Alert phone call (I still get them even though I'm no longer a student) I turned on the t.v. to watch the weather, got a little bit freaked, took G, G's carseat and some blankets to the downstairs hallway and then went back upstairs for some couch pillows when I couldn't resist... I had to go outside and have a looksie. I came back in five seconds later to continue "sheltering" and even though I could see that my part of the county was pretty much in the clear, I kinda wondered if I was an idiot for doing stepping outside or if I was being too paranoid since I could see that we were back in the green/there was almost nothing at all on the radar over us or the surrounding counties. We got some pretty intense wind with thunder and lightning. One big thunder scared me half to death but G was completely unaffected... he slept through the whole thing! In fact, he slept for about 4.5 hours in one stretch!

Today, G and Stanie had their first official meet and greet... lots of baby gurgles, sniffing, jealous whining and everything...

From february 09

Here's one I caught of Gray mid-sneeze. So cute (maybe my most overused words during the past five and a half weeks)...

From february 09

----------------------------------------------------------------

Update from today's appointment: The films show what looks very characteristic of what's called a carotid body tumor/paraganglioma. They're pretty sure that's what it is but I guess we won't actually know for sure until it's in pathology. Pretty rare but usually benign. Either way it needs to be taken out so they can biopsy it to be sure and also because they can become neurologically active (cause my body to release hormones or it could cause dysphagia... things like that). But because it's on the carotid artery there's obviously a bleeding issue. So... he's referring the situation to a head and neck surgeon at Emory. He couldn't get me in with her until March 12th so I guess it will still be a few weeks before we know what the plan will actually look like. Again, the good news seems to be that if he's right that it's probably a carotid body tumor, they are almost always benign. The not-so-comforting part is the risk with it being on the carotid artery. A possible option for the surgery is to cut off the blood supply to the tumor before it is cut out to lower the risk of bleeding, etc. But these are all probablies/ifs/whatifs... we won't know the dealio for sure until I get to see the surgeon at Emory. Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers, guys, I appreciate it!

hi ho, hi ho, i'll really hate to go

2009-02-19T07:00:00.001-05:00

One week from today, I will be back at work.

If it weren't for this fact constantly in the back of my mind now, I would feel like a total waste of life. Yesterday, I didn't do a damn thing except cuddle with G until 3 o'clock. At 8 a.m., I made a list of all the things I could (and should) accomplish but when Gray went into his morning smiley playtime, I just scooped him up and we cuddled, ate, and cuddled some more. Didn't even watch TV. When he napped, I made a hot cup of chai, picked up the book I'm reading for a little bit, caught up on all of my favorite blogs, looked at my to-do list again, and cuddled G a little more before I finally decided to get cracking. I mean, really... I did that for, what?, seven hours?! And while I would normally feel bad about my lack of accomplishment, I actually felt more accomplished because I was actually taking advantage of my time with him instead of worrying about "doing" so much. I know I will still have weekends and week nights to love on him but there are still 50-60 hours a week I'll be missing because of work + planning + ripping my hair out + commuting. I am so dreading that first day back. Yesterday, on our diaper/wipes/bottle run to Target I bought a few more Kleenex travel packs and stashed them in my console, preparing for the major alligator tears that will be happening on my morning drive.

Do you think he's sad, too?

slings, swings & things

2009-02-18T09:00:00.003-05:00

Apologies: This might be the longest post ever. (EVER.) But I included lots of pictures for all of you visual readers so bear with me. Or skip to the bottom if you're checking for the what-is-this-lump-in-my-neck? update.

I'm certainly no super fan of attachment parenting but I (mostly) like The Baby Book and there are a few really great things I'm on board with. And one thing they spend a great deal of time talking about is babywearing. I know that babywearing is not for everyone (especially if you are very anti-attachment, I understand), but if I could give only three pieces of advice or product recommendations for pregos... "wear your baby" would be one of them. I don't know if I've really talked much about babywearing after my initial decision to test the waters, or how much I LOVE using the sling with Grayson. So if I haven't... let me just tell you how much we love the sling. Gray is a pretty cuddly baby (as most are). He loves to be held, rocked, burped... he just really loves to be loved on so it just makes sense that he loves the sling. If he is fussy for who-knows-why... I can put him in the sling and he is almost always calm within minutes if not seconds.

I love the sling because I can do things around the house with both hands free while still getting snuggle time in. Maybe it's because I know I'll blink one day and he won't be wee anymore. Or because it makes outings a little more peaceful and fun. Or because adding 11+ pounds to my frame makes walking up the stairs twice as difficult which means I have no choice but to exercise a little bit all the time when I'm wearing it (Must.Lose.Baby.Weight). But it took me three tries to find the perfect fit for both of us.

First, I tried Munchkin's Jelly Bean version but in the wrong size. I exchanged it for the right size but he was still a bit too floppy for it to work. Great sling but I'm waiting until he's a little bigger and the weather is a little warmer (the fabric is pretty thin... not great for this cold weather, even with the body heat).

Next, I tried the Baby K'tan. Tried it one day while I vacuumed, put away sanitized bottles and tried not to pull my hair out. Great at first but it was a little more involved and difficult to put G in (probably because he was still a little more floppy). And I found it very uncomfortable for me. I hate (HATE) when my clothes are bunched up or pulling anywhere -- I just don't wear clothes that are uncomfortable. If clothing makes me feel confined in any way, it's a dealbreaker. And this sling made even my yoga pants and Old Navy tank top feel bunched up and uncomfortable. Not cool. It's made of a jersey cotton material which is great if you're looking for washable and soft. Not great if you're looking for ease with a snug yet comfortable fit. And guess what... all baby slings are washable and soft (would they sell if they weren't??) and they're half the price of the Baby K'tan. My opinion? Way overpriced for what you get. (And I have a personal story about the company that you can ask about later.)

And, as the saying goes, third time's a charm... when I was on a Target run, I glanced through the aisle with the carriers and happened to see Eddie Bauer's take on babywearing. Brought it home, popped G in like a string bean and waalah (!), he was happy as a clam. Super easy to put him in, even easier to slip on, doesn't make my clothes gather in any of the wrong places and it doesn't cramp his floppy baby body. AND... if wee G is sleeping but I'm ready to put him down or we're out at a restaurant and it's convenient (see picture below), all I have to do is gently place him in the pack n play or on the booth and slip the strap off (though this will no totally be possible once he's more mobile). A babywearing winner in my book.

G in the sling, ready for some frisbee golf:

From february 09

Sleeping like a champ in the sling at Chili's:

From february 09

Finally, we got out the Baby Bjorn. I knew they were crazy popular with the parenting masses and now I know why. Becca got this for us even before my first baby shower but I've been waiting to get this thing out once he quit flopping around so much. If I had known what I know now... I probably would have skipped my first few trial-and-errors altogether. Two days ago, Gray and I went on my first post-baby "workout!" Two laps around the neighborhood with Gray in the Bjorn. I didn't think I would love a carrier more than I've loved the EB sling so far, but... the Baby Bjorn is where it's at! Super easy to put on, which I didn't expect. It almost looks like a bulky mama-baby torture device on the website but it's a piece o' cake and not at all cumbersome as I had expected. Wonderful for exercise -- walking, lunges, doing stairs (yesterday's quickie workout), etc. And there are multiple styles and colors now so it's not all basic black! I know owning one is enough but they make me want to own five. Another win for babywearing (and Baby Bjorn marketing, apparently).

Here we are hooked up and ready to leave for our first walk. G's all alert and killing me with cuteness:

From february 09

And by the time we were one house down... passed out:

From february 09

And STILL passed out an hour after we got back:

From february 09

I <3 babywearing. Even if it is my first step on the slippery slope to becoming an Attachment Parent. (Parenting philosophies... so complicated, controversial and, again, another blog for another day.)

[Other slings/carriers that I've heard some pretty great things about: Peanut Shell -- their slings have super cute colors and designs for the fashion conscious mama; Baby Hawk -- more like the Baby Bjorn type of carrier and also SO cute

----------------------------------------------------------

Gray's latest new baby thing is trying to grab and reach for things, especially my hair, clothes and the animals on his swing. (He is really starting to love the swing, too. He did NOT love it in the beginning.)

From february 09

swinging at the giraffe. (so.cute.)

From february 09

woooweee

From february 09

annnnnd he's spent.

From february 09

----------------------------------------------------------

Here's the update on my CT scan/biopsy that was scheduled for yesterday morning:

Went in, got the CT and then the radiologist cancelled the biopsy after giving it a quick look-over. Which would be wonderful news but... the "mass" just happens to be located at the bifurcation (sp?) of my carotid artery (where it splits in your neck). If you saw that episode of Grey's with Seth Green where the artery in his neck was exposed... that's what we're talkin here. (NOT COOL.) Since it's in such a delicate place, he decided it would be too risky and inappropriate to do a needle biopsy. (Um, agreed.) So, instead, they will most likely be going in and cutting it out. Not my idea of fun but I go to my ENT tomorrow to talk about the rest of the results from the CT and to figure all that out. Great news is that it's most likely a benign tumor. We really won't know what the dealio is until tomorrow but that's the update. Fuuuun times :/

i'm a mom (part 1)

2009-02-15T09:09:00.003-05:00

Over the past couple of weeks I've had more than one moment where I either looked at Grayson or saw the carseat in the rearview mirror and thought, I'm a Mom. When did that HAPPEN?! For the most part, this realization has been gradual. A process. But last night, it kind of snapped and wrapped up the whole deal in the most hilarious moment. And so I snapped a picture:

That's my son (my WHAT?) on his Grandpa Gauntt's lap. That stain on his onesie? Yea, it's what it looks like. And his face? So pissed.

Insert this moment into a blind spot in my I'm a mom? thought process and instead of seeing me snatch him up and zip to the changing table, or maybe wanting to gag a little when I wonder Whoa, how did THAT happen?!, you see me laughing and running for the camera to get this priceless reaction (his and mine unseen) on the memory card. Let's put that in the baby book. (Or not.)

2009-02-14T21:07:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

From february 09

Love from the Heberts

KOOZA!

2009-02-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

For Valentine's Day, Paul got us both one of the best presents ever: tickets to see Kooza next week!

Ummmm... do I even have to tell you that I'm SO excited?! Like... so excited you can just call me Jessie Spano.

one month appointment

2009-02-12T15:56:00.002-05:00

From february 09

Gray had his one month appointment at the pediatrician today.
11 pounds. 22 inches long.
(75th percentile in everything.)
One vaccine.
This little boy is healthy and "perfect!"
(Do you think they tell every mom that?)

My best attempt at getting both of us in a picture:

From february 09

Such a cute chunk of baby.

one month

2009-02-11T20:14:00.002-05:00

From misc.

(Click for full size.)

Has it really been one month already?!

Gray has already changed SO much since we met him. The past several days have shown the biggest changes (responsive smiling, lots of cooing, discovering his hands, lots and lots of eye contact and studying the world...) and even though I can't wait to see even more of his personality, I'm really going to miss this cuddly baby stage. He is such a great baby so far, we've got to be some of the luckiest parents around. Next to Paul, I didn't know I was capable of loving someone so much or that my heart could be so altered by such a tiny life. And who knew we could function on so little sleep?

Really, it blows my mind how quickly the time is passing. I don't know where the time went and I don't even want to think about how fast this next month will go. And then the months after that... I don't know how I will ever be able to go back to work two weeks from now (yes, only two more weeks) and leave this little boy for 9-10 hours a day. Probably with a lot of tears and picture text messages everyday. (work is another post to be scheduled for another day). I'm just thankful that I will have the entire Summer off to spend with him. And I guess Spring Break isn't too far away, right?

And, of course, I don't know how we would have made it this far without our awesome families and friends. I really don't know how people do this without support. We have had so much help and support it's unreal. There are a lot of things I don't know but I do know that this baby is so loved!

mr. happy

2009-02-09T12:17:00.008-05:00

Gray was SO smiley this morning!

From february 09

It's true that when they smile you almost forget that they spent the last hour crying. Or how much sleep you didn't get those first two weeks. Or how he just blew it up on the changing pad at the mall. And I love the way Paul laughs when G smiles at him. Too cute.

Hands down, smiling is my favorite G-thing so far.

From february 09

How's this one for some extreme smiling action? How many chins can you count, haha?

From february 09

G's future?

2009-02-08T22:50:00.001-05:00

Apparently, this is what Grayson should look like. What do you think? Does he look like us? ;)

i love it

2009-02-07T23:19:00.003-05:00

Just a few pictures from the last two days...

Today, we went on an outing to Mall of Georgia. Paul got off super late last night so we left him to get some zzz's. Met up with Brittany at Nordstrom for a little gal pal time (and I had to get another one of those blankets I'm in love with) . Stopped by my parents' afterward so they could love on him and also because he's never been there before today! (Lots of firsts... first trip out of Athens, first time at my parents', first trip to the mall...). Got another sweet picture of my mom with Grayson:

Stanie was busy getting dirty outside so we didn't introduce him to G, but I still had to get a picture of my favorite dogga. His hair is getting so long!

And from yesterday... Chunky G!

And still no picture but G smiled a few more times tonight for Paul to see. He is SO cute with his smile! I love it so much. We feel like he is a real baby now ;)

i'm in love with a blanket

2009-02-06T10:00:00.004-05:00

First, I have breaking news: G showed me his first real smile today! I was looking at him and rubbing his belly, playing with his hands and arms, etc... and I started talking to him and he smiled with his whole face! At first I thought maybe it was a reflex smile and I just really wanted it to be a real smile (I thought they didn't really smile responsively for a couple more weeks?). So I kept talking and playing with him and he did it again, his eyes and everything! SO cute. I thought my heart was going to explode.

And this next thing is mostly for my prego readers...

From february 09

I didn't know I could love a non-human thing so much. But any blanket that helps G sleep for four (yes, four!) hours at a time definitely wins my heart. I loved this blanket before but mostly because it was cute, it was one of the first things we received for Grayson (from Brittany) and there are coordinating burp cloths haha! And now I am in love with it because of its extreme swaddling function! We've been trying a few different things with Grayson at night to get him to sleep a little harder and longer and so far we've been only mildly successful (yes, I know he is only four weeks old). Last night and the night before we used the Swaddle Designs blanket to put him to sleep and he slept like a champ! Or at least for such a wee baby. Last night he slept for two four-hour stretches back-to-back! Seriously... it is all about the blanket. Not even one arm wiggled its way out. Pregos, I would go ahead and look at investing in a good swaddling blanket as an investment in the future length and quality of your sleep. (I've also heard that the Miracle Blanket is the bomb.com if you're looking for another or still can't swaddle tightly enough with a square.)

And just because I'm so excited that he really smiled today, here are a few for you visual peeps:

Just hanging out yesterday...

From february 09

And a poladroid-ed picture of Paul and G (I am blaming Ashley for this latest obsession):

From february 09

I hope next time I will have a smile picture to post! For now, we are about to get out of the house for a short outing. My eyes will bleed if I have to watch any more soap operas today.

2009-02-05T16:38:00.006-05:00

From february 09

That's G in my favorite of all of his baby outfits. I frantically put him in it and took pictures after finding out (trial and error) that he is already too big for one of his newborn-size sleepers. Of course, since it's my favorite... it was the day he chose to have an epic blowout on the changing table while Paul's mom was babysitting during my dermatologist appointment yesterday afternoon. Kinda glad I wasn't here for that one, haha!

Short story of my appointment today is that he doesn't know. I need a CT scan and then a needle biopsy of the enlarged node. He gave me what he thought to be the best and worst case scenarios and even if it is the worst case that he mentioned, it is manageable. Not exactly fun times but hopefully nothing to get really worked up over.

In more exciting news, Gray and I FINALLY have a few pictures together:

From february 09

I have more but I'm spent.

the sicklies

2009-02-03T13:27:00.003-05:00

The sicklies got me. Not exactly sure what but I feel like total crapola. Paul stayed home with me today because all night and all morning I was on the verge of vomiting (is that t.m.i.?). So there is definitely nothing exciting going on in the Hebert house today. Once he was finally done chowing down (he ate for what seemed like hours haha), G snuggled up with me to make me feel better:

That is my sad face after I told Paul how sad it is that he won't always be able to cuddle with us like this. Paul just thinks I am crazy for getting sentimental already haha.

I already slacked on my photo-a-day resolution yesterday. So, Paul had just left to go to the gym and I was feeding my sweet tooth while Gray was sleeping when I decided to be the lamest mom on the planet with my picture for today. I'm sorry, I just could not help myself when I pulled these two out of the bag. I am weak to these kind of cheesy photo ops:

He is making the cutest little noises in his sleep. Warms my heart even though the sicklies are taking back over again.

If you think of us on Thursday, send up a little thought or a prayer for me. Last week, I went to the doctor for a gland that's been noticeably swollen for a few months now. He thought my thyroid was enlarged and that it might be underactive so I got a thyroid ultrasound on Friday and she also took pictures of the lump in the top of my neck (maybe thyroid, not sure). Yesterday, doctor's office called back saying the ultrasound confirmed a lump in my neck, so on Thursday morning I am going to an ENT specialist to hopefully find out what's going on or at least get more tests done. Normally, I probably wouldn't be so worried, but having a baby really does bring out the worst thoughts when it comes to your health and mortality. I've been feeling pretty lousy for the past day or so, especially today, and it sucks that I can't be doing more with him. Not that he is Mr. Active right now but I want to get out with him and take him to the bookstore and the coffee shop to meet with friends, especially during the week when not very many people are out... very "Amanda" things for me to do and I don't even have the smallest urge to do them. I hate not being at my best while I have this time with him and I still haven't felt like myself since delivery. So... just hoping for an answer and generally better health so I can be at my best during the rest of my time at home with him. Have I mentioned how much I'm dreading my return to work??

our bean sprout

2009-02-02T00:26:00.003-05:00

Our little bean sprout is three weeks old (technically yesterday)! The days are really flying by now and I can't believe I only have three more weeks at home with him before I have to go back to work. That's going to be a hard day but I'm trying not to really think about it yet.

Tonight, we went to Adam's to watch the Super Bowl and Emma babysat G. Our first time really away from G. We've been out once together and then separately, but always to do errands and make appointments, not for anything social. The Super Bowl was very low key -- we picked up dinner on the way there, ate, watched the game, sat around and talked a little. The careerbuilder commercial was my favorite, it was so funny! I'm not so much into pro football so I was zoning out a little and missing G when I got this picture in a text from Emma:

He was making gassy faces haha

From Baby Grayson

We had a really good time just getting out together and being with people we haven't seen in a while. Honestly, I was tired when we left and when we were eating but just being with people was really what I needed. I was feeling a little renewed when we left to come home. Of course, nothing compared to seeing this when we got home:

From Baby Grayson

G just ate again and we're waiting for a good burp so we can put him down and then put ourselves down, too. I just had to post a little update on our sprout. Yesterday, I just did a rough weight check by stepping on the scale with and then without him... and if our scale is accurate, he weighs a full 11 lbs now -- check out that double chin! He is growing like a weed!