2 under 2 are kicking my a**

I'm tired. I have so much to say, but that's all I can seem to muster right now. These two little munchkins of mine are taking up all of my brainpower/energy (even though I'm having a great time through it all)...but here are some pics to make this blog seem a little less sad...from a series of attempts to get a cute shot of big sis/little bro. Olivia pretty much has Everett in a headlock for most of these shots, but I am sure he will get her back someday by holding her down and pretending to let spit drop onto her face (if you've had a big brother do this to you before, you know what I am talking about). Other than the occasional headlock, however, Olivia is being a great big sister. Anyway...

More pics to come...

Introducing

Born August 3, at 3:01 a.m., weighing in at 9 pounds, 20 inches, I bring you the cutest little meatball I've ever laid eyes on, Everett Russell:

I have lots more pictures and much more to say, but as usual, it will have to wait. Two kids under 2 = exhausting (yet the BEST!). I have a newfound respect for parents of multiples...

Hope everyone is doing well...

I'm still alive

Dude, I suck, I know. Worst. Blogger. Ever. I have been nonexistent here and some may wonder why I bother to come back at all. It's because I do one day plan to blog more consistently. It's just that right now, I'm in this whole new world of being home, being enormously pregnant, freelancing in my extra spare time and my other extra spare time, I'm just trying to spend as much time with my little girl as possible. Because soon, like really really soon (I'm 34 weeks pregnant today), she's not going to have me to herself anymore. And that thought is one I can not dwell on out of fear of bawling my hormonal eyes out.

So, I'd say don't give up on me, but don't count on me either. At least not for now. And who knows what might happen when we add a newborn to this scenario. But for right now, chances are, I'm probably busy swimming in the pool, making grilled cheese sandwiches, putting a sleepy toddler or tired mama down for a nap or inhaling strawberries from the farm stand down the street. Or cookies. You get the idea.

I seriously am considering calling the editors of the Reading Eagle and thanking them for laying me off. But not so much, since eventually, I will need a new job and this fantasy will all come to an end. Freelancing just doesn't make enough for me to do it full-time and well, money still doesn't grow on trees (but why hasn't someone figured this out yet??).

Hope everyone's having a great summer.

I'll try to at least check in once in a while...promise.

But in the meantime, cut me some slack, because it isn't easy being this gigantic:

Laid off, booted, kicked to the curb

I'll be posting an entry soon -- I'm just trying to adjust to the world of stay-at-home momdom, as I was laid off from my job of 8 years at the Reading Eagle a few weeks ago.
Not sure how often I'll be able to post for a while, but I will be back when I've got things figured out. After eight years of working every day, it has been quite a change.
I'll get to the whole big story and catch up soon.
But right now, my daughter is coloring on the walls, so I have to go...to be continued (probably during a naptime next time)....

Three months to go

It looks like my stomach is going to swallow up my firstborn in this shot. And I still have three more months to go...yikes.

On strange toddler behaviors and sales

This morning, as I was getting ready for work, I noticed Olivia was carrying around her Easter basket throughout the house. Inside were not the plastic eggs from Easter that are now cluttering our house, no. She prefers to carry around a pair of my underwear from the basket filled with (clean yet still unfolded) laundry that is sitting on my living room floor. Sometimes she like to put the underwear on her head.
I also caught her licking the kitchen floor the other day (????). But that's nothing unusual, since she also enjoys eating rocks and dirt when we are playing outside.
I'm hoping this is typical toddler behavior...or maybe she's just being silly like her dad. Yeah, we'll go with that.

In other news, I attended the Just Between Friends consignment sale that started yesterday and is going on through this weekend at the Reading Expo Center last night (you can download a free pass from the Web site). You can get some seriously sweet deals there, and I did, but you have to be ready to wade through the sea of crazy-ass mommies and grabby grandmas to do it. I like to consider myself a friendly person (I even brought the volunteers some extra plastic bags I was storing in my car to take to the grocery store to recycle so they could use them to bag items, hello, I gave them my trash, how nice is that??), but some of these ladies were just downright insane, especially the one woman who quite literally pushed in front of me and grabbed a shirt right out of my hands as I was taking it off the shelf then proceeded to look at me, flash me a fake smile and say "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just looking at this."

Don't mess with these women and discount children's clothing.

But it was worth it, because I got a lot of really nice (gently used) stuff for Olivia and the baby and I also got some nice maternity clothes for work, all for under $50.

For those who are in this area, it's going on all weekend so I recommend it, although you might want to consider body armor.

24 Weeks

Dear Son,


My how you have grown, and your kicks and rolls are proof of that (really, I had no idea little boys liked to kick their mamas in the hooha quite so frequently!). Babycenter has been keeping me updated on your progress, just as it did with your big sister. There's only one problem: It keeps making me picture you as a fruit or vegetable rather than a human child.


For instance, a mere two weeks ago you were my little spaghetti squash, then last week, you were a large mango (delicious!). This week, you are an ear of corn but next week, you're going to turn into a rutabaga! Can you even imagine? I can't, because I honestly don't really even know what a rutabaga looks like! Is it like a turnip? I had no idea. So I looked it up. And quite frankly, I was appalled. If you come out resembling this beast, I might be a little disturbed (although I will still love you just as much):





Is that hair on top?

At any rate, my sweet boy, you don't have to worry, as you have many delicious fruits and vegetables in your future of all shapes, colors and sizes: cucumbers and cauliflower, jicama and pineapple, until finally, in week 37, when you are the size of a watermelon and then, finally, as Babycenter so nonchalantly points out, a PUMPKIN. I know you do not yet know how babies are born, my dear boy, but trust me on this: If you are actually shaped like a pumpkin and not an actual baby (which is hard enough to give birth to), I'm in big big trouble.

Love,
Mommy