One of those days

Today has not gone quite how I imagined it, so I'll start off with what I had planned and then explain how it all went down.  I had an appointment at 10:15a.m. with the DMV so that I could get my drivers licence renewed with no fuss.  I was then going to go to the BYU bookstore to make a couple clothing exchanges and then head home.  Now let's talk about what really happened...

The kids and I were all dressed and ready to go about 15 minutes before we had to leave.  I headed upstairs to snag my passport and social security card.  We have a briefcase that has our important documents, but it has absolutely no organization to it.  After searching through it for ten minutes with no luck I called my Mom to see if I even had my social security card.  She found it and hurriedly sent my Dad out the door to meet me on the way to the DMV.  I still hadn't found my passport so I just threw the whole briefcase in the car and prayed that I'd find it on the way.  As I hung up the phone with her I found  that Ian had pooped so I rushed to change him.  Right when we were going to head out the door I noticed that Elena's shoes were gone.  Perfect.  At that point I started to lose it and yelled at her to get shoes on right away while I gathered up Ian and got him in the car.  I chased down Elena and started buckling her in when she informed me that she had to go potty and that her stomach was sick.  She has had diarrhea the past few days so I couldn't risk it and rushed her back inside. 

We finally pulled out of our neighborhood when my Dad called to tell me he was at target ready to meet me.  He had to get some gas and go to the bank so I told him to go ahead since I was so late.  After searching through the briefcase for a few lights I finally found my passport.  Hooray!  We waited in the parking lot for a few minutes for my Dad to show up and at that point it was already 10:15 so I just gave up on my appointment. 

When I finally arrived at the DMV I was a half hour late so I just had to wait around with everyone else.  Of course Elena had to go to the bathroom again as soon as we sat down.  If you've ever had to take a baby and a toddler to the bathroom then you probably already know the challenges this provides.  If not, let me fill you in.  First off you have to get the toddler's pants down and get them on the toilet while either holding the baby or leaving them on the germ-ridden floor.  Today I went germ-ridden floor approach while guarding the toilet so that he wouldn't reach his hands inside it.  When Elena was finished I had an even greater obstacle... I had to go as well.  This is very tricky because Elena has gotten very good at opening doors and has on occasion exposed me to the world.  Luckily for me, she and Ian got very interested in the tampon garbage and spent the whole time fighting over who got to open and close it.  Back to the waiting room I just sat there thinking about how easy life used to be.  What was it like to just sit there and be bored instead of feeding kids, cleaning them, telling them to stop hanging on the doors, and taking bobby pins out of the baby's mouth.  

When we got to BYU Ian was passed out in the back so I carried him while we looked through the art museum.  Elena started crawling on the ground and doing this weird crouch maneuver so I became very worried that she was about to poop her pants.  We got to the nearest bathroom in the nick of time and I avoided a huge mess.  I felt like a ninja when I was able to get her on the toilet, wiped, and hands washed while still holding the sleeping baby.  

Ian woke up and so we headed to the bookstore which went really well thanks to my Mother-In-Law who came and watched the kids while I tried on clothes.  I just need to hire a nanny to help me out all the time!  

Apparently I need to do a lot more exercise because carrying a one year old, the diaper bag, and dragging a 2 year old across campus about did me in.  We stopped to pet a dog which helped give my arm a break so I wouldn't drop Ian.  I was having a great conversation with the dog's owner when Elena started doing her weird poop crouch so we took off as fast as possible.  At this bathroom I decided to set Ian down on the counter while I popped Elena up on the toilet.  I figured it was more sanitary than the floor.  I tended to Elena, and turned just in time to see Ian fall into the sink and the motion activated faucet started to pour water all over his clothes.  Awesome.

By the time we got to the car Ian was starving so i gave him a handful of snacks and his water while I let Elena in the front door to go get in her car seat.  We had been driving for about 5 minutes when Elena leaned super far forward and I realized that I never buckled her in.  We pulled off the road at the first opportunity and I got her buckled.  She had tasted the freedom though, so she spent the rest of the trip whining that I needed to let her out and that she didn't want to be safe.  Ian was bawling and so I was throwing marshmallows into his car seat to try to calm him down.  When we got home he had marshmallows melted through his hair and everywhere else imaginable. 

Once inside again Elena was on the toilet (big surprise) when she told me "You're a great mommy".  It sure didn't feel like it today, but it was still good to hear.

We've got ourselves a toddler

Elena is growing up way too fast. I had several little moments today that made me pause and think, where has my baby girl gone? The first moment happened as we were driving home from running errands. Elena kept saying "pizza" in the back seat, so I asked her why. Her response was "pizza, eat". I told her that we had just bought yummy Panda Express and she said "ew, gross". Little punk! Next, without any mention of it from mom, she asked to read Harry Potter. She played quietly and listened to me read the whole first chapter and said "Dumbledore" a few times. Such great taste in literature. As I got her ready for bed she told me her bum hurt (poor kid is a little chafed). She then said "kisses, bum?" to which I rudely declined. When I settled her into her crib for the night she stood up and pointed to the toddler bed while saying "big one" over and over again. It took me a second to connect that she wanted to sleep in the big girl bed. Elena definitely has a mind of her own and she tells you exactly what she wants. I love that she's talking now and that she tells me what's on her mind. The other day she woke up from her nap telling me all about daddy climbing a mountain. My only explanation is she must have dreamed it. I love this girl so much and am so grateful I get to be her mommy. Oh, and she can count to 15 already... little genius.

Home at Last

Coming home from the hospital ended up being quite the ordeal. I was being discharged right at Elena's nap time so she kept melting down every other second. The nurse kept running in and out of the room to get all the random paperwork we needed to sign and it took forever. Ian did not like getting dressed and his pacifier kept falling out so I had to wash it with soap about 5 times before we finally left. Once we got home we were all able to relax. I carried sleeping Elena up to bed and then Ian and I shared a nap on the couch. I love being home with my new family! (Look how tiny he is in his carseat. Gets me every time!)

The Birth

Baby number two was so much easier than baby number one, let me tell ya. We woke up bright and early at 5:50 am so that we could make it to the hospital by 7. My parents were kind enough to watch Elena so we dropped her off on the way to the American Fork hospital. Once I got in my sexy hospital gown, my nurse Cherie spent the next hour asking me questions and filling me in on her life story. She was quite the chatterbox! They finally started my Pitocin around 8:30 and I quickly fell asleep. After an hour or so the contractions were strong enough that they were waking me up from my nap, so I decided to get an epidural. I'm all about the no pain approach. I slept very well after getting the epidural because my legs felt all warm and tingly. I was asleep in the same position for so long that my right leg stayed numb until after 8 that night. It didn't seem like I was progressing very fast so I assumed I might be there a while, when suddenly I jumped from a 5 to a 7 and then a half hour later I was a 9 and a half. I was starting to get a little uncomfortable so this time I gave my self another dose of the epidural so that it wouldn't wear off as quickly as it did with Elena. About ten minutes later my doctor and another nurse came in and they had me start pushing. Instead of pushing for an hour and a half, Ian popped out after only 5 minutes or so. So easy! I had them plop him up on my stomach all gooey and everything and I helped wipe him down. Last time I had them clean off Elena first, but I liked holding him right away a lot better. Luckily it didn't hurt when they pushed on my stomach because I had so many drugs in my system and so the only adverse side effect to giving birth was a little fatigue. I did almost fall on my face when the nurse transferred me from the wheelchair to the bed. Another nurse offered to help, but she said that I was great at pivoting and she would be fine. Apparently my pivoting skills ran out and she had to catch me and hobble over to the bed with me. It was the weirdest feeling ever to have no control of my legs. The rest of the day was spent showing off Ian to both our parents, my sister Stephanie, and Elena. Elena was so cute with Ian. She kissed his head several times and said brother for the first time ever. So sweet! She did need a little mommy time on her own, but that was ok with me. She's still my little baby as well. And now for the stats: Ian was born at 2:29 pm, weighing 6 lbs 12 oz, and was 19 inches long.

Bench Project

Nesting has set in pretty bad at our house. I have a ton of home decorating projects, and Mike has been getting both of our cars in tip top shape. I finally finished my entry way bench and so I wanted to show the transformation. I found this bench on KSL for 30 bucks and then I sanded it down and painted it black. I recovered the cushion in the red fabric and with my mom's help I sewed the cover for the blue pillow. I cheated and bought the other two pillows but I'm really happy with how it all looks together.

KSL Addict

Recently we found out that we were getting almost double the tax return then what we were told initially, so I convinced Mike to allow me to use that extra money to decorate our home. He agreed on the condition that he can use the other half for manly endeavors such as ladders, lawnmower, hose, etc... The first room I'm tackling is our bedroom. I've wanted to get a black bedroom set to match our zebra bedding for a long time, but all the complete sets I've found have been close to a thousand dollars. A couple weeks ago I stumbled upon a couple black nightstands for only 45 dollars on KSL. When I arrived to pick them up, the owner told me she had a matching dresser that she hadn't posted on KSL yet. Win! The dresser has tons of space plus a hidden jewelry compartment up top. I borrowed my sister's van the following Saturday and bought the dresser for 60, and a couple lamps and decorations for 40. Among those decorations is a set of 8 black wooden plates that I'm going to hang on the wall above our bed for a decorative headboard. A couple days ago I found a blue wingback chair on KSL that would match the blue sheets and pillow cases in our bedroom. The chair was only 10 dollars and looked a little shabby but I spruced it up as best I could. I painted the brown legs black, stapled the fabric back underneath, and snipped any fraying threads. It looks much classier then it did in the first place and will give me another place to nurse the new baby in our bedroom. It's funny to think that I spent more on the black paint then I did on the actual chair. Nightstand Dresser Jewelry Compartment/ Where's Waldo Zebra and Blue bedding. (Don't mind the dark blankets over the windows. Mike is working nights for a few weeks.) Decorative wood plate Headboard Arrangement Bedside lamps, and some flowers that will be used in another room.

Valentines Day Fail

I had some pretty spectacular plans for Valentines Day this year, and it was kind of a flop. Early in the week I had arranged for my sister Rachelle to watch Elena for the evening while I would make a delicious dinner and a romantic dessert. I had bought Mike a dutch oven (which I would cook dinner in), all the fixins to make chocolate lava cake, a wok, and various kitchen tools that we were still lacking. I wanted it to be a surprise for Mike so I told him that we would celebrate another day since our week was really crazy. Everything was all set to have an amazing day when I started to pick up Elena's flu bug. Luckily, I didn't throw up, but I was way tired and nauseous. Determined that this was still going to work, I made the Root beer braised pork shoulder, set the table fancy, laid out his gifts, and finished cleaning the house. I was going to drop off Elena before Mike got home, but she slept right up until he pulled in the driveway. Once Mike came inside I learned that he had eaten Rodizio Grill for lunch because an international employee from his work was in town, and he wasn't hungry at all so that ruined my dinner plan. I felt too sick to eat, so we just decided to cancel the whole night. Elena stayed home with us and we just lay around feeling awful. Mike did enjoy his presents and we made the chocolate lava cake a few days later and it was absolutely delicious.