sevenchicks

I had big plans

by photochick~ I had big plans over Christmas . . .

I was going to make last minute Christmas cards . . . but I didn't.

I was going to scrub my house from top to bottom . . . but I didn't.

I was going to organize my kitchen cabinets . . . but I didn't.

I was going to put up my tree before I went back to work . . . but I didn't.

I was going to organize my photos . . . but I didn't.

I was going to get everything ready for the next three weeks at school . . . but I didn't.

I was going to make my own baby food . . . but I didn't.

I was going to write a month's worth of blogs . . . but I didn't.

What I did do . . .

Played with my boys.

Snuggled on the couch with Punkin watching lots of fun movies while Baby Brother napped.

Took both kids to the movies . . . The Squeakquel and The Frog and the Prince.

Took Punkin to the dollar tree to pick out presents by himeself for our family members.

Helped Punkin learn how to wrap all those presents.

Read 30 Christmas books to Punkin.

Laid in the floor with the kids and played with all the new toys.

Hosted Christmas because my mom was sick . . . cooking lots of new foods for me and a day full of cooking goodies for family and friends.

Took the kids to see the lights village, roasted marshmallows at the camp fires, and had lots of fun.

It was a wonderful holiday. And I don't even feel one bit guilty for all I didn't do. All I did do was much more important. What fun things did you do this holiday season? 

(About 2 months ago. Punkin- 4 years old, Baby Brother- 4 months . . . now 6 months!) 

alive and kicking with my indian boys

by photochick~ Just wanted to say . . . we're alive and kicking! Literally not a spare moment, but doing pretty well. This week is the end of a nine weeks grading period for our school district so things are a little crazier than normal. I'm like uncommonblonde, I've composed a thousand blogs in my head, but there is never time to actually get them to the computer!

'Tis the season. Babies and teaching. Both all consuming activities. I just remind myself that there will be a season for personal time like blogging in another season. For now, I know how quickly those tiny babies grow up so I'm just enjoying every minute.

Here's a few recent photos of the boys in their Indian costumes courtesy of my aunt (planner and baby's mil) and my mom. We waited for weeks and weeks for a cooler day to get outside and shoot these, but finally gave in a couple of weeks ago and braved the heat. Of course, three days later it was absolutely frigid outside. Isn't that typical!

 
  
  

happy happy birthday

Dear Photochick,

We realize that you may not even remember that today's your birthday.  That's what happens to mamas.  We tend to forget our birthdays as we're so wrapped up in diaper changing, baby feeding, wiping hineys, getting meals for our little ones, doing laundry, getting snuggles and kisses and the list goes on .  So let us remind you that today is indeed your birthday and we wish you a very happy one! 

We love you,
the chicks

Now for fun, let's write silly birthday songs for photochick.  I'll start.

Happy Birthday to you
You might feel like you live in a zoo
Because you have two tiny boys
And a husband too!

Punkin turns 4

by photochick~ Holy moley! How did that happen? My baby boy is growing up wayyyyy too fast. He loved his party, which was a total copycat of Singerchick's big man's party last year. Same idea, different town.

We started off at a local fire station where the firemen did a GREAT job with the kids, then moved to a great local park where the kids enjoyed the water sprinklers and playing on the equipment. The only realy downfall was the heat. The stinking August in Florida H-E-A-T!!! I guess there's really not much I can do about that though.

 

Punkin and his best little girlfriend. They are inseperable. Sooo cute!

Punkin not thrilled to post for a photo on the firetruck.

 Singerchick's Little man (who's not so little anymore) takes his turn using the fire hose to knock over the big cones. The kids absolutely loved this!

 Avoiding the spray.

 My boys.

 Playing in the sprinklers.

 

Planner's chicklet looking so adorable I could eat him.

 Singerchick's cute creation. It was a hit!

 

Happy Birthday my big boy!!

back to school coupons

by photochick~ If you're couponing, you might want to check out these back to school coupons in a pdf to print HERE.

A few of the deals:

15% on Birthday in a Box (wish I had that a few weeks ago)

25% off RussellandHazel.com (the coolest binders ever, I blogged about my mini binder once that I use to organize my grown up life)

If you have a Walgreens close by, I also read somewhere that they have a Back to School coupon booklet near the door by their regular sale paper. Might be worth checking out.

Do you have any links to coupons or good avice for saving money for back to school supplies?

question for you

by photochick~ Despite the lack of blogging, all is well at our house. The baby is doing great, he even slept 7.5 hours last night! He's six weeks old now, pudgy as a little porky pig and smiling and laughing and cooing like crazy. I'll post a photo soon.

I've been swamped of late with birthday parties, church events, getting ready for school to start, getting Punkin back on a schedule and ready for preschool soon, and taking more certification tests myself. Craziness.

For today, I just have a quick question for you. We're using the Playtex Drop In Nursers with disposable liners. I have to work a few days next week so I'm trying to get all my pumping and bottle ducks in a nice little row. Everything is going well except that I can't figure out what you are supposed to use to push the air out of the liner. You know how you put something at the bottom of the liner and push up until the milk is all the way at the top of the nipple and all the air is out?

I used Avent bottles with Punkin, so I have no experience with this. My mom said that like thirty-something years ago (seriously!) they made something that fit inside the bottom of the bottle to push the air out. I have found no such creature. I'm using a bottle brush right now, but not super convenient when you are out and about.

Edit: As I looked at their website I see that they sell a version that has a "slide-up" mechanism that solves this problem, but I don't really want to pay more for that. Is there another way to get around this? Surely??

Help!!!! Thanks!

a long time coming

by photochick~ I had to share with you photos of a very special gift I received recently.

The story began long ago with a student assistant that worked for me many years ago when I worked at a college. I was fresh out of college myself, so we weren't really that far apart in age. A student assistant that quickly became a wonderful friend. I was working on my master's degree and she her bachelor's . . . a combination that included many, many late nights writing papers together.

Jump forward several years and between us new degrees, her wedding, five children, several houses and many, many miles, she is still a wonderful friend. We talk mostly by email with the ocassional phone conversation, and the very, VERY infrequent in person visit. Those visits got even more infrequent with the birth of her thrid child and my starting a new job around the same time.

So when she came down a couple of weeks ago I was excited to see her. We saw each other's babies for the first time and she brought with her a very special gift . . . a beautiful hand made quilt. A quilt that was a long time coming.

You see, when I was decorating Punkin's nursery four years ago my aunt made custom curtains in a patchwork style that I made up in my mind from a variety of fabrics I picked out after much toiling. I had purchased extra fabric to make a matching quilt for a daybed that was in his room. Then I was put on bedrest for three months and the quilt fell through the cracks, never to be done.

Jump forward to decorating baby brother's nursery and I found this fabric again. Erin offered to make a quilt for me since quilting is the Susie Homemaker's new obsession (following photography, knitting and a thousand other things she's taught herself to do . . . no, I don't understand!).

So here is my beautiful quilt, the same one you saw in Baby Brother's 4 week old photos yesterday. She added the polka dot and orange fabric to my collection since she knew I am newly obsessed with orange. It's beautiful and I absolutely love it!! Thanks Erin!

 

baby brother: 4 weeks (last Friday)

by photochick~  He's a porker. That's all I can say. Almost twelve pounds at 4 weeks old last Friday. What he's up to these days:

~Nursing, obviously. He really is a great nursing baby. He put himself on a perfect three hour schedule within two weeks and nurses in 15 minutes flat every time. It still took Punkin 45 minutes to nurse at 9 months old, so you can imagine my surprise.

~Still a great sleeper at night, although we're fighting some daytime nap battles. So wierd to me that he sleeps at night by himself with no problem, but will not stay asleep at nap time in the crib during the day for love nor money.

~Forget picking up his head, now he's picking up his head and shoulders and looking around like a big boy. So crazy.

~Is sometimes ravenous about his paci, and others couldn't care less, and still other times refuses it.

~Not only have we moved up from the newborn diapers to a 1 weeks ago, we just moved up to a 2 after many leaks and breakthroughs.

~He doesn't know it, but he's about to have his first attempt at the bottle as soon as his daddy gets home. Keeping my fingers crossed. We're a few days behind the 4 week birhtday they suggest, but it was a busy, busy weekend. I'm sure he'll do fine.

~It is absolutely nothing short of amazing how much you can love someone you've known for such a short time. I could literally eat him. My cup runneth over. (name that movie!)

 

baby brother: 3 weeks old

by photochick~ What baby brother is doing at three weeks:

~Sleeps 4 and 5 hours at a time at night, well, sometimes anyway.

~NEVER spits up. Really odd actually.

~Picks his head up off your chest to look up at you.

~Poops ALL THE TIME.

~Is turning into a real porker and has already outgrown some of his newborn clothes. Tear. How can I already be putting up outgrown clothes??

~Has really captured his big brother's heart and is already starting to interact with him a bit.

~Is the most perfect addition to our family in every way.

~Oh, and of course we think he is absolutely beautiful. Well, that's because he is. I'm just sayin.

  

the ones with the hat

by photochick~ I ordered this hat from Etsy and it's just as cute as I had hoped! It's big enough we should be able to get photos in it for months to come. He was 10 days old when these were taken and is already so much more alert than his first photos. He's changing so quickly!

His two week appointment was last Friday and my little porky had gained a pound in ONE WEEK! Watch out plannerchicklet and superbaby . . . you may have some competition on your hands! :-)