Halloween comparison

Maggie and Max wore the same Halloween outfit (fleece banana) as babies in their 1st year. Can you tell who is who?

Here is one difference between the 1st and 2nd kid. The 1st you have about 20 different photos to chose from and the 2nd you barely have one good one to use. I always heard this was the case and it's true for the most part!

Overdue

Our household has been sick since the day after Halloween and as of tomorrow, my 33rd birthday, I'm still under the weather with my second round of mastitis. I was really hoping I'd be past my cold and back to health but then this crept up on me this week and it's crazy frustrating! Clearly a sign that I should slow down but I really don't do much more than work, be with the kids, errands, cooking... Maybe this just comes with the territory right now.

Anyways, the other day when I started this post, I was truly getting into the holiday spirit. Spending my morning with the kids listening to Christmas music on Pandora, getting excited about taking Maggie to the Nutcracker this year (her first ballet), thinking about my upcoming birthday, last weekend's beautiful wedding, and being thankful for not feeling sick anymore.

Ah, short-lived. I send a huge prayer out there for us to all be healthy soon so that we can enjoy my favorite holiday next week.

Pictures from over the past few months - it's taken me awhile to get any pictures on here, I'm a bit behind the times as usual by not having a sweet iPhone or something of the like where taking a picture and uploading them to Facebook or my blog would be a cinch. Speaking of, I have a new little iPod shuffle sitting her on my desk. It's been there for awhile and I'm clueless about how to get songs on there. That is what I want for my birthday - my husband to help me put songs on there :-)



Q&A: Maggie (3 yrs, 7 months)

Asked during dinner this week~

What day is tomorrow? Um, Halloween...tomorrow is Joy's house.

Do you like to be called Maggie or Magdalena? Magdalena

Do you know how to spell Magdalena? M-e-c-d-e-f-g...(and continued saying the alphabet by song)

Where is your favorite place to go? Trick-or-treating...I love to go to Eden's house.

Do you still love grains? Yeah (and continued to say what else she loves like chicken and star soup and dad yells out chinese food!). She then starts singing about chicken and stars, then Jingle Bells. Max was looking on excitedly from his high chair at his crazy big sister.

What book is your favorite? (Runs to the playroom and brings back) "There are no ordinary cats" (a small picture book with sayings that Michael bought me for our anniversary before she was born). It was an odd pick, she rarely chooses that one.

What is your favorite craft? Paint

Do you like to help clean up? Yeah. I love Kellen, Kelsey, Livvy, Lexy, Joy...(she kept naming everyone at her daycare/school where I think "cleaning up" is emphasized)

How old are you? "F"ree

What color is your hair? White...blond and white skin. Then she exclaims "Fashion show" and starts dancing her river dance :-)

Yesterday and tomorrow

It was a good idea to bring out the red leather handbag last weekend when I had a night off from my kids. It was silly to keep using it once the week began. Yesterday, holding that purse along with Max on one hip and getting the kids in and out of the car was not a good idea. Thank goodness I used the chance to wash and dry my "kid" purse during that time though because it was ready for me after getting home yesterday with what became the lunky annoying red purse. It's funny what is important some days, then not others. This is applied to years of my life also.

Which brings me to the fact that our wedding anniversary is coming up this weekend and despite having no time for eachother the past 6 months, somehow we've carved out time for eachother this weekend and I hope it goes off!

My birthday comes up after that. I can't believe the age I will be. It makes sense with where I am in life, I might even seem a little young in that respect to some people, but seriously, how did I get here so fast? My bones feel creaky, but I actually feel somewhat light in spirit if that makes any sense. I don't know how I'll feel that day, but things are good now despite things not being perfect.

Happy day

All the reasons today is happy day:

Drive to work in the rain
Earl grey tea and lemon yogurt
New {happy} tree
Max popping top teeth and nicknamed "Scooter"
Scored cute dress for upcoming wedding that is nursing-compatible
Revlon lip butter rocks - see here (I got Peach Parfait and am going back for more)
Gift giving and good friends
Wearing my Mara
Recalling weekend memories of white roses, shopping with my kiddos and lots of fun finds and deals, salted caramel mocha, yummy dinner and great service with sister-in-law (shout out to the waiter for memorizing 10 orders. I had swordfish over butternut risotto, it was super tasty. We finished dinner with a stop at Gunther's for super creamy scoops. I love spur of the moment and I love lemon custard)

How's October treating ya?

Last week felt kinda hard, this week is I'm feeling good. Last week I was jealous - hubby got to escape on a trip kid free for a few days of fun to the Wild Wild West ~

Don't get me wrong. I do have the opportunity to "escape" as well but I keep turning it down. It all comes down to "do I really want to be away from the baby?" Nah, not really. I just need moments of peace. And it made me think about how much life has changed from the times we used to do those trips together a lot. I really love the open road.

October highlights:
Max army crawling (starting to crawl!), sitting up, toothy grinning and giggling, babbling - I swear I've heard him say "hi" back and saying "dada-da-da...", weighing in at 20+ lbs (maybe I should put that under lowlights? ha ha)
weather fall-ish some days, this weekend rain?
Maggie singing and making up songs, in a "Princess" phase, always hungry
pumpkin patch fun
sleepovers with the grandmas
connecting people
a little bit of home cooking (like the loosly followed minestrone soup recipe where I used up leftovers including tri tip, pasta wheels, frozen summer marinara sauce, and asiago cheese rind that turned into gooey chunks in our soup bowls - yum)
fun family weekend to Nevada filled with visit to see extended family, Donner memorial state park nature walk and picnic, 25th floor hotel room and indoor pool (Maggie ecstatic), ferris wheel ride, and splashing dog competition. Maggie's comment on the dog competition: "I didn't know dogs liked to jump in water!"

October lowlights:
nursing induced hormone fluctuations?
forgetting to take vitamins + carrying 20 lb baby and sometimes 30 lb preschooler=sore joints/body
interrupted sleep (I'm the kind of person that just doesn't feel good if I don't get my 8+ hours)


It's starting to feel like knitting weather again. I haven't picked anything up yet, but I want to! Something new/easy/and gratifying!

Pictures to come...