A Capricious Perspective: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Insta Friday

Inspired by Life Rearranged, I decided to start participating in...

I am a bit attached to my phone and usually have it with me...
so I have lots of pics from our every day life.

Sometimes Girlfriend helps herself to breakfast...it's...very helpful.

Baby Brody just chillin'.

This is huge folks!
Instead of sporting her usual mullet,
we recently discovered Girlfriend has enough hair for pig tails!

Here is Brody ready for his first walk to the park.
Thanks to youtube,
I was eventually able to figure out how a never ending piece of fabric can become a baby carrier...thirty minutes and a days worth of deodorant later...

And this my friends appears to be a maternity pic,
however it was taken when I got home like 5 days after having Brody...
I left the hospital weighing one pound more than when I went in and looking 5 months pg...
seriously?! It sucked...still sucks.

Legos have invaded my house as AJ's newest obsession. This scene appears to be a tragic accident at the police station. I really feel for the guy in the bottom of the pic stuck in the downward dog.

Baby Brody relaxing. So sweet and pure. I love that boy up!

More legos...

My little soccer star practicing between practices.

I know...another Baby Brody pic...I just can't get enough of this boy!

This just cracks me up...
not sure who was more confused with why the telescope was not working.

My new ride. I will never drive another vehicle with children again.
I'm getting better at parking it...but still look for 3 open spaces so I can pull into the middle one...

I am in love with these boots, and need to own them one day...when I can fit back into
non-maternity clothes...skinny jeans and I are not friends right now.

Check out that belly. When I went in to have him at 39 weeks,
I was measuring 43 weeks pregnant...fabulous.

& lastly Latte is adjusting well to new baby...
not sure he even notices after 3 additions have joined us over the last 5 years.

Fall Decorations!

I love decorating for fall and Halloween every year!
I would do it in August if Andy let me.

I did get away with decorating at the beginning of September,
before Baby Brody arrived...
knowing things might get pretty busy once he was here.

AND this year we had jack-o-lantern pumpkins and
mini pumpkins from our garden!

I have a thing for banners.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Adjusting to 3: PART 2 Coming Home And Our New Normal

I came home from the hospital knowing I was moving a little slower with this recovery due to having so much scar tissue from two previous c-sections, losing a lot of blood during surgery, and some massive bruising across my tummy.

But I thought I’ve got this…third kid…I know what I’m doing…

c-section recovery and all.

But this time was different.

My reality check quickly set in by day two, taking me down a couple notches…

I realized as your heart grows with love, so do your concerns…

new kid = new worries.

We are blessed with an insurance company that sends a home health nurse to our house one to two days after we go home. The nurse checks on both mom and baby, as well as answers any questions. It has always been a comforting visit, reassuring me that every thing is going okay.

This time our visit sent this tired mama into freak out mode. Baby Brody’s jaundice had gone up, he hadn’t gained any weight in two days, and the knot he was born with on his fore head gathered yet more attention from yet another medical professional. She scheduled a follow-up return visit to the house in a day. I spent a day in tears, frantically breastfeeding him every two hours round the clock.

The home health nurse returned and this time Brody’s jaundice had gone down as by day 5 his liver decided to wake up and start doing it’s job and he gained more weight than expected. Relief flowed through me. And as I knew our little guy was going to be okay the lyrics Mama said there’d be days like this, there’ll be days like this Mama said…started blaring on repeat in my head.

After the two-week check-up, his weight continues to go up as the jaundice continues to go down. The knot is just bone overgrowth on his skull. Apparently harmless and finding a surgeon to remove it for cosmetic reasons on a lil baby would be virtually impossible.

Abby loves to hold her new brother and AJ is coming around.

There are legos, laundry, and abandoned snack bags all over the house. It’s a continuous game of Bop-The-Mole. I just get one kid settled and someone else needs something else…help with a lego kit…a potty practice…the dog needs out or back in…it’s time to breastfeed again.

Through my exhaustion the other day, I sighed to Andy and said,

“I just want things to be back to normal.”

To which he replied, ”This may be our new normal.”

And he is right.

As I type this with one hand and a baby in the other,

I realize this is our new normal,

and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

All I can say when you visit us is…

It gets kinda crazy around here.

Adjusting to 3: PART 1 The Back Story To Songs In My Head

Mama Said There’d Be Day Like This

I make strong associations during major events in my life. I remember smells or clothes I wore on certain days. Bath and Body Works Sweet Pea will forever remind me of High School. I remember the outfit I wore when Andy proposed and the outfit I wore the last time I hugged my mom.

Another association I make is getting songs stuck in my head. For example when my mom passed away six years ago, I knew I had to find the strength to let go of someone I had basically been a caregiver for since high school. I had many mixed emotions grieving someone I loved, but who never let me in as she fought for her independence that was slipping away. The song that was blaring in my head like sirens that never faded or became softer from getting further away the entire time we went through the steps of making preparations for the funeral through attending the funeral and burial was Shedaisy’s Don’t Worry ‘Bout A Thing….

Life is funny, life's a mess

Sometimes a curse, sometimes a blessing

Don't worry 'bout a thing, don't worry 'bout it

Life gets sticky, life can bruise

Sometimes you win sometimes your losing

No matter what it brings

Don't worry 'bout a thing...

Every time I hear that song, strong memories flood my mind and emotions rain down.

Last week as I floundered with adjusting to having three children, a differenct line from a different song echoed in my head.

The line

Mama said there’d be days like this, there’ll be days like this Mama said…

played on repeat in my head. Which is ironic since my own mama was never able to give me advice about being a mom. At the age of 26 I lost having a mother to share being a mom with.

I blog to live life in retrospect, savoring our fleeting moments as a family and so my kids can always look back, never having to wonder how their mom viewed the world or what she loved about life. I wonder so many things about my mom that will forever go unanswered. For this second reason I keep the tone on here pretty light hearted. I have gone back and forth on posting some things…ultimately deciding that life isn’t all unicorns and pixy dust. And I want my kids to have a mama that teaches them how to bounce back on the rough days when the lyrics… Mama said there’d be days like this, there’ll be days like this Mama said…are stuck in their heads.