Calendar Girl

I should have gone back to bed when I realized that within the first hour of being woken up I not only had the pleasure of cleaning up 2 blow out diapers, but I was spit up on 3 times. And I'm not talking about your typical blow out or your typical spit up. I am talking about a blow out that migrates all over everything, including the changing table, his clothes, my clothes, the back of my hand and various other places that you don't discover until 10 or 15 minutes later. I am talking about the kind of spit up that travels all the way down your arm and his arm and gets in between his fingers and splats on the floor, but not before it hides in all the creases and folds of your clothes, so that when you sit down 20 minutes later you rest your hand on your thigh and discover another "spot". The kind that is just the right temperature that you don't even feel it run down your arm, and only notice it because you left a slime trail on the arm of your chair.

Grossed out yet?

yeah

So after SO MUCH FUN this morning, I of course was looking forward to nap time because I am so behind on things I can't even see straight. Plus I desperately needed a shower. He went down in the swing and I jumped in the shower - emerging a mere 15 minutes later to hear the dog go ballistic over the garbage men outside in the street. Of course, she woke the beast and the day just kept getting better. Nap time rolled around again and just as I got him asleep Kiddo decided he wants to trap the cat in his room so he slams his door.

At 2:00 I decided it was time for a Sonic run.

An Oreo Blast does the body good.

I returned home with Port asleep in the car seat and had just enough time to call the Sears repair center to schedule an appointment for my dumb dishwasher. Of course the girl had no clue what I was talking about when I described what was wrong - so I am certain that there will be a long wait for ordered parts in my future. AND - they STILL did not have my information in their system, even after going around and around with them the last time I called, and even still after my mother called and supposedly got everything straightened out. GRRR!!!!! So this time I Had to go around and around again with her name and address and phone and my name and address and phone and alternate phone and county and am I sure it was purchased at Sears because how the heck do we have a Louisiana address tied to a unit in TX????

GAH!

As you can see I am a bit frustrated. They are coming next Tuesday. If I lived in Louisiana they would have been out Friday.

Double GAH!

And of course this is all on top of Port waking up at 4:30 and not going back to sleep until I gave up and took him to the couch. Then when Hubby got up for work we moved back to my bed where I got no sleep whatsoever.

But there is a light at the end of my tunnel today - I have been having trouble all month; getting confused about the days and for some reason thinking that there are more days this month than there should be. Well today I finally figured it out:

This is my calendar; the one that hangs in my kitchen, the one I glance at about 20 times a day and the one I use to write all of our appointments on. Basically it is what runs my life. Notice anything funny?? What the?????? No wonder I've been confused.

Mercy.

Until,

D :)

You Don't Count the Cost

My dishwasher decided to give up the ghost again. *sigh* Oh well, I already wash bottles a million times a day, what's a few more dishes??

So, with the exception of the dishwasher woes, I'm having a pretty good weekend here. Kiddo and Hubby drove to Houston last night and today went with Happy to Louisiana to see Hubby's Grammaw. Port and I have been living it up single and partying till the wee hours...uh not really. Port has been really good. It is so funny though, he has been looking for Kiddo all day. Every time I pick him up he looks over my shoulder in each direction looking for something. We decided to venture to Costco today (Lord help me). I was talking to him and mentioned Kiddo and his little eyes brightened up and he got all excited. It was so sweet. Tonight I was carrying him into my room and he spotted a picture of Kiddo on the book shelf. He kept leaning toward it and reaching for it. I can't wait to see what he does when they get back tomorrow.

Costco was interesting to say the least. I purchased the membership just before we went on vacation, but had yet to set foot in the store. I figured since I had only one kid today I could probably manage a trip out today. The place was packed (as I suspected it would be on a Saturday). We did manage to snag some meat and a few sundries, but I still ended up spending 100 smackers. Oh well, I got salmon and pork at a really good price so I am happy. I was trying to figure out the etiquette of the store, but it appears there really isn't one. People were not polite, they left their carts in the worst places and they had no problems getting in your way or running you over. I had to learn to drive my shopping cart defensively. lol!

Tonight I picked up some really bad Chinese food and watched 3/4 of the greatest movie of all time, When Harry Met Sally. Port got a kick out of me singing the songs and saying the lines with the characters. He thought it was hysterical. He also got a kick out of my Lo Mein noodles! He has had a bit of a stuffy nose today, so he keeps snorting when he laughs - it is so cute!!! [note: sorry it's so dark. the first snorts are from me trying to get him to laugh]




Port has started "talking" a lot as well. He does this pretty much all day now...

Unless of course I have a camera on him. It took me three tries to get it caught on tape!

Well it's late and I should be getting to bed.

Until,

D :)

Surprise, Surprise

Another dang clog... I thought this whole pumping thing was supposed to get easier?? *sigh*



I do not know what is in the air right now, but my allergies have been killing me. The roof of my mouth and my inner ear has been itching unmercifully for 3 days now. I really don't want to take anything if I can help it - meds dry up my milk supply so quickly. It hasn't been this bad for me since we lived in Arizona. I wonder what is in the air...

So, a couple of weeks ago I FINALLY got around to putting away this bag of stuff left out from Kiddo's birthday party. The party that was a month ago. Yes, I know. Anyway, it was a bag of gift bags - you know we frugal mommas save that kind of thing. At the party we folded everything up and put all the bags in a bigger bag and when we got back from Houston the big bag ended up in my hallway.

And there it sat for a month.

I told you I have a problem.

So as I was saying, I finally got around to putting it away. Actually, I was going to just toss it in the garbage because I was so sick of looking at it. But, I had one of those moments that made me put it away like I should, because the bags are really in good shape and I can most definitely use them again. So I pulled each one out one by one, inspected it and then put it in my official "bag bag" in the closet. And soon enough, I was at the bottom of the bag.

Where is this story going you ask?

Well, at the bottom of the bag was what looked like a piece of folded heavy, glossy paper. I could see a picture of a race car driver on it. I fished it out and took a look.

It was a $50 gas gift card.

hmmmm....

Right off the bat I thanked God for my pack-rat tendencies.

The thing is - I don't know who put it in there and I don't know if it was a sneaky gift or an accident. It kind of looks like it may have rolled around in some one's purse for a while - the packaging is kind of worn. But I looked it up online and the balance is $50 so I know it hasn't been used.

So now I don't know if I should use it or not. If it was a mistake I need to send it back. If it was a gift I would like to know who put it in there so I can say thank you. I asked one of my friends (who has been known to be sneaky like that) and she said it wasn't her. I guess I could send out an email or something.

So, if you are reading this and you were at the party, and you either saw who was or were personally responsible, please let me know? I need to either send it back to you (or whoever it was) or hug your neck.

Thank you!
Until,
D :)

"Surprise, Surprise" Celine Dion (incidentally this song was written and produced by the new judge on American Idol, Kara DioGuardi)

Fall

Ok, so I think I did pretty good last week - I got 4 out of 7 days in. Ok, so it's not THAT great, but it was much better than what I was doing... Anyway...

We went all week without using the a/c. Thank God for such nice weather. Saturday morning I had a photo shoot and when I returned Hubby went to task of cleaning the coils on the interior a/c unit. The week before he had tried to clean them by spraying them with water. Little did he know that they were so caked with dust and grime that the water did nothing but turn the mess into a thick, gruesome sludge. Ick, Ick, double ICK!

So he opened up the housing unit and after we both dry heaved a bit he soaked it down with some Simple Green and started scraping. Oh. My. Goodness. It was so disgusting. I cannot even begin to tell you.

It took him all afternoon but he finally got things relatively clean. We probably should have a professional come in and clean out the vents too - because if they are even half as nasty as the coil, it is a wonder we are not all sick. But alas, that is just one more thing we can't afford.

My session went really well. The family was so sweet and hopefully I didn't wear them out too much dragging them around the park. Hopefully the fall will find me busy enough that I can keep up my creative energy and really get some great images for my website. I love new material - I love learning new things with regard to photography and processing and the only way I can get either of those things is to shoot, shoot, shoot. Anyone need some family photos??? Seriously, send me an email!


I am looking forward to my first annual, DLM Photography Mini-Session Weekend. I think it will be really fun. I am currently on the hunt for something special to use during the shoots (I don't want to say too much, but hopefully I can find it and use it in my sessions). Unfortunately finding such item requires pounding the pavement a little, and my walking shoes are buried under kid's car seats and a breast pump. In other words, I never have the time or energy to go anywhere nor do I have the opportunity to go without dragging the rug rats with me. I love them both but they are not the best shopping buddies.

Anyway, I guess I got off subject a bit. Little Port is rolling all over now. He can go both directions from either side. At night, he sleeps on his side. It is the cutest thing - I'll lay him down on his back and he'll stay that way for a minute or two. Then he'll suddenly stir and curl himself up and roll to his side; and when he does he groans like a little man. lol!

I've been trying to show him that he can actually move himself places without my assistance. He hasn't quite grasped the concept yet of "going". He wants to go, but he still thinks that all movement comes from me and he gets so mad if I am not around to move him when he is ready. He will sit on the floor and spread his little arms wide and just cry - it is pitiful! When he is on the floor I will put him up on his knees and rock him a bit to get him used to the crawling sensation. I have also tried to get him to hold on to things. This practice bit me in the backside last night. He was playing in his crib while I was folding some laundry and he suddenly got upset and wanted to be moved. I stood him up in the crib and put his hands on the rail closest to me. I thought, even if he fell, he would fall to his bottom and then possibly fall over to a lying position so it was no big deal if I let him go. His hands were on the rail and he had the biggest grin on his face. I let go and he started to lean back. He let go of the rail and in slow motion started falling backwards, goofy gummy grin still spread across his face. I was thinking to myself as it was happening, "ok now he'll put his booty down and sit in the crib..."

nope

The kid fell back, straight as a board, expecting someone to catch him and I didn't. His head hit the back rail of the crib (low near the mattress). It scared. the. begeebers out of him. He screamed like he had been shot and I felt so, so bad. Hubby came in the room to see what had happened and he found us both crying. All I could think about was how this little being trusts me and has no other option but to rely on me for protection and safety and I just completely let him down by letting him fall.

Of course he is fine, but I still feel awful about it. How could I do that to him?

He got lots of extra cuddles and kisses today. And part of an oatmeal butterscotch cookie - but don't tell anyone about that, ok?

I certainly won't let it happen again.

Until,
D :)

If you want to see some more cute pics of Port (and some of my friend's kiddos too), check out Mollie's blog. She caught some cute images the other day. Thanks Mollie!!

Ode to Joy

Brain power. almost gone. It's late. Long day. Early morning tomorrow.

Couldn't resist...

Unbearable Joy. :D

Until,
D :)

amazing photo courtesy of Jill. Thank you momma!

Roll With the Changes

It is almost midnight and the neighbor's $$#$#(#*&*(*&*(#(!!#$$#*^# dog is barking it's $&(*#$#($^#&($#( head off. I am about to come through the fence and hurt somebody. It has the loudest, most obnoxious bark, and it barks in this 1234, 1, 1 pattern that for some reason drives me absolutely batty. I can't go outside and tell it to hush because I am pumping, have a clog, and have already had to unhook once to tend to Port.

grrrrrrrrrr

My internet was down most of the day today. It seems like every couple of months or so it does this, and I wait around all day until I can't take it anymore and I call the dreaded tech support hotline. Then I have to spend an hour on the phone with someone in India whose name happens to be "John" (yeah right), and go through all these ridiculous steps troubleshooting my computer when the problem is with the connection all along. And half way through the process, every time, the darn connection comes back and because "John" made me clear out everything on my computer I have to spend the next 30 minutes going through the dang start up wizard again.

grrrrrrrrr

Let's talk about more important things. Happy things. Cute things.

Port is on the verge - he is about to take off running, and I am not exaggerating here. For a while he seemed to have forgotten how to roll over. I was kind of getting worried, but for the past two nights he has been sleeping on his side and today I saw him roll over both directions more than once. But he won't do it if I am near him - I guess it is easier to cry and be picked up. ;) When he is on his belly I have been picking him up to where he is up on his knees and he will rock a bit but he doesn't seem to get that it might be a way to travel. When I am sitting with him he has started doing this back arching thing trying to get down on the floor. He wants me to hold him in a standing position while he checks things out. It is killing my back. I may have Kiddo demonstrate the crawling thing so maybe he'll be more motivated to do it. As it is the kid may walk before he crawls. He already has the stepping part down.

Port absolutely ADORES Kiddo. I have never seen a baby so infatuated with another child. He will watch Kiddo's every move, and whenever he is near him, Port will try to climb all over Kiddo and touch him and give him kisses.

I love it when he grabs my face and gives me a big ol slobbery, no-tooth kiss. He is such a love that kid.

He has been eating solids pretty well for about 2 weeks now. He of course does well with cereal and has tried apples, avocado and pears. He liked the apples the first time, but not so much after that. Avocado was a big hit the first and third time he tried it, and pears are a steady favorite. He also shared a piece of a banana with me and he loved it, but it constipated him so bad that I think I am going to hold off on that for a bit. I might mix it with pears or something.

I am so glad I am making baby food again. For some reason I get great satisfaction in knowing how much money I am saving, and it is SO EASY! For example, I wanted to try pears, so I took one pear (cost was maybe 40-50 cents??), cut it up, peeled it, put it in a pot with some water, boiled it for about 2 minutes, tossed it in the food processor and voila! I scooped out a portion for that meal and put the rest in an ice cube tray and froze it. One pear yielded me about 8 "cubes". The whole process took me about 5 minutes and I had enough for 8 meals. Love it!!

[Dang dog - SHUT UP!!!]

Anyway, I may try peas or green beans next. And then perhaps we'll try sweet potatoes or another fruit. Any suggestions??

The boy absolutely loves water. I try not to give it to him, but he is insane about it. There is nothing that gets him more excited than a fresh glass of ice water!

The other day we were coming back from HEB and I could hear Port talking in his car seat. I couldn't see him really, but I could tell he wasn't looking at Kiddo. When we got home I opened his door to get him and realized he was talking to the blue balloon Kiddo got at the store. Port was gazing up at it and cooing his little heart out. It was really cute.

And thus concludes another boring post from me. I cannot get this clog out so I am going to take some Tylenol and go to bed.

Until,
D :)

Here is REO Speedwagon with "Roll With the Changes"

Talking in Your Sleep

Ok, so I said I would try to write every day this week... I cannot guarantee the content will be interesting.





We had another rough night last night. Port was up every couple of hours. I am sooooo tired.



~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~



So I started this post last night as I was pumping, and promptly fell asleep at my lap top. I guess I wasn't exaggerating when I said I was tired. lol



Last night was a little more restful. Port was up at 1am - he had been laying on his tummy and somehow tucked an arm up underneath himself; I guess it eventually fell asleep and woke him up. He was not a happy camper for about 30 minutes. I finally got him back asleep and he slept until about 5:30 when he decided it would be fun to talk to himself in the crib quite loudly. I laid in bed as long as I could, hoping he would drift back off to sleep, but it wasn't happening so I brought him to bed with me.



It seems Port has discovered his voice. As we were preparing for bed last night, he spent a good 30 minutes squealing with delight over and over again while I carried him around the house. The louder he got, the more excited he got and it escalated to the point that I could barely hold on to him because he was kicking and squirming so violently. It was super cute - but mercy, quite annoying after a while!



We are on day 3 of not using the a/c. Thank goodness for the break in the weather. We are thinking about purchasing a window unit or one of those a/c towers you can move from room to room. It is not the most attractive solution, but it might be the best thing to do to get us through the rest of the warm weather this season before we replace our central unit.



One of my mom's groups met up yesterday at a park and I wanted to take Kiddo and Port so bad - but I was still dragging at 9:30 and the meet up was at 10. After pumping there was no way I could get a shower and breakfast in before they would all be ready to go home. Bummer. Kiddo loves playing with those kids so much. Thank goodness my best friend came over to our house last Friday! Her family was staying in town to avoid the hurricane (they are from Houston area) and so she brought her 2 year old over. Kiddo and Miss M played pretty well together, and Kiddo has not stopped talking about her or my friend R ever since. He wants them to come back, he wants us to go to their house, he wants M to sleep over... where did he get that idea??!?



He loves being around other kids so much.



Two Sundays ago was the Sunday school graduation for all the kids and they all changed rooms for the new year. The first Sunday of the change Kiddo was not to happy with his new room and apparently asked quite a few times if his Mommy and Daddy were coming to get him. I had to explain to him that since he turned 4 it was a new year and he had to move up to the big boy class. I likened it to "school" too much I think - so now he tells us he doesn't want to go to church, he wants to go to school instead. hee hee! I don't care what he calls it as long as he wants to go.



I don't know what I am going to do about school for him. He will technically be old enough next year to go to Kindergarten, but I can hold him back one more year if I want to. I am still debating whether or not I even want him in school, because of the whole peanut allergy thing. I am afraid I may worry myself to death every day about him coming in contact with something peanut laden. I am already worried about something like that happening and no one knowing what to do for him, or them not doing things in time to help him. Shoot, I worry about that kind of thing every Sunday when I drop him off in his Sunday school class. Thankfully his class doesn't have snacks anymore, but you never know what some kid is going to walk in with, or if someone had peanut butter for breakfast and they have it one their clothes... it doesn't take much for him to have a reaction.



Homeschooling may be our best option for a few years at least. That way, by the time he goes to a regular school he will be old enough to tell people what he needs and take a little bit better care of himself. Right now he is still confused about his allergy - sometimes he understands it's peanuts, sometimes he thinks it is all nuts and peanut butter really throws him because he doesn't understand what it is.

This parenting thing is tough. It's much more difficult than any other job I've had.

More later.
Until,
D :)

For your listening pleasure.... I love me some Crystal Gayle. For years I wanted to grow my hair out all the way to the floor!

Rock You Like a Hurricane

I'm going to start this early today so that I can get a post in. It may take me all day to do it - but it will get done. My goal is to post every day this week! Think I can do it? We shall see...

So we had an exciting weekend. Hurricane Ike was coming this way and we spent all Friday putting our ducks in a row - calling friends and family and making sure everyone had a place to stay if they needed it. The Austin area expected heavy rain and strong wind, but we didn't really do much to prepare for anything except picking up the yard and the driveway. They needed it anyway.

So the storm came, and while it devastated the coast and Houston, our little house saw nothing more than a gentle breeze and nary a drop of rain. It was a beautiful weekend. And in all that beauty, it was difficult to understand, even grasp what our friends and family in Houston had gone through - much less what they are still going through.

It is a beautiful day today. A cold front came in last night and dropped our temps overnight to the high 50's. By the time I got up it was 65 out and now at almost noon it is an enchanting 70 degrees out. Fall is in the air - and though I am sure it is only a tease, I am enjoying every minute of it. That holiday excitement is stirring deep in my bones, it is giving me a renewed sense of happiness.

It is amazing what a decent night's sleep can do for you. Port and I have had a rough, rough week. He rarely napped, and if I did manage to get him down it was for no longer than 30 minutes at a time. He would not let me set him down for anything, and night time was even worse. We decided to try him in the crib at night, thinking that perhaps the extra room and comfort might help his sleep. The first couple of nights were awful. We tried placing him on his tummy, propped to one side, everything it seemed, and nothing really helped. I ended up with him on the couch a couple of times. The third night I realized that I was getting up for every little squeak he made, and most of the time by the time I stumbled over to the crib (in our room) he was already back asleep. So I started trying to just listen when he squeaked and wait for it to either die down or escalate. More often than not he would just go back to sleep.

Last night I was so worried as we prepared for bed. Our air conditioner has been on the fritz all weekend and we had turned it off last afternoon to give it a rest and enjoy the cool breezes coming in. By 9:00 though, it was getting a bit uncomfortable and we were close to time to put the kids to bed. Port does not sleep well when he is hot, and I was dreading being up all night with him once again. I dressed him as lightly as possible, took out his blanket and hoped for the best.

And he slept for 6 1/2 hours.

ahhhhhhhhhhh!

I had trouble getting him to settle back down when he woke up at 5:30, so he ended up in bed with us, but that is ok. That 6+ hours uninterrupted was pure heaven.

So today we are a/c free, windows and doors open enjoying the day. Man, I wish it would stay like this.

It's like Arizona in the winter... ;)

So now we are faced with what to do about the air conditioner. We have been nursing it for a few years now - just praying it would hold out "until next fall" when we could fix or replace it. We still don't have the money to replace it, but we do have some options now.

One, our credit card debt is low enough that charging a new a/c unit wouldn't wreck us financially. I hate to do that of course, but it may be our best option. Two, we just received a really, really nice gift from my parents, and while we would love to keep it, selling it would probably pay for a new air conditioner.

Oh the complexities of life. I hate living paycheck to paycheck.

Until,
D :)

ETA: This really has nothing to do with the post, and I am not really a Scorpions fan (I mean, up until today I thought the song was "Rockin'" Like a Hurricane...), but I am always intrigued by rock concert performances with professional orchestras. This is Scorpions with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. I love, love watching these "serious classical musicians" rocking out with this awesome concert performance. Enjoy!

Hands

Two free hands.

It's not generally something one would wish for, but in my case it would be a dream come true.

*sigh*

Port is going through, something right now. I don't know what it is - teething, growing, milestones, all of the above. But in the process he is about to break me. He won't sleep during the day, he won't let me put him down and he is restless at night. I can only carry him in the BabyHawk for so long before he gets too hot and starts screaming. And there is only so much I can do standing up anyway.

Two free hands. With two free hands I could do so much! I could unload and reload the dishwasher. I could clean my kitchen. I could pick up the house. I could vacuum, do laundry, put things away, write thank you notes from Kiddo's birthday, work on images, heck, I could even blog.

The only reason I am able to write this post is because it is after 11 and everyone is asleep. I am up pumping so it is still somewhat difficult, but much more manageable than during the day.

I know it's bad when my Hubby asks me if I am ever going to blog again.

I just need two free hands.

I have felt like such a failure lately. Failing at being a wife, a mother, at keeping up the house and responsibilities. It is hitting me hard right now. Port is demanding so much of me - and the funny thing is he's not even what I would consider "high needs" or "spirited", he is just the happiest little guy you've ever seen, but he just doesn't like me to put him down or leave his side. He doesn't really fuss or cry (unless Hubby is holding him) but rather, he does this prehistoric dinosaur scream.

I've been calling him Screech.

I need a serious break. I just need a few hours without the kids to pick up the house and get things back in order.

I feel so bad for Kiddo too. Life is so unfair for him right now. He has taken a serious interest in sports lately. He is fascinated by basketball, soccer and football. Every day he asks me to take him to "a sports place" so he can play sports. Yesterday his obsession was basketball. He put this band from a miner's hat around his head, put on his "sport shoes" and carried a baby ball around the house pretending to play basketball. He got so upset when I wouldn't take him to a basketball court to play. Today the sport was soccer. He donned the sport shoes again and carried around his soccer nerf ball. He must have asked me 100 times to take him to a soccer game to play. "It's just right up the road Mommy" he said.

It breaks my heart that I can't nurture this side of him. Not only do I just not have the time or the energy, we don't have the money for that kind of thing either. I would love to see him run around a soccer field kicking at a ball. I can only imagine how cute that would be. And Hubby is not a "team sport" kind of guy so there won't be any enthusiasm from his side.

I know things will get better, I know things could be worse, but I still have to wonder where that fine line is - where does it change from putting everything on hold until Port gets a little easier to whoops we just missed all the childhood opportunities! Kiddo doesn't get to experience much, and I am so scared of bringing him up in such a stagnant environment that he misses out on all the things he should be experiencing at this age. Does that even make sense? I am terrified that he may lose his senses of curiosity and wonder before he can even develop them.

I probably need more than two hands.

Until,
D :)

Where Are You Now

I'm gonna blog today. I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna!

Man, I have been so bad at this lately. And it's weird because it is not that I don't have anything to talk about - the reality is I have SO MANY things to blog about that my brain is clogged and nothing is coming through. I still need to finish the vacation series, I have a post about my morning in Huntsville in my old church and so much more.... I am sorry I haven't been a good bloggy friend lately.

Yesterday was Kiddo's 4 year check. He was supposed to have it last week, but he and Port both caught colds so we postponed it to yesterday. Kiddo did so well - I am so very proud of him. He weighs 43 lbs (95%) and is 42 inches tall (85%). He got 3 vaccinations and didn't cry or anything. He is really good about things if I prep him right before and tell him what to expect. He whined a bit and flinched when he was being injected, but would still answer questions and smiled all through it. He is such a big, brave boy. I am so proud of him.

Didn't I say that already? Well, it is worth repeating.

Kiddo has suddenly started drawing "scenes" in addition to his detailed figures and objects. It is so fascinating to me - the kid has more artistic ability at 4 than I ever have had in my whole life. Yesterday he drew a picture of himself and a friend on a see-saw. There was clearly two boys with arms and legs and faces and bodies on a detailed see-saw with a sun in the sky. On the way to the doctor's office he drew himself lying on the exam table and the doctor standing next to him. It was awesome. I wish I could have taken a picture but he drew both scenes on one of those erasable magnetic boards - which made the fact the drawings were so detailed even more incredible to me.

And yesterday was significant because little Port turned 5 months old.

5 months. Has it been that long already? That is almost half a year!!!

I am still pumping between 5 and 6 times a day. He is suddenly eating way more than I can produce again. It happened overnight. For the past few days I have been supplementing with about 8 oz formula and 2 feedings of rice cereal. And the boy is still hungry.

Yes, I started cereal again. I know I said I was going to wait till 6 months, but the kid is just so miserable watching us eat. He LOVES cereal, regular cooked rice, oatmeal, puffs; anything I will give him. For now he is only getting tastes of other things, but I am ok with the cereal for now. Of course his eczema is flaring again, but I'm not entirely sure it is from the cereal - more likely from something I am eating.

He is sitting up very well now and he has also started to spit. He thinks that is hilarious. Me, not so much. ;)

And yesterday was significant because I officially hit being only 5 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. I have lost 14 pounds in the last 7 weeks! My size 6 jeans fit again (loosely! woo hoo!) and I am feeling so much better. Now if I could only get the skin to shrink as fast as everything else...

I owe the weight loss completely to breastfeeding. I don't exercise at all right now. My diet has been pretty poor lately, especially this last week since I caught the boys' cold too. My throat is raw and water and salad is so unappealing right now. I have been indulging far too much on sweets lately and I still lost a pound this week. Go figure.

My current obsession right now is Facebook. *sigh* Babycenter (where I spend most of my days chatting with a fantastic group of August '04 moms) is switching to a new format and no one likes it, so everyone is scattering to different corners of the Internet universe and a bunch of us have gathered at Facebook. It is fun and soooo addicting over there. I have got to get off that site! lol!

And, I am gearing up for the holiday photography season! I am so excited; please pray that I will be super busy! This is my favorite time of year. I have a mini-session weekend set up and full session dates available. I have ordered some promotional post cards (can't wait to get those) and have also ordered some amazing prints for a display in the doctor's office. I am so excited to see what comes of it. One of my favorite things about my business is that I get to start thinking about the holidays in September! I am soooo ready!

So, that is the quick update I guess. I swear I will try to get back into the blogging habit again. I miss you all.

Until,

D :)

"Where Are You Now" Jimmy Harnen with Synch