Nursing Coming to a Close :(

I think my breastfeeding of Kelly might be sadly coming to a close. I've breastfed all 3 kids, but not as long as I've almost exclusively done Kelly. I'm not a die-hard "you must breastfeed" person, but I felt strongly about it for me and have enjoyed it tremendously for so many reasons. When I've tried to slow down or mix formula feedings and nursing, though, I lose my milk supply fast. Just this month, adding in the 3rd day at her home care seems to have officially started my decline. I'm not pumping as much as I used to and she is really hungry a lot despite having a full serving of all 3 meals and being over 90% in weight (my little heifer)!

I'm mostly bummed b/c there is nothing I enjoy more than sitting quietly in a room with her nursing sleepily and caressing my skin with her little hand and starting up at me dreamily. Just heaven. Secondly, she must have her formula warm (not the other kids) so being on the go and not being able to nurse will SUCK. No pun intended. Thirdly, it's helped me lose my baby weight and then some! I've not been able to drop my last 10 since before Shelagh, probably since before my wedding. It just fell off this time and I get angst just thinking about exercising, finding time to exercise, sweating in general. Oy. Let's hope my kids get Joe's sports and exercise genes or they are doomed to a life of huffing and puffing up stairs like me.

I'm not going to officially stop nursing until I'm forced to, but I see the end unfortunately. Boo hoo.

iPhone!!

We got them last night and DAMN they are fun. Other than my contacts not copying from my last phone (HUGE bummer) and my not being able to figure out how to properly sync my email (goodbye Hotmail, hello gmail?), I LOVE IT! I will be figuring out the email thing tonight if it kills me and trying to transfer my calendar stuff over ASAP. Then, it's Apps, Apps, Apps. How much do I love that Apps is cool when quoted from Beautiful Girls ("We've got Apps!") and in current iPhone terms! Awesome.

I know I have a few of you out there with iPhones (Coach Simi, JFM)...any app suggestions or email/syncing suggestions are welcome.

I did download 1 app - iFart. It's hilarious. I know I'm a complete juvenile, but seriously folks, I was hysterical making my phone fart. Could be the best app ever. Next up, Sirius on the go. Could not be more excited about that.

Coming Soon...

1. Pictures - LOTS of fun pics - Kelly pics, Labor Day weekend beach pics, etc
2. Food - I have got to get myself together with meal planning. 3rd kid is throwing me over the edge and I've started making 2 dinners on home days when I can.
3. Lots of TV commentary
4. Lots of general organizing to be done - house projects, parties/hosting things, etc.

One of these days I'll have my head on straight...Hoping to do some catch up this weekend in between 1st day of dance, 1st day of soccer, Joe's 2-day golf tournament, the 1st Kindy friend bday party and my attempt to get Joe and I converted to iPhones.

I'll be back!

R.I.P. Patrick Swayze - Always the Outsiders

I think I might be the biggest Outsiders fan of all time. It was my favorite movie when I was a kid. I saw it countless times and own both the VHS (collecting dust in my storage room) and the book (cover falling apart). If it comes on TV and I spot it, that's it....I'm in like Shawshank. I can quote the beginning and ending pages and had the Stevie Wonder song (Stay Gold) and the Robert Frost poem ("Natures first green is gold. The hardest hue to hold...") committed to memory as well. This was probably the first movie I could quote hard-core and C. Thomas Howell has held a special place in my heart ever since despite the fact that Ponyboy Curtis was his best and arguably only good role (I liked Red Dawn, but he was a douche in it. He jumped the shark with Soul Man and other than a shitty guest spot on 24(?), he's been MIA). I liked Dirty Dancing (was not obsessed) and Ghost (solid love story, but a little hokey too thanks to Whoopi). Red Dawn, of course. Point Break - AWESOME other than the fact that Lori Petty annoys the shit out of me. But, his connection to the Outsiders is what brings me to a moment of silence for his passing. Big brother, Darry. Loved it and watching Rob Lowe and P.S. wrestling was worth every moment. Plus, who had better feathered hair??? Case in point...SNL Chippendales skit.

Okay, I can't just end there on the Outsiders. It's just too good. Was there ever a better cast????? C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Diane Lane, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Leif Garrett, even S. E. Hinton herself. Who could have predicted how many good careers would spin out of that start???? Francis Ford Coppola was on Stern a few weeks ago and while I didn't hear the whole interview, I heard most. I don't think anyone asked him about that movie, but damn...what a good one. Love those Greasers.

HIMYM

How I Met Your Mother was one of those shows that I had never watched but heard great things about. This year, Lifetime started showing the series from Season 1, Episode 1 so I started taping it and watching it on my maternity leave. They are in Season 4 now and Season 5 is starting next week. I LOVE IT! I really don't watch many network shows anymore (Office, Parks & Recreation, Greys, just started Glee), but this one is solid. I love Jason Segal. Now I love Neil Patrick Harris too. You get a glimpse of his greatness in Harold & Kumar a few years ago...funny bit making fun of himself like that. SNL appearance - awesome. Tony's...I even tuned in for that for a few minutes. On HIMYM he is fantastic as Barney Stinson and the reason I continue to watch it and have set up my TiVO to tape Season 5. Thanks to Pop Candy, I read an article about him that made me like him more. He's a magician and totally into the magician culture GOB-style! I will actually tune in to the Emmys to see him. Great show to watch on DVD probably as without commercials each episode is probably 20 minutes.

Dance Season Craze

I brought Shelagh to a dance clothes/shoe store in a town near us. I shit you not, there was a multi-hour wait to TRY SHOES ON. Everyone must have waited until the last minute to buy shoes and all the dance schools must be starting this week. I took a number (seriously) and went to the farm to get the CSA. When I came back, they had gotten through 12 people and were still 31 people away from me. Unreal. Obviously I will not be waiting until the last minute next time. In fact, I will put it on my calendar to do next June.

We browsed a bit before we bailed. They had a million different kinds of leotards - a rainbow wall of them plus the ones with soft tutus, sparkles, flowers, plush, etc. They had adorable skirts and sweaters. Nothing was less than $25. A small kids short sleeved plain leotard was $28. Can you believe that????

Colorful CSA this week

Corn, 3 weirdly shaped eggplant, 5 green peppers, 2 purple peppers, 2 apples, cauliflower, 3 plum tomatoes, and what looks like a spicy green pepper that I'll be passing on! Also, we got 2 tickets for the farms Corn Maze.

Heaven

I cashed in my Mothers Day massage and DAMN it was awesome. There is a spa/salon next to Joe's work so I drove into Boston with the kids and dinner for them. Joe took them into work (it was raining so no playground trip unfortunately) and I had an hour of bliss. This was the best massage I've had in awhile. Decor - A+. Ambiance - A+. The massage table was covered with these gorgeous red and red-striped sheets and a FEATHERBED! Seriously, folks. I got in under a featherbed. The weight of the cover, the cool crisp of the sheets, the fragrance, the lighting. Just awesome. She used the perfect amount of pressure, hit all the fat-baby-carrying muscles, switched it up between thumb & pointer, forearm, and elbow. She did that move where they massage down your arm/leg as if the tension is just spilling out of your fingers. I had one of those cool, bean-bag eye covers. So simple, yet so effective. If I had any small little complaint it would be that I could have used a few more minutes on my shins, hands, and feet. But, hey...for a 60 minute massage, I'm cool with what I got. I'm sending Joe back ASAP and I will return. She rocked.

Poor Joe...Kelly cried the whole time I was gone. Then we got take out from the North End though, so I think that made up for it. Yum, Daily Catch. (Yes, Bets...tell Craig we finally went to the Daily Catch and it was GOOD!).

Wednesday Insanity

I cannot believe how much is going on right now. I have a few friends that work full time and have multiple kids and I don't know how they do it. Truely. I am a generally organized person. I plan. I do things in advance. I make lists. I keep a good calendar and set reminders for myself before things are supposed to happen. And I am crazed right now. How on earth do people that are not organized make it through each day without feeling constantly frazzled?

Yesterday I had a ridiculous day:

1. Dropped off Shelagh at school (we are barely making it there on time every morning. HUGE adjustment being forced to get ready and not having the leeway to be late).
2. Kelly and I stayed for the PTO coffee.
3. Dropped off Kelly and went to work. So busy at work that I was only able to pump once instead of twice and almost exploded by the time I did actually do it. Also almost peed my pants.
4. First day of 3 pickups. Kelly first. Shelagh second at her after-school program. Rory third at preschool.
5. Thank GOD I made dinner the day before! Joe met me at home at 6 and off I went to Back to School Night.
6. Lastly to a 7pm haircut appointment.
7. Did an hour of cleanup, paperwork, correspondence when I got home (while shovelling dinner into my mouth) and finally watched Mad Men before bed.

Exhausted.

TOO Straight???

For all you curly-haired people out there that straighten your hair...Have you ever said that your hair was TOO straight? Never. If I blow it out straight, I want it STRAIGHT. Got my hair cut today and of course took the opportunity to have someone else take 45 minutes to blow out my hair. Poor guy had to end his day with an hour-long appointment at 7pm. Let's see how many days I can hold out before washing...I'm thinking 3-4 days at least. Thank you, dry hair and scalp for giving me the luxury of keeping my straight hair for multiple days.

Hectic Life

This is a picture of my kitchen during dinner prep time tonight.



I had all 4 burners going, the broiler, and I was holding Kelly during most of it. Work nights have been so crazy with Kelly needing to be held or nursed and me rushing to cook for the kids before we haul ass upstairs for bath and bed (and all the procrastinations that go along with the night time routine). Today was a home day so I made 2 dinners for tonight and tomorrow night so that I don't have to kill myself tomorrow night.

Kids went to bed at 8pm tonight. It is now 10:30pm and I'm just finishing up and getting ready to sit down to fold laundry and try to watch 1 quick How I Met Your Mother (watching the whole series from Season 1 to present on Lifetime for the last 6+ months...awesome show). I have done the following in that time:

• All the dinner cleanup including pots & pans for tonights and tomorrow nights dinner
• 2 loads of laundry
• Paperwork for Kindergarten (crazy how many forms there have been so far and it's only Day 2!)
• Lunch making for me and the kids for tomorrow
• Cut up and froze some extra corn from the CSA I had cooked and didn't cook the other 6 ears I got this weekend at the Cape. Cut up a cantelope too as it would have started to turn soon.
• Cleaning up the playroom and dining & living rooms from today
• Some email correspondence planning for a family party this weekend (Kellys baptism!) and another family party I'm hosting next month (the weekend after the new Block Party, by the way - AM I INSANE?)
• Garbage
• Pumped (Kelly is still waking up ~3 times per night...I've done some Ferber and today I just stuffed her with food and a big bottle of formula before bed. Must Get Sleep)
• Sent myself 5 emails to work with reminders to make calls, etc
• Listened to 1/2 of todays Howard Stern show

Off to stare at Sons of Anarchy taping which I can't watch b/c Joe is at the Red Sox tonight with his brother. I'm DYING to start this show up again. If you haven't seen it, rent Season 1 and start taping Season 2. Awesome show. Edgy, good writing, hot main guy, on FX so they show a lot. Love this show.

Maple-Glazed Chicken

I made a Maple-glazed chicken from Everyday Food for the 2nd time and it was awesome! The combination of Maple Syrup & Cumin is delicious and, yes, I ate almost all the skin while the chicken was sitting out and resting. Okay, not all of it, but A LOT! The recipe is actually for Cornish Game Hens, but you can substitute a chicken. It doesn't seem to be online yet. Basically, you just prep the chicken with olive oil, s & p and put it into a 450 degree oven. After 30 minutes, brush a mixture of 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1 teaspoon of cumin, s & p over the chicken and cook until 165 degrees. Yum, Yum. I have got to use this mixture for roasted veggies...it's insanely good.

More Kindy Pics

Day 2 was the first full day and it went a little smoother. We did have to hustle to get there on time, but we made it and Shelagh walked in with her class this time. No spying necessary. Day 2 outfit same as Day 1 outfit. Let's hope it doesn't also turn into Day 3 outfit! Shelagh is totally into rainbow colors and there are only so many outfits that have multi-colors. Argument, here we come. At least she let me do her hair! She tried for 4 different barrettes - I told her it was a school rule that she only could have 2 barrettes and she had to match and couldn't wear the same outfit 2 times in 1 week.

Shelaghs 1st Day of Kindergarten

Update...Above are the pictures from Day 1.

Today was Shelaghs 1st day of Kindergarten. Despite being pretty nervous about it, she did a great job this morning getting ready and posing for some pictures for me (will post later). Joe made her chocolate chip pancakes for her special 1st day and we all piled into the van to bring her together. She decided not to wear her special first day of school outfit and chose a colorful dress that she loves instead along with a variety of hair accoutrements. She looked totally cute with her backpack, which we packed up together last night, and was in good spirits as we pulled up to school. I thought we were on time, but the class was already inside so I walked her in. They were sitting in circle time when we arrived so she was hesitant at the door and thankfully a teacher reminded me that a quick goodbye was the best course of action. I was irritated at the time, but she was right.

Then, I got caught by the principal spying through the window..."Is there a problem?". No, I'm just one of THOSE parents. Oops.

The lump in my throat this morning was the size of a grapefruit. If I had seen anyone I knew I would have lost it for sure. It took all of my might to keep the tears back so that Shelagh, who was already nervous, couldn't see me and misinterpret my tears of pride and happiness for her. Okay, who am I kidding...there was also some anxiety and anticipation in there too, but she doesn't need to know that!!

I kind of wish they had started yesterday and had at least 2 days this week or waited until after Labor Day so that it wasn't just this one 1/2 day this week. Her biggest concern was not knowing who she would play with today. There is a set of twin boys from her preschool in her class that she likes, but "Mommy, I don't want to play with BOYS". So, that didn't reassure her much. We met 3-4 girls at the Kindy play date last week and we talked about them last night a bit. Let's hope she doesn't overthink all this as much as I do and she'll be fine!

I, on the other hand, am exhausted and need a drink and it's only 940am!

My Garden is a Failure this Year

Let's just say that I've harvested 1 strawberry, 1 zucchini, a handful of tomatoes (Shelagh eats those from the plant so who knows how many and most of those didn't make it to ripe stage before she gobbled them up), 1 small bunch of red leaf lettuce, and a plethora of my perennial herbs (thyme, chives).

Here's what didn't even make it to provide 1 measly little product...
1) Peppers - plant was green, but nothing looking like a flower or vegetable - 2nd year in a row
2) Sugar Snap Peas - pathetically dried up and never grew
3) Cucumbers, Zucchini, Squash - Seriously???? How much of an idiot am I to not be able to grow these runaway vegetables???
4) 1 onion plant and 1 garlic - these have been in the ground for 2-3 years now b/c I just haven't pulled them up. Someone told me to pull them when the sprouts above ground die. That came and went. Oh well again.
4) Basil, Dill, Parsley - all shriveled died
5) Hanging baskets of flowers - twice I tried these this summer. Both horribly brown and dead.
6) Potted flowers (4) - front and back of the house - all dead.

What I'm left with is a small garden plot with fresh black mulch, wimpy tipped-over and brown semi-plants, runaway strawberry plants, runaway thyme and chives, and a huge rock pit (a la Parks and Recreation, if you watched this past year).

I have a toxic thumb. I want so bad to have a nice little garden, but I don't want to water, weed, or pay any attention to it. Is that so difficult to accommodate???

Pickles

I forgot to finish this post about my first attempt at Pickle-making. It went ok I thought. They weren't the worlds best pickles, but not bad for my first time and certainly I will do it again. They were super easy to make and now I have 2 more spices in my cabinet that I likely won't use for anything else (which is usually why I don't go ahead with recipes). I also got to use my mortar and pestle, this super-cool crushing contraption I registered for and have rarely used. It's marble and heavy and just nifty. Yeah! A use finally! The pickling cucumbers came with one of the CSA bags and the recipe they provided for Slightly Sweet Dill Refrigerator Pickles was from epicurious. Not bad.