What did you just say?

Words, words and more words - Robbie is stringing his together pretty well and Anna Helen is just starting. 


Her first sentence?  I did it!.


Robbie is getting some more advanced words now - words like contrail, excavator and hippopotamus.  I have to say my personal favorite is contrail.


They are both getting really good a repeating words back to you which is generally a good thing - generally.


It is amazing to see things start to click - just have to be careful what we say because we will hear again.

Spicy: A Series

She's all in ya'll!

Great weekend with the family

Little late in getting this post but we had a wonderful weekend in the center of the universe that is Marion.


Robbie and Anna Helen seem to be adjusting to road tripping and were great troopers on the trip down.  We made it in reasonable 7 hours.


While I have stated it before, I (who once was the apple of his Mother's eye) am now just the guy who drives the grand kids to see Nana and Pop. 


We spent Saturday doing LOTS of things - morning at the play ground then off to Mullins to Uncle Billy's (and Cousin Dupree's) strawberry farm to pick possibly the best strawberries in the world (Uncle Joel and Aunt Paula (aka Aupa) joined in on the strawberry picking), visiting with Uncle Johnny and Aunt Faye (aka Lala) and the cherry on top was going swimming at Uncle Joey's.  We all slept well that night.


On Sunday we went to Church with Mom and Dad and Uncle Billy and Aunt Francis came by to visit after the kids afternoon nap.  The rest of the afternoon was play, play, play.


We made the very smart call to leave early (6:30) on Sunday to beat the holiday traffic back into DC and for once it went to plan - back to DC in less than 7 hours and had we left and hour earlier we would have faced a 12 mile back up north of Richmond.


I would be remiss if I failed to thank all those who have served and most especially those who died in service to the United States.  Their sacrifice allows my family to enjoy weekends like the one described above.  We owe them a debt that can never be repaid.  Thank you.

A Day In the Life...

There's a theme circulating around some of the PAIL and general awesome infertility bloggers on a day in our life, and I thought I would join in.

Maybe it gives some insight into the total mundane nature of my life.

Maybe you can help me find the moments of joy.

Maybe it will explain why, when you ask me what's up, my answer is "same old"...

Right now it mostly is the same old.  Routine is a helper and a hindrance. 

Let's start last night to get a full 24 hour rotation. 

5:03 pm:  Pick up kids.  Both us of, we do the paratrooper double pick up separate routine.  Get the AH bit someone report form in her lunchbox.  Again.

5:30pm:  Home.  On the way in the house, check on the tomato plants in the back yard.  Robster:  "There are flowers!".  Mom: "Don't touch, help me water!"  Robster:  "Oh no, peppers no grow".

5:32 pm:  Thus begins the hardest/best 90 minutes of the day.

5:33 pm:  Mom swoops in the kitchen.  Packing school lunch is her least favorite part of the day so she does it immediately.  All veggies, fruits, pastas cooked already.   Puts them in today's Tupperware.  It was in the fridge, albeit empty.  Hopes teachers don't notice.

5:37 pm:  Dad on kid wrangling.  Mom proceeds to cook four meals.  Annie: pasta, veggies, fruit.  Robbie: "NO PASTA MAMA", fruit, fruit, and whatever else he will eat.  Shawn: Leftovers for the 14th day in a row.  Mama:  Tired of cooking, eats cheese and crackers and an orange.

5:57 pm:  Robbie feeding watermelon to dog.  "No This MAMA!!"

5:59 pm:  Giant toddler hug:  "Thank you for dinner mama."  Food anxiety melts for the moment.

6:03 pm:  After paramilitary dinner operation, Shawn leaves for church meeting.

6:10 pm:  Berenstein Bears.  Yup.   TV.   PS, "we all like different foods" was the theme.  Potty sitting while TV watching.  That's how we roll.

6:11 pm:  Mom (thinking): Berenstein bears sure is boring.

6:12 pm:  Annie "POTTY POTTY POTTY!"  Mom gets second potty for sitting, but keeps 17 month old fully clothed.  No success with one, why would there be with two.

6:45 pm:  It's 15 minutes early, but dang, bedtime for all.

7:15pm:  "More milk MAMA!"

7:43 pm:  "Where's my lovie mama!!"

8:02 pm:  "PAPI???"  (AH yelling for pacified)

8:16pm:  Shawn returns after shortest church meeting in history.  Mama grateful as always.

8:30 pm:  R:  "OH NO MAMA.  DIAPER!"

8:32 pm.  Diaper.

8:45 pm:  R:  (to self):  OLD MACDONALD HAVE A 'RAFFE"  EIEIEO"

9:12 pm:  Sweet, blissful peace.

9:30 pm:  Watch Duggars.  Ma Duggar visits fertility doctor.  Talks about "catching a baby".  Infertilite women everywhere want to stab their eyes out.  Switch to 16 & Pregnant.  Not much better.

4:15 am:  "PAPI!!!!! MILK!!!!!  PAPI!!!!!"  Annie yells

4:22 am:  I ignore, take a potty break myself.

4:40 am:  Shawn throws a bottle of milk at Annie. 

4:42 am:  Dog needs to go out.

4:57 am:  MAMA!!! MILK MAMA!!!!!  Robbie yells.

4:58 am:  Milk.

5:01 am:  "OHNO MAMA!  GIRAFFE LOVIE MAMA!"  Shawn locates. 

5:02 am:  Shawn awake for day to his chagrin.  Mama sleeps.

6:42 am:  Mama showers.  Dad, who has been awake for going on two hours preps kids.

7:10 am:  Robster en route to day care:  "NO THIS BANANA MAMA.  BIGGER BANANA MAMA!!"

7:34 am:  Arrive at daycare to commence paramilitary drop off operation.  Taking R out of seat, and he gives giant hug and says "Happy Mothers Day mama!"

7:34:30 am:  Mamas heart melts.

7:35 am:  Miss Independent AH insists on carrying her bag in on her own.  Robster calls the azaleas outside school "a-zebras"

7:55 am:  Arrive at work (together).  Kashi sounds terrible.  Shawn goes for breakfast sandwiches.

8:30 am:  Go to team meeting.  Team doesn't arrive.

9:00 am:  Client conference call.

9-12pm:    Work, work work.  "Tax" season in my field.

12:01pm: Go to get Lean Cuisine I brought for lunch.  Someone ate it.  SOMEONE ATE IT. 

12:01-12:57pm:  Feel pissed someone ate my lunch.  General grumpiness.  Walk around stomping and being malaise and answering RFPs and doing assorted work.

1:01pm:  Eat cheezeits.

1:10 pm:  Missed a phone call from an unknown number.  A school offering us a PK3 spot?

1:11 pm:  Listen to VM.  Nope.  Need to  pick up BC prescription.

1:14 pm:  Weigh in on crazy DC Mom message board conversation.

1:15 pm:  Get back to work.

1:52 pm:  Go for tuna sandwich, realize that when I'm in the elevator is the only time I've had solo all day.

1:53 pm Take 10 minute walk.  Still grumpy.  Consider smoking cigarette and realize you have no concept how much cigarettes cost these days... you haven't bought a pack in a decade.

2:00-4:30 pm:  Work.  Text husband of one car family to make sure he'll be back in time for daycare pickup together.

2:47 pm (Aside:  While monitoring other legislation, an infertility issue comes up, emails RESOLVE.)

4:30 pm:  Client conference call up against the need-to-do-daycare-pickup-by-530-so-our-kid-isn't-the-only-one-there-all-day-personally-set- deadline

5:45 pm:  Prep four different meals.

6:12 pm:  Annie says "I Love You" for the first time.

Mom's heart goes squish.

Mom exhausted.  Mom's heart full and grateful..

Rinse and repeat.

So you?  When you ask how I am?  How we are? 

When I don't have exciting and awesome things to report?

We  have moments of awesome, and moments of ordinary.  I ask you to help me remember the awesome. 

The independence of Annie.

The sweetness of Robbie thanking me for being his Mama.

I am grateful.

I am lucky.

I am exhausted.

 

Lean in sister.

 

 

We've got this.

Sugar and Spice

Sugar and spice...

And everything nice....

Anna Helen is the best of the parenting world. 

She challenges your conventions.

She loves with every ounce of her being.

She is smart as a whip.

She now, in baby talk, chimes in when I say "Hands are for..." with the Edwards correct answer of "HUGGING!"

If you need to snapshot Lean In, toddler version-- this is she.

I'm proud and terrified.