Bloggity Blog Blog Blog

To my loyal blog readers (are there any? sometimes I feel like no one reads this -- and I can't blame you considering how infrequently I post anything): I have not "officially" taken a break from blog writing, but I think I need to unofficially at least say out loud that I'm taking a blog break, otherwise my guilt for not writing will continue. After a 3 month maternity leave, I'm back at work full-time, and working, parenting, and living are all kicking my butt! In a good way, of course, but time to write is on the very furthest back burner. So this is a "so long" posting, but I do hope to put some things up now and again.

It's amazing how writing is therapeutic to me, but I just have no time for therapy these days. :-) Probably 90% of the brilliant things that are in my head that I want to relate just doesn't ever make it to my fingers and to the page. No time. Ugh, no time.

But I have a few photos to appease you all, since those of you who do read this frankly probably just come to this page to see pictures of my cute kids. Right? And this summer we had a big party weekend with Zach's 3rd birthday party and Lucas's christening -- on the same weekend. Oh, and it was the weekend after my first week of work. And we were away the week before. What was I thinking?! We also invited something like 40 people to Zach's party -- and everyone came. Actually, 2 declined, but we still had 40 people here. Fun, but I was NOT ready. But really, when will I ever be ready? I think I am not a natural hostess. Some people are gracious and wonderful and make you feel fantastic when you visit their homes. I'm a mess, scrambling to do things at the last minute, and hoping people will open the fridge and find stuff on their own. I aspire to be better, I really do, and hopefully the next time we have visitors I will be more gracious and wonderful.

Anyway, Zach had a great time, and it was so nice to have friends and family here. The next day we had Lucas's christening and that was a smaller event with mostly just family, but also quite lovely. Lucas was great in the church and at his party. He is such a good little baby guy! 3 and a half months now and smiley and laugh-y. He sometimes laughs in his sleep! I love it. I love him!

Z and Lucas are doing well with each other. Lucas just adores Zach and stares at him. Zach tolerates Lucas, sometimes hugging him, sometimes telling him to go away. I think they're going to be great friends though. And they both love their big sis to pieces.

Okay, so there are the two photos and a bit of a blog post. If you want to hear more, give me a call or send me an email. Or sometimes I even post things on Facebook. But right now, with a 3 year old, a 3 month old, an almost 19 year old, a husband, a full-time job that is about to get super busy -- my life is very full (yet happy!) and I'm taking a writing break. But just don't forget me and my crazy band of Mullens -- we will palooza again very soon.

Three Little Kiddos

It's short and sweet, but getting these videos from the video camera to the computer to youtube to the blog takes some doing. So here's a shorty for ya. :-) It's from a couple of days ago.

Grandma (Mammaw) Comes to Town

Grandma reads to Zachary

My mom came up for a visit this week and is enjoying meeting her newest grandbaby and spending time with us. Zachary loves all visitors and took to her again quickly and easily, even though he hadn't seen her since Thanksgiving. He's been hugging her and sitting on her lap. It's pretty cute to see since Mom isn't an overly affectionate person, but when confronted with a happy snuggly boy, her gruffness disappears and you can tell she loves it. She even read some stories to Zach (who wouldn't take no for an answer) which was a sweet and tender moment. I think he really loves that she will go outside with him (his favorite place). She smokes, he plays in the dirt. It's a win-win situation.

Lucas is getting some Grandma love as well and seems entranced by her glasses. He will just stare and stare at her face and even gave her some of his adorable smiles. I don't have any pictures (yet) of the two of them, but have a couple more days left of her visit to take more pictures.

Memorial Day Weekend

Our long weekend is just about over although with me being out on maternity leave, my days kind of just blend together now. It's nice, like when you're a kid on summer vacation and you don't know what day of the week it is. Emily had to work on Saturday as well as today, which was nice for her -- moneywise she made time and a half today! So she's excited. For me, I was just glad to not be travelling and that Kevin was actually in the country for Memorial Day -- something he hasn't been here for in 10 years.

Our weekend was not overly eventful unless you count yard work as excitement. Since we're new home owners, we do count that as exciting! Or exciting to get some things done, anyway. Kevin brought many loads of yard waste to the dump which made me very happy since we had a ton of branches and pine needles to get out of here. He also cut down some trees in the back yard, mowed the lawn and whacked some weeds. I planted some more impatiens in the side yard, pulled some weeds in the flower garden, and bought some herbs for my flower box on the deck. Zach helped me do lots of watering of all the flowers. He's my good little helper. The photos here on the left are of the flowers that have sprouted up this spring -- most of them were already here and surprised me when they popped up. I planted tulips and daffodils (which are no longer blooming, but the greenery is still there) and the purple petunias by the mailbox, but everything else is from the previous homeowner. I was pleasantly surprised by the irises since I didn't remember seeing them last year (maybe they were already dead by the time we came to see the house?) I thought we had daylillies planted there. Guess we'll see if something else pops up later this summer!

Our weekend otherwise involved errands and playing at the park. Today we went to the tiniest Memorial Day parade. It was in Sudbury, very close to our house, and just had veterans, a fife and drum band, Minutemen (sooooo New England and cute!), a girl scout troup, and a walking pizza slice who was giving out balloons and coupons for free slices of pizza. It was such the cute small town experience! Zach loved his first parade but wished he had a little flag to wave. Lucas slept through his first parade experience. Guess we'll try it again for the 4th of July (this time with little flags, to make our little patriot happy).

Catching Up

I think it might just work best if I post photos of the kiddos and a list of the goings on in our lives, without extended commentary. Otherwise I will never put anything up on this blog! It's too hard to find time unless I ignore the kids -- and anyone who has a toddler knows, toddlers don't let you ignore them. Infants don't either. I'm not complaining, they really are the cutest kids in the world and I cherish this time at home with them, but I would like an hour to myself in a day to do things like email or post things on mullenpalooza. Or hey, maybe to shower. :)

Anyway, let me see how far I get on this week's activities before I get interrupted or need to shower. I'm starting to think that evening showers are going to be the way to go. Or at least the way to go if I'd like to do more than a 2 minute, shampoo, quick lather and rinse. I would love a long steamy shower and to shave my legs. That is definitely on tonight's agenda!

So Kevin took this week off from work to work on his dissertation. Kudos to him in that he is actually making headway and getting up early to go to the library and/or coffee shop to do it! He is even setting the alarm (although he doesn't hear it and I have to shove him each morning to turn it off). We swapped Tuesday for Saturday though due to some incredible weather, and went to the beach on Tuesday. What a nice day! It was actually sweltering although it was much cooler at the beach. We drove up to Rockport which is a gorgeous town on Cape Ann, north of Boston. We had last gone 2 summers ago and thought what a beautiful town it was, very walkable, lots of restaurants and shops, and of course beaches. We didn't have a particular beach in mind, just kind of drove around for a bit first and had lunch. We found a great one in between Gloucester and Rockport and spent a few hours there. It was Lucas's first trip to the beach and I think he liked it! I had my beach chair and the sand tent and he spent time in both places, but mainly in my arms either in the chair, or down on the shore near the crashing waves which helped him go to sleep. Meanwhile my little beach bunny Zachary dug, dug, dug in the sand with Kevin and had a tremendously fun time. He LOVES the beach! What was interesting was when our little potty-trained guy had to go pee. Kevin just walked him down to the shoreline, pulled down his swim trunks, and told him to pee into the water. Which he did. Too cute. Sometimes having a boy makes things just so much easier! Zach and Kevin both got a little sunburned, but Lucas and I came back very pale, which is good for Lucas (I was seriously stressed about it) but not so great for me because I had hoped for at least a little color. Oh well.

Also this week we finally signed Zach up for preschool! He starts in September at a great preschool in Sudbury, just a couple of miles from our house. We had toured it a few months ago and both Kevin and I loved it the best out of the ones we visited. We still need to get our daycare situation figured out for Lucas as well as for Zach for July-September, but we're narrowing things down there. I found a great home daycare that's close to our house that I love, but Kev wants to continue to look around and compare costs. So the search continues, but hopefully we'll get it nailed down as soon as possible.

Emily has been home for a couple of weeks now and got a job in the mall, at Macy's. She has orientation and training this past week and had her first official hours tonight. She's working a bunch over the next few days which is great because she wants to save up to buy a car. Of course she still needs to get her license first plus figure out how to pay for insurance, but she's on her way to saving up. Now to just make sure she doesn't spend what she earns which will be very tempting, I'm sure.

I nearly forgot to mention that Lucas had his first tub bath last week! We were supposed to wait until his umbilical cord came off before giving him anything beyond a sponge bath, but it was taking so long to fall off that I decided to do it anyway. And he loved it! I just tried to keep the belly button area dry (to help keep the cord dry so it will fall off faster). I love his new tub -- it's a different one than I had with Zachary and it is so much better! I'm bathing him upstairs in the kids' bathroom because the counter is big enough to handle the tub, and all the supplies are right there. Lucas definitely likes the water and was calm and relaxed. Maybe it's also the warmer weather, but he didn't shiver or complain about being in his tub like he would when he was getting the sponge bath.

Goodbye, last tie to the womb!

Finally! Lucas's umbilical cord finally came off! Kevin noticed yesterday morning when he was changing the diaper. That sucker was hanging by a thread for about 2 weeks and I wondered when it would ever come off. It finally did and we have an unimpeded view of such a cute little belly button!

I have a ton of cute pictures of Lucas, but not sure when (if?) I'll ever get them posted. Zach is waking up now so guess it won't be now!

1 month check up

Lucas will be 6 weeks old in 3 days, but had his 1 month doctor's visit today. It was interesting for Zachary to go and be an observer since he's just happy to charm everyone with his cuteness and not worry about getting any shots of his own! Anyway, Lucas got weighed and measured and I thought I'd share the latest stats with you.

Before his appointment I was joking about how much he weighs now, but said he surely isn't 12 pounds. Em said, "yes he is Mom, I'm sure of it." Well, I didn't believe her. And I was wrong. This little kiddo weighed in today at 12 pounds, 7 ounces! He has gained 3 pounds in a month! And he's grown an inch and a quarter since his birth. He's in the 100th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height (his head size is at the 100th percentile as well). He's my big little boy!

The doctor said everything looks fine with Lucas. He does have a touch of dry skin on his head (in his hair, but just on top), but it doesn't look like traditional cradle cap (although that's what it is, I suppose) so we need to use baby oil on it and then rub it with a dry washcloth. Lucas also has some serious baby acne that sprouted up this week and is on his cheeks -- he looks like a 14 year old teenager with this skin! It's actually already starting to get better so hopefully will clear up soon. The big thing with his skin though is what the doctor said is a birthmark -- a light pink rash on his tummy. I first noticed it a couple of weeks ago and while I'm relieved it's not some internal bleeding (my initial thought although how in the world that could have happened, I don't know), it does take up a significant amount of real estate on his tummy and I'm worried that it will get darker and bigger. The doctor said it's likely a port-wine stain (they do get darker) and recommended we see a dermatologist. They will make the appointment for us so we can get seen more quickly, otherwise it could be months. She didn't seem overly concerned about it (a relief since this doctor does play everything very safely), so I'm trying to not fret too much about it. Guess we'll just wait to see what the dermatologist has to say.

In other developments, Lucas is definitely starting to smile. It's not just in his sleep, but also sometimes when he's looking at me. I LOVE it! He has the best gummy smile! His whole face just lights up and is adorable. He's "talking" to me more and more now, which is a nice change from crying. It's just some vowel sounds but they're very cute. He gets his whole body into it when he talks, using his arms and legs for emphasis. I think he's a wannabe Italian. He's also a pretty gassy little guy. Zach was gassy in the spit up kind of way. Lucas is the other end. He has farts that sound like a grown man made them, and he'll do 5 in a row. Very impressive. Kevin is so proud. Lucas also has really started to lose his hair -- just on the top (the blonde part) which makes the receding hairline really stand out. The brown on the sides is still there. Good thing he's adorable because this is not a good haircut. If he was 40 I'd recommend he just shave his whole head.

Since I'm exclusively breastfeeding Lucas, you might ask -- how am I doing? Well, I'm fine, although pretty tired all the time. It's not terrible though, I do have a fantastic husband who I wake up every night to help me get Lucas back to sleep when he's fussy after nursing. I've already lost all my baby weight and then some which is nice. Nursing was the reason for that; I really can't take any credit since I do have dessert every single day (and often at lunch AND dinner). I'm hoping soon that I can start exercising to firm up the jiggly parts and maybe drop another 10 pounds. I need to cut out those desserts as well. I'm getting better, just trying to play catch-up, I think, from my deprivation during pregnancy.

Lucas at 1 month

One of the many faces of Lucas -- awake and alert and oh, so cute!

Lucas turned one month old today! It's getting harder and harder to find time to get on the computer by myself -- especially to update with photos, so this blog is definitely suffering. Taking care of a toddler and an infant is challenging! I give so much credit to moms who have kids close in age. It really IS a full time job!

Anyway, this is short and sweet, just to put up a few pictures of Mr. Honey Bunny. Photos were taken today (photo above) or within the last couple of days.

 

At one month old, Lucas is still a big snuggle bunny! He naps a lot, but still wants to be held most of the time. When I hold him he still thinks that means he should be eating. He's getting a little milk belly and a double chin! Check out the picture of Zach and Lucas -- you can see his big tummy! He's so cute and I still love his cry.

Lucas still has that stubborn umbilical cord. It's hanging on by just a tad but won't let go. I'm determined to help it along this week! Because it's still on he's still just taking sponge baths, and I really want him to try his baby tub because I think he'll love it. He's getting more interactive now too and will "talk" to us a little bit and has a few facial expressions that at times look like smiles. I know it's early and it's probably gas, but I have seen him smile and it's adorable.

The kid still is a chameleon -- I can't tell who he looks like! Right now I can say he looks at times alternately like me, Emily, Kevin, Sandy, Alex, and Kylie. How's that for narrowing it down?

We've had some family visitors that I'd love to blog about, and some cool play dates and things going on that I'd also love to blog about, but as I said, time on the computer is short and rushed. I'll try to put more photos up when I can and will write when I can as well, but it might be few and far between. Don't give up on me though because this really is the easiest way to update everyone in one fell swoop on the goings on in our lives.

Oh! Should also quickly mention that Emily came home on Sunday (happy mother's day to me!) for the summer and is very enchanted by her newest little brother. He seems to like her too although he did try his hardest to breastfeed upon meeting her. Zach is over the moon that she's home as well and all over her. And of course I'm thrilled to have all of my babies home at once as well.

Anyway, happy 1 month birthday, Baby Lucas! We LOVE you! xoxoxo

This week

The past few days have been busy, not with anything major, but just with the everydayness of living life at home with an infant who nurses every other hour (and often more than that) and an extremely adorable but incredibly energetic 2 year old who is loving having Mommy home with him every day. I'm torn between exhaustion and guilt, wanting to play with Zach but not neglect Lucas and wanting to snuggle Lucas but not neglect Zach. Fortunately Zach is very self sufficient and plays nicely on his own pretty well -- he has full out conversations with his stuffed animal friends (and they all have "voices") and they play with him. When Lucas is somewhere other than in my arms, Zach and I do get to play together as well, but for the most part that's not happening too much now in these early days. Still, it's nice to be home with both boys and to see how they are together and separately and how they both have their own little personalities.

Lucas is 11 days old today and still a little snuggler. He will cuddle right down on my chest with his feet pulled up under him and his hiney in the air and stay sound asleep. He's got such a cute cry, not one of those annoying cries or a sad cry, but a really cute one. I'm not just saying this -- my other kids cries weren't this cute! I just think everything about him is adorable, including his wah wah wahs. He's starting to nap for a little longer and longer now, a nice change from his 15 minute catnaps of the previous week. And he's getting better about going into the swing or car seat for a change of pace. I still can't get him to sleep in his bassinet for more than 5 minutes at a time. I really need to work on that this weekend when Kevin can hang out with Zach and I won't feel so guilty about Lucas crying. I know you can't sleep train a newborn, but I would like him to sleep in the bassinet. He can't sleep in his car seat forever.

There is nothing like having another child to make your older child suddenly seem grown up. I know she was already a teenager when I had Zach, but I did go through this with Emily as well. I think I babied her for a really long time although I like to think of it as being a protective parent. But now with Zach being a big brother, I am surprised and happy to see that he is also thinking of himself as being older and more responsible. He will help us with the baby, and he's better about not having to be carried all the time but will walk and hold your hand better now. He is even sort of trying vegetables -- in an effort to "get big and strong". It's cute, and he's amazing. He has so many cute and funny sayings. I need to write them down or video him because he's hilarious. One new one -- the other day he asked me where my fairytale was. I said "my fairytale? what's that"? And he patted the back of my head (my hair was down) and said "you know, your fairytale". He meant my ponytail! Too cute, that kid!

So we bought a double stroller the other day. It's called a sit and stand -- the baby sits in the front either in the infant car seat or just in the seat, and the older child can either sit on the small seat in the back facing the parent, or can stand and look forward. Zach loves it! We've taken the stroller out a few times already and it's already earning its money. I like that I can get both kids out of the house without it being too crazy, and that we can walk down the street and they are safely in the stroller together.

Zach and I had some quality time with the finger paints the other day. He has been begging to paint for ages and we finally got it out for him to play with. He likes to do things with his hands and had a alot of fun playing with it! I need to get a bigger role of paper for him to paint on, also some that we can dry and save because of course he painted a masterpiece, but we rinsed it so that we could reuse the paper (basically it was a sheet of plastic). I think we'll play again tomorrow. He also enjoyed painting his arms when he was done with the paper.

Yesterday was Earth Day and we didn't do anything to celebrate other than to spend a little time outside, but then I remembered that we had a tree to plant! What is funny is that I've been joking that all I want to do for Earth Day is chop down the big pine trees in our yard (very non-PC, I know). But we got as a baby present a tree for Lucas! I love this idea and have actually done this before with a few friends -- send them a tree to plant the year their baby is born. Then this is that child's tree and it will always be in their yard. Anyway, the tree was from Scott, Rachel, and Kylie, and you are supposed to plant it in a flower pot and keep it indoors first, then transplant it outside when it's a bit bigger and stronger. This works out well because we are hopefully knocking down some of those pine trees in our back yard this summer. The new Lucas tree is an oak, very appropriate since oak trees are so sturdy and strong. Anyway, Zach was very interested in helping me plant the acorn into the flowerpot and water the dirt and moss. He is such a little gardener! Lucas napped in his car seat while Zach and I planted his tree. It was a sweet moment with Zach and I was glad he could help participate in something that was really for his little brother.

 

Today we had an appointment to take Lucas in for a weight check at the doctor's office, to be sure he's gaining. And...of course he is! This little hungry man has gained more than half a pound in a week and is looking good! He's now hit the 9 pound mark. So now he doesn't need to go back until he's around a month old. The doctor said he looks perfect. Zach scored some more stickers at the doctor's office and gave both Dr. Pam and the nurse shots with his doctor's kit and charmed the whole office with his dimples and laugh.

Day 1

Yesterday was my first day on my own with the two kids. Kevin went back to work and Sandy had been gone since Sunday so I was officially on my own. Not to brag (okay, maybe a little), but I had all 3 of us dressed and fed by 10:30. This is remarkable because when I had Zach I could barely get out the door to do anything before 4:00 in the afternoon. Of course this doesn't include a shower -- I wouldn't go that crazy -- but we were all cleaned up and looking good and ready to start our day well before noon. I consider that quite a success!

We had a playdate scheduled for our house for noon with Liz, her two kids, and Alicia (their nanny). Lucas took a little nap and I even cleaned up the house a little bit before they got here. Liz is of course so wonderful that she made the playdate super easy for me -- she brought lunch for the older boys (mac 'n cheese with cut up hot dogs) and lunch for the ladies (Panera sandwiches with chips and pickles). Alicia brought a fantastic cake that looked like a sunflower -- white cake with chocolate frosting and outlined on top with mashmallow peeps! Peeps are not my favorite Easter candy, but I ate some right up considering I had not had any Easter candy this year and I'm still trying to play "catch up" on sugar and carbs. That was some yummy cake!

The boys played nicely after being shy with each other for the first half of our playdate. Lucas was his charming self but had enough towards the end and just wanted to have some mommy milk and a snooze. Liz, Alicia, and the kids took off mid-afternoon and left all the food at our house -- along with a full pan of homemade lasagna. Kevin and I had some last night -- it's also delicious! We are getting very spoiled. :) Anyway, I successfully got Zach down for a nap in the afternoon, and then convinced Lucas to take a short nap as well and I got a couple of other things done.

Amazing. Maybe this two kid thing isn't so hard after all? Famous last words -- think I won't actually say that out loud! After all, today is another day and only Lucas is dressed yet (because he peed all over his jammies when I was changing his diaper this morning). But it's going to be a relatively warm day so we need to get dressed to go out for a walk or to the park while we have nice weather (it gets colder again tomorrow). I have already promised Zach we would do some finger painting today as well so need to time our day appropriately.

My (almost) 9 day old infant is now starting to get impatient so I need to go cuddle some more with him (not a hard thing to do considering his total cuteness). Thankfully he's getting better about hanging out in places that don't include being attached to my breast or lap so I'm getting a few minutes to myself (kind of -- if Z hanging on me at the same time counts) to write. Will write and post more photos soon!

Baby Lucas!

After 39 weeks and 4 days of pregnancy, I am very proud, pleased, and delighted to announce the arrival of Lucas James Mullen! He joins an overjoyed family as the newest and youngest member of our family and we are thrilled, albeit exhausted.

I have limited time to write, so won't go into a huge amount of details on his arrival other than to say I am not surprised when my water broke on Sunday evening/Monday morning. I was so energized on Saturday and then so crabby on Sunday. I had contractions all Sunday afternoon and evening, and we gave Liz and Sandy a heads up before we went to bed that things could be imminent. My mother's intuition was correct since my water broke at 3:15 a.m. Ugh -- what timing! I felt terrible calling Liz but had to get to the hospital so had no choice. Wonderful Liz -- she got right up out of bed and came right over to be with Zach (who handled the confusion quite well in the morning -- where are Mommy and Daddy? Doesn't matter -- Aunt Liz is here to play with me for the day!) We got to the hospital around 5:30 a.m., was induced around 9:30 a.m., got the epidural (twice) at 12:15 p.m. and then again about 45 minutes later since the first dose only numbed my left side. I fell asleep by 1:30 p.m., was woken by the nurse at 2:00 p.m., started pushing at 2:05 p.m., and had a baby at 2:59 p.m.

Baby Lucas has a big noggin so pushing took a little extra time. Plus the epidural was in full force by then so I couldn't feel very well to push effectively. Regardless, was happy to not end up with a ceserean! And his little head is perfect, nicely shaped and very cute. He has hair as I suspected due to my heartburn throughout pregnancy. I think he's going to be blonde although it's all shades right now. Just like Zach, Lucas does not have eyebrows, or what he does have is a very light blonde. I think Lucas might look a little bit more like me than like Kevin. Or maybe like Emily as a baby. Still hard to tell. He's 1 week old today and starting to keep his eyes open longer and longer now (they're blue, by the way) so I guess we'll tell soon enough. Or maybe he just looks like his own little self.

This past week has been a blur. I've been absolutely exhausted and the first few days both in the hospital and once we got home I was pretty much a zombie. Kevin's mom came up on Monday and relieved Liz of Zachary duties. They came to the hospital that evening and Zach got to meet his new little brother. I have to say, he's been an excellent big brother so far. He doesn't even seem to be (too) jealous. He has shared toys and blankies with Lucas and gives him kisses. He is very sweet. I think it helped tremendously that Sandy was here for 6 days because she gave Zach a ton of attention and let me focus on the baby. Kevin also devoted a lot of time to Zach, and I think that is just what he needed because then he didn't get too upset about me not being able to do so. Lucas is a big snuggler and a big Mommy's boy. He really just wants to be held 24/7, and almost exclusively wants that to be done by me. I'm sure that's because I'm the source of his food, but it would be nice to be able to put him in his bassinet or swing for longer than 5 minutes at a stretch. He's been sleeping in the bed with me and Kevin at night (or in the glider rocker with just me) so I'm not getting much sleep. Hopefully that changes soon! He is starting to like his infant car seat so I'm trying to use that to get a few minutes to myself (as in right now as I type and he snoozes next to me).

Famous last words. Mr. Handsome is starting to fuss. Will update more later when my new boss allows me to.

The Fauna of Massachusetts

I discovered a new animal today that I had never seen before. Have you ever heard of a fisher? I hadn't, and I'd certainly never seen one before. But I was sitting at my computer this afternoon and something went flying past the window and I thought it might have been a dog or a deer. So I run to the family room and see...I don't know what it is. It's the animal in the photo above (I got the photo from the Internet -- we don't have snow thankfully!) It's bigger than a cat, smaller than a deer, kind of dog-sized. Weird long tail, kind of shaggy black fur like a bear would have, and claws. He climbed a tree in my back yard, hopped over the fence into Garden in the Woods, stopped, then ran off into the woods. Kevin and Zach saw him too. I had to do a Google search and scan photos to figure out what it was, but this is exactly the animal we saw. We've seen deer in our backyard, but I've never seen one of these guys. I hope we don't see one again!

Final Burst of Energy

Insomnia + Nesting = Jody awake at 4:00 a.m. and writing on the computer.

I slept relatively well last night (Friday) which meant that while I did get up twice to pee, I was able to fall back asleep. Unlike tonight, which is similar to most other nights, when I woke up and started to toss and turn. I finally gave up after an hour and decided to get up. I just had an orange because I was feeling a little shaky (tested my blood sugar first -- it's low, as it should be in the mornings) and now having a cup of warm (sleepytime) tea. I'm hoping to feel sleepy again in a little while and will crawl back into my warm bed and try to get some rest. Thankfully Kevin is incredibly understanding of my sleep issues and will let me sleep in tomorrow and will take care of Zach so I can get a little rest.

I had a crazy burst of energy today (I guess this is yesterday, actually) and did some major cleaning and getting ready of things upstairs in the house. Kevin helped me to move Zach's dresser under the window which also meant moving about 500 of Z's books. We really need to get him a bookcase. I now have them arranged neatly in rows on the floor next to his dresser, but that won't last long. I think maybe I can move some of the babyish ones to Bun's room, move some down to the bookcase in the toy room, but I still need to get him his own bookcase for his room. It's on the list of things to do and buy. Anyway, after moving things around in there, I needed to dust and sweep. It's amazing how dusty hardwood floors can get. Where do dustbunnies come from? Yuck. I also dusted and swept in my bedroom which was a major undertaking, but now it looks much nicer. Actually, I swept all the rooms upstairs. I gave Em's room a quick dusting, but it was in pretty good shape otherwise. Except her white furniture all seems to be kind of dirty and dull. I think it needs to actually be washed or maybe repainted. Another major undertaking. Sigh.

I've had quite a honey-do list for poor Kevin to take care of in the last few months, but he got a couple of them taken care of yesterday which made me quite happy. He replaced the blinds in Bun's room after buying (and returning) 3 different types of blinds. The first ones hung wrong (need to be on the outside of the window, not on the inside), the second ones were too short, and the third ones are just right. Well, they're long, but we can live with that and just not pull them down all the way. Kevin also put the bannister back up on the stairwell. It's been down for two months. He had to take it down to get Em's new queen sized boxspring up the stairs, and kept it down to get Zach's new dresser up the stairs, and then couldn't put it up again because his drill died. He needed to buy a new one and that just took some time. But now we have a new drill and the bannister is up and I'm much happier. I was a little stressed about Z or I falling down the stairs without having it to hold on to.

Zach and I went out shopping in the morning to finish some errands on my own to-do list and had a nice time. I took him out with his undies (not a pull-up) on and he was amazing. No accidents! We were out for a few hours and he even went pee pee for me in the store bathroom. He's really doing great with the potty training. Not so great at Lucy's, but at home we keep him in underwear during the day as much as possible and just use the pull-up to sleep or if we're going out somewhere. I was pretty excited that we could go out on an excursion and he would hold it. I think we've turned another corner!

Anyway, we went to a bunch of stores and I got a bit of the shopping bug out of me although I didn't buy much. I did buy new roller shades for the car to keep the sun off the kids in the backseat. I had some before but they didn't hold up too long, and with the brighter spring sun, Zach has been complaining. I also bought a couple of new books (buy one get one free at Babies R Us yesterday) for Bun which we read to Zach tonight before bedtime and he seemed to like. One of them is called "You're All My Favorite" and it's about 3 baby bears and how they each wonder if one of their siblings is their parents favorite. Since I'm about to give birth to my 3rd baby bear, I thought this was an appropriate book to get. And then I also bought some monkey artwork for Bun's room from HomeGoods. The walls are very bare so this was a nice addition. The poor kids -- all 3 have basically nothing on their walls. Maybe while I'm on maternity leave I'll be able to shop (or online shop) and find cute artwork or maybe even make cute artwork for their walls. I'd love to find something with their names on it. Something I really want for Zach's room (since it's pirate themed) is a treasure map, maybe personalized with his name. I'm on the hunt for something like this. Might make it myself if I can make it look cute enough.

Zach fought his nap even though he did lay down and get some rest. We got him up and took a nice family walk outside in the early evening before dinner. He rode in the stroller and we walked over to one of the long streets near us that has sidewalks. We had to go slow -- I'm not quick these days, but it was nice to get fresh air and see everyone's spring flowers coming up. Zach clearly knows what daffodils are (we have some coming up too) and pointed them out whenever he spotted any. Since he missed his nap he did fall asleep very easily tonight though, and hopefully he'll sleep in a little in the morning.

Speaking of sleeping, maybe I'll try to go back and do some now myself. It's 5:45 now and I hear birds chirping although it's still pretty dark out. Baby Bun is kicking me in the ribs and is letting me know I also need another bathroom stop before I lay down again. G'night!

Baby Bun Update, Week 39

I never thought I would get to 39 weeks (it's actually 39 weeks and 1 day right now) with this pregnancy. I guess I should learn to expect the unexpected, or at least to not think that my last pregnancy and this pregnancy are identical. But here I am with less than a week to go until my due date and Baby Bun kicking away, but making no signs of wanting to come out anytime soon.

I had a doctor's appointment today and despite the baby being in good position and everything looking good, my own body is not cooperating and I am apparently not ready to have this baby yet. Without going into details, let's just say that I'm not dilated at all and it could be a while still. That said, due to the baby's size, my gestational diabetes, and probably other things like my age, we made a plan to induce me next week if Baby Bun doesn't decide to come before then. Yay! I like the plan. I'm happy with this plan!

So I will go into the doctor's office on Monday for another non-stress test (testing baby's heart rate, contractions, and kicking) to be sure he's still looking okay. Then on Wednesday evening I'll check into the hospital to have a cervical ripening agent given to me. This will help my body get prepared for the next morning's induction -- where they'll likely start the Pitocin early on unless labor starts on its own. My due date is Thursday, April 15th, and that's when the induction is scheduled for so I might end up with a tax baby! Won't be hard to remember his birthday if that's the case.

Of course the best laid plans don't always pan out that way, so I'm still going to expect the unexpected and be prepared as best as I can that my water might break over the weekend. I have a few last minute things to do before the baby arrives that I will try to get accomplished so we are all set for when he does arrive. I've been having contractions all afternoon -- not consistent, not painful, but still contractions -- which make me wonder if something is going to happen sooner. At this point I hope not because I like the new doctor plan, but we'll see what Bun has to say about all this.

Happy Anniversary to us!

4 years ago today I married my best friend. I know that everyone says that -- of course you married your friend, but it really is true. While I have girlfriends, guy friends, and a great sister that I am very close to, Kevin is all of those and more, bundled up into one adorable and loving package. I met him in October 1996; we got engaged in September 2005, and remarkably, I am not at all tired of spending every single day of my life with him. I still look forward to our evenings together, waking up next to him and his scratchy facial hair, and spending our weekends together, fighting over the newspaper, drinking coffee, and playing with the kids.

It took us a while to get engaged (this is not my fault -- I blame Kevin squarely for just not getting around to asking me -- I would have said yes years before), but once we were, I think we grew even closer together. Planning our wedding was so much fun, despite budget constraints and trying to whip up a fabulous wedding in under 7 months. But we did it and had an absolute blast on our wedding day. It really might have been the most fun day of my life and if I could do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. The most amazing thing in the world to me was appearing at the aisle on my sobbing father's arm and looking down the aisle, the church pews filled with our family and friends, and seeing Kevin standing at the altar, waiting for me. I think I half-worried that maybe he wouldn't be there (I've watched too many movies), but there he was, with a big grin on his face. I just locked eyes with him so that I didn't cry, and focused on him as I walked down the aisle.

The past 4 years have been incredible and filled with so many life changing moments. We had a son together. We bought a house. We're having another son (any day now, I hope!) We packed up Emily for her freshmen year of college. Through it all Kevin and I have become an "us" -- a strong team of "we", not just "me", not just "him". But we're now Mom and Dad, the Mullens, a couple. While we are still strong individuals, we're also a strong couple, and I look forward to the rest of our lives together and becoming even stronger and falling even more deeply head over heels in love with this man that I call my husband.

I love you, Kevin.

My Last Ultrasound!

I had my very last ultrasound of this pregnancy today. I'm 38 weeks, 5 days, and this was to check on Baby Bun's growth and how he's looking. His growth has slowed a little bit. He's measuring right now at 8 pounds, 3 ounces (according to the ultrasound lady) or maybe it was 8 and a half pounds (according to the doctor who re-did the same measurements). Either way, his estimated due date is apparently around April 11th (my official due date is April 15th). Anything after 38 weeks is considered term, and if I get to this Friday I'll be very happy that everything is fine and normal and I won't be concerned about Bun coming too early. In fact, I'll be quite happy because I'm more than ready to meet him and spend time with the boys for my maternity leave.

I have my regular doctor's appointment on Friday morning and I think she's going to likely schedule a date for an induction for next week if I haven't had him before then. She has told me she doesn't want me going past 40 weeks which is great news for me because I'm not sure my skin can stretch any further than it already has and I think we need to have this baby ASAP.

We did not get any ultrasound photos today which was a bummer. After waiting more than an hour after my scheduled appointment time, they then ran us through the ultrasound pretty quickly, and were pretty efficient and business like. So it was a little sad, but I have about a hundred pictures from previous appointments (and many in 3-D) so I'm pretty happy regardless. And I'll see this little guy in person within, hopefully, the next week!

Easter Sunday

Easter 2010 dawned bright and beautiful in Framingham. The sun was shining and the air was warm. I really think that no one in the South can appreciate a warm spring day like those of us in the Northeast do. We have perfect weather so infrequently that when we do it just brings a happy smile to all of our hearts.

Zach woke up at around 7:00 a.m. on Easter Sunday and was eager to get up. We went outside to see if the Easter Bunny had eaten his carrot (he had) and then went into the kitchen to find that the Easter Bunny had left a basket for Zach! For the first time in his life, Zach started off his morning with a chocolate breakfast -- bunny ears, m&ms, foil covered chocolate mini bunnies, and a bite of a marshmallow peep (which he decided he doesn't like). I did eventually shovel in a few nutritious items into his toddler mouth, but was grateful he was also drinking a big glass of milk so he did get some nutrition into his breakfast.

After the decadent breakfast, we woke Kevin up and got ready for church. Zach was an excellent boy during the entire mass, just looking all around and being quiet and very cute. The church was of course packed, but we got seats because of the size of my gigantic belly. The usher took one look at me and directed us towards an available pew. Following mass we went to the grocery store for muffins, and then went home for an Easter egg hunt. Zach found all 11 eggs that the EB had left for him, and the hunt ended with a bigger gift from the Bunnyman -- a new Fisher Price tee-ball set! Whoa, that was pretty cool. Zach took to the ball and bat pretty quickly and started swinging like a natural in no time. Still not sure if he's a righty or a lefty. Maybe he's ambidexterous. He hit well both ways (and eats like that too).

 

Following Zach's afternoon nap we had an intimate dinner with just the 3 of us. Definitely missed Emily being here for Easter. I know she would have loved the Easter egg hunt (she hasn't had one of her own in a few years) and getting out the good china for dinner. Plus, she probably would have made at least one of the dinner options or the dessert. Our dessert was a homemade angel food cake that exploded all over the oven as I was baking it. Turns out Zach wasn't a huge fan, but he did love the berries and whipped cream that accompanied it.

All in all it was a beautiful day and very relaxing and nice. I was glad to spend the time with my boys and be able to go outside and get some fresh air, talk to the neighbors, and be able to relax and enjoy our home and neighborhood. I feel like we've been on the go for months and I've been nesting and so anxious about things that I haven't had a chance to relax and be a little lazy, so this was an extra nice day. Blame it on the weather -- I hope to have many more days like this ahead of us!

Happy Easter!

Easter Eve

What a beautiful day today was! The weather was absolutely perfect and we were thrilled to actually spend time outside after a couple of weeks of downpours and floods. Kevin even wore shorts today -- it was that warm. Of course I woke up very cranky since I was up ALL night with insomnia and an upset tummy. At one point I almost got up and finished packing my hospital bag because I thought maybe I was in labor. But it doesn't appear to be the case although I was cranky and out of sorts all day long. The wonderful Kevin was very patient with me and let me stay in bed (even though I was awake) so I could rest longer this morning, and he got up with Zach.

When I finally did get up today, Zach and I decided to color our Easter eggs. He loved it and seemed to know exactly what to do (except for smacking the eggs together a few times -- thankfully they were hard boiled!) He really does love his arts and crafts and had a great time coloring on the eggs and on paper on the table, and then putting the eggs into the dye and spooning more dye over them. He didn't want me taking his picture so I had to sneak a couple in when he didn't notice. The funny thing is that later in the day I took a video of him coloring and when I showed it to him he got very excited and then at dinner time told me I could take his picture and that he liked it. He likes seeing his picture on the digital camera so we had to go through the whole gallery. He's too funny.

We had a family shopping trip today to run some errands and the best part of it was buying a new glider rocker! I've wanted one for ages and think it will make nursing and rocking the new baby so much nicer. For the first few months we'll keep it upstairs, maybe in my and Kevin's bedroom initially, then down the hall to the baby's room (once we move him out of the bassinet and into the crib) and then down to the family room once he starts sleeping through the night. Unfortunately the glider rocker won't be delivered for 7-10 business days, but I'm hoping maybe it comes in earlier than that since I think that every day is going to be The Day that Bun arrives. I'd love to have the new chair before he comes, but if not I'll make due with the rocking chair.

I also bought a new baby bathtub for Baby Bun today. I didn't like the one we had for Zach so thought we'd get something a little bit bigger and nicer. We can use the other one to travel with (it folds up) or will sell it at our neighborhood yard sale in September. The last thing I really wanted to be sure to get before Bun came was a new hamper for his clothes. Kevin thought it was hysterical when I said today that now it's okay that the baby comes because I have a hamper for him. But for a nesting mom, this was something that was kind of bugging me -- I had nowhere to put the things I needed to wash for him, and wanted to have something for after he got here so I could immediately start to put dirty little onesies and clothes in it. So now I'm happy and feel much more like things are in order.

Kevin met up with his friend Doug tonight to watch the Duke game (they're in the Final Four -- Go Duke!) and I gave Zach a nice relaxing bubble bath. He desperately needed it after running around the yard for a bunch of today, playing with sidewalk chalk, jumping into piles of leaves and pine needles (I raked out flower beds and Zach saw the pile of leaves and said "thank you Mommy!"), and digging in the dirt. He had a very full boy day and no nap. So after his bath, jammies, stories, and prayers, he conked out pretty quickly. Oh wait, there was one more thing. Before the stories we went downstairs and left a carrot on the front steps for the Easter Bunny. We wanted the Easter Bunny to know that there was a thoughtful little boy who lived in our house, and maybe, just maybe, that little boy will find a nice Easter basket waiting for him tomorrow morning.

Do you see the carrot?

38 Weeks

It's April Fool's Day, I'm 38 weeks pregnant, and did not play any jokes on anyone today. I seriously thought about it -- thought about posting a photo of me in the hospital from when I had Zach and trying to pass him off as Baby Bun, but I'm terrible at the follow through and with my luck would have gone into labor tonight anyway and would then have some explaining to do when a new photo of a new baby is posted. So I stayed non-funny, which I hope keeps everyone nice and calm. :)

We did have a nice surprise today though when we received a great Easter package in the mail today from Sandy! In it was the new Grammy-made monkey bedding for Baby Bun! She made the monkey quilt, crib bumpers, and diaper stacker. I think her handiwork just gets better and better! We LOVE it and I really really love the colors! I think blue and brown is such a beautiful combination and she far exceeded my expectations. I couldn't articulate what I wanted her to make, and she went with it and came up with this beautiful artwork. I just think it's absolutely fantastic and so excited for Bun to try it out!

Along with the monkey bedding, she also sent the most adorable lamb quilt for Bun as well. It's got soft fuzzy lamb-like fabric and is really sweet and soft. Zach and I couldn't stop petting it! It will be fun to have that be a play quilt for Bun although it looks so nice that you could really hang it on your wall. Zach was not left out either as he received an Easter goody bag (which he immediately dug into) and some cute Easter-y clothes. We are very spoiled! And very lucky.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Things I will miss about being pregnant:
1) Having a little friend to tote around with me. I really love feeling him move inside of me!
2) My strong nails and how fast and long they grow.
3) The attention from others. I have to admit, I kind of like it.
4) Growing a life inside of me. What a wonderful gift to give (and receive)!
5) Clear skin. While it's a little dry, at least I have no acne for several months.

Things I will not miss about being pregnant:
1) The lack of sleep. I get terrible insomnia when I'm pregnant.
2) Being huge and uncomfortable. It's hard to get into a good position when sitting, standing, laying down...
3) My swollen ankles. Nothing else has swelled, just my feet and ankles. They're not pretty.
4) The attention from others. While I like it mostly, it does get annoying when people stare at you in awe and say "wow, you haven't had that baby YET? You're huge!"
5) The maternity clothes. Nothing fits anymore and I hate most of the clothes now. It's too late to buy anything new so I'm wearing the same 4 outfits that fit over and over again.

A Cranky Kind of Day

Today marks the day when I had Zach in my pregnancy -- 37 weeks, 4 days. I know that was early, but for some reason I've been expecting to have this baby early again. But my doctor tells me that the 3rd baby is the wild card and that they tend to be completely unpredictable. So despite the fact that my water broke with both Em and Zach and it took hours (and inductions) for the labors to start, she said to not expect that to happen with this one. Great. Because we need the extra time to get Zach squared away before I give birth and I was kind of banking on a similar thing. I guess we'll see what  happens.

So I had the nicest Saturday morning this past weekend. I decided to use some old spa gift cards that I've had forever and indulge myself before the baby comes and I have zero time to myself again for quite some time. I had a facial on Newbury Street followed by a pedicure on Arlington. The facial was divine -- an hour of cleansers, creams, and massages on my face, neck, shoulders and head. And somewhere in between when towels and creams were sitting on my face, the facial lady massaged my feet and put some great lotion on them. That was such a nice unexpected bonus! I felt kind of bad though because my feet were in rough shape. I had a pedicure scheduled for afterwards, but when she got to them they weren't looking so great.

My pedicure was good as well, but to be honest, I don't think that spa pedicures are really any better than my old place in Brookline (with the Asian ladies for a lot less money) was. I guess they take a little extra time on them, but it's nothing dramatically better. I did desperately need a pedicure though and got one for the price of a gift card (plus tip).

I wish I had another spa day to look forward to. I could have used one today. It was rainy and miserable outside and I was pretty cranky and miserable all day as well. The lack of sleep is really getting to me, and I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. I guess I'll just look forward to this weekend, although I need to have a quick chat with the Easter bunny so that we're ready for his visit. And maybe I'll have a new little Easter bunny myself to snuggle with. Let's see what this week brings! I had a doctor's appointment today and things are still looking fine. Baby is low and in position, but nothing else is happening so we're still on target for April 15th. Ugh, that feels like forever from now!

Mr. Cutie Pie

Zach went through a phase for a few weeks when he decided he didn't like baths any more. This made washing him rather problematic! But then he read a book with Kevin about bubble baths so I stopped at the store that night and picked up some new bubble bath. Yep, that did the trick! Now he LOVES his baths again! Bubbles really are fun!

Zach is in an incredibly cute stage of his life right now. He suddenlty is speaking creatively and in full sentences and can hold a whole conversation with you. I don't know where he comes up with some of his concepts but it's so wonderful to just see him think about things and be able to express himself. And his play is getting very creative! He plays with his stuffed animal friends a lot and has conversations with them. They aren't deep conversations, it's usually something like "want to dance?" And then the stuffed animals and he will dance and laugh. But the really cute part is that he gives them all "voices". He has his Zachary voice and they all have high pitched voices. I love it!

As the countdown begins to the birth of Baby Brother, Zach is getting more and more interested in having a little brother around the house. He'll rub my tummy and the other day he asked my tummy (little brother) if he wanted to come out and play. And then he said "Mommy, take him out!" He likes to go in the baby's bedroom also and see what new stuff is in there. For a kid who couldn't wait to get out of his crib and into a bed, he's suddenly super interested in that crib and wants to get into it every time we walk into the room. There's only one stuffed animal and the crib mobile in it, but it's apparently extremely interesting and he has to get in and play with it each time we're in there. I did finally get him to stop bouncing when he was in the crib. Since the mattress is up as high as it can go I was afraid he was going to bounce himself right out of it!