Here we come, 2014...

Goodness. It's been awhile. I know. I'm hoping to do better this year! (But I have twice the number of kids I did before, so don't hold me to it.) ;)

Photo Credit K&R Photography

Most of you know that our sweet baby girl, Mary Alice, arrived on December 25, 2013... Yep! Christmas Day! Aside from the whole labor thing, it was my favorite Christmas present ever. :) I will try to get her birth story written down soon (to share with anyone who wants to read it!). Thus far, my professional motherly opinion is that having a newborn is easier the second time around. That's some hope for those of you who haven't taken the second kid leap yet! I think that's God's way of being merciful when you have rambunctious (or "busy," as people politely call him) first child to chase after too.


Jonathan is doing very well with her, I think! Half the time he is in his own world and pretends she doesn't exist. But sometimes he asks to hold her, and he is always the first to be alerted to the fact that she's crying. I like to think it's a protective brother instinct. ;) He had a bit of a rough time soon after she was born, which I was expecting. But then it stopped abruptly when Jon went back to work (thank heavens!!). Jon was able to take two paid weeks off after she was born which was a humongous blessing. We truly love being around each other and just hanging out as a family, so even though we were sleep deprived, we had a whole bunch of fun figuring out the "new norm."

We are Babywising again with Mary Alice and she is doing very well! She eats every 3 - 4 hours and once during the night. We've also started cloth diapering her this week. I know I'm biased but cloth diapered babies are just precious. I really feel like we've saved so much money - Jonathan is still wearing the diapers we got him as a newborn! It's quite a relief to get back to little baby poop. Jonathan is already a full-grown man as far as that goes... Ugh.

Speaking of my little man, he amazes us daily with everything he's learning! It is incredible to get to watch a little brain develop. He knows pretty much all his animals (and the sounds they make... He even does a sound for a squirrel... Not sure where he learned that...) and he knows most of his letters and what they stand for (D for daddy, etc.). He also has a "big boy" haircut now. I might have been a little emotional about it. ;) Some of our favorite Jonathan sayings:

"Booga!" (when he hears one of us blow our nose) 

After dinner, he usually goes through a list of dessert requests: "Nut-nut? (doughnut) Coo-coo? (cookie) Mu-mu? (muffin)" And if none of those have worked, he asks for a banana as a last-ditch effort. 

He's started letting me know when he has a dirty diaper: "Poop. Nasty." 

He loves all things boy. Balls. Trucks. Trains. And puzzles. They're his new favorite. And so is Mr. Potatohead from Toy Story. Because we believe in the parental right to use TV as a babysitter on occasion. Go ahead and judge. ;)

Work is going well for Jon. He has been spending a lot of time working in the NICU pharmacy, which he really enjoys, and the rest of the time he is usually taking care of various clinical responsibilities. We continue to look back over the last few months and feel more and more affirmed in our decision to stay in Albany. The Lord has provided above and beyond what we could ask or imagine!


Probably the biggest single blessing here has been our sweet church family. We have really enjoyed getting to jump in wholeheartedly since we know we'll be here for at least two more years. Jon had the opportunity to lead a small group Bible study through the book "How People Change" over the last few months. We loved having people in our home every week to learn about true heart change together, and we're looking forward to doing the sequel book in the coming months! (I recommend it if you haven't read it!)


As for this Mama, I am busying myself with keeping the rest of the fam fed, happy, and clean (sort of). I finally became a licensed pharmacist in early December (insert Aaron Murray fist pump), and am planning to do some PRN work starting in March! (My thought is that maybe if I can say I work "part-time," the state of my house will be more acceptable. ;))


Well, that's it for now. Better go check my clothes for poop and/or spit-up before the kids wake up. Being clean for at least 20 minutes is worth it, right??

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Well, earthlings, I've returned.

Most of you probably caught The Big News of 2013 via Facebook a few weeks ago... I'm housing a human again! Jon and I are so thrilled to be parents of two come December. My official due date is 12/16/13, but those things are never right. So I'm just shy of 14 weeks now and happy to be feeling good again! Here's a glimpse of our little nugget, in case you missed it before. Looks like Jon, I think. ;)

Can you believe this little booger is going to be a big brother? We are very into food these days.
And does anyone want to come clean my fridge?

Rocking our punk rocker morning hair and a yogurt 'stache. Stylin.

In other news, we are also excited to announce that after Jon finishes his residency this month, he will become the newest clinical pharmacist at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital! Yes, you read that right, we are staying below the 'gnat line.'  ;)  God has been so good to provide for us in Albany and we are excited about this next stage in our journey.  Jon has really enjoyed the people he's gotten to work with over the last year and enjoys his work a lot. :)


I start my very last pharmacy school rotation on Monday.  Can't believe it's finally here!  We are still undecided about what exactly I am going to be doing after I finish rotations, but I will definitely be home a lot more than I have been over the last year, which I am thrilled about. :)  I will be working part-time at most, so I get to hang out with my favorite chubby little boy more and actually keep our house clean(er).


Here are a few pictures from several weeks ago when we visited the Chehaw Zoo right here in Albany! Jonathan loves the animals. :)

He is braver than I am!

While watching the kangaroos.

Posing with a merekat.

Thanks for being patient with my sporadic updates! We're so thankful for all the love and support we've received over the last year and are looking forward to keeping you in the loop during this next exciting season!

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Romans 11:36

March Update by the Numbers

2: number of teeth Jonathan has

 

3: size of diapers that Jonathan wears (when we can't use cloth)

 

9: how many months old Jonathan will be next week

 

3.5: how many months Jon has left in the residency

 

65: number of miles I had to drive one way on my last rotation

(thank the Lord it's over!)

 

4: how many months I have left on rotations

(yippeeee!)

 

32: how old my lovely mother turns today. Happy Birthday, Mom! ;)

Last weekend we took Jonathan on his first eating out adventure since he was little guy. We chose the fine establishment of Mellow Mushroom (it seemed likely that the noise level in there would drown out any outbursts that may occur). He really is a pretty well-behaved 8 month old, but this was new territory for us. This fact must have been very apparent when the waiter brought our drinks and no more than 6 seconds elapsed before Jonathan successfully overturned Jon's glass of water (thankfully it was water!) and soaked himself, us, the table, the floor... We took it in stride and cleaned it up. Our waiter had a 9 month old little boy, so he didn't seem phased by it either. Other people, however, treated the area around our table like a heavy construction zone as they walked past. I mean seriously - it was a little water on the floor, not a carpet of Mario Kart banana peels. I'm gonna start carrying little orange cones with me wherever I go now.


Jon Sr. and Jr. at Mellow Mushroom

A little blurry, but J was going to town on the pizza crust.

It was a productive weekend, since Jon didn't have to work. We got Jonathan's new Britax Marathon carseat installed. He looks like such a big boy now that he's not in an infant seat anymore!

In the way of baby news, Jonathan is no longer using bottles - we've graduated to sippy cups! He's not crawling quite yet, but that just makes my lack of enthusiasm for exercise easier to maintain. He eats pretty much everything in sight, speaks Babble-eese proficiently, squeals with delight when his dad walks into the room, and sleeps like a champ. Oh, and I am not able to get a good picture of it, but he has two teeth poking through on the bottom!

Here are a few pictures we took after church last Sunday. It was such a beautiful day outside!

New Year's Resolution: Return to Blog

We are still alive. I've just succumbed to the busyness of the season, I suppose. Fear not, though, I have hopefully returned from the land of TV-watching and pie-eating. My poor body hopes so, at least.

We had a wonderful Christmas. We were able to spend multiple days with both of our families (which rarely happens these days), although I'm sure they would have held us hostage in North Georgia for a few more months if they could have. Jonathan had no idea what was really going on of course, unless the true meaning of Christmas is snuggling 24/7 and never being without a playmate. He loved spending time with his aunts and uncle, and being completely and utterly doted on by his grandparents. (Can I just say that being a grandparent, especially a grandmother, is like the most cushy job ever? All the fun of having a baby without the work! Ok, my mom would probably argue that now she just has someone else to worry about and pray for, but still... I think they secretly revel in watching how I am occasionally astonished at the difficulties of motherhood... Certainly makes me appreciate my parents - the moment they've been waiting 24 years for has finally come!) ;)

Snuggling with his grandma "Ruru."

In his Christmas outfit from "Aunt Abby's" grandparents. So stylin'!

Playing with his new blocks from Jon's parents.

Listening to words of wisdom from my dad, also known as "Cap'n."

Playing with his "busy beads" from my parents.

Christmas Morning pic! The awesome football is from his Uncle Chip.

Before Christmas, I had the most wonderful birthday. I confess that I was a little bummed out at the beginning of the week because Jon was going to have to work the night of my birthday and we didn't really have anything planned. Such a silly feeling to want to feel special on your birthday, but feeling too "adult" to ask for it. Feels like you might as well say, "I'd like a Funfetti Barney cake with Elmo sprinkles and a My Little Pony barn full of horses! With Lisa Frank stickers on it, of course." (Do kids these days even know what those things are?) I should be correct in saying that we actually did have a little weekend in-town "getaway" planned later on. Our sweet friends from church, Justin and Jessica, had agreed to stay with Jonathan for a night the weekend after my birthday, so we could go off for a few hours. We had a FABULOUS time. :) But back to my actual birthday. There is just something, in my opinion, about the actual day of your birth that merits some time being set aside to celebrate. I grew up in a family where on your birthday, a shiny "Happy Birthday" banner was hung in the kitchen in celebration, the birthday boy/girl got to eat on the red, "You Are Special" plate (which is kind of ironic if you know my mom), and got the same number of roses of their new age from Dad. (My brother Chip did not get roses, don't worry.) What I didn't know was that this year would be no different!

Thankfully Jon was able to get off work for the evening of my birthday, so I was looking forward to that, but I had to go into work for rotations (the real world is so lame). Mid-morning, I received a beautiful flower arrangement from my darling husband at work. Around lunch time, the door to the pharmacy opened, and who walks in but my mom, sister, Jon, and baby Jonathan?! Carrying 24 red roses from my dad and a strawberry Cecelia's cake (no Barney, but I'll let it slide). I know my face turned red in shock. I'm pretty hard to surprise most of the time, but they totally pulled one over on me. We were able to go and have a nice lunch downtown together, and then Mom and Betsy babysat Jonathan that night so Jon and I could go to dinner. What a great birthday! Not too many moms would drive 3 1/2 hours one way "just because she had yet to not lay eyes on me on my birthday." I'm a lucky girl.

Flowers from my hubby.

My Cecilia's cake. 

I have so many fun new recipes I want to share, one of which is from a little "rehearsal" Christmas dinner we hosted at our house a couple weeks before the actual holiday. But that will have to wait until I write about it. :) Until then, here are a couple of new ones Jon and I have enjoyed in the past week.

Pork Carnitas

from The Smitten Kitchen

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder or pork butt, cut into 2-inch cubes

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lime juice (from about 2 to 3 limes)

4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more to taste

Corn tortillas, for serving plus
Avocado slices, chopped cilantro and fixings of your choice 

1. Place the pork in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot. Add the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, cumin, salt and enough water to just barely cover the meat.

2. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for two hours. Don’t touch the meat.

3. After two hours, increase the heat to medium-high and while occasionally stirring and turning the pieces, continue to cook for about 45 minutes, or until all of the liquid has evaporated, leaving only the rendered pork fat. Let it sizzle in this fat long enough to brown at the edges, turning pieces gently (they’ll be eager to fall apart), only as needed.

4. When pork has browned on both sides, it’s ready. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve on warmed tortillas with fixings. (I topped mine with avocado, onions, and some cilantro. Jon isn't a fan of onions or cilantro, so he abstained from them.)

Death of a Jack-o-Lantern

First off, my apologies for being MIA for several weeks.

We have been a busy bunch around here. But it's been fun. My sister, Mary, visited a few weeks ago and we had much fun. (It's practically impossible not to have fun when she's around.) She hadn't been to Albany yet, and I hope it did not disappoint. :)  She was so sweet to cook for us some and babysit Jonathan one night so Jon and I got a date! Woohoo! :)

We also had a long-awaited visit from the Alligoods! They were some of the fortunate fans who witnessed Bulldog domination down in Jacksonville and they came through Albany on their way home! We didn't mean to wear matching clothes... guess we were just in the spirit.

I've had a little break from rotations, so I've been busy in the kitchen trying to get ahead to make our weeks easier in the future! The casserole pictured below was absolutely fantastic. Since it's just the two of us, I split the casserole into two dishes and stuck one in the freezer for later! Definitely a good cold-weather comfort food. (Plus you don't use anything from a can, so it's healthy!)

Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Today was also a bean-cooking marathon. We've found beans to be a great way to get protein while keeping the grocery budget manageable, so I like to cook big batches and freeze them in can-sized portions in Ziploc bags. We now have over 15 bags of black and kidney beans in the freezer! (Alluding to the gaseous connotation that beans carry, Jon very sweetly asked me, "I don't know if girls would do something like this, but you should take a picture of all these beans and put it on the blog! ...I didn't take a picture.)

I've also made chicken stock (most of which we've already used up) and baby food, which is another post for another day...

Family photo before church.

The last thing I will share with you today is our first pumpkin carving endeavor.

I love fall. It's definitely my favorite season (along with most of America). Cool weather (sort of, in GA), beautiful leaves, football ... and pumpkins. Pumpkin breads (I will share my favorite recipe soon), pies, lattes, roasted pumpkin seeds, and Jack-o-Lanterns, of course! We did not carve a pumpkin last year because we were living in an apartment. Apartment life can be awkward when it comes to holidays. There are no real rules on what's fair game as far as outdoor decorating goes. Someone should write them. Wreaths are okay. Doormats are okay (except ours stuck out in front of the stairs to go to the next floor and it made me feel weird). But what do you do about the poor naked bushes outside who really want to wear spider webs or lights? Who knows? No one really has ownership of them. So naked they remain.

But I digress. We no longer live in an apartment, and we even have a little front porch thing, so I was bound and determined to have at least a jack-o-lantern this year.

We started out right and got a pumpkin from Publix for $5.99. One day we'll be cool and not as poor and take Jonathan to make pictures and pick out a $60 pumpkin from a real farm. My dear husband and I decided to be patriotic and carve a Georgia 'G.' I say "we." Really it was "he." He did all the work. Even scraped out the gook inside (which was an act of love for him).

Start with a good knife. And a scary face.
(Our neighbors called their kids inside.)

Carved! (Notice the toothpick on bottom left - that was to keep our 'G' from falling.)

The man and his art.

So this was all two weekends before Halloween. Yeah. Oops. I didn't know that was really early. So when I realized that it was, I consulted my trusty friend, Pinterest, for a way to keep it from rotting. The article I found seemed very logical:

1. Create diluted bleach solution and spray all over the inside and cut surfaces of the pumpkin. (To kill any bacteria already there.)

2. Cover inside and cut surfaces with petroleum jelly. (To keep any new bacteria from getting in.)

Sounds like a great idea, right? Well, it doesn't work. Our poor pumpkin didn't even make it to Halloween. Perhaps we were not thorough enough in our bleaching or jelly-ing. Who knows? (The bacteria do.) But the ending wasn't pretty or pleasantly aromatic.

Have any of you had success in protecting your jack-o-lanterns?

We were excited about the little cold spell we had and got out our cool football beanie!

(Yes, I'm wearing a fluffy pink robe.)

A Day in the Life

I don't know about you, but I can be a nosy individual. I like to know what other people do. Especially moms. When it's your first kid, the "what do other moms do?" question plagues you. Not that there are too many different ways to feed, diaper and make a baby nap (there are a few ways though!), but it's just affirming to read or hear how other moms do things. Having some sort of frame of reference makes me feel much more comfortable. So... because I have, since Jonathan was born, scoured other blogs and websites to find such information, I thought I'd attempt to satisfy someone else's curiosity and share what our day-to-day life is like! (Some of you may need to stop reading before you fall asleep - I don't claim that this is universally interesting information.)

My schedule changes every 5 weeks (and sometimes every day), and Jon's usually every 4, since we are both on rotations. But this is our current schedule (every day has its variations, of course).

6/6:30am   Wake up and feed Jonathan. (He is currently sleeping through the night and eating every 3 1/2 - 4 hours during the day.) Eat breakfast, shower, get ourselves and Jonathan ready for the day.

7:30/8:00   Take Jonathan to his babysitter's house.

8/8:30   I get to the hospital and work up any patients I have. (Jon usually is there by 8 as well.)

9   Meet with my preceptor and go over our patients.

10  Time to breastpump! (for those of you who read my last post, I am still pumping 2-3 times while at work, which usually gives me enough for one or 1 1/2 bottles for Jonathan - I am supplementing what I lack with Similac Advance formula, so usually that means one formula bottle every day or two)

10:30   Rounding with my preceptor and the on-call physician in the three ICU units.

12/12:30   Lunch and/or a random meeting.

1:30   Catch up on my patient workups and/or present my patients to my preceptor.

2   Reattach myself to the pump. Finish any work at the hospital.

3/4   Pick up my sweet baby! (The best part of my day.)

5/6   Make dinner and feed Jonathan. We clean up dinner and play with Jonathan for awhile and then Jon reads a story to him before he goes to bed.

7:30   Jonathan goes to bed.

7:30-9   Jon and I do our respective work, which is usually reading pharmacy-related articles. Plus any chores that need to be done (wash clothes, cloth diapers, kitchen cleaning, pack lunches, mow the grass...)

9-10  Hang out with my husband (we usually eat ice cream and watch FOX News or episodes of The Office). :)

10pm  Feed Jonathan one more time and then put him right back to bed. Then we get to bed ASAP!

(3 weeks old) This is one of my favorite pictures of him sleeping. He rolled over onto his back but it didn't wake him up! His hair is the kicker. :)

We are a Babywise family, so we do the "Feed, Wake, Sleep" cycle. For those of you not familiar with the book, wake time follows feedings so that sleep doesn't become dependent on his feedings. I have been very pleased with this approach - he is GREAT about going down for a nap or to sleep at night. I lay him in his crib while he is awake, give him a paci if he wants it, and he usually doesn't even cry. (If he does, we usually just pat his back a little and he calms down.)  So, he eats every 3 1/2 - 4 hours, and usually stays awake for 1 1/2 - 2 hours (from the time he gets up to eat) before going back down for a nap. Eventually he will move to just two naps a day, but he's not quite ready for that yet.

We are quite busy and exhausted, and sometimes I get grumpy about it. I certainly never envisioned my life looking like this. I would rather be home with my baby, taking care of my family without other stressful demands on me. But, I also believe that God only allows things into the lives of believers that are for their good. So whatever He wants to accomplish in all of this chaos and frequent bouts of tears must be best. And I just hold on to the hope that it's temporary.

I'm off to make some dinner! We are having almond and brown sugar crusted tilapia, grits, and trying brussel sprouts tonight! Never made those before! I'll let you know how they turn out... :)

Breastmilk Woes

So, here's what's going on in the Alligood house. Jon's work, per usual, is busy, but this rotation is slightly less demanding than the last one. (hip hip hooray!) He's learning about pharmacy informatics, which is basically how to utilize computers in the world of pharmacy. It all goes over my head! I am on my last week rotating at Walgreens and will be at the hospital doing critical care for the next five weeks. My bright spot in this is that I will get to see my hubby on occasion during the day! Jonathan will be nearby soon, because we got good news that he's now #4 on the waiting list for the hospital daycare! I have so enjoyed him being with Sandi and will be kind of sad when he's done there. But I'm sure she'll be ready to get her crew down to just four kids instead of five. :)

Playing on his new car playmat from his great-grandmother Mimi.

My current Mommy Dilemma is what to do about Jonathan's food. He is three months old and has been exclusively breastmilk-fed up until this past weekend when we had to give him a formula bottle. Thankfully he didn't seem to mind one bit and gulped it all down. But all the books and articles and opinions ("Breast is best!") produced a small amount of mommy guilt. I've not been able to pump as much milk at work as before, and it was getting more difficult and stressful to have enough for him while I'm away. I've started pumping more frequently to try to increase my supply, so hopefully that will help a bit. I have to say, though, that while I felt sad that he was eating something other than my milk and that I wasn't able to make enough for him, it took some pressure off of me to know that I can scoop that smelly stuff out of the can and he wouldn't be hungry. It was definitely putting a strain on me and my time at home with my boys to feel like I always needed to be attached to a pump. So for now, I am pumping and getting as much milk as I can, and doing the rest as formula.

The next decision to make is when to start "real" food for Jonathan. Several friends have recommended starting with a little bit of rice cereal in a bottle. The only drawback to this, in my opinion, is that I wouldn't be able to nurse him at night (which is apparently the ideal time to give it him so he'll sleep like a rock!). Moms, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. When did you start cereal/food? And what types of food did you start with?

The kid will obviously eat anything!

Lastly, I just want y'all to know what an encouragement it is to me to read your comments. As we go through life in general, but especially as mothers, community and building each other up is so important. And sometimes that means a deep spiritual conversation or prayer time together, but other times it's just nice to know that other people get pooped on too! :)

Seeking Rest

In an effort to maintain my credibility as a psychic, I have been quite the sporadic blogger, as previously foretold. But hopefully no one holds it against me. I will do my best to catch you up on the happenings down here.

Jon has just finished his third rotation of the residency. He has nine total. He has to do a big research project by the end of the residency so he's been working hard on that. He's collaborating with an infectious disease physician and also an ID pharmacist, so it would be great if the study gets published afterwards! But no big deal if it doesn't. He's been running nonstop for the last three weeks though, putting in 70-hour weeks, and I am ready for him to get to rest. Hopefully that will happen soon.

My "work" has been going well. I miss Jonathan, of course, but I really can't complain other than that. I'm handling the compounding at the Walgreens I'm at, as well as giving immunizations (get your flu shots!) and other pharmacist-y things. :)  My preceptor has been very understanding and has allowed me to pump twice during the day at work so I'm able to keep breastfeeding. I realize that the stigma about formula among breastfeeding moms is probably a little hyperbolic, but I am doing my best to keep Jonathan breastfed as long as my body and rotations allow me (don't worry - we won't have a breastfed 9-year-old). ;)

My sweet friend AmyLynn took some [professional] pictures of the three of us on Saturday, and I can't wait to see how they turn out. See her blog for a sneak peak soon!

Photo by AmyLynn Titus

The Ingrid Michaelson song "Keep Breathing" has been playing on my iTunes as I write, and I have to confess that there have been more moments than not lately where I feel like that's my motto. We came into this year anticipating some hard and exhausting times, but I have often felt inadequate for the things the Lord has brought our way. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually, I feel spent. This past Saturday, we had a women's brunch at church, and one of the elders' wives shared some words from Matthew 11. In this chapter, Jesus promises,

"Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (vv. 28-30)

This is such a beautiful promise, and certainly comforting to a tired and weary soul (i.e. yours truly). But what did He really mean? My friend shared Saturday from a Spurgeon sermon on the passage. He said that the first rest spoken of is "given" to us, and is salvation. We do nothing to earn that. There is an eternal rest promised to those who trust Jesus. I am certainly looking forward to that. :) The second rest is one that we "find," and it is found when we take His yoke upon us. When we "learn from Him," becoming like Him, gentle and humble in heart, we are able to accept graciously the yoke He gives us. And the word picture of a yoke can't help but bring to mind the image of a team. Jesus, who will never leave or forsake us, is in the yoke with us doing the work we've been called to do.

This spoke to me profoundly on Saturday. And oftentimes in those profound moments, the task seems so clear and simple. But even since making my inward resolution to be gentle and humble and trust the Lord, I have struggled. As is usually the case with obedience, it's a decision that has to be made over and over and over. Which is where another passage comes in that has been of comfort to me lately:

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

Hebrews 10:35-36

I hope these truths encourage you as they have me. I'm certainly thankful for His word, which is "truer than my circumstances," as my mom likes to say. :)

As always, Jonathan wants to say "hi." :)

Playtime with Dad while Mom was at the brunch. They did great together!

He kept all of his smiles inside until our photo session on Saturday was over. Naturally.

Sitting with me outside as we blog. He's really into his hands these days.

How Now, Brown Couch

Anyone who ever plans to let children (or clumsy adults) into their home should own a brown couch. We didn't know this when we invested in our new-to-us couch a few months ago, but being inadvertently wise is a strength of mine. ;) Jonathan has managed to poop on it (twice), which really means he pooped on my lap and it ran down onto the couch. And today, when I saw a glob of gooey brown stuff on it, I assumed it was more of the same. But then my brave husband took a whiff of it and diagnosed it as a melted chunk of the Hershey's Special Dark chocolate bar we shared last night. Phew. Nevertheless, poop, chocolate, coffee - all have taken a spin on our (sort of) new couch. I am just fortunate that they are all the right color: brown! Thus, my conclusion that brown is the most appropriate color of furniture for this season of life.

Many of you know that this week was my first week back to rotations since Jonathan was born. I didn't cry quite as much as I thought I would, but it didn't knock my socks off either. Jonathan, of course, has done just fine. I keep reminding myself that this is a great age for him to be away from me because he won't even remember it. And he seems to be having a blast at the McFarlins'. :) My rotation is at a Walgreens here in Albany, and I'm in charge of doing all the compounds at the store. This is most appropriate since this is what I did at the job I had all during pharmacy school. So thankfully it's something I'm familiar with. My preceptor is fantastic, too. She has a 7 month old little boy, so we share stories and talk about being mommies. Definitely a good way to transition back. I will be glad when next summer rolls around though! Jon's work has been pretty busy lately, but he's such a trooper, staying up until 2 or 3am many nights to finish everything he has to do. He's enjoying the work, but I think we'll both be glad when we're done with this year's schedule.

Here's a video of him "dancing" in his bouncy seat last night while we were eating dinner. Mom and I decided that he's still so skinny because he's burning calories left and right!

Keeper of the Ear Bling

Okay, okay. I know I'm not hip enough to say "bling," but let's be real - "earring holder" just doesn't sound cool. Being the novice crafter that I am, I can't help but get excited over my latest project, even though it only took approximately 6 minutes to complete. (Baby steps, okay?)

As previously mentioned, I purchased all my supplies at Hobby Lobby. They include only:

• 8x10 picture frame
• 1/2 yard of lace (you don't need all of it, but I bought extra in case I accidentally tore it or wanted to use it for something else)
• Hot glue gun (I'm now a proud owner)
• Decorative plate holder

There were basically two steps, so to respect your intellect, I'll save you from the step-by-step photo tutorial. ;)  (Side rant: has anyone else ever been the teeniest bit offended when someone posts step-by-step directions to something that's common sense? Like when "measure ingredients" is its own step in a recipe. Gee, I was wondering what those random fractions next to the list of ingredients were for...)

First I disassembled the picture frame - all I used was the actual frame. Then I folded my piece of lace in half because I wanted it to be sturdy (if you can even use that word to describe lace), and I cut it to fit the frame. All I had to do then was hot glue it on the back and let it sit for a minute. I bought a pretty plate holder to make it stand up on my dresser. Pictures below...

The old one and new one. (See why I needed to update?
Neon had enough time to go out of style and come back in. I feel old.)

Displaying my bling, er, earrings.

The only thing that's not ideal is that the back of the plate holder puts pressure on the lace. I thought about finding something supportive to put on the back to support it and protect the lace, but  I haven't gotten around to implementing a solution.

Has anyone else tried their hand at one of these?

Jonathan says he hasn't and never will. What a man.

"I prefer to wear fierce animals."

This is How We Play

Try not to be jealous of my cinematography skills.

Since When Is Being "Crafty" a Good Thing?

I am so proud of my little guy. He slept almost 12 hours last night and we had to wake him up this morning to eat! Jon went in to get him and said he was just lying happily awake in his crib sucking on his fingers. That's been his latest accomplishment - substituting the ever-present fingers for the elusive paci. I know some people would rather use a pacifier since you can take those away, but Jonathan seems to be very partial to his fingers. He will occasionally knock the paci out to get to his fingers! Even such small things are so exciting when you watch your child learn to do them. It's fascinating! He hasn't been able to find his fingers consistently because he wasn't coordinated enough, but now he can bring them to his mouth when he's on his stomach (which is easier because they're next to his face) and on his back. I'm so proud of him! Plus, that makes it easier for him to get himself back to sleep. Hooray!

Yesterday, J and I went to Hobby Lobby, which has become one of my new favorite stores. I used to be very wary of crafty, fabricky stores. Michael and Jo-Ann seemed to be in conspiracy against me. But I've since gotten over it. It started with buying some decor items (which look even more fabulous when they're 50% off!) and I feel that I'm now being sucked into the DIY vortex. I have a long way to go, mind you. But there is some serious satisfaction in making/doing something yourself. The line must be drawn somewhere though - Jon and I have agreed that, in the future, some things are just worth paying someone else to do. In the name of happy marriages. (Don't ask us to paint any furniture for you.)

So anyways, yesterday's Lobby purchases included navy blue dye (I'm too cheap to buy new, color-appropriate scrubs for my rotations, so I dyed my old ones!), baskets to organize J's explosively chaotic changing table, and supplies to make myself a new earring holder. My old (as in college-dorm-room old) earring holder is still functional, but it's lime green with pink sequin polka dots. I even bought a hot glue gun. [eerie music plays while pigs soar high in the sky]

Here are pictures of J's "new" changing table (it's actually the one my mom bought when I was born!). The baskets fit his cloth diapers perfectly!

The lotion is sitting on top of the wipes because the little closing clasp is broken. :)

Two baskets for the cloth diapers and one bigger basket for burp cloths and pajamas.

"I can't believe you did that for me!"  Aw, shucks. ;)

Disclaimer: I am aware that the Bumbo seats have been recalled due to babies wiggling out of them (and I have ordered my complimentary "safety restraint repair kit"). I don't think my little dude will be going anywhere anytime soon yet though. Depending on how tired he is, he does pretty well sitting in it and holding his head up!

"Aren't I the cutest ever?!"