How much is too much?

We had an interesting poll on my message board yesterday. It was titled "How many kids do you think is A LOT of kids for one family?" I had to sit down and think about this. I have two kids and am done having kids. Three kids doesn't seem unusual at all to me and neither does four for some reason. So, my vote was for five. I don't have anything against people having tons of kids....each to his own. But, if I saw a woman in Walmart with five or more kids in tow, I'd probably be like, "Wow, that's a lot of kids."

I wonder what the average number of kids per family is in the US. I bet it's three or more. While the cost of raising kids gets more and more expensive, I don't think that's keeping families from having them.

My mom and dad are both one of three kids. All of my grandparents had two or more siblings. Big families were very common back then. They needed help around the house and on the farm.

We've been in this house for a little over two years and I'm already convinced that we've outgrown it! LOL! But as Richard says, "We ain't moving for a while!"

Houston, we have a problem....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8720825/

This is very scary. To think that almost the same exact thing happened to Discovery as did Columbia in 2003....only not in the same spot and not as bad. I wonder how those astronauts feel right now. To think that something could go wrong on its way back to Earth is very unnerving. WOW.

I have nothing against NASA, but they really need to reconsider how many things could go wrong on these shuttles that are so flippin old in the first place. A 20 year old car IS NOT going to be in the greatest of shape either, is it? Things get old. Things break.

Makes me angry though how NASA is so gung ho on sending shuttles into space to gain the public's respect without thinking about the lives of the astronauts and how their deaths could impact their families and future potential astronauts. When I was a kid, I heard "I want to be an astronaut when I grow up." all the time. Back then parents thought, "Sure. Great." If Kyra said that now, I'd be pretty darn skeptical. The future of NASA is uncertain. And I think with these turn of events, even NASA knows that now.

Manic Monday.....

Took Kyra to the dentist yesterday. That was at 8:30. By that point, I was pretty exhausted. Maeve had quit sleeping through the night a few nights ago. Ugh. Kyra did GREAT at the dentist. See back in January, she wouldn't let them touch her teeth. Yesterday, she let them clean and flouride them. I was very proud of her. I'm happy to report that she doesn't have any cavities!

After leaving there, we made about 4 stops at various stores. We got home around noon and we all took naps in the afternoon. Good thing because evening came and things got worse around here.

With the sleeping issues with Maeve came a lot of fussiness. She just hasn't been my mellow kid lately. I can't put her down without her crying for me. And, she was pulling off while eating, so I thought I'd put a call in to the lactation consultant. She called me back after I cried most of the day. She thought that Maeve's issues weren't breastfeeding ones at all (I thought they were). She suggested that we take her into the doctor. I look at the clock. It's now 5:30. Crap. So, I put in a call to the After Hours clinic up in North Austin (God Bless that place). We get an appt. for 6:45. We get there and the nurse practitioner looks at Maeve's ears and sure enough, her right ear is red. Yep, ear infection. Lovely. Kyra has NEVER had an ear infection so this is all new to me. We left with a script for Amoxillin and head to Walgreens to get it filled (our HEB pharmacy would have been closed by then). While we waited, we grabbed some pizza and headed to Tom and Mona's (our old neighbors) for a visit. We got home around 9:30.

What a day! Maeve is on antibiotics and I've been giving her Tylenol to keep her comfortable. Here's hoping that she's better in a few days. I REALLY want to go to Victoria this weekend!

Blogging about bloggers....

The KXAN Weather Team has blogs that you can read on their website. Nothing like blogging about the weather! LOL! I love how they get all fired up over these tropical systems. It's quite funny. I bet they're ready to blog about "the big one" when it comes in. Go here to read what they've written so far.....

http://www.kxan.com/Global/link.asp?L=159135

I'm a little tired today, so I think I'll catch a nap this afternoon. Maeve decided to wake up around 3:30 and stay up till about 5:00. However, she did go back to sleep till almost 10 this morning! I'm finding that uninterrupted sleep is golden, so I'm very thankful when she does sleep through the night.

Kyra has a dentist appointment in the morning. I'm taking her and Richard is staying here with Maeve. The last time Kyra went to the dentist was in January and she wouldn't let them touch her teeth. So, we'll see if anything's changed within the last 6 months.

I'm also teaching Flow this week. I went to a practice yesterday and soon found out that I've missed it dearly. I haven't taught since the end of February.

We are heading to Victoria next weekend for Kasey and Nick's wedding! Should be fun!

Back into the swing of things....

Well Maeve is almost 3 months old and after having the entire summer off, I'm going back to work in August. I start teaching again next week and then I'll go back to work at Dodd Studio on August 2nd. It'll be nice to get back into a routine, but gosh am I dreading leaving my baby! Here's what's going to happen.

I'll work all day on Mondays and Tuesdays and Richard will be home with the girls (it's his days off). On Wednesday, I'll teach my class downtown. I'll be off on Thursdays and then I'll work on Fridays and take the girls to Mona's (our old neighbor) and she'll keep them. So, the week will be broken up a little.

Still, Maeve is so used to mommy that I'll worry. She and I have FINALLY stepped into a wonderful nursing relationship. Those first few weeks weren't easy, but I think we're where we should be now. I love it and I know that she does too. She's 12 weeks tomorrow and I always told myself that I'd at least try it for 12 weeks and if didn't improve, then I'd stop. Now there's no way I could stop. We both enjoy it so much.

I know that a lot of people think that nursing is just for nutritional means, but it's really more than that. It's a way for a mother and a child to bond and build a trusting relationship. It's a means of comfort to her. It's also a self-esteem boost for me. Nothing makes me happier than to look at her and realize that she's growing and thriving both physically and emotionally because of me. This time around has been so different. I say that I regret not nursing Kyra, but I really think that formula feeding her was the best decision that I made at that time. I was not emotionally ready to take on a HUGE task like breastfeeding. Breastfeeding isn't for everyone, but I encourage those even thinking about it to try it out. Things are very tough for the first 6-8 weeks, but then they improve dramatically and it's smooth sailing! It's so beneficial for both mother and baby.

So within the next month, I'll be really busy so I apologize if you don't hear from me too often. I promise that I'll try my best to answer emails and keep in touch!

Could it be?

Maeve's eyes are still blue. They are bluer than Kyra's were before hers turned brown. That has me thinking that they might just stay blue! I can't remember when Kyra's turned. I wish that I could though.

NOBODY in my family has blue eyes. Richard's mom and sister have blue eyes and his dad had blue eyes as well. That's the ONLY blue ties that we have. Richard's eyes are a yellow/brown and of course, mine are dark brown. Kyra's are brown, but they aren't as light as Richard's and they aren't as dark as mine.

I've dreamt of having a child with blue eyes, but I never thought it would actually happen.

Richard's mom was up here this past weekend and she swears that Maeve's will stay blue. I went to see my OB on Monday for a check-up and I took some pics of Maeve with me and she swears that they will stay blue too!

Watch them turn brown tomorrow. *sigh*

About me.....

What were you doing 10 years ago?

***Ahhhh good ol 1995....the best summer EVER! I had just graduated from HS. Spent a week with Richard up in Medina at his grandfather's place. Spent the rest of the summer chillin at every picnic in the Schulenburg area....good music, good friends and great fun! Let's just put it this way...if my dad would have known where I was (or wasn't!), he'd have killed me!

5 years ago?

***Summer of 2000.....had a 5 year HS reunion that was a blast! Was getting ready for Shannon and Kyle's wedding too and found out that I was pregnant in September!

1 year ago?

***Getting ready for Lisa and Nathan's wedding. I think it was around this time that we had their couple's shower. Right after....I mean RIGHT AFTER they were married in August, I found out that I was pregnant.

Yesterday?

***Taking care of the kiddos and did Body Flow yesterday afternoon. I also have been cleaning house because Richard's mom and his sister are coming tonight.

5 snacks you enjoy?

***Popcorn, carrots, strawberries, grapes, crackers

5 songs you know all the words to?

***Can't think of anything in particular.....they are probably too embarrassing to list here!

5 things you would do with $100 million?

***Buy Richard an awesome bass boat, put $$$ away for kids' college funds, buy us a new suburban and a new truck, build a brand new house out in the country, RETIRE!

5 locations you would run away to?

***Anywhere in Hawaii, Medina, Gruene, Lake Austin, Susan's house! LOL!

5 things I like doing?

***Being a mommy, being a wife, surfing the web, taking a shower, working out


5 things I will never wear?

***Anything plaid, anything "see-through", Wranglers & boots (bad memories), and right now, a bikini

5 biggest joys at the moment?

***Richard, Kyra, Maeve, my family, my health

5 favorite toys?

***mp3 player, treadmill, laptop, DVR, cell phone

Willie and Walmart.....

Willie Nelson has a new regae CD out (yes, you read that right). I heard a bit of it on the radio and had to laugh. I love Willie, but I have no idea what he was thinking when he did this. That brings me to my next topic of discussion.

The front of Willie's new CD features something that he's notorius for....marajuana leaves. So every store that sells his CD has this cover.....well almost every store. What's the one store that they made a separate cover for? You guessed it. Walmart. Walmart's version features palm trees instead of marajuana leaves. I guess Willie's label made an exception for Walmart since a bulk of CDs must be sold there. I had no idea that Walmart was so "holier than thou". Apparently, they have refused to sell CDs with explicit lyrics in songs before. The first person that I think of when I think of explicit lyrics is Eminem. So I went to Walmart's website and did a search. They do sell his CDs, but they are "edited". I guess Walmart always gets its way.

The other week, CNBC was running a two hour special on Walmart. It was really interesting. The part that made me laugh the most was these people that protest putting a Walmart in their town. Like they're doing any good? Walmart is the most powerful store in the world. They showed how much of an excellent market they have over in China. I had no idea that there were Walmarts in China! There were these Chinese women doing their little Walmart chant. It was cute!

Bottom line: Don't mess with Walmart.

If you can't take the heat....

Good Lord, this heat is BRUTAL! I seriously don't know how we are going to survive this summer. Thank God I'm not pregnant anymore! I'd really be a pain to live with! We had our a/c unit checked out a while back because I swore that it wasn't cooling right. Turns out that it's fine. It just cannot keep up with the afternoon heat. Ugh. We've even resorted to putting a window unit in our bedroom. Richard loves it because he doesn't hear a thing when he's sleeping. That's the coldest room in the house. I could stay there all day long!

My dad complains that he must be getting old and can't take the heat anymore, but I'm 28 and I can't take it either! I love, love, love the winter months. I'll take them any day of the week. Seriously.

It rained the other night......a whopping .30 inches. But, I'll take it. Maeve was in bed and Kyra and I just talked while in the presence of a lonely flashlight. The power was restored within 10 minutes, but we had an interesting conversation about storms.

A never ending battle......

I'm tired. No, not physically tired. Maeve's been sleeping pretty well lately (slept through the night for the first time on Saturday). I'm tired of cleaning my house. I swear that it's a wreck 24/7. I clean it and then it's all messed up again just hours later. I don't know why I bother. Really. And I don't know who makes the bigger mess....Kyra or Richard. Good Lord. Of course, I'M the one that has to clean it up. Why? Because. Because I'm the mom. And because I'm the wife. Tonight, they all trampled to bed at 9:00 and left little 'ol me to do everything. Must be nice. I would have said something, but I was nursing Maeve to sleep and they tucked away without a peep. I'm sure they are in dreamland by now. Ugh.

They are two peas in a pod, those two. I'm just worried that Kyra will pick up Richard's lazy habits. He doesn't set a good example for her and I think that she thinks she can get away with not putting things away. Granted, he tells her to sometimes, but it's not consistent. I'm almost glad tomorrow is Wednesday and Richard goes back to work and I can be the disciplinarian for a few days to get her back on track. I think I'm going to start making a sticker chart/chore chart for her so she has daily duties to fulfill. We've discussed this on my message board and we've come to the conclusion that 4 years old isn't too young to assume a few responsibilities (like feeding the dog, putting food away, cleaning up toys, etc.). That will make it MUCH easier on me. I think Kyra will take to it too.....once she fills up a chart, she gets a reward. Hmmm.....may have to use that on the hubby too. ;)

Sorry I'm in such a crappy mood tonight. OK, rant over. Carry on.

Happy 4th!

Well, this year we decided to skip the long standing tradition of attending the St. John picnic. I figured that it would be no fun with a 2 month old....breastfeeding in the heat. So, my dad came up on Sunday and we spend the day together and he enjoyed his time with the girls. He spent the night and left on Monday morning. The girls miss him....especially Kyra and Mia!

We took it easy the first half of the day. Then Melissa called and wanted us to come to their house so that Kyra and Jake could go swimming at their neighborhood pool. So, we packed up and headed out to their new house (we've actually been there 3 times already! hehe!). Maeve and I stayed at the house while Richard, Kyra, Dean, Melissa, and Jake went swimming. They got back in the early evening and we grilled bratwurst and hot dogs. After we were all done, we headed out to central Austin to find a place to view the fireworks. Our plans were foiled when lo and behold the parking lot that they sat at last year was under construction! After jumping a few curbs, we found a descent spot. We enjoyed it, but I must say that we needed to be closer. The most AWESOME fireworks are at High Hill picnic on Labor Day weekend. Perhaps it's because you can be much closer to them to get the full effect. Kyra LOVED it last year. The noise didn't bother her at all. We told Dean and Melissa that they have to take Jake. Maybe we'll all go this year.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday and made it back home safe and sound!

Out of the mouth of a 4 year old.....

My previous post was one regarding Cabela's. Well, Richard and Kyra ventured over there the other morning to check things out. Richard was tired and needed to go to sleep, so they didn't stay there long. I warned Richard about the obscene amount of taxidermy that's probably in that place. He said that I was right....there must have been a few hundred pieces.

Richard had already gone to bed and Kyra and I were discussing it. Kyra said, "Cabela's is like a zoo except all the animals are dead!" LOL! I'm actually really surprised that she didn't come home freaked out. I'm sure there were birds in that place and Kyra HATES birds. She's got a bird phobia. If she sees one or one flies near her, she screams. I have no idea what set that off. I had a dog phobia when I was a little girl. I hated dogs....especially big ones. Even the ones at my grandparents' house scared the heck out of Lisa and I (shame on my dad for not letting us have a dog). I have to admit that I was a little scared of Miss 1 pound Mia when we got her. But, I got over that real quick. Now I realize what great companions they can be....big or small.

We WILL get another dog. We are thinking of getting one when Maeve is about 2 years old and knows not to hurt a puppy. We want another female chihuahua and I'd like a little black one. I want to name her "Lola", but Kyra says no. :(

A sportman's paradise.....

Yep, today is the day. Cabela's has officially opened its doors to the public. I was up with Maeve this morning at 5:30 and it was all over the news. They showed people lined up outside the store about 2 hours before it opened. One guy had been there for 4 hours!

They have closed the closest southbound exit to Cabela's on southbound 35. Makes no sense to me, but whatever. Instead they'll have to take OUR exit. Great. I can see Richard cussing to and from work! LOL!

My dad is coming up this weekend. We'll have to go check it out. I just hope that all of the roadwork and construction that they did was worth it. I'm going to be ticked if there are traffic pileups all the time. Ugh.

Oh, and they said that they expect 20,000 visitors today. Lovely.

A worn out welcome.....

So I watched The Real World-Austin last night. I mean how could I not? All of the places shown last night are very familiar to me. I just wanted to see what it was all about.

I have to say that this is a group of crazy kids (yes they are kids to me because I'm nearing 30! LOL!). Within the first 20 minutes of the show, two girls were kissing each other on a dare. Lovely. The 2nd half of the show included 2 of the male castmates almost getting arrested and one getting in a brawl bad enough to send him to the ER with a fractured bone near his eye. Yeah, they're really smart.

One thing I've noticed is that the first episode of each season is pretty much run the same way. The cast members arrive and are in awe of their new place. They meet each other and congregate in the hot tub. They immediately are talking about who is going to hook up with who. It's actually kind of "blah" to me. I think that in essence EVERYTHING has been done on this show. There's nothing surprising to me. There's been gays, lesbians, rich, poor, cowboys, sorority girls, frat guys...the list goes on. It's all very redundant to me. The cast last night seemed to be outspoken and "daring" because they know that's what's expected of them while being on the show. I just don't know how much is "real" and how much is "fake" anymore. I know there's a LOT of editing going on because they air 22 30 minute episodes and they lived here for 5 months. So, a lot doesn't even make it to air.

All in all, I think the show's days are numbered. It's in its 16th season right now. It's the granddaddy of reality shows. But it's kind of like "Friends" or "Everybody Loves Raymond" in that there's only so much you can do with a show. Then it's time to leave.....or is it? I guess it's still popular because there are people out there like me and when curiosity kills the cat, they get viewers tuning in to see what the roomies are up to.

Get into the groove....

Yesterday I did the new Body Flow release that I'll be teaching in August! Oh my gosh! I haven't done Flow since I was about 30 weeks pregnant. My body can tell. It's really amazing how quickly you lose flexibility. It's a shame because it takes so long to build it. It was a great workout and I took a long nap later in the afternoon. I was so relaxed. I really miss teaching Flow and can't wait to go back next month (hopefully). I'm sore today, so I know that I did everything right. It's funny because Kyra was laying on the sofa and soon fell asleep while I was working out. Guess the music relaxed her too! LOL!

Oh and Jen, I'm going to pop in the Pilates DVDs soon too. I just work out in the living room when Maeve takes one of her naps during the day. It's too hot in Richard's shop right now since he put the window unit in our room to keep cool. :)

An easy way out.....

I saw a commercial this morning for kids' vitamins. I think it was for Flintstones vitamins. They were pushing off the fact that their vitamins now had Cholate in them...."an important ingredient for proper brain development THAT'S FOUND IN BREASTMILK". It amazes me how all of these companies try to make these products "like breastmilk" just so people will buy them. It's NOT the same! It's also very demeaning to breastmilk and breastfeeding moms. As one myself, I want others to realize that nothing is better than the real thing. Gosh just watch a commercial for FORMULA and read the ITTY BITTY fine print at the bottom of the screen. It says, "Pediatricians recommend breastmilk as the best source of nutrition for baby's first year of life". DUH!

I could go on and on. I read something recently that said that there's 30 ingredients in formula and over 300 in breastmilk! Amazing! Gosh how I wish I had done this the first time around!

4 years ago....

My Kyra Marie is 4 years old today. I remember that Saturday morning well. After enduring almost 24 hours of labor, my doctor suggested that we do a c-section. I was terrified. But all of the pain went away when at 9:30 that morning an angel came into my world and made me a mommy. The beginning with Kyra was hard. She was very colicky and had reflux. I suffered from some postpartum depression. But, we sought help and within a few weeks all was fine again! The joy that Kyra has brought into my life is immeasureable. She is the brightest and kindest little girl. She's always worried about others and seldom worries about herself. She's a very sensitive little girl. She wants to make people happy too. My favorite moment is when she comes and sits on my lap and tells me that she loves me and that I'm the greatest mom. My heart just melts. She comforts me when I'm sad. She is the best daughter that I could ask for and I love her dearly.

She's already talking about turning 5 and going off to kindergarten next year. I don't think that mommy is ready for that quite yet. *sigh*

I scream for ice cream.....

Well it finally happened. Blue Bell's Wedding Cake ice cream is out. Richard has been waiting on pins and needles for this and has been checking the freezer section at HEB for the past month or so. He came home all giddy on Saturday morning. I knew why. HEB had it and he picked up 3 containers of the stuff! LOL! He's stocking up since we have the freezer outside (and will stock up at the end of the summer too). Let me tell you, this ice cream is sinful! It's got coconut, pineapple, cream cheese, and vanilla wafers in it. It does taste similar to actual wedding cake. Some of the Blue Bell flavors are seasonal (like this one) and you can only get them during a certain time of the year. We ate a lot of this ice cream last summer and Richard was ticked off when it was all gone. However, the ice cream tales don't end here.

Two summers ago, Blue Bell tested a new flavor called Cinnamon Caramel Crunch. Let's just say that this flavor put the Wedding Cake to shame. It was that good. We loved it. It was a seasonal flavor and by the end of that summer, it was gone. Fast forward to last summer. Richard went looking for it in the stores and it wasn't there. SO, he calls Blue Bell....yes you read that right, HE CALLED BLUE BELL. What a stalker! LOL! They told him that it wasn't successful enough, so they weren't making it anymore. I haven't seen him upset about many things, but he was ticked about this. He told all of his friends about it and suggested that they call or email Blue Bell and complain!

Bottom line: Richard likes his ice cream and he'll do anything in his power to get his hands on his favorite flavor.

Nocturnal bliss.....

God bless you, Jennifer! You rock! Jen sent me two books to read: "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and "The Happiest Toddler on the Block". I skimmed through the baby one and we have used some of the 5 S's for the past few nights and it's been WONDERFUL! Granted Maeve doesn't sleep through the night, but she has slept for 3-4 hour stretches. What an improvement! The most amazing thing is that she sleeps IN HER CRIB! She'll sleep there or in her swing.

For those that want to know, the 5 S's for getting baby to sleep better and quit crying are: Swing, Swaddling, Shhhh (white noise), Side-Laying Position, and Sucking. The ones that have been extremely effective for us are swaddling, shhhhh, and sucking. Richard and I have been swaddling Maeve up really tight before bed. Think of how tight they swaddle them in the hospital. It's like that. We found (and the book states this) that Maeve was waking herself up a lot by flailing her arms. This is because babies have an immature nervous system. I'm sure you've seen how babies do this with their arms and with their legs (they kick nonstop). Swaddling with their arms and legs in the blanket eliminates this. Babies LOVE to be swaddled. For the shhhh, we put a little radio on AM and don't get a station (on purpose), so that all Maeve hears is static. This works well too. Her Godmother also bought her a heartbeat bear that mimics sounds of the womb. That's another thing that helps. And yes, Maeve takes a pacifier. Kyra never took one. Maeve is obsessed with sucking. She'll definitely be a paci child. Kyra is my blankie child.

Richard goes back to work this week. I'm pretty nervous about not having his help at night. But, his mom is here this week, so I'm safe! Maeve hits the 6 week mark this week and she should be sleeping more at night. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

TV tales.....

When you're home all day and sitting on the recliner nursing a little one, you get pretty in tune with the TV and what time certain shows come on. I soon found out that with our DVR, we get a ton of channels...some of which I never really knew existed. The Discovery Health Channel has a ton of baby shows. They have one called "Birth Day" and one called "Adoption Stories". All of the birthing shows usually have me in tears, but I didn't think that the adoption ones would too. Good Lord. I cry and cry like a baby. Adoption is very special in my book. Someone near and dear to my heart is adopted. I think that it's the ultimate sacrifice and act of love as a birth parent. There's nothing "bad" about giving a child a better life that you couldn't provide for them. The adoptive parents are some of the most loving and caring people. You can just sense how thrilled they are to raise these children. It really touches my heart. If I had the money and the resources, I definitely would adopt a child.

On another note, I'm so sad that American Idol is over with. I'm bored on Tuesday and Wednesday nights now. I've been taping every talk show that Bo Bice is on. *blush* I told Richard that we'll be buying his CD when it comes out. :) I still wish that he would have won.

The Real World Austin starts on June 21st. Lord help me if I'm on there somewhere.