How much spit-up can a baby spit-up?

The first two months of Garrett's life, I thought "I have a baby who doesn't spit up" and I thought that maybe it had something to do with breastfeeding. I remember my friend Kim repeatedly telling me how much Nate had been spitting up and all the outfits she went through in a day. Nate is formula fed, so when Garrett never spit up, I was sure I was on to something and that I had made the clearing.

Unfortunately, as soon as he hit the two month mark, the spit up appeared and came in large quantities! Some days he barely spits up and other days he seems to spit up his whole feeding and then some. On those days that the quantity is massive, I begin worrying that maybe he is vomiting and not spitting up. In my frenzy I browse the Internet for the umptenth time to give me the definition of vomiting in infants. I should have the definition and symptoms memorized by now! And then after reading, I realize, his spit up moments are more a surprise to him then anything else because they are never accompanied by pain, aren't projectile (even though it does go everywhere) and he is still gaining weight.

I, on the other hand must endure changing him and usually myself at least 1-5 times a day. You would think I would learn and have a spit up rag on hand (as my friend Kim had warned me on numerous occasions) but I haven't yet. So far, the most outfit changes he has had in a day is 5 and that was today. I only witnessed three spit up episodes myself and each of those occurred almost back to back. Seriously, no more had I picked out a cute little outfit and put it on him before he had spit up streaming down him and me. I have officially become the spit up rag I think! I had the cottage cheese like sustance all over me- a present just for mommy, on my shoulder, on my leg, on my hand....

My hubby seems to think I'm not burping him enough. But, the boy usually burps more on his own than when I try to coax one out of him. I actually think he spits up because he over eats while nursing. For example, tonight he nursed on both sides before dosing off and then woke up about 20 minutes later. I picked him up and played a bit with him and he even had some time on his mat before he went on his spree of spit ups. I am wondering if moving around with him caused some of it as well as the combination of no burping and the overfeeding.

All I know is I don't have a clue how to minimize it and unless he is in pain, I suppose I will chuck up these moments to experience.

Anyone have advice on dealing with spit-up?

Red Robin and A Mexican Train, anyone?

First off, what a weekend! I feel so alive, these are the days I live for. This is what makes the daily grind so worth it all. We had a very eventful weekend indeed. But, I'm only going to post about Friday because it includes our trip to Red Robin!

So what kind of name is Red Robin exactly? It kinda implies that the early bird gets the worm, I guess but I still wonder how in the world the founder came up with the name. Did he say, well I like the color red and I really like robins, so how about Red Robin? I mean seriously, don't you ever wonder how stores, restaurants, etc.. get their names. As a child I used to wonder who decided that the sky would be the color blue and not green or why grass was called grass and how it got its name. Language has always intrigued me. Anyway, let me get back. Ya gotta watch me, I like to jump into a string of tangents whenever possible.

It appears, I'm not the only one interested in knowing the story behind the name and it also appears, I'm not too far off either!

"The Red Robin legacy began in the 1940’s with Sam’s Tavern, a small tavern perched on a Seattle hilltop near the University of Washington campus. The owner, Sam, sang in a barber shop quartet and could frequently be heard singing the song, “When the red robin goes bob’ bob’ bobbin’ along.” In fact, Sam loved the song so much that he eventually changed the name of his tavern to Sam’s Red Robin, and over the years it became known simply, as Red Robin." - Taken from Red Robin website.

A few months ago I had noticed that the Smokey Bones Restaurant near the mall had closed down and that a new one was entering its place. At the same time, I noticed a TON of commercials for a Red Robin. I was utterly confused why we were having commercials for a restaurant that was no where near us. When we went home, I mentioned (seriously I was perplexed) to Bryan's mom and asked her if she knew if they had any locations in NC. (We occasionally get local commercials for the Wilmington area, even though its in another state and over an hour away. Well, when we got back from Marion, low and behold if we didn't find out that those commercials were because a Red Robin was showing up at the old Smokey Bones location! I knew there had to be a reason!

Okay, fast forward a couple of weeks and Bryan lands passes for 4 to an opening trial run. As a veteran food industry employee in VA and elsewhere, I have to say Myrtle Beach is queen of the opening trial run, its practically standard and something I have never seen anywhere else...of course, I have mainly worked Mom and Pops places as opposed to corporate and this might be why there are so many here. But eh, with Bryan in the industry and the amount of free passes we get, I WILL NOT COMPLAIN! It's quite lovely actually.

Alright, so we went with Agnes and Bill, our wonderful neighbors, our family away from home. And our reaction was....pretty good, not great, but worth a try! My main complaints were the noise level in the restaurant, which I think were caused by a large amount of employees toppled with the restaurant's high ceilings and open floor plan because there wasn't a huge amount of folks dinning while we were there. My other complaint was the amount of mayo on my burger, it was overkill and ruined the flavor of the Pineapple on it and the burger was missing a tomato- as were all over our burgers actually. However, I think that was due to the salmonella scares.

Now on to what was awesome at this place! The spinach/artichoke dip was extremely good! Along with the endless freckled lemonade (strawberries are in the drink and it is very YUMMY!)
The fries are 'bottomless" too, meaning 2nds or 3rds, but let's hope not. My personal favorite, a Raspberry Milkshake, reasonably priced - something I will be back for since Raspberry is an ice cream flavor I have lots of trouble finding!! Bryan's favorite was The Royal Red Robin Burger he says it was killer- with fried egg and bacon to boot.

The menu is small but appetizing and offers a little of something for everyone. And get this, according to the June issue of Parents Magazine, the restaurant ranks in the 'Top 10 Best Family Restaurants' that are kid friendly and provide good eats for kids at the same time, say goodbye to fried macaroni and hello to a side of fruit! And I have to say the atmosphere was very Kid-vibe good and especially when the Red Robin mascot makes an appearance, even Garrett seemed intrigued!

Overall, I think we'll be back, especially as Garrett gets older. Red Robin gets an A from us!

Now, what was next you ask? To tell ya the truth we were pooped at this point, full and tired from a busy day running around and working. We headed home and were ready to call it an evening, when Agnes and Bill insisted we come back for drinks at their house. Bryan was ready to say goodnight, but I figured hey, why not its only 7:30!!! So with Garrett, the 3 of us headed across the street and found ourselves consumed for the next 3 hours in a game of Mexican Train!

I had never played the game before, neither had Bryan- but we found a great new game and really enjoyed ourselves. It reminded me of old times at my pawpaw's when everyone sat around and played Rook and I moved in and out between everyone checking out their hands. It was a lovely family tradition and this game made me want to give Garrett a memory similar to my own. Except, for those of you who don't know, Mexican Train is played with domino's and a special center piece for holding the 'trains'. The concept is to go out before your opponents by creating a train and there are 13 rounds. (We only made it 4 rounds before it was time to put Garrett to bed). For a better understanding of the game, check this out. I promise you won't regret giving this game a try.

Of course, maybe it's because I was winning every round....

On Borrowed Time

Yeah!! I have a friend! Thanks for the vote Leanne! (btw, Bryan likes threeamigos, should we include it?)

I was starting to think it was a lost cause, maybe I'll get some votes now....hint, hint.....

Anyway, thought I would let everyone know I'm not slacking or wallowing in self pity (from lack of votes) its just been a busy weekend and has only begun (we have a cookout planned tomorrow), but I PLAN to write tomorrow and Monday. It's just too late now and I'm pooped!

So again- please, please surprise me with some votes tomorrow? Do I have to beg, people?

Help!! We need a new email address!?!

Well, that's only if you guys help us out. We have been wanting to set up a new email ever since Garrett arrived. For one reason or another, we hadn't come up with anything or actually set into motion creating a new one. The process is way simple and yet we hadn't done it. So, I thought I would run a poll on the best email address for the 3 of us. What a better way to get the ball rolling, heh?

We want something fun and unique, but I'm absolutely lost on creativity today!

Hope you guys can help!

So far I've come up with the following:

Which do YOU like best?

Please leave a comment with your favorite!

1. vernon3

2. vernontrio

3. theverntrio

4. twobsandag

Not that eye catching, huh? Maybe you guys can give us some suggestions? If you have something better, we would love to hear it!

Thanks,

Mommy Vern

Counting our blessings

I really want to simply share some blessings Bryan and I have regarding Garrett. I think well enough time that I say that, because too often I find myself complaining about the things we don't have or the what if's and I really need to take the time to soak in how blessed we are.

Blessing #1 :
Bryan's schedule is very grueling and at the same flexible. He goes in most days around 2pm and gets home between 11:30- 12:30 at night. I'm fairly used to this, although I do miss when I used to cook dinner every night for him. Yet, it is because of this very schedule that I am able to work part-time and we can afford not to get a babysitter. Getting a sitter or sending Garrett to daycare would be awful in my opinion. I'm not fond of the thought of anyone keeping him until he's over the age of 2 or 3, unless its family. I don't have any particular reasoning for this, I just don't like the idea. So, point is Bryan gets to keep him and I go to work for about 7 hours every other day. If we need a certain day to change, Bryan's boss is very cool about changing things around and he tries to give Bryan an extra time off that he can since he knows we have the little one.

Blessing #2:
I have a very lenient job! Although, by no means a well-paying one, it benefits us by giving us extra money on hand and doesn't leave Bryan with the sole responsibility and burden of providing for all our bills. I am able to go to work at any hour so long as I get my job done. It isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life but it works for now. I am able to work 20-25 hours with our arrangement a week. I couldn't imagine going back to work full time and leaving Garrett. (I just read about this on another blogger's page, called The Daddy Files.)

Blessing #3:
With our schedule so crazy, it's natural that Bryan and I rarely have time together, we usually are anxious to get in 'ME' time before we get to 'US' - its a must, this way we are recharged for one another and not snappy with each other. Well anyway, along with the 'ME' time, we have to get chores and tasks around the house done. Somethings, unfortunately are impossible to accomplish with baby in tow. The main loser to this equation ends up being our once beautiful lawn and flowerbeds. Before baby, Bryan maintained the yard and I the flowerbeds. Today they are a sight for sore eyes. Bryan has tried 2 times to get outside to mow, all to be beat by rain once I arrive home from work. On Monday, the 3rd attempt, the lawn mower wouldn't start. He was ready to borrow the neighbor's when it began to rain again!!! Yesterday, as I was upstairs I heard a lawn mower and thought, "Hmmm...is that coming from our yard?" I ran downstairs and went outside and there was our neighbor mowing OUR front yard for us. I ran toward him and tried to convince him otherwise, with no luck whatsoever. So, I told him he couldn't mow the backyard or Bryan would have my head! What is even more amazing, Bill is over 70 and mowing our lawn. (He's in pretty good shape, though) I felt bad but really blessed, too because they are always doing so many things for us. They are our family here and without them we would be in trouble.

Obviously, we have many many more blessings than that...but these are the ones I wanted to share at the moment. I have been 'counting my blessings' everyday since Garrett has been born. Funny what a little person does to the soul. :)

Side note: Bryan received some passes to try the trial run of 'The Red Robin Restaurant' opening up near the mall. In honor of all Bill and Agnes do for us, we are taking them along with us on Friday. Bryan and I have never been to this restaurant before, so be ready for a full review! I'm looking forward to our outing as a family!

My brother is flying to Bolivia today.

Last night, my older brother called to let me know he was leaving tomorrow (today) for his missionary trip to Bolivia. I had completely forgotten, well that isn't true, the days had just sneaked up on me.

I am so thrilled that he has been taking part in missionary work. Last year, he visited Peru and helped build a water supply tower for a local orphanage. I am unsure what his work will require this time, but I do know that he mentioned that the area they are visiting in Bolivia was recently hit by horrendous flooding. I am interested to hear more and to see pictures, I tried to get him to put me on the email list so I could keep abreast of his whereabouts and happenings, but he seemed to believe they would be too busy to be able to promise me that he could. Understandable. But, I am a bit worried as much as I am excited. For this trip, he had to undergo a round of various shots- malaria and hepatitis to name a couple.

I tried to pull up a little information on the area last night and again this morning because I wanted to know more about it. Unfortunately, I was unable to find much- this is about it:

Distance: 185 Kilometers away from Trinidad A town of Movima, Cayubaba, Trinitario and Yucare origin. It is located in the center of Beni; it presents different geo-morphologic formations that range from an alluvial plain to gallery woods and mount foot. It has innumerable navigable rivers like Yacuma, Apere, Rapulo and Cavitu. It is also the reserve of the biosphere managed by Beni Biological Bio - Station. In the zone there are abundant medical plants that have called the attention of transnational laboratories.

(There's tons on the weather! Obviously it must get flooding quite a bit.)

A couple of pictures I found on the Internet:

This I suppose is the local town? (Apparently its very remote,

cellphones do not work there, but they are bringing along a satellite phone)

This one is of a Jesuit mission church that has apparently been restored.

Here's a map of Bolivia, Santa Ana is located in the Beni region.

(My brother is flying into Santa Cruz, I suppose his trek into Santa Ana should be fun!)
For a better view of the map, you can make it bigger, just visit this link.

I have to admit I am part jealous. Considering my degree is in International Studies, I always thought I would be a world traveler, helping others and as a child I used to peer up to the missionary photos on our church wall and dream of being one someday. How life throws curve balls and plans change, heh? Well, I told my brother the next time trip or maybe in a few years to keep me in mind because I would love to accompany him on one of these journeys. I think it would be very rewarding!

To you Rod, God Bless you and keep you safe. I am so very proud of all you are accomplishing. You are an amazing man. I love you.

Blessed by Friendship and Motherhood

I just wanted to share these two photos. These are of two of my oldest friends (other than my dear Anna). I have known Allison and Kim forever. Anyway, I absolutely LOVE these shots and I hope we continue this tradition for many years to come. I love you two ladies and am ecstatic that I get to enjoy and share motherhood with the two of you! :)

(Both of them were pregnant at the time, Kim was 5 months pregnant and Allison was 2 months pregnant and I was 2 months shy of being pregnant! I guess something was in the water, huh?)

(With our little boys, Kim & Nate(9 months), Me & Garrett(2 months), Allison & Eli(6 months))

Almost 3 months old

Say what? Is that actually possible? Our little man will be 3 months old in a week and a half! Here's some of what he has been accomplishing and a couple of things he is having issues with these days:

• He has found his hands- he waves them in front of him for hours on end. He has also learned to grab items in front of him, he tries to bring them to his mouth, but is still having issues actually getting them there.
  


• He has also been holding his head up for about 10-15 minutes during tummy time- he's definitely going longer each day, the first time he did it was a little over a month ago...here's some photos from then and now- look how he's pushing up with his feet! (The first two are the older ones) He is also rolling over and turning himself (he's been doing that for about a month as well, he's just getting much better at it!) I know everyone says this but I think he will crawl earlier than most babies.

• He is cooing, giggling (its a short squeal more or less) and making some conversations- mornings seem to be his favorite time of the day for activity. He continues his assortment of facial expressions, except now they seem more controlled.
  
  
• He loves to listen to music or singing, especially Daddy and Mommy. Today, he enjoyed Big Head Todd and the Monsters. And he is absolutely amazed by his mobile that Aunt J bought for him.
  
• He continues to watch television! (This appalls me)
  
• He is TEETHING already! He has had 2 small knots on his gums since birth and I think these may be teeth budding through- he has periods where he blows bubbles, runs a small fever and seems overly fussy. To top it off he will take the pacifier and CHEW on it, if I don't give him that, he chews on his tongue! I know it's teething too because this is THE ONLY TIME he'll take the paci, he refuses ant other time I try to give him one.
  
• He is trying to suck on his thumb again too, sometimes he misses and just uses his hand or arm though!
  
• We are still having an issue with him going to sleep on his own, the only time he does is when he is in the car and either this occurs because he can't fight the motion or he cries himself to sleep. Otherwise, I have to lay down with him and either coax him to sleep or nurse him to sleep-but even with this it's tricky because the boy sleeps with his eyes partially open!! I guess he's afraid he'll miss something! (FYI, Bryan did this when he was little, too)
  

Today, for all of 5 minutes I let him cry, hoping he might put himself to sleep. Finally,I caved in and picked him up and decided I would let him fall asleep nursing in my arms as I tried to type this blog. And of course, he fell asleep in about 2 minutes. Yet, I have to be careful because trying to move him and lay him down without waking him is nearly impossible! So I keep on typing one handed for awhile, its a pain staking process with tons of errors along the way, but I don't mind it if it means I have a HAPPY BABY! Plus, he is so sweet sleeping, how could I resist holding him?

Penny Pinching

Sheesh! I almost lost it on that last post! It took me nearly all day (weaving in and out between Garrett's feedings and my other tasks, to finally get the editing correct! I was at my wit's end and almost set up a new blog over at Wordpress. Ok, I actually did...but then decided I liked Blogger's format a bit better and that with baby, I didn't have time to learn the 'extra features' they offer. And such is life these days...

Well, that's not exactly true. Because, today I went to Ulta with my $50 gift certificate in hand, courteous of my dear dear husband and bought myself things that I most likely wouldn't buy myself in the next year. So no laughing, here's my list:

1. L'oreal Feria Shimmering Color
2. Bamboo Foundation Brush
3. Friction Free Round Brush
4. Weather Works Shampoo, Conditioner & Styling Creme
5. Five different headbands!!
6. Maybelline Quad Eye shadow in Chai Latte
7. Rimmel London Lipliner in Spice

I know, with all that ULTA has to offer in products, I choose WHAT? But, I am very happy with my choices and besides I S-TRE---TCH--ED that $50 way out!

Speaking of saving moolah, last night I ordered some baby products from the website http://www.diapers.com/. A friend of mine, highly recommended it to me. It totes free shipping for purchases over $50. I hadn't given it much thought until I saw an ad in one of my baby magazines giving $10 off your first purchase from the site. So after checking on Target for travel storage caps, I decided to make a comparison in price at the diapers site.

What'daya know! http://www.diapers.com/ is much cheaper on the travel storage caps and a few other things...just take a look for yourself, here's the product and the prices:





Target - $7.99

Diapers site- $1.99


Now that's a BIG DIFFERENCE!!! That's an insanely huge difference!

From now on, if it isn't clothing or some type of linen it isn't going to be purchased at Target. Especially if its it for Garrett.

Here's the list of goodies from http://www.diapers.com/ and I am so excited to try them out and give a full product review! :) I can't believe how excited I am to receive these in the mail!

1. Dr. Brown's Storage Caps (2 packs)
2. Earth's Best 1st Foods Starter Kit Fruit - 12pk
3. Earth's Best Rice Cereal 8 oz
4. gDiapers Starter Kit - Earth-friendly hybrid diaper
5. NATURE BABYCARE Diapers - Eco-Friendly Baby Diapers

And believe me, even without a product review I have lots and lots to say about these other items!!

Shedding the Pounds

While I was pregnant, I gained a substantial amount of weight. Somewhere, in the range of 40 pounds. All the experts say that the maximum weight gain should be between 25-35 lbs. Of course, I thought at the time I was doing good and that an extra 10 or 15 lbs really wouldn't be a big deal... NOW I understand why the books give this recommendation. You literally shed the 25-30 lbs within 2 or so weeks of having the baby, especially if you breastfeed. Anything over this, well let's just say, it stays and is nearly impossible to get rid of!!

(At the height of my pregnancy, 2 weeks before giving birth...I'm HUGE!)

So, I started off at the beginning of my pregnancy floating somewhere between 130-135, which I had always thought was a little overweight for my build, but I was happy with it. I am especially happy with that weight now, since I am currently stuck at 143! I can't for the life of me get rid of those last pounds and I am wishing that I didn't have a DESSERT every single day of my pregnancy. Yeah, I know that's pretty extreme, it's a wonder I didn't end up with diabetes. I couldn't help myself and ICE CREAM was the only thing I craved. And, don't confuse my self indulgence with a bad diet, I did eat extremely healthy- in fact, I ate healthy all the time except for those desserts. Seriously, I loved eating-veggies, fish, fruit, you name it. I guess I just tended to overeat.

(Pre-pregnancy, well technically...I was 3 months preggers and weighed 135)

Maybe my weight gain had something to do with stopping smoking. I guess I had to replace my addiction with something else. Point is, as a result, I have this extra baggage and have practically NO clothes to fit in. I finally brokedown and bought a few things-but I keep thinking, what if come winter I still haven't lost the weight? What do I do with all my old clothes? I have always been the same size since I can remember, this is the most I have weighed since I was about 16 years old. So, I have tons of clothing that will simply have to be tossed out if I can't loss the weight. What worries me too, I have heard that your hips never go down and you can actually go up a size in clothing just because of this!! Well, I pray that isn't true because I've jumped up 2 whole sizes! I will die! Yet, it does seem that my hips are most of the issue, that and my butt. Once a week, I try on a pair of old jeans or shorts to see if anything has changed, but nothing is shedding.

Well, to try to combat this dilemma, I've sworn off my lingering cookie and ice cream addiction starting today. See problem is, with breastfeeding and a little boredom, I have been eating constantly! Obviously, I can't loss any weight if I still eat all the time! Especially if its only sweets that I am eating. That's when I remembered a place called Salad Creations, that a good friend and fellow blogger, Sarah had told me about on our first outing together since before the pregnancy. Now I am addicted to this place and I have went once a week for the last 3 weeks...the place is absolutely a MUST!!! I love it.

(Jessica, me and Sarah @ Hot Fish Club) (I was 6 weeks post pregnancy...I guess I've come a long way!)

If I had the money, its the one franchise I would cash in on! It's Subway meets Salads. The salad choices are heaven and for $6.99 you get a choice of lettuce (spring mix, spinach, romaine or iceberg) and then any and all toppings of your choice. And believe me the toppings are endless. (My favorites are artichokes and feta cheese!!!) I end up with at least 10 toppings each time (all veggies, thank you very much!) The balsamic vinegar is to die for too! I get it on the side and then with the sheer size of the salad, I have enough salad for at least 2-3 days! They have other salad choices and wraps as well, and yesterday I noticed they have started smoothies too. I haven't tried them yet, but I am sure with names like 'Berry Mangilow' they're a hit just like the salads!! :) You have to find a location and check them out!

Anyway, I am hoping by visiting once a week, maybe I can start shedding those last pounds? With the salads, some walking around the neighborhood a few times a week and a little luck its bound to work, right? Lord, I hope so or come winter, my pocketbook is in trouble.

Home is where the heart is.

Home has dual meaning to both Bryan and I. We have always referred to Marion and Surfside as our home. There are so many positives and negatives to both places that I think we have become torn on which really is home for us. But, as we made our trip 'home' this time, we found a different meaning to what and where home really is.

As soon as we were on the road, we both felt it...a peaceful realization that is, that brought with it the sense that we were a 'true' family now and therefore, wherever we went, there was our 'home'. And it was more than apparent, as I looked around at our traveling arrangements. It was comical in many ways. In the front, Bryan drove and Floyd (our 13 year old Beagle-Hound mix) rode shotgun with the armrest as his pillow. In the backseat, Garrett and I were comfortably seated and holding up the rear, was Saelac (our 8 year old Rottie) enjoying the most space he's ever had on a trip home! (If you could see his, you would understand why I write that...he's 160 lbs of LOVE.) Not only did we have the boys with us. we also had a small u-haul trailer that we towed behind carrying our suitcases and a table for Bryan's parents that we could no longer accommodate in the house. We were definitely a sight, but we were family and this was HOME for the next 7 hours.

In those hours I remember thinking, these are the best days of our lives. I had always thought that it was my teen years that were the best or maybe the year I turned 21, but as we traveled I realized we were making memories as a family. Memories, that would last for a lifetime and memories that would be told around the dinner table as Garrett grew older.

And yet, it never fails that whenever we hit the NC mountains, our hearts leap for joy to be entering the Blue Ridge country because we knew we were than much closer to being 'home'. Memories of running through the hills when we were little come to mind. The landscape always takes us away, and brings us back to a simpler time. A carefree time, picking apples and blackberries. I fondly remember getting potatoes from the creek cellar or climbing trees in the twilight of evening. I think back to watching thunderstorms on the porch, as my paw-paw told stories and I snuggled up next to him. I remembered helping in the garden and then riding bikes on dirt roads and up into the mountains of Bear Creek. One of my most vivid winter memories, involved building a snowman in front of the Atkins Elementary School. It was a great place to grow up as a child.

We miss that beauty, simplicity, and family that Marion holds. Now more than ever, family means more than anything to us. We long to be near our relatives and wish for Garrett to be able to be close to his grandparents. We have contemplated moving closer many times and the feeling that we should gets stronger with each visit back...

Yet, we struggle with giving up the 'home' we have now and think about all the wonderful things that living here offers. A beautiful house with a big backyard that is only a short mile or so to the beach. The balmy nights and the sweet smell of Jasmine in the air and frogs singing outside the back deck. But, best of all, it has the three of us and a growing assortment of new memories that we will create as a family because this is where our hearts reside at the moment.

And perhaps, when Garrett grows older, he will look back on his memories of 'home' and they will be just as great as the ones we have of Marion.

ME TIME on Father's Day? Eeek...

Okay, I know that doesn't seem fair, but its only for this morning. And well frankly it doesn't happen quite as much as I would like anymore. I know, I know that's what I signed up for when we chose to have a baby, but sometimes its exhausting trying to make that little bit of time for yourself and in the process you wind up with no time. Don't even get me started on 'we' time, because that my friend has almost seized to exist.

Today, I'm going to try to make 4 things happen:

1. Have ME TIME.
2. Have family time.
3. Have 'WE' time.
4. And give Bryan all 3 as well. (This is part of my father's day gift to him)

So where does 'me' time fit in with a baby? Not much of anywhere, really...unless you get creative that is. And fore go some sleep perhaps. That's what I've done this morning. I went to bed late last night (2 am). It's habitual, when Bryan works until 11:30 and 12:30 at night, plus Garrett chooses not to sleep during the day and waits until 8-9pm before he conks out...so its late at night is my prime 'me' time. Now, don't get me wrong his sleeping pattern is heaven, quite frankly from what I hear- since he sleeps pretty soundly all night until about 4 to 6 am. He'll stir a bit here and there, but since he sleeps with us...I rarely 'truly' wake up until at least 4 .

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, me time- so in the mornings I have a small window that consists of either going back to sleep at 6-7ish until about 9 or 10 am OR I can get up and do my own thing- translation ME TIME!!! This morning abate the only 5 hours of sleep I chose the ME TIME. Now, what this means, is sending messages to friends, checking emails, scrap booking when I can get the time in, working my photo books, blogging, showering and even housework. That's a lot to cram into 2-3 hours, huh? Well, usually I limit it to just 2 things, I'm not that proficient at multitasking, not yet anyway.

This morning, if time permits, I am off to the grocery store to get items for my planned breakfast and dinner I'm making Bryan in honor of Father's Day. I wish I was giving him more, but since I only recently went back to work, the funds they are low.

When I take this morning opportunities, I usually check in on my guys to make sure everything is okay...sometimes Garrett stirs if I'm not around. (This morning, from the advice of my brother, I took my shirt and placed it beside Garrett on my pillow) Supposedly, the scent will help them sleep. Well, when I went in to check on my guys...this is what I found:




Garrett had scooted and wedged himself up against his daddy. Now isn't that the perfect Father's Day picture! Aren't they so sweet!?

With that said, I hear my guys stirring downstairs....so I think MY TIME is just about to end. No worries, its been a VERY good morning, both for memory making and to help me appreciate the little things in life; like listening to the bird's chirping and knowing that each day is a new beginning.

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I swear that blog on our trip home is around the corner.

I DE-CLARE!

Sheesh....what a day! I am having one of those days in which I just can't seem to get anything accomplished. I have one million things running through my head that I want to do and I can't catch up! Doggone it! (is that even a word?) I am determined to at least write while little man is down for the count.

I ended my last post thinking I would pick back up with our trip and well I do intend to talk about, but with the million things running through my head, I thought it would be rather cute to show the resemblance between Bryan and Garrett as opposed to the similarities between Garrett and I. While back home, we ran across Bryan's baby picture from the hospital when he was born and it's shocking how much they look alike!! We found all kinds of goodies at Bryan's parents' house (everything from old 'love' letters to his blankie as a baby!) The old love letters were tossed after a few memories were joggled and his blankie is off to being repaired so that it might be used by Garrett too. We found old photos, a baby book and tons of stuff from Bryan's Appalachian hiking days. We actually waited to go through everything once we got home, since we found everything tucked nicely away in an old trunk about an hour before we were leaving to return to home.

So anyway, before I go on about our trip let's get this comparison out of the way!! (See I have a million thoughts going on....) Here is Garrett's hospital picture compared to me (on the left) and Bryan (on the right):




I think the only thing similar to me is his ears and nose! Otherwise, I think he's the spitting image of his father! Oh and get this, while browsing through all those goodies we found in the trunk was Bryan's birth stats! I had wanted these from the day I found out I was pregnant! Garrett was only 2 ounces and 1/4 inch from being the exact same size as his daddy!

Looks as if the trip is going to have to wait after all. Garrett's awake. Oh, how I am at his beck and call.

*You're gonna miss this*

*Song by Trace Adkins*

I have been meaning to post for over a week now, but with Garrett's check-up to traveling home and now dealing with a bad back (*again) and returning to work...I just haven't had the chance. This left me with a small dilemma, what do I post about since so many things have taken place! Therefore, I will start in order of our madness and go from there. At least, this blog won't be with a loss of words for the next few weeks!

With that said, Garrett's two month check up last Wednesday set into motion our busy lives and I feel as if this was the beginning of true 'family life'. Not that the last two months haven't felt or been 'family' in my mind, I think life for us has simply occurred in slow motion up until now. Kinda like a daydream. And those words we had heard over and over during the last two months: 'Enjoy this time now, because it goes so fast,' have suddenly sank in. Garrett is slowly losing his newborn look and gaining that chubby baby appeal and it actually saddens me. What's more strange is that I have found myself envying pregnant women and those who have just given birth! How insane is that? But, again...now I understand where certain comments or thoughts about these times come from. I guess it's normal to feel this way and miss the tiny baby he was. One day, I imagine I will miss even much more then this. :(

As I had said, last Wednesday was his two month appointment, which meant a great deal of things- for one it meant that we would see how much he has grown since his birth and it also meant the beginning of his shots and a long trip home to visit family. That's why I think it was the beginning to our journey as a family.

When Garrett was born he weighed 7 lbs 1.2 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long with a head circumference of 14 inches. Last Wednesday, he weighed 10 lbs 5 ounces and was 23 1/2 inches long with a head circumference of 15 3/4 inches. The boy is definitely growing!!! I think he's at least 12 lbs now!

It makes me proud to know that his growth is a testament of his mother's milk, no substitutions...all from me. That my friend, is an amazing feeling....no an unbelievable awesome feeling.

We decided that with the recent uproar about autism and immunizations that we would give Garrett an alternative schedule than what is recommended. This schedule ensures he will receive his shots, just a bit behind that of his peers. I found this schedule from my SIL, this particular doctor is actually my niece's pediatrician. The schedule and an explanation of it can be found at The Franz Center (http://www.franzcenter.com/)under the link, New Information. With this schedule he only gets 2 shots at each checkup opposed to 4. I couldn't imagine, poor little guy seemed to have had enough with just 2. His doctor was really cool about it too, which was a huge relief.

After we completed his check up, we piled into the car and were almost set for our visit home...