Vacation Days

I feel like I've been on vacation. A weird vacation that doesn't involve sleep. Bryan has had two weeks off for paternity leave so he's been here to help. His mom left on Saturday. For the last few weeks I've had the luxury of focusing most of my attention on feeding Phoebe.

That's why I haven't had any humorous stories about the boys. I simply haven't seen much of them.

But really, it does feel almost like a vacation. I basically sit around holding Phoebe and watching stuff on Netflix. Since she joined us I've finished the third season of Veronica Mars, watched all three seasons of 30 Rock, and viewed the beginning of a bunch of lame movies and the entirety of a handful of good ones.

If I weren't exhausted from lack of sleep, I would probably feel refreshed from all the relaxing I've been doing.

I consider myself very lucky to have help right now. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around having three children. It should have sunk in by now, but it hasn't. Maybe that's because I haven't had to be on my own with all three of them for more than an hour so far. And the second wave of help arrives this week, so I have a little more time before I'm in charge and by myself, full-time.

For now I think I'll savor the time I get to sit and snuggle with Phoebe without having to jump up and keep the boys from injuring themselves. Or each other. Or destroying something.

After all, moms don't usually get vacation days.

The Garden Awards 2010

Best Crop: The 15 pumpkins growing in the back of the garden.
Most Disappointing Crop: Potatoes, none of which ever came up.
Most Surprising Crop: Edamame! It actually grew!
Most Popular Crop: Cherry tomatoes. The boys eat those like candy.

All In a Day's Work

Things of note that I accomplished today:

• I showered
• I fed the boys breakfast
• I got Cooper dressed for the day
  
• I ate three meals
• I had a nap
• I folded a whole basket of laundry
• I spent at least half of my awake time feeding the never-full and already plumping-up Phoebe (not an exaggeration)
  
• I loaded the dishwasher
• I finished eating a sugar-free cherry pie
• I started eating a sugar-free apple pie

Yup, that's a pretty full day.

Being Girly

Her usual facial expression. Contemplating her accessory, perhaps?

The end of a smile, caught on camera. Maybe she approves of the headband.

Three Men and a Little Lady

Everyday Should Be Grandparents Day

You can't tell from this picture, but she's wearing a dress. I can say with certainty that yesterday was the first time I've dressed any of my children in a dress.

We're adjusting to life with three children, although it's been tricky because our sweet little girl absolutely will not sleep in her bed. The longest stretch we've gotten to is 15 minutes. She has quite a bit of stomach distress and I think it helps to have the warmth and pressure of someone holding her to relieve the pain. I've begun experimenting with my diet to see if something I'm eating is bothering her. Dairy is the first item I've cut-out. We'll see if that helps. In the meantime, Bryan and I have been taking turns holding her overnight so the other can sleep. This means that both of us are somewhat zombie-like in the morning.

Enter the miracle worker, aka Bryan's mom.

She's been here for the last week and we are truly thankful for her. She's been taking the boys on walks, doing projects with them, making up stories for them. That is some serious grandma awesomeness. It means that the boys don't have to deal with crazy-tired parents every morning. And that those same crazy-tired parents get more sleep than they would otherwise.

Thank goodness for grandmas.

World Premiere

I'd like you to meet someone. This is Phoebe.


She made her debut earlier this week. I'm glad she's here.

Terms of Endearment

We don't do nicknames at our house. At least, not of the shortened name variety. Peter is not Pete or Petey. Bryan is not Bry. I didn't realize how much Cooper had embraced this until a few days ago.

Peter: (Trying to get Cooper's attention) Cooper. Cooper. Cooper! COOPER! COOP!

Cooper: (Finally acknowledging Peter) I'm not Coop. I'm Cooper.

Excellent.

Snug as a Bug in a Rug

How you know you look too pregnant to be running errands:

Sample Server at Costco: When is your baby due?

Me: Well, she was due last Wednesday.

Sample Server at Costco: Oh. That explains why you've grown out of your clothes.

Um, thanks...

Water, Water Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink

We were at Ikea for four hours yesterday. I love the store, but that's a long time even for me. We got a couch bed (a glorified, albeit surprisingly comfortable futon) to put in the office for guests and Bryan's brother outfitted his college kitchen.

We also ate. Lucky for us, kids ate for free over the holiday weekend. This meant that the restaurant was a mad house, but the food was good and we still managed to find a place to sit.

In an attempt to stay clean, both boys ate pasta without sauce. We had a good meal and by the end only had a bit yogurt to wipe off of little boy mouths. Cooper has inherited my slow-eater-tiny-bite-taker disease (which I don't think is a disease at all) and was the last one to finish. Bryan was gathering up empty plates and forks to deposit in the dirty dish alcove. As I handed Bryan Cooper's not-empty cup we must have bumped into each other.

And the water in the cup was suddenly the water in my lap.

My first reaction was something akin to "Aghh!" It was cold and not a pleasant sensation. My second reaction, which came the moment I looked down at the water soaking into the legs of my jeans was, "Oh no, people are going to think my water broke."

Hopefully the water that spilled onto my shirt was a tip-off that it was just a spill and nothing else. And I know, who cares what total strangers think? Well, I didn't care that much, but it was still kind of embarrassing.