Daily Darling 7/15

Don't be fooled... She may look like a sweet, innocent, adorable little girl, but she is really an evil little troll, hell-bent on driving her mother, father, and both of her brothers off the deep end.

Zoe cries in the car. No matter what. We've tried everything. Toys. Singing. Sitting next to her in the back. Only driving when it's her nap time. Only driving when she's had a good nap. Stopping every 15 minutes to nurse her. Feeding her bottles of breastmilk in her carseat. Feeding her strained peas in her carseat. Begging. Bribery. NOTHING works.

Prior to our recent vacation to Kennebunk, ME, the longest Zoe had cried in the car is an hour, which was broken up by a pit-stop or two to nurse her, change her diaper, and make other vain attempts at making her ride a joyful experience. As we prepared for our vacation, I thought "Surely she can't cry the ENTIRE way there. Surely she will eventually get the idea that we can't take her out of her carseat, and just fall asleep". On the way there we got lucky- she only cried for two and a half hours straight. Yay.

No such luck on the way back. She cried AAAAALLLLLL the way home- 4.5 hours, with a nurse/change pit-stop in the middle. And the crazy thing is, the second she sees your face and realizes you are about to take her out, the horrible, strangled sounding, cry-til-you-puke screaming stops instantly. All she wants is to be held. On one hand it makes me feel better that she is not crying because she is hungry or uncomfortable, but on the other hand, it makes me feel awful. The poor little baby, I mean, um, evil troll, just wants a cuddle.

Daily Darling 7/13

Sorry I've been neglecting the blog, everyone! We've been on vacation in Kennebunk, Maine. Here is little Ms. Zoe on Mother's Beach in what I refer to as her "mermaid bikini". She had so much fun today. We filled a huge beach bucket with sea water and a little sand so she could sit there and splash while the boys built a sand castle. I also have a really nice mesh water sling that I wear her in, and I think it really helps make her feel secure during her first experiences in the water. Plus, it keeps the sun off her liitle body, and dries super quick, too.

Daily Darling 7/7

Cute baby, nasty bug-bite. Yup, right there on the right side of her forehead. The kids were playing out in the yard yesterday, and let's just say our property is very much...um... ALIVE this time of year. Landscaped it is not. Rainforest-like, it is. I thought she got away without any of those nasty bugs biting her, but I guess not.

The heat wave continues here in CT, but since we left the house today, I actually had to put clothes on her. This skimpy little Life Is Good "Sweet Pea" outfit is as close to naked as we could get today. But it doesn't matter, because most of the day she spent in her bathing suit in my sister's pool. Hallelujah!

SOOO BIIIG!

Zoe is growing up so fast.. too fast for my last baby:( She is six months old today! Yesterday she tried solids or the very first time (to my knowledge, god only knows what the boys give her when my back is turned, lol). I will post a link to the video as soon as I figure out how to upload it. She didn't take to it like Max did, but she wasn't totally opposed to it either, the way Elliott was. She greeted the home-pureed organic bananas with a mixture of confusion hesitancy, and curious delight. It's so much fun seeing her try solid food, especially for her Daddy, because he's never gotten to feed her before! Changing her diapers now that she's no longer exclusively breastfed, however, (sniffle) is NOT going to be fun.

She reached another big milestone today- sitting up all by herself! Okay, so it was just for a few seconds, but still, she did it! Of course, I caught it on camera:

Daily Darling 7/6

More like Lazy Darling today! I think this 100 degree heat wave we're in is making her sleepy, and it's DEFINITELY making her cranky!. She took a 2 and a half hour nap this morning, and a 40 minute nap around 4 o'clock. Totally normal for most 6-month-olds, totally out of the ordinary for mine.

Sooo... she spent a portion of the day like this:


And most of the day like this:

Daily Darling 7/4

My little firecracker! I loved how she looked in this tutu as much as she loved wearing it. She thought the tulle was so fun to crinkle and pull on, and as soon as I put it on her, she started pumping her chubby legs like a little ballerina. I spent hours tying the tulle to an elastic to make the tutu, and in reality, she only wore it for the minutes during which this photo was taken. Okay, so maybe a tutu is not the most practical outfit for a 6-month-old to wear to a water park. I had planned for her to wear it for the fireworks tonight, but all my kids were passed out LONG before the 9:15 start time. But the hours of tulle-tying were absolutely worth it for this one adorable picture.

Daily Darling 7/2

See? Big flower bow= happy Zoe. She likes to be fancy. I love this outfit- I call it her florida retiree outfit, lol. I don't know how she can be so chubby and round, and still have those teeny arms and shoulders. This outfit is size 0-3, and the straps still slip off of that bitty little frame!

Daily Darling 7/1

Where the f*ck is my bow, Mom? Yes, Zoe is pretty perturbed, here. I was wearing her on my back while the boys and I were weeding the yard today (20 square feet down, only a million square feet to go!). When I took her out after an hour or so for a nursing/diaper/change break, she was BOW-LESS! I looked and looked, but alas, her pretty light pink crochet band with the turquoise peony is missing. Oh well, she still looks pretty darn cute with her "sausage-fit" pink capris and "Ray Of Sunshine" onesie. But she misses her headpiece- a mother just knows these things;)

Daily Darling 6/30

Here's little Zo-Zo sitting on Auntie Jenese's lap... I sware, Zoe loves her Auntie Jenese a lot more than this picture lets on! She looks too cute in this green gingham sunsuit with her fat little thighs hanging out. And what's that poking out from behind that pretty headband? Yes, it's hair! Now she almost has as much as she did the day she was born:)

I'm Sorry But It's Way Too Hot...

For attachment parenting! Too bad Zoe doesn't think so... Yesterday she decided the only place she would sleep was on my back in the Oh Snap!. And to make matters worse, I had to vacuum the entire downstairs. Ugh, I love that baby, but she's like a sweaty little oven. And then there's the little issue of co-sleeping... THIS is what I get into bed with every night:


Cozy and cuddly on a winter night, downright cruel when the weathers like it's been. Oh well, today was actually nice, the weather was just right for babywearing, and I'm looking forward to cuddling up with my little cuties tonight:)

Daily Darling 6/27

Aww, look at that little darling, she's so proud of her mama. I have to say, I maybe didn't put quite as much effort into her outfit today as I normally would, because a family of 5 with 3 kids UNDER 5 attempting to leave the house by 7am is just slightly stressful. Yet somehow, big surprise, she looks as adorable as ever.

Can I Just Say How Awesome I Am?

So here I am just 2 minutes before the start of my very first half-marathon. Just to give you a little background, running has only recently become a hobby of mine. About 2 months after I had Zoe, I started a modified version of the couch to 5k program, which I highly recommend for beginners. When I started, running 1 city block was a challenge. Really. But after doing the couch to 5k, I was able to jog 3 miles without stopping, which was huge for me. I enjoyed running because I could just put the kids in the stroller and go... I got my exercise and they got some fresh air after being trapped indoors all winter.

Then one day I was browsing in Walmart, killing time while Greg was in a dentist appointment, and I noticed a cover story on the March issue of Fitness magazine, entitled, "Yes, YOU Can Run A Half-Marathon". I bought the magazine, and read the article. The proposed training plan was for anyone who could run 2+ miles without stopping. That was me! In April I bought my first pair of real running shoes, and a double jogger marketed for "serious" runners.I began following the training program religiously, rain or shine, all the while falling deeper and deeper in love with the sport.When I finished the program, I still had some time before race day, so I began following the advanced "Race in Record Time" version of the Fitness Magazine program, which includes hill training and speed intervals. It kicked my ass, but felt AMAZING at the same time.

So here I am. 5 1/2 months after giving birth, down 12 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, and in the best shape of my life. Here I am, a beginner, really, standing at the starting line of a 13.1 mile race, and not a flat and fast one either. This is the Fairfield Half-Marathon, and here is the course map, if you're interested. Those hills are no joke.

I wish I had an after picture, but I was too busy trying not to pass out to whip out my camera phone. I can tell you that as I was climbing those hills, a couple of things were going through my head. 1) Wow, this is a picnic compared to pushing 45 lbs. of kids and 25 lbs. of stroller! and 2) The worst hill on this course is about a million times more pleasant than my worst contraction during transition. If I can survive natural childbirth, I can ACE 13.1 miles.

And I did. I finished in 1hr, 46 min, and 7 seconds, #394 out of 2,824 runners. I finished number 34 in my division, and 91st in my gender. There is something to be said for hard work, dedication, and striving towards a personal goal. And there is even more to be said about the super-powers of your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill Mommy:)

Daily Darling 6/25

10:17pm. Asleep. Finally. Getting sick? Teething? Gas? Spoiled rotten? Off to bed now, who knows what the rest of the night holds. I am probably the only mother on earth who is now about to pick up her sleeping baby from a swing and transfer her to my bed. But that's just the way I am,,, I can't sleep unless I know my baby is safe and sound, an arms reach away:)

Daily Darling 6/23

Here's my girl, looking very much like the late Chris Farley wearing a giant bow... um, in a cute way. The dress is one that I snagged for her this weekend. It's a Piper and Posie, and was on the clearance rack at Marshall's for 6$! Up close, the pattern is adorable... it has the cutest little pink birdies... I couldn't resist!

Summer Sickie Update

So yesterday I brought Elliott to the walk-in clinic near my house, because I didn't think it was fair to drag him on 2 buses across town to see our regular pediatrician. They did a rapid strep culture, which was negative, and didn't bother to do a 24 hour culture. "Soar thorat + fever= antibiotics" he said. So Elliott is on Zithromax, which absolutely kills me... I HATE giving my kids antibiotics. But I also hate seeing them sick, so when a Dr. tells me antibiotics will make them better, it's hard to stick to my guns... Who knows, maybe he did need it, because he seemed to be feeling 100% better after his first 2 doses.

But of course, this afternoon, Max suddenly came down with a fever. The walk-in clinic only sees kids 5+, so it looks like we'll be making that hike to the ped's office after all. Poor Maxy. I'm just praying Zoe stays healthy, and me, too, for that matter... I've got a 1/2 marathon to run on Sunday!

Daily Darling 6/24

I don't know why, but I see so much of myself in her in this picture. She is wearing a baby pink eyelet dress with pretty ribbons on the shoulders. It reminds me of one of those pillowcase dresses, and I like it so much that I'm feeling insprired to make her some pillowcase dresses... I see a craft show and tell in this blog's future!

Another (Almost) Great Day

Today was another day of summer bliss... Well, almost. We took the G bus out to Lighthouse Point Park here in New Haven and met up with my friends Stephanie and Jenese, and their younguns, including 3-week-old baby Kaleb! The kids all played so nicely together. Lighthouse is a great place to spend the day with little kids, because it has the whole beach/sand thing, and when they get bored of that, there's a HUGE splash pad with nice big umbrellas for the grownups, and when they get bored of THAT, there's a fantastic playground. And if you're really lucky, the beautiful old carasouel will be running.

So after the kids had done the entire beach/splash pad/playground circuit, I noticed Elliott looking really tired. I didn't think much of it... Hey, a day at the beach will wear anybody out. But as we were packing up, he just laid down on a towel and closed his eyes, and at the bus stop, he only took 2 bites of the popsicle he'd been begging for all day. By the time we got home, he had a 103 degree fever, chills, and a gray cast to his skin. Poor guy! I gave him some Motrin to bring his fever down, but he's saying his throat hurts, so I think tomorrow we'll have to pay a visit to the pediatrician.

Daily Darling 6/22

Awww, look at that chubby, smiling face. My little beach babe looks so sweet in this romper my mom bought for her. I love the summery colors, the little whale applique is adorable, and my favorite part, of course, is that it shows off those gorgeous dimpled thighs! Ah, to be a baby... the only time in our lives when cellulite is adorable.

Hello Summer!

Okay, so I have to admit I've been somewhat living in fear of Elliott being on summer vacation. Not that he's a lot of trouble, but having 3 kids under 5 under 1 roof 24 hours a day is enough to scare any stay-at-home mom. Now I don't know how the rest of the summer will go, but today couldn't have been more perfect. The boys were on their best behavior all morning, no temper tantrums, brawls, hunger strikes, etc., and Zoe even played quietly in her exersaucer while I vacuumed the entire downstairs. In the afternoon we walked down to the park on front street, where they have a little splash pad. Zoe and I lounged in the shade while the boys played in the sprinklers and dug trenches in the wood chips. Then we went home and had some BBQ chicken and corn on the cob. (we were supposed to have asparagus to, but apparently it had gone bad... Like, 3 weeks ago). Ah... If only every day could be filled with summer bliss.

Daily Darling 6/21

There's my happy girl! She looks so cute and, dare I say,sophisticated, in this little black and white checked shirt with the strawberries on it. Although it is hard to look sophisticated when your shorts resemble a sausage casing, but I digress.

I think she looks so funny sitting up in a stroller like that, but I guess lots of people put babies her age in that kind of stroller. I just propped her there for the picture... She rose to the park in the Oh Snap!, Max rode in the Maclaren, and Elly walked.