Archive for January, 2012

31 Jan

A new category

Posted by Rebecca in New baby.

While I haven’t gone back to check, I imagine there are at least a few pregnancy posts about the other two. So, to keep things a bit more even for Baby Number Three, I thought I’d provide a quick update.

The big news will really come later this week following the sonogram in which we hope to determine the baby’s sex. Both Ava and Olivia are pulling for another girl, or alternatively, an OLDER brother capable of completing chores on their behalf. I am positive this baby is a boy, just as I thought twice before…

We didn’t find out in advance with the girls, mostly because I was unabashed in my desire for a girl the first time around, and even more so the second—I so desperately wanted Ava to have a sister. I think I was afraid I’d be disappointed to discover otherwise in those cases. This time, I can honestly say that it doesn’t much matter to me. I’d love to have three little girls. On the other hand, if this indeed a boy, at least  Ava will have a few months to master the intricacies of time travel.

I will say that of the three, this has been—by far—the easiest pregnancy. I have no symptoms aside from a rapidly-changing profile and a new penchant for afternoon naps and smoked oysters. This quite the change from the last pregnancy, and as such, I joke that this one is already my favorite. I’ve felt slight movement since about 13.5 weeks, but with much more consistency and force in the last few weeks. I’m at 18 weeks right now. Ava told me this morning I have 155 days to go.

More later this week!

30 Jan

Overheard: In which the children are honest to a fault, and their mother is not portrayed in a particularly favorable light

Posted by Rebecca in Overheard.

Ava: “Mom, your dinners always look good, but they don’t always taste good.”

—

Ava: “The reason we do what you say is because we’re scared of you.

Liv: “Yeah, you’re scary!”

 

 

27 Jan

Olivia Fix

Posted by Rebecca in Olivia.

24 Jan

Overheard: So close!

Posted by Rebecca in Olivia, Overheard.

Olivia: Hey Mom, I know all the continents, Mom. London, New York City, um….KANSAS, Wisconsin….JULY, annnnnd syrup.

23 Jan

Beauties and the Beast

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Olivia.

I took Princess Tiana and Snow White to see Beauty and the Beast on Sunday. While I’m not a fan of this 3-D business, it was great to see this movie again. Both girls were spellbound the entire film.

20 Jan

“I can’t even carpe fifteen minutes in a row, so a whole diem is out of the question.”

Posted by Rebecca in Parenting.

My friend Lori shared this brilliant parenting article by Glennon Melton—it’s the perfect answer to the common refrain of “Enjoy every minute of this, it goes by so quickly.” Turns out, my (silent) response of “THANK GOD” is not entirely inappropriate.

A few excerpts:

“Every time I’m out with my kids — this seems to happen: An older woman stops us, puts her hand over her heart and says something like, ‘Oh, Enjoy every moment. This time goes by so fast.’ Everywhere I go, someone is telling me to seize the moment, raise my awareness, be happy, enjoy every second, etc, etc, etc.

I know that this message is right and good. But, I have finally allowed myself to admit that it just doesn’t work for me. It bugs me. This CARPE DIEM message makes me paranoid and panicky. Especially during this phase of my life – while I’m raising young kids. Being told, in a million different ways to CARPE DIEM makes me worry that if I’m not in a constant state of intense gratitude and ecstasy, I’m doing something wrong. …

Last week, a woman approached me in the Target line and said the following: ‘Sugar, I hope you are enjoying this. I loved every single second of parenting my two girls. Every single moment. These days go by so fast.’

At that particular moment, Amma had arranged one of the new bras I was buying on top of her sweater and was sucking a lollipop that she must have found on the ground. She also had three shop-lifted clip-on neon feathers stuck in her hair. She looked exactly like a contestant from Toddlers and Tiaras. I couldn’t find Chase anywhere, and Tish was grabbing the pen on the credit card swiper thing WHILE the woman in front of me was trying to use it. And so I just looked at the woman, smiled and said, ‘Thank you. Yes. Me too. I am enjoying every single moment. Especially this one. Yes. Thank you.'”

In addition to making me feel less guilty about liking my children most while they’re asleep, the article provides a rather hilarious look at why it’s okay to not love every minute. And that, perhaps, makes it easier to truly appreciate the minutes that really matter.

19 Jan

Onion and bacon tart

Posted by Rebecca in In the kitchen.

Saveur has a fantastic social media presence—I especially love their Facebook page. They regularly share interesting articles, great kitchen tips and incredible recipes, like the one for this easy Onion and Bacon Tart. I made this for my family over the holidays, and based on their feedback, I’d consider doubling the salt if (when!) I make this again. Other than that, it seems darn near perfect.

 

 

16 Jan

Overhead

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Olivia, Overheard.

Ava, in a colossal understatement: “I have a lot of questions.”

Olivia: “If you stand on a mountain to talk to the moon, you might hear an echo.”

15 Jan

Rock chalk!

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Bryan, Olivia, Rebecca.

I bought season basketball tickets last fall, which is perhaps the best bad decision I’ve ever made. We’ve had a great time trekking out to the weekly games over the past couple of month. On Saturday, we also had Bryan’s company tickets, so we took the girls with us. Despite trailing behind Iowa State for most the game, the Jayhawks secured another win. Here are few shots from the day.

 

12 Jan

Chocolate Layer Cake

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, In the kitchen, Olivia, Rebecca.

Two notes about this very traditional chocolate layer cake, made from Martha Stewart’s super easy, one-bowl chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream recipes: First, layer cakes are apparently the hip, new thing, and second, they always remind me of a sentiment I share with my girls — “I love you more than cake.”

When Ava hears this, she rolls her eyes, and says, “MOM. You should say, ‘I love you more than the earth,’ because without the earth, you wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t be here, and there CERTAINLY wouldn’t be cake.”

When I say this to Olivia, the look on her face tells me that she loves cake enough to truly understand and appreciate just how I feel about her.

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