The Not So Scary Fairy

It is Halloween. Bella isn't old enough to go trick-o-treating anywhere but her grandmother's and aunt's house. And it is the same costume as last year. Think she cares? NO WAY.

Cuz she's a "pitty pincess!"

We'll work on being lady-like next year.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

One Fine Day

Saturday we had our first family outing that didn't involve a shopping cart! Okay, there was a shopping cart but it wasn't ours, it was the homeless man's. But don't feel bad. After he dug around in the trash and found some leftovers from Sonic, my husband went and gave him

our left over picnic lunch.

Apparently Homeless Man gets plenty of food. He was far from skinny and gave most of the Doritos to his sidekick goose.

We had a great day and it was wonderful for Bella to play till she passed out on the way home.

"Mama, we're havin a goooooooood day!"

"Lookit me!"

Okay, Ava's not looking.

And a nap is looking pretty good about now...

Sweet dreams!

Tough Day

Yesterday was a bad, strange day.

We had to put our sweet 6 yr old Dachsund, Mollie, to sleep. It was sudden and surprising how sick she became and the vet could do nothing for her.

Turns out it was most likely pancreatitis. Very common in female, middle-age dogs her size. She could've had the disease for a long time and it just came in small spells. But this one was big enough to do too much damage too quickly. By the time my mother-in-law rushed Mollie to the vet, she was in shock and her temperature was so low, it didn't even register on the thermometer.

We got Mollie and Zeus when they were just 8 weeks old. Being first time breed buyers, we didn't do our research enough and ended up with two very sick puppies. Both nearly died from a kennel bacteria. We worked hard to nurse them back to health and for years both were very healthy, happy little dogs.

You may recall, this time last year, we had to rush Zeus into surgery for two ruptured discs in his lower back. He had a less than 50% chance of regaining use of his back legs. Mollie cared for him as he recovered. She loved on him and snuggled all day and night with him. Remarkably, he can not only walk using his back legs, he can run and even work up a couple of leg scratches with his left hind leg. He's an amazing little boy who's back to hunting squirrels and threatening neighbors on a daily basis.

We'll miss Mollie a great deal. She was spunky, stubborn, sweet and loving. I'm not sure what happens with a dog's spirit, if anything at all, but at least she no longer suffers and she was dearly loved by us and her brother.

Random Rant

Ever wonder why formula for babies is so dang expensive?

Let me tell you why...

1) Because they deliver crates of it to OB offices so nurses will hand them out to every expectant or new mother. Talk about a mixed message to new moms considering the Lactation Nazis who bothered her daily in the hospital!

2) Because they mail them to new moms (who they find via registration in hospitals) in obviously not cheap packaging containing two cans of completely different formula types (hello!)

3) Because of the expense of the materials used to market these formulas. Mailouts. Coupons. How To books on babies. Monthly baby info update booklets. Free diaper bags in the hospital (also containing free formula and all the items mentioned above)

I am all for educating women on how to better care for their babies. But wouldn't it be better to create a more affordable product? They can print all they want on the cans that "Breast Is Best" but you know as well as I do that they really prefer you buy their product. So why not make baby's nutrition easier to afford for moms who cannot or do not breastfeed?

Instead we have stupid government commercials promoting (weakly, I might add) breastfeeding over formula and then the formula companies going to great lengths to push their formula in mothers' faces while also admitting in fine print that breastfeeding is best.

I do not think the prices of formula vs. the marketing push for formula are in balance. I feel for any mother who has to fork over the $22 for one can of formula a week, if not more often.

I get really frustrated to see the free cans of formula wasted on mothers like me who breastfeed. I make it a point to donate the formula in hopes that a mother who cannot afford it will be able to use it; however, I imagine alot of free cans of formula are simply thrown away.

Yeah, may seem like an insignificant gripe, but I have a marketing background and an idea what these companies spend to promote their products only to have them be the most expensive necessity for so many babies.

K...I'm done ranting. Damn hormones. :)

The Beginnings of My Halloween Costume

Today Ava is three weeks old. On one hand, I can hardly believe! On the other hand, it seems she's been here alot longer. Well, visible, anyway :)

Not only is every pregnancy different, every delivery and every baby...apparently you can get a whole new set of issues with your hormones! Along with a reaction to the steri strips, I also had a reaction to my former friend, Vicodin. I was hosting my own Itchy Scratchy show.

Then Saturday, I woke up to this...

Those are not wax lips. They are mine, blown up about 3 times their normal size. Let me just say that I panicked slightly when I looked in the mirror at 3:35am after changing Ava's diaper. I rushed in to my husband, telling him to get up quick! He grabbed his glasses and leaped out of bed to kill the burglar.

When he saw me in the light, did he show great concern? No.

He handed me a Benadryl capsule, a frozen teething ring, kissed my forehead and stumbled back to bed.

I show you the above picture because 1) I do not know most of you in person and 2) my sister has already seen and laughed.

So as not to leave you with such a scary sight, how about this:

Where's the Calgon?

Ending week two with my two baby girls, I have to say that I absolutely LOVE having two children! I don't know why, but we feel so complete now. Balanced. My husband and I are big on that.

Isabella has been wonderful, overall, with her new sister. She does have toddler moments like dramatically throwing herself to the floor when Daddy holds Ava too long. Or rocking the bassinet with her eyes slanted our way knowing she's not supposed to touch it but trying to look as subtle as possible in her badness. She loves to kiss Ava, hug her and...YES...rub her ear lobes.

So far, Ava has protested the loudest of anyone. See Bella's look? Totally two.



I've healed really well other than a chemical reaction to the adhesive on the steri strips. Not a pretty sight, but I don't expect Playboy will be calling anytime soon so I'm not gonna sweat it. I'm off all meds and eating like a pig to keep up with my tiny piglet's feedings.

Ava is a wonderfully, sweet, calm baby. Completely opposite of her big sister already. She sleeps like a champ and when awake, rarely cries. She just tries to focus her eyes in the same direction. I imagine that takes alot of concentration. When she hears Bella, she turns her head immediately in that direction. I love that!

I'm tired but very happy. My sister, her family and my brother are coming to visit this weekend. I plan to take long naps, allowing my sister to fall in love with having an infant around again (sorry, Daniel!) and letting Bella soak up as much attention as she likes and needs.

Thank you everyone for all the sweet words about our baby girl. It is just as thrilling this time around as it was with our first child.

She's Here!

Ava Elizabeth was born on Monday, October 2 at 3:18. She weighed a full two pounds more than Isabella at 7 lbs, 12 oz and is 19 1/2 long. I can't get over her chunky cheeks!

















She is perfectly healthy and sleeps like an angel. She took to nursing immediately which is a relief. Isabella loooooooves her little sister and likes to kiss her...alot. As well as pat her back a little too enthusiastically. But we're working on being more gentle :)





















I am healing well with the help of my little friend, Vicodin. Doesn't matter how it is spelled because it still ROCKS.

Needless to say, my husband and I are elated with the new addition to our family. You really do find that your heart grows with more love for each child!

I'll post more later. Ava's placed an order for lunch.