More Time and Space...

Is what I wish I had for things like scrapbooking, organizing my house, trying out new recipes, and making other little random crafts. (Val, you just had to add bows to my long list of to do's didn't you! *U*) I finally got to finish another couple of pages for Kate's scrapbook. Justin came home early, Zach was playing outside, and Kate decided to take a three hour nap this afternoon. I am 6 months behind, and cringe at the thought of even being behind. Not only am I behind on one, but two. What you start for one, you start for the other, otherwise the guilt will be felt when they grow up and ask, "Where are my pictures?" I can't have that now can I?

I don't even have kids in school or extracurricular activities, and I am already feeling the stress of being "SuPeRmOm." The kind that can juggle everything that is on her plate and all at the same time. Be in 5 different places in one hour and have time for a bathroom break. Cook dinner, feed a baby, and have the house picked up by the time Justin gets home. My type A personality is having a hard time coping with it all.

What's even better is I use the excuse of "Oh when I get a house and have an extra room to leave my projects out in, I will be on top of it all." or even better "When the kids are in school, I will have some extra time to be able to put towards things like this." Could I be more right here, or just extremely far off?

The bad news is that I don't think it gets any easier, and the good news is the only one who really cares if I get it all done on time is me. SO much for my so called list of "To Do's." At least I have good intentions...

Mashed Carrots...

We finally started feeding Kate some solids. Up until last night we had only been giving her rice cereal. Carrots were first this time, this is how she responded. I still can't get over how big she is getting. Time goes by so fast lately.

Girls at the Dental School...

It had been a long time since I had cut Justin's hair. So long, that I couldn't even remember the date. I was guessing some time in February. This is so out of the ordinary for him but he wasn't exactly complaining, actually, it was just the opposite. Normally, once the speed wings form on the sides of his head and the curls fall on his neck, he is begging me to cut it.

Not this time. Why was this time different? Ask the girls at the Dental School. He had been coming home with stories of how at least once or twice a week he had received compliments about his hair...now we are getting somewhere. Compliments such as...and just to name a few...

"Justin, I have never seen you do your hair, it looks really nice." (he never did his hair until he started seeing patients, AKA-3rd year of dental school)

"You have such nice hair."

"I have the cutest dentist." (from one of his female patients)

Because these compliments had been pouring in, the hair continued to grow.

A month passed, then finals came around. Nothing comes between Justin and his books, not even a haircut. The hair continued to grow...he received more comments, but at this point they were more like...

"Hey, what up Luigi!" - Austen(friend in dental school

"Nice to see you're keeping up the GrEaSy Italian side of the family."

Nevertheless the hair continued to grow... Even to the point of resembling Adam Sandler in the Wedding Singer. (And yes, I might be killed for this next picture, but I will say that it was taken in the morning after a long nights sleep)

He even, to get a little rise out of his mom(who likes her boys' hair cut and clean shaven, don't they all?), shaved a sparse but noticeable stache. Truth is, he shaved because his face was starting to itch.

I was starting to wonder when his breaking point would be. Two months plus later, midterms and finals passed, and four inches of hair growth longer(the longest ever in his whole life), we finally got around to cutting it all off!

Zach too!

Assume the Position...

It's finals week! This picture of Justin studying seems so ordinary and "yeah yeah, so that is what someone looks like when their studying", but it means so much more for me...

Let me number the wayz!
1. Proof of my hub's addiction to Dr. Pepper, which he switched to Diet his second year of dental school, to keep his mannish figure. 2-3 cans are consumed during each study session. That's a lot of DP!
2. Proof of his obsession with zip up hoody sweatshirts, worn daily as his "jacket". He asks for one every year for Christmas. He's up to 5 so far. He owns 2 navy, 1 white, and 2 gray.
3. Documentation of his tedious note taking skills in 10pt. font or smaller. He writes down what he reads(he says it helps him remember it better), and in most cases writes down at least 3 questions to go back to and answer when he goes back and reads through again, for the third or fourth time, during cram time.
4. What I have been looking at night after night for the past three years, til 2am at times.
5. That I've been assured that this is the last week he will ever sit at this desk and study again at night until boards come around.(4th year of school, at least not for 6-9 months!!!)
6. Proof that he can multi-task. Study and listen to itunes at the same time. At the top of his "Most Played List" is Metallica - One. I have suggested that maybe music is more of a distraction, but no, just as the note taking is key, so is itunes.
7. The reason why his back and neck hurt, and is extremely deserving of a message. This position 4 hours per night, 7 nights a week, 52 weeks per year, 3 years of dental school(two much math for me), can't be good.
8. His unmatched motivation and dedication to really learn and know everything he can about dentistry.
"I don't want to just cram to forget about it the next day, I WANT to KNOW it!" - Justin
9. To show my friends what he looks like behind the window. So many friends have said, "Justin studying again? Yeah I saw him in the window at the desk."
10. To remind me of the days when I had my "alone time" at night, after the kids were in bed, doing whatever it is that I wanted to do, watch TiVo, hang out at a neighbors house, catch an occasional movie or dessert with girlfriends, scrapbook, read(OK, maybe once, but still), talk on the phone, waste brain cells surfing the Internet, plan my aerobics routines, grocery shop or just go to bed.
11. The reason why he will make a great dentist someday. He works so hard and has put so many long nights and hours into what he is going to school to become.
12. In all honesty, I admire this picture, because it means so much more than studying for a test for me. Although sometimes the cause of my stress and at times heartache to see night after night, It symbolizes how hard he will work to provide a life for us and our family. I love you!

This list could go on and on. At times this study habit has been the furthest thing away from being my best friend, but I am proud to say he's mine, study habit and all, and that he has worked so hard to get our little family where we are today. I was told in the beginning that the 4 years would go by so fast, and staring at this night after night, I almost lost hope. I find myself now eating my words. A year from now he will be taking his board exams and we will be moving on to the next thing, whatever that will be. HaPpY StUdYiNg!

6 Months and...

Hitting some MiLeStOnEs! For about the past two weeks Kate has been pulling herself up on her hands and knees, scooting and rolling herself to get to her toys, and sitting up on her own. She is so close to crawling, but can't quite figure out that to actually move she has to move her arms and not just her legs and feet.

She has also finally grown her first curl...she looks like a little cockatoo from the side with the party being in the back. We are just waiting for the front of her hairline to catch up.

This is how we are communicating lately. A little different I know, but family, particularly cousin Lauren will appreciate!

The Darndest Things...

This morning Zach called me into the bathroom. He had gone #2. We have had a few incidents where he has tried to wipe himself, and let's just say he has fewer pairs of underwear. We made the decision for him to call me and have me help him so we don't have that problem anymore. As I walked into the bathroom, he says...

"Mom, I went poo poo!" (with a proud look on his face)

then he adds...while pointing into the toliet

"It's like a beanstalk!" (very excited about the comparison he had discovered and made)

Good thing Jack never had to climb up that kind of beanstalk. Thank goodness for fAiRyTaLeS!

You Forgot...

I thought that Zach would sleep through the night forever once he got his two year old molars. When that didn't happen, I thought he would sleep through the night forever once I let him "cry it out". This all happened before he learned how to crawl out of his crib(thanks to his cousins Lauren and Madie). Now, in a big boy bed, I am feeling more and more helpless as to how to get him to sleep through the night consistently. The past few months, 5 out of 7 nights he will wake up at least once. Other nights he wakes up more than Kate does. I have tried everything... earlier bed time, to completely filling his day with activities to exhaust his poor little body, to warmer pj's, to more padding to his bed mattress..you name it, I've tired it.

This has been a long phase. I hope it's a phase. I am starting to have my doubts. He wakes up for various reasons that I won't get into, but last night in particular, he woke up because his blankets had fallen off of him. Here was our conversation at 5am.

Me - Zach what's wrong?
Zach - My blankets
Me - OK I will help you.
Zach - Tuck me in, say prayers, and crack the door
Me - OK, (as I am tucking him in, I start in on the prayer as Zach repeats after me) Dear Heavenly Father...thank you for...my bed, family, please help me to sleep good...
Zach - (Interrupts) Mom, you forgot, you forgot
Me - What?
Zach - You forgot Jesus, Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus, thank you for Heavenly Father
Me - Oh, OK, (then I start to finish off the prayer) We say these things...
Zach - No mom say it.
Me - Oh sorry, thank you for Jesus and Heavenly Father, (then I proceed) We say these things
Zach - (He always finishes the prayer) In the name of...Amen. Now crack the door.
Me - OK Zach, I love you, sleep good

Sometimes you wonder as a parent whether you are here to teach them or they are here to teach you. Even though I would much rather prefer that he not wake up in the middle of the night, I am happy to say goodnight for the second, and at times, fourth or fifth time to a sweet little boy.

Not to deter from his sweetness above, but this same boy loves to "rock n roll all nite and party everyday"...

Something in the Water...

Every once in awhile this is the water that runs out of our faucets. Lovely I know...you would think that we live in a third world country. To top it off, on occasion, and sometimes for a few days at a time, my water runs ice cold...that's right, no hot shower or baths for my family. Justin has actually had to boil water on our stove and mix it with the water pouring from the shower to ease the pain of the cold water(or what feels like pins and needles) hitting my body. And this is the water we drink? Thank goodness for PUR..

At least this time, it is neither of those. My downstairs neighbor is quite the keeper of secrets. She is halfway through her pregnancy and is just now telling everyone that she is expecting. We are all really excited for her. This means that within the last 2 years, there have and will be 6 babies born from my hallway( Me, Crystal, Emily, Lindsey, and Jenny). Where's the 6th from? You guessed it! Let me be the first to tell you all that, nursing is not a form of birth control!

Quite a surprise, and a little unexpected, but of course very excited and happy. The due date is November 16th! We have always gone back and forth about whether or not we should try to have our kids close together in age or further apart. Zach and Kate are almost 3 years apart. And well, we will definitely get our chance to try the close in age thing huh?

*For those who need a more personal and detailed story of how this all came about click here.