I admit it... I like the Winter Olympics

A lot of people... particularly some of my TV news friends... have been dogging on the Winter Olympics. I have to say, I have thoroughly enjoyed the Winter Olympics coverage! I guess you could say I'm a bit of an Olympics geek. I remember watching the games as a kid... and loving it even back then.

I got teary eyed when Joannie Rochette, the Canadian skater whose mom died, gave the performance of a lifetime on Tuesday. Though honestly, I could do with a little less Scott Hamilton on commentary. He's obviously a skating legend and has his own amazing story, but he was all over the emotional map... nearly exploding each time someone landed a jump and nearly breaking down after Rochette's skate. I don't want to take anything away from him, I've seen him skate and he's amazing... but perhaps dial it down a notch for the commentary.

I loved watching Lindsay Vonn win her gold medal. I was in awe of Shaun White's amazing snowboard performance. I LOVED both ski cross and snowboard cross. Those athletes have to be a little crazy, but it looks like so much fun! And while I've heard people say biathlon is boring... you have to admire the ability of those skiers... I mean come on! Cross country skiing is rough... but then to have to shoot at and hit itty bitty targets... when your arm and leg muscles are burning and shaking?? That takes skill people! I can admire that! And you only get to see this every 4 years unless you truly follow that sport.

I think the many of the Winter Olympics sports are cool. Skeleton, luge, bobsled, downhill skiing, curling, speedskating, ski jumping... these sports only get world-wide attention during an Olympics year so it's fun to watch. I wish for once in my life I knew what it was like to be really good at a sport.

I've enjoyed NBCs coverage in the evening as well. I do like Bob Costas. And Mary Carillo's Canadian adventures have been fun to watch. I am probably a little biased. Four years ago when I was still working as a news producer, I was pulled off my daily show to produce our station's version of "The Olympic Zone." It was a half-hour show dedicated to the Olympics... during the Torino games. I had so much fun doing that show! And Wisconsin has so many Olympic connections it's insane. Many speedskaters train at the Petit National Ice Center here... including the amazing Shani Davis. Others have at the very least raced here. Curling and hockey are other sports where there are Wisconsin connections. I absolutely loved it. And I worked for an NBC station for 8 years... so I saw my fair share of Olympics coverage during that time: two winter games in SLC and Torino, and two summer games - Sydney and Athens. (I really wish Chicago had won the Olympics bid... oh well!)

Alex, while not quite as enthusiastic as I am about the games, has also enjoyed the Olympics. He really liked ski jumping and the snowboard events. He even liked figure skating! But I hope it opens his eye to sports other than the ones you usually think of... basketball, football, soccer, baseball.

What about you? Do you love or hate the Olympics? Which sport(s) fascinate you?

Desperately Seeking Routine

I've survived my second week back to work. Whew. It hasn't been easy. It's a very busy time at work. I feel like I'm running non-stop there. Then there's the after work rush. What used to take me 25 minutes now takes me at least an hour. I live 15 minutes from where I work. But picking up two kids at two different daycares with two different bags o'junk to carry. Blech.

But we're slowly falling into a routine. Adam slept better this week... which means I slept better. Alex is just doing great with adjusting to big brother-dom. We're all adjusting. Monday nights mean swimming for Alex. And that means at least 25 minutes of running. YES! Hoping to figure out at least one or two more days when I can run. If winter ever ends, I might try getting up to run outside in the morning. (Yes, I heard the audible gasp from every person who KNOWS that I am not a morning person.) But I miss running. It helps me clear my head.

Dinnertime hasn't been too crazy yet. I have yet to dive into the frozen dinners that my mom and Craig's mom left for us right after I had Adam. I will probably use one next week. I'm also planning to take advantage of one of my favorite work perks -- take and bake pizza. Seriously, you can go to our cafeteria, place an order for a made-to-order take and bake pizza, and pick it up after work. Good pizza reasonable price. Doesn't get much easier!

I'm really glad it's the weekend. I want to finish my bookclub book. Get some cleaning up done around here. Maybe crochet a little bit. Weekends are the best. More time to just enjoy being together. To just breathe.

Because I Can't Figure Out What Else to Post...

... and because I'm not feeling particularly creative, here are some more pictures of Adam. Enjoy!
We figured out that propping him up in the corner of his crib gives a much better angle on his adorable face than plopping him in the bouncy seat.

I love this one! Look at those eyes and eyelashes!

Fun With Yarn

I have a new favorite yarn project... little animals. I found these two free patterns online through Lion Brand Yarn. These pictures are in reverse order (I can't figure out why blogger does this to me). The most recent critter is the blue bear for Alex. He loves it! He saw me making these critters for other people and requested one of his own. So of course I had to oblige!

This is the same pattern, done with a pale pink yarn. The color did not photograph well. I'm struggling with squaring up the faces. But I think it gives them character. This little bear went to a blogger friend Ashley, who had a baby girl a few weeks ago.

This is a puppy I made for another blogger friend, Shawna, who had a baby girl last fall. It's dressed in Pittsburgh Steelers/Pirates colors!

This little puppy was made for my friend Therese... who welcomed beautiful baby Alexandria in September.

And this is the first puppy, made for my friend Zenna's baby boy, Logan. Logan was born two weeks before Adam. And Zenna and I have been friends since kindergarten. Too cool!

The thing I love about these little guys is they are pretty easy. You have to do a lot of counting, but they go together fairly fast. I've figured out that I'm much better with small projects. Blankets are too ambitious. If it takes me more than a few weeks to finish, there's a good chance I'll get bored. I've got one other critter pattern I want to try... maybe that will be for Adam. Otherwise, I'll be making him a bear as well!

some more pictures

i've got a baby in one hand, a dog who is scared of the fire in the fireplace hiding behind me, and a 4 year old running laps around the coffee table. just your typical Sunday night! Can't type very well as a result, in the meantime, enjoy some recent Adam pictures!

Back to Work Update

Monday, my first day back went great. Everything timed out perfectly. I was able to pump three times while I was at work to get Adam on track for bottles. Craig got off at a decent time and picked Alex up from his daycare, so I only had to pick up Adam. Took Alex to swimming, it really couldn’t have gone better.
(*Note: I am attempting to continue breastfeeding. My love/hate relationship with breast feeding will likely be another post altogether.)

Tuesday
NIGHTMARE. Adam got up twice in the early morning hours – once to eat, once to cry. Everyone was slow to get moving. I had to try to pump before I went to work. Was only able to pump twice at work, mainly because I actually have a lot of work to do.

The daycare pick up was stressful. I got out of work a few minutes late. Made it to Alex’s daycare only to find that he has (once again) lost a mitten. No time to search the daycare for it, lest we be late to pick up Adam at his daycare.
(*Note: yes the boys go to different daycares. Adam goes to Alex’s old daycare, a place that we LOVE. Alex goes to the daycare across from his school, which is merely convenient. This summer, they will both go to the same daycare.)

Zipped over to Adam’s daycare, at which point my bladder feels like it’s going to burst. Got both boys back in the car and to quote Homer Simpson… D’OH!!!! Gas tank is nearly on empty. Stop at the gas station to fill up.

Once we’re home, it’s a mad dash to get in the house… do I nurse Adam or do I pump? Wait, Alex needs his dinner first. Yay, Daddy’s Home! I need to go to the bathroom before I have an accident. Darn it Shadow… why did you have to puke? At least it was on the linoleum. Give Alex his dinner, sit down to nurse Adam. Sigh. Another fun day in the life of this working mom.

Which brings me to today…
Today is Ash Wednesday. I’m not giving something up. I’m going to try to be more positive to everyone around me. Less negative talk. More encouragement to myself, my family, and others. I will be more patient with everyone… especially my family and most importantly with myself. I’ll be heading to get ashes at church after work tonight.

Today started off great. I know we just need to get into a routine, but I’ve had a day where everything worked and a day where everything didn’t. At least now I have a baseline…

Oh… and one of these days I promise I will post more pictures of the kids. I just don’t have time right now.

Guilty Pleasure TV

One of the worst parts of maternity leave is discovering new guilty pleasures on television.
Thank you to Bravo, TLC, and E! for the fantasitc bunch of junk to which I am now addicted.

Shear Genius

Tabatha's Salon Takeover

What Not To Wear

Keeping up with the Kardashians

I have caught myself DVRing some of these if I have to run an errand or if they are on while I'm in the shower. Pathetic, isn't it? I have tried to break myself of some of these shows... it will get better when I go back to work. I actually had to stop watching "A Baby Story" because it was making me cry.

Oh, and I finally got caught up on one of my HBO faves... Big Love. That one is not such a guilty pleasure, it's just a darn good show!

Dear Target-

Dear Target-

Let me start off by saying you are my favorite discount store. Love you for that! You recently renovated the store near my house... and it's even more fabulous than it was before.
But I have to say, I've been disappointed on a couple of recent trips. Here's why:

1. No plain white socks for babies under six months. Seriously? Plain white socks are a wardrobe staple at any age. They don't go with every outfit, but you need to have them. I needed plain white socks - without any colored trim, no cute little rubber treads in the shape of stars/pawprints/rockets/footballs, not blue, not pink, not coordinating with another outfit. Plain white. The kid needed socks to wear with his baptism outfit. Why would you have your plain white socks start at 6-12 months?

2. 4 adorable baby girl - pink photo albums... AND NOT ONE BABY BOY ONE??? Again, seriously? Apparently the moms of little boys simply don't desire gender specific photo albums. Don't get me wrong, the cute little cartoon animal album I got is fine... but those baby girl ones were adorable. I'm jealous. How hard would it have been to make the exact same album in baby blue?

And lest you think I didn't ask if either of these items was available, I did. The employees I asked were very nice, but they said if there wasn't even a label on the display for these items, they weren't offered. Come on now!!! I expect more from you Target! I know you can do better than this!

Love, Me

My Final Week At Home...

So this is my last week of maternity leave. I'm really sad that it's coming to an end. I have loved being mom 24-7. Just mom. Not super-working-mom-who-has-to-juggle-it-all. Just mom.
Adam and I have bonded well. I will miss holding him during the quiet hours of the day. I will miss picking Alex up from school. I will miss having dinner ready by the time Craig gets home from work. I will even miss Shadow attacking the mail as the mail carrier slides it through the slot... and her incessant barking as the mail truck leaves the area.

This week will be filled with trying to finish things like putting photos in photo albums, sorting through clothes in my closet, and just drinking in every last minute with my boys.

One thing I am looking forward too is getting back on the treadmill. Literally. That is a sentence I never thought I would type or utter. I can't wait to start running again. Alex will have swimming lessons every Monday night for the next 4 months or so... and that means I'll have at least one day a week where I'm guaranteed a run. I just need to figure out how working out will fit into my schedule. I'm sure that will come eventually.

This is not me complaining about having to go back to work. I have accepted the fact that I have to be a working mom. I just wish I could have a little more time with my new little guy. I hope this next week goes slow. Very Slow.

Burning questions

1. Does playing with Adam on the baby gym count as a workout?

2. What kind of sadistic person designed nursing bras? The ladies should face forward, not each one off to its respective side.

3. If oatmeal increases milk production, does eating oatmeal chocolate chip/butterscotch chip cookies count? Especially if I eat a lot of them?

4. This one is semi-serious... when I go back to work, I plan on trying to pump milk a couple times during the day. Should I wear a nursing bra (blech) or can I go back to regular bras?

5. Will I ever get into a routine with these kids???

Baptism Day!

Adam was baptized on Sunday in the same church I attended growing up. Craig and I were married in this church and Alex was also baptized there. Oh, and the priest who performed our wedding also baptized both boys. It was really special to carry on that tradition in my hometown.
Here's the first official picture of all four of us. It only took us about 2 months to get a picture of all of us, but at least we have one now... and it's not too bad!

Here's a picture of us with the godparents... our sister-in-law Sarah (she's married to Craig's brother Brian) and my brother Mike.

I can't get over the number of boys in this family. This is Alex with all four of his cousins (the little blonde guy belongs to Brian and Sarah... the others are my sister's kids). 5 boys grandchildren on my side of the family. No girls yet. YET. We need more estrogen...

Here's Alex and Nathan having a snack. They are only about 18 months apart in age and they are great pals!

The weekend also marked the first time Adam got to meet Uncle Mike and Aunt Jen. Obviously Adam got along very well with Uncle Mike. Sadly, I just now realized I did not get a picture of Adam with both Mike and Jen in it. (Mental note for next time... also need to check to see if anyone else got a picture with Mike, Jen and Adam.) It was also great for me to point out to Alex that he needs to be nice to his little brother... because someday his little brother may be bigger than him!