Come Back my Little Peace of Mind

Heard results from Claire's blood work today. Everything looks "amazing". That's the word the doctor used. She is not anemic. Does not have a thyroid problem. Her blood count is great. Just waiting for one more thing. Records from her tests done in the hospital to make sure she doesn't have cystic fibrosis.

Holding my breath & hoping all is well. And through it all this little girl just smiles nonstop. She smiled for a couple strangers today at the grocery store.

She is taking well to the formula & we've got a lot of burps, spit up & stinky farts happening.

Pizza Dough

Here's how I make my pizza dough:

Mix 1 cup white flour, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt & 2-1/4 tsp. yeast in large bowl. Add 3 tbsp. oil & 1 cup very warm water. Beat w/ electric mixer for 3 minutes. Stir in enough flour until dough is soft & leaves the sides of the bowl. I use about 1-1/2 cups of wheat flour. Place on floured surface & knead for 5-8 minutes. I use white flour to knead. Cover loosely w/ plastic wrap & let rest for 30 minutes.

I spread my dough out on a rectangle baking stone & bake at 425 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Add toppings & bake for 8-10 more minutes.

Simple

Dylan ordered this book for me, because he knew I'd never do it myself. He was right. I've had my eye on it, but have been waiting until I felt like I had money for extra stuff. It arrived a few days ago & I love it. I can't wait to get started on some of the projects. A library book tote for Sadie? I think so. New potholders? Sounds delightful. A cool new diaper bag for me? Absolutely.

Just need to find some time.

Skinny Baby Update (or) I'm a Bad Mom

Took Claire to the doctor today. She weighs 7 lbs. 6 oz. That's 6 oz. less than her birth weight. I was shocked! Totally. And I feel like such a bad mom. I knew she was tiny, but I didn't realize she weighed so little.

The doctor thinks that she is not absorbing what she needs from the breast milk. I am going to continue nursing her, but give her 1-2 oz. of formula after each feeding. We will hear results from her blood work tomorrow afternoon. Just to make sure there's nothing else going on. Other than being tiny, she's a really healthy girl.



We're just going to focus on getting some meat on her bones.

Tiny Girl

Momma has been so worried about you. You are such a little thing. There's not much meat on you. You're just skin & bones. People at church call you "the little baby bird" or "peanut". Yesterday I was worried that I wasn't producing enough milk for you. Today it seems like everything is flowing just fine. I'll take you to the doctor in two more days. I'm pretty sure she'll want me to supplement your diet with formula. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I've gotten pretty attached to nursing you. We'll see & we'll figure out what's best for you. I love you.

Recent Drawings

from Miss Sadie

A sad man:

A man with a chin:

An ear:

Friday Night...

is now pizza night! Sadie likes to help me knead the dough. Last week I chose the toppings...tomato slices, pineapple & basil. Dylan wasn't too impressed with a pizza covered in fruit. He chose this week....onions, green peppers & prosciutto. We like a saucy, cheesy pizza in this family & the crust made with wheat flour is really quite tasty.


Been enjoying the weather lately. We've had the windows open the last three days. It's been so beautiful. No need for air conditioning at all. This is the trade off for harsher winter weather. Trying not to think about that for now as we just enjoy the long days. The light was just too pretty in the evening too. I took a lot of photos.





I love it when Dylan smiles at his girls like that. Absolutely LOVE it!

Easy Tiger

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't more than a little excited about this new album from Ryan Adams. But can it beat my all time favorite from him?

Ryan's music is my kind of country music & he is my absolute favorite male voice out there. Coming in right behind him are Jeff Tweedy of Wilco & M. Ward. Two more amazing voices.

Go ahead. Give 'em a listen.

Porch Date

I was talking to my friend Laurel a little while back and she mentioned something she & her husband had discussed on one of their "porch dates". "Do you ever do that?" she asked. Like it's the most common thing, only I'd never heard of it.

Once the kids go to bed, you go out on the porch & sit on your lawn chairs & have a little date.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day & since Dylan had a scouts activity he had to go to in the evening & we couldn't get out & do something as a family, we figured it would be the perfect night for our first porch date.

Cool thing about porch dates is you can wear your pajamas & eat a bowl of cereal together & take crazy pictures in the dark.

Rainy Day Activities

Paper, scissors & her first time using a glue stick. She was one happy girl at her art table for almost 2 hours.





And one mighty fine collage artist, if I do say so myself. She used up two whole glue sticks in the process.

Antiques

Inside an antique store we stopped by today.

Dylan kept calling it "the junk store". All the junk sure cost a lot of money.

She Smiles

Best times for a smile session:

-right when she wakes up in the morning

-when daddy gets home from work

Where Has the Love Gone?

The love for taking photos, that is.

Is it that my hands are a little more busy these days?

Is it that I forget because my sleep deprived brain isn't functioning fully?

Is it that I haven't liked the quality of my photos in a long time?

Is it that I have no idea what I'm doing?



I love it when I see something that makes me want to grab the camera. Like this glass bottle on my kitchen window this morning. I've noticed it doesn't happen very often these days. Where has that excitement gone?

I'm resolving to carry my camera everywhere I go & be more aware. I need to get back in the groove because in the next couple months I want to start a photo-a-day project so I can fill this little beauty.

Watermelon for Breakfast

I've had a little luck with picking watermelons this season. And, I've been craving them like crazy. I LOVE summer fruit. When I was a kid I couldn't resist when my Mom would stock the fridge with fruit. Plums, peaches, nectarines, watermelon. I'd make many trips back to the fridge during the day for more fruit & I'd make myself sick.

I remembered all that this morning when Sadie pulled out the watermelon slices for breakfast.

"You wanna bite of my melon, mama?" "It's good melon!"

Unlike Her Mother

Claire is NOT a homebody. This girl is happy when she gets out of the house & gets to see & hear new things.

How do you like my brown speckled kitchen floor. Gorgeous, wouldn't ya say? (that's a bit of sarcasm there)

Apartment photos coming soon. I promise. The goal this weekend is to get all boxes out of the way.

Clifton Beach

We went to Clifton Beach last Friday. It's a member's only beach that my relief society president got us into. We went with some other ladies in the ward. It was great to be able to visit with other moms & the kids had a blast.

Sadie was a bit scared of the waves at first, but after a few hours there she had no fear. I was so worried the whole time that she'd be swept away. I really need to get her some floaties. We were not prepared. I really love her bum in this photo...


And this is what a couple hours in the sun does to us....


We were wiped out, but had a good time.

Hey Dyl, Could You Please....

take a picture of me w/ Claire? I don't think I have one of us since we came home from the hospital.

At which point Claire begins crying & this is the resulting photo. We never took another one once she stopped crying. I need to be better about this stuff. BUT...this is my life & the photo totally shows it. Check out that blur of my hand in motion.



I did get my hair cut finally, but decided last minute not to cut bangs. I think I'll stick with this hairdresser. She did a great job. I'm feeling pretty good. I'm only one pant size up from my regular, pre-pregnancy size & I'm pretty excited about that. Hooray for nursing! I read that it burns 500-700 calories a day. Woohoo! Now I just need to focus on my diet. Trying to whip that into shape & also find time for some real exercise.

Check It Out

Simply Recipes A great place for finding new recipes. Her photographs are amazing. Dylan wants me to try the Chipotle Grilled Chicken w/ Avocado Sandwich. I think we shall.

NieNie I've been watching for her "My Vegetarian Life" posts with great excitement each day. Very inspiring. I would love to eat at her house, yum yum.

Scrumdilly-Do A fun little place to find ideas & new things to do with your kids.

shimandsons Always inspiring & oh so fun to look at. I can't get these pom poms out of my head.

Yo Momma Says You Hungry

I love this commercial. The crazy-looking, long haired guy that pops up holding the keyboard cracks me up every time. Great stuff.

6 Weeks Down

Claire is six weeks old today. It's crazy how fast it's gone. I'm loving this tiny little girl. I actually have noticed her getting a little bigger & it made me sad. I love her skinny little legs & arms & her cute pointy chin. Dylan got some good smiles out of her yesterday & today when she woke up, she was all smiles for me & Sadie.

These photos are from last week. We went to the Lakewood park which is just a couple minute drive from our house.




Sadie's looking out at Lake Erie. Yep, Lake Erie is just a couple miles from our house.


I had to share this one of Claire, becuase it shows her big feet. We think she's going to be a tall girl.


I'm starting to get used to being a mother of two kids. Working on finding balance. I do still feel most days that I'm having trouble keeping up with my own life, but things should get better in the next few months.

Please Share

Tell me what you snack on. I'm trying to think of yummy, healthy foods to snack on & I'm just drawing a blank. I swear I'm more stupid after each baby. It's the lack of sleep isn't it. Anyway, any suggestions would be great.

While you're at it....if you have any good summer time dinners, please share as well.

I promise to give back & share any that I come across, once my brain starts functioning properly.

Good Weekend

Chinese takeout & America's Funniest Home Videos
swimming pool & otter pops
homemade chocolate chip cookies
a three hour family nap

Sleep

Sadie & Dylan are outside playing in the new kiddie pool we just bought. I'm inside nursing Claire. Gotta get back out there with my camera.

Loved this photo of Claire. We've been falling into a bit of a routine around here which is great. Still not accomplishing a great amount of things each day, but as long as I get a shower & keep these two fed & happy, then it's all good.