pictures of my kids

after all the job of a good mother is to shamelessly show off her children- so here are so my cute pics of my 3 sons. smart son 3 at 2 weeks old. smart son 2- braving the elements-- if you live in new england you know fashion is not high on the winter priority list- its all about keeping warm. He calls his hat "a snow helmet"smart son #1 (sporting winter hood hair) building 9 foot towers in the studio roomsmart son #1 crawling his way to the bus across the yard-- because the snow is totally iced over and if you walk you slide- even all shovelled areas were covered with sheets of ice-- don't you wish you lived in new england too- but as you can see- life goes on as usual despite the snow, ice and -3 windchill.my dad with my boys a few weeks ago

just when we thought we were done

I spent one day- so completely happy- so glad to have my baby born this incredible weight off me. By all accounts he was perfect. I decided to go down with him for his ultrasound. It took 2 hrs. and at the end the radiologist said she didn't really know what to make of the findings and she was headed off to call my pedi and one of the neonatalogists. I returned to the room with him unsure of what to think - and within na 1/2 an hour a neonatlogist was knocking on our door. Basically he explained the finding was portal vein thrombosis. The left portal vein was completely occluded. It was a again a quite rare and unusual finding and treating was again a difficult call. Best case scenario was the clot will clear, worst case scenarios- lobular atrophy, portal venous hypertension, and potential need for liver transplant. Well as you can imagine this was the last thing I wanted to hear after all I had been through. He said he was going to go contact a peds hematologist and a peds GI and come back later in the day and we would try to come up with a plan. We immediately called one of our friends for a blessing for each of us and especially for our new baby. About 2 hrs later the neonatalogist returned with the peds GI and hematologists- basically they told us that the literature doesn't show that anticoagulation therapy generally makes a difference but given my history of thrombophilia and some consulatation with some experts who have researched this a lot at Toronto sick children's hospital they felt treating with lovenox was probably better than wait and see (the other option) So within the hour he was taken to the NICU- where they began full assessments- following his platelets to be sure his levels were acceptable given how clots can shred through them. They wanted to do a repeat abdominal u/s the next day and a head ultrasound to be sure things were clear before starting lovenox. I was still inpatient and would go up to the nicu to feed him every 2 hrs through the night and the next day. Then on discharge I got a boarding room in the back of the NICU where I stayed for the next 8 days- leaving the hospital 1 x for 1.5 hrs to go home and basically pack up for my stay and bring some family pictures and a name tag for his crib. I would try to be up and showered each day and by his bedside for morning rounds. Where I would stay all day. We began the lovenox (2x a day injections). We did daily labs and serial ultrasounds, and he was spending some time under the bili lights for jaundice. At his ultrasound the following monday the radiologist reported there was now "some flow" in the left portal vein -- which was very exciting-- everyone had prepared us that we should not expect to see any improvement after 3 days ( i had read the studies and knew time to resolution generally ranged from months to years) and really all they were hoping for was that the clot hadn't become worse and was appearing stable. I was so excited to hear the news-- knowing any flow is better than no flow. They again slated a repeat for later in the week-- again the radiologist said you can't really see much in a 3 days interval and so we were pleased to hear the official word in his report was-- at least the same if not better flow. WE know there is still a ways to go until normal but we are happy to have seen any progress especially so early in the game. We finally reached the right therapeutic (antifactor xa) level with his lovenox dosing and so they felt he could come home and be followed outpatient. So smart daddy-o and I were trained in the mixing of his meds- quite a process given lovenox is not dosed for someone weighing 7 lbs). So we don't know what the final outcome and prognosis will be-- these next few weeks and months will be critical as we see what happens to the clot. They do feel the left portal vein issue is related to the umbilical vein varix and the big question that remains for everyone is whether the clot is related to the heritable thrombophilia that I have? does he have it? Trouble is it can't be tested for in a baby. So from here out in the immediate future it will be weeks of us giving him 2x daily injections, testing his antifactor xa levels, repeat ultrasounds and follow up with the GI and hem. and of course the emotional roller coaster continues- not knowing what the outcome or long term results will be but we are taking it day by day. I think when you have worked in medicine you have seen too much (esp as I worked with liver and transplant patients at UCSF) you sometime wish you were one of those parents who didn't really understand all the things the doctors said or you read in the articles. But we just have to keeping praying for the best and we know many prayers have been answered so far and we are grateful for so mnay of you who have been praying for him. As you can see he is the sweetest most darling baby! Here he is at 10 days old! we're excited to finally have him home! we'll trry to keep you updated.

smart son 3 is here

my darling baby boy was born 11.28.07 at 37w1d weighing in at 7lbs 14 oz and 20 inches long with tons of dark hair.

the saga continues

I know I kind of left you hanging- when we did the lung maturity amnio at 35 wks- his level was 16 (45 is considered mature) so of course no one wanted to induce. we scheduled another amnio for the following week- this time the result was 22 (again no where close to maturity) at this point though I was ready to jump off a cliff- we were in a hard spot trying to balance the risks of the umbilical vein varix (and it's risk of thrombosis or intrauterine death) and the risk of respiratory distress (which for as late in the game as i was) was far preferable. SO the day before thanksgiving i went to meet with Dr. Weisberger one of the neonatalogists (basically to inform me of the risks if we chose to pursue induction w/out lung maturity). We ended up having a really good discussion about my history, this unusual cord anomaly, and the risks for the baby. At the end of our discussion he suggested we do an xray and abdominal ultrasound after birth to ensure everything was okay. I decided 37 weeks was my limit and although statistically his risks for RDS was still just over 10%- that is generally treatable and the risk on the other side was unacceptable in my book. So I went in and told my perinatalogist I was done- I felt we had pushed things far enough and I would accept responsibility for the outcome- She was in agreement and so was the neonatalogist. I just wanted to have him because I knew i couldn't handle another loss. So we scheduled induction for Tuesday the 27th--the day I turned 37 weeks- unfortunately I was the least dilated and effaced of any of my pregnancies- so my induction would require a little more assistance this time so after 4 rounds of cytotek, numerous rounds of doctors, and residents and 21 hours my little boy was finally born! I was so happy to finally have him here safely-- after so many weeks of such incredible stress I was glad to be done.

halloween fun

I am happy to report that Luke Skywalker and Frog (of Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad Books) are out gathering candy as we speak! Smart baby wanted his pumpkin to look like Grover and Smart son designed his with multiple sets of triangle eyes. Unfortunately it has been a busy week and the carving was slated for down to the wire slot of after school today- I refused to wield a sharp knife due to my highly anti coagulated state- and did not want to risk any life threatening injuries- so I had to craft this years mediocre jack-o-lanterns with a dull pumpkin carver (yes these are what we let children use in preschool to cut up bits of fruit) I also think i have carpal tunnel from the excessive repetitive sawing motion!

on the baby front

Well I haven't posted in a while because things have been a little crazy. While i was in for 31 wk ultrasound (Which they do because of my thrombophilia- to ensure the placental perfusion is good and baby is growing well) they found a really really rare cord issue- An intra-abdominal vein varix- basically after the umbilical vein enters the baby- it is dilated within the abdominal cavity of the baby. I noticed the U/s tech kept looking at something but i couldn't figure out what is was. Well the perinatalogist came in and explained it and said she thought i needed to have weekly NSTs and we needed to move up my next ultrasound. Well I went home and started reading-- Unfortunately reading up on it only made things scarier. The first thing I learned was one it was really rare- There are less than 100 cases documented. Each study maybe only included 7-9 patients.Then of those cases documented outcomes varied widely. Some showed really good outcomes 7 out of 7 healthy babies- other showed stillbirth and fetal loss rates of 25-44%. the problem that frequently occurs is thrombosis of the vessel- not what you want to hear when you are already high risk for thrombosis (I'm on lovenox 2x a day and aspirin)That was definitely not what I wanted to hear. Especially after all I have been through ( 8 m/cs) I called the perinatalogist back the next morning, got kicked over to high risk for my managment and we came up with a new plan- 2x a week Bpps,Nsts, doppler studies, we did steriods to speed lung development, and we are due an amnio to check lung maturity on the 12th and assuming we're good- baby will be induced then at 35 weeks- So I have to keep this baby hanging in for 11 more days and then we won't take any risks.We are hoping with our careful monitoring we could catch a "problem" before it happens but again there is enough to know who things play out when they go bad. So we are hoping we don't have to deal with that- needless to say I live hour to hour and day to day and appt to appt- poking and prodding this little boy to ensure he is always moving and dopplering him a few times a day. But there is nothing like need to be ready for the baby- so i am trying to not stress myself out- but also expedite things and get in gear. So keep your fingers crossed!

the state of gifted education

Yes this is considered a sometimes politically incorrect topic, but it has been on my mind a lot lately. Every child is an individual with diverse abilities, interests, and talents that doesn't make one child more or less valuable. We need everyones unique abilities to make this world a great place, but I am frustrated with the lack of options and accommodation for bright kids. This sector of education has sharply declined in the 20-25 yrs since I was child. It was far easier for me to get services in rural florida school in the 1980s or in a tiny DOD school in Turkey, then it is now. Seriously, at my sons current school there is no program in place to meet the needs of gifted children. It is a small but nice school with many great things (specials every day, small class sizes, good staff, very supportive parents)- but to me this is a travesty. It is a lonely road to be the sole parent in the principals office advocating for this under served population and demanding something be done. I guess part of it is I know to much, I used to teach education classes at the college and university level- I am not okay with mediocre education, I am not okay with boring children to death, I am not okay will skill and drill ad naseum, I am not okay with pointless dribble worksheets. These children need a faster paced curriculum, for creative enriching projects, not more work but different work, etc. One of the great myths is kids with bright kids will do fine in a normal setting because they aren't failing in anything-- but what angers me the most is they are not learning either. I respect children and I respect them enough to believe their time and energy is valuable. Why can't people just understand that different brains work differently, without judgement and stigma, why is it I feel like I have have to deal with "gifted issues" in silence- for fear of being the mom who says "my kid is so smart". We do we place a judgement on the rate or style in which a child learns as if it is some sort of a race. I think my son is special in the same way every other mom on the planet thinks her child is special. IQ tests don't mean everything, they are not the only measure of intelligence, most intelligences cannot be measure in a test. When it comes to my sons life accomplishments I would far rather have a son that is good, kind, and makes a difference in the world than one who is "smart"- but I can tell you if you score 50 on an IQ test (average score is 100) you are going to need some help significant intervention to navigate our current educational system, in fact it would be against the law to fail to provide services, why is there no law (okay not in my state some states have them) serving a child who scores in the 150s. I guess I think of some of the great experiences I had in education- I wish i could sit back and let my child just enjoy the ride and trust it was giving him what it should, but the ride is changing and not for the better and I can't in any moral conscience not speak up. I worry about the future of some of our kids because our current systems are failing them. So yes I have lost a lot of sleep, money, time over this in the past year, we have been through hours of testing, assessment, meetings, I have spent hours researching trying to come up with creative solutions, meeting with teachers and administrators and we are starting to work out some accommodations. The thing is in know this isn't the end, it will be battle I will have to continue to fight and sometimes that is exhausting and sometimes I wish more people would stand up for their kids and what they need.

I did it!

$9 for 3 pack of truck, robot, and race car underwear
$6 at Gap for camoflague and robot packs of underwear
$15 dollars in potty prizes at the dollar tree

To have your child potty trained and enjoy a few months of diaper freedom before another baby arrives- PRICELESS!

Yes, I got through potty training round two- that has consumed my life for the last 2 weeks- smart son has been wanting too for a while (I knwo what kind fo terrible mother won't let their child potty train), but i wanted to stall him off until school started and we could be more homebound for a few days doing hourly potty runs. Well sure enough 3rd day of school for smart son, smart baby woke up and told me his diapers "had a problem" and he only wanted underwear- "they are my favorite!" And from then on we've been going strong- days, naps, nights- the whole schebang! I am really proud of smart baby- he's 2 and 3 months! He's been doing great and is totally digging a day with all those sweet tarts, gummy bears, and marshmellows.

end of summer fun

Well summer has finally come to a close and we wrapped it up with a slew of fun creative activities. I know that seems to be all i post about lately- but i am archiving this so if my kids ever try to pull the "you never doing anything fun" or "you're not cool" lines with me I can go back and show them that in august of 2007 I was a fun mom. The smart boys have been having a great time with liquid watercolors and Smart son learned how to do salt and sugar effects with paint. We did sunprint paper (the blue) simply lay objects on it in different sunlight - rinse under water and voila! cool positive/negtaive space project- special bonus points for people who can identify all the sunprinted objects! We did foam piece Dr. Seuss villages - my boys have always liked reading the the Lorax book and so we made these- you just use the foam pieces that when dipped in water stick to each other- just don't dip them in too much water or they turn to mush- right smart baby. Smart son discovered scratchboard- I totally loved his "sampler piece"- He divided it into all these sections and made all different patterns (one series he entitled pattern subtraction) and we made glurch (yes the borax and elmers glue one).

The saddest part of summer was sending smart son off for his first day of 1st grade! I totally miss him when he is gone- because as you can see we have a pretty good time together! I hope he has a great year! And to celebrate his first day we do our traditional snack treasure hunt- he comes home to a slew of clues and follows them to find his hidden after school snack!

family pictures

I haven't had a chance to blog about vacation to the outer banks yet but here are a few of my favorite family pictures from the trip!

more simple summer fun

Smart son asked me as I was throwing in a load of laundry if we were going anywhere today. I replied that I wasn't sure, but likely not. He shouted cheers of delight and said he loved staying home best of all. That made me feel good. I do try to have fun with my kids when they are home. I like our home to be a place they love to be. So in case you need more summer fun ideas...
sculptures- yes just get some wood pieces, glass marbles (dollar tree is great for this) and some wood glue- still washable but much better than elmers for bonding. Smart son did his on a scrap of masonite and painted his. Smart baby very systematically worked on his on a canvas board.

Colored cookies- so easy and fun. I should have taken the picture yesterday before we were left with only 3. Simply take sugar cookie dough roll the balls in colored sugar and bake. no sprinkle shaking mess- just cool colorful cookies-- We did them in pink, blue, yellow, green, orange.

Jumping raisins/or dancing spaghetti whichever you prefer. Cup 2/3 way filled with water, 2-3T vinegar, 1 t. baking soda and raisins or spaghetti pieces- my kids watched with rapt attention for 15 minutes while they bounced up and down.


Glowsticks- seriously I found a place that sells 15 skinny ones for 1$- They are the perfect light sabers, secret weapons, lights for under the bed forts, incentives for extra good clean up. They keep them occupied forever and all for less than 10 cents a piece!

The BEST books!

Book review-
Smart son has really started noticing people have different colors of skin, peoples, accents, different styles of dress, etc.. He noticed before but never really thought about it- lately he has started trying to identify where people or their ancestors came from. This is a complex task for a 6 year old. The other day at a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike he informed me we were some of the only ones in there with “pinkish-whitish” skin. Although New England has a fair amount of diversity, my son unfortunately doesn’t encounter very much on an intimate personal level. I wanted to at least find him pictures of people around the world so he could start to understand more about different peoples and their heritage.

If you know me you know I am passionate about being informed and making a difference in the world. My children WILL grow up knowing how people live other parts of the world and appreciating what they have. I don’t think they can ever understand their true accountability if they don’t. Most Americans live a very sheltered, ethnocentric, egocentric life. Way too many people have never had the chance to see how others live, to understand true poverty, disease issues, etc. Well I found 2 fabulous books that smart son has literally been eating up —begging to read them I limit him to 3 pages a day!

The first we read in a week- called A Life Like Mine- it is a fabulous books that highlights children around the world- what they live in what they eat, educational opportunities etc. It discusses serious issues everything from child labor, war, etc. In honest but appropriate ways for a child to understand. I loved that my son is gaining a better appreciation of what he has 3 meals a day, toys, water in his house, shoes, access to education, medicine etc. I think it is a must for every child to appreciate what they have.

The other is Children Just Like Me. It authentically profiles children from all the continents, what they eat, what they play with, what their school and homes look like, their families, etc. It has been such a wonderful education for smart son. I love that it is opening his eyes to new perspectives, the contributions of cultures, and the richness of diversity in our world.

These make my top 10 list of books every child should read hands down.

trade-offs

so somedays my floor and barstools look like this at 5 pm...

I have to remind myself that is because I am a fun mom and do fun stuff with my kids- sometimes with the endless cycle of clean-up in the "world of mom" you have to remind yourself it was for a good cause, because man i hate sweeping that floor everyday!

today we did:

litmus paper tests (the only fiasco during this experiement was smart baby trying to spraying fantastic (one of the test liquids) into a whistle he found-- he thought it would make bubbles come out when he blew into it) no son- POISON!

Smart son picked out this photo we took while at temple square and wanted to paint it- he worked so hard on it, mixing variatios of greens- he probably spent almost 2 hrs on it! smart baby did his own verison in oil pastels- he spent 5 minutes on his!

oobleck (in their own selected colors no less)

and here is smart son with one of his tall towers (he does them vertically) he also likes to make these thoughtful arrangments from all the random objects in the house: chairs, shoes, diapers, pillows, books, toys, foods, plates-- trouble is you can't lock up and hide everything --at least he is resourceful!

(And yes i have excessive amounts of blocks- It's a disease-I am just a sucker for blocks) water blocks, bead blocks, city blocks, unit block, pb kids story blocks, middle eastern temple blocks, mirror tiles- I know I have to stop.

MOF Weekend

Okay how do you explain to people that you are going to spend the weekend with a bunch of women you don't know and have only met online (My Online Friends- MOFs)-- My husband would call it a "retreat with some of my old friends" lucky he had the cover that two of my best IRL friends (shelah and catherine) were going to be there. I also used the justification I needed to support my friend Catherine in her PhD research, as she is using the message board and accompanying blogs for her dissertation data on women's literacy practices.

So here is the story. Two and a half years ago my friend Shelah invited to this private message board which she assured me was very "cool". And well she was right- they are great sources of information, support, and just great women and moms. One day last fall I posted a thread about how cool it would be if one day we could all get together- Well as it turned out we all liked the idea and made it a reality and about 2/3rds of the women got to come- people were flying in from all over even other countries (yes we are that cool). One MOF's in-laws loaned us their cabin in the mountains and voila! a weekend of fun was born. Shelah my best friend and former college roommate and I were in charge of food (we both really love food) and we along with out trusty pal Athena, cohort in grocery crime spent 4 hours at Costco and Maceys loading 6 carts to the gills with all our food. Even with having some meals catered we had a lot to buy and organize. We had a bunch of yummy salads, fondue night, hashbrown quiche, suffice it to say a variety of yumminess. We won't even go there with drinks and ice for 70+ women in 95 degree heat. Everyone was more fun in real life. We had games, spa night, classes, shopping in park city, and just spent a lot of time enjoying one anothers company. So many people helped to make it a fabulous weekend and now a tradition has been born. However I was so busy talking and eating I didn't get to take many pictures. Note the one picture of me, shelah and catherine was taking in 95 degree weather after dinner- we so tired and thrashed!

Utah trip

We just returned from our Utah vacation. We had to tell smart son that just because we had been doing cool things each day that was merely a vacation treat and not the precedent for a new daily schedule. We started out our trip hiking around Silver Lake; smart son was enamored with the desert vegetation and wildlife and the gorgeous mountains. The next day we took the boys out for Indian food- Smart son proclaimed that naan was now going to be what he put down on his primary spotlight paper as his favorite food. From there we went to the Clark Planetarium where we saw the Ultimate Universe and Mysteries of the Nile (2 thumbs up) and i have to say they have a stellar gift shop (yes we walked out with a rectangular based prism, litmus paper, vortex maker, and rock collection- i was trying to be conservative!)! They loved the jaunt to BYU- complete with BYU t-shirts, books from the bookstore, free reign at the candy counter,trips to the Bean Museum, Earth Science Museum, and Art museum (where i even snuck in a chicken Caesar salad at the MOA cafe-yum!) Cougareat lunch and Creamery ice cream. Smart son is already planning to follow in our academic footsteps- what better way to convince your child of your alma mater's superiority than to spoil them with everything delicious the campus has to offer. We had a few family dinners with allen's siblings, and a little reunion BBQ with all the cousins on his moms side. We got to enjoy an annual sonic excursion (no they don't have a single one in my state of residence) an sometimes you just can't go without a great limeade and onion rings. I left for my MOF GWO weekend (see separate entry) and Allen spent his first days ever of solo parenthood. They went to the Air Force Museum, fishing, swimming, and to the zoo. And being 24th of july weekend I bought the boys a whole package of sparklers to enjoy and celebrate their pioneer heritage with! It was a great trip and my boys can't wait to go back!

think blue

yes my ultrasound yesterday revealed- it's boy #3 on the way- I let the boys put together this blue party for dh. It looked great until smart baby found a way to get himself an early serving of cake- it was well out of reach so he went to the playroom- grabbed a lacrosse stick and used it to procure himself a sample of cake and frosting.

one trip down, one wedding down and 17 weeks down

whoa- I feel like i haven't blogged in forever- and then i saw the date on my last post-where has the last month gone!! That is my longest break ever-part of my lack of blogging I will blame on my parents slow dial up internet which makes me crazy (one day highspeed will come to their street!)And have been a good mom spending a lot of time each day reading books to the boys and helping Bennett with an EPGY class he has been doing this summer.

We are heading back to home tomorrow. My boys had a fabulous time in Virginia visting my parents. They loved their daily trips to visit Gigi, riding the tractor with my dad, driving the motorized jeep around my parents yard, going swimming at the club with aunt d, picking chokecherries, making "salad" for the wild animals to come eat, spotting bats, horses, deer, foxes, and millions of insect varieties, baths in the giant tub, sourdough pancakes with my dad, donuts from Ukrops, going to Tom Leonards, summer haircuts, fireworks, (although they both fell asleep in the middle of them) and all the other fun things that come with our trips here.

Thanks to everyone who has been checking in on me- I am 17 weeks this week and still kicking along- It still doesn't feel "real" yet-I am starting to show more but mostly just look thick. I am not as sick as before- but still not feeling really peppy- on top of pregnancy yucks i got a cold that went straight to my chest and has had me coughing for days! So most nights i just want to veg out and go to bed (hence lack of blogging). I can report I made it through the wedding I was doing- wedding cake, grooms cake, and flowers. It is always nice when they are done and you can breathe a sigh of relief. Smart baby loves the perks of being the son of the cake baker.

now we head back to home unpack and repack for our Utah excursion! okay that is all the patience i have for picture loading tonight!

summer 07- in and out

Okay now that I typed that title, I am seriously craving a good burger from in & out. Well summer is almost here-Smart son has just over a week left of school and it isn't officially summer until you are freed from the school calendar. But, Summer seems too short and it hasn't even begun. I have to take full advantage of opportunity for geographical freedom so we are packing the summer with fun trips. My mom, and my sister and her three kids are coming next weekend- it will be my sister's their first trip to see us, so we will have fun showing them some New England delights. Then i am taking the boys to Virginia for a while to relax and hang out and do a wedding (of course I will return with cake and flower pictures to show my work) . Then we return briefly only to head out on a family vacation to Utah to visit smart daddy-o's family, friends, and my MOFs. After that we recoup and enjoy a little time out home before heading to the beach in North Carolina for our final summer beach extravaganza (dreaming of the food at the blue point and walks along the beach already). We will be busy but when we are home, we will be home. Hanging out doing whatever we feel like doing- enjoying the blissful unstructuredness of summer vacation- going to park, going swimming, reading books, eating ice cream.

There is something about summer that just makes you feel different (and i think even look different)- it is a time for laying on the grass, drinking fresh lemonade, fireworks, sand, ice cream, fresh berries, kissing, playing in the water, air conditioning, and just letting yourself relax (I think I crave it so much because what i have just described is the antithesis of a new england winter). Oh course all this time, I likely be feeling not so hot (as i do usually from 4-11pm) and getting bigger by the day which may slightly tarnish enjoying the true summer experience- but even with all that I can't wait!

my kryptonite

Okay, I'll let the cat out of the bag (as zoe guessed in one of my posts)-- I am pregnant- 12 weeks today-- and that has been the main cause of my conspicious blogging (and well general life) slump for the last few months. Now if you know me and pregnancy, the two don't go well together. I get sick and basically become a hermit who leaves the house only for drs appts. and other absolute necessities because I feel TOTALLY miserable. I cut down on all extraneous and non-essential activities including things like washing my hair. Add to my already unpleasant state you have to factor in my tiresome medication regime which includes swallowing handfuls of pills each night and 2 daily shots in in hopes of keeping this pregnancy (if you are new and don't know my history I had 7 losses between smart son and smart baby and was eventually diagnosed with blood clotting issues- hence my major pregnancy medication cocktail) and then there is the stress, the appointments, the labs and ultrasounds to ensure things are progressing normally - because after having numerous pregnancies end unfortunately after perfectly normal 8 wk u/s-- you really can't relax and get excited for a long time. But I decide it was time to start acknowledging I might actually have another baby. I am happy to report that as of today (thanks to my trusty doppler) the newest smart baby is still plugging along nicely.

The other night I was bemoaning my state to smart daddy-o explaining to him just how little I was capable of doing in a day given my present condition. I complained about my inability to do simple tasks like getting dressed, cooking, as well as my lack of all "umph" and creative abilities. Seriously when I get pregnant I cannot be creative, I become a shadow of my normal self and lose all of my skills. Smart daddy-o laughed and said, "When you get pregnant you do lose your super powers".

It is totally true. Pregnancy is my kryptonite-- no leaping tall buildings, no going faster than a speeding bullet, and no accomplishing super smart mama feats- just writhing miserably, whining on the floor with green and sickly glow.

So know you know you know my weakness...

summer outings

well tis the season of summer outings so I will post a review of our ventures for your viewing pleasure.

last weekend we took a fun trip to kimball farm (a great new england gem) where we enjoyed unlimited mini-golf (great courses- 2 thumbs up). smart baby got tired of the golfing on about the 6th hole and got a kick out of throwing everyone's balls in the elaborate water traps. We unlimited bumper boats which smart son thought were the coolest things on the planet i think we did 8 rounds!! and yes it is true ice cream paradise- here you can see smart son with a kiddie size! smart daddy-o and i split a doubledae sundae -with peppermint stick, chocolate, hot fudge, marshmallow and whipped cream! you must it consume it very quickly because it melts in 10 second flat (way to go butterfat!!) today we did our annual zoo run. there is agency here that support early childhood development and parenting and every year they do a zoo outing- so yes the entire family gets free zoo admission, lunch, snacks for the kids and a free book! i love it! we go every year! smart baby was tireless running through the entire deer trail segment and smart son was quite the guide telling us facts about all the animals. I didn't take so many pictures because well its the same animals every year just bigger kids!