Laziness

So, I know I could do a google search. I realize that I could find out this information for myself. Having said that, I would like to fully admit that I'm just too darn lazy for all that and so I've decided to post about it and I'm sure that one of you can help me.

Please someone tell me where/how I can get one of those cute little things that you can put as your picture? Like down were you can "follow my blog", there's these cute little squares that represent who you are. I know how I can make that my own picture, but seriously... pictures of myself are the bane of my existence right now, so I need something cute and fun. Shayla and Heather, you both have something different, so share the love! Where can I get one?

Thank you. That is all.

Need I Say More?

True to my word, my last post was not about the boys. Having pointed that out, I just cannot possibly wait any longer to share these adorable photos of Mr. Kermy. He's just so completely edible!

My child is a genius. He has already set tremendous goals for himself and practices every day to achieve them. The above picture, for instance, is him practicing to fit his ENTIRE fist into his mouth. Yes, people... the whole thing. Now wait... you say that's not enough to get him into Harvard? Well, we'll see... you can all just wait 18 years and then eat your words. Kind of like the way he's eating his hand...

And this is Mr. Kermy smiling after filling out his application to Harvard...

And this is Mr. Kermy laughing because he got accepted into Harvard all while everyone thought that eating your own fist doesn't make you a genius.

Really, need I say more?

Spreadin' the Joy

I was sitting in Olive Garden the other night (my birthday dinner with the Reed family) and was having the hardest time not eavesdropping on the table next to ours. (I had chicken fettuccine, by the way... yummm) Okay, so I wasn't really trying very hard not to listen, but don't judge me... they were talking super loud. Anyways, at first they were talking politics, and I immediately got nauseous and tuned them out. (It was so nice to receive those 8 million messages on my machine yesterday asking me to vote for every politician with a pulse, but I am SOOOO ready for this election to be over!) Well, then their conversation turned to Halloween and Trick or Treating (it was that night) and I couldn't help but tilt my head back in their direction. You know what this chick said?!? She said that someone very important that lived somewhere very renowned did a very famous study that concluded that there are roughly 8000 calories in one of those little orange pumpkins that all the kids collect their candy in. Seriously? Must people go and ruin a perfectly good holiday by attaching statistics to it like that?!? I was JUST FINE, thank you very much, without having an actual number associated with how terrible I was/still am/will continue to eat after this wretched holiday has passed. Well, you all know me, I can't possibly hear something so upsetting without passing along the joy to anyone who will listen. So there you go, people. Happy Freakin' Halloween! Enjoy your candy.

P.S. I was eating a mini twix bar while I typed this. It was soooo worth it!

This is Your Brain After Babies...

I've been working from home on my computer for the past 2 hours and found the blogging world calling my name. How can you be on the computer and not check out everything waiting for you on your google reader? It took all of my willpower to actually do the work first, rather than put off the boring Quickbooks stuff in order to read about everyone else's night that is most definitely funner than mine right now. (Is "funner" a word? Well, if it wasn't, then it is now.)

As it is, Mr. Kermy is fast asleep in his swing. I should put him to bed, but he needs to eat once more before officially calling it quits. I know, I know... never wake a sleeping baby. But these are my choices: a. Wake him now (while I'm still awake), feed him, and then effortlessly toss him in the crib with the hopes that he'll sleep until 6 am. (Worst case scenario he'll wake up once around 3 am) -OR- b. Toss him in the crib, make a mad dash for my bed, lay there awake because I KNOW the minute my eyes close he'll start squirming for some milk (since technically he hasn't eaten since 6 pm), finally fall asleep, wake up @ 1 am to feed him, put him back to bed (while risking the chance that he'll be wide awake and want to play for an hour), crawl back into bed only to wake up at 6 am to feed again. Don't ask me why, but topping him off right before I go to bed almost always guarantees a good solid chunk of shut-eye for me. Wow... I cannot believe I just gave you a running commentary of Kermy's night schedule. Even as I'm typing it, I'm thinking how totally boring this must be... but I just can't stop myself. THIS is what happens when you have a baby! Word vomit... all the time. I'm warning all of you now (I know, it's a little late). This post was merely an attempt to get away from doing more work. I should have put a disclaimer up there at the top. WARNING: ONLY READ THIS POST IF YOU ARE CATASTROPHICALLY BORED AND ARE TRYING TO PROCRASTINATE DOING YOUR WORK. THAT IS WHAT PROVOKED THIS POST, AND THAT IS TRULY THE ONLY REASON WHY YOU SHOULD ALLOW YOURSELF TO KEEP READING IT. IF IN FACT YOUR CURRENT SITUATION APPLIES TO THE ABOVE STATEMENT, BE AWARE THAT THERE WILL BE POINTLESS BABY-TALK INVOLVED. CONSIDER YOURSELF FOREWARNED.

Well, I seriously considered cutting and pasting that little warning up at the top, but suddenly I find it very funny that you are all still here reading this. You know you can't stop reading now. And I digress.

P.S. I promise that my next post will have nothing to do with babies... more specifically... my babies.

P.S.S. (Or is it P.P.S...will someone please tell me?) That previous comment is probably a lie. Just so you know.

P.S.S.S (Seriously... it's going to bug me all night now) No, really... no babies. I think I mean it this time...

The Good, the Bad, and the Impossible

So one thing that you kind of know happens when you have kids, but totally don't understand the extent of, is all the growing that occurs. It starts at the very beginning when you first notice that little "baby bump" that is just "so darn cute." You're excited. You can't wait to start wearing those maternity clothes and for people to notice that "you're showing". It's proof that you are, indeed, doing the one thing on earth that NEVER gets old. You are making something amazing, therefore, you are amazing. And then, suddenly, your little "baby bump" starts getting a little bigger. And then it starts getting a lot bigger. But you stay cool... it's okay. You knew you were going to get big. And then it just keeps on growing! And suddenly, you're in your 8th month (okay, okay... you're 7th month) and you are starting to wonder how in the world things could possibly grow any more. And then... they do. They just KEEP GETTING BIGGER. Oh, and by "they", I mean EVERYTHING. Not just the belly. There are certain things that nobody warned you about, or if they did, you sure as heck either didn't listen (women who are pre-baby have a tendency to do that) or you just down right didn't believe that that would ever happen to you.

And then the baby comes. And in an attempt to keep things from getting too graphic, I'll just say that the growing doesn't exactly stop there. And while the belly sort of went away, it didn't really go away. And you patiently (or not so patiently, if you're at all a human female) wait for your body to return to "normal". As a side note, I want you all to know that I started laughing out loud after typing that last sentence. It took a LONG time after Noah was born for me to figure out a very key part of becoming a mom. NORMAL DOES NOT NOW AND NEVER WILL AGAIN EXIST. That applies to everything. Time, control, emotions, and most definitely your body. Being a mom, for me at least, means attempting to recreate normal every second of every day. But anyways, getting back to all that growing...

So there's all the physical stuff. And everyone hears about all that emotional growing that does indeed occur pretty much every day. But many people don't know that there is such a thing as the "impossible growth". Yesterday I was faced with the challenge of growing in such a way that no science or earthly power could explain. I was rocking Mr. Kermy in his room, hoping he'd fall asleep quickly so I could get Noah off to his own dream world. Noah, in turn, was in his room, and I figured he was probably enjoying the extra few minutes of play before bedtime. The next thing I know, I see Noah quietly walk up beside Mr. Kermy and I, with such a look in his eyes that could break a mothers heart. He reached up his hands and motioned for me to hold him and rock him the way I was rocking little Kermy. Here was the dilemma. And I'm sure many mothers have faced this and thought the same thing. Surely there wasn't enough room on my lap for both children. One would wake the other and there would most definitely be crying involved. I reached for Noah and the most miraculous thing occurred. I'm telling you, people, you had to see it to believe it. Right before my eyes, I watched my lap grow. Suddenly there was all of the room in the world for my boys and I knew without a doubt that there always would be.

Okay, Okay... I guess some of that growing isn't all bad...

Look What I Made!!!

I have absolutely no excuse. I mean, except for moving into our new home (by myself and 9 months pregnant), finally welcoming my husband back home, giving birth to a beautiful little boy, and recreating our own definition of what we call our family… yeah… except that stuff, I have absolutely no excuse for taking so long to blog. In fact, you’d think that with so much going on, I’d have oodles of stuff to say! I bet all of you thought I had quit blogging for good. Well, I’m back and ready to catch up. Without further ado, let me introduce you to our new little one:

Caden James Reed

Born: July 22, 2008
7lbs, 12oz
19"

I make some pretty cute babies, huh? For those of you wondering, Cade was in the NICU after he was born. He had some breathing difficulty, but got to come home with us at the normal time. He's totally fine now. It’s been an incredible experience this time around. It’s so fun to watch and see how similar Cade is to Noah, and so TOTALLY different all at the same time. Lots of people tell us that they look a lot alike, but Cade definitely has more Ivey in him. Plus, I’m sure you can’t really tell, but Mr. Kermy (that’s his nickname since when you hold him up, he curls his legs up like a little frog) is working on growing a beautiful head of red hair. (He gets that from his Great Grandma Ivey). He also completely escaped the curse that is Noah’s hair. (Noah has what we call “The Perfect Storm” occurring on his poor little head. I’m not kidding people… all of the cowlicks look like a bunch of converging hurricanes.) Cade has the most bubbly personality and is ready with a laugh and a smile at any given moment. We fortunately also escaped that terrible colic that Noah was plagued with so badly. It’s a rare moment to see Mr. Kermy really upset. And he’s only 3 months old but definitely knows his big brother and loves him to death. Noah, in turn, is a great big brother and (knock on wood) hasn’t had even 1 jealous outburst. I love that they are already getting to be the best of friends, but I fear that Mommy is in for a real ride once they get older. We’ve got some real double trouble coming our way, I think.

Noah just woke up from his nap. That's my cue to wrap things up. Oh, and by the way, do you know where the word "cowlick" came from? Yeah, some guy thought it up because if you've got a cowlick, it looks like some cow came up and licked your head, leaving the hair going in every direction. How funny is that? I think cowlick is my new favorite word...

Bliss

I slowly closed my eyes as I felt my fingers curl themselves ever so slightly around the bar in front of me. Even with them closed, I could sense the bright red color that, for tonight at least, signified my freedom. It had been forever, it seemed. I allowed myself one small step forward as I listened for the tiny squeak that I knew would inevitably accompany the turn of the wheels. Most of the time that noise would annoy me along with a million other aspects of this errand, but tonight... no... tonight I would allow that noise to be my background music. I would allow it to lull me into a false sense of time, allow it to carry me senselessly up and down the isles. I knew by heart that my first stop would be that beloved dollar section. Oh, how many times had I urged myself to pass by, knowing that my small shopping partner would never allow me to exit without something in stow? But this errand was different. I was alone this time. Blessedly child-free. When was the last time I'd been able to visit this wonderful world of red and white without dodging the toy section and hurrying through the rows of bliss only to grab and get through the check-out lane without any tantrums or mishaps? How long had it been? As I aimlessly wandered up and down every isle in the store I knew that my time here would be ending soon. I knew that I must return, and I knew then, just as I know now, that tomorrow I will surely awake and wonder if it was all just a dream...

Happy Birthday Noah!!!

It's way past due, but we're back in Albuquerque now and I realized that (along with just about everything else) I haven't posted any pictures of Noah's birthday. I've got to make one quick shout-out to my sister-in-law, Stephanie, who at the very last minute made Noah what will most likely be the coolest cake he will probably ever have. Seriously people, I'm not sure what's cuter: the cake that looks so freakin' real that Noah actually cried when we "broke his truck", or this kid of mine that is so dang adorable! You decide:

How totally appropriate is this shirt?

The wheels were rice crispies covered in fondant. Noah was okay with eating those, but freaked out so bad when we cut into the actual cake that I couldn't even get any photos. He is still talking about that cake today. Life could not possibly be any more clear than when looking at it through the eyes of a 3 year old. Happy Birthday Noah!!!

Pushing Through

I'm pretty sure that we're existing in some sort of parallel universe. Things are as I knew they would be, as they probably should be, but distorted... blurred around the edges. We arrived here in Cedar Hills, Utah a little over a week ago. Time tends to fly by and yet it just crawls all at the same time. Does that make any sense? It's almost as if I know on some level that to stop and consider what day it, what time it is, would most assuredly send me over some unseen edge. So, we just keep moving. I'm pretty sure that I'm handling this exceptionally well. Either that, or I'm not handling it at all, and it's actually just handling me. Alright, even as I type the words, the second option sounds a little more likely.

Tomorrow will be 4 weeks since Rick left. We're roughly 1/3 of the way through this ordeal, and sometimes I find myself still holding my breath, waiting for it to begin. I'm almost 7 months pregnant and Noah turns 3 in exactly a week. He's been adjusting quite well to all the changes. Definitely a little more clingy, definitely a little more testy, and definitely a lot more challenging, but I'm starting to think that maybe he might just survive this ordeal unscathed. He loves getting to live with all the grandpa's and grandma's. And while he's still completely confused as to what happened to mommy's house, and why we can't go "home", he seems to have accepted the fact that, for now, that's just how things are.

So, I have this new found respect for single mothers everywhere. Seriously? People do this alone?!? The worst part is having to be everyone. The bad guy, the good guy, the fun guy, the lay-down-the-law guy. I never realized how much tag-teaming Rick and I actually did. Speaking of Rick, lots of you are wondering and asking how he's doing. School is going great for him. There's an overwhelming amount of information pushed at him every day, and lots of tests and memorizing, but he's getting along just fine. He misses Noah like crazy, and I'm pretty sure he's doing the same thing we are... looking forward and pushing through. This little voice in the back of my head keeps whispering that this experience is going to do wonders for our family. Not just the job and the money and all that, but being apart is turning out to be a HUGE reminder of why we love being together.

Alright, so how about some random stuff that's been floating through my head lately? Here goes:

1. There are pregnant women everywhere here in Utah. Seriously... if you're not pregnant here, then you're almost in the minority. How totally un-fun is that?

2. Drivers in Utah are just like drivers in New Mexico. Stupid and reckless. Having said that, I would take Utah over NM any day if only because Utah drivers do it on purpose and are aware of their surroundings. NM drivers just don't pay attention to anybody else on the road and are completely unaware of the stupid and reckless things they do. It's scary, trust me.

3. The weather has been so wrong up here. Sunny one minute, snowing the next. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Albuquerque. At least there I could be enjoying the sun.

4. I caught the stomach flu just a few days after we got here, and after a day of re-enacting my first trimester, I have indeed confirmed that there is a HUGE difference between "pregnant throwing up" and "flu bug throwing up". Sorry if that's too much information, but I would take a flu bug ANY day compared to that first 4 months.

5. Is it weird that I'm terribly jealous of Rick getting to be in Oklahoma, if only because he'll be there during tornado season? How cool would that be?!?

Alright, enough. I put my kid to bed over an hour ago and my "mommy time" is slowing dwindling away. I must go find something wonderfully "child-free" to do.

Where Am I?

So, it's done. In a matter of weeks my life has somehow managed to get turned upside down and has become almost unrecognizable. Last week we moved our entire house into storage, moved Noah and I in with my in-laws, moved Rick out to Oklahoma, and left us all a little dazed and confused. Rick hasn't even been gone a week and already we're wishing it were over. We knew it would be hard. Really hard. But seriously... this sucks. I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail about how it is living with my in-laws, mostly because no matter what I say, it's going to sound negative, and that's not at all how I want to come across. The truth is, I'm pregnant, I'm suddenly a single mother of a 2 year old, and we've been smooshed together into one tiny room in a house that is smaller than the one we just moved out of. Add a father-in-law, a mother-in-law, and a sister-in-law to the mix and no matter how great everyone is, it's bound to get a little crazy. Seriously though, they've been so wonderful about opening up their home to us, and no matter how tough I think it might be, this is such a HUGE blessing for us. My parent will be getting here in about a week, and shortly thereafter, we'll be moving once again. This, and knowing my sister, Shayla, will be here in only a few short days has been my saving grace. To make the last week even more enjoyable (sarcasm intended), Noah came down with a nasty bought of bronchitis. Two days later, I followed suit. There's nothing quite like being sick at someone else's house. At home, I'd plop my hacking, coughing, self down on the couch and not move until absolutely necessary. Noah would watch as much TV as could be tolerated, and in a few days, I'd drag us both back to civilization. Being in someone else's home, however, puts a whole different pressure on us both. Oh, well. Noah woke up today feeling/acting almost normal again and I'm hoping I'll be following in his tracks shortly. On the bright side, I'm completely relieved that we both got our sicknesses out of the way. This will hopefully allow for fever-free days for the remainder of Rick's time away.

I'm reading over this and realizing that it's not real exciting and kind of a downer post, but trust me when I say that a huge part of that may be the medicine that's got me kind of foggy. This may be the shortest post in the history of my blog, but I'm actually going to end things here. There will be lots more to come, I'm sure.

Rejoining the Human Race

I have a tendency to let myself get a little carried away when it comes to the length of my blog posts, this I know. And because it has been literally months since I last updated anyone of the craziness that is my life, I began to stress about how freakin' long this one would have to be just to squeeze in all the updates of late. So, in an attempt to keep at least some of you reading and not sleeping, I'm going to shake this one up tag style.

1. For the first time in my life, I absolutely hated Christmas this last year. You know it's a bad one when your pregnancy has you so sick that your only Christmas wish is to die.

2. Those great drugs that I once called my friends in the last post? I have since de-friended them and still have anger issues resulting from the fact that they worked for my first pregnancy and for some reason did not for this one.

3. Just so not everything I say about the last few months is negative, here's a silver lining: I am over 5 months pregnant and have still not gotten back up to my pre-pregnancy weight. (Not to say that you could tell that from looking at me... I look at least 6 months pregnant already).

4. If anyone asked me to describe the first 4 months of my pregnancy with Noah, I would have honestly and totally seriously said that I thought I was going to die. If you asked me today to describe the first 4 months of this pregnancy, I could only honestly tell you that the worst part was knowing that I wouldn't die. No kidding- nobody should ever have to live through that.

5. The good news? At around 17-18 weeks, it started to lift and since then (I'm currently 21 weeks) I have decided that I am, in fact, human once again. I feel great now and am currently loving life.

6. Last week we finally heard from the FAA. On March 4, Rick received a phone call from them requesting that he report to school in Oklahoma starting on March 31. (No, they weren't kidding) In less than two weeks my husband will be leaving a very pregnant wife and our 3 year old boy to begin what will be the craziest roller coaster I could ever have imagined.

7. Noah and I will be staying with Rick's parents for the first 3 weeks. Then, on or around April 14th, we will head up to Utah for about 6 weeks to stay with my parents. At the end of May, Noah and I will move back down to Albuquerque and stay once again with Rick's parents for the remaining 3 weeks, at which time Rick will come home to us!

8. We are scared and excited and nervous, but if any of you know me at all, you must know that I am totally psyched about all of this! I live for change, I love to move, and one day I know for sure that we will look back on this and know that it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!

9. My official due date is July 23. Rick is due to come home on June 23. At my last doctor's appt. both the ultrasound and the doctor found that I very well may be 1-2 weeks further along than my due date predicts. They aren't going to change my due date, but my doctor said not to be surprised if/when the baby comes a few weeks early. The timing could not have worked out better, but seriously... God sure does have a sense of humor. (Cutting things a little close, don't you think?)

10. Drum roll please... Noah has been saying for months that the baby was going to be a boy, and although I 'm fairly certain that he doesn't really understand what he's predicting, it turns out that he was right all along. According to the ultrasound, we will soon be welcoming a little bubba #2!

So, while it may not have cut down on the length, how's that for wrapping up your life in 10 items or less? Stay tuned, though. There will undoubtedly be more coming and after months of being in bed, I've got lots of posts swimming around in my head waiting to be written. How much have I missed this!?!