I should have gone to med school

Since last March, I've spent an awful lot of time in doctors offices.  I went at least once a month while I was pregnant.  Then there was the pricey delivery and hospital stay.  Then the Drew started visiting his pediatrician with alarming frequency thanks to reflux.  I worry we may one day bankrupt Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Enter another doctor.

At Drew's 4 month appointment, after telling us that he really could go through the night without eating at this point and chatting with us about reflux and solids and other things, our fabulous pediatrician says "Now, let's talk about his head."

His head.

Remember when I mentioned that the last doctor who saw him (not his normal doctor) told me he needed more tummy time and we started tummy time bootcamp?  Well, his head was looking a touch.... flat.

So we spent the last month doing lots of tummy time and other activities that kept him off his head and it's still flat. :(  I'm doing my absolute best not to feel like it's somehow my fault.

So we have now been referred to a craniofacial surgeon at Dell Children's Hospital to take a look at his head and growth plates and see why this is happening.  Our doctor was quick to tell us that she had seen much worse cases that she referred out and everything was FINE, but that this was our window to correct anything that was wrong and she really felt we should be sure everything was ok.

But still.  CRANIOFACIAL SURGEON. 

We go to the doctor on the 8th.  I would appreciate thoughts and prayers and any advice you have on creating a beautiful round head between now and then.

I Go Out Shopping.... After Midnight

So my newest bad since D was born is online shopping in the middle of the night.  Stores send their "Sale" emails about 3:30 or 4 in the morning (I guess in the hopes it will be at the top of your email box when you wake up the next morning?).  But when you are a new mom you may routinely find yourself up and on your iPhone at 3:30 or 4 and can watch these emails roll in.  Early bird gets the worm, and there were some great sales to be found before the rest of America woke up, had a cup of coffee, and went e-shopping.

One day when Drew was about 4 months old I got an email from PiperLime indicating they were having a _% off sale (can't remember now).  I had been considering some of those toning shoes for awhile, and decided this was just the time to do it.  So I went online, found my color, and ordered them (yes, I have my credit card number memorized).  Rob was none too happy when I told him about my purchase the next morning seeing as a pair of the same shoes just arrived at his office to be a Christmas present for me.  Whoops.

But sometimes you find a need in the middle of the night and just need it to be addressed.  We recently moved Drew upstairs into his big boy crib.  We also took the precious crib bumpers my mother made out of the crib (following the SIDS rules) and left his crib bare.  And many times when I would go up to check on him I would find him with his little feet sticking out of the slats on the front side of the crib.  I have no idea how he turned 90 degrees from the way we put him in the crib (he never did that downstairs in the pack and play!).  He could get his feet out and never seemed bothered by it, but it bugged me.  So I went on Amazon, checked out the colors of the breathable crib bumpers, and purchased a white one.  At about 1:30 in the morning.

I must be an e-retailers dream.....

The Vegan Experiment- Day 5- Over and Out

Ok, my 21 day experiment lasted 5 days.  Here's why.

Rob has a friend at work who is pretty healthy that suggested we should look into what will happen to our bodies after we come off a vegan diet.  His thought (he didn't know for sure) was that our body would store all the fats and everything from dairy and meat, since our body would think we had been starving it for several weeks.  Hmm.... that would ruin the progress, huh?

So I started googling things and found a lot of information about starting a vegan diet-- mostly that you should start it slowly.  Eliminate red meat one week, then chicken and fish the next week, then all meat, then some dairy, then all dairy.  Not just cold turkey like I did.  Also, turns out our bodies are smarter than I thought and I really could deplete my body of vitamins and nutrients in 3 weeks (or just one week!).  I wasn't planning on doing a whole lot of supplementing or looking into what types of things that I needed to be putting into my body in response to this kind of diet.  But last night I  got in bed at 8 and was completely content to stay there, which I think was directly related to a lack of vitamins and proteins.

Rob and I are still going to restrict what we eat for the next two weeks and watch everything really closely, but I think we are going to allow some dairy and some meat!

But I did learn some things from my vegan experiment:

1. It is way hard to shop vegan at a regular grocery store.  I went with a list (from google) of things like bread and pasta that were vegan, and HEB didn't have any of them.
2. Things you think WOULD be vegan are not, and things you thing WOULDN'T be vegan are.  For example, OJ with Vitamin D added is NOT vegan because the way they manufacture vitamin D involves animals somehow.  But Oreos? Vegan. I'm not really sure how you make a chocolate creme sandwich cookie without the use of dairy.  I'm pretty sure there is nothing in an Oreo that is actually food.  I still love 'em, but I'm going to remember that.  Poptarts are also vegan.
3. Those 14 letter words at the bottom of the list of ingredients on packaging?  Some of those are really gross.  I spent a lot of time googling "Is ______ vegan?".  One answer I got several times was no, it wasn't vegan because one of those things I can't pronounce is made with duck feathers and beaks.  Seriously.  How gross.

I did feel healthy and a lot lighter after doing this for 5 days, but I know I was missing some nutrients I sorely need (or at least needed to be replacing in my body).  I think I'll make a lot more concerted effort to eat vegetarian and non-dairy more often as well as eat a lot more fresh produce (no duck feathers!).  But I  might also indulge in the occasional Oreo.  So sue me.

Tummy Time

Sophie isn't quite sure about all this fuss over tummy time.  She doesn't find it annoying in the least.



The Vegan Experiment- Day 1

The Scene: Valentine's Night, after a delicious dinner of ribeye steak with the Pioneer Woman's blue cheese sauce, Rob's take on the Pioneer Woman's Creamed Spinach (he added Parmesan cheese) and a baked potato, with a chocolate chip cookie covered Oreo (yes, you read that right) for dessert.

[Note: I do have a picture of said meal.  I considered including it, but I decided just the description was embarrassing enough.  It was bad.  But please do know we don't eat like that on a normal day.]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rob: Happy Valentine's Day.

Lindsey: Ughhhhh.

Rob: Hard to believe this is our 8th one together.

Lindsey: Gluhhhhhhh

Rob: Lindsey, you are the sunshine in my days and my happiness at night. *

Lindsey: Ohhhhhhhhhggggg.

Rob: You may the birds sing and **.... is everything ok?

Lindsey: Fat.  Dinner- fat.  Baby weight- fat.  Must. Lose. Fat.

(Mindless Chatter)

Rob: Want to do something extreme?  Let's go vegan for two weeks.

Lindsey: (Thinking about a recent Oprah episode on being a Vegan) You're on.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

So that's how we got today, the first day of my vegan-for-three-weeks diet (Rob is joining me for the last two weeks, but some work obligations would make it hard for him to do this week).

Why Vegan versus vegetarian?  Well, for me, it has to do with the three C's- Carbs, Chocolate and Cheese.  All of which are perfectly acceptable on a vegetarian diet.  I could have mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and a roll for dinner and not have strayed from the "diet" at all.  And, well, that sort of meal would sort of defeat the purpose.

The goal here is to jump start my metabolism, get out of my comfort zone with foods (you should SEE my shopping list this week- totally different) and see what cutting back on all that junk will do for me.  I doubt Rob and I will ever leave our steak-and-cheese-loving ways behind, but I could see us trying to eat vegan a couple of days a week if this goes well.

I will, of course, keep you informed as to how this goes.  If I don't post for awhile, you might look for me at the nearest steakhouse.


* Or something like that.  I was in a food coma-- I can't exactly remember.
** Yeah, actually, I'm pretty sure that isn't right.  Just go with it.

4 Months!

Drew, I have no idea how you are 4 months old already. I am going to turn around and you will be 14.... Time is flying.

First, I would like to apologize for the complete and utter exhaustion you must have felt the first 3.5 months of your life. You see, your 'rents decided to go it alone, without the guiding light of Dr Spock or T. Barry Brazleton or any of the others, and in our mind it made completely logical sense that if you went to bed when we did, you might sleep longer. Then I read a comment on another mommy blog about how her son was going to sleep at 6:30 and I thought I would give that a whirl. And the clouds parted and angels sang and you slept and dad and I enjoyed a quiet dinner. Win. For everyone.

You really are a rockstar sleeper, at least when you are going to sleep. We put you in your crib and you cry for about 30 seconds and you are out. No need to be rocked or listen to music or anything- it is great. You still like to be swaddled, but you are about to be too long for the blankets.  I also think that one of your favorite things to do is see how fast you can break out of the swaddle.  Daddy is a better swaddler than I am.

The Essentials-- Burp Rag and iPhone

You have been going to sleep around 7PM and getting up around 7:30AM with one bottle in the middle of the night, which I think is great. I don't think I could ask you to go 12 hours without eating!! You are still sleeping in your room, but we may be moving you upstairs soon. Maybe.

(Note- that last paragraph was written before we went to the doctor who assured us that you COULD go 12 hours without eating, and that it was time to move you upstairs to your own room.  So I think the next couple of nights could be HARD!)

You are rolling over like a mad man-- when you want too. Some days you will do it 4 times in a row, and some times you would prefer to just put your head down the floor in defeat before you even try. But you are SO much better at tummy time. You will hang out for around 10 minutes before you start to get bothered. You enjoy tummy time when Kelly Ripa is on the TV. You do not prefer Oprah.

I am amazed every day at the changes I see in you, unfortunately its nothing in can pinpoint to write down. I can look at you play with a toy that you played with the day before and I can tell from your face that you are more aware of the toy and more deliberate with the way you are grasping it or playing with it.  Your motor skills are getting all the more refined.

We put your high chair together this month and have been using it as a place to park you while we are in the kitchen (like making lunch).  You are not a fan of the bumbo and I'm pretty sure you are going to launch yourself over the back of it, so I needed a place to strap you in.  You seem to like the high chair.

I had been hoping to start rice cereal with you after your 4 month appointment, but Dr. Dudley said that can be rough on babies digestive systems, and after all the issues we had with you eating early on I don't want to risk messing up what we have down.  She said to try around 5 to 5.5 months. 

Feeding you is now an interesting phenomenon because you are so much more aware of what is going on around you.  If I have the TV on while you eat you just turn your head to look at the TV and all the formula falls out of the side of your mouth.  If you hear a loud sound or have something better to look at, well, forget about it.  You aren't eating.  Someone told me this phase passes pretty quickly.  I hope so- I'm getting tired of feeding you in dark, boring locations.

Oh my howdy, earlier in the year I talked about the phenomenon of a babies "belly laugh."  Well, once you did it I knew for SURE it was a belly laugh.  It was such a new sound for me that I came running (I think I left the faucet running in the bathroom) thinking something was wrong.  But you were quite proud of the noise you had made.  You giggle and laugh a lot now.  It brings a smile to my face.

You still want to stand up ALL THE TIME.  We put you in your walker and jumper more and more, and both your feet almost touch (up until now you had been leaning on one side to get one foot on the ground while the other dangled 1.5 inches off the ground). 

I lovingly refer to you as my "Drooly Monster" these days.  You've got something going on with those teeth!! Dad had teeth around 5 months and mom around 5.5, so you might be getting close to getting a few teeth.   Eve.ry.thing. goes directly into your mouth.

Drewbie, your dad and I love you so much.  We can't wait to find out what's next!

*** Updated to include the stats of my stringbean.

Weight- 14 lbs, 10 oz (45%)

Height- 25 1/4 inches (70%)

Head- 42.8 (60%)

Once Upon A Time (A love story)

Once upon a time, I spotted this man sitting across the room in one of Dr. Jarvis' classes working on an LSAT book.  We had meet before, but it had been some time.  I went over to say hi.

Hey Handsome!

What happened next was a story tale romance of him walking me home after class.  So delighted in this I was that I didn't tell the boy I actually had class in the same building 30 minutes later.  I walked home and then did a U-turn and walked right back to class.

Some days later, that boy and I both graduated.




May 2004


I went to law school in Houston, and this boy started at the bottom, working for a company that has the same name as a certain men's magazine.

A year passed, with hundreds of emails being exchanged, thousands of miles spent traveling back and forth between Houston and Austin, and millions of minutes spent on the phone.  Indeed, this was the one.

So there was a proposal at the Driskill hotel.  Easily one of the best nights of my life.

May 2005

Another year was spent apart.  Still exchanging emails, traveling hundreds of miles, and spending hour upon hour on the phone, but the new project was a wedding set for July 15, 2006.  We celebrated with our friends and family and had the most amazing time.

Then one day, a letter came for me in the mail at my parents house.  It held our fate-- would UT let me complete my third year at their law school, our would we spend our first year as a married couple traveling from Austin to Houston again?  The news was good, and we settled into our tiny apartment thinking we had everything in life.

Master Bedroom?

After law graduation, decisions had to be made.  Would we stay in Austin or Houston.  I looked for jobs everywhere, but finally decided that Austin was our place and we bought a home.  Not long after I got the best job ever.  And life was even better than we imagined.

So the grass really IS greener....

We traveled, we celebrated, we got the best dog in the world.  We enjoyed being a family of two.  We got involved, we spent time with our friends and family.  We loved being together.

Halloween 2008

London- January 2010

Rome- January 2010

Paris- January 2010

Florence- January 2010

Christmas 2009



Chicago 2009



Jamaica- March 2009

Hope Ball 2008

Baby Sophie- February 2008

Thanksgiving 2010

Texas OU Weekend- 2008

After an amazing trip to Europe, we decided it was time to make our family of 2.5 into a family of 3.5.  And not long after we got this.

February 2010

And 37 weeks from that, we got this.

October 18, 2010

And life changed again.  And my fabulous husband took on his third role- husband, salesman, and now father.

And he excelled at that role, too.  He can do anything, hubby can!

While we enjoy this roller coaster of parenthood, hubby makes sure to tell me how much he still values me as Lindsey-- not just as a mom.  He does things like tell me he has a "conference call" early in the morning, only to return 20 minutes later with roses and Starbucks.  He knows my love language.

Rob, dear man, I love you.  I wouldn't re-write a sentence of our partially written story.  I can't wait to see where it goes next.  Happy Valentine's Day.

Lindsey

Thoughts for the End of the Week

It's been a long time since I put pen to paper (or hands to keyboard, as it may be).  It's been a quiet week around here since we were dealing with subarctic temps yet again.  Drew and I spent the week hibernating.  So here are some random thoughts.

1. It only took me 3 months and 3 weeks to figure out my child, but he has been a DOLL this entire week.  He has been eating much better and taking more naps and going to sleep earlier and that combo seems to be working with him.  He is the smiliest, happiest, chattiest baby when he is awake.  And every so often we catch a laugh, and it just brings a smile to my face.  He has reverted to waking up a couple of times a night (what's that all about?), but he goes back down really easily, so I won't complain.

2.  We went to visit our CPA this morning to look at our 2010 taxes.  Traditionally I have been the accountant in our house, thanks to South Texas College of Law requiring each and every student to take Federal Income Tax, but between a new dependent, tax credits for energy efficient appliances, and Rob buying and selling stock, I decided our taxes moved out of my league.  So the whole family went to the CPA, and there I was, standing and bouncing a baby on my hip while wearing heels and answering questions about amortizing points and such.  Guess I should get used to that.

(Foreshadowing?  Yup.)

3. The rage in home blogs right now is stenciling walls, and I wanted to get in on that action.  I started stenciling our TINY bathroom downstairs, and got half way through before Rob told me that he felt like he fell down the rabbit hole and might end up dizzy if he visited that room for any length of time.  And honestly, he could be right.  I think I know what I'm going to do to fix it.  Check back for an update on the psychedelic bathroom.

Wow, seriously quiet week, huh?  I am volunteering tomorrow for JLA and then we may go look at cars and then install some elfa shelving in a tiny closet.  How domestic are we?  But I'm looking forward to a low-key weekend!

Have a good one!