Piotrowski boys: 3 days of fun!

March 25-27 was a memory-maker.  The wonderful, brilliant Beth Piotrowski -- one of my very best and dearest friends from Rochester, who also happens to be a P.A. -- came to Scottsdale to attend a medical conference.  This was an opportunity only possible if she could bring her 2 boys - Ben (3) and Owen (1) - since hubby Josh (Mayo MD/PhD student) couldn’t take the time off.  That meant?  3 day long play date!  And with 3 seriously easy boys, as boys ages 3 and under go.

I should just admit up front that I somehow failed to get a single photo of Beth.  This is bewildering to me, as she and the boys stayed at our house for 2 nights.  I guess we had our hands too full for photo ops...

While Beth was away, we spent our time:

--- Painting:

---- Playing chef and customer:

---- Playing outside: 

(Owen, I could eat you up.)

Look at those smiles!  Friend + trampoline + pool noodle = bonkers fun.

 

---- Attempting to swipe toys from each other:

---- One, and only one, trip to the park:

This was on Day 2 when I was feeling brave.  I won’t even say how long it took me to get these car seats installed, find everyone's shoes, sunscreen all the necks and faces, and just generally feel ready to leave the house.  Moms of 3+, I bow down!!

---- Eating (lots of eating!):

Owen is suuuuper easy-going.

These two were double the fun - and just maybe double the trouble (but not really).

Ben is on top of it all!  Nothing gets by him.  Such a smart, talkative, inquisitive, HAPPY boy.  His questions of the week were “why?” and “what’s next?”.  ha!  Love him.

Nolan thought it was great having these friends stay at his house, and he asked about them regularly for days after they left.

---- Napping: 

It was a saving grace that these kids are ALL rock star nappers.  I mean, to have 3 boys, 3 and under who will all nap at the same time?!  What are the odds?  Beth has her boys trained great, and Nolan was exhausted, so it wasn’t too hard to get the stars to align.  I was around 6 weeks pregnant, so the down time saved me.  Such good boys!

Sweet little Owen woke up first on this day, and we celebrated a great nap time with an Oreo.

---- And of course, more outside time:

(Really.  That hair, those dimples.  Just hand me a spoon.)

Heaven bless a trampoline in the shade!  The two MN boys relished all of the fresh air, I think.

Beth, I hate it that we didn’t get a photo.  Seriously, what were we thinking?!  But I guess it just means you’ll have to come back. :)

We love the Piotrowskis!

Baby #2: Random Moments & Belly Progress

As I write this, I am 24 weeks and 4 days pregnant with Baby Hubanks #2 -- and haven't written a single thing down about it!  Time to change that.

Briefly, because it deserves mentioning: We miscarried a (very weird) pregnancy last Christmas Eve / Christmas Day.  I say "weird" because things just never added up.  Dates, tests, approximations...  I felt like a crazy person waiting to see what my own body was doing.  When we did finally celebrate a few positive tests, it was short lived, as we clearly lost that baby a few days later.  It was draining and sad, but God is faithful and we 3 months later, we learned we were pregnant again.

I think that's the number one set of internal questions probably everyone who has a miscarriage thinks: what happened?, will it happen again?, and how long will this take?! So thankful that wasn't a prolonged, as those 3 months were faith-growing enough. The experience - short lived and comparably minor as it was - gave me a greater sense of compassion for the many I know who have experienced pregnancy loss and/or fertility issues.  I really can't imagine the long and much more arduous road many, many, many walk.  It continues to lend us some great perspective and deepened empathy.

We were cautiously joyful upon learning of this pregnancy in March!
I let Mikel know in the most romantic of ways:
Mar 16th -- screenshot of my text to Mikel.  He was feeling under the weather -- sympathy sickness??

Then, not really even trusting my eyes -- had to make triple sure.

 

Yep!

Due November 23rd, 2015 --- the Monday before Thanksgiving, and 7 days before Nolan's 3rd bday --- and I can't think of a better time to have a baby in Arizona!  This may be telling of how things will go in terms of documentation for this kid, but I haven't done well to get belly shots in regular intervals.  Here's the (random and somewhat pitiful) account I have so far:
*
Mar 23 (5weeks): This photo is proof that I felt like crap.  No puking (never did with Nolan either), but hoooooly fatigue and introvertedness and hating all food options - ness.  Poor Nolan.  We laid in Mommy's bed and watched cartoons a lot.

*

Mar 28 (5w, 6d): Like I said... just wanting to be in bed, preferably asleep.  I would put Nolan down for nap in his room, and then go STRAIGHT to my bed.  How do people work full time and manage this?!  - including myself, last time around!?  I honestly cannot remember. I feel like this was more pronounced this time around, but Mikel said I was just the same...  Maybe it's just that I didn't have the distraction of working full time + the guarantee of whole, entire, lazy days off.  ??  And a toddler to feed / entertain.  Who knows.

Khaki could totally tell I was feeling less than great, and she often assumed the role of Aggressive Snuggler, much to my chagrin.

*
Apr 5 (6w, 6d): Easter Sunday! Granny was visiting us from Lubbock, and tho I was spending nap time in my bed every day, she thankfully didn't mind.  Bless her for being super duper easy company.  I did tell her our news during her visit (as though she couldn't have guessed!) - and she was sooo happy!

*
Apr 8 (7w, 3d): Things got real at checkup #1!  Overwhelming to see and hear that little beating heart in that tiny bean.

 

*
May 1 (10w, 4d) : I attended the first Beautycounter conference in Denver - and we got to spend a couple of days beforehand visiting Uncle Bruce, Aunt Lisa and Mokie in Boulder.  I was rounding the corner on feeling better, but not showing.

*
May 5 (11w, 2d): Another check-up, and looking less bean-like.  Crazy how fast that morphs!

 

The u/s tech printed Nolan his very own copy of a photo, which he was super proud to show Nolan's Bear in the car.  From this appointment, we went to Costco for groceries.  I suggested we leave the baby picture in the car so we don't drop or lose it, but Nolan was INSISTENT that it come inside with us.  I let him bring it in -- and all the way through Costco, he rode in the cart, clutching the picture in his little hands, and repeating, "Howd on tight! Two hands! Don't dwop it!" So sweet!
However, when we got home, he promptly crumpled up the photo and threw it in the kitchen trash.  Ha!  So... we'll see!
*
May 10 (11w, 6d): Mother's Day! And Mikel's generous gift to me.  I do love Skagen watches.

 

*

May 11 (12w, 0d): Getting bigger...

*
May 27 (14w, 2d): Day camping with the Gutierrez in northern AZ!  Including because I'm still wearing my normal workout shorts... so must not have much to show.

*

 June 4 (15w, 3d): Well, hello there!

*

June 7-14 (week 16), we went to TX to visit my family, and I officially popped that week.  I swear, every day I woke up and my belly was bigger -- ask my mom.

Wish I'd thought to grab a decent pic at the end of that week, but I didn't.  I do have this super cute one of Kara and me -- and the ruched swimsuit I had to run out and buy on the fly to be decent at the pool.

Got back from that trip and had to stock up on some summertime maternity clothes, ASAP.  Thanks, Mikel!

*

July 1 (19w, 2d): Bid a good friend, Crystal O'Grady, goodbye as she prepared to move to Dallas.  She was one of my first friends when I moved to Phoenix, having only arrived 2 months prior, herself. Sad to see her go!

July 17 (21w, 4d):

Also July 17:

 

 July 23 and 24 (22w, 3&4d): Purgatory, CO

Aug 2 (23w, 6d): Scarlett is much less aggressive of a cuddler :)

Guess that pretty much brings us up to date!  I'll *try* to do better, grabbing those real belly shots, now that things are visible.  I'm out of real estate north-to-south, which means outward is the only way to go.  Yikes!

Baby #2: It's a Boy!

I said all along that I didn't want to know the sex of this baby.  I really enjoyed the mystery with Nolan, and it's a great memory of the big (and, for Mikel, unexpected!) reveal at his birth.

It's funny because, with Nolan, I said over and over early in that pregnancy that we would for sure find out.  "I'm too much of a planner!", "I'm too impatient.", "I could never have the ultrasound tech know and us NOT know!"
But the night before his anatomy ultrasound, I suddenly just did not want to find out.  I was happy how things were, and I didn't want to change anything!  Plus - it sounded fun.
I think Mikel wanted to shake some sense into me when I told him the next morning - an hour before the ultrasound.
And so, we didn't learn his sex, but instead had the u/s tech write it on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope (in case we opted to open it and learn later, at home).  We never did open that envelope (well -- we did a week or so after his birth), and I hid it from Mikel by taping it to the back of a wall sconce.  I loved the anticipation and mystery, and was pretty sure we would repeat the experience for Baby #2.

Then came...... the night before the ultrasound.  Appears I make these decisions in that sort of timing.  I was going through Nolan's closet and drawers - separating outgrown clothes from what fits - and thinking.... "Do I keep these clothes?"  Then looking at the currently rose pink walls of the future nursery - and thinking.... "Do we paint these walls?" I had a little (stupid but needed) permission-giving convo with Steph in which she reiterated it's totally okay to do this differently this time around and I'm not copping out to find out the sex because HELLO I'll have a 3 year old complicating my to-do list if a girl pops out, so "Do yourself a favor and think about it".
And so, in keeping with my pattern, I didn't say anything to Mikel until the next morning, about an hour before the ultrasound.
"I think I want to find out this time."
- blank stare: "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I think so.  Cool with you?"
- disbelieving shrug: "Sure. I mean, I guess so, if you want to."

We agreed again to have the tech put the sex in an envelope, and then we could open when and where we wanted to - if at all.  We had a sitter for Nolan so we could go to the 10:00 appt, and then to lunch, just the two of us.  I had thought we might open the envelope at lunch, but the restaurant was noisy (and we were hungry)... so we decided to wait.

I love my Rochester girlfriends because this wait killed them.  And they all group-texted to tell me about it.  The jist was:

Rachel: Soooooo???
Me: Oh, it was loud, so we waited.  Now we're shopping at Nordstrom Rack.
Nicole: Are you KIDDING ME?!
Me: I'm sitting in the men's shoe section waiting for Mikel, who is trying on every pair of pants that Nordstrom carries.  Think he'd mind if I opened it without him??

Steph: Just send me the envelope and I'll open it!!!

Ha!

So we got home in time to get Nolan up from his nap.  It occurred to us to let him open the envelope -- so off we went!

Right before letting Nolan rip into the envelope, I asked Mikel, "Okay, what do you think? Boy or girl?"
Mikel: I think Girl.
Me: I think Girl, too.  Nolan, what do you think?  Is the baby a boy or a girl?
Nolan: Boy. (-- which, he doesn't even know boy vs. girl, but still had to ask.)

 Mikel: "Nolan won!!!!"

Nolan: "Nooo! I'm TWO!!!"

 Discussing the anatomy in gross detail.  Mommy was a little stunned!  Two boys!

 Good news :)

 While the news absorbs, we all decided to go swimming.  As soon as we took N's shorts and diaper off to change into his swim diaper, he had to hop up, bare bummed, to compare penises side by side with little brother.  This included straddling the photo, at one point.
Ohhh, I see so much penis talk in my future.......

 Dad is pumped!!

 No question there. (u/s June 27: 18w, 5d)

So the score is:
Boys - 3

Girls - 3 (thanks to pups!)

Praising God for two healthy boys.

...And also for Beautycounter -- my nice, girly hobby.  :)

{SMB} : An Open Letter to Summertime in AZ

My July contribution to Scottsdale Moms Blog:

http://www.scottsdalemomsblog.com/2015/07/31/an-open-letter-to-summertime-in-az/
*****

Oh, Summertime, you sneaky devil…

Every May, we in the Arizona Valley beg and plead of you to pass over our fine city and spare us your 5+month hot-breath hover. But, ignoring our overwhelming vote, you always blaze on in, making our cold tap run hot and rendering our ovens as abandoned as our playgrounds.

We don our sunglasses, our wide brim hats, our SPF 50 clothing, and our grin-and-bear-it smiles. We turn into those pestering parents who beg our children to JUST DRINK ALL OF YOUR WATER AND HOLD STILL FOR THIS SUNSCREEN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

We invest in remote starters and cooled seats because hoooooly moley bagoley, the cars!

My pool water today? 94 degrees… Yes, really.
But you already knew that, Summertime. Because you did it.

You blow in your monsoons in a feeble attempt to pacify us. “Look!” you exclaim. “Rain! You people adore rain!!” Ohhh but we aren’t fooled. No siree… We see your rain, and we raise you cloud coverage. We want cloud coverage! And not the monsoon-y kind that lasts 45 minutes.

Now, now, now, don’t get us wrong, Summertime: It’s not that you’re an entirely unwelcome guest, per se. We can appreciate a little no school and pool time and ice cream indulgence as well as the next state… It’s just that you SO VERY overstay your welcome. Anyone who comes on Memorial Day and leaves on Halloween without offering to help offset the increase in utilities is just plain rude. And you are one expensive guest!

Plus, you make us do downright crazy things. Tonight, our family took a walk. We couldn’t help ourselves when we felt the blissfully cool 92 degree evening. NINETY-TWO DEGREES meant we WANTED TO BE OUTSIDE and NOT SOPPING WET. What the what?!? It’s like the words lose all meaning!

Crazier than that? I’ll tell you one: Last month after a blissfully cool day trip to Prescott, I told my husband that we should take up camping. Real, live, tent-pitching, fire-building, forest-tinkling camping.

With our 2-year-old.

Now, AZ Summertime: you and I have only been acquainted for 3 summers, so you may not have learned a minor but weighty fact about me:Rebecca Doesn’t Camp.
It’s just a fact. While indeed a lovely and fun and adventuresome (and humble!) person, Rebecca is more your Sleep-in-a-Bed, Shower-in-the-Morning type.

But these temps? This stir-craziness?

Well……… it drove me to utter the suggestion that we *gulp* CAMP. I even looked at REI.com. (PS, There is some cay-uute camping gear on there!)

**For the record, my husband, knowing all too well his Dearly Beloved, did not take us camping and instead took us to San Diego. Smart man, that one. AZ Summertime, you could learn a thing or two from him.

And so, here we are. We’re getting there, no thanks to you.
Of course… this could all be the over half-way point of pregnancy talking: a factor that is restricting my margarita intake and increasing my crankiness gradient.

Admittedly, though… We do have you to thank for one thing, Summertime:
Our chin-down, because-we-have-to tolerance of you procures within us a love we never knew possible.

For glorious, delicious AZ Wintertime.

{SMB} : 7 Things I Thought Were Easy Before I Became "Mom"

May's SMB contribution (I slacked and didn't write one for June...)
http://www.scottsdalemomsblog.com/2015/05/14/7-things-thought-easy-became-mom/
*****

Sometimes motherhood means making sacrifices… or at least, adjustments. I believe that every stage of life carries the ability to challenge us, but I think you’ll agree that the changes introduced by joining Motherhood are unique in their scope.

In light of Mother’s Day Month (because let’s call a spade “a spade”: it should at minimum last a month), I’m offering up :

7 Things I Thought Were Easy Before I Became “MOM”

1) Staying home for the day
Old life: A full-time RN, I’d enjoy a day off. Lounge on the sofa, eat what and when I pleased, and consume without apology my entire TiVo in the span of 5 continuous hours.
This life: I have a 2.5 year old.  If we don’t leave the house to go somewhere — anywhere — by 9AM, we can bid a fond farewell to our ever-loving minds for the rest of the day. The house will be ransacked, the kid will be bored, the whining will ensue and the hair will be pulled out. I like my hair. I have nice hair. So we leave.

2) Laundry
Old life: Who cares? It’ll all get done in one morning.
This life: How can you have no clean shorts?! Oh, right – you covered yesterday’s 4 pairs in peanut butter, mud, honey and smooshed raisins, respectively.

3) Eating in restaurants
Old life: A routine event driven either by romance, convenience or curiosity.
This life: A last-ditch option driven exclusively by travel or risk of in-home starvation. {OR}: a luxury driven by the babysitter’s schedule.

4) Sleeping inOld life: 10 AM.
This life: Why on earth would I sleep in?? And waste those precious quiet moments to just do me?? Besides, “sleeping in” is 7AM.

5) Staying up late
Old life: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
This life: HAPPY BEDTIME!!!!! zzzzzzz

6) Arriving on time.
Old life: Okay, I admit I was actually kind of bad at this in my old life, but I rarely had a decent excuse.
This life: I’m weirdly better at it. Unless I have to change his shorts 4 times.

7) Knowing what day it is.
Old life: A shift-based, work schedule that is constantly shuffling days, evenings, nights. I get confused? –> I get fired.
This life: Did we go to church yesterday? Or was that the day before? What’s tomorrow? When do I get my day off to watch TiVo? Oh wait. It’s full of Daniel Tiger.

And with these adjustments?
The greatest joy I have ever known in the face of a
brown-eyed, red-headed, sugar sweet boy.  
And the pleasure of being his mom.

*****This post is dedicated to MY mom, Carla, and to my Mother-in-Love, Debby. Thank you both for all of the ways that you allowed your lives to change for the sake of your families. Mom, I want to be just like you. Debby, I glean from you so much, and I want Nolan to be just like Mikel.

That ripple?

Remember that ripple??

The one that started in January??

It reached alllllll the way to the middle of May.  It was a mighty lengthy ripple.

I'm trying....  The updating begins now....  So (if you even check this? hello out there?) bear with me as these are generated in no particular order and certainly with a lack of finesse.  (You might want to start reading in October!  Yes, October.  I'm sorry.)

Perfectionism, you shall be the death of me.

A few musings about blogging... + {SMB} : Confessions of a Toddler Mom

So, I have a problem.  And that is: I am having more and more and more trouble coming up with anything to write about for SMB...  Our days -- while blessed (don't get me wrong) -- are pretty mundane.  I have lots of toddler chatter and repeated toddler questions and repeated toddler books running through my head... and while these sometimes turn into decent in-person topics among my mom friends, they do not necessarily a great public-blog-post make.  

Sometimes I try to brainstorm topics.... and they are all lame or overly obvious.  Or else I don't know enough to actually write about them.
For example:

-

"10 Reasons Why Daniel Tiger Is Much Less Annoying than Peppa Pig But My Kid Insists on Peppa Every Dang Time"

-
"Why Phoenix's Summer Shouldn't Make You Such an Angry Person"

(I have zero perspective on this)

-
"Taming the Pickiest Eater"
(again: zero perspective)
-

"Why I Can Only Talk On the Phone for 10 Mins During Sacredly Silent Nap Time"
(while probably an embraced topic, being the one to put it in writing makes me sound like an introverted jerk)
-

"Please Just Go Ahead and Fall In Love with Beautycounter: You Know You Want To"

(while heartfelt, maybe not the best angle)

-

"How To Live On PBJ's Alone: A Story of a Husband On Call"

(living the dream.)

...Not exactly fodder for a huge following...  And my editor would surely have words for me.

So then I wonder if I'm getting boring to read.  Oh well.  If that happens, I guess they'll kick me out. And then I won't have to worry about what to write on next!

So...... there was your inner tangent for the morning.

*****
Speaking of kicking people out --- I never submitted a post for March.  I wrote 2 for February instead of saving my cards, so when it came to March, I was all dried up.  Even so -- they actually didn't fire me.

Aaaaaaanyway.... here's my post for April!
*****

http://www.scottsdalemomsblog.com/2015/04/06/confessions-of-a-toddler-mom/

Motherhood.  
You don’t get it until you do it.  

Several times I’ve called my dear friends (who all had kids before me), simply to say, “I’m sorry… I just didn’t know!!!”

Some habits that toddler moms (and I suspect any-stage moms!) might employ to make it through unscathed are…. less than lovely. And the time has come for me to confess a few of mine to you, Dear Reader.  

Just please — someone, anyone, tell me you know what I'm talking about…

– I hand my toddler random items while shopping in Target to keep him occupied and happy. Worse? I simply discard said items to the nearest shelf when he bores of them. (I’m sorry, Target employees of America…)

– I have been known to have apple peel, PB&J crusts and a fistful of rejected raisins for “lunch.”

– When Dad is home, I may have once or twice feigned nature’s call to merely sit behind a closed door for a minute. #or10

– Aside from my 20-Minute Cleaning Ritual, I do not believe in accomplishing anything meaningful during nap time. That is sacred ground for ice cream consumption, blog reading and Modern Family viewing. Well…. maybe some Beautycounter work — but that’s not work, it’s fun.

– I am now that bizarre person who rises without difficulty at 6:00 a.m. for the mere pleasure of drinking a whole cup of coffee while it is hot. College-version Rebecca is appalled.

– Once in a rare while, I might put my tiny beloved in the gym’s childcare….. then camp in the cafe, read a book and drinking a smoothie. (It’s cool, it’s cool – the smoothie is green, so it’s basically a workout.)

-My 2-year-old can open my iPhone AND navigate to his ABC game. *Cringe.

– In conjunction with the previous admission, my iPhone has a cracked screen…

– My belief in folding kids’ clothes is faltering.

– The verdict is out on whether I believe in folding my own clothes.

– I once called the dog “Peppa Pig”.

Most importantly?  
I would never trade this wonderful and blessed job.

What can you dish???  Time to ‘fess up!