6/28/2011 - Nuttiness

For me, I have always felt like the state of organization in my physical life is always a reflection of the state of organization in my mental life. Lately, work has been a jumbled mess. With coming back from being off for the past 5 months and the craziness of the end of a fiscal year and inevitably the start of a new fiscal year, things at work are just ... nutty. With me being back a work, commuting, juggling pick ups and drop offs, home life is just a bit ... nutty. We try our best to keep the house tidy, but it's hard to choose cleaning time over downtime. I feel nutty right now. I wish I could find an easy solution. I wish I could just change my thinking about it all ... but that seems nutty. What to do?

6/27/2011 - Brotherhood

From Drop Box

Finn is the best big brother ever. He spent some time snuggling on the couch with Liam. There's nothing sweeter. I feel lucky each day to have such sweet children. I know that they will always have each other's backs.

6/25/2011 - Snuggles with papa

From Drop Box

Liam is a morning person. We get the best smiles in the morning. He spent Saturday morning snuggling with his papa. Cuteness.

6/26/2011 - Day Date with the Finn

My lovely and amazing sister babysat Liam today, so Jesse and I could take our little Finnman on a day date to see the Cars 2 movie. Finn wore his aloha shirt in honor of John Lasseter, the director of the Cars 2 Movie, who loves aloha shirts. This Cars movie was very special because there is a main character named Finn McMissile, a secret agent type, who is featured in much of the movie. It was pretty cool to have some alone time with Finny. He spent the whole movie snuggled on Papa's lap stuffing his face with nacho chips, gummy bears and popcorn (his special date food). The movie was super fun and the biggest treat was hearing Weezer sing a cover of the Cars song "You might think". This made the movie even more special for Jesse, a huge Weezer fan.

6/24/2011 - Evening Ice Cream Stroll

Jesse and I took the kids (Dylan, Finn and Liam) for a summer Ice Cream treat. It was virtually impossible to keep up with Dylan and Finn. The boys were racing up our steep hill. I imagine this is the way it will be when Liam can walk too. Things to look forward to ... reasons to keep in shape.

6/23/2011 - Roll with it baby

From Drop Box

Our baby is rolling over BOTH WAYS!!! The travelling is about to begin. No more are the times we could leave him on the couch with no fear of him going anywhere. And it begins ...

6/22/2011 - Morning nap

Now that I am back to work, I have to wake both of the boys up early to do the drop off at my parents' house. Finn starts the day out with a nap. Innovative kid uses the A's hat as a sunblocker. Poor kiddos. Hope they start to get used to the early morning wake up soon.

6/21/2011 - Cool Kid

Finny woke up with a fever this morning. Finn was feeling especially uncomfortable on our early morning drive to Baachan's. The bright sun was bothering him and he requested to wear my sunglasses. After an afternoon visit to the pediatrician, we discovered that our little toddler has a double ear infection and pink eye. Antibiotics and eye drops here we come. Finn must have known that eye drops were in his future, as he wore the huge sunglasses to protect himself from the dreaded drops.

6/20/2011 -Share and share alike

From Drop Box

Finn is lucky to have a best friend who is also the neighbor two doors down from him. They share virtually everything. They fight like brothers but miss each other terribly when they are apart. They borrow so many things back and forth that you start to forget whose stuff is whose. Finn got the chance to borrow his binoculars tonight. Last week we borrowed Dylan's firetruck. I don't know what the boys will do one day when we have to move away from each other. Their toy collection will be divided in half. Too sad to even think about it.

6/19/2011 - Running man

From Drop Box

After a super yummy breakfast at Denny's, we went for a walk along the Berkeley Marina. Finn decided it would be fun to actually go for a run. That kid is actually pretty fast considering he has short little legs. I got some cool action shots of him jogging along. He'll be running marathons before we know it!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!! WE LOVE YOU!!

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Here's my special post to Jesse! I love you and think that you are the best father and husband a girl could ask for! You take such good care of our little family and I am thankful each day to have you in my life! Love love love you!

6/18/2011 - Smiling through the pain

From Drop Box

The kids are still sick or sick again. I can't really tell if it is a new sickness or the old one just hanging on. Poor Finn went to bed with a fever and woke up with a fever. That kid is so resilient though. The fever seems to have subsided and he's is such good spirits. He even managed to muster a fake cheezer smile at me. What a super star! So thankful for such sweet boys even while they are oozing boogers and burning up.

6/17/2011 - Crowning Achievement

They celebrated father's day at the boys' preschool today. Jesse received his dad crown! So cute! Proudest father on the block.

6/16/2011 - Early to bed, early to rise

Our little Liam has been going to bed at around 8:30 for us, which is kind of a big deal. That means that Jesse and I each get alone time every night. I don't think that I have experienced that in months!! Yeah, red wine, a load of laundry and a load of dishes. I never thought that doing chores would be relaxation for me ... until I had a 2nd child.

6/15/2011 - Summer Nights

It's starting to feel like summer in California. Last night was the first night we slept with the fan going all night and our window open. We have been having funky weather lately and this hot California weather is welcomed. It was so hot last night that Jesse and Finn didn't even get into bed to read books, they layed on the floor.

6/14/2011 - 10 is the magic number

From Drop Box

Finn earned his 10th sticker today!! Hot wheels car it is!!10 more stickers until car number two!

6/13/2011 - Potty Training

Jesse and I have started the process of potty training Finny. We have set up a little game for him. Everytime he sits on the potty, he gets a sticker. After 10 stickers, he gets a hot wheels car. I bought a 10 pack of Hot Wheels that sit on the toilet tank. Each time he sits down he gets to examine the box and decide which one will be his next Hot Wheels. Additionally, when he is at home, we have him wear big boy underpants. THIS IS A REAL JOB!! He has pooped his pants already and peed in his pants numerous times. It doesn't seem to really upset or phase him. Did we start this too early? In this pic, Finn is in diapers because he just pooped and peed in 2 pairs of undies in the previous half hour. What to do? We can't stop now. Ahhh, this stinks! Literally and figuratively.

6/12/2011 - Bouncing away

From Drop Box

We attended a friend's 4 year old daughter's birthday at a bouncy house place. It was exhausting ... dangerous ... and terribly fun all at the same time. Finn and I ran crazily around bouncing haphazardly through all the equipment, with Finn laughing hysterically and me happily sweating up a storm. When we first walked in Finn decided to brave the large bouncy slide, but got freaked out when he actually got to the top. So I headed up to assist him and ended up slipping and sliding down the ladder with Finn in my arms. Jesse actually has it on camera. It was terrifying, painful (those bouncy ladders took some of my skin off) and exhilirating. Needless to say, neither Finn nor I braved that slide for the rest of the day. Finn did enjoy running through an obstacle course and playin the air skeeball and basketball.
Oh and Finn peepeed in the potty. It happened after he peepeed in his pants, but nevertheless a small amount of pee went into the kiddy potty. We bought him a hot wheels car. THere's a whole plan in place, but I sure I will post about that later.
Exciting and exhausting day. Such a great end to our lovely weekend.

6/11/2011 - It's a zoo out there!

From Drop Box

Our weekend was destined to be fabulous! We started out with a super yummy breakfast out at The Oakland Grill, a restaurant near Jack London that we had never tried before. I had the best Crabcakes Benedict and Homefries ever! What a find! Then after breakfast, we went to the Zoo with the Carnricks. Dylan and Finn loved running around the zoo checking out the animals and playing at the playarea. We got another membership this year, as 3 visits basically pay for themselves. Life is starting to feel normal again. I feel like we are finally venturing out with less nervousness. Liam is becoming a much easier and happier baby. I don't know if it is just time passing, or whether it's me back at work, but life is starting to feel somewhat manageable again. I hope I didn't speak too soon!

6/10/2011 - Mr. Sunshine

From Drop Box

Liam is just the smiliest boy. I could spend all day just watching him smile at me. It seems like just yesterday he was screaming for hours straight inconsolably. But these days he spends most of the time with us just smiling sweetly. It makes his Baachan giggle. It makes his brother proudly announce that he made Liam smile. It makes his mother swoon with such unconditional love that I think that my heart is going to burst. Your baby's smile can make you forget that you are not getting full night's sleep. Your baby's giggle can make you forget that he was once a colicky and fussy child. Your baby's grin can make you feel like the most beautiful person in the world.

6/9/2011 - Pumped Up

From Drop Box

Pumping at work is a job. I pump 3 times a day for about 20 minutes each time and only get about 10 ounces. It is enough to get Liam through the next day. I am doing my best to take the pumping time to relax and try to get as much milk as possible. But it's kinda stressful. I think that I am doing everything I possibly can to produce milk and it just doesn't seem like enough. At least I can say that I have made it 2 weeks longer than I did with Finn. I just need to keep reminding myself that I am doing the best I can. Wish I didn't feel so much pressure.

6/8/2011 - Happier boy

From Drop Box

Day 2 of daycare at Baachan and Jiichan's was a huge improvement from yesterday. Liam took 2 longish naps and still ate quite a bit. It's a big relief for me, as I was worrying that Liam might be too much of the challenge for my parents. Hopefullly, Liam continues to get easier and easier on them. One can only hope. He was sweet as sugar when we got home. He spent time underneath his mobile which can always make him smile. I swear that his kid gets sweeter and sweeter each day.

6/7/2011 - First day at Baachan & Jiichan's

The first day of anything is always kinda stressful. Liam spent his first day with Jiichan and Baachan and everything did not go as planned. Not surprisingly, he didn't nap well. But surprisingly, he ate about 10 ounces of milk. The eating is good and bad because at this rate, I will not be pumping enough milk at work in my 3 sessions. It's good because we want him to be eating and growing. As for the napping, well I hope it will get better in time. Liam was so exhausted he passed out in the carseat on the way home and slept for over 2 hours in his carseat. Liam is not a big fan of the carseat, so this again was surprising. Poor kid.

6/6/2011 - Back to the grind

Back to the grind today. One successful day of working motherhood completed!! It was actually quite relaxing to be back at work. I know that people are being easy on me because it was my first day back, but I enjoyed it. I had 3 successful pumping sessions! Feeling like I can conquer the world . . . okay maybe not the world, but I can conquer this day and possibly this week!

6/5/2011 - Joaquin Miller Park

From Drop Box

The rain held off for us this morning, so we could take Finn to Joaquin Miller Park to play at the playground. After 45 minutes or so at the play area, we ventured into the park itself. We hiked up about 1000 stairs to see a beautiful view of the Oakland Skyline. Finn will definitely be a runner someday. It's virtually impossible to keep up with him. We did insist that on the walk down, he hold our hands, so he wouldn't slip on the slightly damp rocky stairs. Still sweet that he lets us hold his hands, pretty soon, that won't be the case. He is growing so quickly.

6/4/2011 - Chess Anyone?

With our funky rainy CA weather, we were forced to spend our playtime indoors today. Since, we have been basically cooped up in our sick house for 2 weeks, we decided to head out to the local mall to get some energy out. After a stroll around the local Target and a lunch at the Chevy's, we let Finn run amok in the mall. Never having ventured much farther than the Target and Fresh Choice, we discovered 2 cool play areas inside. Finn and Papa played a nice game of chess (Finn's rules) and then Finny played in the indoor playstructure. It was followed by a mini puking session from Finn, but I blame on him wildly running and screaming happily through the shoe store, which led to a coughing fit, which ultimately led to upchucking of his lunch. Oh well, he was smiling afterwards.

6/3/2011 - End of Leave

Today marks my last day of Maternity of leave. I head back to work on Monday. The boys assisted in the celebration in two ways! Finn puked up all over his bed last night. Liam seems to have contracted pink eye! AHHHHH! I think someone is trying to encourage me to go back to work. So, the day that I was supposed to spend relaxing and preparing to head back to work was craziness. Finn, though much better, spent the majority of the morning demanding that I wipe his runny nose. While Liam , sweet Liam smiled through the green goo coming out from his little eyes. We spent the early afternoon in the doctor's office, followed by a long wait at the local pharmacy for Liam's meds, and a late nap for the Finn. Liam was pretty sweet and smily throughout the whole ordeal. Liam teaches me that sometimes you just have to smile through the hard times, makes them more bearable. I'll remember that on Monday when I can't sleep in and commute into work! Back to the grind.

6/2/2011 - Single parenting

Jesse met up with our friend Tim tonight to play trombone for one of Tim's songs. Therefore, I was a single parent for a couple of hours tonight. Now I am getting better at handling the daytime, but the evenings seem to trip me up. Liam gets crankier at night. Bedtime prep seems so much harder than dressing for the day. And to top it all off, Finn seems to be getting a fever. Thank you Netflix for keeping my lovely and patient toddler occupied while I calm a sick and tired baby.

6/1/2011 - Rice Cereal!!!

From Drop Box

Liam was introduced to Rice Cereal today! Though most of it ended up on his shirt and his bib, he seemed to enjoy it. Hoping that the introduction of a food other than just breastmilk will assist in getting Liam to sleep longer. Please lord, let it help him to sleep!

5/31/2011 - May Showers

We are having some funky late May weather. It's been blue skies hidden by grey clouds and rain, at the end of May. It's not necessarily helping with our family health issues, but we are dealing with it. I bundled my boy up and took him out back for some fresh air. Our house seems to be infested with sicky germs. Finn needed some outdoor play time after a week and a half of being stuck inside dealing with the cold.