I'm All Girl!

I could have a serious problem on my hands...

And it's called Nutella.

POST EDIT:
In terms of "what I do with Nutella," there really is no rhyme or reason. I just dip my finger in it, or load up a spoonful (or 3). There is no civility involved. Just me, inhaling the Nutella. But the idea of a lightly toasted buttery croissant adorned with all that chocolate-hazlenutty deliciousness might be too much for me to bear...

"Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling." ~James E. Starrs

Wes has had his eye on a super fantastic bike that is only made on the island of Bornholm, Denmark. It's very far away, expensive, and practically impossible to own. It's called the Christiania Bike. And here it is:


But THIS bike is an awful lot like the Christiania bike that he loves...and it's FREE if I win it. And I am going to win it. Well, you could too, if you click the image below:

Keepin' it Real: Part Deux

Finn and I are getting ready for the day. Well, I am ready, but Finn is still nakedy. So we're working on that. He's already peed on the floor once. Ha! I decided to grab the training potty and let it be available to him if he so desires...

We took some pics via the laptop again today:


I received this in an e-mail today. And rather than e-mail it back, I thought I would just post it:
1. What is your occupation right now? Momma and Graphic Designer (still hanging on to that one, even though it's slowing down right now.)
2. What color are your socks right now? Flippity flops!
3. What are you listening to right now? Maya waking up, and Finn messing with her bouncer
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Special K Cinnamon Pecan cereal
5. Can you drive a stick shift? I could back in '99 (thanks to a crash course with Asha...pardon the pun)
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My Dad
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? But of course! Check her out HERE.
8. How old are you today? 29 (although I said 30 to someone the other day...oops!)
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Olympic ones.
10. What is your favorite drink? Well, I love a cold Coke, but opt for water usually.
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yup. Currently, in fact.
12. Favorite food? Tia Rosa's shrimp quesadilla
13. What is the last movie you watched? Madagascar, this morning. Ha!
14. Favorite day of the year? Christmas!
15. How do you vent anger? I get mouthy and rant a little.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Hmmm...lots. Rainbow Bright, my Bubble Gum Bike, Barbies, the list goes on. Oh I LOVED Breyer horses, too!
17. What is your favorite season? Fall
18. Cherries or Blueberries? That's tough. I love both, but eat blueberries more, I suppose.
19. Do you want your friends to answer this? Sure! I invite them to post it on their blogs, too.
20. Who is the most likely to post it? Tiffy
21. Who is least likely to fill it out? Wes
22. Living arrangements? In transition: Mesa to Burbank in less than a month—EEK!
23. When was the last time you cried? Maybe a couple of days ago. Not sure.
24. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes and some teensy dust bunnies.
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Camille.
26. What did you do last night? Went to Grandma Jinx's house for yummy Outback.
27. What are you most afraid of? Something happening to my children.
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Plain ol' burger. But only sometimes.
29. Favorite dog breed? Little white fluffy Lhasa Apso/Bichon mixes named Libby.
30. Favorite day of the week? I like Sundays b/c I take it easy. But I like Monday's too b/c I get back in the groove.
31. How many states have you lived in? 4 and 1 "District" — Texas, Arizona, Missouri, New York, Washington D.C.
32. Diamonds or pearls? Dark pearls are gorgeous.
33. What is your favorite flower? White lillies, steel roses, lime green zinnias, poppies...

On loving Maya

Maya is a 2 1/2 monther! She's not fitting in newborn sizes anymore, and I am starting to get that feeling like everything is gaining pace, ready to take off and leave the baby milestones in the past, one by one. So I need to start taking more photos and video. Wes took these gems while I was bouncing Maya on the Balance Ball (her very favorite thing, and I have the killer back pains to prove it). I couldn't even stop bouncing long enough to get a good steady shot. It was either keep bouncing and smiles, or stop bouncing and screams. So even though they are slightly out of focus, you can definitely get the full effect of Maya's adorableness.
*****
12:45 am:

I just finished bouncing Maya to sleep with a burp cloth wrapped around the back of her head and cheeks. I ate popcorn today. Sakes alive! Cross that off my food list. Maya spit up all evening long. I had gone into her room for the 5th time tonight to find her restless and cranky. Poor dear! She usually goes to bed right at 10, sleeps through the night, waking only to nurse (then right back to sleep...I'm telling you, it's that Miracle Blanket). Mothers of newborns, hate me if you must, but she's a good sleeper. She's been sleeping through the night since 6 weeks. And thank heaven for that. So I walked in to find her with her little swaddled legs straight up in the air, and she was doing a crunch position, like she was trying to sit up. Crazy girl. I picked her up, contorted her all around trying to see if I could smell anything suspicious coming from the bottom end of Baby Burrito (it's such a pain to unswaddle just to check for a poop). Then she spit up all over us. This always seems to happen on Bath Night (about twice a week for Maya). It's like she knows she's TOO clean. She is having Visitors tomorrow, and I wanted her to smell like a new baby girl. So Visitors, instead she will just have to smell like regurgitated breast milk (yes, I said it). But not to worry—there is still some Johnsons and Johnsons hovering around her wispy hairline for you to bury your noses in, and get a good dose of "new baby." Now back to the bouncing. As I was bouncing a newly burp-cloth-padded Maya, gazing at her slowly drooping lids, I was savoring the weight of her in my arms. She is getting heavier. Maybe 11 pounds now. As hard as it is to have a fussy baby, knowing how much she needs/loves me to hold her, just melts my heart. So I bounced and bounced, and she slowly slipped into sleep.

Wes and I were able to go see a performance the other night by Flight of the Conchords, while Jinx and Tiffany watched the kiddos. It was our first night out since she was born. And seeing as she won't take a bottle, it was definitely a gamble leaving her. I felt the invisible string that connects us tugging at me all night long. Of course I thought about Finn, too. But he would be having a blast with Grandma and "Pippy" to play with. It was like I could see Maya's wide blue eyes gazing out at me, waiting patiently for me to come home. It was hard to concentrate. It was fun to be out with Wes, but I was anxious to be home. Having a baby girl does something to me. I feel even more feminine without really having to change anything about myself. I feel an almost tangible connection to her that I don't get to have with Finn (I am sure Wes shares that with him). When I look at her it is like looking at the best part of myself, and self I want to become at the same time. I am enamored of the fact that she is her very own person. I expected a little brown-eyed, dark-haired Lyndsay clone. But really, I don't see anything of my physical self in her. I see Wes and his side of the family in her light brown hair and blue eyes, heart shaped face and widow's peak. I love looking at my Daughter and seeing her Daddy. It's precious to me. I especially love that I know she is my very own creation, but her very own person. She is a gift entrusted to me. I feel like I could possibly remember her from before this life if I look intently enough into her bright eyes. That little Maya. Such a big spirit in such a small body. How lucky I am that I have her. But really, she has all of me.

Good times while packing...

Wes (standing right under all of the bins): "Babe, where are the magazines again??"

Lyndsay: "Right there. In the bin labeled Magazines..."
Ha! We had a good chuckle over that one.

Tiffany, this cake's for you!

Tiffany has a real gift when it comes to cakes. She is an excellent chef all around. But her cakes really blow me away! They are 5 star restaurant quality. She could go in to business! My sweet tooth might single-handedly support her...

So here is the challenge, Tippay. And it's a pink one! :)

Keepin' it Real :)

This is me at 11:33 pm. I didn't change anything about the photos, and I didn't change anything about my appearance before I took them. In fact, I took random screen shots of myself from my computer's built-in camera as I was tweaking some blogger HTML for a friend. I'm tired. I have a pimple. I have no lipstick on (which has been known to elicit comments such as "Are you feeling sick today?" No, I just have pale lips. Jeez.). Sure, my hair is done, my eye makeup, too. But I had a doctor's appointment (which is the only exciting reason lately to do my hair and eyes, it seems). So why the late night photo shoot? I recently received an e-mail from a sweet friend. She explained how I look so "under control and happy and beautiful." Which is lovely to hear, and very generous, indeed. But I felt a little guilty, especially because I think this was making her feel like she was lacking some of those qualities as of late.

Number One: She's not (which I explained with many well-cited , bona fide examples)!
Number Two: Shame on me. Blogdom gives a false impression, sometimes. And I have fallen victim to the lures of showcasing a perfectly happy existence some days.

I know I share some of the hardships of my day-to-days, as well. But I also realized that in my ever-increasing blogging lapses, I have been posting more of the happy. This is easy to do. I say to myself, "I'll post those super cute pics that I just stole off my friend's blog of us playing the other day. That will be an easy post!" I opt for ease. I do it for two reasons.

Number One: I have zero time to do anything else except barely make it through the mayhem around here (babies, moving...moving, babies).
Number Two: It helps me focus on the bright and perfect moments—small, wonderful successes.

But in the spirit of keepin' it real (very real—since this was how I mostly felt during the day), here are the things that I did not keep in control:

• I yelled at Finn in the car. Well, not yelled, but Maya was screaming, and Finn was hollering for a french fry. So I had to "yell" over Maya, "FINN. JUST. WAIT. A. SECOND. FOR. GOODNESS. SAKES!!!!" Or something to that effect. Sorry Finn.

• This morning at 5am while I had Maya's diaper off for changing, she pooped, then peed. Allllll over everything. Then I picked her up and she spit up. Allllll over me. There is a sound I make when I am exasperated that Wes hates. I made that sound. Loudly.

• Maya has Acid Reflux. The doctor determined that yesterday. She is super cranky when she is awake. So I spent probably 4 hours tonight bouncing her on the balance ball, while Finn tugged on my yelling "GO!!!!!" He had dirty hands and feet. A wet diaper. He refused to eat a decent dinner (which led to the french fry fiasco). Maya was spitting up all over herself, and I hadn't eaten because I was trying to help Maya not freak out. Wes was gone for the evening. I called to find out when he was coming home (I am way too dependent on him). He said, "How have you not eaten tonight?!" Which set me into the mode of spouting off all my random reasons/excuses as to why not. Then I hung up and cried because I was so tired. Man! Not under control. Any of it.

I could probably keep going, but my little flock of following sheep over there in the sidebar might start to dwindle, as they start to un-follow around bullet point 2. So I will spare the rest of the details. Suffice it to say, I have a lot of times during the day when it's total mayhem. I feel dizzy just thinking about how many times I have to run after Finn to pick up his trail of toys on the off chance that someone will call and want to look at the house. I loved seeing my friend, Katy's, Reality Check post. It makes me feel more connected to her as a mom and woman. It makes Katy real. It's hard to let all of Blogdom know that I might be hanging by a thread of sanity some days. Especially when it's a small vignette of my life and persona that is coming through.

I was thinking today that I wanted to start a private blog (because I am terrible at a written journal) about a few things that happen during the day that go perfectly. A successful attempt at bottle-feeding (still to be seen), nipping a tantrum in the bud (getting better at this one), accomplishing all of the ironing (happened last Sunday), etc. It's like keeping a gratitude journal. And when I look back on it, I am sure I will beam at all of my accomplishments, rather than dwell on the frustrating moments when I said, "I never do anything for me." Because really in the end it is all for me. I just have to look at it from the right angle. I did have many small successes today. I will remember all of them in my prayers tonight. I want to list them out. Then I will realize how many more of them there actually were. And hopefully that will help me get a tiny bit better at keeping it real, and somewhat under control at the same time.

Now go post a photo of yourself at the end of your long day!

Little Photographers

It looks like Finn might be trying to follow in his Daddy's footsteps.
The shoes below are from Wes's "About" page on his website.

Now take a look at this:

Finn's friend Gracie came over recently and they had a little photo shoot. It was darling!

I cracked up when I saw this one that Gracie caught.
Mel and I are trying to direct the little photographers:

Finn even knows how to wind the camera and push the button to warm up the flash.
(Yes, it is a Cars camera with actual film in it.) Keepin' it old school over here!

Gracie prefers digital, and clearly has her own ideas for subject matter:

I can't wait for our next shoot!

Miracle Blanket

Sorry for the hiatus. I've been mommy-ing. Maya's having a tough time. But her Miracle Blanket has REALLY helped out a lot:



You can find one HERE.

I have the *cutest* post coming up featuring two little photographers. I just need to find time to upload all of my photos capturing their photos...

The Heart Swells

"I Love You, Finn."
"Love You, Mama."
And then he rolled over and fell asleep in his big boy bed in the nursery.

Two firsts from Finn.
My baby boy is a big boy!

Hot Stone Massages

My sister-in-law Tiffany came over the other day and gave me a luxurious hot stone massage. Tiffany is quite the talent! She has these delicate little bird hands, but they pack a punch! She gives the best massages.

Finn was very curious about all the dark, smooth stones dotting my back. He wanted to take them all off and put them back on. He wanted to rub his little fingers in the oil (and then try to pet my hair). And he wanted a massage, of course! (And he wanted the stones on his tummy, because isn't that much more interesting?) So rather than post the photos of my blindingly white back, I thought Finn's photos would be way cuter!

Thanks, Tiff, for a relaxing and giggly time!

Happy Mother's Day!

My Aunt Shannon sent me a lot of wonderful old photographs recently. And there were some real gems of my Mom and Grandparents. These are a few of my favorites of my Mom. She's so beautiful!

My Mom and her Mom (my Granny)

My Mom and Maya on the day she was born.

I love you, Mom. You are the mother that I aspire to be.

Super sleepers

These kiddos were all tuckered out at Grandma Jinx's house, today. Finn took the most luxurious nap on the big, fluffy guest bed. Maya needed a little tummy help, and snoozed on my lap for a little bit. I opted out of the nap for fear that I would be out cold for waaaaay too long. I'm all ready for my Zzzz's now, to be sure! Good night, all.

Take a break, already!!

Maya was getting angry that I was spending too much time on my computer looking for homes in L.A. So she asked me to take a little time off for her. I agreed, of course!

Eureka!

I did it!! I found the solution. This. diaper. cream. works. Holy smokes. Give it 3 days, and even the worst diaper rash will be gone. Well, in Maya's case at least! And I had tried everything. Even basking her little bare bum in the sun. I tried almost every type of diaper cream on the market. And this one is miraculous! It's called TriDerma Baby Severe Diaper Rash Fast Healing Cream. You can find it HERE. And it's worth every penny. (Big sigh of relief.)

Stay tuned for I what I think will be the colic cure I have been looking for. It's in the mail now, and I need to give it a week to see if it works on her little tummy. But according to rave reviews from family, this could be the ticket...fingers crossed!)