The Pitfalls of Being a Mom...

So why is it that my darling husband came home from work early today and got a nap, and I didn't?

Just another pitfall of being the mom...

Yesterday, I took Penelope to the plastic surgeon who will be doing the surgery on her eye to remove her skin tag. Meeting the doctor really took a lot of pressure off my mind. He has a lot of experience working with eyes and plastic surgery. The doctor has plans to remove the skin tag in a very conservative way, without the need for anesthesia or the need to intibate. He does not anticipate the procedure to take more than 15 minutes. And just like any visit with the doctor, I have more questions now since I've been home, than I did when I was in the office. :) But, we are thankful for being referred to a wonderful doctor who has so much experience and who was very gentle with our little girl. Our next step is to wait for the insurance company to allow the surgery, and then we will schedule it.

In other news, I'll be taking Penelope to the cardiologist for a full work up in a week or so. The pediatrician spent a bit of time listening to her heart and feels that she may have a heart murmur. She is pretty sure that it is an innocent murmur (which means it will go away as she grows - which is the kind of murmur that I had as a child). But she wants to be sure that there are no other underlying problems. And if you remember, we had concerns during my pregnancy about her heart. So we take this all in stride and are so appreciative of our doctors and their complete care for our daughters health.

Please keep Penelope in your prayers as we prepare for both the surgery and for the cardiologist appt. The cardiologist appt is planned to be about 2 hours long of testing, so it will be a long afternoon for the the princess. :)

Also, please enjoy the photo above. I received our photos from the photographer this week. And Oh, I just love them. What a beautiful job she did!! I will post a few more in a couple of days. There are a few (including the one above) that she did some photoshop work that I am so proud of, as she took "off" Penelope's skin tag... very neat!

My Two Twins

Ken and I have been talking about how weird we feel to think about the fact that we have a daughter. Ken said it the other night, and I completely agree. In our discussion, I reminded him that we feel that way for one reason... Because our daughter looks JUST LIKE our son did when he was this age. And when we look down at her, we don't see another person, we see our son, all over again. I've been trying to go through the photos that we have of both and see if I can find some that explain where I'm coming from. But unfortunately, at only nearly 6 weeks old, our daughter is falling into that phenominon that every 2nd child falls into, I don't have as many photos of her at each stage as I do of Finnegan... so bear with me. :)

Finnegan at 6 weeks:



Penelope at almost 6 weeks (taken on 10/31/09 - almost identical setting) :)

Finnegan - 10/31/07


Penelope 10/31/09

I've really been thinking about posting all week long, and just haven't. Each time I sit down to write, I can't. Sort of like writers block, but I've been thinking about what I want to say all day long. I have the same problem with emails lately... I want to be chatty, and just can't be. I think part of it is just that I'm still tired. :)

Anywho - Penelope finally broke the 3 hour sleep cycle at night... two nights in a row this week, she slept for 4.5 hours. Oh, what a blessing it was! She went for her 1 month appt and is 8lbs 6oz and 21.75 inches long. So she's gained 2lbs and 2.5 inches in one month!! HOLY MOLY!! Please keep her in your prayers a we go to the plastic surgeon on Monday for our first consult. I'll let you know how it goes...

So, before I go to bed, I'll share a sweet story about Finnegan... Yesterday, we were sitting at the dinner table eating our dinner and Ken and I were talking about Ken's day, unknowingly not paying attention to Finnegan, until we heard him say, "Dear Jesus (then a series of unrecognizable sounds - ba, na, do, ta, ci etc) Amen." How precious it is to hear the prayers of your child!!

Four Weeks Old!!

Can you believe that Penelope is 4 weeks old?? I can hardly believe it myself! And in her first four weeks of life, she's found that she has a super big brother! Finnegan is such a loving little guy. He loves to help Penelope when her diaper needs to be changed or when she needs a paci. He carries his stool all around the house following mommy and Penelope because he wants to be up, seeing what mommy is seeing and helping when he can. He's even begun to share his toys a bit! He loves to hold her, and even helps give her a bottle from time to time. Although, just as any 2 year old needs, he forgets to be a bit gentle sometime :)

Here are a few photos of them from this week...




Here are the cowardly lion and Dorothy... they're off to see the Wizard!!

My New Best Friends??

With the breakout of reality TV and all of the "celebrities" who have taken on the reality tv industry to create their own shows, I've found several celebrities that I'd love to be friends with. Not because they are rich, but because I love the personalities of these people and love that they are real, creative, and people who are full of life.

I'd love to be real friends with Justin Timberlake. Ok, so he doesn't have a reality show, but he's been on SNL several times and I just think he is so creative. However, I have to admit that I've never really listened to his music, i think he's a natural at improv and think that he could do well week after week on that show. Just love his work on SNL.

I would also LOVE to be neighbors to Rev Run and his family and all the antics that go on in that house. I think the Rev is such a fun character and love the way that he runs his family. Although his family is very entitled due to the amount of money that they have - they still have some sense of values and teach their kids how to be real people.

I watched a program on E! this week about Beyonce. I think I could be her friend. She's such a real person who is creative and dedicated to her values and family. I love the secretive life that she lives and how she's been able to keep a private life separated from the spot light.

Tori Spelling is a real person. She was born with entitlement but no longer lives that life. I love that she's a real mom (well, sort of - other than having a nanny for the first year of her kids lives) and struggles with the real things that working moms deal with.

Rob and Big... Ok, so I know that me being friends with Rob and Big (or Rev Run and crew) is a bit of a stretch. I have nothing in common with the rap community, or the skating community for that matter to have anything in common with these guys. But they are hysterical. Ken and I love watching their show and love seeing them do the crazy things that they do. Similar to how I used to feel when watching American Choppers, I sit back and watch these guys, who have tons of money, do what ever they want with the stuff that they have... not bothering anyone else, but taking life by the horns and making it their own. They do some pretty crazy things... but they are super funny (without hurting anyone or getting into legal trouble).

Day One...

Day One and everyone is still alive :) Well, today was my first day alone with two kids, and it wasn't too bad. Granted, we barrocaded ourselves in our suburban home for the day, rather than venturing out into uncharted territory. But the statement is still true - everyone is still alive!

We started our day of with a good nights sleep. Penelope took her first stint at 4 hours sleep, which pleased mommy. Then, she went back too sleep without much fuss (and yes she does choose that 4am feeding to be the one that she doesn't want to go back to sleep after). And we all (Daddy included) slept in until 9am today. Finnegan seemed to be up, but playing quietly in his room. I was able to get a shower, and dressed before Ken left for work, which I believe is the goal to be had on a daily basis for a successful day (at least in the beginning). I got Finnegan his breakfast and preapared for the day before Penelope needed to be up and fed. And it was only about 2 hours after I'd woken that I'd realized that the shirt that I had on was on inside out!! Leave it to me to pull this fashion mistake! Luckily, I wasn't planning on leaving the house! :)

Our day was pretty laid back... a few cartoons, and Imagination Movers. Some music and dancing, and then a friend stopped over for a little playing and adult conversation. Then it was nap time. Finnegan took a nice long nap while Mommy took care of Penelope. I was able to get about a 30 minute nap, after dinner was dropped off by a fellow MOPS mom. Then it was too tending to Penelope again before getting Finnegan up from his nap and receiving a call from Daddy saying he was on his way home.

Granted, I know all days aren't going to go this smooth but it always a nice reminder that things can go smooth without many bumps. :)