Vacation Pictures

Me and my sisters-in-law, Deidra and Kristen

Tim introducing our Ellie to the woman she was named after, Grandma Eleanor. There were a couple moments over the weekend that felt like they were out of "The Godfather." This was one because it was like we were presenting her to the family matriarch for a blessing or something.

Ellie wearing a dress for the first time.
The ringbearer and flower girl: Carter and Anna.
Randy and Deidra were the wedding singers. Deidra sang Sara Groves' "Fly" and Randy sang "Beautiful" by Shawn McDonald.
The bride and groom, Heather and Brian.Celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary!

Tim and Noah riding in style with Jeremy and Brooklyn; you can see Wyndham and Holland in the back.The 3 E's: Nicknamed Big E, Little E and Baby E (or, Grandma Eleanor, Aunt Ellie and our Ellie.)

Home At Last

Today was our first full day at home after being gone for 12 days. Tim was back in the area for a few days to work but the kids and I stayed at my parents' house during that time to let him have a chance to have full nights of sleep before our big trip to Virginia. I am exhausted in just about every way possible and the fact Noah only took a 5 minute catnap in the car today (can you believe that, Carrie?? After days of playing so hard!) did not help much. He was so overtired tonight that bedtime was the worst night ever for us. He ended up exhausting himself to sleep while trying to fight it.
I can't believe how much has happened since I left: Tim and Christina move tomorrow morning. I said good-bye to them last night and everything in me felt like I should cry since they are such good friends...I just don't think I had the energy to. I also was telling Tim that I remember when Jack and Kelly moved to Indiana and I thought I would be much more emotional at the time. Unfortunately, it didn't really hit me until I realized I couldn't just drive down to Kalamazoo to see her when I wanted and that it was more effort to plan a visit.
Matt & Jeana officially have a daughter now! We can't wait until June 6th, when we get to meet her for the first time. We have been following their blog and things seem to be going well.
I had a nice time while at my parents'. It was great to get their help with the kids and to have a chance to get some extra rest when possible. My niece, Kailyn, was staying with them for 3 of the days we were there so I had a chance to spend some time with her. She and Noah love to play together so that is always a good thing. She is a charmer. Anytime she knew she should be disciplined for something she just looked at me with this adorable look on her face and, if I didn't have a son who does the same look, I could have easily been suckered by it. She's a smart one, too, so there were many songs she and Noah could actually sing together or play together even though there is a year difference between them. My mom spoiled us as usual and the kids came home with some summer clothes and I received the "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook which I am so excited about.
Our trip was fantastic. We stayed with Tim's cousin, Jeremy, and his family which consists of his wife, Carrie, and their three boys: Carter, Luke and Brayden. Carter is 5, Luke is 3 and Brayden is 1 so Noah was in heaven being able to play with other boys fairly close to his age. They are all early risers and as soon as breakfast was done it was a boy tornado through the house and then outside.
This is only the second time I have seen most of these family members, so I thoroughly enjoyed my visits with Carrie as I got to know her a bit more. Brayden is an adorable little boy who was born with some handicaps (you can check out their blog to the right - Jenkins family - if you want to know more) and I admire how normal their household seems to be. Noah has missed his cousins over the past couple days and is having a difficult time adjusting to our routine and boring life again. =)
The wedding was beautiful. Both the ceremony and reception were held at an old plantation. The food was good (although does anyone know if beef tenderloin is supposed to be served cold? We weren't sure if they just didn't heat it up enough or if that's the way rich people eat it? Everything else was warm and tasty.) The weather was perfect. I was happy with how I looked, so I would call the night a success.
The next day we all went over to Tim's Uncle Warren and Aunt Ellie's (the bride's parents) house for the afternoon. I think Warren has fantasies of being a farmer and as a result has built a chicken coop in the past year. He has three different types of chickens, I was told, as well as guineas (which are pretty ugly.) The little kids, Warren, Jeremy & Jonathan (Warren's sons) and Randy were checking out the chickens. While I was heading over to see them and check on Noah, word got out that they had found a snake. Deidra and I booked it over to tell our kids not to touch it when we ran into Jonathan, who told us they had all already pet it. As I walked over to find Warren holding a very long black snake (but don't worry - not poisonous), I saw Noah with part of the snake's body in a death grip in his fist. "Look, Mama!" he cried. "I pet the snake!" (Jen- think of how he tries to pet/grab your cats' tails...that type of grip.) After petting the snake he headed over to the chickens to show them to me. He ran around the pen with his arms stretched wide, trying to corner the chickens in an attempt to pick them up. "Come here chickens. I hold you," he informed them. Of course, this was not ok with the chickens who just ran around and by him. He ended up petting a chicken that Warren was holding for the kids and soon after I marched him back to the house where Tim took him inside and helped scrub his hands clean. Noah loves all animals apparently.
It was fun seeing my niece, Wyndham. She is so entertaining at the age of three. She informed me with hands swooping in the directions of the kids, "These are my cousins. I have many cousins." She also informed those around her that she is afraid of snakes...while petting it. And she's just so stinking cute that you can't help but laugh.
Ellie had her 1 month appointment today, although she will be 6 weeks on Saturday. She weighs 10 pounds, 1 ounce and is 22 1/2 inches long. That is almost 3 pounds and exactly 3 inches more than what she was at birth! The doctor said everything is looking great. She is in the 75th percentile for weight and 95th for height...so opposite Noah who was always in the 15th or 25th percentiles for the first year.
There are so many stories I would love to share but right now my bed is calling to me. Maybe over the next couple weeks as I think of them while blogging...

Dairy Free - Not For Me

I made a tough decision last night. I'm putting Eleanor on soy formula. I can't bear to see her in so much physical pain while the dairy clears out of my system and I don't like who I've become while not having dairy the past few days (coveting Noah's animal crackers, glaring at Tim while he eats Cheez-its, etc.) I know it's possible but for the sake of my sanity and my family I have decided to just switch her over.
It's weird because when I switched Noah he was 7 weeks old and I did not give it a second thought. I just put him right on it and didn't even consider the no-dairy for me option. With Ellie it has taken me a few days to make the decision, I have consulted 3 different people as well as forced Tim to tell me what he thinks (he wanted to just support whatever I decided but I wanted to know his thoughts: he votes formula because it's easier on all of us.) In the end, 1 friend said to go for the formula because Noah's fine and we were formula-fed babies and are fine, 1 said to try the dairy-free diet because she did that and although hard - it gets easier, and 1 said to do formula during the day and nurse before bed and in the morning. I guess I covered the spectrum.
I didn't expect to grieve the process the way I am since I didn't with Noah. I think it's because this has been an all-around different postpartum process for me and I have had the baby blues longer than with Noah (I don't think it's into postpartum depression though.) I am excited for many of the things that formula offers...such as freedom, the ability to let others feed her, my own sanity. Yet I am going to be sad about others such as the fact that she nurses great it's just the after-effects it has on her and I am thinner now than when I became pregnant and I think the weight will come back on (I guess that should be motivation to work out.) I think the thing that makes it hardest is that for the first week she was home nursing her was the only thing keeping me from falling into a dark pit. I was suffering from those wretched spinal headaches and couldn't even get out of bed to change her diaper, yet I could nurse her. It was the only thing making me feel somewhat competent as a mom and nurturer. It was the only thing I could do for her that no one else could. I think that is where my grieving stems from.
Anyways, that's where we are now. I was telling Christina last night about the thought of switching her over. Christina is lactose intolerant and knows the miserable effects dairy can have on someone. She was recommending a book that a friend of her's read called "Skinny Bitch." I guess it's written by these 2 young women who are vegetarians and they tell all these details about what happens in butcher shops and what's really in the milk you drink, etc. I guess her friend has always been a milk lover and is now considering switching to soy. I want to read it because I'm intrigued...yet I like my meat and am scared that if I read it I will want to become a vegetarian.
Today I had a cheese quesadilla dipped in sour cream for lunch. Welcome back, dairy.

Random Ramblings

It's been a good week in comparison to last week. Noah has been better behaved. Ellie is getting more on a feeding schedule. We're all still alive and here so that has to be good for something.
Not too much is new on our front. I have to cut out dairy for the next few days to see if that is what is causing Ellie to be so gassy. She screams in pain much like Noah did before we found out he was allergic to dairy. I'm praying that's not it, but if it is then so be it. We've at least been through it before and this time around will know what foods and snacks she can and cannot have until she outgrows it. I have been semi-grumpy today since just about everything I go to eat either has milk or cheese or butter in it and I have to put it away again. It will be better when I can get to the store and pick up some rice milk and foods I can actually eat. I might actually try almond milk. I've heard the chocolate flavor is really good. I don't like soy so I'll stay away from that.
We are going to Virginia for Tim's cousin's wedding in 2 weeks. We are so excited. We'll be seeing all his cousins and their families as well as my in-laws and Randy, Deidra and Wyndham AND his sister is coming with the youngest of her boys. We'll miss seeing her husband and the other 3 boys, but we're glad to at least see a couple members from that clan. While we're down there we're going to head on into DC again. Now that Noah is all about dinosaurs we think he'll enjoy the Smithsonian a little more than last year. And since last year we saw all the monuments (I had never been to DC before) we can concentrate more on visiting the different Smithsonian museums. We're staying with his cousin, Jeremy, and his family. Noah will enjoy that because they have 3 boys. It's going to be a great time.
Our friends, Matt & Jeana, leave for China on May 21st. Their "Gotcha Day" is May 26. Jeana sent me an email earlier and is ecstatic to have dates. What a long, emotional and awesome ride this has been for them. God has shown Himself in so many ways in providing for them. We can't wait to meet Emma Rain when they return.
Our friends, Tim & Christina, move on May 29th. What a month this is turning out to be!
Other than that, same old stuff here. I am really thankful for the people in our lives. I have had a nice week with phone calls catching up with people and emails from others that are just very encouraging. This has been a hard adjustment for me going from one child to two children and I appreciate everyone - especially because no one probably even knew I was having a rough couple days last week - who just let God use them as support without knowing it.
Don't forget to call your mothers and/or mothers-in-law to wish them a happy Mother's Day this Sunday! We do hard work and it's nice to know we're appreciated by our children.

Ellie Sneak Peek

To see a sneak peek of newborn pictures that Christina took of Ellie this past week, check out her blog at www.gracedesignsphotography.blogspot.com. Or you can click on the link on the right side of this page for Grace Designs Photography.

Thanks to Lacey Rumley...

...I got my hair cut today! After checking out the Rumley family's blog recently and seeing Lacey's cute new haircut the idea has been on my mind. I originally was planning on growing it out through October because I'm in a wedding in July and another in October and figured it would be easier to create an updo with longer hair. Well, to be realistic...I'm just not a long hair person. The ease of a ponytail is great and I'm glad I could do that during my first couple weeks at home with 2 kids. On the other hand, I love trying new hair styles and I feel stunted with a ponytail. What I really wanted to do today was go very short, but I went to a cosmetology school and when I got there I didn't trust my hair fully in their hands. And this is why...

I went to Nuvo Cosmetology School in Muskegon, well, Norton Shores. I wasn't going to reveal where I went, but for any of you who live in the area and are ever thinking about trying it out...I thought I should be honest so you can know what to expect. I decided to go to a school because we're still being careful with our finances and a hair cut is only $6. I had called the French Academy in Spring Lake but they were booked for the day yet Nuvo could get me in. I have already tried Booker in Muskegon and didn't want to go back. Now, some of you might think I'm ridiculous for even trying a school, but please understand: my mom is an esthetician (someone who does facials, waxings, skin care, etc.) and she went to school to do this while I was in high school. She went to Douglas J in East Lansing and while she was there, I would go there to get my hair cut. Douglas J is a fantastic cosmetology school. They are a bit pricier for being a school, but you're paying for an experience as well. It is set up like a high-end salon, you don't tip the students, and they use Aveda and OPI products, 2 of my favorites. Once while getting my hair cut at Panopolous in Grand Rapids, I got to talking about Douglas J with the stylist working on my hair and she called it "the Ivy League of cosmetology schools in Michigan." So that is what I am used to when I think of cosmetology schools. They just opened a Douglas J institute in Grand Rapids and I can't wait to try it out and see if it's operated like the one in East Lansing.

Anyways, I get to Nuvo and am in the chair at 11:00, which is my appointment time, so this pleases me that I do not have to sit and wait. I have realized by this time that Nuvo is more along the lines of Booker than Douglas J, but I have confidence in my stylist who goes by "T."

When she asks what I want to do with my hair, I make a split-second decision in my head to go for an A-line, which is kind of like a Victoria Beckham style where it is short at the nape of the neck and then angled toward the chin, stacked in the back. This is what Tim mentioned when I was leaving is his favorite hair style. I have a favorite that I like to fall back on, but he hates it, so I went with his choice today since I was so thrilled to just be cutting it after 9 months of growth.

I describe what I want, not using the term "A-line" to see if she says anything about it being called that. In a way I am testing the waters to see what she knows. "Oh, so you want an A-line with a 45 degree stack?" she asks. First point for her! Well, second, since she got me in at my actual appointment time.

We go back to the sink so she can wash my hair. She starts telling me about an updo she had for a wedding that morning and how picky the woman was, how she didn't like it in the end and it took every instructor working on it to finally get it how she wanted it. The problem was, in T's mind, the fact the woman had long, thick hair. I have thick hair. I start hoping she can handle it. T then calls over Berta, another student, and starts talking to her about the picky, thick-haired woman. I hear her say, "I mean, come on, this is a school. What does she expect?" At this point, my muscles start to tense a bit. Is she purposely going to botch my hair, or not care, since it is only a school? Berta at this point asks what is being done to my hair and T replies, "A-line, 45 degree stack." "Oooooh," Berta says in amazement. "Have you ever done an A-line?" Now my muscles are very tense. "Oh, yeah," T assures her. "I haven't," Berta says. "I think I might watch if I don't have any appointments coming in." Great. Now I have an audience

Back in the chair, I am there for a very long time while T slowly and patiently works on my hair. At a regular salon I know I would be in and out with the cut I want in half an hour. I have no idea at this point how long it's going to take or if I will end up with anything resembling what I have described, even if she does know the terms.

Awhile later another student sits down in a shampoo chair across from the station I am at. She starts talking to T about where they should go for lunch. She then asks what is being done on my hair and T tells her. She adds in, "She just had a baby 2 weeks ago and needs something easy to do." I did tell her this when I first sat in the chair. Other student, who I notice has piercings in her face (something Douglas J would probably have never allowed) asks me if it's a boy or girl. I tell her it's a girl and that I already have a 2 1/2 year old son.

"Same guy or different baby daddy?" she asks.

I am stunned by the question as I have never in my life been asked it before and she is whiter than white and has just used the term "baby daddy." "Same guy," I reply. "We've been married for 5 years this month."

They both reply in unison, "WOW! That is such a long time!" At this point I am saddened that a 5 year marriage is long to them.

Fast forward to 12:30. Yes, an hour and a half later I am still sitting in that blasted chair. An instructor has been called over to check the work and is now trimming little pieces here and there. She asks T if she would like to razor the ends on one side to help it curl under (for some reason, the hair on one side of my head likes to curl under and the other side curls up.) Piercing girl, who is back in a chair, speaks up "No! T needs to go to lunch with me now. She can't be doing this girl's hair all day."

This cannot get worse, I think to myself. At this point I am considering opening my own cosmetology school to teach how to act professional while being a hair stylist. But it does get worse after I make the comment that I should really be going because I have a baby at home that needs to be fed.

"Oh, you're breastfeeding?" the instructor asks. I reply that I am. "You have a 2 month old?" No, I correct her. 2 weeks old and a 2 1/2 year old. "I hope you're married or have some help," she says. I tell her I am married. She says, "I ain't been with a man in I don't know how long." I start feeling very uncomfortable as this is the INSTRUCTOR, not just a student, talking like this in front of me.

Piercing girl then speaks up and says something so crude I cannot even write it, but it involved a vibrator. I am now appalled and have decided I am definitely never coming back even if it turns out I love my hair.

Which I don't. Tim loves the way it turned out, so that is good. It didn't turn out bad, it just isn't one of my favorites. However, I do like it better than what I had when I walked in that morning AND it was only $6, so I can't complain.

I did learn that I won't compromise my hair experience again. Sometimes it might be worth it to pay more at a regular salon and get an experience that leaves you feeling pretty and refreshed, not one that leaves you with tense muscles and embarrassed.

I hate taking pictures of myself but you can at least get an idea of how it looks.

Cowboy and Butterflies

Noah found Tim's "cowboy" hat the other night and wanted to wear it while brushing his teeth.

That same night I had broke down and bought some of the stretchy headbands from Target for Ellie. I always walked the line of wondering whether or not these were kind of cheesy but after having a girl I decided they can be cute.

Modeling the headband the night I bought it.

And wearing it yesterday with a different outfit. Notice the purple outfits. Today she is also wearing purple and it also has a butterfly on it. My grandma and her boyfriend came to visit today and meet Ellie. They brought her a couple pairs of pajamas and a dress. One of the pajamas has a purple butterfly on it. I wanted to laugh.

Noah also had his hair cut by Tim last night. He told me yesterday that he wanted his hair cut "like Daddy's" so now they are both walking around with it cut pretty short.Before

After