Earlier this week I spent close to a half hour writing about a funny yet terrible day I had earlier this week. It was a very long detailed post, it included my realtor running his car into a tree 3-4 times and some funny quotes from my 3 year old. Somehow it got deleted but not before it posted just the title to my blog. So sorry for the blank post and thank you to Lauren for letting me know. Now you get stuck reading my run-on sentence filled recount, just to warn you there are lot's of these " " " " and these ( ) in your reading future. My blog is kind of like a journal so I like to add events, as embarrassing as they may be.
So long story short (actually now that I am rereading it it is more of a long story long) I ran out of gas AND let my car battery die in the same day - actually within the same hour. It was dark, my kids were sick, it was in the middle of a snowstorm. Mere seconds before I got in my car and it wouldn't drive I had run my smart mouth in front of Justin and our Realtor Barry. I had asked where the nearest gas station was and then threw in a jokingly "well it's not like I am going to run out of gas or anything - that's what you do Justin" comment. Sure enough the next thing I know the two men are laughing at me who had run out of gas. You would think I would learn to keep my smart mouth shut!
Luckily Justin was there in his car so he came to the rescue and drove away to get more gas. The house we had been looking at was up near Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon area, There was 6-8 inches in the driveway since the house was vacant, so Justin had to park about a 1/2 block away and walk this entire time in a mini blizzard and in slippery dress shoes. He filled up the tank, I tried to start it the lights go out and it wouldn't even make a sound. Justin, who knows much more about cars than I do asked - laughing "Did you leave the DVD, overhead lights and headlights on the entire time I was gone? You probably killed the battery" me somewhat snotty - "I really don't think in 20 minutes the battery would die, this car is only a year old!" (again with my smart mouth! and pretty sure I rolled my eyes - ask my mom -that is just what I do, hopefully I will learn). We were both laughing at this point since running out of gas and killing your battery in the same hour is pretty funny. Truthfully -I had been running the Navigation system (what better time to program your radio stations then when you are stranded), DVD player, overhead lights (Cole was scared the dark and sick so I turned them on for him), the mini fog lights (I accidentally turned those on) and the headlights had flipped on since it was dark. I truly didn't think I would run the battery down in 20 min. though.
Justin's car couldn't make it up the drive where my car was to jump my battery. I nicknamed Justin's car the "Bobsled" a few years back since it can't even get up our driveway with 1 inch of snow. My car is getting cold, the kids are getting restless and the snow is still coming down. Justin flags down a car - in a snowstorm - and asks him if he could help us jump my car and that his wife and 2 small kids were stranded. This guy who was pulling into his driveway right across the road says no "he doesn't jump cars". Really? Who wouldn't help someone in a snowstorm jump their car? After telling this story 2 different people have said "Well the guy was probably afraid of Justin" hmmm I don't' think Justin is scary but that is just me. If we buy this house (which we put an offer on) I may have to let our awesome dog............there are about 700 annoying things our dog could do and I can't pick just one at this moment. Justin had a few nice parting words with the guy which included but not limited to, something along the lines of "well enjoy your nice warm house while my wife and kids freeze to death while we walk out in this snowstorm to find some help".
Justin flags down a second set of guys and they said "well since it is Christmas, we will help you" and Justin told them to not put themselves out. It had been a long evening of problems so everyone was a bit edgy. These guys were nice enough to stop for 2 minutes and let us use their battery to get my car started. Once there was power to my car it looked like a flipping float in the Disney's Electric Light Parade. I don't think I could have had 1 more light on.
In the time it took to jump my car the first guy the - "I don't jump cars" - guy as Justin and I like to refer to him now, was back and carrying a car scraper/brush. I asked him super snotty "are you here to brush my car off?" (a strange defensive side comes out when you feel like your kids might be in danger - as Sarah Palin would call it a Mother Grizzly so I blame my snottiness on Sarah Palin) and he said he had just come over to "check things out". Really? You wouldn't help us but you want to come over and be nosey? I think the scraper/brush was for his protection against scary Justin since he didn't actually brush any of the 4 inches of snow off my car. I mean, if I was going to go home, pick out a self defense weapon I would definitely pick a snow scraper/brush. We thanked the two guys that did help us who were really nice and kept telling us about the neighborhood - in the middle of a blizzard.
We get home and the day couldn't have ended any better. We open my parents Christmas Card to a surprise! The online company my dad has used for years and years to send all sorts of cards made a huge mistake and sent out incorrect cards to my parents Christmas card people. My parents have lots and lots of friends and send out quite a few Christmas cards each year s0 there were plenty of people that got an envelope with the return address and names of my parents, but inside the card there was a cute picture of an African American family on the front of the card, and the inside said "Merry Christmas from the Brown family". Then I noticed that the back of Justin's nice dress pants had ripped. He had slipped getting into my car - since he was in dress shoes and there was so much snow - and ripped a 12 inch hole in the back. The pants were ruined and all we could do was laugh. Just a funny day altogether.
I hope you enjoyed the 20 minutes it took to read this rambling post. Please know if your car says 35 miles left before empty - it is lying!!! Unless it is a jeep. I could drive my jeeps around on 0 for miles ages.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
The Nativity Story
Christmas is well on it's way and I was wondering if anyone who reads my blog has a good children's book that tells The Nativity Story? I have seen a few here and there and of course online but I am generally pleased with recommendations from my friends and family. Really to be honest there is no way I have the time to read 9 Nativity books at Barns and Noble and pick out a nice one with my kids with me - I don't even have kid free time to go to the dentist let alone the bookstore. If you and your kids have enjoyed one together please let me know the name and author of the book.
Merry Christmas
Monday, November 22, 2010
A PSA of sorts.
* Justin just asked me what a PSA was. PSA = public service announcement.
Warning - Just so you know I am a little hopped up on Percocet at the moment. I will let you know later if blogging while under the influence of narcotics is a good idea or not. I mean they tell you not to drive but there is no warning about blogging of Facebooking.
Early this morning I had my gallbladder removed. It was a scheduled surgery at LDS Hospital and I am feeling much better than I expected. I am sure my pain meds have a great deal to do with how I am feeling though :) Wow - that makes me sound like a druggie.
I had what is called Cholecystitis: Inflammation of the gallbladder, often due to a gallstone in the gallbladder. Cholecystitis causes severe pain and fever, and can require surgery when inflammation continues or recurs. - Thank you Web MD.
The reason I decided to share this lovely information is that when I first started experiencing Gallbladder Attacks, I had NO idea what was going on. I feel somewhat informed on medical conditions from being an EMT, working in the ER, my years working for an Internal Medicine clinic and growing up listening to my Dad who is a Physician take calls when he was on-call for his medical practice. I have had hundreds of conversations with patients asking them "what brings you into the ER/Dr's office today?" and I had never talked to a person who was experiencing the same symptoms or pain I was having.
I had 6 excruciating painful attacks over the last 3 months. It is hard to describe the pain. I couldn't get off the floor, it felt like someone had reached inside my chest under my diaphragm and was squeezing as hard as imaginable in between my ribcage. Breathing would cause stabbing pain in my back and I had sharp pains shooting down my right arm, along with my hands going numb. I would be fine one moment and then brought to my knees another. I could hardly get to my phone, debated calling an ambulance during the first attack since I thought I was having a heart attack. It sounds SO ridiculous now but the reason I didn't call an ambulance was that my kids were home, Justin was out if town and I think I must have been delirious with pain since I was worried what would happen to my kids if the paramedics took me to the ER. Poor Cole was scared to death each time. He kept telling me to call a Fireman.
The first attack lasted 15 minutes, after I felt exhausted but OK. I told myself if it happened again I would go into the DR. 2 days later I had another one that lasted over an hour. Justin was in town this time, came home early form work after I called begging him to come help me with the kids. He raced home, took one look at me and said we are going to the ER. On the way there the pain went away and I am so stubborn I refused to let him take me to the ER so I made yet another ridiculous decision and had him take me to the InstaCare near our house. Not knocking InstaCare but for what I was going through it was a dumb decision on my part.
We had the kids with us in the car so I had him drop me off and I just walked in. The Nurses were awful, they kept smiling. nodding their heads and asking me if I was feeling a little anxious and was I possibly depressed and that is why I was in "some pain". I practically yelled the words "I don't want pain meds" I just wanted to find out what was wrong. The instaCare Dr. did a few tests and said he had no idea what was wrong and to go home and try to relax. As I was walking out of the office he told me it could possible be my gallbladder but since I was younger and not overweight it was a small possibility.
My OBGYN was wonderful and after calling there she immediately sent me in for an ultrasound which showed multiple gallstones and I was scheduled for surgery a few months later.
SO again why am I telling you my boring story. Well it turns out that pregnancy can cause gallstones to form from the increase of hormones in your body which causes the gallbladder to not function properly. Since a large number of my friends are in the middle of pregnancies or starting families I thought I would blog a little PSA about the gallbladder.
I was really nauseous for weeks leading up to my first attack. I had a newborn at the time and I just thought I was a little tired and rundown. I even bought a pregnancy test since I couldn't understand why I was so nauseous. At the grocery store checking out the lady looked at the test, looked at me trying to wrangle Cole back into the flipping buscart and then she asked how old Mason was. When I told her my baby was 3 months she got this funny look on her face. It was actually pretty funny. I am sure she thought oh this poor lady.
So there is your PSA on gallbladder. I had a great surgeon and really feel better today - my surgery day - than I have in 5 months. I feel so lucky to have had great friends and family that have rearranged schedules to help my with my kids and shared their nice words of good luck and get well.
On a funnier note I think I misspelled 50% of this blog (and I typed email instead of blog). Thank goodness for spellcheck, it makes blogging while under the influence possible.
Warning - Just so you know I am a little hopped up on Percocet at the moment. I will let you know later if blogging while under the influence of narcotics is a good idea or not. I mean they tell you not to drive but there is no warning about blogging of Facebooking.
Early this morning I had my gallbladder removed. It was a scheduled surgery at LDS Hospital and I am feeling much better than I expected. I am sure my pain meds have a great deal to do with how I am feeling though :) Wow - that makes me sound like a druggie.
I had what is called Cholecystitis: Inflammation of the gallbladder, often due to a gallstone in the gallbladder. Cholecystitis causes severe pain and fever, and can require surgery when inflammation continues or recurs. - Thank you Web MD.
The reason I decided to share this lovely information is that when I first started experiencing Gallbladder Attacks, I had NO idea what was going on. I feel somewhat informed on medical conditions from being an EMT, working in the ER, my years working for an Internal Medicine clinic and growing up listening to my Dad who is a Physician take calls when he was on-call for his medical practice. I have had hundreds of conversations with patients asking them "what brings you into the ER/Dr's office today?" and I had never talked to a person who was experiencing the same symptoms or pain I was having.
I had 6 excruciating painful attacks over the last 3 months. It is hard to describe the pain. I couldn't get off the floor, it felt like someone had reached inside my chest under my diaphragm and was squeezing as hard as imaginable in between my ribcage. Breathing would cause stabbing pain in my back and I had sharp pains shooting down my right arm, along with my hands going numb. I would be fine one moment and then brought to my knees another. I could hardly get to my phone, debated calling an ambulance during the first attack since I thought I was having a heart attack. It sounds SO ridiculous now but the reason I didn't call an ambulance was that my kids were home, Justin was out if town and I think I must have been delirious with pain since I was worried what would happen to my kids if the paramedics took me to the ER. Poor Cole was scared to death each time. He kept telling me to call a Fireman.
The first attack lasted 15 minutes, after I felt exhausted but OK. I told myself if it happened again I would go into the DR. 2 days later I had another one that lasted over an hour. Justin was in town this time, came home early form work after I called begging him to come help me with the kids. He raced home, took one look at me and said we are going to the ER. On the way there the pain went away and I am so stubborn I refused to let him take me to the ER so I made yet another ridiculous decision and had him take me to the InstaCare near our house. Not knocking InstaCare but for what I was going through it was a dumb decision on my part.
We had the kids with us in the car so I had him drop me off and I just walked in. The Nurses were awful, they kept smiling. nodding their heads and asking me if I was feeling a little anxious and was I possibly depressed and that is why I was in "some pain". I practically yelled the words "I don't want pain meds" I just wanted to find out what was wrong. The instaCare Dr. did a few tests and said he had no idea what was wrong and to go home and try to relax. As I was walking out of the office he told me it could possible be my gallbladder but since I was younger and not overweight it was a small possibility.
My OBGYN was wonderful and after calling there she immediately sent me in for an ultrasound which showed multiple gallstones and I was scheduled for surgery a few months later.
SO again why am I telling you my boring story. Well it turns out that pregnancy can cause gallstones to form from the increase of hormones in your body which causes the gallbladder to not function properly. Since a large number of my friends are in the middle of pregnancies or starting families I thought I would blog a little PSA about the gallbladder.
I was really nauseous for weeks leading up to my first attack. I had a newborn at the time and I just thought I was a little tired and rundown. I even bought a pregnancy test since I couldn't understand why I was so nauseous. At the grocery store checking out the lady looked at the test, looked at me trying to wrangle Cole back into the flipping buscart and then she asked how old Mason was. When I told her my baby was 3 months she got this funny look on her face. It was actually pretty funny. I am sure she thought oh this poor lady.
So there is your PSA on gallbladder. I had a great surgeon and really feel better today - my surgery day - than I have in 5 months. I feel so lucky to have had great friends and family that have rearranged schedules to help my with my kids and shared their nice words of good luck and get well.
On a funnier note I think I misspelled 50% of this blog (and I typed email instead of blog). Thank goodness for spellcheck, it makes blogging while under the influence possible.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Kinda a big Deal
It's kinda a big deal or you could call it a big day. I have a new keyboard! Yeah! Look at all these C's I can type ccccc! So exciting. I just typed the word exciting without having to SLAM on the keyboard or spellcheck. I am one lucky girl. There was another C, oh the bliss of having a computer a keyboard and a working letter C.
Justin gave Cole the old keyboard and now it has 0% chance of typing any letters ever again since the first thing Cole did was jump up and down on it repeatedly. I figured Cole was pretty upset that the C didn't work as well :) Then he was carrying it around calling it a skateboard, which I am guessing prompted the jumping. Keyboard/Skateboard, both similar in shape I guess, both have the word board in them. He still thinks it is a skateboard like the one his cousin has. Since he is 3 I will continue to let him think it is a "big boy" skateboard. Much safer than a real one. To be honest after it not working for months, I felt like jumping up and down on it repeatedly a few times too, Cole just beat me to it.
Today was another rare occasion when the boys took a nap at the same time (and Cole took a nap at all) so I thought I would try to post a few pictures. My Mom has been telling me on the phone how she had been checking my blog for more pictures and there hadn't been any new ones for a while. It finally occurred to me that she probably wanted to see more pictures of my boys since she is living far away in fabulous Missouri. I mean Missouri is fabulous enough and don't even get me started on Kansas....she needs pictures of my kids as well :)She is just too nice to come out and tell me to put more pictures on my blog. Love you Mom. Speaking of my parents they have a little over 7 months until they will finally be home. I guess I should start finding a new place to live.
So here, just for my wonderful mom are new pictures of the boys. Another big deal - there are actual pictures of me with my kids. Amazing I know.
Sad and embarrassing fact - This picture above is the ONLY family picture we have.
This is Justin's Dad holding Mason. You can tell where Mason gets his blue eyes from.
Halloween 2010. Cole was Buzz Lightyear and Mason was supposed to be Woody. I was so proud that I was prepared for Halloween. The boys had their costumes a few weeks before the 31st. True to Albrecht form Mason grew out of his costume in the 3 weeks leading up to Halloween. It fit perfect when I took it out of the box but he must have packed on the pounds in 3 weeks. I even tried cutting the back since he was going to be in his stroller most of the time anyway.
I tried stuffing him into it, nothing worked. His Chest was too burly.
Justin gave Cole the old keyboard and now it has 0% chance of typing any letters ever again since the first thing Cole did was jump up and down on it repeatedly. I figured Cole was pretty upset that the C didn't work as well :) Then he was carrying it around calling it a skateboard, which I am guessing prompted the jumping. Keyboard/Skateboard, both similar in shape I guess, both have the word board in them. He still thinks it is a skateboard like the one his cousin has. Since he is 3 I will continue to let him think it is a "big boy" skateboard. Much safer than a real one. To be honest after it not working for months, I felt like jumping up and down on it repeatedly a few times too, Cole just beat me to it.
Today was another rare occasion when the boys took a nap at the same time (and Cole took a nap at all) so I thought I would try to post a few pictures. My Mom has been telling me on the phone how she had been checking my blog for more pictures and there hadn't been any new ones for a while. It finally occurred to me that she probably wanted to see more pictures of my boys since she is living far away in fabulous Missouri. I mean Missouri is fabulous enough and don't even get me started on Kansas....she needs pictures of my kids as well :)She is just too nice to come out and tell me to put more pictures on my blog. Love you Mom. Speaking of my parents they have a little over 7 months until they will finally be home. I guess I should start finding a new place to live.
So here, just for my wonderful mom are new pictures of the boys. Another big deal - there are actual pictures of me with my kids. Amazing I know.
Mason 5 months
Sad and embarrassing fact - This picture above is the ONLY family picture we have.
This is Justin's Dad holding Mason. You can tell where Mason gets his blue eyes from.
Halloween 2010. Cole was Buzz Lightyear and Mason was supposed to be Woody. I was so proud that I was prepared for Halloween. The boys had their costumes a few weeks before the 31st. True to Albrecht form Mason grew out of his costume in the 3 weeks leading up to Halloween. It fit perfect when I took it out of the box but he must have packed on the pounds in 3 weeks. I even tried cutting the back since he was going to be in his stroller most of the time anyway.
I tried stuffing him into it, nothing worked. His Chest was too burly.
Bailey gets an honorable mention at the end for two reasons. First, he is Masons favorite thing these days and second, he scared off about 10 little boys that were hiding in our bushes trying to steal our pumpkins on Halloween night.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Vote for Ashlie
One of my adorable nieces is competing in the Miss Utah High Pageant this November. If you have a facebook account - I would LOVE it if you would go to this link, Ashlie LIKE the page and then in the photos box under contestants LIKE her picture. She is the first one - Ashlie Albrecht. If you really want to be nice you can post this on your facebook wall as well - it would count as your good deed for the day. Who doesn't need some good karma these days.
I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Fall weather. Justin, the boys and I are all doing wonderful. I hope to get some time to post some pictures soon.
Annie
I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Fall weather. Justin, the boys and I are all doing wonderful. I hope to get some time to post some pictures soon.
Annie
Thursday, August 26, 2010
It is completely worth the $14.00
About 8 weeks ago I decided (I still have the same C deficient keyboard in case you were wondering) that I would save the $14.00 it costs me to get Cole's hair cut and give him a buzz cut. A few of my friends had said that their husbands buzz their little boys hair so I figured if they could do it so could I - right? Sounds easy enough... doesn't it?
How to give a buzz cut - read up on the settings that are best on the clippers, learned about the angles to hold the clippers to make the hair blend evenly. Had the clippers all charged.There was even a site dedicated to giving yourself a buzz cut, which made it seem that much easier. I'm not going to lie. I felt pretty prepared to give my son his first haircut compliments of mom.
What started out good went horribly wrong when the clippers got stuck in his hair and ripped out a tiny patch.Ouch!! Poor Cole. He screamed, started to cry and I was only 1/4 of the way done. The fact that it made him cry made me feel even worse - the kid has an unusually high pain tolerance. Right before I had Mason he tripped in my bedroom and smacked his head on the dresser . He didn't cry or even make a peep, just jumped up and ran into the kitchen. I followed him in a few moments after to see him sitting at the counter eating fruit snacks with blood running down his head, no crying just bleeding. I'm the mom that always says "Oh he's fine" after he falls off the slide at the playground - but he almost always just jumps up and runs off.
What started out good went horribly wrong when the clippers got stuck in his hair and ripped out a tiny patch.Ouch!! Poor Cole. He screamed, started to cry and I was only 1/4 of the way done. The fact that it made him cry made me feel even worse - the kid has an unusually high pain tolerance. Right before I had Mason he tripped in my bedroom and smacked his head on the dresser . He didn't cry or even make a peep, just jumped up and ran into the kitchen. I followed him in a few moments after to see him sitting at the counter eating fruit snacks with blood running down his head, no crying just bleeding. I'm the mom that always says "Oh he's fine" after he falls off the slide at the playground - but he almost always just jumps up and runs off.
For the next hour or so if I even came near him with the clippers he would completely melt down. Of course I had started at the front of his head so he looked really funny for a few hours before I finally bribed him with enough candy and a movie to let me finish. After this fiasco - I have even more admiration and respect for my friends and family members that are hair stylists.
The rest of the week he kept rubbing his head and saying "Mom hurt my head" and "where my hair go?". The dresser incident had left a scar on his head we never knew was there and kids with large heads - such as Cole's - really shouldn't have buzz cuts. They really shouldn't have super short "google-taught" buzz cuts. I am just glad he is young enough to not remember. So really, it is completely worth the $14.00 to get your kids haircut.
Beautiful Buzz Cut Memories
Cole in the crib with Mason.
This is what happens when my 2 year old tries to pour himself another bowl of cereal. Notice Bailey in the corner just dying to get at the cereal. I had to give Cole credit - he did get most of it in and on top of his bowl.
Cole feeding Mason. He loves to give him a bottle.
Unhappy Mason being held by Cole.
Unhappy Mason being held by Cole.
Monday, August 9, 2010
I blinked and 3 months have past.
Let me first start out by telling you that the C on my keyboard is temperamental. Which is SO annoying. There are so many words with C in them - which if the C is left out are still words but just don't make any sense without the C in them. I literally have to strike the C key as hard as I can to make it work. When I hit the spellcheck it turns the whole page yellow with C mistakes. I am hoping this rant helps get Justin to replace this new keyboard with yet another new keyboard since he is in charge of all things electronic in the marriage - it was in our fake prenup - which I should do a post about because it is pretty funny - or so I am told.
Do I really have a 3 month old baby? Well today I do. I really and truly can't believe how fast the last 3 months have flown by. Everyday is busy and crazy but I wouldn't want it any other way. Mason is still a mellow baby. Sleeping and eating better than I could have hoped for. No one likes a bragger so I will just leave it at that. On a random note - I googled bragger because I wasn't sure it was a word and I have a friend who did a whole blog post on peoples grammar and how she thinks it is SO funny when people misspell or misuse words (which I am 100% positive I do in every sentence - well every sentence and run on sentence) and I NOW have huge grammar complex. Thank goodness for google since it told me not only IS bragger a word there is also an Ehow site that gives you 3 steps on how to deal with a bragger. I found this totally ridiculous and funny at the same time - so I will share .http://www.ehow.com/how_5280789_deal-bragger.html So if I start acting like Debbie Downer in our next conversation you will know I am trying to stop the bragger :)
I won't bore you with too many baby details - anyone can google 3 month old baby and he is doing all of those things. Mason is still "livin large" at his 2 month appointment he was 13 and 1/2 pounds and 25.5 inches. The nurse measured 3 times. He is wearing 6 month onesies and growing out of those as I write this. A few weeks ago I was laughing at the fact that my 2 year old was wearing size 5 pajamas and my 9 week old was wearing size 6 months. Oh, and I am NOT bragging about the size of my kids. People think that Cole is 5 and is just naughty.
Cole is still doing really well with all the changes that come with a new brother. He stopped calling Mason "hey little guy" and now he has nicknamed him "Mace". When I took both boys in to get ALL of Masons shots, Cole gave our nurse the meanest look and started telling her to "stop hurting Mace". As we were leaving the office he turned to the nurse - glared again - and said "you hurt Mace" this was after the nurse had given Cole handfuls of stickers and suckers to try too get back on his good side.
Anytime Mason cries Cole tells me that "Mace is sick" or "Mace is hurt". I left both boys on my bed for less than 30 seconds while I was putting laundry away in the same room - when I turned around Cole had piled all our king sized (heavy) pillows on top of Mason. He said "me hide Mace". I have found Cole in Masons crib (now there is a stronger baby lock on his door) Cole laying under the baby gym almost on top of Mason and my favorite was coming back into the kitchen to find Mason happily in his bouncer draped in the newspaper with Cole saying that Mason was cold. He looked like a little homeless baby.
Obviously you can tell that Cole is VERY busy ALL day. It keeps me on my toes. I have been neglecting my blog since I literally can't let Cole out of my sight. Today the stars aligned and both boys are asleep! Just this morning I was changing Mason and when I left Cole in the kitchen he was happily coloring. When I returned maybe a minute later, Cole had pushed his chair to the sink and sprayed the kitchen down with the faucet that pulls out. The other day Cole wanted to wear his batman costume and he was playing in the backyard with Bailey. I went to switch the laundry and when I came back the fence was open and Cole was gone. I found him trying to trick-or-treat with (surprisingly) trusty Bailey right at his side. I lucked out that my 2 neighbors Cole had stopped at were out of town. He is a busy, busy 2 year old. I am not complaining. I usually laugh, roll my eyes and remind myself that I feel lucky to have healthy kids who can get into trouble and that they will be grown before I know it.
Here are some pictures of Mason. They were supposed to be for birth announcements but since he is now 3 months old I am pretty sure I am not going to find the time to get them out. The photographer I usually use is either in jail, or skipped the country or ran away to start a new life. I emailed, called, facebooked and nothing. The photographer I did use I would NOT recommend. It is called Studio LUSH photography. They are in Pleasant Grove. I was not that impressed with the pictures. The pictures below I cropped and changed since they were all off centered and it was just a pain all around to work with her.
I have lots of funny things to post and catch up on so hopefully - and that is a BIG hopefully - the stars will align again and I will find some free time. It does make me feel better to check on my friends and family's blogs and find that they have not posted for as long as me.
Do I really have a 3 month old baby? Well today I do. I really and truly can't believe how fast the last 3 months have flown by. Everyday is busy and crazy but I wouldn't want it any other way. Mason is still a mellow baby. Sleeping and eating better than I could have hoped for. No one likes a bragger so I will just leave it at that. On a random note - I googled bragger because I wasn't sure it was a word and I have a friend who did a whole blog post on peoples grammar and how she thinks it is SO funny when people misspell or misuse words (which I am 100% positive I do in every sentence - well every sentence and run on sentence) and I NOW have huge grammar complex. Thank goodness for google since it told me not only IS bragger a word there is also an Ehow site that gives you 3 steps on how to deal with a bragger. I found this totally ridiculous and funny at the same time - so I will share .http://www.ehow.com/how_5280789_deal-bragger.html So if I start acting like Debbie Downer in our next conversation you will know I am trying to stop the bragger :)
I won't bore you with too many baby details - anyone can google 3 month old baby and he is doing all of those things. Mason is still "livin large" at his 2 month appointment he was 13 and 1/2 pounds and 25.5 inches. The nurse measured 3 times. He is wearing 6 month onesies and growing out of those as I write this. A few weeks ago I was laughing at the fact that my 2 year old was wearing size 5 pajamas and my 9 week old was wearing size 6 months. Oh, and I am NOT bragging about the size of my kids. People think that Cole is 5 and is just naughty.
Cole is still doing really well with all the changes that come with a new brother. He stopped calling Mason "hey little guy" and now he has nicknamed him "Mace". When I took both boys in to get ALL of Masons shots, Cole gave our nurse the meanest look and started telling her to "stop hurting Mace". As we were leaving the office he turned to the nurse - glared again - and said "you hurt Mace" this was after the nurse had given Cole handfuls of stickers and suckers to try too get back on his good side.
Anytime Mason cries Cole tells me that "Mace is sick" or "Mace is hurt". I left both boys on my bed for less than 30 seconds while I was putting laundry away in the same room - when I turned around Cole had piled all our king sized (heavy) pillows on top of Mason. He said "me hide Mace". I have found Cole in Masons crib (now there is a stronger baby lock on his door) Cole laying under the baby gym almost on top of Mason and my favorite was coming back into the kitchen to find Mason happily in his bouncer draped in the newspaper with Cole saying that Mason was cold. He looked like a little homeless baby.
Obviously you can tell that Cole is VERY busy ALL day. It keeps me on my toes. I have been neglecting my blog since I literally can't let Cole out of my sight. Today the stars aligned and both boys are asleep! Just this morning I was changing Mason and when I left Cole in the kitchen he was happily coloring. When I returned maybe a minute later, Cole had pushed his chair to the sink and sprayed the kitchen down with the faucet that pulls out. The other day Cole wanted to wear his batman costume and he was playing in the backyard with Bailey. I went to switch the laundry and when I came back the fence was open and Cole was gone. I found him trying to trick-or-treat with (surprisingly) trusty Bailey right at his side. I lucked out that my 2 neighbors Cole had stopped at were out of town. He is a busy, busy 2 year old. I am not complaining. I usually laugh, roll my eyes and remind myself that I feel lucky to have healthy kids who can get into trouble and that they will be grown before I know it.
Here are some pictures of Mason. They were supposed to be for birth announcements but since he is now 3 months old I am pretty sure I am not going to find the time to get them out. The photographer I usually use is either in jail, or skipped the country or ran away to start a new life. I emailed, called, facebooked and nothing. The photographer I did use I would NOT recommend. It is called Studio LUSH photography. They are in Pleasant Grove. I was not that impressed with the pictures. The pictures below I cropped and changed since they were all off centered and it was just a pain all around to work with her.
I have lots of funny things to post and catch up on so hopefully - and that is a BIG hopefully - the stars will align again and I will find some free time. It does make me feel better to check on my friends and family's blogs and find that they have not posted for as long as me.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Mason B. Albrecht
Mason has arrived!! All 10 pounds, 4 ounces and 22.5 inches of him! I feel the need to remind anyone reading that I was induced 1 week early and he was still over 10 pounds. Delivery went really well, nothing too exciting, no C-section, no screaming and under 5 hours from when we set foot in the hospital until he was born. After having a 10 pound baby, I have really been considering including my anesthesiologist on my Christmas card list. Mason was born May 11th at 2:45 P.M.
After he was born the respiratory therapists had to work on him for a few minutes so they couldn't tell us his weight for a bit. The Dr, nurse and respiratory therapist all separately made mention to a football players, basketball players and the next player on the jazz while they were giving him a little help to breath better. After hearing all of that I was pretty positive he was on the big size. When they told me his weight I responded with "seriously, I just had a 10 pound baby?" and then "I just lost over ten pounds in under 10 minutes".
Every nurse that I had in the next two days felt the need to tell me how much their babies weighed at birth. Twice I got to respond with "So, I just had 2 of your babies". On the flip side I had great care in the hospital. I actually felt pretty good but I think the nurses felt bad for me. More than once I had nurses come in that were not assigned to me to bring me pain meds and anything else I had asked for within minutes. Much different than my experience when I had Cole.
I went to a breastfeeding class while I was in the hospital and the nurse teaching it said "Oh, your the one that had the 10 pound baby, they were talking about you in report". I was starting to feel a little like a freak and a celebrity all at the same time. During my class one of the fathers told me he "had to see this 10 pound baby". I told him he looks just like any other baby just bigger. Later that day I thanked Justin for not being the kind of man that A - would go to a breastfeeding class and B - ask a stupid question like that.
Mason was labeled an LGA baby. LGA stands for Large for Gestational Age. They had to preform blood sugars every few hours both days we were in the hospital. LGA can cause a list of problems for mom and baby but we lucked out. The only thing the Dr. told us was his skin was somewhat red in color (a sign of LGA) but that will fade quickly. My pediatrician and OBGYN told me that it is pretty rare to have that large of a baby when the mother doesn't have Gestational Diabetes. Justin was bigger than Mason at birth but according to his Dad he was on-time and Justin's mom had Gestational Diabetes.
Mason is a really, really content happy baby. The first night he was home he slept a 5 hour stretch and the second night a 6.5 hour stretch. I took him to the pediatrician today and he is gaining weight like he should and loosing some of his redness. The jury is out on his hair color. I thought it was red at first but that may have had to do with his over all rosy appearance for the first few days. Justin and I have gone back and forth everyday between strawberry blonde and blonde. When Justin was born there was NO question he was a redhead.
Does that hand on Cole's shoulder look familiar to anyone? It is my mom! She was able to leave her Mission for almost a week to help with Cole. It was so nice to have her here. It made everything so much easier knowing Cole was with my mom at his own house while I was at the hospital. Cole calls my mom NYE. We call her Nana, but he decided NYE was better. He had a fun week being spoiled by my mom. I will be a long 13 months untill she and my Dad get home.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Saturday, Sunday, Monday then...... Baby Day!!!
Only a few days left until my body is no longer for rent by this baby. Unless he decides to make an early appearance I am scheduled to be induced on Tuesday May 11th. Thankfully that is 1 week early. As of right now I am 38 weeks and a few days and the baby is measuring 41 weeks + or 3 weeks ahead. I am taking bets on the weight and length. Whoever guesses the weight or length closest without going over will get something of value sent to them from me. If you are against "betting" then consider it a participation prize.
Right now it is 3:39 AM on Saturday morning. I have had insomnia for months with this baby. I had it with Cole as well but it didn't start until the last few weeks. After Cole was born I actually slept better the first 4 weeks he was a newborn than I had the last 4 weeks he was on board. Having insomnia makes me an even bigger slacker on blogging. I really do have time all night to be down here typing away. My Mom even told me I sound tired? I am not sure how that is possible but I must look even worse if I sound tired.
Let's see those guesses on weight and length. Just for reference Cole was also a week early and 8lb 7oz and 22.5 inches. I am not sure if Justin was early or late but he was 10lb 14 oz and 23 inches.
I will keep the blog posted as much as I can. I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day weekend.
Right now it is 3:39 AM on Saturday morning. I have had insomnia for months with this baby. I had it with Cole as well but it didn't start until the last few weeks. After Cole was born I actually slept better the first 4 weeks he was a newborn than I had the last 4 weeks he was on board. Having insomnia makes me an even bigger slacker on blogging. I really do have time all night to be down here typing away. My Mom even told me I sound tired? I am not sure how that is possible but I must look even worse if I sound tired.
Let's see those guesses on weight and length. Just for reference Cole was also a week early and 8lb 7oz and 22.5 inches. I am not sure if Justin was early or late but he was 10lb 14 oz and 23 inches.
I will keep the blog posted as much as I can. I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day weekend.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Tommy the Tumor
Keeping his reputation as the most expensive and high maintenance dog ever, Bailey this week had a tumor - really a tumor - removed from his paw. Justin and I named his growth Tommy the tumor thinking we were funny. When it did in fact turn out to be a tumor it wasn't as funny. It has been growing for a few months. The Vet told us to watch it since some dogs get growths that will go away with time. Bailey never seemed to notice it so we just kept watching it grow.
When we finally took him in what started as a small black mole looked like he had an extra large red jellybean growing straight out of his paw. This is his 3rd surgery, 4th time he has had staples in him and the 7th time he has been put under anesthesia for some type of medical care. He is only 5 years old. Between Justin and I and our combined 62 years on earth Bailey has us beat on the number of times under general anesthesia.
Taking the 100+lb dog to the vet almost 9 months pregnant with a 2 year old is a circus. "Dog" as Cole calls him, can jump pretty high in most cases. Even after his knee surgeries he would happily jump on the kitchen counter if I let him. He jumps up the rocks in the backyard 4+ feet high with no problem. The ONE place he will NOT jump is into the back of my jeep. It is not even that high. Loading "Dog" into the car now requires a large telescoping dog ramp. It is quite the site. Next time you see and advertisement for a dog ramp in a magazine or at the pet store and ask yourself, who would buy that huge thing? - the answer is me.
When we finally took him in what started as a small black mole looked like he had an extra large red jellybean growing straight out of his paw. This is his 3rd surgery, 4th time he has had staples in him and the 7th time he has been put under anesthesia for some type of medical care. He is only 5 years old. Between Justin and I and our combined 62 years on earth Bailey has us beat on the number of times under general anesthesia.
Taking the 100+lb dog to the vet almost 9 months pregnant with a 2 year old is a circus. "Dog" as Cole calls him, can jump pretty high in most cases. Even after his knee surgeries he would happily jump on the kitchen counter if I let him. He jumps up the rocks in the backyard 4+ feet high with no problem. The ONE place he will NOT jump is into the back of my jeep. It is not even that high. Loading "Dog" into the car now requires a large telescoping dog ramp. It is quite the site. Next time you see and advertisement for a dog ramp in a magazine or at the pet store and ask yourself, who would buy that huge thing? - the answer is me.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
7 weeks or less
Well this baby is getting close to arriving and Justin and I can't wait to meet him. We still haven't picked out a name so any name ideas would be much appreciated. My Dr. told me last week that this baby is getting BIG. Which was how Cole started out - but this baby is even bigger at this point in my pregnancy than Cole was. At 31 weeks he is measuring 34 weeks! I was induced with Cole a week early and he was 8lb 7oz and 22 inches. Thank goodness for inductions! I know many women that are 100% ANTI-induction but it was a good choice for me and everything went smoothly. I asked my Dr. what happens to women that are anti-induction who also measure large and she told me about one of her patients at LDS hospital that delivered (via c-section) a 12 lb 8 oz baby! That is just scary.
So my new due date is May 11th. Which is only a week early and may need to be moved after another ultrasound to check out the size of this baby. One of my cute cousins just had her 5th boy induced early for the same "big baby" reasons as me - and he was 9lb 6oz!! Go Melissa. Justin was 10 lb 14 oz when he was born and I really don't want to learn what that was like.
I must be looking pretty sad and pregnant since last night at the supermarket the bagger asked me if I wanted help out with my groceries. When I told him I was fine he said "no really I INSIST" quite sternly. He was intent on helping me out with my 4 bags of groceries and then asked if I had someone at home to help me get them inside. I almost......almost asked him if he was planning on driving to my house if I didn't have someone to help me inside with them but I somehow held my tongue. Of course I carried them inside by myself. He was just trying to be kind I know - I still find it funny how some people (some pregnant women included) act as if pregnant women are slightly paralyzed.
That is the end of my pregnancy rant for now. Today is St. Patrick's Day and I love this holiday since 3 years ago today was when I found out Mr. Cole was on the way. Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.
So my new due date is May 11th. Which is only a week early and may need to be moved after another ultrasound to check out the size of this baby. One of my cute cousins just had her 5th boy induced early for the same "big baby" reasons as me - and he was 9lb 6oz!! Go Melissa. Justin was 10 lb 14 oz when he was born and I really don't want to learn what that was like.
I must be looking pretty sad and pregnant since last night at the supermarket the bagger asked me if I wanted help out with my groceries. When I told him I was fine he said "no really I INSIST" quite sternly. He was intent on helping me out with my 4 bags of groceries and then asked if I had someone at home to help me get them inside. I almost......almost asked him if he was planning on driving to my house if I didn't have someone to help me inside with them but I somehow held my tongue. Of course I carried them inside by myself. He was just trying to be kind I know - I still find it funny how some people (some pregnant women included) act as if pregnant women are slightly paralyzed.
That is the end of my pregnancy rant for now. Today is St. Patrick's Day and I love this holiday since 3 years ago today was when I found out Mr. Cole was on the way. Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Aquarium
Justin and I decided to take Cole to the Living Planet Aquarium due to his new fascination with the movie Finding Nemo. I had never been to the aquarium and was surprised how small it was. We had a good time but were in and out in less than an hour.
Cole and Justin at the Stingray Pool.
Cole loved seeing a live Nemo.
Snow Much Fun
I will be playing catch up for the next little while with my blog posts. Justin read my offer for him to get a new computer from my last post and had it ordered the next day. It is here and all set up so now I have no excuses. I need to remember to put all future requests I have for Justin on the blog - he really seems to respond well to public requests.
A few months ago when we still had some snow to speak of, we loaded up Cole and took him sledding near our house. He loved it thank goodness - since both Justin and I are hoping for some future skiers out of our boys.
I would have to add sledding to the top 10 ways to wear out your 2 year old.
A few months ago when we still had some snow to speak of, we loaded up Cole and took him sledding near our house. He loved it thank goodness - since both Justin and I are hoping for some future skiers out of our boys.
I would have to add sledding to the top 10 ways to wear out your 2 year old.
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