moving, with instructions

seems that some folks were having trouble with the new rss feed.

here's what derek had to say about it:

Do you know how they're trying to get it?

I clicked Syndicate at the top and got the URL:
http://sarah.lidbom.com/feed/atom

And put that in google reader and it worked for me.

good luck.

moving....

this blog is moving...

to...

http://sarah.lidbom.com

if you'd like to stay with me, update your bookmarks and/or rss feeds...

:)

pretty in green

the big brother rocks.

anna's abc's

Sleepy girl

I held Anna during a nice long late afternoon nap (while Isaac was at
his gram's house). What other choice did I have than to take lots of
pics of the sleeping girl?

(ghetto) pool attire

isaac likes his ghetto deck pool...

but, he hates wearing his swim trunks ("they're all wet!!!"):

so, i let him just wear underwear:

but, eventually that came off, too (they get wet, too, apparently.):

but, i don't know why it really matters at all, because the only part of his body that really sees much water time is his feet:

smile. kind of.

here's a washed out shot of the girl smiling. she's hard to catch...

kitchen sink fun

Starry Lunch

worked hard on this star shaped menu for isaac's lunch today. it's already worked to trick him into trying a peanut butter sandwich (something he wouldn't even dream of trying in it's native format).

the rollover

the anna baby completed another task on the list of things that babies do that moms record in a baby book. the first was being born. then smiling. and last night... the rollover.

while derek was trying to get her to go to sleep *sigh*, she rolled from her belly (shhhh... yes we let her sleep on her belly) to her back 5 or 6 times. i got to witness the last of the rollovers, before derek weighted her down with a blanket.

this morning, i tried to capture a rollover on digital media, with no luck. seems she's only interested in performing this trick for the purposes of remaining awake.

5 weeks and 1 day...

nature vs. nurture...

do my kids get their dislike of sleep from a gene that derek and/or i am carrying? or do i simply make my kids hate sleep? perhaps i'm just so fun that they can't stand to miss out on just one minute of it...

all kidding aside, we're having a pretty tough couple of days here lately. anna has slowly abandoned her terrific sleeping habits for a more sparsely populated schedule of sleeping. and it sucks.

she's really not all that bad when she's awake. which is a plus. isaac screamed his little head off during all waking hours when he was this age. so, no complaints on that. she does require a bit of entertaining when she's awake. and with my hands full, it's hard to tend to other things (showers, brushing teeth, preparing meals, eating meals, isaac). so, it can get a bit frustrating. then when she does actually sleep, i'm rushing around (as quietly as i possibly can) doing all the aforementioned tasks, hoping to squeeze in a few minutes of quality time with my neglected older child before the next round of awake baby comes along.

i know, i know. if it's so rough, why am i on this blog right now. well, i've instituted a bit of a quiet time for the boy. he's in his room, "reading" books. hopefully falling asleep soon. currently singing. so, we'll see how it goes. and anna, who (thank goodness) seems to like her swing for now, is swinging back and forth dozing on and off. so, i thought i would get this all out there. of my chest sort of. to remember if i ever get the notion to have another...

anyhow, i think my new plan is to not care. if anna is going to sleep when she wants and not when she should (ie: when she's clearly tired and has been up forever) and she's not so unhappy when she's awake, i think i'll just strap her into the bjorn and carry on. forget what the books and other people say about routines and schedules and babywise and sleep solutions and happiest babies and all that crap.

for every minute that i'm trying to get her to sleep and she's staring up at me with those beady eyes and isaac is running rampant all over the house (usually naked), i feel like a worse and worse parent. frustrated with a 5 week old baby. resentful that she's taking time from isaac. worried that i'm turning him into a neglected kid. stressed because she "should" be sleeping more. so, if i don't try to get her to sleep and just let her do what she wants... maybe i'll feel better. we'll see...

Happy Girl

ghetto deck pool

i commissioned derek to purchase a $10 blue plastic wading pool from walmart for our deck. we're high class now. isaac doesn't really like full all out swimming, so it's pretty much perfect for us. i'm not sure how many more things we can cram on the deck. we currently have a pool, a sand/water table, a grill, a table and 4 chairs, another chair for isaac, an herb garden (sort of), and some other random items...

anyhooo... here's some pics from our adventures in the ghetto deck pool...

anna, in the shade, taking in some fresh air:

isaac, explaining to me that he doesn't think this is "such a good idea":

soaking feet:

one month

anna is one month old today. it's gone by fairly quickly, i suppose. more quickly at first than it's going now. she's getting a little tougher. a little more needy. and a little less likely to sleep. it's definitely challenging here and there. (like right now, that she's awakening from a nap way way way too early...)

last night, we were fighting to keep her awake for just a few minutes so we could eat dinner before we bathed her and put her to bed. this was at 6:40. after her bath, she was awake until 10:40. it makes no sense. and it's irritating. the good news was, after she finally went to sleep, she slept until 4am-ish. so, that was nice.

i would love to be able to duct tape a pacifier to her face. i think she would sleep much more consistently if i were allowed to do that. i should check some baby websites to see where pediatricians stand on that... i'm pretty sure i already know.

all this lack of sleep and neediness is hard on isaac. he's feeling pretty neglected. and that sucks. i don't want to wish away my life, but i'm really looking forward to getting out of this infant time. i've said it before and i'll say it again, i'm not a big fan of little bitty babies. at least this time around, i have a better perspective... that it will go by in a flash and i'll hardly remember it. with isaac, there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

well, that's all the rambling i have for now. it's hard to compose my thoughts with an awakening baby on the other side of the room. :)

anna's first big adventure

with beautiful weather in the forecast for the day, and a mom and boy itching to get out of the house, we decided to head to the natural science center in greensboro. we packed up the entire contents of our house (it felt like) and rolled on down the road...

the springy teeter-totter like contraption.

water table:

examining the current:

too cool:

inside the kitchen hut:

anna was conked out most of the day in the bjorn:

isaac and derek checking out the sweet marble contraption:

view of sweet marble contraption:


obviously, all of these pictures depict a delightful day, but such was not the case...

most of the trip consisted of either one or two kids whining and crying. isaac hated being outside. anna hated (read: screamed in) her carseat for most of the day. it was 90 degrees. isaac didn't really care about most of the exhibits. to end the trip, isaac dozed off in the car and just as we pulled onto our street, he awakened screaming he was wet. so, now i have a pee soaked car seat to contend with...

but, we got out. got fresh air. survived. :)