I Guess I'll Have To Leave The House At Some Point.

I've been on maternity leave from work for ten weeks now.
It feels like I've been on leave for a week or two.
I can't believe it's coming to an end.
I don't want it to.

I feel like I've sort of just hidden from the world since Matthew joined us.
Like I've been in this tiny, protected place surrounded by the ones I love.
I've done nothing really.
I barely answer my phone at this point.
It's been a big undertaking just to take the baby over to my in-laws for the afternoon.
Which is strange for me actually.
I'm usually a pretty go go go person.
But I'll be honest.
I'm loving this time off.

It's surprising to me that we've been able to spend this long together and not be ready to rip each others hair out.
But I think it's just that my husband, myself and the kids are content.
Content to spend the afternoon doing silly science experiments with household items.
Content to stare at the baby for hours straight.
Content to eat dinner at home, at the same time, together, every night.
Content to laugh together, play together, hang out together and just be a family.

Maybe we're loving it so much because it's something that's lacking so desperately in our "normal" everyday life.
My husband and I don't have a day off together.
We live in Vegas... that's just how it works out here.
We both work 10 hour days at our jobs.
We get home, eat when we can, and are lucky if we get 30 minutes right before bed to catch up.
Add in the needs of our now two kids and it doesn't leave too much for us.
And that's okay.
We make it work.
And we enjoy the hell out of our vacations spent together.

But I'm still not quite ready for this "new" sort of normal to come to an end.
It's nice being able to look at my husband and say "Hey, let's go check out The Slider Truck tonight" and not having to check my blackberry and my schedule and then deciding if it's something we can "fit in".
It's nice being able to re-connect with family.  My mom spent two weeks here with us.  That's something that there's just never time for.  Typically it's quick visits on trips home to Buffalo.  Never enough time to really connect.
It's nice being able to take Michael to the water park, to indoor mini golf, and to just spend time with him.  We don't get a lot of down time when we're working.  It's nice to be able to hang out with him without having to rush to soccer or football or a school event.

And most of all, it's nice watching Matthew grow and smile and respond to us.  He's changed so much in the last 10 weeks.  I hate the thought of missing even a second of it.

Maternity leave is supposed to be about healing and bonding with your baby.  But I've gotten so much more out of this time of.  

I've found that this time has brought me even closer to my family than ever.  

It's taught me how small and insignificant the daily stresses really are.

And it's taught me that no matter how indispensable I feel at work... they're doing just fine without me.

My family, on the other hand, would not...

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've got two more blissful weeks off with my family.

I'd tell you that I'm going to make the most of it and do lots of exciting things... but I'd be lying.

I'm going to do my best to spend as much "down time" as I can with the ones I love.

And I'm going to love every minute of it!

Getaway to Zion

So we finally made it.
I wasn't sure that we were going to be able to make the trip.
But we got one glorious night in Zion.
And it was all I hoped it would be.

If you're planning on camping, the sites at the South Campground often fill up early in the summer.
We weren't going to be able to arrive til late afternoon so I reserved a site at the Watchman Campground.
I hadn't realized previously how far towards town the Watchman Campground is.
We stayed in the B Loop and had a great site right across from the river.
It was perfect because we were able to play around in the river for the evening.  When you've got a child who was raised in the desert, playing in a river is a pretty big deal!

The Virgin River was running higher and stronger than I'd ever seen it.  Michael and Kevin did some river re-routing. I'm pretty sure that Michael's favorite part was actually destroying the re-routing he had assigned to Kevin.  We really tried to give Michael a little more freedom than we normally would.  It's hard for me to accept but he is 8 years old now.  As much as I'd like for him to continue being my baby who needs my protection, he's more independent every day.

Michael climbed trees which is also pretty exciting coming from the desert.  I mean, our backyard has palm trees.  Not exactly safe for climbing.  He scared the hell out of me and scraped himself up pretty good getting down but I guess that's what boys do.  I should probably get used to it.  

Look how happy he is?!?!  Michael really needed this trip.  I think he was really happy to have one night where it was all about him.  No rushing off to feed or change the baby.  No shushing him because he's being too loud.  He's been amazing with Matthew but I still think it's been a huge adjustment having a baby in the house.  He needed this attention and freedom desperately.

Here we are at Weeping Rock.  This trail is steep but short and the view from the top is worth the walk.  The water seeps out from an overhang above non-stop.  When Michael was little, he'd get really upset and want to understand why the rock was crying.  Here's what I realized doing the Weeping Rock trail.  I am seriously out of shape.  I've conquered Angel's Landing before and I struggled to get up Weeping Rock?  Not cool.  

While having a picnic lunch we noticed this in the sky.  I've never seen anything quite like it and found it incredibly unique and beautiful until my husband mentioned that he hoped it wasn't a hole in the ozone layer or something like that.  Then it started to make me a bit nervous.  Okay... not really but I really should look into what this may have been.

This was seriously my favorite picture from the trip.  I don't know why.  Kevin noted that it's just their backs. But I love it.  Every time I look at it I smile!

We spent our afternoon on the second day playing in the river and a little tributary flowing into it.  We built dams, we destroyed dams.  We said the word dam a lot.  I got attacked by a Yucca plant.  I also got attacked by the sun.  Unfortunately, I'm the only one in the family that gets sunburned.  It's ridiculous.  My husband and my son basically look out the window and get a tan.  I spend 5 minutes outside and it's days of  aloe to look forward to.

We drove back to Vegas that afternoon.  Short but sweet.  And upon our return, we rushed to see our beautiful Matthew.  Matthew was spoiled rotten by Gramma for 36 hours straight.  He's changing so fast, I think he got even chubbier in the night we were gone!

All in all, I'm so glad we were able to go!  It's was the break we all needed!  It was an early birthday present for Michael.  It was the perfect over-nighter!

Gigaball Inflation... Not To Be Attempted Alone

One of the gifts Michael got for his birthday was a Gigaball.
The kids were are super excited to try out this thing.  According to the box, a child fits inside and get rolled around.  They couldn't wait the morning after the sleepover to get to the park and test it out.
I had to stay home with the baby so Kevin piled the kids in the car and headed down to the park.

I think he expected to be gone maybe an hour.  Give him 15 to 20 minutes to inflate the thing and give the kids 45 minutes to play in it.
Well the Gigaball isn't exactly that simple.
Thankfully, my husband videoed the hilariousness that ensued.
He has the patience of a saint to stick it out and finish this project.
And although I know he was thoroughly ready to kill someone not enjoying himself, I love the fact that he always finishes what he starts.

Enjoy!




In the end... Michael and his friends had a blast!
But I can tell you this... we won't be deflating the Gigaball anytime soon!

8 Years Of Michael!!!

We survived the sleepover!
Four 8 year old boys.
And I can tell you this... I was nervous.
I was convinced that I'd need to have mass amounts of activities planned to keep these boys occupied.
My husband swore I wouldn't.
I swore he was wrong.
He swore that 8 year old boys will totally occupy themselves and all they'll really want is to be left alone by the adults.
I swore they were going to argue, be bored, not get along and several other absolute calamities.

I was wrong.

Michael's birthday started out a day early.
I let him open Grampapa's present early since he was leaving for England the next day and I wanted Michael to be able to Skype him before he left.

Seriously.  Michael now has the best Ipod in the house.  And he's loving it.  I think his favorite part is having the freedom to download whatever he wants.  He's picked his own music, TV episodes and lots and lots of games of course.  Me... I'm just generally jealous.  But he loves it!!!  Thanks Grampapa!

Our big present to Michael was a full sized basketball net.  We did a scavenger hunt in the morning where Michael had to find clues all over the house that eventually brought him outside to find his gift.  It was definitely fun and the net is an entire neighborhood hit!  The kids are playing with it.  The Dad's are playing with it.  It seems to me that a basketball net brings everyone together.

Here's Michael figuring out his last clue!

Yep.  He's a happy boy!

The only activity I did plan for the boys was dinner.  I let them make their own pizzas.  They did great and I'd say it was a good choice.  I don't know a kid on the planet that doesn't love pizza!

One of the presents he got from his grandparents Dave and Jones was this chalk sprayer thingy.  I can tell you this... the entire street is now spray painted in chalk.  They've drawn race tracks, basketball court lines and plenty of notes to each other!  Definitely a hit!

Here's Michael opening one of his presents from Gramma!  It's a giant, inflatable ball that the kids can get in and roll around in.  The funniest part of this was Kevin attempting to inflate it, at the park, with 6 kids chomping at the bits to get into it.  That really should be a post of it's own once I get the whole thing edited together.  But once it was finally inflated and ready to go, the kids loved it!

Michael also got a go-kart for his birthday.  I can tell you this.  I absolutely hate this thing.  It's too fast in my opinion and I'm basically a nervous wreck anytime it's running.  Michael loves it though.  I guess that's all that matters.



All in all, it was an awesome birthday for Michael.  He was spoiled rotten as usual!  He spent the day with friends and stayed up all night watching Avatar while jumping on the air mattress we set up in the living room.

Me?  I'm just glad it's over.  I hate how fast he's growing up.  I just want time to slow down.  Thankfully, he's still at an age where he wants to snuggle with me and just spend time with his mom.  I know I won't have that for too much longer.

So I'm loving every minute that I have it.

Happy Birthday Michael!!!

Retro Bakery = Amazing

Michael's 8th birthday approached quick this year.
We've got a newborn, which makes everything go by quickly.
We snuck off to Zion for camping.
And when we got home, we were way behind in planning Michael's birthday party.
This year, Michael chose to have a few friends from school over for a slumber party.
Everything was going great until I realized that I had forgotten to order a cake.
So I rushed over to my absolute favorite local bakery, Retro Bakery.

If you didn't know... I'm a buttercream fanatic.
And I'll admit... Retro's is the best.
I'm really lucky because I live basically around the corner from this obscenely delicious bakery.
But to be honest... I'd cross the city for it if it wasn't so close.

But what I think I appreciate the most about this place is that it's local.
It's 2 people who decided to actually make their dreams reality.
A family working together, having fun together, and generally just making it happen.

I've got dreams...   but I don't chase them.
And what I love about going to Retro is that they are two people who most certainly won't look back and say "I wish I'd tried..."

And really... I just love going there.  They are genuinely friendly there.  Every time I stop in, I feel totally welcome.  I've actually had to sneak in on several occasions because some friends of mine own the business next door and I don't want them to think I'm some sort of a-hole for not stopping in.  But seriously, sometimes you just need a cupcake.

I don't think I've ever tasted a better one than the 9th Island.  Vegas is considered the 9th island to Hawaiians.  This cupcake... mmmmmmm... my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Macadamia nuts, white chocolate, and coconut buttercream.

I picked up 4 cupcakes just stopping in to order Michael's cake.

My 9th Island is in the upper left corner.  Michael wanted the chocolate.  So we started his birthday celebration a little early.

He's a happy boy.

Here's his super delicious cake...

The kids loved it.  The adults loved it.  But what's most important?

We supported local, family owned business.

Anyone can order a cake from some giant, uncaring chain that's in it for one thing.

So often now a days, small businesses are beat down forced out by giant corporations with deep pockets.  By shopping at those "cheaper" places, we're contributing to the demise of small business.

I'd go out of my way to support small business any day.  

But it helps when the product they're offering is so far beyond anything offered anywhere else.

Thanks Retro Bakery.

You've outdone yourself again!

I Have NO Idea Why I'm Not Losing Weight

As you know, I had a baby 8 weeks ago.

While I was pregnant, I ate everything I could get my hands on.

And I gained weight.

A lot of weight.

I swore to myself that as soon as I had Matthew, I'd start eating right and working out regularly.

Well, it's been 8 weeks.

I'm working out irregularly.

And eating right???

Well, below you can see my recent order at Pizza Hut...

Now... this order is for myself, my husband and Michael.
Obviously Matthew will be dining on a bottle.
Two large pizzas.
A double order of breadsticks.
Cinnamon sticks.
Is any of that really necessary?
I mean seriously, could I not have at least said no to the cinnamon sticks?

Completely and utterly too much food for 3 people.

And I wonder why the weight's not melting off????

Matthew's Super Incredible Nursery

One of the things that I believed kept me from going into labor was our nursery.

I honestly believe that my body just wouldn't let me have that baby until it was complete.
How do I know this???
Well, we finished it on the night of April 7th.
By 9am on the morning of April 8th, we were walking into the hospital.

My husband and my father in law did an amazing job on the nursery.
Matthew moved into Michael's old room.

Here's what it looked like before Michael moved out.

If you're wondering... this is on a really, really good day.  It didn't normally look like this.

Here it is with everything out.  The carpet was ripped out, blinds taken down and walls prepped for paint.

My husband was trying to do this on his days off.

It wasn't easy to do everything they wanted to do in a weekend.

But my husband's amazing.

And he never ceases to amaze me.

I'll admit.  Kevin picked the colors and chose the theme.  This is prior to the chair rail and flooring going in.

We went with dark flooring which really brought the whole room together.

And here is the final product.

I think that Kevin should win some sort of room makeover award for this.

It's just beautiful.

And far beyond my expectations!

And it put me into labor!

Now I'm just waiting to see what it becomes when Matthew becomes a toddler.

That should be interesting.

Chemicals, Plastics and Lunchables, Oh Boy!

I'll admit it.

I love Sanjay Gupta.

I couldn't wait for his Toxic America special.

The first night was Toxic Towns.

It talked about a town in Louisiana surrounded by chemical plants.

Townspeople were suddenly being sickened with horrible, unspeakable diseases.

Watching that reminded me of home.

See, I grew up about 15 minutes from Love Canal.

I swam in the Niagara River as a child.

All of my friends did the same.

I'm 33 years old.

At 33, I have seen more friends I went to high school with be diagnosed with cancers of all types than I can count.  Breast cancer, testicular cancer, leukemia, skin cancer are just a small sample.  Add in rheumatoid arthritis, among other things and it starts to seem too common for such a small group of people.

Our kids... sadly, too many of them are sick as well.  ADHD, Autism, Down's Syndrome.

We'll probably never be able to prove that Love Canal is still affecting us and our kids.  But if you ask me... it is.

The second night of Sanjay's special was Toxic Childhood.  It focused on the chemicals that are currently being found in our children and the types of effects that they're having. 

As a mother of a child with ADHD, I find this especially interesting. 

Prior to starting Michael on medication, we attempted to remove all food dyes from his diet, thinking this might be the cause of the hyperactivity. 

I can tell you this... it is hard, really hard, to remove food dyes from the diet of a picky child.  They're everywhere. 

I recently found this article as well.  It's a recent study done showing that a certain pesticide could also be a cause of childhood ADHD.  The study shows that it's probably not affecting adults, but children are so much more sensitive to this type of thing.  It recommends switching to organic  fruits and veggies for kids.  But even then, you're not totally safe.  It's virtually impossible to figure out where the strawberries on your counter travelled from, let alone what they were treated with while growing.

One of the things that Sanjay focused on in his investigation was plastics. 

Plastics are everywhere.

We are surrounded by them.

He talked about the different types of plastic and the recycling numbers found on certain plastic containers.

Most importantly, he warns to avoid plastic with the number 7. 

If the recycling number on a container is a 7, assume the container contains BPA unless it says otherwise.

BPA is an Environmental Protection Agency "chemical of concern," one of five substances the agency has targeted for increased scrutiny and potential new regulation.

Why does the FDA allow these plastics to be used by consumers?

I haven't the slightest clue.

But I can tell you that I searched my entire plastic storage cabinet looking for the number 7.  That turned into searching medicine cabinets and anything that crossed my path that was made of plastic.

Thankfully, I didn't find it.

That is, until I opened the fridge and looked at my son's Lunchables.

Every day, Michael insists on a Lunchable in his lunch.

It's the only thing he'll eat. 

I looked on the bottom of the plastic packaging.

An effing number 7!

Are you serious???

I mean, this is a product that is specifically marketed to kids!

How irresponsible can a company be?

Here's the google search info when you type in Lunchables...

Try wholesome & nutritious lunches for kids. | Lunchables

Kids love Lunchables! Try the new, more wholesome Lunchables that Moms can feel good about. brands.kraftfoods.com/lunchables/ - Cached - Similar

Lunchables that Mom's can feel good about?

Seriously?

Brilliant marketing Kraft.

Michael won't be getting Lunchables in his lunches next year. 

It is a small choice that I can make, not to support a product that could potentially harm my child.

I can only hope that Jamie Oliver might decide to visit Las Vegas next year and fix up the school lunch program out here.

As for Sanjay's investigative reporting.

I feel like he's a Doctor, father, human who really cares.

I can't wait to see what he investigates next.

I'm hooked.

Hiking Might Be A Problem...

Considering I've got 50 pounds of baby weight to lose.
And I can't seem to last on the elliptical for more than 17 minutes.
And I'm out of breath just sitting some days.
And I only fit in sweatpants right now.
And I just ate 3 Chips Ahoy because reading this made me depressed.
And I don't normally eat because of depression.
So really I just ate those Chips Ahoy because they looked oh so good.
And I'm not even sure that 17 minutes on the elliptical would burn off the calories in those 3 Chips Ahoy.
Which is really depressing isn't it?

I'm thinking Chips Ahoy might do the trick.

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

One of my favorite books is not a memoir or an exciting biography.
It's Frommer's National Parks of the American West.



I've read through the entire thing more than once and I never get sick of it.
I find it incredible that there are so many diverse, beautiful and original National Parks on this side of the continent.

There are so many parks in this book that I want to visit.

Yellowstone in Wyoming, Olympic in Washington, Bryce in Utah, Yosemite in California.

I'd be well on my way to visiting all of them...
If I didn't go to Zion National Park every time I get a weekend away.

See Zion is what I think heaven is going to look like.
(with a little of the North Shore of Kauai mixed in) ;o)

And every time I get a chance to get out of Vegas, I want to head straight to Zion.

We've camped there through rain and thunderstorms.

Rain in Zion makes for some great waterfalls.

We've hiked there in snow and hail.

We've visited in the fall and seen the most beautiful autumn colors imaginable.

Some of our greatest memories as a family are from Zion.

We've camped more times than I can count.

Stayed in the cabins at the Lodge.

Stayed at Flanigan's Inn.

(If you stay at Flanigan's... splurge on the David Pettit Suite.  It's got a wood burning fireplace and amazing views.)

We've hiked nearly every trail in the park.
I'm still waiting to conquer the Narrows... but that's a tough one to accomplish when you've got kids with you or not a lot of time.

And now... because wishes do come true...

We're heading to Zion again.

It's only for one night.

But I can't wait.

Serenity, beauty, and peace are in my future.

Matthew won't be coming with us.
Which makes me sad.
But I'm thinking 90 degree heat and hiking all day are probably not on his top list of things to do at 2 months old.

For me... it will be a much needed break from Vegas.

And another chance to see what kind of market there in down there for Zion Wool.
Hey... you never know!

I May Have A Philanthropist On My Hands...

A while back, Michael was informed that pets that go to animal shelters (or the pound, in his words) are killed.

This was devastating news to him that he really struggled to process.

Of course, because he's 7 years old, he automatically assumes that the President of the United States can fix this no problem.
So he insisted on being put on a flight to Washington DC immediately where he would just march right into the White House and "explain" to Obama what was happening at the pound. He was certain that once he plead his case, the President would put a stop to this craziness right away.

Obviously he was unhappy to hear that:
A: No one can just "walk right into" the White House to talk to the President
B: We were certainly not going to be placing him on a plane to DC alone with only cab fare to the White House.

So he did the next best thing he could come up with.
He created a video message to put on YouTube that he was positive the President would see.

I don't think Obama's come across it yet.
But I'll tell you this.
I have a compassionate, sensitive and caring child on my hands, who will undoubtedly go on to do incredible, amazing things for humanity.

Here's his video... if you happen to know the President, could you pass it on?
Michael would be forever grateful.
;o)

An Unhappy Birthday.

Matthew is celebrating his 8 week birthday today.

The morning started out with a celebration meal of formula.

I think he was really enjoying himself.

If he could talk... he would have told me so, I'm sure of it.

But then we had to go and take him to celebrate at the Doctor.
For his 8 week checkup.

And of course, to celebrate his big day, the Doctor recommended that he receive his 2 month batch of immunizations.
Gee thanks Doc.
I'm sure that's just what he wants to be doing on his 8 week birthday.

So he got his shots.

And he spent the afternoon crying in obvious pain.
I did what any desperate parent would do and ran to the pharmacy to get him some Tylenol.

Except that Tylenol is entirely recalled right now.
Thanks alot Tylenol.
So I bought generic.

And now we wait.
And as I rock my baby, who's obviously in pain, I sing him Happy Birthday.
I bet if he could talk, he'd be telling me he hates me right now.