I've Moved! The Blog, That Is...

Scott helped me move the blog onto our home server, and I am cooking up some catch-up posts with actual photos. I know, it's been all text and no play. So check it out! The Good Life is now at www.ScottnMary.com. See you there!

It's a Simple Life

It's been pretty quiet around here, and for the most part we have just been hangin at home, solidifying a routine and trying to get into the habit of being active every day. So, I am working on a Top Three for July, but in the meantime, I thought I would update you on our latest photos and happenings:

I've been a little obsessed with these rise overnight TJ's croissants, don't they look yummy? I couldn't wait, I ate one before I even grabbed the camera.

I love these faces he makes, they are just hysterical!

On a beautiful morning last week, Ben just didn't want to say goodbye to Daddy. When he walked away from his crib that morning, he cried out for him! When Scott left for work, I opened up the front door so that he could watch him pull away.

And then he waved goodbye! So sweet. I wish Scott could have seen it.

We got Ben a new highchair awhile back. It's just like the restaurant highchairs, except that it's stain is dark and it matches our dining set. It was only forty bucks at Target and the height is perfect. He pulls right up to our table and he loves that. We have family dinners together at about six every night and we try to give him what we are having, plus a bit of baby food to fill him up, he's quite an eater.

This last weekend we headed up to the Bay Area for a wedding and Ben stayed with Grandma and Grandpa for the evening. We had a wonderful time out together and I know those three had a ball, too. Ben has gotten to the age where I would bet that he even recognizes the smell of his grandparents' house. When we bring him in from the car and transfer him into the playard, he just rolls over and goes right to sleep until morning. I think he knows exactly where he is and if he wakes during the night he isn't afraid. He is all smiles when he sees his grandparents and immediately lets them take over.

 We had a great time at Mike and Renee's wedding. It was beautiful, and fun, and the food was delicious. I even got Scott out on the dance floor! So we have been having a wonderful couple of weeks.

This week, Ben is extremely fussy even as he is making huge leaps and bounds learning how to crawl. No matter if he has a clean diaper and a full tummy, he is just fussing the whole time he is playing. His teeth are all in, so who knows what's going on with him. He must be having some growing pains. Mama is having some growing pains, too, now. He is so darn cute, though, I think we will get through it. Hope all of you are enjoying your summer!

Night Rider

I love to travel. That being said, I am not a seasoned world traveller by any stretch of the imagination. I've been to Europe twice in my life, and loved it each time, but that's it. I can't even claim to have seen more than a handful of states in this country. But California? I know California.



image from here



Among other routes, I used to drive I-5 from the central coast to Chico, over and over for a couple of months. This was about ten years ago. My car didn't have air conditioning. I would buy a gallon of water and put it behind the passenger seat. Every twenty minutes or so I would grab it by the handle and slosh it over my head, drenching my hair and the entire front of my body, plus the cloth seat. In the dry heat of Sacramento traffic, everything would be dry in about fifteen minutes. However, with all the windows rolled down, you had fifteen minutes of homemade air conditioning!

Understandably, now my favorite time to drive long distances is at night. Despite the fact that I now have air conditioning. I love the community of drivers on the road in the evening. They are mostly long distance drivers, they aren't late for work, and they are more generous than daytime traffic. I love the colors of the evening, my favorite time of day. The silvery metallic blue of the flat freeway, sparkling like a mirage where it meets the glowing horizon. The Salinas river, carving out the landscape like a bright mirror laying in the dark. The headlights sparkle like Christmas lights as the stars start to emerge and the moon rises. Long distance driving is one of the activities that seems to force me to live in the moment. I do my best thinking on the road at night.



image from here


One of the best things I learned from Al-Anon, a support group I belong to, is the metaphor of the rear view mirror. Examining your past is good, and looking to the future is good, but only in short glances. Staring into it for too long is as dangerous as never looking at all. A few glances every so often is just right. I always think of this when I'm driving, for obvious reasons, and I take that opportunity to think about my past, my future, and if my present life is everything I want it to be.

Life for me right now is both peaceful and exciting. I have never felt so aware, empowered and blessed ever in my life. With my husband tapping away on his laptop, my baby fast asleep in the backseat, it feels great to sink into that cozy feeling of fulfillment. Or is that just my seat warmer?

Shaky Booty Time!

So, we are going to have a flood of wonderful, beautiful photos courtesy of our bestie Dan Shaw over at Dan Shaw Photography, in a couple of weeks. So I am holding off on the big Baptism post until I have those to share with you. It just seems incomplete without that day. But this one above is a little sneak peek. This little guy just loves being with Grandma and Grandpa.

In the middle of the Baptism Weekend Extravaganza I had a wonderful visit from my Chico girls, Ali and Kris and their little ones, Evie and Wyatt. We went to the park, and played with blocks, and then began.... Shaky Booty Time.

Basically the game was that I stay on my hands and knees and chase Evie around while she does laps around the living room. Everytime I "miss" catching her, she stops in the kitchen and strikes some pose, like the one below. Then she says "Shaky Boooooty Tiiime!" and turns around and shakes her booty. Hysterical. I am ordered to follow suit, and then she runs again. Every now and then she declares "Fishy Tiiiime!" and I get a water break.

At one point I was so tired I pretended to forget where my booty was, and Evie not only demonstrated it's location but encouraged me to "smash it". Love that girl.

Road = 1.... Me = 0

Ya... so that didn't go as well as I'd hoped. Main problems?

1. Since I was alone, I had to travel during the day, when Ben eats the most often.
2. It takes me about 30 minutes to feed him. Add in a diaper change and trip to the bathroom, and thats about an hour per stop. Counting from the beginning of each feeding, that means an hour until we have to stop again to eat.
3. If you do the math from the first two, you can understand why a 3 hour trip took us 6. Each way. Well, toward the end, the kid just didn't want to be stuck strapped to that seat anymore. Can't say I blame him.

Positives:

1. Cloth diapers rock and were very easy. Just as easy as the disposables, except bigger of course.
2. When we did stop, Ben was so cooperative with my learning curve. He was wonderful while I stood in lines and put him into awkward positions to change his diaper.
3. Once my sister arrived, the relief was immediate. I went from utter exhaustion to feeling like I could finish the day after all.

On the way down, he was great. He slept for the first hour and a half, I stopped to feed and change him, and everything went off without a hitch. We got all the way down into LA, with him sound asleep. And right as the 405 was meeting the 101, in like 7 lanes of stop and go traffic, I think to myself- this would be the one place where it would be super hard to pull over- and pow!
Ben starts wailing like someone stuck him with a pin. Completely out of nowhere, just working his lungs for all he is worth! I reach back with one hand and pet his head, singing loudly. I am trying to figure out how to get off the freeway (to go where?) and a CHP officer pulls up just to my right, so I have to be extra careful. I somehow get off the freeway, with Ben still screaming, higher and louder than I thought possible. Immediately off the exit I peel into a carwash that I happen to catch sight of.
I park awkwardly off to the side, jump in the back and lock all the doors. As I am bouncing and rocking Ben, (when I still can't calm him, I lay him on my lap and whip off his diaper, putting on a clean one) I am looking around at where we are. It starts to rain, and a burrito truck pulls up near me. A van pulls in and parks right to my left. It looks like they are in line for the car wash, but there is no one in there, since of course, its raining. I am just praying that nobody approaches my car.
Finally Ben quiets and looks tired and peaceful. I set him in the car seat and pull the straps around him. One piece just will not line up and fit into the other. It appears as if it has been put on backwards. But I just got him out of the seat! I figured I must be frazzled from the screaming. I take a deep breath, and try again. And again. And again! Finally there seems to be no other option but to fold the strap in half and try to twist this piece around. By this time Ben's patience is wearing thin. I laugh to myself and tell him, "Someday, kid, I am going to tell you about this trip, and you will laugh. And hopefully so will I". It takes me two hands to muscle the buckle. How did it get flipped? I will never know.
Once we arrive he is extremely cranky. I feed him, but he cannot settle down. He has been fussy anyway, and he really put on a show for Nana. She can't hear well, so every time I would have to answer a question, he would startle and get upset again. She also asked repeatedly if there was something wrong. I explained that he is a little bit fussy in the afternoons, that he just has a little colic, nothing to be concerned about. It was draining. By the evening I could feel my face had fallen, I could barely hold my eyes open. Then Stephanie arrived! Ah what a relief.

Then things were calmer, and easier. Ben was still fussy, but I went upstairs to change and feed him, like we do at home, just the two of us, and that quieted him down quite a bit. He was content to play in his carseat, with ribbons that Nana tied to the top. He loved them and stared and batted at them for hours. We took Ben over to the neighbor's house, where Nana has an evening "Happy Hour" every night in the garage. Her friends oohed and aahed and she got to show him off with bright pride. It was worth it. Barely worth it- but still. She is eighty-nine in just some days and who knows how much time with her we have left. I took out the video camera, and walked through the house, documenting as well as I could the accomplishments and precious belongings that hung on the walls. I want us all to remember that house. They built a beautiful life together, my grandparents. They valued hard work, community service, family and history. I hope those values pass down to the generations that follow them.
I planned to leave early, after Ben's first feeding. Getting everything together had me staying up a little later than usual, after finally getting Ben to sleep. He woke up at 5:30 to eat, and I was feeling pretty well organized, when he blew out his diaper in the middle of his meal! I had to stop everything, change him completely, rinse out his diaper cover and finish feeding him, which added on some extra time. And, poop got all over the breastfeeding pillow, too, so I had to clean that off. We finally left at 7am, which put us right in the middle of rush hour. But what was I going to do? I had to get on the road, we weren't going to get home any sooner sitting around. It took us three hours to get out of the LA area, with two planned stops to change and eat. He eventually threw a fit near Goleta and I had to pull over and comfort him. When he had calmed down, we pulled back out on the road, and five minutes later he was screaming again. We were a little over an hour from home, and what he clearly wanted was to be there, so I had to keep on. It was heartbreaking to listen to him scream, although I stroked his temples and sang to him as loudly as I could. It was quite awhile but he cried himself to sleep. I nearly cried, too.
We made it home and I was beat down. I emptied what I could and laid down with him, and when Scott got home he finished unloading the car, and took care of him so I could take a long shower. That pretty much fixed all that needed to be fixed. But definitely next time, we will have to make some changes, although I think it will still be really hard. We will try to travel when he is about to go down to sleep, around seven, because thats when he sleeps the longest. I am considering how I can carry a bottle or two of breastmilk with us. Other than that, lots of prayer, I guess!

Headed to LA and Terrified...

I really wanted my first trip to be at Thanksgiving, where basically Scott would be able to load, haul and unload for me, and I would just have to weather the car ride. I love him. But, that is not to be. We have enough trips north and south lined up all the way into February and I promised my Nana, who is gaining on 90 now, that she would be able to hold her newborn great-grandson. Her very first. Newborn, being the key word there. I know it will change her world and add a check to her bucket list and that matters so much to me that I am packing up the car by myself and taking Ben through LA traffic to see her. On Wednesday. Scott will be staying here to work. My Grandad passed away a year ago September, and their wedding anniversary would have been this Friday. She said that Ben's birth and this visit are keeping her spirits up during what might have been a darker time of year. I can't wait to see her face when she sees Ben! But why haven't we developed an instant travel device yet?

Just an update- I have been feeling better (read: not critical). But by no means am I normal, unfortunately. If I stay on my feet for too long I get more pain and swelling. The doctor said I wouldn't start feeling normal until 8 weeks though, so I'm just trying to relax and be patient. So, hoping that this trip goes really smoothly. I'll be bringing food, so Scott did some chopping for me tonight. To prepare, I've been trying to stay on top of medications and stuff like that. I plan on driving straight there, sitting or laying down the whole time, and then driving back :) Bonus- I get to see my sister!

Beautiful San Diego

We loooove San Diego and we looooove the Schmalbachs! We drove in Thursday night and just crashed (we pregnant ladies get tired early). Then in the morning we all got up with Smalls, who had to go to work, and Heather and I got ready to go to Sea World with Sydney's baby sign class (so cute). Well we ended up waiting... standing.. in the parking lot... for over an hour before they could check us in. In a sea of strollers and crying toddlers. The other parents were really sweet, and Syd was so patient I couldn't believe it! She was fine for the most part, just wanted to be allowed to sit on the ground, eat her snacks and people watch. The only time she was not a happy camper was when Mom insisted on sunscreen. Then the gloves came off. We had a great time, it was good to get walking around like that, I haven't been walking as much as I should be. I kinda got out of the exercise groove during that heinous first trimester. Yesterday I went on a nice brisk walk with my friend Amber, so I am trying to get back in the swing of things. We saw penguins and sea lions and otters and my favorite (although I hadn't known this before...) orcha whales!!!! Wow!! Two of them jumping in this small but reeeeaaally deep training pool. I just couldn't believe how larger than life they were! I think Syd was looking at me more than the whales because I kept gasping and saying "Oh my gosh they are sooo big!" Huge fun. But we tuckered out after a couple of hours.

The Smalls' took us to Coronado, where we walked to lunch and played in "the jungle" (a little planted area with some bushes and palm trees). Didn't quite make it to the park, but Syd seemed very entertained. Lunch was fun, I got Syd to sing some songs on video and she played with her straw and napkin... we don't care where we are, we are entertained doing nothing, if we are with these guys. Syd seems to feel the same, which is phenomenal considering she is two. She just goes with the flow.

We had some great meals, Heather and I compared bumps and caught up on our lives and recent events, watched some Bones on TV. The boys went to a brewery and generally palled around together. We played with bubbles outside while barbequing a delicious dinner. We watched two of Syd's favorite movies: "Cars" and "Ice Age". I recommended Madagascar one and two (shout out to Kris, who's son is completely obsessed) and we also saw some "Sesame Street Racecars" which featured Slimey, Oscar the Grouch's pet worm, in the "Wormadega". Syd can count to thirteen (and then she repeats thirteen about 5 times or so) and she can sing her ABC's quite clearly. She keeps up great conversation, is really good with her manners, and generally a nice person to hang out with. She opens and closes her fists at light speed when shes excited about something, so I copied her when we were about to do something fun and she would laugh and say, "May-we ess-ited!"

Another wonderful weekend. Enjoy the rest of the pics:

VEGAS!!!

Vegas was so much fun! It was my first time there and I was loving all the sights. New York New York and Paris, and the Bellagio... the Luxor! Just so many interesting buildings and designs! And I still can't believe the electric bills these places must pay... insane. We had a great view from our room at the Mirage, and were gaping out the window for the first hour!


We immediately went for a walk down the strip, stopping first to see the volcano show outside our hotel, then on to the water fountains at the Bellagio... (and I got to drool in the windows of Chanel and Dior... yum...) and we had drinks in our room and enjoyed the scenery.


The next day we went to see the Secret Garden at the Mirage, which is basically a dolphin area and a garden with tigers and lions. There were underwater tanks where we could get really               close to the dolphins, it was amazing. They also had some white tiger cubs that were adorable, about six months old.




That night we went out to a nice romantic dinner together downstairs at Kokomo's and just enjoyed our quiet, married version of a Vegas vacation. I was really close to the end of my cycle, and as the weekend wore on, I could no longer kick back wine and cocktails with Scott... but we still had fun!


The next day, Scott did some golfing and I relaxed and watched trash television. Wow, the depths I will sink to when no one is around and I have nothing else to do and limited channels, hahaha! When he came home we had a quick dinner and got fancy for my surprise show. It turned out he was taking me to the Beatles "Love" Cirque de Soleil! It was incredible! A great mix of hits and obscure songs, beautiful, beautiful costumes and props, and incredible acrobatics and dancing. My jaw was on the floor when the beautiful ladies hanging from ropes began to climb them using their toes... I can't even conceive of that...

The next day we headed home happy and had a very smooth drive and a wonderful time together. YAY VEGAS!

Holidays with the Schmalbachs

Well the holidays were great all around! Steph, Scott and I stayed in and had movie marathons and such all through Christmas Eve, had some great home cooking and opened presents together on Christmas morning. I helped Steph sew her own stocking that matched ours, so that for Christmases to come she will have her own. We went for cocktails to a family friends and saw the Schmalbachs also.

We then headed up to the Bay Area to see Scott's family, have a Christmas party with them and then we saw the Puccinelli's for a bit. Zach has gotten so big already! After that, we came home for a day and then headed down to San Diego to stay with the Schmalbachs. We had a great time as usual! Shopping and eating and playing with Sydney. We played the game "Things" to keep us up on New Year's Eve and were all laughing 'til we cried!

The next morning, Sydney spent a lot of effort trying to get "Scott Thomas" out of bed, it was so cute! She had all her stuffed animals on the bed and was rolling around, climbing on him and talking to him. They had become great friends this trip.

From there, we drove out to Vegas!

For Better or For Worse...

Well, we had a wonderful time in San Diego. We celebrated some birthdays with friends and had a wonderful time with the Schmalbachs!






This is Bond and I having a late breakfast with Stephanie and the birthday kids Emily and Kirby.


Later on after breakfast, we were driving around La Jolla when I got the call from Kelly that she was in the hospital! Zach was born much later, at 4am, healthy and according to all who have met him, the sweetest little guy there ever was.

Sydney and I were able to catch up on some stories while I was there. Her favorite book right now has to be "Slowly Slowly Slowly". A book about a sloth in a tree. Scott and I both read that one until we had it memorized. Conveniently enough, it featured a bit about the sloth hanging in the tree at night, and we spent a lot of time discussing how it becomes dark at night, so...educational moments abound everywhere.

However, Steph and I came home to some serious challenges. Family issues, college deadlines and fertility just seem to be humongous mountains to climb right now. I wish we had all the answers and we were living in a carefree season, but we are leaning on each other and Scott and are determined to get through all of this one day at a time. I am just so grateful for my friends and the way that you love and accept me despite my stupid moments. It makes handling life's bumps that much easier. Thanks.