day one...of 365

my neighbor told me about this blog where the woman (i assume) is posting a picture of her day, everyday. for 365 days. cara said it sounded like something i would do...and the minute she told me i wanted to do it. so here goes. i am 18 days late in getting started but oh well. punctuality has never been my strong suite.

yes, this is quite a big task i am going to tackle but the little buster is almost 4 months old and i already feel like time is running away from me. so....

day one.

hanging and making some tees. ha. i am afraid this might be the scene of many days this year. and i am sure i will look back at this picture one day, when riley is running circles around me, and think "how nice was it to just sit in peace, and work, with my cooing babe beside me." but for today i was productive and the buster was sweet. and addison was at school. if she were at home i am sure she would have made me some tea while i worked. she is kind like that.

sleeping babes

there is a simple memory that needs no iphone note. no baby book. no photo. it is so deep that it burns. it is this...my babes, breathing in and out, smelling of sweetness, sleeping so softly on my chest.

i can still feel the weight of addison on me. her quiet sighs, her little nudges. her brace on her hips allowing her to lay there so close to me.

and now my boy. my baby. my last. as i sit here, typing with one hand, enveloped by the sound of music and the glow of the tree, i am once again living a memory that will need no documentation. his hums. his sleepy smiles. his peacefulness. they are branded into my heart.

and my heart is full.

she laid on my chest & her breathing filled me almost to beyond what i could hold.

{story people}

little memories

there are things that happen every moment of every day with my little people. and after every happening i say "i will never forget this"...and yet, every time, i forget. it has gotten so bad that i have started using the 'notes' app on the trusty iphone. here are some little memories written in my notes over the past few days...

• tonight riley is sleeping in his room for the first time. such a big boy. and mommy is crying like the baby.
• addison loves having best friends. today she told me 'mom, you are my best family.' way better than being a best friend in my opinion.
• riley has old man farts. seriously. noise and smell. like an old man downing a plate of refried beans.
• chilly (our elf) did not move to a new location last night. i think it broke addison's heart. mental note: don't be a slacker ever again. i have a very precocious 3 year old who will nail me.
• cuddly babes in pj's, fire on, yummy glass of wine, polar express...my heart is full.
• addison has a new bedtime tradition...i read a book then she re-reads said book - inflections and all. sweet and tender.
• i read riley his first bedtime book tonight. he fell asleep. then farted. old man style.
• pretty sure addison drank 9 cups of milk and 17 cups of water today. consequently, we are out of toilet paper.

simple, silly and sweet little memories.

sitting there in your pajamas & all the time in the world & if I could keep any moment it would be this: watching you & holding my breath with the wonder of it all. {story people}

cheers

here i am, on a tuesday afternoon, relishing in a few of my favorite things. both kiddies are fast asleep. i am finally eating lunch - maple glazed turkey sandwich with provolone cheese paired with a full moon sweet tea (with a lot of ice). the christmas music is on. the candles are lit. my second round of mastitis is finally drifting away and i feel like i might survive. the house is clean thanks to the hubs who spent his sunday cleaning away so i would have a spiffy house to come home to. and i am browsing the internet doing a little shopping, a little blog-reading and little emailing. i better stop there - something is bound to blow up in my face if i keep at it.

this past weekend i packed up the kiddies in the honda-no-person-should-have-to-travel-with-two-children-in-these-tight-conditions-or-you-might-lose-your-ever-living-mind-civic and headed northeast to the mountains. the cabin has become one my favorite places. it is so relaxing while being around so much to do. on saturday, among other things, we headed to blue ridge and had lunch at this great little spot called the blue ridge brewery. it was small and quaint and kinda cool. and who goes to a brewery and doesn't order beer, right? and since beer is one of those favorite things of mine, i said why the heck not. so, i ask what is on tap, the waitress names a few - i have no idea what they are so i just get a little crazy and pick #2. palm. yeah, that sounds good. and off she goes.

and then comes back. with this.

i am not the hard-core-cussing kind but as my friend from work would say - wtf? i don't say anything to the waitress but i do wonder....really? this is what i get? since my liquids are measured in ounces thanks to a certain little man, i would say i am the brilliant person who has just ordered 1.5 ounces of a belguim delicacy lager for the small price of $6.50.

i start looking around at other tables. why the heck did they get more than i did. i wondered if this was just a taste but then the waitress never said anything...only "here is your beer" and off she went and never came back. we even google "palm" to find some info...maybe the alcohol content is so high i am only allowed to ingest 1.5 ounces. or maybe it is not safe for nursing mothers. maybe....maybe i am just an idiot.

so the waitress comes back. sees my empty glass and asks "would you like another."

{cough} "umm, no, i am fine. but, is this how it is normally served?"

"oh, that was just a taste, did you like it?"

"oh, oh yes, i really liked the 2 sips you gave me that i thought was my order of $6.50 beer." have i told you i am the village idiot? sigh.

and finally, after much contemplating, googling, discussing and wondering...my beer finally came. hello lager! this, this is beer. i am pretty sure she felt so sorry for the stupid girl who picked #2 because "palm" sounded good and thought 1.5 oz was the serving size that she gave me a little extra. bottoms up!

other than the beer trick the waitress played on me (and the long wait) the food was good. mom had a salad, jim and grandmother had the gourmet hotdog...yum! i had a turkey sandwich that was soooo good. it went really nice with the other 10 ounces of beer i was granted.

what a cute pic of shug and her shadow. seriously, thick as thieves these two are.

all for now. i need to go cuddle with my little tooter. i swear, riley can really let 'em rip :)

week 7

where in the world did weeks 4, 5 and 6 go????

addison has a baby book - is it filled out? heck no. did i even waste my money buying riley one? double heck no. i started this blog as a way to stay in touch with sweet friends all the way from this great state where football rivalry is more important than who was elected governor...or president for that matter. and the name - midnight runs...well, that is the way we rolled back in the day...lots of late nights to the drive-thrus of mcdonalds in athens with my besties. and by lots, i mean lots. so somewhere between right out of college and right now, i had to find a way to relate those late nights of yumminess to my current ones. which include children. a hubby. a home. a different kind of yumminess. my point in all of this? this blog, these words...this is my baby book.

and dang it, i left out 3 weeks. but are you surprised? i think not.

sooo, long post. big recap. cute and funny pics - one of which addison will shoot me for later in life.

week 4...
i finally took a pic of little miss with brother. i am pretty sure every two seconds i was saying "don't cough on him...don't touch his hands...don't BREATHE addison!"

and it didn't take little miss too long to catch on to nursing...she too ditched the bottle when feeding her baby. ahhh ha ha. this is definitely one of those "rehearsal dinner" photos.

and then we took a trip to macon...a trip i will never forget. it took almost 8 hours to go what would normally be 3.5 or 4 hours. sheesh. but it was so good to be home. and i think big daddy liked us being there, too.

addison, obsessed with mary poppins, was quite thrilled to find a kite in jackie's big box of toys. she kept telling big daddy "let's go fly a kite!" and so they tried...

and tried...and tried...and tried. there just wasn't enough wind on the fairway to get that kite flying. but, they tried.

our trip to macon rolled into week 5. and the hubs was sure glad to have us home. then after about 5 minutes he was wiped out being the father of 2 kids. so he and riley crashed.

and before we knew it, halloween was here and we were approaching week 6.

as always, we had our annual halloween cook-out and trick-or-treating bash. and as always, it was super fun! i have to admit, i have prided myself on little miss having cute, CUTE costumes. but this year, this newborn year, caused me to do the dreaded...i handed to credit card to the hubs...and set daddy and little miss loose in the halloween store for whatever she wanted. and tinker bell was what she got. oh me. i tried to make it better but you know, she felt special and she was happy...and that is all that mattered to this mommy.

all her buddies came. the picture says it all. fun times.

and having her best "boy" friend and best "girl" friend there made addison's night.

and let us not forget - we had officer talan there to keep the peace if things got a little rowdy.

and the hubs made sure the food was up to tingle standards.

and papa gave a second opinion.

and well, riley...he was just darn pissed i didn't get him a costume. i am telling you, it has been that kind of fall.

but he got over it once he was snuggled in mimi's arms.

and please don't pass up seeing the foofa carved pumpkin. good work hubs, good work.

and then finally week 6 rolled into week 7. week 7 and another famous mirror pic. don't judge, it was first thing in the morning.

so, 7 weeks today. we had his checkup yesterday that was supposed to be uneventful. ha.

his stats...

height:23.75", 95%

weight: 12 lbs 1 oz, 95%

head: 15.25", 50%

his head measurements caused for some concern that sent us to children's for skull x-rays. nice. thankfully, after a long day with lots of prayers and waiting, i got the wonderful call that everything was normal. yay!!

that brings us to tonight. just hangin'. watching the cma awards. have i told you i only like country music in the fall? yeah, i am weird like that.

while rye-bread was hangin', little miss was dancing circles around me. how can these days be sooo long and the weeks go by sooo fast?

in case you are wondering, that is indeed a mla handbook. yes, she can already read and write scholarly term papers. she gets it from me. genius.

oh and p.s. i pray i can be as stylish as my 3 year old soon. that is just insane that i envy her little outfit.

if you are still here and reading - bless you. nite nite.

week three

here we are. week three.

in some ways it has been laid-back-lounge-on-the-chair-and-cross-your-feet kind of easy. in other ways - in breastfeeding ways - it has been toes-curling-drive-me-crazy-what-the-heck-am-i-doing not so easy. but i am daily resting on a good friend, good wisdom and good hope that we are succeeding - despite the soreness, despite the late nights, and today, despite the thrush. i said with addison that breastfeeding was the hardest thing i ever tried...and i stand close by that statement with riley saying it is the hardest thing i have ever done. but i am doing it. praise God!

and for you aunt sha-sha, a up close three week pic. he looks so much like sister when she was a baby. i haven't gotten one of the two of them yet since little miss has had a yucky cough. but soon i will. in the meantime, he doesn't mind holding the spotlight. he knows he is handsome already.

that is about all for tonight. i am so sure you came here excited to hear small chronicles of feeding. sorry if it has been too much information. but it has been a journey. one that i came into not willing or accepting defeat. and one i am proud to say i am accomplishing. no matter how hard it is. here's to us little man!

baby boy

i am a mother of two. and have been for two weeks now.

it feels like it has been two months.

two long, emotional, wonderful, exhausting, precious....weeks.

and now that i sit here in my quiet home, with my two sleeping babes, with heavy eyes, i realize i haven't even introduced my precious baby boy to my blog.

so dear blog world...IT"S A BOY!!! riley wells tingle made his way into the world september 22nd at 11:02 am. 8 lbs 15 oz and 22 inches long. he is every bit of yummy i could have imagined. i am completely in love. even though i have been peed on 5 times. twice today. you'd think i'd learn my lesson...or he his own lesson since he ended up with an earful of tee tee one time. ha ha. it was too funny not to laugh.

besides the eventful diaper changes, he is not only yummy, he is every bit of perfection. i thought addison was a good baby...and she really was...but riley, that little man is a good baby. i feel incredibly lucky and blessed for this. he literally eats, sleeps, poops, pees and then sleeps again. swaddle him and he is out in two seconds. if he is the slightest bit fussy, hold him close and he is calm and happy. and so is this mommy.

so two weeks. maybe in two more weeks i will have the hang of this mother of two thing down.

maybe.