Weekend Wrap-Up...and a Little Complaining

Urgh..Everytime I think I've got things down, something happens. My hand me down iMac just died and now I've got to learn how to upload, organize and use my pictures on a PC again. Since I've started working with the Mac, I've really grown to like it.  It was just so easy to use. We may get a Mac Mini to replace the iMac. I just hate spending the money to replace my PC which works perfectly fine.

I go back to work in 6 days and I just don't want to. I'll be glad to be making money again so I won't feel as guilty spending it, but Mark is finally starting to interact with us and I'm starting to have fun with him. I'll miss him when I'm away the whole day. I love being able to go down to the boys' school and having lunch with them or attending events that they have in the middle of the day.  I won't be able to this when I go back to work. So dreading going back to the stress of trying to find a balance of work vs home. 

We had  pretty good weekend.  Saturday morning, we had to be at Michael's soccer game a little before 8 in White Settlement (I know, only in TX, right?), so we had to get up at the crack of dawn to get there in time. Michael played so well! He had 2 goals and his passing was just so precise.  He knew exactly where to pass every time he got the ball.  He was aggressive and did not give up on the ball. I think the final score was 8-2. So proud of my little man. 

Next weekend, he'll be playing in a tournament with his Odyssey team in Carrollton.  According to the recent weather forecast, it will be too cold to take Mark out there, but if that changes I would love to watch him play.

On Sunday, we went and had Dim Sum with Heather and her family in Richardson.  Robin came with her 2 kids as well.  We had a gret time, but with 8 kids to 5 adults, it was hard to have too much conversation.  Mark was also not in the greatest of moods so we had to attend to him more often. The food was awesome.  This is only one of the two Dim Sum places we know of in TX so there may be others out there that are better, but I really like this place.  The selection is great and it's definitely authentic. Chicken feet, anyone?

Gung Hey Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year.  We are saying goodbye to the year of the Rabbit and are welcoming in the year of the Dragon - which is suppose to be the luckiest year of all.

This morning, we gave the boys their luck red envelopes.  They were pretty excited to get it.  I've tried to keep a little bit of the tradition and pass it on to them.  As the years go on, I've forgotten about a lot of what the traditions mean just because we observe less and less of it.  I wish I had paid more attention when I was living close to my parents.  At least I would have learned a little more to pass on to my children.

Surprised that he got a red envelope

Does my thumb taste better while I hold this lucky envelope?

I didn't get a picture of all three holding the envelopes because the boys had to catch the bus school bus, but I got Michael and Matthew together.  I think we need to do something to tame the hair on both of them.

Unseasonably Warm

What a beautiful day it was yesterday..and it was a Friday.  I think it was one of the best days I've had in a while. 

 1.  I got my van back and it was good as new.

2.  I made it to the Dragon Pride assembly to see both my boys get recognized for reading t least 360 minutes in 6 weeks and for performing community service.  At the assembly, the kiddos performed a "flashmob." It was so much fun to watch!

3.  The weather was AWESOME! It was in the mid-70s so when the kids got home from school, we all went outside to enjoy it.  The boys played outside with the neighborhood kids until it was time to go to dinner. Mark and I hung out and watched them play.  Mark loved it outside and was smiling at anyone that happened to give him attention.

4. We went to Sushi Sam (one of our favorite places to eat) and the kids ate everything we ordered for them.

Matthew hanging out with Luc, Dylan and Ethan

Marky giving Ethan a big smile.  Ethan was so happy, he ran over to his brother and said, "The baby smiled at me.  That means he likes me!"

Matthew with Lucas and Rodrigo - our neighbors.  They are from Spain.

My little happy boy, content to watch the action from his stroller

Matthew concentrating on his Gameboy

Water break!

The boys.  We have 7 boys on our street and not a single girl...

So fun!

11 Weeks!

Marky is 11 weeks old today.  He's has gotten so much easier these past few days.  He does not cry every time I lay him down.  He'll entertain himself for a little while so I can get some chores done around the house and at least give my arms a break.  His naps are becoming a little more regular.  Not on a schedule, but sometimes I can put him down and he'll nap for at least 2 hours.  Thank goodness!

He wakes about 2-3 times at night for feeding and usually goes right back to sleep, but on a bad night he'll wake up even hour. Thankfully, that doesn't happen as often as it use to.

He's still sometimes very fussy right before he will go down for the night, but the duration is shorter and gain, this is happening less often.

He's interacting with people.  He'll smile and babble if people are talking to him.  So stink in' cute! Out of the 3, I think he's the biggest babbler.

He's still taking about 4 oz every 3-4 hours.  His eating habit has changed a little bit this week.  He doesn't seem to want to eat as much.  Sometimes, he'll only take 2 oz which concerns me, but he's still peeing and pooping OK.

He's smiling so much now and I love playing with him.  He loves to hear me sing "The Wheels on the Bus" and "heads, Shoulder, Knees, and Toes."  I can alway make him smile with these 2 songs.

Happy 11 weeks, my precious little man!

Weekend

We have not been doing much over the weekends lately. Mainly because the thought of herding two active boys and caring for a colic-y baby in public gives my an anxiety attack and the cold weather does not help.

So, we've been stuck at home most of the time.  We will head out for lunch occasionally and go to Michael's soccer game if there's one, but the boys have been confined in our house.  With not many outlet for their energy, they have been getting into lots of trouble.

Thankfully, this weekend has been beautiful. We have sunshine and it's not too cold to go outside, so we've been taking walks around our neighborhood lake.  There's no better cure for restlessness than being outside even if it's just walking around. For me, anyway.

This weekend was a nice, quiet, relaxing one filled with lounging, football watching, outdoor walking, game playing, and relaxing.  My idea of a great weekend!

Giving lil' bro a piggyback ride - yes I need to get rid of the poinsettia...

My sweet baby taking one of his longest nap ever (3 hours)..and not in my arms...

Having lunch from Steak and Shake (one of their faves)

Giving Mark his morning feeding

Playing outside on a beautiful Saturday

I never get tired of seeing that gorgeous smile

Who's got the biggest head?

Who's the longest?

Three Semi-Chinese Brothers

Playing a game of Life (they are banned from electronics for a week and 2 days)

I've Been Pinning

I've heard a lot about Pinterest lately and checked it out.  At first, I wasn't impress.  How the heck does this thing work?  All I saw were little thumbnails and little profile pictures of people I don't know.  I empaled for an invite anyway because other people LOVE it.  My sister being one of them.

I didn't log on after I was sent an invite because, frankly, I don't have time to explore this stuff.  It just did not make sense to me.  I'd rather use what little computer time I have reading blogs -usually holding Mark in my arms so he will nap.

Then I caught on.  I can organize different ideas from all over the internet world on one site?! Holy Guacamole!  That's amazing.  So now, I've got boards to store the ideas I like with our future shower remodel and Michael's birthday party coming up in March.  Love it! Not an addict yet, but could be on my way.

Questions

I decided to give Michael and Matthew a little quiz about me to see how well the know me. They did pretty well.  Of course, Matthew thinks it’s a competition so he wanted to keep score.  Here are the questions their answers. They did pretty well.

1.    

W  What’s my favorite color?

Matthew – Pink

Michael – Purple

Answer – Pink

2.     What’s my favorite food?

Matthew – rice

Michael – noodle

Answer – sushi

3.     What’s my birthday?

Matthew – January 15

Michael – October25

Answer – October 10

4.     What do you think I do at work? 

Matthew – Call people

Michael – Type

Answer – Both

           How many languages do I speak?

Matthew – 2

Michael – 2

Answer – 2

6.     What do I like to do during my free time?

Matthew – Play with your kids

Michael – Play with Mark and us

                        Answer – What free time?

A Better Day

Thank goodness Saturday is starting out to be a much better than yesterday. Boy, it was one of the toughest days I’ve had recently with Mark. He woke up every hour on Thursday night and at 6:30 Friday morning, Michael announced that Mark is awake and he attempted to change Mark’s dirty diaper. 

Two issues with this - one, he’s not allowed to pick Mark up from his crib (he did, and carried him to the changing table ACROSS THE ROOM before I could get out of bed –I freaked out a little). Two, he opened up the dirty diaper and Mark peed.  If you have a little baby boy, you know how messy this can get.  And it got messy. 

When I got into the nursery, still groggy from lack of sleep, I see a baby who is covered in pee and poop, pee all over the changing pad and table, and two proud little boys because they thought they were being very helpful.  I don’t think I handled the situation all the well.  I couple of choice words might have slipped out of my mouth.

It did not get any better from there. Mark was cranky all day and would not go down for a nap.  I had to hold him most of the day and could not get much done, which was so frustrating.  Did I mention that M was out of own? Thank goodness, I was able to take Mark and the boys over to my in-laws for a couple of hours. 

My Boys - A Comparison

Everyone thinks that Mark looks a lot like Michael when he was a baby.  I see it too, but sometimes, I see Matthew in Mark as well.  You decide...

Michael - 2 Months

Matthew - 2 Months

Mark - 2 Months

10 Weeks

Happy 10 weeks to my little Markey-Mark! I can’t believe that it’s been 10 whole weeks.  He’s growing and growing.  I’m hoping that he will sleep through the night by the time I go back to work in 3 weeks.  I’m not looking forward to that at all.  I’m scared.

His feeding schedule is still every 3 hours, but sometimes he’ll go to four hours in between feedings.  He will finish 4 oz. most of the time, especially at night so maybe it’s time to switch to the bigger bottles. Still not napping well.  If I want him to sleep for an extended period, I will have to hold him, which is not ideal.  It’s a pain in the you-know-what.  I can’t get anything done.

WIth Daddy...it took a lot of convincing to get him to take this picture

After his morning bath.  He LOVES his baths.

It’s been a very tough week. I rear-ended another van on Monday and now the van is in the shop to get work done.  I apparently messed it up pretty bad.  Needs a bunch of new things -don't remember what they were; some radiator thing-a-ma-jiggy.  The insurance will cover it, but we have to cover the deductible, which is $1k.  Big chunk of change.  I’m thankful that no one was hurt, but the $1k that I wasted makes my tummy hurt, especially since we’ve already spent $1k to fix M’s car when I back into it 2 month ago.  It’s been rough.

They boys have also been acting up this week.  They decided that it would be fun to pee on each other in the shower.  Michael apparently made a game out of it.  They got caught because they left pee on the seat in the shower.  M saw and was very upset. He felt that we were letting them get away with too much so certain privileges have been taken away from them for a week – no electronics, outside play with friends.  I think this will be harder on me than them.  They will be complaining of boredom every minute. Blah! I'm hoping that we will have a better week starting today.

Post-partem Obsessions?

I've discovered that I've developed a few OCD-like tendencies during and after my pregnancy with Mark.  These tendencies have not gone away and it drives me crazy sometimes.  I don't know how it came about but it would be less stressful on me if I can get rid of it. These are the things that really stress me out more than they should:

1. Unmade bed
2. I have to clean/pick up the nursery right when Mark wakes up in the morning
3. Dishes in the sink
4. Wet counter around the sink
5. Out of place cushions on the sofa
6. Clutter in general

I understand these things are not remarkable, but for me it is because these things have never bothered me this much before. Another symptom of post-partem?

Soccer Superstar

Michael is a great little soccer player.  I'm not just saying that because I'm his mama either. He's been playing for a few years and he's go the love for it.  All he wants to do is go outside and kick the ball around.  Even when he's inside, he's kicking the ball around-for which he will get in trouble for.

He's currently playing for 2 teams-a recreational team (Star Jets) and a more competitive academy team (Odyssey) and he still can't get enough soccer.  We love going to the game to watch him play.  The last game he scored 4 of the 6 goals his team had and the game before that, he scored another 4 goals.  I was so proud.  

Michael in his Odyssey uniform - Go #24!

Outdoor season will start again in a couple of weeks and he will continue to play for both teams so our week will be very hectic with practices.  Each team will have 2 days of practices each week so he will have 4 days of practice. Not to mention, Matthew will also have 1 practice day each week.  I'm hoping that none of the practices overlap. I also don't know how I will manage all this with going back to work full-time and with a brand new baby.  On top of that, M will still be traveling.  My stress level just shot up as I'm writing this. Yes, I can cut him to 1 team, but he loves to play so much that I feel I owe it to him to let him play and see where it takes him. 

I guess that's my rambling for the day.  I have not been inspired to post much because it's been pretty quiet after the Holidays.  I should enjoy the quiet before the storm, but it's making me restless and uninspired. I've been in a rut these past couple of days.  How can these sweet boys not be inspirational?

Mark is 2 Months Old

My little Mark, you are 2months old today! I’d like to say that it’s been a breeze, but I’d be lying.  You have not been as easy as Mommy and Daddy expected you to be, but you are getting better everyday.  We need to remember that time goes by too fast and you won’t be like this for much longer (we hope and hope).

You are going to your 2-month appointment today and I’ll will update this post with your current stats, but I wanted to write a few things down so that we remember this time in your life.

Schedule: (this differs from day to day, but in general this is the schedule you follow)

You usually wake you around 7am-8am and stay awake for a couple of hours.  I’ll usually give you a morning bath and then give you a bottle between 9am-11am.  After your bath and bottle, you’ll nap again for another couple of hours off and on. 

If I hold you the whole time, you will nap the whole time, but I’m trying to wean you off being held all the time, so I will put you in your bouncer for your nap or on your boppy pillow.  I sometimes get as much as an hour out of that which is a big improvement from a week ago.

You are ready for another bottle after you wake up and you will fall asleep again off and on.  You hit another awake period from 7pm-9pm and then all bets are off.  You will either be really fussy right before we put you down at about 10pm or you will stay content until we put you down for the night.

You’ll wake up every 3 hours for a bottle (if we are lucky).

Eating:

You are at 3.5-4oz at each feeding every three hours.  After trying a few different formulas, you’ve decided that you like Nutrimagen.  This will cost us $35 for a 19.9oz can instead of the typical $20 can. Daddy’s working on getting free cans for us.

Likes: 

Bath, being held, being talked to

Dislikes: 

Napping without being held, not much else that I can tell yet

Diaper Size:

2 Pampers Swaddler

2-Month Stats:

Weight- 11lbs. 9 oz. (50 percentile)

Length- 23 inches (25 percentile)

Head- 16.5 inches (95 percentile)

The Post That I Discovered That I Need to Take More Pictures

It was a great idea to start off with - I'll post pictures of the boys month by month to get a visual of how much they've changed through the course of 2011. The problem was I didn't have pictures of them together for a few months and no pictures of them at all for a couple of months.

Another goal this year - take at least a few pictures of the boys together EVERY month.

 January-Snow day

February-Another snow day

February

 

March -No pictures of Matthew

April-1st trip to Six Flags

May-Spring break at the JW Marriott in San Antonio

 June

June-Happy Birthday, Matthew!

June-Boating with the Hoppes at Lake Lewisville

 July-Summer vacation in St. Thomas 

Bowing my head in head in shame - no pictures for August or September

October-Halloween (obviously) 

November-1st meeting with Mark 

December-And then there are three