Poop Reading

As you recall my 4 year old daughter really likes to analyze her bowl movements as evidenced here.

She does this daily, and it makes me smile all the time. Today though, I actually laughed out loud. Upon completing her business she came back to tell me that her poop looked like a

STING RAY.

How random is that? A sting ray?!

When I asked her why, she said that the sting ray tail was peeking out of the tunnel.

Happy Saturday!

End of summer? Heck no, my summer's just beginning.

My summer may only be two weeks long, but by golly we are going to make the best of it, dammit!

I literally spent the entire month of June getting ready for Chance and

spending every moment I had with my girls. And then proceeded to spend the entire month of July being dog ass tired and holed up in my house.

I forgot about the sunshine.

I forgot about the swimming.

I forgot about the hot dogs and watermelon.

It's not too late, I say. And this week?

Well, it's gonna rock! And so is next week.

Today we frolicked at the pool.....

And we'll do the same tomorrow. Summer redemption in full effect!

Look who's a month old!

Thanks Sarah and Meghan for the idea of a monthly picture. I just hope I can keep up my end of the bargain.

There is so much that I want to write about and so much that I want to share, but I can't seem to find the time to do it. But know this, life is good. In fact, life is great. Chance had another perfect weigh-in this morning. Gaining exactly what he needs to. Fingers crossed he'll weigh enough next week for my beloved Bjorn carrier. Handsfree! Awwwwww yeah!

Big Sisters to the Rescue

Whoever said three kids is a piece of cake, can kiss my pudgy postpartum ass! In no way is it easy. Taking the leap from 2 to 3, in my opinion, is a very large one. It's one thing when you need to distract a kid while you nurse a newborn---but it's a WHOLE OTHER THING when you need to distract TWO kids while you nurse. Talk about challenging. And it seems like Bella and Mia argue the most when I'm nursing. Which makes sense to me, they're watching as the new little baby is literally SUCKING the life out of mommy, leaving very little time for them.

Oh but don't get me wrong, they get my attention, it's just usually in the form of a verbal warning.

Mia, balancing the chair on your nose is not a good choice!

Bella, stop tap dancing on your sister's back! What, are your tap shoes too loud to that you can't hear her screaching in agony?!!!

Mia, for the love of god, your lip gloss is not toe nail polish!

About a week ago, I gave up. My bar of acceptability, while I'm nursing, totally changed. Now, I pretty much let anything slide. I have to. If a sisterly dispute develops, it's got to play itself out. There's no way I'm going to unlatch Chance, find a place to store him, tuck in my who-ha's and then go discipline. No-way. Not gonna happen. Unless I see blood drawn, I'm perfectly content sitting on the couch, watching.

Mother of the Century!

But of course, my guilt kicks in. So, instead of trying to distract them with stuff to do while I nurse, I've started to include the big sisters. Recently, I've had to pump more milk in addition to the FOURTEEN feedings that I give him daily (unfortunately, Chance isn't gaining the kind of weight that he should be). So, now that I have extra milk to give for him, I have included the girls in this process and they LOVE it.

Mia has stepped up from feeding her real-sounding baby doll to a feeding a real live baby...



Um, please disregard the accidental, college flashback induced, beer-bong reference. Way tacky, I know! Not quite sure what came over me. Once white trash, always white trash, I suspect. :)

Or watch how Bella wants to keep Chance warm



Or how the girls read to him, or in Bella's case sing to him an adorable little made-up mommy jingle



All in all, each day gets better than the day before. Which is all I can hope for right now.

I finally have clearance to drive again, so this week I'll be thrilled to get out of the house and spread my wings a little--enough of the cabin fever already!

I want to leave with this little clip, cuz really, is there anything cuter than a newborn snort-cry?! I think not.

Rock-A-Bye

Who doesn't like a good pancake breakfast? We do! In fact, we love ourselves some Cracker Barrel cherry pancakes! So, this past weekend Eugene woke me up and suggested that we pack up and head out to breakfast. As much as I was reluctant about taking Chance out, the thought of passing up those cherry pancakes was too much for me! Yes, they're THAT good. Plus Eugene was really insistent on going out, so I agreed.

Getting out the door was sooooo difficult.

Eugene spent about 30 minutes reconfiguring the car seat arrangement in the minivan, making room for baby Chance. Bella was a little unenthusiastic about getting moved to the back of the van. But when I explained that she gets to be the "leader of the back"--well then, she was all for it! Hah!

With everyone packed in the car, even my sister, we headed out to our breakfast hotspot. It was our first time out of the house with ALL of us.

It felt so different.

It's definitely a feeling I'm going to have to start getting used to.

**Holy shit, I have three children.**

We had a perfect breakfast. Chance was awesome. He stayed in his carseat and only woke up a few times. I could be seen wrestling his pacifier in one hand and shoving cherry pancakes in my mouth with the other. Ahhh, the multitasking phase of parenting is back in full effect. It seems like I just got over it with Mia!

It's our tradition after we eat at Cracker Barrel to sit outside on the rocking chairs and relax for a few minutes. Bella and Mia love sitting in the little kid rocking chairs and Eugene and I will sit and rock next to eachother and he'll undoubtedly hear me say (cuz I say it every time we're there) "Babe, one day I want a wrap around front porch with rocking chairs like these where we can sit outside and sip lemonade together and talk about our day."

Seriously, he's heard the speech a dozen times.

Well on this particular visit it just so happens that I was the last one to leave the table. Everyone else had already headed outside. Once I gathered up all the crayons and cleaned up all the Mia droppings, I made my way outside and like usual, sat next to Eugene in one of the rocking chairs.

It's been no secret that I have been scouring Craigslist for the past month and a half for an inexpensive rocking chair that I can put on our balcony as a little place of refuge to bring the baby. But, I've had no luck. Anyway, I sit down next to Eugene and my sister who was peacefully rockin' in a chair on the other side of Eugene, asks me how my Craigslist search was coming. And I tell her the sad news. She then asks me to look at the pricetag on my chair to see how much it costs. So I turn my head about 4 inches to the left to read the tag on it and this is what it said,



I was in shock! I couldn't believe it! Apparently, Eugene went to the restaurant the night before and had it all planned out.

Man, I love this guy.



I can't believe I didn't see the tag before I sat down! It was so perfect!



We then spent another 30 minutes trying to figure out how we were going to fit a full size rocking chair, three adults and three kids into one minivan. Not quite sure how we did it, but we did. And as soon as we got home and unloaded it, I scooped up my son and we rocked.

For awhile.



Thanks Eugene!

The idiot mom strikes again!

DISCLAIMER: I apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar errors or possibly a weak plot line due to the UNBELIEVABLE lack of sleep I've had in the past 14 days. I can barely remember my new child's name let alone trigger creativity. Mkay? Good. Glad we're on the same page.

Let's start on a high note, shall we? Chance is adorable, he's perfect smoochin' material. His skin is wrinkly and soft and warm and all I want to do is hold him to my chest and face-ALL DAY LONG.



I love this time. And I promise to cherish it as much as I can because it goes by so fast.



He's also pretty laid back (so far). The nursing has been going well, despite the fact that homeboy doesn't latch on the way he should (something about his tongue) so I have to use a shield while I nurse which is kind of a pain....but well worth it. I forgot how exhausting nursing is in the beginning. And I could swear that boys nurse more than girls....but that could just be me being a drama queen. But I'm not kidding when I say, every hour and a half this boy starts rootin' for it. Which has left me WIPED OUT! I average three hours of sleep a night and let's face it, I don't do well on 3 hours of sleep. I keep telling myself "this too shall pass." And I know that it will....but wow, I'm in a cloud!

Also, I recently decided to switch pediatricians. I opted for this group of 3 doctors that got rave reviews from everyone I interviewed and when my OBGYN told me that he sends his kids there-- I was really sold. In the hospital Chance was seen daily by one of the three doctors, whom Eugene and I instantly fell in love with. So, when he had his well child visit four days after leaving the hospital, I was excited to meet one of the other two doctors. Sheesh, I was just excited to get the heck out of the house. It was my first outing with the baby. In fact, I actually showered and put on makeup for the event.

The office was nice and the staff at the front were FABULOUS--which is usually my first critique of a doctor. We were the first appt of the day so I barely had enough time to fill out the paperwork before we were called back. SCORE! The doc and assistant walked in and he immediately introduced himself. He was a younger doctor, tall and handsome, dare I say. He had a great demeanor about him, very knowledgeable and very friendly. He checked out Chance- checked his ears, his eyes, his bones, his weight, ya know all the necessary checks on a first well child visit. And get this-Chance gained 5 oz. in 4 days!! Yay, mi leche es bueno!

He asked me about the delivery. I answered him. He asked me about the nursing. I responded. He asked me about the bowl movements and I replied:

"Well, actually now that you asked Doc, in truth, I'm surprised that I'm not more regular yet. Although, I've had several bowl movements this week--but I still don't feel that I...."

CRICKETS. CRICKETS.

REALIZATION.

"Oh my God, you were referring to CHANCE'S bowl movements? OH. MY. GOD."

I stared at Eugene for support but I knew he was moments away from cracking. I looked to the female assistant as if to establish some sort of womanly bond--but no, she too was about to lose it. I finally, fixed my eyes on the doctor, who had turned all kinds of red at this point......and before I could say anything....I too lost it.

WAAAAA-HAAAAA!!!!!!! I couldn't stop laughing. I just admitted to MY CHILD'S NEW PEDIATRICIAN THE DETAILS OF MY #2'S!!!!

In fact, all four of us broke out in laughter. I think I was so used to all the nurses in the hospital asking me about it, that I didn't even think twice. TOTAL IDIOT!! The doctor quickly resumed his examination of Chance, as if to make it easier for me. But no, three minutes later, all I had to do was think of the letters BM and I started laughing all over again. In fact, it was one of those laughs that you try to keep in but you end up making a snorting nose while your entire body starts shaking. Yeah, that one!

What am I, a twelve year old boy?

Eugene was all kinds of embarassed for me because no matter what I did I couldn't hold the laughter back. The doc would try to ask me a question and I would go to answer and all that would come out is giggles.

Why am I such a sucker for poop humor?

Anyhoo, at least there are two other doctors in the practice. I need a good couple months before seeing this doc again!

And with that I bid farewell, my motherly duties are beckoning.

I had My Chance

It is with thrill, joy, love, adoration and a pinch of excitement that I welcome our newest family member, Chance Narciso.



Born on July 16th at 8:13 AM, weighing 6lbs. 14 oz. and measuring 19 inches in length, we watched as our daughters proudly shouted

WE HAVE A BABY BROTHER! YIPEEEEEE!!!



I couldn't have agreed with them more.



Many of you might be wondering why we chose the name Chance? Well to put it simply, Eugene and I both feel that life is about taking risks. And how much we can grow and learn from challenging ourselves. Our hope for Chance is that he realizes how short life is and choses to make the very best of it. That, and frankly, we thought the name was kinda badass.

In my life, I've taken many chances that led me here.

Like the time I fell in love with a guy that I knew we'd be forever perfect.




Or how I blindly entered motherhood, after unsuccessfully taking care of several hamsters, a few fish, a cat and about 4 random dogs that our family adopted over the years.






Or how my precious and dedicated yet sometimes destructive relationship with my sister would be passed down to a new generation.







Or when I assisted the special needs classroom in my grade school, giving me first hand experience on how to be patient while simultaneously teaching me to be grateful for what I have.







Or when Eugene and I decided that our definition of family meant sharing our lives and experiences with many kids.







Or when we agreed to teach our children how important it is to always take care of, look out for and indelibly love and respect, eachother. Always.







Or when we realized that the greatest gift you can give your child is a sibling. Long after we're gone, they'll still have eachother to lean on, to depend on, and to carry on.








These little angels





are going to be phenomenal role models for this little guy.



Now that's definitely a chance worth taking.

Buh-dum-cha.

Welcome to our family, Chance Post Narciso.

Bella and Mommy Time

For Bella's special day, she wanted to go fishing. Yes, you read that right, FISHING. Where it came from, I have no idea but she was so set on it! In fact, after the sweltering heat at the zoo the day before I tried my best to convince her to chose something, oh I don't know, air conditioned perhaps?!

Nope. The girl wanted to fish. So there I was, 9 months pregnant, in the fishing aisle of Walmart with a pole in one hand and a purchased fishing license in the other. Classy.

As I loaded up the blankets and food into the car I couldn't help but think about all the picnics her and I used to have before Mia was born. It was a weekly event. Every wednesday, just her and I. So much has changed since those "only child" days that I knew this day was going to be special.



We arrived at a local lake and set up our spot and began fishing. Bella is not the most patient person on the planet. So the whole sit and wait and let the fish come to you tactic was too much for her to handle. The moment she saw a fish tug on her line she started reeling it in as fast as she could. The girl refused to play hard to get with the fish which is why every time we saw a tug and reeled it in, there was nothing on our line. I tried to explain the art of fishing and that it takes strategy and timing, but she wasn't too keen on listening.



Luckily, I packed some distractors. Like bubbles and boardgames and a blank canvas to paint. As I cast out our fishing line I watched her as she painted her canvas.



I love that this painting will always serve as a reminder of our cute little date at the lake. As she painted we talked about things. Some important things and some not so important things. The point is we were talking with one another, and it felt great. As I watched her I couldn't believe how much she has grown in only 4 years. She makes me laugh every single day--I couldn't imagine a day without her in it. She is the perfect friend and her and I make a perfect team. We always have.



Upset and discouraged at not having caught a fish Bella and I decided that we would try one last time. I mean, we had been at it for about four hours already and I was starting to get sleepy staring at the waves. I cast out our final line and let it sit. To pass the time Bella tossed a couple of rocks in the water--cuz that won't distract the fish at all :)

And all of a sudden we had a tug. And another tug. We started screaming with excitement. Was it really happening? On our last attempt? Sure enough....there was a fish on our line. I began to reel it in. Bella was smiling from ear to ear.

We were so excited that we started dancing. I grabbed the camera and after snapping this picture



we proudly put the fish back into the lake.

"He has a family somewhere that's waiting for him," said Bella.

And at that I hugged her tightly and didn't want to let go.

Mia and Mommy Time

I'm getting a little sentimental over here as we count down the days before the new birth. I am treasuring the little things more often than I normally do. It was the same way when Mia was born, I cherished every single second of my time with my "only" child. Well, it's happening again. Soon it will no longer be the four of us (and I know that it will be replaced with an even greater feeling) but still you can't help but hold on as tight as you can to what you know. So, to make these last few days even more special I thought it would be memorable if I spent some one-on-one time with the girls. We called it our "special date" and you wouldn't believe how excited they were about it!

And so was I.

I knew that for my date with Mia I was going to take her to the zoo, just her and I. This little girl loves the zoo so much that I knew it would be perfect.



I marveled at how peaceful the drive was with just her and I having conversation. Sadly, this rarely happens. There seems to always be an older sister hangin' around offering up her opinions :)

We talked about the baby in my belly. And I explained how the doctor was going to take the baby out and I'll have an "owwy." She understood. We talked about what songs she wanted to sing to the baby. And we talked about her becoming a big sister. And so on. I didn't spend too much time talking about it but just enough for it to really sink in--and I think it did.

We arrived at the zoo and was slapped in the face with a thick humidity cloud and about 90 degrees of sunshine. Uggh.



But it didn't stop us. This was our day. We spent a lot of time with the monkeys, since they always make her laugh.



She also got the biggest kick out of searching for the animal inside the habitat. Like this snake. She couldn't stop screaming snake and jumping up and down when she spotted it.



I love her innocence.



We shared some ice cream and cooled off for a moment.



After snapping this picture, I told her I loved her for probably the 45th time that day. And she reciprocated the gesture, like she always does.

We took off in search of the giraffes. I couldn't help but smile as I pushed the stroller as she belted out (as loud as she could) "giraffes, where are you?" And then when I let her "discover" them on her own as I pushed the stroller to the front of the fence, she started clapping and pointing, so proud of her discovery. In fact, she wanted to take pictures herself. And I gotta say, she didn't do half bad:



We ended our date with a trip on the carousel, where Mia proudly chose a frog to ride upon. And while the Limbo Rock blared on the speakers her and I giggled as we croaked like a toad every time it went up.



I got a little lump in my throat as I hauled her into the car, sad to see our flawless day come to an end. Soon, she will no longer be our baby! That bittersweet feeling was in my heart all day long. But it felt so right spending this time with her. I'm not really sure when I'll get the opportunity again (at least for awhile) so I am so thankful it worked out!

You just wait Baby Narciso.....you're older sister Mia will always have your back! Either that or she's gonna kick the sh*t out of you, but not to worry, she means well.