Naturally Optimistic

The other night at dinner Dahlia did or said something really cute. I can't remember what. Steve looked at her & said "Oh Dahlia, what are we going to do with you?" in a very sweet way. Dahlia looked at him & in all earnestness said "Don't throw me in the garbage." Okay- duly noted. We won't.

Yesterday I got to have lunch with the fabulous Peder & Sarah and their adorable offspring + Sarah's parents. What a nice break from a usually bleh Tuesday lunchtime. August was on his best behavior & actually let me eat! I tried to get him & Felix (who I will call "birthday buddies" even though they don't share an actual birthday) to play with each other but they just weren't the least bit interested. They were more interested in eating, sleeping & being bounced/rocked. Ah babies. Tomorrow I get to see Kate ! What an awesome friendy week!

I just found this website courtesy of the Yahoo home page & I love it! How inspiring! I wish I could be so talented with thrift store finds & clothing (in general). How fun to turn something bleh into something fabulous!? I'm going to bookmark this page & go back & check out all of her clothing. Maybe it will inspire me to do....something with my sewing machine!

Fishing with Grandpa - Paddling on the lake in the canoe - Hanging around & Smiling - Decorating cupcakes for the 'birthday party' - playing with cousins - Just chillin' We went to a lake home my folks rented in Frederic, WI. We were there the first part of the week, my sister & her tribe the 2nd part. We overlapped on Wednesday to have a "Teddy Bear Picnic" & celebrate mine & Kathy's birthdays. It was fun. But DAMN steamy!!

Ugh - this whole dissolving a company thing is for the birds. For one we're not really *dissolving* it - we're just laying off all the employees & hoping that we can still sell our film in the coming months. The second sucky thing is that our investor (well, the financial dept) changed the structure of their funding from "investment" to "interest bearing loan" without ever telling us....which obviously doesn't legally change things unless we agree. And therein lies the problem. How do you bite the hand that has been SO generous to you over the past 3 years - allowing you to create, make your schedule, fulfill a dream while at the same time not getting screwed over? If we had been told additional monies were a loan at the time of the change, we probably would've done things differently - like, negotiated a better interest rate, talked to a banker, a lawyer, etc. I am not personally liable for anything but our company is & if we choose to go fo...

So I'm finally at the point where I feel like I have a little time to pump, plenty of milk so why not start freezing some for that futuristic night where I get to sleep all night & Steve can get up & feed August. I have some storage bags & a deep freezer but I've never done this. So, ladies - how much milk do you store in each bag? What's a good amount? I usually just have enough time to pump for a few minutes - about 3-4oz...the bags don't say how much they hold but are gradiated (is that the right word?) to 6oz. Does that seem like a good amount? I've never used frozen breast milk so don't know how it is when you thaw it etc. Any advice would be appreciated.

Steve was carrying Dahlia through the dining room where August is FINALLY calm sitting in his chair. She says to Steve "August is content right now." I love that kid!

True to form - 2nd child is getting things posted a lot more slowly than first child did. Ah well... August turned 3 months old last Tuesday! As of a week before that he weighed in at 11lbs 3oz & is growing at his normal 25th percentile-ish rate. He suffers from really bad, painful reflux & that has been difficult & trying on all of us. He is now on a higher dosage of Zantac & that along with more "cluster-feedings" at night have kept the hours-on-end screaming sessions at bay - hopefuly it'll continue to get better. He will only really sleep well if he's on his tummy - which of course is a major no-no these days. I admit, I let him sleep sometimes on his tummy just so we can get some rest. He's about a minute away from rolling over (both ways) so i feel pretty confident that he won't leave his head face down in the crib...but I still do worry about SIDS...The past few nights (last night withstanding) he did 5 hour blocks of sleeping - from ...

Yesterday was such a perfect summer day, Steve & I decided to take the kids to the beach. It was sunny, hot - but not too hot; not buggy or humid...just right. We had so much fun swimming. The big lake was actually "warmish." I mean, I still thought I was going to hyper-ventilate the first time I got in, but once in it was very refreshing & quite pleasant! Dahlia had so much fun "swimming" but mostly had fun making sand castles. I had fun making sand castles too. August was fairly mellow & enjoyed napping on the beach. I think the beach umbrella was one of my best impulse purchases this summer! I even got some reading in while feeding August....

I was going to run to a funky thrift/antique store yesterday to find a gift for a funky friend who's party was last night. But due to children & screaming & delayed naps, that didn't happen. So instead I hit my fabric stash & whipped up this tote bag for her. It's FAR from perfect but I think it's kind of cool & very functional. I used upholstery samples that I've had for years & some muslin for the lining (not very cool, but oh well). Hopefully she liked it! I'm quite proud of myself that I pulled this off in only a couple hours while watching both kids. Thankfully they cooperated!

My very dear friend Sudhara visited me this week. She was in St. Paul visiting another friend who had a baby in March, & drove up to Duluth to spend a couple days with me & my babies too! She had never met Dahlia OR August so that was a real treat. Dahlia warmed up to her very quickly - which I was very happy about. Mostly we sat on the front porch & talked. We probably could've sat there for days just catching up. The weather was beautiful & we enjoyed a margarita before walking down to the Burrito Union for dinner. On Wednesday we lazed about, went to Jimmy John's (her first such experience) for lunch & then for a hike on the Park Point nature trail. Dang it was HOT. That evening I made dinner & we mostly tried to keep August from screaming. We weren't successful. So much so that I FB'd my pediatrician at 10pm on Wednesday night. She rocks & helped me set up an appointment for the following day with a NP as she was out of town. Thursday mor...

*Get two kids changed, dressed, fed, etc. (repeat throughout the day) *Make banana bread for weekend camping trip *Make pickle/cream cheese roll up thingys for Carolyn's party tonight *Make veggie pizza for Carolyn's party tonight *Cut up pineapple for tonight/weekend *wash dishes *Pack for weekend camping trip Included but not limited to: clothes for self + 2 kids swimsuits diapers swim diapers wipes towels sunscreen bug dope sleeping bags sheets potty chair changing pad therma rests air mattress tents camp chairs head lamps beach ball + sand toys mosquito netting for Auguts bouncy seat Food camping 'box' with supplies *lunch with a friend (we'll see if I get that squeezed in or not) *putting puzzles together with Dahlia *clean house for upcoming visitors Bertil & Maud (from Sweden) + Sudhara next week! I'm tired already.

Saturday (as most of you readers know) we had our 3rd 'Mini-Austin' reunion. Hosted by Laurie (who never updates her blog...), it was a fantastic time to hang with friends, herd children, make several trips to the potty & of course reminisce. Thanks for hosting, Laurie! Can't wait for the next one!! We missed you, Kate !

Note: still in pajamas, sunglasses on, hair "done." This kid kills me. (mostly in good ways!)

I made these blueberry yogurt 'popsicles' yesterday as I had a whole lot of blueberries left over from the 4th. They are okay - great flavor but I'm not sure about the texture. I'm sure the skins from the blueberries contain all the 'good stuff' but it made the popsicles a weird consistency. At least they taste good!

The other day Dahlia told me that she had a poopy diaper (we're battling the whole #2 thing/wearing diapers at home - ay yi yi). I reached around her to assess the situation. She then said... "No Mama, Let it be." Perhaps she was channeling my all time favorite Paul McCartney...?

The other night we were saying a before bed prayer. I asked her to tell me some of the things she's thankful for so we could thank God for them...(in the past we've listed things & she listens & shakes her head). She said she's thankful for: Grandpa Trudy Party (in reference to Anders' birthday party that we were going to the next day) Allison Josh Food Bacon... at which point I was laughing so hard. Ah a girl after my own heart. The rest of her list included all of her grandparents (individually named) & our house. What a sweetie.

I wanted to have a family picture in front of our house, but we just didn't get to it. We barely made it out the door late in the afternoon!!