The beauty & the (pregnant) beast

I was taking pictures on timer earlier tonight so that you all could see the elephantine belly; how it's kicked into hyper-growth mode here in the last week. Wilder jumped in at the last moment. So there we are, me and the two boys -- the younger one clearly aiming to match his brother in size. I have to say, I'm finally moving into that late-pregnancy mode where I feel like I'm a giant rhinoceros moving underwater all the time. Co-workers are having physical reactions to the sight of me. Total strangers are making up excuses not to get on elevators with me in what I assume is fear that the elevator will shut down and they'll have to deliver me. Oh, the fun I could have with this if I only had the energy ... :) Oh well, 10 days and counting.

Jerry just told me he's making cookies. I'm out ... k.

A San Francisco retreat

I don't talk much about work on this blog, for obvious reasons. It's work, and when I leave there, as much as I (most of the time) like my job, I try to leave it behind. To fully be the "home" version of myself. I'm the web editor where I work, which the past few months has meant working on a new website: one that is MUCH bigger in size, depth and scope than what we currently have. It's been a crash course in project management for me -- one that has oftentimes been overwhelming and in my more hormonally charged moments, reduced me to tears. The launch of the new site is scheduled to happen two to three weeks after I return from maternity leave.

Anyway, we're partnering with a San Francisco company to make this happen. They provide a content management platform and represent a ton of big name clients (think CNN). Enough web-girl speak: The point here is they have a user conference for three days the first week in May ...

AND I'M GOING!

Woooooooo. Hooooooo. Now at first I declined. Told my boss I didn't feel comfortable committing to it when I'd have a 2-month-old at home. Forty-eight hours later I thought: "Are you insane? Kris ... seriously, pull your head out of your ..." You get the point. So today I booked my room at the Orchard Garden Hotel. It looks like the kind of place where a woman who hasn't slept in two months could get a decent night's sleep. THREE decent night's sleep. It's about three-quarters of a mile from where the conference is taking place, and I'm looking forward to the walk back and forth each day. And it's going to be very close to a lot of great sites and attractions (have I mentioned how much I LOVE San Fran?), and I even have a wonderful old friend there I'm hoping to visit.

Anyway, I don't get the chance to do much solo these days. I love my family DEARLY, but I sure am glad they're willing to do without me for three days! (And thanks, Jer, for being one of those fantastic husbands that says, "Yeah Kris, go" -- and means it.

Yay yay yay!

Truer words ...

My iGoogle.com horoscope today reads: 

"It's all about finishing up old business now so you are ready for the action of spring when it finally arrives. If you have overextended, make an effort toward cleaning up after your energy binge, but don't be too hard on yourself in the process. Do whatever it takes to prepare yourself for what's just around the corner."

I'm not the kind of person who gives much credence to mars in retrograde or whether my planets are aligned etc., but I don't think I've ever read a horoscope and found it more pertinent to my life at this very second. 

In our future: Soil and toil

This is probably madness, given Hunter's impending arrival, but Jerry and I have just committed to maintaining a 190-plus square foot plot in a brand new community garden near us. Our only hesitation was being able to adhere to the organizers' guidelines — planting three seasons out of the year being the most daunting, as well as the maintenance factor — given having two munchkins, but then I thought: What the hell else do we do in our down time? We both love to garden and have fresh veggies, and I think Wilder will really enjoy helping us out this year. I'll just strap that baby to my back like women the world over do and get out there and sweat, right?! 

Stop laughing. 

Well, madness or not, we're excited. Let's just see what happens ...

Hunter Hunter Bo Bunter

As Aunt Cati's comment on my previous post made me realize, I referred to the Newb as Hunter without actually telling anyone that we'd decided to name the boy, well, Hunter.

So, here's the official announcement: Wilder's brother's name will be Hunter Nathaniel Scott.

One Wilder. One Hunter. We know this decision makes us look like those parents, — but in the end, we decided we don't care. As Jerry and I discussed, you can't name a boy Bob if his brother's name is Wilder. When he's 16, he's gonna undoubtedly ask: "Hey, why'd my brother get the chick magnet name and I got Bob???" 

Thanks to my sister Tara, who, when asked if giving our boys such names made us look like weirdo parents, responded: "No, I think it makes you look like people who chose cool names for your kids."

And to my friend Brenda (the former Miss Nanny B), who, when asked the same, said: "Kris, if you're gonna fly your freak flag, fly your freak flag high." (Say that five times fast!)

Good advice, no matter the question, I think. 

And finally, thanks to those who offered up numerous humorous suggestions for Wilder's little brother, including: Tamer, Milder and Wet. Good stuff, people, good stuff. 

Hair cuts and hand-me-downs

My camera battery is dead and charging, so I'm going to have to update this post with photos later. But I promise I will. Jerry's giving Wilder a bath right now and I have a free few minutes so I figured I better write while I can, photos or no photos. (UPDATE: Photos added!)

First off, Wilder got a haircut today, and it's his first "real" haircut. Jerry and I've relented to little trims here and there, but from the get-go we both knew we wanted to keep his hair on the longish side. Still, today I had them take quite a bit off. His locks had gotten what I like to refer to as "that Nick Nolte after an 8-day bender" look. Totally disheveled and deranged looking. Plus, knowing that a new baby is about to arrive, and that it will be even easier to put off haircuts in the near future, I figured we'd take off more than maybe we were comfortable with. Hair grows, right? We thought about waiting until Gramma Teri arrives, but I just couldn't take another day of that Nolte look.

Anyway, hence the cut. And, while I think Jerry might be a little taken aback by the amount I had trimmed off, I think Wilder looks soooo adorable and handsome. His hair still curls in the back, but his cute little features really shine through now, and there's nary a hint of drunken has-been celebrity. Woot! Here are a couple pics from tonight:




So now we're getting settled in our new 'hood, and one of the first things I did was join the Parents Group. Now, I'm not a joiner. It's a quality I was born with apparently. I was never was in Brownies or Girl Scouts or anything like that. I've never really been able to join groups and feel I fit in, unless you count the misfits shooting pool at the bar, drinking beer. That group I always felt a kinship with, and frankly still do ... for whatever that says about me.

But I thought it would be a good idea, if for no one else than Wilder and Hunter, if I joined the club, so to speak. And can I just say, we're already reaping the benefits. First and foremost, though I've had little time to hang with the fellow moms in the group, there are some super-cool women. Women I could actually see both having playdates and pilsners with.

But what's also cool is anytime someone has something to sell, they post it to the Yahoo group. So far we've obtained a desperately needed queen-sized guest bed and, to my even greater delight, a $30 glider and ottoman. Something I didn't have with Wilder but which other mamas I know raved about to such a degree that I always had glider-envy. It matches our nursery furniture perfectly and is covered in a nice, boyish denim that's still in great shape. Thirty dollars! My late bargain-hunting mama would be quite proud.





So I hear my boys heading down the hall toward me. I'm off, probably to share a dish of ice cream and maybe the first quarter of Curious George with my wee one. He's reaching that age where he can be intensely exasperating, but in the next second, the sweetest hug- and kiss-giving little boy on the planet. Manipulation? Yeah, probably, but I sure can't stay mad at him for long. (And one quick last photo, because some have asked me to post more photos of the house, which I'm working on!)



Nite all,
k.

Super Bowl Sunday

Just a couple pics from last night's Super Bowl party, hosted by our good friend Hopens.

Here's Wilder steadying himself on the coffee table after a dizzying spin-dance to halftime entertainment Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers:


And in case you're wondering what his stickers say ... (NOTE: It's a Super Bowl tradition with our friends that we all get a couple stickers — for example: Gatorade, Cheerleaders, Third-down conversions, Referees, etc. — and anytime your sticker shows up on the screen, you take a drink):


Happy Monday! k.

Photos! Photos! Photos!

Because I haven't posted many lately ...

No more putty

I don't think I've mentioned here on the blog that, while we love our new house, we've been less than enthused with the previous owners' paint color choices. I'm sure they were going for maximum appeal, but it's all-together too tasteful for us (well, for ME — Jerry, to his credit, seems to care less than me about these things).

There's a lot of beige. In fact, I found leftover paint in the closet and the exact shade is called "bonafide beige." It might as well be called "bland" or "vanilla" or "sweater-set-and-pearls." So the worst part was the colors in the boys' rooms. Putty. Dirt. Not pretty red Utah dirt, but cracked mud dirt.

Not conducive to young imaginative minds. So, long story short, we managed to paint BOTH the boys' rooms this weekend. And by we I mean Jerry and some friends of ours, although I can take credit for prep work and cleanup afterward. So now the baby's room is Serengeti Green and Wilder's is Tropical Pool. I should have pictures to accompany this post but I'll add those later. They look AWESOME and I love love love them.

Little paint-related story here. By the time I went to bed last night and peeped in on my sleeping Wilder, the paint fumes were still quite strong in his room. I'm certainly fueled by raging and irrational pregnancy hormones, but at worst I feared brain lesions and at best a horrible headache when he woke up. So I had Jerry put him in bed with me. When Jer came to bed a couple hours later, he woke up and threw a fit. This kid HATES to sleep anywhere but his own bed. We tried to calm him down, but at some point I checked his room and found the fumes to have cleared quite a bit in the meantime. So we took him back to his own bed, layed him down and I sat down to give him a hug and kiss and make sure he was content. He literally pushed me off his bed, muttering "out" and put his head back on the pillow.

I could take offense, but something about it made me proud. Kid knows what he wants, and he wants a good night's sleep uninterrupted by motherly love.

R U ready to rock?

Had to post these photos of Wilder with his new drum set. Our friends the Neals got it for him for Christmas — Jynnette swears she asked my permission beforehand and says I said "yes." Must've been a moment of insanity. Actually, the drum set has been relatively unannoying so far. Anyway, Friday we had the day off and I caught Wilder in there channeling his best inner rock star. I love both these photos:



So my apologies for blogging so rarely these days. It's amazing what trying to settle into a new house + trying to launch a website at work + trying to prepare for bedrest + baby, etcetera etcetera will do to a girl's free time. Doing my best to keep a stiff upper lip, but in all honesty I'm ready for it to be April or May already.

The house is great. We're loving the fireplace, particularly given the low temperatures these days. I figure we'll get all the boxes unpacked and settled in about 2010. I've reconciled myself to this reality, though it's been difficult for a control freak like me.

The pregnancy continues to chug along sans further complications. I have a doc appt. every two weeks now and my OB says he's "paranoid enough for the both of us," so I leave him to any brow-knitting and do my best to flit cheerfully through the days. I figure it's working so far so I'm not about to start freaking out now.

That said, I finally do have my bags packed for the hospital. I have an "uh oh I'm bleeding" emergency bag and another, longer-term bag packed with movies, books, family photos and more stuff to help me survive the boredom and loneliness.

And the baby ... well, if kicking the crap out of me is any indication, this one is another strong, exuberant boy who's ready to come out and tackle the world. Which is perfect. We want him big and strong and healthy, and I'm doing my part, I think, by eating like a pig.

Wilder, as evidence by the above pics, gets more personality every day. He loves to sing songs for Jerry and I, fly planes around the room, chase the dog with his trucks and serves Jerry and I pretend "cakes" quite a bit lately (I guess he's figured out his pregnant mama has quite the sweet tooth). The pretend play is fun and amazing to see develop. We've started reading before bedtime every night and he will pound the bed with his palm and demand, "Mama! Sit down! Book!!" He also demands "big hugs!!!" before laying down. He loves to play "monster" with Jerry — they hide around corners from each other and will jump out trying to scare one another. Sometimes I get roped into this game by Wilder — he'll grab my hand and whisper conspiratorially: "Mama ... c'mon ... C'MONNNNNNNN," as he drags me down the hall to have the bejesus scared out of me by Jerry.

OK, well I've rambled way more than I planned on doing. Sorry for the long post. Maybe if I'm actually put on bedrest I'll have a lot more time to blog. Scary, no? ; )

Love to all, k.

A shower for Newb

My co-workers held a baby shower for me yesterday afternoon at a winery about a block from our office. The three girls who put it together did such a good job. And our staff photographer Turk stopped by for awhile to take some photos. I really work with the nicest people in the world. Anyway, I just wanted to post a couple photos of it because everyone did such an amazing job making me and the new baby feel the love. Thanks guys!!



Opening gifts for the baby ...

Marlena, Jynnette and Keri threw the shower — they are the BEST!

Me being my cheeky self ... you can see a glimmer here of how big I am already with 12 weeks to go (technically speaking).

Pics from Yule

A few photos of Wilder from Christmas Eve and Christmas. I have some great video, but probably won't be able to post it until after the move on Saturday, depending on when we can get our internet connection back up and running again.



Enjoy and Happy 2008!!!!

A new addition to the toddler lexicon

I think I've mentioned before that Wilder calls Jerry and I "papa" and "mama." A lot of times he'll babble to both of us at the same time ... "blah blah blah papa and yadda yadda yadda mama." A couple weeks ago he made up a new word for when he wants to address us both at the same time: MaPa (pronounced "moppa"). He uses it pretty often these days and it cracks us up every time. Kids' minds work in interesting ways, no?

Our Xmas present: a new house

Well, it's done.

Jerry and I signed one house over to new buyers yesterday and then signed a LOT more papers that made us the proud new owners of a new, bigger, shinier one that will become home to us and Wilder on Dec. 29 and home to The Newb (baby-to-be's nickname for now) in another few weeks.

And, can I just say: halle-frickin'-lujah! What an interesting last three months it's been — and when I say interesting, I mean it's been filled with the kinds of demands, back-breaking labor, check writing and non-stop decision-making that can make a sane person crazy. Luckily, neither of us is too sane to begin with. Jerry probably made no fewer than 60 trips from house to POD in packing up half our house before putting on the market. We toured countless potential new homes with a 2-year-old in tow who found other people's stuff MUCH more interesting than his own and his parents. I mopped so much I got carpal tunnel. We've talked to housecleaning services, electricians, handymen, pool guys, inspectors, tree-service people, etc. etc. — all of whom were happy to offer us wildly differing opinions with their wildly differing estimates for repair work.

Good times, good times ... yeah. Not really.

Anyway, it's not as if it's exactly over. We've not packed a box if you don't count the half the house we already packed up and stored away. That early bit of work will help. Hopefully packing the other half will go smoothly and quickly. Hopefully my delusion will carry me through even if that's not the case.

The new house is great. It's got three bedrooms and a study. A living room, family room and wonderful sun room that looks out onto the pool, hot tub and gazebo. We have a kitchen we can cook in and a fireplace that makes Jerry's heart sing with happiness. It's got four toilets, a factor that seems to overwhelm me more than any of the rest of it. Since Jerry and I have known each other — almost 10 years now — we've never had more than one bathroom. It's a corner lot, which means we have a gigantic front yard for Wilder to run around in and The Newb to loll in.

Anyway, we'll be very happy there, I'm sure. Not because it's bigger and better, but because we'll be there together — me and my beautiful, fun and amazing three guys. What a lucky girl am I ... now THAT'S the real gift.

Yule 2008: Full steam ahead

Well, we've finally swung into the holiday season this week. It started with a lights-viewing carriage ride on Wednesday night, during which the family photo below was taken (Jerry and Wilder looking like their usual handsome selves and me looking like I just pounded a six pack ... I didn't, for clarification).

Then Friday afternoon Wilder and I accompanied Carmen and Owen to the NorthPark Trains, this really incredible holiday deal the local mall does every year. 2,800 square feet, 2,500 feet of tracks, more than 40 trains cruising simultaneously around ... I tried to get some photos there, too, but catching the joy and astonishment of two 2-year-olds surrounded by an uncountable number of their favorite things in the world turned out to be quite a challenge. Mostly I got blur and the backs of heads.

Today we headed to Walls Family Farm for our tree, and I'll let the slide show embedded below speak for itself. Suffice to say we had a blast and it really lit up our holiday spirit, despite the 80-degree temperatures.

Now, if I could just get a few gifts bought and some sugary treats made. Next weekend maybe ...

Cheers, k.

Photo blitz!

Sorry for the mega-post ... life has gotten a little out of control for us recently and it's made it difficult to get on here and write, much less write anything creative. We're in the process of selling our current home, buying another, moving before the end of the year and all during the holidays. Add to this that work has been nut-so for us both and you get an idea of things.

What follows are a few photos from the last few weeks. We had Thanksgiving, went to the Dallas World Aquarium, the Neiman Marcus Christmas Parade. All good fun. Tonight we're being driven around one of Dallas' more affluent neighborhoods in a horse-drawn carriage to look at holiday lights. I'll take the camera.

We're all well. Wilder and I are still getting over coughs and, for those I haven't already told, I was recently diagnosed with a pregnancy complication, complete placenta previa, which makes this one high risk. The baby is fine, I'm fine ... it's just good we know about it, how to proceed from here and how to prepare for what will more than likely involve hospitalization, bed rest and a whole lot of boredom for me and juggling for Jerry in my third trimester. Also, the baby -- who, by the way, is another BOY!!! -- will likely come early, hopefully in early March and not sooner. By then we'll be settled in our new house.

Gotta run and get pizza ordered. Enjoy the photos. Love, k.



Wilder enjoys the Thanksgiving spread. He's going through a bizarro toddler phase where he eats all his vegetables first. Weird and most certainly won't last.

At the aquarium, checking out the wildlife.

Wilder digs fishies.

Sleeping soundly in the big boy bed.

Pointing out otters to mom.

What a cutie at the Xmas parade.

Frosty and George float down the road.

A cute pick of the boys.

Wilder zones out while his friend Owen and Owen's pop Michael enjoy the parade.

Sunday Night

Quick update here. Wilder had his 2-year doc appt. a couple weeks ago. He's 33 lbs. and 35 inches tall. Ninetieth percentile in both weight and height. A big boy! And speaking of big boy, he's still doing well with the new bed. Can't believe we dodged the bullet there. Whew.

Another first yesterday ... Wilder told me I was "pretty." Since I've been sick for a week, hadn't showered since the day before, didn't have a lick of make-up on, hadn't combed my hair and was experiencing another pregnancy-related breakout (I have a pimple ON MY EYELID), I have to assume he was highly influenced in his remarks by the blue bucket I was wearing as a hat. "Wilder, do you like my hat?" Sly smile. "Pretty." Perhaps his sense of sarcasm is more finely tuned that I've given him credit for.

We went to a nearby park with Betty late this afternoon while our Realtor did an open house. We had a ton of fun. Betty chased the ball and proved she's a great off-leash dog (finally ... my dog karma kicking in again); Wilder climbed the playground's rock wall and walked and wobbled his way across the balance beam. It was a beautiful night and tons of people/families were out grilling, playing volleyball, etc.

So now we're home and, as I mentioned, I've been sick a week. What started as a bit of chest congestion minus any sore throat or stuffy nose has turned into full-blown something. I can't speak above a whisper, cough constantly and feel generally like crapola. Going to the doc tomorrow ... thinking this is either bronchitis or maybe even a touch of pneumonia. Hope to be back in fighting form in time for slaving over a hot stove all day Thursday : )

Gonna go drink some tea and try to get a bit of voice back so Wilder and Jerry quit acting like it's vacation around here. Kidding ... ; )

Cheers, k.

Look who's outta the crib!

We finally got Wilder his big-boy bed today. Went to IKEA, which I always think is going to be really fun but always ends up being overwhelming and a pain the butt. There are people wandering around lost, paying no attention to what's going on around them (yeah, yeah, me included ...) and then you get to the self-service area to pick up gigantic boxes of stuff and encounter a new round of lost, exasperated people. Only these ones have big carts and are blocking your way. But, all in all, we got in and out of there pretty fast once we figured out which bed we were getting (which was not the bed we intended to get when we left, but was the bed I'd initially wanted to get about five months ago. Go figure.) and what accessories we were getting with it and where they were. Man, did I mention IKEA is a total pain?

OK, but worth it. At least for now. The bed itself is nothing spectacular. Cute, cute bedding, colorful. But on night No. 1, as of right this very second (and I type that soooo hesitantly because I expect him to wake up and go, "What the ...?" any second), but our boy is seriously sacked out in his new bed. Jerry and I both just tip-toed in with a flashlight to see if he'd crawled to the foot of his crib and curled up on the floor yet, but he's comfortably passed out in the new bed.

I'm not sure this will last, but it's just wonderful to get a free pass on a night you sensed would involve a struggle. But I probably should have expected this -- Wilder's got a strange sense of exuberance toward new stuff in life coupled with a laid-back sense of going with the flow of things.

Anyway, a couple of pics from earlier today when we'd assembled the bed and put it into his room. He climbed right up and started playing on it. I'd love to get a picture of him sleeping in it now, but I fear waking him up and destroying the whole house's reverie. I'll save those for another time then. Cheers all ... k.

 
 

Couple o' cuties

Just a pair of quick pics of Wilder playing with his friend Lea last night. We let them play alone for awhile in his room, and when we checked on them they'd made themselves quite comfy inside the train table, just chattering away and playing cars.
 
 

We're on the market baby!

Finally. The house goes on the market tomorrow. Jerry and I did the final push on Friday and Saturday and worked our tails off. Every muscle in my body hurt last night, and I think I reactivated my pregnancy-related carpal tunnel (when I was pregnant with Wilder it got really painful). The house is clean -- not clean enough to eat off the floors or anything ... I don't even think that's possible in a nearly 60-year-old house. But clean enough. It should show well, particularly if we can keep the maintenance up. Nowadays, when I have a free moment, instead of stealing a few pages from a book or sitting on my butt dreaming about having a glass of wine (or five or six) come April, I clean. I wipe, sweep, pick up, groan, gather dog poop, grunt, fold clothes, do more laundry, rant, and chase a goop-covered toddler around raving my head off. "No no NO DON'T wipe your mouth on the couch .... ohhhh, crap."

Yep, good times ...

Still, it's nice to have a nice house again. Nice to live more deliberately and think more about our surroundings. I might even keep some of this up when we move. Then again, I'll have a newborn, a 2-year-old (who's becoming more "quintessential" in his twoness everday) and I'll still have a job. So, sometimes, I will still just sit on my butt and drink wine. I will have to -- cleaning does not save a person's sanity. Wine, on the other hand ...

So here are some pictures of the house. Say a little prayer or perform a little blessing that we sell quickly and don't get horribly insulted by low offers. After we've worked so hard, it would be WONDERFUL to sell quickly, find a nice cozy new home and be in the new place by Christmas. Not counting on it, but a girl can hope. Even when she's too tired to cross her fingers ...

And one more quick thing ... I was reading through year-old blog entries the other night. I don't know when it happened, but I've gotten horribly boring in my writing. I might as well tell you all about the weather. "Wilder is happy. We are good. Nothing's changed blah blah yadda yadda ... zzzzzzzzzzz." Sorry. I am nothing without my sarcasm and ascerbic wit, right? So I'm bringing it back. It's already been broughten.

Cheers friends ... k.