My husband

My husband is such a great daddy. I could hardly ask for better. He never complains about the kids. Darren bowls in 2 different leagues, 2 night a week. I asked him to take a break from one of them once Barrett was born so we could adjust to our growing family. He didn't hesitate to step down. He keeps the kids when I have bunco, book club or something else; he even encourages me to get out sometimes. Becca really is becoming a daddy's girl which makes me happy for a couple of reasons. One, it gives me a chance to get a few things done or take care of Barrett when Darren's around. Two, I was a daddy's girl and hope she can have that same special relationship. He's even good about getting up if Barrett doesn't want to go to bed at night or wakes up in the middle of the night. He'll put his pacifier back in or tries to rock him a little. He knows, I'm the only one who can feed him so he helps out as much as possible. There was even one night I was gone, he had Barrett in bed, Becca in pajamas and the dishes all done. I really don't know what I'd do without him, he is truly a gift to me and the kids.

Iowa

We went for our first long car ride with both kids. Becca was and is so good in the car. She just sits in the back being so goo, only having to stop once or twice. We took Becca to OK when she was 8 or 9 days old and she was either sleeping or eating. We didn't get her in the car until she was just over a year, we used to fly with her all the time. I was hoping Barrett would be good because he is so good natured.

My husband is so funny. We had such a short weekend, Darren wanted to get off to an early start. What you may not know about my husband is that he is truly not a morning person; he pushes snooze for an hour many times. So, I told him, he could take care of the kids while I went to bed early since I figured I'd be driving first thing. He agreed, I got ready and woke Barrett up at 5:30 to eat. We got out the door around 6:30 and got to Iowa at 4:45. Barrett slept the first part of the trip. We stopped for lunch, he ate but awhile after getting back on the road, he began to cry. He'd fall asleep for short bursts and cry some more. There wasn't much to appease him.

We enjoyed our time in Iowa relaxing and spending time with Darren's sister, her husband, his 2 nieces, their husbands and his great-niece. Becca enjoyed having attention paid to her as well. The trip back was much better. I decided to get back in the back with the kids, okay, more accurately, I squeezed myself between their seats. My baby boy enjoys being entertained so our trip back was much better. He just wanted someone to talk to and put his pacifier back in when he would startle after the car would bump a little too much. We're sad to be back. We don't get to see his family too many days at a time.

Kids are funny

My birthday was pretty good. Valentine's Day, Darren came home with a card from him, a card from Becca, flowers and some Lindor's truffles. (my favorite) Sunday, some wonderful friends of ours watched both of the kids so we could go out. We planned to go to a sit down restaurant, but Barrett wanted to eat so we left a little later than intended. The day after Valentine's is not usually busy, but forgetting that the next day was a holiday, we thought we'd have time for dinner. We went a couple of different places and all were half hour waits and we only had an hour before the movie, so we went to Fazoli's. It was good but not quite the dinner I wanted so we agreed to go out sometime soon to get that dinner. Anyway, we went to see "Taken" which we both really enjoyed. We got there late too however and sat in the second row. It was really nice to get out without the kids; I can't remember the last time we went on a date; we might have to make a habit of it. When we got back home, Darren brought in a birthday card from him, a birthday card from Becca, and a scrapbook tote to put some of my stuff in. Becca asked her dad, "Now, that's from both of us right?" That's my girl!

Becca did not get a nap because we were busy cleaning, etc. We had a friend of hers come over to play and I hung out with his mom because her husband is out of town. After they left, she went to the bathroom. Now, for some reason, she always wants us in there with her when we're at home; out in public, she wants to go in the stall by herself. Anyway, I was rocking Barrett, trying to get him to go to sleep so I told her I couldn't help her yet. I was waiting for her to come out so she could watch one show of hers. A few minutes go by and I hear a noise coming from the bathroom. I go in there, and she is folded over, still sitting on the potty fast asleep and snoring. I was holding Barrett and I almost didn't get her awake. If I had been in my right mind, I would have gotten the camera out to take a picture, it was hilarious.

Parenting

I heard someone say, maybe even a comedian, that you're not truly a parent until you have more than one. I can say amen to that. My wonderful first born is a terrific child, behaves well and all that jazz. But when you take away attention from her and need to help someone else, it's not always smooth sailing. Not to say she didn't have these moments before Barrett was born but we're having more of them now. She's beginning to want to do and see daddy more which is okay with me for more than one reason: it takes some of the stress off me, and I was a daddy's girl and I'd like her to be one too. However, she still hasn't let daddy do the nighttime routine of pajamas, brushing teeth and book reading, but that's time I enjoy with her.

Becca is great with Barrett. She picks out his clothes, gets his pacifier when he needs it, wants to hold him quite a bit, etc. It's just me she has issues with at times. I try not to promise to play a game with her, because just as soon as I do, it's time to feed Barrett and then she really has issues. We're still learning to adjust. I do feel for her at times and would love to figure out a routine where we can have time to do things together and do things separately, while still getting a few things done around the house. If anyone has mastered this, advice would be greatly appreciated. If I run errands in the morning, my whole day is gone and don't have time to do much the rest of the day. I think one day, things will get slightly better...maybe when they're both a little more independent???

Barrett, luckily, is a great baby. I was so worried since Becca was so good, but I got lucky twice. He's a good eater, a good sleeper, and has a good demeanor. He has already slept through the night (8-9 hours) twice. If he doesn't sleep all night, he usually only gets up once and goes right back to sleep. He's not a big crier, if he throws a fit, it lasts only minutes and it's usually because he's gassy or needs attention. The only thing is he can spit up quite a bit at times. All in all, I'm pretty lucky with my kids.

My two men

Yeah! Steelers!

My husband has always been a Steelers fan and I've always been a Dallas Cowboys fan. Early in the marriage we had a much stronger rivalry, however, we've come to root for each others teams; okay maybe I have more than he. But, Becca did have a Steelers onesie when she was little and it was passed down to Barrett. Darren's parents were here to help with my eye surgery and stayed for the super bowl. Here are some pictures of the Steelers fans. Darren's mom cheered for Arizona as they live in Arizona and Kurt Warner lived near the town they grew up in.

This is Becca when she was 7 days old.

Steelers fans with Darren's footbal signed by Terry Bradshaw

On another note, Barrett slept through the night Thursday. I put him down around 11:00 and he woke up at 8:00. Of course I didn't sleep all night; I got up to check on him twice. Even though he doesn't usually sleep all night, he typically only gets up once at night so it's really been nice. He truly has been so much fun. He and Becca so far have been very similar: good eaters, good sleepers and good temperments.

Becca and I went to Chuck E Cheese Friday with a friend while Darren kept Barrett. We had a lot of fun and she was still ready to play when we got home. We're still adjusting to not having all the attention. I have to be careful not to tell her I will play something with her because that will be the time Barrett will wake up and need to eat. Then she fusses and tells me not to feed him, throws a fit, the whole bit. I try to spend as much time as possible with her, so we're trying to find a balance. My house shows that I'm spending most of the time with the kids. My goal is to 1 thing a day: 1 load of laundry or clean off 1 dresser or clean 1 bathroom, etc. I feel good to get something done. Eventually it will all be done. But, for now, I'm trying to enjoy the kids and get some rest when I can.

Post surgery

My surgery was in Nashville at 3:30 and I was home (an hour away) by 5:30 or 6:00. I had something called ptosis; it's basically a drooping eyelid when the eyelid has slipped out of the carlidge holding it in place. The surgeon said my muscle looked good so fixing it wouldn't be a problem. He cut the middle of my eyelid, reattached then tendon and muscle with dissolvable stictches, then stitched up my eyelid; those stiches I'll have out in a week to 10 days. I was told I'd be out for part of the surgery but awake for some. If I was out, it was fairly brief. I do remember them having me open my eyes, look up, then close it several times. I heard him say it's a little high a couple of times. I guess they were matching the eyelids to look fairly symmetrical. Also during surgery, I felt a prick a couple of times on my eyelid. The surgeon, Dr. Wesley, had to give me a little more anesthesia. He said I probably metabolize it faster than others...if that's true, why my metabolism doesn't work on food seems a cruel joke.

That night, I didn't have too many problems. It was the next morning when it was quite a bit swollen and red. I had a little problems with tearing. And because my eye was so swollen, my eyelashes were stuck together the next morning. I didn't have too much pain associated with it, however. The salve they gave me to put on my eyelid made my vision a little blurry. But, all in all it wasn't too bad. It never got black and blue. The real pain was just being careful not to bend over or lift anything.

A couple of hours after surgery

24 hours after surgery

Surgery

Monday, I'm having eye surgery to fix my drooping eyelid. I have a list of things I can't do before surgery and a list of restrictions after surgery. The first 48 hours after surgery is the most restrictive: I can't bend over, I need to put ice cold cloths on my eye for 15 minutes of every hour, sleep in a recliner, no lifting over 10 pounds for 1 week. I am lucky to have my in-laws coming in to help with the kids, me, and everything else. I wanted to have my eye fixed but wasn't expecting a C-section, so I wasn't considering 2 surgeries so close together. But, I'm pretty well recovered from the first just in time for the second. At least this doesn't have as much recovery time. Here is a picture of the before: