A Night with the Nats.

It feels like a long time (minus the announcement of the birth of Angus) since I curated any sort of familial events on this blog. Of course I love the sartorial spin my blog has, but I do enjoy putting some of my other passions on here, namely my family and the fun things we get to do together. There has definitely been a reduction in fun times, but now that the reason for the fun times diminishing has been solved (my pregnancy, cough, cough), we can get back to the business of making memories. ;)

Rex was barely two months old when we brought him to his first Nationals baseball game (April 2007).  CW was around a year old, but that is owing in part to her birth date in September (she was born *just* at the end of the season in 2008).  Of course Mr. Dina was all gung ho to get lil Gus to his first game some mere two weeks after his birth, but my influence held some sway and Mr. Dina saw the ridiculousness of that request.  I gave in last week, Tuesday, when Gus had made it to a much more sturdy age of five whole weeks. 

This photo cracks me up.  If you open it up, you will see the insanity that is us at a planned event.  Starting from the left back, you will see Rex at the picnic table with the very friendly Deena (no joke) who had insisted on competing with him in a round of Angry Birds space (she on her phone and Rex on my Kindle--moms, take note, that KINDLE IS THE BOMB diggity for keeping kids amused).  Deena works at the park and from what I gathered she was on her break.  How awesome of her to be so sweet to my pumpkin.  If you have kids in this area and have not made it to a game yet, I insist you go, the park is uber-friendly to the children.  In fact, Deena mentioned that on Sundays kids get to run the bases after the game and get autographs (maybe we can get Jayson Werth's autograph after his hand heals?).

In front of the picnic table you see CW cuddling with her new Nationals stuffed animal. 

And then there's Gus and me.  He is feeling me up!  In his Bjorn!  How cheeky!

I am dressed (can't not tell you, right, lol?) in my postpartum "my it's sticky outside" best.  The visor (oh, yeah, I own a visor!) is team gear, the tank is J. Crew, the shorts are Mimi Maternity (still have a few pair I admit to letting linger in my dresser), and the shoes are Miss Trish of Capri for Target.

So you know, I had no idea how awesome this shot was until I got home and could zoom in on the individual happenings.  I think CW cuddling Mr. Nat made me laugh the most followed by how *inappropriate* Angus was being. 

Handed down from Rex, Angus was good to go with his Nationals skull cap.  He made quite a few fans that night, btw.  The folks sitting right next to us kept cooing at him. 

The little red pants, which are a perfect shade of red for the Nationals, are from J. Crew's Nature baby line.  These cutie pie pants were given to me by my sweet on-line Personal shopper.  I let her know that day that she helped us with Gus's outfit...unfortunately for little baby boys, most companies make three colors in their baby pants, navy blue, grey, and brown.  Yawn!

Okay, that's all.  We had a great time, and all of us made it back to the car in one piece.  I think waiting a few weeks for Gus to go may have been the key.  :)

BTW, the Nationals lost.  Sigh.  Of the games that week, ours was the only goose egg of the bunch.  We have all summer though to make sure Angus sees some winning!

Baby Angus: Week One...in Photos!

Hello! Baby Angus is officially one week old today! :)

I want to say THANK YOU for all the incredibly sweet and kind comments left at the our announcement post.  I am full of gratitude that so many lovely people swing on by my blog!  You all are the best and I had a lot of smiling/tears of joy in my life after reading them...

We are surviving, but let's just say that I am not exactly in any position to be on the computer much. In fact, when I wrote the last post introducing Gus, I was full of the best painkillers (which is how I got it done). Ha.

Today is very much the first day I have felt up to getting out of bed for more than a few hours, and I thank God for that. I had a few nights of pain (even with the medicine) where I just was all, "can I really make it through the night?" I had those with the other two kids, but your body lets you conveniently forget them so you go on and have more children. Ahhh, instinct and evolution messing with memories.

I am going to keep this short and sweet and show off some of my favorite photos of the family from this week (no ootd photos, well, you know, there may be two from the past week, but for me pjs and soft leggings were on order for the most part).

Enjoy!

 

Gus, still at the hospital, on the last day.  I spent that whole day pretty much chilling with my little man.  It was great.  For a few moments my kids and my dad showed up, but for the majority of the day it was just the two of us.  I think he liked the peace and quiet.  :)

Last day at the hospital, took this shot of my dad, CW, Rex, and Angus.  LOVE this.  So sweet and happy!

Our "going home" photo.  Technically we left about four hours later, but CW, Rex, and Grandpa left a few minutes after this photo was taken.

It was nice leaving the hospital past 8 pm.  Very quiet and serene.  Gus has had few moments of that since arriving home.

Angus and Rex.  Rex is IN LOVE.  He is a great big brother.  All those issues we have had with our big guy in the past year or so have gone by the wayside.  Love that he can focus his energy into being a great big brother.

The three of them.  Two seconds after this shot was taken, Gus bawled his head off.  He was ready for--wait for it--more food from momma.  Anyone surprised?

Taken yesterday.  These blanket sleepers are awesome, keeps them warm but you don't have the worries like you do with actual blankets going over the little baby's heads.

This is darling.  I can't believe I managed to grab this photo!  :)

I did venture out on Friday to go get a refill of my medicine (have to pick it up from the office, controlled substance and all--ooooooooh....) and our first doctor appointment for Gus (he's in fine shape!).  We also stopped at McDonald's for lunch and because of my anemia (more on that in a different post--let's just say I may have needed a couple of units of blood transfused while in the hospital), I HAD to have the Angus burger, natch.  (Although even if I had a clean bill of health, I still would have.  Can't resist, I mean come on!)

This photo is of me with Rex after he was born.  I am a big fan of the putting babies really close to my face and squishing them with all my momma love.  ;)

Squish, squish, squish with all the love and CW. 

Okay, that's it! :)

I hope to be back to fairly regular posting in a few days, but obviously it is as the situation dictates. (Oh, the littlest ones...so many needs that directly involve my chest and arms. LOL.)

P.S. Boden decided to start their mid-Season sale this morning, which means that many items are an additional 15-35% off their regular price. This sale goes until April 13, so you all have time, but I have noticed some items are running low in stock. Having said all this, my 15% off coupon link with free ship and returns gives you the same basic deal on many of the sale items, so think of dipping in this sale if you see an item you were really interested in that is 20% or more off.

I will likely write a post on this sale either tomorrow night or Tuesday. :)

This mid-season sale does not come with free ship and returns, but the code in my sidebar and below will allow you to have free shipping and returns (but not stacking of the 15% on top of the mid-season % off, darn it!).
Save 15% at Bodenusa.com with Free Delivery and Returns!

Night night!

Introducing Gus...

He was early. (4 whole days before his scheduled c-section and 8 whole days before his "due" date.)  His birthday?  March 25, 2012. 

I did end up laboring! And I made it to the hospital with *just* enough time to spare. The c-section we had was neither scheduled or an emergency...it just fell somewhere in between.

His real name is Angus, which is way more popular of a name for boys and men in Scotland, Canada, England, Ireland, and Australia. In the US, Angus is beef, and real "manly" beef. :)

The nice doctor who gave me my anesthesia told me that this is not only the year of the dragon in Chinese astrology, but also the year of the black dragon, which is auspicious if you have a boy, as they will be especially manly. Guess he suits his real name, then. (Oh, and at 9 pounds, 3 ounces he showed us who is boss in the weight department besting Rex by 1 pound and CW by 2 pounds. Rex WAS 4 weeks early, but imagine if those two had been twins, ouch!)

I did end up having some complications, but I will get into that at a later time. That said, these people know my messed up delivery history and were very. well. prepared. for whatever my body decided to throw at them this time.

And now for some photos of his first and second day of life!

Rex and CW have been so excited to meet him that when the time actually came, I seriously felt like they thought of Gus as a rock star...and they acted like his groupies.

Rex held him and then CW.  Supervised of course.  Well, not by me.  I can barely move--THANKS MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY. 

Grandma and Grandpa were over the moon, too!  BTW, best babysitting grandparents in Virginia, just so you all know.  And I am surely not biased or anything.  ;)

He has blonde hair and really blue eyes.  He looks exactly like CW sometimes and exactly like Rex at others.  And then sometimes he will look exactly like both of them AT the SAME time.

He is at that age where he just likes to sleep.  (On my belly, of course, but every once in a while on an actual baby bed.)

He may have left the big baby belly I had for all these months, but that doesn't mean he has to leave the general vicinity.  If he had his druthers, he would be in this position all. the. time.

(Which I don't mind.  Might be super warm, but oh, so freaking cuddly!)

That's it for today and likely a little while.

Those Boden fans out there who know that for the past two Tuesdays I have published a post on the "Week's Temptation" will have to use my link in the sidebar to get to it today or visit last week's post for more information about this kind of sale in general.  I have a feeling all the Boden fans who come here and visit will understand my priorities over the next few days to a week or so (depending on recovery, etc.).  (Of course you would.  Imagine the person who doesn't understand.  LOL.)

You all have a WONDERFUL day.  I certainly plan to.  :)

Mother's Day...

Although ubiquitous, I feel I needed to have a Mother's Day post, even if it is only a post for me (and for mothers out there who feel similar)! :)

There are times I look at you both, Rex and CW, and I just desperately wish that I could grow up with you and be a peer of yours. You both are so much fun, so sweet, so smile-y, I KNOW without a doubt you both would be amazing to hang out with...

And then I remember...I needed to grow up and be a product of mothering (or fathering, in my case) myself to be the sort of person who would be capable of raising children who would be the kind of kids other people want to be around.

So even though I won't grow up with you, you both are the proof that good things exist in this world, and it comes from the passion only parents ever understand. So to that end, I thank you, Dad, for raising me to be the sort of mother that has allowed both Rex and CW to shine.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

My Sweet CW...Age One!

I never imagined being lucky enough to have two kids...and now I do...I am truly blessed. :)

Baby CW...one year ago, at 8:17 am, you entered our world as amazing as you are today. Thank you for being you. I love you so much!


Baby CW, in daddy's arms, on the day she was born...


Baby CW, today...looking as precious and wonderful as ever...


This seems to be a tradition in these parts...on our birthdays...we watch the Yo Gabba Gabba "Birthday" episode. Baby CW LOVES DJ Lance (pictured on the TV). Every time she sees him she just smiles REALLY BIG!

Happy Birthday, sweet CW!

An Apology and a Picture...

I want to say I am sorry. I love blogging but between caring for my sweet kids (pictured below) and taking care of my sweet kindergartners, I am very very tired. Very tired. It is exhausting being with multiple little ones all day. ;)

I knew you would forgive me for my absence if I showed you cute pics of my kids, so here goes...


Rex and I just hanging around one day. LOVE this photo. Makes me smile and I am not even wearing any makeup and Rex is all injured from a fall the day before but we are both just so very happy...and what is life if you aren't happy! :)

I will get to blogging again soon. I will comment back. I promise. (And I always keep my promises...)

Why Did This Not Exist When I Was in High School?

As some of you may know, I was obsessed with Don Henley in high school. Yes, I know, that is really, really weird. I spend HOURS, no WEEKS, no MONTHS, no YEARS thinking about how amazing he was...I truly believed he was the ultimate man. Eventually I stopped thinking about him (I will let you know later when I start my "Dina's Dramatic Diary" entries), but he was the light of my life for close to 3 years.

BTW, if you need to know anything (AT ALL) about Don Henley (especially his life between oh, his birth, and 1993--that is when my obsession petered out), I am your woman. I guess my only defense is that at least I wasn't into drugs, drinking, and other things...

So, had they had this (trust me, click on it) in high school, I would have purchased it, worn it everywhere, stared at it for hours, just loved it to death. So, I ask again, why did this not exist when I was in high school?

(And this is going to sound stupid, but there is a part of me, right now, that really wants this! WHAT? WHY? I have kids, I have a husband!!! What is wrong with me?)

Have a nice day...more to come later...

Okay...Here is Some Big News!!!

Now some of you may already know this, some of you may have suspected this, some of you may be shocked by this, and some of you just won't care but:

I GAVE NOTICE TODAY THAT I WANT TO TAKE A LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM TEACHING FOR A YEAR!!!

What this means is that I will be mainly a stay-at-home momma next year. YAY!

Now, I am going to teach three weeks of K, 1, or 2 summer school to earn some extra cash, and I will also be subbing a couple of days a week next year (but no lesson plans or grading for this lady), and possibly doing a few "intercession" sessions at our two year-round schools, but still, 90% of my year will be used to raise, teach, and love my kids in a way that only I can...This doesn't mean other "caregivers" can't do an awesome job...it just means I want to do it myself!!! (Haters, simmer down now...)

I feel so fortunate that we can do this. I wish everyone who wished to stay at home with their kids could. My sweet sister-in-law has to go back to work next year when her darling baby will only be a mere 5 or 6 weeks old. My heart breaks for her.

So if you have been wondering why I have been less "vocal" in the blog world lately, that is what I have been doing...quitting (kind of). Wahoo!

So What Do I Have in Overabundance Today?

My love for my babies is my #1 overabundance. God, I love them so much. When you see the pics below it will be hard not to agree why this is true for me. :) They will no doubt cringe when I pull these pics out when they are older (and have girlfriends or boyfriends looking at them), but I am assuming that when they have their own kids they will totally do the same darn thing.


They look just alike when they sleep. Most evenings Rex ends up in the "big bed" because he seems to wake easily and gets freaked out that he is alone. We are not the sort of parents who can let him cry it out so we just toddle to his room and bring him on in...

And look at how CW holds her hand. HILARIOUS. How is that even comfortable? Babies are fascinating!


I couldn't resist using up the last of the compact flash card that had two or three pics left on it with pics of the kids. I held the camera and CW just hammed it right up. Love it!

I feel very blessed. I know most of you all come over here to see how J. Crew (and sometimes non-J. Crew) clothes look on a real person, but since my kids are my greatest sort of joy in my life, I couldn't resist posting these...

P.S.: Don't forget to post your opinions about the best white tee-shirt here at this post and don't forget to vote in the poll! Thank you!

Have a great afternoon, everyone!

Happy 1/2 Birthday, CW!

Here is the sweet little girl I call CW a mere hour after she was born, on September 18, 2008. I never knew she would come into my life. I thought Jim and I would forever have just one child...the adorable and loving boy CW has as a brother. But God decided to bless us for a second time (feels like a miracle even today). Even from the start, CW was a little snug-bug and wanted to be held more than not...


Here is CW today, six months later. She still is the precious peach that makes everyone smile who gets a glimpse of her smile and kind demeanor. I love you so much, my darling little girl. Thank you for being in my life. I never knew that I would enjoy being a mom so much!

Cute Pics of My Kids...I Have to do Penance for the Lamest Outfit Post...

So when I wasn't looking outside at the snow yesterday (or waiting for the snow to begin on Sunday), I took pictures of my kids. I do a lot of that. :) So if you are my family, or Roxie, or someone who likes the pics I take of my kids, enjoy. After all, this is probably it for today...well, yes, this and that LAME outfit I wore (shudder)...


Rex and CW horsing around in our bed. He loves her so much...and she loves him back just as much...thank goodness she is now sturdy enough to "take" his appreciation of her. Those hugs and kisses he gives pack a punch. Rex is one strong kid. :)


No need to say anything about this pic of CW...the smile says it all for me.


Us on the couch in our sunroom/playroom. Too freaking sweet that I managed to grab this with one hand on the shutter button, all three of us looking fairly presentable, and it isn't even blurry!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Rex!

Two years ago today you were in the process of turning our lives upside down. Your birth was the most awful and at the same time most special thing I have ever experienced.

We may have had to start our lives off with you with visits to the NICU (once they let me out of the ICU--God, I missed you so much the first two days--worse pain than your actual birth), but through you, I have become a better person. For that, I can never thank you enough. But I will promise to be the best mother you could possibly have.

I love you, buddy!

Aren't they cute...pics of my kids with various relatives...

Okay so this first one is CW by herself, but whatever...too freaking cute...look at the double chin. Only time in a girl's life that being kinda chubby is more adorable than not.

Rex is cuddling on his daddy in Richmond...so glad I got to capture this moment (love when the camera is ready exactly at the right time).

So CW and I are making the same face...at the same time...when she was born I thought she looked nothing like me, but as she gets older, I definitely can see how she is my girl, through and through.

This is my dad with CW. He loves her to bits...I think he wishes I had stayed that small...but had I done that, there would be no CW. Dilemma, for sure!

Amanda and Rex holding court in Rex's bedroom. Amanda rarely lets us take pics of her...so celebrate, this may be the only one you ever see again!

Okay girls, he is single, he loves babies, he is 32 years old, and he is my brother. What do you think? Any takers? Look at how he holds CW...I mean, come on! :)

Something I have in abundance that has nothing to do with consumerism...

My son and daughter are the loves of my life. Seriously. I love my husband, my dad, my mom, my brothers, my step-mom Amanda, my in-laws, etc., but I know my love for my son and daughter is something I never before fathomed having.

I am passionate, yes, but often in a very cerebral and practical way. I LOVE swimming because of the zen-like high I get from pounding out the laps...I LOVE J. Crew because of the way that their clothing allows me to feel and (often) look good. I LOVE teaching because I can pass on to a future generation the minute details of what America is, what is has been, and what it can be.

These things that I am passionate about--I could and WOULD throw away tomorrow if I had to choose between them and my kids. No one ever warned me that I would turn into a "mama" bear when I had kids. I feel my instincts kicking in when I am with them...a sheer mix of giddiness, fear, hope, joy, and yes, a huge heart-shaped helping of love.

I always think, "okay, that's enough...I can't possibly love them anymore," and then they do something else that makes my heart skip a beat.

Latest heartbeat-skipping moment: I have been trying to get Rex (my son, now 23 months old) to say "I love you" for ages. He can say our president-elect's name (imagine it--OBAMA! yelled loudly) but not "I love you." So two weeks ago, upon putting him in the crib, I say, "Rex, can you say 'I love you?'" He looks at me with those big blue eyes of his, takes his bottle out of his mouth (yeah, yeah, he shouldn't have a bottle at his age), and says, "wuv you..." My heart about stopped beating. He now yells it on a daily basis...when I am leaving to go to work, putting him to bed, letting him watch yo gabba gabba, you name it. And get this--my heart still skips a beat.
I think there will be many more lovely instances like this in my life. This is the best kind of overabundance to have ever...