Butterflies

Eliana and I met up with our friend Melissa and Elle's super-favorite-baby-in-the-whole-world, Hayden, for a trip to the Butterfly Pavilion last week. We had a very good time looking at the bugs and fish, and well, butterflies. Hayden was happy as a lark in the Baby Bjorn and Elle tore it up running through the whole exhibit at break-neck speeds. She almost slowed down long enough to look at a couple of butterflies. Awesome!!

She liked looking at the very creepy, but very cool, glow-in-the-dark scorpion. Me, not so much.

She also liked the very sleepy butterfly on this plant.
She decided petting was necessary despite the well posted signs.
Oh well, she can't read anyway.

Hmmmm...Melissa can read and yet, here we are.
Hayden liked all the bugs and gave us lots of big smiles.

Here Eliana shows us all of the spiders.
She seemed to like them.

We finished the night with a huge pot of my delicious butternut squash soup that I am going to have to post because it is DELICIOUS!!I'll write that down: Post recipe on blog. There. Now I won't forget. Thanks for the fun (and Ellie's cute butterfly backpack) Melissa & Hayden!

Eight is Enough?

The only thing I have to say about this story is, "WTF?" Well actually that and, as my sister Wendy would say, "That ain't right." I'm mentally obsessed with this story for a variety of reasons.

Please to enjoy:

Octuplets' births surprise California doctors

(CNN) -- A woman in California delivered what may be the nation's second live-born set of octuplets on Monday morning, surprising doctors who expected seven babies.

Members of the delivery team assigned to assist in the birth of the octuplets, just minutes before the delivery. The six boys and two girls -- ranging in weight from 1 pound 8 ounces to 3 pounds 4 ounces -- were generally doing well in incubators following their Caesarean-section delivery at Kaiser Permanente hospital in Bellflower, California, doctors said.

Three of the babies need breathing assistance, but otherwise the eight don't appear to have serious problems, doctors said at a news conference Monday evening.

"It was a truly amazing delivery," said Dr. Karen Maples, chief of the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department.

Doctors initially believed the mother -- whom they did not identify -- was pregnant with seven fetuses. The woman was 23 weeks pregnant when she was hospitalized seven weeks ago and ordered to bed rest.

Over a seven-week period, a team of 46 physicians, nurses and other staff prepared for the births. When they started the delivery Monday -- more than nine weeks before the babies would be full term -- they were in for a surprise.

"After we got to Baby G, we were surprised by the discovery of a Baby H," Maples said.

Getting the number correct with ultrasounds before delivery is difficult with so many babies, said Dr. Harold Henry, the hospital's chief of fetal medicine.

"It is quite easy to miss a baby when you're expecting seven," Henry said.

The hospital said the woman didn't want her personal information released to the news media, and it would not answer questions about whether she'd had fertility treatments.

Preliminary research indicates this is the second set of live-born octuplets in the United States, according to the hospital.

Eight babies believed to be the United States' first set of live octuplets were born in Houston, Texas, in 1998. One of the infants died days after birth. The seven other siblings recently celebrated their 10th birthday, the Houston Chronicle reported last month.

The first three to seven days will be critical for the California babies, said Dr. Mandhir Gupta, one of the doctors at the news conference. The infants could be in incubators for six to eight weeks and in the hospital for 10 weeks, Gupta said.

The mother is doing "very well" after the deliveries, which took about five minutes, Gupta said.

"She is very excited that she [has] all these babies and that the babies are looking good so far," Gupta said.

Holiday

As our friend Eric would say, "It's cold outside."

Eric, being from Florida, doesn't really like the cold. And when it's frigid he likes to call us to tell us that, indeed, it is cold outside. We're from Colorado and we still don't always like the cold. Like on days when a certain little girl named Eliana really wants to go play and watch the trucks dig up our water line and yet, it's just too cold to stand out in the cold. So sad.

So far, we're dealing with winter just fine. This is probably for two reasons, and two reasons only.
1.) It's hardly been winter for one whole month,
2.) It's been REALLY nice overall in our neck of the woods.

Nonetheless, it's hard being inside all day even for a few days. I debated a trip to the local indoor swimming pool but even that sounded cold. And I'm getting to be a big wuss as we get further along in this happy second pregnancy. The rapidly expanding pregnant belly sucks all my energy and adventure.
So, we'll watch them dig up our water line (and suffer without water for a few more hours) from inside and we'll have tea parties and read books and I might even allow a movie and popcorn this
afternoon. A BIG deal for a little girl who isn't allowed much TV.

And I will think of warmer days when we went on holiday to Mexico, the Bahamas, Galveston, or even just Steamboat Springs (for all sorts of fun family, work and happily married but baby-free trips) and the sunshine that filled us with so much energy.

Slightly Political

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, lived a young woman who used to work for a living. She got up every morning and drove downtown and went up to the Department of Political Science and worked on changing the world. It was awesome. She wore nice suits and got to brush her hair everyday and drank yummy coffee and had lunch meetings in fabulous restaurants, (what a dream!) She met with political leaders and state senators and representatives. She wrote TV scripts (and put nervous teens through make-up to prepare for the show, picture below). She went to board meetings, and spent time in-studio editing clips, and did massive amounts of research. She won an Emmy!!

(Which now collects dust as she blogs during nap time. Picture of that great night at top!! We chose to spend the evening in Kansas at our dear friend's wedding instead of the award ceremony, but they presented me with a candle during dinner until I got the real deal. Just as good if not better.)

She worked, worked, worked!! And she was so glad that she had so many amazing opportunities.

All of this hard work, which came to an end as funding ran out and the young woman decided to have beautiful kids with a handsome prince, was put forth into the world with the hope that changing the face of politics on a local level would make an impact on a national level. It was fantastic work.

And as of late this young woman, who left this life in the past and now just goes by Veronica (or V or Ronca), has felt an enormous sense of pride in the recent path of American politics. Enormous, heart-felt, cry-as-it's-happening pride.

I actually registered as a Democrat this year. I'd always been Independent and truly valued the chance to benefit from a two-party system (although a real multi-party system would be even better.) I value checks and balances and thoughtful discourse and justice for and by the people. But I had a hard time with old George W. Bush and he persuaded me to think that I had to pick a side. It wasn't his.

My work history, along with my rather liberal upbringing and personal ideology, makes me the kind of person who LOVES politics. But sometimes I get too passionate and my yelling at the TV makes Derrick laugh. So, I try to keep this under wraps, but I've realized I can't and I don't really want to. I don't make any assertions to alienate those with different views, but I can't stand the idea that conservative dogma is more American than a more balance, fair and compassionate view of real life. So, with this, I'll admit my biggest political annoyance of the week follows:

Someone I know joined a group that defends George W. Bush's presidency with the main focus being how he protected the USA from so many terrorist attacks over the past eight years. I know that complaining about this isn't profound or even slightly original, but so what, I just have to say "When does ANYONE get credit for ANYTHING that DIDN'T happen?" My husband rarely comes home from work to congratulate me on not burning the house down or sleeping with the plumber. Critics of former President Bill Clinton rarely admit that they are so very proud of all the women he didn't seduce while in office. I mean, that could be hundreds, thousands....millions!!! Good work, Mr. Clinton. We're all so proud of you.

Anyway, all this is a ridiculously long post to proclaim my pride in the new turn America might be able to take in the coming years. Here's to America. Here's to Honesty. And here's to Work. You're gonna have to work, work, work, work, work, President Obama. But I'm so excited that you have the opportunity.

Sunny

I like to tell people who are not from Denver, and don't really spend a lot of time here, that it's always cold and snowy and we practically live in Igloos and everyone still rides horses. That way, they will stay where they are and not decide to move to my beautiful native state. But, as most people actually know, it's amazing here. The weather is incredible and this week has been no exception.

Today, amid the 70+ degree weather, Eliana, "Unky Jables" (aka Uncle John) and I visited the Denver Zoo and it was a truly wonderful January day.

Eliana, who is usually a total sweetheart, is also about to turn 2. It seems like everything is a challenge lately. No diaper changes, no t-shirts, no socks, no getting in the car, no lunch, no dinner, no milk....but lots of crying, screaming, and gate slamming. It's enough to drive me crazy. So this is why kids are so darn cute. It's god's way of making sure they live to the age of 10. But, these last two days, with summer-like temperatures, Ellie-Belle has been nothing but sunny herself. She had so much fun exploring the Zoo. She laughed at the zebras for five whole minutes. She told Uncle John how the giraffes were "So Big!" She lead us on a wild goose chase, literally, as John and I feared a over-friendly Zoo goose was going to try to steal her cookies....along with her fingers.

She quietly ate snacks when she was hungry, rode in the stroller when she got tired, listened fairly well as she practiced navigating a crowded place with new found independence. She sat patiently with John as I went to find us lunch. She is amazing. She is generally so well behaved that I should pinch myself and yet I find the hard days so freakin' hard!! How can this be?!? She is such a sweet, gentle, and logical little child. She's great. I think I'll keep her.

So, all in all, it was a truly great day. I love to be reminded of what I have to be grateful for and today provided plenty. Ellie is cool and Mr. John, my "baby" brother, is an incredible uncle and all around good person. Talking with him always makes me laugh and think and inevitably, I'll even learn something. Like, hyenas are more related to badgers than dogs or even cats. So there you have it.

A sunny day for all of us in the middle of a Colorado winter. I'll be smiling all day long.

Calorie Countdown

I don't believe in dieting and that's something that probably annoys Derrick. Well, it probably annoys lots of people as I never have fat-free/diet cheese or salad dressing or cookies or soda or anything in the house, but I know for a fact it annoys Derrick. And it should.

I've always been of the "everything in moderation" frame of mind. Soda isn't evil if you only have a couple a week. McDonald's won't kill you if you go there once a month, multiple Coronas the size of your head are totally acceptable if there is a beach within a one block radius....that sort of thing. But over the course of the past year and especially with some new events in Derrick's family in the past few weeks, I'm going to have to at the very least reconsider my ideology, and at the most make some small changes for the health of our little family.

Derrick's mom (and my Wednesday baby-sitting savior) Barbara had a mild heart attack last Thursday. It was terribly scary for the whole family. She's recovering well and feeling good and we are all grateful for her increasingly optimistic bill of health. On the other hand, we are now considering the fact that we have to be more deliberate in our own health. Let's face it, we're not 28 any more, (Hahahahaha), okay some of us are, but that's beside the point. I still believe in moderation but at the same time the world is out to get us. Derrick and I love the "Eat This, Not That" newsletters for nothing more than to see the nutritional breakdown of some common restaurant, fast food, and beverage joints. When a burger at Chili's is a whole 2,220 calories, yes, the world is out to get you.

Here are some good links if you're curious. You might find something on the list that you actually eat and love. And then you will have to say goodbye to it.

Worst Foods in America 2009

America's Worst Supermarket Foods

America's Worst Breakfast Foods

The Most Sugar Packed Foods in America

So, with it having just been the new year with all those "resolution" things people make, I think I'll actually vow to make my home (and our eating out options) healthier. We might even make some progress before Chinese New Year, so at least that's a start. I promise to report back.

21 Months & 21 Weeks

The above pregnancy test is not mine. It belongs to the beautiful wife of one of my brothers, Mr. Daniel. After a whole month of delicate negotiating and rationalizing upon his return from Iraq it turns out she's just as fertile as the rest of the girls in the family. We knew she was a good match, but now we have scientific proof. We are so excited for them as they get to go through all the very exciting baby steps on the road to becoming parents. They are too far away, being stationed in Okinawa, Japan, but we will be thinking of them the whole entire time. And maybe even saving our pennies (lots of them) to go out and visit the new baby Sepsey in September.

In other news, we're at a rather exciting time too, for no other reason than it's a neat coincidence. This month Eliana is 21 months old. Well on her way to the big 2, and acting accordingly. We're also 21 weeks pregnant with our second baby, a little boy for those of you who might not know. So we're past the half-way mark!!

I think I'm beginning to clear some the fear I was having about being the parent of two children. I was terrified for a while, but the closer we get the more excited I get. I just can't wait to meet this little person. Eliana is so full of personality, I can only image what her sibling will add to our little family mix.

Today, in our house, we went to The Little Gym to try out a tumbling class for Ellie, and she LOVED it. We're definitely signing up. And then we had to wear hats all afternoon. Me, Elle, and Bob, the baby (as observed in the photo.) Hats. Today we loved hats.

I can't wait to see what we will love tomorrow. And the day after that.

First Kiss

Kids....they just grow up so fast. Eliana, our little snuggle bug, is grounded. Derrick grounded her when he got home from work yesterday. I'm not entirely sure what this entails as she went out to breakfast with Grandma & Grandpa Jones this morning, played at the Baby Store while I picked out diapers and clearance baby clothes (you know me, I love a good sale!) and visited with Grandpa Sepsey a bit before her nap this afternoon. Not really a very good grounding, but she's not even 2.

The point is this: Eliana is grounded because she kissed a boy. It was her first kiss and Derrick isn't happy about it. Kids, they just grow up so fast. She had one of hopefully many little play dates with adorable Wesley, the son of one of my very favorite friends, Josalyn and her husband Danny. As they live in Salt Lake City our visits are sometimes few and far between but I adore any and all time I get with them. Appartently, Eliana also enjoys her time with these good friends as Wesley and Elle had a nice little kiss upon parting. I''ll have to start planning the wedding. (Because we all know I also love to plan.....)

Hopefully Derrick will forgive her soon and they can start addressing their trust issues in the near future. Hehe!! (I'm also the daughter of a social worker, is it that obvious? I'm sure there is more of that to be discussed in the future. But one can only reveal so much at one time, you know.)