Recooperating

This morning, this very glorious morning where the birds were singing and top-dogs of the angels decided to take a walk on planet Earth, I slept until 11:00 am. ELEVENOCLOCK! I am completely aware that there are people reading this and cursing my well-rested self. I would be too. Sometimes, when I read here here or here how people are having suuuuuuch amazing days and their children are soooooooo quiet and always sleep on planes I'm all: "mental note: set their car ablaze. roll it down a big hill." So I get it. Misery loves company. But this morning... I slept in until eleven. And I needed it.

The past 14 days have been full of a bunch of Crap-that-shouldn't-have-happened heaped on top of more Crap-we-wish-wouldn't-have-happened and baked at agony for 45 minutes or until unbearable. Our closing in CT got pushed (twice) and we have been traveling like crazy people and have no place to call home and I've been studying for comprehensives and then Evie got sick. Really sick. Running-a-fever-of-104-for-twelve-days sick. She has been having screaming bouts and has been in extreme pain for almost two weeks. And she hasn't been sleeping.

*this is what sick Evie looks like*

So Graham and I have been absolutely exhausted and begging the Universe to please just give us a break.

So we got a little break (thank you Universe)... in the way of blue skys and a healthy baby.

And it's all going to be ok. I know this because, really, my problems are small. I have a beautiful baby and an amazing husband; it's just that, sometimes, even small problems seem overwhelming. It feels good to be working towards something incredible, though. Working towards no more school, owning a small business, working (at a job we LOVE) from home, and living near our families. It feels really, really good. Great, even. And I'll be back to my regular-blogging-self as soon as the semester is over... but until then I hope that you will bare with my sporadic posting (I bet you will because... well... you're all so darn nice).

*she's back to her old self*

SNAP CUP!!!

If you haven't seen Legally Blonde than you barely deserve to LIVE... much less understand the title of this post.

I am sitting on the vacuumed floor of my empty house that will be completely vacant tomorrow. Because I am leaving. For good. And this makes me a little bit sad so right now I am going to talk about something that makes me happy. Affirmation.

I am such a sucker for positive affirmation. In fact, one time when we were at will call for a UCONN game the ticket woman told me I was a "smart cookie" for keeping the confirmation # for our tickets (they were having trouble finding them in the system) and I was all: "REALLY?!? Do you want me to marry your son?? Here! HAVE MY UNBORN CHILD!". There might be some deep-seated issues here that need to be gone over in therapy. I'm not sure.

Issues or no issues, this month I received a couple of really awesome blogging-attaboys that made me feel all warm inside (and outside... cause I peed myself).

First Meghan of Tucker Take Tennessee gave me my very first blogging award. She has an awesome blog full of great crafts and recipes and all things super-momish. The award looks like this:

I am a ray of sunshine, aren't I? ARENT I!?!?!

Secondly, I got to be a guest blogger on Modern Mom in a featured article on Mommy Bloggers. I really enjoyed writing for them and hopefully will continue to do so in the future.

So there you have it *pats own back*. But seriously, is there anything better than being told you are doing a good job at something you love? Gold Star!

Happy Fall Ya'll

Now that we have gotten past the snow (oh yeah, uh huh, it SNOWS here in October...) the air is perfectly crisp and the leaves are perfectly vivid. Fall in New England is, by far, the only thing that redeems it from the harsh winters. It is beautiful; except that "beautiful" does not even begin to describe it.

Driving down the roads right now, you find yourself completely enveloped in what can only be described as the most awesome display of God's ability to paint.

So this past weekend we bundled up the little one, threw on our scarves and went for a hike.

She has really started to enjoy being put in a carrier. Thank GOD, because I was not too keen on living the rest of my life with my arms randomly falling out of their sockets in an effort to rebel against me for those three years that Evie would not let me put her down.

Add to that the fact that going on hikes is one of our favorite past times as a couple and, well, it's just really convenient that little bit likes it, too. I hope all of you out there in the blogosphere are enjoying the change of seasons as much as we are.

*pictures by the ever-talented Graham Scobey - my miniature beefcake of a man*

Procrastination

I should be finishing a paper right now. But no, I am blogging...and then? I am going to take a nap. Something about school teaches us to put things off until the very last minute. I mean, I am a good student. I have practically made a career out of being a student (scratch that, nothing practical about it -- I have ACTUALLY made a career out of being a student) and I still procrastinate.

We are taught a dance: think about work, plan to do work, put work off, nap and repeat. It is still one of my FAVORITE dances to do. I have to add that I hate it when people spell favorite with a "u". Like: favourite. Give me a break. Who are you? The Queen?

Favorite.

So: It is still one of my favorite dances to do. Right up there with the cha-cha slide and the cabbage patch. I just cannot make myself not procrastinate. There are too many other things I would rather do. Like nap. And let me just tell you: I take the "nap when baby naps" axiom very seriously. I do not mess around.

October Tenth

Today is an anniversary of sorts.

Exactly one year ago: Sunday, October 10th, 2008, there was wailing and gnashing of teeth. There was profuse eating of mass quantities and varieties of chocolate. There were boxes upon boxes upon boxes of tissues being used. There were lighthearted movies about childbirth being watched.

Exactly one year ago today there were seven (onetwothreefourfivesixSEVEN) pregnancy tests lined up on my bathroom counter. And one year ago today I was scouring the internet to find if there had ever been a case of seven false positives.

There had not.

It boggles my mind how much life can change in a year.

Here I am, governer of Alaska, hoping against all hope that no-one noticed the five pounds I had already gained.

Three 1/2 months along over Christmas break. We didn't know it at the time but Evie's cousin, Sophi, was already on her way, too.

About seven days late: a very pregnant, very anxious Ashley. I wish I would have listened to the dozens of people who told me to enjoy those last few weeks as a family of two (sorry, Bear: a family of three).

And here is the best surprise I have ever gotten; just hours old.

And now, FOUR months after her birth, we are remembering the day we found out we would be having a baby. Life has never been so full.

Whoopity Doo!

** this entire post is meant to be read in a high-pitched, squealy voice of pure excitement **

Dudes... do you know what today is? No. You don't. Allow me to enlighten you. This, my friends, is the first day of school. The NINETEENTH consecutive first day of school that I have ever had (excluding pre-school... which I also went to). Now... you might read this and, at first glance, think that I am complaining... but let me just assure you right now that I am NOT.

There is a reason that I have been in school for my entire life. A reason that I will most likely remain in some academic setting for the remainder of my life. I. LOVE. SCHOOL. (she says as she pushes her taped together glasses further up her nose and snorts). But really... I get those first-day-of-school-jitters like a kid on Christmas morning. It's weird, but it never fails. This is not to say that I always like school (there are days that it is like being forced to eat the last few Oreos in the box because YOU started it, YOU have to finish it... even if it hurts. Even if it kills you.) But I do always love the first day.

And now it is even better... because I get paid to be there. It's as though someone was so dazzled by my past efforts at school and learning that they said: "You want to learn more? Here, have some MONEY TO GO WITH THAT."

And I said "Yes, please" and "Thank You"... because my mother taught me manners.

See how excited I am?!

Also, Generation Y called and threatened to vote me off the island if I didn't join Twitter. So I did. Follow me @ThreeScobeys!

(do you still have your high-pitched, squealy voice on? really?)

Two Month Checkup

My child; my little, tiny, six-pound-peanut of a newborn is ten weeks old today... and I am racking my brain trying to figure out who is sitting on the fast-forward button of my life's remote. And how can I get them to stop?

Evie's two-month checkup was yesterday. I have never wanted to physically harm someone so much as I did when that nurse (who I am sure is an otherwise completely pleasant human-being) plunged three needles into my angel's leg. I'll be honest: I cried significantly more than Evie did. She is the bravest little girl in the whole world... which just reminds me, yet again, of how BIG she is getting.

When she came home from the hospital, Evie was 6 pounds... now she is 10 (which puts here in the 28th percentile for weight). She has slept completely through the night for the past five nights in a row, for which my pediatrician tells me I should be counting my lucky stars. Every night and twice on Sundays. I totally am.

Annnnd I am headed back to work today. Completely bitter-sweet because, on the one hand, I am really excited about having an excuse to shower and get dressed and get out of the house to talk to people who can say more than "coo" and "urgggle" (even though those are the sweetest words I have ever heard). On the other hand, though, what if I miss something?!? I mean... not to over-exaggerate here, but if I am not there for the first time she rolls over or sits up by herself the world will completely implode on itself... and that will be absolutely no good for the environment.

Can you believe how much she has changed?!

Evie on the way home from the hospital. 6 pounds, 19 inches long.

Evie on her 10-week-birthday. 10 pounds, 22 inches long.

Eternal Sunshine of the Mommy's Mind

I am going to get a little sentimental on you guys for a minute. I know, I know... not my typical M.O....so just grin and bear it this once.

Maybe it's the fact that Evie is about to be in the double-digits (10 weeks!) or the fact that her newborn clothes are fitting tighter and tighter everyday... but I am starting to realize how much I am going to miss these days... and how quickly they are passing me by.

I now completely understand what people mean when they say you "don't remember" the baby blues... and why they don't talk about it.

It is just a shadow. Such a small and utterly

insignificant part of the journey. It's like one day it rains, but all of the days for the rest of your life are so full of sunshine... and the sunshine is so warm, bright and beautiful. Are you going to mope around and talk about that one time it rained? No. You're going to sit and enjoy the sunshine... taking comfort in the fact that it is never going away.

I don't remember what it felt like not to know her; not to wake up every morning to her mile-wide smiles... but I can't imagine it felt anywhere near as good as this.

There's More Than One Way to Milk a Cow

As any of you who have ever had the pleasure of pumping breast-milk know, it is a process that requires tools. I mean more tools than a Home Depot. More tools than a Home Depot that just won a high-stakes-poker-game with a Lowe's.

There's the actual pump...then you need what I like to call the trumpets...and the bottles to attach to the trumpets...and tops for the bottles. Our trip to Alabama last week was going to be more than a 3-bottle trip (When you have a baby, hours start to lose their meaning. Time starts being gauged in terms of how many bottles or feedings your baby will require while you are away.) so we had to take the pump. While we were at Mama Hazel's and everyone was taking pictures, I excused myself to go to the restroom and pump some milk. Except that when I got to the bathroom and rifled through my bag I realized...no, it couldn't be...I am not that stupid. Oh yes. I am.

I forgot the trumpets.

No worries, I tell myself, breast-pumps have only been around about 60 years...so how did people do this before then? Well, they breast-fed. The only problem there is that, for the past week, whenever Evie so much as sees my boob she screams bloody murder (it does WONDERS for my self esteem).

So I channel my inner cave woman and I express. By. Hand.

If someone had told me ten years ago that on one humid, lowly day in August of 2009 I'd be hunched over a toilet in a nursing home bathroom, giving myself the purple-nurple of the century, I probably would have choked to death on my own laugh. Four ounces later and I have found success. My child will not starve today! And let me tell you, I haven't had a hand cramp like that since the verbal portion of the SAT.

You Know Things are Good...

When your life starts to mirror the words in country music songs...



But seriously...this song MELTS. MY. HEART.
(and it reminds me to just take it all in, even when it's hard. especially when it's hard)

Happy Anniversary, Sorry for Crying on Your Steak

As many of you know, my husband and I are middle school sweethearts. In fact, on our first "date" (when his parents took us to a Braves game) we looked exactly like this:

August 6, 1999...I do not remember who won the game...but I was pretty sure (even then) that I had met the one for me.

Fast forward ten years, and we are celebrating our third wedding anniversary today...and even though our "romantic evening" consisted of going literally down the street to the local Mexican joint, chasing our chips and salsa with a plethora of pills (from a plastic baggie, no less), and me sobbing sporadically throughout the meal (because OH THE HORMONES...someone should send you home from the hospital with a sign attached to you that reads "SO MUCH AS SPEAK, and this woman will cry"), there is nowhere that I would rather be and no one whom I would rather be with than you, my love.

At least we attempted to have a little alone time today...as we were walking out the door I told him that he should feel like the luckiest guy in the world that I had mustered the energy to put pants on and dry my hair. The flowers he got me were pink, because today was little Evie's one week birthday. He is so awesome.

Happy Anniversary...You are and will forever be my Only One

Mental Health Day

I guess yesterday was pretty taxing for me, because it ended with me coming home at 6:30 and Graham hugging me while I cried, sobbing "I do not know why I am crying....I'm sorrryyyyyy." Needless to say, I did not get my nap yesterday...which is never a good thing.

So, today I am taking a mental health day. I slept in until 11:30 (DON'T JUDGE ME), ate a PBJ for lunch while watching people get their bathrooms madeover on television, and now I am hanging out with my puppy listening to country music. He is clearly thrilled about it.I cannot remember the last time I stayed home from school just because I wanted to. It isn't the most responsible thing to do, granted, but don't we all need days like this? If anyone asks I will say I am sick. With Eye-bulge-itis. It is highly contagious.


Now I will leave you with some of the old-school tunes that have me bouncing (oh! so happily) today



What does your perfect mental health day look like?

Good Things

I am making a preemptive apology here: I do not understand how or why it happens...but it inevitably does. Life gets busy.

Truthfully, we are so thankful for the busyness. It is all related to the amazing things that we both have going on in our lives right now:

1. Our healthy little girl (We had a doctor's appointment today and got our 2nd trimester screening work back...and she is perfect. We already knew this, but breathed a small sigh of relief non-the-less).

2. Graham's new job (Every night we are reminded by the increasingly-depressing 10 o'clock news what a precious gift this job is. Not to mention the fact the he is head over heels in L-O-V-E with it...so that helps. He is in such a freakin' good mood like...all the time now.)

3. Ashley's schoolwork (As if we did not have enough going on already, I took it upon myself to sign onto a big research study on sibling relationships...it is going to be ridiculously time consuming...but so awesome.)

So...all that said...my preemptive apology is that, I AM SORRY, posting will not continue at its' break-neck pace of every 48 hours. I will shoot for a couple of posts a week...