Deep Thoughts By Jack Handy...

...or just really weird, random ones by Yours Truly. Sometimes when I'm commenting on blogs or Facebook, I think I over-exclamate (which may or may not be a made up word, but it's working for me, so go with it). But not to the point twelve-year-olds do. Because as you know if you've ever looked at a twelve-year-old's Facebook page, some of the things they say and do makes me want to pull my eyeballs out. Seriously. However, I digress. By 'exclamate' I mean, using exclamation points at the end of sentences rather than a boring, old period. Sometimes using a period seems rude or just devoid of any energy. I will sit at the keyboard and have a conversation with myself that sounds something like "I could use a period here, but that is so boring and really doesn't capture how I'm feeling...but if I end it with an exclamation point, am I over-exclamating?...because I kind of do that a lot..." Eventually, I'll decide I am who I am and end it with a "!", but still I frequently find myself plagued by this stupid internal struggle. I know, I'm really strange. Even stranger, I find myself feeling ambivalent about people who don't exclamate at all... like they are living a weird, emotionless existence in which they can't get excited about anything. That is seriously weird to me! My random musings have led me to two conclusions, those being 1.) I am subconsciously haunted by punctuation far more than I ever realized and 2.) From this point forward I hereby allow myself to exclamate without further over-analyzation, since as previously stated, I am who I am. Besides I wouldn't want to be one of those weird non-exclamaters anyways!!!

1 Month Old

You may think documenting one's first month of life would be as easy as a quick click of the camera, right?! Well, think again! Devyn turned one month old on Thursday and so I wanted to grab a quick picture of her so I could document how she is growing throughout the year. First of all though she needed to have a bath to beautify her little baby self.I personally think her bathtub picture was the cutest one of the whole schebang!After her bath she got dressed, but I think she was still a little cold and fussy. Not much in the mood for pictures... So I decided to nurse her hoping a little boob-time would warm her up and calm her down. It did...to the point of a milk coma. I could not get that girl to open an eye for one quick little picture!When she did wake up and realized I was still hovering for a stupid photo op she was ticked!Finally she calmed down enough to give me a thoughtful little expression before I called it all as good enough for now!

Hopefully grabbing our quick little picture will be less of a production at two months!

My Life In Pictures...

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it was really cool. So I thought I would give it a try for myself!

1. Answer the questions below.

2. Take each answer and type in to Flickr, Google or Yahoo.

3. Take any picture from the first page of results, and post.

The age I’ll be on my next birthday…A place I’d like to travel….Favorite Place…Favorite object…Favorite food…Favorite animal...Favorite Band…First name…Favorite Color…Favorite Song…Favorite Movie…Place where I was born…Town in which I live…Favorite Store…

Evil Roger

Our neighbor Bill has a ton of chickens that he keeps on our property. He had to go out of town this week, so we agreed to be on chicken duty while he was gone. The girls love the chickens and have named them all like pets. So I don't mind having them out back (except when they escape and run amok, but that's another story!) Recently Bill got two new roosters in addition to the one that was already there. The old one, Peter, is noisy but fine. One of the new ones, Shiloh, is sweet and quiet and the girls love him. Then there is Roger...he is an awful beast and I hate him. He is very aggressive and mean and has come after the girls and I on several occasions. This morning Roger attacked Maryn and Brynna when they went to get eggs. I was getting ready to get in the shower and realized they were taking longer than usual to collect eggs. Sometimes they stay outside after making their rounds and play, so I wasn't too worried. But I thought I'd better check on them before getting in the shower just to make sure they were okay. I went outside and called for them and panicked cries came out of the hen house. Maryn was crying "Mom!! Roger attacked us and now we're stuck in here!" He had cornered them in the hen house so they couldn't get out. They'd been in there crying for about 20 minutes. Roger also had escaped through the gate with the bitties and there were about 20 of them in the rose garden while he stood guarding the entrance to the chicken yard. Little beast. I had to protect the girls with a lawn chair while I rescued them out of their stinky prison and then had to fend Roger off as he charged me while I tried to get all the chickens back in their yard. Poor kids were so traumatized. Roger has taken one of their favorite things about living here and made it scary now. I think Mr. Bill may need to have a chicken dinner soon. I don't want that beastly animal in my backyard anymore!

This video was taken Saturday morning when Roger was actually behaving himself. Too bad that was short-lived!

Do This, Not That

Inspired by Ruby's aforementioned cuteness I decided I needed to reacquire some cute clips, bows or whatever for the girls. I nurse Devyn A LOT, which means I sit on the couch A LOT, which means I have time to sit with baby in one arm while tippy-typin' away on the laptop with my other. (This may be why I am actually blogging again. If anyone actually reads this anymore, thank my endlessly hungry baby!) Last night while Dev was getting her chow on I decided to check out Etsy and see what the goods were. I found this cute shop called 99CentsClip where all the clips are...you guessed it 99 cents! My kind of price since the girls will probably lose them or pin them to a stuffed animal anyways! Anyhoot, scored some cute, crocheted clips like this one that I feel pretty good about...

I did however come across something not quite so cute. An atrocity really. Not on 99CentClips site of course. I just think there should be one universal rule when accessorizing your baby or daughter... DO NOT put something on your child's head that is actually bigger than your child's head!! That baby could be adorable but I wouldn't know it because half her head is covered up and weighed down by that ENORMOUS flower thingy! If you are guilty of this or have thought of being guilty of this we may need to reconsider our friendship...just kidding...but seriously!

Little Miss Hairbow

Meet Ruby, my adorable niece. I wish I could just kiss those cheeks! My sister-in-law Kristen had her a month before I had Devyn. Notice if you will, Ruby's luscious locks complete with cute hairbow. Every picture I have seen of Miss Ruby her hair is adorable, her outfits are adorable. Basically, Ruby is sheer adorability! I hope when she and Devyn are older they don't compare baby pictures, because nowadays I feel pretty accomplished if Devy has on a onesie devoid of barf and that actually fits (everything is big on her). And as far as the adorable hairbows go, I need to schedule a trip to Arizona for a bow-making extravaganza weekend because we have about lost or maimed all of ours. I know, as a mother of all daughters, that's a true crime! Good thing for me Dev is pretty much bald. I can use that as an excuse when her and Ruby are ten, comparing baby pictures and she's wondering what my problem was on making sure she was properly accessorized!

I've Decided...

Devyn - 3 weeks old

...that every time a mother has a new baby her body should spontaneously generate a new set of arms. Freakish...yes. But, I need to look like an octopus at this point to keep up with everything. Devy has decided that she really enjoys being held, specifically by her mother...pretty much all the time. Good thing she is adorable, even though she is a naughty kitten. I can't protest too loudly when I get to sit there and see how her little cheeks are filling out and count her fingers and toes... but still, it's hard to get anything done.

Yesterday some sweet, older women from church stopped by unannounced at my back door (which is all glass). If you know me, you know there is a very small percentage of the population with whom I am okay with just showing up unannounced. I'm weird like that. Seriously, what if I'm chillin' in my undies or whatever.... Anyhoo, I digress. But I talked myself through it and invited them in where they were greeted with cereal under the table, a sink full of dishes and the usual massive pile of laundry to be folded. As we stood there and chatted amongst my mess I kept wanting to blurt out "Please don't judge me! I haven't grown my other set of arms yet!" I realize the likelihood of that happening is pretty much...well, none. So I've decided another suitable solution would be, every new mother that comes home from the hospital is sent home with a full-time housekeeper for the first couple of months. That is SO much more realistic than spontaneously generating new limbs, right?! Yeah right. Looks like I'll just have to live with my mess and uber-attached baby a bit longer...

Cardboard Boxes & Lessons in Anatomy...

The girls were playing with a long, cardboard box that Devy's new Pack n' Play came in this morning. As Brynna was trying to climb in she quickly realized that unless both feet went in at the same time you kind of got hung up in an uncomfortable position due to the box's height. She yelped out "Ow! This thing is hurting my wiener!" I explained that girls don't have wieners because 'wiener' is a nickname for a penis, which is the name for a boy's private parts. Girl's private parts were called a vagina, I explained. "OHHH, VA-GINA!" she said loudly. When she got hung up on the box a second time she kept saying "Oh, my VA-GINA!" again and again....Yeah I'm sure that conversation and the subsequent overuse of that word isn't going to come back and haunt me in embarrassing situations in various public places at all! Eye-yi-yi!

Simple Summer Day...

Nothing fancy. Quite the opposite in fact. Hair long and uncombed. Free to brush the back of your neck or catch a warm, summer breeze. Imaginations lit up, dress-up bin raided, free to be whatever you want to be. A princess... an Indian girl... ...or even a veterinarian elf.

There is no limit to the possibilities. Free as a buffalo, able to roam with minimal interruption from meddling adults. Sticky from chocolaty, melting fudgesicles with no thought to stains on clothes or other things of little consequence. Prowling through the tall bushes, quietly, whispering in hopes of capturing an amphibious prisoner...only to let him go of course. This is the stuff of memories, this is the stuff of childhood, this is the stuff of simple summer days...

Who Needs Stacy & Clinton?

My sister-in-law Kristen and I were just lamenting the other day about the need for a make-over. I have dreamed many a daydream of being ambushed by Stacy & Clinton from TLC's "What Not To Wear" and being swept away to NYC for a week of shopping and appearance overhauling. Both Kristen and I just had a baby, which as wonderful as it is, leaves you feeling a little like dogmeat. After spending that first week looking pretty much only at Devyn's face I was in for a shock when I finally checked out the aftermath of my own appearance. Upon looking in the mirror I was greeted by heinous roots (I had an appointment to get them done on a Tuesday, Little Miss was born on Monday, which left me with a beautiful baby and the head of a frumpy, flat librarian hair!), a lumpy, dumpy body with love handles only a nice husband could love you in spite of (which mine does, whew!) and a wardrobe of maternity clothes to choose from that don't look quite as cute with the now deflated figure. However, they are your only option because you're still much too fluffy for real clothes, (you know, the kind that button and zip). Sigh. I could feel the the old familiar daydream coming back and as strong as ever! Stacy and Clinton, save me!

Fortunately for me, as I've mentioned in my last post, I just celebrated my 30th birthday less than two weeks after my bambina entered the scene. Wouldn't turning 30 in light of all the wreckage be depressing you may ask? Not if you got spoiled like I did! My Mom and Dad decided to do a little shopping for me. My Dad helped pick out (which I thought was way too cute!) this fabulous, new Dooney & Bourke handbag for me!See, it's plenty big enough to cover up those unlovable love handles until I can whittle them away! And it's this fun, sassy shade called Bordeaux! I like it because it's red, but not jump-up-and-slap-you, hooker red. Just the right amount of sass!

To add to the fun, my Mom & Dad told me to look inside where I was greeted with one of these little lovelies! A Macy's gift card with more than enough fun loaded onto it! Am I spoiled or what! To boot, my in-laws sent me some cash with explicit instructions not to spend it on anyone but myself! Hot-diggety-dog! So I'm thinking it's time to reschedule here pretty soon and get that nasty, librarian hair addressed! Who needs Stacy & Clinton to save me when I have such wonderful family spoiling me absolutely rotten! Thank you guys SO MUCH!!!

Time to Start...

Operation: Get My Body Back!!

Devyn is officially two weeks old today (where did the time go?!). I told myself I was going to give myself a couple weeks, then it was time to start minding my P's & Q's and reclaim my body. I gained between 45-50 lbs. with this pregnancy, which is the most I've ever gained while being pregnant (it was 35-40 with the other girls). And given the fact I just turned 30 on Saturday and have been nicely reminded of what the metabolism likes to do in ones 30's, I figured I'd better not procrastinate this much longer! I weighed myself this morning and now that Devy is out and my body is recovered, I am left with 30 lbs. to lose. Aye-yi-yi! Time to go dust off those pilates dvd's and keep on drivin' when the drive-thru calls my name. Operation: Get My Body Back begins NOW!

Beautiful Baby Girl

Late Monday evening on July 26, 2010 a new little person entered our world and our family. With much joy we announce the birth of our sweet baby girl, Devyn Ryan Young. My pregnancy with Devyn had been pretty uneventful up until a few weeks ago when some findings from an ultrasound alerted my midwife that Devyn may have been struggling to thrive in utero. It was decided that conditions were not yet unfavorable enough to justify an immediate delivery. That with a month left to go, any time for her to grow was good. A week later at a repeat ultrasound we found that conditions were still deteriorating, but not enough to justify an immediate delivery. My mind was constantly worrying, wondering if my baby was okay. The not knowing, not seeing her... it was really hard. Four days later they had me come back in for a non-stress test to watch her. Now there was a new problem, a very pronounced heart arrhythmia. They immediately did another ultrasound and saw sudden drastic drop in amniotic fluids and also could not detect her breathing on the ultrasound. My midwife immediately sent me to the hospital where I was induced. They monitored her closely during labor to make sure she was okay throughout the labor and didn't require an emergency c-section. After just about four and a half hours she was born.

Nothing could have prepared me for the love that immediately washed over me for this new little soul I was holding in my arms. She immediately breathed on her own and after EKGs and other tests it was determined that her arrhythmia, thankfully, is most likely going to be one that corrects itself.Devyn is such a little love and a beyond good baby. She does not cry really at all and loves sleeping. We were having a hard time getting her to get motivated to eat, but just last night she turned a corner and woke up on her own when she was ready to eat. Even then she doesn't cry. She just makes sweet baby noises to let you know she's awake. She really is just such a sweet, gentle, little soul. I marvel at her. Her sisters and Daddy are all in love with her too. The girls are all eager to get their chance at holding her or love to just sit and stare at her.

I have had an overwhelming sense of peace since she was born. Finding out we were pregnant when we did and so unexpectedly really shook Justin and I in our bearings. I struggled feeling like I could be a good mother to yet another child right now. But since she's come into my life, I have felt my love, motivation and patience multiply in a way I couldn't have mustered before looking into her tiny face. It has strengthened my testimony that Heavenly Father did not abandon us or heap more on us than we could handle. But rather, He has taught me that out of unexpected things and places in our lives, some of the richest and most beautiful blessings can flow. My life has already undeniably been richly blessed by having Devyn in it. I simply can't imagine this world without her tiny spirit in it.