I'm sure all little girls go through a 'baby' phase, but it feels like Finley has gone slightly above and beyond. She is OBSESSED with all things baby. She feeds her baby, gives them bottles, tells me they pooped and need a wipe, pushes them around in a stroller, buckles them into their carseats, whatever she is doing she does it with the baby. Most meals, the baby must sit right next to her and eat too. She sleeps with a hundred babies and wakes up singing to the babies. I'm hoping the trend continues through the year as if it does we'll have an excellent helper on our hands!

Posted by Brooke* at Tuesday, June 23, 2009 |    

A few months ago I read about a technique called naked potty training. In three days your child was supposed to be miraculously toilet trained. What did we have to lose?

Parker has been showing us all the signs of readiness for quite some time. Every time he sits he is productive. Every once and a while he'll even tell us when he has to go.

So Friday morning we went sans pants and diapers and gave it a shot. He did REALLY well. One accident in the morning but it was totally my fault- he told me he had to go and while I ran upstairs to get the potty seat he went.

Then on Saturday we had to put clothes on to go over to Manga (the new and hysterical name Pand F have been calling my mother- let me tell you how thrilled she is about it) and Papa's house. Two accidents.

Sunday once again we were naked from the waist down and not one accident. The problem is this: Parker is starting to develop a fear of sorts of using the potty. Because he is not a very verbal child the link from sensation to telling us he has to go just isn't there. To compensate we have to ask him if he needs to potty every 15 minutes. I think it's just too much pressure. Because we don't want him to grow to hate the toilet we're throwing in the towel...or should we? He has done really well but I don't want this anti-potty business to get any worse than it is. Currently, the only way we can get him to use the toilet is to bribe him, i.e. we have to potty before we eat lunch, or we can only watch Dora if we potty first. I'm just not sure that's the right way to do it. I should mention, however, that all three days he woke up dry from naps (we put him in pull-ups for naps and bedtime) and dry two of the three mornings.

What to do? I wanted to try now because there are going to be so many big things happening in the next six months- new "school" in September, big beds sometime in the late fall, and a new baby in January. But maybe we should wait until he gives us more verbal cues that he needs to go...

I was potty trained completely at 17 months (had to brag) but B wasn't until he was almost three (yes, I just threw you under the bus)...so we have time.

Attempt One= pseudo-failure

Posted by Brooke* at Monday, June 22, 2009 |    

So, 61% of you officially hate me and feel that I would be better off driving around a social life killer otherwise known as a minivan. Thanks a lot.

Not to worry, you're not alone. Apparently my insurance company hates me too. They have officially denied my Zofran refill stating they will only refill every 21 days. As the Rx is written for 14 days that leaves me seven days of toilet hugging. Today being day one and a half.

Luckily my OB's nurse Pam loves me lots and lots and has threatened those insensitive morons to hospitalize me for fluid IVs if they do not refill the prescription ASAP. The insurance company proceeded to ask Pam when my nausea would be over because, you know, they need a date...

As I puked out the window of my car in the drive through pharmacy of Walgreens this afternoon (because said insurance company compromised and said they would cover two pills a day for 30 days) I too wondered when this nonsense will end...I'm starting to seriously reconsider the grand plan of four children. Perhaps this will (and should be) our last. I'm not sure I can handle this again...but I suppose next time I'll be vomiting out a minivan window, I guess that should make it a little better.

Posted by Brooke* at Thursday, June 18, 2009 |    

Starting approximately one week after I found out that I was with child up until one week ago I have been sicker than a dog...think breakfast wrapped in stomach acid. Correction, think every single thing I eat hitting the toilet (or sink, or floor, or whatever is closest really) approximately 22 minutes after chewing. Or then of course there were the dry heaves if I went too long without eating anything. My life consisted of eating then puking or waiting too long to eat then puking. Oh, it was so fun. Just makes me want to be pregnant again and again and again...

Then I found Zofran. I found Zofran and THIS happened....

Since last Wednesday (SEVEN DAYS AGO) I have:


Installed a new fan in our screened in porch (thanks Dad).


Painted our screened in porch (Yes. I wore a mask.) a fabulous Restoration Hardware blue...


We put in a new glass entry door...replacing the terrible half metal thing that once hung in it's place.


I finally got around to painting the mantel and drilling holes into the backside for our wires to fit. Then hid the wires and painted the little strip thing that covers them...while the paint was out I also touched up all the walls (it's incredible how fast walls get dirty when you have two two year olds!).


I framed and matted one of Fin's paintings for their bathroom (below) and stenciled the wall...oh, and I also touched up all those "paint fingers" you get when you make stripes with blue painter's tape- those little imperfections in the stripes drive me crazy!



We hung a new chandelier in our bedroom (rescued from my mother's basement)...it still needs some shades...


I can no longer button any of my pants so it was time to pack away the clothes (yes, this IS rather early to not be fitting into clothes, however, when your uterus thinks that holding 16 pounds of child is normal I would imagine that it tends to expand slightly faster than the woman's who only carried a 7 pounder...). This is the moment where you start to feel bad for me because A) I really do have THAT small of a closet and B) those are the ONLY clothes I can fit into...


I emptied the new baby's closet that had been holding all of our off season clothing and purchased new wardrobes for the laundry room to move them all to.


I painted the kickplates of our stairs which at one point were covered up with lovely blue shag carpeting (who does that?). I pause here to mention my OBSESSION with alkyd paint (that's oil-based for all you non-home improvement types). It is the most fabulous paint in all the world. I highly advise it for any and all trim and wood painting that your future holds. Yes, if you get it on yourself you have to use paint thinner or gasoline to get it off. Yes, you have to throw away your paintbrush after every use. Yes, it stinks to high heaven. BUT oh my, how it makes your wood beautiful. It is soo glossy and soo white and leaves behind NO brush strokes making is so smooth and perfect. I am obesessed.


I also refinished and painted my bathroom ceiling. The plaster was coming off in chunks (another product that claims my heart is fast drying DAP spackle...mmmm) and water damage was an eyesore. I had waited on this project because I wasn't sure if I wanted to paint it white or continue with the wall color...I went with the coconut milk wall color and am totally loving my decision!

On top of all that I must mention (slash brag) that I also cleaned my house cleaner than it's ever been- cleaned walls, baseboard, moved furniture to vacuum, etc., did two weeks worth of laundry, AND threw a fabulous dinner party for TWENTY on Sunday evening (I'll admit I did have it catered, but STILL)...

Oh, I also took the babes to a playgroup, the pool, the magic house, out to lunch, and the zoo...To say my energy is back would be somewhat of an understatement. I DESPISE lying in bed, watching TV and using my precious naptimes (aka my project time) to take my own naps.

AHH it feels good to be me again!

Posted by Brooke* at Wednesday, June 17, 2009 |    

I'm not a minivan person. Now before you get all huffy and puffy because you yourself ARE a driver of aforementioned terrible car, I'm not saying I dislike minivans (ok, so maybe I am just a little bit) (or their owners) I'm just NOT a minivan girl. Never have been.


It has come to our attention that A) our lease is up in December and B) another child will simply not fit into our current smallish SUV- unless we put them in the trunk or on the floor.

Thus begins the car shopping (and dreaming). In my dreams I would wake up and find a brand new Range Rover sitting in my driveway. But then again, it too is a little small for this multiplying-like-rabbits family of mine. So I suppose it would be a..hmmm...maybe a Cadillac Escalade. The ones with a third seat. This would satisfy our seating requirements, my coolness factor requirement, and of course the American made requirement.

In reality, I am ok with ANY car that is a humongous gas guzzling eight seater that is NOT a minivan. Brian tends to disagree. Strongly. He feels it is somehow my duty as a stay at home mom with a gaggle of children to drive a no-good-horrifically-ugly-social-life-killer around town. He claims that if people stop being my friends (Yes, I used this as an excuse. So?) due to the type of wheels parked in our driveway that they're not worth being friends with anyways. But what if I stop being friends with me?! What happens then?

During a recent (heated) minivan vs. anything else debate, Brian said to me, "You can have a brand new fully loaded minivan of your choosing or you can have a seven year old Yukon." Um, Yukon. Was their even a choice in that proposition?

He now pulls out minivan fun facts like it's his newfound job.

'Honey, you could have doors that open with a push of a button.' My arms aren't broken. Thank you, but the ability to open a door isn't my problem.

'Babe, we would have so much storage.' I don't even carry a diaper bag. What do we need to store? And besides, have you seen the Yukon XL's trunk?!

'It will be so much easier to buckle the babes into the third row in a minivan.' Listen. I'm the one that will be doing the majority of the buckling. Let me deal with it...in a Suburban.

The larger problem in this situation is that ALL the people I thought for certain would be on my side have turned against me in some kind of minivan coup. My own mother for crying out loud. Who, by the way, had to drive around the worst kind of minivan of all for a few years of her life- the kind with advertisements and writing on the sides. Instead of claiming it was absolutely the lowest point in her life she reminisced fondly and told me, get this, DRIVING A MINIVAN IS ACTUALLY A LOT OF FUN. My father must have drugged her during those years because she must have forgotten what social suicide it was to be dropped off at parties in the US Ice Sports Complex minivan. Oh the horror.

Then my in-laws turned on me. Although, I should have seen that coming as they did CHOOSE to drive around an Astro minivan AFTER all their children had left the nest. But my friends?! How could you? To suggest that "they're not that bad" and "you'd look cute behind the wheel of an Odyssey" made me puke a little.

Is there anyone out there on my side?! Does anyone get where I'm coming from?! Maybe you should decide. In honor of the minivan debate I have started the very first ever Meek Twins poll- to minivan or not to minivan. That, of course, is the question...

Posted by Brooke* at Thursday, June 11, 2009 |    

...and it was hard. I cried. Nope, I'm not lying.


Little Miss Fin Fin has taken to her mother's leg in social situations and this mama has had enough! We decided that it was time for a little socialization, a la Mom's Day Out. So, every Wednesday from 9a to noon the babes say sayonara to their comfort zone and are off to play with 'friends.'


Although I know that the children truly do need this, it was not an easy morning. We had hyped up 'school' for the past few days and packed our new backpacks for the day's festivities. I was praying for a quick and easy getaway and, guess what? I got it. No tears, no buh byes, just trains and buses. Maybe that's why it was so hard. Either way, I was the ridiculous mother needing comforting from the 60 year old preschool teacher while my children played away in the next room.

I had to call my mom when I got to the car.

After pulling it together I DID manage to have a fabulous morning. I shopped, painted the stairs, framed a painting that Finley made and hung a few pics in the babes bathroom.

If I can only keep it together next Wednesday MDO will be good for us all!

Posted by Brooke* at Wednesday, June 10, 2009 |    

I went to the grocery store and spent $123 on a cart full of fruit, bagels and cream cheese, and donuts. Lots of donuts.

I haven't eaten a donut since 2006. It was from Long's and it was delicious.

Hostess has nothing on Long's.

They say that I am supposed to gain 30 pounds. I've got news for them...

They say that the average husband gains 10 during their wives pregnancy.
For the life of me, I cannot find any statistics on how much existing children gain. My kids are eating junk food for the first times in their lives and oh boy oh boy do they love donuts!

Posted by Brooke* at Tuesday, June 09, 2009 |    

I have been a busy woman. We have three rather large parties over the next month and a half that I have been plan plan planning away on, coupled with tons of baby on the brain. I am in awe of how much baby gear/clothing/toys/and other junk we have collected in a very short two years time- it has overtaken THREE store rooms. More on my nesting later in the week...

For now I am so excited to share my inspiration for the new baby's room. To say I am obsessed is putting it mildly.

These are rather large sconces- measuring over 2 feet tall a piece- and will look marvelous flanking the window. Aren't they divine?!

Posted by Brooke* at Monday, June 08, 2009 |