My metabolism is slowing down and I can feel it. I feel like it is taking longer this time around to get back to pre-pregnancy weight. Yes, it’s my third wee one and yes, I’m hitting my thirties so I understand why… but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I have taken for granted the easy recovery from my other two children. This time around I might actually have to do something about it… like diet and exercise. Drats.

I don’t have much to wear these days. I feel so super wide up in the top area that my buttoned shirts look like they’ll pop. My pants wont fit around my muffin top.  So I went to the mall in hopes of finding some cheap fat pants to get me by until some of this baby fat melts away. I had assumed that I was only a size up from my normal size so I grab a whole bunch of pants and bermuda shorts from the clearance racks and headed to the dressing room.

I was soon totally devastated when the first pair of shorts I tried on were reminiscent of faux leather 80′s rocker pants the way they hugged my thunderous thighs. The next pair formed a wide V at the zipper and I didn’t even try to get the button closed. After the third pair wouldn’t even pull up over my thighs and tooshy, I gave up all together and walked straight out of the store and went home.

I figure I need to wait a bit more time before tying on any other pants and I couldn’t even bear the thought of going up another size. It would be a waist of money, right? I’m determined to be back to normal soon.

The state of mind that the experience put me in was utterly depressing. It made me think about banning all sugary sweets and chicken nuggets from the house and waking up at the crack of dawn for a jog. While I was mulled over these ideas, I helped myself to a massive bowl of ice cream. Delish!

Well, here you go. I had fun with it so hopefully you will to. I actually made it and scrapped it all in one morning. Wowzers… You see it’s amazing to accomplish that much with my new little babe. Lately it has been taking me a week to get something scrapped. She’s been napping great for me. Yea!

Download here.

Here is what I did with it.

Every morning Isaac wakes up and wants to go straight outside. He loves riding his bike and scooter. They are both hand-me-downs from Emma but he has never cared for one minute that they are pink. His scooter even has barbie plaster all over it.

With all this time outside riding around our circle he has master the scooter like a champ. He is riding like the 5 year old boys in the neighborhood. His balance has been so good it was easy to notice that he wasn’t relying on his training wheels at all.

Yesterday Jeremy decided to take them off and see how he would do. I was inside nursing Leah and when Jer returned back inside after 3 min I thought that he had just finished unscrew the wheels.

Nope. Jer said “Well, that was quick!”

He just took off without any problem. He can start and stop, ride on the grass, go up the curb. I still have a big grin on my face when I watch Isaac cruise around the circle making the tightest turns and flying down driveways. He just seems too little to be doing that but he’s fearless. It’s amazing really.

Emma wanted her shot at a two wheeler also. She was a bit nervous and knew Isaac was so much better than her. I admit I was nervous too. I didn’t want her feeling bad about getting smoked by her brother 3 years younger.

She did need a bit more assistance.

But eventually got the hang of it and is now cruising around the circle smiling and hollering, “I got it!”

The difference between the two kids is pretty profound. Emma still looks a bit shaky and I’m afraid there may be a mighty crash soon but I’m so happy that she was able to do it. The kids and Jer have spent so much time outside riding their bikes today. They have the whole neighborhood joining in as well. All the little ones have been loosing their training wheels today. Isaac seems to have started a revolution.

Jer came to me last night and said, “This is one of my greatest days yet.” What a proud moment for Daddy.

I had a small miracle today.

Isaac and Leah were napping at the SAME time and Emma was at a playdate. Ahh! Can you believe it? I can’t. Isaac rarely naps anymore unless we are driving in the car at that special time of day. He just came and laid his head down on me and zonked. He’d been playing outside all day. Hurray for warm weather, neighborhood boys and bikes.

So I just sat there and soaked in the moment of lovely quietness. I even had my latest book handy. Lucky me.

I’m trying to get back into the swing of scrapbooking. It hasn’t been easy. This template took me way to long to get posted. In fact, I’m nursing at the keyboard right now and this paragraph has required the delete button one too many times.

The spring weather has just been wonderful so I made a two pager for all those photos you’ve been snapping lately of the kiddos outside. Download here.

Here is what I did with it. It’s not very easterly but I just didn’t feel like busting out the pastel colors.

Busy weekend. Lots of family in town. Lots to do. No rest. I’m bushed.

Here we are on our first hike with Leah. Count us: 1,2,3,4,5! Yes we are a family of 5. Pretty crazy. I guess I’m grown up now. Kind a weird. Leah was great on the hike. She slept the whole time. We had a huge family crew with us and the weather was lovely. Destination: Mine Shaft. I did not go in but I will tell you that I had pretty sore muscles the next day from walking up the trail. A whole month of doing nothing will do that to a person. I’m looking forward to more adventures this summer. Perhaps if I hike some more I’ll be able to loose my left over baby chub faster.

Here is Leah in her blessing dress. We blessed her at church on Mother’s Day. She was her little angel self and didn’t make a peep. What a sweet thing she is. It made for a special day for me besides all the stress of getting my house ready for the family together afterward.

All four of Leah’s Great Grandmothers attended her special day. I was hoping to get a picture of all 4 of them because I think it is quite rare to have all those lovely women alive let alone all together at an event. Unfortunately, one of them couldn’t come over to my house because of my Grandpa’s health so the photo op wasn’t available… but just think about it… 4 generations all right there… It makes my heart so happy thinking about our great ancestry.

I can’t really describe it.

When Isaac was born we shopped around a bit for a double stroller. I was soon overwhelmed with the options or lack of options out there. I could not find the perfect stroller and didn’t want to settle so thus… never bought anything.

I managed.

Now that I have another wee one, I find myself really wishing for a double stroller that will accommodate a car seat. I don’t mind carrying Leah in a sling or carrier but never, ever want to wake up a sleeping baby for transferring. And honestly, no matter how comfortable the carrier is, it eventually gets tiring and can be hard to chase a certain toddler around and do other mom duties.

I think my dream stroller is Phil and Teds with the doubles kit. It seems so lovely because it is like 4 strollers in one. A single jogger and a double. It accommodates a car seat as well as  infants and toddlers in a few configurations. I have been saving my pennies for two years now and am no where near being able to purchase it. I need to stop my drooling. When comforting myself about not being able to spend that much on a stroller I think about Isaac and that he really wouldn’t want to ride in it until he was super tired anyway.

My next choice was a Sit and Stand. We’ve been debating about this one for a while. The price is right and it would hold all the kids and a car seat. I don’t think it pushes that great and is not that comfortable for everyone but I couldn’t come up with a better option. I worried about the jump board and allowing the kids to come and go as they please but they walk all over me anyway. They might as well be able to have a ride when they are tired of walking and run off when they choose.

But then we went to Babies R Us to purchase it and luckily tried it out first. My car seat is not compatable. I have a Chico Key fit and it’s the only seat on the planet without a notch in it for stoller other than a chico.

That takes me to the Joovy Caboose. It’s just like the Sit and Stand but seems a little bit more compact which is good for pushing but have read complaints about the front seat infringing on the back one. This stroller will hold my Chico car seat. It’s priced a little bit more than the Sit and Stand but the price is still okay. While reading reviews I read about the Joovy Ultralight. Most reviews were raving about it and saying the upgrade was worth it but the price is starting to get out of our range.

This leaves me wondering if the Joovy is the way to go. My friend was telling me that she is just going to get a buggy board of some kind. So then I had to look into that and that just makes me more confused. I only have a old Jeep Jogger that is pretty hammered, gets flats all the time, is really bulky in my trunk and doesn’t safely hold a car seat. So would I need to buy a new single?? Arggg.

I’m at a loss. If you’ve made it through this long boring post… I’m wondering if any of you have experince with any of these strollers? Do you have a double that you love? hate? are dreaming of?

Leah is 3 weeks today. She is beginning to loose some of that newborn sleepiness. With being awake more, she has been a wee bit fussy too. It seems like she wants to be asleep but just can’t manage to stay asleep. We had one night when she woke up about every hour on the hour. Yawn!!

She still sleeps a great deal, of course, but for some reason she doesn’t want to sleep when mommy can sleep too. How does she know that I just laid down to rest?? Then, it just so happens, that she is bushed when it is time for running errands or picking up Emma from school. Ahh, the life with a newborn.

On the up side of being more alert, I’m pretty sure I got a first smile out of Leah the other day. She was staring right at me when I made a popping noise with my mouth. Boom- a great big grin. She is defiantly making more eye contact. I really enjoy it when they start to interact. It makes me feel like I am dealing with a human instead of a… hungry little leach.