You Can Do It. We Can't Help.

We've been meaning to replace our living room carpet for months now. It's been destroyed by the dog, and Ethan hasn't helped by spilling fruit punch on it (among other things). We have one of those credit cards where you can earn rewards just by using it, so we've been redeeming our points for Home Depot gift cards to use toward the new carpet. Great, right?

This past Saturday our neighbors on the end had a pipe burst, and the water leaked into our living room and left a huge wet spot. And now it STINKS. We aired it out and dried the carpet with fans, but it still just reeks in here. Blech. That was the impetus we needed to finally get off our butts and replace the carpet.

So Paul headed over to Home Depot on Monday night to bring home some samples to try to match it to the existing carpet (we had the room measured a few weeks before Sadie was born so all we needed to do was select the carpet and order it). We picked the one we liked, then Paul went back on Tuesday night to order it. The guy there didn't know how to "reactivate" our quote because it had been like a month since the measurements were taken. Okay... whatever... they said they would call us on Wednesday after they figured it out. Yeah, that didn't happen. So Paul went back on Wednesday night and there wasn't a single person there who could help him. All the flooring people were gone. WTH? We even called the other HD in town and there was no one there, either. SO......... we went back AGAIN last night. Got there at 5:45, and Paul headed over to the flooring department while I went to the paint counter to get the deck paint (another one of our projects). It took over an hour to get a gallon of paint. Something about the computer system crashing, blah blah blah. And it took just as long for them to write up our carpet order. Then, when we went to pay for it, we went back and forth between different registers, waiting on some loser named Kevin who never showed up, then the carpet thing was wrong, etc. It was SO ANNOYING!!!!! The only positive is that we got our new carpet, including installation and moving of our furniture, for only $300 out-of-pocket because we had so much money in gift cards.

Now we just have to wait 2-4 weeks to see this carpet. And who knows what shenanigans will ensue then...

One month of Sadie

Our baby girl is a month old today! Where did the time go?? I know it's only a month but I already can't remember what it was like before she was born. She is so dang cute and for the most part a good baby. Her daytime sleep is still very disorganized, so it's next to impossible to plan anything around her "schedule" (because there isn't one). She nurses like a pro and gets chubbier by the day. I can't even express how in love with her we are. She's precious and frustrating and sweet and sassy and spunky all in one. What a great addition to our family!

And in true Sarah fashion, I took pictures of her on her one-month "birthday." I think she already looks different than she did a month ago. You be the judge.

Look at her in her new sun hat- priceless.

I Heart Breastfeeding

PSYCH!!!! (bet that just brought you back to junior high, didn't it?)

Okay, so I've been breastfeeding Sadie for almost a month now and I think it's my least favorite thing ever. I've gotten over the stage where every suck is excruciating (pretty much- sometimes she still does a funky latch and makes my eyes water in pain), but it is still horrible. I was sitting in bed nursing her at like 2:30 this morning and it hit me- this is the most mind-numbingly boring thing in the whole world. Here I am in the pitch black, staring into space, trying not to fall asleep and drop the baby, while this little barracuda sucks me dry, literally. And the whole time Paul is lying next to me snoring away. Who thought of this?! In what universe is this fair? I had to endure nine months of nausea, insomnia, restless legs, backaches, water retention, you name it- THEN, I had to have major abdominal surgery to remove the baby from my incompetent uterus, and now you're telling me I have to wake up every 2-3 hours so she can cause me MORE pain? Where's the love, people? Seriously, that's a totally uneven distribution of labor.

And whoever said breastfeeding is more convenient was apparently sniffing glue. How is it convenient to have to flash the entire world every time your baby gets hungry? And you can't feed the baby unless you're sitting down somewhere, not moving, doing nothing but breastfeeding. I miss bottles!

About the only thing breastfeeding has going for it is the fact that it's free. And in this family, that's a big check in the plus column.

But still, I think I will petition the ACLU to declare breastfeeding a form of cruel and unusual punishment.

Bathing beauty

Paul was on paternity leave all last week, which was AWESOME. But I think being home for too long drives him a bit crazy, so we went on little outings every day. Nothing major, mind you, but it was nice to get out of the house. So on Friday we went out to Potomac Mills on a whim, just for kicks. I've been wanting to get Sadie a bathing suit for our Florida trip in July and thought this was the perfect opportunity to find one. I looked in several different stores before finding this suit, which is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen. I SO wish it came in my size!!! I can't wait to see her in it! She looks adorable in everything but this will be especially picturesque.

Oh, and Paul- WE MISS YOU!!!!

When The Whole World Fits Inside of Your Arms, Do You Really Need to Play Attention to the Alarm?

I love paternity leave.

Sleepy Sadie

What is it about a sleeping baby that is so irresistible? Is it the way they seem to suck on an imaginary pacifier? Or the way their eyelids flutter while they dream? Or the hilarious grimaces and adorable smiles they unwittingly make? For me I think it is envy. I look at Sadie sleeping so peacefully and I covetously lust after that kind of rest. Ah, to sleep longer than 2-3 hours at a time again...

This last picture is my favorite- this is the view I get after every nursing session. My sweet little chub.

Rejoining the land of the living

It's been two weeks since Sadie was born. It seems like an eternity; I can't remember a time when we didn't have her home with us. Funny how quickly that happens. Since I had another cesarean I've been a little removed from the outside world, trying to recover and feel human again. I think I'm about there. I've been up and moving around from the beginning, but it's still hard dealing with the frequent awakenings at night, breastfeeding, and my incision does still hurt from time to time, especially when Ethan or the dog are trying to sit/walk on it. Ouch. But despite all that I'm feeling pretty good. I think I'm allowed to drive again as of today so that will be nice too. Not that Sadie's really up for long outings; in fact, she seems to despise the car seat and instead insists on being carried through any store, then screams bloody murder the entire way home.

She is a bit more demanding than Ethan was. She cries more than I remember Ethan crying, and those cries reach epic proportions in record time. There's no working up to it, either- it's zero to 60 in about a millisecond. But that's okay, we still love her. She's adorable and a snuggler. The Beatles got it all wrong; happiness is a warm baby.

And of course, here are some more pictures of our two sweeties. Did I mention how amazing Ethan has been through all this? He is the best big brother ever. He loves his sister to death, and has just been the sweetest child. Of course he's had his moments where he just loses it or does something he knows he shouldn't do, but as a whole he's just been wonderful and a total joy. I love my son to pieces.

Paul and Sadie in the hospital

Relaxing after her first bath

Ethan put himself to bed on Friday night because he was so exhausted- pulled the covers over himself and everything!

This I thought was adorable- how they're kind of lying the same way next to each other. My little cuties!

This picture just makes me laugh

President Hinckley

Enjoyed conference but missed President Hinckley. Ran across the handout above we received after he spoke to us at a youth conference.