I think I've broken my camera.

I've been trying to take more pictures of Seth lately, because my Mom's always telling me that you end up having tons more pictures of your first child than of your second. Something to do with just how busy you are taking care of two. Imagine that. Anyway, I took a few pictures the last couple of days, and then my camera started doing something really strange. The color is all messed up. Compare this picture to the others, particularly the very last one of Seth:

Any ideas on what's happened? I checked for all the obvious setting problems, couldn't find anything. I'm happy Christmas is around the corner, looks like I may already know what's on my list.

Here are the pictures that turned out normal:
Adeline playing with her new kitchen after her bath. It's her early birthday present from us. It got here last week and we had no place to hide it! I guess she's cooking elephant and polar bear.

Still a little young for this....

Below are Adeline and David decorating sugar cookies for Halloween. Well, really just David decorating cookies. Adeline was busy eating the M&Ms. I thought she would like making pumpkin faces on them, but she's still just a little too young.





She's constant entertainment now, and sometimes constant frustration, but we won't go there. She's really good about telling me what Seth needs. "Seth's really hungry!" "Seth spilled (spit) up!" "Seth needs clothes!" Bossy, too. Poor Seth is in for it. She's been speaking in full sentences to us for awhile now, and some days she seems to talk all day long. Seth started sleeping all night earlier this week. Hallelujah! I can function normally again. He's back to exclusive nursing too. After the staph and the dehydration of the stomach virus, it's a miracle that I even had any milk left.

Speaking of the staph, the strain I had in my hand has been in the news this week. Scary. I watched the segments on the Today Show, and I gotta say, it shook me when they started talking about how MRSA kills 1 in 5 people. Made me stop and thank God that I'm okay.

Do they make Big & Tall for babies?

Because that's what Seth needs. His check-up went well, but he is really a big guy! Two ounces shy of 15 lbs. and 24 inches long. That puts him above the 95th % for weight and in the 90th % for height (head circumference in the 75th). I'll have to get Adeline's baby book out, but we thought she was sooo big at this age, and she weighed about 12.5 lbs (I think) at her 2 month check-up. Speaking of Adeline at this age, I searched my iPhoto until I found a picture of her at about 9 weeks. People keep telling me they look exactly alike, but according to these pics, they look absolutely nothing alike.

I have begun packing up the house (yay!) Well, really just the china cabinet, since that takes for-evah to do. I think I have only used our china once since we've been married. Once we move into the bigger house -where we can entertain- I'm going to use that stuff! We are anxiously awaiting a call from the couple we bought the house from (saying they are out), so we can begin the official move. I bought a table and chairs for the breakfast area today. The store is nice enough to hold it there for up to 3 weeks...I REALLY hope we are moved by then.

So beautiful!

Melissa just emailed that the photographer had posted some of her pics on his page. They are amazing! Eric and Laressa did such a great job! If you want to see a beautiful wedding captured in beautiful pictures, go check it out at their photojournal blog.

For you fellow Corinthians, the wife of the husband/wife team, Laressa, is Nicole Crum's sister-in-law! Talk about a small world....

My impromptu toast got spotlighted in Eric's recount of the event. I'm happy that my intended message came across - Melissa really is a treasure and God certainly used those two years with her to transform my life.

My Smallest Supporters

How about Adeline's campaign shirt? She helped me at the bake sales and fish frys on Saturday while Seth stayed home with David. Seth will be two months old tomorrow! We go for a check-up on Wednesday.

Melissa's Wedding

was beautiful! I didn't get very many pictures though. Liz, if you don't care, I would love some of the pictures Trevor took. These were the two best pictures I got. Does it look like I'd been throwing up for 12 hours the day before? Oh yes, our whole house, well, with the exception of David, caught Adeline's stomach bug. Before all was said and done, my mom and dad caught it too, because they kept Adeline and Seth for David and I to make a mad dash to Nashville for the wedding. It really was so pretty, I wish I had taken my camera to the reception. Melissa really impressed me with the amount of detail she put into everything. Once you've planned a wedding yourself, you appreciate all those little touches.

This weekend will be lots of campaigning. I do have another election in November, so, before then, at least two more fish frys and a bake sale : )

Debe's pictures

David's Aunt Debe takes the sweetest pictures of the kids. Here are a few:











Poor Adeline has been a little under the weather with a stomach bug, but I think she's feeling better today. She and Seth are going to stay with my Mom and Dad this weekend. Adeline LOVES Nana's house, and I can't blame her, it's one of the many places where what she says goes.

My finger is better. Thank you all for the emails. My sweet friends : ). I'm so happy the antibiotic worked. I have learned a lesson here, though I think I got the MRSA from the catheter in the hospital, this stuff is everywhere...on the shopping carts at Wal-mart, door knobs, public restrooms, so it's kind of scary. I have washed my hands so often lately that they are chapped, but I will continue to be super-vigilent! I don't want to ever deal with this again. So...my own little public service announcement: if you will be in the hospital for anything (especially having a baby) watch the nurses carefully! Make sure they wash their hands everytime they come in your room. And, in your daily life, keep a little bottle of Purell with you at all times. (they make great ones with aloe that aren't as drying). I'm something of a germ-a-phobe, and I still ended up with this. You can't be too careful. And I understand kids are especially at risk for this infection.

On a happier note, we are mere days from Melissa's wedding! I'm so excited! I know she will have a wonderful weekend planned, and I can't wait to be part of it!

Super-bug

I've had a run of bad luck lately. Two Saturdays ago, I was rummaging around in my sewing box, and I was stuck by a safety pin. No big deal, right? Well, a week and a half later, I've been through 4 antibiotics and a minor surgical procedure. After the initial incident, my thumb kept swelling and swelling and became unbearably painful by last Thursday. Two antibiotics had no effect, so I went to Corinth to see one of my mom's doctors. He prescribed antibiotic #3, but overnight the pain became so bad, I wanted to cut my own finger open to relieve the pressure. I went back to the doctor the next day, and he sent me to an a surgeon, who did in fact cut it open. Gross, I know. By the next morning, I was feeling so much better. I thought the worst was over. So, I go back for a follow-up appointment on Monday. They had sent samples from my thumb to a lab to be cultured, and it comes back as MRSA. Methicillin-resistant staph. The super-bug. It's a very serious form of staph that is resistant to most antibiotics. The doctor handed me a prescription for the only drug known to still work, and said, "I hope you have great prescription drug coverage." Why? Because this medicine costs $100/pill. Yep, I have $1200 worth of pills sitting on my counter (14 pills).

We have no idea where I could have gotten this. It's rampant in hospitals, so maybe when I had Seth? Who knows. But, this is certainly not as bad as it could have been. I had already started to run a fever when the doctor did the surgery, so within another 24 hours, this would have been in my bloodstream and I would have been hospitalized. So, thank the Lord for that! I just have to be soooo careful around the kids. This could be fatal for a baby, so I have to keep it covered with bandages at all times. That makes taking care of little ones challenging.

The antibiotic I'm on now is super strong, and I've had to discontinue nursing Seth. The drug is so new, they can't be sure it wouldn't hurt him. And, believe it or not, this has been a blessing. Seth has been a fussy baby since he got here. I mentioned I had tried to eliminate things from my diet, but nothing seemed to help. Now, on the formula, he's the most content baby ever! David fed him at 9:30 last night (which was a wonderful change for me) and he didn't wake up again until 4:30 this morning! So, now I've got to decide if I want to try resuming nursing once I'm off this antibiotic or stick with the formula. I feel so guilty since I nursed Adeline for 10 months, but I honestly think he's doing better like this.

So, pray that this antibiotic will work. I'm not sure what happens next if it doesn't. But, God has a reason for everything, and maybe this happened to help me find a way to get more rest and take better care of myself. You mommies out there know how you tend to come last when it comes to everyone else's needs!

Here are a couple of new pictures. I've mentioned before that Adeline loves her animals (we've been in Corinth since last Thursday and she was missing them so bad!) Last week I found her sticking them in the vent. She does such curious little things. Children are a joy : )

One Month!

New pictures. I propped Seth up on the couch, but I had trouble getting him to focus on anything other than the clothes I had folded that were laying up above him.








Seth is one month old today! Thank you all for the helpful sleep suggestions - I think that's one of the best parts of blogging, a community of mommies to consult. We had a pretty good night last night, I think mostly because I finally realized he has a little bit of a milk allergy. I've already had to eliminate chocolate, and certain fruits and veggies from my diet, looks like dairy will have to go too.

I started thinking, David never gets any space on the blog! And he's certainly deserving. Really I thought about this when he said something about one of his fraternity brothers checking in with us (shout out to Smalls). I'm sure you'd rather read about something other than sleep schedules and dirty diapers! So, an update on one of my favorite men : ) First, I want to say that David was a tremendous help on my campaign. Most of you know that I ran for County Attorney here, and the election happened to fall two days before we had Seth. Needless to say, I couldn't stay out in the 100+ degree heat for very long, but my sweet little husband did. He worked so hard. I have another opponent in the November general election, and I hope Dave won't have to do as much of the hard work this time around. And belated Happy Birthday to David's friend, Ben. At the end of August, David went to Memphis to meet a bunch of his friends from college to celebrate Ben's 30th. I know he misses all you guys so much, and I do too! David has great friends.

Wow, this is difficult.

Staying home with two children that is. Especially two under two. I am SPENT these days. They are completely worth it, but I could really, really use more than two hours of sleep a night. In case you're wondering what, exactly, makes this so difficult, let me explain. Here's our average day.

Hard to decide where to start, since I pretty much live a 24 hour day, let's just start at 6:00 am.
- Seth is awake to be nursed. If I'm lucky, he's been asleep since 4:00 or so, if not, then I've been awake since 4:00.
- Finish feeding Seth, he's asleep (yes!) and I try to sneak back to bed for an hour or so.
- Adeline wakes up on cue.
- Adeline wakes Seth back up. Might as well just get up.
- It's 7:30 now, Seth decided he needs to eat again (he doesn't care that it's not time yet). Settle in to feed him.
- As soon as I get settled, Adeline announces, "I huunngry!" Since toddlers have zero patience, put Seth down to go fix Adeline's breakfast.
- Feed Adeline, clean up mess.
- Seth's demanding the rest of his meal.
- Take care of that, then everyone's diapers need changing. Change Seth, chase down Adeline, change Adeline, Seth dirties his diaper again.
- From about 10:00 - 1:00 is just a repeat of the above. Then comes naptime.
- Oh, naptime, THE hardest part of the day. Getting them to sleep at the same time is impossible. Everytime I get Adeline to sleep, Seth starts crying and wakes her back up.
- Adeline (hopefully) gets a two-hour nap to make up for the sleep she's been losing.
- David's home by 5:30 - 6:00. Turn care of Adeline over to David.
- Cook dinner, clean up kitchen. Nurse baby. David and Adeline are off to bed. I'm up til 11:00, still nursing baby.
- Put Seth down in bassinet, praying he doesn't wake back up. (He usually does.) Get up with him again at 12:00 or 1:00. Then again at 4:00. Then again at 6:00.

By the time you subtract the hour and a half it takes to feed/change him each time, I get 3-4 hours of sleep in a 24 hour day. Definitely difficult. And I've been trying to potty-train Adeline in the midst of all this. I've got my hands full : )

Over the weekend, I pulled out the Babywise book I bought while I was pregnant with Adeline.

I didn't use it with her, but since I'm scared of never sleeping again, I thought I would check it out. No thanks, we tried it for a whole day, and it was MISERABLE. Plus, it advocates the "let them cry it out" method of sleep training, and while that might work for some people, I can't stand to do that. We only tried it twice and Seth screamed way longer than the 10 minutes the book said he would. He got himself so upset I thought he might throw up. Any of you had any success with Babywise?

Oh, and we need a new name for our blog. Any suggestions? I know most of you are more creative than me. And sorry about no pictures. (See average day above). I'll work on getting some soon.

From the last few days....

Aunt Judy with Seth

Adeline with her new patio furniture from Aunt Judy


Seth : ) We used this chair when Adeline was a baby, and she's been sitting in it to watch her "toons" (it converts to a toddler chair). The fact that Seth's using it now is something of an issue. We got her a bean bag as a replacement.

He's here!

Seth Andrew Slocum
August 9, 2007
11:00 am
9lbs. 2 oz.
20 1/2 inches

We've had lots of exciting things happen since I last posted! We closed on a house, I won an election, and best of all, we finally have Seth here! He's doing great. I'm recovering. (It seems I'm asked constantly if I had a C-section, and the answer is no). Adeline is sort of interested in him, she mostly likes his hair. He doesn't have much, not nearly like hers when she was born. He looks exactly like David's baby pictures. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures to post, will try to find time later. Those of you with babies, (especially baby + toddler) understand when I say I just don't have the time right now! More later...maybe in a few weeks : (

Getting closer!

I haven't had a chance to post since my appointment the other day. (OK, I'm going to assume most of my readers are female, and will not be bothered by talk of dialation - except for my little brother, who was basically raised by women, so nothing shocks him anymore).

Dialated one centimeter, 60% effaced. I've never really understood this effacement stuff, but that was more progress than I was expecting. Dr. Tinker says he doesn't expect me to go into labor for about two more weeks, and gave me the option of picking out a date to be induced. That would be sometime during the week of Aug. 6th. Not sure what I want to do. I was induced last time, but I sort of wanted to go into labor on my own this time. David still does not think I will make it that long. Neither does my mom, who upon examining my face the other day, said, "I don't think you'll go much longer." Translate: You have the puffy face look.

I hate the puffy face look : ( Small price to pay though.

All this has me thinking about my last delivery experience. It went just fine, but looking back I said I wouldn't go the induction route again because reportedly this raises the risk of having to have a C-section. My doctor assures me that if your body is ready for labor, then that's not true, but I also know doctors really like scheduling things. And who can blame them? I've been losing a little sleep at night when I remember all the "procedures" involved in having a baby. Namely, these:
1. the breaking of the water (one of the reasons I want to go into labor on my own)
2. the catheter
3. the epidural - okay, this is more of a love/hate relationship. once you've experienced some of the labor pains, then you're begging for that epidural, but it still doesn't make the fact that they are inserting a very large needle into your spine any less scary
Those were by far my three worst moments. The pushing was not bad, and the IV only bothered me for a bit. I can stop myself from complaining when I think about my grandmother, who gave birth to four children at home, with only the help of a mid-wife. What she would have given for that epidural!

No pictures today.

We had a sick girl this weekend. Mystery fever, not exactly sure about the cause. But she's feeling better now, and I'm so glad! Nothing is more heartbreaking than watching her feel bad. She sat in my lap most of the weekend, but by yesterday afternoon she was back to playing with her Tractor Supply animals. They are her latest obsession. I tried to find a picture online - they are just these plastic cows, chickens, horses, etc., from TSC (that Aunt Hazel gave her). It's so funny, she calls the calves "caffeys" and the cats "noms" - like Tom with an N. She's been doing that for months, because she thinks that's what cats say, "nom, nom." She'll play with them for hours, and they have to go to bed with her too. Not the most comfortable things to sleep with. We're looking for a stuffed Elmo that we hope will take the place of the animals at bedtime. We're collecting special "presents" to give her once the baby arrives. Someone suggested we do that so she doesn't feel left out, and we liked the idea.

I found bedding I want for the baby's room. It's only available in-store, so I'm going by Babies-R-Us tomorrow (after my Dr. appointment) to see if they have it. I wanted jungle animals, not really sure why. I think because last time David pointed out something similar to this and said that's what he would have wanted for a boy. I stored that in memory for some reason. It looks like this:



And best of all, it's on sale! I would have picked this out anyway, but I certainly can't complain about getting the 4 piece set for $79.99! Now we just have to figure out what color to paint the room. Any suggestions? I hope they have it in the store, or I'll have to pick out something else. And I didn't see anything I liked nearly so much as this.

Hope all of you have a great week! I'll know more about how far away we are from meeting this baby after my appointment tomorrow, so I'll keep you updated!

Happy Birthday Dawn!

Our friend, Dawn, celebrates her birthday on the 11th and we wish her a very happy one! She and Adeline are buddies, Dawn is always doing something sweet for her.

Routine doctor appointment today. He basically just said if I went into labor tonight they wouldn't try to stop it, because the "new" school of thought is that 35 weeks is full-term (all my books say 37). I don't think we will have to worry about that anyway, but it's nice to know. I found it ironic that my blood pressure was 116/60 - considering I have some really stressful stuff going on, but better low than high!

Happy (belated) 4th!

I'm a little late with these, but better late than never, right? I hope you all had a great 4th. We went to my Aunt Hazel's to let Adeline swim. I've been dying to get her in the pool - especially since she's starting laying on her belly in the bathtub, saying, "Swimmy! Swimmy!" She loved it just as much as I thought she would, and special thanks to Dada (aka David) and Uncle Justin for getting in with her. You won't see me in the pictures....I wasn't about to drag my 9-month-pregnant self out there in a swimsuit! And, trust me, you wouldn't have wanted me too : )

Speaking of being nine months pregnant, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and we'll make the decision then about whether I want to start coming in every week, or if I want to wait another two weeks. That would mean I would see the doctor next at 37 weeks, and considering that Adeline was born in week 39, I don't know if I'm comfortable with that. I've been trying to get everything ready, just in case this baby decides to make an early appearance, and I think we're good. Except for the bassinet. I used a borrowed one with Adeline, so I had to order one this time. I'm really hoping it arrives this week, because it's supposedly difficult to assemble. (Say it with me, "Poor David!") Bless his heart!

33 weeks and counting.....

We're so close to having a little boy! In a few weeks I'll be considered full-term, and that is such a relief - to know if the baby comes right then, he'll be just fine on his own, no help from machines and such. I may have mentioned before that we only have two bedrooms in our current house. Adeline's room is very girly, but I haven't touched it yet, partly because we're still looking for a new house (wouldn't wait to repaint and redecorate only to move in a few months), and secondly because I don't know how to make the room unisex (jungle animals, maybe?). And, lastly, just because I don't have the energy. Second babies are definitely different than firsts.

I love looking at other mom's blogs, and recently Mary Kathryn S. had pictures of her little boy in the coolest blow-up kiddie pool thing. She was kind enough to pass on that it could be found at Wal-mart for only $20! So, on my next trip, I picked one up for Adeline. She loved it, you can tell from the pictures below. Thanks Mary Kathryn!





We've had a really lazy weekend, the last that we'll probably have for awhile. I think just about every weekend from now until the baby gets here will be filled with obligations, some fun and some not fun. I'm really sad that we will be missing out on a few weddings! Our friend, Elise, gets married soon, but it will be too close to my due date to be traveling. I do not know if you follow us on here, Elise, but I know you will be a gorgeous bride! You other law school friends will have to give her a hug for us. Some of David's friends from college are getting married too, in Birmingham and in Jackson, and we won't be making those either. I have learned that is another reason to not have a baby during the summer (other than the heat), you miss all the wedding fun!

I came across a delicious coffee recipe the other night. Those of you who know me know that has nothing to do with pregnancy cravings. I love fancy coffee drinks, and probably spent the equivalent of my law school tuition at coffee shops. Anyway, I went to Food Network the other night and typed in "coffee," and this is one of the recipes I found. It's so good! Props to Emeril, want to make sure to give him his credit : )

Chocolate-y Café Au Lait

1 1/2 cups whole milk
2/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 ( 2-inch) cinnamon sticks
1 strip orange peel, about 1/2 inch by 3 inches
10 whole cloves
2 to 2 1/2 cups hot brewed strong coffee
1/4 cup cold heavy cream
Ground cinnamon, for garnish
Cocoa, for garnish

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the milk, 2/3 cup of the sugar, and cocoa until smooth. Add the cinnamon sticks, orange peel and cloves and bring to a simmer, stirring, to dissolve the sugar and prevent the cocoa from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whip the cream with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar until thick and frothy, and peaks form. Set aside.

Strain the milk mixture into a coffee pot or carafe and add 2 cups of the hot coffee (2 1/2 cups for stronger coffee flavor, to taste). Pour into cups or small mugs and top each with a dollop of the sweetened whipped cream.

Serve immediately.