early sunday...

...at the park

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Here's the deal...

My "part-time, not-so-bad job" has turned into my "full-time, extremely stressful and overwhelming, highly-politicized" job.  Add to that the fact that UC starts again this week and I will now be teaching two classes at a time instead of one (so double the work). Add to that the fact that Josie has officially given up sleeping anywhere besides our bed plus the fact that she will no longer let her dad have anything to do with bedtime.  Then sprinkle in the realization today that Josie is going to have to start staying at after-care even longer each day and start staying now on Fridays (good-bye Friday Mommy Fun Days) to accommodate my out-of-control work schedule.  Add a dash of major pregnancy hormones and nausea, an empty refrigerator, piles of unfolded laundry, and no end in sight and what you get is two solid hours of tears and a blog that probably won't be updated for awhile. 
Rest assured that Louie is being his normal super-awesome, husband-of-the-year self and even brought me lunch today because it was 11:30 and due to back-to-back conference calls I had not yet eaten. I have budgeted for the house-cleaning services of one very amazing woman who has helped us immensely around here. And, if nothing else, I get through each day knowing that in February we'll have a new little one that will force us to slow down!  (And this report to the Governor is due in December, so hopefully things will ease up just in time to enjoy the holidays.)
I'll try to at least get some pics posted from my cell phone. I have some really, really, really good videos on my phone that I hope to share soon as well. Love you all - gotta run!
(Oh and one more thing, I hope you all realize that I'm grateful to have a job and blah, blah, blah - just wanted to give you some context for my out-of-character behavior - not returning emails, phone calls, texts, etc. I am literally barely putting one foot in front of the other at the moment so thanks for your patience.)

Quick Quote

So, I was picking up Josie from school on Friday. Her principal and I were standing there chatting while Josie gathered all of her things.  Josie went to her cubby to grab her artwork from the day & was very excited to hand me this painted paper plate project. It has a note on the back to parents that explained that the paper plate was a visual representation of the Earth and that the students had used proportionate amounts of green and blue paint to represent the ratio of water to land. (Clever, I know.) 
Josie was very excited to show it to me, so I was excited to say: "Wow Josie, is this the Earth?!"
Josie looked at me with a very serious face and said, "No mom. Look at it. It's just a paper plate!"

Allergy Update

Yesterday we had Josephine's first allergy appointment since the original discovery of her peanut allergy two years ago.  Here's the full report:

• The "bad" news: The doctor did not want to re-test her for peanuts because he said there is "about a 0% chance she will outgrow such a severe allergy." He said he'd like to wait until she is a teenager to re-test her and that we should continue to very closely monitor any potential exposure to peanuts.
• The "good" news: The doctor said there is very little likelihood of her developing any additional food allergies since she has made it to age 3 without any new ones surfacing. This is good news, because it means she does not and should not develop a tree nut allergy.  He advised us to make sure to avoid all tree nuts anyway because many peanut reactions come from cross-contaminated nuts of other types.
• The "ah-ha" news: Josie was diagnosed with dermographic urticaria a.k.a. dermographism or "skin-writing disorder." This explains all the bumps, scratches, and hives that she has gotten since she was a baby that we couldn't attribute to anything in particular (i.e. if you remove a band-aid, it will leave raised welts for several hours; spaghetti straps leave hives on her shoulders; sunglasses leave a raised welt on the bridge of her nose). What's good about this news is that is completely harmless. What's bad about it is that it's not curable, she'll have it forever, and it can be a real annoyance. It also complicates her peanut allergy because we can never assume that any hives she gets are from dermographism and not from potential peanut exposure.  Click HERE or HERE for more info on the condition.  (We are SOOOO relieved to know what this is & to find out it's not another hidden allergy! Note also that people with this condition suffer from difficulty sleeping - ah-ha!)

All in all, we still feel very lucky that Josie only has one allergy and that she hasn't had a reaction since the first one. This appointment also served as an important reminder to Louie & I that we have to remain very vigilant as her allergy is indeed severe and life-threatening.  (I'll admit, no reaction in two years started to make me feel foolishly relaxed about it.)  So, thanks again to all of you who go the extra mile for Josie in terms of her allergy and thanks for continuing to do so.  As we heard at the parent's night at her school, "It's not an inconvenience, it's a child."

Summer Blog Wrap-up

Just yesterday as I was walking up the driveway, I looked at Louie and said "Stop a minute. It smells like FALL!"  It was at that moment that I realized I was crunching orange leaves at my feet and summer was officially over. 
Autumn is by far my favorite season and it's even more special this year.  The first summer in our new house was great, but it felt a little harried and frantic. Looking back on our first three months here, it's a blur of boxes, weeds, and chaos. We're all really looking forward to things slowing down so we can settle in this fall and completely nest all winter in preparation for our new little one just in time for spring to begin.
As I was looking back through our summer photos, I realized there were a few that got lost in the shuffle of the last few weeks.  So, here it is - our Summer Blog Wrap-up.

We love having a yard. Most of this summer was spent trying to clear out the old so we can make it new in the spring.  It's still a work in progress, but we'll get there. The big news this summer was that we planted pumpkins. Actually Josie planted them in gardening class and when it was clear they were thriving, we put the vine in the ground. And my oh my how it has grown. Here they are tending to the pumpkins.  Note the cute little "Planted by Josephine 2010" tags that Tia made Josie!

These guys are now about triple the size of this photo and it looks like we'll have our own pumpkins by Halloween!

We do love our yard - especially our little bird buddies.  Here's a milk carton we turned into a bird feeder. 

And here's Josie going on a ride to fill it up with birdseed. I think that smile is a little devious, and you'll see why in a minute:

And here's Josie pouring birdseed in Louie's hair:

More fun with the Tonka Truck (and Polly Pocket drivers this time):

A view of the sideyard, complete with the "play park" transplant from Grandma & DD's house:

And looky here - we have a whole bed of Black-Eyed Susans that just sprung up out of nowhere:

Meanwhile - back inside - Josie asked me to peel her a mango one afternoon. So, I peeled it and left her on the counter while I went to answer the phone. Normally we cut it up into big chunks, but this is how I found her moments later. I guess she just got tired of waiting and went for it.  (You wouldn't have believed the sticky mess! So worth it though. We both decided a mango tastes even better this way.)

Here are a few pictures of Josie & Louie clowning around. This was actually from the weekend that I was on bed-rest because of the bloodclot. They kept me pretty entertained! If I remember correctly, Josie declared that the ottoman was a boat and Lou was rowing her to St. Thomas.

On the way there, they turned into pirates.  And here are their "pirate faces" to prove it.

It's apparent that pirates also giggle quite a bit:

(I should also mention that the last photo highlights another summer standout which is Josie's perpetually-skinned knees!  She's one "rough and tumble" little lady. And she's got all the bruises, scrapes and nicks to prove it!)
Last but not least, here are a couple of photos from Josie's first week of school. Her teachers sent us several photos, but I didn't feel comfortable posting any of the ones that pictured other children.  As you can see, Josie loves it!

So, with that, Summer - I bid you adieu.  Autumn, bring it on! We're ready for your leaf piles, apple farms, Halloween costumes, cool evenings, and all the sights and smells you have to offer!

Baby Update

This morning we had our regular monthly pre-natal appointment. As usual, we were nervous.  I know, I know we have to just relax and enjoy this pregnancy but it's hard to do when even the doctor is anxious.  Lou, Dr. Scott & I have been through so much together that the full weight of our history factors into each appointment. Remember: the last time I saw Scott I was hysterically crying about the blood clot and threatened miscarriage that we saw on the ultrasound.  His last words to me were "Do me a favor...please stay pregnant."

Fast forward three weeks and there I am in his office...still pregnant!  So, when he walked in and said "How's it going, preggo?" That meant a lot to all of us.  He was also really happy to hear I was still so sick.  (At least one of us is happy about that.)  And then, the moment of truth.  He said, "I'll wait to launch into all the standard questions until we get this part out of the way." He grabbed the Doppler, laid me down, and started checking for the baby's heartbeat.  Those are the seconds that feel like hours. I'm not kidding - all three of us were holding our breath.  And then, there it was...bomp, bomp, bomp, bomp....145 bpm!  Three audible exhales and one big "congratulations" and we've successfully crossed another hurdle.

With that, he made his prediction that "I think you have your boy."  In a couple of weeks, we'll know if he's right.  We went through all the rest of a standard appointment, with the agreement that the three of us would finally feel completely comfortable after the 20 week ultrasound.  Overall, we feel really good about everything. We have another ultrasound in two weeks. I can't wait to see our little one again soon!

Welcome Teddy

Welcome to the spinning world sweet Baby Teddy!
And congratulations to Kelly & Nick who peacefully brought Theodore John Robbe into the world early, early on Saturday morning. (Another Hypnobirthing success story!)

Do play with your food...

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Josie saw these 'recipes' online and insisted that we try them.They are totally edible fruit versions of characters on The Backyardigans. Behold Tyrone the peach and Tasha the pear. Yum!

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Three Princesses and a Tonka Truck

Two things:
* When Aunt Paula & Uncle Mark moved into their new house, they found this super-cool old-school metal Tonka Bulldozer. Grandpa Bop brought it over with lots of other goodies (including two vintage rocking horses) and Josie loves her truck.
* I love my new Droid - especially for the apps. This "Retro Camera" one is super fun one that's a lot like the "Hipstamatic" one that my ipod buddies use. I snapped this photo on my phone of Josie, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty all going for a ride.

Three Schneiders & Four Austins

You can expect lots of photos of Baby Jack's entrance into the world on my sister's blog soon, but here are a few to hold you over.  I'll let her tell her own story on her blog, but suffice it to say here that my sister is an absolute rockstar and she forever destroyed the conventional wisdom about some babies being "too big" for their petite mothers to safely deliver.  Um - 10 pound baby.  Just sayin...

We were SOOO LUCKY that Jack waited until his induction date so we could be there for all the action. (Especially in light of the bloodclot scare that threatened everything. I gotta say it was a little insane and a lot emotional to be at the hospital for Jack's birth just 24 hours after being at the hospital myself to find out if my baby would survive.)

Here are some photos from Jack's first 48 hours. (These are all Schneider-centric for a reason. I gave my sister all the other pics so she could post those on her blog.)

Baby Jack. Literally just minutes old...

They next day...Josie gets to meet him.  Big thanks to Tio & Louie for doing what they needed to do to "smuggle" Josie into the new baby wing even though she wasn't supposed to be there.  She would've been beyond-heartbroken if she didn't get to see him that day because her mama had promised her that she'd get to see him in the hospital for about 3 months leading up to the big day. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you...for these moments:

While Tia & Tio were busy getting to know Jack at the hospital, we were busy teaching Lyla bad habits back at their house.  Josie taught Lyla one of her favorite tricks - leaping from the ottoman to the couch.  And Lyla is a fearless flyer!

These action shots of Lyla-the-blur absolutely crack me up!

And after all that excitement, they needed a little treat. So they ate ice cream sandwiches...together...in a box.

And the next morning they got all cleaned up for the homecoming of Baby Jack!

(And this is about the moment where Louie & I conspired to hatch a plan for bringing Lyla back to Cincinnati for awhile...ya know...because Manda & Michael were going to be so busy...ok...because really we just adore her and Josie does, too.)

I have no doubt that one day we'll be trying to snatch this little guy to bring back home with us too. Dear sweet baby Jack, we love you already. Welcome to the family!

And HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Amanda, Michael, and Lyla for becoming FOUR AUSTINS!

In case you were wondering...

* Josie bounced off to school again today.  She was just as eager today as she was Friday.  I hope this is a sign of more great things to come. We're so proud of her. (Will share the pics the school sent us from her first day as soon as I have their permission to post them.)

* All of my test results (bloodwork, ultrascreen, PAP, genetic testing, etc) all came back NORMAL! :)

* I'm 14 weeks pregnant now and that means I'm well out of the first trimester. However, I still have to take phenegren three times a day to keep the nausea and vomiting at bay.  (But trust me; I'm NOT complaining.)

* My dear, sweet, loving friend Carrie Schmitt-Harrison is one of the most amazing people in the entire world! Check out her blog for a sneak-peek at the absolutely amazingly touching painting she did for us after reading our blog post about this pregnancy. 

* There are LOTS of pictures coming soon including the Schneiders in Chicago to welcome Baby Jack into the world, more from Josie's first day, and the Schneider Summer New House Wrap-up.

And she's off...

 Today was the big day! Josie's first day of school!  Since she's going to montessori school, she starts at age 3 and will go to this school until she's 9.  So, this is the proverbial "first day of kindergarten."  And here are the pictures to prove just how ready this little girl was to start her big journey.

Always one to accessorize, she picked out her whole outfit - right down to the necklace and (new favorite) hair clip (thanks Austins!).

She had so much extra time, that I had to take her out in the yard to play while Lou got ready for work. She insisted on keeping her backpack on & carrying around her lunchbox.

 Josie posing by what she named "The Peace Tree" (because it looks like two fingers making a peace sign).  I got a little choked up thinking about all the "milestone photos" that will inevitably be taken under this tree over the years to come...

 The backpack she chose (FYI Parents: these SkipHop Zoo Packs are perfect toddler size - big enough to haul some stuff but not back-busters. And they're less than $20! She's had a monkey one for awhile but they just came out with a ton of cute new ones last week. Check them out on Amazon. For reals.)

And these are some of my "accidental favorites." I was taking some pictures of the house (I know, I know I've been horrible about not doing that sooner) and noticed the big long shadows. I brought Josie over to show her and we stood there and danced & played with our shadows for quite awhile! (Mental note: the 7-8am sunlight in the front yard in amazing. Take more early morning pics asap!)

Overall, we had an awesome morning. She was dressed a good hour and a half before it was time to leave because she insisted on it, even ate breakfast in her backpack, barely even slowed down enough to kiss me before getting in the car with Lou to go to school, barely stopped to kiss him after he told her he was leaving and was all smiles as he left.  She was so happy this morning that I couldn't even be sad about the weight of the moment.

Later, about 10 something - it hit me. My baby - Sweet Baby Josie - was at school. And that's when a million worries started flooding in (Uh oh - I didn't tell her what to do if she has to pee?  Oh no, what if she has to poo - do they expect a freshly-three year old to be able to wipe herself? Will they make sure she washes her hands before lunch?  What if she feels scared/lonely/worried herself?) And that's when I realized just how lonely this big house is all by myself. And that my friends is when "it" hit me...

The highs and lows of the last three years. The true gift of being pregnant right now and knowing I get to do all of this again. The perfect feeling of peace over our whole journey of getting pregnant again because now I know it all did happen for a reason - I got three full years with Josie.  It's like today she took that first little leap from the nest to make some room for the new egg.  And three years goes by too fast. And we all just need to s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n...  And I'm just so grateful for our wonderful life!

I truly couldn't be happier.

And, according to the teacher at Josie's school who just sent us three photos of Josie absolutely beaming while playing Veterinarian and then eating her ham sandwich, she couldn't be happier either.

first day of school...

...and she couldn't have been more excited! lots more pics to come.

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Homecoming

Baby Jack is home. After a great visit to welcome him to the world, the schneiders are on our way back home too.

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cuddle time!

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fairy school in chi-town

new phone means new easy way to update blog straight from phone. woohoo!

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4th Austin!

9 lbs 12 oz. and everyone is doing great!

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