Thursday, March 29

marching on.


oh, march blogging. how i have failed you.

i think maybe the lack of sugar this month* drained my energy and cut off my motivation.
that, or the breastfeeding.
believe it or not, i think my chunky boo is in the middle of another growth spurt. i can't wait to see what the doctor thinks at her visit next week. she's not just round, she's tall, too, but that doesn't mean that she's exempt from leg rolls and cottage cheese bum (sorry girl, but i'm your embarrassing mommy). she looks older than she is.
she has also prompted store employees to neglect work and coo at my "juicy" (their words) baby.

what we've been up to:

eating homemade protein bars and drinking green smoothies (yum, yum, yum!)

so many parties!*

lots of (boring) school for daddy

trips to the park (monday we watched the three bears at the zoo have boxing matches and chase each other up trees - thanks for the show, bears!)

getting ready for a 5k (more like trying to figure out the logistics of running but also feeding a baby who won't take a bottle)

mysterious fever of 101.6 (ellie bean, with no other symptoms but a "stomach ate")

within a few pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight and fitting back in my pre-baby jeans (as in, pre-eleanor jeans in some cases) but still dealing with the post-baby squish

a rekindled (daddy) and new-found (ellie) love of army men and star wars toys

lots of singing like ariel "up where dey stay all day in da suuuuun!" and "ahhh ahhh ahhhhhhh"

lots more "singing" and growling and chirping from miss poppy.

the usual hugs, kisses, jokes, tickles and naps.


hopefully april brings a surge of energy for me, because i want to do it all (well, i just want to keep the house from being deemed a toxic waste dump) and look good doing it.

here is a glimpse at what is coming soon on the blog:



yes. yes. yes. 





*we took a little break from no sugar month this weekend when we attended a birthday party. i think my plan worked! i had one piece of cake (shared with eleanor) saturday and one bowl of ice cream sunday and i felt pretty satisfied. hooray for more self-control. 



**also, i am moving some of my pictures around in my online storage. hopefully that doesn't mess up any of my pictures on the blog, but i should be able to fix it if it does. 


Friday, March 16

the years go fast...



and the days go so slow.

(lyrics from one of my favorite songs by modest mouse.)





since most of my days start with some form of hooliganism around five or six in the morning
and end with some form of chaos around eleven at night
(with interruptions basically guaranteed at about two am),
it seems like the days last forever.

but the weeks fly by.

here it is, friday again, and i'm not really sure what happened this week. i do know that our weekend is already packed (in a good way), starting this afternoon with a trip to see the fishies and rugged menswear at bass pro.



what have we been up to?

family: 

both of us grown fowlers are going without most sugar this month. we still are eating fruits and honey, but we have cut out all of the unnecessary sugars (mainly baked goods, candy, sugar cereals, etc). because of that, the little fowlers are doing without most sugars, too. it hasn't been too hard, but i still think about treats all the time. like, literally, all the time. that's why i am doing this, not for health but for the hope that i will gain more self-control.
but i find myself wanting to stop and get a milkshake at every drive-thru i see,
wanting to pop a handful of m&ms in my mouth whenever i need a break and no break is in sight,
wanting to bake a delicious something...
i even wished that the orange i peeled this morning was a chocolate orange instead.
oh, chocolate oranges.

we'll make it and hopefully we'll be the better for it.

husband says he doesn't even miss it. ugh. shut up. 



speaking of...
daddy/husband fowler: 

work, school, exercise, trying to relax but instead thinking about all of the things he should be doing, sleep, repeat.

mommy fowler: 

so many diapers. and pukes. and general messiness. but mainly it is laughs and smiles and funny little stories and hugs and kisses. some sleep. i have painted nails right now for the first time i can remember so... that's news.

eleanor fowler:

telling hilarious stories,  being naughty and climbing on everything, refusing to even think about potty training, sleeping in the big girl bed, trying new foods, nonstop make-believe, being alternately sweet and then crazy with poppy, wearing pretty dresses, playing as much as possible.

she talks all the time and has so many little thoughts about everything. it is great and it is exhausting (for everyone).

penelope fowler:

sleeping through the night and through the screaming and craziness of the day, not even making a peep when she has a giant blow-out ("fix me when you get a minute, okay mom?"), smiling, rolling and army crawling like a pro, wiggling, sticking her arms and legs out of the crib when she sleeps, wearing cute little outfits, having the best and chubbiest fat rolls.

overall, just being the world's best baby.






we've also had record-breaking heat this week. i'm kind of sick of hearing the phrase "unseasonably warm," but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it.

we went last weekend to one of the best parks i've ever visited and had a great time with grammie and you have witnessed the pictures that prove it.




have a great weekend!









Friday, March 9

lest you think it is all sunshine and roses...



some lovely moments in motherhood look like this:
and this:





but!


 remember how i have a two-year-old?



all morning meltdown. no real reason. 

and the husband said he would trade jobs with me. HA.

(also, motherhood gives you a double chin, i guess.)


Thursday, March 8

rawhide!


this girl is rollin', rollin', rollin'! 
(i am in the mood for some corny jokes. i'm so sorry.)


i got some pictures of poppy (in our dark, dark living room) just after she rolled over for the first time. 

(she's not quite sure what just happened.)


i didn't know if she was going to make it all the way over because she was so intent on keeping her thumb in her mouth and her arm was getting in the way. 


and i also got some from the next day when she was just being adorable (as usual).
(i am trying to keep up with the pictures and not follow the usual (and understandable) trend of having progressively less pictures of each child in the family.)


as much as she loves sleeping, she loves to be moving. she wiggles those legs and she somehow inches around on her back a little bit.

i can't believe she's such a big girl. i busted out the six month size clothes a couple of weeks ago and i am still a little surprised when i put them on her and they fit.



 (yes, she grins like this all the time. best smile ever.)



move 'em on, head 'em up,


rawhide! 




(i feel the need to apologize for my extreme love of parentheses usage.) 
(then again, i don't really.) 
(i love parentheses. plus, i'm pretty sure it's true to the way i talk.) 
(i mean, there are a lot of "by-the-way...'s" in my everyday speech.)








Tuesday, March 6

11 questions!



11 questions! from miss wendy, who is part of one of the most hilarious families i have ever met. 
wendy came up with these questions. i'm going to come up with my own. 


or go ahead and just skim through the pictures of the girls at the park. i don't mind. 





1. if you could be a superhero, what would your super powers be? 

hm, i usually don't like this one, because i have seen enough (too much) television to know that your power is your burden. however, while thinking about it, i finally thought of a really good one. i would like to stop time. of course, while time was stopped, i wouldn't age. that way i could catch up on cleaning the house, never be late and i could watch my babies while they are babies for a little bit longer. 

2. hot dogs or hamburgers?
hamburgers. well, cheeseburgers. i love how many things taste good on a cheeseburger: fries, guacamole, bacon, chili... i guess you could put all of these things on a hot dog, but i would rather put them on a cheeseburger. nothin' against hot dogs.

3. if you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
three words: laser hair removal. 
i would like to not ever have to worry about body hair again.  
or i could be less shallow and say that i would like to be more thoughtful. like, i miss social cues and totally forget myself. i always seem to be thoughtful after the moment has passed. 

4. in the next life, when we are all perfect :) what age would you be?
tough! i don't know if i have hit it yet. i used to love the age-seven-me, because it was right before i started to really grow up and worry about what other people thought about me. then i really liked myself at fourteen, because i finally hit my growth spurt and wasn't quite as awkward (at least i thought i wasn't awkward, now i know that i was still really awkward). now i just don't know.




5. tell me your favorite movie and why it is.
it is hard to pick. i have always loved e.t. - it's such a classic. the music, the adventure, drunk kids freeing frogs, e.t.'s creepy feet... oh, and it doesn't hurt that it has great quotes. i like a lot of movies though. one that i like and have been wanting to watch again lately: stranger than fiction with will ferrell.


6. what would your dream vehicle be?

i'm not sure anymore. reliable, not embarrassing, never needs gas, never needs fixing. also, heated seats. since we're dreaming, let's just go ahead and say that the car drives itself and i can do other things while i'm riding. does that exist? or can my dream vehicle come with a chauffeur?

7. if you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you'd do with your new found wealth?
 
dream house. and, you know, other practical things - like getting out of debt. we don't have much, so it would be easy. i would also like to put enough away for the kids to keep them happy but not bratty.

8. if you could spend an hour with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be?

call me corny, but i've been thinking long and hard and i have decided: my husband. stipulation: i kind of want that hour to be riding rollercoasters. we seriously need more dates around here.




9. where would you like to see yourself in 10 years?

preferably in a home we own and comfortable finances. happy, healthy and doing what we like to do. it's so hard to picture it. i've said it before and i will say it again, if you told me five years ago what my life could be like, i wouldn't have believed it. i'll probably say that again in another five years.

10. if we had the "beam me up scottie" technology- where on earth would you travel to?

back and forth from here to utah. probably every other day at least.  

11. if you had to change into either a dolphin or a falcon which would you become?

i'm so indecisive. i will go with falcon because i'm a little intimidated by the ocean. that and outer space - i don't like the idea of being somewhere where i can't breathe and could float away at any time. eeeeeeeek. i really like gravity. 




(remember how this baby can just fall asleep anywhere?)


many of the people i know were tagged. maybe i can get a few more. you can answer them if you'd like, of course - especially if you've already been tagged.
sarah,
juli (if you can find the time with your new tiny baby),
kate!!,
saimi,
and 
auntie ann,
would you please? even if it takes months to post it. busy lives and all that.
it's fun to think about the questions, especially when you have little talkers and you find yourself without an original thought in your head all day.




so here are my questions: 




1. coke or pepsi? (don't say pepsi. just kidding.) why?


2. what is the best dream you've ever had (the short version, of course)?


3. you just can't buy the generic brand of: 


4. when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?


5. favorite and least favorite historical figures? 


6. what's the worst thing to clean in the house?


7. a word that you love is: 


8. do you know what your name means? if so, what does it mean?


9. if you could go study anything right now for free and no pressure, what would you study?


10. favorite book?


11. what was the best part of your day today?



rules, if you choose to accept them:

post the rules.
tag and link 11 people in your post. 
create your own questions for them. 
tell them they are tagged.




happy answering. :)











Sunday, March 4

jekyll island, part II



more pictures from jekyll island, taken by my parents. 









 before grampa knew about chiggers in the moss. whoops!







she wasn't so sure about the cool sand at first. 


don't worry, i have about a billion more pictures from cabbage patch land and the visit in general, including many where poppy isn't being packed around. promise, you can see her face.