End of Summer.

He have had such a great summer and I am so sad to see it go. Most recently we went to a kickass wedding, the play The Woman in Black (totally freaky), and watched Bronco Football. :) Here are some recent pics from the Fox Household:

Mommy and Daddy out with grown-ups!

Mommy and Jackson enjoying some quiet time.

Kaden painting at Art in the Park.

Jack-Jack showing off his bling-bling.

Chillin' in Mommy and Daddy's bed!

Cyber Parenting.

I know what a bad blogger I am, but it isn't that I forget to blog. It's that I REALLY have nothing worth blogging about! I open a blank blogger page every so often, but then I just sit there and stare at it. I don't want to blog nonsense, so I figured I'd wait until I had something more than, "I love my kids! Now here's some pics of them!" to say. And I found it. :)

My aunt posted a blog about Parenting By Text, which I found both profoundly amusing (remembering the days my own Mom used to scream for one of us and we'd come running) and also eerily foreboding. "Is this a peek into my future???" I would be kidding myself if I didn't acknowledge that in this day and age, I too will be texting my boys to see where they are, or asking them to complete a chore. Heck, I do it already with my husband. And I am definitely guilty of texting someone in the same room I'm in, if what I have to say isn't polite for mixed company. But it's just odd how much things have changed in just 10 years or so.

And I'm also deeply grateful for technology because each day I can watch my boys via webcam while I am at work. I minimize the webcam screen and carry on with work, but when I miss them or wonder what they are up to, instead of having to guess, I can pull the screen back up and see for myself. :) This morning I got to watch Kaden working on his preschool (the letter E!) and Jackson cry, rock in his bouncy chair, and eat. I love technology.

Kaden working on the Letter E.

Jackson snuggling with Daddy.

Preschool and Haircut

After seeing how expensive preschool is here and the waiting lists associated with the good ones, Stu and I decided to start "homeschooling" Kaden. Here he is learning his ABCs! :)

Oh. I also wanted to mention how hard it is going from the roll of just "Mom" for 6 weeks and then getting back into the swing of working again. So, to help my self-esteem, since I was going back to work an only marginally smaller belly than I left with, heh, I got a massive haircut! This is the shortest my hair has been since I was 19 and lived with Mimi and Papa! :) It also meant that there was a LOT of hair on the floor after the haircut with as thick as my hair is. So I had to take some pics. :)

But it didn't go to waste, there is an organization that takes old hair and makes mats out of them that soak up the spilled oil in the Gulf, so that was pretty cool. My hair went to a good cause at least! :)

And I have actually done my hair and worn it down EVERY day since I got it cut, which was last Thursday, and was definitely a first for me. :) I love it!

And an adorable one of my sweets. :)

Six Weeks Later.

Boy has time flown since Jackson was born! I can't believe it's already been 6 whole weeks since he joined our family! A lot has happened since then too, which should explain why I have continued to be a terrible blogger, but if we’re being honest, the real reason is Facebook. I post everything anyone needs to know there including pictures, so I forget to update here as well. I would like to continue here too so I can look back and read this from time to time like I do of our time in the Middle East.

So let’s do a quick recap: Jackson and I came home the day after he was born and settled into life with two kids. It was easier this time around both because I was up on my feet almost immediately, and because Stu and I were both completely off from work and school for 5 weeks after he was born, so we had ample time to get used to our new life and work out the way we had to adjust.

When Jackson was two weeks old, he took his first airplane ride! He and I flew to Spokane (Coeur d’Alene) while Kaden and Stu (and Jasper) drove up. We flew both because I wasn’t sure how long I could comfortably sit in a car a mere two weeks after blowing out my vagina, and because I wasn’t sure how good of a traveler Jackson would be, so we opted to fly.

He was a perfect angel baby traveler on the flight. He fell asleep right before I left the house and then didn’t wake up until we pulled into the driveway at my Mom’s house! He even slept through me getting him out of and back into his carseat when we went through security. Champ baby. I didn’t know what to do with myself though. I got lunch and listened to my ipod. I was so traumatized after my last flight experience (don't remember? Click here.) that I had expected for the worst and got the best! It was awesome.

We spent two weeks at my Mom and Dad’s house, which was great. The whole family got to come by and meet Jackson and spend time with him and I had plenty of free babysitting! :) We frequented the famous Hudson’s Hamburgers in downtown Boise and took in the beauty of the city. We went hiking with my siblings and out on the boat and of course, the point of the trip, we had the Pig Pickin’. And Jackson got his own “Pig Pickin” onesie just like Kaden’s from Aunt Mo! We all had a great time, but of course had to go home eventually. We got back to Boise on August 18th and then started school the following Monday.

Stuie and I at the Pig Pickin.

Sweet sleepy baby.

Such a proud big brother!

This Monday (a week later), I went back to work and I definitely have mixed feeling about being here. Part of me is glad to have something expected of me every day, but mostly I just find myself missing my babies and wishing I was at home instead.

One thing I have realized is that it is a LOT harder to lose the weight this time around. Last time it kind of fell off fairly easily and I just had to wait for my skin to shrink again. This time, there is still tons of fat and nothing fits. Talk about depressing. Plus I’m up at 6 AM after 2 middle-of-the-night feedings, minimum, then I work until lunch, have class for an hour, work again till 4:30 then have class again till 6. I get home at 6:30 (and that doesn’t count finding time for online class time), rush around eating, getting stuff ready for the next day, packing lunch, etc., then finally try to relax and enjoy time with my boys before I rush off to bed around 10 and do it all over again. It’s super tiring, when in the world am I supposed to work out too? Ugh. So we’ll have to wait and see how this weight-loss thing goes.

Anyway, that’s about it from us. Now that we are working/school every day, we’re not doing a whole lot, but eventually this semester will be over too and we’ll have that many more credits under our belts. Slow progress is still progress. :)

Me and my pretty baby. :)