If I only had a brain...

Since giving birth I have mostly felt like Scarecrow from "The Wizard of Oz" and often singing the tune "If I only had a brain." For all of you ladies that told me I would get Mommy brain...you were of course right. But, better yet it isn't really a false statement at all. I did learn last week that a woman's brain shrinks up to 15% when she is pregnant. The good news - they say it comes back. How fast, is the question.

I continually forget things these days and even when I make a list it proves to be completely useless since I normally forget to even bring it with me. My biggest idiot moment recently was backing the car out of the garage with out closing the door. How could I make this mistake given that I do have mirrors? I really do not have an answer to that question. When the insurance company asked what happened the only clear answer I could give them was that I had just had a baby and I must have lost the full 15% of my brain. Well $2500 from insurance and one fat $500 deductible later the door can be repaired, and as mentioned before hopefully my brain can be too!!

So sorry that I haven't updated pictures lately. I would update...but I forgot my camera with a friend. I did plan to pick the camera up and called her to have her put it in her diaper bag for when I saw her. She did! Yes, she also has a small baby and when I did see her...neither of us remembered to exchange the camera!!

I remember the days when I didn't need a note pad or a planner or even a list for the grocery store. I remembered every conversation that I ever had and ever thing on the "to do" list with out the list. The brain shrinkage coupled with the need to take care of a baby and a family has washed away my memory.

I'm fighting the good fight for us ladies. I started taking my Fish Oil and vitamins again, balancing those Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids (good for the breast milk too) I am on a mission to re-grow my brain so that once again everyone can depend on me to do all the things I say I will. I don't want to have to start writing my to do lists on my arm like the teenagers do...see you can't leave your arm in your locker or on your desk...so there is no excuse.

Pool

The new pool was finally installed on Monday. Could it really have been a year since Little David's (LD) mishap? Well pretty close to it. Most of you have heard this story. I'll fill our new friends in and, well here's a refresher for the rest.

Last year in June I was really busy at work opening a new hotel. Most of my days and nights were spent there and Dave and LD often joined me in the night time hours to help out. We had only lived in the house for a couple of months, and were so excited that we were going to have a pool. So Friday the 13th (as luck would have it) my cell phone begins to ring off the hook while I am at work. This was the last day of school for LD by the way. But no one is leaving me a message so I am ingnoring it. Then I realize it could only be my mother (you all know her as Nanar). I call back to hear her sweet voice say "We have a little bit of an emergency at home. Don't be mad...but". Oh yes, and there it was the pool was broken, colapsed, fallen to pieces. "What," I say, "What happened." Well there were really no witnesses because LD was in there by himself. But it would seem that LD pushed off the side of the pool and with his HULK like forces busted the side of the pool. Was he really that worried about the pool? NO. No, you ask? His fear was not that he wouldn't have a pool. It was what his father was going to do to him when he found out. You see they called me first so that I could gentle break the news to Daddy! Lucky me.
I wish I had a picture of that day to share. I was not prepared to see the pool in ruins when I got home. It really was colapsed. It was a miracle that all the water some how did not flood the hours. Although all the grass on the back lawn was flattened out and bent to one side. LD is all of his about 90 lb glory destroyed the pool. The poor kid was hanging on to the pool ladder when the water started to flood out. Hanging on in sheer panic hoping he wasn't going to ge sucked away with the flood. Luckily he did make it in one piece - but will never live it down. NEVER!

So anyway, we now have a new pool. I wish with cement wall, but no. Just our 24 foot above ground 4.5 foot deep pool. Now Dave is ready to host his SimpsonPoloosa this summer. Yes, another party at the Simpson house. You are all invited. No worries we will give out arm floaties in your party favor bag. I also paid for reinforced wall! No joke. I am not taking the chance.

Time

It's been awhile since I have updated. I had very good intentions of blogging every day to keep our family updated. I have to wonder how each day since Zach arrived has passed so quickly to next with out so much as a warning. My life is so very different these days. I forget things now that used to seem so routine, and I have yet more undiscovered admiration for my own mother with each moment that passes.

My maternity leave is drawing to a close at the end of the week, and more time is something I ache for. Monday I will return to my old world, but it will be so very different. I would like my sweet son to know just how much I have enjoyed and embraced ever moment I have spent with him since his birth. I would like him to know what a bitter sweet feeling I have about returning to work. I would like him to know so many things about how he has changed my life and made my world perfectly complete. I promise to make time to write him a letter and thank him for these wonderful 10 short short weeks.

Each day its hard to find time to clean the house, time to do the laundry, or time for many of things that really need to be done around here. What I have found the time to do it love my baby. Time to hug him and kiss him. Time to watch him smile at me, and mimic my sounds. Time to cuddle with him and bond. There will be time for all the chores on another day...but for today...my time is for Zach!

I love you so much my sweet baby.

Zach meets his Great Grandmother!

On March 11th we decided that we would take Zach to meet My Grandmother - His Great-Grandmother! My Gram had a stroke a little over a year ago, leaving her with out much movement in her left side. This makes it difficult for her to travel very far - so we wanted this to be a big surprise. She really wanted to see him! It was the day before Easter - not to mention Zach's birthday will be just 5 days after hers!

We packed up to head to Barnstead and didn't tell anyone we were coming. When we arrived Aunt Jane had taken Grammy out to get her hair done! Perfect! We waited for her to arrive and boy was she absolutely surprised to see us.

We brought the Boppy so that she would be able to hold Zach and not have to worry about her arms. That made her so happy! She told me that she had been thinking about holding him but didn't know how she would do it with her bad arm. Zach hung out on her lap for quite awhile and she was even able to feed him. It was so great!

Above all of that we got some great pictures of Me, Zach, Grammy, and My Mom (Nannar)! Four generations of our family all together! That doesn't happen often and I am so glad that My Son will have those pictures to share with his family someday. I will cherish that moment forever...so thankful that we captured it.

We love you Grammy and Nannar!!


Grammy & Zach 4/11/09

If he looks like Daddy - hopefully he acts like Mommy!

Zachary Wayne

Dave - Daddy Tessie - Mommy

You can judge for yourself, but it seems that little Zach looks a lot like Daddy. Either way we think he is just perfect! Dave and I were pretty cute babies as well. Zach's eyes are starting to lighten up from that dark blue that babies eyes usually are. Dave's eyes are pretty blue and mine are green so we will see what he ends up with. Green? Then he would have one feature of mine!

Thanks for visiting!

Bath Time

Right from the start Zachary has loved bath time. Our nurse Louise gave him his first bath a few hours after he was born. He seemed so content and happy hanging out in the water.










Living the good life letting the ladies take care of him. Not only does he look like Daddy, but I think he's going to act like him too!

We gave Zachary his first bath at home on Wednesday, April 8th! Not much changed...he still loved being submerged in the warm water. He looked like a happy guy that just sunk into a hot tub. Look at those dimples! What handsome little guy! MUAH!!

Zachary Wayne

Our little Zachary is almost three weeks old already. Time flies as you get older, but boy does it really fly once you are taking care of a little baby! I really wanted to get this blog started earlier...but the days seem to go by so quickly that I can't seem to get it all done!

Dave has done this before. However a first for me and the most amazing experience of my life.

Zachary arrived at 3:14 pm on Saturday, April 4, 2009. He weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and was about 20 inches long. I do think they measured his length incorrectly at the hospital because he measure 19. inches and 19 and 3/4 inches at his first 2 doctor's visits. I will work on posting baby pictures of Dave and myself so you can all see once and for all that there is no denying he looks just like his Daddy!! Good thing they are both pretty handsome!

Zach has been sleeping really well. After the first night home he has pretty much slept through the night every night. Usually he wakes up at about 5:30 for a feeding, but occasionally sleeps a 7 or 8 hour stretch. The only exceptions was Dave's first day back to work. I am convinced that Zachary knew he was going back to work and just wanted us to know he wasn't happy about it. Dave was home with us for 2 weeks which was amazing.


DJ was and is so excited to have a little baby brother. He loves to hold him and talk to him. It's so great to see how happy and excited he gets around the baby. Hard to believe that he will be 17 this August. Funny that when Zach is that age DJ will be in his 30's!!!! Zach will be wanting to go to his big brother's house for the weekend I am sure.