Things that have been happening around our house lately:

1. Lil’ E is growin and growin! Within a week, her once baggy jammies became snug! What the what!? How can this BE? Must mean that Cafe di Mommy is servin up some GOOD eats!*
Chris weighed himself on our Wii Fit and then picked up Scooter. From the rough calculations of the animatronic Balance Board, she is around 8 or so pounds now! Woo Hoo!

2. I am adjusting to life as a stay at home mom. It hasn’t been easy – there are times when I just want to cry because I feel like there is so much I could be / should be doing, but all I want to do is hold her/fall fast asleep/apply BenGay to my weanie arms…

…hold on…

BREAKING NEWS! As I write this from Chris’ office, I can hear him with Eisley in her room and he is telling her a little story about her mommy and daddy. “Once upon a time, there was a little girl in Cedar Rapids…” AHHH!! Heartmelt!!

2b. …okay, I’m back. I am adjusting to this crazy new life. Although while very difficult emotionally and physically, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, this is where I am supposed to be. I am absolutely in love with this little girl, and slowly but surely, I am gaining confidence. We go on lots of walks, go to the library, go to Target, go to the coffee shop and EVEN sometimes drive to Des Moines all by ourselves!
And getting bored? Oh my never! I am amazed at how fast the days go! If you think about it, I feed her 8 times a day. For about 45 minutes to an hour each time. 7 days a week. That’s 56-60 a week ALONE JUST FEEDING HER!
I’m surprised I wasn’t bored at DRAKE! THAT was just a measly FORTY hours a week!

2c. Chris is the absolute best with her. He is patient, loving, gentle, absolutely doting, he knows exactly how to hold her, how to burp her…She doesn’t realize how much she adores him yet. She will. Once she can actually SEE him.

3. SPEAKING of seeing him, Chris’ twin (or his BROTHER at the very least) is on this season’s So You Think You Can Dance. Which, I must say, is absolutely WONDERFUL. I am absolutely in awe of these people. Yeah, American Idol, whatever. A LOT of people can sing…like MOST people can to some degree or another. But there are VERY few people who can dance. I would recommend watching it. At least ONCE during each episode, Chris or I or both of us can be heard saying, “Whaaaaaa??!?!? That’s CRAZY!!”

4. Eisley smells divine. Like milk and Burt’s Bees lotion. I left her today for AN HOUR to get a massage and I could smell her and I MISSED HER! Ahh…she’s heaven.

5. Chris started Ames Parks & Rec League soccer! I love this time of year. Every Sunday evening in Inis Grove, Chris impresses his girls!! He is doing so awesome – I am always so amazed by his talent! Although, I do cringe at every quick move – I’m so afraid his ankle is going to bust up again! Come by Inis Grove on Sunday evenings at 6:30 and cheer on the Shirts & Skins! (verdict is still out whether or not I like that team name.)

6. Speaking of soccer, the Saldanhas’ first family vacation is in the works for the end of July! Manchester United is going to be playing the Kansas City Wizards IN KC! I do believe Christopher’s exact words when he heard this news were: “That would be the 3rd best day of my LIFE!” I knew right then and there we would probably have to do whatever it took to go!

7. Even though I have been roughin it in the hair/makeup/general hygeniene department lately, I can’t have a random blog post without a nod to a new product:
Softsoap (yes, I KNOW!) Sweet Honeysuckle and Orange Peel body wash. DEE-LISH! A, it’s cheap. B, it smells AMAZING. C, it leaves the entire first floor smelling like sweet springtime after a shower. D, it’s incredibly moisturizing. LOVE IT!!! Usually, I use fruity/flowery body washes in the summer and more woodsy/warm ones in the fall and winter. (I really liked Olay’s Amber something or other…) But I think this body wash is going to here to stay! Why NOT smell like a romantic summer evening ALL YEAR ROUND?! Am I right, ladies!?!?

8. And finally, a little anecdote about how much we have Eisie Bean on the brain. It’s been happening less and less, but for the first few weeks, EVERY night, either Chris or I or both of us have woken up from a deep sleep in a PANIC. THINKING WE HAVE LOST EISLEY IN THE SHEETS. We bolt straight up, sweating, and starting FLINGING BACK THE SHEETS in an attempt to find her! It usually takes the other one to shake themselves from the grogginess and realize that she is in her bassinet and has been the whole time. Chris has been known to wake in a panic with his arms cradled thinking she has fallen out of his arms and onto the floor! This is by far the worst feeling I have ever felt. For those 30 or so seconds, your heart has simultaneously stopped and is racing a thousand beats per minute. Blaaahhh….yuck. Thankfully, she’s sound asleep with her arms stretched high over her head and her legs sticking straight out. Smelling like milk and lotion.

Okay, it’s bathtime. Then time for Eisie’s 2nd Dinner. Mommy – signing off.

*Just one more blessing from our Creator – there was a very good possibility that because of a past surgery, I may not have been able to breastfeed. But thankfully, I haven’t had any problems! Please remind me to be thankful I can feed her this way when it’s 2:00 a.m. and I am S-O-R-E, cranky, and tired!

Eisley Baby just can’t get enough of her dad. I don’t know if it’s the beard or what, but generally, THIS is her face when he’s holding her.  She can’t take her eyes off of him. I know! Can you hardly stand it!?!?

I call THIS one: “Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is Katie.” Yes, I said before she was born that I wasn’t a huge fan of pink. And yes, now that’s pretty much all she wears. BECAUSE SHE LOOKS RAVISHING IN PINK! How was I to know!?!?

I just love her face in this picture.

And finally, a couple of cutie shots of her LOVING her new mobile! Look at how smiley she is! What a sugar bean! (And yes, she is in pink onesies)

Lil’ Munchkin is growing every single day! Yikes!

Apparently, SOMEONE likes to sprawl out when she relaxes!

oh, how I love her.

Little Miss Sweets is here! She was 5 days early and once she decided to come, boy did she come quickly! I’ll spare the details (although if you REALLY want to know, ask Chris to describe water breaking), but she arrived safe and sound at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 5th, 2010. 6 pounds 15 oz, 19 inches long.

Chris and I both have good intentions to write blog after blog after blog about our experiences so far, but we’re just 1) too tired to sit in front of a computer to type anything lengthy, 2) too in love with her…we just want to STARE at her little half-Chris, half-Katie face. Literally. The top half of her face is Daddy. The bottom half, Mommy. She got Daddy’s rockin hair and beautiful skin tone, and let’s just say that when the time comes, Mommy is going to have to give Eisley pointers on how to make her lips appear fuller. Sigh. Sorry, Sugar.

She is wonderful and amazing and hilarious and snuggable and adorable and precious and floppy and snorty and sweet and delicious.

As I’m typing this, she is in my arms gazing up at me, breathing rhythmically and smelling like milk and Burt’s Bees lotion.  Chris and I are humbled by her perfection. Who are we to have been given such an amazing gift? Lord, may we never forget how You provided for us. Thank You for our amazing Princess Eisley, aka Sugar Buns, Eisey, Munch, Peanut, Little B.

The above photo is one of my favorites. I snapped it with my phone after a walk on Monday. Eisley and Lilly of the Valley: two of my favorite things.  More photos of Sugar Bean to come.

Little known fact, but growing up, I was Dorothy Gale. From Kansas.  I had Ruby Reds, I had a stuffed dog that I carried around in a basket, I had the dress, the braids, I rolled in the mud in  said dress and braids a la the “Return To Oz” scene when she escapes from the mental institution (that may be another post entirely).  Our round Weber grill was my companion Tick-Tock (again, “Return to Oz”) and my family even made a trip to Kansas just so I could get a tee-shirt declaring that I had indeed “Been To Oz!”

I loved loved loved that movie. Every picture of a child, boy or girl, in any book, magazine, etc., I drew long flowing braids on them. To make him/her into Dorothy of course. I watched The Wizard Of Oz all. the. time.

A few weeks ago, mom pulled out an old record we used to have with the Wizard of Oz soundtrack. I had completely forgotten about it! I used to put it on the record player and stare at the cover, taking in every poppy flower and the way Dorothy’s hand looped through the scarecrow’s arm. I know. I needed to get out more. Even etched in the corner of the record, you could see little Katie’s attempt at writing out the angelic word, “Do-roth-y”.
After seeing it again, I realized how vintage-y awesome it was! The colors, the faint yellowing that came with it being 20 some years old. I knew I wanted to incorporate it somehow into Baby Girl’s room.  Brilliant Chris suggested he could scan the album (since it’s kind of falling apart), edit it on photoshop so both the front and back of the album would be on one page, and make a huge poster of it.

Sigh. Isn’t he the BEST?!?!?

And voila. Just a few weeks later, and we have a BEAUTIFUL framed poster of one of my favorite childhood memories.

I just hope Baby Girl wants to play escape from the Wicked Witch’s fireballs with me someday.

*click on the picture to see it closer up. It’s so great.

Here are some recent pics of Baby Girl’s nursery! (like ‘coach’ and ‘couch’ I always have to stop and think how to spell nursery. Duh.)

Here is a lovely shot of the change table that my sweet dad made for her! He literally had me go through Pottery Barn catalogs and pick out features of different change tables I liked and Voila! He put them all together and created something unique to our family. I love it! It’s absolutely perfect. And she even has her tiny dresses hanging on tiny hangers inside.

This is a shot of her little reading nook. And her eating nook too, I suppose. I am wanting to have a real hydrangea in that cool old milk jar all the time, but that’s probably not feasible. Disappointed by Hobby Lobby’s selection of faux flowers…besides JoAnn’s, any other suggestions on where to find lifelike hydrangeas?

A cool shot of her AWESOME crib. We saw this crib in the room of Sir Atticus Van Voorst and fell in love with it! We copied you guys…hope that’s okay! It’s kind of hard to see, but Christopher hung a cool branch from the ceiling with fishing line. It looks pretty dang sweet in person. It’s just so filmy and romantic and perfect hanging there so daintily, it’s hard to see in the picture.

I’ll need C to get his good camera out again and get a shot of my FINISHED CRIB BUMPER! It took a lot of sewing and there were some frustrating moments, but thanks to Mom’s patient teaching and LADDER STITCH, it turned out pretty awesome.

Now all we need is a little sweet lady to go IN this room….

As I’m typing this, Chris is sleeping soundly upstairs. Poor boy didn’t get much sleep last night, what with all the emergency room-ing and the holding my hand-ing and the holding my hair back while I vomited-ing. And on top of that, he feels sick too!

The flu bug has invaded our home.

We had a lovely dinner last night with the 2 Carlstons and 4 of the 5 Hullings. After dinner, I was feeling a little rough – I hadn’t had much of an appetite and come to find out, Chris had been feeling kind of queasy all day too.  We got home, got our jammies on, popped on the burned dvd of Lost from the night before and halfway through, I ran into the bathroom and let it rip. Ugh. Poor baby girl, she was probably like, “whoa whoa WHOA!!”

Chris called the mynurse hotline and asked what we should do – I am THIRTY EIGHT WEEKS ALONG after all! Throwing up majorly can’t be good for me, right? They suggested we head over to the emergency room.

After checking in to the front desk, and after being a LITTLE disconcerted that the girl behind the EMERGENCY ROOM desk, upon hearing that I was 38 weeks along says, “Soo…like…how many months is THAT?” (Granted, she may have not been a nurse, or even in the medical field – she could have just been a volunteer…but maybe she should just stick to cleaning out the ice machines as her volunteer work?)

Anyway.

We meet with the nurses and they chart baby girl’s heart beat/movement, etc. ask me questions. And APPARENTLY, I was having contractions! She would be watching the monitor and say, “Oh! Here comes a contraction! You feel that?”

Um. No?

Dang it!

So baby girl checked out fine…Chris and I, not so much. Chris was as pale as a ghost me in the winter, was having chills and nausea. Upon waiting for the nurse to return to sign discharge papers, I had to dash into the bathroom and throw up again.
We are so thankful we only live 4 blocks from Mary Greeley. We had a tossy-turny night and woke up feeling…eh…a LITTLE better. We’ve had toast. And water. And watched “The Blindside” which was awesome.

So now, as little Bubbs is hoping that mommy doesn’t throw up anymore, and Big Bubbs is catching up on his much-needed rest, I am trying to figure out how to exit a hammock gracefully. Because 20 minutes ago, that did NOT happen.

I never really thought there would be a day where I would write a letter to a good friend in prison. But if I’ve learned anything in my life it’s that things don’t always go according to plan, both good and bad.

A couple weeks ago I found out that a friend, who’s family we are very close with, was in the county jail. Anybody who knows the guy was completely blindsided by it. His family is a solid Christian family, he’s one of the most likable guys you will ever meet, and it’s something you never think would happen to someone you know. But he made some really bad, really illegal decisions, and this is what happens.

If you’ve never written a letter to prison, let me tell you, it’s a strange thing. I mean how do you start? What do you say?

“Sorry you’re in the clink?”

“How could you be such an idiot?”

So I started with a prayer. And I ended with a prayer. And in between I hopefully encouraged him. I hope he doesn’t feel any more guilt or shame than he needs to.

The amazing thing is his response. He knows what he did was wrong, and he knows he has to pay for it. But beyond all that, he knows that God wanted to get his attention before he found himself dead. And God wants to use him to reach the guys around him.

It reminds me of the consistent call of the Proverbs:

“He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life, And he who pursues evil will bring about his own death.”

“There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”

“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.”

There are so many traps we can fall into. Our “logic” can become so easily skewed. We are quick to justify our actions. But in the end, if we’re not on the path that God has laid out, it all leads to death.

“For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the LORD.”

“The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.”

“In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.”

Sure, we’re not all doing things that will land us in jail, but as another friend put it, “His actions were illegal, mine are just immoral.” Legality isn’t the real issue, our acts are more like white-washed tombs. They look good on the outside, but inside is death and decay.

It’s a good reminder of how easily we can stray from the path. I don’t want to do things illegal nor immoral. Oftentimes the immoral acts that go uncovered are the ones that will destroy a man, a family, and a community. In the end it all leads to death. I’m thankful for those around me that remind me of the path that leads to true life.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

We’re praying for you, brother. May the Lord do His will in you!

*in order to not confuse the issue with Gavie and Liam, my smart sister referred to the upcoming Baby Shower as the Baby Party. Makes sense. Why would we put Baby Girl Cousin in the shower!?

Last Saturday, my sister hosted the most lovely baby shower for me and Baby Girl. Mom was on hand too and helped out tremendously. About 30 family members and friends from Ames came to Em’s gorgeous house to celebrate the impending arrival of Lil’ Sweets. It was so fun and I couldn’t have decorated it better myself.  I know that it was quite a stretch for Em to use lacy tablecloths and doilies and pastel colors, but she knows what I love and made it absolutely perfect!

In addition to the necessities, we received SO many sweet clothes as well as tons of BOOKS for her little library! I really feel like we could be actually be ready for her to come. I mean, come ON! 3 1/2 weeks until her due date! She could come any time!

Take a peek at this gorgeousness:

Thanks so much to Em & Mom for throwing this heavenly soiree for Sugar and me. The Saldanha 3 love you very much and we are excited to introduce you to Her. Whoever she may be.

I have six work days left at Drake. It’s kind of a weird feeling to know that I am almost done. I have spent six years in this office with, for the most part, the same group of 30 people. I came here in June of 2004 with NO nephews (that’s an appalling thought), short BLONDE hair, no boyfriend, fresh off my retail “fun” at Express.  There have been SO many changes that have taken place while sitting in the lobby of Cole Hall: meeting, falling in love with, and marrying Christopher, experiencing the absolute JOY of meeting my Gavie, Leebs and Tater-Bug, growing my blonde spiky hair into a cascading waterfall of brunette waves, moving out of my parent’s house, into the BEST apartment in the Des Moines area, OUT of said apartment into the cutest lil house on Burnett Ave., and going from a 5 minute drive to a 40 minute drive.  And of course, going from not thinking about having children to getting excited about having children with Chris to thinking maybe having children may not be in the cards for us to getting ready to meet Little Miss in 4 short weeks!

Wow.

A lot can change in six years.

I’ve met and gotten to know more ambassadors than I can count, have loved many of them, have wanted to smack several of them. They have made me laugh til my sides hurt and also want to never work with college students AGAIN. I’ve been through 2 campus visit coordinators, from the quirky, hilarious, antique-crazed Andrea to the sweet, loving, funny Kelli. My boss has remained the same – crazy but so loving.  I have also seen TWO Cole Halls – they decided to renovate two years ago. Cracks all along the wall and the faint stench of death in the heater grates usually don’t bode well for welcoming families to the University.

I can do my schpeel in my sleep…checking in families…giving directions, hotel accomodations, taking visit requests…I can do a complete visit call while playing Spider Solitaire. I thank my theatre classes for helping me “look” like I am “enjoying” “meeting” you and that ‘Really? Your student got a 32 on their ACT!?!? Well HOT DOG! And I’m sorry, what? NOO!! They’re the STARTING quarterback for their high school team? Wow. WOW!” *

*I. DON’T. CARE.

So farewell, little Cole Hall. I’ll be stopping in with Little Munch this summer. I expect to hear the click-clack of Sporcle being played, Allen not doing work, the discussion of the summer workers about some horrific show on the CW, the laughter of Deneen (heard from a mile away).

It’s been fun. So why leave? This little quote will help:

I have never felt that I was contributing more meaningfully to society than when I decided to put my own career on hold to be home with my children.  Any ‘ole Joe can refill Ralph’s prescription for hypertension, but I am the most uniquely qualified and gifted person to raise my own children and to love and serve my husband.   No one else can do that with the same passion and care.   So, I want to stand up for all educated, professional women who have made an informed and conscious choice to give their lives in service to their families.   I applaud you.   What you do is important and powerful and instituted by God himself.   There is no higher calling.   There is no greater work.

-Edie from lifeingrace.com