Happy Birthday, Mom!

Then: My mom 9 months pregnant with me!




Now: Holding her 6 week old grandbaby, Ginger!



Happy Birthday, Mom! You still got it goin' on!!! I love you! :-)

The Rhythm of Our Life

Our life has become this pretty steady rhythm. Monday and Tuesdays are the most hectic, for sure. Those are show days...the days Dancing With The Stars airs Live From Hollywood, and Mr. Mustard's workload is toughest on those days. Wednesday and Thursday he works on The Doctors, and that's usually more laid back and the hours are flexible. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are our "in between" days...lots of work and long hours on Dancing, but not quite like show days. Then we're back to Monday and the cycle starts all over again!

Mr. Mustard is working seven days/week, and has been for a few months (or maybe a few years...I'm losing track!) It's hectic, but he loves his work and it's so creatively fulfilling. I find my role more and more is to support him, and be grateful that he loves what he does and be proud of him for doing it so well. I miss him a lot, but I find that we make our time together quality, and make the most of each moment together...which is really a gift. After nine years (almost!) of us being together, enjoying each moment together is quite a feat in my book!

Of course that means, most of the hands-on parenting falls on me. I am always learning, and really it's so challenging to mother well. I think over the past three years I've learned more and grown more than at any other time in my life, and yet...I am still learning.

My being so sick, and still nursing and trying to provide an infant with all of her nutrition, it's been difficult. I think everyone who has ever nursed a baby knows that it's not all roses all the time, but I find myself frustrated more and more about the little things I didn't know that you'd think I would have learned by now (especially after nursing Paprika for two years). Like, Robitussin can significantly decrease milk supply. And so can cough drops. And herbal tea. Basically anything constructive to helping a person with a cold can thrash your supply.

So, thankfully, Ginger is still nursing exclusively despite these things I didn't know before now. I'm a quick learner, thankfully. It's just hard sometimes. I find that being a mom takes basically everything out of me. It's just not about me anymore...ever. I wouldn't change anything, of course. I love being home with Ginger and Paprika, and I love our lives with Mr. Mustard. Just some days, I would like to think about just me! But not today...and that's okay. I mean, look at that smile! All worth it.

Day At The Park!

We had a great day at the park on Sunday! Paprika played on the monkey bars...



Woah!



Went swinging...



Weeee!



Played pretend on the bridge...



slid down the big slide...



and was captain of a Pirate Ship!



Ginger took it all in and was very amused!



All in all, a very fun day...lots of pretending...



and climbing up high...



and twirling around!



All of which was exhausting, and at least one member of our family took a big nap when we got home! Snooze!

Halloween Night!

We had a very packed Halloween night. First up, we went Trick or Treating in our neighborhood around 5:30pm.



Paprika picked out her costume, and she wanted to be a "fairy with special wings and a magic wand." Boom done!



Ginger was also a fairy. She seemed happy with her costume!



Since we were out soooooo early, no one was passing out candy yet. But Paprika managed to have a good time!



We needed to get out early because we were going to a big Halloween Bash in honor of our friends Lauren and Don, who are expecting their first child in January. They had a big co-ed Halloween baby shower, with lots of kids and families invited.

Lauren (29 weeks pregnant) and Don:



So, we stayed at the party for a few hours. Paprika had a great time chasing around with the other kids her age at the party. Then, we made the trek home...but not before stopping in not one, but count 'em, TWO neighborhoods for Trick or Treating!

The first stop was in a neighborhood that had the BEST decorated houses I have seen in my life! It was way cool! The houses looked like this:



Or at least that's how they looked to my camera without the flash on...

Then we came back to our neighborhood and did the rounds here. There are some amazing, decorated houses in our neighborhood...and we didn't want Paprika to miss that either!

So, it was a very packed night. We got home super late, and it was straight to bed for Paprika. Well...we might have let her have a few pieces of candy before lights out!

Ginger was a trooper and enjoyed her very first Halloween celebration! She certainly got to experience the full deal. It was tres fun, and I feel so happy I was feeling good enough to do all of that in one day! I kinda paid for it when I woke up this morning, exhausted, congested, and feeling sick again. But the memories were so worth it!

Halloween Fairies!

My little Halloween Fairies! We had such a wonderful Halloween afternoon. We also had a wonderful Halloween night...we went Trick or Treating twice and even made it to a Halloween party! Those pictures will come in a later post when I get a second to upload them. I woke up Saturday morning feeling so much better...renewed...just in time to partake in the wonderful festivities!



We had planned on going to a very festive & fun Halloween afternoon kids' party at our friends Hilary and Jonathan's house, but Jonathan landed sick with H1N1 the night before the party, and had to cancel!



So, we improvised and played fairies all day around the house!



I think you can tell these two love eachother...a lot!



Paprika is Ginger's protector...and Ginger is Paprika's greatest fan! Paprika spent the afternoon "reading" stories to Ginger, and it relaxed Ginger so much she fell asleep listening to the sound of her big sister's voice. It was wonderful!



Then, while Ginger had her nap, Paprika played pretend by herself...



She ran...



and flew...



and had a ball! It was a Halloween to remember! Pictures from the night's festivities to come...