Miguelina

Everyday Treats Giveaway: $500 in Make Up and Skincare products from L'Bel Paris

How does starting 2010 with $500 worth of brand new cosmetics sound? Pretty awesome right? All you have to do is go here and tell me at what moment in your life you felt the most beautiful.

Go on. It's easy!

Seven Weeks

It's been seven weeks and we're doing fine. It's really a shame that I don't like posting pictures on my blog so that I can provide photographic evidence but we're all doing well and the littlest baby is thriving. He is a smiling little bundle of joy (and baby acne, poor thing) and also a heavy little pudge ball. Best part? He's a fantastic sleeper -- I finally have a baby that likes to sleep in!

(Maybe I shouldn't have said that. DON'T JINX IT! SHHH!)

(Yes, I'm a bit of a hormonal mess on occasion, but birthing a baby does that to people sometimes.)

This week was meant to mark our triumphant return to life -- not blogging, but my real life. Middle boy's signed up for a music class, we had a semi full social schedule in the works, and the best part? It still hasn't snowed. It was going to be perfect! We would be outside and everything!

Then real life kicked me in ass. Or rather the nose. We're battling colds, and the one who is worse off is my poor middle child who has been stuck at home with me for just about seven weeks. The oldest has preschool, and let me tell you, he is ready to leave the house as soon as he wakes up in the morning. My middle boy? He spends most of his days telling me that I'm boring. I can't blame him; watching me nurse and sniffle can't be THAT exciting. I just hope he feels better soon so he can have his life back.

Life is just unfair like that sometimes, you know?

Testing the new Quick Compose box on Typepad. It looks suspiciously like Twitter. Hmmm.

Rollercoaster...

So, to answer the question everyone keeps asking me: How am I doing?

Fine. Just fine.

Which doesn't mean that life with three kids isn't a roller coaster, and that I'm not barely hanging on some days, while other days I'm just coasting along, enjoying the ride.

It's...a lot. The three kids part. Kind of shocking, actually. 

And then it's not. 

I'm extremely lucky - my husband is a class-A father and partner, most of my family has come to visit and help out, even though they live in Miami and I'm up here in Boston - and my friends have been nothing short of amazing. No really, they're Amazing: Coming over with food and drinks (of the adult variety) and playing with my kids and have been nothing if not patient and wonderful, and won't you believe it! I've run out of thank you notes because people have been too kind. Even people I hardly know.

THAT my friends, is luck. And I appreciate it more than I could ever express, even though I'm supposed to be a writer.

But! The recovery from this birth has been tougher on me in so many ways. Physically (as the nurse so kindly reminded me "you've stretched your insides as far as they can take, for a third time, things won't be the same for a long time, if ever") and emotionally. I can actually feel the hormonal changes - my temperature goes up and down, I want to see people and then I don't. I cry. I laugh. I sit in silence. I lose my patience. I'm at peace. I won't shut up.

I know it's all normal. But that doesn't mean it doesn't take some getting used to.

Exhibit A of my roller coaster life: I saw a pregnant woman yesterday, AND I WAS JEALOUS OF HER. Me! Who wouldn't shut up about my big fat pregnancy and how ready I was to give birth. (Don't believe me? Reference, oh, every post on this site since about May or something.)

Exhibit B: Baby names. I'm second guessing our choice of name. Not because we don't love the name, but because random people can't say Matthias. (It's Ma-TEE-as!) I love the name. It's a very popular name...internationally. I guess it's not so much here. Oops! We know so many Matthiases, but I guess my son will be the first for many of our US friends. That makes me sad some days. Other days, I'm all "tough noogies folks!" - our family is an international family (our children have both US and EU citizenship) and it's not like we're going to name our boys Bob* to make things easier for strangers.

(Not that there's anything wrong with Bob. You know what I mean.)

(Oh, let's face it...people are going to call him Matt. Sigh.)

ANYWAYS! The boys need me. Gotta go. Stay well. I promise to do the same.

Matthias!

Meet Matthias. (His name is the Spanish/German version of Matthew. It's pronounced Ma-TEE-us.)

He's already 14 days old, but he was only an hour old when I took this picture.

He was born at 9:05 AM on October 12. It seems like he's been a part of our family all along. Isn't it funny how that works out?

Matthias has been a model baby so far. I'm exhausted, of course, but I can't really blame it on sleep deprivation - at least not yet. He's dozing peacefully in this picture, but he was born with his eyes wide open, and he's always looking around - I think he can't wait to join his very, very, VERY active brothers.

I haven't figured out the whole "life with three boys" thing - how will I get to the grocery store? What if they all want to ride in the stroller? WHAT THEN? But I guess I'll figure it out as I go along.

For now, we're enjoying being spoiled by friends and family. We're very grateful. 

In other news, I looked down today and you won't believe what I saw...MY TOES! (It's been a while.)