Confessions of a New Mom!

So, lately i've been lacking on blog inspiration.... it's just that every day, from a big picture standpoint, seems pretty much identical to the day before! Don't get me wrong, I love my life, but dirty diapers, Dr. appointments, and the favorite toy of the week don't always seem 'blog worthy'.

So, to get the creative juices flowing, I've decided to work on the following theme for awhile- 'Confessions of a New Mom'.... hope you are entertained!

Confession #1-

As of January, I drive a Volvo Wagon ..... And, I love it:) Remember the families in elementary school that drove the khaki station wagons? Thefabfazfam has evolved into 'one of those.

'Top five pros to driving a Volvo wagon:

1. it's not a minivan (i'm not quite ready for the mini, yet)
2. it's a Volvo, so very high safety ratings. there are more airbags than seatbelts!;)
3. it's low to the ground, which is important for us short mommas. SUV's are just a lil comical for this 5'2.5” gal.
4. the 90lb dog and the jogging stroller both fit in the back
5. its sunroof and leather interior provide a sense of sporty amid the reality of 'mom'

So, next time you see a mom cruising in a Volvo wagon with a car seat and a dog and a jogging stroller, don't laugh, cause it may be me!!

One last confession on the topic of safe driving. Kyle and I were at a stop light this week and noticed the common bumper sticker on the minivan in front of us.... “To report unsafe driving call 512-###-####”. A familiar message which usually appears on a commercial 18 wheeler, not family minivans. I started pondering 'why?'..... and as I pondered, I came up with a brilliant idea!

Elliott, when you turn 16 and it's your turn to drive the volvo wagon around town, don't be embarrassed if there is a sticker on the back that says 'to report unsafe driving, call my mom at 512-###-####.'

I should sell such bumper stickers! Surely there is a large market of safety conscious moms who would buy this product! Do I have any interested investors to back me?

have yourself a merrrrrry lil christmas!

just thought i'd share 2 pics from our Christmas!

photo #1- elliott was obsessed with mema's train.

photo #2- elliott survived a 10hr road trip to angel fire, nm with the deetjen fam. 6in of snow = a white pre-christmas.

we clocked a total of 34 hrs worth of road trip in 2 weeks. never again. especially with a baby. Love our families, but it feels so good to be home!

I evidently made the nice list this year....

santa got me an antique 80 yr old upright piano! it is BEAUTIFUL and in great shape. Santa's lil elf Kyle found it at an Estate sale listed on craigs list ! I love it and have already enjoyed un-rusting my piano skills! Watch out nora jones.... and alicia keyes too, for that matter!

Unfortunately, santa's elf Kyle sustained a noteworthy back injury getting the piano down the chimney on christmas morning:( So, most of his Christmas was spent downing ibuprophen and getting ben-gay rub downs as he stayed in his pj's and reclined on the sofa..... he's feeling much better now. In fact, started p90x yesterday.

Christmas takes on a different element when you have a child! I'm already feeling this intrinsic drive to make it so special for him and to insert meaning into what seems at times merely chaos. Christ became man. Emmanuel. It's world altering and life changing. Hope that you had time to sit still and reflect on the deeper meaning.

As we read Luke2 together on Christmas morning, Elliott sat so still and listened as if he were hanging on every word! It was a sweet memory:) Looking forward to many, many more!

yummy gig'em toys

These three words have marked our past week... in no particular order of importance:

yummy sweet potatoes; gig'em aggies; exersaucer toys

Kinda three blogs in one, so brace yourself for a longer read!

Aggies:

can you believe it? My aggies are ranked. Unfortunately, I haven't followed them at all. This is our first fall with a baby and without cable. As you can imagine, the two are linked. Our DINK status (double income no kids) is no longer. Goodbye, cable.

For those of you who remember Leah in college, she was a football fanatic. Never slept in on a saturday... had to get up for espn college game day. I only missed one or two home games during my 4 yrs as a student. The only reason I married a non-aggie was b/c he was named after Kyle Field.

I have followed my team every fall.... until now. Until Elliott!;)

Today I can't even tell you who their star players are, and off the top of my head don't even remember their coaches name. All I know is that 1) they are ranked 2) I had the chance to watch my first 2010 aggie game on ABC this past saturday and 3) I fell asleep five minutes into the broadcast.

So, this coming thanksgiving thursday brings not only turkey and family but determination to pass the baby to mema and devote 4 uninterrupted hrs of watching my aggs 'btho tu'.

Exersaucer:

recall our vanishing DINK status referenced above? In addition to nix-ing cable, I have become a money saver in other random ways.

Cloth diapers

Making my grocery list based on sale adds

AND Goodwill shopping

Craigslist is a bit intimidating for me. Too much work to drive to pflugerville only to find that the $50 crib you thought was 'too good to be true' has teeth marks around the perimeter and milk stains on the interior. Gross. No wonder it was so cheap.

So, since I don't have the patience for craigy.... I have started to frequent the goodwill scene:) Found a jogging stroller for $30... found a fisher price 'front door' (you mom's know what i'm talking about) for $20.... BUT my proudest moment thus far was finding the Graco lil Einstein exersaucer for $9.99. This retails for $98.99 on Amazon, folks! Which means I got it for 90% off!! AND it's in great shape. AND Elliott is obsessed with it!

A lil pat on the back for this money savin momma. And a lil less guilt when she bought herself a new winter coat at Macy's!

Sweet Potatoes:

so, let's revisit the grocery add extravaganza.

The adds arrive in the mail on tuesday.

On wednesday, I sit down with a cup of coffee and make my list for the week.Then load up lil man for our four stop grocery store marathon.

This being thanksgiving week, sweet potatoes are only 17cents/lb!! and it's a good thing too, b/c I bought about 10 lbs worth of sweet potatoes this week.

Here's the story:

We are 3 yrs into marriage and have never used our Mikasa 'Parchment' china or our Ralph Lauren 'Silk ribbon' crystal. All this beautiful entertainment tools boxed up for 3 yrs.

What better way to debut your china than to host a dinner party! Last friday night, I cooked dinner for 4 of our favorite couples. It was a blast. And Kyle was really helpful.... minus one incident.

Let me give you some background:

I rarely cook. Sure, I throw chicken in the oven, boil instant rice while the broccoli is microwaving. But that's not really cooking...... So, my undertaking dinner for 10 with 4 dishes requiring ingredients like fresh rosemary, molasses, and balsalmic vinegar was a big deal.

My friend carey is a chef... and she is always talking about her 'prep' the night before an event. So, thursday night I started to 'prep' by pre baking the sweet potatoes. 40 min at 400 degrees. I can handle this!!

One problem. I fell asleep.

No worries though; Kyle is nocturnal and we have modern technology termed a 'kitchen timer.'

Ky comes in around 11pm to wake me up. “the oven is beeping. What do you want me to do?”

I guess the typical sequence of... timer beeps, remove contents, place out of dogs reach, turn oven off, resume noctural reading... would have been ok , but he didn't want to mess up the big dinner party, so he woke up the head chef.

Unfortunately the head chef was groggy and for some reason said “Just keep em in the oven.”

He followed my instructions and continued with his late night read. As he read, he enjoyed the intensifying scent of sweet potatoes. He wasn't concerned.

When he came to bed at 3am, I (for the second time) was awoken.

“babe" I said, "could you actually take the potatoes out of the oven and cover them with plastic wrap so they don't dry out?”

He was probably annoyed with my indecisiveness. But, being the wonderful husband that he is, he rolled out of bed and followed my instructions.

As he put them in a big blue bowl and covered with plastic wrap, he realized that he had never turned the oven off. The sweet potatoes had been in the oven for over 5 hours.

He knew he was in trouble. But he also knew that I would handle the news better once the sun was up. (sleepy leah is cranky leah.)

He had a gameplan. Wake up before me and go to the grocery to buy some replacement potatoes. Since they were black at the moment, he wanted to make sure he bought the right type. So, as he rolled back into bed, he asked

“What kind of potatoes where you baking?”

“Ummm, sweet potatoes. Why do you ask?”

“just curious” he replies.

Now I'm curious...“Couldn't you tell they were sweet potatoes? Did I cook them long enough? Were they soft???”

Kyle didn't really answer, just groaned something under his breath as he rolled over.

30 minutes later when the baby woke me (for the third time in one night) I walked through a kitchen that smelled like charred smores around a campfire. Reaching the counter in dismay, I find five black rocks carefully placed in a blue bowl with plastic wrap on top....

I won't give you the play by play of the five minutes that followed.... let's just say that Kyle was (for the first time that night) awoken. I apologized the next day for the over reaction that ensued.

The smokey smell dissipated by morning, at least he didn't charr the beef tenderloin.... at least the house didn't burn down... at least sweet potatoes are only 17 cents/lb!

After 6 hrs of cooking on friday, the dinner party turned out delicious and memorable. Ky redeemed himself by coming home early to help me set the table and finish up in the kitchen.

CHEERS to the holiday season and memories, including charred sweet potatoes, that will last a lifetime!

should be sleeping....

So, it's 11:30. pm.

The husband is (with my permissions of course) playing Halo 4.

I don't like Elliott to be exposed to such violence, so I put him to bed.

Rule of thumb with a newborn.... when baby sleeps, mommy SLEEPS!

I'm breaking the rule.

Listening to 'Come Thou Fount'... Elliott likes hymns, especially when played on the piano. I'm very thankful for Jim Brinkman and his ivory dancing digits... they have lulled my baby to sleep many a time in the past 6 weeks. It's true... 6 weeks ago the 'giver of all good gifts' blessed the fabfazfam with our first kiddo- lil elliott william. 8lb4oz of perfection. We fell in love with our son at first sight!

I love the words of this hymn, so rich. Allow me to refresh your memory..... with my own loquacious additions.

"Come Thou Fount of every single blessing, tune my distracted, busy heart to sing your praise. Streams of mercy, never ceasing, freely given and deep. Demand and evoke and call for songs of loudest praise."

and that's only the first four lines! The whole hymn is packed with profound truth.

As I hear this hymn tonight, i find myself daydreaming about may 10th, two+ years ago. I'm in a white dress staring at my handsome groom, singing with the congregation these very lyrics. Words that were so powerful... so humbling... so worshipful.

Tonight I'm making yet another vivid memory that I will likely daydream about in the 2+years to come. Watching my baby boy sleep and singing those same worshipful words.

"Here's my heart Lord.

Take and seal it.

Seal it for they courts above."

Amen.

MIA

So, considering that I only have one blog follower (shout out to beck beck! my favorite sister!), chances are that the world has not been missing me or my blog posts. Yes, I know, the last blog entry was five months ago.

It just so happens that when you get morning sickness and 1st trimester exhaustion, you are much less motivated to express your creative writing via blog. Napping vs. Blogging? Easy choice.

I know, I know, all of my anonymous blog 'followers' from around the globe are saying "back up, leah... morning sickness??? You're pregnant!?'

YES! ;) It's true. Lil Faszholz is now 19 weeks today, due Aug. 4th. And, judging by the size of my baby bump in this photo, I figured that it was about time to made a public announcement! TheFabFazFam is getting just a lil more fabulous:)

So far, Kyle is getting straight A's in 'daddy prep 101'. He goes to the Dr. with me, rubs my calves after a long day of work, eats whatever the baby is craving, AND (this is the best part) occasionally will say "wow, the baby is getting big!". (This is much preferred to "wow hun, you belly is already getting huge!". :) Semantics. Words are such powerful things!

Reagan is not taking the pregnancy very well. For starters, a month ago, she ate the 10 remaining prenatal vitamins off my bedstand while we were at work. A ploy to steal the baby's nutritional supplementation? Not quite sure. Then, in efforts to protest the coming baby, she has... not once, but twice... found the bag of maternity clothes in the closet and strewn them all over the living room??? This is weird. She completely forgoes the laundry basket clothes and pulls out the target bag with the maternity clothes. I next suspect to find her peeing on the baby basinette that we borrowed from friends. She may need some therapy??

Some days I don't really slow down enough to reflect on the fact that I'm a mom:) But on days like today- when I'm off work, still in my pajamas at 12:49 in the afternoon, eating my peanut butter jelly, and just thinkin about life, I really do get so so so excited!

I asked the baby today what color hair is it gonna have? Kyle was a blonde baby... i had jet black hair. This baby is a lil bit me and a lil bit kyle.... and a LOT bit of a miracle! Fun to think about.

If you are into baby belly photos and deep thoughts about impending parenthood, stay tuned.

Excited about this jouney and just amazed that God has blessed us in the way.... in His timing!

meet squirrley

So, i'm inspired to write a lil something about our pup, Reagan Jules Faszholz.

'Reagan'. Rea-Dog. Rea-ster. Reggie. Reagonator. Rea Rea.

Named after Reagan, TX. A super tiny town on hwy 6. The city where rea took her first 'pit stop' on our road trip home after getting our lil fur ball. Reagan was born in College Station, which means she is an Aggie. One of many reasons that I knew that she would be a great dog:)

She was the 2nd to last pup left in the litter of 6. As Kyle and I entered the utility room to meet the two pups, she came and laid down at Ky's feet. She picked him:)

Breed- Rea is half golden retriever and half lab. The exact breed of my childhood pup, Cody.
Birthday- Rea was born on Thanksgiving Day, 2006. So, it will be her 3rd bday super soon!
Wt- 90 lbs of pure lovin
Favorite form of exercise- swimming in town lake
Obsession- squirrels!

That's right, when you say "reagan, where are the squirrels? Go get em!" She proceeds to visit the trunk of every tree within eyesight, trying to find a furry friend to chase.

Because she is so in love with squirrels, it seemed very appropriate to buy her a pet squirrel. We named her Squirreley. Reagan is convinced that Squirreley is real.
How do we know this?
Squirrley is the first stuffed animal reagan has ever owned which has lasted longer than a week. Typically, she de-stuffs and then rips to shred her 'babies'.
Squirrely has now made it a solid 4 weeks. She squeaks when squeezed, which is a very life like quality. She sleeps with reagan in her bed, where reagan licks her (not rips her) to sleep.

Are we bad parents? Kyle and I sometimes feel like we are deceiving her.... but we have weighed the pros and cons and are gonna wait until she is older to break the news. Similar to Santa, it is the spirit of Squirrley and what she stands for that is most important.