Nubi

She loved the scruff on Phaeton's chin. She loved belly rubs. She loved earplugs, hair ties and easter basket grass. She loved Rico. And she always made sure to meow her loudest when the babies were crying, just in case we couldn't hear them already. She loved us. I think the only thing she didn't love was the vacuum. She was a great kitty. The greatest kitty.

We had to say goodbye to our sweet Nubi today. After a short, yet aggressive battle with cancer, we made the decision to end her suffering and allow her the peace she was needing.

She purred until her last breath. Phaeton said she followed him home from the clinic. And I believe him.
We love you, Nubi.

Nubi and Adeleigh

These two have always shared something special.

Adeleigh decoded

"No, I didn't lick Atticus' pacifier."
Translation: I totally just licked Atticus' pacifier.

"I only took 1 m&m." (Followed by a smirk, lack of eye contact and running away)
Translation: I totally just ate 5 m&ms.

"I only took 1 m&m...I did."
Translation: I really only took 1 m&m.

"Mom! There's a bee! I need you to kill it!"
Translation: Mom, there's a tiny little speck of something near me! And you, with your insane shenanigans and reactions to anything bug-like, have forever instilled in me to have a melodramatic, borderline crazy person response to anything resembling bug-like tendencies. Including but not limited to: a gnat, a piece of dirt blowing across the floor and the fly in the neighbor's yard air. But ladybugs and roly-polys - those are cool.

"I would like peanut butter and jelly for lunch, please."
Translation: I will eat berries, cereal bars, cheddar bunnies and drink my milk. But, I will definitely not touch that PB&J sandwich I asked you for. And if I do happen to touch it, it will only be to smear it all over my face, the couch and the carpet. And before you ask me to - No. I will not clean it up.

"I want you to lay with me."
Translation: You WILL lay next to me until I fall asleep. You will also rub my back like this...Stop. Now rub my arm. Now this arm. Now rub my back again. No not like that. Like this...

"Just go, Dad."
Translation: In the middle of the night after I have crawled into your bed, kicked all the covers off the whole family and taken your pillows hostage, YOU, Dad, need to leave so that I can have more space. Go sleep in my pink bed.

"No bumps, Mom."
Translation: In the morning after you have gotten me a cereal bar, turned on a show for me on your bedroom TV and laid back down to snooze awhile longer, you must lay perfectly flat and still for the next thirty minutes, so as not to obstruct my perfect view of Curious George. Otherwise, I will scream and kick and wake you and Atticus back up. Every. Single. Time you move.

"Don't look to me, talk to me, or sing."
Translation: I have to poop.


She thinks she rules this house...

A Berry Bitty City Intervention

This was storytime tonight in the Gaglio house, read by Daddy:

(While nonchalantly flipping through a Strawberry Shortcake book)
"...And then Orange Blossom was so worried and stressed about delivering all of the orders to her friends. So Strawberry was like, "Hey, Orange. Do you need some help?"
And Orange was like, "I don't need your help! I can do it myself!"
So Strawberry was all, "Geez. What's her problem, Plum?"
Then, Lemon got her delivery and was like, "I didn't even order vegetables!"
And Plum didn't even know what her delivery was.
So all of Orange's friends decided to have an intervention for Orange.
Strawberry said, "I have an idea. We are going to let Orange fail, so that she will have to beg us for our help. And instead of saying 'yes' we will give her a Starbucks double shot to give her energy, so that she can make her own deliveries..."
(Phaeton started laughing)
"...No one is even listening to this story."
Me (dozing off) - "Huh? What did you say?"
Adeleigh (touching her Daddy's arm) - "No. What happened is they all got their scooters and helped Orange make her deliveries. Daddy, you need to calm down."

Leave it to the 3 year old to keep us on track :)

Today it was me

A few months ago, we added something new into our bedtime routine. Every night after we tuck her into bed and before we say "Good night," we ask Adeleigh, "What was your favorite part of today?"
It's helped us close our day, no matter how tough or awesome it may have been, on a positive note.
We usually talk about the friends she has played with, the cousins she went sledding with, Grandma and Grandpa who came to visit, playing with her brother, playing at the park, or the toy store. On Christmas Day, despite all of her new toys, the thing that stood out most was the fun she had at bathtime.
Every night, I have patiently been awaiting my turn.
Tonight, it finally came. And it felt awesome.

Me, while cuddling with her in her bed - "Adeleigh, I know you didn't feel well. And today was tough. But, what was your favorite part of today?"
Adeleigh - "Being with you, Mommy."
I gave her a squeeze. "What was your favorite part of today, Mommy?"
Mine was an easy answer. "Being with you."

She's the best.

(Photo by Jessica Loucks)

To the mom

We are all in this together, Moms. Awesome and miraculous as it is, motherhood is far from easy. Children are ever-evolving. And as the Momma, you are ever-expected to keep up. And just when you think you're getting a grip on everything, your child throws a wrench into the gears, or a golfball at your face, or bites the dog, or runs into the street. So you adapt. You take a different approach...
You have successes. You make mistakes. You learn something everyday. Even with 2 hours of sleep under your belt or with barf running down the back of your shirt, you're always learning. There are days that you've got it figured out, and those where you haven't got a clue. But what's nice about this journey called motherhood, is that almost everywhere you turn is a mom who has been there, done that.
To her - Thank you for allowing me to feel "normal". Whatever "normal" might look like today.

To the mom at the park who gives me her number to call if I need an emergency play date, babysitter or info on local storytimes - Thank you for your help.
To the mom who tells me that it is not a sign of weakness to express frustrations about parenthood - Thank you for relieving some of my guilt.
To the mom who tells me I'm not a bad mother because sometimes I yell - Thank you for not judging me.
To the mom who tells me that sometimes she yells too - Thank you for your honesty.
To the mom who I know I can text or call anytime for advice - from "How do I keep my child from running into the street?" to "When should my kids start school?" - Thank you for sharing your experience.
To the mom who offers to trim my baby's fingernails because I'm too scared to - Thank you for your support.
To the mom who thinks to call me on a particularly trying day just to see how I am doing and ends up talking, crying and laughing with me for hours - Thank you for your friendship.
To the mom who I think has everything figured out, but admits to me that she doesn't - Thank you for your example.
To the mom who helped shape me as a little girl, helped support me as a woman and helps to guide me as a mom - Thank you for everything. I hope I make you proud.

The study of insects

Parenting is  awesome. Especially those days where everything is smooth-sailing. Like when the baby sleeps for half of it, and when he isn't snoozing, he is smiling. Or when I don't even have to remind the girl once that "It hurts your little brother when you poke his eye with your finger." She just knows. When I am able to successfully wash, dry and fold a load of laundry within one 24- hour period AND teach my daughter all I know about the letter B. Or when I am able to squeeze in fifteen minutes of yoga at the end of the day after both kids are fast asleep in their beds. And I go to bed smiling, without carrying any mommy-guilt, and I think that it can be like this everyday....
And then tomorrow comes. It always does.
The baby fussed all night, probably from the 2 slices of garlic bread I ate with dinner. And after a whopping 2 hours of sleep which started at 6 am, I am woken up by a wailing 3 year old who is telling me she needs some chocolate chips in her pink yogurt placed directly in front of Team Umizoomi...like, NOW! But, wait! First let me show you these Dora "Dand-aid stickers" that I found on the top shelf of your medicine cabinet that are now stuck to my face! "We need more Dand-aids, Mom. We can go get some at the store today, okay?!"
When I think that the family is content for a minute, I go to get dressed and find that my options for attire are the yoga pants with 5 baby barfs or the yoga pants with 3 baby barfs and a poop. And I opt for the 5 baby barfs because for some reason, that just seems more sanitary...
I go to make myself a cup of coffee and the Verismo is jammed and I've not got the time to fix it because the baby is hungry for some preferably non-garlic boobmilk. But, I decide that I am going to let him fuss for a minute while I at least prep my raspberry Noosa, chia seed, gluten free granola, with a splash of chocolate chips breakfast (Yes, she gets it from me.) And I look in the fridge to find No. More. Noosa.
So, I sit in front of Team Umizoomi to feed the baby....Adeleigh polished off her yogurt and is now begging for Cheerios with milk and I am now wearing the yoga pants with 6 barfs.
Where's my robe?
I take a few deep breaths, change my clothes and get Adeleigh her Cheerios.
After everyone is full, I pull out the supplies to make a paper towel roll "A is for Ant" craft that I tell Adeleigh her daddy will absolutely love...I feel sort of brilliant for having thought up this creation...and when Daddy comes home that evening, he tells us how much he loves the centipede we made.
Me - "It's an ant. We're doing the letter A this week. The ant is holding a mini apple and there's an Ariel sticker on its back...they all start with A. Why did you think it was a centipede?"
Phaeton - "Because it has legs growing off of his face. Ants have legs on their thorax."
I take it all in, questioning the skewed understanding of entomology that Adeleigh will grow up having as a result of this craft...
Me - "Shoot. You're right! I need to change that immediately."

......

So, there was that one day where Adeleigh didn't poke her brother's eyes, and Atticus slept for half the day, and I taught my daughter something accurate, and I did laundry and a few minutes of yoga. And I ended the day feeling grateful that no one stepped in any dog poop in the backyard. That was an easy day of parenting.
But most days are a little more adventurous...a little dirtier...oftentimes a little less easy.

But either way, at the end of the day, I am just so grateful for these 2 little people who bring so much love and joy into our lives. Who bring so much life into our home. Who some days drive me crazy, but who teach me more about love than I ever thought possible. Who every day, teach me more than I will ever teach them.

Peanut Butter Make-up

The smell of taco seasoning fills the air. Phaeton is in the kitchen cutting up tomatoes trying to tell me about his overnight Starbucks conference, which I can hardly hear over the sound of Adeleigh banging on her piano and singing "Muffin man" over and over as loud as her microphone will go. I think I heard him say that he was the only one there without a smartphone...

I am sitting with a mostly content baby on my lap who just spit up on my third change of clothes for the day, his fourth. There are 3 baskets of unfolded clean laundry and another load waiting to be put in the dryer. They will probably sit long enough in the washing machine that they will mildew and I will have to rerun their cycle...

I did manage to empty the dishwasher earlier today! But, twelve cups of fruit lay scattered along the pantry floor because their box busted open earlier and I didn't want to take the time to bend over and clean them up. It was more important that I pour myself a small glass of wine and eat chocolate chips.

We eat our lukewarm dinner. Atticus' heel is red because it keeps dipping into Daddy's food. Adeleigh's quesadilla remains untouched, even though she made me remake it after I cut it into triangles instead of leaving it a circle....
She tells me her belly is full but "Can I have oranges?" So instead of questioning it, I pick up a fruit cup off the pantry floor and hand it to her.

The baby sneezes on Adeleigh's face and she insists that she needs hand sanitizer. We get her ready for bed, stories read and tuck her in. I walk down the stairs to find the giant cardboard box that has been sitting in our entryway since Christmas. I am determined to turn it into a Pinterest-inspired train table - which won't happen until the laundry gets done - the laundry that is probably molding in the machine upstairs.
I decide to make myself some hot cocoa while holding a sleepy baby. As I walk around the corner to the kitchen, I slam my toes into the leg of the highchair.
I notice all the pots are dirty, so decide on microwaving the milk. But there's only enough milk to get Adeleigh through breakfast, so I turn around and walk out.

I sit down on the couch and smile. Because even though it's chaos, I wouldn't change a thing.
:)



This is what peanut butter make-up looks like -

Auld Lang Syne, Grumpy Dragon

"Hey, Honey. What's your New Year's resolution?"
My husband isn't listening.
Here we are - eating nachos and drinking wine on the loveseat, the baby is on my lap cooing at the TV while eating his hand. The girl has been asleep for hours already.
It's been a big year:

We became landlords and moved into a bigger home.
We had a son!
I became a stay at home Momma.
I pinned approximately 347 things and created 4 of them.
We discovered that art can be created from toilet paper rolls.
We fired our mechanic.
We nearly killed our most resilient plant...and killed all the others.
We still don't own smart phones.
Adeleigh started calling me "The Grumpy Dragon" when she doesn't get her way.
We laughed a lot.
We learned what happens when a black permanent marker finds its way into the dryer.
...

A little louder this time, "HEY! What's your New Year's resolution?!"
Phaeton - "I don't @#$%& know.....To cuss less."
He's watching Feliz 2014, the Spanish Channel's New Year's Eve coverage in New York.
Phaeton - "Do you understand this?"
Me - "Um. No."
Phaeton - "I can't understand this at all."


Happy New Year!
Love, The Gaglios

This is our new life

If you had asked me 5 days ago where I would be in a week, I would have told you that I'm going back to work - back to a job that I love, with people I love working with. The kids will be taken care of - Adeleigh at her new preschool and Atticus at home. Grandma will help out one day a week. And Phaeton and I will work opposite shifts, so one of us will always be with him. We won't have a day as a family for at least 5 or 6 months, and we may only have 1 or 2 evenings a week together - unless one of us calls out sick for a day. Since Atticus still will not take to a bottle, I will just make the commute home on my lunches to nurse. If needed, Phaeton and Grandma will bring him to me throughout the day. It will be....stressful. But, we will make it work.

Then today, I officially accepted my dream job -
We had always talked about the possibility of allowing me to stay home, but never really anticipated it happening. We have many friends who do it and make it work. We talked to family members who make it work. And we decided to seriously take a look and see if we could make it work too.
We can. And we will. It just makes sense. I plan on looking for a few kiddos (maybe one or two) to watch during the day, so that I can still generate some income. And I am excited to be able to utilize my Human Development and Family Studies degree in our home.
I know it won't always be easy, but neither would the alternative. So, I am not going back to the job that I love with the people I love working with. But, I get to do the job that I love more with the people I love most. It just feels....right.
So today, as I snuggle with the kids on the couch eating apples, Adeleigh yelling at me that she needs more peanut butter, I can't help but feel excited to hear that sweet voice yell at me more often.

 

 

 

 

 

Who could leave this sweet face during the day anyway?

 

 

(Photos by Jessica Loucks)

He is totally worth 9 days of labor

In case any of you hadn't heard, the Spumoni ice cream trick did not send me into active labor. I ended up with 9 days of "prolonged early labor", 2 false alarm trips to the hospital, and an extra pint of black licorice tasting calories...Which I wish could have been mint.

Here I am at false alarm #1 -

October 1st - I went to work in labor, beginning to think that this was my new life. This baby is staying put - forever. I had already had my membranes stripped once, with nothing to show except an extreme disliking of having my membranes stripped. And on this day, I went back to my midwives, only to hear what I had been hearing for the last 9 days, "You are definitely ready to have this baby. He could come today. Or he might wait another week."
I may have yawned.
"Do you want me to try stripping you again?"
Since this was my new life, and I was growing used to the pain, I told her yes, fully expecting it to be another unsuccessful attempt.
I went back to work, against my husband's advice, and encouraged that he go see a movie and pick me back up at 5.
Phaeton - "Um. I don't think so. What if you go into active labor?"
Me - "I won't. And if I do, just have your phone on vibrate."
He decided to grab a pizza and beer and either wait for my call or wait until 5pm.
Thirty minutes in, he texted to see how I was.
I texted him - Contractions are two minutes apart again, but I fully expect them to stop any minute.

Honey, let me come get you.

No. Go to a movie.

Fifteen minutes later, he texts.
I texted him - They are getting more intense. But, it's only been fifteen minutes.

I'm coming to get you.

Let's wait to see if they last an hour.

Honey...

Two minutes later - Come get me. This hurts.
He was already halfway there.

We went to get Adeleigh from daycare and met up with my parents. Then headed straight to the hospital.
I was dilated to a 7 after having been stuck at 4 cm for a week. For the third time in 9 days I heard, "This is it!" Then, since this was my new life, a little piece of me was convinced that I would be the medical mystery that would undilate back to a 4.
At 11:45pm my midwife, Lani came to check on me. A quick look and she said, "This baby is ready. Go ahead and push...let's see what happens."
I pushed.
"Oh this won't take long. Push again."

If any of you remember my very first blog post, it took 4 & 1/2 hours of pushing before I could call myself a momma. So hearing my midwife say "this won't take long" was music to my ears.
My midwife started yelling for the nurse (the same nurse that delivered Adeleigh) to get in there. Then, she said something that made me laugh...

Please note: At this exact moment in time, I was still pregnant, which translates to - I have no recollection of what she said. But I have the epidural to thank for allowing me to laugh while pushing a baby out.

His head crowned. Our nurse still hadn't arrived, and I assume due to some rule or legality, my midwife told me, "No pushing! And no laughing until Jan gets back!" She literally held his head in place through 2 contractions until the nurse walked in. Four minutes (and 2 contractions worth) into a new day, caught by his daddy, my little guy was here.
And [almost] born by laughter, he is perfect.