Musings from a stay-at-home mom...

Life as a stay-at-home mom is fun. I'm not sure if it's fun because I know this is temporary or not. Maybe it's fun today because both kids are doing really well (aka: eating well, napping well, not screaming 24/7). I only have three glorious weeks left of this, so I'm trying to get my fill of it! Here are some fun photos of the boys from this weekend and today... My dad's in town and having fun playing "Doc" for the week. Frankie is also learning to google.

Firsts for Dominic...

First bath and first tummy time... he rolled over! That rock star! :) Also, some quality time for both kids with mom and dad.

More pics...

I'm typing this with a newborn in my arms... so just some new photos to share!

Paternity Leave

So Keith works for a great company (Deloitte & Touche) that allow their new daddies to take two weeks of paternity leave. He's been maximizing the opportunity!

Welcome Dominic Davis Arnold!

On Labor Day we welcomed a second son into our lives... yea!

Dominic Davis Arnold

Born September 1, 2008 at 10:21 p.m.

Weight: 7 lbs. 14 oz.

Height: 18.5 inches

Sign: Virgo

Disposition: Quiet and strong

Nickname: We don't know yet... right now it's just been Dominic!

Siblings: Frankie (love at first sight!) - so far so good...

Thanks for all the well wishes. We're happily adjusting to life as a family of 4!

A Co-Workers Top 10

In the words of my friend and co-worker Amanda at Olson Communications... a Top 10 List for "How you can tell I'm ready to get this baby OUT!"

10. Dana considers underlayers and tank tops optional and lifts them off or up by day’s end.
9. Dana shows up with a pony tail more than once in a month.
8. She sighs with joyous relief – as if receiving manna from heaven – when putting on a headband that pushes the hair off of her face.
7. She is so visually chaffed by seeing people with baby-free bodies in non-maternity clothes that she asks the team not to wear belts or anything that indicates the existence of a waiste.
6. She makes an afternoon habit of sauntering down the office midway, barefoot, with a look of sadness and purposelessness, staring blankly into the cubes.
5. She considers sleeping the least fun part of the day.
4. She greets office mates with a mildly irate "I’m still here" vs. a bubbly "good morning."
3. She slouches so low in her chair, she’s almost prairie-dogging at her desk.
2. She falls out of her chair, and considers going to the printer a long-distance commute she cannot imagine making -- but feels bad about it and sort of tries to get out of the chair until the nearest Olsonita tells her to "park it" and scoots to fetch her docs.
1. She considers sex to be too much work – and admits it freely to the peanut gallery.

Pregnancy: Pros and Cons

Please indulge me while I try to maintain some sense of humor (with 1.5 weeks left to go in my pregnancy). Here is a quick hit-list of the pros and cons of gestation.

Pros:

- People encouraging you to eat - and thinking that the bigger your belly is, the cuter you are

- Strangers assisting you with doors, carrying bags, doing anything

- A constant source for conversation - no lulls with a belly like this!

- Bonding with the new baby before anyone else gets to

- Feeling like you're a living miracle every single day and being amazed at the awesome things your body is capable of

Cons:

- Having your hands, feet and ankles serve as a human barometer for the humidity that day (or how much salt intake happened in the past 24 hours)

- Purchasing parachutes instead of bras to accommodate the new size of your boobs (which is only a con because if the "full body package" of growth that accompanies these knockers)

- A limited wardrobe - which is primarily dedicated to flat shoes and tops that cinch at the ribcage and have lots of bows, ties and ribbons

- Calf cramps throughout the night (to make sure you're REALLY not getting enough sleep between that and the fact that you're up pee-ing at least twice)

- Comments from complete strangers about your weight gain - as if it really isn't your body at all, but a fat suit that you've rented for 9 months

- Knowing that just around the corner... you're going to have to diet again (and ice cream has become such a fun reward at the end of the day)

But to be honest, if someone told me that Keith could do all of this in my place - there is no way that I'd want that to be the case. For all these little "nasties" in the cons section... there is something so special about pregnancy!