Little Picasso

As posted months ago, we've been decorating Joshua's room Jungle-style. I've been working on some animal murals for his walls and finished the Monkey's some time ago. I started on some Elephants right after that, but it's been hard to get in there and paint now that Joshua sleeps in there.

So, the elephants have been left alone for quite a while. Right before Tobin born and my parents were here, the elephants got some attention. Papa and Joshua were contently playing together while I painted when the phone rang. While I was on the phone, Joshua snuck into the room and picked up the paintbrushes to add his artistic talents to the wall. Thankfully he didn't get any on the carpet. The event was pretty discouraging so the supplies were packed up and put away for another month.

Last week they finally came back out and I spent about an hour fixing the elephant. The shading has been very challenging and the duo have been painted over and over in an attempt to get it just right. Yesterday I worked on them and finally got to a finishing point. I say a finishing point because I still wasn't thrilled with them, but it was time to let it go. Kurt and Joshua came home from the park so I cleaned up my brushes and went to join them for lunch. My mistake was in leaving the closed container of paints in his room. Yep, you guessed it. Kurt put the man down for his nap. When he woke up, Kurt went in to find the little Picasso busy at work. With bright orange paint.

I didn't take a picture of the immediate damage because Kurt was pretty mad. That and we had to call poison control because he had it in his mouth. The good news is, acrylic paint isn't toxic. Next was a round of calls to a carpet cleaner, but we would pay a lot of money with no guarantee that the paint would come out. So Kurt worked on it for about 10 minutes before giving up. Now we will be looking for a fun jungle-themed rug to cover the damage.

Fortunately for me Kurt feels a little responsibility as he noticed the container when putting Joshua down but didn't think anything of it. So, Tobin's the only one in the house that didn't contribute to the incident. Kurt stated that if it's the worse thing he ever does we'll be okay. I'm pretty sure it won't be the worst thing he ever does. Just wait until he has his driver's license...

Going Greener-We have a winner!

Sorry I didn't get this posted on Earth Day as promised...I have taken naps the past two days so the house is a mess and I haven't had any time to post!

The response for The Zebley Daily Grind Going Greener Award was overwhelming with almost twice the entrants as expected-we had two! While it was a very difficult decision to determine a winner, it had to be done.Drum Roll Please...

Our first runner up is Jan, aka B-Dub's Girl. She has made some great changes in the past year including using reusable bags at the store, recycling junk mail and paper at work, and using glasses at work instead of paper cups. My favorite part of her entry was an attempt to save some gas:
"For a week, yes just one week, I attempted turning off the car and putting it in nuetral and coasting to my destination (I only did this on the way to work when I was on the final street.) I saw this on the news which is why I tried it. You lose your power steering but that's not that big of a deal. According to the news clip I saw this saved a man some fuel on his SUV. " That's dedication! She determined after the week that is wasn't the most efficient way to go greener.

Thanks for the entry Jan!

And, the grand prize winner is Jennifer D. Last September I wrote an entry on recycling and stated, " It's appalling to me that there are many families on our street that don't take advantage of the free, little effort required opportunity to recycle at the curb." Jennifer called that day to announce that she was "one of those appalling people that doesn't recycle." I wasn't quite sure what to say. Thankfully she has changed her ways; here is her official entry in green.

To sum it all up I used to be a litter bug.....only when people were not looking. For example....I would leave trash on my tailgate and pretend to "forget" it when I would drive off! BAD, VERY BAD JENNIFER!!!

Now I am starting to think about the environment more....baby steps but a great start!

Examples of how I have changed:

1. I throw away my garbage and toss all recyclables in my recycling bin when I arrive at home.

2. I make it a point to always recycle when I am at home- I feel like I have to do this every day- it is sooooo much fun to recycle and toss the stuff in the green bin.

3. I am recycling my plastic bags and I am asking for no bag at the store for items that really do not need a bag.

4. I am talking with my children about the importance of recycling.

5. I am running hot water in my milk jug and then pouring the water out- thus shrinking the milk carton by smashing it----it will take up less space in my recycling bin to fit more in it.

6. I bought a cute little onesie for an adorable baby named Tobin that is about going green! (Sounds like a bribe)

7. I am making Hannah stay in her diaper longer- dirty or not- so that I will use less diapers- they are so bad for the environment! (Someone call CPS)

8. We have installed 42 compact fluorescent light bulbs in our house- the energy saved by converting to this light source is the equivalent to removing 2 vehicles and all of their emissions from the planet! This info comes from my lighting expert husband. (How many Texans does it take to change 42 light bulbs?)

9. We have a HE washer and dryer which uses on average 2 gallons less water per load and less soap! (Technically this one doesn't count since the changes had to occur within the last year...)

10. We recently purchased a vehicle that has a variable displacement engine (whatever that is) which runs on fewer cylinders on the highway which consumes less fuel and emits lower emissions.

Congratulations Jennifer. Jennifer won a HEB & Target reusable bag, Recycled Toilet Paper (paper that has been recycled and turned into toilet paper, not used toilet paper), Seventh Generation All purpose cleaner, and Simply Green cleaner. (She would like it noted that this picture was taken just after she finished working out)

I'm very thankful the contest is over so Jennifer won't have to call me every time she puts something in her recycling bin. Thanks again to all the entrants, and start working towards next year's contest!

Joshua decided to celebrate Earth Day by "donating" his shoe to the duck pond.

Some fun pics

"Yea, these people are finally giving me a bath."

"Hey Mommy!"

New Pjs are so fun.

Popsicle Power!

He's probably frowning because he knows his future girlfriends are going to see this picture.There's nothing like a warm chocolate chip cookie.

"Hmmm"
This is a great shot because you can see his serious sideburns. Now that he's sporting an old man's balding pattern, his sideburns look even better. That's some serious snoozing going on.

Going Greener: Plastic Bags

It's been a while since the last Going Greener post, so it's about time. These days we are hearing a lot about the environment and climate change. It gets old at times, but hopefully it causes us to make changes in how we think about things, and more importantly how we act.

Up today: plastic bags. Just in case you hadn't heard, they're bad for the environment. And in the U.S. alone, in one year we use an average of 380 BILLION plastic bags, sacks, and wraps.
First up is the production, they use toxic chemicals and non-renewable resources to produce. Secondly, only 1-3% get recycled. Those that end up in the landfill, even those reused for another purpose, can take hundreds of years to decompose. So, the plastic bag I just used for Tobin and Joshua's diapers will still be lingering around when their great-great grandchildren are trying to find clean land and water for their community.

I started using canvas shopping bags for the grocery store about 9 months ago. I LOVE THEM. It is a little challenging to remember to take them with me, but I've been successful in this lately. They are much easier to carry and handle than plastic bags; They don't cut off the circulation in your fingers if they're heavy. Since mine have long straps, I can carry them on my shoulders too, so it's less trips into the house with groceries. Usually a week's worth of groceries fits into about four bags.

Our bags were purchased at our local grocery store. Lots of retailers are selling these now. Without even looking I've spotted them at Target, Home Depot, and Ikea. You can also find a plenitude to choose from online; you can see a bunch of options for reusable shopping bags here.

Lucky for us, this is a trendy thing to do these days, so hope on the trendy bandwagon and take your own bags to the store! For those times you forget, ask for paper or at a minimal recycle the plastic bags you end up with.
In honor of Earth Day, which is coming up April 22nd, we are having the First Annual Zeb Daily Grind Going Greener Award. Yes, hold on to your hats, it's exciting. It's been fun to hear changes people have made after reading the blog, so we are going to celebrate those changes. So, tell me about a change you have made in the past year to Go Greener. The winner will be announced on April 22nd and will win a beautiful HEB reusable shopping bag (pictured with Joshua) filled with a few products to help you go greener.


Official Rules:
1) To enter, send an email to zebfamily@yahoo.com (Please note that this is a junk email account that we don't use very often.)
2) Deadline for entry is next Sunday, April 20th.
3) Your change or event must have occurred within the last year. It doesn't have to be something specific that we've talked about on the blog.
4) Sorry, immediate family members of the Zeb Daily Grind do not qualify ( Joshua, Toby and Kurt-you are out of luck)
5) In the event that no one actually enters, the Zeb Daily Grind reserves the right to keep the grand prize. Hopefully that won't happen...

6 weeks already

Edit 4/10 It's hard to believe it's already been six weeks because it's only been five. I just realized this morning...sleep is a good thing.

Wow, Tobin is already 6 weeks old. While the days have been long, I can't believe it's already been 6 weeks. It's been a roller coaster adventure so far, but hopefully we are pulling into the station to get off the ride.

The first week I wondered if I would ever sleep again. The nice thing about having only one child is that you really can sleep when the baby sleeps. However, with two that doesn't work out so well. Fortunately my parents were here helping. They left on a Thursday morning, when Tobin was 8 days old. That afternoon I got hit with a vicious stomach bug. Within hours I was dehydrated and on the way to the ER for fluids. We called neighbors to come watch the boys. While at the ER, the bug hit Kurt. I called our neighbors to give an update to find that Joshua had gotten up, thrown up, and was crying for mommy and daddy. Tobin, was being give formula since I couldn't feed him, and our neighbors were at their wit's end. So, I called in other friends to take over. We are so blessed to have friends that we can call at 1 AM to take care of our screaming infant and puking toddler! The next day nd a half, Tobin spent with friends to keep him healthy and give us rest. Praise God, he stayed healthy! Another huge praise is his easy transition to a bottle and easy transition back!

Because we were sick, Kurt's mom moved her travel plans up by a month and arrived Saturday night. We enjoyed a great visit with her and were so blessed to have her come when she did. She stayed for a week and a half and spent Easter with us. It took a while to get back on our feet, Joshua had effects of the bug for 8 days.After Kurt's mom left, we started working our way into a routine when I had another episode of vertigo. I've been having these once every two months or so since last summer. It's usually not too bad, I take my medicine and go to bed. This time the meds didn't do it so we made a call to the doctor to see if I could take more. He informed us that we needed to give formula to Tobin and pump and dump because of the effects of the medicine on infants. (I had already been told by a pharmacist that it was fine to nurse with the medication...) So, once again we had to call for help in the middle of the night, calling our neighbor around midnight to go get formula.

Amidst all this craziness Tobin has been easy going and flexible. He's had some stomach/gas issues but if I go easy on dairy he seems fine. (no more ice cream at night..sad...) He is putting on weight and getting bigger by the day. He is already batting toys and has been rolling over since week one. Joshua did this too, until he put on weight and couldn't roll over anymore. He really is such a sweet boy.























Sorry about all the motion on the video, Joshua took the camera over.

Fountain Fun

Our church is currently meeting in a shopping center with a fountain out front. The past two weeks Joshua has had a little mini tantrum going to church because he wanted to visit it. Yesterday I told him we would visit it after church when Daddy was helping out. Well as soon as I opened the door he made a beeline to the fountain and went right in the water with no hesitation. At that point he was already wet, so I allowed him to keep playing. Mike was there with his camera to capture the moments. It was all fun and games until he got cold... When Kurt got finished helping he found a half naked child waiting for him. He asked me if other kids were playing in the fountain too. No, their parents were able to control them!

P.S. You can minimize the music icon by clicking on the "X"

Which Boy is Which?

A little fun and games for everyone. I think Tobin looks a TON like Joshua did as and infant. Can you tell which is which?
1)
A









B










2)
A




(Notice Dad is wearing the same shirt!)




B










3)
A

(Time for some different angles?)







B









4)
A









B













The answers are in the comment section. If you get 4 out of 4 (or 0 out of 4) you win the opportunity to babysit anytime free of charge.

Manic Monday

Each morning starts with high hopes for the day. When I say high hopes, it's for completion of simple tasks like going to the grocery store or post office. This past Monday I had extremely high hopes of actually accomplishing Target and the post office in the same outing. Yes, a lofty goal I agree, but both really needed to be done.














Task 1: Get up and Get Out
While it would be nice to get up before the boys and take a shower, every second of sleep counts these days so there is no getting up before anyone. So after getting everybody up and fed, I realized if we were going to make our errands there would be no shower for me. So I busied myself with getting together three packages for the post office. This process had begun a week previous and yet it still took about an hour to write cards for two of the packages, find envelopes and look for a box, etc. I was working on the desk in our room, that needs to be childproofed due to the hazardous crafting tools around it. Joshua was very interested in being part of the process and finding the items most likely to inflict pain. After taking away two pairs of scissors and a paper cutter and putting them out of reach, he was set up with stickers and paper to do something creative. I then left the room for 45 seconds to find a sharpie only to return to find him on top of the desk dancing and singing. He was then moved to the living room and set up with some toys. I was able to get two packages fully ready to go but would have to get a box for the third. Then started the process of actually getting out the door-getting everyone's diaper changed, dressed, shoes on, hair combed, etc. This is a task that has started taking up to an hour. Joshua is currently in a refusing-to-have-my-diaper- changed-by-mommy phase. So, he has to sit in his room by himself until he lets me change it. Which has worked up until this day when he decided to pull all the books off his bookcase and climb on top of it. After helping him get everything picked up, and him changed, we started on the last phase of getting out the door. After getting my shoes on, I entered the living room to find that Joshua had figured out how to unzip the couch pillows and take the stuffing out. Fortunately he had only been left alone long enough to empty one.















Task 2: Target
The fun begins as soon as we get out of the car and I start loading Joshua into a cart. He starts screaming "that one" and pointing to another cart. Which would be somewhat understandable if the other cart was a car, or a bench seat cart or something different, but it was the exact same cart as what we were in. He starts with a tantrum, but I refused to give in. ..Until we got in the store and he was still screaming. Once settled into a new cart (this one had a bench he could sit on so it was different-that's my rationalization for giving in) Throughout the store, every time my sweet boy found something he wanted, he screamed "Mine!" Lovely. Fortunately we ran into one of his best friends, so he was nice for the three minutes we talked with her and her mom. Joshua continued his behavior through the entire store until he was told it was lunch time and we would be getting a hot dog. He actually simmered down for a little while and did pretty well at lunch.














Task 3: Post office
I loaded the boys into the double stroller and decided to just take my wallet and package stuff in. After getting in and finding a box for the one package, I realized I had not brought in the card I just bought at Target for it. I decided to mail it separately. I sealed up the box and then realized I didn't have the address. No problem, a quick call to Dad could solve that. If only my cellphone wasn't in the car. So out we all go back to the car to get the phone. Now, I love our new double stroller except when it comes to going through doors-my skills for this task are improving but it's still a challenge. I got the address, and got in line. Once we get up to the counter, Joshua decided it was a good time to start stipping off his brother's socks and clapping his feet together. Several people in line chuckled and the postal worker says, "Aww, how cute." Yes, it's adorable, especially after being told 25 times already that day not to bug his brother while he's sleeping.

Task 4: Get Home
One thing I love about getting lunch out it that when we return from errands it's nap time! Joshua got settled in without much fuss and I unloaded the car. This is when I realized that I had visibly leaked some milk (not the gallon I bought at Target) and my fridge pack of Pepsi was still in the bottom of my cart. But as my friend Jennifer so wisely reminded me, at least I didn't get home and realize I had forgotten one of the kids!

Task 5: Make it through the rest of the day
After nap and snack time Joshua "helped" me sweep and clean the kitchen. He was working hard with the broom when he suddenly dropped it and ran off. I went about my cleaning for another minute when it hit me that I hadn't shut Tobin's door. After quickly making my way into his room I found Joshua jumping inside Tobin's crib, a mere three inches from his head. He was giggling with glee as he bounced his baby brother up and down. Fortunately little Toby was still breathing and amazingly hadn't even flinched. He's going to be one tough kid.
These days I pace in front of the door for Kurt's arrival home. It's been a long week as he has needed to work a lot of overtime to meet a deadline. Fortunately Tobin is doing great at night so we are getting the most sleep hoped for with a 1 month old. Joshua's behavior has continued all week. It's probably part of the adjustment of having a new member of the family and less attention. Even though he's really putting us to the test, at the end of the day he can still make us laugh, and for that we are thankful.

Blog Slacker

I have lots of updates and some great stories for you....just no time to blog. I really thought today would be the day, but alas Joshua is already yelling to get up from his nap. *sigh

He's Here!

Yes, that's correct! We are proud to announce the arrival of our second son. Tobin Skofield was born Wednesday, March 5th at 1:29pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs 13 oz and tapped out at 20 in long.

We just arrived home Friday and are thankful to be out of the hospital. Fortunately, this delivery was much shorter than last time and Tobin has Joshua to thank for paving the way. Joshua has enjoyed checking out all of his fingers and calling him "Toady".
Many have asked where the name comes from. Tobin is based off the name Tobias from the Old Testament. It means "Pleasing to God" in Hebrew. Skofield is a family name from Susan's paternal grandmother.
We are doing well despite lack of sleep. Joshua developed a cold/cough on Thursday night so we are having to keep him away from Tobin. Please pray for quick healing for Joshua and protection for Tobin. We are blessed to have Susan's parents in town until later this week; They are taking very good care of us.
Big Brother Joshua checks out all his fingers and toes.

Ready to head home!

You can check out more pictures at www.picasaweb.google.com/zebfamily

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Sunday we went to the annual Zilker Park Kite Festival. It was a fun day and amazing to see so many kites. It was exciting to have my Dad there since he loves building his own kites. For as long as I can remember he has had the tradition of building a kite when we went to the beach. It was always fun to get to pick out the paper for it! So, it didn't take much convincing to get him to enter the contests for homemade kites. He did his favorite design in which he uses the Wall Street Journal Stock report, "To make the stocks fly high." However, this time was a bit difficult as he had limited time and used a little different design.

Garage prep the night before...

On the site prep...
Joshua "Helping." It was a bit of a challenge to keep him from touching the kite in the several hours before the competition.

Hanging out

Joshua's first kite from Papa.

Sadly, things didn't work out so well for the "Wall Street Special." It was SO windy that the kite actually broke before they even attempted to get it in the air. A valuable lesson was learned to not use Balsa wood for his kites. He says he'll be back with a vengeance next year.

False Alarm #2

* I didn't want to share too many details, if you want the nitty gritty you can click on the links....

Well, it looked like Kurt was going to get his leap year baby. Last Wednesday I went in to see the doctor and did a procedure to encourage labor. She told me I had a 50/50 chance of going into to labor in the next day or so. Thursday around noon I had another sign that labor would likely be within the next few days. I woke up Friday morning at 2:40 with contractions. I timed them for about 30 minutes before waking Kurt up and they were about 7 minutes apart. We started slowly moving towards mobilizing, but took our time since they weren't really intense. The doctor told us to call when they were at 7 minutes as opposed to five since I'm already "5 cm dialated." After another 30-40 minutes of regular contractions we made the call to the "doctor" (I don't think they ever actually contacted the doctor) and called Mike and Jodi to have one of them come over to stay with Joshua. We swung by Walgreens on the way for snacks and cold medicine for Kurt and made it to the hostpital about 5 AM. My contractions were still regular and as we walked into Walgreens started hurting more. We got all checked in and the nurse did her thing and said she thought I was only 4 cm dialated. They kept me for an hour and a half to find that I was no further along in dialation. So, despite still having contractions that were consistently 5 minutes apart they sent me home. She explained that I needed to wait until they were painful enough that I could walk or talk through them. Um, isn't that when I should be getting the epidural??? We were both disappointed so we went to drown our sorrows in pancakes from Kerbey Lane. She said we were probably in early labor, to go home and walk and we would probably be back soon. Well, here were are and still no baby!

Later that day, my dad and step mom made it into town. We are glad they are here and it takes the stress of what to do with Joshua when it's go time. I've been having to keep tabs on our friends that are lined up to help, knowing where everyone is and what they are doing everyday. I'm sure they'll be happy to have their privacy back too!

So Wednesday the 5th should be the day. We decided to go ahead and be scheduled for induction and feel very at peace about the decision. We will keep you posted!

Top five questions answered

Sometimes we get in that phase of life where everyone wants to know the same things. So here are the top five questions of my life answered for you.

1) When's that baby coming?
Ahh, if only I knew. Unfortunately, there's no package tracking code that tells me the arrival date. The estimated date is March 5th, which is a long week and a half away.

2) Have you been having contractions?
Yes. Did you know that Braxton Hicks contractions can actually be regular and more than just a flutter? We had a false alarm a few weeks ago, and I go through periods of having contractions that are only a few minutes apart, but they aren't intense enough to make me think it's the real deal. I found out a week and a half ago that I am already dilated 5 cm. I didn't know that you can walk around for weeks being halfway to the pushing stage. Kurt's a little worried about having the baby in the car, but I figure it would make for a great blog entry...

3) Are you ready?
yes.

4) How do you feel?
fine*
*code for I'll spare you the details of how I'm really feeling.

5) Is Joshua excited?
I'm pretty sure that he doesn't get it. However, I think he will make a great big brother. He loves other babies and our friend Baby Abe. He loves being a helper too. I'm sure it will be a huge adjustment, but I hope and pray it will be fun for him!





So, we continue to wait. The doctor is willing to induce, but I'd rather not induce unless medically necessary. I may change my mind though...

HEY!

While kids bring so much joy into a mother's life, sometimes they can suck the joy out of the small things too. HEB, possibly the world's greatest grocery store, sells their own brand of cream cheese and has a Honey Pecan flavor. It's yummy. We had friends in town a few weeks ago, so it was a special purchase. Usually if I have a bagel I put peanut butter on it for the protein, but it's a fun treat to have cream cheese. So I fixed a raisin cinnamon bagel with the yummy honey pecan cream cheese and set it on the table. I turned my back to fix my coffee (double yum) only to turn back around to find Joshua LICKING the cream cheese off of my bagel! Little stinker. (Next thing I know Kurt takes the cream cheese to work and I never see it again-big stinker.) Can't a mama get any love?

Maybe for Valentine's Day Kurt will get me the romantic gift of my own tub of cream cheese.

Dancin' man

Disclaimer: Joshua did not get his dance moves from my side of the family. Those of you that knew Kurt in his Backstreet Boy days will appreciate lil' JZ's moves.