Push the Little Baby and Make it Come Out

Sorry for kind of dropping off the face of the earth for a while, but if you haven't already figured it out, I had a baby. This post is going to be a bit wordy, so feel free to skip to the pictures if you want. They are pretty cute. Can't say that I would blame you.

For those of you who enjoy Baby Story on TLC, here's what happened: Wee Baby X was born on August 3 at 9:24 pm, which is a far more civilized hour than his big brother Ike chose (3am -- thanks, bud!). Everything went swimmingly in the labor department, because apparently I shoot babies out like a potato gun. Everything did not go so swimmingly in the naming department, because as we all know I have commitment issues and choosing a name for a person to use his entire life is a little more stressful than choosing drapes (barely). And so Baby X remained nameless until the very last minute...

The minute at 2am when a random doctor woke us up and took our baby to another hospital's NICU.

Not to be all melodramaculus, but watching a bunch of people wheel my baby away in one of those plexiglass boxes filled with IVs and tubes was possibly the worst moment of my life. And to top it off, they weren't exactly sure what was wrong but suspected he would need major intestinal surgery.

We decided we better name the baby, and so he became Luke O'Connor Roy.

Now, I had this in mind when we chose his name:

Cool Hand Luke will beat the shit out of any obstacle that stands in his way. Also he can eat 50 eggs. Also also, he is very hot.

Meanwhile, I think Ben had this in mind when we named the baby:

Hmmmmm.

Anyway, to make a long, sleep deprived and tear stained story short, after many crappy tests and poking and prodding my days old baby, they decided he had pyloric stenosis and required laproscopic surgery. By this point we were just glad to know what the problem was. They scheduled surgery immediately and a few days later Luke came home with us.

And then this happened:

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww. My hormones are working overtime and I want another one already.

(Not going to happen)

We're all happy and healthy now, and Ike is adjusting to the new situation fairly well... except that he keeps commanding Luke to start walking and talking.

I'm going to take a few more weeks off before returning to the blog, at which time you may find that an alarming number of posts about chocolate cake have replaced decorating decisions

Nursing makes you hungry.

If you've sent me an email lately and I haven't replied, I apologize. But know that I have soaked up each and every one of your well wishes like a virgin pancake soaks up maple syrup.

Hungry.

Love you all and see you soon!

XO,

E

Birthday Trip Down Memory Lane

That title really draws you in, right? Oh the nostalgia. The oozing sentimentality. If you're scared already, you're really going to hate the rest of this post. If not, read on brave souls.

So today is my 36th birthday, and -- not to put too fine a point on it -- that sucks balls. How did I get so old? When Karly and I started this blog four (yes, FOUR) years ago, we were two young(ish) and carefree girls out on the town, boozing our way through shelter mags and thumbing our noses at chintz.

Well, chintz and Ruthie Sommers would like to know who's laughing now... oh, how times have changed. Acid Wasp is back.

So I may have trolled the DC archives and come up with a "Where Was Erin On Her Birthday Back Then?" compendium of posts from days of old.

Check it.

In a fit of tortured self examination, four years ago I was lusting/questioning my lust for Julian Schnabel's Gramercy Park Hotel.

So pretty! So full of amazing art!

So unbelievably pretentious. A friend and I made it to NY a year or so ago and checked in at the Gramercy for $50 drinks and terrible service. Blech.

And of course three years ago in July, I had Sweet Baby Ike. Apparently October is a special time for me and the hubs...

There he is, all of one week old. Cute as a button. Can't believe I'm doing this again...

Luckily kids get older and the job becomes more rewarding, and also there are endless opportunities to redecorate their rooms.

At least that's my overlong mantra for now.

And this did not happen on my birthday, but it did happen when I had some extra time whilst nursing tiny Ike and watching football movies (creepy baby hormones!), plus it's still one of my favorite posts ever so you must read it:

I love moodboards, and just figured David Bowie's labyrinth needed some sprucing up. Nothing special. Maybe I will redecorate the forests of Legend when I feed #2? You never know what might happen around here.

Anyhow, back to my timeline: two years ago we were still on the endless house hunt, perhaps thinking we may have found the one.

Oh it looks pretty, but don't be fooled. Way out in the middle of nowhere, weird labyrinth of rooms on the ground floor (one of which opened into a real life CAVE), and then there were the worms in the toilets... broken septic line apparently. Eeeeeewwwww!

Have I ever mentioned that Austin real estate is murder?

Kinda like this house:

Oh yes, there is a tree in the middle of the kitchen.

And merely one year ago we were still in our old house and I was busy buying and selling beds.

Goodbye, old bed. I kinda sorta miss you, but you were really too much for me. I think I like the setup in our new house better:

Man, I really still need new lampshades. Can't believe that craptacular whip stitch has survived as long as it has...

Trite though it may be, I suppose the more things change, the more they stay the same.

And that's it for Nostalgia Cruise 2012.

Hope you didn't get too seasick.

Weekend Update

I do believe the weekend beat me 20 kinds of black and blue and now Monday is here to laugh in my face. On Saturday my baby boy turned THREE years old and I want to claw my eyes out just thinking about that. No more growing, kid. Also, no more birthday parties when I am 36 weeks pregnant and it's 800 degrees outside.

But he was pretty excited about the mountain of presents he got, so we'll call this one worth it.

The rest of the weekend we spent cleaning closets and preparing for the arrival of Number Two, who is growing so fast I frequently have to haul myself out of bed at 5am to eat more. Ugh.

Meanwhile, the house is shaping up (mostly). The front room is in danger of looking pretty good, so no pictures until I get a couple of finishing touches in there. I'll try to take a survey of some other rooms todayish.

The baby nursery may be an utter failure, though. Not enough wallpaper, not sure about upholstery, custom blinds are stupid expensive... too whipped to fully discuss right now.

Ike is back at summer camp today. Off to make the most of my remaining three hours of freedom!