Saturday, September 4, 2010

A Long Story Is Moving!

 Hello everyone!


in short, i ran out of room on blogger and am now hosting my blog with wordpress! 
I suppose, technically, I moved the blog a long time ago.  I have been writing and posting at my new site for a little while and just testing out the waters before sharing with all of you!  all of the old posts will remain on blogger, but i have also transferred them to the new wordpress site so you can find them all there too! 

Sooooooooo, change your bookmarks, your RSS feeds, your links and whatever else you have set up to either read or share my blog and join us over at


my latest posts include:
some of you actually love to read the words i write and will love to read all the posts. for those of you who just like the pictures, indulge!  like always, i love to hear from you all so leave me comments or shoot me an email, just so i know you are still out there in cyberspace! 

i would also appreciate it if you would all use the option on the left side of the page that says, "our LONG story email subscription" this will add you to a list through wordpress that will allow me to update you from there and not have to send out anther email from gmail!  there is a screen shot of the button to push and if you need further help, please let me know!

thanks for your continued support and i look forward to hearing from all of you over at
http://ourlongstory.wordpress.com/




Tuesday, July 6, 2010

16 Weeks!

This last week was marked by some exciting happenings. Just before my 15 week mark, I felt the little baby moving. It seemed early, but I was pretty sure it was baby and not gas. Then, last Monday, it happened again! I usually feel Baby every other day and only when I am relaxed...aka trying to sleep. Though, I did get some good thumps while we were watching Eclipse! I think the way I was sitting in the movie theater was squishing Baby :) I absolutely LOVE IT when Baby kicks. It is such an amazing feeling and puts a smile on my face. I always get an image of what is going on in my tummy and feel such a connection to this little being. I didn't feel Noah until 16 weeks, and I think I was 20 weeks before I felt him again. So to have pops, thumps, and butterfly kicks so early has been a real treat!

Last week we also made a final decision with our midwife. I have been receiving care from the wonderful women at Cedar OB/GYN in Campbell up until now, but we have switched to another amazing woman on this side of the hill! After tons of research, interviews, testimonials and long discussions between Jason and I, we have chosen, with confidence and excitement, to have Sunshine Tomlin walk with us on our journey and bring this baby into the world! I had my first prenatal appointment with her last week and I must say, it is so nice to be heard, talked to, and not rushed through an appointment! Her daughter is almost 8 months old, always smiling, loved my pink toenail polish, and was an angel the whole time I was there. The 2 hour appointment, was relaxed, informative and empowering!

I am still craving fruit, but my new obsession is goat cheese (on sourdough bread)! LOOOOVE IT! Sadly, it's an expensive habit, so some sort of self control is in order! On the sweeter side of things, I will devour any kind of fruity candy :) I am loving Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, Starburst, and Red Vines! No, I am not eating all of these everyday, but I am eating a handful of something at least once a day! I have also realized that I am suddenly hooked on Pomegranate-Cranberry juice! HA! :) Looking back at this paragraph, you would think I am filling this Baby with sugar!!! Hahaha! I admit, I do have a sweet tooth and a carb addiction, but I am also eating 3 well rounded meals a day!

Sleep is non existent for me. Not that I have really gotten much sleep at all in the 2.5 years, but it has gotten worse. I am exhausted, but I just lie there half the night wishing I was sleeping. For some reason, my brain just wont turn off. Im not even thinking about anything important. Sometimes it is just a song stuck in my head and it wont go away. It is soooooooooo frustrating. And then of course there is Noah, still waking up through out the night and not going back down easily. One day, they tell me I will sleep. I still don't believe ANY OF YOU LIARS!

Lastly, an update in the Heartburn department......it is not incessant or even a daily occurrence! (knock on wood). However, the few times I have had it this last week, I have found a new treatment that is waaaaaaaaaaay better than Tumms all day long. Sunshine suggested raw cashews. Yes, raw cashews, and THEY TOTALLY WORKED! So much better than, fake fruit flavored chalky tablets! Aparently there is something in the nuts that can help neutralized the acid, but the paste like composition of the chewed cashews floats on top of the stomach contents and forms some sort of cap. Whatever works right?! :)

*i actually wrote this last week and hoped to get a belly picture but it never happened :) today marks 17 weeks and other than some stronger movements and a bigger belly there's no real new news for ya'! *

Monday, June 28, 2010

Here I GROW Again!

So, I know we have been in radio silence for quite a while here in blog land. February through May were months spent on a roller coaster...emotional, physical and any other type of roller coaster you could put us on. Once June hit, the roller coaster seemed to slow down a bit and come out of the fog. But, after being out of the game for so long, I hit the ground running with vacations, visitors, doctor appointments, laundry, cleaning and birthday parties! As we approach July, it doesn't seem like life is going to slow down at all, but at least I am in a better place to keep up with it all!

I have tons of pictures, hilarious stories and amazing memories to document and share, but first things first.

!!!WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!!


I am 15 weeks along and despite the loss of energy and the beginning of food aversions and heart burn, I am doing great. For those of you doing some math, yes, I am do at Christmas. Around December 20th :) At this point we have a pretty good guess as to the sex of the baby, but we will be able to get a better picture in 5 weeks (if baby is willing to share of course). We had an ultrasound 2 weeks ago and the little Long Baby was a wiggling and a waving and growing just as expected!

We have been relatively quite until now and I have been a bit disconnected from this pregnancy up until a few weeks ago. Some of you know that we actually got pregnant back in January, but lost the baby in February. It was a very hard loss for me, but it also enlightened me in many ways. I think, as a self defense mechanism, I was in a bit of denial about this pregnancy. Which is a bit silly considering I was sick as a dog, had all the other symptoms, and even saw the little little heart beat. Regardless, I think I was in a bit of fear that I was going to lose the baby again, and was trying to protect my self. This baby was a total surprise, coming just a month after we lost the other baby, and on it's own schedule. This pregnancy has been yet another HUGE reminder that I am not in control and the more I try to pretend I am, the more difficult everything becomes :) *thanks for the reminder baby!* Now that we are in the 2nd trimester and doing a-ok, my wall was magically broken down and though I have all the natural and rational fears of having 2 kiddos, I AM SO VERY HAPPY AND SO VERY EXCITED to meet this new little miracle who chose us for a family!

As in my pregnancy with Noah, I got super sick around 6 weeks this time around too :( Constant nausea and vomiting while caring for a 2 year old is LAME! At least there was some comedy in my sickness though. Noah was very concerned when I took off running for the bathroom, he would follow me in, hold my back or stand near me saying, "mama!" in a super sweet voice. He quickly learned that despite my face and sounds, I was ok and the humor set in. Noah now thinks that toilets are for spitting in. He often "took turns" with me...when I came up for air, he would lean over and spit into the bowl. That wasn't the only thing he imitated though, for a few weeks Noah walked around the house making gagging sounds, it was so pleasant. Eventually, he would come check on me and then simply pull the bathroom door closed and carry on with his business.

Luckly, the daily illness and unease ended around 11 weeks (with Noah it lasted until 16 or 17 weeks) and I seem to only get sick once in a while. I can't seem to tolerate much dairy. Good and Bad. I can have cream cheese on my bagle or sour cream with a burrito, but a bowl of cereal or a bowl of ice cream, sends me running to pray to the porcelain gods. If you remember last pregnancy, I basically lived on Haagen-Dazs and Ben and Jerry's. So, dairy intolerance = Good for my weight gain and nutrition and Bad for my happy ice cream moments :)

For now though, my cravings have been all in the fruit department, and our local market has a delicious supply to keep me and baby happy. Certain foods; onions, garlic, and bell peppers, seem to be the likely culprits for heart burn. But it seems that with my insanely slow digestive system, everything I eat lingers for hours on end. I have given up the bells and onions, but garlic is just too yummy to let go of for now! The giant bottle of Tumms has once again taken up residence on my kitchen counter and in my purse :)

We have been talking to Noah about the baby. We ask him, "what's in mommy's belly?" He always responds with a smile and says, "BABY!" He will give the baby kisses, pat the baby and occasionally JUMP on the baby. The last one isn't so cute and quite painful. Noah is convinced that it is a baby girl in my belly. For the last 6 weeks whenever we ask, he says, "Baby Girl!" The last few weeks, we have been asking what the baby's name is. For a while Noah would just answer, "name." But, in the last week he has told me her name is "reese," "chooo-chooo," "dinosaur," "baseball," and today, "fuuuuuuusaaa!" I have asked if Noah wants the new baby girl to come live with us, and he consistently says "No or Naaa." We got 6ish more months to change his mind :)

Sometimes he is ok with me holding another baby and other times he is a total jealous mess. Like last time, there are a handful (or more) of my friends who are also pregnant and this go around, I am the last one due. I am hoping we can get in some "new baby time" with all the other babies coming and help ease Noah into the whole thing a little better. Chesna is due with a baby girl in August, Kelly is due with a baby girl in September, Cerissa is due with a baby girl and Kat is due with a baby boy in October, Sarah and Justine are both due with baby boys in November and then there is me in December! Who did I forget?!

*UPDATE* 06.29.20*
*I FORGOT MARY!!!! EEEK! *
*Mary is due with little boy Ben in September!!!*


So, there you have it! We will soon be a family of 4 and have a busy 6ish months ahead of us before Baby Long #2 enters the world. I hope to post weekly, to share our adventures and keep you updated with with happenings inside my belly!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

kiss kiss kiss KISS!

Noah and I frequently end up in kissy battles....basically I want a kiss and he won't give me one. So, naturally, I attack! He loves it, we laugh and giggle and roll around on the floor until he eventually gives in and gives me a kiss. Sometimes though, I just need one more and the whole process starts again!
















































Daddy needed a kiss too!





































































































"all done"




Thursday, March 11, 2010

Missed February Moments

February turned out to be a really tough month for us in the Long house. Though I am going to be vague, know that we have all come out the other side of it stronger and are doing a-ok! Our rough day was even graced with a beautiful rainbow that ended just across the street from our house! Here are some pictures from the happy moments of February!
this kid is a "gobb-gobbi" freak! (aka spaghetti)









We all went to Takara to celebrate Papa's Birthday!









HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!
His new favorite instrument from Auntie Justine & Uncle Matt









Pizza and a movie with the Tracy Family & The Snows
























Then Lisa and I had a mom's night out and Jason stayed at home with the boys!


they did dinner and
a movie too!














Right up there next to the markers, one of Noah's favorite activities is play dough! He is getting pretty creative and still so good about keeping it at the table...and cleaning up! The kid is super organized and remembers where each and every toy goes. It's nice to not have to battle the clean up...for now at least!












Noah and I spend a lot of time together, a lot! He is a little sponge and copies nearly everything that Jason and I say or do. My favorite emulation as of yet is the head band! He is a total ham and totally loves being a silly boy! He can make you smile even on the worst of days!
























Lastly, a copy cat habit that isn't so bad...