As there is never a quiet moment for proper reflection, meditation, and self-preservation, I've learned to take what I can "on the fly" during our days and laugh about them with my husband during our evenings. I am not complaining at all, but rather I am ecstatic to be caught up in the whirlwind of our days, the craziness of these moments, and the fact that I have been blessed with laughter from the beginning of my life through today.
Today is a lesson in humility from my daughter:
Daughter: "Mommy, I was thinking..."
Me: (bracing myself)
Daughter: "I don't want a lot of presents for my birthday. All that My Little Pony stuff we talked about, clothes, dolls, even the books, I can do without all of that. I just want one thing..."
Me: (mentally high-fiving myself for the long awaited confirmation that my encouragement of a humble heart and simplistic living might actually be taking root in her beautiful little soul)
Daughter: "...a jetpack."
Me: (deep and depressed sigh, thanking God for keeping at least ONE of us humble...)
On an outing to the grocery store:
Upon seeing two little hispanic girls dressed in orange shirts and purple skirts:
Son #2: "Mommy! Look!!! Dora the Explorer has a twin!!!"
Daughter: (to an elderly woman) "Are you buying Jell-O because you're old?"
Son #3: "MOMMY!!! I HAVE TO POOP!!! I HAVE TO POOP RIGHT NOW!!!" (yes, full volume in the middle of a Memorial Day crush of fellow shoppers)
That is hardly the half of it, but it's all I can think of as the four of them run around behind me while I type, erupting with laughter and impossible numbers to rank how happy they are as compared to each other.
Update: The baby is due today. This means absolutely nothing to me and the baby and my body, of course. He's comfortable and happy, I'm puttering around making sure we are set for babysitting and meals in the extremely unlikely chance that he'll debut before my mom arrives next week. I saw my OB today and she is more than happy to let my body do what it does without intervention of any kind. The baby's heart rate is great, my blood pressure is pristine, I'm characteristically uncomfortable, and that puts everything at normal. I go for a quick round of fetal monitoring tomorrow (fluid check, cord mapping, and general checking-in), though I would absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE to have the baby on Ascension Thursday! Still, I won't push it.
Today is met with another laundry blitz (yesterday's laundry blitz was gloriously successful!) and cleaning up of the boys' room, setting up the baby's bassinet, packing my hospital bag (maybe), and rejoicing in the rain that is due to shower us all afternoon. Speaking of rain, I suppose I should transfer my seedlings before the rain begins...
Off I go!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
It's After 4 p.m. Already?!
It seems my days are a blur of activity, even when I'm sitting on my butt. If I'm not a frenzied check writer to keep on top of bills that will be coming in during my post-partum days, I'm blitzing to get these kids to finish work samples for their evaluator. Then comes the evening out of nowhere, and my nesting habits have to be cut short to make dinner before I affix myself to my husband's side for the rest of the evening to get fence stuff managed.
Oh, and John decided that this upcoming weekend is fence time. The pickets have been ordered and received, lumber purchased and delivered, paint acquired, tools assembled, and the beginning stages of overall installation have begun. Right now, painting the pickets is the name of the game and you can all call me Tom Sawyer, only without the cunning to manipulate every passer-by into partaking in the work with/for me. It seems all I can do in between sloshing paint all over these pickets is yell at the neighbor kids to quit digging holes in my freakin' garden.
This fence will be SUCH a blessing!
Until then, it is SUCH a time suck!!!
Seriously, our neighbor has a daughter who is very unhinged. If she's not carelessly trampling little kids and hurling dirt at others, she's shrieking at her toddler brother and sister for every tiny offense. Just being near her puts me on edge, and I feel terrible about that. She's got to be in her late tweens, early teens, she is bossy, quick to anger, she nearly knocked John over while running around in our yard, and threw a garden shovel full of dirt in my daughter's eye yesterday evening. I know it was an accident on her part, but she doesn't pay attention to anyone around her until it's time to yell. I hate that I feel so repelled by her; that her very presence makes me want to throw my hands up and immediately remove myself and others from her vicinity.
And she's not the only one. Our other neighbors have two little girls who have no concept of personal property. They used to help me weed my garden and we'd talk about stuff, which I absolutely adored doing and I'd give them some produce in return, but then they took it as license to help themselves to anything in our yard. They used some of my beets as sidewalk chalk, they prematurely picked my apple tree clean of its apples, they tried using our hoses (and water) to spray at other neighbor kids, they have cut paths in our side yards from the constant through-traffic they (and others) create, they have ruined a bike that a friend loaned to us for my youngest, and the other neighbor kids took their example and contributed to all of that.
"Fences make the best neighbors" is no joke.
I was beginning to feel bad that the "Oklahoma panhandle" part of our property cuts so close to one of the other houses, but we paid for it, we are still paying taxes on it, and these kids continue to seemingly do everything in their power to ruin it. I'm kinda finished feeling bad. Once the fence is up, it will be the new home of my clothesline. Once the side yard is fenced in, the garden in the shade will be moved to the sunny spot out front and a hammock will be placed in the shade for our enjoyment.
Anyway, the house is a mess, inside and out. I can't seem to stay on top of it, no matter how motivated and well-planned I am. Oh well. Better keep moving rather than cry here about it. :-)
Oh, and John decided that this upcoming weekend is fence time. The pickets have been ordered and received, lumber purchased and delivered, paint acquired, tools assembled, and the beginning stages of overall installation have begun. Right now, painting the pickets is the name of the game and you can all call me Tom Sawyer, only without the cunning to manipulate every passer-by into partaking in the work with/for me. It seems all I can do in between sloshing paint all over these pickets is yell at the neighbor kids to quit digging holes in my freakin' garden.
This fence will be SUCH a blessing!
Until then, it is SUCH a time suck!!!
Seriously, our neighbor has a daughter who is very unhinged. If she's not carelessly trampling little kids and hurling dirt at others, she's shrieking at her toddler brother and sister for every tiny offense. Just being near her puts me on edge, and I feel terrible about that. She's got to be in her late tweens, early teens, she is bossy, quick to anger, she nearly knocked John over while running around in our yard, and threw a garden shovel full of dirt in my daughter's eye yesterday evening. I know it was an accident on her part, but she doesn't pay attention to anyone around her until it's time to yell. I hate that I feel so repelled by her; that her very presence makes me want to throw my hands up and immediately remove myself and others from her vicinity.
And she's not the only one. Our other neighbors have two little girls who have no concept of personal property. They used to help me weed my garden and we'd talk about stuff, which I absolutely adored doing and I'd give them some produce in return, but then they took it as license to help themselves to anything in our yard. They used some of my beets as sidewalk chalk, they prematurely picked my apple tree clean of its apples, they tried using our hoses (and water) to spray at other neighbor kids, they have cut paths in our side yards from the constant through-traffic they (and others) create, they have ruined a bike that a friend loaned to us for my youngest, and the other neighbor kids took their example and contributed to all of that.
"Fences make the best neighbors" is no joke.
I was beginning to feel bad that the "Oklahoma panhandle" part of our property cuts so close to one of the other houses, but we paid for it, we are still paying taxes on it, and these kids continue to seemingly do everything in their power to ruin it. I'm kinda finished feeling bad. Once the fence is up, it will be the new home of my clothesline. Once the side yard is fenced in, the garden in the shade will be moved to the sunny spot out front and a hammock will be placed in the shade for our enjoyment.
Anyway, the house is a mess, inside and out. I can't seem to stay on top of it, no matter how motivated and well-planned I am. Oh well. Better keep moving rather than cry here about it. :-)
Monday, May 12, 2014
A Rant
I was flipping through my usual online news sources when I came across the story of babies born with two faces, two brains sharing a brain stem, and a single body. They are healthy, breathing on their own, eating, and born to a family who loves them just the way they are. Mom and Dad are over the moon about their new addition and that they are doing really well for conjoined twins.
The comments section is inundated with remarks advocating for the death of these girls. "They face a life of cruelty from others, so they should have been aborted" is the general consensus.
Just WHO is being cruel here?!?!
Have we degenerated so much as a people that any adversity is reason to die rather than rise above our circumstances? Assholes calling for the death of these babies are precisely the assholes who are going to treat them miserably because they outright fail to see the value that these special little lives bring to the world. No, they won't have it easy, but it will be no fault of their own, so why have them die for it?
Just who the hell do people think they are, pretending to be able to conclude that some people are better off dead than facing life in less-than-ideal circumstances? I have heard people scream and yell about political "death panels" ushered in with Obamacare, yet they will advocate for circumstantial abortion with the same breath. What is the difference?!
These girls were born into ideal circumstances, especially for their condition, and STILL people cry about the injustice of it all?
Let's advocate for the widespread acceptance of LGBT people, but if you're born with two faces, you ought to die, like, yesterday. Nobody needs to see THAT. Nice.
Things like this make me want to hurry up and have 10-12 more kids, just to counter balance the ignorance and sickness of this pervasive culture of death that would literally rather see children die violent deaths (I don't know how being burned alive and ripped to shreds within the womb is humane) than grow up in conditions that are sub-yuppy.
May God have mercy on us all.
The comments section is inundated with remarks advocating for the death of these girls. "They face a life of cruelty from others, so they should have been aborted" is the general consensus.
Just WHO is being cruel here?!?!
Have we degenerated so much as a people that any adversity is reason to die rather than rise above our circumstances? Assholes calling for the death of these babies are precisely the assholes who are going to treat them miserably because they outright fail to see the value that these special little lives bring to the world. No, they won't have it easy, but it will be no fault of their own, so why have them die for it?
Just who the hell do people think they are, pretending to be able to conclude that some people are better off dead than facing life in less-than-ideal circumstances? I have heard people scream and yell about political "death panels" ushered in with Obamacare, yet they will advocate for circumstantial abortion with the same breath. What is the difference?!
These girls were born into ideal circumstances, especially for their condition, and STILL people cry about the injustice of it all?
Let's advocate for the widespread acceptance of LGBT people, but if you're born with two faces, you ought to die, like, yesterday. Nobody needs to see THAT. Nice.
Things like this make me want to hurry up and have 10-12 more kids, just to counter balance the ignorance and sickness of this pervasive culture of death that would literally rather see children die violent deaths (I don't know how being burned alive and ripped to shreds within the womb is humane) than grow up in conditions that are sub-yuppy.
May God have mercy on us all.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Get In My Belly!!!
I woke up feeling nauseated again, but once I got up and moving I have been struck with this desperate need to eat.
I want to eat everything!
I had two eggs for breakfast and I'm trying to keep it at that until after baby check this morning. I'm also on Pinterest, flipping through their food section, dying to eat a pineapple cream pie (did you even know there was such a thing?!?!) with a balsamic glazed chicken chaser, making sure not to ignore the bacon-wrapped scallops, blueberry quinoa parfait, and glazed lemon zucchini bread.
As Murphy's Law would have it, I have to go to the grocery store for a couple of necessary items after my baby check, so Heaven knows that it's like walking an alcoholic into a free beer garden. Ugh...
A friend posted a no-bake eclair cake recipe on her Facebook this morning and I nearly died looking at it. Thankfully, I read the ingredients and it included Cool Whip, which repulses me. That's a bazillion calories that I can willingly turn down. :-)
Chicken for dinner is in the crock pot because it needs to be done before three in order to be used in the enchiladas I have planned. I can barely wait to eat those!
Ok, I need to move on from food...
Last night started a trend that I hope-beyond-hope to continue. We drove to a lovely park that has an expansive playground and a nature trail so that John could get in a long, necessary walk, and so the kids could blow steam on the playground. It was a success! John got his sweat on and the kids went to bed without much fuss. As we get bikes repaired and strollers refreshed, I'm hoping we can all slowly move to the trails first and then punctuate with a round on the playground. Or, as John builds his resolve to stay in shape, maybe he can allow me to mosey off on the trail and get my own wrecked physique into fighting shape. :-D
In other news, I tried thredup.com last week. It's an online consignment store that has prices comparable to our local Goodwill, only they ship to your door. Anyway, we bought Maria some summer wardrobe essentials (cotton dresses and some tops) and I could not be more pleased with the condition and quality of the clothes. I know, I sound like a commercial, but it's the truth. Two of her picks:
We also found a white cotton eyelet dress (so cute!) and a pale yellow cotton dress that's decidedly "hippy chic." The tops were various Hello Kitty fodder (gag me, but she likes them) that will do well with her clam digger shorts and jeans when playdates come a-calling.
Ok, I need to head out for the baby check. Time to herd the cats...
EDIT/UPDATE: Doc thought the baby was breech, but did a quick peek on the ultrasound machine and saw that he's head first and ready to roll. My labs were negative for Group B Strep, so I told her she probably wouldn't see me until I had to push. She thought that was great, and we then talked a while about lay midwifery being introduced at the local hospital by another doctor, like the hospital would honor coverage for any necessary intervention under one doctor (who is particularly unreliable for that very instance)? It was an interesting talk. I also get to go IV free (unless an emergency pops up, of course) and I get an early discharge. I'm still heavily weighing an "oops" homebirth, though. (I know, Mom, but it's not like you can stop me! BWAHAAHAAAAAA!!!)
I want to eat everything!
I had two eggs for breakfast and I'm trying to keep it at that until after baby check this morning. I'm also on Pinterest, flipping through their food section, dying to eat a pineapple cream pie (did you even know there was such a thing?!?!) with a balsamic glazed chicken chaser, making sure not to ignore the bacon-wrapped scallops, blueberry quinoa parfait, and glazed lemon zucchini bread.
As Murphy's Law would have it, I have to go to the grocery store for a couple of necessary items after my baby check, so Heaven knows that it's like walking an alcoholic into a free beer garden. Ugh...
A friend posted a no-bake eclair cake recipe on her Facebook this morning and I nearly died looking at it. Thankfully, I read the ingredients and it included Cool Whip, which repulses me. That's a bazillion calories that I can willingly turn down. :-)
Chicken for dinner is in the crock pot because it needs to be done before three in order to be used in the enchiladas I have planned. I can barely wait to eat those!
Ok, I need to move on from food...
Last night started a trend that I hope-beyond-hope to continue. We drove to a lovely park that has an expansive playground and a nature trail so that John could get in a long, necessary walk, and so the kids could blow steam on the playground. It was a success! John got his sweat on and the kids went to bed without much fuss. As we get bikes repaired and strollers refreshed, I'm hoping we can all slowly move to the trails first and then punctuate with a round on the playground. Or, as John builds his resolve to stay in shape, maybe he can allow me to mosey off on the trail and get my own wrecked physique into fighting shape. :-D
In other news, I tried thredup.com last week. It's an online consignment store that has prices comparable to our local Goodwill, only they ship to your door. Anyway, we bought Maria some summer wardrobe essentials (cotton dresses and some tops) and I could not be more pleased with the condition and quality of the clothes. I know, I sound like a commercial, but it's the truth. Two of her picks:
Could this not be more perfect for a summer BBQ?
Toss on a shrug, and it'll do for Liturgy!
This one made me nervous, as brown and bright colors,
when paired, intimidate me. However, this was one of
my favorites. The picture doesn't do it much justice.
And it was new with tags, so I got to see that I paid
10% of the original price. Awesome!
We also found a white cotton eyelet dress (so cute!) and a pale yellow cotton dress that's decidedly "hippy chic." The tops were various Hello Kitty fodder (gag me, but she likes them) that will do well with her clam digger shorts and jeans when playdates come a-calling.
Ok, I need to head out for the baby check. Time to herd the cats...
EDIT/UPDATE: Doc thought the baby was breech, but did a quick peek on the ultrasound machine and saw that he's head first and ready to roll. My labs were negative for Group B Strep, so I told her she probably wouldn't see me until I had to push. She thought that was great, and we then talked a while about lay midwifery being introduced at the local hospital by another doctor, like the hospital would honor coverage for any necessary intervention under one doctor (who is particularly unreliable for that very instance)? It was an interesting talk. I also get to go IV free (unless an emergency pops up, of course) and I get an early discharge. I'm still heavily weighing an "oops" homebirth, though. (I know, Mom, but it's not like you can stop me! BWAHAAHAAAAAA!!!)
Monday, May 5, 2014
Onward And Still Onward :-)
Much like last pregnancy, I have managed to find reasons to be tempted beyond tempting to schedule an induction and be done with it.
I won't. I absolutely won't. But I am sooooooo tempted!
All of these friends of mine who are due right around the same time as I am have had their babies. Even a friend who was due a month AFTER me has had her baby. She won't get to take her baby home until after I take ours home, and I don't envy her for that (her daughter was born at 26 weeks), but I'm feeling that insanely jealous tug to be among those who have gotten to meet, snuggle, and breathe in their babies. Another was scheduled for a section in two weeks, but had her son last night. GAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!! Are you kidding me?!?!
One friend is due a week or two after me. She's still pregnant, so I selfishly cling to her in my head, thinking she must be the only person on the planet who understands. However, I'm convinced that she'll meet her baby before I meet mine.
I know, poor Meghann and her first-world pregnancy problems.
In a nutshell: I'm 37 weeks (about), baby is measuring 38 weeks, and my body is locked up like Ft. Knox. Contractions continue off-and-on, but I plow through them. My nesting instinct has crashed, so I have turned my attention to finishing up the kids' academic year for the school district, though we plan to continue light schooling through the summer in order to help establish a groove in the wake of the baby's arrival. I'm hoping to have all of their paperwork turned in to the district by Friday next week.
They are diligent little workers, that's for sure:
He has officially mastered subtraction facts for the number 11.
The girl, still clad in her PJs, can't seem to get dressed until
after math is completed.
Sewing continues:
I did a gauze receiving blanket for the baby since he'll
be born during what is predicted to be a very miserable summer.
A swaddler is being made from the leftover material.
Mischief is still being managed:
I don't suppose I should be surprised...
Adding humor to an otherwise boring sensible lunch for John.
(He declared that I was the best wife ever.)
Fence planning is going very well. My husband has been pouring through books from the library and setting up a good plan of execution. We FINALLY found a source for pickets that are decently priced and made of decent wood. That adventure alone was a two week ordeal. Hopefully the rest will be a cake walk. In the meantime, I'll be weeding the garden and transplanting our seedlings, doing homework on ideal outdoor paint for the fence, cleaning house (hoping to reignite the nesting), setting up appointments with optometrists and pediatricians, paying bills through next month, planning visits from and to family over the coming births/weddings/baptisms, and laundering cloth diapers and baby clothes.
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