All things Gale

babymoon

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 17:22:00 +0000

i sat down to blog a million times this week.

but then i got distracted

when he is awake, i can't put him down or stop playing with him

and when he falls asleep on me, i can't put him down either...it's too warm and adorable

and since one-handed typing is not a skill i ever mastered, both blogging and commenting on your blogs are out...

i will return to normal postings eventually...but until then, expect lots more of this :)

Since my newborn sleeps all day and night - I'll just blog :)

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:14:00 +0000

The game every mom of more than one child knows all too well:

Hide the baby

My kids know their little brother exists and that he is hiding somewhere. They spend half their mornings trying to find him.

But when all the poor child does is sleep all day and night, he needs some barrier between his siblings and his glorious beauty rest.

It's not easy being this handsome...

Roman is still adjusting to life outside the womb. He is doing pretty well considering what he has to deal with!!

You can't pick 'em buddy. You are STUCK!!

That's right - they are exhausting. Catch some more shut-eye.

While Roman sleeps, Mommy eats, and Daddy works, Leo and Elena have been busying themselves with all the new toys their grandparents, aunts, and uncles spoiled them with! These are their sticker/coloring books from Aunt Julie & Uncle Nathan!

Leo wore those stickers under his sweater at Church on Sunday ;)

They also spend a decent bit of time cooking with all their new foods and desserts!!

Leo absolutely loves having a little brother. The boys are already being "boys" together and sharing lots of brotherly moments

...Roman smelled something and blamed Leo

Leo feigned ignorance and blamed it back on Roman...

Roman tried hard to think of some potty-humor name to call Leo but in the end, gave in...

Yup - It was definitely Roman!!!

7 Quick Takes (#22)

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:08:00 +0000

1) I cannot believe how generous everyone has been with Roman!!! Initially, when we pulled out our selection of 0-3 month boy clothes, I just looked at Jason and shrugged my shoulders. It looked like we were going to be doing laundry daily - 6 sleepers and 8 onesies just wasn't going to cut it (long story but the baby shower thing was sort of late and super small so we only had what I purchased). I have NO idea how we managed when Leo was a baby...

Leo - 5 weeks old

Oh wait - yes I do. He was born in June and required little clothing :)

So we started by doing laundry every day when he peed through every outfit at each diaper change. But as the week has progressed, I can't believe how many outfits we have received!!! In addition to a bunch of brand-new sleepers for this little man, my friend Stacy packed a bag of sleepers from her sons so we don't have to do laundry as often. I am so relieved!

Roman's 3rd of 4 outfit changes in a 4 hour period at Elena's birthday party!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

One well-stocked fridge!!!

2) Speaking of generosity - THE FOOD!!! Oh the glorious FOOD!!! I only had 2 meals brought to me when I had Leo. But he was my first and I really didn't need much! We could still eat out for cheap or just snack whenever we needed and my mom was nearby and could help. But with Leo and Elena to feed this time around, I cannot even express how important the meals are - especially if the mom is breastfeeding!!! The first week of breastfeeding was especially hard because you are beyond starving and you need filling snacks very often if you want to keep up with the nursing schedule.If you are in doubt as to what to do for parents of a newborn, a new outfit (especially when you know the child will only get hand-me-downs) or some sort of food substance are sooooo nice. My mom's group decided to start a calendar on www.takethemameal.com for each of the new moms (3 other moms are pregnant and due soon!) and I can't wait to spoil them when their turn rolls around.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

3) We somehow managed to pull off a very happy 2nd birthday for our little girl one week after giving birth!!

Click for 20 seconds of ridiculously cute sibling love!!

Elena spent the majority of her party in the arms of her favorite person in the world - Cousin Gavin!

Her aunts, uncles and grandparents truly spoiled her this year!! Thank you all for the awesome gifts!!!

We picked out a Rapunzel doll for her. Now I get to watch her sing the "Flowers gleam and glow" song while she plays with Rapunzels hair. It is beyond adorable!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4) Is it just me?????

Roman (L) and Leo (R)

Roman

Leo

And just for comparison:

Elena :)

The boys look SOOO similar!! But they definitely have different looks. I feel like in 20 years I'll look back and not be able to tell the difference between the two though! Right now I can. But they are close enough in physical traits that I am glad all of our photos are organized by date ;)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5) Leo and Elena had a rough couple of days right after Roman was born due to lack of schedule/nap/mom/proper food, etc. But now they are back to their normal happy selves again. And they are constantly playing with all of Roman's awesome "apparati"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

6) We occasionally pry the children from his toys long enough to give him a chance to use them

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) Jason's hunting buddy next door brought over an AWESOME new outfit for Roman (after his wife spoiled me with clothes for Roman and a new movie for me!). They are quite generous. I was so excited that Leo's favorite outfit (and often crusty outfit because he wears it every. single. day.) was clean and ready to wear so Roman could sport his matching outfit. Begin awesome photo shoot!!!

(Leo was into guns at a young age also)

Lastly, I don't really want to brag or anything, but this little guy sleeps like a champ. He only wakes up 2 times each night and we go right back to sleep since I am co-sleeping and can feed him while I get some shut-eye. He's kind of a perfect baby.

(If you don't see anymore posts about Roman next week, it's because I have to eat these words and I'm too prideful to do it...but in the meantime, I'll enjoy my restful sleep!!!)

Happy Weekend!! And check out the 7 Quick Takes at Conversiondiary.com

Happy Birthday Day Elena!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:28:00 +0000

Today is Elena's 2nd birthday!!

And what a year it has been :) She is so completely different in every way than Leo that I feel like I'm unwrapping a present all the time. We just don't know what she's going to come up with next.

The platypus is proof that God has a sense of humor.

Elena is proof that God is perfection and can create perfection.

Today I was thinking about (yes - I too am amazed I had time to just sit back and "think" but it was during a short and beautifully uninterrupted shower) the possibility that Elena could be my only girl. I have 2 boys and perhaps could end up with only boys from here on out. Who knows?

But the truth of the matter is: If she were my only girl, I would be completely satisfied.

She is the best :)

And, as Elena always says:

Happy Birthday Day!!!!

Ummm....I still can't believe...

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:06:00 +0000

...THERE ARE THREE OF THEM!!!!!

I have been trying to figure out how to describe in words what it feels like to have 3 babies. It's like Jason and I have split ourselves three different ways...and it is glorious!! I much prefer when all three children are in close proximity to each other. When they scatter through the house, or even the room, I get a little overwhelmed. I'm not going to lie - 3 children is a little overwhelming!!! We will adapt eventually, but it might be slow-going.

I have a very good understanding why many people stop at 2 or 3 kids. But I'm only in the first few days of managing life with three children. Knowing me, I'll have baby fever again in no time!!

And with pictures like this to look back on, I'll remember why we go through the pain and inconveniences of pregnancy :)

Here are some of the activities we have been enjoying with Roman

Introducing Roman to the Fist Bump

Psshhh!!

Fist Bump - Psssshhhhh!!!

Help get the baby dressed

Kick his chair and then announce, "Baby Roman is awake now!!"

...Sorry buddy...

But then we share our most coveted toys with him

And of course smother him in kisses!!

My biggest job so far is to keep these two away from him!!!

We think the general consensus around here is that we will keep him :)

7 Quick Takes (#21)

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:35:00 +0000

This one is short and sweet :)

1)

7 Quick Takes is being hosted by the lovely Hallie Lord this week!

It's a boy!! Welcome Roman Felix!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:44:00 +0000

Lucky for you all, the nurses, doctors, food deliveries and general mayhem at the hospital is preventing me from getting any sleep.

So, without further ado - I present Roman Felix Gale! Born at 3:30 am on February 15th. I can't get enough of his little face and I think he might be a very interesting mix between Jason, Leo and Elena. I'm not in there anywhere ;) Maybe the next one??

We had a very successful drug-free birth thanks to Jasons' attentiveness and TLC and the help of my doula and midwife!!

I'm in love :)

Happy Galentine's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:09:00 +0000

Thanks to a typographical error by a good friend of mine, I have now dubbed today's holiday: Galentine's Day!

Oh wait - I guess I should do a quick update - NO BABY!! The baby will get here when he/she is good and ready. I think the baby descended even further and I have a little less pressure and pain in some ways. I'm just appreciative of the lessened back pain and ability to move around a little easier! The last 4 nights have been insomnia-free and pain free and I am loving it. But I am getting super-excited for that post-pregnant feeling when your stomach goes all squishy and your intestines, lungs and kidneys return to their rightful places...

Since I was feeling so much better, I decided to optimistically bake a batch of Valentine's Day cookies for my husband...and the midwife, doula and nurses at the hospital who I hoped I would be paying a visit to last night!! I thought it was a great idea at the time.

The kids didn't quite understand the holiday, but I did an alright job of explaining to them that the day is all about showing some LOVE!!!!

And if it involves cookies, they are already completely buttered up!

Unfortunately for me, 1/2 of a sugar cookie made Leo so thirsty...

...that we spent from 2:30 to 2:45 cleaning him up and setting him up in our bed with fresh jammies and a pee-free pillow...

I realize the cookie baking idea was just wishful thinking and the night didn't quite turn out as I expected, but at least I have 25 sugar cookies on my countertop today to console me in my oh-so-pregnant state. And I had tons of snuggles from 3 special Gales to celebrate the day - and few kicks and punches from a fourth...

HAPPY GALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!

7 Quick Takes (#20)

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:35:00 +0000

Okay - it's baby week around here. In anticipation of the baby's "timely" arrival, here is a list of the top 7 things I absolutely cannot WAIT for!!! I'm not a big pregnancy person, but I love me some babies.

(This will probably be my last post for a couple days since Jason is heading out for a retreat weekend with his Youth Group (don't worry - he's less than 30 minutes away). But if you find yourself having a tough weekend, rest-assured, I'm probably right there with you!!)

Countdown to the top 7 things I cannot wait for!!!

7) Okay so I don't pretend like I'll ever look like her. But rather than focus on her body, just look at her smiling face while she contorts her legs. I'm SOOO close to being able to sit without squinting in pain. And look at the title: "Crunch" - Just the thought of one of those makes me cry. But soon I'm going to be able to do those again!!!!

Shoot - I'm going to be able to sit down gracefully and even be able to get out of the car without waking the entire neighborhood from my groaning. I can't wait!!!

39 weeks, 5 days today!

6) Sleep - both for me and the baby! I could watch babies sleep and never get bored. We do an abbreviated co-sleeping thing since I nurse on-demand which means tons of snuggles for me and baby.

Leo - 2 months old

Jason and Leo (1 month old)

My husband is blissfully unaware of "camera angles" and quickly snapped this photo which has always been one of my favorites. I was always too embarrassed to showcase it, but with a little cropping here and there, it's almost half-decent :)

Yes - We are both completely passed out!

This is my most happy mom/baby moment :)

Elena - a couple days old

Elena - 3 months old

Elena - 2 months old - I LOVE IT!!!

5) Babywearing!! I didn't get a chance to wear Elena as much as I did Leo. Well - we probably just didn't get out as much :) But when we did I ended up using the stroller. I plan on wearing this little baby a lot more!

Leo - 2 months old

Leo - 5 months old in Texas

Even Jason got in on the babywearing!

4) Dress-up!!!! Until they are old enough to wipe their own butts, I reserve the right to dress them up however I please :)

Leo - 3 months old

Leo - 4 months old

Elena - 1 month old

Elena - 6 weeks old

Elena - 5 months old

3) Although I wouldn't mind skipping the "teething" thing completely, I LOVE that babies have toothless grins!!!

Leo - 9 months old

Elena - 2 months old

Elena - 4 months old

2) Rosy red cheeks - Need I say more????

Leo - 4 months old

Elena - 4 months old

1) First place is a tie - I am equally as excited about introducing the kids to their new sibling...

...as I am about drinking wine...from a box :)

Happy Weekend Everyone! Join up with the rest of the Quick Takers at Hallie's blog

Birth Story Week: Elena's Birth Story

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:56:00 +0000

Just got a call from my sister..."Anything happening?"

No...

SO! Let's continue with Birth Story Week!! Lord knows I'm not going to be doing any "picking up" around here. Even the kids are too scared to walk on the floor. I actually installed an alarm system on the floor that alerts Jason at work to COME HOME and help me clean up!!! We'll see how long the response time is :)

(Elena was due on February 20th according to the OB and his silly little sonogram. However, I insisted that according to my NFP Chart, she was actually due on Monday, February 22nd, 2010. I was so adamant that when I made the family Shutterfly calendar, I marked the 22nd as her ETA. Take a wild guess when she arrived!!)

Elena's Birth Story:

Born February 22nd, 2010, 8 lbs and 19.5 inches long

Elena's birth story is much longer than Leo's birth story. I wrote it right after her birth so I could remember everything that happened and learn from it. It wasn't the greatest experience. I decided to study and analyze what went wrong so that future births would be a more positive and exciting experience:

There are so few pictures of me pregnant with Elena! But here are just a couple I scrounged up.

Prodromal Labor definition courtesy of Wikipedia:

Pre-labor, also called "prodromal labor," consists of the early signs before labor starts. It is the body's preparation for real labor.

Prodromal labor has been misnamed as “false labor." Prodromal labor begins much as traditional labor but does not progress to the birth of the baby. Not everyone feels this stage of labor, though it does always occur. However, this does not mean that every woman will experience every symptom. The term is used to describe a cluster of physical changes that may take place in a pregnant woman before she goes into "real" labor, such as an increase in blood volume (sometimes resulting in edema), Braxton Hicks contractions, the presence of colostrum in the breasts, and the dislodging of the mucous plug that has sealed the cervix during the pregnancy.

On Wednesday February 17, I woke up at midnight with pain and contractions. I immediately came downstairs, used the bathroom and started to gauge the contractions. At this point, Leo was 20 months old and I was very nervous about getting my mom up to our house in time for us to travel to the hospital before the rush hour traffic started. We had recently moved a half hour further away from the hospital I wanted to deliver at and the drive would be over an hour. We decided to try and avoid traffic and called my mom to come at 3:30 am. We left around 5:00 and the rush hour traffic was already thick! Contractions started to get less intense while I was sitting in the car so I started to get anxious. Did I just waste my middle of the night call to my mom for nothing????

We arrived at the hospital and walked the main lobby downstairs from 5:45 to 7:00 am. My sister-in-law was working and we called her to come say hi and get a few minutes of a distraction. I was getting bored and tired and was ready to get into a room and have the baby already. I was also feeling depressed and weirded out. Things weren't progressing like they did with Leo and I was feeling discouraged. We went up to labor and delivery (where 2 girls sat with their men and waited to be induced…does no one go into labor naturally anymore?!). We were checked into triage…1.5 cms. Blech. We were told by Angel to walk the halls for 2 more hours before I could get rechecked. The hall is a U-shape and the delivery ward is fairly small. We walked forEVER and the contractions became way more painful and I was feeling them mostly in my back. The worst part about it was walking past rooms housing loud cheering and joy upon the birth of yet another baby...that wasn't mine...

Walking for 2 hours with a very tired Jason was painful, my feet and hips were in pain and we were beyond bored. What else was there to talk about? There was nothing to look and our conversation skills were seriously lacking. It was probably the worst 2 hours of the pregnancy. We were checked again by the midwife and told that I was only 1.5 cms still. I was relieved to hear that my intuition was correct. I was feeling weird because things were NOT progressing and it was actually prodromal labor. I happily went home to sleep before we went to pick up Leo at my sisters' house.

He really missed us...

------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Saturday night, I woke up at 3:30 in the morning with intense contractions every half-hour. Oh the fatigue was really getting to me! I went downstairs and ate something to help me try to get back to sleep. Jason and I decided to pack a bag to bring to Sunday family party night at my sisters' house so that we would be prepared if I went into labor. I lost my mucous plug which I knew was a fantastic sign. We hung out all day and I had random contractions every hour or so. Around 6:00 or 6:30, contractions picked up a little (every 15-30 minutes and intense) and I was super nauseous, so I went downstairs to get some privacy and relax a bit.

We set up Leo's crib and put him to sleep. Contractions were still pretty intense so I decided to try and get some sleep around 10:00 in the living room...directly in front of the wood stove. It was intensely hot and I was sweating and uncomfortable. Also, my brother-in-law and brother (pictured right) were making fun of me and all the noises I was making...thanks for the support guys!

By the way, if you ever find yourself in labor in a house where 8 people live upstairs, 1 lives on the main floor and another lives in the basement suite - RUN AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE!!!!! That many people around is not a very labor-friendly environment...

Could you labor peacefully with this many people??? Yeah...

I found another empty couch and fell asleep from 10:45 – 11:45 and woke up with an intensely painful contraction and had to run to the bathroom. At that point, there was no way I could sleep through them and I didn't want to wake my mom up so I went upstairs to the couch to hang out. Jason woke up right then and came to tell me he couldn't sleep either. The 4 feet of snow outside and the quiet house with 11 people trying to sleep in it were not working for either of us, so we decided on just heading to the hospital early.

We arrived at the hospital around 2:00 am (after Jason picked up a 5 hour energy and a 60 oz coffee!! Neither of which worked). I was checked in triage and was a whopping 2 cms. We were told to walk for an hour and get monitored again. We went out front of the hospital and I walked as fast and hard as I could. The contractions were definitely doing something this time around. We got checked around 3:30 and I was a 4 so we got admitted to our room. My midwife and nurse left and never returned until Jason searched the halls for them. I had almost no support and was in need of a LOT of hand-holding. I kind of just wished I was home with Leo instead of at the hospital. I missed the little guy.

I labored in the room to some music while Jason rested. Since I wasn't able to labor at home, I was bored, unable to get comfortable and thinking WAY too much about everything. Not to mention my midwife was MIA the entire night. I told Jason to help me find out if I could get in the tub so he found my midwife and she checked me and gave me the go-ahead to get in the tub. I got in the beautiful tub with Jacuzzi jets…sat back and relaxed. After 10 minutes I had a contraction, then a milder contraction, until they stopped altogether. The only way to start them up again was to get out of the water until the contraction hit and then sit back down in the water really quick to get the relief from the warm water. It was very difficult to say the least to maneuver my larger than life body in the tub.

Again – all alone in my own thoughts – not good. I got out of the tub and told Jason to help me. I started pacing again and he had no idea what to do that would help me. My midwife only came in when we walked the halls to find her. Jason asked me if he could go get something to eat when the cafeteria opened. He was so thoughtful since I was nauseous and vomiting and thought he should eat in the cafeteria instead of bringing it to the room. He also had to listen to me complain that if the nurse who bathed in raw onions came back in the room, I was going to high-tail it OUTTA there!!!

But this was the pivotal moment in my labor: While he was gone, I thought of all the women I knew who had successful births with epidurals. After listing them off over and over in my head, when Jason returned, I told him that I was seriously considering it. He tried to think of things to help me get through without it but I wasn't having it at that point. It was much too late and my mind was made up. I had been alone for so long that I was mentally and physically done at that point. I was getting close to transition and could vividly remember the almost 2 hours of not-pushing/pushing with Leo and was getting anxious and doubting myself. I told my midwife my thoughts about it considering my fatigue (up since 3:30 am on Sat night) and she suggested an IV of fluids (which was necessary to get an epi anyway). I was 7 cms at that point. Once the fluids started, I laid down to rest and labor slowed again. Contractions were far apart and barely painful at all. I told Jason I didn't know what to do – do we walk? Should I try and rest and enjoy the break? What do we do? I should have started walking again but I was enjoying the pain-free break!! My less-than-helpful midwife came in an hour later and I was still 7 cms so she suggested the epidural and pitocin. Well...thanks for the support lady.

At that point, I relented. I did NOT want to get up and walk anymore! I had been walking since 3 in the morning and it was already 8 am! My bizarre anesthesiologist came in at 9. He was a tall Asian man who commented, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" (referring to the nasty smell of the epidural) and my immediate thoughts were, "Great! Now THIS is going to be what I remember most from Elena's birth!" He got the epi in quickly and it started working immediately. My legs went numb and I sat back under blankets and watched TV with Jason. The pitocin came after they confirmed that I wasn't progressing but I monitored the contractions to make sure never were back to back or too intense.

Now here is why I will probably NEVER opt for the epidural again: I tried to lay back and go to sleep but I was dizzy and nauseous so I couldn’t relax enough to sleep. Jason was able to relax a bit. I sat there nauseous and dizzy just watching contractions and thinking about the rest of the labor until pushing would start. I was getting very nervous but finally feeling relief from walking and contractions. Meanwhile, I had spent the last 4 days preoccupied with occiput posterior labor after back labor on Wednesday night. I was very worried that pushing with an epi would be impossible if she was upside down so I prayed a LOT.

Does anyone else think it is magical that babies look in your eyes straight from birth? Why not your neck? Or your forehead? Or your ear? Magical I tell you!!!

All of a sudden at noon, I felt the pressure to bear down. After 4 contractions with the intense pressure in my bum, we called the midwife into the room and she asked me to give her a practice push. I felt Elena slide down FAST! She told me to stop immediately and she got ready to deliver. She told me to give her a push and I did – it moved Elena down and out so fast that it only took 3 pushes in one contraction to get her head out. I slowed down when the midwife instructed to prevent tearing. Then the second contraction took only 1 or 2 pushes to get her body out. I couldn’t believe it!! They let Elena sit on my chest and let Jason and I have a really decent bit of time with her before they bothered with weighing her and checking her apgars, etc.

She looked just like my mother-in-law (translation: Jason, but a girl version)!

8 lbs even and 19.5 inches long. She started nursing and was a pro at it. My biggest compliant was that my legs kept falling off the bed and I was too numb to bring them back up again. Every time I moved, my legs got closer to the edge and Jason had to come save them before they fell again. Oh - and the anesthesiologist forgot about me and didn't come to remove the epidural from my back until 6:30 pm...Elena was born at 12:00 pm!!!

I learned a lot about labor and delivery with Elena's birth. I will adapt and apply the following:

1) Preparation: Less worrying about the child that is already out (I was so preoccupied with Leo and who would watch him when I went into labor!) and more worrying about my own comfort in those first few hours of labor

2) Environment: I will not go to the hospital too early. The hospital room is cold and uncomfortable and I believe it contributed to my labor stalling out. I was in a bad place mentally because my surroundings were unfamiliar and I couldn't relax.

3) Support: One large check for the services of a doula during labor/delivery are sooooo worth it! Especially if your midwife is no good and unavailable. Jason and I were both so tired that we needed an extra cheerleader. I will always hire a doula in the future. My doula is booked and ready to go for this birth and I love her!!!

4) Relaxation: Walking during labor should only be done if it gives you relief - NOT to speed labor up. Just relax, rest your body and the baby will come. I overdid it and was too fatigued to relax with each contraction. The fatigue affected me mentally as well and I was unable to get excited about the birth.

I have two extremely different birthing experiences to draw from for this baby. I dream of a natural delivery again and I think we have isolated the problems from Elena's birth so that they never happen again! It helps that the midwife who attended her birth retired a month later ;)

But, I don't regret anything about the birth. It all had to happen in that order and I knew the epidural was the best decision for me at the time. We always said we would hire a doula if we needed one and after Elena's birth, the budget for "Doula" was bumped up to "Necessity" rather than "Luxury". (Already the birth of a girl has bankrupted us!! Oh boy...)

One of the most exciting things about Elena's birth was the excitement over introducing her to Leo. And he didn't disappoint!!!!

Telling his Oma about his new baby sister:

Further proof of the resemblance:

And it's a good thing I'm already pregnant - because these pictures are giving me MAJOR baby fever!!!

I can't wait to meet Gale 3.0!!!!!

Birth Story Week: Leo's Birth Story

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:29:00 +0000

My due date is in 6 days. I am optimistically dubbing this "Birth Story Week" in the hopes that this 3rd child will debut and I can share all three stories with you all. So - here is Story #1!

(Leo was due on June 14th, 2008. However, I insisted to the midwives that, according to my NFP Chart, Leo was due on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008. Take a wild guess when he arrived!!)

Leo's Birth Story:

Born June 18th, 2008, 7 lbs, 2 oz and 20 inches long

I was 3 days "overdue" (by the way, the average gestation for a first pregnancy is 40 weeks, 5 days!!) and we took a walk Tuesday night where contractions picked up in frequency (no pain, just pressure). For some reason, I insisted on getting my hands on some McDonalds french fries. Normally, that wouldn't have been an issue. Jason would just go out and get me my fries! However! This week there was a water main break in DC that affected the entire outlying area!! All restaurants were closed as far as 40 miles north of DC due to unsanitary water conditions!!! After driving around for 2 hours trying to get me my french fry fix, we called it quits and went to the grocery store. (In retrospect - looking at the picture to the left, looks to me like I had my fill of french fries - IN MY FACE!!)

We then stopped by my moms house to celebrate our 1-year anniversary (June 16th) and I let all the kids feel my belly with each braxton hicks contraction. And we got cake :)

Jason and my mom. Don't worry - he rationed beers JUST in case he had to drive later :)

We spent from 10 pm to 11 pm that night timing contractions thinking they would pick up in intensity or frequency. But as they grew further apart, we both got more and more discouraged. We called it a night and just went to sleep.

At 1:50 in the morning I woke up with painful contractions and began to time them. They were 30-45 seconds long so Jason and I took a walk at 3:00 am around our neighborhood to alleviate some of the discomfort. The contractions stayed at 6-9 minutes apart and were only 30-45 seconds long. I let Jason go back to bed (after he made me some scrambled eggs!) and labored by myself in the living room while an Oprah rerun was on. I did fine on my own until about 7:00 am. I was severely uncomfortable and ready to do something - I just didn't know what. I woke Jason up and he could tell I was in a world of worry. We called the midwife and she heard that I was unable to talk during contractions so she asked us to head into the office to get checked and see how I was progressing. When we arrived at the office at 9:00 am, I was already 6 centimeters! I had been so frustrated at the brevity of the contractions that I thought for sure we weren't progressing! That was the good news - then came the bad news:

My midwife Karen let us in on the fact that the water main break in DC had put the hospital in a predicament - The effect was that the hospital was not allowing any water usage: no ice chips, no drinking water, no washing hands, no showers, no jacuzzi tub. I couldn't believe it!! I was still talking in between contractions and walking seemed to help the discomfort, so Jason and I delayed going to the hospital in favor of walking around outside. We went across the street to a High School track and walked it with all the other "morning walkers". Every few minutes, I would lean on Jason and moan and groan during the contraction. It was a little embarrassing but they could tell I was in labor and just left us alone :) But every now and then, when some speed-walkers would pass us, Jason would groan louder than me so I wasn't as embarrassed. I had to hit him each time because laughing during a contraction REALLY doesn't help!!! I immediately started to doubt my abilities and asked if Jason would be disappointed if I asked for an epidural. The possibility of enduring the pain without the warmth of water to alleviate it was so scary at that point. He kept encouraging me and we just stopped talking about it and took it one contraction at a time.

Drug-free and still smiling (we haven't hit transition yet...)

We made our way to the hospital at 11:00 am and checked into the room. Throughout the labor, the baby's heartrate was monitored and he was doing great. There was no sign that anything was odd or abnormal. My midwife was amazing! She kept me moving to labor in different positions which varied things up and that really helped to keep me mentally strong. Meanwhile, our nurse continually checked on the status of water - no luck. Jason and I had brought ice so he kept me cooled off with washcloths and stayed by my side throughout. He was so supportive and encouraging. I was in pain, but really just needed continual support near me. I progressed steadily and hit transition around 3:00 pm or so. Karen broke my water around 8-9 cms. I was very fortunate that my contractions still afforded me a break in between. I had contractions 2-3 minutes apart and always had a moment to breathe and prepare for the next one. Karen checked me and said I was 10 cms around 4:00 pm. She said I still had a lip of cervix that wasn't soft enough to move yet. So I labored through another hour. I felt the need to bear down, but was instructed not to in case the lip would swell up. At 5:00 pm she checked and I still needed to wait at least another half hour as the lip was still there. That was my breaking point. I just shook my head and said I needed something to change. So, Karen got hospital approval to use the shower for 1/2 hour while I labored the lip away. The water felt amazing and I needed the change of scenery.

Around 5:30, I was ready to push and Karen moved the lip out of the way. I pushed for about 45 minutes and all of a sudden, Leo popped out sunny-side up! Turns out, he was occipital posterior and I was experiencing back labor the entire time! (Karen mentioned that it was a possibility but we were unsure of his position and didn't focus on it.) Since it was my 1st baby, I just thought the feeling of labor was normal but it was definitely not! He also had the cord wrapped around his neck 3 times, but it didn't affect us until the end of pushing. The cord held him back a little but we got through it. The nurses said that most moms typically opt for a c-section for occipital posterior births or the epidural forces them into getting one because they can't push the baby out strongly enough so I was so glad for our drug-free delivery!!

The NICU nurse paid us a visit because Leo sounded like a meek cat when we cried. She stayed with us for a while and forced us to give him a bottle of formula because he failed the APGAR. You can see how pale he was moments after he was born here:

He quickly pinked up (and passed out!) after nursing though :)

NICU eventually approved us and we were sent to our recovery room. It was then that I discovered that my mom and niece had been quietly waiting in the hospital since NOON!!! My poor mother was so nervous that her daughter was having her first baby that she couldn't stay away. She had to wait 6 1/2 hours to hold her 11th grandchild, but it was worth it :) And all the rosaries she said for a safe delivery were welcome by me!!

We were very fortunate to have had the 8-week Bradley Method of Husband Coached Childbirth instructions during the pregnancy. The classes were super informative and even turned Jason into a natural childbirth advocate! After reading Husband Coached Childbirth, he swore that all he needed was a flashlight and some hot water and he could deliver the baby anytime, anyplace! The classes were so awesome that I hope to become a Bradley teacher myself! Even if you want to get the epidural, I think the classes give the parents important leverage to feel comfortable when labor starts.

Trouble from Day 1!!

Preparing for baby

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:14:00 +0000

It's a good thing I spend 20 minutes with 2 square inches of lung space to blow up my birthing ball.

Next thing I know they'll be sipping on my raspberry leaf tea and exchanging natural induction techniques.

Maybe they can just have the baby for me too???

At least I have a legitimate excuse when I tell the midwife I couldn't do my homework :)

7 Quick Takes (#19)

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:28:00 +0000

(7 Quick Takes is being hosted by Hallie at Betty Beguiles this week!)

1) 6 more weeks of winter?

That's quite alright with us!! We are loving the weather!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2) Leo is really getting into Hide'n'Seek. He begs Dad to play with him every day. And Elena has it ALL figured out!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3) I BRAVELY decided to bite the bullet and use the beef tallow I rendered.

I made sure Jason was 3 towns away, safely breathing in the polluted air of the city, while I popped open a tiny jar of this...uh...beefy schmutz.

I thought hash browns would be a delicious way to inaugurate the tallow.

But after 10 minutes of stirring and stirring, I ended up with this: some starchy potato balls and a brown pot...

I just can't win with this stuff!! But the upside is that the flavor was good. The smell was unnappealing again, but mild. And my friend over at City Wife, Country Life solved my problem with the tallow by letting me know why it smelled so bad:

Lisa Gale

Okay I did it. Finally...And the smell was so bad we nearly died. My husband gagged more than once. Did yours smell bad? I will say that when I made beef broth from the bones of this same cow, the smell wasn't that good either. We were really surprised it didn't smell good! So I'm wondering if it was the particular cow fat we used or if we were just not ready for that smell to take over our house! Now I am too scared to open one of the jars and heat up the oil. Is that smell going to come back when the fat is heated up again???
- Edit
- Reply
- 1 week ago
Farmer's City Wife

Grass-fed beef, right? Here's the deal (which I suppose I should've mentioned in the post, hehehehe), grass-fed beef fat, even on the cuts of meat, is often (nay, usually?) nastybecause the butchers don't hang it long enough. Most grain-fed beef you buy in the store is aged for three weeks or so which makes the fat taste a lot better, but usually small grass-fed operations don't spring for that kind of hang time at the butcher's, resulting in nasty fat.

Rest assured, the fat isn't rancid (well, I guess I can't give you a 100% guarantee of that, but I'd bet $$ on it), it's just not been hung long enough. Here's the other deal: it WILL smell nasty again when you cook with it, but it won't taste bad on the fried food.
Mind you, I don't use tallow to fry delicate foods (like fried shrimp) but I fry chicken fried steak in it, fried chicken and french fries. Once the frying smell subsides (which it does, with candles, hehehe), it's really a delicious meal.

If you ever venture to try this again, try to find a farmer who hangs his beef for at least two but preferably three+ weeks :).
- Like
- Reply

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4) I am 38 weeks and 5 days along. I am struggling with insomnia and a whole lot of hip pain but I feel like I am finally ready for some good and strong contractions! I cooked 4 lbs of ground meat, a whole chicken and a chuck roast and bagged individual portions for quick meals after the baby comes. Heating up some water and making rice or pasta and steaming a vegetable will be so simple with the meat portion taken care of. In the hopes that this baby will make a timely arrival, I am dubbing next week "Birth Story Week." I haven't yet shared my birth stories on my blog and I know most of us moms are birth story junkies. So, expect three birth stories (there's the optimism!) to come next week :)

Leo - born at 40 weeks & 4 days

Elena - born at 40 weeks and 2 days

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5) All day every day:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6) Conversations with the kids

Elena: Mama - You nant some Poop? Mmmmmm...so wicious poop!!

Me: Leo, I am so proud of you for going to sleep and staying in your bed. You know who else is so proud of you? Jesus!

Leo: Uh, Jesus died in the church.

(Leo's first catechetical lesson was a fail...)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) There is so much to say about the Susan G. Komen drama and the birth control mandate for Catholic organizations by the Obama administration. Instead of stepping onto a soapbox, I'll just leave you with some links:

"Breaking News" at More Like Mary

"I cannot even believe the news I just read. Did you hear? The Obama administration just issued a press release stating that, beginning in 2013, all Hindu organizations will be required to purchase shares of beef for all of their employees as part of an employee benefit package."

An Open Letter to President Barack Obama Concerning Recent Tyranny

"In case there are any doubts as to my claim, I will give it to you straight: I hold that you are prohibiting the free practice of Catholicism in this country, and that you are thus, categorically speaking, a tyrant."

Unholy Health Care

“To force American citizens to choose between violating their consciences and forgoing their health care is literally unconscionable. It is as much an attack on access to health care as on religious freedom. Historically, this represents a challenge and a compromise of our religious liberty.”

I will not be pinkwashed - Why I do not support Susan G. Komen for the Cure

"So to break it down even further, Susan G. Komen for the Cure only spends a possible 53% of it’s research funding for a cure, or — about 11% of total revenue. Donate a dollar “for the cure?” Only about a dime of that will go toward research that might actually be designed to cure cancer, through allopathic medicine that is driven by the pharmaceutical system."

Susan G. Komen for the Cure doesn't understand breast cancer

"So in effect Susan G. Komen for the Cure is helping to sell deep fried fast food and in so doing, helping to fuel unhealthy diets and obesity across America, an odd plan given that diet and obesity certainly impact on both the incidence and recurrence of breast cancer."

Okay - I don't like to politicize this blog so this will be the end of it, but I will end with something my friend Elizabeth wrote perfectly on a Facebook debate:

An organization that does 9,999 things right and good for people but does 1 thing truly evil (killing people) is an organization that should not be supported. For instance, if you lived in the 1930's and 1940's would you support the Nazi party with your personal funds? After all, they provided a welfare system for the poor, campaigned against smoking, and advocated for animal rights -- http://listverse.com/2011/01/31/top-10-things-the-nazis-got-right/ These are good things indeed. After all, the government should help the poor, say that smoking is bad for you, and promote proper treatment of animals. But hold on a second, they tortured, killed, and almost eradicated a populous within their borders during Hitlers regime. That changes the tune quite a bit, I'd say. So the question is, how many good things can a nation/organization/person do to cancel out the worst possible evil? I say zero. If I go and kill my husband in cold blood I should still go to jail even though I am also the best mom in the world.

Amen.

Project Big Girl Bed

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:20:00 +0000

For the last couple weeks, Jason has tried to suggest that we move Elena to a toddler bed. He is trying to save me the pain of walking upstairs and getting her from her crib at each naptime and in the morning. I was told by multiple family members last weekend that she is ginormous and I ought not be lugging her around. I don't disagree.

HOWEVER!!

Leo and Elena share a room. I predicted mass chaos if they are both let loose in their room without supervision. So I nixed Jasons' idea each and every time he generously suggested to switch her bed.

I mean - would YOU trust these two alone in their room together???????

But then, about 3 days ago, I heard the two of them wake up from their nap and I heard them making lots of noise upstairs but they never came down. So I went up to investigate. I found "Coach Leo" instructing Elena how to scale and exit her crib. She was clear on the other side of the crib rail hanging on for dear life while Leo yelled "Now let go! Jump!! Jump!!"

Up to NO GOOD I tell you!!!!

Greeeeaaaattttt...

So, in a ,moment of completely irrational pregnancy-induced panic, I told Jason to build her toddler bed. Now. Jason just looked at me like I was crazy. Hadn't he been suggesting this for months??? Nevermind that honey. Just build the bed ;) (I'm nesting this week. I just cooked 4 lbs grass-fed ground beef, a 4 lb free-range chicken and a 3 lb chuck roast for some freezer cooking post-baby! It hit me a little late, but I'm on a roll and need complete cooperation!!)

After all - when Leo turned 2, we transitioned him to the toddler bed and actually had a really easy time with it. So I was hopeful for Elena.

My patient and awesome husband got right to work.

She absolutely LOVES it!!!

And now she thinks she is such hot stuff because she can get herself out of bed and come downstairs, just like her big brother, to announce that she is awake!!

But - was my prediction correct? Did they peacefully snuggle in their beds and go right to sleep at naptime?

I said goodnight at 2:00 pm.

Finally, at 3:30 pm, I went up to see how successful naptime was and this is what I found...

Elena is not quite aware of the trouble she is in. But Leo? He knows he is in trouble!!! I knew full-well that they weren't actually going to sleep. The thunderous roaring and laughing was kind of hard to ignore. But I thought - better naptime than bedtime later tonight! Let's just let them get it all out of their system.

So I sternly told them to quiet down, get in their beds and go to SLEEP!!!!

They both obliged and I said goodnight again.

Miracle of miracles - they wore themselves out so bad that they fell asleep right away!

An hour later I had to wake her up from slumber to go pick up our food from the Co-op.

Project Big Girl Bed - A HUGE SUCCESS!!!

We are now 2 full days into the big girl bed and she has been completely obedient. The first nap was too exciting for them to sleep but she has since snuggled into bed and fallen asleep within minutes. I'm a little nervous about the next couple weeks, but so far, so good!

On siblings

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:54:00 +0000

The last couple weeks have been rough for the kids. They are learning how to share and play together and it is a constant struggle - one of them always ends up crying.

However, this morning, I have been sitting here peacefully sipping my coffee and listening to the adorable sounds of imagination play from both kids. They went fishing in the shoebox, played hide-and-seek, shared bad guy costumes and snuck around the house getting into trouble.

While I was working on a different blogpost, I found these photos and instantly was reminded that this past month wasn't really ALL that bad. They had their moments and, although these moments are increasing in frequency, they really do have a lot of fun together.

A fellow blogger posted a question to other moms out there about the possibility of Baby #2: "It makes me feel all giddy, and yet...completely & utterly terrified.". And I didn't respond yet because everyone's experience is different and it is such an extremely personal decision. I have posted before on the Case for Siblings. But, after looking through these photos just from the last month,

Camille - here is my reply:

Oh cue waterfall effect...I am definitely pregnant and hormonal.

And OH SO EXCITED to be giving these two another sibling in the next month :)

Not convinced yet? Check out all my other sibling posts!

7 Quick Takes (#18)

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:33:00 +0000

*This 7 Quick Takes brought to you by Baby #3 who gave me a 4:30 am wake-up call. I put my early morning to good use and blogged :)

1) Pity Party Entrance: I have hit a new low in my pregnancy physically and mentally. I have been entertaining all sorts of different thoughts about how women back in the day had it easier. Either you were rich enough to have servants do all the work while you rested your aching hips on a fainting couch, or you were poor enough that your house didn't have stairs. And when the sun descended, your work finished for the day. You didn't have toys all over the floor to pick up. Your children could be sent outside all day every day without fear of CPS. You can't sweep a dirt floor. And your husband didn't commute an hour to work because there were no cars. I do all the other stuff they do anyway (grind wheat, cloth diaper, make my own food/cleaning supplies, etc.) but I'm pretty sure they had it easier. Seriously, I play Castleville. I know what goes into living in the olden days.

I might also just be going on a week without decent sleep from aches and pains too. That might be taking its toll on me mentally. You know - causing delusions and whatnot. Or I have been watching entirely too much Downton Abbey...

Thank God he installed the "pain" mechanism the last 2 weeks or I would be a reluctant laborer/deliverer come baby-having day. I wasn't ready to have this baby until about 2 or 3 days ago. Now? BRING IT ON!!!!

See how the woman in the photo has her mouth open? That's because her lungs are the size of pancakes and she can't breathe without utilizing all airways simultaneously. And where is her tail? Why haven't we evolved to grow tails to support the weight of the belly??

2) My children seem to forget that there is a child in my womb. Elena is always running for safety from the "Cary Monster!!!" (scary). She's pretty fast now and can scale the couch in a single leap. She always lands on the belly. The baby is just fine, surrounded by insulating layers of water and fat. But me? I'm DYYYIIIINNNNGGGG!! And Elena has never heard me yell so much. Every time she jumps on the baby I have to loudly tell her to get off. Then she looks at me to see if I'm mad. I'm not mad. Just in pain...And then I snuggle her cute little face :)

3) We have hit a new season in the lives of my children. They fight...a lot...They play hard all day around here. But usually, play involves the same toy.

Elena used to get the brunt of Leo's bullying. Now she has it ALL figured out!

I, as the keeper of the peace, try to help them work on conflict resolution. And I try to think of ways to blog about their angelic faces. But until the peace is restored, I am not pulling out my camera as often as I did in the past. Aside from that, I can't move across the room to get the darn camera...

4) But in their defense, they are pretty nice to each other the other 20% of the day. (I kid - it's more like 20.2%. They really are good kids!)

(I caught them holding hands on the couch the other day - but I couldn't stand up fast enough to take a better shot!!)

(Sharing their pet Hexbug)

5) One thing about having children who play with each other and entertain each other is that it takes the pressure off of my hugely pregnant body to do a lot of the physical playtime activities. We either save those for Dad...

This free script provided by
Dynamic Drive

6) Or we just let the kids find their own fun game to play...

7) A few months ago, I posted about a few inspirational women who inspired me to start knitting/sewing. One of these women is my cousin-in-law Charla. When she heard I was pregnant with Leo and again when I was pregnant with Elena, she handmade a quilt for each of them!! I assumed that since I had one of each - a boy and a girl quilt, that would be it. And, since she is currently expecting her first baby (due in June), I thought she would be otherwise occupied.

But then this little wonder arrives in our mail the other day!!!

How gorgeous is that?!?! We don't know if it is a boy or a girl and I am so pumped about the color choices she used (instead of the traditional "unisex" green and yellow).

The kids love it so much I had to hide it from them. Elena pulled it out of the box and tried taking a nap in it right away!

Genius that she is, she grabbed a potholder pillow :)

I cannot believe how much work you put into this for our little one!! Thank you so much Charla!!!!

Have a great weekend!!!!!

Check out conversiondiary.com for the rest of the Quick Takes!

Baked Donut Hole Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:01:00 +0000

I test-drove a recipe today that I wanted to make for Mom's Group being hosted at my house tomorrow. The recipe is pretty basic and the title held the word "Donut". I was sold.

Baked Donut Holes

Servings: 1 dozen donut holes
Preparation Time: 5 minutes

1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup organic butter
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
5 tablespoons coconut flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar or cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a glass baking dish.

In a medium bowl, cream sugar, salt, butter and vanilla extract together with an electric hand mixer. Add egg and mix thoroughly.

Sift in coconut flour and stir to combine. Let dough sit for one minute. Shape dough into 12 1-inch balls. Place evenly on baking dish and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.

Let cool and roll in powdered sugar or cocoa powder

I actually don't have any coconut flour on hand and I'm too cheap to buy it, so I started by taking a cup of my unsweetened organic coconut and grinding it in my food processor...and then the coffee grinder for good measure.

Looks like flour to me?????

I followed the directions, rolled the donuts, baked them in a glass dish and...

VOILA!!!!!

I was able to salvage them somewhat but won't be serving them tomorrow morning :)

Filed Under: Things I'll never do again...

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:11:00 +0000

The last time I bought a 1/4 cow, I asked the butcher for some of the fat. My friend told me that beef tallow makes the BEST homemade french fries. And we have completely stopped using vegetable oils so I needed a new substitute. Tallow is cheap and easy - right?!

So - in a fit of nesting (at 37 weeks pregnant, I say better late than never, right??), I made a huge batch of homemade laundry detergent (with Fels Naptha soap this time) and chopped up the beef fat to "render"....

What?? You don't chop up 4 lbs of beef fat when you hit the nesting stage?? I don't understand...

One of my favorite bloggers: City Wife Country Life, posted a detailed review of How to Render and Can Tallow. So, I followed her advice and threw my fat in the crockpot to heat up.

I got out all my canning supplies and prepared the kitchen to can the fat...

Within minutes, both Jason and I were throwing each other sideways glances. I immediately googled "Can I put my crockpot outside?" and decided I didn't really care about the answers. The odor was all-consuming!!!

The smell was more than we could bear. The crockpot was going outside. Period.

A couple hours later, I put the kids down to nap and decided to muscle my way through the canning process. I was thanking God I have a deviated septum. The smell could only enter my nose through one nostril instead of both.

We quickly boiled water, poured fat, disposed of "cracklins" and water-bathed our jars.

And I was also thankful that the same friend who suggested rendering tallow for those "amazing french fries" gave me this delicious candle for Christmas. Because holy rancid smell from the underworld....

Here are my jars of tallow. And I am too scared to open any of them and cook with them...

The amount of money we saved in rendering our own lard, we LOST in heating bills by airing our house out all day in late January...

I decided to render my tallow on a day when my husband was home. By default, he had to assist me. The comments about the odor were rolling off his tongue faster than I could process them and I almost went into labor I was laughing so hard!

- At least we can cover our tracks if zombies ever attack

- It smells like a one year old diaper left in a hot car in Texas next to a dead tuna...covered in chili

Me: Wait Jason - we need to can it next
Jason: Oh no you don't - YOU'RE not bringing this in the house!

- This stuff smells like leprosy looks

- I don't care how poor we are. Just put the lard on the credit card...

- I'd rather compost someone else's s#!* than do this again

Sorry honey...

At least I gave him extra brewing supplies for Christmas and he has almost 100 beers in his "Beer Store" downstairs...

I promised him that if I ever break into one of these bad boys, I'll do it when he is away on a youth retreat with the youth group. And why does no one else mention the odor on their blogs about rendering tallow?? Perhaps our cow got into an onion patch or something...

*Click here to read why I would rather render my own tallow/lard than ever cook with vegetable oil, canola oil or eat any butter that is in a "tub"

Proving us wrong

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:06:00 +0000

Watching Leo play with his Christmas present from Jason and I made my heart swell up with pride this week:

He worked so hard on his See and Spell puzzles that he finished each and every one without one bit of help from us!

His face is screaming "CHECK OUT WHAT I DID!!!"

I couldn't believe he did it and how FAST he finished! It takes away some of our parental stress over whether our child was destined for sports or if he had a chance at academics ;)

Because, believe me...

there was a time we weren't so sure about this one...

A big thank you to my old coworkers for this special bib...

Between the booze on the weekends...

...The early gang involvement...

...The long hair phase...

...getting thrown around all the time...

...The cordless phone wave exposure...

And...well...everything else...

It wasn't like we didn't try to give him a well-rounded first couple of years full of food for the brain

and food for the body!!!

The kid just did things that made us wonder...

...And...Well...

He still does...

Hopefully things look brighter for Number Two!!!!!

Okay - so we're putting all our chips in Number Three's basket....

Squeezing through the Bounce House

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:30:00 +0000

A few months ago, Groupon ran a great local deal on a Bounce House and I had to buy it without even knowing what I was getting myself into! Turns out they have a mandatory height limit and Elena only just hit it! Over the last few weeks, with my already tapped patience at an all-time low, I have been taking the kids out of the house almost every day or inviting friends over. It's for their own protection and safety...

As a kid, I remember the super awesome red moonbounce room in the back of the Chuck-E-Cheese. This room was sealed off before I was 6 but I made the most of it before they closed it down and remember how much fun it was! Rubber floors, walls and ceilings. And tons of kids to crash into - but I always made sure to crash extra hard into my little brother. This was before therapy was socially acceptable...

Now, 20+ years later, I still appreciate a good moonbounce. And this place delivered!!

But with one exception. We got caught a few minutes after this photo was taken with our socks off and were instantly reprimanded. Well - how are they supposed to climb through the obstacle course with socks on?????

Oh that's right - they can't. So when my adorable chubby-cheeked daughter tries to follow her big brother through the obstacle course and just slides back to the entrance completely defeated, she will turn and look to me with quivering lips and say "Guck*? Guck?" (*stuck).

And I am foolish enough to immediately come to her rescue. I army-crawled, rock-climbed, slid and rolled my way through an awesome obstacle course while pushing a 30 lb toddler with my shoulders....twice...

Uh.......

Next time I'm dragging Jason along with me :)

The ride home was interesting. They were exhausted. We got stuck at a long light and I took a picture.

A few minutes later I snapped another picture...

We pigged out like there was no tomorrow when we got home and immediately passed out. And I spent the rest of the day stuck on the couch... Are bedpans acceptable in the 9th month of pregnancy??

The many faces of Uncle Paul

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:25:00 +0000

I have an older brother names Paul. This is Paul:

For the sake of this post, you need to see his face a little clearer though.

Okay - so, in running down the list of characteristics, Paul is none of the following: Fat, Bald, Black or a Woman.

Now that we have cleared that up, allow me to show you what Elena does all week long. Everywhere we go, she points to random people and excitedly screams, "UNCLE PAUL!!!" It happens on a daily basis. She frequently sings songs entitled "Uncle Paul" and identifies the many faces of Uncle Paul.

In addition to the random strangers, here are the TV personalities who, she believes, are her Uncle Paul.

Stephen Hayes from Fox News. Okay - I'll bite on that one. At least, I can kind of understand where she is coming from a little.

Credit

Vinny from the Biggest Loser...but not skinny Vinny. This Vinny:

Credit

Lance Reddick...uh............

Credit

KT McFarland.

Credit

But the person she INSISTS is Uncle Paul, is this guy:

Credit

And I think it is hysterical every time :)

Perhaps this means he has officially sealed The One Spot.

7 Quick Takes (#17)

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:28:00 +0000

1) Okay, just one more documentary to add to the list that I discovered a couple nights ago. And this is your basic, feel-good, I want to meet that man and shake his hand documentary, complete with the best soundtrack in the world. Still Bill the Documentary is available on Netflix. I never knew anything about Bill Withers but now that I do, I wish I were his neighbor so I could have him over for dinner...every night. I just love him!! He has a very unique story and an even more unique outlook on life that didn't get corrupted by Hollywood. Justin Bieber should take notes from this man.

2) It only took a few days for them to find alternative uses for their kitchen ;)

Leo had so much fun he tried to convince Elena to give it a try...

She said: You're crazy! Get back in your crazy person cell!!

3) I think I'm going to have to find some newborn Toy Story jammies so the new baby can join in on all the fun Woody and Buzz are having in their new jammies!!

4) Speaking of Buzz and Woody...We love our Buzz and Woody action figures. Elena spends a lot of time "flying" them through the house (complete with the sound effects!)

Anytime Elena does anything, Leo has to jump in...usually with a sword and some sort of head piece...

An unsuspecting Elena continues her game...

She is still happily running in circles without a clue of what is behind her...

But then she figured it out and in a moment of panic, threw Buzz and Woody across the floor! I think her instincts were dead-on. She threw them to the bad guy in the hopes that she could make a clean getaway!!!

It's not that he's such a good guy - he just knows that the game is over when she stops running.

So he helped her gather her friends so they could continue :)

Let the games CONTINUE!!!!

5) I was driving home with the kids from a long morning workout at the Chick-Fil-A playplace. Leo announced that it was his "bad guys" birthday. The bad guy is a tiny medieval soldier action figure with a sword and a helmet. He demanded that we sing happy birthday to the bad guy...the whole way home. And even though this may have sounded like a ridiculous request, I couldn't help but think that it was not nearly as ridiculous as the some of the requests I got from my co-workers on a weekly basis back in my corporate America days. I sang with GUSTO the entire way home!!!!

6) We are in the beginning stages of looking into preschool programs for Leo...I sometimes try to imagine dropping him off for preschool but all I can see floating in my head is me waving goodbye from the sidewalk to this face!!

I know, I know. I'm not the first mom to have to send their kid off somewhere. Hell - some moms have to do it way earlier when their children start daycare as wee babes.

But I just can't imagine this guy....

Thriving on his own somewhere without me!!

Okay so I'm being a bit dramatic with the photo choices but I am just surprised that it is time to discuss preschool already. He wouldn't start until the fall if we even decided to send him somewhere. I'll probably end up keeping him home and doing some sort of homeschool preschool.

You know - the one for special kids ;)

7) And I leave you with some of my new favorite photos :)

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!

Documentary Overload

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:09:00 +0000

I have completely shut down. I am down to the bare-bones necessities of life. I eat. I sleep. I change diapers. I pee...a lot. I am currently keeping 4 people alive (one really large person and 3 very small people) and trying to keep my husband happy with good food and a cheery attitude. Except when I am trying to stand up or hobbling to the bathroom while my hips readjust from horizontal to vertical positions. Then I am the grouchiest, loudest, most dramatic, complainer ever!!

But it is ALL for a good cause!!!

During the course of the last few weeks, I have officially begun winter hibernation. I have a stock of brownies in the fridge and all the Netflix movies a girl could want. Currently, I'm on a documentary binge. I thought it important to share all of the documentaries I have watched over the course of the last few weeks with you. Mostly because I am highly influenced by the opinions of others and watch almost every movie someone recommends to me. So perhaps a couple of you might benefit from my schmorgasbord of documentaries here. You must watch them all! If you aren't in the mood for documentaries now, save them until you are ready. I promise you won't be disappointed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Credit

1) The first one we stumbled on was called Fat Head (watch instantly on Netflix). Originally, I wanted to pull out all of the fantastic quotes from this movie and list them for you, but that requires watching it over again and I don't have the motivation. You must watch it!! It is super entertaining and takes a realistic look at food from the viewpoint of consumer responsibility. He radically suggests that McDonalds is NOT shoving super-sized french fries down your throat every day. He even outlined how the government-run agencies blasted fast food restaurants for using healthy animal fats to fry their foods back in the day. They then turned to the "healthy" alternative of partially-hydrogenated oils. YUCK!! This was the most entertaining by far of all the documentaries and my new favorite!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2) We also watched Waiting for Superman - a documentary about the public education system. Made me want to stop paying my taxes altogether until they treat teachers as in any other business. If you are a good teacher - you get a paycheck. If you are a terrible teacher, you're fired! Simple as that. It was a real eye-opener! Had you ever heard of the rubber rooms for suspended teachers in New York?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

3) Okay - next is The Future of Food. It is a MUST SEE!!! All about genetically modified foods and the evil giant corporation (I mean that in all sincerity) Monsanto. I had heard the name Monsanto once or twice but never fully grasped the pure evilness of their business practices and their under the table dealings with the US Government. A big thank you to Obama for quietly giving this corporation all the rights in the world to poison, not only the US, but also the world... (You can also watch this documentary on Hulu and Youtube!)

(Oh! And I finally watched Food, Inc. That was also very good - but at this point, I think I'm the only person in the US who hadn't seen it!)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4) Speeeeaaaaaaakkkking of Obama, Media Malpractice is especially important to watch right now before the election! It is no secret that the media has been spinning things for years. That's fine. But until everyone realizes it and does their own research, we are in trouble. This documentary was awesome! Whether or not you voted for Obama, rode the Palin-hating or loving train, or plan on writing in Mickey Mouse this election, and you really should watch it!! (All this comes from a Canadian citizen living in the US and regretting not being able to vote!!)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5 and 6) And, speaking of media not giving us the full story on stuff - how is it that I am 30 years old and NEVER understood the reality of North Korea????? I heard jokes about Kim Jong Il's hair and height, but never fully recognized what was happening in North Korea. I watched two amazing documentaries that are definitely begging your time and attention: Kimjongilia and National Geographic: Inside North Korea. My heart aches for the people oppressed in North Korea - starving, imprisoned, brainwashed. I am so embarrassed I never knew the full story. But I am so glad I found these two documentaries.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7) The best of them all was the 2005 Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi States series I found this week. I visited Auschwitz and Birkenau when I was in Europe. It was eye-opening and I felt very well educated about what happened. But the full history behind the Holocaust is so extensive and disturbing that it is hard to fully comprehend it all. I found this amazing 6 part documentary on Netflix that you MUST watch! The movie world is saturated with Hitler/Nazi/Holocaust movies, but they don't cover the complete story. This series was extremely well-done and informative with interviews from survivors.

8) And lastly, to lighten things up, we (we being me and the kids while Jason was at work) watched the Justin Bieber: Never Say Never documentary. (A facebook friend I respect posted that she liked this one - so I had to try it!) Did you know he is actually quite talented??? I have a new respect for him even though I only know one of his songs. (I still believe there is no hope for him. He will turn out like all the other pop stars and I will be sad for him when he is all over the tabloids.)

Okay - so now you know what I have been doing the last few weeks. A whole lotta NOTHING! But the reality is that I will have very little lounging time in a month. Baby is due February 12th! So I am vegging out now and relaxing. A little Downton Abbey Season 2 perhaps? YES PLEASE!!! (More than a couple people are raving about it online and it is SOOO good!!)

I should add that I have a legitimate excuse for not blogging. The chair where my computer is located is soooo uncomfortable when you are 9 months pregnant!!!

Let me know if you watch (or have watched) any of the documentaries. And please recommend more to me! I have a month of quality time to spend on the couch eating bon bons and ignoring my chores.

And, in case you have no interest or time to waste in front of the TV with all those documentaries, I leave you with this hilarious dance party by Elena. I have been trying to catch her signature move on camera for weeks now and I finally did it! I don't know what it is about her dancing, but her arms take on a whole rhythm of their own and I hope she never picks up any new moves!

How strict are you with food??

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:59:00 +0000

Oh boy - Jason is back at work and I'm back to parenting on my own again. He had some use-it-or-lose-it vacation time to use and took off all last week. I milked it!! Sleeping in, baths, naps, not having to get up off the couch to get anything, etc. It was a glorious long week and we enjoyed every minute of it.

But now that he is back at work and I don't have someone to laugh with when both kids throw tantrums at exactly the same time, I have a question for you moms out there: When your child does not eat, do you prepare them something else to eat? If not, are you a snacking family where they can snack at some point to keep the hunger at bay?

We had a literal stand-off between me and the kids today. They wouldn't eat their scrambled eggs for breakfast.

I don't know why. We have never had a problem with eggs before! It wasn't like I laced the eggs with spinach and mushrooms. It was straight eggs!!

And I wasn't that worried about Elena, she hasn't been eating much lately. But Leo has had a very health appetite recently. I even had two pieces of jelly bread ready and waiting to serve to them if they ate their eggs. I also had them dressed and ready to go so we could go to the Chick-Fil-A playplace after breakfast! They knew the rule - finish your eggies and we'll go play. Not even THAT worked!!

Leo even made up a song when we were doing clean-up (with my grabber-tool!!!) that ended with,

"...and I wouldn't eat my eeggggiiiiiiieeeesssss!!"

It was pretty funny. I sent mixed messages by laughing at his little jingle, but still told him he should eat his eggs. It was all fun and games until about 10:30 am. That was when both kids started to hit hysteria from being hungry. We do not snack around here since snacking eliminates their appetites completely and lunch was at least an hour away.

From 10:30 to 11:00 I tried to convince them to eat the eggs. They refused so I just dropped it. Lots of tears, time-outs and tantrums later, I tossed the eggs and we finally arrived at lunch. (Needless to say, they didn't get their jelly-bread and they didn't get to go to Chick-Fil-A.)

Here is the thing though - I hear lots of moms say, "Either they eat what I put in front of them, or they go hungry."

But do these moms really let their kid go hungry??? Because the true punishment is on the parent when the child is in a state of hunger-induced hysteria. My only guess is that these children are allowed snacks in between meals. My kids can't eat snacks AND meals and we waste a lot of food if snacks are constant. I hate wasting food - especially protein-rich eggs that should set them on the right path for lots of playtime all day!!

So, what do you do? Are you as strict as me? Or do you start getting strict when they hit a certain age? If your kids decided to boycott eggs, what would you do???

Another treasure gained for Heaven

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa G.) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:47:00 +0000

One woman

Granny Bridget (Rankin) MacDougall - 1918-2011

10 children

Oldest 4 - around 1945

Oldest 4 - 2011

17 grandchildren

19 great-grandchildren + 1 on the way!

She was a magnificent and beautiful woman. She lived a full life and passed away this morning at age 93. (Her husband, my grandfather, passed away many years ago and I have no digital pictures of him yet.)

She has left behind a legacy and she has provided us an amazing example to follow.

Heaven has gained two MacDougall treasures in 2011.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

And in the perfect words of my Uncle Ray:
Fare-thee-weel, thou best and dearest!
Fare-thee-weel, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!
Ae fareweel alas, for ever!

MacDOUGALL, Bridget - 93, died peacefully Friday, December 30, 2011 while residing at Sullivan's Lane, Parkstone Enhanced Care, Halifax. She was born Bridget Ann Rankin, July 5, 1918 in West Mabou, Inverness Co., to Mary (Burke) Rankin and Angus Peter Rankin. She married Angus Alexander MacDougall in 1941, settling in Halifax, and for the next 36 years they raised ten children, until his passing in 1977. She was quick to offer a cheery word or a cup of tea and a biscuit, and was generous with her coveted home made bread. She lovingly crafted knitted items, from mittens and sweaters, to baby sets. Bridget honored her Cape Breton and Celtic heritage attending musical and social events, often speaking Gaelic, her first language. She was a frequent guest at the Gaelic Speaker's Group. She was a charter member of St. Stephen's Catholic Church and participated in the Catholic Women's League, Sodality, Legion of Mary and Cursillo.

She is survived by her children, Ronald (Cathy), Midland, Michigan; Bernard, Inverness; Lorne, Sydney River; Alexander, Michael and Elizabeth Ann, Halifax; Vincent Douglas, Vancouver, B.C.; and Raymond (Beth), Montgomery Village, Maryland. Bridget was blessed to be called Granny, Nanny and Grandma by 17 grandchildren: Stephen, Melanie, Paul, Lisa, Michael, Laura, Elana, Michael, Scott, Angela, Rosemary, Ainslie, Pascale, Jocelyn, Verity, and Angus; and 18 great-grandchildren: Monica, Michael, Alexandra, Mikaela, Ainslie, Breagh, Mari, Kathleen, Will, Thomas, Austin, Leah, Colton, Kylie, Leo, Elena, Audrey and Liam. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by a daughter, Kathleen VanZutphen and son, Leo.

She also is survived by sisters Christie Rankin, West Mabou, and Marie MacPhee, Colindale; and Catherine Annie MacLeod, Sudbury, Ont. She was predeceased by sisters, Catherine and Margaret Rankin and Mary Elizabeth MacKinnon and brother, Alexander Rankin; daughter-in-law Ruth MacDougall and grandson Kevin Van Zutphen.

Cuiridh mi clach air do chàrn.
"I'll put a stone on your cairn."