Thursday, October 30, 2008

Odes

Ode to the pacifier, ye of sucky endurance;
You provide many hours of nestling peace.

Ode to the swing, ye rocker of break-giving;
You give me many moments of blissful aloneness.

Ode to the vent fan over the stove, whirring away my child to dreamland.
You make me want to crawl inside the stove hood and fall asleep myself...yawn.

Ode to free-time - I'm sorry. Who are you?? I don't think I know you. Please leave my ode poem now.

Ode to my bathtub, full of blissfully hot bubbly water into which I can sink;
I love you I love you I love you.

Ode to my bed, ye of soft pillows and cozy sheets,
We do not spend enough time together of late.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Vroom

Life of late feels like a lot of work. Not in a bad way - just a lot of tasks, a lot of cleanups, a lot of childcare. A lot of mega-multitasking. Patting the baby while picking up stuff off the living room floor with my toes. I had forgotten about the toe-ability I've honed with each munchkin. I feel like I work from when I wake up until right before I go to sleep, when I crawl into a heavenly heavenly hot bath and soak and don't have to take care of anyone. For a little while.

Tonight when I was making "big eyes" at the baby cranking and fussing and needing to be held again, I realized tonight that I "tend" - babies, children, husband, house from 7:30 AM to 10:30 PM. That's pretty much all day. I know lots of people do this - but I'm still getting used to the idea of non-stopped-ness. Give me a minute here, people.

I crawled under the desk tonight to plug the modem back into the wall after we had unplugged it because of lightning. While I was under there, Tim informed me that I sort of needed to take the baby back (he was holding Zion) so that he could finish his sermon. I informed him that I was sorry, but I was losing him, that I was in a tunnel and was pretty sure we were going to be disconnected. Then I just stayed there under the desk for a little while in the blessed aloneness, resting my head on my arms, surrounding by calm white cables who weren't asking for a blessed thing. I decided I felt more empathetic for the ostrich after I came out. When you hide your head and can't see anyone, it sort of does feel like you simply aren't there to deal with the current crisis.

Despite the fact that life may sound a mite stressful, it actually isn't unenjoyable. The post-pregnancy crankiness that lingered for about 3 weeks has finally mostly faded, and I feel like we are settling more into a routine where life is a bit more predictable and Zion isn't quite as fussy as he had been.

Tommorrow I'll try to post some pictures. Right now I'm going to go enjoy the fact that my children are sleeping and the house is quiet and I have nothing else to do right now but whatever I want.

Good-bye!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Israel's To-Do List

1. Wake up at 7:20 AM (ie. "way too early for Mommy")
2. Trot noisily and with great gusto into Mommy's room where she looks at you very blearily and hastily hustles you out so that you don't wake up Zion.
3. Poke at baby in car seat while Mommy is taking a shower, causing Mommy to lunge out of shower repeatedly, making large water mess on floor that you can track your fresh clean socks in.
4. Rock baby's car seat energetically, causing repeat of the above.
5. Grab for all of Mommy's lotions and potions on the sink. Attempt to slather them on your face, too.
6. Empty good portion of baby wash onto hair, face, and body of cloth doll. Move on busily.
7. Screech with loud, loud protest when Mommy does not let you play with the toilet brush in the toilet.
8. Follow Mommy into her closet where you busily pull all of her tank-tops off the shelf as she is attempting to get dressed.
9. Take 4 pairs of Mommy's shoes and spread them randomly throughout the house.
10. Grab powder bottle and empty it onto Mommy's bed, into Zion's cradle, and in random powder piles throughout the bedroom while Mommy is out of bedroom.
11. Go into kitchen and stealthily open baking drawer and remove sugar. Scream bloody murder when Mommy catches you, administers appropriate discipline, and takes away your beloved measuring cups.
12. Take off diaper and go sit on Zion's fresh cradle sheet.
13. Crawl up beside Mommy while she is nursing Zion and administer energetic pats, pokes, kisses, and attempted body slams to beloved baby brother.
14. Be totally snotty at all times. And I do mean that in a literal sense.
15. Obtain bottle of saline drops used for Zion's stuffy nose and diligently spray them all over Mommy's bed.
16. Make suspicious water noises in the hall bathroom so that Mommy can investigate and find you sitting in the toilet bowl, having quite a good time.
17. Scream loudly when removed, as life is so, so hard.
18. Pour glass of water into bottom part of baby's cradle.
19. Grab knives off of counter and bring them into the hallway, causing Mommy to have a mini-heart attack.
20. Thoroughly enjoy the slowness with which Mommy reacts when she is trying to nurse the baby and you do something you know you're not supposed to and give Mommy a sly gaze, leading Mommy to decide if she should keep nursing the almost-asleep baby or put baby down, leading to baby bellows of protest, while she chases your speedy little butt down.
21. Fetch interesting items directly out of trash can.
22. Play the "fun" game of putting marbles in your mouth, leading to lots of intriging reactions from your Mommy and Daddy.
23. Throw self randomly and unpredictably onto ground and into your older brother, leading to lots of banging of the head and pain.
24. Bang Daddy very hard on the head with large flashlight and scream loudly and with great protest when appropriate discipline is administered and flashlight is removed from sweaty grasp.
25. Test any and all boundaries, way more than you were doing two weeks ago before there was a wee little baby in the house.
26. Drive Mama C.R.A.Z.Y.
27. Make Mama feel kind of bad that you are driving her so C.R.A.Z.Y., seeing as that you aren't even two years old until Wednesday.
28. Sleep sweetly while sucking your forefinger, hair tousled and limbs splayed, resting up for another busy day.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Zion

Today I took Zion for his two week check-up. He was:

7 pounds 5.5 ounces
20 inches long

This means that he has gained more than an ounce a day.

He is still sleeping really well, and is a wittle pwecious sugar-wuggar. :) :) :) Smooch smooch smooch to that kid.

Gabey-Baby

Tonight as we were eating supper, Gabe perched on his chair with a small stuffed bear tucked under his shirt. He soon informed me that he needed to go outside, because he was going to the hospital to have the baby. I told him he needed to have the baby back in one of the bedrooms, because I didn't want him to wake up Zion on his way in and out. After his bear baby was born, he "nursed" the baby, and then decided his baby needed a diaper change, so he carefully wiped off the bear bottom with wipes on the kitchen floor. He was going to flush the wipes, but Tim told him that "bear poop is very clean" and put them back into the wipes bag. :) Then the baby needed to sleep, so he tucked it in his little yellow toolbox, dragged his dinosaur blanket out into the hallway between the kitchen and the dining room, and informed me that he needed to sleep with the baby. He spread the blanket over himself and the "baby bear" in the toolbox, and then decided he needed to burp his baby, so carefully raised it to his shoulder and patted him gently. It was really cute.
_______________

Yesterday Gabe was "playing" Xbox football, when his controller wasn't working quite like it should. "Stupid contwolwer (controller)!!" he said. "This contwoler is making me drive crazy!!" :) :) (Is driving him crazy.)

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Hmmm

"Mom," Gabe said today, with a thoughtful frown on his face as he ate some chocolate I gave him after lunch, "After I'm done eating, if I poop....and I pee...and I vomit....can I have some more choc'yate?"

Such are the workings of a four year old mind.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

This Week

It's been a full week!! We brought Zion home last Sunday afternoon, and Mom left today, a week later. We have been so grateful for all of her help and "Grandma-love" that she could dole out this week.
Here's Granddaddy re-meeting his grandboy after a week.
I have been pretty exhausted and achy all week, catching up on sleep and feeling like I ran a marathon somewhere along the way in record time without even realizing it. :) I guess that's to be expected. I had a HEAVENLY nap on Friday, where I snoozed in the sun and felt 14 billion times better after I woke up. Zion slept busily beside me the entire time, doing what he does best. :)

Zion is actually a very happy baby, assuming I don't eat something that hurts his tummy. He sleeps the best of all three of my babies - I usually have to wake him up to feed him. I took him for his week check-up on Friday, and he was 6 pounds 10 1/2 ounces (declared an "amazing" weight gain by the doctor) and 19 1/2 inches long. He really is growing quickly, filling out, adding chins. :) He had a little bit of jaundice this week that has mostly faded.
This is Zion at 6 days old.

Friday night Cannon had a surprise baby shower for me!!! :) I felt very loved, and got a whole tableload of gifts for our new little one.
Here Gabe is enjoying the sheep from the cake Donna Yoder made for the shower.
Cheese with cake, anyone?? :)

Here's the other little guy bustling, jumping, hopping, skipping, and humming his happy little self around here.
The boys really are doing well with Zion.
It feels a little bit like "zone defense" around here, to use Gabe's beloved football lingo, in regards to baby protection. Gabe is always busy throwing footballs or tackling Israel, and Israel is just a happy little tornado of flailing limbs, kicking feet, and clumsy affection.

Anywho. Kids are fussing, baby is crying, and it's suppertime. Later!

Party Hardy or Why My Social Life Needs an Overhaul

Saturday Night. Most people relax, socialize, have a good time. It is 9:35 PM and I am sitting on the couch a little grouchily, as every other single person in my household, my mom and dad and husband included, are all fast asleep. What on earth has this world come to? Me and the baby are awake, and we're only having a fair to middlin' time together, the two of us. I consider my options: feed baby, burp baby, change baby's diaper, give baby pacifier. Life is EXCITING tonight.

10:30 - Baby down for the night. I shuffle over to the computer and putter around.

11:00 - I put the dog out to pee, push the lawnmower into the garage and close the garage door (out of sympathy for my comatose husband, who fell asleep at 7:30 PM), and take a bath, where I sit and stare morosely at the tub. (I am such a pleasant combination of exhaustion and hormones these days...)

11:15 - I crankily settle myself down for the night, all Saturday night fun completed. Woo-hoo. Baby fed. Israel fussing - added socks and extra pair of pants.

1:30 AM - Baby awake. Baby fed. Gabe wakes up and comes out to find me, in tears because he needs water. I suggest that he go pee and help with his pants one handed. Water obtained, boy peed and back to bed. Baby back to bed.

2:30 AM - Baby awake. Baby has a tummy ache. Mommy greatly regretting the Buffalo Chicken Pizza she thoughtlessly ate for supper, as Baby is not going back to sleep anytime soon.

2:50 AM - Baby given Gripe water. Happier, but still wide awake.

3:15 AM - Baby chillin'. Gabe out to find Mommy again...I forget why, but it was important. Needs tended to.

4:15 AM - Baby finally back to sleep. Mommy creeps back into bed.

4:30 AM - Israel crying out in his sleep. Tim sent in to the rescue.

4:35 AM - Israel still crying out. Mommy goes in to rub his back and pat him.

4:40 AM - Back in for poor Israel. Thinking of Tim's alarm, which is due to go off in approximately 2 hours. Loudly.

5:00 - Snore.

6:30 AM - Israel awake. Tim up to get him milk and work on his sermon. Baby fed.

8:45 AM - Baby awake. Mommy awake. Everyone's awake.

My Saturday night revelry is finished. Until next weekend...