Babyfingers

What we did in January

2012-01-27T10:48:00.000-05:00

The kids rarely give me time to blog during the times of day when I am inspired to do so, and at this rate I'll barely have anything to look back on when I want to remember all we did during this busy time. I'm going to try to start doing a post at the end of each month with pictures of some things we did, and a few words to explain. Here's what we did in January.

1/2: Went to Build-a-Bear for Cousin Michael's third birthday. Suzi and Ivey both made dogs. Ivey picked out a beautiful Esmeralda costume for hers. And then named it Bullseye.

Suzi named hers Spot, even though it didn't actually have a spot.

Ivey loved the pretend bath station best, mesmerized by the way air came out when you pushed the pedal. She finally pulled up a seat to get comfortable and stay a while. Eventually we had to pry her off of it because a line was forming behind her.

1/7: The weather was so freakishly warm we decided to take the kids to the zoo. The animals were so active! That elephant in the background pooped right in front of us and then another elephant ate it, as a horrified, gagging bunch of visitors looked on. So educational!

A rattlesnake in the reptile house slithered up to look at Ivey through the glass. She stared into his beady eyes. It was eerie. Then she burst into tears and we moved on to the next area. We visited the orangutans and the baby looked at us through the glass, too. Then the mama took the baby over under their shelter and they all looked at us like dumb humans don't even know to go in from a shower of rain. The monkeys screeched and fought, and then when the rain stopped and we got to play on the playground, the girls pretended to be monkeys too.

1/8: We finally started our homemade vanilla extract, after having the beans for weeks. It is so simple, just drop some split-open beans into a bottle of vodka and let steep for several weeks, shaking every few days. I can't wait for it to be ready to use.

1/10: It's been a slow month for crafts, after an almost-too-crafty December. But I did manage to get these arm warmers made for my mom, to match her pullover. I used the Katwise arm warmer tutorial, which you should definitely buy because it's great.

I spent a lot of time during this whole month reflecting on how wonderful our floor is compared to the carpet we used to have. It was an early Christmas present from my awesome in-laws.

Robert continued to eat lots of potatoes and Cheerios and some bananas. Bananas are his favorite thing to toss in the floor. At least half his potatoes end up smeared all over him, in his seat, and thrown in the floor too. But he does eat a fair amount of them, as evidenced by his diapers (yuck). Photo taken 1/10.

1/13: Suzi and Ivey watched The Nutcracker, which we DVR'd in December, and then performed their own unique rendition, which was pretty entertaining as well.

1/15: I made a toy pick-up sticker chart for the girls to help them get into the habit of cleaning. Not really my style, but I figured it was better than yelling at them. When the first row of stickers was complete, their reward was baking and decorating a cake. Mama and Daddy ate a lot of it too. Yum! The next reward is a special movie night with popcorn.

1/20: Robert figured out how to push up onto his knees! He now plays while sitting with his fat, adorable little feet sticking out from under his butt.

1/21: We have to bathe the boy a lot more now that he's in the habit of coating himself in sweet potatoes on a daily basis. He still hates it, screams, refuses to sit down in the water. But he is so cute and cuddly afterwards.

1/24: Allowing Ivey to feed the baby made such a mess, but it was totally worth it for the cuteness. Suzi fed him, too. She did a neater job.

Not pictured:

1/25: Zonker day. We spent about four hours at our favorite park letting the kids run out some energy and get some sunshine after several rainy days. Our friends Baby Adelaide and her dad came to play too! Then we went out to dinner with Daddy and bought Suzi some Beyblades and Ivey a Sing-a-ma-jig. A wonderful day and the kids slept great that night.

1/26: Casserole day. My mom and I went grocery shopping and then spent all day preparing a total of 12 casseroles (white chicken lasagna, pesto chicken penne, spaghetti bake, chicken pot pie). While the kids wore Grandpa out. Full freezers, tired mamas.

That's a little bit of our month so far! Now I'm off to spend some time with Ivey while the baby (hopefully) naps and Suzi plays at Grandma's house.

Bobber: Nine months old

2012-01-09T20:00:00.000-05:00

Robert has changed a lot since my last post about him!

1) He's eating now. We usually give him YoBaby yogurt, applesauce, or sweet potatoes from Jordan's family's farm. He eats at least a half a container of yogurt in a sitting. He also eats Cheerios. I bought a container of puffs from Earth Fare, but he actually seems to prefer the (off-brand) Cheerios. Fine with me; they are cheaper anyway!

2) He still wins at hair, and we are still not cutting it. It's wavy and sticks up in the front. I love how even if you brush and slick it down, it pops back up. It reminds me of character out of a Dr. Seuss book.

3) Robert is not crawling yet, but he can scoot across the hard floor quite well. What he lacks in coordination he makes up in upper body strength--reaching and pulling himself along with his arms. He spends most of his play time on his belly, scooting around and looking at toys. If he sees someone or something he wants, you see that excited look in his eye and then hear slap-drag-slap-drag-slap-drag as he inches along the floor to get to it. He also loves to find small things in the floor to try to eat. He loves to sink his gums into a good book. One of his favorite hangouts is under his sisters' table because there tend to be crumbs there no matter how often we sweep. It drives me nuts. He gets plenty of floor time now, though. Just today he figured out how to pull up on a chair to his knees!

4) He still loves to cuddle, both with me in the rocking chair and in the Ergo with Daddy. Oh, and also in bed at night. It doesn't matter how asleep he is. He can tell you've put him down and will usually wake up crying if you do. Jordan and I take turns cuddling with him at night. He gets passed back and forth several times, since he still nurses regularly at night and I'm the only one who can do that. Sometimes I just want to sleep without him, but usually I don't really mind. I know I'm going to miss all these cuddles when they're gone!

5) Even though we tried putting him in the tub with his sisters to play and get washed, he continues to hate being in the water. Shower, sink, tub--one is as repulsive as the other to Robert. I feel so guilty washing him, but it has to be done occasionally! I'm too embarrassed to say how long we've let him go between baths.

6) Robert is still sporting a gums-only grin. People keep suggesting that he might be teething, but if he is he has yet to get a tooth to show for it. I love his toothless smile though! It's precious!

7) We took him to the doctor December 28 for a checkup, and while he is doing great, he is a lightweight. He has fallen off the chart a bit since we took him at a few weeks old, but the doctor wasn't that worried. He told us to encourage more solids, and we are (see #1). The same thing happened with Suzi at this age.

8) I can't remember exactly when it was, but Robert learned to say "Mama" at least a month ago and is now saying "Dada" too. He currently says "Dada" more often, but when he is hungry or wants to cuddle and I don't pick him up fast enough, he calls for me. Mamama, uh Ma-mahhhh!

Cuddle King. Sweetest boy ever. I heart my Bobber!

How the New Year's Eve 5K went

2012-01-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

A few minutes after finishing, just before midnight!

I ran the whole thing! My official time was 32:34, and I finished about in the middle of the pack. It was great--definitely the coolest way I've ever spent New Year's Eve! I'm so thankful for First Flight. The hard part now will be staying motivated and continuing to run. The next race is not for a long time, and First Flight isn't meeting for a few weeks. I am also getting tired of running around my hilly little neighborhood, and need to find a better place to go. I want Jordan to run with me, but Robert makes that hard. We might buy another jogging stroller when we get our tax refund. We had one and weren't using it so we sold it. Oops!

Blurry pic of me crossing the finish line

My mom and dad kept the girls for the night, but Jordan came with me and held the baby. He had a bad cold, too. Poor sweet Jordy.

And, I wasn't going to write about this, but... Have you ever been in a race and realized you were the pacesetter for someone else? A lot of the people who ran the Resolution Run didn't run the whole thing. 30+ minutes is a long time to run if you aren't used to it, so some people alternated running and walking. There was this one (really skinny, taller, younger) girl who was ahead of me, and about a mile in she started taking walking breaks. I was running at a pretty constant pace. Whenever I'd get past her, two seconds later she'd start running again and would get ahead of me. This happened at least five times. Finally I think she got ahead of me by a minute or two and I didn't see her again, which was fine. It happened to a lesser extent with a pair of runners who finished a couple of minutes after I did. Anyway, it sort of psyched me out during the race. I'm not sure why. I mean, I was trying to run my own race but they were distracting! Also, I may have done this same thing to someone else a couple of months ago in a longer walk/run and now I feel like a jerk. Is this a common thing? I might need horse blinders or hypnosis for next time.

Suzi: Little girl, big imagination

2012-01-05T13:53:00.000-05:00

So here is the long-awaited Suzi post.

Oh, Suzi, my firstborn. If ever there were a lesson in learning to discover your child, and not try to mold them into a preconceived notion, Suzi is it. And I am so glad.

The day of our mid-pregnancy ultrasound, Jordan and I invited my parents along to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. When the announcement was made, I said "YYYYES!" I envisioned a future of teensy jewelry and little pink baby shoes and a lavender nursery with lots of pink stuff in it. I thought of all the girly stuff I liked as a child and dreamed of sharing it all with my daughter.

Her first Halloween we dressed her as a tiger, but I tied bows onto the ears so people would know she was a girl tiger. We dressed her in frilly dresses and put bows in her hair for a while. But soon she started to develop her own unique fashion sense. She wanted to wear pants, not skirts or dresses. Nothing too girly. Eventually she began requesting clothes that were boy-ish. She finds fault with so many girls' clothes, even the shirts and pants, that I sometimes just buy boy's stuff for her. This Halloween she asked me to make her a Musketeer costume.

While most little girls pretend to be the mommy or princess, Suzi is the daddy or the prince. She puts on a deep voice, brandishes a play sword and hums dramatic music as she rescues Ivey from a dragon. She watches Tangled and assigns Ivey the role of Rapunzel. Suzi is "Flem" Rider (Eugene). And the best part of all this is that she's a good actor. She commits. She took a drama class recently and I think she might grow into it and want to be in some plays when she's a bit older.

She makes herself costumes. Rain boots are a staple, whether she is playing Santa or a prince or several other things. She ties a scarf or playsilk around her neck and calls it her tie. Sometimes she wears long ties, and sometimes she prefers a bowtie. In fact, on my crafting to-do list is a set of bowties for Suzi. Her favorite plaything is the basket of dress-up clothes we keep in the bottom of our hall closet.

Suzi's other main interests are drawing and writing. I started her out on Oak Meadow's kindergarten curriculum. We did a letter a week with review weeks every three letters. The thing is, Suzi already knows most of the letters and is itching to spell words. My mom works with her when she's at her house, and Suzi will take off on her own, writing a bunch of letters and a few short words in her free time. After learning that tricky Z, she can write her name. Her other favorite words to write: Ivey, toy and "at" words. My mom made her a little book of words ending in "at." Once when we were in the dollar store she begged for a Toy Story word search book and we bought it for her, figuring she could at least color in it even though it was really for an older child. Instead, she took it and began copying the words out of it--long words--and then asked us what she had written. She loves to write the word sister. I think for her official kindergarten year of homeschooling I am going to use the Oak Meadow science, math, health, and other activities we haven't done yet and unschool/supplement if necessary for reading and writing. If we let her lead the way, we'll be fine.

Sympathy note for Ivey, who had bumped her nose on the stairs. Suzi asked us how to spell the words.

What perhaps stands out to me most about Suzi is her love for creating. She draws constantly, and if she sees me taking something out of a box, or throwing something away, she will ask if she can have the item being discarded. She dresses her stuffed animals and herself in scraps of wool left over from my sewing projects. She turns cardboard boxes into cars and all sorts of things. Every day at least once I hear, "can I have that (thing going in the trash/recycling)?" It can be my spaceship!" Or a car, or a present, or a bed for Shroom, which is another story. On Christmas Eve, all by herself, she drew everyone a doll or a toy soldier, folded them up and asked me for the materials to individually wrap them. She is so thoughtful and loves to bring joy to others with her art.

For Grandma - a toy soldier under a rainbow

The flip side? She has never gotten excited over being led through a specific craft project or helping in a prescribed manner in the kitchen. She'll do it, but she much prefers to do her own thing and that has taken some getting used to for me and, even more, for my mom. Who doesn't want their little granddaughter to don an apron and spend some quality time learning Grandma's favorite cookie recipe? It's okay, though. Her imagination, individuality and natural drive to create are going to take her places. With Suzi, my most important role is to protect and nurture these gifts. Doing a better job of that is one of my goals for the new year.

That curly little head is full of beautiful ideas just waiting to be born.

I'm running a 5K tonight!

2011-12-31T10:42:00.000-05:00

You should see my "edit posts" list. It's full of half-finished things that I started to write because I was the only one awake and thought it'd be a good time to gather my thoughts. Then the kids woke up and started fighting, the baby wanted me to nurse him, I had to go fix breakfast and then clean up after it, the phone rang... When I come back to half-written posts I often start wondering why I started writing them at all. Who wants to read it anyway? Does anyone care? Should I feel guilty for sitting here writing when the chores I should be doing are absolutely endless? That is how this, the patchiest season of my blog since I started it in 2007, happened.

There are some things I really want to remember, though, like how nervous-excited I am about tonight. It's New Year's Eve and tonight I'm running a 5K! I've run one before. A few, actually, but I was 14 years old. At least one of them sucked, BIG TIME. The one that was really awful I ran as the slowest competing member of our high school cross country team. It was at a nearby school with a confusing course. It was like, "go around the track twice, through the nature trail, over that bridge, around the band field, back through the nature trail, around the school..." I can't find my way out of a wet paper bag. Damned if I can remember a bunch of detailed instructions when I am busy just trying to get enough oxygen to my muscles so I don't collapse. I lagged behind the other runners, and with no one to follow and no volunteers directing I had no idea where I was going. It was so sad. I cried. I'm not sure if I ever finished that one. If I did, it took me a ridiculously long time.

The races got better and eventually I was keeping up with the others. When the season was over I realized what good shape I was in. It was awesome. I didn't go back the next season because I wanted to devote my time to Junior ROTC activities instead, and I haven't run a 5K since.

So here we are now. I am 27. I have had three babies and gained about 30 pounds since I was 14. If you had told me last year that my final act of 2011 would be to finish a 5K... No. That wasn't on my radar. I started running at the end of September because of a local running group called First Flight. The wonderful volunteers come out and run with us for free at a local track, leading us through a program similar to Couch to 5K. The first time I went was week three of the season. The longest we had to run without a walking break was three minutes, and I could barely do it. I started having bad knee pain, and though I finally did finish a 7K walk/run at the end of October, I had to take a long break after that. The chiropractor helped me get back to normal and I started back the next season. Two days ago I went to the track and ran almost exactly the length of the race, 3.1 miles, in under 36 minutes. Not fast. But when I think about what a struggle it was three months ago to run slow for just three minutes without stopping, this is a mountain I have climbed.

I want to do it so I can keep up with all the fun my kids want to have. I want to run with them someday. I want to be one of those 70-year-old women who is still running. It's also a challenge, something to be proud of, and a healthy addiction to replace the junk food that was there before. I've lost five pounds and a jean size since I started, and that's nice too, but my children are my main inspiration.

When I ran at 14 I had no frame of reference. It was pretty much the hardest thing I'd done up to that time. Now when I run I think about birth. I think, this is really hard. My legs are burning and my heart might beat out of my chest. I could just stop now and it would be a huge relief. But then I look at my watch. I remember the intensity of waiting for my babies, the amazing work looming ahead of me and not knowing how long it would last. I gazed off, zoned out, got it done. If I could do that, I know I can finish a run.

The race starts at 11:00 tonight. At the finish line there will be Jordan taking my picture and Baby Bobber ready to nurse and once I get home we will drink champagne and celebrate resolutions begun before the ball ever dropped. I will have done it and it's going to be amazing. Deep breaths. I can do this. And I'm not going to get lost this time, either.

An Ivey update

2011-11-28T08:17:00.001-05:00

Our sweet Ivey is about two years and three months old.

1) She talks a lot, quite clearly, but still has her own cute little way of saying certain things. It's a bittersweet feeling for me when she learns to say another one of them correctly. In the past month or two she started calling one of her friends "Chawis" instead of "Kess." A couple of my other favorites: Ponyo is her favorite movie, and she sometimes says "I'm Sos-cake!" (it's really Sosuke, pronounced Soskay). One of her favorite phrases from Toy Story is "evil doctah porkchock!" The girls have a Seven Dwarves set they play with at my parents' house and at some point Ivey learned to cross her arms, frown and say in a deep voice, "I'm gwumpy." Oh, and granola bars (which we are having for breakfast this morning!) are "L-bars." But my absolute favorite right now is what she says when she wants someone to go away and leave her alone. She made it up herself, and says it in her meanest, roughest voice: SMACK OFF!

Ivey and her Ponyo doll I made

2) Between Suzi and Ivey, there's hardly a meal I can fix that they'll both eat. They both love cheese, noodles, apples, grapes and dessert. That's about it. I'm hoping Ivey's pickiness is just a short phase! It popped up around the time she turned two. Previously she was our child who loved to eat lots of different things.

3) Ivey's been keeping Suzi up at night. We put them to bed together, and then we hear Suzi saying "Aah! Ivey! Quit poking me!" Some nights we have to let Suzi sleep in our bed until they both fall asleep, and then we move her back in with Ivey. It's getting better, though, because Ivey misses Suzi and wants her to stay. It's sweet.

4) My favorite qualities of Ivey's are her strength and determination. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to stand up for herself or do something difficult to get it. The persistence that sometimes inconveniences us now will someday serve her, and others, well. When I envision her at 20, these are the qualities I want her to keep.

5) She will drop what she's doing to feed the dog, get me a wipe and diaper so I can change the baby, or turn on the music for Robert on his Jumperoo. She also picks up toys pretty well when asked. So helpful.

6) I should have mentioned it sooner, but we stopped breastfeeding. I guess it was around 25 months, when it seemed she had forgotten how to do it correctly and rarely asked anyway. After she'd gone a few days without asking I started offering her a book and a cuddle instead. She occasionally asks to nurse still, but I decline and she is okay with that.

7) She is really good at doing a fishy face. None of us can do it like she can.

She puckers up, and then...

Smack! Fishy kiss! I love those fishy kisses.

(Plus, could she look any cuter in those piggy pajamas?)

8) Ivey loves to cook. She whips up delicious pretend dinners for us in the toy kitchen and brings them to us to eat. The names are never anything we can understand. When she sees me making something in the kitchen, she is quick to offer her help. I daydream about someday having a child who wants to cook us dinner.

Ivey's Halloween costume. She wanted to be Dixie the Dachshund (our dog who lives with Grandma and Grandpa)

She came downstairs like this one day, looking like she was wearing a crinoline slip under her dress. Turns out it was a tutu.

Me and Ivey working side by side on crafts and drawing

A post about Suzi is coming soon!

All about Bobber

2011-11-17T10:01:00.000-05:00

Robert in the gnome hat I made him

Ever since I started this blog when Suzi was a few months old, it's served as a baby book for my kids. But Robert is my third child and I've really slacked off on keeping up with his milestones and things! It's hard to find time to blog, especially now that I'm also into Facebook and just discovered Pinterest (which is fantastic by the way). So anyway, today I thought I'd write a Robert update. He just turned seven months old November 9th.

1) The first week of November sometime, we gave Robert some mashed up sweet potatoes (from Jordan's family's farm--yummy). He smushed them around with his hands and when we tried to put them in his mouth he was like, you guys are so weird! That's what milk is for! However, he will happily gum down a large apple slice or carrot. Fine with me. We'll try again soon.

2) Robert wins at hair. It is curly-wavy and long on top. Jordan says we'll have to cut it soon, but I say NO.

3) It's like I hadn't noticed that Bobber is no longer a newborn. He nurses all the time like he's a newborn. And he wants to be held all the time like he's a newborn! But yesterday I had a Norwex party and my friend brought over her sweet baby girl who is about three days younger than Robert. (Robert liked her, by the way! And she attended his birth, as her still-pregnant mommy came as a midwife apprentice. Cool, right?) Well, Terri was all over the place, crawling, sitting up on her own, pulling up on furniture. Robert does none of these things. He can sit up, but every time I try to sit him in the floor he straightens his very strong legs and makes me lay him down instead. I decided that maybe I haven't given him enough floor time. A rowdy two-year-old sister running all around will curtail that pretty quick. I'm going to start encouraging him more.

See? A happy baby boy sitting in the floor, right? About two minutes after this pic was taken, he reared back and whacked his little head. Which required nursing and cuddles. He does this regularly, and then the next time I try to sit him in the floor he is understandably skittish.

4) The boy loves to cuddle. He has started to spend somewhat reasonable amounts of time out-of-arms in the Jumperoo and even sometimes on his belly scooting around in the floor. But he prefers to be cuddling, especially if he is nursing and cuddling. I like it too. Our cuddling time, when he falls asleep, is my Facebook/Pinterest time. He also loves being on Daddy's back in the Ergo. And guess what? Mommy loves that, too. Soooo much.

5) He hates baths. Screams through them. We usually take him in the shower and just wash him as fast as we can, poor guy.

6) No teeth yet. It's no big deal; I just thought I'd make a note of it so we can remember later.

7) Bobber is not a big guy. Kind of medium, I guess--we'll find out his weight when he goes for his checkup sometime this month. His friend Baby Crayon who was born several months later is about his same weight. I held Crayon the other day and it feels so strange, because he feels about Robert's size but just sits there when you hold him. Robert flails his arms and legs and tries to leap out of your arms or stand up in your lap.

I love this sweet little boy. In the next week or so I'll try to get updates posted for the girls!

Review: Prima Princessa presents Sleeping Beauty

2011-10-20T09:40:00.000-04:00

I had already reviewed two previous videos by Prima Princessa, and we loved them, so I was happy to get a copy of this one to review. It did not disappoint. I think this one may even be the girls' favorite, because the story is somewhat familiar and it involves a prince and princess.

Prima Princessa presents Sleeping Beauty follows the same format of Prima Princessa's previous productions in that it features a shortened version of a ballet, performed this time by the Royal Ballet from London. Between segments of the ballet, dance steps are demonstrated by ballet students and then viewers are encouraged to try the steps and dance along with the children on the DVD. The programs are arranged specifically to hold the attention of young children. They can enjoy watching a ballet and learning about dance whether or not they can attend a live performance or participate in a dance class.

The girls wanted to get involved in this one. Suzi, who barely touches anything girlish these days, felt moved to run upstairs and fish a pink tutu out of the dress-up basket. I took about 30 pictures.

Ivey wanted to play too. She grabbed the tutu, put it on herself and pranced around the living room in circles saying "I Aroya! I Aroya!"

So they both loved watching the ballerinas in Sleeping Beauty. I enjoyed it too, as it's much more pleasant to hear and watch than almost any kids' show and encourages them to get off the couch and move around.

Also, Prima Princessa presents Sleeping Beauty has a little something extra at the end--arts and crafts, a tea party, and acting demonstrations. My girls were happy to see the DVD keep going after the ballet was over. The cute craft ideas were my favorite (and there are more craft ideas on their Tutuzone website). Since we are homeschooling, we frequently enjoy making things together!

For all the entertainment and fun activities this video provides, the price cannot be beat. It can be purchased here on Amazon. I think it'd be especially good to save for a rainy day or a playdate!

When zoning out is a useful skill

2011-10-06T10:27:00.000-04:00

A couple of friends posted on Facebook recently about First Flight, an organization that helps people who aren't necessarily athletic to become runners. I've tried running before. It never stuck. But when I saw my friends posting photos of themselves decked out in colorful running gear, grinning before a 5K, I thought maybe I did want to run again. I hate the idea that because I am no longer a child, and now have children of my own, I have missed a chance. I never lost all the weight I gained with Robert, and sometimes I feel weak and tired. I want to be able to keep up with my kids as they grow and ask me to play tag or go hiking. So I went to First Flight. They are starting us out slow and working us up to running a 5K.

The first night was hard, but good. Megan and I had jumped in on week 3 of training, and the most we ran without walking breaks was three minutes. I did all the running but struggled to keep up. When I started running on my own I tried using my iPod, and it helped. I could turn on my favorite fast-paced music and focus on it. I think this is why I've never liked talking to people while I run. It brings me back into the real world where I am tired and my legs hurt.

It made me think of Robert's birth, for which I had taken a class to, in a sophisticated way, perfect my oft-discouraged zoning talent. In Hypnobabies, we listened to scripts for relaxation and self-hypnosis. We practiced, and for various stages of the birth there were special scripts to listen to. We never played them, though. Robert was born without a lot of commotion--so unlike Suzi's hospital birth, at which I had yet to perfect my zoning and it was discouraged, anyway.

I am totally zoned out here, minutes away from meeting Robert.

This skill is quite helpful with running. I pick a tree or cloud to stare through and fall into a rhythm with whatever is playing on my iPod. It helps me run longer and a little faster. If I didn't have this capability I probably wouldn't run at all. When I am done running I feel great. I am happier and have more patience with my kids. I also think regular zoning-while-running will help me greatly if we ever have another baby.

So to all those teachers who got on my case for zoning, which is basically the only thing I ever did to get in trouble in school: See how wrong you were? In our homeschool, The Lost Art of Zoning will be a required class. We will do totally aimless painting, listen to music, walk, run, jump on the trampoline, and stare out the window at the pretty clouds and trees. I bet having a designated time to do it will improve focus when it is necessary, like during math. This is a God-given capability and we must have it for a reason. I know I am not the only one.

Do you zone? Has it ever been useful to you?

P.S. I'll be back soon with pictures of the kids and more about my new running adventure!

Need a good reason to buy a serger?

2011-09-20T11:09:00.000-04:00

Here ya go. It's an elf sweater coat tutorial by Katwise. You're welcome.

This is a coat I made just before the tutorial came out. I used my regular sewing machine and did some of it by hand.

I'm still happy with it. But here are some of the things Kat's tutorial has inspired me to make, in no particular order.

Seriously, if you enjoy sewing at all, especially thrifty sewing, buy that tutorial. It is so fun and inspirational and worth many times what she is charging!

In related news, I will be stocking an Etsy shop soon because I can't stop making stuff. Right now we are so close to finishing our flooring project, and all my sewing supplies are jumbled everywhere so I can't make anything. That is not a fun feeling for me. Also, the house is in such a state of disorder that I couldn't possibly homeschool in it. I am working to get it back to somewhat normal today and we will pick back up tomorrow.

But the new floor is lovely. We decided to go with laminate, after discovering how soft bamboo is. Our kids would've wrecked it in a heartbeat. We are just inches away from having the floor completely in (we need a whole new box because of a couple of damaged boards), and then there are a few finishing touches we'll do this week. But the nasty carpet is out--yay! And it looks so bright and new. I was inspired to move the furniture back to the walls to make more of an open space, and when I get my serger set back up, I'm going to make something new called a floor sled. Doesn't that sound fun?

I'll be back soon with pictures of the floor and the sled.

We are not bored.

2011-09-10T11:16:00.000-04:00

(It is never boring over here.)

I didn't mean to neglect my blog for so long. We go through seasons of energy and perseverance, then seasons of feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start. Right now we are trying to work our way out of the latter. It's just kind of hard to clear our physical and mental space for homeschooling when I haven't had time or energy to clean properly and all the toys have been dragged into the floor and Robert is crying to be picked up. After days like that I just haven't felt like blogging.

So, since it's Saturday and Jordan is currently walking Robert around in the Ergo, I thought I'd post a quick update and lots of pictures.

Let's start with Suzi. We are enjoying homeschooling, although I am still getting used to it. These photos are from last week, which was B week. We read Goldilocks and the Three Bears, did lots of butterfly stuff, and also talked about the number 1.

(She made this butterfly, which has extra-large antennae, for Aiden)

(We are so happy to have friends to share our first homeschool year!)

This past week was supposed to be C week but it was a total bust. We got frustrated and stressed and are going to start over fresh Monday. And we can do that. If we did one lesson a week with no breaks we'd be done by the end of April--way early. Suzi is also doing soccer with her friend Aiden. She likes it better than dance, and I feel good knowing that no one is going to spring a frilly tutu on her at the end. That's why she quit dance.

Ivey has been spending her days joining in with our circle time and other homeschooling activities. She loves singing songs and doing the motions, maybe even more than Suzi does. When I sew, Ivey likes to sit by me and cut up scraps that I give her. She says "I sewin'!"

Yes, I'm a little proud. Ivey is still working on her potty skills, but we're almost there. We love listening to her talk. One thing she's said for a while: I will ask her to do something, like come sit on her potty, and she'll say "Tan't!" and go on to explain the important thing she is so busy doing, like making coffee in the toy kitchen. She makes us lots of pretend coffee, knowing we need it.

(Ivey loves her little friend Evie)

(She loves to pick up little rocks to carry home. Ha ha. I made her put this big one back.)

Robert. Bobber. The sweet boy is not at all fond of being put down. Never has been. He can play in his jumperoo now for a few minutes, and will play on the floor on a blanket for a little while. Usually just until Ivey comes over and invades his personal space by poking him or rolling up against him. Which I'm pretty sure turns him off to being put down on the floor to play the next time. (See why I am frustrated?) He is not yet sitting up on his own, but we have been able to put him on our backs in the Ergo (where he falls asleep). I can get a little relief this way, do some chores while he is safe and happy. Here he is at his first Clemson football game. Jordan was so happy.

Jordan, by the way, is working hard. Being awesome as always. Wants to get a motorcycle soon. He is taking two classes this fall in addition to working full-time. Luckily he just made it through a stressful period at work, the start of fall classes. There's a lot for an IT guy to do around that time!

And me? I've been loving my serger lately. I have mastered cleaning, oiling and threading it and have sewn a bunch of projects. There are half a dozen in my head right now that I want to do. Maybe I'll get to some of them today. I crave order and space but can't seem to get it. A garage to store a few things would be so amazing right now. But the good news? We are getting hard floors in our living room and dining room! Beautiful bamboo ones, probably, and you have no idea how happy I am to be getting rid of this terrible, horrible, no-good, very dirty carpet. Next weekend! I will do a more detailed post with pictures of my sewing projects later.

So that's what we're doing around here! Now I'm off to clean, sew, and enjoy the weekend with my family. Hope you're having a good one too!

First day of homeschool: a lesson in abandoning perfectionism

2011-08-17T09:30:00.000-04:00

Suzi dressed up "like Daddy." She loves the dress-up basket!

I was planning to start our first homeschool year next week, but a friend told me she had already sort of started. Our days couldn't get much harder right now anyway, so I said, why not? We'll get going a week early.

Yesterday we read the story of Peter Rabbit to get ready for today, and went over the tongue twister for the letter A. Suzi loved it, to my surprise. I thought it was kind of hokey, to be honest. She is enjoying repeating back the words about the lame tame crane and remembering more of it than I expected. We sang Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and I started to learn some of the new songs and fingerplays.

We don't have a beautiful beeswax candle yet, so I lit a regular old jar candle and did the motions to the morning verse wrong a time or two. I didn't want to go spend a bunch of money on the fancy papers and books and crayons right now, so this morning I had Suzi draw her picture and write her A's in a three-ring binder on unlined paper with regular crayons. It worked great. Baby Robert gave us 20 minutes or so to work on all this while he looked out the window. Ivey participated in everything with us--although her drawing and letter forming isn't quite there yet, obviously.

Suzi can draw an A, but it's rounded instead of pointy at the top. She's four, though. We are doing this a year early and I'm not going to push issues like these right now because I can see it frustrates her. That is the last thing I want! School should be fun!

Suzi's A

My gate drawing, and Suzi's. The black stuff on hers is to keep Mr. McGregor from getting to Peter.

Ivey's drawing. She can make stars, who knew?

Suzi is learning her letters, and I am learning to tell the perfectionist in my head to SHUT UP and leave us alone. It's hard for me, as someone who was public schooled, to wrap my head around the idea that Suzi does not need hours of lessons at four years old. And it doesn't matter if they are held at a desk. And it's unnecessary to push things she doesn't want.

I am loving our Oak Meadow homeschool so far. It's 9:00 and the girls are playing happily together. It seems that the few minutes of attention from me has their love cups filled and they are happy to go about their business. Exciting! I may get some time to myself this year after all!

Our little Ivey is two!

2011-08-12T12:22:00.001-04:00

This little baby girl.

She is two years old today! About this time I was calling Jordan and telling him to come home from work. But now, two years later, it is time to bake a cake!

Happy Birthday Ivey!

Hoping a to-do list will help me!

2011-08-09T09:05:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling so scattered. We've got Ivey's birthday coming up, and I'm not nearly ready. I've got ten half-finished craft projects lying around everywhere, the house is a mess, I can't seem to catch up with laundry or dishes, and the baby won't let me put him down for more than 10 minutes at a time. Oh and I want to start our (first ever!) homeschool year by the end of the month too. So I thought maybe if I made a list it could help me focus my efforts.

1) Catch up on dishes
2) Catch up on laundry
3) Finish friend's diaper cover (half done already!)
4) Bake Ivey's birthday cakes
5) Decorate Ivey's cakes
6) Go shopping for party food
7) Organize craft supply explosion
8) Figure out the Ergo back carry with Robert
9) Make decorations for Ivey's party
10) Work on plans for first day of homeschool

This is just my list for this week. I'm going to tentatively set the date for our first day of homeschool as August 22. It feels about right and will give me time to finish reading and planning.

I feel better already. Better get back to work now...

Richard, a boy lovey doll for Robert

2011-07-30T09:54:00.000-04:00

Robert has hardly any toys, and some of the ones he has have been commandeered by his sisters. I wanted to make him a sweet, simple little lovey doll. Making this little doll also satisfied my need to create.

Most people don't make a point of giving their little boys dolls--if they let them play with them at all. But when my Uncle Rob (dad's brother) was a little boy he had a baby doll named Richard. There are pictures of him playing with and loving Richard. I thought it was so sweet. So that is how he got his name.

I strongly believe in boys having baby dolls, just as girls should have toy tool boxes and cars and building blocks. No one is all girl or all boy. We all have some combination of "male" traits and "female" traits. As you probably know, the male and female hormones are not even exclusive to each sex. Boys do have a nurturing instinct and a need to express that through play. This is why, though I could have made this an all-blue doll, I decided to use pink and red.

He is made of soft cashmere (upcycled sweaters) with a wooden head, and his hat, which is attached at the back of the neck, can be pulled on or off his head. He seems to like Richard. He will grab his knotted hands and feet if I hand the doll to him and sometimes I find them damp from being chewed.

People used to come into Jennie G's boutique when I worked there and buy two or three "loveys" for their child because the original favorite toy had gotten lost. Those things cost about $10 each and are frequently discontinued, so I think if you can make a lovey instead it's a good idea. All the materials for Richard only totaled about $2, and I could easily replicate him if I needed to.

My kids and my crafts

2011-07-24T23:02:00.000-04:00

Two of my favorites. Also love spending time with Jordan. Doesn't happen much.

We did go to the midnight showing of Harry Potter, though. My parents offered to let the girls spend the night, and we thought hey, let's go to a movie, but not much was on but Harry Potter. So we shopped a while at Goodwill (Thursdays are $1 days, don't you know) and then hung out in line because we wanted to be sure to get a seat where we could run out if Robert started to cry. We were way early, and I was hoping there would be Harry Potter cake or something but there was only trivia and I felt oddly like a schoolchild. We did get to see some rather interesting costumes (grown man wearing a pillowcase!) and I only had to poke Jordan a few times right at the end of the movie to keep him awake. Robert slept through the entire thing. We should go to movies in the middle of the night more often!

Anyway, on to the pictures.

I've been making more wool diaper covers. I like making them with cute animals on the butt. These two I made for pregnant friends (one of whom just had her baby the other day, yay!). I want to make some to sell, if I ever get time.

I cut up the rainbow pants and tried again. They are a little improved now.

Wool pants! I love them! I just made these the other day as a first try. I'll have to make some more for Robert in several months that will fit for the fall and winter. I've got a couple of striped sweaters that are going to be SO CUTE on him as pants. I can't wait.

I went to a friend's Crochet Corner playdate the other day and she helped me get started on this hat. I finished it at the highland games. I like to crochet, but you know what I don't like? Paying a fortune for quality yarn. I love thrifting. I am not used to retail prices. But Saturday I found two little skeins of gray wool at Salvation Army for 50 cents each so I'm going to take it to the next Crochet Corner and see if I can make matching hats for Robert and me. That would be nerdy-adorable.

Here is a picture of Suzi at a birthday party last week. We let her dress herself. She has such a unique sense of style, don't you think? She loves anything boyish.

And this is classic Ivey, having a third or fourth yummy lemon poppy seed muffin. I was nursing Robert for a good part of this event and she begged the other moms to get them for her.

She still looooves her little brother, but he is getting to be not so little compared to her anymore! I remember when this happened with her and Suzi.

Suzi made these potato heads today and wanted me to take a picture. Now they are decorating the top of our TV cabinet. I love how she repurposed the mustache into eyebrows.

After spinning my crafty wheels in the mud for several days, I was so happy to finally finish something tonight. (Well, Jordan and I also repaired Robert's bouncy seat, which involved some sewing. But that wasn't really a craft.) This is a storage bag that hangs over the back of your car seat by the head rest. I saw the idea at punk projects, but as you can probably tell, I did not follow all of her directions. Hers looks a lot nicer, but I was in a hurry. After I installed our new storage bag, I was moved to spend the next half hour cleaning out the van. So thanks, Katie! You made my night.

My sweet Robert is looking more and more like me these days (we know because he looks like my same-age baby pictures). He isn't playing too much with toys yet, but he does seem to like these monkeys. He can roll from front to back and I'm pretty sure he could roll back to front, but he hasn't yet. His floor time is limited because I don't want Ivey wrestling with him/stepping on him. These were taken after the girls were in bed.

Oh, goodness. I never get tired of looking at him.

Coming to terms with the chaos

2011-07-21T16:12:00.000-04:00

Endless energy! Why can't I get some of that?

Sword fighting at the highland games a couple of weeks ago. Others were alarmed, I took pictures. But I did not buy the weapons :-)

Life is pretty wild right now with three little kids, but I think I am growing into it. Mostly with patience and a sense of humor, which I have learned are the two main things you need in parenting. Sometimes they even seem like the same thing.

Yesterday we had Hippie Handicrafts at our house. I love having my friends and their little ones over! Between the five of us in attendance yesterday, we had quite a few children. 11 of them, who ranged in age from 3-month-old Robert up to 10-year-old Corbin who helps watch the little ones and uses words like pandemonium. There is bound to be some interesting stuff going down in a house with all those kids in it. Once everyone goes home and it's just me and my kids again, it's suddenly so quiet that I almost expect an extra toddler to jump out of the closet beating a drum or something. It's a little lonely.

I'm not at all sure who used my camera to take this picture or the next one, but whoever it was isn't very tall.

Near the end of last week's HH meeting, the kids settled down to watch a movie. Phibby seems to enjoy these days, too.

Everything went pretty smoothly yesterday until the afternoon, when it was just me and Megan and our five kids. Usually I keep our Sharpie markers put away, but yesterday one got taken out and left on the dining room table. While Megan and I weren't looking, Ivey and Aiden got a hold of it and drew on themselves. We laughed. Ivey did a pretty thorough job of inking up her arms and legs in permanent fuchsia. We took her to the chiropractor like that and everyone loved it.

We were planning to give the girls a bath, but by the time we got home everyone was tired and we decided we'd deal with it later. So the girls went to bed with Ivey still Sharpied. Jordan and I had been watching TV together for about half an hour when we heard Suzi whine down the stairs, "I'm wet! I'm cooooold!"

She had tried to help us by washing the Sharpie off of Ivey. The only problem was she had done this in the bed with water from one of their sippy cups. The bed was soaked, the girls were soaked, and the sheets were tinged with pink. Jordan was pretty irritated, but I laughed, and eventually we both laughed, told them never to do that again and then laughed some more after tucking them back into a dried-off bed and telling them to GO TO SLEEP.

It was kind of funny.

I think we are learning and slowly growing in patience, which is probably my #1 parenting goal right now. I doubt that in this stage of our life we are meant to somehow catch up and put an end to the chaos. It wouldn't last long if we did. I'm trying to just live in it, grow in it, and enjoy it. While it takes all my time and energy, it's also full to overflowing with love and life.

Try to relax and they jump on you, but to tell the truth we kind of like it.

Things I've made in the past couple months, plus crafty plans

2011-07-04T07:30:00.001-04:00

Happy 4th of July! Jordan has the day off. I hope you and your family are having a good day, too!

I already posted about my cocoons, but just wanted to update. They fit great!

My mom baked it, I decorated it.

Also for Suzi's birthday. We didn't break it, so we still have it.

Father's Day gift. The button is a magnet for holding a photo or list and says "We (heart) Paw."

I still haven't quite perfected this sunhat I've been working on.

Tie dyes never look quite so pretty as when you first untie them.

Sweater gnome for Suzi

A wool diaper cover for Robert. Need to develop a better pattern. And also figure out a better method of dyeing wool.

Simple baby dress for a little friend's birthday

To-craft list:

at least 4 more of those baby dresses
a similar dress in my size (already half done!)
pocket babies and small wool/wooden dolls (to sell, maybe)
a better sunhat
more diaper covers for Robert
birthing time flax seed heat packs
a bunting decoration kinda like this

Possibilities for future Hippie Handicrafts meetings:

wire bird nests
wire trees of life
sweater flowers
singed-edges flowers
lentil balloon balls
sweater arm warmers
sweater hats for kids
freestyle sweater stuffed animals
fairy doors?
gnome houses, maybe?
polymer clay mama ornaments?
whatever anyone else thinks of and wants to lead!

Also, I want to do a tie-dye party before the summer is over but that will require some extra people for child-watching. Hard to chase after a little one when you have a limited amount of time to use up dye and you're wearing dye-drippy rubber gloves! I also want to do some Hippie Handicrafts for the kids. Maybe I will ask if Megan can lead the little ones in a craft, because we all know that's not my strong point!

Scheduling and being present with my kids: Related?

2011-07-01T06:11:00.000-04:00

(I am going to start posting random pictures of my kids with every wordy post. They just sit in my pictures folder and I know some people would like to see them.)

This is related to my Home(school) Improvement posts. I just read the first two chapters of Oak Meadow's Home Teacher's Process Manual. Remember how I said the other day I was going to do a loose routine and NOT put specific times on things? Well, now I'm not sure how that's going to work. According to the book, a large part of staying focused on an activity is clearing your time. It says:

"Keep a daily schedule in which you provide time for everything that must be done. This relieves your mind of the pressure of "all those things I must do." Once you see how you may accomplish all that is necessary to be accomplished, then you are more able to focus on the required activity during the time you have set aside for that."

This is a good point; I frequently worry about getting things done and am distracted from what I'm doing with my kids. So I am going to make a schedule schedule, with times and all. The thing about a schedule is that a baby will blow it out of the water. You think it's time for reading... until the baby screams through a whole story because he doesn't want you to sit down while you hold him. You think it's time for singing and doing fingerplays... until the baby requires you to keep both your hands on him. It's frustrating. I'm thinking I'll just have to do the best I can, schedule extra time for things, and know that Robert will sometimes delay what we are doing for a few minutes. I know lots of successful homeschoolers have five or six kids. It'll work out somehow.

But I am going to make a schedule, and plan it around the regular playdates we have. I hate to miss out on an opportunity to be with friends, but I'm probably going to have to skip impromptu meetings a lot from now on. Oh well, that's what mothers who have their kids in group schooling have to do.

I'm not sure about the specifics of our schedule yet. I think I'm going to look at some other people's, try a couple of things out, and post what I've got so far within a few days.

Yesterday: Crafts with mamas, pictures of Robert

2011-06-30T09:42:00.001-04:00

It's like he gets sweeter every day. He laughs and smiles a lot and will have little baby conversations with us. He enjoys lying on the floor watching the ceiling fan, and lately he's been letting us get a decent amount of sleep at night. I do nurse him several times but we don't have to actually get up with him until 5 or 6. (Of course when I say we I mean Jordan. Thanks honey!)

Yesterday I hosted a "Hippie Handicrafts" playdate (Megan thought of the name). I set up a craft area with a rainbow of felted wool and a bunch of scissors and a hot glue gun, plus brownies and coffee. We sat around the table and made gnomes and pocket babies while our children socialized in the living room. It was great! I meant to take a picture of all our gnomes together, but I forgot! Here is the pocket baby I made for Suzi.

Hippie Handicrafts is going to be a regular thing, every other week with a different craft each time. It has the added benefit of helping me keep my house clean.

Also, Hobby Lobby has unfinished wood on sale (40% off!) so last night we went shopping and when we got home I made this.

I enjoy making dolls about 300 times more when they have wooden heads. It takes away the part of the process that stresses me out and adds a nice weight and smooth texture to the doll too. I want to make more!

I think I'm going to let the girls run around the backyard a little while before it gets too hot. It's going to be a good day, I can tell.

Home(school) improvement: Routine, plus pictures of Robert

2011-06-27T08:21:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I haven't posted pictures of Robert in so long! I've taken them, I really have, but I just didn't think to post them until Tanya pointed it out in the comments a couple of posts ago. So here they are, my favorites from the past few weeks.

Glad I got these on here!

And now here is the routine I'm hoping to use once we start homeschooling. I think I'm going to start trying it now (except for the main lesson part, which we aren't doing yet). It always seems like so much trouble to stick to a routine, but really, it can't be any worse than what we're doing now. The girls are fighting so much I feel like a referee half the time. A routine could only help. So here it is.

Wake up and get dressed, before the kids if possible (Between 6:00 and 7:00)
Breakfast
Play time
Circle/read books
Play outside
Snack
Main lesson (for an hour, tops)
Play time
Lunch

Main lesson (continued, for an hour, tops)
Play/art
Outside time
Snack/reading
Play time/movie (3:30 or 4:00)

I didn't put times on all these, as you might have noticed. It was tempting, but I've tried that before and it only puts pressure on me to start or stop doing something before we're ready. We have playdates and things too, and while most of these things can still happen on those days, the timeline will be totally blown. Jordan always leaves for work about 7:45 and comes home at 5:00, so our day runs from about 8-5. That doesn't change.

Upcycled wool mustache

2011-06-26T14:29:00.002-04:00

I'd been thinking for a while that upcycled wool would make a pretty nice mustache. Today I tried it and I was right! I used an old wool coat I bought at the Goodwill clearance center, but it would work with a tightly felted sweater, too.

I cut out a classic mustache shape and tied a loop on either side to go around the ears of the wearer. If you make the loops too small it'll look like you have cat whiskers in addition to a mustache. Suzi's needs to be loosened a bit but she was ready to wear it. Right now she is sitting on the couch watching a movie, wearing her mustache. Actually, she may never take it off again! Boy was that a cheap toy!

I bought a small green Vera Bradley bag at a thrift store and I'm going to make her a master of disguise kit. I'll put a few different styles of mustaches/beards in it, and some accessories like hats and glasses. And maybe a bubble pipe. What else can I put in it? She won't want girly stuff. I meant to do it for her birthday but just got too busy!

Turning aggravating blankets into a custom slipcover

2011-06-23T17:50:00.000-04:00

My parents gave us their old love seat. It was comfortable and gave us extra seating. Unfortunately it didn't match with the rest of our living room. It was also such a light color that it was bound to look disgusting in no time. Three little kids and all.

We decided to buy a couple of tan blankets to throw over it, but that didn't work either. The kids would jump all over the love seat and the blankets would slip and bunch, so we were constantly having to adjust them. Putting them on was like making a bed. So aggravating!

Today I decided to do something about it.

I started by taking one blanket and lining the hemmed edge up along the floor. I did this on all the bottom edges of the cover. That way there was nothing to hem! I cut enough to cover the seat and the lower front of the love seat.

Then I cut a piece for the part you lean back against when you sit down.

Then I cut a piece for the back and one piece for each of the arm rest fronts.

I pinned right sides together and sewed together these two pieces to meet in the crack of the love seat.

Next I put what I had so far back on the love seat and pinned the arm rest fronts on. Pinning while the pieces were on the love seat was clearly the way to go. I could tell just where I wanted to sew, pin it, and then take it up to the sewing machine.

I flipped the back part up over the rest, pinned right sides together and took that upstairs to sew it. Then I put it back on and looked at what I had so far.

I knew the next thing would be the tricky part. Armrests. Curves and corners coming together! To make sure I didn't screw up my limited supply of fabric, I pinned some before I started cutting.

I pinned and cut and pinned and cut and pinned, until I had all of it coming together. I wasn't always able to pin right sides together, so I just pinned it the best I could and straightened the rest out once I got to it on the machine. I cut a little extra to tuck down into this area. I think I'll call it the armpit.

Once I had sewn all this part together, I was not at all sure it was going to work. It seemed like a jumbled mess at the sewing machine and I only knew what to do with it all because of the pins. So I brought it back downstairs, pulled it onto the love seat, and...

Yes! Yes! Yes!!!

Then I did the other side, which was a little easier the second time around. Done! That is so much better.

Ivey and Suzi came home from Grandma and Grandpa's house and right away Ivey tried out the new cover by jumping on it with her shoes. It still does wrinkle and bunch, but it's a lot easier to pull it back into place now! My mom was impressed. She said I have some Mammie in me (her grandmother). As a child my mom would point out a dress she liked in the store, and Mammie would sketch it off and sew it for her when they got home. I can't currently do that, as much as I would love to. I do have some hope though, because Mammie was a grandmother when she did that and I am only 27 (well, next month I will be). I've got time to develop my skills.

Home(school) improvement: End of week 4, start of 5

2011-06-20T18:34:00.004-04:00

I am just not that on top of things lately. Maybe this week will be a little better. Even though I didn't post a follow-up for week 4 on Friday, I do have photos to prove that I'm working on it!

We left our sandbox open and it rained, and I thought that would be fun (and messy!) to play in. It didn't disappoint. The girls made their own little beach and danced on it. Wet sand does feel nice. This occupied them for about an hour and then it was bath time!

On Saturday we took a church trip up to a camp in the mountains and had a lot of fun. Jordan took Suzi (and a couple of other kids) out in a canoe...

And we ran in circles and generally got dirty and had a good time.

I've been irritable lately and backsliding into yelling. Ugh. I hate it and I am still working on it.

So, this week?

Establish a daily rhythm. Eat together at the table, get up early to fix breakfast, offer alternating opportunities for expansion/contraction. Improve environment so materials are more accessible.

1) Getting up early is going to be tough with Robert. It's like even if I do get up early I might not be able to get much done. Right now I usually sleep as long as I can and Jordan takes the baby after I've been nursing him on and off all night. Maybe this week I'll try to get to bed a little earlier and see if I can be up by 6:30 to make breakfast and get prepared for the day. Maybe if I work on establishing a daily rhythm for myself, it'll be easier to do it for my kids.

2) The dining room table could use a good cleaning.

3) I need to straighten up our toys, as I think some of them are mixed up and out of place. There are some expansion/contraction opportunities there that might be going to waste.

4) One thing holding me back is the difficulty of finding a good balance of having materials readily available to the kids, but also holding back enough so they don't turn the house into a disaster area and waste things. I could put a ream of paper on their table and 20 minutes later each page would be scribbled on and tossed in the floor. Any ideas on how to handle this?

5) I definitely need to add several clean-ups into our daily schedule, and learn how to keep my cool when the kids decide they don't want to help me. I know for a fact that yelling and guilt will not help!

6) Sigh. I guess I should write out a schedule. Actually, I already have one somewhere (that we haven't used) so I'll probably start with that. Maybe I'll post it in a day or two. Writing a schedule is fun, but sticking to one is hard!

We'll see how it goes...

For Jordan on Father's Day

2011-06-19T10:39:00.000-04:00

Thanks once again to Jenn for this photo and the next two

Dear Jordan,

You never, in three pregnancies, missed a prenatal appointment I asked you to go to with me. Which was most of them, especially for the first two. You also never complained about going to any Blessingway, maternity clothes shopping trip, or on a grocery store run for ice cream, lemons or brownie mix. You just went with a smile on your face. Even during missed sporting events.

I saw, and still remember, the look in your eyes as I tried to push Suzi out in the hospital.

You never questioned whether I really needed a homebirth the second time, because of the cost, because it required such a huge leap of faith out of our comfort zone. Never wavered in your support. When other people said things that stressed me out, you defended our choice to them.

You attended childbirth class with me faithfully. Three different pregnancies, three different classes, hours and hours of education. And for the last one you even read me my Hypnobabies scripts without the first giggle, serious as could be.

You helped me make belly casts. Offered to paint my toenails. Told me you like the way I look with a baby in the belly.

You gracefully stayed quiet and out of the way when you sensed that was what I needed during my birthing time. Focused on me and did whatever I asked. Heat packs, rolling pins, counter pressure, just a quiet presence. You respected the process.

I loved watching you hold our babies for the first time. I held them first and you never rushed me for your turn. With Suzi it was nervously perched in a hard hospital chair. The second time was lying in bed cuddling Ivey with your shirt off. And then by the third baby, it was in the water with me and you were an old pro. It is amazing watching you fall in love with your babies, and grow wiser and stronger as a father and as a person. You are such a strong, solid presence in our children's lives.

The day after the last two births you were in the kitchen encapsulating a placenta and telling me not to worry, it wasn't gross.

You mastered the Moby Wrap and Ergo and even wear our lavender wrap without complaining.

Of course, there's also all the getting up early with the baby, and watching the kids so I can have a break, and taking them with you to the store during the first days after the baby was born and far, far beyond.

You put me and our children before yourself. You're always there for us. No wonder everybody loves you. No wonder I want more children. It couldn't be any more amazing, thanks to you.

I love you so much. Thanks for everything.

Jenny

Home(school) improvement week 4: Expansion and contraction

2011-06-14T10:17:00.000-04:00

Understanding the principles of expansion and contraction has helped me better understand my children and live more peacefully with them. I've even learned a little more about myself and the way I feel and act. Here's my personal understanding of this topic after reading about it in The Heart of Learning and observing it in my life.

Expansion - open-ended activity for the sake of exploration and relaxation, with no goal in mind

Examples:
sandbox play
water play
wire maze
trampoline
play-doh
playing/talking to other children
nature walk
miscellaneous outdoor time
playing dress-up
"free play" in general

Contraction - focusing attention and effort with a certain outcome in mind

Examples:
puzzles
reading books
sitting and doing a lesson, once we start this in the fall
helping me cook something
helping with chores such as picking up toys
singing songs

It's a little confusing because one activity might be either expansion or contraction depending on how you handle it. Say to a child "build me a mermaid out of this play-doh" and that's contraction. Just squishing it into random shapes and feeling it in your hands would be expansion.

I think I am on the right track but correct me if I'm wrong. For some reason when I first read about these two principles, I envisioned alternating equally between the two. I soon noticed, after paying attention to how we experience expansion and contraction every day, that it's different for everyone. Suzi needs mostly expansion. She loves playing in the sandbox, in the yard, and with open-ended toys inside. Right now she is playing with a wire bead maze and singing a song about what the beads are doing. Today has been a pretty good day, we are more than halfway through it, and there might have been 30 minutes total of contraction activities so far. Suzi and I worked on a puzzle for about ten minutes and later we read books together. Because Ivey is not even two yet, about 15 minutes a day of contraction is all I can really expect. It usually happens while we read. When she gets tired of focusing, she wanders off or flips through a different book on her own while I read to Suzi.

Usually I can tell when we need to change from expansion to contraction because the girls have become irritable and have begun to fight over little things. Another sign is when Suzi says "I don't know what to do." This is probably the equivalent of boredom, and directing her to another expansion activity usually does not help. When this happens, I stop what I am doing if possible and spend some time with them. We sing songs together or read some books. (With Suzi, I sometimes start a craft or other activity with a goal, but Ivey is still too little for most of this.) They seem to enjoy having something to focus on and when we are done they are ready to move on with renewed interest to another expansion activity.

It's obvious when they have become too contracted and need to change to an expansion activity. Ivey will usually move herself to a new activity easily and there is no need to think about it. Suzi begins to get frustrated with what she is doing. Frequently she says she doesn't want to do it anymore and moves on. Simple! From what I've seen, the friction comes when an adult tries to keep a child in contraction for longer than they can comfortably stay. I have observed this while trying to let my kids help me in the kitchen. Here, stir this! Pour that! Wait for my instructions. Okay, cut this fruit. Now throw it in the bowl, and... Wait a minute, where are you going? The child just can't focus as long as an adult. I recently changed the way I treat my children in the kitchen. They can help and learn, but it needs to be 5% contraction and 95% expansion. Here, Suzi and Ivey "help" by playing freely with bits of ingredients on the counter as I bake Robert's birthday cake--and we all had so much fun. After reading about expansion and contraction, I can see why this approach worked better.

Once we start doing homeschool lessons, I will be careful not to overdo contraction activities with Suzi. A few minutes to an hour of focused effort a day for lessons is enough. I will also try to work her expansion/contraction cycles to our advantage by waiting until a time when she is naturally coming back into contraction to start lessons. This usually occurs mid-morning after outdoor play time, and again a couple of hours after lunch.

I've been working on this already without really focusing. I've greatly increased the girls' outdoor time and can see now when it might be beneficial to offer a directed, structured activity. There are still a couple of things I'd like to accomplish this week and beyond, and they are:

1) Compile a list of good expansion and contraction activities, and collect the materials for some of them. I would love to have a closet dedicated to these things with a list of activities taped to the inside of the door. That is my vision. But, alas, we have no free closets. Perhaps someday we will live in a bigger place. Please leave a comment with your ideas and the activities your family enjoys!

2) Continue on in my quest to become unafraid of messes. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, check out this post by Megan. I need to be more like her!

3) And then I need to think of some (somewhat controlled) ways to make messes. Messes are excellent expansion opportunities!

4) I was going to read more about expansion and contraction, but there is surprisingly little online about it and that's where I do most of my reading. I think I'll re-read that part of The Heart of Learning while considering what I've observed with the kids.

Update coming Friday!

Home(school) improvement week 3: Update on feeding the family

2011-06-10T20:12:00.001-04:00

Cakes by Suzi. Very delicious.

I'll have to make this fast. The girls are in bed and it's Jenny and Jordy time. I'll go through this point-by-point.

1) Plan. I decided to have millet pilaf (again, from this post) for lunch Wednesday since we had plenty of squash in the fridge. I'd made it once before. I'd been meaning to do something with rye for Thursday, and didn't want to bake bread, so I decided to try out this rye borscht recipe I found.

2) Shop. I did this Wednesday morning, and it went great! A lady stopped to compliment my Maya Wrap ring sling and ask about my children. A man gave red balloons to the girls. Ivey rode happily in the cart while Suzi walked and helped pick up what we needed, and I taught her how to look for a good deal. I even bought chicken breasts, and I think that's the first time I've ever bought (raw) meat all by myself. The hardest part was getting the kids and groceries all into the house when we got home. I let the girls help me carry stuff. Ivey dragged the bag with the chicken in it until the plastic on the inner packaging wore through, but it was okay because we used it that night. I think I will do the grocery shopping with the kids most of the time from now on, because it saves family time with Jordan and expedites dinner prep.

3) Cook dinner as a family. Um. This one is hardest. Right now it could be dangerous for the girls to really help. Boiling water and sharp knives, you know? I am cool with letting my children help as long as it's safe.

See? Totally cool.

And here they are helping their Grandma snap green beans, which she then helped us can. The bean prep is fine, but once you get to the canning part? That is a prime example of something that just does not lend itself to being accomplished with three children around! It got done but we spent the whole time shooing them out of the kitchen when they really wanted to help!

So what I need to work on is creating real work for the girls to do alongside me that is also safe. So here's what I think I'm going to do. I'm going to clean my counter off really well, let the girls sit across from me while I'm in the kitchen, and give them veggies to cut with butter knives (whatever I'm working with at the time). This would've been great to do while Jordan and I prepared borscht. Also, I should have foreseen how long all those vegetables would take to chop and done that ahead of time, before Jordan got home, and refrigerated them in bowls until it was time to start boiling the soup. So I still need to work on planning a little, don't I?

But we did make the borscht, and it took forever, but it made a HUGE stock pot of soup. We put all this in the freezer and had enough in the fridge to eat leftovers tonight besides. So now we can pull our borscht out on Rye Thursdays until it runs out, and then I have some ideas for improvements. Jordan would like meat added, for one. Lesson learned: Any recipe that calls for an entire head of cabbage is going to make a heck of a lot of food! Duh.

Anyway. I would love to have a little child-sized section of our kitchen (I saw this on a Montessori blog, but I can't find it now, sorry!) but that won't work for us. We have a dog who would love to clean off a low table of food, and besides, our kitchen is too small. We do have a nice big counter though, so I think I'll take advantage of that.

Clearly, I have plenty to work on when I go through this point for the second time. But I do think I improved, considering how behind I was to begin with!

Monday: #4 - Expansion and contraction. Work to better understand these concepts and discover new ways to offer both experiences when needed.

A cleaning trick that works for me

2011-06-07T07:30:00.001-04:00

The other morning I woke up and came downstairs to this.

It has been much worse at times. Just imagine this photo, but with cereal strewn across the floor, puddles of water here and there, a path of broken crayons, and a few more toys scattered about. This angle doesn't do it justice. You can't see the dirty dishes and junk piled on the end tables. It's just the way things are with three little kids, for obvious reasons.

It stresses me out to have things so messy, and the main problem is it's hard to tell where to start. I tried several different systems and came up with one I like. I can wake up in the morning, come downstairs to a big mess, and within 20 minutes have my day back on track.

First, I get a timer set for five minutes. Each step should take only that long. If I finish one step with time still left, I work on one of the others.

1) Run around with a trash bag and throw all the garbage you see into it.

2) Grab all the dirty dishes and throw them in the sink, and then get started washing them.

3) Collect all the dirty clothes and get a load going in the washer. Start folding anything that might be in the dryer.

4) Put things away and straighten up the main room, as fast as you can.

It doesn't fix everything, but once 20 minutes is up my living room looks more like this:

Now the house looks decent, dirty dishes are all in one place, and laundry is underway! From here I have a much easier time seeing what needs to be done.

Do you have a system you use to help with cleaning?

Home(school) improvement week 3: Feeding the family better

2011-06-06T10:24:00.000-04:00

Where we are now:

I grew up eating home-cooked meals but never got into the joy of cooking. Only now am I truly starting to become interested in it. Meals at our house frequently begin with a sigh and Jordan and I asking one another "so... what are we going to eat?" I will bust my butt cleaning and be so pleased with what I've accomplished at the end of the day, but totally forget about dinner! Not good!

This week's goals:

1) Plan. I think my biggest problem is the lack of a plan. I am usually busy with other things and don't make it a priority. I'd like to think two or three days in advance, go through my kitchen to see what we need to use, and plan what to cook around that. We are also doing the Waldorf grain of the day when it's convenient, and I love it. I'm discovering some of these grains for the first time. It's so nice to have them to inspire me and give me a little direction! I want to post more on the grains later, but for now here is a wonderful post on them which helped me get started.

2) Shop. I am pretty scared of going to the store alone with all three kids. It's hard with two, and could definitely go horribly awry with three. But Jordan gets home at 5:00 and that's a terrible time to take the kids shopping. They are ready to spend time with Daddy, eat and wind down for bed at that time, not shop and then wait around for dinner to be prepared after we get home. So I'm going to try to take them all shopping. Pray for me. No, seriously.

3) Cook dinner as a family. I'd like to make dinner preparation a happy, fun family time and instill a love of cooking in my children at a young age. Most meals can wait until Jordan gets home for preparation to begin. Sometimes I'll let the girls help me before he gets home, but other times it would be better to wait than to start something that would end up stressing us all out.

Jordan's parents just brought us a bunch of vegetables from their farm, and it couldn't have come at a better time! I'm going to look up recipes online and see what I can make with squash, corn, potatoes, peaches, etc. My first shopping trip alone with the three kids will be today or tomorrow.

Update coming Friday!

Home(school) improvement: Update on connecting, not yelling

2011-06-04T10:32:00.000-04:00

Note: I really did write this Friday, but we've been really busy so I didn't get a chance to post! Lots of pictures soon.

Well, Wednesday was awesome. I prayed for patience Tuesday night and Wednesday, I got it.

I read chapter one of Naomi Aldort's Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves. It took me a long time while watching the kids and spending time with them, but I got a lot out of it. The main thing was something I already knew but needed to review: When upset, I should STOP for a minute and let my first impulse run silently through my head. It is not what I want to say. When I am done and can respond calmly, I should move my attention to my child and handle things from there. I did so well with this Wednesday! I'm planning to go back through chapter one and highlight my favorite parts to look over again when I'm having a hard time.

On Wednesday, there were several tests throughout the day and especially at difficult times that normally would have gotten the best of me.

Ivey asked to sit on the toilet. While she was sitting there, I decided to make up our bed. Then she called for help, asking for more paper. When I looked, she'd unrolled all the toilet paper that was left on the roll and stuffed it between her legs into the toilet.

While I was outside taking the cloth diapers off the clothesline, Ivey piled the dog's bowl full of food even though she'd already fed her.

Suzi broke off a piece of our tent and was running around the living room waving it over her head while Ivey cried under the collapsing structure. All while I was trying to talk on the phone with my mom and take care of Robert.

These might not seem that bad but I have a low tolerance for chaos, and I am proud that I kept calm through all of it.

Thursday was wonderful, too. I got a lot of work done in the morning while the kids played outside. Then we went to our babywearing meeting, and Suzi had a couple of little meltdowns. I used my new techniques for validating her feelings from the book I'm reading, and it worked, and I felt we were immediately closer.

We spent the rest of the day at my parents' house making birthday cakes.

What I've learned so far:

1) Kids need nearly unlimited outdoor play time. Let them do what they want out there, as long as it's not hurting anyone.

2) Assigning innocent intention is BIG. It helps to understand that Ivey really just wanted to wipe her butt; she only wanted to make sure the dog didn't go hungry; and four-year-old Suzi was so immersed in a game of pretend that she didn't notice she'd taken apart the tent.

3) I don't need to fall all over myself trying to make someone else's child feel better when there's been a disagreement and my child is upset. Especially when she has done nothing wrong. Especially at her expense. Her feelings matter and I am responsible for hearing her, not someone else's child. (Nothing specific happened, just something I realized.)

4) It is such a privilege to listen to their problems and heal their hurt feelings and hold them. I love doing it. Maybe I didn't fully recognize this before.

5) This is getting easier the more I practice it. For some reason I didn't expect that!

Next week: #3, Feed our family better. I'm a little nervous, but we've already gotten started so I think it's attainable.

Home(school) improvement: Update on #2

2011-05-31T15:35:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was lovely. Jordan took off work at 1:00 and we took the kids to the zoo for Suzi's birthday. We had such a good time, and while we were there we purchased a family membership, so for the next year we'll go to the zoo a lot. It'll be the perfect way to break up a week and spend time together, particularly when the weather gets cooler.

Today has been hard. I decided to make a pinata for Suzi's birthday party today, and because I let the girls help me (of course!) they had to have a bath when we were done. This was probably too much activity for me to take on in one day. I got kind of snippy--probably set myself up for it.

Pinatas hanging out to dry

Seeing the contrast between a day Jordan is home by 1:30 and a day he isn't home until 5:00 made me realize that I frequently fall apart midday. It would probably help to give all of us some kind of break shortly after lunch. Today I took the girls outside after lunch (so I could put another layer on the pinata). Right after coming inside seems like a good time to read some books and maybe see if I can get the girls to lie down for a little while. If I could manage to get the girls to take a nap or read some books or even just stay upstairs and play quietly for 20 minutes or so while I grab some coffee and read a book, I think I could be a much nicer mother to them in the afternoon. It would also remove the temptation to show them a movie the last hour or two before Jordan comes home.

Anyway, just some things to think about. I'm going to get started reading my book now while Robert naps.

Home(school) improvement week 2: Don't yell, connect

2011-05-30T07:17:00.000-04:00

It's Suzi's fourth birthday today! I love her so much and am so thankful for her.

This week's goal, and where we are now:

The #1 thing I hate and want to change is that I yell at my kids. I know the techniques. Lock myself in the bathroom until the urge to scream and pull my hair out subsides. Count to ten. Take a moment to silently imagine your knee-jerk reaction playing out, then take a deep breath and react calmly. These things and others have indeed helped me.

But, you know. I've got three kids. It's not a matter of implementing these things just several times a day and then saying whew! Glad that's over! No. It's nearly constant. And when I've got the baby in the ring sling and am changing a diaper/helping someone in the bathroom and the other child picks that exact moment to throw a fit or make a big mess or whatever, it's hard to think. Right now, on a good day, I can usually handle things well for most of the day. Then I get tired and start running out of patience. It's not just me, either. Jordan and the grandparents also seem to have a hard time. And I am with them all day (8-5), five days in a row, alone.

What I want to change:

I don't honestly know how much I can improve upon this in a week, but I'm going to try. Here's what I'm going to at least start consciously working on.

1) Adjusting my expectations. Do you ever catch yourself expecting your little kid to behave like an adult? I sometimes do. A reality check on what is developmentally normal for the child's age can help. A young child isn't able to think things through fully and they are still working on gaining control of their bodies. One of my best friends has an admirable amount of patience with children, both hers and other people's, and something I've always noticed is that she doesn't let little things bother her. I'm going to try to remember to ask myself, before I tell the kids to stop doing something, why I am upset by it. Is it mildly annoying but I could let it slide? Or is it dangerous and I need to take action? There are many battles I wish I'd never started.

2) I want to read Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves again, this time all the way through.

3) Listen more than I talk. When there's conflict and I stop myself from fussing at the girls long enough to listen, I frequently come to understand things much better. This leads to a peaceful resolution a lot faster. Also, I think I get so hung up on taking action right away when there's a conflict that I don't give myself time to think of what I really want to say.

4) I know all the other items on my home(school) improvement list will help with this as well. I'm going to continue to work on #1. It's coming, just slowly.

Do you have issues with patience too? What do you do about it?

Stay tuned for the follow-up Friday!

Home(school) improvement, week one progress

2011-05-27T21:35:00.001-04:00

This wasn't this week, but now our art time is a little different after reading The Heart of Learning. I used to hand them the supplies and run off to do other stuff, but now I stick around and help. Suzi comes up with an idea and I help, or even make a project of my own (see snake above). Getting involved makes a huge difference.

Anyway, we started the week with a big burst of energy and enthusiasm. On Monday I took the girls outside for a while in the morning, had a great time doing circle time, and read 20 or more books. We had a wonderful day, and at the end of it I was so, so tired.

Tuesday I was tie-dyeing at my parents' house, a project we are doing for Suzi's 4th birthday party. I was not present with the girls, but my parents were and they had a good time visiting.

Wednesday was our best day. I took the girls outside from about 8:45 - 11:00, which was the only feasible time to do so because it was so hot. I got laundry going in the house and walked around with Robert while they played. Near the end of playtime, Suzi started a little game of pretend and told me I was the king. She wanted me to "talk like a king." We had fun. I tried to get some of my make-believe skills back. Then Ivey helped me hang the cloth diapers on the line. When we went inside, we tried to do circle time but Baby Robert cried through a lot of it. I decided to cook bulgur wheat for lunch, something we'd never had before. When I looked for bowls, I discovered we were behind on doing dishes. We would have to use a couple of bowls out of a graduated set that were really more for cooking. That left us with small, medium, and large bowls and I took the opportunity to tell Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I told Suzi I was Daddy Bear, Ivey was Mama Bear, and she was Baby Bear (according to bowl size) and we were eating porridge. She loved it, requested a repeat performance of the story, and ate all her "porridge" without complaint. Then she ran off and continued to play Baby Bear for the rest of the afternoon. Days don't get much better than this.

Case in point: Thursday. I took the kids to the botanical gardens to walk with a friend and her baby. This is our new Thursday activity, and last week the girls loved it. This week Suzi whined through most of the walk, telling us she wanted to go home. (Clearly she doesn't appreciate that it would be ten times easier for me if we stayed home in the first place!) Every little thing seemed to irritate her. It was just not Suzi's day. We went home, ate lunch, and she took a nap. Then we read "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." I was so tired after this one. Trying my hardest to get my kids some exercise and outdoor time and be present with them and only getting whined at in return makes my head hurt.

Today hasn't been any better, unfortunately. It rained too much last night for us to go outside, and the baby has wanted to nurse and sleep all day and cries every time I put him down. I don't really want to wear the baby after doing it so much already this week. The girls wouldn't pay attention when I tried to do circle time. I also had to get up really early this morning so I'm tired. The girls are wrecking the house and fighting and I am yelling.

Oh well. I knew I wasn't going to be perfect, especially right off the bat. Clearly I need to work on techniques for handling stress and keeping patience on a difficult day. I want to figure out how to start over fresh when things get off on the wrong foot in the morning. I also know that some of my objectives are intertwined, and once I establish a good daily rhythm and get started earlier in the morning, this will be easier too.

Stuff I learned:

1) Make the kids the center of the day, and all the chores will fall into place. Worrying over chores all day won't get them done any faster.
2) Right before circle time is a good time to pick up toys together. I told the kids "oops, there is nowhere to sit!" We all pitched in so we could move on.
3) Suzi will do lots of things if I speak in a "king" voice and command it.
4) Don't freak out over sand being dumped out of the sandbox, just give Suzi a tiny broom and dustpan and let her put it back in.
5) I have a long, long way to go.

I'll close with a picture of Ivey. One afternoon recently she fell asleep eating. This is about how I felt by 5:00 today! Hopefully next week will go a little smoother.

Home(school) improvement week 1: Present with my children

2011-05-22T09:00:00.001-04:00

This week's goal:

Spend more time truly present with my kids. Read more books, sing more songs, take walks and talk. Cut back on movies and computer time.

Where we are now:

The internet is not a huge obstacle for me; just a little one. I check email and Facebook a lot, but I try to make it quick. When I do stay online for a long time, almost all of what I'm reading is parenting-related. The baby is frequently nursing at the same time. I don't play games or frequent any forums. And the TV? During the day it is off. The only time it's on is if Jordan watches the news and doesn't turn it off before he leaves for work. I used to let Suzi watch a movie every afternoon, but we are working on that and she didn't watch any this past week.

So what is the main obstacle? There are two. The biggest distraction for me is the urge to get things done. It drives me nuts that there are toys all over the floor and I'd like to get them picked up before we do anything else. Or there's this drawer I really want to clean out. Or we might be running out of clean diapers. It's so nice to see one cleaning task done that I sometimes get carried away and will clean almost all day. The problem is I'm not including the children. I just sort of halfheartedly answer their questions and shuffle them off to play while I clean.

The other big obstacle is that I dislike being forced into a game of make-believe. I loved it as a child but I stink at it now. I'm not sure why, but it's kind of sad.

What I want to change:

1) Singing songs/circle time - Recently we've taken to singing songs together in the morning. It sort of grew out of me sitting and nursing Robert, and not being able to do much else with the girls at the moment. It's sort of what might be considered "circle time" if we were being formal about this. I'd like to learn more songs and expand this time, and maybe include a discussion of the day of the week, weather, etc.

2) Cleaning tools for the kids - To solve my problem of being distracted by housework, I'd like to get a set of little cleaning tools for the kids to use alongside me. They both love to wipe things with a damp cloth, and what kid doesn't like to use a spray bottle? I still have to do the housework, obviously, so this will allow me to be present with them while I do it. Someone told me this idea a long time ago but I haven't really gotten around to it!

3) Take laptop outside with me - The kids like to play outside in the mornings, and I like to spend a little time online. I am actually finishing this post in our backyard right now while they run around and play. (Oh and I am also nursing Robert in the ring sling--multitasking!) When we go back inside we can sing songs and get started on a fun activity! I'd like to make it a point to get them outside as early as possible each day after breakfast. Letting them run around a little while in the morning sets the tone for our day.

4) Make a felt story board - At a yard sale Saturday I bought a green felt puzzle mat for $1. I'd like to mount it to a piece of foam core board and use felted sweater scraps to make little people and things we can use to tell a story. Miss Ashley had one of these when we did our Waldorf group--but hers was fancy and made with expensive wool.

5) Make an effort to be more present with them during our time together. This is the simplest and most important step.

I will post Friday about how it's going!

Home(school) improvement: a 10-week series

2011-05-21T07:30:00.000-04:00

As I've mentioned, we've selected Oak Meadow as our homeschooling curriculum and will start officially this fall. When I purchased the kindergarten set, I also ordered two philosophical/instructional books the home teacher is supposed to read. I just finished The Heart of Learning, which explains the Oak Meadow approach and also gives lots of advice on parenting in general. I loved it and it has helped me recognize some improvements I can make in our home. We will not be starting main lessons until at least mid-August, but there is no way I will be able to go from where we are right now to the lovely homeschool experience I envision my children having overnight.

There are five main changes I'd like to make, and they all will require us to establish habits. This will take time and needs to be accomplished gradually for it to last. I think the best way to handle this may be to spend a total of 10 weeks on these goals. I will spend one week on each of my five points and then, once I've done all five, focus on each one for a second week. By the time we finish it'll be August, and hopefully we will be ready to jump into homeschooling!

Here are my five goals:

1) Spend more time truly present with my kids. Read more books, sing more songs, take walks and talk. Cut back on movies and computer time.

2) Less yelling and more connecting. When Suzi and Ivey are fighting for the umpteenth time in a day, it's so tempting to yell stop it!!!! and send Suzi to play in her room. But when I keep my patience and listen to what the girls have to say, I frequently learn a thing or two.

3) Feed our family better. I plan to implement the Waldorf grain of the day and serve more fruits and vegetables. This will involve more advance planning and some new recipes, too.

4) Expansion and contraction. Work to better understand these concepts and discover new ways to offer both experiences when needed.

5) Establish a daily rhythm. Eat together at the table, get up early to fix breakfast, offer alternating opportunities for expansion/contraction. Improve environment so materials are more accessible.

Blogging about this will keep me accountable and help me remember where we started and how far we've come. I think I will start #1 on Monday.

Busier than ever before

2011-05-17T09:21:00.000-04:00

It's been a hard few days. I have three pretty unpredictable kids who are all too little to be of any consistent help. There is no way to be prepared enough so that our day goes smoothly. There will be poopy diapers when I am both nursing Robert and eating lunch, and loud arguments when the baby just settled in for a nap. Stuff like that, all day long.

In just five short years, I will have a nine-year-old who can make her own sandwiches and pour her own water and dress herself (appropriately). And I will also have a six-year-old and a five-year-old who can use the potty and pick up toys (hopefully). Things will get easier, and I'll get better at this. It's right on the horizon. I can see it! So I'm just trying to enjoy this time with three awesome, delightful littles. Their sweetness makes all the messes worth it. I know someday I'll miss this.

A few things I want to remember:

Ivey says "I wanna nursie-booboo!" And when I decline, she asks "Maybe later?" I've been nursing her to sleep at night about half the time. She calls Robert Beeby Bobber. We have to keep a close eye on her to make sure she's not poking him in the eye or turning over his bouncy seat with him in it.

She is also strangely good at burping the baby. She says "burp burp, Beeby" and pats him gently on the back and can get him to burp even sometimes when I can't. Then she holds one fat little hand up over her head and says "I did it!"

Suzi's dance recital should've been this weekend, but she dropped out a few weeks ago. She liked the class, but when they revealed the frilly, ultra-girly costumes she said no way. It was so not her. I'm not sorry though, because I don't want her to wear clothes she feels awful in. She has her own unique sense of style (see above photo). What are we teaching little girls, anyway, when we make them dress up for the delight of others despite what they want? Can we extrapolate that to the teenage years when girls want to dress to please boys? I could do a separate post on this. And later I might.

Suzi seems excited about homeschooling and sometimes asks when we are going to start. I'm excited, too. I'm almost done reading The Heart of Learning and then I will start looking through the Oak Meadow kindergarten lesson plans and try to build a loose weekly schedule. I love what I've read so far. But that is also a separate post.

Yesterday's good news: The kids like to eat barley! Who knew? The bad news: We are going to have to get laminate flooring. As much as I like carpet, there's no way to keep it clean with little kids!

And Robert? Sometimes we catch a glimpse of a little half-smile, but no laughing or anything yet. He's awake more and more now. His eyes are going to stay blue, I think, and they are beautiful. It's hard to tell if he is "easier" than his sisters or if we are just a little more practiced now. Maybe both?

I'm pretty sure the adjustment to having one child was much harder than the transition from one to two, or from two to three. Figuring out how to parent in the first place was tough. But boy are we busy these days!

A craft for Mother's Day

2011-05-07T22:10:00.000-04:00

I saw a photo on a blog of a birthstone tree of life necklace yesterday and loved it. It cost $200 though! So I went to my favorite local craft shop and bought some sterling wire, crystals and a little pearl to represent our birthstones, plus mother of pearl for the top. Before Jordan got home from work I'd finished these. It wasn't that hard and I enjoyed doing something special for our moms.

Then I took some of the leftover stuff and made myself the teeny one at the top of this post with a "moon" in it. Yep, I made myself a Mother's Day gift. I'm wearing it right now. I think it turned out okay but I really want to try this again later.

After I'd already completed three of these, I googled and found this awesome tutorial at Cut Out + Keep. Now I really will have to try it again, because this lady has it all figured out and I so appreciate her sharing it.

They were fun to make. I'd highly recommend trying it!

WW: Strawberry pickin' pics

2011-05-04T07:16:00.000-04:00

This strawberry picking trip last Friday was my first big event out with all three kids. I had help, though... Megan took Aiden and Evie too and the other moms in our group were happy to hold the baby, or keep an eye on Ivey for a minute when needed.

Megan and Evie

Now look closely at these two--they are my favorite.

:-)

So far today

2011-05-03T11:30:00.000-04:00

Mama Susie and Robert meeting for the first time on Sunday

Handled a major newborn poop blowout. It was while his diaper was off, during a change. This is my third child and I've never seen a kid get this kind of distance with a BM. He got it in my hair but thankfully my face was out of the way. Had to clean up our bassinet/changing station.

Broke up at least ten sisterly disagreements including hair-pulling, pushing, hitting, baby doll custody battles and crying. Sigh. Is there a right way to do this? Because I have no idea what it might be.

Stepped on at least one sharp toy.

Scrubbed Jordan's dirty dishes from making buffalo wings but he got up with Robert this morning while I slept so I'm not really all that irritated.

Finished at least three loads of laundry and started washing diapers.

Straightened up enough so that we can at least walk through here.

Watched Ivey pour her sippy cup water into plastic teacups and use it to wash her baby doll and decided I couldn't come up with a good enough reason to stop her, especially when she's having such a good time.

Nursed a baby boy and held him and loved him and

Typed this post one-handed. I am getting pretty good at this.

It's been kind of a rough morning, but also good. I got a lot done even though I'm not nearly finished. In a little while we're going over to my parents' house to spend time with my grandma. I'm calling it a day.

Homeschooling: Excited and making plans!

2011-04-30T16:51:00.000-04:00

We went strawberry picking!
(Yes, this is related. Sorta.)

Suzi is going to be four a month from today. Four! She's come such a long way since I wrote this post on why I wanted to homeschool her. We've decided it's time to officially get started, and in the fall, we will. Here's what we've got so far.

1) Oak Meadow Kindergarten is the curriculum I've decided on. I ordered it and some of the books are already here. It was expensive, but worth it. I was public schooled and this is my first year officially teaching Suzi at home, so I have no idea what this should feel like. While Suzi needs flexibility to stay interested in learning, I desperately need a plan. Something to tell me yes, Jenny, you're doing enough. Oak Meadow will give us both what we need.

2) I love, love some aspects of Waldorf. I love the idea of having a color for each day and I am brainstorming ways to use this in our daily routine. I am thinking of making napkins in every color of the rainbow to use at breakfast each day. I have a good idea for a table centerpiece, too. It would be a wooden ring kind of like a birthday ring, only wider, and it would be painted in sections in all the colors. An adorable little gnome will sit on it and every morning we will move him to that day's color. A candle can go in the middle of the ring. Jordan is going to help me make this soon!

3) Nature walks. I want to do this more often, but for us it involves a car ride. We can't safely walk out of our neighborhood, but there are lovely botanical gardens just a few minutes away, as well as a waterfront park on the lake. Instead of a daily nature walk, it'll probably be a longer event taking place once a week and followed by a playdate. On the rest of the days we can just take a walk in the neighborhood or play in the yard. And some weeks, our nature walk will be replaced by a berry-picking day (see above) or maybe even a trip to the zoo.

4) Legal stuff. I've been over this before. Kindergarten is not required, but must be officially waived. Suzi wouldn't be going to kindergarten until fall of 2012 anyway. We will be using legal option 3 for homeschooling, which means that we will join a home school association and submit records and a portfolio of Suzi's work. (Standardized testing is offered but not required, and I'd rather not.) Oak Meadow uses something called a main lesson book in which all of the child's creative work and lessons are done. They sell books especially for this, but I am probably going to make my own. A three-ring binder filled with unlined paper would work. I am leaning towards doing official homeschool kindergarten rather than just waiving that year. In any case, we won't need to worry about it this coming fall. This first year we can just take it easy and get used to things.

5) You might be thinking what about Ivey? I plan to let her join in whenever she can, and when she can't I will try to find another (preferably related) activity for her to enjoy alongside Suzi. Robert, of course, will ride in a wrap or watch from his bouncy seat.

6) My biggest goal: Getting out of the house. Having more playdates. Making homeschool buddies. Blowing that irritating socialization argument out of the water. Discovering how many hands-on learning experiences we can come up with, at home and away. Going berry-picking, to the zoo, to the children's museum, to plays, on overnight trips. Letting life itself be their education, and their inspiration and their motivation. (Yeah--it's more than one goal. But for me, this is the heart of all of it.)

I love them. I love being with them. And I'm so excited!

Do you homeschool? What was your first step? What was the hardest part of getting started?

16 days old, plus random updates and pictures

2011-04-25T13:46:00.000-04:00

I think this is going to be a ring sling baby.

See? He loves it!

Jordan likes the Moby, but today I tried the Maya Wrap Ring Sling and it worked much better for me. I took the girls out in the backyard for about an hour and a half, fixed lunch, and read a book to the girls with minimal interruption. See, I can totally do this. And not only that, but it's going to be awesome.

Carey came and weighed Robert again a few days ago and he was up, I think, 13 ounces? So he probably has gained over a pound by now. And he's working on a double chin.

Yesterday I was sitting in church just thinking about how amazing this all is. Three sweet children, and this little boy is just the sweetest, most wonderful little guy ever. I think he might end up looking like me after all, too.

I am so excited to get the homeschool curriculum we've finally selected and get started with Suzi. In one evening, I did several hours of reading and decided to go with Oak Meadow (kindergarten). We won't be starting until the fall because the first "trimester" of lessons is seasonally appropriate for that time, but I'm still excited to start going through the books. I'll post more about this later.

I need to go change Robert's diaper in a minute, but here are some Easter photos!

From the egg hunt on the 17th...

What the Easter Bunny brought...

Robert at the community sunrise service.

The sweet smell of Sculpey clay

2011-04-22T07:30:00.000-04:00

The first time I can remember using Sculpey clay I was in elementary school and was supposed to make a diorama of ocean life in a shoe box. My mom bought me some Sculpey and helped me make a shark, a sea anemone, and a little orange fish.

The clay still smells the same now as it did then. Full of possibilities and so easy to bake in the oven. Suzi and I both love it and it's the perfect medium for a joint craft time. Suzi plays with the clay and makes many different things before finally deciding her project is ready for baking.

Not yet ready to bake, but she calls it "A Pile of Laundry"

It had been a while since I'd used polymer clay but I decided to get it out one day while we were waiting on Robert and Ivey was sick. It was the perfect quiet, not-too-messy craft activity. Suzi's final project ended up being something sort of abstract that she called "a car and a little man" and I made the three bellies pictured above. Later, I painted them with a satin glaze.

What is your favorite art or craft activity to do with your kids?

WW: My favorite photos from Robert's birth

2011-04-20T07:00:00.001-04:00

The ones I love but didn't put in my birth story posts.

This was actually during the most intense part, just a few minutes before Robert was born. I love this one so much!

Jenn did such an amazing job of capturing the love and excitement at our birth. I can't stop looking at these and every time I look I love them more.

Robert's Birth, part two: I have a place where dreams are born

2011-04-18T07:00:00.004-04:00

If you missed part one, it's here. All the photos in this post are by my awesome friend Jenn.

It's a good thing we had the TV and DVD player in our peaceful birthing space because we ended up putting on a movie for Suzi. We chose Peter Pan, the old one with Mary Martin, which was my favorite as a child. By the time we were in the bedroom things were intense enough that I didn't pay attention to the movie. While it was an unusual choice for a birth, it wasn't a bad thing to have in the background. I tried again to do the rotisserie but lying down still stalled my pressure waves. Since the baby was already in a good position, Carey said I didn't necessarily need to do it anyway. I did several pressure waves on the bed in the beginning of the rotisserie.

Here I am doing the first position with a heat pack on the front and back, while Suzi watches Peter Pan. I think everyone should have two heat packs in their birth toolkit.

And the rolling pin came in handy for the hands and knees part. This position didn't feel so great and I was telling Jordan "no, stop moving it... just press down... a little lower..."

Soon we decided it'd be a better idea to get in the tub, but I wanted to put my hair up first.

The La Bassine was full and ready for me, but I didn't want to get in too soon. It's a psychological thing, I think--the tub is the last and most effective comfort measure and the baby's birthplace. I knew it would mark the end of my birthing time. I also knew I didn't want to get into the tub and back out before the birth. Since I didn't feel pushing was all that imminent, I went to the bathroom to try to pee first and stayed for a few pressure waves. I could see the movie from the toilet, but I sort of looked through it rather than at it. I could watch myself in the bathroom mirror, intensely swaying back and forth to whatever song I was halfheartedly listening to from the movie.

Robert wasn't quite ready to come out yet, but he almost was. I could tell. And I could tell he was going to come hard and fast. It was time to get in the tub.

I had a bra on that I thought I wanted to wear but as soon as I got into the water I realized I didn't. I'm glad I didn't waste money on a special bikini top or anything. The La Bassine was all I'd imagined and more. Deep. Soft, even on the bottom, but way more solid and supportive than you'd expect an inflatable tub to be. It insulated the water and kept it warm too. After the first pressure wave or two sitting in the tub, I was surprised to find myself in a kneeling position leaning forward over the side of the tub. We had discussed, and practiced, a squatting position leaning back on the side of the tub so I could see Jordan catch Robert, but in the moment, that was not what I needed. I used Julie's trick of putting a washcloth into a bowl of ice water with a few drops of peppermint oil and laying the washcloth over the side of the tub to lean on. I loved that because it was so refreshing and covered up any other scent that might have been in the room.

It wasn't long at all before I was pushing, and I was right--he was coming hard and fast. I managed to stay calm, but it was a lot to wrap my head around. This felt different from Suzi and Ivey's births. I pushed with both of them for well over an hour. I knew there was no way I could do this for that long. It's not that it was really painful, but it was intense and it would've been tempting to get it over with quickly by pushing as hard as I could. But one of my goals was not to tear if I could help it and I knew I had to give myself time to stretch. One of the things we'd learned in Hypnobabies was to "ahhhh" our babies out. Instead of gritting our teeth, holding our breath and pushing until we turned purple we were to breathe and say "ahhhh." Julie even told us to practice while going to the bathroom. Luckily that was one of the few things I had practiced. (Wow, I can't believe I just shared that.)

So when I started pushing just a few minutes after getting in the tub, I began vocalizing for the first time during the birth, breathing deeply and saying some version of ahhhh. It was around this time that Jordan got into the tub with me. He'd been wearing his swimsuit for hours, all prepared. Suzi was still waiting with us, either on the bed or somewhere near the tub. Every once in a while I'd hear her ask if her baby brother was coming out yet and someone would tell her it would be soon or "shhh, Mommy needs to concentrate."

After a couple of pushes my water broke with a little pop and I saw something dark shoot out and mix with the water in the tub. Carey and Crystal used the doppler several times to check Robert's heart rate, and sometimes with the position I was in it took them a little while to find it. I wasn't too worried because I could still feel him moving around. Specifically I felt a hand up near the top of his head, which was a bit unnerving. I'm pretty sure at some point that Carey asked if I wanted to try to get into the squatting position I'd planned, and I said nope. A push or two after my water broke Carey suggested I reach down and feel the head and I did. It had hair. I knew it wouldn't be long now!

Jordan was ready to catch the baby, and I continued to relax and ahhh during pushes even though I was really ready to have him out. A couple of pushes later, Robert's head popped out all at once, surprising me a little and Jordan a lot. This is the part where I figured I'd wait for the next pressure wave, push one more time and then Jordan would bring our son up out of the water. But Robert had his mouth open. Carey was worried he might try to breathe and told me to get up out of the water. Thanks to Jenn, I have amazingly clear photos of all of this. I won't share them here, of course, but they've helped me understand this part of the birth that I could not see.

Photo 1: Robert's head is out and his little face is looking up from under the water, his mouth wide open. His hand did not come out with his head and for that I am thankful. Photo 2: We are up a few inches out of the water and his mouth is still open. Carey's hands are preparing to catch. Photo 3: Carey is holding him by the shoulders and he is almost all the way out. He is already turning pink and is holding one fist up over his head like a superhero. But he is tangled, oh so tangled, in his cord. It's around his body and his neck and there is no slack anywhere. Photo 4: He is slightly further out, Carey holding him with one hand and untangling him with the other. Jordan looks worried.

And that brings us to this picture, in which Jordan is handed the baby.

I turned around and lifted my leg over the cord and tried to hold my tiny, slippery baby without dropping him in the water. I had to crop the next photo for it to be shareable on my blog, but I just love the look on my face. This face sums it all up.

I have three children! This one is so tiny! And he's a son! I had him! And he's here!

Seriously, birth is always a surprise. Even the third time. He was born at 7:17 pm, during one of the final scenes of Peter Pan, after about 20-30 minutes of pushing. It was about an hour and a half after we finished his birthday cake, which makes me laugh.

Suzi was present for all this and was so cool about it. I'm glad we had her at the birth. In this picture I'm saying something to Suzi about her baby brother being here.

Next there was the placenta and getting out of the tub and drying off and all that. Jordan held the baby for most of this. Here he is holding the baby in one hand and my placenta, still attached, in the other. Awesome Daddy. I love this photo.

And then Suzi cut the cord, with help from her dad, and Carey tied it off with the special cord tie we'd made at my Blessingway. I was lying on the bed right next to all of this, feeling so happy but also extremely sore. The after pains this time were pretty awful. If you didn't know, these are post-birth contractions which slowly shrink the uterus back to its usual size. They are a necessary thing, but they don't feel good, and they also apparently get worse for each baby you have.

Robert weighed in at 6 pounds 14 ounces, over a pound less than our first baby. So yes, he was small, but not too small. Soon my mom came and one by one our birth team left, and eventually we were left to love on our new little boy.

And it was beautiful.

Robert's Birth, part one: An ordinary Saturday

2011-04-15T14:34:00.001-04:00

On Friday, April 8th, I didn't feel like going anywhere and decided the girls and I would just spend the day together at home. They were running around the living room playing when Ivey randomly sang happy birthday to no one in particular and then said "Ahhh want keck!" We needed an activity anyway, so I looked up a recipe for chocolate cake and we baked one together to save for Robert's birthday. Suzi and Ivey both sat on the counter and played with the ingredients and had a great time helping and making a little mess.

Photo by Suzi

After baking our cake I put one of the Toy Story movies on for the girls and Suzi fell asleep on the love seat. Weird. By the time Jordan came home I realized she had a fever. Since it felt like we'd been riddled with one illness after another for the last few weeks of the pregnancy, this was extremely frustrating! I was at 40 weeks 6 days and we had no idea what this moderately high fever meant.

We kept my appointment with the chiropractor that afternoon, and it's a good thing we did because I needed an adjustment. We went home and had dinner, careful not to have anything that might make Ivey throw up again, and put Suzi to bed. She had trouble falling asleep, so we put a fan in her room (it was pretty warm in there) and wiped her face with a damp cloth to keep her comfortable. After a couple of stories she finally managed to go to sleep.

The morning of Saturday the 9th, it was a miracle! Her fever was gone and she felt fine, so we decided to ride to a few yard sales and run some errands. If we had known how soon we were going to be having a baby, we might have stayed home.

We found an apple peeler/slicer/corer (yay!) and a couple other things including an oil burner I could use for the birth. Then we dropped by Bloom for a few groceries and picked out some spring clothes for the girls at our local consignment shop. Around 1:00, we headed to the Vitamin Shop for tea tree and lavender oil. I ran in while everyone else waited in the car. I called Carey, our midwife, while in the shop to get her opinion on vitamin D supplements, and we discussed when our next prenatal appointment would be since I was still pregnant. I told her nothing serious was happening yet and we decided she'd come over the next day. A few minutes after we hung up I had my strongest pressure wave yet. When I got back in the van I told Jordan I wanted to go home. NOW.

It occurred to me I'd hardly had anything to drink all day, so I drank what was left in the water bottle we'd brought. I wondered if this wasn't just a little dehydration. I was having pressure waves of varying intensity at irregular intervals, so I wasn't sure this was it yet. Just in case, I started telling Jordan all the things I wanted to do when we got home. Cleaning, for one. I also wanted to take a shower.

I asked Jordan to feed the girls lunch and headed for the shower almost immediately after walking in the door. By the time I got out of the shower I was pretty sure my pressure waves were the real thing because they weren't going away! I yelled for Jordan to call Carey while I dried off. He left a message and she called back a few minutes later around 2:45. I couldn't tell how fast things were moving, so I asked her to come over sort of soonish. I then called Jenn, our friend we'd asked to attend and photograph for us, and asked her to come over in an hour or two. Jordan called my mom and she picked up Ivey.

I put on a comfortable dress and spent a little time with Jordan straightening up, eating a snack, and putting out the birth food for everyone to eat while we waited. Suzi watched Cinderella as Jordan and I talked and worked. We were so excited to meet our son, and so happy that Jordan was around to share in the early birthing time. For Ivey's birth, he'd arrived home from work just an hour or so before I started pushing.

Photo by Jenn--my last belly shot

It was around 4:00 when Carey, Jenn and Crystal, a midwife apprentice who is also our Creighton Model instructor, arrived all at once. Carey and Crystal began setting up their supplies, and in the sudden flurry of activity my pressure waves came to a halt. I began to worry that I'd made my calls too soon. These poor ladies might be stuck at my house all night. And this was my third baby, so you'd think I'd have a better idea of the timing! No one seemed worried about it, and once the setup was complete they sat in the living room and talked while I tried to start the rotisserie upstairs in the bedroom with Jordan and Suzi. (The rotisserie is a technique to get the baby into a favorable position for birth.) But when I lay down, nothing happened, so I decided we should go back downstairs and stay busy for a little while.

My go-to technique for getting through a pressure wave (photo by Jenn)

We started by baking some brownies and working on a little laundry. It worked! My pressure waves came back and started to get stronger and longer. While we were running around in the kitchen we timed a few of them and they were about a minute long and 4-5 minutes apart. When I felt one coming, I'd lean on the counter and sway until it started to go away. Things were still so casual I decided we should make some buttercream frosting and ice Robert's birthday cake we'd made the day before. When I started working on it, Jordan said "we are NOT making frosting for a cake right now!" He thought it sounded ridiculous. But I told him we didn't have anything better to do.

My midwife Carey helps with the frosting (also by Jenn)

At this point everyone was in the kitchen helping with the cake. Suzi wanted to ice the cake herself. She thought blue would be a good color for decorating, and I only put the words on before letting her finish up. She then added blue sprinkles. We finished the cake at about 5:50 pm. By that time the pressure waves were feeling intense and getting more regular. I was finally starting to feel a sense of urgency. We wrapped things up in the kitchen and headed upstairs to our peaceful birthing space.

Stay tuned for the (somewhat more exciting) conclusion!

Crafted for our moms: Upcycled silk

2011-04-15T07:30:00.000-04:00

Their birthdays are four days apart.

This necklace for Jordan's mom almost didn't go so well, but this tutorial from Hobo Mama saved the day. Jordan also helped out with a fancy Boy Scout knot. Instead of shopping for beads the right size, I just made polymer clay balls the size I wanted. With only five beads, I like the extra weight it adds.

And for my mom I did a wrap bracelet. The little beads are the same ones as on my birth beads bracelet with a little copper wire added. It can be a long necklace too, which is probably more my mom's style.

WW: A midwife gift

2011-04-13T07:30:00.002-04:00

Made from about nine different sweaters.

He is here!

2011-04-10T05:56:00.000-04:00

Robert Foster was born at home in the water on Saturday at 7:17 pm. At 6 pounds 14 ounces and 20 inches long, he is our smallest baby. He loves to nurse already, so I'm sure he won't be that little for long! We love our sweet little guy.

A special thanks to our friend Jenn who came to the birth and took a ton of incredible photos for us, including the two in this post. I just love them and will treasure them forever. She did a fantastic job of capturing the birth and most of the time I didn't even notice she was taking pictures.

The birth was amazing. I didn't use a single Hypnobabies script, but I was right--taking the class was a good idea. Not everything went the way I expected, but I think the important things did. Suzi was present to see her baby brother come into the world and she couldn't have handled it better. She even cut the cord, with a little help from Daddy and Carey! I'm so proud of her. Ivey spent the night with Maw and Paw and will meet Robert today.

I haven't been able to sleep much, but I feel great anyway. Robert is asleep in his cocoon I made (it totally fits, and so does the hat!) but will probably be waking up soon to nurse. More photos soon, and at some point a birth story too!

Another baby cocoon with a hat to match

2011-04-07T07:30:00.001-04:00

I am running out of things to clean and crafts to make over here. Sure hope Robert decides to come soon! This is what I made Tuesday afternoon. It's what I hope is an improvement on my first baby cocoon, with a little knotted hat to match. The cocoon part is from the front of the sweater and the hat is from the sleeves. It was thin, soft merino wool, and I believe it was another one of the sweaters Julie gave me. Thanks Julie!

I really want to try this on him. Mostly I just want to meet him.

P.S. Ivey threw up again last night, after going two and a half days without vomiting! I started her back on regular food too soon, I guess. That basically means anything other than toast with a tiny bit of cheese, applesauce, noodle soup, bananas, and rice. I didn't give her fast food or anything, just a little bit of a bagel with nothing on it, some cheerios, and a couple of peeled apple slices. It was getting to where she was refusing all the stomach virus fare and she seemed so hungry! Really, really frustrating. I'm hoping she'll be okay today. I'm not giving her anything questionable because I don't want to make her sick again!

WW: Never too early to start reading to your babies

2011-04-06T07:30:00.000-04:00

Ivey's favorite to read to her babies is What's Wrong, Little Pookie?

"Ohh, Poopie!" ... "Upset?"

40 weeks and 3 days: A quick update

2011-04-05T10:23:00.000-04:00

The girls' toenails (Suzi green, Ivey pink) that I painted Friday

1) Nope, no baby yet!

2) I went to the chiropractor yesterday and was balanced and didn't even need an adjustment. First time that's ever happened to me! I'm going back again tomorrow.

3) Ivey slept about 18 hours yesterday and woke up this morning smiling and happy and hungry! There's been no vomit for over 24 hours, thank God! She is just about back to her old self, but we are keeping her on Culturelle (probiotics) and the BRAT diet for a couple more days.

4) Jordan has an accounting test tonight at 7:00 pm. Before he left for work I told the baby that anytime after about 9:00 tonight would be good for him to come out. Of course, going by my other two pregnancies, if he comes before Monday the 11th he will be early.

5) Even after Ivey's stomach bug created a bunch of extra cleaning tasks, there is hardly anything left on my to-do list! I have to vacuum a little, finish up a bit of laundry and that's about it. Now I am working off my "overtime" list. Some of the things left: take the girls to the waterfront park, make another baby cocoon, read birthy/breastfeeding books, reorganize the storage room.

6) I'd also like to get some of my during birthing time tasks done ahead of time. I keep wondering if this baby is going to come quickly once he starts coming, and it makes me a little uncomfortable to have more than about two hours of setup that has to take place once things are rolling. Last time there was a lot of running around only a couple of hours before Ivey's birth. So I might get started on that list today, too. I'd like to at least get the rest of the birth stuff out from under our bed and put down the waterproof floor cover and pallet for beside the tub. The bed is already made up with two sets of sheets, so that'll save us at least ten minutes. I'd like to relax and watch a movie or make brownies during my birthing time with Robert.

Yep, that should just about do it. We are ready whenever Robert is. Just please pray that no one here gets sick again!

Stay in a little while longer, baby

2011-04-04T09:51:00.001-04:00

Friday was the best day. My midwife came over and everything was great. The baby was head down and well engaged and we were all set! We figured we'd finish up our to-do list over the weekend and maybe have a baby Monday or sometime. We went to the chiropractor and stopped by Publix on our way home, feeling great. I had a few pre-birthing waves in the store, probably just from excitement. Woo-hoo! Things couldn't get any better. We drove home and put up all our groceries.

Then after dinner we made my belly cast. That was fun. We've done these with all three babies and it gets easier each time. This time the pressure waves kept pushing the cast off my belly as it dried, so I took it off a little early and finished reinforcing it on the counter. Four rolls of plaster strips later, we were done!

Because of the pressure waves, I had to lie down about 9:30 and I took a nap on and off until about 1:30. When I woke up the waves had mostly stopped, but I felt like we had to finish the cleaning, especially in the kitchen and living room and laundry and stuff. Jordan did not share my sense of urgency so after a few, um, words, I sent him to bed and stayed up really late cleaning. About 4:00 I went to bed and tried to sleep but couldn't. I figured it was no problem. The cleaning was almost totally finished, and all we had on the schedule for Saturday was to go and have fun at the Spring Jubilee, our community's annual arts festival. I could just take a nap after that.

But then Ivey woke up vomiting at about 5:30. On the day I turned 40 weeks. It was on and off, and she wasn't acting sick at all, so we wondered if she hadn't just eaten something that didn't agree with her the night before. We even went on to the jubilee, where she puked all over Jordan's back in the Ergo and he had to drive home with no shirt on. Sunday afternoon, just after we thought she was almost better, she started puking again! Last night she got worse, but right now she and Jordan are sleeping in the recliner. I'm glad to see she is resting and that her noodle soup (mostly just soup) is getting a chance to settle. She is feeling miserable and I don't want her to get dehydrated. She either refuses or can't keep down the remedies we've offered to make her feel better, so it looks like this thing is just going to have to run its course.

As you might imagine, we have been running our butts off all weekend trying to keep things sanitized so Suzi, Jordan and I don't catch this. We've been running the washer and dryer nonstop with pukey clothes, towels and blankets, and dashing around with a washcloth and a spray bottle disinfecting doorknobs and faucet handles and countertops. We are getting tired.

Jordan is the greatest dad ever. He has been holding Ivey almost nonstop because that is how she can sleep best, and because we don't want her to get me sick right before the birth. I've been working hard to get everything else done, but poor Jordy. Last night Ivey threw up in his face. It was horrible.

So yes, even though we are at 40 weeks and 2 days now, it is totally cool with us if Robert stays in for a few more days. Last time Ivey was sick like this it lasted about a week on and off and then Suzi and I had it (glad I wrote a long, boring post about it now so I could refer back!). We are just hoping and praying that the rest of the family dodges that bullet this time. We don't want Robert to be born into a house of yuckiness.

But now the poor little girl is up and wanting to eat, so I guess I better go.

Upcycled sweater baby cocoon

2011-04-02T21:45:00.002-04:00

We are now officially in pregnancy overtime. It's not a bad thing, it's just that all the imperative items on our to-do list are done and it's time to wait patiently for the baby. I am 40 weeks today and felt like trying out a little craft I'd been wanting to do for a while.

I wanted one of those baby cocoon things like people knit and use for photos. But I wanted to make it myself, and I don't knit or crochet. I had this soft merino wool sweater that was perfect for an attempt at making one.

Here's the sweater before I got started. The back piece was all I needed.

So I cut that out.

Then I turned it upside-down (the ribbing from the bottom of the sweater will become the top of the cocoon) and trimmed it.

And I cut two rounded things like this. (I also pulled all the lint balls off.)

Then, starting at the top, I rolled the edges under so nothing raw was hanging out and hemmed a little ways. I did this on both sides.

I only went about 5-6 inches.

Then I folded it in half with right sides together, and starting where the folded edge meets the beginning of that cut bottom curve, sewed it together by hand. You could do it on a machine depending on your fabric, but hand-sewing didn't take me long. Besides, I didn't want to climb the stairs to get to my craft room and rethreading the machine is a hassle.

When I'd sewn up to about 4 inches from the top (a little into my rolled hem) I stopped and reinforced that spot.

Then I turned around and sewed all the way back over what I'd just done to be sure it'd hold up well. It only took about five extra minutes. This is what I had at that point.

I turned it inside out and was pretty pleased.

I borrowed one of the girls' baby dolls to try it on. This baby, whom we've taken to calling Big Baby after the doll on Toy Story 3, didn't want to put her arms down or bend her legs, but it did fit. I think the concept is a keeper, and we'll see how it fits a real newborn after Robert arrives. I may need to find another soft sweater and try again for a better fit. I'm wondering if I should have made the bottom wider, for instance. Hopefully it'll at least be good for a belly cast photo prop.

We made that last night!

A big, sad streak of crafty FAIL

2011-04-01T14:32:00.000-04:00

Do you ever have a string of projects that just end terribly? After feeling pretty pleased with my diaper covers, pending a fit check after Robert is born, I decided one day that I'd like to make some wool bracelets. Actually, I decided to use cashmere.

I tried to do a woven thing.

I tried to do a machine-sewn thing.

I tried one more time.

And after that last one I was almost afraid to pick my scissors up again. Then I tried, at length, to make my mom a birthday gift. I knew it was going to be awesome. Ohhh it was a mess. I didn't have the heart to take a picture of it, but finally I abandoned that effort and made her something totally different.

I think my crafty fail streak is over, but I'm being careful to pace myself now so I don't get discouraged and quit. There are a couple of things I've finished since then which turned out pretty well and I'll post photos soon.

What do you do to get back on track when one of your craft projects fails?

WW: Blessingway

2011-03-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

Saturday, March 19th. Photos by my friend Jenn.

My mom brought me a pussywillow with hydrangeas. Jenn and Megan made wonderful snacks and those cupcakes. They were Jenn's and they couldn't have been any better. The large amount of leftovers lasted an embarrassingly short time.

Megan made me a crown.

And did belly henna. The design is one we'd both been admiring from the woodwork in our church.

There were notes with wishes for my birthing time, gifts, birthing beads and a foot bath for me and then Jenn took some pictures of me and Jordan. It was a special day.

And I have really cool friends.

Birthing time beads

2011-03-28T07:00:00.001-04:00

I think every mother should have some. Because it's like... Even though the people who care about you can't all be at your birth, in a way they are, because they got you a bead for your bracelet and you see it and know they're thinking about you.

And I love beads. Handmade beads, stone beads, beads of all shapes and colors and sizes. I haven't ever really been into beading or jewelry making, but I'm thinking of trying it. The other day I decided to go get some little beads to go in between the birth beads from my Blessingway. We have a wonderful little shop in our town that I've been visiting with my mom since I was four or five years old, and I didn't realize this but they have a bunch of scrumptious beads all organized into drawers. It's where most of my Blessingway beads came from. While we were there Jordan picked out a bead for me and I picked out one that I loved, too. They all came together to form the most mismatched bracelet ever. The lady there helped me fix them on beading wire, so now they can go in the birth tub without getting soggy.

Ivey loves my beads too.

Now they are back on my birth shelf, waiting for me.

My beautiful, peaceful birth space

2011-03-26T13:18:00.000-04:00

It's hard to explain in words what it means to walk into this space to give birth instead of into a hospital room.

I feel relaxed here. It's our bedroom. It's big enough to hold everything I need for a birth. More importantly, though, I know what to expect. It's incredibly reassuring to be able to envision where our baby will be born. I already know there won't be any irritating odors or clocks in annoying places or distracting noises or signs. I already know where everything is located. We also don't have to haul my stuff in in bags at the last minute and hope we remembered it all.

Here is my birth tub, which is a La Bassine. We have a hose and shower adapter all ready to fill it up from our bathroom, but right now we are using it to store some of our supplies for the birth--extra pillows and two clean sets of sheets for our bed, along with a pool noodle.

We cleared the end of our dresser for our midwife to set up her supplies. (Yes, she brings life-saving supplies in case something goes wrong--a lot of the same stuff they have at the hospital.)

The rocking chair in the corner is the same rocking chair Jordan's mom rocked him in when he was a baby. The blue blanket was made by one of the ladies at my church. My mom bought it at a silent auction years ago and was saving it for her first grandson. She just gave it to me at my Blessingway.

Oh, and that thing standing up behind the chair is a Bed Bug Bumper--our device of choice to cosleep safely with Robert. It'll go over here, on my side of the bed, once he's arrived.

Speaking of the bed, the quilt was made by my mom as a wedding gift for me. Look at this gorgeous butterfly! It makes me happy to know it'll be at the birth.

This is the shelf we have overlooking our birth tub. It has candles, just in case it's dark enough for a candlelight birth. There's also the Willow Tree figurine Jordan's parents gave us for Suzi's birth and a photo of our family on Jordan's first Father's Day. Then there are my birth beads from the people I love.

There's also room on the shelf for other items such as an icy glass of coconut water with bendy straw and whatever else I might need. Down below the shelf are a couple of practical items: a lined trash can just in case I need it during transformation and an electric fan in case I get hot. I got so hot last time but this time will probably be better. There's a nice ceiling fan in the bedroom--and also, it won't be the middle of August. Oh, and the alarm clock on the table above is turned away from the birth tub so I can forget about what time it is and focus on Baby Robert's birth.

There is a TV in our room just in case Jordan and I feel like turning a movie or something on. I doubt it but you never know. I really like that picture frame and am planning to put a belly shot of me and Jordan in it.

I hung my Storchenwiege wrap up in the closet doorway. I could hold on to it and lean forward, or squat, or whatever feels comfortable. I'm pretty sure some women even get into position for pushing using one. I love this wrap. Jordan and I both carried Ivey in it when she was a baby, and the colors are vibrant and beautiful.

Last but not least, there are these two. We are planning for Suzi to stay for the birth (she wants to "help catch Robert") and for Ivey to go spend some time with Maw and Paw. Then Ivey will be brought over to meet her little brother as soon as possible afterwards. Jordan and I were able to talk things over and make that call. You can't do that just anywhere. Nor can you hand-pick every single person who will be with you at your birth, which is what we've done.

I love it in here. It's exactly the birth space I wanted for me and my baby. I wish every mother could have her perfect safe, special birth space. I know every mother should have it--whatever it might be for her.

Happy Birthday to my mom and a late pregnancy list

2011-03-24T10:00:00.001-04:00

My mom, photo by Jenn at my Blessingway

1) Today is my lovely mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Mama! I'm sorry I don't have your gift finished yet.

2) These girls. They play together so much these days. Of course, it also means they fight, but I love to see them interacting. Ivey yells "Shooozhee!" and tells her to "eet! eet!" and sometimes, if Suzi is throwing a fit, Ivey tells her to hush. Here's Ivey playing dress-up in the armhole of one of my shirts, much to Suzi's amusement.

And Suzi pretending to be a dog named Poopsie. It's funny when Ivey joins in and starts crawling around and panting.

They discovered that twice as much mischief can be had in the rocking chair with two.

The other day Ivey wore herself out so bad that we left her sitting in the recliner for a couple of minutes and when we came back she had fallen asleep looking like Winnie the Pooh.

I love them so, so much. But they make me so, so tired.

3) I just realized we need a couple of things from Whole Foods for the birth. Myrrh is one, which is for the placenta encapsulation process, and I also wanted some Rescue Remedy. I guess this means we'll be filling our gas tank again sooner than we thought. WHY can't we get a Whole Foods or an Earth Fare or a Trader Joe's just a little closer to home? They pile them into the cities!

4) In my desire to have everything ready for the birth, which we feel will probably be in the first half of April, I made a day-by-day countdown to-do list. Unfortunately my organizational enthusiasm exceeds my energy and I doubt all those things will get done. Everything wasn't done for Ivey's birth either and we survived and I'd even say it was pleasant. With Suzi, nothing was done. As of her birthday we were renting a house that was a gigantic mess, had yet to close on the new home we were buying, and were set to bring her home to my parents' house. Oh and Jordan had just started a new job the month before and had almost no time to take off. Compared to that nightmare, this time everything is perfect!

5) I can't wait to go to the chiropractor tomorrow. I'm pretty sure Robert has stayed in a good position since my adjustment Monday, but I want to keep him there. I've also been doing a lot of bending and lifting and don't feel great. What did I do without the chiropractor the last two times?

6) The priorities still on my list:

- buy those supplies

- sterilize Robert's umbilical cord tie we made at the Blessingway

- make my belly cast

- attempt to make a dress/gown for me to wear during the birth

- put together new activity bags for the girls

- do a wool wash and lanolize Robert's diaper covers

- get all the cameras ready

- make a playlist of birth music

- dig into my list of crafts, which are mostly for other people

- clean house one last time before the birth

Jordan is off tomorrow, so we are going to run a bunch of errands and get some of these things done. Everything will be fine even if we get none of them done, but I'd really like to do at least most of them before the birth. I am 38 weeks 5 days and so far, today is not feeling very productive.

38 weeks: A bad day and then a good day

2011-03-22T09:39:00.001-04:00

Sunday, March 20, 2011 - 38 weeks 1 day

I am just so irritable today, for so many little reasons.

Yesterday was my Blessingway, which Megan and Jenn did for me, and it was wonderful. Jenn made amazing cupcakes and Megan did a special henna design on my belly, and my mom and mother-in-law came. Everyone brought me a bead for a birthing time bracelet, wrote down wishes for me and Robert for the birth, and we braided the baby an umbilical cord tie. It was really special and I feel lucky to have such good friends. I'll have to do another post about the Blessingway later.

38 weeks, 3 days with henna by Megan

But.

My midwife came over before the Blessingway for a prenatal and the baby, who has been measuring on the small side of normal, is measuring small enough that perhaps we should check on him. It probably isn't a big deal because we don't normally have big babies, and I went past 41 weeks with the girls. He has time to grow. Yesterday he was in a weird, oblique position too, though. Instead of settling into a head-down position and staying there, he's been rolling all around. Carey is sending us for an ultrasound just to be sure everything is okay in there. We're going to call tomorrow and see if we can get a chiropractor appointment first.

I've been crawling around on my hands and knees, sitting on my birth ball, and doing pelvic rocks just trying to get him into a favorable position. Sometimes I'll feel like I've gotten him head-down again and as soon as I check, he twists out of my hands in whichever direction he wants to go. I don't know why.

The girls and I have a cold, which is annoying. I've been trying to avoid dairy and a couple of other things I love because of the cold. I stayed home with them today but Jordan went to church because we had children's church and he had a meeting afterwards. For some reason Ivey always waits to poop until her dad leaves, and she did that today. It was a really bad one to clean up too. And then the girls screeched and fought with each other and Jordan came home later than expected.

And then Jordan looked in the fridge and said, "oh, there's goat cheese!" and I snapped at him not to eat all my goat cheese, and then felt bad.

I told him "I am just so angry today!" And, really, it's not the best day. It feels like there's more I want to do than I can possibly get done before the birth, I'm getting a little OCD, and I am quite pregnant after all.

But on the way to buy some more goat cheese I realized, I am mostly just worried about Robert.

:-(

UPDATE! Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Yesterday I called the chiropractor and got an early appointment for an adjustment and the Webster technique. Just before we left, I called Carey and she had gotten me set up to go for the ultrasound in the afternoon. Dr. Wickiser adjusted several different things and explained that when the round ligament is too tight, it can make it so the baby has a hard time getting into position. That is probably why Robert was moving around so much--he was trying to go the right direction, but it just wasn't comfortable. By the time we arrived at my parents' house to drop the girls off before the ultrasound, I already felt different, like he was settling in. The chiropractor is awesome. I don't think I'll ever go through another pregnancy without chiropractic, especially not at the end. I'm going back a few more times before the birth (assuming Robert stays in for a couple more weeks).

The ultrasound couldn't have gone better. We only had to wait a few minutes and the first thing the tech told us was that Robert is head down. Yay! The chiropractor helped! He was moving, practicing his breathing, and appeared to be drinking amniotic fluid too. We got to watch him moving his lips and sticking his tongue out, which was really cute. As for his size, he is supposed to be about 6 pounds 7 ounces, give or take a pound, which is a fine size. His projected due date (although, really, dating is best done around 20 weeks) was April 11--the date I guessed as soon as I realized I was pregnant! Apparently I just like to take my time growing babies.

So everything is fine. The only unusual thing about the ultrasound is that the little boy had his feet crossed up by his head. I have no idea how he got them there but even the ultrasound tech thought it was pretty interesting. I know he isn't stuck that way because he has already been kicking me up high this morning, so I guess he was just showing off.

These are the happy days of pregnancy. We are all set for our waterbirth--the tub is set up, our supplies are packed away, and it could be anytime but probably, and I'm hoping, it will be a couple of weeks. After going to 41 weeks + 2 days twice so far, this time I won't feel late, I'll feel normal. Today I am going to try to get a little cleaning done and hopefully I won't be too tired to take Suzi to dance this afternoon.

Cashmere shorties, modeled by Ivey

2011-03-15T14:42:00.000-04:00

I love these short, chubby little legs.

I made these shorties (Ivey calls them "pents") out of a funky-colored cashmere sweater in my stash, one I really didn't like that much, because this was a practice run. I wasn't nervous about cutting into this holey cardigan. It wasn't like when I cut into the sweater I used for the owl shorties. Julie gave me that one and it was the perfect thickness and a hard-to-find color. I was kind of scared to cut it, but luckily it ended up a success.

The cashmere was really soft and, even though I had to cut into the shoulder seams on one side to get enough material, and there was a hole in the butt, I think the shorties turned out pretty nice. They were my first try in a totally new size.

I sewed up the hole in the butt and put a heart patch over it. It needed a little something anyway.

I love making these. Next I need to wash and lanolize them so they can be used as water resistant covers. I've never had to care for wool diapers before, but I'm hoping these will be easier than most. They're already felted so that's one less way for me to ruin them, right?

Fancy wool shorties for Robert!

2011-03-13T23:23:00.001-04:00

I put off trying to make these for so long. I must have thought it wouldn't work and I'd end up sitting at the sewing machine crying. But today I got up early and made one diaper cover using these instructions from Cloth Diaper Blog, which were ever so helpful. Once I'd done the first cover (not pictured; it is just plain) I altered the leg cuffs a bit and these are what I got. I love making them, but these are both sized for a newborn (or a little bigger) and I have no idea if they'll fit right. I'm thinking of making Ivey some. I am also going to have to get Jenn to remind me how much of what to use for washing and lanolizing. She walked me through the whole thing a few weeks ago and I should have been taking notes.

I can't believe how much we did today. Making diapers. Getting to church almost on time. Going out for Mexican afterwards, and then taking the girls and the dog to the botanical gardens for some fun outdoor time. Then Jordan had a session meeting at church and I stayed home with the tired girls and worked on these diaper covers! It was a big day, and made up for our lazy Saturday yesterday. We both went for eye exams and got contacts and that's about it. I love my new daily lenses.

By the way, I am 37 weeks and 1 day today. If you look closely, the picture above doubles as a belly shot.