N. just asked me, "Mom, I wonder what it's like to be a mom."
I told him it was kind of hard to describe and he says, "just try"
so I said,
"It's the hardest thing you'll ever do, but the best thing you'll ever do because you have to take care of people that can really drive you crazy, but whom you love more than anything."
How would you have answered the question?

Seven

My son turns seven today. I'm doing what I guess every mother does on the anniversary of her children's births. I'm thinking about that day seven years ago, and each time I look at the clock I think about what I was doing at this time on THAT day. Seven years ago, I was in the hospital having nurses and residents freaking out about the fact that I was in labor and I had chosen a (gasp!) home birth with a (double gasp!) lay midwife. What a crazy day!

I was exhausted. Dan was exhausted. Neither of us had slept the whole night, I had been pushing for over four hours and the baby was not coming out. We piled into my mom's station wagon and headed to the hospital, no sense in paying for and waiting for an ambulance, I was "fine" the baby wasn't in distress.

The stories that we tell over and over about that day...

1. The nurse that was taking me to labor and delivery was more stressed about the situation than Dan or I. She rolled me into the elevator and pushed the button, but the elevator kept stopping at the wrong floors because other people kept pushing the buttons. Dan and I were trying to keep from laughing and I thought about the irony of me, the woman in labor, having to calm the nurse, the professional.

2. When N was born, the doctor pulled him out and he said "Wheh!" that was it, just one short cry.

3. Dan asked the doctor "how was he?" the Doctor's answer, "wedged." Yeah, that's why I ended up with a C-section.

4. They wrapped him up and held him up by my head so that I could see my baby. I looked at him and then turned to Dan and said, "He has your eyes" Then Dan went with the nurse to the nursery and I fell asleep while they stitched me up.

I have such mixed emotions about that day and the whole birth experience, but the over-riding one is the joy that God blessed us with a son. A wonderful, beautiful son that we have had the joy of raising for the past seven years. I am so thankful that I have been given the privilege of watching him grow and can't wait to see what kind of a man he becomes.

N. on his seventh birthday

How to raise a book lover

N.R. update

I thought it was about time to give some updates, so I'll start with my oldest. I can't believe that N will be turning seven in just a few short weeks. This weekend Dan and I celebrate eight years of marriage. Has it only been eight? It's been eight years already? That basically sums it up. Seven years ago we were getting ready to go away for a weekend. Our last as just the two of us. Today I'm looking at the end of first grade.

This was our first year officially homeschooling. What I mean is I tried to have some kind of schedule and "do school" every week-day. We did all right. I was better at the beginning. I had all sorts of grand ideas of things we could do, then December hit and things started to fall apart a little bit, what with having a new baby and all, but he is reading well, knows a good bit of the phonics rules, even if he doesn't like to use them, and by Friday will have completed the first grade math book. Math is a chore, but that's the way it is for most six almost seven year olds right? I remember having similar conversations with my mom. "I hate math!" " I hope I never have to do math again!" "I'm never going to like math." etc. etc. But like I said, only five more lessons. I'm excited to have a few months to enjoy summer, and re-group before second grade starts. I'm sure it will follow in the foot-steps of first grade, we'll start out strong and by this time next year counting the days until we can call it quits, but that's just a part of homeshooling, it's just a part of the schooling years right?

N. continues to enjoy G. and she him. He has a way of making her laugh like no one else. I enjoy watching this brother-sister bond develop. She's good for him in many ways. She not demanding (not yet any way) and greatly enjoys his presence. It's good to watch his gentle side come out when her interacts with her. It's a side that you don't see much when he's with A. I guess it has something to do with the age difference and the difference between brothers and sisters.

This past weekend N got to go on the annual fishing trip with Dan and the rest of the "men of the family" Last year was his first time with just Dad and Pap-pap. This year was the regular hoop-la with uncles and cousins galore. It's been a good time for N to bond with his dad and have some one on one time without A.

Last week he lost his fourth tooth. He certainly has the look of a grade-schooler, and is getting rich from the tooth fairy. I must confess that that is one child-hood fantasy that we indulge in. I'm sure he'll figure it out soon enough, he's a bright one and Dan and I aren't too subtle about it. We enjoy asking him all sorts of questions about it and listening to how he reasons things out. He's so practical and logical most of the time, I enjoy trying to encourage the creative, imaginative side of his brain.

I love this Man.

Mothers' Day

I'm so thankful that I've been blessed with one...

two...

three reasons to celebrate Mothers' Day.

They are so wonderful!

Move it move it

She's on her way to being mobile. The days of her staying where we put her are numbered. Tonight G. rolled from her tummy to her back after pivoting herself 180 degrees.

She has also discovered her toes and likes to hold them and roll back and forth. I think she's actually just trying to get her toes in her mouth, but hey it's all a part of the process right?

Where do you even start?

It started when I heard a sound like running water coming from the stairway. In fact it sounded like someone was standing at the top of the stairs pouring water down them, (which, with two boys in the house is not inconceivable).


I ran to the stairs... "What's going on!!"


"I'm sorry mom, I'm sorry I'm sorry"


This is what I found.

Explanation?
My first thought was that they were trying to pull a Calvin and Hobbes stunt. You know the one where Calvin puts the end of the toilet paper in the toilet and then flushes and the roll goes spinning?

This is what happened as explained by A.
"I had to go poop, and then I was worried about using to much toilet paper. So I did."
Ahhh, the joys of an independent four year old.

Achievement

This past week G. has participated in an Early learning project through Geneva College. One of the professors attends our church and approached us about having G involved. It was a lot of fun watching the learning process.

Last week they came two days in a row and then again this week.

For the first several minutes she lay in her pack and play watching a mobile and they counted how many times a minute she kicked her leg. Then they tied one end of a ribbon to her foot and the other end to the mobile so that when she kicked she manipulated the mobile making it shake and the bells to ring.

Unfortunately the first day they came she had skipped her morning nap and was tired and un-cooperative, but the next day she went to town kicking over forty times a minute.
Yesterday was a refresher, where they shook the mobile for her to bring back the memory and today they finished up with the same process as last week.

Here's G. with Dr. Hitchcock

It was pretty amazing to watch as she grasped the concept that she had control over the mobile, and she would kick vigorously to make it move. She enjoyed the control. Uh-oh, do I have another "first born" on my hands?

They even presented her with a certificate/diploma. She has a diploma from Geneva College before her mother. How about that. Of course I still have more hours invested than she does.

Easter with a 6 and 4 year and 4 month old

We didn't succeed in getting a family picture this year. The boys looked very good in their new polos, even though it was touch and go for a while whether or not N. would wear his. "I don't like new shirts." We seem to be in some sort of a power struggle. If he's going to do something it's going to be his idea. IF he decides to do me a favor he MIGHT wear the new shirt I bought him. I'm trying to get him to understand that he's not doing me a favor by wearing the shirt. It's a priviledge that his mother buys him one. Oh the reverse psychology games I play with that one.

Of course this was also my first year with a daughter. My first year to make/get a new Easter dress. I decided to make one this year since she just looks so darn cute in crocheted garments, not to mention the fact that it's unique.

Saturday Jessica and Rob were here, so we went over to Mom's house for dinner and also dyed eggs. It's so wondeful having an Aunt and Uncle more than willing to help the boys. It certainly made the egg dying experience much less stressful for me. Perhaps the boys can return the favor when Uncle Rob and Aunt Jessica have kids, by being the "big kids" and helping their cousins.

A Wonderful Moment

N. got his first Bible today. He's been asking for one for a while, so this week I just got online and bought one. We went with the ESV childrens Bible since that is the translation we use at church. Seeing his joy and excitement when it arrived in the mail did this momma's heart good. My prayer is that he will become well aquainted with it, and that God will use it to do mighty things in his life. My prayer for my sons is that they will be like David, men after God's own heart.

It's fun to be outside

"It's fun to be out and about" -- NRS

It was just an exploring adventure. They didn't find any pirates, or secret caves, or burried treasure, or fairies. They just explored, and found some rocks and old bottles, but they spent the time together and had some fun in the great out doors.

Maybe next time they'll sail across the sea.

Boys

I've been meaning to blog for the past several weeks. There are things that would pop into my mind that I thought would be fun to share.

Nothing spectacular has happened, just life with three kids. wow! People always said that three was a big adjustment and they were right.

N and I are in the process of trying to finish first grade. He is reading quite well and is devouring his recent favorite books, The Box Car Children. Since his reading seems to be coming along well, I've told him that all we need to do to finish the school year is to finish his math book. That's 30 more days of math. 27 lessons with 6 more tests.

A is adjusting to life as the middle child. I am constantly aware of his dilemma. N needs to do school, G needs to eat, N needs help with school, G needs a diaper change. I feel guilty when the day is almost over and I realize that I haven't really sat down and given him a good hug or just a few minutes of my undivided attention, but he is resiliant and forgiving, and I strive to be a better mother every day.

Just to share a few things about having young boys in the home...

This picture is a couple of things that have been hanging out on our porch for a while. In case you don't recognize them they are a boomarang and a sling shot.

The weather has been slowly warming up. The sun is usually shining at least a couple of days out of the week. We enjoy taking advantage of this and going to a local park for walks. Our most common destination is a mile loop with a bridge half way around. We walk half a mile, stop and play a couple rounds of pooh sticks and then finish the loop. Yesterday, N requested a walk in the woods, so we explored one of the trails.

This morning A was bemoaning the fact that N didn't want to go outside and play with him, so I did my best to encourage him to use his imagination. I set him up with things for an adventure, a buddy, a cap, a snack (with extra in case he ran into a friend and wanted to share, namely his brother), a bottle of water, and a sack to put anything interesting in. I can't wait to hear about it when he comes back in. Right now I'm just enjoying the fresh air coming through the open door, the sound of my wind chimes and a quiet house.

When you give a boy a camera...

Look at those Lashes!

What a sweet angelic sleeping baby.

You can't help but melt.

Brotherly Love

The boys are still lovin' on their sister as much as possible, and now that she gives feed back and smiles, she is even more intriguing. Of course A. still gives her as many kisses as he can as often as he can, but he is learning how to be gentle and not so smothering. I'm trying to teach him the appropriate ways to play with her and encourage and praise him when I see him doing that. I must say that for the most part G. enjoys her brother's attention. She's been known to stop fussing and smile when he comes and talks to her.

The other day I was folding laundry and gave N. a pair of underware to put away. He promptly put them on his head and started talking to G. She wasn't too impressed, but that didn't phase him and he even let me take a picture and he smiled! Isn't it amazing what people will do for a baby? It really does my heart good to see them enjoying each other.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day to my four wonderful Valentines and to everyone else too.

These are the Valentines I made. It sure was worth it. I got wonderful smiles and "thank yous" from all of my boys. Of course I had to eat G's.

I heart cookies

As I make an effort to continue some of the family traditions that my mom did with us, I gain more and more respect for her. I am impressed with her patience with us while we did things like decorate cookies and dying easter eggs. I don't like to clean and avoid it at all cost, so the prospect of giving my six and four year old iceing and candies to decorate cookies with does not excite me. And yet, I want them to experience these fun child-hood activities just like I did. So, I do my best. I'm probably not as chearful as I should be, but I try to enjoy it with them. I haven't given in to letting them ice the cookies yet, and I'm a stinker and restrict the amount of candy they can put on each cookie, but today the afternoon was spent putting red hots and candy hearts on sugar cookies with pink icing. I think they had fun.

The princess on her throne

She's cute and she knows it.

New Furniture

Several months ago, my mother-in-law suggested a new couch as a family Christmas gift. I jumped at the idea. We needed a new couch and it would save her from buying us other things we may not need. So, it was settled. Dan and I looked around and finally decided on a couch from IKEA, but with G. being born and Christmas festivities we didn't get around to getting it. Then after the new year we took our van to the shop to get the dents from my accident fixed. That took longer than expected. We got it back after four weeks and were finally able to go get our couch. So Friday night we headed down to Robinson with my Mother-in-law to pick it up. I also got to pick out a Poang chair that I've been wanting for a while. Christmas morning Dan gave me a web-cam, then my mom gave me one as well. Since she had bought hers on sale months and months ago, and we could not return it, we kept the one from my mom, returned the one Dan bought and I got a Poang chair instead. It's very exciting. It's almost like getting a new living room. Of course I haven't had to chance to properly arrange things, but just having such wonderful new seating is great.

Sneezes

For those of you who don't get to see G every day, I thought you might enjoy a few of her faces and noises. She's getting more and more alert each day and is spending more time awake.

Bunk Beds

Dan finally finished the boys' bunk bed. He's been working on them for a while. He had to make them since the boys' room isn't big enough for a standard size bed. Thankfully we were able to find mattresses at Ikea, so they are covered and much nicer than if we had had to cut our own foam. I think he did a fabulous job, and the boys are enjoying them. A. is happy to finally be out of the crib. I'm sure these are much more comfortable to sleep on. They haven't figured out how to make the bed into a fort yet, but I'm sure they will soon. I'm looking forward to them having many enjoyable years with these beds.

Growing and Changing

One day old

I can't believe it's been almost a month already since we welcomed G. into our family. In some ways she still feels like a newborn, but I can already see how she's changing. She's awake more often and responds to voices that she knows. This is especially true of her Dad. She knows when her Daddy is talking. She's also starting to fill all the 3m clothes she got for Christmas alot better. It's almost as if I can see how much she's grown each day when I put a sleeper on her at night and she fills it a little bit more. We're still working on the bed time thing. It's about mom remembering how to put a baby to bed as much as anything else.
She has become a very good eater, but seems to be taking notes from her big brother N. and likes to take her time. In fact she likes to eat for 20-30 minutes, but it ends up taking more like 45-60 minutes because she likes to take a break in the middle.
I am remembering how much I really enjoy this stage and how much I love my babies. It's been alot of fun the last couple of years having older boys and being able to do different things with them that you can't do when you are carrying babies around, but I am so thankful for my baby girl and I am relishing all the baby things all over again. Even changing her diaper is a joy. Every day when I look at her I am amazed at how God has blessed us.

3 weeks and 5 days old

I don't like it!

Sometimes I don't like being a mom; when my son is sitting on the steps screaming because I had to stick to my word and deny him something. This is when you wish someone else had to do the hard stuff and you want to join him in screaming, "I don't like it!!!" It's no fun teaching consequences.

Craziness

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed these days at the long list of things I need to get done. Of course there's the normal house-hold chores, laundry that must be kept up with, cleaning that hasn't been done since before G. was born; but on top of all of that is closing out the old year and preparing for the new. Since I am the missions treasurer for our church there are checks to be written and mailed a new budget to plan and other things as well. Then there is school. We stopped in December sooner than I had planned. I didn't anticipate my inability to focus on anything other than G's birth. I thought that keeping up with school right until she was born would be a good distraction. Instead I was just distracted and tired and ready for a break and my new baby, so now it's time to get back into the groove.
You forget how much time a baby takes up. I've always been one to work in spurts, when the mood strikes me, and that is hard when you have a baby. You have to do the work when you are able, not when you want to when you have to sit down for forty-five minutes every two to three hours to feed her. And don't forget the time spent changing diapers too. It's a task that in and of its self doesn't take very long, but by the end of the day all those minutes definitely add up.
I'm looking forward to February, when things should slow down some. When we can try to get into some kind of normal. At the same time, I want to just savor this time. I guess that's why I'm having so much trouble with my list of things to do. What I really want to do is just sit with my daughter and watch her grow.

Merry Christmas

And and Happy New Year!

A little late I know, I've been a little busy the last few weeks. I'll try to get an update posted soon.