My Helpers

Shortly after Gabby was born I started having trouble with sciatica.  It was debilitating for quite awhile.  Eventually, I was able to get past the pain.  I've had a few issues with it since then, but they have been minor.  This past week I over did--I did my typical Friday vacuuming and bathroom cleaning, and then I scrubbed and waxed the wood floors on Saturday.  By Sunday, I was having trouble getting into and out of chairs and even walking.

I was afraid that I was in for a long painful end of this pregnancy, not to mention trying to figure out how to get through labor when you can't sit, stand, or walk comfortably even without contractions.  I had noticed that the pain was much worse when I bent or twisted, so Monday as I went about my day, when I came to anything that required bending I asked the munchkins to help.  They handed me the plates from the dish washer, put the dry laundry into a basket for me, picked up the items from the lowest shelves at the store, and helped haul the groceries up the stairs into the house.

I adore babies and can't wait to hold a little bitty in my arms again, but I am thankful for my big helpers too.  The help they gave let my body heal and now I feel much better.

Not Fair

Back at Kate's birthday I got her a journal to pass back and forth.  A place to write me questions so I could take some time and think out true, meaningful answers.  I wouldn't ever share what she writes to me, but here is a note I wrote to her.  One that is true for anyone who might wonder why life isn't fair...


Dear Katie,

You are right. Life is not fair. You remember at the very beginning of the Bible, Adam and Eve sinned, right? Ever since then, the world has not been fair.

I’m sure you’re thinking of things like someone getting more cookies or extra time playing. And those things, daddy and I try to keep fair. They aren’t equal—you and your brother and sister are different ages and sizes, you all will have different things you like to do, and sometimes different things will just happen to be available.  

Here’s the truth of it all though—that’s not what is really unfair. Do you know what is really not fair? We messed up. Do you know what should happen to us because we sinned? We should be separated from God forever. But in the biggest not fair thing ever, Jesus, who lived the perfect life, without any sin, died like we should have—all because God wants you to be with Him. It was not fair. It was the most unfair thing ever. 

Life isn’t fair. Sometimes you will not get what you want. Sometimes you won’t get what you deserved. And sometimes, sweetheart, that is a very good thing. I’m sorry you don’t live in a perfect world, but because you have Jesus, who loves you more than Daddy and I ever can, some day you will get to go to heaven and everything will be right again.

Here’s a Bible passage to look up too. (Matthew 20:1-16) I’ll help you if you can’t find it. We’ve read it with Daddy before, and maybe you’ll remember that the workers all got the wages they agreed to. They all got the same pay, even though some of them worked many more hours. It isn’t equal to the hours they worked, but Jesus said it is fair. It helps us understand we all get to go to heaven, even though some people have been Christians since before they remember and others didn’t love Jesus until later—we all loved him and all get to go because He loves us and died for our sins. Isn’t that wonderful? Aren’t you glad that everything doesn’t have to be fair?

Love always,
Mama

It is scandalous.  Truly.

Filling the Advent Box

I love celebrating Advent with my family. I love the symbolic candles, the carols, the reminders about what the season means.

We keep a nifty Advent box that my father made for us a couple of years ago. The actual number of days in Advent changes each year, since it begins 4 Sundays prior to Christmas, so our box has 24 drawers, one for each day in December leading up to Christmas.

I made a list of the things that will be in our advent box this year, along with the scripture verse and carol for each day! Feel free to take from it and adapt it as your own. I've seen neat advent calendars made with little gift boxes, match boxes, and even simple envelopes. Most of them match up, but there are a few odd ones--no stories about Christmas cookies or ornaments in the Bible, so those days don't 100% match up.

We bought a tiny nativity set a few years ago and that is where many of our little pieces can from. I also use little bitty ornaments.

(November 27th-Hope (Isaiah 40:3-5))

1-angel (Luke 1:26-38)

Angels we Have Heard on High

2-Mary (Luke 1: 46-55)

Mary Did You Know?

3-ornament we will make ornaments (John 1:1-4)

O Christmas Tree

4-Peace candle (Isaiah 9:6)

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

5-envelope make Christmas cards (Matt 2:20)

Go Tell it on a Mountain

6-Joseph (Matt 1:18-25)

Joseph's Lullaby -Mercy Me

7-crown (Isaiah 9:6-7)

What Child is This

8-movie (Revelation 12)

O Come, All Ye Faithful

9-sheep (Micah 5:24)

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

10-bow we will wrap presents for friends (Matt 2:11)

Happy Birthday to You (Jesus)

11-Joy (Isaiah 52: 5-9)

Good Christian Friends, Rejoice

12-paper pyramid to represent Egypt (Matt 2:13-15)

Spirit of the Age -Michael Card

13-animals (Luke 2:1-7)

Away in a Manger

14-cookie cutter make cookies (John 1:14)

Deck the Halls

15-shepherds (Luke 2:8-20)

The First Noel

16-rocks to represent the line of David (Matt 1:1-17)

Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

17-singing ornament we will go caroling (Luke 2:13-14)

Angels from the Realms of Glory

18-Love (Jer 33:14-16)

Silent Night

19-Nativity Ornament (Micah 5:2)

O Little Town of Bethlehem

20-wise men (Matt 2:1-12)

We Three Kings

21-lights (Isaiah 9:1-2)

There's a Song in the Air

22-candy canes (Isaiah 53:5)

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

23-star (Matt 2-1)

O Holy Night

24-Jesus (Luke 2:1-2)

Joy to the World

Twice in the past week, I've had strangers hold open doors for me. The kids are getting older and I'm no longer carting a ginormous double stroller with me, but they held the door in common civility anyway. When I thanked the first gentleman, he told that we made his week in allowing him the honor. I missed that when we were in Kansas!

I am trying to teach our children manners. It isn't always easy. People often dismiss us when we try to correct our children's manners. Sure, they are young, but if we don't teach it now, they will develop into big kids or even grown ups without manners. I love to hear Nate say, "Tank ooo," and I'm always proud to see the girls use their manners too. Hopefully as they get a little stronger, they will be holding open doors for the people behind them too.

I have an etiquette curriculum, but I have to say that I think the best thing for their manners lately has been reading the Little House books. Those kids are well behaved, treat each other and their parents kindly, and are sweet loving girls. Maybe we'll re-read these every year!

All Alone

When you have more than one child, you have to be intentional to spend time with just one at a time. Let's face it, hanging out on the couch with them is nice, but is likely to be interrupted by the siblings. We try to take individual children on errands when it is feasible too, but sometimes it is great to do something special just with one of the kiddos.

Last week I took Kate to a science museum nearby, just the two of us. We got to spend time on things that are hard to do with the little ones. She got to 'fly' in the moon walk

and we went geocaching indoors and out.

This week I took Gabriella to see a movie.

We saw The Smurfs. It was her very first movie. Not one I would really recommend as a great work of cinematography, but it had some funny lines and was reminiscent of my childhood--I loved the Smurfs. Plus it was a great afternoon with you youngest gal.

Meanwhile, Justin took Nate for a nap...

Next month we'll switch and the girls can go on 'dates' with their Daddy.

The Laundry Fairy

Have I told you I don't like laundry? Okay, I know, I have. I haven't done any since Sunday, so I've got four loads to wash, five to fold, and six to put away--yeah I left some in the dryer and I had folded kiddie clothes while they were sleeping and they sat in the laundry basket until today--shame, shame. And I'm sure it will happen again.

It's not the washing and drying I mind. It's all the folding an putting away that I detest. I can say this because I own a washer and dryer. I just need a folder and put-er away-er.

I've happened on a new scheme though...Kate likes to put away laundry. So now, while I'm putting away everyone else's laundry Kate puts away hers--I have it folded and sorted from top drawer to bottom drawer for her. Time saver, well not really because then Gabby wants to help and she needs help to help, but there will be a day that they can do it all by themselves, of course then they won't want to--but I'm all about bribery, I mean privileges and positive reinforcement.

Now to convince them that they really want to do the rest of my chores...

Dear children,

Nap time isn't supposed to be optional. Not only does it help you not be little monsters be well rested, but it's also a time for me to get things done. And (gasp) maybe even rest a little too. Alas, the past few days you've enjoyed wreaking your havoc from sun up to sun down, but I am hoping for naps tomorrow. At this rate I'm going to need a nap too.

Love,
Mama

Revolt

If they do nothing else, my children keep me humble. Last week I thought I had the sleep situation worked out, but alas it was not to be. Gabby got sick, which may have caused the beginning of the lapse, but now it has spun out of control. We're talking hours to fall asleep and at least an hour before the alarm goes off (for a 3 hour loss on the night--every night).

Last night I lost track of how many trips we made, but it ended with me sitting up there for 45 minutes or so, just praying for wisdom in how to handle this situation. I was visibly upset, evidently, because Kate asked what was wrong, so I told her that this was my time with Daddy and that she and Gabby were keeping me from that. Generally, we believe honesty is the best, but evidently my devious little girl takes this as her point of attack. This morning she tells me that she's going to ruin my evenings and not let me watch any more movies by making me come upstairs.

How do I convince them that this is worth their effort and not negotiable? We've tried rewards. Then we warned if we came up again there would be no Sesame Street today, so there was no Big Bird or Elmo at our house this morning. Is staying consistent with this the best plan, so they know we mean business or do we chuck this plan as a failure and move on to something else?

The quandaries of parenthood! I'm sure there will be a day that fighting in bed will seem small and insignificant, but it is a battle to be waged now--for peace and for rest for my sleepy eyed little darlings.

Their Just Reward

As promised, the girls got to make an art project after sleeping last night. They made 'rain sticks' out of paper towel tubes. We poked toothpicks through them, put paper caps on one end, filled with beans (Kate counted out hers as she put them in--50 even, I couldn't have done that if I tried. She has never counted above thirty before so she tried to say 20-11teen.). Then we covered the other end, wrapped in paper and let them go to town with stickers.

Fast, fun, easy, and a nice quiet evening for me. Though not so much quiet now--there's a lot of bean shaking going on!

Show Us Your Life: Kids' Names

This is a part of the blog carnival Show Us Your Life at Kelly's Corner.

We have had the pleasure of naming three little munchkins:

Katherine Elizabeth

is named after one of my students who passed away when I was teaching (Katherine) and Elizabeth is a family name on both sides, including being my cousin's middle name.

Gabriella Georgia-Marie

is named after my Grannie (Georgia) and my Grandma's middle name was Marie. Her first name is all her own.

Nathaniel Michael

is named after my husband's dear friend (Michael). Nathaniel took a very long time for us to agree on, after debating everything from Ehud to Thaddeus and William to Phineas, so Nate it is!

We did have another girl's name chosen, since we didn't know Nate's gender. I don't know that we'll ever get to use it, but I'll keep it our secret just in case we some day are granted another little girl. It is a nod at Justin's paternal grandmother's name--he was already named after his grandfathers.

We've chosen longer more formal names that can be shortened, so that they are all at least somewhat similar in style. But you can see they all march to the beat of their own drummer!

The Difference...

My girls have some similarities for sure, but it is striking how very different they can be. When we went to leave the house, the hood of the van was open.

Gabby, who likes everything to be neat, orderly and the same, orders, "Close it!"

Kate, our adventurous and inquisitive child, says, "I never knew cars had that!"

I wonder what Nate will say when he sees something like that. Or will he be all boy, and be climbing up to inspect and "fix" it before we can answer those questions.

Brrr.

Life has gotten cold here in Kansas...like it was 4 (degrees Fahrenheit--look Justin I included the proper units) outside--right next to the house--this morning.

Yesterday morning we had to leave the house fairly early. I got everyone fed, dressed, hair fixed, winter coats, mittens, hats, and baby blankets ready. We made our way the the van...where I found I couldn't open the doors to the back. Neither of them would budge. It seems that the rain from Monday mixed with the plummeting temperatures yielded doors that were frozen shut. In the mean time, Kate threw snow at Gabby, Gabby fell, and Nate woke up.

So I take my now crying children back to the house. I go back out to start the van. I have recently been made aware that it is illegal to leave your started car to warm in Kansas, so I'm back and forth between the children and the van. I ran upstairs to get my hair dryer, just to find that our extension cords are being used on Christmas lights.

I did eventually pry the doors open and we were able to leave. I have also found that the roads here are not cleared like I'm used to, so I took it rather slow. Other people seemed impatient when we were behind a salt truck, but I didn't mind him clearing my path at all. Thankfully my parents always taught me to get every where early, so we made it right on time, even with our delays.

The girls, of course didn't see our weather as much of an inconvenience. They were just excited about the very first snow of this season.

Never mind it took as long to get dressed in all the warm clothes I made them put on than the length of time I let them play!



They got to be in the snow.



And, of course to throw some of it!



The Little Man, was not so impressed by the cold weather clothes I've made him wear this week.

Visiting Saint Nick

We took the kids to see Santa Saturday.

Kate, in true Kate form, told him what she wanted...and what Gabby wanted.




Gabby was very excited about going to see him, but was hesitant when she saw him. She did sit on his lap. She didn't talk to him, but she doesn't ever talk to strangers.




Nate was fine with his first visit with Santa, though I don't think he asked for anything.

****

Then yesterday morning we hear from Kate, "Santa sounded different this year." I think we're in trouble with the whole Santa deal!

Black Friday

I’m not usually one of those people that thinks it’s worth getting into the mess that is “Black Friday,” but young Master Nate was in need of a few items and I could get 60% at Carter’s if I got there by noon. So I got the girls set up with Sesame Street (leaving Daddy here to tend to them) and took the little one with me. We were able to get him some long sleeved onsies to go under some of the cute short sleeved shirts that we were given. I also got him a pair of pants, since he was lacking a little in that department in the small sizes. We got an outfit—cords and a sweater for family pictures and I got a cute little ‘dress’ shirt from another shop for $2.00. Shhh! I also got the girls Christmas Eve present from us: very cute little red night gowns. They will love them—they are so sweet.

We went to the scrapbooking store to get vellum (40% off) for his birth announcements. Hopefully I’ll get those finished up soon. I was actually working on those until the little man woke up again.

All said and done, including the drive to and from—1 hour and 20 minutes! Not bad for some good deals. And my littlest shopper was well behaved the whole time in my handy-dandy Moby Wrap! Thanks again Ann!

It's a...

BOY!

Nathaniel Michael was born Friday November 13th. He was 8 pounds 1 oz. and 19 inches long. More details later!

Saturday Morning

I have sometimes found myself longing for the days when my girls can go down stairs, pour a bowl of cereal, and entertain themselves briefly on a Saturday morning. Perhaps it's the realization that soon life will be changing again for us, but I actually enjoyed having Gabby join us in our bed for a few minutes Saturday morning. Though maybe some of it had to do with the fact that she did sleep until after seven, which is now our definition of "sleeping in." It was kind of nice to have that quiet, lazy time with just her before Kate woke up.

The girls and I went to a consignment sale Wednesday. I didn't pick up much, but it was fun to get out. I did pick up a pair of shoes for Kate, just some brown play shoes for fall. She's been in the same size for awhile, so I expect to have to buy her new ones soon, so I thought this $2 pair would get us through until that next jump in size. I also picked up two books. We have absolutely worn out our copy of the book Prayer for a Child, which I dearly love. I picked up a jumbo sized hard back for $1! Then there was a book called Tails. It's really cute, with lots of textures and moving parts. I was able to get it for $3. The girls love it.

These sales can be great savers, so long as you don't buy stuff you normally wouldn't and you check prices--I don't buy designer clothes for my kids, so $40 for the princess dress Kate wanted, wasn't a good deal for me. It's tight quarters trying to get through with a stroller, let alone a double stroller and a rather pregnant belly.

A Parade and a Fair

I took the girls to a local parade this weekend. Kate really enjoyed it. Gabby, well, she wanted to be held the entire time. That's a lot of holding without an extra set of hands! She also wanted to walk the mile from where we parked, until we got far enough from the van that I didn't want to go back, not to mention that a stroller was sort of out of the question, since I knew that then I would have to keep track of it and the two munchkins all at the same time. So I carried her.

This huge flag was hung between two fire engines extended ladders at the beginning of the parade route.

We saw quite a few marching bands. Kate was quite impressed by the girls from one of the local gymnastics schools (not the one she's attending) that were doing flips and walking on their hands. Their were also lots of people handing out candy. I made Kate stay with me most of the time, but she did manage to procure two suckers. Gabby's favorite was the Chick-Fil-A cows though.

Watching right before we left.

After nearly two hours the parade wasn't over, but I was, so we walked (well Kate and I did) back to the van.

I had also promised to visit the associated fair, so I went back that afternoon (when I could park close by) and I put Gabby in the stroller for that part of our trip. I bought the girls each a pretty pink hair tie for playing dress up with and a Christmas present for my mom. The girls were given free popcorn and balloons and we got a funnel cake because Kate was quite excited about them. The afternoon was much more relaxing!

Eating popcorn.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Visiting the Midwife with my Entourage

Over all my girls are well behaved compared to most of their peers, but I had been hesitant to bring both of them with me to visit the midwife. Unfortunately the midwife I typically see had a change in hours, so the time that I had been using when Justin was able to come home a few minutes early, was no longer available. Technically he's "off" on Thursdays, meaning he doesn't teach class, but he still works that day on preparing notes and meeting with students. The afternoons were convenient for him though, since he teaches late labs several days a week it wasn't difficult for him to excuse himself half an hour earlier than usual to help me out, but mid-morning is harder, since he typically goes to work at seven, so he would loose several hours or have to come home after a very brief start to his day.

I decided I would try the girls today, at what I knew would be a quick visit. Gabby did have some frustration with the fact I made her stay in the stroller in the exam room, but she did really well. As I was being weighed, Kate, remembering that they gave her a sucker the day I took her to see the baby on the ultrasound, and also knowing that I had told her she could not ask for one today, looked at the nurse and said, "Could my sister have a sucker to settle her down? Oh, and if you have them out any way, I'll take one too." Note she didn't ask for one for herself. Stinker! It did work out though. The sucker kept Gabby quiet while we waited. Then they went through the toys and books I brought with us. As the midwife and her student came in, I handed off the cereal I brought (they each had their own bowl--mom's plan ahead!) and they happily munched through the questions, measuring, and listening to the heartbeat. At one point while they were looking for the heartbeat Kate asks Gabby, "Do you hear the baby's heartbeat?"

"Yeah!" answered Gabby enthusiastically.

I couldn't have asked for better behavior from a one and three year old. The midwives and the nurses all agreed too. I'm proud of my girls and glad to report the baby is healthy.

I've not gained any weight in the past couple of weeks, but I wasn't surprised. I had picked up several pounds the month prior with having some company, so I'm sure I'm just evening out from that. The only concern was my initial blood pressure reading at over 150. The nurse rechecked it and it was back down at 118. It must have just been the extra hustle and bustle of getting the girls settled in that caused a little spike, but thankfully there is no concern about it now. The baby is semi-transverse, with the head down and to the side, but he or she has plenty of time to return to head down. We are now measuring almost right for dates, probably due to the change in position, but we'll take it for now.

Five to ten weeks until delivery!

Phew!

Okay, first how did it get to be September already? I turned the page on my calendar this week to be greeted by a month of busyness. Our MOPS group resumes this coming week and this is also the beginning of Kate's gymnastics class. There are various other appoinments for the girls and for me as well. It looks like this SAHM (stay at home mom) will be taking the show on the road a bit more than I have in the past, at least for the next month.

Aside from the busyness of the week, which included a nice little trip to the park, our weekly grocery shopping, and several other items of business, I've been absolutely exhausted. It's typical to start feeling a bit run down in the third trimester, but this unfortunately goes beyond just the pregnancy fatigue.

The girls have been waking regularly through the night this past week. Kate would call for me calmly and then say she had a bad dream. It didn't really appear that it was the case and we finally told her that's why I felt so bad because I hadn't had a full nights' sleep, despite going to bed at ever earlier times all week, and she hasn't called the past two nights. Gabby however doesn't get reason. I'm truly at a loss. We want her to feel safe, secure, and loved. She was always a good sleeper, so it never worried me to go and put her back to bed when we moved her into her new bed. We didn't stay to play or talk to her--it was all business--but now she is getting up at all hours. Between Justin and I, we were up five times during the night last night. Unfortunately, it can take quite a bit for me to get back to sleep these days, since the little jaunt into Gabby's room seems to wake up our little kickboxer, who spends the next two hours violently reminding me of his or her presence, to the exclusion of sleep.

I promise myself that some day I will sleep again, but I wonder when that will be!