Sadie is Six!

I can't believe my little girl is going to be six years old tomorrow. It seems like she was just born yesterday. I thought I would celebrate by reliving her beautiful birth...

Our baby was due on December 8th. That day came and went and came and went and came and went a few more times... I was getting frustrated and tired. I spent December 11th and 12th in bed with regular contractions all day and then they stopped at night. They weren't strong but they were coming every 5 minutes. Michael stayed home from work those days to take care of Jonah and me.

On Friday, December 13th, I woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy (or as energetic as one can be when she is almost 41 weeks pregnant)! I told Michael to go to work and that "nothing was happening today." I went to the grocery and got some other things done around the house that I had been too tired to deal with. Little did I know, it was to be my last day as the mother of one. I didn't have a single noticeable contraction all day.

I took a bath and went to bed early that night (around 9 p.m.). I slept good. Better than I had in a long time. Then BAM! I woke up from a dead sleep at 3 a.m. I sat bolt upright in bed. I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom. I tried. Nothing. It also didn't feel good to sit on the toilet. I got up and went into the bedroom. I leaned over the bed. Michael woke up and asked what was wrong. I said, "I don't know. Something's not right." I went to the other bathroom (I guess I thought I would have better luck in there?)! It worked. I was able to empty my bladder but it felt very strange. I was feeling a lot of pressure.

I went back in the bedroom and told Michael, "We need to go." He jumped out of bed and got dressed while I did the same. I called my mom and dad and asked them to meet us at Clark. Michael went and woke up Jonah. He grabbed all of our stuff and we headed to the door.

As we were leaving, I asked him, "Do you have the keys?" He felt his pocket, said "Yes, I have the keys," and locked the door. I went and got in the front seat while he loaded Jonah and our stuff into the car. Then, he walked over to my side of the car, opened my door and his eyes were as wide as saucers. He said, "I don't have the keys." I said, "What do you mean you don't have the keys. You said you had the keys."

He replied, "I don't have the keys. I'm going to go kick down the door." I said, "Don't go kick down the door. Let me call my parents and see if they can come." I couldn't get a hold of them. My cell phone wasn't working.

So off my husband went to kick down the door. It was a glass door. He first tried to punch the door. After that didn't work (big surprise), he kicked it. Glass shattered everywhere. It was loud too. It's a wonder none of the neighbors heard it. He grabbed the keys, went to the house next door where they were renovating, grabbed a piece of plywood and placed it in front of the door. Oh, did I mention that he cut his foot through his leather boot? 

We headed to the hospital. I finally started getting cell phone reception and called the hospital to tell them we were coming. I asked them to call my midwife and let her know. The nurse on the phone asked me how far apart my contractions were. OH MY GOD! I wasn't having any and it just occurred to me at that very moment. I told her I wasn't having any but that I was feeling a ton of pressure. I'm sure she thought I was crazy.

As we crossed the bridge to Indiana, I had my first contraction. That was at 3:30 a.m. They were 2 minutes apart.

When we arrived, I helped Jonah put on his shoes and held his hand through the parking lot. This was a much different experience than my labor with Jonah, where I physically crawled through the parking lot.

We were taken up to Labor and Delivery where I put on a gown and they hooked me up to the monitor. I sat in the bed with Jonah next to me waiting for my parents to arrive. They got there soon after and took Jonah to the waiting room. 

The nurse checked me. I was 6 cm dilated. After 15 minutes on the monitor, I took it off and got up to go to the bathroom. Things were starting to pick up. I stood and leaned over the bed a while and Michael put pressure on my lower back. After a few contractions like that, I decided to kneel over the bottom of the bed so that I could rest.

I felt all the contractions in my back. Michael was putting all his weight into my back during the contractions. It really helped. It was so quiet and peaceful. We had all the lights off. My mom came in to check on us. Beth, my midwife, also came in a few times. At one point she asked me if I wanted her to run the water so I could get into the bathtub. I told her yes even though I knew I was not going to move.

She left to go start the water and to deliver another baby. It wasn't much longer that I started having really long, double-peaking contractions. They were lasting about 2 minutes but they spread out so that I had a longer break in between. I actually fell asleep in between them. I started getting really hot. Michael got a cold cloth to put on my face and neck. I just kept saying over and over to myself, "It's only one minute, I can do anything for one minute!" I pictured my body opening like a flower.

 I had a few really strong contractions where I felt like I had to let everything bulge and open. I was bearing down but didn't realize it. This happened about every 3 or 4 contractions for a while. Beth came in at one point when I did that and asked me if I was pushing. I said, "A little." 

She left again and my mom came in. A few more contractions later and I had a really strong contraction and an uncontrollable urge to push. I felt the baby slip under my pubic bone. I announced very calmly, "It's coming." My mom jumped up and yelled down the hall for Beth.

Beth came in, lifted up the blanket that was covering me and said, "Yes, it's coming." She asked me if I wanted to turn over (since I was still on my hands and knees). I told her, "Not yet." I was comfortable and didn't want to risk messing that up. I was thinking I was going to have to push a while. She told me, "This baby is coming with the next contraction so if you want to turn over, you need to do it now." I said that I would just stay where I was.

Next contraction, I pushed. My water broke. It was so instinctual. No one had to tell me what to do. When the contraction was over, I stopped. Beth said that the baby was out to it's ears. I remember thinking, "That's it." It sure felt like more than that. Then, the next contraction, the baby's head was born. It was so controlled and calm. Beth said, "That looks like a girl's face." I remember thinking, "That sure is a risky thing to say to someone who doesn't know the sex of her baby."

Next contraction, I felt the baby turn and kick its way out as I pushed. My baby was born at 5:45 a.m. (Just 2 hours and 15 minutes after my first contraction). I collapsed on the bed and thought to myself, "I can't believe it. I did it. It's over. Thank God it's over!" 

It had to have only been seconds but it felt like much longer, I heard everyone exclaim, "It's a girl!" Oh yeah, I just had a baby! I perked up and turned myself over (with some careful maneuvering since she was still attached to me) and grabbed my baby girl and looked into her eyes for the first time. I couldn't believe it. I had a girl. Sadie Lucille. Within minutes of her birth, Jonah and my dad came in. I had wanted them in the room, but it happened so fast there wasn't time.

She was so beautiful and perfect and had a ton of jet black hair. After a few hours, they took Sadie to the nursery. My dad came back to tell me how much she weighed. 9 lbs. 8 oz.!!! I cried. I couldn't believe something that big came out of me. Wow.

It was definitely my easiest and least painful birth. In fact, I wouldn't describe it as painful at all. It was just very intense. Michael was so wonderful. His quiet, gentle support kept me focused and calm. It was all so peaceful and amazing. The only thing that would have made it better is if I would have had her at home!

Happy Birthday Sadie Bug! I love you! You bring so much joy to my life and to everyone who knows you!

The Royal Treatment

Yesterday, Michael and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary! Where did the time go?

Since it was Sunday, we were trying to sleep in a little. Jonah and Sadie kept coming in our room trying to wake us up. We were quite annoyed. I walked out in the living room and immediately saw why they were so anxious to wake us up. They had cleaned the whole house! And it had been quite a mess the night before. They even loaded the dishwasher. Jonah said they had been up since 6:15 cleaning.

Then, the two of them brought us breakfast in bed – donuts, orange juice and milk. They kept calling us "Your majesties." It was so adorable. Then they presented us with a lovely card that they made themselves and sang us "Happy Anniversary" to the tune of "Happy Birthday." They had obviously practiced.

It was the sweetest thing ever. I guess we must be doing something right!

More Sadie-isms

Today, Sadie wasn't listening and I asked her if she needed to get her ears checked. She said, "Mama, you know I have bad earsight (that's not a new one), what are we going to do about it? Maybe I need some earglasses."

Witches and Zombies and Cheerleaders, oh my...and more

Here are some recent photos!

Goodwill Hunting

So much to report since last time...

Today, Violet said, "Sadie" clear as a bell AND walked using her walker for the first time! It was very exciting. The PT was here today and that's what she worked on with Violet. Violet didn't want to have anything to do with the walker at first and fought her every step of the way. She took a few steps and then would throw herself on the floor in a tantrum. When Michael got home, I told him about it. He said to Violet, "Can you show me how you walked with your walker?" She looked at it, crawled over to it and started pushing it while on her knees, then stood right up and walked all the way across the room. We were all so proud!

Sadie is going to her first "slumbover" party this weekend. I swear, that kid needs to write her own dictionary. She is very excited.

I have been on a cleaning and organizing mission these last few weeks. If I didn't know better, I'd swear I was pregnant and nesting. Rest assured, the vasectomy worked (at least so far). I have felt the need to get rid of as much clutter as possible from our house. It's really true what they say about physical clutter causing mental clutter. I feel so much better. I threw a bunch of stuff away, took a fair amount to consignment (which was pretty much a waste of time) and a ton of stuff to Goodwill.

In my purging frenzy, I accidentally took our unwanted cable box to Goodwill, thinking it was an old DVD player. Michael had been planning to take the cable box back to Insight because we didn't need it and were paying for it. I thought he had already taken it and mistakenly thought it was junk. I went over to Goodwill today and it was nowhere to be found. Some joker scored a $5 cable box and instead of us paying the $10 a month to rent it, we are now probably going to have to pay a few hundred dollars to replace it. I'm such a loser!

We had a great Halloween. As soon as I get the pictures downloaded, I will post them!

Penis, Placentas & Poop

More from the Sadie Chronicles...

Yesterday, Sadie had a friend over after school. I was cleaning out closets and had piles of stuff in the hallway. There just so happened to be a giant picture of a placenta. Sadie's friend Skylar said, "What's that?" Sadie said, "Oh, that's a placenta. There's the umbilical cord. And see that, that's where the baby lived." Skylar replied, "That's gross." It was high comedy (what can I say, I'm easily amused).

Later, Sadie walked out of her room with a large red xylophone tube between her legs. She said, "Look at my giant penis." After I told her to play a more appropriate game, she proceeded to say it two more times. Normally, I would have found this rather funny, but I was afraid of what poor Skylar was going to go home and tell her mom. She may never be allowed back.

Here are the jokes the girls told in the car on the way to take Skylar back to her mom.

Sadie: "Knock. Knock."
Skylar: "Who's there?"
Sadie: "S."
Skylar: "S who?"
Sadie: "S, why aren't you making a letter?"

Skylar: "Knock. Knock."
Sadie: "Who's there?"
Skylar: "Tree."
Sadie: "Tree who?
Skylar: "Tree, why aren't you blooming?"

Oh, and I forgot to mention the hysterical laughing that ensued after each of these jokes. Violet even joined in.

The final joke:

Sadie: "Knock. Knock."
Skylar: "Who's there?"
Sadie: "Butthole."
Skylar: "Butthole who?"
Sadie: "Butthole, why aren't you pooping?"

I have to admit, I actually giggled on that one! Who can resist a poop joke?

Kidney Woes

Wow. I didn't realize how long I had neglected my blog. I am still dealing with the UTI which turned into a kidney infection. The antibiotics I was first prescribed, apparently, are not effective for the particular bacteria that I have. So the doc called in a different one, even though I was starting to feel better. I've been taking the new one, but seem to be getting worse. My kidneys are still hurting and I'm dog tired. This has been going on now for 9 days. Sigh.

On a brighter note, we had dinner at the "Country Club" tonight (aka Chick-fil-A). We were discussing Halloween costumes. Jonah and Sadie were trying to come up with costume ideas for Michael and me. Jonah suggested Michael go as a "Blackberry." At first we didn't quite understand but once it sunk in we roared with laughter. It is the perfect costume. Michael might as well have his Blackberry surgically attached to his hand – he is forever on it. In fact, his cohorts at work have nicknamed him "Captain Blackberry." So, that's exactly what he is going to be. We were trying to come up with his super powers. Jonah said he should have "Super-Not-Listening-To-Anyone" powers. Sad but true! We are going to have lots of fun with this one. I will be sure to post pictures when the time comes. Jonah also said that I should go as "Super Baby Maker."

Moving on...Tonight, after we got home, Sadie asked me if I ever read "Goodnight Moon" when I was a "little kid." I said, "No." She replied, "Were books still alive then?" (Sadie-ese translation: were books even invented yet because you are so old?) It's funny, because up until a few days ago, she thought I was 29. She always asks me, "Mommy are you 29?" I, of course, reply, "Yes." But the other day, someone (Jonah) told her the truth. She keeps asking me over and over in disbelief, "Are you REALLY 35?" Again, sad but true!

Nurse Sadie to the rescue

I developed a UTI today. Yuck. And ouch! I was going to the bathroom earlier and was practically in tears. Sadie was standing at the door. She said, "It's OK Mama. Just take three deep breaths. That's what sometimes helps me." She was right, it did help a little. My little doula in training!

She was very attentive to me the rest of the night. She brought me a blanket and pillow, rubbed my back and brought me water. The best was when she said, "I hope you feel better Mama. I don't want you to stay like this until you die." I couldn't agree more!

Today's recap

Today the kids and I baked cookies. They are very tasty but not as cute as I was hoping. Then we went to the mall so I could buy a replacement battery for my laptop. The kids wanted to play on the boat. Jonah asked if he could take Violet down the slide and I said, "Sure!"

She LOVED it! Jonah thought he would take her down once and that would be it. He must have taken her at least 15 times. Every time he brought her back to me, she fussed and stretched out her arms to him. It was so sweet.

When we got home, I realized that the Apple store gave me the wrong battery. Not happy.

I was doing laundry before bedtime and Violet grabbed a pair of my underwear out of the basket and proceeded to crawl all over the house with them in her hand. She does this often with apparel - usually with socks, but occasionally with wash cloths, diaper wipes, Sadie's shirts, etc. She has a clothing fetish apparently. I have found socks and other articles of clothing that she has taken in her car seat on countless occasions.

So it was no surprise to see her with my underwear tonight. However, she refused to give them up and actually fell asleep snuggling with my silk underwear. At least they were clean! There have been many times when she has fallen asleep clutching a dirty sock.

I'm being replaced

Tonight, Jonah got Violet ready for bed all by himself. I'm not sure what prompted it, but it was very sweet and kind of hilarious. He changed her diaper (his first diaper change ever)! And I use cloth diapers so it was no easy task. I think he actually did a better job than Michael and he's had much more practice. It took him about 10 minutes to change it and Violet just laid there patiently. Then he put her pajamas on her. At one point, she started to get a little fussy at his clumsiness and he said, "I'm sorry sweetie." It was so cute.

After he got her dressed, I said, "Are you going to put her to bed too?" So he sat in the rocking chair with her and started to read her bedtime story. About 30 seconds into it, she looked at me and started wailing. It was a good try. I think with a bit more practice, Jonah will be able to take over for me. What will I do with all my spare time?

Little V is growing up!

Violet hit another milestone today! She started cruising! She's been pulling up for awhile now on anything and everything but not really moving. If she wanted to get to another area, she would lower herself to the ground, crawl to where she wanted to go and then stand back up. Today, the physical therapist was here and decided Violet was ready to start working on cruising. Ms. Dee (the PT) put some toys along the couch cushions to entice Violet but she didn't want anything to do with them. So we tried another strategy – food. Of course, that worked like a charm. We placed popcorn all along the cushions and she motored like she had been doing it for weeks. It was very exciting.

Last night, when we were at my mom and dad's house, she climbed the entire flight of stairs effortlessly. She's climbed them before but never so well. But that's not the best part. All by herself, she figured out how to climb back down. It was really amazing. We were all so proud.

Violet has added a few new words to her vocabulary as well. She says book and block and can sign "please" but only does that when coerced. She's really come a long way!

On another subject, it is 82 degrees in our house. The air conditioner stopped working. It is stifling. What a pain. I hate to call anyone about it because we probably won't need it but for a few more days. I'm going to try to hold out and have it looked at next spring.

Jonah and I had a funny conversation tonight. He asked me what "Bradley" stood for (as in The Bradley Method of Childbirth). I told him it didn't stand for anything, it was the name of the doctor who invented it. Then he said, "So Dr. Bradley invented Natural Birth Choices?" I said, "No, that is the name of my company and I teach The Bradley Method." "You own a company?" he said very surprised. He was very impressed! I've only been doing this for five years now, you would think my own kid would know what I do.

Politics and Ice Cream

I watched the debate last night. I was not overly impressed with either candidates' performance. I thought Obama started out strong and did a decent job throughout. McCain had some good things to say but he looked like he was going to fall asleep a few times which is understandable given the fact that he's 100 years old. Also, he had a few senile moments when he said that he was "not Miss Congeniality" more than once. Perhaps that is why he chose Miss Tundra USA to be his running mate. It's too bad too because he would probably make a decent president but he will never get my vote because he will probably die in office and leave us with the PoDunk Prom Queen as president...Scary!

Today is Ice Cream Saturdae! After a few weeks of having to cancel because of conferences and birthdays, we are back on. Come one, come all!

I am getting ready to go to Weight Watchers and not looking forward to it. I have not had a very good couple of weeks. I must get back on track!

Peace out!

I have friends!

I finally joined the world of facebook. I am so hip. And I actually have 16 friends already! I was kind of afraid that no one would be my friend. I'm so glad I was wrong. Now I'm addicted. Just one more thing to spend my time on!

Also, I'm thinking about growing a garden. I have a black thumb so I'm not sure how that's going to work out. Only time will tell.

Jonah is sitting here next to me reading this out loud as I type. I guess I better watch what I say. Jonah is the cutest boy in the whole wide world. I especially love his freckles. He is a turd sometimes but I still love him. Earlier Michael and I were talking about selling the kids and I told Jonah I wouldn't sell them for anything. He was surprised and said, "Even for two thousand kadrillion dollars?" And I said, "Not for all the money in the world!" That's love! But he did have a good point. He said that if I had all the money in the world, I could buy him back. So now I just have to wait for someone to offer me all the money in the world.

P.S. I just scooted Jonah off to bed. He said very excitedly, "Guess what Sadie? I have my own blog!" Sadie replied, "What's a blog?" To which Jonah said, "I don't really know."

Ahoy Mateys

Mad Mary Flint here wishin' ye a very Happy National Talk Like a Pirate Day! Arr! If yer jealous of me cool pirate name, ye can go and get yer very own! Me and me hearties Captain John Bonney (Jonah), Bloody William Read (Michael), Calico Anne Bonney (Sadie) and Dirty Ethel Bonney (Violet) had a great time bein' pirates t'day. We grubbed on pirate pancakes with whale blubber (butter) and shark blood (syrup) then we swabbed the deck t' get ready fer the birthday bash t'morrow. Me crew is all in their bunks now and I'm gettin' ready t' go an' walk the plank with me matey Angela.

Fair winds me buckos until we meet again...Arr!

It's Good to be Back!

How did people live before tv and the internet? I've been lost – completely cut off from the civilized world for days. I felt like Caroline Ingalls from "Little House on the Prairie." OK, so I didn't have to churn my own butter, sweep the dirt floor, wash my clothes in the stream, mend socks by candlelight or get water from the well, but still, I felt like a pioneer. Or is that prisoner? It's only a few letters different so I guess it's the same. Sure felt that way at times.

My kids have been home from school all week. They are finally going back tomorrow! They haven't driven me as crazy as I thought they would. Luckily, we were only without power here at home for about 7 hours on Sunday. But the cable/internet just came back on last night.

We didn't have as much damage as many of our neighbors either. Our tree is in tact minus a few leaves. Our house is still standing minus one shingle. Other than some debris and the mangled canopy on the deck, you might never know a quasi-hurricane came through the middle of Kentucky.

Let's see, what happened while I was cut off from the world...

I attended a 4 day childbirth conference that was very fun and energizing. Being around 400 other women who are as passionate about birth as I am was inspiring! Plus I scored all kinds of really cool birthy stuff and free loot for my students!

The remnants of hurricane Ike whipped through the area on Sunday and left 300,000 people without power. We are very fortunate that our outage only lasted 7 hours! We packed up all our food Sunday night and took it to my parents' house because we thought it may be days before our power was restored. The kids and I spent the night there too, preparing to live there for the time being. But when Michael went home that night around 10:00, he called and said we were back up and running. It could have been so much worse. There are still over 150,000 people without power and likely will be for several more days.

Jonah turned 9 yesterday!!! I can't even believe I have a nine year old child. Holy cow, where did those years go? I swear he grew 3 inches overnight. When he woke up yesterday, he really did look older and bigger. By next year, I believe he will be looking me eye to eye. That will be scary! We gave him a green iPod shuffle, a watch and U of L bed sheets. He was thrilled! Today, I loaded him up with songs. We are having a party for him on Saturday. The theme is 'football' so we are tailgating in the backyard!

Friday is 'Talk Like a Pirate Day' and I have some fun surprises in store for me hearties. Check back later in the week for more details! Should be a jolly good time. Arrr!

Sick Day

The kids are home today. Jonah is not feeling well. He woke up at 4 a.m. and couldn't breath. His nose has been stopped up from allergies/cold for a few days and then his throat swelled up last night making it very difficult for him to breath properly. He's better now but tired from being up so early so I decided to keep him home. I also kept Sadie home so I wouldn't have to take her to school.

Crazy Cat Lady

Every neighborhood has one, right? Well, mine has a Crazy Bird Lady. My Crazy Bird Lady (CBL) lives across the street and down a few houses. Every morning, there are a jillion (literally) birds in this woman's front yard. I don't know what she feeds them, but it is like crack for birds. Ducks, geese, little birds, big birds, you name it, every bird within a 10 mile radius all flock to this woman's yard. It is totally out of control.

The ducks are the craziest. Several times per day, a bevy (the word of the day is back) of about 50 ducks fly in a circle over and over again and they pass right over my house. You know what that means. Bird poop. All over my house. I just had to have my windows cleaned last week because of all the duck poop. I keep waiting for more poop to be flung on my windows every time I see those damn ducks fly over. As soon as they ruin my clean windows, I'm going to egg the CBL's house (not really). Or maybe I could start throwing Violet's poopy diapers at her windows. ;-)

If you know any way to get rid of birds (without killing them of course), I would love to know. For now I will have to settle for blaring my horn every morning when I pass by! This morning her lawn was covered with the usual assortment of birds and I maniacally yelled, "Jackpot!" like a raving lunatic when I saw them. Jonah said, "What are you talking about?" I literally laughed out loud at the absurdity of my behavior. I've now become a Crazy Bird (Hating) Lady.

Karma, I'm waiting

Today, I found a $20 bill in the parking lot at Whole Foods. I debated in my head for about 2 minutes whether to turn it in or go spend it at Starbucks. Then I wondered, what if I'm on one of those hidden camera specials where they see how many people actually do the right thing. I turned it in like a good citizen even though I doubt the person who lost it will ever claim it. Maybe I didn't exactly do it for the right reason, but at least my conscience is clear!

My husband had a good idea. He said I should have donated it to a charity. I wish I had thought of that because then I would have known that it was going to a good cause rather than the check-out girl at Whole Foods.

Sadie's World

It is fitting that this is Labor Day Weekend! Today, I am recovering from a birth hangover and waiting for another friend to have her baby. She's been in early labor since yesterday. Yesterday was my first time leaving Violet with someone other than Michael or my Mom. She stayed with Angela all day while I was at my client's birth and she did great! She wasn't even all that excited to see me when I arrived. I guess my little girl is growing up!

We had to cancel Ice Cream Saturdae today. One, because nobody else was going to be able to come and two, because I thought I would be called away to my friend's birth. So we went to Dairy Queen and had Blizzards instead! Yum! Also, I didn't have to clean up my house or go to the store.

While we were at DQ, Sadie told us that on Friday at school, she went on a balloon ride. She had a whole elaborate story filled with details about this excursion. I asked her what her teacher Ms. Molly would say if I asked her about this balloon ride next time I saw her. She thought for a minute, then said very seriously, "She'd say, 'The kids had a great time!'"

Her imagination has kicked into high gear lately. She's been going on trips to "her world" a lot lately. She travels there on a pink and purple Pegasus. It's called DisneyWorldLand Place (I think). When she travels to this place, she makes a fake Sadie so that no one misses her when she's gone. Oh to be 5 again! I asked her to take me with her next time.

Update

The first week of school was a very welcome event in our house – for everyone! The kids had a great time seeing their old friends and meeting some new ones. It was great to be back on the Waldorf campus. It feels like home.

Violet finally started crawling!!! It's about time. She went from rolling everywhere to Army crawling to twirling (sitting, putting her hands on the ground and then rolling over in the air back to sitting). Now she is crawling on all-fours about 90% of the time. Hopefully, she will be walking before we know it. She's getting too heavy for me to carry everywhere!

I'm getting ready to start a new class series tomorrow. Today will be filled with making copies, putting together my binders and getting the house ready. I have two former couples in this class which is always fun. One is my cousin and his wife. They were pregnant when I was pregnant with Violet. Their son is 3 weeks younger than Vi and they're having another one already! I think I would poke my eyes out with a fork, but this is how they wanted it and I am thrilled for them!!! I only have 5 couples in this class. It will be my smallest class in 4 1/2 years. I hope it's not a trend!

I also started my period for the first time since Violet was born. :-( Oh well, it was a good run. Twenty-five months without one, I guess I can't complain. I'm very bloated and pimply (by the way, when does THAT go away, I'm 35 years old for crying out loud?)! Not looking forward to weighing in today at Weight Watchers!

Today is also Ice Cream Sundae Saturday (Ice Cream Saturdae for short). Lots to do! See you next time.

Back to School!!!

Today was the first day of school!!!!!!!!! (Can you tell I'm excited)? The kids were so happy! They were starting to get very bored these last few weeks. Michael woke them up on his way out the door, so they were up at 6:45 this morning. By the time I got up, they were dressed, had eaten breakfast, brushed their teeth and Jonah had packed his lunch!

I have enjoyed a quiet morning with Violet. It feels strange not to have them in the house. I think Violet misses them, although she will probably enjoy having Mommy and the house to herself for awhile. She loves watching them, but they pester the living crap out of her sometimes.

I can't believe Jonah is in the 3rd grade already and Sadie is in her last year of Kindergarten. Next year she will be off to 1st grade. It just doesn't seem possible. Time sure does fly when you have kids. It's bittersweet. I'm glad to have some time to myself but a little sad at how fast they are growing up. At least I know they are well-cared for at Waldorf and they love school. There has never been a day yet since they started there that they didn't want to go. In fact, the one day that Jonah missed last year for being sick, he begged me to let him go to school. And most days, Sadie cried when I came to pick her up because she wanted to stay longer. We'll see if that continues this year. I hope they always love school as much as they do now.

I think I will take them to get a treat after school to celebrate their first day back!

Warning: You may never look at blueberries the same after reading this!

This afternoon, Violet was playing on the floor with some of Jonah and Sadie's toys. I was sitting in the chair flipping through a magazine. I looked up and said, "What is all over Violet's leg?" She was covered in what appeared to be chocolate. I noticed a clump of something next to her. I was getting ready to yell at the kids for leaving food on the floor (even though I knew they didn't have chocolate today) when Jonah walked over to her and ran away screaming, "OOH. IT'S POOP!!!"

I went over to get a closer look, and sure enough, it was poop. It was not only all over her legs, but her arms, hands, feet, onesie, floor and the kids' toys! I picked her up and there were a few of the cards that she had been playing with poop-glued to her leg. It was awful! I asked Jonah to run a bath. While he did that, I did my best to get as much of it off of her as possible. It was a 10+ wipe situation. And the smell...oh my goodness!

The diaper was literally completely filled and oozing out all over. It was black and gooey with chunks of something that looked like raisins (which she has never had). After I carefully got her out of the onesie without depositing any more poop on her, I carried her to the bathtub and began the HazMat removal process. As I was doing so, I wondered out loud what on earth she could have eaten to have caused such an explosion and why it was so black. Jonah said, "Chocolate?" No. "Fig Newtons?" No. "Yogurt?" Definitely not. "Blueberries?" Of course!!! She ate a ton of blueberries yesterday! If I had known blueberries would cause this kind of reaction, she wouldn't have been constipated for the last 6 months! I have found a cure!

After getting her cleaned up, I went into the living room to survey the damage. It was worse than I thought! There was black/blue poop everywhere. Big pieces, little pieces, smeared pieces, poop hand prints, toys covered in poop, you name it. (Believe me, the picture does not even begin to do this situation justice)! I know you're thinking, good grief woman, how long was this child sitting in her own feces? But I swear, I had just put her down on the floor not 5 minutes before and she was completely poop-free.

Jonah and I built a fence around the 'accident scene' with dining room chairs so that I could figure out how to remove it. I called my mom and she did a search and came up with vinegar and boiling water. Needless to say, my house no longer smells like a hazardous waste dump, but it does smell like vinegar! I'm not sure which is worse – but at least it worked.

The funniest part was when the kids tried to help me clean up. Jonah came in wearing a snorkel and giant clothes-pin on his nose and Sadie was wearing goggles!

Oh, the joy of motherhood!

Home Sweet Home

We're back! We arrived home on Monday afternoon from a wonderful vacation in Panama City. It's always so nice to come back home, although the unpacking and the week's worth of laundry I could live without! I think we are finally starting to settle back into our rhythm. Now we have to get ready to head back to school next week!

The weather was perfect. The kids had a great time. The hotel was very family-friendly. My mom and dad came down on Thursday and spent the last few days with us which was so nice. I actually got to relax a bit. I forgot how much work it is to go on vacation (especially with 3 kids in tow)! I guess that's why we haven't gone to the beach in 7 years.

Gramps and Jonah built some really amazing sand castles. They were the hit of the beach! (See the picture below).

Violet hated the sand but loved the pool. She was SO happy to be home. She was a totally different kid being back in her own environment. She even learned a few new tricks while we were away (dancing, pointing and opening drawers)!








Here are some of the highlights:
Jonah and Sadie's first look at the ocean!







The hotel pool.









The view from our balcony.









One of Gramps' materpieces!









Our visit to Shell Island.









Jonah's first ride on a jet ski.









It's great to be back! I hope it won't take us another 7 years to get back to the beach!

Florida, Here We Come!

We are leaving tomorrow!!! You probably won't see much of me next week, although I may try to post a few pictures of all of us frolicking on the beach! The kids are beside themselves! Poor Sadie has had the worst time falling asleep the last few nights. In fact, she's still in there now tossing and turning (and it's after 9 p.m.).

I already have the car locked and loaded! All that's left to do is get up tomorrow, clean the house, teach my class, load the last minute items and we are off!!! Someone gave me a brilliant idea about giving each of the kids a roll of quarters before we leave. Whenever they ask, "Are we there yet?" or "How much further?" or any derivation of that sentiment, they lose a quarter. Whatever they have left when we get there is what they get to spend! I'll let you know how it works.

My mom and dad brought over a portable DVD player for us to borrow. My mom showed the kids how to use it. They were happy as could be and just sat there for about 20 minutes with the headphones on watching the previews on "The Incredibles" DVD. They kept trying to ask questions and were screaming because they couldn't hear themselves. Sadie also likes to talk out loud during movies. So she's sitting there watching the movie and yelling her own little commentary to no one in particular. That won't get annoying! They are sound-deadening headphones so they can't really hear anything when they are wearing them. I kept testing them out by saying things like, "We're not really going to Florida, we're just going to drive until you fall asleep and go to the nearest hotel." Nothing! I figure they will come in especially handy when the kids start fighting or whining. Michael and I can just put them on and not have to listen to it! I'm only (half) kidding. Come to think about it, I may never give them back!

Before I go, I have to tell you about a funny conversation that Sadie and I had this morning. I was lying on the chair trying to take a nap while the kids were watching a movie and Violet was playing on the floor. Violet was very fussy for some reason this morning and apparently did not want me to nap, so I picked her up.

Sadie: "I'm sorry you didn't get to sleep much Mama. It's hard work having a baby. I pretty much only want to have one kid. But I don't want it to come out of my belly because that would hurt."

Me: "Where do you want it to come from?" (I wasn't sure if she was saying she didn't want to have the baby herself or didn't want to have a c-section).

Sadie: (Pointing to her bottom) "The normal spot!"

As a childbirth educator, that was music to my ears! Plus, I thought that was a very sapient comment for a 5 year old! (Can you tell that I finally started getting my word of the day email again?)!

Until next time...

Bakin' Fools

To pass the time today, we have been baking. First we made chocolate chunk peanut butter cookies. Sounds good, right? Well I used a recipe from "Super Baby Food" and it called for bananas. They turned out OK but tasted more like banana cookies than peanut butter. I'm glad I decided to add the chocolate chunks (that were not called for, by the way) because they definitely cut down on the banana flavor.

Then, we tried the recipe without chocolate and with sugar instead of banana. Way awful in my opinion, although the kids seem to like them. I thought they tasted like peanut butter flavored cardboard.

We also made some very yummy peanut butter/honey balls with oats. They turned out very well. And they are super easy. If you're interested, here is the recipe:

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup nonfat milk powder
1 cup ground rolled oats

Mix everything together and form into balls. Enjoy. No cooking involved and they're good for you. My kind of recipe!

That's it! I have also made this recipe with sesame seeds instead of oats. Also very tasty.

Now I have to go clean up the mess!

What happened to the word of the day?

I have not gotten my "Word of the Day" email since last Saturday. I don't know what's going on. I even tried to re-register at dictionary.com but it won't let me. And I'm too lazy to go looking for it everyday. Hopefully, this issue will get resolved soon. My brain feels like mush.

Kids are still excitedly anticipating vacation. Only 3 days to go!!! Yesterday, they occupied themselves by building a tent in the living room. It was a blissful day of peaceful cooperation.


The cable guy came to fix our cable. He probably thought we were crazy. First, he had to wedge his way in between the giant tent and the TV cabinet. Luckily, he was small. Then he had to dig through the mess inside the cabinet. He actually asked if there was a "less congested" cable outlet. But I was completely mortified when he asked to go in the basement. He had to literally claw his way through the garbage and wires of my husband's man cave. I apologized for my pig of a husband. There's no telling what he found down there. It is seriously a HazMat situation. I'm really shocked that we don't have bugs. I'm going to have to put the smackdown on him soon. I think I'll take a picture and post it on here so you can see that I'm not exaggerating! Check back later.

Bored out of my gourd

I'm about to die of boredom. I've been cleaning all day and rearranging my living room furniture that has been in exactly the same spot for 11 years. The kids love it but I know I'm going to put it back exactly like it was. I'm just not ready to burst their bubbles yet. I guess I'll have to do it when they go to bed.

Waiting for this vacation to come is agonizing. It seems like it will never get here. It feels like we are stuck in a sempiternal time warp where nothing is moving. Geez, I am worse than a kid at Christmas. I'm worse than my own kids waiting for this vacation.

I've already done all the shopping for the things we will need to take with us. I've made a packing list and printed it out. I've caught up on all the laundry. I've done everything but pack. It just seems ridiculously early to pack.

I'm so tired. I need a nap. I think we will go to Starbucks. Maybe it's just some caffeine that I need. At least it will get us out of the house!

Calgon, take me away!

My kids drove me completely bonkers today. I thought I was going to lose my mind! All three of them – even Violet. Rarely do they all three misbehave at the same time. But not today! Usually, if one of them is misbehaving, the other will be extra good. Today, I believe they may have been competing to see who could drive me to drink or possibly run away, which I am proud to say, I did neither. Oh, the vituperations I wanted to sling at them! But I didn't. I just secretly kept cussing at them in my head like a good mom.

It's my own fault. We didn't leave the house today. We will have to do something fun tomorrow and hopefully it will be a better day!

Trying to win free diapers...

http://babycheapskate.blogspot.com/2008/07/
giveaway-12-bumgenius-30-diapers.html

"All Right . . . who threw the fish in the washer?"

Did I get your attention? More on the fishy washing machine in a minute...

I am already regretting that I told my children about vacation two weeks ahead of time. They are acting like they do when they're all hopped up on sugar – running around, jumping off of the furniture, yelling and screaming – ALL DAY LONG! I should have waited until the day we were leaving and just loaded up the car and said, "Hey, guess what? We're going to Florida!" But I had to go and open my big mouth (because I'm just as excited as they are – in fact, last night I could hardly sleep).

Yesterday evening, they were driving me so crazy that I couldn't even have a conversation with Michael about the plans. I finally told them to go and make a waiting chain. (See photo). It was Jonah's idea. He made a link for every day from now (actually yesterday) until we leave, so there were 14 links in all. Each morning, he and Sadie remove a link as a visual reminder of how many more days we have remaining until vacation. It kept them busy for a good 20 minutes! We do the same thing at Christmas.

Today, we went shopping for things to take on vacation with us. I am obsessed with all things travel sized! Deodorant, lotion, wipes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, you name it. They even have mini laundry detergent and rolls of toilet paper – which I was able to restrain myself from purchasing, although I may have to rethink that one. They're just so darn cute. The kids each picked out a few travel activities to keep them occupied in the car. Have I mentioned it's a 10 hour drive?!?

Now, on to the fishy washer. So the night before last, when I was doing the laundry, I noticed a putrid odor coming from the dirty clothes. I mean a really foul odor, not just the normal stench of dirty laundry – it smelled like someone (Michael) had put one of Violet's poopy diapers into the dirty clothes basket by mistake (which wouldn't be a first). I searched and searched for said diaper. It wasn't there. So I proceeded to go about washing the laundry as usual. When I went back to transfer the clothes to the dryer the next day, it smelled like I had left the wet clothes in there for a month. I washed them again and thankfully the smell was gone.

I realized something though. It wasn't the clothes. It was the washing machine itself! I have been washing cloth diapers in there two to three times a week for 15 months. It was bound to catch up with me. I did a search online and this is what I found:

http://www.thediaperhyena.com/washingmachinecare.htm

So I did the prescribed vinegar/baking soda voodoo and voila...no more stinky washing machine!!! Now I just hope my clothes don't smell like vinegar.

Oops, almost forgot the word of the day. Sadie is such a gamine. (Lame, I know, but I want to go to bed)!

14 days and counting...

until I am lying on the sandy beaches of Florida with the breeze blowing through my hair and a frozen drink in my hand. I finally planned our first vacation in 7 years! Seven very long years! It has been a supernumerary amount of time since our last vacation – we are long overdue! I can almost hear the waves rolling onto the shore now.

Of course, I'm not looking forward to the 10+ hour car ride with three children, but it will be so worth it to see their faces when we get there! Jonah has only been to the beach once when he was 20 months old, so he doesn't remember it and Sadie and Violet have never been. They are going to have so much fun! I can't wait.

Ice Cream Saturdae

The first Aldridge Ice Cream Sundae (or Saturdae in this case) was a smashing success! Due to a scheduling conflict, we decided to move it up one day early. We invited my mom and dad and some other relatives to join in the fun. In order to get ready for the 'party', we had to do a major clean-up of the house. Sadie, as usual, tried to malinger her way out of cleaning up with her "I'm too tired" excuse. ( Can you spot the word of the day?). This has become an everyday occurrence in our house at clean-up time. But with the threat of missing out on Ice Cream Saturdae, she perked up real quick!

Everyone had a great time and the sundaes were delicious, in spite of the missing ice cream scooper! I think this will be a wonderful family tradition that we will all enjoy for years to come!

After the ice cream, we played Wii bowling. The kids had a great time. Jonah gets major style points for his bowling technique. Sadie even scored a few strikes and was quite excited about it!

Oh, and I lost 1.2 lbs. this week, bringing my grand total to 31.4! Yay me. Only 31 more to go!

Sprinkles & Cherries & (Gummy) Bears, Oh My!

Today the kids and I went shopping for all the goodies for our very first "Ice Cream Sundae." It was so exciting! The kids can't wait. We bought ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, cherries, sprinkles, chocolate chips, nuts and Gummy Bears. Sadie chose the Gummy Bears. Each week we will take turns choosing one special topping and this week is Sadie's turn, so Gummy Bears it is. Yuck. I wonder what I will choose when it's my week?

Other than the ice cream shopping, we had a pretty boring day. We went to ballet this morning and Sadie dressed in her tatterdemalion purple leotard that has holes and is too small for her. (I may have to rethink this whole 'word of the day' idea. I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to work that one in). Jonah was so sweet while we were there. He kept taking Violet on rides around the room on the sling. She loved it!

After ballet, we met my friend Stacie and her son Lucian for lunch at Chick-fil-A (or the Country Club as my friend Angela calls it). It was very tasty as always.

I really need to go walking, but I think I'll beat the heat and stay home. Maybe I will taste-test the sundaes. No, I better not do that, tomorrow is the big weigh in! Wish me luck.

Creative Juices

When I worked in the 'real' world before I had children, I had to be creative every day. It was the nature of my job as an Art Director. However, once the kids started popping out, my brain cells began dying off rapidly. I believe they either came out with each placenta or with the massive amounts of hair that fell out after each pregnancy!

Now that I am done having children, I would like to get back some of the creative juices that I lost. Can you regrow brain cells? Or once you lose them, are they gone forever? Hmm. I may have to go and look that up.

This blog has been the anodyne to my "Mommy Brain Syndrome." (Oh, and by the way, I subscribed to dictionary.com's word of the day, hence the fancy word! My goal is to work the word of the day into each day's blog). It makes me think about something other than what I'm going to make for dinner or the mountain of laundry piling up.

I also mentioned a new web site the other day: www.highlowaha.com. I am totally addicted to it. The blog's premise is to share an idea each day. (She also gives away prizes)! I have gone back and read the posts that I missed and have gotten some really wonderful ideas. I am implementing one of them starting this week. From now on Sunday will be forever known in our family as "Ice Cream Sundae!" Every Sunday or "Sundae" as it is now called, we will have ice cream sundaes after dinner or maybe even for breakfast. I haven't decided that yet. I love this idea and I know my kids are going to as well. I'll be sure to take pictures and post them on "Sundae!"

On to my next topic: destiny...

In case you didn't know, I'm a big believer in it. Everything happens for a reason. Yesterday, I decided to take the kids out for ice cream. Jonah said, "Mommy, you need to get your car washed." So I did, since I am still trying to sell it. After we got ice cream, we went to Costco. Once our shopping was finished, I decided to get gas, even though I still had more than 1/4 of a tank and these days, with $4+ a gallon gas, I usually wait until I am running on fumes.

Enter Destiny...

As I was pumping the gas, a man and his wife pulled up to the pump behind me. The man noticed my "For Sale" sign and said that they were on their way to Indiana to look at a Honda Pilot! He asked me some questions about mine, took a peek inside and wrote down my phone number. He hasn't called yet, but I'm still hoping. How ironic would it be to sell my car at the very place that is responsible for the reason I am trying to sell it in the first place?

Random Act of Vandalism

So after my amazing good fortune at the mailbox yesterday, what do you think I woke up to this morning? We were the victims of a drive-by RAV (Random Act of Vandalism). Someone apparently thought it would be funny to play mailbox baseball with our mailbox. It was in pieces all over the street. There goes $50 down the drain.

Mean people stink!

Random Acts of Kindness

So I walked out to the mailbox today and amid the assortment of junk mail, credit card applications, bills and class registration forms (I received 2 today!), there was an envelope postmarked from Pennsylvania. There was no return address. I was immediately intrigued, seeing as how I know not a soul from PA.

When I opened it, there was a postcard that read: "What is your unrelenting passion?" So I'm thinking it's from one of those Passion Party consultants (you know, the kind that sell the lotions and potions and various toys? Wink, wink.) Then I flipped it over and there was a handwritten note that said, "Nicole, Enjoy the 'perk'." Signed "PPDC." I'm thinking who in the hell is PPDC? But that's not all. There was also a $5 Starbucks gift card! Score!

Inside the gift card envelope is a label with a web site address: HighLowAha.com. Of course I immediately went there. It's a really cool blog by a woman in Texas. She has fabulous ideas and does all sorts of random acts of kindness and apparently, has quite a following. You should check it out!

All day though, I was racking my brain trying to figure out how this PPDC chick got my name. I figured it had to be one of two people and I was right. It was my friend Stacie. I still don't know who PPDC is, but whomever you are, you made my day! Tomorrow, I will be heading to my local Starbucks and getting my usual – a grande Mocha Lite Frappucino, triple blended! And if you think that is high maintenance, my friend Angela orders her Frappucino double blended three times (also known as 6 times to normal people, but she thinks it sounds less high maintenance to say it the other way)!

Woo Hoo!

I finally reached my (Violet) pre-pregnancy weight yesterday! It's about time! I thought I would never get here.

Totally Bummed

Here is a review of a book I just read entitled "Growing Up Green" by Deirdre Imus:

When I ordered this book, I was so excited to get it. I am always looking for resources that support my decisions for a healthier life style and give me more ideas to implement those choices.

As the mother of three, I have always tried to give my children the best start in life – from good prenatal care, unmedicated births and exclusive breastfeeding to making my own baby food, not vaccinating, buying healthy foods and limiting their exposure to media.

I was appalled to read Imus' very limited and very uninformed information on breastfeeding – which I had assumed would be a very large part of “Growing Up Green.” After all, what is “greener” than that? True, there are some toxins present in breastmilk, but what about the toxins and artificial ingredients in formula? What about all the toxins and wasted resources that go into making the formula? What about all the waste that goes into landfills from the packaging of formula and the bottles that must be used to feed the formula? I can’t think of anything LESS “green” than that, not to mention the fact that infant formulas have been recalled many times due to contamination. To even imply that artificial feeding (organic or not) is in some way better for our children than breastfeeding is ludicrous.

Imus also writes about how unhealthy our diets are, which is totally true for most Americans. However, she fails to discuss that a mother who has a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods is exposing her child to various tastes through her breastmilk and is therefore more likely to have a child who will develop a taste for these foods.

She mentions several times about the childhood obesity epidemic and the rise in various childhood illnesses such as asthma, allergies and diabetes, yet fails to mention that breastfeeding has been proven to prevent obesity and these other childhood diseases that she speaks so often about. Not only is breastfeeding healthier for children, but also for mothers. Research shows that breastfeeding significantly reduces a woman's chances of pre menopausal breast cancer.

Perhaps one of the most important things Ms. Imus neglects to mention is the fact that breastmilk provides antibodies and immunities to protect our children from various illnesses. That is something that infant formula has never been able to replicate – and probably never will. Breastmilk is a live food, a perfect food. For someone who speaks so often of the importance of making whole foods a part of our diets, she is doing a real disservice to the women and children of this country by suggesting that artificial feeding is in any way equal to or better than breastfeeding simply because there may be toxins present in a mother’s milk.

Our Staycation

Michael was on vacation from work this week. We all had a very nice week together. One day, we took the kids to the park. Jonah almost broke his wrist jumping off the swings (see below).



Yesterday, we went downtown and took a riverboat ride on The Spirit of Jefferson since The Belle of Louisville wasn't running. It was very nice and relaxing. The kids really enjoyed it.



Before we even left the dock, Sadie had spotted a "lobster" (a.k.a. stick) and a "submarine" (a.k.a. buoy). Needless to say, this "vacation" was way better than the last one (see "We Need to Get Out More" below).


It drizzled a little and was a bit cool especially with the wind. I was definitely not prepared. You can tell that I'm a third time mom. When Jonah was a baby, if we had planned the same excursion, I would have packed two changes of clothes, a hat, several diapers, a jacket (for each of us), a blanket, emergency rain ponchos, the sling, an umbrella, toys, snacks for the baby, a sippy cup, antibacterial wipes, a first aid kit, the camera and video camera, extra batteries, suncreen (or "sunscream" as Sadie calls it) and rations in case we crashed onto Six Mile Island!

This time around, this is all we had with us (and I'm not exaggerating): one cloth diaper and cover, a onesie (size 6-9 months), a pair of 0-6 month socks (did I mention that Violet is 14 1/2 months old and wears size 12-18 mos?), the camera and $3. Luckily, it cost exactly $3 to park. When it started to get a little cool from the rain and wind, I had to improvise and use the cloth diaper as a blanket to cover the baby. I somehow managed to squeeze the 0-6 month socks on her – I'm still not sure how I pulled that one off. The other two kids were just s.o.l. Jonah tried to cover himself with Violet.


It all worked out in the end and we had a lovely time anyway – in spite of my lack of preparedness! At least I didn't forget the camera!

Car Buying Sucks!

I'm trying to sell my SUV (along with the rest of the country's SUV owners apparently). Good luck with that, right? It cost me $80 to fill up my tank the other day. That will last me about a week. So the way I see it, I have one of three options. Sell my car and buy something more fuel efficient, don't sell it and never go anywhere or buy a scooter and try to find a way to strap me and my three kids to it.

Although option C sounds kinda fun, I don't think I'm quite up for that challenge. And option B, well let's just say (to borrow a phrase from an old friend of mine) I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than be stuck in the house with three kids for the rest of my life. So, I decided to try to trade in my car.

I researched car options and finally decided on the one I want. A Honda Fit. It's small but I did test drive it with all three kids (and car seats) to make sure they would all fit in the Fit! It was cozy but I think it will work. All last week I spent hours upon hours on the phone with various car dealers from here to Ohio and driving all over town trying to trade in my car. Nobody wants to give me anywhere near what my car is worth.

I hate car salesman. They are so slimy (sorry if you are one or are related to one of the slime-free variety). EVERY single one that I spoke with over the phone said, "Sure, I think we can make that happen. Come on in and let's see what we can do." Of course, when I get there, it's a different story. "Well, as you know, the SUV market just isn't doing so well right now." No duh!

I guess I'm going to try to sell it myself. If you know anyone who's interested, it's a 2006 Honda Pilot LX 2WD with 38,000 miles. It is in excellent condition and very clean (yes, even with three kids). It is black and actually gets pretty good gas mileage for an SUV. So if you need an 8 passenger vehicle, it would be ideal. (Robin, any interest? You would only have to leave 2 members of your family at home! ;-)

Pictures

I was searching through my digital photo library trying to find a decent picture of all of my children together. It's impossible. Once you have more than two kids you can forget about ever capturing a good picture again. I can usually get one where two of the kids are looking at the camera with their eyes open and a decent smile, but never all three at once. One of them is always looking away, looking stoned, crying or all of the above.

I will illustrate this point below.

Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy

Now imagine hearing that 35 more times in the span of 3 1/2 hours. Yesterday I decided to conduct a little experiment. I wanted to find out how many times my children say my name in the course of any given day. This idea came to me at noon and I stopped counting at 3:30 p.m. Thirty-nine times was the magic number, however, I know I missed a bunch.

I'm going to conservatively estimate that I missed at least one quarter of them due to the fact that I have learned to tune them out. When my husband realized what the little red tally marks were on the refrigerator white board, he started paying attention too. He heard several that I did not.

Only counting the ones that I heard for sure (since this is a very scientific experiment after all), that's an average of one "Mommy/Mama" (depending on which child is saying my name – Jonah calls me "Mommy" and Sadie calls me "Mama") every 5 minutes. Over the course of a day, well not even a full day since the kids are only awake for about 13 hours, that's 156 times. 1,092 in a week. 32,760 in a month. 393,120 in a year. That's a lot of "Mommies."

Now once Violet starts really talking, that will be well over 1/2 million "Mommies" per year! Maybe I'll change my name to "Daddy" and not tell anyone!

Violet's Milestones

Today, my little Violet pulled herself up for the very first time! I was beginning to think that I would never see this day. We were all here to witness the momentous event! As soon as she did it, the four of us burst into applause and very boisterous cheers which totally freaked her out. She immediately fell to the ground and started wailing. She did it 2 more times over the course of the day so it definitely was not an accident.

Oh..and she got another tooth today too. She's also been trying to talk. I think she may be saying actual words. She is definitely saying Jonah (Do-duh) and screams his "name" whenever he leaves the room. Today she also said what sounded to be "no" on more than one occasion.

With all these developmental things going on, at least now I know why she's been sleeping so much.

Two Nights in a Row

It happened again! Violet slept all night!!! This time I didn't wake up and have to go check on her. I actually slept too. I'm still not holding my breath that this is going to continue. My other two didn't sleep through the night until they were 3 (that's years, not months)! A mother can hope.

Free to a Good Home

Some days, when my kids are misbehaving, (to use the words of my best friend Angela) they are "free to a good home." So far, I have not been able to find any takers.

Last week, something wonderful happened. Every morning before Violet and I got out of bed, Jonah and Sadie, being the early-risers that they are, cleaned the entire house to surprise me! I'm not kidding.

They loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned up all of Violet's toys, made their beds and one day Jonah even vacuumed! He took the laundry downstairs to the laundry room too. He told me that he was going to try to wash it but didn't know how. How sweet is that?

At first, I must admit, I was a little suspicious. I thought why are they doing this? What is it that they are trying to get out of me? But they genuinely did it because they wanted to surprise me and they thought it would make me happy. They were right!

They are such good kids when they are not trying to kill each other. Most of the time they are really so sweet and thoughtful. I am such a lucky mom. At least for today I am going to keep them – so if you're thinking you might like to take them off my hands, they are NOT free to a good home. Check back tomorrow. ;-)

Here's a little diddy I wrote the other day...

“Do it with a Doula”

Doulas do it standing, squatting, on the floor,
In the bed – it’s never a chore.

On their knees and over the phone,
They aim to please, they even moan!

In the car and during the day,
On the toilet – any which way.

In the bed and in the shower.
They never charge by the hour.

Sitting, crawling, even walking,
Dancing, rocking, silent and talking.

They use their hands and have big balls,
They don’t even mind the midnight calls.

24/7 and all night long,
Do it with a Doula, you can’t go wrong!

Halleluia!

Violet slept through the night for the first time in her life! She is 14 1/2 months old, in case you were wondering. She slept from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.!!! I can't believe it. I'm sure it was a fluke but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that it wasn't. For the record, the longest stretch she had ever slept before was 6.5 hours.

I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and panicked because she hadn't woken up yet. Of course I had to immediately go and check to see that she was breathing. She was. I went back to bed and couldn't fall back to sleep. It figures. I finally started to drift off right about the time she woke up at 6 a.m.

Oh I so hope this is the beginning of a new trend! I haven't slept properly in 9 years. I'm exhausted.

We Really Need to Get Out More!

This is turning into "The Sadie Blog" but I can't help it, she gives me the most material!

The other night we all went for a bike ride around the neighborhood. It literally was a 15 minute bike ride. When we got home, Sadie came up the stairs and said to me, "That was the BEST vacation EVER! Can we do that again next year?" And she was totally serious!

I felt so sorry for her. Poor child has never been on vacation. It takes so little to please her. We really have to get that kid to a beach this summer! Although, I must admit that I am a little hesitant to take her on a real vacation. Right now she is such an easy kid to please. Her expectations are low. If she finds out what a real vacation is like, we might be in real trouble.

Sadie, the Philosopher

Today while we were eating lunch, out of the blue, Sadie asked me (in Sadie-ese) how were we born. She was trying to ask me how we all came to be on earth. She said, "I know God made us, but if no persons borned God, how did we get here?"

The inner workings of the five year old mind are fascinating!

Fairy Dust & Marshmallows

Sadie lost her first tooth this past Monday. She pulled it out all by herself. I can't believe it! She was so excited and proud of herself. I almost cried. She told me, "Your little Sadie is growing up!"

Of course, the Tooth Fairy paid her a visit that night. She brought her a "gold" dollar and left fairy dust all over her room. When I picked Sadie up from school later that afternoon, she told me, " When we get home, I'm going to sprinkle the fairy dust on me and see if it will make me fly." Isn't that the most adorable thing ever?

And she actually tried it. Unfortunately, fairy dust must only work on fairies. She took it pretty well.

Today she was playing in the living room and dropping dominos all over the floor. I asked her what she was doing. She told me she was the Tooth Fairy and she was dropping fairy dust. I asked her what she did with all the teeth she collected. I said, "Do you make a necklace out of them?" She replied (in her most fairiest fairy voice), "No. I turn them into little white marshmallows!"

Why didn't I think of that?

My little girl is growing up!

Sadie lost her first tooth on Monday. She just turned 5 in December. I can't believe it, although I shouldn't be surprised since Jonah was also 5 when he lost his first tooth. And so was I.

The Tooth Fairy came, of course, and left her a gold $1 coin. She also sprinkled Fairy Dust all over the bedroom. Yesterday on the way home from school, Sadie said to me, "When we get home, I'm going to sprinkle the fairy dust on me and see if it will make me fly." Isn't that the most adorable thing ever?!? And she really did try it.

She told me, "Mama, I'm not your little girl anymore." She'll always be my little girl.

Poop happens!

Life as a mom is never dull! Poor Violet was having some tummy troubles but thankfully, they have resolved. She was constipated for almost a week. Yesterday, I had to break out the suppositories! That was fun! But it worked. Then she had a blowout this morning. She slept for 6.5 hours last night (the longest stretch ever since she was born) and now this morning, she has been asleep for over 2 hours. She must have been absolutely miserable. Poor baby.

I am sitting here bracing for the ice storm that is supposedly heading our way. There are a few flakes flying outside my window right now. I am going to pick Jonah up from school early so we don't get stuck in the mess. He will not be happy. I hope Michael leaves work early too but I doubt it now that he is the "Big Boss Man!"

Violet's awake!