A long overdue thank you!

MANY weeks ago, I got this lovely package from the incredibly talented LiEr at ikat bag with these beautiful bibs, my favorite nursing cover ever, and (knowing that I like to sew) a fleece ball kit to put together for the soon-to-arrive baby Lily.

That Saturday, Emma and I spent some time together deciding how to arrange the ball panels and which ribbons to put where. We pinned everything together and then set it aside to sew up the next day.

Instead of sewing, I spent Sunday evening in the hospital, with Lily arriving shortly before dawn Monday morning. Since said project was full of pins, I was careful to put it in a safe place before leaving.

Or so I thought. If you haven’t already figured out, this was the sewing project I’ve ranted about a few times on this blog. Thankfully Johnny unearthed it during a recent self entertainment episode (so much for putting it in a “safe place”). I have no idea where it was, but thankfully he brought it to me without getting into any of the pins. I was happy to have it back, and we sewed it up into a beautiful fleece ball:

Lily is just starting to show a slight interest in toys, so in the meantime Emma is doing her best to relive her own babyhood:

Thank You, LiEr!

Wordless Wednesday: Personality

Three Under Four

I always feel like my babies graduate from the newborn phase at around seven weeks. Lily turns seven weeks old today, so today I’m in a reflective mood. A few thoughts from the first seven weeks with three children under four:

• Going with the flow is the surest path to happiness for children and parents.
• My children are happiest when I only schedule one outing (e.g., grocery shopping, story time at the library, play date, doctor visit, etc) per day.
• Outings are simplest in the morning, before the time when my children should be (but usually are not) napping.
• Non-naps can be a good thing when they result in earlier bedtimes.
• Beautiful fall weather is a blessing.
• Emma has grown into the capable role of the big sister – but she’s still only three and a half years old.
• Johnny has moved from being jealous of me holding Lily because he wants to be held to being jealous of me holding Lily because he wants to hold Lily.
• Baby smiles are the best.
• Children grow up way too fast.

Wordless Wednesday: Ballerina Baby

 

Thank you, Beth, for the darling dress!

Notes to Self

• Searching every cupboard and drawer in the house may not result in finding your missing sewing project that you stashed somewhere while in labor well over a month ago. However, losing important sewing projects is a strong motivator for necessary home organization. Given that your home is approaching organized mode, here’s hoping said sewing project turns up soon.
• Having two children who can walk/run means you have two children who can walk/run in opposite directions. This complicates supervision since you cannot split yourself in two. Be thankful that your children like to stick together in public so this is only a problem at home. We won’t worry about three children who can walk/run just yet.
• Your toddler is an expert at self-entertaining. However, he may not choose the forms of self-entertainment you would select for him. You would love for him to draw nicely on paper, read books, or do puzzles. He may choose instead to:
• draw on the table, floor, chairs, and walls
• tear pages from books
• throw puzzle pieces
• taking three bites out of each ripe nectarine on the kitchen table
• pull every baby wipe/kleenex out of the box
• If your toddler does any of the above, be sure to remember that he does sometimes choose to entertain himself by:
• completing puzzles nicely
• reading books without ripping out pages
• building block towers
• drawing on paper
• cleaning the house with the baby wipes he pulls out of the box
• If a parenting tip works one day, be sure to thoroughly enjoy your success. The same trick may not work the next day.
• Hugs, kisses, and “I love you, Mama!” are fantastic antidotes for sleep deprivation, general exhaustion, and bad days.

Wordless Wednesday: Five

Emma and Johnny Quotes

Emma: I put it [a toy] in my pocket so that none of my friends will get it.
Mama: But it’s nice to share with your friends.
Emma: Well, I share with my dolls.

Emma: The floor is really dirty. It’s only for feet and dancing.

Conversation between Mike and a feverish and coughing Emma at 3am:
Dada: What would make you feel better?
Emma (instant answer): Maybe we could go to Disneyland.

Emma: I wish our house was pink. I think everything should be pink.

Emma, looking at some nylons:
I like those tights. Them look like skin.

Johnny, as the local high school girls’ track team runs past our house:
Hey! Girls! Wow! (climbs up on the couch to get a better look) Girls, girls, girls!

Picnic Table Talk: Summer Highlights

Here is the highlight of our summer – who, appropriately, turns one month old today:

We also enjoyed visits from my parents, a cousin and uncle of Mike’s, two of my brothers, and two of my sisters. Emma asks nearly every day when Aunt K will come stay with us again. We spent hours outside, and plan to continue to do so through the fall. I got some sewing projects done. I picked up some bins to use as workboxes at Walmart last night (they currently have sets of 5 for $3.50, if anyone else is looking for them). We aren’t following the standard workbox system; rather I plan to fill the bins with activities Emma and Johnny can complete with minimal supervision. The bins will be within their reach, and they can choose which bin to pull out.

I had Lily and Johnny simultaneously napping yesterday afternoon (first time ever), so I pulled out my sewing machine only to find that the project I started right before Lily is born is not where I thought it was. Nor is it in any of the other logical places I may have put it. So, I have some motivation to do some major reorganizing of our closets and cabinets, which needed doing anyhow. Now to find the time…

Lessons learned this summer:

• Do not put away sewing projects while in labor. You may not put them where you thought you did.
• Do not attempt to stop at a playground with a 4-week-old baby, a 20-month-old, and a 3.5-year-old if you left your baby carrier at home.
• Do not go out without your baby carrier or stroller, even if it is just to meet your husband for lunch. You may want to stop at a playground on the way home and will wish you had the baby carrier. You will also wish you had the baby carrier and/or stroller when you arrive at your husband’s work and find your toddler has fallen asleep and refuses to wake up.
• Indoor climbing toys from grandparents are a lifesaver if you have a toddler who loves to climb, particularly if said child attempts to scale very tall furniture in the absence of climbing toys.
• Grandparents are wonderful.
• So are aunts and uncles.
• So are friends – particularly those who drop by at 1pm with a surprise dinner just when you were starting to realize that your sick children were going to remain high maintenance and that you had no idea what to cook that night.

Month in review and September goals

If you ignore the near-constant sickness, August was a good month. We’ll especially ignore the end-of-month bonus we got Saturday in the form of a LONG day in Boston Children’s hospital for Johnny ending in an asthma diagnosis and the fact that Mike currently has bronchitis for the second time this year. I do want to know, can anyone tell me why the nurses at Boston Children’s thought it was a good idea to try to draw blood from the back of BOTH of Johnny’s hands before finally succeeding in the much-more-common inner elbow spot?

Back to reviewing August… I enjoyed the simplicity of life with two children for the few hours before I went to the hospital to have Lily. The kids got to go to TWO birthday parties August 1st, which would have been impossible with a newborn. Lily has been a joy to take care of, so enjoying having a newborn around has been a breeze. I LOVED having so much family around. It was wonderful to spend time with family members I rarely get to see. I thoroughly appreciated my mom’s cooking, and my siblings and parents spent a lot of time baking with Emma, wrestling Johnny, reading to Emma and Johnny, snuggling Lily, and helping to mow the lawn, paint the cathedral ceiling in our family room, and install a new ceiling fan in the same room. Our final visitor left August 27th, so we’re still adjusting to life as a family of five. Emma and Johnny are learning to share their parents with Lily, and Johnny is getting better at understanding just how gentle you need to be with a newborn. Emma has emerged this past week as an absolutely stellar big sister to both Johnny and Lily. She’s great at comforting both of the younger children and helping around the house.

As for annual goals:

• Find places to keep all those odds and ends that get stashed in random places: ignored, although I cleared out some old toys.
• Potty train Emma: Done. Johnny is still interested in using the potty and sits on it occasionally, but I’m honestly not terribly interested in having two potty-trained children at the moment. If Johnny chooses to train himself overnight, that’s great, but I’m not pushing it.
• Get Johnny to eat more solid food: we’re back to ground zero on this one since the trauma of Saturday. He drinks milk from a sippy cup and not much else. Any suggestions?
• Be more patient with cooking/baking that involves a rolling pin: My mom did this, but I don’t think she had my patience issues to start with.
• Take the kids outdoors more: They were outside most days, sometimes for hours on end. We kept them in most of the time for one particularly hot and muggy week.
• Get the kids to sleep through the night better: Another setback here, I’m guessing due to the combination of new baby and illness. Neither Emma or Johnny is sleeping through the night. They don’t stay awake long when they wake up, but it’s still disrupting everyone’s sleep.

September goals:

• Enjoy New England’s beautiful autumn weather by spending time outside and visiting a farm at least once this month.
• Visit a farmer’s market. My town runs one and there are several others in neighboring towns.
• Make sure all three kids get quality time with both parents. I was baking cookies with Emma last night and she said, “This is fun. I needed some Mama time.”
• Enjoy the return of play dates: we’ve been in self-imposed quarantine for the past month thanks to The Evil Virus That Took Forever to Go Away, so we’re all looking forward to visits with friends this month.

I’d love to get my sewing machine out, so we’ll set that as a bonus goal. I’m also excited about running a review and giveaway from All Modern this month, a store that specializes in contemporary furniture but offers some fun toys for babies and children as well.

What are your goals for this month?

Sisters

Emma at 27 days	Lily at 25 days

Wordless Wednesday: Growing up so quickly…

Wordless Wednesday: Family

Wordless Wednesday: Too much love?

Baby Wipes

MATERIALS:

• flannel
• scissors
• sewing machine

STEPS:

1) Tear flannel into baby wipe-size pieces

2) Serge or zig zag edges

I’m using these as inserts for Lily’s newborn diapers also (I’ve made one more cover and plan to make a few more). There are various baby wipe solution recipes on the internet, but I use plain water most of the time and my kids never get diaper rash.

The adjustment to three kids is going well, although both Emma and Johnny are sick again this weekend and that makes things a little tougher. I’ve been thoroughly spoilt with Grandma doing all the cooking and taking Emma and Johnny out on long walks in their double stroller. Lily is doing beautifully, only waking twice a night to eat – absolutely wonderful since she is gaining weight just fine.

Back Home

Lily and I got home yesterday, and we are adjusting to life as a family of five. Thank you for all of your kind comments on Mike’s post, they were very fun to read through!

Emma and Johnny love their baby sister, but Johnny especially had a hard time having me gone. It didn’t help that he and Emma were both pretty sick the entire time we were in the hospital – thankfully both are doing much better today. They are enjoying one final outing with Grandma and Grandpa to a local farm this morning before Grandpa flies back to Europe this afternoon. I’m very happy that Grandpa got to meet baby Lily, and that he was here to help with the kids while we were in the hospital. We get to keep Grandma until the 15th.

Lily reminds us a lot of Emma as a baby – she has more hair, but Emma was born with dark hair too so we’ll see if Lily stays brunette or goes blonde. I love having a baby with hair! She’s pretty mellow most of the time, but when she is upset you definitely hear about it! Her pouch sling is her favorite place to be – attached to me of course. We also tried out her cloth diaper cover yesterday and it worked great, so I’ll be making some more of those. Mostly, though, we’ll be resting and adjusting to life as a family of five.

Now for birth details (stop reading here if you don’t like birth stories). Lily’s birth was definitely the most exhausting experience of my life: 26.5 hours of labor, including 7 hours of pushing. No comparison to Emma’s birth (3.5 hours of labor, about one hour of pushing) or Johnny’s (12 hours of labor, 15 minutes of pushing). No-one could figure out what my problem was until Lily was born, posterior (sunny side up). They knew she was posterior at one point but thought she had flipped around; turns out her umbilical cord was too short to allow much movement at all. We are both doing well and happy to have avoided a vacuum, forceps, pitocin, or cesarean delivery. I will say that I have discovered one very good reason to get an epidural after 10cm. I’m grateful that Lily tolerated such an exhausting labor as well as she did – we escaped being attached to the (much hated by me) baby monitor for all but the last couple of hours when they hooked up the epidural, and thanks to the Jacuzzi tub labor was quite bearable up until the hours of pushing. Both Emma and Johnny’s deliveries had to be monitored non-stop from start to finish, so I was really happy to get a break from that. Lily is 21 inches long (like her brother Johnny) and weighs 8lbs 14oz (to Johnny’s 8lbs 14.3oz). Emma was a only 6lbs 1.5oz and 19.5 inches long. Recovery post-Emma was easy. With Johnny I wound up with a broken tailbone that took months to heal, something I’ve thankfully escaped this time round. I’ve appreciated the days of forced rest while stuck in the hospital, and feel like overall recovery won’t be too bad this time around.

Month in Review and August Goals

I met all of my critical July goals – if you make it cloth diaper in the singular rather than plural! Actually, that diaper turned out so well that my only reason for not making more is that I want to see how that one fits and then adjust the pattern; I’m confident I can make more fairly quickly. I even made Johnny two pairs of shorts, although I only blogged about one. The baby clothes are washed (provided we have a girl as expected), and hospital bags are packed. Having my 14-year-old sister and 17-year-old brother stay with us for the last week of July was a huge help in getting everything done, as was having my 14-year-old sister here for most weekends during the month. If only they didn’t live far across the ocean in Europe!

As for those bonus goals:

• Organize some activities to keep Emma and Johnny busy once the baby arrives: I made each child a crayon roll, which makes coloring time more peaceful and better organized. I also used paint chips to make this matching file folder game and this color scheme activity. I also picked up some workbooks, flashcards, and write-on boards from Target’s dollar section, and both kids are loving playing with their “school things”.
• Have the baby: Did not happen, but it was a funny goal to set since I didn’t really have any control over it anyhow.

On to annual goals:

• Find places to keep all those odds and ends that get stashed in random places: Does organizing baby clothes count?
• Potty train Emma: Done. Johnny used the potty a couple times, too.
• Get Johnny to eat more solid food: He’s doing well except when teething…
• Be more patient with cooking/baking that involves a rolling pin: Thoroughly ignored.
• Take the kids outdoors more: It rained a LOT this July, but I think they were outside nearly every other day.
• Get the kids to sleep through the night better: Emma’s doing well at this, and while she doesn’t nap every day she seems okay so long as she naps every other day. Johnny’s cutting 2-year molars, and it seems to be taking forever.

August goals:

• Appreciate the relative simplicity of only having two children for however many days I have left before we welcome our third child.
• Enjoy having a newborn (whenever she decides to show up).
• Enjoy having family around. My mom and dad will be staying with us this week, and my mom will stay until the 15th. My 14-year-old sister will be here until the 4th, and then back August 13-15. My 21-year-old brother (who I haven’t seen for three years!) will fly out to visit August 15-27. And one of Mike’s cousins will be staying here en route to college the night of August 20th.
• Adjust to life as a family of five.

As a bonus goal, I’m interested in making a very large diaper bag – anyone have a tutorial or pattern they love? I’ve never tried sewing a bag before, so I’m thinking sweet and simple.

Free Art: Painting

I feel this photo captures my two children’s personalities perfectly: Emma painting carefully with a brush, and Johnny moving quickly from paintbrush to hands…

…and then from paper to hair (sorry this second photo is so over-exposed):

I love washable paint!

Wordless Wednesday: Grass is not for people

Wordless Wednesday: Outdoor Living

 

Picnic Table Talk: Staycation

In our eight years of marriage, Mike and I have gone on only two vacations that didn’t involve visiting family, attending weddings/reunions, or some type of work commitment (I wish we could go along on Mike’s work trips, particularly last summer when he “had” to go to Hawai’i for a week). The vacations? A three-day visit to a small Scottish town to celebrate our three-year-anniversary (we were living in Scotland at the time) and our less-than-48-hour honeymoon way back in 2001.

Fortunately, we always have a wonderful time visiting family, and we’re pretty good at staycations. We love finding local ways to have a good time, especially when these things are free. We spent several years as (by Western standards sometimes nearly literally) starving students and now live as a family of nearly-five with many student loans and a house that (lately) has been exceptionally fond of falling apart, so free is good. Here are a few staycation activities we’ve enjoyed so far this summer:

• A free family outing to the Boston Museum of Science last Friday, courtesy of the Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Fridays.
• A day out at Davis’ Farmland – not free, but we got discounted tickets through a friend and the kids had a fantastic time.
• Several trips to the Discovery Museums in Acton. We bought a membership last year and have gotten more than our money’s worth over the past twelve months. I do wish I had started bringing my kids to the science museum earlier – I assumed they were too young but took them there last week and it turns out they PREFER the science museum over the children’s museum (much to their super-geeky father’s delight, and well-timed since he had been expressing concern over their lack of geekiness relative to himself).
• A potluck BBQ for Mike’s coworkers and their families in our backyard (they don’t fit in our house)
• Our town’s 4th of July parade
• Celebrating my birthday with family
• Celebrating our 8-year anniversary (dinner out without children – quite the treat in our home!)
• Play dates and get-togethers with friends
• Playing outdoors

And some activities we’re looking forward to:

• More play dates – including a trip to the zoo with friends this Friday (free, thanks to the friends’ zoo membership!)
• Visits from family members throughout the summer (thanks in large part to the pending arrival of Baby #3)
• Mike’s birthday
• Playing outdoors
• Visiting local farms and our town’s new Farmer’s Market
• Birthday parties for a couple of Emma’s friends

Last, (hopefully) quite small, but most definitely not least, the arrival of Baby #3 – ideally within the next 30 days! I even washed the baby clothes and packed a hospital bag last night…