Born to be an Elf

Elf, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Does he look like an elf, or what? He is actually a lot cuter than this, but this photo is hilarious.

Christmas Girls

Girls, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Of course, little A. wouldn't wear hers.

Christmas Boys

Boys, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

We've had our tree up for 2 weeks now, but the night we put it up, the kids donned their Santa caps.

Happy Birthday Daryl!

The love of my life turned 43 yesterday. As is typical, there was a family Christmas gathering on his birthday. There was a birthday cake and the family all sang to him, but it wasn't really a birthday celebration. So I decided to have a special family dinner in his honor tonight. I made pasta with 2 sauces: tomato with olive and capers (jarred) and pesto (homemade). We had crusty bread dipped in olive oil, caesar salad, and his favorite apple pie. We sang again, too. The house started out an absolute wreck because Saturday was a family Christmas gathering also, so 2 days in a row we rushed to get ready and out the door, leaving a mess behind. We arrived home late last night, emptied the van of the mountain of gifts we'd collected, and deposited them in the family room. Everyone rushed off to work and school this morning, leaving me with the mess, but I was able to use the birthday celebration to motivate them to clean it up tonight.

Thanksgiving

We invited my entire family and Daryl's entire family to join us for dinner. As it turned out, only my mother-in-law accepted our invitation. On Wed. afternoon the day before Thanksgiving, I called a friend in town to see if she would be in town for the weekend, as I wanted her daughter to babysit on Friday. As it turned out, her family was staying home due to an impending snow storm. They were planning to have dinner by themselves so I invited them to join us. They have 6 children, so it made for a lively household. Daryl had also invited several students over who would otherwise be alone, and one accepted his invitation, so there were 19 of us. We put 2 tables together and were able to seat everyone. J. and I. made placecards for everyone, which made the table look really nice. I cooked a fresh 20 lb. turkey, which I got in the oven around 8am. Daryl got up with me and we ate fresh bread from the bread machine that I'd put in the night before and watched the movie "Sideways" on the laptop while I got the turkey ready to go in the oven. It was nice to have some quiet time together before everyone else got up.

I made garlic mashed potatoes, gravy, salad and a sweet potato pie with a shortbread crust. My guests, who are vegetarians, brought salmon, pumpkin pies and stuffing. My MIL brought peach pie, berry cobbler, rolls and cranberry sauce. The salad had mixed greens, goat cheese, pinenuts, dried cherries, and grape tomatoes with a simple dressing of olive oil and balsalmic vinegar. It was really good! Unfortunately our grill ran out of gas, so we had to broil the salmon, but we did that while Daryl carved the turkey and I mashed the potatoes. Our guests washed a lot of the pots and pans before dinner! That was wonderful. We ate around 4pm. I bought " kid wine" (sparkling grape juice) for the kids, which they love. The food was scrumptious and a wonderful time was had by all. Our guests left around 6:30pm and we layed around and munched dessert the rest of the evening.

Stroller Racing

DSC_0515, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Perhaps I shouldn't have allowed this, but they were both having a great time!

Double digits--a decade old!

DSC_0913, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

On November 20 (the day after A's bday) we celebrated another birthday. L. turned 10! He had a party with some friends the day before. We had it at our house, and the boys played sports outdoors. I served pizza, cupcakes and ice cream. A good time was had by all.

On the actual day we held our family celebration. He got a skateboard and helmet and some action figures from Daryl and I. His sister gave him a new jackknife, since he's been doing a lot of whittling lately and the one he had is tiny and not really up to the job.

The birthday child picks the meals all day long on his birthday, and he chose blueberry pancakes for breakfast, leftover pizza for lunch, and tacos for dinner, with homemade cheesecake covered in blueberry topping for his birthday cake. Mmmm was that cake good!

L. is an extremely affectionate, sensitive child. He is very tuned into the feelings of others, and goes out of his way to be kind and helpful. He has a great sense of humor, and is a lot of fun to be around, so he has many friends. He is also very smart, excelling in all areas. He brings joy to me every day!


BIRTH STORY

L. was my only child born before my due date, 2 days "early". I had gone to water aerobics in the morning, then taken an afternoon nap while my little ones napped. I woke up and ate an apple with some almond butter. I noticed a few contractions then, but didn't think much of them because I have so many contractions at the end. I began making dinner, and the contractions began to be more regular and demand my attention a little more.

I called Daryl around 5pm, who asked me if he had time to go running first, but I told him to get right home! Meanwhile, I stopped making dinner as it was distasteful to me. He came home and finished making dinner and fed the kids.

Soon I felt it was time to call the midwife. She told me to come in. First we had to call our wonderful friends who had offered to take the kids. The contractions were getting more intense, and the kids were responding to my mood. J. was hanging on me and demanding to be picked up. I really couldn't handle it, so Daryl took the kids next door to our neighbors while we waited for our friends to arrive.

By the time we arrived at the birth center it was 8:30pm, somewhat later than we'd told the midwife, and she was beginning to wonder if I'd changed my mind! LOL As she checked me she said, "You're about 5cm and I feel a big bulging sack -"SPLASH! My water broke and splashed all over. She literally jumped back to avoid getting doused. There was a tiny bit of meconium in the fluid but not enough to worry about.

I began pacing the room. I tried the tub, but didn't like it so I resumed pacing. Then we realized that we had forgotten to get more film for the camera! Luckily, a janitor was in the building, and Daryl asked him to run to the store, which was very close. (I wouldn't let him leave). After a while I squatted on the toilet which felt really good. As it got more intense, I told the midwife that I had changed my mind, and I didn't want to have this baby today! She laughed heartily at that one.

Eventually I went and sat on the bed. She turned down all the lights. I felt drowsy and dozed between contractions. Transition was intense, but then after many hard contractions in a row, one began and then petered out without ever getting really bad. The midwife told me that that sometimes transition ends abruptly that way.

I was suddenly very sleepy and not having any contractions. I dozed for 5 minutes or so and then the contractions resumed and I felt the urge to push. After only 2-3 contractions, out he came! The midwife helped ease his shoulder out. He weighed 10 pounds exactly and was born at 10:30pm. He was extremely alert after his birth and we have many photos of him looking right at me.

This was my most "textbook" labor and one of my easiest deliveries. It was my first midwife attended birth and birth center delivery. Daryl thought it wouldn't make such a big difference in the experience, but was awed by how intimate and special it really was.

We had brought some snacks, which I ate, and then after a while, I felt good enough to get up and get dressed and we went home, arriving around 2am. We joke that it was just like going on a date, only we came home with a baby! Despite the quiet house, I was unable to sleep, of course.

Our friends kept the kids until the next day midmorning. They had made them each a "big brother" and "big sister" button and stopped and gotten them each a small "gift" to give their new baby brother. He was born on Monday, 3 days before Thanksgiving.

Windy City

DSC_0726, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

This picture has been digitally enhanced by Daryl. It was a cool picture to begin with, the sun shining on the trees on a cloudy autumn day, but he brightened the colors a little.

Lincoln Park Zoo

DSC_0720, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

I know these pictures are out of order, but I finally got some pictures available to post from our trip the first weekend in November.

The Gang in Chicago

DSC_0509, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Birthday Girl

DSC_0810, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Baby is 1!!

My baby turned one on November 19. Always a bittersweet day for me, although it is not really the end of babyhood, but a significant milestone, a warning that this stage is passing quickly.

She had a nice day. Grandma came to visit and we had a simple butter cake with whipped cream icing in the shape of a heart.

All About Me

That's the title of the new fun quiz I created! Thanks, Kathy!

Take my Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com!

Seasonal Favorites

Wanted to share another couple of favorite recipes before fall officially draws to a close. I know it's another month until the equinox, yet as the first flakes fell today, winter seemed imminent.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2 cups canned pumpkin
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
4 cups flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda combined with 2 tsp. milk
1 11 oz. bag chocolate chips

Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes

These are a delicious, soft, moist cookie.

I use only half a bag of chocolate chips, and I think that's perfect, but the recipe calls for a whole bag.



APPLE BREAD

1 1/2 C vegetable oil
2 C brown sugar
3 eggs
3 C flour (I use a combination of white, whole wheat, wheat germ, ground flaxseed, and oat bran)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom (optional if you don't have it)
2 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. apple juice, cider, milk, or water
3 C chopped apples
1 C chopped nuts (I don't use the nuts)

Grease a 10 inch bundt pan or 2 9 inch round cake pans or a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes (depending on size of pan) until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

This is actually more of a cake or coffee cake than a bread. It is SO good, excellent for breakfast. It's one of my family's favorites.

5K!!

Last weekend I ran in the local 5K Turkey Trot. I have been training for it for the past 7 weeks, starting with running 1 mile and adding a tenth of a mile each time I ran, which was approximately 3-4 times a week. I was inspired to do this by a friend of mine, who has been running for the past year and was planning to run this race. I told her I might begin running and do it with her, but she told me that she felt I didn't have enough time to build up to running that far. Being intrinsically competitive, I couldn't ignore that challenge! I ran a 5K 3.5 years ago and spent about 4 months training to do it. At the point at which we had this conversation, I had about 3 months, but didn't get started right away because I have been struggling with foot pain and I was hoping it would improve. When it didn't, a visit to the doctor confirmed that it was Plantar's faschiaitis, but the doctor said running wouldn't make it any worse.

It was a beautiful balmy morning, and I finished in 28 minutes, 55 seconds. My goal was to finish in under 30 minutes. Last time I finished in 29:48, proving that I am indeed getting better with age! I was 20th in my age group, 40-44 year olds. My friend finished in 28:35, only 20 seconds faster than me.

Running in this race was a lot like giving birth for me. It was painful, because I ran a lot faster than I normally do, and I was SO glad when it was over! All I could think was "I never want to do that again!" for the first 5 minutes after I finished. After about 30 minutes, however, I was excited and thinking how much fun it would be to do that again. Which is exactly my thought processes after giving birth.

I encouraged my kids to run, and 2 did. L. took 3rd place in his age group in a 1200 meter race. J. ran the 5k and finished in 29:27.

Chicago

The first weekend in November we went to Chicago. We kept the kids out of school on Friday, and had lofty goals of leaving at 9am. Unfortunately, D. got the stomach bug on Thursday evening, and was unable to help get ready. I had spent most of Thursday getting the oil changed on the van and other necessary errands. As of Thursday night, 2 kids didn't want to go and were being uncooperative and the others were being only marginally helpful. Friday morning dawned with a trashed house, tired mama, and sick dad. We almost changed our minds about going, but the kids had better attitudes, one of the naysayers had changed his mind, I went back to bed for another hour and awoke feeling fresher, and by midmorning D. was feeling a little better. So we left at noon, arrived in Chicago around 4pm local time. We walked around Millenium Park, enjoying the art and sculpture, and then went to Giordano's Pizza for Chicago style stuffed crust pizza. From there we proceeded to our friends' home in Downers' Grove. They have one child, who is 18 months old, and he was amazed to see all of us arrive, and overjoyed to have so many kids to play with.

The next morning we laid around and relaxed. After lunch, we went to the Field Museum of Natural History where we spent about 4 hours with our friends enjoying the exhibits. Exhausted, we returned to their house and had carryout Mexican. On Sunday, having exhausted our hosts, we headed home, stopping to enjoy the free Lincoln Park Zoo on the way. Unfortunately, my digital camera was in my daughter's pocket, which was unzipped, when she visited the restroom. After a dip in the toilet it no longer works, so there are no pictures of the trip or anything else until I replace it.

The trip was a much needed respite from real life, after a whirlwind fall that included many sports and other children's activities and a very intense work and travel schedule for D.

Stricken

I know you all were waiting with baited breath to hear what happened next in our illness saga. I awoke this morning feeling extremely tired and kind of strange, and soon had full-blown malaise: nausea, extreme bodyaches, killer headache. I didn't actually barf, although I might have felt better if I had. As for that macho older son, he returned from his soccer game feeling much worse, having won the game but succumbed to the illness. And 10 year L., who had spent yesterday being righteous, complaining how inconvenient it was to have sick family members, and that the house was contaminated and he had nowhere to sit that wasn't contaminated, was (perhaps rightfully) stricken down this morning also. I felt genuinely bad for him that he had to miss his school Halloween party as well as trick or treating. D. had to work late, and I was too sick to take them trick or treating, but only J. and I. were really well enough to go, so they went with some of J's friends.

And Another One Down....

It's a picture perfect fall day today, but I have decided to stay in and try to stay on top of the laundry. Why? you ask. Because as the stomach flu moves slowly through the family, continuous laundering is required to stay abreast. I particularly love how young children run while puking, so that it is spread over as large of a surface area as possible. So far, 4 of the children have definitively had it. The eldest, in typical male macho fashion, went to his soccer game with a stomach ache, in denial of his symptoms, so I'm guessing it will be 5 victims by the time he returns. Baby A. managed to crawl through some vomit this morning, moving too quickly to be stopped, since the rest of us were distracted by helping the victim, cleaning the mess and being grossed out. She was immediately washed off, but I suspect it will have been in vain. So far, the adult duo has remained well, but I am not hopeful about our chances.

Not to mention that we may have infected all of our party guests last night. At party time, the only ill person was 2 year old K., who voluntarily sequestered himself in my bedroom (he was afraid of the fog generated by the fog machine), but obviously several others were about to become ill, and presumably contagious, as they double dipped apples in caramel dip, chips in salsa, and veggies in ranch. The party was a success, however, and a good time was had by all.

Good News!

The good news is, D. made the basketball team! As a mother, though, my heart was breaking for all those boys (15 made the team and 21 did not) who were waiting outside with long faces when I went to pick him up from tryouts, while the coach talked with the boys who made the team.

My Week

Sunday: Dh gone to DC Sunday night onto Monday.
Tuesday: D. finds a big pile of dog barf under his dirty clothes in his room (which he and L. cleaned up).
Wednesday: A piece of the vacuum is discovered missing and it won't work without it. That afternoon I. came home early with a stomachache, threw up when she got out of the car (after telling me and the school that she didn't feel like she needed to throw up).
Thursday: Dh leaves very early for Pittsburgh, will be home Friday. I. stayed home from school since she'd thrown up the night before. I spent the day folding all the laundry (it was about waist deep) in an attempt to find the vacuum piece, since the vacuum is normally stored in the laundry room. The laundry room is now empty and the piece was NOT in there! While folding all that laundry, I noticed a piece of clothing wedged in the corner of the couch. When I pulled it out, it was covered with what looked like vomit, and I peered into the crevice of the couch and there was some in there. Ewww! I didn't have time to deal with it right then. Then J. arrived home from school and said her stomach hurt, followed by diarrhea and fever. When I came home from one of my many trips to and from kid activities, I saw something on the floor by the couch, and it looked like a chunk of vomit. Turns out it was a piece of KFC chicken from last week that I'd thrown out of the frig into the trash the night before. The child latch on the garbage cabinet broke the day before, so now both A. and Spot are getting in the garbage. Spot apparently HID his chicken in the couch! It wasn't vomit, it was chicken. I removed the couch cover and washed it. L. brought home a note from I.'s teacher telling us that 17 of 25 students were absent that day (including her) due to the stomach flu and they called the health department. They disinfected all surfaces in the classroom, but apparently it is very contagious. During the night last night I was awakened by a high pitched mechanical whine, wasn't sure if it was the water softener or the furnace blower, but it was loud. After a few minutes it got quieter and faded away, but I had a hard time falling back asleep. I almost called dh so he could hear the noise and tell me what he thought. I was not about to go into that creepy "Michigan" basement at 4am by myself. Last time there was a loud noise, though, it was the a/c burning up when the bat was in there.

We invited about 60 people to a Halloween party tomorrow night at our house, and I am supposed to be getting ready today, but J. is home sick and my sitter who normally comes on Friday, doesn't feel well either.

TGIF!

How Much Is Your Blog Worth?

Not very much, apparently! Interesting idea, anyway.

My blog is worth $2,822.70.
How much is your blog worth?

Baby and Me

Baby and Me, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Top of the Hay Maze

Top of the Hay Maze, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

After we got the pumpkin, we returned home to eat lunch and A. napped. Then we went to a local farm stand where they build a hay maze every year. It's not that big or exciting but the kids love to go. They also have pony rides, hay rides, pumpkins, cider and sugar coated warm pumpkin doughnuts. This place is about a mile from our house on the way to town, and I have to confess that I stop there several days a week to get some of those fresh, greasy doughnuts! Yum! Luckily, if I eat more than 2 (they are small) it upsets my stomach or I'd be a blimp.

We didn't do anything but climb the hay maze and take some photos. I also bought 2 bunches of corn stalks for outdoor decorations since we're having a Halloween party this year. The owners of this farm stand are marketing geniuses. The thought that I just paid $10 for what farmers consider garbage boggles my mind. Much of what they sell (homemade pickles and preserves, craft items, produce) they neither grow themselves or make themselves, but this time of year the place is a gold mine. City slickers come in droves.

Gimme that Camera!

Gimme that Camera!, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

As I said, full of opinions now, and she always wants Mama's toys: the camera, the phone, and the computer!

11 months

Pumpkin Girl, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here's mama's little pumpkin at 11 months old. She is full of opinions now, wants her way and is harder to distract, but still a sweetie.

She points and grunts a lot, has been heard saying things that sound like "hi" and her brother's name. She has learned to climb stairs, but can't yet stand or walk on her own (and we're in no rush!)

Still not a great sleeper. On good nights she sleeps for about 4 hours, nurses and sleeps another 4 hours, nurses again and sleeps another 2-3 hours. On bad nights (this is about every other night) she sleeps for 4 hours or less, but won't go back to sleep after I nurse her! She seems asleep and either screams when I put her down or awakens again after 10-15 minutes. She is getting her molars so I have been dosing her with Motrin nightly, which seems to help.

Our Pumpkin

Our Pumpkin, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Monday the kids had the day off from school, and we did some fun fall/Halloween activities.

First we went and got a pumpkin. Last year getting a pumpkin for each child at a local farm cost me $50. I didn't want to do that again, so I told them we'd get one really big one. This beauty ran me $30, so I guess that's better.

I've decided that our summer project next summer will be to grow giant pumpkins! We could really make some money (if I can figure out how!)

Easily Pleased

Sometimes, that is. Last night I made spaghetti for dinner, the way I sometimes do: Saute some Italian sausage in a pan, add Trader Joe's spaghetti sauce, heat and toss with noodles. Only this time I used rigatoni, when usually I use linguine or spaghetti. You'd have thought they never had it before--they were crazy about it. Even though I had added sauteed spinach this time, it didn't dampen their ardor. I told them they'd had it before, only with different shaped noodles, but they kept telling me how great it was.

New Catholic

I took an online quiz, and below are the results. Interesting, and somewhat true. I am not young, nor am I considering a religious vocation. However, as someone who was away from her faith for many years and has fairly recently returned, I am "new" in my faith. I have noticed that my attitudes are different from many of my peers who were also "cradle Catholics." They are much more likely to criticize the Church or reject certain teachings that they don't agree with. When I chose to return to the Church, I chose to accept it as it is, and embrace the beliefs of the Church. I am also more excited to learn about my faith--I am discovering it anew.

You scored as New Catholic. The years following the Second Vatican Council was a time of collapse of the Catholic faith and its traditions. But you are a young person who has rediscovered this lost faith, probably due to the evangelization of Pope John Paul II. You are enthusiastic, refreshing, and somewhat traditional, and you may be considering a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. You reject relativism and the decline in society that you see among your peers. You are seen as being good for the Church. A possible problem is that you may have a too narrow a view of orthodoxy, and anyway, you are still a youth and not yet mature in your faith. New Catholic 50% Liberal Catholic 41% Radical Catholic 36% Traditional Catholic 33% Evangelical Catholic 33% Neo-Conservative Catholic 29% Lukewarm Catholic 14% What is your style of American Catholicism? created with QuizFarm.com

Cooking

It's just what I feel like doing these days--and eating, of course! I'm such an autumn person--the season really energizes me.

The other day I made:

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Bars

Soak 1 C rolled oats in 1 C very hot water. Cream together 1/2 C butter, 1/2 C honey and 1 egg. Add 1 C whole wheat flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/3C peanut butter and the oat/water mixture. Mix well.

Bake in greased 9x13 pan for 10--15 minutes at 350F.

In saucepan, melt together 1/3C peanut butter, 1 C chocolate chips and 3 Tbsp. milk. (This recipe actually calls for carob chips, in an attempt to be healthy, but it is SO much better with chocolate!)

Let bars cool for 5 minutes, then spread chocolate topping on. Cool and enjoy!



Last night I put this in the crock pot for dinner:

Chicken Stew with Peanut Sauce (also known as African Groundnut Stew)

Cut up 1 frying chicken into bite size chunks (I used 1.5 lbs. boneless thighs--much easier to cut up) or use 1 lb. ground beef. Dredge chicken pieces in flour and brown outside in 1/4C oil. Remove chicken from pan and saute 1 onion and 2 cloves garlic in remaining oil. Add 1 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes, 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley (or 2 tsp. dried), 1/2 tsp. salt and tabasco sauce to taste. Return chicken to pan and simmer 45 minutes. Add 1/2 C peanut butter and simmer 15 minutes. Serve over brown rice.

I doubled the recipe and served 9 people (my crew plus my MIL) and we have leftovers.

I sauteed the chicken and garlic/onions, then put all ingredients except peanut butter in crockpot for 4 hours on high, then added peanut butter and left it in pot another 1.5 hours. It is SO good, makes the house smell great.

The Other Side of the Coin

I watched a short, poignant video today, that helped remind me of my many blessings. It's worthwhile watching. When you get to the website, scroll down to the box labeled "Spread the word" and click on the top link, marked "English." to start the short video.

New Links

You'll see below I've added some blogs to my list of "Blogs I Visit." I've updated some as well.

Multitasking Mother of Many Leaves One Behind

It was bound to happen, it was just a matter of time. This afternoon went something like this:

3:45pm--Pick up I. and take her to gymnastics
Stop on way home to get pumpkin doughnuts
Eat doughnuts
4:45pm--Take L. and his teammate that we carpool with to soccer practice.
5:00pm--Pick up D. from football practice
Nurse A. and change clothes
5:30pm--Go for a 1.6 mile jog
5:50pm--Pick up I. from gymnastics and take D. to soccer practice (yes, he plays 2 sports)

I really wanted to go running, as I am working toward a 5K turkey trot on Nov. 13. I got a late start getting in shape, so am now adding a tenth of a mile to my run every day that I run, so I will be at 3.1 miles just in time for the race. I am not compteting, just doing it for the sake of being able to (and because I am so competitive, when my friend said she thought it would take me much longer than 4 months to work up to my 5K/3.1 mile goal, because it took her longer, I immediately decided to do it). I usually run 3-4 days a week. I developed plantar's faschiaitis in one foot over the summer, and because I wasted some time hoping it would get better on its own before going to the doctor, only to be told that it will take months of stretching exercises to get better, but that running wouldn't make it worse, I actually began training seriously 7 weeks prior to the race.

I digress. When I returned home after my run, sweating and breathless, D. was loading and buckling K. and A. into the car. He knew we would have no time to spare and didn't want to be late to soccer practice. As we headed down the road, K. said, "Where's T., mommy?" Luckily we'd only gone about 1/4 mile or so when he said this. I was horrified to realize that I'd left my 5 year old daughter home alone. She had been upstairs playing quietly and it hadn't occurred to D. to herd her out to the car, and I hadn't noticed her absence. I wasn't really worried that she would have gotten into anything dangerous or that anything bad would have happened, but mostly concerned about how upset she would be. She is in a rather insecure phase, and wants to be near me most of the time. I was hoping that she would not have noticed that we left. As luck would have it, she didn't! I told D. my fear, and so he went into the house to round her up and did NOT mention that we'd already left and came back for her! She skipped merrily down the path to the car, oblivious to what had transpired.

Hopefully it won't happen again!

What Movie Am I?

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

On both this test and the leader test, I did all 45 questions, for highest accuracy. Truthfully, I've never seen this movie!

What Leader Are You?

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

This was my result, and I admit to being pleased. Lincoln was a man I admire.

Baking and Blogging

Those were the 2 things I really wanted to do today. As you can see, I did squeeze in a little blogging. As for baking, I made a double recipe of Refrigerator Bran Muffins, which are not only tasty, but the batter keeps for 3-4 weeks in the frig, so you can make a lot of batter and bake it whenever you want fresh warm muffins.

Fall (my favorite season!) really fires me up to cook, and cooking is my 2nd favorite hobby, after eating, of course!

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

2 C Bran cereal (I used Raisin Bran), soaked in 2 C boiling water (let this cool before using)

1 C butter
4 eggs
1 1/2 C sugar
1 quart buttermilk
5 C flour (I used a variety of flour and other grains: wheat germ, oat bran, ground flaxseed)
1 Tbsp. and 2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 C dry bran cereal

Cream the butter, eggs and sugar together
Add the buttermilk and soaked cereal and combine
Blend dry ingredients together
Combine wet and dry ingredients, mixing well
Fold in dry cereal, mixing well

Bake at 400F for 20 minutes

This makes about 3 dozen muffins. Even when I doubled the above recipe, it was only 1.5 boxes of cereal, which I bought on a buy one, get one free sale, so don't let the quantity of cereal stop you from making these. Those small boxes hold a lot of cereal.

Favorite Breakfasts

My favorite breakfasts (that I make) are:

Croissant french toast
Multigrain blueberry pancakes
Popovers (smothered in butter and jam)
Hot Apple Cider Cereal

The last one I made this morning and it is SO good, and good for you, that I MUST share the recipe:

1 cup cracked wheat cereal
3.5 cups cider or apple juice
2 apples, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. oil

Heat the oil in a pan, and add the cracked wheat, stirring to lightly toast it. Add cider and spices and apples and bring to boil. Simmer gently, covered, for 15-20 minutes. It will still seem soupy, but let it cool for 5 minutes. Pour a little milk or cream on it if desired. Makes 4-6 servings. Enjoy!

This can also be made with berry juice (blueberry, cranberry, etc.) and dried cherries instead of apples. I prefer the apple variety, but this is good too.

Autumn Girl

Since it is the eve of the first day of fall, I thought a picture of those delicious bare thighs outdoors would be nice. It wasn't long before she began eating the leaves, so we had to go in.

Look What I Can Do

Over the past 2 weeks A. has gone from barely being able to pull herself to standing, and only lasting a few seconds before collapsing back onto her bottom, to standing constantly and beginning to "cruise" as well.

10 Months

A. was 10 months on Monday. She is almost always happy. She sings along if she hears others singing, and waves constantly. When we are out in public, I often catch someone staring at me, only to realize they are looking at her. She is extremely social and goes out of her way to engage everyone she sees. She holds up her arms out to be picked up, which is simply adorable. Her favorite "toy" is the telephone. She drinks water from a sippy cup and eats lots of different foods now: baby food, bananas (holds a chunk in her hand and bites off pieces, breads of all kinds, and rice/grains of all kinds. She still loves to nurse, and still wakes at night, but usually only twice--she sleeps 4 hour stretches, and sometimes only once. I don't mind, as I know it won't last forever.

Handsome Lad

D. was invited to his first Bar Mitzvah. Here he is, all dressed up, wearing his dad's jacket and his uncle's size 12 shoes! I was worried when I dropped him off. He had friends that were going, but he didn't see them. He was carrying a card with nowhere to put it, wearing clothes he wasn't really comfortable in, and didn't really want to go into the temple. Luckily he saw his friends in the vestibule. He thought the ceremony was neat, and had a great time at the country club reception afterwards. He's growing up--off to his first formal affair alone!

Signs that I'm Slipping

This weekend I discovered a small, red, rectagular Lego in my baby's poop. Apparently she had eaten it, unbeknownst to me. This is a first in our family, and not one to be proud of!

Out of Practice

Out of practice at handling 2 little ones with no big kids home to run interference. Usually A. gets tired before T. leaves for kindergarten, but on Monday she didn't nap till later. T. usually plays with K. while I put her down for her nap. I was trying to figure out how to entertain K. while I was out of the room. A. is difficult to put down, and she would never settle down to nurse or get sleepy while he was in the room. So I plopped him in front of the TV watching Teletubbies (a show I despise, but hey--you do what you gotta do) and went downstairs with A. I was just putting her in bed about 10 minutes later when K. came down yelling "Mo-om!" He had changed the channel on himself. I didn't think much about it until later that evening when D. told me that he'd called earlier, and K. answered the phone! He said K. babbled away to him, told him his name, and even said "Bye!" Apparently he even hung up the phone correctly because I was totally unaware of this entire incident.

Then I confessed to Daryl that after putting A. down for a nap, while balancing the checkbook, I tried to teach K. to watch TV. A desperate move, but I really needed to get some things done. Dora was on and everytime she asked the audience to interact with her, I did. K. thought this was SO funny, and soon he was doing it too.

Daryl said, "So let me get this straight--these are the facts:"

You left the 2 year old unattended while putting the baby down for a nap.

He answered the phone to a stranger (not really, but K. didn't know who it was) and you didn't even know it.

You attempted to teach the toddler to watch TV.


Yup, it was one of those days!

Third Shift

Third Shift, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

This is T.'s first day of school ever! Kindergarten, of course. Her bus comes at 12:15pm.

Second Shift

Second Shift, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

This is I. and L. heading off to 3rd grade and 4th grade respectively. Their bus arrives at approximately 8:30am.

First Day of School...First Shift

First Day of School...First Shift, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

OK, actually this was the 2nd day of school because I forgot on the first day! But the first day was a half day so this is the first FULL day of school.

This is J. and D. heading off to 6th grade and 8th grade respectively. Their bus arrives at 7:10am.

Birthday Tea

Birthday Tea, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

A week after we returned from our family vacation, I took I. on a birthday trip to the American Girl place in Chicago. We rode the train, which is about a 4 hour ride, and her grandmother and A. accompanied us.

We arrived on Friday afternoon, went and had tea, which the dolls attend also. Then we saw a live musical performed by some very talented young women, all in the 11-13 age range. She also had plenty of time to shop. We didn't have an extended family birthday party for her since we were on vacation and so I'd asked relatives to send her money instead of a gift.

The next day we walked up and down the Magnificent Mile and shopped, something I've never had the chance to do before in my many visits there. We also went to the top of the John Hancock building to enjoy the view. Chicago is a wonderful city--I actually like it better than NY, although it is less awe-inspiring.

I. is my only daughter who is interested in dolls, particularly these dolls, and I decided to go ahead and make this trip now, because who knows if she will still be interested in them next year. We had a great time.

Baptism

Baptism, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

The final event of our family vacation was A's baptism. We'd asked our friends in CT to be her godparents and decided to baptize her there instead of here in Michigan. We attended mass, which was held in the basement of the church because the church was not air conditioned and the heat we'd experienced in NY was just as oppressive there. Unfortunately, the ceremony took place in the church, which was easily 100 degrees. The priest took his time explaining the ceremony and its meaning to us, which was lovely, but we were literally dripping with sweat. A. was literally screaming and writhing in misery. It was hard to hang onto a sweaty, wiggling baby. I sat down for a few minutes and nursed her, and she quieted, but only briefly. By the time he poured the water over her head, her hair was already soaking wet.

Our kids and our friends' children were perfectly behaved throughout this, amazingly. They have 5 children and this is a photo of all of us at the church. Afterwards, we went back to their house and had a lovely meal and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon before loading up the car and beginning our journey home.

I's Birth Story

I. is the only child of mine that signaled me with her presence before I even knew I was pregnant. Her conception was somewhat of a surprise. I knew it was possible but didn't think it was likely. While sitting on the couch one afternoon, not thinking about that at all, I had this powerful, indescribable, feeling wash over me that I was pregnant. It was too soon to test, but she let me know she was there. She is a very strong willed individual and has continued to make us aware of her since that day.

Her due date was Aug. 5. I had invited my parents to attend the birth. They lived in Michigan and we lived in Arizona, so they flew out a week before my due date to be sure that they wouldn't miss it. My 3 previous children had been 1 week overdue, 2 days overdue, and 2 days early, in that order, so my midwife and I figured this baby would arrive somewhere between 39-40 weeks since each one seemed to come a few days earlier. I was actually hoping the baby might be born on Aug. 2, my birthday. August in Arizona is beastly hot, and I was ENORMOUS. My parents were helpful with the other kids, and it did give me a bit of a break, but they also watched every breath I took looking for signs of labor. "Is something happening?" I was ready to scream by my due date.

At 40 weeks, the midwife attempted to strip my membranes, but I was only 1 cm dilated so it was difficult to do. Every morning Daryl got me out of bed and walked me around the neighborhood in an attempt to bring on labor. Some days we tried another method of "natural induction" first (blush!) All of this was to no avail. At 41 weeks, the OB was able to strip my membranes successfully. By the next day, nothing had happened and the midwife told me it usually works within 24 hours if it is going to work. I awoke from an afternoon nap depressed, and called a close friend. She suggested I walk laps in the swimming pool. I didn't think anything would come of it, but I went out with the kids and walked in the shallow end while they swam. Suddenly I felt the biggest kick I'd ever felt, literallly almost knocked me over with the buoyancy of the water, which was followed by a familiar POP! I hopped out of the pool and dried off so that I could tell if my water had broken or if it was pool water. It was clearly NOT pool water, so I called my dad to come outside and watch the kids while I went in and called Daryl.

I urged him to hurry home, because it was now about 5:30pm on Friday. Rush hour in the congested Phoenix area can be terrible, and the birthing center was a 30 minute drive in good traffic. By the time he arrived it was 6pm and I'd begun having contractions and wanted to leave. I called Lylaine, my midwife, and got the answering service who said they'd contact her and she'd call me back. Daryl and I left, giving my parents instructions to tell Lylaine that I was on the way and give her my cell phone number.

Traffic wasn't as bad as I feared, and as we got close to our destination, I realized I'd never heard back from Lylaine. I called again, and this time she called right back. She wasn't the midwife on call, but she'd told me she would attend my delivery regardless. She'd just parked at a sports arena, but she said she'd come right away, and that one of the doctors was at the birth center and would let me in. When we arrived, there weren't any cars in the parking lot, so I assumed that the doctor had left and didn't knock on the door. I paced in the parking lot while waiting for Lylaine, who arrived shortly. The doctor was surprised when we walked in together--he was still there waiting for me.

It was now around 7pm. Lylaine checked me and I was 3cm dilated. I was disappointed, hoping to be farther along. There was a jacuzzi tub in my room and I tried it out while Daryl and Lylaine ate popcorn. It didn't help, because I like to pace, so the warm water was very soothing between contractions but once I was having one, I just wanted out. Around 7:30pm Lylaine checked again and I was now 6-7cm. I was disappointed again but she pointed out that it had only been 30 minutes since she last checked!

She suggested we call the family if we wanted them there because she thought we could have a baby in the next hour. We did want them there, so we called. My parents were not initially supportive of having the kids present, but I made it clear I wanted them there and would have someone else bring them if my parents couldn't agree. They had taken a class and seen a film of childbirth to prepare them, and we'd talked about what might happen. When they arrived, Lylaine asked if I wanted them to come in and say hello, and I said no, as I was now in transition. I spent a lot of this time sitting on the toilet, as the squatting position felt really good. When I really started to push, Lylaine insisted I move since she didn't want the baby born in the toilet! She checked, and I still had a lip of cervix, so she told me to stop pushing because she didn't want it to swell. I was upset, didn't feel like I could breathe through any contractions without pushing, so she told me to roll onto my side and see what happened. The change of position worked immediately, and she slid right by the lip and was soon crowning.

We quickly called in my parents and the kids. I smiled and said hi to them when they came in. I had rolled back onto my back in a semi-upright position. I pushed through the next contraction and her head was halfway out. This was very painful, and I told Lylaine, "Just give me an episiotomy! I don't care!" She suggested we wait and see what happened with the next contraction, and I was able to push her head the rest of the way out, and then her body. She was my biggest baby: 10lbs. 15 oz! She had pooped on the way out and had meconium on her legs. Lylaine said if she hadn't done that she'd have been 11 pounds. She was born at 9:09pm. I had one small tear that required one stitch. Unfortunately, the squatting had led to severe hemmorhoids, so I was unable to sit for several weeks even though otherwise I felt great.

The kids had watched quietly, and no one seemed upset by it. Once she was out, they came over to the bed to meet her. It was a very special moment and I am so glad they were there. My parents were totally awed by the experience, never having seen childbirth before or been able to remember it (see previous post). They brought the kids home and put them to bed, and we stayed until about 2am. After they left, Daryl went to Denny's to get us some food, since we hadn't had dinner and I was starving. This particular Denny's had a bar where people were doing karaoke while he waited for the food, which he said was very surreal after just watching me give birth. We ate, and once I'd rested a little I got dressed and we headed home around 2am. The birth center only requires that you stay for 2 hours after delivery if everything is fine. The next day they send a nurse to do a home visit.

My parents had been in Arizona for 2 weeks by the time she was born, and were due to depart the next day. They were able to change their tickets and stay 2 more days. It's a shame I wasn't able to have their help for that 2 weeks, but we did OK. It was very special for them to be there. In the end they thought it was great that the kids were there. They also enjoyed the serene intimate atmosphere of the birth center. I was glad to be able to share Isabel's birth with them.

My Birth Story

Since I recently had a birthday, I thought I'd write what I know about my own birth. I was born Sunday, Aug. 2. My mother was 21, my father 23, and I was born one day before their first anniversary.

I was due, however, at the end of June. My mother had one non-functioning ovary her entire life, which she didn't discover until many years later, which caused her to have very irregular cycles. When she got to about 2 weeks past her due date, she went to the hospital to be induced. After many hours of pitocin, which caused contractions but not real labor, she was sent home again to wait. By now she was a nervous wreck, refusing to answer the phone due to the great number of well meaning calls asking, "you haven't had that baby yet?"

Finally she went into labor on her own. I don't know much about it, since my mother doesn't remember it herself and my father wasn't allowed in the room. My mother suffered a serious childhood illness for which she spent 18 months in the hospital as a preteen. This experience left her with a serious fear of hospitals, and when her doctor saw how anxious she was, he gave her "something to calm her down." The medication left her conscious but unable to remember what happened, so much so that when it wore off she asked, "What did I have? A boy or girl?"

I appeared postmature, very alert, and rather wrinkly, so my due date probably should have been mid to late July, and I was still "overdue." However, I have used the fact that I was born 5 weeks late as my excuse for chronic lateness my entire life. I was born so late I'll never catch up!

8 years old!

8 years old!, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Our next stop was West Hartford, Connecticut, where we have dear friends. I. turned 8 on Aug. 12, so we celebrated her birthday at their house.

K's Chariot aka The Photographer

K's Chariot, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Here is Daryl with K. in the backpack. We also had a pack for A. and those packs were invaluable.

Central Park

Central Park, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

I had no idea that central park was actually so beautiful and such a really green place.

Here are T., Paula holding K., I., J., my cousin, L., and D. holding A.

Riding the Staten Island Ferry

Riding the Staten Island Ferry, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

We were unbearably hot and wilted when we boarded the ferry, which is free! It was just the break we needed.

Thanks to the tour bus, in one day we saw Chinatown, Little Italy, Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty/Staten Island, Central Park, downtown Manhattan and Times Square.

J., T., L. and I. on the ferry.

Statue of Liberty come to Life

Statue of Liberty come to Life, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Our next stop was New York City, another place I'd never been. It had been extremely hot and humid in Niagara Falls and Albany, and NYC was the same. We spent an entire day walking around the city with temps in the 90s and humid. Actually, some of the time we spent on a tour bus. We were able to haggle ourselves a great deal on ticket prices for all of us plus my cousin, who lives in NYC. The bus was a lifesaver--you could get on and off as many times as you wanted, the view was great from the top (it was a double decker) and the lower level was air conditioned, the tour guides' spiel was really interesting, and at any given stop, we never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. There are dozens of them.

Here we are with one of the many creative street performers we saw, in the park outside the boarding area for the Staten Island ferry.

Here is Paula holding K., I., T., J., the living statue, D. holding A., and L.

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

On Aug. 7 we departed on a very ambitious vacation. No relaxing for us this year! Our first stop was at Niagara Falls. I'd never been there and was awed by their beauty and power.

The next day we departed for Albany, where D. has a colleague that has a working sheep farm. We spent the night at his lovely home. He made us a nice dinner and let the kids help him with animal chores in the morning.

Water Baby

Water Baby, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

A. LOVES the water, more so than any of her siblings did at such a young age. Makes her fun at the beach.

The Boys

The Boys, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

It was extremely hot and windy, which made for a challenging day with the little ones. Our tent kept getting loose and our umbrella blew away several times. It was too hot in the tent for A. to sleep anyway, but without any shade it was intense. D. ended up taking K. and A. for an hour drive so they could nap and have a reprieve from the sun and heat.

Here are L., D., Daryl and K.

Having Fun on the Beach

Having Fun, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

We spent the night, because it was a 3 hour drive, and spent all day the next day on the beach.

Here are J., D., A. and T.

Mom and babe

Mom and babe, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

On my birthday, we went to Saugatuck, a town on the western edge of Michigan to spend some time at Lake Michigan. It was a lovely evening when we arrived.

Forty Wonderful Blogaversary

I turned 41 on August 2, which also marks the one year anniversary of keeping this blog. Blogaversary is a term coined by Chris at the Big Yellow House. I think it will be a good year. I finally updated my profile picture to show me this summer, looking hot and sweaty with my hair up. That basically sums up the summer for me. It has been the theme of everything I've done--that it was HOT while I did it!

The summer has rushed by, and it was fun, but too fast and too many things I wanted to do remain undone. I have learned some things, though, and future summers will be managed a little differently.

8 months

9 months, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

My Little Puppy

My puppy, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

She really enjoyed crawling around and carrying things in her mouth, earning her the nickname "my little puppy."

Happy Baby

Happy Baby, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

This is A. at 8 months. She was, (in late July) and still is, a very happy girl.

Catching Up

If I have any readers left, just letting you know that I will be catching up from this unintended hiatus. Stay tuned....

4-H or We just aren't farm people

I'm in agreement with Lisa at
thejoyofsix
about what one of the H's in 4-H stands for! LOL

Last year we were part of a 4-H club that only did livestock. Three of my children got rabbit kits and wanted to show them. There were very few members showing rabbits, no teen leaders and almost no support or education of any kind. We had several friends that were members of this club. Despite the absence of any assistance, J. and I. took second place in showmanship for their age groups. This year we joined a different club in our area. This club has a very active rabbit group, which has its pros and cons. There were many more opportunities for learning and mentorship, and this group also visits a nursing home regularly as a service component. Unfortunately, this group does not do much work on non-livestock projects either, like knitting, sewing, growing vegetables, woodworking, cooking, etc.

To be truthful, however, learning everything there is to know about rabbits is somewhat boring, and IMO, rather pointless. I shuttled them to multiple practice sessions and rabbit group meetings that they didn't want to attend, because they didn't know anyone. Showmanship consists of posing your rabbit in a certain way and then examining all parts of its body. You are demonstrating that you have memorized this routine and that you have practiced with your rabbit enough that it is used to being handled and will behave somewhat cooperatively. After you perform the physical examination of your rabbit, then the judge asks you a question or two about rabbits (feeding, breeding, illnesses, fur types, body types, etc.) to determine your level of knowledge. The rabbit examination is done in silence and the judge asks the questions so quietly that no one else can hear, so other competitors aren't overhearing a question they may be asked. This makes for an absolutely scintillating event for the audience. Even when your own child is performing, it's boring, and to watch kids of all ages do it over and over for 4 hours makes me want to beg for mercy.

In the afternoon, there is breed competition, where the rabbits are examined to determine which are the best specimens of their breeds. What is the purpose of owning the "best" rabbit? Since rabbits can produce a litter every six weeks, they are not like racehorses. Breeders do track geneaology, although I'm not sure why, since in a year's time hundreds of offspring could have been born to any rabbit. I have trouble taking a lot of this seriously.

I's rabbit died during the winter, and she didn't enjoy caring for it and didn't really want to participate in 4-H again so we didn't get her another one. Shortly before fair, L's rabbit developed sore hocks, fur mites and a runny nose, which would disqualify it from participating. He could have used J's rabbit to compete with, but he decided he'd rather not participate at all. This left only J participating in the fair this year. The Friday night before the week of the fair, the she had to go to set up the barn. Monday night of fair week she had to bring the rabbit to officially check it in. Wednesday was the competition, which lasted from 9am-5pm. On any day that she wasn't at the fairgrounds, she had to ask someone to feed her rabbit for her. The fairgrounds are a half hour drive away from our house. Friday night at the end of fair week, she had to go bring the rabbit home (they MUST stay until the end of fair) and help with barn cleanup. Several times, I got her a ride out to the fairgrounds with another family that pass right by our house. They are very nice and completely trustworthy but she didn't want to ride with them, so a lot of whining ensued.

Amazingly, despite all of this, J. took first place in showmanship in her age group! She received a large trophy for this and was then qualified to participate in a championship round, where the champions of each age group competed against one another.

By the end of the week, neither J. or I wanted anything to do with 4-H. We were exhausted.

I have concluded that there are farming and non-farming families. To continue on in 4-H we would need to be ready to take rabbits to the next level, raising more of them, breeding, etc. or move on to a larger animal. Most of the families who are really active with livestock don't play sports 3 days a week, take music lessons, etc. We don't really have the time or inclination to immerse ourselves in animal care any more deeply than we have already. I actually had an interesting conversation with a really nice woman from another club, who volunteered that she has 5 kids ranging from age 3 to highschool. Her family is seriously into cattle, showing not only at 4-H but at fairs around the country. At this point, her oldest son has a business buying, selling and breeding cattle. This woman agreed with me, that it wasn't possible to participate in other activities that were very time consuming and raise animals. It is also much more "doable" because it is the entire family's hobby. I asked her what would happen if one child wanted to pursue another activity. She turned that question over to her teen daughter, who was standing nearby. The daughter told me that she could be in any activity she wanted, but that it would be hard to be in something else and that she wanted to do what the rest of her family was doing.

I don't think we'll be participating in 4-H next year unless I can find a club that emphasizes the non-livestock aspects of 4-H.

Meme

Another Meme


Got this one from Kathy at Our Life

10 years ago:
Living in the first home we owned in Tempe, AZ. I was 5 months pregnant with L, our 3rd child. Things were fairly smooth and uneventful--no moves or home renovations going on.

5 years ago:
Spent half the summer visiting family and friends and Michigan, wishing we could move back, grieving for Daryl's father, who died on May 5. We had 5 kids, ages newborn to 8 years old.

1 year ago:
5 months pregnant with A, still suprised! Getting ready to go on vacation--a week on the shore of Lake Huron On the Georgian Bay in "Cottage Country" Ontario, Canada. About to begin this blog.

Yesterday (Friday):
Took 4 kids to Rainbow Creations, a ceramics shop where we chose an item to paint, painted it, and left it there to be glazed and fired. It was really fun. I don't usually enjoy arts and crafts very much, but it was great to be creative. Came home and visited with my friend that had babysat K. and A. while we were gone. Celebrated the official beginning of our vacation (first week is "vacation at home") with Mojitos for the grownups and a variety of appetizer/finger foods for dinner: chicken wings, tempura shrimp, french fries, orange chicken and pierogies.

Today:
Finished a baking project begun 2 years ago! I had mixed the dry ingredients for a quadruple recipe of blueberry coffeecake and was short some of the liquid ingredients. Put it in a large tupperware in the freezer (so the flour bugs wouldn't get in it) and there it has sat until today. I could only finish this project during blueberry season, when they are cheap enough to purchase in huge quantities (I needed 12 cups!)
Took the girls and joined Costco warehouse club. I was a member in AZ and liked it, but there wasn't one nearby until last December, when this one opened (still a 25 minute drive away). A recent newspaper article about what an ethical corporation they are (they pay their employees extremely well and give them excellent benefits and never mark up merchandise more than 15%) while still being highly profitable, much to the analysts' dismay, inspired me to join. Enjoyed shopping, lunching on all the free samples, and didn't stray much from my list, which is easy to do there with impulse purchases.
Came home and had dinner with Grandma and 2 cousins who came to visit, bringing a birthday cake for me!

Tomorrow:
Make croissant french toast for breakfast, attend mass, walk with a friend.

snacks I enjoy:
cheese (especially goat and sheep's milk cheeses) with wine, fruit, sweet breads/coffecake/muffins with coffee, yogurt with granola and dried fruit, fruit smoothies/blended coffee drinks.

5 things I would do with a $100,000,000:
Put away money for children's college expenses; complete renovations on our house, including building a garage and barn; buy a home in Northern Michigan on Lake Michigan; help relatives in need; donate to charities

5 locations I’d like to run away to:
Paris; Boulder, CO; Ithaca, NY; New Zealand; Nova Scotia.

5 bad habits I have:
Wasting time, talking on the phone too long, procrastinating, being late, fantasizing about the next baby.

5 things I like doing:
spending time with my dh and kids, cooking, playing the flute, socializing with good friends, reading a good book.

5 things I would never wear:
cowboy hat, platform shoes, bikini, thong underwear, anything braless.

5 TV shows I like:
Six Feet Under, Desperate Housewives, What Not to Wear, Babies: Special Delivery, Seinfeld reruns.

5 biggest joys at the moment:
Having this large, fantastic family; watching my kids interact with each other and develop relationships; seeing how my older children adore the little ones; living in a beautiful setting and a place I feel at home; nursing my babies

5 favorite toys:
computer, books, Vitamixer, air conditioner, notebook and pen

I'm Baaaack!

Not that I went anywhere, technically, unless going insane counts!

To recap and summarize some of the events that have left me too busy to blog:

*Driving kids to swim team and back each morning.

*Driving D. to basketball camp and back each afternoon for a week.

*Driving L. to soccer camp and back each day for a week.

*Driving I. to gymnastics and back once a week.

*Driving J. and L. to various 4-H events and back.

*Weekend long annual family reunion of D's extended family, held at his brother's house. Great fun, but exhausting.

*D's niece visits for 3 days after family reunion.

*Extremely HOT weather. D. wants to know how I survived in Arizona if the heat bothers me so much. I pointed out to him that I had AIR CONDITIONING--really GOOD a/c, in fact. We had a/c installed earlier this month.

*Daughter J. has been experiencing insomnia, difficulty breathing and chest pain. This results in numerous visits to doctors and specialists, who conclude that she is absolutely fine. This is a fairly common behavior/complaint in prepubescent girls. The pain may be real, but has no physical cause that they can determine. She is very dramatic and has kept us up late nightly, waking us to tell us that she cannot sleep.

*Good friend visits over 4th of July weekend. Loads of fun, but again, tiring.

*Baby that still wakes 2-4 times per night to nurse, occasionally won't go back to sleep for an hour or so.

*D. was out of town about 50% of June.

*Laptop died (making it harder to blog since I'm chained to the desk).

*BATS, BATS, and more BATS
In the past month, we have had 1 in the house, 1 in the basement, 1 baby drowned in our pool, another baby on the pool deck, and 1 sandwiched between the circuit board and the metal housing of our NEW a/c fan motor. The first 2 were just irritating, chasing them around at night. The drowned one was no problem.

The one on the pool deck, however, was touched by a visiting child who didn't see it (it was on the black handle of a toy) and it bit her. Bit is actually an overstatement--it didn't break the skin and left a mark only visible if you really looked hard for it. I thought nothing of it, told her not to touch it again. When she told her mother about the incident later, her mother, who incidentally is a friend of mine, and has had some experience with this, called the doctor. He insisted that she bring the child in immediately to begin rabies shots and have the bat tested if possible. Thankfully, the bat, which was too young to fly, was still on the pool deck. It tested negative so poor K. only had to have one shot. It turns out that rabies is transmittable from ANY contact with a bat, and the protocol for giving shots varies by county in the state of Michigan. Stringent recommendations which seem like overkill, like the ones in my county, are due to a high prevalence of rabies in the bat population. My friend was actually told by hospital personnel that if you wake up and a bat has been flying around in your house (happens monthly at my house) everyone in the house should begin the shots while you have the bat tested, if you can catch it. Sounded strange to me, since these aren't vampire bats, but rather insect eating bats that wouldn't be interested in biting or bothering humans, but apparently rabid bats can act strangely and rabies is absolutely fatal without treatment within a certain amount of time.

The last bat cost us hundreds of dollars in air conditioning repairs.

We then spent more money hiring a pest control expert to come out, determine where the bats are entering our house and seal it up, leaving one exit that is set up as a one way door so they can't re-enter. Also known as the world's most expensive caulk job.

*RETREAT!! A work retreat for D. that families are invited to attend, at a beautiful resort in northern Michigan. Meals are provided, so it meant no planning, shopping for, cooking or cleaning up after meals for me! Also no housework, since maids clean the rooms. It included a small "water park" consisting of a beautiful pool with a zero depth entry, slides and fountains and basketball hoops; a 32 foot climbing wall; very nice golf course; lovely landscaping everywhere. We got "wowed" many times by D's colleagues from around the country for the size of our family, but in general people were very nice. We also received many compliments on our kids, who really behaved absolutely perfectly all of the many times they were out in public during the 4 days we spent there (we went a day early). After we checked out on Saturday, we went to a Lake Michigan beach and spent the day, driving home very late. It was a much needed renewal for me. I had become very frazzled. Although the summer is theoretically less busy for me, it sure didn't feel that way. I got way behind on things that needed attention, like cleaning the fridge and paying the bills, yet still had no time for myself and spent very little quality time with my kids doing things like reading books and playing games. It was taking all my effort just to tread water--no forward progress. Hopefully things will be better the rest of the summer.

K's Birth Story

K. was our first child born in Michigan. I wanted to see a nurse midwife as I had with the previous 3 children. There are 2 nurse midwife practices in my area. One is a group of 9 and the other is a group of 2. I called the larger practice and was told that the clinic nearest me had 2 of the 9 midwives practicing there, and that they did their own deliveries. I was concerned that with such a large group, I would not get to know them all and have a relative stranger at delivery. At my first appointment, however, I found out that the information I was given was incorrect, and that all 9 midwives rotate being on call. She assured me that they have common practice guidelines and that they go over their cases biweekly so that any of them would be aware of any situation pertaining to me. They hadn't wanted to see me until I was 10-12 weeks, so by 18 weeks I'd had 3 visits, 2 with one midwife and one with the other. I just didn't get a warm feeling from them. The one I liked better had a very flat affect, as though she was depressed, and the other one was perkier, but brusque. My Arizona midwife was so wonderful, warm and loving, and we had grown very close over the years.

At that point I called the other midwifery practice in town and switched to them. I had seen one of their midwives before for an annual checkup and really liked her, and really wanted fewer people in the practice. Unfortunately they were a 30 minute drive away, while the other midwives had been only 10 minutes away.

I really like the new midwives and things went along fine until it came time for the GTT. They gave me the bottle of glucola and told me to drink it before I went to the lab for the blood draw. I forgot to make the appointment and promptly lost the glucola. (We got a new car and it was discarded when we sold the old one, I believe). At my next midwife appointment they gave me another bottle and told me to do it ASAP. I did, and it came back at 145. Anything above 140 is considered too high and you have to take the 3 hour GTT. I didn't want to take the 3 hour, so I convinced them to let me redo the 1 hour, arguing that I'd had a large lemonade about an hour before the test. This time I was very careful to not eat anything sugary, and it came back in the low 150s.

They told me it was important to eat at least 10 carb servings per day for the 3 days prior to the 3 hour GTT. I proceeded to binge on carbs, not realizing that this might have an impact on the test. In fact, the last thing I ate before the 12 hour fast began the night before was a Dove bar! My scores on the 3 hour were 105 fasting, 185 at one hour and well below the cutoff on at 2 and 3 hours. That was 5 above the cutoff for fasting and right on the cutoff at one hour. If you have any 2 scores above the cutoff you are considered to have gestational diabetes. I was so borderline that I didn't really believe that diagnosis, and there are actually 2 sets of criteria, the National Diagnostic Group and the Carpenter Coustan. The latter is more conservative and that is what the OBs that supervised the midwives I was seeing used. If they used the former criteria I wouldn't even have been diagnosed. The American College of OB/GYN endorses both sets of criteria.

So off I went to the dietician. I followed the diet religiously and tested my blood glucose. After only 5 days there wasn't enough improvement in my fasting blood glucose (the after meals numbers were fine) so they sent me to the endocrinologists to begin insulin. I had done enough reading to know that this treatment was definitely in the gray area of effectiveness. Basically, people with mild GD don't see many benefits from aggressive treatment--mortality and morbidity are unchanged but they do have smaller babies, less shoulder dystocia, and MANY more inductions, c-sections and interventions performed on them. I cried over this for days, and argued with the midwives, who told me that if I didn't follow the treatment, dictated by "standard of care", which was dicatated by their OB supervisors, they might not be able to continue my care as I would be high risk.

I began taking the insulin, which wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. The endocrinologists, however, were awful. They were rude and condescending, often refusing to explain things to me and treating me like a child. They only saw patients on Tuesdays and were often running an hour behind. You have to pay to park at the hospital clinic and I had 2 small children with me. After the first time I was kept waiting that long, I informed the nurses on each visit that I had another appointment in an hour and would have to leave if I hadn't been seen. Although my blood glucose numbers were almost always the same, they kept insisting they were "creeping up" and raising my insulin dose, which was very small anyway. Initially they saw me every two weeks, doing basically everything the midwives did: urine test, blood pressure, weight check, etc. except the actual belly exam. Then they said they wanted me to come once a week, which I objected to, since I was seeing the midwives that often by now as well and their examination of me was redundant. I had to call in my blood glucose numbers to a nurse once a week anyway, so I made up excuses why I was unable to make the appointment every other week. (By now I was really angry with them and being really passive aggressive). At 38 weeks they said, "Well, this is your last appointment. What is your plan for giving birth?" "Going into labor and having the baby." "You mean you don't have a plan to be induced? You must call your provider TODAY and discuss this with him." People with gestational diabetes often have their placenta begin to deteriorate sooner than normal, and induction is the rule. I had been going for nonstress tests twice a week at the midwives' office and they were all perfect, so I wasn't very concerned. I usually go to 41 weeks, and we'd agreed to go at least to my due date as long as the baby and I seemed fine.

I began a regimen of walking, sex and herbs which exhausted me and gave me nonstop Braxton Hicks contractions. By 39.5 weeks I was 4 cm dilated and very stretchy! My due date came and went, and I agreed to be induced at 40 weeks and 4 days, mostly because that was a Thursday and this hospital didn't do elective inductions on the weekend and there was only one midwife available on Fridays, who would be dividing her time between people in labor and office appointments.

I called at 7am Thursday, per instructions, and the hospital said they were too busy. The midwife called later and arranged for me to go in at 1pm. I had only slept for about 4 hours due to tremendous anxiety about the induction.

Got there and got in a room, with a total nazi by-the-book, threatening nurse. The midwife asked the charge nurse to switch nurses for me, but it turned out that the Nazi was off in a half hour. My initial finger prick blood glucose was 5 points over the cutoff for needing pitocin, although that wasn't taking into consideration that I'd just eaten before I left for the hospital, but Nazi nurse said it didn't matter. It turned out that when they got the lab blood glucose back which was drawn at the same time, it was 25 points lower! I knew the finger prick machines had a margin of error of +/-15, but not 25! So I was well within the correct range.

We'd agreed that if the baby was low enough to not risk cord prolapse, they would break my water instead of using Pitocin, and see if that got labor going. Unfortunately he was very high, and breech as well! This hospital will not do breech births, but will do external versions. I spent the hour waiting for the doctor to arrive with my rear propped up high and my head low, praying a lot, hoping he would turn over. When the doctor turned on the ultrasound, he had! I was so happy. They wrapped a large belt called a binder around me to try and prevent him from flipping back over. Interestingly, I hadn't felt a movement that seemed like a 180 degree turn. Unfortunately they'd already given me a shot to relax my uterine muscles for the version, which also makes you feel really jittery, so we had to wait for that to wear off before beginning pitocin.

They finally began Pitocin around 6pm. I had to be constantly monitored (due to my previous c-section 5 births previously!) and have IV fluids so I now was tethered to the machine and dragging a heavy IV pole around. The bathroom doorway had a raised threshold which made it hard to get the pole over and really irritated me. My favorite midwife was off at 10pm and I was sad when she left. I'd hoped she'd be there for the birth. By 11pm I was very tired, so I laid in bed for a while, dozing. There were constant contractions, but not really hard. By 2am, the midwife suggested we stop. I was on the maximum allowable dose of pitocin, and still no action. Both the midwife and I were astonished that the pit hadn't worked on me, considering I was 5cm and very stretchy by this time. She said I could go home and come back, or stay overnight at the hospital. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep in the hospital but she said she'd give me a sleeping pill and tell the nurses not to bother me. This sounded preferable to driving all the way home (30 minutes) and being awakened early by very excited chilren who would be so disappointed that I was STILL pregnant. First the nurses scavenged up a frozen dinner for me. The sleeping medication worked well, and I slept till about 10am, got up, showered and had breakfast.

They resumed the pit around 12pm Friday. The afternoon was very boring. Around 5:30 pm, in the absence of any real contractions, the midwife suggested we have the doctor perform a procedure called "needling the membrane" where they put tiny holes in the amniotic sack with a needle and slowly push the baby down, the fluid leaking out the holes allowing this to happen. When the baby is low enough, they go ahead and break the sack. This must be peformed in the OR due to risk of cord prolapse. While waiting for the doctor to arrive, I noticed that the contractions picked up some. When she arrived and examined me, she felt that the baby was now low enough to break my water without needling the membranes. Once again, my prayers were answered and I was relieved.

Unfortunately, the amniotic fluid had a lot of meconium in it. They told me that meant that they wouldn't put the baby right on my chest, but would examine and suction him first, and that there would be a pediatrician and pediatric nurse in the room in addition to the midwife and labor and delivery nurse. At this point, we decided not to call our parents, who were at home with the kids and supposed to bring them to attend the birth. I was worried that if the baby had trouble breathing or other problems from the meconium it would be too intense or frightening.

The contractions had really picked up after the water was broken. I was still on pitocin, which the nurse kept turning down. The labor was very intense and I was tired and afraid. I requested an epidural, which the midwife, nurse and D. tried to talk me out of, saying it was going so fast that it would soon be over. I said that I wanted to be able to request it and if the anesthesiologist got there too late, so be it. Daryl began reading me the consent form, and once I heard all of the conditions, I changed my mind.

I walked/paced as much as I could tethered to the monitor until it was time to push. I pushed for 2 contractions and he came out easily, no tears. He was born at 6:45pm on Friday, June 20. I got a brief look at him and then the pediatrician examined him. The midwife had suctioned his mouth when only his head was out (she made me pause in pushing) and not gotten anything, and he was biting the tube! The pediatrician didn't get anything either, so he was fine. I didn't know whether he was a boy or girl, so I called over to D., who was grinning ear to ear when he told me it was a boy. He weighed 9lbs. 14 oz, my second smallest baby at that time. His blood sugar was fine, so no signs of gestational diabetes. Our parents and children arrived within an hour of his birth. After they went home, D. went to an Italian restaurant we both like and got a really nice dinner, pasta and bread and salad and even a split of wine which the owner gave him for free when told him what the occasion was. I was excited to eat all the carbs I wanted!

We named him Ian initially, which both of us liked but neither of us was crazy about, so we changed it the next day. I stayed 2 days in the hospital after his birth.

He is so happy and full of life, a real joy to be around. We treasure him.