First Day of Spring!

It wasn't easy explaining to Mary that today is the first day of spring, and yet our house is half buried in snow!  We had two days of heavy winter weather.

Our mailbox is out there somewhere.

Do you see the trailer in the backyard?  Neither can we!

Random Thoughts in Fragmented Sentences

3rd Trimester!  So excited!

Be responsible for your own cuss words.  Typing b-tch or a$$hole doesn't make you any better because you "don't cuss".

Zumba or not?  Thinking of joining a class, haven't yet called the instructor because I don't know how to pronounce the word.

Feast of St. Patrick, or would be if it didn't land on a Sunday.  Somewhat part Irish but no green beer for me.  Pout.

AFV reruns back on Netflix makes me happy.

Miss my hubby so much.  Will be glad when he's home!  He's getting skinnier, I'm getting rounder, hugging will be different but in a good way.

This made me LOL.

That is all.

Daybook: Three Words

Outside my window...  Slush and wind!

I am thinking... dinner smells good.

I am thankful for... my awesome husband!

From the learning rooms... well deserved weekend

From the kitchen... chicken, yam, salad

I am wearing... jeans, sweater, smile

I am reading... Tolkien, Tolstoy, Fitch

I am hoping... spring comes soon.

I am hearing... kids.  Always kids.

One of my favorite things...  I took this.



A few plans for the rest of the week... work, rest, grow

Spring Phenomenon

(Inspired by observations of our neighbor's feral rabbits.)

Rabbits under snow.

Maybe sleeping?  Maybe not.

Dozens of bunnies!  

Fashionista

Lucy loves clothes.  On a typical day she goes through more costume changes than a Broadway production.  I decided to keep the camera handy, and today she kept it down to a mere half-dozen outfits.

It's eight in the morning and we are looking fine in purple jammies and bed hair.

By about nine we are accessorizing with winter gear.

Jammies are all the rage this season.

The layered look is also "in".

We go casual (more casual than pajamas?) and suddenly get camera shy.

After a long day of looking fabulous, we go back to our old stand-by, the purple footie jammie, and retire for the evening.

Thomas' Birthday

We had a really nice day for Thomas' birthday.  I am happy that his birthday fell on a Sunday so the kids could relax with extra time to play computer and just goof around.  Thomas was very excited to make his own cake, and he was so proud at how pretty (and delicious!) it turned out.  He wanted me to get pictures of the pizzas we made, but we were too busy eating them!

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake, so bad it's good.

Lucy catching a quick before-dinner nap.

Our Birthday Boy, getting so big!

Brothers and Sisters- the most special gift of all.

Happy Birthday, dear Thomas!  We all love you, and  pray that God will bless you with a year of health and joy!

Sunday Daybook

Outside my window...  grey clouds and white snow

I am thinking...  It has been nine years since my first homebirth.  Having Thomas at home helped and healed me in ways I may never fully understand.  Happy birthday, Thomas!

I am thankful for...  this restful Sunday afternoon

From the learning rooms...  I am back in charge of schooling, and our first week back in full swing has gone very well.  I am also thankful for that!

From the kitchen...  The kids had pancakes and blueberry syrup for breakfast; my breakfast was a smoothie made of blueberries, banana, spinach, and a raw egg.  For lunch I turned some leftover mashed potatoes into a soup I called Corn Chowder.  Thomas requested homemade pizza for his birthday dinner, so we are going to load it down with veggie toppings and serve salad on the side.  His birthday dessert will be Hot Fudge Pudding Cake and chocolate ice cream.

I am wearing...  navy blue scrub pants, my blue Mass City hoodie, and long underwear!

I am reading...  The Hobbit

I am hoping...  this week will be as productive and quick as last

I am hearing...  Thomas, Mary, and Lucy engaged in conversation about what makes birthdays fun.  General consensus: presents, cake, and talking to Grandma

One of my favorite things...  my to-do list!  I gave up using the one on my Tablet and went back to old fashioned paper in a little spiral.

A few plans for the rest of the week...  school, cleaning, cooking, laundry, exercise; nothing special, just daily life.

Lessons Learned

Turns out my last night at work really was my last night at work.  I was scheduled for a few shifts through the end of the month, so I left a note asking if anybody wanted them.  They all got taken, so as far as I know, I am done!

The years I spent working, particularly the last eight months, have taught me a lot about myself.  I can work more hours, and sleep fewer, than I would have thought.  Staying up all night is much easier for me than getting up early in the morning.  I will never be a "people person" but I can work very well with folks, thanks, in part, to my naturally high tolerance for B.S.

Finally, I learned that I can't have it all.  I don't want to have it all.  When I first started working, I thought I was unhappy because it was "just a job".  So, I found a job that, in theory, might have led to further education and an advancing career.  The possibility seemed exciting at first, but soon I wasn't so sure.  Then I found out I'm pregnant, and it became obvious that what I really want is to be home again.  There is nothing wrong with balancing career and family.  I have utmost respect for all Moms who do it!  It just isn't right for me.

So while I am grateful for all my experiences and opportunities of the last four years, even more, I am happy to be home full time.  I am also ready for the lessons that this next season of life has to teach me.

I Gave Notice

My adventures in Employed Motherhood are coming to an end. 

Pretty soon I will be home full time again, and I am very thankful.  I am grateful to have a husband who understands my heart on this, who is willing to give up his own time with the family so that I can be home.  For the last four years, no matter if I was at home or at work, I almost constantly felt I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Soon I will be back to living my vocation the way I believe God intends for me to live it, and it is thanks to the sacrifices Chuck is making. 

So, thank you Sweetie.  You alone can truly understand how much this means to me.

Mama's Cornbread

Read this post only if you are interested in learning how to make the perfect cornbread.  This is a recipe I came up with after years of experimenting with different recipes, pans, and techniques.  Truly, this is the perfect Southern-style cornbread; not too sweet, not too dry, not too spongy; crumbly enough (when still hot) to stir into a bowl of chili, delicious by itself when cool.  This is the recipe I use the weekend before Thanksgiving; cut into cubes and dried it makes wonderful breadcrumbs for real homemade stuffing.

A note about the size of this batch- this makes enough for us to have a few (or 3-4) pieces each for dinner, with some leftover for snacking on when it is cold.  We bake it using the largest Lodge cast iron skillet, I think it is the 15" pan.  If you want to make less, half the proportions and use a smaller skillet.  But don't even bother trying to make this bread in anything other than cast iron.  It just won't be as good.

Can you tell I'm proud of this recipe?  ;-)  Here it is, as written for the kids to follow:

* First, put 1 stick butter in biggest cast iron skillet.  Turn oven on to 350* and put pan in while preheating.
* In large bowl, beat 4 eggs.  Add 3 cups buttermilk, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda.  Beat together.
* Stir in 3 cups cornmeal (preferably yellow), 1 cup unbleached flour.
* Stir in melted butter from skillet.
* Pour batter into hot skillet.  Bake about 35 to 40 minutes or until done (toothpick comes out clean).

Suggested to let sit a few minutes before you cut and serve.  Robert likes to melt more butter over the top, but it really is just as good without.

Good eatin', Ya'll!!!

Ultrasound

Baby's legs.  Knees together to the right, little tootsies on the left.

Baby's face.  His/Her mouth is open and you can just see the tongue.  Baby is using our placenta like a pillow.  I assume the nose won't look like that in person.

Looking pretty darn good for 329 weeks pregnant.

2013

January is almost over, and this year is promising to be full of new things.

#1- New Job  Chuck left last night for truck driving school.  As much as we hate to be apart, this seemed like our best option.  It seems sudden, but we've talked about this for a long, long time.  Which leads to...

#2- New Not-Job  Hopefully very soon I will be able to put in notice at work.  I already had to quit my part-time position with Mental Health because scheduling conflicts prevented me from getting enough hours to justify the drive.  The full-time job has been wrong for me from Day One, so I am excited to quit.  Even more, I am very excited to be "just a mom" again.  Everybody has done a really good job keeping things going since I've been working full time, but I have ideas for things I want to change and improve.  It just can't hurt to get more housework done.

#3- New Baby  This one we still have a while to wait for.  Our baby #8 is due mid-June; on Father's Day, actually.  I am 20 weeks today, so halfway done.  I'm feeling pretty good.  Hopefully there will be some ultrasound pictures to share after Tuesday.

That's not everything, but those are the main things.  It feels like we just gotta get through the next few weeks, and then hopefully things will be easier and better for all of us.

God bless!

For lack of a better word

"Oh, are you a runner?"

"Um... I guess. Yep. I dunno."

For whatever reason the phrase "wannabe" has negative connotations for me. Like when we were in high school and somebody was called a "wannabe" it was never meant in a flattering manner. But it is an apt description for one who aspires to something, but isn't quite there yet.

Guess which one is the Wannabe.

I have now owned four pairs of running shoes (including one pair returned and one pair ordered but not yet received). I have more pairs of exercise pants than jeans. I'm running about 20 miles a week; that's not a lot, but it is enough to prove my commitment, I think. I haven't lost any blackened toenails yet, but I think that's mainly because I figured out early on I need to wear men's socks (they're larger). And I sure know more about my feet than ever before, right down to my Morton's Toe.

And yet, somehow, I just don't quite identify myself as a Runner. Not publicly, at least. I feel like I haven't earned it.

What will that take?

I'm going nuts without any races on my calendar. One day I'm ready to register for a marathon, the next day I think I must be crazy to even consider it. The Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, OK gives special finisher's medals for first-timers. (And an extra trinket for visiting The Center of the Universe. I've been there!) But, ugh, I'd have to GET THERE first. And then actually finish.

Cuh-RAZY.

So, for now, I'm happy with calling myself a "wannabe" instead of a runner. I expect that to change, though.

Just for You Know Who

I can't think of a better way to update this ol' blog than with a few pictures of Christmas! Enjoy!

Raechel, relaxing with the fam. Isn't she pretty!

Thomas with his favorite gift: a camping shovel.

Mary is at that perfect age where Christmas is nothing but magic and lights and sweets. Oh, and Jesus. We try to not forget about Him.

Last year, Lucy was just a little baby. She spent Christmas morning lying under the tree, staring at the ornaments and drooling on herself. This year, she is a big baby! Here she is, opening her first present from Santa- a baby doll that she just loves.

We're missing a few kids there, but I assure you, the rest of them are equally photogenic. See, here they are, all together:

L to R, First Row: Mary, 4; Joseph, almost 10; Thomas, 7; Daniel, 12; Robert, 16Back Row: Raechel, 14, holding Lucy, 18 months
I just love how my "big kids" are not too embarrassed to sit for pictures with the "little kids". And lookit all their little bare feet! Too cute!

This picture is out of order, but here's this year's tree. It's beautiful! Thank you, Sweetie, for cutting it down and trimming it and dragging it into the sauna to dry and helping to set it up just perfect. It might have been easier to just buy one, but it wouldn't have been ours.

And I'll close with a picture of me. This one is rare because I look at it and think, "That's actually a decent picture." I'm so vain. ;-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lucy's First Week slideshow

Here are pictures of Lucy. I stole the good ones from Chuck. ;-) (I hope this works...)



Lucy will be a week old tomorrow, and we are both doing really well. Thank you all for the prayers and well-wishes. :-) God bless!

The Birth of Lucy Marie

July 4th, my due date, seemed like it was going to be an uneventful day. I was supposed to work that afternoon, but I called in. I said, "Even if I don't have this baby any time soon, I'm just "done". A friend came by to pick up the kids for the afternoon so Chuck and I could take it easy.

Sometime in the afternoon I started having contractions about an hour apart. At about 7 p.m. they were still about 45-50 minutes apart, but I called the midwife to put her "on alert". When I had to leave a message on her cell phone I knew that we had best be prepared to go it alone- again! Chuck started timing the contractions at 8:37 and they were coming every 13 to 17 minutes between that time and 10:25. At about 9:00 I called and left a second message for the midwife. I was having no problem breathing and relaxing through them, although I was feeling a lot of pressure in my back. I quietly offered "in advance" everything that would occur in labor to Jesus through Mary, for our Baby to be born safely.

Mary Mae was still up at 9:30, so she and I took a little walk around the yard. There were four of the neighbor's bunnies outside, and we watched the sunset together. When we came back in I sat in the recliner with her. Chuck told her, "Baby is going to come out." She hopped down off my lap and stared at my belly wide-eyed. Then she lifted up my shirt and peered expectantly at my belly button. She had been asking for weeks when baby would "come out", and finally the time had come! Chuck and Raechel managed to get her to bed sometime shortly after that.

At about 10:30, things picked up the pace dramatically. My contractions went from every 15 minutes to every 4 minutes, just like that. We didn't bother timing them after that. I took a shower and spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom. I remember thinking of my hospital labors where I was confined to bed, unable even to empty my bladder. I thanked God that I was home! The back pressure was very intense, and Baby kept moving around, which only made it worse. I joked with Chuck that we only had so many minutes left to produce a 4th of July baby. Shortly after midnight, Chuck set everything up in our room and went to tell Raechel it was time.

As I hit transition it felt like there was hardly any break between one contraction and the next. My back "pressure" was now "pain" and it was constant. Even with Thomas, who was posterior, I don't remember feeling that kind of back pain. I was kneeling on the floor against the foot of our bed (same spot where Mary was born), but I lowered down into a squat with each contraction. I remembered that in labor with Thomas the midwife's assistant told me not to try to arch my back away from the pressure, so I leaned into it.

As transition moved into the pushing stage, everything started to blur. I had no idea where Chuck or Raechel were or what they were doing. With one long pushing contraction, I heard Chuck say, "There's the head. Eew, no, that was the bag." He later told me that the water bag popped all over his hand. I really was in "some discomfort" (as my sweet hubby has mentioned on his blog post) and determined to get it over with quickly. With the next round of pushing, Baby was all the way out. There was a few seconds of silence; I turned to see Chuck holding our baby in his hands, face down. I asked him if the cord was "fat", and then we heard that most wonderful sound in the whole world- Baby's first cry. He flipped baby over and said, "It's a girl!" The amazement in his voice is a priceless memory; all these months we thought baby was a boy!

He passed her to me. The afterbirth came out very quickly as we dried her off, checked the time (12:28 a.m.), clamped and cut the cord. I looked at Chuck and said, "Well, Daddy, what's her name?" "Lucy Marie." She was looking pale, so we used the oxygen and she gained color quickly. Raechel was a little timid at first, but she held her new baby sister while Chuck helped me up off the floor. I think I lay in bed for a few minutes, then wanted a shower. The midwife arrived while I was in there. Lucy was 8 pounds, 5 ounces and 22 inches long. Sweet girl, she insisted on keeping her hand(s) over her face while being born; that's still her preferred sleeping position. We are all very grateful to have another daughter with us!

It's a GIRL!!!

I've held her in my arms; I've spent most of the day just staring at her and smelling her and listening to her little noises as she breathes; I've typed those words here and there all over the internet, and I still almost can't believe it.

How could we possibly think she was a boy? LOL!

Lucy Marie was born this morning at 12:28 a.m. She weighs 8 pounds, 5 ounces and is 22 inches of precious, perfect, healthy baby.

Mama is understandably feeling a bit "worn" but otherwise doing great. I'll be writing up a birth story, probably tomorrow.

Thank you, sweet Jesus! Thank you Blessed Mother! God bless!

Daybook for Today

Outside my window... sunshine, rain puddles, chickens, and a 6-year-old boy who took the initiative to work on moving a pile of firewood.

I am thinking... this might be the last daybook before Baby arrives. :o)

I am thankful for... the yummy smelling late lunch/early dinner that is almost done.

From the learning rooms... planning summer school (mainly math) for Robert and Raechel; also looking ahead to next year.

From the kitchen... homemade corn tortillas, taco meat, Mexican corn, and homemade bread for later.

I am wearing... shorts and a tank top- I changed after work.

I am reading... nothing right now, actually.

I am hoping... we don't have to wait much longer to meet our newest blessing.

I am hearing... my noisy family.

One of my favorite things... having the perfect excuse to be "tired" at any time of day.

A few plans for the rest of the week: work on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and next Sunday afternoon; grocery shopping on Thursday; midwife appointment and Mass on Saturday; or maybe I'll just have a baby.

God bless!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the father of my children and the love of my life. :o)

50 Years of the Pill

Fifty years ago last month, the birth control pill revolutionized women's health. The term "women's health" is, of course, a euphemism for sterilization and abortion (often coerced), with the ultimate goal of population control and reduction.

Here are three related quotes- food for thought that I just can't stomach.

Obama's top science advisor, John P. Holdren:
"A program of sterilizing women after their second or third child, despite the relatively greater difficulty of the operation than vasectomy, might be easier to implement than trying to sterilize men.... The development of a long-term sterilizing capsule that could be implanted under the skin and removed when pregnancy is desired opens additional possibilities for coercive fertility control. The capsule could be implanted at puberty and might be removable, with official permission, for a limited number of births."

David Browner, first Executive Director of the Sierra Club:
"Childbearing [should be] a punishable crime against society, unless the parents hold a government license ... All potential parents [should be] required to use contraceptive chemicals, the government issuing antidotes to citizens chosen for childbearing."

Seeing as how Planned Parenthood is the great champion of "women's health", I'll close this post with this little gem from founder Margaret Sanger:
"The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it."


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