Today I found the Raisin Bran in the refrigerator and all of the silverware thrown haphazardly into the drawer. This was a direct result of the help I received from my very cute, not-quite-two-year-old son. He helped put away the groceries and empty the dishwasher all without my asking. He was very proud of himself.
He also tried to pick up the new baby and bring him to me to eat. He picked up some garbage with his toes (a family trick he inherited from me) and tried to put it into a garbage can that was above his waist. He showed his 3-week-old brother that he had put on his shirt by himself. He rearranged a series of boxes to create a giant tower and pretended to cook and bring me things that were "hotz."
He told his bath bye-bye and wanted to brush his teeth by himself. He was very grown-up today and entertained me a lot. But I got worried when it was time for lunch and I couldn't find the turkey we'd bought at the grocery store today.
I looked all over for it--was it left in a grocery bag, or the car, or did I put it in a drawer in the 'fridge?
I eventually found it on the bottom shelf of the pantry where we keep paper cups and plates. I'm glad I have so much help, but it explains why it takes me a while to get food on the table.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Best Mom Tip #95: Count to three
This past Saturday I gave birth to my third child, a very cute baby boy. I thought I'd share my birth story since I always find other people's stories interesting.
I'd been having contractions for days and weeks so that was nothing new, but something about how they felt on Friday night at dinner made me go ahead and pack the overnight bag for the other two kids. Jay and I hung out, did the dishes, and watched TV. I made cookies, which Jay took as a sign of my version of nesting.
At about 3:30am I woke up with contractions that felt stronger--like weird gas pains--but not exactly painful. I timed for about an hour and then woke Jay up to hang out with me.
I took a shower, drank some water, and called the midwife. The contractions felt shorter than I remembered them being and that confused me some. The midwife told me to come to the hospital when the pain got worse since this was my third baby and she didn't think these contractions would back off.
At about 5:30am we called Jay's mom to come over and stay with the kids. I dried my hair, put on makeup, and headed on out to the hospital at a little after 6.
We got into the labor and delivery room at about 6:35 or so and worked on paperwork with the nurse who was going off duty at 7. She didn't check my progress because as Jay put it, "she's just working out her shift." Sandy, my new nurse, checked me about 7:15 or 7:20 and told me that I was at 8cm and asked if I had planned on an epidural.
I said that I had had one for my other two kids, but that I was o.k. right then. About 7:40, when my contractions were getting pretty intense, there was a nurse trying to get an IV in my arm when my water broke and I felt a LOT of very painful pressure and in my head I lost all control of myself.
Jay says that I was not flailing about moaning like Fred Sanford having a heart attack, but that I did say "oh, God, it hurts a lot" 2 or three times.
There was some confusion among the staff because my doctor and midwife were expected to come in at 8, but it was about 7:50 and I was telling the nurses I had to push. At one point, the nurse actually yelled into the hall that they needed someone to deliver the baby NOW!
Baby Harry was born at 7:55am after 2 1/2 pushes (the nurse corrected me when I told my mom I thought there were only 3 or 4 pushes and showed me the graph with 2.5) and a lot of fear on my part.
So, that is how I wound up having a natural childbirth experience, complete with leaving for the hospital in the middle of the night and scrambling hospital staff.
Jay and I are very grateful to have our healthy little guy at home with us to be snuggled and loved (and occasionally shunned) by his brother and sister.
I'd been having contractions for days and weeks so that was nothing new, but something about how they felt on Friday night at dinner made me go ahead and pack the overnight bag for the other two kids. Jay and I hung out, did the dishes, and watched TV. I made cookies, which Jay took as a sign of my version of nesting.
At about 3:30am I woke up with contractions that felt stronger--like weird gas pains--but not exactly painful. I timed for about an hour and then woke Jay up to hang out with me.
I took a shower, drank some water, and called the midwife. The contractions felt shorter than I remembered them being and that confused me some. The midwife told me to come to the hospital when the pain got worse since this was my third baby and she didn't think these contractions would back off.
At about 5:30am we called Jay's mom to come over and stay with the kids. I dried my hair, put on makeup, and headed on out to the hospital at a little after 6.
We got into the labor and delivery room at about 6:35 or so and worked on paperwork with the nurse who was going off duty at 7. She didn't check my progress because as Jay put it, "she's just working out her shift." Sandy, my new nurse, checked me about 7:15 or 7:20 and told me that I was at 8cm and asked if I had planned on an epidural.
I said that I had had one for my other two kids, but that I was o.k. right then. About 7:40, when my contractions were getting pretty intense, there was a nurse trying to get an IV in my arm when my water broke and I felt a LOT of very painful pressure and in my head I lost all control of myself.
Jay says that I was not flailing about moaning like Fred Sanford having a heart attack, but that I did say "oh, God, it hurts a lot" 2 or three times.
There was some confusion among the staff because my doctor and midwife were expected to come in at 8, but it was about 7:50 and I was telling the nurses I had to push. At one point, the nurse actually yelled into the hall that they needed someone to deliver the baby NOW!
Baby Harry was born at 7:55am after 2 1/2 pushes (the nurse corrected me when I told my mom I thought there were only 3 or 4 pushes and showed me the graph with 2.5) and a lot of fear on my part.
So, that is how I wound up having a natural childbirth experience, complete with leaving for the hospital in the middle of the night and scrambling hospital staff.
Jay and I are very grateful to have our healthy little guy at home with us to be snuggled and loved (and occasionally shunned) by his brother and sister.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Best Mom Tip #94: Develop a taste for blood
Here's my last trip to the Publix:
ME: I'd like a 1/2 pound of Boar's Head Ovengold Turkey, please. (It's good stuff, you should try it.)
Deli Meat Counter Lady: When are you due?
ME: Ummm....about 3 weeks.
DMCL: So, you'll have July babies?
ME: Well, he's due on June 26th, so it could be July, but hopefully not.
DMCL: There's only ONE???!!!! But you're so BIG!
ME: Uh, this is my third kid. The turkey is all I'd like, thank you.
By the way, the deli counter lady was too short to see over the counter so maybe I looked especially large to her because my stomach is at eye level in her world.
Then I walked by the butcher counter, but I did not stop, make eye contact, or look at any meat. The butcher called out to me and yelled, "It's a boy, isn't it? I can tell. Is this your first?" I mumbled something about it being a boy and my third and I'm due in a few weeks and kept walking toward the juice aisle.
The lady bagging my groceries also said she could tell it was a boy because she had three of her own. I didn't realize that procreation gave you medical diagnostic powers.
What in the world makes people think that they can discuss my physical appearance? Hence the taste of blood. I'm getting tired of biting my tongue.
ME: I'd like a 1/2 pound of Boar's Head Ovengold Turkey, please. (It's good stuff, you should try it.)
Deli Meat Counter Lady: When are you due?
ME: Ummm....about 3 weeks.
DMCL: So, you'll have July babies?
ME: Well, he's due on June 26th, so it could be July, but hopefully not.
DMCL: There's only ONE???!!!! But you're so BIG!
ME: Uh, this is my third kid. The turkey is all I'd like, thank you.
By the way, the deli counter lady was too short to see over the counter so maybe I looked especially large to her because my stomach is at eye level in her world.
Then I walked by the butcher counter, but I did not stop, make eye contact, or look at any meat. The butcher called out to me and yelled, "It's a boy, isn't it? I can tell. Is this your first?" I mumbled something about it being a boy and my third and I'm due in a few weeks and kept walking toward the juice aisle.
The lady bagging my groceries also said she could tell it was a boy because she had three of her own. I didn't realize that procreation gave you medical diagnostic powers.
What in the world makes people think that they can discuss my physical appearance? Hence the taste of blood. I'm getting tired of biting my tongue.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Best Mom Tip #93: Plan to fail
Last weekend we traveled to North Carolina to see my sister-in-law and her husband who are stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville. This is about a 6 hour ride from our house so Jay and I decided to leave at about 7pm after the kids had been fed and bathed and put in their pajamas.
The idea was that as it got dark, they would fall asleep and we'd get to enjoy adult conversation in the middle of the night as our sweet children slept in the back seat. This is not what happened.
Our daughter was very chatty until about 8:30, which kept her brother awake. He finally fell asleep about that time, but she unfortunately began moaning and keening about how she couldn't put her head down. She was pitiful and loud and it was pretty horrible.
We were in the middle of nowhere and there wasn't a hotel I felt like we could stay in. I will admit that I am a bit of a hotel snob, but really, there wasn't anything in sight for miles. She finally fell asleep about 9:30, but woke up again at 10:30. At 11:30pm we finally found a hotel and we rounded up the kids and enough stuff to stay the night.
She fell promptly asleep but our son, delighted to be awake in the middle of the night, began jumping up and down on the bed and throwing pillows onto the floor. We woke up exhausted, 2 hours from our destination, and 120 dollars poorer.
We had an absolutely wonderful time seeing Julie and Christian and I'll share some pictures later---once they're uploaded from the camera and phones we took them on.
Our ride home took 10 hours, involved several torrential downpours, an entire closed freeway that we had used four days earlier (and added 40 miles to the trip), and unexplained stop-and-go traffic on I-85.
We were so tired of traveling that we stopped at my parents' house 30 minutes from our own home just so we could have dinner and bathe the kids and get the hell out of the car.
It takes a lot for me to abandon my plans, but motherhood is definitely trying to get me to change that personality trait.
The idea was that as it got dark, they would fall asleep and we'd get to enjoy adult conversation in the middle of the night as our sweet children slept in the back seat. This is not what happened.
Our daughter was very chatty until about 8:30, which kept her brother awake. He finally fell asleep about that time, but she unfortunately began moaning and keening about how she couldn't put her head down. She was pitiful and loud and it was pretty horrible.
We were in the middle of nowhere and there wasn't a hotel I felt like we could stay in. I will admit that I am a bit of a hotel snob, but really, there wasn't anything in sight for miles. She finally fell asleep about 9:30, but woke up again at 10:30. At 11:30pm we finally found a hotel and we rounded up the kids and enough stuff to stay the night.
She fell promptly asleep but our son, delighted to be awake in the middle of the night, began jumping up and down on the bed and throwing pillows onto the floor. We woke up exhausted, 2 hours from our destination, and 120 dollars poorer.
We had an absolutely wonderful time seeing Julie and Christian and I'll share some pictures later---once they're uploaded from the camera and phones we took them on.
Our ride home took 10 hours, involved several torrential downpours, an entire closed freeway that we had used four days earlier (and added 40 miles to the trip), and unexplained stop-and-go traffic on I-85.
We were so tired of traveling that we stopped at my parents' house 30 minutes from our own home just so we could have dinner and bathe the kids and get the hell out of the car.
It takes a lot for me to abandon my plans, but motherhood is definitely trying to get me to change that personality trait.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Best Mom Tip #92: Park for two
A couple of days ago I had the opportunity to eat lunch by myself outside of a school building. It was a beautiful day and I was thrilled to be able to eat outside at a local sandwich place.
When I got there, I pulled into a parking space that was a little tight, but I was proud of myself for being able to squeeze the giant minivan into such a small space.
Then I tried to get out of the car.
I was trying to hop my way far enough out of the car to retrieve my right leg when I realized that even if I got out, getting back in holding my sweet tea was not going to be possible. There was simply no way to get myself out of the car with my protruding belly and then get back in with any sense of dignity.
So I heaved my left leg back into the vehicle, turned the car back on, and moved my enormous mom-mobile two spaces down.
That's when I spotted a former coworker who is a 5'7" size 2 walking to her own car.
I didn't say hi.
It was pretty demeaning to have to actually re-park the car because I'm too damn big to get out. I will be parking in remote spaces for the next 4-5 weeks.
When I got there, I pulled into a parking space that was a little tight, but I was proud of myself for being able to squeeze the giant minivan into such a small space.
Then I tried to get out of the car.
I was trying to hop my way far enough out of the car to retrieve my right leg when I realized that even if I got out, getting back in holding my sweet tea was not going to be possible. There was simply no way to get myself out of the car with my protruding belly and then get back in with any sense of dignity.
So I heaved my left leg back into the vehicle, turned the car back on, and moved my enormous mom-mobile two spaces down.
That's when I spotted a former coworker who is a 5'7" size 2 walking to her own car.
I didn't say hi.
It was pretty demeaning to have to actually re-park the car because I'm too damn big to get out. I will be parking in remote spaces for the next 4-5 weeks.
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