Christmas 2007

Chasing Rabbits

Understandably, on the night Little H was born, hubby was really tired. In fact, he told me the next day that it was the best night's sleep he'd had in weeks because he wasn't constantly on edge thinking I was going to go into labor every time I moved (which was a lot). Probably because of this sound and restful sleep, he provided me with the material for the funniest story from the birth of our fourth child.

The baby was not brought to us from the nursery until about midnight. As I said, B was really tired, so he was already asleep on his little cot. I decided to let him sleep a little so that I could have the baby all to myself for a while. After about an hour, I realized that I was pretty tired, and the baby was sleeping that deep sleep that they always sleep until you get them home from the hospital. I decided that I would send him back to the nursery. I wanted to place him in his little bassinett, but I really didn't feel like standing up to put him in it, so I called out to Brian and he answered me with a mumble. I asked him if he would come put the baby in the bassinet so I could call the nurse to come get him. And my loving husband, who NEVER talks in his sleep, replied VERY LOUDLY AND CLEARLY (and sounding not just a little annoyed):

"Tell him it's fine to play with the bunnies as long as he puts them back where he found them."

Ummmm...Ok. Well, clearly he was not going to be much help. Gee, you'd think HE was the one who'd had the baby and all the good drugs. I called the nurse and asked her if she could come help me with the baby. She came right away, and I told her what my still sleeping husband had said in response to my plea for help. We had a good laugh and she proceeded to tell all the OTHER nurses about it so that for the next two days every time a new nurse came in the room she asked him if he'd seen any bunnies running around lately. He was a very good sport about it and has even reminded me several times to blog about it. It will definitely be a family funny for all times.

And even though he wasn't all that helpful (to say the least) that night in the hospital, truly no husband and father could have been any more wonderful ever since.

Little H's "Birthday"

So, on the day Little H was born, we woke up bright and early to be at the hospital for induction by 7:00 a.m. I had not slept well the night before and was in so much pain that I really thought he might be about to come on his own without any assistance from our wonderful doctor. But, that was not to be. It was about 9 a.m. by the time they started induction with cytotec. This drug required me to stay in bed for at least one hour before I could get up and go to the bathroom. This fact, combined with the fact that I was lying on a bed that could possibly be used to torture terror suspects it was so uncomfortable, did not get things off to a very good start. After four hours, I was still not having contractions with any regularity and the doctor had said we would use pitocin next. That was all well and good except that all heck had broken loose in Labor and Delivery, and we were sort of forgotten for about 2 hours. Hubby and I just sat and stared at each other and thought about how hungry we were. Good times, I promise you. I think we also watched some tv including a show on the history channel about the real DaVinci Code. They finally got the pitocin going around 4:00. By 5:00, contractions were STRONG and I was ready for the epidural. So, I got an epidural after being stuck in the spine 3 times before the doc was "satisified with its location." Sadly, regardless of its location, IT DID NOT WORK. When my OB (whom I really do love) came in about 6:00, he said he wanted to break my water...and I said PLEASE NO. Not until my epidural is working better (the anethesiologist was on his way back to do another) PLEASE. He laughed and said "well, you didn't expect complete pain relief did you?" At this point, my head spun around and I literally HISSED at him, "you know, I have done this before and I know what to expect and while I don't expect COMPLETE pain relief, I also don't expect ZERO pain relief." He broke my water anyway, and then I truly was in pain. I finally got the 2nd epidural around 6:45, and it blessedly worked like a charm. At some point during all of this, they checked me and I was about 9 cm. The nurse came in about 7:30 and said the doctor wanted me to push to see what happened. I pushed for about 3 seconds and she said "STOP, STOP, STOP!" She called to the nurse at the main desk and said, "Call Dr. R and tell him she is complete and plus 3". She told me not to move, cough, or laugh and for heaven's sake not to push. Just a few short minutes later we heard Dr. R's footsteps running down the hall. He ran into the room and into the gown that the nurse was holding up for him and said, "ok, I've got my catcher's mitt, let's do this thing!" It wasn't QUITE that easy, but I did only push for about 5-10 minutes (maybe 3-4 contractions) and out came a beautiful baby boy who looked exactly like his big sister did when she was born 6 years ago only bigger. At 8 lbs. 1 oz. he is our biggest baby by far, but he still looked so tiny to us.

Big sis and Grandparents came to visit when he was only about an hour and a half old. M sang to him (Castle on a Cloud) and he was wide eyed and as intent on her as could be. It was so precious to see. He still loves her just as much. He is her baby all the way:

It was as sweet a day as could be, truly sweeter and relished because I knew it would be the last time for us. I have to admit that while I do NOT love being pregnant, I really do love giving birth. It is an incredible thing, and I am a little sad to think I won't be doing it ever again. Still, I know I am fortunate to have been able to experience it 4 times.

We ended our day with dinner from Krystal. Very unglamorous, but there was nothing else open because it was almost midnight by then. It was fabulous--especially since we hadn't eaten in 24 hours.

He's here...and eating, eating, eating....

Yes, he's here. Baby boy arrived June 1 at 7:51 pm and weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. He is healthy and beautiful. See...here's a picture:

When he came out, he looked exactly like his big sister did when she was born. Now, he's starting to look more like himself. He's growing like crazy and has round little cheeks and chubby thighs already. And he should be growing like crazy since he does nothing except eat. I am breastfeeding and supplementing with formula just to keep up with him. I tried so hard for him to be exclusively breastfed, but two cases of mastitis and a period of about a week where he wouldn't nurse left my supply inadequate despite my nearly Herculean efforts to get it up and keep it up. So, that is my excuse for not posting sooner! I have either been feeding, pumping or trying to pay some attention to my other three little ones.

Things really are great though. I couldn't imagine myself ever having four children, and now I couldn't imagine it any other way. There's lots I want to post about the past few weeks, so I will try to get on it soon. However, I've really got to finish thank you notes AND send out his birth announcements before I treat myself to blogging.

There's really nothing to say...

Suz, I told you have nothing to say today nor have I had for the last month apparently. However, for posterity, I'll document the findings from my last 3 OB visits:

37 weeks: 2 cm and 60%
38 weeks: 3 cm and 70%
39 weeks: 4 cm and 80%

Induction scheduled for Friday 6/1 at 7:30 a.m. if Baby H doesn't show up before. Which I'm sure he won't. I think he is quite happy where he is.

Next week, I should have some adorable pictures to post and maybe even something to say. Maybe.

A Star is Born

A star was born in our family this week. M had her first big part in a play with a solo. Of course, it was the Kindergarten play, but it was still a big moment for her. We've always known she was a drama queen and that she sang as much as she talked, but we weren't sure if those things would translate into stage ability. It looks like maybe they do! She did a great job and was completely at ease, even when she performed the play in front of over 600 people in our Upper School Chapel on Wednesday. It was great as parents to see her in her element and feeling so good about what she was able to accomplish with lots of practice and encouragement from her wonderful teachers. The picture on the right is of her saying her line about not being a "la-ti-dah" girl. I love it because it's just her to a T.

I think we will have many more years of watching her perform. And now, it looks like the performances might just take place somewhere other than our living room.

Brain Freeze

It seems that my brain has been frozen until after this baby comes. I have no original thoughts or insights to write here. My kids are as cute as always, but I can't seem to get my act together to write about it. M has the lead in the kindergarten play this week (she even has a little solo), so I will undoubtedly have to post a pic and do a write up on it for posterity. That shouldn't require too much thinking.

Otherwise, I am just trying to keep moving forward with enough momentum to propel me to the end of May or first of June when the little one makes his appearance. Then I should have plenty to post about. Breastfeeding alone (or attempts at it) will fill days and days of posts I am sure.

Spring Break=Spring Cleaning

Last week, three out of the five of us were on Spring Break. The boys' break at preschool is this week, and if we had had any great plans to go anywhere, we would have just taken them out for a week. Sadly, we had no plans beyond my least favorite pastime...cleaning. So, they went off to school and my mom, husband and I tackled closets, baseboards and dusty ceiling fans (okay...they wouldn't let the pregnant lady on the ladder, so I got out of cleaning the fans). My mom and I washed and sorted every single article of baby/toddler/child clothing that the oldest three have out grown and got all of the little tiny baby things ready for the new baby boy. He even has a bed to sleep in set up in the playroom which will be his room eventually. We took about 4 big bags and bins of toys to the Salvation Army, and there are still too many toys to know what to do with, but we are going to go through and purge again one day this week when all three of them are at school. My hope is to get it all down into about 2 tubs or baskets that can be kept in the baby's room and pulled out to be played with when needed.

Other than the cleaning, it was nice to have a break from my doorbell and cell phone constantly ringing (a necessary evil with my job). It was nice to sit down in front of the tv with my husband (he even watched American Idol with me) on a weeknight. He usually spends his evenings after the kids are in bed doing lesson plans or grading, which is fine because I am usually out in the dorm anyway checking in with the girls about the dramas and traumas of their day, so we don't get much quality time during the week as a rule.

Maybe next year there will be a beach calling our names over spring break, but for this year it was nice just to BE. What 36 year-old, 7 month pregnant lady really needs to be wearing a bathing suit in public anyway? Not this one, that's for sure!

Big Boys in Big Boy Beds

So, we finally took the plunge and moved the boys out of their cribs and into big boy beds. They turned three last November, so I guess it was high time! Plus, we had our spring break this week, so we had time to make the move happen. We took down both cribs and set one of them back up in the playroom (soon to be the nursery). I took the other one to the Salvation Army Thrift Store and had a little tear in my eye as I pulled away.

They are sleeping in twin beds that belonged to my step-father's grandparents, and they are just the perfect height for our little fellas. In fact, they are so low that I can't imagine how two elderly people ever got in and out of them. I will come back and post some pictures soon.

Needless to say, the monkeys came out in full force when the boys saw their new beds. We put baby gates on both doors in their room so that we would not have to constantly chase them back into the room. Still, they can get out of their beds and run around in the dark making mischief of one kind and another. The first night, it took them about an hour and a half to finally fall asleep, and when we finally went into the room to see where they had "crashed" we found W sleeping in his bed and D fast asleep (or "fass asweep" as they like to say) in the rocking chair...with his head on the footstool and feet in the air! We moved him to his bed and there he stayed!

The second night they wound down in about an hour and both fell asleep in their own beds. We were so excited...until 3:30 a.m. when D woke up and got the party started. He finally, through great effort, managed to wake W up, too. After we heard them saying "look brother, it's bright outside" and then heard their bedroom door open and a little voice say "it's dark out here," Daddy got up and informed them that it was NIGHT NIGHT TIME. Needless to say, that did not work, and he ended up taking his pillow into their room and lying down in the floor to keep them quiet so that the remaining members of the family could have some peace and get some sleep. And there he stayed...for the next two hours. W went back to sleep pretty quickly, but D didn't give it up until 6 a.m. Weren't his preschool teachers the lucky ones the next day? (I did call and forewarn them.)

So, we were just sure that they would take naps that afternoon because they would be so exhausted, but we were so wrong. Remember the pajama removal issues we faced with them? And how we "cured" them by putting them in one piece footed pjs backwards? Well, at naptime yesterday, they found out that they could help each other out of this situation...literally. They unsnapped the top snap and unzipped each other and voila...they were free. When Daddy went in to check on the status of their "napping" he found them both in D's bed...naked. D's bed had been peed in and W's bed had been pooped in. However, they had both put their diapers in the trash can! Wasn't that thoughtful and tidy of them? I came home about this time, and it was not a pretty sight. Daddy had dressed them and placed them side by side in the rocking chair where they both sat looking extremely remorseful. Actually, they looked so sad and cute and perfectly identical that I really wanted to take a picture of them, but I didn't think that exactly sent the right message. I got some cute video later that evening of W explaining how it all went down. I wish I knew how to load it here, but I don't. So, oh well. While W was telling the sad tale of their misdemeanors, D was sitting in his Daddy's lap...fass asweep. Clearly, all the partying, peeing and pooping had taken its toll on the little guy.

The Old Switcheroo

For the first 30 months of our sons' lives, only I could definitively tell them apart...even my husband struggled. Luckily, W has a small mole on his lower back for people in the know to check when in doubt. But at a glance, they are apparently very hard to tell apart. Further complicating matters was that they really didn't know their own names. They knew that they were "D & W" but if you asked "where's D?" D was just as likely to point at his brother as he was to point at himself. I blame this on the poor things being called by the wrong names so many times. However, once they started preschool last fall, things clicked and they started to say their own names. Everyone in our family (immediate and extended) and all of our friends were so excited! Now when one was in doubt, all you had to do was ask "what's your name?" and you would get a correct answer. Until yesterday...

Our babysitter was putting them down for their naps and, in order to place him in the right bed, asked W what his name was. First, he said W. and she went to tuck him into his bed. As she did so, he said "No, no that not my bed. I go in the other bed. I'm D." He said all of this giggling and grinning. Needless to say, she finally got them sorted out, but we are all dismayed that the trickery has begun at such a young age. I thought we had a couple of years at least before we had to deal with this.

I am reminded of a story that we heard when we were expecting the boys. We were sitting in the doctor's office waiting for a room, and the most adorable pharmaceutical rep sat down next to us and struck up a conversation. When she heard that we were having identical twins, she told us that she was an identical twin. Then she told us a story that we have vowed NOT to forget. When she and her sister were in high school, they would take turns going home in time for curfew on the weekends. Their parents would always be in bed, but the rule was that they had to go into their parents' bedroom when they returned to let them know they were home. So, one girl would go in and out of the room TWICE, pretending to be both herself and the other sister. They got away with this for a whole year before their parents caught on to it...at which point they were grounded for eternity. Once they were "ungrounded" they always had to present themselves TOGETHER in their parents' bedroom.

So, D & W, here is at least one trick that mom and dad are already wise to. I'm sure you'll think of lots of other things to keep us on our toes, though.

Grown-ups! Culture! Good Food!

An update on today's surprise date. He had bought tickets to the Louvre exhibit at the High Museum in Atlanta! We toured the exhibit, ate a wonderful lunch in a restaurant without a child (ours or anyone else's) in sight, and then toured the rest of the museum. Plus, we had over an hour on the way down and back to carry on an adult conversation and tell each other all those things we've been meaning to tell each other for the last two weeks. Well, I did call his mother on the way home to catch up on her trip to Charleston with a friend. It was the least I could do for him after all he had done to make the day special for me. Other than that, we just enjoyed each other's company and listening to music that was not solely intended for the under 7 set.

Husband of the Year...right here in my living room!

She's Got My Back

8:15 this morning. I am trying to sleep. Husband is asleep. Daughter comes in, gives me the lightest of kisses on the cheek and whispers, "Mommy, I want you to sleep just as long as you need to." Moving around to the other side of the bed and no longer whispering, "Daddy, I'm starving." Daddy says, "Hey, why don't I get to sleep as long as I want like Mommy?" To which she firmly responds, "Because you are not growing a baby in your tummy...so get your lazy behind out of bed!" Okay, I made that last part up, but it was clearly implied in her tone. It is so nice to have a six year old on your side at times like these. He could not argue with her logic, and he did not try.

And he did get up and get everyone dressed and fed breakfast. And I did stay in bed for another hour.

Now, he has told me that a babysitter is coming at 11:00, and I need to be dressed reasonably well and ready to go somewhere. And he's not giving me any clues. That makes me crazy.

I might nominate him for husband of the year. I'll let you know when I see where this "surprise" takes us.

Funny Boys

One of the boys' favorite books is The Very Hungry Caterpillar (like most kids). W was "reading" it to us at dinner last night (we were waiting on our food at a restaurant...forever), and when he got to the end of the part where the caterpillar has eaten himself sick (I can sadly relate), he said "that night he had a Tummy Cake (a.k.a. stomach ache)." We had to get him to repeat himself like 10 times because it was just so cute (at least to mom, dad, grandparents, and great-grandparents).

(For the record (my record)--They both love to read and be read to. Some of their other favorites are Going on a Bear Hunt, Barnyard Dance, Brown Bear, Polar Bear, Goodnight Gorilla, and Where the Wild Things Are.)

D's latest cute saying is "gimme have it please" when he wants something. I guess it's a combination of "give it to me" and "let me have it please." This is great not only because it's cute but because it shows him starting to assert himself more. He is such a laid back little guy, and I am thrilled to see him starting to make his preferences known!

Every day with these two is more fun than the one before!

36

I turned 36 yesterday, and I have to say that of all the things I thought about my 36th bithday, being 24 weeks pregnant was not one of them. Each year, God truly shows me in a new way that His plans are not my plans and His ways are certainly not my ways. Having said that, this baby is just one of the best and sweetest reminders of that ever! I never ever thought I would have 4 or even 3 children. In fact, there was a time when we weren't even sure that we would have any children.

In my moments of weakness and self-doubt, I feel so unsure as to why God would choose ME to be their mother. I mean...does He know me? I am disorganized (really)...I don't cook (much)...I fall short every day in so many ways. But in my best moments, I feel so blessed because He chose ME to be their mother, ME to love them, teach them, hold their hands, wipe their tears, read them stories, sing them songs, hear their prayers. What did I do to deserve all this? But then I know that blessings like these sweet ones aren't earned...can't be earned. They are truly good and perfect gifts from above. And I thank Him for them every day.

Welcome Robert

Apparently we have a new member of our family. His name is Robert Gordon, and he was adopted from the Imaginary Friend Orphanage by our daughter. He is the exact same age as M. (they have the same birthday), he is missing the same teeth, has the same loose tooth and even has a splinter in his heel in the same spot as she does. According to her, they are "identical twins."

We have to apologize to him frequently because we keep stepping on him, sitting on him and bumping into him. Thankfully, he is very quiet and very forgiving.

She has always had a vivid imagination and has never required the actual presence of people to interact with them. However, this is the first time that we have given a name to someone and had him move in with us.

I would post a picture of him, but I can't seem to get him to stay in one place long enough to capture him on camera. Apparently though, he has "the exact same color everything" as M. Makes sense, seeing as how they are identical twins.

Tinkerbell No More

Yesterday she told me she had decided that when she grew up she either wanted to be a movie star, a cowgirl, or a train engineer. At least these three things, as opposed to Tinkerbell, are actual professions. I was a little worried about how she was going to make a decent living as a fairy taking care of lost boys. I don't think there are many openings in that department.

Little Mother

Today, as on many weekends, I was on duty. I do about 10-12 weekends of duty in our dorm every school year. As House Mother, I'm never actually off duty (more like always on call) but I do have a great staff that covers some weekends and weeknights so that I can at least close my door every once in a while. Anyway, this weekend I was on duty, and my husband really needed to go to the grocery store today (we were seriously out of everything) at the same time as I was doing our regular mid-day check-in with all the girls. At this time, they have to physically present themselves in my office, so I have to physically be IN my office to receive them! Hubby planned to take one of the boys with him to the store for a little quality time, so we decided I would be in the office which is adjacent to our apartment with both apartment and office doors open (essentially I was no farther away than you would be if, for example, you were in the kitchen and your kids were in their playroom or bedroom), and that Big Sis would be in charge of W while Daddy and D were gone shopping.

I had to write about this because it was so precious to see how seriously she took her responsibility. In the 30 minutes I was in the office, she had made him a behavior chart, posted it on the refrigerator, updated it about 4 times and given him two stickers on his chest for good behavior. She didn't call me for any intervention until she decided it was W's rest time, and he did not agree. Luckily Daddy got home about that time, so everyone's attention was diverted.

She has really developed such a loving and caring heart for her little brothers, and they just love her right back. It is the greatest thing in the world at the end of a long day to see the three of them together playing and laughing without any intervention from Mom and Dad. We have so many wonderful days ahead of us! I can't wait to see how number four fits into the mix!

Well...

My boys have been somewhat slow to develop their linguistic skills. This was a little hard for me at first because I'm so, how to say it...verbose...loquacious.... So is our daughter, only about 10 times more than I am. The boys have been in speech therapy for about a year and they quickly reached a "within normal limits" range, but we continue with the therapy because A) there is still room for progress and B) they are obsessed with their therapist. Whatever Ms. H says GOES in their world. Serioulsy, it is like she is Santa Claus, they get so worked up and excited about going to see her every week. And I have to admit that I am almost as carried away with her as they are. She really and truly loves them (they are awfully loveable) and I love that about her!

In true twin form, one of them is a little more verbal than the other. He has always tried to do the talking for both of them, and for too long we let him do it. If W asked for juice, D got it too. If W asked for a snack, D got it too. We have finally gotten away from that as D will now tell you exactly what he wants and what he DOESN'T want. It's been so cool to see his personality emerge as his verbal skills are developing.

W's newest word is "well..." As in "W, what did you do at school today?" "Well....I...uh..." And he stops with that! It's too funny. It's like he's learned this new form, and he's not quite sure what to do with it, but by golly that's not going to stop him from using it! It's really cute.

In line with his newly found assertiveness, D's big thing now is "D's turn." Not "my turn" but "D's turn." Turn taking is tough for any 3 year old (and their parents), but with multiples, it's an art form, so it's good that they at least have the concept. It's a start!

And, frankly it's amazing that they, or anyone in our household, get a word in edgewise what with all the talking coming from the six year old, a.k.a Her Royal Highness, Princess McChatty. She's been saying things like, "Well, I prefer the pink one, although the purple one is quite lovely, too" since she was about 2 and 1/2. One of her favorite stories is when the boys came home from the hospital and she was about 7 days from turning 3, she asked me (amidst their tandem cries) "Mommy, is it time for the babies to go back to the hospital now?" And, for about 6 weeks after they were born, she asked me at bedtime every night if they would be back in my tummy when she woke up. Poor baby--she just did not know what had hit her! In retrospect, I'm thankful that she had the verbal skill she did so that she was at least able to verbalize her frustrations. Now that I have TWO 3 year olds, I realize that's not always a given. They have made such progress, though. I am sure that by the time the baby arrives, they'll be well able to express the same feelings their big sis had about them.

Now, I'm off to turn up the heat and go to bed. It is supposed to be in the high teens tomorrow morning. I really thought (okay hoped) that we left these temps behind when we moved from Chicago back to the balmy climate of Georgia. Oh, well...at least I know it won't last long here, as opposed to Chicago where the cold and wet and mud lasted until May.

My New Title

I'm so excited...from now on everyone can call me:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Eminence the Very Viscountess Tara the Blossoming of Old Tonbridge Wafers Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

It so suits me. At 22 weeks pregnant, I am definitely blossoming, and any kind of wafer...or anything edible... sounds good to me.

PJ update

Since this blog is mainly for the purpose of helping me not forget every single thing my kids ever did, I want to update on the problem I described a few weeks ago wherein Thing 1 and Thing 2 were stripping naked and peeing in their beds at night and at naptime. I think I mentioned that we put them in their pjs backwards (the zip up kind with feet) and this pretty well stopped Thing 2 from further mischief (except that now he takes his sheet off and then, when I go get him up, says "I take my sheet off, Mama. It's a no-no"). Thing 1 however...was another story. He found that while he couldn't reach the zipper or undo the snap at the top, he could work his shoulders through the neck-hole and thus "houdini" his way out of the pjs...and his diaper. So, my husband had the truly (I mean actually truly, not saracastically truly) brilliant idea of using some old pjs that are too small and cutting the feet out to make them long enough. This has worked beautifully! They are very snug, but not uncomfortably so, and the neck is small enough that he can't wiggle his way out of them (we still put them on backwards).

Now, I am sure that there are those who would think that we should discipline them out of this habit and not just "accomodate" our way around it. But really...it is hard to come up with a consequence for behavior that takes place mainly in the middle of the night...and mama and daddy just want to go to sleep. Living with 29 teenage girls, not to mention our own three, leaves sleep at premium for both of us (see post below as to what girls consider valid reasons for waking you up in the dead middle of the night). So, we do pretty much whatever it takes to maximize our own slumber time.

As I said, Thing 2 loves to take his sheet off now, though only at naptime and not at bedtime. Thing 1 has a new trick though and it is so cute. He gets completely under his FITTED crib sheet (yes, they are still in cribs..they aren't potty trained either...and they turned 3 in November...I am up for the 2007 WORLD'S WORST MOMMY AWARD). When I say completely under, I mean he takes his blanky and disappears under the sheet. Then he falls sound asleep. Because I'm, you know, paranoid and neurotic, I extricate him once he is asleep. He never wakes up.

Again, the things they think of that never EVER crossed their sister's mind. And to think...I have another one on the way! But, really they are so precious and sweet almost all the time that I can't fault them their bed-time antics.

Showing her love...

Following a day filled with twin boys with twin stomach viruses, I had the sweetest moment with my daughter tonight at bedtime. After we read and sang songs, she said her prayers:

"God, our Father. Please bless all the children in the world, especially Sara so that she can come back to drama class (more on Sara later). Thank you for letting us be born and live on this earth, the most wonderful planet in the universe. Thank you for this great, warm and safe home that you gave our family to live in and for giving us plenty of food to eat. Thank you God for my family and please bless my Mama, Daddy, brothers and the new baby. Amen"

I told her thank you afterwards for her sweet prayer. And then she said, "Mama, I just try to show God my love when I pray."

Indeed.

My kids prayers always bring me joy...but this just made my day. I think she gets it.

Now to Sara. I don't know Sara, though she was in a production of the Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever with my daughter this past Christmas (they both played baby angels), but she is seven years old and has just been diagnosed with a malignant tumor in her femur. Our drama teacher has asked us all to pray for her healing and to ask others to pray for her too. So, on the off chance that someone will "lurk" past here, please pray for Sara. Our family surely will.

I should probably go get some sleep before someone gets sick again!

She even counted her prayers

Tonight, as I was just about to settle to catch the last hour of the Golden Globes, I heard a sneeze at the top of the stairs. I called out my daughters name, and the tears started to fall.

She: "Mommy, I cannot sleep because I am so worried about a lot of stuff." (Sob, sob sniffle)
Me: "Oh, sweetie, tell Mommy what you are worried about."
She: "It's so many things, I can't even remember. I've just completely forgotten them all." (Sniffle, sob, sob)
Me: "Okay, let's go to your room, blow your nose and I'll lie down with you for a few minutes."
She: (Sob, Sob, Sob) "Thank you,Mommy."

Then, while I'm getting a tissue for her, she explains to me the GREAT lengths she went to in order to try to fall asleep (through all of this...sob, sob, sob):

"I counted sheep. I said my prayers. I counted my prayers. I told myself a story. I sang myself a song. I looked at all the great pictures of myself and all the fun things in my life around my room." (now really SOBBING) "Finally, I tried to tell time, but I just couldn't do it!"

She had been in bed for an hour and a half at least, so she probably did all of this and much more before I heard her on the stairs. Truly, I don't know where she gets it...

Why my brain is so tired

I've already admitted that I'm a working mom (please don't hate me), but I have not explained why I live with 29 teenage girls. My husband and I work at a co-ed boarding school, and I am a House Mom for one of the girls' dorms. I have been "living" this job for 5 years now. For the first 3 years, I was in a boys' dorm. At that point, our family had just outgrown the apartment that went with that dorm, and we got the opportunity to move to a much bigger apartment in one of the girls' dorms. I bet I've been asked 300 times which I liked better--boys or girls. Both definitely have their advantages and disadvantages. For example:

1. Boys are very stinky--girls almost always smell nice!
2. Boys are rowdy--girls don't generally wrestle in the halls, give each other wedgies, play soccer in their rooms, have video game tournaments, or break...everything they touch.
3. Boys are messy--you wouldn't believe the conditions their rooms were in if I told you--Girls can be messy too, but for the most part, they like for things to look nice.

However...

1. Girls have DRAMA--Let me say it again--Girls have DRAMA. The tears never stop flowing around here. Seriously, someone is ALWAYS cyring over something. The only time I EVER had one of the boys cry was when they knew they were in seriously, seriously deep trouble and had to call and tell their parents about it. Luckily this wasn't that often, so not many tears shed in the boys' dorm.
2. Girls are needy. A crisis for a girl (meaning a good reason to call me or ring my doorbell at 2 a.m.) could be anything from a boyfriend issue (slightly legitimate) to a broken fingernail without a nail file in sight (not a good reason to wake up a sleeping pregnant woman). Boys just don't get worked up over this stuff that often, and if they do, they will definitely wait until the sun comes up to talk to you about it.
3. Some girls have "issues" with their mothers. This translates into "issues" with their house mother sometimes. The girls adore my husband and think he hung the moon. I, meanwhile, get dirty looks if I don't answer my cell phone (provided by the school to be SURE the kids have 24/7 access to me) on the first ring. What, do I think they have all day to sit around waiting for me to attend to their needs??? The nerve of me. Boys on the other hand generally love their mothers, which means they find it pretty easy to love their house mother. I got a lot more love and affirmation from the boys than I do from the girls for sure. And those poor boys actually had to put up with me while I was pregnant with TWINS. The girls have only had to deal with a singleton pregnancy.

Actaully, at the end of the day I can't say that I like either one better than the other. They are both lots of fun most of the time. And they both leave me exhausted in totally different ways. The girl drama has been as thick as I've ever seen it around here this past week, and I am just plain worn out by it. I hope this upcoming week will be better. Some sleep would surely be good for all of us (especially the pregnant lady).

In addition to the House Mother role, this year I have taken on a new responsibility. I am coordinating the spiritual life programming for the school. This means I am in charge of planning 2 chapel services a week (one for the whole school,day and boarding, and one just for boarding students), a bible study, and in interfaith discussion group where kids from different faith traditions can share what they believe in a safe and respectful environment. Did I know that I was going to be pregnant when I took on this new role? Definitely....NO. Still, we are making it work. My husband is wonderful and supports my dual roles here (he also teaches history full time), and we have the best babysitter in the world (really--God sent her straight from heaven to our family), plus my mom lives in town. And because I live and work in the same place and my schedule is flexible (if a bit hectic sometimes), I actually get to spend far more time with my kids than the average working mom. I am always able to go to their schools for parties, plays, etc. And I even get a moment to myself in the mid-mornings most days of the week. Still, I worry that I am shortchanging my own little ones sometimes. I pray constantly that God will show me if I am doing too much to the detriment of our family. Meanwhile, I am also praying for the strength, wisdom, and patience to serve in my current roles here at school. I am constantly reminded that our family is truly living a ministry by former and current students telling me that we have made a difference in their lives. Whether they just needed a stable family life, or something deeper and more spiritual, we have been so blessed to serve so many young people over the years. I hope our children will grow to feel a part of that "ministry" and value it like we do.

Enough rambling...time to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

To amnio or not to amnio

Ever since I found out baby number four is on the way and realized that I would be, you know...over 35 (okay 36) when baby arrived, I have insisted that I wanted an amniocentesis. Let me be very clear that we would not terminate a pregnancy no matter what the results. But, I am a planner (okay, AND a worrier), and I felt like the more information I could have and the earlier I could get it, the better off we'd all be.

2 1/2 weeks ago I went in at 16 weeks for the big scary needle in the belly. Before we even began, my doctor said that sometimes there was not a large enough pocket of fluid in the right area (i.e. not right next to, oh say, the baby's head or something) and, in that case, we would try again in two weeks. Well, sure enough the only large pocket of fluid was right next to the little rascal's head. So, he sent me away and told me to come back in two weeks. He also told me to drink lots of water in the two days prior to the next attempt.

So, I drank and drank. We went back this past Wednesday. The doctor scanned my belly for at least 20 full minutes. There was our cute little boy--his ankles crossed and totally kicked back and taking up as much room in utero as he possibly could! No snuggly fetal position for him, thank you very much! Why curl up when you have all that glorious room to yourself, right?
The doctor said there was actually plenty of fluid in there. It's just that little one was taking up almost every square centimeter of it. Once again, the only large pocket of fluid was right next to his sweet little head (no big scary needles allowed near sweet tiny baby heads). So, still no amnio.

The doctor discussed our options. We could wait a couple of weeks and try again. We could go to the perinatologist I saw with the boys and let him try. Or we could go ahead with the Maternal Serum Screen and see what that yields. Apparently if the serum screen looks good and 20 week ultrasound looks good, the odds of there being any chromosomal issues will be similar to what they would be for someone in their early 20s.

We decided to go ahead with the blood screen. I told my husband that I really don't think God wanted me to have the procedure done--at least not at that time and under those terms (my terms). I'm getting another much needed lesson in trust, faith, patience...all things I am not always so great at.

This reminds me of another story I want to write about sometime--a conversation I had with a friend...a mom of much older kids...when I was filled with anxiety about one of our unborn twins having a potentially serious heart condition. That's a story I don't ever want to forget.

I am going to turn my energy from worry to where it should have been all along. Thanking God for the healthy, already feisty little boy growing inside of me and placing him totally and completely in God's hands.

New Year's Eve Fun

Our family has a tradition of spending New Year's Eve with two other families (the Zs and the Ws) at the home at the home of the Ws. Last year, we all actually spent the night, but this year we knew our 3 year olds would never go to sleep if we didn't bring them home at some point. We stayed until about 10:30 and then brought them back home and put them straight to bed (bonus--they slept until 10:30 this morning). The princess, big girl that she is, got to stay for the sleepover. She thought she was super grown up.

We usually just have lots of appetizers and graze all through the night. The kids played hard and all four of the boys in attendance knocked heads with each other at some point. The girls (3 of them) had lots of girly fun including making the required "no boys aloud" sign for the bedroom door (the oldest two girls present are only six, so I thought this was some good inventive spelling).

Other details of the evening shall be witheld to protect the guilty...I mean, innocent.

I am so thankful for these great friends. I'm glad we have each other and I'm glad our kids have each other. What great memories they'll have of these times when they grow up. I am glad that we have friends who also value spending time with their children (and apparently ours) rather than hiring sitters and going out for the night.

And I can't believe it's 2007. The year in which our family will grow from 5 to 6. The year in which I'll be pregnant for the last time (really sort of sad and really sort of happy--depends on the day). The year in which we get to meet our sweet new baby boy!

Who knows what the year will bring? Well, actually I know who knows it, and I'm sure He's got it all under control. I just pray for the grace to rise to it!

Happy New Year!