These are from Saturday - 7 days old
my girlies
my girlies
little toes
Shh
this is my current favorite. :-) Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Sasha Lorraine
Sasha Lorraine came into the world at 11:22pm on Saturday, August 22nd. She was born at home, and everything went perfectly, even though she beat the midwives! I delivered her on my bed, Andy was right there to rub my back through some really tough contractions, the girls were asleep in the living room, and my new friend Kim was in the other room nursing her 6 month old.
Sasha came out screaming, and has continued to show us that her lungs are in perfect working order. :-) She's nursing well, the girls are in love with their new baby sister, Andy handled everything really well considering he doesn't like birth at all, and I am so happy.
Upon waking this morning to find that her sister had been born, Lauren used her most quiet voice - quite a challenge for her - to ask, "She came out?" "Does she have little baby feet? Can I see them?" "Does she have little baby hands?" Does she have ears? Oh, they are tiny." "Does she have a butt?" "Can she pick her nose with her fingers like I can pick my nose with my fingers?" "Oh. she's so tiny and cute!" Then she curled up on the corner of my pillow and watched Sasha and I sleep for a while.
It's official, we are in love.
Sasha came out screaming, and has continued to show us that her lungs are in perfect working order. :-) She's nursing well, the girls are in love with their new baby sister, Andy handled everything really well considering he doesn't like birth at all, and I am so happy.
Upon waking this morning to find that her sister had been born, Lauren used her most quiet voice - quite a challenge for her - to ask, "She came out?" "Does she have little baby feet? Can I see them?" "Does she have little baby hands?" Does she have ears? Oh, they are tiny." "Does she have a butt?" "Can she pick her nose with her fingers like I can pick my nose with my fingers?" "Oh. she's so tiny and cute!" Then she curled up on the corner of my pillow and watched Sasha and I sleep for a while. 
It's official, we are in love.Thursday, August 20, 2009
on the hunt
When we were preparing to move, we budgeted, planned and worked at making things the way we want them to be - specifically, we wanted to be done with credit cards. We have mostly succeeded (hey, it takes time). Part of our plan was to, once we were credit card-free, upgrade our furnishings. We're mostly surrounded by remants from college, hand-me-downs from friends, and a handful of nice family pieces. The nice family pieces stay. The cupboard my grandma so lovingly painted, but that really is junk, held together with cigarette butts (I kid you not), well that's not going anywhere, either. We just use it very carefully. ;-)
So, our plan was to, bit by bit, bring in pieces that we love, that will last, that will suit us. So we currently sleep in dreamland, the girls' rooms are done (I need to take pictures!) and we were hoping to get our room done next. We got the mattress immediately, but we'd love to have dressers, a bedframe, you know, and feel all grown up.
Anyway, that plan to get a bedroom set in a month or two has taken a detour. Our cats (well, it was probably just one of them, but we don't know who, and they are safer with us not knowing!) decided that our living room furniture must go. Immediately. So, they peed on Andy's recliner. Now, this recliner is over 20 years old, and ugly as sin, but really, there was nothing wrong with it. We were all set to live with it for awhile longer. And then pass it on to someone else. Change that plan, because cat piss went deep into the ancient layers of this old recliner, making a thorough cleaning impossible. And, if you know cats, you know that once they pee somewhere, if they can still smell it - and their noses work better then ours - they will pee there again. So, the recliner went out to the curb.
That leaves us with a loveseat and a glider. Fortunately, the loveseat is leather, and the glider is some cheap micro fiber. Their attempts to have the glider extricated have failed (oh yes, they've tried - I've been able to clean that one well enough). And, they know not to mess with the loveseat.
All that to say that we are now in the market for some new furniture. Pretty much right now. Leather. (the cats cannot claw it and shred it the way they can with fabric, and, it is so kid friendly - wipe it off and it's clean) I imagine that a room full of leather is not very green of me, but weigh it against furniture covered in other materials that needs to be replaced much more often - because pets are, and will continue to be, a part of my life - and I'm thinking leather is the greenest choice for us.
And, those couches that recline, they are heavenly! Do you know how hard it is to find real leather couches that recline, that are otherwise super-duper comfy, especially when you live kinda in BFE, and are hoping to not spend more than you spent on your last car? This search is tough. We're trying to be patient. Really we are. In the meantime, if you come over for "movie night," we'll either pull out the dining room chairs or all cuddle up in our king size bed. :-)
In other news, there were 5 calls I needed to make this morning. I can only remember 3 of them. But all 5 were a priority. Crap. Oh, I just remembered 1 more. Woohoo.
So, our plan was to, bit by bit, bring in pieces that we love, that will last, that will suit us. So we currently sleep in dreamland, the girls' rooms are done (I need to take pictures!) and we were hoping to get our room done next. We got the mattress immediately, but we'd love to have dressers, a bedframe, you know, and feel all grown up.
Anyway, that plan to get a bedroom set in a month or two has taken a detour. Our cats (well, it was probably just one of them, but we don't know who, and they are safer with us not knowing!) decided that our living room furniture must go. Immediately. So, they peed on Andy's recliner. Now, this recliner is over 20 years old, and ugly as sin, but really, there was nothing wrong with it. We were all set to live with it for awhile longer. And then pass it on to someone else. Change that plan, because cat piss went deep into the ancient layers of this old recliner, making a thorough cleaning impossible. And, if you know cats, you know that once they pee somewhere, if they can still smell it - and their noses work better then ours - they will pee there again. So, the recliner went out to the curb.
That leaves us with a loveseat and a glider. Fortunately, the loveseat is leather, and the glider is some cheap micro fiber. Their attempts to have the glider extricated have failed (oh yes, they've tried - I've been able to clean that one well enough). And, they know not to mess with the loveseat.
All that to say that we are now in the market for some new furniture. Pretty much right now. Leather. (the cats cannot claw it and shred it the way they can with fabric, and, it is so kid friendly - wipe it off and it's clean) I imagine that a room full of leather is not very green of me, but weigh it against furniture covered in other materials that needs to be replaced much more often - because pets are, and will continue to be, a part of my life - and I'm thinking leather is the greenest choice for us.
And, those couches that recline, they are heavenly! Do you know how hard it is to find real leather couches that recline, that are otherwise super-duper comfy, especially when you live kinda in BFE, and are hoping to not spend more than you spent on your last car? This search is tough. We're trying to be patient. Really we are. In the meantime, if you come over for "movie night," we'll either pull out the dining room chairs or all cuddle up in our king size bed. :-)
In other news, there were 5 calls I needed to make this morning. I can only remember 3 of them. But all 5 were a priority. Crap. Oh, I just remembered 1 more. Woohoo.
Monday, August 10, 2009
37 weeks and counting
We are getting so excited over here. I think we've settled on a name (though I'm not ready to share yet), and her carseat should be delivered today. My birth kit arrived last week (the birth kit contains everything that the midwives need and want for delivering this baby here at home, plus an herbal bath that I couldn't resist!), and her moses basket is set up in front of my bedroom window, next to the shelf holding all her diapers and clothes. Oh, one package of disposable diapers are on their way - I use cloth, but the first few days after delivery, when we are all getting to know eachother, and all so exhausted, we'll use disposable so that I'm not over-working myself by doing too much laundry.
We're also getting kind of ansy (antsy?) over here. My body is nearing the end of it's rope, and causing me to act out of character... I'm showing the girls and Andy so much less patience then they deserve, and the girls might as well be under quarantine for my energy level is so low we spend most all day every day here, inside the house. (BTW - a mild cool front is headed our way later this week. We'll be 99' instead of 101'. I rolled my eyes when they actually called that a mild cool front - a 2 degree change can hardly be called a front.)
We've made a sign, and hung it above the moses basket, "We can't wait to meet you, Baby Name-yet-to-be-revealed!" The girls are constantly playing with their dolls and stuffed animals as their newly born babies (also, that they are new neighbors - inspiration is easy to come by!).
In all our baby preparation preoccupaton, one of our cats Oscar, has been losing weight. He and his sister, Little Bit, turned 14 on July 5th. We kind of figured, well, it's getting close to his time, we'll make sure he still always has access to food and water, but we began talking with the girls about him not being with us much longer. Well I feel like an idiot. True, his days are limited, but it took me quite awhile to figure out that he was losing weight because he couldn't eat, not because he wouldn't. Rather suddenly, the crunchy food he's been gobbling up happily for years is just too crunchy. So, once this realization hit me like a ton of bricks, he's been a much happier cat. Still skinner, but he was a 20lb cat - some wight loss is okay. We still have quite a bit of crunchy food, so I'm alternating serving canned food with the crunchy food soaked in chicken broth, and all 3 cats (Haley is the baby at 10 years old) seem happier.
Oh, and I have to say, previously I blogged about the steam mops, noting that the steamers were difficult to push along the floor. Well it turns out that using the mop on the tile is amazing - it glides really well, cleaning the floor so much faster then if I were on my hands and knees scrubbing it (something about the linoleum in the bathroom causes it to show so much resistance, I guess). So, while I still love my Eureka Envior Steamer so much more than the Shark, my criticism that the Shark commercial was incredibly misleading may have been too harsh - it's entirely possible that the Shark glides on tile the way the Eureka does. :-) And, I'm glad the linoleum is only in the bathrooms! I've yet to try the hardwood floor of my bedroom, maybe later today.
I stumbled upon this poem today, and while I plan on keeping it in mind those first few weeks postpartum, I think it's important to remind myself that 3 1/2 year olds don't keep, and nor do 7 year olds. Maybe cleaning my bedroom floor can wait, after all!
We're also getting kind of ansy (antsy?) over here. My body is nearing the end of it's rope, and causing me to act out of character... I'm showing the girls and Andy so much less patience then they deserve, and the girls might as well be under quarantine for my energy level is so low we spend most all day every day here, inside the house. (BTW - a mild cool front is headed our way later this week. We'll be 99' instead of 101'. I rolled my eyes when they actually called that a mild cool front - a 2 degree change can hardly be called a front.)
We've made a sign, and hung it above the moses basket, "We can't wait to meet you, Baby Name-yet-to-be-revealed!" The girls are constantly playing with their dolls and stuffed animals as their newly born babies (also, that they are new neighbors - inspiration is easy to come by!).
In all our baby preparation preoccupaton, one of our cats Oscar, has been losing weight. He and his sister, Little Bit, turned 14 on July 5th. We kind of figured, well, it's getting close to his time, we'll make sure he still always has access to food and water, but we began talking with the girls about him not being with us much longer. Well I feel like an idiot. True, his days are limited, but it took me quite awhile to figure out that he was losing weight because he couldn't eat, not because he wouldn't. Rather suddenly, the crunchy food he's been gobbling up happily for years is just too crunchy. So, once this realization hit me like a ton of bricks, he's been a much happier cat. Still skinner, but he was a 20lb cat - some wight loss is okay. We still have quite a bit of crunchy food, so I'm alternating serving canned food with the crunchy food soaked in chicken broth, and all 3 cats (Haley is the baby at 10 years old) seem happier.
Oh, and I have to say, previously I blogged about the steam mops, noting that the steamers were difficult to push along the floor. Well it turns out that using the mop on the tile is amazing - it glides really well, cleaning the floor so much faster then if I were on my hands and knees scrubbing it (something about the linoleum in the bathroom causes it to show so much resistance, I guess). So, while I still love my Eureka Envior Steamer so much more than the Shark, my criticism that the Shark commercial was incredibly misleading may have been too harsh - it's entirely possible that the Shark glides on tile the way the Eureka does. :-) And, I'm glad the linoleum is only in the bathrooms! I've yet to try the hardwood floor of my bedroom, maybe later today.
I stumbled upon this poem today, and while I plan on keeping it in mind those first few weeks postpartum, I think it's important to remind myself that 3 1/2 year olds don't keep, and nor do 7 year olds. Maybe cleaning my bedroom floor can wait, after all!
"Song for a Fifth Child."
Mother, oh Mother,
come shake out your cloth,
empty the dustpan,
poison the moth,
hang out the washing
and butter the bread,
sew on a button
and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house
is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery,
blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little
Boy Blue (lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done
and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing
will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up,
as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.
Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
~Ruth Hulburt Hamilton~
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Cat food too.
Aubrey has always been an observant child, and she just gets more and more observant. Which I am glad about, but it leads to difficult conversations.
Our grocery store prints coupons and ads on the back of their receipts. They also print missing person notices. One specific notice, actually. We've seen it a few times. Anyway, she reads all the fine print, and knows that the lady and little girl pictured are the same person. That she disappeared when she was almost 3. In 1983. So she plans on cutting my receipt apart and putting up this little missing person notice on the fridge, so that if we see her, we'll know it and be able to help her.
"Why did she disappear, mom?"
"Where were her parents when she disappeared?"
"Is she a burglar now?"
"The man who took her, is he going to hurt her?"
"If we find her, can she stay with us for a few days?"
"Who put the ad on the receipt?"
"Who is looking for her?"
"Can we help look for her?"
"What if she's forgotten where she lived?"
Fortunately we were able to completely avoid the possibility that this woman died (or was killed) long ago.
Also, earlier in the day, she asked what happens if a woman is pregnant but doesn't want to be pregnant. I just replied with, "That's a conversation for when you are older, honey."
And, we talked an awful lot about people who need to use food pantries. She recognized that we have a lot of money, so we should help people who don't. So we're trying to remember to buy a few items for the pantry every time we go to the store. She wants to deliver them to the pantry herself, so we'll seek out the pantry soon (we usually drop stuff off in the basket at church).
As difficult as it is to have these conversations with my 7 year old, it's incredibly rewarding, too.
And then she'll just bust out with the most random goofiness. The Simpson's episode tonight was talking about being an American, freedom, all that stuff, so she wrote me a note:
"I wish we had freedum. Cat food too."
That's a note that will be up on my fridge for years to come, I suspect.
Our grocery store prints coupons and ads on the back of their receipts. They also print missing person notices. One specific notice, actually. We've seen it a few times. Anyway, she reads all the fine print, and knows that the lady and little girl pictured are the same person. That she disappeared when she was almost 3. In 1983. So she plans on cutting my receipt apart and putting up this little missing person notice on the fridge, so that if we see her, we'll know it and be able to help her.
"Why did she disappear, mom?"
"Where were her parents when she disappeared?"
"Is she a burglar now?"
"The man who took her, is he going to hurt her?"
"If we find her, can she stay with us for a few days?"
"Who put the ad on the receipt?"
"Who is looking for her?"
"Can we help look for her?"
"What if she's forgotten where she lived?"
Fortunately we were able to completely avoid the possibility that this woman died (or was killed) long ago.
Also, earlier in the day, she asked what happens if a woman is pregnant but doesn't want to be pregnant. I just replied with, "That's a conversation for when you are older, honey."
And, we talked an awful lot about people who need to use food pantries. She recognized that we have a lot of money, so we should help people who don't. So we're trying to remember to buy a few items for the pantry every time we go to the store. She wants to deliver them to the pantry herself, so we'll seek out the pantry soon (we usually drop stuff off in the basket at church).
As difficult as it is to have these conversations with my 7 year old, it's incredibly rewarding, too.
And then she'll just bust out with the most random goofiness. The Simpson's episode tonight was talking about being an American, freedom, all that stuff, so she wrote me a note:
"I wish we had freedum. Cat food too."
That's a note that will be up on my fridge for years to come, I suspect.
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