My Mother’s Day Weekend

There is a whole spectrum that exists when it comes to celebrating Mother’s Day.  I know some mothers who loathe this day with a passion so they avoid any and all celebration, and I also know other women who love to be pampered on this special occasion complete with plenty of gifts and breakfast in bed.

I tend to be a pretty simplistic person so when Randy asked me how he could make the day a special one for me, without even thinking or pausing I exclaimed, “I would love a nap and some quiet time.”  [I know, the irony is not lost on me - here I am requesting a break from the very beings that make me a mother .  However, I am a firm believer that when we get some alone time to refuel and recharge our soul, we become better parents.]  Randy lovingly gave me what I wished for, though the nap was more a simple rest since sleep eluded me.

This year I also wanted some pictures taken of me with each of the kids.  That wish was also fulfilled.  We also got a family shot taken since my sister was in town and could play photographer for us.

The kids also showered me with cards and presents.  Eli’s Sunbeam teacher at church baked brownies for the kids to give their moms.  Eli proudly picked out the biggest one to give me.  After he gave it to me, he promptly and sweetly asked for a bite.  I kindly obliged, and I also shared with the rest of the kids.

Cory made a dragonfly tile for me in school.

The art docent he has for the current school year, a parent volunteer, is amazingly talented!  The projects she comes up with are incredible.  Here is the Easter gift he created for the family, a ceramic and gorgeously painted flower.

Cory also filled out this questionnaire at Church about me.  Here are a few of my favorite excerpts:

**My mom likes to wear clothes [so she can be modest  - that last phrase was added verbally when I read it aloud in the car on the way home].
**She loves to eat chocolate cake.
**She is smart because she knows the capital of the United States.
**My mom works hard at making food for the family.
**Mommy always tells me to listen.
**It makes my Mommy happy when I listen.
**If she could go on a trip, she would go to California and she would take the family.
**I really love it when my Mom hugs me.
**If I could give my Mommy anything, it would be flowers.

Keri and I were able to attend a Mother and Daughter activity where we made a garden stepping stone together.

Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better “Mother’s Weekend” – I adored how Randy kept referring to it as that since he wanted me to truly enjoy both days, especially since Sundays can get rather hectic.  It was wonderful to bask in the plentiful sunshine and to spend time with those I love.  I even enjoyed a rare Girls Night Out on Saturday evening as I helped a dear friend celebrate her 30th birthday.  I definitely felt loved and cherished by my family and I feel blessed to have them in my life!  I am grateful for all the joy and laughter they bring me and I am grateful for all the ways they challenge me to grow and become a better person.

Sisters

For the last two weeks I have grown accustomed to having another adult around during the day because my younger sister came to visit.

We chatted late into the night, played games, read books, went on walks, ate gourmet chocolate, went to the library and bookstore, ran errands, drank hot chocolate, soaked up the plentiful sunshine [for nearly the entire 2 weeks she was here it was mostly WARM and SUNNY ... such a rarity this time of year in the Pacific Northwest!], and of course chased and took care of kids.

I definitely chuckled every time she told me she was more than happy to wait to have children.  I guess that is what you get when you are almost the youngest of 9 kids (her twin sister is the youngest by about 30 seconds) and you spend quite a bit of time hanging out with older siblings and your 14 nieces and nephews .

I am thoroughly happy she came to visit for an extended period of time.  It was just what I needed – her company and the help she selflessly offered lifted my spirits.  I am incredibly grateful that God blessed me with 6 AMAZING sisters … and my 2 brothers are pretty stellar, too!

Now that she headed back to California, I hope I can remember how to do things on my own again without the extra pair of hands around to help . (And I also have quite a few catch up blog posts to write!)

Prayers Given By a 7 Year Old

As many of us know, kids can sometimes say the cutest things … or the darndest things … or the funniest things …  or the wisest things.

Here are a few excerpts from some of Cory’s prayers over the last couple of months.  None of these phrases have been prompted by us … and I don’t believe we have ever talked politics with him.  He just processes these things completely on his own with his little 7 year old mind that always seems to be whirring a mile a minute.   He definitely is an exceptionally curious and inquisitive child who loves to explore.

“I’m thankful for the trees so we have air to breathe so we don’t die.”

“Help the poor people to get more money and help the rich people to share their money with the poor people.”

“Help the bad people to become good and the good people to become better. Help the good people to be good examples to the bad people.”

“Bless the family baby.”

“I’m thankful for clothes, because if we didn’t have clothes we would be naked.”

“I’m thankful for Jesus, because if we didn’t have Jesus, we wouldn’t have anything.”

I love this kid, even if I do get exasperated with him at times .  He has such a big and gentle heart and he truly does try his best to do what is right.

My Baby Turned One

My Sweet Little Ari,

It is amazing how quickly this past year has gone!  It seems like just yesterday I was arriving at the hospital to have you  - I can still recall so vividly the details of your birth.  The first time I got to see you and hold you and snuggle you, you melted my heart – all 9 pounds 5 ounces of you.  My heart still melts whenever I am in your presence.

Your belly laugh is infectious!  Whenever you start giggling your siblings come running to share in your joy.

You pull yourself to standing all the time now and you are just starting to figure out how to cruise.  Gravity is also something you are learning about and your poor forehead shows it.  At times you get too adventurous for your own good.

You have 8 teeth and finally you are starting to get a bit braver in trying new table foods.  You still have a preference for  puréed foods, but I am slowly getting you to branch out by adding different textures to the mix.  You also like thin apple slices, cheese cubes, graham crackers and cereal bars.

You definitely aren’t fond of birthday cake. In fact when we tried to put some in your mouth, you got a huge pout on your face and burst into tears. You did enjoy sucking the frosting off your fork and even though the ice cream was super cold, you did eat a few bites.

However, for the life of me I still can’t get you to drink milk.  Hopefully you will figure it out soon because I am in the process of weaning you and your doctor was a bit surprised today to see your weight stagnant since your 9 month appointment.  I have never had to take a child back for a weight check, but there is a first for everything.  I am not overly concerned because you are much more active these days and you were sick the entire month of April.

23 lbs 8 ounces in weight (50th percentile down from the 90th)
32 inches in length (95th percentile)
19 3/4 inches for head circumference (95th percentile)

You love to babble, though you aren’t quite saying words yet.  You adore interacting and socializing with your siblings, your parents, and really anybody.  If you hear our voices from the other room, you quickly crawl to come find us.  You also have a 6th sense for when Daddy gets home from work.  You thoroughly enjoy spending some time with him when he first walks in the door.

You have a passion for banging and drumming on things.   It’s fun to see you crawl with a purpose. Often times you will find your toy drum and then you will crawl to get a drum stick or a suitable substitute and drum and bounce to the rhythm of your music.  It doesn’t surprise me that you also like to dance and be sung to.

You are an excellent mess maker and toy bin dumper.  You like to read/eat books.  You enjoy pushing cars along the floor while you crawl and you are quite diligent in looking for things we take away.  The perfect example is from your birthday. You were much more interested in the camcorder power cord than in opening your presents!

Despite the feeding and sleeping challenges you give me, I feel incredibly blessed to be your mother.  My love for you runs deep.  I am eternally grateful the Lord blessed me with you.  And that He also blessed me with your brothers and sister and father.

Happy first Birthday my sweet baby!

Thank you for bringing so much joy to my life!  Your snuggles and cheery smiles are the best medicine for any ailment!

Much Love Always and Forever,
Mommy

Day 37

I must have royally ticked off the person in charge of planetary alignment because my planets have been so incredibly out of line lately that it is almost embarrassing. For the last 37 days in a row, at least one person in our house has been sick. For the last 32 days in a row, at least one person in our house has been on an antibiotic. We are currently on antibiotic #7. But who’s keeping track of all the numbers ?!?

This has seriously been our worst cold/flu/sick season.  Ever.  I think it is time to buy stock options in co-pays and prescription costs. Can one even do that?

I know I have mentioned it before, but writing is therapeutic for me so I am just going to hammer this all out and get it out of my system. We have had two sets of double ear infections, strep, allergy flare ups, conjunctivitis, more ear infections (Randy even got one), sinus infections, coughs that never seem to fully go away and head colds.  And I currently have mastitis.  I spent Sunday afternoon in urgent care so I could get some magic antibiotics to clear it up. I finally started feeling better and apparently I overdid it because my infection is now back on the other side.  I am in so much pain that I succumbed and took the painkillers the doctor prescribed for me.  All I want to do is wean my little one.  I hope it is even possible.

But I am grateful for the tender mercies that I have felt. I am grateful (knock. on. wood. … some serious wood!) that at least we haven’t been hit with stomach bugs.  And I am grateful that quite a few of our ailments haven’t been of the contagious variety.

I am grateful, too, that in between the really down parts of our sicknesses, I have still been able to meet up with some good friends and gab and refuel.  I am grateful, too, that Ari’s current bout of teething and his current head cold seems to be improving a bit.  His coughing has been so bad at night that it keeps him and me up for hours.  I am sure living off of just a few hours of sleep a night is not good for my body as it is trying to fight off its ailments.

And I am grateful, too, for the abundant sunshine we have been blessed with lately.  It warms my body, heart and soul.  And even though the pollen is everywhere right now, I am grateful it is springtime.

So thank you for listening and indulging me while I threw my pity party.  I truly hope this summer we will be germ free.  I look forward to having energy again and being able to get out and about and back to a normal gym routine.

Our Binky Free Home

Since 2001 our home has more often than not been a binky zone.

Or a pacifier zone, depending on your verbiage. (I grew up calling binkies pacifiers and Randy called them binkies.  When Keri was born we each called them by the name we were used to, but I soon switched to binky to simplify our lives … and it was much shorter to say .)

However, once our kids turned one, binkies were reserved for nap time and bedtime.  Though Mr. Eli has abused that rule the most.

I have found binkies to be both a curse and a blessing.  For our family they really seemed to help our babies settle down and sleep well early on and they also helped when trying to wean them from nursing [which would be nice right about now ... better than mastitis which is what I currently have ... but Ari has never really liked the binky and for the most part I am perfectly fine with that].

However, trying to get rid of binky usage has not always been simple.  Our older two kids eventually had the Binky Fairy come visit them.  She/he would take all the binkies and leave a toy or two. (Keri asked for and received the Fisher Price ice cream truck and Cory got some Hot Wheels.)  Worked like a charm both times, though Cory would still occasionally ask for the Binky Fairy to bring his back.

Eli, though, wanted nothing to do with a visit from the Binky Fairy. In fact if I ever brought it up he would promptly tell me that the Binky Fairy needed to stay outside.

But last Thursday morning, I asked Eli if he wanted to put his binkies inside a Binky Bear since he is becoming a big boy now.  I made sure to explain that he wouldn’t be able to use them in his mouth any longer, but that he could still feel them with his hands and sleep with them.  Eli got a H.U.G.E. grin and such an ecstatic look on his face that I took immediate action.  Off to the mall we went, with binkies in tow, to build a stuffed animal and to say good bye to our binky era.

Eli wanted to hold his binkies in the car while we were on our way to the store.

Getting ready to say good bye.

Eli making his Binky Animal heart wish.

For the most part Eli has been a champ. Though, for a few days I swear he went through a bit of binky withdrawal because he seemed a tad grumpier and more feisty than usual.  I am rather impressed that he hasn’t really asked for his binkies back, except for once when he forgot they were in his Binky Dog (which originally was a Binky Bear until we discovered it had a hole so we needed to make a swap).  When we reminded him, though, he simply cuddled his furry friend.

I am definitely liking our new binky free home.  It feels like we are growing up and moving on to a new chapter in life.

Some Unexpected Feelings

My little guy is turning one on April 29th.

Normally by this stage of the nursing game I am so happy and giddy to get my body back to myself.  I decided to cut a feeding out today to start the weaning process.  I gave Ari some whole milk and he really wanted nothing to do with it.

We then sang some songs, cuddled for a moment and I put him down for his afternoon nap.

And he started screaming.

I was definitely unprepared for the  reaction I felt.  I felt like my heart was breaking just a little.  While he cried and looked up at me with his sad blue eyes I felt like he was saying to me, “Mommy!  Don’t you remember?  Don’t you remember we bond for a little while with nursing before you put me down?  Don’t you like it when I fall asleep in your arms and you can just stare at me and snuggle with me?”

I gave him some loves and walked out of the room.  (Thankfully he settled down pretty quickly. He then started talking to himself and went to sleep.  Though it was a short lived nap.)

I thought to myself, this is odd.  With my three other kids I never felt this sentimental when it was time to be done breastfeeding.  I guess when you know it is your last, your heart and mind react a bit differently.  Or maybe I am just becoming more of a softie in my old age.

But then I remembered last Mother’s Day when Ari was just a few weeks old.  I remember lying on the bed with him in a calm and quiet house while everyone else was at church.  He was snoozing and I just stared at him in awe.  In wonder.  And I remember it hit me then, too, that unexpected grief, the bittersweet emotions.  I remember my eyes welling up with tears as I tried to soak up what it was like to take care of a precious newborn.

But life marches on, and I am OK with that.  After all, call me crazy, but I am looking forward to one day being a Grandma.