Tuesday, September 30, 2008

40.2

Still pregnant! I'm 40 weeks and 2 days, believe it or not. Yesterday the midwife came over and we began the natural process of inducing labor. I was desparate to have a baby, but my baby is quite happy where he/she is at. Labor did start and was getting intense, but puttered out when I got into the birthing tub early, early this a.m.. I was hoping that getting into the tub would increase the intensity of the contractions as it did in my last birth. But alas, it was not to be. Thankfully, we all seem to be managing okay with naps and what little sleep we got.

I'm now convinced that God is working on patience in me. I was so anxious to have a baby and be done with pregnancy and yet I'm still pregnant. I need to trust God more and rely on his timing for the arrival of this baby. I won't say I'm not hoping it'll happen soon, but I'm more relaxed about it. Paul plans on returning to work tomorrow, but my mom is here and plans on staying until baby comes. It's a relief to have an additional set of hands. While I am resigned to waiting, I still am not capable of accomplishing a whole lot.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

I'm It!

I'm totally new to this tagging thing. My lovely friend Joolee at A Spot on the Sopha who gave me great big belly laughs (I have a great big pregnant belly - she gave me the laughs) when I read her seven quirky/interesting facts, has tagged me and said it will take the edge off my still pregnant status. Since I don't/can't imbibe at this point, I figure it can't hurt.


Here are 7 quirky/interesting facts about me:


* I have freakishly long toes. I've always thought them skinny and one of my better looking body parts, but others have told me they are just TOO long. But since they are inherited from my grandmother, I am happy with my freakishly long toes, of which my toenails are never without some nail polish.



* I am very anal about my housekeeping. I like things done a certain way and at certain intervals of time. It really bothers me if I see dust on certain items of furniture or specks of something of on the floor. I feel amazingly refreshed after dusting and vacuuming, at least when I'm not pregnant.



* I like my legs shaved, regardless of season, the outfit I'm going to wear, or my state of pregnancy. Now, I only shave to above the knee, but still I feel itchy and weird if I don't shave. While I won't be taking any pictures of myself to show the ackwardness of shaving my legs while 9 months pregnant in my standing shower stall, I will tell you, it's not pretty. I wouldn't even let my husband see my body that distorted.



* My most embarassing moment involves me, my 10 year old soccer team pictures, a forgotten maroon soccer uniform, and a baby blue "Snuggle Me" t-shirt. Need I say more?



* While we had a dog, a cat, and multiple guinea pigs while growing up, I have no desire to ever own another indoor pet. I know, my poor deprived children!



* I tend to be a germaphobe (not a real word, I know). I fight this in my mind a lot and don't have multiple bottles of hand sanitizer stashed around the house and car, but I KNOW the germs are there, mocking me with their infectious status.


* I have a variety of raised moles on my body. Two of them on my left arm and one on my stomach have received a lot more attention than the others in the past 5 years. When Ethan, my now 6 yr old, was still nursing, he started rubbing one on my arm while he would nurse. The obsession with my mole continued for about 4 more YEARS. He would touch it when nervous or scared, or sometimes just to touch it. I thought he was just a weird kid at the time, but Elijah, my 2 yr. old, does it too! Now, he's not so selective about a particular mole like Ethan was, but he still is quite fascinated with them. I won't be surprised if they both marry women with raised moles.

Now I'm suppose to tag other people. But since pretty much everyone I know who blogs has already been tagged, I'm going to break this tagging "rule." Besides, if this were really a game of tag, there's no way I'd ever be able to tag anyone in my condition!

Speaking of that, our midwife is coming over tomorrow a.m. to "ease" me into labor with all sorts of fun tricks. She's quite successful with this and baby is at a +3 station and I was dilated to an easy 2 on Friday, so there should be a baby here tomorrow! (I'm not opposed to baby coming before that though!) Today is my "official" due date!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Waiting, still!

For those wondering, the baby hasn't come yet. I endured about 30 people at church last night who all said the same thing, "You're still here?!" Yep, this baby is fighting departure of my incredibly comfy womb. This is now officially my longest pregnancy as Ethan would've been born early this a.m.

We go see the midwife at noon today, but I'm not expecting any wild information like being dilated to a seven or anything. I continue to have contractions, though not terribly painful ones, randomly throughout the days. Funny thing is, they stop when I'm active and start up when I'm sitting or lying down. I'm becoming more resigned to this wait each day, not that it makes my days much easier. We've continued to do school and I'm kind of keeping up with other household chores, except cooking. We've started to consume our freezer stash of meals, which I was planning to use when the baby came. I figure we've got about 2 weeks worth of meals in there.

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday, so it would be neat to have the baby on her birthday. We have a thing going on my dad's side of the family where many people have been born on other relatives' bdays. Today two of my 2nd cousins are celebrating their first bdays as well as my BFF Julie is celebrating her 10th anniversary with her hubby! Congrats you guys! I hope you have the time and energy to do something special this weekend together.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

To Strip or Not to Strip?

I couldn't help myself! The opportunity to post such a funny title was too much to pass up! I assume most of my readers are women, so why not?

Anyway, we've been posed with the question about whether or not to strip my membranes. As unpleasant as this sounds and I've read about it a bit on the internet, I am really tempted at this point. All my herbal "interventions" have yet to work, so that is what I'm left with.

Now I do have a reason to consider this "procedure." Elijah was a large baby and there were some shoulder issues. (I can't think of the medical term and even if I could, I wouldn't be able to spell it correctly.) My midwife is concerned with the size of the baby and he/she growing larger. (Elijah was born at this point and was 9.3) We are opting to wait at this point, but will probably go ahead with it on Friday or Saturday if things haven't happened by that point.

My parents will be home on Saturday afternoon and are planning on stopping here on the way as they will need their boy "fix" after not seeing Ethan and Elijah for over two weeks. At least when they see this new baby, chances are he/she will be only a few days or less old.

I know all is in God's hands and I'm so thankful to have made it to this point with a healthy baby. I just read a blog of a gal who lost her unborn baby even though she was well into her 2nd trimester and they really don't have any clue as to why it happened. I cried for her and I have never even come remotely close to experiencing that kind of loss. I apologize to you all for being such a complainer these past few weeks. I have so much to be thankful for!

Getting to Know Elijah


Now it's Elijah's turn. I'll try to mimic his speech in my typing.

How old are you?
"two"

What do you like to do?
"pway widdle people"

Where do you like go?
"go bye-bye"

Go bye-bye where?
"gamma's house"

What do you like to eat?
"at rentrant"

What do you like to eat at restaurants?
"fwench fry"

What do you like to do with Ethan?
"pway widdle people"

What do you like to do with Daddy?
"I can eat wif Daddy"

What do you like to do with Mama?
"I wike eat wid Mama at rentrant."

When is the baby going to come?
"pwetty doon"

Monday, September 22, 2008

Getting to Know Ethan


I thought it would be fun to interview my kids (though Elijah might not be able to answer many questions). Here's a little about Ethan:

What do you like to eat?
"Chocolate and watermelon and ice cream and mac-n-cheese"

What do you like best about school?
"The Drill" (Math drills) "and Reading"

What is your favorite time of day?
"In the afternoon"

Why?
"because I can play with my brother."

What is your favorite book?
"Good and Evil"

What is your favorite toy?
"My train table"

What do you like about your brother?
"When he plays cars with me"

What are you looking forward to?
"Having the baby"

Where are your favorite places to go?
"Copper Harbor, MI, Mall of America, Cabela's, outside to a playground, home"

What do you like to do with Daddy?
"tackle Daddy"

What do you like to do with me (Mommy)?
"Make cake"

What is your favorite season and why?
"Winter because I get to go sledding."

What do you like about church?
"Going to Sunday School and Sparks"

What is your favorite color?
"Brown"

What do you like best about living in the country?
"Because we have a mound to go sledding on" (FYI - It's the septic mound!)

What do you want to tell people who might read this?
"I can read." "I can ride my pedal car."

Sunday, September 21, 2008

39 Weeks

Not much to report in this agonizing wait! I thought for sure baby would be here by now, considering how early both boys were. We were so hoping it would happen this weekend (there's still time baby!) so Paul wouldn't have to go to work on Monday. I don't know how I'm going to get through the day tomorrow. I have yet to resort to something drastic like a video day, but I'm awfully tempted at this point! I have resorted to some homeopathic remedies to see if something works. Oh, and did I mention I have a sore throat? I better not be getting sick!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Nesting!!!

I've attempted to post twice today and like many of you, I've been experiencing difficulties and proceeded to quit both times. Hopefully this time will work.

I'm nesting today!!! Hooray! I thought maybe it wouldn't happen to me, but the desire to get things done kicked in big time this a.m. I'm taking my 1st break of the day, which is highly unusual at this "late" hour.

Since getting up, I've vacuumed almost the entire main level, including using the floor attachment to do edges and in hard to reach places. I organized our pantry and cleaned the counters, spraying them with *gasp* a chemical to make them look shinier. I changed the sheets on our bed and cleaned the boys' room and closet. I started a bag of things to donate to Goodwill and I started a roast in the crockpot for supper. I'm amazed at this level of temporary energy, especially after an exhausting day yesterday.

After doing school in the morning yesterday, the boys and I left to head to the cities. I had a rescheduled appt. with my midwife at 1:30. We stopped at the bank and opened a saving account for Elijah and ate lunch and got gas. At my appointment, my midwife had trouble palpating baby's position, even doing a internal exam to see if that would clarify things. Unfortunately, it didn't and she posed the idea of me going for an ultrasound to verify baby's position, (I haven't had one since 12 weeks and I'm almost 39 weeks now) so that if baby was breech, we would know ahead of time and could work on turning baby as well as have another midwife assist in the case of a breech birth. So, off we hurried 20 miles away to get an ultrasound before the end of the day and the start of the weekend. All is well and baby is NOT breech! (The location of my placenta makes it hard to feel baby's head.) We did not find out the gender, but believe me I was looking even though we told the technician we didn't want to know. The coolest thing was seeing hair!!! My babies are usually pretty bald, with some fuzz on top and a mullet in back, ("Business in front, party in the back!") so the idea of having a baby with actual hair is weird. It was quite a long day by the time we got home.

We're hoping this weekend is the big event! That way Paul has a whole week off and another weekend before having to go back to work. Plus, it makes it a lot easier for everyone else to get here.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Thanks for the Distraction!

I've been checking all my fav blogs the last couple of days and no one seemed to be posting anything new! In my pregnancy discomfort, I've found great relief in reading about other people's lives and goings-on, so when everybody apparently took a blogging sabbatical and didn't tell me to be prepared, I resorted to playing mindless computer games like FreeCell and Spider Solitaire to numb the pain.

So, I was quite happy to turn the computer on this a.m., and see many of your blogs listing new posts! Yay! Thanks for the temporary distraction. It took my mind off my "problems" for a few minutes and I'm hoping that there will be additional new posts later today as well.

Lately, I've become this boring, tired slug who is constantly threatening my children but never following through, b/c it's just too hard to get up and deal with each and every situation that arises. I stare at all the leftovers in the fridge that we need to eat up and then call and ask my husband if he would bring home Subway. (Normally I thrive on "cleaning" out the fridge during twice weekly "leftover nights." I hate seeing food go to waste!) I see all three of our laundry baskets full of clean clothes (at least they're clean) and then proceed to pull out something that still fits and leave the rest in a wrinkled bunch, b/c it's quite uncomfortable sitting on the bed these days and leaning over the edge of the bed to fold laundry. My husband has taken over all kitchen duties the past couple of weeks, loading all the dirty dishes into the dishwasher, cleaning off the table, and wiping down counters.

So what do I do these days? Well, I feed the kids when Paul's not here, help them with getting dressed and then take my own shower. Depending on our day's schedule, I may or may not go to the trouble to do my hair/makeup. I have the kids do their chores while I kind of make the bed (why bother when I need to change the sheets anyway?). Then it's time for school. We have been consistent with homeschooling, mostly because I know we need to stay focused now if I'm going to take some time off of schooling when baby comes. By that time, I come upstairs and rest for a little while on the couch before getting lunch ready. After eating and spending a half hour trying to get Elijah to finish his food (he'd rather be singing in his highchair than eating these days), it's nap time for Elijah and me. By the time we wake up, Paul's home or will be soon, so I either do what I can to prepare for supper, or just give up and try to wake my groggy self up by playing a stupid computer game. (I AM getting pretty good!)

That's it! So please keep those new posts coming so that my day doesn't drag so much! I need all the help I can get these days!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Happy 3rd Anniversary Paul!

Today is my hubby's and my third anniversary! WOW! I can't believe all that's happened in just three short years! GOD IS AMAZING in how he has transformed my life in the past 6 1/2 years!


For those who didn't know, 6 1/2 years ago while pregnant with my son, my first husband decided he no longer wanted to be married to me, after about 3 1/2 years of marriage. This was the most difficult time in my life and I only survived emotionally because God was gently leading me. The Biblical meaning of my name is "Little Lamb" and the verse that goes along with that is Isaiah 40:11, "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." This verse really hit home for me when I was pregnant and going through a divorce. I had the wonderful support of both family and friends during my struggles.

After Ethan was about 6 months old, I also found great support from a group called Single Again at a local church. That is where I met Paul. Now Single Again is a support group, not a place to meet other singles. Nothing at all happened between Paul and I until Ethan was over 2 years old and my divorce had long been finalized. It was great to be able to have known him purely on a platonic level for quite some time before we began dating.


Once we began dating, we quickly establish physical boundaries, pledging not to kiss on the lips. Temptation was strong, but we prevailed and shared our first kiss on our wedding day atop a scenic overlook in southeastern MN. It was glorious and since then have shared a wonderful intimacy, known only between us, despite our pasts.

While marriage has not ever been "easy," especially with the blending of a family, God has truly blessed us. Since Ethan's biological father lives 700 miles away and only sees him 1-2x/year, Paul has become Ethan's Daddy, a role they both readily accepted and it is so amazing to see their relationship blossom. Ethan only ever remembers life with "his Daddy." Our plan to wait to have more children for at least a couple years, was wonderfully spoiled with the news we were expecting a baby just 3 1/2 months after our wedding day. Pregnancy was a hard time for us all, as I was quite sick and we all were still adjusting. Elijah arrived just a few weeks shy of our first anniversary.


Now a third baby is due anytime, possibly today on our anniversary. What a wonderful gift that would be! God truly works good for them who are called according to his purpose. Thank you Paul for being such a wonderful husband, despite all my obvious and usually overwhelming faults. I love you like I love no one else and I pledge to love you until the end of my days. Thank you for loving our children like a daddy should and sacrificing daily for the benefit of your family!!!

Still Preggo

Yep, still pregnant! I'm thinking my whole philosophy of holing up in the house the past two days has been wrong. So, today we're going to go out. We'll pick up a teenage girl from church who's been playing with the boys one morning every week for the past few weeks and go to the park. She can play with them while I "speed waddle" on the walking path. (And you thought "speed walking" looked bizarre! Watch out world, here I come!)

Then after lunch, after we take Abbie home, we'll stop at the market (yes, it's actually a little market, not a grocery store). Going to that particular store will necessitate using a long detour or traveling 10 miles on a bumpy dirt road that's still under construction. As tempting as the thought is of going into labor while trying to get my van out of some ditch b/c I was stupid enough to travel down the closed road, I think I'll just rely on the last mile of the trip home which is also on a dirt road. Unlike usual, I plan to hit every rut and hole at top speed, causing my kids to squeal in delight and hopefully breaking my water at the same time.

What? Do you have any better ideas??!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Not yet, but hopefully soon!

Despite frequent trips to the bathroom and contractions every ten minutes or so, things petered out last night. I didn't sleep well, as I kept having to pee, which is actually a good sign and I did continue to have contractions for awhile after going to bed. Plus, it's so hard to sleep when you think THIS MIGHT BE IT! Thankfully Paul slept soundly next to me. I sure wish I could just let it all go and be patient and not think about it. I'm hoping today will provide me with a clearer sign that the baby is coming soon. Oh, here comes my first contraction of the day! Woohoo!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Could this be it?

Something is definitely happening! My body started to prepare itself last night, in one of those oh, so gross ways of which I won't go into detail. And now this afternoon, I'm starting to feel really weird. I'm having contractions about every ten minutes or so, but it's hard to concentrate on the length and intensity, while playing referee between my two boys who are playing race cars right now. My hubby is on his way home, but stopping at the chiropractor, so he won't be home for another 30 minutes or so. I'm hoping he can be a better judge of what's happening than I can. I hate to start calling people, only to have this be nothing!

I hope this is it! Sure would be nice to have a blinking neon sign flashing in front of me saying, "This is it!"

Saturday, September 13, 2008

38 Weeks

Okay, so technically I'm not 38 weeks until tomorrow, but since I plan on being in labor by then (yeah, right!) I figured I should write this blog today instead. It's official, my parents have left for vacation for two weeks. Did the kids cry to see them go? No, but I shed a few tears in the height of all my pregnancy hormones, knowing they won't be here for the birth of their third grandchild. (And if I were to go until my actual due date, I won't be happy, not that I'm feeling happy right now either!)

I am miserable and so sick of being pregnant!!! I can't accomplish anything without feeling exhausted and my two year old keeps lauching himself at my belly, being affectionate mind you, but with all the softness of a brick wall. Thankfully it's the weekend and Paul is home to help with all the things I can't seem to do! My idea of a successful day will be one in which I finish scrapbooking about Elijah's 2nd bday, get a solid 2 hour nap, spend enough time on the couch to leave an impression, and make the spare room bed, with the help of my hubby!

Last night was a dream-filled night. I dreamt of having a baby girl, whose name I couldn't remember, so I kept changing it to weird things like Finley, Laramie, and Larabee. Bizarre, I know. I've done a lot of dreaming this pregnancy, possibly more so than with my other kids. Usually though, I can't remember much about what I've dreamt when I wake up. But last night, despite waking countless time to roll over or go potty, I continued with the same dream. And, it was in color, b/c I remember dressing Finley/Laramie/Larabee in pink.

We had our home visit with the midwife and her assistant, a midwifery student and mother of 8, on Thursday. Things still look good. She's estimating the baby to be 7 lbs., which seems awfully small to be one of my kids. She said my placenta is on the left side, which makes me look like I'm having a bigger baby. She is satisfied with the set up we have going in the basement. We're all set to go!

God grant me the patience to accept this wait and give my husband the patience to put up with me!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Pregnancy Wives' Tales

How many of y'all have explored pregnancy wives tales in trying to guess the gender of your baby?

On Wednesday nights I meet with a group of moms while our kids attend AWANA. We usually exercise and then have some sort of discussion, usually based upon a book we're reading together. Well, since tonight was our first night meeting, we didn't have much planned. We went for a walk and then talked about Sarah Palin and the whole idea of a woman vice president. While I love reading comments on my blog, I'm sure the opinions on this subject are quite varied, so we won't go there.

Towards the end of our time together, we somehow got on the subject of whether I'm having a girl or a boy. I keep saying it's a boy. Those of you who have multiple children of the same gender probably understand this thought if you had similar pregnancies. It's just easier to assume you're having what you already have and you'll be very happy with another (fill in the blank).

One of the gals who is a chiropractor's wife (and we are patients of her husband) said that the ring test is full-proof, not because of any weird superstition, but because of the electromagnetic fields we all have. Next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor of the nursery, with her holding HER wedding ring (I'm swollen, so I don't wear mine right now) hanging from a necklace over my very large belly. After about 30 seconds, the ring started swinging from side to side. Unfortunately, she couldn't remember what the results stood for, so I looked online when I got home and the results are: IT'S A GIRL!

I have to admit, I do get excited, even from something as silly as this! What do you think? What are your experiences with pregnancy wives tales?

Sunday, September 7, 2008

37 Weeks

I can't believe I'm ONLY 37 weeks! I feel SO HUGE!!! I am trying not to be too ornery, but it seems no matter how positive I am one moment, I feel like yelling the next. My poor husband has learned to accept my crabbiness, but I feel bad for the boys as they tend to take it more personally, Elijah especially, since he's so young.


We were supposed to have our home visit with the midwife last Thursday, but she was doing a birth and had another client also in early labor. I haven't heard from her, so I'm assuming she's either recovering from two births or still at a birth. It'll be two weeks tomorrow since I've seen her and I'm anxious to see how things are progressing (baby's position, my measurement, etc.) Plus, it would be nice to have her travel here once before the actual birth.


We are also on the countdown to my parents leaving for two weeks of vacation. So, I have 6 days to go into labor before they leave. No pressure! Paul's convinced I'm going to have the baby this week, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Kid Tips












I only have two children, but thought I'd share a few tips I've learned along the way. Just odds and ends, but things that have helped with parenting or just plain space saving ideas.

Here they are:

* FROZEN PEAS - My boys love these as a healthy addition to just about any meal. And I serve them frozen. It's easier for me and not cooking them is healthier for the boys. I have to give my mom credit for this one.

* BASKETS - I love my nesting baskets purchased at TJ Maxx Homegoods. I have three in my living room. They all have lids so no one is the wiser about what's inside. One is for my personal stuff (books, magazines, etc.), another is a toy box, and the last is for the baby (diapers, wipes, burp rags, etc. so that I don't always have to be at the changing table to take care of business). They aren't indestructible, but I've taught my kids to stay off them and be careful with them. But at $15 for the largest one, they aren't irreplaceable.

* CLOTHING STORAGE - While we were blessed to be given a free bunk bed from my cousin, I now know that if I were to purchase furniture for my children's room, I'd buy a bed that has room for storage underneath. We put three plastic drawers under their bed for all of Ethan's clothes. All of his clothes are accessible to him and don't take the space of a dresser. I also bought a plastic "dresser" for Elijah's clothes at Walmart. He can open all the drawers, help put his own clothes away, and it's small enough to not dominate their small room.

* DIAPERS - For those of you who buy name brand disposable diapers (I like the chlorine-free ones), Amazon.com is the place to purchase them. You have to buy them by the case (4 packs), but it's a lot cheaper than the store, they are delivered to your door for free, and you can save additional $ if you do the "Subscribe & Save" option, meaning you sign up to have them delivered at certain increments (every month, two months, six months etc.) You can always change your delivery time to earlier or later, or just cancel altogether if you're not happy. I love not have to lug them from the store to home along with all my other groceries and purchases. Wipes are also available on Amazon.

* THE DISHWASHER - Ethan when he was 5 learned how to unload the dishwasher. Granted, he puts the majority of the dishes on the counter, but he is able to put away all the silverware and pots and anything that goes into a lower cupboard. The rest he stacks on the counter, so I do NO bending (great while this preggo!) He puts all the plates together, bowls together, and so forth.

* GARBAGES - Both boys help with garbages every week, bringing them from the bathrooms and changing table, for me to pour into the kitchen garbage to be taken out. They then return the empty garbages back to their designated spot. Elijah has been helping to do this chore since he was 18 months old or so and loves to help!

* CLOTHES SORTER - I just recently purchased a $15 clothes sorter for the laundry room. The boys have been helping with laundry for quite some time, emptying the dirty stuff over the stairwell and then taking it into the laundry room. Now I'm teaching Ethan to help sort, using notecards to label each section of the sorter and then describing what kinds of clothes go into each section. (He can read, which helps!) The biggest thing for me is that now I can see how much I have of each kind of load, rather than just looking at a big pile and assuming I have enough for a load of whites or darks.

That's it for now. If I think of more I'll do another post and if I really feel adventurous, I'll add pictures of the things I mentioned. I'd love to hear some of your great tips for housekeeping, mothering, whatever!!!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Life in the Country

As the "theme" of my blog is a city girl's perspective on life in the country, I figured I'd better address this issue before too long. When we moved to our house in the country, we moved from the Twin Cities, from an apartment that was touted as being 1000 sq. ft. (my engineer husband measured it and said it was more like 700 sq. ft.). We moved to a house that is over 2500 sq. ft. I say this not to brag (remember the more house, the more cleaning), but to give you a scope of what it was like for us when we moved.

We also now had a yard, a three acre yard, to be exact. We mowed this 3 acre yard for one year, before letting the weeds take over. And yes, I mowed too. It was a job that I enjoyed b/c we used the four-wheeler and a pull behind mower. Now that the weeds have moved in and the cows came home, Paul only mows about an acre. I am released from mowing due to pregnancy and actually wonder if I'll ever be able to do it again, now that we will have more children. Oh, and there was that incident of me mowing over one of the septic system pipes! Yikes!

Now that we have the space, we've also had a garden two years running. The garden is lots of work, in fact, it really needs daily attention, of which it has never gotten. It's also a lot of work bringing the veggies in and washing and storing them. We haven't done any canning yet (again I plead the pregnancy fifth) though I did do pickles both years. They are really easy so that's the only reason I've done them.

So, if you haven't gotten the point yet, life in the country is a lot of work. I am so thankful for all we have and try not to take it for granted, but Paul works a full day and then comes home and has a whole bunch of other chores to do. The boys are learning the benefit of work, though, and I'm very thankful for that as well. We are learning to be more self-sufficient, which we're feeling is more and more essential, what with the way our country is being run.

Despite the additional work, it is nice to open our windows whenever we want and hear crickets, birds, and frogs rather than traffic and neighbors. We only see trees and fields out of all of our windows except three. Those things make life in the country seem so much more relaxing. And hey, did I mention we live on a dirt road?

Monday, September 1, 2008

My Husband's Version of the Perfect Birth

After sharing with Paul my post on the perfect birth, he shared with me his version of the perfect birth. Here it is:

I feel something strange, I squat and the baby pops out and Paul catches "him" (Paul's words).

You know, his version doesn't sound that bad!

My Perfect Birth

No, the baby hasn't arrived since my last post! I thought I blog about what I hope my upcoming birth will be like. Okay, in hindsight, maybe watching the video last night of Elijah's birth wasn't the greatest idea, considering how close I am to the real event. Hearing myself say things like, "I can't do this anymore!" "I just want it out!" and "It hurts so bad!" doesn't really make me excited to push out another baby anytime soon. Then again, the excitement of seeing Elijah being pulled from the water and placed on my chest and hearing Paul say, "It's a boy!" thrills me to the tips of my toes, knowing we have another "surprise" awaiting us!

So, here's my perfect birth:

1) Labor starts while Paul is home, preferably in the morning after a peaceful night's sleep for parents AND children. (Paul works an hour from home. and with a short labor last time, 4 hrs. and 20 min., I want him there from the start.)

2) Labor lasts less than 4 hours, 20 minutes - credit this one to watching only about an hour of Elijah's birth on video.

3) My toddler is well-behaved and doesn't have any concerns about hearing Mommy making loud groaning noises downstairs. (And that Aunt Cathy, Aunt Tracy, or Abbi - a teenager from church - is here to watch the boys.)

4) My parents are here for the birth. (They leave on Sept. 13th for a two week vacation in da U.P.)

5) There are no problems/issues with the birth tub we ordered. (Last time we rented one, this time we bought a different kind, so I'm hoping I like it better!)

6) My midwife and her assistant make it here on time with no issues. (She's also coming from 45 miles away.)

7) There is no need for the barf basin or fish net during the birth. (If you don't know what the fish net is for, remember it's a water birth and then think about it some more! Too embarrassing to write about, but then again, I've never had a need for one in my other births!)

8) The pushing stage is short and for some blessed reason, I don't feel the baby crown!

9) The placenta comes out easily and I'm surprisingly refreshed after the whole birth experience!

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:

10) Baby is born healthy!!!!

I'm sure I'll think of something else to add to this later or maybe my three readers will think of something I've missed. If any of you are close to birthing a baby, blessings to you as well!