The DS is in the house!

And the grin goes from ear to ear.

So Tired

Everyn is a sleeper, there is no question about that.  When she is awake she is very alert, lifting her little head up and looking around with great interest.  But those times are rare.  Interestingly enough, she usually wakes up and is more interactive after all the other kids have gone to bed.  10 pm?  That is her time to shine.

Last evening she woke up in the evening and started to beg for attention.  I was doing my Insanity workout, and she was hanging out with me, watching me sweat.  After Insanity was over, I moved on to my next project and she watched me work on that, but continued to be fussy and somewhat needy.  My third project of the night was to vacuum and then clean the carpet.  She was on the couch in the middle of the room, as I started to work.  The vacuum cleaner's drone made her happy.  The carpet cleaner's whirring put her to sleep.

The whole process was quite noisy and the boys were all conked out on the other side of the interior wall and she was laying there surrounded by commotion and she was sleeping like, well, like a baby.

It is nice to have kids who sleep through anything,
and,
it is nice to have clean carpet.

Yeah, I kind of love him

I went to my 6 week post partum check up.  The staff asked me if I was experiencing any post partum depression.  I told them that I had no symptoms and was feeling great.  I tend to get a little down in the winter, but this year there has been none of that.  Guess why?  Because it has been in the 30s around here and we don't have snow.  Guess what that means?  I don't have to bundle 5 children up in 12 layers AND there is no melting snow in my entryway, my van, my living room, and there is none on my pant legs, my shoes and our shovels :)

It is February 14th and I haven't shoveled once.  I haven't built a snowman or gone sledding.  I have only worn gloves once or twice. I have worn my winter coat maybe three times.  The boys have been getting to play outside for 1-2 hours every afternoon.  Awesome.

Boots and hats, coats and gloves.

No scarves, snowpants and mittens.

This is good.  I love it.

Speaking of love,

I was at homeschool co-op today.  There are teenagers there and I remembered my own teenage years.

Noah and I were teenagers together.

We were friends and maybe more.

That "maybe more" bit was always confusing.  Did he like me?  Did he not?  The clues and the information were analyzed and over-analyzed some more.  Should I call him?  Should I not?  Why did he give me roses on my 16th birthday?  Why did he say that?  Why did he do this?  Will we end up together someday?  Will he agree to name our fifth child Everyn?  What if he finds someone else?  What if he moves away?  Does he like me?  Will he ever love me?  Will he ever tell me?

And on and on.

I had no idea what he was thinking.  Or maybe I just didn't want to hope too much.

Maybe I didn't want to be wrong.

Maybe I didn't want things to end badly.

Maybe I had no idea what any of it really meant.

But all of that was 15 years ago.  That is a long time.

Now I know the answers:

He likes me (a lot).
I can call him (whenever I want).
He gave me roses because he thought someone should (and he seemed to be a good candidate).
He makes a lot of veiled comments because he likes me (a lot).
He does a lot of kind things for me because he likes me (a lot).
We did finally end up together (and will still be together someday).
He did agree to name our fifth child Everyn (for reals!)
He didn't find anyone else (because he likes me (a lot))
He didn't move away (because he likes me (a lot)).
He likes me (a lot).
He loves me (a lot).
And he tells me (a lot).

Happy Valentine's Day, Babe.

I like you (a lot).
I love you (a lot).

More than I did at 16.

Silly Girl

Berean has taken to the pink bunny that you can kind of see on the picture.  She "sleeps" with the buny and a pink and brown blanket at night.  If you try to put anything else in the crib with her she freaks out and throws the object out.  She does this with stuffed animals or dolls that she loves during the day, as well as things she doesn't care about.

In addition, she doesn't actually sleep with the bunny or the blanket.  Bunny gets placed in the upper left hand corner of the crib and the blanket gets placed in the lower right hand corner of the crib.  Berean lays in the middle of the bed and goes to sleep.

She definitely is a good sleeper, and she definitely needs her beauty sleep.  She can do what she must do to be comfortable enough to get that sleep, but I still smile over her idiosyncrasies.

Whatever works.

Reading

Deacon and Berean during babysitting time

Noah and the crew

Deacon, age 8

DEACON keeps Noah and I laughing with his many observations and questions.  Here are some of his gems from the past couple of days:

On a car ride home there was a continuation of a discussion about Aron Ralston (who cut his own arm off after it was trapped under a boulder).  Noah had mentioned that would be a really hard thing to do and Deacon, Noah and Roman were discussing the "hardness" of it.  After it was established that it would indeed be difficult, Deacon commented, "So is that why people don't cut off their arms very often?"


I heard him talking to Ever the other day.  This is what I heard: "Oh, Everyn, I wouldn't mind sharing a room with you, but the problem is that after you are a baby you will be a girl.  It is not very appropriate to watch a girl change.  At least it isn't appropriate for a boy to watch a girl change, I don't know about a girl watching a girl change.  No, Everyn, It is not a pretty thing for a boy to watch a girl change.  Not that you aren't pretty.  You are pretty, it is just not a pretty THING for a boy to watch a girl change."


And then yesterday, "I think when I need a password I will use the word 'dolls'.  No one would expect that from a boy."


Deacon has been saving all of his money for months to buy a Nintendo DSI XL. He is very close, and to get the last few dollars, he has been babysitting Berean for me.  I give him a dollar for a 1/2 hour.  My dad told him that sounded like pretty good pay, and Deacon replied, "I guess you haven't been to our house lately."  Berean does keep us all on our toes.  Anyway, it is the best dollar I can spend in a day.  Berean is very happy to go with Deacon and to have his undivided attention.  He reads her books, builds duplo structures for her and helps her manage her food and stroller.

The Great Love/Hate

Love/Hate: Baby carriers

I have never been a mama that wears her babies.  The front carrier I have is comfortable for limited times, but it gets really tiring after awhile.  In addition, if I am trying to accomplish something while carrying the baby in the baby carrier, my body mechanics for the task are all messed up.  Everything has to be done to the side or way in front, and I am not used to that.

Up to this point, our carrier has been used only when I am at the Y walking on the track with a newborn.  

The past couple of days, however, Everyn has been awake more and wanting to be near me.  I still have things to do though, so I have put her in the carrier and tried to multi-task.  The pros are that I do have free hands for pouring milk, blogging and sorting papers at my standing desk.  Unfortunately,  the problems of neck/shoulder fatigue and a general awkwardness continue.  I feel big and bulky and like I am not aware of my space.  Maybe it will get easier, or maybe I will quit.  I need to decide if it is better to be uncomfortable and marginally productive for long periods of time with the carrier on, or to have lots of cuddling baby downtime interspersed with periods of high productivity while she is napping on her own.  

LOVE/HATE: Pacifiers

Currently I can't find Ever's pacifier, so she is a pacifier-less baby today (and currently in the baby carrier while I stand here typing).  Deacon used a pacifier for about a month and then simply wasn't interested.  I became his human pacifier, which was annoying but ok since he was my first baby and I didn't have much to do at that particular time of my life.  Roman and Linc both used heavily (ha ha) until their first birthday, at which point I took the pacifiers away (Happy Birthday, boys!).  Berean followed Deacon's lead, except for the fact that she didn't abuse her nursing privileges.  Everyn seems to like the pacifier, and we have encouraged it since she appears to be very interested in sucking on her thumb, and that is a harder habit to break.  

But the stupid pacifier (or "duck duck" as Berean calls it) is very easily lost around here, and even when we have it we constantly have to put it back in her mouth.  This pacifier insertion situation is ridiculous.  It is almost comical to see adults sitting next to a baby and sticking a pacifier into a cute little mouth after every yawn or accidental spit-out.  Don't even get me started on perfecting the "blind insertion technique" for when you are glasses-less and in a dark room in the middle of the night.  

On the other hand, it keeps her happy when it is in, and helps her get to sleep. The boys can put it in for me if I am busy, and so it keeps the crying to a minimum.   If I ever find it again, we may let it stick around.  For now.

LOVE/HATE: Maternity Leave

I am actually loving my maternity leave, don't get me wrong.  I have plenty to do around here to keep me busy, and I know the next 6 weeks will go by all too quickly.  In fact, I am a little nervous about how everything is going to go when I do go back.  I know it is going to be difficult and somewhat stressful.

But I will admit that I am somewhat lonely.  It struck me today, and I anticipate it getting more acute as the weeks go on.  If I knew I wasn't going back to work, I would probably sign up for a Bible Study or some other consistent "outing", but since I know I am going back I have just been trying to get together with friends when possible.  I laughed today as I wrote yet another facebook status (it is super easy now that I have a computer in the kitchen) because it proves just how desperate I am for adult conversation.

Now, truth be told, I get out a lot and I have a lot of friends.  It is harder in the winter because neighbors aren't around as much, but still I see people a lot.  My friend at co-op and I catch up on Tuesdays while our kids trade Pokemon cards, the "homeschool" moms and I talk all afternoon during gym/swim at the YMCA.  I see friends on Wed/Sundays and small group.  I have people over or we talk on the phone.  In fact, last weekend Noah and I played games with friends two nights in a row!  (and in fact, those little outings made us remember how much we miss getting together with people more often).  We also spend a lot of time with family- I see my mom a lot especially.

My job is so "people heavy" and I have so many coworkers in an environment that requires communication and teamwork - it really gives me plenty of interaction time. I like to talk to people of all ages- you learn so many things and hear so many different perspectives.  Currently I hear a lot of my 8 year old's perspective.  Which is ok, and somewhat funny, but it is nice to have a change now and then.

My plan is to do fun things for the next 6 weeks.  I am going to plan some events for friends and kids and hope to just do some more game nights with adults (cheap fun!).  And I will be sure to keep updating good old facebook.