Today I went to the grocery store with all three kids and I was feeling pretty hardcore. The guys stocking the produce were looking at me, standing there with one baby in a sling and two in a rocket cart, with horror and asking if I needed any help. "Just need to get to the leeks!" I said cheerfully. Yep. Not only am I shopping with three kids. I'm cooking things that require leeks. Hardcore. There were no major tantrums and Teddy slept through the whole experience. The only moments where I was a little worried about potential meltdowns came at the very end when we were in the checkout line. Charlie did not like my choice of checkout lanes. He does not choose which lane to go to based on how short the line is like I do. He chooses based on what Mylar balloon is floating above the magazine/candy rack. So, I moved our giant rocket ship cart to the lane with the race car balloon after some pretty loud protesting from Charlie.
Then the other potential meltdown came when Emma insisted I buy her a Paula Dean cooking magazine. Suddenly the girl who only will eat pizza, spaghetti, quesadillas and Dora yogurt, LOVES Paula Dean. She can't get enough of watching Paula make her recipes, but has no desire to actually eat any of it. I can kind of relate. There is something very comforting about watching Paula cook. I love how she takes off her mammoth diamond rings in order to mix a mountain of ground beef for her bacon covered meat loaf. She is fearless when it comes to using butter, cream cheese and mayonnaise. And she tosses Velveeta into just about anything without even a hint of irony. The thought of eating that stuff though...I can feel my arteries hardening just thinking about it.
I almost didn't buy Emma the magazine because I was feeling all hardcore, like I said earlier. Hardcore moms don't buy magazines in the checkout lane just because of a few tears. I took the magazine away and there was some crying, but eventually Emma got over it. Then I ended up reconsidering and buying the magazine anyway. If it had been candy or a race car balloon Emma wanted to buy, I would've stood my ground, but this was Paula Dean. I handed her the magazine and told her I'd changed my mind. She hugged the magazine to her chest like it was a long-lost bitty twin. All those holiday decorating tips and cookie recipes would be hers now, hers all hers! She positively beamed.
For the most part life with three kids has been a lot like life with two kids, just more extreme. We pretty much are back to our normal routine where the kids are constantly "playing" in that weird way of theirs: by giving the princesses a joy ride in their Kitchen Little refrigerator or by having tea parties on the stairs, right where you need to be walking so that you can change your six-week-old baby's diaper. I was never a huge fan of changing diapers, but Emma and Charlie have managed to make this chore that much more annoying. Every time I climb the stairs to change Teddy, they run to get their little stool so that they can be at a proper height to properly view the diaper change. This is annoying because they only have one step stool, so whoever does not run fast enough to get the stool is out of luck and totally not going to get to see the exciting diaper change. The stooless child invariably cries indignantly and attempts to push the child on the stool off of said stool. Totally annoying. If Charlie happens to be the one to get the stool first, then you have to be prepared to lift one foot up because he loves to plant a leg of the stool right in the middle of your foot. Six weeks in, I have mastered the art of the quick diaper change while standing on one foot.
Just when you get the baby down for his morning nap and have the selfish thought that it might be nice to have a shower and brush your teeth with this delicious bit of free time, Charlie throws open the door and makes his usual loud Charlie entrance to inquire what you're doing, waking not only your baby, but probably all the babies within a five mile radius.
It's definitely a challenge having three kids and it does keep things interesting. Bath time can get a little crazy if Teddy is crying in his bouncy seat and Emma and Charlie are both in need of a rinse or a towel. Who do you help first? On Thanksgiving morning Charlie got into bed to cuddle. Teddy had just finished eating and was sleeping in between me and Charlie. Charlie sat up and proceeded to puke all over Teddy and the bed. I just sat there screaming for a few seconds. I was in a total panic. Should I help Charlie or Teddy first? The puker or the pukee? Luckily it was a holiday and Brandon was home. I yelled for him and we managed to bathe both the baby and Charlie, strip the bed and watch Charlie puke a few more times in the span of about five minutes.
As I write this, Charlie is sitting on my lap and he keeps trying to type over my fingers. Emma is yelling for help upstairs and so I keep having to stop what I'm doing and go help her. My brain feels like a tree with a million branches that don't go anywhere. I feel like every thought I have is a fragment, like every attempt I make at cleaning my house or taking a shower is foiled. I'll put on one of my two shirts that fit right now and are breastfeeding friendly and it gets spit up on. All of these things would've driven me to the loony bin a few years ago...maybe even last year, but I have been in training for this level of parenting. I have been tested and honed by Emma and Charlie and now I am ready for anything Teddy can dish out. (Or spit out as the case may be).
It's hard to imagine Teddy being anything but the angelic little dear who is sweetly snoring in the swing right now. But I know better at this point. He won't always sleep our shopping trips away in a sling. He will have opinions about balloons and magazines and what I should make for dinner. He will most likely balk if puked on. Emma keeps asking me why we don't have hundreds of babies. Having hundreds of babies is sort of like a Paula Dean recipe: too much of a good thing. I'll stick with the three I have. They are definitely all I need for now.
I better go...I've got at least two baby blanket forts to clean up. Charlie has just exclaimed that he needs to go potty "the stand-up way" (which he is not proficient at) and dinner time is in 2 hours, so I better get cracking on those leeks. Probably what will happen though is that Teddy will wake up any second and I will end up sitting in the glider breastfeeding for a nice long stretch, staring at the huge mess all around me, thinking of all the things that need to be done and cleaned and taken care of. And I will sigh with the realization that though no one else probably would, I love my life.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
It's not easy being green
So, I just have 8 minutes until I have to pick up the kids, from preschool but I have a question for you cloth diapering mommies out there. Through various means (i.e., my friend Raegan, my mom, dc urban moms) I have amassed quite an array of cloth diapers, all of them with cutesie names, usually involving some play on the word "bum." So, for not too much of an investment, I have quite a collection of diapering options to try out on my official cloth diaper tester, Teddy. Right now Teddy is wearing a Bum Genius (an all-in-one diaper that adjusts to fit a newborn to a toddler) and it is HUGE on him. Poor guy looks like his legs are about 2 inches long. He is all crotch at the moment. Earlier today I tried a Lite Wrap with an old school Gerber pre-fold and it worked pretty well, albeit slightly messy to change. It did leak a bit, forcing me to change his onesie. Anyway, blah, blah, blah, you don't want to hear about me changing diapers and now I have 2 minutes until I have to pick up the kids.
I'll cut to the chase. Here is my question: How green is cloth diapering really?
This article makes me really confused. Read it for yourself, but basically there was a big study and it said that cloth diapering is just as bad for the environment as disposable diapering. Hard to believe, but they did do a study and everything, so maybe it's true. Here's a quote from the article in case you're not in a link-clicking mood...
"To reduce the impact of cloth nappies on climate change parents would have to hang wet nappies out to dry all year round, keep them for years for use on younger children, and make sure the water in their washing machines does not exceed 60C."(Sigh...just when I was getting all excited about cloth nappies.)
How about these G Diapers? These are the ones that are a cloth/disposable hybrid. Sort of the Prius of the diaper world. The thing with these is you use a reusable (super cute) cover and a flushable insert. In theory, there's no washing anything yucky and no filling up landfills. Win win! They are too cute and they sell them at Whole Foods, a place that makes me feel environmentally superior right when I walk in the door. Do you think these are the greenest diapers of all? They are not the cheapest, but seem to be comparable to disposable diapers.
Gotta go for now!
Hi, I'm back. I had to revisit this topic. I have washed the few diapers I used today about a zillion times and I still doubt they're actually clean. In fact I think I'll be running the washing machine again with a big vat of bleach and nothing else. I'm more than a little grossed out by the yellow baby poo in my washing machine. Who knew being green would involve so much yellow? Sorry, that was so lame.
Also, Teddy, while wearing various configurations of cloth diapers, did not have a decent nap all afternoon. He kept falling asleep in the sling and then I would put him down and he'd sleep for about 15 minutes and then he would wake up again. I kept having to check his diaper every time to see if he was wet and it was a huge pain. Once I finally put a disposable diaper on him he went to sleep and has been asleep now for a few hours. Coincidence? Hmmmmm.....
Help! I want to do the best thing for the environment, my pocketbook, the washing machine and my baby. What's the answer?
Hi, I'm back. I had to revisit this topic. I have washed the few diapers I used today about a zillion times and I still doubt they're actually clean. In fact I think I'll be running the washing machine again with a big vat of bleach and nothing else. I'm more than a little grossed out by the yellow baby poo in my washing machine. Who knew being green would involve so much yellow? Sorry, that was so lame.
Also, Teddy, while wearing various configurations of cloth diapers, did not have a decent nap all afternoon. He kept falling asleep in the sling and then I would put him down and he'd sleep for about 15 minutes and then he would wake up again. I kept having to check his diaper every time to see if he was wet and it was a huge pain. Once I finally put a disposable diaper on him he went to sleep and has been asleep now for a few hours. Coincidence? Hmmmmm.....
Help! I want to do the best thing for the environment, my pocketbook, the washing machine and my baby. What's the answer?
Friday, November 14, 2008
Sleep Like a Mommy
Two weeks of missing key hours of sleep have left me feeling a little punchy. I have that feeling I always used to get during finals week in college when my procrastinating would catch up with me and I'd stay up four nights in a row reading about 10 books and writing papers on them. Amazingly, I got pretty good grades in college. I think it's because lack of sleep makes me weirdly hyper and sort of wired...until it doesn't anymore. And then I slip into an abyss of exhaustion, where navigating the world feels like slogging my way through a big ocean of jello, as though everything in my life is sort of suspended in a big, giant jiggler of slow motion. But thankfully that hasn't happened yet! I'm still in the hyper stage of things! Jello salad anyone???
Right now I want to bake bread, clean the bathrooms, write thank you notes, and organize my closet. I actually bought ingredients to make a mini pre-Thanksgiving dinner the other day. Just for fun!! Yep, it's crazy town over here.
I have ideas for writing, things I want to read, exercises I want to do once I can exercise again. I wish I could bottle this baby-induced euphoria and bring it out later when I am in the jello stage of things, which will hit probably around the time I need to get serious about Christmas shopping.
This blog entry would be a lot better, except I keep having to stop every two seconds to tell Emma how to spell "crayon" or how to make a "2." She is manically drawing pictures at the moment and cannot be stopped. She has these creative bursts almost daily where she simply must draw pictures and "write." I guess I can relate to that.
I must admit, despite all this energy I seem to have at the moment, I still fantasize about naps. That's the thing about having three kids...there's really no napping going on around here (except for Teddy). Life has resumed it's normal routine and that routine does not include kids who nap unfortunately. I keep trying to imagine ways I could somehow occupy the kids so that I might close my eyes for a few minutes. Maybe I could paint some open eyes onto my closed eyelids? Start wearing dark sunglasses indoors? Heading to my room for some shut-eye just isn't in the cards right now. We're not at the point yet where Mommy can be unconscious for more than say, five minutes, while the kids roam freely. I envision Charlie bouncing balls into my wedding china and Emma ordering speedboats and diamond rings online while I blissfully snooze upstairs.
Well, I better go wake up Teddy so he can eat and have a little awake time before retiring to bed again. What a life he has! I hope he realizes how lucky he is.
Right now I want to bake bread, clean the bathrooms, write thank you notes, and organize my closet. I actually bought ingredients to make a mini pre-Thanksgiving dinner the other day. Just for fun!! Yep, it's crazy town over here.
I have ideas for writing, things I want to read, exercises I want to do once I can exercise again. I wish I could bottle this baby-induced euphoria and bring it out later when I am in the jello stage of things, which will hit probably around the time I need to get serious about Christmas shopping.
This blog entry would be a lot better, except I keep having to stop every two seconds to tell Emma how to spell "crayon" or how to make a "2." She is manically drawing pictures at the moment and cannot be stopped. She has these creative bursts almost daily where she simply must draw pictures and "write." I guess I can relate to that.
I must admit, despite all this energy I seem to have at the moment, I still fantasize about naps. That's the thing about having three kids...there's really no napping going on around here (except for Teddy). Life has resumed it's normal routine and that routine does not include kids who nap unfortunately. I keep trying to imagine ways I could somehow occupy the kids so that I might close my eyes for a few minutes. Maybe I could paint some open eyes onto my closed eyelids? Start wearing dark sunglasses indoors? Heading to my room for some shut-eye just isn't in the cards right now. We're not at the point yet where Mommy can be unconscious for more than say, five minutes, while the kids roam freely. I envision Charlie bouncing balls into my wedding china and Emma ordering speedboats and diamond rings online while I blissfully snooze upstairs.
Well, I better go wake up Teddy so he can eat and have a little awake time before retiring to bed again. What a life he has! I hope he realizes how lucky he is.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Man Party
Well, it's just Teddy and me at the house for a few hours. Emma's at school and Brandon has taken Charlie to have a "man party." I think the man party involves stopping by Brandon's office and then going to Barnes and Noble for some train table action. Poor Brandon, that's as much of a man party as he gets these days.
Teddy has the funniest receding hairline. His hair is also very dark brown, almost black, so the bald spots really show up. He reminds me of a very tiny, very cute Tony Soprano sometimes, although the similarities stop at the hairline. He is nothing like Tony Soprano temperament-wise. He is the sweetest, most laid-back little guy. He sleeps and sleeps and sleeps (over 6 hours in a row last night!) and then he eats and eats and eats (sometimes for two hours!),then for the few hours he's awake he'll tolerate sitting in the swing or being carried around in the sling while I attempt to resume my normal mommy duties.
Well, he's making his little grumbling noises in the swing now, so I think it's either time for a diaper change or more milk, or both. That's pretty much what his man party consists of so far.
One hour later.... Turns out Teddy's man party also consists of a lovely nap in the moses basket while I do some emailing, maybe get around to the dishes piled up in the sink and the laundry waiting for me in the dryer.
Is it weird that I'm slightly giddy at the thought of having a quiet house and another few child-free minutes to accomplish my mundane little tasks? Life is good!
Teddy has the funniest receding hairline. His hair is also very dark brown, almost black, so the bald spots really show up. He reminds me of a very tiny, very cute Tony Soprano sometimes, although the similarities stop at the hairline. He is nothing like Tony Soprano temperament-wise. He is the sweetest, most laid-back little guy. He sleeps and sleeps and sleeps (over 6 hours in a row last night!) and then he eats and eats and eats (sometimes for two hours!),then for the few hours he's awake he'll tolerate sitting in the swing or being carried around in the sling while I attempt to resume my normal mommy duties.
Well, he's making his little grumbling noises in the swing now, so I think it's either time for a diaper change or more milk, or both. That's pretty much what his man party consists of so far.
One hour later.... Turns out Teddy's man party also consists of a lovely nap in the moses basket while I do some emailing, maybe get around to the dishes piled up in the sink and the laundry waiting for me in the dryer.
Is it weird that I'm slightly giddy at the thought of having a quiet house and another few child-free minutes to accomplish my mundane little tasks? Life is good!
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Chrysalis
So I had a baby last week. What's new with you? Theodore Sayle McBride "Teddy" was born at 2:42 a.m. on October 30th. He weighed 8 lbs 4 oz and was 21 inches long. I was able to have him sans epidural and I'm quite proud of myself I have to say. The hypnobabies approach was very helpful. I was able to turn off my "light switch" (hypnobabies speak for learning how to relax your body instantly) and my labor was really very tolerable...in fact I questioned whether or not I was actually in labor until I went to the hospital and found out I was already 7 centimeters. The doctor (who was a totally random woman I had never laid eyes on before, and was not nearly as impressed with the fact that I was having a baby as I was--she was practically yawning through the entire event) broke my water right after declaring I was 7 centimeters. I stood up so that I could continue my favorite laboring position: the junior high slow dance. I have always kind of laughed at the pregnancy book pictures of women in labor and the strange positions they recommend to help labor along. The junior high slow dance position is perhaps the goofiest one of all, but for some reason, it helped more than anything. In case you're not familiar with this position, it's pretty self-explanatory (if you've ever been to junior high and you've ever slow danced). The pregnant woman puts her arms around her partner's neck and then sort of shuffles back and forth as though dancing to "Patience" by Guns N' Roses. So anyway, once my water was broken, I stood up and assumed the JHSDP and proceeded to have the worst contraction anyone has ever had since the dawn of time. There was no light switch big enough to turn this thing off. I was screaming at the top of my lungs. Not like ouch, I stubbed my toe screaming, more like I'm about to have an 8 lb 4 oz baby screaming. Doctor blase must've heard my screams because she came running in and demanded that I get back on the table because I was about to have my baby on the floor. I was in the middle of the 2nd contraction heard round the world and could not hop up on the table at that particular moment. Eventually I got up on the table somehow and proceeded to have the baby. Once again, more yelling, lots of pain and grabbing onto Brandon for dear life. I just remember thinking, Oh my, I am having a baby right now and I feel every single thing. It felt like being strapped into a roller coaster that I was having second thoughts about. It was too late for drugs, so I just had to get through the pain and be tough. I will spare you the gory details, but it was a little scary there for a couple of minutes. It didn't help that my annoying doctor made me lay down and on my back instead of allowing me to sit up like I was led to believe I would be able to do. Anyway, the baby came out eventually and when he did it was the best feeling in the world. I felt like I had just climbed Mount Everest or run a marathon or something, like there was nothing I couldn't accomplish. The cord had been wrapped around his neck pretty tightly and so he wasn't crying when he came out. They let me hold him for about 2 seconds and then they whisked him away to go sit under the little tanning bed thingy and catch his breath. In no time I was chit chatting with everyone and drinking grape juice. I felt like a million bucks. I apologized for all the screaming earlier and the nurse and doctor shrugged and acted like it was no big deal. It's kind of funny that I was trying so hard to be charming to everyone after nearly deafening them with my blood-curdling screams mere moments before.
Teddy is just a pure delight. I think the third time really is a charm. I am just enjoying every second of his existence so much. I catch myself looking at pictures of Teddy that we took a week ago and feeling nostalgic for the time of his babyhood that has already passed. I just want everything to stay exactly as it is because it is so perfect at this very moment. My third time around I know all too well how fleeting everything is, how you think babyhood will last and last and you are just lousy with all this delicious wonder and innocence flooding your household and your life constantly. It's so easy to take it all for granted and then you wake up and your baby has turned into a giant who asks for privacy when they go to the bathroom and answers the telephone when you can't get to it in time. Not that those things are bad...those are definitely goals we should all be working towards with our children, but not Teddy. Teddy, I'm hoping will stay swaddled in his blankets, making his little chirpy sounds when he's nursing forever and ever. I think that's fair, right?
The kids' nickname for Teddy is sort of weird. They call him "the chrysalis." As in, "I want to see the chrysalis." Or, "where's the chrysalis?" (um...in his bed sleeping.) This all started when Emma saw him all swaddled up and decided he looked like a butterfly in the pupa stage. Here's a picture of a chrysalis:
Teddy is just a pure delight. I think the third time really is a charm. I am just enjoying every second of his existence so much. I catch myself looking at pictures of Teddy that we took a week ago and feeling nostalgic for the time of his babyhood that has already passed. I just want everything to stay exactly as it is because it is so perfect at this very moment. My third time around I know all too well how fleeting everything is, how you think babyhood will last and last and you are just lousy with all this delicious wonder and innocence flooding your household and your life constantly. It's so easy to take it all for granted and then you wake up and your baby has turned into a giant who asks for privacy when they go to the bathroom and answers the telephone when you can't get to it in time. Not that those things are bad...those are definitely goals we should all be working towards with our children, but not Teddy. Teddy, I'm hoping will stay swaddled in his blankets, making his little chirpy sounds when he's nursing forever and ever. I think that's fair, right?
The kids' nickname for Teddy is sort of weird. They call him "the chrysalis." As in, "I want to see the chrysalis." Or, "where's the chrysalis?" (um...in his bed sleeping.) This all started when Emma saw him all swaddled up and decided he looked like a butterfly in the pupa stage. Here's a picture of a chrysalis:
And here's a picture of Teddy:
So, you can kind of see how she might see a similarity. Anyway, by definition, a chrysalis is in transition, it's turning into something else. And it's the same with Teddy. I know this. But for now I'd really just like for him to stay a chrysalis for, say, ever. Is that so much to ask?
Thursday, October 23, 2008
God Said No
Emma has taken to praying before we eat our lunch these days...something, I'm embarrassed to say, I haven't really taught her to do. We generally pray before dinner and before bedtime, but for some reason our cheerios and pb & j sandwiches have been missing out on their daily blessing around here.
She is trying to sneak in as many prayers as possible in a campaign to get the baby to come out sooner. She may be more impatient for this baby to be born than I am. One day when she was begging my stomach to release the baby treasure within, I told her that, really, when the baby comes out was up to God (and the baby) and that we didn't have a lot of say in it. I told her if she wanted the baby to come out that she should pray about it and ask God to make it happen. Problem solved, and onto unloading the dishwasher for me. Ahh, but things are never that simple are they?
So now Emma prays before lunch and at other times of the day. Instead of her usual rote prayer where she pretty much thanks him for Daddy, Mommy, Charlie and a whole laundry list of things that are important to her like leaves and spider costumes and granola bars, she is now asking God for something. No, she is not asking, she is beseeching. Beseeching is a really weird word. I don't think I've ever written it down before. Anyway, her prayer starts out "Dear God" like usual and then she gets down to business. "God?" She says, as though she's checking to see if he's listening. "God? Please let this baby be born TOMORROW. Amen." She doesn't throw in any of that "if it's your will" jazz, or "if you're not busy with other stuff" like I might do. I always feel weird asking God for things so boldly. I usually try to be more cool about it.
Well she prayed that prayer two days ago and here we all are still, me typing at the computer, the baby pushing my tummy out so it's almost touching the keyboard. Yesterday, Emma told me, apropos of nothing, "God said no." We hadn't been talking about the baby or anything, but I knew what she was talking about. It's a hard truth to witness your child learn...that sometimes God says no to what we ask for. I imagine, up until now, Emma has thought of God as this big Santa Claus type of guy up in Heaven who is just hanging out granting wishes to people from his little workshop in the clouds. I even think of him that way sometimes and then get frustrated when God says no. Why would he say no to sick friends getting better, to us moving closer to family, to a child's request for a baby to be born? I don't pretend to fully understand it. All I know for sure is that he does have a plan for all of us and it is better than any of us could envision for ourselves. Maybe his vision will not make our lives easier, or fancier or more comfortable, but it will most likely shape us into what and who he wants us to be, which is sort of the goal of, well, life. Right?
So, all Emma and I can do at this point is be patient and pray and hope for the best. It's not glamorous, but I think it's teaching us both more than we realize: that we are not in charge here, and that's a good thing.
She is trying to sneak in as many prayers as possible in a campaign to get the baby to come out sooner. She may be more impatient for this baby to be born than I am. One day when she was begging my stomach to release the baby treasure within, I told her that, really, when the baby comes out was up to God (and the baby) and that we didn't have a lot of say in it. I told her if she wanted the baby to come out that she should pray about it and ask God to make it happen. Problem solved, and onto unloading the dishwasher for me. Ahh, but things are never that simple are they?
So now Emma prays before lunch and at other times of the day. Instead of her usual rote prayer where she pretty much thanks him for Daddy, Mommy, Charlie and a whole laundry list of things that are important to her like leaves and spider costumes and granola bars, she is now asking God for something. No, she is not asking, she is beseeching. Beseeching is a really weird word. I don't think I've ever written it down before. Anyway, her prayer starts out "Dear God" like usual and then she gets down to business. "God?" She says, as though she's checking to see if he's listening. "God? Please let this baby be born TOMORROW. Amen." She doesn't throw in any of that "if it's your will" jazz, or "if you're not busy with other stuff" like I might do. I always feel weird asking God for things so boldly. I usually try to be more cool about it.
Well she prayed that prayer two days ago and here we all are still, me typing at the computer, the baby pushing my tummy out so it's almost touching the keyboard. Yesterday, Emma told me, apropos of nothing, "God said no." We hadn't been talking about the baby or anything, but I knew what she was talking about. It's a hard truth to witness your child learn...that sometimes God says no to what we ask for. I imagine, up until now, Emma has thought of God as this big Santa Claus type of guy up in Heaven who is just hanging out granting wishes to people from his little workshop in the clouds. I even think of him that way sometimes and then get frustrated when God says no. Why would he say no to sick friends getting better, to us moving closer to family, to a child's request for a baby to be born? I don't pretend to fully understand it. All I know for sure is that he does have a plan for all of us and it is better than any of us could envision for ourselves. Maybe his vision will not make our lives easier, or fancier or more comfortable, but it will most likely shape us into what and who he wants us to be, which is sort of the goal of, well, life. Right?
So, all Emma and I can do at this point is be patient and pray and hope for the best. It's not glamorous, but I think it's teaching us both more than we realize: that we are not in charge here, and that's a good thing.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The calm before the storm
Everything is strangely normal at our house considering everything is about to change in just 19 short days from now. And no, I'm not just referring to the election, although election day just happens to be my due date. Everything seems relatively normal, but there's an electricity in the air, an anticipation that makes the mundane seem more poignant. As I give the kids a bath at night I think, these are the last nights I'm only going to have to bathe two kids. As we struggle to go down three flights of stairs and head off fifteen minutes late to wherever we were supposed to be fifteen minutes ago, I think, these are the last few times I will only have to haul two kids down three flights of stairs and strap them into car seats. Pretty soon I will be nursing a baby while Emma and Charlie do their art work all over the kitchen floor and I will be rendered essentially powerless if they decide to start painting their toenails with watercolors or building a robot out of my colanders.
I realize intellectually that I have it pretty easy right now as I can do things like head upstairs to take a shower whenever the mood strikes me and not worry about leaving the kids unattended for a few minutes. I have a few afternoons off during the week while they are both at preschool and I am a giantly pregnant lady of leisure, free to waddle the aisles of Babies 'r Us and Target all by myself. Or sometimes during their preschool hours I will put on my hypnobirthing CDs and catch a few hypno-induced zzzz's (I have yet to make it through an entire CD without falling asleep).
Life is good right now and I have it pretty easy. I realize this, but I still can't stand the waiting any longer. I am just dying to meet this new baby and have him come join our little foursome, making everything wonderfully chaotic and complicated. I know that he will only be about 20 inches long, won't be able to see more than a few feet in front of his face, will likely sleep a good portion of the time and eat the rest of the time, but I have been preparing our home as though we were expecting Martha Stewart or Prince Charles to drop in for a visit any second. Just in case the new babe decides to go rifling through my closet, he will find that I have dedicated certain areas for all my craft stuff, my yarn carefully wound and organized by color, my scrapbook stickers, paper, and pictures lovingly appointed. I have organized my pantry for him, cleaned out everyone's closets and the garage. I have gone to Costco to buy a forest's worth of paper towels and toilet paper, shampoo by the gallons, tomato sauce and coffee by the crate. It's like I'm preparing for some kind of permanent house guest who just happens to be staying with us during Y2K or a hurricane.
When I'm not obsessively nesting, I've been trying to pass the time by doing some projects (or "projecks" as Emma would call them) that help me keep my mind off of the whole having a baby thing. Here's what I've been up to lately:
Planning, sketching, discussing and designing Halloween costumes. Halloween and the potential craftiness that it can inspire has been a great distraction to me and the kids. We have been discussing their Halloween costumes for about the past two weeks and we're just now getting around to the business of actually making them. Here is our sketch of Emma's Supergirl costume:
This was the first of many Halloween costume ideas she has come up with. She changes her mind daily though. Most recently she has decided she wanted to be a spider-witch. There was also a point in time where she wanted to be a star, for me to be Earth, Brandon to be Saturn and Charlie to be a rocket. I think I would make a great planet, so I was all excited about this idea, but, alas, she has moved on to other ideas. Last night she said she just wanted to be a princess. Whatever. I've relinquished any control over her and her Halloween ideas.
Charlie is much more decisive and focused in his interests. At first he wanted to be Wall-e. Here is our Wall-e costume sketch:
I think in theory this would be a really cute costume for Charlie. I like that he's into nerdy stuff like environmentally conscious robots and I want to support that interest, but I know Charlie. There is no way he's wearing a spray-painted box for more than like two seconds. He is all about robots, but he is also all about comfort and so Wall-e is just not in the cards I think. Luckily, he decided on his own that he wanted to be a "3-2-1 blast-off rocket" instead and I think that sounds like a much more wearable costume (at least the way I'm designing it). So here is the "3-2-1 blast-off rocket" so far....
It's a work in progress, but I think it will be cute. I just have to figure out a way to make the pointy top part of the rocket in such a way that is comfy, yet pointy and rocket-like. I'm thinking I'll make some sort of cone hat out of black felt and somehow affix it to a hat or hooded sweatshirt? I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any.
Emma just informed me that she decided she wants to be Supergirl now. Looks like it's time to figure out a way to make a yellow sequin-sparkle mask and track down some purple tights. I better run. I hope the baby is born soon, but not too soon. There's lots of important work still to be done!
I realize intellectually that I have it pretty easy right now as I can do things like head upstairs to take a shower whenever the mood strikes me and not worry about leaving the kids unattended for a few minutes. I have a few afternoons off during the week while they are both at preschool and I am a giantly pregnant lady of leisure, free to waddle the aisles of Babies 'r Us and Target all by myself. Or sometimes during their preschool hours I will put on my hypnobirthing CDs and catch a few hypno-induced zzzz's (I have yet to make it through an entire CD without falling asleep).
Life is good right now and I have it pretty easy. I realize this, but I still can't stand the waiting any longer. I am just dying to meet this new baby and have him come join our little foursome, making everything wonderfully chaotic and complicated. I know that he will only be about 20 inches long, won't be able to see more than a few feet in front of his face, will likely sleep a good portion of the time and eat the rest of the time, but I have been preparing our home as though we were expecting Martha Stewart or Prince Charles to drop in for a visit any second. Just in case the new babe decides to go rifling through my closet, he will find that I have dedicated certain areas for all my craft stuff, my yarn carefully wound and organized by color, my scrapbook stickers, paper, and pictures lovingly appointed. I have organized my pantry for him, cleaned out everyone's closets and the garage. I have gone to Costco to buy a forest's worth of paper towels and toilet paper, shampoo by the gallons, tomato sauce and coffee by the crate. It's like I'm preparing for some kind of permanent house guest who just happens to be staying with us during Y2K or a hurricane.
When I'm not obsessively nesting, I've been trying to pass the time by doing some projects (or "projecks" as Emma would call them) that help me keep my mind off of the whole having a baby thing. Here's what I've been up to lately:
Planning, sketching, discussing and designing Halloween costumes. Halloween and the potential craftiness that it can inspire has been a great distraction to me and the kids. We have been discussing their Halloween costumes for about the past two weeks and we're just now getting around to the business of actually making them. Here is our sketch of Emma's Supergirl costume:
This was the first of many Halloween costume ideas she has come up with. She changes her mind daily though. Most recently she has decided she wanted to be a spider-witch. There was also a point in time where she wanted to be a star, for me to be Earth, Brandon to be Saturn and Charlie to be a rocket. I think I would make a great planet, so I was all excited about this idea, but, alas, she has moved on to other ideas. Last night she said she just wanted to be a princess. Whatever. I've relinquished any control over her and her Halloween ideas.
Charlie is much more decisive and focused in his interests. At first he wanted to be Wall-e. Here is our Wall-e costume sketch:
I think in theory this would be a really cute costume for Charlie. I like that he's into nerdy stuff like environmentally conscious robots and I want to support that interest, but I know Charlie. There is no way he's wearing a spray-painted box for more than like two seconds. He is all about robots, but he is also all about comfort and so Wall-e is just not in the cards I think. Luckily, he decided on his own that he wanted to be a "3-2-1 blast-off rocket" instead and I think that sounds like a much more wearable costume (at least the way I'm designing it). So here is the "3-2-1 blast-off rocket" so far....
It's a work in progress, but I think it will be cute. I just have to figure out a way to make the pointy top part of the rocket in such a way that is comfy, yet pointy and rocket-like. I'm thinking I'll make some sort of cone hat out of black felt and somehow affix it to a hat or hooded sweatshirt? I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any.
Emma just informed me that she decided she wants to be Supergirl now. Looks like it's time to figure out a way to make a yellow sequin-sparkle mask and track down some purple tights. I better run. I hope the baby is born soon, but not too soon. There's lots of important work still to be done!
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