Saturday, November 22, 2008

Yum!!

We went to Mass tonite.  We usually do not go on Saturday nights.  A very quiet Mass, not the spot for 4 kids who are hungry, tired, out of sorts, not used to this routine. We usually go on Sundays with most of the other families.  Well, for those of you who are not used to this kind of thing.... During Mass, we all go to the altar to receive the Body and Blood of Christ.  Kids who have not yet received their First Holy Communion or those from different faiths, still go to the table with their hands crossed  across their chests to receive a blessing.  Nick (and Sophie) know to do this.  Tonite, I was directly behind Nick as he received his blessing and I received the Sacrament....Nick, who hates to feel like he is missing anything said in a very loud voice "YUM!!!" as I received the Body.  Oh my! It hit me like a ton of bricks!  This kid is voicing what we should all feel. That feeling that we are getting something special, something we have been waiting for. YUM!!  Something delicious. Something spectacular. This communion that we have been waiting all week to enjoy.  I love these lightbulb moments!  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

7 Random Motherhood Facts (or more)

There was an interesting challenge over at One Mother's Day,  Since Nick and I are home sick today, I have time to play along.  It is a twist on the 7 random things about me idea.  This challenge is more interesting for me to write about. I am even twisting it a little more and only writing about childbirth stuff. Here goes:  There are way more, but these are what quickly came to the top of my stuffed up head. 

1.  My first child was born at 35 weeks.  My water was leaking so I was admitted into the hospital, they spent a whole day trying to get contractions to stop, then the next day starting them up again.  I had no idea what I was doing.  The whole thing was a nightmare and I have blocked most of it from my mind.  Tony was whisked off to the NICU at another hospital while I stayed at the hospital where I delivered. I think the whole thing was a medical screw-up and could have been prevented.  I did not get to see him until the next day.  It totally sucked. He stayed in the NICU for 4 days.  I stayed there during the days, but had to go home at night. I was a mess.

2.  I had (of course, since they gave him a bottle in the NICU) issues nursing him.  I refused to give up and finally had him nursing exclusively after a few months.  This was no easy feat.  I went for a few months with no sleep and no help.  My darling husband was inviting people over for dinner right and left, to show off the new baby and thinking I should be the perfect hostess.  He had no idea of what was going on.  He is somewhat clueless. (i still love him)

3.  I could not wait to get pregnant and have another baby. I had to talk my husband into it.  He gave in quite easily.

4.  My husband did not want to find out the gender of the next baby.  I found out anyway.  My friend accidentally told him the same day. oops! 

5.  My second birth was pretty painless. Lots of drugs. I had no idea I could do it without any. Claire came out all scrunchy looking.  She nursed like a champ.  I finally cut her off when she was 18 months old.  That was mean.  I still had no idea what I was doing. I guess Big dad is not the only one who could be labeled clueless at this time.

6.  I could not wait to get pregnant again and have baby #3. I really had to do some serious convincing with my husband.  He did not give in as easily this time.  I really think he was shocked when the time came and I told him we were expecting again. At this point my medical chart contained the words "advanced maternal age" 

7.  Sophie was born in 2 hours with no drugs. I arrived at the hospital at 7:30 am, had her wrapped up and nursing by 9:30 am. I wanted to go home at about noon, but they would not let me.  I should have had a home birth.  I guess I really did know what I was doing.  She started sitting at 4 months and walking at 8 months-no joke.  

(supposed to be 7 things but I'm not done)

8. Could not wait to have another kid, looked toward adoption.  We always wanted to adopt. It took a few months, maybe more to finally convince my husband that this was not a crazy idea.  He finally gave in, and was on board for another adventure.

9.  We asked for the referral of a child between the ages of 1-3.  We thought since we were "older"  we would get an older child.  We were overjoyed at the referral of a baby.  He was a super-cute baby, too.  He nursed from a bottle sitting with me holding him in the same rocking chair where I nursed everyone else.  He had his beloved "ba-ba" until he was 3.5 years old.  I was letting him make up for lost time.  I knew what I was doing.

10.  I guess we should have started earlier.  I would love to have a bunch more kids.  I am still in the convincing my husband for another adoption stage, which, this time has proved to be many times more difficult than ever before.  I do not think I am making any progress. What do you think will happen?

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Back from State Finals

We are back from State Finals and our gymnast did not do as well as we thought she could have.  Big Dad has a great perspective on all of this which I will share at a later date, but i think he is right on.  Our entire team was off, but it has been a weird week. As many of you know, we had a small fire at our gym last Monday which in itself was not huge, but activated the sprinkler system.  All of our equipment and floors were soaked and ruined.  We will most likely be displaced for workout space for at least 2 months.  On the bright side, another semi-local gym has opened their doors to us and has allowed our team girls to work out there.  Not a small thing, as we are a huge team of rambunctious and unsocialized wild girls who happen to be exceptional gymnasts (also great singers) Anyone heard 7 nine-year old girls belting the song "Super-Girl" for 9 miles in a closed car?  Good Times!! We carpool now!  Honestly I am not complaining.  It is true joy for me to see my daughter having so much fun.  She loves her team, she loves what she is doing, she is so happy.  Worth it!! 

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Very Fun-Filled Days

We have been having a lot of exciting things going on in the last few weeks. I will share some highlights.  We still have more fun coming up with Nicky's birthday coming on Friday. Tony's last Football Game and our last visit from the Social Worker both on Saturday.  We will have our final Gymnastic Competition the following weekend, then Basketball will start.  WooHoo! 

We stepped out on Halloween Night with the Neighborhood Gang.  I got a little irritated at the older ones because they "ditched" Big Daddy, Nicholas and me.  We apparently were not moving with their lightening speeds and they wanted to hang with their friends and not their parents or their three-year old brother who happened to be dressed as a skunk.  Luckily there were a lot of other parents supervising the mayhem.  We finally met up and collected the bunch of them.  They got SOOO much candy.
Tony celebrated his birthday with a few of his buddies.  Big Dad and Curtis took them all bowling then back to the house for a BBQ.  I wondered how B-Dad was going to handle all of the boys.  He is not used to that kind of thing.  Guess who happened to be bowling in the lane next to the boys? Their School Principal!!! He just happened to be there bowling with his son. HA HA HA! Dad and Curtis got to enjoy themselves while the boys acted like perfect angels.  Big Dad always comes out smelling like a rose.
This is the pile of laundry that I happened to be left with after the busy weekend.  This pile extends up to the second floor.  Can anyone guess what I was doing all day on Monday?
Our Gymnast had her big Sectionals Meet.  She qualified for State Finals by the seat of her leotard.  Not the best effort on her part.  She did make her goal of qualification for the next meet. I know it sounds like I am less than impressed and I am being one of those crazy Sports-Moms, but you know as a parent when your child is not giving it their all.  For whatever reason, she lacked that spark she needed to get the scores she is capable of making. She just works too hard throughout the year for her not to bring out her best "game" at an event of this magnitude. I am sure she will put forth her best effort for State.  The girls on her team are so darn cute.  They love to ham it up for the cameras.  

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Two Things

First, please go visit little Miss Zoey Grace at her blog "Little Wonders"  Zoey and her family can use all of the love, prayers and support that they can get right now.  Her button is to the left.  Just click on it to get you there.

Second, The Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree Project is in full swing. It is their biggest fundraiser of the year. Click on the RR button to the left then go to the Angel Tree.  Wait until you see the precious faces of the babies that are all waiting for families.  Our little Angel Liza is all the way at the bottom on the last row.