More Ramblings

Two days in a row! How about that! Back as promised to pick up where I left off last night. Which brings us to last week's rainy morning mission to our soon-to-close Macy's to scoop up some discounted Fiestaware. I won't drone on about the reasons for the quantities shown above, but will just say that I found exactly what I needed to round out my numbers and I'm overjoyed to finally have yellow dinner plates. 

Moving along to last weekend. Poor Amy fell at recess last Friday, after colliding with another kid at full speed and smacked the back of her head on the parking lot. She was okay...but not quite. A trip to the ER on Saturday morning confirmed our Dr. Google diagnosis of a concussion. Her chief complaints, reluctantly admitted, were nausea and dizziness. She was unfocused and really not herself. But all is well that ends well, and by Monday she was back to her usual perky self. I am so grateful for her speedy recovery of course, but also for the fact that Don was home to take her to the hospital and make that a positive experience for her. And she's pleased that she now has a good ER story to tell. 

On Sunday we all stayed home taking it easy and for me that meant an amazing morning of nearly uninterrupted sewing - I all but finished a quilt! 

I cut the 5.5" squares last January from a bunch of unrelated fabrics I've collected over the years - mostly fat quarters from Joann's. The whole thing measures 40x45" and just needs some binding and will probably serve as a quick playmat for Matthew. I thought I was piecing these rows "randomly" but apparently I can't be random to save my life - when it came time to arrange the strips I realized I'd used the same sequence way too often. Oh well, if nothing else this quilt has gotten me inspired to finish up a bunch of other half-done projects. I'm hoping to keep up the momentum. 

And here's just two, okay three, more pictures to bring it all up to date: 

 

Someone far too big for the rock-n-play, and someone just the right size: 

 

My little boy turned two months old on Wednesday! 

 

I'd say he's pretty happy with life so far :) 

Rambling Through Pictures

I can't seem to organize a cogent theme in my head for tonight's blog post, so I'm just going to use the "ramblings" of my title as both a noun and a verb, start with January 1st on my camera roll and grab pictures that capture a moment I'd like to tell about. I might make this a two or three part post; we'll see how it goes. 

 

New Year's Day. my boys both had on dark blue shirts and Matthew was flexing his newly-found smiling muscles sitting next to his big brother on the couch. William had spread his beloved "Buddy" blanket across them both. I snapped about a dozen pictures, trying to catch the smile. They were mostly blurry; W is making a goofy face in this one. 

 

Later the same day I finished an art-supply reorganization by testing out every marker in the house and pitching the ones that didn't work. I did this while sipping champagne, which made it seem rather like a decadent way to spend precious free time. 

 

Caroline and I hit a nice stride once the big kids went back to school. This set of spelling puzzles has been a favorite activity lately; she's pretty good at them. 

Sorting through my jar of coins has been another winner activity. 

 

And lest it seems like all wholesome, enriching activities around here, C has also spent a good deal of time with her very own Kindle. So have A and W. Philosophically, I'm not completely comfortable with my kids each having their own "tablets"... but for all practical purposes these have been a sanity saver. More on that another time. 

 

One more mornings with C picture - all her favorite things on her little yellow table. This was a good day. 

 

...Especially when we got to play at the playground after W finished school later on. These two have always been quite fond of each other and now they can really cook up some games together. 

 

Then there was this. I don't even know what to say. After dinner. Ditched the clothes. Found the potty. Brother crying. Yikes. 

Aaaand all those pictures actually were before the post of Matthew sleeping by the Christmas tree, so that shows just how behind I am! But it is late now so with any luck I'll continue this tomorrow night. TTFN! 

Asleep by the Christmas Tree

Tonight is the first D has been away in an unprecedented three-month stretch. We have grown quite used to his absences in nearly ten years of service. Being left alone with multiple children of very young ages is not new to me. But tonight I felt like it might as well be, after coming to rely so heavily on his company and help in all these many weeks. Trying to get the 7 week old and the 2 year old to sleep by myself tonight was downright ugly, as I knew it probably would be. We were all crying for a little bit there. But really, it was one bad hour and now all are sleeping peacefully. Sweet Matthew perhaps most of all, as he finally settled in  his cozy bed in the kitchen, with the vent fan on for a steady hum, and next to the warm light of the Christmas tree. 

Before I moved him and turned off the lights I paused, thinking how this was a scene that might never be again. The tree is dry and will likely move out this weekend, probably tomorrow. By next Christmas we will be in another house and Matthew will be far, far too big for sleeping in the rock-n-play. 

I know I keep saying this but this fourth child of mine has been a constant reminder of how fleeting these baby moments are, and how important it is to carve them in my memory forever. 

In Summary

I don't really know what sort of summary this is going to turn out to be. All I know is it is 11pm on New Year's Eve and I'm determined to conclude my blogging year in a proper fashion. So here are some of my thoughts of the last six weeks, in no particular order. 

This has seemed like a very long six weeks. Matthew is growing quickly, for sure, but it seems like he's been here forever. We are all so totally in love with him and he's been pretty easy as far as newborns go. Maybe that's how fourth children are - he has to go with the flow, and D and I are experienced enough as parents to not get too worked up about handling him. He's a really good boy. The big kids are smitten, and fairly helpful. Caroline is angelic in her treatment of him directly but is very possessive of me now that she has some competition, and that's been a bit challenging. She also needs to lose her afternoon nap, painful as that is to admit. She's tired and sleeps well in the afternoon but bedtime has become abominably late and something has to give. 

Oh, and she turned TWO three weeks ago! 

We had three super busy school weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas break. Executing that whole show went well enough with the addition of baby. No complaints, really, except for all the rain during that time too. Made all the in-and-out a touch miserable. I do feel someone was watching out for me though, because D was home every night thanks to the bad weather and continued mechanical problems with his ship. Huge blessing. 

Matthew's birth? It was the best birth experience of any of them. I've now had babies in each of the four states we've lived in since joining the CG, and it's been interesting having different doctors each time. This time was my first with a midwife, and now I know why everyone waxes on about how wonderful midwives are. Unlike OB's who more or less just show up in time to catch the baby, my midwife was there with me for the last two intense hours of labor - the whole time, rubbing my back, really coaching me way more than any doctor or nurse I've ever had. Made such a difference. And of course I always leave the hospital with such a case of the warm and fuzzies for all the wonderulness of labor and delivery nurses. Such amazing ladies who want nothing more than to care for us moms and our little babies. Angels. And I've come to treasure the hospital time. Peace and quiet with nothing to do besides care for a very sleepy newborn and be taken care of myself. There is a luxury to it that is undervalued, I believe. 

What else? Christmas was very nice, once we got to it. We all shared a stomach bug in the days before which was pretty awful but even after feeling better I beat myself up pretty well feeling like I hadn't done enough "Christmas Cheer" things like making cookies or even getting out all the decorations. I cried a lot on Christmas Eve. But Christmas Day was lovely and sunny and relaxed and happy and joyful and things were looking up. Since then we've had a lot of really low-key days at home, and I've been finding time to slowly catch up on little projects here and there. 

I'm so pleased that it is the New Year - I'm really ready to do lots of cleaning, sorting, purging and tidying. Time to begin preparing for another move this summer. Exciting things in the year ahead! 

Thanks as always for sticking with me on this little blog for another year. I'm planning to get back to a better routine of posting as we return to our regularly scheduled programming here. Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year! 

A Little Tired

 

He spends lots of time sleeping, though of course not always when I'd like to be sleeping. C is still sorting out her nursing/jealousy issues, especially at night. Oh, and we've got some yucky illness making the rounds through the family. So I'm a little tired. I'm not feeling terribly festive either, unfortunately, and hope I can find the time and energy to at least finish wrapping the presents. Even better if I can make some Christmas cookies and the peppermint bark my sweet and patient oldest child has been asking to make for weeks now. 

When I check my blog in the evening to unwind a bit and read through the words of my other favorite blogging mommies I feel so pathetic for not updating my own, especially since there is so much I want to write about our first month with wonderful little Matthew. I think though there is part of me that still wants to just hold the memories close, to revel in them in my own head and make sure they are firm there in their own right, not just memories based on words. I want to remember his birth, and how little a 7 pound baby is compared to all my other 8 pounders. I want to remember is soft skin and fuzzy hair forever. A fourth baby is so humbling, so precious. 

I'll get back in the groove here and share more particulars soon. Till then... Merry Christmas to all my friends out there! 

Two Weeks, in Pictures

 

Oh, so much to tell about the last two weeks or so. What a blessing little baby Matthew is; we are all so in love. My parents were here over Thanksgiving as well, and I couldn't be more thankful for their visit. I want to write more details about this special time, but will save that for just a bit later. For now I'll just share a few pictures before I get too back-logged. 

More soon! Must hurry and get caught up with Christmas first, as it is nearly December 6th and I haven't even gotten the Advent calendar out yet. I hope to check back before another two weeks go zooming by. Till then! 

Welcome!

 

Welcome Matthew Stephen! Born early yesterday morning, 3:55 am. 7 lbs 3 oz, 19.5" and perfect! My heart is so full. Will report more soon!