the livin' is easy

THIS is what summer in the country is all about!

Too bad I didn't have my camera handy to capture my husband on it!!!

Half n Half

"I miss the hospital!"

I have said it about a million times in the past 5 weeks. I cried both times with both babies. You go from having 'round the clock nurses and doctors at your beck and call, and 24 hours room service (Nothing like scrambled eggs and toast with a strawberry shake at 3 in the morning!!) to being back in your house with a pile of laundry and dirty dishes staring at you.

Now, I happen to have THE BEST NEIGHBORS in the world who cleaned my ENTIRE HOUSE while I was in the hospital having Jackson. (We're talking even toilets people.....they even turned down my bed for me!!!) So that was about the best thing in the world to come home to a CLEAN house.....

I will always say that the scariest day of my life was the day we brought Madeline home. I was beyond nervous and still in lots of pain from my C-Section. Plus I was like "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH A NEWBORN!" The first nights with both babies were terrible - they only slept 10-15 minutes at a time.....

In the hospital you have people seeming to trip over themselves to help you. With both children we had a special nurse who went out of their way to really look out for us. I was breastfeeding like crazy so I was ordering food every two hours - movies on demand - people visiting - a nursery to send the baby to so we could get a 3 hours stretch of sleep.....then - HOME! no help, no nursery, and you can have food any time of day but you have to cook it yourself and worse - clean up the dishes.

I decided there should be a "halfway house" for new parents. After you leave the hospital (and really, should they boot you out after 2 days???? come ON - you just GAVE BIRTH!!) you go to this like....apartment complex. There's a nurse or two on staff that you can meet with, there's food made for you and your family - but you have more space and you can come and go - like your own little condo. You could still send your baby to a nursery for a few hour break if you need it, but yet you'd have your "own" space to live in. It wouldn't be as scary as being back home with NO medical professionals around and all of your chores piling up around you... Who WOULDN"T take advantage of that??

The tough part would be selling the idea to insurance..... sigh....

Bye Bye Baby

Well I finally got my act together enough to remove the spinning baby from my blog. I wondered how long he would sit and spin there......

The New Arrival

Steve wanted to share pics and specs of the new arrival!!

600 pounds

54 inches wide

No pain in this birth! HAR HAR

Summertime......and the livin' is easy

Madeline and I had a great day together today. I felt like getting out of the house so we decided to search for some garage sales! There were a few in town, but not with the kind of stuff we were looking for! Too bad! : ( I decided to head down to Hamilton Towne Center to let Madeline roam around on the playground there for a nice change of pace.

We got primo parking right in front of Gymboree where I noticed a 60% off sign in the window and made a mental note to come back after we played. *Why is it SO fun to buy children's clothes and NO fun to by clothes for yourself? UG I dread it.....* So we walked over to the little playground and Madeline played her heart out. It was early and cool and NO other kids there so she had her reign of the toys. Mostly she just wanted to pick up handfuls of rubber mulch and put it on all the benches and slides. We'd been there about 30 minutes and I was seriously enjoying myself. The park in our town is great, but it's quite large so she's always running all over creation wanting to do different things. This one was just small enough that I could sit in ONE place and not have to get up 200 times and still see her all the time. Next thing I know a nice lady is coming out of Cuppa Coffee with a HUGE smoothie for me and a little one for Madeline. She told me she felt sorry for me being all massively pregnant outside in the heat so she brought us a treat and a punch card! YUM - 4 berry smoothie! Madeline gulped hers down and went back to playing. Sitting in the shade with the wind blowing watching my daughter play and drinking a free smoothie! What could be better?

Well a few minutes later another lady came in with her 2 daughters around Madeline's age and she was also pregnant. She had a Gymboree bag with her so I asked her if the deals were any good. She told me YES and gave me an extra coupon she had for 20% off your entire purchase.*woot!* The girls all played together very nicely, and after a visit to the fountain and Madeline's first experiance throwing change into a fountain (that's going to bleed me dry let me tell you!) we hit up Gymboree! They had two racks FULL of merchandise already marked at 40% off and you got to take off an extra 20%. I asked if I could still use my 20% coupon and she said I could! *double woot!* So I made out like a bandit (ok rather madeline and babyboy did). Since I was feeling lucky we hit up Old Navy as well. I've been wanting some more run around/get dirty shoes for Madeline as her croclings that I love and adore have already taken a beating! I found some really cute ones at O.N. on sale for 10 bucks that have a really nice tread on the bottom which makes me feel good with all the running, jumping, and climbing she'll be doing this summer! They were having some type of summer kick off at the store so she also got a super cool bouncy ball, and her picture taken with a big plastic dog at the front of the store. (That soooo totally made her day!)

These are the days where I wouldn't trade being a SAHM for anything else in the world, and I feel sorry that my husband missed out on it. She was an angel the entire morning and it's another nice memory for us together before our family gets bigger.

You can say that again!

I am in love.

After reading only 5 entries.... I am hooked. So nice to know there are L&D nurses like this out there!

Gimme That Ol Time Religion!

...When I don't want to vaccinate my children.

This is a hard one - I don't like "forcing" anyone to have to vaccinate their children etc... but I don't want my child coming down with some horrible disease because someone ELSE didn't vaccinate. I do find it interesting however, that everyone is claiming religion to get out of giving these vaccines.

Thoughts?

A Man Experiancing Childbirth? Priceless!

I'm not one of those women who touts herself as some she-woman who can handle anything. O contraire! For the impending birth of our second child we've hired a doula in the hopes of increasing my chance of having a VBAC. I've researched Natural Childbirth as labouring sans pain medication for as long as possible will increase my chances for the birth Steve and I so desire. However, I am a big weenie. If someone had a proverbial gun to my head and was going to make me guess if I could endure natural childbirth I would say No - I am a weenie. But I'm going to give it the old college try. What's most important to be is being much more educated in what's going on and being done to me and my baby, and having a successful VBAC.

So - as I was cruising YouTube for some videos about natural childbirth I came across this. This is, by FAR worth the long loading time. Instead of some ridiculous comparison about who is stronger or who is more capable - this guy tries to do a scientific experiment on the amount of pain a woman experiences during childbirth. What I LOVE is that - even women who do get an epidural have still laboured. I got mine with Madeline when I was 5cm and, let me tell you - when it's all back labour it's certainly no walk in the park either! At one point the OB says that THIS was the point at which most women go to the hospital which means that most women have had no pain medicine at that point, and the guy is obviously in a LOT of pain....

It just makes me feel a little vindicated on behalf of all women. Childbirth - "natural" or not, is an exhausting, emotionally draining, charged up experience. I'm happy to get a nod from the other side.

Fear and Loathing in Indianpolis

It all started because I forgot my camera.





My dear sweet friend Jill agreed to meet Madeline and me at the Indianapolis Zoo yesterday. Steve and I have been seeking out some fun, new activities to do with Madeline before the baby comes. They currently have their butterfly garden open, and Madeline is just mad for butterflies. So after getting ourselves and the three kids ready, we headed to the butterfly garden. The kids all loved it and Jill was sweet enough to snap a few pictures of Madeline since I had committed the cardinal sin of motherhood and forgotten mine.





We visited the fish and the bears, the seals and the penguins. The kids did great despite the waves of heat and the tremendous amount of kids on field trips. Madeline got a little scared on the playground with all of the (way too old) kids playing on the equipment and required a rescue, but other than that - the day couldn't have gone better. Madeline got to be around a newborn, and I got to observe a Mom of Two in real life. She was SO zen and SO calm that it gave me hope that I might, just might, be able to handle it.



Jill and her kiddies left and I decided to stay a while since I didn't think we'd be back at the Zoo anytime soon and Madeline was having such a fun time. We talked about all of the animals at the zoo and she decided she wanted to see the Giraffes. So - off on the mile long trek to see the Giraffes! We got over there and got to see them eating their lunch and Madeline just got the biggest kick out of it. I wanted to snap a picture but *i didn't have my camera!* so I got out my phone and decided it was better than nothing. As I put my thumb on the button to get her picture a ten year old boy decided to run by me, limbs flailing.



It was like slow motion. POW! He knocked into my arm and my cell phone went flying. It literally flipped through the air *cut to me saying Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!* and thudded onto the ground into the Giraffe exhibit. The boy decided this did NOT, in fact, warrant an apology.



Madeline obviously had no idea what had just happened. The sun was at its peak and there were no clouds to cut us some slack. I made her sit in the stroller (I learned the hard way earlier in the day that trying to let her walk and push the stroller was too much for me and one of us was going to end up on the ground) as I wheeled around to try to find a zoo worker. Not having any luck, I exited "Plains" and went to a train ticket booth. "Some kid bumped into me and I dropped my cell phone into the giraffe exhibit." The 16 year old blinked at me like "Uh yeah ...and?"



"Could you please call someone to see if they can get it out?"



So there we stood positively baking in the sun - while she radioed for some help. Madelinedecided, thank heaven, to be an angel during this experience - she just sat on the back of the stroller and gabbed away. Finally she told me that someone was going to come talk to me. I thanked her and showed her where we would be sitting. So we sat



and sat



and sat



It was so hot - I was making Madeline guzzle water and stealing a few sips myself. I spied a Dippin' Dots kiosk only a few feet away so that I could be seen by the alleged zoo worker coming to my technological aid. Madeline and I walked over and I decided that we could afford to put a second mortgage on the house so we could have some ice cream. (seriously! 4 dollars for a teeny bowl of ice cream????) We scarfed it down and then we got some cloud cover so it was a bit less miserable.



and sat



and sat



Folks - I am 9 months pregnant. I don't like it when my husband is in the loo and I need it and I have plenty of other bathrooms in my house. Right now, waiting is not my forte! But I didn't want to be a jerk. Finally, after 45 minute I went back to the ticket booth.



"I'm not trying to be a pain, but do you know how much longer this is going to take? If it was anything else I'd leave it behind - but I'm supposed to give BIRTH in 3 weeks and would like to have my phone on me at all times."



She was surprised no one had come and called back to the desk. She assured me someone was on their way!



and sat



and sat



Twenty minutes later I approached again. I asked if there was anything else I could do to expedite the process. She said no.



I decided I need to talk to someone who A) wasn't 15 and 2) wasn't more concerned with filing her nails than a lady about to give birth at the zoo. So -



I walked ALL the way back out to the main gate. (Seriously, does anyone know how long that trek is? It's gotta be at least half a mile?) I talked to the lady taking tickets at the gate and explained my plight. She told me that anything that's dropped into an exhibit isn't retrieved until the evening after the animals go "in" for the night. I was about to sit down on the pavement and cry when she said I could talk to member services to see if there was anything I could do.

So Madeline and I walked around the corner and stood for 15 minutes in line while the TWO people in front of us took their sweet time deciding on memberships. When we finally got to the booth I was about to open my mouth and my daughter squeaks out "I have to go potty!!!!" So I rush through the story while telling her that I just needed a minute and we'd find her a potty. Luckily a manager overheard my tale and said that there had been zookeepers waiting for me at the giraffe exhibit for the last hour. I told her that no one told me to go back to the giraffes - that I was to stay at the train ticket stand. She told me that she'd take me back to the exhibit so I could show her where my phone was. I told her that would be great, after I found my child a bathroom.

So BACK into the zoo we went. We waited in line yet again to use the loo which Madeline had managed to hold it until I found. The BACK out to the main gate to meet Ms. Green. She was there with a security officer who was also going to walk back with us to the exhibit. I told her that I was 9 months pregnant, and that if I had to walk back there one more time I was positively going to have this baby in the middle of the zoo. I was contracting, sweating, and my legs felt like I had just run a Marathon. She said she totally understood and disappeared back into the office. When she came out a few minutes later she took our stroller and a Security mini-van showed up to escort us via the super secret back roads to the Giraffe area. I told Madeline that we were getting to ride in a "special car." She heartily accepted that and we sloooooooowly made our way around the back of the Zoo, past the hospital and the modular offices, to come up to the "Plains." I waddled out of the car and carried Madeline most of the way as her patience was understandably wearing thin. So - carrying both babies was somewhere around 75 extra pounds on my body. My feet were spilling out of my flip flops and I sounded like an emphysema patient. We found the zookeepers and I was able to show them where my phone pieces were. That process took exactly 4.82 seconds.

Sigh

So back into the Special Security Van (with lights flashing I might add) we went, and were driven back to the front of the Zoo. Ms. Green retrieved our stroller and accompanied us back into the Butterfly Exhibit. Our adventure was over...but not really.

Once again finagling with the stroller and my walking toddler, she fell down the two concrete stairs and skinned her knees up royally. The already scratched and bruised up legs took yet another beating. I swooped her up to try to assuage her crying and we went to the back of the building where she and another young man cleaned and patched up Madeline's knees- complete with Hello Kitty Band Aids. As we left the gardens area, Madeline spied the stuffed butterflies she had been eyeing that morning. "Butterfly!" she cried out "Butterfly so pretty!" Ms. Green kneeled down and asked her if she'd like to have a butterfly. She said "BUTTERFLY!" and got a smile on her face. So she walked over, plucked a butterfly out of the bin and handed it to Madeline. I am not generally one to buy my child something every where we go, but had Ms. Green not given her one I probably would have bought it for her anyway. She SO deserved it after pretty much being an angel through a long, ridiculous process. She held it all the way home as she slept.

When I asked her that night to tell Daddy all about the zoo she said, "I ride in a special car!"

She didn't even mention the giraffes.

Yummy and Easy!

Here are two things I have made this week that have been hits!

1. Homemade granola. I expected it to be a hard really hard but it SO wasn't. In fact Madeline did a majority of it. (the pics are still on my camera) The hardest part was waiting the hour for it to cook up in the oven!!! I don't like granola OR raisins, but this was truly delicious. (I left out the cashews though - ewwwww)

2. Steak Bites. I made these just last night for my husband. I don't eat red meat, which means he doesn't get it all that often which is perfectly fine with him. But on occasion I like to try something new for him that isn't CHICKEN! This was SO easy to make (I used beef stir fry strips so all I had to do was chop them into bite size pieces!) and it was CHEAP too! I paid 1.50 for all of the steak and the only other ingredient is butter! Steve really liked it and I can see using it for a fajita as well. This will become a staple in our house. Anything that takes me less than 5 minutes to cook is priceless! I'm going to load up on the beef strips for after the baby as this is one he could make himself!