On Hospitality Pt. 2

So I want to do a post on Christmas but I think I'll save that for later and do part 2 of my hospitality posts.  Christmas actually reminded me of this because my family got sick on Christmas Eve and so instead of having dinner with them, we ended up having friends over to our house.

So much of hospitality is just getting over one's self.  Seriously.  It is about humbling yourself and esteeming others better than yourself.  I'm going to keep this short and simple.

Stop worrying about yourself and how your house looks.  Work on maintaining a fairly tidy and organized home (I definitely need to work on this one) so that you don't have to stress and run around cleaning like a madwoman before guests come.  If they do see you with a messy house, who cares?  The point is to provide a loving and welcoming home not to be the model of perfection.

Do you have a small house?  This one takes some creativity.  We live in a house that is barely over 1000 square feet but we try not to let that stop us from having guests over.  One way we try to solve this problem is by planning on having over larger families during the spring or fall so that we can eat outside on our deck and spread out.  Just remember that your guests want to spend time with you and with each other and might not mind to be squashed together.  You can also plan hospitality away from your house such as organizing a picnic at a park or inviting others to go caroling outdoors.

Preparing food for a bunch or even a few people can be daunting especially if you do not consider yourself a good cook.  I love to cook so this isn't really a fear that I have.  Here are a few tips that I have:
1. Ask your guests about any potential allergies.
2. Be unafraid of people's allergies or eating styles.  I used to be afraid of inviting over a family that primarily ate organic and vegetarian.  It turns out that they while they eat rather selectively at home, they are totally willing to eat just about whatever we served them.  Also the internet is your best friend for gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian recipes.
3.  Ask your guests to bring food.  There is no need for you to be the ones to cook everything.
4.  If cooking is really not your thing, order a pizza and throw some dressing on a bag of salad.  The goal is not to impress but to share and love your neighbors.
5.  Plan in advance.  Do NOT wait till the last minute to figure out what is for dinner.  The crockpot is great for guests since you can make up your food hours before.

Just as the task of preparing for guests can be overwhelming, cleaning up can also be scary.  Don't be afraid of using paper plates and plastic cups.  I love having guests but I used to hate the clean-up the day after the dinner party.  Throwaway dinnerware saved us!  Now we have a dishwasher and it isn't a big problem.

At the end of the day, just keep in mind that hospitality is about you loving a neighbor.  It is not about showing off, performing, or making everybody happy all the time.  True humble hospitality is radical in today's world and a great way to advance God's kingdom.

I originally meant this to be more in depth and eloquent but my child is screaming...again.  Excuse me while I work on dying to self and showing hospitality to my baby.

5 Months + 1 Week

I haven't forgotten about my blog, really.  Since my last post, I've written approximately 3 more posts in my head.  The problem is actually having the time, free hands, and motivation to write them up.  Here is a quick update on my baby boy.  I like to keep track of my children on here because this is essentially my journal.

Don't worry, my hand was supporting his back. 

He weighs approximately 18 lbs. 

He is exclusively breastfed.  We'll hopefully start solids sometime after 6 months. 

While he has slept through the entire night in the past, he spent most of the time between 4-5 months waking up 4 + times a night.  Yes, talk about walking zombie mommy.  As of this Sunday  night, he seems to have remembered that he is capable of sleeping and has only been waking up around twice a night.  

He is super good at grabbing things.  He managed to grab a paper off of the fridge the other day as we walked by it. 

Right at the 5 months mark, he learned to roll from his tummy to his back.  He triumphantly refuses to do tummy time. 

A couple of days before he turned 5 months, he got his first tooth!  I couldn't believe it.  Today, I noticed his second tooth is starting to come in.  

He loves to snuggle and stinks at self-soothing.  I rock him or nurse him to sleep every single time.  

He still has nights where he refuses to sleep in his bed.  Sometimes I'll let him scream for 10 minutes before picking him up and yet he can go back to sleep within 30 seconds of me holding him.  On those nights, I just give in and let him sleep in his swing.  The only problem is that he is almost too big for his swing.  

He is very much in 6-9 month clothing.  

He thinks his big sister is the most interesting and hilarious person that ever lived.  

On Hospitality

I recently read this book:

I neither loved it nor hated so don't necessarily rush out to buy it.  If you really want to read it, I'll be happy to lend you my copy.  I don't plan on rereading it though I will probably continue to use some of the recipes.  

The point is that this book got me thinking about hospitality.  One of the main points of the book was that practicing hospitality is an essential part of life.  This didn't surprise me as we regularly have people over.  However, it did get me thinking about other people's hospitality or lack thereof.  I'm an extrovert and I grew up in a family that was always inviting people over so it is no surprise that I love to show hospitality.  Reading this made me realize that this not everybody is made this way.  Big surprise, I know.  

Anyways, it made me hope that everybody who is reading this blog (yes, all 3 of you) is consciously making an effort to show hospitality.  In an effort to encourage you, I want to do a miniseries on hospitality and what works for us.  I am not a pro in any way, shape or form, but I have learned a thing a two along from my mom.  So first let me start with my biggest weakness and we'll move on from there.  

I suck at making things fancy.  Seriously.  Serving bowls?  What is this thing you speak of? What is wrong with just spooning out gravy from a saucepan?  One of the biggest deterrents here is that I lack a dishwasher. Fortunately, this will soon be remedied!!!!!!!!!!!!! My mom always made holidays super and special occasions so memorable and pleasant to look at.  She is can lay a mean looking table.  

This is a picture of the dinner we had the last night Sara was home this fall.  We're just having meatloaf and jello but it looks beautiful.  How does she do this?  I was born too much a Martha and am totally lacking in the Mary department.  

Now that I've fessed up, feel free to share your biggest tips and secrets to making something memorable and fancy.  

The Easiest Berry Sauce

As previously mentioned, I love pancakes.  I also love berries.  I love fresh whipped cream.  In case you haven't figured it out yet, I love food.  

A couple of years ago, I figured out how to make the world's easiest berry sauce and have since been intermittently enjoying it over pancakes.  Here is the recipe if you can even call it that.  

Easy Berry Sauce

Berries - frozen or fresh, any variety or even a mix

Throw the berries into a small saucepan and put over medium heat.  Cook until soft and the juices run out of the berries.  Serve over pancakes, ice cream or whatever else your heart may desire.  

That's it.  Seriously.  Nothing else.  I love the combination of tart berries with sweet pancakes and freshly whipped cream.  I suppose that if you felt it was too tart, you could throw in a little sugar.  

I should have taken a picture before I ate most of my breakfast.  Oops.

Kira is definitely a huge fan. 

Too Skinny for the Skinny Jeans

So it isn't much of a secret that I've lost a lot of weight these past 4 months.  It feels wonderful!  I love being relatively skinny again and being able to wear some of my favorite clothes.  This past week I wore my skinniest pair of jeans for the first time in about a year!  I also went out and bought my first pair of real skinny jeans.  I'm officially only 5 years behind the style!

Before 

After

While I wouldn't be too disappointed if I happened to lose another pound or two, I thought I'd mark this occasion by posting some of my favorite things to eat when I'm feeling super skinny.  So if you happen to being feeling a little too skinny for your skinny pants, give one of these things a try!

1.  Pecan pie!  My favorite pie and it is almost Thanksgiving which always reminds me of it.  I have never actually made a pecan pie because pecans are ridiculously expensive and I'm scared I'd eat the entire thing by myself.  
2. Cheesecake.  I'd take just about any kind especially if it includes dark chocolate.  Just sayin. 
3. Talenti Sea Salt Caramel Gelato.  It is like eating butter.  So rich.  So salty.  So sweet.  So amazing.  One of the best date night treats around!
   
4. Fresh from the oven homemade bread slathered with butter.  I could seriously eat 1/2 loaf by  myself when it comes out of the oven.  I've been making this bread recipe recently.  
5. Pancakes!  Our normal breakfast in this house is oatmeal.  I like to make it a variety of ways.  We also eat a lot of homemade Greek yogurt, granola, and eggs.  My true love is pancakes.  I love them with fresh whipped cream.  They are also yummy when a fruit sauce.  To make a fruit sauce just dump some fresh or frozen berries in a small pan over medium high heat and wait until they turn into a lumpy sauce.  Much better than syrup! While I'm not super picky about my pancakes (though no mixes please), these are my two favorite pancake recipes: pumpkin pancakes and banana blueberry pancakes.  
6. Fruffy coffee!  I love occasionally splurging on super girly coffee. 
7. Finally, I leave you with one recently discovered savory item.  I don't know if it makes the favorite list yet because I've only had it once, but the recipe is definitely a keeper.  I'm hoping to make it again for the holidays.  Check out this butternut squash and cheddar bread pudding. We had it as a vegetarian main dish but it would also work great as a side or even for breakfast. 

What are your favorite indulgence foods?

Christmas List

So I've been getting my elf on.  I already have completed one handmade Christmas present, completed a second but decided it was a failure, and put several hours into a third present.  I've also made about half of our Jesse Tree ornaments.  I love it!  I'm super excited about Christmas this year primarily because Kira will finally be old enough to enjoy starting some new traditions with us.  I finished my Advent calendar last January so we'll get to use it for the first time this year.
Here is my Christmas list:

Because let's face it, I need help as a mother. 

New rain boots.  I not super particular about the design but I need, need, need new rain boots.  

I don't know that I really need a dutch oven, but it sure would be fun to have one in a pretty color.

Last but not least, I'd like to refill my supply of dark chocolate.  A little goes a long way as I like to eat it slowly and enjoy small bits of it during the day.

Life With a Toddler

Here are a few little snippets from our crazy life.

During a diaper change:
Kira: I have poopies!
Me: Yes, a lot of poop.
Kira: I did good job poopsies!
Me:........uh..........a good job would have been if you had done your poop on the potty.

 We've been attempting to teach her the sounds that the different letters of the alphabet make.  Aaron was trying to use songs that she knew to help with this.  For instance, whenever they would see an "A", they would start singing Amazing Grace stressing that "ah" sound.  When they came to "E", Aaron asked for a song suggestion.  I volunteered Everybody Wants to Be a Cat as Kira had just watched Aristocats.  Now every time Kira sees an "E", she loudly proclaims, "Evybody be a cat, Mama!"

This is what happens when daddy picks out Kira's "pjs"

 Me: Please stop crying now.
Kira: I want to cry!

She kept wanting to sit in Will's bumbo and then would get stuck.

Me: Please don't smoosh your brother. 

Kira in a whiny voice: "But I want to smoosh him." 

Things I've had to tell my daughter not to lick: 

1. The dustpan

2. A package of raw bacon at the store

Finally, I just found Kira holding a blanket over Will's face.  He'll be lucky if he makes it to his first birthday at this rate.  

The Finished Project!

A long, long time ago (somewhere around a year) I started collecting old jeans to make a denim quilt for Kira's toddler bed.  I finished the project about 6 months ago and here are some pictures to prove it.  My quilter friend Leah pointed me in the direction of this tutorial which worked out quite well.  I did do a couple of "crazy" blocks because I had so much left over denim that I didn't want to waste.  I'm not sure that I love the hand quilting but there is no way I'm going to do it all over again.  These pictures aren't the best pictures but they'll give you a good idea of how it works.

I sewed on a button flower which Kira adores.  

I chose to not add any batting and to use this flannel for the back.  It is appropriately heavy and warm.  Kira is a fan.  

Peas in a Pod

My son and daughter couldn't be more different in a lot of ways.  He weighs around 16 lbs which is more than Kira weighed at 9 months.  She insisted that she had to be laid down in her bed to sleep, he wakes up as soon as you lay him down and screams until you snuggle with him.  Despite their differences, it is a blast watching them become friends especially now that Will is starting show some interest in toys and interacting.  

The other day I was busy when the baby woke up from his nap.  I asked Kira to go amuse him and this is how I found him a few minutes later.  

This is the kiddos waiting for daddy to get home from work.  

Morning just wouldn't be morning if we didn't start it off with a few snuggles.  

Here's to hoping that they'll stay good friends for the rest of their lives. 

Life on the Funny Farm

Sometimes we have fun here.  Sometimes we just try not to go crazy...like when both of your children want to stay up till around 11.

Sometimes moms save a special button up shirt for their baby to wear only to discover that they've waited too long and their baby is too fat to button it up. 

And sometimes we make the silliest faces and sounds just to get our baby to laugh and coo. 

Other nights we are super cool parents and let our child eat pizza and ice cream on the couch while watching a "Muffin" (Muppet) movie. 

Other days we dump out 200 hundred or so pennies just so our daughter can put them in her piggy bank.  She likes the piggy bank more than the money.  

Finally, we did this to our son.  I don't know if we did to keep ourselves from going crazy or because we've already gone crazy.  

They may be a whole lotta tears in this house, but we definitely still manage to have fun.  Feel free to drop by for some hot tea and freshly made banana bread anytime.  

Aaron's Bible Cover

A couple of months ago, Aaron was telling how worn his Bible was getting and asked if he could get a Bible cover.  He then asked me if I could make one.  I told him that I thought it was out of the realm of my skills.  However, after thinking about it for a few days and looking up some online tutorials, I found one that I thought I was capable completing.  I didn't tell Aaron about it but decided to surprise him for our anniversary.  Here is the tutorial I used.

The finished project (I tried multiple times to rotate the images but I just can't for some reason):

Inside of the cover

I asked Aaron how he liked it and I told him that he could be honest.  He said that he absolutely loved it but he except for the straps.  He thought they made it look too much like a purse and he did have a point.  Two months later, I finally got around to fixing the problem for him.  Taking them off would ruin the faux leather so I just sewing them down on the inside and cut off the extra.

Updated cover

A Quick Baby Update - birthday edition

Even though I may not have actually updated my blog much in recent times, I've written several blog posts in my head.  The main problem is that my computer time is usually limited to nursing sessions which means that I only have one hand to type with.  As of right now, both of my babies are sleeping.  I should be cleaning or sanding down a chair but I thought I'd take a quick second and right about my children.  

My big girl is officially 2!  We've celebrated her birthday a whopping 3 times.  I saw a version of a butterfly cake on pinterest and decided to give it a try.  She was super excited about for at least a week before her birthday.  Let me just say that attempting to make a cake gives me a new appreciation for those people who actually have cake decorating skills.  I would never get hired at a bakery.  

She loves to sing happy birthday but started to cry when everybody sang to her.  She also started to cry when I told her to blow out the candles so I ended up doing it for her.  

I've started encouraging her to help me in the kitchen from time to time.  This is her helping me make birthday cake #2. 

Even though we don't really encourage her to think of herself as a princess and the only princess movie she's seen is part of frozen, she is such a princessy sort of girl.  This is her in her new chair with her new dress hanging with daddy who is spoiling her by bringing 20 books outside for her to read while he grills.  

 Kira shares her birthday with my good friend Jennifer so we invited them over on their shared birthday for grilled pizza and cake.  And yes she started crying when we sang to her.

The scoop on my little K-baby:

• Weighs approximately 25 lbs.  
• Can speak in complete sentences. 
• Loves songs and asks me to sing them all day long.  She can sing the Doxology, the first verse of Amazing Grace and several kids songs. 
• Her aunts have recently taught her to "dance" which is her new favorite activity. 
• She still loves to read books and she has also discovered the joy of puzzles. 
• Some of her favorite foods are tomatoes, black olives and all kinds of fruit. 
• She knows her colors and can count up to 11 correctly and knows some of the teen numbers as well. 

Baby #2 update:

He is growing so much!  I feel like we might finally be getting on a night-time schedule though now that I write that he'll probably completely change it up.  He wakes up around 2, 4-5 and 6-7.  

He has also mastered the art of smiling and making baby noises other than grunting which he has done constantly since birth.  He sleeps most of the day.  

We think he weighs over 10 lbs.  The proof is in the double chin.  

Time to go enjoy some alone time before they both wake up!

Life With Two

So far we are surviving but I don't have much time to blog because my hands are always full...literally and literally.  I have plenty of time to read other people's blogs one-handed but typing out posts is low priority at the moment.  So here is a quick check-in 3 weeks post baby.
Just yesterday I was thinking about how my current mommy dream is sleeping for 4 straight hours and having the 2 year-old poop on the potty instead of in her diapers.  Today, both of those dreams came true!!!!!
Will slept for 4 straight hours last night for the first time.  Miracle of miracles!  It was just as fantastic as it sounds.
As far as the pooping goes, we've been talking about going on the potty with Kira for several months now.  We finally invested in a little potty chair.  While I've encouraged her to try the potty out, I have never made her sit on it. In the past couple of days, she has asked to sit on it about once a day.  On Wednesday, she managed to go number one and today she managed to go number two.  If you aren't a parent and are reading this, this probably means nothing to you.  If you are a parent, than you realize that having your child go on the potty after two straight years of changing tons of dirty diapers every day is a HUGE deal.  We've invested in the big girl panties and we'll hopefully start potty training for real on Monday.  If it turns out to be too stressful, we'll just call it quits and try again in a couple of months.  After all, Kira won't even be two for a couple of weeks yet so it is a little on the early side.  I would probably wait longer if it wasn't for her recent successes.
Otherwise, my life is rather boring.  Each day I set super low expectations and usually manage to meet them.  My goals for the day are super simple such as make my bed, do one load of laundry, take a shower, make dinner and do the dishes.  If I accomplish those simple things, I feel successful.  Lately, I've been trying to work in a walk or some simple stomach reducing exercises though nothing too hard core.
Some days I'm lucky that the kids actually have clean clothes to wear and other days I have fun dressing them up like little dolls.  This past Sunday I had fun dressing them up and even got to do a big girl hairstyle.

My main food obsession this summer is roasted summer veggies.  Cut up some squash, zucchini, onions, peppers and tomatoes and toss them in some olive oil and seasonings. Then throw them in the over at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.  So amazingly yummy!  Yummier yet is to throw said roasted veggies on some grilled pizza. To die for.  The day we had it Aaron asked me to make it again the next night.  Yes, it seriously was that good. 

Birth Story 2.0

As you well know from facebook, I gave birth.  Again.  It is crazy to think that I would willingly do it all over again but I did.  I've spent the past week mulling over whether or not I wanted to post the birth story.  I decided to go ahead since I enjoy reading other people's stories and also because I wanted something written down that I could go back and read myself in case I ever manage to forget the details.  Note: This is the cleaned up version.  I tried to take out anything that might be TMI.
On Wednesday morning, I was officially 10 days overdue.  My dates were very accurate and my ultrasounds confirmed the due date so I was truly late.  I woke up to discover that I was bleeding but very slightly.  Since it didn't appear to be the type of bleeding that usually occurs before birth, I called my midwife and she asked me to come to the hospital to be checked.  She was actually out of town but her back up doctor was going to be at the hospital that morning making rounds and she would check me.  I called my in-laws and asked them to watch Kira and I called my mom and asked her to drive me.  Since the hospital is an hour away and I didn't know if anything was going on, I didn't want to make the long drive alone.  When I got to the hospital, the bleeding had totally stopped and everything appeared to be normal.  They even gave me an ultrasound and everything looked a-ok with the baby.  The only problem is that he didn't look like he was coming anytime soon.  I was still only about 1 cm dilated and 0% effaced.
Disappointed but glad the baby was safe, I returned home exhausted.  I remember trying not to cry on the way home because I did not want to get induced but the baby did not seem to be coming.  My midwife really wanted me to be induced on Thursday as she was going to be out of town on Friday-through the weekend and her backup was leaving on Friday afternoon.  I did not want to be induced as I wanted a natural birth and my body didn't seem to be ready to go into labor.  My midwife made me an appointment for early Thursday morning and said that we would talk about it there and most likely she would send me over to the hospital right after my appointment to be induced but there was a chance that we might be able to wait til Sunday before starting induction.
After getting home, I laid down and went to sleep.  Upon waking, I noticed that my hips were sore but they had been that way on and off for a few days probably due to all the walking I had been doing to try and start labor.  I talked to my doula on the phone and she encouraged me to try and wait it out and refuse the induction.  I knew I didn't want to be induced but I also didn't want to be pregnant forever and I didn't want a random on-call doctor delivering my baby.
Around 2ish, I started to notice that my hips were hurting only at intervals.  I began to wonder if they were contractions but I wasn't for sure.  I decided to run to the grocery store to pick up a couple of items.  While there, my hips started to hurt a couple more times and they hurt bad enough  that I had to slow down walking and take a couple of deep breaths.  By this time I was fairly convinced that I was in labor.  I texted my mom, doula and midwife to let them know that I was having irregular contractions but that they definitely did not feel like braxton hicks.
When Aaron got home from work, I smiled at him and asked him, "How do you feel about having this baby tonight?"  He made a joking comment back not realizing that I was telling him that I was in labor.  Once I successfully managed to communicate to him that I was actually starting labor, we quickly decided that he needed a nap as there was a good chance we would be up all night.  I started to make dinner.  All the while, my contractions were very irregular.  Sometimes I would have them every 12 minutes or so apart for around an hour but then I would only have 2 the next hour.  I went ahead and made dinner and even ate a large portion as I was hungry and figured it could be awhile before I got to eat again.  After dinner, Aaron took Kira to his parents house while I did the dishes.  Fortunately, his parents were already planning on having her spend the night as I had an early appointment and possible induction the next morning.  While I did the dishes, I talked on the phone to my good friend Katie.  She asked me if I had a Bible verse to meditate on while in labor.  When I told I didn't and couldn't think of any off the top of my head, she suggested that I think on Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."
Aaron returned home and was only having a couple of contractions an hour so we decided to go for a walk to see if that would help.  The walk seemed to work and contractions began to pick up.  I started to focus on my Bible verse.  I would say it very slowly and tell myself that by the time I was done saying it, my contraction would be just about over.  We got home and my labor was picking up but contractions were still 10+ minutes apart.  We went ahead and packed for the hospital, we both took showers and then thought about going to bed but by that time things were starting to get uncomfortable for me.  We read books for a little while and Aaron started to do this wonderful thing called a double hip squeeze every time I had a contraction.  It may sound weird, it may even look weird, but boy does it feel wonderful when you're having painful contraction.  I would highly recommend it.  We started to consider going to the hospital.  Since the hospital is 50 minutes away, it is always a guessing game as to when to leave.  We want to leave early enough that the car ride is excruciating but not too early that labor may fizzle out.  With contractions 6-8 minutes apart but definitely intense, we called the midwife and she encouraged us to come in.  We called the midwife and my mom and headed out around 12.  My mom said that she was going to sleep a little bit longer and then head over as it sounded like it would still be awhile before the baby was actually born.
Once in the car, my contractions started coming every 2-4 minutes but they seemed less intense and I didn't have trouble handling them.  About 1/2 there, we stopped at a gas station so I could use the bathroom and Aaron asked the attendant for a microwave so he could reheat our rice socks that I had been using for pain relief in the car.
At the hospital, I was worried that I was barely in labor since my contractions weren't very intense.  I encouraged Aaron to go ahead and park in the normal parking lot and I intended on walking with him a couple of hundred feet in order to get the contractions going again.  We checked in and got placed in a triage room.  They checked all the normal stuff and my doula and midwife both showed up.  At this point, contractions were really getting going but I was still able to talk and joke with the nurses in between contractions.  I even gave the nurse a loaf of chocolate chip banana bread I had baked for the nurses.  I was checked and told that I was 4cm dilated and 70% effaced which was a major improvement over the morning.  One of the worst parts of labor was getting the needle put in my arm so that I could get some antibiotics.  I knew that they needed to do it and was totally prepared for the pain.  After all, I have given blood multiple times and knew what to expect.  What it actually felt like was getting stabbed with a knife.  The nurse tried twice in one arm with me yelling from the pain both times.  Finally, she decided that the first needle was dull and got a new needle and tried again on the other arm.  Fortunately, it worked and was significantly less painful the third time.
I finally got moved to a room and that is where the real pain started.  I was still doing a fairly good job relaxing during contractions but it was definitely getting super intense and the contractions were super close.  After being in the room for about an hour.  I started to tell them that I couldn't make it and needed drugs especially as I was convinced that I still had hours of labor to go.  My midwife asked to check me again and everybody was surprised that I was already at 7 cm dilated and that it wouldn't be long now.  I started to really lose it at this point.  I was in extreme pain and I started to have trouble communicating what I was feeling or thinking.  About 15 minutes later, I realized that the baby was coming.  I also realized that my mom wasn't there and would be sad if she missed the birth.  I remember shouting in between contractions, "Where is my mom?  She wanted to be here!"  Aaron stepped away and texted my mom, "You'd better hurry.  Lindsey is about to start pushing."  My mom was only a couple of minutes away and stepped it up.  After she got there, the baby was born about 10 minutes later, possibly even less.  With Kira's birth the pushing part was the easiest most relaxing part though it could have been the affect of the drugs.  This time, the pushing part was extremely overwhelming for me.  Nobody realized just how close the baby was to coming out I couldn't communicate how I felt.  I wasn't even sure what was going on with my body.  I started pushing on my hands and knees but it didn't feel right.  At this point, nothing felt right and I was seriously losing it because I remember feeling kind of scared and unsure about what was happening.  I think someone suggested that I get on my side though maybe it was my idea.  And then I could feel the baby and knew that it was coming.  With my first birth, I remember having a contraction and pushing and then being able to rest before starting over.  This time, I felt like I was just having one long contraction and it was so uncomfortable that I just kept pushing.  Almost immediately, he started to come out which caught everyone by surprise.  The midwife caught him and immediately handed him over to Aaron.  The hospital has a great policy which encourages at least an hour of skin-to-skin contact before even weighing or giving the baby a bath.  He felt tiny in my arms and did not appear to be 10lb baby I was convinced he was going to be.  I only tore a little and had to get two stitches.  Baby Will weighed 7 lb 10 oz and was only 19 1/2 in long.  He was born at 3:04 in the morning a mere 2 hours after we arrived at the hospital.  Aaron and I just sat there in amazement that he was already there and we were done!  All in all, it was a significantly less traumatic birth than the first time and I loved having a doula.  Aaron also mastered the hip squeeze which helped to deal with the pain.  We are so thankful that he came on his own and that his birth was so quick.  We wouldn't trade him for the world!

I already feel great and seem to be recovering way quicker than I did with Kira.  

A Tote Bag

On a happier note, not having an infant means that I have tons of time to work on various projects.  Last week, I thought I was going to go out of my mind from boredom so I decided to get creative. I knew I wanted to make a present for a friend and immediately thought of a bag since they are super easy and can be used for so many thing.  I did some research on pinterest and found this simple tutorial.   It was fairly easy to use but I did feel as though the author skipped a simple step that can really stress you out if you don't realize it is missing.  If you decide you want to use it, let me know I'll explain to you the missing part.

It is not quite as uneven as it looks.  I promise.

Hard to see, but I did add one largish pocket.

You can't tell from the pictures, but it is quite large.  I'm actually tempted to make one for myself to use as a diaper bag.  The only problem is that I've already purchased a cute one off of Etsy.  I definitely plan on reusing this pattern as Christmas and birthdays roll around.  

41 + Weeks and Still Pregnant

In case your wondering, I'm still very much pregnant.  I'm not even showing any signs of going into labor in the near future.  I go to my prenatal appointments twice a week now just to be told that I haven't changed at all since my last one.  Talk about depressing.
Today, we are supposed to make a decision whether or not I should be induced this week and what day this week.  It is like having a shoulder angel and demon except, unlike the cartoons, it is not easy to tell which opinion is good and which one is evil.  It goes something like this:
A: You shouldn't go past 42 weeks.  We need to induce you.
B: It is best for your body to go in to labor when it is ready.  There is no need to induce you.  You've had all the tests and ultrasounds and they all show that you and the baby are both healthy.
A: I'm going out of town this weekend and if you want me to be there for your induction we need to go ahead and start on Wednesday night.
B: Why not just wait until she gets back in town before even considering inducing?
A:  We can take the pitocin very slowly and possibly even turn it off if you body looks like it will just naturally take over.
B: You should look up all the bad side affects of pitocin.  It can interfere with your ability to bond with your baby and I'd hate that for you.  Plus once you get the pitocin then an epidural is almost inevitable.
C: Look at how many women have been induced and had pitocin and have no trouble whatsoever bonding with their child.

Add to the mix the people who text, call, and message me constantly asking me if I've had the baby yet and why haven't I.  Oh, and don't forget the fact that every time I go out in public the only thing people want to talk about is me and my inability to give birth along with all their advice on how to induce labor.  W
hy yes, I have taken lots of long walks and I have spent time kneeling/squatting in my garden and no I'm still not having contractions.  And no, I'm not dilating or effacing but thanks for asking.  And yes, I am doing my best to stay hydrated.  I'm sure castor oil helped you go into labor but I'm not sure that I'm interested in actually trying some myself.

I've tried crying about it but hasn't seemed to help.  So I'm stuck.  I have a baby that absolutely refuses to even try to come out.  I have people trying to comfort and offer all their advice.  I have people pressuring me that I need to make a decision and soon and I have others telling me to wait.  What will I do?  For now I'm going to try going for another walk, drinking more raspberry leaf tea, praying some more and there will probably be more tears if I happen to catch a glimpse of blob-like self in the mirror.

3 Years

Yesterday was our 3 year anniversary.  Just in case you've been living in a whole in the ground, here is our history.  Year 0: We kissed for the first time.

Year 1: We made a long weekend of it and ate our way through Cincinnati and Louisville, visited with some butterflies, rode a broken elevator to the top of a large tower, etc.  I was nice and round.

Year 2: I was skinny again!  We stayed home to have lamb chops which Aaron devoured before heading out for an exciting round of putt-putt golf sans the baby.  

Year 3: We actually celebrated a week early.  We started off with my 38 week prenatal check-up, observed a cool old library, got Aaron fitted for a tux, inhaled amazing Thai food, made an Aldi cheap food run, and finished it with pint-sized containers of ice cream and sorbet (which we did not eat in one sitting).

He may be good at a lot of things, but posing for pictures isn't his expertise. 

I had to show Aaron how to pose.  

Girly cocktail.  Tasty stuff that I barely got to sip. 

Sure made him happy.  

On our actual anniversary, I woke up early and made him banana pancakes topped with whipped cream (his favorite), fresh peaches over homemade Greek yogurt and hot coffee.  He was totally surprised as I'm always asleep when he leaves in the morning.  He brought me home some roses after work and we ended the day by attending Prayer Meeting before I collapsed exhausted into bed.

After 3 years of marriage, I have learned that Pad Thai is that stuff that dreams are made of.  Seriously, the first time I had it was on our honeymoon.  I've made it several times and it is yummy but I can never make quite as well as all the Thai restaurants.  It totally made my day to be able to have some more on our anniversary date.  It is a good thing that we live nearly an hour away from the restaurant otherwise I would be begging Aaron to get me some on a daily basis.