Ewan Just Made My Day

We were admiring the beautiful sunset tonight. Lots of pretty pinks and blues across the sky. Ewan ran over to the windows and said, "Oh, look at the sunset mommy". My reply, "Mmmhmmm, isn't it pretty?" Ewan said, "Yeah, pretty like you". Awwww, how sweet. It melted my heart!

Patty Griffin

A friend, Leon, gave Jon and I a Patty Griffin CD last year for Christmas. Who knew that she would become one of my favorite singers? Her CD, 1000 Kisses, is amazing. She has got some amazing song writing skills. 1000 Kisses is folk music. Her other CD, Flaming Red, is more rock music. I have not gotten to enjoy that one as much yet because it is so hard to listen to what I want to in the car. For Valentine's Day Jon got me her new CD, Children Running Through. It is more of a combo of rock and folk music. One song on the CD, Burgundy Shoes, touched my heart strings.

Jon heard an interview with her on NPR talking about this song. She wanted to capture the feeling of a 3 year old little girl and her mom taking a trip out after the snow melts. If you get a chance to listen to the song please do so. It made me think of special moments with my own mom when I was little and made me yearn for this baby I am carrying to be a little girl. Here are the lyrics:

Burgundy Shoes
We wait for the bus that's going to Bangor
In my plaid dress and burgundy shoes
In your red lipstick and lilac kerchief
You're the most pretty lady in the world
Sun

The bus driver smiles a dime and a nickel
We climb in our seats
The vinly is cold
"Michelle, Ma Belle" A song that you loved then
You hold my hand and sing to yourself
Sun

The leaves are green and new like a baby
Tulips are red
Now I don't miss the snow
It's the first day I don't wear my big boots
You hold my hand
I've got burgundy shoes
Sun

This little girl is excited that she gets to wear her little dress and burgundy shoes and is enjoying looking at the sun outside. When you hear the song I guarantee you will get teary. To hear a sample of her music click on this link. Rain is one of my favorites of this selection. You can select 4 songs to listen to. To hear a teeny blurb of Burgundy Shoes click on this link.

P.S. Monica, this song made me especially think of you and Miriam. I think since you like Norah Jones so much you might really like Patty Griffin. (Big hug your way)

Last Post Of The Day...

I have been really enjoying The Life and Times of a Labor Nurse's blog. She just posted a new one about epidurals that I think is worth reading.

I know many of you think that natural birth is close to impossible without an epidural but perhaps this will give you something to think about as you research and learn about your options.

But We Don't Lick It....

Ewan and I were in the kitchen eating lunch and talking about the baby in mommy's tummy. Ewan, who has seen his share of birth videos, is still trying to figure out how the baby grows and when it will be big enough to come out. Our conversation went something like this:

Ewan: Mommy, will the baby come out soon?
Mommy: No, not until after your birthday this summer.
Ewan: Oh, right. (pause)
Ewan: Mommy, when the baby comes out it will have stuff all over it.
Mommy: That's right, honey, it is called vernix. It helps protect the baby's skin.
Ewan: But we don't lick it off, right?
Mommy: (trying really hard not to laugh hysterically at such a sincere comment) That is right, honey, we don't lick it off. Animals lick off their babies after they are born though.
Ewan: Like elephants?
Mommy: Hmmm....not like elephants. But kitties and puppies do.
Ewan: Right! (and he goes off to play merrily)

Where he got that idea, I am not quite sure. We talk a lot about animals and he has probably seen something on tv--maybe Bambi, who knows? Let me say, I am thankful that it is not instinctual to lick all the vernix and amniotic fluid off of the baby when it is born. (Although I have heard a placenta shake is really good for your recovery after birth---I can hear you gagging through cyberspace!)

A new birth video

This looks facinating! I just saw the preview for Pregnant in America and I can't wait until it comes out. Hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg. Most really good birth videos cost in the $80-300 range. Cha-ching! I am still working on covering all my expenses on becoming certified so it is difficult to rationalize spending money I don't have on some updated and good birth videos for my classes.

Watch the preview-it is about 2 or 3 minutes long. It should get you thinking about the birth industry and how the way things are run are not necessarily always in your best interest.

One of the best and worst weekends....

This weekend was supposed to be full of love an romance......

Jon and I were planning on attending a marriage conference at our church on Friday night and Saturday. Mom had the boys overnight on Friday so we could not worry about childcare and the conference. But alas, other things got in the way of that.

I was not feeling well at all on Friday afternoon--tired, headache, nausea (assumed to be from morning sickness). Jon and I met for dinner where I continued to feel very tired and unwell. I threw up in the car before entering the restaurant (also assumed morning sickness). By the end of dinner I had to use my hand to hold my head up because I felt so yucky. We decided to just go home and get some sleep. On the way home I quickly discovered that I was not having morning sickness but rather had been infected with the nasty, virulent stomach bug going around this area. I was throwing up ALL night. Mom called at 10pm letting me know that Ewan had started throwing up. Great.

Jon couldn't go get the kids until Saturday afternoon because he had to attend a funeral (I was supposed to go too but no need to expose everyone to the nasty). When Jon got to mom's house the boys were napping. Isaac woke up from his nap covered in puke-o-rama. Ewan had stopped throwing up but was still not feeling great. He brought the boys home and they went to bed and slept all night--whew!

Sunday, Isaac couldn't go to church so Jon and Ewan went while I stayed home with little guy. After they got home Jon and I worked our booties off getting the (final) major projects finished on the house.

Our church was having a Valentine's dance on Sunday night that we had signed up for weeks ago. It is held at a hotel and the entire evening consists of dressing up in fancy clothes, eating yummy food, and dancing to your heart's delight. We were so tired from the previous days but we decided to go anyway.

We had a BLAST! It was so fun to dance all night. We laughed and acted goofy together. Oh, it was fun! Until we got home.

I started feeling pukey on the way home--again thinking it was morning sickness (you see where this is going). We went to bed (while I wake up throwing up on and off) and at 2:30 Jon wakes up saying "I think I got it, I keep dreaming I need to throw up." Then he runs off to the bathroom. Of course hearing him throw up makes me lose my cookies even more! So all night again I have the bug and Jon is ill too. As a side note--in Jon's dream he kept seeing a computer drop down menu with the choice: Throw up or Keep Sleeping. I thought that was funny.

Monday morning the boys wake up chipper and eager for the day while Jon and I are dragging ourselves around. I can't stop throwing up. I called the midwives because at this point I am so concerned about the baby and getting dehydrated. She says to not eat anything and just sip on carbonated beverages and to call her if I don't stop throwing up by the end of the day.

Jon's mom comes and takes the boys to a playground restaurant where Jon and I can get some rest and not have to worry about taking care of little guys. It was bliss! Thank you Mimi!!!!
Kim brought Sierra Mist, pudding (for me later because it was one of the few things that sounded tolerable), and Macaroni and Cheese. Thank you Kim!!!!!

Today is Wednesday, we are recovered, although I am still easily tired--but that may be due to the combo of being pregnant and getting over the bug. The only complication I seem to have is that I think my gums were burned by all the stomach bile and are very, very sensitive. Today I have been craving Vitamin C foods and have been indulging myself with them. Vitamin C is good for your gums and tissue repair so maybe my body is telling me I need extra. (I just ate a whole lime.)

The weekend was supposed to be full of reconnecting and doing some maintenance on our marriage. I am sad that our plans didn't work out they way they were supposed to BUT I am so thankful for our one night of dancing bliss. At least there was some form of fun to make up for 24 hours of throwing up! And, thankfully, the house is ready for visitors--even disinfected. We still have a few small things to do but they aren't as urgent. So start praying for a quick sale at a good price! Oh, and warmer weather--who wants to go out and look at house is freezing weather?

I am hoping this is the last of the winter illnesses that get caught here at the parkersanity house. Please pray for good health for our little family too!

A few pictures.....

Here are the boys playing in the snow. They liked the snow MUCH better than freezing rain and sleet. We threw real snowballs and ate snow and made a snowman. We (well, I) could have made a much bigger snowman but it would have taken a long time. My little snowman friend lasted about 10 minutes because snowmen are much more fun to CRASH than watch melt, don't ya know.

Isn't this cute? I can see him 12 years from now with whatever super deluxe ipod is around then. Isaac got a little FP3 player for Christmas which we put some Dr. Seuss books on and some Veggie Tales. It is super easy to use but Isaac likes to keep pushing the buttons and I have to start it over all the time. He enjoys it though--as does his brother, who does not have one, which causes sharing problems. It is conveniently put away for a bit (hear evil laugh now).

We went to the Heard Museum to see a life size dinosaur exhibit. It was really fun. Ewan will tell you that he liked all the dinosaurs except for the T-Rex which was very scary. We got to see (live) rattlesnakes and dinosaur bones.

Here we are after dinner doing a sticker activity book. These books are actually pretty fun. I wouldn't mind decorating the pages myself--I have to keep myself from fixing where they put the stickers. I haven't posted pictures in a while so I thought I would post some recent pictures.

Today I....

Today I....
1. Enjoyed sleeping until 7:45 because the boys woke up late today. Hooray!

2. Didn't hear Jon get up at 5am to head out to the airport. (That never happens, I always wake up and have a hard time going back to sleep)

3. Made breakfast for myself and the boys while simultaneously puking in the kitchen sink.

4. Cleaned the guest bathroom.

5. Cleaned out Ewan's closet and made it look more presentable for house showings.

6. Took all the sheets and blankets off of Isaac's crib, washed them, and put new sheets on after he woke up with a large poopie explosion. Stink-o-rama!

7. Washed all the bedding on the big bed in Isaac's room just in case any poo smell might linger from being 2 feet away from the poop explosion.

8. Cleaned off my bookshelves in our bedroom to make them look more presentable for potential house buyers. I packed 3 boxes!

9. Sorted books that I could probably sell to Half-Price Books.

10. Threw away a ton of old magazines that I am never going to read again.

11. Reorganized my lending library for my Bradley students.

12. Cleaned the laundry room. Boy that floor was nasty!

13. Picked up toys over and over and over.

14. Made lunch for me and the boys while simultaneously puking in the kitchen sink.

15. Laid the boys down for their naps.

16. Continued to work on my bookshelves, clearing, throwing away stuff, and dusting.

17. Fed the boys snack after they got up from their nap.

18. Cleaned the front room, the kitchen again, vacuumed the house.

19. Planted flowers in the front flower beds and flower pots.

20. Sat for 5 minutes watching TV with kiddos before I got up to cook dinner.

21. Cooked dinner for me and the boys while simultaneously puking in the kitchen sink.

22. Ate dinner.

23. Bathed the boys.

24. Got a call from my student who was supposed to come to class tonight saying she was having pretty strong contractions (after her midwife stripped her membranes) and thought she would have a hard time concentrating during class. She decided not to come to class (smart move!).

25. Felt very relieved that class was canceled!

26. Got boys dressed in jammies.

27. Laid Isaac down for bed.

28. Started counting down the last hour of the day with Ewan, praying I wouldn't fall asleep while talking to him.

29. Picked up Ewan's room.

30. Played trains with him for 45 minutes.

31. Read him books, rocked him for a few minutes, laid him in bed, prayed for him and left hoping tonight he would not get out of bed 10 minutes after I left.

32. Got out the ice cream and ate a huge bowl of mint chocolate chip while catching up on my favorite blogs.

33. Decided to write a post on what I did today.

34. Said a prayer of thanks that Ewan did not get out of bed at all! Said an additional prayer that he will stay in asleep until at least 6:45 or 7am.

35. Collapsed in bed or on the couch--haven't decided yet.

**Somewhere between #7 and *8 I read Peter Rabbit to the boys and had to pause halfway through to book to throw up. Ewan said, "Mommy, is the baby making you sick?" "Yes, Ewan, it is." In between vomiting one of the boys would say, "Read please." My response, "I will gladly read you the rest of the story after I finish throwing up, guys, just a minute." I don't think they get it quite yet but at least they said please.

There were also times of playing with the boys interspersed throughout the day--just so you don't think I ignored them all day.


I don't think I will have another day anytime soon where the only time I sit down during daylight hours is to eat dinner. I ate lunch standing up and cleaning at the same time. I seriously don't know how I made it this late! Good night all!