Busy Mama

These days I hardly know what day of the week it is...but I know what season! We've had additional snow this week and I must say, it is lovely when you just can look at it and not get out into it. I am used to staying home, and almost prefer it these days, so it doesn't bother me. I feel like I'm tag teaming it all the time between two children. One will go down to nap, I come downstairs to feed the other, then back upstairs to get the napping one, check on the other, then feed the other a snack. Like that. :) It's not as difficult as I anticipated really. I mean, God gives you the strength you need. It is tiring though, especially since I am up during the night. This season will pass too and I'll eventually sleep through the night again. That's probably when we will find out we are expecting another right? ;)

Life with a toddler is a joy and a challenge. Gwen has suddenly started singing and requesting songs. She will come to me and say "rabbit" which means she'd like to sing Little Bunny Foo Foo and then she will cycle through all the songs she knows... Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Wheels On The Bus, ABC song. It is very funny and sweet.

Here is a picture of Gwen sitting in the bouncer chair that she shouldn't be in after pulling the tablecloth off of the table onto herself and she is looking at the DVD cover for Nacho Libre. That's also her new mailbox we made from a wipes box. She puts junk mail and index cards in there.

It's not just me that is tired. Ben is a huge help and when Gwen wakes in the night due to teething (STILL teething) he goes to her and puts her down again. He also helps me in the night if I need it. He is truly my night in striped armor. (by the way, this picture is staged... can you tell?)

Projects and A Laugh

Yesterday Gwen and I made an easel from a diaper box. We just cut one side off and then made a triangle shape and then taped it up. Here she is drawing.

We got this today in the mail. I read it differently than it was intended. :)

Playdough Take Two

We made it again today and it succeeded. The problem with my other one was that I didn't cook it long enough. Gwen only got disciplined one time during the whole process this time. :) She chose the color blue for the playdough and after we had it all done I sat her in her high chair to play with a portion of it. Lo and behold if she wasn't more interested in the things I had out for her to play with the playdough with. Like the cookie cutter she put on as a bracelet. Then she looked at the playdough and said "ball"... so I thought "hey, she's interested in it." I rolled the playdough into a ball shape and explained to her how you do it and she took the playdough and threw it in the floor. :) I guess she'll just grow into playdough. She also had a little taste of some of it and decided she didn't like it.

Sorry for the shadow... but here are my two.

Cole Miner's Daughter

Last night I couldn't sleep because I was thinking randomly about this song. I don't know where it came from... I mean, it's old school country for one (not my fav) and it's been years since I've heard it probably. I had to look it up today and hear it. I've decided I'd like to be like Loretta's mother, minus the hard work and poverty. :)

A Poem and A Couple of Quotes

This is a poem and a couple of quotes I came across in some picture albums that someone gave to me. I thought first of all it was interesting that men wrote all three. Secondly, how pretty they were. Enjoy.

Frail new-born wings,

Small voice that sings,

New little beating heart...

The sun doth shine,

The earth doth spin,

For welcome-- enter in

This green and daisied sphere,

Rejoice-- and have no fear.

- Richard Le Gallienne

The smile that flickers on baby's lips

when he sleeps- does anybody know where it was born?

Yes, there is a rumour that a young pale beam of a

crescent moon touched the edge of a vanishing

autumn cloud, and there the smile was first born

in the dream of a dew-washed morning.

- Rabindranath Tagore (do you think Ben and I should name our next child Rabindranath?)

A baby in the house is a well-spring of pleasure,

a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for

innocence on earth, a link between angels and men.

- Martin Farquhar Tupper

Playdough Gone Wrong

Everyday after lunch I try to make a concerted effort to do something constructive with Gwen. Sometimes it is drawing, sometimes singing, sometimes reading and sometimes working on a skill like sorting (pieces to a game I have with different colors), or stacking cups. Today I thought it would be nice to make homemade playdough together. I looked up a recipe online and sat her in a chair with a booster seat so she could see the whole process while I explained how fun it was going to be to play with. Well... it turned out horrible! I'm not sure what I did wrong! You can see in the following pictures how terrible it came out and how excited Gwen was to play with it. I couldn't just throw it away after I had spoken so much about it. I let her play in it and yes, it was messy... but I didn't care. She had such a good time. I guess I'll try again another day. I am more determined than ever to make my own now. Of course, I was out of food coloring and added half a packet of jello to make it colored. Maybe that threw it off.

Gwen and Zeke

Today Gwen made me laugh several times. She insists on putting these Mr. Potato glasses on even though I've told her a million times they are too small for her face. She wears them around her mouth area all squeezed onto those cheeks of hers. Today she added to it by putting in her pacifier in one of the eye holes. She's teething something horrible... so if you see a little drool in this first picture... well.. sorry.

Reading.

She also loves to draw now. She can recognize the letter "O" and can draw one too. She tried an "X", but only made one line. :) Oh, and by the way, she really gets "into" the art as you can see. She is drawing on herself, paper, tablecloth, you name it. On the totem pole of things to get onto her about, that is pretty low considering they are washable markers.

Gwen's "O"

Zeke hanging out in his new outfit someone at church gave us. Isn't it cute?

Zeke has this shock of hair that stands straight up and I can't get it to lie down. I think it's so cute!

Meal Plan

It's back to cooking for me after many weeks of having my mom cook for us and then my church's small group bringing me dinners. It was great! We had Spanish casseroles, strawberry pie, roast and potatoes... need I go on? I really appreciate it. Here's this week on my own.

Easy chicken dijon

turkey loaf, corn pudding, steamed broccoli

black bean soup (from frozen), banana bread

cornish hens, potatoes, salad

breakfast for dinner- waffles or biscuits, eggs or sausage balls

stew- using tomatoes in freezer from our garden

Making a large batch of All-Seasons Sesame Chicken and freezing for later

freezing any leftover sausage balls

* On a food related note, I just got Gwen from her room after taking a nap and I she was a little grumpy, so I said to her in a cheery voice, "hey... do you want cheese and crackers?" and she said "no". I asked her if she wanted yogurt to which she said no. Then I asked her if she wanted filet mignon and she nodded yes. The girl has taste!

Little Amusements

As a homemaker of two under the age of two... well... you have to keep your sanity somehow. The way I operate is that I have to find small things in my day that make me smile or amuse me in some way. The other day I found this tiny little clothes pin that I saved from somewhere. I can't remember where I got it... but I know why I saved it. It makes me happy. Here it is beside a tube of lip balm to give you some perspective of how small it is.

Yesterday I was going up the steps with Gwen in my arms and I looked down on one of the steps where a puzzle piece had fallen. Just like a bad fortune cookie it read "rough road ahead." It made me smile, so I have kept it there on the step.

We gave Zeke his first real bath today. It took a while for his umbilical cord to fall off and to heal completely. I'll show some video of that soon. Ben made sure to video and comment on his boy parts down there...shesh... so I have to go and see which one might be most appropriate for public viewing.

My Boy

Poem

This is a poem from a book I just finished called "Song for Sarah" by Paula D'Arcy. I read this poem several times and thought about it today. I feel like my brain is made of scrambled eggs these days. Sleep is not a luxury that I have too much of now a days, but I do have love... and that's enough.

I sang him a lullaby,

an unfinished lullaby,

a raspy, whispered lullaby

that made his blue eyes smile.

- Meredith Powers

Babies

Gwen at 2 weeks.

Zeke at 2 weeks. This is home made picture we tried today.

Felt Like This Lately?

I got a chuckle from this photo. I'm doing well. Ben took today off and Friday off and Zeke is a dream baby. We went to the library "rhyme time" with the kids today and the leader lady told me I couldn't come in there with Zeke. She explained to me that it was a one to one situation in there. I told her that I thought it would be ok since Ben was with me. She said that one kid would want to see the baby and then all of them would and it would distract. She also said, "this is a time for your 12-24 month old." I thought for a minute there about crying because I was frustrated by what she was saying... but miraculously I just smiled and said "ok." Gwen had a blast though with the rest of the kids there and singing songs she knows like the Itsy Bitsy Spider. She got in the middle of the circle and turned to the other kids like she was leading the class. She is very outgoing and independent. :)

Cool Games for Preschoolers

My sister showed me this site that has some games that Gwen loves. She especially loves the game with the zoo animals.

http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=30&e=gameslanding&mcat=game_infant,game_toddler,game_preschool&site=us

Moments To Remember

Well... I hope you aren't eating a sandwich when you read this because it gets kind of gross. I have to write this down to remember and plus, it's just plain funny.

Last night I was changing Zeke. As I was cleaning him he starts to poop again. No big deal, he does it all the time. I was prepared for that. Then he starts to pee. Ok... I've got a rag, got it covered. As soon as I cover that he poops again... except it is projectile at this point and makes a loud noise. It goes on his blanket at the end of the bassinet, on his clothes, and on the new diaper I had out. I think I exclaimed something like "woah!" and Ben bolts straight up in bed. He didn't wake up with my exclamation, he woke up to the sound little Zeke made. He got out of bed and I told him I'd need his help I thought. We stood there beside his bassinet at 3am and laughed our tails off. Having a boy is such an adventure thus far.

Life

Here is Zeke this morning sitting cozy in the swing. He is most wakeful in the breakfast and dinner hours. He is a pretty laid back baby.. until you take his clothes off. :)

Sitting with Ben

Look at that little tiny face. He is such a sweet little boy and has the softest hair of all times I think. It's like feathers on a duckling. He also is a pro in the pooping department. Never in all my years have I seen a little person go through so many diapers. He easily can go through 4 diapers in the span of 5 minutes. I think it's all that good milk. :)

Some daffodils my mother-in-law gave to me. My FAV! and in the winter too!

Some beautiful tulips that Ben brought me yesterday. Aren't they lovely?

Visits and Laughs

We've had quite a few visitors lately and here are some photos. This first one is of Granny Pam (Ben's mom) and Zeke.

Here is Gwen and Zeke's second cousin, Mia. She is such a little cutie.

My sister came this past weekend and it was really nice. She helped me organize closets, rocked babies and laughed with me at my toddler. Someone at church asked if we were twins. I looked over at her and said, "you are lookin good." :)

This is attempt number 1,000 at getting a decent family photo. Still trying... :)

Last but not least is something that made me laugh. I got a book from the hospital about taking care of babies and all and I was reading it while breastfeeding this past week just as a refresher. I came across a section called "stools" and was greatly amused to see the following: "Sometimes these stools explode from the rectum." That's right folks, explode. I can tell you from what I've seen from Zeke this week that it is true.

Quote

"Dying is easy, it's living that takes work. You've got to have goals and challenges."

Jack Lulane- 94 years old

I read this quote this week in the paper and have been thinking about it a lot. Of course, everyone knows this guy from his juicer commercials... but I think this quote is true. I've been thinking of what goals I have, what challenges I have before me and how I am living... truly living. How am I working towards living in the areas that I feel I could improve in? I've got lots of time to be introspective now that I get up every three hours in the night. :)

My Two

This is a picture I took of Zeke today. I am enraptured with him. He is the sweetest little boy and such a good nurser. I think I appreciate that even more because I had such a hard time getting started with Gwen. I think I could sit all day and stare at his face.

Here is Gwen and her shining eyes. She had just gotten a few bites of daddy's ice cream and then she was brushing her hair with a play brush. She brushed my hair too and I only screamed for a minute in pain. :)

More Pictures

Here are some more photos from the last few days. This first one is of Ben and Zeke in the hospital waiting to be discharged. This is before the peeing incident. :)

Today attempting to get a family photo. Gwen wasn't all that interested in sitting still. Imagine that! She was however, interested in taking drinks from the cup I got from the hospital.

Look at that baby boy's face!

Gwen meeting Zeke for the first time in the hospital. She's pointing and saying "baby."

Zeke's makeshift outfit to come home in. Oh the memories. :)

This has to be my favorite photo of the day. Look at that mouth! Also.. what you don't see is Gwen having a fit on the floor.

Finding Our Way Home

Well... it's already interesting having a boy. Yesterday while we were preparing to get discharged from the hospital Zeke had a poopy diaper. We were changing him, mind you, my first time seeing his circumcision, and he peeed all over himself and his outfit to go home in. Ben looked over at me and said, "I think we need to change his outfit." Well, that's the only outfit I brought so I started to cry. In the end, he came home in some clothes the hospital put together for me.

Last night we had to change his clothes 2 times due to him peeing himself and each time I had to go into Gwen's room to get an outfit and blanket. It was a little of a trial, but we made it through and Gwen didn't wake up until 6:30am. We have forgotten so quickly what it is like to have a newborn. I have a noise maker by my bedside that has a heartbeat sound and we slept to that. It's like being in a suspense movie. His little face is so precious and he's a good nurser. (thank you Lord!) I keep thinking what it will be like when Ben is at work and mom is gone. I'm getting a little nervous over that. More pictures to come. I've been out of it.

Oh.. and I forgot to put it on the blog... He was 8 lb 9.5 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. Healthy baby boy!

It's A Boy!

Our baby is finally here. Friday night Ben was going to take me out to the movies to see "The Blind Side" in this thing called Fork and Screen. It's where you basically eat while watching a movie and sitting in a nice recliner type seat. When we the got there it was all sold out so we tried another movie and it was all sold out as well. I told Ben not to worry and why didn't we just get dinner out somewhere and then rent a movie if we felt like it. We walked over in the snowy weather to a steak house to discover it had an hour wait. SO we decided to go to the Indian restaurant we like near our house. As soon as we got there I went to the bathroom and my water broke in a little gush. We left and went back home and packed our bag and called the OB and put Gwen to bed.

They let me labor on my own during the night without any medicine. I didn't have very regular contractions and they weren't very strong, so in the morning they started the pitocin to get my contractions on the move. I got an epidural and felt pretty good until I was around 9 cm dilated and that's when I felt lots of pressure and it was painful. I had to wait an hour to push because the doctors and nurses were with another lady next door that had a baby in distress. Of course I wanted everything to go well with the other baby, but I was getting weary. After about an hour of waiting I pushed for thirty minutes and wasn't making significant progress. He had his head turned to the side and tilted a little. They tried to turn his head, but he didn't move it. Then I rested for 30 minutes and pushed again. It was getting to the 24 hour mark since my water had broken, so they were a bit concerned and started talking C-section. I had also developed a fever by now. I guess hearing the words C-section gave me strength, because then I pushed and he came down more. Then a little more pushing and he was here. I cried tears of relief and kept thanking the Lord. :)

Since then we've been getting to know one another and he is precious and a very good nurser. I know things will get even better when my milk comes in. He is one hungry little guy. He looks so much like Gwen to me that I almost want to call him Gwen. We've decided to call him Zeke Benjamin Barreth. We'll call him Zeke. It's a bit unusual of a name, but we thought Zeke Barreth sounds like a cool person to hang out with in college or an extreme sports star or something. That's basically how we chose it. :) I hope he likes it.


A picture of me after he was just born. Isn't my hairdo lovely?

My mom was there for the birth. Here she is with Zeke.

Isn't he a cutie?

Daddy and baby Zeke.

33

Today I turn 33. What a birthday to remember. We are expecting 3-5 inches of snow tonight on top of what we already have on the ground. The last time I had snow on my birthday was 8 years ago in Alabama and it was a light dusting. Here is a picture of me today in front of my house. We are expecting the high to be -1 tomorrow with a low of -10. Watch me go into labor tomorrow.

Baby Bap Update

This morning we went to the doctor again. I've made some progress in the effacing department, but just have dilated a little more....maybe like a 2 now. I'm measuring 44 weeks and that is big. We've decided to wait until Monday to schedule anything regarding an induction. Hopefully the baby will come on it's own. That is our prayer. I'm mighty uncomfortable, but it helps to know I'm in the final stretch. I'll just take it one day at a time. Pray for us.

Quilt and Doll

My mom is here now and she brought a baby quilt that she made herself. Isn't it beautiful? Here's the front side.

and here's the back side.

Here is where she signed it.

She also brought some toys that my sister passed along to us (THANK YOU Steph) and we had to pause and take a little chuckle at this doll. She's so rolly polly and has a kind of surly look on her face.