Don't Quit Your Day Job

I love conversations with my kids.  I get an inside peek into what they're thinking.  But sometimes it makes me wonder who their parents really are.

Caleb - Did you know there are two kinds of plumbers?

Me - No, I didn't.  What are they?
(seriously, TWO kinds of plumbers??  This I must know.)

Caleb - Well, one kind I don't know how to explain, but one kind of plumber works on sinks and showers. The other one fights crime.

Remind me to do a background check before calling our next plumbing 'professional'.

Typical Boy

It seems that lately I get my giggles from overhearing conversations that my kids are having.  Here is what I heard this morning on the way to school.

Mae (to Caleb):  Why do you collect hair bands, that's gross!

Caleb: Because then I can slingshot them at girls. (insert giggles here)

Gotta love that boy.  He has always had a thing for the ladies.  But I hope it doesn't get him into trouble.  It might be too late for that though.

I Think I Need To Secure A Lawyer

The other day I was helping Isabel pronounce tsunami (remember when she called it a salami?)  Here's how it went....

Me:  Su-nah-me.

Isabel:  Sue-mommy.

I give up.  But I admit that I will miss these mispronunciations of hers.

It's All About Perspective

Caleb loves playing soccer.  I mean LOVES soccer!  He recently ended his latest season and we had a conversation about it and about some of the players on his team.  Caleb was telling me that a certain player was not very good, and he was right.  The little girl was not aggressive (at ALL!) and it was clear that she wasn't really interested in being there.  It just wasn't her thing.  I tried to explain to Caleb that not all people are good at soccer and that there may have been reasons why this girl was signed up to play.  Maybe her parents made her?  Or, maybe she wanted to try soccer and then realized she didn't like it?  Who knows, but my point was that she may not be good at soccer but I was certain she is good at something else, just we all are.

Caleb thought about that for a minute and came to this conclusion.  The girl is probably a good artist.  Ha!  I love my son!  He's got a great way of looking at things sometimes.

Mae Day

As of today I have been a mother for ten years.  Thanks to Mae!  Yep, today is her birthday.  Ten years, wow.  Sometimes it feels like it's flown.  Other times, I know I've lived through each and every day.  Oh the joy of being a mom. :)  The question is - will either of us survive the next ten years?

I wrote Mae's birth story a few years ago, thought I'd re-post it today.  Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day before Mae was born I stayed home from work. I had been having irregular brackston hicks for weeks (with no pain) but that morning, as I got ready for work, I thought maybe I was having some more and wondered if it was 'the day'. It was 3 days before my due date, so I was hopeful. Turns out it was nothing, but I did enjoy a nice day at home.

Early the next morning, say around 3:00, I was quickly awoken when my water broke. I was so excited! I woke Ryan up, then called the doctor (who told me to make my way to the hospital). We took our time getting ready as we had learned in our birthing class that most first-time labors went slow and there was reason to rush to the hospital. After I had eaten some breakfast and gotten dressed and ready to leave, I called my parents to let them know that 'today was a great day to have a baby!'

just before leaving for the hospital we took this picture

And we were off!!!!

We got to the hospital around 7:00 that morning. I could feel some contractions, but nothing with any pain, yet. I remember in my birthing class, seeing a chart with varying degrees of happy faces, ranging from very smiley to a a serious/unhappy face. I walked in the hospital with a full smiley face. I was happy and excited to finally to this show on the road!


In fact, I was quite excited about everything. The hospital we were at was like a nice hotel and there would be no room changing at all during the course of my stay. My room was a one-stop shop, the only time I would leave would be when I checked out with my baby in my arms. And it was a nice hotel hospital room too! The room had updated everything, from the carpet, furniture and colors to the jet tub in the bathroom. In fact, I was looking forward to using that jetted tub!

A couple hours after arriving, my contractions still weren't anything to complain about. I could feel the tightening but with minor discomfort. The nurse suggested I either talk a walk around the halls or take a bath to maybe speed things up. Hmmmm.....walking halls with socks and a hospital gown - or - check out the jetted tub???

I opted for the bath. Thank you very much.

It must have worked. As I was in the bath, my contractions went from minor discomfort to uncomfortable to GET ME OUT OF THE TUB!!!

I didn't really have a birth plan. I'm a 'go with the flow kind of gal', so I figured we'd make decisions as they came depending on the circumstances. I had thought of forgoing the epidural though. My sister in law had had two babies and all she had for meds was something to take the edge off. Sounded good to me. So, there I was (out of the bath by this point) sitting in a rocker talking to the nurse about meds. I told her I'd like to take the edge off. She was fine with that, but did mention something about it wearing off by the time I need to start pushing.

Um, WHAT?! No. There will be no wearing off of drugs! Please give me an epidural. Thank you!

So, around 10 o'clock is when my happy face went from 'smiley face' to 'hurts a whole lot'. But by 10:30 I got my epidural (or 'hapidural' as a good friend called it) and I was back to my super happy face, albeit a bit scared and tired.

Seems things progressed quite well after that. Not that I felt anything. Mostly I rested and waited for my doctor to check me, then tell me any news of my progression. Shortly before 1:00, they started prepping me for birth. They reconfigured the bed and I got into postion. And I said an absolute NO to the mirror. Ewe.

Around 1:00 I was pushing. I pushed for about 15 minutes and she was out! There she was, all red and squirmy and crying. Our Mae Elisabeth.

And our lives were changed in an instant. At exactly 1:16 on the afternoon of May 18, 2001.

Super-Duper-Crazy-Busy-Full Day

I had a busy-crazy day. I'm overwhelmed just recalling all that has been done and experienced today.  Nothing out of the ordinary, just jam-packed with everyday mom stuff.


It all started after breakfast, I followed Ryan to a bike shop to get his bike that had been worked on. He then left for work and I went to Costco on my way home. As I was finishing at Costco, my hairdresser called to ask if I had forgotten my hair appointment.  Crap, I did forget!!!  Good thing I was in her side of town and was able to run over to get my hair cut!  Then I hit a chocolate store on my way home (I received a call this morning that my name had been drawn for some free chocolate melts!). I picked up my free goods and went home.  Isabel and I barely had time to fix lunch and take a few breathes before picking up Mae and Caleb from school. Then Mae asked if she could stay late to help with a video she was working on (I said yes).  Which meant I had to stick around school for an extra hour. We made it home shortly before 4:00. And Isabel and I hadn't had time to do any school, so we worked on that. Then I threw in some dino chicken nuggets for dinner and slapped some honey dew on the table and we ate. 


I think I'm sitting at the computer, resting, now (and blogging). I'm pretty sure that's what I'm doing. That, and counting the time left to bedtime. One hour.  I think I'll sleep well tonight.  Whew, what a day!


**please note that I really really wanted to type this post without any spaces between words.  Looking back over my day, that is how I feel.  No wonder I have a headache!


***the good thing in all this (so far) is that I have not been ugly with the kids!  Truly the Lord is with me, for there is no other explanation for such good motherly behavior.  

NYC

Ryan and I took advantage of several things last month.

1).  Flyer miles
2).  Hotel points
3).  Spring Break
4).  My parents compassion, generosity, time and love of their grandchildren (and for us)

Put all those things together and we got a trip to New York city!!!

Yep, Ryan and I dropped the kids off with Mom and Dad and headed off to NYC for a week.  Alone.  It was bliss.  All of it!

Neither one of us have been to New York, and it was great to explore the city together for the first time.  I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the city.  We both were.  New York was a great vacation for us, and we look forward to going back someday.

While we were there, I downloaded a new app for my iphone.  Hipstamatic!  It takes vintagey pics, and I basically took lots of pictures using only the Hipstamatic app.  Here are a few that chronicle our trip.

Ryan took a picture of me after we went through the Guggenheim museum. (the only picture of myself taken with my iphone.  Ryan has a few on his fancy schmancy camera).

I took this shot as we were walking from the Guggenhiem to yet another museum, across the street from Central Park.  I got all artsy fartsy with my new app, can you tell?

Central Park had these neat lampposts throughout, and I just loved them.  What can I say, this is me being all artsy again.

This shot was taken by Ryan.  His turn to be artsy fartsy with my app/camera.  On Ryan's list of places to go was the Apple Store.  On the way, this shot was taken as we walked by Central Park, where the horse carriages are.  It was a beautiful dreary morning and Ryan took advantage of the low clouds hugging the buildings.

We purchased City Passes that gave us admission to many museums and attractions in the city.  One of the things used the pass for was the Empire State Building.  We went to the 87th floor (typical observation deck).  It was neat to look out over the entire city and see several sights from one spot.  This shot was taken after our tour and when night was upon the city.

We also took a tour of the Hudson and East River.  The boat took us past the Statue of Liberty.  I think next time we go, I'd like to actually go to the statue instead of quickly floating by.  Next time I'll also know that I'll need to purchase tickets for the crown months in advance.

I love this shot of the city, taken while on our river tour.

Ryan.  On the subway.  We took the subway every. where.  It was great.  At first we thought we'd have to take taxi cabs when we wanted to go places.  Turns out that the subway is cheaper, easier and more fun to use.  We were careful not to take the subway during late-night hours, so we were pretty safe (contrary to how I felt about NYC subways before our trip).

One night we went to a broadway show, Jersey Boys.  We got all dressed up for our night out.  Consequently, this is the only picture of Ryan and I together in the city.  After dinner, we had time to kill before our show, so we walked over to Times Square.  Oh.  My.  Goodness!  The sidewalks were crammed with people!  And the big signs all lit up, too!  I'm not a huge crowd person, so walking a few blocks on the super-crowed streets was enough.  But I can say I've been to Times Square.  And have no desire to go back.  Been there, done that.

Like I said, we'd LOVE to go back to New York.  There is so much to do!  We missed out on Soho and Greenwich Village, to name a few.  Hopefully next time we'll hit those places.  I also wouldn't mind spending more time in Central Park.  Maybe rent a couple bikes and have a picnic lunch in the park.  All with my man.  Alone.  It will be bliss.

Until then, I'll treasure the 5 days I had, alone, with my husband as I dream of the next trip.