Home Sweet Boxcar

The kiddos and I arrived at Camp Willow Run this morning to join my hubby as he speaks this week. I've blogged here and here about how this is where Mike and I met and how very special this place is to us. Jackson is enthralled with camp and has been a jabbering bouncing boy ever since we arrived. I LOVE that Mike is asked to speak here every summer... gives us an excuse to see our 2nd family here, we get to participate in an incredibly impactful ministry, and it gives us a little vacation in paradise.

This year we discovered a newly expanded Boxcar #8 (aka speaker's boxcar). They made an additional room complete with 2 sets of bunk beds and a dresser. It's so nice and what great timing for us! This boxcar is now almost as big as our first house. :)

Jackson wasted no time and immediately following lunch he and daddy hit the lake. He couldn't wait to jump off the dock again. Hannah and I went down briefly to take a few pictures. The Bjorn is going to be a lifesaver this week for us. And, if the weather keeps up I'll be sweating out the remaining baby weight.

Mike has made many facebook/twitter updates about his stay so far. It has been so funny to see the bazillon comments he is getting from fellow former staffers. They want to know what he's doing, what he's eating, etc. Basically living vicariously through him this week. So many have sweet memories of this place.

Post-flu pseudo-normalness

It was so nice to rejoin the land of the living! Grocery store, movies, library, birthday party, cookout, church ... normal felt good. Our last scheduled meals came from our most loving friends, neighbors, and church family. I cannot convey what a blessing that has been both to my stomach (yum!) and to my sanity.

This weeks starts a new and different chaos. Mike is speaking at Camp Willow Run all week. He left this afternoon. Which leaves me with the 2 young'uns until Wednesday when we will join him. I feel like this will really be a test of my motherhood... manage the 2 kiddos all by myself while packing for 2 back-to-back trips (CWR, then to the beach). Will I survive?? The planner in me is in overdrive.

I really look forward to being back at CWR and seeing the staff again. They recently put an addition to the speaker's boxcar, which will be so wonderful for our expanded family. But, the best part by far is experiencing camp from the perspective of my son. He loves camp as much as we do. It's all he's talked about for the last few days. It won't be but a few more years until we can hopefully send him there as a camper!

tv is transforming my hubby

I've been strapped down to the sofa either sick with the flu (all better now, thankfully) or nursing for many hours each day. I'm getting good at grabbing things with my toes, beckoning the four year old to bring me things, and surfing the net with my one free hand.

And, I've been watching a bit of TV lately. (Yes, I know its pathetic. I need to go to the library... just haven't made it there yet). While I usually loathe Summertime programming and Daytime TV (with the exception of my beloved Today Show), I do enjoy most things on HGTV and the Food Network. The problem is that it either makes me hungry or desirous to overhaul my home decor. Neither are good options right now.

By the way, have you seen the show 'The Next Food Network Star'? Love it. I'm soooo rooting for Melissa!

My hubby, Mike, has been subjected to this programming too, especially while being Mr. Mom and taking care of all of us. I'm happy to say it is rubbing off on him. We have all these ideas of improvements we want to make to the house. When the magical money falls from the sky, we will be ready with a plan. :) In the meantime we'll just focus on helping his mom update her home and prep to get it sold.

Mike has also been exploring some in the kitchen. He's excellent with man-food. You know, the stuff that is either grilled or deep fried. His chicken wings are legendary within our church. While my parents were here, he and my dad made grilled ribs with a homemade bbq sauce, homemade cornbread in a cast iron skillet, and grilled corn. He even consulted several different cornbread recipes and then combined a few to create the recipe he wanted. Impressive.

He has been babying his little garden. Seriously, he checks it several times everyday and comes in with reports of how many cucumbers and tomatoes we have, and how the watermelon has doubled in size in the last 12 hours. He's already harvested most the cucumbers. Ironically, he'll never know how great they are because he can't stand them. More for me! It's amazing to me how a man that doesn't like vegetables can be so enamored by gardening them.

Your prayers, please

I have the flu. It is horrible on many levels.

Please, please pray for Hannah to be spared all this. As you can imagine it would not be a good thing for her 5 week old body to endure. Jackson gave it to me, and he's past the worst of it.

Oh, and pray that Mike will be spared too. We need our Mr. Mom healthy around here.

FYI - Dr says there is a lot of flu going around right now... take cover.

....back to bed.

Coming out of the dark

I am slowly getting Hannah into a schedule and discovering the new normal for our family. The 'fog' is still there, but there have been moments of seeing it lift. Hannah is sleeping wonderfully at night and is doing 5-6 hour stretches between feedings. Hallelujah and amen. Hubby has been a HUGE blessing by taking her during occasional late evening fussy spells and letting me go straight to bed after feedings. I almost feel back to myself.

Jackson has attended a VBS this week. I am proud to say that I have successfully gotten him there by 9am each morning clothed, bathed, and fed. And, I am ever so ready to go back to being in my pjs until 10am next week. :) It has been a good experience for him and I know he's glad to get out of the house more.

It has been great to have some undivided time with my little girlie. And, a little more time to do some other things around the house - like attack the medical bills that come in daily. Can you believe that I got a big fat bill from the anesthesiologist??!! For the epidural that I did NOT have the privilege of receiving!! Grrr... I've already called to petition these fees and they are "researching" it. It can't cost that much to have an anesthesiologist spend 10 minutes to prep me and not actually administer the goods. Can it?!?

We are starting to get out and about a little. Hannah has officially made 2 trips to the grocery store and we went to church last Sunday, although she stayed in her stroller and will not be put in the class this early. I am still leery of doing major errand running with both kiddos, but I'm sure that time will come soon enough. We went to The Bridge's softball game last night. I'm not sure how much of the game I actually got to see, but we were there supporting Daddy and the team! It's comical how many kids are in the stands for our team compared to other teams. Our church is fertile! :)

Murphy's law for (my) newborn

• Will dirty 3 consecutive diapers when you are rushing to get out the door.
• Will wake and demand to be held as soon as you are sitting and holding a fork with a bite of food to be eaten.
• Will sleep heavily through guests coming to see her, yet be wide awake for the following 3 hours (again wanting to be held).
• Will spit up a river as soon as you are 10 feet away from the nearest burp cloth.
• Will sleep through a four year old screaming next to her, yet awake when the door to her room creaks open.

The Fog

I was amazed after I came home from the hospital feeling so well. I had energy and healed very well from the whole adventure. We did the early discharge from the hospital. Then that first week finished and now it's a bit murky 'round here. I'm in what I like to call "the fog".... aka the first month or so after a new baby when sleep deprivation kicks in and you function through each day, but are not really yourself. Words are harder to form into sentences. Items are lost. I can tell you when the next feeding will be and how many diapers I've changed, but if you ask me something like my favorite color I'll have to really pause and think. Forgive me for ramblings and poor punctuation during this time, won't you? :)

Our dear friends from The Bridge and around the area have started to bring meals and it is such a blessing! I might just forget how to cook.

It's hard to believe that my precious baby girl is 13 days old. Oh, how I am utterly and completely in love with her! I love how she will stare contently at my face. How she cracks a content little smile when her head is rubbed. How she is unfazed by a rambunctious 4 year old brother. How she seems to love being cleaned and pampered during bath time. How she wrinkles her forehead and looks identical to her daddy. How she has that "milk drunk" look after feedings. How she makes the cutest little squeaks. (Except when she squeaks at 3am and I'm trying to get back to sleep)

And she just seems so dainty and prissy. I told Mike that I am not sure if it is really her or just me projecting that on her! Even her little burps seem girly to me. Is that weird? Jackson NEVER had that soft baby squishiness - he was always so solid and big. She's putting on the pounds (or ounces, rather) quite nicely. I finally see the beginnings of a fat role on her legs. It is amazing how happy that makes me.

Jackson is still doing very well with the new transition. He tried to pick up a whiny phase again, but I think that's in check for now. And he loves to hold her. Fortunately he is at the perfect age to be a good helper and "fetcher" for me while I do hours and hours of feedings each day. He has told me several times that he wishes he had "brother milk" like I have mommy milk so that he could feed her too. Oh my! We have laughed about that one!

Little one is starting to grunt from the bassinet. Chow time...

Looking for me? I've been letting hubby do the blogging over here for the last few days. Been a little busy nursing and not sleeping :)

messing with my head - part 2

Mike and I said a while ago that the most inconvenient time for me to go into labor would be Saturday night/Sunday morning... the Lord has a sense of humor!

Yesterday started out quite eventful. I awoke at 2am with contractions. I logged them for a couple of hours at about 10 min apart. When Mike awoke around 4 and I told him there was a possibility of labor. He showered and began preparing for church, just in case. After a couple more hours of slowly but progressing contractions, we called Pastor Tim to fill in preaching for Mike. Grandparents were called in to come get Jackson.

The contractions felt differently than before, but I didn't think much of it. I had back labor exclusively with Jackson because of his position in the womb. The doctors have told me she is not in that position, so I knew the contractions would likely feel much differently. They kept getting closer and closer - and increasing in intensity & pain [which is what the books says is a sign of true labor, not false labor]. It was frustrating how slowly they were progressing, but at least they were progressing.

Finally around 11am I reached the point of nearly an hour of contractions that were 3-5 minutes apart - the point when we are to call the Dr and head to the hospital. Mike loaded up the van only to come back in and find out that the contractions had stopped without explanation.

I cannot explain to you the level of frustration felt.

Praise God Jackson was able to spend the day and night last night with my in laws. We rested and caught up on sleep. Which is good because who knows when we'll be at the whole thing again.

Preoccupation Projects

Fact: I'm 39 weeks preggo today. [But who's counting?]
Fact: Time goes by faster when you are busy.
Fact: I have the inability to nap. Never have. Sad, I know.

Therefore... I am finding projects of preoccupation. And riding waves of energy when they come along. Currently, the wave has passed and I'm crashed in the recliner. In case you were wondering.

Where was I? Oh yes.... the projects.

Project #1 - Hannah's room. Furniture in place. Room cozy and decorated. Clothes and toys are organized, washed, and ready to go. This was the fun project. It's been done for a while.

Project #2 - The house. It's the continual project of keeping it up, yet I'm trying to keep it "guest ready" for when my folks come stay with us after Hannah shows up. (You know, the kind of stuff that hubby probably wishes I did ALL the time but would never say that.) Couple that with Spring Cleaning and a killer nesting instinct... it doesn't stand a chance. I have already re-organized the laundry room, all closets, my pantry, bathroom cabinets, Jackson's toys, winter clothes, and junk drawers. Bathrooms are clean. Laundry caught up. Baseboards dusted. Hubby and I scoured windows last weekend - we still have a few more to go. He's gotten into the game and really done a bunch of yard work. Even started a garden with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, and watermelon.

It's sick, I know.

Project #3 - A bow holder. Attention: I did a craft. By myself. With paint, glue gun, and ribbon. Yes, ME. Now, I know she'll likely be like Jackson and not have ANY hair for the first year, but here's to hoping. And for something to go on a blank wall. (picture to come)

Project #4 - Errand running. Last minute stocking up on anything I can think of. I know getting out and about after she comes will be difficult for the first little bit. And for some reason I am afraid my family will run out of food. Or worse - toilet paper.

When all else fails I revert back to the house project... because, let's face it, yesterday's work is already messed up. Which reminds me why I just don't get caught up in the 'my house must be perfect' thing in most cases. Just not this week.