28 weeks

Go Jags!

Last week Ashley, Charlene and I took four of our friends from Trinity Gardens to a Lady Jags basketball game at the Mitchell Center. All three of us adults are alumni, so we sat there like old people and remembered "those good ole college days." KiKi, Maya, Bria and Priscilla were not sure what to make of our silliness and laughter, but I think they enjoyed getting to go to the game too. Southpaw, who was really the most outgoing Jaguar I have ever met, even came to take a picture with us. It really was fun, and USA beat Troy, Ha! My only regrets were that I had only enough cash for a bottle of water and not one of those huge yummy soft pretzels with pebble-sized grains of salt and spicy mustard on it, and that I didn't get a free t-shirt. (We did get a free car wash, which is always useful.) It was also fun to see the huge picture on the Mitchell Center wall of a ton of us old students (including some down from Troy for a visit) at a game years ago. Made me feel young again.

The baring of my soul, and telling of my most appalling secrets

Piles

I have trouble with piles. Especially paper and book piles. Here is my bedside table. It is more like a homeless shelter for various publications. It is terrible. You can all shake your heads ruefully and sigh with me.

Hodgepodge's Children's Book Selections of the Month

I am a bibliophile. I love books. I wish I could read as much as I used to, but one of my joys is passing on this love of reading to my children. One of our favorite things is our monthly trip to the library, where we can pick and choose wonderful children's books to take home and enjoy. We end up meeting so many fun characters, and learning so many new things that we often re-check out our favorites, or buy them somewhere so we can keep them at our house permanently. I have a far-fetched dream of owning a children's book store, and a more realistic dream of getting my Masters in Library Science and becoming a children's librarian. So I thought I would start sharing some of my favorite books, so those of you with children can enjoy them too. Snuggle up with your babies and read till you're hoarse!

My first selection is Mole and the Baby Bird by Marjorie Newman, illustrated by Patrick Benson. It is the story of a little mole who finds a wild bird and wants to keep it as a pet. He learns how loving something means letting go, a cliche, but true. This story is precious, with detailed illustrations and simple text. I really almost cry when I read it- it is so poignant somehow. This is one of our re-check out favorites.

My second selection is BooBoo by Olivier Dunrea. This is the tale of a little blue gosling who likes to eat. My children love BooBoo, especially when she swallows a bubble and burps and burps. Dunrea has a whole series of books about little goslings (Gossie, Gertie, Peedie) several of which we own and love and reread often.

(If the links don't work, just go to amazon.com and search. I just wanted to let you see the covers of the books.)

Winter Poems

I meant to share a Christmas poem nearer to Christmas, and then I found a collection of winter poems, so I have put some here for your enjoyment. I hope you too, like the shepherd, are pierced by the beauty you see around you- how it stirs your soul. And if you say "what beauty around me?" look, as Sara Teasdale did, and " you will find it, it is not far..."



Night

Stars over snow,
And in the west a planet
Swinging below a star-
Look for a lovely thing and you will find it,
It is not far-
It never will be far.

--Sara Teasdale


I Heard a Bird Sing

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember:
"We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,"
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.

--Oliver Herford


The Sheep Herd

I am a shepherd- I have hated
The smell of damp sheep in the rain,
The pain
Of clouted shoes on weary feet,
The silly barking of watchdogs in the night,
The blinding light
Of summer suns on hillsides without shade.
Nor anything I did not wish was not
From hoar-frost on the meadow grass
To dizzy stars that blinked on stupidly and bright.

Last night
I went with other men who tended sheep
Over to Bethlehem to see-
We did not know just what we'd come to see
Who'd followed up a cloud of singing wings.
Until we came to where a young girl held
A little baby on her lap and smiled.

She made me think of flowers,
White flowers on long stems and blue night skies.
Nothing happened-
But today
I have been shaken with the joy
Of seeing hoar-frost wings
Atilt upon tall grasses; the sun
Upon the sheep, making their gray backs white
And silvery
Has hurt me with its beauty, and I heard
The sound of the barking watchdogs break
The tolling bells against the quiet hills.

--Sister Mariella

Explanation

That post entitled "We wish you a Mackie Christmas" is supposed to be a video. I've tried to get it to repost, but I guess it is too big of a file, or something. I will keep trying because it is hilarious.

Merry Christmas!

We wish you a Mackie Christmas!

Holy ____! Where's the Tylenol?

So our Christmas tree fell over yesterday. It was very tragic, but I am so glad no little children were forever traumatized, or physically hurt by a huge spikey tree landing on them. We lost about 6 or 7 ornaments, including one of my grandmother's hand-blown glass balls, and one of Jay's grandmother's glass bells, but I was able to salvage several of the other slightly broken ornaments. We were thankful for our shop-vac, which was amazing at cleaning up the equivalent of a pine forest floor from our carpet. And we got to decorate our tree again once it was back on it's feet! And I get to rewrap half of the presents that were soaking wet, further enhancing my holiday spirit! I do still love my Christmas tree, named Spike, (because his needles are wicked sharp) and I am thankful for his resurrection.

Speaking of third babies

This was sent to me as an email and I thought it was very insightful. Funny stuff.


Pregnancy:
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
_____________________________________________________
Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.
______________________________________________________
The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
______________________________________________________
Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, A frown--you pick up the baby
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to Rewind the mechanical swing.
______________________________________________________
Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.
______________________________________________________
Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.
_______________________________________________________
Activities
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, Baby Zoo, Baby Movies and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaners.
______________________________________________________
Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.
______________________________________________________
At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children
______________________________________________________
Swallowing Coins (a favorite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!
______________________________________________________

Oh yeah we're having a boy

So you can tell this is my third baby. Not that I'm not super excited about this one, but you know how it is with the first baby- I would probably have posted ultrasound pics on the day of my appointment announcing the gender for all to read. Weeeeelll, I found out about 3 weeks ago- it's a boy! We're very, very excited. Ruthie was a little sad because she had her heart set on a baby sister, but we've been pumping her up with the Baby Moses, Baby Jesus thing, (her two favorite babies of all time) and she is now thinking up fun names for baby bro, like Bawookus, or Nugget, or Sith. I tried to explain that Sith is actually the name of the Dark Side in Star Wars, but she really just likes Sith. I think she combined Sid and Seth. Very creative, she is.

Keeping the Mullet Alive: the next generation

As seen at the Greater Gulf State Fair in October 2008. As Darth Vader would say, " Impressive."

Blue Angels' Homecoming Show

One of my favorite events on the Gulf Coast every year is the Blue Angels' Homecoming Show at Pensacola NAS. This year it finally worked out so I could take the kids, but not Jay. So we took a picture by the Albatross to give a shout out to the the Coast Guard. The extreme loudness caused some tears, especially from stubborn 2 year olds who refused to wear ear-plugs. Eventually he let me put them in for him, and he could enjoy it more. The kids loved sitting in various air craft and vehicles, such as the Hummer, a fire truck, and some large Air Force planes. My favorite was the Blue Angel that we climbed up in. Seriously I could hear the Top Gun anthem singing and I felt the need, the need for speed. I have a love for Naval Aviation because my Dad was a Naval Aviator- we got a picture of 4 of his 5 grandkids with one of the planes he flew, the A-4 Skyhawk. So great weather, ear-plugs, and those jumpy slide thingies made for a fun but tiring day on the tarmac, and maybe we'll make it next year. And maybe I'll have to watch Top Gun again soon to get my( highly inaccurate portrayal of) Naval Aviation fix. It has nothing to do with the volleyball scene. Seriously, sweaty guys playing sand volleyball in jeans? Let's get real. Real chafed.

Mac is Two!

November 14th Mac turned two, and we had a little party for him the weekend before. It was a lovely fall day and we played at the park with cousins and friends, ate cupcakes, and celebrated Mac. He is a delightful little boy- Jay and I are constantly marveling at how sweet and smiley and fun he is, and such a boy in so many ways. He loves wrestling, jumping, running around, reading books, coloring, snuggling, giving hugs, talking, and playing with his sister. He hates doctor's visits, hair cuts, fingernail trimming, and most vegetables. Mac is a wonderful gift to our family and we love him to pieces.

Mac and Ruthie

A Fair is a Carnival

"A fair is a carnival. It has nothing to do with life." So says a wise woman when her children whine, "that's not fair!" We went to the fair back in October, and it was lots of fun for me and the kids. ( Jay was in shock over the cost of it all.) Ruthie has been wanting to go since we have been reading Charlotte's Web, and she loved every minute of it. We only saw one pig, and it was a mommy, so we pretended it was Wilbur's mommy. Mac loved the tractor displays and all the animals, including the pig races we got to see. I liked seeing a baby cow nurse on it's mommy, but my favorite was the Ferris wheel and the cotton candy. I love cotton candy. I think Jay did enjoy the corn dog that was the size of my whole arm. And he got to ride the elephant and the bumble bee with Ruthie! It was so fun to see it all from my 3 year old's perspective, and watch her "live a dream" so to speak. So we'll save up for next year. Maybe a home equity loan or something would cover it.

Supervise Me

The Scene: I am on the computer, and Jay and Mac are wrestling, romping on the bed beside me. Ruthie wants to join them so she says:

R: How come Mackie can jump and play on the bed?
J: Because I'm supervising him.
R: I want you to supervise me! (running to the bed and climbing up)
J: Do you know what "supervise" means?
R: It means tackle!

Flashback

Saturday we hosted a 30th birthday party for Jen McShea- 80s themed. Happy Bday JEN!!! It was lots o' fun- and I think Jen won for the outfit category- check out the blue silk high heels and off the shoulder hot pink tunic shirt. Bodacious. Jay got to demonstrate his awesome Nintendo skills- on his original 1989 Nintendo Entertainment System. I guess I won the big hair category, and I am totally ready for big hair to be back because it is really what my hair was born to do. And it took only a couple minutes! You can't tell from the picture, but Jay's hair was spiked to perfection. And Brandon pegged his jeans to perfection. Way to go everyone! (Check out Jen's website when she dccides to post some of her pics, they're probably better.) Love ya, Jen!

Ok, let's be positive here

I haven't thrown up in 2 days!
I made it to 10 weeks! Only six or seven more weeks of perpetual stomach virus!
Third pregnancy means I am already showing! Now people will know I'm pregnant!
I get to eat like a hobbit...breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, tea time, lunch, etc.


I am exercising my thankful muscles because they are struggling these days. I know what I should be thinking and saying, but it is certainly a fight against my fleshiness. Sometimes I really just want to wallow in misery. I just need Jesus that's all.

Check out that uterus!