Because What Mom Doesn't Like To Talk About This?

Shannon, over at (one of my favorite blogs of all time) Rocks In My Dryer, is doing this surprise meme in honor of Labor Day. Thought I'd join in...

How long were your labors?
Kid #1: 16 hours
Kid #2: 7 hours
Kid #3: 6 hours
Kid #4: 9 hours

How did you know you were in labor?
#1: Started having contractions...they got stronger...they got more regular...and hubby got me to a hospital
#2: Was in the doctor's office for an exam. She said "Oh my! You're a good 6 centimeters! Go to the hospital NOW!" I hadn't been having painful or consistent contractions. No fair, I know.
#3: Was 4 cm dilated again, just like with #2. Doc was willing to let me go for a while (new doctor), but I was nervous. Scheduled an induction.
#4: Yep...a good 5 cm again with no effort (yes, you may hate me, but only for a little while). Again, scheduled an induction to ensure I didn't deliver in the car on the way to the hospital.

Where did you deliver?
Hospital with the very best reputation for NICU care and L&D care. I'm picky that way.

Drugs?
#1: No. Bad, poor, unwise, unnecessarily painful choice! I wanted to do it as "naturally as possible". Isn't that sweet? And stupid? I pushed for almost 3 excruciating hours with that kid! At one point during labor, I started sobbing. Everyone thought it was because I was in so much pain. I was actually crying for my sweet hubby, since clearly, I was DYING and he would be without his wife or new baby. Since I was DYING. No joke.
#2: Most definitely.
#3: Yes, ma'am.
#4: I considered going natural for, oh, 4 seconds.


C-section?
No, thankfully. Although, do you think they could have done a tummy tuck while they were at it if I had? I've always wondered if I missed an opportunity there...

Who delivered?
#1: Doctor, who did such a great job of working with me through all the screeching about me dying.
#2: Hubby! Just before the baby made her appearance, the doctor turned to hubby and said, "You wanna deliver your daughter?" He gloved and gowned up, and made it down there just in time to help guide her out, get the cord off her neck, and hand her to me. It was a really incredible moment!
#3: Doctor
#4: Doctor

Go see Shannon for other Labor Day labor stories :)

WHY?...

... if we're smart enough to invent a "washer" and a "dryer", can we not come up with a "folder" and "put away-er"??

So Much To Do, So Little Summer...

We're doing our best around here to soak up as much summer as we can in these last few days. School starts on Monday (sniff!). There's a lot to do yet! Like swing games to play...



Little girl secrets to tell...



Bars to monkey around on...



And new tricks to learn...



And I suppose I shouldn't forget: frogs to scare so badly that they pee all over the place...


He probably saw my Clara coming at him with this big stick. If I saw a giant Clara approaching with a big stick, I'd probably pee too! Here he is, checking out his "gift" (much to Clara's delighted squeals)...

He seems to approve. Mostly though, I'll bet he's trying to figure out if he can somehow hide under the stick. (Note: No frogs were harmed during the production of this summertime event. He was deposited safely in the long grass by the shed where 2 year olds with sticks and bored dogs could not find him.)


There's stuff to do inside too. Like play video games (I console myself with the fact that he at least has to be standing and moving to play this one)...



And eat snacks while charming Mama with a killer dimpled smile...


And when Mama pokes her head out from behind the camera and shouts "BOO!", there is lots of tray banging, giggling, and kicking of legs to do...


I thought I'd better grab this shot of summertime grass with a bit of morning dew on it...something to stare at when all that's outside is dead grass, brown trees, and snow (don't worry, I'm sure I'll still find great stuff to take photos of).

Awww, summer...sweet summer. Must you go so soon?

Hello, My Pretty

Have you ever seen such beauty?


This, my friends, is what a terabyte looks like...otherwise known as a trillion bytes, or 1,000 gigabytes. And it makes me very, very, very happy!

I bought this at Costco tonight for $200. A friend tells me I should have held out until the price went down...but I needed space NOW. And I don't think $200 is all that bad for a thousand GB!!! Yeehawww!

On A High

I'm still flying high after the big day yesterday. If you missed it, my friend Becky had her baby boy. He's just so incredible (sigh). I keep going over to her blog to look at his pictures!

I'm pretty sure hubby is thankful that we made our decision to be done with babies permanent. If we hadn't? I'd seriously be after him for another. Oh, just walking on that L&D floor yesterday made my ovaries do back flips! And then to see such a wondrous little baby...every fiber of my being wanted another little one of my own.

But we're done. Unless, hubby was generous to suggest, I'd like to find myself a different husband. Not a chance, he's stuck with me.

It's not that hubby doesn't love babies...our babies especially. He loves being a dad. He's involved in every part of our kids' lives, and we agree that these 4 little monkeys make our lives complete. He couldn't imagine life without any one of them.

But...last night, when we had 4 screaming kids...literally, SCREAMING, all at the same time for various reasons...he looked at me with a smile and shouted over the noise, "Still want another?!"

I got the point. We're full. Yes, I know, we're done.

But oh...my achin' fallopian tubes!

Okay, enough of that talk. I'm just gonna enjoy what I have...which is more than abundant blessings.

I'm feeling a bit overrun today with the items on my to do list. This weekend holds school clothes shopping, grocery shopping, lawn mowing, and photo editing for this family.

I'm pretty overwhelmed with all my pictures these days...pictures to take, pictures to edit, pictures to print, pictures to get to friends, pictures to put in albums, pictures to organize on my computer.

And the organizing on the computer part is getting tricky. Before I can do much more, I'm going to have to go get another hard drive and some more memory for my computer. I'm not joking! My computer is FULL. I had to delete a bunch of photos off my computer yesterday before I could transfer baby pictures to the computer (after saving to a different hard drive and various DVDs, of course). It's been made much more difficult now that I've been shooting in RAW instead of jpg...much bigger files.

Bottom line...I need a better organization system for my pictures, and I have to get it figured out NOW before I have a zillion more photos to deal with.

Wow, this is turning out to be a really, extraordinarily BORING post, isn't it?

I'll end your pain now, and close. See you this weekend for Seek The Lord Sunday, when we'll be sharing lessons learned recently. Excuse me, while I go add that to my to do list...

Hodge Podge

First, a confession. I've been cheating. On you, dear bloggy friends. With my new and oh-so-sweetly gadgety Wii. I'm addicted, and I might need help! So now you know where I've been for the past couple of days :) More on my new love later.

Second, I've actually done it. I've filled up my computer's hard drive with photos and photo editing software. FILLED UP. As in 100% full. I went through last night and deleted some shots I know I won't use, and some programs that I've never used (I'm pretty faithful to my Adobe Elements and Lightroom). So I have a itty bitty bit more room. But what next? I guess I'm going to have to...oh darn...get a new computer. Maybe one with massive storage and processing that really screams. And one with about a 40 inch screen. Or maybe I'll just buy another external hard drive or some more memory for this one.

Third, see me? I'm about 3 inches taller now that the weight of the world is off my shoulders. We've been slum...I mean land...lords for about 10 years. We've owned and operated an 8 unit apartment building with all of it's glorious stories about human nature and plugged toilets. It's been a blast. Ha.

WE SOLD the place on Tuesday! The deal should close by tomorrow! We'll get to dig ourselves out of a bit of debt and more importantly, NOT worry about occupancy rates, the roof, the furnace, or who's going to play the game of "throw the big fat knife into the hardwood floors" for entertainment.

Our earnest prayer has been that we, the buyer, and the involved agents would be blessed by a fair sale. God has been good. I think that everyone is thrilled. And like I said, and I'm so very relieved.

Fourth, I think it's happening. People actually want me to take family pictures for them. So what am I so afraid of? I'm afraid of sucking! I'm afraid that they'll get all gussied up for me, stand where I ask them to stand, smile with hopes of great family pictures, and I'll snap away...only to deliver mediocre photos for them. Photos which they will say they love...not because their disingenuous...but because they're really sweet and good friends.

I keep getting on line to search for stuff like "how to take great family photos". I'm seriously considering buying a new computer, full blown Photo Shop, and some lighting (even though I loathe fake lighting and we'll be outside anyway). But then I happen upon sites of "real" photographers, get discouraged, and stomp away from the computer swearing I'm gonna stick to photographing flowers and sunsets. Or maybe I'll go back to crocheting doilies.

I just want to be good. No, I want to be great. In fact, no. I want to be OUTSTANDINGLY-STUPENDOUSLY-GLORIOUSLY-BRILLIANT. But I'm so afraid I'm not. This is almost too big a dream for me...I'm afraid to go for it and fail, because then what?

Hubby keeps telling me that I just have to go DO IT already. I know he's right, the punk.

And Fifth, and finally...guess what I'm doing this afternoon? I'm going to lunch with ALL grownup human beings! We're going to a place called "La Vie En Rose". I don't know what the name means...probably something like "The Rose Vine" or "The Beautiful Rose". But I'm thinking of it more like "Come Eat Our Yummy Food, Have Some Adult Conversation, and Do Not Wipe Anyone's Nose But Your Own". I'm sold.

The Struggle Of Housewives Everywhere

At least I like to think I'm not alone in the way I feel today.

Lots that needs to be done...but *bored*.
Kids who want to spend time with me...but lonely.
Wanting to lose weight...but dying for some chocolate.

Wanna Know What A Weenie I Am?

Okay, my friends. I have a confession to make.

You know all the stressing I've been doing over having my hubby's coworkers and their families over? It turns out, there was no need. Is there ever really much of a need to worry and fret?

I guess I just didn't know what to expect. I didn't know the folks who were coming (turns out they were positively fun and easy going, and I even made a couple of new friends)...I didn't know if we'd be outside or inside...I didn't really know what was expected of me.

Add to that the fact that we just got back from our vacation, and I've been trying to get settled back in while caring for 4 small children. Well, you get the picture. Lots of M&M eating and fingernail biting.

But now for the confessions:

1. I didn't have to cook. Someone brought the food from Goodwood BBQ.
2. I didn't have to clean. Called a cleaning service. (well, I did have to unpack, get organized, and actually clear the surfaces for the wonderful cleaners to do their thing)
3. We weren't really in the house at all anyway. Everyone went straight from the front door to the backyard. But hey, my house is now really clean.

I know. I'm a total wimp. I promise I won't worry so much next time.

Working On It...

I know...I owe you vacation pictures! I'll bet my folks are checking their computers every 30 minutes to see if I've put any up yet. 'Cause, you know, Mom and Dad don't have anything better to do than sit around and check my blog every half hour. And blow their noses since they ALWAYS get a cold after spending time with my children.

Seriously. I'm working on it. Brace yourself though. I'm not going to edit the pictures. I typically like to run just about everything through PhotoShop before I show you so that I can maybe trick you into thinking I'm a pretty good photographer. But this time I just have too many pictures! You're going to get the real deal this time.

I'll try to get my fun pictures of swimming, fishing and fireworks up sometime before Thanksgiving. Promise.

I'm still trying to get my feet under me after our trip. I flipped the page on my calendar, only to see that we're having about 35 people over for dinner TOMORROW. Needless to say, I've been running around partly cleaning, sometimes weeping, and mostly eating chocolate. It's just what I do when stressed, you probably know this already!

So forgive me for being a lame blogger lately. Yes, I realize that all I had to offer you yesterday was a link that brought you to an article about a guy who hooked a bunch of helium balloons to a chair, and floated his way from Oregon to the great state of Idaho. Come on. You gotta admit that it was pretty impressive!

Since I always procrastinate when I have something big going on (like a bunch of people I don't know coming for dinner), there's a decent chance that I'll spend the day tomorrow blogging about my vacation instead of getting ready for the party :)

And for all of you really loyal blog readers who have actually read your way through to the end of this post, I have a surprise for you. Since you're probably the same loyal bloggy friends who visited me and left sweet comments while I was away, I'm doing a (shhh!) giveaway!! Yes. Right now. Leave a comment on this post, and I'll draw a random winner on Friday. I'll send you a box of my favorite new find...the Debbie Myer Green Bags. Just my way of saying thanks for stopping by.

You Gotta Love A Dreamer...

Check THIS story out!

Smokin'

My vacuum cleaner, that is. I turned it on this morning, it sort of flickered on and then off and then on again...and then it started emitting a stinky smelling smoke. Smoke!

I called my vacuum cleaner savior/repairman (is it bad that I have a vacuum guy?), and when I described what was going on he said, "Yeah, um, smoke is generally not a good thing."

He's really great with vacuums. Promise.

As if I needed more to do today! We're headed to Wisconsin bright and early this Saturday morning. It turns out that planning, packing, organizing, and washing for 6 people is a big job. Especially when I'm trying to actually care for 5 of said people while getting ready (hubby is on a business trip).

There's progress, at least. Hubby is all packed and ready to go. He does his own packing. I know lots of couples where the wife packs for hubby too...not around here. It just works better when he does it himself.

And the kids' clothes is packed. Yes, all 4 kids!

So now I'm down to my clothes, the carry-on stuff, and the "miscellaneous" stuff. You know, stuff like sun screen, swim diapers, a night light, a baby monitor, medication, toothbrushes...stuff. The stuff that makes packing so dang hard. The stuff that pops into my brain just as I'm dozing off so that I have to jump out of bed and either throw it in a suitcase right then or put it on "THE LIST".

I love vacation. I especially love this particular annual trip to my parents' cottage. But, oh, how I hate, hate, HATE to pack!

And besides that, I feel like a boy today. My hair is too short and too brown. I know, Hubby, you're rolling your eyes right now. What can I say, though? This is the life you signed up for with me. Sucks to be you, pal! ;)

I'm off to procrastinate some more. Have a great day everyone!

P.S. I don't think I'll have access to a computer at the cottage, but I've scheduled a few fun posts to publish while I'm away :)

I DID IT!!!

**Thank you** to everyone who encouraged me to be brave and cut my hair! My little Benjamin wasn't quite so helpful. He literally held my leg as I tried to leave and said "Don't do it, Mommy! Don't cut your hair!"

I did it though...the color is a bit darker than I planned, and the bangs a bit shorter. I'm not sure though...I might just be in shock from all the hair loss I've endured.

It feels great though. It feels like coming home from work or church, feeling all bogged down and hot with the "good" clothes on...and changing into some comfy shorts and a tshirt. Very liberating.

I showed my Mom over the webcam, and she said I look thinner. "You must have lost 5 pounds in hair!". Have I mentioned lately just what a lovely and kind woman my Mama is? (I weighed myself...no luck on the weight loss)

The gal who did my hair is really incredible. Her name is Heidi at Rapunzel, here in Boise. Give her a call, and tell her I sent you!

If you're looking for another great and talented stylist here in Boise, give Suzy a call at her shop Soul-O. I can't find her on the web though. If you'd like her number, drop me an email and I'll give it to you.

Are you screaming yet? Screaming "OKAY ALREADY, WHERE'S THE PICTURE???!!!"

I'm getting to it, just hold your horses...

Here's the photo I brought into the salon with me:

I know, I know...this wasn't even one of the options for you to vote on! I found this one after having that post up for a while. But the ones you guys chose was very similar.

And here's my "after" shot:

What do you think?

I like it. We'll see how I feel about it tomorrow after I do it myself, but for now, I really like it.

Really...what do you think?

P.S. If you hate it and think I made a terrible mistake, this is where you lie through your teeth and tell me it's beautiful! :)

Oh, I Am Just Having Too Much Fun!!

**UPDATE** I actually did it...I cut my hair! Want to see my "after" shot? Click HERE


I found the best website, and I've been having fun all morning (much to my children's nutritional and fashionable detriment...in other words, we've been munching on cereal all morning and are still in our jammies!). It's called TheHairStyler.com. I wish it was free...but I paid $13 to have this fun.

I figured hubby wouldn't mind if it kept me from asking his LEAST favorite question on earth..."do you like my hair better like this, or like that?" See? I did it for you, my love.

If you haven't gathered already, I'm thinking of cutting my hair. I just don't know how though...that's the problem that's been keeping me up at night and making my husband consider divorce.

But now...look! YOU can help me decide!!! I just know you're all dying to weigh in on this life changing decision. And if you're not? Please, cast your vote anyway. My children's welfare and my marital health depend on me making a decision soon!

I have a favorite, but I'm not going to tell you what it is until I hear back from you. See the poll in my right sidebar? Use it to cast your vote, please (each style is numbered for easy voting :)) ,

Inspiration

Have you been feeling down? Feeling like you're beat up and just can't take another step? Or just maybe a little defeated?

If so...or even if you're having a nice day and would like to be lifted a bit higher, you have to go see the clip at THIS POST. It's awesome!

Go now. It's family friendly...get your kids and go watch together.

Have a great day!

I Can Only Say One Thing: "MOOOOOO"!

My sister told me a joke the other day, and I've been chuckling ever since. It goes something like:

Why do they call it PMS?

Because "Mad Cow Disease" was already taken!

Oh come on...it's funny. Admit it. And if you can't admit it? Well, maybe...just maybe...MOOOO? Heh heh heh!

I don't want to get too personal here, but I've sure been feeling a little bovine-ish lately. I can always tell when the old hormones are racing because I throw a whole bunch of stuff away, I clean like a maniac, and I don't let my kids sass me one little bit. I also have wild, crazy, freaky dreams. I feel like simplifying life. I feel like packing the car with whatever fits and moving to the mountains. And I eat m&m's by the handful. Or cookies. Or cake frosting. Or straight Hershey's syrup. Any chocolate will do.

And one other strange thing...this blog irritates the heck out of me. It's too...something. Or maybe it's not enough...something. It's not real enough, I think. It makes it seem that I have everything figured out...from fixing your cracked heels to raising kids to making a great meal.

The truth is that I'm mostly floundering through life just like everyone else. I'm always amazed that I can do anything well or on time. I'm freaked out that I'm going to mess my kids up for the rest of their lives. I hope I'm a good friend. I pray I'm a great wife. I feel like I'm working my butt off to get things done...only to let everyone down anyway. Truly - if there is good coming from my scatter-brained self, it is only more proof that there is a God.

I have two sisters. Between us girls and my Mom...Dad used to joke (or maybe he was serious?!) that he was just going to pitch a tent for a week every month, and maybe we could sound a horn or raise a flag when it was safe for him to come back inside! I can't say I blame him.

Wait...is that hubby out in the backyard pitching a tent??

It's Raining, It's Pouring

And I love it! The sound of rain is just so wonderful, don't you think? I don't know how to record sound only, so you're stuck with a boring picture too. Close your eyes and just listen to this rain!

Or you can watch the picture and if you look closely, you can see the camera give a little shake with every beat of my heart. Steady hands are not exactly one of my gifts.

We made it home just fine yesterday...last night...this morning...whenever it was. It was dark and way to late/early to be up. My wonderful hubby surprised me by picking me up at the airport in the dead of night. I almost cried at the joy of getting to hug him earlier than expected! I love that man.

We Made It

Well, we made it to Wisconsin just fine. The trip was relatively uneventful, and Thomas was a real trooper. His screeching was quite the entertainment on the airplane. The poor guy in the row ahead of us kept trying to sleep...he was less than pleased with us!

We've been hustling around this morning to make some goodies for Grandma's birthday bash. I'll take lots of pictures at the party, and will do an irritatingly long post with them after I get home. Don't really have a way to do it from here. I should get a card reader.

I'm enjoying myself - it's so nice to see my family, and the TREES here are just so wonderful! It makes me realize just what a desert Idaho is.

I do miss hubby and my babies though. I'm sure they miss me all terribly too. Especially when they were eating pizza and watching "Hercules" last night with their cousins. And my poor hubby...he's having a "the wife's away" poker party tonight. The poor guy is missing me so much, he'll probably be crying into his beer and and full house. I just don't know if they'll make it through the weekend ;)

Don't forget to log on to do your Seek The Lord Sunday post! This week's topic is 'how has following Christ affected your marriage?' Look for mine post and Mister Linky around 10 tonight.

I'm Up To My Old Tricks Again

I'm such a terrible procrastinator. Thomas and I are getting on an airplane in the wee hours of the morning, this coming Friday...that's roughly 26 hours from now. My house is a wreck. The laundry is backed up. I haven't even started packing. I haven't even really thought about what I need to bring. Have I done this before???

We're headed to Wisconsin for my grandma's 90th birthday bash. Ninety years old! Wow. I wonder if I'll see 90? Let's see, when I'm 90...Benjamin will be 62 years old?! Did I do that math right?? I'm 34 right now, and he's 6. Yes, I think that's right. Hot dog! I might get to see some great-grand kids too!

But I digress...I tend to do quite a bit of digressing when I have a deadline to meet and lots to do.

And hey...at least Thomas will have a nice new blankey to snuggle with on the trip. I'm waiting for my iron to heat right now so that I can press the fabric I bought today. He's a big blankey kid. In fact, he pulls his blankey up to his face and just covers himself up with it. The problem is...it freaks his mommy out. She's neurotic, you know. I'm just so afraid that he's going to suffocate or something (if my sister Tiffany read this, she'd totally roll her eyes). It's at least far too hot under the heavy blankey he uses now. When I dig him out after a nap, he's just sweating. He also has terrible eczema, so that kind of body heat doesn't do his poor skin any favors.

So I'm making him a new blankey! I bought two complimenting flannels and some silky (sateen, I think it's called?) binding. He seems to love that binding on his current baby-suffocating blanket. It should be simple enough to make, and I plan to finish it tonight.

I have, oh, a good 12 hours tomorrow to get ready for my trip.

Oh, good Lord...will you please save me from myself and my procrastinating ways?!

UPDATE: At Least All The Important Stuff Is Done

A Tragedy In The Family

My heart is breaking for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. Their youngest child, a 5 year old little girl has died. Her older brother didn't see her in the driveway, and ran her over with the family car. I can't imagine the pain.

If you want more detail:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/22/chapman.daughter.ap/index.html

Just For Kicks

Check this out! I can't decide if this is "good" or "bad"...my high school English teacher would probably be pleased. But my college technical writing prof? Probably not! Maybe I should write a few posts about differential equations, mechanics of materials, or fluid dynamics...bore you all to sleep (and possibly make my shriveled little brain explode)...but hey, my "readability" might get "better" or "worse"?