My baby is one. And I’m not pregnant with another one like I was when my first baby turned one, nor am I considering another one soon like I was when the older boys turned one. My baby is one, and it’s most likely the end of an era in our house. We’re probably done […]
Yes, I’m one of those coupon ladies in the grocery store with the binders. Not one of those crazy ladies from the coupon show with enough toilet paper and toothpaste to last till the apocalypse, I’m only a little bit extreme. Now that Zachary is eating mostly “big people” food, I’m officially feeding a family […]
All three of the bigger kids walked at around 13 months old, so I expected the same for Zachary. I should probably have known better, considering he has pretty much given up on all things baby by 11 months old. No baby toys for this little guy. He’d rather play with his brothers’ Matchbox cars […]
Remember a few months ago when I said that hopefully Zachary would sleep better once his teeth came in? That was six teeth ago. And yet I’m still seeing his now-tooth-filled grin at least two or three times most nights. Some nights are worse, and a few (a very, very few) have been better, but […]
When I re-enter the workforce in a few years, I could certainly list the skill of “adaptability” on my resume for the time I’ve spent at home with the kids. Especially with having four in such short intervals, it seems like every time we get into a new routine, something changes. But at least for […]
The beginning of summer was busy with work; the middle of summer was messed up with the hubby’s injury; and now we’re in summer’s home stretch. I feel like we’re trying to cram in every last ounce of summer before Daddy heads back to work and the big kids go to school. Meetings and work […]
The little man is nine months old now, but don’t tell him. He thinks he’s just as big as the big kids. Don’t try handing him a rattle or a baby toy. He’s way too mature for that. If the big kids are playing with cars and trucks, Zachary plays with cars and trucks. If […]
It’s been the good, the bad, and the ugly around here lately as the kids are hitting some milestones. First the good: I’m finally down to one kid in diapers! At two years, eight months old, my sweet Jack is potty-trained. Hooray! He started showing interest just before we left for our week out of […]
One of these days I’ll learn. I’ll learn not to say things out loud. Things like: “After we get back from convention, on July 11, life will calm down and get back to normal.” But I haven’t learned yet. And like an idiot I said it out loud. And of course, I was wrong. We’d […]
Our busy summer keeps rolling on as we kicked off July with Gracie’s sixth birthday. How is it possible that my baby girl is six already? She decided on a “Pink John Deere” theme for her party, which is her in a nutshell: super girly and princessy, but enough of a farm girl to get […]
Whoever coined the phrase “Lazy days of Summer” certainly didn’t live at our house. We had a busy spring, and we’re heading into summer with that same fever pitch. Occasionally when I think about how four kids’ activity and sports schedules will fit into things as they get older, it makes me a little nauseous. […]
Zachary must have had some kind of internal clock that made him aware that his 7-month birthday was approaching. In the week surrounding it, he decided to learn to sit up on his own, try his first few bites of big-people food, and the biggie: crawl! We’re talking “official” tummy-off-the-ground crawling, as opposed to the […]
Dear Sleep, I miss you very much. You and I used to be such great friends. I remember the days when we were young, back in high school and college when we used to while away the weekend mornings together. I remember the first five years of my marriage, when you, the hubby, and I […]
As the weather got warmer, my post-baby body came out of hibernation, and although I’m pretty much back to my pre-baby weight (I didn’t gain all that much thanks to having gestational diabetes), my post-four-big-babies belly isn’t exactly in pre-baby form. Sometimes I wonder if it ever will be. It’s not pretty, folks, and I […]
I don’t know why it continues to surprise me when perfect strangers ask outrageously personal questions. There’s something about pregnancy and raising small children that must bring out people’s curiosity and suppress common courtesy and tact. Almost every time I’m out and about with all four kids, a stranger will comment on them and ask […]
This weekend we got a glimpse at how different our perspective can be at two different stages of our life. The grandparents took the three big kids for a sleepover, and we were left with only one child. Now five years ago when we had only one child, it seemed like the most monumental task […]
Zachary is six months old! I can’t believe how fast the past six months have gone, but I also can’t really remember life without him. He’s in such a cool stage right now; rolling around, playing with toys, and really interacting with everyone around him, especially his adoring three-member fan club of siblings. He loves […]
Last week I had the chance to sneak out for a few hours with a friend, and it was just enough to recharge my batteries and be ready to roll for another week. This girl is a friend from high school, and we reconnected about six years ago when we happened to be in the […]
When you have a bunch of small kids, the idea of a relaxing Mother’s Day is pretty much a joke, especially if you need to get to church. No matter how capable the daddy involved is (and I’d say ours ranks pretty high in that category), waking, feeding, cleaning, diapering/pottying, dressing, and otherwise wrangling small […]
Part of me wonders where the past four months have gone, and another part doesn’t remember a life without Zach in it. My little guy is a four-month-old chubby little ball of fun right now, and he’s a blast to have around. We started our week with Zachary’s four month checkup, and we were curious […]
Welcome, March! It’s that time of year in Northern Ohio, the time when we start itching for warmer weather. The time of year when a 45 degree day prompts us to head outdoors without a coat to soak up some gray, overcast sun. Most Ohioans I know are the same way, especially after the snowy, […]
He’s not a newborn anymore. Those days of teeny-tiny newness and snuggling a curled-up ball of sweet-smelling infant on the top half of my chest are gone, and probably for the last time. I love that newborn time, when they sleep most of the day away, only to wake up, snuggle, nurse, and fall back […]
I read yet another article in yet another Mommy magazine about screen time for young children. As in, the experts say we’re supposed to limit it for preschoolers, and not let kids under age two have any at all. And as I read, I wondered, do these experts have many young children? And if they […]
I’m the one who’s supposed to keep them safe. The one who will keep them from all harm, and who would lay down my life for them if I could. And yet, this week, I’m the one who put them at risk, and landed the truck in a ditch at a 30-degree angle with my […]
A friend recently posted a link to an article on NPR’s Web site (http://www.npr.org/2011/01/10/132740565/closing-the-achievement-gap-with-baby-talk) that describes the link between the number of words spoken to a young child and his achievement later in life. It described a gap between children from low-income households and those from professional households once theyreached preschool, and the difficulties researchers […]
Once again, it’s no longer accurate to use the term “little man” to describe my baby. We have another big boy on our hands, although not quite as freakishly large as his brothers. Zachary tipped the scales at 14 lbs. 14 oz. at his two-month checkup this week. This puts him in the 95th percentile […]
I always thought it was cute how my oldest two kids referred to our smaller family unit as the “Five Family” (as opposed to the extended family of grandparents, etc.) Now that we’re a Six Family, life is busy, full, fun, hectic, and messy. Who am I kidding. It’s hardly changed at all! The big […]
Reality is setting in. People have stopped bringing us meals, and we’re pretty much done using the “newborn baby” excuse to simplify our schedule. Things are pretty much back to normal, except now we have four kids instead of three. So far, so good, but it’s definitely tiring. Zachary has been waking up two or […]
Zachary’s third week started with his first Thanksgiving. Aside from being thankful for a happy, healthy baby, I was also super thankful that we only had one stop to make on Thanksgiving. My in-laws came to my mom’s family get-together, so we were able to have a leisurely morning, watch the parade, get naps for […]
I know it’s one of those chicken-or-the-egg kind of things, but I sometimes wonder if I’m relaxed because I have a good baby, or if I have a good baby because I’m more relaxed. Either way, I’m not asking too many questions, just thoroughly enjoying my time with my newborn baby. Zach is a cool […]
I can’t believe a week has come and gone since Zach first made his appearance. It’s been a full, fun week, and I’m just as shocked as anyone else how good I’m feeling. Being pregnant for the fourth time was a challenge; it seemed like everywhere I turned, I was being told, “Well, on your […]
Well, we had to wait a day longer than planned, but it was worth the wait. Even though my fourth pregnancy was, by far, my toughest, the delivery was the easiest. And at the end of it all, we got to meet my new little man, Zachary. I almost feel guilty sharing how easy the […]
The big day. The day we’d been waiting for had arrived. Tuesday, November 9, 2010. The day we’d marked on the calendar as our new baby’s birthday. The day we were heading to the hospital so I could be induced. The day we’d planned for, arranging child care for the big kids, and preparing them […]
Sometimes just surviving life as a busy, pregnant, almost-due mom of three takes precedence over actually writing about that life, and the past weeks certainly qualify. My check ups during my 37th week weren’t anything terribly exciting, except for the fact that there were so many. It’s standard practice now to do non-stress tests twice […]
The finish line is in sight. Four weeks away, probably less. And even though I have so much to get done before this baby comes, the fact that I’m this close has considerably helped my attitude about all the discomfort that’s become part of my daily life. My contractions continue to come frequently and sometimes […]
I’m trying to be patient. I really am. And truthfully, we need every second of the coming weeks to get the bedrooms arranged, set up the crib, wash tiny baby clothes, and, oh, by the way, pick a name for this kid. But I’m starting to get impatient. OK, I’ve been impatient for a few […]
I read an article this week in a parenting magazine that got me thinking. It was an interview with Julie Bowen, the mom from Modern Family. She has three young boys, including twin toddlers. The quote that stuck with me was advice someone had once given her about motherhood. Basically, the person told her to […]
I crack a lot of jokes about being a slacker or a crappy housekeeper, but deep down I love having a clean, organized house, and few things give me more pleasure than a checked-off to do list. Over the past five years, I’ve come to accept the fact that life with kids results in the […]
It’s getting to that part of the pregnancy; the part where I feel like I might as well just move into the doctor’s office considering the number of appointments I’ll have. This week’s checkup included an ultrasound to check the baby’s size. The good news is that he’s not measuring 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule […]
Five years ago, it was hard to imagine this day ever coming. Gracie was a tiny, helpless baby who counted on us for everything. Then little by little, she became more independent; able to hold her own bottle, feed herself finger food, walk, talk…now she can do so much for herself (and with two little […]
I think I might have been in a little bit of denial. My second trimester was pretty good: no major problems, a decent amount of energy, overall feeling pretty good. I knew from experience that the third trimester would be different, but it’s not like it happens as soon as the clock ticks 27 weeks. […]
Throughout my many weeks of blogging, I’ve shared the birth stories of all three of my kids, with another one soon to come. But I wasn’t used to being on the waiting-for-updates end of a birth. My husband is an only child, and neither of my younger siblings had any kids…until now! This week, I […]
In addition to my 28-week checkup this week, I had to go in for a two-hour blood sugar test. Rather than drink the sweet orange drink, they test my fasting sugar, then I eat breakfast, and then they test my blood sugar two hours after I eat. To be honest, I went into this appointment […]
I haven’t spent much time writing about Jack lately, but in the past month, I feel like I’ve had the chance to get to know him so much more. At almost 22 months old, his ability to communicate with the outside world is finally catching up with what’s going on inside his head. He’s finally […]
It’s only natural for a pregnant girl to be a bit hormonal at times. My weeping hysteria through much of Toy Story 3, several TV shows, and a few commercials has resulted in much good-natured teasing this summer. This week was worse than just a little stereotypical pregnancy crying though. The you-know-what hit the fan […]
It seems a little unfair to me that insomnia is a common pregnancy issue. As if we pregnant girls don’t need our beauty sleep?! Okay, forget the “beauty” part of it–pregnancy is, at best, mildly tiring, and on the worst days it can wipe you out. So why am I blogging at 4:28 a.m. rather […]
4:18 a.m. Location: Our house. Gracie’s voice shatters the early morning silence: “Mom! Dad! Help! I need you!” I haul my pregnant self out of bed and race across the hall. The cause of this alarm: She needs ice water. Not the room temperature cup of water that’s on her nightstand–ICE water. Seriously. 5:20 a.m. I’m […]
This week has been a fun one, despite starting to feel some of the aches and pains of pregnancy. We got to spend lots of time swimming and camping, and my big old pregnant self is holding up surprisingly well, as long as I keep moving. It’s when I stop and attempt to sit down […]
I’m having issues. I know I’m not supposed to eat simple carbs because I don’t want to have a dangerously large baby. But simple carbs are soooo yummy. And I’m soooo hormonal. And I made brownies with fudge icing–both from scratch–for a party, and they’re calling my name right now because I made the mistake […]
The 21st week of my pregnancy was a very full one: finishing up my summer teaching, Gracie’s fifth birthday, my sister’s baby shower, and a Fourth of July/birthday party for 20-plus of our closest friends. But who cares about any of that–we had our ultrasound this week! Up till now, the male/female ratio in the […]