Playtime

I met up with my friend Melissa and her two kiddos yesterday. They're the ones we do the babysitting exchange with. Anywho, we took the kids to the church playground and brought little picnic lunches and let the kids have some fun.

I'm thinking we might try to do that once a week just to get out and enjoy a change of scenery and enjoy some adult conversation. I think I will start posting each week about it and see if anyone wants to meet there. I like the city park, but there are no good bathrooms around and no fences. The church playground is nicely fenced, quiet, and you can use the bathrooms in the church.

The only thing I did badly yesterday was not putting sunscreen on Zachary. I kept him in the sling most of the time and thought I had him in the shade enough, but he ended up with a little burn on his face. I felt bad, but it didn't seem to bother him. I'll just have to be more vigilant, since I'm planning on hitting the kiddie pool at the city park next week, plus more playground time :)

Wierd Sunday

I can now empathize with all the single moms and moms with husbands who work swing shifts, who diligently get their kids up every Sunday morning and get them to church. I woke up at almost 8 AM, running a bit late, jumped in the shower, yelling at the girls to get their dresses on, then had to get everyone fed, combed, shoed, and out the door so we could get to Sunday school at 9:45. Luckily, it was running behind because we were too :)

Poor hubby had to work from 9pm last night until after 11am this morning. He went with us to the Mexican restaurant for lunch (I drove of course), and now he's sleeping soundly.

Actually he AND the girls are sleeping soundly. I was GOING to be sleeping soundly, but Zachary decided he wanted to munch on mommy milk all afternoon, so has not slept much at all. I've fed him here at the computer, drinking my green tea, and surfing blogs. At least it's quiet time.

On another note...Zachary is now officially a tummy sleeper. The chiropractic adjustments did relax him a bit, but he still does not like sleeping on his back. I broke out the Angel Care monitor and he slept with it Friday night. He slept soundly for 6 hours straight, then ate and slept again a few more hours. He slept fairly well last night too, so I feel slightly less like a zombie now.

I've also been reflecting a bit about church ministry. New summer ministries are starting up and the need is great. My needs here at home are greater though, this year, so I have to step back, but I felt a strong desire to rejoin some ministries and activities. I think next year, I'll jump back in. I can hear Team Kid, Bible School, The Great Banquet, and other great ministries calling to me. Something to look forward to.

It's Friday...*woo*

Since I'm about to fall asleep as I sit here, I'll keep it rather short and sweet.

Zachary and I have seen our chiropractor twice now this week. He claims to be able to fix my sinus/neck/back issues and to help Zachary sleep more comfortably on his back. He thought that Zachary tended to favor turning his head to his left and that the birth probably got his spine and neck out of alignment, so he wasn't comfortable lying with his head tilted back in the bed. Haven't noticed any significant changes yet, but my sinus drainage is better. If he doesn't sleep well tonight, I'm breaking open the Angel Care monitor I received and we're putting him back on his tummy. Hopefully I haven't spoiled him already by putting him by me in bed when he's been fussy. We'll see.

This weekend, a long holiday weekend. Usually spent out of town with the family. Not this year. I'm without a husband this time around. Anybody want to loan me theirs? ;) Bryan has been working very hard, long hours on the scheduled spring outage at the power plant to fix maintenance/programming issues before the big summer demand starts. As the plant engineer, he's got to be there all weekend long to do the debugging as they start back up. I do mean all weekend too. I may see him a few hours when he comes home to sleep a bit, but other than that, just me and the kiddos. I rebelled and bought burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, drinks, ice cream and snacks because I'm going to grill out whether he's here or not. I can't make it through a Memorial Day without some grilled food. Really, though, pray for his and his crew's safety, especially travelling safety as they'll be really tired when they do come home.

And the sad thing....I watched Megan get on the bus this morning for her last day as a Kindergartener. She's very excited. I'm sad to see it over so soon. It seems like she's growing up way too fast.

A load of laundry and a nap awaits me. Hope you all have a great weekend!

And now, a poem for your reading pleasure

From my sis-in-law Cheryl, who's been witness to this craziness for all 16 years of it (including dating time) :) Enjoy!

Bryan and Misty’s Poem


Bryan and Misty
Was a lovely pair
they mumble in words no one understands
but they don’t care

their eyes twinkle for one another
misty couldn’t be a better mother

their love has grown for many years
they have had blood sweat and tears

they have 3 kids
their wild little monkeys
but they wouldn’t give them back for a month of Sundays

Oh yes, they may be tired and they may be weak
But the future is bright and doesn’t look bleak

Misty works at home
Bryan works away
When he gets home they hit the hay

Now I tell the love they have it’s one of a kind
If you can’t see it then you might be blind

So here is my little poem I wrote for you
Stay together, hold each other tight, and love will see you through

THE END!!!

Whee!

*Edit--I forgot to add that Zachary slept the entire time he was there in his carseat, the little booger. I had pumped about 10 oz of milk for him and brought his bottle, warmer, and all that and didn't even need it. :) The milk is now in the freezer for future use.

Thanks to my dear friend "Maggie" and her fabulous family, we were able to catch a Sunday matinee showing of Iron Man for our 11th anniversary outing. Awesome movie. I ate so much popcorn, that some of the kernels cut my mouth and drank so much soda I couldn't blink for a while, but boy, was it nice to see an uninterrupted movie. Well, except for the couple making out in clear view of everyone (get a room--sheesh!), it was really great. Gearing up for the new Batman sequel later in the summer.

It's such a blessing to have friends nearby willing to watch our kiddos when we're so far from our family to easily have date nights. We have a couple in our church with the same situation as ourselves that we do babysitting exchanges with. That's really handy too when your family is far away, or even if they're close by, but not always available. I think we're finally ready to start babysitting for them again too.

Still waiting on my Angelcare monitoring system, so hopefully more sleep will be in my near future, and hopefully after that, more exercise! I'm ready to firm up this flabby mama body.

Confessions of a not-so-perfect mom

Zachary likes to sleep on his tummy. He hates sleeping on his back. I know all about the putting babies down on their backs thing to help prevent SIDS. His doc expressed concern at his 2 month checkup last week when I told her he was a tummy sleeper. So, since then, we've been laying him down on his back. And since then, I've been a walking zombie.

Last night he did a bit better, sleeping from 10 to 1:30, then he got restless and I put him in bed beside me and he slept until 4:30. I guess I should amend that first paragraph to say he hates sleeping on his back in his bed, but with me, lying beside me on my body pillow--that he's fine with :) I'm not so fine with it, but it's the only way I can get any sleep sometimes.

Anyway, we have ordered an "Angelcare" monitoring system that goes under his bassinet pad and detects movement and has an alarm if nothing is detected for 20 seconds. So, if he doesn't adjust to the back-sleeping thing by the time it gets here, we're going to let him tummy-sleep with that thing so I won't feel quite as worried about it. It may sound selfish, but y'all, I just got to have some sleep. I'm afraid I'm going to drop the baby or something if I don't.

And we've tried swaddling, propping, rocking, feeding him to sleep, etc. He just doesn't like the back thing. Hope you don't think I'm a bad mama, but with two other kids to raise, sleep is precious around here.

In other news, looks like we'll be going out for our anniversary on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully we'll catch a matinee.

11 years and counting

Saturday, May 17 will mark 11 years of marriage to my soul mate, Bryan. The first couple years we spent working hard and going to college. The last 6 years we've spent working and very tiredly raising 3 kids. We've braved the journey together and I want to brave it for another few decades :) I love you babe!

Now, we have to figure out how to get out Saturday night. Thinking dinner and the Iron Man movie. I'm going to try to pump enough milk for Zachary if we can get some volunteers to babysit. Since we have three now, we may have to split them up if they're too much to handle. Ok, any takers?

What to do, what to do...

Have you ever had so much to do that you didn't know where to start first? I have that issue all the time. I could literally stay busy with housework 24/7. My problem is that I have so much that needs to be done, I tend to shut down and not do anything for a few days, so it just builds up and gets worse. I'd rather stare at the computer or go to the grocery than look at the mess.

So, here's my present goal:

Pick a room. Start in one area. Get that area cleared out/cleaned. Move on to other areas in the room, cleaning each one, until the room is clean. Go on to another room. Take breaks when I get overwhelmed. Feed the baby, Zoe, and me when needed. Do laundry and dishes in the meantime as well.

I could fill up most of my day just doing laundry and dishes. The house gets very neglected. It's time it had a little more attention.

Sounds good. Let's see if it works. After my coffee...

My NOT mother's day weekend

Yesterday was not Mother's Day. Well, that's what hubby says. He had to work most of the day, apart from having Zachary's baby dedication at church (forgot to take pics) and eating lunch afterward. So, he says next Sunday is Mother's Day for me. Next Saturday is also our 11th wedding anniversary, so it will be an interesting weekend. Hopefully we can squeeze a date in there. Hubby is dying to see Iron Man in the theater.

This past Saturday, Bryan's sister, Cheryl graduated from Lindsey Wilson College. We were able to come in late Friday night and make it to the ceremony, then left Saturday evening. We're very proud of her. She worked at the college while taking classes there too. Not an easy thing to do (I remember!) but she did it and we're happy for her. Now, no excuses on making us a new niece or nephew soon :)




Aunt Cheryl with our youngins. No, they don't substitute for kids of your own, so get busy ;)

Meg tries on the graduate hat. I'll see that again on her in too short a time. *sigh*

Zoe not really interested but obligingly tried it on. She was too busy thinking about plucking up the flowers from the landscaping.

Zachary had had enough of the bright sun and people hootin and hollerin.

My niece (17) and nephew (14) from Tennessee. He's grown a foot, I swear, since the last time I saw him. They're putting Miracle Gro in his food, I think. My niece will be graduating from high school next year *sniff*

Thoughts from a morning grump

Would someone please tell the baby not to fill his diaper between the hours of 12-5 am? Not fun.

Birds chirping much too happily just outside my bedroom window at 5:30 am when I've been up with the baby twice is not cute.

Waking up with a sinus headache after taking two naproxen the night before can't be a good sign.

Do you ever...

Have envy?

I sure do. Sometimes it crops up more than others.

I envy those local families who have family nearby so their kids can easily stay with grandparents for a night out. I envy being able to just drop in at "mom's" house for dinner or family get-togethers without having to drive 2 1/2 hours.

I envy just having a normal family. Bryan's side of the family is more like the Cleavers (well, some of you are kinda crazy ;) ) but mine...more like the Addams family. I see blog posts or hear about great family get-togethers, with all the siblings being so close, parents and grandparents who've been married for a gazillion years and I can't help but give a little *sigh*.

I suppose envy hits us all at times, yet I think the Holy Spirit reminds me each time it starts that I'm so lucky and blessed to have this little family that I have. A family of 5 now. Sounds funny when we go to restaurants. I love them so much and I almost bet there might be someone who would envy what I have too. I really am a lucky girl.

Zachary's first bottle

This morning, I pumped a little over 4 ounces from my left side. I was quite proud of just doing that! I decided to try a Dr. Brown's bottle this time. It's supposed to work more like real nursing, with positive pressure to reduce colic. Whatever. Anyway, he loved it. Drank like an old pro and finished the whole thing tonight. Bryan enjoyed feeding him too. I'm glad he liked it. Zoe never would take a bottle and Megan didn't care for them much. By the way, I'm not planning on stopping nursing, just getting him accustomed to the occasional bottle so we can be able to leave him with someone else eventually.

Zoe and Zachary this afternoon, after naps.

Zachary the other day, trying to catch some of his chubby-cheeked smiles.

Is that a gator in the lake??

First of all, thanks for all the encouraging comments and emails you've sent after my hormonal post yesterday. I know so many of you moms have and are going through the same thing. I like the suggestion of a mom's night out :) I've often said I'm considering a vacation just by myself...it's looking better all the time! Have any of you ever done that? Just taken a weekend away by yourself? If so, where did you go and what did you do? I'll have to wait until I'm not nursing anymore of course, but it does kinda sound fun maybe once a year.

On to the gator:

I received an email with pictures of a gator carrying a big deer across a lake....supposedly Lake Cumberland, near my hometown.

If you've ever received this email, chances are the photos are real, but the location is all wrong. Read about it here:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/gatordeer.asp

Looks like Lake Cumberland is safe once again.....for now....muahhahahahahaha!

It's not that I'm unhappy...

Just really, really overwhelmed. Sleep deprivation, hormonal swings from pregnancy and birth AND the Depo-Provera, and learning to deal with three kids. Really overwhelming to me right now. Terrible mood swings. Totally unmotivated to do much to be productive. Just doing my best to keep my head above water.

Anybody been there? ;)

I know it will pass. I know the challenges will get better and different as I learn to adjust and when I get more sleep and a better routine going. Just trudging on, hanging in there. Trusting that I can do all things (yep, even mothering 3 kids) through Christ who gives me strength.

Zachary's bath

Is that what I think it is?

Ack! No! It's the soap! They're trying to drown me again!














Somehow, I've survived another drowning attempt. And I'm cold.

But, hey! I make this towel look good!

Crazy kiddos

Zachaboo has turned into Zachawail! If he's not sleeping, eating, or being held, he's crying. Well, at least it has been wearing him out during the day enough to take a good afternoon nap while Zoe naps and sleep for longer stretches at night. He's very content to ride along right up next to me in his sling. I have been able to get outside to do a bit of work the past couple of days with him sleeping away in there. But I do have to take him off every once in a while. Then, I just have to let him cry a bit. I hate to, but I do have to have a shower sometimes and take care of 2 other kiddos as well...and my back hurts after a few hours :)

Zoe...well, she's three...what more can I say about her? LOL!

Megan has now began calling little friends from school. Today, a little friend called her for the first time. I think they read their little school readers to each other over the phone. It's so funny and wierd too, seeing my little girl start calling friends...having a social life apart from home. Just strange :)

The bestest surprise

Saturday my husband asked me if I would rather eat out or have him fix a surprise dinner. Now, who would pass up a surprise dinner? I figured we always had eating out as a backup :)

He totally surprised me with his own recipe for stuffed green peppers! They were awesome! Filled up with a mixture of mostly zesty italian sausage, ground beef, brown rice, and topped with some tomato sauce and Italian cheese with some green olives right in the top for garnish. He even shaved some Romano cheese around each pepper.

Needless to say, I was SO impressed! He also has a recipe for stuffed pasta shells that I'm crazy about. I told him if he keeps this up, I'll make him cook all the time! I wish I had thought to take a pic when he plated it on Saturday night. This is a pic of the leftovers, which we'll have tonight--yum!

My baby's a teenager!

Well, if you looked at his face, chest and top of his back, you'd almost think so. The baby acne has hit him quite badly. Megan had a bit, Zoe had a bit more, and Zachary's getting the most of it. I must have had hormones like crazy to give him such a bad case. Luckily, it will clear up on its own with just regular cleaning with water and/or mild baby soap by 4-6 months. Here's a description I read on http://www.drgreene.com/:

Introduction: To many parents' dismay, their beautiful newborn's face breaks out with red bumps. This is called baby acne. It tends to occur at about the same age as the baby's peak gas production and fussiness. (Boy, that IS Zachary to a "T" right now!) How attractive! (This all coincides with parents' maximum sleep deprivation.) Parents are often quite concerned both about how these bumps look and about their significance.

What is it?: The bumps of baby acne are quickly fleeting evidence of the connection between a mother’s body and her baby’s. During the final moments of pregnancy, her hormones cross the placenta into her child. Among other things (such as maturing the lungs), this stimulates the oil glands on the skin, eventually giving rise to the baby acne.

Oh well...

I'm the chairperson for the nursery commitee at our church. Tonight is a committee work night. I thought I should try to be there to see if anything is needed. I made the decision to stay home this time. Zachary is really fussy today--not sure if it's colic, gas, overtired or what, but he's barely slept today and wants to nurse more frequently. Could be one of those growth spurts that babies have--the first one usually hits around this time, at 6 weeks.

So, I'm not there, but feeling guilty nonetheless. Telling myself though to give myself some slack and know that I'll have more freedom for doing things outside the home soon enough, without so much planning around baby's schedule and moods.

In the news

*Edit: After this previous rant, I felt led to pray for the women and children in this situation. I pray that God will show them His truth, His REAL truth, that they will see that salvation comes not from a "prophet" or a lifestyle, but from Jesus Christ alone. I pray that they will see that they can live a life of freedom in Christ, that these chains of oppression will be broken by Him and they can truly experience a fruitful, joyous life through our Savior.

Have any of you been keeping up with the FDLS (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints) compound raid in Texas? They have taken 416 children and some of their mothers to a shelter while they work on possible prosecutions for men marrying young girls and practicing polygamy.

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I have many feelings about this situation. On the one hand, I'm sad and sympathetic for the children that have been separated from their mothers and the only homes they've ever known. On the other hand, I'm angry that people have even been allowed to live in these large, polygamy-oriented compounds in the first place if it's already against the law. Only now the government steps in and NOW they have to deal with the possible placement of 416 children into foster care--a foster care system that is already struggling at best.

The most angering aspect of this to me....the complete absence of the men in the situation. Any interviews or footage I've seen has only involved the completely brainwashed, "sweet-talking" women of the compound. The husbands and fathers are conspicuously missing, not present to defend their families or supposedly "righteous" lifestyle.

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Why? Because these disgusting men know in their hearts that the lifestyle that they are living is wrong! They're scared of prosecution for their behavior and they know that it is morally wrong as well. They know it's wrong to marry 14 year old girls and to take on many wives, raising up their daughters just to give them away to some older man, expecting them to produce as many babies as they can.

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You know how they make enough money to keep these huge families going? They force their young children to work on their farms, and in this particular compound, a dairy farm and concrete factory. The "wives" also apply as UNWED mothers for government aid. Essentially, we're paying for their lifestyle.

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They also have a habit of expelling adolescent boys from the group, on the premise of their "bad behavior", yet hardly any girls are kicked out, ensuring there's plenty of girls to go around for the men to have at least 3 wives. They have brainwashed the women and children that the rest of the world (the "outsiders") are evil and sinful and that their sinful behavior is righteous and the key to salvation. See this link: http://www.slate.com/id/2189181/

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I normally don't like to sound judgmental about people's lifestyles, but when s*xual sins are "justified" by crazy fundamentalist religious teachings, that's just too much for me. And how these men have kept getting away with this for so long is beyond me.

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We "outsiders" just have to just sin away or live like hypocrites, but that's a whole other rant :)

I'll save you from that one.