Fall Photos

In the interest of catching up the blog, I'm posting all our family's pre-Christmas photos that I finally pulled off my phone.  Some are from Thanksgiving, but most are just little happenings that have occurred here and there.

My dad and little Clara.

 

Nathan's mom and Clara.

Grandparents are sweet. :)

What else do you do with tomato cages after you pull the plants up?

This boy loves his sisters.  He is a very sweet and loving big brother (most of the time!).  I am thankful for his tender heart.

The butternut squash growing in my garden.

Clara, working on getting those hands to her mouth.

Look at the intensity on her face!

According to Jane, this is the only way to travel (this is in her car seat on the way to Waco).

Noah's class took a field trip to Hermann Park.  He and Jane are feeding the ducks here, but it looks more like he's preaching a sermon. :)

This is Jane and her little friend, Ryann.  Actually, Ryann is Noah's friend, but Jane loves her and looks up to her, and she was more than thrilled to get to ride on the train next to her and the other big girls.

In early December, my parents invited us to go camping with them in Huntsville State Park.  My dad brought his canoe, which ended up being one of the highlights of the trip for pretty much everyone.  They even got their favorite site, which is larger and more secluded than many of the others and has a spot on the lake from which you can launch the canoe.  

In this picture, Nathan's in the back, I'm in the front, and Noah's in the middle.  The kids loved going out in the canoe.

Uncle Andrew even came out for the day and had some steaks with us.

I love this picture of Noah.  What a happy face.

He said his favorite things about camping were canoeing and eating s'mores.

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The only other big thing that's happened in the last week or so is that Nathan and I celebrated our ninth anniversary.  Next year we'll make it big, but for this year, we just went on a little date.  We had intended to go out for a nice dinner at the hotel where we spent our wedding night in downtown Houston (The Lancaster), but since we'd both been sick and didn't really feel like eating a big, expensive dinner, we went to a movie, instead.  The scale of the date doesn't matter so much; I'm thankful that he's my husband, and that's what matters!
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And that pretty much catches you up!

Thoughts

It seems that just about everyone's thoughts and prayers are directed towards the town of Newtown, CT in light of Friday's events.  As for me, my thoughts have been turned there daily since it happened.

Sometime during the day on Friday, Nathan texted me that there had been a horrible massacre at a school in Connecticut.  It wasn't until hours later that I turned the news on, and my jaw dropped when they said it was in Newtown, because I know people there.

About five years ago, when I was running my Arbonne business, I had a team in and around Newtown.  I used to drive down there from Boston to meet with them every so often, and based on my experiences in that area of Connecticut, I would always tell Nathan, "I love Connecticut!  It's so pretty!"  And, indeed, it is.  The town of Newtown is particularly lovely.  There's a view of idyllic foliage from just about everywhere.  It feels peaceful.  It is certainly affluent (the real estate is outrageous).  And it's very quaint.

One couple I know there is Stephanie and Will, and they've been in the forefront of my thoughts, because Will is a police officer in Newtown, and I believe he was one of the first responders.  I remember him as being very tall, muscular, and capable--everything you'd want a cop to be--and both he and Stephanie are strong Christians, as well.  I have no doubt he is a fine policeman, and my thoughts and prayers are especially with him right now as he deals with the personal repercussions of this horrible tragedy, which are probably even more profound since he and Stephanie have a small child.

I thank God that Will is safe and will continue praying for him and Stephanie in the coming weeks.  I can't imagine that they would not need comfort and support, and I am sure that they and all of Newtown appreciate your prayers, too.

Overheard at Our House This Morning

Jane: Call me princess.
Nathan: Okay.  Do you have a prince yet?
Jane: Noah.
Noah (from the other room): I'm not going to dance!
Jane: So you're not going to the ball with me?
Noah: I just don't like to dance.

Three Months Old!

My Clara was three months old on December 7!  (Can you tell there's a difference in my posting habits since baby #3 arrived?  There was a time when I'd have had this post up on the 7th.)

She's a sweetie.  Check out her new video.



There really couldn't be a more ideal baby.  She goes to sleep when she's supposed to and with little effort from me (hugely different from Noah and Jane as babies), eats when she's supposed to, and only cries when she needs something.  One of her cutest idiosyncrasies is that she relishes stretching when I change her diaper: she throws those arms above her head, sticks those legs straight out, pushes her chin up, and her arches back so that her round little belly sticks up.  Clara tolerates Noah and Jane's limited ideas of personal space and loves it when they play with her.  She really does just love to be engaged.  Her favorite thing on this earth right now is to chat with you, as you can see from the video.  Her face just lights up when you make eye contact with her and start talking.  Already, I can tell that she is very loving.  And terribly loveable.

Jane Quotes

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One day, Jane called me "Lauren."  As in, "Lauren, can I sit in the front seat?"

I explained that other grown-ups call me "Lauren," but since she is my little girl, she is supposed to call me "Mommy, Mom, Mama, or even Mother." 

For some reason, she really took to "Mother" for the day, and it was so dear.  "Mudder, can I have some juice?" "Watch me dance, Mudder!"  I actually really liked it.

---

Me: Jane, when are you going to start using the potty?
J: On Saturday.

Well, okay then.

Beans and Greens Soup with Sweet Potatoes

Let's talk healthy.

Let's talk cleaning out the pantry.

Because those were my two goals with this soup.  And since it turned out well, I thought I'd write the recipe up right here so I can refer to it again and so you guys can have it, if you like.

Beans and Greens Soup with Sweet Potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2" cubes
1 bunch of kale, ribs removed and cut into small pieces (I used a bag of prechopped kale from Trader Joe's)
1 can cannellini beans
1/4 cup black lentils (optional)
6 cups chicken broth
1 sprig rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoons salt

In a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil, tomato paste, and onion.  Saute for 5 minutes, or until the onions begin to soften.  Add the garlic and sweet potatoes and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, until the sweet potatoes begin to soften.  Add the kale, cannellini beans, lentils, broth, rosemary, and bay leaves, and bring to a low boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the lentils are soft.  Add 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste.

I think this would also be good with one or two slices of bacon cooked in the pan beforehand so the veggies are cooked in the bacon fat.

Enjoy!

Don't You Love It When Your Kids Actually Show How Much They Love Each Other?

You Walk Away for Two Minutes...

You walk away for two minutes and return to see that your two year old has been "playing" with the baby.

I think she's a little nonplussed about it.

Which reminds me of another instance with another baby:

History repeats itself!
(Jane was just a little younger than Clara in this picture.)

The whole thing just cracked me up!

Two Months Old!

Little Clara Grace turned two months old!

We love her so much.  I know I have probably said this about all our kids, but she is such a sweet little girl.  We have lots of fun with her, especially now that she's smiling at us and interacting more.  She's beginning to learn how to use her hands, which means she's learning to love her play mat, and she also has a bit of a fascination with feeling Nathan's hair.  She loves to be talked to.  Also, I've never had a baby who liked the pacifier, but Clara does. And oh my goodness, it makes life so much easier.  Putting a child down to sleep has never been so quick or so quiet. 

In honor of her two month birthday, we had a little photo shoot.  Sorry, but I couldn't choose just one picture.  Because she is just too sweet.

She is an easy baby; she just rolls along with the rest of us, and doesn't mind a bit of chaos.

She smiles with her eyes first.

And she already has lots of love for her Mommy, Daddy, brother, and sister.

Now isn't that face adorable?

Clara's New Stats:

Length: 23-1/4 inches--87th percentile

Weight: 11 lbs. 1 oz.--50th percentile

Head Circumference: 15 inches--52nd percentile

Like Noah and Jane, she's long and lean.

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We love you, Clara Grace!

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This and That

I have lots of things to post and not enough time to post them!  A write-up of Clara's birth, pictures from Halloween, etc.  In the meantime, here's a bit of a potpourri of things that have been running through my head lately.

• I pulled out my sewing machine for the first time in a long time (a year?  two?) to make a dear friend a baby blanket.  I only have very basic skills--on a good day, I can sew a straight line.  But it was really pleasing and gratifying to turn out a sweet little blanket. . . .
• . . . Which sent me into a crafty turn of mind, evidently, because in the last two days, I've found myself planning all sorts of crocheting projects, looking up nice yarn stores, and joining a crocheting/knitting website called Ravelry, through which I found an Etsy shop with super cute patterns.  I think that with two little girls at home, I might have to get some of these rose patterns.  Check out how sweet they are!

 

• The other website where I've gotten some crochet patterns I've used a lot is aliciapaulson.com.  I've made Jane several sweaters and dresses from here, and there's a modified granny square afghan that I would like to make sometime, too.  Jane in the sweater I showed you the other day--->
• The biggest project I have in mind is to make all three of my kids their own afghan for Christmas next year.  I should probably start now, and they'll probably actually be done sometime around 2016. :)
• Speaking of potpourri, Nathan and I (and Clara) had a dinner out the other night (thanks, Mom and Dad!), and we ended up at a little tavern in my parents' neighborhood that turned out to have great burgers.  However, the pear cider that tasted exactly like potpourri was not such a hit.  Gross.
• Gasp-inducing discovery: It is really smart to have your kids spend the night with the grandparents when daylight savings is happening. You actually get to sleep in for that extra hour!

Butternut Squash Lasagna with Caramelized Onions

Today has been such a pleasant day!

• My friend, Katie, came over for the visit (she's always a big favorite with the kids--and me!), and we took the three kiddos to Trader Joe's for Katie's inaugural visit.  This may or may not have ended with Katie running a grocery cart around the parking lot with Noah and Jane in it.  Fun times!
• Nathan stayed home today because he didn't feel well, but he didn't feel so bad that he couldn't hang out with us or go play baseball in the backyard with Noah, so it turned out to be a great family day.
• The weather was windy and cool and actually felt like fall!  Glory to God!
• My house is clean.  That always makes me feel so good.
• Our whole family is more or less well and healthy, with the exception of Nathan's cold.  That elicits some gratitude after the week we had (that's another post).
• We had butternut squash lasagna and apple crisp for dinner.  Yum.

For the lasagna, I combined a couple of recipes and came up with something that Nathan and I really enjoyed, so I thought I'd post the recipe.  The honey really makes it special, and the caramelized onions are a nice compliment the sweet squash and honey.  The nutmeg just adds a little dimension.  A few notes: I didn't have any fresh or dried sage, but it'd be tasty to add a teaspoon or two.  Also, I used the no-boil lasagna noodles, but I think the texture of regular noodles would be a bit better in this dish. 

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Butternut Squash Lasagna

with Caramelized Onions

1 butternut squash
2 tablespoons honey
3 dashes nutmeg 
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
15 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup milk
dash black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
lasagna noodles, cooked (or no-boil type)
3-4 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place cut side down on a greased baking sheet and bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork.  (This step can be done a day or two ahead.)  Scoop out the squash and put it into a bowl.  Add the honey and nutmeg, and mash it roughly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saute the onions.  Cook them slowly so they caramelize rather than burn (adjust the heat, if necessary).  When they're nearly done, add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Stir into the butternut squash mixture.

In a bowl, mix the ricotta, milk, nutmeg, pepper, salt, and thyme. 

In a lasagna dish (or, as in my case, two 2-quart casserole dishes), put a small amount of squash or spray some non-stick spray.  Layer the squash, ricotta mixture, and noodles in any order you wish.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.  Bake for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!  I'm off to enjoy the fire in our fireplace and a nice cup of tea.

Rice's Centennial

Last weekend, we went to Rice for some of the centennial celebrations.  Nathan's parents came into town to go to the football game and attend a couple of receptions, and while those weren't really practical with a newborn, Nathan and I did decide to take the kids and go to the alumni mixer at our old residential college, Baker.

Here we are in the Baker Commons.  We had lunch together here almost every day for most of our college years.  This is also where we met for the first time during O-week.  He asked me if the BU on my shorts stood for Baylor University, I said yes (I had transferred from there), and I asked him how he would have guessed that.  He said his dad was a professor there, I asked him what he taught, he said Physics, and I said something like, "Oh, I wouldn't have had him, then."  It was a completely romantic conversation, was it not?  ;)

This is the Baker College library.  When Nathan took Jane in here, they agreed that it looks JUST LIKE the library from Beauty and the Beast.

For the centennial, Rice had a lot of neat events planned, including a very elaborate light show on the beautiful Lovett Hall, which normally looks like this:

We didn't get to stay for the light show, but evidently part of it looked like this.  Pretty incredible!

Go owls!

A Better Day

Jane had a much better day today.  She looked so cute on our nature walk, in her new duds and the sweater I made her.

Y'all know what's sad?  She is way more stylish than I am!

Poor Jane

After a pretty good day, this was Jane's evening:

-Misbehavior, disrespect, and disobedience, resulting in time outs and spankings.
-Hated the dinner I made (not kid-friendly, it's true--Indian spiced lentils) and refused to eat.
-Fell down outside and skinned her knee.
-Got a sudden nosebleed in the bath.

Poor baby.  I'm glad tomorrow is a new day.

Lately

Sisters!

Somebody had a lot of fun painting . . . herself.

I had to just throw her in the bath after this.  There was no other option!

Noah had a little more self-control when it came to the paints.

Grandma with Noah and Jane.

Jane refused to smile.  But sometimes when you are two, you gotta act two.  No girl can be ridiculously cute and sweet all the time.

By the way, I don't think I've introduced the world to Jane's baby doll, Pink Rosie.  As you can see, she is well loved.  She is in dire need of a bath.

Daddy Dogpile

On the first cool day of fall this weekend, we dug out some warm clothes for the kids, and they ended up looking so cute!  Special thanks to Emily, who made that sweater for Jane.

And since we discovered that what you see here encompasses their entire cool weather wardrobe, we followed this with a shopping trip!  Everyone now has close toed shoes and jeans that fit.

One Month Old!

Little Clara Grace is one month old today!

She is super sweet.  Jane was, I thought at the time, an easy baby, but somehow Clara seems particularly so.  She has really only been fussy once, and I am pretty sure it's because of something I ate.  More than anything, she loves to be held and cuddled.  In fact, she still much prefers to sleep next to a person rather than in her cradle, and she'll go noticeably longer between feedings at night if she is snuggled up with you. 

I can tell that Clara has grown quite a bit.  In fact, I already miss how tiny she was when she was born!

She's extremely tolerant of her siblings, who love her to bits and are constantly all over her and in her face.  There's a fair amount of chaos in our house, and she handles it well (and she'll be a tough girl as a result: case in point, Jane poked her in the eye with a chopstick today--ugh).

And she is incredibly charming and beautiful, if I do say so, myself.

She has a little tuft of hair right on the top of her head.

She has very long fingers.

And she also has extremely long feet and toes.

She has newborn chicken legs, but so did Noah and Jane, and Jane, in particular, now has truly enviable gams. 

As for things I haven't caught on camera yet: Her eyes are blue, blue, blue!  They're of a different hue than Noah's were as a baby--sometimes I think they are cornflower blue, and sometimes I see a tint of green or gray--but they are undeniably blue.  And she is beginning to smile at us, we think.  We still haven't seen a clear, responsive smile while she looks right at our faces, but we are getting close!

Happy one month, Clara Grace!  We sure love you a lot!

Three Funny Things

The three funniest things I've seen on the internet in forever:

Flight of the Conchords Loves the Kids
(Be sure to watch the kid interviews; that's what makes the song at the end so funny.)

The Hunger Games - A Bad Lip Reading
(So random it's funny.  "And that's how babies grow....")

One Woman's Terrible Third Date Story
(Warning: bathroom humor here.  I didn't think I'd think it was funny, but I totally laughed to the point of tears--Nathan, too.)

Obviously, I have been watching a few things late at night when I am just a wee bit tired.  That may account for my thinking they are that much funnier....

Two Weeks Old!

Clara is two weeks old today!

She is so super sweet, y'all.  I mean, look at that face.

Clara has her sister's lips, her daddy's nose, and her brother's eyes, eyebrows and brow. 

She loves to be held and cuddled.  I think it's probably safe to say that Mommy is still her favorite person, although she likes for Daddy to hold her, too, of course (although I have to say, it's gratifying to be the only one who can make her stop crying as soon as I pick her up).  And Noah and Jane, well, they can't get enough of her.  It's actually a challenge to keep Jane from loving on her too much or too hard.

Clarabelle (the nickname we call her sometimes) is a pixie of a girl, compared to our other kids.  By the time she was four days old, she'd lost nearly a pound and was down to 6 lbs., 14 oz.  Now, compare that to our other kids, who were both born at around nine pounds, and she seems tiny to us.  As of yesterday, she had gained half a pound and was back up to 7 lbs., 6 oz., and she still seems so small.  As, in fact, she is.  Here are her stats from her first two pediatrician visits:

At Birth:
Weight: 7 lbs., 11 oz.
Length: 19.5 inches

Four Days Old:
Weight: 6 lbs., 14 oz. - 30th percentile
Length: 20 3/4" - 94th percentile (this has to be wrong--the measurement looked generous to me)
Head Circumference: 13 1/4" - 31st percentile

Two Weeks Old:
Weight: 7 lbs., 6 oz. - 27th percentile
Length: 20 1/4" - 57th percentile
Head Circumference: 13 3/4" - 46th percentile

Basically, she's like Noah and Jane, in that she is long and slender.  But she is definitely much smaller than they were.  I've never actually had to buy newborn size diapers before (by the time Noah and Jane came home from the hospital, they were already in the next size).

So far, we've done a lot of rocking, nursing, swaddling, snuggling, kissing, and admiring.

We love our little snuggler!  Clara Grace is a sweetheart!

Clara's Name

As usual, Nathan and I went to the hospital not having decided on a name.  It's kind of Nathan's thing: he likes to meet our baby before making a decision.  We had narrowed it down to two possibilities, though.  One of them fit within the parameters we had used for Noah and Jane's names: one name being a family name, and one being biblical.  And the other possibility for this baby still did fit within that scheme, but much more loosely.  We ended up going with the latter:

Clara is a family name; I think I had a great-great aunt named Clara.  But I never knew her, and, strictly speaking, we didn't name our Clara after Aunt Clara.  We named her Clara because we liked the name.We took about a half a day to decide what we should name our little baby girl, and between this and the other first name we had chosen, our baby just seemed to be a Clara.

As for Grace, well, we've always liked it as a name for a girl because grace is such a lovely and significant heavenly truth.  And it was the middle name of my grant-grandmother, who I did know.

"Clara" means "clear," "bright," or "brilliant."   So one of the reasons we liked the name Clara Grace is because it means "clear grace" or "brilliant grace," which is pretty cool.

And, lastly, Clara's name seems to fit in with the rest of our family's names, and it is particularly in the same vein as "Jane."   Classic, simple, and elegant.

Clara Grace Benesh

Miss Clara Grace Benesh
was born on September 7, 2012 at 8:08am.
She weighed 7 lbs., 11 oz. and was 19-1/2" long.

She is very precious, and we love her very much!

Happy Birthday to Me!

 Happy Birthday to me!

And Happy One Week Birthday to Miss Clara Grace Benesh!

More about Clara soon....

39 Weeks

I am 39 weeks pregnant today.  Tomorrow, at 39 weeks + 1 day, I'll have a baby.  A brand new baby girl.

This time tomorrow,
She will have eaten.  Several times, probably.
She will have cried.  Several times, probably. :)
She will have had a bath.
She will have been held and cuddled and admired and photographed.

I wonder how much she will weigh.  (Will it be 9 lbs. again?)
I wonder if she will be bald or have a shocking head of hair. 
I wonder if she will look like Noah or Jane.
I wonder if she will look like me.
I wonder what her name will be.

True

I just read something lovely on Ann Voskamp's blog, and it is so beautifully written and, well, true, that I had to set it here so that you could all read it, too:

Never look back unless you are going that way, is what Thoreau said.

But sometimes when you look back, just at the top of the hill, before it all slips behind, a memory, that’s when you see how the trees blazed and how you were all living right under the whole, spreading sky, right there under heaven, and you never wholly knew it until right then, till you try to wave your hand goodbye.

Now that is some beautifully poetic prose, right there.  And doesn't it ring true for you, too?   That the beauty and preciousness of a period in life doesn't quite all come together until you look back on it and see how pregnant with meaning and blessing it was?

Anybody want to comment?  Is there a part of your life that, looking back, evokes that sense of I-didn't-fully-realize-how-wonderful-it-was-until-afterwards?

Two and a Half

Today, sweet Jane is exactly two and a half years old.  For Noah's half birthday this summer, I made him a cake, so I did the same for Jane today.  I made a chocolate cherry sheet cake.  With chocolate sauce on top.  And do you know what her reaction was?

She cried.

Out of disappointment.

This is what she said, while one great big tear rolled down her cheek: "Mommy, I wanted pink icing!  You didn't give me pink icing!"  "Well, Baby, I don't have any pink icing.  But I made you a cake with chocolate sauce on top!"  "Noooo, Mommy, I-wanted-pink-icing-like-you-made-for-Papa-all-I-want-is-straaaaaawberries!"  (I made my grandfather a strawberry cake for his birthday a month ago.)

And then she ate every last crumb.

That Face

I can just hardly stand how cute she is.

Prayers, Please!

Y'all, I just realized that this little cold I've got could potentially develop into a cough just in time for me to have major abdominal surgery next week.  This possibility is terrifying me a little bit!  Just the thought of coughing while trying to recover . . . ouch!  I just had to post this so I could ask you all to please pray for God to heal me of this quickly and that a cough does not develop!

Noah's First Day of School

Noah started school this week!  Monday was his very first day of school ever.  It's hard to believe.

Noah and Janey outside his school.

Me with the kids.  I am 37-1/2 weeks in this picture.

I love Jane's sweet face. :)

Nathan with the kids.

Even though Noah's been in a Mother's Day Out program for two years now, which would surely ease his transition into Pre-K, I knew he'd also have to get used to going to a new place with new people and having actual academic expectations placed upon him.  I had a pretty good feel for what he was heading into, not just because I'm his mom and have done lots of years of school, myself, but also because I had been doing a whole lot of reading and attended a training since I will be his co-teacher.*  Because I was getting excited for him, I had really been trying to get him excited, too, with little effect.  "Noah, you are really going to love school!  You are going to get to do so many fun things and make so many new friends!"  And he'd barely look up from what he was doing.  So I'd try again: "Noah, look at my eyes.  Mommy went to school, too.  I went to school for a lot of years, and I know what school is all about.  I loved school, and I am so excited for you, because you will love school, too."  "Okay, Mom."  And back to playing.  I just couldn't get him engaged.  Although one time he did tell me, "Well, Mom, I'm just a little nervous," an understandable feeling, and I just tried to reassure him that he'd love it. 

So I was really pleased that when the first day finally arrived, he was all smiles.  We made a big deal of it; Nathan went into work a little late so he could go with us to drop Noah off and stay for the morning assembly, we took lots of pictures, and we promised Noah he'd have a surprise after school that day.  He did have one moment, when I was leaving him with his class, when he clung to my legs and said, "Mama" in a very pathetic voice, but I detached him, and he did fine, sitting next to his friend from Mother's Day Out.  Nathan, Jane, and I found a seat several rows behind him, and after Noah spotted us, he seemed to relax a bit.

*("Co-teacher" is what they call the parent who will be doing the homeschooling element.  The homeschooling portion at this school is technically two days a week, but it's optional for Pre-K, which is what tipped me in their direction in the end.  We liked just about everything about this school, but I just didn't know if I could homeschool with a newborn at home this fall, so I'm glad that I'll be able to have some flexibility there.)

After we left him with his class, I thought I'd feel weepy.  I mean, this was his very first day of school, ever!  I had postponed him going to preschool the year before, because, among other things, it made me sad to think that once you put them in school, there's no going back!  Once you start, they are in school until they leave home!  These are fairly sobering thoughts for a parent; the beginning of school marks a shift in your family that is fairly permanent.  So I'd had a few sad moments in the week or so before school started.  But on the first day, I was not sad at all; instead, more than anything, I was just excited for Noah.

Jane, by the way, did not want to leave her brother.  She wanted to go to his class and stay at school with him.  On our way out, she was beginning to get really upset that she wasn't going to get to do this, but we placated (read: bribed) her with the promise of a pink donut.  It totally worked.  And, to make the day special for her, she and I had some fun play time with her friend, Elizabeth.

When Jane and I picked Noah up from school, we all went and got a smoothie for a treat, and I tried to get Noah to tell me about his day.  All I could get out of him was a story about what happened on the playground at the end of the day; something about how two other boys "attacked" him while he was resting inside a tunnel on the playground.  Somehow I get the feeling that he was probably just as involved as they were, or that perhaps he didn't realize it was probably not the best idea to block the tunnel where other kids might want to play, too!  It obviously wasn't traumatizing enough to stick with him, because he didn't mention it again after that day.

That evening, we took Noah to his "surprise," which was a trip to Chuck E. Cheese.  Now, you have to understand that we went there for his birthday in January, and he has asked at least every couple of weeks since then to go back.  So this was a real treat for him.  Anything to create positive associations with the first day of school, right?

Tuesday was our first homeschooling attempt, and it went pretty well.  Most of it was review from the day before, going over expectations at school (raising your hand, etc.), reviewing some memorization, re-reading The Little Red Hen, and so on.  Because we had an unusually busy morning, we had to do it as soon as we all woke up, and that was a little hard (we are used to more of a leisurely pace in the mornings).  And it was also a little hard for Noah to want to participate at first.  But he got into the swing of it about halfway through, and we actually completed everything in about an hour.  "This," I thought to myself in relief, "is doable!" 

On Wednesday, as we were driving to school, Noah kept repeating, "Yes, but Mommy, why is it so long?"  The length of the school day is about an hour and a half longer than Mother's Day Out, and they do pack in a lot more content, obviously, so I could understand his feeling this way.  But we talked about it, and he got distracted with getting to wear his uniform belt and fixing a sock on the way in, which somehow cheered him up. :)  He had a little more trouble detaching himself from me when I left him with his class that day, but when I picked him up, it was evident that the rest of the day had gone pretty well.  He told me all about how they ground wheat berries into flour in order to make a cake, just like the little red hen does in the book, and that his class's cake tasted better than the other class's cake.  After I had read the teacher's lesson plans for that week, I had told Noah that they were going to do an activity that he'd love (wheat berries into cake?  come on!  that's great!), and, sure enough, that's what he came home talking about.

All in all, I'd say he had a very successful first week of school!

Here's my cutie, sitting with his class at morning assembly on his very first day of school.

We sure love that Noah Thomas!

Another Baby Update

Hey folks,

Did I mention I'm having a baby two weeks from tomorrow?  Crazy!

I had another appointment today, and here are the specs: the baby is a little lower, but still pretty high.  I'm a little bit effaced, and I'm 1 cm. dilated.  So there won't be any baby today, but my body is certainly moving along a bit.  Hopefully, this baby will wait until the right day to make her appearance, getting as developed and healthy as can be in the meantime.

In other news, my blood pressure is good, my weight is holding steady at 35 lbs. (the same as last week, which is hard for me to believe after how much/badly we ate on our little family vacation this weekend), and Little Girl's heartbeat was about 130.  All good.

Baby Update

Today I had an ultrasound at my doctor's appointment.  Normally, you don't have an ultrasound at this point, unless there is an issue the doctor wants to check.  In my case, he wanted to see where the placenta was before my surgery (we already knew it was in the front).  So I got to see Baby Girl. :)

A few things I learned:

• She looks healthy!  
• She is pretty active (I could have told you that).
• He measured her head, abdomen, and femur to see how big she is.  He said, "The computer program is projecting her at 6 lbs. 12 oz."  Me: "Birth weight?!"  (That would be awfully small for one of my babies.)  "No, today."  Ha ha!  Of course!  Why would I ever entertain the idea, even for a moment, that I'd have a small baby?  No way!  Not me!  We have over three weeks to go, and I think they generally gain about a half a pound a week at this point, so that would put her at between 8 and 9 pounds at birth.  Now that's more like it.
• Her head and femur are measuring a normal size, but her abdomen is a little bigger.  The doctor said she is pudgy.  :)  It got me to thinking--were Noah and Jane pudgy?  I suppose you could consider them so, since they weren't particularly long but were particularly heavy.
• She is still sitting very high, and my body is not showing any signs of getting close to labor, which is a good thing.  

I didn't get any pictures, but this was the most unclear ultrasound I've ever had. I could not make anything out.  So it's okay that we don't have any pics; we wouldn't know what we are looking at, anyway.

I'm glad everyone is healthy!

Various and Sundry

My gosh, y'all, I cannot seem to keep my thoughts together long enough to write a thoughtful blog post.  I had started some posts about some reflections I've had recently on motherhood, but my brain feels so fragmented that I can't even seem to type them up coherently.  I blame pregnancy.  There is something to this "pregnancy brain," I'm telling you.  It reminds me of those "This is your brain on drugs" commercials from the 80's, except, in my case, this is my brain on hormones.

So since I can't seem to put together anything longer than a few sentences these days, here are some random thoughts, instead.

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I've been thinking about our old life in Boston a lot lately.  Lots of unrelated things have crossed my path recently that have caused me to turn my mind towards that period of our lives:

• Lately (and I promise this is actually not because I'm having dark thoughts about the evil Houston summer), I've been reminiscing about the crisp fall and winter New England air.  About how I used to open the bathroom window when it was 17 degrees outside and watch the hot and cool air collide and make a magnificent fog when I was in the shower, and how invigorating it felt to have cold air rolling in while I showered with extra hot water.  I've also been thinking about how much I do still miss a proper autumn, with sweaters and crisp air and the beautiful leaves and the bite of the occasional windy day (although I don't know that I'll ever again have the terrible pangs for it that I did that first fall in Houston).  On a related note, I've often considered making myself a cup of hot tea in the evenings over the last few months, but it you just can't enjoy it in the same way when it's been over 90 degrees all day long.
• A friend from Houston is going on vacation to Boston and Martha's Vineyard this week.
• A good friend from Boston is starting a homeschooling adventure of her own with her son, focusing on a similar educational model that Noah's school will be using, so we've been chatting a bit more lately and comparing notes.
• I was reminded recently of how another friend came over to my house when Noah was only about three weeks old and washed a sinkful of dishes, and how I have never forgotten that act of service at a time when I felt so completely overwhelmed. 
• And, of course, we took a little drive out to the new Houston area Trader Joe's and picked up several of our favorite items there. 

I don't really have a point here; just that Boston has been on my mind more lately, which is certainly not an unlovely thing.

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It's hard to believe, but this is my 1014th post on this blog.  What the heck?!  I had meant to do something special on the 1000th post, but it just slipped by without my noticing it.  So here's my little acknowledgement of the fact that this blog has turned into a great thing for me.  Thank you to those who still stick around and read it from time to time!

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Garden update: The summer garden is kaput.  I very much enjoyed my garden this year, but I did not get as into it as last summer, mainly because of other projects around the house and my limited energy the last few months.  I'd say we had moderate success.  As you know, several of my tomato plants produced like crazy.  But, sadly, four of my heirloom tomatoes never produced fruit, the squash and cucumbers quit producing after I got busy and didn't water for a week or so, and the bell peppers had their one flush of fruit and then were finished.  The cayennes are finally starting to get going (I wish they had been producing at the same time as my tomatoes!), and the herbs are mostly looking good and holding on.  Mint tea has been a staple at our house this summer, and it's quite yummy.  It's time to start thinking about planting seeds for my fall garden, but--let's be realistic, here--that is probably not going to happen.  I might throw a few seeds directly into the ground and see if we get any winter squash, but I am not going to 1.) kill myself bending over with this huge belly in the Houston August heat or 2.) expect too much gardening maintenance from myself after I have a baby in a month.  So we will just see how it goes and enjoy whatever gets produced.  My perspective for my fall garden is that anything beyond nothing is a happy thing.  There is something to be said for low expectations, friends. ;)

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My belly is very large, y'all.  It is seriously starting to get in the way.  You know that things have reached kind of a pathetic point when you drop something at the grocery store and an old lady steps in to pick it up.  Not a spry young or middle-aged lady, but an old, old lady.  As if she is in better shape to pick something up off the floor than I am (which she was).  

I will be 35 weeks on Thursday of this week.  I'll try to have Nathan take another pregnancy photo of me. I think my belly is about as big as it was with Noah and Jane and probably no larger, but that doesn't make it any less amazing to the occasional stranger who says, "You must be due any day now!" (been getting that one since I was only 7 months) or "Are you having twins?"  And I've seen two babies in the last couple of days at 8-12 weeks old who are literally smaller than my kids ever were.  An 8.5 lb. baby looks tiny to me!

The heat is not affecting me too badly; I'm not swelling, except that I have had to switch to my heirloom wedding ring rather than my own, because mine won't fit over my knuckle anymore.  I only occasionally feel extremely drained by the weather, and, when it happens, I think it may have more to do with the humidity than the heat.  Mainly, the only time I feel really hot is at night, when I wake up constantly if I feel warm.  It has gotten to the point that we keep the thermostat down fairly low, the ceiling fan stays on all night, and I sleep with just a sheet on me.  This is completely abnormal for a girl who usually pulls the covers up to her chin out of habit and for comfort, no matter the temperature in the house.  Often, Nathan wakes up cold because somehow the comforter has slipped off him, too, and now he's exposed to the cool house + ceiling fan.  He should really just huddle closer to me, in that case, since he keeps telling me whenever I lay a hand on his arm that I feel like a heater.

By the way, the C-section is scheduled for September 7.  We chose a Friday so that family can come visit over the weekend if they want.  Although I'm a little nervous about having such major surgery, I have had it twice before, so I won't be going into it completely green.  Having it in a new hospital with a new doctor does add to my nerves, but we'll actually be at a great hospital, and my doctor is supposed to be very well respected there.  Bonuses this round include: 1.) I get to have my baby 6 days early instead of 2-5 days late.  Hooray!  Every day you don't have to be 9 months pregnant is a plus, in my book.  And 2.) I don't have to labor and have major surgery this time.  I'm happy to just do one or the other and not both this round.

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Hey, look, y'all!  I wrote paragraphs!!

Good night.

New Things

So many new things are happening right now!  I just wouldn't be able to keep up with life if I were to blog about them all.  But here are some of the highlights:

1. Jane is potty training!  Yes, folks, I have reentered the potty training world.  Noah's potty training was such a parenting debacle--it was a real test of not just parenting skills but also character, I'm telling you, and it lasted for over a year--that I have to admit I've been pretty gun shy about starting with Jane.  But when your child starts disappearing for a few minutes at a time then reappearing without her diaper and shouting jubilantly that she has used the potty, well, it's probably time.  (This may have something to do with the fact that she knew that jelly beans were involved with potty training.)  We started in earnest about four days ago, and so far, she has had two successes at Mom and Dad's prompting.  Really, she's still not getting it.  But I am hopeful that if we are just consistent for a few more days, something will click.  In fact, I humbly request prayers in that direction, if you are so inclined.
2. Noah is starting school in a few weeks!  After much angst about the schooling issue, we have decided to enroll Noah in a small Christian school nearby.  They meet only two days a week, and the home school component (which is a big deal at this school) is optional for Pre-K, which is what swung me in their direction in the end.  After doing my "co-teacher required reading" and buying school supplies, I do have to say that I'm getting excited about the prospect, but I am also glad that my role will not have any high expectations attached, since I will be, er, kind of busy and tired this fall. 
3. Did I tell you we're having a girl?  I realized that I have not made an announcement on the blog that our new baby is a girl!  We've known for quite some time now, but for some reason, it never made it up here.  We had such sure expectations that it was a boy that we were in a bit of shock for a while that we were having another daughter (not only has this pregnancy felt more like Noah's, but Nathan's side of the family is nearly all boys for generations, and we had always felt that Jane's being a girl was a bonus).  Although I was happy to be having another girl, it did take me a while to be able to wrap my mind around what a family with two girls would be like; I just always expected to have a passel of boys!  In any case, I'm now about 34 weeks pregnant, and I think I am starting to experience some nesting.  I've never been one to go too crazy in that department, but I will say that I am itching to go through Jane's old clothes and figure out what we need, and it's chafing me that I haven't had time to do that yet.  The delivery date, by the way, will be September 7 (we scheduled it a couple of weeks ago--no more labors for me!).  Now if we can just decide on a name....

Before and After: Master Bathroom

This was our master bathroom, up until about a week ago.

Please note the butterfly wallpaper, outdated colors, 60's trim on the cabinets, and--best of all--the carpet.

After things literally began falling apart in this room, we decided it was finally time to go ahead and renovate it.  Although the layout is not optional--it's very long and narrow--we opted not to move anything around because of the potential expense (we don't intend to be in this house a terribly long time, and it wouldn't have been worth it).  So we painted, had a tub put in (hooray!), and got all new tile and finishes.  We're pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Here are some pictures of the finished job:

The shower tile.  Rather than going with a tan/brown color, as seems to be the style these days, we went with white.  These tiles are white marble.  Nathan preferred natural stone; how can you deny a geologist a request like that?  :)

I now have a bathtub!  So exciting! ;)

We're pretty pleased with the way it turned out, and we've definitely been enjoying it since it was finished about a week ago!