Baby D was born
Friday, July 23, 2010 at 5:22 am
She was 21-1/4 inches
Her weight was specifically designed to contend with her four brothers: 9 lbs 0 oz. She has already earned the nickname “Bruiser.”
Pics coming soon…Mom is resting and gearing up for the next leg of the journey.
Thanks for all the well-wishes, prayers, calls. Thank you for rejoicing with us!
So many have asked, “What do you mean you didn’t find out?” After four boys, you’d think my curiosity would be unbearable. Actually, it’s more fun not knowing. Gives me and my honey something to banter about. Let’s the kids keep guessing (after the 34-week ultrasound two of them switched their guess from girl to boy just based on the picture). Seriously, I think the house would be silent without the mystery.
Well, we soon shall find out. It’ll be here soon. And announced right here at this site! Not on Facebook. It won’t be “tweeted” from on high. The announcement will be right here.
Stay tuned!
My sweet husband isn’t the biggest fan of amusement park rides. There are many he can handle (that’s my caveat to ensure that he isn’t made out to be a wimp in this post). The rides that spin or spin while going up and down: those are the rides that would classified as Henry’s Least Favorite Rides. So much so that on one of our early dates, he got nauseous just sitting on a bench and watching a spinning ride.
Because I know this about the man who provides so well for his family, I have made an effort when the kids go through the “spinning”phase, to ensure they don’t spin around him. Seriously. I’ve seen him leave the room because he didn’t want to stop their fun, but their fun spinning was NO FUN at all for dad. He’s gotten better the last two kids, but there’s still an concern.
All of the above makes me wonder if my “don’t spin too much in front of daddy” warnings prompted the following, or if it just happened because of little G’s perspective of the world (which is definitely…uh…different).
He was just spinning in the kitchen while I worked on the dishes. To make this clear, I was not the person spinning. The 3- year-old boy was the spinner: spin spin spin spin spin around and around and around and around. Stop.
“Mom?”
“Yes, G.”
“Are you dizzy?”
My 3yo looked up at me to inquire if I’d help him pull up his pants (bathroom visit). He was so close to me and my belly was right in his face. He said, so innocently, “Mama, you going to have lots and lots of babies in your tummy.”
Gee, thanks, G.
TE cried because he had to leave.
S cried on Sunday because he missed having TE talk to him at bedtime.
T cried considerably on Monday night because he missed having TE to play with (they were quite the team).
J has mentioned at every meal that he missed TE. It is followed by, Me too, Me three, Me four.
The Annual Conference of the Cousins has ended and things are normal (whatever that is for this household). But the silence is definitely filled with the weight of the voice and presence that should be TE.
We miss you, cuz!
It didn’t start raining yet. Two neighbor boys (J and J) came over and picked up light sabers. I announced, “Sorry guys, there’s no Star Wars in our yard today.” They acquiesced, but those that live here responded with What? Why not? Huh?
Mom-Aunt: Because it’s a Mom Sanity Zone today.
Everyone else: Huh? What does that mean?
M-A: It means I can’t handle Star Wars today.
Of course, when the rain does begin (70% chance), they will be given permission for PlayStation Star Wars Legos. Until then, I’ve created a boundary to give myself a semblance of authority and control. We all know it’s a farce.
Now they are playing “Barbarian Invasion” (with sabres) in the neighbors’ yard.
Rain, rain, come our way…
During lunch today, TE said, “Y’know what? My real granddad is an EX-pert on every kind of animal there is. He knows everything about all kinds of animals.”
Okay, I’m cool with that. What kid doesn’t brag about what their dad, granddad, mom, grandmom, or great-aunt-becky-sue can do? Here is why this sound bite is of interest to me:
First, TE didn’t just emphasize the syllable “EX.” He supersized it. Seriously. It was LOUD, fortidunal…just HUGE! So much so that the “pert” sounded like a hummingbird with gas. It was nothing compared to the “EX.” That was weird.
Second, what is a real granddad? TE has two living and breathing grandfathers. I know both of them. One of them happens to be my father. Of what I know of them, it’s more than fair to assume he was talking about his paternal grandfather. Which makes me wonder how maternal granddad would feel knowing he isn’t “real.” And do my children now think less of their maternal grandfather since he’s not real? Of course, if the shoes were reversed, I’d wonder the same thing. It was just such a hurtful thing to say (and so innocently and preciously proclaimed). The good news is that TE’s parents are both EXperts in their fields and they come of stock of EXperts in theirs. It’s one of those tree-branch-apple things.
I wonder if next week, when TE is talking to his friends about spring break over the lunch table, will I be a “real” aunt or just some figment of his imagination?
We’ve all awakened chipper and ready to roll from our science museum outing. Well, not sure about T…when we got home last night he was invited to a church function with a friend. Then he was invited to spend the night. So he’s still across the street, awake or asleep, but under someone else’s care. J is up and rarin’ to go; after the museum he and Henry took the ice cream cart out for the first 2010 whirl. He’s so pumped today that he’s cleaning the kitchen and offered to make pancakes. The other three are playing “Willie the Whale.” G had gotten into our bed in the middle of the night; he popped into his room, where S and TE greeted him this morning with, “Hi, G, we are playing Willie the Whale and you can be the girl.” God bless the youngest sibling. They bear so much!
I’m just going to post the pics (slideshow feature is malfunctioning) of the science museum. The highlights are:
Today (Thursday) will be outside play, gardening, outside play, ice cream sales, outside play, and probably playing outside a little bit. Storm clouds should roll in tomorrow and the inside rain day will be welcome since they will have played outside so much (can you hear my diabolical plan?).
I have transferred the pics from today to the PC, but have yet to convert them for web display. Need sleep to do that efficiently. However, you could still benefit from a fun little ditty about our field trip to the science museum today. And rather than me providing the sound bite, you can comment with what goes through your mind (remembering that this is a G-rated, family-friendly blog).
We have four boys. This week, we have five due to the Annual Conference of the Cousins. I had no plans to leave our city limits today; those decisions cannot be made the day before. No, you have to awaken and assess all the moods, hunger levels, and ability to obey instructions before committing to a science museum trip. They all passed the test and after eating some scrumptious cream of wheat prepared expertly by T, we pointed the van to St. Paul.
Before we left, I remembered suggesting that we spend time with T’s friend JH (age eight) over spring break. So I called his mom and invited him. What is a 7-passenger van for if you can’t fill it? (rhetorical question)
Leaving out all the adventures-in-a-van-with-6-boys conversation, we arrived at the museum. We headed straight for Collectors’ Corner, where you can turn in cool organic stuff (seeds, skulls, leaves, and such) and tell as much as you know about it to earn points. The points can be saved and then spent on cool stuff (skulls, antlers, rocks, and teeth). The passageway to and from the corner has exhibits on either side, none of which I’ve ever paid much attention to. Wait, I really like the magnified picture of sand grains enhance so much that it looks like rocks. And we have taken a liking to the preserved two-headed turtle. Besides that, I’ve never noticed what adorns those walls.
So as we exited the corner (loaded with agates, prairie dog skulls, shells, and rocks), the boys pointed left and right saying, Cool, Look at that, and other happy exclamations that make a parent proud that children’s observation skills work. Until…
JH [stopping dead in his tracks and pointing]: Cool! That’s awesome! I want one of those.
TE [peering upwards]: Wow! Me, too!
S, T, J [all agreeing how cool said object is and how they want one, too]
All of the boys proceed to crowd around this case and, to my eye (waddling still fairly far back), they are engaged with an old school radio. As I approach, I see that their attention is targeted on what looks like a whip. I thought, Cool, it’s like an Indiana Jones whip. It had what appeared to be a handle and on the other end (it was coiled in the middle for display) was a light bulb. About halfway along the cord–which I could see it was electrical cord rather than a rope–there was a switch. Hmmm…what is that? And I read the heading: 1925 Rectal Activator.
What’s that commercial about need to get away?
Really? Today? I’m the only adult chaperone with a group of curious boys who are clamoring to “have one of those.”
Don’t ask me how I got through reading it myself, then reading it to them, then explaining the exact purpose. As we walked away, T said, “That’s freaky,” (a word I didn’t know he could use so adeptly).
I quickly pulled out my phone and called JH’s mother to tell her of the episode so that she wouldn’t hear of it three days later and wonder where I had taken her son (cause isn’t that what always happens and you can’t explain it at all?!).
Alright…ready for your sound bites!
Today we went to a clay class directed by Maureen Carlson. She is a great artist, and a gifted teacher. They all loved it! That was followed by a visit to the park. It was in the 70s, but so windy that it was unbearable. Even the kite said, “Heck no!” Here are the musings in my head as today’s events progressed.
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I’ll have to ask his parents when his last safari was. Sounds like he learned a lot.
[What I thought after TE kept emphatically repeating to his cousins, "But it takes a lot of effort to kill a cheetah. It's harder than a tiger or a snow leopard."]
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Just let them talk, Stephanie. Wow, it must be really quiet at bedtime in his room.
[What I thought last night and tonight as the three younger boys chat on and on and on and on...instead of sleeping. But this is a HUGE treat for TE. I remember all the coverage my sister and I made chatting after lights out...I can't imagine my childhood without it. Nor without talking so much that it drove her nuts!]
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Really, a growth spurt. The baby in my belly wants to have a growth spurt now? While I standing in the back of the hardware store with five children?! Couldn’t we have waited till 2 am when I was asleep?
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My grandmother should be sainted [she raised 7 ].
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I love my husband [when he walked in the door.]
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Oh, dear Lord, please don’t let him fall…there’s no way I can get there in time and he needs his teeth! Not to mention, my sister would kill me! [As TE climbed on top of the ONE part of the playground equipment not designed to be climbed on.]
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Playstation is evil.
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Wow, these kids are amazing! [all through the day as I smiled, laughed, and awed at them.]
