Big Birthday Bash!

We are having a very special birthday weekend! My dad's birthday was yesterday, Grace's birthday is tomorrow, and Bob's birthday is Monday! So to celebrate, we brought lots of desserts to Bible study, where we sang "Happy Birthday" to all the celebrants, to include Amy P., who shares Bob's birthday on Monday!

My mom and I made birthday request desserts--my Grandma G.s coffee cake for my dad, cupcakes (funfetti ones, just like Anna's!) with purple and green frosting for Grace (notice the "4" design), and chocolate-covered strawberries for Bob. He actually wasn't sure what to request, so Caleb suggested the strawberries--mainly because I hadn't made them since he outgrew his milk allergy, and he wanted to taste them! (He thought they were "okay". We assured him that if he was not THOROUGHLY enjoying them, then he could just leave them for everyone else, LOL.). We came home with a few cupcakes, and that was all--the coffee cake and the strawberries (4 pounds of them) all went!

Grace has been so excited for her birthday to come! We have our church small group over tomorrow afternoon, but after they leave, we'll eat left-over cupcakes and she can open her presents. So exciting!!

Micah's 2 Week Appointment

I realized I never posted here about Micah's 2 week well-baby appointment, which was on Monday. He has regained his birth weight, plus one ounce, so he is up to 10 pounds, 9 ounces. He's grown another 3/4 inch to be 22 3/4 inches long. He's healthy and happy, and everything checked out just fine! He's settling into a good sleeping routine as well. I've been feeding him and putting him down for the last time around 11:00, and he wakes up around 4:00 and again around 7:30 or so. I can't complain!

He is still constantly surrounded by his ever-adoring fans, all of whom clamor to hold him. Has any baby ever been surrounded by so much love?! I have to remind people to give him some space, LOL. A friend asked me yesterday how Faith was doing, and if she was jealous. She's doing fine with Micah, and I would say she is not jealous at all--I still have plenty of time to hold her, because so many other people are always holding Micah!

Random Post-Partum Thoughts

I really haven't disappeared, but I am enjoying this "babymoon"! We've sort of taken a 2 week spring break, with minimal school especially for the younger kids, and it has been so nice. I've actually had time to have some random thoughts!

1. Micah is coming right along, as far as sleeping. He had a few nights where he basically only got up once to feed. I fed him around 11:30, then he was up again around 4:00, and then again at 7:30ish. The last 2 nights he's been up twice during the night, but still . . . I can't complain. He's awake for much longer periods during the day too. He has a really strong neck, so he is always rearing back to look around at things . . . or I should say faces, since those are what usually surround him. He has his 2 week well-baby appointment on Monday, and I'll be curious to see how much he weighs. He's a good nurser! He had his first bath yesterday (his cord fell off Saturday). I love snuggling with a clean baby who smells like baby shampoo!

2. There's a lot I greatly dislike about the first few weeks of nursing, but one thing I do like is all the time to read! One book I just finished was Three Cups of Tea, which is timely in light of the controversy going on right now about whether Greg Mortenson lied about what he has done, and if he spent the money donated wisely. My opinion, for what it is worth, is that people sure are quick to judge Mortenson and treat random people from Afghanistan and Pakistan as worthy and reliable witnesses, with no real evidence to do so! From reading the book, it seems that the reason people didn't like Mortenson, or found him hard to work with, was because he was scatter-brained, had no concept of time, and did things on his own schedule. I can see someone like that telling stories but not getting all the details completely right--compressing stories, mixing them up, etc. I've known people like that! And I think that is also the culture he is working in, so that's probably one reason why he fit in there. I'm not sure all his critics really understand the difficulties of working in a culture that is so different from America? I don't know--it just seems like a lot of what I have read has been unreasonable expectations, flavored with a bit of sour grapes. But now the Montana governor has opened an investigation (which will hopefully be more even-handed than one led by sensationalistic 60 Minutes!), so hopefully any real wrong-doing will be exposed, and any unjustified criticisms will also be revealed, although I'm sure those will never get any press (did everyone notice that Gen. McCrystal has been cleared of wrong-doing? Yeah, that didn't get the big headlines. His career was ruined by a left-leaning rag, with no real evidence . . . ).

3. Another book I just finished was called Birth Day by Mark Sloan, a pediatrician in Roseville, CA (did you know him, Melinda? : ) The subtitle says, "A pediatrician explores the science, the history, and the wonder of childbirth". It was so interesting, and Sloan is a pretty funny writer as well. The chapters on the history of pain medicine in labor were really fascinating, and as usual, I am left wondering why hospitals in America don't get on the nitrous oxide bandwagon for pain relief. One quote that I thought was interesting was, "Here at home the goal of hospital labor pain management is often the complete obliteration of pain; in Europe and elsewhere, particularly in countries like England, where most uncomplicated vaginal delieveries are performed by midwives, the objective is "good enough" pain relief." I would have been interested in something that briefly took the edge off of my most difficult transition contractions, but went out of my system a few seconds after I stopped inhaling it. I was absolutely not interested in something that would make me nauseous and woozy and would affect my baby, especially since I realized, even if the doctor didn't, that I was almost ready to push. Anyway, I think because the author is a pediatrician, and not an OB (or a midwife, for that matter), he was able to be a little more even-handed about the managed hospital births that generally take place here in America. There was a TON of evolutionary biology, which is so speculative, and I did not enjoy that, but overall the book was really a good read.

4. I LOVE the nursing camis that Target sells! What a great idea! They are comfortable, they layer well under shirts, and then when you nurse, you don't have to pull up your shirt and expose your belly that has the stretch marks of 8 pregnancies for all the world to see (theoretically, of course)! I only bought one, but I'm going to get some more. I think I'll wear them for all my in-public nursing!

Hmmm . . . I am sure there are more things I was going to post about, but my brain is still a bit mushy . . . We are still battling the ants, who have opened up another front in our pantry. We are enjoying tremendously all the delicious meals friends from church and co-op have brought us. I am very blessed to have generous friends who are excellent cooks! And we are looking forward to my dad flying back here Saturday. He flew back to Ohio last Saturday to take care of some business, and he had a little scare with some chest pain/pressure. He was hospitalized for 2 nights while they checked into things. Nothing showed up as wrong with his heart, which was good, but now he has to follow up with his family doctor.

Finally . . . Some Pictures

I put some pictures up on Facebook, but I have sadly neglected the blog! Here are a few pictures of Micah.

My parents brought everyone to visit Sunday morning--the kids were too excited to go to church! They stayed for awhile, and Bob, Grandpa, and Nathan brought lunch back from the base McDonalds for everyone. All the kids got to hold Micah, but Faith was more interested in snuggling with me!

Micah was a little too big for his hospital t-shirt and blankets! We had quite a time keeping him all covered up--usually one foot was poking out the bottom!

We came home Monday afternoon, and everyone was quite happy to see us! Micah's skin on his face has cleared up nicely. All the hospital staff kept remarking on how round and well-shaped his head was, even though he was so big. And it's true--Faith had this huge ridge on her head for the first few days after her birth, and she was almost 2 pounds less, with a much smaller head!

Micah's doing well. We're working on getting his days and nights straight for him, and he is not enjoying the feeling of his bowels working, LOL. But he is a great nurser, and he loves that my milk is already in and can fill his tummy! He despises being on his back and lets us know that with the screechiest cry of any of our babies, so we've already been putting him down on his tummy some. I don't think there has ever been a baby who has been more loved on! Micah is definitely not lacking for attention and snuggling!

Micah Edward is Here!

Now, for all the details . . . Nothing happened after I exercised Saturday morning. Once again, I only felt contractions if i sat down, and they weren't regular or strong or anything. But Bob was really getting antsy about having another crazy drive down the beltway, like we had with Faith, so he wanted me to just go in and get checked. I called the labor unit, and they said to come right on in. So we got to Bethesda around 3:00. They put me on a monitor, and it seemed like the baby's heartbeat was going up and down, although later they decided it was actually just the monitor being wacky, and not the baby. But that made me a bit alarmed and more likely to want to want to stay. When the doctor examined me, she said I was at 5 cm. I was hoping to be at least 6 cm, but oh well. So they admitted me, with a plan to let me walk around a little bit, and then start some pitocin to regulate my very irregular contractions and also to break my water. Now I don't like interventions, and I would much rather go into labor all natural. But it wasn't happening, and I was just a little bit concerned about the baby being healthy. Two of my other kids (Luke and Anna) passed meconium before birth, and I knew that was a possibility here too. I just had this weird feeling.

I walked around for about 30 minutes, although I knew that wasn't going to do anything, if all my treadmill walking didn't ever start anything! I was happy to find a birthing ball in the room for me to use (an improvement over 2 years ago when I had Faith), and well as wi-fi (another improvement!). My nurse was great about letting me sit on the ball, so I rocked on there for awhile. Eventually the pitocin got started at around 4:45, and the contractions did get regular, although still not too strong. Finally the doctor came in at 6:15 to check me and break my water. I was still at 5 cm! That was discouraging! And there was indeed meconium in the water. Another thing to pray about. So they kept ramping up the pit, and eventually when I was checked at 8:00 or so, I was all of . . . 6 cm. What?! I was not happy! I was sure I was moving into transition because I was geting sweaty and a bit shaky. I was starting to doubt this one doctor's ability to measure me, LOL.

The contractions were getting quite strong by this point, and Bob was doing a great job of pressing his fist into my lower back to put counterpressure there. I was lying on my left side by that point, which is my "favorite" position for transition. I will say, though, that the thought of having hours more of these strong contractions was making me seriously be tempted by an epidural. In fact, the doctor (same one who kept measuring me) told me, "I know this labor isn't progressing as fast as you would like, so you can always just have some other drugs, if not the epidural . . ." I was actually tempted, but I just tried to take it one contraction at a time. I could tell the baby was moving down, and I was definitely feeling more pressure.

Around 9:00 I told Bob I was getting close, although I knew I wasn't complete yet. He went ahead and pressed the call button, since you never know how long it will actually take the doctor to get there! To our surprise, 3 of them (2 regular docs I had been seeing all afternoon plus one student) came right away. They checked me and said I was at 9. Then the one who usually measured me said they would check back in an hour! Ha! I let them leave because I wanted to be on my side for a little longer, but I told Bob I was already feeling pushy, and it definitely was not going to take an hour for me to go the last cm! Sure enough, by 9:15 I was definitely pushing, so we called the doctors back, and they officially declared me complete at 9:20. It was nice to push on my own for a contraction or 2. I hate the whole "breaking down the bed" uncomfortableness, right as you are ready to push!

So there I was, pushing away, and I could tell this baby was going to be big because he wasn't just popping out, LOL. I could feel him moving down and start to crown, so you would think that the next push would just pop him out. But it didn't. So with the next contraction, I pushed really hard. And kept pushing. Took a breath and pushed some more. And a bit more. Why wasn't he out yet?! The doctors and Bob were all saying, "Keep pushing! Don't stop!" and they were moving my legs all around. But the head was not coming out!! I was pushing so hard I saw stars! I was really starting to doubt if this I was going to be able to push this baby out. It was a little scary, but it wasn't like I could really dwell on it, LOL. Finally the head came out, but there was no relief, because there were the shoulders. Another hard bit of pushing, and then FINALLY I felt the body slither out. Relief--at last!

Micah Edward was born at 9:38 PM, April 9. Because of the meconium, the baby had to go directly over to the pediatrician there in the room for suctioning. I could not have cared less, LOL. I was just so relieved to have him out of me! I took a look and could tell he was a big baby--like I had any doubt about that after all that pushing! The peds docs got him all suctioned out, and then I started nursing. He fussed around for awhile, but remembering Faith and her low blood glucose adventures, I really worked to get him to latch on. Finally he did and nursed for awhile. I talked to my mom at this point, but we didn't have any details about any statistics because no one had weighed or measured him! Finally the corpsman came in with the scale about 11:00. Micah was 10 pounds, 8.5 ounces, and 22 inches long, with a head circumference of 38 cm (15 inches!). Yeah--that's big. Micah did have a low blood glucose reading the first time they took it, so we had to get it checked a few more times. But thankfully it was never low again, and he's been nursing like a champ.

I was so sore last night. I had to laugh about how much I had been complaing about my aching pelvis. HA! I didn't even KNOW what an aching pelvis was! I thought my pelvis was going to crumple up and fall out. I could hardly walk! Thankfully, that is another benefit of Micah being my 8th, and not my 1st--today I feel much, much better, and not so sore at all. My bleeding has really tapered off too, which is nice. The doctors and nurses kept remarking about how amazing it was that I had a pitocin-induced delivery with no epidural and no tearing. It was definitely a gift from God. Micah's name means "Who is like the Lord?", and I could feel the Lord strengthing me during the whole labor.

So we will be coming home tomorrow, Lord willing! I wanted to get pictures posted from here, but the connection is really slow, so I'm not even going to bother trying. In the meantime, Bob and I are just enjoying this nice, quiet little vacation, snuggling with Micah and rubbing his sweet newborn head and cheeks! He's a doll! We're so thankful for him.

Update

Let me start by saying I have no idea why my posts are not publishing with paragraph breaks in them! I keep going back and adding them in, even manually into the html code, but they still are publishing in one big paragraph of type. Frustrating. So I apologize that they are hard to read! Okay--editing one more time to say I think I figured out a new way to make paragraph breaks that is working! Yay!

Now for the update. Obviously I am still around. Thursday night I had several contractions that woke me up during the night, although they never were in any sort of regular pattern or anything. I was nervous about Bob going in to work, but with no pattern or anything, it seemed like the best idea. And sure enough, once I got up and started the day, I had no more contractions. I felt uncomfortable throughout the day, though, and I did end up losing my mucus plug, so I guess things are still technically happening.

Last night, I didn't have any contractions at all that woke me up, but I just didn't feel good. My back was quite achy as well. But again, now that I am up, nothing is happening. Sigh. It would be very possible for me to make it to my appointment Tuesday afternoon with no contractions and not in active labor! I was 5 cm dilated and not in active labor when I went to my appointment on Anna's due date, and the doctor did not send me home because she was worried I would go into labor and have the baby immediately! So we will see what happens. I am going to go exercise here shortly. At least we made it to the weekend, where traffic shouldn't be the issue no matter what time it is!

Progress . . .

I had another OB appointment this afternoon, and I am pleased to report some progress! I am now between 3 and 4 cm dilated, with a "stretchy" cervix. I'm 75% effaced, and the baby is at -1 station. She did strip my membranes, although not all that thoroughly I didn't think, so hopefully it will be enough to move me into active labor sometime in the near future. I still haven't had too many contractions that I felt were actually doing anything, so I was glad to hear that some progress was indeed made, even without me feeling it really.

So now we just have to pray for the timing also--getting to Bethesda in rush hour is a dicey proposition. Ideally I would go into labor tonight or tomorrow night, or else during this weekend! Bethesda doesn't induce until 41 weeks, so I have an appointment scheduled for Tuesday at 3:00, which is about the worst possible time for an appointment, as far as rush hour goes. Hopefully I won't need it! If the government does indeed shut down, then Bob's conference will be cancelled, so maybe having the baby next week wouldn't be such a problem. We'll see. Like I said before, though, having him this weekend would be better! We are having some second thoughts on names, however, so maybe he is waiting until we are settled before making his debut?

I've been taking an ever-increasing number of herbs to help things along. I always take my prenatal multivitamin, as well a fish oil pill, which is supposed to help even out moods and promote brain development in the baby. Around 32 weeks I started taking the red raspberry leaf capsules, which promote uterine toning and effective contractions. At first I just took 2 pills a day, but now I am up to 4. At around 36 weeks I started the alfalfa pills. Those are supposed to help control bleeding after birth, and after the doctors I had with Grace were so paranoid about that, I did research and took them with Faith (no problems there!). I'm taking 4 of those a day now too. And starting Saturday I am taking 3 evening primrose oil pills a day as well, to help soften the cervix. Those appear to have worked! I should have started a few weeks ago with those too, but I didn't think of it until I read some things on the alldoulas message board I like to lurk on. So that is 13 pills a day if I remember everything, LOL.

As I wait, I am more and more uncomfortable. My poor aching pelvis! Plus, with each baby I have, I think I dread the actual delivery more. I hate pushing, even though it is so much shorter now than with the first 1 or even 2. The doctor did say that she thought this one looked like a big baby, since my belly is so big, and I would have to agree with her. Caleb and Jonathan were 9# 5 oz and 9# 6 oz, so I would say we are definitely looking at that size or bigger. And it IS harder to push out a 9 pound baby than an 8 pound one! Oh well--no turning back now, LOL. And I am definitely not willing to just continue being pregnant, just to avoid pushing! I will be glad when it's all over, though. I will try to keep everyone updated if anything does start happening, although I don't think Bethesda has wi-fi. We'll see!

Cupcakes For Anna

We celebrated Anna's 5th birthday again Friday night at Bible study! Bob flew back in Friday afternoon, and my parents drove in at dinner time, so we had lots of people to celebrate with! The picture is of her and her birthday buddy Amanda, who turned 13 on Mar. 28! For the past several months, we've been trying to nail down what kind of cake Anna wanted me to make. She came up with several complicated princess-y ideas, which of course changed all the time. But a few weeks ago, she came up with the idea of cupcakes, which I thought sounded wonderfully easy! My mom had the brainstorm of using the timy mini-muffin tins, instead of the regular-sized one. I thought this was a great idea, since 24 cupcakes wouldn't be enough for our whole Bible study, and I really didn't want to make up 48 regular-sized cupcakes. She picked out "white" cake, so Luke and I thought she would enjoy Funfetti cupcakes, like Amy and I used to make in college. And of course she wanted pink frosting! So using only one box of mix, I was able to make about 55 mini cupcakes, and we had 9 left over! I just frosted them using a big star tip--some with a big swirl, and some with stars. Anna liked them! Everyone else liked them too, and I especially liked how easy they were to make, LOL. Grace is now saying she also wants cupcakes for her birthday, although with purple and orange (?!) frosting, and I am fine with that! Here's one last shot of the 5 year old birthday girl, enjoying wht is left of her ice cream!

OB Appointment

So I had an appointment this afternoon. She checked me, and frankly, not too much is happening! I am only a fingertip dilated, and not too effaced either. I was pretty surprised, because usually by this point in pregnancy (38 1/2 weeks), I am around 3 cm dilated and about 50% effaced. So that was quite discouraging. I go back again next Thursday. I've been having more and more Braxton-Hicks contractions in the afternoons and evenings, and it is always sad to realize they have been accomplishing nothing at all! I know people who rocket from 0 to 10 in a few hours--but I am not one of them, LOL. And you would think if it hasn't happened like that in 7 births, it's probably not going to happen with this one either! I had posted on Facebook that I hoped this baby wasn't going to take after Jonathan, who is #4. He was 2 weeks overdue and had to be induced--except that I really think my dates weren't that accurate with him. I was nursing when I got pregnant, and I never had an early ultrasound. He was the last baby I did the triple-screen, or any of the bloodwork for possible problems, because his numbers came back really low. Obviously he didn't have any problems, and if we were off a bit on his due date, that could cause the low numbers. I am not uncertain about this baby's due date, however--in fact, the doctor moved his due date back to Ap. 11 after an early dating ultrasound! So maybe he just doesn't want to come out. Sigh. I am ready for him to be born! My pelvis is aching, my pubic bone is so sore from his head being on it--I'm done! Jonathan was my biggest baby, at 9 pounds, 6 ounces, and I really don't want to have one bigger than that. I like to lurk on this doula website, and one of the websites often mentioned there is Spinning Babies. The site tries to help women get their babies in the best position for birth. I'm going to try some of their exercises--maybe he's just not in a good position. We'll see. If you drop by in the next few days, and I am crawling everywhere on my hands and knees, you'll know what I am doing!

Birth Curiosity

Jonathan has been quite curious about birth with this pregnancy. He has suggested a few times that I just have the baby at home, so he could see the whole show, LOL. When I told him it was kind of messy, he suggested I just have the baby outside! That way the carpet wouldn't get dirty. Good thinking! I am sure our crabby neighbors would LOVE that! ("I'm sure there's a covenant about that, 'David'--keep looking!!") Ha!

Anyhow, when I was at the library last weekend, I picked up a video called From Conception to Birth, put out by Discovery Channel, thinking that might answer some questions. I watched it that night, and tonight all the kids and I watched it together. It wasn't bad, as far as the actual pregnancy part went. They were very tasteful about conception, never really mentioning how the sperm and egg got together, so that made it nice for a multiple age range viewing. And they had lots of nice computer graphics to show how the baby develops during the 9 months in the womb.

But the birth scenes--oh, my goodness! They drove me crazy! The video follows 9 women who are expecting, and it shows the births of 3 of them. Two are having their 3rd babies, and one is having her first. They all have total hospital births. They never come out and say they were induced, but it seems like they all could have been. The two women having their 3rd babies get epidurals pretty much immediately, but the first-time mom wants to hold out. You can hear the nurse say something like, "Well, the contractions only get more intense, so be sure to tell me right away whenever you want your epidural." Shockingly, she gives in pretty soon after and gets an epidural as well. And all 3 of these women are just laying back, like huge beached whales, during the whole labor! No changing positions, no walking around, no comfort measures . . . NOTHING! I kept telling the boys, "They could be doing things so much differently, and maybe they would cope better with their contractions!" But no one was suggesting ANYTHING to them to do differently, or even to the husbands to help them.

And during the whole time, the narrator was intoning drivel basically about how impossible it was to give birth, how scary, how painful, etc. Gah. No encouragement for expecting mothers there! All 3 women pushed again pretty much laying flat on their backs. I seriously can not imagine a more uncomfortable position to be in to push, not to mention the bad physics of then having to push the baby UP over the pelvic bone from that position. And sure enough, the first-time mom had a really hard time. She pushed for while with no progress until the doc threatened her with a section ("I'll let you try for 15 more minutes . . ."). Then somehow she got a second wind and managed to push the baby down. Again, no one suggested anything that she might do differently!!! As if a c-section is the only other option out there! I kept telling the boys, "Laying flat is THE worst position to push in! Work WITH gravity, not against it!" Gah . . . so frustrating.

The actual births were filmed very nicely--all from above or from the shoulder. You could see the baby emerging, but not really anything else, so that was really nice. They did a great job with that. The boys couldn't believe all the tugging on the babies as they were being born! And the girls were a bit alarmed at the blood and goo all over the babies, LOL. I do think the video answered any questions about childbirth, so that was good, and I didn't hear Jonathan say anything about wanting to see this one, LOL. I think seeing all those precious newborn babies made us all very excited to have this little guy come soon, though! And hopefully everyone will have more sympathy and understanding for me!

Happy Birthday, Anna!

Well, I am a few days late with this post, but Anna turned 5 years old on Monday, hard as that is to believe! She has been eagerly awaiting her birthday for quite some time now! Bob had to go TDY to California Monday, but fortunately he didn't have to leave until 1:30, so we were able to still celebrate with him before I took him to the airport. We had Anna's birthday meal at lunch ("tuna pockets"), and then she opened her presents and we all had a chocolate chip cookie (we made them Monday morning) and a scoop of ice cream. It was kind of nice to have the celebration in the middle of the day like that! Anna got a magnetic princess book from Grandma and Grandpa B (because she loves the one Aunt Amy gave Grace so much!), a princess coloring book and puzzle from us (puzzle is already missing 3 pieces . . . sigh), and a set of pink pom poms from Uncle Dan and Aunt Melinda (she knows what to do with those from watching all the basketball games, LOL!). She got to play with her presents the rest of the day, so I think she liked opening them up in the afternoon as well!

We are going to take cupcakes (at Anna's request--no big cake! Woo hoo!) to Bible study on Friday night, so we will continue the celebration then. Bob flies back Friday afternoon, and my parents drive in then too, Lord willing, so there will be lots of people around for the second party! In the meantime, Anna is enjoying being 5, along with all the added maturity and growth that goes along with this huge jump in age, LOL.

Winding Down

It's hard to believe that the school year is winding down for us, especially since we're not really slowing down, LOL. Well, I am, but that's a different story! At the one co-op for the younger kids, they are in their last unit, which is weather. They'll finish that up and then have 2 weeks the end of April where they will take the Presidential Physical Fitness test. People have been practicing here, although some have been practicing more than others, so we'll see how that all goes. Nathan actually has to take a PFT Tuesday for Civil Air Patrol as well.

As far as Rivendell goes, we officially end May 10 (our 32nd week), so we have a few more weeks. Life science, however, only had 27 chapters, and we have diligently plowed through them, so we will be done with science in 2 Tuesdays, on April 5! This worked out perfectly, since I am due April 11. That week we will have our spring break, since another mom will be busy with last minute details of her only daughter's wedding that next Saturday. After spring break, the boys will just have literature/writing, Spanish, and history, so I know they will think they have it easier!

I have been very pleased with the BJU Life Science text this year. It has given the boys a very thorough overview of biology, and I know they will be quite prepared for their high school biology class. It covered a lot, though, and there were definitely some chapters where I would have liked to spend 2 weeks! The next time I teach it, which will be Lord willing in 2 years, I probably won't be having a baby, so we will be able to slow down a bit. Next year we are doing physical science, or, as it is currently faddish to call it, "Integrated Physics and Chemistry", and that book only has 21 chapters, so I am looking forward to going at a slower pace. I will say, however, that I am not looking forward to the subject matter as much, LOL. I love chemistry, but physics is NOT my favorite. Oh well.

We will also be stopping the official memory work part that I have been doing with the younger kids in the afternoon after spring break, although I have everything all copied out for the rest of the year, so they can do it individually if they want to. That's what we'll do, anyway! The kids have learned a ton of stuff this year--we're almost all the way finished with Hebrews 11:1-12:2, and we've memorized 5 poems completely. We're on point 27 ("The Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression--1929") of the 32 point timeline, and the kids are really doing well, even with the dates. They've also memorized a science fact each week from the life science chapter that the older boys are working on, and I must say it has been helpful for the older boys to hear the younger kids chanting things through the week like the formula for cellular respiration, the stages of mitosis, and the main bones of the skeletal system!

I have been so pleased with Nathan's progress in Spanish, writing, and history this year as well. In Spanish, he is so much more fluent than I ever was after 2 years of high school French! Siri is going to have them keep working on some stuff over the summer so they don't forget everything before August. And now that we have started doing Latin again, Nathan is singing the praises of Spanish, as compared to Latin! Luke is looking forward to starting Spanish next year.

I have also seen vast improvement in his writing, thanks to Theresa and her wonderful teaching. He has become a lot quicker at expressing his thoughts on paper, as well as clearer. He is still much more succinct in comparison to some though, LOL. He has also enjoyed the books they have read and discussed for the literature part. Luke is also taking a literature class from Theresa in the afternoon, and he has also really enjoyed the discussions and books. Theresa pretty much has them writing something each week, which has been great, and Nathan has had to do a lot of timed essays for practice as well. Right now he is doing a big research paper on blood.

In history, the boys have finally reached Rome. Christine tells me each week about the lively discussions they are having, which is Nathan's favorite part. Tapestry of Grace also moves really quickly, and in fact next year, when we do TOG Year 2, we are going to split it into 2 years, since it covers so much so fast. That will hopefully give the boys more time to do some of the extra more hands-on activities that we just haven't had time to do this year. They have covered so much ground, and they are retaining a lot too, as evidenced by all they talked about at the museum in Philadelphia!

The past 3 weeks we have met at our house, as opposed to our church, where we usually meet. Our church building is being remodeled to make room for more offices. When Craig, the church administrator, first told us this was on the agenda, way back in August, we thought, "Oh no!" But the timing has worked out perfectly. It's been really nice to not have to lug all my science stuff up and down stairs in the church--it's right here at my fingertips! When I'm not teaching, I can sit on my own couch, in my slippers! And my bathroom is right around the corner, as opposed to up the stairs. Nice! Plus, the girls can just play in the playroom, and we don't have to spend time cleaning like we do when we're done at the church each week! We do really miss the big field outside for the boys to play football, but they have the trampoline (I am sure our crabby nieghbors love that we now have 17 kids over here Tuesday afternoons, LOL), as well as the basketball hoop. We do love meeting at the church--it is nice to have a dedicated place that feels more "school-like" and official, and where the classes can be a little more spread out, but this has worked out well for the short-term, and it has sure been nice for me at the end of pregnancy. Craig said today that they are really coming along and hope to be done in the next 2 weeks--they should for sure be done when we are back from spring break. And the women's bathroom is being remodeled as well, so I know it will be very nice!

So that's where we are. We are already making plans for next year, and I think it will be just as great! The Lord has been so faithful with this co-op--what a wonderful group of ladies and kids! We have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of them!

Three on Thursday

Nathan pointed out that I hadn't blogged for awhile, so I thought I would steal an idea from my friend Beverly and give a brief summary.

1. Our top oven is not working. Last Monday I was making cookies to take to our small group dinner. I had chosen to finish the Latin exercise I was working on first, so I was a bit pressed for time. I know I heard the oven beep when it was preheated, but when I turned around to put in the cookie sheet, the oven temperature display was blank! Huh! So I turned it back on again. A few minutes later, it was back off again. For some reason, I kept on playing around with the buttons, but it never did work. At some point it occured to me that if I wanted to bake these cookies, I had better get the bottom oven heated! That's what I ended up doing, and we took 2 minivans over so I could finish up. I was hoping it was an isolated incident, but alas, the oven has continued to not work. Now it doesn't even bother heating up at all--it just shuts off a minute or 2 after being turned on. So we are in the market for a new double oven. Of course, the family who lived here before us had 5 kids, so between our 2 families, those ovens have gotten a lot of use! They are almost 20 years old, so I guess I can't complain too much. And the bottom one is still working, so it is not completely urgent. But still . . . I do like having 2 ovens, and I use them both frequently!

2. Friday night Jonathan asked me to cut his toenails, since one was jagged. As I was doing so, I noticed a big wart on the bottom of his big toe, right where his toe joins to his foot! Jonathan said it hurt, but he could offer absolutely no clues as to how long it had been there, LOL. He then pointed out a smaller wart on the palm of his hand, which probably came from his picking at the one on his foot. Was he ever going to mention these to me?! Bob and I talked about over-the-counter remedies, but we decided I should take him in, since (once it was noticed) he was complaining about it hurting quite frequently. Also, with the baby coming, if an OTC remedy didn't work, then I would have to take him in along with the baby, and that's a hassle. The computers were down Monday, but I was able to get an appointment for his yesterday at 1:15. This doctor was very nice as well (and her last duty station was Okinawa!), and she decided to freeze off the palm one, but not the toe one. She said it would be really painful, because it was in such an awkward place. So now we are soaking his foot in warm water with some vinegar every other day, and then we put a piece of mediplast bandage over the wart. Hopefully that will work with some degree of speed. Jonathan was a trooper for the freezing part, although he was a bit nervous.

3. Our church has started a new women's ministry model (men's too, actually), where you are paired up with one or 2 other people, and all the groups go through Romans. Then we meet every few months as a big group (well, just women or just men) for something fun and social. So this afternoon I had my first meeting with my partner Kimberly, and we had such a great time! She has 3 small kids (4, 3, and about 5 months), and I have enjoyed talking to her at church and when I brought them dinner after her baby was born. I am really looking forward to getting to know her better, and I think our study of Romans will bear a lot of fruit in both of our lives!

So that's a quick update. I want to post an update about where we are with Rivendell, but I just haven't gotten around to it. Hopefully soon!

Faith's Well-Baby Appointment

So I just posted on Wednesday that I didn't have any more appointments scheduled until my OB one the last week of March! But yesterday morning I was thinking about how I had never scheduled Faith's 2-year well-baby appointment, and how it would be so much better to get that out of the way before the baby comes. So I called the appointment line, and miraculously they had a well-baby appointment open for 1:00 today! I took it, and Faith and I got to spend some "Mommy/daughter time" at Bethesda this afternoon!

We had the absolute nicest doctor. Actually, he was a third year (resident? intern? Can't remember which, and I get them all confused), so there was another doctor in there for part of the time, but eventually she went off and did her own thing. This guy was also the 7th of 8 children! How cool! His family's pattern was "3 boys, 1 girl, 3 boys, 1 girl". Anyhow, he and his wife have a 2 year old, and his wife is 8 months pregnant as well. She is thinking she wants to homeschool, so we had some talk about how that worked for us, how the older ones help, etc. You know how sometimes you can just tell that a person is in line with your choices and doesn't think anything you do is weird?! That's how this was, and it was such a pleasant appointment!

And Faith is perfectly healthy. She is 25.6 pounds, which puts her about in the 30th percentile--pretty chunky for one of our babies, LOL. I think she is going to pass Grace up! She was smiley and happy, but she was not very cooperative, as far as saying anything or pointing to anything, like her nose, when asked, even though she definitely knows that! Oh well--she wasn't going to put on a show, LOL.

Then we went to get shots. She only needed the second hepatitis A one, and we went ahead and got a flu shot for her. Now I need to remember to take her back after 30 days for the second one. Apparently 2 years ago we got one flu shot for her, but not the second one, and you have to have 2 the first time. Then, whenever you get another flu shot, you only need one. We rarely get flu shots, but I figure this way she'll be set. It's not like I won't be in several times getting shots with the new baby, so she will just tag along! Anyhow, she was a real trooper while getting the shots. I wished I had brought certain other family members *ahem* to see a demonstration of an appropriate amount of crying (about 20 seconds, LOL). By the time she got to pick out a sticker, and I gave her a lollipop, she was way done with the tears. So nice!

So Faith is healthy, and I still don't have any appointments lined up for next week! But things could always change . . . I'm sure there are plenty of other things that I need to get done, and maybe something else will jog my memory!

It's What We Do . . .

Grace: "How old will I be on my birthday?"

Me: "4"

Grace: "And then I'll be 5 . . . and then I'll be 6!"

Me: "What will I do when we have such a big, big girl?!"

Grace: "Have another new baby!"

On the Other Side

I am happy to report that I am have survived these past 2 1/2 weeks of the "cold that wouldn't leave", as well as all the appointments every day. I am finally feeling better! Last Wednesday was the worst day--I was certain the whole thing was turning into a sinus infection because my face felt so heavy and full, and my teeth were hurting so badly. Fortunately, Thursday was a better day, and things seemed to finally really start draining. It took the weekend for me to actually start feeling better, though. We were supposed to go to PA to visit Bob's family last weekend, but we ended up not going. It was a hard decision, since his sister Rose drove in with her girls, and his sister Ann was going to ride up with us, so we would have seen all the siblings, as well as Bob's parents, but it was the right one. I was still feeling so miserable, and the kids were mostly all snuffly and hacking away with coughs as well. Not good to travel with (or sleep in a hotel room all together!), and certainly we didn't want to pass the love onto all Bob's family! So we just hung out here at home and rested. It must have worked because I think we are seeing the tail end of this dreaded head cold!

I am so glad to be done with all these random appointments as well! The last 2 weeks I have had at least one appointment every day, and occasionally two, and that's not even counting our two co-ops or the Latin class! Teeth are cleaned, Anna's tooth is fixed, the pantry is full, my back is aligned, Nathan's eyes haven't changed since his last eye exam (and 2 new pairs of glasses are coming our way, since he was down to only one pair), we got pictures of all the kids done, and Luke's braces are adjusted. Whew! And this morning I had an OB appointment where everything looked good. I'll go back in 2 weeks, when I'll be 38 weeks. And right now, I have no other appointments on the calendar until that one! Woo-hoo! It will be nice to actually stay home and have uninterrupted time to do school, especially with Anna and Grace! I haven't exercised very consistently the past 2 weeks either. Part of that is just because I felt so crummy, but most days it was because I really didn't have time. So it will be good to start walking on the treadmill regularly again too. Got to keep the baby moving down! Less than 4 weeks to go!

Anna at the Dentist

Anna had her appointment at the dentist this morning to fill the spot on her tooth that never enameled properly. Although Anna has really looked forward to her last few visits to the dentist, she started off more shakily. Before she was 2, she fell and one of her front teeth turned gray. That dentist appointment, back in December 07, went fine, but that was before Anna started her "terrified" phase, where she was petrified of pretty much anything. Her appointments back in the summer of 2009 were ones for the books, where one time she wouldn't even open her mouth until I laid back in the chair and had her lay on top of me! Fortunately, she is past all that now, and her cleanings go just fine. But I was a bit worried about getting a cavity filled . . .

I am happy to report, however, that I had absolutely nothing to worry about! Anna marched off back to the dentist chair all by herself with nary a backward glance! When the lady came out to get me about 30 minutes later, she was full of praise for Anna, saying she couldn't believe how she just laid there and didn't make a peep! She said she had never seen anyone so young be so calm and composed, with no nitrous oxide or anything! LOL--we've come a long way!! And now Anna is happy not to have that orange-y spot on her tooth anymore!

Bad Mom Award

Yesterday was a busy day! Caleb and I made what is hopefully our last trip to the commissary before the baby comes. Now Caleb has actually come down with the cold I have, so we were a snuffly bunch, and we brought a ton of kleenexes in with us!

Actually, our main challenge came when we drove up to Ft. Myer and realized that the gate we usually enter was "closed for repair". That did seem like a good plan, since the gate was a pile of rubble, but nonetheless, it was a total surprise to us! That particular gate had been completely remade not long after we moved here, so maybe 5 or 6 years ago. I never dreamed it would be redone again so quickly. Since it had been closed awhile back, I knew there were other gates, but I was stuck in the van with no map, no GPS, and no real memory of how to get to these other gates. And the problem with being down in Arlington is that you pick the wrong road and suddenly you are headed somewhere you really don't want to go with no possibility of recovering, so I was quite hesitant about trying to wander around and find the gate on my own. I told Caleb we'd try one thing, since I had vague memories of a gate being off of Rt. 50. Indeed, there was a gate there, and it only took a few missed exits (and lots of prayer, and a phone call to Elizabeth L.) to get to it, LOL. It's technically off of Clarendon Rd., just for my future reference . . .

So eventually we got there and got all our stuff. This was indeed a big trip--almost $900--and we are hopefully set to eat for awhile, as well as have this baby! I got a ton of newborn and even some size 1 diapers.

We arrived home around 2:30, and we started unloading. Finally all the stuff was out of the minivan (although not stowed away), and I was working in the garage to put away to freezer and extra fridge stuff. I heard Faith fussing away by the van. She was upset because I had closed all the doors, and she wanted to go back in there. I left her there and went back into the garage. Finally I finished up and collapsed on the couch for a few minutes before our afternoon Latin class. Luke and some of the other kids were playing outside, but eventually they came in and Luke shut the garage door. (Do you see where this is going . . . ?)

After resting about 15 minutes, it dawned on me that I should put Faith down for a nap . . . she had been getting crabby, so why wasn't I hearing her anywhere? I asked where she was, and no one knew, so we all leaped up and started looking. I went out the front door and some of the boys went out the garage just as the McC's were pulling up for Latin. Fortunately, Caleb happened to glance in the minivan window. There was Faith, who obviously did manage to open the door for herself at some point, sound asleep in her carseat. She had even buckled herself in! Whew! I think I lost 10 years off my life in those few minutes! She ended up napping for a good while during Latin class, while I sent boys out to check on her every few minutes.

I was already a candidate for the Bad Mom award earlier this week, as I left Grace's little Beanie Baby puppy, the one I used as a model for her 2 year birthday cake, in Philadelphia. Ooooooops! Thankfully it was found and is supposed to be on its way back to us. We've been praying every night for safe travels for Grace's doggie, LOL. She has actually been remarkably philosophical about the whole thing. Luke was generous to let her have his old Beanie Baby elephant that he used to sleep with, and that has helped.

So I have definitely not been on top of things this week! Less then 5 weeks to go . . . but unfortunately, as others have so rightly observed, those brain cells that turn to mush during pregnancy never really return!

The Infamous Haircut

So back on that horrible Sunday, Grace took a pair of scissors to her own hair and lopped off a big chunk right in the middle of the back of her scalp. I knew theoretically that it could have been worse, but I still had such a hard time dealing with it. It took me 2 days before I could even really look at her to begin to evaluate how I could attempt to make things better! Here is what it looked like. She cut up and down, so there was a nice, long hunk missing, and no possible way to do layers or a block or anything like that to disguise it. I guess I could have shaved it, LOL.
So after contemplating for awhile, I finally just cut everything shorter and tried to blend the back as best I could. It really isn't as noticeable now, unless you are really looking.

And, thankfully, you can't tell anything from the front, so we are still going to attempt pictures sometime in the next week or so. Before anyone else gets hold of any scissors or gets a black eye or anything . . .

Belly Shot!

Melinda asked for a belly shot, so here is one from this afternoon! I'm 35 weeks along. First, the view from the front:
Now, the side view. Oh my goodness!

I am at the stage where no clothes are really comfortable--my shirts ride up, and my pants ride down! Oh well--only 5 weeks to go!