This building made me cry.

When most of you readers see this picture, you see a big, ugly warehouse. But for a select few, you see what I see: memories. The name of this eyesore is The Missions Building. It was built in 1971 and is the main gathering place for Camp WiNeMa on the Oregon coast. When I was born at the end of July in 1977, I was very sick. (Mom & Dad, feel free to edit this story if I get any of the details wrong or exaggerate!) I was throwing up blood, and the doctors couldn't figure out why. I was rushed from Good Sam in Portland to OHSU, where they had a better Neonatal ICU. During that week, hundreds of people in this building were gathered for Week of Missions family camp and were praying for me by name. The doctors had to put a scope down my throat to find out where the blood was coming from. They told my parents that they had never performed this procedure on a baby so small, and it might damage my vocal cords. This last weekend I sang on the stage in this building for what will be the last worship service in the Missions Building before it is torn down to clear the area for a new meeting hall. The spiritual gift of nostalgia that I inherited from my family was in full force, to say the least.

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(Here's a pic of Camp WiNeMa that I took on Monday.)

I don't have time to go through year by year of all the memories at WiNeMa, but here's just a few: I seriously took my first steps in the old director's cabin on Labor Day weekend 30 years ago. (That's the same room we slept in this week. I kid you not.) I went to youth camp for the first time when I was going into 4th grade. I got to sleep on a triple bunk! It was crazy fun. I remember watching awesome talent shows at 2nd High Camp for 4 years. "Fishheads" lipsync is still ingrained in my memory. I decided at camp that I was really interested in going to this little school in California called Pacific Christian College. I had more crushes on boys that I can count. I went down the big slide more times than I can count. I went to Week of Missions with my family numerous times and heard amazing stories that planted in me a deep respect and honor for those who dedicate their lives to full-time international outreach. I came here and went crab hunting with my friends from school for FBCS retreats and listened to the guys perform on the BFB: the Bodily Functions Band. I went to Memorial Day camp with my new boyfriend, Trent, in 1996 and he got a speeding ticket on our way home. After Trent and I were dating, we realized that we had been at the same youth camps and Labor Day family camps for years and never met. This weekend I came to family camp with my TWO kids and watched my son go down the big slide and play on the beach in the same sand I've walked dozens of times.

There's something really special about this place, and we had such a fun weekend. (More pictures and stories on that later.) I felt so blessed to have a new annual tradition with our family here, and it's even more special that my husband and I both have long histories here. Oh, and the actual tears came at the end of the last session, when we all gathered in a large circle and thanked God for what he had done in that building and for what we know he'll do in the lives of many more people in the new building. Then we sang "How Great is Our God" a song which I have blogged about before (scroll down that page for the post about that song), and when we went into How Great Thou Art and I lost it. But they were happy tears!

Before I leave...

I knew I'd better put a quick post up before we leave for the weekend, because my last post has the word "boobs" in it, and no males will comment on that. We are off to WiNeMa this weekend: another camping trip! We're really looking forward to spending some time at the beach and with Trent's family. Here's some pics from the backyard today.

A Sign of the Times

A sense of urgency while stuck in traffic, circa 2000: I'm late for a movie and I do NOT like missing the previews!

A sense of urgency while stuck in traffic, August 26, 2008: An 85% potty trained child saying "Mommy, I have to go poop RIGHT NOW," a screaming, hungry infant and leaky boobs.

Oh, how the times have changed.

It's the little things

Sometimes, it's really funny what will really lift my spirits. Last weekend, it came in the form of a neighbor's garage sale. Some of you knew that I had come to despise my kitchen table. (Our kitchen table also doubles as our dining room table in this cozy house.) It was one of those ones with white tile top--you know, they were hugely popular in the early 90's. Well, when the tiles and grout were clean and the chairs weren't falling apart, it was just fine. However, it was wickedly difficult to clean--crumbs clung to that caulk like you wouldn't believe. Also, THREE of the FOUR chairs were broken and we had to warn all visitors not to sit down. How is that reasonable? We scoped adds for new tables, but everything was out of our price range, which was very low. So, I had pretty much given up.

Then last weekend I was driving away to a playdate with the kids and saw a dining room table at my neighbor's garage sale. I hopped out of the car and called out to her asking how much the table was. She said $50. I didn't even hesitate. I would use food money if I had to. I said "We'll take it! I'll be right back!" I put the car into reverse, ran back into the house, grabbed the checkbook and told Trent he needed to run next door and get our new table! He agreed and I'm so happy with our decision. It's bigger than our last table, has no grooves for food to get stuck in, has nice chairs (even though only 5 are working), and it feels like I finally have a table for grown-ups, not something that belongs in a recent college grad's apartment. It's not a big thing, but it made me smile.

Sydney talks.

Seriously. About second #42 I swear she says "Hi."

Funnies

Here are a few random things that have made me laugh out loud lately.

First, you may have seen this video, but it is worth watching again.



Second, my friend Mrs. Towne mentioned this blog in HER blog, and I was cracking up as I made my way through several of the posts. It's not just the cakes, but her comments that make this a winner.

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

And lastly, a laugh-out-loud in my own bathroom. The conversation went like this the other day when Carson was on his toddler pot having the unusual problem of not being able to go #2:

Carson: Mom, go in the other room.
Me: OK. (hidden smile)
A few minutes lapse. I do hear some grunts.
Carson: Mom. Come back.
Me: What's wrong?
Carson: I don't know, it's just that my bottom's not working.
Me: (More hidden smiles) OK, well, why don't you keep trying.
Carson: OK. (grunt) You get out of here.
Me to myself: gladly.
About a minute later.
Carson: MOm! My bottom's working again!
Me: Good!
Carson, waving his arms and wrinkling up his nose: Oh! It stinks in here! It smells like...[and here is the funniest part. He truly, honestly, was trying to FIGURE OUT what was causing the sudden bad odor. He had a quizzical look on his face and was searching for the end of that sentence, when he says in TOTAL SURPRISE:] POOP!
Me: Fall off the toilet lid laughing.

I forgot

I forgot to post these cute pics that Mike took of Sydney last month for her birth announcement. It was the day she turned exactly one month, and she's now 7 weeks, so that quickly they are kind of out-dated. I was bummed because although she looks quite stoic in these shots, a few days later she started busting out the smiles. Oh well! He did a great job. It's nice what you can choose from in about 250 frames. ;)

You're yelling at me in my love language. And, also, you're just yelling.

Like many pre-marrieds, Trent and I read "The Five Love Languages" before we got married. You know, so we'd communicate our affection better, yada, yada, yada. ;) The languages are physical touch, acts of service, quality time, words of affirmation and giving/receiving gifts. It's not a bad read, but I think most people receive and give love in a number of ways. But we did notice that since I grew up in a household that expressed love through comforting touch, like hand-holding, back rubs, hugs, high-fives, hands on the knee, etc., that I expected more of that from him. So, when we were sitting in church or at the movies and my fiance-at-the-time kept his hands folded neatly in his lap, I would stew in frustration that he wouldn't put his arm around me. SO, reading this book helped us address this miscommunication. According to the book, physical touch would be one of my primary love languages. I recently read The Five Love Languages of Children, and have started noticing some of Carson's tendencies. He's still really young to tell, but I think his strongest ones so far are physical touch and gifts.
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On an unrelated story, but one which I will soon connect, in college, I had 2 friends with whom I would invent characters--the kind of characters we thought should be on Saturday Night Live. My favorite character Kellianne and I created in our dorm room was Coach Ed, The Harriest Swim Coach Alive. He was a coach who...actually, his title leaves little need for explanation. Curtis and I would create characters in the Ekklesia* van on long drives. One he created and would enact to annoy us was Personal Space Pete. "Pete" had no space boundaries and would violate acceptable social physical and verbal limits.

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Lately, I feel like I am living with Personal Space Pete--and I'm not talking about my husband. Yes, physical touch is one of my primary love languages, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and I'm experiencing it. Daily. I've been trying to make a point to spend some quality, one-on-one time with Little C each day. No sister, no dad, no TV--just him and mom. And yet, he feels the need to be connected to me, skin-to-skin, all the livelong day. He follows me from room to room, hanging on my clothes, clinging to my leg, asking for piggyback rides, etc. Bless his little heart, I do love snuggling with him, and try to do that as often as possible to try to fill his need. Even when I don't feel like it. But lately--I am ALL TOUCHED OUT! I am going to try to get a video of him while I'm feeding Sydney, because that is when he begins to yell at me in this love language. If it weren't so frustrating, it would be funny. I literally become his personal jungle gym. This is stress-inducing for me, because Little Miss is not a great eater. She's an on-and-off-and-on-and-off snacker, which takes some focus on my part to get the job done. Which, come to think of it, having another small human literally attached to me so much of the day is probably adding to the feeling of physical hollering. Mr. Potato Head, books, snacks and movies seem to hold his attention only until he realizes that there is a perfectly warm body nearby, ready to be scaled like a lumpy ladder. While yelling. And playing the recorder. Or shaking a rattle at Sydney's face. Or pretending he's a lion and ROARing and clawing us. Or trying to ride horsey on my leg. Pick your poison.

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I hesitated to even blog about this, because I feel like I'm complaining about my kiddo a lot during this transition to a new sibling, and I seriously love him so much that it hurts. AND, he's had many perfectly delightful moments in the last 6 weeks. But I find myself commenting on other mommy blogs for them to feel comfortable talking about the good and the bad, so I decided it was OK to vent to any of you who choose to read. I know that we will get through this, the weather will cool down (which will help me not feel so "gamey" as JJ would say), and I'll start getting more sleep which will all help. But for now, if I see you, don't feel the need to hug me. In fact, I'm temporarily switching my love language to "gifts," so feel free to love me in that way. ;)

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*One of my newer friends asked what Ekklesia is. It was a singing group I was in during college. We traveled around on the weekends and all summer singing and telling people at churches they should send their kids and money to our university. It was a huge part of my college experience--and helped pay for a lot of it!

We did it!

We went camping all weekend with a 6 week old! I was really not sure if it was a good idea. I really wanted to go, but it was supposed to be cold. And she doesn't sleep through the night. And all four of us sleep in a tent together. But we survived and it went pretty well, thanks to a very involved Daddy, a cooperative big brother, a borrowed snowsuit for warmth and lots of grandmas, grandpas, aunties and uncles who helped with both kids--especially with Carson when I had to disappear into the tent frequently to feed Little Miss who likes to take her sweet time.

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This was our 7th annual family campout to Still Creek, near Government Camp on Mt. Hood. check out Mike's blog for some great pics. We look forward to this trip and plan for it all year. The truth is, the trip is not as relaxing and laid-back as it used to be. We used to just spending time in nature--reading, talking, eating, hiking, boating, etc. The addition of SIX kids has changed that! Unlike at home, where there are some physical boundaries, like, you know, doors and walls, camping kind of requires a one-on-one offense for the three toddlers who move quickly in separate directions--especially considering the swiftly flowing, freezing cold river about 20 yards away. The campground is pretty rugged; there is one outhouse down the road and next to it is a faucet of ice-cold water. Other than that, you are on your own. Fortunately, the Jagger/Bunch families do not camp like most people: we camp in STYLE!

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For example: please notice a plethora of plastic toys, potties, tricycles, slides, swings, picnic tables, shovels, etc. We eat well and big at every meal--and usually in between as well. We had 7 large tents and 3 large canopies on--I kid you not--what has to be the world's LARGEST campsite. (Actually, 2 of the tents were on the adjacent site, but STILL!) We also have a campfire burning about 19 hours a day, which was really nice this year because it was extra cold.

Sometimes people ask me (and sometimes, when it starts to drizzle, I ask myself) why we choose to spend our vacation time like this, when we could go for something more along the lines of warm hotel beds, sandy beaches, etc. I heard a comedian once say he doesn't work all year to spend his vacation living like the homeless. :) But there's just nothing like it! For three days, I didn't hear a phone ring, hold a remote or look at any kind of TV or computer screen. Better yet--our boys didn't see one either. Instead they played in the dirt, hopped off of and climbed over logs, threw rocks in rivers and ran around ALL DAY. Yes, it was a lot of work. No, it was not relaxing. Yes, it was freezing cold a lot of the time. But this is TRADITION! I've always enjoyed it, but it's meaning even more as we introduce it to our kids.
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Grandmas and grandpas get to spend time with their grandbabies...

...and pass on some lifestyles and passions to a new generation.

Little boys get to live like little boys: be dirty and pee in the bushes...

...and young dads get to use an ax and a frisbee more than they use their laptops.

Here's a shot of all the Tompkins' stuff. I think we need a bigger car next year.

But for those of you who still have a hard time wrapping your brain around the camping experience, I filmed a little tour of our Mt. Hood digs. Just think of it as MTV Cribs with fabric walls. (And for those of you who DO camp...aren't you always a little curious what the inside of other people's tents looks like? Now you know about ours.)

Blasphemy!

Carson has two uncles (and 2 more "uncles") who work at Nike, so this contraband Adidas outfit--although pretty darn cute--is frowned upon. Blame his Aunt Tara, who can't turn down a good sale on good lookin' clothes for her nephew. Also, Carson got a haircut! Daddy did the deed this time, and yes, it was a dramatic scene again.

You take the good, you take the bad...

...you take 'em both and there you have the facts of life. Ah yes.

Today has been full of both good and bad. I won't get into all the details (for once) of the bad, but it has to do with frustrations with health insurance and their confusing ways, some of our own mistakes, a lot of money we don't have but now owe, and some tears on my part. Also, the bad has to do with my precious son who gives me a full-on battle at naptime EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. (And before you ask: yes, I'm sure he and I still need him to have it because once he falls asleep he stays asleep for 2 solid hours or until I have to wake him up and then he goes to bed at the normal time AND if he misses his nap he is extremely cranky and irritable for the rest of the day so saying goodbye to naptime is not an option for me right now thank you very much.) Also, he hit his sister in the head. With a boot. On purpose. I witnessed it.

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However, there has been some good today as well. We finally put together our new double stroller (thanks Ron and Leota!), which is a "sit 'n stand" kind. Sydney's car seat fits in the front, then there is a little jump seat and platform behind her for Carson, who can "sit or stand," thus the brand name. Yesterday we went for a walk as a family and today I took both kids on a walk to Wallgreens to buy stamps and stickers. Carson did a great job staying on the stroller (when he gets off it ceases to be a "walk" and becomes a "dawdle") and I got some exercise. It was a positive experience all around.

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Also, Sydney is starting to smile more, but we have to really work for them! But it is quite fun. The lighting and everything in these pictures is horrible, but it was one of those "quick--grab the camera!" diaper changes and I just wanted to try to catch the facial expression. Didn't have time to worry about photo quality! My caption for this first one is: "Rock on!" Carson told me she is saying, "To infinity...and beyond!"

Best Buds

The other day we heard someone reference their "best friend" and I asked Carson who his best friend was. I was curious, because we've never used that specific term before. Without hesitating, he said "Ethan and Henry and Nate." I thought it was really sweet. Those four boys are all within 10 months of each other and have been basically been forced together since birth. Since their parents get along so well (and some of us are pretty much related), we foster and nourish the friendship as much as possible.

These just happen to be some great pictures we have of Ethan and Carson in the hospital room after Sydney was born. As all toddlers are, some playdates can be more fighting than playing, but this particular day the boys were living up to their best friend status. I love the images of them together and the love they have for each other. We'll have to get the camera out more often to capture all the boys together, even their newest comrade Jack.

School Days

I've been having some warm fuzzy feelings lately (perhaps some extra hormones running around? maybe?) about my alma mater and my fellow college alumni. It's been almost 10 years (!!!) since I graduated, and we've remainded very close with a few friends, which is a huge blessing in our lives. We use any extra penny to save up and visit them in other states. However, there were many other friends--and some aquaintances--outside of this closeknit circle that I really enjoyed, but didn't keep in contact with very well. In the last several months, the blog world and Facebook have opened doors to reconnect to some wonderful people.

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One especially fun aspect of this is finding out how many of my former dorm-mates are enduring the trials and joys of motherhood at the same time as me. You have no idea what a guilty relief it was today to read Shoobs and Sarah bemoaning the post-baby body and it's the havoc it wreaks on one's self-esteem, because they are both dealing with infants as well. Some of the girls were a little older than me, like Lisa and Edie, and were established students when I started school. (Lisa was my first RA!) I looked up to them and it is so cool that we are now friends. Jen W. was one of my first friends at college--she met me during orientation and convinced me to join the fledgling volleyball team and stuck by me through a rough year, even though our coach was Viola Swamp and I was not near as good as the rest of the team. I don't have time to mention all of them...just go check out their pages!

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On my list of links, the following are college buds: Angie, CT, Dionne, Dr. Don (actually a prof, director of Ekklesia and kind of dad-away-from-home), Edie, Jen W, JJ, Johnsons, Julie, Kristi, Lisa P, Lyons, Ms. Di, Stephie Shoobs and Townes. Also, for all of you who know them, we had Christi and Seth over for dinner last night, b/c we were thrilled to find out they live about 20 minutes from us! (I wish I had taken a picture, because they both look fantastic and have 2 cute kids.) It's so fun to reconnect with people that we liked, but just never spent a lot of time with during school. So, someone tell Rheada, Kellianne, Wendy and Carolina to get with the program and start blogging! Fellow alumns, are there any blogs I'm missing?

Where are my navy flip-flops?

That was how it started. In a room that had already been searched, but was, admittedly, quite messy. So I went to check the closet for the flip-flops. For some reason, the messiness of the closet really got to me (even though it's been chaotic for some time) so I started straightening up a bit, hoping to come across the blue flips. As I grabbed one of Trent's dress shoes, I felt something clunk inside. Hello, camera battery! Hallelujah! I've started to feel quite panicked, thinking it got into the garbage and was taken out and gone forever. What's funny is: I'm pretty sure Michelle had jokingly told me it was inside a shoe in the closet. Did YOU put it there, Michelle?

These days, my mental to-do list is so long, I can wander around the house starting about a dozen projects all day long, and never finish any of them. Plus, usually I try to be productive while children (esp. almost-3-year-olds) are awake, so that I can sleep when they are sleeping. But "productive" and "almost-3-year-old" and "newborn" are NOT words that go together well. Thus, the dozens of unfinished chores. But I did take a stab at decorating Sydney's room a bit this weekend. I've had my eye on a wall design for a few months; finally purchased it and put it up. Please also remember my warning about the pepto-pink wall color:

This design is from Uppercase Living, a newish company that has independent consultants who do parties in homes. My friend Kristen sells it. Their designs are so cool! I had to restrain myself and buy just this one last time. And I'm not even paid to say that! I'm going to host a party soon--in my house, but maybe I'll advertise on the blog so people can buy online if you want. Stay tuned.

Recent Carsonisms

"Woody isn't a bad guy. He's a happy guy."
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"I wanna play games on the pooter."
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In the bathtub:"Whoa, Mom. I have a funny pee-pee. It's like a hot dog!"
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Almost every night at dinner, spoken like a grown-up:"So, how was your work, Dad?"
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"You always say 'shhh' and I don't like it."
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Two weeks before Sydney was born: "Why you always going potty?"
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Carson: Dad, are you a grown up?
Dad: Yep.
C: Mom, are you a grown up?
Mom: Yep.
C: No, you're just a big girl.
Mom: No, I'm a grown up!
Carson, Well, do you mow the lawn?
Mom: [stumped for words]
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"Mom, you're legs are too scratchy."
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Mom: You need to go potty, then you can have a popsicle.
Carson: Yeah......I don't think that's gonna work.

Gonna have to take a detour from the routine post & pics because my precious firstborn has, in these troubled times, used his master hiding skills to find new homes for the camera battery AND our TV remote control. The remote has nothing to do with the blog, just another minor inconvenience in my life. Yes, I won't go into TOO much detail (I mean, I'm still ME), but I will say that when recalling the transition to his new sis, I believe I will usually begin the story with "Carson had a rough time...." He LOVES his sis, don't get me wrong. In fact, he LOVES her so hard sometimes that I think he is going to squeeze the life out of her, or as he's giving her so many kisses he then sneezes in her face. Just like all the parenting experts warn, he's regressed in a few areas, like sleeping through the night, potty training, and general socially acceptable behavior. But absence makes the heart grow fonder, and today Grandma has taken him for some fun time and attention, and we'll all be thrilled to be back together this evening.

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On another note, I am totally and madly in love with my little girl! I wish I had new pics to post, just in case you like looking at her as much as I do. My friend Rheada told me that the Lord blessed her with a mellow baby girl after blessing her with a wild child big brother, and SO FAR it seems I've received a similar gracioius gift. Sydney is a baby, so she does cry and fuss, but she is primarily a really easy baby. Usually when she's fussy (it's rarely a full-on cry) she just wants to be held or is hungry. And she spends lots of time each day just looking around at the world, content. CONTENT! It's a totally new concept for me as a parent.

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So as not to seem like I'm dissing on my boy, I did want to share a really cute thing that has happened this last week. I don't know where he came up with it, but Carson made up a little nickname for Sydney. He calls her Booboo. (Pronounced booBOO.) It is usually said while his chubby little palms are squeezing her cheeks and he is gritting his teeth in intense adoration, raising his voice at least an octave. "HI BooBOO! HI! HI!" Can't help but love these two!

Making a conscious effort

It is already painfully obvious to me how the old stereotype of firstborn children receiving more attention (especially as babies) has become so prevalent in our society. There's just no denying it...parents will never be able to give as much undivided time and attention to their other kids as babies as they did to their first. In my own life, twisted as it may be, sometimes love and attention is evident through photos. I have HUNDREDS of photos of Carson from birth through the present. I had a scrapbook almost entirely completed for him BEFORE HE WAS BORN! I know. I'm a dork. And it turned out I didn't like that method anyway, because some of the pages didn't fit with any of my pictures. So, Sydney has an empty scrapbook. BUT, all of that to say, I'm making a conscioius effort to take lots of pictures of Sydney as a baby, and take plenty that don't necessarily have Carson IN them.

Here are some pictures of Sydney's first real non-sponge bath. The fact that she is over 2 weeks old before she GOT her first bath is another sign that she has a time-consuming sibling around. But at least we got her cleaned up and documented it!

She tends to have her head tilted to the right a lot of the time, so Dr. Trent has asked me to be doing some neck stretches with her at every diaper change. I'm not kidding.

I used the "blur" tool on this one to make it blog-appropriate.

Starting tomorrow...

Starting tomorrow, the honeymoon is over and I officially have to begin learning how to be a mommy of 2 kids with a husband who works. Trent's 2 week baby-break is over and he's going back to work. He has been such a huge help, so I'm kind of nervous. The biggest issue is when I'm feeding Sydney, Carson turns into a total needy, whiny baby. Also, he is not content unless is in LITERALLY on top of us. Both of us. I'd been warned about this common toddler problem, so we are taking steps to counteract, like we are renting new movies for him from Netflix that he can only watch when Sydney's eating. We are planning to get him a new toy (or box of old toys?) that he can only play with when I'm feeding her. (Someone suggested a Mr. Potato head.)

Also, as I've mentioned many times, I'm nervous about the sleep thing. Already the kids have coordinated their subconscious evil little inner-sleep-clocks to totally sabotage me. For instance, Sydney is awake from 4-5:45 am, Carson wakes up at 6:05. Or, the day I thought for SURE I would get a nap, Carson decided to have a total and complete naptime meltdown, and after an hour of getting him to go down, Sydney woke up hungry.

However, this weekend I got sick and it put things into perspective. I had a bad cold and then on Saturday night I had a high fever, chills, shakes and body aches. I could barely hold Sydney. It was miserable! It reminded me that things can always get worse! I may be tired, but at least I'm usually healthy.

I'll probably have some fun stories to share about my new life adventure, but who knows if I'll have time to sit down and blog about them!?! Here's some pictures of Sydney this weekend in a cute outfit borrowed from Abby.

Daddy Time

I think I mentioned a few posts ago that after Sydney was born, Trent and Carson went ahead and joined his family for a short camping trip at Diamond Lake. It sounds like they had a great time camping and fishing and hanging out together. I can tell it was also some special time between father and son. Here's some pics of the boys (in their OSU gear), courtesy of Aunt Michelle. Carson was helping Bryan build a fire.

Fishing with his new pole and new life jacket!
Safety first--thank you, Auntie.
Then on the 4th of July they went down to Harrisburg for the parade and lunch with the fam. The highlight was that Trent and Carson got to ride (and kind of drive) a BIG TRACTOR!



Here's a video of the two getting their ride. I'm not sure who had more fun---Carson or Trent! The quality of the video doesn't come across very well on the blog, but Carson is steering and he had a huge grin on his face.

11 days old

So, of COURSE I jinxed myself after my last post. The last 2 nights Trent and I had to take turns trying to get Sydney to go back to sleep! So much for the dream sleeper. BUT, she still is more mellow in her refusal to sleep. She grunts and fusses and sometimes cries, but she very rarely is a screamer, which is shockingly kinder to a parent's nervous system than the alternative. Hmmmm. Deep in thought. Probably wondering when that fast, hyper thing with blonde hair is going to come back and attack.
I'm not sure why her little chin is all red, but if you look closely, we think there's some red in her hair too.
So, usually a blog is for posting opinions, thoughts, stream of consciousness type things: events of one's life at the current time; stories and anecdotes, etc. Well, the thing is, many of the events and details about the end of pregnancy, labor and delivery, and being a postpartum mother are not exactly appropriate fodder for a public blog. After going through this a second time, I've decided that this process is one of the most vulnerable times in a woman's life. So, although I am now issuing a disclaimer that some semi-private issues are going to be discussed, I will attempt to avoid total disclosure and embarassment of blogger and reader by avoiding certain taboo topics. However, there are some things that are fair game.

And one of those things is the post-baby belly. What the HECK!? I remember the first time around, I couldn't believe no one told me that you leave the hospital still looking 6 months pregnant. It was a shocker. The baby is gone, along with all that amniotic fluid, and quite a bit of blood. What is left to make it still protrude so stubbornly? But worse than the size is the substance. Seriously, it's like bread dough. Not the firm, thumpable watermelon that you entered with. Actually, when I lay on my back, it all but disappears, which is awesome--just to be able to lay on my back at all is great. But stand back up and you've got an big lump of dough hanging on your abdomen. Obviously, nature takes over and it starts to shrink eventually. The thing is, from my own personal experience, I cannot for the life of me remember how quickly that happened. Last time, it was a chilly autumn when this happened, so I was able to hide behind zip up sweatshirts for weeks. This time we've had temps in the 80's nad 90's and all I want to wear are tank tops, which are NOT forgiving to size large muffin top tummies. I'm trying to be patient and I'm certainly not ready to start dieting, but I am anxious for the day when I don't feel the need to take my newborn everywhere in order to prevent the dreaded question: When is your baby due? Oh, you know--she's ALREADY BORN! Sigh.

Life so far...

Wow. So, getting used to 2 kids has been fun and challenging and interesting. Carson has been doing pretty well. We have good moments and bad moments. The good moments are when he wants to hold her, kiss her gently, bring her toys, play peek-a-boo. The bad moments are when he comes up and slaps her on the stomach, shakes her pack 'n play violently (while she's inside), tries to pry her eyes open b/c he's decided she's done sleeping, literally crawls all over both Sydney and me while she's eating, and generally disobeying and pushing the limits in many ways.

As previously posted, I, personally, have kind of been dreading the logistical side of having a newborn. For me, it is all about the sleep people. I am tired and cranky if I get 7.5 hours instead of 8-9, so you can imagine how I do on 4-5 in short spurts. However, Sydney's personality and sleeping pattern, like her entrance into this world, have been the opposite of her big brother. She sleeps a LOT. The doc thinks it is partly due to the fact that she is a little early. This sounds like a dream, but I've spent much of the past 9 days in a building frustration, trying to wake this limp, peaceful child so she will eat and gain weight. (Carson didn't gain his birthweight back until almost 6 weeks. It was a kind of a dangerous thing, and I am not willing to risk that with Sydney.) So we are pretty consistent about getting food into her. As with many newborns, she didn't get the memo about OUR sleeping schedule and wanted to party and eat all night and sleep all day; but the last few nights, she's done pretty well. In fact, I've had to wake her a few times at night too.

One really nice thing is that when she is awake, she has lots of times when she is awake and content. Those two adjectives didn't go together with newborn Carson--probably because he was starving! When she does get worked up, she's fairly easy to calm down so far too. I'm just crossing my fingers that the mellow Sydney we've met this last week is the Sydney that is here to stay. I know these things can change in a day.

Here's a great video of a "good" moment between C-dog and Syd. Here he is telling her a story. Just a little background: each night Trent or I tell Carson a story with the main character(s) of his choosing. Lately he's been asking for the 4 main characters he uses here. Also, he calls the swingset in the back yard the "play park." We've found ourselves here many mornings lately...all of us lounging around in a tired stupor on the unmade bed, enjoying the cool air before it gets warm. Even though Sydney was dead to the world, it didn't stop Carson from wanting to be on camera.

Some of the details...

So, as previously posted, my labor and delivery with Sydney was much faster than with Carson. With Carson I had strong contractions less than 5 minutes apart starting on Tuesday night at midnight. He was born a short 36 hours later. In the meantime, my body was refusing to dilate, I missed 5 meals, Carson's heartrate kept plummeting, and I was running a high fever. With Sydney, the contractions started strong around 4am, and we made some calls to grandparents around 5:30. The contractions this time were more painful and came a LOT faster--hardly time to catch my breath in between. I got an epidural and soon after measured at 9cm. Even as the epi was kicking in, I could feel the pressure that said it was TIME! I pushed for about 20 minutes, rather than 2 hours. The whole thing took 6 hours. It was still painful and exhausting, but about 1/6 the time! I think the fact that it all went quickly has already given me a head start on the sleep deprivation that is to come. After Carson was born, I felt like I had been run over by a truck and didn't start feeling better or even a little rested for about 6 weeks. This time I'm still tired, but my body is not near as beat up as last time.

The timing was kind of interesting, because Trent's family had a big extended-family camping trip planned for this weekend. After much debate, we decided to send Trent and Carson on the trip from Saturday to Monday. They offered to take just Carson, but he was already getting a little homesick, and so we thought it would be best if he had at least one parent with him. It actually worked out well, b/c my mom came to stay with me for the weekend, and she took care of me and Sydney like only your mom can. AND she cleaned my house, which was incredible. The boys had a great time and were excited to get home.

Now we're down to the business of learning how to live with a 2 year old and a newborn. It has been interesting, to say the least! I will surely be posting more soon, but now I need to take advantage of toddler sleep time!