Maybe I AM a Minivan Mommy

Okay, it seems like ever since we've gotten the van, we have been going NON-STOP.  Seriously, we're averaging one day a week of staying at home and not having to go somewhere.  And it has nothing to do with "Ooh, I got a new car.  It's to hip and trendy and I want to show it off!"  I'm tired of running!  And tired of filling up with gas!  I just want to stay home and be able to get it clean.
Some of it has been good running - time with family and celebrating.  But a lot has required spending money. Bleh.
So that's my excuse.  I'll tell you what we've been up to sometime soon.  After we harvest and freeze sweet corn tomorrow.

2 Months!

She's a little zoned in this pic.  It was HOT today, and we were gone all day (8:30A-9P).  She was ready to go to bed.

The little Miss is two months old today.... Where did the time go?

We had a special Father's Day service at church, because we had a baby dedication for Zadie and her little friend Karmyn, who is three weeks younger than she is.  It was a nice little service, even though our children were trying their hardest to make it stressful.  Zadie started fussing just as Pastor started the dedication message, then just before we were to go up front, Jacob started one of those Muuuuwaaaaah!!!! whining fits (over not getting more candy) and had to get hauled out by Paul.  (Apparently we can't have a baby dedication without a screaming child....)  But Zadie was good during Pastor's prayer, and didn't fuss at all - or spit up on his black suit. :)

Totally unflattering picture of me, but that's how I really look, folks. 

(In my defense, a lot of my belly pooch is a hernia, which will be getting fixed next month.)

Zadie is now sleeping through the night, from 9ish to 6ish every night.  Bliss!  I'm still tired a lot during the day, I think because this cold is kicking me.  Also, I am noticing the energy that nursing is taking out of me.  I think it's because of the heat.  I drink nearly 2 gallons of water every day just to stay hydrated... I crave that much just to feel quenched.
I don't know if it's just difference in personalities, or a difference because of gender, but Zadie is making lots of coos like she's talking to us.  The boys made noise, but when Zadie "talks" it's like she's saying something and will look at you til you answer.  I'm not saying she's a baby genius and trying to tell us what she wants at two months, but just that I think it's interesting.  I really do think it's just a "girl thing" - boys want to do, and girls wants to talk about it.
We started trying to get her to take a bottle this week, and she's actually taken to it pretty well.  I am having my hernia fixed in July, and I won't be able to nurse her for 24 hours afterwards because of the anesthesia.  So I've been pumping in the morning when I'm full (because she sleeps for 8+ hours!), and then giving her the bottle some time later in the day, just to get her used to it.  She drank nearly the whole bottle (4 oz) with my mom during church today!  Yay!  Not only a baby who sleeps during the day, but also a baby who will take a bottle!  Now hopefully I can get enough pumped ahead of time that we won't have to feed her formula that day.....
She's officially outgrown all of her newborn clothes.... It makes me sad.  Not that she's growing so fast - I'm not one of those moms that gets all teary at how big my kids are getting.  It's more like when you have to retire a favorite pair of jeans or shoes.... She had a couple outfits I loved, and were so cute, but she didn't get to wear them but a few times.
Our little girl has the prettiest eyes.  They are so big and blue, and have dark curly lashes.  She likes looking around at the world with her wide open eyes.  Her hair is a bit on the wild side.  I think she's going to have my hair.  Curly and unruly.  Oh well.... At least I'll know how to deal with it!  She also has the best gummy smile.  She likes smiling at her daddy, but will usually show off that bright smile and dimple for anyone holding her.  She also has gorgeous skin.  She's got darker skin, like Nathan did, and it's so clear and soft.  I love stroking her cheeks or her arms while I'm nursing her.
In case you can't tell, we love our little girl.  We're very proud of her, and she's definitely made her way into our hearts.

The Eye. It Gets Better. (And by better, I mean "worse.")

So I was wrong on my prognosis of my eye.  When I woke up Saturday morning, this is what I looked like.

Let me give you a closeup:

These are crappy-quality cell phone camera pictures, but you can kind of see.  The white of my eye was all swollen, swelling up around my iris.  It looked like clear jelly in the outside corner of my eye, swollen up and hanging over my eyelid.  

Gross.  Seriously.

As I sat in the chair nursing Zadie at 6 AM, I started praying.  I had no idea what was going on, so I prayed, "Lord, if I'm supposed to go see the eye doctor, let him be open today."  I didn't know if he was open on Saturdays or not.  So I called later.  Not only was he open, but he had an opening for an appointment.  I took it.

You know it's bad when you come in and the receptionist says, "Boy, you weren't kidding."  Doesn't even ask who I am.

I described my symptoms to the doctor, and I think he was baffled.  He would look at my eye, then walk away and take some notes, then walk back and just stare at it with his head tilted.  He went and washed his hands, came over and looked at it (without touching it), then went back and washed his hands again.

He said it did look like a "immuno response" (allergic reaction), but I think was confused as to why both eyes weren't affected.  He gave me some steroid eye drops, and told me he was going to check as to whether they were safe to take while nursing.  He called me later to tell me he'd checked with two pharmacists, and they all agreed they were safe.  I started using them every hour, then backed down to every two hours that evening.  It definitely made a difference.

Of course, we had all sorts of errands to do in town that morning as well.....  We hit all 3 county shopping Meccas (Orscheln, WalMart, and Country Mart) with my eye in all it's swollen, red, and leaking glory.  I got a lot of stares.

Sunday the doctor called to check in.  The drops were definitely working, so we kept on it.  But by then I was getting a stuffed nose.

By Tuesday, my good eye looked worse than my bad eye.  I had come down with a cold or allergies or something....  Stuffed nose, sore throat, the works.

All I can figure is that this is allergies or a virus, but instead of breathing it in through my nose or mouth, I rubbed it into my eye, and that's how it entered my body.

I'm feeling better today, except for a hacking cough....  Major ab workout - not the way I would choose to find my abs again after a baby, but oh well.  I'm only using the drops twice a day now (a week later)(Really?  Has it been a week?  Where did this week go???).  My eye looks and feels pretty much normal, but my vision in that eye is still blurred a little bit (like it's teared up).  I'm hoping it's not damaged.... I have been saying this is the year I'm going to get glasses, but I assumed it would be from age, not from illness.

Anyhow.  So that's what eye've been up to.

(har, har)

....And God is probably laughing.

So today is my 6-week postpartum checkup, and all you mommies know what that means.  I've been a good girl, and followed the doctor's orders.  And let me tell you, it's been a LONG six weeks in that aspect.

And this is what I look like today.

Sexy.  I'm not sure I've even washed my face this morning, other than my eyes.

I don't know what's going on with my eye.  It started Wednesday afternoon. I just thought something was in it, and that it would get better overnight.  I woke up yesterday with it crusted shut, but our eye doctor is closed on Thursdays, so I couldn't see him.  This morning it was again crusted shut, but really swollen - almost swollen shut.  Paul wants me to call the eye doctor, but I don't want to pay $35 to see the eye doctor if it's something the regular doctor can take care of, since I'm already scheduled to see her.  I'll go to the eye doctor after my checkup, if she thinks I need to.

God is probably laughing at the joke he's pulled on us.  Do you think my husband can even stand to look at me?

Oh well.  Maybe he finds the Cyclops look sexy.

Minivan Mommy

Well, it's official.
I'm a minivan mommy.
For you anti-minivan people out there....ahem, Lurenda....  I did NOT want to get one either, until we started comparing.  The reason we got a minivan as opposed to an SUV or crossover, is this:  A crossover, even though it has a back seat, is not a "real" back seat.  It doesn't sit up off the floor - it's more of a seat to be used on occasion, rather than every day.  And the reason we decided against an SUV is the gas mileage.  My car got about 24 mpg, and a minivan is comparable.  An SUV gets half that.
We went up to test drive the 2008 Sienna we saw online, and ended up bringing it home!  We were pretty sure this was exactly the type of van we wanted.... It had the optional 8th passenger seat in the middle row, and not a lot of bells and whistles (I didn't want the dvd player, backup camera, etc).  It had a more miles than I would like, but considering I only put 10-12,000 miles per year on my vehicle, it still has a lot of life in it.  It was very well taken-care of, getting all the recommended service right on schedule.
I had wanted to sell my car privately, but they offered within a couple hundred of what I would have gotten - not to mention saving the headache and hassle of doing it (or not being able to do it) ourselves.  They didn't offer to come down much off the listed price.  We probably should have haggled more, but we're still very happy with the deal we got.
We had to take a loan, but got a good rate - better than our local banks could offer.  Our lender "got us" a 2 year/20,000 mile powertrain warranty.... Meaning, they probably required one to give us a loan and added it in our loan.  Not sure how I feel about that....  The warranty makes me feel good, but not the fact we'll be paying on it for the duration of the loan.
As I said previously, the thought of taking a loan for a vehicle stressed me out.  But once I made the decision to trust my husband's leading and judgement, I had absolute peace about it.  Even when signing the papers for the loan, I didn't have any apprehension.  I really feel like this is the vehicle God wanted us to have.
I'm really happy with the whole experience.  I highly recommend Crown Toyota in Lawrence.  Every time we've gone there - whether looking, buying (Paul bought a truck there before we were married), or getting service, we've been very pleased with the experience.  If you check them out, David Wilson was our salesman - he'll give us $100 referral bonus if you buy through him, so make sure you give him our name. :)
Zadie's infant car seat doesn't fit very well behind the front seats - we have to move way forward so her seat is properly positioned.  So we put her in the middle seat and Jacob right next to her.  Nathan wanted to sit in the back seat, so he's learned how to move the middle seat forward and back so he can get back there by himself.  He also has to fasten his own seat belt, which he quickly learned to do.  The boys love the van!  They like the buttons that will automatically open and close the doors, and the BIG windows that roll down in the sliding doors.  They think the back hatch is cool, too, for some reason.  There's also a "bus driver" convex mirror that flips down that they think is great because they can see me (and I can see who's smacking who).
And here's what it looks like sitting in our driveway:

Blast from the Past

I've had this for a month or two now, meaning to post it.... My mom found it in my grandmother's things:

July 1987

This is my mom, holding my baby sister, with my older sister, me, and our younger brother when we visited her in the hospital when Carlsie was born.
The reason I posted it, is because every time I look at it, I do a double-take.  It looks like ME, with a 5-year-old me, and with Jacob.
I know I look like my mom, but I look a LOT like my mom looked like in this photo.  I guess I don't remember my mom with her hair like this, at least not when it hadn't been curled and styled.  It's the hair, which is about how mine looks right now, that makes her look so much like me.
I thought it might amuse you all as well.

Saturday Morning

Occasionally, we have a normal Saturday morning around here.  And by "normal," I mean, the type of Saturdays that most families seem to have.
This morning, we're up, but all still in our pajamas.  The boys are eating dry cereal and drinking smoothies while watching cartoons.  Paul is away doing something manly, but will be home by lunch.
With Paul's every-other-weekend working schedule, this doesn't happen that often.  Even on his Saturdays off, we don't have lazy mornings that often.... Don't know why.
So I'm going to enjoy this morning.  And try to update my blog.
Zadie turned one month old this week!  Seriously?  Where did the time go?  She celebrated.... By waking up, refusing to take naps, and rejecting her pacifier.  (Seriously, those things are a crutch that all to quickly one becomes dependent upon!)
Okay, so she's not totally refusing to nap, at least not to the extent the boys did.  But going from sleeping all the time, to being awake all the time was a change that took some getting used to.  She is happy sitting in her Boppy or bouncy seat and looking around for stretches of time, so that helps that she doesn't have to be in my arms all the time - the boys had to be.
What else about the little miss?  She's starting to smile and coo.  She's very hot blooded.  We've found if she is really fussy, undressing her and letting her lay in just her diaper will settle her down.  She's slept 8 HOURS STRAIGHT the last two nights.  Of course, I don't go to bed when she does, so I have yet to get 8 in a row, but I'm getting about 6, and let me tell you, it's been amazing.
As obvious from my last post, we've had lots of whining lately.  I need to frame Philippians 2:14:  "Do all things without complaining or arguing."  Maybe tattoo it on my kids.  They do argue with me some, but I can win those usually.  But the arguing with each other, about stupid things, drives me crazy.
Jacob:  "There's a goose!"
Nathan:  "That wasn't a goose."
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yeeees!"
GAAAH!
As I stated in an earlier post, we've had to crack down on defiance and back talk.  It's gotten better.  But still, it seems like they're just testing us.  "What are you gonna do about it, Mom?"  And often, as soon as I do do something, that's the end of it.  They just want to see how far they can push.  I wish that testing boundaries wasn't part of childhood....  It would make my job so much easier.
I knew I wasn't shedding baby weight very fast, but I was slightly disheartened when I stepped on the scale at my sister's house and found out I've only lost 15 lbs.  8 of that was a baby.  And that was a month ago.  I've got to get this eating under control, and find some way to get regular exercise with our family's schedule.  We go on walks a lot, but with 3 kids, it's little more than a mosey.  I know that the eating is the main problem, though.
We're still looking at getting a van.  We kind of said June is when we'd seriously look.  We found one that's pretty much exactly what we want at a dealer in Lawrence.  It's a Toyota Sienna, with the optional middle seat in the middle row of seats - so it could seat 8.  (Not that we're planning on having a family of 8, but it will be nice to have room for friends and cousins.)  We're going to have to take out a loan, whether it's this van or another, which stresses me out, but I've decided to trust God and let him lead my husband on this.  I'm such a worry-wart and stress over finances, that if it were up to me, I'd keep saying, "No."  But God has ALWAYS provided what we need when we need it.  I need to get better at trusting.
Well, the boys have been watching TV for an hour and a half.  This show is over, so I think I'm going to shut the TV off and make Nathan do school.  On a Saturday.  Because I'm mean.  (And because I want to finish his preschool before September!)  Really, the main reason is because we've only done school 3 days (maybe?) this week.
So our normal-for-everyone-else Saturday is going to end up being a normal-for-us Saturday.
I love our life.