A Ruth and Kate Play

I am not sure if this is normal preteen behavior, but I find it rather funny that Ruth and Kate have spent the entire day (minus meals and church) locked in their bedroom performing the Shakespeare play, Julius Caesar, with their Littlest Pet Shop toys as actors. They grabbed the play off the bookshelf and are really reading it and acting it out. Apparently they started with Romeo and Juliet but Kate thought it was too mushy. They have also said they plan to record their play so if anyone wants to see the Littlest Pet Shops preform Shakespeare, it she be on our computer.

Burnt Toast Towels

Our Dryer completely broke down three days after Joshua was born. That is a big deal in a family of ten. I constantly have laundry that needs to be done. I am almost never caught up with the laundry because as soon as I finish all of the loads the upstairs hampers have already filled up with dirty clothes and towels. So when the dryer broke, I immediately got online and ordered a new one from Home Depot. But, it could not be delivered for 6 days. 6 days--no dryer-- new baby-- usually equals panic. I decided not to panic and just formed a plan. I would wash one load in the morning and hang it to dry over the banister, and then I would wash one load in the evening and hang it to dry over night. This worked out okay because I would make sure we had what was necessary. But our clothes and especially our towels were VERY STIFF! Relief came yesterday about 10:30 am with a new dryer. I changed my sheets, and brought all of the laundry down to be separated, washed, and very happily dried in a dryer. When Kate got home from school she saw the new dryer and said, "I am so glad. Now my towels won't feel like burnt toast!"

Anya and Joshua Stories

1. When Anya got to the hospital last week and saw baby Joshua, she held him and kept saying, "He's so cute. He's so cute." She came over to me and said, "mommy, isn't he cute?"
2. Since we have been home Anya has been saying, "She is a girl Joshua." When we say he is a boy, she will say, "No. She is a girl baby Joshua."  John even showed Anya how we know Joshua is a boy, but Anya said, "she is just a girl."
3. Anya had a pacifier until she was about 2 1/2 when all of her pacifiers finally got lost and we realized that she could sleep without them. With the birth of Joshua, pacifiers have been reintroduced into our home. Anya is having a hard time with this. The second day we were home from the hospital, Anya kept sneaking off with Joshua's pacifiers. We have been pretty firm with Anya that these pacifiers are Joshua's and that she is a big girl and does not need them anymore. Anya asked where all of her pacifiers have gone. We told her that they all got lost, but that is okay because she is a big girl now. Well, now Anya is saying that "Good guys" (She calls bad guys good guys) have come into our house and taken all of her pacifiers. Today Anya said, "I want to kill the good guys and get my pacifiers." Poor Anya. 
4. This is not an Anya/Joshua story, but knock on wood, I think Anya is potty trained. She has been taking herself or telling me she has to go with no accidents for 5 days straight.

Pictures

We tried taking some pictures of our kids today. Some of them turned out very well even though the cooperation level was minimal the whole time. Here are a few of my favorites.

Kate's Science Fair

Kate had a Science fair project due this past Thursday. We mostly finished this over Christmas vacation, but ended up completing the rest as soon as I got out of the hospital. Kate did the well known mentos and diet cola experiment. We tried it with different kinds of soda to try and piece together what ingredients cause the reaction. We did this because it is both fun and easy. We assured Kate that there was no way such an easy well known experiment would win-- which we were glad about. Well, Friday we went to the school to see the science fair and tada Kate's board has a Blue first place ribbon. Kate's teacher said it was because Kate was so articulate and knew her experiment well. Her teacher also told us to get rid of the misspelled words. So Congratulations Kate, and now we have to do the district science fair. Again we have said, "Don't worry, Kate, there is no way this experiment could win." This time this has to be true becuase she is competing with Jr. High and High School science Whizz's.

Joshua's Birth Story

My labor and delivery this time around was about as perfect as it can get. I saw my doctor on Friday, found out that I was 4cm and 100% effaced and scheduled an induction for the following Monday. As usual when I know that I will be having a baby soon, I was nervous the entire weekend. But, we were pretty busy the whole weekend too. Ruth and Kate had a little game party scheduled for Friday night and then I had a list of must do chores and John had a list of must play games for Saturday. On Saturday night, John and I went on our last date without a baby to Texas Road House. That was very nice. I am glad we scheduled that in. Sunday was busy the entire day with church and church obligations. So when I got home around 8:40pm Sunday night there seemed like there was still a lot to get ready for the big day. John had a game he wanted me to play with him and the older kids. But the game went on rather long, so I gave up on that began getting some of my get ready for the morning chores completed before it got past 11pm. While John finished the game and sent the older kids to bed, I made cookies for Monday snack and wrote out a schedule and the rules out for Ruth and Kate for Monday. Then I still had to pack everything for the hospital the next morning. The weekend went by quickly!

Monday morning, I woke the kids up, fed them breakfast, cleaned the kitchen and even read a few stories before John and I left at 8:45. We got to the hospital shortly after 9am and to our surprise found out that nurses were ready and waiting for us. In fact, I was the only delivery scheduled for that morning and there was no one in the maternity ward. This was our first small hospital experience. And after, having the last baby in the very busy Orem, UT hospital, it was a very welcome change!

The nurses got things started right away. So about 9:30 my doctor came down to say hello and check me. I was 5cm, so my weekend contractions did do something. They hooked up pitosin and and broke my water then. The doctor left and I waited for the contractions to become more regular. John and I turned on the TV to sit this through. We were glad to find that the only TV show we really watch (Myth Busters) was on the discovery channel that morning. My contractions actually didn't get regular or more intense until 10:30.

Around 10:30 my contractions seemed to start coming about every 4 minutes and began to hurt. I have had enough babies that painful contractions do not bother me too much. I know that I can sit through them pretty well. So we just kept watching Myth Busters and I looked down and concentrated on breathing every 4 minutes. Around 11am, I could tell that the baby had dropped a lot more. My contractions though still only 4 minutes apart had intensified. The nurse checked and I was 7 cm. At this point the nurse called the doctor and told him she thought we were almost there.

15 minutes later and contractions coming every 1 to 2 minutes, the pain was very intense and I knew I had entered the transition phase of labor. The nurse called the doctor then checked me. I was 9 1/2 cm and we knew it was about time to push. Usually at this point of natural labor, I have no idea what is going on around me. This time I actually knew what was happening, was able to follow through with instructions and talk to the people around me. I had one more contraction before the doctor came. When he came, they told me to pull up my legs and push. I had a hard time doing that. The doctor said, "We are almost there. Just pull on your legs and push real hard and this will be done in one more contraction." I remember thinking, "Okay, I want this to be done so I will do just what the doctor says." When the contraction started I did just what the doctor said Joshua's head came. The delivery was completed at 11:26am. I asked and they let me hold Joshua for a minute before taking him away to be weighed, measured,and cleaned.

When all was said and done I was really glad that I had gone natural. The doctor and the nurses were also glad that I had had a natural birth. I knew that I would be able to get up and walk in a little while and that I would recover quickly.  Since there was only 15 minutes of really bad pain, I knew I made the right decision by having Joshua naturally. I am also really glad that the doctor and nurses were willing to let me do things my way.

This pregnancy  has been one of my hardest, but the labor and delivery were my easiest. I just stayed in the hospital for 24 hours. Because of the small hospital setting, the nurses changed all of the diapers and gave our family extra meals. They were quick and helpful in the discharge process. I could not have asked for a better experience there.

At home,Joshua is a very sweet and sleepy baby. The kids are adjusting well to him. Everyone likes to hold him. It will be a while before we get back into the swing of things. but everything is going nicely. I feel very blessed right now.

Welcome Joshua Malachi

Joshua was born Mon, January 17th at 11:26 am. He weighed 8lbs 3oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. The labor and delivery went well and we were able to bring him home 24 hours after he was born. We love him and welcome him to our family.

Some News

Today at the OBGYN I found out: I am dialated 4 cm, 100% effaced and the baby is very low. The doctor said, "You seem to be in labor."

Today at the OBGYN I decided with the encouragement of the doctor: to go to the hospital Monday at 9am to get my water broken if I do not get regular contractions over the weekend and have the baby first. (Given my history, I think I will make it until Monday morning.

Last Saturday I fell out of our van onto my bottom and have had a much harder time moving around since then. I also think this is when the baby dropped. At this point it seems certain I will not make it to February. Since having the baby is the only way to get all the way better from falling, and I really want to be able to sit and walk up and down stairs without pain, I am glad to be ending this sooner.

Monday is actually a pretty good day because the kids do not have school on Monday and Tuesday. I will have my babysitters (Ruth and Kate) and we will not have to worry about school drop offs and pick ups.

Anya Turns 3

Becca, John's youngest sister, took pictures for us, so we got a lot of great pictures.

Anya had her third birthday on Sunday. She had a few cousins come over for a small birthday party. I know that Anya had a lot of fun and enjoyed her birthday quite well. In fact, I think we all had a lovely day celebrating Anya's birthday.

Anya is our little sweetie and our only quiet child. She often sits quietly and plays with her little toys or looks at books. She is also very independent in many ways. She likes to feed herself no matter what. She likes to dress herself and get her own snacks. For some time, I have called her "my little Anya bunny". Anya now calls me "My Mommy rabbit." Anya is just a very gentle, sweet spirit. I remember after she was born and people would say, "I don't know how you can have 6 children." And I would often say, "If you knew Anya, you wouldn't know how I couldn't." We are very blessed to have our, sweet, delicate, angel in our family.

Anya on blessing day

Anya as a 1 year old

Anya at 2

37 weeks 3 days

Break-Through or Not?

Anya has taken herself poo the past three days, and she is taking herself potty about 50% of the time. I am hoping that something has finally clicked for her.

Two in Glasses

Johnny got his first pair of glasses last night. He is near sighted, so he has trouble seeing things far away. Right now his vision is about 20/60. He will only need his glasses to see things from a distance, but near sightedness continues to get worse as one grows taller so we expect in time, Johnny will need his glasses all the time. In fact, given that at his last appointment, about 15 months ago, his vision was 20/30, we expect to be back to the eye doctor getting a new prescription every year. So now, we have 2 kids in glasses with very different vision problems.

Today I have sent Johnny to school with a new pair of glasses and a new hair cut-- poor kid. I hope he doesn't get teased too badly. Johnny says there is this one kid who is in his scouts, grade, primary class, and lives across the street who always noogies his head and calls him a nerd. Johnny is a little bit worried about this boy seeing him in glasses.

What My Kids Can't Do

Oh what, oh what will they do when Mom is no longer there?????

All of my kids seem to have some serious problems with some simple tasks.

They cannot seem to possibly be capable of reaching under the bathroom sink to get a new roll of toilet paper and put it on the rack.  What will they do when they move out and Mom is not there to replace the toilet paper? (To Ruth's credit, I think she has actually figured this one out.)

If the shampoo, soap, and conditioner run out in the shower they seem to find it impossible to go where my 30 spare bottles of shampoo are stored and put a new one in their shower. I really didn't want to raise bad smelling kids, but I won't always live with them to make sure their shower is stocked with soap and shampoo.

If the hand soap runs out, my children find it impossible to reach under the sink , grab the refill bottle and fill the soap dispenser back up, so they can wash their hands with soap and water.

Without nagging and assistance, even my oldest children can't possibly put their washed, and folded clothes into their drawers. And even though their clothes are washed and folded in the laundry room, it is absolutely Mom's fault that they "have no clean clothes!"

So what are my children going to do when they do not live here and the toilet paper doesn't magically appear on the roller, soap, shampoo, and conditioner do not magically stay filled in the showers, hand soap runs out at the sink, and clothes aren't magically folded and washed if not neatly put away? What sad little grown ups they will be. :)

Nesting

I have never really thought of myself as one who nests (ie: cleans the house super extra before a baby comes), but I definitely have a to do list before the baby comes. And after thinking about it some, I realized that I probably do nest in a big family sort of way.

My list includes (and it may get bigger):

Cut hair for all of the boys and all of the girls who want a hair cut.

Buy an infant car seat and size 1 diapers.

Set up all of the baby furniture but not too soon so the little kids don't break it before the baby arrives.

Finish Kate and Ruth's science fair projects.

Find and return any missing and imminently due library books.

Buy a printer and plenty of ink so I do not have to go out and get all the upcoming school papers printed some where away from home.

Get January visiting teaching done early,

And the most normal one: clean the refrigerator.

I think we are basically onto the countdown now. I don't plan on going anywhere after this baby comes. I can't imagine how I am going to tote around a newborn, an 18 month old, a 3 year old, and an 4 3/4 year old. So, while I am very uncomfortable, it is still easier to get things outside the house done.

New Year's Resolutions

Last year my news years resolution was to learn 53 new hymns on the piano. That definitely didn't happen. I think I learned about 25 and only 15 really well. But, I have improved on my piano playing, so I actually don't feel too bad about not doing this.  Plus with a move and getting pregnant, I feel like I am full of good excuses for not accomplishing this goal.

For 2011, I am going for something that I think will be more accomplishable. My New Years Resolution for 2011 is to get both Anya and Joseph potty trained.

My current status for this is:

Anya:  I am currently working on. Right now, I am trained to tell her to go to the bathroom enough so she really isn't wetting her pants much. Anya is trained to poop in her diaper before I take it off in the morning so she doesn't have to face going in the toilet or pooping her pants. I think this means we have a long way to go. Anya will be three on Sunday, so I hope she really does get this soon.

Joseph: he is 17 1/2 months and I haven't started him and I don't plan on doing so before he is between 22 and 24 months. But that will give me 5 months before the end of 2011 to get him potty trained.  So for now, we will see before the end of this year if I can really accomplish these goals.