This time of year I am reminded of so many things for which I am thankful. My ultimate question is why do we only dedicate one day a year to giving thanks? I feel like it should be done all year long...maybe something would be lost, but I think there is more gains to be had if we did.
We made the trip down to Indiana for Thanksgiving. It took us three hours just to get outside of the city...it should take one. Driving rains, wicked winds, slow traffic...it made us think that maybe we should have just stayed home. But it was worth it.
It was so wonderful to see my family - most of them anyway. Grandparents, aunts, cousins, and of course my parents. Time with them always feels far too short and I'm left longing for more time and more opportunities to be with them.
Reality is that some of them won't be with us for too many more years. My grandparents are showing their ages and states of health. It's a heart-wrenching thought to realize that each time I see them could be the last...but I cherish what time I am able to spend with them.
I wish I could have taken some of our friends with us to Indiana just to share a holiday with them. I love our Chicago family. They fill the void of not having any blood relatives in the remote area. They love and dote on our girls, they offer comfort and advice, they provide hours of laughter, they share meals, and they yell at the football games on the television alongside us. We are truly blessed by having all of them in our lives.
I am thankful...
I am thankful to be able to stay at home and raise my daughters and not work outside the home.
I am thankful for a loving, god-fearing husband who loves me more than I could ever know.
I am thankful for my two, beautiful daughters who teach me (and challenge me) every day regarding the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. Not a day goes by where they don't make me laugh and smile.
I am thankful for a warm, inviting home.
I am thankful for my god-given cooking abilities that allow me to feed and love on others...if only I could have some god-given Cleaning abilities...
I am thankful for truth speaking pastors and leaders in our church. New Life, you have blessed me beyond words.
I am thankful for loving parents & family.
I am thankful that I am in Chicago...as much as I long for a slower pace of life, I am thankful for this too. Only in Chicago would I have met many of the people I call dear friends and only in Chicago would I have been forced to grow beyond myself.
My friends and family, I love you. And I am thankful that God has made a way for us to have such a love through His Son, Jesus Christ.
1 John 4:7
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Creative Nostalgia
I know, I know. It's been nearly 2 months since I last updated this thing...life is BUSY, people. :oP
Seems like the only "me" time I have right now is when everyone else is asleep. My brain fails to let me rest, even when I know I need to rest.
I don't know if it's because my 10 year high school reunion is coming up, or the fact that we're going to the Ball State vs. Purdue football game this weekend, or what, but for one reason or another I've been reminiscing about the days of yore...and all the creative things I did or was involved in.
I was actually thinking about some of my pottery pieces I created during my stint in ceramics sometime during high school. I wonder what happened to the large vase I spent hours carving.
I've been thinking about the Latin songs I sang during the time I was a nun...in the Sound of Music production my Junior year of high school. I know it was high school, but I can help but think about how I got goosebumps whenever we hit the chords just right on Gaudeamus. (Mr. Hayden was a great conductor/director/teacher. I miss being challenged by the songs we sang.)
I keep wistfully remembering all the literally countless hours I spent swing dancing in college...and the ballroom class and country western class with Ya'akov.
I keep dreaming about a day that I could be on Dancing With The Stars - or some version where it's just regular people that no one really knows.
Yes, I know, I could go on a dance date with the hubby....but Brian's not much of a dancer... I love my hubby to pieces, but there are times I want to just dance and not have to re-train him. (Not to mention the fact that we have two kids, so we have to find a sitter anytime we want to get out on our own.)
*sigh*
I've come to realize that I don't have much of a physical or tangible creative outlet.
Years upon years of always having something - choir, art, dance, etc. - and now I have nothing really. No church choir, no worship team, no art classes, no dance classes or outings...
Kinda bums me out...and makes me get all itchy thinking about what all I used to do.
I want to sing - and not just with my daughters.
I want to dance in public.
I want to create in a way that is fulfilling to me.
I just need a means to an end...and I'm not sure where to find it.
Seems like the only "me" time I have right now is when everyone else is asleep. My brain fails to let me rest, even when I know I need to rest.
I don't know if it's because my 10 year high school reunion is coming up, or the fact that we're going to the Ball State vs. Purdue football game this weekend, or what, but for one reason or another I've been reminiscing about the days of yore...and all the creative things I did or was involved in.
I was actually thinking about some of my pottery pieces I created during my stint in ceramics sometime during high school. I wonder what happened to the large vase I spent hours carving.
I've been thinking about the Latin songs I sang during the time I was a nun...in the Sound of Music production my Junior year of high school. I know it was high school, but I can help but think about how I got goosebumps whenever we hit the chords just right on Gaudeamus. (Mr. Hayden was a great conductor/director/teacher. I miss being challenged by the songs we sang.)
I keep wistfully remembering all the literally countless hours I spent swing dancing in college...and the ballroom class and country western class with Ya'akov.
I keep dreaming about a day that I could be on Dancing With The Stars - or some version where it's just regular people that no one really knows.
Yes, I know, I could go on a dance date with the hubby....but Brian's not much of a dancer... I love my hubby to pieces, but there are times I want to just dance and not have to re-train him. (Not to mention the fact that we have two kids, so we have to find a sitter anytime we want to get out on our own.)
*sigh*
I've come to realize that I don't have much of a physical or tangible creative outlet.
Years upon years of always having something - choir, art, dance, etc. - and now I have nothing really. No church choir, no worship team, no art classes, no dance classes or outings...
Kinda bums me out...and makes me get all itchy thinking about what all I used to do.
I want to sing - and not just with my daughters.
I want to dance in public.
I want to create in a way that is fulfilling to me.
I just need a means to an end...and I'm not sure where to find it.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Life As A Family Of Four
If you've talked to us lately, you know that Kyleigh's arrival hasn't slowed us down a bit. In some ways, it seems like we're doing more...maybe it's just the season.
We regularly try to do activities that Mackenzie enjoys or make sure that she gets some one-on-one time (i.e. park, movie, Target, grocery).
We've also done a whole mess of other stuff that isn't on our regular activities list: blueberry picking, swimming out @ a pool in the 'burbs, hiking @ Indiana Dunes...
So, if you're one of my faithful followers/friends/readers that has an infant who isn't as flexible as Kyleigh...don't worry. I've discovered that Brian and I, and our children, are not the typical standard of normal that most people envision when they think of life adjustments with a newborn child. We are what most people consider "ideal" or "weird" or "atypical"....or some people have even called us "crazy".
Let me take a moment to knock on wood, or pray that when and if we have another child that they are similar to my first two, because I'm not sure I could handle having a "high maintenance" child. I would deal, but I'd probably go crazy.
We regularly try to do activities that Mackenzie enjoys or make sure that she gets some one-on-one time (i.e. park, movie, Target, grocery).
We've also done a whole mess of other stuff that isn't on our regular activities list: blueberry picking, swimming out @ a pool in the 'burbs, hiking @ Indiana Dunes...
So, if you're one of my faithful followers/friends/readers that has an infant who isn't as flexible as Kyleigh...don't worry. I've discovered that Brian and I, and our children, are not the typical standard of normal that most people envision when they think of life adjustments with a newborn child. We are what most people consider "ideal" or "weird" or "atypical"....or some people have even called us "crazy".
Let me take a moment to knock on wood, or pray that when and if we have another child that they are similar to my first two, because I'm not sure I could handle having a "high maintenance" child. I would deal, but I'd probably go crazy.
Something Needs to Happen...
Ah...silence. Kyleigh (my snoozer) is taking a nap between feedings, and Mackenzie finally crashed out after nearly 4 days of not napping. Life is currently "okay".
Adjustment to life with two children hasn't been bad at all. I can't really complain. I have an angel for a newborn who sleeps like crazy and only makes noise when she's hungry. Mackenzie has done quite well considering that she was an only child for almost four years.
However, there are moments when I feel like I'm going a bit crazy trying to keep up with regular, household tasks.
I have been thoroughly blessed to essentially not have to cook dinner for the past 3 weeks (and I still have another 2 weeks of meals being brought, plus a week in Indiana where I won't really have to cook there either). Yet the dishes still pile up.
We pick up the apartment every evening (toys, clothes, trash, etc.) And yet I feel like everytime I look around there is something else to be cleaned or sorted.
The computer desk is a wreck with random papers everywhere.
Our "storage area" needs overhauled - as does my pantry and our bedroom closet.
I've given up on Mackenzie's room for the time being...it's been a disaster zone since Brian's birthday party when there were 10 children playing in it...and it drives me nuts.
All these things, and more, were on my list of "things to accomplish before Kyleigh arrived". Didn't happen.
Brian and I are both beginning to feel the effects of broken sleep - I am not as overtly affected as Brian, then again I was already not sleeping well when I was prego. We're lethargic and just want to crash the moment both children are down for the evening...that simply means that things get put on the backburner.
I guess I write all this to say that the times during the day that I should be resting alongside my beautiful children are the times when I'm either on here (the computer) trying to sort out my life via e-mail, or cleaning like crazy because the dishes, or the dirty floors, or something else won't let me/my mind rest until it's accomplished.
I need a live-in maid...or just some better organization/motivation. What methods I utilize right now, just don't seem to be cutting it.
Adjustment to life with two children hasn't been bad at all. I can't really complain. I have an angel for a newborn who sleeps like crazy and only makes noise when she's hungry. Mackenzie has done quite well considering that she was an only child for almost four years.
However, there are moments when I feel like I'm going a bit crazy trying to keep up with regular, household tasks.
I have been thoroughly blessed to essentially not have to cook dinner for the past 3 weeks (and I still have another 2 weeks of meals being brought, plus a week in Indiana where I won't really have to cook there either). Yet the dishes still pile up.
We pick up the apartment every evening (toys, clothes, trash, etc.) And yet I feel like everytime I look around there is something else to be cleaned or sorted.
The computer desk is a wreck with random papers everywhere.
Our "storage area" needs overhauled - as does my pantry and our bedroom closet.
I've given up on Mackenzie's room for the time being...it's been a disaster zone since Brian's birthday party when there were 10 children playing in it...and it drives me nuts.
All these things, and more, were on my list of "things to accomplish before Kyleigh arrived". Didn't happen.
Brian and I are both beginning to feel the effects of broken sleep - I am not as overtly affected as Brian, then again I was already not sleeping well when I was prego. We're lethargic and just want to crash the moment both children are down for the evening...that simply means that things get put on the backburner.
I guess I write all this to say that the times during the day that I should be resting alongside my beautiful children are the times when I'm either on here (the computer) trying to sort out my life via e-mail, or cleaning like crazy because the dishes, or the dirty floors, or something else won't let me/my mind rest until it's accomplished.
I need a live-in maid...or just some better organization/motivation. What methods I utilize right now, just don't seem to be cutting it.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Kyleigh's Arrival
To my blog (and it's readers),
I am sorry I haven't updated you since April and it is now July. In my defense, however, the past 3 months have been kinda crazy. I'm sure you understand. I'll TRY to do a better job at keeping you semi-updated...we'll see. I do have another midget to deal with now. :o)
~Erin
Alright...now it's time for the actual post. This is a moderate TMI (too much information) warning for those of you who don't want to know exactly how my labor and delivery went.
We were induced on June 28th - 4 days post my slated due date by the OBG's calculations (right on time by my calculations). The date was picked primarily because of the July 4th holiday and her delivery schedule. I didn't mind because I wanted to be done with the pregnancy.
We got to the hospital just before 6am. First thing was the IV placement - not fun. The nurse couldn't find a large enough or straight enough vein to suit her...this is not normal. I have great veins and phlebotomists love me. She poked around on my left wrist trying to get one..that hurt. Then she went for one on the back of my right hand. Also painful, but she successfuly found one. And thusly her shift was over. She was a sweetie, but I'll never let her poke me again if I can help it.
We had a "newbie" and one of the head nurses for most of the day 7am-3pm and they were great. (Shout out to Joy and Kara...like they'll ever read this.) We also had 2 medical students/residents check in on us. I don't mind being a guinea pig to help people learn. They were nice.
I feel like most of the day was just a waiting game. We were ready to go with the Pitocin drip by 7:30am, but didn't get that started until 8:30am becuase we were waiting for an MD to give the "okay" to start the drip. They were all busy. :oP
Pitocin drip kept progressing and I was at 4cm when they checked at noon. Dr. Wos said that at this stage they would break my bag of waters, but asked if I wanted the epidural first. I did want the epidural first...I still can remember waiting nearly an hour for the anesthesiologist when we had Mackenzie.
The anesthesiologist was busy in a C-section...so we waited an hour and a half for him. Epidural wasn't bad. Most people don't like to feel the "pain" or "pressure" that accompanies the spinal tap. I didn't mind. I knew it was worth the end results - less pain.
Once we were hooked up to the epidural, we had to wait another 45min to an hour for my OB to come break my water. She was in another delivery.
So by now it's 3pm...we've been in the room for 9 hours, on the Pitocin for over 6 hours, and I am tired. I watched Jeopardy and after it was over I took a 45 minute nap. :o)
It's impossible to get 100% comfortable when you're #1 pregnant, #2 in labor, and #3 hooked up to 5 different tubes/wires (fetal heartrate monitor, IV, contractions monitor, epidural, and blood pressure cuff). I found that lying down was what worked best, but I also realized that it wasn't helping anything progess. Once I sat more upright, I went from 5cm to 10cm in a little over an hour.
The epidural was nice...but it wasn't as effective as the one I had with Mackenzie. I could still feel a large portion of the contactions in my lower abdomen. I could 100% tell when I was in transitional labor because they "hurt" and I wanted to give up or demand to be checked for progress.
They checked me about 6:45pm and then everyone started to prep for delivery. I have no clue about time frame/reference after this point.
Four contractions with pushes and Kyleigh was here - 7:39pm.
We called her big sister shortly thereafter. Mackenzie came to meet Kyleigh around 9pm. She was super excited. Didn't know what to think about Mommy being attached to all the tubes/machines (a bit overwhelming for a 3 1/2 year old). She asked to see my stomach to make sure it wasn't broken. She was glad to see it was okay. :o)
We transferred to our post-partum room about 10pm. Kyleigh slept for a 4 hour stretch at one point that night. I made Brian wake up just one time. I was released to go home by 10am. Kyleigh took a bit longer to get released. They have a mandatory 24-hour bilirubin check and then we had to wait an hour and a half for the lab to come do the final blood draw on Kyleigh. We left Swedish at 9:30pm and got home at 10pm.
Not sure where to put this small detail, so I'll tack it on here at the end. They wouldn't let me eat :oP I was hungry and food commercials on the TV were not my friend...nor was the husband sitting next to me reading and eating peanut butter M&M's...I was able to eat once we got into our room and I was thankful.
I keep getting told that I am not "normal" with my labor/delivery/post-partum. I guess I'm just made to have babies. I love the fact that I feel I can easily walk around and be functional less than 2 hours post-partum. I also loved the strange looks I got from the hospital staff when they checked on me :o)
It's been a week since Kyleigh Faith arrived. We are overjoyed. She is an awesome sleeper, barely cries, and she eats well (I'm glad to be done with a clogged duct - I pray I don't get more in the near future).
We are blessed and we know it's only by God's grace that this is possible.
I am sorry I haven't updated you since April and it is now July. In my defense, however, the past 3 months have been kinda crazy. I'm sure you understand. I'll TRY to do a better job at keeping you semi-updated...we'll see. I do have another midget to deal with now. :o)
~Erin
Alright...now it's time for the actual post. This is a moderate TMI (too much information) warning for those of you who don't want to know exactly how my labor and delivery went.
We were induced on June 28th - 4 days post my slated due date by the OBG's calculations (right on time by my calculations). The date was picked primarily because of the July 4th holiday and her delivery schedule. I didn't mind because I wanted to be done with the pregnancy.
We got to the hospital just before 6am. First thing was the IV placement - not fun. The nurse couldn't find a large enough or straight enough vein to suit her...this is not normal. I have great veins and phlebotomists love me. She poked around on my left wrist trying to get one..that hurt. Then she went for one on the back of my right hand. Also painful, but she successfuly found one. And thusly her shift was over. She was a sweetie, but I'll never let her poke me again if I can help it.
We had a "newbie" and one of the head nurses for most of the day 7am-3pm and they were great. (Shout out to Joy and Kara...like they'll ever read this.) We also had 2 medical students/residents check in on us. I don't mind being a guinea pig to help people learn. They were nice.
I feel like most of the day was just a waiting game. We were ready to go with the Pitocin drip by 7:30am, but didn't get that started until 8:30am becuase we were waiting for an MD to give the "okay" to start the drip. They were all busy. :oP
Pitocin drip kept progressing and I was at 4cm when they checked at noon. Dr. Wos said that at this stage they would break my bag of waters, but asked if I wanted the epidural first. I did want the epidural first...I still can remember waiting nearly an hour for the anesthesiologist when we had Mackenzie.
The anesthesiologist was busy in a C-section...so we waited an hour and a half for him. Epidural wasn't bad. Most people don't like to feel the "pain" or "pressure" that accompanies the spinal tap. I didn't mind. I knew it was worth the end results - less pain.
Once we were hooked up to the epidural, we had to wait another 45min to an hour for my OB to come break my water. She was in another delivery.
So by now it's 3pm...we've been in the room for 9 hours, on the Pitocin for over 6 hours, and I am tired. I watched Jeopardy and after it was over I took a 45 minute nap. :o)
It's impossible to get 100% comfortable when you're #1 pregnant, #2 in labor, and #3 hooked up to 5 different tubes/wires (fetal heartrate monitor, IV, contractions monitor, epidural, and blood pressure cuff). I found that lying down was what worked best, but I also realized that it wasn't helping anything progess. Once I sat more upright, I went from 5cm to 10cm in a little over an hour.
The epidural was nice...but it wasn't as effective as the one I had with Mackenzie. I could still feel a large portion of the contactions in my lower abdomen. I could 100% tell when I was in transitional labor because they "hurt" and I wanted to give up or demand to be checked for progress.
They checked me about 6:45pm and then everyone started to prep for delivery. I have no clue about time frame/reference after this point.
Four contractions with pushes and Kyleigh was here - 7:39pm.
We called her big sister shortly thereafter. Mackenzie came to meet Kyleigh around 9pm. She was super excited. Didn't know what to think about Mommy being attached to all the tubes/machines (a bit overwhelming for a 3 1/2 year old). She asked to see my stomach to make sure it wasn't broken. She was glad to see it was okay. :o)
We transferred to our post-partum room about 10pm. Kyleigh slept for a 4 hour stretch at one point that night. I made Brian wake up just one time. I was released to go home by 10am. Kyleigh took a bit longer to get released. They have a mandatory 24-hour bilirubin check and then we had to wait an hour and a half for the lab to come do the final blood draw on Kyleigh. We left Swedish at 9:30pm and got home at 10pm.
Not sure where to put this small detail, so I'll tack it on here at the end. They wouldn't let me eat :oP I was hungry and food commercials on the TV were not my friend...nor was the husband sitting next to me reading and eating peanut butter M&M's...I was able to eat once we got into our room and I was thankful.
I keep getting told that I am not "normal" with my labor/delivery/post-partum. I guess I'm just made to have babies. I love the fact that I feel I can easily walk around and be functional less than 2 hours post-partum. I also loved the strange looks I got from the hospital staff when they checked on me :o)
It's been a week since Kyleigh Faith arrived. We are overjoyed. She is an awesome sleeper, barely cries, and she eats well (I'm glad to be done with a clogged duct - I pray I don't get more in the near future).
We are blessed and we know it's only by God's grace that this is possible.
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