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We've been adjusting rather well to having another family member. Some days are harder than others but that's to be expected. Nora James is growing like a weed despite the fact that she seems to spit up her entire meal every time she eats.  

The weather has been pleasant so I've had the girls playing outside a lot.

Daddy has been a huge help with the baby. Every morning I wake him up around 7 and he and Nora James go to the couch and cuddle together and I get back in bed.

The other day, Jason needed a break from painting so we all packed up and headed to a little park in our town.

NJ was being a little too rambunctious as you can tell from the picture below.

Making wishes...

"Practicing gymnastics"

Complete happiness

Postpartum belly

This is my 600th post.

I'm so tired. I sat down to check something on the computer and my body weight is so heavy that I can't get up. I want to. I just can't.

Everyone is good.

Everyone is happy.

My brain is too tired to think of anything else to write.

Goodbye. Snore.

Happy 3rd Birthday to Eily!!

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Shhh. Do you hear that?

It's silence.

Mom took the three older girls to her house to stay the night tonight so it's just me and Baby here. She's sacked out on a mattress on the floor in the living room and in a few minutes I'm going to do the same on the couch. There's nothing like a nap at five in the afternoon.

We are repainting bedrooms (thus the mattress on the floor) and the chaos of furniture and toys everywhere is getting to me just a little bit. That and the fact that Jason has been gone for fifteen days. I'm just weary of all the change and I'm sure the girls are too. Going to Nanny's house will be a nice little break from the topsy-turvyness of their home.

As for Nora, she's doing great and is the cutest thing you'll ever see. She looks nothing like her picture on the side of the page but my camera broke and Jason has the good camera with him. I know! What a terrible time to not be able to take pictures but I will try to get a replacement photo posted as soon as I can. Nora had her two week check up this week and she's grown two inches and gained a pound. She already can't wear newborn diapers and some of her newborn-sized clothing. I hate that Jason missed her super tiny stage. He loves that stage so much.
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But he's finally coming home and we only have one room left to paint and everything will become normal once again just like it always does. And then I'll want to have another baby. HA! Just kidding. As happy as I am every time I have a baby, I know that I am done. And it feels nice to have closure on that part of life. I'm excited to just concentrate on the the raising and nurturing aspect of parenting.

Eily turns three tomorrow. Be looking for her birthday montage.

This is how we labor in the 21st century.

I love

And of course we can't forget to post this beauty

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What April has held for us so far...

 Nana's 88th birthday party,

Preparing for Nora's birth,

and actually meeting Nora.

This was a painting that Jason did for the hospital where I had Nora. We snapped a photo as we were leaving.

Miss Nora

We did it, we two.  It was excruciatingly painful and now I'm very sleepy, but we did it.

I'm too tired to type much so here are some stats:

Nora James
7lbs 11oz
19 inches long
Blondie
GREAT nurser
Loud squaller
Has her Daddy's nose
Needs to work on her burping skills

Birth:
Natural
Lasted about 6.5 hours
Would totally do it again if I had to but don't ever plan on it
Elaina was allowed to watch her sister be born. It was special. She did great.
Baby didn't breathe right away. They had to use the balloon pump to get her yelling. It was a little tense. Thank the Lord that she's fine and it wasn't more serious.

We love her. All of us. Even Pee Wee hasn't been jealous. Yet.

First glimpses

 Claire described her to her Bebe as a very tight blanket with a hat.

Nora James made her debut at 2:35 yesterday afternoon. Pictures will be posted before too long.

Baby's a comin'!

Heading off to the hospital soon. I'll let you know what we get out of all this. :)

Little Baby Jack went to Heaven this afternoon. Please keep his family in your prayers.

Prayer Request

First off, let me just tell you to ignore that whiny hiney post below. I have never been more thankful to have my baby tucked safe inside my belly.

Shortly after I wrote the previous post I received another phone call. Baby Jack was fine for four hours. He was alert, attentive, a great nurser and just an all around ok baby. Then he had what they believe was a stroke. He stopped breathing and he is now at a hospital doing a cooling treatment to try and stop brain damage. He still has yet to breathe on his own. They are going to keep cooling his brain for 3 days and after that, if he still hasn't responded, they will take him off life support. They have no idea what caused this because the doctors have only seen babies have strokes after high trauma births and his birth was the exact opposite of that.
I cannot imagine what Susanna and her husband are going through. Please pray for a miracle for little Jack and for comfort for his parents and the extended family.

Just being honest

My friend, Susanna, and I have had a fun time these past nine months watching the differences between our two pregnancies and enjoying the fact that we had picked out the same boy name and talking about how funny it will be if we go into labor on the same day.
It's been interesting (and maybe a tad depressing for me) to watch the difference in how our bodies were *ahem* handling the pregnancy. This is me at 9 months:

I know you are thinking to yourself, "Well, you don't look that big. You look fine. Cankles? What cankles?"  Well, let me show you Susanna and maybe you can see where I am coming from.

Susanna at nine months:

And now you are saying, "Oh. I see." And yes, this is her first baby and this is my fourth. And yes, she has been running marathons her entire pregnancy and I have been running around town trying to locate the best Dr. Pepper or Mr. Pibb and ice combination. (Steffey's Pizza wins, by the way.) But still, it doesn't exactly make me feel like a cutsie little petite pregnant woman.  Especially when I really am supporting some nice cankles. (On a side note, while they are very unappealing and unattractive, they are exceptionally easy to shave. No ankle bone to work around.)

Saturday night I was up for 6 hours with what I call Level 2 contractions. Level 1 are your normal braxton hick contractions. They might make you stop and wince a little but they aren't really going to slow you down. Level 2 contractions are the ones that you endure when you are really in labor and are being monitored as you sweat it out at the hospital. They are the ones that you have to close your eyes and breathe through. Level 3 contractions are the ones you have after your water breaks. I won't describe those. 

So anyways, I was up all night with Level 2 contractions. I have never had contractions that painful before while still at home. They were some serious ouchie. I finally started timing them early in the morning and they were always two or three minutes apart. Around 8am I decided to call the doctor and see what she thought about everything. When she called me back, I got up to go talk in my room to diminish the background noise and the contractions just stopped. Cold turkey.  So I went to church and then went to my parents for lunch and took a long walk in the afternoon. And I did everything in my mental power to get those contractions back up and running. Guess what? My mental power level is apparently zero. I mean nothing was going on. And it was depressing and I have tried since then not to let it get me to the point of crying but I can feel the tears waiting for the tiniest excuse to come on down.

And then I got a phone call this morning. 

Susanna had her baby. Three weeks early. Her water broke and four and a half hours later she was holding her baby boy. 

I'm so excited for Susanna, Aaron and their new little Jack. I can't wait to see pictures and listen to her tell the story of his birth. 

But maybe, just maybe, I'm a little depressed today. 

We have nice weather today.

 

It's a day full of sunshine. Just what this Mommy ordered. The girls have had fun playing outside in the mud and picking Spring Beauties and Buttercups.

When playing outside one must make sure that one wears plenty of hair accessories and extensions.

If it is exceptionally sunny, one must secure a willing umbrella holder. This will prove to be an easy task if one takes the time to find a very obliging sister.

 

 One must also take care not to soak up too much sun so that one's super duper cute face stays super duper soft and kissable.

One's mother must go into labor soon or said mother just might go crazy.

 

It's hard to find the motivation to post so here are some random facts.

Jason and Eily went on a date this evening. She was really excited and insisted that they ride in his car.

Jason pulled his back out this afternoon. We had to have a talk with Eily about not asking Daddy to hold her on her date. She was actually very excited about walking.

I had a doctor appointment this morning. There is a little progress but nothing to get excited about. Looks like it will still be a couple of weeks.

We have had a lot of talks this week about being respectful to each other. It seems to be getting through a little bit.

We came up with yet another possible name choice. It's nice to have options.

It's 4 in the morning

and I'm sitting here timing contractions. I don't know why I'm bothering because I don't believe this is the real deal. It's just too early. I guess I'm just trying to pass the time since there is no way I'm going to be able to go to sleep.

Hello again!

We have been so busy doing projects around the house that I haven't had the time or inclination to write a post. I feel a bit panicked to get all the to-do items crossed off the list before baby gets here.  This week we have painted the shutters, painted the front door, installed a new storm door, pruned the bushes in the front flower beds, organized the barn, installed some light plates, put the baby bed together, switched the girls' clothing from winter to summer and then priced all the items that we don't want anymore for the yard sale we are having this weekend. We also bought some shrubs but we haven't had a chance to plant them yet.

What has the spring inspired you to do?

This warms my heart so much.

I have waited a long time to walk into a room and see this. My heart became so excited. A love of reading is priceless. And besides that, I HAVE A CHILD THAT CAN READ. Unbelievable.

Ok. And I have to admit that I'm a little excited that Amelia Bedelia has once again entered my life.

We are home after a week of traveling. Be back Monday.

She's got it figured out at a very young age.

Eily just came in with her bottom lip sticking out, her head hanging down and her belly extended and said, "Mommy, my heart hurts." Then she gave a long drawn-out sigh and said, "I need a prince."

A Pointless Post

We are up and going today. You know how I feel about that? Negative. I want to be lying in the bed with the covers up to my chin like my husband is doing right now. Lucky duck. But on the other hand, the girls are so funny this morning and I am cracking up listening to them play. These days, everything is said in a British accent. My name is Motha. Except to Eily who just informed me that she has a different mother. Said mother has yet to make an appearance to help with breakfast or take her turn as the parental figure that isn't in bed. Some mother.

Yesterday we went to Booneville so that Elaina could have a piano lesson and so that I could grocery shop sans children. (Thank you, mom.) I was up all the night before trying to breathe and stay hydrated. I was not feeling up to pushing the 50lb. fake car all around Harps while keeping the one child that doesn't get to "drive" convinced that being my co-pilot and sitting in the front basket is the best way to ride. It's a thin argument and usually is effective for about two rows. Then I have to rotate children and by the time we are leaving I have lost a few pounds in sweat and my back feels broken. But hey, we walk out with organic and gluten-free food so I guess it's worth the agony. Normally. But not yesterday. I just couldn't do it. So this morning Elaina panicked halfway through her waffle when she realized, "This is gluten!!!!!" After I explained the situation she calmed down and admitted that really, those were her favorite kind anyway and secretly she was excited about eating them. It's the small things that make life special.

I had to take a shower at about 10 o'clock last night. When you are The Walrus and have a watermelon sitting on your bladder and a hacking cough......
Well, unpleasant things can happen. And they did. And it wasn't pretty.
So I showered and went to bed with wet hair which means this morning I'm sporting the wildest hair this side of the Mississippi.

I guess I need to go do something. Have a great Tuesday!

A list. Word.

1.Yesterday was rough. Toady will be better. Gonna clean and clean and clean. And do laundry. And I really am looking forward to getting it all accomplished. Goals.

2. Elaina is in the Living Room reading a book to the other two girls. Sweet.

3. I think I am actually going to have a garden this spring. Hooray!

4. One batch of pancakes goes a long way in this house.  Tiny tummies.

5. I woke up with a cold. Blech.

6. For the first time in a VERY LONG TIME all our children slept through the whole night. Bliss.

7. Found baby bedding. Little by little I'm realizing how close we are to the end. Excitement.

8. I keep scratching the skin off my legs due to pregnancy related itching. Ready.

9. Still haven't finalized a girl name. Indecisive.

10. Thinking about drinking a cup of coffee this morning but don't know if it's worth it. Heartburn.

Claire's Bedtime Prayer

Dear Lord,
Thank you for this day. It was a very wonderful day. Thank you that I got to see my cousin, Lillie, who I love so much. I got to see her three times. At her house, in our car and at church. And I really only hate Satan. But I love God and I want to obey Him but sometimes I can't. But I always try hard.
Amen

Typing is hard when you can't use your pointer finger.

I sliced my finger thid afternoon while makinf Sherried Tomato Soup for klunch. It's throws my typing off in a very silly way. It hurts and it's deep. I probably could use a stitch but I decided to go with the wound-up-tissue-secured-with-scotch-tape route instead. So far it's containing the blood.

Spring is creeping in and I'm so very happy about it. The other day the girls brought me the first Spring Beauty that popped up in our back yard. Later on that afternoon we got ready for a special church meeting and I thought about how they looked a lot like my own Spring Beauties.

We took several pictures and realized one thing. Claire cannot pose regular. She has to be twisted some way or another or a leg has to be lifted, something.

We were able to get a couple of pictures where the other two girls had a little more of the spotlight.

But even when she's in the background she's giving it her all.

Life is going to be fun with this one around.



Milestones

Elaina completed her 100th reading lesson just a few minutes ago. It is a good feeling to say we did it. We finished that entire book. It would have been easy to quit about 10- 15 lessons ago because she was already into real books at that point but I felt that for the sake of example we needed to finish the book. Finish what you start.
She amazes me.

Eily is hilarious. That girl has no fear and will probably be the one that breaks a few bones during her childhood. Jason and I like to stand at the kitchen window and watch her play outside. The other two girls have to rely on her to stop the wildly swaying see-saw because they are too scared to put their feet down while going that high. Eily just swings her legs over the side, holds on to the poles and drags her feet on the ground until it slows enough for the girls to feel it's safe to dismount. Then she opens her hands, drops to the ground and runs over the playhouse to climb up on top of the roof.
She makes me laugh.

Claire is becoming quite the fashionista. This morning I picked out a Chuck-E-Cheese play shirt for her to wear and she had to put it back and get a ruffled long tee because that one was "much cuter." I guess it is very important to look good for Charlie, the dog.
She makes me smile.

Claire, as Michael Buble.

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Thoughts

I have hit rock bottom as far as energy is concerned. I think the baby is having a growth spurt and maybe that's why. Last night and again this morning there has been more movement and limbs poking up and out than ever before. I think baby is running out of room and wanting to let me know that it doesn't want to be in my tummy forever.

I did go outside and play with the girls in the snow yesterday. That was really fun. We made a snowman that was pretty awesome and then Charlie knocked him down flat. We also made snow angels and jumped on the snowy trampoline. Guess what? Getting up from a snow angel position when you are The Walrus proves to be difficult.

It has been on my mind a lot lately that Elaina truly starts school in August. I'm a little intimidated and excited all at the same time. It's not the teaching that intimidates me but establishing school as a daily, first-thing-we-do-each-day habit. That is something that I have started to implement but not to a very strict degree. If we have a good morning, we do school. If it's low energy, we don't. That won't be acceptable next year. First grade is not a cheating year. I can't just cancel school to go meet Nanny in Fort Smith. While I am excited to get into this phase of life I'm a little sad to give up the freedom that we have had for almost 6 years.

We have snow! Real snow!! Able to play in it snow!!!

Yes, I call myself The Walrus. Why do you ask?

What we've been doing

We've had a stomach bug here at our house making the rounds. All three girls were hit hard but for some reason Eily never bounced back. Finally, Sunday afternoon, I took her to an outpatient clinic.
They did a urine sample and some blood work and sent us on to the ER.

We were in that room for a couple of hours and then they finally moved us up to the pediatric floor. It was so nice to have a comfortable place to lie down.

Eily never liked the IV in her arm but she was very good to leave it alone and not mess with it. I did catch her chewing the hose a couple of times.

Uncle Josh came by the next afternoon and brought her a new toy. Meet Ellie Mae, the dog.

Ellie Mae comes with a carrier, a food dish, food and a comb.

We were both so glad when they finally told us we could go home. We missed our family.

My favorite view at the hospital: