Misunderstanding

Mark filling out an insurance form for work, "Okay Mal, your due date is 5.31.09."

"Um, did you say '5', as in the month of May?"

"Yeah, you're due May 31st, right?"

"Um, no...HECK NO!"

"You're not? When are you due then?"

"March. I'm due in March, remember, March, March, March!!! Remember, only days from your birthday, your grandma's birthday, your other grandma's birthday, your brother's birthday, MY birthday. Remember?!!"

"Oh, okay."

"Have you been telling people I'm due in May?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, brother."

Complaints.

I've been pretty lucky this pregnancy. No morning sickness, no health concerns, and none of the extreme fatigue I felt during my whole pregnancy with Luke. Overall I've felt great and have only noticed my limitations recently as simple tasks will put me easily out of breath. So, I shouldn't complain when something does become difficult, but spoiled little me is beside herself trying to solve the problem!

The problem is migraines. I've never had them before and have been one of the fortunate few who normally only experience a rare headache from something easily identifiable, in my case, white wine or not drinking enough water. So, during the first few migraines I didn't even know what was going on. It took a reference to my handy-dandy pregnancy owner's manual to see the every symptom was aligned to a pregnancy-induced migraine.

They have all started the same way, black dots, squiggling lines, blurry vision and nausea. Then, the slow throbbing at the temples makes its way down the back of my neck. I take Tylenol, I drink of a cup of coffee, but it's no use. I'm stuck, and for at least 24 hours I'm in a tunnel with no relief and no more options other than waiting for it to pass.

This has happened maybe six times now, with one starting last night at work. The only correlation I've found with all of them is that by the time I get them I'm usually over my threshold for sleep deprivation. I'm not sure yet if fatigue causes them, but it certainly doesn't help.

So, those are my complaints. In comparison, many women have to endure far far worse, but this is my little struggle. I'm hoping they'll get better, and if not, March is really not that far away.

Silent Night, Loud Morning

Day: Saturday
Time: 8:00am
Last night:Worked late, exhausted
Wake up call: A noise somewhere between a dying duck and a blow horn attempting a tune I think was silent night.
Culprit: Mark playing a trumpet at Luke's request
Accomplice: Thanks, mom, for giving Luke a trumpet

The question remains, is Luke's grandma spoiling him, or punishing us?

Brand Power

An ode to brands our family cannot function without...

Category: Survival

Coffee Mate (need I say more)

Diet Coke (again, a God-send)

Caribou Coffee (AAAAAAAlleluia!)

Yoplait (because when you don't like yogurt, it takes a really good kind to eat it regularly)

Betty Crocker Cinnamon Struesel Muffin Mix (try them!)

Progresso Tomato-Basil Soup

Jack's Thin-Crust Pizza (On sale with a coupon I can get 5 for $9!)

Zataran's Black Beans and Rice

Category: Toilette

Schick Quatro Razor for him and her (They're spendy, but NO cuts...ever!)

Lubriderm

Pantene Curl-Defining Mousse

Secret Clinical Strength Deodorant

OxyClean stain pre-treater

Softsoap

Category: Coverage

For Mom: J-Crew Tissue Tee's (LOVE!)
J-Crew Perfect Fit Tee (wear 'em everyday)
Sketcher's Black Mary Janes (everday)


For Mark: Chaps Wrinke-Free dress shirts from Kohl's (no ironing!)
Hanes white tee's

For Luke: thermal-lined khaki's from Gap (the BEST pants ever!)
Gymboree sweater (wash them over and over and they still look great)

Snowmen and Santa

It's only November. Luke shouldn't have any recollection from Christmas last year, and yet, he's been asking about Christmas and Santa for days.

"Mommy, Christmas song?"

How can I explain to him my rule about no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving?

"Mommy, Santa come down?"

How can I explain to him that Santa will come down the chimney, to town, or whatever he expects, but that he has to wait a long time before that day.

"Mommy, Christmas tree, house?"

How can I explain that yes, we will have a Christmas tree in the house, but we have to WAIT!

And finally, how is it that he knows about all of these things?

'Tis the season...pretty soon.

Blessings

Things to be thankful for this weekend:

1. When I need boots for the upcoming winter (I live in MN and don't have any!), they are not only on sale, but I find the perfect pair in the children's department for 40% less than women's. 

2. That Luke's early faith in God has been strengthened when he prayed to Jesus for snow to build a snowman, and the next morning we were greeted with falling snow. 

3. That the small pleasures, like hearing Mark order a "Skinny, Ho-Ho Mint Mocha" make me smile days later. 

4. That our little boy gets a little brother in March. Two boys. Oh my. 

Be blessed :)

More Mommy

Recently I was discussing the arrival of Baby #2 with a group of mothers who had already crossed that threshold or were planning to in the future. I began to make the point that, with another on the way and my life soon thrown upside-down, I was taking advantage of my time by doing those things that with two little ones seems impossible. My point being, instead of wasting time watching the Tyra Banks Show, I'd been reading up a storm and doing other assorted two-handed projects which I'm anticipating to prove difficult with a growing family. 

A mother who I know only through brief introduction looked at me and said, "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but if I were you I would try to give your oldest a little more time and love before the second comes along." Hhmm. I tried not to take it the wrong way, and at least by outward appearances humbly accepted the advice. Only after I left the conversation and let the dialogue fester a few days did it really start to bother me. 

Love Luke more? Give him more time? I hardly work to give him time. I feed, I cuddle, I rock, I sing, I read, and I play Lego's and dinosaurs all day long for him. I hope and pray everyday that the time I give him will pay off later. I do it all...for him. 

How could I love Luke more? How could any good mother consciously love their own child more? I don't love perfectly, I have failures everyday. I could be more patient, I could cook one less frozen pizza for lunch, I could reserve computer time for only when Luke is sleeping, and a thousand other things I'm both aware and unaware but with prayer hope to improve. But love? If anything, I wonder if a child can be loved too much. Can I hug, kiss and praise him to a fault? 

With the arrival of little Baby #2, it will not only be Mark and I that go through a transition, but Luke as well. Luke will have daily practice on those lessons I'm trying to teach him now--patience, sharing, gentleness. If anything, my fault with him has been loving him to the point that all of my time is his time. A new baby will teach him that he may have to wait ten minutes for a cup of juice, that my arms aren't only for consoling him, and that he can take his shoes off by himself. Will these little denials of service signify less love? I really don't think so. If anything, these lessons will shape his character and will, and maybe in the process bring out qualities which haven't surfaced yet. 

A little boy, selfish for all of his mother's love, will soon learn that a mother's heart knows no depth too deep. 

In Spite of...

In spite of the cold weather creeping closer and the hibernation that inevitably happens when forced inside for days at a time due to the snow and frigid temperature, we've kept very busy even though our time outside of the house is dwindling. 

Take this morning for example, Luke comes running to me crying. The bagel got too close to his face and cream cheese blocked his nasal passage. I wiped away the clog, and the cat licked off the rest, which Luke affectionately thought was a kiss. After a good laugh at his expense we returned to the daily grind, which, when during the first few weeks in a new house, is quite extensive. 

We've found much to entertain indoors. For an entire afternoon I got to experience first-hand the helpfulness of a toddler when cleaning kitty-barf from the new carpet, which meant, unfortunately more carpet cleaner. 

Two houseplants now grace our dining room. They're still alive, which is an accomplishment being that my track record with keeping such things alive is less than stellar. It doesn't help when one of the "Look Mom" shout-outs from yesterday was a "Look Mom" accompanied by handfuls of dirt from my rubber plant, already hanging on life by a string. 

So...in spite of being housebound more with the changing seasons, we have been thoroughly occupied inside. I wonder what bodily function will keep us busy this afternoon? 

Statement

I hate cats.

End of story.

For now.

Consolation Prize

Alleluia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obama Drama

We have a new President-elect, and it was no surprise to me. Feeling proud of fulfilling our duty to vote, both Mark and I knew, voting for McCain in Minnesota was merely a symbolic action--the race was called for Obama before any of the precincts reported.

Many people are scared, a little irrational, and disappointed. I still believe we live in a great country, and have faith in our system of checks and balances. Looking at the situation more closely, I've tried to determine what, in the realm of change, will change for me.

For me, smack-dab in the middle class, I need have no fear of higher taxes. My husband, working for a small firm, will be unaffected, and my job working nights in the ER is unexpendable, so no worries there. We're out of college and our children won't go to school until Obama's first term is over, so educational funding and college tuition doesn't affect us. We live in rural Minnesota, the east and west coasts are a world away, and terrorism is a fear we don't live with. National security, so long as we're tucked away in our home, doesn't affect us. Heck, maybe this Obama thing makes sense for us?

No.

Because, while our lives may not change, and our happiness and success goes unaffected by policies and administration, the lives of others will change, which is something we cannot overlook. The unborn will be desecrated in the womb, the disabled will lose their rights for sustenance, and human embryos will further be exploited in the name of science. Teenage girls will get suspended for bring Advil to school, but will get prescription contraceptives and abortions without parental consent.

Further, we'll be stuck. The higher taxes for the more-successful will mean less money pumping into the economy, and fewer jobs created.

Yes, there will be change, and even though we may go on living the same, today is a defeat for those who have no voice. We must continue to fight for them.

Election Day

...started early, with a loud THUMP at 5am. The child had fallen out of bed. He didn't go back to sleep.

I showered last night to prevent a repeat carpet mishap.

A new Story Hour at a new library.

Voting.

An evening of watching and waiting to hear who the next President will be.

Right This Minute!

I HATE the smell of carpet cleaner-the kind of cleaner you use when there is a stain on the carpet. Right This Minute I am smelling carpet cleaner, that foul combination of something between vomit and oven cleaner. Worse, the mess I'm cleaning up is not helping my olfactory sense whatsoever.

This morning I took a shower. Is it a crime? Apparently. I put in a movie for Luke so I could clear out my pregnant sinuses with a hot, steamy shower. I get dressed, put my hair in a ponytail, and was feeling pretty accomplished for a Monday morning.

As I walked downstairs I was greeted with a giant turd at my feet. Numerous others were scattered across the family room. As I yelled Luke's name, a diaperless boy peered from behind the couch.

As any sensible mother would do, I immediately grabbed the phone to call my husband and blame him for the mess. Only after that did I clean the child and begin the process of wasting numerous paper towels and wet wipes to lift the remnants from the carpet. I am now one minute away from scrubbing the stains from the carpet and one step closer to eliminating the unmentionable scent gracing our house.

We're wasting no time breaking in our new home.

Claim to Fame

Friday was Mark's swearing-in ceremony to become an official licensed attorney. We spent the day at the St. Paul River Center and endured an hour of names listed that had reached The Bar.

I was entertained by Luke running in circles around the auditorium, and by the young gentlemen sitting across from us who was no other than our local weatherman, Sven Sundgaard. I won't say what I want to say about seeing the little guy in person (I'm a whole head taller than him), I'll just post a picture and then let you imagine how he looks with a popped collar and spray tan. The question begs itself...is your weatherman as pretty as mine?

Crazy!

We are in our new house! It's overwhelming and wonderful all at the same time. We have no internet connection yet, but will next week. So much to blog about, no computer to share it all.

Until we meet again.

:)