Finally A Photo With Mommy

Joy Through The Pain

So today I have been in much more pain than I was yesterday ... I guess I thought I was going to have miracle abdominal surgery and be pain free but that isn't the case ...

I did get to take a shower this morning which was very nice and very needed ... and I got to see my doctor this morning ... which it was so good to see him ... I just love him so much ... he of course mentioned, "He wasn't 11 pounds" which was my guess ... and I said yes but I was only an ounce off and closer than his guess ... he is being very cool ... he said he was going to come and visit me again tomorrow before we decide when I am going home ... kind of hoping Lincoln gets to go at the same time as me ...

Then the doctor who delivered Lincoln came by to see me ... she said my incision looks great and that I can probably go home tomorrow but they aren't putting in the order for it yet so they can see how I am tomorrow ... she mentioned how much better I looked now than when she saw me Sunday morning ... and commented on how funny and happy I was after I got my spinal ...

After seeing the doctors I headed down alone to NICU ... where I got to snuggle Lincoln for a while ... I wanted to stay and feed him but he is just so heavy sitting on my stomach that after about 40 I needed to go back upstairs ... I just didn't think I would be able to do it alone ... it is much easier when David is with me and we can pass him back and forth and help each other ...

While I was down there another mother was wheeled in to see her baby ... the woman wheeling her looked at me and said, "ohhhh hello there." with a big smile on her face ... then she started to giggle ... I said hello and she said, "You probably don't remember me ... I was in the operating room with you Sunday, I was one of the nurses." ... I said, "Oh so are you giggling because of how I acted after I got the spinal?" and she said, "Yes, we all thought you were so cute and so happy after that." ...

I headed back up to my room and ate my lunch and took some pain medication and a nap ... today the pain has just been especially hard and without a nap yesterday I was hurting ... as I was waking up I saw the cutest little kid run into my room ... I was so happy to be awoken by Schuyler yelling, "Mommy oh mommy I missed you." ... I guess they called while I was asleep and said they were heading over ... and I was so happy to see them ...

We all visited for a while and then headed down to the NICU ... my dad and I went in first ... then he tagged out and my mom came in ... today my mom got to hold Lincoln for the first time ... and she was so happy to do so ... it was a nice visit with him and then we all headed back upstairs ...

David got here soon after we got back to the room and Skye was happy to see him ... I hate it that she still hasn't met her brother or seen him ... she just doesn't really know what is going on ... after my parents and Skye headed out David went and got dinner and had it in my room with me while I was having dinner ... then we went down for a quick visit with Lincoln and are getting ready to head down now to feed him his 9:30 bottle ... I sure hope his glucose test is good before this feeding and they can reduce his intake ... it hasn't been reduced all day today which just prolongs his stay ... I really believe I am going to leave before him and I well up with tears every time I think about it ... I want us all to go home together ... but whatever happens ... happens ...

More Photos

Seeing Schuyler

Today I finally got to see Schuyler ... and boy did I miss her ... she has been to the hospital with my parents before but I was still back in Labor & Delivery and kids aren't allowed back there ... so she got to see David but not me ...

Tonight everyone got here around 4:30 and we all hung out ... Skye seemed pretty happy to see me too ... so it was nice getting a couple of hours with her ... she and my dad and I all hung out in the room while David and my mom went down to the NICU for a while ...

She still hasn't met her brother so I don't think she quite gets it yet ... she is just getting presents and staying at Grandmommy and Granddaddy's house ... although she kept begging to come home last night ... made me a bit sad that we weren't all heading home ...

After my parents and Skye left David and I went down to the NICU and I got to feed Lincoln for the first time ... he did pretty good too ... David and I took turns giving him his bottle and burping him ... unfortunately his sugar still isn't that great so they haven't been able to reduce the glucose in his feeding tube too much ... but we got to hang out with him and that was great ...

David and I came back up to the room for a while and talked ... he has been working so hard all by himself on getting the house set up and cleaned up for our arrival home ... I wish I could be there to help him ... I miss him and Schuyler and now Lincoln so much when I am in my hospital room alone at night ... David and I are IMing now and probably will till it is time to fall asleep ... I can't wait till we are all home together ...

Holding Lincoln

This morning after finally getting to eat some breakfast I had transport take me down to the NICU ... I was finally going to get to spend some time with my son ... up until this morning I had kissed him before going to NICU and touched his leg on the way to my room ...

David had told me that they wouldn't take him out of the incubator but I just wanted to sit down there with him and hang out ... and to my surprise she asked if I wanted to hold him ... I was so excited ... he is so sweet and soft and opened his eyes ... and cooed when I kissed him ... it was awesome ...

The nurse was a bit uptight ... none of us like her ... so the fact that I got to hold him was awesome ... I spent about 2 hours down there just cuddling and kissing him ... and he really seemed so so so happy being in my arms ... I just wish he could be in my room with me like the other moms ...

OK I gotta pack up my stuff again ... they are moving me up to maternity ... since I am no longer on the magnesium ... this should be my last move before I get to go home ...

Off To My New Room

So I had to go on magnesium ... during labor my blood pressure got really high ... as soon as they gave me the spinal it went down to normal ... but to be careful I had to have the magnesium again ...

So a little while ago (around 1 AM) they moved me out of L&D and over to the high risk side ... right across from the NICU ... and my nurses were so nice that on the way here they wheeled my bed into the NICU so I could see Lincoln for a little bit ... I was so thankful ... he is just precious and I hate that he is in there like his sister was as well ... but at least I got to see him :)

Birth Day Photos

Lincoln Has Arrived

On Saturday night ... well Sunday morning I got in bed around 12:24 AM ... not even around ... it was exactly 12:24 AM when I took a sip of water and laid down ... I noticed the time because I thought to myself, "Well I'll have to get in bed earlier tomorrow night because I can't have anything after midnight the night before my C-section" ...

Around 2:45 AM I awoke and was about to get up to pee when I just started gushing ... I hopped out of bed so fast but I was too late ... the bed was drenched ... there was a puddle on the floor and a trail to the bathroom ... I sat there thinking, "Really ... you are scheduled for Monday and you are coming today?" ...

David was still up ... I went to the top of the stairs and said, "Hey honey ... my water broke" ... I called the service and the doctor called me back in a few minutes ... I told her my water broke and she told me to head to the hospital ... I asked if I could take a shower first and she told me to hurry ...

See in my mind I kinda thought she was going to tell me I could still come Monday ... with Schuyler I know I was induced but my water broke on its own on Friday afternoon and I didn't have her for 24 more hours ... I mean after my water broke it was still like 12ish hours before they moved me to Labor & Delivery and another 12ish hours before I was dilated enough to start pushing ...

So I took a shower ... realized I had never finished getting my stuff together because that was what I was going to do on Sunday ... still hadn't gotten anything together for Schuyler ... called my parents and told them we were on our way ... woke up a terribly cranky 2.5 year old and herded her to the car and we were on our way ...

By the time we got to the car I was already soaked and realized I needed to start timing my contractions ... they were getting much stronger than I had realized ... as we pulled out of the driveway they were 4 minutes apart and strong ... as we were leaving my parents house they were 3 minutes apart ... and as we were pulling into the hospital they were at 2.5 minutes ... and getting stronger each time ...

David dropped me at the door and went to park the car ... the security guard was a bit freaked out and when I looked down I realized why ... my pants were completely drenched and a puddle was forming ... he told me to go on up and would send my husband up after me ... it was 3:30 in the morning so he knew the next guy through would be my husband ...

I headed up to the 3rd floor to check in ... and the contractions were getting much stronger ... and I was starting having trouble talking ... thank goodness my doctors office had basically registered me cause there wasn't much I had to do ... but sit on the wheelchair and go to L&D ...

I couldn't believe how much water there was ... it was just crazy ... but I got in a hospital gown and found a way to get into the bed ... the contractions were coming around a minute a part ... and I was really in pain ... then my stomach started pushing on its own ...

The doc still wasn't there ... the nurse checked me and I was 5 cm dilated ... I couldn't believe it ... that happened in an hour and a half  ... it took me 1/2 the day last time to go that far ...

The nurse said ... "You know you have dilated pretty quick and your contractions are showing pretty strong ... are you sure you don't want to have this baby by pushing?" ... I actually squeaked out a giggle and said, "Hell no ... my daughter was 8.8 pounds ... I pushed for 5 hours ... got no where and they would have had to break her shoulder to get her out ... this kid is even bigger."

At this point I was in terrible pain ... worse than my contractions with pictocin ... and I thought those were supposed to be so bad ... they started to feel like they were one on top of the other and I kept asking where my epidural was ... they were waiting for the doctor to get there ... then my stomach started pushing on its own more often ... it was weird ... I couldn't stop it during the contractions ... the nurse checked me again and now I was at 6cm ... it had only been a little while and she asked again if I wanted to have him vaginally ... again my answer was hell no ...

Finally the doctor arrived ... unfortunately it again wasn't my doctor that I love so much but it was the same doctor who delivered Skye ... when she walked in she said, "Well you didn't sound like this on the phone ... sure is progressing fast huh?" ... She checked me and said, "Alright get the anesthesiologist we need to go soon ... she is between 6 and 7" ...

When the anesthesiologist arrived they started wheeling me to the operating room ... I will admit I was having a terribly hard time with the contractions ... I felt like there wasn't a break between them ... and they were so strong my stomach was pushing hard but the doc kept saying he was up high still so not to worry ...

We got into the operating room and they got me sitting up on the operating table ... they were giving me a spinal and had me stick my back out ... and then held me in a sort of head lock to keep me still ... as they were cleaning my back I had a contraction and thought, "Thank goodness that will be the last one before the medicine kicks in" ... yea no not the case ... they stuck the first needle in as another contraction hit and I had to be still ... had to stay in the headlock ... and nothing to squeeze or preferable push on ... it was rough ... so I thought, "well at least that is it before the sweet medicine kicks in." (I was still thinking I was getting an epi not a spinal) ... ah ha wrong again ... the next needle corresponded with a violent contraction where my stomach was pushing and it was all I could do to stay still ... while I was still having the contraction they were rushing me to lay down ... and kinda freaking out about it in my opinion ... getting me to move and adjust and I just couldn't understand what the rush was all about ...

Until I realized I felt nothing from the rib cage down ... not a single thing ... well some pushing on my tummy but they got me into position just in time ... the sheet was up in no time and David was in sitting beside me ...

Now that I was drugged up I kept saying, "You guys are all so wonderful. Thank you so much. I am so happy now." ... When I saw the anesthesiologist I said, "Everyone must be in love with you." ... they were all laughing at me ... but I meant every word of it ... I was a happy mommy at that moment ...

I had NO idea they had even started until we heard the entire operating room go, "woooooooooo" ... I looked at David and asked him what was wrong ... he said he didn't know and then the doctor said, "That is a big baby." ... The nurse who kept asking me if I wanted to push him out came to the other side of the curtain and said, "Yea there was no way you were pushing him out ... he weighs 10 pounds 15.4 ounces ... that is a big baby." ...

He started crying right away and they cleaned him up and handed him off to David ... I was smart this time and wore my glasses into the operating room so I could see him ... and he looked so happy being held by his daddy ...

This time we got to go right back to the L&D room ... (with Skye I was in recovery for like 6 hours or something) ... we got all situated and David hung out with Lincoln ... waiting for the nurse to come in and take care of Lincoln ...

I was of course still feeling no pain ... and couldn't even move my legs if I wanted to ... but since I wasn't able to sit up well I wasn't able to hold him yet ... but I did get to give him a kiss ...

The nurse informed us that he had to go to NICU ... his blood sugar was very low ... he had a bit of a heart murmur that they felt would correct itself ... and that he tended to breath like he didn't realize it would happen involuntarily ... so David went down and saw Lincoln when he got all situated in the NICU ... then it was time for us to nap ... David hadn't slept in over a day ... and we were just wiped out ...

All in all it was a quick process ... but a lot more pain and hard work that I had thought would happen ... glad to know my boy already knows how to do the things he wants to do when he wants to do them ... and so happy he is here to help complete our family ...

Are There Two In There

Asking me if I am carrying twins ... and even triplets lately ... is the most popular question I get ... and if only people knew how much it ripped through me each time ...

Half the time I want to say, "It was twins yes ... but I lost one of them ... thanks so much for bringing it up and opening up that wound again." ... but they don't know ... they are just amazed at the size of my belly ... it is a natural question ...

Today I had to stop at the hospital on the way to work for my pre-op blood tests ... 4 people asked me if I was carrying twins and one asked me if it was triplets ... it just makes me so sad to have to say no each time ... because it is something that is still on my mind all the time ... I am still very conflicted about the fact that we are not having twins ... and I have had long enough to get used to the idea but it is still so hard ...

I know I look like I am ready to go at any minute ... everyone gives me that look like should I be out on my own ... when I walked into the reception at the hospital they gave me a maternity badge and called for a wheelchair ... then she asked if I had any stuff with me ... I laughed and said, "I am just here for my pre-op blood tests - I am only 37 weeks pregnant and not in labor." ... The woman was cute and apologized ... then said, "must be twins." ...

After asking if it is twins everyone wants to take a guess at the size ... today I got 2 nurses guessing 13 pounds ... one guessed 12 and one said 11.8 to 12 ... I told them all my doctor thinks 10.4 ...

Once I have Lincoln then people won't ask the twins question and maybe I can put it behind me and think about it less and less each day ...

IKEA Love

I love IKEA even more today than I did yesterday ...

First off they have the best kids hangers ... I just love them ... they will work for years because the size is just right ...

So with another little one on the way I need more hangers and since I haven't done anything ahead of time I've been needing to stop and today was finally the day ...

Now I am sure I have mentioned it before but I worked at IKEA and absolutely loved the job ... thought about making it a career in their design department (where you get to work on the showrooms) ... so since I worked there I know how to get to any section of the store no problem ... I've actually had friends ask if I will go with them so we can get right to what they are looking for ...

With this knowledge I know that when you go up to the top floor to start your shopping experience you can turn to your left and the kids section is right there ... it is the last area on the top floor ... problem is without going through a no merchandise area you can't get right to the cash registers ... and at this point there is NO WAY I could make the walk to the check out even with the short cuts I know ...

So I asked an employee that works in the entry way if it was alright if I went up and got the kids hangers and came back through the entrance and cut over to the check out ... that there was just no way I could walk through the store ... and he said yes ... not a problem ... especially since I was sooooooooooo pregnant ...

That just made my trip ... it made it so much easier on me I couldn't believe it ... and I was in and out of there in no time without an extra mile of walking ... I am so glad I asked ...

And I scored 96 new awesome hangers for 16 dollars ... you can hardly beat that ...

Dove Wrapper

Listen to your heartbeat and dance!!

37 Weeks

Well it is official today ... I made it one week longer than I did with Skye ... pretty happy about that ...

But boy am I hurting ... it is hard to get up because the pressure is so hard core ... and I have to steady myself before walking ... so I sit for longer periods than I probably should because the whole walking is so hard ...

I have started having some contractions ... in the last day or so ... could be the last couple of days ... I thought it was the baby moving but then when I really sat and concentrated on them last night I figured out the difference between the baby actually moving and the contractions ... there is no regularity to them and it is quite some time between each one but they are there ... obviously he is just as uncomfortable as I am ...

I've gotten so big that I am wondering if I was someone who was going to go to my due date if they would change that assessment ... people look at me now with a pained look on their face ...

I have my last doctors appointment on Thursday and then baby day is on Monday ... I just called the hospital to get the paperwork to preregister and it turns out my doctors office already did it for me ... she said I am already in the system all ready to go ... just need to show up ... so I got to cross something off my to do list without having to do anything ... if only the rest of the list would go that quickly ...

I can't believe the day is almost here ... less than a week ... tonight I will be packing my bag just in case these contractions become something serious ...

Versus

So today while Schuyler and I were cleaning the bedroom a commercial came on Sprout for the Bissel Versusvacuum cleaner ... I was mesmerized immediately ... it was like the commercial was made just for me ... 95% of our house is bare floors and most stuff just gets pushed around ... this vacuum had a big hole in the bottom with blowing air on the sides to move debris into the big hole ...

The words out of my mouth were "Holy Crap" ... then as I heard my almost 3 year old keep saying "Howy Cwap mommy howy cwap" I realized even with something this exciting I need to watch what I am saying ...

The commercial said it was available at Target and Target.com ... so I went right for the computer to check ... it wasn't online so I called my local Target ... they had no idea what I was talking about so I called the next closest one and they had it and they said they would hold it at guest services for me ... well being as huge as I am that made it even better for me that I wouldn't have to walk across the store ... the commercial said it was 69.99 ... I thought that was a fair price ... cheaper than the last vacuum I bought which I praised but it has slowly worked less and less well and is way better as just a dust buster ... the website said it was 79.99 ... I have some gift cards I got for my birthday from Target so it was still sounding alright ...  

Skye and I got in the car immediately ... and headed to Target ... walked right up to guest services and their cost was 59.99 ... well now I scored ... if it worked half as well as I was envisioning I was happy ...

We got it home and I spent the rest of the day cleaning and purging our bedroom ... with all 3 of us living in there the last couple of months it had become a mess to say the least ... I wanted everything cleaned up and put away before I whipped out the vacuum ... it was great motivation to get it all done ...

The time had come to try out this new fangled vacuum ... and sadly I was very excited ...

Well let me say ... it works WONDERFULLY ... even picked up a toy golf ball and every single item on the floor ... no problem at all ... and the V shape really helped get into places I couldn't before ...

The room looks wonderful ... but I am going to hold off on being too excited because I know that most of the vacuums I have tried have been awesome the first time I used them but deterriorate bit by bit as time goes on ... but so far I am very happy ... and I hope it keeps up ... the design is a great idea for bare floors ... so fingers crossed I am still in love with it the 10th and 20th and 50th time I use it ...

Last Year Before 40

So today is my 39th birthday ... my last year in my 30's ... seems hard to believe ... I remember being a kid and this being really old ... doesn't feel so old when you get here ...

I got to wake up without an alarm ... and hang out and have breakfast with my family ... and we all headed out to Target ... we had gift cards and figured we should get baby stuff now ... rather than on the way home from the hospital or something ...

So we stocked up on formula and got new bottles ... a killer baby blanket ... I got Skye some nightgowns and my goodness is she adorable in nightgowns ... and I got all her Easter stuff since I probably won't get to go to Target again before Easter ... which included a cool pair of Chuck Taylor's in white with a white star ... I wanted to get a pink pair and a red pair too but I refrained ... for now ...

David and Schuyler finished digging the new garden while I hung out and watched and then we all headed over to my parents house to celebrate my birthday and Abby's first birthday ... we had dinner and cupcakes and had a really nice evening ... it was a whole lot of fun ...

And now I am actually heading up to bed early ... we are all tired and I figure if I can get a bit of extra sleep now why not take it ... could be another couple of years again before that happens ... maybe I'll even sleep late in the morning too ...

36 Weeks

I had my last sono this morning ... they didn't do any measurements just said, "wow he really is big" ... but they did all the stuff to make sure he moved and breathed - he had the hiccups which counted - it just took a lot longer than normal because I was late for my appointment and then the office was packed so it was about 3 hours from the last time I ate to the time of the test ... so he was still and quiet ... they had to buzz my stomach to get him moving ... which I remarked, "If he is anything like his sister and dad that just pissed him off." ...

I am huge ... it takes me a lot longer to do anything ... even if I start earlier I am still late ... and we still don't have a thing ready for his arrival but we are working on it ... maybe in the next week ... I guess we only have 2 weeks left so it will have to be sometime soon ...

The tech did get me a sono photo ... the only thing she could get was his foot and even that she said was so big she couldn't get the whole thing in ...

35 Weeks

I had a sonogram today ... unfortunately no pictures ... he was just too big ... the doctor kept saying, "oh my goodness" ...

Turns out he couldn't get a full measurement of his abdomen ... but what he got he said this big guy is a little over 9 pounds right now ... he is already bigger than Skye was at 36 weeks when she was born ...

I checked to make sure it looked like I would go till March 31st since my parents are leaving on Friday for a trip and they really want to be here when he was born and he said it looked good ... but they are having me come back next Tuesday to make sure everything is alright ... and I see my OB every Thursday so two appointments a week for the next 3 weeks I should be pretty well covered ...

Weird thing that I don't remember with Skye ... I have sooooooo much trouble walking until I go to the bathroom then I am fine ... I think he is kicking my bladder and laughing about it ... I told a friend tonight I was really looking forward to not getting up 4 times a night ...

So even though our house is totally not ready I have to start doing something to get ready for this kid ... it is going to happen in 3 weeks from today and we are not even close to ready ... granted I can spent my maternity leave hanging out with my kids and getting this house back in order ... but I think I at least need to go through all the clothes I have and have some ready for him ...

I am feeling a bit better than I was last week ... not sure why that is but I'll take it ...

A Great Day

Tonight David built a fire in the fire pit and we all sat around for quite sometime ... it was absolutely lovely ... it was the perfect ending to a perfect day ...

Our day consisted of getting up early for breakfast ... playing ... helping Daddy outside with sorting wood ... starting the laundry ... taking a wonderful family nap together ... planting a garden ... finishing the laundry ... sitting around the fire pit ... cooking out ... bath time and lots and lots of hugs and kisses and I love yous during the day ... and what David described as the best cigar he has had in ages ...

As we sat around the fire I asked Skye if today had been a good day ... her answer was ... "Oh yes mommy ... we grow seeds and sit by the yellow fire." ... I thought she captured it perfectly ...

Planting a Garden

It was an absolutely beautiful day today ... 70 degrees and just perfect ... so it was the perfect time to plant the garden Skye has been asking to do ... we had seeds for pumpkins, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce ... all seeds Skye picked out at the store ...

She and David had a blast and she is very much looking forward to watering her garden everyday ... if she was able to she would be out there every 20 minutes to do so ...

Planting a Garden 3/8/09

You Tube

Tonight Skye and I spent ... I want to say ... almost an hour watching You Tube videos ... she is amazing on the laptop ... I think she can maneuver the mouse better than my mom can ...

We watched videos of funny animals ... and babies ... baby animals ... songs she wanted to dance to ... it was so much fun ... she whipped that mouse around and clicked on more and more videos and we just sat all cuddled up laughing our heads off ...

The one she found the funniest ... that we had to watch about 20 times ... 

Nervous Appointment

Today I went in for my 34 week appointment ... I was very nervous to go because this is the appointment last time that I was told to go check myself into the hospital where I spent 4 days to be sent home on bed rest and had my little one 2 weeks later at 36 weeks ...

So I went in very nervous ... so nervous that my blood pressure was up ... which is what set everything in motion last time ... the nurse said, "be prepared he may put you on bed rest" ... my heart just sank ... I am just not in a place right now to go on bed rest ...

My doctor was cool ... he said it wasn't up that much and it could easily be how nervous I was ... he told me I just had to rest as much as I can and if someone else can take care of something that I would normally do ... let them do it ...

So once again I am going to try and do that ... try really hard ...

Playland

Last night we went to McDonald's for dinner ... mommy had a craving and I just thought it would be good for us to all get out of the house ... also I knew if we went my car would get cleaned off and I wouldn't have to worry about it this morning on my way to work ...

The whole time we ate Skye watched the play area ... we've been before but she just didn't seem to like it all that much ... she would check out and come back ... or go in and want out immediately ... so I figured that was how it would be last night as well ...

To my surprise she went in full force ... and had a blast ... climbing all the way to the top ... going into the dark tunnels at the bottom ... bossing around kids older than her ... making friends ... jumping around ... it was great ... she even for the first time came and said she had pooped and needed a new pull-up so she could go back and play ... never has that happened ... she had a blast ... so David and I were pretty content to just hang out and let her have at it till she was tired and ready to go home ...

It makes me so happy to see her branch out and embrace things that once made her nervous or scared ...

34 Weeks

Wow 4 weeks left and I am not closer to being ready than I was the day I found out I got pregnant ...

On a TMI note - I started loosing my plug this week ... let me just say ick ... but I guess that means this is really gonna happen ... hahahaaaa

My right leg keeps giving out on me ... not a lot but enough for me to be careful ... it only happens when I twist or step wrong ... and I get killer charlie horses most nights ... those just kick my ass ... and the lower back pain is a bit much at times ...

But then there are moments like last night when I realize I am walking better than usual ... so it is all just a hit and miss with how I feel ...

Not much longer now ... Skye and I checked out a bunch of books this weekend about being a big sister ... she has started pretending to hold a baby and tells me she is holding a baby ... it is quite sweet ... most days I think she is really going to take to being a big sister ... sometimes I am not sure how well she is going to do once he can touch her stuff ...

Favorite Spot

This is my new favorite spot in the house ... it is the window in our kitchen ... even though we aren't moved into the kitchen yet any time  i do anything in there it is on the counter facing the window to the backyard ... I realize we had a full floor to ceiling window there before but it was crowded and there was no counter there ... and I just didn't stand and gaze out that window like I do with this one ... something about this new window ... half the size of the old one but with a counter there is so relaxing and wonderful ... I realized recently that since it was put in I take time every day to stand there and just gaze out the window ... it has changed and become a very peaceful and beautiful place ...

Finally A Snow Day

After about a year of anticipation ... and months of wondering ... and days of waking up asking if there was snow ... we finally had enough snow to warrant a snow day ...

I got to stay home from work ... we slept in ... had our breakfast ... and then bundled up to head outside to all the good white fluffy stuff ...

Schuyler had hoped for a snowman but it just wasn't snowman snow ... too wet ... no packing ... but all on her own Skye decided it was perfect snow for snow angels ... and she was absolutely right ... she made about a half dozen of them in the backyard and they came out beautiful ... she was quite proud of them ... she also had a blast throwing it all around ...

I was just so happy to see her so happy ... it is rough when your child wants something so simple as a day to play in her backyard in the snow and there is nothing you can do to make it happen ... and when it finally does happen ... well ... it feels beyond good ...

After playing in the snow we came in and attempted to make maple syrup candy in snow ... I had recently read about it while reading the Little House in the Big Woods and thought it was the perfect time to try it ... Skye just liked hearing the words "cooking" and "candy" ... she was very excited and grabbed her stool and headed for the kitchen ...

I think she had more fun preparing everything ... which turned out to be a good thing because our candy didn't turn out that great ... she loved pouring the ingredients into the pot ... and standing next to me while I mixed it on the burner ... she kept saying that it was "so exciting mommy" ...

Once we brought the snow inside she started digging in ... she ate spoon after spoon of snow and kept telling me it was delicious ... so precious ...

We drizzled some syrup into the snow and she ate it right away ... even though it didn't harden ... David came in to try and salvage my project ... cooked it a bit more and then I had him pour it right into the big container of snow ... that hardened a bit better but by then Skye was full and finished with the project ... a good thing since that only hardened somewhat ...

I think she had the right idea ... the prep and the actual word is more fun than the finished project ... we were together ... doing something exciting and new ... and helping each other ...

She really makes everything in life better ... some days I don't know how I got so lucky to have her ... but days like today make me so happy I did ...

Snow Day 3/2/09